Chapter LXXVI: Appendix: Canals and Railroads (6)

127 – ‘To induce Franco to embark in the war, the American envoys
were authorized to stipulate, that all the trade between
the United States and the West India islands, should be
carried on either in French or American vessels; and were
specially instructed to assure the French king, that if,
by their joint efforts, the British should be excluded from
any share in the cod-fishery of America, by the reduction
of the islands of Newfoundland and Cape Breton, and ships of
war should be furnished, at the expense of the United States,
to reduce Nova Scotia, that the fishery should be enjoyed
equally between them, to the exclusion of all other nations;
and that one-half of Newfoundland should belong to France,
and the other half, with Cape Breton and Nova Scotia, to
the United States. Should these proposals be insufficient
to induce France to join in the war, and the commissioners
were convinced that the open co-operation of France could
not otherwise be obtained, they were directed to assure his
most Christian majesty, that such of the West India islands
as might, in the course of the war, be reduced, should be
yielded to him in absolute property.’――_Pitkin_, vol. i.
p. 392.

128 – William Lee was appointed commissioner to the courts of
Vienna and Berlin, Ralph Izard to the duke of Tuscany, and
Dr. Franklin to Spain. Arthur Lee was afterwards appointed,
in the room of Dr. Franklin, to the Spanish court. While Mr.
Lee was at Berlin, his papers were stolen from his lodgings
in a most extraordinary manner and the British envoy at the
Prussian court was implicated in this transaction.

129 – The letter communicating the refusal was signed by the
president; and it illustrates the character of congress,
and the history of this year. ‘I have received the letter
from your excellencies, dated the 9th instant, with the
inclosures, and laid them before congress. Nothing but
an earnest desire to spare the further effusion of human
blood could have induced them to read a paper containing
expressions so disrespectful to his most Christian majesty,
the good and great ally of these states, or to consider
propositions so derogatory to the honor of an independent
nation. The acts of the British parliament, the commission
from your sovereign, and your letter, suppose the people
of these states to be subjects of the crown of Great
Britain, and are founded on the idea of dependence, which
is utterly inadmissible. I am further directed to inform
your excellencies, that congress are inclined to peace,
notwithstanding the unjust claims from which this war
originated, and the savage manner in which it hath been
conducted. They will therefore be ready to enter upon
the consideration of a treaty of peace and commerce, not
inconsistent with treaties already subsisting, when the king
of Great Britain shall demonstrate a sincere disposition
for that purpose. The only solid proof of this disposition
will be an explicit acknowledgment of these states, or the
withdrawing his fleets and armies.’――_Journals of Congress_,
vol. iv. p. 353.

130 – Lee, irritable and proud, could not forget the manner in
which Washington had addressed him, and in two passionate
letters demanded reparation. A court-martial was instituted;
he was found guilty of misconduct on the day of battle, and
of disrespect to the commander-in-chief, and was suspended
from command for one year. He never afterwards joined the
army, but died in seclusion just before the close of the war.

131 – In consequence of heat and fatigue, fifty-nine British
soldiers perished without a wound; and several of the
American soldiers died through the same cause.

132 – The loss of the Americans in this battle was eight officers
and sixty-one privates killed, and about a hundred and
sixty wounded. Among the slain, and much regretted, were
lieutenant-colonel Bonner, of Pennsylvania, and major
Dickenson, of Virginia. The loss of the British army, in
killed, wounded, and missing, is stated to have been three
hundred and fifty-eight men, including officers. Among their
slain was lieutenant-colonel Monckton, who was greatly and
deservedly lamented. About a hundred were taken prisoners;
and nearly a thousand soldiers, principally foreigners, many
of whom had married in Philadelphia, deserted the British
standard during the march.

