Chapter VI: {george III. 1775–1776} (2)

The present occasion was deemed by the opposition a favourable one for putting forth a plan of conciliation, the terms of which might, by comparison, reflect censure on that of Lord North. This task was committed to Burke, and on the 22nd of March he brought forward a plan comprised in thirteen resolutions. These resolutions went to repeal many acts of parliament, and to reform many regulations, but the foundation on which the whole rested, was the mode of raising a revenue from the colonists through grants and aids by resolutions in their general assemblies. In the opening of an eloquent speech uttered upon this occasion, Burke took a comprehensive view of the state of Britain as connected with America, and then stated the nature of his proposition. He remarked:—“The proposition is peace. Not peace through the medium of war; not peace to be hunted through the labyrinth of intricate and endless negociations; not peace to arise out of universal discord, fermented from principle in all parts of the empire; not peace to depend on the periodical determination of perplexing questions, or the precise marking the shadowy boundaries of a complex government. It is simple peace; sought in its natural course and in its ordinary haunts. It is peace sought in the spirit of peace; and laid in principles purely pacific. I propose, by removing the ground of the difference, and by restoring the former unsuspecting confidence of the colonies in the mother country, to give permanent satisfaction to your people; and, far from a scheme of ruling by discord, to reconcile them to each other in the same act, and by the bond of the very same interest, which reconciles them to British government.” His plan of conciliation, he declared, was founded on the sure and solid basis of experience, and he asserted that neither the chimeras of imagination, nor abstract ideas of right, nor mere general theories of government, ought to receive any attention. He then entered into a copious display and elucidation of his subject. He dwelt on the spirit of freedom existing in America, asserting that their extreme notions of liberty arose from the peculiar religious spirit which existed in the colonies, which he termed a refinement on the principles of resistance, and which was carried with them on their first emigration from England. Law, also, he said, had fostered this high spirit of liberty, since the study of it was more universal in America than in any other country in the world, and since that study made them acute, inquisitive, dexterous, prompt in attack, ready in defence, and full of resources. Burke next dwelt on the enlarged population of America, and the increased importance of her commerce, both in exports and imports, and animated by this view of their great and growing prosperity, he exclaimed in a lofty tone of eloquence:—“While we follow them into the north amongst mountains of ice, while we behold them penetrating the deepest recesses of Hudson’s Bay, while we are looking for them beneath the Arctic circle, thay have pervaded the antipodes, and engaged under the frozen serpent of the south: nor is the equinoctial heat more discouraging to them, than the accumulated winter of the poles; while some of them strike the harpoon on the coast of Africa, others pursue their gigantic toils on the shores of the Brazils. There is no climate that is not a witness of their labours. When I contemplate these things; when I know they owe little or nothing to any care of ours, but that they have arrived at this perfection through a wise and salutary neglect; I feel the pride of power and the presumption of wisdom die away within me; and I pardon everything to their spirit of liberty.” The love of freedom, Burke contended, was the predominant feature in the cause of the Americans, and he pointed out two other causes which tended to increase its growth beyond those above-mentioned. One of these causes may seem parodoxical: it was that black slavery prevailed in the colonies! The possession of slaves, he said, was more than a counterpoise to the prevalence of the established church in some of the provinces, and he established his argument thus:—“I can perceive, by their manner, that some gentlemen object to the latitude of my description, because in the southern colonies the church of England forms a large body, and has a regular establishment. It is certainly true. There is, however, a circumstance attending these southern colonies, which, in my opinion, fully counterbalances this difference, and makes the spirit of liberty still more high and haughty than in those to the northward. It is that in Virginia, and the Carolinas they have a vast multitude of slaves! Where this is the case, in any part of the world, those who are free, are by far the most proud and jealous of their freedom. Not seeing there that freedom, as in countries where it is a common blessing, and as broad and general as the air, may be united with much abject toil, with great misery, with all the exterior of servitude, liberty looks amongst them like something that is more noble and liberal. I do not mean to commend the superior morality of this sentiment, which has at least as much pride as virtue in it; but I cannot alter the nature of man. The fact is so; and these people of the southern colonies are much, more strongly, and with a higher and more stubborn, spirit, attached to liberty than those to the northward.” Burke’s reasoning was unhappily sound. All the great nations of antiquity who fought with blood-stained swords, and with indomitable ardour for their own liberties, were great slave owners; eating the bread which was grown by the sweat of other men’s brows. This fact, however, redounds to the everlasting shame of the Americans, and the black stain on their annals is not yet wiped out: nay, it grows blacker and blacker as the period of their history rolls onward. Slavery is the plague-spot of that boasted land of liberty! The last cause of their thirst for freedom mentioned by Burke, was their distance from the seat of government. He remarked:—“Three thousand miles of ocean lie between you and your subjects! This is a powerful principle in the natural constitution of things for weakening government, which no contrivance can prevent. Seas roll, and months pass, between the order and the execution; and the want of a speedy explanation of a single point is enough to defeat a whole system. You have, indeed, winged ministers of vengeance, who carry your bolts to the remotest verges of the sea. But there a power stops, that limits the arrogance of raging passions, and says, ‘Hitherto shalt thou go, and no further.’ Who are you, that should fret, and rage, and bite the chains of nature? Nothing worse happens to you than to all nations possessing extensive empire; and it happens in all the forms into which empire can be thrown. In large bodies the circulation of power must be less vigorous at the extremities. Nature has said it. The Turk cannot govern Egypt, as he governs Thrace; nor has he the same dominion in Crimea and Algiers, which he has at Brusa and Smyrna. Despotism itself is obliged to truck and huckster. The sultan gets such obedience as he can. He governs with a loose reign, that he may govern at all; and the whole of the force and vigour of his authority in his centre is derived from a prudent relaxation in all his borders. Spain in her provinces submits to this immutable condition, the eternal law of extensive and detached empire.” Still Burke did not conceive the idea of proclaiming the independence of America. On the contrary, like Chatham, he contended for the general supremacy of parliament, and the rights of the crown, expressing at the same time his conviction that we had arrived at the decisive moment of preserving or of losing both our trade and empire. How to preserve it was the question, and he proposed that it should be done by concession and conciliation,—and not by force. The plan he proposed, therefore, to obtain this consummation was, to allow all the claims the Americans had set forth in their petitions and declarations, and by undoing all that the parliament had done respecting America, since the year 1765. His resolutions were briefly these:—That the colonies not being represented in parliament, could in no way be taxed by parliament; that the said colonies had been made liable to several subsidies, payments, rates and taxes, given and granted by parliament, etc.; that from the distance of the colonies, with other circumstances, no means had ever been devised for procuring for them a representation in parliament; that the colonies had each a general assembly that ought to tax and assess them; that these assemblies had often spontaneously granted the crown subsidies, etc.; that experience had shown that such grants made by the assemblies were more beneficial and conducive to the public service, than the mode of giving and granting aids and subsidies in parliament to be paid in the colonies: that the act for granting certain duties in the colonies, for allowing a drawback upon the exportation from this kingdom of coffee and cocoa-nuts of the produce of the said colonies, etc. should be repealed; that the bill for altering the course of trials in Massachusets Bay should be repealed; that the Boston Port Bill should be repealed; that the bill for altering the constitution of Massachusets Bay should be repealed; that the act of King Henry VIII., in regard to the trial of treasons committed out of the king’s dominions, should be amended; that the new regulations for appointing and paying the judges should be altered so as to meet the views of the colonists; and that the American courts of admiralty or vice-admiralty should be regulated in such, a manner as to make them more commodious to those who sued or were sued in them, and to provide for the more decent maintenance of the judges presiding in those courts. These propositions were vigorously combated by the ministers, and rejected by the house; and five days afterwards a scheme closely resembling Lord Chatham’s, proposed by Mr. Hartley, shared the same fate. Burke appealed to the public by printing his speech, but though it was read and admired, it was soon forgotten. On the other hand a defence of American taxation, published by his friend Dr. Johnson, in which he defended colonial subordination on the principles of the law of nations, and maintained that the colonists, by their situation, became possessed of such advantages as were more than equivalent to their right of voting for representatives in parliament, etc., had a great effect on the public mind, which was pre-disposed to admit his arguments. The voice of the nation was, in fact, in favour of the measures pursued by Lord North and his coadjutors in the ministry.

