AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF GORDON'S HISTORY OF 
 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 BY 
 
 ORIN GRANT LIBBY, Ph. D.^ 
 
 PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN. 
 
 (From the Aiiniial Report of the American Historical Asaooiation for 1890, 
 Vol. I, pages 367-388.) 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 19 00. 
 
FEB 3 1903 
 D. of D, 
 
X— A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF GORDON'S HISTORY 
 OF THK AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 By ORIN GRANT LIBBY, Ph. D., 
 PliOFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN. 
 
 365 
 

A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF WILLIAM GORDON'S HISTORY OF 
 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 1>V()KIN (;1{.VNT LiUBV, 1*11. 1). 
 
 I. 
 
 The most important of the earlier histories of the American 
 Revolution produced in Europe was written by William Gor- 
 don, a dissenting clergyman of England/ 
 
 He had been a pastor in Ipswich, but emigrated to America 
 in 1770, settling at Kox])ur3", Massachusetts. He remained 
 ill this country sixteen years, and during his residence was 
 ju'tively engaged in defending the cause of the colonists. His 
 thanksgiving sermon in 1774: Ijefore the Massachusetts pro- 
 vincial congress at Watertown brought upon him the unspar- 
 ing denunciations of the King's friends in the colony. He 
 early engaged in the work of writing the history of the strug- 
 gle with England, and he seems to have been favored with 
 unusual opportunities for making himself acquainted with 
 the course of events. Before his return to England, Harvard 
 and Yale conferred upon him the degree of master of arts 
 and the College of New Jersey honored him with a doctorate 
 of divinit3\ 
 
 The history was pulilished in England in 1788, and in the 
 following year the American edition appeared. The English 
 reviews of the work were divided as to its merits. The 
 favorable critics dwelt upon the advantages of the author's 
 l)eing upon the ground where material could be ()])tained 
 at first hand, and dwelt particularly upon his impartiality. 
 The chief attack upon him was directed against his style, 
 
 'Gordon, The Hi.story of the Ri.se, Progress, unci Kstii>)lishiiioiit of the Iiidepeiidcnco 
 of the United States of America, In A vohunes. London, 1788, N. Y., 1789; 3 vcihime.s. 
 
 367 
 
368 AMEBIC AN" HISTOKICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 which, indeed, not even hi^ friends attempted to defend. 
 The New York newspapers, after the appearance of the 
 American edition, continued for some time to publish long 
 extracts from the histor3% For the Revolutionar}^ period of 
 our history, since that time Gordon has held high place as an 
 authorit}', of greater or less value, according to the critical 
 ability of the author using him. Dr. David Ramsay, whose 
 history of the Revolution appeared soon after, spoke in terms 
 of high praise of the work.^ Bancroft, while criticising Gor- 
 don severel}", says of him: "His work, notwithstanding all 
 its faults, is invaluable."^ 
 
 Edward Channing also pays high compliment to him: 
 
 The most valuable history of the Revolution from a Briti.slx pen is Gor- 
 don's ■vvell-knowri work. This author was assisted 1 )y Gates and Greene, so 
 far as the southern campaigns were concerned. * * * Taken altogether, 
 this work ranks with Ramsay as an authority of tlie very first importance.'' 
 
 And in the latest exhaustive Avork on the literature of the 
 Revolution Moses Coit Tyler says of Gordon's History: 
 