133 – We insert the following as an antidote to the feelings with
which the ‘glory’ of war is apt to inspire the breasts even
of the generous and noble:――‘A short distance below the
battle ground there is a large island in the river, called
Monockonock island. Several of the settlers, while the
battle and pursuit continued, succeeded in swimming to this
island, where they concealed themselves among the logs and
brushwood upon it. Their arms had been thrown away in their
flight, previous to their entering the river, so that they
were in a manner defenceless. Two of them in particular
were concealed near and in sight of each other. While in
this situation, they observed several of the enemy, who had
pursued and fired at them while they were swimming the river,
preparing to follow them to the island with their guns. On
reaching the island they immediately wiped their guns and
loaded them. One of them with his loaded gun soon passed
close by one of these men, who lay concealed from his view,
and was immediately recognized by him to be the brother
of his companion who was concealed near him, but who,
being a tory, had joined the enemy. He passed slowly along,
carefully examining every covert, and directly perceived
his brother in his place of concealment. He suddenly stopped
and said, “So it is you, is it?” His brother, finding that
he was discovered, immediately came forward a few steps,
and, falling on his knees, begged him to spare his life,
promising to live with him and serve him, and even to be
his slave as long as he lived, if he would only spare his
life. “All this is mighty good,” replied the savage-hearted
brother of the supplicating man; “but you are a d――――d rebel;”
and, deliberately presenting his rifle, shot him dead upon
the spot. The other settler made his escape from the island,
and having related this fact, the tory brother thought it
prudent to accompany the British troops on their return to
Canada.’――_History of Wyoming_, p. 127.

134 – Count Pulaski was mortally wounded in this assault; and
congress resolved that a monument should be erected to his
memory. He was a Polander of high birth, who with a few
men had carried off king Stanislaus from the middle of his
capital. The king, after being some time a prisoner, made
his escape, and soon after declared Pulaski an outlaw.
Thus proscribed, he came to America, and offered his
service to congress, which honored him with the rank of
brigadier-general.

135 – By the articles of capitulation, the garrison were to march
out of the town and to deposit their arms in front of the
works; but the drums were not to beat a British march, nor
the colors to be uncased. The continental troops and seamen
were to keep their baggage, and remain prisoners of war
until exchanged. The militia were to be permitted to return
home as prisoners on parole; and, while they should adhere
to their parole, were not to be molested by the British
troops in person or property. The inhabitants of all
conditions were to be considered as prisoners on parole, and
to hold their property on the same terms with the militia.

136 – General Arnold early and warmly embraced the American cause.
His enterprising spirit, his invincible fortitude, his
heroic and persevering ardor in battle, had exalted his
military character in his own country and in Europe. Being
incapacitated for the duties of the field by the wounds he
received before Quebec and at Saratoga, he was appointed
commandant in Philadelphia when the British evacuated that
city. In this flattering command, he adopted a style of
living above his means, and soon found himself loaded with
debt. To relieve himself he entered into various schemes of
speculation, and was unsuccessful in all. Hollow at heart,
he had recourse to fraud and peculation. These practices
rendered him odious to the citizens, and gave offence to
government. At length formal complaints were lodged against
him, and congress ordered his trial by a court-martial.
By this court he was found guilty, and sentenced to be
reprimanded by the commander-in-chief. The sentence was
approved by congress, and carried into execution by general
Washington. In the gold that was to reward his treason,
Arnold expected relief from his pecuniary embarrassments;
and his implacable spirit sought its revenge of his country
by betraying into the hand of her enemy the Gibraltar of
America. Upon his establishment in the army of Great Britain,
he found it necessary to make some exertions to secure the
attachment of his new friends. With the hope of alluring
many of the discontented to his standard, he published
an address to the inhabitants of America, in which he
endeavored to justify his conduct. This was followed by
a proclamation addressed ‘to the officers and soldiers of
the continental army, who have the real interest of their
country at heart, and who are determined to be no longer
the tools and dupes of congress and of France.’ These
proclamations did not produce the effect designed. And in
all the hardships, sufferings, and irritations of the war,
Arnold remains the solitary instance of an American officer
who abandoned the side first embraced in the contest, and
turned his sword upon his former companions in arms. He
survived the war but to drag on, in perpetual banishment
from his native country, a dishonorable life. He transmitted
to his children a name of hateful celebrity. He obtained
only a part of the debasing stipend of an abortive treason,
and his complaints soon caused it to be known, that all the
promises by which he had been inveigled were not fulfilled.
He enjoyed, however, the rank of brigadier-general, but the
officers of the British army manifested a strong repugnance
to serve with him. He possessed their esteem while he fought
against them; they loaded him with contempt when treason
brought him over to their side. He resided principally in
England after the conclusion of the war, and died on the
14th of June, 1801.