CLOSE OF THE SESSION.

Towards the close of the session Lord North moved an additional clause in the second restraining bill, to include in it the counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, which was carried without a division. Burke, as agent for the colony of New York, presented a remonstrance from the general assembly of that province, but though Lord North admitted that the people of that colony had hitherto been peaceably inclined, he opposed the bringing up of the paper, upon the ground that parliament could not hear anything which called in question its right to legislate for the colonies, and it was refused. In both houses attempts were made to procure a repeal of the act for settling the government of Canada, but without effect. The remainder of the session was occupied in considering the annual motion of Alderman Sawbridge for shortening the duration of parliaments; in appointing a committee on the motion of Mr. Gilbert, to consider the poor laws; in voting the purchase of Buckingham-house for the queen, in lieu of Somerset-house, which was converted into public offices; and in settling financial measures. His majesty prorogued parliament on the 26th of May, after expressing his satisfaction at the course which had been pursued, and auguring the happiest results from the measures which had been adopted.

PETITION OF THE CITY OF LONDON.

At this period, the livery of London attempted to turn the royal counsels respecting America, by an address containing a remonstrance, in which the citizens of London declared their abhorrence of the measures which had been pursued for the oppression of their fellow-subjects in the colonies, and which they affirmed were carried into execution by the same fatal corruption which had enabled his majesty’s ministers to wound the peace and violate the constitution of this country. The petitioners prayed his majesty, therefore, to dismiss his advisers on the instant, as the first step towards a redress of grievances which alarmed and afflicted his people. This petition was presented by Mr. Wilkes, as lord mayor; a circumstance which doubtless embittered his majesty’s feelings in reply. This reply was explicit and emphatic. His majesty remarked:—“It is with the utmost astonishment that I find any of my subjects capable of encouraging the rebellious disposition which unhappily exists in some of my colonies in North America. Having entire confidence in my parliament, the great council of the nation, I will steadily pursue those measures which they have recommended, for the support of the constitutional rights of Great Britain, and the protection of the commercial interests of my kingdom.” Wilkes was prevented from making a reply by a hint from the lord in waiting, and the king directed a notice to be issued a few days after, that the king would not receive any address from the city except in its corporate capacity. This address had, indeed, been got up by a minority of the livery: the majority were in favour of the measures adopted.

