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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/20803-0.txt b/20803-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8ef104d --- /dev/null +++ b/20803-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6421 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook of The War of Independence, by John Fiske + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you +will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before +using this eBook. + +Title: The War of Independence + +Author: John Fiske + +Release Date: March 13, 2007 [eBook #20803] +[Most recently updated: December 13, 2021] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +Produced by: K.D. Thornton, Bruce Albrecht, Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE *** + + + + +Number 62 + +(_Double Number_) + +RIVERSIDE LITERATURE SERIES + +THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE +BY JOHN FISKE + +WITH MAPS, INDEX AND A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH + +HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON, NEW YORK, AND CHICAGO + +The Riverside Press Cambridge + +Price, paper 30 cents; linen, 40 cents + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The Riverside Literature Series + +THE +WAR OF INDEPENDENCE + +BY +JOHN FISKE + +WITH MAPS, INDEX, AND A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH + +[Decoration] + +HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY + +Boston: 4 Park Street; New York: 85 Fifth Avenue +Chicago: 378-388 Wabash Avenue + +The Riverside Press, Cambridge + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +COPYRIGHT, 1889 +BY JOHN FISKE + +COPYRIGHT, 1894 +BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. + +ALL RIGHTS RESERVED + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +PREFACE. + +This little book does not contain the substance of the lectures on the +American Revolution which I have delivered in so many parts of the +United States since 1883. Those lectures, when completed and published, +will make quite a detailed narrative; this book is but a sketch. It is +hoped that it may prove useful to the higher classes in schools, as well +as to teachers. When I was a boy I should have been glad to get hold of +a brief account of the War for Independence that would have suggested +answers to some of the questions that used to vex me. Was the conduct of +the British government, in driving the Americans into rebellion, merely +wanton aggression, or was it not rather a bungling attempt to solve a +political problem which really needed to be solved? Why were New Jersey +and the Hudson river so important? Why did the British armies make South +Carolina their chief objective point after New York? Or how did +Cornwallis happen to be at Yorktown when Washington made such a long +leap and pounced upon him there? And so on. Such questions the +old-fashioned text-books not only did not try to answer, they did not +even recognize their existence. As to the large histories, they of +course include so many details that it requires maturity of judgment to +discriminate between the facts that are cardinal and those that are +merely incidental. When I give lectures to schoolboys and schoolgirls, I +observe that a reference to causes and effects always seems to heighten +the interest of the story. I therefore offer them this little book, not +as a rival but as an aid to the ordinary text-book. I am aware that a +narrative so condensed must necessarily suffer from the omission of many +picturesque and striking details. The world is so made that one often +has to lose a little in one direction in order to gain something in +another. This book is an experiment. If it seems to answer its purpose, +I may follow it with others, treating other portions of American history +in similar fashion. + +CAMBRIDGE, _February 11, 1889_. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +CONTENTS. + +CHAP. PAGE + + BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN FISKE vii + + I. INTRODUCTION 1 + + II. THE COLONIES IN 1750 4 + + III. THE FRENCH WARS, AND THE FIRST PLAN OF UNION 26 + + IV. THE STAMP ACT, AND THE REVENUE LAWS 39 + + V. THE CRISIS 78 + + VI. THE STRUGGLE FOR THE CENTRE 104 + + VII. THE FRENCH ALLIANCE 144 + +VIII. BIRTH OF THE NATION 182 + + COLLATERAL READING 195 + + INDEX 197 + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +LIST OF MAPS. + + _Facing page_ + +INVASION OF CANADA 92 + +WASHINGTON'S CAMPAIGNS IN NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA 120 + +BURGOYNE'S CAMPAIGN 130 + +THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN 172 + +NOTE.--These maps are used by permission of, and by arrangement with, +Messrs. Ginn & Company. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. + +To relate, by way of leading up to this little book, all the previous +achievements of its author would--without disrespect to the greater or +the less--have somewhat the appearance of putting a very big cart in +front of a pony. But no idea could be more mistaken than that which +induces people to believe a small book the easiest to write. Easy +reading is hard writing; and a thoroughly good small book stands for so +much more than the mere process of putting it on paper, that its value +is not at all to be judged by its bulk. The offhand word of a man full +of knowledge is worth a great deal more than the carefully prepared +utterance of a person who having spoken once has nothing more to say. In +our introduction to this work, therefore, we propose to reverse the +common process of tracing the author's development upwards, and instead, +after stating the mere events of Mr. Fiske's life, to begin with "The +War of Independence" and to follow his work backwards, attempting very +briefly to show how each undertaking was built naturally upon something +before it, and that the original basis of the structure was uncommonly +broad and strong. + +John Fiske was born in Hartford, Conn., 30th March, 1842, and spent +most of his life, before entering Harvard as a sophomore in 1860, with +his grandmother's family in Middletown, Conn. Two years after taking his +degree at Harvard, in 1863, he was graduated from the Harvard Law +School, but he cared so much more for writing than for the law that his +attempt to practice it in Boston was soon abandoned. In 1861 he made his +first important contribution to a magazine, and ever since has done much +work of the same sort. He has served Harvard College, as University +lecturer on philosophy, 1869-71, in 1870 as instructor in history, and +from 1872 to 1879 as assistant librarian. Since resigning from that +office he has been for two terms of six years each a member of the board +of overseers. In 1881 he began lecturing annually at Washington +University, St. Louis, on American history, and in 1884 was made a +professor of the institution. Since 1871 he has devoted much time to +lecturing at large. He has been heard in most of the principal cities of +America, and abroad, in London and Edinburgh. All this time his home has +been in Cambridge, Mass. + +So much for the simple outward circumstances of Mr. Fiske's life. +Turning to his studies and writings, one finds them reaching out into +almost every direction of human thought; and this book, from which our +backward course is to be taken, is but a page from the great body of his +work. It is especially as a student of philosophy, science, and history +that Mr. Fiske is known to the world; and at the present it is +particularly as an historian of America that his name is spoken. In no +other way more satisfactorily than in tracing the growth of his own +nation has he found it possible to study the laws of progress of the +human race, and from the first, through all the time of his most active +philosophical and scientific work, this study of human progress has been +the true interest of his life. With his historical works, then, let us +begin. + +In 1879 he delivered a course of six lectures on American history, at +the Old South Meeting House in Boston. In previous years he had written +occasional essays on historical subjects in general, but the impulse +towards American history in particular was given by the preparation for +these lectures, which were concerned especially with the colonial +period. Of his own treatment of an historical subject he is quoted as +saying: "I look it up or investigate it, and then write an essay or a +lecture on the subject. That serves as a preliminary statement, either +of a large subject or of special points. It is a help to me to make a +statement of the kind--I mean in the lecture or essay form. In fact it +always assists me to try to state the case. I never publish anything +after this first statement, but generally keep it with me for, it may +be, some years, and possibly return to it again several times." Thus it +may safely be assumed that these Old South Lectures and the many others +that have followed them have found or will find a permanent place in the +series of Mr. Fiske's historical volumes. + +The succession of these books has not been in the order of the periods +of which they treat; but from the similarity of their method and the +fact that they cover a series of important periods in American history, +they go towards making a complete, consecutive history of the country. +The periods which are not yet covered Mr. Fiske proposes to deal with in +time. One who has talked with him on the subject of his works reports +the following statement as coming from Mr. Fiske's own lips: "I am now +at work on a general history of the United States. When John Richard +Green was planning his 'Short History of the English People,' and he and +I were friends in London, I heard him telling about his scheme. I +thought it would be a very nice thing to do something of the same sort +for American history. But when I took it up I found myself, instead of +carrying it out in that way, dwelling upon special points; and +insensibly, without any volition on my part, I suppose, it has been +rather taking the shape of separate monographs. But I hope to go on in +that way until I cover the ground with these separate books,--that is, +to cover as much ground as possible. But, of course, the scheme has +become much more extensive than it was when I started." + +Taken in the order of their subjects, the five works already contributed +to this series are, "The Discovery of America, with some Account of +Ancient America and the Spanish Conquest" (two volumes); "Old Virginia +and her Neighbours" (two volumes); "The Beginnings of New England, or +the Puritan Theocracy in its Relations to Civil and Religious Liberty;" +"The American Revolution" (two volumes); and "The Critical Period of +American History, 1783-1789." Allied with these books, though hardly +taking a place in the series, is "Civil Government in the United States, +Considered with some Reference to its Origins," "The War of +Independence," it will thus be seen, is the least ambitious of all +these historical works. "A History of the United States for Schools" is +addressed to the same audience, and in so far may be considered a +companion volume. + +What makes Mr. Fiske's histories just what they are? Another step +backward in the stages of his own development will enable us to see, and +the sub-title, "Viewed from the Standpoint of Universal History," of one +of his earlier books, "American Political Ideas," will help towards an +understanding of his power. It is due to the fact that he brings to his +historical work on special subjects the broad philosophic and general +view of a man who is much more than a specialist,--the scientific habit +of mind which must look for causes when effects are seen, and must point +out the relations between them. There could be no better preparation for +the writing of history than the apparently alien study of the questions +with which the names of Darwin and Spencer are inseparably associated. +When Darwin's "Origin of Species" appeared, Mr. Fiske's own thought had +prepared him to take the place of an ardent apostle of Evolution, and it +is held that no man has done more than he in expounding the theory in +America. Standing permanently for his work in this field are his books, +"Excursions of an Evolutionist" and "Darwinism, and Other Essays." One +of his first important works was "Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy" (1874), +and in more recent years "The Destiny of Man" and "The Idea of God" +speak forth very distinctly, not as interpretations, but as his own +contributions to the progress of philosophic thought. One other phase of +the use to which Mr. Fiske's mind has been put should surely be +mentioned in any summary of his qualifications for writing histories. He +is extremely fond of hearing and telling good stories. His book on +"Myths and Myth-makers" (1872) gave early evidence of this fondness, and +surely there is the very spirit of the lover of tales in the Dedication +of the book, "To my dear Friend, William D. Howells, in remembrance of +pleasant autumn evenings spent among were-wolves and trolls and nixies." +Thus, besides the ability to see a story in all its bearings, Mr. Fiske +has the gift of telling it effectively,--a golden power without which +all the learning in the world would serve an historian as but so much +lead. + +But all of these works preceding Mr. Fiske's historical writings did not +come out of nothing. His mental acquirements as a young man and boy were +very extraordinary, and give to the last stage of his career at which we +shall look--the earliest--perhaps the greatest interest of all. A +description of it without a knowledge of what followed would be all too +apt to remind readers whose memories go back far enough of the +instances, all too common, of men whose early promise is not fulfilled. +_Summa cum laude_ graduates settle down into lives of timid routine that +leads to nothing, just as often as the idle dreamers who stay +consistently at the foot of their classes wake up when the vital contact +with the world takes place, and do something astonishingly good. These, +however, are the exceptions. A development like Mr. Fiske's follows the +lines of nature. + +Happily, there were books in the house in which he was brought up. At +the age of seven he was reading Rollin, Josephus, and Goldsmith's +Greece. Much of Milton, Pope, and Bunyan, and nearly all of Shakespeare +he had read before he was nine; histories of many lands before eleven. +At this age he filled a quarto blank book of sixty pages with a +chronological table, written from memory, of events between 1000 B. C. +and 1820 A. D. + +All this would seem enough for one boy, but there were the other worlds +of languages and science to conquer. It is almost discouraging merely to +write down the fact that at thirteen he had read a large part of Livy, +Cicero, Ovid, Catullus, and Juvenal, and all of Virgil, Horace, Tacitus, +Sallust, and Suetonius,--to say nothing of Cæsar, at seven. Greek was +disposed of in like manner; and then came the modern languages, +--German, Spanish,--in which he kept a diary,--French, Italian, and +Portuguese. Hebrew and Sanskrit were kept for the years of seventeen and +eighteen. In college, Icelandic, Gothic, Danish, Swedish, Dutch, and +Roumanian were added, with beginnings in Russian. The uses to which he +put these languages were not those to which the weary schoolboy puts his +few scraps of learning in foreign tongues, but the true uses of +literature,--reading for pleasure and mental stimulus. + +It is needless to relate the rapid course of Mr. Fiske's first studies +in science; it is no whit less remarkable than that of his other +intellectual enterprises. As mathematics is akin to music, it will be +enough to say that when he was fifteen a friend's piano was left in his +grandmother's house, and, without a master, the boy soon learned its +secrets well enough to play such works as Mozart's Twelfth Mass. Later +in life Mr. Fiske studied the science of music. He has printed many +musical criticisms, and has himself composed a mass and songs. + +Few boys can hope to take to college with them, or, for that matter, +even away from it, a mind so well equipped as Mr. Fiske's was when he +went to Cambridge. Three years of stimulating university atmosphere, and +of indefinitely wide opportunities for reading, left him prepared as few +men have been for just the work he has done. He has had the wisdom to +see what he could do, and being possessed of the qualities that lead to +accomplishment, he has done it; and any reader who understands more than +the mere words he reads will be very likely to discover in this small +volume, "The War of Independence," something of the spirit, and some +suggestions of the method which, in this sketch, we have endeavored to +point out as characteristic of one of the foremost living historians. + + + + +THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +INTRODUCTION. + + +Since the year 1875 we have witnessed, in many parts of the United +States, public processions, meetings, and speeches in commemoration of +the hundredth anniversary of some important event in the course of our +struggle for national independence. This series of centennial +celebrations, which has been of great value in stimulating American +patriotism and awakening throughout the country a keen interest in +American history, will naturally come to an end in 1889. The close of +President Cleveland's term of office marks the close of the first +century of the government under which we live, which dates from the +inauguration of President Washington on the balcony of the Federal +building in Wall street, New York, on the 30th of April, 1789. It was on +that memorable day that the American Revolution may be said to have been +completed. The Declaration of Independence in 1776 detached the American +people from the supreme government to which they had hitherto owed +allegiance, and it was not until Washington's inauguration in 1789 that +the supreme government to which we owe allegiance to-day was actually +put in operation. The period of thirteen years included between these +two dates was strictly a revolutionary period, during which it was more +or less doubtful where the supreme authority over the United States +belonged. First, it took the fighting and the diplomacy of the +revolutionary war to decide that this supreme authority belonged in the +United States themselves, and not in the government of Great Britain; +and then after the war was ended, more than five years of sore distress +and anxious discussion had elapsed before the American people succeeded +in setting up a new government that was strong enough to make itself +obeyed at home and respected abroad. + +It is the story of this revolutionary period, ending in 1789, that we +have here to relate in its principal outlines. When we stand upon the +crest of a lofty hill and look about in all directions over the +landscape, we can often detect relations between distant points which we +had not before thought of together. While we tarried in the lowland, we +could see blue peaks rising here and there against the sky, and follow +babbling brooks hither and thither through the forest. It was more +homelike down there than on the hilltop, for in each gnarled tree, in +every moss-grown boulder, in every wayside flower, we had a friend that +was near to us; but the general bearings of things may well have escaped +our notice. In climbing to our lonely vantage-ground, while the familiar +scenes fade from sight, there are gradually unfolded to us those +connections between crag and meadow and stream that make the life and +meaning of the whole. We learn the "lay of the land," and become, in a +humble way, geographers. So in the history of men and nations, while we +remain immersed in the study of personal incidents and details, as what +such a statesman said or how many men were killed in such a battle, we +may quite fail to understand what it was all about, and we shall be sure +often to misjudge men's characters and estimate wrongly the importance +of many events. For this reason we cannot clearly see the meaning of the +history of our own times. The facts are too near us; we are down among +them, like the man who could not see the forest because there were so +many trees. But when we look back over a long interval of years, we can +survey distant events and personages like points in a vast landscape and +begin to discern the meaning of it all. In this way we come to see that +history is full of lessons for us. Very few things have happened in past +ages with which our present welfare is not in one way or another +concerned. Few things have happened in any age more interesting or more +important than the American Revolution. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE COLONIES IN 1750. + + +It is always difficult in history to mark the beginning and end of a +period. Events keep rushing on and do not pause to be divided into +chapters; or, in other words, in the history which really takes place, a +new chapter is always beginning long before the old one is ended. The +divisions we make when we try to describe it are merely marks that we +make for our own convenience. In telling the story of the American +Revolution we must stop somewhere, and the inauguration of President +Washington is a very proper place. We must also begin somewhere, but it +is quite clear that it will not do to begin with the Declaration of +Independence in July, 1776, or even with the midnight ride of Paul +Revere in April, 1775. For if we ask what caused that "hurry of hoofs in +a village street," and what brought together those five-and-fifty +statesmen at Philadelphia, we are not simply led back to the Boston +Tea-Party, and still further to the Stamp Act, but we find it necessary +to refer to events that happened more than a century before the +Revolution can properly be said to have begun. Indeed, if we were going +to take a very wide view of the situation, and try to point out its +relations to the general history of mankind, we should have to go back +many hundreds of years and not only cross the ocean to the England of +King Alfred, but keep on still further to the ancient market-places of +Rome and Athens, and even to the pyramids of Egypt; and in all this long +journey through the ages we should not be merely gratifying an idle +curiosity, but at every step of the way could gather sound practical +lessons, useful in helping us to vote intelligently at the next election +for mayor of the city in which we live or for president of the United +States. + + [Sidenote: The half-way station in American History] + +We are not now, however, about to start on any such long journey. It is +a much nearer and narrower view of the American Revolution that we wish +to get. There are many points from which we might start, but we must at +any rate choose a point several years earlier than the Declaration of +Independence. People are very apt to leave out of sight the "good old +colony times" and speak of our country as scarcely more than a hundred +years old. Sometimes we hear the presidency of George Washington spoken +of as part of "early American history;" but we ought not to forget that +when Washington was born the commonwealth of Virginia was already one +hundred and twenty-five years old. The first governor of Massachusetts +was born three centuries ago, in 1588, the year of the Spanish Armada. +Suppose we take the period of 282 years between the English settlement +of Virginia and the inauguration of President Benjamin Harrison, and +divide it in the middle. That gives us the year 1748 as the half-way +station in the history of the American people. There were just as many +years of continuous American history before 1748 as there have been +since that date. That year was famous for the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, +which put an end to a war between England and France that had lasted +five years. That war had been waged in America as well as in Europe, and +American troops had played a brilliant part in it. There was now a brief +lull, soon to be followed by another and greater war between the two +mighty rivals, and it was in the course of this latter war that some of +the questions were raised which presently led to the American +Revolution. Let us take the occasion of this lull in the storm to look +over the American world and see what were the circumstances likely to +lead to the throwing off of the British government by the thirteen +colonies, and to their union under a federal government of their own +making. + + [Sidenote: The four New England colonies.] + +In the middle of the eighteenth century there were four New England +colonies. Massachusetts extended her sway over Maine, and the Green +Mountain territory was an uninhabited wilderness, to which New York and +New Hampshire alike laid claim. The four commonwealths of New Hampshire, +Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island had all been in existence, +under one form or another, for more than a century. The men who were in +the prime of life there in 1750 were the great-grandsons and +great-great-grandsons of the men who crossed the ocean between 1620 and +1640 and settled New England. Scarcely two men in a hundred were of other +than English blood. About one in a hundred could say that his family +came from Scotland or the north of Ireland; one in five hundred may have +been the grandchild of a Huguenot. Upon religious and political +questions these people thought very much alike. Extreme poverty was +almost unknown, and there were but few who could not read and write. As +a rule every head of a family owned the house in which he lived and the +land which supported him. There were no cities; and from Boston, which +was a town with 16,000 inhabitants, down to the smallest settlement in +the White Mountains, the government was carried on by town-meetings at +which, almost any grown-up man could be present and speak and vote. +Except upon the sea-coast nearly all the people lived upon farms; but +all along the coast were many who lived by fishing and by building +ships, and in the towns dwelt many merchants grown rich by foreign +trade. In those days Massachusetts was the richest of the thirteen +colonies, and had a larger population than any other except Virginia. +Connecticut was then more populous than New York; and when the four New +England commonwealths acted together--as was likely to be the case in +time of danger--they formed the strongest military power on the American +continent. + + [Sidenote: Virginia and Maryland] + +Among what we now call southern states there were two that in 1750 were +more than a hundred years old. These were Virginia and Maryland. The +people of these commonwealths, like those of New England, had lived +together in America long enough to become distinctively Americans. Both +New Englander and Virginian had had time to forget their family +relationships with the kindred left behind so long ago in England; +though there were many who did not forget it, and in our time scholars +have by research recovered many of the links that had been lost from +memory. The white people of Virginia were as purely English as those of +Connecticut or Massachusetts. But society in Virginia was very different +from society in New England. The wealth of Virginia consisted chiefly of +tobacco, which was raised by negro slaves. People lived far apart from +each other on great plantations, usually situated near the navigable +streams of which that country has so many. Most of the great planters +had easy access to private wharves, where their crops could be loaded on +ships and sent directly to England in exchange for all sorts of goods. +Accordingly it was but seldom that towns grew up as centres of trade. +Each plantation was a kind of little world in itself. There were no +town-meetings, as the smallest political division was the division into +counties; but there were county-meetings quite vigorous with +political life. Of the leading county families a great many were +descended from able and distinguished Cavaliers or King's-men who had +come over from England during the ascendency of Oliver Cromwell. Skill +in the management of public affairs was hereditary in such families, and +during our revolutionary period Virginia produced more great leaders +than any of the other colonies. + + [Sidenote: New York and Delaware] + +There were yet two other American commonwealths that in 1750 were more +than a hundred years old. These were New York and little Delaware, which +for some time was a kind of appendage, first to New York, afterward to +Pennsylvania. But there was one important respect in which these two +colonies were different alike from New England and from Virginia. Their +population was far from being purely English. Delaware had been first +settled by Swedes, New York by Dutchmen; and the latter colony had drawn +its settlers from almost every part of western and central Europe. A man +might travel from Penobscot bay to the Harlem river without hearing a +syllable in any other tongue than English; but in crossing Manhattan +island he could listen, if he chose, to more than a dozen languages. +There was almost as much diversity in opinions about religious and +political matters as there was in the languages in which they were +expressed. New York was an English community in so far as it had been +for more than eighty years under an English government, but hardly in +any other sense. Accordingly we shall find New York in the revolutionary +period less prompt and decided in action than Massachusetts and +Virginia. In population New York ranked only seventh among the thirteen +colonies; but in its geographical position it was the most important of +all. It was important commercially because the Mohawk and Hudson rivers +formed a direct avenue for the fur-trade from the region of the great +lakes to the finest harbour on all the Atlantic coast. In a military +sense it was important for two reasons; _first_, because the Mohawk +valley was the home of the most powerful confederacy of Indians on the +continent, the steady allies of the English and deadly foes of the +French; _secondly_, because the centre of the French power was at +Montreal and Quebec, and from those points the route by which the +English colonies could be most easily invaded was formed by Lake +Champlain and the Hudson river. New York was completely interposed +between New England and the rest of the English colonies, so that an +enemy holding possession of it would virtually cut the Atlantic +sea-board in two. For these reasons the political action of New York +was of most critical importance. + + [Sidenote: The two Carolinas and Georgia; New Jersey and Pennsylvania] + +Of the other colonies in 1750, the two Carolinas and New Jersey were +rather more than eighty years old, while Pennsylvania had been settled +scarcely seventy years. But the growth of these younger colonies had +been rapid, especially in the case of Pennsylvania and North Carolina, +which in populousness ranked third and fourth among the thirteen. This +rapid increase was mainly due to a large immigration from Europe kept up +during the first half of the eighteenth century, so that a large +proportion of the people had either been born in Europe, or were the +children of people born in Europe. In 1750 these colonies had not had +time enough to become so intensely American as Virginia and the New +England colonies. In Georgia, which had been settled only seventeen +years, people had had barely time to get used to this new home on the +wild frontier. + +The population of these younger colonies was very much mixed. In South +Carolina, as in New York, probably less than half were English. In both +Carolinas there were a great many Huguenots from France, and immigrants +from Germany and Scotland and the north of Ireland were still pouring +in. Pennsylvania had many Germans and Irish, and settlers from other +parts of Europe, besides its English Quakers. With all this diversity of +race there was a great diversity of opinions about political questions, +as about other matters. + + [Sidenote: Why Massachusetts and Virginia took the lead.] + +We are now beginning to see why it was that Massachusetts and Virginia +took the lead in bringing on the revolutionary war. Not only were these +two the largest colonies, but their people had become much more +thoroughly welded together in their thoughts and habits and associations +than was as yet possible with the people of the younger colonies. When +the revolutionary war came, there were very few Tories in the New +England colonies and very few in Virginia; but there were a great many +in New York and Pennsylvania and the two Carolinas, so that the action +of these commonwealths was often slow and undecided, and sometimes there +was bitter and bloody fighting between men of opposite opinions, +especially in New York and South Carolina. + + [Sidenote: The two republics; Connecticut and Rhode Island] + +If we look at the governments of the thirteen colonies in the middle of +the eighteenth century, we shall observe some interesting facts. All the +colonies had legislative assemblies elected by the people, and these +assemblies levied the taxes and made the laws. So far as the +legislatures were concerned, therefore, all the colonies governed +themselves. But with regard to the executive department of the +government, there were very important differences. Only two of the +colonies, Connecticut and Rhode Island, had governors elected by the +people. These two colonies were completely self-governing. In almost +everything but name they were independent of Great Britain, and this was +so true that at the time of the revolutionary war they did not need to +make any new constitutions for themselves, but continued to live on +under their old charters for many years,--Connecticut until 1818, Rhode +Island until 1843. Before the revolution these two colonies had +comparatively few direct grievances to complain of at the hands of Great +Britain; but as they were next neighbours to Massachusetts and closely +connected with its history, they were likely to sympathize promptly with +the kind of grievances by which Massachusetts was disturbed. + + [Sidenote: The proprietary governments: Pennsylvania, Delaware, + and Maryland] + +Three of the colonies, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, had a +peculiar kind of government, known as _proprietary government_. Their +territories had originally been granted by the crown to a person known +as the Lord Proprietary, and the lord-proprietorship descended from +father to son like a kingdom. In Maryland it was the Calvert family that +reigned for six generations as lords proprietary. Pennsylvania and +Delaware had each its own separate legislature, but over both colonies +reigned the same lord proprietary, who was a member of the Penn family. +These colonies were thus like little hereditary monarchies, and they had +but few direct dealings with the British government. For them the lords +proprietary stood in the place of the king, and appointed the governors. +In Maryland this system ran smoothly. In Pennsylvania there was a good +deal of dissatisfaction, but it generally assumed the form of a wish to +get rid of the lords proprietary and have the governors appointed by the +king; for as this was something they had not tried they were not +prepared to appreciate its evils. + + [Sidenote: The crown colonies and their royal governors] + +In the other eight colonies--New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New +Jersey, Virginia, the two Carolinas, and Georgia--the governors were +appointed by the king, and were commonly known as "royal governors." +They were sometimes natives of the colonies over which they were +appointed, as Dudley and Hutchinson of Massachusetts, and others; but +were more often sent over from England. Some of them, as Pownall of +Massachusetts and Spotswood of Virginia, were men of marked ability. +Some were honest gentlemen, who felt a real interest in the welfare of +the people they came to help govern; some were unprincipled adventurers, +who came to make money by fair means or foul. Their position was one of +much dignity, and they behaved themselves like lesser kings. What with +their crimson velvets and fine laces and stately coaches, they made much +more of a show than any president of the United States would think of +making to-day. They had no fixed terms of office, but remained at their +posts as long as the king, or the king's colonial secretary, saw fit to +keep them there. + + [Sidenote: The question as to salaries] + +Now it was generally true of the royal governors that, whether they were +natives of America or sent over from England, and whether they were good +men or bad, they were very apt to make themselves disliked by the +people, and they were almost always quarrelling with their legislative +assemblies. Questions were always coming up about which the governor and +the legislature could not agree, because the legislature represented the +views of the people who had chosen it, while the governor represented +his own views or the views which prevailed three thousand miles away +among the king's ministers, who very often knew little about America and +cared less. One of these disputed questions related to the governor's +salary. It was natural that the governor should wish to have a salary of +fixed amount, so that he might know from year to year what he was going +to receive. But the people were afraid that if this were to be done the +governor might become too independent. They preferred that the +legislature should each year make a grant of money such as it should +deem suitable for the governor's expenses, and this sum it might +increase or diminish according to its own good pleasure. This would keep +the governor properly subservient to the legislature. Before 1750 there +had been much bitter wrangling over this question in several of the +colonies, and the governors had one after another been obliged to +submit, though with very ill grace. + +Sometimes the thoughts of the royal governors and their friends went +beyond this immediate question. Since the legislatures were so froward +and so niggardly, what an admirable plan it would be to have the +governors paid out of the royal treasury and thus made comparatively +independent of the legislatures! The judges, too, who were quite poorly +paid, might fare much better if remunerated by the crown, and the same +might be said of some other public officers. But if the British +government were to undertake to pay the salaries of its officials in +America, it must raise a revenue for the purpose; and it would naturally +raise such a revenue by levying taxes in America rather than in England. +People in England felt that they were already taxed as heavily as they +could bear, in order to pay the expenses of their own government. They +could not be expected to submit to further taxation for the sake of +paying the expenses of governing the American colonies. If further taxes +were to be laid for such a purpose, they must in fairness be laid upon +Americans, not upon Englishmen in the old country. + +Such was the view which people in England would naturally be expected to +take, and such was the view which they generally did take. But there was +another side to the question which was very clearly seen by most people +in America. If the royal governors were to be paid by the crown and thus +made independent of their legislatures, there would be danger of their +becoming petty tyrants and interfering in many ways with the liberties +of the people. Still greater would be the danger if the judges were to +be paid by the crown, for then they would feel themselves responsible to +the king or to the royal governor, rather than to their fellow-citizens; +and it would be easy for the governors, by appointing corrupt men as +judges, to prevent the proper administration of justice by the courts, +and thus to make men's lives and property insecure. Most Americans in +1750 felt this danger very keenly. They had not forgotten how, in the +times of their grandfathers, two of the noblest of Englishmen, Lord +William Russell and Colonel Algernon Sidney, had been murdered by the +iniquitous sentence of time-serving judges. They had not forgotten the +ruffian George Jeffreys and his "bloody assizes" of 1685. They well +remembered how their kinsmen in England had driven into exile the Stuart +family of kings, who were even yet, in 1745, making efforts to recover +their lost throne. They remembered how the beginnings of New England had +been made by stout-hearted men who could not endure the tyranny of these +same Stuarts; and they knew well that one of the worst of the evils upon +which Stuart tyranny had fattened had been the corruption of the courts +of justice. The Americans believed with some reason, that even now, in +the middle of the eighteenth century, the administration of justice in +their own commonwealths was decidedly better than in Great Britain; and +they had no mind to have it disturbed. + + [Sidenote: "No taxation without representation."] + +But worse than all, if the expenses of governing America were to be paid +by taxes levied upon Americans and collected from them by king or +parliament or any power whatsoever residing in Great Britain, then the +inhabitants of the thirteen American colonies would at once cease to be +free people. A free country is one in which the government cannot take +away people's money, in the shape of taxes, except for strictly public +purposes and with the consent of the people themselves, as expressed by +some body of representatives whom the people have chosen. If people's +money can be taken from them without their consent, no matter how small +the amount, even if it be less than one dollar out of every thousand, +then they are not politically free. They do not govern, but the power +that thus takes their money without their consent is the power that +governs; and there is nothing to prevent such a power from using the +money thus obtained to strengthen itself until it can trample upon +people's rights in every direction, and rob them of their homes and +lives as well as of their money. If the British government could tax the +Americans without their consent, it might use the money for supporting a +British army in America, and such an army might be employed in +intimidating the legislatures, in dispersing town-meetings, in +destroying newspaper-offices, or in other acts of tyranny. + + [Sidenote: It was the fundamental principle of English liberty.] + +The Americans in the middle of the eighteenth century well understood +that the principle of "no taxation without representation" is the +fundamental principle of free government. It was the principle for which +their forefathers had contended again and again in England, and upon +which the noble edifice of English liberty had been raised and +consolidated since the grand struggle between king and barons in the +thirteenth century. It had passed into a tradition, both in England and +in America, that in order to prevent the crown from becoming despotic, +it was necessary that it should only wield such revenues as the +representatives of the people might be pleased to grant it. In England +the body which represented the people was the House of Commons, in each +of the American colonies it was the colonial legislature; and in +dealing with the royal governors, the legislatures acted upon the same +general principles as the House of Commons in dealing with the king. + + [Sidenote: Sometimes the royal governors were in the right, as to + the particular question.] + +It was not until some time after 1750 that any grand assault was made +upon the principle of "no taxation without representation," but the +frequent disputes with the royal governors were such as to keep people +from losing sight of this principle, and to make them sensitive about +acts that might lead to violations of it. In the particular disputes the +governors were sometimes clearly right and the people wrong. One of the +principal objects, as we shall presently see, for which the governors +wanted money, was to maintain troops for defence against the French and +the Indians; and the legislatures were apt to be short-sighted and +unreasonably stingy about such matters. Again, the people were sometimes +seized with a silly craze for "paper money" and "wild-cat +banks"--devices for making money out of nothing--and sometimes the +governors were sensible enough to oppose such delusions but not +altogether sensible in their manner of doing it. Thus in 1740 there was +fierce excitement in Massachusetts over a quarrel between the governor +and the legislature about the famous "silver bank" and "land bank." +These institutions were a public nuisance and deserved to be suppressed, +but the governor was obliged to appeal to parliament in order to +succeed in doing it. This led many people to ask, "What business has a +parliament sitting the other side of the ocean to be making laws for +us?" and the grumbling was loud and bitter enough to show that this was +a very dangerous question to raise. + + [Sidenote: Bitter memories; in Virginia.] + +It was in the eight colonies which had royal governors that troubles of +a revolutionary character were more likely to arise than in the other +five, but there were special reasons, besides those already mentioned, +why Massachusetts and Virginia should prove more refractory than any of +the others. Both these great commonwealths had bitter memories. Things +had happened in both which might serve as a warning, and which some of +the old men still living in 1750 could distinctly remember. In Virginia +the misgovernment of the royal governor Sir William Berkeley had led in +1675 to the famous rebellion headed by Nathaniel Bacon, and this +rebellion had been suppressed with much harshness. Many leading citizens +had been sent to the gallows and their estates had been confiscated. In +Massachusetts, though there were no such scenes of cruelty to remember, +the grievance was much more deep-seated and enduring. + + [Sidenote: And in Massachusetts.] + +Massachusetts had not been originally a royal province, with its +governors appointed by the king. At first it had been a republic, such +as Connecticut and Rhode Island now were, with governors chosen by the +people. From its foundation in 1629 down to 1684 the commonwealth of +Massachusetts had managed its own affairs at its own good pleasure. +Practically it had been not only self-governing but almost independent. +That was because affairs in England were in such confusion that until +after 1660 comparatively little attention was paid to what was going on +in America, and the liberties of Massachusetts prospered through the +neglect of what was then called the "home government." After Charles II. +came to the throne in 1660 he began to interfere with the affairs of +Massachusetts, and so the very first generation of men that had been +born on the soil of that commonwealth were engaged in a long struggle +against the British king for the right of managing their own affairs. +After more than twenty years of this struggle, which by 1675 had come to +be quite bitter, the charter of Massachusetts was annulled in 1684 and +its free government was for the moment destroyed. Presently a viceroy +was sent over from England, to govern Massachusetts (as well as several +other northern colonies) despotically. This viceroy, Sir Edmund Andros, +seems to have been a fairly well meaning man. He was not especially +harsh or cruel, but his rule was a despotism, because he was not +responsible to the people for what he did, but only to the king. In +point of fact the two-and-a-half years of his administration were +characterized by arbitrary arrests and by interference with private +property and with the freedom of the press. It was so vexatious that +early in 1689, taking advantage of the Revolution then going on in +England, the people of Boston rose in rebellion, seized Andros and threw +him into jail, and set up for themselves a provisional government. When +the affairs of New England were settled after the accession of William +and Mary to the throne, Connecticut and Rhode Island were allowed to +keep their old governments; but Massachusetts in 1693 was obliged to +take a new charter instead of her old one, and although this new charter +revived the election of legislatures by the people, it left the +governors henceforth to be appointed by the king. + +In the political controversies of Massachusetts, therefore, in the +eighteenth century, the people were animated by the recollection of what +they had lost. They were somewhat less free and independent than their +grandfathers had been, and they had learned what it was to have an +irresponsible ruler sitting at his desk in Boston and signing warrants +for the arrest of loved and respected citizens who dared criticise his +sayings and doings. "Taxation without representation" was not for them a +mere abstract theory; they knew what it meant. It was as near to them as +the presidency of Andrew Jackson is to us; there had not been time +enough to forget it. In every contest between the popular legislature +and the royal governor there was some broad principle involved which +there were plenty of well-remembered facts to illustrate. + + [Sidenote: Grounds of sympathy between Massachusetts and Virginia.] + +These contests also helped to arouse a strong sympathy between the +popular leaders in Massachusetts and in Virginia. Between the people of +the two colonies there was not much real sympathy, because there was a +good deal of difference between their ways of life and their opinions +about things; and people, unless they are unusually wise and generous of +nature, are apt to dislike and despise those who differ from them in +opinions and habits. So there was little cordiality of feeling between +the people of Massachusetts and the people of Virginia, but in spite of +this there was a great and growing political sympathy. This was because, +ever since 1693, they had been obliged to deal with the same kind of +political questions. It became intensely interesting to a Virginian to +watch the progress of a dispute between the governor and legislature of +Massachusetts, because whatever principle might be victorious in the +course of such a dispute, it was sure soon to find a practical +application in Virginia. Hence by the middle of the eighteenth century +the two colonies were keenly observant of each other, and either one was +exceedingly prompt in taking its cue from the other. It is worth while +to remember this fact, for without it there would doubtless have been +rebellions or revolutions of American colonies, but there would hardly +have been one American Revolution, ending in a grand American Union. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE FRENCH WARS, AND THE FIRST PLAN OF UNION. + + + [Sidenote: Disputed frontier between French and English colonies.] + +It was said a moment ago that one of the chief objects for which the +governors wanted money was to maintain troops for defence against the +French and the Indians. This was a very serious matter indeed. To any +one who looked at a map of North America in 1750 it might well have +seemed as if the French had secured for themselves the greater part of +the continent. The western frontier of the English settlements was +generally within two hundred miles of the sea-coast. In New York it was +at Johnson Hall, not far from Schenectady; in Pennsylvania it was about +at Carlisle; in Virginia it was near Winchester, and the first explorers +were just making their way across the Alleghany mountains. Westward of +these frontier settlements lay endless stretches of forest inhabited by +warlike tribes of red men who, everywhere except in New York, were +hostile to the English and friendly to the French. Since the beginning +of the seventeenth century French towns and villages had been growing up +along the St. Lawrence, and French explorers had been pushing across +the Great Lakes and down the valley of the Mississippi river, near the +mouth of which the French town of New Orleans had been standing since +1718. It was the French doctrine that discovery and possession of a +river gave a claim to all the territory drained by that river. According +to this doctrine every acre of American soil from which water flowed +into the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi belonged to France. The claims +of the French thus came up to the very crest of the Alleghanies, and +they made no secret of their intention to shut up the English forever +between that chain of mountains and the sea-coast. There were times when +their aims were still more aggressive and dangerous, when they looked +with longing eyes upon the valley of the Hudson, and would fain have +broken through that military centre of the line of English commonwealths +and seized the keys of empire over the continent. + + [Sidenote: The Indian tribes.] + +From this height of their ambition the French were kept aloof by the +deadly enmity of the most fierce and powerful savages in the New World. +The Indians of those days who came into contact with the white settlers +were divided into many tribes with different names, but they all +belonged to one or another of three great stocks or families. First, +there were the _Mobilians_, far down south; to this stock belonged the +Creeks, Cherokees, and others. Secondly, there were the _Algonquins_, +comprising the Delawares to the south of the Susquehanna; the Miamis, +Shawnees, and others in the western wilderness; the Ottawas in Canada; +and all the tribes still left to the northeast of New England. Thirdly, +there were the _Iroquois_, of whom the most famous were the Five Nations +of what is now central New York. These five great tribes--the Mohawks, +Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas--had for several generations +been united in a confederacy which they likened to a long wigwam with +its eastern door looking out upon the valley of the Hudson and its +western toward the falls of Niagara. It was known far and wide over the +continent as the Long House, and wherever it was known it was dreaded. +When Frenchmen and Englishmen first settled in America, this Iroquois +league was engaged in a long career of conquest. Algonquin tribes all +the way from the Connecticut to the Mississippi were treated as its +vassals and forced to pay tribute in weapons and wampum. This conquering +career extended through the seventeenth century, until it was brought to +an end by the French. When the latter began making settlements in +Canada, they courted the friendship of their Algonquin neighbours, and +thus, without dreaming what deadly seed they were sowing, they were led +to attack the terrible Long House. It was easy enough for Champlain in +1609 to win a victory over savages who had never before seen a white man +or heard the report of a musket; but the victory was a fatal one for the +French, for it made the Iroquois their eternal enemies. The Long House +allied itself first with the Dutch and afterwards with the English, and +thus checked the progress of the French toward the lower Hudson. We too +seldom think how much we owe to those formidable savages. + + [Sidenote: The French and the Iroquois.] + +The Iroquois pressed the French with so much vigour that in 1689 they +even laid siege to Montreal. But by 1696 the French, assisted by all the +Algonquin tribes within reach, and led by their warlike viceroy, Count +Frontenac, one of the most picturesque figures in American history, at +length succeeded in getting the upperhand and dealing the Long House a +terrible blow, from the effects of which it never recovered. The league +remained formidable, however, until the time of the revolutionary war. +In 1715 its fighting strength was partially repaired by the adoption of +the kindred Iroquois tribe of Tuscaroras, who had just been expelled +from North Carolina by the English settlers, and migrated to New York. +After this accession the league, henceforth known as the Six Nations, +formed a power by no means to be despised, though much less bold and +aggressive than in the previous century. + +After administering a check to the Iroquois, the French and Algonquins +kept up for more than sixty years a desultory warfare against the +English colonies. Whenever war broke out between England and France, it +meant war in America as well as in Europe. Indeed, one of the chief +objects of war, on the part of each of these two nations, was to extend +its colonial dominions at the expense of the other. France and England +were at war from 1689 to 1697; from 1702 to 1713; and from 1743 to 1748. +The men in New York or Boston in 1750, who could remember the past sixty +years, could thus look back over at least four-and-twenty years of open +war; and even in the intervals of professed peace there was a good deal +of disturbance on the frontiers. A most frightful sort of warfare it +was, ghastly with torture of prisoners and the ruthless murder of women +and children. The expense of raising and arming troops for defence was +great enough to subject several of the colonies to a heavy burden of +debt. In 1750 Massachusetts was just throwing off the load of debt under +which she had staggered since 1693; and most of this debt was incurred +for expeditions against the French and Algonquins. + + [Sidenote: Difficulty of getting the English colonies to act in + concert.] + +Under these circumstances it was natural that the colonial governments +should find it hard to raise enough money for war expenses, and that the +governors should think the legislatures too slow in acting. They were +slow; for, as is apt to be the case when money is to be borrowed without +the best security, there were a good many things to be considered. All +this was made worse by the fact that there were so many separate +governments, so that each one was inclined to hold back and wait for the +others. On the other hand, the French viceroy in Canada had despotic +power; the colony which he governed never pretended to be +self-supporting; and so, if he could not squeeze money enough out of the +people in Canada, he just sent to France for it and got it; for the +government of Louis XV. regarded Canada as one of the brightest jewels +in its crown, and was always ready to spend money for damaging the +English. Accordingly the Frenchman could plan his campaign, call his red +men together, and set the whole frontier in a blaze, while the +legislatures in Boston or New York were talking about what had better be +done in case of invasion. No wonder the royal governors fretted and +fumed, and sent home to England dismal accounts of the perverseness of +these Americans! Many people in England thought that the colonies were +allowed to govern themselves altogether too much, and that for their own +good the British government ought to tax them. Once while Sir Robert +Walpole was prime minister (1721-1742) some one is said to have advised +him to lay a direct tax upon the Americans; but that wise old statesman +shook his head. It was bad enough, he said, to be scolded and abused by +half the people in the old country; he did not wish to make enemies of +every man, woman, and child in the new. + + [Sidenote: Need of a union between the English colonies.] + +But if the power to raise American armies for the common defence, and to +collect money in America for this purpose, was not to be assumed by the +British government, was there any way in which unity and promptness of +action in time of war could be secured? There was another way, if people +could be persuaded to adopt it. The thirteen colonies might be joined +together in a federal union; and the federal government, without +interfering in the local affairs of any single colony, might be clothed +with the power of levying taxes all over the country for purposes of +common defence. The royal governors were inclined to favour a union of +the colonies, no matter how it might be brought about. They thought it +necessary that some decisive step should be taken quickly, for it was +evident that the peace of 1748 was only an armed truce. Evidently a +great and decisive struggle was at hand. In 1750 the Ohio Company, +formed for the purpose of colonizing the valley drained by that river, +had surveyed the country as far as the present site of Louisville. In +1753 the French, taking the alarm, crossed Lake Erie, and began to +fortify themselves at Presque Isle, and at Venango on the Alleghany +river. They seized persons trading within the limits of the Ohio +Company, which lay within the territory of Virginia; and accordingly +Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, selected George Washington--a venturous +and hardy young land-surveyor, only twenty-one years old, but gifted +with a sagacity beyond his years--and sent him to Venango to warn off +the trespassers. It was an exceedingly delicate and dangerous mission, +and Washington showed rare skill and courage in this first act of his +public career, but the French commander made polite excuses and +remained. Next spring the French and English tried each to forestall the +other in fortifying the all-important place where the Alleghany and +Monongahela rivers unite to form the Ohio, the place long afterward +commonly known as the "Gateway of the West," the place where the city of +Pittsburgh now stands. In the course of these preliminary manoeuvres +Washington was besieged in Fort Necessity by overwhelming numbers, and +on July 4, 1754, was obliged to surrender the whole of his force, but +obtained leave to march away. So the French got possession of the +much-coveted situation, and erected there Fort Duquesne as a menace to +all future English intruders. As yet war had not been declared between +France and England, but these skirmishings indicated that war in earnest +was not far off. + + [Sidenote: The Congress at Albany, 1754.] + +In view of the approaching war a meeting was arranged at Albany between +the principal chiefs of the Six Nations and commissioners from several +of the colonies, that the alliance between English and Iroquois might be +freshly cemented; and some of the royal governors improved the occasion +to call for a Congress of all the colonies, in order to prepare some +plan of confederation such as all the colonies might be willing to +adopt. At the time of Washington's surrender such a Congress was in +session at Albany, but Maryland was the most southerly colony +represented in it. The people nowhere showed any interest in it. No +public meetings were held in its favour. The only newspaper which warmly +approved it was the "Pennsylvania Gazette," which appeared with a union +device, a snake divided into thirteen segments, with the motto "Unite or +Die!" + + [Sidenote: Franklin's plan for a Federal Union.] + +The editor of this paper was Benjamin Franklin, then eight-and-forty +years of age and already one of the most famous men in America. In the +preceding year he had been appointed by the crown postmaster-general for +the American colonies, and he had received from the Royal Society the +Copley medal for his brilliant discovery that lightning is a discharge +of electricity. Franklin was very anxious to see the colonies united in +a federal body, and he was now a delegate to the Congress. He drew up a +plan of union which the Congress adopted, after a very long debate; and +it has ever since been known as the Albany Plan. The federal government +was to consist, _first_, of a President or Governor-general, appointed +and paid by the crown, and holding office during its pleasure; and +_secondly_, of a Grand Council composed of representatives elected every +third year by the legislatures of the several colonies. This federal +government was not to meddle with the internal affairs of any colony, +but on questions of war and such other questions as concerned all the +colonies alike, it was to be supreme; and to this end it was to have the +power of levying taxes for federal purposes directly upon the people of +the several colonies. Philadelphia, as the most centrally situated of +the larger towns, was mentioned as a proper seat for the federal +government. + +The end of our story will show the wonderful foresightedness of +Franklin's scheme. If the Revolution had never occurred, we might very +likely have sooner or later come to live under a constitution resembling +the Albany Plan. On the other hand, if the Albany Plan had been put into +operation, it might perhaps have so adjusted the relations of the +colonies to the British government that the Revolution would not have +occurred. Perhaps, however, it would only have reproduced, on a larger +scale, the irrepressible conflict between royal governor and popular +assembly. The scheme failed for want of support. The Congress +recommended it to the colonial legislatures, but not one of them voted +to adopt it. The difficulty was the same in 1754 that it was thirty +years later,--only much stronger. The people of one colony saw but +little of the people in another, had but few dealings with them, and +cared not much about them. They knew and trusted their own local +assemblies which sat and voted almost under their eyes; they were not +inclined to grant strange powers of taxation to a new assembly distant +by a week's journey. This was a point to which people could never have +been brought except as the alternative to something confessedly worse. + + [Sidenote: Its failure.] + +The failure of the Albany Plan left the question of providing for +military defence just where it was before, and the great Seven Years' +War came on while governors and assemblies were wrangling to no purpose. +In 1755 Braddock's army was unable to get support except from the +steadfast personal exertions of Franklin, who used his great influence +with the farmers of Pennsylvania to obtain horses, wagons, and +provisions, pledging his own property for their payment. Nevertheless, +as the war went on and the people of the colonies became fully alive to +its importance, they did contribute liberally both in men and in money, +and at last it appeared that in proportion to their wealth and +population they had done even more than the regular army and the royal +exchequer toward overthrowing the common enemy. + + [Sidenote: Overthrow of the French power in America.] + +When the war came to an end in 1763 the whole face of things in America +was changed. Seldom, if ever, had the world seen so complete a victory. +France no longer possessed so much as an acre of ground in all North +America. The unknown regions beyond the Mississippi river were handed +over to Spain in payment for bootless assistance rendered to France +toward the close of the war. Spain also received New Orleans, while +Florida, which then reached westward nearly to New Orleans, passed from +Spanish into British hands. The whole country north of Florida and east +of the Mississippi river, including Canada, was now English. A strong +combination of Indian tribes, chiefly Algonquin, under the lead of the +Ottawa sachem Pontiac, made a last desperate attempt, after the loss of +their French allies, to cripple the English; but by 1765, after many +harrowing scenes of bloodshed, these red men were crushed. There was no +power left that could threaten the peace of the thirteen colonies unless +it were the mother-country herself. "Well," said the French minister, +the Duke de Choiseul, as he signed the treaty that shut France out of +North America, "so we are gone; it will be England's turn next!" And +like a prudent seeker after knowledge, as he was, the Duke presently +bethought him of an able and high-minded man, the Baron de Kalb, and +sent him in 1767 to America, to look about and see if there were not +good grounds for his bold prophecy. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE STAMP ACT, AND THE REVENUE LAWS. + + +It did not take four years after the peace of 1763 to show how rapidly +the new situation of affairs was bearing fruit in America. The war had +taught its lessons. Earlier wars had menaced portions of the frontier, +and had been fought by single colonies or alliances of two or three. +This war had menaced the whole frontier, and the colonies, acting for +the first time in general concert, had acquired some dim notion of their +united strength. Soldiers and officers by and by to be arrayed against +one another had here fought as allies,--John Stark and Israel Putnam by +the side of William Howe; Horatio Gates by the side of Thomas Gage,--and +it had not always been the regulars that bore off the palm for skill and +endurance. One young man, of immense energy and fiery temper, united to +rare prudence and fertility of resource, had already become famous +enough to be talked about in England; in George Washington the +Virginians recognized a tower of strength. + + [Sidenote: Consequences of the great French War.] + + [Sidenote: Need for a steady revenue.] + +The overthrow of their ancient enemy, while further increasing the +self-confidence of the Americans, at the same time removed the +principal check which had hitherto kept their differences with the +British government from coming to an open rupture. Formerly the dread of +French attack had tended to make the Americans complaisant toward the +king's ministers, while at time it made the king's ministers unwilling +to lose the good will of the Americans. Now that the check was removed, +the continuance or revival of the old disputes at once foreboded +trouble; and the old occasions for dispute were far from having ceased. +On the contrary the war itself had given them fresh vitality. If money +had been needed before, it was still more needed now. The war had +entailed a heavy burden of expense upon the British government as well +as upon the colonies. The national debt of Great Britain was much +increased, and there were many who thought that, since the Americans +shared in the benefits of the war they ought also to share in the burden +which it left behind it. People in England who used this argument did +not realize that the Americans had really contributed as much as could +reasonably be expected to the support of the war, and that it had left +behind it debts to be paid in America as well as in England. But there +was another argument which made it seem reasonable to many Englishmen +that the colonists should be taxed. It seemed right that a small +military force should be kept up in America, for defence of the +frontiers against the Indians, even if there were no other enemies to be +dreaded. The events of Pontiac's war now showed that there was clearly +need of such a force; and the experience of the royal governors for half +a century had shown that it was very difficult to get the colonial +legislatures to vote money for any such purpose. Hence there grew up in +England a feeling that taxes ought to be raised in America as a +contribution to the war debt and to the military defence of the +colonies; and in order that such taxes should be fairly distributed and +promptly collected, it was felt that the whole business ought to be +placed under the direct supervision and control of parliament. In +accordance with this feeling the new prime minister, George Grenville in +1764 announced his intention of passing a Stamp Act for the easier +collection of revenue in America. Meanwhile things had happened in +America which had greatly irritated the people, especially in Boston, so +that they were in the mood for resisting anything that looked like +encroachment on the part of the British government. To understand this +other source of irritation, we must devote a few words to the laws by +which that government had for a long time undertaken to regulate the +commerce of the American colonies. + + [Sidenote: What European colonies were supposed to be founded for.] + +When European nations began to plant colonies in America, they treated +them in accordance with a theory which prevailed until it was upset by +the American Revolution. According to this ignorant and barbarous +theory, a colony was a community which existed only for the purpose of +enriching the country which had founded it. At the outset, the Spanish +notion of a colony was that of a military station, which might plunder +the heathen for the benefit of the hungry treasury of the Most Catholic +monarch. But this theory was short-lived, like the enjoyment of the +plunder which it succeeded in extorting. According to the principles and +practice of France and England--and of Spain also, after the first +romantic fury of buccaneering had spent itself--the great object in +founding a colony, besides increasing one's general importance in the +world and the area of one's dominions on the map, was to create a +dependent community for the purpose of trading with it. People's ideas +about trade were very absurd. It was not understood that when two +parties trade with each other freely, both must be gainers, or else one +would soon stop trading. It was supposed that in trade, just as in +gambling or betting, what the one party gains the other loses. +Accordingly laws were made to regulate trade so that, as far as +possible, all the loss might fall upon the colonies and all the gain +accrue to the mother-country. In order to attain this object, the +colonies were required to confine their trade entirely to England. No +American colony could send its tobacco or its rice or its indigo to +France or to Holland, or to any other country than England; nor could it +buy a yard of French silk or a pound of Chinese tea except from English +merchants. In this way English merchants sought to secure for themselves +a monopoly of purchases and a monopoly of sales. By a further provision, +although American ships might take goods to England, the carrying-trade +between the different colonies was strictly confined to British ships. +Next, in order to protect British manufacturers from competition, it was +thought necessary to prohibit the colonists from manufacturing. They +might grow wool, but it must be carried to England to be woven into +cloth; they might smelt iron, but it must be carried to England to be +made into ploughshares. Finally, in order to protect British farmers and +their landlords, corn-laws were enacted, putting a prohibitory tariff on +all kinds of grain and other farm produce shipped from the colonies to +ports in Great Britain. + +Such absurd and tyrannical laws had begun to be made in the reign of +Charles II., and by 1750 not less than twenty-nine acts of parliament +had been passed in this spirit. If these laws had been strictly +enforced, the American Revolution would probably have come sooner than +it did. In point of fact they were seldom strictly enforced, because so +long as the French were a power in America the British government felt +that it could not afford to irritate the colonists. In spite of laws to +the contrary, the carrying-trade between the different colonies was +almost monopolized by vessels owned, built, and manned in New England; +and the smuggling of foreign goods into Boston and New York and other +seaport towns was winked at. + + [Sidenote: Writs of assistance.] + +It was in 1761, immediately after the overthrow of the French in Canada, +that attempts were made to enforce the revenue laws more strictly than +heretofore; and trouble was at once threatened. Charles Paxton, the +principal officer of the custom-house in Boston, applied to the Superior +Court to grant him the authority to use "writs of assistance" in +searching for smuggled goods. A writ of assistance was a general +search-warrant, empowering the officer armed with it to enter, by force +if necessary, any dwelling-house or warehouse where contraband goods +were supposed to be stored or hidden. A special search-warrant was one +in which the name of the suspected person, and the house which it was +proposed to search, were accurately specified, and the goods which it +was intended to seize were as far as possible described. In the use of +such special warrants there was not much danger of gross injustice or +oppression, because the court would not be likely to grant one unless +strong evidence could be brought against the person whom it named. But +the general search-warrant, or "writ of assistance," as it was called +because men try to cover up the ugliness of hateful things by giving +them innocent names, was quite a different affair. It was a blank form +upon which the custom-house officer might fill in the names of persons +and descriptions of houses and goods to suit himself. Then he could go +and break into the houses and seize the goods, and if need be summon the +sheriff and his _posse_ to help him in overcoming and browbeating the +owner. The writ of assistance was therefore an abominable instrument of +tyranny. Such writs had been allowed by a statute of the evil reign of +Charles II.; a statute of William III. had clothed custom-house officers +in the colonies with like powers to those which they possessed in +England; and neither of these statutes had been repealed. There can +therefore be little doubt that the issue of such search-warrants was +strictly legal, unless the authority of Parliament to make laws for the +colonies was to be denied. + + [Sidenote: James Otis.] + +James Otis then held the crown office of advocate-general, with an ample +salary and prospects of high favour from government. When the revenue +officers called upon him, in view of his position, to defend their +cause, he resigned his office and at once undertook to act as counsel +for the merchants of Boston in their protest against the issue of the +writs. A large fee was offered him, but he refused it. "In such a +cause," said he, "I despise all fees." The case was tried in the +council-chamber at the east end of the old town-hall, or what is now +known as the "Old State-House," in Boston. Chief-justice Hutchinson +presided, and Jeremiah Gridley, one of the greatest lawyers of that day, +argued the case for the writs in a very powerful speech. The reply of +Otis, which took five hours in the delivery, was one of the greatest +speeches of modern times. It went beyond the particular legal question +at issue, and took up the whole question of the constitutional relations +between the colonies and the mother-country. At the bottom of this, as +of all the disputes that led to the Revolution, lay the ultimate +question whether Americans were bound to yield obedience to laws which +they had no share in making. This question, and the spirit that answered +it flatly and doggedly in the negative, were heard like an undertone +pervading all the arguments in Otis's wonderful speech, and it was +because of this that the young lawyer John Adams, who was present, +afterward declared that on that day "the child Independence was born." +Chief-justice Hutchinson was a man of great ability and as sincere a +patriot as any American of his time. He could feel the force of Otis's +argument, but he believed that Parliament was the supreme legislative +body for the whole British empire, and furthermore that it was the duty +of a judge to follow the law as it existed. He reserved his decision +until advice could be had from the law-officers of the crown in London; +and when next term he was instructed by them to grant the writs, this +result added fresh impetus to the spirit that Otis's eloquence had +aroused. The custom-house officers, armed with their writs, began +breaking into warehouses and seizing goods which were said to have been +smuggled. In this rough way they confiscated private property to the +value of many thousands of pounds; but sometimes the owners of +warehouses armed themselves and barricaded their doors and windows, and +thus the officers were often successfully defied, for the sheriff was +far from prompt in coming to aid them. + + [Sidenote: Patrick Henry, and the Parsons' Cause.] + +While such things were going on in Boston, the people of Virginia were +wrought into fierce excitement by what was known as the "Parsons' +Cause." The Church of England was at that time established by law in +Virginia, and its clergymen, appointed by English bishops, were +unpopular. In 1758 the legislature, under the pressure of the French +war, had passed an act which affected all public dues and incidentally +diminished the salaries of the clergy. Complaints were made to the +Bishop of London, and the act of 1758 was vetoed by the king in +council. Several clergymen then brought suits to recover the unpaid +portions of their salaries. In the first test case there could be no +doubt that the royal veto was legal enough, and the court therefore +decided in favour of the plaintiff. But it now remained to settle before +a jury the amount of the damages. It was on this occasion, in December, +1763, that the great orator Patrick Henry made his first speech in the +court-room and at once became famous. He declared that no power on earth +could take away from Virginia the right to make laws for herself, and +that in annulling a wholesome law at the request of a favoured class in +the community "a king, from being the father of his people, degenerates +into a tyrant, and forfeits all right to obedience." This bold talk +aroused much excitement and some uproar, but the jury instantly +responded by assessing the parson's damages at one penny, and in 1765 +Henry was elected a member of the colonial assembly. + +Thus almost at the same time in Massachusetts and in Virginia the +preliminary scenes of the Revolution occurred in the court-room. In each +case the representatives of the crown had the letter of the law on their +side, but the principles of the only sound public policy, by which a +Revolution could be avoided, were those that were defended by the +advocates of the people. At each successive move on the part of the +British government which looked like an encroachment upon the rights of +Americans, the sympathy between these two leading colonies now grew +stronger and stronger. + +It was in 1763 that George Grenville became prime minister, a man of +whom Macaulay says that he knew of "no national interests except those +which are expressed by pounds, shillings, and pence." Grenville +proceeded to introduce into Parliament two measures which had +consequences of which, he little dreamed. The first of these measures +was the Molasses Act, the second was the Stamp Act. + + [Sidenote: The Molasses Act.] + +Properly speaking, the Molasses Act was an old law which Grenville now +made up his mind to revive and enforce. The commercial wealth of the New +England colonies depended largely upon their trade with the fish which +their fishermen caught along the coast and as far out as the banks of +Newfoundland. The finest fish could be sold in Europe, but the poorer +sort found their chief market in the French West Indies. The French +government, in order to ensure a market for the molasses raised in these +islands, would not allow the planters to give anything else in exchange +for fish. Great quantities of molasses were therefore carried to New +England, and what was not needed there for domestic use was distilled +into rum, part of which was consumed at home, and the rest carried +chiefly to Africa wherewith to buy slaves to be sold to the southern +colonies. All this trade required many ships, and thus kept up a lively +demand for New England lumber, besides finding employment for thousands +of sailors and shipwrights. Now in 1733 the British government took it +into its head to "protect" its sugar planters in the English West Indies +by compelling the New England merchants to buy all their molasses from +them; and with this end in view it forthwith laid upon all sugar and +molasses imported into North America from the French islands a duty so +heavy that, if it had been enforced, it would have stopped all such +importation. It is very doubtful if this measure would have attained the +end which the British government had in view. Probably it would not have +made much difference in the export of molasses from the English West +Indies to New England, because the islanders happened not to want the +fish which their French neighbours coveted. But the New Englanders could +see that the immediate result would be to close the market for their +cheaper kinds of fish, and thus ruin their trade in lumber and rum, +besides shutting up many a busy shipyard and turning more than 5000 +sailors out of employment. It was estimated that the yearly loss to New +England would exceed £300,000. It was hardly wise in Great Britain to +entail such a loss upon some of her best customers; for with their +incomes thus cut down, it was not to be expected that the people of New +England would be able to buy as many farming tools, dishes, and pieces +of furniture, garments of silk or wool, and wines or other luxuries, +from British merchants as before. The government in passing its act of +1733 did not think of these consequences; but it proved to be impossible +to enforce the act without causing more disturbance than the government +felt prepared to encounter. Now in 1764 Grenville announced that the act +was to be enforced, and of course the machinery of writs of assistance +was to be employed for that purpose. Henceforth all molasses from the +French islands must either pay the prohibitory duty or be seized without +ceremony. + +Loud and fierce was the indignation of New England over this revival of +the Molasses Act. Even without the Stamp Act, it might very likely have +led that part of the country to make armed resistance, but in such case +it is not so sure that the southern and middle colonies would have come +to the aid of New England. But in the Stamp Act Grenville provided the +colonies with an issue which concerned one as much as another, and upon +which they were accordingly sure to unite in resistance. It was also a +much better issue for the Americans to take up, for it was not a mere +revival of an old act; it was a new departure; it was an imposition of a +kind to which the Americans had never before been called upon to +submit, and in resisting it they were sure to enlist the sympathies of a +good many powerful people in England. + + [Sidenote: The Stamp Act.] + +The Stamp Act was a direct tax laid upon the whole American people by +Parliament, a legislative body in which they were not represented. The +British government had no tyrannical purpose in devising this tax. A +stamp duty had already been suggested in 1755 by William Shirley, royal +governor of Massachusetts, a worthy man and much more of a favourite +with the people than most of his class. Shirley recommended it as the +least disagreeable kind of tax, and the easiest to collect. It did not +call for any hateful searching of people's houses and shops, or any +unpleasant questions about their incomes, or about their invested or +hoarded wealth. It only required that legal documents and commercial +instruments should be written, and newspapers printed, on stamped paper. +Of all kinds of direct tax none can be less annoying, except for one +reason; it is exceedingly difficult to evade such a tax; it enforces +itself. For these reasons Grenville decided to adopt it. He arranged it +so that all the officers charged with the business of selling the +stamped paper should be Americans; and he gave formal notice of the +measure in March, 1764, a year beforehand, in order to give the colonies +time to express their opinions about it. + + [Sidenote: Samuel Adams.] + +In the Boston town-meeting in May, almost as soon as the news had +arrived, the American view of the case was very clearly set forth in a +series of resolutions drawn up by Samuel Adams. This was the first of +the remarkable state papers from the pen of that great man, who now, at +the age of forty-two, was just entering upon a glorious career. Samuel +Adams was a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1740. He had +been reared in politics from boyhood, for his father, a deacon of the +Old South Church, had been chief spokesman of the popular party in its +disputes with the royal governors. Of all the agencies in organizing +resistance to Great Britain none were more powerful than the New England +town-meetings, among which that of the people of Boston stood +preëminent, and in the Boston town-meeting for more than thirty years no +other man exerted so much influence as Samuel Adams. This was because of +his keen intelligence and persuasive talk, his spotless integrity, +indomitable courage, unselfish and unwearying devotion to the public +good, and broad sympathy with all classes of people. He was a thorough +democrat. He respected the dignity of true manhood wherever he found it, +and could talk with sailors and shipwrights like one of themselves, +while at the same time in learned argument he had few superiors. He has +been called the "Father of the Revolution," and was no doubt its most +conspicuous figure before 1775, as Washington certainly was after that +date. + +This earliest state paper of Samuel Adams contained the first formal and +public denial of the right of Parliament to tax the colonies, because it +was not a body in which their people were represented. The resolutions +were adopted by the Massachusetts assembly, and a similar action was +taken by Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South +Carolina. The colonies professed their willingness to raise money in +answer to requisitions upon their assemblies, which were the only bodies +competent to lay taxes in America. Memorials stating these views were +sent to England, and the colony of Pennsylvania sent Dr. Franklin to +represent its case at the British court. Franklin remained in London +until the spring of 1775 as agent first for Pennsylvania, afterward for +Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Georgia,--a kind of diplomatic +representative of the views and claims of the Americans. + + [Sidenote: The Virginia Resolutions, 1765.] + +Grenville told Franklin that he wished to do things as pleasantly as +possible, and was not disposed to insist upon the Stamp Act, if the +Americans could suggest anything better. But when it appeared that no +alternative was offered except to fall back upon the old clumsy system +of requisitions, Grenville naturally replied that there ought to be some +more efficient method of raising money for the defence of the frontier. +Accordingly in March, 1765, the Stamp Act was passed, with so little +debate that people hardly noticed what was going on. But when the news +reached America there was an outburst of wrath that was soon heard and +felt in London. In May the Virginia legislature was assembled. George +Washington was sitting there in his seat, and Thomas Jefferson, then a +law-student, was listening eagerly from outside the door, when Patrick +Henry introduced the famous resolutions in which he declared, among +other things, that an attempt to vest the power of taxation in any other +body than the colonial assembly was a menace to the common freedom of +Englishmen, whether in Britain or in America, and that the people of +Virginia were not bound to obey any law enacted in disregard of this +principle. The language of the resolutions was bold enough, but a keener +edge was put upon it by the defiant note which rang out from Henry in +the course of the debate, when he commended the example of Tarquin and +Cæsar and Charles I. to the attention of George III. "If this be +treason," he exclaimed, as the speaker tried to call him to order, "if +this be treason, make the most of it!" + +The other colonies were not slow in acting. Massachusetts called for a +general congress, in order that all might discuss the situation and +agree upon some course to be pursued in common. South Carolina responded +most cordially, at the instance of her noble, learned, and far-sighted +patriot, Christopher Gadsden. On the 7th of October, delegates from nine +colonies met in a congress at New York, adopted resolutions like those +of Virginia, and sent a memorial to the king, whose sovereignty over +them they admitted, and a remonstrance to Parliament, whose authority to +tax them they denied. The meeting of this congress was in itself a +prophecy of what was to happen if the British government should persist +in the course upon which it had now entered. + + [Sidenote: Stamp Act riots.] + +Meanwhile the summer had witnessed riots in many places, and one of +these was extremely disgraceful. Chief-justice Hutchinson had tried to +dissuade the ministry from passing the Stamp Act, but an impression had +got abroad among the wharves and waterside taverns of Boston that he had +not only favoured it but had gone out of his way to send information to +London, naming certain merchants as smugglers. Under the influence of +this mistaken notion, on the night of the 26th of August a drunken mob +plundered Hutchinson's house in Boston and destroyed his library, which +was probably the finest in America at that time. Here, as is apt to be +the case, the mob selected the wrong victim. Its shameful act was +denounced by the people of Massachusetts, and the chief-justice was +indemnified by the legislature. In the other instances the riots were of +an innocent sort. Stamp officers were forced to resign. Boxes of +stamped paper arriving by ship were burned or thrown into the sea, and +at length the governor of New York was compelled by a mob to surrender +all the stamps entrusted to his care. These things were done for the +most part under the direction of societies of workingmen known as "Sons +of Liberty," who were pledged to resist the execution of the Stamp Act. +At the same time associations of merchants declared that they would buy +no more goods from England until the act should be repealed, and lawyers +entered into agreements not to treat any document as invalidated by the +absence of the required stamp. As for the editors, they published their +newspapers decorated with a grinning skull and cross-bones instead of +the stamp. + + [Sidenote: Repeal of the Stamp Act.] + +These demonstrations produced their effect in England. In July, 1765, +the Grenville ministry fell, and the new government, with Lord +Rockingham at its head, was more inclined to pay heed to the wishes and +views of the Americans. The debate over the repeal of the Stamp Act +lasted nearly three months and was one of the fiercest that had been +heard in Parliament for many a day. William Pitt declared that he +rejoiced in the resistance of the Americans, and urged that the act +should be repealed because Parliament ought never to have passed it; but +there were very few who took this view. As the result of the long +debate, at the end of March, 1766, the Stamp Act was repealed, and a +Declaratory Act was passed in which Parliament said in effect that it +had a right to make such laws for the Americans if it chose to do so. + +The people of London, as well as the Americans, hailed with delight the +repeal of the Stamp Act; but the real trouble had now only begun. The +resolutions of Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry and their approval by the +Congress at New York had thrown the question of American taxation into +the whirlpool of British politics, and there it was to stay until it +worked a change for the better in England as well as in America. + + [Sidenote: How the question was affected by British politics.] + +The principle that people must not be taxed except by their +representatives had been to some extent recognized in England for five +hundred years, and it was really the fundamental principle of English +liberty, but it was only very imperfectly that it had been put into +practice. In the eighteenth century the House of Commons was very far +from being a body that fairly represented the people of Great Britain. +For a long time there had been no change in the distribution of seats, +and meanwhile the population had been increasing very differently in +different parts of the kingdom. Thus great cities which had grown up in +recent times, such as Sheffield and Manchester, had no representatives +in Parliament, while many little boroughs with a handful of inhabitants +had their representatives. Some such boroughs had been granted +representation by Henry VIII. in order to create a majority for his +measures in the House of Commons. Others were simply petty towns that +had dwindled away, somewhat as the mountain villages of New England have +dwindled since the introduction of railroads. The famous Old Sarum had +members in Parliament long after it had ceased to have any inhabitants. +Seats for these rotten boroughs, as they were called, were simply bought +and sold. Political life in England was exceedingly corrupt; some of the +best statesmen indulged in wholesale bribery as if it were the most +innocent thing in the world. The country was really governed by a few +great families, some of whose members sat in the House of Lords and +others in the House of Commons. Their measures were often noble and +patriotic in the highest degree, but when bribery and corruption seemed +necessary for carrying them, such means were employed without scruple. + + [Sidenote: George III. and his political schemes.] + +When George III. came to the throne in 1760, the great families which +had thus governed England for half a century belonged to the party known +as Old Whigs. Under their rule the power of the crown had been reduced +to insignificance, and the modern system of cabinet government by a +responsible ministry had begun to grow up. The Tory families during this +period had been very unpopular, because of their sympathy with the +Stuart pretenders who had twice attempted to seize the crown and given +the country a brief taste of civil war. By 1760 the Tories saw that the +cause of the Stuarts was hopeless, and so they were inclined to transfer +their affections to the new king. George III. was a young man of narrow +intelligence and poor education, but he entertained very strong opinions +as to the importance of his kingly office. He meant to make himself a +real king, like the king of France or the king of Spain. He was +determined to break down the power of the Old Whigs and the system of +cabinet government, and as the Old Whigs had been growing unpopular, it +seemed quite possible, with the aid of the Tories, to accomplish this. +George was quite decorous in behaviour, and, although subject to fits of +insanity which became more troublesome in his later years, he had a +fairly good head for business. Industrious as a beaver and obstinate as +a mule, he was an adept in political trickery. In the corrupt use of +patronage he showed himself able to beat the Old Whigs at their own +game, and with the aid of the Tories he might well believe himself +capable of reviving for his own benefit the lost power of the crown. + + [Sidenote: The "New Whigs" and parliamentary reform.] + +Beside these two parties a third had been for some time growing up which +was in some essential points opposed to both of them. This third party +was that of the New Whigs. They wished to reform the representation in +Parliament in such wise as to disfranchise the rotten boroughs and give +representatives to great towns like Leeds and Manchester. They held that +it was contrary to the principles of English liberty that the +inhabitants of such great towns should be obliged to pay taxes in +pursuance of laws which they had no share in making. The leader of the +New Whigs was the greatest Englishman of the eighteenth century, the +elder William Pitt, now about to pass into the House of Lords as Earl of +Chatham. Their leader next in importance, William Petty, Earl of +Shelburne, was in 1765 a young man of eight-and-twenty, and afterward +came to be known as one of the most learned and sagacious statesmen of +his time. These men were the forerunners of the great liberal leaders of +the nineteenth century, such men as Russell and Cobden and Gladstone. +Their first decisive and overwhelming victory was the passage of Lord +John Russell's Reform Bill in 1832, but the agitation for reform was +begun by William Pitt in 1745, and his famous son came very near winning +the victory on that question in 1782. + +Now this question of parliamentary reform was intimately related to the +question of taxing the American colonies. From some points of view they +might be considered one and the same question. At a meeting of +Presbyterian ministers in Philadelphia, it was pertinently asked, "Have +two men chosen to represent a poor English borough that has sold its +votes to the highest bidder any pretence to say that they represent +Virginia or Pennsylvania? And have four hundred such fellows a right to +take our liberties?" In Parliament, on the other hand, as well as at +London dinner tables, and in newspapers and pamphlets, it was repeatedly +urged that the Americans need not make so much fuss about being taxed +without being represented, for in that respect they were no worse off +than the people of Sheffield or Birmingham. To this James Otis replied, +"Don't talk to us any more about those towns, for we are tired of such a +flimsy argument. If they are not represented, they ought to be;" and by +the New Whigs this retort was greeted with applause. + +The opinions and aims of the three different parties were reflected in +the long debate over the repeal of the Stamp Act. The Tories wanted to +have the act continued and enforced, and such was the wish of the king. +Both sections of Whigs were in favour of repeal, but for very different +reasons. Pitt and the New Whigs, being advocates of parliamentary +reform, came out flatly in support of the principle that there should be +no taxation without representation. Edmund Burke and the Old Whigs, +being opposed to parliamentary reform and in favour of keeping things +just as they were, could not adopt such an argument; and accordingly +they based their condemnation of the Stamp Act upon grounds of pure +expediency. They argued that it was not worth while, for the sake of a +little increase of revenue, to irritate three million people and run the +risk of getting drawn into a situation from which there would be no +escape except in either retreating or fighting. There was much practical +wisdom in this Old Whig argument, and it was the one which prevailed +when Parliament repealed the Stamp Act and expressly stated that it did +so only on grounds of expediency. + + [Sidenote: Why George III. was ready to pick a quarrel with the + Americans.] + +There was one person, however, who was far from satisfied with this +result, and that was George III. He was opposed to parliamentary reform +for much the same reason that the Old Whigs were opposed to it, because +he felt that it threatened him with political ruin. The Old Whigs needed +the rotten boroughs in order to maintain their own control over +Parliament and the country. The king needed them because he felt himself +able to wrest them from the Old Whigs by intrigue and corruption, and +thus hoped to build up his own power. He believed, with good reason, +that the suppression of the rotten boroughs and the granting of fair and +equal representation would soon put a stronger curb upon the crown than +ever. Accordingly there were no men whom he dreaded and wished to put +down so much as the New Whigs; and he felt that in the repeal of the +Stamp Act, no matter on what ground, they had come altogether too near +winning a victory. He felt that this outrageous doctrine that people +must not be taxed except by their representatives needed to be sternly +rebuked, and thus he found himself in the right sort of temper for +picking a fresh quarrel with the Americans. + + [Sidenote: Charles Townshend and his revenue acts, 1767.] + + [Sidenote: Lord North.] + +An occasion soon presented itself. One of the king's devices for +breaking down the system of cabinet government was to select his +ministers from different parties, so that they might be unable to work +harmoniously together. Owing to the peculiar divisions of parties in +Parliament he was for some years able to carry out this policy, and +while his cabinets were thus weak and divided, he was able to use his +control of patronage with telling effect. In July, 1766, he got rid of +Lord Rockingham and his Old Whigs, and formed a new ministry made up +from all parties. It contained Pitt, who had now, as Earl of Chatham, +gone into the House of Lords, and at the same time Charles Townshend, as +Chancellor of the Exchequer. Townshend, a brilliant young man, without +any political principles worth mentioning, was the most conspicuous +among a group of wire-pullers who were coming to be known as "the king's +friends." Serious illness soon kept Chatham at home, and left Townshend +all-powerful in the cabinet, because he was bold and utterly +unscrupulous and had the king to back him. His audacity knew no limits, +and he made up his mind that the time had come for gathering all the +disputed American questions, as far as possible, into one bundle, and +disposing of them once for all. So in May, 1767, he brought forward in +Parliament a series of acts for raising and applying a revenue in +America. The colonists, he said, had objected to a direct tax, but they +had often submitted to port duties, and could not reasonably refuse to +do so again. Duties were accordingly to be laid on glass, paper, lead, +and painter's colours; on wine, oil, and fruits, if carried directly to +America from Spain and Portugal; and especially on tea. A board of +commissioners was to be established at Boston, to superintend the +collection of revenue throughout the colonies, and writs of assistance +were to be expressly legalized. The salaries of these commissioners were +to be paid out of the revenue thus collected. Governors, judges, and +crown-attorneys were to be made independent of the colonial legislatures +by having their salaries paid by the crown out of this same fund. A +small army was also to be kept up; and if after providing for these +various expenses, any surplus remained, it could be used by the crown in +giving pensions to Americans and thus be made to serve as a +corruption-fund. These measures were adopted on the 29th of June, and as +if to refute anybody who might be inclined to think that rashness could +no further go, Townshend accompanied them with a special act directed +against the New York legislature, which had refused to obey an order +concerning the quartering of troops. By way of punishment, Townshend now +suspended the legislature. A few weeks after carrying these measures +Townshend died of a fever, and his place was taken by Lord North, eldest +son of the Earl of Guilford. North was thirty-five years of age. He was +amiable and witty, and an excellent debater, but without force of will. +He let the king rule him, and was at the same time able to show a strong +hand in the House of Commons, so that the king soon came to regard him +as a real treasure. Soon after North's appointment, Lord Chatham and +other friends of America in the cabinet resigned their places and were +succeeded by friends of the king. From 1768 to 1782 George III. was to +all intents and purposes his own prime minister, and contrived to keep a +majority in Parliament. During those fourteen years the American +question was uppermost, and his policy was at all hazards to force the +colonists to abandon their position that taxation must go hand in hand +with representation. + + [Sidenote: What the Townshend acts really meant.] + +This purpose was already apparent in Charles Townshend's acts. They were +not at all like previous acts imposing port duties to which the +Americans had submitted. British historians sometimes speak of the +American Revolution as an affair which grew out of a mere dispute about +money; and even among Americans, in ordinary conversation and sometimes +in current literature, the unwillingness of our forefathers to pay a tax +of threepence a pound on tea is mentioned without due reference to the +attendant circumstances which made them refuse to pay such a tax. We +cannot hope to understand the fierce wrath by which they were animated +unless we bear in mind not only the simple fact of the tax, but also the +spirit in which it was levied and the purpose for which the revenue was +to be used. The Molasses Act threatening the ruin of New England +commerce was still on the statute-book, and commissioners, armed with +odious search-warrants for enforcing this and other tyrannical laws, +were on their way to America. For more than half a century the people +had jealously guarded against the abuse of power by the royal governors +by making them dependent upon the legislatures for their salaries. Now +they were all at once to be made independent, so that they might even +dismiss the legislatures, and if need be call for troops to help them. +The judges, moreover, with their power over men's lives and property, +were no longer to be responsible to the people. If these changes were to +be effected, it would be nothing less than a revolution by which the +Americans would be deprived of their liberty. And, to crown all, the +money by which this revolution was to be brought about was to be +contributed in the shape of port duties by the Americans themselves! To +expect our forefathers to submit to such legislation as this was about +as sensible as it would have been to expect them to obey an order to buy +halters and hang themselves. + +When the news of the Townshend acts reached Massachusetts, the assembly +at its next session took a decided stand. Besides a petition to the king +and letters to several leading British statesmen, it issued a circular +letter addressed to the other twelve colonies, asking for their friendly +advice and coöperation with reference to the Townshend measures. These +papers were written by Samuel Adams. The circular letter was really an +invitation to the other colonies to concert measures of resistance if it +should be found necessary. It enraged the king, and presently an order +came across the ocean to Francis Bernard, royal governor of +Massachusetts, to demand of the assembly that it rescind its circular +letter, under penalty of instant dissolution. Otis exclaimed that Great +Britain had better rescind the Townshend acts if she did not wish to +lose her colonies. The assembly decided, by a vote of 92 to 17, that it +would not rescind. This flat defiance was everywhere applauded. The +assemblies of the other colonies were ordered to take no notice of the +Massachusetts circular, but the order was generally disobeyed, and in +several cases the governors turned the assemblies out of doors. The +atmosphere of America now became alive with politics; more meetings were +held, more speeches made, and more pamphlets printed, than ever before. + + [Sidenote: The quarrel was not between England and America, but + between George III. and the principles which the Americans + maintained.] + +In England the dignified and manly course of the Americans was generally +greeted with applause by Whigs of whatever sort, except those who had +come into the somewhat widening circle of "the king's friends." The Old +Whigs,--Burke, Fox, Conway, Savile, Lord John Cavendish, and the Duke of +Richmond; and the New Whigs,--Chatham, Shelburne, Camden, Dunning, +Barré, and Beckford; steadily defended the Americans throughout the +whole of the Revolutionary crisis, and the weight of the best +intelligence in the country was certainly on their side. Could they have +acted as a united body, could Burke and Fox have joined forces in +harmony with Chatham and Shelburne, they might have thwarted the king +and prevented the rupture with America. But George III. profited by the +hopeless division between these two Whig parties; and as the quarrel +with America grew fiercer, he succeeded in arraying the national pride +to some extent upon his side and against the Whigs. This made him feel +stronger and stimulated his zeal against the Americans. He felt that if +he could first crush Whig principles in America, he could then turn and +crush them in England. In this he was correct, except that he +miscalculated the strength of the Americans. It was the defeat of his +schemes in America that ensured their defeat in England. It is quite +wrong and misleading, therefore, to remember the Revolutionary War as a +struggle between the British people and the American people. It was a +struggle between two hostile principles, each of which was represented +in both countries. In winning the good fight, our forefathers won a +victory for England as well as for America. What was crushed was George +III. and the kind of despotism which he wished to fasten upon America in +order that he might fasten it upon England. If the memory of George III. +deserves to be execrated, it is especially because he succeeded in +giving to his own selfish struggle for power the appearance of a +struggle between the people of England and the people of America; and in +so doing, he sowed seeds of enmity and distrust between two glorious +nations that, for their own sakes and for the welfare of mankind, ought +never for one moment to be allowed to forget their brotherhood. Time, +however, is rapidly repairing the damage which George III.'s policy +wrought, and it need in nowise disturb our narrative. In this brief +sketch we must omit hundreds of interesting details; but, if we would +look at things from the right point of view, we must bear in mind that +every act of George III., from 1768 onward, which brought on and carried +on the Revolutionary War, was done in spite of the earnest protest of +many of the best people in England; and that the king's wrong-headed +policy prevailed only because he was able, through corrupt methods, to +command a parliament which did not really represent the people. Had the +principles in support of which Lord Chatham joined hands with Samuel +Adams for one moment prevailed, the king's schemes would have collapsed +like a soap-bubble. + +As it was, in 1768 the king succeeded, in spite of strong opposition, in +carrying his point. He saw that the American colonies were disposed to +resist the Townshend acts, and that in this defiant attitude +Massachusetts was the ringleader. The Massachusetts circular pointed +toward united action on the part of the colonies. Above all things it +was desirable to prevent any such union, and accordingly the king +decided to make his principal attack upon Massachusetts, while dealing +more kindly with the other colonies. Thus he hoped Massachusetts might +be isolated and humbled, and in this belief he proceeded faster and more +rashly than if he had supposed himself to be dealing with a united +America. In order to catch Samuel Adams and James Otis, and get them +sent over to England for trial, he attempted to revive an old statute of +Henry VIII. about treason committed abroad; and in order to enforce the +revenue laws in spite of all opposition, he ordered troops to be sent to +Boston. + + [Sidenote: Troops sent to Boston.] + +This was a very harsh measure, and some excuse was needed to justify it +before Parliament. It was urged that Boston was a disorderly town, and +the sacking of Hutchinson's house could be cited in support of this +view. Then in June, 1768, there was a slight conflict between +townspeople and revenue officers, in which no one was hurt, but which +led to a great town-meeting in the Old South Meeting-House, and gave +Governor Bernard an opportunity for saying that he was intimidated and +hindered in the execution of the laws. The king's real purpose, however, +in sending troops was not so much to keep the peace as to enforce the +Townshend acts, and so the people of Boston understood it. Except for +these odious and tyrannical laws, there was nothing that threatened +disturbance in Boston. The arrival of British troops at Long Wharf, in +the autumn of 1768, simply increased the danger of disturbance, and in a +certain sense it may be said to have been the beginning of the +Revolutionary War. Very few people realized this at the time, but Samuel +Adams now made up his mind that the only way in which the American +colonies could preserve their liberties was to unite in some sort of +federation and declare themselves independent of Great Britain. It was +with regret that he had come to this conclusion, and he was very slow in +proclaiming it, but after 1768 he kept it distinctly before his mind. He +saw clearly the end toward which public opinion was gradually drifting, +and because of his great influence over the Boston town-meeting and the +Massachusetts assembly, this clearness of purpose made him for the next +seven years the most formidable of the king's antagonists in America. + +The people of Boston were all the more indignant at the arrival of +troops in their town because the king in his hurry to send them had even +disregarded the act of Parliament which provided for such cases. +According to that act the soldiers ought to have been lodged in Castle +William on one of the little islands in the harbour. Even according to +British-made law they had no business to be quartered in Boston so long +as there was room for them, in the Castle. During the next seventeen +months the people made several formal protests against their presence in +town, and asked for their removal. But these protests were all fruitless +until innocent blood had been shed. The soldiers generally behaved no +worse than rough troopers on such occasions are apt to do, and the +townspeople for the most part preserved decorum, but quarrels now and +then occurred, and after a while became frequent. In September, 1769, +James Otis was brutally assaulted at the British Coffee House by one of +the commissioners of customs aided and abetted by two or three army +officers. His health was already feeble and in this affray he was struck +on the head with a sword and so badly injured that he afterward became +insane. After this the feeling of the people toward the soldiers was +more bitter than ever. In February, 1770, there was much disturbance. +Toward the end of the month an informer named Richardson fired from his +window into a crowd and killed a little boy about eleven years of age, +named Christopher Snyder. The funeral of this poor boy, the first victim +of the Revolution, was attended on Monday, the 26th, by a great +procession of citizens, including those foremost in wealth and +influence. + + [Sidenote: The "Boston Massacre."] + +The rest of that week was full of collisions which on Friday almost +amounted to a riot and led the governor's council to consider seriously +whether the troops ought not to be removed. But before they had settled +the question the crisis came on Monday evening, March 5, in an affray +before the Custom House on King street, when seven of Captain Preston's +company fired into the crowd, killing five men and wounding several +others. Two of the victims were innocent bystanders. Two were sailors +from ships lying in the harbour, and they, together with the remaining +victim, a ropemaker, had been actively engaged in the affray. One of the +sailors, a mulatto or half-breed Indian of gigantic stature, named +Crispus Attucks, had been especially conspicuous. The slaughter of these +five men secured in a moment what so many months of decorous protest had +failed to accomplish. Much more serious bloodshed was imminent when +Lieutenant-governor Hutchinson arrived upon the scene and promptly +arrested the offending soldiers. The next day there was an immense +meeting at the Old South, and Samuel Adams, at the head of a committee, +came into the council chamber at the Town House, and in the name of +three thousand freemen sternly commanded Hutchinson to remove the +soldiers from the town. Before sunset they had all been withdrawn to the +Castle. When the news reached the ears of Parliament there was some talk +of reinstating them in the town, but Colonel Barré cut short the +discussion with the pithy question, "if the officers agreed in removing +the soldiers to Castle William, what minister will dare to send them +back to Boston?" + + [Sidenote: Lord North, as prime minister removes all duties except + on tea, 1770.] + +Thus the so-called "Boston Massacre" wrought for the king a rebuff which +he felt perhaps even more keenly than the repeal of the Stamp Act. Not +only had his troops been peremptorily turned out of Boston, but his +policy had for the moment weakened in its hold upon Parliament. In the +summer of 1769 the assembly of Virginia adopted a very important series +of resolutions condemning the policy of Great Britain and recommending +united action on the part of the colonies in defence of their liberties. +The governor then dissolved the assembly, whereupon its members met in +convention at the Raleigh tavern and adopted a set of resolves prepared +by Washington, strictly forbidding importations from England until the +Townshend acts should be repealed. These resolves were generally adopted +by the colonies, and presently the merchants of London, finding their +trade falling off, petitioned Parliament to reconsider its policy. In +January, 1770, Lord North became prime minister. In April all the duties +were taken off, except the duty on tea, which the king insisted upon +retaining, in order to avoid surrendering the principle at issue. The +effect of even this partial concession was to weaken the spirit of +opposition in America, and to create a division among the colonies. In +July the merchants of New York refused to adhere any longer to the +non-importation agreement except with regard to tea, and they began +sending orders to England for various sorts of merchandise. Rhode Island +and New Hampshire also broke the agreement. This aroused general +indignation, and ships from the three delinquent colonies were driven +from such ports as Boston and Charleston. + + [Sidenote: Want of union.] + +Union among the colonies was indeed only skin deep. The only thing +which kept it alive was British aggression. Almost every colony had some +bone of contention with its neighbours. At this moment New York and New +Hampshire were wrangling over the possession of the Green Mountains, and +guerrilla warfare was going on between Connecticut and Pennsylvania in +the valley of Wyoming. It was hard to secure concerted action about +anything. For two years after the withdrawal of troops from Boston there +was a good deal of disturbance in different parts of the country; +quarrels between governors and their assemblies were kept up with +increasing bitterness; in North Carolina there was an insurrection +against the governor which was suppressed only after a bloody battle +near the Cape Fear river; in Rhode Island the revenue schooner Gaspee +was seized and burned, and when an order came from the ministry +requiring the offenders to be sent to England for trial, the +chief-justice of Rhode Island, Stephen Hopkins, refused to obey the +order. But amid all these disturbances there appeared nothing like +concerted action on the part of the colonies. In June, 1772, Hutchinson +said that the union of the colonies seemed to be broken, and he hoped it +would not be renewed, for he believed it meant separation from the +mother-country, and that he regarded as the worst of calamities. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE CRISIS. + + + [Sidenote: Salaries of the judges.] + +The surest way to renew and cement the union was to show that the +ministry had not relaxed in its determination to enforce the principle +of the Townshend acts. This was made clear in August, 1772, when it was +ordered that in Massachusetts the judges should henceforth be paid by +the crown. Popular excitement rose to fever heat, and the judges were +threatened with impeachment should they dare accept a penny from the +royal treasury. The turmoil was increased next year by the discovery in +London of the package of letters which were made to support the unjust +charge against Hutchinson and some of his friends that they had +instigated and aided the most extreme measures of the ministry. + + [Sidenote: Committees of Correspondence.] + +In the autumn of 1772 Hutchinson refused to call an extra session of the +assembly to consider what should be done about the judges. Samuel Adams +then devised a scheme by which the towns of Massachusetts could consult +with each other and agree upon some common course of action in case of +emergencies. For this purpose each town was to appoint a standing +committee, and as a great part of their work was necessarily done by +letter they were called "committees of correspondence." This was the +step that fairly organized the Revolution. It was by far the most +important of all the steps that preceded the Declaration of +Independence. The committees did their work with great efficiency and +the governor had no means of stopping it. They were like an invisible +legislature that was always in session and could never be dissolved; and +when the old government fell they were able to administer affairs until +a new government could be set up. In the spring of 1773 Virginia carried +this work of organization a long step further, when Dabney Carr +suggested and carried a motion calling for committees of correspondence +between the several colonies. From this point it was a comparatively +short step to a permanent Continental Congress. + +It happened that these preparations were made just in time to meet the +final act of aggression which brought on the Revolutionary War. The +Americans had thus far successfully resisted the Townshend acts and +secured the repeal of all the duties except on tea. As for tea they had +plenty, but not from England; they smuggled it from Holland in spite of +custom-houses and search-warrants. Clearly unless the Americans could be +made to buy tea from England and pay the duty on it, the king must own +himself defeated. + + [Sidenote: Tea ships sent by the king, as a challenge.] + +Since it appeared that they could not be forced into doing this, it +remained to be seen if they could be tricked into doing it. A truly +ingenious scheme was devised. Tea sent by the East India Company to +America had formerly paid a duty in some British port on the way. This +duty was now taken off, so that the price of the tea for America might +be lowered. The company's tea thus became so cheap that the American +merchant could buy a pound of it and pay the threepence duty beside for +less than it cost him to smuggle a pound of tea from Holland. It was +supposed that the Americans would of course buy the tea which they could +get most cheaply, and would thus be beguiled into submission to that +principle of taxation which they had hitherto resisted. Ships laden with +tea were accordingly sent in the autumn of 1773 to Boston, New York, +Philadelphia, and Charleston; and consignees were appointed to receive +the tea in each of these towns. + +Under the guise of a commercial operation, this was purely a political +trick. It was an insulting challenge to the American people, and merited +the reception which they gave it. They would have shown themselves +unworthy of their rich political heritage had they given it any other. +In New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston mass-meetings of the people +voted that the consignees should be ordered to resign their offices, and +they did so. At Philadelphia the tea-ship was met and sent back to +England before it had come within the jurisdiction of the custom-house. +At Charleston the tea was landed, and as there was no one to receive it +or pay the duty, it was thrown into a damp cellar and left there to +spoil. + + [Sidenote: How the challenge was received; the "Boston Tea Party," + Dec. 16, 1773.] + +In Boston things took a different turn. The stubborn courage of Governor +Hutchinson prevented the consignees, two of whom were his own sons, from +resigning; the ships arrived and were anchored under guard of a +committee of citizens; if they were not unloaded within twenty days, the +custom-house officers were empowered by law to seize them and unload +them by force; and having once come within the jurisdiction of the +custom-house, they could not go out to sea without a clearance from the +collector or a pass from the governor. The situation was a difficult +one, but it was most nobly met by the men of Massachusetts. The +excitement was intense, but the proceedings were characterized from +first to last by perfect quiet and decorum. In an earnest and solemn, +almost prayerful spirit, the advice of all the towns in the commonwealth +was sought, and the response was unanimous that the tea must on no +account whatever be landed. Similar expressions of opinion came from +other colonies, and the action of Massachusetts was awaited with +breathless interest. Many town-meetings were held in Boston, and the +owner of the ships was ordered to take them away without unloading; but +the collector contrived to fritter away the time until the nineteenth +day, and then refused a clearance. On the next day, the 16th of +December, 1773, seven thousand people were assembled in town-meeting in +and around the Old South Meeting-House, while the owner of the ships was +sent out to the governor's house at Milton to ask for a pass. It was +nightfall when he returned without it, and there was then but one thing +to be done. By sunrise next morning the revenue officers would board the +ships and unload their cargoes, the consignees would go to the +custom-house and pay the duty, and the king's scheme would have been +crowned with success. The only way to prevent this was to rip open the +tea-chests and spill their contents into the sea, and this was done, +according to a preconcerted plan and without the slightest uproar or +disorder, by a small party of men disguised as Indians. Among them were +some of the best of the townsfolk, and the chief manager of the +proceedings was Samuel Adams. The destruction of the tea has often been +spoken of, especially by British historians, as a "riot," but nothing +could have been less like a riot. It was really the deliberate action of +the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the only fitting reply to the +king's insulting trick. It was hailed with delight throughout the +thirteen colonies, and there is nothing in our whole history of which +an educated American should feel more proud. + + [Sidenote: The Retaliatory Acts, April, 1774.] + +The effect upon the king and his friends was maddening, and events were +quickly brought to a crisis. In spite of earnest opposition retaliatory +acts were passed through Parliament in April, 1774. One of these was the +Port Bill, for shutting up the port of Boston and stopping its trade +until the people should be starved and frightened into paying for the +tea that had been thrown overboard. Another was the Regulating Act, by +which the charter of Massachusetts was annulled, its free government +swept away, and a military governor appointed with despotic power like +Andros. These acts were to go into operation on the 1st of June, and on +that day Governor Hutchinson sailed for England, in the vain hope of +persuading the king to adopt a milder policy. It was not long before his +property was confiscated, like that of other Tories, and after six years +of exile he died in London. The new governor, Thomas Gage, who had long +been commander of the military forces in America, was a mild and +pleasant man without much strength of character. His presence was +endured but his authority was not recognized in Massachusetts. Troops +were now quartered again in Boston, but they could not prevent the +people from treating the Regulating Act with open contempt. Courts +organized under that act were prevented from sitting, and councillors +were compelled to resign their places. The king's authority was +everywhere quietly but doggedly defied. At the same time the stoppage of +business in Boston was the cause of much distress which all the colonies +sought to relieve by voluntary contributions of food and other needed +articles. + + [Sidenote: Continental Congress meets, Sept. 1774.] + +The events of the last twelve months had gone further than anything +before toward awakening a sentiment of union among the people of the +colonies. It was still a feeble sentiment, but it was strong enough to +make them all feel that Boston was suffering in the common cause. The +system of corresponding committees now ripened into the Continental +Congress, which held its first meeting at Philadelphia in September, +1774. Among the delegates were Samuel and John Adams, Robert Livingston, +John Rutledge, John Dickinson, Samuel Chase, Edmund Pendleton, Richard +Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, and George Washington. Their action was +cautious and conservative. They confined themselves for the present to +trying the effect of a candid statement of grievances, and drew up a +Declaration of Rights and other papers, which were pronounced by Lord +Chatham unsurpassed for ability in any age or country. In Parliament, +however, the king's friends were becoming all-powerful, and the only +effect produced by these papers was to goad them toward further attempts +at coercion. Massachusetts was declared to be in a state of rebellion, +as in truth she was. + + [Sidenote: The Suffolk Resolves, Sept. 1774.] + +While Samuel Adams was at Philadelphia, the lead in Boston was taken by +his friend Dr. Warren. In a county convention held at Milton in +September, Dr. Warren drew up a series of resolves which fairly set on +foot the Revolution. They declared that the Regulating Act was null and +void, and that a king who violates the chartered rights of his subjects +forfeits their allegiance; they directed the collectors of taxes to +refuse to pay the money collected to Gage's treasurer; and they +threatened retaliation in case Gage should venture to arrest any one for +political reasons. These bold resolves were adopted by the convention +and sanctioned by the Continental Congress. Next month the people of +Massachusetts formed a provisional government, and began organizing a +militia and collecting military stores at Concord and other inland +towns. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775.] + +General Gage's position at this time was a trying one for a man of his +temperament. In an unguarded moment he had assured the king that four +regiments ought to be enough to bring Massachusetts into an attitude of +penitence. Now Massachusetts was in an attitude of rebellion, and he +realized that he had not troops enough to command the situation. People +in England were blaming him for not doing something, and late in the +winter he received a positive order to arrest Samuel Adams and his +friend John Hancock, then at the head of the new provisional government +of Massachusetts, and send them to England to be tried for high treason. +On the 18th of April, 1775, these gentlemen were staying at a friend's +house in Lexington; and Gage that evening sent out a force of 800 men to +seize the military stores accumulated at Concord, with instructions to +stop on the way at Lexington and arrest Adams and Hancock. But Dr. +Warren divined the purpose of the movement, and his messenger, Paul +Revere, succeeded in forewarning the people, so that by the time the +troops arrived at Lexington the birds were flown. The soldiers fired +into a company of militia on Lexington common and slew eight or ten of +their number; but by the time they reached Concord the country was +fairly aroused and armed yeomanry were coming upon the scene by +hundreds. In a sharp skirmish the British were defeated and, without +having accomplished any of the objects of their expedition, began their +retreat toward Boston, hotly pursued by the farmers who fired from +behind walls and trees after the Indian fashion. A reinforcement of 1200 +men at Lexington saved the routed troops from destruction, but the +numbers of their assailants grew so rapidly that even this larger force +barely succeeded in escaping capture. At sunset the British reached +Charlestown after a march which was a series of skirmishes, leaving +nearly 300 of their number killed or wounded along the road. By that +time yeomanry from twenty-three townships had joined in the pursuit. The +alarm spread like wildfire through New England, and fresh bands of +militia arrived every hour. Within three days Israel Putnam and Benedict +Arnold had come from Connecticut and John Stark from New Hampshire, a +cordon of 16,000 men was drawn around Boston, and the siege of that town +was begun. + + [Sidenote: Capture of Ticonderoga, May 10, 1775.] + + [Sidenote: Washington appointed to command the army, June 15, 1775.] + + [Sidenote: Charles Lee.] + +The belligerent feeling in New England had now grown so strong as to +show itself in an act of offensive warfare. On the 10th of May, just +three weeks after Lexington, the fortresses at Ticonderoga and Crown +Point, controlling the line of communication between New York and +Canada, were surprised and captured by men from the Green Mountains and +Connecticut valley under Ethan Allen and Seth Warner. The Congress, +which met on that same day at Philadelphia, showed some reluctance in +sanctioning an act so purely offensive; but in its choice of a president +the spirit of defiance toward Great Britain was plainly shown. John +Hancock, whom the British commander-in-chief was under stringent orders +to arrest and send over to England to be tried for treason, was chosen +to that eminent position on the 24th of May. This showed that the +preponderance of sentiment in the country was in favour of supporting +the New England colonies in the armed struggle into which they had +drifted. This was still further shown two days later, when Congress in +the name of the "United Colonies of America" assumed the direction of +the rustic army of New England men engaged in the siege of Boston. As +Congress was absolutely penniless and had no power to lay taxes, it +proceeded to borrow £6000 for the purchase of gunpowder. It called for +ten companies of riflemen from Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, to +reinforce what was henceforth known as the Continental army; and on the +15th of June it appointed George Washington commander-in-chief. The +choice of Washington was partly due to the general confidence in his +ability and in his lofty character. In the French War he had won a +military reputation higher than that of any other American, and he was +already commander-in-chief of the forces of Virginia. But the choice was +also partly due to sound political reasons. The Massachusetts leaders, +especially Samuel Adams and his cousin John, were distrusted by some +people as extremists and fire-eaters. They wished to bring about a +declaration of independence, for they believed it to be the only +possible cure for the evils of the time. The leaders in other colonies, +upon which the hand of the British government had not borne so heavily, +had not yet advanced quite so far as this. Most of them believed that +the king could be brought to terms; they did not realize that he would +never give way because it was politically as much a life and death +struggle for him as for them. Washington was not yet clearly in favour +of independence, nor was Jefferson, who a twelvemonth hence was to be +engaged in writing the Declaration. It is doubtful if any of the leading +men as yet agreed with the Adamses, except Dr. Franklin, who had just +returned from England after his ten years' stay there, and knew very +well how little hope was to be placed in conciliatory measures. The +Adamses, therefore, like wise statesmen, were always on their guard lest +circumstances should drive Massachusetts in the path of rebellion faster +than the sister colonies were likely to keep pace with her. This was +what the king above all things wished, and by the same token it was what +they especially dreaded and sought to avoid. To appoint George +Washington to the chief command was to go a long way toward irrevocably +committing Virginia to the same cause with Massachusetts, and John Adams +was foremost in urging the appointment. Its excellence was obvious to +every one, and we hear of only two persons that were dissatisfied. One +of these was John Hancock, who coveted military distinction and was vain +enough to think himself fit for almost any position. The other was +Charles Lee, a British officer who had served in America in the French +War and afterward wandered about Europe as a soldier of fortune. He had +returned to America in 1773 in the hope of playing a leading part here. +He set himself up as an authority on military questions, and pretended +to be a zealous lover of liberty. He was really an unprincipled +charlatan for whom, the kindest thing that can be said is that perhaps +he was slightly insane. He had hoped to be appointed to the chief +command, and was disgusted when he found himself placed second among the +four major-generals. The first major-general was Artemas Ward of +Massachusetts; the third was Philip Schuyler of New York; the fourth was +Israel Putnam of Connecticut. Eight brigadier-generals were appointed, +among whom we may here mention Richard Montgomery of New York, William +Heath of Massachusetts, John Sullivan of New Hampshire, and Nathanael +Greene of Rhode Island. The adjutant-general, Horatio Gates, was an +Englishman who had served in the French War, and since then had lived in +Virginia. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775.] + +While Congress was appointing officers and making regulations for the +Continental army, reinforcements for the British had landed in Boston, +making their army 10,000 strong. The new troops were commanded by +General William Howe, a Whig who disapproved of the king's policy. With +him came Sir Henry Clinton and John Burgoyne, who were more in sympathy +with the king. Howe and Burgoyne were members of Parliament. On the +arrival of these reinforcements Gage prepared to occupy the heights in +Charlestown known as Breed's and Bunker's hills. These heights commanded +Boston, so that hostile batteries placed there would make it necessary +for the British to evacuate the town. On the night of June 16, the +Americans anticipated Gage in seizing the heights, and began erecting +fortifications on Breed's Hill. It was an exposed position for the +American force, which might easily have been cut off and captured if the +British had gone around by sea and occupied Charlestown Neck in the +rear. The British preferred to storm the American works. In two +desperate assaults, on the afternoon of the 17th, they were repulsed +with the loss of one-third of their number; and the third assault +succeeded only because the Americans were not supplied with powder. By +driving the Americans back to Winter Hill, the British won an important +victory and kept their hold upon Boston. The moral effect of the battle, +however, was in favour of the Americans, for it clearly indicated that +under proper circumstances they might exhibit a power of resistance +which the British would find it impossible to overcome. It was with +George III. as with Pyrrhus: he could not afford to win many victories +at such cost, for his supply of soldiers for America was limited, and +his only hope of success lay in inflicting heavy blows. In winning +Bunker Hill his troops were only holding their own; the siege of Boston +was not raised for a moment. + +The practical effect upon the British army was to keep it quiet for +several months. General Howe, who presently superseded Gage, was a brave +and well-trained soldier, but slothful in temperament. His way was to +strike a blow, and then wait to see what would come of it, hoping no +doubt that political affairs might soon take such a turn as to make it +unnecessary to go on with this fratricidal war. This was fortunate for +the Americans, for when Washington took command of the army at Cambridge +on the 3d of July, he saw that little or nothing could be done with that +army until it should be far better organized, disciplined, and equipped, +and in such work he found enough to occupy him for several months. + + [Sidenote: Last petition to the king; and its answer.] + +[Illustration: Invasion of Canada by Montgomery and Arnold.] + +Meanwhile Congress, at the instance of John Dickinson of Pennsylvania +and John Jay of New York, decided to try the effect of one more candid +statement of affairs, in the form of a petition to the king. This paper +reached London on the 14th of August, but the king refused to receive +it, although it was signed by the delegates as separate individuals and +not as members of an unauthorized or revolutionary body. His only answer +was a proclamation dated August 23, in which he called for volunteers +to aid in putting down the rebellion in America. At the same time he +opened negotiations with the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, the duke of +Brunswick, and other petty German princes, and succeeded in hiring +20,000 troops to be sent to fight against his American subjects. When +the news of this reached America it produced a profound effect. Perhaps +nothing done in that year went so far toward destroying the lingering +sentiment of loyalty. + + [Sidenote: Americans invade Canada, Aug., 1775--June, 1776.] + +In the spring Congress had hesitated about encouraging offensive +operations. In the course of the summer it was ascertained that the +governor of Canada, Sir Guy Carleton, was planning an invasion of +northern New York and hoping to obtain the coöperation of the Six +Nations and the Tories of the Mohawk valley. Congress accordingly +decided to forestall him by invading Canada. Two lines of invasion were +adopted. Montgomery descended Lake Champlain with 2000 men, and after a +campaign of two months captured Montreal on the 12th of November. At the +same time Benedict Arnold and Daniel Morgan set out from Cambridge with +1200 men, and made their way through the wilderness of Maine, up the +valley of the Kennebec and down that of the Chaudière, coming out upon +the St. Lawrence opposite Quebec on the 13th of November. This long +march through the primeval forest and over rugged and trackless +mountains was one of the most remarkable exploits of the war. It cost +the lives of 200 men, but besides this the rear-guard gave out and went +back to Cambridge, so that when Arnold reached Quebec he had only 700 +men, too few for an attack upon the town. After Montgomery joined him, +it was decided to carry the works by storm, but in the unsuccessful +assault on December 31, Montgomery was killed, Arnold disabled, and +Morgan taken prisoner. During the winter Carleton was reinforced until +he was able to recapture Montreal. The Americans were gradually driven +back, and by June, 1776, had retreated to Crown Point. Carleton then +resumed his preparations for invading New York. + + [Sidenote: Washington takes Boston, March 17, 1776.] + +While the northern campaign was progressing thus unfavourably, the +British were at length driven from Boston. Howe had unaccountably +neglected to occupy Dorchester heights, which commanded the town; and +Washington, after waiting till a sufficient number of heavy guns could +be collected, advanced on the night of March 4 and occupied them with +2000 men. His position was secure. The British had no alternative but to +carry it by storm or retire from Boston. Not caring to repeat the +experiment of Bunker Hill, they embarked on the 17th of March and sailed +to Halifax, where they busied themselves in preparations for an +expedition against New York. Late in April Washington transferred his +headquarters to New York, where he was able to muster about 8000 men for +its defence. Thus the line of the Hudson river was now threatened with +attack at both its upper and lower ends. + + [Sidenote: Lord Dunmore in Virginia.] + +This change in the seat of war marks the change that had come over the +political situation. It was no longer merely a rebellious Massachusetts +that must be subdued; it was a continental Union that must be broken up. +During the winter and spring the sentiment in favour of a declaration of +independence had rapidly grown in strength. In November, 1775, Lord +Dunmore, royal governor of Virginia, sought to intimidate the +revolutionary party by a proclamation offering freedom to such slaves as +would enlist under the king's banner. This aroused the country against +Dunmore, and in December he was driven from Norfolk and took refuge in a +ship of war. On New Year's Day he bombarded the town and laid it in +ashes from one end to the other. This violence rapidly made converts to +the revolutionary party, and further lessons were learned from the +experience of their neighbours in North Carolina. + + [Sidenote: North Carolina and Virginia.] + +That colony was the scene of fierce contests between Whigs and Tories. +As early as May 31, 1775, the patriots of Mecklenburg county had +adopted resolutions pointing toward independence and forwarded them to +their delegates in Congress, who deemed it impolitic, however, to lay +them before that body. Josiah Martin, royal governor of North Carolina, +was obliged to flee on board ship in July. He busied himself with plans +for the complete subjugation of the southern colonies, and corresponded +with the government in London, as well as with his Tory friends ashore. +In pursuance of these plans Sir Henry Clinton, with 2000 men, was +detached in January, 1776, from the army in Boston, and sent to the +North Carolina coast; a fleet under Sir Peter Parker was sent from +Ireland to meet him; and a force of 1600 Tories was gathered to assist +him as soon as he should arrive. But the scheme utterly failed. The +fleet was buffeted by adverse winds and did not arrive; the Tories were +totally defeated on February 27 in a sharp fight at Moore's Creek; and +Clinton, thus deprived of his allies, deemed it most prudent for a while +to keep his troops on shipboard. On the 12th of April the patriots of +North Carolina instructed their delegates in Congress to concur with +other delegates in a declaration of independence. On the 14th of May +Virginia went further, and instructed her delegates to propose such a +declaration. South Carolina, Georgia, and Rhode Island expressed a +willingness to concur in any measures which Congress might think best +calculated to promote the general welfare. In the course of May +town-meetings throughout Massachusetts expressed opinions unanimously in +favour of independence. + +Massachusetts had already, as long ago as July, 1775, framed a new +government in which the king was not recognized; and her example had +been followed by New Hampshire in January, 1776, and by South Carolina +in March. Now on the 15th of May Congress adopted a resolution advising +all the other colonies to form new governments, because the king had +"withdrawn his protection" from the American people, and all governments +deriving their powers from him were accordingly set aside as of no +account. This resolution was almost equivalent to a declaration of +independence, and it was adopted only after hot debate and earnest +opposition from the middle colonies. + + [Sidenote: Richard Henry Lee's motion in Congress.] + +On the 7th of June, in accordance with the instructions of May 14 from +Virginia, Richard Henry Lee submitted to Congress the following +resolutions:-- + +"That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and +independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the +British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the +State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; + +"That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for +forming foreign alliances; + +"That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the +respective colonies for their consideration and approbation." + +This motion of Virginia, in which Independence and Union went hand in +hand, was at once seconded by Massachusetts, as represented by John +Adams. It was opposed by John Dickinson and James Wilson of +Pennsylvania, and by Robert Livingston of New York, on the ground that +the people of the middle colonies were not yet ready to sever the +connection with the mother country. As the result of the discussion it +was decided to wait three weeks, in the hope of hearing from all those +colonies which had not yet declared themselves. + +The messages from those colonies came promptly enough. As for +Connecticut and New Hampshire, there could be no doubt; and their +declarations for independence, on the 14th and 15th of June +respectively, were simply dilatory expressions of their sentiments. They +were late, only because Connecticut had no need to form a new government +at all, while New Hampshire had formed one as long ago as January. Their +support of the proposed declaration of independence was already secured, +and it was only in the formal announcement of it that they were somewhat +belated. But with the middle colonies it was different. There the +parties were more evenly balanced, and it was not until the last moment +that the decision was clearly pronounced. This was not because they were +less patriotic than the other colonies, but because their direct +grievances were fewer, and up to this moment they had hoped that the +quarrel was one which a change of ministry in Great Britain might +adjust. In the earlier stages of the quarrel they had been ready enough +to join hands with Massachusetts and Virginia. It was only on this +irrevocable decision as to independence that they were slow to act. + + [Sidenote: The middle colonies.] + +But in the course of the month of June their responses to the invitation +of Congress came in,--from Delaware on the 14th, from New Jersey on the +22d, from Pennsylvania on the 24th, from Maryland on the 28th. This +action of the middle colonies was avowedly based on the ground that, in +any event, united action was the thing most to be desired; so that, +whatever their individual preferences might be, they were ready to +subordinate them to the interests of the whole country. The broad and +noble spirit of patriotism shown in their resolves is worthy of no less +credit than the bold action of the colonies which, under the stimulus of +direct aggression, first threw down the gauntlet to George III. + +On the 1st of July, when Lee's motion was taken up in Congress, all the +colonies had been heard from except New York. The circumstances of this +central colony were peculiar. We have already seen that the Tory party +was especially strong in New York. Besides this, her position was more +exposed to attack on all sides than that of any other state. As the +military centre of the Union, her territory was sure to be the scene of +the most desperate fighting. She was already threatened with invasion +from Canada. As a frontier state she was exposed to the incursions of +the terrible Iroquois, and as a sea-board state she was open to the +attack of the British fleet. At that time, moreover, the population of +New York numbered only about 170,000, and she ranked seventh among the +thirteen colonies. The military problem was therefore much harder for +New York than for Massachusetts or Virginia. Her risks were greater than +those of any other colony. For these reasons the Whig party in New York +found itself seriously hampered in its movements, and the 1st of July +arrived before their delegates in Congress had been instructed how to +vote on the question of independence. + + [Sidenote: Difficulties in New York.] + +Richard Henry Lee had been suddenly called home to Virginia by the +illness of his wife, and so the task of defending his motion fell upon +John Adams who had seconded it. His speech on that occasion was so able +that Thomas Jefferson afterward spoke of him as "the Colossus of that +debate." As Congress sat with closed doors and no report was made of +the speech, we have no definite knowledge of its arguments. Fifty years +afterwards, shortly after John Adams's death, Daniel Webster wrote an +imaginary speech containing what in substance he _might_ have said. The +principal argument in opposition was made by John Dickinson, who thought +that before the Americans finally committed themselves to a deadly +struggle with Great Britain, they ought to establish some stronger +government than the Continental Congress, and ought also to secure a +promise of help from some such country as France. This advice was +cautious, but it was not sound and practical. War had already begun, and +if we had waited to agree upon some permanent kind of government before +committing all the colonies to a formal defiance of Great Britain, there +was great danger that the enemy might succeed in breaking up the Union +before it was really formed. Besides, it is not likely that France would +ever have decided to go to war in our behalf until we had shown that we +were able to defend ourselves. It was now a time when the boldest advice +was the safest. + + [Sidenote: The Declaration of Independence, July 1 to 4, 1776.] + +During this debate on the 1st of July Congress was sitting as a +committee of the whole, and at the close of the day a preliminary vote +was taken. Like all the votes in the Continental Congress, it was taken +by colonies. The majority of votes in each delegation determined the +vote of that colony. Each colony had one vote, and two-thirds of the +whole number, or nine colonies against four, were necessary for a +decision. On this occasion the New York delegates did not vote at all, +because they had no instructions. One delegate from Delaware voted yea +and another nay; the third delegate, Cæsar Rodney, had been down in the +lower counties of his little state, arguing against the loyalists. A +special messenger had been sent to hurry him back, but he had not yet +arrived, and so the vote of Delaware was divided and lost. Pennsylvania +declared in the negative by four votes against three. South Carolina +also declared in the negative. The other nine colonies all voted in the +affirmative, and so the resolution received just votes enough to carry +it. A very little more opposition would have defeated it, and would +probably have postponed the declaration for several weeks. + +The next day Congress took the formal vote upon the resolution. Mr. +Rodney had now arrived, so that the vote of Delaware was given in the +affirmative. John Dickinson and Robert Morris stayed away, so that +Pennsylvania was now secured for the affirmative by three votes against +two. Though Dickinson and Morris were so slow to believe it necessary or +prudent to declare independence, they were firm supporters of the +declaration after it was made. Without Morris, indeed, it is hard to +see how the Revolution could have succeeded. He was the great financier +of his time, and his efforts in raising money for the support of our +hard-pressed armies were wonderful. + +When the turn of the South Carolina delegates came they changed their +votes in order that the declaration might go forth to the world as the +unanimous act of the American people. The question was thus settled on +the 2d of July, and the next thing was to decide upon the form of the +declaration, which Jefferson, who was weak in debate but strong with the +pen, had already drafted. The work was completed on the 4th of July, +when Jefferson's draft was adopted and published to the world. Five days +afterward the state of New York declared her approval of these +proceedings. The Rubicon was crossed, and the thirteen English colonies +had become the United States of America. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE STRUGGLE FOR THE CENTRE. + + + [Sidenote: Lord Cornwallis.] + +While these things were going on at Philadelphia, the coast of South +Carolina, as well as the harbour of New York, was threatened by the +British fleet. When the delegates from South Carolina gave their votes +on the question of independence, they did not know but the revolutionary +government in Charleston might already have been taken captive or +scattered in flight. After a stormy voyage Sir Peter Parker's squadron +at length arrived off Cape Fear early in May, and joined Sir Henry +Clinton. Along with Sir Peter came an officer worthy of especial +mention. Charles, Earl Cornwallis, was then thirty-eight years old. He +had long served with distinction in the British army, and had lately +reached the grade of lieutenant-general. In politics he was a New Whig, +and had on several occasions signified his disapproval of the king's +policy toward America. As a commander his promptness and vigour +contrasted strongly with the slothfulness of General Howe. Cornwallis +was the ablest of the British generals engaged in the Revolutionary War, +and among the public men of his time there were few, if any, more +high-minded, disinterested, faithful, and pure. After the war was over, +he won great fame as governor-general of India from 1786 to 1794. He was +afterward raised to the rank of marquis and appointed lord-lieutenant of +Ireland. In 1805 he was sent out again to govern India, and died there. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Fort Moultrie, June 28, 1776.] + + [Sidenote: Lord Howe's effort toward conciliation.] + +On the arrival of the fleet it was decided to attack and capture +Charleston, and overthrow the new government there. General Charles Lee +was sent down by Congress to defend the city, but the South Carolina +patriots proved quite able to take care of themselves. On Sullivan's +Island in Charleston harbour Colonel William Moultrie built a low +elastic fortress of palmetto logs supported by banks of sand and +mounting several heavy guns. In the cannonade which took place on the +28th of June this rude structure escaped with little injury, while its +guns inflicted such serious damage upon the fleet that the British were +obliged to abandon for the present all thought of taking Charleston. In +the course of July they sailed for New York harbour to reinforce General +Howe. On the 12th of that month the general's brother, Richard, Lord +Howe, arrived at Staten Island to take the chief command of the fleet. +He was one of the ablest seamen of his time, and was a favourite with +his sailors, by whom, on account of his swarthy complexion, he was +familiarly known as "Black Dick." Lord Howe and his brother were +authorized to offer terms to the Americans and endeavour to restore +peace by negotiation. It was not easy, however, to find any one in +America with whom to negotiate. Lord Howe was sincerely desirous of +making peace and doing something to heal the troubles which had brought +on the war; and he seems to have supposed that some good might be +effected by private interviews with leading Americans. To send a message +to Congress was, of course, not to be thought of; for that would be +equivalent to recognizing Congress as a body entitled to speak for the +American people. He brought with him an assurance of amnesty and pardon +for all such rebels as would lay down their arms, and decided that it +would be best to send it to the American commander; but as it was not +proper to recognize the military rank which had been conferred upon +Washington by a revolutionary body, he addressed his message to "George +Washington, Esq.," as to a private citizen. When Washington refused to +receive such a message, his lordship could think of no one else to +approach except the royal governors. But they had all fled, except +Governor Franklin of New Jersey, who was under close confinement in East +Windsor, Connecticut. All British authority in the United States had +disappeared, and there was no one for Lord Howe to negotiate with, +unless he should bethink himself of some way of laying his case before +Congress. + + [Sidenote: Change in the British military plan, due to the union of + the colonies in the Declaration of Independence.] + +Military operations were now taken up in earnest by the British, and +were briskly carried on for nearly six months. They were for the most +part concentrated upon the state of New York. Before 1776 it was +Massachusetts that was the chief object of military measures on the part +of the British. That was the colony that since the summer of 1774 had +defied the king's troops and set at naught the authority of Parliament; +and the first object of the British was to make an example of that +colony, to suppress the rebellion there, and to reinstate the royal +government. The king believed that it would not take long to do this, +and there is some reason for supposing that if he had succeeded in +humbling Massachusetts, he would have been ready to listen to +Hutchinson's request that the vindictive acts of April, 1774, should be +repealed and the charter restored. At all events, he seems to have felt +confident that things could soon be made so quiet that Hutchinson could +return and resume the office of governor. If the king and his friends +had not entertained such ill-founded hopes, they would not have been so +ready to resort to violent measures. They made the fatal mistake of +supposing that such a man as Samuel Adams represented only a small +party and not the majority of the people. They had also supposed that +the other colonies would not make common cause with Massachusetts. But +now, before they had accomplished any of their objects, and while their +troops had even been driven from Boston, they found that the rebellion +had spread through the whole country. They had a belligerent government +to confront, and must now enter upon the task of conquering the United +States. + + [Sidenote: Why the British concentrated their attack upon the state + of New York.] + +The first and most obvious method of attempting this was to strike at +New York as the military centre. In such a plan everything seemed to +favour the British. The state was comparatively weak in population and +resources; a large proportion of the people were Tories; and close at +hand on the frontier, which was then in the Mohawk valley, were the most +formidable Indians on the continent. These Iroquois had long been under +the influence of the famous Sir William Johnson, of Johnson Hall, near +Schenectady, and his son Sir John Johnson. Their principal sachem, +Joseph Brant, or Thayendanegea, was connected by the closest bonds of +friendship with the Johnsons, and the latter were staunch Tories. It +might reasonably be expected that the entire force of these Indians +could be enlisted on the British side. The work for the regular army +seemed thus to be reduced to the single problem of capturing the city +of New York and obtaining full control of the Hudson river. + +If this could be done, the United States would be cut in two. As the +Americans had no ships of war, they could not dispute the British +command of the water. There was no way in which the New England states +could hold communication with the South except across the southern part +of the state of New York. To gain this central position would thus be to +deal a fatal blow to the American cause, and it seemed to the British +government that, with the forces now in the field, this ought easily to +be accomplished. General Carleton was ready to come down from the north +by way of Lake Champlain, with 12,000 men, and General Schuyler could +scarcely muster half as many to oppose him. On Staten Island there were +more than 25,000 British troops ready to attack New York, while +Washington's utmost exertions had succeeded in getting together only +about 18,000 men for the defence of the city. The American army was as +yet very poor in organization and discipline, badly equipped, and +scantily fed; and it seemed very doubtful whether it could long keep the +field in the presence of superior forces. + + [Sidenote: Washington's military genius.] + +But in spite of all these circumstances, so favourable to the British, +there was one obstacle to their success upon which at first they did not +sufficiently reckon. That obstacle was furnished by the genius and +character of the wonderful man who commanded the American army. In +Washington were combined all the highest qualities of a general,--dogged +tenacity of purpose, endless fertility in resource, sleepless vigilance, +and unfailing courage. No enemy ever caught him unawares, and he never +let slip an opportunity of striking back. He had a rare geographical +instinct, always knew where the strongest position was, and how to reach +it. He was a master of the art of concealing his own plan and detecting +his adversary's. He knew better than to hazard everything upon the +result of a single contest, and because of the enemy's superior force he +was so often obliged to refuse battle that some of his impatient critics +called him slow; but no general was ever quicker in dealing heavy blows +when the proper moment arrived. He was neither unduly elated by victory +nor discouraged by defeat. When all others lost heart he was bravest; +and at the very moment when ruin seemed to stare him in the face, he was +craftily preparing disaster and confusion for the enemy. + +To the highest qualities of a military commander there were united in +Washington those of a political leader. From early youth he possessed +the art of winning men's confidence. He was simple without awkwardness, +honest without bluntness, and endowed with rare discretion and tact. His +temper was fiery and on occasion he could use pretty strong language, +but anger or disappointment was never allowed to disturb the justice and +kindness of his judgment. Men felt themselves safe in putting entire +trust in his head and his heart, and they were never deceived. Thus he +soon obtained such a hold upon the people as few statesmen have ever +possessed. It was this grand character that, with his clear intelligence +and unflagging industry, enabled him to lead the nation triumphantly +through the perils of the Revolutionary War. He had almost every +imaginable hardship to contend with,--envious rivals, treachery and +mutiny in the camp, interference on the part of Congress, jealousies +between the states, want of men and money; yet all these difficulties he +vanquished. Whether victorious or defeated on the field, he baffled the +enemy in the first year's great campaign and in the second year's, and +then for four years more upheld the cause until heart-sickening delay +was ended in glorious triumph. It is very doubtful if without Washington +the struggle for independence would have succeeded as it did. Other men +were important, he was indispensable. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Long Island, Aug. 27, 1776.] + +The first great campaign began, as might have been expected, with defeat +on the field. In order to keep possession of the city of New York it was +necessary to hold Brooklyn Heights. That was a dangerous position for an +American force, because it was entirely separated from New York by deep +water, and could thus be cut off from the rest of the American army by +the enemy's fleet. It was necessary, however, for Washington either to +occupy Brooklyn Heights or to give up the city of New York without a +struggle. But the latter course was out of the question. It would never +do to abandon the Whigs in New York to the tender mercies of the Tories, +without at least one good fight. So the position in Brooklyn must be +fortified, and there was perhaps one chance in a hundred that, through +some blunder of the enemy, we might succeed in holding it. Accordingly +9000 men were stationed on Brooklyn Heights under Putnam, who threw +forward about half of this force, under Sullivan and Stirling, to defend +the southern approaches through the rugged country between Gowanus bay +and Bedford. On the 22d of August General Howe crossed from Staten +Island to Gravesend bay with 20,000 men, and on the 27th he defeated +Sullivan and Stirling in what has ever since been known as the battle of +Long Island. About 400 men were killed and wounded on each side, and +1000 Americans, including both generals, were taken captive. A more +favourable result for the Americans was not to be expected, as the +British outnumbered them four to one, and could therefore march where +they pleased and turn the American flank without incurring the slightest +risk. The wonder is, not that 5000 half-trained soldiers were defeated +by 20,000 veterans, but that they should have given General Howe a good +day's work in defeating them. + + [Sidenote: Washington's skilful retreat.] + +The American forces were now withdrawn into their works on Brooklyn +Heights, and Howe advanced to besiege them. During the next two days +Washington collected boats and on the night of the 29th conveyed the +army across the East River to New York. With the enemy's fleet +patrolling the harbour and their army watching the works, this was a +most remarkable performance. To this day one cannot understand, unless +on the supposition that the British were completely dazed and +moonstruck, how Washington could have done it. + + [Sidenote: Howe takes New York, Sept. 15, 1776.] + +People were much disheartened by the defeat on Long Island and the +immediate prospect of losing New York. Lord Howe turned his thoughts +once more to negotiation, and at length, on September 11, succeeded in +obtaining an informal interview with Franklin, John Adams, and Edward +Rutledge. But nothing was accomplished, and seventeen eventful months +elapsed before the British again seriously tried negotiation. General +Howe had extended his lines northward, and on the 15th his army crossed +the East River in boats, and landed near the site of Thirty-Fourth +street. On the same day Washington completed the work of evacuating the +city. His army was drawn up across the island from the mouth of Harlem +river to Fort Washington, and over on the Jersey side of the Hudson, +opposite Fort Washington, a detachment occupied Fort Lee. It was hoped +that these two forts would be able to prevent British ships from going +up the Hudson river, but this hope soon proved to be delusive. + +On the 16th General Howe tried to break through the centre of +Washington's position at Harlem Heights, but after losing 300 men he +gave up the attempt, and spent the next three weeks in studying the +situation. A sad incident came now to remind the people of the sternness +of military law. Nathan Hale, a young graduate of Yale College, captain +of a company of Connecticut rangers, had been for several days within +the British lines gathering information. Just as he had accomplished his +purpose, and was on the point of departing with his memoranda, he was +arrested as a spy and hanged next morning, lamenting on the gallows that +he had but one life to lose for his country. + + [Sidenote: Battle of White Plains, Oct. 28, 1776.] + +As Howe deemed it prudent not to attack Washington in front, he tried to +get around into his rear, and began on October 12 by landing a large +force at Throg's Neck, in the Sound. But Washington baffled him by +changing front, swinging his left wing northward as far as White Plains. +After further reflection Howe decided to try a front attack once more; +on the 28th he assaulted the position at White Plains, and carried one +of the outposts, losing twice as many men as the Americans. Not wishing +to continue the fight at such a disadvantage he paused again, and +Washington improved the occasion by retiring to a still stronger +position at Northcastle. These movements had separated Washington's main +body from his right wing at Forts Washington and Lee, and Howe now +changed his plan. Desisting from the attempt against the American main +body, he moved southward against this exposed wing. + +A sad catastrophe now followed, which showed how many obstacles +Washington had to contend with. It was known that Carleton's army was on +the way from Canada. Congress was nervously afraid of losing its hold +upon the Hudson river, and Washington accordingly selected West Point as +the strongest position upon the river, to be fortified and defended at +all hazards. He sent Heath, with 3000 men, to hold the Highland passes, +and went up himself to inspect the situation and give directions about +the new fortifications. He left 7000 of his main body at Northcastle, in +charge of Lee, who had just returned from South Carolina. He sent 5000, +under Putnam, across the river to Hackensack; and ordered Greene, who +had some 5000 men at Forts Washington and Lee, to prepare to evacuate +both those strongholds and join his forces to Putnam's. + +If these orders had been carried out, Howe's movement against Fort +Washington would have accomplished but little, for on reaching that +place, he would have found nothing but empty works, as at Brooklyn. The +American right wing would have been drawn together at Hackensack, and +the whole army could have been concentrated on either bank of the great +river, as the occasion might seem to require. If Howe should aim at the +Highlands, it could be kept close to the river and cover all the passes. +If, on the other hand, Howe should threaten the Congress at +Philadelphia, the whole army could be collected in New Jersey to hold +him in check. + + [Sidenote: Howe takes Fort Washington, Nov. 16, 1776.] + +But Washington's orders were not obeyed. Congress was so uneasy that it +sent word to Greene to hold both his forts as long as he could. +Accordingly he strengthened the garrison at Fort Washington, just in +time for Howe to overwhelm and capture it, on the 16th of November, +after an obstinate resistance. In killed and wounded the British loss +was three times as great as that of the garrison, but the Americans were +in no condition to afford the loss of 8000 men taken prisoners. It was a +terrible blow. On the 19th Greene barely succeeded in escaping from Fort +Lee, with his remaining 2000 men, but without his cannon and stores. + + [Sidenote: Treachery of Charles Lee.] + +Bad as the situation was, however, it did not become really alarming +until it was complicated with the misconduct of General Lee. Washington +had returned from West Point on the 14th, too late to prevent the +catastrophe; but after all it was only necessary for Lee's wing of the +army to cross the river, and there would be a solid force of 14,000 men +on the Jersey side, able to confront the enemy on something like equal +terms, for Howe had to keep a good many of his troops in New York. On +the 17th Washington ordered Lee to come over and join him; but Lee +disobeyed, and in spite of repeated orders from Washington he stayed at +Northcastle till the 2d of December. General Ward had some time since +resigned, so that Lee now ranked next to Washington. A good many people +were finding fault with the latter for losing the 3000 men at Fort +Washington, although, as we have seen, that was not his fault but the +fault of Congress. Lee now felt that if Washington were ruined, he would +surely become his successor in the command of the army, and so, instead +of obeying his orders, he spent his time in writing letters calculated +to injure him. + + [Sidenote: Washington's retreat through New Jersey.] + +Lee's disobedience thus broke the army in two, and did more for the +British than they had been able to do for themselves since they started +from Staten Island. It was the cause of Washington's flight through New +Jersey, ending on the 8th of December, when he put himself behind the +Delaware river, with scarcely 3000 men. Here was another difficulty. The +American soldiers were enlisted for short terms, and when they were +discouraged, as at present, they were apt to insist upon going home as +soon as their time had expired. It was generally believed that +Washington's army would thus fall to pieces within a few days. Howe did +not think it worth while to be at the trouble of collecting boats +wherewith to follow him across the Delaware. Congress fled to Baltimore. +People in New Jersey began taking the oath of allegiance to the crown. +Howe received the news that he had been knighted for his victory on Long +Island, and he returned to New York to celebrate the occasion. + + [Sidenote: Arnold's naval battle at Valcour Island, Oct. 11, 1776.] + +While the case looked so desperate for Washington, events at the north +had taken a less unfavourable turn. Carleton had embarked on Lake +Champlain early in the autumn with his fine army and fleet. Arnold had +fitted up a small fleet to oppose his advance, and on the 11th of +October there had been a fierce naval battle between the two near +Valcour Island, in which Arnold was defeated, while Carleton suffered +serious damage. The British general then advanced upon Ticonderoga, but +suddenly made up his mind that the season was too late for operations in +that latitude. The resistance he had encountered seems to have made him +despair of achieving any speedy success in that quarter, and on the 3d +of November he started back for Canada. This retreat relieved General +Schuyler at Albany of immediate cause for anxiety, and presently he +detached seven regiments to go southward to Washington's assistance. + + [Sidenote: Charles Lee is captured by British dragoons, + Dec. 13, 1776.] + +On the 2d of December Lee crossed the Hudson with 4000 men, and +proceeded slowly to Morristown. Just what he designed to do was never +known, but clearly he had no intention of going beyond the Delaware to +assist Washington, whom he believed to be ruined. Perhaps he thought +Morristown a desirable position to hold, as it certainly was. Whatever +his plans may have been, they were nipped in the bud. For some unknown +reason he passed the night of the 12th at an unguarded tavern, about +four miles from his army; and there he was captured next morning by a +party of British dragoons, who carried him off to their camp at +Princeton. The dragoons were very gleeful over this unexpected exploit, +but really they could not have done the Americans a greater service than +to rid them of such a worthless creature. The capture of Lee came in the +nick of time, for it set free his men to go to the aid of Washington. +Even after this force and that sent by Schuyler had reached the +commander-in-chief, he found he had only 6000 men fit for duty. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Trenton, Dec. 26, 1776.] + +[Illustration: Washington's Campaigns IN NEW JERSEY & PENNSYLVANIA.] + +With this little force Washington instantly took the offensive. It was +the turning-point in his career and in the history of the Revolutionary +War. On Christmas, 1776, and the following nine days, all Washington's +most brilliant powers were displayed. The British centre, 10,000 strong, +lay at Princeton. The principal generals, thinking the serious business +of the war ended, had gone to New York. An advanced party of Hessians, +1000 strong, was posted on the bank of the Delaware at Trenton, and +another one lower down, at Burlington. Washington decided to attack both +these outposts, and arranged his troops accordingly, but when Christmas +night arrived, the river was filled with great blocks of floating ice, +and the only division which succeeded in crossing was the one that +Washington led in person. It was less than 2500 in number, but the +moment had come when the boldest course was the safest. By daybreak +Washington had surprised the Hessians at Trenton and captured them all. +The outpost at Burlington, on hearing the news, retreated to Princeton. +By the 31st Washington had got all his available force across to +Trenton. Some of them were raw recruits just come in to replace others +who had just gone home. At this critical moment the army was nearly +helpless for want of money, and on New Year's morning Robert Morris was +knocking at door after door in Philadelphia, waking up his friends to +borrow the fifty thousand dollars which he sent off to Trenton before +noon. The next day Cornwallis arrived at Princeton, and taking with him +all the army, except a rear-guard of 2000 men left to protect his +communications, came on toward Trenton. + +When he reached that town, late in the afternoon, he found Washington +entrenched behind a small creek just south of the town, with his back +toward the Delaware river. "Oho!" said Cornwallis, "at last we have run +down the old fox, and we will bag him in the morning." He sent back to +Princeton, and ordered the rear-guard to come up. He expected next +morning to cross the creek above Washington's right, and then press him +back against the broad and deep river, and compel him to surrender. +Cornwallis was by no means a careless general, but he seems to have gone +to bed on that memorable night and slept the sleep of the just. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Princeton, Jan. 3, 1777.] + +Washington meanwhile was wide awake. He kept his front line noisily at +work digging and entrenching, and made a fine show with his campfires. +Then he marched his army to the right and across the creek, and got +around Cornwallis's left wing and into his rear, and so went on gayly +toward Princeton. At daybreak he encountered the British rear-guard, +fought a sharp battle with it and sent it flying, with the loss of +one-fourth of its number. The booming guns aroused Cornwallis too late. +To preserve his communications with New York, he was obliged to retreat +with all haste upon New Brunswick, while Washington's victorious army +pushed on and occupied the strong position at Morristown. + +There was small hope of dislodging such a general from such a position. +But to leave Washington in possession of Morristown was to resign to him +the laurels of this half-year's work. For that position guarded the +Highlands of the Hudson on the one hand, and the roads to Philadelphia +on the other. Except that the British had taken the city of New +York--which from the start was almost a foregone conclusion--they were +no better off than in July when Lord Howe had landed on Staten Island. +In nine days the tables had been completely turned. The attack upon an +outpost had developed into a campaign which quite retrieved the +situation. The ill-timed interference of Congress, which had begun the +series of disasters, was remedied; the treachery of Lee was checkmated; +and the cause of American Independence, which on Christmas Eve had +seemed hopeless, was now fairly set on its feet. Earlier successes had +been local; this was continental. Seldom has so much been done with such +slender means. + + [Sidenote: Effects of the campaign, in Europe.] + +The American war had begun to awaken interest in Europe, especially in +France, whither Franklin, with Silas Deane and Arthur Lee, had been +sent to seek for military aid. The French government was not yet ready +to make an alliance with the United States, but money and arms were +secretly sent over to Congress. Several young French nobles had asked +the king's permission to go to America, but it was refused, and for the +sake of keeping up appearances the refusal had something of the air of a +reprimand. The king did not wish to offend Great Britain prematurely. +One of these nobles was Lafayette, then eighteen years of age, who +fitted up a ship at his own expense, and sailed from Bordeaux in April, +1777, in spite of the royal prohibition, taking with him Kalb and other +officers. Lafayette and Kalb, with the Poles, Kosciuszko and Pulaski, +who had come some time before, and the German Steuben, who came in the +following December, were the five most eminent foreigners who received +commissions in the Continental army. + + [Sidenote: Difficulty in raising an army.] + +During the winter season at Morristown the efforts of Washington were +directed toward the establishment of a regular army to be kept together +for three years or so long as the war should last. Hitherto the military +preparations of Congress had been absurdly weak. Squads of militia had +been enlisted for terms of three or six months, as if there were any +likelihood of the war being ended within such a period. While the men +thus kept coming and going, it was difficult either to maintain +discipline or to carry out any series of military operations. +Accordingly Congress now proceeded to call upon the states for an army +of 80,000 men to serve during the war. The enlisting was to be done by +the states, but the money was to be furnished by Congress. Not half that +number of men were actually obtained. The Continental army was larger in +1777 than in any other year, but the highest number it reached was only +34,820. In addition to these about 34,000 militia turned out in the +course of the year. An army of 80,000 would have taken about the same +proportion of all the fighting men in the country as an army of +1,000,000 in our great Civil War. Now in our Civil War the Union army +grew with the occasion until it numbered more than 1,000,000. But in the +Revolutionary War the Continental army was not only never equal to the +occasion, but it kept diminishing till in 1781 it numbered only 13,292. +This was because the Continental Congress had no power to enforce its +decrees. It could only _ask_ for troops and it could only _ask_ for +money. It found just the same difficulty in getting anything that the +British ministry and the royal governors used to find,--the very same +difficulty that led Grenville to devise the Stamp Act. Everything had to +be talked over in thirteen different legislatures, one state would wait +to see what another was going to do, and meanwhile Washington was +expected to fight battles before his army was fit to take the field. +Something was gained, no doubt, by Congress furnishing the money. But as +Congress could not tax anybody, it had no means of raising a revenue, +except to beg, borrow, or issue its promissory notes, the so-called +Continental paper currency. + + [Sidenote: The British plan for conquering New York in 1777.] + +While Congress was trying to raise an adequate army, the British +ministry laid its plans for the summer campaign. The conquest of the +state of New York must be completed at all hazards; and to this end a +threefold system of movements was devised:-- + +_First_, the army in Canada was to advance upon Ticonderoga, capture it, +and descend the Hudson as far as Albany. This work was now entrusted to +General Burgoyne. + +_Secondly_, in order to make sure of efficient support from the Six +Nations and the Tories of the frontier, a small force under Colonel +Barry St. Leger was to go up the St. Lawrence to Lake Ontario, land at +Oswego, and march down the Mohawk valley to reinforce Burgoyne on the +Hudson. + +_Thirdly_, after leaving a sufficient force to hold the city of New +York, the main army, under Sir William Howe, was to ascend the Hudson, +capture the forts in the Highlands, and keep on to Albany, so as to +effect a junction with Burgoyne and St. Leger. + +It was thought that such an imposing display of military force would +make the Tory party supreme in New York, put an end to all resistance +there, and effectually cut the United States in two. Then if the +southern states on the one hand and the New England states on the other +did not hasten to submit, they might afterward be attacked separately +and subdued. + +In this plan the ministry made the fatal mistake of underrating the +strength of the feeling which, from one end of the United States to the +other, was setting itself every day more and more decidedly against the +Tories and in favour of independence. This feeling grew as fast as the +anti-slavery feeling grew among the northern people during our Civil +War. In 1861 President Lincoln thought it necessary to rebuke his +generals who were too forward in setting free the slaves of persons +engaged in rebellion against the United States. In 1862 he announced his +purpose to emancipate all such slaves; and then it took less than three +years to put an end to slavery forever. It was just so with the +sentiment in favour of separation from Great Britain. In July, 1775, +Thomas Jefferson expressly declared that the Americans had not raised +armies with any intention of declaring their independence of the +mother-country. In July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence, written +by Jefferson, was proclaimed to the world, though the consent of the +middle colonies and of South Carolina seemed somewhat reluctant. By the +summer of 1777 the Tories were almost everywhere in a hopeless minority. +Every day of warfare, showing Great Britain more and more clearly as an +enemy to be got rid of, diminished their strength; so that, even in New +York and South Carolina, where they were strongest, it would not do for +the British ministry to count too much upon any support they might give. + +It was natural enough that King George and his ministers should fail to +understand all this, but their mistake was their ruin. If they had +understood that Burgoyne's march from Lake Champlain to the Hudson river +was to be a march through a country thoroughly hostile, perhaps they +would not have been so ready to send him on such a dangerous expedition. +It would have been much easier and safer to have sent his army by sea to +New York, to reinforce Sir William Howe. Threatening movements might +have been made by some of the Canada forces against Ticonderoga, so as +to keep Schuyler busy in that quarter; and then the army at New York, +thus increased to nearly 40,000 men, might have had a fair chance of +overwhelming Washington by sheer weight of numbers. Such a plan might +have failed, but it is not likely that it would have led to the +surrender of the British army. And if they could have disposed of +Washington, the British might have succeeded. It was more necessary for +them to get rid of him than to march up and down the valley of the +Hudson. But it was not strange that they did not see this as we do. It +is always easy enough to be wise after things have happened. + +Even as it was, if their plan had really been followed, they might have +succeeded. If Howe's army had gone up to meet Burgoyne, the history of +the year 1777 would have been very different from what it was. We shall +presently see why it did not do so. Let us now recount the fortunes of +Burgoyne and St. Leger. + + [Sidenote: Burgoyne takes Ticonderoga, July 5, 1777.] + +Burgoyne came up Lake Champlain in June, and easily won Ticonderoga, +because the Americans had failed to secure a neighbouring position which +commanded the fortress. Burgoyne took Ticonderoga from Mount Defiance, +just as the Americans would have taken Boston from Bunker Hill, if they +had been able to stay there, just as they afterward did take it from +Dorchester Heights, and just as Howe took New York after he had won +Brooklyn Heights. When you have secured a position from which you can +kill the enemy twice as fast as he can kill you, he must of course +retire from the situation; and the sooner he goes, the better chance he +has of living to fight another day. The same principle worked in all +these cases, and it worked with General Howe at Harlem Heights and at +White Plains. + + [Sidenote: Schuyler and Gates.] + +When it was known that Burgoyne had taken Ticonderoga, there was +dreadful dismay in America and keen disappointment among those Whigs in +England whose declared sympathies were with us. George III. was beside +himself with glee, and thought that the Americans were finally defeated +and disposed of. But they were all mistaken. The garrison of Ticonderoga +had taken the alarm and retreated, so that Burgoyne captured only an +empty fortress. He left 1000 men in charge of it, and then pressed on +into the wilderness between Lake Champlain and the upper waters of the +Hudson river. His real danger was now beginning to show itself, and +every day it could be seen more distinctly. He was plunging into a +forest, far away from all possible support from behind, and as he went +on he found that there were not Tories enough in that part of the +country to be of any use to him. As Burgoyne advanced, General Schuyler +prudently retreated, and used up the enemy's time by breaking down +bridges and putting every possible obstacle in his way. Schuyler was a +rare man, thoroughly disinterested and full of sound sense; but he had +many political enemies who were trying to pull him down. A large part of +his army was made up of New England men, who hated him partly for the +mere reason that he was a New Yorker, and partly because as such he had +taken part in the long quarrel between New York and New Hampshire over +the possession of the Green Mountains. The disaffection toward Schuyler +was fomented by General Horatio Gates, who had for some time held +command under him, but was now in Philadelphia currying favour with the +delegates in Congress, especially with those from New England, in the +hope of getting himself appointed to the command of the northern army in +Schuyler's place. Gates was an extremely weak man, but so vain that he +really believed himself equal to the highest command that Congress could +be persuaded to give him. On the battle-field he seems to have been +wanting even in personal courage, as he certainly was in power to handle +his troops; but in society he was quite a lion. He had a smooth +courteous manner and a plausible tongue which paid little heed to the +difference between truth and falsehood. His lies were not very +ingenious, and so they were often detected and pointed out. But while +many people were disgusted by his selfishness and trickery, there were +always some who insisted that he was a great genius. History can point +to a good many men like General Gates. Such men sometimes shine for a +while, but sooner or later they always come to be recognized as humbugs. + +[Illustration: BURGOYNE'S CAMPAIGN.] + + [Sidenote: Battle of Hubbardton, July 7, 1777.] + +While Gates was intriguing, Schuyler was doing all in his power to +impede the enemy's progress. It was on the night of July 5 that the +garrison of Ticonderoga, under General St. Clair, had abandoned the +fortress and retreated southward. On the 7th a battle was fought at +Hubbardton between St. Clair's rear, under Seth Warner, and a portion of +the British army under Fraser and Riedesel. Warner was defeated, but +only after such an obstinate resistance as to check the pursuit, so that +by the 12th St. Clair was able to bring his retreating troops in safety +to Fort Edward, where they were united with Schuyler's army. Schuyler +managed his obstructions so well that Burgoyne's utmost efforts were +required to push into the wilderness at the rate of one mile per day; +and meanwhile Schuyler was collecting a force of militia in the Green +Mountains, under General Lincoln, to threaten Burgoyne in the rear and +cut off his communications with Lake Champlain. + +Burgoyne was accordingly marching into a trap, and Schuyler was doing +the best that could be done. But on the first of August the intrigue +against him triumphed in Congress, and Gates was appointed to supersede +him in the command of the northern army. Gates, however, did not arrive +upon the scene until the 19th of August, and by that time Burgoyne's +situation was evidently becoming desperate. + +On the last day of July Burgoyne reached Fort Edward, which Schuyler +had evacuated just before. Schuyler crossed the Hudson river, and +continued his retreat to Stillwater, about thirty miles above Albany. It +was as far as the American retreat was to go. Burgoyne was already +getting short of provisions, and before he could advance much further he +needed a fresh supply of horses to drag the cannon and stores. He began +to realize, when too late, that he had come far into an enemy's country. +The hostile feelings of the people were roused to fury by the atrocities +committed by the Indians employed in Burgoyne's army. The British +supposed that the savages would prove very useful as scouts and guides, +and that by offers of reward and threats of punishment they might be +restrained from deeds of violence. They were very unruly, however, and +apt to use the tomahawk when they found a chance. + + [Sidenote: Jane McCrea.] + +The sad death of Miss Jane McCrea has been described in almost as many +ways as there have been people to describe it, but no one really knows +how it happened. What is really known is that, on the 27th of July, +while Miss McCrea was staying with her friend Mrs. McNeil, near Fort +Edward, a party of Indians burst into the house and carried off both +ladies. They were pursued by some American soldiers, and a few shots +were exchanged. In the course of the scrimmage the party got scattered, +and Mrs. McNeil was taken alone to the British camp. Next day an Indian +came into the camp with Miss McCrea's scalp, which her friend recognized +from its long silky hair. A search was made, and the body of the poor +girl was found lying near a spring, pierced with three bullet-wounds. +The Indian's story, that she was accidentally killed by a volley from +the American soldiers, may well enough have been true. It is also known +that she was betrothed to David Jones, a lieutenant in Burgoyne's army, +and, as her own home was in New Jersey, her visit to Mrs. McNeil may +very likely have been part of a plan for meeting her lover. These facts +were soon woven into a story, in which Jenny was said to have been +murdered while on her way to her wedding, escorted by a party of Indians +whom her imprudent lover had sent to take charge of her. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Bennington, Aug. 16, 1777.] + +The people of the neighbouring counties, in New York and Massachusetts, +enraged at the death of Miss McCrea and alarmed for the safety of their +own firesides, began rising in arms. Sturdy recruits began marching to +join Schuyler at Stillwater and Lincoln at Manchester in the Green +Mountains. Meanwhile Burgoyne had made up his mind to attack the village +of Bennington, which was Lincoln's centre of supplies. By seizing these +supplies, he could get for himself what he stood sorely in need of, +while at the same time the loss would cripple Lincoln and perhaps oblige +him to retire from the scene. Accordingly 1000 Germans were sent out, +in two detachments under colonels Baum and Breymann, to capture the +village. But instead they were captured themselves. Baum was first +outmanoeuvred, surrounded, and forced to surrender by John Stark, +after a hot fight, in which Baum was mortally wounded. Then Breymann was +put to flight and his troops dispersed by Seth Warner. Of the whole +German force, 207 were killed or wounded, and at least 700 captured. Not +more than 70 got back to the British camp. The American loss in killed +and wounded was 56. + +This brilliant victory at Bennington had important consequences. It +checked Burgoyne's advance until he could get his supplies, and it +decided that Lincoln's militia could get in his rear and cut off his +communications with Ticonderoga. It furthermore inspired the Americans +with the exulting hope that Burgoyne's whole army could be surrounded +and forced to surrender. + + [Sidenote: St. Leger in the Mohawk valley.] + +If, however, the British had been successful in gaining the Mohawk +valley and ensuring the supremacy over that region for the Tories, the +fate of Burgoyne might have been averted. The Tories in that region, +under Sir John Johnson and Colonel John Butler, were really formidable. +As for the Indians of the Iroquois league, they had always been friendly +to the English and hostile to the French; but now, when it came to +making their choice between two kinds of English--the Americans and the +British, they hesitated and differed in opinion. The Mohawks took sides +with the British because of the friendship between Joseph Brant and the +Johnsons. The Cayugas and Senecas followed on the same side; but the +Onondagas, in the centre of the confederacy, remained neutral, and the +Oneidas and Tuscaroras, under the influence of Samuel Kirkland and other +missionaries, showed active sympathy with the Americans. It turned out, +too, that the Whigs were much stronger in the valley than had been +supposed. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Oriskany, Aug. 6, 1777.] + +After St. Leger had landed at Oswego and joined hands with his Tory and +Indian allies, his entire force amounted to about 1700 men. The +principal obstacle to his progress toward the Hudson river was Fort +Stanwix, which stood where the city of Rome now stands. On the 3d of +August St. Leger reached Fort Stanwix and laid siege to it. The place +was garrisoned by 600 men under Colonel Peter Gansevoort, and the Whig +yeomanry of the neighbourhood, under the heroic General Nicholas +Herkimer, were on the way to relieve it, to the number of at least 800. +Herkimer made an excellent plan for surprising St. Leger with an attack +in the rear, while the garrison should sally forth and attack him in +front. But St. Leger's Indian scouts were more nimble than Herkimer's +messengers, so that he obtained his information sooner than Gansevoort. +An ambush was skilfully prepared by Brant in a ravine near Oriskany, and +there, on the 6th of August, was fought the most desperate and murderous +battle of the Revolutionary War. It was a hand to hand fight, in which +about 800 men were engaged on each side, and each lost more than +one-third of its number. As the Tories and Indians were giving way, +their retreat was hastened by the sounds of battle from Fort Stanwix, +where the garrison was making its sally and driving back the besiegers. +Herkimer remained in possession of the field at Oriskany, but his plan +had been for the moment thwarted, and in the battle he had received a +wound from which he died. + + [Sidenote: St. Leger's flight, Aug. 22, 1777.] + +Benedict Arnold had lately been sent by Washington to be of such +assistance as he could to Schuyler. Arnold stood high in the confidence +of both these generals. He had shown himself one of the ablest officers +in the American army, he was especially skilful in getting good work out +of raw troops, and he was a great favourite with his men. On hearing of +the danger of Fort Stanwix, Schuyler sent him to the rescue, with 1200 +men. When he was within twenty miles of that stronghold, he contrived, +with the aid of some friendly Oneidas and a Tory captive whose life he +spared for the purpose, to send on before him exaggerated reports of the +size of his army. The device accomplished far more than he could have +expected. The obstinate resistance at Oriskany had discouraged the +Tories and angered the Indians. Distrust and dissension were already +rife in St. Leger's camp, when such reports came in as to lead many to +believe that Burgoyne had been totally defeated, and that the whole of +Schuyler's army, or a great part of it, was coming up the Mohawk. This +news led to riot and panic among the troops, and on August 22 St. Leger +took to flight and made his way as best he could to his ships at Oswego, +with scarcely the shred of an army left. This catastrophe showed how +sadly mistaken the British had been in their reliance upon Tory help. + +The battle of Bennington was fought on the 16th of August. Now by the +overthrow of St. Leger, six days later, Burgoyne's situation had become +very alarming. It was just in the midst of these events that Gates +arrived, on August 19, and took command of the army at Stillwater, which +was fast growing in numbers. Militia were flocking in, Arnold's force +was returning, and Daniel Morgan was at hand with 500 Virginian +sharpshooters. Unless Burgoyne could win a battle against overwhelming +odds, there was only one thing that could save him; and that was the +arrival of Howe's army at Albany, according to the ministry's programme. +But Burgoyne had not yet heard a word from Howe; and Howe never came. + + [Sidenote: Why Howe failed to coöperate with Burgoyne.] + +This failure of Howe to coöperate with Burgoyne was no doubt the most +fatal military blunder made by the British in the whole course of the +war. The failure was of course unintentional on Howe's part. He meant to +extend sufficient support to Burgoyne, but the trouble was that he +attempted too much. He had another plan in his mind at the same time, +and between the two he ended by accomplishing nothing. While he kept one +eye on Albany, he kept the other on Philadelphia. He had not relished +being driven back across New Jersey by Washington, and the hope of +defeating that general in battle, and then pushing on to the "rebel +capital" strongly tempted him. In such thoughts he was encouraged by the +advice of the captive General Lee. That unscrupulous busybody felt +himself in great danger, for he knew that the British regarded him in +the light of a deserter from their army. While his fate was in suspense, +he informed the brothers Howe that he had abandoned the American cause, +and he offered them his advice and counsel for the summer campaign. This +villainy of Lee's was not known till eighty years afterward, when a +paper of his was discovered that revealed it in all its blackness. The +Howes were sure to pay some heed to Lee's opinions, because he was +supposed to have acquired a thorough knowledge of American affairs. He +advised them to begin by taking Philadelphia, and supported this plan +by plausible arguments. Sir William Howe seems to have thought that he +could accomplish this early in the summer, and then have his hands free +for whatever might be needed on the Hudson river. Accordingly on the +12th of June he started to cross the state of New Jersey with 18,000 +men. + + [Sidenote: Washington's masterly campaign in New Jersey, June, 1777.] + +But Sir William had reckoned without his host. In a campaign of eighteen +days, Washington, with only 8000 men, completely blocked the way for +him, and made him give up the game. The popular histories do not have +much to say about these eighteen days, because they were not marked by +battles. Washington won by his marvellous skill in choosing positions +where Howe could not attack him with any chance of success. Howe +understood this and did not attack. He could not entice Washington into +fighting at a disadvantage, and he could not march on and leave such an +enemy behind without sacrificing his own communications. Accordingly on +June 30 he gave up his plan and retreated to Staten Island. If there +ever was a general who understood the useful art of wasting his +adversary's time, Washington was that general. + +Howe now decided to take his army to Philadelphia by sea. He waited a +while till the news from the north seemed to show that Burgoyne was +carrying everything before him; and then he thought it safe to start. +He left Sir Henry Clinton in command at New York, with 7000 men, telling +him to send a small force up the river to help Burgoyne, should there be +any need of it, which did not then seem likely. Then he put to sea with +his main force of 18,000 men, and went around to the Delaware river, +which he reached at the end of July, just as Burgoyne was reaching Fort +Edward. + + [Sidenote: Howe's strange movement upon Philadelphia, by way of + Chesapeake bay.] + +Howe's next move was very strange. He afterward said that he did not go +up the Delaware river, because he found that there were obstructions and +forts to be passed. But he might have gone up a little way and landed +his forces on the Delaware coast at a point where a single march would +have brought them to Elkton, at the head of Chesapeake bay, about fifty +miles southwest from Philadelphia. Instead of this, he put out to sea +again and sailed four hundred miles, to the mouth of Chesapeake bay and +up that bay to Elkton, where he landed his men on the 25th of August. +Why he took such a roundabout course cannot be understood, unless he may +have attached importance to Lee's advice that the presence of a British +squadron in Chesapeake bay would help to arouse the Tories in Maryland. +The British generals could not seem to make up their minds that America +was a hostile country. Small blame to them, brave fellows that they +were! They could not make war against America in such a fierce spirit as +that in which France would now make war against Germany if she could see +her way clear to do so. They were always counting on American sympathy, +and this was a will-o'-the-wisp that lured them to destruction. + +On landing at Elkton, Howe received orders from London, telling him to +ascend the Hudson river and support Burgoyne, in any event. This order +had left London in May. It was well for the Americans that the telegraph +had not then been invented. Now it was the 25th of August; Burgoyne was +in imminent peril; and Howe was three hundred miles away from him! + + [Sidenote: Battle of the Brandywine, Sept. 11, 1777.] + +All these movements had been carefully watched by Washington; and as +Howe marched toward Philadelphia he found that general blocking the way +at the fords of the Brandywine creek. A battle ensued on the 11th of +September. It was a well-contested battle. With 11,000 men against +18,000, Washington could hardly have been expected to win a victory. He +was driven from the field, but not badly defeated. He kept his army well +in hand, and manoeuvred so skilfully that the British were employed +for two weeks in getting over the twenty-six miles to Philadelphia. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Germantown, Oct. 4, 1777.] + +Before Howe had reached that city, Congress had moved away to York in +Pennsylvania. When he had taken Philadelphia, he found that he could +not stay there without taking the forts on the Delaware river which +prevented the British ships from coming up; for by land Washington could +cut off his supplies, and he could only be sure of them by water. So +Howe detached part of his army to reduce these forts, leaving the rest +of it at Germantown, six miles from Philadelphia. On the 4th of October, +Washington attacked the force at Germantown in such a position that +defeat would have quite destroyed it. The attempt failed at the critical +moment because of a dense fog in which one American brigade fired into +another and caused a brief panic. The forts on the Delaware were +captured after hard fighting, and Washington went into winter quarters +at Valley Forge. + +The result of the summer's work was that, because Howe had made several +mistakes and Washington had taken the utmost advantage of every one of +them, the whole British plan was spoiled. Howe had used up the whole +season in getting to Philadelphia, and Washington's activity had also +kept Sir Henry Clinton's attention so much occupied with what was going +on about the Delaware river as to prevent him from sending aid to the +northward until it was too late. Sir Henry was once actually obliged to +send reinforcements to Howe. + +Thus Burgoyne was left to himself. He supposed that Howe was coming up +the Hudson river to meet him, and so on September 13 he crossed the +river and advanced to attack Gates's army, which was occupying a strong +position at Bemis Heights, between Stillwater and Saratoga. It was a +desperate move. While Burgoyne was making it, Lincoln's men cut his +communications with Ticonderoga, so that his only hope lay in help from +below; and such help never came. In this extremity he was obliged to +fight on ground chosen by the Americans, because he must either fight or +starve. + + [Sidenote: Burgoyne is defeated by Arnold, and surrenders his army, + Oct. 17, 1777.] + +Under these circumstances Burgoyne fought two battles with consummate +gallantry. The first was on September 19, the second on October 7. In +each battle the Americans were led by Arnold and Morgan, and Gates +deserves no credit for either. In both battles Arnold was the leading +spirit, and in the second he was severely wounded at the moment of +victory. In the first battle the British were simply repulsed, in the +second they were totally defeated. This settled the fate of Burgoyne, +and on the 17th of October he surrendered his whole army, now reduced to +less than 6000 men, as prisoners of war. Before the final catastrophe +Sir Henry Clinton had sent a small force up the river to relieve him, +but it was too late. The relieving force succeeded in capturing some of +the Highland forts, but turned back on hearing of Burgoyne's surrender. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE FRENCH ALLIANCE. + + + [Sidenote: Lord North changes front, and France interferes, + Feb., 1778.] + +This capture of a British army made more ado in Europe than anything +which had happened for many a day. It was compared to Leuktra and the +Caudine Fork. The immediate effect in England was to weaken the king and +cause Lord North to change his policy. The tea-duty and the obnoxious +acts of 1774 were repealed, the principles of colonial independence of +Parliament laid down by Otis and Henry were admitted, and commissioners +were sent over to America to negotiate terms of peace. It was hoped that +by such ample concessions the Americans might be so appeased as to be +willing to adopt some arrangement which would leave their country a part +of the British Empire. As soon as the French government saw the first +symptoms of such a change of policy on the part of Lord North, it +decided to enter into an alliance with the United States. There was much +sympathy for the Americans among educated people of all grades of +society in France; but the action of the government was determined +purely by hatred of England. While Great Britain and her colonies were +weakening each other by war, France had up to this moment not cared to +interfere. But if there was the slightest chance of a reconciliation, it +was high time to prevent it; and besides, the American cause was now +prosperous, and something might be made of it. The moment had come for +France to seek revenge for the disasters of the Seven Years' War; and on +the 6th of February, 1778, her treaty of alliance with the United States +was signed at Paris. + + [Sidenote: Untimely death of Lord Chatham, May 11, 1778.] + +At the news of this there was an outburst of popular excitement in +England. There was a strong feeling in favour of peace with America and +war with France, and men of all parties united with Lord North himself +in demanding that Lord Chatham, who represented such a policy, should be +made prime minister. It was rightly believed that he, if any one, could +both conciliate America and humiliate France. There was only one way in +which Chatham could have broken the new alliance which Congress had so +long been seeking. The faith of Congress was pledged to France, and the +Americans would no longer hear of any terms that did not begin with the +acknowledgment of their full independence. To break the alliance, it +would have been necessary to concede the independence of the United +States. The king felt that if he were now obliged to call Chatham to the +head of affairs and allow him to form a strong ministry, it would be the +end of his cherished schemes for breaking down cabinet government. +There was no man whom George III. hated and feared so much as Lord +Chatham. Nevertheless the pressure was so great that, but for Chatham's +untimely death, the king would probably have been obliged to yield. If +Chatham had lived a year longer, the war might have ended with the +surrender of Burgoyne instead of continuing until the surrender of +Cornwallis. As it was, Lord North consented, against his own better +judgment, to remain in office and aid the king's policy as far as he +could. The commissioners sent to America accomplished nothing, because +they were not empowered to grant independence; and so the war went on. + + [Sidenote: Change in the conduct of the war.] + +There was a great change, however, in the manner in which the war was +conducted. In the years 1776 and 1777 the British had pursued a definite +plan for conquering New York and thus severing the connection between +New England and the southern states. During the remainder of the war +their only definite plan was for conquering the southern states. Their +operations at the north were for the most part confined to burning and +plundering expeditions along the coast in their ships, or on the +frontier in connection with Tories and Indians. The war thus assumed a +more cruel character. This was chiefly due to the influence of Lord +George Germaine, the secretary of state for the colonies. He was a +contemptible creature, weak and cruel. He had been dismissed from the +army in 1759 for cowardice at the battle of Minden, and he was so +generally despised that when in 1782 the king was obliged to turn him +out of office and tried to console him by raising him to the peerage as +Viscount Sackville, the House of Lords protested against the admission +of such a creature. George III. had made this man his colonial secretary +in the autumn of 1775, and he had much to do with planning the campaigns +of the next two years. But now his influence in the cabinet seems to +have increased. He was much more thoroughly in sympathy with the king +than Lord North, who at this time was really to be pitied. Lord North +would have been a fine man but for his weakness of will. He was now +keeping up the war in America unwillingly, and was obliged to sanction +many things of which he did not approve. In later years he bitterly +repented this weakness. Now the truculent policy of Lord George Germaine +began to show itself in the conduct of the war. That minister took no +pains to conceal his willingness to employ Indians, to burn towns and +villages, and to inflict upon the American people as much misery as +possible, in the hope of breaking their spirit and tiring them out. + + [Sidenote: The Conway Cabal.] + +In America the first effect of Burgoyne's surrender was to strengthen a +feeling of dissatisfaction with Washington, which had grown up in some +quarters. In reality, as our narrative has shown, Washington had as much +to do with the overthrow of Burgoyne as anybody; for if it had not been +for his skilful campaign in June, 1777, Howe would have taken +Philadelphia in that month, and would then have been free to assist +Burgoyne. It is easy enough to understand such things afterward, but +people never can see them at the time when they are happening. This is +an excellent illustration of what was said at the beginning of this +book, that when people are down in the midst of events they cannot see +the wood because of the trees, and it is only when they have climbed the +hill of history and look back over the landscape that they can see what +things really meant. At the end of the year 1777 people could only see +that Burgoyne had surrendered to Gates, while Washington had lost two +battles and the city of Philadelphia. Accordingly there were many who +supposed that Gates must be a better general than Washington, and in the +army there were some discontented spirits that were only too glad to +take advantage of this feeling. One of these malcontents was an Irish +adventurer, Thomas Conway, who had long served in France and came over +here in time to take part in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. +He had a grudge against Washington, as Charles Lee had. He thought he +could get on better if Washington were out of the way. So he busied +himself in organizing a kind of conspiracy against Washington, which +came to be known as the "Conway Cabal." The purpose was to put forward +Gates to supersede Washington, as he had lately superseded the noble +Schuyler. Gates, of course, lent himself heartily to the scheme; such +intrigues were what he was made for. And there were some of our noblest +men who were dissatisfied with Washington, because they were ignorant of +the military art, and could not understand his wonderful skill, as +Frederick the Great did. Among these were John and Samuel Adams, who +disapproved of "Fabian strategy." Gates and Conway tried to work upon +such feelings. They hoped by thwarting and insulting Washington to wound +his pride and force him to resign. In this wretched work they had +altogether too much help from Congress, but they failed ignominiously +because Gates's lies were too plainly discovered. The attempts to injure +Washington recoiled upon their authors. Never, perhaps, was Washington +so grand as in that sorrowful winter at Valley Forge. + +When the news of the French alliance arrived, in the spring of 1778, +there was a general feeling of elation. People were over-confident. It +seemed as if the British might be driven from the country in the course +of that year. Some changes occurred in both the opposing armies. A great +deal of fault was found in England with Howe and Burgoyne. The latter +was allowed to go home in the spring, and took his seat in Parliament +while still a prisoner on parole. He was henceforth friendly to the +Americans, and opposed the further prosecution of the war. Sir William +Howe resigned his command in May and went home in order to defend his +conduct. Shortly before his appointment to the chief command in America, +he had uttered a prophecy somewhat notable as coming from one who was +about to occupy such a position. In a speech at Nottingham he had +expressed the opinion that the Americans could not be subdued by any +army that Great Britain could raise! + + [Sidenote: Howe is superseded by Clinton.] + +Howe was succeeded in the chief command by Sir Henry Clinton. His +brother, Lord Howe, remained in command of the fleet until the autumn, +when he was succeeded by Admiral Byron. During the winter the American +army had received a very important reinforcement in the person of Baron +von Steuben, an able and highly educated officer who had served on the +staff of Frederick the Great. Steuben was appointed inspector-general +and taught the soldiers Prussian discipline and tactics until the +efficiency of the army was more than doubled. About the time of Sir +William Howe's departure, Charles Lee was exchanged, and came back to +his old place as senior major-general in the Continental army. Since +his capture there had been a considerable falling off in his reputation, +but nothing was known of his treasonable proceedings with the Howes. +Probably no one in the British army knew anything about that affair +except the Howes and their private secretary Sir Henry Strachey. Lee saw +that the American cause was now in the ascendant, and he was as anxious +as ever to supplant Washington. + + [Sidenote: The Americans take the offensive; Lee's misconduct at + Monmouth, June 28, 1778.] + +The Americans now assumed the offensive. Count d'Estaing was approaching +the coast with a powerful French fleet. Should he be able to defeat Lord +Howe and get control of the Delaware river, the British army in +Philadelphia would be in danger of capture. Accordingly on the 18th of +June that city was evacuated by Sir Henry Clinton and occupied by +Washington. As there were not enough transports to take the British army +around to New York by sea, it was necessary to take the more hazardous +course of marching across New Jersey. Washington pursued the enemy +closely, with the view of forcing him to battle in an unfavourable +situation and dealing him a fatal blow. There was some hope of effecting +this, as the two armies were now about equal in size--15,000 in +each--and the Americans were in excellent training. The enemy were +overtaken at Monmouth Court House on the morning of June 28, but the +attack was unfortunately entrusted to Lee, who disobeyed orders and +made an unnecessary and shameful retreat. Washington arrived on the +scene in time to turn defeat into victory. The British were driven from +the field, but Lee's misconduct had broken the force of the blow which +Washington had aimed at them. Lee was tried by court-martial and at +first suspended from command, then expelled from the army. It was the +end of his public career. He died in October, 1782. + +After the battle of Monmouth the British continued their march to New +York, and Washington moved his army to White Plains. Count d'Estaing +arrived at Sandy Hook in July with a much larger fleet than the British +had in the harbour, and a land force of 4000 men. It now seemed as if +Clinton's army might be cooped up and compelled to surrender, but on +examination it appeared that the largest French ships drew too much +water to venture to cross the bar. All hope of capturing New York was +accordingly for the present abandoned. + +[Siege of Newport, Aug. 1778.] + +The enemy, however, had another considerable force near at hand, besides +Clinton's. Since December, 1776, they had occupied the island which +gives its name to the state of Rhode Island. Its position was safe and +convenient. It enabled them, if they should see fit, to threaten Boston +on the one hand and the coast of Connecticut on the other, and thus to +make diversions in aid of Sir Henry Clinton. The force on Rhode Island +had been increased to 6000 men, under command of Sir Robert Pigott. The +Americans believed that the capture of so large a force, could it be +effected, would so discourage the British as to bring the war to an end; +and in this belief they were very likely right. The French fleet +accordingly proceeded to Newport; to the 4000 French infantry Washington +added 1500 of the best of his Continentals; levies of New England +yeomanry raised the total strength to 13,000; and the general command of +the American troops was given to Sullivan. + +The expedition was poorly managed, and failed completely. There was some +delay in starting. During the first week of August the Americans landed +upon the island and occupied Butts Hill. The French had begun to land on +Conanicut when they learned that Lord Howe was approaching with a +powerful fleet. The count then reëmbarked his men and stood out to sea, +manoeuvring for a favourable position for battle. Before the fight had +begun, a terrible storm scattered both fleets and damaged them severely. +When D'Estaing had got his ships together again, which was not till the +20th of August, he insisted upon going to Boston for repairs, and took +his infantry with him. This vexed Sullivan and disgusted the yeomanry, +who forthwith dispersed and went home to look after their crops. General +Pigott then tried the offensive, and attacked Sullivan in his strong +position on Butts Hill, on the 29th of August. The British were +defeated, but the next day Sullivan learned that Clinton was coming with +heavy reinforcements, and so he was obliged to abandon the enterprise +and lose no time in getting his own troops into a safe position on the +mainland. In November the French fleet sailed for the West Indies, and +Clinton was obliged to send 5000 men from New York to the same quarter +of the world. + + [Sidenote: Wyoming and Cherry Valley, July-Nov., 1778.] + +In the years 1778 and 1779 the warfare on the border assumed formidable +proportions. The Tories of central New York, under the Johnsons and +Butlers, together with Brant and his Mohawks, made their headquarters at +Fort Niagara, from which they struck frequent and terrible blows at the +exposed settlements on the frontier. Early in July, 1778, a force of +1200 men, under John Butler, spread death and desolation through the +beautiful valley of Wyoming in Pennsylvania. On the 10th of November, +Brant and Walter Butler destroyed the village of Cherry Valley in New +York, and massacred the inhabitants. Many other dreadful things were +done in the course of this year; but the affairs of Wyoming and Cherry +Valley made a deeper impression than all the rest. During the following +spring Washington organized an expedition of 5000 men, and sent it, +under Sullivan, to lay waste the Iroquois country and capture the nest +of Tory malefactors at Fort Niagara. While they were slowly advancing +through the wilderness, Brant sacked the town of Minisink and destroyed +a force of militia sent against him. But on the 29th of August a battle +was fought on the site of the present town of Elmira, in which the +Tories and Indians were defeated with great slaughter. The American army +then marched through the country of the Cayugas and Senecas, and laid it +waste. More than forty Indian villages were burned and all the corn was +destroyed, so that the approach of winter brought famine and pestilence. +Sullivan was not able to get beyond the Genesee river for want of +supplies, and so Fort Niagara escaped. The Iroquois league had received +a blow from which it never recovered, though for two years more their +tomahawks were busy on the frontier. + + [Sidenote: Conquest of the northwestern territory, 1778-79.] + +At intervals during the Revolution there was more or less Indian warfare +all along the border. Settlers were making their way into Kentucky and +Tennessee. Feuds with these encroaching immigrants led the powerful +tribe of Cherokees to take part with the British, and they made trouble +enough until they were crushed by John Sevier, the "lion of the border." +In 1778 Colonel Hamilton, the British commander at Detroit, attempted to +stir up all the western tribes to a concerted attack upon the frontier. +When the news of this reached Virginia, an expedition was sent out +under George Rogers Clark, a youth of twenty-four years, to carry the +war into the enemy's country. In an extremely interesting and romantic +series of movements, Clark took the posts of Kaskaskia and Cahokia, on +the Mississippi river, defeated and captured Colonel Hamilton at +Vincennes, on the Wabash, and ended by conquering the whole northwestern +territory for the state of Virginia. + + [Sidenote: Storming of Stony Point, July 15, 1779.] + +The year 1779 saw very little fighting in the northern states between +the regular armies. The British confined themselves chiefly to marauding +expeditions along the coast, from Martha's Vineyard down to the James +river. These incursions were marked by cruelties unknown in the earlier +part of the war. Their chief purpose would seem to have been to carry +out Lord George Germaine's idea of harassing the Americans as +vexatiously as possible. But in Connecticut, which perhaps suffered the +worst, there was a military purpose. In July, 1779, an attack was made +upon New Haven, and the towns of Fairfield and Norwalk were burned. The +object was to induce Washington to weaken his force on the Hudson river +by sending away troops to protect the Connecticut towns. Clinton now +held the river as far up as Stony Point, and he hoped by this diversion +to prepare for an attack upon Washington which, if successful, might end +in the fall of West Point. If the British could get possession of West +Point, it would go far toward retrieving the disaster which had befallen +them at Saratoga. Washington's retort was characteristic of him. He did, +as always, what the enemy did not expect. He called Anthony Wayne and +asked him if he thought he could carry Stony Point by storm. Wayne +replied that he could storm a very much hotter place than any known in +terrestrial geography, if Washington would plan the attack. Plan and +performance were equally good. At midnight of July 15 the fort was +surprised and carried in a superb assault with bayonets, without the +firing of a gun on the American side. It was one of the most brilliant +assaults in all military history. It instantly relieved Connecticut, but +Washington did not think it prudent to retain the fortress. The works +were all destroyed, and the garrison, with the cannon and stores, +withdrawn. The American army was as much as possible concentrated about +West Point. In the general situation of affairs on the Hudson there was +but little change for the next two years. + +It may seem strange that so little was done in all this time. But, in +fact, both England and the United States were getting exhausted, so far +as the ability to carry on war was concerned. + + [Sidenote: How England was weakened and hampered, 1778-81.] + +As regards England, the action of France had seriously complicated the +situation. England had now to protect her colonies and dependencies on +the Mediterranean, in Africa, in Hindustan, and in the West Indies. In +1779 Spain declared war against her, in the hope of regaining Gibraltar +and the Floridas. For three years Gibraltar was besieged by the allied +French and Spanish forces. A Spanish fleet laid siege to Pensacola. +France strove to regain the places which England had formerly won from +her in Senegambia. War broke out in India with the Mahrattas, and with +Hyder Ali of Mysore, and it required all the genius of Warren Hastings +to save England's empire in Asia. We have already seen how Clinton, in +the autumn of 1778, was obliged to weaken his force in New York by +sending 5,000 men to the West Indies. Before the end of 1779 there were +314,000 British troops on duty in various parts of the world, but not +enough could be spared for service in New York to defeat Washington's +little army of 15,000. We thus begin to realize what a great event was +the surrender of Burgoyne. The loss of 6,000 men by England was not in +itself irreparable; but in leading to the intervention of France it was +like the touching of a spring or the drawing of a bolt which sets in +motion a vast system of machinery. + +Under these circumstances George III. tried to form an alliance with +Russia, and offered the island of Minorca as an inducement. Russia +declined the offer, and such action as she took was hostile to England. +It had formerly been held that the merchant ships of neutral nations, +employed in trade with nations at war, might lawfully be overhauled and +searched by war ships of either of the belligerent nations, and their +goods confiscated. England still held this doctrine and acted upon it. +But during the eighteenth century her maritime power had increased to +such an extent that she could damage other nations in this way much more +than they could damage her. Other nations accordingly began to maintain +that goods carried in neutral ships ought to be free from seizure. Early +in 1780 Denmark, Sweden, and Russia entered into an agreement known as +the Armed Neutrality, by which they pledged themselves to unite in +retaliating upon England whenever any of her cruisers should molest any +of their ships. This league was a new source of danger to England, +because it entailed the risk of war with Russia. + + [Sidenote: Paul Jones, 1779.] + +During these years several bold American cruisers had made the stars and +stripes a familiar sight in European waters. The most famous of these +cruisers, Paul Jones, made his name a terror upon the coasts of England, +burned the ships in a port of Cumberland, sailed into the Frith of Forth +and threatened Edinburgh, and finally captured two British war vessels +off Flamborough Head, in one of the most desperate sea-fights on +record. + + [Sidenote: St. Eustatius, Feb., 1781.] + +Paul Jones was a regularly commissioned captain in the American navy, +but because the British did not recognize Congress as a legal body they +called him a pirate. When he took his prizes into a port in Holland, +they requested the Dutch government to surrender him into their hands, +as if he were a mere criminal to be tried at the Old Bailey. But the +Dutch let him stay in port ten weeks and then depart in peace. This +caused much irritation, and as there was also perpetual quarrelling over +the plunder of Dutch ships by British cruisers, the two nations went to +war in December, 1780. One of England's reasons for entering into this +war was the desire to capture the little Dutch island of St. Eustatius +in the West Indies. An immense trade was carried on there between +Holland and the United States, and it was believed that the stoppage of +this trade would be a staggering blow to the Americans. It was captured +in February, 1781, by Admiral Rodney, private property was seized to the +amount of more than twenty million dollars, and the inhabitants were +treated with shameful brutality. + + [Sidenote: How the Americans were weakened and hampered. The want + of union.] + +As England was thus fighting single-handed against France, Spain, +Holland, and the United States, while the attitude of all the neutral +powers was unfriendly, we can find no difficulty in understanding the +weakness of her military operations in some quarters. The United States, +on the other hand, found it hard to carry on the war for very different +reasons. In the first place the country was really weak. The military +strength of the American Union in 1780 was inferior to that of Holland, +and about on a level with that of Denmark or Portugal. But furthermore +the want of union made it hard to bring out such strength as there was. +In the autumn of 1777 the Articles of Confederation were submitted to +the several states for adoption; but the spring of 1781 had arrived +before all the thirteen states had ratified them. These articles left +the Continental Congress just what it was before, a mere advisory body, +without power to enlist soldiers or levy taxes, without federal courts +or federal officials, and with no executive head to the government. As +we have already seen, the only way in which Congress could get money +from the people was by requisitions upon the states, by _asking_ the +state-governments for it. This was always a very slow way to get money, +and now the states were unusually poor. There was very little +accumulated capital. Farming, fishing, ship-building, and foreign trade +were the chief occupations. Farms and plantations suffered considerably +from the absence of their owners in the army, and many were kept from +enlisting, because it was out of the question to go and leave their +families to starve. As for ship-building, fishing, and foreign trade, +these occupations were almost annihilated by British cruisers. No doubt +the heaviest blows that we received were thus dealt us on the water. + + [Sidenote: Fall of the Continental currency:--"Not worth a + Continental."] + +The people were so poor that the states found it hard to collect enough +revenue for their own purposes, and most of them had a way of issuing +paper money of their own, which made things still worse. Under such +circumstances they had very little money to give to Congress. It was +necessary to borrow of France, or Spain, or Holland, and by the time +these nations were all at war, that became very difficult. From the +beginning of the war Congress had issued paper notes, and in 1778 the +depreciation in their value was already alarming. But as soon as the +exultation over Burgoyne's surrender had subsided, as soon as the hope +of speedily driving out the British had been disappointed, people soon +lost all confidence in the power of Congress to pay its notes, and in +1779 their value began falling with frightful rapidity. In 1780 they +became worthless. It took $150 in Continental currency to buy a bushel +of corn, and an ordinary suit of clothes cost $2000. Then people refused +to take it, and resorted to barter, taking their pay in sheep or +ploughs, in jugs of rum or kegs of salt pork, or whatever they could +get. It thus became almost impossible either to pay soldiers, or to +clothe and feed them properly and supply them with powder and ball. We +thus see why the Americans, as well as the British conducted the war so +languidly that for two years after the storming of Stony Point their +main armies sat and faced each other by the Hudson river, without any +movements of importance. + + [Sidenote: The British conquer Georgia, 1779.] + +In one quarter, however, the British began to make rapid progress. They +possessed the Floridas, having got them from Spain by the treaty of +1763. Next them lay Georgia, the weakest of the thirteen states, and +then came the Carolinas, with a strong Tory element in the population. +For such reasons, after the great invasion of New York had failed, the +British tried the plan of starting at the southern extremity of the +Union and lopping off one state after another. In the autumn of 1778 +General Prevost advanced from East Florida, and in a brief campaign +succeeded in capturing Savannah, Sunbury, and Augusta. General Lincoln, +who had won distinction in the Saratoga campaign, was appointed to +command the American forces in the South. He sent General Ashe, with +1500 men, to threaten Augusta. At Ashe's approach, the British abandoned +the town and retreated toward Savannah. Ashe pursued too closely and at +Briar Creek, March 3, 1779, the enemy turned upon him and routed him. +The Americans lost nearly 1000 men killed, wounded, and captured, +besides their cannon and small arms; and this victory cost the British +only 16 men killed and wounded. Augusta was reoccupied, the royal +governor, Sir James Wright, was reinstated in office, and the machinery +of government which had been in operation previous to 1776 was restored. +Lincoln now advanced upon Augusta, but Prevost foiled him by returning +the offensive and marching upon Charleston. In order to protect that +city, Lincoln was obliged to retrace his steps. It was now the middle of +May, and little more was done till September, when D'Estaing returned +from the West Indies. On the 23d Savannah was invested by the combined +forces of Lincoln and D'Estaing, and the siege was vigorously carried on +for a fortnight. Then the French admiral grew impatient. On the 9th of +October a fierce assault was made, in which the allies were defeated +with the loss of 1000 men, including the gallant Pulaski. The French +fleet then departed, and the British could look upon Georgia as +recovered. + + [Sidenote: And capture Charleston, with Lincoln's army, + May 12, 1780.] + +It was South Carolina's turn next. Washington was obliged to weaken his +own force by sending most of the southern troops to Lincoln's +assistance. Sir Henry Clinton then withdrew the garrisons from his +advanced posts on the Hudson, and also from Rhode Island, and was thus +able to leave an adequate force in New York, while he himself set sail +for Savannah, December 26, 1779, with a considerable army. After the +British forces were united in Georgia, they amounted to more than +13,000 men, against whom Lincoln could bring but 7000. The fate of the +American army shows us what would probably have happened in New York in +1776 if an ordinary general instead of Washington had been in command. +Lincoln allowed himself to be cooped up in Charleston, and after a siege +of two months was obliged to surrender the city and his whole army on +the 12th of May, 1780. This was the most serious disaster the Americans +had suffered since the loss of Fort Washington. The dashing cavalry +leader, Tarleton, soon cut to pieces whatever remnants of their army +were left in South Carolina. Sir Henry Clinton returned in June to New +York, leaving Lord Cornwallis with 5000 men to carry on the work. The +Tories, thus supported, got the upperhand in the interior of the state, +which suffered from all the horrors of civil war. The American cause was +sustained only by partisan leaders, of whom the most famous were Francis +Marion and Thomas Sumter. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Camden, Aug. 16, 1780.] + +When the news of Lincoln's surrender reached the North, the emergency +was felt to be desperate. A fresh army was raised, consisting of about +2000 superbly trained veterans of the Maryland and Delaware lines, under +the Baron de Kalb, and such militia as could be raised in Virginia and +North Carolina. The chief command was given to Gates, whose conduct from +the start was a series of blunders. The most important strategic point +in South Carolina was Camden, at the intersection of the principal roads +from the coast to the mountains and from north to south. In marching +upon this point Gates was met by Lord Cornwallis on the 16th of August +and utterly routed. Kalb was mortally wounded at the head of the +Maryland troops, who held their ground nobly till overwhelmed by +numbers; the Delaware men were cut to pieces; the militia were swept +away in flight, and Gates with them. His northern laurels, as it was +said, had changed into southern willows; and for the second time within +three months an American army at the South had been annihilated. + +This was, on the whole, the darkest moment of the war. For a moment in +July there had been a glimmer of hopefulness when the Count de +Rochambeau arrived with 6000 men who were landed on Rhode Island. The +British fleet, however, soon came and blockaded them there, and again +the hearts of the people were sickened with hope deferred. It seemed as +if Lord George Germaine's policy of "tiring the Americans out" might be +going to succeed after all. When the value of the Continental paper +money now fell to zero, it was a fair indication that the people had +pretty much lost all faith in Congress. In the army the cases of +desertion to the British lines averaged about a hundred per month. + + [Sidenote: Benedict Arnold's treason, July-Sept., 1780.] + +This was a time when a man of bold and impulsive temperament, prone to +cherish romantic schemes, smarting under an accumulation of injuries, +and weak in moral principle, might easily take it into his head that the +American cause was lost, and that he had better carve out a new career +for himself, while wreaking vengeance on his enemies. Such seems to have +been the case with Benedict Arnold. He had a great and well-earned +reputation for skill and bravery. His military services up to the time +of Burgoyne's surrender had been of priceless value, and he had always +stood high in Washington's favour. But he had a genius for getting into +quarrels, and there seem always to have been people who doubted his +moral soundness. At the same time he had good reason to complain of the +treatment which he received from Congress. The party hostile to +Washington sometimes liked to strike at him in the persons of his +favourite generals, and such admirable men as Greene and Morgan had to +bear the brunt of this ill feeling. Early in 1777 five brigadier +generals junior to Arnold in rank and vastly inferior to him in ability +and reputation had been promoted over him to the grade of major-general. +On this occasion he had shown an excellent spirit, and when sent by +Washington to the aid of Schuyler, he had signified his willingness to +serve under St. Clair and Lincoln, two of the juniors who had been +raised above him. Arnold was a warm friend to Schuyler, and perhaps did +not take enough pains to conceal his poor opinion of Gates. Other +officers in the northern army let it plainly be seen that they placed +more confidence in Arnold than in Gates, and the result was a bitter +quarrel between the two generals, echoes of which were probably +afterwards heard in Congress. + +If Arnold's wound on the field of Saratoga had been a mortal wound, he +would have been ranked, among the military heroes of the Revolution, +next to Washington and Greene. Perhaps, however, in a far worse sense +than is commonly conveyed by the term, it proved to be his death-wound, +for it led to his being placed in command of Philadelphia. He was +assigned to that position because his wounded leg made him unfit for +active service. Congress had restored him to his relative rank, but now +he soon got into trouble with the state government of Pennsylvania. It +is not easy to determine how much ground there may have been for the +charges brought against him early in 1779 by the state government. One +of them concerned his personal honesty, the others were so trivial in +character as to make the whole affair look somewhat like a case of +persecution. They were twice investigated, once by a committee of +Congress and once by a court-martial. On the serious charge, which +affected his pecuniary integrity, he was acquitted; on two of the +trivial charges, of imprudence in the use of some public wagons, and of +carelessness in granting a pass for a ship, he was convicted and +sentenced to be reprimanded. The language in which Washington couched +the reprimand showed his feeling that Arnold was too harshly dealt with. + +If the matter had stopped here, posterity would probably have shared +Washington's feeling. But the government of Pennsylvania must have had +stronger grounds for distrust of Arnold than it was able to put into the +form of definite charges. Soon after his arrival in Philadelphia he fell +in love with a beautiful Tory lady, to whom he was presently married. He +was thus thrown much into the society of Tories and was no doubt +influenced by their views. He had for some time considered himself +ill-treated, and at first thought of leaving the service and settling +upon a grant of land in western New York. Then, as the charges against +him were pressed and his anger increased, he seems to have dallied with +the notion of going over to the British. At length in the early summer +of 1780, after the reprimand, his treasonable purpose seems to have +taken definite shape. As General Monk in 1660 decided that the only way +to restore peace in England was to desert the cause of the Commonwealth +and bring back Charles II., so Arnold seems now to have thought that the +cause of American independence was ruined, and that the best prospect +for a career for himself lay in deserting it and helping to bring back +the rule of George III. In this period of general depression, when even +the unconquerable Washington said "I have almost ceased to hope," one +staggering blow would be very likely to end the struggle. There could be +no heavier blow than the loss of the Hudson river, and with baseness +almost incredible Arnold asked for the command of West Point, with the +intention of betraying it into the hands of Sir Henry Clinton. The depth +of his villainy on this occasion makes it probable that there were good +grounds for the suspicions with which some people had for a long time +regarded him, although Washington, by putting him in command of the most +important position in the country, showed that his own confidence in him +was unabated. The successful execution of the plot seemed to call for a +personal interview between Arnold and Clinton's adjutant-general, Major +John André, who was entrusted with the negotiation. Such a secret +interview was extremely difficult to bring about, but it was effected on +the 21st of September, 1780. After a marvellous chapter of accidents, +André was captured just before reaching the British lines. But for his +hasty and quite unnecessary confession that he was a British officer, +which led to his being searched, the plot would in all probability have +been successful. The papers found on his person, which left no room for +doubt as to the nature of the black scheme, were sent to Washington; +the principal traitor, forewarned just in the nick of time, escaped to +the British at New York; and Major André was condemned as a spy and +hanged on the 2d of October. + + [Sidenote: Battle of King's Mountain, Oct. 7, 1780.] + +Only five days after the execution of André an event occurred at the +South which greatly relieved the prevailing gloom of the situation. It +was the first of a series of victories which were soon to show that the +darkness of 1780 was the darkness that comes before dawn. After his +victory at Camden, Lord Cornwallis found it necessary to give his army +some rest from the intense August heat. In September he advanced into +North Carolina, boasting that he would soon conquer all the states south +of the Susquehanna river. But his line of march now lay far inland, and +the British armies were never able to accomplish much except in the +neighbourhood of their ships, where they could be reasonably sure of +supplies. In traversing Mecklenburg county Cornwallis soon found himself +in a very hostile and dangerous region, where there were no Tories to +befriend him. One of his best partisan commanders, Major Ferguson, +penetrated too far into the mountains. The backwoodsmen of Tennessee and +Kentucky, the Carolinas, and western Virginia were aroused; and under +their superb partisan leaders--Shelby, Sevier, Cleaveland, McDowell, +Campbell, and Williams--gave chase to Ferguson, who took refuge upon +what he deemed an impregnable position on the top of King's Mountain. On +the 7th of October the backwoodsmen stormed the mountain, Ferguson was +shot through the heart, 400 of his men were killed and wounded, and all +the rest, 700 in number, surrendered at discretion. The Americans lost +28 killed and 60 wounded. There were some points in this battle, which +remind one of the British defeat at Majuba Hill in southern Africa in +1881. + +In the series of events which led to the surrender of Cornwallis, the +battle of King's Mountain played a part similar to that played by the +battle of Bennington in the series of events which led to the surrender +of Burgoyne. It was the enemy's first serious disaster, and its +immediate result was to check his progress until the Americans could +muster strength enough to overthrow him. The events, however, were much +more complicated in Cornwallis's case, and took much longer to unfold +themselves. Burgoyne surrendered within nine anxious weeks after +Bennington; Cornwallis maintained himself, sometimes with fair hopes of +final victory, for a whole year after King's Mountain. + +[Illustration] + + [Sidenote: Greene takes command in South Carolina, Dec. 2, 1780.] + +As soon as he heard the news of the disaster he fell back to +Winnsborough, in South Carolina, and called for reinforcements. While +they were arriving, the American army, recruited and reorganized +since its crushing defeat at Camden, advanced into Mecklenburg county. +Gates was superseded by Greene, who arrived upon the scene on the 2d of +December. Under Greene were three Virginians of remarkable +ability,--Daniel Morgan; William Washington, who was a distant cousin of +the commander-in-chief; and Henry Lee, familiarly known as "Light-horse +Harry," father of the great general, Robert Edward Lee. The little army +numbered only 2000 men, but a considerable part of them were disciplined +veterans fully a match for the British infantry. + +In order to raise troops in Virginia to increase this little force, +Steuben was sent down to that state. In order to interfere with such +recruiting, and to make diversions in aid of Cornwallis, detachments +from the British army were also sent by sea from New York to Virginia. +The first of these detachments, under General Leslie, had been obliged +to keep on to South Carolina, to make good the loss inflicted upon +Cornwallis at King's Mountain. To replace Leslie in Virginia, the +traitor Arnold was sent down from New York. The presence of these +subsidiary forces in Virginia was soon to influence in a decisive way +the course of events. + + [Sidenote: Battle of the Cowpens, Jan. 17, 1781.] + +Greene, on reaching South Carolina, acted with boldness and originality. +He divided his little army into two bodies, one of which coöperated +with Marion's partisans in the northeastern part of the state, and +threatened Cornwallis's communications with the coast. The other body he +sent under Morgan to the southwestward, to threaten the inland posts and +their garrisons. Thus worried on both flanks, Cornwallis presently +divided his own force, sending Tarleton with 1100 men, to dispose of +Morgan. Tarleton came up with Morgan on the 17th of January, 1781, at a +grazing-ground known as the Cowpens, not far from King's Mountain. The +battle which ensued was well fought, and on Morgan's part it was a +wonderful piece of tactics. With only 900 men in open field he +surrounded and nearly annihilated a superior force. The British lost 230 +in killed and wounded, 600 prisoners, and all their guns. Tarleton +escaped with 270 men. The Americans lost 12 killed and 61 wounded. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Guilford, March 15, 1781.] + +The two battles, King's Mountain and the Cowpens, deprived Cornwallis of +nearly all his light-armed troops, and he was just entering upon a game +where swiftness was especially required. It was his object to intercept +Morgan and defeat him before he could effect a junction with the other +part of the American army. It was Greene's object to march the two parts +of his army in converging directions northward across North Carolina and +unite them in spite of Cornwallis. By moving in this direction Greene +was always getting nearer to his reinforcements from Virginia, while +Cornwallis was always getting further from his supports in South +Carolina. It was brilliant strategy on Greene's part, and entirely +successful. Cornwallis had to throw away a great deal of his baggage and +otherwise weaken himself, but in spite of all he could do, he was +outmarched. The two wings of the American army came together and were +joined by the reinforcements; so that at Guilford Court House, on the +15th of March, Cornwallis found himself obliged to fight against heavy +odds, two hundred miles from the coast and almost as far from the +nearest point in South Carolina at which he could get support. + +The battle of Guilford was admirably managed by both commanders and +stubbornly fought by the troops. At nightfall the British held the +field, with the loss of nearly one third of their number, and the +Americans were repulsed. But Cornwallis could not stay in such a place, +and could not afford to risk another battle. There was nothing for him +to do but retreat to Wilmington, the nearest point on the coast. There +he stopped and pondered. + + [Sidenote: Cornwallis retreats into Virginia.] + +His own force was sadly depleted, but he knew that Arnold in Virginia +was being heavily reinforced from New York. The only safe course seemed +to march northward and join in the operations in Virginia; then +afterwards to return southward. This course Cornwallis pursued, arriving +at Petersburg and taking command of the troops there on the 20th of May. + + [Sidenote: Greene takes Camden, May 10, 1781.] + + [Sidenote: Battle of Eutaw Springs, Sept. 8, 1781.] + +Meanwhile Greene, after pursuing Cornwallis for about fifty miles from +Guilford, faced about and marched with all speed upon Camden, a hundred +and sixty miles distant. Whatever his adversary might do, he was now +going to seize the great prize of the campaign, and break the enemy's +hold upon South Carolina. Lord Rawdon held Camden. Greene stopped at +Hobkirk's Hill, two miles to the north, and sent Marion and Lee to take +Fort Watson, and thus cut the enemy's communications with the coast. On +April 23 Fort Watson surrendered; on the 25th Rawdon defeated Greene at +Hobkirk's Hill, but as his communications were cut, the victory did him +no good. He was obliged to retreat toward the coast, and Greene took +Camden on the 10th of May. Having thus obtained the commanding point, +Greene went on until he had reduced every one of the inland posts. At +last on the 8th of September he fought an obstinate battle at Eutaw +Springs, in which both sides claimed the victory. The facts were that he +drove the British from their first position, but they rallied upon a +second position from which he failed to drive them. Here, however, as +always after one of Greene's battles, it was the enemy who retreated +and he who pursued. His strategy never failed. After Eutaw Springs the +British remained shut up in Charleston under cover of their ships, and +the American government was reëstablished over South Carolina. Among all +the campaigns in history that have been conducted with small armies, +there have been few, if any, more brilliant than Greene's. + + [Sidenote: Lafayette and Cornwallis in Virginia, May-Sept., 1781.] + +There was something especially piquant in the way in which after +Guilford he left Cornwallis to himself. It reminds one of a chess-player +who first gets the queen off the board, where she can do no harm, and +then wins the game against the smaller pieces. As for Cornwallis, when +he reached Petersburg, May 20, he found himself at the head of 5000 men. +Arnold had just been recalled to New York, and Lafayette, who had been +sent down to oppose him, was at Richmond with 3000 men. A campaign of +nine weeks ensued, in the first part of which Cornwallis tried to catch +Lafayette and bring him to battle. The general movement was from +Richmond up to Fredericksburg, then over toward Charlottesville, then +back to the James river, then down the north bank of the river. But +during the last part the tables were turned, and it was Lafayette, +reinforced by Wayne and Steuben, that pursued Cornwallis on his retreat +to the coast. At the end of July the British general reached Yorktown, +where he was reinforced and waited with 7000 men. + + [Sidenote: Washington's masterly movement.] + +We may now change our simile, and liken Cornwallis to a ball between two +bats. The first bat, which had knocked him up into Virginia, was Greene; +the second, which sent him quite out of the game, was Washington. The +remarkable movement which the latter general now proceeded to execute +would have been impossible without French coöperation. A French fleet of +overwhelming power, under the Count de Grasse, was approaching +Chesapeake bay. Washington, in readiness for it, had first moved +Rochambeau's army from Rhode Island across Connecticut to the Hudson +river. Then, as soon as all the elements of the situation were +disclosed, he left part of his force in position on the Hudson, and in a +superb march led the rest down to Virginia. Sir Henry Clinton at New +York was completely hoodwinked. He feared that the real aim of the +French fleet was New York, in which case it would be natural that an +American land-force should meet it at Staten island. Now a glance at the +map of New Jersey will show that Washington's army, starting from West +Point, could march more than half the way toward Philadelphia and still +be supposed to be aiming at Staten island. Washington was a master hand +for secrecy. When his movement was first disclosed, his own generals, as +well as Sir Henry Clinton, took it for granted that Staten island was +the point aimed at. It was not until he had passed Philadelphia that +Clinton began to surmise that he might be going down to Virginia. + +When this fact at length dawned upon the British commander, he made a +futile attempt at a diversion by sending Benedict Arnold to attack New +London. It was as weak as the act of a drowning man who catches at a +straw. Arnold's expedition, cruel and useless as it was, crowned his +infamy. A sad plight for a man of his power! If he had only had more +strength of character, he might now have been marching with his old +friend Washington to victory. With this wretched affair at New London, +the brilliant and wicked Benedict Arnold disappears from American +history. He died in London, in 1801, a broken-hearted and penitent man, +as his grandchildren tell us, praying God with his last breath to +forgive his awful crime. + + [Sidenote: Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Oct. 19, 1781.] + +Washington's march was so swift and so cunningly planned that nothing +could check it. On the 26th of September the situation was complete. +Washington had added his force to that of Lafayette, so that 16,000 men +blockaded Cornwallis upon the Yorktown peninsula. The great French +fleet, commanding the waters about Chesapeake bay, closed in behind and +prevented escape. It was a very unusual thing for the French thus to get +control of the water and defy the British on their own element. It was +Washington's unwearied vigilance that, after waiting long for such a +chance, had seized it without a moment's delay. As soon as Cornwallis +was thus caught between a hostile army and a hostile fleet, the problem +was solved. On the 19th of October the British army surrendered. +Washington presently marched his army back to the Hudson and made his +headquarters at Newburgh. + + [Sidenote: Overthrow of George III.'s political schemes, May, 1784.] + +When Lord North at his office in London heard the dismal news, he walked +up and down the room, wringing his hands and crying, "O God, it is all +over!" Yorktown was indeed decisive. In the course of the winter the +British lost Georgia. The embers of Indian warfare still smouldered on +the border, but the great War for Independence was really at an end. The +king's friends had for some time been losing strength in England, and +Yorktown completed their defeat. In March, 1782, Lord North's ministry +resigned. A succession of short-lived ministries followed; first, Lord +Rockingham's, until July, 1782; then Lord Shelburne's, until February, +1783; then, after five weeks without a government, there came into power +the strange Coalition between Fox and North, from April to December. +During these two years the king was trying to intrigue with one interest +against another so as to maintain his own personal government. With this +end in view he tried the bold experiment of dismissing the Coalition +and making the young William Pitt prime minister, without a majority in +Parliament. After a fierce constitutional struggle, which lasted all +winter, Pitt dissolved Parliament, and in the new election in May, 1784, +obtained the greatest majority ever given to an English minister. But +the victory was Pitt's and the people's, not the king's. This election +of 1784 overthrew all the cherished plans of George III. in pursuance of +which he had driven the American colonies into rebellion. It established +cabinet government more firmly than ever, so that for the next seventeen +years the real ruler of Great Britain was William Pitt. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +BIRTH OF THE NATION. + + + [Sidenote: The treaty of peace, 1782-83.] + +The year 1782 was marked by great victories for the British in the West +Indies and at Gibraltar. But they did not alter the situation in +America. The treaty of peace by which Great Britain acknowledged the +independence of the United States was made under Lord Shelburne's +ministry in the autumn of 1782, and adopted and signed by the Coalition +on the 3d of September, 1783. The negotiations were carried on at Paris +by Franklin, Jay, and John Adams, on the part of the Americans; and they +won a diplomatic victory in securing for the United States the country +between the Alleghany mountains and the Mississippi river. This was done +against the wishes of the French government, which did not wish to see +the United States become too powerful. At the same time Spain recovered +Minorca and the Floridas. France got very little except the satisfaction +of having helped in diminishing the British empire. + + [Sidenote: Troubles with the army, 1781-83.] + +The return of peace did not bring contentment to the Americans. Because +Congress had no means of raising a revenue or enforcing its decrees, it +was unable to make itself respected either at home or abroad. For want +of pay the army became very troublesome. In January, 1781, there had +been a mutiny of Pennsylvania and New Jersey troops which at one moment +looked very serious. In the spring of 1782 some of the officers, +disgusted with the want of efficiency in the government, seem to have +entertained a scheme for making Washington king; but Washington met the +suggestion with a stern rebuke. In March, 1783, inflammatory appeals +were made to the officers at the headquarters of the army at Newburgh. +It seems to have been intended that the army should overawe Congress and +seize upon the government until the delinquent states should contribute +the money needed for satisfying the soldiers and other public creditors. +Gates either originated this scheme or willingly lent himself to it, but +an eloquent speech from Washington prevailed upon the officers to reject +and condemn it. + +On the 19th of April, 1783, the eighth anniversary of Lexington, the +cessation of hostilities was formally proclaimed, and the soldiers were +allowed to go home on furloughs. The army was virtually disbanded. There +were some who thought that this ought not to be done while the British +forces still remained in New York; but Congress was afraid of the army +and quite ready to see it scattered. On the 21st of June Congress was +driven from Philadelphia by a small band of drunken soldiers clamorous +for pay. It was impossible for Congress to get money. Of the Continental +taxes assessed in 1783, only one fifth part had been paid by the middle +of 1785. After peace was made, France had no longer any end to gain by +lending us money, and European bankers, as well as European governments, +regarded American credit as dead. + + [Sidenote: Congress unable to fulfil the treaty.] + +There was a double provision of the treaty which could not be carried +out because of the weakness of Congress. It had been agreed that +Congress should request the state governments to repeal various laws +which they had made from time to time confiscating the property of +Tories and hindering the collection of private debts due from American +to British merchants. Congress did make such a request, but it was not +heeded. The laws hindering the payment of debts were not repealed; and +as for the Tories, they were so badly treated that between 1783 and 1785 +more than 100,000 left the country. Those from the southern states went +mostly to Florida and the Bahamas; those from the north made the +beginnings of the Canadian states of Ontario and New Brunswick. A good +many of them were reimbursed for their losses by Parliament. + + [Sidenote: Great Britain retaliates, presuming upon the weakness of + the feeling of union among the states.] + +When the British government saw that these provisions of the treaty were +not fulfilled, it retaliated by refusing to withdraw its troops from +the northern and western frontier posts. The British army sailed from +Charleston on the 14th of December, 1782, and from New York on the 25th +of November, 1783, but in contravention of the treaty small garrisons +remained at Ogdensburgh, Oswego, Niagara, Erie, Sandusky, Detroit, and +Mackinaw until the 1st of June, 1796. Besides this, laws were passed +which bore very severely upon American commerce, and the Americans found +it impossible to retaliate because the different states would not agree +upon any commercial policy in common. On the other hand, the states +began making commercial war upon each other, with navigation laws and +high tariffs. Such laws were passed by New York to interfere with the +trade of Connecticut, and the merchants of the latter state began to +hold meetings and pass resolutions forbidding all trade whatever with +New York. + +The old quarrels about territory were kept up, and in 1784 the troubles +in Wyoming and in the Green Mountains came to the very verge of civil +war. People in Europe, hearing of such things, believed that the Union +would soon fall to pieces and become the prey of foreign powers. It was +disorder and calamity of this sort that such men as Hutchinson had +feared, in case the control of Great Britain over the colonies should +cease. George III. looked upon it all with satisfaction, and believed +that before long the states would one after another become repentant and +beg to be taken back into the British empire. + + [Sidenote: The craze for paper money and the Shays rebellion, 1786.] + +The troubles reached their climax in 1786. Because there seemed to be no +other way of getting money, the different states began to issue their +promissory notes, and then tried to compel people by law to receive such +notes as money. There was a strong "paper money" party in all the states +except Connecticut and Delaware. The most serious trouble was in Rhode +Island and Massachusetts. In both states the farmers had been much +impoverished by the war. Many farms were mortgaged, and now and then one +was sold to satisfy creditors. The farmers accordingly clamoured for +paper money, but the merchants in towns like Boston or Providence, +understanding more about commerce, were opposed to any such miserable +makeshifts. In Rhode Island the farmers prevailed. Paper money was +issued, and harsh laws were passed against all who should refuse to take +it at its face value. The merchants refused, and in the towns nearly all +business was stopped during the summer of 1786. + +In the Massachusetts legislature the paper money party was defeated. +There was a great outcry among the farmers against merchants and +lawyers, and some were heard to maintain that the time had come for +wiping out all debts. In August, 1786, the malcontents rose in +rebellion, headed by one Daniel Shays, who had been a captain in the +Continental army. They began by trying to prevent the courts from +sitting, and went on to burn barns, plunder houses, and attack the +arsenal at Springfield. The state troops were called out, under General +Lincoln, two or three skirmishes were fought, in which a few lives were +lost, and at length in February, 1787, the insurrection was suppressed. + + [Sidenote: The Mississippi question, 1786.] + +At that time the mouth of the Mississippi river and the country on its +western bank belonged to Spain. Kentucky and Tennessee were rapidly +becoming settled by people from Virginia and North Carolina, and these +settlers wished to trade with New Orleans. The Spanish government was +unfriendly and wished to prevent such traffic. The people of New England +felt little interest in the southwestern country or the Mississippi +river, but were very anxious to make a commercial treaty with Spain. The +government of Spain refused to make such a treaty except on condition +that American vessels should not be allowed to descend the Mississippi +river below the mouth of the Yazoo. When Congress seemed on the point of +yielding to this demand, the southern states were very angry. The New +England states were equally angry at what they called the obstinacy of +the South, and threats of secession were heard on both sides. + + [Sidenote: The northwestern territory; the first national domain, + 1780-87.] + +Perhaps the only thing that kept the Union from falling to pieces in +1786 was the Northwestern Territory, which George Rogers Clark had +conquered in 1779, and which skilful diplomacy had enabled us to keep +when the treaty was drawn up in 1782. Virginia claimed this territory +and actually held it, but New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut also +had claims upon it. It was the idea of Maryland that such a vast region +ought not to be added to any one state, or divided between two or three +of the states, but ought to be the common property of the Union. +Maryland had refused to ratify the Articles of Confederation until the +four states that claimed the northwestern territory should yield their +claims to the United States. This was done between 1780 and 1785, and +thus for the first time the United States government was put in +possession of valuable property which could be made to yield an income +and pay debts. This piece of property was about the first thing in which +all the American people were alike interested, after they had won their +independence. It could be opened to immigration and made to pay the +whole cost of the war and much more. During these troubled years +Congress was busy with plans for organizing this territory, which at +length resulted in the famous Ordinance of 1787 laying down fundamental +laws for the government of what has since developed into the five great +states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. While other +questions tended to break up the Union, the questions that arose in +connection with this work tended to hold it together. + + [Sidenote: The convention at Annapolis, Sept. 11, 1786.] + +The need for easy means of communication between the old Atlantic states +and this new country behind the mountains led to schemes which ripened +in course of time into the construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio and +the Erie canals. In discussing such schemes, Maryland and Virginia found +it necessary to agree upon some kind of commercial policy to be pursued +by both states. Then it was thought best to seize the occasion for +calling a general convention of the states to decide upon a uniform +system of regulations for commerce. This convention was held at +Annapolis in September, 1786, but only five states had sent delegates, +and so the convention adjourned after adopting an address written by +Alexander Hamilton, calling for another convention to meet at +Philadelphia on the second Monday of the following May, "to devise such +further provisions as shall appear necessary to render the constitution +of the federal government adequate to the exigencies of the Union." + +The Shays rebellion and the quarrel about the Mississippi river had by +this time alarmed people so that it began to be generally admitted that +the federal government must be in some way strengthened. If there were +any doubt as to this, it was removed by the action of New York. An +amendment to the Articles of Confederation had been proposed, giving +Congress the power of levying customs-duties and appointing the +collectors. By the summer of 1786 all the states except New York had +consented to this. But in order to amend the articles, unanimous consent +was necessary, and in February, 1787, New York's refusal defeated the +amendment. Congress was thus left without any immediate means of raising +a revenue, and it became quite clear that something must be done without +delay. + + [Sidenote: The Federal Convention at Philadelphia, May-Sept., 1787.] + +The famous Federal Convention met at Philadelphia in May, 1787, and +remained in session four months, with Washington presiding. Its work was +the framing of the government under which we are now living, and in +which the evils of the old confederation have been avoided. The trouble +had all the while been how to get the whole American people +_represented_ in some body that could thus rightfully _tax_ the whole +American people. This was the question which the Albany Congress had +tried to settle in 1754, and which the Federal Convention did settle in +1787. + +In the old confederation, starting with the Continental Congress in +1774, the government was all vested in a single body which represented +states, but did not represent individual persons. It was for that +reason that it was called a congress rather than a parliament. It was +more like a congress of European states than the legislative body of a +nation, such as the English parliament was. It had no executive and no +judiciary. It could not tax, and it could not enforce its decrees. + + [Sidenote: The new government, in which the Revolution was + consummated, 1789.] + +The new constitution changed all this by creating the House of +Representatives which stood in the same relation to the whole American +people as the legislative assembly of each single state to the people of +that state. In this body the people were represented, and could +therefore tax themselves. At the same time in the Senate the old +equality between the states was preserved. All control over commerce, +currency, and finance was lodged in this new Congress, and absolute free +trade was established between the states. In the office of President a +strong executive was created. And besides all this there was a system of +federal courts for deciding questions arising under federal laws. Most +remarkable of all, in some respects, was the power given to the federal +Supreme Court, of deciding, in special cases, whether laws passed by the +several states, or by Congress itself, were conformable to the Federal +Constitution. + +Many men of great and various powers played important parts in effecting +this change of government which at length established the American +Union in such a form that it could endure; but the three who stood +foremost in the work were George Washington, James Madison, and +Alexander Hamilton. Two other men, whose most important work came +somewhat later, must be mentioned along with these, for the sake of +completeness. It was John Marshall, chief justice of the United States +from 1801 to 1835, whose profound decisions did more than those of any +later judge could ever do toward establishing the sense in which the +Constitution must be understood. It was Thomas Jefferson, president of +the United States from 1801 to 1809, whose sound democratic instincts +and robust political philosophy prevented the federal government from +becoming too closely allied with the interests of particular classes, +and helped to make it what it should be,--a "government of the people, +by the people, and for the people." In the _making_ of the government +under which we live, these five names--Washington, Madison, Hamilton, +Jefferson, and Marshall--stand before all others. I mention them here +chronologically, in the order of the times at which their influence was +felt at its maximum. + +When the work of the Federal Convention was sanctioned by the +Continental Congress and laid before the people of the several states, +to be ratified by special conventions in each state, there was earnest +and sometimes bitter discussion. Many people feared that the new +government would soon degenerate into a tyranny. But the century and a +half of American history that had already elapsed had afforded such +noble political training for the people that the discussion was, on the +whole, more reasonable and more fruitful than any that had ever before +been undertaken by so many men. The result was the adoption of the +Federal Constitution, followed by the inauguration of George Washington, +on the 30th of April, 1789, as President of the United States. And with +this event our brief story may fitly end. + + + + +COLLATERAL READING. + + +The following books may be recommended to the reader who wishes to get a +general idea of the American Revolution:-- + +1. GENERAL WORKS. The most comprehensive and readable account is +contained in Mr. Fiske's larger work, _The American Revolution_, in two +volumes. The subject is best treated from the biographical point of view +in Washington Irving's _Life of Washington_, vols. i.-iv. Mr. Fiske has +abridged and condensed these four octavos into one stout duodecimo +entitled _Washington and his Country_, Boston, Ginn & Co., 1887. Our +young friends may find Frothingham's _Rise of the Republic_ rather close +reading, but one can hardly name a book that will more richly reward +them for their study. Green's _Historical View of the Revolution_ should +be read by every one. Carrington's _Battles of the Revolution_ makes the +military operations quite clear with numerous maps. Very young readers +find it interesting to begin with Coffin's _Boys of Seventy-Six_, or C. +H. Woodman's _Boys and Girls of the Revolution_. The social life of the +time is admirably portrayed in Scudder's _Men and Manners in America One +Hundred Years Ago_. See also Thornton's _Pulpit of the Revolution_. +Lossing's _Field Book of the Revolution_--two royal octavos profusely +illustrated--is an excellent book to browse in. Lecky's _England in the +Eighteenth Century_ gives an admirable statement of England's position. + +2. BIOGRAPHIES. Lodge's _George Washington_, 2 vols., Scudder's _George +Washington_, Tyler's _Patrick Henry_, Tudor's _Otis_, Hosmer's _Samuel +Adams_, Morse's _John Adams_, Frothingham's _Warren_, Quincy's _Josiah +Quincy_, Parton's _Franklin_ and _Jefferson_, Fonblanque's _Burgoyne_, +Lossing's _Schuyler_, Riedesel's _Memoirs_, Stone's _Brant_, Arnold's +_Arnold_, Sargent's _André_, Kapp's _Steuben_ and _Kalb_, Greene's +_Greene_, Amory's _Sullivan_, Graham's _Morgan_, Simms's _Marion_, +Abbott's _Paul Jones_, John Adams's _Letters to his Wife_, Morse's +_Hamilton_, Gay's _Madison_, Roosevelt's _Gouverneur Morris_, Russell's +_Fox_, Albemarle's _Rockingham_, Fitzmaurice's _Shelburne_, MacKnight's +_Burke_, Macaulay's essay on _Chatham_. + +3. FICTION. Cooper's _Chainbearer_, Miss Sedgwick's _Linwoods_, +Paulding's _Old Continental_, Mrs. Child's _Rebels_, Motley's _Morton's +Hope_, Herman Melville's _Israel Potter_, Kennedy's _Horse Shoe +Robinson_. There is an account of the battle of Bunker Hill in Cooper's +_Lionel Lincoln_. Thompson's _Green Mountain Boys_ gives interesting +descriptions of many of the events in that region. The border warfare is +treated in Grace Greenwood's _Forest Tragedy_ and Hoffman's _Greyslaer_. +Simms's _Partisan_ and _Mellichampe_ deal with events in South Carolina +in 1780, and later events are covered in his _Scout_, _Katharine +Walford_, _Woodcraft_, _Forayers_, and _Eutaw_. See also Miss Sedgwick's +_Walter Thornley_, and Cooper's _Pilot_ and _Spy_, and H. C. Watson's +_Camp Fires of the Revolution_. The scenes of _Paul and Persis_, by Mary +E. Brush, are laid in the Mohawk Valley. + +For further references, see Justin Winsor's _Reader's Handbook of the +American Revolution_, a book which is absolutely indispensable to every +one who wishes to study the subject. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +INDEX. + + +Adams, John, 46, 84, 88, 89, 98, 100, 113, 149, 182. + +Adams, Samuel, 53, 58, 68, 71, 72, 73, 75, 78, 82, 84, 85, 88, 107, 149. + +Aix-la-Chapelle, treaty of, 6. + +Albany Congress, 34, 190. + +Albany Plan, 35. + +Algonquins, 28-30, 37. + +Alleghany mountains, 27. + +Allen, Ethan, 87. + +André John, 170, 171. + +Andros, Sir Edmund, 22. + +Annapolis convention, 189. + +Antislavery feeling, 126. + +Armada, the Invincible, 6. + +Armed Neutrality, 159. + +Army, continental, 88, 124; + disbanded, 183. + +Arnold, Benedict, 87, 93, 94, 118, 136, 137, 143, 167-171, 173, 175, 177, + 179. + +Ashe, Samuel, 163. + +Attucks, Crispus, 75. + +Augusta, Ga., 163. + + +Bacon's rebellion, 21. + +Baltimore, Congress flees to, 118. + +Barons' War, 19. + +Barré, Isaac, 69, 75. + +Barter, 162. + +Baum, Col., 134. + +Bemis Heights, 143. + +Bennington, 133, 134, 137, 172. + +Berkeley, Sir W., 21. + +Bernard, Sir F., 68, 72. + +Boston, 7, 44-47; + "Massacre," 72-75; + "Tea Party," 79-83; + Port Bill, 83; + siege of, 87-94. + +Braddock, Edward, 36. + +Brandywine, 141. + +Brant, Joseph, 108, 135, 136, 154, 155. + +Breymann, Col., 134. + +Briar Creek, 163. + +Brooklyn Heights, 111-113, 128. + +Bunker Hill, 91, 128. + +Burgoyne, John, 90, 125-134, 137, 140-143, 148, 150, 158, 172. + +Burlington, N. J., 120. + +Burke, Edmund, 62, 69. + +Butler, Col. John, 134, 154. + +Butts Hill, 154. + +Byron, Admiral, 150. + + +Cahokia, 156. + +Calvert family, 13. + +Camden, Lord, 69. + +Camden, S. C., 166, 171, 173, 176. + +Campbell, Col. William, 171. + +Canada, invasion of, 93, 94. + +Canals, 189. + +Carleton, Sir Guy, 93, 94, 109, 115, 118. + +Carlisle, Pa., 26. + +Carr, Dabney, 79. + +Castle William, 73, 75. + +Caudine Fork, 144. + +Cavaliers, 9. + +Cavendish, Lord John, 69. + +Charles II., 22, 43, 45. + +Charleston, S. C., 80, 165. + +Charlestown, Mass., 86 + +Chase, Samuel, 84. + +Cherry Valley, 154. + +Choiseul, Duke de, 38. + +Clark, George Rogers, 156, 188. + +Cleaveland, Col., 171. + +Cleveland, Grover, 1. + +Clinton, Sir H., 90, 96, 140, 142, 150-152, 156-158, 164, 165, 178, 179. + +Coalition ministry, 180. + +Cobden, Richard, 61. + +Colonial trade, 42-44. + +Committees of correspondence, 79. + +Commons, House of, 19, 58-61. + +Concord, 85, 86. + +Congress, Continental, 79, 84, 87-90, 100-103, 106, 115-117, 161, 162, 183, + 184, 191. + +Congress, Stamp Act, 56. + +Connecticut, 13, 21, 23, 77, 98, 156. + +Conway, Henry, 69. + +Conway Cabal, 148, 149. + +Cornwallis, Lord, 104, 121, 122, 165, 171-180. + +Cowpens, 174. + +Cromwell, Oliver, 9. + +Crown Point, 87. + +Currency, Continental, 162, 166. + + +Deane, Silas, 123. + +Declaration of Independence, 97-103, 127. + +Declaratory Act, 58. + +Delaware, 9, 10. + +Delaware river, 142. + +Denmark, 159. + +Desertions, 166. + +D'Estaing, Count, 151-154, 164. + +Dickinson, John, 84, 92, 98, 101, 102. + +Discovery, French doctrine of, 27. + +Dorchester Heights, 94, 128. + +Dunmore, Lord, 95. + + +"Early" American history, 5. + +Edinburgh, 159. + +Elkton, 140, 141. + +Elmira, 155. + +Eutaw Springs, 176. + + +Fairfield, Conn., 156. + +Federal convention, 190, 191. + +Ferguson, Major, 171, 172. + +Five Nations, 29. + +Flamborough Head, 150. + +Fort Duquesne, 33; + Edward, 131, 132, 140; + Lee, 114-116; + Moultrie, 105; + Necessity, 33; + Niagara, 154, 155; + Stanwix, 135-137; + Washington, 114-117, 165; + Watson, 176. + +Forts on the Delaware, 141. + +Fox, Charles, 69, 180. + +Franklin, Benjamin, 34, 54, 89, 113, 123, 182. + +Franklin, William, 106. + +Fraser, Gen., 131. + +Frederick the Great, 150. + +French power in Canada, 10, 20, 26-38. + +Frontenac, Count, 29. + +Frontier between English and French colonies, 26. + + +Gage, Thomas, 29, 83, 85, 91, 92. + +Gansevoort, Peter, 135. + +Gaspee, schooner, 77. + +Gates, Horatio, 39, 90, 130, 131, 137, 143, 148, 165, 166, 168, 173. + +George III., his character and schemes, 59-71, 146; + glee over news from Ticonderoga, 120; + tries to make an alliance with Russia, 158, 159; + his schemes overthrown, 180, 181. + +Georgia, 11, 96, 163. + +Germaine, Lord George, 147, 156, 166. + +Germantown, 141. + +Gibraltar, 158, 182. + +Gladstone, W. E., 61. + +Governments of the colonies, 13-16. + +Grasse, Count de, 178. + +Green Mountains, 77, 87, 131, 185. + +Greene, Nathanael, 90, 115, 116, 167, 173-177. + +Grenville, George, 41, 49, 51, 54, 124. + +Gridley, Jeremiah, 46. + +Guilford Court House, 175, 177. + + +Hackensack, 115, 116. + +Hale, Nathan, 114. + +Hamilton, commandant at Detroit, 155. + +Hamilton, Alexander, 189, 192. + +Hancock, John, 80, 87, 89. + +Harlem Heights, 114, 129. + +Harrison, Benjamin, 6. + +Hastings, Warren, 158. + +Heath, William, 90, 115. + +Henry VIII., 59. + +Henry, Patrick, 48, 55, 58, 84, 144. + +Herkimer, Nicholas, 135, 136. + +Hessian troops, 93. + +Hobkirk's Hill, 176. + +Holland and Great Britain, 160. + +Hopkins, Stephen, 77. + +Howe, Richard, Lord, 105, 106, 113, 150, 153. + +Howe, Sir William, 39, 90, 94, 104, 105, 112-118, 125, 127, 137-143, + 148, 150. + +Hubbardton, 131. + +Hudson river, 95, 115, 128, 157, 170. + +Hutchinson, Thomas, 46, 56, 72, 75, 77, 78, 81, 83, 107, 185. + +Hyder, Ali, 158. + + +Impost amendment defeated by New York, 190. + +Indian tribes, 27, 28. + +Iroquois, 28, 29. + + +Jay, John, 92, 182. + +Jefferson, Thomas, 55, 89, 100, 103, 126, 127, 192. + +Jeffreys, George, 17. + +Johnson, Sir John, 108, 134. + +Johnson, Sir William, 108. + +Johnson Hall, 26, 108. + +Jones, David, 133. + +Jones, Paul, 159, 160. + + +Kalb, John, 38, 123, 165, 166. + +Kaskaskia, 156. + +Kentucky, 155, 171, 187. + +King's friends, 64, 69, 84. + +King's Mountain, 171, 172, 174. + +Kirkland, Samuel, 135. + +Kosciuszko, Thaddeus, 123. + + +Lafayette, 123, 177. + +Land Bank, 20. + +Lee, Arthur, 123. + +Lee, Charles, 89, 105, 117-119, 122, 138, 140, 148, 150-152. + +Lee, Henry, 173. + +Lee, Richard Henry, 84, 97, 100. + +Lee, Robert Edward, 173. + +Leslie, Gen., 173. + +Leuktra, 144. + +Lexington, 86, 183. + +Lincoln, Abraham, 126. + +Lincoln, Benjamin, 131, 134, 143, 163-165, 167, 187. + +Livingston, Robert, 84, 98. + +Long House, 28, 29. + +Long Island, battle of, 112. + +Lords proprietary, 13. + +Louis XV., 31. + + +Macaulay, Lord, 49. + +McCrea, Jane, 132, 133. + +McDowell, Col., 171. + +McNeil, Mrs., 132, 133. + +Madison, James, 192. + +Mahratta war, 158. + +Majuba Hill, 172. + +Manchester, Vt., 133. + +Marion, Francis, 165, 174. + +Marshall, John, 192. + +Martha's Vineyard, 156. + +Martin, Josiah, 96. + +Maryland, 8, 99, 140, 188. + +Massachusetts, 21, 22, 68, 71, 72, 83, 97, 107. + +Mecklenburg county, N. C., 95, 171, 173. + +Minden, 147. + +Minisink, 155. + +Minorca, 158, 182. + +Mississippi valley, 182, 187. + +Mobilians, 27. + +Molasses Act, 49-51, 67. + +Monk, Gen., 169. + +Monmouth, 151, 152. + +Montgomery, Richard, 90, 93, 94. + +Morgan, Daniel, 93, 94, 137, 143, 167, 173, 174. + +Morris, Robert, 102, 120. + +Morristown, 119, 122, 123. + +Moultrie, William, 105. + + +New England colonies, 6-8. + +New Hampshire, 76, 98. + +New Haven, 156. + +New Jersey, 11, 99. + +New Whigs, 60-62, 69. + +New York, 9, 66, 76, 80, 100, 108, 125, 143, 190. + +Newburgh, 180, 183. + +Norfolk, Va., 95. + +North, Lord, 66, 76, 144-147, 180. + +North Carolina, 11, 77, 96, 171-175. + +Northcastle, 115. + +Northwestern Territory, 188. + +Nullification of the Regulating Act, 85. + +Norwalk, 156. + + +Ohio, 189. + +Ohio Company, 32. + +Old Sarum, 59. + +Old South church, 53, 72, 82. + +Old Whigs, 59-64, 69. + +Otis, James, 45-47, 62, 72, 74, 144. + + +Paper money, 20, 162, 186. + +Parker, Sir Peter, 96, 104. + +Parsons' Cause, 47, 48. + +Paxton, Charles, 44. + +Pendleton, Edmund, 84. + +Penn family, 14. + +Pennsylvania, 11, 13, 77, 99, 102. + +Pensacola, 158. + +Periods in history, 4. + +Petersburg, Va., 177. + +Petition (last) to the king, 92. + +Petty William (Earl of Shelburne), 61, 69, 180, 182. + +Philadelphia, 80, 84, 138-142, 151, 168, 183. + +Pigott, Sir Robert, 153. + +Pitt, William (Earl of Chatham), 57, 61, 62, 64, 66, 69, 71, 84, 145, 146. + +Pitt, William, the younger, 61, 181. + +Pontiac's war, 38, 41. + +Pownall, Thomas, 14. + +Preston, Capt., 74. + +Prevost, Gen., 163, 164. + +Princeton, 120, 121. + +Proprietary government, 13. + +Protectionist legislation, 43, 50. + +Pulaski, Casimir, 123, 164. + +Putnam, Israel, 39, 87, 90, 112, 115. + + +Rawdon, Lord, 176. + +Reform, parliamentary, 61-63. + +Regulating Act, 83, 85; + repealed, 144. + +Representation in England, 58-61. + +Requisitions, 31, 54, 161. + +Retaliatory acts, 83; + repealed, 144. + +Revere, Paul, 4, 86. + +Rhode Island, 18, 21, 23, 70, 77, 96, 153, 154, 164, 166, 186. + +Riedesel, Gen., 131. + +Riots in Boston, 56. + +Rochambeau, Count, 166, 178. + +Rockingham, Lord, 57, 64, 180. + +Rodney, Cæsar, 102. + +Rodney, George, 160. + +Rotten boroughs, 59, 62. + +Royal governors, 14-18. + +Russell, Lord John, 61. + +Russell, Lord William, 17. + +Russia, 159. + +Rutledge, Edward, 113. + +Rutledge, John, 84. + + +St. Clair, Arthur, 131, 167. + +St. Eustatius, 160. + +St. Leger, Harry, 125, 126, 135-137. + +Salaries, 15-18, 65-68. + +Savannah, 163, 164. + +Savile, Sir George, 69. + +Schuyler, Philip, 90, 109, 119, 129-133, 136. + +Secession, threats of, 187. + +Senegambia, 158. + +Sevier, John, 155, 171. + +Shays rebellion, 186. + +Shelburne, Lord, 61, 69, 180, 182. + +Shelby, Isaac, 171. + +Shirley, William, 52. + +Sidney, Algernon, 17. + +Silver bank, 20. + +Six Nations, 29, 34, 93, 125. + +Snyder, Christopher, 74. + +Sons of Liberty, 57. + +South Carolina, 96, 102, 104, 105, 127, 173-177. + +Spain declares war with Great Britain, 158. + +Spanish possessions in North America, 37, 158, 182. + +Spotswood, Alexander, 14. + +Stamp Act, 4, 41, 52, 58, 124. + +Stark, John, 39, 87, 134. + +Staten Island, 109, 117, 122, 139, 178. + +Steuben, Baron, 123, 150, 173, 177. + +Stillwater, 132. + +Stirling, William Alexander, called Lord, 112. + +Stony Point, 156, 157, 163. + +Strachey, Sir Henry, 151. + +Stuart Kings, 17, 60. + +Suffolk resolves, 85. + +Sullivan, John, 90, 112, 153-155. + +Sumter, Thomas, 165. + +Sunbury, 163. + +Supreme court, 191. + +Sweden, 159. + + +Tarleton, Banastre, 165, 174. + +Taxation, 16-20, 31, 52-54, 62. + +Tea Party, Boston, 4, 79-83. + +Tennessee, 155, 171, 187. + +Throg's Neck, 114. + +Ticonderoga, 87, 118, 125, 127, 128, 131, 134, 143. + +Tories, 12, 60, 93, 126, 154, 155, 163, 184. + +Town meetings, 7, 53. + +Townshend Acts, 64-68, 76, 78; + repealed, 144. + +Treaty of peace, 182. + +Tuscaroras, 29. + + +Union, want of, 34, 77, 161, 162, 182-191. + + +Valcour, Island, 118. + +Venango, 33. + +Vincennes, 156. + +Virginia, 8, 21, 24, 47, 48, 76, 79, 96, 97, 173. + + +Walpole, Sir Robert, 31. + +War expenses, 30-32, 36, 40, 41. + +Ward, Artemas, 90, 117. + +Warner, Seth, 87, 131, 134. + +Warren, Joseph, 85, 86. + +Washington, George, 1, 4, 5, 30, 55; + his mission to Venango, 33; + surrenders Fort Necessity, 33; + in Virginia legislature, 76; + in the Continental Congress, 84; + appointed to command the army, 88; + not yet in favour of independence, 89; + takes command at Cambridge, 92; + takes Boston, 94; + addressed by Lord Howe, 106; + his character as general and statesman, 110, 111; + withdraws his army from Brooklyn Heights, 113; + masterly campaign in New York and New Jersey, 114-122; + endeavours to secure an efficient regular army, 123-125; + campaign of June, 1777, in New Jersey, 139; + Brandywine and Germantown, 141, 142; + intrigues of his enemies, 148, 149; + Monmouth, 151, 152; + sends a force against the Iroquois, 154, 155; + Stony Point, 156, 157; + his favourite generals often ill used by Congress, 167; + his superb march and capture of Yorktown, 178-180; + scheme for making him king, 183; + elected first president of the United States, 193. + +Washington, William, 173. + +Wayne, Anthony, 157, 177. + +Webster, Daniel, 101. + +West Point, 115, 117, 157, 170. + +Western frontier posts, 185. + +White Plains, 115, 129. + +Wildcat banks, 20. + +William III., 45. + +Williams, James, 171. + +Wilson, James, 98. + +Winchester, Va., 26. + +Winnsborough, S. C., 172. + +Wright, Sir James, 164. + +Writs of assistance, 4, 47. + +Wyoming, 77, 154. 186. + + +Yorktown, 178-180. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +HISTORY TEXT BOOKS + +TAPPAN'S AMERICAN HERO STORIES + +AMERICAN HERO STORIES. Twenty-nine stories of the great figures in +American history. The arrangement is chronological, and the men told +about include explorers, colonists, pioneers, soldiers, presidents, etc. +With 75 unusually interesting Illustrations. Cloth, crown 8vo, 265 +pages, 55 cents, _net._ + +TAPPAN'S OUR COUNTRY'S STORY + +OUR COUNTRY'S STORY. A connected account of the course of events in +United States history. Available as a stepping-stone to Fiske's History +of the United States for Schools, etc. With 265 Illustrations and Maps +in black and white, and 2 Maps in colors. Cloth, square 12mo, 267 pages, +65 cents, _net._ + +FISKE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES + +A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FOR SCHOOLS. 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Fully illustrated. _School Edition_, $1.10, _net._ Postpaid. + +PLOETZ'S EPITOME + +EPITOME OF ANCIENT, MEDIÆVAL, AND MODERN HISTORY. Translated and +enlarged by WILLIAM H. TILLINGHAST. Newly revised, with Additions +covering Recent Events. Crown 8vo, $3.00. + +HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY + +BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +[Transcriber's Note: The following list of books has been combined from +the front and back matter and consolidated in one list here.] + +RIVERSIDE LITERATURE SERIES + +_All prices are net, postpaid._ + +1. Longfellow's Evangeline. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. Nos. 1, 4, and + 30, one vol., _linen_, .50. + +2. Longfellow's Courtship of Miles Standish; Elizabeth. _Pa._, .15; + _linen_, .25. + +3. A Dramatization of The Courtship of Miles Standish. _Paper_, .15. + +4. Whittier's Snow-Bound, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +5. Whittier's Mabel Martin, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 4, 5, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +6. Holmes's Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill Battle, etc. _Paper_, + .15; _linen_, .25. Nos. 6, 31, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +7, 8, 9. Hawthorne's Grandfather's Chair. In three parts. Each, _paper_, + .15. Nos. 7, 8, 9, complete, one vol., _linen_, .50. + +10. Hawthorne's Biographical Series. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. Nos. + 29, 10, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +11. Longfellow's Children's Hour, etc. _Pa._, .15. Nos. 11, 63, one + vol., _linen_, .40. + +12. Outlines--Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, and Lowell. _Paper_, .15. + +13, 14. Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. + Nos. 13, 14, complete, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +15. Lowell's Under the Old Elm, etc. _Pa._, .15. Nos. 30, 15, one vol., + _lin._, .40. + +16. Bayard Taylor's Lars. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +17, 18. Hawthorne's Wonder-Book. In two parts, each _paper_, .15. Nos. + 17, 18, complete, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +19, 20. Franklin's Autobiography. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. Nos. + 19, 20, complete, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +21. Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +22, 23. Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. + Nos. 22, 23, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +24. Washington's Farewell Addresses, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +25, 26. Longfellow's Golden Legend. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. + Nos. 25, 26, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +27. Thoreau's Forest Trees, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 28, 37, 27, one + vol., _linen_, .50. + +28. Burroughs's Birds and Bees. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 28, 36, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +29. Hawthorne's Little Daffydowndilly, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +30. Lowell's Vision of Sir Launfal, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +31. Holmes's My Hunt after the Captain, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +32. Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 133, 32, one + vol., _linen_, .40. + +33, 34, 35. Longfellow's Tales of a Wayside Inn. In three parts, each, + _pa._, .15. Nos. 33, 34, 35, complete, one vol., _linen_, .50. + +36. Burroughs's Sharp Eyes, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +37. Warner's A-Hunting of the Deer, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +38. Longfellow's Building of the Ship, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +39. Lowell's Books and Libraries, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 39, 123, one + vol., _linen_, .40. + +40. Hawthorne's Tales of the White Hills, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 40, + 69, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +41. Whittier's Tent on the Beach, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +42. Emerson's Fortune of the Republic, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +43. Ulysses among the Phæacians. Bryant. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, + .25. + +44. Edgeworth's Waste Not, Want Not, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +45. Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25 + +46. Old Testament Stories in Scripture Language. _Paper_, .15. + +47, 48. Scudder's Fables and Folk Stories. In two parts, each, _paper_, + .15. Nos. 47, 48, complete, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +49, 50. Andersen's Stories. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. Nos. 49, + 50, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +51. Irving's Rip Van Winkle, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +52. Irving's The Voyage, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 51, 52, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +53. Scott's Lady of the Lake. _Paper_, .30. _Also, in Rolfe's Students' + Series, to Teachers_, .53. + +54. Bryant's Thanatopsis, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +55. Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. Nos. + 55, 67, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +56. Webster's First Bunker Hill Oration, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +57. Dickens's Christmas Carol. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +58. Dickens's Cricket on the Hearth. _Pa._, .15; Nos. 57, 58, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +59. Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +60, 61. Addison and Steele's The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers. In two + parts. Each, _paper_, .15.Nos. 60, 61, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +62. Fiske's War of Independence. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +63. Longfellow's Paul Revere's Ride, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +64, 65, 66. Lambs' Tales from Shakespeare. In three parts, each, + _paper_, .40. Nos. 64, 65, 66, one vol., _linen_, .50. + +67. Shakespeare's Julius Cæsar. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +68. Goldsmith's Deserted Village, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +69. Hawthorne's The Old Manse, etc. _Pa._, .15. Nos. 40, 69, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +70. A Selection from Whittier's Child Life in Poetry. _Paper_, .15. + +71. A Selection from Whittier's Child Life in Prose. _Paper_, .15. Nos + 70, 71, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +72. Milton's Minor Poems. _Pa._, .15; _linen_, .25. Nos. 72, 94, one + vol., _linen_, .40. + +73. Tennyson's Enoch Arden, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +74. Gray's Elegy, etc.; Cowper's John Gilpin, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +75. Scudder's George Washington. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +76. Wordsworth's On the Intimations of Immortality, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +77. Burns's Cotter's Saturday Night, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +78. Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +79. Lamb's Old China, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +80. Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, etc.; Campbell's Lochiel's Warning, + etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +81. Holmes's Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +82. Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales. _Paper_, .50; _linen_, .60. + +83. Eliot's Silas Marner. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +84. Dana's Two Years Before the Mast. _Linen_, .60. + +85. Hughes's Tom Brown's School Days. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +86. Scott's Ivanhoe. _Paper_, .50; _linen_, .60. + +87. Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. _Paper_, .50; _linen_, .60. + +88. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. _Linen_, .60. + +89. Swift's Gulliver's Voyage to Lilliput. _Paper_, .15. + +90. Swift's Gulliver's Voyage to Brobdingnag. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 89, 90, + one vol., _linen_, .40. + +91. Hawthorne's House of the Seven Gables. _Paper_, .50; _linen_, .60. + +92. Burroughs's A Bunch of Herbs, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +93. Shakespeare's As You Like It. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +94. Milton's Paradise Lost. Books I-III. _Paper_, .15. + +95, 96, 97, 98. Cooper's Last of the Mohicans. In four parts, each, + _paper_, .15. Nos. 95-98, complete, _linen_, .60. + +99. Tennyson's Coming of Arthur, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +100. Burke's Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies. _Pa._, .15; + _linen_, .25. + +101. Pope's Iliad. Books I, VI, XXII, XXIV. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +102. Macaulay's Johnson and Goldsmith. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +103. Macaulay's Essay on John Milton, _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +104. Macaulay's Life and Writings of Addison. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, + .25. Nos. 103, 104, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +105. Carlyle's Essay on Burns. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +106. Shakespeare's Macbeth. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +107, 108. Grimms' Tales. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. Nos. 107, + 108, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +109. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +110. De Quincey's Flight of a Tartar Tribe. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +111. Tennyson's Princess. _Paper_, .30. _Also, in Rolfe's Students' + Series to Teachers_, .53. + +112. Virgil's Æneid. Books I-III. Translated by CRANCH. _Paper_, .15. + +113. Poems from Emerson. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 113, 42, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +114. Peabody's Old Greek Folk Stories. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +115. Browning's Pied Piper of Hamelin, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +116. Shakespeare's Hamlet. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +117, 118. Stories from the Arabian Nights. In two parts, each, _paper_, + .15. Nos. 117, 118, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +119. Poe's The Raven, The Fall of the House of Usher, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +120. Poe's The Gold-Bug, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 119, 120, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +121. Speech by Robert Young Hayne on Foote's Resolution. _Paper_, .15. + +122. Speech by Daniel Webster in Reply to Hayne. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 121, + 122, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +123. Lowell's Democracy, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 39, 123, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +124. Aldrich's Baby Bell, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +125. Dryden's Palamon and Arcite. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +126. Ruskin's King of the Golden River, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +127. Keats's Ode on a Grecian Urn, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +128. Byron's Prisoner of Chillon, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +129. Plato's Judgment of Socrates. Translated by P. E. MORN. _Paper_, .15. + +130. Emerson's The Superlative, and Other Essays. _Paper_, .15. + +131. Emerson's Nature, and Compensation. _Paper_, .15. + +132. Arnold's Sohrab and Rustum, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +133. Schurz's Abraham Lincoln. _Paper_, .15. + +134. Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel. _Paper_, .30. _Also in Rolfe's + Students' Series, to Teachers_, _net_ .50. + +135. Chaucer's Prologue. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +136. Chaucer's The Knight's Tale, and The Nun's Priest's Tale._Paper_, + .15. Nos. 135, 136, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +137. Bryant's Iliad. Books I, VI, XXII, and XXIV. _Paper_, .15. + +138. Hawthorne's The Custom House, and Main Street. _Paper_, .15. + +139. Howells's Doorstep Acquaintance, and Other Sketches. _Paper_, .15. + +140. Thackeray's Henry Esmond. _Linen_, .75. + +141. Three Outdoor Papers, by THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON. _Paper_, .15. + +142. Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +143. Plutarch's Life of Alexander the Great. North's Translation. + _Paper_, .15. + +144. Scudder's The Book of Legends, _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +145. Hawthorne's The Gentle Boy, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +146. Longfellow's Giles Corey. _Paper_, .15. + +147. Pope's Rape of the Lock, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +148. Hawthorne's Marble Faun. _Linen_, .60. + +149. Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +150. Ouida's Dog of Flanders, and the Nürnberg Stove. _Paper_, .15; + _linen_, .25. + +151. Ewing's Jackanapes, and The Brownies. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +152. Martineau's The Peasant and the Prince. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +153. Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +154. Shakespeare's Tempest. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +155. Irving's Life of Goldsmith. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +156. Tennyson's Gareth and Lynette, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +157. The Song of Roland. Translated by ISABEL BUTLER. _Paper_, .30; + _linen_, .40. + +158. Malory's Book of Merlin and Book of Sir Balin. _Paper_, .15; + _linen_, .25. + +159. Beowulf. Translated by C. G. CHILD. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +160. Spenser's Faerie Queene. Book I. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +161. Dickens's Tale of Two Cities. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +162. Prose and Poetry of Cardinal Newman. Selections. _Paper_, .30; + _linen_, .40. + +163. Shakespeare's Henry V. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +164. De Quincey's Joan of Arc, and The English Mail-Coach. _Pa._, .15; + _lin._, .25. + +165. Scott's Quentin Durward. _Paper_, .50; _linen_, .60. + +166. Carlyle's Heroes and Hero-Worship. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +167. Norton's Memoir of Longfellow. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +168. Shelley's Poems. Selected. _Paper_, .40; _linen_, .50. + +169. Lowell's My Garden Acquaintance, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +170. Lamb's Essays of Elia. Selected. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +171, 172. Emerson's Essays. Selected. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. + Nos. 171, 172, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +173. Kate Douglas Wiggin's Flag-Raising. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +174. Kate Douglas Wiggin's Finding a Home. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +175. Bliss Perry's Memoir of Whittier. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +176. Burroughs's Afoot and Afloat. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +177. Bacon's Essays. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +178. Selections from the Works of John Ruskin. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +179. King Arthur Stories from Malory. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +180. Palmer's Odyssey. _Abridged Edition._ _Linen_, .75. + +181, 182. Goldsmith's The Good-Natured Man, and She Stoops to Conquer. + Each, _paper_, .15; in one vol., _linen_, .40. + +183. Old English and Scottish Ballads. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +184. Shakespeare's King Lear. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +185. Moores's Abraham Lincoln. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +186. Thoreau's Katahdin and Chesuncook. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +_EXTRA NUMBERS_ + +_A_ American Authors and their Birthdays. _Paper_, .15. + +_B_ Portraits and Biographical Sketches of 20 American Authors. _Paper_, + .15. + +_C_ A Longfellow Night. _Paper_, .15. + +_D_ Scudder's Literature in School. _Paper_, .15. + +_E_ Dialogue and Scenes from Harriet Beecher Stowe. _Paper_, .15. + +_F_ Longfellow Leaflets. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +_G_ Whittier Leaflets. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, _net_, .40. + +_H_ Holmes Leaflets. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +_J_ Holbrook's Northland Heroes. _Linen_, .35. + +_K_ The Riverside Primer and Reader. _Linen_, .30. + +_L_ The Riverside Song Book. _Paper_, .30; _boards_, .40. + +_M_ Lowell's Fable for Critics. _Paper_, .30. + +_N_ Selections from the Writings of Eleven American Authors. _Paper_, .15. + +_O_ Lowell Leaflets. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +_P_ Holbrook's Hiawatha Primer. _Linen_, .40. + +_Q_ Selections from the Writings of Eleven English Authors. _Paper_, .15. + +_R_ Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales. Selected. _Paper_, .20; _linen_, .30. + +_S_ Irving's Essays from Sketch Book. Selected. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, + .40. + +_T_ Literature for the Study of Language (N. D. Course). _Paper_, .30; + _linen_, .40. + +_U_ A Dramatization of The Song of Hiawatha. _Paper_, .15. + +_V_ Holbrook's Book of Nature Myths. _Linen_, .45. + +_W_ Brown's In the Days of Giants. _Linen_, .50. + +_X_ Poems for the Study of Language (Illinois Course of Study). _Pa._, + .30; _lin._, .40. Also in three parts, each, _paper_, .15. + +_Y_ Warner's In the Wilderness. _Paper_, .20; _linen_, .30. + +_Z_ Nine Selected Poems. _N. Y. Regents' Requirements._ _Paper_, .15; + _linen_, .25. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE *** + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the +United States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part +of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm +concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, +and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following +the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use +of the Project Gutenberg trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online +at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The War of Independence</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: John Fiske</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 13, 2007 [eBook #20803]<br /> +[Most recently updated: December 13, 2021]</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: K.D. Thornton, Bruce Albrecht, Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE ***</div> + +<p class="letter"> +The original book has 144 margin notes. In this eBook they are headers to the +paragraph in which they originally appeared. +</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em;"> +<a name="illus-001" id="illus-001"></a> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" title="" width="400" /> +</div> + +<hr class='major' /> + +<table width="400" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="" border="1"><tr><td> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 30px; font-size: 100%; margin-bottom: 30px; ">The Riverside Literature Series</p> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 180%; margin-bottom: 0px; ">THE WAR OF</p> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 200%; margin-bottom: 40px; ">INDEPENDENCE</p> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 100%; margin-bottom: 5px; ">BY</p> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 150%; margin-bottom: 40px; ">JOHN FISKE</p> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 100%; margin-bottom: 0px; "><i>WITH MAPS, INDEX, AND A</i></p> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 100%; margin-bottom: 30px; "><i>BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH</i></p> +<p class="titleblock"><img src="images/illus-emb.png" width="90" height="114" alt="emblem" /></p> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 30px; font-size: 120%; margin-bottom: 0px; ">HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY</p> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 80%; margin-bottom: 0px; ">Boston: 4 Park Street; New York: 85 Fifth Avenue</p> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 80%; margin-bottom: 0px; ">Chicago: 378-388 Wabash Avenue</p> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 100%; margin-bottom: 30px; ">The Riverside Press, Cambridge</p> +</td></tr></table> + +<hr class='major' /> + +<table width="400" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="" border="0"><tr><td> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 20px; font-size: 80%; margin-bottom: 0px; ">COPYRIGHT, 1889</p> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 80%; margin-bottom: 20px; ">BY JOHN FISKE</p> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 80%; margin-bottom: 0px; ">COPYRIGHT, 1894</p> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 80%; margin-bottom: 20px; ">BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO.</p> +<p class="titleblock" style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 80%; margin-bottom: 20px; ">ALL RIGHTS RESERVED</p> +</td></tr></table> + +<hr class='major' /> + +<div> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span> +<h3>PREFACE.</h3> +</div> + +<p>This little book does not contain the substance of the lectures on the +American Revolution which I have delivered in so many parts of the +United States since 1883. Those lectures, when completed and published, +will make quite a detailed narrative; this book is but a sketch. It is +hoped that it may prove useful to the higher classes in schools, as well +as to teachers. When I was a boy I should have been glad to get hold of +a brief account of the War for Independence that would have suggested +answers to some of the questions that used to vex me. Was the conduct of +the British government, in driving the Americans into rebellion, merely +wanton aggression, or was it not rather a bungling attempt to solve a +political problem which really needed to be solved? Why were New Jersey +and the Hudson river so important? Why did the British armies make South +Carolina their chief objective point after New<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span> York? Or how did +Cornwallis happen to be at Yorktown when Washington made such a long +leap and pounced upon him there? And so on. Such questions the +old-fashioned text-books not only did not try to answer, they did not +even recognize their existence. As to the large histories, they of +course include so many details that it requires maturity of judgment to +discriminate between the facts that are cardinal and those that are +merely incidental. When I give lectures to schoolboys and schoolgirls, I +observe that a reference to causes and effects always seems to heighten +the interest of the story. I therefore offer them this little book, not +as a rival but as an aid to the ordinary text-book. I am aware that a +narrative so condensed must necessarily suffer from the omission of many +picturesque and striking details. The world is so made that one often +has to lose a little in one direction in order to gain something in +another. This book is an experiment. If it seems to answer its purpose, +I may follow it with others, treating other portions of American history +in similar fashion.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Cambridge</span>, <i>February 11, 1889</i>.</p> + +<hr class='major' /> + +<h2><a name="Contents" id="Contents"></a>CONTENTS</h2> +<hr style="width: 10%" /> +<div class="smcap"> +<table border="0" width="500" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> +<col style="width: 20%;" /> +<col style="width: 70%;" /> +<col style="width: 10%;" /> +<tr> + <td class="pr" align="right"><span style="font-size: 80%">chap</span></td> + <td align="left"></td> + <td align="right"><span style="font-size: 80%">page</span></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="pr" align="right"></td> + <td align="left">Biographical Sketch.</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_vii"><span style="font-variant:normal">vii</span></a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="pr" align="right">I.</td> + <td align="left">Introduction.</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_I.">1</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="pr" align="right">II.</td> + <td align="left">The Colonies In 1750.</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_II.">4</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="pr" align="right">III</td> + <td align="left">The French Wars, and the First Plan of Union.</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">26</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="pr" align="right">IV.</td> + <td align="left">The Stamp Act, and the Revenue Laws.</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV.">39</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="pr" align="right">V.</td> + <td align="left">The Crisis.</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_V.">78</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="pr" align="right">VI.</td> + <td align="left">The Struggle for the Centre.</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI.">104</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="pr" align="right">VII.</td> + <td align="left">The French Alliance.</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII.">144</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="pr" align="right">VIII.</td> + <td align="left">Birth of the Nation.</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII.">182</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="pr" align="right"></td> + <td align="left">Collateral Reading.</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#COLLATERAL">195</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="pr" align="right"></td> + <td align="left">Index.</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#INDEX">197</a></td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<h3><a name="Illustrations" id="Illustrations"></a>LIST OF MAPS</h3> +<div class="smcap"> +<table border="0" width="500" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations"> +<col style="width: 80%;" /> +<col style="width: 20%;" /> +<tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"><span style="font-size: 80%; font-variant:normal"><i>Facing Page</i></span></td> +</tr> +<tr><td align="left">Invasion of Canada</td><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#illus-002">92</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Washington's Campaigns in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.</td><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#illus-003">119</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Burgoyne's Campaign</td><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#illus-004">130</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Southern Campaign</td><td align="right" valign="top"><a href="#illus-005">172</a></td></tr> +</table> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 15%" /> + +<p style="font-size: smaller; margin-left: 25%; margin-right: 25%"><span class="smcap">Note</span>.—These maps are used by permission of, and by arrangement with, +Messrs. Ginn & Company.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> +<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">vii</a></span> +<h3>BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.</h3> +</div> + +<p>To relate, by way of leading up to this little book, all the previous +achievements of its author would—without disrespect to the greater or +the less—have somewhat the appearance of putting a very big cart in +front of a pony. But no idea could be more mistaken than that which +induces people to believe a small book the easiest to write. Easy +reading is hard writing; and a thoroughly good small book stands for so +much more than the mere process of putting it on paper, that its value +is not at all to be judged by its bulk. The offhand word of a man full +of knowledge is worth a great deal more than the carefully prepared +utterance of a person who having spoken once has nothing more to say. In +our introduction to this work, therefore, we propose to reverse the +common process of tracing the author's development upwards, and instead, +after stating the mere events of Mr. Fiske's life, to begin with "The +War of Independence" and to follow his work backwards, attempting very +briefly to show how each undertaking was built naturally upon something +before it, and that the original basis of the structure was uncommonly +broad and strong.</p> + +<p>John Fiske was born in Hartford, Conn., 30th<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">viii</a></span> March, 1842, and spent +most of his life, before entering Harvard as a sophomore in 1860, with +his grandmother's family in Middletown, Conn. Two years after taking his +degree at Harvard, in 1863, he was graduated from the Harvard Law +School, but he cared so much more for writing than for the law that his +attempt to practice it in Boston was soon abandoned. In 1861 he made his +first important contribution to a magazine, and ever since has done much +work of the same sort. He has served Harvard College, as University +lecturer on philosophy, 1869-71, in 1870 as instructor in history, and +from 1872 to 1879 as assistant librarian. Since resigning from that +office he has been for two terms of six years each a member of the board +of overseers. In 1881 he began lecturing annually at Washington +University, St. Louis, on American history, and in 1884 was made a +professor of the institution. Since 1871 he has devoted much time to +lecturing at large. He has been heard in most of the principal cities of +America, and abroad, in London and Edinburgh. All this time his home has +been in Cambridge, Mass.</p> + +<p>So much for the simple outward circumstances of Mr. Fiske's life. +Turning to his studies and writings, one finds them reaching out into +almost every direction of human thought; and this book, from which our +backward course is to be taken, is but a page from the great body of his +work. It is especially as a student of philosophy, science, and history +that Mr. Fiske is known to the world; and at the present it is +particularly as an historian of America that his name is spoken. In no +other way more satisfactorily than in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">ix</a></span> tracing the growth of his own +nation has he found it possible to study the laws of progress of the +human race, and from the first, through all the time of his most active +philosophical and scientific work, this study of human progress has been +the true interest of his life. With his historical works, then, let us +begin.</p> + +<p>In 1879 he delivered a course of six lectures on American history, at +the Old South Meeting House in Boston. In previous years he had written +occasional essays on historical subjects in general, but the impulse +towards American history in particular was given by the preparation for +these lectures, which were concerned especially with the colonial +period. Of his own treatment of an historical subject he is quoted as +saying: "I look it up or investigate it, and then write an essay or a +lecture on the subject. That serves as a preliminary statement, either +of a large subject or of special points. It is a help to me to make a +statement of the kind—I mean in the lecture or essay form. In fact it +always assists me to try to state the case. I never publish anything +after this first statement, but generally keep it with me for, it may +be, some years, and possibly return to it again several times." Thus it +may safely be assumed that these Old South Lectures and the many others +that have followed them have found or will find a permanent place in the +series of Mr. Fiske's historical volumes.