137 – The general officers who reported his case lamented the
necessity they were under to advise that as a spy he should
be hung, and the heart of general Washington was wrung with
anguish when he signed his death warrant. But the fatal
wound that would have been inflicted on the country had
Arnold’s treason succeeded, made the sacrifice necessary
for the public safety. The American officers universally
discovered a sympathy for the unfortunate sufferer, and
the sensibility of the public was greatly excited on the
occasion. His character is thus beautifully painted by
the late general Hamilton, who without envy might have
contemplated his eminent qualities, for they were not equal
to his own. ‘There was something singularly interesting
in the character of André. To an excellent understanding,
well improved by education and travel he united a peculiar
elegance of mind and manners, and the advantages of a
pleasing person. It is said that he possessed a pretty taste
for the fine arts, and had himself attained some proficiency
in poetry, music, and painting. His knowledge appeared
without ostentation, and embellished by a diffidence that
rarely accompanies so many talents and accomplishments,
which left you to suppose more than appeared. His sentiments
were elevated, and inspired esteem; they had a softness
that conciliated affection. His elocution was handsome, his
address easy, polite, and insinuating. By his merit he had
acquired the unlimited confidence of his general, and was
making rapid progress in military rank and reputation. But
in the height of his career, flushed with new hopes from the
execution of a project the most beneficial to his party that
could be devised, he is at once precipitated from the summit
of prosperity, sees all the expectations of his ambition
blasted, and himself ruined.’ A handsome monument is erected
to his memory in Westminster abbey.

138 – The following instance will illustrate the horrible spirit
of these times:――‘In the hour of festivity, one Brown had
indulged himself in indiscreet censure of the revolutionary
party. He had done worse,――he had committed a fault less
easily forgiven,――he had ridiculed them. Being apprized that
their resentment was excited, he attempted to escape; but he
was closely pursued, brought back to Augusta, tried before
a committee of surveillance, and sentenced to be tarred and
feathered and carted, unless he recanted and took the oath
of allegiance prescribed by the administration of Georgia.
Brown was a firm man, and resisted with a pertinacity that
should have commanded the respect of his persecutors. But
the motions of a mob are too precipitate to admit of the
intrusion of generous feeling. After undergoing the painful
and mortifying penance prescribed by the committee without
yielding, it is too true that he was doomed to have his
naked feet exposed to a large fire, to subdue his stubborn
spirit; but in vain; and he was at length turned loose by a
group of men, who never once dreamed that the simple Indian
trader would soon reappear an armed and implacable enemy.
He first visited the loyalists of Ninety Six, concerted
his measures with them, then made his way to St. Augustine,
received a colonel’s commission, placed himself at the head
of a band of desperate refugees, and accompanied Provost in
his irruption into Georgia. His thirst for revenge appeared
afterward insatiable, and besides wantonly hanging many of
his prisoners, he subjected the families of the whigs who
were out in service to accumulated sufferings and distress.
It was not long after he was left in command at Augusta by
the British general, that colonel Clarke, with a determined
party of the militia, whose families he had persecuted,
aimed a well-directed blow at his post. But Brown proved
himself a man of bravery and conduct, and he well knew that
at all times he was fighting for his life. After a severe
and partially successful contest, the approach of a party
of Indians obliged Clarke to retreat, and leave his wounded
behind him, with a letter addressed to Brown, requesting
that he would parole them to their plantations. But Brown’s
thirst for revenge knew no bounds. It had been irritated in
this instance by a wound which confined him to his bed. The
unhappy prisoners, twenty-eight in number, were all hung;
thirteen of them were suspended to the railing of the
staircase, that he might feast his eyes with their dying
agonies.’――_Johnson’s Life of General Green._

139 – Upwards of three hundred of the British were killed
or wounded, and above five hundred taken prisoners;
eight hundred muskets, two field-pieces, two standards,
thirty-five baggage wagons, and one hundred dragoon horses,
fell into the hands of the conquerors. Of the Americans,
twelve men only were killed, and sixty wounded. Congress, in
honor of the good conduct of general Morgan, presented him
a gold medal; to lieutenant-colonels Washington and Howard,
medals of silver; and to colonel Pickens, a sword.

140 – Marshall’s Life of Washington, b. iv. chap. 8.