DEPARTURE OF FRANKLIN.

During the month of April, while parliament was deliberating on the course to be pursued in the colonies, Dr. Franklin suddenly left England. Before he left he put in his protest against the measures adopted by the ministry and the British parliament, into the hands of Lord Dartmouth. On the evening before his departure, he had, also, a long interview with Burke, in which he expressed regret for the calamities which he anticipated as the consequence of ministerial resolutions, and again professed his attachment to the mother country, under whose rule America had enjoyed so many happy days. Yet there can be no question but that Franklin’s principal motive for leaving England was to widen the breach which existed between her and the colonies, and to aid them in the struggle for independence.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICANS.

In the mean time military preparations had been continued in America. Inflamed by publications and harangues on every side, the Americans had been active in preparing for the approaching contest. No thought of concession or conciliation was entertained: provincial and private meetings all breathed the language of defiance to the mother country, and threatened resistance to taxation, external or internal, as well as to every other act of coercion. A great impetus was given to the popular movement by the resolutions of congress. A few assemblies there were, indeed, as that of New York, who at first refused to admit these resolutions, but they were soon induced to join the confederation. Every province prepared its levies and its cannon and its military stores for the deadly strife. And at length that strife commenced. While the houses of parliament in England were yet echoing with the oratory of its empassioned members, the hillsides of America were reverberating with peals of musketry. The banner of revolt was first unfolded in the province where the spirit of resistance first showed itself—that of Massachusets Bay. The aversion which General Gage had shown to the adoption of violent measures and the forbearance of the troops had rather tended to increase than to allay hostile feelings in that province, and at length the proceedings of the people became so alarming, that the general was compelled to adopt measures to put it out of their power to effect mischief.

EXPEDITION TO SEIZE STORES AT SALEM.

Having received intelligence that a _depôt_ of arms had been collected at Salem, on the 26th of February, General Gage ordered a small detachment of troops thither for the purpose of securing it. It was on the Sabbath when this order was given, and the detachment proceeded by water to Marble Head, whence they marched to Salem. Before they could arrive at the town, however, the artillery was removed into the country. On discovering this, the field-officer in command of the detachment, hoping to overtake it, marched on, up the country, till he was stopped by a river. There was a drawbridge over this river, but upon his approach it was hauled up by a number of people on the opposite bank. The officer desired them to let this bridge down, which was refused, and perceiving a boat in the river he was about to make use of it for transporting his troops across the river. Seeing this, some country people who were nearer to it, jumped into the boat, and began to cut holes in her bottom with axes. A scuffle ensued between them and some soldiers, which would have ended in loss of life, had not a clergyman judiciously interposed to prevent such a catastrophe. By his interference the Americans were induced to let down the drawbridge, and the officer and his men then passed over. The day, however, was now far spent, and the artillery had been carried too great a distance for him to overtake it, and the officer deemed it expedient to march his men back to Marble Head, whence they re-embarked for Boston-neck. They were not molested on their retreat, but the country people considered this as a triumph and victory over them, and it materially assisted in raising the courage of the colonists.

AFFAIR AT LEXINGTON, ETC.