</p> + +<p>The succession of these books has not been in the order of the periods +of which they treat; but from the similarity of their method and the +fact that they cover a series of important periods in American history, +they go towards making a complete, consecutive history of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">x</a></span> the country. +The periods which are not yet covered Mr. Fiske proposes to deal with in +time. One who has talked with him on the subject of his works reports +the following statement as coming from Mr. Fiske's own lips: "I am now +at work on a general history of the United States. When John Richard +Green was planning his 'Short History of the English People,' and he and +I were friends in London, I heard him telling about his scheme. I +thought it would be a very nice thing to do something of the same sort +for American history. But when I took it up I found myself, instead of +carrying it out in that way, dwelling upon special points; and +insensibly, without any volition on my part, I suppose, it has been +rather taking the shape of separate monographs. But I hope to go on in +that way until I cover the ground with these separate books,—that is, +to cover as much ground as possible. But, of course, the scheme has +become much more extensive than it was when I started."</p> + +<p>Taken in the order of their subjects, the five works already contributed +to this series are, "The Discovery of America, with some Account of +Ancient America and the Spanish Conquest" (two volumes); "Old Virginia +and her Neighbours" (two volumes); "The Beginnings of New England, or +the Puritan Theocracy in its Relations to Civil and Religious Liberty;" +"The American Revolution" (two volumes); and "The Critical Period of +American History, 1783-1789." Allied with these books, though hardly +taking a place in the series, is "Civil Government in the United States, +Considered with some Reference to its Origins," "The War of +Independence," it will thus be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">xi</a></span> seen, is the least ambitious of all +these historical works. "A History of the United States for Schools" is +addressed to the same audience, and in so far may be considered a +companion volume.</p> + +<p>What makes Mr. Fiske's histories just what they are? Another step +backward in the stages of his own development will enable us to see, and +the sub-title, "Viewed from the Standpoint of Universal History," of one +of his earlier books, "American Political Ideas," will help towards an +understanding of his power. It is due to the fact that he brings to his +historical work on special subjects the broad philosophic and general +view of a man who is much more than a specialist,—the scientific habit +of mind which must look for causes when effects are seen, and must point +out the relations between them. There could be no better preparation for +the writing of history than the apparently alien study of the questions +with which the names of Darwin and Spencer are inseparably associated. +When Darwin's "Origin of Species" appeared, Mr. Fiske's own thought had +prepared him to take the place of an ardent apostle of Evolution, and it +is held that no man has done more than he in expounding the theory in +America. Standing permanently for his work in this field are his books, +"Excursions of an Evolutionist" and "Darwinism, and Other Essays." One +of his first important works was "Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy" (1874), +and in more recent years "The Destiny of Man" and "The Idea of God" +speak forth very distinctly, not as interpretations, but as his own +contributions to the progress of philosophic thought. One other phase of +the use to which Mr. Fiske's mind has<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">xii</a></span> been put should surely be +mentioned in any summary of his qualifications for writing histories. He +is extremely fond of hearing and telling good stories. His book on +"Myths and Myth-makers" (1872) gave early evidence of this fondness, and +surely there is the very spirit of the lover of tales in the Dedication +of the book, "To my dear Friend, William D. Howells, in remembrance of +pleasant autumn evenings spent among were-wolves and trolls and nixies." +Thus, besides the ability to see a story in all its bearings, Mr. Fiske +has the gift of telling it effectively,—a golden power without which +all the learning in the world would serve an historian as but so much +lead.</p> + +<p>But all of these works preceding Mr. Fiske's historical writings did not +come out of nothing. His mental acquirements as a young man and boy were +very extraordinary, and give to the last stage of his career at which we +shall look—the earliest—perhaps the greatest interest of all. A +description of it without a knowledge of what followed would be all too +apt to remind readers whose memories go back far enough of the +instances, all too common, of men whose early promise is not fulfilled. +<i>Summa cum laude</i> graduates settle down into lives of timid routine that +leads to nothing, just as often as the idle dreamers who stay +consistently at the foot of their classes wake up when the vital contact +with the world takes place, and do something astonishingly good. These, +however, are the exceptions. A development like Mr. Fiske's follows the +lines of nature.</p> + +<p>Happily, there were books in the house in which he was brought up. At +the age of seven he was reading<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">xiii</a></span> Rollin, Josephus, and Goldsmith's +Greece. Much of Milton, Pope, and Bunyan, and nearly all of Shakespeare +he had read before he was nine; histories of many lands before eleven. +At this age he filled a quarto blank book of sixty pages with a +chronological table, written from memory, of events between 1000 <span class="smcap">B. C.</span> +and 1820 <span class="smcap">A. D.</span></p> + +<p>All this would seem enough for one boy, but there were the other worlds +of languages and science to conquer. It is almost discouraging merely to +write down the fact that at thirteen he had read a large part of Livy, +Cicero, Ovid, Catullus, and Juvenal, and all of Virgil, Horace, Tacitus, +Sallust, and Suetonius,—to say nothing of Cæsar, at seven. Greek was +disposed of in like manner; and then came the modern languages, +—German, Spanish,—in which he kept a diary,—French, Italian, and +Portuguese. Hebrew and Sanskrit were kept for the years of seventeen and +eighteen. In college, Icelandic, Gothic, Danish, Swedish, Dutch, and +Roumanian were added, with beginnings in Russian. The uses to which he +put these languages were not those to which the weary schoolboy puts his +few scraps of learning in foreign tongues, but the true uses of +literature,—reading for pleasure and mental stimulus.</p> + +<p>It is needless to relate the rapid course of Mr. Fiske's first studies +in science; it is no whit less remarkable than that of his other +intellectual enterprises. As mathematics is akin to music, it will be +enough to say that when he was fifteen a friend's piano was left in his +grandmother's house, and, without a master, the boy soon learned its +secrets well enough to play such<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">xiv</a></span> works as Mozart's Twelfth Mass. Later +in life Mr. Fiske studied the science of music. He has printed many +musical criticisms, and has himself composed a mass and songs.</p> + +<p>Few boys can hope to take to college with them, or, for that matter, +even away from it, a mind so well equipped as Mr. Fiske's was when he +went to Cambridge. Three years of stimulating university atmosphere, and +of indefinitely wide opportunities for reading, left him prepared as few +men have been for just the work he has done. He has had the wisdom to +see what he could do, and being possessed of the qualities that lead to +accomplishment, he has done it; and any reader who understands more than +the mere words he reads will be very likely to discover in this small +volume, "The War of Independence," something of the spirit, and some +suggestions of the method which, in this sketch, we have endeavored to +point out as characteristic of one of the foremost living historians.</p> + +<hr class='major' /> + +<h1>THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE.</h1> + +<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em"> +<a name="CHAPTER_I." id="CHAPTER_I."></a> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">1</a></span> +<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2><h3>INTRODUCTION.</h3> +</div> + +<p>Since the year 1875 we have witnessed, in many parts of the United +States, public processions, meetings, and speeches in commemoration of +the hundredth anniversary of some important event in the course of our +struggle for national independence. This series of centennial +celebrations, which has been of great value in stimulating American +patriotism and awakening throughout the country a keen interest in +American history, will naturally come to an end in 1889. The close of +President Cleveland's term of office marks the close of the first +century of the government under which we live, which dates from the +inauguration of President Washington on the balcony of the Federal +building in Wall street, New York, on the 30th of April, 1789. It was on +that memorable day that the American Revolution may be said to have been +completed. The Declaration of Independence in 1776 detached the American +people from the supreme<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">2</a></span> government to which they had hitherto owed +allegiance, and it was not until Washington's inauguration in 1789 that +the supreme government to which we owe allegiance to-day was actually +put in operation. The period of thirteen years included between these +two dates was strictly a revolutionary period, during which it was more +or less doubtful where the supreme authority over the United States +belonged. First, it took the fighting and the diplomacy of the +revolutionary war to decide that this supreme authority belonged in the +United States themselves, and not in the government of Great Britain; +and then after the war was ended, more than five years of sore distress +and anxious discussion had elapsed before the American people succeeded +in setting up a new government that was strong enough to make itself +obeyed at home and respected abroad.</p> + +<p>It is the story of this revolutionary period, ending in 1789, that we +have here to relate in its principal outlines. When we stand upon the +crest of a lofty hill and look about in all directions over the +landscape, we can often detect relations between distant points which we +had not before thought of together. While we tarried in the lowland, we +could see blue peaks rising here and there against the sky, and follow +babbling brooks hither and thither through the forest. It was more +homelike down there than on the hilltop, for in each gnarled tree, in +every moss-grown<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">3</a></span> boulder, in every wayside flower, we had a friend that +was near to us; but the general bearings of things may well have escaped +our notice. In climbing to our lonely vantage-ground, while the familiar +scenes fade from sight, there are gradually unfolded to us those +connections between crag and meadow and stream that make the life and +meaning of the whole. We learn the "lay of the land," and become, in a +humble way, geographers. So in the history of men and nations, while we +remain immersed in the study of personal incidents and details, as what +such a statesman said or how many men were killed in such a battle, we +may quite fail to understand what it was all about, and we shall be sure +often to misjudge men's characters and estimate wrongly the importance +of many events. For this reason we cannot clearly see the meaning of the +history of our own times. The facts are too near us; we are down among +them, like the man who could not see the forest because there were so +many trees. But when we look back over a long interval of years, we can +survey distant events and personages like points in a vast landscape and +begin to discern the meaning of it all. In this way we come to see that +history is full of lessons for us. Very few things have happened in past +ages with which our present welfare is not in one way or another +concerned. Few things have happened in any age more interesting or more +important than the American Revolution.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> +<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em"> +<a name="CHAPTER_II." id="CHAPTER_II."></a> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">4</a></span> +<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2><h3>THE COLONIES IN 1750.</h3> +</div> + +<p>It is always difficult in history to mark the beginning and end of a +period. Events keep rushing on and do not pause to be divided into +chapters; or, in other words, in the history which really takes place, a +new chapter is always beginning long before the old one is ended. The +divisions we make when we try to describe it are merely marks that we +make for our own convenience. In telling the story of the American +Revolution we must stop somewhere, and the inauguration of President +Washington is a very proper place. We must also begin somewhere, but it +is quite clear that it will not do to begin with the Declaration of +Independence in July, 1776, or even with the midnight ride of Paul +Revere in April, 1775. For if we ask what caused that "hurry of hoofs in +a village street," and what brought together those five-and-fifty +statesmen at Philadelphia, we are not simply led back to the Boston +Tea-Party, and still further to the Stamp Act, but we find it necessary +to refer to events that happened more than a century before the +Revolution can properly be said to have begun.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">5</a></span> Indeed, if we were going +to take a very wide view of the situation, and try to point out its +relations to the general history of mankind, we should have to go back +many hundreds of years and not only cross the ocean to the England of +King Alfred, but keep on still further to the ancient market-places of +Rome and Athens, and even to the pyramids of Egypt; and in all this long +journey through the ages we should not be merely gratifying an idle +curiosity, but at every step of the way could gather sound practical +lessons, useful in helping us to vote intelligently at the next election +for mayor of the city in which we live or for president of the United +States.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The half-way station in American history. +</p> + +<p>We are not now, however, about to start on any such long journey. It is +a much nearer and narrower view of the American Revolution that we wish +to get. There are many points from which we might start, but we must at +any rate choose a point several years earlier than the Declaration of +Independence. People are very apt to leave out of sight the "good old +colony times" and speak of our country as scarcely more than a hundred +years old. Sometimes we hear the presidency of George Washington spoken +of as part of "early American history;" but we ought not to forget that +when Washington was born the commonwealth of Virginia was already one +hundred and twenty-five years old. The first governor of Massachusetts +was born three<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">6</a></span> centuries ago, in 1588, the year of the Spanish Armada. +Suppose we take the period of 282 years between the English settlement +of Virginia and the inauguration of President Benjamin Harrison, and +divide it in the middle. That gives us the year 1748 as the half-way +station in the history of the American people. There were just as many +years of continuous American history before 1748 as there have been +since that date. That year was famous for the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, +which put an end to a war between England and France that had lasted +five years. That war had been waged in America as well as in Europe, and +American troops had played a brilliant part in it. There was now a brief +lull, soon to be followed by another and greater war between the two +mighty rivals, and it was in the course of this latter war that some of +the questions were raised which presently led to the American +Revolution. Let us take the occasion of this lull in the storm to look +over the American world and see what were the circumstances likely to +lead to the throwing off of the British government by the thirteen +colonies, and to their union under a federal government of their own +making.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The four New England colonies. +</p> + +<p>In the middle of the eighteenth century there were four New England +colonies. Massachusetts extended her sway over Maine, and the Green +Mountain territory was an uninhabited wilderness,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">7</a></span> to which New York and +New Hampshire alike laid claim. The four commonwealths of New Hampshire, +Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island had all been in existence, +under one form or another, for more than a century. The men who were in +the prime of life there in 1750 were the great-grandsons and +great-great-grandsons of the men who crossed the ocean between 1620 and +1640 and settled New England. Scarcely two men in a hundred were of +other than English blood. About one in a hundred could say that his +family came from Scotland or the north of Ireland; one in five hundred +may have been the grandchild of a Huguenot. Upon religious and political +questions these people thought very much alike. Extreme poverty was +almost unknown, and there were but few who could not read and write. As +a rule every head of a family owned the house in which he lived and the +land which supported him. There were no cities; and from Boston, which +was a town with 16,000 inhabitants, down to the smallest settlement in +the White Mountains, the government was carried on by town-meetings at +which, almost any grown-up man could be present and speak and vote. +Except upon the sea-coast nearly all the people lived upon farms; but +all along the coast were many who lived by fishing and by building +ships, and in the towns dwelt many merchants grown rich by foreign +trade. In<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">8</a></span> those days Massachusetts was the richest of the thirteen +colonies, and had a larger population than any other except Virginia. +Connecticut was then more populous than New York; and when the four New +England commonwealths acted together—as was likely to be the case in +time of danger—they formed the strongest military power on the American +continent.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Virginia and Maryland. +</p> + +<p>Among what we now call southern states there were two that in 1750 were +more than a hundred years old. These were Virginia and Maryland. The +people of these commonwealths, like those of New England, had lived +together in America long enough to become distinctively Americans. Both +New Englander and Virginian had had time to forget their family +relationships with the kindred left behind so long ago in England; +though there were many who did not forget it, and in our time scholars +have by research recovered many of the links that had been lost from +memory. The white people of Virginia were as purely English as those of +Connecticut or Massachusetts. But society in Virginia was very different +from society in New England. The wealth of Virginia consisted chiefly of +tobacco, which was raised by negro slaves. People lived far apart from +each other on great plantations, usually situated near the navigable +streams of which that country has so many. Most of the great planters +had easy access to private wharves,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">9</a></span> where their crops could be loaded +on ships and sent directly to England in exchange for all sorts of +goods. Accordingly it was but seldom that towns grew up as centres of +trade. Each plantation was a kind of little world in itself. There were +no town-meetings, as the smallest political division was the division +into counties; but there were county-meetings quite vigorous with +political life. Of the leading county families a great many were +descended from able and distinguished Cavaliers or King's-men who had +come over from England during the ascendency of Oliver Cromwell. Skill +in the management of public affairs was hereditary in such families, and +during our revolutionary period Virginia produced more great leaders +than any of the other colonies.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +New York and Delaware. +</p> + +<p>There were yet two other American commonwealths that in 1750 were more +than a hundred years old. These were New York and little Delaware, which +for some time was a kind of appendage, first to New York, afterward to +Pennsylvania. But there was one important respect in which these two +colonies were different alike from New England and from Virginia. Their +population was far from being purely English. Delaware had been first +settled by Swedes, New York by Dutchmen; and the latter colony had drawn +its settlers from almost every part of western and central Europe. A man +might travel from Penobscot bay to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">10</a></span> Harlem river without hearing a +syllable in any other tongue than English; but in crossing Manhattan +island he could listen, if he chose, to more than a dozen languages. +There was almost as much diversity in opinions about religious and +political matters as there was in the languages in which they were +expressed. New York was an English community in so far as it had been +for more than eighty years under an English government, but hardly in +any other sense. Accordingly we shall find New York in the revolutionary +period less prompt and decided in action than Massachusetts and +Virginia. In population New York ranked only seventh among the thirteen +colonies; but in its geographical position it was the most important of +all. It was important commercially because the Mohawk and Hudson rivers +formed a direct avenue for the fur-trade from the region of the great +lakes to the finest harbour on all the Atlantic coast. In a military +sense it was important for two reasons; <i>first</i>, because the Mohawk +valley was the home of the most powerful confederacy of Indians on the +continent, the steady allies of the English and deadly foes of the +French; <i>secondly</i>, because the centre of the French power was at +Montreal and Quebec, and from those points the route by which the +English colonies could be most easily invaded was formed by Lake +Champlain and the Hudson river. New York was completely interposed +between New England<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">11</a></span> and the rest of the English colonies, so that an +enemy holding possession of it would virtually cut the Atlantic +sea-board in two. For these reasons the political action of New York was +of most critical importance.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The two Carolinas and Georgia; New Jersey and Pennsylvania. +</p> + +<p>Of the other colonies in 1750, the two Carolinas and New Jersey were +rather more than eighty years old, while Pennsylvania had been settled +scarcely seventy years. But the growth of these younger colonies had +been rapid, especially in the case of Pennsylvania and North Carolina, +which in populousness ranked third and fourth among the thirteen. This +rapid increase was mainly due to a large immigration from Europe kept up +during the first half of the eighteenth century, so that a large +proportion of the people had either been born in Europe, or were the +children of people born in Europe. In 1750 these colonies had not had +time enough to become so intensely American as Virginia and the New +England colonies. In Georgia, which had been settled only seventeen +years, people had had barely time to get used to this new home on the +wild frontier.</p> + +<p>The population of these younger colonies was very much mixed. In South +Carolina, as in New York, probably less than half were English. In both +Carolinas there were a great many Huguenots from France, and immigrants +from Germany and Scotland and the north of Ireland were still<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">12</a></span> pouring +in. Pennsylvania had many Germans and Irish, and settlers from other +parts of Europe, besides its English Quakers. With all this diversity of +race there was a great diversity of opinions about political questions, +as about other matters.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Why Massachusetts and Virginia took the lead. +</p> + +<p>We are now beginning to see why it was that Massachusetts and Virginia +took the lead in bringing on the revolutionary war. Not only were these +two the largest colonies, but their people had become much more +thoroughly welded together in their thoughts and habits and associations +than was as yet possible with the people of the younger colonies. When +the revolutionary war came, there were very few Tories in the New +England colonies and very few in Virginia; but there were a great many +in New York and Pennsylvania and the two Carolinas, so that the action +of these commonwealths was often slow and undecided, and sometimes there +was bitter and bloody fighting between men of opposite opinions, +especially in New York and South Carolina.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The two republics; Connecticut and Rhode Island. +</p> + +<p>If we look at the governments of the thirteen colonies in the middle of +the eighteenth century, we shall observe some interesting facts. All the +colonies had legislative assemblies elected by the people, and these +assemblies levied the taxes and made the laws. So far as the +legislatures were concerned, therefore, all the colonies governed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">13</a></span> +themselves. But with regard to the executive department of the +government, there were very important differences. Only two of the +colonies, Connecticut and Rhode Island, had governors elected by the +people. These two colonies were completely self-governing. In almost +everything but name they were independent of Great Britain, and this was +so true that at the time of the revolutionary war they did not need to +make any new constitutions for themselves, but continued to live on +under their old charters for many years,—Connecticut until 1818, Rhode +Island until 1843. Before the revolution these two colonies had +comparatively few direct grievances to complain of at the hands of Great +Britain; but as they were next neighbours to Massachusetts and closely +connected with its history, they were likely to sympathize promptly with +the kind of grievances by which Massachusetts was disturbed.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The proprietary governments: Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. +</p> + +<p>Three of the colonies, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, had a +peculiar kind of government, known as <i>proprietary government</i>. Their +territories had originally been granted by the crown to a person known +as the Lord Proprietary, and the lord-proprietorship descended from +father to son like a kingdom. In Maryland it was the Calvert family that +reigned for six generations as lords proprietary. Pennsylvania and +Delaware had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">14</a></span> each its own separate legislature, but over both colonies +reigned the same lord proprietary, who was a member of the Penn family. +These colonies were thus like little hereditary monarchies, and they had +but few direct dealings with the British government. For them the lords +proprietary stood in the place of the king, and appointed the governors. +In Maryland this system ran smoothly. In Pennsylvania there was a good +deal of dissatisfaction, but it generally assumed the form of a wish to +get rid of the lords proprietary and have the governors appointed by the +king; for as this was something they had not tried they were not +prepared to appreciate its evils.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The crown colonies, and their royal governors. +</p> + +<p>In the other eight colonies—New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New +Jersey, Virginia, the two Carolinas, and Georgia—the governors were +appointed by the king, and were commonly known as "royal governors." +They were sometimes natives of the colonies over which they were +appointed, as Dudley and Hutchinson of Massachusetts, and others; but +were more often sent over from England. Some of them, as Pownall of +Massachusetts and Spotswood of Virginia, were men of marked ability. +Some were honest gentlemen, who felt a real interest in the welfare of +the people they came to help govern; some were unprincipled adventurers, +who came to make money by fair means or foul. Their position was one of +much dignity, and they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">15</a></span> behaved themselves like lesser kings. What with +their crimson velvets and fine laces and stately coaches, they made much +more of a show than any president of the United States would think of +making to-day. They had no fixed terms of office, but remained at their +posts as long as the king, or the king's colonial secretary, saw fit to +keep them there.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The question as to salaries. +</p> + +<p>Now it was generally true of the royal governors that, whether they were +natives of America or sent over from England, and whether they were good +men or bad, they were very apt to make themselves disliked by the +people, and they were almost always quarrelling with their legislative +assemblies. Questions were always coming up about which the governor and +the legislature could not agree, because the legislature represented the +views of the people who had chosen it, while the governor represented +his own views or the views which prevailed three thousand miles away +among the king's ministers, who very often knew little about America and +cared less. One of these disputed questions related to the governor's +salary. It was natural that the governor should wish to have a salary of +fixed amount, so that he might know from year to year what he was going +to receive. But the people were afraid that if this were to be done the +governor might become too independent. They preferred that the +legislature should each<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">16</a></span> year make a grant of money such as it should +deem suitable for the governor's expenses, and this sum it might +increase or diminish according to its own good pleasure. This would keep +the governor properly subservient to the legislature. Before 1750 there +had been much bitter wrangling over this question in several of the +colonies, and the governors had one after another been obliged to +submit, though with very ill grace.</p> + +<p>Sometimes the thoughts of the royal governors and their friends went +beyond this immediate question. Since the legislatures were so froward +and so niggardly, what an admirable plan it would be to have the +governors paid out of the royal treasury and thus made comparatively +independent of the legislatures! The judges, too, who were quite poorly +paid, might fare much better if remunerated by the crown, and the same +might be said of some other public officers. But if the British +government were to undertake to pay the salaries of its officials in +America, it must raise a revenue for the purpose; and it would naturally +raise such a revenue by levying taxes in America rather than in England. +People in England felt that they were already taxed as heavily as they +could bear, in order to pay the expenses of their own government. They +could not be expected to submit to further taxation for the sake of +paying the expenses of governing the American colonies. If further taxes +were to be laid for such a purpose,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">17</a></span> they must in fairness be laid upon +Americans, not upon Englishmen in the old country.</p> + +<p>Such was the view which people in England would naturally be expected to +take, and such was the view which they generally did take. But there was +another side to the question which was very clearly seen by most people +in America. If the royal governors were to be paid by the crown and thus +made independent of their legislatures, there would be danger of their +becoming petty tyrants and interfering in many ways with the liberties +of the people. Still greater would be the danger if the judges were to +be paid by the crown, for then they would feel themselves responsible to +the king or to the royal governor, rather than to their fellow-citizens; +and it would be easy for the governors, by appointing corrupt men as +judges, to prevent the proper administration of justice by the courts, +and thus to make men's lives and property insecure. Most Americans in +1750 felt this danger very keenly. They had not forgotten how, in the +times of their grandfathers, two of the noblest of Englishmen, Lord +William Russell and Colonel Algernon Sidney, had been murdered by the +iniquitous sentence of time-serving judges. They had not forgotten the +ruffian George Jeffreys and his "bloody assizes" of 1685. They well +remembered how their kinsmen in England had driven into exile the Stuart +family of kings, who were even yet, in 1745,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">18</a></span> making efforts to recover +their lost throne. They remembered how the beginnings of New England had +been made by stout-hearted men who could not endure the tyranny of these +same Stuarts; and they knew well that one of the worst of the evils upon +which Stuart tyranny had fattened had been the corruption of the courts +of justice. The Americans believed with some reason, that even now, in +the middle of the eighteenth century, the administration of justice in +their own commonwealths was decidedly better than in Great Britain; and +they had no mind to have it disturbed.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +"No taxation without representation." +</p> + +<p>But worse than all, if the expenses of governing America were to be paid +by taxes levied upon Americans and collected from them by king or +parliament or any power whatsoever residing in Great Britain, then the +inhabitants of the thirteen American colonies would at once cease to be +free people. A free country is one in which the government cannot take +away people's money, in the shape of taxes, except for strictly public +purposes and with the consent of the people themselves, as expressed by +some body of representatives whom the people have chosen. If people's +money can be taken from them without their consent, no matter how small +the amount, even if it be less than one dollar out of every +thousand, then they are not politically free. They do not govern, but +the power that thus takes their money without their consent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">19</a></span> is the +power that governs; and there is nothing to prevent such a power from +using the money thus obtained to strengthen itself until it can trample +upon people's rights in every direction, and rob them of their homes and +lives as well as of their money. If the British government could tax the +Americans without their consent, it might use the money for supporting a +British army in America, and such an army might be employed in +intimidating the legislatures, in dispersing town-meetings, in +destroying newspaper-offices, or in other acts of tyranny.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +It was the fundamental principle of English liberty. +</p> + +<p>The Americans in the middle of the eighteenth century well understood +that the principle of "no taxation without representation" is the +fundamental principle of free government. It was the principle for which +their forefathers had contended again and again in England, and upon +which the noble edifice of English liberty had been raised and +consolidated since the grand struggle between king and barons in the +thirteenth century. It had passed into a tradition, both in England and +in America, that in order to prevent the crown from becoming despotic, +it was necessary that it should only wield such revenues as the +representatives of the people might be pleased to grant it. In England +the body which represented the people was the House of Commons, in each +of the American colonies it was the colonial legislature; and in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">20</a></span> +dealing with the royal governors, the legislatures acted upon the same +general principles as the House of Commons in dealing with the king.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Sometimes the royal governors were in the right, as to the particular question. +</p> + +<p>It was not until some time after 1750 that any grand assault was made +upon the principle of "no taxation without representation," but the +frequent disputes with the royal governors were such as to keep people +from losing sight of this principle, and to make them sensitive about +acts that might lead to violations of it. In the particular disputes the +governors were sometimes clearly right and the people wrong. One of the +principal objects, as we shall presently see, for which the governors +wanted money, was to maintain troops for defence against the French and +the Indians; and the legislatures were apt to be short-sighted and +unreasonably stingy about such matters. Again, the people were sometimes +seized with a silly craze for "paper money" and "wild-cat +banks"—devices for making money out of nothing—and sometimes the +governors were sensible enough to oppose such delusions but not +altogether sensible in their manner of doing it. Thus in 1740 there was +fierce excitement in Massachusetts over a quarrel between the governor +and the legislature about the famous "silver bank" and "land bank." +These institutions were a public nuisance and deserved to be suppressed, +but the governor was obliged to appeal to parliament in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">21</a></span> order to +succeed in doing it. This led many people to ask, "What business has a +parliament sitting the other side of the ocean to be making laws for +us?" and the grumbling was loud and bitter enough to show that this was +a very dangerous question to raise.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Bitter memories; in Virginia. +</p> + +<p>It was in the eight colonies which had royal governors that troubles of +a revolutionary character were more likely to arise than in the other +five, but there were special reasons, besides those already mentioned, +why Massachusetts and Virginia should prove more refractory than any of +the others. Both these great commonwealths had bitter memories. Things +had happened in both which might serve as a warning, and which some of +the old men still living in 1750 could distinctly remember. In Virginia +the misgovernment of the royal governor Sir William Berkeley had led in +1675 to the famous rebellion headed by Nathaniel Bacon, and this +rebellion had been suppressed with much harshness. Many leading citizens +had been sent to the gallows and their estates had been confiscated. In +Massachusetts, though there were no such scenes of cruelty to remember, +the grievance was much more deep-seated and enduring.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +And in Massachusetts. +</p> + +<p>Massachusetts had not been originally a royal province, with its +governors appointed by the king. At first it had been a republic, such +as Connecticut and Rhode Island now were, with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">22</a></span> governors chosen by the +people. From its foundation in 1629 down to 1684 the commonwealth of +Massachusetts had managed its own affairs at its own good pleasure. +Practically it had been not only self-governing but almost independent. +That was because affairs in England were in such confusion that until +after 1660 comparatively little attention was paid to what was going on +in America, and the liberties of Massachusetts prospered through the +neglect of what was then called the "home government." After Charles II. +came to the throne in 1660 he began to interfere with the affairs of +Massachusetts, and so the very first generation of men that had been +born on the soil of that commonwealth were engaged in a long struggle +against the British king for the right of managing their own affairs. +After more than twenty years of this struggle, which by 1675 had come to +be quite bitter, the charter of Massachusetts was annulled in 1684 and +its free government was for the moment destroyed. Presently a viceroy +was sent over from England, to govern Massachusetts (as well as several +other northern colonies) despotically. This viceroy, Sir Edmund Andros, +seems to have been a fairly well meaning man. He was not especially +harsh or cruel, but his rule was a despotism, because he was not +responsible to the people for what he did, but only to the king. In +point of fact the two-and-a-half years of his administration<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">23</a></span> were +characterized by arbitrary arrests and by interference with private +property and with the freedom of the press. It was so vexatious that +early in 1689, taking advantage of the Revolution then going on in +England, the people of Boston rose in rebellion, seized Andros and threw +him into jail, and set up for themselves a provisional government. When +the affairs of New England were settled after the accession of William +and Mary to the throne, Connecticut and Rhode Island were allowed to +keep their old governments; but Massachusetts in 1693 was obliged to +take a new charter instead of her old one, and although this new charter +revived the election of legislatures by the people, it left the +governors henceforth to be appointed by the king.</p> + +<p>In the political controversies of Massachusetts, therefore, in the +eighteenth century, the people were animated by the recollection of what +they had lost. They were somewhat less free and independent than their +grandfathers had been, and they had learned what it was to have an +irresponsible ruler sitting at his desk in Boston and signing warrants +for the arrest of loved and respected citizens who dared criticise his +sayings and doings. "Taxation without representation" was not for them a +mere abstract theory; they knew what it meant. It was as near to them as +the presidency of Andrew Jackson is to us; there had not been time +enough to forget it. In every contest between<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">24</a></span> the popular legislature +and the royal governor there was some broad principle involved which +there were plenty of well-remembered facts to illustrate.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Grounds of sympathy between Massachusetts and Virginia. +</p> + +<p>These contests also helped to arouse a strong sympathy between the +popular leaders in Massachusetts and in Virginia. Between the people of +the two colonies there was not much real sympathy, because there was a +good deal of difference between their ways of life and their opinions +about things; and people, unless they are unusually wise and generous of +nature, are apt to dislike and despise those who differ from them in +opinions and habits. So there was little cordiality of feeling between +the people of Massachusetts and the people of Virginia, but in spite of +this there was a great and growing political sympathy. This was because, +ever since 1693, they had been obliged to deal with the same kind of +political questions. It became intensely interesting to a Virginian to +watch the progress of a dispute between the governor and legislature of +Massachusetts, because whatever principle might be victorious in the +course of such a dispute, it was sure soon to find a practical +application in Virginia. Hence by the middle of the eighteenth century +the two colonies were keenly observant of each other, and either one was +exceedingly prompt in taking its cue from the other. It is worth while<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">25</a></span> +to remember this fact, for without it there would doubtless have been +rebellions or revolutions of American colonies, but there would hardly +have been one American Revolution, ending in a grand American Union.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> +<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em"> +<a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">26</a></span> +<h2>CHAPTER III</h2><h3>THE FRENCH WARS, AND THE FIRST PLAN OF UNION.</h3> +</div> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Disputed frontier between French and English colonies. +</p> + +<p>It was said a moment ago that one of the chief objects for which the +governors wanted money was to maintain troops for defence against the +French and the Indians. This was a very serious matter indeed. To any +one who looked at a map of North America in 1750 it might well have +seemed as if the French had secured for themselves the greater part of +the continent. The western frontier of the English settlements was +generally within two hundred miles of the sea-coast. In New York it was +at Johnson Hall, not far from Schenectady; in Pennsylvania it was about +at Carlisle; in Virginia it was near Winchester, and the first explorers +were just making their way across the Alleghany mountains. Westward of +these frontier settlements lay endless stretches of forest inhabited by +warlike tribes of red men who, everywhere except in New York, were +hostile to the English and friendly to the French. Since the beginning +of the seventeenth century French towns and villages had been growing up +along<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">27</a></span> the St. Lawrence, and French explorers had been pushing across +the Great Lakes and down the valley of the Mississippi river, near the +mouth of which the French town of New Orleans had been standing since +1718. It was the French doctrine that discovery and possession of a +river gave a claim to all the territory drained by that river. According +to this doctrine every acre of American soil from which water flowed +into the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi belonged to France. The claims +of the French thus came up to the very crest of the Alleghanies, and +they made no secret of their intention to shut up the English forever +between that chain of mountains and the sea-coast. There were times when +their aims were still more aggressive and dangerous, when they looked +with longing eyes upon the valley of the Hudson, and would fain have +broken through that military centre of the line of English commonwealths +and seized the keys of empire over the continent.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The Indian tribes. +</p> + +<p>From this height of their ambition the French were kept aloof by the +deadly enmity of the most fierce and powerful savages in the New World. +The Indians of those days who came into contact with the white settlers +were divided into many tribes with different names, but they all +belonged to one or another of three great stocks or families. First, +there were the <i>Mobilians</i>, far down south; to this stock belonged<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">28</a></span> the +Creeks, Cherokees, and others. Secondly, there were the <i>Algonquins</i>, +comprising the Delawares to the south of the Susquehanna; the Miamis, +Shawnees, and others in the western wilderness; the Ottawas in Canada; +and all the tribes still left to the northeast of New England. Thirdly, +there were the <i>Iroquois</i>, of whom the most famous were the Five Nations +of what is now central New York. These five great tribes—the Mohawks, +Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas—had for several generations +been united in a confederacy which they likened to a long wigwam with +its eastern door looking out upon the valley of the Hudson and its +western toward the falls of Niagara. It was known far and wide over the +continent as the Long House, and wherever it was known it was dreaded. +When Frenchmen and Englishmen first settled in America, this Iroquois +league was engaged in a long career of conquest. Algonquin tribes all +the way from the Connecticut to the Mississippi were treated as its +vassals and forced to pay tribute in weapons and wampum. This conquering +career extended through the seventeenth century, until it was brought to +an end by the French. When the latter began making settlements in +Canada, they courted the friendship of their Algonquin neighbours, and +thus, without dreaming what deadly seed they were sowing, they were led +to attack the terrible Long House. It was easy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">29</a></span> enough for Champlain in +1609 to win a victory over savages who had never before seen a white man +or heard the report of a musket; but the victory was a fatal one for the +French, for it made the Iroquois their eternal enemies. The Long House +allied itself first with the Dutch and afterwards with the English, and +thus checked the progress of the French toward the lower Hudson. We too +seldom think how much we owe to those formidable savages.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The French and the Iroquois. +</p> + +<p>The Iroquois pressed the French with so much vigour that in 1689 they +even laid siege to Montreal. But by 1696 the French, assisted by all the +Algonquin tribes within reach, and led by their warlike viceroy, Count +Frontenac, one of the most picturesque figures in American history, at +length succeeded in getting the upperhand and dealing the Long House a +terrible blow, from the effects of which it never recovered. The league +remained formidable, however, until the time of the revolutionary war. +In 1715 its fighting strength was partially repaired by the adoption of +the kindred Iroquois tribe of Tuscaroras, who had just been expelled +from North Carolina by the English settlers, and migrated to New York. +After this accession the league, henceforth known as the Six Nations, +formed a power by no means to be despised, though much less bold and +aggressive than in the previous century.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">30</a></span></p> + +<p>After administering a check to the Iroquois, the French and Algonquins +kept up for more than sixty years a desultory warfare against the +English colonies. Whenever war broke out between England and France, it +meant war in America as well as in Europe. Indeed, one of the chief +objects of war, on the part of each of these two nations, was to extend +its colonial dominions at the expense of the other. France and England +were at war from 1689 to 1697; from 1702 to 1713; and from 1743 to 1748. +The men in New York or Boston in 1750, who could remember the past sixty +years, could thus look back over at least four-and-twenty years of open +war; and even in the intervals of professed peace there was a good deal +of disturbance on the frontiers. A most frightful sort of warfare it +was, ghastly with torture of prisoners and the ruthless murder of women +and children. The expense of raising and arming troops for defence was +great enough to subject several of the colonies to a heavy burden of +debt. In 1750 Massachusetts was just throwing off the load of debt under +which she had staggered since 1693; and most of this debt was incurred +for expeditions against the French and Algonquins.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Difficulty of getting the English colonies to act in concert. +</p> + +<p>Under these circumstances it was natural that the colonial governments +should find it hard to raise enough money for war expenses, and that the +governors should think the legislatures too<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">31</a></span> slow in acting. They were +slow; for, as is apt to be the case when money is to be borrowed without +the best security, there were a good many things to be considered. All +this was made worse by the fact that there were so many separate +governments, so that each one was inclined to hold back and wait for the +others. On the other hand, the French viceroy in Canada had despotic +power; the colony which he governed never pretended to be +self-supporting; and so, if he could not squeeze money enough out of the +people in Canada, he just sent to France for it and got it; for the +government of Louis XV. regarded Canada as one of the brightest jewels +in its crown, and was always ready to spend money for damaging the +English. Accordingly the Frenchman could plan his campaign, call his red +men together, and set the whole frontier in a blaze, while the +legislatures in Boston or New York were talking about what had better be +done in case of invasion. No wonder the royal governors fretted and +fumed, and sent home to England dismal accounts of the perverseness of +these Americans! Many people in England thought that the colonies were +allowed to govern themselves altogether too much, and that for their own +good the British government ought to tax them. Once while Sir Robert +Walpole was prime minister (1721-1742) some one is said to have advised +him to lay a direct tax upon the Americans;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">32</a></span> but that wise old statesman +shook his head. It was bad enough, he said, to be scolded and abused by +half the people in the old country; he did not wish to make enemies of +every man, woman, and child in the new.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Need of a union between the English colonies. +</p> + +<p>But if the power to raise American armies for the common defence, and to +collect money in America for this purpose, was not to be assumed by the +British government, was there any way in which unity and promptness of +action in time of war could be secured? There was another way, if people +could be persuaded to adopt it. The thirteen colonies might be joined +together in a federal union; and the federal government, without +interfering in the local affairs of any single colony, might be clothed +with the power of levying taxes all over the country for purposes of +common defence. The royal governors were inclined to favour a union of +the colonies, no matter how it might be brought about. They thought it +necessary that some decisive step should be taken quickly, for it was +evident that the peace of 1748 was only an armed truce. Evidently a +great and decisive struggle was at hand. In 1750 the Ohio Company, +formed for the purpose of colonizing the valley drained by that river, +had surveyed the country as far as the present site of Louisville. In +1753 the French, taking the alarm, crossed Lake Erie, and began to +fortify themselves at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">33</a></span> Presque Isle, and at Venango on the Alleghany +river. They seized persons trading within the limits of the Ohio +Company, which lay within the territory of Virginia; and accordingly +Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, selected George Washington—a venturous +and hardy young land-surveyor, only twenty-one years old, but gifted +with a sagacity beyond his years—and sent him to Venango to warn off +the trespassers. It was an exceedingly delicate and dangerous mission, +and Washington showed rare skill and courage in this first act of his +public career, but the French commander made polite excuses and +remained. Next spring the French and English tried each to forestall the +other in fortifying the all-important place where the Alleghany and +Monongahela rivers unite to form the Ohio, the place long afterward +commonly known as the "Gateway of the West," the place where the city of +Pittsburgh now stands. In the course of these preliminary manÅ“uvres +Washington was besieged in Fort Necessity by overwhelming numbers, and +on July 4, 1754, was obliged to surrender the whole of his force, but +obtained leave to march away. So the French got possession of the +much-coveted situation, and erected there Fort Duquesne as a menace to +all future English intruders. As yet war had not been declared between +France and England, but these skirmishings indicated that war in earnest +was not far off.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">34</a></span></p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The Congress at Albany, 1754. +</p> + +<p>In view of the approaching war a meeting was arranged at Albany between +the principal chiefs of the Six Nations and commissioners from several +of the colonies, that the alliance between English and Iroquois might be +freshly cemented; and some of the royal governors improved the occasion +to call for a Congress of all the colonies, in order to prepare some +plan of confederation such as all the colonies might be willing to +adopt. At the time of Washington's surrender such a Congress was in +session at Albany, but Maryland was the most southerly colony +represented in it. The people nowhere showed any interest in it. No +public meetings were held in its favour. The only newspaper which warmly +approved it was the "Pennsylvania Gazette," which appeared with a union +device, a snake divided into thirteen segments, with the motto "Unite or +Die!"</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Franklin's plan for a Federal Union. +</p> + +<p>The editor of this paper was Benjamin Franklin, then eight-and-forty +years of age and already one of the most famous men in America. In the +preceding year he had been appointed by the crown postmaster-general for +the American colonies, and he had received from the Royal Society the +Copley medal for his brilliant discovery that lightning is a discharge +of electricity. Franklin was very anxious to see the colonies united in +a federal body, and he was now a delegate to the Congress. He drew up a +plan of union which the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">35</a></span> Congress adopted, after a very long debate; and +it has ever since been known as the Albany Plan. The federal government +was to consist, <i>first</i>, of a President or Governor-general, appointed +and paid by the crown, and holding office during its pleasure; and +<i>secondly</i>, of a Grand Council composed of representatives elected every +third year by the legislatures of the several colonies. This federal +government was not to meddle with the internal affairs of any colony, +but on questions of war and such other questions as concerned all the +colonies alike, it was to be supreme; and to this end it was to have the +power of levying taxes for federal purposes directly upon the people of +the several colonies. Philadelphia, as the most centrally situated of +the larger towns, was mentioned as a proper seat for the federal +government.</p> + +<p>The end of our story will show the wonderful foresightedness of +Franklin's scheme. If the Revolution had never occurred, we might very +likely have sooner or later come to live under a constitution resembling +the Albany Plan. On the other hand, if the Albany Plan had been put into +operation, it might perhaps have so adjusted the relations of the +colonies to the British government that the Revolution would not have +occurred. Perhaps, however, it would only have reproduced, on a larger +scale, the irrepressible conflict between royal governor and popular +assembly. The scheme<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">36</a></span> failed for want of support. The Congress +recommended it to the colonial legislatures, but not one of them voted +to adopt it. The difficulty was the same in 1754 that it was thirty +years later,—only much stronger. The people of one colony saw but +little of the people in another, had but few dealings with them, and +cared not much about them. They knew and trusted their own local +assemblies which sat and voted almost under their eyes; they were not +inclined to grant strange powers of taxation to a new assembly distant +by a week's journey. This was a point to which people could never have +been brought except as the alternative to something confessedly worse.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Its failure. +</p> + +<p>The failure of the Albany Plan left the question of providing for +military defence just where it was before, and the great Seven Years' +War came on while governors and assemblies were wrangling to no purpose. +In 1755 Braddock's army was unable to get support except from the +steadfast personal exertions of Franklin, who used his great influence +with the farmers of Pennsylvania to obtain horses, wagons, and +provisions, pledging his own property for their payment. Nevertheless, +as the war went on and the people of the colonies became fully alive to +its importance, they did contribute liberally both in men and in money, +and at last it appeared that in proportion to their wealth and +population they had done even more than the regular army<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">37</a></span> and the royal +exchequer toward overthrowing the common enemy.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Overthrow of the French power in America. +</p> + +<p>When the war came to an end in 1763 the whole face of things in America +was changed. Seldom, if ever, had the world seen so complete a victory. +France no longer possessed so much as an acre of ground in all North +America. The unknown regions beyond the Mississippi river were handed +over to Spain in payment for bootless assistance rendered to France +toward the close of the war. Spain also received New Orleans, while +Florida, which then reached westward nearly to New Orleans, passed from +Spanish into British hands. The whole country north of Florida and east +of the Mississippi river, including Canada, was now English. A strong +combination of Indian tribes, chiefly Algonquin, under the lead of the +Ottawa sachem Pontiac, made a last desperate attempt, after the loss of +their French allies, to cripple the English; but by 1765, after many +harrowing scenes of bloodshed, these red men were crushed. There was no +power left that could threaten the peace of the thirteen colonies unless +it were the mother-country herself. "Well," said the French minister, +the Duke de Choiseul, as he signed the treaty that shut France out of +North America, "so we are gone; it will be England's turn next!" And +like a prudent seeker after knowledge, as he was, the Duke presently<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">38</a></span> +bethought him of an able and high-minded man, the Baron de Kalb, and +sent him in 1767 to America, to look about and see if there were not +good grounds for his bold prophecy.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> +<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em"> +<a name="CHAPTER_IV." id="CHAPTER_IV."></a> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">39</a></span> +<h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2><h3>THE STAMP ACT, AND THE REVENUE LAWS.</h3> +</div> + +<p>It did not take four years after the peace of 1763 to show how rapidly +the new situation of affairs was bearing fruit in America. The war had +taught its lessons. Earlier wars had menaced portions of the frontier, +and had been fought by single colonies or alliances of two or three. +This war had menaced the whole frontier, and the colonies, acting for +the first time in general concert, had acquired some dim notion of their +united strength. Soldiers and officers by and by to be arrayed against +one another had here fought as allies,—John Stark and Israel Putnam by +the side of William Howe; Horatio Gates by the side of Thomas Gage,—and +it had not always been the regulars that bore off the palm for skill and +endurance. One young man, of immense energy and fiery temper, united to +rare prudence and fertility of resource, had already become famous +enough to be talked about in England; in George Washington the +Virginians recognized a tower of strength.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Consequences of the great French War. +</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Need for a steady revenue. +</p> + +<p>The overthrow of their ancient enemy, while further increasing the +self-confidence of the Americans,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">40</a></span> at the same time removed the +principal check which had hitherto kept their differences with the +British government from coming to an open rupture. Formerly the dread of +French attack had tended to make the Americans complaisant toward the +king's ministers, while at time it made the king's ministers unwilling +to lose the good will of the Americans. Now that the check was removed, +the continuance or revival of the old disputes at once foreboded +trouble; and the old occasions for dispute were far from having ceased. +On the contrary the war itself had given them fresh vitality. If money +had been needed before, it was still more needed now. The war had +entailed a heavy burden of expense upon the British government as well +as upon the colonies. The national debt of Great Britain was much +increased, and there were many who thought that, since the Americans +shared in the benefits of the war they ought also to share in the burden +which it left behind it. People in England who used this argument did +not realize that the Americans had really contributed as much as could +reasonably be expected to the support of the war, and that it had left +behind it debts to be paid in America as well as in England. But there +was another argument which made it seem reasonable to many Englishmen +that the colonists should be taxed. It seemed right that a small +military force should<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">41</a></span> be kept up in America, for defence of the +frontiers against the Indians, even if there were no other enemies to be +dreaded. The events of Pontiac's war now showed that there was clearly +need of such a force; and the experience of the royal governors for half +a century had shown that it was very difficult to get the colonial +legislatures to vote money for any such purpose. Hence there grew up in +England a feeling that taxes ought to be raised in America as a +contribution to the war debt and to the military defence of the +colonies; and in order that such taxes should be fairly distributed and +promptly collected, it was felt that the whole business ought to be +placed under the direct supervision and control of parliament. In +accordance with this feeling the new prime minister, George Grenville in +1764 announced his intention of passing a Stamp Act for the easier +collection of revenue in America. Meanwhile things had happened in +America which had greatly irritated the people, especially in Boston, so +that they were in the mood for resisting anything that looked like +encroachment on the part of the British government. To understand this +other source of irritation, we must devote a few words to the laws by +which that government had for a long time undertaken to regulate the +commerce of the American colonies.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">42</a></span></p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +What European colonies were supposed to be founded for. +</p> + +<p>When European nations began to plant colonies in America, they treated +them in accordance with a theory which prevailed until it was upset by +the American Revolution. According to this ignorant and barbarous +theory, a colony was a community which existed only for the purpose of +enriching the country which had founded it. At the outset, the Spanish +notion of a colony was that of a military station, which might plunder +the heathen for the benefit of the hungry treasury of the Most Catholic +monarch. But this theory was short-lived, like the enjoyment of the +plunder which it succeeded in extorting. According to the principles and +practice of France and England—and of Spain also, after the first +romantic fury of buccaneering had spent itself—the great object in +founding a colony, besides increasing one's general importance in the +world and the area of one's dominions on the map, was to create a +dependent community for the purpose of trading with it. People's ideas +about trade were very absurd. It was not understood that when two +parties trade with each other freely, both must be gainers, or else one +would soon stop trading. It was supposed that in trade, just as in +gambling or betting, what the one party gains the other loses. +Accordingly laws were made to regulate trade so that, as far as +possible, all the loss might fall upon the colonies and all the gain +accrue to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">43</a></span> the mother-country. In order to attain this object, the +colonies were required to confine their trade entirely to England. No +American colony could send its tobacco or its rice or its indigo to +France or to Holland, or to any other country than England; nor could it +buy a yard of French silk or a pound of Chinese tea except from English +merchants. In this way English merchants sought to secure for themselves +a monopoly of purchases and a monopoly of sales. By a further provision, +although American ships might take goods to England, the carrying-trade +between the different colonies was strictly confined to British ships. +Next, in order to protect British manufacturers from competition, it was +thought necessary to prohibit the colonists from manufacturing. They +might grow wool, but it must be carried to England to be woven into +cloth; they might smelt iron, but it must be carried to England to be +made into ploughshares. Finally, in order to protect British farmers and +their landlords, corn-laws were enacted, putting a prohibitory tariff on +all kinds of grain and other farm produce shipped from the colonies to +ports in Great Britain.</p> + +<p>Such absurd and tyrannical laws had begun to be made in the reign of +Charles II., and by 1750 not less than twenty-nine acts of parliament +had been passed in this spirit. If these laws had been strictly +enforced, the American Revolution<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">44</a></span> would probably have come sooner than +it did. In point of fact they were seldom strictly enforced, because so +long as the French were a power in America the British government felt +that it could not afford to irritate the colonists. In spite of laws to +the contrary, the carrying-trade between the different colonies was +almost monopolized by vessels owned, built, and manned in New England; +and the smuggling of foreign goods into Boston and New York and other +seaport towns was winked at.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Writs of assistance. +</p> + +<p>It was in 1761, immediately after the overthrow of the French in Canada, +that attempts were made to enforce the revenue laws more strictly than +heretofore; and trouble was at once threatened. Charles Paxton, the +principal officer of the custom-house in Boston, applied to the Superior +Court to grant him the authority to use "writs of assistance" in +searching for smuggled goods. A writ of assistance was a general +search-warrant, empowering the officer armed with it to enter, by force +if necessary, any dwelling-house or warehouse where contraband goods +were supposed to be stored or hidden. A special search-warrant was one +in which the name of the suspected person, and the house which it was +proposed to search, were accurately specified, and the goods which it +was intended to seize were as far as possible described. In the use of +such special warrants there was not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">45</a></span> much danger of gross injustice or +oppression, because the court would not be likely to grant one unless +strong evidence could be brought against the person whom it named. But +the general search-warrant, or "writ of assistance," as it was called +because men try to cover up the ugliness of hateful things by giving +them innocent names, was quite a different affair. It was a blank form +upon which the custom-house officer might fill in the names of persons +and descriptions of houses and goods to suit himself. Then he could go +and break into the houses and seize the goods, and if need be summon the +sheriff and his <i>posse</i> to help him in overcoming and browbeating the +owner. The writ of assistance was therefore an abominable instrument of +tyranny. Such writs had been allowed by a statute of the evil reign of +Charles II.; a statute of William III. had clothed custom-house officers +in the colonies with like powers to those which they possessed in +England; and neither of these statutes had been repealed. There can +therefore be little doubt that the issue of such search-warrants was +strictly legal, unless the authority of Parliament to make laws for the +colonies was to be denied.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +James Otis. +</p> + +<p>James Otis then held the crown office of advocate-general, with an ample +salary and prospects of high favour from government. When the revenue +officers called upon him, in view of his position, to defend their +cause, he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">46</a></span> resigned his office and at once undertook to act as counsel +for the merchants of Boston in their protest against the issue of the +writs. A large fee was offered him, but he refused it. "In such a +cause," said he, "I despise all fees." The case was tried in the +council-chamber at the east end of the old town-hall, or what is now +known as the "Old State-House," in Boston. Chief-justice Hutchinson +presided, and Jeremiah Gridley, one of the greatest lawyers of that day, +argued the case for the writs in a very powerful speech. The reply of +Otis, which took five hours in the delivery, was one of the greatest +speeches of modern times. It went beyond the particular legal question +at issue, and took up the whole question of the constitutional relations +between the colonies and the mother-country. At the bottom of this, as +of all the disputes that led to the Revolution, lay the ultimate +question whether Americans were bound to yield obedience to laws which +they had no share in making. This question, and the spirit that answered +it flatly and doggedly in the negative, were heard like an undertone +pervading all the arguments in Otis's wonderful speech, and it was +because of this that the young lawyer John Adams, who was present, +afterward declared that on that day "the child Independence was born." +Chief-justice Hutchinson was a man of great ability and as sincere a +patriot as any American of his time. He could feel the force of Otis's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">47</a></span> +argument, but he believed that Parliament was the supreme legislative +body for the whole British empire, and furthermore that it was the duty +of a judge to follow the law as it existed. He reserved his decision +until advice could be had from the law-officers of the crown in London; +and when next term he was instructed by them to grant the writs, this +result added fresh impetus to the spirit that Otis's eloquence had +aroused. The custom-house officers, armed with their writs, began +breaking into warehouses and seizing goods which were said to have been +smuggled. In this rough way they confiscated private property to the +value of many thousands of pounds; but sometimes the owners of +warehouses armed themselves and barricaded their doors and windows, and +thus the officers were often successfully defied, for the sheriff was +far from prompt in coming to aid them.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Patrick Henry, and the Parsons' Cause. +</p> + +<p>While such things were going on in Boston, the people of Virginia were +wrought into fierce excitement by what was known as the "Parsons' +Cause." The Church of England was at that time established by law in +Virginia, and its clergymen, appointed by English bishops, were +unpopular. In 1758 the legislature, under the pressure of the French +war, had passed an act which affected all public dues and incidentally +diminished the salaries of the clergy. Complaints were made to the +Bishop of London, and the act of 1758 was vetoed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">48</a></span> by the king in +council. Several clergymen then brought suits to recover the unpaid +portions of their salaries. In the first test case there could be no +doubt that the royal veto was legal enough, and the court therefore +decided in favour of the plaintiff. But it now remained to settle before +a jury the amount of the damages. It was on this occasion, in December, +1763, that the great orator Patrick Henry made his first speech in the +court-room and at once became famous. He declared that no power on earth +could take away from Virginia the right to make laws for herself, and +that in annulling a wholesome law at the request of a favoured class in +the community "a king, from being the father of his people, degenerates +into a tyrant, and forfeits all right to obedience." This bold talk +aroused much excitement and some uproar, but the jury instantly +responded by assessing the parson's damages at one penny, and in 1765 +Henry was elected a member of the colonial assembly.</p> + +<p>Thus almost at the same time in Massachusetts and in Virginia the +preliminary scenes of the Revolution occurred in the court-room. In each +case the representatives of the crown had the letter of the law on their +side, but the principles of the only sound public policy, by which a +Revolution could be avoided, were those that were defended by the +advocates of the people. At each successive move on the part of the +British government<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">49</a></span> which looked like an encroachment upon the rights of +Americans, the sympathy between these two leading colonies now grew +stronger and stronger.</p> + +<p>It was in 1763 that George Grenville became prime minister, a man of +whom Macaulay says that he knew of "no national interests except those +which are expressed by pounds, shillings, and pence." Grenville +proceeded to introduce into Parliament two measures which had +consequences of which, he little dreamed. The first of these measures +was the Molasses Act, the second was the Stamp Act.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The Molasses Act. +</p> + +<p>Properly speaking, the Molasses Act was an old law which Grenville now +made up his mind to revive and enforce. The commercial wealth of the New +England colonies depended largely upon their trade with the fish which +their fishermen caught along the coast and as far out as the banks of +Newfoundland. The finest fish could be sold in Europe, but the poorer +sort found their chief market in the French West Indies. The French +government, in order to ensure a market for the molasses raised in these +islands, would not allow the planters to give anything else in exchange +for fish. Great quantities of molasses were therefore carried to New +England, and what was not needed there for domestic use was distilled +into rum, part of which was consumed at home, and the rest carried +chiefly to Africa wherewith<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">50</a></span> to buy slaves to be sold to the southern +colonies. All this trade required many ships, and thus kept up a lively +demand for New England lumber, besides finding employment for thousands +of sailors and shipwrights. Now in 1733 the British government took it +into its head to "protect" its sugar planters in the English West Indies +by compelling the New England merchants to buy all their molasses from +them; and with this end in view it forthwith laid upon all sugar and +molasses imported into North America from the French islands a duty so +heavy that, if it had been enforced, it would have stopped all such +importation. It is very doubtful if this measure would have attained the +end which the British government had in view. Probably it would not have +made much difference in the export of molasses from the English West +Indies to New England, because the islanders happened not to want the +fish which their French neighbours coveted. But the New Englanders could +see that the immediate result would be to close the market for their +cheaper kinds of fish, and thus ruin their trade in lumber and rum, +besides shutting up many a busy shipyard and turning more than 5000 +sailors out of employment. It was estimated that the yearly loss to New +England would exceed £300,000. It was hardly wise in Great Britain to +entail such a loss upon some of her best customers; for with their +incomes thus cut<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">51</a></span> down, it was not to be expected that the people of New +England would be able to buy as many farming tools, dishes, and pieces +of furniture, garments of silk or wool, and wines or other luxuries, +from British merchants as before. The government in passing its act of +1733 did not think of these consequences; but it proved to be impossible +to enforce the act without causing more disturbance than the government +felt prepared to encounter. Now in 1764 Grenville announced that the act +was to be enforced, and of course the machinery of writs of assistance +was to be employed for that purpose. Henceforth all molasses from the +French islands must either pay the prohibitory duty or be seized without +ceremony.</p> + +<p>Loud and fierce was the indignation of New England over this revival of +the Molasses Act. Even without the Stamp Act, it might very likely have +led that part of the country to make armed resistance, but in such case +it is not so sure that the southern and middle colonies would have come +to the aid of New England. But in the Stamp Act Grenville provided the +colonies with an issue which concerned one as much as another, and upon +which they were accordingly sure to unite in resistance. It was also a +much better issue for the Americans to take up, for it was not a mere +revival of an old act; it was a new departure; it was an imposition of a +kind to which the Americans had never before been called upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">52</a></span> to +submit, and in resisting it they were sure to enlist the sympathies of a +good many powerful people in England.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The Stamp Act. +</p> + +<p>The Stamp Act was a direct tax laid upon the whole American people by +Parliament, a legislative body in which they were not represented. The +British government had no tyrannical purpose in devising this tax. A +stamp duty had already been suggested in 1755 by William Shirley, royal +governor of Massachusetts, a worthy man and much more of a favourite +with the people than most of his class. Shirley recommended it as the +least disagreeable kind of tax, and the easiest to collect. It did not +call for any hateful searching of people's houses and shops, or any +unpleasant questions about their incomes, or about their invested or +hoarded wealth. It only required that legal documents and commercial +instruments should be written, and newspapers printed, on stamped paper. +Of all kinds of direct tax none can be less annoying, except for one +reason; it is exceedingly difficult to evade such a tax; it enforces +itself. For these reasons Grenville decided to adopt it. He arranged it +so that all the officers charged with the business of selling the +stamped paper should be Americans; and he gave formal notice of the +measure in March, 1764, a year beforehand, in order to give the colonies +time to express their opinions about it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">53</a></span></p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Samuel Adams. +</p> + +<p>In the Boston town-meeting in May, almost as soon as the news had +arrived, the American view of the case was very clearly set forth in a +series of resolutions drawn up by Samuel Adams. This was the first of +the remarkable state papers from the pen of that great man, who now, at +the age of forty-two, was just entering upon a glorious career. Samuel +Adams was a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1740. He had +been reared in politics from boyhood, for his father, a deacon of the +Old South Church, had been chief spokesman of the popular party in its +disputes with the royal governors. Of all the agencies in organizing +resistance to Great Britain none were more powerful than the New England +town-meetings, among which that of the people of Boston stood +preëminent, and in the Boston town-meeting for more than thirty years no +other man exerted so much influence as Samuel Adams. This was because of +his keen intelligence and persuasive talk, his spotless integrity, +indomitable courage, unselfish and unwearying devotion to the public +good, and broad sympathy with all classes of people. He was a thorough +democrat. He respected the dignity of true manhood wherever he found it, +and could talk with sailors and shipwrights like one of themselves, +while at the same time in learned argument he had few superiors. He has +been called the "Father of the Revolution," and was no doubt its most +conspicuous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">54</a></span> figure before 1775, as Washington certainly was after that +date.</p> + +<p>This earliest state paper of Samuel Adams contained the first formal and +public denial of the right of Parliament to tax the colonies, because it +was not a body in which their people were represented. The resolutions +were adopted by the Massachusetts assembly, and a similar action was +taken by Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South +Carolina. The colonies professed their willingness to raise money in +answer to requisitions upon their assemblies, which were the only bodies +competent to lay taxes in America. Memorials stating these views were +sent to England, and the colony of Pennsylvania sent Dr. Franklin to +represent its case at the British court. Franklin remained in London +until the spring of 1775 as agent first for Pennsylvania, afterward for +Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Georgia,—a kind of diplomatic +representative of the views and claims of the Americans.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The Virginia Resolutions, 1765. +</p> + +<p>Grenville told Franklin that he wished to do things as pleasantly as +possible, and was not disposed to insist upon the Stamp Act, if the +Americans could suggest anything better. But when it appeared that no +alternative was offered except to fall back upon the old clumsy system +of requisitions, Grenville naturally replied that there ought to be some +more efficient method of raising money for the defence of the frontier. +Accordingly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">55</a></span> in March, 1765, the Stamp Act was passed, with so little +debate that people hardly noticed what was going on. But when the news +reached America there was an outburst of wrath that was soon heard and +felt in London. In May the Virginia legislature was assembled. George +Washington was sitting there in his seat, and Thomas Jefferson, then a +law-student, was listening eagerly from outside the door, when Patrick +Henry introduced the famous resolutions in which he declared, among +other things, that an attempt to vest the power of taxation in any other +body than the colonial assembly was a menace to the common freedom of +Englishmen, whether in Britain or in America, and that the people of +Virginia were not bound to obey any law enacted in disregard of this +principle. The language of the resolutions was bold enough, but a keener +edge was put upon it by the defiant note which rang out from Henry in +the course of the debate, when he commended the example of Tarquin and +Cæsar and Charles I. to the attention of George III. "If this be +treason," he exclaimed, as the speaker tried to call him to order, "if +this be treason, make the most of it!"</p> + +<p>The other colonies were not slow in acting. Massachusetts called for a +general congress, in order that all might discuss the situation and +agree upon some course to be pursued in common. South Carolina responded +most cordially, at the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">56</a></span> instance of her noble, learned, and far-sighted +patriot, Christopher Gadsden. On the 7th of October, delegates from nine +colonies met in a congress at New York, adopted resolutions like those +of Virginia, and sent a memorial to the king, whose sovereignty over +them they admitted, and a remonstrance to Parliament, whose authority to +tax them they denied. The meeting of this congress was in itself a +prophecy of what was to happen if the British government should persist +in the course upon which it had now entered.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Stamp Act riots. +</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the summer had witnessed riots in many places, and one of +these was extremely disgraceful. Chief-justice Hutchinson had tried to +dissuade the ministry from passing the Stamp Act, but an impression had +got abroad among the wharves and waterside taverns of Boston that he had +not only favoured it but had gone out of his way to send information to +London, naming certain merchants as smugglers. Under the influence of +this mistaken notion, on the night of the 26th of August a drunken mob +plundered Hutchinson's house in Boston and destroyed his library, which +was probably the finest in America at that time. Here, as is apt to be +the case, the mob selected the wrong victim. Its shameful act was +denounced by the people of Massachusetts, and the chief-justice was +indemnified by the legislature. In the other instances the riots were of +an innocent sort. Stamp officers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">57</a></span> were forced to resign. Boxes of +stamped paper arriving by ship were burned or thrown into the sea, and +at length the governor of New York was compelled by a mob to surrender +all the stamps entrusted to his care. These things were done for the +most part under the direction of societies of workingmen known as "Sons +of Liberty," who were pledged to resist the execution of the Stamp Act. +At the same time associations of merchants declared that they would buy +no more goods from England until the act should be repealed, and lawyers +entered into agreements not to treat any document as invalidated by the +absence of the required stamp. As for the editors, they published their +newspapers decorated with a grinning skull and cross-bones instead of +the stamp.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Repeal of the Stamp Act. +</p> + +<p>These demonstrations produced their effect in England. In July, 1765, +the Grenville ministry fell, and the new government, with Lord +Rockingham at its head, was more inclined to pay heed to the wishes and +views of the Americans. The debate over the repeal of the Stamp Act +lasted nearly three months and was one of the fiercest that had been +heard in Parliament for many a day. William Pitt declared that he +rejoiced in the resistance of the Americans, and urged that the act +should be repealed because Parliament ought never to have passed it; but +there were very few who took this view. As the result of the long +debate, at the end of March,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">58</a></span> 1766, the Stamp Act was repealed, and a +Declaratory Act was passed in which Parliament said in effect that it +had a right to make such laws for the Americans if it chose to do so.</p> + +<p>The people of London, as well as the Americans, hailed with delight the +repeal of the Stamp Act; but the real trouble had now only begun. The +resolutions of Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry and their approval by the +Congress at New York had thrown the question of American taxation into +the whirlpool of British politics, and there it was to stay until it +worked a change for the better in England as well as in America.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +How the question was affected by British politics. +</p> + +<p>The principle that people must not be taxed except by their +representatives had been to some extent recognized in England for five +hundred years, and it was really the fundamental principle of English +liberty, but it was only very imperfectly that it had been put into +practice. In the eighteenth century the House of Commons was very far +from being a body that fairly represented the people of Great Britain. +For a long time there had been no change in the distribution of seats, +and meanwhile the population had been increasing very differently in +different parts of the kingdom. Thus great cities which had grown up in +recent times, such as Sheffield and Manchester, had no representatives +in Parliament, while many little boroughs with a handful of inhabitants +had their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">59</a></span> representatives. Some such boroughs had been granted +representation by Henry VIII. in order to create a majority for his +measures in the House of Commons. Others were simply petty towns that +had dwindled away, somewhat as the mountain villages of New England have +dwindled since the introduction of railroads. The famous Old Sarum had +members in Parliament long after it had ceased to have any inhabitants. +Seats for these rotten boroughs, as they were called, were simply bought +and sold. Political life in England was exceedingly corrupt; some of the +best statesmen indulged in wholesale bribery as if it were the most +innocent thing in the world. The country was really governed by a few +great families, some of whose members sat in the House of Lords and +others in the House of Commons. Their measures were often noble and +patriotic in the highest degree, but when bribery and corruption seemed +necessary for carrying them, such means were employed without scruple.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +George III. and his political schemes. +</p> + +<p>When George III. came to the throne in 1760, the great families which +had thus governed England for half a century belonged to the party known +as Old Whigs. Under their rule the power of the crown had been reduced +to insignificance, and the modern system of cabinet government by a +responsible ministry had begun to grow up. The Tory families during this +period had been very unpopular,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">60</a></span> because of their sympathy with the +Stuart pretenders who had twice attempted to seize the crown and given +the country a brief taste of civil war. By 1760 the Tories saw that the +cause of the Stuarts was hopeless, and so they were inclined to transfer +their affections to the new king. George III. was a young man of narrow +intelligence and poor education, but he entertained very strong opinions +as to the importance of his kingly office. He meant to make himself a +real king, like the king of France or the king of Spain. He was +determined to break down the power of the Old Whigs and the system of +cabinet government, and as the Old Whigs had been growing unpopular, it +seemed quite possible, with the aid of the Tories, to accomplish this. +George was quite decorous in behaviour, and, although subject to fits of +insanity which became more troublesome in his later years, he had a +fairly good head for business. Industrious as a beaver and obstinate as +a mule, he was an adept in political trickery. In the corrupt use of +patronage he showed himself able to beat the Old Whigs at their own +game, and with the aid of the Tories he might well believe himself +capable of reviving for his own benefit the lost power of the crown.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The "New Whigs" and parliamentary reform. +</p> + +<p>Beside these two parties a third had been for some time growing up which +was in some essential points opposed to both of them. This third party +was that of the New Whigs. They wished to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">61</a></span> reform the representation in +Parliament in such wise as to disfranchise the rotten boroughs and give +representatives to great towns like Leeds and Manchester. They held that +it was contrary to the principles of English liberty that the +inhabitants of such great towns should be obliged to pay taxes in +pursuance of laws which they had no share in making. The leader of the +New Whigs was the greatest Englishman of the eighteenth century, the +elder William Pitt, now about to pass into the House of Lords as Earl of +Chatham. Their leader next in importance, William Petty, Earl of +Shelburne, was in 1765 a young man of eight-and-twenty, and afterward +came to be known as one of the most learned and sagacious statesmen of +his time. These men were the forerunners of the great liberal leaders of +the nineteenth century, such men as Russell and Cobden and Gladstone. +Their first decisive and overwhelming victory was the passage of Lord +John Russell's Reform Bill in 1832, but the agitation for reform was +begun by William Pitt in 1745, and his famous son came very near winning +the victory on that question in 1782.</p> + +<p>Now this question of parliamentary reform was intimately related to the +question of taxing the American colonies. From some points of view they +might be considered one and the same question. At a meeting of +Presbyterian ministers in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">62</a></span> Philadelphia, it was pertinently asked, "Have +two men chosen to represent a poor English borough that has sold its +votes to the highest bidder any pretence to say that they represent +Virginia or Pennsylvania? And have four hundred such fellows a right to +take our liberties?" In Parliament, on the other hand, as well as at +London dinner tables, and in newspapers and pamphlets, it was repeatedly +urged that the Americans need not make so much fuss about being taxed +without being represented, for in that respect they were no worse off +than the people of Sheffield or Birmingham. To this James Otis replied, +"Don't talk to us any more about those towns, for we are tired of such a +flimsy argument. If they are not represented, they ought to be;" and by +the New Whigs this retort was greeted with applause.</p> + +<p>The opinions and aims of the three different parties were reflected in +the long debate over the repeal of the Stamp Act. The Tories wanted to +have the act continued and enforced, and such was the wish of the king. +Both sections of Whigs were in favour of repeal, but for very different +reasons. Pitt and the New Whigs, being advocates of parliamentary +reform, came out flatly in support of the principle that there should be +no taxation without representation. Edmund Burke and the Old Whigs, +being opposed to parliamentary reform and in favour of keeping things +just as they were, could not adopt such an argument;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">63</a></span> and accordingly +they based their condemnation of the Stamp Act upon grounds of pure +expediency. They argued that it was not worth while, for the sake of a +little increase of revenue, to irritate three million people and run the +risk of getting drawn into a situation from which there would be no +escape except in either retreating or fighting. There was much practical +wisdom in this Old Whig argument, and it was the one which prevailed +when Parliament repealed the Stamp Act and expressly stated that it did +so only on grounds of expediency.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Why George III. was ready to pick a quarrel with the Americans. +</p> + +<p>There was one person, however, who was far from satisfied with this +result, and that was George III. He was opposed to parliamentary reform +for much the same reason that the Old Whigs were opposed to it, because +he felt that it threatened him with political ruin. The Old Whigs needed +the rotten boroughs in order to maintain their own control over +Parliament and the country. The king needed them because he felt himself +able to wrest them from the Old Whigs by intrigue and corruption, and +thus hoped to build up his own power. He believed, with good reason, +that the suppression of the rotten boroughs and the granting of fair and +equal representation would soon put a stronger curb upon the crown than +ever. Accordingly there were no men whom he dreaded and wished to put +down so much as the New<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">64</a></span> Whigs; and he felt that in the repeal of the +Stamp Act, no matter on what ground, they had come altogether too near +winning a victory. He felt that this outrageous doctrine that people +must not be taxed except by their representatives needed to be sternly +rebuked, and thus he found himself in the right sort of temper for +picking a fresh quarrel with the Americans.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Charles Townshend and his revenue acts, 1767. +</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Lord North. +</p> + +<p>An occasion soon presented itself. One of the king's devices for +breaking down the system of cabinet government was to select his +ministers from different parties, so that they might be unable to work +harmoniously together. Owing to the peculiar divisions of parties in +Parliament he was for some years able to carry out this policy, and +while his cabinets were thus weak and divided, he was able to use his +control of patronage with telling effect. In July, 1766, he got rid of +Lord Rockingham and his Old Whigs, and formed a new ministry made up +from all parties. It contained Pitt, who had now, as Earl of Chatham, +gone into the House of Lords, and at the same time Charles Townshend, as +Chancellor of the Exchequer. Townshend, a brilliant young man, without +any political principles worth mentioning, was the most conspicuous +among a group of wire-pullers who were coming to be known as "the king's +friends." Serious illness soon kept Chatham at home, and left Townshend +all-powerful in the cabinet, because he was bold and utterly +unscrupulous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">65</a></span> and had the king to back him. His audacity knew no limits, +and he made up his mind that the time had come for gathering all the +disputed American questions, as far as possible, into one bundle, and +disposing of them once for all. So in May, 1767, he brought forward in +Parliament a series of acts for raising and applying a revenue in +America. The colonists, he said, had objected to a direct tax, but they +had often submitted to port duties, and could not reasonably refuse to +do so again. Duties were accordingly to be laid on glass, paper, lead, +and painter's colours; on wine, oil, and fruits, if carried directly to +America from Spain and Portugal; and especially on tea. A board of +commissioners was to be established at Boston, to superintend the +collection of revenue throughout the colonies, and writs of assistance +were to be expressly legalized. The salaries of these commissioners were +to be paid out of the revenue thus collected. Governors, judges, and +crown-attorneys were to be made independent of the colonial legislatures +by having their salaries paid by the crown out of this same fund. A +small army was also to be kept up; and if after providing for these +various expenses, any surplus remained, it could be used by the crown in +giving pensions to Americans and thus be made to serve as a +corruption-fund. These measures were adopted on the 29th of June, and as +if to refute<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">66</a></span> anybody who might be inclined to think that rashness could +no further go, Townshend accompanied them with a special act directed +against the New York legislature, which had refused to obey an order +concerning the quartering of troops. By way of punishment, Townshend now +suspended the legislature. A few weeks after carrying these measures +Townshend died of a fever, and his place was taken by Lord North, eldest +son of the Earl of Guilford. North was thirty-five years of age. He was +amiable and witty, and an excellent debater, but without force of will. +He let the king rule him, and was at the same time able to show a strong +hand in the House of Commons, so that the king soon came to regard him +as a real treasure. Soon after North's appointment, Lord Chatham and +other friends of America in the cabinet resigned their places and were +succeeded by friends of the king. From 1768 to 1782 George III. was to +all intents and purposes his own prime minister, and contrived to keep a +majority in Parliament. During those fourteen years the American +question was uppermost, and his policy was at all hazards to force the +colonists to abandon their position that taxation must go hand in hand +with representation.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +What the Townshend acts really meant. +</p> + +<p>This purpose was already apparent in Charles Townshend's acts. They were +not at all like previous acts imposing port duties to which the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">67</a></span> +Americans had submitted. British historians sometimes speak of the +American Revolution as an affair which grew out of a mere dispute about +money; and even among Americans, in ordinary conversation and sometimes +in current literature, the unwillingness of our forefathers to pay a tax +of threepence a pound on tea is mentioned without due reference to the +attendant circumstances which made them refuse to pay such a tax. We +cannot hope to understand the fierce wrath by which they were animated +unless we bear in mind not only the simple fact of the tax, but also the +spirit in which it was levied and the purpose for which the revenue was +to be used. The Molasses Act threatening the ruin of New England +commerce was still on the statute-book, and commissioners, armed with +odious search-warrants for enforcing this and other tyrannical laws, +were on their way to America. For more than half a century the people +had jealously guarded against the abuse of power by the royal governors +by making them dependent upon the legislatures for their salaries. Now +they were all at once to be made independent, so that they might even +dismiss the legislatures, and if need be call for troops to help them. +The judges, moreover, with their power over men's lives and property, +were no longer to be responsible to the people. If these changes were to +be effected, it would be nothing less than a revolution<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">68</a></span> by which the +Americans would be deprived of their liberty. And, to crown all, the +money by which this revolution was to be brought about was to be +contributed in the shape of port duties by the Americans themselves! To +expect our forefathers to submit to such legislation as this was about +as sensible as it would have been to expect them to obey an order to buy +halters and hang themselves.</p> + +<p>When the news of the Townshend acts reached Massachusetts, the assembly +at its next session took a decided stand. Besides a petition to the king +and letters to several leading British statesmen, it issued a circular +letter addressed to the other twelve colonies, asking for their friendly +advice and coöperation with reference to the Townshend measures. These +papers were written by Samuel Adams. The circular letter was really an +invitation to the other colonies to concert measures of resistance if it +should be found necessary. It enraged the king, and presently an order +came across the ocean to Francis Bernard, royal governor of +Massachusetts, to demand of the assembly that it rescind its circular +letter, under penalty of instant dissolution. Otis exclaimed that Great +Britain had better rescind the Townshend acts if she did not wish to +lose her colonies. The assembly decided, by a vote of 92 to 17, that it +would not rescind. This flat defiance was everywhere applauded. The +assemblies<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">69</a></span> of the other colonies were ordered to take no notice of the +Massachusetts circular, but the order was generally disobeyed, and in +several cases the governors turned the assemblies out of doors. The +atmosphere of America now became alive with politics; more meetings were +held, more speeches made, and more pamphlets printed, than ever before.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The quarrel was not between England and America, but between George III. and +the principles which the Americans maintained. +</p> + +<p>In England the dignified and manly course of the Americans was generally +greeted with applause by Whigs of whatever sort, except those who had +come into the somewhat widening circle of "the king's friends." The Old +Whigs,—Burke, Fox, Conway, Savile, Lord John Cavendish, and the Duke of +Richmond; and the New Whigs,—Chatham, Shelburne, Camden, Dunning, +Barré, and Beckford; steadily defended the Americans throughout the +whole of the Revolutionary crisis, and the weight of the best +intelligence in the country was certainly on their side. Could they have +acted as a united body, could Burke and Fox have joined forces in +harmony with Chatham and Shelburne, they might have thwarted the king +and prevented the rupture with America. But George III. profited by the +hopeless division between these two Whig parties; and as the quarrel +with America grew fiercer, he succeeded in arraying the national pride +to some extent upon his side and against<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">70</a></span> the Whigs. This made him feel +stronger and stimulated his zeal against the Americans. He felt that if +he could first crush Whig principles in America, he could then turn and +crush them in England. In this he was correct, except that he +miscalculated the strength of the Americans. It was the defeat of his +schemes in America that ensured their defeat in England. It is quite +wrong and misleading, therefore, to remember the Revolutionary War as a +struggle between the British people and the American people. It was a +struggle between two hostile principles, each of which was represented +in both countries. In winning the good fight, our forefathers won a +victory for England as well as for America. What was crushed was George +III. and the kind of despotism which he wished to fasten upon America in +order that he might fasten it upon England. If the memory of George III. +deserves to be execrated, it is especially because he succeeded in +giving to his own selfish struggle for power the appearance of a +struggle between the people of England and the people of America; and in +so doing, he sowed seeds of enmity and distrust between two glorious +nations that, for their own sakes and for the welfare of mankind, ought +never for one moment to be allowed to forget their brotherhood. Time, +however, is rapidly repairing the damage which George III.'s policy +wrought, and it need in nowise disturb our narrative.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">71</a></span> In this brief +sketch we must omit hundreds of interesting details; but, if we would +look at things from the right point of view, we must bear in mind that +every act of George III., from 1768 onward, which brought on and carried +on the Revolutionary War, was done in spite of the earnest protest of +many of the best people in England; and that the king's wrong-headed +policy prevailed only because he was able, through corrupt methods, to +command a parliament which did not really represent the people. Had the +principles in support of which Lord Chatham joined hands with Samuel +Adams for one moment prevailed, the king's schemes would have collapsed +like a soap-bubble.</p> + +<p>As it was, in 1768 the king succeeded, in spite of strong opposition, in +carrying his point. He saw that the American colonies were disposed to +resist the Townshend acts, and that in this defiant attitude +Massachusetts was the ringleader. The Massachusetts circular pointed +toward united action on the part of the colonies. Above all things it +was desirable to prevent any such union, and accordingly the king +decided to make his principal attack upon Massachusetts, while dealing +more kindly with the other colonies. Thus he hoped Massachusetts might +be isolated and humbled, and in this belief he proceeded faster and more +rashly than if he had supposed himself to be dealing with a united +America. In order to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">72</a></span> catch Samuel Adams and James Otis, and get them +sent over to England for trial, he attempted to revive an old statute of +Henry VIII. about treason committed abroad; and in order to enforce the +revenue laws in spite of all opposition, he ordered troops to be sent to +Boston.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Troops sent to Boston. +</p> + +<p>This was a very harsh measure, and some excuse was needed to justify it +before Parliament. It was urged that Boston was a disorderly town, and +the sacking of Hutchinson's house could be cited in support of this +view. Then in June, 1768, there was a slight conflict between +townspeople and revenue officers, in which no one was hurt, but which +led to a great town-meeting in the Old South Meeting-House, and gave +Governor Bernard an opportunity for saying that he was intimidated and +hindered in the execution of the laws. The king's real purpose, however, +in sending troops was not so much to keep the peace as to enforce the +Townshend acts, and so the people of Boston understood it. Except for +these odious and tyrannical laws, there was nothing that threatened +disturbance in Boston. The arrival of British troops at Long Wharf, in +the autumn of 1768, simply increased the danger of disturbance, and in a +certain sense it may be said to have been the beginning of the +Revolutionary War. Very few people realized this at the time, but Samuel +Adams now made up his mind that the only way in which the American<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">73</a></span> +colonies could preserve their liberties was to unite in some sort of +federation and declare themselves independent of Great Britain. It was +with regret that he had come to this conclusion, and he was very slow in +proclaiming it, but after 1768 he kept it distinctly before his mind. He +saw clearly the end toward which public opinion was gradually drifting, +and because of his great influence over the Boston town-meeting and the +Massachusetts assembly, this clearness of purpose made him for the next +seven years the most formidable of the king's antagonists in America.</p> + +<p>The people of Boston were all the more indignant at the arrival of +troops in their town because the king in his hurry to send them had even +disregarded the act of Parliament which provided for such cases. +According to that act the soldiers ought to have been lodged in Castle +William on one of the little islands in the harbour. Even according to +British-made law they had no business to be quartered in Boston so long +as there was room for them, in the Castle. During the next seventeen +months the people made several formal protests against their presence in +town, and asked for their removal. But these protests were all fruitless +until innocent blood had been shed. The soldiers generally behaved no +worse than rough troopers on such occasions are apt to do, and the +townspeople for the most part preserved decorum, but quarrels now and +then occurred, and after<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">74</a></span> a while became frequent. In September, 1769, +James Otis was brutally assaulted at the British Coffee House by one of +the commissioners of customs aided and abetted by two or three army +officers. His health was already feeble and in this affray he was struck +on the head with a sword and so badly injured that he afterward became +insane. After this the feeling of the people toward the soldiers was +more bitter than ever. In February, 1770, there was much disturbance. +Toward the end of the month an informer named Richardson fired from his +window into a crowd and killed a little boy about eleven years of age, +named Christopher Snyder. The funeral of this poor boy, the first victim +of the Revolution, was attended on Monday, the 26th, by a great +procession of citizens, including those foremost in wealth and +influence.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The "Boston Massacre." +</p> + +<p>The rest of that week was full of collisions which on Friday almost +amounted to a riot and led the governor's council to consider seriously +whether the troops ought not to be removed. But before they had settled +the question the crisis came on Monday evening, March 5, in an affray +before the Custom House on King street, when seven of Captain Preston's +company fired into the crowd, killing five men and wounding several +others. Two of the victims were innocent bystanders. Two were sailors +from ships lying in the harbour, and they, together with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">75</a></span> the remaining +victim, a ropemaker, had been actively engaged in the affray. One of the +sailors, a mulatto or half-breed Indian of gigantic stature, named +Crispus Attucks, had been especially conspicuous. The slaughter of these +five men secured in a moment what so many months of decorous protest had +failed to accomplish. Much more serious bloodshed was imminent when +Lieutenant-governor Hutchinson arrived upon the scene and promptly +arrested the offending soldiers. The next day there was an immense +meeting at the Old South, and Samuel Adams, at the head of a committee, +came into the council chamber at the Town House, and in the name of +three thousand freemen sternly commanded Hutchinson to remove the +soldiers from the town. Before sunset they had all been withdrawn to the +Castle. When the news reached the ears of Parliament there was some talk +of reinstating them in the town, but Colonel Barré cut short the +discussion with the pithy question, "if the officers agreed in removing +the soldiers to Castle William, what minister will dare to send them +back to Boston?"</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Lord North, as prime minister removes all duties except on tea, 1770. +</p> + +<p>Thus the so-called "Boston Massacre" wrought for the king a rebuff which +he felt perhaps even more keenly than the repeal of the Stamp Act. Not +only had his troops been peremptorily turned out of Boston, but his +policy had for the moment weakened in its hold upon Parliament. In the +summer of 1769 the assembly of Virginia adopted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">76</a></span> a very important series +of resolutions condemning the policy of Great Britain and recommending +united action on the part of the colonies in defence of their liberties. +The governor then dissolved the assembly, whereupon its members met in +convention at the Raleigh tavern and adopted a set of resolves prepared +by Washington, strictly forbidding importations from England until the +Townshend acts should be repealed. These resolves were generally adopted +by the colonies, and presently the merchants of London, finding their +trade falling off, petitioned Parliament to reconsider its policy. In +January, 1770, Lord North became prime minister. In April all the duties +were taken off, except the duty on tea, which the king insisted upon +retaining, in order to avoid surrendering the principle at issue. The +effect of even this partial concession was to weaken the spirit of +opposition in America, and to create a division among the colonies. In +July the merchants of New York refused to adhere any longer to the +non-importation agreement except with regard to tea, and they began +sending orders to England for various sorts of merchandise. Rhode Island +and New Hampshire also broke the agreement. This aroused general +indignation, and ships from the three delinquent colonies were driven +from such ports as Boston and Charleston.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Want of union. +</p> + +<p>Union among the colonies was indeed only skin<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">77</a></span> deep. The only thing +which kept it alive was British aggression. Almost every colony had some +bone of contention with its neighbours. At this moment New York and New +Hampshire were wrangling over the possession of the Green Mountains, and +guerrilla warfare was going on between Connecticut and Pennsylvania in +the valley of Wyoming. It was hard to secure concerted action about +anything. For two years after the withdrawal of troops from Boston there +was a good deal of disturbance in different parts of the country; +quarrels between governors and their assemblies were kept up with +increasing bitterness; in North Carolina there was an insurrection +against the governor which was suppressed only after a bloody battle +near the Cape Fear river; in Rhode Island the revenue schooner Gaspee +was seized and burned, and when an order came from the ministry +requiring the offenders to be sent to England for trial, the +chief-justice of Rhode Island, Stephen Hopkins, refused to obey the +order. But amid all these disturbances there appeared nothing like +concerted action on the part of the colonies. In June, 1772, Hutchinson +said that the union of the colonies seemed to be broken, and he hoped it +would not be renewed, for he believed it meant separation from the +mother-country, and that he regarded as the worst of calamities.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> +<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em"> +<a name="CHAPTER_V." id="CHAPTER_V."></a> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">78</a></span> +<h2>CHAPTER V.</h2><h3>THE CRISIS.</h3> +</div> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Salaries of the judges. +</p> + +<p>The surest way to renew and cement the union was to show that the +ministry had not relaxed in its determination to enforce the principle +of the Townshend acts. This was made clear in August, 1772, when it was +ordered that in Massachusetts the judges should henceforth be paid by +the crown. Popular excitement rose to fever heat, and the judges were +threatened with impeachment should they dare accept a penny from the +royal treasury. The turmoil was increased next year by the discovery in +London of the package of letters which were made to support the unjust +charge against Hutchinson and some of his friends that they had +instigated and aided the most extreme measures of the ministry.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Committees of Correspondence. +</p> + +<p>In the autumn of 1772 Hutchinson refused to call an extra session of the +assembly to consider what should be done about the judges. Samuel Adams +then devised a scheme by which the towns of Massachusetts could consult +with each other and agree upon some common course of action in case of +emergencies. For this purpose each town was to appoint a standing +committee, and as a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">79</a></span> great part of their work was necessarily done by +letter they were called "committees of correspondence." This was the +step that fairly organized the Revolution. It was by far the most +important of all the steps that preceded the Declaration of +Independence. The committees did their work with great efficiency and +the governor had no means of stopping it. They were like an invisible +legislature that was always in session and could never be dissolved; and +when the old government fell they were able to administer affairs until +a new government could be set up. In the spring of 1773 Virginia carried +this work of organization a long step further, when Dabney Carr +suggested and carried a motion calling for committees of correspondence +between the several colonies. From this point it was a comparatively +short step to a permanent Continental Congress.</p> + +<p>It happened that these preparations were made just in time to meet the +final act of aggression which brought on the Revolutionary War. The +Americans had thus far successfully resisted the Townshend acts and +secured the repeal of all the duties except on tea. As for tea they had +plenty, but not from England; they smuggled it from Holland in spite of +custom-houses and search-warrants. Clearly unless the Americans could be +made to buy tea from England and pay the duty on it, the king must own +himself defeated.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">80</a></span></p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Tea ships sent by the king, as a challenge. +</p> + +<p>Since it appeared that they could not be forced into doing this, it +remained to be seen if they could be tricked into doing it. A truly +ingenious scheme was devised. Tea sent by the East India Company to +America had formerly paid a duty in some British port on the way. This +duty was now taken off, so that the price of the tea for America might +be lowered. The company's tea thus became so cheap that the American +merchant could buy a pound of it and pay the threepence duty beside for +less than it cost him to smuggle a pound of tea from Holland. It was +supposed that the Americans would of course buy the tea which they could +get most cheaply, and would thus be beguiled into submission to that +principle of taxation which they had hitherto resisted. Ships laden with +tea were accordingly sent in the autumn of 1773 to Boston, New York, +Philadelphia, and Charleston; and consignees were appointed to receive +the tea in each of these towns.</p> + +<p>Under the guise of a commercial operation, this was purely a political +trick. It was an insulting challenge to the American people, and merited +the reception which they gave it. They would have shown themselves +unworthy of their rich political heritage had they given it any other. +In New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston mass-meetings of the people +voted that the consignees should be ordered to resign their offices, and +they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">81</a></span> did so. At Philadelphia the tea-ship was met and sent back to +England before it had come within the jurisdiction of the custom-house. +At Charleston the tea was landed, and as there was no one to receive it +or pay the duty, it was thrown into a damp cellar and left there to +spoil.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +How the challenge was received; the "Boston Tea Party," Dec. 16, 1773. +</p> + +<p>In Boston things took a different turn. The stubborn courage of Governor +Hutchinson prevented the consignees, two of whom were his own sons, from +resigning; the ships arrived and were anchored under guard of a +committee of citizens; if they were not unloaded within twenty days, the +custom-house officers were empowered by law to seize them and unload +them by force; and having once come within the jurisdiction of the +custom-house, they could not go out to sea without a clearance from the +collector or a pass from the governor. The situation was a difficult +one, but it was most nobly met by the men of Massachusetts. The +excitement was intense, but the proceedings were characterized from +first to last by perfect quiet and decorum. In an earnest and solemn, +almost prayerful spirit, the advice of all the towns in the commonwealth +was sought, and the response was unanimous that the tea must on no +account whatever be landed. Similar expressions of opinion came from +other colonies, and the action of Massachusetts was awaited with +breathless interest. Many town-meetings were held in Boston, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">82</a></span> +owner of the ships was ordered to take them away without unloading; but +the collector contrived to fritter away the time until the nineteenth +day, and then refused a clearance. On the next day, the 16th of +December, 1773, seven thousand people were assembled in town-meeting in +and around the Old South Meeting-House, while the owner of the ships was +sent out to the governor's house at Milton to ask for a pass. It was +nightfall when he returned without it, and there was then but one thing +to be done. By sunrise next morning the revenue officers would board the +ships and unload their cargoes, the consignees would go to the +custom-house and pay the duty, and the king's scheme would have been +crowned with success. The only way to prevent this was to rip open the +tea-chests and spill their contents into the sea, and this was done, +according to a preconcerted plan and without the slightest uproar or +disorder, by a small party of men disguised as Indians. Among them were +some of the best of the townsfolk, and the chief manager of the +proceedings was Samuel Adams. The destruction of the tea has often been +spoken of, especially by British historians, as a "riot," but nothing +could have been less like a riot. It was really the deliberate action of +the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the only fitting reply to the +king's insulting trick. It was hailed with delight throughout the +thirteen colonies, and there is nothing in our whole history of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">83</a></span> which +an educated American should feel more proud.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The Retaliatory Acts, April, 1774. +</p> + +<p>The effect upon the king and his friends was maddening, and events were +quickly brought to a crisis. In spite of earnest opposition retaliatory +acts were passed through Parliament in April, 1774. One of these was the +Port Bill, for shutting up the port of Boston and stopping its trade +until the people should be starved and frightened into paying for the +tea that had been thrown overboard. Another was the Regulating Act, by +which the charter of Massachusetts was annulled, its free government +swept away, and a military governor appointed with despotic power like +Andros. These acts were to go into operation on the 1st of June, and on +that day Governor Hutchinson sailed for England, in the vain hope of +persuading the king to adopt a milder policy. It was not long before his +property was confiscated, like that of other Tories, and after six years +of exile he died in London. The new governor, Thomas Gage, who had long +been commander of the military forces in America, was a mild and +pleasant man without much strength of character. His presence was +endured but his authority was not recognized in Massachusetts. Troops +were now quartered again in Boston, but they could not prevent the +people from treating the Regulating Act with open contempt. Courts +organized under that act were prevented from sitting,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">84</a></span> and councillors +were compelled to resign their places. The king's authority was +everywhere quietly but doggedly defied. At the same time the stoppage of +business in Boston was the cause of much distress which all the colonies +sought to relieve by voluntary contributions of food and other needed +articles.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Continental Congress meets, Sept. 1774. +</p> + +<p>The events of the last twelve months had gone further than anything +before toward awakening a sentiment of union among the people of the +colonies. It was still a feeble sentiment, but it was strong enough to +make them all feel that Boston was suffering in the common cause. The +system of corresponding committees now ripened into the Continental +Congress, which held its first meeting at Philadelphia in September, +1774. Among the delegates were Samuel and John Adams, Robert Livingston, +John Rutledge, John Dickinson, Samuel Chase, Edmund Pendleton, Richard +Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, and George Washington. Their action was +cautious and conservative. They confined themselves for the present to +trying the effect of a candid statement of grievances, and drew up a +Declaration of Rights and other papers, which were pronounced by Lord +Chatham unsurpassed for ability in any age or country. In Parliament, +however, the king's friends were becoming all-powerful, and the only +effect produced by these papers was to goad them toward further attempts +at coercion. Massachusetts<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">85</a></span> was declared to be in a state of rebellion, +as in truth she was.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The Suffolk Resolves, Sept. 1774. +</p> + +<p>While Samuel Adams was at Philadelphia, the lead in Boston was taken by +his friend Dr. Warren. In a county convention held at Milton in +September, Dr. Warren drew up a series of resolves which fairly set on +foot the Revolution. They declared that the Regulating Act was null and +void, and that a king who violates the chartered rights of his subjects +forfeits their allegiance; they directed the collectors of taxes to +refuse to pay the money collected to Gage's treasurer; and they +threatened retaliation in case Gage should venture to arrest any one for +political reasons. These bold resolves were adopted by the convention +and sanctioned by the Continental Congress. Next month the people of +Massachusetts formed a provisional government, and began organizing a +militia and collecting military stores at Concord and other inland +towns.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775. +</p> + +<p>General Gage's position at this time was a trying one for a man of his +temperament. In an unguarded moment he had assured the king that four +regiments ought to be enough to bring Massachusetts into an attitude of +penitence. Now Massachusetts was in an attitude of rebellion, and he +realized that he had not troops enough to command the situation. People +in England were blaming him for not doing something, and late in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">86</a></span> the +winter he received a positive order to arrest Samuel Adams and his +friend John Hancock, then at the head of the new provisional government +of Massachusetts, and send them to England to be tried for high treason. +On the 18th of April, 1775, these gentlemen were staying at a friend's +house in Lexington; and Gage that evening sent out a force of 800 men to +seize the military stores accumulated at Concord, with instructions to +stop on the way at Lexington and arrest Adams and Hancock. But Dr. +Warren divined the purpose of the movement, and his messenger, Paul +Revere, succeeded in forewarning the people, so that by the time the +troops arrived at Lexington the birds were flown. The soldiers fired +into a company of militia on Lexington common and slew eight or ten of +their number; but by the time they reached Concord the country was +fairly aroused and armed yeomanry were coming upon the scene by +hundreds. In a sharp skirmish the British were defeated and, without +having accomplished any of the objects of their expedition, began their +retreat toward Boston, hotly pursued by the farmers who fired from +behind walls and trees after the Indian fashion. A reinforcement of 1200 +men at Lexington saved the routed troops from destruction, but the +numbers of their assailants grew so rapidly that even this larger force +barely succeeded in escaping capture. At sunset the British reached<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">87</a></span> +Charlestown after a march which was a series of skirmishes, leaving +nearly 300 of their number killed or wounded along the road. By that +time yeomanry from twenty-three townships had joined in the pursuit. The +alarm spread like wildfire through New England, and fresh bands of +militia arrived every hour. Within three days Israel Putnam and Benedict +Arnold had come from Connecticut and John Stark from New Hampshire, a +cordon of 16,000 men was drawn around Boston, and the siege of that town +was begun.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Capture of Ticonderoga, May 10, 1775. +</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Washington appointed to command the army, June 15, 1775. +</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Charles Lee. +</p> + +<p>The belligerent feeling in New England had now grown so strong as to +show itself in an act of offensive warfare. On the 10th of May, just +three weeks after Lexington, the fortresses at Ticonderoga and Crown +Point, controlling the line of communication between New York and +Canada, were surprised and captured by men from the Green Mountains and +Connecticut valley under Ethan Allen and Seth Warner. The Congress, +which met on that same day at Philadelphia, showed some reluctance in +sanctioning an act so purely offensive; but in its choice of a president +the spirit of defiance toward Great Britain was plainly shown. John +Hancock, whom the British commander-in-chief was under stringent orders +to arrest and send over to England to be tried for treason, was chosen +to that eminent position on the 24th of May. This showed that the +preponderance of sentiment<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">88</a></span> in the country was in favour of supporting +the New England colonies in the armed struggle into which they had +drifted. This was still further shown two days later, when Congress in +the name of the "United Colonies of America" assumed the direction of +the rustic army of New England men engaged in the siege of Boston. As +Congress was absolutely penniless and had no power to lay taxes, it +proceeded to borrow £6000 for the purchase of gunpowder. It called for +ten companies of riflemen from Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, to +reinforce what was henceforth known as the Continental army; and on the +15th of June it appointed George Washington commander-in-chief. The +choice of Washington was partly due to the general confidence in his +ability and in his lofty character. In the French War he had won a +military reputation higher than that of any other American, and he was +already commander-in-chief of the forces of Virginia. But the choice was +also partly due to sound political reasons. The Massachusetts leaders, +especially Samuel Adams and his cousin John, were distrusted by some +people as extremists and fire-eaters. They wished to bring about a +declaration of independence, for they believed it to be the only +possible cure for the evils of the time. The leaders in other colonies, +upon which the hand of the British government had not borne so heavily, +had not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">89</a></span> yet advanced quite so far as this. Most of them believed that +the king could be brought to terms; they did not realize that he would +never give way because it was politically as much a life and death +struggle for him as for them. Washington was not yet clearly in favour +of independence, nor was Jefferson, who a twelvemonth hence was to be +engaged in writing the Declaration. It is doubtful if any of the leading +men as yet agreed with the Adamses, except Dr. Franklin, who had just +returned from England after his ten years' stay there, and knew very +well how little hope was to be placed in conciliatory measures. The +Adamses, therefore, like wise statesmen, were always on their guard lest +circumstances should drive Massachusetts in the path of rebellion faster +than the sister colonies were likely to keep pace with her. This was +what the king above all things wished, and by the same token it was what +they especially dreaded and sought to avoid. To appoint George +Washington to the chief command was to go a long way toward irrevocably +committing Virginia to the same cause with Massachusetts, and John Adams +was foremost in urging the appointment. Its excellence was obvious to +every one, and we hear of only two persons that were dissatisfied. One +of these was John Hancock, who coveted military distinction and was vain +enough to think himself fit for almost any position. The other was +Charles Lee, a British officer who had served<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">90</a></span> in America in the French +War and afterward wandered about Europe as a soldier of fortune. He had +returned to America in 1773 in the hope of playing a leading part here. +He set himself up as an authority on military questions, and pretended +to be a zealous lover of liberty. He was really an unprincipled +charlatan for whom, the kindest thing that can be said is that perhaps +he was slightly insane. He had hoped to be appointed to the chief +command, and was disgusted when he found himself placed second among the +four major-generals. The first major-general was Artemas Ward of +Massachusetts; the third was Philip Schuyler of New York; the fourth was +Israel Putnam of Connecticut. Eight brigadier-generals were appointed, +among whom we may here mention Richard Montgomery of New York, William +Heath of Massachusetts, John Sullivan of New Hampshire, and Nathanael +Greene of Rhode Island. The adjutant-general, Horatio Gates, was an +Englishman who had served in the French War, and since then had lived in +Virginia.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. +</p> + +<p>While Congress was appointing officers and making regulations for the +Continental army, reinforcements for the British had landed in Boston, +making their army 10,000 strong. The new troops were commanded by +General William Howe, a Whig who disapproved of the king's policy. With +him came Sir Henry Clinton<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">91</a></span> and John Burgoyne, who were more in sympathy +with the king. Howe and Burgoyne were members of Parliament. On the +arrival of these reinforcements Gage prepared to occupy the heights in +Charlestown known as Breed's and Bunker's hills. These heights commanded +Boston, so that hostile batteries placed there would make it necessary +for the British to evacuate the town. On the night of June 16, the +Americans anticipated Gage in seizing the heights, and began erecting +fortifications on Breed's Hill. It was an exposed position for the +American force, which might easily have been cut off and captured if the +British had gone around by sea and occupied Charlestown Neck in the +rear. The British preferred to storm the American works. In two +desperate assaults, on the afternoon of the 17th, they were repulsed +with the loss of one-third of their number; and the third assault +succeeded only because the Americans were not supplied with powder. By +driving the Americans back to Winter Hill, the British won an important +victory and kept their hold upon Boston. The moral effect of the battle, +however, was in favour of the Americans, for it clearly indicated that +under proper circumstances they might exhibit a power of resistance +which the British would find it impossible to overcome. It was with +George III. as with Pyrrhus: he could not afford to win many victories +at such cost, for his supply<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">92</a></span> of soldiers for America was limited, and +his only hope of success lay in inflicting heavy blows. In winning +Bunker Hill his troops were only holding their own; the siege of Boston +was not raised for a moment.</p> + +<p>The practical effect upon the British army was to keep it quiet for +several months. General Howe, who presently superseded Gage, was a brave +and well-trained soldier, but slothful in temperament. His way was to +strike a blow, and then wait to see what would come of it, hoping no +doubt that political affairs might soon take such a turn as to make it +unnecessary to go on with this fratricidal war. This was fortunate for +the Americans, for when Washington took command of the army at Cambridge +on the 3d of July, he saw that little or nothing could be done with that +army until it should be far better organized, disciplined, and equipped, +and in such work he found enough to occupy him for several months.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em"> +<a name="illus-002" id="illus-002"></a> +<img src="images/page93map.jpg" alt="Invasion of Canada" width="80%" title="" /><br /> +</div> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Last petition to the king; and its answer. +</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Congress, at the instance of John Dickinson of Pennsylvania +and John Jay of New York, decided to try the effect of one more candid +statement of affairs, in the form of a petition to the king. This paper +reached London on the 14th of August, but the king refused to receive +it, although it was signed by the delegates as separate individuals and +not as members of an unauthorized or revolutionary body. His only answer +was a proclamation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">93</a></span> dated August 23, in which he called for volunteers +to aid in putting down the rebellion in America. At the same time he +opened negotiations with the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, the duke of +Brunswick, and other petty German princes, and succeeded in hiring +20,000 troops to be sent to fight against his American subjects. When +the news of this reached America it produced a profound effect. Perhaps +nothing done in that year went so far toward destroying the lingering +sentiment of loyalty.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Americans invade Canada, Aug., 1775—June, 1776. +</p> + +<p>In the spring Congress had hesitated about encouraging offensive +operations. In the course of the summer it was ascertained that the +governor of Canada, Sir Guy Carleton, was planning an invasion of +northern New York and hoping to obtain the coöperation of the Six +Nations and the Tories of the Mohawk valley. Congress accordingly +decided to forestall him by invading Canada. Two lines of invasion were +adopted. Montgomery descended Lake Champlain with 2000 men, and after a +campaign of two months captured Montreal on the 12th of November. At the +same time Benedict Arnold and Daniel Morgan set out from Cambridge with +1200 men, and made their way through the wilderness of Maine, up the +valley of the Kennebec and down that of the Chaudière, coming out upon +the St. Lawrence opposite Quebec on the 13th of November. This long<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">94</a></span> +march through the primeval forest and over rugged and trackless +mountains was one of the most remarkable exploits of the war. It cost +the lives of 200 men, but besides this the rear-guard gave out and went +back to Cambridge, so that when Arnold reached Quebec he had only 700 +men, too few for an attack upon the town. After Montgomery joined him, +it was decided to carry the works by storm, but in the unsuccessful +assault on December 31, Montgomery was killed, Arnold disabled, and +Morgan taken prisoner. During the winter Carleton was reinforced until +he was able to recapture Montreal. The Americans were gradually driven +back, and by June, 1776, had retreated to Crown Point. Carleton then +resumed his preparations for invading New York.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Washington takes Boston, March 17, 1776. +</p> + +<p>While the northern campaign was progressing thus unfavourably, the +British were at length driven from Boston. Howe had unaccountably +neglected to occupy Dorchester heights, which commanded the town; and +Washington, after waiting till a sufficient number of heavy guns could +be collected, advanced on the night of March 4 and occupied them with +2000 men. His position was secure. The British had no alternative but to +carry it by storm or retire from Boston. Not caring to repeat the +experiment of Bunker Hill, they embarked on the 17th of March and sailed +to Halifax, where they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">95</a></span> busied themselves in preparations for an +expedition against New York. Late in April Washington transferred his +headquarters to New York, where he was able to muster about 8000 men for +its defence. Thus the line of the Hudson river was now threatened with +attack at both its upper and lower ends.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Lord Dunmore in Virginia. +</p> + +<p>This change in the seat of war marks the change that had come over the +political situation. It was no longer merely a rebellious Massachusetts +that must be subdued; it was a continental Union that must be broken up. +During the winter and spring the sentiment in favour of a declaration of +independence had rapidly grown in strength. In November, 1775, Lord +Dunmore, royal governor of Virginia, sought to intimidate the +revolutionary party by a proclamation offering freedom to such slaves as +would enlist under the king's banner. This aroused the country against +Dunmore, and in December he was driven from Norfolk and took refuge in a +ship of war. On New Year's Day he bombarded the town and laid it in +ashes from one end to the other. This violence rapidly made converts to +the revolutionary party, and further lessons were learned from the +experience of their neighbours in North Carolina.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +North Carolina and Virginia. +</p> + +<p>That colony was the scene of fierce contests between Whigs and Tories. +As early as May 31, 1775, the patriots of Mecklenburg county had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">96</a></span> +adopted resolutions pointing toward independence and forwarded them to +their delegates in Congress, who deemed it impolitic, however, to lay +them before that body. Josiah Martin, royal governor of North Carolina, +was obliged to flee on board ship in July. He busied himself with plans +for the complete subjugation of the southern colonies, and corresponded +with the government in London, as well as with his Tory friends ashore. +In pursuance of these plans Sir Henry Clinton, with 2000 men, was +detached in January, 1776, from the army in Boston, and sent to the +North Carolina coast; a fleet under Sir Peter Parker was sent from +Ireland to meet him; and a force of 1600 Tories was gathered to assist +him as soon as he should arrive. But the scheme utterly failed. The +fleet was buffeted by adverse winds and did not arrive; the Tories were +totally defeated on February 27 in a sharp fight at Moore's Creek; and +Clinton, thus deprived of his allies, deemed it most prudent for a while +to keep his troops on shipboard. On the 12th of April the patriots of +North Carolina instructed their delegates in Congress to concur with +other delegates in a declaration of independence. On the 14th of May +Virginia went further, and instructed her delegates to propose such a +declaration. South Carolina, Georgia, and Rhode Island expressed a +willingness to concur in any measures which Congress might think best<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">97</a></span> +calculated to promote the general welfare. In the course of May +town-meetings throughout Massachusetts expressed opinions unanimously in +favour of independence.</p> + +<p>Massachusetts had already, as long ago as July, 1775, framed a new +government in which the king was not recognized; and her example had +been followed by New Hampshire in January, 1776, and by South Carolina +in March. Now on the 15th of May Congress adopted a resolution advising +all the other colonies to form new governments, because the king had +"withdrawn his protection" from the American people, and all governments +deriving their powers from him were accordingly set aside as of no +account. This resolution was almost equivalent to a declaration of +independence, and it was adopted only after hot debate and earnest +opposition from the middle colonies.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Richard Henry Lee's motion in Congress. +</p> + +<p>On the 7th of June, in accordance with the instructions of May 14 from +Virginia, Richard Henry Lee submitted to Congress the following +resolutions:—</p> + +<p>"That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and +independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the +British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the +State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved;</p> + +<p>"That it is expedient forthwith to take the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">98</a></span> most effectual measures for +forming foreign alliances;</p> + +<p>"That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the +respective colonies for their consideration and approbation."</p> + +<p>This motion of Virginia, in which Independence and Union went hand in +hand, was at once seconded by Massachusetts, as represented by John +Adams. It was opposed by John Dickinson and James Wilson of +Pennsylvania, and by Robert Livingston of New York, on the ground that +the people of the middle colonies were not yet ready to sever the +connection with the mother country. As the result of the discussion it +was decided to wait three weeks, in the hope of hearing from all those +colonies which had not yet declared themselves.</p> + +<p>The messages from those colonies came promptly enough. As for +Connecticut and New Hampshire, there could be no doubt; and their +declarations for independence, on the 14th and 15th of June +respectively, were simply dilatory expressions of their sentiments. They +were late, only because Connecticut had no need to form a new government +at all, while New Hampshire had formed one as long ago as January. Their +support of the proposed declaration of independence was already secured, +and it was only in the formal announcement of it that they were somewhat +belated. But with the middle colonies it was different.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">99</a></span> There the +parties were more evenly balanced, and it was not until the last moment +that the decision was clearly pronounced. This was not because they were +less patriotic than the other colonies, but because their direct +grievances were fewer, and up to this moment they had hoped that the +quarrel was one which a change of ministry in Great Britain might +adjust. In the earlier stages of the quarrel they had been ready enough +to join hands with Massachusetts and Virginia. It was only on this +irrevocable decision as to independence that they were slow to act.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The middle colonies. +</p> + +<p>But in the course of the month of June their responses to the invitation +of Congress came in,—from Delaware on the 14th, from New Jersey on the +22d, from Pennsylvania on the 24th, from Maryland on the 28th. This +action of the middle colonies was avowedly based on the ground that, in +any event, united action was the thing most to be desired; so that, +whatever their individual preferences might be, they were ready to +subordinate them to the interests of the whole country. The broad and +noble spirit of patriotism shown in their resolves is worthy of no less +credit than the bold action of the colonies which, under the stimulus of +direct aggression, first threw down the gauntlet to George III.</p> + +<p>On the 1st of July, when Lee's motion was taken up in Congress, all the +colonies had been heard from except New York. The circumstances<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">100</a></span> of this +central colony were peculiar. We have already seen that the Tory party +was especially strong in New York. Besides this, her position was more +exposed to attack on all sides than that of any other state. As the +military centre of the Union, her territory was sure to be the scene of +the most desperate fighting. She was already threatened with invasion +from Canada. As a frontier state she was exposed to the incursions of +the terrible Iroquois, and as a sea-board state she was open to the +attack of the British fleet. At that time, moreover, the population of +New York numbered only about 170,000, and she ranked seventh among the +thirteen colonies. The military problem was therefore much harder for +New York than for Massachusetts or Virginia. Her risks were greater than +those of any other colony. For these reasons the Whig party in New York +found itself seriously hampered in its movements, and the 1st of July +arrived before their delegates in Congress had been instructed how to +vote on the question of independence.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Difficulties in New York. +</p> + +<p>Richard Henry Lee had been suddenly called home to Virginia by the +illness of his wife, and so the task of defending his motion fell upon +John Adams who had seconded it. His speech on that occasion was so able +that Thomas Jefferson afterward spoke of him as "the Colossus of that +debate." As Congress sat with closed doors<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">101</a></span> and no report was made of +the speech, we have no definite knowledge of its arguments. Fifty years +afterwards, shortly after John Adams's death, Daniel Webster wrote an +imaginary speech containing what in substance he <i>might</i> have said. The +principal argument in opposition was made by John Dickinson, who thought +that before the Americans finally committed themselves to a deadly +struggle with Great Britain, they ought to establish some stronger +government than the Continental Congress, and ought also to secure a +promise of help from some such country as France. This advice was +cautious, but it was not sound and practical. War had already begun, and +if we had waited to agree upon some permanent kind of government before +committing all the colonies to a formal defiance of Great Britain, there +was great danger that the enemy might succeed in breaking up the Union +before it was really formed. Besides, it is not likely that France would +ever have decided to go to war in our behalf until we had shown that we +were able to defend ourselves. It was now a time when the boldest advice +was the safest.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The Declaration of Independence, July 1 to 4, 1776. +</p> + +<p>During this debate on the 1st of July Congress was sitting as a +committee of the whole, and at the close of the day a preliminary vote +was taken. Like all the votes in the Continental Congress, it was taken +by colonies. The majority of votes in each<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">102</a></span> delegation determined the +vote of that colony. Each colony had one vote, and two-thirds of the +whole number, or nine colonies against four, were necessary for a +decision. On this occasion the New York delegates did not vote at all, +because they had no instructions. One delegate from Delaware voted yea +and another nay; the third delegate, Cæsar Rodney, had been down in the +lower counties of his little state, arguing against the loyalists. A +special messenger had been sent to hurry him back, but he had not yet +arrived, and so the vote of Delaware was divided and lost. Pennsylvania +declared in the negative by four votes against three. South Carolina +also declared in the negative. The other nine colonies all voted in the +affirmative, and so the resolution received just votes enough to carry +it. A very little more opposition would have defeated it, and would +probably have postponed the declaration for several weeks.</p> + +<p>The next day Congress took the formal vote upon the resolution. Mr. +Rodney had now arrived, so that the vote of Delaware was given in the +affirmative. John Dickinson and Robert Morris stayed away, so that +Pennsylvania was now secured for the affirmative by three votes against +two. Though Dickinson and Morris were so slow to believe it necessary or +prudent to declare independence, they were firm supporters of the +declaration after it was made. Without Morris, indeed,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">103</a></span> it is hard to +see how the Revolution could have succeeded. He was the great financier +of his time, and his efforts in raising money for the support of our +hard-pressed armies were wonderful.</p> + +<p>When the turn of the South Carolina delegates came they changed their +votes in order that the declaration might go forth to the world as the +unanimous act of the American people. The question was thus settled on +the 2d of July, and the next thing was to decide upon the form of the +declaration, which Jefferson, who was weak in debate but strong with the +pen, had already drafted. The work was completed on the 4th of July, +when Jefferson's draft was adopted and published to the world. Five days +afterward the state of New York declared her approval of these +proceedings. The Rubicon was crossed, and the thirteen English colonies +had become the United States of America.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> +<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em"> +<a name="CHAPTER_VI." id="CHAPTER_VI."></a> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">104</a></span> +<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2><h3>THE STRUGGLE FOR THE CENTRE.</h3> +</div> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Lord Cornwallis. +</p> + +<p>While these things were going on at Philadelphia, the coast of South +Carolina, as well as the harbour of New York, was threatened by the +British fleet. When the delegates from South Carolina gave their votes +on the question of independence, they did not know but the revolutionary +government in Charleston might already have been taken captive or +scattered in flight. After a stormy voyage Sir Peter Parker's squadron +at length arrived off Cape Fear early in May, and joined Sir Henry +Clinton. Along with Sir Peter came an officer worthy of especial +mention. Charles, Earl Cornwallis, was then thirty-eight years old. He +had long served with distinction in the British army, and had lately +reached the grade of lieutenant-general. In politics he was a New Whig, +and had on several occasions signified his disapproval of the king's +policy toward America. As a commander his promptness and vigour +contrasted strongly with the slothfulness of General Howe. Cornwallis +was the ablest of the British generals engaged in the Revolutionary War, +and among the public<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">105</a></span> men of his time there were few, if any, more +high-minded, disinterested, faithful, and pure. After the war was over, +he won great fame as governor-general of India from 1786 to 1794. He was +afterward raised to the rank of marquis and appointed lord-lieutenant of +Ireland. In 1805 he was sent out again to govern India, and died there.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of Fort Moultrie, June 28, 1776. +</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Lord Howe's effort toward conciliation. +</p> + +<p>On the arrival of the fleet it was decided to attack and capture +Charleston, and overthrow the new government there. General Charles Lee +was sent down by Congress to defend the city, but the South Carolina +patriots proved quite able to take care of themselves. On Sullivan's +Island in Charleston harbour Colonel William Moultrie built a low +elastic fortress of palmetto logs supported by banks of sand and +mounting several heavy guns. In the cannonade which took place on the +28th of June this rude structure escaped with little injury, while its +guns inflicted such serious damage upon the fleet that the British were +obliged to abandon for the present all thought of taking Charleston. In +the course of July they sailed for New York harbour to reinforce General +Howe. On the 12th of that month the general's brother, Richard, Lord +Howe, arrived at Staten Island to take the chief command of the fleet. +He was one of the ablest seamen of his time, and was a favourite with +his sailors, by whom, on account of his swarthy complexion,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">106</a></span> he was +familiarly known as "Black Dick." Lord Howe and his brother were +authorized to offer terms to the Americans and endeavour to restore +peace by negotiation. It was not easy, however, to find any one in +America with whom to negotiate. Lord Howe was sincerely desirous of +making peace and doing something to heal the troubles which had brought +on the war; and he seems to have supposed that some good might be +effected by private interviews with leading Americans. To send a message +to Congress was, of course, not to be thought of; for that would be +equivalent to recognizing Congress as a body entitled to speak for the +American people. He brought with him an assurance of amnesty and pardon +for all such rebels as would lay down their arms, and decided that it +would be best to send it to the American commander; but as it was not +proper to recognize the military rank which had been conferred upon +Washington by a revolutionary body, he addressed his message to "George +Washington, Esq.," as to a private citizen. When Washington refused to +receive such a message, his lordship could think of no one else to +approach except the royal governors. But they had all fled, except +Governor Franklin of New Jersey, who was under close confinement in East +Windsor, Connecticut. All British authority in the United States had +disappeared, and there was no one for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">107</a></span> Lord Howe to negotiate with, +unless he should bethink himself of some way of laying his case before +Congress.