141 – Among the papers of Dr. Franklin was found the following
memorandum: ‘Immediately after the death of lord Rockingham,
the king said to lord Shelburne, “I will be plain with
you; the point next my heart, and which I am determined,
be the consequence what it may, never to relinquish but
with my crown and life, is, to prevent a total unequivocal
recognition of the independence of America. Promise to
support me on this ground, and I will leave you unmolested
on every other ground, and with full power as the
prime minister of this kingdom.” The bargain was
struck.’――_Franklin’s Works_, vol. v. p. 326.

142 – The following eulogium from the lips of an eloquent living
statesman, when pleading for the relief of the illustrious
survivors, conveys a just idea of the honorable conduct of
this band of patriots:――‘The army was to be disbanded; but
it was unpaid. It was to lay down its own power; but there
was no government with adequate power to perform what had
been promised to it. In this critical moment what is its
conduct? Does it disgrace its high character? Is temptation
able to seduce it? Does it speak of righting itself? Does
it undertake to redress its own wrongs by its own sword?
Does it lose its patriotism in its deep sense of injury and
injustice? Does military ambition cause its integrity to
swerve? Far, far otherwise. It had faithfully served and
saved the country, and to that country it now referred, with
unhesitating confidence, its claim and its complaints. It
laid down its arms with alacrity; it mingled itself with the
mass of the community; and it waited till, in better times,
and under a new government, its services might be rewarded,
and the promises made to it fulfilled. We can hardly recur
to this example too often, or dwell on it too much, for the
honor of our country, and of its defenders.’――_The Speeches
and Forensic Arguments of Daniel Webster_, p. 356, 357.

143 – At the head of the department of state he placed Mr.
Jefferson; at the head of the treasury, colonel Hamilton;
at the head of the war department, general Knox; in the
office of attorney-general, Edmund Randolph; at the head
of the judicial department, Mr. Jay. The associate justices
were John Rutledge, of South Carolina, James Wilson, of
Pennsylvania, William Cushing, of Massachusetts, Robert
Harrison, of Maryland and John Blair, of Virginia.

144 – Goldsborough’s Naval Chronicle.

145 – Memoirs and Correspondence of Thomas Jefferson, vol. iv.
p. 34.

146 – The capture of this ill-fated ship by the English frigate
Shannon was mainly owing to a bugleman’s desertion of his
quarters. Notwithstanding the fall of captain Lawrence and
the principal officers of the Chesapeake early in the action,
had the bugleman whose duty it was to call the boarders
sounded his horn when ordered, the crew would have promptly
repaired to the deck, and the issue of the engagement been,
in all probability, different. As it was, the usual signal
was not sounded that the enemy were boarding, and when some
midshipmen ran below to pass the word, the seamen knew not
what was meant, were thrown into confusion, and abandoned
their quarters.

Previous to the two ships falling foul of each other, the
fire of the Chesapeake made unexampled destruction on board
the Shannon. All the damage that the enemy received was
before they boarded. In the short space of eight minutes,
the Shannon was so cut in her hull by the Chesapeake’s
broadsides that it was with difficulty she could be kept
afloat during that night, and she had eighty-eight of
her crew killed and wounded, while the Chesapeake was
comparatively uninjured.

The Chesapeake was rated as a thirty-six gun frigate but
mounted forty-nine; the Shannon mounted fifty-two carriage
guns and had a picked crew of four hundred men. The seamen
of the Chesapeake were fresh recruits, and little or no
opportunity had been afforded to exercise and discipline
them.

It was on the morning of the first of June that the Shannon
appeared off our harbor and tauntingly displayed her colors.
The Chesapeake was lying at anchor below fort Independence.
As soon as the enemy’s flag was seen, she fired a gun and
ran up the American flag. Preparation was at once made for
sailing, and when the tide served, she got under way. The
Shannon stood immediately down the bay, followed by the
Chesapeake under a press of sail.

Every elevated spot in Boston which commanded a view of
the sea was crowded with anxious spectators. But the ship
proceeded so far to the eastward that the conflict could not
be seen. A large number of boats sailed out to witness the
result, and brought back the melancholy tidings, that when
the smoke of the cannonade had dispersed, the English colors
were seen flying on board the Chesapeake, and soon after
both vessels standing towards Halifax. The suspense that
ensued for more than a fortnight was painful in the extreme.
The fate of no one was known, though it was generally
anticipated from the intrepid character of captain Lawrence
that he had fallen a martyr to his country.