The next attempt to seize the military stores of the Americans, was attended with more serious consequences. Having heard that a quantity was deposited at the town of Concord, about eighteen miles from Boston, in the night between the 18th and 19th of April, General Gage detached the grenadiers and light infantry under Lieutenant-Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn, to seize them. The detachment was embarked in boats and conveyed up Charles River to Phipp’s Farm, where they landed, and proceeded in silence and haste towards Concord. But although this was done in the dead of the night, the New Englanders were not asleep. The detachment had not marched many miles when their ears were saluted with the firing of guns and the ringing of bells, the signals for alarm. When they arrived at Lexington they perceived the militia drawn up on a green on the high road, and Major Pitcairn riding up commanded them as rebels to lay down their arms and disperse. The latter part of this order was obeyed, but as the Americans were retiring several guns were fired upon the king’s troops from behind a wall, and from some adjoining houses. One man was wounded, and Major Pitcairn’s horse was shot in two places. Orders were now given to fire, and eight men were killed and many others wounded. By this time the grenadiers had joined the light infantry, and both proceeded together towards Concord. As they drew near a large body of American militia was seen drawn up under arms on a gentle eminence, and the light infantry was sent to disperse them. In this they succeeded, and they kept them in check until the grenadiers had accomplished the object of their expedition. After this they commenced their march back to Boston; but their backs were scarcely turned when a loud shout was heard that the “lobsters” were afraid of them. The militia had, by this time, been reinforced from the country behind, and militiamen, minute-men, and volunteers of every description, were pouring in from all quarters, to post themselves behind trees and walls, and in houses, near which the troops were to pass. Presently the work of slaughter commenced: an incessant though irregular fire began in front and on both flanks, and the main body of the militia fired upon them from the rear. And what made the attack more discouraging was, that the most destructive fire proceeded from men whom they could not reach, and whose presence was only known by the smoke and effects of their rifles. This continued through all their route back to Lexington, and had not General Gage had the forethought of sending a second detachment to sustain the first, there can be but little doubt that the whole body would have been annihilated. This second detachment met the first at Lexington, and Lord Percy, who was at the head of it, having formed his troops into a hollow square, enclosed the pursued—who were driven before the Americans like a flock of sheep, and gave them time for rest. When they were somewhat refreshed, Lord Percy slowly moved the whole body towards Boston. But even now they were not wholly freed from danger. The militia, who had been treading on their rear, were no longer seen, but every house, every wall, and every tree the troops had to pass, sent forth upon them bullets and rifle shots; the Americans taking care not to expose their own persons to danger. When they reached Boston they had left behind them sixty killed, and forty-nine missing, in addition to which they had one hundred and thirty-six wounded. The provincials had about fifty killed, and thirty-eight wounded; but their loss was more than compensated by the encouragement which this affair tended to give the Americans in general. Elated with the result, they termed it “the glorious victory of Lexington;” and they talked of nothing less than driving the king’s troops from Boston, and restoring the liberty and trade of that town. Instead of an immediate assault, however, they formed themselves into a blockade. Twenty thousand men, under the command of Colonels Ward, Pribble, Heath, Prescot, and Thomas, officers who had served in the provincial regiments during the last war, put themselves in cantonment, and formed a line nearly twenty miles in extent, with their left leaning on the river Mystic, and their right on the town of Roxburghe, thus enclosing Boston in the centre. Their head-quarters were fixed at Cambridge, and they were soon joined by a strong detachment of troops from Connecticut, under the command of General Putnam, who, as soon as he heard of the battle of Lexington, like another Cincinnatus, left his plough in the middle of the field, in order to fight the battles of his country. Putnam took up such a position with his detachment as to be able to support any part of the line that might be attacked; but General Gage remained perfectly inactive, neither attacking this line, which he might probably have done with effect, as it was without any military consistency, nor erecting any outworks to prevent any sudden advance upon Boston-neck.

MEETING OF THE ASSEMBLIES AND OF GENERAL CONGRESS.

While the Americans were thus in hostile array, the provincial congress of Massachusets adjourned from Concord to Water Town, about ten miles from Boston. It was resolved by this congress that an army of 30,000 men should be raised and established, whereof 13,600 should be of the province of Massachusets Bay. It was further resolved that a letter and delegates should be sent to the several colonies of Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, for further assistance and co-operation. Despatches were also sent to Franklin, in England, containing an account of the Lexington battle, and enclosing an address to the people of Great Britain, complaining of the conduct of the troops, professing great loyalty, but appealing to Heaven for the justice of their cause, and declaring their determination to die rather than sacrifice their liberty. At the same time the provincial congress made great exertions to clothe and pay the besieging army, voting a large sum in paper currency, for the redemption of which the faith of the whole province was pledged. They also formally declared that General Gage, by the late transactions, had utterly disqualified himself from acting as governor, or in any other capacity, and that no obedience was due to him, but that he ought to be considered an inveterate enemy. A similar spirit was exhibited in other provinces. At New York military associations were formed, and a provincial congress called; in Jersey the populace took possession of the treasury; and in Philadelphia, the very Quakers renounced their principles of peace, and took up arms as volunteers, under the pretence of self-defence. It was in this state of affairs that Lord North’s conciliatory propositions arrived. These were read first in the assembly of Pennsylvania by governor Penn, who expressed an anxious wish that all due consideration should be given them, and that, if possible, they might become instruments of restoring tranquillity to the country. It was determined by the assembly of Pennsylvania, however, that the union of the colonies to which they were pledged should not be deserted. Similar results followed the reading of them in other provincial assemblies, and all concurred in referring them to the general congress, which was in itself a rejection, since its legality would never be acknowledged by the British parliament.