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Change in the British military plan, due to the union of the colonies in the Declaration of Independence. +</p> + +<p>Military operations were now taken up in earnest by the British, and +were briskly carried on for nearly six months. They were for the most +part concentrated upon the state of New York. Before 1776 it was +Massachusetts that was the chief object of military measures on the part +of the British. That was the colony that since the summer of 1774 had +defied the king's troops and set at naught the authority of Parliament; +and the first object of the British was to make an example of that +colony, to suppress the rebellion there, and to reinstate the royal +government. The king believed that it would not take long to do this, +and there is some reason for supposing that if he had succeeded in +humbling Massachusetts, he would have been ready to listen to +Hutchinson's request that the vindictive acts of April, 1774, should be +repealed and the charter restored. At all events, he seems to have felt +confident that things could soon be made so quiet that Hutchinson could +return and resume the office of governor. If the king and his friends +had not entertained such ill-founded hopes, they would not have been so +ready to resort to violent measures. They made the fatal mistake of +supposing that such a man as Samuel Adams represented<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">108</a></span> only a small +party and not the majority of the people. They had also supposed that +the other colonies would not make common cause with Massachusetts. But +now, before they had accomplished any of their objects, and while their +troops had even been driven from Boston, they found that the rebellion +had spread through the whole country. They had a belligerent government +to confront, and must now enter upon the task of conquering the United +States.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Why the British concentrated their attack upon the state of New York. +</p> + +<p>The first and most obvious method of attempting this was to strike at +New York as the military centre. In such a plan everything seemed to +favour the British. The state was comparatively weak in population and +resources; a large proportion of the people were Tories; and close at +hand on the frontier, which was then in the Mohawk valley, were the most +formidable Indians on the continent. These Iroquois had long been under +the influence of the famous Sir William Johnson, of Johnson Hall, near +Schenectady, and his son Sir John Johnson. Their principal sachem, +Joseph Brant, or Thayendanegea, was connected by the closest bonds of +friendship with the Johnsons, and the latter were staunch Tories. It +might reasonably be expected that the entire force of these Indians +could be enlisted on the British side. The work for the regular army +seemed thus to be reduced to the single problem of capturing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">109</a></span> the city +of New York and obtaining full control of the Hudson river.</p> + +<p>If this could be done, the United States would be cut in two. As the +Americans had no ships of war, they could not dispute the British +command of the water. There was no way in which the New England states +could hold communication with the South except across the southern part +of the state of New York. To gain this central position would thus be to +deal a fatal blow to the American cause, and it seemed to the British +government that, with the forces now in the field, this ought easily to +be accomplished. General Carleton was ready to come down from the north +by way of Lake Champlain, with 12,000 men, and General Schuyler could +scarcely muster half as many to oppose him. On Staten Island there were +more than 25,000 British troops ready to attack New York, while +Washington's utmost exertions had succeeded in getting together only +about 18,000 men for the defence of the city. The American army was as +yet very poor in organization and discipline, badly equipped, and +scantily fed; and it seemed very doubtful whether it could long keep the +field in the presence of superior forces.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Washington's military genius. +</p> + +<p>But in spite of all these circumstances, so favourable to the British, +there was one obstacle to their success upon which at first they did not +sufficiently reckon. That obstacle was furnished<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">110</a></span> by the genius and +character of the wonderful man who commanded the American army. In +Washington were combined all the highest qualities of a general,—dogged +tenacity of purpose, endless fertility in resource, sleepless vigilance, +and unfailing courage. No enemy ever caught him unawares, and he never +let slip an opportunity of striking back. He had a rare geographical +instinct, always knew where the strongest position was, and how to reach +it. He was a master of the art of concealing his own plan and detecting +his adversary's. He knew better than to hazard everything upon the +result of a single contest, and because of the enemy's superior force he +was so often obliged to refuse battle that some of his impatient critics +called him slow; but no general was ever quicker in dealing heavy blows +when the proper moment arrived. He was neither unduly elated by victory +nor discouraged by defeat. When all others lost heart he was bravest; +and at the very moment when ruin seemed to stare him in the face, he was +craftily preparing disaster and confusion for the enemy.</p> + +<p>To the highest qualities of a military commander there were united in +Washington those of a political leader. From early youth he possessed +the art of winning men's confidence. He was simple without awkwardness, +honest without bluntness, and endowed with rare discretion and tact. His +temper was fiery and on occasion he could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span> use pretty strong language, +but anger or disappointment was never allowed to disturb the justice and +kindness of his judgment. Men felt themselves safe in putting entire +trust in his head and his heart, and they were never deceived. Thus he +soon obtained such a hold upon the people as few statesmen have ever +possessed. It was this grand character that, with his clear intelligence +and unflagging industry, enabled him to lead the nation triumphantly +through the perils of the Revolutionary War. He had almost every +imaginable hardship to contend with,—envious rivals, treachery and +mutiny in the camp, interference on the part of Congress, jealousies +between the states, want of men and money; yet all these difficulties he +vanquished. Whether victorious or defeated on the field, he baffled the +enemy in the first year's great campaign and in the second year's, and +then for four years more upheld the cause until heart-sickening delay +was ended in glorious triumph. It is very doubtful if without Washington +the struggle for independence would have succeeded as it did. Other men +were important, he was indispensable.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of Long Island, Aug. 27, 1776. +</p> + +<p>The first great campaign began, as might have been expected, with defeat +on the field. In order to keep possession of the city of New York it was +necessary to hold Brooklyn Heights. That was a dangerous position for an +American force, because it was entirely separated from New York by deep<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span> +water, and could thus be cut off from the rest of the American army by +the enemy's fleet. It was necessary, however, for Washington either to +occupy Brooklyn Heights or to give up the city of New York without a +struggle. But the latter course was out of the question. It would never +do to abandon the Whigs in New York to the tender mercies of the Tories, +without at least one good fight. So the position in Brooklyn must be +fortified, and there was perhaps one chance in a hundred that, through +some blunder of the enemy, we might succeed in holding it. Accordingly +9000 men were stationed on Brooklyn Heights under Putnam, who threw +forward about half of this force, under Sullivan and Stirling, to defend +the southern approaches through the rugged country between Gowanus bay +and Bedford. On the 22d of August General Howe crossed from Staten +Island to Gravesend bay with 20,000 men, and on the 27th he defeated +Sullivan and Stirling in what has ever since been known as the battle of +Long Island. About 400 men were killed and wounded on each side, and +1000 Americans, including both generals, were taken captive. A more +favourable result for the Americans was not to be expected, as the +British outnumbered them four to one, and could therefore march where +they pleased and turn the American flank without incurring the slightest +risk. The wonder is, not that 5000 half-trained soldiers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span> were defeated +by 20,000 veterans, but that they should have given General Howe a good +day's work in defeating them.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Washington's skilful retreat. +</p> + +<p>The American forces were now withdrawn into their works on Brooklyn +Heights, and Howe advanced to besiege them. During the next two days +Washington collected boats and on the night of the 29th conveyed the +army across the East River to New York. With the enemy's fleet +patrolling the harbour and their army watching the works, this was a +most remarkable performance. To this day one cannot understand, unless +on the supposition that the British were completely dazed and +moonstruck, how Washington could have done it.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Howe takes New York, Sept. 15, 1776. +</p> + +<p>People were much disheartened by the defeat on Long Island and the +immediate prospect of losing New York. Lord Howe turned his thoughts +once more to negotiation, and at length, on September 11, succeeded in +obtaining an informal interview with Franklin, John Adams, and Edward +Rutledge. But nothing was accomplished, and seventeen eventful months +elapsed before the British again seriously tried negotiation. General +Howe had extended his lines northward, and on the 15th his army crossed +the East River in boats, and landed near the site of Thirty-Fourth +street. On the same day Washington completed the work of evacuating the +city. His army was drawn up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span> across the island from the mouth of Harlem +river to Fort Washington, and over on the Jersey side of the Hudson, +opposite Fort Washington, a detachment occupied Fort Lee. It was hoped +that these two forts would be able to prevent British ships from going +up the Hudson river, but this hope soon proved to be delusive.</p> + +<p>On the 16th General Howe tried to break through the centre of +Washington's position at Harlem Heights, but after losing 300 men he +gave up the attempt, and spent the next three weeks in studying the +situation. A sad incident came now to remind the people of the sternness +of military law. Nathan Hale, a young graduate of Yale College, captain +of a company of Connecticut rangers, had been for several days within +the British lines gathering information. Just as he had accomplished his +purpose, and was on the point of departing with his memoranda, he was +arrested as a spy and hanged next morning, lamenting on the gallows that +he had but one life to lose for his country.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of White Plains, Oct. 28, 1776. +</p> + +<p>As Howe deemed it prudent not to attack Washington in front, he tried to +get around into his rear, and began on October 12 by landing a large +force at Throg's Neck, in the Sound. But Washington baffled him by +changing front, swinging his left wing northward as far as White Plains. +After further reflection Howe decided to try a front attack once<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span> more; +on the 28th he assaulted the position at White Plains, and carried one +of the outposts, losing twice as many men as the Americans. Not wishing +to continue the fight at such a disadvantage he paused again, and +Washington improved the occasion by retiring to a still stronger +position at Northcastle. These movements had separated Washington's main +body from his right wing at Forts Washington and Lee, and Howe now +changed his plan. Desisting from the attempt against the American main +body, he moved southward against this exposed wing.</p> + +<p>A sad catastrophe now followed, which showed how many obstacles +Washington had to contend with. It was known that Carleton's army was on +the way from Canada. Congress was nervously afraid of losing its hold +upon the Hudson river, and Washington accordingly selected West Point as +the strongest position upon the river, to be fortified and defended at +all hazards. He sent Heath, with 3000 men, to hold the Highland passes, +and went up himself to inspect the situation and give directions about +the new fortifications. He left 7000 of his main body at Northcastle, in +charge of Lee, who had just returned from South Carolina. He sent 5000, +under Putnam, across the river to Hackensack; and ordered Greene, who +had some 5000 men at Forts Washington and Lee, to prepare to evacuate +both those strongholds and join his forces to Putnam's.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span></p> + +<p>If these orders had been carried out, Howe's movement against Fort +Washington would have accomplished but little, for on reaching that +place, he would have found nothing but empty works, as at Brooklyn. The +American right wing would have been drawn together at Hackensack, and +the whole army could have been concentrated on either bank of the great +river, as the occasion might seem to require. If Howe should aim at the +Highlands, it could be kept close to the river and cover all the passes. +If, on the other hand, Howe should threaten the Congress at +Philadelphia, the whole army could be collected in New Jersey to hold +him in check.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Howe takes Fort Washington, Nov. 16, 1776. +</p> + +<p>But Washington's orders were not obeyed. Congress was so uneasy that it +sent word to Greene to hold both his forts as long as he could. +Accordingly he strengthened the garrison at Fort Washington, just in +time for Howe to overwhelm and capture it, on the 16th of November, +after an obstinate resistance. In killed and wounded the British loss +was three times as great as that of the garrison, but the Americans were +in no condition to afford the loss of 8000 men taken prisoners. It was a +terrible blow. On the 19th Greene barely succeeded in escaping from Fort +Lee, with his remaining 2000 men, but without his cannon and stores.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Treachery of Charles Lee. +</p> + +<p>Bad as the situation was, however, it did not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span> become really alarming +until it was complicated with the misconduct of General Lee. Washington +had returned from West Point on the 14th, too late to prevent the +catastrophe; but after all it was only necessary for Lee's wing of the +army to cross the river, and there would be a solid force of 14,000 men +on the Jersey side, able to confront the enemy on something like equal +terms, for Howe had to keep a good many of his troops in New York. On +the 17th Washington ordered Lee to come over and join him; but Lee +disobeyed, and in spite of repeated orders from Washington he stayed at +Northcastle till the 2d of December. General Ward had some time since +resigned, so that Lee now ranked next to Washington. A good many people +were finding fault with the latter for losing the 3000 men at Fort +Washington, although, as we have seen, that was not his fault but the +fault of Congress. Lee now felt that if Washington were ruined, he would +surely become his successor in the command of the army, and so, instead +of obeying his orders, he spent his time in writing letters calculated +to injure him.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Washington's retreat through New Jersey. +</p> + +<p>Lee's disobedience thus broke the army in two, and did more for the +British than they had been able to do for themselves since they started +from Staten Island. It was the cause of Washington's flight through New +Jersey, ending on the 8th of December, when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span> he put himself behind the +Delaware river, with scarcely 3000 men. Here was another difficulty. The +American soldiers were enlisted for short terms, and when they were +discouraged, as at present, they were apt to insist upon going home as +soon as their time had expired. It was generally believed that +Washington's army would thus fall to pieces within a few days. Howe did +not think it worth while to be at the trouble of collecting boats +wherewith to follow him across the Delaware. Congress fled to Baltimore. +People in New Jersey began taking the oath of allegiance to the crown. +Howe received the news that he had been knighted for his victory on Long +Island, and he returned to New York to celebrate the occasion.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Arnold's naval battle at Valcour Island, Oct. 11, 1776. +</p> + +<p>While the case looked so desperate for Washington, events at the north +had taken a less unfavourable turn. Carleton had embarked on Lake +Champlain early in the autumn with his fine army and fleet. Arnold had +fitted up a small fleet to oppose his advance, and on the 11th of +October there had been a fierce naval battle between the two near +Valcour Island, in which Arnold was defeated, while Carleton suffered +serious damage. The British general then advanced upon Ticonderoga, but +suddenly made up his mind that the season was too late for operations in +that latitude. The resistance he had encountered seems to have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span> made him +despair of achieving any speedy success in that quarter, and on the 3d +of November he started back for Canada. This retreat relieved General +Schuyler at Albany of immediate cause for anxiety, and presently he +detached seven regiments to go southward to Washington's assistance.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Charles Lee is captured by British dragoons, Dec. 13, 1776. +</p> + +<p>On the 2d of December Lee crossed the Hudson with 4000 men, and +proceeded slowly to Morristown. Just what he designed to do was never +known, but clearly he had no intention of going beyond the Delaware to +assist Washington, whom he believed to be ruined. Perhaps he thought +Morristown a desirable position to hold, as it certainly was. Whatever +his plans may have been, they were nipped in the bud. For some unknown +reason he passed the night of the 12th at an unguarded tavern, about +four miles from his army; and there he was captured next morning by a +party of British dragoons, who carried him off to their camp at +Princeton. The dragoons were very gleeful over this unexpected exploit, +but really they could not have done the Americans a greater service than +to rid them of such a worthless creature. The capture of Lee came in the +nick of time, for it set free his men to go to the aid of Washington. +Even after this force and that sent by Schuyler had reached the +commander-in-chief, he found he had only 6000 men fit for duty.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of Trenton, Dec. 26, 1776. +</p> + +<p>With this little force Washington instantly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span> took the offensive. It was +the turning-point in his career and in the history of the Revolutionary +War. On Christmas, 1776, and the following nine days, all Washington's +most brilliant powers were displayed. The British centre, 10,000 strong, +lay at Princeton. The principal generals, thinking the serious business +of the war ended, had gone to New York. An advanced party of Hessians, +1000 strong, was posted on the bank of the Delaware at Trenton, and +another one lower down, at Burlington. Washington decided to attack both +these outposts, and arranged his troops accordingly, but when Christmas +night arrived, the river was filled with great blocks of floating ice, +and the only division which succeeded in crossing was the one that +Washington led in person. It was less than 2500 in number, but the +moment had come when the boldest course was the safest. By daybreak +Washington had surprised the Hessians at Trenton and captured them all. +The outpost at Burlington, on hearing the news, retreated to Princeton. +By the 31st Washington had got all his available force across to +Trenton. Some of them were raw recruits just come in to replace others +who had just gone home. At this critical moment the army was nearly +helpless for want of money, and on New Year's morning Robert Morris was +knocking at door after door in Philadelphia, waking up his friends to +borrow the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span> fifty thousand dollars which he sent off to Trenton before +noon. The next day Cornwallis arrived at Princeton, and taking with him +all the army, except a rear-guard of 2000 men left to protect his +communications, came on toward Trenton.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em"> +<a name="illus-003" id="illus-003"></a> +<img src="images/page122map.jpg" alt="Washington's Campaigns in New Jersey and Pennsylvania." title="" width="90%" /><br /> +</div> + +<p>When he reached that town, late in the afternoon, he found Washington +entrenched behind a small creek just south of the town, with his back +toward the Delaware river. "Oho!" said Cornwallis, "at last we have run +down the old fox, and we will bag him in the morning." He sent back to +Princeton, and ordered the rear-guard to come up. He expected next +morning to cross the creek above Washington's right, and then press him +back against the broad and deep river, and compel him to surrender. +Cornwallis was by no means a careless general, but he seems to have gone +to bed on that memorable night and slept the sleep of the just.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of Princeton, Jan. 3, 1777. +</p> + +<p>Washington meanwhile was wide awake. He kept his front line noisily at +work digging and entrenching, and made a fine show with his campfires. +Then he marched his army to the right and across the creek, and got +around Cornwallis's left wing and into his rear, and so went on gayly +toward Princeton. At daybreak he encountered the British rear-guard, +fought a sharp battle with it and sent it flying, with the loss of +one-fourth of its number. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span> booming guns aroused Cornwallis too late. +To preserve his communications with New York, he was obliged to retreat +with all haste upon New Brunswick, while Washington's victorious army +pushed on and occupied the strong position at Morristown.</p> + +<p>There was small hope of dislodging such a general from such a position. +But to leave Washington in possession of Morristown was to resign to him +the laurels of this half-year's work. For that position guarded the +Highlands of the Hudson on the one hand, and the roads to Philadelphia +on the other. Except that the British had taken the city of New +York—which from the start was almost a foregone conclusion—they were +no better off than in July when Lord Howe had landed on Staten Island. +In nine days the tables had been completely turned. The attack upon an +outpost had developed into a campaign which quite retrieved the +situation. The ill-timed interference of Congress, which had begun the +series of disasters, was remedied; the treachery of Lee was checkmated; +and the cause of American Independence, which on Christmas Eve had +seemed hopeless, was now fairly set on its feet. Earlier successes had +been local; this was continental. Seldom has so much been done with such +slender means.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Effects of the campaign, in Europe. +</p> + +<p>The American war had begun to awaken interest in Europe, especially in +France,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span> whither Franklin, with Silas Deane and Arthur Lee, had been +sent to seek for military aid. The French government was not yet ready +to make an alliance with the United States, but money and arms were +secretly sent over to Congress. Several young French nobles had asked +the king's permission to go to America, but it was refused, and for the +sake of keeping up appearances the refusal had something of the air of a +reprimand. The king did not wish to offend Great Britain prematurely. +One of these nobles was Lafayette, then eighteen years of age, who +fitted up a ship at his own expense, and sailed from Bordeaux in April, +1777, in spite of the royal prohibition, taking with him Kalb and other +officers. Lafayette and Kalb, with the Poles, Kosciuszko and Pulaski, +who had come some time before, and the German Steuben, who came in the +following December, were the five most eminent foreigners who received +commissions in the Continental army.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Difficulty in raising an army. +</p> + +<p>During the winter season at Morristown the efforts of Washington were +directed toward the establishment of a regular army to be kept together +for three years or so long as the war should last. Hitherto the military +preparations of Congress had been absurdly weak. Squads of militia had +been enlisted for terms of three or six months, as if there were any +likelihood of the war being ended within such a period. While the men +thus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span> kept coming and going, it was difficult either to maintain +discipline or to carry out any series of military operations. +Accordingly Congress now proceeded to call upon the states for an army +of 80,000 men to serve during the war. The enlisting was to be done by +the states, but the money was to be furnished by Congress. Not half that +number of men were actually obtained. The Continental army was larger in +1777 than in any other year, but the highest number it reached was only +34,820. In addition to these about 34,000 militia turned out in the +course of the year. An army of 80,000 would have taken about the same +proportion of all the fighting men in the country as an army of +1,000,000 in our great Civil War. Now in our Civil War the Union army +grew with the occasion until it numbered more than 1,000,000. But in the +Revolutionary War the Continental army was not only never equal to the +occasion, but it kept diminishing till in 1781 it numbered only 13,292. +This was because the Continental Congress had no power to enforce its +decrees. It could only <i>ask</i> for troops and it could only <i>ask</i> for +money. It found just the same difficulty in getting anything that the +British ministry and the royal governors used to find,—the very same +difficulty that led Grenville to devise the Stamp Act. Everything had to +be talked over in thirteen different legislatures, one state would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span> wait +to see what another was going to do, and meanwhile Washington was +expected to fight battles before his army was fit to take the field. +Something was gained, no doubt, by Congress furnishing the money. But as +Congress could not tax anybody, it had no means of raising a revenue, +except to beg, borrow, or issue its promissory notes, the so-called +Continental paper currency.</p> + +<p>While Congress was trying to raise an adequate army, the British +ministry laid its plans for the summer campaign. The conquest of the +state of New York must be completed at all hazards; and to this end a +threefold system of movements was devised:—</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The British plan for conquering New York in 1777. +</p> + +<p> +<i>First</i>, the army in Canada was to advance upon Ticonderoga, capture it, +and descend the Hudson as far as Albany. This work was now entrusted to +General Burgoyne.</p> + +<p><i>Secondly</i>, in order to make sure of efficient support from the Six +Nations and the Tories of the frontier, a small force under Colonel +Barry St. Leger was to go up the St. Lawrence to Lake Ontario, land at +Oswego, and march down the Mohawk valley to reinforce Burgoyne on the +Hudson.</p> + +<p><i>Thirdly</i>, after leaving a sufficient force to hold the city of New +York, the main army, under Sir William Howe, was to ascend the Hudson, +capture<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span> the forts in the Highlands, and keep on to Albany, so as to +effect a junction with Burgoyne and St. Leger.</p> + +<p>It was thought that such an imposing display of military force would +make the Tory party supreme in New York, put an end to all resistance +there, and effectually cut the United States in two. Then if the +southern states on the one hand and the New England states on the other +did not hasten to submit, they might afterward be attacked separately +and subdued.</p> + +<p>In this plan the ministry made the fatal mistake of underrating the +strength of the feeling which, from one end of the United States to the +other, was setting itself every day more and more decidedly against the +Tories and in favour of independence. This feeling grew as fast as the +anti-slavery feeling grew among the northern people during our Civil +War. In 1861 President Lincoln thought it necessary to rebuke his +generals who were too forward in setting free the slaves of persons +engaged in rebellion against the United States. In 1862 he announced his +purpose to emancipate all such slaves; and then it took less than three +years to put an end to slavery forever. It was just so with the +sentiment in favour of separation from Great Britain. In July, 1775, +Thomas Jefferson expressly declared that the Americans had not raised +armies with any intention of declaring their independence of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span> +mother-country. In July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence, written +by Jefferson, was proclaimed to the world, though the consent of the +middle colonies and of South Carolina seemed somewhat reluctant. By the +summer of 1777 the Tories were almost everywhere in a hopeless minority. +Every day of warfare, showing Great Britain more and more clearly as an +enemy to be got rid of, diminished their strength; so that, even in New +York and South Carolina, where they were strongest, it would not do for +the British ministry to count too much upon any support they might give.</p> + +<p>It was natural enough that King George and his ministers should fail to +understand all this, but their mistake was their ruin. If they had +understood that Burgoyne's march from Lake Champlain to the Hudson river +was to be a march through a country thoroughly hostile, perhaps they +would not have been so ready to send him on such a dangerous expedition. +It would have been much easier and safer to have sent his army by sea to +New York, to reinforce Sir William Howe. Threatening movements might +have been made by some of the Canada forces against Ticonderoga, so as +to keep Schuyler busy in that quarter; and then the army at New York, +thus increased to nearly 40,000 men, might have had a fair chance of +overwhelming Washington by sheer weight of numbers. Such a plan might +have failed, but it is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span> not likely that it would have led to the +surrender of the British army. And if they could have disposed of +Washington, the British might have succeeded. It was more necessary for +them to get rid of him than to march up and down the valley of the +Hudson. But it was not strange that they did not see this as we do. It +is always easy enough to be wise after things have happened.</p> + +<p>Even as it was, if their plan had really been followed, they might have +succeeded. If Howe's army had gone up to meet Burgoyne, the history of +the year 1777 would have been very different from what it was. We shall +presently see why it did not do so. Let us now recount the fortunes of +Burgoyne and St. Leger.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Burgoyne takes Ticonderoga, July 5, 1777. +</p> + +<p>Burgoyne came up Lake Champlain in June, and easily won Ticonderoga, +because the Americans had failed to secure a neighbouring position which +commanded the fortress. Burgoyne took Ticonderoga from Mount Defiance, +just as the Americans would have taken Boston from Bunker Hill, if they +had been able to stay there, just as they afterward did take it from +Dorchester Heights, and just as Howe took New York after he had won +Brooklyn Heights. When you have secured a position from which you can +kill the enemy twice as fast as he can kill you, he must of course +retire from the situation; and the sooner he goes, the better chance he +has of living to fight another day. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span> same principle worked in all +these cases, and it worked with General Howe at Harlem Heights and at +White Plains.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Schuyler and Gates. +</p> + +<p>When it was known that Burgoyne had taken Ticonderoga, there was +dreadful dismay in America and keen disappointment among those Whigs in +England whose declared sympathies were with us. George III. was beside +himself with glee, and thought that the Americans were finally defeated +and disposed of. But they were all mistaken. The garrison of Ticonderoga +had taken the alarm and retreated, so that Burgoyne captured only an +empty fortress. He left 1000 men in charge of it, and then pressed on +into the wilderness between Lake Champlain and the upper waters of the +Hudson river. His real danger was now beginning to show itself, and +every day it could be seen more distinctly. He was plunging into a +forest, far away from all possible support from behind, and as he went +on he found that there were not Tories enough in that part of the +country to be of any use to him. As Burgoyne advanced, General Schuyler +prudently retreated, and used up the enemy's time by breaking down +bridges and putting every possible obstacle in his way. Schuyler was a +rare man, thoroughly disinterested and full of sound sense; but he had +many political enemies who were trying to pull him down. A large part of +his army was made up of New England men, who hated him partly for the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span> +mere reason that he was a New Yorker, and partly because as such he had +taken part in the long quarrel between New York and New Hampshire over +the possession of the Green Mountains. The disaffection toward Schuyler +was fomented by General Horatio Gates, who had for some time held +command under him, but was now in Philadelphia currying favour with the +delegates in Congress, especially with those from New England, in the +hope of getting himself appointed to the command of the northern army in +Schuyler's place. Gates was an extremely weak man, but so vain that he +really believed himself equal to the highest command that Congress could +be persuaded to give him. On the battle-field he seems to have been +wanting even in personal courage, as he certainly was in power to handle +his troops; but in society he was quite a lion. He had a smooth +courteous manner and a plausible tongue which paid little heed to the +difference between truth and falsehood. His lies were not very +ingenious, and so they were often detected and pointed out. But while +many people were disgusted by his selfishness and trickery, there were +always some who insisted that he was a great genius. History can point +to a good many men like General Gates. Such men sometimes shine for a +while, but sooner or later they always come to be recognized as humbugs.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em"> +<a name="illus-004" id="illus-004"></a> +<img src="images/page131map.jpg" alt="Burgoyne's Campaign" title="" width="90%" /><br /> +</div> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of Hubbardton, July 7, 1777. +</p> + +<p>While Gates was intriguing, Schuyler was doing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span> all in his power to +impede the enemy's progress. It was on the night of July 5 that the +garrison of Ticonderoga, under General St. Clair, had abandoned the +fortress and retreated southward. On the 7th a battle was fought at +Hubbardton between St. Clair's rear, under Seth Warner, and a portion of +the British army under Fraser and Riedesel. Warner was defeated, but +only after such an obstinate resistance as to check the pursuit, so that +by the 12th St. Clair was able to bring his retreating troops in safety +to Fort Edward, where they were united with Schuyler's army. Schuyler +managed his obstructions so well that Burgoyne's utmost efforts were +required to push into the wilderness at the rate of one mile per day; +and meanwhile Schuyler was collecting a force of militia in the Green +Mountains, under General Lincoln, to threaten Burgoyne in the rear and +cut off his communications with Lake Champlain.</p> + +<p>Burgoyne was accordingly marching into a trap, and Schuyler was doing +the best that could be done. But on the first of August the intrigue +against him triumphed in Congress, and Gates was appointed to supersede +him in the command of the northern army. Gates, however, did not arrive +upon the scene until the 19th of August, and by that time Burgoyne's +situation was evidently becoming desperate.</p> + +<p>On the last day of July Burgoyne reached Fort<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span> Edward, which Schuyler +had evacuated just before. Schuyler crossed the Hudson river, and +continued his retreat to Stillwater, about thirty miles above Albany. It +was as far as the American retreat was to go. Burgoyne was already +getting short of provisions, and before he could advance much further he +needed a fresh supply of horses to drag the cannon and stores. He began +to realize, when too late, that he had come far into an enemy's country. +The hostile feelings of the people were roused to fury by the atrocities +committed by the Indians employed in Burgoyne's army. The British +supposed that the savages would prove very useful as scouts and guides, +and that by offers of reward and threats of punishment they might be +restrained from deeds of violence. They were very unruly, however, and +apt to use the tomahawk when they found a chance.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Jane McCrea. +</p> + +<p>The sad death of Miss Jane McCrea has been described in almost as many +ways as there have been people to describe it, but no one really knows +how it happened. What is really known is that, on the 27th of July, +while Miss McCrea was staying with her friend Mrs. McNeil, near Fort +Edward, a party of Indians burst into the house and carried off both +ladies. They were pursued by some American soldiers, and a few shots +were exchanged. In the course of the scrimmage the party got scattered, +and Mrs. McNeil was taken alone to the British camp.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span> Next day an Indian +came into the camp with Miss McCrea's scalp, which her friend recognized +from its long silky hair. A search was made, and the body of the poor +girl was found lying near a spring, pierced with three bullet-wounds. +The Indian's story, that she was accidentally killed by a volley from +the American soldiers, may well enough have been true. It is also known +that she was betrothed to David Jones, a lieutenant in Burgoyne's army, +and, as her own home was in New Jersey, her visit to Mrs. McNeil may +very likely have been part of a plan for meeting her lover. These facts +were soon woven into a story, in which Jenny was said to have been +murdered while on her way to her wedding, escorted by a party of Indians +whom her imprudent lover had sent to take charge of her.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of Bennington, Aug. 16, 1777. +</p> + +<p>The people of the neighbouring counties, in New York and Massachusetts, +enraged at the death of Miss McCrea and alarmed for the safety of their +own firesides, began rising in arms. Sturdy recruits began marching to +join Schuyler at Stillwater and Lincoln at Manchester in the Green +Mountains. Meanwhile Burgoyne had made up his mind to attack the village +of Bennington, which was Lincoln's centre of supplies. By seizing these +supplies, he could get for himself what he stood sorely in need of, +while at the same time the loss would cripple Lincoln and perhaps oblige +him to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span> retire from the scene. Accordingly 1000 Germans were sent out, +in two detachments under colonels Baum and Breymann, to capture the +village. But instead they were captured themselves. Baum was first +outmanÅ“uvred, surrounded, and forced to surrender by John Stark, +after a hot fight, in which Baum was mortally wounded. Then Breymann was +put to flight and his troops dispersed by Seth Warner. Of the whole +German force, 207 were killed or wounded, and at least 700 captured. Not +more than 70 got back to the British camp. The American loss in killed +and wounded was 56.</p> + +<p>This brilliant victory at Bennington had important consequences. It +checked Burgoyne's advance until he could get his supplies, and it +decided that Lincoln's militia could get in his rear and cut off his +communications with Ticonderoga. It furthermore inspired the Americans +with the exulting hope that Burgoyne's whole army could be surrounded +and forced to surrender.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +St. Leger in the Mohawk valley. +</p> + +<p>If, however, the British had been successful in gaining the Mohawk +valley and ensuring the supremacy over that region for the Tories, the +fate of Burgoyne might have been averted. The Tories in that region, +under Sir John Johnson and Colonel John Butler, were really formidable. +As for the Indians of the Iroquois league, they had always been friendly +to the English and hostile to the French; but now, when it came to +making<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">135</a></span> their choice between two kinds of English—the Americans and the +British, they hesitated and differed in opinion. The Mohawks took sides +with the British because of the friendship between Joseph Brant and the +Johnsons. The Cayugas and Senecas followed on the same side; but the +Onondagas, in the centre of the confederacy, remained neutral, and the +Oneidas and Tuscaroras, under the influence of Samuel Kirkland and other +missionaries, showed active sympathy with the Americans. It turned out, +too, that the Whigs were much stronger in the valley than had been +supposed.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of Oriskany, Aug. 6, 1777. +</p> + +<p>After St. Leger had landed at Oswego and joined hands with his Tory and +Indian allies, his entire force amounted to about 1700 men. The +principal obstacle to his progress toward the Hudson river was Fort +Stanwix, which stood where the city of Rome now stands. On the 3d of +August St. Leger reached Fort Stanwix and laid siege to it. The place +was garrisoned by 600 men under Colonel Peter Gansevoort, and the Whig +yeomanry of the neighbourhood, under the heroic General Nicholas +Herkimer, were on the way to relieve it, to the number of at least 800. +Herkimer made an excellent plan for surprising St. Leger with an attack +in the rear, while the garrison should sally forth and attack him in +front. But St. Leger's Indian scouts were more nimble than Herkimer's +messengers, so that he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span> obtained his information sooner than Gansevoort. +An ambush was skilfully prepared by Brant in a ravine near Oriskany, and +there, on the 6th of August, was fought the most desperate and murderous +battle of the Revolutionary War. It was a hand to hand fight, in which +about 800 men were engaged on each side, and each lost more than +one-third of its number. As the Tories and Indians were giving way, +their retreat was hastened by the sounds of battle from Fort Stanwix, +where the garrison was making its sally and driving back the besiegers. +Herkimer remained in possession of the field at Oriskany, but his plan +had been for the moment thwarted, and in the battle he had received a +wound from which he died.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +St. Leger's flight, Aug. 22, 1777. +</p> + +<p>Benedict Arnold had lately been sent by Washington to be of such +assistance as he could to Schuyler. Arnold stood high in the confidence +of both these generals. He had shown himself one of the ablest officers +in the American army, he was especially skilful in getting good work out +of raw troops, and he was a great favourite with his men. On hearing of +the danger of Fort Stanwix, Schuyler sent him to the rescue, with 1200 +men. When he was within twenty miles of that stronghold, he contrived, +with the aid of some friendly Oneidas and a Tory captive whose life he +spared for the purpose, to send on before him exaggerated reports of the +size of his army. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span> device accomplished far more than he could have +expected. The obstinate resistance at Oriskany had discouraged the +Tories and angered the Indians. Distrust and dissension were already +rife in St. Leger's camp, when such reports came in as to lead many to +believe that Burgoyne had been totally defeated, and that the whole of +Schuyler's army, or a great part of it, was coming up the Mohawk. This +news led to riot and panic among the troops, and on August 22 St. Leger +took to flight and made his way as best he could to his ships at Oswego, +with scarcely the shred of an army left. This catastrophe showed how +sadly mistaken the British had been in their reliance upon Tory help.</p> + +<p>The battle of Bennington was fought on the 16th of August. Now by the +overthrow of St. Leger, six days later, Burgoyne's situation had become +very alarming. It was just in the midst of these events that Gates +arrived, on August 19, and took command of the army at Stillwater, which +was fast growing in numbers. Militia were flocking in, Arnold's force +was returning, and Daniel Morgan was at hand with 500 Virginian +sharpshooters. Unless Burgoyne could win a battle against overwhelming +odds, there was only one thing that could save him; and that was the +arrival of Howe's army at Albany, according to the ministry's programme. +But Burgoyne had not yet heard a word from Howe; and Howe never came.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">138</a></span></p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Why Howe failed to coöperate with Burgoyne. +</p> + +<p>This failure of Howe to coöperate with Burgoyne was no doubt the most +fatal military blunder made by the British in the whole course of the +war. The failure was of course unintentional on Howe's part. He meant to +extend sufficient support to Burgoyne, but the trouble was that he +attempted too much. He had another plan in his mind at the same time, +and between the two he ended by accomplishing nothing. While he kept one +eye on Albany, he kept the other on Philadelphia. He had not relished +being driven back across New Jersey by Washington, and the hope of +defeating that general in battle, and then pushing on to the "rebel +capital" strongly tempted him. In such thoughts he was encouraged by the +advice of the captive General Lee. That unscrupulous busybody felt +himself in great danger, for he knew that the British regarded him in +the light of a deserter from their army. While his fate was in suspense, +he informed the brothers Howe that he had abandoned the American cause, +and he offered them his advice and counsel for the summer campaign. This +villainy of Lee's was not known till eighty years afterward, when a +paper of his was discovered that revealed it in all its blackness. The +Howes were sure to pay some heed to Lee's opinions, because he was +supposed to have acquired a thorough knowledge of American affairs. He +advised them to begin by taking Philadelphia,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span> and supported this plan +by plausible arguments. Sir William Howe seems to have thought that he +could accomplish this early in the summer, and then have his hands free +for whatever might be needed on the Hudson river. Accordingly on the +12th of June he started to cross the state of New Jersey with 18,000 +men.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Washington's masterly campaign in New Jersey, June, 1777. +</p> + +<p>But Sir William had reckoned without his host. In a campaign of eighteen +days, Washington, with only 8000 men, completely blocked the way for +him, and made him give up the game. The popular histories do not have +much to say about these eighteen days, because they were not marked by +battles. Washington won by his marvellous skill in choosing positions +where Howe could not attack him with any chance of success. Howe +understood this and did not attack. He could not entice Washington into +fighting at a disadvantage, and he could not march on and leave such an +enemy behind without sacrificing his own communications. Accordingly on +June 30 he gave up his plan and retreated to Staten Island. If there +ever was a general who understood the useful art of wasting his +adversary's time, Washington was that general.</p> + +<p>Howe now decided to take his army to Philadelphia by sea. He waited a +while till the news from the north seemed to show that Burgoyne was +carrying everything before him; and then he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span> thought it safe to start. +He left Sir Henry Clinton in command at New York, with 7000 men, telling +him to send a small force up the river to help Burgoyne, should there be +any need of it, which did not then seem likely. Then he put to sea with +his main force of 18,000 men, and went around to the Delaware river, +which he reached at the end of July, just as Burgoyne was reaching Fort +Edward.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Howe's strange movement upon Philadelphia, by way of Chesapeake bay. +</p> + +<p>Howe's next move was very strange. He afterward said that he did not go +up the Delaware river, because he found that there were obstructions and +forts to be passed. But he might have gone up a little way and landed +his forces on the Delaware coast at a point where a single march would +have brought them to Elkton, at the head of Chesapeake bay, about fifty +miles southwest from Philadelphia. Instead of this, he put out to sea +again and sailed four hundred miles, to the mouth of Chesapeake bay and +up that bay to Elkton, where he landed his men on the 25th of August. +Why he took such a roundabout course cannot be understood, unless he may +have attached importance to Lee's advice that the presence of a British +squadron in Chesapeake bay would help to arouse the Tories in Maryland. +The British generals could not seem to make up their minds that America +was a hostile country. Small blame to them, brave fellows that they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span> +were! They could not make war against America in such a fierce spirit as +that in which France would now make war against Germany if she could see +her way clear to do so. They were always counting on American sympathy, +and this was a will-o'-the-wisp that lured them to destruction.</p> + +<p>On landing at Elkton, Howe received orders from London, telling him to +ascend the Hudson river and support Burgoyne, in any event. This order +had left London in May. It was well for the Americans that the telegraph +had not then been invented. Now it was the 25th of August; Burgoyne was +in imminent peril; and Howe was three hundred miles away from him!</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of the Brandywine, Sept. 11, 1777. +</p> + +<p>All these movements had been carefully watched by Washington; and as +Howe marched toward Philadelphia he found that general blocking the way +at the fords of the Brandywine creek. A battle ensued on the 11th of +September. It was a well-contested battle. With 11,000 men against +18,000, Washington could hardly have been expected to win a victory. He +was driven from the field, but not badly defeated. He kept his army well +in hand, and manÅ“uvred so skilfully that the British were employed +for two weeks in getting over the twenty-six miles to Philadelphia.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of Germantown, Oct. 4, 1777. +</p> + +<p>Before Howe had reached that city, Congress had moved away to York in +Pennsylvania. When<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span> he had taken Philadelphia, he found that he could +not stay there without taking the forts on the Delaware river which +prevented the British ships from coming up; for by land Washington could +cut off his supplies, and he could only be sure of them by water. So +Howe detached part of his army to reduce these forts, leaving the rest +of it at Germantown, six miles from Philadelphia. On the 4th of October, +Washington attacked the force at Germantown in such a position that +defeat would have quite destroyed it. The attempt failed at the critical +moment because of a dense fog in which one American brigade fired into +another and caused a brief panic. The forts on the Delaware were +captured after hard fighting, and Washington went into winter quarters +at Valley Forge.</p> + +<p>The result of the summer's work was that, because Howe had made several +mistakes and Washington had taken the utmost advantage of every one of +them, the whole British plan was spoiled. Howe had used up the whole +season in getting to Philadelphia, and Washington's activity had also +kept Sir Henry Clinton's attention so much occupied with what was going +on about the Delaware river as to prevent him from sending aid to the +northward until it was too late. Sir Henry was once actually obliged to +send reinforcements to Howe.</p> + +<p>Thus Burgoyne was left to himself. He supposed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span> that Howe was coming up +the Hudson river to meet him, and so on September 13 he crossed the +river and advanced to attack Gates's army, which was occupying a strong +position at Bemis Heights, between Stillwater and Saratoga. It was a +desperate move. While Burgoyne was making it, Lincoln's men cut his +communications with Ticonderoga, so that his only hope lay in help from +below; and such help never came. In this extremity he was obliged to +fight on ground chosen by the Americans, because he must either fight or +starve.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Burgoyne is defeated by Arnold, and surrenders his army, Oct. 17, 1777. +</p> + +<p>Under these circumstances Burgoyne fought two battles with consummate +gallantry. The first was on September 19, the second on October 7. In +each battle the Americans were led by Arnold and Morgan, and Gates +deserves no credit for either. In both battles Arnold was the leading +spirit, and in the second he was severely wounded at the moment of +victory. In the first battle the British were simply repulsed, in the +second they were totally defeated. This settled the fate of Burgoyne, +and on the 17th of October he surrendered his whole army, now reduced to +less than 6000 men, as prisoners of war. Before the final catastrophe +Sir Henry Clinton had sent a small force up the river to relieve him, +but it was too late. The relieving force succeeded in capturing some of +the Highland forts, but turned back on hearing of Burgoyne's surrender.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> +<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em"> +<a name="CHAPTER_VII." id="CHAPTER_VII."></a> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span> +<h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2><h3>THE FRENCH ALLIANCE.</h3> +</div> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Lord North changes front, and France interferes, Feb., 1778. +</p> + +<p>This capture of a British army made more ado in Europe than anything +which had happened for many a day. It was compared to Leuktra and the +Caudine Fork. The immediate effect in England was to weaken the king and +cause Lord North to change his policy. The tea-duty and the obnoxious +acts of 1774 were repealed, the principles of colonial independence of +Parliament laid down by Otis and Henry were admitted, and commissioners +were sent over to America to negotiate terms of peace. It was hoped that +by such ample concessions the Americans might be so appeased as to be +willing to adopt some arrangement which would leave their country a part +of the British Empire. As soon as the French government saw the first +symptoms of such a change of policy on the part of Lord North, it +decided to enter into an alliance with the United States. There was much +sympathy for the Americans among educated people of all grades of +society in France; but the action of the government was determined +purely by hatred of England. While Great Britain and her colonies<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span> were +weakening each other by war, France had up to this moment not cared to +interfere. But if there was the slightest chance of a reconciliation, it +was high time to prevent it; and besides, the American cause was now +prosperous, and something might be made of it. The moment had come for +France to seek revenge for the disasters of the Seven Years' War; and on +the 6th of February, 1778, her treaty of alliance with the United States +was signed at Paris.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Untimely death of Lord Chatham, May 11, 1778. +</p> + +<p>At the news of this there was an outburst of popular excitement in +England. There was a strong feeling in favour of peace with America and +war with France, and men of all parties united with Lord North himself +in demanding that Lord Chatham, who represented such a policy, should be +made prime minister. It was rightly believed that he, if any one, could +both conciliate America and humiliate France. There was only one way in +which Chatham could have broken the new alliance which Congress had so +long been seeking. The faith of Congress was pledged to France, and the +Americans would no longer hear of any terms that did not begin with the +acknowledgment of their full independence. To break the alliance, it +would have been necessary to concede the independence of the United +States. The king felt that if he were now obliged to call Chatham to the +head of affairs and allow him to form a strong ministry, it would be the +end of his cherished<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span> schemes for breaking down cabinet government. +There was no man whom George III. hated and feared so much as Lord +Chatham. Nevertheless the pressure was so great that, but for Chatham's +untimely death, the king would probably have been obliged to yield. If +Chatham had lived a year longer, the war might have ended with the +surrender of Burgoyne instead of continuing until the surrender of +Cornwallis. As it was, Lord North consented, against his own better +judgment, to remain in office and aid the king's policy as far as he +could. The commissioners sent to America accomplished nothing, because +they were not empowered to grant independence; and so the war went on.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Change in the conduct of the war. +</p> + +<p>There was a great change, however, in the manner in which the war was +conducted. In the years 1776 and 1777 the British had pursued a definite +plan for conquering New York and thus severing the connection between +New England and the southern states. During the remainder of the war +their only definite plan was for conquering the southern states. Their +operations at the north were for the most part confined to burning and +plundering expeditions along the coast in their ships, or on the +frontier in connection with Tories and Indians. The war thus assumed a +more cruel character. This was chiefly due to the influence of Lord +George<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span> Germaine, the secretary of state for the colonies. He was a +contemptible creature, weak and cruel. He had been dismissed from the +army in 1759 for cowardice at the battle of Minden, and he was so +generally despised that when in 1782 the king was obliged to turn him +out of office and tried to console him by raising him to the peerage as +Viscount Sackville, the House of Lords protested against the admission +of such a creature. George III. had made this man his colonial secretary +in the autumn of 1775, and he had much to do with planning the campaigns +of the next two years. But now his influence in the cabinet seems to +have increased. He was much more thoroughly in sympathy with the king +than Lord North, who at this time was really to be pitied. Lord North +would have been a fine man but for his weakness of will. He was now +keeping up the war in America unwillingly, and was obliged to sanction +many things of which he did not approve. In later years he bitterly +repented this weakness. Now the truculent policy of Lord George Germaine +began to show itself in the conduct of the war. That minister took no +pains to conceal his willingness to employ Indians, to burn towns and +villages, and to inflict upon the American people as much misery as +possible, in the hope of breaking their spirit and tiring them out.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The Conway Cabal. +</p> + +<p>In America the first effect of Burgoyne's surrender was to strengthen a +feeling of dissatisfaction<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span> with Washington, which had grown up in some +quarters. In reality, as our narrative has shown, Washington had as much +to do with the overthrow of Burgoyne as anybody; for if it had not been +for his skilful campaign in June, 1777, Howe would have taken +Philadelphia in that month, and would then have been free to assist +Burgoyne. It is easy enough to understand such things afterward, but +people never can see them at the time when they are happening. This is +an excellent illustration of what was said at the beginning of this +book, that when people are down in the midst of events they cannot see +the wood because of the trees, and it is only when they have climbed the +hill of history and look back over the landscape that they can see what +things really meant. At the end of the year 1777 people could only see +that Burgoyne had surrendered to Gates, while Washington had lost two +battles and the city of Philadelphia. Accordingly there were many who +supposed that Gates must be a better general than Washington, and in the +army there were some discontented spirits that were only too glad to +take advantage of this feeling. One of these malcontents was an Irish +adventurer, Thomas Conway, who had long served in France and came over +here in time to take part in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. +He had a grudge against Washington, as Charles Lee had. He thought he +could get on better if Washington<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span> were out of the way. So he busied +himself in organizing a kind of conspiracy against Washington, which +came to be known as the "Conway Cabal." The purpose was to put forward +Gates to supersede Washington, as he had lately superseded the noble +Schuyler. Gates, of course, lent himself heartily to the scheme; such +intrigues were what he was made for. And there were some of our noblest +men who were dissatisfied with Washington, because they were ignorant of +the military art, and could not understand his wonderful skill, as +Frederick the Great did. Among these were John and Samuel Adams, who +disapproved of "Fabian strategy." Gates and Conway tried to work upon +such feelings. They hoped by thwarting and insulting Washington to wound +his pride and force him to resign. In this wretched work they had +altogether too much help from Congress, but they failed ignominiously +because Gates's lies were too plainly discovered. The attempts to injure +Washington recoiled upon their authors. Never, perhaps, was Washington +so grand as in that sorrowful winter at Valley Forge.</p> + +<p>When the news of the French alliance arrived, in the spring of 1778, +there was a general feeling of elation. People were over-confident. It +seemed as if the British might be driven from the country in the course +of that year. Some changes occurred in both the opposing armies. A great +deal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span> of fault was found in England with Howe and Burgoyne. The latter +was allowed to go home in the spring, and took his seat in Parliament +while still a prisoner on parole. He was henceforth friendly to the +Americans, and opposed the further prosecution of the war. Sir William +Howe resigned his command in May and went home in order to defend his +conduct. Shortly before his appointment to the chief command in America, +he had uttered a prophecy somewhat notable as coming from one who was +about to occupy such a position. In a speech at Nottingham he had +expressed the opinion that the Americans could not be subdued by any +army that Great Britain could raise!</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Howe is superseded by Clinton. +</p> + +<p>Howe was succeeded in the chief command by Sir Henry Clinton. His +brother, Lord Howe, remained in command of the fleet until the autumn, +when he was succeeded by Admiral Byron. During the winter the American +army had received a very important reinforcement in the person of Baron +von Steuben, an able and highly educated officer who had served on the +staff of Frederick the Great. Steuben was appointed inspector-general +and taught the soldiers Prussian discipline and tactics until the +efficiency of the army was more than doubled. About the time of Sir +William Howe's departure, Charles Lee was exchanged, and came back to +his old place as senior major-general in the Continental<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span> army. Since +his capture there had been a considerable falling off in his reputation, +but nothing was known of his treasonable proceedings with the Howes. +Probably no one in the British army knew anything about that affair +except the Howes and their private secretary Sir Henry Strachey. Lee saw +that the American cause was now in the ascendant, and he was as anxious +as ever to supplant Washington.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The Americans take the offensive; Lee's misconduct at Monmouth, June 28, 1778. +</p> + +<p>The Americans now assumed the offensive. Count d'Estaing was approaching +the coast with a powerful French fleet. Should he be able to defeat Lord +Howe and get control of the Delaware river, the British army in +Philadelphia would be in danger of capture. Accordingly on the 18th of +June that city was evacuated by Sir Henry Clinton and occupied by +Washington. As there were not enough transports to take the British army +around to New York by sea, it was necessary to take the more hazardous +course of marching across New Jersey. Washington pursued the enemy +closely, with the view of forcing him to battle in an unfavourable +situation and dealing him a fatal blow. There was some hope of effecting +this, as the two armies were now about equal in size—15,000 in +each—and the Americans were in excellent training. The enemy were +overtaken at Monmouth Court House on the morning of June 28, but the +attack was unfortunately<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span> entrusted to Lee, who disobeyed orders and +made an unnecessary and shameful retreat. Washington arrived on the +scene in time to turn defeat into victory. The British were driven from +the field, but Lee's misconduct had broken the force of the blow which +Washington had aimed at them. Lee was tried by court-martial and at +first suspended from command, then expelled from the army. It was the +end of his public career. He died in October, 1782.</p> + +<p>After the battle of Monmouth the British continued their march to New +York, and Washington moved his army to White Plains. Count d'Estaing +arrived at Sandy Hook in July with a much larger fleet than the British +had in the harbour, and a land force of 4000 men. It now seemed as if +Clinton's army might be cooped up and compelled to surrender, but on +examination it appeared that the largest French ships drew too much +water to venture to cross the bar. All hope of capturing New York was +accordingly for the present abandoned.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Siege of Newport, Aug. 1778. +</p> + +<p>The enemy, however, had another considerable force near at hand, besides +Clinton's. Since December, 1776, they had occupied the island which +gives its name to the state of Rhode Island. Its position was safe and +convenient. It enabled them, if they should see fit, to threaten Boston +on the one hand and the coast of Connecticut on the other, and thus to +make diversions in aid of Sir<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span> Henry Clinton. The force on Rhode Island +had been increased to 6000 men, under command of Sir Robert Pigott. The +Americans believed that the capture of so large a force, could it be +effected, would so discourage the British as to bring the war to an end; +and in this belief they were very likely right. The French fleet +accordingly proceeded to Newport; to the 4000 French infantry Washington +added 1500 of the best of his Continentals; levies of New England +yeomanry raised the total strength to 13,000; and the general command of +the American troops was given to Sullivan.</p> + +<p>The expedition was poorly managed, and failed completely. There was some +delay in starting. During the first week of August the Americans landed +upon the island and occupied Butts Hill. The French had begun to land on +Conanicut when they learned that Lord Howe was approaching with a +powerful fleet. The count then reëmbarked his men and stood out to sea, +manÅ“uvring for a favourable position for battle. Before the fight had +begun, a terrible storm scattered both fleets and damaged them severely. +When D'Estaing had got his ships together again, which was not till the +20th of August, he insisted upon going to Boston for repairs, and took +his infantry with him. This vexed Sullivan and disgusted the yeomanry, +who forthwith dispersed and went home to look after their crops. General +Pigott<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a></span> then tried the offensive, and attacked Sullivan in his strong +position on Butts Hill, on the 29th of August. The British were +defeated, but the next day Sullivan learned that Clinton was coming with +heavy reinforcements, and so he was obliged to abandon the enterprise +and lose no time in getting his own troops into a safe position on the +mainland. In November the French fleet sailed for the West Indies, and +Clinton was obliged to send 5000 men from New York to the same quarter +of the world.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Wyoming and Cherry Valley, July-Nov., 1778. +</p> + +<p>In the years 1778 and 1779 the warfare on the border assumed formidable +proportions. The Tories of central New York, under the Johnsons and +Butlers, together with Brant and his Mohawks, made their headquarters at +Fort Niagara, from which they struck frequent and terrible blows at the +exposed settlements on the frontier. Early in July, 1778, a force of +1200 men, under John Butler, spread death and desolation through the +beautiful valley of Wyoming in Pennsylvania. On the 10th of November, +Brant and Walter Butler destroyed the village of Cherry Valley in New +York, and massacred the inhabitants. Many other dreadful things were +done in the course of this year; but the affairs of Wyoming and Cherry +Valley made a deeper impression than all the rest. During the following +spring Washington organized an expedition of 5000 men, and sent it, +under<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">155</a></span> Sullivan, to lay waste the Iroquois country and capture the nest +of Tory malefactors at Fort Niagara. While they were slowly advancing +through the wilderness, Brant sacked the town of Minisink and destroyed +a force of militia sent against him. But on the 29th of August a battle +was fought on the site of the present town of Elmira, in which the +Tories and Indians were defeated with great slaughter. The American army +then marched through the country of the Cayugas and Senecas, and laid it +waste. More than forty Indian villages were burned and all the corn was +destroyed, so that the approach of winter brought famine and pestilence. +Sullivan was not able to get beyond the Genesee river for want of +supplies, and so Fort Niagara escaped. The Iroquois league had received +a blow from which it never recovered, though for two years more their +tomahawks were busy on the frontier.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Conquest of the northwestern territory, 1778-79. +</p> + +<p>At intervals during the Revolution there was more or less Indian warfare +all along the border. Settlers were making their way into Kentucky and +Tennessee. Feuds with these encroaching immigrants led the powerful +tribe of Cherokees to take part with the British, and they made trouble +enough until they were crushed by John Sevier, the "lion of the border." +In 1778 Colonel Hamilton, the British commander at Detroit, attempted to +stir up all the western tribes to a concerted attack upon the frontier. +When the news of this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span> reached Virginia, an expedition was sent out +under George Rogers Clark, a youth of twenty-four years, to carry the +war into the enemy's country. In an extremely interesting and romantic +series of movements, Clark took the posts of Kaskaskia and Cahokia, on +the Mississippi river, defeated and captured Colonel Hamilton at +Vincennes, on the Wabash, and ended by conquering the whole northwestern +territory for the state of Virginia.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Storming of Stony Point, July 15, 1779. +</p> + +<p>The year 1779 saw very little fighting in the northern states between +the regular armies. The British confined themselves chiefly to marauding +expeditions along the coast, from Martha's Vineyard down to the James +river. These incursions were marked by cruelties unknown in the earlier +part of the war. Their chief purpose would seem to have been to carry +out Lord George Germaine's idea of harassing the Americans as +vexatiously as possible. But in Connecticut, which perhaps suffered the +worst, there was a military purpose. In July, 1779, an attack was made +upon New Haven, and the towns of Fairfield and Norwalk were burned. The +object was to induce Washington to weaken his force on the Hudson river +by sending away troops to protect the Connecticut towns. Clinton now +held the river as far up as Stony Point, and he hoped by this diversion +to prepare for an attack upon Washington which, if successful, might end +in the fall of West Point. If<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span> the British could get possession of West +Point, it would go far toward retrieving the disaster which had befallen +them at Saratoga. Washington's retort was characteristic of him. He did, +as always, what the enemy did not expect. He called Anthony Wayne and +asked him if he thought he could carry Stony Point by storm. Wayne +replied that he could storm a very much hotter place than any known in +terrestrial geography, if Washington would plan the attack. Plan and +performance were equally good. At midnight of July 15 the fort was +surprised and carried in a superb assault with bayonets, without the +firing of a gun on the American side. It was one of the most brilliant +assaults in all military history. It instantly relieved Connecticut, but +Washington did not think it prudent to retain the fortress. The works +were all destroyed, and the garrison, with the cannon and stores, +withdrawn. The American army was as much as possible concentrated about +West Point. In the general situation of affairs on the Hudson there was +but little change for the next two years.</p> + +<p>It may seem strange that so little was done in all this time. But, in +fact, both England and the United States were getting exhausted, so far +as the ability to carry on war was concerned.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +How England was weakened and hampered, 1778-81. +</p> + +<p>As regards England, the action of France had seriously complicated the +situation. England had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span> now to protect her colonies and dependencies on +the Mediterranean, in Africa, in Hindustan, and in the West Indies. In +1779 Spain declared war against her, in the hope of regaining Gibraltar +and the Floridas. For three years Gibraltar was besieged by the allied +French and Spanish forces. A Spanish fleet laid siege to Pensacola. +France strove to regain the places which England had formerly won from +her in Senegambia. War broke out in India with the Mahrattas, and with +Hyder Ali of Mysore, and it required all the genius of Warren Hastings +to save England's empire in Asia. We have already seen how Clinton, in +the autumn of 1778, was obliged to weaken his force in New York by +sending 5,000 men to the West Indies. Before the end of 1779 there were +314,000 British troops on duty in various parts of the world, but not +enough could be spared for service in New York to defeat Washington's +little army of 15,000. We thus begin to realize what a great event was +the surrender of Burgoyne. The loss of 6,000 men by England was not in +itself irreparable; but in leading to the intervention of France it was +like the touching of a spring or the drawing of a bolt which sets in +motion a vast system of machinery.</p> + +<p>Under these circumstances George III. tried to form an alliance with +Russia, and offered the island of Minorca as an inducement. Russia +declined<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span> the offer, and such action as she took was hostile to England. +It had formerly been held that the merchant ships of neutral nations, +employed in trade with nations at war, might lawfully be overhauled and +searched by war ships of either of the belligerent nations, and their +goods confiscated. England still held this doctrine and acted upon it. +But during the eighteenth century her maritime power had increased to +such an extent that she could damage other nations in this way much more +than they could damage her. Other nations accordingly began to maintain +that goods carried in neutral ships ought to be free from seizure. Early +in 1780 Denmark, Sweden, and Russia entered into an agreement known as +the Armed Neutrality, by which they pledged themselves to unite in +retaliating upon England whenever any of her cruisers should molest any +of their ships. This league was a new source of danger to England, +because it entailed the risk of war with Russia.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Paul Jones, 1779. +</p> + +<p>During these years several bold American cruisers had made the stars and +stripes a familiar sight in European waters. The most famous of these +cruisers, Paul Jones, made his name a terror upon the coasts of England, +burned the ships in a port of Cumberland, sailed into the Frith of Forth +and threatened Edinburgh, and finally captured two British war vessels +off Flamborough Head, in one of the most desperate sea-fights on +record.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span></p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +St. Eustatius, Feb., 1781. +</p> + +<p>Paul Jones was a regularly commissioned captain in the American navy, +but because the British did not recognize Congress as a legal body they +called him a pirate. When he took his prizes into a port in Holland, +they requested the Dutch government to surrender him into their hands, +as if he were a mere criminal to be tried at the Old Bailey. But the +Dutch let him stay in port ten weeks and then depart in peace. This +caused much irritation, and as there was also perpetual quarrelling over +the plunder of Dutch ships by British cruisers, the two nations went to +war in December, 1780. One of England's reasons for entering into this +war was the desire to capture the little Dutch island of St. Eustatius +in the West Indies. An immense trade was carried on there between +Holland and the United States, and it was believed that the stoppage of +this trade would be a staggering blow to the Americans. It was captured +in February, 1781, by Admiral Rodney, private property was seized to the +amount of more than twenty million dollars, and the inhabitants were +treated with shameful brutality.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +How the Americans were weakened and hampered. The want of union. +</p> + +<p>As England was thus fighting single-handed against France, Spain, +Holland, and the United States, while the attitude of all the neutral +powers was unfriendly, we can find no difficulty in understanding the +weakness of her military operations in some quarters. The United States, +on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span> the other hand, found it hard to carry on the war for very different +reasons. In the first place the country was really weak. The military +strength of the American Union in 1780 was inferior to that of Holland, +and about on a level with that of Denmark or Portugal. But furthermore +the want of union made it hard to bring out such strength as there was. +In the autumn of 1777 the Articles of Confederation were submitted to +the several states for adoption; but the spring of 1781 had arrived +before all the thirteen states had ratified them. These articles left +the Continental Congress just what it was before, a mere advisory body, +without power to enlist soldiers or levy taxes, without federal courts +or federal officials, and with no executive head to the government. As +we have already seen, the only way in which Congress could get money +from the people was by requisitions upon the states, by <i>asking</i> the +state-governments for it. This was always a very slow way to get money, +and now the states were unusually poor. There was very little +accumulated capital. Farming, fishing, ship-building, and foreign trade +were the chief occupations. Farms and plantations suffered considerably +from the absence of their owners in the army, and many were kept from +enlisting, because it was out of the question to go and leave their +families to starve. As for ship-building, fishing, and foreign trade, +these<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span> occupations were almost annihilated by British cruisers. No doubt +the heaviest blows that we received were thus dealt us on the water.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Fall of the Continental currency:—"Not worth a Continental." +</p> + +<p>The people were so poor that the states found it hard to collect enough +revenue for their own purposes, and most of them had a way of issuing +paper money of their own, which made things still worse. Under such +circumstances they had very little money to give to Congress. It was +necessary to borrow of France, or Spain, or Holland, and by the time +these nations were all at war, that became very difficult. From the +beginning of the war Congress had issued paper notes, and in 1778 the +depreciation in their value was already alarming. But as soon as the +exultation over Burgoyne's surrender had subsided, as soon as the hope +of speedily driving out the British had been disappointed, people soon +lost all confidence in the power of Congress to pay its notes, and in +1779 their value began falling with frightful rapidity. In 1780 they +became worthless. It took $150 in Continental currency to buy a bushel +of corn, and an ordinary suit of clothes cost $2000. Then people refused +to take it, and resorted to barter, taking their pay in sheep or +ploughs, in jugs of rum or kegs of salt pork, or whatever they could +get. It thus became almost impossible either to pay soldiers, or to +clothe and feed them properly and supply them with powder and ball. We<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span> +thus see why the Americans, as well as the British conducted the war so +languidly that for two years after the storming of Stony Point their +main armies sat and faced each other by the Hudson river, without any +movements of importance.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The British conquer Georgia, 1779. +</p> + +<p>In one quarter, however, the British began to make rapid progress. They +possessed the Floridas, having got them from Spain by the treaty of +1763. Next them lay Georgia, the weakest of the thirteen states, and +then came the Carolinas, with a strong Tory element in the population. +For such reasons, after the great invasion of New York had failed, the +British tried the plan of starting at the southern extremity of the +Union and lopping off one state after another. In the autumn of 1778 +General Prevost advanced from East Florida, and in a brief campaign +succeeded in capturing Savannah, Sunbury, and Augusta. General Lincoln, +who had won distinction in the Saratoga campaign, was appointed to +command the American forces in the South. He sent General Ashe, with +1500 men, to threaten Augusta. At Ashe's approach, the British abandoned +the town and retreated toward Savannah. Ashe pursued too closely and at +Briar Creek, March 3, 1779, the enemy turned upon him and routed him. +The Americans lost nearly 1000 men killed, wounded, and captured, +besides their cannon and small arms; and this victory cost the British +only 16 men killed and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span> wounded. Augusta was reoccupied, the royal +governor, Sir James Wright, was reinstated in office, and the machinery +of government which had been in operation previous to 1776 was restored. +Lincoln now advanced upon Augusta, but Prevost foiled him by returning +the offensive and marching upon Charleston. In order to protect that +city, Lincoln was obliged to retrace his steps. It was now the middle of +May, and little more was done till September, when D'Estaing returned +from the West Indies. On the 23d Savannah was invested by the combined +forces of Lincoln and D'Estaing, and the siege was vigorously carried on +for a fortnight. Then the French admiral grew impatient. On the 9th of +October a fierce assault was made, in which the allies were defeated +with the loss of 1000 men, including the gallant Pulaski. The French +fleet then departed, and the British could look upon Georgia as +recovered.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +And capture Charleston, with Lincoln's army, May 12, 1780. +</p> + +<p>It was South Carolina's turn next. Washington was obliged to weaken his +own force by sending most of the southern troops to Lincoln's +assistance. Sir Henry Clinton then withdrew the garrisons from his +advanced posts on the Hudson, and also from Rhode Island, and was thus +able to leave an adequate force in New York, while he himself set sail +for Savannah, December 26, 1779, with a considerable army. After the +British forces were united in Georgia, they amounted to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span> more than +13,000 men, against whom Lincoln could bring but 7000. The fate of the +American army shows us what would probably have happened in New York in +1776 if an ordinary general instead of Washington had been in command. +Lincoln allowed himself to be cooped up in Charleston, and after a siege +of two months was obliged to surrender the city and his whole army on +the 12th of May, 1780. This was the most serious disaster the Americans +had suffered since the loss of Fort Washington. The dashing cavalry +leader, Tarleton, soon cut to pieces whatever remnants of their army +were left in South Carolina. Sir Henry Clinton returned in June to New +York, leaving Lord Cornwallis with 5000 men to carry on the work. The +Tories, thus supported, got the upperhand in the interior of the state, +which suffered from all the horrors of civil war. The American cause was +sustained only by partisan leaders, of whom the most famous were Francis +Marion and Thomas Sumter.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of Camden, Aug. 16, 1780. +</p> + +<p>When the news of Lincoln's surrender reached the North, the emergency +was felt to be desperate. A fresh army was raised, consisting of about +2000 superbly trained veterans of the Maryland and Delaware lines, under +the Baron de Kalb, and such militia as could be raised in Virginia and +North Carolina. The chief command was given to Gates, whose conduct from +the start was a series<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span> of blunders. The most important strategic point +in South Carolina was Camden, at the intersection of the principal roads +from the coast to the mountains and from north to south. In marching +upon this point Gates was met by Lord Cornwallis on the 16th of August +and utterly routed. Kalb was mortally wounded at the head of the +Maryland troops, who held their ground nobly till overwhelmed by +numbers; the Delaware men were cut to pieces; the militia were swept +away in flight, and Gates with them. His northern laurels, as it was +said, had changed into southern willows; and for the second time within +three months an American army at the South had been annihilated.</p> + +<p>This was, on the whole, the darkest moment of the war. For a moment in +July there had been a glimmer of hopefulness when the Count de +Rochambeau arrived with 6000 men who were landed on Rhode Island. The +British fleet, however, soon came and blockaded them there, and again +the hearts of the people were sickened with hope deferred. It seemed as +if Lord George Germaine's policy of "tiring the Americans out" might be +going to succeed after all. When the value of the Continental paper +money now fell to zero, it was a fair indication that the people had +pretty much lost all faith in Congress. In the army the cases of +desertion to the British lines averaged about a hundred per month.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span></p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Benedict Arnold's treason, July-Sept., 1780. +</p> + +<p>This was a time when a man of bold and impulsive temperament, prone to +cherish romantic schemes, smarting under an accumulation of injuries, +and weak in moral principle, might easily take it into his head that the +American cause was lost, and that he had better carve out a new career +for himself, while wreaking vengeance on his enemies. Such seems to have +been the case with Benedict Arnold. He had a great and well-earned +reputation for skill and bravery. His military services up to the time +of Burgoyne's surrender had been of priceless value, and he had always +stood high in Washington's favour. But he had a genius for getting into +quarrels, and there seem always to have been people who doubted his +moral soundness. At the same time he had good reason to complain of the +treatment which he received from Congress. The party hostile to +Washington sometimes liked to strike at him in the persons of his +favourite generals, and such admirable men as Greene and Morgan had to +bear the brunt of this ill feeling. Early in 1777 five brigadier +generals junior to Arnold in rank and vastly inferior to him in ability +and reputation had been promoted over him to the grade of major-general. +On this occasion he had shown an excellent spirit, and when sent by +Washington to the aid of Schuyler, he had signified his willingness to +serve under St. Clair and Lincoln, two of the juniors<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span> who had been +raised above him. Arnold was a warm friend to Schuyler, and perhaps did +not take enough pains to conceal his poor opinion of Gates. Other +officers in the northern army let it plainly be seen that they placed +more confidence in Arnold than in Gates, and the result was a bitter +quarrel between the two generals, echoes of which were probably +afterwards heard in Congress.</p> + +<p>If Arnold's wound on the field of Saratoga had been a mortal wound, he +would have been ranked, among the military heroes of the Revolution, +next to Washington and Greene. Perhaps, however, in a far worse sense +than is commonly conveyed by the term, it proved to be his death-wound, +for it led to his being placed in command of Philadelphia. He was +assigned to that position because his wounded leg made him unfit for +active service. Congress had restored him to his relative rank, but now +he soon got into trouble with the state government of Pennsylvania. It +is not easy to determine how much ground there may have been for the +charges brought against him early in 1779 by the state government. One +of them concerned his personal honesty, the others were so trivial in +character as to make the whole affair look somewhat like a case of +persecution. They were twice investigated, once by a committee of +Congress and once by a court-martial. On the serious charge, which +affected his pecuniary integrity, he was acquitted; on two of the +trivial<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span> charges, of imprudence in the use of some public wagons, and of +carelessness in granting a pass for a ship, he was convicted and +sentenced to be reprimanded. The language in which Washington couched +the reprimand showed his feeling that Arnold was too harshly dealt with.</p> + +<p>If the matter had stopped here, posterity would probably have shared +Washington's feeling. But the government of Pennsylvania must have had +stronger grounds for distrust of Arnold than it was able to put into the +form of definite charges. Soon after his arrival in Philadelphia he fell +in love with a beautiful Tory lady, to whom he was presently married. He +was thus thrown much into the society of Tories and was no doubt +influenced by their views. He had for some time considered himself +ill-treated, and at first thought of leaving the service and settling +upon a grant of land in western New York. Then, as the charges against +him were pressed and his anger increased, he seems to have dallied with +the notion of going over to the British. At length in the early summer +of 1780, after the reprimand, his treasonable purpose seems to have +taken definite shape. As General Monk in 1660 decided that the only way +to restore peace in England was to desert the cause of the Commonwealth +and bring back Charles II., so Arnold seems now to have thought that the +cause of American independence was ruined, and that the best prospect +for a career for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span> himself lay in deserting it and helping to bring back +the rule of George III. In this period of general depression, when even +the unconquerable Washington said "I have almost ceased to hope," one +staggering blow would be very likely to end the struggle. There could be +no heavier blow than the loss of the Hudson river, and with baseness +almost incredible Arnold asked for the command of West Point, with the +intention of betraying it into the hands of Sir Henry Clinton. The depth +of his villainy on this occasion makes it probable that there were good +grounds for the suspicions with which some people had for a long time +regarded him, although Washington, by putting him in command of the most +important position in the country, showed that his own confidence in him +was unabated. The successful execution of the plot seemed to call for a +personal interview between Arnold and Clinton's adjutant-general, Major +John André, who was entrusted with the negotiation. Such a secret +interview was extremely difficult to bring about, but it was effected on +the 21st of September, 1780. After a marvellous chapter of accidents, +André was captured just before reaching the British lines. But for his +hasty and quite unnecessary confession that he was a British officer, +which led to his being searched, the plot would in all probability have +been successful. The papers found on his person, which left no room for +doubt as to the nature<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span> of the black scheme, were sent to Washington; +the principal traitor, forewarned just in the nick of time, escaped to +the British at New York; and Major André was condemned as a spy and +hanged on the 2d of October.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of King's Mountain, Oct. 7, 1780. +</p> + +<p>Only five days after the execution of André an event occurred at the +South which greatly relieved the prevailing gloom of the situation. It +was the first of a series of victories which were soon to show that the +darkness of 1780 was the darkness that comes before dawn. After his +victory at Camden, Lord Cornwallis found it necessary to give his army +some rest from the intense August heat. In September he advanced into +North Carolina, boasting that he would soon conquer all the states south +of the Susquehanna river. But his line of march now lay far inland, and +the British armies were never able to accomplish much except in the +neighbourhood of their ships, where they could be reasonably sure of +supplies. In traversing Mecklenburg county Cornwallis soon found himself +in a very hostile and dangerous region, where there were no Tories to +befriend him. One of his best partisan commanders, Major Ferguson, +penetrated too far into the mountains. The backwoodsmen of Tennessee and +Kentucky, the Carolinas, and western Virginia were aroused; and under +their superb partisan leaders—Shelby, Sevier, Cleaveland, McDowell, +Campbell, and Williams—gave<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">172</a></span> chase to Ferguson, who took refuge upon +what he deemed an impregnable position on the top of King's Mountain. On +the 7th of October the backwoodsmen stormed the mountain, Ferguson was +shot through the heart, 400 of his men were killed and wounded, and all +the rest, 700 in number, surrendered at discretion. The Americans lost +28 killed and 60 wounded. There were some points in this battle, which +remind one of the British defeat at Majuba Hill in southern Africa in +1881.</p> + +<p>In the series of events which led to the surrender of Cornwallis, the +battle of King's Mountain played a part similar to that played by the +battle of Bennington in the series of events which led to the surrender +of Burgoyne. It was the enemy's first serious disaster, and its +immediate result was to check his progress until the Americans could +muster strength enough to overthrow him. The events, however, were much +more complicated in Cornwallis's case, and took much longer to unfold +themselves. Burgoyne surrendered within nine anxious weeks after +Bennington; Cornwallis maintained himself, sometimes with fair hopes of +final victory, for a whole year after King's Mountain.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em"> +<a name="illus-005" id="illus-005"></a> +<img src="images/page173map.jpg" alt="The Southern Campaign" title="" width="90%" /><br /> +</div> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Greene takes command in South Carolina, Dec. 2, 1780. +</p> + +<p>As soon as he heard the news of the disaster he fell back to +Winnsborough, in South Carolina, and called for reinforcements. While +they were arriving, the American army, recruited and reorganized<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span> +since its crushing defeat at Camden, advanced into Mecklenburg county. +Gates was superseded by Greene, who arrived upon the scene on the 2d of +December. Under Greene were three Virginians of remarkable +ability,—Daniel Morgan; William Washington, who was a distant cousin of +the commander-in-chief; and Henry Lee, familiarly known as "Light-horse +Harry," father of the great general, Robert Edward Lee. The little army +numbered only 2000 men, but a considerable part of them were disciplined +veterans fully a match for the British infantry.</p> + +<p>In order to raise troops in Virginia to increase this little force, +Steuben was sent down to that state. In order to interfere with such +recruiting, and to make diversions in aid of Cornwallis, detachments +from the British army were also sent by sea from New York to Virginia. +The first of these detachments, under General Leslie, had been obliged +to keep on to South Carolina, to make good the loss inflicted upon +Cornwallis at King's Mountain. To replace Leslie in Virginia, the +traitor Arnold was sent down from New York. The presence of these +subsidiary forces in Virginia was soon to influence in a decisive way +the course of events.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of the Cowpens, Jan. 17, 1781. +</p> + +<p>Greene, on reaching South Carolina, acted with boldness and originality. +He divided his little army into two bodies, one of which coöperated<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">174</a></span> +with Marion's partisans in the northeastern part of the state, and +threatened Cornwallis's communications with the coast. The other body he +sent under Morgan to the southwestward, to threaten the inland posts and +their garrisons. Thus worried on both flanks, Cornwallis presently +divided his own force, sending Tarleton with 1100 men, to dispose of +Morgan. Tarleton came up with Morgan on the 17th of January, 1781, at a +grazing-ground known as the Cowpens, not far from King's Mountain. The +battle which ensued was well fought, and on Morgan's part it was a +wonderful piece of tactics. With only 900 men in open field he +surrounded and nearly annihilated a superior force. The British lost 230 +in killed and wounded, 600 prisoners, and all their guns. Tarleton +escaped with 270 men. The Americans lost 12 killed and 61 wounded.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of Guilford, March 15, 1781. +</p> + +<p>The two battles, King's Mountain and the Cowpens, deprived Cornwallis of +nearly all his light-armed troops, and he was just entering upon a game +where swiftness was especially required. It was his object to intercept +Morgan and defeat him before he could effect a junction with the other +part of the American army. It was Greene's object to march the two parts +of his army in converging directions northward across North Carolina and +unite them in spite of Cornwallis. By moving in this direction Greene +was always getting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span> nearer to his reinforcements from Virginia, while +Cornwallis was always getting further from his supports in South +Carolina. It was brilliant strategy on Greene's part, and entirely +successful. Cornwallis had to throw away a great deal of his baggage and +otherwise weaken himself, but in spite of all he could do, he was +outmarched. The two wings of the American army came together and were +joined by the reinforcements; so that at Guilford Court House, on the +15th of March, Cornwallis found himself obliged to fight against heavy +odds, two hundred miles from the coast and almost as far from the +nearest point in South Carolina at which he could get support.</p> + +<p>The battle of Guilford was admirably managed by both commanders and +stubbornly fought by the troops. At nightfall the British held the +field, with the loss of nearly one third of their number, and the +Americans were repulsed. But Cornwallis could not stay in such a place, +and could not afford to risk another battle. There was nothing for him +to do but retreat to Wilmington, the nearest point on the coast. There +he stopped and pondered.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Cornwallis retreats into Virginia. +</p> + +<p>His own force was sadly depleted, but he knew that Arnold in Virginia +was being heavily reinforced from New York. The only safe course seemed +to march northward and join in the operations in Virginia; then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span> +afterwards to return southward. This course Cornwallis pursued, arriving +at Petersburg and taking command of the troops there on the 20th of May.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Greene takes Camden, May 10, 1781. +</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Battle of Eutaw Springs, Sept. 8, 1781. +</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Greene, after pursuing Cornwallis for about fifty miles from +Guilford, faced about and marched with all speed upon Camden, a hundred +and sixty miles distant. Whatever his adversary might do, he was now +going to seize the great prize of the campaign, and break the enemy's +hold upon South Carolina. Lord Rawdon held Camden. Greene stopped at +Hobkirk's Hill, two miles to the north, and sent Marion and Lee to take +Fort Watson, and thus cut the enemy's communications with the coast. On +April 23 Fort Watson surrendered; on the 25th Rawdon defeated Greene at +Hobkirk's Hill, but as his communications were cut, the victory did him +no good. He was obliged to retreat toward the coast, and Greene took +Camden on the 10th of May. Having thus obtained the commanding point, +Greene went on until he had reduced every one of the inland posts. At +last on the 8th of September he fought an obstinate battle at Eutaw +Springs, in which both sides claimed the victory. The facts were that he +drove the British from their first position, but they rallied upon a +second position from which he failed to drive them. Here, however, as +always after<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span> one of Greene's battles, it was the enemy who retreated +and he who pursued. His strategy never failed. After Eutaw Springs the +British remained shut up in Charleston under cover of their ships, and +the American government was reëstablished over South Carolina. Among all +the campaigns in history that have been conducted with small armies, +there have been few, if any, more brilliant than Greene's.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Lafayette and Cornwallis in Virginia, May-Sept., 1781. +</p> + +<p>There was something especially piquant in the way in which after +Guilford he left Cornwallis to himself. It reminds one of a chess-player +who first gets the queen off the board, where she can do no harm, and +then wins the game against the smaller pieces. As for Cornwallis, when +he reached Petersburg, May 20, he found himself at the head of 5000 men. +Arnold had just been recalled to New York, and Lafayette, who had been +sent down to oppose him, was at Richmond with 3000 men. A campaign of +nine weeks ensued, in the first part of which Cornwallis tried to catch +Lafayette and bring him to battle. The general movement was from +Richmond up to Fredericksburg, then over toward Charlottesville, then +back to the James river, then down the north bank of the river. But +during the last part the tables were turned, and it was Lafayette, +reinforced by Wayne and Steuben, that pursued Cornwallis on his retreat +to the coast. At the end of July the British general<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span> reached Yorktown, +where he was reinforced and waited with 7000 men.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Washington's masterly movement. +</p> + +<p>We may now change our simile, and liken Cornwallis to a ball between two +bats. The first bat, which had knocked him up into Virginia, was Greene; +the second, which sent him quite out of the game, was Washington. The +remarkable movement which the latter general now proceeded to execute +would have been impossible without French coöperation. A French fleet of +overwhelming power, under the Count de Grasse, was approaching +Chesapeake bay. Washington, in readiness for it, had first moved +Rochambeau's army from Rhode Island across Connecticut to the Hudson +river. Then, as soon as all the elements of the situation were +disclosed, he left part of his force in position on the Hudson, and in a +superb march led the rest down to Virginia. Sir Henry Clinton at New +York was completely hoodwinked. He feared that the real aim of the +French fleet was New York, in which case it would be natural that an +American land-force should meet it at Staten island. Now a glance at the +map of New Jersey will show that Washington's army, starting from West +Point, could march more than half the way toward Philadelphia and still +be supposed to be aiming at Staten island. Washington was a master hand +for secrecy. When his movement was first disclosed, his own generals, as +well as Sir Henry<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span> Clinton, took it for granted that Staten island was +the point aimed at. It was not until he had passed Philadelphia that +Clinton began to surmise that he might be going down to Virginia.</p> + +<p>When this fact at length dawned upon the British commander, he made a +futile attempt at a diversion by sending Benedict Arnold to attack New +London. It was as weak as the act of a drowning man who catches at a +straw. Arnold's expedition, cruel and useless as it was, crowned his +infamy. A sad plight for a man of his power! If he had only had more +strength of character, he might now have been marching with his old +friend Washington to victory. With this wretched affair at New London, +the brilliant and wicked Benedict Arnold disappears from American +history. He died in London, in 1801, a broken-hearted and penitent man, +as his grandchildren tell us, praying God with his last breath to +forgive his awful crime.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Oct. 19, 1781. +</p> + +<p>Washington's march was so swift and so cunningly planned that nothing +could check it. On the 26th of September the situation was complete. +Washington had added his force to that of Lafayette, so that 16,000 men +blockaded Cornwallis upon the Yorktown peninsula. The great French +fleet, commanding the waters about Chesapeake bay, closed in behind and +prevented escape. It was a very unusual thing for the French thus to get +control of the water and defy the British on their own element. It<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span> was +Washington's unwearied vigilance that, after waiting long for such a +chance, had seized it without a moment's delay. As soon as Cornwallis +was thus caught between a hostile army and a hostile fleet, the problem +was solved. On the 19th of October the British army surrendered. +Washington presently marched his army back to the Hudson and made his +headquarters at Newburgh.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Overthrow of George III.'s political schemes, May, 1784. +</p> + +<p>When Lord North at his office in London heard the dismal news, he walked +up and down the room, wringing his hands and crying, "O God, it is all +over!" Yorktown was indeed decisive. In the course of the winter the +British lost Georgia. The embers of Indian warfare still smouldered on +the border, but the great War for Independence was really at an end. The +king's friends had for some time been losing strength in England, and +Yorktown completed their defeat. In March, 1782, Lord North's ministry +resigned. A succession of short-lived ministries followed; first, Lord +Rockingham's, until July, 1782; then Lord Shelburne's, until February, +1783; then, after five weeks without a government, there came into power +the strange Coalition between Fox and North, from April to December. +During these two years the king was trying to intrigue with one interest +against another so as to maintain his own personal government. With this +end in view he tried the bold experiment of dismissing the Coalition +and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">181</a></span> making the young William Pitt prime minister, without a majority in +Parliament. After a fierce constitutional struggle, which lasted all +winter, Pitt dissolved Parliament, and in the new election in May, 1784, +obtained the greatest majority ever given to an English minister. But +the victory was Pitt's and the people's, not the king's. This election +of 1784 overthrew all the cherished plans of George III. in pursuance of +which he had driven the American colonies into rebellion. It established +cabinet government more firmly than ever, so that for the next seventeen +years the real ruler of Great Britain was William Pitt.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> +<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em"> +<a name="CHAPTER_VIII." id="CHAPTER_VIII."></a> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">182</a></span> +<h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2><h3>BIRTH OF THE NATION.</h3> +</div> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The treaty of peace, 1782-83. +</p> + +<p>The year 1782 was marked by great victories for the British in the West +Indies and at Gibraltar. But they did not alter the situation in +America. The treaty of peace by which Great Britain acknowledged the +independence of the United States was made under Lord Shelburne's +ministry in the autumn of 1782, and adopted and signed by the Coalition +on the 3d of September, 1783. The negotiations were carried on at Paris +by Franklin, Jay, and John Adams, on the part of the Americans; and they +won a diplomatic victory in securing for the United States the country +between the Alleghany mountains and the Mississippi river. This was done +against the wishes of the French government, which did not wish to see +the United States become too powerful. At the same time Spain recovered +Minorca and the Floridas. France got very little except the satisfaction +of having helped in diminishing the British empire.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Troubles with the army, 1781-83. +</p> + +<p>The return of peace did not bring contentment to the Americans. Because +Congress had no means of raising a revenue or enforcing its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">183</a></span> decrees, it +was unable to make itself respected either at home or abroad. For want +of pay the army became very troublesome. In January, 1781, there had +been a mutiny of Pennsylvania and New Jersey troops which at one moment +looked very serious. In the spring of 1782 some of the officers, +disgusted with the want of efficiency in the government, seem to have +entertained a scheme for making Washington king; but Washington met the +suggestion with a stern rebuke. In March, 1783, inflammatory appeals +were made to the officers at the headquarters of the army at Newburgh. +It seems to have been intended that the army should overawe Congress and +seize upon the government until the delinquent states should contribute +the money needed for satisfying the soldiers and other public creditors. +Gates either originated this scheme or willingly lent himself to it, but +an eloquent speech from Washington prevailed upon the officers to reject +and condemn it.</p> + +<p>On the 19th of April, 1783, the eighth anniversary of Lexington, the +cessation of hostilities was formally proclaimed, and the soldiers were +allowed to go home on furloughs. The army was virtually disbanded. There +were some who thought that this ought not to be done while the British +forces still remained in New York; but Congress was afraid of the army +and quite ready to see it scattered. On the 21st of June Congress was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">184</a></span> +driven from Philadelphia by a small band of drunken soldiers clamorous +for pay. It was impossible for Congress to get money. Of the Continental +taxes assessed in 1783, only one fifth part had been paid by the middle +of 1785. After peace was made, France had no longer any end to gain by +lending us money, and European bankers, as well as European governments, +regarded American credit as dead.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Congress unable to fulfil the treaty. +</p> + +<p>There was a double provision of the treaty which could not be carried +out because of the weakness of Congress. It had been agreed that +Congress should request the state governments to repeal various laws +which they had made from time to time confiscating the property of +Tories and hindering the collection of private debts due from American +to British merchants. Congress did make such a request, but it was not +heeded. The laws hindering the payment of debts were not repealed; and +as for the Tories, they were so badly treated that between 1783 and 1785 +more than 100,000 left the country. Those from the southern states went +mostly to Florida and the Bahamas; those from the north made the +beginnings of the Canadian states of Ontario and New Brunswick. A good +many of them were reimbursed for their losses by Parliament.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +Great Britain retaliates, presuming upon the weakness of the feeling of union among the states. +</p> + +<p>When the British government saw that these provisions of the treaty were +not fulfilled, it retaliated by refusing to withdraw its troops from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">185</a></span> +the northern and western frontier posts. The British army sailed from +Charleston on the 14th of December, 1782, and from New York on the 25th +of November, 1783, but in contravention of the treaty small garrisons +remained at Ogdensburgh, Oswego, Niagara, Erie, Sandusky, Detroit, and +Mackinaw until the 1st of June, 1796. Besides this, laws were passed +which bore very severely upon American commerce, and the Americans found +it impossible to retaliate because the different states would not agree +upon any commercial policy in common. On the other hand, the states +began making commercial war upon each other, with navigation laws and +high tariffs. Such laws were passed by New York to interfere with the +trade of Connecticut, and the merchants of the latter state began to +hold meetings and pass resolutions forbidding all trade whatever with +New York.</p> + +<p>The old quarrels about territory were kept up, and in 1784 the troubles +in Wyoming and in the Green Mountains came to the very verge of civil +war. People in Europe, hearing of such things, believed that the Union +would soon fall to pieces and become the prey of foreign powers. It was +disorder and calamity of this sort that such men as Hutchinson had +feared, in case the control of Great Britain over the colonies should +cease. George III. looked upon it all with satisfaction,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">186</a></span> and believed +that before long the states would one after another become repentant and +beg to be taken back into the British empire.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The craze for paper money and the Shays rebellion, 1786. +</p> + +<p>The troubles reached their climax in 1786. Because there seemed to be no +other way of getting money, the different states began to issue their +promissory notes, and then tried to compel people by law to receive such +notes as money. There was a strong "paper money" party in all the states +except Connecticut and Delaware. The most serious trouble was in Rhode +Island and Massachusetts. In both states the farmers had been much +impoverished by the war. Many farms were mortgaged, and now and then one +was sold to satisfy creditors. The farmers accordingly clamoured for +paper money, but the merchants in towns like Boston or Providence, +understanding more about commerce, were opposed to any such miserable +makeshifts. In Rhode Island the farmers prevailed. Paper money was +issued, and harsh laws were passed against all who should refuse to take +it at its face value. The merchants refused, and in the towns nearly all +business was stopped during the summer of 1786.</p> + +<p>In the Massachusetts legislature the paper money party was defeated. +There was a great outcry among the farmers against merchants and +lawyers, and some were heard to maintain that the time had come for +wiping out all debts. In<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">187</a></span> August, 1786, the malcontents rose in +rebellion, headed by one Daniel Shays, who had been a captain in the +Continental army. They began by trying to prevent the courts from +sitting, and went on to burn barns, plunder houses, and attack the +arsenal at Springfield. The state troops were called out, under General +Lincoln, two or three skirmishes were fought, in which a few lives were +lost, and at length in February, 1787, the insurrection was suppressed.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The Mississippi question, 1786. +</p> + +<p>At that time the mouth of the Mississippi river and the country on its +western bank belonged to Spain. Kentucky and Tennessee were rapidly +becoming settled by people from Virginia and North Carolina, and these +settlers wished to trade with New Orleans. The Spanish government was +unfriendly and wished to prevent such traffic. The people of New England +felt little interest in the southwestern country or the Mississippi +river, but were very anxious to make a commercial treaty with Spain. The +government of Spain refused to make such a treaty except on condition +that American vessels should not be allowed to descend the Mississippi +river below the mouth of the Yazoo. When Congress seemed on the point of +yielding to this demand, the southern states were very angry. The New +England states were equally angry at what they called the obstinacy of +the South, and threats of secession were heard on both sides.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">188</a></span></p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The northwestern territory; the first national domain, 1780-87. +</p> + +<p>Perhaps the only thing that kept the Union from falling to pieces in +1786 was the Northwestern Territory, which George Rogers Clark had +conquered in 1779, and which skilful diplomacy had enabled us to keep +when the treaty was drawn up in 1782. Virginia claimed this territory +and actually held it, but New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut also +had claims upon it. It was the idea of Maryland that such a vast region +ought not to be added to any one state, or divided between two or three +of the states, but ought to be the common property of the Union. +Maryland had refused to ratify the Articles of Confederation until the +four states that claimed the northwestern territory should yield their +claims to the United States. This was done between 1780 and 1785, and +thus for the first time the United States government was put in +possession of valuable property which could be made to yield an income +and pay debts. This piece of property was about the first thing in which +all the American people were alike interested, after they had won their +independence. It could be opened to immigration and made to pay the +whole cost of the war and much more. During these troubled years +Congress was busy with plans for organizing this territory, which at +length resulted in the famous Ordinance of 1787 laying down fundamental +laws for the government of what has since developed into the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">189</a></span> five great +states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. While other +questions tended to break up the Union, the questions that arose in +connection with this work tended to hold it together.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The convention at Annapolis, Sept. 11, 1786. +</p> + +<p>The need for easy means of communication between the old Atlantic states +and this new country behind the mountains led to schemes which ripened +in course of time into the construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio and +the Erie canals. In discussing such schemes, Maryland and Virginia found +it necessary to agree upon some kind of commercial policy to be pursued +by both states. Then it was thought best to seize the occasion for +calling a general convention of the states to decide upon a uniform +system of regulations for commerce. This convention was held at +Annapolis in September, 1786, but only five states had sent delegates, +and so the convention adjourned after adopting an address written by +Alexander Hamilton, calling for another convention to meet at +Philadelphia on the second Monday of the following May, "to devise such +further provisions as shall appear necessary to render the constitution +of the federal government adequate to the exigencies of the Union."</p> + +<p>The Shays rebellion and the quarrel about the Mississippi river had by +this time alarmed people so that it began to be generally admitted that +the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">190</a></span> federal government must be in some way strengthened. If there were +any doubt as to this, it was removed by the action of New York. An +amendment to the Articles of Confederation had been proposed, giving +Congress the power of levying customs-duties and appointing the +collectors. By the summer of 1786 all the states except New York had +consented to this. But in order to amend the articles, unanimous consent +was necessary, and in February, 1787, New York's refusal defeated the +amendment. Congress was thus left without any immediate means of raising +a revenue, and it became quite clear that something must be done without +delay.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The Federal Convention at Philadelphia, May-Sept., 1787. +</p> + +<p>The famous Federal Convention met at Philadelphia in May, 1787, and +remained in session four months, with Washington presiding. Its work was +the framing of the government under which we are now living, and in +which the evils of the old confederation have been avoided. The trouble +had all the while been how to get the whole American people +<i>represented</i> in some body that could thus rightfully <i>tax</i> the whole +American people. This was the question which the Albany Congress had +tried to settle in 1754, and which the Federal Convention did settle in +1787.</p> + +<p>In the old confederation, starting with the Continental Congress in +1774, the government was all vested in a single body which represented +states,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">191</a></span> but did not represent individual persons. It was for that +reason that it was called a congress rather than a parliament. It was +more like a congress of European states than the legislative body of a +nation, such as the English parliament was. It had no executive and no +judiciary. It could not tax, and it could not enforce its decrees.</p> + +<p class="sidenote"> +The new government, in which the Revolution was consummated, 1789. +</p> + +<p>The new constitution changed all this by creating the House of +Representatives which stood in the same relation to the whole American +people as the legislative assembly of each single state to the people of +that state. In this body the people were represented, and could +therefore tax themselves. At the same time in the Senate the old +equality between the states was preserved. All control over commerce, +currency, and finance was lodged in this new Congress, and absolute free +trade was established between the states. In the office of President a +strong executive was created. And besides all this there was a system of +federal courts for deciding questions arising under federal laws. Most +remarkable of all, in some respects, was the power given to the federal +Supreme Court, of deciding, in special cases, whether laws passed by the +several states, or by Congress itself, were conformable to the Federal +Constitution.</p> + +<p>Many men of great and various powers played important parts in effecting +this change of government<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">192</a></span> which at length established the American +Union in such a form that it could endure; but the three who stood +foremost in the work were George Washington, James Madison, and +Alexander Hamilton. Two other men, whose most important work came +somewhat later, must be mentioned along with these, for the sake of +completeness. It was John Marshall, chief justice of the United States +from 1801 to 1835, whose profound decisions did more than those of any +later judge could ever do toward establishing the sense in which the +Constitution must be understood. It was Thomas Jefferson, president of +the United States from 1801 to 1809, whose sound democratic instincts +and robust political philosophy prevented the federal government from +becoming too closely allied with the interests of particular classes, +and helped to make it what it should be,—a "government of the people, +by the people, and for the people." In the <i>making</i> of the government +under which we live, these five names—Washington, Madison, Hamilton, +Jefferson, and Marshall—stand before all others. I mention them here +chronologically, in the order of the times at which their influence was +felt at its maximum.</p> + +<p>When the work of the Federal Convention was sanctioned by the +Continental Congress and laid before the people of the several states, +to be ratified by special conventions in each state, there was earnest +and sometimes bitter discussion. Many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">193</a></span> people feared that the new +government would soon degenerate into a tyranny. But the century and a +half of American history that had already elapsed had afforded such +noble political training for the people that the discussion was, on the +whole, more reasonable and more fruitful than any that had ever before +been undertaken by so many men. The result was the adoption of the +Federal Constitution, followed by the inauguration of George Washington, +on the 30th of April, 1789, as President of the United States. And with +this event our brief story may fitly end.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> +<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em"> +<a name="COLLATERAL" id="COLLATERAL"></a> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">195</a></span> +<h3>COLLATERAL READING.</h3> +</div> + +<p>The following books may be recommended to the reader who wishes to get a +general idea of the American Revolution:—</p> + +<p>1. <span class="smcap">General Works</span>. The most comprehensive and readable account is +contained in Mr. Fiske's larger work, <i>The American Revolution</i>, in two +volumes. The subject is best treated from the biographical point of view +in Washington Irving's <i>Life of Washington</i>, vols. i.-iv. Mr. Fiske has +abridged and condensed these four octavos into one stout duodecimo +entitled <i>Washington and his Country</i>, Boston, Ginn & Co., 1887. Our +young friends may find Frothingham's <i>Rise of the Republic</i> rather close +reading, but one can hardly name a book that will more richly reward +them for their study. Green's <i>Historical View of the Revolution</i> should +be read by every one. Carrington's <i>Battles of the Revolution</i> makes the +military operations quite clear with numerous maps. Very young readers +find it interesting to begin with Coffin's <i>Boys of Seventy-Six</i>, or C. +H. Woodman's <i>Boys and Girls of the Revolution</i>. The social life of the +time is admirably portrayed in Scudder's <i>Men and Manners in America One +Hundred Years Ago</i>. See also Thornton's <i>Pulpit of the Revolution</i>. +Lossing's <i>Field Book of the Revolution</i>—two royal octavos profusely +illustrated—is an excellent book to browse in. Lecky's <i>England in the +Eighteenth Century</i> gives an admirable statement of England's position.</p> + +<p>2. <span class="smcap">Biographies</span>. Lodge's <i>George Washington</i>, 2 vols., Scudder's <i>George +Washington</i>, Tyler's <i>Patrick Henry</i>, Tudor's <i>Otis</i>, Hosmer's <i>Samuel +Adams</i>, Morse's <i>John Adams</i>, Frothingham's <i>Warren</i>, Quincy's <i>Josiah +Quincy</i>, Parton's <i>Franklin</i> and <i>Jefferson</i>, Fonblanque's <i>Burgoyne</i>, +Lossing's <i>Schuyler</i>, Riedesel's <i>Memoirs</i>, Stone's <i>Brant</i>, Arnold's +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">196</a></span> +<i>Arnold</i>, Sargent's <i>André</i>, Kapp's <i>Steuben</i> and <i>Kalb</i>, Greene's +<i>Greene</i>, Amory's <i>Sullivan</i>, Graham's <i>Morgan</i>, Simms's <i>Marion</i>, +Abbott's <i>Paul Jones</i>, John Adams's <i>Letters to his Wife</i>, Morse's +<i>Hamilton</i>, Gay's <i>Madison</i>, Roosevelt's <i>Gouverneur Morris</i>, Russell's +<i>Fox</i>, Albemarle's <i>Rockingham</i>, Fitzmaurice's <i>Shelburne</i>, MacKnight's +<i>Burke</i>, Macaulay's essay on <i>Chatham</i>.</p> + +<p>3. <span class="smcap">Fiction</span>. Cooper's <i>Chainbearer</i>, Miss Sedgwick's <i>Linwoods</i>, +Paulding's <i>Old Continental</i>, Mrs. Child's <i>Rebels</i>, Motley's <i>Morton's +Hope</i>, Herman Melville's <i>Israel Potter</i>, Kennedy's <i>Horse Shoe +Robinson</i>. There is an account of the battle of Bunker Hill in Cooper's +<i>Lionel Lincoln</i>. Thompson's <i>Green Mountain Boys</i> gives interesting +descriptions of many of the events in that region. The border warfare is +treated in Grace Greenwood's <i>Forest Tragedy</i> and Hoffman's <i>Greyslaer</i>. +Simms's <i>Partisan</i> and <i>Mellichampe</i> deal with events in South Carolina +in 1780, and later events are covered in his <i>Scout</i>, <i>Katharine +Walford</i>, <i>Woodcraft</i>, <i>Forayers</i>, and <i>Eutaw</i>. See also Miss Sedgwick's +<i>Walter Thornley</i>, and Cooper's <i>Pilot</i> and <i>Spy</i>, and H. C. Watson's +<i>Camp Fires of the Revolution</i>. The scenes of <i>Paul and Persis</i>, by Mary +E. Brush, are laid in the Mohawk Valley.</p> + +<p>For further references, see Justin Winsor's <i>Reader's Handbook of the +American Revolution</i>, a book which is absolutely indispensable to every +one who wishes to study the subject.</p> + +<hr class="major" /> +<div style="margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em"> +<a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a> +<h3>INDEX.</h3> +</div> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Adams, John, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.<br /> +Adams, Samuel, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.<br /> +Aix-la-Chapelle, treaty of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.<br /> +Albany Congress, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.<br /> +Albany Plan, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.<br /> +Algonquins, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>-<a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.<br /> +Alleghany mountains, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<br /> +Allen, Ethan, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.<br /> +André John, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.<br /> +Andros, Sir Edmund, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.<br /> +Annapolis convention, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.<br /> +Antislavery feeling, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.<br /> +Armada, the Invincible, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.<br /> +Armed Neutrality, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.<br /> +Army, continental, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em">disbanded, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</span><br /> +Arnold, Benedict, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>-<a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.<br /> +Ashe, Samuel, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.<br /> +Attucks, Crispus, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.<br /> +Augusta, Ga., <a href="#Page_163">163</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Bacon's rebellion, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.<br /> +Baltimore, Congress flees to, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.<br /> +Barons' War, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.<br /> +Barré, Isaac, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.<br /> +Barter, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.<br /> +Baum, Col., <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.<br /> +Bemis Heights, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.<br /> +Bennington, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.<br /> +Berkeley, Sir W., <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.<br /> +Bernard, Sir F., <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.<br /> +Boston, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>-<a href="#Page_47">47</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Massacre," <a href="#Page_72">72</a>-<a href="#Page_75">75</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Tea Party," <a href="#Page_79">79</a>-<a href="#Page_83">83</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Port Bill, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">siege of, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>-<a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</span><br /> +Braddock, Edward, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.<br /> +Brandywine, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.<br /> +Brant, Joseph, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.<br /> +Breymann, Col., <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.<br /> +Briar Creek, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.<br /> +Brooklyn Heights, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>-<a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.<br /> +Bunker Hill, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.<br /> +Burgoyne, John, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>-<a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>-<a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.<br /> +Burlington, N. J., <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.<br /> +Burke, Edmund, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.<br /> +Butler, Col. John, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.<br /> +Butts Hill, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.<br /> +Byron, Admiral, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Cahokia, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.<br /> +Calvert family, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.<br /> +Camden, Lord, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.<br /> +Camden, S. C., <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.<br /> +Campbell, Col. William, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.<br /> +Canada, invasion of, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.<br /> +Canals, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.<br /> +Carleton, Sir Guy, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.<br /> +Carlisle, Pa., <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.<br /> +Carr, Dabney, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br /> +Castle William, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.<br /> +Caudine Fork, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.<br /> +Cavaliers, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.<br /> +Cavendish, Lord John, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.<br /> +Charles II., <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.<br /> +Charleston, S. C., <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.<br /> +Charlestown, Mass., <a href="#Page_86">86</a><br /> +Chase, Samuel, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.<br /> +Cherry Valley, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.<br /> +Choiseul, Duke de, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.<br /> +Clark, George Rogers, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.<br /> +Cleaveland, Col., <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.<br /> +Cleveland, Grover, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>.<br /> +Clinton, Sir H., <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>-<a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>-<a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.<br /> +Coalition ministry, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.<br /> +Cobden, Richard, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.<br /> +Colonial trade, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>-<a href="#Page_44">44</a>.<br /> +Committees of correspondence, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br /> +Commons, House of, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>-<a href="#Page_61">61</a>.<br /> +Concord, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br /> +Congress, Continental, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>-<a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>-<a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>-<a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.<br /> +Congress, Stamp Act, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.<br /> +Connecticut, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.<br /> +Conway, Henry, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.<br /> +Conway Cabal, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.<br /> +Cornwallis, Lord, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>-<a href="#Page_180">180</a>.<br /> +Cowpens, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>.<br /> +Cromwell, Oliver, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.<br /> +Crown Point, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.<br /> +Currency, Continental, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Deane, Silas, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.<br /> +Declaration of Independence, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>-<a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.<br /> +Declaratory Act, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.<br /> +Delaware, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.<br /> +Delaware river, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.<br /> +Denmark, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.<br /> +Desertions, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.<br /> +D'Estaing, Count, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>-<a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.<br /> +Dickinson, John, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.<br /> +Discovery, French doctrine of, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<br /> +Dorchester Heights, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.<br /> +Dunmore, Lord, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +"Early" American history, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.<br /> +Edinburgh, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.<br /> +Elkton, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.<br /> +Elmira, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.<br /> +Eutaw Springs, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Fairfield, Conn., <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.<br /> +Federal convention, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.<br /> +Ferguson, Major, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.<br /> +Five Nations, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.<br /> +Flamborough Head, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.<br /> +Fort Duquesne, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Edward, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lee, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>-<a href="#Page_116">116</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Moultrie, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Necessity, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Niagara, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stanwix, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>-<a href="#Page_137">137</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Washington, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>-<a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Watson, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</span><br /> +Forts on the Delaware, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.<br /> +Fox, Charles, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.<br /> +Franklin, Benjamin, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.<br /> +Franklin, William, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.<br /> +Fraser, Gen., <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.<br /> +Frederick the Great, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.<br /> +French power in Canada, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>-<a href="#Page_38">38</a>.<br /> +Frontenac, Count, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.<br /> +Frontier between English and French colonies, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Gage, Thomas, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.<br /> +Gansevoort, Peter, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.<br /> +Gaspee, schooner, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.<br /> +Gates, Horatio, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.<br /> +George III., his character and schemes, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>-<a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">glee over news from Ticonderoga, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">tries to make an alliance with Russia, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his schemes overthrown, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</span><br /> +Georgia, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.<br /> +Germaine, Lord George, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.<br /> +Germantown, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.<br /> +Gibraltar, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.<br /> +Gladstone, W. E., <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.<br /> +Governments of the colonies, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>-<a href="#Page_16">16</a>.<br /> +Grasse, Count de, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.<br /> +Green Mountains, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.<br /> +Greene, Nathanael, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>-<a href="#Page_177">177</a>.<br /> +Grenville, George, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.<br /> +Gridley, Jeremiah, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.<br /> +Guilford Court House, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Hackensack, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.<br /> +Hale, Nathan, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.<br /> +Hamilton, commandant at Detroit, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.<br /> +Hamilton, Alexander, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.<br /> +Hancock, John, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.<br /> +Harlem Heights, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.<br /> +Harrison, Benjamin, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.<br /> +Hastings, Warren, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.<br /> +Heath, William, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.<br /> +Henry VIII., <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.<br /> +Henry, Patrick, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.<br /> +Herkimer, Nicholas, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> +Hessian troops, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.<br /> +Hobkirk's Hill, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.<br /> +Holland and Great Britain, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.<br /> +Hopkins, Stephen, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.<br /> +Howe, Richard, Lord, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.<br /> +Howe, Sir William, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>-<a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>-<a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.<br /> +Hubbardton, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.<br /> +Hudson river, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.<br /> +Hutchinson, Thomas, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.<br /> +Hyder, Ali, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Impost amendment defeated by New York, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.<br /> +Indian tribes, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.<br /> +Iroquois, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Jay, John, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.<br /> +Jefferson, Thomas, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.<br /> +Jeffreys, George, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.<br /> +Johnson, Sir John, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.<br /> +Johnson, Sir William, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.<br /> +Johnson Hall, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.<br /> +Jones, David, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.<br /> +Jones, Paul, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Kalb, John, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.<br /> +Kaskaskia, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.<br /> +Kentucky, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.<br /> +King's friends, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.<br /> +King's Mountain, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>.<br /> +Kirkland, Samuel, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.<br /> +Kosciuszko, Thaddeus, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Lafayette, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.<br /> +Land Bank, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.<br /> +Lee, Arthur, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.<br /> +Lee, Charles, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>-<a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>-<a href="#Page_152">152</a>.<br /> +Lee, Henry, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.<br /> +Lee, Richard Henry, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.<br /> +Lee, Robert Edward, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.<br /> +Leslie, Gen., <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.<br /> +Leuktra, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.<br /> +Lexington, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.<br /> +Lincoln, Abraham, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.<br /> +Lincoln, Benjamin, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>-<a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.<br /> +Livingston, Robert, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.<br /> +Long House, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.<br /> +Long Island, battle of, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.<br /> +Lords proprietary, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.<br /> +Louis XV., <a href="#Page_31">31</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Macaulay, Lord, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.<br /> +McCrea, Jane, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.<br /> +McDowell, Col., <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.<br /> +McNeil, Mrs., <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.<br /> +Madison, James, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.<br /> +Mahratta war, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.<br /> +Majuba Hill, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.<br /> +Manchester, Vt., <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.<br /> +Marion, Francis, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>.<br /> +Marshall, John, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.<br /> +Martha's Vineyard, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.<br /> +Martin, Josiah, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.<br /> +Maryland, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.<br /> +Massachusetts, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.<br /> +Mecklenburg county, N. C., <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.<br /> +Minden, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.<br /> +Minisink, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.<br /> +Minorca, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.<br /> +Mississippi valley, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.<br /> +Mobilians, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<br /> +Molasses Act, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>-<a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.<br /> +Monk, Gen., <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.<br /> +Monmouth, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.<br /> +Montgomery, Richard, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.<br /> +Morgan, Daniel, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>.<br /> +Morris, Robert, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.<br /> +Morristown, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.<br /> +Moultrie, William, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +New England colonies, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>-<a href="#Page_8">8</a>.<br /> +New Hampshire, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.<br /> +New Haven, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.<br /> +New Jersey, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.<br /> +New Whigs, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>-<a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.<br /> +New York, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.<br /> +Newburgh, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.<br /> +Norfolk, Va., <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.<br /> +North, Lord, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>-<a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.<br /> +North Carolina, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>-<a href="#Page_175">175</a>.<br /> +Northcastle, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.<br /> +Northwestern Territory, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.<br /> +Nullification of the Regulating Act, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.<br /> +Norwalk, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Ohio, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.<br /> +Ohio Company, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.<br /> +Old Sarum, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.<br /> +Old South church, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.<br /> +Old Whigs, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>-<a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.<br /> +Otis, James, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>-<a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Paper money, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.<br /> +Parker, Sir Peter, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.<br /> +Parsons' Cause, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.<br /> +Paxton, Charles, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.<br /> +Pendleton, Edmund, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.<br /> +Penn family, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.<br /> +Pennsylvania, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.<br /> +Pensacola, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.<br /> +Periods in history, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.<br /> +Petersburg, Va., <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.<br /> +Petition (last) to the king, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.<br /> +Petty William (Earl of Shelburne), <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.<br /> +Philadelphia, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>-<a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.<br /> +Pigott, Sir Robert, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.<br /> +Pitt, William (Earl of Chatham), <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.<br /> +Pitt, William, the younger, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.<br /> +Pontiac's war, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.<br /> +Pownall, Thomas, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.<br /> +Preston, Capt., <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.<br /> +Prevost, Gen., <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.<br /> +Princeton, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.<br /> +Proprietary government, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.<br /> +Protectionist legislation, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.<br /> +Pulaski, Casimir, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.<br /> +Putnam, Israel, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Rawdon, Lord, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.<br /> +Reform, parliamentary, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>-<a href="#Page_63">63</a>.<br /> +Regulating Act, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">repealed, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</span><br /> +Representation in England, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>-<a href="#Page_61">61</a>.<br /> +Requisitions, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.<br /> +Retaliatory acts, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">repealed, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</span><br /> +Revere, Paul, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br /> +Rhode Island, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.<br /> +Riedesel, Gen., <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.<br /> +Riots in Boston, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.<br /> +Rochambeau, Count, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.<br /> +Rockingham, Lord, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.<br /> +Rodney, Cæsar, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.<br /> +Rodney, George, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.<br /> +Rotten boroughs, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.<br /> +Royal governors, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>-<a href="#Page_18">18</a>.<br /> +Russell, Lord John, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.<br /> +Russell, Lord William, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.<br /> +Russia, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.<br /> +Rutledge, Edward, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.<br /> +Rutledge, John, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +St. Clair, Arthur, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.<br /> +St. Eustatius, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.<br /> +St. Leger, Harry, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>-<a href="#Page_137">137</a>.<br /> +Salaries, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>-<a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>-<a href="#Page_68">68</a>.<br /> +Savannah, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.<br /> +Savile, Sir George, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.<br /> +Schuyler, Philip, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>-<a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> +Secession, threats of, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.<br /> +Senegambia, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.<br /> +Sevier, John, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.<br /> +Shays rebellion, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.<br /> +Shelburne, Lord, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.<br /> +Shelby, Isaac, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.<br /> +Shirley, William, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.<br /> +Sidney, Algernon, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.<br /> +Silver bank, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.<br /> +Six Nations, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.<br /> +Snyder, Christopher, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.<br /> +Sons of Liberty, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.<br /> +South Carolina, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>-<a href="#Page_177">177</a>.<br /> +Spain declares war with Great Britain, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.<br /> +Spanish possessions in North America, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.<br /> +Spotswood, Alexander, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.<br /> +Stamp Act, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.<br /> +Stark, John, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.<br /> +Staten Island, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.<br /> +Steuben, Baron, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.<br /> +Stillwater, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.<br /> +Stirling, William Alexander, called Lord, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.<br /> +Stony Point, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.<br /> +Strachey, Sir Henry, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.<br /> +Stuart Kings, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.<br /> +Suffolk resolves, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.<br /> +Sullivan, John, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>-<a href="#Page_155">155</a>.<br /> +Sumter, Thomas, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.<br /> +Sunbury, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.<br /> +Supreme court, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.<br /> +Sweden, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Tarleton, Banastre, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>.<br /> +Taxation, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>-<a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>-<a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.<br /> +Tea Party, Boston, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>-<a href="#Page_83">83</a>.<br /> +Tennessee, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.<br /> +Throg's Neck, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.<br /> +Ticonderoga, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.<br /> +Tories, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.<br /> +Town meetings, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.<br /> +Townshend Acts, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>-<a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">repealed, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</span><br /> +Treaty of peace, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.<br /> +Tuscaroras, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Union, want of, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>-<a href="#Page_191">191</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Valcour, Island, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.<br /> +Venango, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.<br /> +Vincennes, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.<br /> +Virginia, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Walpole, Sir Robert, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.<br /> +War expenses, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>-<a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.<br /> +Ward, Artemas, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.<br /> +Warner, Seth, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.