Captain Lawrence was first wounded in the leg, but he
refused to be carried below until he was mortally wounded
by a grape-shot. He continued, however, to issue his orders
from the cockpit; ‘Fight her till she sinks――keep the guns
going;’ and when told that the enemy had carried the upper
deck, he sent that emphatic and memorable message, ‘Don’t
give up the ship.’ When apprized of the unhappy issue, he
exclaimed, ‘The Shannon was whipped when I left.’

Captain Broke, of the Shannon, was dangerously wounded at
the close of the action by the stroke of a sabre. He was
delirious for a long period, but recovered and went to
England. He lived long enough to be made an admiral, but
within a year or two has deceased. He was a generous as well
as brave officer, and never would have allowed the carnage
to take place which was committed on board the Chesapeake,
after her surrender, had he been aware of it. If it be true,
as there is good reason to believe, that he was wounded
while stooping to save the life of one of the Chesapeake’s
crew whom one of his men was mangling, his memory
deserves to be embalmed, as well by Americans as by his
countrymen.――_Boston Atlas._

147 – Historical Memoir of the War in Louisiana, by Major A. L.
Latour, Engineer in the United States Army. Philadelphia,
1816.

148 – By the first article of this treaty it was agreed that there
shall be a firm and universal peace between his Britannic
majesty and the United States, and between their respective
countries, territories, cities, towns, and people, of every
degree, without exception of places or persons; and that all
hostilities, both by sea and land, shall cease as soon as
this treaty shall have been ratified by both parties. By the
third article, all prisoners of war taken on either side,
as well by land as by sea, shall be restored as soon as
practicable after the ratifications of this treaty. By the
fourth article, the decision of the conflicting claims of
the United States and of Great Britain to several islands in
the bay of Passamaquoddy was referred to two commissioners,
one to be appointed by his Britannic majesty, and one by the
president of the United States, with the advice and consent
of the senate; and it was agreed, in the event of the two
commissioners differing upon all or any of the matters
referred to them, or of their not acting, they shall make
report or reports to their respective governments, which
report or reports they agreed to refer to some friendly
sovereign or state, to be then named for that purpose, and
engaged to consider such decision to be final and conclusive.
By the ninth article, the United States engaged to put
an end, immediately after the ratification of the present
treaty, to hostilities with all the tribes or nations of
Indians with whom they may be at war at the time of such
ratification, provided they shall agree to desist from all
hostilities against the United States; and his Britannic
majesty, on his part, entered into a correspondent
engagement on the like condition of their desisting from all
hostilities against him and his subjects. The tenth article
has respect to the abolition of the slave-trade; ‘Whereas
the traffic in slaves is irreconcilable with the principles
of humanity and justice; and whereas both his majesty and
the United States are desirous of continuing their efforts
to promote its entire abolition; it is hereby agreed that
both the contracting parties shall use their best endeavors
to accomplish so desirable an object.’

149 – Memoirs, vol. iv. p. 347.

150 – Annual Register.

Transcriber’s Notes.

The following corrections have been made in the text:

Page 26:
Sentence starting: 6. Moosehillock Mt.,...
– ‘Mooshillock’ replaced with ‘Moosehillock’
(Moosehillock Mt., Grafton County, New Hampshire)

Page 65:
Sentence starting: It appeared to me....
– text missing from imprint
(appeared to me to owe)

Page 75:
Sentence starting: It abounds in fish,...
– ‘In’ replaced with ‘It’
(It abounds in fish,)

Page 143:
Sentence starting: The climate of Massachusetts....
– ‘Masachusetts’ replaced with ‘Massachusetts’
(climate of Massachusetts is)

Page 145:
Sentence starting: The northern parts, however,...
– ‘agreable’ replaced with ‘agreeable’
(more agreeable and healthy)

Page 149:
Sentence starting: The peninsula is visited....
– ‘peninsular’ replaced with ‘peninsula’
(The peninsula is visited)

Page 150:
Sentence starting: A series of thermometrical observations....
– ‘themometrical’ replaced with ‘thermometrical’
(A series of thermometrical observations)

Page 173:
Sentence starting: The chase is commenced....
– ‘chace’ replaced with ‘chase’
(The chase is commenced)

Page 190:
Sentence starting: ‘When it plunges into....
– ‘disapppear’ replaced with ‘disappear’
(to disappear for an instant.)