The general congress met on the 10th of May. Its first acts were to frame resolutions for organising an army, and the emission of a paper currency, guaranteed by the united colonies; to stop all exportation of provisions to the British fisheries, and to every colony or island subject to the British government; to resolve, that by violation of their charter, the people of Massachusets Bay were absolved from allegiance to the crown, and might lawfully establish a new government; and to prohibit the negociations of bills of exchange or any orders issued by the officers of army and navy-agents, or contractors. They also established a general post-office under the superintendence of Dr. Franklin, who arrived soon after the meeting of congress, and who greatly helped forward the march of revolution. The congress, though still delaying their proclamation of absolute independence, pursued a course after the arrival of Franklin which no longer left their intentions doubtful to any man, by forming the plan of a confederation and perpetual union, the chief articles of which fully showed that such was their aim. After drawing up this plan the congress attended to the army, and they fixed upon Colonel George Washington to be their commander-in-chief. A committee was next appointed to prepare a declaration of the causes that induced them to take up arms against their mother country. After the adoption of this declaration, in which it was said “that they had counted the cost of the contest, and found nothing so dreadful as slavery,” Jefferson was placed on a committee with Dr. Franklin and others, to consider and report on Lord North’s pacificatory resolutions, which was denounced in the same spirit as it had been scouted previously by the provincial assemblies. Two days after this, and in the month of July, congress prepared a second address to the people of Great Britain, in which they vindicated themselves from the charge of aiming at independence—professed their willingness to submit to the acts of trade and navigation passed before 1763—recapitulated their reasons for rejecting Lord North’s proposals, and intimated the hazard the people of England would run of losing their own liberty if America should be overcome. Yet though this address breathed defiance to government, on the very same day another petition was drawn up to the king, which was more moderate than that of the preceding year, and even approached him in a supplicating tone. Addresses were also got up to the inhabitants of Canada, Jamaica, and Ireland, and finally to the lord mayor and livery of the city of London. It is difficult to reconcile the sentiments contained in these declarations, petitions, and addresses. While some passages breathed the spirit of bold and uncompromising defiance, others expressed loyalty of the most ardent nature to his majesty, and unalterable attachment to the mother country. The spirit by which congress was actuated is, however, clearly defined by their proceedings, and by the character of the men who composed it. There was one gentle Dickinson among the number, who still hoped for a reconciliation with Great Britain, but the majority of its members were akin in spirit to the fiery Jefferson, whose turbulency often showed itself during their deliberations. There was, however, no room to doubt as to the determination of the Americans to assert their independence, for, while this congress was sitting, events had occurred which proclaimed that determination to all the world in language which could not be misunderstood. Blood had again stained the soil of America.

BATTLE OF BUNKER’S HILL.

Towards the end of May 10,000 fresh troops arrived from Britain, under the command of Generals Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton. As the gauntlet had been thrown down by America, and war had been resolved upon by the English, it might have been expected that active operations would have been commenced forthwith. Such was not the case. An English soldier remarked:—“We were kept on the Neck twisting our tails and powdering our heads, while the Yankees were gathering in our front and in our flanks like clouds.” It seems to be generally acknowledged that this inactivity was fatal to the cause of the British arms in America, and that if General Gage had employed the troops, so soon as he received such valuable reinforcements, he might have scattered the militiamen and raw troops which hemmed him in, like chaff before the wind. Instead of that, time was given them to increase their force,—to perfect themselves in military evolutions,—to give consistency to their loose lines, and to render the blockade more effective. At length, however, this dreamy inactivity was broken. On the 8th of June, grown bold by impunity, the provincial congress of Massachusets Bay resolved that the compact between the crown of Great Britain and that colony was dissolved by the violation of their charter; and they recommended the people to establish a new and independent government. Four days after this General Gage, still hoping to restore tranquillity without proceeding to extremities, issued a proclamation, offering a full pardon in the king’s name to all who would forthwith lay down their arms, excepting only Samuel Adams and John Hancock, whose offences were described as “being too flagitious to admit of any other consideration than that of condign punishment.” The proclamation declared that all those who should not accept the proffered mercy, or who should protect, assist, supply, conceal, or correspond with such, were to be treated as rebels and traitors. It also imported that as a stop was put to the due course of justice, martial law should be established till tranquillity was restored. This proclamation was considered by the Americans a prelude to hostilities, and preparations were made by them for a final contest with their mother country. And strange to relate they were still allowed to act on the offensive. On the night of the 16th of June a strong detachment of the blockading army passed unchallenged and unobserved over Charlestown-neck, and occupied Bunker’s Hill, which was situate at the entrance of the peninsula on which that town stood, and overlooked every part of Boston. In the morning General Gage saw this important and formidable height, which he had entertained some thoughts of occupying himself, covered with works which seemed to have risen as it were by magic, and with troops that were beginning to fire on Boston-neck and the shipping. The general now awoke from his slumbers. A battery of six guns was opened upon the Americans from Copp’s-hill in Boston, and about the hour of noon a detachment from the English army was carried across Charles River, which is about the breadth of the Thames in London, and landed upon the peninsula of Charlestown. This detachment was under the command of General Howe and Brigadier Pigott, who had orders, at all risks, to drive the provincials from their works, and to occupy the hill. The troops marched slowly, formed in two lines, but, on approaching Bunker’s Hill, Howe perceived that the works were of more importance than had been imagined, and that fresh columns of Americans were arriving every minute, and he therefore halted, and sent to Gage for a reinforcement. New troops were sent, and the whole, amounting to more than two thousand men, proceeded to the attack. In doing so Howe seems to have adopted the very worst mode which could have ben devised for attacking the provincials. Instead of leading the troops in the rear of the intrenchment, where there was no cannon to bear upon them, he led them up the hill right in front, where the American artillery was placed full in their faces. This was a most disastrous step. The troops were formed in two lines, with the light infantry on the right wing, led by Howe, and the grenadiers on the left, led by Pigott. In their front were a few small field-pieces and howitzers, which began to fire at intervals, during which the troops halted. In advancing the left wing was fired on from some houses in Charlestown, and in the conflict which ensued that town was set on fire and was soon burnt to the ground. The whole detachment now moved up the hill, and the Americans, secure behind their entrenchments reserved their fire till the British troops were almost close to the muzzle of their guns. They then opened a terrible discharge of cannon and musketry, and their volleys were so rapid and skilfully directed that the British troops recoiled, and many fled to the boats which had conveyed them, over the river. At this moment General Clinton crossed Charles River with a number of resolute officers, and having succeeded in rallying the fugitives he made them re-ascend the hill, and join in a general charge made on the Americans, with fixed bayonets. This time they succeeded. The provincials were driven from their works, and they ran for their lives down the hill in their rear. The troops took possession of Bunker’s Hill, but it was purchased at a great cost: 1050, including eighty-nine commissioned officers, being either killed or wounded, while the Americans scarcely suffered a third part of that loss.