<br /> +Warren, Joseph, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br /> +Washington, George, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his mission to Venango, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">surrenders Fort Necessity, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in Virginia legislature, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in the Continental Congress, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed to command the army, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">not yet in favour of independence, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">takes command at Cambridge, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">takes Boston, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">addressed by Lord Howe, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his character as general and statesman, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">withdraws his army from Brooklyn Heights, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">masterly campaign in New York and New Jersey, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>-<a href="#Page_122">122</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">endeavours to secure an efficient regular army, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>-<a href="#Page_125">125</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">campaign of June, 1777, in New Jersey, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Brandywine and Germantown, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">intrigues of his enemies, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Monmouth, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sends a force against the Iroquois, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stony Point, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his favourite generals often ill used by Congress, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his superb march and capture of Yorktown, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>-<a href="#Page_180">180</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">scheme for making him king, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">elected first president of the United States, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</span><br /> +Washington, William, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.<br /> +Wayne, Anthony, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.<br /> +Webster, Daniel, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.<br /> +West Point, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.<br /> +Western frontier posts, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.<br /> +White Plains, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.<br /> +Wildcat banks, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.<br /> +William III., <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.<br /> +Williams, James, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.<br /> +Wilson, James, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.<br /> +Winchester, Va., <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.<br /> +Winnsborough, S. C., <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.<br /> +Wright, Sir James, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.<br /> +Writs of assistance, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.<br /> +Wyoming, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>. <a href="#Page_186">186</a>. +</p> + +<p class="ixbreak"> +Yorktown, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>-<a href="#Page_180">180</a>.<br /> +</p> + +<hr class='major' /> + +<h3>HISTORY TEXT BOOKS</h3> + +<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 0">TAPPAN'S AMERICAN HERO STORIES</p> +<p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 2em"><b>American Hero Stories.</b> Twenty-nine stories of the great figures in +American history. The arrangement is chronological, and the men told +about include explorers, colonists, pioneers, soldiers, presidents, etc. +With 75 unusually interesting Illustrations. Cloth, crown 8vo, 265 +pages, 55 cents, <i>net.</i></p> + +<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 0">TAPPAN'S OUR COUNTRY'S STORY</p> +<p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 2em"><b>Our Country's Story.</b> A connected account of the course of events in +United States history. Available as a stepping-stone to Fiske's History +of the United States for Schools, etc. With 265 Illustrations and Maps +in black and white, and 2 Maps in colors. Cloth, square 12mo, 267 pages, +65 cents, <i>net.</i></p> + +<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 0">FISKE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES</p> +<p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 2em"><b>A History of the United States for Schools.</b> With 234 Illustrations and +Maps in black and white, and 8 Maps in colors, of which 2 are +double-page maps. Half leather, crown 8vo, 573 pages, $1.00, <i>net.</i></p> + +<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 0">LARNED'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES</p> +<p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 2em"><b>A History of the United States for Secondary Schools.</b> With 36 Maps in +the text and 17 full-page or double-page Maps. Half leather, crown 8vo, +717 pages, $1.40, <i>net.</i></p> + +<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 0">TAPPAN'S ENGLAND'S STORY</p> +<p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 2em"><b>England's Story: A History of England for Grammar Schools.</b> With +Summaries and Genealogies, over 100 Illustrations in black and white, +and 5 maps in colors. Cloth, crown 8vo, 370 pages, 85 cents, <i>net.</i></p> + +<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 0">LARNED'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND</p> +<p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 2em"><b>A History of England for the use of Schools and Academies.</b> With 144 +Illustrations and Maps in black and white, and 8 Maps in colors, of +which four are double-page maps. Half leather, crown 8vo, 675 pp., +$1.25, <i>net.</i></p> + +<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 0">JOHNSTON AND SPENCER'S IRELAND'S STORY</p> +<p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 2em"><b>Ireland's Story.</b> By <span class="smcap">Charles Johnston</span> and <span class="smcap">Carita Spencer</span>. Crown 8vo, 389 +pages. Fully illustrated. <i>School Edition</i>, $1.10, <i>net.</i> Postpaid.</p> + +<p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 0">PLOETZ'S EPITOME</p> +<p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 2em"><b>Epitome of Ancient, Mediæval, and Modern History.</b> Translated and +enlarged by <span class="smcap">William H. Tillinghast</span>. Newly revised, with Additions +covering Recent Events. Crown 8vo, $3.00.</p> + +<hr class='minor' /> + +<p class="center" style="font-size: larger">HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY<br /> +BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO</p> + +<hr class='major' /> + +<h3>Riverside Literature Series</h3> + +<h4><i>All prices are net, postpaid.</i></h4> + +<p class="rls">1. Longfellow's Evangeline. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25. Nos. 1, 4, and 30, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .50.</p> +<p class="rls">2. Longfellow's Courtship of Miles Standish; Elizabeth. <i>Pa.</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">3. A Dramatization of The Courtship of Miles Standish. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">4. Whittier's Snow-Bound, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">5. Whittier's Mabel Martin, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15. Nos. 4, 5, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">6. Holmes's Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill Battle, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25. Nos. 6, 31, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">7, 8, 9. Hawthorne's Grandfather's Chair. In three parts. Each, <i>paper</i>, .15. Nos. 7, 8, 9, complete, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .50.</p> +<p class="rls">10. Hawthorne's Biographical Series. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25. Nos. 29, 10, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">11. Longfellow's Children's Hour, etc. <i>Pa.</i>, .15. Nos. 11, 63, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">12. Outlines—Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, and Lowell. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">13, 14. Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha. In two parts, each, <i>paper</i>, .15. Nos. 13, 14, complete, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">15. Lowell's Under the Old Elm, etc. <i>Pa.</i>, .15. Nos. 30, 15, one vol., <i>lin.</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">16. Bayard Taylor's Lars. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">17, 18. Hawthorne's Wonder-Book. In two parts, each <i>paper</i>, .15. Nos. 17,</p> +<p class="rls">18, complete, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">19, 20. Franklin's Autobiography. In two parts, each, <i>paper</i>, .15. Nos. 19, 20, complete, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">21. Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">22, 23. Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales. In two parts, each, <i>paper</i>, .15. Nos.</p> +<p class="rls">22, 23, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">24. Washington's Farewell Addresses, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">25, 26. Longfellow's Golden Legend. In two parts, each, <i>paper</i>, .15. Nos. 25,</p> +<p class="rls">26, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">27. Thoreau's Forest Trees, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15. Nos. 28, 37, 27, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .50.</p> +<p class="rls">28. Burroughs's Birds and Bees. <i>Paper</i>, .15. Nos. 28, 36, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">29. Hawthorne's Little Daffydowndilly, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">30. Lowell's Vision of Sir Launfal, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">31. Holmes's My Hunt after the Captain, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">32. Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15. Nos. 133, 32, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">33, 34, 35. Longfellow's Tales of a Wayside Inn. In three parts, each, <i>pa.</i>, .15. Nos. 33, 34, 35, complete, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .50.</p> +<p class="rls">36. Burroughs's Sharp Eyes, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">37. Warner's A-Hunting of the Deer, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">38. Longfellow's Building of the Ship, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">39. Lowell's Books and Libraries, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15. Nos. 39, 123, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">40. Hawthorne's Tales of the White Hills, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15. Nos. 40, 69, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">41. Whittier's Tent on the Beach, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">42. Emerson's Fortune of the Republic, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">43. Ulysses among the Phæacians. <span class="smcap">Bryant</span>. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">44. Edgeworth's Waste Not, Want Not, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">45. Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25</p> +<p class="rls">46. Old Testament Stories in Scripture Language. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">47, 48. Scudder's Fables and Folk Stories. In two parts, each, <i>paper</i>, .15. Nos. 47, 48, complete, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">49, 50. Andersen's Stories. In two parts, each, <i>paper</i>, .15. Nos. 49, 50, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">51. Irving's Rip Van Winkle, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">52. Irving's The Voyage, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15. Nos. 51, 52, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">53. Scott's Lady of the Lake. <i>Paper</i>, .30. <i>Also, in Rolfe's Students' Series, to Teachers</i>, .53.</p> +<p class="rls">54. Bryant's Thanatopsis, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">55. Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25. Nos. 55, 67, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">56. Webster's First Bunker Hill Oration, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">57. Dickens's Christmas Carol. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">58. Dickens's Cricket on the Hearth. <i>Pa.</i>, .15; Nos. 57, 58, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">59. Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">60, 61. Addison and Steele's The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers. In two parts. Each, <i>paper</i>, .15. Nos. 60, 61, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">62. Fiske's War of Independence. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">63. Longfellow's Paul Revere's Ride, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">64, 65, 66. Lambs' Tales from Shakespeare. In three parts, each, <i>paper</i>, .40. Nos. 64, 65, 66, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .50.</p> +<p class="rls">67. Shakespeare's Julius Cæsar. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">68. Goldsmith's Deserted Village, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">69. Hawthorne's The Old Manse, etc. <i>Pa.</i>, .15. Nos. 40, 69, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">70. A Selection from Whittier's Child Life in Poetry. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">71. A Selection from Whittier's Child Life in Prose. <i>Paper</i>, .15. Nos 70, 71, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">72. Milton's Minor Poems. <i>Pa.</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25. Nos. 72, 94, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">73. Tennyson's Enoch Arden, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">74. Gray's Elegy, etc.; Cowper's John Gilpin, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">75. Scudder's George Washington. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">76. Wordsworth's On the Intimations of Immortality, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">77. Burns's Cotter's Saturday Night, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">78. Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">79. Lamb's Old China, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">80. Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, etc.; Campbell's Lochiel's Warning, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">81. Holmes's Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table. <i>Paper</i>, .45; <i>linen</i>, .50.</p> +<p class="rls">82. Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales. <i>Paper</i>, .50; <i>linen</i>, .60.</p> +<p class="rls">83. Eliot's Silas Marner. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">84. Dana's Two Years Before the Mast. <i>Linen</i>, .60.</p> +<p class="rls">85. Hughes's Tom Brown's School Days. <i>Paper</i>, .45; <i>linen</i>, .50.</p> +<p class="rls">86. Scott's Ivanhoe. <i>Paper</i>, .50; <i>linen</i>, .60.</p> +<p class="rls">87. Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. <i>Paper</i>, .50; <i>linen</i>, .60.</p> +<p class="rls">88. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. <i>Linen</i>, .60.</p> +<p class="rls">89. Swift's Gulliver's Voyage to Lilliput. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">90. Swift's Gulliver's Voyage to Brobdingnag. <i>Paper</i>, .15. Nos. 89, 90, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">91. Hawthorne's House of the Seven Gables. <i>Paper</i>, .50; <i>linen</i>, .60.</p> +<p class="rls">92. Burroughs's A Bunch of Herbs, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">93. Shakespeare's As You Like It. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">94. Milton's Paradise Lost. Books I-III. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">95, 96, 97, 98. Cooper's Last of the Mohicans. In four parts, each, <i>paper</i>, .15. Nos. 95-98, complete, <i>linen</i>, .60.</p> +<p class="rls">99. Tennyson's Coming of Arthur, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">100. Burke's Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies. <i>Pa.</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">101. Pope's Iliad. Books I, VI, XXII, XXIV. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">102. Macaulay's Johnson and Goldsmith. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">103. Macaulay's Essay on John Milton, <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">104. Macaulay's Life and Writings of Addison. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25. Nos. 103, 104, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">105. Carlyle's Essay on Burns. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">106. Shakespeare's Macbeth. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">107, 108. Grimms' Tales. In two parts, each, <i>paper</i>, .15. Nos. 107, 108, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">109. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">110. De Quincey's Flight of a Tartar Tribe. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">111. Tennyson's Princess. <i>Paper</i>, .30. <i>Also, in Rolfe's Students' Series to Teachers</i>, .53.</p> +<p class="rls">112. Virgil's Æneid. Books I-III. Translated by <span class="smcap">Cranch</span>. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">113. Poems from Emerson. <i>Paper</i>, .15. Nos. 113, 42, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">114. Peabody's Old Greek Folk Stories. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">115. Browning's Pied Piper of Hamelin, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">116. Shakespeare's Hamlet. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">117, 118. Stories from the Arabian Nights. In two parts, each, <i>paper</i>, .15. Nos. 117, 118, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">119. Poe's The Raven, The Fall of the House of Usher, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">120. Poe's The Gold-Bug, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15. Nos. 119, 120, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">121. Speech by Robert Young Hayne on Foote's Resolution. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">122. Speech by Daniel Webster in Reply to Hayne. <i>Paper</i>, .15. Nos. 121, 122, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">123. Lowell's Democracy, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15. Nos. 39, 123, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">124. Aldrich's Baby Bell, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">125. Dryden's Palamon and Arcite. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">126. Ruskin's King of the Golden River, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">127. Keats's Ode on a Grecian Urn, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">128. Byron's Prisoner of Chillon, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">129. Plato's Judgment of Socrates. Translated by <span class="smcap">P. E. Morn</span>. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">130. Emerson's The Superlative, and Other Essays. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">131. Emerson's Nature, and Compensation. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">132. Arnold's Sohrab and Rustum, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">133. Schurz's Abraham Lincoln. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">134. Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel. <i>Paper</i>, .30. <i>Also in Rolfe's Students' Series, to Teachers</i>, <i>net</i> .50.</p> +<p class="rls">135. Chaucer's Prologue. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">136. Chaucer's The Knight's Tale, and The Nun's Priest's Tale.<i>Paper</i>, .15. Nos. 135, 136, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">137. Bryant's Iliad. Books I, VI, XXII, and XXIV. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">138. Hawthorne's The Custom House, and Main Street. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">139. Howells's Doorstep Acquaintance, and Other Sketches. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">140. Thackeray's Henry Esmond. <i>Linen</i>, .75.</p> +<p class="rls">141. Three Outdoor Papers, by <span class="smcap">Thomas Wentworth Higginson</span>. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">142. Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">143. Plutarch's Life of Alexander the Great. North's Translation. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">144. Scudder's The Book of Legends, <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">145. Hawthorne's The Gentle Boy, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">146. Longfellow's Giles Corey. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">147. Pope's Rape of the Lock, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">148. Hawthorne's Marble Faun. <i>Linen</i>, .60.</p> +<p class="rls">149. Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">150. Ouida's Dog of Flanders, and the Nürnberg Stove. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">151. Ewing's Jackanapes, and The Brownies. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">152. Martineau's The Peasant and the Prince. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">153. Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">154. Shakespeare's Tempest. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">155. Irving's Life of Goldsmith. <i>Paper</i>, .45; <i>linen</i>, .50.</p> +<p class="rls">156. Tennyson's Gareth and Lynette, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">157. The Song of Roland. Translated by <span class="smcap">Isabel Butler</span>. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">158. Malory's Book of Merlin and Book of Sir Balin. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">159. Beowulf. Translated by <span class="smcap">C. G. Child</span>. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">160. Spenser's Faerie Queene. Book I. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">161. Dickens's Tale of Two Cities. <i>Paper</i>, .45; <i>linen</i>, .50.</p> +<p class="rls">162. Prose and Poetry of Cardinal Newman. Selections. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">163. Shakespeare's Henry V. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">164. De Quincey's Joan of Arc, and The English Mail-Coach. <i>Pa.</i>, .15; <i>lin.</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">165. Scott's Quentin Durward. <i>Paper</i>, .50; <i>linen</i>, .60.</p> +<p class="rls">166. Carlyle's Heroes and Hero-Worship. <i>Paper</i>, .45; <i>linen</i>, .50.</p> +<p class="rls">167. Norton's Memoir of Longfellow. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">168. Shelley's Poems. Selected. <i>Paper</i>, .40; <i>linen</i>, .50.</p> +<p class="rls">169. Lowell's My Garden Acquaintance, etc. <i>Paper</i>, .15.</p> +<p class="rls">170. Lamb's Essays of Elia. Selected. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">171, 172. Emerson's Essays. Selected. In two parts, each, <i>paper</i>, .15. Nos. 171, 172, one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">173. Kate Douglas Wiggin's Flag-Raising. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">174. Kate Douglas Wiggin's Finding a Home. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">175. Bliss Perry's Memoir of Whittier. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">176. Burroughs's Afoot and Afloat. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">177. Bacon's Essays. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">178. Selections from the Works of John Ruskin. <i>Paper</i>, .45; <i>linen</i>, .50.</p> +<p class="rls">179. King Arthur Stories from Malory. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">180. Palmer's Odyssey. <i>Abridged Edition.</i> <i>Linen</i>, .75.</p> +<p class="rls">181, 182. Goldsmith's The Good-Natured Man, and She Stoops to Conquer. Each, <i>paper</i>, .15; in one vol., <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">183. Old English and Scottish Ballads. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.</p> +<p class="rls">184. Shakespeare's King Lear. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">185. Moores's Abraham Lincoln. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> +<p class="rls">186. Thoreau's Katahdin and Chesuncook. <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25.</p> + +<h4><i>EXTRA NUMBERS</i></h4> +<p class="rexn"> +<i>A</i> American Authors and their Birthdays. <i>Paper</i>, .15.<br /> +<i>B</i> Portraits and Biographical Sketches of 20 American Authors. <i>Paper</i>, .15.<br /> +<i>C</i> A Longfellow Night. <i>Paper</i>, .15.<br /> +<i>D</i> Scudder's Literature in School. <i>Paper</i>, .15.<br /> +<i>E</i> Dialogue and Scenes from Harriet Beecher Stowe. <i>Paper</i>, .15.<br /> +<i>F</i> Longfellow Leaflets. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.<br /> +<i>G</i> Whittier Leaflets. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, <i>net</i>, .40.<br /> +<i>H</i> Holmes Leaflets. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.<br /> +<i>J</i> Holbrook's Northland Heroes. <i>Linen</i>, .35.<br /> +<i>K</i> The Riverside Primer and Reader. <i>Linen</i>, .30.<br /> +<i>L</i> The Riverside Song Book. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>boards</i>, .40.<br /> +<i>M</i> Lowell's Fable for Critics. <i>Paper</i>, .30.<br /> +<i>N</i> Selections from the Writings of Eleven American Authors. <i>Paper</i>, .15.<br /> +<i>O</i> Lowell Leaflets. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.<br /> +<i>P</i> Holbrook's Hiawatha Primer. <i>Linen</i>, .40.<br /> +<i>Q</i> Selections from the Writings of Eleven English Authors. <i>Paper</i>, .15.<br /> +<i>R</i> Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales. Selected. <i>Paper</i>, .20; <i>linen</i>, .30.<br /> +<i>S</i> Irving's Essays from Sketch Book. Selected. <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.<br /> +<i>T</i> Literature for the Study of Language (N. D. Course). <i>Paper</i>, .30; <i>linen</i>, .40.<br /> +<i>U</i> A Dramatization of The Song of Hiawatha. <i>Paper</i>, .15.<br /> +<i>V</i> Holbrook's Book of Nature Myths. <i>Linen</i>, .45.<br /> +<i>W</i> Brown's In the Days of Giants. <i>Linen</i>, .50.<br /> +<i>X</i> Poems for the Study of Language (Illinois Course of Study). <i>Pa.</i>, .30; <i>lin.</i>, .40.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Also in three parts, each, <i>paper</i>, .15.</span><br /> +<i>Y</i> Warner's In the Wilderness. <i>Paper</i>, .20; <i>linen</i>, .30.<br /> +<i>Z</i> Nine Selected Poems. <i>N. Y. Regents' Requirements.</i> <i>Paper</i>, .15; <i>linen</i>, .25. +</p> + +<hr class='major' /> + +<div class='tnote'><h3>Transcriber's Notes</h3> +<ol> +<li>Punctuation has been normalized to contemporary standards.</li> +<li>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</li> +<li>"The Riverside Literature Series" list consolidated from front and back flyleaf to end of etext.</li> +<li>The original book has 144 margin notes. 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Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f3f9208 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #20803 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20803) diff --git a/old/20803-8.txt b/old/20803-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..42241ac --- /dev/null +++ b/old/20803-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6441 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The War of Independence, by John Fiske + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The War of Independence + +Author: John Fiske + +Release Date: March 13, 2007 [EBook #20803] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE *** + + + + +Produced by K.D. Thornton, Bruce Albrecht, Roger Frank and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +Number 62 + +(_Double Number_) + +RIVERSIDE LITERATURE SERIES + +THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE +BY JOHN FISKE + +WITH MAPS, INDEX AND A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH + +HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON, NEW YORK, AND CHICAGO + +The Riverside Press Cambridge + +Price, paper 30 cents; linen, 40 cents + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The Riverside Literature Series + +THE +WAR OF INDEPENDENCE + +BY +JOHN FISKE + +WITH MAPS, INDEX, AND A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH + +[Decoration] + +HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY + +Boston: 4 Park Street; New York: 85 Fifth Avenue +Chicago: 378-388 Wabash Avenue + +The Riverside Press, Cambridge + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +COPYRIGHT, 1889 +BY JOHN FISKE + +COPYRIGHT, 1894 +BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. + +ALL RIGHTS RESERVED + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +PREFACE. + +This little book does not contain the substance of the lectures on the +American Revolution which I have delivered in so many parts of the +United States since 1883. Those lectures, when completed and published, +will make quite a detailed narrative; this book is but a sketch. It is +hoped that it may prove useful to the higher classes in schools, as well +as to teachers. When I was a boy I should have been glad to get hold of +a brief account of the War for Independence that would have suggested +answers to some of the questions that used to vex me. Was the conduct of +the British government, in driving the Americans into rebellion, merely +wanton aggression, or was it not rather a bungling attempt to solve a +political problem which really needed to be solved? Why were New Jersey +and the Hudson river so important? Why did the British armies make South +Carolina their chief objective point after New York? Or how did +Cornwallis happen to be at Yorktown when Washington made such a long +leap and pounced upon him there? And so on. Such questions the +old-fashioned text-books not only did not try to answer, they did not +even recognize their existence. As to the large histories, they of +course include so many details that it requires maturity of judgment to +discriminate between the facts that are cardinal and those that are +merely incidental. When I give lectures to schoolboys and schoolgirls, I +observe that a reference to causes and effects always seems to heighten +the interest of the story. I therefore offer them this little book, not +as a rival but as an aid to the ordinary text-book. I am aware that a +narrative so condensed must necessarily suffer from the omission of many +picturesque and striking details. The world is so made that one often +has to lose a little in one direction in order to gain something in +another. This book is an experiment. If it seems to answer its purpose, +I may follow it with others, treating other portions of American history +in similar fashion. + +CAMBRIDGE, _February 11, 1889_. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +CONTENTS. + +CHAP. PAGE + + BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN FISKE vii + + I. INTRODUCTION 1 + + II. THE COLONIES IN 1750 4 + + III. THE FRENCH WARS, AND THE FIRST PLAN OF UNION 26 + + IV. THE STAMP ACT, AND THE REVENUE LAWS 39 + + V. THE CRISIS 78 + + VI. THE STRUGGLE FOR THE CENTRE 104 + + VII. THE FRENCH ALLIANCE 144 + +VIII. BIRTH OF THE NATION 182 + + COLLATERAL READING 195 + + INDEX 197 + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +LIST OF MAPS. + + _Facing page_ + +INVASION OF CANADA 92 + +WASHINGTON'S CAMPAIGNS IN NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA 120 + +BURGOYNE'S CAMPAIGN 130 + +THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN 172 + +NOTE.--These maps are used by permission of, and by arrangement with, +Messrs. Ginn & Company. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. + +To relate, by way of leading up to this little book, all the previous +achievements of its author would--without disrespect to the greater or +the less--have somewhat the appearance of putting a very big cart in +front of a pony. But no idea could be more mistaken than that which +induces people to believe a small book the easiest to write. Easy +reading is hard writing; and a thoroughly good small book stands for so +much more than the mere process of putting it on paper, that its value +is not at all to be judged by its bulk. The offhand word of a man full +of knowledge is worth a great deal more than the carefully prepared +utterance of a person who having spoken once has nothing more to say. In +our introduction to this work, therefore, we propose to reverse the +common process of tracing the author's development upwards, and instead, +after stating the mere events of Mr. Fiske's life, to begin with "The +War of Independence" and to follow his work backwards, attempting very +briefly to show how each undertaking was built naturally upon something +before it, and that the original basis of the structure was uncommonly +broad and strong. + +John Fiske was born in Hartford, Conn., 30th March, 1842, and spent +most of his life, before entering Harvard as a sophomore in 1860, with +his grandmother's family in Middletown, Conn. Two years after taking his +degree at Harvard, in 1863, he was graduated from the Harvard Law +School, but he cared so much more for writing than for the law that his +attempt to practice it in Boston was soon abandoned. In 1861 he made his +first important contribution to a magazine, and ever since has done much +work of the same sort. He has served Harvard College, as University +lecturer on philosophy, 1869-71, in 1870 as instructor in history, and +from 1872 to 1879 as assistant librarian. Since resigning from that +office he has been for two terms of six years each a member of the board +of overseers. In 1881 he began lecturing annually at Washington +University, St. Louis, on American history, and in 1884 was made a +professor of the institution. Since 1871 he has devoted much time to +lecturing at large. He has been heard in most of the principal cities of +America, and abroad, in London and Edinburgh. All this time his home has +been in Cambridge, Mass. + +So much for the simple outward circumstances of Mr. Fiske's life. +Turning to his studies and writings, one finds them reaching out into +almost every direction of human thought; and this book, from which our +backward course is to be taken, is but a page from the great body of his +work. It is especially as a student of philosophy, science, and history +that Mr. Fiske is known to the world; and at the present it is +particularly as an historian of America that his name is spoken. In no +other way more satisfactorily than in tracing the growth of his own +nation has he found it possible to study the laws of progress of the +human race, and from the first, through all the time of his most active +philosophical and scientific work, this study of human progress has been +the true interest of his life. With his historical works, then, let us +begin. + +In 1879 he delivered a course of six lectures on American history, at +the Old South Meeting House in Boston. In previous years he had written +occasional essays on historical subjects in general, but the impulse +towards American history in particular was given by the preparation for +these lectures, which were concerned especially with the colonial +period. Of his own treatment of an historical subject he is quoted as +saying: "I look it up or investigate it, and then write an essay or a +lecture on the subject. That serves as a preliminary statement, either +of a large subject or of special points. It is a help to me to make a +statement of the kind--I mean in the lecture or essay form. In fact it +always assists me to try to state the case. I never publish anything +after this first statement, but generally keep it with me for, it may +be, some years, and possibly return to it again several times." Thus it +may safely be assumed that these Old South Lectures and the many others +that have followed them have found or will find a permanent place in the +series of Mr. Fiske's historical volumes. + +The succession of these books has not been in the order of the periods +of which they treat; but from the similarity of their method and the +fact that they cover a series of important periods in American history, +they go towards making a complete, consecutive history of the country. +The periods which are not yet covered Mr. Fiske proposes to deal with in +time. One who has talked with him on the subject of his works reports +the following statement as coming from Mr. Fiske's own lips: "I am now +at work on a general history of the United States. When John Richard +Green was planning his 'Short History of the English People,' and he and +I were friends in London, I heard him telling about his scheme. I +thought it would be a very nice thing to do something of the same sort +for American history. But when I took it up I found myself, instead of +carrying it out in that way, dwelling upon special points; and +insensibly, without any volition on my part, I suppose, it has been +rather taking the shape of separate monographs. But I hope to go on in +that way until I cover the ground with these separate books,--that is, +to cover as much ground as possible. But, of course, the scheme has +become much more extensive than it was when I started." + +Taken in the order of their subjects, the five works already contributed +to this series are, "The Discovery of America, with some Account of +Ancient America and the Spanish Conquest" (two volumes); "Old Virginia +and her Neighbours" (two volumes); "The Beginnings of New England, or +the Puritan Theocracy in its Relations to Civil and Religious Liberty;" +"The American Revolution" (two volumes); and "The Critical Period of +American History, 1783-1789." Allied with these books, though hardly +taking a place in the series, is "Civil Government in the United States, +Considered with some Reference to its Origins," "The War of +Independence," it will thus be seen, is the least ambitious of all +these historical works. "A History of the United States for Schools" is +addressed to the same audience, and in so far may be considered a +companion volume. + +What makes Mr. Fiske's histories just what they are? Another step +backward in the stages of his own development will enable us to see, and +the sub-title, "Viewed from the Standpoint of Universal History," of one +of his earlier books, "American Political Ideas," will help towards an +understanding of his power. It is due to the fact that he brings to his +historical work on special subjects the broad philosophic and general +view of a man who is much more than a specialist,--the scientific habit +of mind which must look for causes when effects are seen, and must point +out the relations between them. There could be no better preparation for +the writing of history than the apparently alien study of the questions +with which the names of Darwin and Spencer are inseparably associated. +When Darwin's "Origin of Species" appeared, Mr. Fiske's own thought had +prepared him to take the place of an ardent apostle of Evolution, and it +is held that no man has done more than he in expounding the theory in +America. Standing permanently for his work in this field are his books, +"Excursions of an Evolutionist" and "Darwinism, and Other Essays." One +of his first important works was "Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy" (1874), +and in more recent years "The Destiny of Man" and "The Idea of God" +speak forth very distinctly, not as interpretations, but as his own +contributions to the progress of philosophic thought. One other phase of +the use to which Mr. Fiske's mind has been put should surely be +mentioned in any summary of his qualifications for writing histories. He +is extremely fond of hearing and telling good stories. His book on +"Myths and Myth-makers" (1872) gave early evidence of this fondness, and +surely there is the very spirit of the lover of tales in the Dedication +of the book, "To my dear Friend, William D. Howells, in remembrance of +pleasant autumn evenings spent among were-wolves and trolls and nixies." +Thus, besides the ability to see a story in all its bearings, Mr. Fiske +has the gift of telling it effectively,--a golden power without which +all the learning in the world would serve an historian as but so much +lead. + +But all of these works preceding Mr. Fiske's historical writings did not +come out of nothing. His mental acquirements as a young man and boy were +very extraordinary, and give to the last stage of his career at which we +shall look--the earliest--perhaps the greatest interest of all. A +description of it without a knowledge of what followed would be all too +apt to remind readers whose memories go back far enough of the +instances, all too common, of men whose early promise is not fulfilled. +_Summa cum laude_ graduates settle down into lives of timid routine that +leads to nothing, just as often as the idle dreamers who stay +consistently at the foot of their classes wake up when the vital contact +with the world takes place, and do something astonishingly good. These, +however, are the exceptions. A development like Mr. Fiske's follows the +lines of nature. + +Happily, there were books in the house in which he was brought up. At +the age of seven he was reading Rollin, Josephus, and Goldsmith's +Greece. Much of Milton, Pope, and Bunyan, and nearly all of Shakespeare +he had read before he was nine; histories of many lands before eleven. +At this age he filled a quarto blank book of sixty pages with a +chronological table, written from memory, of events between 1000 B. C. +and 1820 A. D. + +All this would seem enough for one boy, but there were the other worlds +of languages and science to conquer. It is almost discouraging merely to +write down the fact that at thirteen he had read a large part of Livy, +Cicero, Ovid, Catullus, and Juvenal, and all of Virgil, Horace, Tacitus, +Sallust, and Suetonius,--to say nothing of Cæsar, at seven. Greek was +disposed of in like manner; and then came the modern languages, +--German, Spanish,--in which he kept a diary,--French, Italian, and +Portuguese. Hebrew and Sanskrit were kept for the years of seventeen and +eighteen. In college, Icelandic, Gothic, Danish, Swedish, Dutch, and +Roumanian were added, with beginnings in Russian. The uses to which he +put these languages were not those to which the weary schoolboy puts his +few scraps of learning in foreign tongues, but the true uses of +literature,--reading for pleasure and mental stimulus. + +It is needless to relate the rapid course of Mr. Fiske's first studies +in science; it is no whit less remarkable than that of his other +intellectual enterprises. As mathematics is akin to music, it will be +enough to say that when he was fifteen a friend's piano was left in his +grandmother's house, and, without a master, the boy soon learned its +secrets well enough to play such works as Mozart's Twelfth Mass. Later +in life Mr. Fiske studied the science of music. He has printed many +musical criticisms, and has himself composed a mass and songs. + +Few boys can hope to take to college with them, or, for that matter, +even away from it, a mind so well equipped as Mr. Fiske's was when he +went to Cambridge. Three years of stimulating university atmosphere, and +of indefinitely wide opportunities for reading, left him prepared as few +men have been for just the work he has done. He has had the wisdom to +see what he could do, and being possessed of the qualities that lead to +accomplishment, he has done it; and any reader who understands more than +the mere words he reads will be very likely to discover in this small +volume, "The War of Independence," something of the spirit, and some +suggestions of the method which, in this sketch, we have endeavored to +point out as characteristic of one of the foremost living historians. + + + + +THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +INTRODUCTION. + + +Since the year 1875 we have witnessed, in many parts of the United +States, public processions, meetings, and speeches in commemoration of +the hundredth anniversary of some important event in the course of our +struggle for national independence. This series of centennial +celebrations, which has been of great value in stimulating American +patriotism and awakening throughout the country a keen interest in +American history, will naturally come to an end in 1889. The close of +President Cleveland's term of office marks the close of the first +century of the government under which we live, which dates from the +inauguration of President Washington on the balcony of the Federal +building in Wall street, New York, on the 30th of April, 1789. It was on +that memorable day that the American Revolution may be said to have been +completed. The Declaration of Independence in 1776 detached the American +people from the supreme government to which they had hitherto owed +allegiance, and it was not until Washington's inauguration in 1789 that +the supreme government to which we owe allegiance to-day was actually +put in operation. The period of thirteen years included between these +two dates was strictly a revolutionary period, during which it was more +or less doubtful where the supreme authority over the United States +belonged. First, it took the fighting and the diplomacy of the +revolutionary war to decide that this supreme authority belonged in the +United States themselves, and not in the government of Great Britain; +and then after the war was ended, more than five years of sore distress +and anxious discussion had elapsed before the American people succeeded +in setting up a new government that was strong enough to make itself +obeyed at home and respected abroad. + +It is the story of this revolutionary period, ending in 1789, that we +have here to relate in its principal outlines. When we stand upon the +crest of a lofty hill and look about in all directions over the +landscape, we can often detect relations between distant points which we +had not before thought of together. While we tarried in the lowland, we +could see blue peaks rising here and there against the sky, and follow +babbling brooks hither and thither through the forest. It was more +homelike down there than on the hilltop, for in each gnarled tree, in +every moss-grown boulder, in every wayside flower, we had a friend that +was near to us; but the general bearings of things may well have escaped +our notice. In climbing to our lonely vantage-ground, while the familiar +scenes fade from sight, there are gradually unfolded to us those +connections between crag and meadow and stream that make the life and +meaning of the whole. We learn the "lay of the land," and become, in a +humble way, geographers. So in the history of men and nations, while we +remain immersed in the study of personal incidents and details, as what +such a statesman said or how many men were killed in such a battle, we +may quite fail to understand what it was all about, and we shall be sure +often to misjudge men's characters and estimate wrongly the importance +of many events. For this reason we cannot clearly see the meaning of the +history of our own times. The facts are too near us; we are down among +them, like the man who could not see the forest because there were so +many trees. But when we look back over a long interval of years, we can +survey distant events and personages like points in a vast landscape and +begin to discern the meaning of it all. In this way we come to see that +history is full of lessons for us. Very few things have happened in past +ages with which our present welfare is not in one way or another +concerned. Few things have happened in any age more interesting or more +important than the American Revolution. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE COLONIES IN 1750. + + +It is always difficult in history to mark the beginning and end of a +period. Events keep rushing on and do not pause to be divided into +chapters; or, in other words, in the history which really takes place, a +new chapter is always beginning long before the old one is ended. The +divisions we make when we try to describe it are merely marks that we +make for our own convenience. In telling the story of the American +Revolution we must stop somewhere, and the inauguration of President +Washington is a very proper place. We must also begin somewhere, but it +is quite clear that it will not do to begin with the Declaration of +Independence in July, 1776, or even with the midnight ride of Paul +Revere in April, 1775. For if we ask what caused that "hurry of hoofs in +a village street," and what brought together those five-and-fifty +statesmen at Philadelphia, we are not simply led back to the Boston +Tea-Party, and still further to the Stamp Act, but we find it necessary +to refer to events that happened more than a century before the +Revolution can properly be said to have begun. Indeed, if we were going +to take a very wide view of the situation, and try to point out its +relations to the general history of mankind, we should have to go back +many hundreds of years and not only cross the ocean to the England of +King Alfred, but keep on still further to the ancient market-places of +Rome and Athens, and even to the pyramids of Egypt; and in all this long +journey through the ages we should not be merely gratifying an idle +curiosity, but at every step of the way could gather sound practical +lessons, useful in helping us to vote intelligently at the next election +for mayor of the city in which we live or for president of the United +States. + + [Sidenote: The half-way station in American History] + +We are not now, however, about to start on any such long journey. It is +a much nearer and narrower view of the American Revolution that we wish +to get. There are many points from which we might start, but we must at +any rate choose a point several years earlier than the Declaration of +Independence. People are very apt to leave out of sight the "good old +colony times" and speak of our country as scarcely more than a hundred +years old. Sometimes we hear the presidency of George Washington spoken +of as part of "early American history;" but we ought not to forget that +when Washington was born the commonwealth of Virginia was already one +hundred and twenty-five years old. The first governor of Massachusetts +was born three centuries ago, in 1588, the year of the Spanish Armada. +Suppose we take the period of 282 years between the English settlement +of Virginia and the inauguration of President Benjamin Harrison, and +divide it in the middle. That gives us the year 1748 as the half-way +station in the history of the American people. There were just as many +years of continuous American history before 1748 as there have been +since that date. That year was famous for the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, +which put an end to a war between England and France that had lasted +five years. That war had been waged in America as well as in Europe, and +American troops had played a brilliant part in it. There was now a brief +lull, soon to be followed by another and greater war between the two +mighty rivals, and it was in the course of this latter war that some of +the questions were raised which presently led to the American +Revolution. Let us take the occasion of this lull in the storm to look +over the American world and see what were the circumstances likely to +lead to the throwing off of the British government by the thirteen +colonies, and to their union under a federal government of their own +making. + + [Sidenote: The four New England colonies.] + +In the middle of the eighteenth century there were four New England +colonies. Massachusetts extended her sway over Maine, and the Green +Mountain territory was an uninhabited wilderness, to which New York and +New Hampshire alike laid claim. The four commonwealths of New Hampshire, +Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island had all been in existence, +under one form or another, for more than a century. The men who were in +the prime of life there in 1750 were the great-grandsons and +great-great-grandsons of the men who crossed the ocean between 1620 and +1640 and settled New England. Scarcely two men in a hundred were of other +than English blood. About one in a hundred could say that his family +came from Scotland or the north of Ireland; one in five hundred may have +been the grandchild of a Huguenot. Upon religious and political +questions these people thought very much alike. Extreme poverty was +almost unknown, and there were but few who could not read and write. As +a rule every head of a family owned the house in which he lived and the +land which supported him. There were no cities; and from Boston, which +was a town with 16,000 inhabitants, down to the smallest settlement in +the White Mountains, the government was carried on by town-meetings at +which, almost any grown-up man could be present and speak and vote. +Except upon the sea-coast nearly all the people lived upon farms; but +all along the coast were many who lived by fishing and by building +ships, and in the towns dwelt many merchants grown rich by foreign +trade. In those days Massachusetts was the richest of the thirteen +colonies, and had a larger population than any other except Virginia. +Connecticut was then more populous than New York; and when the four New +England commonwealths acted together--as was likely to be the case in +time of danger--they formed the strongest military power on the American +continent. + + [Sidenote: Virginia and Maryland] + +Among what we now call southern states there were two that in 1750 were +more than a hundred years old. These were Virginia and Maryland. The +people of these commonwealths, like those of New England, had lived +together in America long enough to become distinctively Americans. Both +New Englander and Virginian had had time to forget their family +relationships with the kindred left behind so long ago in England; +though there were many who did not forget it, and in our time scholars +have by research recovered many of the links that had been lost from +memory. The white people of Virginia were as purely English as those of +Connecticut or Massachusetts. But society in Virginia was very different +from society in New England. The wealth of Virginia consisted chiefly of +tobacco, which was raised by negro slaves. People lived far apart from +each other on great plantations, usually situated near the navigable +streams of which that country has so many. Most of the great planters +had easy access to private wharves, where their crops could be loaded on +ships and sent directly to England in exchange for all sorts of goods. +Accordingly it was but seldom that towns grew up as centres of trade. +Each plantation was a kind of little world in itself. There were no +town-meetings, as the smallest political division was the division into +counties; but there were county-meetings quite vigorous with +political life. Of the leading county families a great many were +descended from able and distinguished Cavaliers or King's-men who had +come over from England during the ascendency of Oliver Cromwell. Skill +in the management of public affairs was hereditary in such families, and +during our revolutionary period Virginia produced more great leaders +than any of the other colonies. + + [Sidenote: New York and Delaware] + +There were yet two other American commonwealths that in 1750 were more +than a hundred years old. These were New York and little Delaware, which +for some time was a kind of appendage, first to New York, afterward to +Pennsylvania. But there was one important respect in which these two +colonies were different alike from New England and from Virginia. Their +population was far from being purely English. Delaware had been first +settled by Swedes, New York by Dutchmen; and the latter colony had drawn +its settlers from almost every part of western and central Europe. A man +might travel from Penobscot bay to the Harlem river without hearing a +syllable in any other tongue than English; but in crossing Manhattan +island he could listen, if he chose, to more than a dozen languages. +There was almost as much diversity in opinions about religious and +political matters as there was in the languages in which they were +expressed. New York was an English community in so far as it had been +for more than eighty years under an English government, but hardly in +any other sense. Accordingly we shall find New York in the revolutionary +period less prompt and decided in action than Massachusetts and +Virginia. In population New York ranked only seventh among the thirteen +colonies; but in its geographical position it was the most important of +all. It was important commercially because the Mohawk and Hudson rivers +formed a direct avenue for the fur-trade from the region of the great +lakes to the finest harbour on all the Atlantic coast. In a military +sense it was important for two reasons; _first_, because the Mohawk +valley was the home of the most powerful confederacy of Indians on the +continent, the steady allies of the English and deadly foes of the +French; _secondly_, because the centre of the French power was at +Montreal and Quebec, and from those points the route by which the +English colonies could be most easily invaded was formed by Lake +Champlain and the Hudson river. New York was completely interposed +between New England and the rest of the English colonies, so that an +enemy holding possession of it would virtually cut the Atlantic +sea-board in two. For these reasons the political action of New York +was of most critical importance. + + [Sidenote: The two Carolinas and Georgia; New Jersey and Pennsylvania] + +Of the other colonies in 1750, the two Carolinas and New Jersey were +rather more than eighty years old, while Pennsylvania had been settled +scarcely seventy years. But the growth of these younger colonies had +been rapid, especially in the case of Pennsylvania and North Carolina, +which in populousness ranked third and fourth among the thirteen. This +rapid increase was mainly due to a large immigration from Europe kept up +during the first half of the eighteenth century, so that a large +proportion of the people had either been born in Europe, or were the +children of people born in Europe. In 1750 these colonies had not had +time enough to become so intensely American as Virginia and the New +England colonies. In Georgia, which had been settled only seventeen +years, people had had barely time to get used to this new home on the +wild frontier. + +The population of these younger colonies was very much mixed. In South +Carolina, as in New York, probably less than half were English. In both +Carolinas there were a great many Huguenots from France, and immigrants +from Germany and Scotland and the north of Ireland were still pouring +in. Pennsylvania had many Germans and Irish, and settlers from other +parts of Europe, besides its English Quakers. With all this diversity of +race there was a great diversity of opinions about political questions, +as about other matters. + + [Sidenote: Why Massachusetts and Virginia took the lead.] + +We are now beginning to see why it was that Massachusetts and Virginia +took the lead in bringing on the revolutionary war. Not only were these +two the largest colonies, but their people had become much more +thoroughly welded together in their thoughts and habits and associations +than was as yet possible with the people of the younger colonies. When +the revolutionary war came, there were very few Tories in the New +England colonies and very few in Virginia; but there were a great many +in New York and Pennsylvania and the two Carolinas, so that the action +of these commonwealths was often slow and undecided, and sometimes there +was bitter and bloody fighting between men of opposite opinions, +especially in New York and South Carolina. + + [Sidenote: The two republics; Connecticut and Rhode Island] + +If we look at the governments of the thirteen colonies in the middle of +the eighteenth century, we shall observe some interesting facts. All the +colonies had legislative assemblies elected by the people, and these +assemblies levied the taxes and made the laws. So far as the +legislatures were concerned, therefore, all the colonies governed +themselves. But with regard to the executive department of the +government, there were very important differences. Only two of the +colonies, Connecticut and Rhode Island, had governors elected by the +people. These two colonies were completely self-governing. In almost +everything but name they were independent of Great Britain, and this was +so true that at the time of the revolutionary war they did not need to +make any new constitutions for themselves, but continued to live on +under their old charters for many years,--Connecticut until 1818, Rhode +Island until 1843. Before the revolution these two colonies had +comparatively few direct grievances to complain of at the hands of Great +Britain; but as they were next neighbours to Massachusetts and closely +connected with its history, they were likely to sympathize promptly with +the kind of grievances by which Massachusetts was disturbed. + + [Sidenote: The proprietary governments: Pennsylvania, Delaware, + and Maryland] + +Three of the colonies, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, had a +peculiar kind of government, known as _proprietary government_. Their +territories had originally been granted by the crown to a person known +as the Lord Proprietary, and the lord-proprietorship descended from +father to son like a kingdom. In Maryland it was the Calvert family that +reigned for six generations as lords proprietary. Pennsylvania and +Delaware had each its own separate legislature, but over both colonies +reigned the same lord proprietary, who was a member of the Penn family. +These colonies were thus like little hereditary monarchies, and they had +but few direct dealings with the British government. For them the lords +proprietary stood in the place of the king, and appointed the governors. +In Maryland this system ran smoothly. In Pennsylvania there was a good +deal of dissatisfaction, but it generally assumed the form of a wish to +get rid of the lords proprietary and have the governors appointed by the +king; for as this was something they had not tried they were not +prepared to appreciate its evils. + + [Sidenote: The crown colonies and their royal governors] + +In the other eight colonies--New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New +Jersey, Virginia, the two Carolinas, and Georgia--the governors were +appointed by the king, and were commonly known as "royal governors." +They were sometimes natives of the colonies over which they were +appointed, as Dudley and Hutchinson of Massachusetts, and others; but +were more often sent over from England. Some of them, as Pownall of +Massachusetts and Spotswood of Virginia, were men of marked ability. +Some were honest gentlemen, who felt a real interest in the welfare of +the people they came to help govern; some were unprincipled adventurers, +who came to make money by fair means or foul. Their position was one of +much dignity, and they behaved themselves like lesser kings. What with +their crimson velvets and fine laces and stately coaches, they made much +more of a show than any president of the United States would think of +making to-day. They had no fixed terms of office, but remained at their +posts as long as the king, or the king's colonial secretary, saw fit to +keep them there. + + [Sidenote: The question as to salaries] + +Now it was generally true of the royal governors that, whether they were +natives of America or sent over from England, and whether they were good +men or bad, they were very apt to make themselves disliked by the +people, and they were almost always quarrelling with their legislative +assemblies. Questions were always coming up about which the governor and +the legislature could not agree, because the legislature represented the +views of the people who had chosen it, while the governor represented +his own views or the views which prevailed three thousand miles away +among the king's ministers, who very often knew little about America and +cared less. One of these disputed questions related to the governor's +salary. It was natural that the governor should wish to have a salary of +fixed amount, so that he might know from year to year what he was going +to receive. But the people were afraid that if this were to be done the +governor might become too independent. They preferred that the +legislature should each year make a grant of money such as it should +deem suitable for the governor's expenses, and this sum it might +increase or diminish according to its own good pleasure. This would keep +the governor properly subservient to the legislature. Before 1750 there +had been much bitter wrangling over this question in several of the +colonies, and the governors had one after another been obliged to +submit, though with very ill grace. + +Sometimes the thoughts of the royal governors and their friends went +beyond this immediate question. Since the legislatures were so froward +and so niggardly, what an admirable plan it would be to have the +governors paid out of the royal treasury and thus made comparatively +independent of the legislatures! The judges, too, who were quite poorly +paid, might fare much better if remunerated by the crown, and the same +might be said of some other public officers. But if the British +government were to undertake to pay the salaries of its officials in +America, it must raise a revenue for the purpose; and it would naturally +raise such a revenue by levying taxes in America rather than in England. +People in England felt that they were already taxed as heavily as they +could bear, in order to pay the expenses of their own government. They +could not be expected to submit to further taxation for the sake of +paying the expenses of governing the American colonies. If further taxes +were to be laid for such a purpose, they must in fairness be laid upon +Americans, not upon Englishmen in the old country. + +Such was the view which people in England would naturally be expected to +take, and such was the view which they generally did take. But there was +another side to the question which was very clearly seen by most people +in America. If the royal governors were to be paid by the crown and thus +made independent of their legislatures, there would be danger of their +becoming petty tyrants and interfering in many ways with the liberties +of the people. Still greater would be the danger if the judges were to +be paid by the crown, for then they would feel themselves responsible to +the king or to the royal governor, rather than to their fellow-citizens; +and it would be easy for the governors, by appointing corrupt men as +judges, to prevent the proper administration of justice by the courts, +and thus to make men's lives and property insecure. Most Americans in +1750 felt this danger very keenly. They had not forgotten how, in the +times of their grandfathers, two of the noblest of Englishmen, Lord +William Russell and Colonel Algernon Sidney, had been murdered by the +iniquitous sentence of time-serving judges. They had not forgotten the +ruffian George Jeffreys and his "bloody assizes" of 1685. They well +remembered how their kinsmen in England had driven into exile the Stuart +family of kings, who were even yet, in 1745, making efforts to recover +their lost throne. They remembered how the beginnings of New England had +been made by stout-hearted men who could not endure the tyranny of these +same Stuarts; and they knew well that one of the worst of the evils upon +which Stuart tyranny had fattened had been the corruption of the courts +of justice. The Americans believed with some reason, that even now, in +the middle of the eighteenth century, the administration of justice in +their own commonwealths was decidedly better than in Great Britain; and +they had no mind to have it disturbed. + + [Sidenote: "No taxation without representation."] + +But worse than all, if the expenses of governing America were to be paid +by taxes levied upon Americans and collected from them by king or +parliament or any power whatsoever residing in Great Britain, then the +inhabitants of the thirteen American colonies would at once cease to be +free people. A free country is one in which the government cannot take +away people's money, in the shape of taxes, except for strictly public +purposes and with the consent of the people themselves, as expressed by +some body of representatives whom the people have chosen. If people's +money can be taken from them without their consent, no matter how small +the amount, even if it be less than one dollar out of every thousand, +then they are not politically free. They do not govern, but the power +that thus takes their money without their consent is the power that +governs; and there is nothing to prevent such a power from using the +money thus obtained to strengthen itself until it can trample upon +people's rights in every direction, and rob them of their homes and +lives as well as of their money. If the British government could tax the +Americans without their consent, it might use the money for supporting a +British army in America, and such an army might be employed in +intimidating the legislatures, in dispersing town-meetings, in +destroying newspaper-offices, or in other acts of tyranny. + + [Sidenote: It was the fundamental principle of English liberty.] + +The Americans in the middle of the eighteenth century well understood +that the principle of "no taxation without representation" is the +fundamental principle of free government. It was the principle for which +their forefathers had contended again and again in England, and upon +which the noble edifice of English liberty had been raised and +consolidated since the grand struggle between king and barons in the +thirteenth century. It had passed into a tradition, both in England and +in America, that in order to prevent the crown from becoming despotic, +it was necessary that it should only wield such revenues as the +representatives of the people might be pleased to grant it. In England +the body which represented the people was the House of Commons, in each +of the American colonies it was the colonial legislature; and in +dealing with the royal governors, the legislatures acted upon the same +general principles as the House of Commons in dealing with the king. + + [Sidenote: Sometimes the royal governors were in the right, as to + the particular question.] + +It was not until some time after 1750 that any grand assault was made +upon the principle of "no taxation without representation," but the +frequent disputes with the royal governors were such as to keep people +from losing sight of this principle, and to make them sensitive about +acts that might lead to violations of it. In the particular disputes the +governors were sometimes clearly right and the people wrong. One of the +principal objects, as we shall presently see, for which the governors +wanted money, was to maintain troops for defence against the French and +the Indians; and the legislatures were apt to be short-sighted and +unreasonably stingy about such matters. Again, the people were sometimes +seized with a silly craze for "paper money" and "wild-cat +banks"--devices for making money out of nothing--and sometimes the +governors were sensible enough to oppose such delusions but not +altogether sensible in their manner of doing it. Thus in 1740 there was +fierce excitement in Massachusetts over a quarrel between the governor +and the legislature about the famous "silver bank" and "land bank." +These institutions were a public nuisance and deserved to be suppressed, +but the governor was obliged to appeal to parliament in order to +succeed in doing it. This led many people to ask, "What business has a +parliament sitting the other side of the ocean to be making laws for +us?" and the grumbling was loud and bitter enough to show that this was +a very dangerous question to raise. + + [Sidenote: Bitter memories; in Virginia.] + +It was in the eight colonies which had royal governors that troubles of +a revolutionary character were more likely to arise than in the other +five, but there were special reasons, besides those already mentioned, +why Massachusetts and Virginia should prove more refractory than any of +the others. Both these great commonwealths had bitter memories. Things +had happened in both which might serve as a warning, and which some of +the old men still living in 1750 could distinctly remember. In Virginia +the misgovernment of the royal governor Sir William Berkeley had led in +1675 to the famous rebellion headed by Nathaniel Bacon, and this +rebellion had been suppressed with much harshness. Many leading citizens +had been sent to the gallows and their estates had been confiscated. In +Massachusetts, though there were no such scenes of cruelty to remember, +the grievance was much more deep-seated and enduring. + + [Sidenote: And in Massachusetts.] + +Massachusetts had not been originally a royal province, with its +governors appointed by the king. At first it had been a republic, such +as Connecticut and Rhode Island now were, with governors chosen by the +people. From its foundation in 1629 down to 1684 the commonwealth of +Massachusetts had managed its own affairs at its own good pleasure. +Practically it had been not only self-governing but almost independent. +That was because affairs in England were in such confusion that until +after 1660 comparatively little attention was paid to what was going on +in America, and the liberties of Massachusetts prospered through the +neglect of what was then called the "home government." After Charles II. +came to the throne in 1660 he began to interfere with the affairs of +Massachusetts, and so the very first generation of men that had been +born on the soil of that commonwealth were engaged in a long struggle +against the British king for the right of managing their own affairs. +After more than twenty years of this struggle, which by 1675 had come to +be quite bitter, the charter of Massachusetts was annulled in 1684 and +its free government was for the moment destroyed. Presently a viceroy +was sent over from England, to govern Massachusetts (as well as several +other northern colonies) despotically. This viceroy, Sir Edmund Andros, +seems to have been a fairly well meaning man. He was not especially +harsh or cruel, but his rule was a despotism, because he was not +responsible to the people for what he did, but only to the king. In +point of fact the two-and-a-half years of his administration were +characterized by arbitrary arrests and by interference with private +property and with the freedom of the press. It was so vexatious that +early in 1689, taking advantage of the Revolution then going on in +England, the people of Boston rose in rebellion, seized Andros and threw +him into jail, and set up for themselves a provisional government. When +the affairs of New England were settled after the accession of William +and Mary to the throne, Connecticut and Rhode Island were allowed to +keep their old governments; but Massachusetts in 1693 was obliged to +take a new charter instead of her old one, and although this new charter +revived the election of legislatures by the people, it left the +governors henceforth to be appointed by the king. + +In the political controversies of Massachusetts, therefore, in the +eighteenth century, the people were animated by the recollection of what +they had lost. They were somewhat less free and independent than their +grandfathers had been, and they had learned what it was to have an +irresponsible ruler sitting at his desk in Boston and signing warrants +for the arrest of loved and respected citizens who dared criticise his +sayings and doings. "Taxation without representation" was not for them a +mere abstract theory; they knew what it meant. It was as near to them as +the presidency of Andrew Jackson is to us; there had not been time +enough to forget it. In every contest between the popular legislature +and the royal governor there was some broad principle involved which +there were plenty of well-remembered facts to illustrate. + + [Sidenote: Grounds of sympathy between Massachusetts and Virginia.] + +These contests also helped to arouse a strong sympathy between the +popular leaders in Massachusetts and in Virginia. Between the people of +the two colonies there was not much real sympathy, because there was a +good deal of difference between their ways of life and their opinions +about things; and people, unless they are unusually wise and generous of +nature, are apt to dislike and despise those who differ from them in +opinions and habits. So there was little cordiality of feeling between +the people of Massachusetts and the people of Virginia, but in spite of +this there was a great and growing political sympathy. This was because, +ever since 1693, they had been obliged to deal with the same kind of +political questions. It became intensely interesting to a Virginian to +watch the progress of a dispute between the governor and legislature of +Massachusetts, because whatever principle might be victorious in the +course of such a dispute, it was sure soon to find a practical +application in Virginia. Hence by the middle of the eighteenth century +the two colonies were keenly observant of each other, and either one was +exceedingly prompt in taking its cue from the other. It is worth while +to remember this fact, for without it there would doubtless have been +rebellions or revolutions of American colonies, but there would hardly +have been one American Revolution, ending in a grand American Union. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE FRENCH WARS, AND THE FIRST PLAN OF UNION. + + + [Sidenote: Disputed frontier between French and English colonies.] + +It was said a moment ago that one of the chief objects for which the +governors wanted money was to maintain troops for defence against the +French and the Indians. This was a very serious matter indeed. To any +one who looked at a map of North America in 1750 it might well have +seemed as if the French had secured for themselves the greater part of +the continent. The western frontier of the English settlements was +generally within two hundred miles of the sea-coast. In New York it was +at Johnson Hall, not far from Schenectady; in Pennsylvania it was about +at Carlisle; in Virginia it was near Winchester, and the first explorers +were just making their way across the Alleghany mountains. Westward of +these frontier settlements lay endless stretches of forest inhabited by +warlike tribes of red men who, everywhere except in New York, were +hostile to the English and friendly to the French. Since the beginning +of the seventeenth century French towns and villages had been growing up +along the St. Lawrence, and French explorers had been pushing across +the Great Lakes and down the valley of the Mississippi river, near the +mouth of which the French town of New Orleans had been standing since +1718. It was the French doctrine that discovery and possession of a +river gave a claim to all the territory drained by that river. According +to this doctrine every acre of American soil from which water flowed +into the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi belonged to France. The claims +of the French thus came up to the very crest of the Alleghanies, and +they made no secret of their intention to shut up the English forever +between that chain of mountains and the sea-coast. There were times when +their aims were still more aggressive and dangerous, when they looked +with longing eyes upon the valley of the Hudson, and would fain have +broken through that military centre of the line of English commonwealths +and seized the keys of empire over the continent. + + [Sidenote: The Indian tribes.] + +From this height of their ambition the French were kept aloof by the +deadly enmity of the most fierce and powerful savages in the New World. +The Indians of those days who came into contact with the white settlers +were divided into many tribes with different names, but they all +belonged to one or another of three great stocks or families. First, +there were the _Mobilians_, far down south; to this stock belonged the +Creeks, Cherokees, and others. Secondly, there were the _Algonquins_, +comprising the Delawares to the south of the Susquehanna; the Miamis, +Shawnees, and others in the western wilderness; the Ottawas in Canada; +and all the tribes still left to the northeast of New England. Thirdly, +there were the _Iroquois_, of whom the most famous were the Five Nations +of what is now central New York. These five great tribes--the Mohawks, +Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas--had for several generations +been united in a confederacy which they likened to a long wigwam with +its eastern door looking out upon the valley of the Hudson and its +western toward the falls of Niagara. It was known far and wide over the +continent as the Long House, and wherever it was known it was dreaded. +When Frenchmen and Englishmen first settled in America, this Iroquois +league was engaged in a long career of conquest. Algonquin tribes all +the way from the Connecticut to the Mississippi were treated as its +vassals and forced to pay tribute in weapons and wampum. This conquering +career extended through the seventeenth century, until it was brought to +an end by the French. When the latter began making settlements in +Canada, they courted the friendship of their Algonquin neighbours, and +thus, without dreaming what deadly seed they were sowing, they were led +to attack the terrible Long House. It was easy enough for Champlain in +1609 to win a victory over savages who had never before seen a white man +or heard the report of a musket; but the victory was a fatal one for the +French, for it made the Iroquois their eternal enemies. The Long House +allied itself first with the Dutch and afterwards with the English, and +thus checked the progress of the French toward the lower Hudson. We too +seldom think how much we owe to those formidable savages. + + [Sidenote: The French and the Iroquois.] + +The Iroquois pressed the French with so much vigour that in 1689 they +even laid siege to Montreal. But by 1696 the French, assisted by all the +Algonquin tribes within reach, and led by their warlike viceroy, Count +Frontenac, one of the most picturesque figures in American history, at +length succeeded in getting the upperhand and dealing the Long House a +terrible blow, from the effects of which it never recovered. The league +remained formidable, however, until the time of the revolutionary war. +In 1715 its fighting strength was partially repaired by the adoption of +the kindred Iroquois tribe of Tuscaroras, who had just been expelled +from North Carolina by the English settlers, and migrated to New York. +After this accession the league, henceforth known as the Six Nations, +formed a power by no means to be despised, though much less bold and +aggressive than in the previous century. + +After administering a check to the Iroquois, the French and Algonquins +kept up for more than sixty years a desultory warfare against the +English colonies. Whenever war broke out between England and France, it +meant war in America as well as in Europe. Indeed, one of the chief +objects of war, on the part of each of these two nations, was to extend +its colonial dominions at the expense of the other. France and England +were at war from 1689 to 1697; from 1702 to 1713; and from 1743 to 1748. +The men in New York or Boston in 1750, who could remember the past sixty +years, could thus look back over at least four-and-twenty years of open +war; and even in the intervals of professed peace there was a good deal +of disturbance on the frontiers. A most frightful sort of warfare it +was, ghastly with torture of prisoners and the ruthless murder of women +and children. The expense of raising and arming troops for defence was +great enough to subject several of the colonies to a heavy burden of +debt. In 1750 Massachusetts was just throwing off the load of debt under +which she had staggered since 1693; and most of this debt was incurred +for expeditions against the French and Algonquins. + + [Sidenote: Difficulty of getting the English colonies to act in + concert.] + +Under these circumstances it was natural that the colonial governments +should find it hard to raise enough money for war expenses, and that the +governors should think the legislatures too slow in acting. They were +slow; for, as is apt to be the case when money is to be borrowed without +the best security, there were a good many things to be considered. All +this was made worse by the fact that there were so many separate +governments, so that each one was inclined to hold back and wait for the +others. On the other hand, the French viceroy in Canada had despotic +power; the colony which he governed never pretended to be +self-supporting; and so, if he could not squeeze money enough out of the +people in Canada, he just sent to France for it and got it; for the +government of Louis XV. regarded Canada as one of the brightest jewels +in its crown, and was always ready to spend money for damaging the +English. Accordingly the Frenchman could plan his campaign, call his red +men together, and set the whole frontier in a blaze, while the +legislatures in Boston or New York were talking about what had better be +done in case of invasion. No wonder the royal governors fretted and +fumed, and sent home to England dismal accounts of the perverseness of +these Americans! Many people in England thought that the colonies were +allowed to govern themselves altogether too much, and that for their own +good the British government ought to tax them. Once while Sir Robert +Walpole was prime minister (1721-1742) some one is said to have advised +him to lay a direct tax upon the Americans; but that wise old statesman +shook his head. It was bad enough, he said, to be scolded and abused by +half the people in the old country; he did not wish to make enemies of +every man, woman, and child in the new. + + [Sidenote: Need of a union between the English colonies.] + +But if the power to raise American armies for the common defence, and to +collect money in America for this purpose, was not to be assumed by the +British government, was there any way in which unity and promptness of +action in time of war could be secured? There was another way, if people +could be persuaded to adopt it. The thirteen colonies might be joined +together in a federal union; and the federal government, without +interfering in the local affairs of any single colony, might be clothed +with the power of levying taxes all over the country for purposes of +common defence. The royal governors were inclined to favour a union of +the colonies, no matter how it might be brought about. They thought it +necessary that some decisive step should be taken quickly, for it was +evident that the peace of 1748 was only an armed truce. Evidently a +great and decisive struggle was at hand. In 1750 the Ohio Company, +formed for the purpose of colonizing the valley drained by that river, +had surveyed the country as far as the present site of Louisville. In +1753 the French, taking the alarm, crossed Lake Erie, and began to +fortify themselves at Presque Isle, and at Venango on the Alleghany +river. They seized persons trading within the limits of the Ohio +Company, which lay within the territory of Virginia; and accordingly +Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, selected George Washington--a venturous +and hardy young land-surveyor, only twenty-one years old, but gifted +with a sagacity beyond his years--and sent him to Venango to warn off +the trespassers. It was an exceedingly delicate and dangerous mission, +and Washington showed rare skill and courage in this first act of his +public career, but the French commander made polite excuses and +remained. Next spring the French and English tried each to forestall the +other in fortifying the all-important place where the Alleghany and +Monongahela rivers unite to form the Ohio, the place long afterward +commonly known as the "Gateway of the West," the place where the city of +Pittsburgh now stands. In the course of these preliminary manoeuvres +Washington was besieged in Fort Necessity by overwhelming numbers, and +on July 4, 1754, was obliged to surrender the whole of his force, but +obtained leave to march away. So the French got possession of the +much-coveted situation, and erected there Fort Duquesne as a menace to +all future English intruders. As yet war had not been declared between +France and England, but these skirmishings indicated that war in earnest +was not far off. + + [Sidenote: The Congress at Albany, 1754.] + +In view of the approaching war a meeting was arranged at Albany between +the principal chiefs of the Six Nations and commissioners from several +of the colonies, that the alliance between English and Iroquois might be +freshly cemented; and some of the royal governors improved the occasion +to call for a Congress of all the colonies, in order to prepare some +plan of confederation such as all the colonies might be willing to +adopt. At the time of Washington's surrender such a Congress was in +session at Albany, but Maryland was the most southerly colony +represented in it. The people nowhere showed any interest in it. No +public meetings were held in its favour. The only newspaper which warmly +approved it was the "Pennsylvania Gazette," which appeared with a union +device, a snake divided into thirteen segments, with the motto "Unite or +Die!" + + [Sidenote: Franklin's plan for a Federal Union.] + +The editor of this paper was Benjamin Franklin, then eight-and-forty +years of age and already one of the most famous men in America. In the +preceding year he had been appointed by the crown postmaster-general for +the American colonies, and he had received from the Royal Society the +Copley medal for his brilliant discovery that lightning is a discharge +of electricity. Franklin was very anxious to see the colonies united in +a federal body, and he was now a delegate to the Congress. He drew up a +plan of union which the Congress adopted, after a very long debate; and +it has ever since been known as the Albany Plan. The federal government +was to consist, _first_, of a President or Governor-general, appointed +and paid by the crown, and holding office during its pleasure; and +_secondly_, of a Grand Council composed of representatives elected every +third year by the legislatures of the several colonies. This federal +government was not to meddle with the internal affairs of any colony, +but on questions of war and such other questions as concerned all the +colonies alike, it was to be supreme; and to this end it was to have the +power of levying taxes for federal purposes directly upon the people of +the several colonies. Philadelphia, as the most centrally situated of +the larger towns, was mentioned as a proper seat for the federal +government. + +The end of our story will show the wonderful foresightedness of +Franklin's scheme. If the Revolution had never occurred, we might very +likely have sooner or later come to live under a constitution resembling +the Albany Plan. On the other hand, if the Albany Plan had been put into +operation, it might perhaps have so adjusted the relations of the +colonies to the British government that the Revolution would not have +occurred. Perhaps, however, it would only have reproduced, on a larger +scale, the irrepressible conflict between royal governor and popular +assembly. The scheme failed for want of support. The Congress +recommended it to the colonial legislatures, but not one of them voted +to adopt it. The difficulty was the same in 1754 that it was thirty +years later,--only much stronger. The people of one colony saw but +little of the people in another, had but few dealings with them, and +cared not much about them. They knew and trusted their own local +assemblies which sat and voted almost under their eyes; they were not +inclined to grant strange powers of taxation to a new assembly distant +by a week's journey. This was a point to which people could never have +been brought except as the alternative to something confessedly worse. + + [Sidenote: Its failure.] + +The failure of the Albany Plan left the question of providing for +military defence just where it was before, and the great Seven Years' +War came on while governors and assemblies were wrangling to no purpose. +In 1755 Braddock's army was unable to get support except from the +steadfast personal exertions of Franklin, who used his great influence +with the farmers of Pennsylvania to obtain horses, wagons, and +provisions, pledging his own property for their payment. Nevertheless, +as the war went on and the people of the colonies became fully alive to +its importance, they did contribute liberally both in men and in money, +and at last it appeared that in proportion to their wealth and +population they had done even more than the regular army and the royal +exchequer toward overthrowing the common enemy. + + [Sidenote: Overthrow of the French power in America.] + +When the war came to an end in 1763 the whole face of things in America +was changed. Seldom, if ever, had the world seen so complete a victory. +France no longer possessed so much as an acre of ground in all North +America. The unknown regions beyond the Mississippi river were handed +over to Spain in payment for bootless assistance rendered to France +toward the close of the war. Spain also received New Orleans, while +Florida, which then reached westward nearly to New Orleans, passed from +Spanish into British hands. The whole country north of Florida and east +of the Mississippi river, including Canada, was now English. A strong +combination of Indian tribes, chiefly Algonquin, under the lead of the +Ottawa sachem Pontiac, made a last desperate attempt, after the loss of +their French allies, to cripple the English; but by 1765, after many +harrowing scenes of bloodshed, these red men were crushed. There was no +power left that could threaten the peace of the thirteen colonies unless +it were the mother-country herself. "Well," said the French minister, +the Duke de Choiseul, as he signed the treaty that shut France out of +North America, "so we are gone; it will be England's turn next!" And +like a prudent seeker after knowledge, as he was, the Duke presently +bethought him of an able and high-minded man, the Baron de Kalb, and +sent him in 1767 to America, to look about and see if there were not +good grounds for his bold prophecy. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE STAMP ACT, AND THE REVENUE LAWS. + + +It did not take four years after the peace of 1763 to show how rapidly +the new situation of affairs was bearing fruit in America. The war had +taught its lessons. Earlier wars had menaced portions of the frontier, +and had been fought by single colonies or alliances of two or three. +This war had menaced the whole frontier, and the colonies, acting for +the first time in general concert, had acquired some dim notion of their +united strength. Soldiers and officers by and by to be arrayed against +one another had here fought as allies,--John Stark and Israel Putnam by +the side of William Howe; Horatio Gates by the side of Thomas Gage,--and +it had not always been the regulars that bore off the palm for skill and +endurance. One young man, of immense energy and fiery temper, united to +rare prudence and fertility of resource, had already become famous +enough to be talked about in England; in George Washington the +Virginians recognized a tower of strength. + + [Sidenote: Consequences of the great French War.] + + [Sidenote: Need for a steady revenue.] + +The overthrow of their ancient enemy, while further increasing the +self-confidence of the Americans, at the same time removed the +principal check which had hitherto kept their differences with the +British government from coming to an open rupture. Formerly the dread of +French attack had tended to make the Americans complaisant toward the +king's ministers, while at time it made the king's ministers unwilling +to lose the good will of the Americans. Now that the check was removed, +the continuance or revival of the old disputes at once foreboded +trouble; and the old occasions for dispute were far from having ceased. +On the contrary the war itself had given them fresh vitality. If money +had been needed before, it was still more needed now. The war had +entailed a heavy burden of expense upon the British government as well +as upon the colonies. The national debt of Great Britain was much +increased, and there were many who thought that, since the Americans +shared in the benefits of the war they ought also to share in the burden +which it left behind it. People in England who used this argument did +not realize that the Americans had really contributed as much as could +reasonably be expected to the support of the war, and that it had left +behind it debts to be paid in America as well as in England. But there +was another argument which made it seem reasonable to many Englishmen +that the colonists should be taxed. It seemed right that a small +military force should be kept up in America, for defence of the +frontiers against the Indians, even if there were no other enemies to be +dreaded. The events of Pontiac's war now showed that there was clearly +need of such a force; and the experience of the royal governors for half +a century had shown that it was very difficult to get the colonial +legislatures to vote money for any such purpose. Hence there grew up in +England a feeling that taxes ought to be raised in America as a +contribution to the war debt and to the military defence of the +colonies; and in order that such taxes should be fairly distributed and +promptly collected, it was felt that the whole business ought to be +placed under the direct supervision and control of parliament. In +accordance with this feeling the new prime minister, George Grenville in +1764 announced his intention of passing a Stamp Act for the easier +collection of revenue in America. Meanwhile things had happened in +America which had greatly irritated the people, especially in Boston, so +that they were in the mood for resisting anything that looked like +encroachment on the part of the British government. To understand this +other source of irritation, we must devote a few words to the laws by +which that government had for a long time undertaken to regulate the +commerce of the American colonies. + + [Sidenote: What European colonies were supposed to be founded for.] + +When European nations began to plant colonies in America, they treated +them in accordance with a theory which prevailed until it was upset by +the American Revolution. According to this ignorant and barbarous +theory, a colony was a community which existed only for the purpose of +enriching the country which had founded it. At the outset, the Spanish +notion of a colony was that of a military station, which might plunder +the heathen for the benefit of the hungry treasury of the Most Catholic +monarch. But this theory was short-lived, like the enjoyment of the +plunder which it succeeded in extorting. According to the principles and +practice of France and England--and of Spain also, after the first +romantic fury of buccaneering had spent itself--the great object in +founding a colony, besides increasing one's general importance in the +world and the area of one's dominions on the map, was to create a +dependent community for the purpose of trading with it. People's ideas +about trade were very absurd. It was not understood that when two +parties trade with each other freely, both must be gainers, or else one +would soon stop trading. It was supposed that in trade, just as in +gambling or betting, what the one party gains the other loses. +Accordingly laws were made to regulate trade so that, as far as +possible, all the loss might fall upon the colonies and all the gain +accrue to the mother-country. In order to attain this object, the +colonies were required to confine their trade entirely to England. No +American colony could send its tobacco or its rice or its indigo to +France or to Holland, or to any other country than England; nor could it +buy a yard of French silk or a pound of Chinese tea except from English +merchants. In this way English merchants sought to secure for themselves +a monopoly of purchases and a monopoly of sales. By a further provision, +although American ships might take goods to England, the carrying-trade +between the different colonies was strictly confined to British ships. +Next, in order to protect British manufacturers from competition, it was +thought necessary to prohibit the colonists from manufacturing. They +might grow wool, but it must be carried to England to be woven into +cloth; they might smelt iron, but it must be carried to England to be +made into ploughshares. Finally, in order to protect British farmers and +their landlords, corn-laws were enacted, putting a prohibitory tariff on +all kinds of grain and other farm produce shipped from the colonies to +ports in Great Britain. + +Such absurd and tyrannical laws had begun to be made in the reign of +Charles II., and by 1750 not less than twenty-nine acts of parliament +had been passed in this spirit. If these laws had been strictly +enforced, the American Revolution would probably have come sooner than +it did. In point of fact they were seldom strictly enforced, because so +long as the French were a power in America the British government felt +that it could not afford to irritate the colonists. In spite of laws to +the contrary, the carrying-trade between the different colonies was +almost monopolized by vessels owned, built, and manned in New England; +and the smuggling of foreign goods into Boston and New York and other +seaport towns was winked at. + + [Sidenote: Writs of assistance.] + +It was in 1761, immediately after the overthrow of the French in Canada, +that attempts were made to enforce the revenue laws more strictly than +heretofore; and trouble was at once threatened. Charles Paxton, the +principal officer of the custom-house in Boston, applied to the Superior +Court to grant him the authority to use "writs of assistance" in +searching for smuggled goods. A writ of assistance was a general +search-warrant, empowering the officer armed with it to enter, by force +if necessary, any dwelling-house or warehouse where contraband goods +were supposed to be stored or hidden. A special search-warrant was one +in which the name of the suspected person, and the house which it was +proposed to search, were accurately specified, and the goods which it +was intended to seize were as far as possible described. In the use of +such special warrants there was not much danger of gross injustice or +oppression, because the court would not be likely to grant one unless +strong evidence could be brought against the person whom it named. But +the general search-warrant, or "writ of assistance," as it was called +because men try to cover up the ugliness of hateful things by giving +them innocent names, was quite a different affair. It was a blank form +upon which the custom-house officer might fill in the names of persons +and descriptions of houses and goods to suit himself. Then he could go +and break into the houses and seize the goods, and if need be summon the +sheriff and his _posse_ to help him in overcoming and browbeating the +owner. The writ of assistance was therefore an abominable instrument of +tyranny. Such writs had been allowed by a statute of the evil reign of +Charles II.; a statute of William III. had clothed custom-house officers +in the colonies with like powers to those which they possessed in +England; and neither of these statutes had been repealed. There can +therefore be little doubt that the issue of such search-warrants was +strictly legal, unless the authority of Parliament to make laws for the +colonies was to be denied. + + [Sidenote: James Otis.] + +James Otis then held the crown office of advocate-general, with an ample +salary and prospects of high favour from government. When the revenue +officers called upon him, in view of his position, to defend their +cause, he resigned his office and at once undertook to act as counsel +for the merchants of Boston in their protest against the issue of the +writs. A large fee was offered him, but he refused it. "In such a +cause," said he, "I despise all fees." The case was tried in the +council-chamber at the east end of the old town-hall, or what is now +known as the "Old State-House," in Boston. Chief-justice Hutchinson +presided, and Jeremiah Gridley, one of the greatest lawyers of that day, +argued the case for the writs in a very powerful speech. The reply of +Otis, which took five hours in the delivery, was one of the greatest +speeches of modern times. It went beyond the particular legal question +at issue, and took up the whole question of the constitutional relations +between the colonies and the mother-country. At the bottom of this, as +of all the disputes that led to the Revolution, lay the ultimate +question whether Americans were bound to yield obedience to laws which +they had no share in making. This question, and the spirit that answered +it flatly and doggedly in the negative, were heard like an undertone +pervading all the arguments in Otis's wonderful speech, and it was +because of this that the young lawyer John Adams, who was present, +afterward declared that on that day "the child Independence was born." +Chief-justice Hutchinson was a man of great ability and as sincere a +patriot as any American of his time. He could feel the force of Otis's +argument, but he believed that Parliament was the supreme legislative +body for the whole British empire, and furthermore that it was the duty +of a judge to follow the law as it existed. He reserved his decision +until advice could be had from the law-officers of the crown in London; +and when next term he was instructed by them to grant the writs, this +result added fresh impetus to the spirit that Otis's eloquence had +aroused. The custom-house officers, armed with their writs, began +breaking into warehouses and seizing goods which were said to have been +smuggled. In this rough way they confiscated private property to the +value of many thousands of pounds; but sometimes the owners of +warehouses armed themselves and barricaded their doors and windows, and +thus the officers were often successfully defied, for the sheriff was +far from prompt in coming to aid them. + + [Sidenote: Patrick Henry, and the Parsons' Cause.] + +While such things were going on in Boston, the people of Virginia were +wrought into fierce excitement by what was known as the "Parsons' +Cause." The Church of England was at that time established by law in +Virginia, and its clergymen, appointed by English bishops, were +unpopular. In 1758 the legislature, under the pressure of the French +war, had passed an act which affected all public dues and incidentally +diminished the salaries of the clergy. Complaints were made to the +Bishop of London, and the act of 1758 was vetoed by the king in +council. Several clergymen then brought suits to recover the unpaid +portions of their salaries. In the first test case there could be no +doubt that the royal veto was legal enough, and the court therefore +decided in favour of the plaintiff. But it now remained to settle before +a jury the amount of the damages. It was on this occasion, in December, +1763, that the great orator Patrick Henry made his first speech in the +court-room and at once became famous. He declared that no power on earth +could take away from Virginia the right to make laws for herself, and +that in annulling a wholesome law at the request of a favoured class in +the community "a king, from being the father of his people, degenerates +into a tyrant, and forfeits all right to obedience." This bold talk +aroused much excitement and some uproar, but the jury instantly +responded by assessing the parson's damages at one penny, and in 1765 +Henry was elected a member of the colonial assembly. + +Thus almost at the same time in Massachusetts and in Virginia the +preliminary scenes of the Revolution occurred in the court-room. In each +case the representatives of the crown had the letter of the law on their +side, but the principles of the only sound public policy, by which a +Revolution could be avoided, were those that were defended by the +advocates of the people. At each successive move on the part of the +British government which looked like an encroachment upon the rights of +Americans, the sympathy between these two leading colonies now grew +stronger and stronger. + +It was in 1763 that George Grenville became prime minister, a man of +whom Macaulay says that he knew of "no national interests except those +which are expressed by pounds, shillings, and pence." Grenville +proceeded to introduce into Parliament two measures which had +consequences of which, he little dreamed. The first of these measures +was the Molasses Act, the second was the Stamp Act. + + [Sidenote: The Molasses Act.] + +Properly speaking, the Molasses Act was an old law which Grenville now +made up his mind to revive and enforce. The commercial wealth of the New +England colonies depended largely upon their trade with the fish which +their fishermen caught along the coast and as far out as the banks of +Newfoundland. The finest fish could be sold in Europe, but the poorer +sort found their chief market in the French West Indies. The French +government, in order to ensure a market for the molasses raised in these +islands, would not allow the planters to give anything else in exchange +for fish. Great quantities of molasses were therefore carried to New +England, and what was not needed there for domestic use was distilled +into rum, part of which was consumed at home, and the rest carried +chiefly to Africa wherewith to buy slaves to be sold to the southern +colonies. All this trade required many ships, and thus kept up a lively +demand for New England lumber, besides finding employment for thousands +of sailors and shipwrights. Now in 1733 the British government took it +into its head to "protect" its sugar planters in the English West Indies +by compelling the New England merchants to buy all their molasses from +them; and with this end in view it forthwith laid upon all sugar and +molasses imported into North America from the French islands a duty so +heavy that, if it had been enforced, it would have stopped all such +importation. It is very doubtful if this measure would have attained the +end which the British government had in view. Probably it would not have +made much difference in the export of molasses from the English West +Indies to New England, because the islanders happened not to want the +fish which their French neighbours coveted. But the New Englanders could +see that the immediate result would be to close the market for their +cheaper kinds of fish, and thus ruin their trade in lumber and rum, +besides shutting up many a busy shipyard and turning more than 5000 +sailors out of employment. It was estimated that the yearly loss to New +England would exceed £300,000. It was hardly wise in Great Britain to +entail such a loss upon some of her best customers; for with their +incomes thus cut down, it was not to be expected that the people of New +England would be able to buy as many farming tools, dishes, and pieces +of furniture, garments of silk or wool, and wines or other luxuries, +from British merchants as before. The government in passing its act of +1733 did not think of these consequences; but it proved to be impossible +to enforce the act without causing more disturbance than the government +felt prepared to encounter. Now in 1764 Grenville announced that the act +was to be enforced, and of course the machinery of writs of assistance +was to be employed for that purpose. Henceforth all molasses from the +French islands must either pay the prohibitory duty or be seized without +ceremony. + +Loud and fierce was the indignation of New England over this revival of +the Molasses Act. Even without the Stamp Act, it might very likely have +led that part of the country to make armed resistance, but in such case +it is not so sure that the southern and middle colonies would have come +to the aid of New England. But in the Stamp Act Grenville provided the +colonies with an issue which concerned one as much as another, and upon +which they were accordingly sure to unite in resistance. It was also a +much better issue for the Americans to take up, for it was not a mere +revival of an old act; it was a new departure; it was an imposition of a +kind to which the Americans had never before been called upon to +submit, and in resisting it they were sure to enlist the sympathies of a +good many powerful people in England. + + [Sidenote: The Stamp Act.] + +The Stamp Act was a direct tax laid upon the whole American people by +Parliament, a legislative body in which they were not represented. The +British government had no tyrannical purpose in devising this tax. A +stamp duty had already been suggested in 1755 by William Shirley, royal +governor of Massachusetts, a worthy man and much more of a favourite +with the people than most of his class. Shirley recommended it as the +least disagreeable kind of tax, and the easiest to collect. It did not +call for any hateful searching of people's houses and shops, or any +unpleasant questions about their incomes, or about their invested or +hoarded wealth. It only required that legal documents and commercial +instruments should be written, and newspapers printed, on stamped paper. +Of all kinds of direct tax none can be less annoying, except for one +reason; it is exceedingly difficult to evade such a tax; it enforces +itself. For these reasons Grenville decided to adopt it. He arranged it +so that all the officers charged with the business of selling the +stamped paper should be Americans; and he gave formal notice of the +measure in March, 1764, a year beforehand, in order to give the colonies +time to express their opinions about it. + + [Sidenote: Samuel Adams.] + +In the Boston town-meeting in May, almost as soon as the news had +arrived, the American view of the case was very clearly set forth in a +series of resolutions drawn up by Samuel Adams. This was the first of +the remarkable state papers from the pen of that great man, who now, at +the age of forty-two, was just entering upon a glorious career. Samuel +Adams was a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1740. He had +been reared in politics from boyhood, for his father, a deacon of the +Old South Church, had been chief spokesman of the popular party in its +disputes with the royal governors. Of all the agencies in organizing +resistance to Great Britain none were more powerful than the New England +town-meetings, among which that of the people of Boston stood +preëminent, and in the Boston town-meeting for more than thirty years no +other man exerted so much influence as Samuel Adams. This was because of +his keen intelligence and persuasive talk, his spotless integrity, +indomitable courage, unselfish and unwearying devotion to the public +good, and broad sympathy with all classes of people. He was a thorough +democrat. He respected the dignity of true manhood wherever he found it, +and could talk with sailors and shipwrights like one of themselves, +while at the same time in learned argument he had few superiors. He has +been called the "Father of the Revolution," and was no doubt its most +conspicuous figure before 1775, as Washington certainly was after that +date. + +This earliest state paper of Samuel Adams contained the first formal and +public denial of the right of Parliament to tax the colonies, because it +was not a body in which their people were represented. The resolutions +were adopted by the Massachusetts assembly, and a similar action was +taken by Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South +Carolina. The colonies professed their willingness to raise money in +answer to requisitions upon their assemblies, which were the only bodies +competent to lay taxes in America. Memorials stating these views were +sent to England, and the colony of Pennsylvania sent Dr. Franklin to +represent its case at the British court. Franklin remained in London +until the spring of 1775 as agent first for Pennsylvania, afterward for +Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Georgia,--a kind of diplomatic +representative of the views and claims of the Americans. + + [Sidenote: The Virginia Resolutions, 1765.] + +Grenville told Franklin that he wished to do things as pleasantly as +possible, and was not disposed to insist upon the Stamp Act, if the +Americans could suggest anything better. But when it appeared that no +alternative was offered except to fall back upon the old clumsy system +of requisitions, Grenville naturally replied that there ought to be some +more efficient method of raising money for the defence of the frontier. +Accordingly in March, 1765, the Stamp Act was passed, with so little +debate that people hardly noticed what was going on. But when the news +reached America there was an outburst of wrath that was soon heard and +felt in London. In May the Virginia legislature was assembled. George +Washington was sitting there in his seat, and Thomas Jefferson, then a +law-student, was listening eagerly from outside the door, when Patrick +Henry introduced the famous resolutions in which he declared, among +other things, that an attempt to vest the power of taxation in any other +body than the colonial assembly was a menace to the common freedom of +Englishmen, whether in Britain or in America, and that the people of +Virginia were not bound to obey any law enacted in disregard of this +principle. The language of the resolutions was bold enough, but a keener +edge was put upon it by the defiant note which rang out from Henry in +the course of the debate, when he commended the example of Tarquin and +Cæsar and Charles I. to the attention of George III. "If this be +treason," he exclaimed, as the speaker tried to call him to order, "if +this be treason, make the most of it!" + +The other colonies were not slow in acting. Massachusetts called for a +general congress, in order that all might discuss the situation and +agree upon some course to be pursued in common. South Carolina responded +most cordially, at the instance of her noble, learned, and far-sighted +patriot, Christopher Gadsden. On the 7th of October, delegates from nine +colonies met in a congress at New York, adopted resolutions like those +of Virginia, and sent a memorial to the king, whose sovereignty over +them they admitted, and a remonstrance to Parliament, whose authority to +tax them they denied. The meeting of this congress was in itself a +prophecy of what was to happen if the British government should persist +in the course upon which it had now entered. + + [Sidenote: Stamp Act riots.] + +Meanwhile the summer had witnessed riots in many places, and one of +these was extremely disgraceful. Chief-justice Hutchinson had tried to +dissuade the ministry from passing the Stamp Act, but an impression had +got abroad among the wharves and waterside taverns of Boston that he had +not only favoured it but had gone out of his way to send information to +London, naming certain merchants as smugglers. Under the influence of +this mistaken notion, on the night of the 26th of August a drunken mob +plundered Hutchinson's house in Boston and destroyed his library, which +was probably the finest in America at that time. Here, as is apt to be +the case, the mob selected the wrong victim. Its shameful act was +denounced by the people of Massachusetts, and the chief-justice was +indemnified by the legislature. In the other instances the riots were of +an innocent sort. Stamp officers were forced to resign. Boxes of +stamped paper arriving by ship were burned or thrown into the sea, and +at length the governor of New York was compelled by a mob to surrender +all the stamps entrusted to his care. These things were done for the +most part under the direction of societies of workingmen known as "Sons +of Liberty," who were pledged to resist the execution of the Stamp Act. +At the same time associations of merchants declared that they would buy +no more goods from England until the act should be repealed, and lawyers +entered into agreements not to treat any document as invalidated by the +absence of the required stamp. As for the editors, they published their +newspapers decorated with a grinning skull and cross-bones instead of +the stamp. + + [Sidenote: Repeal of the Stamp Act.] + +These demonstrations produced their effect in England. In July, 1765, +the Grenville ministry fell, and the new government, with Lord +Rockingham at its head, was more inclined to pay heed to the wishes and +views of the Americans. The debate over the repeal of the Stamp Act +lasted nearly three months and was one of the fiercest that had been +heard in Parliament for many a day. William Pitt declared that he +rejoiced in the resistance of the Americans, and urged that the act +should be repealed because Parliament ought never to have passed it; but +there were very few who took this view. As the result of the long +debate, at the end of March, 1766, the Stamp Act was repealed, and a +Declaratory Act was passed in which Parliament said in effect that it +had a right to make such laws for the Americans if it chose to do so. + +The people of London, as well as the Americans, hailed with delight the +repeal of the Stamp Act; but the real trouble had now only begun. The +resolutions of Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry and their approval by the +Congress at New York had thrown the question of American taxation into +the whirlpool of British politics, and there it was to stay until it +worked a change for the better in England as well as in America. + + [Sidenote: How the question was affected by British politics.] + +The principle that people must not be taxed except by their +representatives had been to some extent recognized in England for five +hundred years, and it was really the fundamental principle of English +liberty, but it was only very imperfectly that it had been put into +practice. In the eighteenth century the House of Commons was very far +from being a body that fairly represented the people of Great Britain. +For a long time there had been no change in the distribution of seats, +and meanwhile the population had been increasing very differently in +different parts of the kingdom. Thus great cities which had grown up in +recent times, such as Sheffield and Manchester, had no representatives +in Parliament, while many little boroughs with a handful of inhabitants +had their representatives. Some such boroughs had been granted +representation by Henry VIII. in order to create a majority for his +measures in the House of Commons. Others were simply petty towns that +had dwindled away, somewhat as the mountain villages of New England have +dwindled since the introduction of railroads. The famous Old Sarum had +members in Parliament long after it had ceased to have any inhabitants. +Seats for these rotten boroughs, as they were called, were simply bought +and sold. Political life in England was exceedingly corrupt; some of the +best statesmen indulged in wholesale bribery as if it were the most +innocent thing in the world. The country was really governed by a few +great families, some of whose members sat in the House of Lords and +others in the House of Commons. Their measures were often noble and +patriotic in the highest degree, but when bribery and corruption seemed +necessary for carrying them, such means were employed without scruple. + + [Sidenote: George III. and his political schemes.] + +When George III. came to the throne in 1760, the great families which +had thus governed England for half a century belonged to the party known +as Old Whigs. Under their rule the power of the crown had been reduced +to insignificance, and the modern system of cabinet government by a +responsible ministry had begun to grow up. The Tory families during this +period had been very unpopular, because of their sympathy with the +Stuart pretenders who had twice attempted to seize the crown and given +the country a brief taste of civil war. By 1760 the Tories saw that the +cause of the Stuarts was hopeless, and so they were inclined to transfer +their affections to the new king. George III. was a young man of narrow +intelligence and poor education, but he entertained very strong opinions +as to the importance of his kingly office. He meant to make himself a +real king, like the king of France or the king of Spain. He was +determined to break down the power of the Old Whigs and the system of +cabinet government, and as the Old Whigs had been growing unpopular, it +seemed quite possible, with the aid of the Tories, to accomplish this. +George was quite decorous in behaviour, and, although subject to fits of +insanity which became more troublesome in his later years, he had a +fairly good head for business. Industrious as a beaver and obstinate as +a mule, he was an adept in political trickery. In the corrupt use of +patronage he showed himself able to beat the Old Whigs at their own +game, and with the aid of the Tories he might well believe himself +capable of reviving for his own benefit the lost power of the crown. + + [Sidenote: The "New Whigs" and parliamentary reform.] + +Beside these two parties a third had been for some time growing up which +was in some essential points opposed to both of them. This third party +was that of the New Whigs. They wished to reform the representation in +Parliament in such wise as to disfranchise the rotten boroughs and give +representatives to great towns like Leeds and Manchester. They held that +it was contrary to the principles of English liberty that the +inhabitants of such great towns should be obliged to pay taxes in +pursuance of laws which they had no share in making. The leader of the +New Whigs was the greatest Englishman of the eighteenth century, the +elder William Pitt, now about to pass into the House of Lords as Earl of +Chatham. Their leader next in importance, William Petty, Earl of +Shelburne, was in 1765 a young man of eight-and-twenty, and afterward +came to be known as one of the most learned and sagacious statesmen of +his time. These men were the forerunners of the great liberal leaders of +the nineteenth century, such men as Russell and Cobden and Gladstone. +Their first decisive and overwhelming victory was the passage of Lord +John Russell's Reform Bill in 1832, but the agitation for reform was +begun by William Pitt in 1745, and his famous son came very near winning +the victory on that question in 1782. + +Now this question of parliamentary reform was intimately related to the +question of taxing the American colonies. From some points of view they +might be considered one and the same question. At a meeting of +Presbyterian ministers in Philadelphia, it was pertinently asked, "Have +two men chosen to represent a poor English borough that has sold its +votes to the highest bidder any pretence to say that they represent +Virginia or Pennsylvania? And have four hundred such fellows a right to +take our liberties?" In Parliament, on the other hand, as well as at +London dinner tables, and in newspapers and pamphlets, it was repeatedly +urged that the Americans need not make so much fuss about being taxed +without being represented, for in that respect they were no worse off +than the people of Sheffield or Birmingham. To this James Otis replied, +"Don't talk to us any more about those towns, for we are tired of such a +flimsy argument. If they are not represented, they ought to be;" and by +the New Whigs this retort was greeted with applause. + +The opinions and aims of the three different parties were reflected in +the long debate over the repeal of the Stamp Act. The Tories wanted to +have the act continued and enforced, and such was the wish of the king. +Both sections of Whigs were in favour of repeal, but for very different +reasons. Pitt and the New Whigs, being advocates of parliamentary +reform, came out flatly in support of the principle that there should be +no taxation without representation. Edmund Burke and the Old Whigs, +being opposed to parliamentary reform and in favour of keeping things +just as they were, could not adopt such an argument; and accordingly +they based their condemnation of the Stamp Act upon grounds of pure +expediency. They argued that it was not worth while, for the sake of a +little increase of revenue, to irritate three million people and run the +risk of getting drawn into a situation from which there would be no +escape except in either retreating or fighting. There was much practical +wisdom in this Old Whig argument, and it was the one which prevailed +when Parliament repealed the Stamp Act and expressly stated that it did +so only on grounds of expediency. + + [Sidenote: Why George III. was ready to pick a quarrel with the + Americans.] + +There was one person, however, who was far from satisfied with this +result, and that was George III. He was opposed to parliamentary reform +for much the same reason that the Old Whigs were opposed to it, because +he felt that it threatened him with political ruin. The Old Whigs needed +the rotten boroughs in order to maintain their own control over +Parliament and the country. The king needed them because he felt himself +able to wrest them from the Old Whigs by intrigue and corruption, and +thus hoped to build up his own power. He believed, with good reason, +that the suppression of the rotten boroughs and the granting of fair and +equal representation would soon put a stronger curb upon the crown than +ever. Accordingly there were no men whom he dreaded and wished to put +down so much as the New Whigs; and he felt that in the repeal of the +Stamp Act, no matter on what ground, they had come altogether too near +winning a victory. He felt that this outrageous doctrine that people +must not be taxed except by their representatives needed to be sternly +rebuked, and thus he found himself in the right sort of temper for +picking a fresh quarrel with the Americans. + + [Sidenote: Charles Townshend and his revenue acts, 1767.] + + [Sidenote: Lord North.] + +An occasion soon presented itself. One of the king's devices for +breaking down the system of cabinet government was to select his +ministers from different parties, so that they might be unable to work +harmoniously together. Owing to the peculiar divisions of parties in +Parliament he was for some years able to carry out this policy, and +while his cabinets were thus weak and divided, he was able to use his +control of patronage with telling effect. In July, 1766, he got rid of +Lord Rockingham and his Old Whigs, and formed a new ministry made up +from all parties. It contained Pitt, who had now, as Earl of Chatham, +gone into the House of Lords, and at the same time Charles Townshend, as +Chancellor of the Exchequer. Townshend, a brilliant young man, without +any political principles worth mentioning, was the most conspicuous +among a group of wire-pullers who were coming to be known as "the king's +friends." Serious illness soon kept Chatham at home, and left Townshend +all-powerful in the cabinet, because he was bold and utterly +unscrupulous and had the king to back him. His audacity knew no limits, +and he made up his mind that the time had come for gathering all the +disputed American questions, as far as possible, into one bundle, and +disposing of them once for all. So in May, 1767, he brought forward in +Parliament a series of acts for raising and applying a revenue in +America. The colonists, he said, had objected to a direct tax, but they +had often submitted to port duties, and could not reasonably refuse to +do so again. Duties were accordingly to be laid on glass, paper, lead, +and painter's colours; on wine, oil, and fruits, if carried directly to +America from Spain and Portugal; and especially on tea. A board of +commissioners was to be established at Boston, to superintend the +collection of revenue throughout the colonies, and writs of assistance +were to be expressly legalized. The salaries of these commissioners were +to be paid out of the revenue thus collected. Governors, judges, and +crown-attorneys were to be made independent of the colonial legislatures +by having their salaries paid by the crown out of this same fund. A +small army was also to be kept up; and if after providing for these +various expenses, any surplus remained, it could be used by the crown in +giving pensions to Americans and thus be made to serve as a +corruption-fund. These measures were adopted on the 29th of June, and as +if to refute anybody who might be inclined to think that rashness could +no further go, Townshend accompanied them with a special act directed +against the New York legislature, which had refused to obey an order +concerning the quartering of troops. By way of punishment, Townshend now +suspended the legislature. A few weeks after carrying these measures +Townshend died of a fever, and his place was taken by Lord North, eldest +son of the Earl of Guilford. North was thirty-five years of age. He was +amiable and witty, and an excellent debater, but without force of will. +He let the king rule him, and was at the same time able to show a strong +hand in the House of Commons, so that the king soon came to regard him +as a real treasure. Soon after North's appointment, Lord Chatham and +other friends of America in the cabinet resigned their places and were +succeeded by friends of the king. From 1768 to 1782 George III. was to +all intents and purposes his own prime minister, and contrived to keep a +majority in Parliament. During those fourteen years the American +question was uppermost, and his policy was at all hazards to force the +colonists to abandon their position that taxation must go hand in hand +with representation. + + [Sidenote: What the Townshend acts really meant.] + +This purpose was already apparent in Charles Townshend's acts. They were +not at all like previous acts imposing port duties to which the +Americans had submitted. British historians sometimes speak of the +American Revolution as an affair which grew out of a mere dispute about +money; and even among Americans, in ordinary conversation and sometimes +in current literature, the unwillingness of our forefathers to pay a tax +of threepence a pound on tea is mentioned without due reference to the +attendant circumstances which made them refuse to pay such a tax. We +cannot hope to understand the fierce wrath by which they were animated +unless we bear in mind not only the simple fact of the tax, but also the +spirit in which it was levied and the purpose for which the revenue was +to be used. The Molasses Act threatening the ruin of New England +commerce was still on the statute-book, and commissioners, armed with +odious search-warrants for enforcing this and other tyrannical laws, +were on their way to America. For more than half a century the people +had jealously guarded against the abuse of power by the royal governors +by making them dependent upon the legislatures for their salaries. Now +they were all at once to be made independent, so that they might even +dismiss the legislatures, and if need be call for troops to help them. +The judges, moreover, with their power over men's lives and property, +were no longer to be responsible to the people. If these changes were to +be effected, it would be nothing less than a revolution by which the +Americans would be deprived of their liberty. And, to crown all, the +money by which this revolution was to be brought about was to be +contributed in the shape of port duties by the Americans themselves! To +expect our forefathers to submit to such legislation as this was about +as sensible as it would have been to expect them to obey an order to buy +halters and hang themselves. + +When the news of the Townshend acts reached Massachusetts, the assembly +at its next session took a decided stand. Besides a petition to the king +and letters to several leading British statesmen, it issued a circular +letter addressed to the other twelve colonies, asking for their friendly +advice and coöperation with reference to the Townshend measures. These +papers were written by Samuel Adams. The circular letter was really an +invitation to the other colonies to concert measures of resistance if it +should be found necessary. It enraged the king, and presently an order +came across the ocean to Francis Bernard, royal governor of +Massachusetts, to demand of the assembly that it rescind its circular +letter, under penalty of instant dissolution. Otis exclaimed that Great +Britain had better rescind the Townshend acts if she did not wish to +lose her colonies. The assembly decided, by a vote of 92 to 17, that it +would not rescind. This flat defiance was everywhere applauded. The +assemblies of the other colonies were ordered to take no notice of the +Massachusetts circular, but the order was generally disobeyed, and in +several cases the governors turned the assemblies out of doors. The +atmosphere of America now became alive with politics; more meetings were +held, more speeches made, and more pamphlets printed, than ever before. + + [Sidenote: The quarrel was not between England and America, but + between George III. and the principles which the Americans + maintained.] + +In England the dignified and manly course of the Americans was generally +greeted with applause by Whigs of whatever sort, except those who had +come into the somewhat widening circle of "the king's friends." The Old +Whigs,--Burke, Fox, Conway, Savile, Lord John Cavendish, and the Duke of +Richmond; and the New Whigs,--Chatham, Shelburne, Camden, Dunning, +Barré, and Beckford; steadily defended the Americans throughout the +whole of the Revolutionary crisis, and the weight of the best +intelligence in the country was certainly on their side. Could they have +acted as a united body, could Burke and Fox have joined forces in +harmony with Chatham and Shelburne, they might have thwarted the king +and prevented the rupture with America. But George III. profited by the +hopeless division between these two Whig parties; and as the quarrel +with America grew fiercer, he succeeded in arraying the national pride +to some extent upon his side and against the Whigs. This made him feel +stronger and stimulated his zeal against the Americans. He felt that if +he could first crush Whig principles in America, he could then turn and +crush them in England. In this he was correct, except that he +miscalculated the strength of the Americans. It was the defeat of his +schemes in America that ensured their defeat in England. It is quite +wrong and misleading, therefore, to remember the Revolutionary War as a +struggle between the British people and the American people. It was a +struggle between two hostile principles, each of which was represented +in both countries. In winning the good fight, our forefathers won a +victory for England as well as for America. What was crushed was George +III. and the kind of despotism which he wished to fasten upon America in +order that he might fasten it upon England. If the memory of George III. +deserves to be execrated, it is especially because he succeeded in +giving to his own selfish struggle for power the appearance of a +struggle between the people of England and the people of America; and in +so doing, he sowed seeds of enmity and distrust between two glorious +nations that, for their own sakes and for the welfare of mankind, ought +never for one moment to be allowed to forget their brotherhood. Time, +however, is rapidly repairing the damage which George III.'s policy +wrought, and it need in nowise disturb our narrative. In this brief +sketch we must omit hundreds of interesting details; but, if we would +look at things from the right point of view, we must bear in mind that +every act of George III., from 1768 onward, which brought on and carried +on the Revolutionary War, was done in spite of the earnest protest of +many of the best people in England; and that the king's wrong-headed +policy prevailed only because he was able, through corrupt methods, to +command a parliament which did not really represent the people. Had the +principles in support of which Lord Chatham joined hands with Samuel +Adams for one moment prevailed, the king's schemes would have collapsed +like a soap-bubble. + +As it was, in 1768 the king succeeded, in spite of strong opposition, in +carrying his point. He saw that the American colonies were disposed to +resist the Townshend acts, and that in this defiant attitude +Massachusetts was the ringleader. The Massachusetts circular pointed +toward united action on the part of the colonies. Above all things it +was desirable to prevent any such union, and accordingly the king +decided to make his principal attack upon Massachusetts, while dealing +more kindly with the other colonies. Thus he hoped Massachusetts might +be isolated and humbled, and in this belief he proceeded faster and more +rashly than if he had supposed himself to be dealing with a united +America. In order to catch Samuel Adams and James Otis, and get them +sent over to England for trial, he attempted to revive an old statute of +Henry VIII. about treason committed abroad; and in order to enforce the +revenue laws in spite of all opposition, he ordered troops to be sent to +Boston. + + [Sidenote: Troops sent to Boston.] + +This was a very harsh measure, and some excuse was needed to justify it +before Parliament. It was urged that Boston was a disorderly town, and +the sacking of Hutchinson's house could be cited in support of this +view. Then in June, 1768, there was a slight conflict between +townspeople and revenue officers, in which no one was hurt, but which +led to a great town-meeting in the Old South Meeting-House, and gave +Governor Bernard an opportunity for saying that he was intimidated and +hindered in the execution of the laws. The king's real purpose, however, +in sending troops was not so much to keep the peace as to enforce the +Townshend acts, and so the people of Boston understood it. Except for +these odious and tyrannical laws, there was nothing that threatened +disturbance in Boston. The arrival of British troops at Long Wharf, in +the autumn of 1768, simply increased the danger of disturbance, and in a +certain sense it may be said to have been the beginning of the +Revolutionary War. Very few people realized this at the time, but Samuel +Adams now made up his mind that the only way in which the American +colonies could preserve their liberties was to unite in some sort of +federation and declare themselves independent of Great Britain. It was +with regret that he had come to this conclusion, and he was very slow in +proclaiming it, but after 1768 he kept it distinctly before his mind. He +saw clearly the end toward which public opinion was gradually drifting, +and because of his great influence over the Boston town-meeting and the +Massachusetts assembly, this clearness of purpose made him for the next +seven years the most formidable of the king's antagonists in America. + +The people of Boston were all the more indignant at the arrival of +troops in their town because the king in his hurry to send them had even +disregarded the act of Parliament which provided for such cases. +According to that act the soldiers ought to have been lodged in Castle +William on one of the little islands in the harbour. Even according to +British-made law they had no business to be quartered in Boston so long +as there was room for them, in the Castle. During the next seventeen +months the people made several formal protests against their presence in +town, and asked for their removal. But these protests were all fruitless +until innocent blood had been shed. The soldiers generally behaved no +worse than rough troopers on such occasions are apt to do, and the +townspeople for the most part preserved decorum, but quarrels now and +then occurred, and after a while became frequent. In September, 1769, +James Otis was brutally assaulted at the British Coffee House by one of +the commissioners of customs aided and abetted by two or three army +officers. His health was already feeble and in this affray he was struck +on the head with a sword and so badly injured that he afterward became +insane. After this the feeling of the people toward the soldiers was +more bitter than ever. In February, 1770, there was much disturbance. +Toward the end of the month an informer named Richardson fired from his +window into a crowd and killed a little boy about eleven years of age, +named Christopher Snyder. The funeral of this poor boy, the first victim +of the Revolution, was attended on Monday, the 26th, by a great +procession of citizens, including those foremost in wealth and +influence. + + [Sidenote: The "Boston Massacre."] + +The rest of that week was full of collisions which on Friday almost +amounted to a riot and led the governor's council to consider seriously +whether the troops ought not to be removed. But before they had settled +the question the crisis came on Monday evening, March 5, in an affray +before the Custom House on King street, when seven of Captain Preston's +company fired into the crowd, killing five men and wounding several +others. Two of the victims were innocent bystanders. Two were sailors +from ships lying in the harbour, and they, together with the remaining +victim, a ropemaker, had been actively engaged in the affray. One of the +sailors, a mulatto or half-breed Indian of gigantic stature, named +Crispus Attucks, had been especially conspicuous. The slaughter of these +five men secured in a moment what so many months of decorous protest had +failed to accomplish. Much more serious bloodshed was imminent when +Lieutenant-governor Hutchinson arrived upon the scene and promptly +arrested the offending soldiers. The next day there was an immense +meeting at the Old South, and Samuel Adams, at the head of a committee, +came into the council chamber at the Town House, and in the name of +three thousand freemen sternly commanded Hutchinson to remove the +soldiers from the town. Before sunset they had all been withdrawn to the +Castle. When the news reached the ears of Parliament there was some talk +of reinstating them in the town, but Colonel Barré cut short the +discussion with the pithy question, "if the officers agreed in removing +the soldiers to Castle William, what minister will dare to send them +back to Boston?" + + [Sidenote: Lord North, as prime minister removes all duties except + on tea, 1770.] + +Thus the so-called "Boston Massacre" wrought for the king a rebuff which +he felt perhaps even more keenly than the repeal of the Stamp Act. Not +only had his troops been peremptorily turned out of Boston, but his +policy had for the moment weakened in its hold upon Parliament. In the +summer of 1769 the assembly of Virginia adopted a very important series +of resolutions condemning the policy of Great Britain and recommending +united action on the part of the colonies in defence of their liberties. +The governor then dissolved the assembly, whereupon its members met in +convention at the Raleigh tavern and adopted a set of resolves prepared +by Washington, strictly forbidding importations from England until the +Townshend acts should be repealed. These resolves were generally adopted +by the colonies, and presently the merchants of London, finding their +trade falling off, petitioned Parliament to reconsider its policy. In +January, 1770, Lord North became prime minister. In April all the duties +were taken off, except the duty on tea, which the king insisted upon +retaining, in order to avoid surrendering the principle at issue. The +effect of even this partial concession was to weaken the spirit of +opposition in America, and to create a division among the colonies. In +July the merchants of New York refused to adhere any longer to the +non-importation agreement except with regard to tea, and they began +sending orders to England for various sorts of merchandise. Rhode Island +and New Hampshire also broke the agreement. This aroused general +indignation, and ships from the three delinquent colonies were driven +from such ports as Boston and Charleston. + + [Sidenote: Want of union.] + +Union among the colonies was indeed only skin deep. The only thing +which kept it alive was British aggression. Almost every colony had some +bone of contention with its neighbours. At this moment New York and New +Hampshire were wrangling over the possession of the Green Mountains, and +guerrilla warfare was going on between Connecticut and Pennsylvania in +the valley of Wyoming. It was hard to secure concerted action about +anything. For two years after the withdrawal of troops from Boston there +was a good deal of disturbance in different parts of the country; +quarrels between governors and their assemblies were kept up with +increasing bitterness; in North Carolina there was an insurrection +against the governor which was suppressed only after a bloody battle +near the Cape Fear river; in Rhode Island the revenue schooner Gaspee +was seized and burned, and when an order came from the ministry +requiring the offenders to be sent to England for trial, the +chief-justice of Rhode Island, Stephen Hopkins, refused to obey the +order. But amid all these disturbances there appeared nothing like +concerted action on the part of the colonies. In June, 1772, Hutchinson +said that the union of the colonies seemed to be broken, and he hoped it +would not be renewed, for he believed it meant separation from the +mother-country, and that he regarded as the worst of calamities. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE CRISIS. + + + [Sidenote: Salaries of the judges.] + +The surest way to renew and cement the union was to show that the +ministry had not relaxed in its determination to enforce the principle +of the Townshend acts. This was made clear in August, 1772, when it was +ordered that in Massachusetts the judges should henceforth be paid by +the crown. Popular excitement rose to fever heat, and the judges were +threatened with impeachment should they dare accept a penny from the +royal treasury. The turmoil was increased next year by the discovery in +London of the package of letters which were made to support the unjust +charge against Hutchinson and some of his friends that they had +instigated and aided the most extreme measures of the ministry. + + [Sidenote: Committees of Correspondence.] + +In the autumn of 1772 Hutchinson refused to call an extra session of the +assembly to consider what should be done about the judges. Samuel Adams +then devised a scheme by which the towns of Massachusetts could consult +with each other and agree upon some common course of action in case of +emergencies. For this purpose each town was to appoint a standing +committee, and as a great part of their work was necessarily done by +letter they were called "committees of correspondence." This was the +step that fairly organized the Revolution. It was by far the most +important of all the steps that preceded the Declaration of +Independence. The committees did their work with great efficiency and +the governor had no means of stopping it. They were like an invisible +legislature that was always in session and could never be dissolved; and +when the old government fell they were able to administer affairs until +a new government could be set up. In the spring of 1773 Virginia carried +this work of organization a long step further, when Dabney Carr +suggested and carried a motion calling for committees of correspondence +between the several colonies. From this point it was a comparatively +short step to a permanent Continental Congress. + +It happened that these preparations were made just in time to meet the +final act of aggression which brought on the Revolutionary War. The +Americans had thus far successfully resisted the Townshend acts and +secured the repeal of all the duties except on tea. As for tea they had +plenty, but not from England; they smuggled it from Holland in spite of +custom-houses and search-warrants. Clearly unless the Americans could be +made to buy tea from England and pay the duty on it, the king must own +himself defeated. + + [Sidenote: Tea ships sent by the king, as a challenge.] + +Since it appeared that they could not be forced into doing this, it +remained to be seen if they could be tricked into doing it. A truly +ingenious scheme was devised. Tea sent by the East India Company to +America had formerly paid a duty in some British port on the way. This +duty was now taken off, so that the price of the tea for America might +be lowered. The company's tea thus became so cheap that the American +merchant could buy a pound of it and pay the threepence duty beside for +less than it cost him to smuggle a pound of tea from Holland. It was +supposed that the Americans would of course buy the tea which they could +get most cheaply, and would thus be beguiled into submission to that +principle of taxation which they had hitherto resisted. Ships laden with +tea were accordingly sent in the autumn of 1773 to Boston, New York, +Philadelphia, and Charleston; and consignees were appointed to receive +the tea in each of these towns. + +Under the guise of a commercial operation, this was purely a political +trick. It was an insulting challenge to the American people, and merited +the reception which they gave it. They would have shown themselves +unworthy of their rich political heritage had they given it any other. +In New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston mass-meetings of the people +voted that the consignees should be ordered to resign their offices, and +they did so. At Philadelphia the tea-ship was met and sent back to +England before it had come within the jurisdiction of the custom-house. +At Charleston the tea was landed, and as there was no one to receive it +or pay the duty, it was thrown into a damp cellar and left there to +spoil. + + [Sidenote: How the challenge was received; the "Boston Tea Party," + Dec. 16, 1773.] + +In Boston things took a different turn. The stubborn courage of Governor +Hutchinson prevented the consignees, two of whom were his own sons, from +resigning; the ships arrived and were anchored under guard of a +committee of citizens; if they were not unloaded within twenty days, the +custom-house officers were empowered by law to seize them and unload +them by force; and having once come within the jurisdiction of the +custom-house, they could not go out to sea without a clearance from the +collector or a pass from the governor. The situation was a difficult +one, but it was most nobly met by the men of Massachusetts. The +excitement was intense, but the proceedings were characterized from +first to last by perfect quiet and decorum. In an earnest and solemn, +almost prayerful spirit, the advice of all the towns in the commonwealth +was sought, and the response was unanimous that the tea must on no +account whatever be landed. Similar expressions of opinion came from +other colonies, and the action of Massachusetts was awaited with +breathless interest. Many town-meetings were held in Boston, and the +owner of the ships was ordered to take them away without unloading; but +the collector contrived to fritter away the time until the nineteenth +day, and then refused a clearance. On the next day, the 16th of +December, 1773, seven thousand people were assembled in town-meeting in +and around the Old South Meeting-House, while the owner of the ships was +sent out to the governor's house at Milton to ask for a pass. It was +nightfall when he returned without it, and there was then but one thing +to be done. By sunrise next morning the revenue officers would board the +ships and unload their cargoes, the consignees would go to the +custom-house and pay the duty, and the king's scheme would have been +crowned with success. The only way to prevent this was to rip open the +tea-chests and spill their contents into the sea, and this was done, +according to a preconcerted plan and without the slightest uproar or +disorder, by a small party of men disguised as Indians. Among them were +some of the best of the townsfolk, and the chief manager of the +proceedings was Samuel Adams. The destruction of the tea has often been +spoken of, especially by British historians, as a "riot," but nothing +could have been less like a riot. It was really the deliberate action of +the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the only fitting reply to the +king's insulting trick. It was hailed with delight throughout the +thirteen colonies, and there is nothing in our whole history of which +an educated American should feel more proud. + + [Sidenote: The Retaliatory Acts, April, 1774.] + +The effect upon the king and his friends was maddening, and events were +quickly brought to a crisis. In spite of earnest opposition retaliatory +acts were passed through Parliament in April, 1774. One of these was the +Port Bill, for shutting up the port of Boston and stopping its trade +until the people should be starved and frightened into paying for the +tea that had been thrown overboard. Another was the Regulating Act, by +which the charter of Massachusetts was annulled, its free government +swept away, and a military governor appointed with despotic power like +Andros. These acts were to go into operation on the 1st of June, and on +that day Governor Hutchinson sailed for England, in the vain hope of +persuading the king to adopt a milder policy. It was not long before his +property was confiscated, like that of other Tories, and after six years +of exile he died in London. The new governor, Thomas Gage, who had long +been commander of the military forces in America, was a mild and +pleasant man without much strength of character. His presence was +endured but his authority was not recognized in Massachusetts. Troops +were now quartered again in Boston, but they could not prevent the +people from treating the Regulating Act with open contempt. Courts +organized under that act were prevented from sitting, and councillors +were compelled to resign their places. The king's authority was +everywhere quietly but doggedly defied. At the same time the stoppage of +business in Boston was the cause of much distress which all the colonies +sought to relieve by voluntary contributions of food and other needed +articles. + + [Sidenote: Continental Congress meets, Sept. 1774.] + +The events of the last twelve months had gone further than anything +before toward awakening a sentiment of union among the people of the +colonies. It was still a feeble sentiment, but it was strong enough to +make them all feel that Boston was suffering in the common cause. The +system of corresponding committees now ripened into the Continental +Congress, which held its first meeting at Philadelphia in September, +1774. Among the delegates were Samuel and John Adams, Robert Livingston, +John Rutledge, John Dickinson, Samuel Chase, Edmund Pendleton, Richard +Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, and George Washington. Their action was +cautious and conservative. They confined themselves for the present to +trying the effect of a candid statement of grievances, and drew up a +Declaration of Rights and other papers, which were pronounced by Lord +Chatham unsurpassed for ability in any age or country. In Parliament, +however, the king's friends were becoming all-powerful, and the only +effect produced by these papers was to goad them toward further attempts +at coercion. Massachusetts was declared to be in a state of rebellion, +as in truth she was. + + [Sidenote: The Suffolk Resolves, Sept. 1774.] + +While Samuel Adams was at Philadelphia, the lead in Boston was taken by +his friend Dr. Warren. In a county convention held at Milton in +September, Dr. Warren drew up a series of resolves which fairly set on +foot the Revolution. They declared that the Regulating Act was null and +void, and that a king who violates the chartered rights of his subjects +forfeits their allegiance; they directed the collectors of taxes to +refuse to pay the money collected to Gage's treasurer; and they +threatened retaliation in case Gage should venture to arrest any one for +political reasons. These bold resolves were adopted by the convention +and sanctioned by the Continental Congress. Next month the people of +Massachusetts formed a provisional government, and began organizing a +militia and collecting military stores at Concord and other inland +towns. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775.] + +General Gage's position at this time was a trying one for a man of his +temperament. In an unguarded moment he had assured the king that four +regiments ought to be enough to bring Massachusetts into an attitude of +penitence. Now Massachusetts was in an attitude of rebellion, and he +realized that he had not troops enough to command the situation. People +in England were blaming him for not doing something, and late in the +winter he received a positive order to arrest Samuel Adams and his +friend John Hancock, then at the head of the new provisional government +of Massachusetts, and send them to England to be tried for high treason. +On the 18th of April, 1775, these gentlemen were staying at a friend's +house in Lexington; and Gage that evening sent out a force of 800 men to +seize the military stores accumulated at Concord, with instructions to +stop on the way at Lexington and arrest Adams and Hancock. But Dr. +Warren divined the purpose of the movement, and his messenger, Paul +Revere, succeeded in forewarning the people, so that by the time the +troops arrived at Lexington the birds were flown. The soldiers fired +into a company of militia on Lexington common and slew eight or ten of +their number; but by the time they reached Concord the country was +fairly aroused and armed yeomanry were coming upon the scene by +hundreds. In a sharp skirmish the British were defeated and, without +having accomplished any of the objects of their expedition, began their +retreat toward Boston, hotly pursued by the farmers who fired from +behind walls and trees after the Indian fashion. A reinforcement of 1200 +men at Lexington saved the routed troops from destruction, but the +numbers of their assailants grew so rapidly that even this larger force +barely succeeded in escaping capture. At sunset the British reached +Charlestown after a march which was a series of skirmishes, leaving +nearly 300 of their number killed or wounded along the road. By that +time yeomanry from twenty-three townships had joined in the pursuit. The +alarm spread like wildfire through New England, and fresh bands of +militia arrived every hour. Within three days Israel Putnam and Benedict +Arnold had come from Connecticut and John Stark from New Hampshire, a +cordon of 16,000 men was drawn around Boston, and the siege of that town +was begun. + + [Sidenote: Capture of Ticonderoga, May 10, 1775.] + + [Sidenote: Washington appointed to command the army, June 15, 1775.] + + [Sidenote: Charles Lee.] + +The belligerent feeling in New England had now grown so strong as to +show itself in an act of offensive warfare. On the 10th of May, just +three weeks after Lexington, the fortresses at Ticonderoga and Crown +Point, controlling the line of communication between New York and +Canada, were surprised and captured by men from the Green Mountains and +Connecticut valley under Ethan Allen and Seth Warner. The Congress, +which met on that same day at Philadelphia, showed some reluctance in +sanctioning an act so purely offensive; but in its choice of a president +the spirit of defiance toward Great Britain was plainly shown. John +Hancock, whom the British commander-in-chief was under stringent orders +to arrest and send over to England to be tried for treason, was chosen +to that eminent position on the 24th of May. This showed that the +preponderance of sentiment in the country was in favour of supporting +the New England colonies in the armed struggle into which they had +drifted. This was still further shown two days later, when Congress in +the name of the "United Colonies of America" assumed the direction of +the rustic army of New England men engaged in the siege of Boston. As +Congress was absolutely penniless and had no power to lay taxes, it +proceeded to borrow £6000 for the purchase of gunpowder. It called for +ten companies of riflemen from Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, to +reinforce what was henceforth known as the Continental army; and on the +15th of June it appointed George Washington commander-in-chief. The +choice of Washington was partly due to the general confidence in his +ability and in his lofty character. In the French War he had won a +military reputation higher than that of any other American, and he was +already commander-in-chief of the forces of Virginia. But the choice was +also partly due to sound political reasons. The Massachusetts leaders, +especially Samuel Adams and his cousin John, were distrusted by some +people as extremists and fire-eaters. They wished to bring about a +declaration of independence, for they believed it to be the only +possible cure for the evils of the time. The leaders in other colonies, +upon which the hand of the British government had not borne so heavily, +had not yet advanced quite so far as this. Most of them believed that +the king could be brought to terms; they did not realize that he would +never give way because it was politically as much a life and death +struggle for him as for them. Washington was not yet clearly in favour +of independence, nor was Jefferson, who a twelvemonth hence was to be +engaged in writing the Declaration. It is doubtful if any of the leading +men as yet agreed with the Adamses, except Dr. Franklin, who had just +returned from England after his ten years' stay there, and knew very +well how little hope was to be placed in conciliatory measures. The +Adamses, therefore, like wise statesmen, were always on their guard lest +circumstances should drive Massachusetts in the path of rebellion faster +than the sister colonies were likely to keep pace with her. This was +what the king above all things wished, and by the same token it was what +they especially dreaded and sought to avoid. To appoint George +Washington to the chief command was to go a long way toward irrevocably +committing Virginia to the same cause with Massachusetts, and John Adams +was foremost in urging the appointment. Its excellence was obvious to +every one, and we hear of only two persons that were dissatisfied. One +of these was John Hancock, who coveted military distinction and was vain +enough to think himself fit for almost any position. The other was +Charles Lee, a British officer who had served in America in the French +War and afterward wandered about Europe as a soldier of fortune. He had +returned to America in 1773 in the hope of playing a leading part here. +He set himself up as an authority on military questions, and pretended +to be a zealous lover of liberty. He was really an unprincipled +charlatan for whom, the kindest thing that can be said is that perhaps +he was slightly insane. He had hoped to be appointed to the chief +command, and was disgusted when he found himself placed second among the +four major-generals. The first major-general was Artemas Ward of +Massachusetts; the third was Philip Schuyler of New York; the fourth was +Israel Putnam of Connecticut. Eight brigadier-generals were appointed, +among whom we may here mention Richard Montgomery of New York, William +Heath of Massachusetts, John Sullivan of New Hampshire, and Nathanael +Greene of Rhode Island. The adjutant-general, Horatio Gates, was an +Englishman who had served in the French War, and since then had lived in +Virginia. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775.] + +While Congress was appointing officers and making regulations for the +Continental army, reinforcements for the British had landed in Boston, +making their army 10,000 strong. The new troops were commanded by +General William Howe, a Whig who disapproved of the king's policy. With +him came Sir Henry Clinton and John Burgoyne, who were more in sympathy +with the king. Howe and Burgoyne were members of Parliament. On the +arrival of these reinforcements Gage prepared to occupy the heights in +Charlestown known as Breed's and Bunker's hills. These heights commanded +Boston, so that hostile batteries placed there would make it necessary +for the British to evacuate the town. On the night of June 16, the +Americans anticipated Gage in seizing the heights, and began erecting +fortifications on Breed's Hill. It was an exposed position for the +American force, which might easily have been cut off and captured if the +British had gone around by sea and occupied Charlestown Neck in the +rear. The British preferred to storm the American works. In two +desperate assaults, on the afternoon of the 17th, they were repulsed +with the loss of one-third of their number; and the third assault +succeeded only because the Americans were not supplied with powder. By +driving the Americans back to Winter Hill, the British won an important +victory and kept their hold upon Boston. The moral effect of the battle, +however, was in favour of the Americans, for it clearly indicated that +under proper circumstances they might exhibit a power of resistance +which the British would find it impossible to overcome. It was with +George III. as with Pyrrhus: he could not afford to win many victories +at such cost, for his supply of soldiers for America was limited, and +his only hope of success lay in inflicting heavy blows. In winning +Bunker Hill his troops were only holding their own; the siege of Boston +was not raised for a moment. + +The practical effect upon the British army was to keep it quiet for +several months. General Howe, who presently superseded Gage, was a brave +and well-trained soldier, but slothful in temperament. His way was to +strike a blow, and then wait to see what would come of it, hoping no +doubt that political affairs might soon take such a turn as to make it +unnecessary to go on with this fratricidal war. This was fortunate for +the Americans, for when Washington took command of the army at Cambridge +on the 3d of July, he saw that little or nothing could be done with that +army until it should be far better organized, disciplined, and equipped, +and in such work he found enough to occupy him for several months. + + [Sidenote: Last petition to the king; and its answer.] + +[Illustration: Invasion of Canada by Montgomery and Arnold.] + +Meanwhile Congress, at the instance of John Dickinson of Pennsylvania +and John Jay of New York, decided to try the effect of one more candid +statement of affairs, in the form of a petition to the king. This paper +reached London on the 14th of August, but the king refused to receive +it, although it was signed by the delegates as separate individuals and +not as members of an unauthorized or revolutionary body. His only answer +was a proclamation dated August 23, in which he called for volunteers +to aid in putting down the rebellion in America. At the same time he +opened negotiations with the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, the duke of +Brunswick, and other petty German princes, and succeeded in hiring +20,000 troops to be sent to fight against his American subjects. When +the news of this reached America it produced a profound effect. Perhaps +nothing done in that year went so far toward destroying the lingering +sentiment of loyalty. + + [Sidenote: Americans invade Canada, Aug., 1775--June, 1776.] + +In the spring Congress had hesitated about encouraging offensive +operations. In the course of the summer it was ascertained that the +governor of Canada, Sir Guy Carleton, was planning an invasion of +northern New York and hoping to obtain the coöperation of the Six +Nations and the Tories of the Mohawk valley. Congress accordingly +decided to forestall him by invading Canada. Two lines of invasion were +adopted. Montgomery descended Lake Champlain with 2000 men, and after a +campaign of two months captured Montreal on the 12th of November. At the +same time Benedict Arnold and Daniel Morgan set out from Cambridge with +1200 men, and made their way through the wilderness of Maine, up the +valley of the Kennebec and down that of the Chaudière, coming out upon +the St. Lawrence opposite Quebec on the 13th of November. This long +march through the primeval forest and over rugged and trackless +mountains was one of the most remarkable exploits of the war. It cost +the lives of 200 men, but besides this the rear-guard gave out and went +back to Cambridge, so that when Arnold reached Quebec he had only 700 +men, too few for an attack upon the town. After Montgomery joined him, +it was decided to carry the works by storm, but in the unsuccessful +assault on December 31, Montgomery was killed, Arnold disabled, and +Morgan taken prisoner. During the winter Carleton was reinforced until +he was able to recapture Montreal. The Americans were gradually driven +back, and by June, 1776, had retreated to Crown Point. Carleton then +resumed his preparations for invading New York. + + [Sidenote: Washington takes Boston, March 17, 1776.] + +While the northern campaign was progressing thus unfavourably, the +British were at length driven from Boston. Howe had unaccountably +neglected to occupy Dorchester heights, which commanded the town; and +Washington, after waiting till a sufficient number of heavy guns could +be collected, advanced on the night of March 4 and occupied them with +2000 men. His position was secure. The British had no alternative but to +carry it by storm or retire from Boston. Not caring to repeat the +experiment of Bunker Hill, they embarked on the 17th of March and sailed +to Halifax, where they busied themselves in preparations for an +expedition against New York. Late in April Washington transferred his +headquarters to New York, where he was able to muster about 8000 men for +its defence. Thus the line of the Hudson river was now threatened with +attack at both its upper and lower ends. + + [Sidenote: Lord Dunmore in Virginia.] + +This change in the seat of war marks the change that had come over the +political situation. It was no longer merely a rebellious Massachusetts +that must be subdued; it was a continental Union that must be broken up. +During the winter and spring the sentiment in favour of a declaration of +independence had rapidly grown in strength. In November, 1775, Lord +Dunmore, royal governor of Virginia, sought to intimidate the +revolutionary party by a proclamation offering freedom to such slaves as +would enlist under the king's banner. This aroused the country against +Dunmore, and in December he was driven from Norfolk and took refuge in a +ship of war. On New Year's Day he bombarded the town and laid it in +ashes from one end to the other. This violence rapidly made converts to +the revolutionary party, and further lessons were learned from the +experience of their neighbours in North Carolina. + + [Sidenote: North Carolina and Virginia.] + +That colony was the scene of fierce contests between Whigs and Tories. +As early as May 31, 1775, the patriots of Mecklenburg county had +adopted resolutions pointing toward independence and forwarded them to +their delegates in Congress, who deemed it impolitic, however, to lay +them before that body. Josiah Martin, royal governor of North Carolina, +was obliged to flee on board ship in July. He busied himself with plans +for the complete subjugation of the southern colonies, and corresponded +with the government in London, as well as with his Tory friends ashore. +In pursuance of these plans Sir Henry Clinton, with 2000 men, was +detached in January, 1776, from the army in Boston, and sent to the +North Carolina coast; a fleet under Sir Peter Parker was sent from +Ireland to meet him; and a force of 1600 Tories was gathered to assist +him as soon as he should arrive. But the scheme utterly failed. The +fleet was buffeted by adverse winds and did not arrive; the Tories were +totally defeated on February 27 in a sharp fight at Moore's Creek; and +Clinton, thus deprived of his allies, deemed it most prudent for a while +to keep his troops on shipboard. On the 12th of April the patriots of +North Carolina instructed their delegates in Congress to concur with +other delegates in a declaration of independence. On the 14th of May +Virginia went further, and instructed her delegates to propose such a +declaration. South Carolina, Georgia, and Rhode Island expressed a +willingness to concur in any measures which Congress might think best +calculated to promote the general welfare. In the course of May +town-meetings throughout Massachusetts expressed opinions unanimously in +favour of independence. + +Massachusetts had already, as long ago as July, 1775, framed a new +government in which the king was not recognized; and her example had +been followed by New Hampshire in January, 1776, and by South Carolina +in March. Now on the 15th of May Congress adopted a resolution advising +all the other colonies to form new governments, because the king had +"withdrawn his protection" from the American people, and all governments +deriving their powers from him were accordingly set aside as of no +account. This resolution was almost equivalent to a declaration of +independence, and it was adopted only after hot debate and earnest +opposition from the middle colonies. + + [Sidenote: Richard Henry Lee's motion in Congress.] + +On the 7th of June, in accordance with the instructions of May 14 from +Virginia, Richard Henry Lee submitted to Congress the following +resolutions:-- + +"That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and +independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the +British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the +State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; + +"That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for +forming foreign alliances; + +"That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the +respective colonies for their consideration and approbation." + +This motion of Virginia, in which Independence and Union went hand in +hand, was at once seconded by Massachusetts, as represented by John +Adams. It was opposed by John Dickinson and James Wilson of +Pennsylvania, and by Robert Livingston of New York, on the ground that +the people of the middle colonies were not yet ready to sever the +connection with the mother country. As the result of the discussion it +was decided to wait three weeks, in the hope of hearing from all those +colonies which had not yet declared themselves. + +The messages from those colonies came promptly enough. As for +Connecticut and New Hampshire, there could be no doubt; and their +declarations for independence, on the 14th and 15th of June +respectively, were simply dilatory expressions of their sentiments. They +were late, only because Connecticut had no need to form a new government +at all, while New Hampshire had formed one as long ago as January. Their +support of the proposed declaration of independence was already secured, +and it was only in the formal announcement of it that they were somewhat +belated. But with the middle colonies it was different. There the +parties were more evenly balanced, and it was not until the last moment +that the decision was clearly pronounced. This was not because they were +less patriotic than the other colonies, but because their direct +grievances were fewer, and up to this moment they had hoped that the +quarrel was one which a change of ministry in Great Britain might +adjust. In the earlier stages of the quarrel they had been ready enough +to join hands with Massachusetts and Virginia. It was only on this +irrevocable decision as to independence that they were slow to act. + + [Sidenote: The middle colonies.] + +But in the course of the month of June their responses to the invitation +of Congress came in,--from Delaware on the 14th, from New Jersey on the +22d, from Pennsylvania on the 24th, from Maryland on the 28th. This +action of the middle colonies was avowedly based on the ground that, in +any event, united action was the thing most to be desired; so that, +whatever their individual preferences might be, they were ready to +subordinate them to the interests of the whole country. The broad and +noble spirit of patriotism shown in their resolves is worthy of no less +credit than the bold action of the colonies which, under the stimulus of +direct aggression, first threw down the gauntlet to George III. + +On the 1st of July, when Lee's motion was taken up in Congress, all the +colonies had been heard from except New York. The circumstances of this +central colony were peculiar. We have already seen that the Tory party +was especially strong in New York. Besides this, her position was more +exposed to attack on all sides than that of any other state. As the +military centre of the Union, her territory was sure to be the scene of +the most desperate fighting. She was already threatened with invasion +from Canada. As a frontier state she was exposed to the incursions of +the terrible Iroquois, and as a sea-board state she was open to the +attack of the British fleet. At that time, moreover, the population of +New York numbered only about 170,000, and she ranked seventh among the +thirteen colonies. The military problem was therefore much harder for +New York than for Massachusetts or Virginia. Her risks were greater than +those of any other colony. For these reasons the Whig party in New York +found itself seriously hampered in its movements, and the 1st of July +arrived before their delegates in Congress had been instructed how to +vote on the question of independence. + + [Sidenote: Difficulties in New York.] + +Richard Henry Lee had been suddenly called home to Virginia by the +illness of his wife, and so the task of defending his motion fell upon +John Adams who had seconded it. His speech on that occasion was so able +that Thomas Jefferson afterward spoke of him as "the Colossus of that +debate." As Congress sat with closed doors and no report was made of +the speech, we have no definite knowledge of its arguments. Fifty years +afterwards, shortly after John Adams's death, Daniel Webster wrote an +imaginary speech containing what in substance he _might_ have said. The +principal argument in opposition was made by John Dickinson, who thought +that before the Americans finally committed themselves to a deadly +struggle with Great Britain, they ought to establish some stronger +government than the Continental Congress, and ought also to secure a +promise of help from some such country as France. This advice was +cautious, but it was not sound and practical. War had already begun, and +if we had waited to agree upon some permanent kind of government before +committing all the colonies to a formal defiance of Great Britain, there +was great danger that the enemy might succeed in breaking up the Union +before it was really formed. Besides, it is not likely that France would +ever have decided to go to war in our behalf until we had shown that we +were able to defend ourselves. It was now a time when the boldest advice +was the safest. + + [Sidenote: The Declaration of Independence, July 1 to 4, 1776.] + +During this debate on the 1st of July Congress was sitting as a +committee of the whole, and at the close of the day a preliminary vote +was taken. Like all the votes in the Continental Congress, it was taken +by colonies. The majority of votes in each delegation determined the +vote of that colony. Each colony had one vote, and two-thirds of the +whole number, or nine colonies against four, were necessary for a +decision. On this occasion the New York delegates did not vote at all, +because they had no instructions. One delegate from Delaware voted yea +and another nay; the third delegate, Cæsar Rodney, had been down in the +lower counties of his little state, arguing against the loyalists. A +special messenger had been sent to hurry him back, but he had not yet +arrived, and so the vote of Delaware was divided and lost. Pennsylvania +declared in the negative by four votes against three. South Carolina +also declared in the negative. The other nine colonies all voted in the +affirmative, and so the resolution received just votes enough to carry +it. A very little more opposition would have defeated it, and would +probably have postponed the declaration for several weeks. + +The next day Congress took the formal vote upon the resolution. Mr. +Rodney had now arrived, so that the vote of Delaware was given in the +affirmative. John Dickinson and Robert Morris stayed away, so that +Pennsylvania was now secured for the affirmative by three votes against +two. Though Dickinson and Morris were so slow to believe it necessary or +prudent to declare independence, they were firm supporters of the +declaration after it was made. Without Morris, indeed, it is hard to +see how the Revolution could have succeeded. He was the great financier +of his time, and his efforts in raising money for the support of our +hard-pressed armies were wonderful. + +When the turn of the South Carolina delegates came they changed their +votes in order that the declaration might go forth to the world as the +unanimous act of the American people. The question was thus settled on +the 2d of July, and the next thing was to decide upon the form of the +declaration, which Jefferson, who was weak in debate but strong with the +pen, had already drafted. The work was completed on the 4th of July, +when Jefferson's draft was adopted and published to the world. Five days +afterward the state of New York declared her approval of these +proceedings. The Rubicon was crossed, and the thirteen English colonies +had become the United States of America. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE STRUGGLE FOR THE CENTRE. + + + [Sidenote: Lord Cornwallis.] + +While these things were going on at Philadelphia, the coast of South +Carolina, as well as the harbour of New York, was threatened by the +British fleet. When the delegates from South Carolina gave their votes +on the question of independence, they did not know but the revolutionary +government in Charleston might already have been taken captive or +scattered in flight. After a stormy voyage Sir Peter Parker's squadron +at length arrived off Cape Fear early in May, and joined Sir Henry +Clinton. Along with Sir Peter came an officer worthy of especial +mention. Charles, Earl Cornwallis, was then thirty-eight years old. He +had long served with distinction in the British army, and had lately +reached the grade of lieutenant-general. In politics he was a New Whig, +and had on several occasions signified his disapproval of the king's +policy toward America. As a commander his promptness and vigour +contrasted strongly with the slothfulness of General Howe. Cornwallis +was the ablest of the British generals engaged in the Revolutionary War, +and among the public men of his time there were few, if any, more +high-minded, disinterested, faithful, and pure. After the war was over, +he won great fame as governor-general of India from 1786 to 1794. He was +afterward raised to the rank of marquis and appointed lord-lieutenant of +Ireland. In 1805 he was sent out again to govern India, and died there. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Fort Moultrie, June 28, 1776.] + + [Sidenote: Lord Howe's effort toward conciliation.] + +On the arrival of the fleet it was decided to attack and capture +Charleston, and overthrow the new government there. General Charles Lee +was sent down by Congress to defend the city, but the South Carolina +patriots proved quite able to take care of themselves. On Sullivan's +Island in Charleston harbour Colonel William Moultrie built a low +elastic fortress of palmetto logs supported by banks of sand and +mounting several heavy guns. In the cannonade which took place on the +28th of June this rude structure escaped with little injury, while its +guns inflicted such serious damage upon the fleet that the British were +obliged to abandon for the present all thought of taking Charleston. In +the course of July they sailed for New York harbour to reinforce General +Howe. On the 12th of that month the general's brother, Richard, Lord +Howe, arrived at Staten Island to take the chief command of the fleet. +He was one of the ablest seamen of his time, and was a favourite with +his sailors, by whom, on account of his swarthy complexion, he was +familiarly known as "Black Dick." Lord Howe and his brother were +authorized to offer terms to the Americans and endeavour to restore +peace by negotiation. It was not easy, however, to find any one in +America with whom to negotiate. Lord Howe was sincerely desirous of +making peace and doing something to heal the troubles which had brought +on the war; and he seems to have supposed that some good might be +effected by private interviews with leading Americans. To send a message +to Congress was, of course, not to be thought of; for that would be +equivalent to recognizing Congress as a body entitled to speak for the +American people. He brought with him an assurance of amnesty and pardon +for all such rebels as would lay down their arms, and decided that it +would be best to send it to the American commander; but as it was not +proper to recognize the military rank which had been conferred upon +Washington by a revolutionary body, he addressed his message to "George +Washington, Esq.," as to a private citizen. When Washington refused to +receive such a message, his lordship could think of no one else to +approach except the royal governors. But they had all fled, except +Governor Franklin of New Jersey, who was under close confinement in East +Windsor, Connecticut. All British authority in the United States had +disappeared, and there was no one for Lord Howe to negotiate with, +unless he should bethink himself of some way of laying his case before +Congress. + + [Sidenote: Change in the British military plan, due to the union of + the colonies in the Declaration of Independence.] + +Military operations were now taken up in earnest by the British, and +were briskly carried on for nearly six months. They were for the most +part concentrated upon the state of New York. Before 1776 it was +Massachusetts that was the chief object of military measures on the part +of the British. That was the colony that since the summer of 1774 had +defied the king's troops and set at naught the authority of Parliament; +and the first object of the British was to make an example of that +colony, to suppress the rebellion there, and to reinstate the royal +government. The king believed that it would not take long to do this, +and there is some reason for supposing that if he had succeeded in +humbling Massachusetts, he would have been ready to listen to +Hutchinson's request that the vindictive acts of April, 1774, should be +repealed and the charter restored. At all events, he seems to have felt +confident that things could soon be made so quiet that Hutchinson could +return and resume the office of governor. If the king and his friends +had not entertained such ill-founded hopes, they would not have been so +ready to resort to violent measures. They made the fatal mistake of +supposing that such a man as Samuel Adams represented only a small +party and not the majority of the people. They had also supposed that +the other colonies would not make common cause with Massachusetts. But +now, before they had accomplished any of their objects, and while their +troops had even been driven from Boston, they found that the rebellion +had spread through the whole country. They had a belligerent government +to confront, and must now enter upon the task of conquering the United +States. + + [Sidenote: Why the British concentrated their attack upon the state + of New York.] + +The first and most obvious method of attempting this was to strike at +New York as the military centre. In such a plan everything seemed to +favour the British. The state was comparatively weak in population and +resources; a large proportion of the people were Tories; and close at +hand on the frontier, which was then in the Mohawk valley, were the most +formidable Indians on the continent. These Iroquois had long been under +the influence of the famous Sir William Johnson, of Johnson Hall, near +Schenectady, and his son Sir John Johnson. Their principal sachem, +Joseph Brant, or Thayendanegea, was connected by the closest bonds of +friendship with the Johnsons, and the latter were staunch Tories. It +might reasonably be expected that the entire force of these Indians +could be enlisted on the British side. The work for the regular army +seemed thus to be reduced to the single problem of capturing the city +of New York and obtaining full control of the Hudson river. + +If this could be done, the United States would be cut in two. As the +Americans had no ships of war, they could not dispute the British +command of the water. There was no way in which the New England states +could hold communication with the South except across the southern part +of the state of New York. To gain this central position would thus be to +deal a fatal blow to the American cause, and it seemed to the British +government that, with the forces now in the field, this ought easily to +be accomplished. General Carleton was ready to come down from the north +by way of Lake Champlain, with 12,000 men, and General Schuyler could +scarcely muster half as many to oppose him. On Staten Island there were +more than 25,000 British troops ready to attack New York, while +Washington's utmost exertions had succeeded in getting together only +about 18,000 men for the defence of the city. The American army was as +yet very poor in organization and discipline, badly equipped, and +scantily fed; and it seemed very doubtful whether it could long keep the +field in the presence of superior forces. + + [Sidenote: Washington's military genius.] + +But in spite of all these circumstances, so favourable to the British, +there was one obstacle to their success upon which at first they did not +sufficiently reckon. That obstacle was furnished by the genius and +character of the wonderful man who commanded the American army. In +Washington were combined all the highest qualities of a general,--dogged +tenacity of purpose, endless fertility in resource, sleepless vigilance, +and unfailing courage. No enemy ever caught him unawares, and he never +let slip an opportunity of striking back. He had a rare geographical +instinct, always knew where the strongest position was, and how to reach +it. He was a master of the art of concealing his own plan and detecting +his adversary's. He knew better than to hazard everything upon the +result of a single contest, and because of the enemy's superior force he +was so often obliged to refuse battle that some of his impatient critics +called him slow; but no general was ever quicker in dealing heavy blows +when the proper moment arrived. He was neither unduly elated by victory +nor discouraged by defeat. When all others lost heart he was bravest; +and at the very moment when ruin seemed to stare him in the face, he was +craftily preparing disaster and confusion for the enemy. + +To the highest qualities of a military commander there were united in +Washington those of a political leader. From early youth he possessed +the art of winning men's confidence. He was simple without awkwardness, +honest without bluntness, and endowed with rare discretion and tact. His +temper was fiery and on occasion he could use pretty strong language, +but anger or disappointment was never allowed to disturb the justice and +kindness of his judgment. Men felt themselves safe in putting entire +trust in his head and his heart, and they were never deceived. Thus he +soon obtained such a hold upon the people as few statesmen have ever +possessed. It was this grand character that, with his clear intelligence +and unflagging industry, enabled him to lead the nation triumphantly +through the perils of the Revolutionary War. He had almost every +imaginable hardship to contend with,--envious rivals, treachery and +mutiny in the camp, interference on the part of Congress, jealousies +between the states, want of men and money; yet all these difficulties he +vanquished. Whether victorious or defeated on the field, he baffled the +enemy in the first year's great campaign and in the second year's, and +then for four years more upheld the cause until heart-sickening delay +was ended in glorious triumph. It is very doubtful if without Washington +the struggle for independence would have succeeded as it did. Other men +were important, he was indispensable. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Long Island, Aug. 27, 1776.] + +The first great campaign began, as might have been expected, with defeat +on the field. In order to keep possession of the city of New York it was +necessary to hold Brooklyn Heights. That was a dangerous position for an +American force, because it was entirely separated from New York by deep +water, and could thus be cut off from the rest of the American army by +the enemy's fleet. It was necessary, however, for Washington either to +occupy Brooklyn Heights or to give up the city of New York without a +struggle. But the latter course was out of the question. It would never +do to abandon the Whigs in New York to the tender mercies of the Tories, +without at least one good fight. So the position in Brooklyn must be +fortified, and there was perhaps one chance in a hundred that, through +some blunder of the enemy, we might succeed in holding it. Accordingly +9000 men were stationed on Brooklyn Heights under Putnam, who threw +forward about half of this force, under Sullivan and Stirling, to defend +the southern approaches through the rugged country between Gowanus bay +and Bedford. On the 22d of August General Howe crossed from Staten +Island to Gravesend bay with 20,000 men, and on the 27th he defeated +Sullivan and Stirling in what has ever since been known as the battle of +Long Island. About 400 men were killed and wounded on each side, and +1000 Americans, including both generals, were taken captive. A more +favourable result for the Americans was not to be expected, as the +British outnumbered them four to one, and could therefore march where +they pleased and turn the American flank without incurring the slightest +risk. The wonder is, not that 5000 half-trained soldiers were defeated +by 20,000 veterans, but that they should have given General Howe a good +day's work in defeating them. + + [Sidenote: Washington's skilful retreat.] + +The American forces were now withdrawn into their works on Brooklyn +Heights, and Howe advanced to besiege them. During the next two days +Washington collected boats and on the night of the 29th conveyed the +army across the East River to New York. With the enemy's fleet +patrolling the harbour and their army watching the works, this was a +most remarkable performance. To this day one cannot understand, unless +on the supposition that the British were completely dazed and +moonstruck, how Washington could have done it. + + [Sidenote: Howe takes New York, Sept. 15, 1776.] + +People were much disheartened by the defeat on Long Island and the +immediate prospect of losing New York. Lord Howe turned his thoughts +once more to negotiation, and at length, on September 11, succeeded in +obtaining an informal interview with Franklin, John Adams, and Edward +Rutledge. But nothing was accomplished, and seventeen eventful months +elapsed before the British again seriously tried negotiation. General +Howe had extended his lines northward, and on the 15th his army crossed +the East River in boats, and landed near the site of Thirty-Fourth +street. On the same day Washington completed the work of evacuating the +city. His army was drawn up across the island from the mouth of Harlem +river to Fort Washington, and over on the Jersey side of the Hudson, +opposite Fort Washington, a detachment occupied Fort Lee. It was hoped +that these two forts would be able to prevent British ships from going +up the Hudson river, but this hope soon proved to be delusive. + +On the 16th General Howe tried to break through the centre of +Washington's position at Harlem Heights, but after losing 300 men he +gave up the attempt, and spent the next three weeks in studying the +situation. A sad incident came now to remind the people of the sternness +of military law. Nathan Hale, a young graduate of Yale College, captain +of a company of Connecticut rangers, had been for several days within +the British lines gathering information. Just as he had accomplished his +purpose, and was on the point of departing with his memoranda, he was +arrested as a spy and hanged next morning, lamenting on the gallows that +he had but one life to lose for his country. + + [Sidenote: Battle of White Plains, Oct. 28, 1776.] + +As Howe deemed it prudent not to attack Washington in front, he tried to +get around into his rear, and began on October 12 by landing a large +force at Throg's Neck, in the Sound. But Washington baffled him by +changing front, swinging his left wing northward as far as White Plains. +After further reflection Howe decided to try a front attack once more; +on the 28th he assaulted the position at White Plains, and carried one +of the outposts, losing twice as many men as the Americans. Not wishing +to continue the fight at such a disadvantage he paused again, and +Washington improved the occasion by retiring to a still stronger +position at Northcastle. These movements had separated Washington's main +body from his right wing at Forts Washington and Lee, and Howe now +changed his plan. Desisting from the attempt against the American main +body, he moved southward against this exposed wing. + +A sad catastrophe now followed, which showed how many obstacles +Washington had to contend with. It was known that Carleton's army was on +the way from Canada. Congress was nervously afraid of losing its hold +upon the Hudson river, and Washington accordingly selected West Point as +the strongest position upon the river, to be fortified and defended at +all hazards. He sent Heath, with 3000 men, to hold the Highland passes, +and went up himself to inspect the situation and give directions about +the new fortifications. He left 7000 of his main body at Northcastle, in +charge of Lee, who had just returned from South Carolina. He sent 5000, +under Putnam, across the river to Hackensack; and ordered Greene, who +had some 5000 men at Forts Washington and Lee, to prepare to evacuate +both those strongholds and join his forces to Putnam's. + +If these orders had been carried out, Howe's movement against Fort +Washington would have accomplished but little, for on reaching that +place, he would have found nothing but empty works, as at Brooklyn. The +American right wing would have been drawn together at Hackensack, and +the whole army could have been concentrated on either bank of the great +river, as the occasion might seem to require. If Howe should aim at the +Highlands, it could be kept close to the river and cover all the passes. +If, on the other hand, Howe should threaten the Congress at +Philadelphia, the whole army could be collected in New Jersey to hold +him in check. + + [Sidenote: Howe takes Fort Washington, Nov. 16, 1776.] + +But Washington's orders were not obeyed. Congress was so uneasy that it +sent word to Greene to hold both his forts as long as he could. +Accordingly he strengthened the garrison at Fort Washington, just in +time for Howe to overwhelm and capture it, on the 16th of November, +after an obstinate resistance. In killed and wounded the British loss +was three times as great as that of the garrison, but the Americans were +in no condition to afford the loss of 8000 men taken prisoners. It was a +terrible blow. On the 19th Greene barely succeeded in escaping from Fort +Lee, with his remaining 2000 men, but without his cannon and stores. + + [Sidenote: Treachery of Charles Lee.] + +Bad as the situation was, however, it did not become really alarming +until it was complicated with the misconduct of General Lee. Washington +had returned from West Point on the 14th, too late to prevent the +catastrophe; but after all it was only necessary for Lee's wing of the +army to cross the river, and there would be a solid force of 14,000 men +on the Jersey side, able to confront the enemy on something like equal +terms, for Howe had to keep a good many of his troops in New York. On +the 17th Washington ordered Lee to come over and join him; but Lee +disobeyed, and in spite of repeated orders from Washington he stayed at +Northcastle till the 2d of December. General Ward had some time since +resigned, so that Lee now ranked next to Washington. A good many people +were finding fault with the latter for losing the 3000 men at Fort +Washington, although, as we have seen, that was not his fault but the +fault of Congress. Lee now felt that if Washington were ruined, he would +surely become his successor in the command of the army, and so, instead +of obeying his orders, he spent his time in writing letters calculated +to injure him. + + [Sidenote: Washington's retreat through New Jersey.] + +Lee's disobedience thus broke the army in two, and did more for the +British than they had been able to do for themselves since they started +from Staten Island. It was the cause of Washington's flight through New +Jersey, ending on the 8th of December, when he put himself behind the +Delaware river, with scarcely 3000 men. Here was another difficulty. The +American soldiers were enlisted for short terms, and when they were +discouraged, as at present, they were apt to insist upon going home as +soon as their time had expired. It was generally believed that +Washington's army would thus fall to pieces within a few days. Howe did +not think it worth while to be at the trouble of collecting boats +wherewith to follow him across the Delaware. Congress fled to Baltimore. +People in New Jersey began taking the oath of allegiance to the crown. +Howe received the news that he had been knighted for his victory on Long +Island, and he returned to New York to celebrate the occasion. + + [Sidenote: Arnold's naval battle at Valcour Island, Oct. 11, 1776.] + +While the case looked so desperate for Washington, events at the north +had taken a less unfavourable turn. Carleton had embarked on Lake +Champlain early in the autumn with his fine army and fleet. Arnold had +fitted up a small fleet to oppose his advance, and on the 11th of +October there had been a fierce naval battle between the two near +Valcour Island, in which Arnold was defeated, while Carleton suffered +serious damage. The British general then advanced upon Ticonderoga, but +suddenly made up his mind that the season was too late for operations in +that latitude. The resistance he had encountered seems to have made him +despair of achieving any speedy success in that quarter, and on the 3d +of November he started back for Canada. This retreat relieved General +Schuyler at Albany of immediate cause for anxiety, and presently he +detached seven regiments to go southward to Washington's assistance. + + [Sidenote: Charles Lee is captured by British dragoons, + Dec. 13, 1776.] + +On the 2d of December Lee crossed the Hudson with 4000 men, and +proceeded slowly to Morristown. Just what he designed to do was never +known, but clearly he had no intention of going beyond the Delaware to +assist Washington, whom he believed to be ruined. Perhaps he thought +Morristown a desirable position to hold, as it certainly was. Whatever +his plans may have been, they were nipped in the bud. For some unknown +reason he passed the night of the 12th at an unguarded tavern, about +four miles from his army; and there he was captured next morning by a +party of British dragoons, who carried him off to their camp at +Princeton. The dragoons were very gleeful over this unexpected exploit, +but really they could not have done the Americans a greater service than +to rid them of such a worthless creature. The capture of Lee came in the +nick of time, for it set free his men to go to the aid of Washington. +Even after this force and that sent by Schuyler had reached the +commander-in-chief, he found he had only 6000 men fit for duty. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Trenton, Dec. 26, 1776.] + +[Illustration: Washington's Campaigns IN NEW JERSEY & PENNSYLVANIA.] + +With this little force Washington instantly took the offensive. It was +the turning-point in his career and in the history of the Revolutionary +War. On Christmas, 1776, and the following nine days, all Washington's +most brilliant powers were displayed. The British centre, 10,000 strong, +lay at Princeton. The principal generals, thinking the serious business +of the war ended, had gone to New York. An advanced party of Hessians, +1000 strong, was posted on the bank of the Delaware at Trenton, and +another one lower down, at Burlington. Washington decided to attack both +these outposts, and arranged his troops accordingly, but when Christmas +night arrived, the river was filled with great blocks of floating ice, +and the only division which succeeded in crossing was the one that +Washington led in person. It was less than 2500 in number, but the +moment had come when the boldest course was the safest. By daybreak +Washington had surprised the Hessians at Trenton and captured them all. +The outpost at Burlington, on hearing the news, retreated to Princeton. +By the 31st Washington had got all his available force across to +Trenton. Some of them were raw recruits just come in to replace others +who had just gone home. At this critical moment the army was nearly +helpless for want of money, and on New Year's morning Robert Morris was +knocking at door after door in Philadelphia, waking up his friends to +borrow the fifty thousand dollars which he sent off to Trenton before +noon. The next day Cornwallis arrived at Princeton, and taking with him +all the army, except a rear-guard of 2000 men left to protect his +communications, came on toward Trenton. + +When he reached that town, late in the afternoon, he found Washington +entrenched behind a small creek just south of the town, with his back +toward the Delaware river. "Oho!" said Cornwallis, "at last we have run +down the old fox, and we will bag him in the morning." He sent back to +Princeton, and ordered the rear-guard to come up. He expected next +morning to cross the creek above Washington's right, and then press him +back against the broad and deep river, and compel him to surrender. +Cornwallis was by no means a careless general, but he seems to have gone +to bed on that memorable night and slept the sleep of the just. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Princeton, Jan. 3, 1777.] + +Washington meanwhile was wide awake. He kept his front line noisily at +work digging and entrenching, and made a fine show with his campfires. +Then he marched his army to the right and across the creek, and got +around Cornwallis's left wing and into his rear, and so went on gayly +toward Princeton. At daybreak he encountered the British rear-guard, +fought a sharp battle with it and sent it flying, with the loss of +one-fourth of its number. The booming guns aroused Cornwallis too late. +To preserve his communications with New York, he was obliged to retreat +with all haste upon New Brunswick, while Washington's victorious army +pushed on and occupied the strong position at Morristown. + +There was small hope of dislodging such a general from such a position. +But to leave Washington in possession of Morristown was to resign to him +the laurels of this half-year's work. For that position guarded the +Highlands of the Hudson on the one hand, and the roads to Philadelphia +on the other. Except that the British had taken the city of New +York--which from the start was almost a foregone conclusion--they were +no better off than in July when Lord Howe had landed on Staten Island. +In nine days the tables had been completely turned. The attack upon an +outpost had developed into a campaign which quite retrieved the +situation. The ill-timed interference of Congress, which had begun the +series of disasters, was remedied; the treachery of Lee was checkmated; +and the cause of American Independence, which on Christmas Eve had +seemed hopeless, was now fairly set on its feet. Earlier successes had +been local; this was continental. Seldom has so much been done with such +slender means. + + [Sidenote: Effects of the campaign, in Europe.] + +The American war had begun to awaken interest in Europe, especially in +France, whither Franklin, with Silas Deane and Arthur Lee, had been +sent to seek for military aid. The French government was not yet ready +to make an alliance with the United States, but money and arms were +secretly sent over to Congress. Several young French nobles had asked +the king's permission to go to America, but it was refused, and for the +sake of keeping up appearances the refusal had something of the air of a +reprimand. The king did not wish to offend Great Britain prematurely. +One of these nobles was Lafayette, then eighteen years of age, who +fitted up a ship at his own expense, and sailed from Bordeaux in April, +1777, in spite of the royal prohibition, taking with him Kalb and other +officers. Lafayette and Kalb, with the Poles, Kosciuszko and Pulaski, +who had come some time before, and the German Steuben, who came in the +following December, were the five most eminent foreigners who received +commissions in the Continental army. + + [Sidenote: Difficulty in raising an army.] + +During the winter season at Morristown the efforts of Washington were +directed toward the establishment of a regular army to be kept together +for three years or so long as the war should last. Hitherto the military +preparations of Congress had been absurdly weak. Squads of militia had +been enlisted for terms of three or six months, as if there were any +likelihood of the war being ended within such a period. While the men +thus kept coming and going, it was difficult either to maintain +discipline or to carry out any series of military operations. +Accordingly Congress now proceeded to call upon the states for an army +of 80,000 men to serve during the war. The enlisting was to be done by +the states, but the money was to be furnished by Congress. Not half that +number of men were actually obtained. The Continental army was larger in +1777 than in any other year, but the highest number it reached was only +34,820. In addition to these about 34,000 militia turned out in the +course of the year. An army of 80,000 would have taken about the same +proportion of all the fighting men in the country as an army of +1,000,000 in our great Civil War. Now in our Civil War the Union army +grew with the occasion until it numbered more than 1,000,000. But in the +Revolutionary War the Continental army was not only never equal to the +occasion, but it kept diminishing till in 1781 it numbered only 13,292. +This was because the Continental Congress had no power to enforce its +decrees. It could only _ask_ for troops and it could only _ask_ for +money. It found just the same difficulty in getting anything that the +British ministry and the royal governors used to find,--the very same +difficulty that led Grenville to devise the Stamp Act. Everything had to +be talked over in thirteen different legislatures, one state would wait +to see what another was going to do, and meanwhile Washington was +expected to fight battles before his army was fit to take the field. +Something was gained, no doubt, by Congress furnishing the money. But as +Congress could not tax anybody, it had no means of raising a revenue, +except to beg, borrow, or issue its promissory notes, the so-called +Continental paper currency. + + [Sidenote: The British plan for conquering New York in 1777.] + +While Congress was trying to raise an adequate army, the British +ministry laid its plans for the summer campaign. The conquest of the +state of New York must be completed at all hazards; and to this end a +threefold system of movements was devised:-- + +_First_, the army in Canada was to advance upon Ticonderoga, capture it, +and descend the Hudson as far as Albany. This work was now entrusted to +General Burgoyne. + +_Secondly_, in order to make sure of efficient support from the Six +Nations and the Tories of the frontier, a small force under Colonel +Barry St. Leger was to go up the St. Lawrence to Lake Ontario, land at +Oswego, and march down the Mohawk valley to reinforce Burgoyne on the +Hudson. + +_Thirdly_, after leaving a sufficient force to hold the city of New +York, the main army, under Sir William Howe, was to ascend the Hudson, +capture the forts in the Highlands, and keep on to Albany, so as to +effect a junction with Burgoyne and St. Leger. + +It was thought that such an imposing display of military force would +make the Tory party supreme in New York, put an end to all resistance +there, and effectually cut the United States in two. Then if the +southern states on the one hand and the New England states on the other +did not hasten to submit, they might afterward be attacked separately +and subdued. + +In this plan the ministry made the fatal mistake of underrating the +strength of the feeling which, from one end of the United States to the +other, was setting itself every day more and more decidedly against the +Tories and in favour of independence. This feeling grew as fast as the +anti-slavery feeling grew among the northern people during our Civil +War. In 1861 President Lincoln thought it necessary to rebuke his +generals who were too forward in setting free the slaves of persons +engaged in rebellion against the United States. In 1862 he announced his +purpose to emancipate all such slaves; and then it took less than three +years to put an end to slavery forever. It was just so with the +sentiment in favour of separation from Great Britain. In July, 1775, +Thomas Jefferson expressly declared that the Americans had not raised +armies with any intention of declaring their independence of the +mother-country. In July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence, written +by Jefferson, was proclaimed to the world, though the consent of the +middle colonies and of South Carolina seemed somewhat reluctant. By the +summer of 1777 the Tories were almost everywhere in a hopeless minority. +Every day of warfare, showing Great Britain more and more clearly as an +enemy to be got rid of, diminished their strength; so that, even in New +York and South Carolina, where they were strongest, it would not do for +the British ministry to count too much upon any support they might give. + +It was natural enough that King George and his ministers should fail to +understand all this, but their mistake was their ruin. If they had +understood that Burgoyne's march from Lake Champlain to the Hudson river +was to be a march through a country thoroughly hostile, perhaps they +would not have been so ready to send him on such a dangerous expedition. +It would have been much easier and safer to have sent his army by sea to +New York, to reinforce Sir William Howe. Threatening movements might +have been made by some of the Canada forces against Ticonderoga, so as +to keep Schuyler busy in that quarter; and then the army at New York, +thus increased to nearly 40,000 men, might have had a fair chance of +overwhelming Washington by sheer weight of numbers. Such a plan might +have failed, but it is not likely that it would have led to the +surrender of the British army. And if they could have disposed of +Washington, the British might have succeeded. It was more necessary for +them to get rid of him than to march up and down the valley of the +Hudson. But it was not strange that they did not see this as we do. It +is always easy enough to be wise after things have happened. + +Even as it was, if their plan had really been followed, they might have +succeeded. If Howe's army had gone up to meet Burgoyne, the history of +the year 1777 would have been very different from what it was. We shall +presently see why it did not do so. Let us now recount the fortunes of +Burgoyne and St. Leger. + + [Sidenote: Burgoyne takes Ticonderoga, July 5, 1777.] + +Burgoyne came up Lake Champlain in June, and easily won Ticonderoga, +because the Americans had failed to secure a neighbouring position which +commanded the fortress. Burgoyne took Ticonderoga from Mount Defiance, +just as the Americans would have taken Boston from Bunker Hill, if they +had been able to stay there, just as they afterward did take it from +Dorchester Heights, and just as Howe took New York after he had won +Brooklyn Heights. When you have secured a position from which you can +kill the enemy twice as fast as he can kill you, he must of course +retire from the situation; and the sooner he goes, the better chance he +has of living to fight another day. The same principle worked in all +these cases, and it worked with General Howe at Harlem Heights and at +White Plains. + + [Sidenote: Schuyler and Gates.] + +When it was known that Burgoyne had taken Ticonderoga, there was +dreadful dismay in America and keen disappointment among those Whigs in +England whose declared sympathies were with us. George III. was beside +himself with glee, and thought that the Americans were finally defeated +and disposed of. But they were all mistaken. The garrison of Ticonderoga +had taken the alarm and retreated, so that Burgoyne captured only an +empty fortress. He left 1000 men in charge of it, and then pressed on +into the wilderness between Lake Champlain and the upper waters of the +Hudson river. His real danger was now beginning to show itself, and +every day it could be seen more distinctly. He was plunging into a +forest, far away from all possible support from behind, and as he went +on he found that there were not Tories enough in that part of the +country to be of any use to him. As Burgoyne advanced, General Schuyler +prudently retreated, and used up the enemy's time by breaking down +bridges and putting every possible obstacle in his way. Schuyler was a +rare man, thoroughly disinterested and full of sound sense; but he had +many political enemies who were trying to pull him down. A large part of +his army was made up of New England men, who hated him partly for the +mere reason that he was a New Yorker, and partly because as such he had +taken part in the long quarrel between New York and New Hampshire over +the possession of the Green Mountains. The disaffection toward Schuyler +was fomented by General Horatio Gates, who had for some time held +command under him, but was now in Philadelphia currying favour with the +delegates in Congress, especially with those from New England, in the +hope of getting himself appointed to the command of the northern army in +Schuyler's place. Gates was an extremely weak man, but so vain that he +really believed himself equal to the highest command that Congress could +be persuaded to give him. On the battle-field he seems to have been +wanting even in personal courage, as he certainly was in power to handle +his troops; but in society he was quite a lion. He had a smooth +courteous manner and a plausible tongue which paid little heed to the +difference between truth and falsehood. His lies were not very +ingenious, and so they were often detected and pointed out. But while +many people were disgusted by his selfishness and trickery, there were +always some who insisted that he was a great genius. History can point +to a good many men like General Gates. Such men sometimes shine for a +while, but sooner or later they always come to be recognized as humbugs. + +[Illustration: BURGOYNE'S CAMPAIGN.] + + [Sidenote: Battle of Hubbardton, July 7, 1777.] + +While Gates was intriguing, Schuyler was doing all in his power to +impede the enemy's progress. It was on the night of July 5 that the +garrison of Ticonderoga, under General St. Clair, had abandoned the +fortress and retreated southward. On the 7th a battle was fought at +Hubbardton between St. Clair's rear, under Seth Warner, and a portion of +the British army under Fraser and Riedesel. Warner was defeated, but +only after such an obstinate resistance as to check the pursuit, so that +by the 12th St. Clair was able to bring his retreating troops in safety +to Fort Edward, where they were united with Schuyler's army. Schuyler +managed his obstructions so well that Burgoyne's utmost efforts were +required to push into the wilderness at the rate of one mile per day; +and meanwhile Schuyler was collecting a force of militia in the Green +Mountains, under General Lincoln, to threaten Burgoyne in the rear and +cut off his communications with Lake Champlain. + +Burgoyne was accordingly marching into a trap, and Schuyler was doing +the best that could be done. But on the first of August the intrigue +against him triumphed in Congress, and Gates was appointed to supersede +him in the command of the northern army. Gates, however, did not arrive +upon the scene until the 19th of August, and by that time Burgoyne's +situation was evidently becoming desperate. + +On the last day of July Burgoyne reached Fort Edward, which Schuyler +had evacuated just before. Schuyler crossed the Hudson river, and +continued his retreat to Stillwater, about thirty miles above Albany. It +was as far as the American retreat was to go. Burgoyne was already +getting short of provisions, and before he could advance much further he +needed a fresh supply of horses to drag the cannon and stores. He began +to realize, when too late, that he had come far into an enemy's country. +The hostile feelings of the people were roused to fury by the atrocities +committed by the Indians employed in Burgoyne's army. The British +supposed that the savages would prove very useful as scouts and guides, +and that by offers of reward and threats of punishment they might be +restrained from deeds of violence. They were very unruly, however, and +apt to use the tomahawk when they found a chance. + + [Sidenote: Jane McCrea.] + +The sad death of Miss Jane McCrea has been described in almost as many +ways as there have been people to describe it, but no one really knows +how it happened. What is really known is that, on the 27th of July, +while Miss McCrea was staying with her friend Mrs. McNeil, near Fort +Edward, a party of Indians burst into the house and carried off both +ladies. They were pursued by some American soldiers, and a few shots +were exchanged. In the course of the scrimmage the party got scattered, +and Mrs. McNeil was taken alone to the British camp. Next day an Indian +came into the camp with Miss McCrea's scalp, which her friend recognized +from its long silky hair. A search was made, and the body of the poor +girl was found lying near a spring, pierced with three bullet-wounds. +The Indian's story, that she was accidentally killed by a volley from +the American soldiers, may well enough have been true. It is also known +that she was betrothed to David Jones, a lieutenant in Burgoyne's army, +and, as her own home was in New Jersey, her visit to Mrs. McNeil may +very likely have been part of a plan for meeting her lover. These facts +were soon woven into a story, in which Jenny was said to have been +murdered while on her way to her wedding, escorted by a party of Indians +whom her imprudent lover had sent to take charge of her. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Bennington, Aug. 16, 1777.] + +The people of the neighbouring counties, in New York and Massachusetts, +enraged at the death of Miss McCrea and alarmed for the safety of their +own firesides, began rising in arms. Sturdy recruits began marching to +join Schuyler at Stillwater and Lincoln at Manchester in the Green +Mountains. Meanwhile Burgoyne had made up his mind to attack the village +of Bennington, which was Lincoln's centre of supplies. By seizing these +supplies, he could get for himself what he stood sorely in need of, +while at the same time the loss would cripple Lincoln and perhaps oblige +him to retire from the scene. Accordingly 1000 Germans were sent out, +in two detachments under colonels Baum and Breymann, to capture the +village. But instead they were captured themselves. Baum was first +outmanoeuvred, surrounded, and forced to surrender by John Stark, +after a hot fight, in which Baum was mortally wounded. Then Breymann was +put to flight and his troops dispersed by Seth Warner. Of the whole +German force, 207 were killed or wounded, and at least 700 captured. Not +more than 70 got back to the British camp. The American loss in killed +and wounded was 56. + +This brilliant victory at Bennington had important consequences. It +checked Burgoyne's advance until he could get his supplies, and it +decided that Lincoln's militia could get in his rear and cut off his +communications with Ticonderoga. It furthermore inspired the Americans +with the exulting hope that Burgoyne's whole army could be surrounded +and forced to surrender. + + [Sidenote: St. Leger in the Mohawk valley.] + +If, however, the British had been successful in gaining the Mohawk +valley and ensuring the supremacy over that region for the Tories, the +fate of Burgoyne might have been averted. The Tories in that region, +under Sir John Johnson and Colonel John Butler, were really formidable. +As for the Indians of the Iroquois league, they had always been friendly +to the English and hostile to the French; but now, when it came to +making their choice between two kinds of English--the Americans and the +British, they hesitated and differed in opinion. The Mohawks took sides +with the British because of the friendship between Joseph Brant and the +Johnsons. The Cayugas and Senecas followed on the same side; but the +Onondagas, in the centre of the confederacy, remained neutral, and the +Oneidas and Tuscaroras, under the influence of Samuel Kirkland and other +missionaries, showed active sympathy with the Americans. It turned out, +too, that the Whigs were much stronger in the valley than had been +supposed. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Oriskany, Aug. 6, 1777.] + +After St. Leger had landed at Oswego and joined hands with his Tory and +Indian allies, his entire force amounted to about 1700 men. The +principal obstacle to his progress toward the Hudson river was Fort +Stanwix, which stood where the city of Rome now stands. On the 3d of +August St. Leger reached Fort Stanwix and laid siege to it. The place +was garrisoned by 600 men under Colonel Peter Gansevoort, and the Whig +yeomanry of the neighbourhood, under the heroic General Nicholas +Herkimer, were on the way to relieve it, to the number of at least 800. +Herkimer made an excellent plan for surprising St. Leger with an attack +in the rear, while the garrison should sally forth and attack him in +front. But St. Leger's Indian scouts were more nimble than Herkimer's +messengers, so that he obtained his information sooner than Gansevoort. +An ambush was skilfully prepared by Brant in a ravine near Oriskany, and +there, on the 6th of August, was fought the most desperate and murderous +battle of the Revolutionary War. It was a hand to hand fight, in which +about 800 men were engaged on each side, and each lost more than +one-third of its number. As the Tories and Indians were giving way, +their retreat was hastened by the sounds of battle from Fort Stanwix, +where the garrison was making its sally and driving back the besiegers. +Herkimer remained in possession of the field at Oriskany, but his plan +had been for the moment thwarted, and in the battle he had received a +wound from which he died. + + [Sidenote: St. Leger's flight, Aug. 22, 1777.] + +Benedict Arnold had lately been sent by Washington to be of such +assistance as he could to Schuyler. Arnold stood high in the confidence +of both these generals. He had shown himself one of the ablest officers +in the American army, he was especially skilful in getting good work out +of raw troops, and he was a great favourite with his men. On hearing of +the danger of Fort Stanwix, Schuyler sent him to the rescue, with 1200 +men. When he was within twenty miles of that stronghold, he contrived, +with the aid of some friendly Oneidas and a Tory captive whose life he +spared for the purpose, to send on before him exaggerated reports of the +size of his army. The device accomplished far more than he could have +expected. The obstinate resistance at Oriskany had discouraged the +Tories and angered the Indians. Distrust and dissension were already +rife in St. Leger's camp, when such reports came in as to lead many to +believe that Burgoyne had been totally defeated, and that the whole of +Schuyler's army, or a great part of it, was coming up the Mohawk. This +news led to riot and panic among the troops, and on August 22 St. Leger +took to flight and made his way as best he could to his ships at Oswego, +with scarcely the shred of an army left. This catastrophe showed how +sadly mistaken the British had been in their reliance upon Tory help. + +The battle of Bennington was fought on the 16th of August. Now by the +overthrow of St. Leger, six days later, Burgoyne's situation had become +very alarming. It was just in the midst of these events that Gates +arrived, on August 19, and took command of the army at Stillwater, which +was fast growing in numbers. Militia were flocking in, Arnold's force +was returning, and Daniel Morgan was at hand with 500 Virginian +sharpshooters. Unless Burgoyne could win a battle against overwhelming +odds, there was only one thing that could save him; and that was the +arrival of Howe's army at Albany, according to the ministry's programme. +But Burgoyne had not yet heard a word from Howe; and Howe never came. + + [Sidenote: Why Howe failed to coöperate with Burgoyne.] + +This failure of Howe to coöperate with Burgoyne was no doubt the most +fatal military blunder made by the British in the whole course of the +war. The failure was of course unintentional on Howe's part. He meant to +extend sufficient support to Burgoyne, but the trouble was that he +attempted too much. He had another plan in his mind at the same time, +and between the two he ended by accomplishing nothing. While he kept one +eye on Albany, he kept the other on Philadelphia. He had not relished +being driven back across New Jersey by Washington, and the hope of +defeating that general in battle, and then pushing on to the "rebel +capital" strongly tempted him. In such thoughts he was encouraged by the +advice of the captive General Lee. That unscrupulous busybody felt +himself in great danger, for he knew that the British regarded him in +the light of a deserter from their army. While his fate was in suspense, +he informed the brothers Howe that he had abandoned the American cause, +and he offered them his advice and counsel for the summer campaign. This +villainy of Lee's was not known till eighty years afterward, when a +paper of his was discovered that revealed it in all its blackness. The +Howes were sure to pay some heed to Lee's opinions, because he was +supposed to have acquired a thorough knowledge of American affairs. He +advised them to begin by taking Philadelphia, and supported this plan +by plausible arguments. Sir William Howe seems to have thought that he +could accomplish this early in the summer, and then have his hands free +for whatever might be needed on the Hudson river. Accordingly on the +12th of June he started to cross the state of New Jersey with 18,000 +men. + + [Sidenote: Washington's masterly campaign in New Jersey, June, 1777.] + +But Sir William had reckoned without his host. In a campaign of eighteen +days, Washington, with only 8000 men, completely blocked the way for +him, and made him give up the game. The popular histories do not have +much to say about these eighteen days, because they were not marked by +battles. Washington won by his marvellous skill in choosing positions +where Howe could not attack him with any chance of success. Howe +understood this and did not attack. He could not entice Washington into +fighting at a disadvantage, and he could not march on and leave such an +enemy behind without sacrificing his own communications. Accordingly on +June 30 he gave up his plan and retreated to Staten Island. If there +ever was a general who understood the useful art of wasting his +adversary's time, Washington was that general. + +Howe now decided to take his army to Philadelphia by sea. He waited a +while till the news from the north seemed to show that Burgoyne was +carrying everything before him; and then he thought it safe to start. +He left Sir Henry Clinton in command at New York, with 7000 men, telling +him to send a small force up the river to help Burgoyne, should there be +any need of it, which did not then seem likely. Then he put to sea with +his main force of 18,000 men, and went around to the Delaware river, +which he reached at the end of July, just as Burgoyne was reaching Fort +Edward. + + [Sidenote: Howe's strange movement upon Philadelphia, by way of + Chesapeake bay.] + +Howe's next move was very strange. He afterward said that he did not go +up the Delaware river, because he found that there were obstructions and +forts to be passed. But he might have gone up a little way and landed +his forces on the Delaware coast at a point where a single march would +have brought them to Elkton, at the head of Chesapeake bay, about fifty +miles southwest from Philadelphia. Instead of this, he put out to sea +again and sailed four hundred miles, to the mouth of Chesapeake bay and +up that bay to Elkton, where he landed his men on the 25th of August. +Why he took such a roundabout course cannot be understood, unless he may +have attached importance to Lee's advice that the presence of a British +squadron in Chesapeake bay would help to arouse the Tories in Maryland. +The British generals could not seem to make up their minds that America +was a hostile country. Small blame to them, brave fellows that they +were! They could not make war against America in such a fierce spirit as +that in which France would now make war against Germany if she could see +her way clear to do so. They were always counting on American sympathy, +and this was a will-o'-the-wisp that lured them to destruction. + +On landing at Elkton, Howe received orders from London, telling him to +ascend the Hudson river and support Burgoyne, in any event. This order +had left London in May. It was well for the Americans that the telegraph +had not then been invented. Now it was the 25th of August; Burgoyne was +in imminent peril; and Howe was three hundred miles away from him! + + [Sidenote: Battle of the Brandywine, Sept. 11, 1777.] + +All these movements had been carefully watched by Washington; and as +Howe marched toward Philadelphia he found that general blocking the way +at the fords of the Brandywine creek. A battle ensued on the 11th of +September. It was a well-contested battle. With 11,000 men against +18,000, Washington could hardly have been expected to win a victory. He +was driven from the field, but not badly defeated. He kept his army well +in hand, and manoeuvred so skilfully that the British were employed +for two weeks in getting over the twenty-six miles to Philadelphia. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Germantown, Oct. 4, 1777.] + +Before Howe had reached that city, Congress had moved away to York in +Pennsylvania. When he had taken Philadelphia, he found that he could +not stay there without taking the forts on the Delaware river which +prevented the British ships from coming up; for by land Washington could +cut off his supplies, and he could only be sure of them by water. So +Howe detached part of his army to reduce these forts, leaving the rest +of it at Germantown, six miles from Philadelphia. On the 4th of October, +Washington attacked the force at Germantown in such a position that +defeat would have quite destroyed it. The attempt failed at the critical +moment because of a dense fog in which one American brigade fired into +another and caused a brief panic. The forts on the Delaware were +captured after hard fighting, and Washington went into winter quarters +at Valley Forge. + +The result of the summer's work was that, because Howe had made several +mistakes and Washington had taken the utmost advantage of every one of +them, the whole British plan was spoiled. Howe had used up the whole +season in getting to Philadelphia, and Washington's activity had also +kept Sir Henry Clinton's attention so much occupied with what was going +on about the Delaware river as to prevent him from sending aid to the +northward until it was too late. Sir Henry was once actually obliged to +send reinforcements to Howe. + +Thus Burgoyne was left to himself. He supposed that Howe was coming up +the Hudson river to meet him, and so on September 13 he crossed the +river and advanced to attack Gates's army, which was occupying a strong +position at Bemis Heights, between Stillwater and Saratoga. It was a +desperate move. While Burgoyne was making it, Lincoln's men cut his +communications with Ticonderoga, so that his only hope lay in help from +below; and such help never came. In this extremity he was obliged to +fight on ground chosen by the Americans, because he must either fight or +starve. + + [Sidenote: Burgoyne is defeated by Arnold, and surrenders his army, + Oct. 17, 1777.] + +Under these circumstances Burgoyne fought two battles with consummate +gallantry. The first was on September 19, the second on October 7. In +each battle the Americans were led by Arnold and Morgan, and Gates +deserves no credit for either. In both battles Arnold was the leading +spirit, and in the second he was severely wounded at the moment of +victory. In the first battle the British were simply repulsed, in the +second they were totally defeated. This settled the fate of Burgoyne, +and on the 17th of October he surrendered his whole army, now reduced to +less than 6000 men, as prisoners of war. Before the final catastrophe +Sir Henry Clinton had sent a small force up the river to relieve him, +but it was too late. The relieving force succeeded in capturing some of +the Highland forts, but turned back on hearing of Burgoyne's surrender. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE FRENCH ALLIANCE. + + + [Sidenote: Lord North changes front, and France interferes, + Feb., 1778.] + +This capture of a British army made more ado in Europe than anything +which had happened for many a day. It was compared to Leuktra and the +Caudine Fork. The immediate effect in England was to weaken the king and +cause Lord North to change his policy. The tea-duty and the obnoxious +acts of 1774 were repealed, the principles of colonial independence of +Parliament laid down by Otis and Henry were admitted, and commissioners +were sent over to America to negotiate terms of peace. It was hoped that +by such ample concessions the Americans might be so appeased as to be +willing to adopt some arrangement which would leave their country a part +of the British Empire. As soon as the French government saw the first +symptoms of such a change of policy on the part of Lord North, it +decided to enter into an alliance with the United States. There was much +sympathy for the Americans among educated people of all grades of +society in France; but the action of the government was determined +purely by hatred of England. While Great Britain and her colonies were +weakening each other by war, France had up to this moment not cared to +interfere. But if there was the slightest chance of a reconciliation, it +was high time to prevent it; and besides, the American cause was now +prosperous, and something might be made of it. The moment had come for +France to seek revenge for the disasters of the Seven Years' War; and on +the 6th of February, 1778, her treaty of alliance with the United States +was signed at Paris. + + [Sidenote: Untimely death of Lord Chatham, May 11, 1778.] + +At the news of this there was an outburst of popular excitement in +England. There was a strong feeling in favour of peace with America and +war with France, and men of all parties united with Lord North himself +in demanding that Lord Chatham, who represented such a policy, should be +made prime minister. It was rightly believed that he, if any one, could +both conciliate America and humiliate France. There was only one way in +which Chatham could have broken the new alliance which Congress had so +long been seeking. The faith of Congress was pledged to France, and the +Americans would no longer hear of any terms that did not begin with the +acknowledgment of their full independence. To break the alliance, it +would have been necessary to concede the independence of the United +States. The king felt that if he were now obliged to call Chatham to the +head of affairs and allow him to form a strong ministry, it would be the +end of his cherished schemes for breaking down cabinet government. +There was no man whom George III. hated and feared so much as Lord +Chatham. Nevertheless the pressure was so great that, but for Chatham's +untimely death, the king would probably have been obliged to yield. If +Chatham had lived a year longer, the war might have ended with the +surrender of Burgoyne instead of continuing until the surrender of +Cornwallis. As it was, Lord North consented, against his own better +judgment, to remain in office and aid the king's policy as far as he +could. The commissioners sent to America accomplished nothing, because +they were not empowered to grant independence; and so the war went on. + + [Sidenote: Change in the conduct of the war.] + +There was a great change, however, in the manner in which the war was +conducted. In the years 1776 and 1777 the British had pursued a definite +plan for conquering New York and thus severing the connection between +New England and the southern states. During the remainder of the war +their only definite plan was for conquering the southern states. Their +operations at the north were for the most part confined to burning and +plundering expeditions along the coast in their ships, or on the +frontier in connection with Tories and Indians. The war thus assumed a +more cruel character. This was chiefly due to the influence of Lord +George Germaine, the secretary of state for the colonies. He was a +contemptible creature, weak and cruel. He had been dismissed from the +army in 1759 for cowardice at the battle of Minden, and he was so +generally despised that when in 1782 the king was obliged to turn him +out of office and tried to console him by raising him to the peerage as +Viscount Sackville, the House of Lords protested against the admission +of such a creature. George III. had made this man his colonial secretary +in the autumn of 1775, and he had much to do with planning the campaigns +of the next two years. But now his influence in the cabinet seems to +have increased. He was much more thoroughly in sympathy with the king +than Lord North, who at this time was really to be pitied. Lord North +would have been a fine man but for his weakness of will. He was now +keeping up the war in America unwillingly, and was obliged to sanction +many things of which he did not approve. In later years he bitterly +repented this weakness. Now the truculent policy of Lord George Germaine +began to show itself in the conduct of the war. That minister took no +pains to conceal his willingness to employ Indians, to burn towns and +villages, and to inflict upon the American people as much misery as +possible, in the hope of breaking their spirit and tiring them out. + + [Sidenote: The Conway Cabal.] + +In America the first effect of Burgoyne's surrender was to strengthen a +feeling of dissatisfaction with Washington, which had grown up in some +quarters. In reality, as our narrative has shown, Washington had as much +to do with the overthrow of Burgoyne as anybody; for if it had not been +for his skilful campaign in June, 1777, Howe would have taken +Philadelphia in that month, and would then have been free to assist +Burgoyne. It is easy enough to understand such things afterward, but +people never can see them at the time when they are happening. This is +an excellent illustration of what was said at the beginning of this +book, that when people are down in the midst of events they cannot see +the wood because of the trees, and it is only when they have climbed the +hill of history and look back over the landscape that they can see what +things really meant. At the end of the year 1777 people could only see +that Burgoyne had surrendered to Gates, while Washington had lost two +battles and the city of Philadelphia. Accordingly there were many who +supposed that Gates must be a better general than Washington, and in the +army there were some discontented spirits that were only too glad to +take advantage of this feeling. One of these malcontents was an Irish +adventurer, Thomas Conway, who had long served in France and came over +here in time to take part in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. +He had a grudge against Washington, as Charles Lee had. He thought he +could get on better if Washington were out of the way. So he busied +himself in organizing a kind of conspiracy against Washington, which +came to be known as the "Conway Cabal." The purpose was to put forward +Gates to supersede Washington, as he had lately superseded the noble +Schuyler. Gates, of course, lent himself heartily to the scheme; such +intrigues were what he was made for. And there were some of our noblest +men who were dissatisfied with Washington, because they were ignorant of +the military art, and could not understand his wonderful skill, as +Frederick the Great did. Among these were John and Samuel Adams, who +disapproved of "Fabian strategy." Gates and Conway tried to work upon +such feelings. They hoped by thwarting and insulting Washington to wound +his pride and force him to resign. In this wretched work they had +altogether too much help from Congress, but they failed ignominiously +because Gates's lies were too plainly discovered. The attempts to injure +Washington recoiled upon their authors. Never, perhaps, was Washington +so grand as in that sorrowful winter at Valley Forge. + +When the news of the French alliance arrived, in the spring of 1778, +there was a general feeling of elation. People were over-confident. It +seemed as if the British might be driven from the country in the course +of that year. Some changes occurred in both the opposing armies. A great +deal of fault was found in England with Howe and Burgoyne. The latter +was allowed to go home in the spring, and took his seat in Parliament +while still a prisoner on parole. He was henceforth friendly to the +Americans, and opposed the further prosecution of the war. Sir William +Howe resigned his command in May and went home in order to defend his +conduct. Shortly before his appointment to the chief command in America, +he had uttered a prophecy somewhat notable as coming from one who was +about to occupy such a position. In a speech at Nottingham he had +expressed the opinion that the Americans could not be subdued by any +army that Great Britain could raise! + + [Sidenote: Howe is superseded by Clinton.] + +Howe was succeeded in the chief command by Sir Henry Clinton. His +brother, Lord Howe, remained in command of the fleet until the autumn, +when he was succeeded by Admiral Byron. During the winter the American +army had received a very important reinforcement in the person of Baron +von Steuben, an able and highly educated officer who had served on the +staff of Frederick the Great. Steuben was appointed inspector-general +and taught the soldiers Prussian discipline and tactics until the +efficiency of the army was more than doubled. About the time of Sir +William Howe's departure, Charles Lee was exchanged, and came back to +his old place as senior major-general in the Continental army. Since +his capture there had been a considerable falling off in his reputation, +but nothing was known of his treasonable proceedings with the Howes. +Probably no one in the British army knew anything about that affair +except the Howes and their private secretary Sir Henry Strachey. Lee saw +that the American cause was now in the ascendant, and he was as anxious +as ever to supplant Washington. + + [Sidenote: The Americans take the offensive; Lee's misconduct at + Monmouth, June 28, 1778.] + +The Americans now assumed the offensive. Count d'Estaing was approaching +the coast with a powerful French fleet. Should he be able to defeat Lord +Howe and get control of the Delaware river, the British army in +Philadelphia would be in danger of capture. Accordingly on the 18th of +June that city was evacuated by Sir Henry Clinton and occupied by +Washington. As there were not enough transports to take the British army +around to New York by sea, it was necessary to take the more hazardous +course of marching across New Jersey. Washington pursued the enemy +closely, with the view of forcing him to battle in an unfavourable +situation and dealing him a fatal blow. There was some hope of effecting +this, as the two armies were now about equal in size--15,000 in +each--and the Americans were in excellent training. The enemy were +overtaken at Monmouth Court House on the morning of June 28, but the +attack was unfortunately entrusted to Lee, who disobeyed orders and +made an unnecessary and shameful retreat. Washington arrived on the +scene in time to turn defeat into victory. The British were driven from +the field, but Lee's misconduct had broken the force of the blow which +Washington had aimed at them. Lee was tried by court-martial and at +first suspended from command, then expelled from the army. It was the +end of his public career. He died in October, 1782. + +After the battle of Monmouth the British continued their march to New +York, and Washington moved his army to White Plains. Count d'Estaing +arrived at Sandy Hook in July with a much larger fleet than the British +had in the harbour, and a land force of 4000 men. It now seemed as if +Clinton's army might be cooped up and compelled to surrender, but on +examination it appeared that the largest French ships drew too much +water to venture to cross the bar. All hope of capturing New York was +accordingly for the present abandoned. + +[Siege of Newport, Aug. 1778.] + +The enemy, however, had another considerable force near at hand, besides +Clinton's. Since December, 1776, they had occupied the island which +gives its name to the state of Rhode Island. Its position was safe and +convenient. It enabled them, if they should see fit, to threaten Boston +on the one hand and the coast of Connecticut on the other, and thus to +make diversions in aid of Sir Henry Clinton. The force on Rhode Island +had been increased to 6000 men, under command of Sir Robert Pigott. The +Americans believed that the capture of so large a force, could it be +effected, would so discourage the British as to bring the war to an end; +and in this belief they were very likely right. The French fleet +accordingly proceeded to Newport; to the 4000 French infantry Washington +added 1500 of the best of his Continentals; levies of New England +yeomanry raised the total strength to 13,000; and the general command of +the American troops was given to Sullivan. + +The expedition was poorly managed, and failed completely. There was some +delay in starting. During the first week of August the Americans landed +upon the island and occupied Butts Hill. The French had begun to land on +Conanicut when they learned that Lord Howe was approaching with a +powerful fleet. The count then reëmbarked his men and stood out to sea, +manoeuvring for a favourable position for battle. Before the fight had +begun, a terrible storm scattered both fleets and damaged them severely. +When D'Estaing had got his ships together again, which was not till the +20th of August, he insisted upon going to Boston for repairs, and took +his infantry with him. This vexed Sullivan and disgusted the yeomanry, +who forthwith dispersed and went home to look after their crops. General +Pigott then tried the offensive, and attacked Sullivan in his strong +position on Butts Hill, on the 29th of August. The British were +defeated, but the next day Sullivan learned that Clinton was coming with +heavy reinforcements, and so he was obliged to abandon the enterprise +and lose no time in getting his own troops into a safe position on the +mainland. In November the French fleet sailed for the West Indies, and +Clinton was obliged to send 5000 men from New York to the same quarter +of the world. + + [Sidenote: Wyoming and Cherry Valley, July-Nov., 1778.] + +In the years 1778 and 1779 the warfare on the border assumed formidable +proportions. The Tories of central New York, under the Johnsons and +Butlers, together with Brant and his Mohawks, made their headquarters at +Fort Niagara, from which they struck frequent and terrible blows at the +exposed settlements on the frontier. Early in July, 1778, a force of +1200 men, under John Butler, spread death and desolation through the +beautiful valley of Wyoming in Pennsylvania. On the 10th of November, +Brant and Walter Butler destroyed the village of Cherry Valley in New +York, and massacred the inhabitants. Many other dreadful things were +done in the course of this year; but the affairs of Wyoming and Cherry +Valley made a deeper impression than all the rest. During the following +spring Washington organized an expedition of 5000 men, and sent it, +under Sullivan, to lay waste the Iroquois country and capture the nest +of Tory malefactors at Fort Niagara. While they were slowly advancing +through the wilderness, Brant sacked the town of Minisink and destroyed +a force of militia sent against him. But on the 29th of August a battle +was fought on the site of the present town of Elmira, in which the +Tories and Indians were defeated with great slaughter. The American army +then marched through the country of the Cayugas and Senecas, and laid it +waste. More than forty Indian villages were burned and all the corn was +destroyed, so that the approach of winter brought famine and pestilence. +Sullivan was not able to get beyond the Genesee river for want of +supplies, and so Fort Niagara escaped. The Iroquois league had received +a blow from which it never recovered, though for two years more their +tomahawks were busy on the frontier. + + [Sidenote: Conquest of the northwestern territory, 1778-79.] + +At intervals during the Revolution there was more or less Indian warfare +all along the border. Settlers were making their way into Kentucky and +Tennessee. Feuds with these encroaching immigrants led the powerful +tribe of Cherokees to take part with the British, and they made trouble +enough until they were crushed by John Sevier, the "lion of the border." +In 1778 Colonel Hamilton, the British commander at Detroit, attempted to +stir up all the western tribes to a concerted attack upon the frontier. +When the news of this reached Virginia, an expedition was sent out +under George Rogers Clark, a youth of twenty-four years, to carry the +war into the enemy's country. In an extremely interesting and romantic +series of movements, Clark took the posts of Kaskaskia and Cahokia, on +the Mississippi river, defeated and captured Colonel Hamilton at +Vincennes, on the Wabash, and ended by conquering the whole northwestern +territory for the state of Virginia. + + [Sidenote: Storming of Stony Point, July 15, 1779.] + +The year 1779 saw very little fighting in the northern states between +the regular armies. The British confined themselves chiefly to marauding +expeditions along the coast, from Martha's Vineyard down to the James +river. These incursions were marked by cruelties unknown in the earlier +part of the war. Their chief purpose would seem to have been to carry +out Lord George Germaine's idea of harassing the Americans as +vexatiously as possible. But in Connecticut, which perhaps suffered the +worst, there was a military purpose. In July, 1779, an attack was made +upon New Haven, and the towns of Fairfield and Norwalk were burned. The +object was to induce Washington to weaken his force on the Hudson river +by sending away troops to protect the Connecticut towns. Clinton now +held the river as far up as Stony Point, and he hoped by this diversion +to prepare for an attack upon Washington which, if successful, might end +in the fall of West Point. If the British could get possession of West +Point, it would go far toward retrieving the disaster which had befallen +them at Saratoga. Washington's retort was characteristic of him. He did, +as always, what the enemy did not expect. He called Anthony Wayne and +asked him if he thought he could carry Stony Point by storm. Wayne +replied that he could storm a very much hotter place than any known in +terrestrial geography, if Washington would plan the attack. Plan and +performance were equally good. At midnight of July 15 the fort was +surprised and carried in a superb assault with bayonets, without the +firing of a gun on the American side. It was one of the most brilliant +assaults in all military history. It instantly relieved Connecticut, but +Washington did not think it prudent to retain the fortress. The works +were all destroyed, and the garrison, with the cannon and stores, +withdrawn. The American army was as much as possible concentrated about +West Point. In the general situation of affairs on the Hudson there was +but little change for the next two years. + +It may seem strange that so little was done in all this time. But, in +fact, both England and the United States were getting exhausted, so far +as the ability to carry on war was concerned. + + [Sidenote: How England was weakened and hampered, 1778-81.] + +As regards England, the action of France had seriously complicated the +situation. England had now to protect her colonies and dependencies on +the Mediterranean, in Africa, in Hindustan, and in the West Indies. In +1779 Spain declared war against her, in the hope of regaining Gibraltar +and the Floridas. For three years Gibraltar was besieged by the allied +French and Spanish forces. A Spanish fleet laid siege to Pensacola. +France strove to regain the places which England had formerly won from +her in Senegambia. War broke out in India with the Mahrattas, and with +Hyder Ali of Mysore, and it required all the genius of Warren Hastings +to save England's empire in Asia. We have already seen how Clinton, in +the autumn of 1778, was obliged to weaken his force in New York by +sending 5,000 men to the West Indies. Before the end of 1779 there were +314,000 British troops on duty in various parts of the world, but not +enough could be spared for service in New York to defeat Washington's +little army of 15,000. We thus begin to realize what a great event was +the surrender of Burgoyne. The loss of 6,000 men by England was not in +itself irreparable; but in leading to the intervention of France it was +like the touching of a spring or the drawing of a bolt which sets in +motion a vast system of machinery. + +Under these circumstances George III. tried to form an alliance with +Russia, and offered the island of Minorca as an inducement. Russia +declined the offer, and such action as she took was hostile to England. +It had formerly been held that the merchant ships of neutral nations, +employed in trade with nations at war, might lawfully be overhauled and +searched by war ships of either of the belligerent nations, and their +goods confiscated. England still held this doctrine and acted upon it. +But during the eighteenth century her maritime power had increased to +such an extent that she could damage other nations in this way much more +than they could damage her. Other nations accordingly began to maintain +that goods carried in neutral ships ought to be free from seizure. Early +in 1780 Denmark, Sweden, and Russia entered into an agreement known as +the Armed Neutrality, by which they pledged themselves to unite in +retaliating upon England whenever any of her cruisers should molest any +of their ships. This league was a new source of danger to England, +because it entailed the risk of war with Russia. + + [Sidenote: Paul Jones, 1779.] + +During these years several bold American cruisers had made the stars and +stripes a familiar sight in European waters. The most famous of these +cruisers, Paul Jones, made his name a terror upon the coasts of England, +burned the ships in a port of Cumberland, sailed into the Frith of Forth +and threatened Edinburgh, and finally captured two British war vessels +off Flamborough Head, in one of the most desperate sea-fights on +record. + + [Sidenote: St. Eustatius, Feb., 1781.] + +Paul Jones was a regularly commissioned captain in the American navy, +but because the British did not recognize Congress as a legal body they +called him a pirate. When he took his prizes into a port in Holland, +they requested the Dutch government to surrender him into their hands, +as if he were a mere criminal to be tried at the Old Bailey. But the +Dutch let him stay in port ten weeks and then depart in peace. This +caused much irritation, and as there was also perpetual quarrelling over +the plunder of Dutch ships by British cruisers, the two nations went to +war in December, 1780. One of England's reasons for entering into this +war was the desire to capture the little Dutch island of St. Eustatius +in the West Indies. An immense trade was carried on there between +Holland and the United States, and it was believed that the stoppage of +this trade would be a staggering blow to the Americans. It was captured +in February, 1781, by Admiral Rodney, private property was seized to the +amount of more than twenty million dollars, and the inhabitants were +treated with shameful brutality. + + [Sidenote: How the Americans were weakened and hampered. The want + of union.] + +As England was thus fighting single-handed against France, Spain, +Holland, and the United States, while the attitude of all the neutral +powers was unfriendly, we can find no difficulty in understanding the +weakness of her military operations in some quarters. The United States, +on the other hand, found it hard to carry on the war for very different +reasons. In the first place the country was really weak. The military +strength of the American Union in 1780 was inferior to that of Holland, +and about on a level with that of Denmark or Portugal. But furthermore +the want of union made it hard to bring out such strength as there was. +In the autumn of 1777 the Articles of Confederation were submitted to +the several states for adoption; but the spring of 1781 had arrived +before all the thirteen states had ratified them. These articles left +the Continental Congress just what it was before, a mere advisory body, +without power to enlist soldiers or levy taxes, without federal courts +or federal officials, and with no executive head to the government. As +we have already seen, the only way in which Congress could get money +from the people was by requisitions upon the states, by _asking_ the +state-governments for it. This was always a very slow way to get money, +and now the states were unusually poor. There was very little +accumulated capital. Farming, fishing, ship-building, and foreign trade +were the chief occupations. Farms and plantations suffered considerably +from the absence of their owners in the army, and many were kept from +enlisting, because it was out of the question to go and leave their +families to starve. As for ship-building, fishing, and foreign trade, +these occupations were almost annihilated by British cruisers. No doubt +the heaviest blows that we received were thus dealt us on the water. + + [Sidenote: Fall of the Continental currency:--"Not worth a + Continental."] + +The people were so poor that the states found it hard to collect enough +revenue for their own purposes, and most of them had a way of issuing +paper money of their own, which made things still worse. Under such +circumstances they had very little money to give to Congress. It was +necessary to borrow of France, or Spain, or Holland, and by the time +these nations were all at war, that became very difficult. From the +beginning of the war Congress had issued paper notes, and in 1778 the +depreciation in their value was already alarming. But as soon as the +exultation over Burgoyne's surrender had subsided, as soon as the hope +of speedily driving out the British had been disappointed, people soon +lost all confidence in the power of Congress to pay its notes, and in +1779 their value began falling with frightful rapidity. In 1780 they +became worthless. It took $150 in Continental currency to buy a bushel +of corn, and an ordinary suit of clothes cost $2000. Then people refused +to take it, and resorted to barter, taking their pay in sheep or +ploughs, in jugs of rum or kegs of salt pork, or whatever they could +get. It thus became almost impossible either to pay soldiers, or to +clothe and feed them properly and supply them with powder and ball. We +thus see why the Americans, as well as the British conducted the war so +languidly that for two years after the storming of Stony Point their +main armies sat and faced each other by the Hudson river, without any +movements of importance. + + [Sidenote: The British conquer Georgia, 1779.] + +In one quarter, however, the British began to make rapid progress. They +possessed the Floridas, having got them from Spain by the treaty of +1763. Next them lay Georgia, the weakest of the thirteen states, and +then came the Carolinas, with a strong Tory element in the population. +For such reasons, after the great invasion of New York had failed, the +British tried the plan of starting at the southern extremity of the +Union and lopping off one state after another. In the autumn of 1778 +General Prevost advanced from East Florida, and in a brief campaign +succeeded in capturing Savannah, Sunbury, and Augusta. General Lincoln, +who had won distinction in the Saratoga campaign, was appointed to +command the American forces in the South. He sent General Ashe, with +1500 men, to threaten Augusta. At Ashe's approach, the British abandoned +the town and retreated toward Savannah. Ashe pursued too closely and at +Briar Creek, March 3, 1779, the enemy turned upon him and routed him. +The Americans lost nearly 1000 men killed, wounded, and captured, +besides their cannon and small arms; and this victory cost the British +only 16 men killed and wounded. Augusta was reoccupied, the royal +governor, Sir James Wright, was reinstated in office, and the machinery +of government which had been in operation previous to 1776 was restored. +Lincoln now advanced upon Augusta, but Prevost foiled him by returning +the offensive and marching upon Charleston. In order to protect that +city, Lincoln was obliged to retrace his steps. It was now the middle of +May, and little more was done till September, when D'Estaing returned +from the West Indies. On the 23d Savannah was invested by the combined +forces of Lincoln and D'Estaing, and the siege was vigorously carried on +for a fortnight. Then the French admiral grew impatient. On the 9th of +October a fierce assault was made, in which the allies were defeated +with the loss of 1000 men, including the gallant Pulaski. The French +fleet then departed, and the British could look upon Georgia as +recovered. + + [Sidenote: And capture Charleston, with Lincoln's army, + May 12, 1780.] + +It was South Carolina's turn next. Washington was obliged to weaken his +own force by sending most of the southern troops to Lincoln's +assistance. Sir Henry Clinton then withdrew the garrisons from his +advanced posts on the Hudson, and also from Rhode Island, and was thus +able to leave an adequate force in New York, while he himself set sail +for Savannah, December 26, 1779, with a considerable army. After the +British forces were united in Georgia, they amounted to more than +13,000 men, against whom Lincoln could bring but 7000. The fate of the +American army shows us what would probably have happened in New York in +1776 if an ordinary general instead of Washington had been in command. +Lincoln allowed himself to be cooped up in Charleston, and after a siege +of two months was obliged to surrender the city and his whole army on +the 12th of May, 1780. This was the most serious disaster the Americans +had suffered since the loss of Fort Washington. The dashing cavalry +leader, Tarleton, soon cut to pieces whatever remnants of their army +were left in South Carolina. Sir Henry Clinton returned in June to New +York, leaving Lord Cornwallis with 5000 men to carry on the work. The +Tories, thus supported, got the upperhand in the interior of the state, +which suffered from all the horrors of civil war. The American cause was +sustained only by partisan leaders, of whom the most famous were Francis +Marion and Thomas Sumter. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Camden, Aug. 16, 1780.] + +When the news of Lincoln's surrender reached the North, the emergency +was felt to be desperate. A fresh army was raised, consisting of about +2000 superbly trained veterans of the Maryland and Delaware lines, under +the Baron de Kalb, and such militia as could be raised in Virginia and +North Carolina. The chief command was given to Gates, whose conduct from +the start was a series of blunders. The most important strategic point +in South Carolina was Camden, at the intersection of the principal roads +from the coast to the mountains and from north to south. In marching +upon this point Gates was met by Lord Cornwallis on the 16th of August +and utterly routed. Kalb was mortally wounded at the head of the +Maryland troops, who held their ground nobly till overwhelmed by +numbers; the Delaware men were cut to pieces; the militia were swept +away in flight, and Gates with them. His northern laurels, as it was +said, had changed into southern willows; and for the second time within +three months an American army at the South had been annihilated. + +This was, on the whole, the darkest moment of the war. For a moment in +July there had been a glimmer of hopefulness when the Count de +Rochambeau arrived with 6000 men who were landed on Rhode Island. The +British fleet, however, soon came and blockaded them there, and again +the hearts of the people were sickened with hope deferred. It seemed as +if Lord George Germaine's policy of "tiring the Americans out" might be +going to succeed after all. When the value of the Continental paper +money now fell to zero, it was a fair indication that the people had +pretty much lost all faith in Congress. In the army the cases of +desertion to the British lines averaged about a hundred per month. + + [Sidenote: Benedict Arnold's treason, July-Sept., 1780.] + +This was a time when a man of bold and impulsive temperament, prone to +cherish romantic schemes, smarting under an accumulation of injuries, +and weak in moral principle, might easily take it into his head that the +American cause was lost, and that he had better carve out a new career +for himself, while wreaking vengeance on his enemies. Such seems to have +been the case with Benedict Arnold. He had a great and well-earned +reputation for skill and bravery. His military services up to the time +of Burgoyne's surrender had been of priceless value, and he had always +stood high in Washington's favour. But he had a genius for getting into +quarrels, and there seem always to have been people who doubted his +moral soundness. At the same time he had good reason to complain of the +treatment which he received from Congress. The party hostile to +Washington sometimes liked to strike at him in the persons of his +favourite generals, and such admirable men as Greene and Morgan had to +bear the brunt of this ill feeling. Early in 1777 five brigadier +generals junior to Arnold in rank and vastly inferior to him in ability +and reputation had been promoted over him to the grade of major-general. +On this occasion he had shown an excellent spirit, and when sent by +Washington to the aid of Schuyler, he had signified his willingness to +serve under St. Clair and Lincoln, two of the juniors who had been +raised above him. Arnold was a warm friend to Schuyler, and perhaps did +not take enough pains to conceal his poor opinion of Gates. Other +officers in the northern army let it plainly be seen that they placed +more confidence in Arnold than in Gates, and the result was a bitter +quarrel between the two generals, echoes of which were probably +afterwards heard in Congress. + +If Arnold's wound on the field of Saratoga had been a mortal wound, he +would have been ranked, among the military heroes of the Revolution, +next to Washington and Greene. Perhaps, however, in a far worse sense +than is commonly conveyed by the term, it proved to be his death-wound, +for it led to his being placed in command of Philadelphia. He was +assigned to that position because his wounded leg made him unfit for +active service. Congress had restored him to his relative rank, but now +he soon got into trouble with the state government of Pennsylvania. It +is not easy to determine how much ground there may have been for the +charges brought against him early in 1779 by the state government. One +of them concerned his personal honesty, the others were so trivial in +character as to make the whole affair look somewhat like a case of +persecution. They were twice investigated, once by a committee of +Congress and once by a court-martial. On the serious charge, which +affected his pecuniary integrity, he was acquitted; on two of the +trivial charges, of imprudence in the use of some public wagons, and of +carelessness in granting a pass for a ship, he was convicted and +sentenced to be reprimanded. The language in which Washington couched +the reprimand showed his feeling that Arnold was too harshly dealt with. + +If the matter had stopped here, posterity would probably have shared +Washington's feeling. But the government of Pennsylvania must have had +stronger grounds for distrust of Arnold than it was able to put into the +form of definite charges. Soon after his arrival in Philadelphia he fell +in love with a beautiful Tory lady, to whom he was presently married. He +was thus thrown much into the society of Tories and was no doubt +influenced by their views. He had for some time considered himself +ill-treated, and at first thought of leaving the service and settling +upon a grant of land in western New York. Then, as the charges against +him were pressed and his anger increased, he seems to have dallied with +the notion of going over to the British. At length in the early summer +of 1780, after the reprimand, his treasonable purpose seems to have +taken definite shape. As General Monk in 1660 decided that the only way +to restore peace in England was to desert the cause of the Commonwealth +and bring back Charles II., so Arnold seems now to have thought that the +cause of American independence was ruined, and that the best prospect +for a career for himself lay in deserting it and helping to bring back +the rule of George III. In this period of general depression, when even +the unconquerable Washington said "I have almost ceased to hope," one +staggering blow would be very likely to end the struggle. There could be +no heavier blow than the loss of the Hudson river, and with baseness +almost incredible Arnold asked for the command of West Point, with the +intention of betraying it into the hands of Sir Henry Clinton. The depth +of his villainy on this occasion makes it probable that there were good +grounds for the suspicions with which some people had for a long time +regarded him, although Washington, by putting him in command of the most +important position in the country, showed that his own confidence in him +was unabated. The successful execution of the plot seemed to call for a +personal interview between Arnold and Clinton's adjutant-general, Major +John André, who was entrusted with the negotiation. Such a secret +interview was extremely difficult to bring about, but it was effected on +the 21st of September, 1780. After a marvellous chapter of accidents, +André was captured just before reaching the British lines. But for his +hasty and quite unnecessary confession that he was a British officer, +which led to his being searched, the plot would in all probability have +been successful. The papers found on his person, which left no room for +doubt as to the nature of the black scheme, were sent to Washington; +the principal traitor, forewarned just in the nick of time, escaped to +the British at New York; and Major André was condemned as a spy and +hanged on the 2d of October. + + [Sidenote: Battle of King's Mountain, Oct. 7, 1780.] + +Only five days after the execution of André an event occurred at the +South which greatly relieved the prevailing gloom of the situation. It +was the first of a series of victories which were soon to show that the +darkness of 1780 was the darkness that comes before dawn. After his +victory at Camden, Lord Cornwallis found it necessary to give his army +some rest from the intense August heat. In September he advanced into +North Carolina, boasting that he would soon conquer all the states south +of the Susquehanna river. But his line of march now lay far inland, and +the British armies were never able to accomplish much except in the +neighbourhood of their ships, where they could be reasonably sure of +supplies. In traversing Mecklenburg county Cornwallis soon found himself +in a very hostile and dangerous region, where there were no Tories to +befriend him. One of his best partisan commanders, Major Ferguson, +penetrated too far into the mountains. The backwoodsmen of Tennessee and +Kentucky, the Carolinas, and western Virginia were aroused; and under +their superb partisan leaders--Shelby, Sevier, Cleaveland, McDowell, +Campbell, and Williams--gave chase to Ferguson, who took refuge upon +what he deemed an impregnable position on the top of King's Mountain. On +the 7th of October the backwoodsmen stormed the mountain, Ferguson was +shot through the heart, 400 of his men were killed and wounded, and all +the rest, 700 in number, surrendered at discretion. The Americans lost +28 killed and 60 wounded. There were some points in this battle, which +remind one of the British defeat at Majuba Hill in southern Africa in +1881. + +In the series of events which led to the surrender of Cornwallis, the +battle of King's Mountain played a part similar to that played by the +battle of Bennington in the series of events which led to the surrender +of Burgoyne. It was the enemy's first serious disaster, and its +immediate result was to check his progress until the Americans could +muster strength enough to overthrow him. The events, however, were much +more complicated in Cornwallis's case, and took much longer to unfold +themselves. Burgoyne surrendered within nine anxious weeks after +Bennington; Cornwallis maintained himself, sometimes with fair hopes of +final victory, for a whole year after King's Mountain. + +[Illustration] + + [Sidenote: Greene takes command in South Carolina, Dec. 2, 1780.] + +As soon as he heard the news of the disaster he fell back to +Winnsborough, in South Carolina, and called for reinforcements. While +they were arriving, the American army, recruited and reorganized +since its crushing defeat at Camden, advanced into Mecklenburg county. +Gates was superseded by Greene, who arrived upon the scene on the 2d of +December. Under Greene were three Virginians of remarkable +ability,--Daniel Morgan; William Washington, who was a distant cousin of +the commander-in-chief; and Henry Lee, familiarly known as "Light-horse +Harry," father of the great general, Robert Edward Lee. The little army +numbered only 2000 men, but a considerable part of them were disciplined +veterans fully a match for the British infantry. + +In order to raise troops in Virginia to increase this little force, +Steuben was sent down to that state. In order to interfere with such +recruiting, and to make diversions in aid of Cornwallis, detachments +from the British army were also sent by sea from New York to Virginia. +The first of these detachments, under General Leslie, had been obliged +to keep on to South Carolina, to make good the loss inflicted upon +Cornwallis at King's Mountain. To replace Leslie in Virginia, the +traitor Arnold was sent down from New York. The presence of these +subsidiary forces in Virginia was soon to influence in a decisive way +the course of events. + + [Sidenote: Battle of the Cowpens, Jan. 17, 1781.] + +Greene, on reaching South Carolina, acted with boldness and originality. +He divided his little army into two bodies, one of which coöperated +with Marion's partisans in the northeastern part of the state, and +threatened Cornwallis's communications with the coast. The other body he +sent under Morgan to the southwestward, to threaten the inland posts and +their garrisons. Thus worried on both flanks, Cornwallis presently +divided his own force, sending Tarleton with 1100 men, to dispose of +Morgan. Tarleton came up with Morgan on the 17th of January, 1781, at a +grazing-ground known as the Cowpens, not far from King's Mountain. The +battle which ensued was well fought, and on Morgan's part it was a +wonderful piece of tactics. With only 900 men in open field he +surrounded and nearly annihilated a superior force. The British lost 230 +in killed and wounded, 600 prisoners, and all their guns. Tarleton +escaped with 270 men. The Americans lost 12 killed and 61 wounded. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Guilford, March 15, 1781.] + +The two battles, King's Mountain and the Cowpens, deprived Cornwallis of +nearly all his light-armed troops, and he was just entering upon a game +where swiftness was especially required. It was his object to intercept +Morgan and defeat him before he could effect a junction with the other +part of the American army. It was Greene's object to march the two parts +of his army in converging directions northward across North Carolina and +unite them in spite of Cornwallis. By moving in this direction Greene +was always getting nearer to his reinforcements from Virginia, while +Cornwallis was always getting further from his supports in South +Carolina. It was brilliant strategy on Greene's part, and entirely +successful. Cornwallis had to throw away a great deal of his baggage and +otherwise weaken himself, but in spite of all he could do, he was +outmarched. The two wings of the American army came together and were +joined by the reinforcements; so that at Guilford Court House, on the +15th of March, Cornwallis found himself obliged to fight against heavy +odds, two hundred miles from the coast and almost as far from the +nearest point in South Carolina at which he could get support. + +The battle of Guilford was admirably managed by both commanders and +stubbornly fought by the troops. At nightfall the British held the +field, with the loss of nearly one third of their number, and the +Americans were repulsed. But Cornwallis could not stay in such a place, +and could not afford to risk another battle. There was nothing for him +to do but retreat to Wilmington, the nearest point on the coast. There +he stopped and pondered. + + [Sidenote: Cornwallis retreats into Virginia.] + +His own force was sadly depleted, but he knew that Arnold in Virginia +was being heavily reinforced from New York. The only safe course seemed +to march northward and join in the operations in Virginia; then +afterwards to return southward. This course Cornwallis pursued, arriving +at Petersburg and taking command of the troops there on the 20th of May. + + [Sidenote: Greene takes Camden, May 10, 1781.] + + [Sidenote: Battle of Eutaw Springs, Sept. 8, 1781.] + +Meanwhile Greene, after pursuing Cornwallis for about fifty miles from +Guilford, faced about and marched with all speed upon Camden, a hundred +and sixty miles distant. Whatever his adversary might do, he was now +going to seize the great prize of the campaign, and break the enemy's +hold upon South Carolina. Lord Rawdon held Camden. Greene stopped at +Hobkirk's Hill, two miles to the north, and sent Marion and Lee to take +Fort Watson, and thus cut the enemy's communications with the coast. On +April 23 Fort Watson surrendered; on the 25th Rawdon defeated Greene at +Hobkirk's Hill, but as his communications were cut, the victory did him +no good. He was obliged to retreat toward the coast, and Greene took +Camden on the 10th of May. Having thus obtained the commanding point, +Greene went on until he had reduced every one of the inland posts. At +last on the 8th of September he fought an obstinate battle at Eutaw +Springs, in which both sides claimed the victory. The facts were that he +drove the British from their first position, but they rallied upon a +second position from which he failed to drive them. Here, however, as +always after one of Greene's battles, it was the enemy who retreated +and he who pursued. His strategy never failed. After Eutaw Springs the +British remained shut up in Charleston under cover of their ships, and +the American government was reëstablished over South Carolina. Among all +the campaigns in history that have been conducted with small armies, +there have been few, if any, more brilliant than Greene's. + + [Sidenote: Lafayette and Cornwallis in Virginia, May-Sept., 1718.] + +There was something especially piquant in the way in which after +Guilford he left Cornwallis to himself. It reminds one of a chess-player +who first gets the queen off the board, where she can do no harm, and +then wins the game against the smaller pieces. As for Cornwallis, when +he reached Petersburg, May 20, he found himself at the head of 5000 men. +Arnold had just been recalled to New York, and Lafayette, who had been +sent down to oppose him, was at Richmond with 3000 men. A campaign of +nine weeks ensued, in the first part of which Cornwallis tried to catch +Lafayette and bring him to battle. The general movement was from +Richmond up to Fredericksburg, then over toward Charlottesville, then +back to the James river, then down the north bank of the river. But +during the last part the tables were turned, and it was Lafayette, +reinforced by Wayne and Steuben, that pursued Cornwallis on his retreat +to the coast. At the end of July the British general reached Yorktown, +where he was reinforced and waited with 7000 men. + + [Sidenote: Washington's masterly movement.] + +We may now change our simile, and liken Cornwallis to a ball between two +bats. The first bat, which had knocked him up into Virginia, was Greene; +the second, which sent him quite out of the game, was Washington. The +remarkable movement which the latter general now proceeded to execute +would have been impossible without French coöperation. A French fleet of +overwhelming power, under the Count de Grasse, was approaching +Chesapeake bay. Washington, in readiness for it, had first moved +Rochambeau's army from Rhode Island across Connecticut to the Hudson +river. Then, as soon as all the elements of the situation were +disclosed, he left part of his force in position on the Hudson, and in a +superb march led the rest down to Virginia. Sir Henry Clinton at New +York was completely hoodwinked. He feared that the real aim of the +French fleet was New York, in which case it would be natural that an +American land-force should meet it at Staten island. Now a glance at the +map of New Jersey will show that Washington's army, starting from West +Point, could march more than half the way toward Philadelphia and still +be supposed to be aiming at Staten island. Washington was a master hand +for secrecy. When his movement was first disclosed, his own generals, as +well as Sir Henry Clinton, took it for granted that Staten island was +the point aimed at. It was not until he had passed Philadelphia that +Clinton began to surmise that he might be going down to Virginia. + +When this fact at length dawned upon the British commander, he made a +futile attempt at a diversion by sending Benedict Arnold to attack New +London. It was as weak as the act of a drowning man who catches at a +straw. Arnold's expedition, cruel and useless as it was, crowned his +infamy. A sad plight for a man of his power! If he had only had more +strength of character, he might now have been marching with his old +friend Washington to victory. With this wretched affair at New London, +the brilliant and wicked Benedict Arnold disappears from American +history. He died in London, in 1801, a broken-hearted and penitent man, +as his grandchildren tell us, praying God with his last breath to +forgive his awful crime. + + [Sidenote: Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Oct. 19, 1781.] + +Washington's march was so swift and so cunningly planned that nothing +could check it. On the 26th of September the situation was complete. +Washington had added his force to that of Lafayette, so that 16,000 men +blockaded Cornwallis upon the Yorktown peninsula. The great French +fleet, commanding the waters about Chesapeake bay, closed in behind and +prevented escape. It was a very unusual thing for the French thus to get +control of the water and defy the British on their own element. It was +Washington's unwearied vigilance that, after waiting long for such a +chance, had seized it without a moment's delay. As soon as Cornwallis +was thus caught between a hostile army and a hostile fleet, the problem +was solved. On the 19th of October the British army surrendered. +Washington presently marched his army back to the Hudson and made his +headquarters at Newburgh. + + [Sidenote: Overthrow of George III.'s political schemes, May, 1784.] + +When Lord North at his office in London heard the dismal news, he walked +up and down the room, wringing his hands and crying, "O God, it is all +over!" Yorktown was indeed decisive. In the course of the winter the +British lost Georgia. The embers of Indian warfare still smouldered on +the border, but the great War for Independence was really at an end. The +king's friends had for some time been losing strength in England, and +Yorktown completed their defeat. In March, 1782, Lord North's ministry +resigned. A succession of short-lived ministries followed; first, Lord +Rockingham's, until July, 1782; then Lord Shelburne's, until February, +1783; then, after five weeks without a government, there came into power +the strange Coalition between Fox and North, from April to December. +During these two years the king was trying to intrigue with one interest +against another so as to maintain his own personal government. With this +end in view he tried the bold experiment of dismissing the Coalition +and making the young William Pitt prime minister, without a majority in +Parliament. After a fierce constitutional struggle, which lasted all +winter, Pitt dissolved Parliament, and in the new election in May, 1784, +obtained the greatest majority ever given to an English minister. But +the victory was Pitt's and the people's, not the king's. This election +of 1784 overthrew all the cherished plans of George III. in pursuance of +which he had driven the American colonies into rebellion. It established +cabinet government more firmly than ever, so that for the next seventeen +years the real ruler of Great Britain was William Pitt. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +BIRTH OF THE NATION. + + + [Sidenote: The treaty of peace, 1782-83.] + +The year 1782 was marked by great victories for the British in the West +Indies and at Gibraltar. But they did not alter the situation in +America. The treaty of peace by which Great Britain acknowledged the +independence of the United States was made under Lord Shelburne's +ministry in the autumn of 1782, and adopted and signed by the Coalition +on the 3d of September, 1783. The negotiations were carried on at Paris +by Franklin, Jay, and John Adams, on the part of the Americans; and they +won a diplomatic victory in securing for the United States the country +between the Alleghany mountains and the Mississippi river. This was done +against the wishes of the French government, which did not wish to see +the United States become too powerful. At the same time Spain recovered +Minorca and the Floridas. France got very little except the satisfaction +of having helped in diminishing the British empire. + + [Sidenote: Troubles with the army, 1781-83.] + +The return of peace did not bring contentment to the Americans. Because +Congress had no means of raising a revenue or enforcing its decrees, it +was unable to make itself respected either at home or abroad. For want +of pay the army became very troublesome. In January, 1781, there had +been a mutiny of Pennsylvania and New Jersey troops which at one moment +looked very serious. In the spring of 1782 some of the officers, +disgusted with the want of efficiency in the government, seem to have +entertained a scheme for making Washington king; but Washington met the +suggestion with a stern rebuke. In March, 1783, inflammatory appeals +were made to the officers at the headquarters of the army at Newburgh. +It seems to have been intended that the army should overawe Congress and +seize upon the government until the delinquent states should contribute +the money needed for satisfying the soldiers and other public creditors. +Gates either originated this scheme or willingly lent himself to it, but +an eloquent speech from Washington prevailed upon the officers to reject +and condemn it. + +On the 19th of April, 1783, the eighth anniversary of Lexington, the +cessation of hostilities was formally proclaimed, and the soldiers were +allowed to go home on furloughs. The army was virtually disbanded. There +were some who thought that this ought not to be done while the British +forces still remained in New York; but Congress was afraid of the army +and quite ready to see it scattered. On the 21st of June Congress was +driven from Philadelphia by a small band of drunken soldiers clamorous +for pay. It was impossible for Congress to get money. Of the Continental +taxes assessed in 1783, only one fifth part had been paid by the middle +of 1785. After peace was made, France had no longer any end to gain by +lending us money, and European bankers, as well as European governments, +regarded American credit as dead. + + [Sidenote: Congress unable to fulfil the treaty.] + +There was a double provision of the treaty which could not be carried +out because of the weakness of Congress. It had been agreed that +Congress should request the state governments to repeal various laws +which they had made from time to time confiscating the property of +Tories and hindering the collection of private debts due from American +to British merchants. Congress did make such a request, but it was not +heeded. The laws hindering the payment of debts were not repealed; and +as for the Tories, they were so badly treated that between 1783 and 1785 +more than 100,000 left the country. Those from the southern states went +mostly to Florida and the Bahamas; those from the north made the +beginnings of the Canadian states of Ontario and New Brunswick. A good +many of them were reimbursed for their losses by Parliament. + + [Sidenote: Great Britain retaliates, presuming upon the weakness of + the feeling of union among the states.] + +When the British government saw that these provisions of the treaty were +not fulfilled, it retaliated by refusing to withdraw its troops from +the northern and western frontier posts. The British army sailed from +Charleston on the 14th of December, 1782, and from New York on the 25th +of November, 1783, but in contravention of the treaty small garrisons +remained at Ogdensburgh, Oswego, Niagara, Erie, Sandusky, Detroit, and +Mackinaw until the 1st of June, 1796. Besides this, laws were passed +which bore very severely upon American commerce, and the Americans found +it impossible to retaliate because the different states would not agree +upon any commercial policy in common. On the other hand, the states +began making commercial war upon each other, with navigation laws and +high tariffs. Such laws were passed by New York to interfere with the +trade of Connecticut, and the merchants of the latter state began to +hold meetings and pass resolutions forbidding all trade whatever with +New York. + +The old quarrels about territory were kept up, and in 1784 the troubles +in Wyoming and in the Green Mountains came to the very verge of civil +war. People in Europe, hearing of such things, believed that the Union +would soon fall to pieces and become the prey of foreign powers. It was +disorder and calamity of this sort that such men as Hutchinson had +feared, in case the control of Great Britain over the colonies should +cease. George III. looked upon it all with satisfaction, and believed +that before long the states would one after another become repentant and +beg to be taken back into the British empire. + + [Sidenote: The craze for paper money and the Shays rebellion, 1786.] + +The troubles reached their climax in 1786. Because there seemed to be no +other way of getting money, the different states began to issue their +promissory notes, and then tried to compel people by law to receive such +notes as money. There was a strong "paper money" party in all the states +except Connecticut and Delaware. The most serious trouble was in Rhode +Island and Massachusetts. In both states the farmers had been much +impoverished by the war. Many farms were mortgaged, and now and then one +was sold to satisfy creditors. The farmers accordingly clamoured for +paper money, but the merchants in towns like Boston or Providence, +understanding more about commerce, were opposed to any such miserable +makeshifts. In Rhode Island the farmers prevailed. Paper money was +issued, and harsh laws were passed against all who should refuse to take +it at its face value. The merchants refused, and in the towns nearly all +business was stopped during the summer of 1786. + +In the Massachusetts legislature the paper money party was defeated. +There was a great outcry among the farmers against merchants and +lawyers, and some were heard to maintain that the time had come for +wiping out all debts. In August, 1786, the malcontents rose in +rebellion, headed by one Daniel Shays, who had been a captain in the +Continental army. They began by trying to prevent the courts from +sitting, and went on to burn barns, plunder houses, and attack the +arsenal at Springfield. The state troops were called out, under General +Lincoln, two or three skirmishes were fought, in which a few lives were +lost, and at length in February, 1787, the insurrection was suppressed. + + [Sidenote: The Mississippi question, 1786.] + +At that time the mouth of the Mississippi river and the country on its +western bank belonged to Spain. Kentucky and Tennessee were rapidly +becoming settled by people from Virginia and North Carolina, and these +settlers wished to trade with New Orleans. The Spanish government was +unfriendly and wished to prevent such traffic. The people of New England +felt little interest in the southwestern country or the Mississippi +river, but were very anxious to make a commercial treaty with Spain. The +government of Spain refused to make such a treaty except on condition +that American vessels should not be allowed to descend the Mississippi +river below the mouth of the Yazoo. When Congress seemed on the point of +yielding to this demand, the southern states were very angry. The New +England states were equally angry at what they called the obstinacy of +the South, and threats of secession were heard on both sides. + + [Sidenote: The northwestern territory; the first national domain, + 1780-87.] + +Perhaps the only thing that kept the Union from falling to pieces in +1786 was the Northwestern Territory, which George Rogers Clark had +conquered in 1779, and which skilful diplomacy had enabled us to keep +when the treaty was drawn up in 1782. Virginia claimed this territory +and actually held it, but New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut also +had claims upon it. It was the idea of Maryland that such a vast region +ought not to be added to any one state, or divided between two or three +of the states, but ought to be the common property of the Union. +Maryland had refused to ratify the Articles of Confederation until the +four states that claimed the northwestern territory should yield their +claims to the United States. This was done between 1780 and 1785, and +thus for the first time the United States government was put in +possession of valuable property which could be made to yield an income +and pay debts. This piece of property was about the first thing in which +all the American people were alike interested, after they had won their +independence. It could be opened to immigration and made to pay the +whole cost of the war and much more. During these troubled years +Congress was busy with plans for organizing this territory, which at +length resulted in the famous Ordinance of 1787 laying down fundamental +laws for the government of what has since developed into the five great +states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. While other +questions tended to break up the Union, the questions that arose in +connection with this work tended to hold it together. + + [Sidenote: The convention at Annapolis, Sept. 11, 1786.] + +The need for easy means of communication between the old Atlantic states +and this new country behind the mountains led to schemes which ripened +in course of time into the construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio and +the Erie canals. In discussing such schemes, Maryland and Virginia found +it necessary to agree upon some kind of commercial policy to be pursued +by both states. Then it was thought best to seize the occasion for +calling a general convention of the states to decide upon a uniform +system of regulations for commerce. This convention was held at +Annapolis in September, 1786, but only five states had sent delegates, +and so the convention adjourned after adopting an address written by +Alexander Hamilton, calling for another convention to meet at +Philadelphia on the second Monday of the following May, "to devise such +further provisions as shall appear necessary to render the constitution +of the federal government adequate to the exigencies of the Union." + +The Shays rebellion and the quarrel about the Mississippi river had by +this time alarmed people so that it began to be generally admitted that +the federal government must be in some way strengthened. If there were +any doubt as to this, it was removed by the action of New York. An +amendment to the Articles of Confederation had been proposed, giving +Congress the power of levying customs-duties and appointing the +collectors. By the summer of 1786 all the states except New York had +consented to this. But in order to amend the articles, unanimous consent +was necessary, and in February, 1787, New York's refusal defeated the +amendment. Congress was thus left without any immediate means of raising +a revenue, and it became quite clear that something must be done without +delay. + + [Sidenote: The Federal Convention at Philadelphia, May-Sept., 1787.] + +The famous Federal Convention met at Philadelphia in May, 1787, and +remained in session four months, with Washington presiding. Its work was +the framing of the government under which we are now living, and in +which the evils of the old confederation have been avoided. The trouble +had all the while been how to get the whole American people +_represented_ in some body that could thus rightfully _tax_ the whole +American people. This was the question which the Albany Congress had +tried to settle in 1754, and which the Federal Convention did settle in +1787. + +In the old confederation, starting with the Continental Congress in +1774, the government was all vested in a single body which represented +states, but did not represent individual persons. It was for that +reason that it was called a congress rather than a parliament. It was +more like a congress of European states than the legislative body of a +nation, such as the English parliament was. It had no executive and no +judiciary. It could not tax, and it could not enforce its decrees. + + [Sidenote: The new government, in which the Revolution was + consummated, 1789.] + +The new constitution changed all this by creating the House of +Representatives which stood in the same relation to the whole American +people as the legislative assembly of each single state to the people of +that state. In this body the people were represented, and could +therefore tax themselves. At the same time in the Senate the old +equality between the states was preserved. All control over commerce, +currency, and finance was lodged in this new Congress, and absolute free +trade was established between the states. In the office of President a +strong executive was created. And besides all this there was a system of +federal courts for deciding questions arising under federal laws. Most +remarkable of all, in some respects, was the power given to the federal +Supreme Court, of deciding, in special cases, whether laws passed by the +several states, or by Congress itself, were conformable to the Federal +Constitution. + +Many men of great and various powers played important parts in effecting +this change of government which at length established the American +Union in such a form that it could endure; but the three who stood +foremost in the work were George Washington, James Madison, and +Alexander Hamilton. Two other men, whose most important work came +somewhat later, must be mentioned along with these, for the sake of +completeness. It was John Marshall, chief justice of the United States +from 1801 to 1835, whose profound decisions did more than those of any +later judge could ever do toward establishing the sense in which the +Constitution must be understood. It was Thomas Jefferson, president of +the United States from 1801 to 1809, whose sound democratic instincts +and robust political philosophy prevented the federal government from +becoming too closely allied with the interests of particular classes, +and helped to make it what it should be,--a "government of the people, +by the people, and for the people." In the _making_ of the government +under which we live, these five names--Washington, Madison, Hamilton, +Jefferson, and Marshall--stand before all others. I mention them here +chronologically, in the order of the times at which their influence was +felt at its maximum. + +When the work of the Federal Convention was sanctioned by the +Continental Congress and laid before the people of the several states, +to be ratified by special conventions in each state, there was earnest +and sometimes bitter discussion. Many people feared that the new +government would soon degenerate into a tyranny. But the century and a +half of American history that had already elapsed had afforded such +noble political training for the people that the discussion was, on the +whole, more reasonable and more fruitful than any that had ever before +been undertaken by so many men. The result was the adoption of the +Federal Constitution, followed by the inauguration of George Washington, +on the 30th of April, 1789, as President of the United States. And with +this event our brief story may fitly end. + + + + +COLLATERAL READING. + + +The following books may be recommended to the reader who wishes to get a +general idea of the American Revolution:-- + +1. GENERAL WORKS. The most comprehensive and readable account is +contained in Mr. Fiske's larger work, _The American Revolution_, in two +volumes. The subject is best treated from the biographical point of view +in Washington Irving's _Life of Washington_, vols. i.-iv. Mr. Fiske has +abridged and condensed these four octavos into one stout duodecimo +entitled _Washington and his Country_, Boston, Ginn & Co., 1887. Our +young friends may find Frothingham's _Rise of the Republic_ rather close +reading, but one can hardly name a book that will more richly reward +them for their study. Green's _Historical View of the Revolution_ should +be read by every one. Carrington's _Battles of the Revolution_ makes the +military operations quite clear with numerous maps. Very young readers +find it interesting to begin with Coffin's _Boys of Seventy-Six_, or C. +H. Woodman's _Boys and Girls of the Revolution_. The social life of the +time is admirably portrayed in Scudder's _Men and Manners in America One +Hundred Years Ago_. See also Thornton's _Pulpit of the Revolution_. +Lossing's _Field Book of the Revolution_--two royal octavos profusely +illustrated--is an excellent book to browse in. Lecky's _England in the +Eighteenth Century_ gives an admirable statement of England's position. + +2. BIOGRAPHIES. Lodge's _George Washington_, 2 vols., Scudder's _George +Washington_, Tyler's _Patrick Henry_, Tudor's _Otis_, Hosmer's _Samuel +Adams_, Morse's _John Adams_, Frothingham's _Warren_, Quincy's _Josiah +Quincy_, Parton's _Franklin_ and _Jefferson_, Fonblanque's _Burgoyne_, +Lossing's _Schuyler_, Riedesel's _Memoirs_, Stone's _Brant_, Arnold's +_Arnold_, Sargent's _André_, Kapp's _Steuben_ and _Kalb_, Greene's +_Greene_, Amory's _Sullivan_, Graham's _Morgan_, Simms's _Marion_, +Abbott's _Paul Jones_, John Adams's _Letters to his Wife_, Morse's +_Hamilton_, Gay's _Madison_, Roosevelt's _Gouverneur Morris_, Russell's +_Fox_, Albemarle's _Rockingham_, Fitzmaurice's _Shelburne_, MacKnight's +_Burke_, Macaulay's essay on _Chatham_. + +3. FICTION. Cooper's _Chainbearer_, Miss Sedgwick's _Linwoods_, +Paulding's _Old Continental_, Mrs. Child's _Rebels_, Motley's _Morton's +Hope_, Herman Melville's _Israel Potter_, Kennedy's _Horse Shoe +Robinson_. There is an account of the battle of Bunker Hill in Cooper's +_Lionel Lincoln_. Thompson's _Green Mountain Boys_ gives interesting +descriptions of many of the events in that region. The border warfare is +treated in Grace Greenwood's _Forest Tragedy_ and Hoffman's _Greyslaer_. +Simms's _Partisan_ and _Mellichampe_ deal with events in South Carolina +in 1780, and later events are covered in his _Scout_, _Katharine +Walford_, _Woodcraft_, _Forayers_, and _Eutaw_. See also Miss Sedgwick's +_Walter Thornley_, and Cooper's _Pilot_ and _Spy_, and H. C. Watson's +_Camp Fires of the Revolution_. The scenes of _Paul and Persis_, by Mary +E. Brush, are laid in the Mohawk Valley. + +For further references, see Justin Winsor's _Reader's Handbook of the +American Revolution_, a book which is absolutely indispensable to every +one who wishes to study the subject. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +INDEX. + + +Adams, John, 46, 84, 88, 89, 98, 100, 113, 149, 182. + +Adams, Samuel, 53, 58, 68, 71, 72, 73, 75, 78, 82, 84, 85, 88, 107, 149. + +Aix-la-Chapelle, treaty of, 6. + +Albany Congress, 34, 190. + +Albany Plan, 35. + +Algonquins, 28-30, 37. + +Alleghany mountains, 27. + +Allen, Ethan, 87. + +André John, 170, 171. + +Andros, Sir Edmund, 22. + +Annapolis convention, 189. + +Antislavery feeling, 126. + +Armada, the Invincible, 6. + +Armed Neutrality, 159. + +Army, continental, 88, 124; + disbanded, 183. + +Arnold, Benedict, 87, 93, 94, 118, 136, 137, 143, 167-171, 173, 175, 177, + 179. + +Ashe, Samuel, 163. + +Attucks, Crispus, 75. + +Augusta, Ga., 163. + + +Bacon's rebellion, 21. + +Baltimore, Congress flees to, 118. + +Barons' War, 19. + +Barré, Isaac, 69, 75. + +Barter, 162. + +Baum, Col., 134. + +Bemis Heights, 143. + +Bennington, 133, 134, 137, 172. + +Berkeley, Sir W., 21. + +Bernard, Sir F., 68, 72. + +Boston, 7, 44-47; + "Massacre," 72-75; + "Tea Party," 79-83; + Port Bill, 83; + siege of, 87-94. + +Braddock, Edward, 36. + +Brandywine, 141. + +Brant, Joseph, 108, 135, 136, 154, 155. + +Breymann, Col., 134. + +Briar Creek, 163. + +Brooklyn Heights, 111-113, 128. + +Bunker Hill, 91, 128. + +Burgoyne, John, 90, 125-134, 137, 140-143, 148, 150, 158, 172. + +Burlington, N. J., 120. + +Burke, Edmund, 62, 69. + +Butler, Col. John, 134, 154. + +Butts Hill, 154. + +Byron, Admiral, 150. + + +Cahokia, 156. + +Calvert family, 13. + +Camden, Lord, 69. + +Camden, S. C., 166, 171, 173, 176. + +Campbell, Col. William, 171. + +Canada, invasion of, 93, 94. + +Canals, 189. + +Carleton, Sir Guy, 93, 94, 109, 115, 118. + +Carlisle, Pa., 26. + +Carr, Dabney, 79. + +Castle William, 73, 75. + +Caudine Fork, 144. + +Cavaliers, 9. + +Cavendish, Lord John, 69. + +Charles II., 22, 43, 45. + +Charleston, S. C., 80, 165. + +Charlestown, Mass., 86 + +Chase, Samuel, 84. + +Cherry Valley, 154. + +Choiseul, Duke de, 38. + +Clark, George Rogers, 156, 188. + +Cleaveland, Col., 171. + +Cleveland, Grover, 1. + +Clinton, Sir H., 90, 96, 140, 142, 150-152, 156-158, 164, 165, 178, 179. + +Coalition ministry, 180. + +Cobden, Richard, 61. + +Colonial trade, 42-44. + +Committees of correspondence, 79. + +Commons, House of, 19, 58-61. + +Concord, 85, 86. + +Congress, Continental, 79, 84, 87-90, 100-103, 106, 115-117, 161, 162, 183, + 184, 191. + +Congress, Stamp Act, 56. + +Connecticut, 13, 21, 23, 77, 98, 156. + +Conway, Henry, 69. + +Conway Cabal, 148, 149. + +Cornwallis, Lord, 104, 121, 122, 165, 171-180. + +Cowpens, 174. + +Cromwell, Oliver, 9. + +Crown Point, 87. + +Currency, Continental, 162, 166. + + +Deane, Silas, 123. + +Declaration of Independence, 97-103, 127. + +Declaratory Act, 58. + +Delaware, 9, 10. + +Delaware river, 142. + +Denmark, 159. + +Desertions, 166. + +D'Estaing, Count, 151-154, 164. + +Dickinson, John, 84, 92, 98, 101, 102. + +Discovery, French doctrine of, 27. + +Dorchester Heights, 94, 128. + +Dunmore, Lord, 95. + + +"Early" American history, 5. + +Edinburgh, 159. + +Elkton, 140, 141. + +Elmira, 155. + +Eutaw Springs, 176. + + +Fairfield, Conn., 156. + +Federal convention, 190, 191. + +Ferguson, Major, 171, 172. + +Five Nations, 29. + +Flamborough Head, 150. + +Fort Duquesne, 33; + Edward, 131, 132, 140; + Lee, 114-116; + Moultrie, 105; + Necessity, 33; + Niagara, 154, 155; + Stanwix, 135-137; + Washington, 114-117, 165; + Watson, 176. + +Forts on the Delaware, 141. + +Fox, Charles, 69, 180. + +Franklin, Benjamin, 34, 54, 89, 113, 123, 182. + +Franklin, William, 106. + +Fraser, Gen., 131. + +Frederick the Great, 150. + +French power in Canada, 10, 20, 26-38. + +Frontenac, Count, 29. + +Frontier between English and French colonies, 26. + + +Gage, Thomas, 29, 83, 85, 91, 92. + +Gansevoort, Peter, 135. + +Gaspee, schooner, 77. + +Gates, Horatio, 39, 90, 130, 131, 137, 143, 148, 165, 166, 168, 173. + +George III., his character and schemes, 59-71, 146; + glee over news from Ticonderoga, 120; + tries to make an alliance with Russia, 158, 159; + his schemes overthrown, 180, 181. + +Georgia, 11, 96, 163. + +Germaine, Lord George, 147, 156, 166. + +Germantown, 141. + +Gibraltar, 158, 182. + +Gladstone, W. E., 61. + +Governments of the colonies, 13-16. + +Grasse, Count de, 178. + +Green Mountains, 77, 87, 131, 185. + +Greene, Nathanael, 90, 115, 116, 167, 173-177. + +Grenville, George, 41, 49, 51, 54, 124. + +Gridley, Jeremiah, 46. + +Guilford Court House, 175, 177. + + +Hackensack, 115, 116. + +Hale, Nathan, 114. + +Hamilton, commandant at Detroit, 155. + +Hamilton, Alexander, 189, 192. + +Hancock, John, 80, 87, 89. + +Harlem Heights, 114, 129. + +Harrison, Benjamin, 6. + +Hastings, Warren, 158. + +Heath, William, 90, 115. + +Henry VIII., 59. + +Henry, Patrick, 48, 55, 58, 84, 144. + +Herkimer, Nicholas, 135, 136. + +Hessian troops, 93. + +Hobkirk's Hill, 176. + +Holland and Great Britain, 160. + +Hopkins, Stephen, 77. + +Howe, Richard, Lord, 105, 106, 113, 150, 153. + +Howe, Sir William, 39, 90, 94, 104, 105, 112-118, 125, 127, 137-143, + 148, 150. + +Hubbardton, 131. + +Hudson river, 95, 115, 128, 157, 170. + +Hutchinson, Thomas, 46, 56, 72, 75, 77, 78, 81, 83, 107, 185. + +Hyder, Ali, 158. + + +Impost amendment defeated by New York, 190. + +Indian tribes, 27, 28. + +Iroquois, 28, 29. + + +Jay, John, 92, 182. + +Jefferson, Thomas, 55, 89, 100, 103, 126, 127, 192. + +Jeffreys, George, 17. + +Johnson, Sir John, 108, 134. + +Johnson, Sir William, 108. + +Johnson Hall, 26, 108. + +Jones, David, 133. + +Jones, Paul, 159, 160. + + +Kalb, John, 38, 123, 165, 166. + +Kaskaskia, 156. + +Kentucky, 155, 171, 187. + +King's friends, 64, 69, 84. + +King's Mountain, 171, 172, 174. + +Kirkland, Samuel, 135. + +Kosciuszko, Thaddeus, 123. + + +Lafayette, 123, 177. + +Land Bank, 20. + +Lee, Arthur, 123. + +Lee, Charles, 89, 105, 117-119, 122, 138, 140, 148, 150-152. + +Lee, Henry, 173. + +Lee, Richard Henry, 84, 97, 100. + +Lee, Robert Edward, 173. + +Leslie, Gen., 173. + +Leuktra, 144. + +Lexington, 86, 183. + +Lincoln, Abraham, 126. + +Lincoln, Benjamin, 131, 134, 143, 163-165, 167, 187. + +Livingston, Robert, 84, 98. + +Long House, 28, 29. + +Long Island, battle of, 112. + +Lords proprietary, 13. + +Louis XV., 31. + + +Macaulay, Lord, 49. + +McCrea, Jane, 132, 133. + +McDowell, Col., 171. + +McNeil, Mrs., 132, 133. + +Madison, James, 192. + +Mahratta war, 158. + +Majuba Hill, 172. + +Manchester, Vt., 133. + +Marion, Francis, 165, 174. + +Marshall, John, 192. + +Martha's Vineyard, 156. + +Martin, Josiah, 96. + +Maryland, 8, 99, 140, 188. + +Massachusetts, 21, 22, 68, 71, 72, 83, 97, 107. + +Mecklenburg county, N. C., 95, 171, 173. + +Minden, 147. + +Minisink, 155. + +Minorca, 158, 182. + +Mississippi valley, 182, 187. + +Mobilians, 27. + +Molasses Act, 49-51, 67. + +Monk, Gen., 169. + +Monmouth, 151, 152. + +Montgomery, Richard, 90, 93, 94. + +Morgan, Daniel, 93, 94, 137, 143, 167, 173, 174. + +Morris, Robert, 102, 120. + +Morristown, 119, 122, 123. + +Moultrie, William, 105. + + +New England colonies, 6-8. + +New Hampshire, 76, 98. + +New Haven, 156. + +New Jersey, 11, 99. + +New Whigs, 60-62, 69. + +New York, 9, 66, 76, 80, 100, 108, 125, 143, 190. + +Newburgh, 180, 183. + +Norfolk, Va., 95. + +North, Lord, 66, 76, 144-147, 180. + +North Carolina, 11, 77, 96, 171-175. + +Northcastle, 115. + +Northwestern Territory, 188. + +Nullification of the Regulating Act, 85. + +Norwalk, 156. + + +Ohio, 189. + +Ohio Company, 32. + +Old Sarum, 59. + +Old South church, 53, 72, 82. + +Old Whigs, 59-64, 69. + +Otis, James, 45-47, 62, 72, 74, 144. + + +Paper money, 20, 162, 186. + +Parker, Sir Peter, 96, 104. + +Parsons' Cause, 47, 48. + +Paxton, Charles, 44. + +Pendleton, Edmund, 84. + +Penn family, 14. + +Pennsylvania, 11, 13, 77, 99, 102. + +Pensacola, 158. + +Periods in history, 4. + +Petersburg, Va., 177. + +Petition (last) to the king, 92. + +Petty William (Earl of Shelburne), 61, 69, 180, 182. + +Philadelphia, 80, 84, 138-142, 151, 168, 183. + +Pigott, Sir Robert, 153. + +Pitt, William (Earl of Chatham), 57, 61, 62, 64, 66, 69, 71, 84, 145, 146. + +Pitt, William, the younger, 61, 181. + +Pontiac's war, 38, 41. + +Pownall, Thomas, 14. + +Preston, Capt., 74. + +Prevost, Gen., 163, 164. + +Princeton, 120, 121. + +Proprietary government, 13. + +Protectionist legislation, 43, 50. + +Pulaski, Casimir, 123, 164. + +Putnam, Israel, 39, 87, 90, 112, 115. + + +Rawdon, Lord, 176. + +Reform, parliamentary, 61-63. + +Regulating Act, 83, 85; + repealed, 144. + +Representation in England, 58-61. + +Requisitions, 31, 54, 161. + +Retaliatory acts, 83; + repealed, 144. + +Revere, Paul, 4, 86. + +Rhode Island, 18, 21, 23, 70, 77, 96, 153, 154, 164, 166, 186. + +Riedesel, Gen., 131. + +Riots in Boston, 56. + +Rochambeau, Count, 166, 178. + +Rockingham, Lord, 57, 64, 180. + +Rodney, Cæsar, 102. + +Rodney, George, 160. + +Rotten boroughs, 59, 62. + +Royal governors, 14-18. + +Russell, Lord John, 61. + +Russell, Lord William, 17. + +Russia, 159. + +Rutledge, Edward, 113. + +Rutledge, John, 84. + + +St. Clair, Arthur, 131, 167. + +St. Eustatius, 160. + +St. Leger, Harry, 125, 126, 135-137. + +Salaries, 15-18, 65-68. + +Savannah, 163, 164. + +Savile, Sir George, 69. + +Schuyler, Philip, 90, 109, 119, 129-133, 136. + +Secession, threats of, 187. + +Senegambia, 158. + +Sevier, John, 155, 171. + +Shays rebellion, 186. + +Shelburne, Lord, 61, 69, 180, 182. + +Shelby, Isaac, 171. + +Shirley, William, 52. + +Sidney, Algernon, 17. + +Silver bank, 20. + +Six Nations, 29, 34, 93, 125. + +Snyder, Christopher, 74. + +Sons of Liberty, 57. + +South Carolina, 96, 102, 104, 105, 127, 173-177. + +Spain declares war with Great Britain, 158. + +Spanish possessions in North America, 37, 158, 182. + +Spotswood, Alexander, 14. + +Stamp Act, 4, 41, 52, 58, 124. + +Stark, John, 39, 87, 134. + +Staten Island, 109, 117, 122, 139, 178. + +Steuben, Baron, 123, 150, 173, 177. + +Stillwater, 132. + +Stirling, William Alexander, called Lord, 112. + +Stony Point, 156, 157, 163. + +Strachey, Sir Henry, 151. + +Stuart Kings, 17, 60. + +Suffolk resolves, 85. + +Sullivan, John, 90, 112, 153-155. + +Sumter, Thomas, 165. + +Sunbury, 163. + +Supreme court, 191. + +Sweden, 159. + + +Tarleton, Banastre, 165, 174. + +Taxation, 16-20, 31, 52-54, 62. + +Tea Party, Boston, 4, 79-83. + +Tennessee, 155, 171, 187. + +Throg's Neck, 114. + +Ticonderoga, 87, 118, 125, 127, 128, 131, 134, 143. + +Tories, 12, 60, 93, 126, 154, 155, 163, 184. + +Town meetings, 7, 53. + +Townshend Acts, 64-68, 76, 78; + repealed, 144. + +Treaty of peace, 182. + +Tuscaroras, 29. + + +Union, want of, 34, 77, 161, 162, 182-191. + + +Valcour, Island, 118. + +Venango, 33. + +Vincennes, 156. + +Virginia, 8, 21, 24, 47, 48, 76, 79, 96, 97, 173. + + +Walpole, Sir Robert, 31. + +War expenses, 30-32, 36, 40, 41. + +Ward, Artemas, 90, 117. + +Warner, Seth, 87, 131, 134. + +Warren, Joseph, 85, 86. + +Washington, George, 1, 4, 5, 30, 55; + his mission to Venango, 33; + surrenders Fort Necessity, 33; + in Virginia legislature, 76; + in the Continental Congress, 84; + appointed to command the army, 88; + not yet in favour of independence, 89; + takes command at Cambridge, 92; + takes Boston, 94; + addressed by Lord Howe, 106; + his character as general and statesman, 110, 111; + withdraws his army from Brooklyn Heights, 113; + masterly campaign in New York and New Jersey, 114-122; + endeavours to secure an efficient regular army, 123-125; + campaign of June, 1777, in New Jersey, 139; + Brandywine and Germantown, 141, 142; + intrigues of his enemies, 148, 149; + Monmouth, 151, 152; + sends a force against the Iroquois, 154, 155; + Stony Point, 156, 157; + his favourite generals often ill used by Congress, 167; + his superb march and capture of Yorktown, 178-180; + scheme for making him king, 183; + elected first president of the United States, 193. + +Washington, William, 173. + +Wayne, Anthony, 157, 177. + +Webster, Daniel, 101. + +West Point, 115, 117, 157, 170. + +Western frontier posts, 185. + +White Plains, 115, 129. + +Wildcat banks, 20. + +William III., 45. + +Williams, James, 171. + +Wilson, James, 98. + +Winchester, Va., 26. + +Winnsborough, S. C., 172. + +Wright, Sir James, 164. + +Writs of assistance, 4, 47. + +Wyoming, 77, 154. 186. + + +Yorktown, 178-180. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +HISTORY TEXT BOOKS + +TAPPAN'S AMERICAN HERO STORIES + +AMERICAN HERO STORIES. Twenty-nine stories of the great figures in +American history. The arrangement is chronological, and the men told +about include explorers, colonists, pioneers, soldiers, presidents, etc. +With 75 unusually interesting Illustrations. Cloth, crown 8vo, 265 +pages, 55 cents, _net._ + +TAPPAN'S OUR COUNTRY'S STORY + +OUR COUNTRY'S STORY. A connected account of the course of events in +United States history. Available as a stepping-stone to Fiske's History +of the United States for Schools, etc. With 265 Illustrations and Maps +in black and white, and 2 Maps in colors. Cloth, square 12mo, 267 pages, +65 cents, _net._ + +FISKE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES + +A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FOR SCHOOLS. 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Fully illustrated. _School Edition_, $1.10, _net._ Postpaid. + +PLOETZ'S EPITOME + +EPITOME OF ANCIENT, MEDIÆVAL, AND MODERN HISTORY. Translated and +enlarged by WILLIAM H. TILLINGHAST. Newly revised, with Additions +covering Recent Events. Crown 8vo, $3.00. + +HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY + +BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +[Transcriber's Note: The following list of books has been combined from +the front and back matter and consolidated in one list here.] + +RIVERSIDE LITERATURE SERIES + +_All prices are net, postpaid._ + +1. Longfellow's Evangeline. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. Nos. 1, 4, and + 30, one vol., _linen_, .50. + +2. Longfellow's Courtship of Miles Standish; Elizabeth. _Pa._, .15; + _linen_, .25. + +3. A Dramatization of The Courtship of Miles Standish. _Paper_, .15. + +4. Whittier's Snow-Bound, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +5. Whittier's Mabel Martin, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 4, 5, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +6. Holmes's Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill Battle, etc. _Paper_, + .15; _linen_, .25. Nos. 6, 31, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +7, 8, 9. Hawthorne's Grandfather's Chair. In three parts. Each, _paper_, + .15. Nos. 7, 8, 9, complete, one vol., _linen_, .50. + +10. Hawthorne's Biographical Series. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. Nos. + 29, 10, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +11. Longfellow's Children's Hour, etc. _Pa._, .15. Nos. 11, 63, one + vol., _linen_, .40. + +12. Outlines--Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, and Lowell. _Paper_, .15. + +13, 14. Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. + Nos. 13, 14, complete, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +15. Lowell's Under the Old Elm, etc. _Pa._, .15. Nos. 30, 15, one vol., + _lin._, .40. + +16. Bayard Taylor's Lars. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +17, 18. Hawthorne's Wonder-Book. In two parts, each _paper_, .15. Nos. + 17, 18, complete, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +19, 20. Franklin's Autobiography. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. Nos. + 19, 20, complete, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +21. Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +22, 23. Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. + Nos. 22, 23, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +24. Washington's Farewell Addresses, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +25, 26. Longfellow's Golden Legend. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. + Nos. 25, 26, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +27. Thoreau's Forest Trees, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 28, 37, 27, one + vol., _linen_, .50. + +28. Burroughs's Birds and Bees. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 28, 36, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +29. Hawthorne's Little Daffydowndilly, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +30. Lowell's Vision of Sir Launfal, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +31. Holmes's My Hunt after the Captain, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +32. Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 133, 32, one + vol., _linen_, .40. + +33, 34, 35. Longfellow's Tales of a Wayside Inn. In three parts, each, + _pa._, .15. Nos. 33, 34, 35, complete, one vol., _linen_, .50. + +36. Burroughs's Sharp Eyes, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +37. Warner's A-Hunting of the Deer, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +38. Longfellow's Building of the Ship, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +39. Lowell's Books and Libraries, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 39, 123, one + vol., _linen_, .40. + +40. Hawthorne's Tales of the White Hills, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 40, + 69, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +41. Whittier's Tent on the Beach, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +42. Emerson's Fortune of the Republic, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +43. Ulysses among the Phæacians. Bryant. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, + .25. + +44. Edgeworth's Waste Not, Want Not, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +45. Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25 + +46. Old Testament Stories in Scripture Language. _Paper_, .15. + +47, 48. Scudder's Fables and Folk Stories. In two parts, each, _paper_, + .15. Nos. 47, 48, complete, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +49, 50. Andersen's Stories. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. Nos. 49, + 50, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +51. Irving's Rip Van Winkle, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +52. Irving's The Voyage, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 51, 52, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +53. Scott's Lady of the Lake. _Paper_, .30. _Also, in Rolfe's Students' + Series, to Teachers_, .53. + +54. Bryant's Thanatopsis, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +55. Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. Nos. + 55, 67, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +56. Webster's First Bunker Hill Oration, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +57. Dickens's Christmas Carol. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +58. Dickens's Cricket on the Hearth. _Pa._, .15; Nos. 57, 58, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +59. Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +60, 61. Addison and Steele's The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers. In two + parts. Each, _paper_, .15.Nos. 60, 61, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +62. Fiske's War of Independence. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +63. Longfellow's Paul Revere's Ride, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +64, 65, 66. Lambs' Tales from Shakespeare. In three parts, each, + _paper_, .40. Nos. 64, 65, 66, one vol., _linen_, .50. + +67. Shakespeare's Julius Cæsar. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +68. Goldsmith's Deserted Village, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +69. Hawthorne's The Old Manse, etc. _Pa._, .15. Nos. 40, 69, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +70. A Selection from Whittier's Child Life in Poetry. _Paper_, .15. + +71. A Selection from Whittier's Child Life in Prose. _Paper_, .15. Nos + 70, 71, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +72. Milton's Minor Poems. _Pa._, .15; _linen_, .25. Nos. 72, 94, one + vol., _linen_, .40. + +73. Tennyson's Enoch Arden, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +74. Gray's Elegy, etc.; Cowper's John Gilpin, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +75. Scudder's George Washington. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +76. Wordsworth's On the Intimations of Immortality, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +77. Burns's Cotter's Saturday Night, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +78. Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +79. Lamb's Old China, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +80. Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, etc.; Campbell's Lochiel's Warning, + etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +81. Holmes's Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +82. Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales. _Paper_, .50; _linen_, .60. + +83. Eliot's Silas Marner. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +84. Dana's Two Years Before the Mast. _Linen_, .60. + +85. Hughes's Tom Brown's School Days. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +86. Scott's Ivanhoe. _Paper_, .50; _linen_, .60. + +87. Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. _Paper_, .50; _linen_, .60. + +88. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. _Linen_, .60. + +89. Swift's Gulliver's Voyage to Lilliput. _Paper_, .15. + +90. Swift's Gulliver's Voyage to Brobdingnag. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 89, 90, + one vol., _linen_, .40. + +91. Hawthorne's House of the Seven Gables. _Paper_, .50; _linen_, .60. + +92. Burroughs's A Bunch of Herbs, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +93. Shakespeare's As You Like It. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +94. Milton's Paradise Lost. Books I-III. _Paper_, .15. + +95, 96, 97, 98. Cooper's Last of the Mohicans. In four parts, each, + _paper_, .15. Nos. 95-98, complete, _linen_, .60. + +99. Tennyson's Coming of Arthur, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +100. Burke's Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies. _Pa._, .15; + _linen_, .25. + +101. Pope's Iliad. Books I, VI, XXII, XXIV. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +102. Macaulay's Johnson and Goldsmith. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +103. Macaulay's Essay on John Milton, _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +104. Macaulay's Life and Writings of Addison. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, + .25. Nos. 103, 104, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +105. Carlyle's Essay on Burns. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +106. Shakespeare's Macbeth. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +107, 108. Grimms' Tales. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. Nos. 107, + 108, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +109. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +110. De Quincey's Flight of a Tartar Tribe. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +111. Tennyson's Princess. _Paper_, .30. _Also, in Rolfe's Students' + Series to Teachers_, .53. + +112. Virgil's Æneid. Books I-III. Translated by CRANCH. _Paper_, .15. + +113. Poems from Emerson. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 113, 42, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +114. Peabody's Old Greek Folk Stories. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +115. Browning's Pied Piper of Hamelin, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +116. Shakespeare's Hamlet. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +117, 118. Stories from the Arabian Nights. In two parts, each, _paper_, + .15. Nos. 117, 118, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +119. Poe's The Raven, The Fall of the House of Usher, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +120. Poe's The Gold-Bug, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 119, 120, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +121. Speech by Robert Young Hayne on Foote's Resolution. _Paper_, .15. + +122. Speech by Daniel Webster in Reply to Hayne. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 121, + 122, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +123. Lowell's Democracy, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 39, 123, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +124. Aldrich's Baby Bell, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +125. Dryden's Palamon and Arcite. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +126. Ruskin's King of the Golden River, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +127. Keats's Ode on a Grecian Urn, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +128. Byron's Prisoner of Chillon, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +129. Plato's Judgment of Socrates. Translated by P. E. MORN. _Paper_, .15. + +130. Emerson's The Superlative, and Other Essays. _Paper_, .15. + +131. Emerson's Nature, and Compensation. _Paper_, .15. + +132. Arnold's Sohrab and Rustum, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +133. Schurz's Abraham Lincoln. _Paper_, .15. + +134. Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel. _Paper_, .30. _Also in Rolfe's + Students' Series, to Teachers_, _net_ .50. + +135. Chaucer's Prologue. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +136. Chaucer's The Knight's Tale, and The Nun's Priest's Tale._Paper_, + .15. Nos. 135, 136, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +137. Bryant's Iliad. Books I, VI, XXII, and XXIV. _Paper_, .15. + +138. Hawthorne's The Custom House, and Main Street. _Paper_, .15. + +139. Howells's Doorstep Acquaintance, and Other Sketches. _Paper_, .15. + +140. Thackeray's Henry Esmond. _Linen_, .75. + +141. Three Outdoor Papers, by THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON. _Paper_, .15. + +142. Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +143. Plutarch's Life of Alexander the Great. North's Translation. + _Paper_, .15. + +144. Scudder's The Book of Legends, _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +145. Hawthorne's The Gentle Boy, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +146. Longfellow's Giles Corey. _Paper_, .15. + +147. Pope's Rape of the Lock, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +148. Hawthorne's Marble Faun. _Linen_, .60. + +149. Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +150. Ouida's Dog of Flanders, and the Nürnberg Stove. _Paper_, .15; + _linen_, .25. + +151. Ewing's Jackanapes, and The Brownies. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +152. Martineau's The Peasant and the Prince. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +153. Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +154. Shakespeare's Tempest. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +155. Irving's Life of Goldsmith. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +156. Tennyson's Gareth and Lynette, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +157. The Song of Roland. Translated by ISABEL BUTLER. _Paper_, .30; + _linen_, .40. + +158. Malory's Book of Merlin and Book of Sir Balin. _Paper_, .15; + _linen_, .25. + +159. Beowulf. Translated by C. G. CHILD. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +160. Spenser's Faerie Queene. Book I. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +161. Dickens's Tale of Two Cities. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +162. Prose and Poetry of Cardinal Newman. Selections. _Paper_, .30; + _linen_, .40. + +163. Shakespeare's Henry V. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +164. De Quincey's Joan of Arc, and The English Mail-Coach. _Pa._, .15; + _lin._, .25. + +165. Scott's Quentin Durward. _Paper_, .50; _linen_, .60. + +166. Carlyle's Heroes and Hero-Worship. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +167. Norton's Memoir of Longfellow. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +168. Shelley's Poems. Selected. _Paper_, .40; _linen_, .50. + +169. Lowell's My Garden Acquaintance, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +170. Lamb's Essays of Elia. Selected. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +171, 172. Emerson's Essays. Selected. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. + Nos. 171, 172, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +173. Kate Douglas Wiggin's Flag-Raising. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +174. Kate Douglas Wiggin's Finding a Home. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +175. Bliss Perry's Memoir of Whittier. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +176. Burroughs's Afoot and Afloat. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +177. Bacon's Essays. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +178. Selections from the Works of John Ruskin. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +179. King Arthur Stories from Malory. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +180. Palmer's Odyssey. _Abridged Edition._ _Linen_, .75. + +181, 182. Goldsmith's The Good-Natured Man, and She Stoops to Conquer. + Each, _paper_, .15; in one vol., _linen_, .40. + +183. Old English and Scottish Ballads. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +184. Shakespeare's King Lear. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +185. Moores's Abraham Lincoln. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +186. Thoreau's Katahdin and Chesuncook. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +_EXTRA NUMBERS_ + +_A_ American Authors and their Birthdays. _Paper_, .15. + +_B_ Portraits and Biographical Sketches of 20 American Authors. _Paper_, + .15. + +_C_ A Longfellow Night. _Paper_, .15. + +_D_ Scudder's Literature in School. _Paper_, .15. + +_E_ Dialogue and Scenes from Harriet Beecher Stowe. _Paper_, .15. + +_F_ Longfellow Leaflets. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +_G_ Whittier Leaflets. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, _net_, .40. + +_H_ Holmes Leaflets. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +_J_ Holbrook's Northland Heroes. _Linen_, .35. + +_K_ The Riverside Primer and Reader. _Linen_, .30. + +_L_ The Riverside Song Book. _Paper_, .30; _boards_, .40. + +_M_ Lowell's Fable for Critics. _Paper_, .30. + +_N_ Selections from the Writings of Eleven American Authors. _Paper_, .15. + +_O_ Lowell Leaflets. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +_P_ Holbrook's Hiawatha Primer. _Linen_, .40. + +_Q_ Selections from the Writings of Eleven English Authors. _Paper_, .15. + +_R_ Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales. Selected. _Paper_, .20; _linen_, .30. + +_S_ Irving's Essays from Sketch Book. Selected. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, + .40. + +_T_ Literature for the Study of Language (N. D. Course). _Paper_, .30; + _linen_, .40. + +_U_ A Dramatization of The Song of Hiawatha. _Paper_, .15. + +_V_ Holbrook's Book of Nature Myths. _Linen_, .45. + +_W_ Brown's In the Days of Giants. _Linen_, .50. + +_X_ Poems for the Study of Language (Illinois Course of Study). _Pa._, + .30; _lin._, .40. Also in three parts, each, _paper_, .15. + +_Y_ Warner's In the Wilderness. _Paper_, .20; _linen_, .30. + +_Z_ Nine Selected Poems. _N. Y. Regents' Requirements._ _Paper_, .15; + _linen_, .25. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The War of Independence, by John Fiske + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE *** + +***** This file should be named 20803-8.txt or 20803-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/0/8/0/20803/ + +Produced by K.D. Thornton, Bruce Albrecht, Roger Frank and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/20803-8.zip b/old/20803-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..fd07f81 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/20803-8.zip diff --git a/old/20803-page-images.zip b/old/20803-page-images.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e440420 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/20803-page-images.zip diff --git a/old/20803.txt b/old/20803.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..63e993e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/20803.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6441 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The War of Independence, by John Fiske + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The War of Independence + +Author: John Fiske + +Release Date: March 13, 2007 [EBook #20803] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE *** + + + + +Produced by K.D. Thornton, Bruce Albrecht, Roger Frank and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +Number 62 + +(_Double Number_) + +RIVERSIDE LITERATURE SERIES + +THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE +BY JOHN FISKE + +WITH MAPS, INDEX AND A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH + +HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON, NEW YORK, AND CHICAGO + +The Riverside Press Cambridge + +Price, paper 30 cents; linen, 40 cents + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The Riverside Literature Series + +THE +WAR OF INDEPENDENCE + +BY +JOHN FISKE + +WITH MAPS, INDEX, AND A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH + +[Decoration] + +HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY + +Boston: 4 Park Street; New York: 85 Fifth Avenue +Chicago: 378-388 Wabash Avenue + +The Riverside Press, Cambridge + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +COPYRIGHT, 1889 +BY JOHN FISKE + +COPYRIGHT, 1894 +BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. + +ALL RIGHTS RESERVED + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +PREFACE. + +This little book does not contain the substance of the lectures on the +American Revolution which I have delivered in so many parts of the +United States since 1883. Those lectures, when completed and published, +will make quite a detailed narrative; this book is but a sketch. It is +hoped that it may prove useful to the higher classes in schools, as well +as to teachers. When I was a boy I should have been glad to get hold of +a brief account of the War for Independence that would have suggested +answers to some of the questions that used to vex me. Was the conduct of +the British government, in driving the Americans into rebellion, merely +wanton aggression, or was it not rather a bungling attempt to solve a +political problem which really needed to be solved? Why were New Jersey +and the Hudson river so important? Why did the British armies make South +Carolina their chief objective point after New York? Or how did +Cornwallis happen to be at Yorktown when Washington made such a long +leap and pounced upon him there? And so on. Such questions the +old-fashioned text-books not only did not try to answer, they did not +even recognize their existence. As to the large histories, they of +course include so many details that it requires maturity of judgment to +discriminate between the facts that are cardinal and those that are +merely incidental. When I give lectures to schoolboys and schoolgirls, I +observe that a reference to causes and effects always seems to heighten +the interest of the story. I therefore offer them this little book, not +as a rival but as an aid to the ordinary text-book. I am aware that a +narrative so condensed must necessarily suffer from the omission of many +picturesque and striking details. The world is so made that one often +has to lose a little in one direction in order to gain something in +another. This book is an experiment. If it seems to answer its purpose, +I may follow it with others, treating other portions of American history +in similar fashion. + +CAMBRIDGE, _February 11, 1889_. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +CONTENTS. + +CHAP. PAGE + + BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN FISKE vii + + I. INTRODUCTION 1 + + II. THE COLONIES IN 1750 4 + + III. THE FRENCH WARS, AND THE FIRST PLAN OF UNION 26 + + IV. THE STAMP ACT, AND THE REVENUE LAWS 39 + + V. THE CRISIS 78 + + VI. THE STRUGGLE FOR THE CENTRE 104 + + VII. THE FRENCH ALLIANCE 144 + +VIII. BIRTH OF THE NATION 182 + + COLLATERAL READING 195 + + INDEX 197 + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +LIST OF MAPS. + + _Facing page_ + +INVASION OF CANADA 92 + +WASHINGTON'S CAMPAIGNS IN NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA 120 + +BURGOYNE'S CAMPAIGN 130 + +THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN 172 + +NOTE.--These maps are used by permission of, and by arrangement with, +Messrs. Ginn & Company. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. + +To relate, by way of leading up to this little book, all the previous +achievements of its author would--without disrespect to the greater or +the less--have somewhat the appearance of putting a very big cart in +front of a pony. But no idea could be more mistaken than that which +induces people to believe a small book the easiest to write. Easy +reading is hard writing; and a thoroughly good small book stands for so +much more than the mere process of putting it on paper, that its value +is not at all to be judged by its bulk. The offhand word of a man full +of knowledge is worth a great deal more than the carefully prepared +utterance of a person who having spoken once has nothing more to say. In +our introduction to this work, therefore, we propose to reverse the +common process of tracing the author's development upwards, and instead, +after stating the mere events of Mr. Fiske's life, to begin with "The +War of Independence" and to follow his work backwards, attempting very +briefly to show how each undertaking was built naturally upon something +before it, and that the original basis of the structure was uncommonly +broad and strong. + +John Fiske was born in Hartford, Conn., 30th March, 1842, and spent +most of his life, before entering Harvard as a sophomore in 1860, with +his grandmother's family in Middletown, Conn. Two years after taking his +degree at Harvard, in 1863, he was graduated from the Harvard Law +School, but he cared so much more for writing than for the law that his +attempt to practice it in Boston was soon abandoned. In 1861 he made his +first important contribution to a magazine, and ever since has done much +work of the same sort. He has served Harvard College, as University +lecturer on philosophy, 1869-71, in 1870 as instructor in history, and +from 1872 to 1879 as assistant librarian. Since resigning from that +office he has been for two terms of six years each a member of the board +of overseers. In 1881 he began lecturing annually at Washington +University, St. Louis, on American history, and in 1884 was made a +professor of the institution. Since 1871 he has devoted much time to +lecturing at large. He has been heard in most of the principal cities of +America, and abroad, in London and Edinburgh. All this time his home has +been in Cambridge, Mass. + +So much for the simple outward circumstances of Mr. Fiske's life. +Turning to his studies and writings, one finds them reaching out into +almost every direction of human thought; and this book, from which our +backward course is to be taken, is but a page from the great body of his +work. It is especially as a student of philosophy, science, and history +that Mr. Fiske is known to the world; and at the present it is +particularly as an historian of America that his name is spoken. In no +other way more satisfactorily than in tracing the growth of his own +nation has he found it possible to study the laws of progress of the +human race, and from the first, through all the time of his most active +philosophical and scientific work, this study of human progress has been +the true interest of his life. With his historical works, then, let us +begin. + +In 1879 he delivered a course of six lectures on American history, at +the Old South Meeting House in Boston. In previous years he had written +occasional essays on historical subjects in general, but the impulse +towards American history in particular was given by the preparation for +these lectures, which were concerned especially with the colonial +period. Of his own treatment of an historical subject he is quoted as +saying: "I look it up or investigate it, and then write an essay or a +lecture on the subject. That serves as a preliminary statement, either +of a large subject or of special points. It is a help to me to make a +statement of the kind--I mean in the lecture or essay form. In fact it +always assists me to try to state the case. I never publish anything +after this first statement, but generally keep it with me for, it may +be, some years, and possibly return to it again several times." Thus it +may safely be assumed that these Old South Lectures and the many others +that have followed them have found or will find a permanent place in the +series of Mr. Fiske's historical volumes. + +The succession of these books has not been in the order of the periods +of which they treat; but from the similarity of their method and the +fact that they cover a series of important periods in American history, +they go towards making a complete, consecutive history of the country. +The periods which are not yet covered Mr. Fiske proposes to deal with in +time. One who has talked with him on the subject of his works reports +the following statement as coming from Mr. Fiske's own lips: "I am now +at work on a general history of the United States. When John Richard +Green was planning his 'Short History of the English People,' and he and +I were friends in London, I heard him telling about his scheme. I +thought it would be a very nice thing to do something of the same sort +for American history. But when I took it up I found myself, instead of +carrying it out in that way, dwelling upon special points; and +insensibly, without any volition on my part, I suppose, it has been +rather taking the shape of separate monographs. But I hope to go on in +that way until I cover the ground with these separate books,--that is, +to cover as much ground as possible. But, of course, the scheme has +become much more extensive than it was when I started." + +Taken in the order of their subjects, the five works already contributed +to this series are, "The Discovery of America, with some Account of +Ancient America and the Spanish Conquest" (two volumes); "Old Virginia +and her Neighbours" (two volumes); "The Beginnings of New England, or +the Puritan Theocracy in its Relations to Civil and Religious Liberty;" +"The American Revolution" (two volumes); and "The Critical Period of +American History, 1783-1789." Allied with these books, though hardly +taking a place in the series, is "Civil Government in the United States, +Considered with some Reference to its Origins," "The War of +Independence," it will thus be seen, is the least ambitious of all +these historical works. "A History of the United States for Schools" is +addressed to the same audience, and in so far may be considered a +companion volume. + +What makes Mr. Fiske's histories just what they are? Another step +backward in the stages of his own development will enable us to see, and +the sub-title, "Viewed from the Standpoint of Universal History," of one +of his earlier books, "American Political Ideas," will help towards an +understanding of his power. It is due to the fact that he brings to his +historical work on special subjects the broad philosophic and general +view of a man who is much more than a specialist,--the scientific habit +of mind which must look for causes when effects are seen, and must point +out the relations between them. There could be no better preparation for +the writing of history than the apparently alien study of the questions +with which the names of Darwin and Spencer are inseparably associated. +When Darwin's "Origin of Species" appeared, Mr. Fiske's own thought had +prepared him to take the place of an ardent apostle of Evolution, and it +is held that no man has done more than he in expounding the theory in +America. Standing permanently for his work in this field are his books, +"Excursions of an Evolutionist" and "Darwinism, and Other Essays." One +of his first important works was "Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy" (1874), +and in more recent years "The Destiny of Man" and "The Idea of God" +speak forth very distinctly, not as interpretations, but as his own +contributions to the progress of philosophic thought. One other phase of +the use to which Mr. Fiske's mind has been put should surely be +mentioned in any summary of his qualifications for writing histories. He +is extremely fond of hearing and telling good stories. His book on +"Myths and Myth-makers" (1872) gave early evidence of this fondness, and +surely there is the very spirit of the lover of tales in the Dedication +of the book, "To my dear Friend, William D. Howells, in remembrance of +pleasant autumn evenings spent among were-wolves and trolls and nixies." +Thus, besides the ability to see a story in all its bearings, Mr. Fiske +has the gift of telling it effectively,--a golden power without which +all the learning in the world would serve an historian as but so much +lead. + +But all of these works preceding Mr. Fiske's historical writings did not +come out of nothing. His mental acquirements as a young man and boy were +very extraordinary, and give to the last stage of his career at which we +shall look--the earliest--perhaps the greatest interest of all. A +description of it without a knowledge of what followed would be all too +apt to remind readers whose memories go back far enough of the +instances, all too common, of men whose early promise is not fulfilled. +_Summa cum laude_ graduates settle down into lives of timid routine that +leads to nothing, just as often as the idle dreamers who stay +consistently at the foot of their classes wake up when the vital contact +with the world takes place, and do something astonishingly good. These, +however, are the exceptions. A development like Mr. Fiske's follows the +lines of nature. + +Happily, there were books in the house in which he was brought up. At +the age of seven he was reading Rollin, Josephus, and Goldsmith's +Greece. Much of Milton, Pope, and Bunyan, and nearly all of Shakespeare +he had read before he was nine; histories of many lands before eleven. +At this age he filled a quarto blank book of sixty pages with a +chronological table, written from memory, of events between 1000 B. C. +and 1820 A. D. + +All this would seem enough for one boy, but there were the other worlds +of languages and science to conquer. It is almost discouraging merely to +write down the fact that at thirteen he had read a large part of Livy, +Cicero, Ovid, Catullus, and Juvenal, and all of Virgil, Horace, Tacitus, +Sallust, and Suetonius,--to say nothing of Caesar, at seven. Greek was +disposed of in like manner; and then came the modern languages, +--German, Spanish,--in which he kept a diary,--French, Italian, and +Portuguese. Hebrew and Sanskrit were kept for the years of seventeen and +eighteen. In college, Icelandic, Gothic, Danish, Swedish, Dutch, and +Roumanian were added, with beginnings in Russian. The uses to which he +put these languages were not those to which the weary schoolboy puts his +few scraps of learning in foreign tongues, but the true uses of +literature,--reading for pleasure and mental stimulus. + +It is needless to relate the rapid course of Mr. Fiske's first studies +in science; it is no whit less remarkable than that of his other +intellectual enterprises. As mathematics is akin to music, it will be +enough to say that when he was fifteen a friend's piano was left in his +grandmother's house, and, without a master, the boy soon learned its +secrets well enough to play such works as Mozart's Twelfth Mass. Later +in life Mr. Fiske studied the science of music. He has printed many +musical criticisms, and has himself composed a mass and songs. + +Few boys can hope to take to college with them, or, for that matter, +even away from it, a mind so well equipped as Mr. Fiske's was when he +went to Cambridge. Three years of stimulating university atmosphere, and +of indefinitely wide opportunities for reading, left him prepared as few +men have been for just the work he has done. He has had the wisdom to +see what he could do, and being possessed of the qualities that lead to +accomplishment, he has done it; and any reader who understands more than +the mere words he reads will be very likely to discover in this small +volume, "The War of Independence," something of the spirit, and some +suggestions of the method which, in this sketch, we have endeavored to +point out as characteristic of one of the foremost living historians. + + + + +THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +INTRODUCTION. + + +Since the year 1875 we have witnessed, in many parts of the United +States, public processions, meetings, and speeches in commemoration of +the hundredth anniversary of some important event in the course of our +struggle for national independence. This series of centennial +celebrations, which has been of great value in stimulating American +patriotism and awakening throughout the country a keen interest in +American history, will naturally come to an end in 1889. The close of +President Cleveland's term of office marks the close of the first +century of the government under which we live, which dates from the +inauguration of President Washington on the balcony of the Federal +building in Wall street, New York, on the 30th of April, 1789. It was on +that memorable day that the American Revolution may be said to have been +completed. The Declaration of Independence in 1776 detached the American +people from the supreme government to which they had hitherto owed +allegiance, and it was not until Washington's inauguration in 1789 that +the supreme government to which we owe allegiance to-day was actually +put in operation. The period of thirteen years included between these +two dates was strictly a revolutionary period, during which it was more +or less doubtful where the supreme authority over the United States +belonged. First, it took the fighting and the diplomacy of the +revolutionary war to decide that this supreme authority belonged in the +United States themselves, and not in the government of Great Britain; +and then after the war was ended, more than five years of sore distress +and anxious discussion had elapsed before the American people succeeded +in setting up a new government that was strong enough to make itself +obeyed at home and respected abroad. + +It is the story of this revolutionary period, ending in 1789, that we +have here to relate in its principal outlines. When we stand upon the +crest of a lofty hill and look about in all directions over the +landscape, we can often detect relations between distant points which we +had not before thought of together. While we tarried in the lowland, we +could see blue peaks rising here and there against the sky, and follow +babbling brooks hither and thither through the forest. It was more +homelike down there than on the hilltop, for in each gnarled tree, in +every moss-grown boulder, in every wayside flower, we had a friend that +was near to us; but the general bearings of things may well have escaped +our notice. In climbing to our lonely vantage-ground, while the familiar +scenes fade from sight, there are gradually unfolded to us those +connections between crag and meadow and stream that make the life and +meaning of the whole. We learn the "lay of the land," and become, in a +humble way, geographers. So in the history of men and nations, while we +remain immersed in the study of personal incidents and details, as what +such a statesman said or how many men were killed in such a battle, we +may quite fail to understand what it was all about, and we shall be sure +often to misjudge men's characters and estimate wrongly the importance +of many events. For this reason we cannot clearly see the meaning of the +history of our own times. The facts are too near us; we are down among +them, like the man who could not see the forest because there were so +many trees. But when we look back over a long interval of years, we can +survey distant events and personages like points in a vast landscape and +begin to discern the meaning of it all. In this way we come to see that +history is full of lessons for us. Very few things have happened in past +ages with which our present welfare is not in one way or another +concerned. Few things have happened in any age more interesting or more +important than the American Revolution. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE COLONIES IN 1750. + + +It is always difficult in history to mark the beginning and end of a +period. Events keep rushing on and do not pause to be divided into +chapters; or, in other words, in the history which really takes place, a +new chapter is always beginning long before the old one is ended. The +divisions we make when we try to describe it are merely marks that we +make for our own convenience. In telling the story of the American +Revolution we must stop somewhere, and the inauguration of President +Washington is a very proper place. We must also begin somewhere, but it +is quite clear that it will not do to begin with the Declaration of +Independence in July, 1776, or even with the midnight ride of Paul +Revere in April, 1775. For if we ask what caused that "hurry of hoofs in +a village street," and what brought together those five-and-fifty +statesmen at Philadelphia, we are not simply led back to the Boston +Tea-Party, and still further to the Stamp Act, but we find it necessary +to refer to events that happened more than a century before the +Revolution can properly be said to have begun. Indeed, if we were going +to take a very wide view of the situation, and try to point out its +relations to the general history of mankind, we should have to go back +many hundreds of years and not only cross the ocean to the England of +King Alfred, but keep on still further to the ancient market-places of +Rome and Athens, and even to the pyramids of Egypt; and in all this long +journey through the ages we should not be merely gratifying an idle +curiosity, but at every step of the way could gather sound practical +lessons, useful in helping us to vote intelligently at the next election +for mayor of the city in which we live or for president of the United +States. + + [Sidenote: The half-way station in American History] + +We are not now, however, about to start on any such long journey. It is +a much nearer and narrower view of the American Revolution that we wish +to get. There are many points from which we might start, but we must at +any rate choose a point several years earlier than the Declaration of +Independence. People are very apt to leave out of sight the "good old +colony times" and speak of our country as scarcely more than a hundred +years old. Sometimes we hear the presidency of George Washington spoken +of as part of "early American history;" but we ought not to forget that +when Washington was born the commonwealth of Virginia was already one +hundred and twenty-five years old. The first governor of Massachusetts +was born three centuries ago, in 1588, the year of the Spanish Armada. +Suppose we take the period of 282 years between the English settlement +of Virginia and the inauguration of President Benjamin Harrison, and +divide it in the middle. That gives us the year 1748 as the half-way +station in the history of the American people. There were just as many +years of continuous American history before 1748 as there have been +since that date. That year was famous for the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, +which put an end to a war between England and France that had lasted +five years. That war had been waged in America as well as in Europe, and +American troops had played a brilliant part in it. There was now a brief +lull, soon to be followed by another and greater war between the two +mighty rivals, and it was in the course of this latter war that some of +the questions were raised which presently led to the American +Revolution. Let us take the occasion of this lull in the storm to look +over the American world and see what were the circumstances likely to +lead to the throwing off of the British government by the thirteen +colonies, and to their union under a federal government of their own +making. + + [Sidenote: The four New England colonies.] + +In the middle of the eighteenth century there were four New England +colonies. Massachusetts extended her sway over Maine, and the Green +Mountain territory was an uninhabited wilderness, to which New York and +New Hampshire alike laid claim. The four commonwealths of New Hampshire, +Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island had all been in existence, +under one form or another, for more than a century. The men who were in +the prime of life there in 1750 were the great-grandsons and +great-great-grandsons of the men who crossed the ocean between 1620 and +1640 and settled New England. Scarcely two men in a hundred were of other +than English blood. About one in a hundred could say that his family +came from Scotland or the north of Ireland; one in five hundred may have +been the grandchild of a Huguenot. Upon religious and political +questions these people thought very much alike. Extreme poverty was +almost unknown, and there were but few who could not read and write. As +a rule every head of a family owned the house in which he lived and the +land which supported him. There were no cities; and from Boston, which +was a town with 16,000 inhabitants, down to the smallest settlement in +the White Mountains, the government was carried on by town-meetings at +which, almost any grown-up man could be present and speak and vote. +Except upon the sea-coast nearly all the people lived upon farms; but +all along the coast were many who lived by fishing and by building +ships, and in the towns dwelt many merchants grown rich by foreign +trade. In those days Massachusetts was the richest of the thirteen +colonies, and had a larger population than any other except Virginia. +Connecticut was then more populous than New York; and when the four New +England commonwealths acted together--as was likely to be the case in +time of danger--they formed the strongest military power on the American +continent. + + [Sidenote: Virginia and Maryland] + +Among what we now call southern states there were two that in 1750 were +more than a hundred years old. These were Virginia and Maryland. The +people of these commonwealths, like those of New England, had lived +together in America long enough to become distinctively Americans. Both +New Englander and Virginian had had time to forget their family +relationships with the kindred left behind so long ago in England; +though there were many who did not forget it, and in our time scholars +have by research recovered many of the links that had been lost from +memory. The white people of Virginia were as purely English as those of +Connecticut or Massachusetts. But society in Virginia was very different +from society in New England. The wealth of Virginia consisted chiefly of +tobacco, which was raised by negro slaves. People lived far apart from +each other on great plantations, usually situated near the navigable +streams of which that country has so many. Most of the great planters +had easy access to private wharves, where their crops could be loaded on +ships and sent directly to England in exchange for all sorts of goods. +Accordingly it was but seldom that towns grew up as centres of trade. +Each plantation was a kind of little world in itself. There were no +town-meetings, as the smallest political division was the division into +counties; but there were county-meetings quite vigorous with +political life. Of the leading county families a great many were +descended from able and distinguished Cavaliers or King's-men who had +come over from England during the ascendency of Oliver Cromwell. Skill +in the management of public affairs was hereditary in such families, and +during our revolutionary period Virginia produced more great leaders +than any of the other colonies. + + [Sidenote: New York and Delaware] + +There were yet two other American commonwealths that in 1750 were more +than a hundred years old. These were New York and little Delaware, which +for some time was a kind of appendage, first to New York, afterward to +Pennsylvania. But there was one important respect in which these two +colonies were different alike from New England and from Virginia. Their +population was far from being purely English. Delaware had been first +settled by Swedes, New York by Dutchmen; and the latter colony had drawn +its settlers from almost every part of western and central Europe. A man +might travel from Penobscot bay to the Harlem river without hearing a +syllable in any other tongue than English; but in crossing Manhattan +island he could listen, if he chose, to more than a dozen languages. +There was almost as much diversity in opinions about religious and +political matters as there was in the languages in which they were +expressed. New York was an English community in so far as it had been +for more than eighty years under an English government, but hardly in +any other sense. Accordingly we shall find New York in the revolutionary +period less prompt and decided in action than Massachusetts and +Virginia. In population New York ranked only seventh among the thirteen +colonies; but in its geographical position it was the most important of +all. It was important commercially because the Mohawk and Hudson rivers +formed a direct avenue for the fur-trade from the region of the great +lakes to the finest harbour on all the Atlantic coast. In a military +sense it was important for two reasons; _first_, because the Mohawk +valley was the home of the most powerful confederacy of Indians on the +continent, the steady allies of the English and deadly foes of the +French; _secondly_, because the centre of the French power was at +Montreal and Quebec, and from those points the route by which the +English colonies could be most easily invaded was formed by Lake +Champlain and the Hudson river. New York was completely interposed +between New England and the rest of the English colonies, so that an +enemy holding possession of it would virtually cut the Atlantic +sea-board in two. For these reasons the political action of New York +was of most critical importance. + + [Sidenote: The two Carolinas and Georgia; New Jersey and Pennsylvania] + +Of the other colonies in 1750, the two Carolinas and New Jersey were +rather more than eighty years old, while Pennsylvania had been settled +scarcely seventy years. But the growth of these younger colonies had +been rapid, especially in the case of Pennsylvania and North Carolina, +which in populousness ranked third and fourth among the thirteen. This +rapid increase was mainly due to a large immigration from Europe kept up +during the first half of the eighteenth century, so that a large +proportion of the people had either been born in Europe, or were the +children of people born in Europe. In 1750 these colonies had not had +time enough to become so intensely American as Virginia and the New +England colonies. In Georgia, which had been settled only seventeen +years, people had had barely time to get used to this new home on the +wild frontier. + +The population of these younger colonies was very much mixed. In South +Carolina, as in New York, probably less than half were English. In both +Carolinas there were a great many Huguenots from France, and immigrants +from Germany and Scotland and the north of Ireland were still pouring +in. Pennsylvania had many Germans and Irish, and settlers from other +parts of Europe, besides its English Quakers. With all this diversity of +race there was a great diversity of opinions about political questions, +as about other matters. + + [Sidenote: Why Massachusetts and Virginia took the lead.] + +We are now beginning to see why it was that Massachusetts and Virginia +took the lead in bringing on the revolutionary war. Not only were these +two the largest colonies, but their people had become much more +thoroughly welded together in their thoughts and habits and associations +than was as yet possible with the people of the younger colonies. When +the revolutionary war came, there were very few Tories in the New +England colonies and very few in Virginia; but there were a great many +in New York and Pennsylvania and the two Carolinas, so that the action +of these commonwealths was often slow and undecided, and sometimes there +was bitter and bloody fighting between men of opposite opinions, +especially in New York and South Carolina. + + [Sidenote: The two republics; Connecticut and Rhode Island] + +If we look at the governments of the thirteen colonies in the middle of +the eighteenth century, we shall observe some interesting facts. All the +colonies had legislative assemblies elected by the people, and these +assemblies levied the taxes and made the laws. So far as the +legislatures were concerned, therefore, all the colonies governed +themselves. But with regard to the executive department of the +government, there were very important differences. Only two of the +colonies, Connecticut and Rhode Island, had governors elected by the +people. These two colonies were completely self-governing. In almost +everything but name they were independent of Great Britain, and this was +so true that at the time of the revolutionary war they did not need to +make any new constitutions for themselves, but continued to live on +under their old charters for many years,--Connecticut until 1818, Rhode +Island until 1843. Before the revolution these two colonies had +comparatively few direct grievances to complain of at the hands of Great +Britain; but as they were next neighbours to Massachusetts and closely +connected with its history, they were likely to sympathize promptly with +the kind of grievances by which Massachusetts was disturbed. + + [Sidenote: The proprietary governments: Pennsylvania, Delaware, + and Maryland] + +Three of the colonies, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, had a +peculiar kind of government, known as _proprietary government_. Their +territories had originally been granted by the crown to a person known +as the Lord Proprietary, and the lord-proprietorship descended from +father to son like a kingdom. In Maryland it was the Calvert family that +reigned for six generations as lords proprietary. Pennsylvania and +Delaware had each its own separate legislature, but over both colonies +reigned the same lord proprietary, who was a member of the Penn family. +These colonies were thus like little hereditary monarchies, and they had +but few direct dealings with the British government. For them the lords +proprietary stood in the place of the king, and appointed the governors. +In Maryland this system ran smoothly. In Pennsylvania there was a good +deal of dissatisfaction, but it generally assumed the form of a wish to +get rid of the lords proprietary and have the governors appointed by the +king; for as this was something they had not tried they were not +prepared to appreciate its evils. + + [Sidenote: The crown colonies and their royal governors] + +In the other eight colonies--New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New +Jersey, Virginia, the two Carolinas, and Georgia--the governors were +appointed by the king, and were commonly known as "royal governors." +They were sometimes natives of the colonies over which they were +appointed, as Dudley and Hutchinson of Massachusetts, and others; but +were more often sent over from England. Some of them, as Pownall of +Massachusetts and Spotswood of Virginia, were men of marked ability. +Some were honest gentlemen, who felt a real interest in the welfare of +the people they came to help govern; some were unprincipled adventurers, +who came to make money by fair means or foul. Their position was one of +much dignity, and they behaved themselves like lesser kings. What with +their crimson velvets and fine laces and stately coaches, they made much +more of a show than any president of the United States would think of +making to-day. They had no fixed terms of office, but remained at their +posts as long as the king, or the king's colonial secretary, saw fit to +keep them there. + + [Sidenote: The question as to salaries] + +Now it was generally true of the royal governors that, whether they were +natives of America or sent over from England, and whether they were good +men or bad, they were very apt to make themselves disliked by the +people, and they were almost always quarrelling with their legislative +assemblies. Questions were always coming up about which the governor and +the legislature could not agree, because the legislature represented the +views of the people who had chosen it, while the governor represented +his own views or the views which prevailed three thousand miles away +among the king's ministers, who very often knew little about America and +cared less. One of these disputed questions related to the governor's +salary. It was natural that the governor should wish to have a salary of +fixed amount, so that he might know from year to year what he was going +to receive. But the people were afraid that if this were to be done the +governor might become too independent. They preferred that the +legislature should each year make a grant of money such as it should +deem suitable for the governor's expenses, and this sum it might +increase or diminish according to its own good pleasure. This would keep +the governor properly subservient to the legislature. Before 1750 there +had been much bitter wrangling over this question in several of the +colonies, and the governors had one after another been obliged to +submit, though with very ill grace. + +Sometimes the thoughts of the royal governors and their friends went +beyond this immediate question. Since the legislatures were so froward +and so niggardly, what an admirable plan it would be to have the +governors paid out of the royal treasury and thus made comparatively +independent of the legislatures! The judges, too, who were quite poorly +paid, might fare much better if remunerated by the crown, and the same +might be said of some other public officers. But if the British +government were to undertake to pay the salaries of its officials in +America, it must raise a revenue for the purpose; and it would naturally +raise such a revenue by levying taxes in America rather than in England. +People in England felt that they were already taxed as heavily as they +could bear, in order to pay the expenses of their own government. They +could not be expected to submit to further taxation for the sake of +paying the expenses of governing the American colonies. If further taxes +were to be laid for such a purpose, they must in fairness be laid upon +Americans, not upon Englishmen in the old country. + +Such was the view which people in England would naturally be expected to +take, and such was the view which they generally did take. But there was +another side to the question which was very clearly seen by most people +in America. If the royal governors were to be paid by the crown and thus +made independent of their legislatures, there would be danger of their +becoming petty tyrants and interfering in many ways with the liberties +of the people. Still greater would be the danger if the judges were to +be paid by the crown, for then they would feel themselves responsible to +the king or to the royal governor, rather than to their fellow-citizens; +and it would be easy for the governors, by appointing corrupt men as +judges, to prevent the proper administration of justice by the courts, +and thus to make men's lives and property insecure. Most Americans in +1750 felt this danger very keenly. They had not forgotten how, in the +times of their grandfathers, two of the noblest of Englishmen, Lord +William Russell and Colonel Algernon Sidney, had been murdered by the +iniquitous sentence of time-serving judges. They had not forgotten the +ruffian George Jeffreys and his "bloody assizes" of 1685. They well +remembered how their kinsmen in England had driven into exile the Stuart +family of kings, who were even yet, in 1745, making efforts to recover +their lost throne. They remembered how the beginnings of New England had +been made by stout-hearted men who could not endure the tyranny of these +same Stuarts; and they knew well that one of the worst of the evils upon +which Stuart tyranny had fattened had been the corruption of the courts +of justice. The Americans believed with some reason, that even now, in +the middle of the eighteenth century, the administration of justice in +their own commonwealths was decidedly better than in Great Britain; and +they had no mind to have it disturbed. + + [Sidenote: "No taxation without representation."] + +But worse than all, if the expenses of governing America were to be paid +by taxes levied upon Americans and collected from them by king or +parliament or any power whatsoever residing in Great Britain, then the +inhabitants of the thirteen American colonies would at once cease to be +free people. A free country is one in which the government cannot take +away people's money, in the shape of taxes, except for strictly public +purposes and with the consent of the people themselves, as expressed by +some body of representatives whom the people have chosen. If people's +money can be taken from them without their consent, no matter how small +the amount, even if it be less than one dollar out of every thousand, +then they are not politically free. They do not govern, but the power +that thus takes their money without their consent is the power that +governs; and there is nothing to prevent such a power from using the +money thus obtained to strengthen itself until it can trample upon +people's rights in every direction, and rob them of their homes and +lives as well as of their money. If the British government could tax the +Americans without their consent, it might use the money for supporting a +British army in America, and such an army might be employed in +intimidating the legislatures, in dispersing town-meetings, in +destroying newspaper-offices, or in other acts of tyranny. + + [Sidenote: It was the fundamental principle of English liberty.] + +The Americans in the middle of the eighteenth century well understood +that the principle of "no taxation without representation" is the +fundamental principle of free government. It was the principle for which +their forefathers had contended again and again in England, and upon +which the noble edifice of English liberty had been raised and +consolidated since the grand struggle between king and barons in the +thirteenth century. It had passed into a tradition, both in England and +in America, that in order to prevent the crown from becoming despotic, +it was necessary that it should only wield such revenues as the +representatives of the people might be pleased to grant it. In England +the body which represented the people was the House of Commons, in each +of the American colonies it was the colonial legislature; and in +dealing with the royal governors, the legislatures acted upon the same +general principles as the House of Commons in dealing with the king. + + [Sidenote: Sometimes the royal governors were in the right, as to + the particular question.] + +It was not until some time after 1750 that any grand assault was made +upon the principle of "no taxation without representation," but the +frequent disputes with the royal governors were such as to keep people +from losing sight of this principle, and to make them sensitive about +acts that might lead to violations of it. In the particular disputes the +governors were sometimes clearly right and the people wrong. One of the +principal objects, as we shall presently see, for which the governors +wanted money, was to maintain troops for defence against the French and +the Indians; and the legislatures were apt to be short-sighted and +unreasonably stingy about such matters. Again, the people were sometimes +seized with a silly craze for "paper money" and "wild-cat +banks"--devices for making money out of nothing--and sometimes the +governors were sensible enough to oppose such delusions but not +altogether sensible in their manner of doing it. Thus in 1740 there was +fierce excitement in Massachusetts over a quarrel between the governor +and the legislature about the famous "silver bank" and "land bank." +These institutions were a public nuisance and deserved to be suppressed, +but the governor was obliged to appeal to parliament in order to +succeed in doing it. This led many people to ask, "What business has a +parliament sitting the other side of the ocean to be making laws for +us?" and the grumbling was loud and bitter enough to show that this was +a very dangerous question to raise. + + [Sidenote: Bitter memories; in Virginia.] + +It was in the eight colonies which had royal governors that troubles of +a revolutionary character were more likely to arise than in the other +five, but there were special reasons, besides those already mentioned, +why Massachusetts and Virginia should prove more refractory than any of +the others. Both these great commonwealths had bitter memories. Things +had happened in both which might serve as a warning, and which some of +the old men still living in 1750 could distinctly remember. In Virginia +the misgovernment of the royal governor Sir William Berkeley had led in +1675 to the famous rebellion headed by Nathaniel Bacon, and this +rebellion had been suppressed with much harshness. Many leading citizens +had been sent to the gallows and their estates had been confiscated. In +Massachusetts, though there were no such scenes of cruelty to remember, +the grievance was much more deep-seated and enduring. + + [Sidenote: And in Massachusetts.] + +Massachusetts had not been originally a royal province, with its +governors appointed by the king. At first it had been a republic, such +as Connecticut and Rhode Island now were, with governors chosen by the +people. From its foundation in 1629 down to 1684 the commonwealth of +Massachusetts had managed its own affairs at its own good pleasure. +Practically it had been not only self-governing but almost independent. +That was because affairs in England were in such confusion that until +after 1660 comparatively little attention was paid to what was going on +in America, and the liberties of Massachusetts prospered through the +neglect of what was then called the "home government." After Charles II. +came to the throne in 1660 he began to interfere with the affairs of +Massachusetts, and so the very first generation of men that had been +born on the soil of that commonwealth were engaged in a long struggle +against the British king for the right of managing their own affairs. +After more than twenty years of this struggle, which by 1675 had come to +be quite bitter, the charter of Massachusetts was annulled in 1684 and +its free government was for the moment destroyed. Presently a viceroy +was sent over from England, to govern Massachusetts (as well as several +other northern colonies) despotically. This viceroy, Sir Edmund Andros, +seems to have been a fairly well meaning man. He was not especially +harsh or cruel, but his rule was a despotism, because he was not +responsible to the people for what he did, but only to the king. In +point of fact the two-and-a-half years of his administration were +characterized by arbitrary arrests and by interference with private +property and with the freedom of the press. It was so vexatious that +early in 1689, taking advantage of the Revolution then going on in +England, the people of Boston rose in rebellion, seized Andros and threw +him into jail, and set up for themselves a provisional government. When +the affairs of New England were settled after the accession of William +and Mary to the throne, Connecticut and Rhode Island were allowed to +keep their old governments; but Massachusetts in 1693 was obliged to +take a new charter instead of her old one, and although this new charter +revived the election of legislatures by the people, it left the +governors henceforth to be appointed by the king. + +In the political controversies of Massachusetts, therefore, in the +eighteenth century, the people were animated by the recollection of what +they had lost. They were somewhat less free and independent than their +grandfathers had been, and they had learned what it was to have an +irresponsible ruler sitting at his desk in Boston and signing warrants +for the arrest of loved and respected citizens who dared criticise his +sayings and doings. "Taxation without representation" was not for them a +mere abstract theory; they knew what it meant. It was as near to them as +the presidency of Andrew Jackson is to us; there had not been time +enough to forget it. In every contest between the popular legislature +and the royal governor there was some broad principle involved which +there were plenty of well-remembered facts to illustrate. + + [Sidenote: Grounds of sympathy between Massachusetts and Virginia.] + +These contests also helped to arouse a strong sympathy between the +popular leaders in Massachusetts and in Virginia. Between the people of +the two colonies there was not much real sympathy, because there was a +good deal of difference between their ways of life and their opinions +about things; and people, unless they are unusually wise and generous of +nature, are apt to dislike and despise those who differ from them in +opinions and habits. So there was little cordiality of feeling between +the people of Massachusetts and the people of Virginia, but in spite of +this there was a great and growing political sympathy. This was because, +ever since 1693, they had been obliged to deal with the same kind of +political questions. It became intensely interesting to a Virginian to +watch the progress of a dispute between the governor and legislature of +Massachusetts, because whatever principle might be victorious in the +course of such a dispute, it was sure soon to find a practical +application in Virginia. Hence by the middle of the eighteenth century +the two colonies were keenly observant of each other, and either one was +exceedingly prompt in taking its cue from the other. It is worth while +to remember this fact, for without it there would doubtless have been +rebellions or revolutions of American colonies, but there would hardly +have been one American Revolution, ending in a grand American Union. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE FRENCH WARS, AND THE FIRST PLAN OF UNION. + + + [Sidenote: Disputed frontier between French and English colonies.] + +It was said a moment ago that one of the chief objects for which the +governors wanted money was to maintain troops for defence against the +French and the Indians. This was a very serious matter indeed. To any +one who looked at a map of North America in 1750 it might well have +seemed as if the French had secured for themselves the greater part of +the continent. The western frontier of the English settlements was +generally within two hundred miles of the sea-coast. In New York it was +at Johnson Hall, not far from Schenectady; in Pennsylvania it was about +at Carlisle; in Virginia it was near Winchester, and the first explorers +were just making their way across the Alleghany mountains. Westward of +these frontier settlements lay endless stretches of forest inhabited by +warlike tribes of red men who, everywhere except in New York, were +hostile to the English and friendly to the French. Since the beginning +of the seventeenth century French towns and villages had been growing up +along the St. Lawrence, and French explorers had been pushing across +the Great Lakes and down the valley of the Mississippi river, near the +mouth of which the French town of New Orleans had been standing since +1718. It was the French doctrine that discovery and possession of a +river gave a claim to all the territory drained by that river. According +to this doctrine every acre of American soil from which water flowed +into the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi belonged to France. The claims +of the French thus came up to the very crest of the Alleghanies, and +they made no secret of their intention to shut up the English forever +between that chain of mountains and the sea-coast. There were times when +their aims were still more aggressive and dangerous, when they looked +with longing eyes upon the valley of the Hudson, and would fain have +broken through that military centre of the line of English commonwealths +and seized the keys of empire over the continent. + + [Sidenote: The Indian tribes.] + +From this height of their ambition the French were kept aloof by the +deadly enmity of the most fierce and powerful savages in the New World. +The Indians of those days who came into contact with the white settlers +were divided into many tribes with different names, but they all +belonged to one or another of three great stocks or families. First, +there were the _Mobilians_, far down south; to this stock belonged the +Creeks, Cherokees, and others. Secondly, there were the _Algonquins_, +comprising the Delawares to the south of the Susquehanna; the Miamis, +Shawnees, and others in the western wilderness; the Ottawas in Canada; +and all the tribes still left to the northeast of New England. Thirdly, +there were the _Iroquois_, of whom the most famous were the Five Nations +of what is now central New York. These five great tribes--the Mohawks, +Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas--had for several generations +been united in a confederacy which they likened to a long wigwam with +its eastern door looking out upon the valley of the Hudson and its +western toward the falls of Niagara. It was known far and wide over the +continent as the Long House, and wherever it was known it was dreaded. +When Frenchmen and Englishmen first settled in America, this Iroquois +league was engaged in a long career of conquest. Algonquin tribes all +the way from the Connecticut to the Mississippi were treated as its +vassals and forced to pay tribute in weapons and wampum. This conquering +career extended through the seventeenth century, until it was brought to +an end by the French. When the latter began making settlements in +Canada, they courted the friendship of their Algonquin neighbours, and +thus, without dreaming what deadly seed they were sowing, they were led +to attack the terrible Long House. It was easy enough for Champlain in +1609 to win a victory over savages who had never before seen a white man +or heard the report of a musket; but the victory was a fatal one for the +French, for it made the Iroquois their eternal enemies. The Long House +allied itself first with the Dutch and afterwards with the English, and +thus checked the progress of the French toward the lower Hudson. We too +seldom think how much we owe to those formidable savages. + + [Sidenote: The French and the Iroquois.] + +The Iroquois pressed the French with so much vigour that in 1689 they +even laid siege to Montreal. But by 1696 the French, assisted by all the +Algonquin tribes within reach, and led by their warlike viceroy, Count +Frontenac, one of the most picturesque figures in American history, at +length succeeded in getting the upperhand and dealing the Long House a +terrible blow, from the effects of which it never recovered. The league +remained formidable, however, until the time of the revolutionary war. +In 1715 its fighting strength was partially repaired by the adoption of +the kindred Iroquois tribe of Tuscaroras, who had just been expelled +from North Carolina by the English settlers, and migrated to New York. +After this accession the league, henceforth known as the Six Nations, +formed a power by no means to be despised, though much less bold and +aggressive than in the previous century. + +After administering a check to the Iroquois, the French and Algonquins +kept up for more than sixty years a desultory warfare against the +English colonies. Whenever war broke out between England and France, it +meant war in America as well as in Europe. Indeed, one of the chief +objects of war, on the part of each of these two nations, was to extend +its colonial dominions at the expense of the other. France and England +were at war from 1689 to 1697; from 1702 to 1713; and from 1743 to 1748. +The men in New York or Boston in 1750, who could remember the past sixty +years, could thus look back over at least four-and-twenty years of open +war; and even in the intervals of professed peace there was a good deal +of disturbance on the frontiers. A most frightful sort of warfare it +was, ghastly with torture of prisoners and the ruthless murder of women +and children. The expense of raising and arming troops for defence was +great enough to subject several of the colonies to a heavy burden of +debt. In 1750 Massachusetts was just throwing off the load of debt under +which she had staggered since 1693; and most of this debt was incurred +for expeditions against the French and Algonquins. + + [Sidenote: Difficulty of getting the English colonies to act in + concert.] + +Under these circumstances it was natural that the colonial governments +should find it hard to raise enough money for war expenses, and that the +governors should think the legislatures too slow in acting. They were +slow; for, as is apt to be the case when money is to be borrowed without +the best security, there were a good many things to be considered. All +this was made worse by the fact that there were so many separate +governments, so that each one was inclined to hold back and wait for the +others. On the other hand, the French viceroy in Canada had despotic +power; the colony which he governed never pretended to be +self-supporting; and so, if he could not squeeze money enough out of the +people in Canada, he just sent to France for it and got it; for the +government of Louis XV. regarded Canada as one of the brightest jewels +in its crown, and was always ready to spend money for damaging the +English. Accordingly the Frenchman could plan his campaign, call his red +men together, and set the whole frontier in a blaze, while the +legislatures in Boston or New York were talking about what had better be +done in case of invasion. No wonder the royal governors fretted and +fumed, and sent home to England dismal accounts of the perverseness of +these Americans! Many people in England thought that the colonies were +allowed to govern themselves altogether too much, and that for their own +good the British government ought to tax them. Once while Sir Robert +Walpole was prime minister (1721-1742) some one is said to have advised +him to lay a direct tax upon the Americans; but that wise old statesman +shook his head. It was bad enough, he said, to be scolded and abused by +half the people in the old country; he did not wish to make enemies of +every man, woman, and child in the new. + + [Sidenote: Need of a union between the English colonies.] + +But if the power to raise American armies for the common defence, and to +collect money in America for this purpose, was not to be assumed by the +British government, was there any way in which unity and promptness of +action in time of war could be secured? There was another way, if people +could be persuaded to adopt it. The thirteen colonies might be joined +together in a federal union; and the federal government, without +interfering in the local affairs of any single colony, might be clothed +with the power of levying taxes all over the country for purposes of +common defence. The royal governors were inclined to favour a union of +the colonies, no matter how it might be brought about. They thought it +necessary that some decisive step should be taken quickly, for it was +evident that the peace of 1748 was only an armed truce. Evidently a +great and decisive struggle was at hand. In 1750 the Ohio Company, +formed for the purpose of colonizing the valley drained by that river, +had surveyed the country as far as the present site of Louisville. In +1753 the French, taking the alarm, crossed Lake Erie, and began to +fortify themselves at Presque Isle, and at Venango on the Alleghany +river. They seized persons trading within the limits of the Ohio +Company, which lay within the territory of Virginia; and accordingly +Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, selected George Washington--a venturous +and hardy young land-surveyor, only twenty-one years old, but gifted +with a sagacity beyond his years--and sent him to Venango to warn off +the trespassers. It was an exceedingly delicate and dangerous mission, +and Washington showed rare skill and courage in this first act of his +public career, but the French commander made polite excuses and +remained. Next spring the French and English tried each to forestall the +other in fortifying the all-important place where the Alleghany and +Monongahela rivers unite to form the Ohio, the place long afterward +commonly known as the "Gateway of the West," the place where the city of +Pittsburgh now stands. In the course of these preliminary manoeuvres +Washington was besieged in Fort Necessity by overwhelming numbers, and +on July 4, 1754, was obliged to surrender the whole of his force, but +obtained leave to march away. So the French got possession of the +much-coveted situation, and erected there Fort Duquesne as a menace to +all future English intruders. As yet war had not been declared between +France and England, but these skirmishings indicated that war in earnest +was not far off. + + [Sidenote: The Congress at Albany, 1754.] + +In view of the approaching war a meeting was arranged at Albany between +the principal chiefs of the Six Nations and commissioners from several +of the colonies, that the alliance between English and Iroquois might be +freshly cemented; and some of the royal governors improved the occasion +to call for a Congress of all the colonies, in order to prepare some +plan of confederation such as all the colonies might be willing to +adopt. At the time of Washington's surrender such a Congress was in +session at Albany, but Maryland was the most southerly colony +represented in it. The people nowhere showed any interest in it. No +public meetings were held in its favour. The only newspaper which warmly +approved it was the "Pennsylvania Gazette," which appeared with a union +device, a snake divided into thirteen segments, with the motto "Unite or +Die!" + + [Sidenote: Franklin's plan for a Federal Union.] + +The editor of this paper was Benjamin Franklin, then eight-and-forty +years of age and already one of the most famous men in America. In the +preceding year he had been appointed by the crown postmaster-general for +the American colonies, and he had received from the Royal Society the +Copley medal for his brilliant discovery that lightning is a discharge +of electricity. Franklin was very anxious to see the colonies united in +a federal body, and he was now a delegate to the Congress. He drew up a +plan of union which the Congress adopted, after a very long debate; and +it has ever since been known as the Albany Plan. The federal government +was to consist, _first_, of a President or Governor-general, appointed +and paid by the crown, and holding office during its pleasure; and +_secondly_, of a Grand Council composed of representatives elected every +third year by the legislatures of the several colonies. This federal +government was not to meddle with the internal affairs of any colony, +but on questions of war and such other questions as concerned all the +colonies alike, it was to be supreme; and to this end it was to have the +power of levying taxes for federal purposes directly upon the people of +the several colonies. Philadelphia, as the most centrally situated of +the larger towns, was mentioned as a proper seat for the federal +government. + +The end of our story will show the wonderful foresightedness of +Franklin's scheme. If the Revolution had never occurred, we might very +likely have sooner or later come to live under a constitution resembling +the Albany Plan. On the other hand, if the Albany Plan had been put into +operation, it might perhaps have so adjusted the relations of the +colonies to the British government that the Revolution would not have +occurred. Perhaps, however, it would only have reproduced, on a larger +scale, the irrepressible conflict between royal governor and popular +assembly. The scheme failed for want of support. The Congress +recommended it to the colonial legislatures, but not one of them voted +to adopt it. The difficulty was the same in 1754 that it was thirty +years later,--only much stronger. The people of one colony saw but +little of the people in another, had but few dealings with them, and +cared not much about them. They knew and trusted their own local +assemblies which sat and voted almost under their eyes; they were not +inclined to grant strange powers of taxation to a new assembly distant +by a week's journey. This was a point to which people could never have +been brought except as the alternative to something confessedly worse. + + [Sidenote: Its failure.] + +The failure of the Albany Plan left the question of providing for +military defence just where it was before, and the great Seven Years' +War came on while governors and assemblies were wrangling to no purpose. +In 1755 Braddock's army was unable to get support except from the +steadfast personal exertions of Franklin, who used his great influence +with the farmers of Pennsylvania to obtain horses, wagons, and +provisions, pledging his own property for their payment. Nevertheless, +as the war went on and the people of the colonies became fully alive to +its importance, they did contribute liberally both in men and in money, +and at last it appeared that in proportion to their wealth and +population they had done even more than the regular army and the royal +exchequer toward overthrowing the common enemy. + + [Sidenote: Overthrow of the French power in America.] + +When the war came to an end in 1763 the whole face of things in America +was changed. Seldom, if ever, had the world seen so complete a victory. +France no longer possessed so much as an acre of ground in all North +America. The unknown regions beyond the Mississippi river were handed +over to Spain in payment for bootless assistance rendered to France +toward the close of the war. Spain also received New Orleans, while +Florida, which then reached westward nearly to New Orleans, passed from +Spanish into British hands. The whole country north of Florida and east +of the Mississippi river, including Canada, was now English. A strong +combination of Indian tribes, chiefly Algonquin, under the lead of the +Ottawa sachem Pontiac, made a last desperate attempt, after the loss of +their French allies, to cripple the English; but by 1765, after many +harrowing scenes of bloodshed, these red men were crushed. There was no +power left that could threaten the peace of the thirteen colonies unless +it were the mother-country herself. "Well," said the French minister, +the Duke de Choiseul, as he signed the treaty that shut France out of +North America, "so we are gone; it will be England's turn next!" And +like a prudent seeker after knowledge, as he was, the Duke presently +bethought him of an able and high-minded man, the Baron de Kalb, and +sent him in 1767 to America, to look about and see if there were not +good grounds for his bold prophecy. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE STAMP ACT, AND THE REVENUE LAWS. + + +It did not take four years after the peace of 1763 to show how rapidly +the new situation of affairs was bearing fruit in America. The war had +taught its lessons. Earlier wars had menaced portions of the frontier, +and had been fought by single colonies or alliances of two or three. +This war had menaced the whole frontier, and the colonies, acting for +the first time in general concert, had acquired some dim notion of their +united strength. Soldiers and officers by and by to be arrayed against +one another had here fought as allies,--John Stark and Israel Putnam by +the side of William Howe; Horatio Gates by the side of Thomas Gage,--and +it had not always been the regulars that bore off the palm for skill and +endurance. One young man, of immense energy and fiery temper, united to +rare prudence and fertility of resource, had already become famous +enough to be talked about in England; in George Washington the +Virginians recognized a tower of strength. + + [Sidenote: Consequences of the great French War.] + + [Sidenote: Need for a steady revenue.] + +The overthrow of their ancient enemy, while further increasing the +self-confidence of the Americans, at the same time removed the +principal check which had hitherto kept their differences with the +British government from coming to an open rupture. Formerly the dread of +French attack had tended to make the Americans complaisant toward the +king's ministers, while at time it made the king's ministers unwilling +to lose the good will of the Americans. Now that the check was removed, +the continuance or revival of the old disputes at once foreboded +trouble; and the old occasions for dispute were far from having ceased. +On the contrary the war itself had given them fresh vitality. If money +had been needed before, it was still more needed now. The war had +entailed a heavy burden of expense upon the British government as well +as upon the colonies. The national debt of Great Britain was much +increased, and there were many who thought that, since the Americans +shared in the benefits of the war they ought also to share in the burden +which it left behind it. People in England who used this argument did +not realize that the Americans had really contributed as much as could +reasonably be expected to the support of the war, and that it had left +behind it debts to be paid in America as well as in England. But there +was another argument which made it seem reasonable to many Englishmen +that the colonists should be taxed. It seemed right that a small +military force should be kept up in America, for defence of the +frontiers against the Indians, even if there were no other enemies to be +dreaded. The events of Pontiac's war now showed that there was clearly +need of such a force; and the experience of the royal governors for half +a century had shown that it was very difficult to get the colonial +legislatures to vote money for any such purpose. Hence there grew up in +England a feeling that taxes ought to be raised in America as a +contribution to the war debt and to the military defence of the +colonies; and in order that such taxes should be fairly distributed and +promptly collected, it was felt that the whole business ought to be +placed under the direct supervision and control of parliament. In +accordance with this feeling the new prime minister, George Grenville in +1764 announced his intention of passing a Stamp Act for the easier +collection of revenue in America. Meanwhile things had happened in +America which had greatly irritated the people, especially in Boston, so +that they were in the mood for resisting anything that looked like +encroachment on the part of the British government. To understand this +other source of irritation, we must devote a few words to the laws by +which that government had for a long time undertaken to regulate the +commerce of the American colonies. + + [Sidenote: What European colonies were supposed to be founded for.] + +When European nations began to plant colonies in America, they treated +them in accordance with a theory which prevailed until it was upset by +the American Revolution. According to this ignorant and barbarous +theory, a colony was a community which existed only for the purpose of +enriching the country which had founded it. At the outset, the Spanish +notion of a colony was that of a military station, which might plunder +the heathen for the benefit of the hungry treasury of the Most Catholic +monarch. But this theory was short-lived, like the enjoyment of the +plunder which it succeeded in extorting. According to the principles and +practice of France and England--and of Spain also, after the first +romantic fury of buccaneering had spent itself--the great object in +founding a colony, besides increasing one's general importance in the +world and the area of one's dominions on the map, was to create a +dependent community for the purpose of trading with it. People's ideas +about trade were very absurd. It was not understood that when two +parties trade with each other freely, both must be gainers, or else one +would soon stop trading. It was supposed that in trade, just as in +gambling or betting, what the one party gains the other loses. +Accordingly laws were made to regulate trade so that, as far as +possible, all the loss might fall upon the colonies and all the gain +accrue to the mother-country. In order to attain this object, the +colonies were required to confine their trade entirely to England. No +American colony could send its tobacco or its rice or its indigo to +France or to Holland, or to any other country than England; nor could it +buy a yard of French silk or a pound of Chinese tea except from English +merchants. In this way English merchants sought to secure for themselves +a monopoly of purchases and a monopoly of sales. By a further provision, +although American ships might take goods to England, the carrying-trade +between the different colonies was strictly confined to British ships. +Next, in order to protect British manufacturers from competition, it was +thought necessary to prohibit the colonists from manufacturing. They +might grow wool, but it must be carried to England to be woven into +cloth; they might smelt iron, but it must be carried to England to be +made into ploughshares. Finally, in order to protect British farmers and +their landlords, corn-laws were enacted, putting a prohibitory tariff on +all kinds of grain and other farm produce shipped from the colonies to +ports in Great Britain. + +Such absurd and tyrannical laws had begun to be made in the reign of +Charles II., and by 1750 not less than twenty-nine acts of parliament +had been passed in this spirit. If these laws had been strictly +enforced, the American Revolution would probably have come sooner than +it did. In point of fact they were seldom strictly enforced, because so +long as the French were a power in America the British government felt +that it could not afford to irritate the colonists. In spite of laws to +the contrary, the carrying-trade between the different colonies was +almost monopolized by vessels owned, built, and manned in New England; +and the smuggling of foreign goods into Boston and New York and other +seaport towns was winked at. + + [Sidenote: Writs of assistance.] + +It was in 1761, immediately after the overthrow of the French in Canada, +that attempts were made to enforce the revenue laws more strictly than +heretofore; and trouble was at once threatened. Charles Paxton, the +principal officer of the custom-house in Boston, applied to the Superior +Court to grant him the authority to use "writs of assistance" in +searching for smuggled goods. A writ of assistance was a general +search-warrant, empowering the officer armed with it to enter, by force +if necessary, any dwelling-house or warehouse where contraband goods +were supposed to be stored or hidden. A special search-warrant was one +in which the name of the suspected person, and the house which it was +proposed to search, were accurately specified, and the goods which it +was intended to seize were as far as possible described. In the use of +such special warrants there was not much danger of gross injustice or +oppression, because the court would not be likely to grant one unless +strong evidence could be brought against the person whom it named. But +the general search-warrant, or "writ of assistance," as it was called +because men try to cover up the ugliness of hateful things by giving +them innocent names, was quite a different affair. It was a blank form +upon which the custom-house officer might fill in the names of persons +and descriptions of houses and goods to suit himself. Then he could go +and break into the houses and seize the goods, and if need be summon the +sheriff and his _posse_ to help him in overcoming and browbeating the +owner. The writ of assistance was therefore an abominable instrument of +tyranny. Such writs had been allowed by a statute of the evil reign of +Charles II.; a statute of William III. had clothed custom-house officers +in the colonies with like powers to those which they possessed in +England; and neither of these statutes had been repealed. There can +therefore be little doubt that the issue of such search-warrants was +strictly legal, unless the authority of Parliament to make laws for the +colonies was to be denied. + + [Sidenote: James Otis.] + +James Otis then held the crown office of advocate-general, with an ample +salary and prospects of high favour from government. When the revenue +officers called upon him, in view of his position, to defend their +cause, he resigned his office and at once undertook to act as counsel +for the merchants of Boston in their protest against the issue of the +writs. A large fee was offered him, but he refused it. "In such a +cause," said he, "I despise all fees." The case was tried in the +council-chamber at the east end of the old town-hall, or what is now +known as the "Old State-House," in Boston. Chief-justice Hutchinson +presided, and Jeremiah Gridley, one of the greatest lawyers of that day, +argued the case for the writs in a very powerful speech. The reply of +Otis, which took five hours in the delivery, was one of the greatest +speeches of modern times. It went beyond the particular legal question +at issue, and took up the whole question of the constitutional relations +between the colonies and the mother-country. At the bottom of this, as +of all the disputes that led to the Revolution, lay the ultimate +question whether Americans were bound to yield obedience to laws which +they had no share in making. This question, and the spirit that answered +it flatly and doggedly in the negative, were heard like an undertone +pervading all the arguments in Otis's wonderful speech, and it was +because of this that the young lawyer John Adams, who was present, +afterward declared that on that day "the child Independence was born." +Chief-justice Hutchinson was a man of great ability and as sincere a +patriot as any American of his time. He could feel the force of Otis's +argument, but he believed that Parliament was the supreme legislative +body for the whole British empire, and furthermore that it was the duty +of a judge to follow the law as it existed. He reserved his decision +until advice could be had from the law-officers of the crown in London; +and when next term he was instructed by them to grant the writs, this +result added fresh impetus to the spirit that Otis's eloquence had +aroused. The custom-house officers, armed with their writs, began +breaking into warehouses and seizing goods which were said to have been +smuggled. In this rough way they confiscated private property to the +value of many thousands of pounds; but sometimes the owners of +warehouses armed themselves and barricaded their doors and windows, and +thus the officers were often successfully defied, for the sheriff was +far from prompt in coming to aid them. + + [Sidenote: Patrick Henry, and the Parsons' Cause.] + +While such things were going on in Boston, the people of Virginia were +wrought into fierce excitement by what was known as the "Parsons' +Cause." The Church of England was at that time established by law in +Virginia, and its clergymen, appointed by English bishops, were +unpopular. In 1758 the legislature, under the pressure of the French +war, had passed an act which affected all public dues and incidentally +diminished the salaries of the clergy. Complaints were made to the +Bishop of London, and the act of 1758 was vetoed by the king in +council. Several clergymen then brought suits to recover the unpaid +portions of their salaries. In the first test case there could be no +doubt that the royal veto was legal enough, and the court therefore +decided in favour of the plaintiff. But it now remained to settle before +a jury the amount of the damages. It was on this occasion, in December, +1763, that the great orator Patrick Henry made his first speech in the +court-room and at once became famous. He declared that no power on earth +could take away from Virginia the right to make laws for herself, and +that in annulling a wholesome law at the request of a favoured class in +the community "a king, from being the father of his people, degenerates +into a tyrant, and forfeits all right to obedience." This bold talk +aroused much excitement and some uproar, but the jury instantly +responded by assessing the parson's damages at one penny, and in 1765 +Henry was elected a member of the colonial assembly. + +Thus almost at the same time in Massachusetts and in Virginia the +preliminary scenes of the Revolution occurred in the court-room. In each +case the representatives of the crown had the letter of the law on their +side, but the principles of the only sound public policy, by which a +Revolution could be avoided, were those that were defended by the +advocates of the people. At each successive move on the part of the +British government which looked like an encroachment upon the rights of +Americans, the sympathy between these two leading colonies now grew +stronger and stronger. + +It was in 1763 that George Grenville became prime minister, a man of +whom Macaulay says that he knew of "no national interests except those +which are expressed by pounds, shillings, and pence." Grenville +proceeded to introduce into Parliament two measures which had +consequences of which, he little dreamed. The first of these measures +was the Molasses Act, the second was the Stamp Act. + + [Sidenote: The Molasses Act.] + +Properly speaking, the Molasses Act was an old law which Grenville now +made up his mind to revive and enforce. The commercial wealth of the New +England colonies depended largely upon their trade with the fish which +their fishermen caught along the coast and as far out as the banks of +Newfoundland. The finest fish could be sold in Europe, but the poorer +sort found their chief market in the French West Indies. The French +government, in order to ensure a market for the molasses raised in these +islands, would not allow the planters to give anything else in exchange +for fish. Great quantities of molasses were therefore carried to New +England, and what was not needed there for domestic use was distilled +into rum, part of which was consumed at home, and the rest carried +chiefly to Africa wherewith to buy slaves to be sold to the southern +colonies. All this trade required many ships, and thus kept up a lively +demand for New England lumber, besides finding employment for thousands +of sailors and shipwrights. Now in 1733 the British government took it +into its head to "protect" its sugar planters in the English West Indies +by compelling the New England merchants to buy all their molasses from +them; and with this end in view it forthwith laid upon all sugar and +molasses imported into North America from the French islands a duty so +heavy that, if it had been enforced, it would have stopped all such +importation. It is very doubtful if this measure would have attained the +end which the British government had in view. Probably it would not have +made much difference in the export of molasses from the English West +Indies to New England, because the islanders happened not to want the +fish which their French neighbours coveted. But the New Englanders could +see that the immediate result would be to close the market for their +cheaper kinds of fish, and thus ruin their trade in lumber and rum, +besides shutting up many a busy shipyard and turning more than 5000 +sailors out of employment. It was estimated that the yearly loss to New +England would exceed L300,000. It was hardly wise in Great Britain to +entail such a loss upon some of her best customers; for with their +incomes thus cut down, it was not to be expected that the people of New +England would be able to buy as many farming tools, dishes, and pieces +of furniture, garments of silk or wool, and wines or other luxuries, +from British merchants as before. The government in passing its act of +1733 did not think of these consequences; but it proved to be impossible +to enforce the act without causing more disturbance than the government +felt prepared to encounter. Now in 1764 Grenville announced that the act +was to be enforced, and of course the machinery of writs of assistance +was to be employed for that purpose. Henceforth all molasses from the +French islands must either pay the prohibitory duty or be seized without +ceremony. + +Loud and fierce was the indignation of New England over this revival of +the Molasses Act. Even without the Stamp Act, it might very likely have +led that part of the country to make armed resistance, but in such case +it is not so sure that the southern and middle colonies would have come +to the aid of New England. But in the Stamp Act Grenville provided the +colonies with an issue which concerned one as much as another, and upon +which they were accordingly sure to unite in resistance. It was also a +much better issue for the Americans to take up, for it was not a mere +revival of an old act; it was a new departure; it was an imposition of a +kind to which the Americans had never before been called upon to +submit, and in resisting it they were sure to enlist the sympathies of a +good many powerful people in England. + + [Sidenote: The Stamp Act.] + +The Stamp Act was a direct tax laid upon the whole American people by +Parliament, a legislative body in which they were not represented. The +British government had no tyrannical purpose in devising this tax. A +stamp duty had already been suggested in 1755 by William Shirley, royal +governor of Massachusetts, a worthy man and much more of a favourite +with the people than most of his class. Shirley recommended it as the +least disagreeable kind of tax, and the easiest to collect. It did not +call for any hateful searching of people's houses and shops, or any +unpleasant questions about their incomes, or about their invested or +hoarded wealth. It only required that legal documents and commercial +instruments should be written, and newspapers printed, on stamped paper. +Of all kinds of direct tax none can be less annoying, except for one +reason; it is exceedingly difficult to evade such a tax; it enforces +itself. For these reasons Grenville decided to adopt it. He arranged it +so that all the officers charged with the business of selling the +stamped paper should be Americans; and he gave formal notice of the +measure in March, 1764, a year beforehand, in order to give the colonies +time to express their opinions about it. + + [Sidenote: Samuel Adams.] + +In the Boston town-meeting in May, almost as soon as the news had +arrived, the American view of the case was very clearly set forth in a +series of resolutions drawn up by Samuel Adams. This was the first of +the remarkable state papers from the pen of that great man, who now, at +the age of forty-two, was just entering upon a glorious career. Samuel +Adams was a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1740. He had +been reared in politics from boyhood, for his father, a deacon of the +Old South Church, had been chief spokesman of the popular party in its +disputes with the royal governors. Of all the agencies in organizing +resistance to Great Britain none were more powerful than the New England +town-meetings, among which that of the people of Boston stood +preeminent, and in the Boston town-meeting for more than thirty years no +other man exerted so much influence as Samuel Adams. This was because of +his keen intelligence and persuasive talk, his spotless integrity, +indomitable courage, unselfish and unwearying devotion to the public +good, and broad sympathy with all classes of people. He was a thorough +democrat. He respected the dignity of true manhood wherever he found it, +and could talk with sailors and shipwrights like one of themselves, +while at the same time in learned argument he had few superiors. He has +been called the "Father of the Revolution," and was no doubt its most +conspicuous figure before 1775, as Washington certainly was after that +date. + +This earliest state paper of Samuel Adams contained the first formal and +public denial of the right of Parliament to tax the colonies, because it +was not a body in which their people were represented. The resolutions +were adopted by the Massachusetts assembly, and a similar action was +taken by Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South +Carolina. The colonies professed their willingness to raise money in +answer to requisitions upon their assemblies, which were the only bodies +competent to lay taxes in America. Memorials stating these views were +sent to England, and the colony of Pennsylvania sent Dr. Franklin to +represent its case at the British court. Franklin remained in London +until the spring of 1775 as agent first for Pennsylvania, afterward for +Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Georgia,--a kind of diplomatic +representative of the views and claims of the Americans. + + [Sidenote: The Virginia Resolutions, 1765.] + +Grenville told Franklin that he wished to do things as pleasantly as +possible, and was not disposed to insist upon the Stamp Act, if the +Americans could suggest anything better. But when it appeared that no +alternative was offered except to fall back upon the old clumsy system +of requisitions, Grenville naturally replied that there ought to be some +more efficient method of raising money for the defence of the frontier. +Accordingly in March, 1765, the Stamp Act was passed, with so little +debate that people hardly noticed what was going on. But when the news +reached America there was an outburst of wrath that was soon heard and +felt in London. In May the Virginia legislature was assembled. George +Washington was sitting there in his seat, and Thomas Jefferson, then a +law-student, was listening eagerly from outside the door, when Patrick +Henry introduced the famous resolutions in which he declared, among +other things, that an attempt to vest the power of taxation in any other +body than the colonial assembly was a menace to the common freedom of +Englishmen, whether in Britain or in America, and that the people of +Virginia were not bound to obey any law enacted in disregard of this +principle. The language of the resolutions was bold enough, but a keener +edge was put upon it by the defiant note which rang out from Henry in +the course of the debate, when he commended the example of Tarquin and +Caesar and Charles I. to the attention of George III. "If this be +treason," he exclaimed, as the speaker tried to call him to order, "if +this be treason, make the most of it!" + +The other colonies were not slow in acting. Massachusetts called for a +general congress, in order that all might discuss the situation and +agree upon some course to be pursued in common. South Carolina responded +most cordially, at the instance of her noble, learned, and far-sighted +patriot, Christopher Gadsden. On the 7th of October, delegates from nine +colonies met in a congress at New York, adopted resolutions like those +of Virginia, and sent a memorial to the king, whose sovereignty over +them they admitted, and a remonstrance to Parliament, whose authority to +tax them they denied. The meeting of this congress was in itself a +prophecy of what was to happen if the British government should persist +in the course upon which it had now entered. + + [Sidenote: Stamp Act riots.] + +Meanwhile the summer had witnessed riots in many places, and one of +these was extremely disgraceful. Chief-justice Hutchinson had tried to +dissuade the ministry from passing the Stamp Act, but an impression had +got abroad among the wharves and waterside taverns of Boston that he had +not only favoured it but had gone out of his way to send information to +London, naming certain merchants as smugglers. Under the influence of +this mistaken notion, on the night of the 26th of August a drunken mob +plundered Hutchinson's house in Boston and destroyed his library, which +was probably the finest in America at that time. Here, as is apt to be +the case, the mob selected the wrong victim. Its shameful act was +denounced by the people of Massachusetts, and the chief-justice was +indemnified by the legislature. In the other instances the riots were of +an innocent sort. Stamp officers were forced to resign. Boxes of +stamped paper arriving by ship were burned or thrown into the sea, and +at length the governor of New York was compelled by a mob to surrender +all the stamps entrusted to his care. These things were done for the +most part under the direction of societies of workingmen known as "Sons +of Liberty," who were pledged to resist the execution of the Stamp Act. +At the same time associations of merchants declared that they would buy +no more goods from England until the act should be repealed, and lawyers +entered into agreements not to treat any document as invalidated by the +absence of the required stamp. As for the editors, they published their +newspapers decorated with a grinning skull and cross-bones instead of +the stamp. + + [Sidenote: Repeal of the Stamp Act.] + +These demonstrations produced their effect in England. In July, 1765, +the Grenville ministry fell, and the new government, with Lord +Rockingham at its head, was more inclined to pay heed to the wishes and +views of the Americans. The debate over the repeal of the Stamp Act +lasted nearly three months and was one of the fiercest that had been +heard in Parliament for many a day. William Pitt declared that he +rejoiced in the resistance of the Americans, and urged that the act +should be repealed because Parliament ought never to have passed it; but +there were very few who took this view. As the result of the long +debate, at the end of March, 1766, the Stamp Act was repealed, and a +Declaratory Act was passed in which Parliament said in effect that it +had a right to make such laws for the Americans if it chose to do so. + +The people of London, as well as the Americans, hailed with delight the +repeal of the Stamp Act; but the real trouble had now only begun. The +resolutions of Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry and their approval by the +Congress at New York had thrown the question of American taxation into +the whirlpool of British politics, and there it was to stay until it +worked a change for the better in England as well as in America. + + [Sidenote: How the question was affected by British politics.] + +The principle that people must not be taxed except by their +representatives had been to some extent recognized in England for five +hundred years, and it was really the fundamental principle of English +liberty, but it was only very imperfectly that it had been put into +practice. In the eighteenth century the House of Commons was very far +from being a body that fairly represented the people of Great Britain. +For a long time there had been no change in the distribution of seats, +and meanwhile the population had been increasing very differently in +different parts of the kingdom. Thus great cities which had grown up in +recent times, such as Sheffield and Manchester, had no representatives +in Parliament, while many little boroughs with a handful of inhabitants +had their representatives. Some such boroughs had been granted +representation by Henry VIII. in order to create a majority for his +measures in the House of Commons. Others were simply petty towns that +had dwindled away, somewhat as the mountain villages of New England have +dwindled since the introduction of railroads. The famous Old Sarum had +members in Parliament long after it had ceased to have any inhabitants. +Seats for these rotten boroughs, as they were called, were simply bought +and sold. Political life in England was exceedingly corrupt; some of the +best statesmen indulged in wholesale bribery as if it were the most +innocent thing in the world. The country was really governed by a few +great families, some of whose members sat in the House of Lords and +others in the House of Commons. Their measures were often noble and +patriotic in the highest degree, but when bribery and corruption seemed +necessary for carrying them, such means were employed without scruple. + + [Sidenote: George III. and his political schemes.] + +When George III. came to the throne in 1760, the great families which +had thus governed England for half a century belonged to the party known +as Old Whigs. Under their rule the power of the crown had been reduced +to insignificance, and the modern system of cabinet government by a +responsible ministry had begun to grow up. The Tory families during this +period had been very unpopular, because of their sympathy with the +Stuart pretenders who had twice attempted to seize the crown and given +the country a brief taste of civil war. By 1760 the Tories saw that the +cause of the Stuarts was hopeless, and so they were inclined to transfer +their affections to the new king. George III. was a young man of narrow +intelligence and poor education, but he entertained very strong opinions +as to the importance of his kingly office. He meant to make himself a +real king, like the king of France or the king of Spain. He was +determined to break down the power of the Old Whigs and the system of +cabinet government, and as the Old Whigs had been growing unpopular, it +seemed quite possible, with the aid of the Tories, to accomplish this. +George was quite decorous in behaviour, and, although subject to fits of +insanity which became more troublesome in his later years, he had a +fairly good head for business. Industrious as a beaver and obstinate as +a mule, he was an adept in political trickery. In the corrupt use of +patronage he showed himself able to beat the Old Whigs at their own +game, and with the aid of the Tories he might well believe himself +capable of reviving for his own benefit the lost power of the crown. + + [Sidenote: The "New Whigs" and parliamentary reform.] + +Beside these two parties a third had been for some time growing up which +was in some essential points opposed to both of them. This third party +was that of the New Whigs. They wished to reform the representation in +Parliament in such wise as to disfranchise the rotten boroughs and give +representatives to great towns like Leeds and Manchester. They held that +it was contrary to the principles of English liberty that the +inhabitants of such great towns should be obliged to pay taxes in +pursuance of laws which they had no share in making. The leader of the +New Whigs was the greatest Englishman of the eighteenth century, the +elder William Pitt, now about to pass into the House of Lords as Earl of +Chatham. Their leader next in importance, William Petty, Earl of +Shelburne, was in 1765 a young man of eight-and-twenty, and afterward +came to be known as one of the most learned and sagacious statesmen of +his time. These men were the forerunners of the great liberal leaders of +the nineteenth century, such men as Russell and Cobden and Gladstone. +Their first decisive and overwhelming victory was the passage of Lord +John Russell's Reform Bill in 1832, but the agitation for reform was +begun by William Pitt in 1745, and his famous son came very near winning +the victory on that question in 1782. + +Now this question of parliamentary reform was intimately related to the +question of taxing the American colonies. From some points of view they +might be considered one and the same question. At a meeting of +Presbyterian ministers in Philadelphia, it was pertinently asked, "Have +two men chosen to represent a poor English borough that has sold its +votes to the highest bidder any pretence to say that they represent +Virginia or Pennsylvania? And have four hundred such fellows a right to +take our liberties?" In Parliament, on the other hand, as well as at +London dinner tables, and in newspapers and pamphlets, it was repeatedly +urged that the Americans need not make so much fuss about being taxed +without being represented, for in that respect they were no worse off +than the people of Sheffield or Birmingham. To this James Otis replied, +"Don't talk to us any more about those towns, for we are tired of such a +flimsy argument. If they are not represented, they ought to be;" and by +the New Whigs this retort was greeted with applause. + +The opinions and aims of the three different parties were reflected in +the long debate over the repeal of the Stamp Act. The Tories wanted to +have the act continued and enforced, and such was the wish of the king. +Both sections of Whigs were in favour of repeal, but for very different +reasons. Pitt and the New Whigs, being advocates of parliamentary +reform, came out flatly in support of the principle that there should be +no taxation without representation. Edmund Burke and the Old Whigs, +being opposed to parliamentary reform and in favour of keeping things +just as they were, could not adopt such an argument; and accordingly +they based their condemnation of the Stamp Act upon grounds of pure +expediency. They argued that it was not worth while, for the sake of a +little increase of revenue, to irritate three million people and run the +risk of getting drawn into a situation from which there would be no +escape except in either retreating or fighting. There was much practical +wisdom in this Old Whig argument, and it was the one which prevailed +when Parliament repealed the Stamp Act and expressly stated that it did +so only on grounds of expediency. + + [Sidenote: Why George III. was ready to pick a quarrel with the + Americans.] + +There was one person, however, who was far from satisfied with this +result, and that was George III. He was opposed to parliamentary reform +for much the same reason that the Old Whigs were opposed to it, because +he felt that it threatened him with political ruin. The Old Whigs needed +the rotten boroughs in order to maintain their own control over +Parliament and the country. The king needed them because he felt himself +able to wrest them from the Old Whigs by intrigue and corruption, and +thus hoped to build up his own power. He believed, with good reason, +that the suppression of the rotten boroughs and the granting of fair and +equal representation would soon put a stronger curb upon the crown than +ever. Accordingly there were no men whom he dreaded and wished to put +down so much as the New Whigs; and he felt that in the repeal of the +Stamp Act, no matter on what ground, they had come altogether too near +winning a victory. He felt that this outrageous doctrine that people +must not be taxed except by their representatives needed to be sternly +rebuked, and thus he found himself in the right sort of temper for +picking a fresh quarrel with the Americans. + + [Sidenote: Charles Townshend and his revenue acts, 1767.] + + [Sidenote: Lord North.] + +An occasion soon presented itself. One of the king's devices for +breaking down the system of cabinet government was to select his +ministers from different parties, so that they might be unable to work +harmoniously together. Owing to the peculiar divisions of parties in +Parliament he was for some years able to carry out this policy, and +while his cabinets were thus weak and divided, he was able to use his +control of patronage with telling effect. In July, 1766, he got rid of +Lord Rockingham and his Old Whigs, and formed a new ministry made up +from all parties. It contained Pitt, who had now, as Earl of Chatham, +gone into the House of Lords, and at the same time Charles Townshend, as +Chancellor of the Exchequer. Townshend, a brilliant young man, without +any political principles worth mentioning, was the most conspicuous +among a group of wire-pullers who were coming to be known as "the king's +friends." Serious illness soon kept Chatham at home, and left Townshend +all-powerful in the cabinet, because he was bold and utterly +unscrupulous and had the king to back him. His audacity knew no limits, +and he made up his mind that the time had come for gathering all the +disputed American questions, as far as possible, into one bundle, and +disposing of them once for all. So in May, 1767, he brought forward in +Parliament a series of acts for raising and applying a revenue in +America. The colonists, he said, had objected to a direct tax, but they +had often submitted to port duties, and could not reasonably refuse to +do so again. Duties were accordingly to be laid on glass, paper, lead, +and painter's colours; on wine, oil, and fruits, if carried directly to +America from Spain and Portugal; and especially on tea. A board of +commissioners was to be established at Boston, to superintend the +collection of revenue throughout the colonies, and writs of assistance +were to be expressly legalized. The salaries of these commissioners were +to be paid out of the revenue thus collected. Governors, judges, and +crown-attorneys were to be made independent of the colonial legislatures +by having their salaries paid by the crown out of this same fund. A +small army was also to be kept up; and if after providing for these +various expenses, any surplus remained, it could be used by the crown in +giving pensions to Americans and thus be made to serve as a +corruption-fund. These measures were adopted on the 29th of June, and as +if to refute anybody who might be inclined to think that rashness could +no further go, Townshend accompanied them with a special act directed +against the New York legislature, which had refused to obey an order +concerning the quartering of troops. By way of punishment, Townshend now +suspended the legislature. A few weeks after carrying these measures +Townshend died of a fever, and his place was taken by Lord North, eldest +son of the Earl of Guilford. North was thirty-five years of age. He was +amiable and witty, and an excellent debater, but without force of will. +He let the king rule him, and was at the same time able to show a strong +hand in the House of Commons, so that the king soon came to regard him +as a real treasure. Soon after North's appointment, Lord Chatham and +other friends of America in the cabinet resigned their places and were +succeeded by friends of the king. From 1768 to 1782 George III. was to +all intents and purposes his own prime minister, and contrived to keep a +majority in Parliament. During those fourteen years the American +question was uppermost, and his policy was at all hazards to force the +colonists to abandon their position that taxation must go hand in hand +with representation. + + [Sidenote: What the Townshend acts really meant.] + +This purpose was already apparent in Charles Townshend's acts. They were +not at all like previous acts imposing port duties to which the +Americans had submitted. British historians sometimes speak of the +American Revolution as an affair which grew out of a mere dispute about +money; and even among Americans, in ordinary conversation and sometimes +in current literature, the unwillingness of our forefathers to pay a tax +of threepence a pound on tea is mentioned without due reference to the +attendant circumstances which made them refuse to pay such a tax. We +cannot hope to understand the fierce wrath by which they were animated +unless we bear in mind not only the simple fact of the tax, but also the +spirit in which it was levied and the purpose for which the revenue was +to be used. The Molasses Act threatening the ruin of New England +commerce was still on the statute-book, and commissioners, armed with +odious search-warrants for enforcing this and other tyrannical laws, +were on their way to America. For more than half a century the people +had jealously guarded against the abuse of power by the royal governors +by making them dependent upon the legislatures for their salaries. Now +they were all at once to be made independent, so that they might even +dismiss the legislatures, and if need be call for troops to help them. +The judges, moreover, with their power over men's lives and property, +were no longer to be responsible to the people. If these changes were to +be effected, it would be nothing less than a revolution by which the +Americans would be deprived of their liberty. And, to crown all, the +money by which this revolution was to be brought about was to be +contributed in the shape of port duties by the Americans themselves! To +expect our forefathers to submit to such legislation as this was about +as sensible as it would have been to expect them to obey an order to buy +halters and hang themselves. + +When the news of the Townshend acts reached Massachusetts, the assembly +at its next session took a decided stand. Besides a petition to the king +and letters to several leading British statesmen, it issued a circular +letter addressed to the other twelve colonies, asking for their friendly +advice and cooeperation with reference to the Townshend measures. These +papers were written by Samuel Adams. The circular letter was really an +invitation to the other colonies to concert measures of resistance if it +should be found necessary. It enraged the king, and presently an order +came across the ocean to Francis Bernard, royal governor of +Massachusetts, to demand of the assembly that it rescind its circular +letter, under penalty of instant dissolution. Otis exclaimed that Great +Britain had better rescind the Townshend acts if she did not wish to +lose her colonies. The assembly decided, by a vote of 92 to 17, that it +would not rescind. This flat defiance was everywhere applauded. The +assemblies of the other colonies were ordered to take no notice of the +Massachusetts circular, but the order was generally disobeyed, and in +several cases the governors turned the assemblies out of doors. The +atmosphere of America now became alive with politics; more meetings were +held, more speeches made, and more pamphlets printed, than ever before. + + [Sidenote: The quarrel was not between England and America, but + between George III. and the principles which the Americans + maintained.] + +In England the dignified and manly course of the Americans was generally +greeted with applause by Whigs of whatever sort, except those who had +come into the somewhat widening circle of "the king's friends." The Old +Whigs,--Burke, Fox, Conway, Savile, Lord John Cavendish, and the Duke of +Richmond; and the New Whigs,--Chatham, Shelburne, Camden, Dunning, +Barre, and Beckford; steadily defended the Americans throughout the +whole of the Revolutionary crisis, and the weight of the best +intelligence in the country was certainly on their side. Could they have +acted as a united body, could Burke and Fox have joined forces in +harmony with Chatham and Shelburne, they might have thwarted the king +and prevented the rupture with America. But George III. profited by the +hopeless division between these two Whig parties; and as the quarrel +with America grew fiercer, he succeeded in arraying the national pride +to some extent upon his side and against the Whigs. This made him feel +stronger and stimulated his zeal against the Americans. He felt that if +he could first crush Whig principles in America, he could then turn and +crush them in England. In this he was correct, except that he +miscalculated the strength of the Americans. It was the defeat of his +schemes in America that ensured their defeat in England. It is quite +wrong and misleading, therefore, to remember the Revolutionary War as a +struggle between the British people and the American people. It was a +struggle between two hostile principles, each of which was represented +in both countries. In winning the good fight, our forefathers won a +victory for England as well as for America. What was crushed was George +III. and the kind of despotism which he wished to fasten upon America in +order that he might fasten it upon England. If the memory of George III. +deserves to be execrated, it is especially because he succeeded in +giving to his own selfish struggle for power the appearance of a +struggle between the people of England and the people of America; and in +so doing, he sowed seeds of enmity and distrust between two glorious +nations that, for their own sakes and for the welfare of mankind, ought +never for one moment to be allowed to forget their brotherhood. Time, +however, is rapidly repairing the damage which George III.'s policy +wrought, and it need in nowise disturb our narrative. In this brief +sketch we must omit hundreds of interesting details; but, if we would +look at things from the right point of view, we must bear in mind that +every act of George III., from 1768 onward, which brought on and carried +on the Revolutionary War, was done in spite of the earnest protest of +many of the best people in England; and that the king's wrong-headed +policy prevailed only because he was able, through corrupt methods, to +command a parliament which did not really represent the people. Had the +principles in support of which Lord Chatham joined hands with Samuel +Adams for one moment prevailed, the king's schemes would have collapsed +like a soap-bubble. + +As it was, in 1768 the king succeeded, in spite of strong opposition, in +carrying his point. He saw that the American colonies were disposed to +resist the Townshend acts, and that in this defiant attitude +Massachusetts was the ringleader. The Massachusetts circular pointed +toward united action on the part of the colonies. Above all things it +was desirable to prevent any such union, and accordingly the king +decided to make his principal attack upon Massachusetts, while dealing +more kindly with the other colonies. Thus he hoped Massachusetts might +be isolated and humbled, and in this belief he proceeded faster and more +rashly than if he had supposed himself to be dealing with a united +America. In order to catch Samuel Adams and James Otis, and get them +sent over to England for trial, he attempted to revive an old statute of +Henry VIII. about treason committed abroad; and in order to enforce the +revenue laws in spite of all opposition, he ordered troops to be sent to +Boston. + + [Sidenote: Troops sent to Boston.] + +This was a very harsh measure, and some excuse was needed to justify it +before Parliament. It was urged that Boston was a disorderly town, and +the sacking of Hutchinson's house could be cited in support of this +view. Then in June, 1768, there was a slight conflict between +townspeople and revenue officers, in which no one was hurt, but which +led to a great town-meeting in the Old South Meeting-House, and gave +Governor Bernard an opportunity for saying that he was intimidated and +hindered in the execution of the laws. The king's real purpose, however, +in sending troops was not so much to keep the peace as to enforce the +Townshend acts, and so the people of Boston understood it. Except for +these odious and tyrannical laws, there was nothing that threatened +disturbance in Boston. The arrival of British troops at Long Wharf, in +the autumn of 1768, simply increased the danger of disturbance, and in a +certain sense it may be said to have been the beginning of the +Revolutionary War. Very few people realized this at the time, but Samuel +Adams now made up his mind that the only way in which the American +colonies could preserve their liberties was to unite in some sort of +federation and declare themselves independent of Great Britain. It was +with regret that he had come to this conclusion, and he was very slow in +proclaiming it, but after 1768 he kept it distinctly before his mind. He +saw clearly the end toward which public opinion was gradually drifting, +and because of his great influence over the Boston town-meeting and the +Massachusetts assembly, this clearness of purpose made him for the next +seven years the most formidable of the king's antagonists in America. + +The people of Boston were all the more indignant at the arrival of +troops in their town because the king in his hurry to send them had even +disregarded the act of Parliament which provided for such cases. +According to that act the soldiers ought to have been lodged in Castle +William on one of the little islands in the harbour. Even according to +British-made law they had no business to be quartered in Boston so long +as there was room for them, in the Castle. During the next seventeen +months the people made several formal protests against their presence in +town, and asked for their removal. But these protests were all fruitless +until innocent blood had been shed. The soldiers generally behaved no +worse than rough troopers on such occasions are apt to do, and the +townspeople for the most part preserved decorum, but quarrels now and +then occurred, and after a while became frequent. In September, 1769, +James Otis was brutally assaulted at the British Coffee House by one of +the commissioners of customs aided and abetted by two or three army +officers. His health was already feeble and in this affray he was struck +on the head with a sword and so badly injured that he afterward became +insane. After this the feeling of the people toward the soldiers was +more bitter than ever. In February, 1770, there was much disturbance. +Toward the end of the month an informer named Richardson fired from his +window into a crowd and killed a little boy about eleven years of age, +named Christopher Snyder. The funeral of this poor boy, the first victim +of the Revolution, was attended on Monday, the 26th, by a great +procession of citizens, including those foremost in wealth and +influence. + + [Sidenote: The "Boston Massacre."] + +The rest of that week was full of collisions which on Friday almost +amounted to a riot and led the governor's council to consider seriously +whether the troops ought not to be removed. But before they had settled +the question the crisis came on Monday evening, March 5, in an affray +before the Custom House on King street, when seven of Captain Preston's +company fired into the crowd, killing five men and wounding several +others. Two of the victims were innocent bystanders. Two were sailors +from ships lying in the harbour, and they, together with the remaining +victim, a ropemaker, had been actively engaged in the affray. One of the +sailors, a mulatto or half-breed Indian of gigantic stature, named +Crispus Attucks, had been especially conspicuous. The slaughter of these +five men secured in a moment what so many months of decorous protest had +failed to accomplish. Much more serious bloodshed was imminent when +Lieutenant-governor Hutchinson arrived upon the scene and promptly +arrested the offending soldiers. The next day there was an immense +meeting at the Old South, and Samuel Adams, at the head of a committee, +came into the council chamber at the Town House, and in the name of +three thousand freemen sternly commanded Hutchinson to remove the +soldiers from the town. Before sunset they had all been withdrawn to the +Castle. When the news reached the ears of Parliament there was some talk +of reinstating them in the town, but Colonel Barre cut short the +discussion with the pithy question, "if the officers agreed in removing +the soldiers to Castle William, what minister will dare to send them +back to Boston?" + + [Sidenote: Lord North, as prime minister removes all duties except + on tea, 1770.] + +Thus the so-called "Boston Massacre" wrought for the king a rebuff which +he felt perhaps even more keenly than the repeal of the Stamp Act. Not +only had his troops been peremptorily turned out of Boston, but his +policy had for the moment weakened in its hold upon Parliament. In the +summer of 1769 the assembly of Virginia adopted a very important series +of resolutions condemning the policy of Great Britain and recommending +united action on the part of the colonies in defence of their liberties. +The governor then dissolved the assembly, whereupon its members met in +convention at the Raleigh tavern and adopted a set of resolves prepared +by Washington, strictly forbidding importations from England until the +Townshend acts should be repealed. These resolves were generally adopted +by the colonies, and presently the merchants of London, finding their +trade falling off, petitioned Parliament to reconsider its policy. In +January, 1770, Lord North became prime minister. In April all the duties +were taken off, except the duty on tea, which the king insisted upon +retaining, in order to avoid surrendering the principle at issue. The +effect of even this partial concession was to weaken the spirit of +opposition in America, and to create a division among the colonies. In +July the merchants of New York refused to adhere any longer to the +non-importation agreement except with regard to tea, and they began +sending orders to England for various sorts of merchandise. Rhode Island +and New Hampshire also broke the agreement. This aroused general +indignation, and ships from the three delinquent colonies were driven +from such ports as Boston and Charleston. + + [Sidenote: Want of union.] + +Union among the colonies was indeed only skin deep. The only thing +which kept it alive was British aggression. Almost every colony had some +bone of contention with its neighbours. At this moment New York and New +Hampshire were wrangling over the possession of the Green Mountains, and +guerrilla warfare was going on between Connecticut and Pennsylvania in +the valley of Wyoming. It was hard to secure concerted action about +anything. For two years after the withdrawal of troops from Boston there +was a good deal of disturbance in different parts of the country; +quarrels between governors and their assemblies were kept up with +increasing bitterness; in North Carolina there was an insurrection +against the governor which was suppressed only after a bloody battle +near the Cape Fear river; in Rhode Island the revenue schooner Gaspee +was seized and burned, and when an order came from the ministry +requiring the offenders to be sent to England for trial, the +chief-justice of Rhode Island, Stephen Hopkins, refused to obey the +order. But amid all these disturbances there appeared nothing like +concerted action on the part of the colonies. In June, 1772, Hutchinson +said that the union of the colonies seemed to be broken, and he hoped it +would not be renewed, for he believed it meant separation from the +mother-country, and that he regarded as the worst of calamities. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE CRISIS. + + + [Sidenote: Salaries of the judges.] + +The surest way to renew and cement the union was to show that the +ministry had not relaxed in its determination to enforce the principle +of the Townshend acts. This was made clear in August, 1772, when it was +ordered that in Massachusetts the judges should henceforth be paid by +the crown. Popular excitement rose to fever heat, and the judges were +threatened with impeachment should they dare accept a penny from the +royal treasury. The turmoil was increased next year by the discovery in +London of the package of letters which were made to support the unjust +charge against Hutchinson and some of his friends that they had +instigated and aided the most extreme measures of the ministry. + + [Sidenote: Committees of Correspondence.] + +In the autumn of 1772 Hutchinson refused to call an extra session of the +assembly to consider what should be done about the judges. Samuel Adams +then devised a scheme by which the towns of Massachusetts could consult +with each other and agree upon some common course of action in case of +emergencies. For this purpose each town was to appoint a standing +committee, and as a great part of their work was necessarily done by +letter they were called "committees of correspondence." This was the +step that fairly organized the Revolution. It was by far the most +important of all the steps that preceded the Declaration of +Independence. The committees did their work with great efficiency and +the governor had no means of stopping it. They were like an invisible +legislature that was always in session and could never be dissolved; and +when the old government fell they were able to administer affairs until +a new government could be set up. In the spring of 1773 Virginia carried +this work of organization a long step further, when Dabney Carr +suggested and carried a motion calling for committees of correspondence +between the several colonies. From this point it was a comparatively +short step to a permanent Continental Congress. + +It happened that these preparations were made just in time to meet the +final act of aggression which brought on the Revolutionary War. The +Americans had thus far successfully resisted the Townshend acts and +secured the repeal of all the duties except on tea. As for tea they had +plenty, but not from England; they smuggled it from Holland in spite of +custom-houses and search-warrants. Clearly unless the Americans could be +made to buy tea from England and pay the duty on it, the king must own +himself defeated. + + [Sidenote: Tea ships sent by the king, as a challenge.] + +Since it appeared that they could not be forced into doing this, it +remained to be seen if they could be tricked into doing it. A truly +ingenious scheme was devised. Tea sent by the East India Company to +America had formerly paid a duty in some British port on the way. This +duty was now taken off, so that the price of the tea for America might +be lowered. The company's tea thus became so cheap that the American +merchant could buy a pound of it and pay the threepence duty beside for +less than it cost him to smuggle a pound of tea from Holland. It was +supposed that the Americans would of course buy the tea which they could +get most cheaply, and would thus be beguiled into submission to that +principle of taxation which they had hitherto resisted. Ships laden with +tea were accordingly sent in the autumn of 1773 to Boston, New York, +Philadelphia, and Charleston; and consignees were appointed to receive +the tea in each of these towns. + +Under the guise of a commercial operation, this was purely a political +trick. It was an insulting challenge to the American people, and merited +the reception which they gave it. They would have shown themselves +unworthy of their rich political heritage had they given it any other. +In New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston mass-meetings of the people +voted that the consignees should be ordered to resign their offices, and +they did so. At Philadelphia the tea-ship was met and sent back to +England before it had come within the jurisdiction of the custom-house. +At Charleston the tea was landed, and as there was no one to receive it +or pay the duty, it was thrown into a damp cellar and left there to +spoil. + + [Sidenote: How the challenge was received; the "Boston Tea Party," + Dec. 16, 1773.] + +In Boston things took a different turn. The stubborn courage of Governor +Hutchinson prevented the consignees, two of whom were his own sons, from +resigning; the ships arrived and were anchored under guard of a +committee of citizens; if they were not unloaded within twenty days, the +custom-house officers were empowered by law to seize them and unload +them by force; and having once come within the jurisdiction of the +custom-house, they could not go out to sea without a clearance from the +collector or a pass from the governor. The situation was a difficult +one, but it was most nobly met by the men of Massachusetts. The +excitement was intense, but the proceedings were characterized from +first to last by perfect quiet and decorum. In an earnest and solemn, +almost prayerful spirit, the advice of all the towns in the commonwealth +was sought, and the response was unanimous that the tea must on no +account whatever be landed. Similar expressions of opinion came from +other colonies, and the action of Massachusetts was awaited with +breathless interest. Many town-meetings were held in Boston, and the +owner of the ships was ordered to take them away without unloading; but +the collector contrived to fritter away the time until the nineteenth +day, and then refused a clearance. On the next day, the 16th of +December, 1773, seven thousand people were assembled in town-meeting in +and around the Old South Meeting-House, while the owner of the ships was +sent out to the governor's house at Milton to ask for a pass. It was +nightfall when he returned without it, and there was then but one thing +to be done. By sunrise next morning the revenue officers would board the +ships and unload their cargoes, the consignees would go to the +custom-house and pay the duty, and the king's scheme would have been +crowned with success. The only way to prevent this was to rip open the +tea-chests and spill their contents into the sea, and this was done, +according to a preconcerted plan and without the slightest uproar or +disorder, by a small party of men disguised as Indians. Among them were +some of the best of the townsfolk, and the chief manager of the +proceedings was Samuel Adams. The destruction of the tea has often been +spoken of, especially by British historians, as a "riot," but nothing +could have been less like a riot. It was really the deliberate action of +the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the only fitting reply to the +king's insulting trick. It was hailed with delight throughout the +thirteen colonies, and there is nothing in our whole history of which +an educated American should feel more proud. + + [Sidenote: The Retaliatory Acts, April, 1774.] + +The effect upon the king and his friends was maddening, and events were +quickly brought to a crisis. In spite of earnest opposition retaliatory +acts were passed through Parliament in April, 1774. One of these was the +Port Bill, for shutting up the port of Boston and stopping its trade +until the people should be starved and frightened into paying for the +tea that had been thrown overboard. Another was the Regulating Act, by +which the charter of Massachusetts was annulled, its free government +swept away, and a military governor appointed with despotic power like +Andros. These acts were to go into operation on the 1st of June, and on +that day Governor Hutchinson sailed for England, in the vain hope of +persuading the king to adopt a milder policy. It was not long before his +property was confiscated, like that of other Tories, and after six years +of exile he died in London. The new governor, Thomas Gage, who had long +been commander of the military forces in America, was a mild and +pleasant man without much strength of character. His presence was +endured but his authority was not recognized in Massachusetts. Troops +were now quartered again in Boston, but they could not prevent the +people from treating the Regulating Act with open contempt. Courts +organized under that act were prevented from sitting, and councillors +were compelled to resign their places. The king's authority was +everywhere quietly but doggedly defied. At the same time the stoppage of +business in Boston was the cause of much distress which all the colonies +sought to relieve by voluntary contributions of food and other needed +articles. + + [Sidenote: Continental Congress meets, Sept. 1774.] + +The events of the last twelve months had gone further than anything +before toward awakening a sentiment of union among the people of the +colonies. It was still a feeble sentiment, but it was strong enough to +make them all feel that Boston was suffering in the common cause. The +system of corresponding committees now ripened into the Continental +Congress, which held its first meeting at Philadelphia in September, +1774. Among the delegates were Samuel and John Adams, Robert Livingston, +John Rutledge, John Dickinson, Samuel Chase, Edmund Pendleton, Richard +Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, and George Washington. Their action was +cautious and conservative. They confined themselves for the present to +trying the effect of a candid statement of grievances, and drew up a +Declaration of Rights and other papers, which were pronounced by Lord +Chatham unsurpassed for ability in any age or country. In Parliament, +however, the king's friends were becoming all-powerful, and the only +effect produced by these papers was to goad them toward further attempts +at coercion. Massachusetts was declared to be in a state of rebellion, +as in truth she was. + + [Sidenote: The Suffolk Resolves, Sept. 1774.] + +While Samuel Adams was at Philadelphia, the lead in Boston was taken by +his friend Dr. Warren. In a county convention held at Milton in +September, Dr. Warren drew up a series of resolves which fairly set on +foot the Revolution. They declared that the Regulating Act was null and +void, and that a king who violates the chartered rights of his subjects +forfeits their allegiance; they directed the collectors of taxes to +refuse to pay the money collected to Gage's treasurer; and they +threatened retaliation in case Gage should venture to arrest any one for +political reasons. These bold resolves were adopted by the convention +and sanctioned by the Continental Congress. Next month the people of +Massachusetts formed a provisional government, and began organizing a +militia and collecting military stores at Concord and other inland +towns. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775.] + +General Gage's position at this time was a trying one for a man of his +temperament. In an unguarded moment he had assured the king that four +regiments ought to be enough to bring Massachusetts into an attitude of +penitence. Now Massachusetts was in an attitude of rebellion, and he +realized that he had not troops enough to command the situation. People +in England were blaming him for not doing something, and late in the +winter he received a positive order to arrest Samuel Adams and his +friend John Hancock, then at the head of the new provisional government +of Massachusetts, and send them to England to be tried for high treason. +On the 18th of April, 1775, these gentlemen were staying at a friend's +house in Lexington; and Gage that evening sent out a force of 800 men to +seize the military stores accumulated at Concord, with instructions to +stop on the way at Lexington and arrest Adams and Hancock. But Dr. +Warren divined the purpose of the movement, and his messenger, Paul +Revere, succeeded in forewarning the people, so that by the time the +troops arrived at Lexington the birds were flown. The soldiers fired +into a company of militia on Lexington common and slew eight or ten of +their number; but by the time they reached Concord the country was +fairly aroused and armed yeomanry were coming upon the scene by +hundreds. In a sharp skirmish the British were defeated and, without +having accomplished any of the objects of their expedition, began their +retreat toward Boston, hotly pursued by the farmers who fired from +behind walls and trees after the Indian fashion. A reinforcement of 1200 +men at Lexington saved the routed troops from destruction, but the +numbers of their assailants grew so rapidly that even this larger force +barely succeeded in escaping capture. At sunset the British reached +Charlestown after a march which was a series of skirmishes, leaving +nearly 300 of their number killed or wounded along the road. By that +time yeomanry from twenty-three townships had joined in the pursuit. The +alarm spread like wildfire through New England, and fresh bands of +militia arrived every hour. Within three days Israel Putnam and Benedict +Arnold had come from Connecticut and John Stark from New Hampshire, a +cordon of 16,000 men was drawn around Boston, and the siege of that town +was begun. + + [Sidenote: Capture of Ticonderoga, May 10, 1775.] + + [Sidenote: Washington appointed to command the army, June 15, 1775.] + + [Sidenote: Charles Lee.] + +The belligerent feeling in New England had now grown so strong as to +show itself in an act of offensive warfare. On the 10th of May, just +three weeks after Lexington, the fortresses at Ticonderoga and Crown +Point, controlling the line of communication between New York and +Canada, were surprised and captured by men from the Green Mountains and +Connecticut valley under Ethan Allen and Seth Warner. The Congress, +which met on that same day at Philadelphia, showed some reluctance in +sanctioning an act so purely offensive; but in its choice of a president +the spirit of defiance toward Great Britain was plainly shown. John +Hancock, whom the British commander-in-chief was under stringent orders +to arrest and send over to England to be tried for treason, was chosen +to that eminent position on the 24th of May. This showed that the +preponderance of sentiment in the country was in favour of supporting +the New England colonies in the armed struggle into which they had +drifted. This was still further shown two days later, when Congress in +the name of the "United Colonies of America" assumed the direction of +the rustic army of New England men engaged in the siege of Boston. As +Congress was absolutely penniless and had no power to lay taxes, it +proceeded to borrow L6000 for the purchase of gunpowder. It called for +ten companies of riflemen from Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, to +reinforce what was henceforth known as the Continental army; and on the +15th of June it appointed George Washington commander-in-chief. The +choice of Washington was partly due to the general confidence in his +ability and in his lofty character. In the French War he had won a +military reputation higher than that of any other American, and he was +already commander-in-chief of the forces of Virginia. But the choice was +also partly due to sound political reasons. The Massachusetts leaders, +especially Samuel Adams and his cousin John, were distrusted by some +people as extremists and fire-eaters. They wished to bring about a +declaration of independence, for they believed it to be the only +possible cure for the evils of the time. The leaders in other colonies, +upon which the hand of the British government had not borne so heavily, +had not yet advanced quite so far as this. Most of them believed that +the king could be brought to terms; they did not realize that he would +never give way because it was politically as much a life and death +struggle for him as for them. Washington was not yet clearly in favour +of independence, nor was Jefferson, who a twelvemonth hence was to be +engaged in writing the Declaration. It is doubtful if any of the leading +men as yet agreed with the Adamses, except Dr. Franklin, who had just +returned from England after his ten years' stay there, and knew very +well how little hope was to be placed in conciliatory measures. The +Adamses, therefore, like wise statesmen, were always on their guard lest +circumstances should drive Massachusetts in the path of rebellion faster +than the sister colonies were likely to keep pace with her. This was +what the king above all things wished, and by the same token it was what +they especially dreaded and sought to avoid. To appoint George +Washington to the chief command was to go a long way toward irrevocably +committing Virginia to the same cause with Massachusetts, and John Adams +was foremost in urging the appointment. Its excellence was obvious to +every one, and we hear of only two persons that were dissatisfied. One +of these was John Hancock, who coveted military distinction and was vain +enough to think himself fit for almost any position. The other was +Charles Lee, a British officer who had served in America in the French +War and afterward wandered about Europe as a soldier of fortune. He had +returned to America in 1773 in the hope of playing a leading part here. +He set himself up as an authority on military questions, and pretended +to be a zealous lover of liberty. He was really an unprincipled +charlatan for whom, the kindest thing that can be said is that perhaps +he was slightly insane. He had hoped to be appointed to the chief +command, and was disgusted when he found himself placed second among the +four major-generals. The first major-general was Artemas Ward of +Massachusetts; the third was Philip Schuyler of New York; the fourth was +Israel Putnam of Connecticut. Eight brigadier-generals were appointed, +among whom we may here mention Richard Montgomery of New York, William +Heath of Massachusetts, John Sullivan of New Hampshire, and Nathanael +Greene of Rhode Island. The adjutant-general, Horatio Gates, was an +Englishman who had served in the French War, and since then had lived in +Virginia. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775.] + +While Congress was appointing officers and making regulations for the +Continental army, reinforcements for the British had landed in Boston, +making their army 10,000 strong. The new troops were commanded by +General William Howe, a Whig who disapproved of the king's policy. With +him came Sir Henry Clinton and John Burgoyne, who were more in sympathy +with the king. Howe and Burgoyne were members of Parliament. On the +arrival of these reinforcements Gage prepared to occupy the heights in +Charlestown known as Breed's and Bunker's hills. These heights commanded +Boston, so that hostile batteries placed there would make it necessary +for the British to evacuate the town. On the night of June 16, the +Americans anticipated Gage in seizing the heights, and began erecting +fortifications on Breed's Hill. It was an exposed position for the +American force, which might easily have been cut off and captured if the +British had gone around by sea and occupied Charlestown Neck in the +rear. The British preferred to storm the American works. In two +desperate assaults, on the afternoon of the 17th, they were repulsed +with the loss of one-third of their number; and the third assault +succeeded only because the Americans were not supplied with powder. By +driving the Americans back to Winter Hill, the British won an important +victory and kept their hold upon Boston. The moral effect of the battle, +however, was in favour of the Americans, for it clearly indicated that +under proper circumstances they might exhibit a power of resistance +which the British would find it impossible to overcome. It was with +George III. as with Pyrrhus: he could not afford to win many victories +at such cost, for his supply of soldiers for America was limited, and +his only hope of success lay in inflicting heavy blows. In winning +Bunker Hill his troops were only holding their own; the siege of Boston +was not raised for a moment. + +The practical effect upon the British army was to keep it quiet for +several months. General Howe, who presently superseded Gage, was a brave +and well-trained soldier, but slothful in temperament. His way was to +strike a blow, and then wait to see what would come of it, hoping no +doubt that political affairs might soon take such a turn as to make it +unnecessary to go on with this fratricidal war. This was fortunate for +the Americans, for when Washington took command of the army at Cambridge +on the 3d of July, he saw that little or nothing could be done with that +army until it should be far better organized, disciplined, and equipped, +and in such work he found enough to occupy him for several months. + + [Sidenote: Last petition to the king; and its answer.] + +[Illustration: Invasion of Canada by Montgomery and Arnold.] + +Meanwhile Congress, at the instance of John Dickinson of Pennsylvania +and John Jay of New York, decided to try the effect of one more candid +statement of affairs, in the form of a petition to the king. This paper +reached London on the 14th of August, but the king refused to receive +it, although it was signed by the delegates as separate individuals and +not as members of an unauthorized or revolutionary body. His only answer +was a proclamation dated August 23, in which he called for volunteers +to aid in putting down the rebellion in America. At the same time he +opened negotiations with the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, the duke of +Brunswick, and other petty German princes, and succeeded in hiring +20,000 troops to be sent to fight against his American subjects. When +the news of this reached America it produced a profound effect. Perhaps +nothing done in that year went so far toward destroying the lingering +sentiment of loyalty. + + [Sidenote: Americans invade Canada, Aug., 1775--June, 1776.] + +In the spring Congress had hesitated about encouraging offensive +operations. In the course of the summer it was ascertained that the +governor of Canada, Sir Guy Carleton, was planning an invasion of +northern New York and hoping to obtain the cooeperation of the Six +Nations and the Tories of the Mohawk valley. Congress accordingly +decided to forestall him by invading Canada. Two lines of invasion were +adopted. Montgomery descended Lake Champlain with 2000 men, and after a +campaign of two months captured Montreal on the 12th of November. At the +same time Benedict Arnold and Daniel Morgan set out from Cambridge with +1200 men, and made their way through the wilderness of Maine, up the +valley of the Kennebec and down that of the Chaudiere, coming out upon +the St. Lawrence opposite Quebec on the 13th of November. This long +march through the primeval forest and over rugged and trackless +mountains was one of the most remarkable exploits of the war. It cost +the lives of 200 men, but besides this the rear-guard gave out and went +back to Cambridge, so that when Arnold reached Quebec he had only 700 +men, too few for an attack upon the town. After Montgomery joined him, +it was decided to carry the works by storm, but in the unsuccessful +assault on December 31, Montgomery was killed, Arnold disabled, and +Morgan taken prisoner. During the winter Carleton was reinforced until +he was able to recapture Montreal. The Americans were gradually driven +back, and by June, 1776, had retreated to Crown Point. Carleton then +resumed his preparations for invading New York. + + [Sidenote: Washington takes Boston, March 17, 1776.] + +While the northern campaign was progressing thus unfavourably, the +British were at length driven from Boston. Howe had unaccountably +neglected to occupy Dorchester heights, which commanded the town; and +Washington, after waiting till a sufficient number of heavy guns could +be collected, advanced on the night of March 4 and occupied them with +2000 men. His position was secure. The British had no alternative but to +carry it by storm or retire from Boston. Not caring to repeat the +experiment of Bunker Hill, they embarked on the 17th of March and sailed +to Halifax, where they busied themselves in preparations for an +expedition against New York. Late in April Washington transferred his +headquarters to New York, where he was able to muster about 8000 men for +its defence. Thus the line of the Hudson river was now threatened with +attack at both its upper and lower ends. + + [Sidenote: Lord Dunmore in Virginia.] + +This change in the seat of war marks the change that had come over the +political situation. It was no longer merely a rebellious Massachusetts +that must be subdued; it was a continental Union that must be broken up. +During the winter and spring the sentiment in favour of a declaration of +independence had rapidly grown in strength. In November, 1775, Lord +Dunmore, royal governor of Virginia, sought to intimidate the +revolutionary party by a proclamation offering freedom to such slaves as +would enlist under the king's banner. This aroused the country against +Dunmore, and in December he was driven from Norfolk and took refuge in a +ship of war. On New Year's Day he bombarded the town and laid it in +ashes from one end to the other. This violence rapidly made converts to +the revolutionary party, and further lessons were learned from the +experience of their neighbours in North Carolina. + + [Sidenote: North Carolina and Virginia.] + +That colony was the scene of fierce contests between Whigs and Tories. +As early as May 31, 1775, the patriots of Mecklenburg county had +adopted resolutions pointing toward independence and forwarded them to +their delegates in Congress, who deemed it impolitic, however, to lay +them before that body. Josiah Martin, royal governor of North Carolina, +was obliged to flee on board ship in July. He busied himself with plans +for the complete subjugation of the southern colonies, and corresponded +with the government in London, as well as with his Tory friends ashore. +In pursuance of these plans Sir Henry Clinton, with 2000 men, was +detached in January, 1776, from the army in Boston, and sent to the +North Carolina coast; a fleet under Sir Peter Parker was sent from +Ireland to meet him; and a force of 1600 Tories was gathered to assist +him as soon as he should arrive. But the scheme utterly failed. The +fleet was buffeted by adverse winds and did not arrive; the Tories were +totally defeated on February 27 in a sharp fight at Moore's Creek; and +Clinton, thus deprived of his allies, deemed it most prudent for a while +to keep his troops on shipboard. On the 12th of April the patriots of +North Carolina instructed their delegates in Congress to concur with +other delegates in a declaration of independence. On the 14th of May +Virginia went further, and instructed her delegates to propose such a +declaration. South Carolina, Georgia, and Rhode Island expressed a +willingness to concur in any measures which Congress might think best +calculated to promote the general welfare. In the course of May +town-meetings throughout Massachusetts expressed opinions unanimously in +favour of independence. + +Massachusetts had already, as long ago as July, 1775, framed a new +government in which the king was not recognized; and her example had +been followed by New Hampshire in January, 1776, and by South Carolina +in March. Now on the 15th of May Congress adopted a resolution advising +all the other colonies to form new governments, because the king had +"withdrawn his protection" from the American people, and all governments +deriving their powers from him were accordingly set aside as of no +account. This resolution was almost equivalent to a declaration of +independence, and it was adopted only after hot debate and earnest +opposition from the middle colonies. + + [Sidenote: Richard Henry Lee's motion in Congress.] + +On the 7th of June, in accordance with the instructions of May 14 from +Virginia, Richard Henry Lee submitted to Congress the following +resolutions:-- + +"That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and +independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the +British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the +State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; + +"That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for +forming foreign alliances; + +"That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the +respective colonies for their consideration and approbation." + +This motion of Virginia, in which Independence and Union went hand in +hand, was at once seconded by Massachusetts, as represented by John +Adams. It was opposed by John Dickinson and James Wilson of +Pennsylvania, and by Robert Livingston of New York, on the ground that +the people of the middle colonies were not yet ready to sever the +connection with the mother country. As the result of the discussion it +was decided to wait three weeks, in the hope of hearing from all those +colonies which had not yet declared themselves. + +The messages from those colonies came promptly enough. As for +Connecticut and New Hampshire, there could be no doubt; and their +declarations for independence, on the 14th and 15th of June +respectively, were simply dilatory expressions of their sentiments. They +were late, only because Connecticut had no need to form a new government +at all, while New Hampshire had formed one as long ago as January. Their +support of the proposed declaration of independence was already secured, +and it was only in the formal announcement of it that they were somewhat +belated. But with the middle colonies it was different. There the +parties were more evenly balanced, and it was not until the last moment +that the decision was clearly pronounced. This was not because they were +less patriotic than the other colonies, but because their direct +grievances were fewer, and up to this moment they had hoped that the +quarrel was one which a change of ministry in Great Britain might +adjust. In the earlier stages of the quarrel they had been ready enough +to join hands with Massachusetts and Virginia. It was only on this +irrevocable decision as to independence that they were slow to act. + + [Sidenote: The middle colonies.] + +But in the course of the month of June their responses to the invitation +of Congress came in,--from Delaware on the 14th, from New Jersey on the +22d, from Pennsylvania on the 24th, from Maryland on the 28th. This +action of the middle colonies was avowedly based on the ground that, in +any event, united action was the thing most to be desired; so that, +whatever their individual preferences might be, they were ready to +subordinate them to the interests of the whole country. The broad and +noble spirit of patriotism shown in their resolves is worthy of no less +credit than the bold action of the colonies which, under the stimulus of +direct aggression, first threw down the gauntlet to George III. + +On the 1st of July, when Lee's motion was taken up in Congress, all the +colonies had been heard from except New York. The circumstances of this +central colony were peculiar. We have already seen that the Tory party +was especially strong in New York. Besides this, her position was more +exposed to attack on all sides than that of any other state. As the +military centre of the Union, her territory was sure to be the scene of +the most desperate fighting. She was already threatened with invasion +from Canada. As a frontier state she was exposed to the incursions of +the terrible Iroquois, and as a sea-board state she was open to the +attack of the British fleet. At that time, moreover, the population of +New York numbered only about 170,000, and she ranked seventh among the +thirteen colonies. The military problem was therefore much harder for +New York than for Massachusetts or Virginia. Her risks were greater than +those of any other colony. For these reasons the Whig party in New York +found itself seriously hampered in its movements, and the 1st of July +arrived before their delegates in Congress had been instructed how to +vote on the question of independence. + + [Sidenote: Difficulties in New York.] + +Richard Henry Lee had been suddenly called home to Virginia by the +illness of his wife, and so the task of defending his motion fell upon +John Adams who had seconded it. His speech on that occasion was so able +that Thomas Jefferson afterward spoke of him as "the Colossus of that +debate." As Congress sat with closed doors and no report was made of +the speech, we have no definite knowledge of its arguments. Fifty years +afterwards, shortly after John Adams's death, Daniel Webster wrote an +imaginary speech containing what in substance he _might_ have said. The +principal argument in opposition was made by John Dickinson, who thought +that before the Americans finally committed themselves to a deadly +struggle with Great Britain, they ought to establish some stronger +government than the Continental Congress, and ought also to secure a +promise of help from some such country as France. This advice was +cautious, but it was not sound and practical. War had already begun, and +if we had waited to agree upon some permanent kind of government before +committing all the colonies to a formal defiance of Great Britain, there +was great danger that the enemy might succeed in breaking up the Union +before it was really formed. Besides, it is not likely that France would +ever have decided to go to war in our behalf until we had shown that we +were able to defend ourselves. It was now a time when the boldest advice +was the safest. + + [Sidenote: The Declaration of Independence, July 1 to 4, 1776.] + +During this debate on the 1st of July Congress was sitting as a +committee of the whole, and at the close of the day a preliminary vote +was taken. Like all the votes in the Continental Congress, it was taken +by colonies. The majority of votes in each delegation determined the +vote of that colony. Each colony had one vote, and two-thirds of the +whole number, or nine colonies against four, were necessary for a +decision. On this occasion the New York delegates did not vote at all, +because they had no instructions. One delegate from Delaware voted yea +and another nay; the third delegate, Caesar Rodney, had been down in the +lower counties of his little state, arguing against the loyalists. A +special messenger had been sent to hurry him back, but he had not yet +arrived, and so the vote of Delaware was divided and lost. Pennsylvania +declared in the negative by four votes against three. South Carolina +also declared in the negative. The other nine colonies all voted in the +affirmative, and so the resolution received just votes enough to carry +it. A very little more opposition would have defeated it, and would +probably have postponed the declaration for several weeks. + +The next day Congress took the formal vote upon the resolution. Mr. +Rodney had now arrived, so that the vote of Delaware was given in the +affirmative. John Dickinson and Robert Morris stayed away, so that +Pennsylvania was now secured for the affirmative by three votes against +two. Though Dickinson and Morris were so slow to believe it necessary or +prudent to declare independence, they were firm supporters of the +declaration after it was made. Without Morris, indeed, it is hard to +see how the Revolution could have succeeded. He was the great financier +of his time, and his efforts in raising money for the support of our +hard-pressed armies were wonderful. + +When the turn of the South Carolina delegates came they changed their +votes in order that the declaration might go forth to the world as the +unanimous act of the American people. The question was thus settled on +the 2d of July, and the next thing was to decide upon the form of the +declaration, which Jefferson, who was weak in debate but strong with the +pen, had already drafted. The work was completed on the 4th of July, +when Jefferson's draft was adopted and published to the world. Five days +afterward the state of New York declared her approval of these +proceedings. The Rubicon was crossed, and the thirteen English colonies +had become the United States of America. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE STRUGGLE FOR THE CENTRE. + + + [Sidenote: Lord Cornwallis.] + +While these things were going on at Philadelphia, the coast of South +Carolina, as well as the harbour of New York, was threatened by the +British fleet. When the delegates from South Carolina gave their votes +on the question of independence, they did not know but the revolutionary +government in Charleston might already have been taken captive or +scattered in flight. After a stormy voyage Sir Peter Parker's squadron +at length arrived off Cape Fear early in May, and joined Sir Henry +Clinton. Along with Sir Peter came an officer worthy of especial +mention. Charles, Earl Cornwallis, was then thirty-eight years old. He +had long served with distinction in the British army, and had lately +reached the grade of lieutenant-general. In politics he was a New Whig, +and had on several occasions signified his disapproval of the king's +policy toward America. As a commander his promptness and vigour +contrasted strongly with the slothfulness of General Howe. Cornwallis +was the ablest of the British generals engaged in the Revolutionary War, +and among the public men of his time there were few, if any, more +high-minded, disinterested, faithful, and pure. After the war was over, +he won great fame as governor-general of India from 1786 to 1794. He was +afterward raised to the rank of marquis and appointed lord-lieutenant of +Ireland. In 1805 he was sent out again to govern India, and died there. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Fort Moultrie, June 28, 1776.] + + [Sidenote: Lord Howe's effort toward conciliation.] + +On the arrival of the fleet it was decided to attack and capture +Charleston, and overthrow the new government there. General Charles Lee +was sent down by Congress to defend the city, but the South Carolina +patriots proved quite able to take care of themselves. On Sullivan's +Island in Charleston harbour Colonel William Moultrie built a low +elastic fortress of palmetto logs supported by banks of sand and +mounting several heavy guns. In the cannonade which took place on the +28th of June this rude structure escaped with little injury, while its +guns inflicted such serious damage upon the fleet that the British were +obliged to abandon for the present all thought of taking Charleston. In +the course of July they sailed for New York harbour to reinforce General +Howe. On the 12th of that month the general's brother, Richard, Lord +Howe, arrived at Staten Island to take the chief command of the fleet. +He was one of the ablest seamen of his time, and was a favourite with +his sailors, by whom, on account of his swarthy complexion, he was +familiarly known as "Black Dick." Lord Howe and his brother were +authorized to offer terms to the Americans and endeavour to restore +peace by negotiation. It was not easy, however, to find any one in +America with whom to negotiate. Lord Howe was sincerely desirous of +making peace and doing something to heal the troubles which had brought +on the war; and he seems to have supposed that some good might be +effected by private interviews with leading Americans. To send a message +to Congress was, of course, not to be thought of; for that would be +equivalent to recognizing Congress as a body entitled to speak for the +American people. He brought with him an assurance of amnesty and pardon +for all such rebels as would lay down their arms, and decided that it +would be best to send it to the American commander; but as it was not +proper to recognize the military rank which had been conferred upon +Washington by a revolutionary body, he addressed his message to "George +Washington, Esq.," as to a private citizen. When Washington refused to +receive such a message, his lordship could think of no one else to +approach except the royal governors. But they had all fled, except +Governor Franklin of New Jersey, who was under close confinement in East +Windsor, Connecticut. All British authority in the United States had +disappeared, and there was no one for Lord Howe to negotiate with, +unless he should bethink himself of some way of laying his case before +Congress. + + [Sidenote: Change in the British military plan, due to the union of + the colonies in the Declaration of Independence.] + +Military operations were now taken up in earnest by the British, and +were briskly carried on for nearly six months. They were for the most +part concentrated upon the state of New York. Before 1776 it was +Massachusetts that was the chief object of military measures on the part +of the British. That was the colony that since the summer of 1774 had +defied the king's troops and set at naught the authority of Parliament; +and the first object of the British was to make an example of that +colony, to suppress the rebellion there, and to reinstate the royal +government. The king believed that it would not take long to do this, +and there is some reason for supposing that if he had succeeded in +humbling Massachusetts, he would have been ready to listen to +Hutchinson's request that the vindictive acts of April, 1774, should be +repealed and the charter restored. At all events, he seems to have felt +confident that things could soon be made so quiet that Hutchinson could +return and resume the office of governor. If the king and his friends +had not entertained such ill-founded hopes, they would not have been so +ready to resort to violent measures. They made the fatal mistake of +supposing that such a man as Samuel Adams represented only a small +party and not the majority of the people. They had also supposed that +the other colonies would not make common cause with Massachusetts. But +now, before they had accomplished any of their objects, and while their +troops had even been driven from Boston, they found that the rebellion +had spread through the whole country. They had a belligerent government +to confront, and must now enter upon the task of conquering the United +States. + + [Sidenote: Why the British concentrated their attack upon the state + of New York.] + +The first and most obvious method of attempting this was to strike at +New York as the military centre. In such a plan everything seemed to +favour the British. The state was comparatively weak in population and +resources; a large proportion of the people were Tories; and close at +hand on the frontier, which was then in the Mohawk valley, were the most +formidable Indians on the continent. These Iroquois had long been under +the influence of the famous Sir William Johnson, of Johnson Hall, near +Schenectady, and his son Sir John Johnson. Their principal sachem, +Joseph Brant, or Thayendanegea, was connected by the closest bonds of +friendship with the Johnsons, and the latter were staunch Tories. It +might reasonably be expected that the entire force of these Indians +could be enlisted on the British side. The work for the regular army +seemed thus to be reduced to the single problem of capturing the city +of New York and obtaining full control of the Hudson river. + +If this could be done, the United States would be cut in two. As the +Americans had no ships of war, they could not dispute the British +command of the water. There was no way in which the New England states +could hold communication with the South except across the southern part +of the state of New York. To gain this central position would thus be to +deal a fatal blow to the American cause, and it seemed to the British +government that, with the forces now in the field, this ought easily to +be accomplished. General Carleton was ready to come down from the north +by way of Lake Champlain, with 12,000 men, and General Schuyler could +scarcely muster half as many to oppose him. On Staten Island there were +more than 25,000 British troops ready to attack New York, while +Washington's utmost exertions had succeeded in getting together only +about 18,000 men for the defence of the city. The American army was as +yet very poor in organization and discipline, badly equipped, and +scantily fed; and it seemed very doubtful whether it could long keep the +field in the presence of superior forces. + + [Sidenote: Washington's military genius.] + +But in spite of all these circumstances, so favourable to the British, +there was one obstacle to their success upon which at first they did not +sufficiently reckon. That obstacle was furnished by the genius and +character of the wonderful man who commanded the American army. In +Washington were combined all the highest qualities of a general,--dogged +tenacity of purpose, endless fertility in resource, sleepless vigilance, +and unfailing courage. No enemy ever caught him unawares, and he never +let slip an opportunity of striking back. He had a rare geographical +instinct, always knew where the strongest position was, and how to reach +it. He was a master of the art of concealing his own plan and detecting +his adversary's. He knew better than to hazard everything upon the +result of a single contest, and because of the enemy's superior force he +was so often obliged to refuse battle that some of his impatient critics +called him slow; but no general was ever quicker in dealing heavy blows +when the proper moment arrived. He was neither unduly elated by victory +nor discouraged by defeat. When all others lost heart he was bravest; +and at the very moment when ruin seemed to stare him in the face, he was +craftily preparing disaster and confusion for the enemy. + +To the highest qualities of a military commander there were united in +Washington those of a political leader. From early youth he possessed +the art of winning men's confidence. He was simple without awkwardness, +honest without bluntness, and endowed with rare discretion and tact. His +temper was fiery and on occasion he could use pretty strong language, +but anger or disappointment was never allowed to disturb the justice and +kindness of his judgment. Men felt themselves safe in putting entire +trust in his head and his heart, and they were never deceived. Thus he +soon obtained such a hold upon the people as few statesmen have ever +possessed. It was this grand character that, with his clear intelligence +and unflagging industry, enabled him to lead the nation triumphantly +through the perils of the Revolutionary War. He had almost every +imaginable hardship to contend with,--envious rivals, treachery and +mutiny in the camp, interference on the part of Congress, jealousies +between the states, want of men and money; yet all these difficulties he +vanquished. Whether victorious or defeated on the field, he baffled the +enemy in the first year's great campaign and in the second year's, and +then for four years more upheld the cause until heart-sickening delay +was ended in glorious triumph. It is very doubtful if without Washington +the struggle for independence would have succeeded as it did. Other men +were important, he was indispensable. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Long Island, Aug. 27, 1776.] + +The first great campaign began, as might have been expected, with defeat +on the field. In order to keep possession of the city of New York it was +necessary to hold Brooklyn Heights. That was a dangerous position for an +American force, because it was entirely separated from New York by deep +water, and could thus be cut off from the rest of the American army by +the enemy's fleet. It was necessary, however, for Washington either to +occupy Brooklyn Heights or to give up the city of New York without a +struggle. But the latter course was out of the question. It would never +do to abandon the Whigs in New York to the tender mercies of the Tories, +without at least one good fight. So the position in Brooklyn must be +fortified, and there was perhaps one chance in a hundred that, through +some blunder of the enemy, we might succeed in holding it. Accordingly +9000 men were stationed on Brooklyn Heights under Putnam, who threw +forward about half of this force, under Sullivan and Stirling, to defend +the southern approaches through the rugged country between Gowanus bay +and Bedford. On the 22d of August General Howe crossed from Staten +Island to Gravesend bay with 20,000 men, and on the 27th he defeated +Sullivan and Stirling in what has ever since been known as the battle of +Long Island. About 400 men were killed and wounded on each side, and +1000 Americans, including both generals, were taken captive. A more +favourable result for the Americans was not to be expected, as the +British outnumbered them four to one, and could therefore march where +they pleased and turn the American flank without incurring the slightest +risk. The wonder is, not that 5000 half-trained soldiers were defeated +by 20,000 veterans, but that they should have given General Howe a good +day's work in defeating them. + + [Sidenote: Washington's skilful retreat.] + +The American forces were now withdrawn into their works on Brooklyn +Heights, and Howe advanced to besiege them. During the next two days +Washington collected boats and on the night of the 29th conveyed the +army across the East River to New York. With the enemy's fleet +patrolling the harbour and their army watching the works, this was a +most remarkable performance. To this day one cannot understand, unless +on the supposition that the British were completely dazed and +moonstruck, how Washington could have done it. + + [Sidenote: Howe takes New York, Sept. 15, 1776.] + +People were much disheartened by the defeat on Long Island and the +immediate prospect of losing New York. Lord Howe turned his thoughts +once more to negotiation, and at length, on September 11, succeeded in +obtaining an informal interview with Franklin, John Adams, and Edward +Rutledge. But nothing was accomplished, and seventeen eventful months +elapsed before the British again seriously tried negotiation. General +Howe had extended his lines northward, and on the 15th his army crossed +the East River in boats, and landed near the site of Thirty-Fourth +street. On the same day Washington completed the work of evacuating the +city. His army was drawn up across the island from the mouth of Harlem +river to Fort Washington, and over on the Jersey side of the Hudson, +opposite Fort Washington, a detachment occupied Fort Lee. It was hoped +that these two forts would be able to prevent British ships from going +up the Hudson river, but this hope soon proved to be delusive. + +On the 16th General Howe tried to break through the centre of +Washington's position at Harlem Heights, but after losing 300 men he +gave up the attempt, and spent the next three weeks in studying the +situation. A sad incident came now to remind the people of the sternness +of military law. Nathan Hale, a young graduate of Yale College, captain +of a company of Connecticut rangers, had been for several days within +the British lines gathering information. Just as he had accomplished his +purpose, and was on the point of departing with his memoranda, he was +arrested as a spy and hanged next morning, lamenting on the gallows that +he had but one life to lose for his country. + + [Sidenote: Battle of White Plains, Oct. 28, 1776.] + +As Howe deemed it prudent not to attack Washington in front, he tried to +get around into his rear, and began on October 12 by landing a large +force at Throg's Neck, in the Sound. But Washington baffled him by +changing front, swinging his left wing northward as far as White Plains. +After further reflection Howe decided to try a front attack once more; +on the 28th he assaulted the position at White Plains, and carried one +of the outposts, losing twice as many men as the Americans. Not wishing +to continue the fight at such a disadvantage he paused again, and +Washington improved the occasion by retiring to a still stronger +position at Northcastle. These movements had separated Washington's main +body from his right wing at Forts Washington and Lee, and Howe now +changed his plan. Desisting from the attempt against the American main +body, he moved southward against this exposed wing. + +A sad catastrophe now followed, which showed how many obstacles +Washington had to contend with. It was known that Carleton's army was on +the way from Canada. Congress was nervously afraid of losing its hold +upon the Hudson river, and Washington accordingly selected West Point as +the strongest position upon the river, to be fortified and defended at +all hazards. He sent Heath, with 3000 men, to hold the Highland passes, +and went up himself to inspect the situation and give directions about +the new fortifications. He left 7000 of his main body at Northcastle, in +charge of Lee, who had just returned from South Carolina. He sent 5000, +under Putnam, across the river to Hackensack; and ordered Greene, who +had some 5000 men at Forts Washington and Lee, to prepare to evacuate +both those strongholds and join his forces to Putnam's. + +If these orders had been carried out, Howe's movement against Fort +Washington would have accomplished but little, for on reaching that +place, he would have found nothing but empty works, as at Brooklyn. The +American right wing would have been drawn together at Hackensack, and +the whole army could have been concentrated on either bank of the great +river, as the occasion might seem to require. If Howe should aim at the +Highlands, it could be kept close to the river and cover all the passes. +If, on the other hand, Howe should threaten the Congress at +Philadelphia, the whole army could be collected in New Jersey to hold +him in check. + + [Sidenote: Howe takes Fort Washington, Nov. 16, 1776.] + +But Washington's orders were not obeyed. Congress was so uneasy that it +sent word to Greene to hold both his forts as long as he could. +Accordingly he strengthened the garrison at Fort Washington, just in +time for Howe to overwhelm and capture it, on the 16th of November, +after an obstinate resistance. In killed and wounded the British loss +was three times as great as that of the garrison, but the Americans were +in no condition to afford the loss of 8000 men taken prisoners. It was a +terrible blow. On the 19th Greene barely succeeded in escaping from Fort +Lee, with his remaining 2000 men, but without his cannon and stores. + + [Sidenote: Treachery of Charles Lee.] + +Bad as the situation was, however, it did not become really alarming +until it was complicated with the misconduct of General Lee. Washington +had returned from West Point on the 14th, too late to prevent the +catastrophe; but after all it was only necessary for Lee's wing of the +army to cross the river, and there would be a solid force of 14,000 men +on the Jersey side, able to confront the enemy on something like equal +terms, for Howe had to keep a good many of his troops in New York. On +the 17th Washington ordered Lee to come over and join him; but Lee +disobeyed, and in spite of repeated orders from Washington he stayed at +Northcastle till the 2d of December. General Ward had some time since +resigned, so that Lee now ranked next to Washington. A good many people +were finding fault with the latter for losing the 3000 men at Fort +Washington, although, as we have seen, that was not his fault but the +fault of Congress. Lee now felt that if Washington were ruined, he would +surely become his successor in the command of the army, and so, instead +of obeying his orders, he spent his time in writing letters calculated +to injure him. + + [Sidenote: Washington's retreat through New Jersey.] + +Lee's disobedience thus broke the army in two, and did more for the +British than they had been able to do for themselves since they started +from Staten Island. It was the cause of Washington's flight through New +Jersey, ending on the 8th of December, when he put himself behind the +Delaware river, with scarcely 3000 men. Here was another difficulty. The +American soldiers were enlisted for short terms, and when they were +discouraged, as at present, they were apt to insist upon going home as +soon as their time had expired. It was generally believed that +Washington's army would thus fall to pieces within a few days. Howe did +not think it worth while to be at the trouble of collecting boats +wherewith to follow him across the Delaware. Congress fled to Baltimore. +People in New Jersey began taking the oath of allegiance to the crown. +Howe received the news that he had been knighted for his victory on Long +Island, and he returned to New York to celebrate the occasion. + + [Sidenote: Arnold's naval battle at Valcour Island, Oct. 11, 1776.] + +While the case looked so desperate for Washington, events at the north +had taken a less unfavourable turn. Carleton had embarked on Lake +Champlain early in the autumn with his fine army and fleet. Arnold had +fitted up a small fleet to oppose his advance, and on the 11th of +October there had been a fierce naval battle between the two near +Valcour Island, in which Arnold was defeated, while Carleton suffered +serious damage. The British general then advanced upon Ticonderoga, but +suddenly made up his mind that the season was too late for operations in +that latitude. The resistance he had encountered seems to have made him +despair of achieving any speedy success in that quarter, and on the 3d +of November he started back for Canada. This retreat relieved General +Schuyler at Albany of immediate cause for anxiety, and presently he +detached seven regiments to go southward to Washington's assistance. + + [Sidenote: Charles Lee is captured by British dragoons, + Dec. 13, 1776.] + +On the 2d of December Lee crossed the Hudson with 4000 men, and +proceeded slowly to Morristown. Just what he designed to do was never +known, but clearly he had no intention of going beyond the Delaware to +assist Washington, whom he believed to be ruined. Perhaps he thought +Morristown a desirable position to hold, as it certainly was. Whatever +his plans may have been, they were nipped in the bud. For some unknown +reason he passed the night of the 12th at an unguarded tavern, about +four miles from his army; and there he was captured next morning by a +party of British dragoons, who carried him off to their camp at +Princeton. The dragoons were very gleeful over this unexpected exploit, +but really they could not have done the Americans a greater service than +to rid them of such a worthless creature. The capture of Lee came in the +nick of time, for it set free his men to go to the aid of Washington. +Even after this force and that sent by Schuyler had reached the +commander-in-chief, he found he had only 6000 men fit for duty. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Trenton, Dec. 26, 1776.] + +[Illustration: Washington's Campaigns IN NEW JERSEY & PENNSYLVANIA.] + +With this little force Washington instantly took the offensive. It was +the turning-point in his career and in the history of the Revolutionary +War. On Christmas, 1776, and the following nine days, all Washington's +most brilliant powers were displayed. The British centre, 10,000 strong, +lay at Princeton. The principal generals, thinking the serious business +of the war ended, had gone to New York. An advanced party of Hessians, +1000 strong, was posted on the bank of the Delaware at Trenton, and +another one lower down, at Burlington. Washington decided to attack both +these outposts, and arranged his troops accordingly, but when Christmas +night arrived, the river was filled with great blocks of floating ice, +and the only division which succeeded in crossing was the one that +Washington led in person. It was less than 2500 in number, but the +moment had come when the boldest course was the safest. By daybreak +Washington had surprised the Hessians at Trenton and captured them all. +The outpost at Burlington, on hearing the news, retreated to Princeton. +By the 31st Washington had got all his available force across to +Trenton. Some of them were raw recruits just come in to replace others +who had just gone home. At this critical moment the army was nearly +helpless for want of money, and on New Year's morning Robert Morris was +knocking at door after door in Philadelphia, waking up his friends to +borrow the fifty thousand dollars which he sent off to Trenton before +noon. The next day Cornwallis arrived at Princeton, and taking with him +all the army, except a rear-guard of 2000 men left to protect his +communications, came on toward Trenton. + +When he reached that town, late in the afternoon, he found Washington +entrenched behind a small creek just south of the town, with his back +toward the Delaware river. "Oho!" said Cornwallis, "at last we have run +down the old fox, and we will bag him in the morning." He sent back to +Princeton, and ordered the rear-guard to come up. He expected next +morning to cross the creek above Washington's right, and then press him +back against the broad and deep river, and compel him to surrender. +Cornwallis was by no means a careless general, but he seems to have gone +to bed on that memorable night and slept the sleep of the just. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Princeton, Jan. 3, 1777.] + +Washington meanwhile was wide awake. He kept his front line noisily at +work digging and entrenching, and made a fine show with his campfires. +Then he marched his army to the right and across the creek, and got +around Cornwallis's left wing and into his rear, and so went on gayly +toward Princeton. At daybreak he encountered the British rear-guard, +fought a sharp battle with it and sent it flying, with the loss of +one-fourth of its number. The booming guns aroused Cornwallis too late. +To preserve his communications with New York, he was obliged to retreat +with all haste upon New Brunswick, while Washington's victorious army +pushed on and occupied the strong position at Morristown. + +There was small hope of dislodging such a general from such a position. +But to leave Washington in possession of Morristown was to resign to him +the laurels of this half-year's work. For that position guarded the +Highlands of the Hudson on the one hand, and the roads to Philadelphia +on the other. Except that the British had taken the city of New +York--which from the start was almost a foregone conclusion--they were +no better off than in July when Lord Howe had landed on Staten Island. +In nine days the tables had been completely turned. The attack upon an +outpost had developed into a campaign which quite retrieved the +situation. The ill-timed interference of Congress, which had begun the +series of disasters, was remedied; the treachery of Lee was checkmated; +and the cause of American Independence, which on Christmas Eve had +seemed hopeless, was now fairly set on its feet. Earlier successes had +been local; this was continental. Seldom has so much been done with such +slender means. + + [Sidenote: Effects of the campaign, in Europe.] + +The American war had begun to awaken interest in Europe, especially in +France, whither Franklin, with Silas Deane and Arthur Lee, had been +sent to seek for military aid. The French government was not yet ready +to make an alliance with the United States, but money and arms were +secretly sent over to Congress. Several young French nobles had asked +the king's permission to go to America, but it was refused, and for the +sake of keeping up appearances the refusal had something of the air of a +reprimand. The king did not wish to offend Great Britain prematurely. +One of these nobles was Lafayette, then eighteen years of age, who +fitted up a ship at his own expense, and sailed from Bordeaux in April, +1777, in spite of the royal prohibition, taking with him Kalb and other +officers. Lafayette and Kalb, with the Poles, Kosciuszko and Pulaski, +who had come some time before, and the German Steuben, who came in the +following December, were the five most eminent foreigners who received +commissions in the Continental army. + + [Sidenote: Difficulty in raising an army.] + +During the winter season at Morristown the efforts of Washington were +directed toward the establishment of a regular army to be kept together +for three years or so long as the war should last. Hitherto the military +preparations of Congress had been absurdly weak. Squads of militia had +been enlisted for terms of three or six months, as if there were any +likelihood of the war being ended within such a period. While the men +thus kept coming and going, it was difficult either to maintain +discipline or to carry out any series of military operations. +Accordingly Congress now proceeded to call upon the states for an army +of 80,000 men to serve during the war. The enlisting was to be done by +the states, but the money was to be furnished by Congress. Not half that +number of men were actually obtained. The Continental army was larger in +1777 than in any other year, but the highest number it reached was only +34,820. In addition to these about 34,000 militia turned out in the +course of the year. An army of 80,000 would have taken about the same +proportion of all the fighting men in the country as an army of +1,000,000 in our great Civil War. Now in our Civil War the Union army +grew with the occasion until it numbered more than 1,000,000. But in the +Revolutionary War the Continental army was not only never equal to the +occasion, but it kept diminishing till in 1781 it numbered only 13,292. +This was because the Continental Congress had no power to enforce its +decrees. It could only _ask_ for troops and it could only _ask_ for +money. It found just the same difficulty in getting anything that the +British ministry and the royal governors used to find,--the very same +difficulty that led Grenville to devise the Stamp Act. Everything had to +be talked over in thirteen different legislatures, one state would wait +to see what another was going to do, and meanwhile Washington was +expected to fight battles before his army was fit to take the field. +Something was gained, no doubt, by Congress furnishing the money. But as +Congress could not tax anybody, it had no means of raising a revenue, +except to beg, borrow, or issue its promissory notes, the so-called +Continental paper currency. + + [Sidenote: The British plan for conquering New York in 1777.] + +While Congress was trying to raise an adequate army, the British +ministry laid its plans for the summer campaign. The conquest of the +state of New York must be completed at all hazards; and to this end a +threefold system of movements was devised:-- + +_First_, the army in Canada was to advance upon Ticonderoga, capture it, +and descend the Hudson as far as Albany. This work was now entrusted to +General Burgoyne. + +_Secondly_, in order to make sure of efficient support from the Six +Nations and the Tories of the frontier, a small force under Colonel +Barry St. Leger was to go up the St. Lawrence to Lake Ontario, land at +Oswego, and march down the Mohawk valley to reinforce Burgoyne on the +Hudson. + +_Thirdly_, after leaving a sufficient force to hold the city of New +York, the main army, under Sir William Howe, was to ascend the Hudson, +capture the forts in the Highlands, and keep on to Albany, so as to +effect a junction with Burgoyne and St. Leger. + +It was thought that such an imposing display of military force would +make the Tory party supreme in New York, put an end to all resistance +there, and effectually cut the United States in two. Then if the +southern states on the one hand and the New England states on the other +did not hasten to submit, they might afterward be attacked separately +and subdued. + +In this plan the ministry made the fatal mistake of underrating the +strength of the feeling which, from one end of the United States to the +other, was setting itself every day more and more decidedly against the +Tories and in favour of independence. This feeling grew as fast as the +anti-slavery feeling grew among the northern people during our Civil +War. In 1861 President Lincoln thought it necessary to rebuke his +generals who were too forward in setting free the slaves of persons +engaged in rebellion against the United States. In 1862 he announced his +purpose to emancipate all such slaves; and then it took less than three +years to put an end to slavery forever. It was just so with the +sentiment in favour of separation from Great Britain. In July, 1775, +Thomas Jefferson expressly declared that the Americans had not raised +armies with any intention of declaring their independence of the +mother-country. In July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence, written +by Jefferson, was proclaimed to the world, though the consent of the +middle colonies and of South Carolina seemed somewhat reluctant. By the +summer of 1777 the Tories were almost everywhere in a hopeless minority. +Every day of warfare, showing Great Britain more and more clearly as an +enemy to be got rid of, diminished their strength; so that, even in New +York and South Carolina, where they were strongest, it would not do for +the British ministry to count too much upon any support they might give. + +It was natural enough that King George and his ministers should fail to +understand all this, but their mistake was their ruin. If they had +understood that Burgoyne's march from Lake Champlain to the Hudson river +was to be a march through a country thoroughly hostile, perhaps they +would not have been so ready to send him on such a dangerous expedition. +It would have been much easier and safer to have sent his army by sea to +New York, to reinforce Sir William Howe. Threatening movements might +have been made by some of the Canada forces against Ticonderoga, so as +to keep Schuyler busy in that quarter; and then the army at New York, +thus increased to nearly 40,000 men, might have had a fair chance of +overwhelming Washington by sheer weight of numbers. Such a plan might +have failed, but it is not likely that it would have led to the +surrender of the British army. And if they could have disposed of +Washington, the British might have succeeded. It was more necessary for +them to get rid of him than to march up and down the valley of the +Hudson. But it was not strange that they did not see this as we do. It +is always easy enough to be wise after things have happened. + +Even as it was, if their plan had really been followed, they might have +succeeded. If Howe's army had gone up to meet Burgoyne, the history of +the year 1777 would have been very different from what it was. We shall +presently see why it did not do so. Let us now recount the fortunes of +Burgoyne and St. Leger. + + [Sidenote: Burgoyne takes Ticonderoga, July 5, 1777.] + +Burgoyne came up Lake Champlain in June, and easily won Ticonderoga, +because the Americans had failed to secure a neighbouring position which +commanded the fortress. Burgoyne took Ticonderoga from Mount Defiance, +just as the Americans would have taken Boston from Bunker Hill, if they +had been able to stay there, just as they afterward did take it from +Dorchester Heights, and just as Howe took New York after he had won +Brooklyn Heights. When you have secured a position from which you can +kill the enemy twice as fast as he can kill you, he must of course +retire from the situation; and the sooner he goes, the better chance he +has of living to fight another day. The same principle worked in all +these cases, and it worked with General Howe at Harlem Heights and at +White Plains. + + [Sidenote: Schuyler and Gates.] + +When it was known that Burgoyne had taken Ticonderoga, there was +dreadful dismay in America and keen disappointment among those Whigs in +England whose declared sympathies were with us. George III. was beside +himself with glee, and thought that the Americans were finally defeated +and disposed of. But they were all mistaken. The garrison of Ticonderoga +had taken the alarm and retreated, so that Burgoyne captured only an +empty fortress. He left 1000 men in charge of it, and then pressed on +into the wilderness between Lake Champlain and the upper waters of the +Hudson river. His real danger was now beginning to show itself, and +every day it could be seen more distinctly. He was plunging into a +forest, far away from all possible support from behind, and as he went +on he found that there were not Tories enough in that part of the +country to be of any use to him. As Burgoyne advanced, General Schuyler +prudently retreated, and used up the enemy's time by breaking down +bridges and putting every possible obstacle in his way. Schuyler was a +rare man, thoroughly disinterested and full of sound sense; but he had +many political enemies who were trying to pull him down. A large part of +his army was made up of New England men, who hated him partly for the +mere reason that he was a New Yorker, and partly because as such he had +taken part in the long quarrel between New York and New Hampshire over +the possession of the Green Mountains. The disaffection toward Schuyler +was fomented by General Horatio Gates, who had for some time held +command under him, but was now in Philadelphia currying favour with the +delegates in Congress, especially with those from New England, in the +hope of getting himself appointed to the command of the northern army in +Schuyler's place. Gates was an extremely weak man, but so vain that he +really believed himself equal to the highest command that Congress could +be persuaded to give him. On the battle-field he seems to have been +wanting even in personal courage, as he certainly was in power to handle +his troops; but in society he was quite a lion. He had a smooth +courteous manner and a plausible tongue which paid little heed to the +difference between truth and falsehood. His lies were not very +ingenious, and so they were often detected and pointed out. But while +many people were disgusted by his selfishness and trickery, there were +always some who insisted that he was a great genius. History can point +to a good many men like General Gates. Such men sometimes shine for a +while, but sooner or later they always come to be recognized as humbugs. + +[Illustration: BURGOYNE'S CAMPAIGN.] + + [Sidenote: Battle of Hubbardton, July 7, 1777.] + +While Gates was intriguing, Schuyler was doing all in his power to +impede the enemy's progress. It was on the night of July 5 that the +garrison of Ticonderoga, under General St. Clair, had abandoned the +fortress and retreated southward. On the 7th a battle was fought at +Hubbardton between St. Clair's rear, under Seth Warner, and a portion of +the British army under Fraser and Riedesel. Warner was defeated, but +only after such an obstinate resistance as to check the pursuit, so that +by the 12th St. Clair was able to bring his retreating troops in safety +to Fort Edward, where they were united with Schuyler's army. Schuyler +managed his obstructions so well that Burgoyne's utmost efforts were +required to push into the wilderness at the rate of one mile per day; +and meanwhile Schuyler was collecting a force of militia in the Green +Mountains, under General Lincoln, to threaten Burgoyne in the rear and +cut off his communications with Lake Champlain. + +Burgoyne was accordingly marching into a trap, and Schuyler was doing +the best that could be done. But on the first of August the intrigue +against him triumphed in Congress, and Gates was appointed to supersede +him in the command of the northern army. Gates, however, did not arrive +upon the scene until the 19th of August, and by that time Burgoyne's +situation was evidently becoming desperate. + +On the last day of July Burgoyne reached Fort Edward, which Schuyler +had evacuated just before. Schuyler crossed the Hudson river, and +continued his retreat to Stillwater, about thirty miles above Albany. It +was as far as the American retreat was to go. Burgoyne was already +getting short of provisions, and before he could advance much further he +needed a fresh supply of horses to drag the cannon and stores. He began +to realize, when too late, that he had come far into an enemy's country. +The hostile feelings of the people were roused to fury by the atrocities +committed by the Indians employed in Burgoyne's army. The British +supposed that the savages would prove very useful as scouts and guides, +and that by offers of reward and threats of punishment they might be +restrained from deeds of violence. They were very unruly, however, and +apt to use the tomahawk when they found a chance. + + [Sidenote: Jane McCrea.] + +The sad death of Miss Jane McCrea has been described in almost as many +ways as there have been people to describe it, but no one really knows +how it happened. What is really known is that, on the 27th of July, +while Miss McCrea was staying with her friend Mrs. McNeil, near Fort +Edward, a party of Indians burst into the house and carried off both +ladies. They were pursued by some American soldiers, and a few shots +were exchanged. In the course of the scrimmage the party got scattered, +and Mrs. McNeil was taken alone to the British camp. Next day an Indian +came into the camp with Miss McCrea's scalp, which her friend recognized +from its long silky hair. A search was made, and the body of the poor +girl was found lying near a spring, pierced with three bullet-wounds. +The Indian's story, that she was accidentally killed by a volley from +the American soldiers, may well enough have been true. It is also known +that she was betrothed to David Jones, a lieutenant in Burgoyne's army, +and, as her own home was in New Jersey, her visit to Mrs. McNeil may +very likely have been part of a plan for meeting her lover. These facts +were soon woven into a story, in which Jenny was said to have been +murdered while on her way to her wedding, escorted by a party of Indians +whom her imprudent lover had sent to take charge of her. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Bennington, Aug. 16, 1777.] + +The people of the neighbouring counties, in New York and Massachusetts, +enraged at the death of Miss McCrea and alarmed for the safety of their +own firesides, began rising in arms. Sturdy recruits began marching to +join Schuyler at Stillwater and Lincoln at Manchester in the Green +Mountains. Meanwhile Burgoyne had made up his mind to attack the village +of Bennington, which was Lincoln's centre of supplies. By seizing these +supplies, he could get for himself what he stood sorely in need of, +while at the same time the loss would cripple Lincoln and perhaps oblige +him to retire from the scene. Accordingly 1000 Germans were sent out, +in two detachments under colonels Baum and Breymann, to capture the +village. But instead they were captured themselves. Baum was first +outmanoeuvred, surrounded, and forced to surrender by John Stark, +after a hot fight, in which Baum was mortally wounded. Then Breymann was +put to flight and his troops dispersed by Seth Warner. Of the whole +German force, 207 were killed or wounded, and at least 700 captured. Not +more than 70 got back to the British camp. The American loss in killed +and wounded was 56. + +This brilliant victory at Bennington had important consequences. It +checked Burgoyne's advance until he could get his supplies, and it +decided that Lincoln's militia could get in his rear and cut off his +communications with Ticonderoga. It furthermore inspired the Americans +with the exulting hope that Burgoyne's whole army could be surrounded +and forced to surrender. + + [Sidenote: St. Leger in the Mohawk valley.] + +If, however, the British had been successful in gaining the Mohawk +valley and ensuring the supremacy over that region for the Tories, the +fate of Burgoyne might have been averted. The Tories in that region, +under Sir John Johnson and Colonel John Butler, were really formidable. +As for the Indians of the Iroquois league, they had always been friendly +to the English and hostile to the French; but now, when it came to +making their choice between two kinds of English--the Americans and the +British, they hesitated and differed in opinion. The Mohawks took sides +with the British because of the friendship between Joseph Brant and the +Johnsons. The Cayugas and Senecas followed on the same side; but the +Onondagas, in the centre of the confederacy, remained neutral, and the +Oneidas and Tuscaroras, under the influence of Samuel Kirkland and other +missionaries, showed active sympathy with the Americans. It turned out, +too, that the Whigs were much stronger in the valley than had been +supposed. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Oriskany, Aug. 6, 1777.] + +After St. Leger had landed at Oswego and joined hands with his Tory and +Indian allies, his entire force amounted to about 1700 men. The +principal obstacle to his progress toward the Hudson river was Fort +Stanwix, which stood where the city of Rome now stands. On the 3d of +August St. Leger reached Fort Stanwix and laid siege to it. The place +was garrisoned by 600 men under Colonel Peter Gansevoort, and the Whig +yeomanry of the neighbourhood, under the heroic General Nicholas +Herkimer, were on the way to relieve it, to the number of at least 800. +Herkimer made an excellent plan for surprising St. Leger with an attack +in the rear, while the garrison should sally forth and attack him in +front. But St. Leger's Indian scouts were more nimble than Herkimer's +messengers, so that he obtained his information sooner than Gansevoort. +An ambush was skilfully prepared by Brant in a ravine near Oriskany, and +there, on the 6th of August, was fought the most desperate and murderous +battle of the Revolutionary War. It was a hand to hand fight, in which +about 800 men were engaged on each side, and each lost more than +one-third of its number. As the Tories and Indians were giving way, +their retreat was hastened by the sounds of battle from Fort Stanwix, +where the garrison was making its sally and driving back the besiegers. +Herkimer remained in possession of the field at Oriskany, but his plan +had been for the moment thwarted, and in the battle he had received a +wound from which he died. + + [Sidenote: St. Leger's flight, Aug. 22, 1777.] + +Benedict Arnold had lately been sent by Washington to be of such +assistance as he could to Schuyler. Arnold stood high in the confidence +of both these generals. He had shown himself one of the ablest officers +in the American army, he was especially skilful in getting good work out +of raw troops, and he was a great favourite with his men. On hearing of +the danger of Fort Stanwix, Schuyler sent him to the rescue, with 1200 +men. When he was within twenty miles of that stronghold, he contrived, +with the aid of some friendly Oneidas and a Tory captive whose life he +spared for the purpose, to send on before him exaggerated reports of the +size of his army. The device accomplished far more than he could have +expected. The obstinate resistance at Oriskany had discouraged the +Tories and angered the Indians. Distrust and dissension were already +rife in St. Leger's camp, when such reports came in as to lead many to +believe that Burgoyne had been totally defeated, and that the whole of +Schuyler's army, or a great part of it, was coming up the Mohawk. This +news led to riot and panic among the troops, and on August 22 St. Leger +took to flight and made his way as best he could to his ships at Oswego, +with scarcely the shred of an army left. This catastrophe showed how +sadly mistaken the British had been in their reliance upon Tory help. + +The battle of Bennington was fought on the 16th of August. Now by the +overthrow of St. Leger, six days later, Burgoyne's situation had become +very alarming. It was just in the midst of these events that Gates +arrived, on August 19, and took command of the army at Stillwater, which +was fast growing in numbers. Militia were flocking in, Arnold's force +was returning, and Daniel Morgan was at hand with 500 Virginian +sharpshooters. Unless Burgoyne could win a battle against overwhelming +odds, there was only one thing that could save him; and that was the +arrival of Howe's army at Albany, according to the ministry's programme. +But Burgoyne had not yet heard a word from Howe; and Howe never came. + + [Sidenote: Why Howe failed to cooeperate with Burgoyne.] + +This failure of Howe to cooeperate with Burgoyne was no doubt the most +fatal military blunder made by the British in the whole course of the +war. The failure was of course unintentional on Howe's part. He meant to +extend sufficient support to Burgoyne, but the trouble was that he +attempted too much. He had another plan in his mind at the same time, +and between the two he ended by accomplishing nothing. While he kept one +eye on Albany, he kept the other on Philadelphia. He had not relished +being driven back across New Jersey by Washington, and the hope of +defeating that general in battle, and then pushing on to the "rebel +capital" strongly tempted him. In such thoughts he was encouraged by the +advice of the captive General Lee. That unscrupulous busybody felt +himself in great danger, for he knew that the British regarded him in +the light of a deserter from their army. While his fate was in suspense, +he informed the brothers Howe that he had abandoned the American cause, +and he offered them his advice and counsel for the summer campaign. This +villainy of Lee's was not known till eighty years afterward, when a +paper of his was discovered that revealed it in all its blackness. The +Howes were sure to pay some heed to Lee's opinions, because he was +supposed to have acquired a thorough knowledge of American affairs. He +advised them to begin by taking Philadelphia, and supported this plan +by plausible arguments. Sir William Howe seems to have thought that he +could accomplish this early in the summer, and then have his hands free +for whatever might be needed on the Hudson river. Accordingly on the +12th of June he started to cross the state of New Jersey with 18,000 +men. + + [Sidenote: Washington's masterly campaign in New Jersey, June, 1777.] + +But Sir William had reckoned without his host. In a campaign of eighteen +days, Washington, with only 8000 men, completely blocked the way for +him, and made him give up the game. The popular histories do not have +much to say about these eighteen days, because they were not marked by +battles. Washington won by his marvellous skill in choosing positions +where Howe could not attack him with any chance of success. Howe +understood this and did not attack. He could not entice Washington into +fighting at a disadvantage, and he could not march on and leave such an +enemy behind without sacrificing his own communications. Accordingly on +June 30 he gave up his plan and retreated to Staten Island. If there +ever was a general who understood the useful art of wasting his +adversary's time, Washington was that general. + +Howe now decided to take his army to Philadelphia by sea. He waited a +while till the news from the north seemed to show that Burgoyne was +carrying everything before him; and then he thought it safe to start. +He left Sir Henry Clinton in command at New York, with 7000 men, telling +him to send a small force up the river to help Burgoyne, should there be +any need of it, which did not then seem likely. Then he put to sea with +his main force of 18,000 men, and went around to the Delaware river, +which he reached at the end of July, just as Burgoyne was reaching Fort +Edward. + + [Sidenote: Howe's strange movement upon Philadelphia, by way of + Chesapeake bay.] + +Howe's next move was very strange. He afterward said that he did not go +up the Delaware river, because he found that there were obstructions and +forts to be passed. But he might have gone up a little way and landed +his forces on the Delaware coast at a point where a single march would +have brought them to Elkton, at the head of Chesapeake bay, about fifty +miles southwest from Philadelphia. Instead of this, he put out to sea +again and sailed four hundred miles, to the mouth of Chesapeake bay and +up that bay to Elkton, where he landed his men on the 25th of August. +Why he took such a roundabout course cannot be understood, unless he may +have attached importance to Lee's advice that the presence of a British +squadron in Chesapeake bay would help to arouse the Tories in Maryland. +The British generals could not seem to make up their minds that America +was a hostile country. Small blame to them, brave fellows that they +were! They could not make war against America in such a fierce spirit as +that in which France would now make war against Germany if she could see +her way clear to do so. They were always counting on American sympathy, +and this was a will-o'-the-wisp that lured them to destruction. + +On landing at Elkton, Howe received orders from London, telling him to +ascend the Hudson river and support Burgoyne, in any event. This order +had left London in May. It was well for the Americans that the telegraph +had not then been invented. Now it was the 25th of August; Burgoyne was +in imminent peril; and Howe was three hundred miles away from him! + + [Sidenote: Battle of the Brandywine, Sept. 11, 1777.] + +All these movements had been carefully watched by Washington; and as +Howe marched toward Philadelphia he found that general blocking the way +at the fords of the Brandywine creek. A battle ensued on the 11th of +September. It was a well-contested battle. With 11,000 men against +18,000, Washington could hardly have been expected to win a victory. He +was driven from the field, but not badly defeated. He kept his army well +in hand, and manoeuvred so skilfully that the British were employed +for two weeks in getting over the twenty-six miles to Philadelphia. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Germantown, Oct. 4, 1777.] + +Before Howe had reached that city, Congress had moved away to York in +Pennsylvania. When he had taken Philadelphia, he found that he could +not stay there without taking the forts on the Delaware river which +prevented the British ships from coming up; for by land Washington could +cut off his supplies, and he could only be sure of them by water. So +Howe detached part of his army to reduce these forts, leaving the rest +of it at Germantown, six miles from Philadelphia. On the 4th of October, +Washington attacked the force at Germantown in such a position that +defeat would have quite destroyed it. The attempt failed at the critical +moment because of a dense fog in which one American brigade fired into +another and caused a brief panic. The forts on the Delaware were +captured after hard fighting, and Washington went into winter quarters +at Valley Forge. + +The result of the summer's work was that, because Howe had made several +mistakes and Washington had taken the utmost advantage of every one of +them, the whole British plan was spoiled. Howe had used up the whole +season in getting to Philadelphia, and Washington's activity had also +kept Sir Henry Clinton's attention so much occupied with what was going +on about the Delaware river as to prevent him from sending aid to the +northward until it was too late. Sir Henry was once actually obliged to +send reinforcements to Howe. + +Thus Burgoyne was left to himself. He supposed that Howe was coming up +the Hudson river to meet him, and so on September 13 he crossed the +river and advanced to attack Gates's army, which was occupying a strong +position at Bemis Heights, between Stillwater and Saratoga. It was a +desperate move. While Burgoyne was making it, Lincoln's men cut his +communications with Ticonderoga, so that his only hope lay in help from +below; and such help never came. In this extremity he was obliged to +fight on ground chosen by the Americans, because he must either fight or +starve. + + [Sidenote: Burgoyne is defeated by Arnold, and surrenders his army, + Oct. 17, 1777.] + +Under these circumstances Burgoyne fought two battles with consummate +gallantry. The first was on September 19, the second on October 7. In +each battle the Americans were led by Arnold and Morgan, and Gates +deserves no credit for either. In both battles Arnold was the leading +spirit, and in the second he was severely wounded at the moment of +victory. In the first battle the British were simply repulsed, in the +second they were totally defeated. This settled the fate of Burgoyne, +and on the 17th of October he surrendered his whole army, now reduced to +less than 6000 men, as prisoners of war. Before the final catastrophe +Sir Henry Clinton had sent a small force up the river to relieve him, +but it was too late. The relieving force succeeded in capturing some of +the Highland forts, but turned back on hearing of Burgoyne's surrender. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE FRENCH ALLIANCE. + + + [Sidenote: Lord North changes front, and France interferes, + Feb., 1778.] + +This capture of a British army made more ado in Europe than anything +which had happened for many a day. It was compared to Leuktra and the +Caudine Fork. The immediate effect in England was to weaken the king and +cause Lord North to change his policy. The tea-duty and the obnoxious +acts of 1774 were repealed, the principles of colonial independence of +Parliament laid down by Otis and Henry were admitted, and commissioners +were sent over to America to negotiate terms of peace. It was hoped that +by such ample concessions the Americans might be so appeased as to be +willing to adopt some arrangement which would leave their country a part +of the British Empire. As soon as the French government saw the first +symptoms of such a change of policy on the part of Lord North, it +decided to enter into an alliance with the United States. There was much +sympathy for the Americans among educated people of all grades of +society in France; but the action of the government was determined +purely by hatred of England. While Great Britain and her colonies were +weakening each other by war, France had up to this moment not cared to +interfere. But if there was the slightest chance of a reconciliation, it +was high time to prevent it; and besides, the American cause was now +prosperous, and something might be made of it. The moment had come for +France to seek revenge for the disasters of the Seven Years' War; and on +the 6th of February, 1778, her treaty of alliance with the United States +was signed at Paris. + + [Sidenote: Untimely death of Lord Chatham, May 11, 1778.] + +At the news of this there was an outburst of popular excitement in +England. There was a strong feeling in favour of peace with America and +war with France, and men of all parties united with Lord North himself +in demanding that Lord Chatham, who represented such a policy, should be +made prime minister. It was rightly believed that he, if any one, could +both conciliate America and humiliate France. There was only one way in +which Chatham could have broken the new alliance which Congress had so +long been seeking. The faith of Congress was pledged to France, and the +Americans would no longer hear of any terms that did not begin with the +acknowledgment of their full independence. To break the alliance, it +would have been necessary to concede the independence of the United +States. The king felt that if he were now obliged to call Chatham to the +head of affairs and allow him to form a strong ministry, it would be the +end of his cherished schemes for breaking down cabinet government. +There was no man whom George III. hated and feared so much as Lord +Chatham. Nevertheless the pressure was so great that, but for Chatham's +untimely death, the king would probably have been obliged to yield. If +Chatham had lived a year longer, the war might have ended with the +surrender of Burgoyne instead of continuing until the surrender of +Cornwallis. As it was, Lord North consented, against his own better +judgment, to remain in office and aid the king's policy as far as he +could. The commissioners sent to America accomplished nothing, because +they were not empowered to grant independence; and so the war went on. + + [Sidenote: Change in the conduct of the war.] + +There was a great change, however, in the manner in which the war was +conducted. In the years 1776 and 1777 the British had pursued a definite +plan for conquering New York and thus severing the connection between +New England and the southern states. During the remainder of the war +their only definite plan was for conquering the southern states. Their +operations at the north were for the most part confined to burning and +plundering expeditions along the coast in their ships, or on the +frontier in connection with Tories and Indians. The war thus assumed a +more cruel character. This was chiefly due to the influence of Lord +George Germaine, the secretary of state for the colonies. He was a +contemptible creature, weak and cruel. He had been dismissed from the +army in 1759 for cowardice at the battle of Minden, and he was so +generally despised that when in 1782 the king was obliged to turn him +out of office and tried to console him by raising him to the peerage as +Viscount Sackville, the House of Lords protested against the admission +of such a creature. George III. had made this man his colonial secretary +in the autumn of 1775, and he had much to do with planning the campaigns +of the next two years. But now his influence in the cabinet seems to +have increased. He was much more thoroughly in sympathy with the king +than Lord North, who at this time was really to be pitied. Lord North +would have been a fine man but for his weakness of will. He was now +keeping up the war in America unwillingly, and was obliged to sanction +many things of which he did not approve. In later years he bitterly +repented this weakness. Now the truculent policy of Lord George Germaine +began to show itself in the conduct of the war. That minister took no +pains to conceal his willingness to employ Indians, to burn towns and +villages, and to inflict upon the American people as much misery as +possible, in the hope of breaking their spirit and tiring them out. + + [Sidenote: The Conway Cabal.] + +In America the first effect of Burgoyne's surrender was to strengthen a +feeling of dissatisfaction with Washington, which had grown up in some +quarters. In reality, as our narrative has shown, Washington had as much +to do with the overthrow of Burgoyne as anybody; for if it had not been +for his skilful campaign in June, 1777, Howe would have taken +Philadelphia in that month, and would then have been free to assist +Burgoyne. It is easy enough to understand such things afterward, but +people never can see them at the time when they are happening. This is +an excellent illustration of what was said at the beginning of this +book, that when people are down in the midst of events they cannot see +the wood because of the trees, and it is only when they have climbed the +hill of history and look back over the landscape that they can see what +things really meant. At the end of the year 1777 people could only see +that Burgoyne had surrendered to Gates, while Washington had lost two +battles and the city of Philadelphia. Accordingly there were many who +supposed that Gates must be a better general than Washington, and in the +army there were some discontented spirits that were only too glad to +take advantage of this feeling. One of these malcontents was an Irish +adventurer, Thomas Conway, who had long served in France and came over +here in time to take part in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. +He had a grudge against Washington, as Charles Lee had. He thought he +could get on better if Washington were out of the way. So he busied +himself in organizing a kind of conspiracy against Washington, which +came to be known as the "Conway Cabal." The purpose was to put forward +Gates to supersede Washington, as he had lately superseded the noble +Schuyler. Gates, of course, lent himself heartily to the scheme; such +intrigues were what he was made for. And there were some of our noblest +men who were dissatisfied with Washington, because they were ignorant of +the military art, and could not understand his wonderful skill, as +Frederick the Great did. Among these were John and Samuel Adams, who +disapproved of "Fabian strategy." Gates and Conway tried to work upon +such feelings. They hoped by thwarting and insulting Washington to wound +his pride and force him to resign. In this wretched work they had +altogether too much help from Congress, but they failed ignominiously +because Gates's lies were too plainly discovered. The attempts to injure +Washington recoiled upon their authors. Never, perhaps, was Washington +so grand as in that sorrowful winter at Valley Forge. + +When the news of the French alliance arrived, in the spring of 1778, +there was a general feeling of elation. People were over-confident. It +seemed as if the British might be driven from the country in the course +of that year. Some changes occurred in both the opposing armies. A great +deal of fault was found in England with Howe and Burgoyne. The latter +was allowed to go home in the spring, and took his seat in Parliament +while still a prisoner on parole. He was henceforth friendly to the +Americans, and opposed the further prosecution of the war. Sir William +Howe resigned his command in May and went home in order to defend his +conduct. Shortly before his appointment to the chief command in America, +he had uttered a prophecy somewhat notable as coming from one who was +about to occupy such a position. In a speech at Nottingham he had +expressed the opinion that the Americans could not be subdued by any +army that Great Britain could raise! + + [Sidenote: Howe is superseded by Clinton.] + +Howe was succeeded in the chief command by Sir Henry Clinton. His +brother, Lord Howe, remained in command of the fleet until the autumn, +when he was succeeded by Admiral Byron. During the winter the American +army had received a very important reinforcement in the person of Baron +von Steuben, an able and highly educated officer who had served on the +staff of Frederick the Great. Steuben was appointed inspector-general +and taught the soldiers Prussian discipline and tactics until the +efficiency of the army was more than doubled. About the time of Sir +William Howe's departure, Charles Lee was exchanged, and came back to +his old place as senior major-general in the Continental army. Since +his capture there had been a considerable falling off in his reputation, +but nothing was known of his treasonable proceedings with the Howes. +Probably no one in the British army knew anything about that affair +except the Howes and their private secretary Sir Henry Strachey. Lee saw +that the American cause was now in the ascendant, and he was as anxious +as ever to supplant Washington. + + [Sidenote: The Americans take the offensive; Lee's misconduct at + Monmouth, June 28, 1778.] + +The Americans now assumed the offensive. Count d'Estaing was approaching +the coast with a powerful French fleet. Should he be able to defeat Lord +Howe and get control of the Delaware river, the British army in +Philadelphia would be in danger of capture. Accordingly on the 18th of +June that city was evacuated by Sir Henry Clinton and occupied by +Washington. As there were not enough transports to take the British army +around to New York by sea, it was necessary to take the more hazardous +course of marching across New Jersey. Washington pursued the enemy +closely, with the view of forcing him to battle in an unfavourable +situation and dealing him a fatal blow. There was some hope of effecting +this, as the two armies were now about equal in size--15,000 in +each--and the Americans were in excellent training. The enemy were +overtaken at Monmouth Court House on the morning of June 28, but the +attack was unfortunately entrusted to Lee, who disobeyed orders and +made an unnecessary and shameful retreat. Washington arrived on the +scene in time to turn defeat into victory. The British were driven from +the field, but Lee's misconduct had broken the force of the blow which +Washington had aimed at them. Lee was tried by court-martial and at +first suspended from command, then expelled from the army. It was the +end of his public career. He died in October, 1782. + +After the battle of Monmouth the British continued their march to New +York, and Washington moved his army to White Plains. Count d'Estaing +arrived at Sandy Hook in July with a much larger fleet than the British +had in the harbour, and a land force of 4000 men. It now seemed as if +Clinton's army might be cooped up and compelled to surrender, but on +examination it appeared that the largest French ships drew too much +water to venture to cross the bar. All hope of capturing New York was +accordingly for the present abandoned. + +[Siege of Newport, Aug. 1778.] + +The enemy, however, had another considerable force near at hand, besides +Clinton's. Since December, 1776, they had occupied the island which +gives its name to the state of Rhode Island. Its position was safe and +convenient. It enabled them, if they should see fit, to threaten Boston +on the one hand and the coast of Connecticut on the other, and thus to +make diversions in aid of Sir Henry Clinton. The force on Rhode Island +had been increased to 6000 men, under command of Sir Robert Pigott. The +Americans believed that the capture of so large a force, could it be +effected, would so discourage the British as to bring the war to an end; +and in this belief they were very likely right. The French fleet +accordingly proceeded to Newport; to the 4000 French infantry Washington +added 1500 of the best of his Continentals; levies of New England +yeomanry raised the total strength to 13,000; and the general command of +the American troops was given to Sullivan. + +The expedition was poorly managed, and failed completely. There was some +delay in starting. During the first week of August the Americans landed +upon the island and occupied Butts Hill. The French had begun to land on +Conanicut when they learned that Lord Howe was approaching with a +powerful fleet. The count then reembarked his men and stood out to sea, +manoeuvring for a favourable position for battle. Before the fight had +begun, a terrible storm scattered both fleets and damaged them severely. +When D'Estaing had got his ships together again, which was not till the +20th of August, he insisted upon going to Boston for repairs, and took +his infantry with him. This vexed Sullivan and disgusted the yeomanry, +who forthwith dispersed and went home to look after their crops. General +Pigott then tried the offensive, and attacked Sullivan in his strong +position on Butts Hill, on the 29th of August. The British were +defeated, but the next day Sullivan learned that Clinton was coming with +heavy reinforcements, and so he was obliged to abandon the enterprise +and lose no time in getting his own troops into a safe position on the +mainland. In November the French fleet sailed for the West Indies, and +Clinton was obliged to send 5000 men from New York to the same quarter +of the world. + + [Sidenote: Wyoming and Cherry Valley, July-Nov., 1778.] + +In the years 1778 and 1779 the warfare on the border assumed formidable +proportions. The Tories of central New York, under the Johnsons and +Butlers, together with Brant and his Mohawks, made their headquarters at +Fort Niagara, from which they struck frequent and terrible blows at the +exposed settlements on the frontier. Early in July, 1778, a force of +1200 men, under John Butler, spread death and desolation through the +beautiful valley of Wyoming in Pennsylvania. On the 10th of November, +Brant and Walter Butler destroyed the village of Cherry Valley in New +York, and massacred the inhabitants. Many other dreadful things were +done in the course of this year; but the affairs of Wyoming and Cherry +Valley made a deeper impression than all the rest. During the following +spring Washington organized an expedition of 5000 men, and sent it, +under Sullivan, to lay waste the Iroquois country and capture the nest +of Tory malefactors at Fort Niagara. While they were slowly advancing +through the wilderness, Brant sacked the town of Minisink and destroyed +a force of militia sent against him. But on the 29th of August a battle +was fought on the site of the present town of Elmira, in which the +Tories and Indians were defeated with great slaughter. The American army +then marched through the country of the Cayugas and Senecas, and laid it +waste. More than forty Indian villages were burned and all the corn was +destroyed, so that the approach of winter brought famine and pestilence. +Sullivan was not able to get beyond the Genesee river for want of +supplies, and so Fort Niagara escaped. The Iroquois league had received +a blow from which it never recovered, though for two years more their +tomahawks were busy on the frontier. + + [Sidenote: Conquest of the northwestern territory, 1778-79.] + +At intervals during the Revolution there was more or less Indian warfare +all along the border. Settlers were making their way into Kentucky and +Tennessee. Feuds with these encroaching immigrants led the powerful +tribe of Cherokees to take part with the British, and they made trouble +enough until they were crushed by John Sevier, the "lion of the border." +In 1778 Colonel Hamilton, the British commander at Detroit, attempted to +stir up all the western tribes to a concerted attack upon the frontier. +When the news of this reached Virginia, an expedition was sent out +under George Rogers Clark, a youth of twenty-four years, to carry the +war into the enemy's country. In an extremely interesting and romantic +series of movements, Clark took the posts of Kaskaskia and Cahokia, on +the Mississippi river, defeated and captured Colonel Hamilton at +Vincennes, on the Wabash, and ended by conquering the whole northwestern +territory for the state of Virginia. + + [Sidenote: Storming of Stony Point, July 15, 1779.] + +The year 1779 saw very little fighting in the northern states between +the regular armies. The British confined themselves chiefly to marauding +expeditions along the coast, from Martha's Vineyard down to the James +river. These incursions were marked by cruelties unknown in the earlier +part of the war. Their chief purpose would seem to have been to carry +out Lord George Germaine's idea of harassing the Americans as +vexatiously as possible. But in Connecticut, which perhaps suffered the +worst, there was a military purpose. In July, 1779, an attack was made +upon New Haven, and the towns of Fairfield and Norwalk were burned. The +object was to induce Washington to weaken his force on the Hudson river +by sending away troops to protect the Connecticut towns. Clinton now +held the river as far up as Stony Point, and he hoped by this diversion +to prepare for an attack upon Washington which, if successful, might end +in the fall of West Point. If the British could get possession of West +Point, it would go far toward retrieving the disaster which had befallen +them at Saratoga. Washington's retort was characteristic of him. He did, +as always, what the enemy did not expect. He called Anthony Wayne and +asked him if he thought he could carry Stony Point by storm. Wayne +replied that he could storm a very much hotter place than any known in +terrestrial geography, if Washington would plan the attack. Plan and +performance were equally good. At midnight of July 15 the fort was +surprised and carried in a superb assault with bayonets, without the +firing of a gun on the American side. It was one of the most brilliant +assaults in all military history. It instantly relieved Connecticut, but +Washington did not think it prudent to retain the fortress. The works +were all destroyed, and the garrison, with the cannon and stores, +withdrawn. The American army was as much as possible concentrated about +West Point. In the general situation of affairs on the Hudson there was +but little change for the next two years. + +It may seem strange that so little was done in all this time. But, in +fact, both England and the United States were getting exhausted, so far +as the ability to carry on war was concerned. + + [Sidenote: How England was weakened and hampered, 1778-81.] + +As regards England, the action of France had seriously complicated the +situation. England had now to protect her colonies and dependencies on +the Mediterranean, in Africa, in Hindustan, and in the West Indies. In +1779 Spain declared war against her, in the hope of regaining Gibraltar +and the Floridas. For three years Gibraltar was besieged by the allied +French and Spanish forces. A Spanish fleet laid siege to Pensacola. +France strove to regain the places which England had formerly won from +her in Senegambia. War broke out in India with the Mahrattas, and with +Hyder Ali of Mysore, and it required all the genius of Warren Hastings +to save England's empire in Asia. We have already seen how Clinton, in +the autumn of 1778, was obliged to weaken his force in New York by +sending 5,000 men to the West Indies. Before the end of 1779 there were +314,000 British troops on duty in various parts of the world, but not +enough could be spared for service in New York to defeat Washington's +little army of 15,000. We thus begin to realize what a great event was +the surrender of Burgoyne. The loss of 6,000 men by England was not in +itself irreparable; but in leading to the intervention of France it was +like the touching of a spring or the drawing of a bolt which sets in +motion a vast system of machinery. + +Under these circumstances George III. tried to form an alliance with +Russia, and offered the island of Minorca as an inducement. Russia +declined the offer, and such action as she took was hostile to England. +It had formerly been held that the merchant ships of neutral nations, +employed in trade with nations at war, might lawfully be overhauled and +searched by war ships of either of the belligerent nations, and their +goods confiscated. England still held this doctrine and acted upon it. +But during the eighteenth century her maritime power had increased to +such an extent that she could damage other nations in this way much more +than they could damage her. Other nations accordingly began to maintain +that goods carried in neutral ships ought to be free from seizure. Early +in 1780 Denmark, Sweden, and Russia entered into an agreement known as +the Armed Neutrality, by which they pledged themselves to unite in +retaliating upon England whenever any of her cruisers should molest any +of their ships. This league was a new source of danger to England, +because it entailed the risk of war with Russia. + + [Sidenote: Paul Jones, 1779.] + +During these years several bold American cruisers had made the stars and +stripes a familiar sight in European waters. The most famous of these +cruisers, Paul Jones, made his name a terror upon the coasts of England, +burned the ships in a port of Cumberland, sailed into the Frith of Forth +and threatened Edinburgh, and finally captured two British war vessels +off Flamborough Head, in one of the most desperate sea-fights on +record. + + [Sidenote: St. Eustatius, Feb., 1781.] + +Paul Jones was a regularly commissioned captain in the American navy, +but because the British did not recognize Congress as a legal body they +called him a pirate. When he took his prizes into a port in Holland, +they requested the Dutch government to surrender him into their hands, +as if he were a mere criminal to be tried at the Old Bailey. But the +Dutch let him stay in port ten weeks and then depart in peace. This +caused much irritation, and as there was also perpetual quarrelling over +the plunder of Dutch ships by British cruisers, the two nations went to +war in December, 1780. One of England's reasons for entering into this +war was the desire to capture the little Dutch island of St. Eustatius +in the West Indies. An immense trade was carried on there between +Holland and the United States, and it was believed that the stoppage of +this trade would be a staggering blow to the Americans. It was captured +in February, 1781, by Admiral Rodney, private property was seized to the +amount of more than twenty million dollars, and the inhabitants were +treated with shameful brutality. + + [Sidenote: How the Americans were weakened and hampered. The want + of union.] + +As England was thus fighting single-handed against France, Spain, +Holland, and the United States, while the attitude of all the neutral +powers was unfriendly, we can find no difficulty in understanding the +weakness of her military operations in some quarters. The United States, +on the other hand, found it hard to carry on the war for very different +reasons. In the first place the country was really weak. The military +strength of the American Union in 1780 was inferior to that of Holland, +and about on a level with that of Denmark or Portugal. But furthermore +the want of union made it hard to bring out such strength as there was. +In the autumn of 1777 the Articles of Confederation were submitted to +the several states for adoption; but the spring of 1781 had arrived +before all the thirteen states had ratified them. These articles left +the Continental Congress just what it was before, a mere advisory body, +without power to enlist soldiers or levy taxes, without federal courts +or federal officials, and with no executive head to the government. As +we have already seen, the only way in which Congress could get money +from the people was by requisitions upon the states, by _asking_ the +state-governments for it. This was always a very slow way to get money, +and now the states were unusually poor. There was very little +accumulated capital. Farming, fishing, ship-building, and foreign trade +were the chief occupations. Farms and plantations suffered considerably +from the absence of their owners in the army, and many were kept from +enlisting, because it was out of the question to go and leave their +families to starve. As for ship-building, fishing, and foreign trade, +these occupations were almost annihilated by British cruisers. No doubt +the heaviest blows that we received were thus dealt us on the water. + + [Sidenote: Fall of the Continental currency:--"Not worth a + Continental."] + +The people were so poor that the states found it hard to collect enough +revenue for their own purposes, and most of them had a way of issuing +paper money of their own, which made things still worse. Under such +circumstances they had very little money to give to Congress. It was +necessary to borrow of France, or Spain, or Holland, and by the time +these nations were all at war, that became very difficult. From the +beginning of the war Congress had issued paper notes, and in 1778 the +depreciation in their value was already alarming. But as soon as the +exultation over Burgoyne's surrender had subsided, as soon as the hope +of speedily driving out the British had been disappointed, people soon +lost all confidence in the power of Congress to pay its notes, and in +1779 their value began falling with frightful rapidity. In 1780 they +became worthless. It took $150 in Continental currency to buy a bushel +of corn, and an ordinary suit of clothes cost $2000. Then people refused +to take it, and resorted to barter, taking their pay in sheep or +ploughs, in jugs of rum or kegs of salt pork, or whatever they could +get. It thus became almost impossible either to pay soldiers, or to +clothe and feed them properly and supply them with powder and ball. We +thus see why the Americans, as well as the British conducted the war so +languidly that for two years after the storming of Stony Point their +main armies sat and faced each other by the Hudson river, without any +movements of importance. + + [Sidenote: The British conquer Georgia, 1779.] + +In one quarter, however, the British began to make rapid progress. They +possessed the Floridas, having got them from Spain by the treaty of +1763. Next them lay Georgia, the weakest of the thirteen states, and +then came the Carolinas, with a strong Tory element in the population. +For such reasons, after the great invasion of New York had failed, the +British tried the plan of starting at the southern extremity of the +Union and lopping off one state after another. In the autumn of 1778 +General Prevost advanced from East Florida, and in a brief campaign +succeeded in capturing Savannah, Sunbury, and Augusta. General Lincoln, +who had won distinction in the Saratoga campaign, was appointed to +command the American forces in the South. He sent General Ashe, with +1500 men, to threaten Augusta. At Ashe's approach, the British abandoned +the town and retreated toward Savannah. Ashe pursued too closely and at +Briar Creek, March 3, 1779, the enemy turned upon him and routed him. +The Americans lost nearly 1000 men killed, wounded, and captured, +besides their cannon and small arms; and this victory cost the British +only 16 men killed and wounded. Augusta was reoccupied, the royal +governor, Sir James Wright, was reinstated in office, and the machinery +of government which had been in operation previous to 1776 was restored. +Lincoln now advanced upon Augusta, but Prevost foiled him by returning +the offensive and marching upon Charleston. In order to protect that +city, Lincoln was obliged to retrace his steps. It was now the middle of +May, and little more was done till September, when D'Estaing returned +from the West Indies. On the 23d Savannah was invested by the combined +forces of Lincoln and D'Estaing, and the siege was vigorously carried on +for a fortnight. Then the French admiral grew impatient. On the 9th of +October a fierce assault was made, in which the allies were defeated +with the loss of 1000 men, including the gallant Pulaski. The French +fleet then departed, and the British could look upon Georgia as +recovered. + + [Sidenote: And capture Charleston, with Lincoln's army, + May 12, 1780.] + +It was South Carolina's turn next. Washington was obliged to weaken his +own force by sending most of the southern troops to Lincoln's +assistance. Sir Henry Clinton then withdrew the garrisons from his +advanced posts on the Hudson, and also from Rhode Island, and was thus +able to leave an adequate force in New York, while he himself set sail +for Savannah, December 26, 1779, with a considerable army. After the +British forces were united in Georgia, they amounted to more than +13,000 men, against whom Lincoln could bring but 7000. The fate of the +American army shows us what would probably have happened in New York in +1776 if an ordinary general instead of Washington had been in command. +Lincoln allowed himself to be cooped up in Charleston, and after a siege +of two months was obliged to surrender the city and his whole army on +the 12th of May, 1780. This was the most serious disaster the Americans +had suffered since the loss of Fort Washington. The dashing cavalry +leader, Tarleton, soon cut to pieces whatever remnants of their army +were left in South Carolina. Sir Henry Clinton returned in June to New +York, leaving Lord Cornwallis with 5000 men to carry on the work. The +Tories, thus supported, got the upperhand in the interior of the state, +which suffered from all the horrors of civil war. The American cause was +sustained only by partisan leaders, of whom the most famous were Francis +Marion and Thomas Sumter. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Camden, Aug. 16, 1780.] + +When the news of Lincoln's surrender reached the North, the emergency +was felt to be desperate. A fresh army was raised, consisting of about +2000 superbly trained veterans of the Maryland and Delaware lines, under +the Baron de Kalb, and such militia as could be raised in Virginia and +North Carolina. The chief command was given to Gates, whose conduct from +the start was a series of blunders. The most important strategic point +in South Carolina was Camden, at the intersection of the principal roads +from the coast to the mountains and from north to south. In marching +upon this point Gates was met by Lord Cornwallis on the 16th of August +and utterly routed. Kalb was mortally wounded at the head of the +Maryland troops, who held their ground nobly till overwhelmed by +numbers; the Delaware men were cut to pieces; the militia were swept +away in flight, and Gates with them. His northern laurels, as it was +said, had changed into southern willows; and for the second time within +three months an American army at the South had been annihilated. + +This was, on the whole, the darkest moment of the war. For a moment in +July there had been a glimmer of hopefulness when the Count de +Rochambeau arrived with 6000 men who were landed on Rhode Island. The +British fleet, however, soon came and blockaded them there, and again +the hearts of the people were sickened with hope deferred. It seemed as +if Lord George Germaine's policy of "tiring the Americans out" might be +going to succeed after all. When the value of the Continental paper +money now fell to zero, it was a fair indication that the people had +pretty much lost all faith in Congress. In the army the cases of +desertion to the British lines averaged about a hundred per month. + + [Sidenote: Benedict Arnold's treason, July-Sept., 1780.] + +This was a time when a man of bold and impulsive temperament, prone to +cherish romantic schemes, smarting under an accumulation of injuries, +and weak in moral principle, might easily take it into his head that the +American cause was lost, and that he had better carve out a new career +for himself, while wreaking vengeance on his enemies. Such seems to have +been the case with Benedict Arnold. He had a great and well-earned +reputation for skill and bravery. His military services up to the time +of Burgoyne's surrender had been of priceless value, and he had always +stood high in Washington's favour. But he had a genius for getting into +quarrels, and there seem always to have been people who doubted his +moral soundness. At the same time he had good reason to complain of the +treatment which he received from Congress. The party hostile to +Washington sometimes liked to strike at him in the persons of his +favourite generals, and such admirable men as Greene and Morgan had to +bear the brunt of this ill feeling. Early in 1777 five brigadier +generals junior to Arnold in rank and vastly inferior to him in ability +and reputation had been promoted over him to the grade of major-general. +On this occasion he had shown an excellent spirit, and when sent by +Washington to the aid of Schuyler, he had signified his willingness to +serve under St. Clair and Lincoln, two of the juniors who had been +raised above him. Arnold was a warm friend to Schuyler, and perhaps did +not take enough pains to conceal his poor opinion of Gates. Other +officers in the northern army let it plainly be seen that they placed +more confidence in Arnold than in Gates, and the result was a bitter +quarrel between the two generals, echoes of which were probably +afterwards heard in Congress. + +If Arnold's wound on the field of Saratoga had been a mortal wound, he +would have been ranked, among the military heroes of the Revolution, +next to Washington and Greene. Perhaps, however, in a far worse sense +than is commonly conveyed by the term, it proved to be his death-wound, +for it led to his being placed in command of Philadelphia. He was +assigned to that position because his wounded leg made him unfit for +active service. Congress had restored him to his relative rank, but now +he soon got into trouble with the state government of Pennsylvania. It +is not easy to determine how much ground there may have been for the +charges brought against him early in 1779 by the state government. One +of them concerned his personal honesty, the others were so trivial in +character as to make the whole affair look somewhat like a case of +persecution. They were twice investigated, once by a committee of +Congress and once by a court-martial. On the serious charge, which +affected his pecuniary integrity, he was acquitted; on two of the +trivial charges, of imprudence in the use of some public wagons, and of +carelessness in granting a pass for a ship, he was convicted and +sentenced to be reprimanded. The language in which Washington couched +the reprimand showed his feeling that Arnold was too harshly dealt with. + +If the matter had stopped here, posterity would probably have shared +Washington's feeling. But the government of Pennsylvania must have had +stronger grounds for distrust of Arnold than it was able to put into the +form of definite charges. Soon after his arrival in Philadelphia he fell +in love with a beautiful Tory lady, to whom he was presently married. He +was thus thrown much into the society of Tories and was no doubt +influenced by their views. He had for some time considered himself +ill-treated, and at first thought of leaving the service and settling +upon a grant of land in western New York. Then, as the charges against +him were pressed and his anger increased, he seems to have dallied with +the notion of going over to the British. At length in the early summer +of 1780, after the reprimand, his treasonable purpose seems to have +taken definite shape. As General Monk in 1660 decided that the only way +to restore peace in England was to desert the cause of the Commonwealth +and bring back Charles II., so Arnold seems now to have thought that the +cause of American independence was ruined, and that the best prospect +for a career for himself lay in deserting it and helping to bring back +the rule of George III. In this period of general depression, when even +the unconquerable Washington said "I have almost ceased to hope," one +staggering blow would be very likely to end the struggle. There could be +no heavier blow than the loss of the Hudson river, and with baseness +almost incredible Arnold asked for the command of West Point, with the +intention of betraying it into the hands of Sir Henry Clinton. The depth +of his villainy on this occasion makes it probable that there were good +grounds for the suspicions with which some people had for a long time +regarded him, although Washington, by putting him in command of the most +important position in the country, showed that his own confidence in him +was unabated. The successful execution of the plot seemed to call for a +personal interview between Arnold and Clinton's adjutant-general, Major +John Andre, who was entrusted with the negotiation. Such a secret +interview was extremely difficult to bring about, but it was effected on +the 21st of September, 1780. After a marvellous chapter of accidents, +Andre was captured just before reaching the British lines. But for his +hasty and quite unnecessary confession that he was a British officer, +which led to his being searched, the plot would in all probability have +been successful. The papers found on his person, which left no room for +doubt as to the nature of the black scheme, were sent to Washington; +the principal traitor, forewarned just in the nick of time, escaped to +the British at New York; and Major Andre was condemned as a spy and +hanged on the 2d of October. + + [Sidenote: Battle of King's Mountain, Oct. 7, 1780.] + +Only five days after the execution of Andre an event occurred at the +South which greatly relieved the prevailing gloom of the situation. It +was the first of a series of victories which were soon to show that the +darkness of 1780 was the darkness that comes before dawn. After his +victory at Camden, Lord Cornwallis found it necessary to give his army +some rest from the intense August heat. In September he advanced into +North Carolina, boasting that he would soon conquer all the states south +of the Susquehanna river. But his line of march now lay far inland, and +the British armies were never able to accomplish much except in the +neighbourhood of their ships, where they could be reasonably sure of +supplies. In traversing Mecklenburg county Cornwallis soon found himself +in a very hostile and dangerous region, where there were no Tories to +befriend him. One of his best partisan commanders, Major Ferguson, +penetrated too far into the mountains. The backwoodsmen of Tennessee and +Kentucky, the Carolinas, and western Virginia were aroused; and under +their superb partisan leaders--Shelby, Sevier, Cleaveland, McDowell, +Campbell, and Williams--gave chase to Ferguson, who took refuge upon +what he deemed an impregnable position on the top of King's Mountain. On +the 7th of October the backwoodsmen stormed the mountain, Ferguson was +shot through the heart, 400 of his men were killed and wounded, and all +the rest, 700 in number, surrendered at discretion. The Americans lost +28 killed and 60 wounded. There were some points in this battle, which +remind one of the British defeat at Majuba Hill in southern Africa in +1881. + +In the series of events which led to the surrender of Cornwallis, the +battle of King's Mountain played a part similar to that played by the +battle of Bennington in the series of events which led to the surrender +of Burgoyne. It was the enemy's first serious disaster, and its +immediate result was to check his progress until the Americans could +muster strength enough to overthrow him. The events, however, were much +more complicated in Cornwallis's case, and took much longer to unfold +themselves. Burgoyne surrendered within nine anxious weeks after +Bennington; Cornwallis maintained himself, sometimes with fair hopes of +final victory, for a whole year after King's Mountain. + +[Illustration] + + [Sidenote: Greene takes command in South Carolina, Dec. 2, 1780.] + +As soon as he heard the news of the disaster he fell back to +Winnsborough, in South Carolina, and called for reinforcements. While +they were arriving, the American army, recruited and reorganized +since its crushing defeat at Camden, advanced into Mecklenburg county. +Gates was superseded by Greene, who arrived upon the scene on the 2d of +December. Under Greene were three Virginians of remarkable +ability,--Daniel Morgan; William Washington, who was a distant cousin of +the commander-in-chief; and Henry Lee, familiarly known as "Light-horse +Harry," father of the great general, Robert Edward Lee. The little army +numbered only 2000 men, but a considerable part of them were disciplined +veterans fully a match for the British infantry. + +In order to raise troops in Virginia to increase this little force, +Steuben was sent down to that state. In order to interfere with such +recruiting, and to make diversions in aid of Cornwallis, detachments +from the British army were also sent by sea from New York to Virginia. +The first of these detachments, under General Leslie, had been obliged +to keep on to South Carolina, to make good the loss inflicted upon +Cornwallis at King's Mountain. To replace Leslie in Virginia, the +traitor Arnold was sent down from New York. The presence of these +subsidiary forces in Virginia was soon to influence in a decisive way +the course of events. + + [Sidenote: Battle of the Cowpens, Jan. 17, 1781.] + +Greene, on reaching South Carolina, acted with boldness and originality. +He divided his little army into two bodies, one of which cooeperated +with Marion's partisans in the northeastern part of the state, and +threatened Cornwallis's communications with the coast. The other body he +sent under Morgan to the southwestward, to threaten the inland posts and +their garrisons. Thus worried on both flanks, Cornwallis presently +divided his own force, sending Tarleton with 1100 men, to dispose of +Morgan. Tarleton came up with Morgan on the 17th of January, 1781, at a +grazing-ground known as the Cowpens, not far from King's Mountain. The +battle which ensued was well fought, and on Morgan's part it was a +wonderful piece of tactics. With only 900 men in open field he +surrounded and nearly annihilated a superior force. The British lost 230 +in killed and wounded, 600 prisoners, and all their guns. Tarleton +escaped with 270 men. The Americans lost 12 killed and 61 wounded. + + [Sidenote: Battle of Guilford, March 15, 1781.] + +The two battles, King's Mountain and the Cowpens, deprived Cornwallis of +nearly all his light-armed troops, and he was just entering upon a game +where swiftness was especially required. It was his object to intercept +Morgan and defeat him before he could effect a junction with the other +part of the American army. It was Greene's object to march the two parts +of his army in converging directions northward across North Carolina and +unite them in spite of Cornwallis. By moving in this direction Greene +was always getting nearer to his reinforcements from Virginia, while +Cornwallis was always getting further from his supports in South +Carolina. It was brilliant strategy on Greene's part, and entirely +successful. Cornwallis had to throw away a great deal of his baggage and +otherwise weaken himself, but in spite of all he could do, he was +outmarched. The two wings of the American army came together and were +joined by the reinforcements; so that at Guilford Court House, on the +15th of March, Cornwallis found himself obliged to fight against heavy +odds, two hundred miles from the coast and almost as far from the +nearest point in South Carolina at which he could get support. + +The battle of Guilford was admirably managed by both commanders and +stubbornly fought by the troops. At nightfall the British held the +field, with the loss of nearly one third of their number, and the +Americans were repulsed. But Cornwallis could not stay in such a place, +and could not afford to risk another battle. There was nothing for him +to do but retreat to Wilmington, the nearest point on the coast. There +he stopped and pondered. + + [Sidenote: Cornwallis retreats into Virginia.] + +His own force was sadly depleted, but he knew that Arnold in Virginia +was being heavily reinforced from New York. The only safe course seemed +to march northward and join in the operations in Virginia; then +afterwards to return southward. This course Cornwallis pursued, arriving +at Petersburg and taking command of the troops there on the 20th of May. + + [Sidenote: Greene takes Camden, May 10, 1781.] + + [Sidenote: Battle of Eutaw Springs, Sept. 8, 1781.] + +Meanwhile Greene, after pursuing Cornwallis for about fifty miles from +Guilford, faced about and marched with all speed upon Camden, a hundred +and sixty miles distant. Whatever his adversary might do, he was now +going to seize the great prize of the campaign, and break the enemy's +hold upon South Carolina. Lord Rawdon held Camden. Greene stopped at +Hobkirk's Hill, two miles to the north, and sent Marion and Lee to take +Fort Watson, and thus cut the enemy's communications with the coast. On +April 23 Fort Watson surrendered; on the 25th Rawdon defeated Greene at +Hobkirk's Hill, but as his communications were cut, the victory did him +no good. He was obliged to retreat toward the coast, and Greene took +Camden on the 10th of May. Having thus obtained the commanding point, +Greene went on until he had reduced every one of the inland posts. At +last on the 8th of September he fought an obstinate battle at Eutaw +Springs, in which both sides claimed the victory. The facts were that he +drove the British from their first position, but they rallied upon a +second position from which he failed to drive them. Here, however, as +always after one of Greene's battles, it was the enemy who retreated +and he who pursued. His strategy never failed. After Eutaw Springs the +British remained shut up in Charleston under cover of their ships, and +the American government was reestablished over South Carolina. Among all +the campaigns in history that have been conducted with small armies, +there have been few, if any, more brilliant than Greene's. + + [Sidenote: Lafayette and Cornwallis in Virginia, May-Sept., 1718.] + +There was something especially piquant in the way in which after +Guilford he left Cornwallis to himself. It reminds one of a chess-player +who first gets the queen off the board, where she can do no harm, and +then wins the game against the smaller pieces. As for Cornwallis, when +he reached Petersburg, May 20, he found himself at the head of 5000 men. +Arnold had just been recalled to New York, and Lafayette, who had been +sent down to oppose him, was at Richmond with 3000 men. A campaign of +nine weeks ensued, in the first part of which Cornwallis tried to catch +Lafayette and bring him to battle. The general movement was from +Richmond up to Fredericksburg, then over toward Charlottesville, then +back to the James river, then down the north bank of the river. But +during the last part the tables were turned, and it was Lafayette, +reinforced by Wayne and Steuben, that pursued Cornwallis on his retreat +to the coast. At the end of July the British general reached Yorktown, +where he was reinforced and waited with 7000 men. + + [Sidenote: Washington's masterly movement.] + +We may now change our simile, and liken Cornwallis to a ball between two +bats. The first bat, which had knocked him up into Virginia, was Greene; +the second, which sent him quite out of the game, was Washington. The +remarkable movement which the latter general now proceeded to execute +would have been impossible without French cooeperation. A French fleet of +overwhelming power, under the Count de Grasse, was approaching +Chesapeake bay. Washington, in readiness for it, had first moved +Rochambeau's army from Rhode Island across Connecticut to the Hudson +river. Then, as soon as all the elements of the situation were +disclosed, he left part of his force in position on the Hudson, and in a +superb march led the rest down to Virginia. Sir Henry Clinton at New +York was completely hoodwinked. He feared that the real aim of the +French fleet was New York, in which case it would be natural that an +American land-force should meet it at Staten island. Now a glance at the +map of New Jersey will show that Washington's army, starting from West +Point, could march more than half the way toward Philadelphia and still +be supposed to be aiming at Staten island. Washington was a master hand +for secrecy. When his movement was first disclosed, his own generals, as +well as Sir Henry Clinton, took it for granted that Staten island was +the point aimed at. It was not until he had passed Philadelphia that +Clinton began to surmise that he might be going down to Virginia. + +When this fact at length dawned upon the British commander, he made a +futile attempt at a diversion by sending Benedict Arnold to attack New +London. It was as weak as the act of a drowning man who catches at a +straw. Arnold's expedition, cruel and useless as it was, crowned his +infamy. A sad plight for a man of his power! If he had only had more +strength of character, he might now have been marching with his old +friend Washington to victory. With this wretched affair at New London, +the brilliant and wicked Benedict Arnold disappears from American +history. He died in London, in 1801, a broken-hearted and penitent man, +as his grandchildren tell us, praying God with his last breath to +forgive his awful crime. + + [Sidenote: Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Oct. 19, 1781.] + +Washington's march was so swift and so cunningly planned that nothing +could check it. On the 26th of September the situation was complete. +Washington had added his force to that of Lafayette, so that 16,000 men +blockaded Cornwallis upon the Yorktown peninsula. The great French +fleet, commanding the waters about Chesapeake bay, closed in behind and +prevented escape. It was a very unusual thing for the French thus to get +control of the water and defy the British on their own element. It was +Washington's unwearied vigilance that, after waiting long for such a +chance, had seized it without a moment's delay. As soon as Cornwallis +was thus caught between a hostile army and a hostile fleet, the problem +was solved. On the 19th of October the British army surrendered. +Washington presently marched his army back to the Hudson and made his +headquarters at Newburgh. + + [Sidenote: Overthrow of George III.'s political schemes, May, 1784.] + +When Lord North at his office in London heard the dismal news, he walked +up and down the room, wringing his hands and crying, "O God, it is all +over!" Yorktown was indeed decisive. In the course of the winter the +British lost Georgia. The embers of Indian warfare still smouldered on +the border, but the great War for Independence was really at an end. The +king's friends had for some time been losing strength in England, and +Yorktown completed their defeat. In March, 1782, Lord North's ministry +resigned. A succession of short-lived ministries followed; first, Lord +Rockingham's, until July, 1782; then Lord Shelburne's, until February, +1783; then, after five weeks without a government, there came into power +the strange Coalition between Fox and North, from April to December. +During these two years the king was trying to intrigue with one interest +against another so as to maintain his own personal government. With this +end in view he tried the bold experiment of dismissing the Coalition +and making the young William Pitt prime minister, without a majority in +Parliament. After a fierce constitutional struggle, which lasted all +winter, Pitt dissolved Parliament, and in the new election in May, 1784, +obtained the greatest majority ever given to an English minister. But +the victory was Pitt's and the people's, not the king's. This election +of 1784 overthrew all the cherished plans of George III. in pursuance of +which he had driven the American colonies into rebellion. It established +cabinet government more firmly than ever, so that for the next seventeen +years the real ruler of Great Britain was William Pitt. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +BIRTH OF THE NATION. + + + [Sidenote: The treaty of peace, 1782-83.] + +The year 1782 was marked by great victories for the British in the West +Indies and at Gibraltar. But they did not alter the situation in +America. The treaty of peace by which Great Britain acknowledged the +independence of the United States was made under Lord Shelburne's +ministry in the autumn of 1782, and adopted and signed by the Coalition +on the 3d of September, 1783. The negotiations were carried on at Paris +by Franklin, Jay, and John Adams, on the part of the Americans; and they +won a diplomatic victory in securing for the United States the country +between the Alleghany mountains and the Mississippi river. This was done +against the wishes of the French government, which did not wish to see +the United States become too powerful. At the same time Spain recovered +Minorca and the Floridas. France got very little except the satisfaction +of having helped in diminishing the British empire. + + [Sidenote: Troubles with the army, 1781-83.] + +The return of peace did not bring contentment to the Americans. Because +Congress had no means of raising a revenue or enforcing its decrees, it +was unable to make itself respected either at home or abroad. For want +of pay the army became very troublesome. In January, 1781, there had +been a mutiny of Pennsylvania and New Jersey troops which at one moment +looked very serious. In the spring of 1782 some of the officers, +disgusted with the want of efficiency in the government, seem to have +entertained a scheme for making Washington king; but Washington met the +suggestion with a stern rebuke. In March, 1783, inflammatory appeals +were made to the officers at the headquarters of the army at Newburgh. +It seems to have been intended that the army should overawe Congress and +seize upon the government until the delinquent states should contribute +the money needed for satisfying the soldiers and other public creditors. +Gates either originated this scheme or willingly lent himself to it, but +an eloquent speech from Washington prevailed upon the officers to reject +and condemn it. + +On the 19th of April, 1783, the eighth anniversary of Lexington, the +cessation of hostilities was formally proclaimed, and the soldiers were +allowed to go home on furloughs. The army was virtually disbanded. There +were some who thought that this ought not to be done while the British +forces still remained in New York; but Congress was afraid of the army +and quite ready to see it scattered. On the 21st of June Congress was +driven from Philadelphia by a small band of drunken soldiers clamorous +for pay. It was impossible for Congress to get money. Of the Continental +taxes assessed in 1783, only one fifth part had been paid by the middle +of 1785. After peace was made, France had no longer any end to gain by +lending us money, and European bankers, as well as European governments, +regarded American credit as dead. + + [Sidenote: Congress unable to fulfil the treaty.] + +There was a double provision of the treaty which could not be carried +out because of the weakness of Congress. It had been agreed that +Congress should request the state governments to repeal various laws +which they had made from time to time confiscating the property of +Tories and hindering the collection of private debts due from American +to British merchants. Congress did make such a request, but it was not +heeded. The laws hindering the payment of debts were not repealed; and +as for the Tories, they were so badly treated that between 1783 and 1785 +more than 100,000 left the country. Those from the southern states went +mostly to Florida and the Bahamas; those from the north made the +beginnings of the Canadian states of Ontario and New Brunswick. A good +many of them were reimbursed for their losses by Parliament. + + [Sidenote: Great Britain retaliates, presuming upon the weakness of + the feeling of union among the states.] + +When the British government saw that these provisions of the treaty were +not fulfilled, it retaliated by refusing to withdraw its troops from +the northern and western frontier posts. The British army sailed from +Charleston on the 14th of December, 1782, and from New York on the 25th +of November, 1783, but in contravention of the treaty small garrisons +remained at Ogdensburgh, Oswego, Niagara, Erie, Sandusky, Detroit, and +Mackinaw until the 1st of June, 1796. Besides this, laws were passed +which bore very severely upon American commerce, and the Americans found +it impossible to retaliate because the different states would not agree +upon any commercial policy in common. On the other hand, the states +began making commercial war upon each other, with navigation laws and +high tariffs. Such laws were passed by New York to interfere with the +trade of Connecticut, and the merchants of the latter state began to +hold meetings and pass resolutions forbidding all trade whatever with +New York. + +The old quarrels about territory were kept up, and in 1784 the troubles +in Wyoming and in the Green Mountains came to the very verge of civil +war. People in Europe, hearing of such things, believed that the Union +would soon fall to pieces and become the prey of foreign powers. It was +disorder and calamity of this sort that such men as Hutchinson had +feared, in case the control of Great Britain over the colonies should +cease. George III. looked upon it all with satisfaction, and believed +that before long the states would one after another become repentant and +beg to be taken back into the British empire. + + [Sidenote: The craze for paper money and the Shays rebellion, 1786.] + +The troubles reached their climax in 1786. Because there seemed to be no +other way of getting money, the different states began to issue their +promissory notes, and then tried to compel people by law to receive such +notes as money. There was a strong "paper money" party in all the states +except Connecticut and Delaware. The most serious trouble was in Rhode +Island and Massachusetts. In both states the farmers had been much +impoverished by the war. Many farms were mortgaged, and now and then one +was sold to satisfy creditors. The farmers accordingly clamoured for +paper money, but the merchants in towns like Boston or Providence, +understanding more about commerce, were opposed to any such miserable +makeshifts. In Rhode Island the farmers prevailed. Paper money was +issued, and harsh laws were passed against all who should refuse to take +it at its face value. The merchants refused, and in the towns nearly all +business was stopped during the summer of 1786. + +In the Massachusetts legislature the paper money party was defeated. +There was a great outcry among the farmers against merchants and +lawyers, and some were heard to maintain that the time had come for +wiping out all debts. In August, 1786, the malcontents rose in +rebellion, headed by one Daniel Shays, who had been a captain in the +Continental army. They began by trying to prevent the courts from +sitting, and went on to burn barns, plunder houses, and attack the +arsenal at Springfield. The state troops were called out, under General +Lincoln, two or three skirmishes were fought, in which a few lives were +lost, and at length in February, 1787, the insurrection was suppressed. + + [Sidenote: The Mississippi question, 1786.] + +At that time the mouth of the Mississippi river and the country on its +western bank belonged to Spain. Kentucky and Tennessee were rapidly +becoming settled by people from Virginia and North Carolina, and these +settlers wished to trade with New Orleans. The Spanish government was +unfriendly and wished to prevent such traffic. The people of New England +felt little interest in the southwestern country or the Mississippi +river, but were very anxious to make a commercial treaty with Spain. The +government of Spain refused to make such a treaty except on condition +that American vessels should not be allowed to descend the Mississippi +river below the mouth of the Yazoo. When Congress seemed on the point of +yielding to this demand, the southern states were very angry. The New +England states were equally angry at what they called the obstinacy of +the South, and threats of secession were heard on both sides. + + [Sidenote: The northwestern territory; the first national domain, + 1780-87.] + +Perhaps the only thing that kept the Union from falling to pieces in +1786 was the Northwestern Territory, which George Rogers Clark had +conquered in 1779, and which skilful diplomacy had enabled us to keep +when the treaty was drawn up in 1782. Virginia claimed this territory +and actually held it, but New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut also +had claims upon it. It was the idea of Maryland that such a vast region +ought not to be added to any one state, or divided between two or three +of the states, but ought to be the common property of the Union. +Maryland had refused to ratify the Articles of Confederation until the +four states that claimed the northwestern territory should yield their +claims to the United States. This was done between 1780 and 1785, and +thus for the first time the United States government was put in +possession of valuable property which could be made to yield an income +and pay debts. This piece of property was about the first thing in which +all the American people were alike interested, after they had won their +independence. It could be opened to immigration and made to pay the +whole cost of the war and much more. During these troubled years +Congress was busy with plans for organizing this territory, which at +length resulted in the famous Ordinance of 1787 laying down fundamental +laws for the government of what has since developed into the five great +states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. While other +questions tended to break up the Union, the questions that arose in +connection with this work tended to hold it together. + + [Sidenote: The convention at Annapolis, Sept. 11, 1786.] + +The need for easy means of communication between the old Atlantic states +and this new country behind the mountains led to schemes which ripened +in course of time into the construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio and +the Erie canals. In discussing such schemes, Maryland and Virginia found +it necessary to agree upon some kind of commercial policy to be pursued +by both states. Then it was thought best to seize the occasion for +calling a general convention of the states to decide upon a uniform +system of regulations for commerce. This convention was held at +Annapolis in September, 1786, but only five states had sent delegates, +and so the convention adjourned after adopting an address written by +Alexander Hamilton, calling for another convention to meet at +Philadelphia on the second Monday of the following May, "to devise such +further provisions as shall appear necessary to render the constitution +of the federal government adequate to the exigencies of the Union." + +The Shays rebellion and the quarrel about the Mississippi river had by +this time alarmed people so that it began to be generally admitted that +the federal government must be in some way strengthened. If there were +any doubt as to this, it was removed by the action of New York. An +amendment to the Articles of Confederation had been proposed, giving +Congress the power of levying customs-duties and appointing the +collectors. By the summer of 1786 all the states except New York had +consented to this. But in order to amend the articles, unanimous consent +was necessary, and in February, 1787, New York's refusal defeated the +amendment. Congress was thus left without any immediate means of raising +a revenue, and it became quite clear that something must be done without +delay. + + [Sidenote: The Federal Convention at Philadelphia, May-Sept., 1787.] + +The famous Federal Convention met at Philadelphia in May, 1787, and +remained in session four months, with Washington presiding. Its work was +the framing of the government under which we are now living, and in +which the evils of the old confederation have been avoided. The trouble +had all the while been how to get the whole American people +_represented_ in some body that could thus rightfully _tax_ the whole +American people. This was the question which the Albany Congress had +tried to settle in 1754, and which the Federal Convention did settle in +1787. + +In the old confederation, starting with the Continental Congress in +1774, the government was all vested in a single body which represented +states, but did not represent individual persons. It was for that +reason that it was called a congress rather than a parliament. It was +more like a congress of European states than the legislative body of a +nation, such as the English parliament was. It had no executive and no +judiciary. It could not tax, and it could not enforce its decrees. + + [Sidenote: The new government, in which the Revolution was + consummated, 1789.] + +The new constitution changed all this by creating the House of +Representatives which stood in the same relation to the whole American +people as the legislative assembly of each single state to the people of +that state. In this body the people were represented, and could +therefore tax themselves. At the same time in the Senate the old +equality between the states was preserved. All control over commerce, +currency, and finance was lodged in this new Congress, and absolute free +trade was established between the states. In the office of President a +strong executive was created. And besides all this there was a system of +federal courts for deciding questions arising under federal laws. Most +remarkable of all, in some respects, was the power given to the federal +Supreme Court, of deciding, in special cases, whether laws passed by the +several states, or by Congress itself, were conformable to the Federal +Constitution. + +Many men of great and various powers played important parts in effecting +this change of government which at length established the American +Union in such a form that it could endure; but the three who stood +foremost in the work were George Washington, James Madison, and +Alexander Hamilton. Two other men, whose most important work came +somewhat later, must be mentioned along with these, for the sake of +completeness. It was John Marshall, chief justice of the United States +from 1801 to 1835, whose profound decisions did more than those of any +later judge could ever do toward establishing the sense in which the +Constitution must be understood. It was Thomas Jefferson, president of +the United States from 1801 to 1809, whose sound democratic instincts +and robust political philosophy prevented the federal government from +becoming too closely allied with the interests of particular classes, +and helped to make it what it should be,--a "government of the people, +by the people, and for the people." In the _making_ of the government +under which we live, these five names--Washington, Madison, Hamilton, +Jefferson, and Marshall--stand before all others. I mention them here +chronologically, in the order of the times at which their influence was +felt at its maximum. + +When the work of the Federal Convention was sanctioned by the +Continental Congress and laid before the people of the several states, +to be ratified by special conventions in each state, there was earnest +and sometimes bitter discussion. Many people feared that the new +government would soon degenerate into a tyranny. But the century and a +half of American history that had already elapsed had afforded such +noble political training for the people that the discussion was, on the +whole, more reasonable and more fruitful than any that had ever before +been undertaken by so many men. The result was the adoption of the +Federal Constitution, followed by the inauguration of George Washington, +on the 30th of April, 1789, as President of the United States. And with +this event our brief story may fitly end. + + + + +COLLATERAL READING. + + +The following books may be recommended to the reader who wishes to get a +general idea of the American Revolution:-- + +1. GENERAL WORKS. The most comprehensive and readable account is +contained in Mr. Fiske's larger work, _The American Revolution_, in two +volumes. The subject is best treated from the biographical point of view +in Washington Irving's _Life of Washington_, vols. i.-iv. Mr. Fiske has +abridged and condensed these four octavos into one stout duodecimo +entitled _Washington and his Country_, Boston, Ginn & Co., 1887. Our +young friends may find Frothingham's _Rise of the Republic_ rather close +reading, but one can hardly name a book that will more richly reward +them for their study. Green's _Historical View of the Revolution_ should +be read by every one. Carrington's _Battles of the Revolution_ makes the +military operations quite clear with numerous maps. Very young readers +find it interesting to begin with Coffin's _Boys of Seventy-Six_, or C. +H. Woodman's _Boys and Girls of the Revolution_. The social life of the +time is admirably portrayed in Scudder's _Men and Manners in America One +Hundred Years Ago_. See also Thornton's _Pulpit of the Revolution_. +Lossing's _Field Book of the Revolution_--two royal octavos profusely +illustrated--is an excellent book to browse in. Lecky's _England in the +Eighteenth Century_ gives an admirable statement of England's position. + +2. BIOGRAPHIES. Lodge's _George Washington_, 2 vols., Scudder's _George +Washington_, Tyler's _Patrick Henry_, Tudor's _Otis_, Hosmer's _Samuel +Adams_, Morse's _John Adams_, Frothingham's _Warren_, Quincy's _Josiah +Quincy_, Parton's _Franklin_ and _Jefferson_, Fonblanque's _Burgoyne_, +Lossing's _Schuyler_, Riedesel's _Memoirs_, Stone's _Brant_, Arnold's +_Arnold_, Sargent's _Andre_, Kapp's _Steuben_ and _Kalb_, Greene's +_Greene_, Amory's _Sullivan_, Graham's _Morgan_, Simms's _Marion_, +Abbott's _Paul Jones_, John Adams's _Letters to his Wife_, Morse's +_Hamilton_, Gay's _Madison_, Roosevelt's _Gouverneur Morris_, Russell's +_Fox_, Albemarle's _Rockingham_, Fitzmaurice's _Shelburne_, MacKnight's +_Burke_, Macaulay's essay on _Chatham_. + +3. FICTION. Cooper's _Chainbearer_, Miss Sedgwick's _Linwoods_, +Paulding's _Old Continental_, Mrs. Child's _Rebels_, Motley's _Morton's +Hope_, Herman Melville's _Israel Potter_, Kennedy's _Horse Shoe +Robinson_. There is an account of the battle of Bunker Hill in Cooper's +_Lionel Lincoln_. Thompson's _Green Mountain Boys_ gives interesting +descriptions of many of the events in that region. The border warfare is +treated in Grace Greenwood's _Forest Tragedy_ and Hoffman's _Greyslaer_. +Simms's _Partisan_ and _Mellichampe_ deal with events in South Carolina +in 1780, and later events are covered in his _Scout_, _Katharine +Walford_, _Woodcraft_, _Forayers_, and _Eutaw_. See also Miss Sedgwick's +_Walter Thornley_, and Cooper's _Pilot_ and _Spy_, and H. C. Watson's +_Camp Fires of the Revolution_. The scenes of _Paul and Persis_, by Mary +E. Brush, are laid in the Mohawk Valley. + +For further references, see Justin Winsor's _Reader's Handbook of the +American Revolution_, a book which is absolutely indispensable to every +one who wishes to study the subject. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +INDEX. + + +Adams, John, 46, 84, 88, 89, 98, 100, 113, 149, 182. + +Adams, Samuel, 53, 58, 68, 71, 72, 73, 75, 78, 82, 84, 85, 88, 107, 149. + +Aix-la-Chapelle, treaty of, 6. + +Albany Congress, 34, 190. + +Albany Plan, 35. + +Algonquins, 28-30, 37. + +Alleghany mountains, 27. + +Allen, Ethan, 87. + +Andre John, 170, 171. + +Andros, Sir Edmund, 22. + +Annapolis convention, 189. + +Antislavery feeling, 126. + +Armada, the Invincible, 6. + +Armed Neutrality, 159. + +Army, continental, 88, 124; + disbanded, 183. + +Arnold, Benedict, 87, 93, 94, 118, 136, 137, 143, 167-171, 173, 175, 177, + 179. + +Ashe, Samuel, 163. + +Attucks, Crispus, 75. + +Augusta, Ga., 163. + + +Bacon's rebellion, 21. + +Baltimore, Congress flees to, 118. + +Barons' War, 19. + +Barre, Isaac, 69, 75. + +Barter, 162. + +Baum, Col., 134. + +Bemis Heights, 143. + +Bennington, 133, 134, 137, 172. + +Berkeley, Sir W., 21. + +Bernard, Sir F., 68, 72. + +Boston, 7, 44-47; + "Massacre," 72-75; + "Tea Party," 79-83; + Port Bill, 83; + siege of, 87-94. + +Braddock, Edward, 36. + +Brandywine, 141. + +Brant, Joseph, 108, 135, 136, 154, 155. + +Breymann, Col., 134. + +Briar Creek, 163. + +Brooklyn Heights, 111-113, 128. + +Bunker Hill, 91, 128. + +Burgoyne, John, 90, 125-134, 137, 140-143, 148, 150, 158, 172. + +Burlington, N. J., 120. + +Burke, Edmund, 62, 69. + +Butler, Col. John, 134, 154. + +Butts Hill, 154. + +Byron, Admiral, 150. + + +Cahokia, 156. + +Calvert family, 13. + +Camden, Lord, 69. + +Camden, S. C., 166, 171, 173, 176. + +Campbell, Col. William, 171. + +Canada, invasion of, 93, 94. + +Canals, 189. + +Carleton, Sir Guy, 93, 94, 109, 115, 118. + +Carlisle, Pa., 26. + +Carr, Dabney, 79. + +Castle William, 73, 75. + +Caudine Fork, 144. + +Cavaliers, 9. + +Cavendish, Lord John, 69. + +Charles II., 22, 43, 45. + +Charleston, S. C., 80, 165. + +Charlestown, Mass., 86 + +Chase, Samuel, 84. + +Cherry Valley, 154. + +Choiseul, Duke de, 38. + +Clark, George Rogers, 156, 188. + +Cleaveland, Col., 171. + +Cleveland, Grover, 1. + +Clinton, Sir H., 90, 96, 140, 142, 150-152, 156-158, 164, 165, 178, 179. + +Coalition ministry, 180. + +Cobden, Richard, 61. + +Colonial trade, 42-44. + +Committees of correspondence, 79. + +Commons, House of, 19, 58-61. + +Concord, 85, 86. + +Congress, Continental, 79, 84, 87-90, 100-103, 106, 115-117, 161, 162, 183, + 184, 191. + +Congress, Stamp Act, 56. + +Connecticut, 13, 21, 23, 77, 98, 156. + +Conway, Henry, 69. + +Conway Cabal, 148, 149. + +Cornwallis, Lord, 104, 121, 122, 165, 171-180. + +Cowpens, 174. + +Cromwell, Oliver, 9. + +Crown Point, 87. + +Currency, Continental, 162, 166. + + +Deane, Silas, 123. + +Declaration of Independence, 97-103, 127. + +Declaratory Act, 58. + +Delaware, 9, 10. + +Delaware river, 142. + +Denmark, 159. + +Desertions, 166. + +D'Estaing, Count, 151-154, 164. + +Dickinson, John, 84, 92, 98, 101, 102. + +Discovery, French doctrine of, 27. + +Dorchester Heights, 94, 128. + +Dunmore, Lord, 95. + + +"Early" American history, 5. + +Edinburgh, 159. + +Elkton, 140, 141. + +Elmira, 155. + +Eutaw Springs, 176. + + +Fairfield, Conn., 156. + +Federal convention, 190, 191. + +Ferguson, Major, 171, 172. + +Five Nations, 29. + +Flamborough Head, 150. + +Fort Duquesne, 33; + Edward, 131, 132, 140; + Lee, 114-116; + Moultrie, 105; + Necessity, 33; + Niagara, 154, 155; + Stanwix, 135-137; + Washington, 114-117, 165; + Watson, 176. + +Forts on the Delaware, 141. + +Fox, Charles, 69, 180. + +Franklin, Benjamin, 34, 54, 89, 113, 123, 182. + +Franklin, William, 106. + +Fraser, Gen., 131. + +Frederick the Great, 150. + +French power in Canada, 10, 20, 26-38. + +Frontenac, Count, 29. + +Frontier between English and French colonies, 26. + + +Gage, Thomas, 29, 83, 85, 91, 92. + +Gansevoort, Peter, 135. + +Gaspee, schooner, 77. + +Gates, Horatio, 39, 90, 130, 131, 137, 143, 148, 165, 166, 168, 173. + +George III., his character and schemes, 59-71, 146; + glee over news from Ticonderoga, 120; + tries to make an alliance with Russia, 158, 159; + his schemes overthrown, 180, 181. + +Georgia, 11, 96, 163. + +Germaine, Lord George, 147, 156, 166. + +Germantown, 141. + +Gibraltar, 158, 182. + +Gladstone, W. E., 61. + +Governments of the colonies, 13-16. + +Grasse, Count de, 178. + +Green Mountains, 77, 87, 131, 185. + +Greene, Nathanael, 90, 115, 116, 167, 173-177. + +Grenville, George, 41, 49, 51, 54, 124. + +Gridley, Jeremiah, 46. + +Guilford Court House, 175, 177. + + +Hackensack, 115, 116. + +Hale, Nathan, 114. + +Hamilton, commandant at Detroit, 155. + +Hamilton, Alexander, 189, 192. + +Hancock, John, 80, 87, 89. + +Harlem Heights, 114, 129. + +Harrison, Benjamin, 6. + +Hastings, Warren, 158. + +Heath, William, 90, 115. + +Henry VIII., 59. + +Henry, Patrick, 48, 55, 58, 84, 144. + +Herkimer, Nicholas, 135, 136. + +Hessian troops, 93. + +Hobkirk's Hill, 176. + +Holland and Great Britain, 160. + +Hopkins, Stephen, 77. + +Howe, Richard, Lord, 105, 106, 113, 150, 153. + +Howe, Sir William, 39, 90, 94, 104, 105, 112-118, 125, 127, 137-143, + 148, 150. + +Hubbardton, 131. + +Hudson river, 95, 115, 128, 157, 170. + +Hutchinson, Thomas, 46, 56, 72, 75, 77, 78, 81, 83, 107, 185. + +Hyder, Ali, 158. + + +Impost amendment defeated by New York, 190. + +Indian tribes, 27, 28. + +Iroquois, 28, 29. + + +Jay, John, 92, 182. + +Jefferson, Thomas, 55, 89, 100, 103, 126, 127, 192. + +Jeffreys, George, 17. + +Johnson, Sir John, 108, 134. + +Johnson, Sir William, 108. + +Johnson Hall, 26, 108. + +Jones, David, 133. + +Jones, Paul, 159, 160. + + +Kalb, John, 38, 123, 165, 166. + +Kaskaskia, 156. + +Kentucky, 155, 171, 187. + +King's friends, 64, 69, 84. + +King's Mountain, 171, 172, 174. + +Kirkland, Samuel, 135. + +Kosciuszko, Thaddeus, 123. + + +Lafayette, 123, 177. + +Land Bank, 20. + +Lee, Arthur, 123. + +Lee, Charles, 89, 105, 117-119, 122, 138, 140, 148, 150-152. + +Lee, Henry, 173. + +Lee, Richard Henry, 84, 97, 100. + +Lee, Robert Edward, 173. + +Leslie, Gen., 173. + +Leuktra, 144. + +Lexington, 86, 183. + +Lincoln, Abraham, 126. + +Lincoln, Benjamin, 131, 134, 143, 163-165, 167, 187. + +Livingston, Robert, 84, 98. + +Long House, 28, 29. + +Long Island, battle of, 112. + +Lords proprietary, 13. + +Louis XV., 31. + + +Macaulay, Lord, 49. + +McCrea, Jane, 132, 133. + +McDowell, Col., 171. + +McNeil, Mrs., 132, 133. + +Madison, James, 192. + +Mahratta war, 158. + +Majuba Hill, 172. + +Manchester, Vt., 133. + +Marion, Francis, 165, 174. + +Marshall, John, 192. + +Martha's Vineyard, 156. + +Martin, Josiah, 96. + +Maryland, 8, 99, 140, 188. + +Massachusetts, 21, 22, 68, 71, 72, 83, 97, 107. + +Mecklenburg county, N. C., 95, 171, 173. + +Minden, 147. + +Minisink, 155. + +Minorca, 158, 182. + +Mississippi valley, 182, 187. + +Mobilians, 27. + +Molasses Act, 49-51, 67. + +Monk, Gen., 169. + +Monmouth, 151, 152. + +Montgomery, Richard, 90, 93, 94. + +Morgan, Daniel, 93, 94, 137, 143, 167, 173, 174. + +Morris, Robert, 102, 120. + +Morristown, 119, 122, 123. + +Moultrie, William, 105. + + +New England colonies, 6-8. + +New Hampshire, 76, 98. + +New Haven, 156. + +New Jersey, 11, 99. + +New Whigs, 60-62, 69. + +New York, 9, 66, 76, 80, 100, 108, 125, 143, 190. + +Newburgh, 180, 183. + +Norfolk, Va., 95. + +North, Lord, 66, 76, 144-147, 180. + +North Carolina, 11, 77, 96, 171-175. + +Northcastle, 115. + +Northwestern Territory, 188. + +Nullification of the Regulating Act, 85. + +Norwalk, 156. + + +Ohio, 189. + +Ohio Company, 32. + +Old Sarum, 59. + +Old South church, 53, 72, 82. + +Old Whigs, 59-64, 69. + +Otis, James, 45-47, 62, 72, 74, 144. + + +Paper money, 20, 162, 186. + +Parker, Sir Peter, 96, 104. + +Parsons' Cause, 47, 48. + +Paxton, Charles, 44. + +Pendleton, Edmund, 84. + +Penn family, 14. + +Pennsylvania, 11, 13, 77, 99, 102. + +Pensacola, 158. + +Periods in history, 4. + +Petersburg, Va., 177. + +Petition (last) to the king, 92. + +Petty William (Earl of Shelburne), 61, 69, 180, 182. + +Philadelphia, 80, 84, 138-142, 151, 168, 183. + +Pigott, Sir Robert, 153. + +Pitt, William (Earl of Chatham), 57, 61, 62, 64, 66, 69, 71, 84, 145, 146. + +Pitt, William, the younger, 61, 181. + +Pontiac's war, 38, 41. + +Pownall, Thomas, 14. + +Preston, Capt., 74. + +Prevost, Gen., 163, 164. + +Princeton, 120, 121. + +Proprietary government, 13. + +Protectionist legislation, 43, 50. + +Pulaski, Casimir, 123, 164. + +Putnam, Israel, 39, 87, 90, 112, 115. + + +Rawdon, Lord, 176. + +Reform, parliamentary, 61-63. + +Regulating Act, 83, 85; + repealed, 144. + +Representation in England, 58-61. + +Requisitions, 31, 54, 161. + +Retaliatory acts, 83; + repealed, 144. + +Revere, Paul, 4, 86. + +Rhode Island, 18, 21, 23, 70, 77, 96, 153, 154, 164, 166, 186. + +Riedesel, Gen., 131. + +Riots in Boston, 56. + +Rochambeau, Count, 166, 178. + +Rockingham, Lord, 57, 64, 180. + +Rodney, Caesar, 102. + +Rodney, George, 160. + +Rotten boroughs, 59, 62. + +Royal governors, 14-18. + +Russell, Lord John, 61. + +Russell, Lord William, 17. + +Russia, 159. + +Rutledge, Edward, 113. + +Rutledge, John, 84. + + +St. Clair, Arthur, 131, 167. + +St. Eustatius, 160. + +St. Leger, Harry, 125, 126, 135-137. + +Salaries, 15-18, 65-68. + +Savannah, 163, 164. + +Savile, Sir George, 69. + +Schuyler, Philip, 90, 109, 119, 129-133, 136. + +Secession, threats of, 187. + +Senegambia, 158. + +Sevier, John, 155, 171. + +Shays rebellion, 186. + +Shelburne, Lord, 61, 69, 180, 182. + +Shelby, Isaac, 171. + +Shirley, William, 52. + +Sidney, Algernon, 17. + +Silver bank, 20. + +Six Nations, 29, 34, 93, 125. + +Snyder, Christopher, 74. + +Sons of Liberty, 57. + +South Carolina, 96, 102, 104, 105, 127, 173-177. + +Spain declares war with Great Britain, 158. + +Spanish possessions in North America, 37, 158, 182. + +Spotswood, Alexander, 14. + +Stamp Act, 4, 41, 52, 58, 124. + +Stark, John, 39, 87, 134. + +Staten Island, 109, 117, 122, 139, 178. + +Steuben, Baron, 123, 150, 173, 177. + +Stillwater, 132. + +Stirling, William Alexander, called Lord, 112. + +Stony Point, 156, 157, 163. + +Strachey, Sir Henry, 151. + +Stuart Kings, 17, 60. + +Suffolk resolves, 85. + +Sullivan, John, 90, 112, 153-155. + +Sumter, Thomas, 165. + +Sunbury, 163. + +Supreme court, 191. + +Sweden, 159. + + +Tarleton, Banastre, 165, 174. + +Taxation, 16-20, 31, 52-54, 62. + +Tea Party, Boston, 4, 79-83. + +Tennessee, 155, 171, 187. + +Throg's Neck, 114. + +Ticonderoga, 87, 118, 125, 127, 128, 131, 134, 143. + +Tories, 12, 60, 93, 126, 154, 155, 163, 184. + +Town meetings, 7, 53. + +Townshend Acts, 64-68, 76, 78; + repealed, 144. + +Treaty of peace, 182. + +Tuscaroras, 29. + + +Union, want of, 34, 77, 161, 162, 182-191. + + +Valcour, Island, 118. + +Venango, 33. + +Vincennes, 156. + +Virginia, 8, 21, 24, 47, 48, 76, 79, 96, 97, 173. + + +Walpole, Sir Robert, 31. + +War expenses, 30-32, 36, 40, 41. + +Ward, Artemas, 90, 117. + +Warner, Seth, 87, 131, 134. + +Warren, Joseph, 85, 86. + +Washington, George, 1, 4, 5, 30, 55; + his mission to Venango, 33; + surrenders Fort Necessity, 33; + in Virginia legislature, 76; + in the Continental Congress, 84; + appointed to command the army, 88; + not yet in favour of independence, 89; + takes command at Cambridge, 92; + takes Boston, 94; + addressed by Lord Howe, 106; + his character as general and statesman, 110, 111; + withdraws his army from Brooklyn Heights, 113; + masterly campaign in New York and New Jersey, 114-122; + endeavours to secure an efficient regular army, 123-125; + campaign of June, 1777, in New Jersey, 139; + Brandywine and Germantown, 141, 142; + intrigues of his enemies, 148, 149; + Monmouth, 151, 152; + sends a force against the Iroquois, 154, 155; + Stony Point, 156, 157; + his favourite generals often ill used by Congress, 167; + his superb march and capture of Yorktown, 178-180; + scheme for making him king, 183; + elected first president of the United States, 193. + +Washington, William, 173. + +Wayne, Anthony, 157, 177. + +Webster, Daniel, 101. + +West Point, 115, 117, 157, 170. + +Western frontier posts, 185. + +White Plains, 115, 129. + +Wildcat banks, 20. + +William III., 45. + +Williams, James, 171. + +Wilson, James, 98. + +Winchester, Va., 26. + +Winnsborough, S. C., 172. + +Wright, Sir James, 164. + +Writs of assistance, 4, 47. + +Wyoming, 77, 154. 186. + + +Yorktown, 178-180. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +HISTORY TEXT BOOKS + +TAPPAN'S AMERICAN HERO STORIES + +AMERICAN HERO STORIES. Twenty-nine stories of the great figures in +American history. The arrangement is chronological, and the men told +about include explorers, colonists, pioneers, soldiers, presidents, etc. +With 75 unusually interesting Illustrations. Cloth, crown 8vo, 265 +pages, 55 cents, _net._ + +TAPPAN'S OUR COUNTRY'S STORY + +OUR COUNTRY'S STORY. A connected account of the course of events in +United States history. Available as a stepping-stone to Fiske's History +of the United States for Schools, etc. With 265 Illustrations and Maps +in black and white, and 2 Maps in colors. Cloth, square 12mo, 267 pages, +65 cents, _net._ + +FISKE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES + +A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FOR SCHOOLS. 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Fully illustrated. _School Edition_, $1.10, _net._ Postpaid. + +PLOETZ'S EPITOME + +EPITOME OF ANCIENT, MEDIAEVAL, AND MODERN HISTORY. Translated and +enlarged by WILLIAM H. TILLINGHAST. Newly revised, with Additions +covering Recent Events. Crown 8vo, $3.00. + +HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY + +BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + +[Transcriber's Note: The following list of books has been combined from +the front and back matter and consolidated in one list here.] + +RIVERSIDE LITERATURE SERIES + +_All prices are net, postpaid._ + +1. Longfellow's Evangeline. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. Nos. 1, 4, and + 30, one vol., _linen_, .50. + +2. Longfellow's Courtship of Miles Standish; Elizabeth. _Pa._, .15; + _linen_, .25. + +3. A Dramatization of The Courtship of Miles Standish. _Paper_, .15. + +4. Whittier's Snow-Bound, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +5. Whittier's Mabel Martin, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 4, 5, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +6. Holmes's Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill Battle, etc. _Paper_, + .15; _linen_, .25. Nos. 6, 31, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +7, 8, 9. Hawthorne's Grandfather's Chair. In three parts. Each, _paper_, + .15. Nos. 7, 8, 9, complete, one vol., _linen_, .50. + +10. Hawthorne's Biographical Series. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. Nos. + 29, 10, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +11. Longfellow's Children's Hour, etc. _Pa._, .15. Nos. 11, 63, one + vol., _linen_, .40. + +12. Outlines--Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, and Lowell. _Paper_, .15. + +13, 14. Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. + Nos. 13, 14, complete, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +15. Lowell's Under the Old Elm, etc. _Pa._, .15. Nos. 30, 15, one vol., + _lin._, .40. + +16. Bayard Taylor's Lars. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +17, 18. Hawthorne's Wonder-Book. In two parts, each _paper_, .15. Nos. + 17, 18, complete, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +19, 20. Franklin's Autobiography. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. Nos. + 19, 20, complete, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +21. Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +22, 23. Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. + Nos. 22, 23, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +24. Washington's Farewell Addresses, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +25, 26. Longfellow's Golden Legend. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. + Nos. 25, 26, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +27. Thoreau's Forest Trees, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 28, 37, 27, one + vol., _linen_, .50. + +28. Burroughs's Birds and Bees. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 28, 36, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +29. Hawthorne's Little Daffydowndilly, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +30. Lowell's Vision of Sir Launfal, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +31. Holmes's My Hunt after the Captain, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +32. Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 133, 32, one + vol., _linen_, .40. + +33, 34, 35. Longfellow's Tales of a Wayside Inn. In three parts, each, + _pa._, .15. Nos. 33, 34, 35, complete, one vol., _linen_, .50. + +36. Burroughs's Sharp Eyes, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +37. Warner's A-Hunting of the Deer, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +38. Longfellow's Building of the Ship, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +39. Lowell's Books and Libraries, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 39, 123, one + vol., _linen_, .40. + +40. Hawthorne's Tales of the White Hills, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 40, + 69, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +41. Whittier's Tent on the Beach, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +42. Emerson's Fortune of the Republic, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +43. Ulysses among the Phaeacians. Bryant. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, + .25. + +44. Edgeworth's Waste Not, Want Not, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +45. Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25 + +46. Old Testament Stories in Scripture Language. _Paper_, .15. + +47, 48. Scudder's Fables and Folk Stories. In two parts, each, _paper_, + .15. Nos. 47, 48, complete, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +49, 50. Andersen's Stories. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. Nos. 49, + 50, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +51. Irving's Rip Van Winkle, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +52. Irving's The Voyage, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 51, 52, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +53. Scott's Lady of the Lake. _Paper_, .30. _Also, in Rolfe's Students' + Series, to Teachers_, .53. + +54. Bryant's Thanatopsis, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +55. Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. Nos. + 55, 67, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +56. Webster's First Bunker Hill Oration, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +57. Dickens's Christmas Carol. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +58. Dickens's Cricket on the Hearth. _Pa._, .15; Nos. 57, 58, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +59. Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +60, 61. Addison and Steele's The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers. In two + parts. Each, _paper_, .15.Nos. 60, 61, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +62. Fiske's War of Independence. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +63. Longfellow's Paul Revere's Ride, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +64, 65, 66. Lambs' Tales from Shakespeare. In three parts, each, + _paper_, .40. Nos. 64, 65, 66, one vol., _linen_, .50. + +67. Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +68. Goldsmith's Deserted Village, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +69. Hawthorne's The Old Manse, etc. _Pa._, .15. Nos. 40, 69, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +70. A Selection from Whittier's Child Life in Poetry. _Paper_, .15. + +71. A Selection from Whittier's Child Life in Prose. _Paper_, .15. Nos + 70, 71, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +72. Milton's Minor Poems. _Pa._, .15; _linen_, .25. Nos. 72, 94, one + vol., _linen_, .40. + +73. Tennyson's Enoch Arden, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +74. Gray's Elegy, etc.; Cowper's John Gilpin, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +75. Scudder's George Washington. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +76. Wordsworth's On the Intimations of Immortality, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +77. Burns's Cotter's Saturday Night, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +78. Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +79. Lamb's Old China, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +80. Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, etc.; Campbell's Lochiel's Warning, + etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +81. Holmes's Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +82. Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales. _Paper_, .50; _linen_, .60. + +83. Eliot's Silas Marner. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +84. Dana's Two Years Before the Mast. _Linen_, .60. + +85. Hughes's Tom Brown's School Days. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +86. Scott's Ivanhoe. _Paper_, .50; _linen_, .60. + +87. Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. _Paper_, .50; _linen_, .60. + +88. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. _Linen_, .60. + +89. Swift's Gulliver's Voyage to Lilliput. _Paper_, .15. + +90. Swift's Gulliver's Voyage to Brobdingnag. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 89, 90, + one vol., _linen_, .40. + +91. Hawthorne's House of the Seven Gables. _Paper_, .50; _linen_, .60. + +92. Burroughs's A Bunch of Herbs, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +93. Shakespeare's As You Like It. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +94. Milton's Paradise Lost. Books I-III. _Paper_, .15. + +95, 96, 97, 98. Cooper's Last of the Mohicans. In four parts, each, + _paper_, .15. Nos. 95-98, complete, _linen_, .60. + +99. Tennyson's Coming of Arthur, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +100. Burke's Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies. _Pa._, .15; + _linen_, .25. + +101. Pope's Iliad. Books I, VI, XXII, XXIV. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +102. Macaulay's Johnson and Goldsmith. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +103. Macaulay's Essay on John Milton, _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +104. Macaulay's Life and Writings of Addison. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, + .25. Nos. 103, 104, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +105. Carlyle's Essay on Burns. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +106. Shakespeare's Macbeth. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +107, 108. Grimms' Tales. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. Nos. 107, + 108, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +109. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +110. De Quincey's Flight of a Tartar Tribe. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +111. Tennyson's Princess. _Paper_, .30. _Also, in Rolfe's Students' + Series to Teachers_, .53. + +112. Virgil's AEneid. Books I-III. Translated by CRANCH. _Paper_, .15. + +113. Poems from Emerson. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 113, 42, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +114. Peabody's Old Greek Folk Stories. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +115. Browning's Pied Piper of Hamelin, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +116. Shakespeare's Hamlet. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +117, 118. Stories from the Arabian Nights. In two parts, each, _paper_, + .15. Nos. 117, 118, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +119. Poe's The Raven, The Fall of the House of Usher, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +120. Poe's The Gold-Bug, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 119, 120, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +121. Speech by Robert Young Hayne on Foote's Resolution. _Paper_, .15. + +122. Speech by Daniel Webster in Reply to Hayne. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 121, + 122, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +123. Lowell's Democracy, etc. _Paper_, .15. Nos. 39, 123, one vol., + _linen_, .40. + +124. Aldrich's Baby Bell, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +125. Dryden's Palamon and Arcite. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +126. Ruskin's King of the Golden River, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +127. Keats's Ode on a Grecian Urn, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +128. Byron's Prisoner of Chillon, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +129. Plato's Judgment of Socrates. Translated by P. E. MORN. _Paper_, .15. + +130. Emerson's The Superlative, and Other Essays. _Paper_, .15. + +131. Emerson's Nature, and Compensation. _Paper_, .15. + +132. Arnold's Sohrab and Rustum, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +133. Schurz's Abraham Lincoln. _Paper_, .15. + +134. Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel. _Paper_, .30. _Also in Rolfe's + Students' Series, to Teachers_, _net_ .50. + +135. Chaucer's Prologue. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +136. Chaucer's The Knight's Tale, and The Nun's Priest's Tale._Paper_, + .15. Nos. 135, 136, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +137. Bryant's Iliad. Books I, VI, XXII, and XXIV. _Paper_, .15. + +138. Hawthorne's The Custom House, and Main Street. _Paper_, .15. + +139. Howells's Doorstep Acquaintance, and Other Sketches. _Paper_, .15. + +140. Thackeray's Henry Esmond. _Linen_, .75. + +141. Three Outdoor Papers, by THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON. _Paper_, .15. + +142. Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +143. Plutarch's Life of Alexander the Great. North's Translation. + _Paper_, .15. + +144. Scudder's The Book of Legends, _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +145. Hawthorne's The Gentle Boy, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +146. Longfellow's Giles Corey. _Paper_, .15. + +147. Pope's Rape of the Lock, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +148. Hawthorne's Marble Faun. _Linen_, .60. + +149. Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +150. Ouida's Dog of Flanders, and the Nuernberg Stove. _Paper_, .15; + _linen_, .25. + +151. Ewing's Jackanapes, and The Brownies. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +152. Martineau's The Peasant and the Prince. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +153. Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +154. Shakespeare's Tempest. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +155. Irving's Life of Goldsmith. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +156. Tennyson's Gareth and Lynette, etc. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +157. The Song of Roland. Translated by ISABEL BUTLER. _Paper_, .30; + _linen_, .40. + +158. Malory's Book of Merlin and Book of Sir Balin. _Paper_, .15; + _linen_, .25. + +159. Beowulf. Translated by C. G. CHILD. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +160. Spenser's Faerie Queene. Book I. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +161. Dickens's Tale of Two Cities. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +162. Prose and Poetry of Cardinal Newman. Selections. _Paper_, .30; + _linen_, .40. + +163. Shakespeare's Henry V. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +164. De Quincey's Joan of Arc, and The English Mail-Coach. _Pa._, .15; + _lin._, .25. + +165. Scott's Quentin Durward. _Paper_, .50; _linen_, .60. + +166. Carlyle's Heroes and Hero-Worship. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +167. Norton's Memoir of Longfellow. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +168. Shelley's Poems. Selected. _Paper_, .40; _linen_, .50. + +169. Lowell's My Garden Acquaintance, etc. _Paper_, .15. + +170. Lamb's Essays of Elia. Selected. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +171, 172. Emerson's Essays. Selected. In two parts, each, _paper_, .15. + Nos. 171, 172, one vol., _linen_, .40. + +173. Kate Douglas Wiggin's Flag-Raising. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +174. Kate Douglas Wiggin's Finding a Home. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +175. Bliss Perry's Memoir of Whittier. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +176. Burroughs's Afoot and Afloat. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +177. Bacon's Essays. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +178. Selections from the Works of John Ruskin. _Paper_, .45; _linen_, .50. + +179. King Arthur Stories from Malory. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +180. Palmer's Odyssey. _Abridged Edition._ _Linen_, .75. + +181, 182. Goldsmith's The Good-Natured Man, and She Stoops to Conquer. + Each, _paper_, .15; in one vol., _linen_, .40. + +183. Old English and Scottish Ballads. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +184. Shakespeare's King Lear. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +185. Moores's Abraham Lincoln. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +186. Thoreau's Katahdin and Chesuncook. _Paper_, .15; _linen_, .25. + +_EXTRA NUMBERS_ + +_A_ American Authors and their Birthdays. _Paper_, .15. + +_B_ Portraits and Biographical Sketches of 20 American Authors. _Paper_, + .15. + +_C_ A Longfellow Night. _Paper_, .15. + +_D_ Scudder's Literature in School. _Paper_, .15. + +_E_ Dialogue and Scenes from Harriet Beecher Stowe. _Paper_, .15. + +_F_ Longfellow Leaflets. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +_G_ Whittier Leaflets. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, _net_, .40. + +_H_ Holmes Leaflets. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +_J_ Holbrook's Northland Heroes. _Linen_, .35. + +_K_ The Riverside Primer and Reader. _Linen_, .30. + +_L_ The Riverside Song Book. _Paper_, .30; _boards_, .40. + +_M_ Lowell's Fable for Critics. _Paper_, .30. + +_N_ Selections from the Writings of Eleven American Authors. _Paper_, .15. + +_O_ Lowell Leaflets. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, .40. + +_P_ Holbrook's Hiawatha Primer. _Linen_, .40. + +_Q_ Selections from the Writings of Eleven English Authors. _Paper_, .15. + +_R_ Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales. Selected. _Paper_, .20; _linen_, .30. + +_S_ Irving's Essays from Sketch Book. Selected. _Paper_, .30; _linen_, + .40. + +_T_ Literature for the Study of Language (N. D. Course). _Paper_, .30; + _linen_, .40. + +_U_ A Dramatization of The Song of Hiawatha. _Paper_, .15. + +_V_ Holbrook's Book of Nature Myths. _Linen_, .45. + +_W_ Brown's In the Days of Giants. _Linen_, .50. + +_X_ Poems for the Study of Language (Illinois Course of Study). _Pa._, + .30; _lin._, .40. Also in three parts, each, _paper_, .15. + +_Y_ Warner's In the Wilderness. _Paper_, .20; _linen_, .30. + +_Z_ Nine Selected Poems. _N. Y. Regents' Requirements._ _Paper_, .15; + _linen_, .25. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The War of Independence, by John Fiske + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE *** + +***** This file should be named 20803.txt or 20803.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/0/8/0/20803/ + +Produced by K.D. Thornton, Bruce Albrecht, Roger Frank and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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