Page 201:
Sentence starting: The general color of this....
– ‘siaty’ replaced with ‘slaty’
(a dark slaty ash,)

Page 208:
Sentence starting: He is extremely fond of....
– ‘His’ replaced with ‘He’
(He is extremely fond of)

Page 247:
Sentence starting: The common kinds of water-plants....
– ‘mashy’ replaced with ‘marshy’
(found in the marshy grounds)

Page 327:
Sentence starting: The fur-trade, the lead mines,...
– ‘Misissippi’ replaced with ‘Mississippi’
(on the upper Mississippi)

Page 333:
Sentence starting: It is divided into three distinct....
– ‘Pensylvania’ replaced with ‘Pennsylvania’
(and the Pennsylvania avenue.)

Page 347:
Sentence starting: There are at present....
– ‘tobaccco’ replaced with ‘tobacco’
(two sorts of tobacco raised)

Page 355:
Sentence starting: It has been, within a few....
– ‘iritating’ replaced with ‘irritating’
(not in the irritating measures)

Page 379:
Sentence starting: The number of its locks....
– ‘it’ replaced with ‘is’
(The number of its locks is twenty-six.)

Page 398:
Sentence starting: The present constitution....
– ‘182’ replaced with ‘1822’
(was formed in 1822.)

Page 405:
Sentence starting: The convention proposed....
– ‘Virgina’ replaced with ‘Virginia’
(proposed by Virginia,)

Page 409:
Sentence starting: _Mr. President_――The....
– ‘mperfection’ replaced with ‘imperfection’
(the imperfection of the human understanding.)

Page 414:
Sentence starting: ‘When you become men,’....
– ‘cuning’ replaced with ‘cunning’
(and cunning in war,)

Page 432:
Sentence starting: ....
– ‘probally’ replaced with ‘probably’
(will probably ere long)

Page 523:
Sentence starting: On the downfall of....
– ‘downfal’ replaced with ‘downfall’
(On the downfall of the)

Page 527:
Sentence starting: Between 1777 and 1779,....
– ‘1799’ replaced with ‘1779’
(Between 1777 and 1779,)

Page 572:
Sentence starting: This confederacy, which was....
– duplicated word removed ‘to’
(declared to be perpetual,)

Page 608
Sentence starting: The young men, burning....
– ‘neigboring’ replaced with ‘neighboring’
(and the neighboring plantations;)

Page 613:
Sentence starting: This letter perplexed and....
– ‘delieving’ replaced with ‘believing’
(and others believing it to contain)

Page 615:
Sentence starting: As soon, however, as....
– ‘be’ replaced with ‘by’
(to be secured by a distribution)

Page 722:
Sentence starting: New York was evacuated....
– ‘Yew’ replaced with ‘New’
(New York was evacuated)

Page 764:
Sentence starting: It is instructive to observe....
– ‘goverment’ replaced with ‘government’
(the internal government of)

Page 770:
Sentence starting: It is submitted to the wisdom....
– ‘transanctions’ replaced with ‘transactions’
(which these transactions may produce.’)

Page 823:
Sentence starting: The explosion was followed,...
– ‘wo’ replaced with ‘woe’
(by shrieks of woe which)

Page 830:
Sentence starting: In order to [give] a ....
– word omitted from text ‘[give]’
(In order to [give] a fair)

Page 834:
Sentence starting: Attempts at compromise had....
– ‘begining’ replaced with ‘beginning’
(was beginning to be felt)

Page 849 Appendix:
Sentence starting: Western and Atlantic,...
– ‘Wetsern’ replaced with ‘Western’
(Western and Atlantic,)

Page 849 Appendix:
Sentence starting: Selma and Cahawba,...
– ‘Cawhaba’ replaced with ‘Cahawba’
(Selma and Cahawba,)

Footnote 23:
Sentence starting: There is now, indeed,...
– duplicated word removed ‘of’
(and more of city-like amusements)

Footnote 60:
Sentence starting: The Washington Monument is built....
– Footnote was not marked in the text. Footnote anchor placed
by transcriber.

Footnote 96:
Sentence starting: It is humiliating to reflect,...
– ‘dependdence’ replaced with ‘dependence’
(imbecile dependence upon it)

Footnote 146:
Sentence starting: Notwithstanding the fall....
– ‘Nothwithstanding’ replaced with ‘Notwithstanding’
(Notwithstanding the fall of)