{GEORGE III. 1775–1776}

GENERAL WASHINGTON.

General Washington was great-grandson to John Washington, a gentleman of respectable family, who had emigrated from England about the middle of the preceding century, and had settled at Potomac, in Westmoreland county, in the colony of Virginia. At this place the general was born, and after receiving a plain education, he learned something of the business of land-surveying, and was in the eighteenth year of his age appointed surveyor of the western part of the territory of Virginia, by Lord Fairfax, the proprietor of that country. After this, however, he embraced the profession of arms, and distinguished himself in the Canadian war, and especially on the day of Braddock’s defeat, when, at the head of the provincial militia, he covered the retreat of the British troops, and saved them from destruction. Subsequently, when the French were driven from Canada and the war was over, Washington quitted the army, and began his political life as a member of the general assembly, to which honour his valour had been the chief instrument of raising him. Shortly after his retirement he married a young lady, who brought him a large fortune, and for sixteen years his attention was principally divided between the management of his estates and his duties as a member of the provincial legislature. When the quarrel first commenced between America and the mother country he took no decided part, and when it became serious, he was one of those who still hoped to preserve the ties of allegiance which bound the colonies to the parent state unbroken. When the rupture became inevitable, however—when the sword had been drawn and blood had been shed, Washington stood forward as the champion of independence. Perhaps he was the more induced to take this step from an innate love of rank and power. He had joined the first congress at Philadelphia, and his high character and the conspicuous part he had borne in the Canadian war, caused him then to be appointed on all committees where military knowledge was requisite. Doubtless he foresaw that should matters be brought to extremities he would be called upon to take a prominent part in the strife. And in this view he was not mistaken. As before related, at the second general congress, when it was necessary to select a commander, he was unanimously chosen by his colleagues to the high office. It is said that he accepted the command with great diffidence, and it is certain that he did so in the spirit of a true patriot, for he declined all compensation beyond his actual expenses.

The choice which congress made of a commander was favourable to the cause of American independence. At this time Washington was in the prime and vigour of life, and his fame and deportment were such that he could command reverence even from the most fanatical part of the American troops, who were disposed to own no other leader except “the Lord of Hosts.” His bravery was proverbial, and his after operations sustained his fame. It was immediately after the battle of Bunker’s Hill that he was appointed commander-in-chief, and when he arrived at head-quarters in Cambridge, he found the blockading army considerably discouraged by the defeat sustained, and otherwise in no very satisfactory condition. Much had been done, but still more remained to be done. Complaining of his numerous deficiences, he thus wrote to congress:—“We have no store of ammunition, no tools for intrenching, no engineers to direct the construction of military works; we have no money, and want clothing: there is a total laxity of discipline; and the majority is not to be depended on in another action.” If the English had, at this time, made a general assault, the Americans must inevitably have been driven from all their positions, and the war would soon have been over. After the battle of Bunker’s Hill, however, the same listless inactivity prevailed as before, as though the capture of that hill was a full and final triumph. Thus favoured, Washington set about remedying his defects in good earnest. During the summer and autumn, he was occupied in organising his troops, collecting his military stores, and concentrating his forces. Perceiving that it would be madness to attempt an assault on the positions of the British troops, as some advised, he directed the formation of entrenchments and works to defend his own from attack. In order to give consistency to his lines he contracted them: the centre, including the reserve, and under his own command, being at Cambridge; the right wing, commanded by General Ward, resting on Roxburghe; and the left, under General Lee, near the Mystic river. The British troops were thus completely blockaded by land, and cruisers being fitted out by congress for the purpose of intercepting military stores and supplies destined for the British forces, considerable distress soon began to prevail among them; yet nothing was done to rescue them from their perilous situation. During the rest of the year the bands played “God save the King,” and the Americans, as if in the spirit of mockery, responded to the national anthem, by playing “Yankee Doodle.” In the midst of this inactivity, on the 10th of October, General Gage was recalled, and the command of the British troops devolved on General Howe.

{GEORGE III. 1775—1776.}

EXPEDITIONS AGAINST TICONDEROGA AND CROWN POINT, ETC.

Early in this year a party of Connecticut gentlemen, having procured a loan of money, concocted a scheme for surprising the important post of Ticonderoga, which was situate on a promontory near the junction of lakes George and Champlain, and the key of communication between New York and Canada. A few men were raised, which chiefly consisted of a hardy race called Green Mountain Boys, and Ethan Allen, a Presbyterian volunteer, was placed at their head. This force was unexpectedly joined by Colonel Arnold, who after the battle of Lexington had received a commission for the same purpose from the provincial congress of Massachusets Bay. Arnold agreed to act under Allen, and they proceeded together towards Ticonderoga. Captain Le Place, who commanded at this fort, was a friend of Ethan Allens, and taking advantage of this circumstance, Allen left his men in a wood hard by, and went to the captain, and induced him to lend twenty of his soldiers for the pretended purpose of assisting him in transporting some goods across the lake. Allen having obtained his request, next made the soldiers drunk, and then on the approach of night he drew his people from the woods, and hastened to the fort. There were yet about forty soldiers with the captain, but expecting no mischief there was not a single sentry on duty, and the followers of Allen rushed into the place undetected, and bade the soldiers lay down their arms. The captain asked by what authority they required him to surrender the king’s fort, to which Ethan Allen replied, like a Puritan of old times, “I demand it in the name of the Great Jehovah, and of the congress.” There was no alternative, and the captain responded to the demand: the place was captured with all its store of ammunition and provisions. Ethan Allen next turned his attention to the fort of Crown Point, which was reduced without any difficulty, as there were neither found guard nor garrison therein. Allen also surprised Skenesborough, a place occupied by Major Skene, with his son and a few negroes, who were all made prisoners. Intelligence of these events soon reached, congress; but though they rejoiced at the spirit of enterprise displayed by Allen and his men, they still feared that they might be charged with aggression at a time when they were expressing a desire of accommodation; and under these circumstances they recommended the committees of New York and Albany to remove the stores to the south of Lake George, in order that they might be restored when the breach was healed between Great Britain and her colonies.

EXPEDITION AGAINST CANADA.

On the return of Allen from this enterprise, Colonel Arnold consented to remain in garrison. Arnold, however, was not of a temperament to remain inactive. Seeing a small sloop of war lying at anchor, at St. John’s, at the north end of Lake Champlain, and feeling the importance of the possession of this vessel, which was the only armed vessel the English government then had in that water, he armed a little schooner, put some of the guns he had captured upon large flat-bottomed boats, embarked his men, and surprised and captured the sloop. Having begun his career with such success, Arnold projected more extensive operations. In the month of June he urged on congress the advantages of an expedition to Canada, and offered with 2000 men to reduce the whole province. His recommendations were adopted: 3000 men were sent, under the command of General Schuyler and Montgomery, to Crown Point and Lake Champlain.

This force embarked in flat-bottomed boats to cross the lake and descend the river Sorel, but when they landed they were attacked by a strong body of Indians, who obliged them to steer their way back and return to the Isle Aux Noix. Here Schuyler fell sick, and the command then devolved on Montgomery, a man full of courage and enterprise, and whom the Americans compare to Wolfe.

On the arrival of this invading force, General Carleton, governor of Canada, had only two regiments of about four hundred men each, at his disposal. These he ordered to Fort St. John, about twelve miles in advance of Montreal, where they were augmented by a few officers sent by General Gage. These officers arrived in July, and about the same time Colonel Johnstone arrived at the same place with seven hundred Indians of the Five Nations, all skilful in the use of the musket as well as the tomahawk. These Indians were ancient enemies to the frontier Americans, and they proposed an immediate attack on Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Carleton, however, thought proper not only to reject their offer, but to refuse their services in any shape. This was a sad oversight. Foregoing their enmity to the Americans, these seven hundred Indian warriors joined Montgomery, and he immediately resolved to lay siege to Fort St. John, the only place that covered Montreal. At the same time, Ethan Allen, who had now returned to the scene of action, conceived that he could take Montreal by a _coup de main_ in an easier direction. He attempted this with a hundred and fifty men in the dead of the night, but the adventurous Presbyterian was not only defeated, but captured, and put in irons as a felon and a traitor. In the mean time Montgomery had detached three hundred men with two six-pounders to reduce Fort Chamblée, situate on the tributary river Sorel, about five miles above Fort St. John. His principal object in advancing against this fort was to obtain sufficient ammunition wherewith to reduce that of St. John, and he succeeded to his utmost wishes. The fort was reduced, and Montgomery found plenty of ball, powder, cartridges, and arms in it, and he then pressed the siege of St. John’s with great vigour. The garrison offered a brave resistance, but it was all in vain: the fort was surrendered, and Montgomery dashed across the river and entered Montreal without opposition. As this town carried on an extensive trade, the American troops obtained a good supply of proper clothing, after which their commander, having secured the goodwill of the inhabitants by his liberal treatment of them, resolved to advance upon Quebec, the capital of the province. He carried out his resolution, although his volunteers, anxious to get back to their firesides, quitted his ranks by hundreds, and he had to leave a garrison in Montreal, so that when he put his men in marching order his force did not exceed four hundred men. But Montgomery hoped to meet Arnold under the walls of Quebec, and nothing daunted by the desertion of his soldiers, and the smallness of his force, he began to descend the St. Lawrence.

In the meantime Arnold had been entrusted with the execution of a daring plan of his own forming. At the head of 1200 men, consisting chiefly of New Englanders, he traversed the inhospitable deserts of the northern states into Canada; deserts which had never previously been trodden by the foot of a white man. Owing to the obstacles he encountered in his dreary journey, he did not reach the first Canadian settlements on the river Chaudière, which flows into the St. Lawrence, until the 3rd of November. On arriving there his troops were famished, having been long subjected to hunger, and reduced even to the necessity of eating the leather of their shoes. The first step of Arnold was, therefore, to divide them into separate companies, each of which ran off as fast as it could to obtain food, shelter, and rest in the vicinity of the mouth of the Chaudière. Arnold himself rested for two or three days at a small village, in order to circulate the manifestoes he had brought with him, and to allow his rear and stragglers to arrive. Having rested a few days, on the 9th of November Arnold reached Point Levi, on the right bank of the St. Lawrence, and immediately opposite to the town of Quebec. It has been conjectured that if he could have crossed the river at once, Quebec would have been captured. The wind, however, was so strong at the time of his approach, that he could not venture, and this gave time to Colonel Maclean and his Highlanders, who had been falling back from Fort Chamblée, taken by Montgomery, to get into the menaced city. On the 14th, the wind having, abated, Arnold crossed the St. Lawrence and landed in safety. On reaching Quebec he formed his men on the Heights of Abraham. But they were ill provided for maintaining a siege, having no artillery, and therefore Arnold proposed nothing more than to cut off supplies from the garrison till the arrival of Montgomery. For this purpose he descended from the Heights of Abraham and retired to Point Aux Trembles, twenty miles above Quebec. At this place he was very near taking General Carleton and his staff prisoners, for they had only quitted that place a few hours before his arrival. Carleton, however, escaped, and arrived in safety at Quebec, where he instantly set about making every preparation for its defence. Soon after the two American corps joined, and they marched together to lay immediate seige to Quebec. Montgomery had brought a little artillery with him, and about the 20th of December they opened a six-gun battery within seven hundred yards of the walls. Their artillery, however, was too light to effect a breach, and they were all, moreover, soon dismounted by the town-guns, fired by some seamen under the direction of Colonel Maclean. The American commanders now removed their guns to a safer distance, still continuing their ineffectual fire, with the hope of amusing the garrison, and concealing their design of making an assault in another direction. They now, in fact, were contemplating a desperate enterprise, and one to which it was a long time before they could obtain the consent of the officers and men. It was not, indeed, till the New Englanders were promised the privilege of plundering the town, that they would accede to the wishes of their commanders. But this golden bait was swallowed, and the men promised to do all that was wished. Accordingly, on the last day of this year, between four and five o’clock in the morning, and in the midst of a violent storm of wind and snow, it was determined to storm the place. The force was divided into four small columns for this purpose: two of which, under Majors Livingston and Brown, were to make feigned attacks upon the upper town, while the other two, led by Montgomery and Arnold, were to make real attacks on opposite sides of the lower town, where all the wealth of Quebec was deposited. Montgomery had succeeded in passing the first barrier, that of the block-house, and had reached the Pot-ash battery, which he was on the point of attacking, when he was shot dead, with Captain Macpherson, his aide-de-camp, and several other officers, with a well-charged gun from that battery. The rest of the column which he led instantly fell back, and in the mean time Arnold himself had been severely wounded. He was passing through the narrow street of the Faubourg St. Roque towards the Saut de Matelot, where there was a strong barrier with a battery of two twelve-pounders, one of which on his approach was fired, and shattered his leg in so fearful a manner that he was carried off the field to the rear in anguish. One Morgan now led the column, and he rushed forward and took this battery, and then pushed rapidly to another about forty paces distant. But here he was foiled. Guns loaded with-grape shot met him and his men in the teeth, while a fire of musketry was opened on both their flanks, so that they were compelled to retreat into some stone houses in the suburb of St. Roque. The attempt signally failed. In the end Morgan and his followers, to the number of 340 men, surrendered themselves prisoners of war, and nearly one hundred were slain. The rest still continued to blockade the city, encamping in the best manner they could behind the Heights of Abraham, and being still commanded by Arnold. They maintained their position for four long wintry months, and reduced the city to great distress, but they were finally compelled to give up the enterprise.

DISPOSITION AND REVOLT OF THE VIRGINIANS.