 The ])Ook, as we have it, though written l)y a man who strove hard to 
 l)e accurate, is defaced by many errors both of fact and opinion, and yet 
 with all its faults of whatever kind, and even in competition with the sul)- 
 sequent historical labors of more than a century, this account of the Ameri- 
 can Revolution holds its ground as one of the best yet produced by any- 
 one upon that vast uprising of human nature. It can hardly be possible 
 for any reader of Gordon's book to resist the impression that he was an 
 honest man and meant to be a truthful and a fair historian. Everywhere,' 
 also, in its incidental strokes of information, in a thousand casual hints 
 and glances of meaning, one perceives the immense advantage he derived 
 from his intimate communication with the great civilians and soldiers 
 who conducted the Revolution from its beginning to its end. It is true 
 that his brief residence in the country, which he made his own with so 
 much ardor, rendered it impossible for him to see the real relation of 
 some events, to understand the true character of some persons; but even 
 that disadvantage had its compensation in his freedom from local and 
 hereditary bias, in the unhackneyed freshness of his judgment, in a sort 
 of aloofness of vision which gave something of the just perspective and the 
 impartiality that are conferred by actual distance in space or in time.^ 
 
 In 1758 Robert Dodsley founded that well-known English 
 publication, the Annual Register. Edmund Burke was 
 engaged, at the salary of =£100 a 3^ear, as editor, and this 
 
 1 Belknap Papers, Pt. II., 162. 
 
 - Bancroft, History of America, IX., 123. Kote. 
 
 3 Winsor's Narrative and Critical History, VI, .518. 
 
 •* Tyler, Literary History of the American Revolution, II, 427—128. 
 
Gordon's history ok American rkvolution. 3()9 
 
 po.sitioii lie held for iieurly tliirly years. In this })iil)liciiti()n 
 there, a|)peured from year to year a series of articles under 
 the title of History of Europe, deserihinj^ the leadino* events 
 in Eni^land and America connected with the breach between 
 the mother country and her colonies. The chief part in the 
 production of these articles is ascribed to Burke, though he 
 never acknowledged his share in them. 
 
 In the preface to Gordon's History we tind the following: 
 
 The Americans remarked that Duilsley's Aimual Register contained the 
 l)est foreign i)rinted suniniaryai'coixnt of their affairs. * * * That Reg- 
 ister and other publications have been of service to the compiler of the 
 present work, who has frecjuently cpioted from them, without varying the 
 language exeept fur method and conciseness. 
 
 This apparently innocent statement conceals one of the most 
 compli;te plagiarisms on record. Instead of quoting from the 
 Annual Register, Gordon copies it wholesale, varying the 
 language so little that it can hardly 1)0 said it was done for 
 conciseness. The proof of these charges is easy and conclu- 
 sive. One needs but to sit down with the Annual Register in 
 one hand and Gordon's History in the other to find parallel 
 readings e^'er^'where, from the beginning to the close of the 
 war. 
 
 For some reason, known only to the author or his publishers, 
 Gordon's History is written in the form of letters instead of 
 chapters. The events in America are set forth in thirty-two 
 letters. dated froniRoxbury, Massachusetts; while the foreign 
 events appear in letters from London, Rotterdam, and Paris, 
 six, ten, and two letters, respectively. 
 
 A])Out two-thirds of the material in these foreign letters is 
 copied directly from the Annual Register without su))stantial 
 change. Barely one-tenth of it can be called original in any 
 sense as intelligent comment on European conditions. The 
 longest single piece of this kind is the description of the naval 
 exploits of Paul Jones, four pages in length. The remainder 
 of the material, while taken from the Register, is changed 
 sufficiently to conceal its origin, though the style is such that 
 it could ne\'er have been composed by the reputed author of 
 the histoi'v we are (wamining. The following examples of 
 how Gordon plagiarized his finest passages will serve to bring 
 out more clearly what is meant. All of the material here 
 HIST 99, VOL I 24 
 
370 
 
 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 su))joined is incorporated in the liod}' of the text without the 
 slightest hint of its real source: 
 
 Annual Register, 1775, p. 105, c. 2. 
 
 We should deem it inexcusable to (luit 
 this part of the subject without laying bc- 
 fare our readers the astonishing growth of 
 the colonies within a little more than half 
 a century and the prodigious share they 
 contributed to our greatness — a matter of 
 the first importance to ourselves — which 
 perhaps can not in any degree be paral- 
 leled in the history of mankind and which 
 will equally excite the admiration and ex- 
 ercise the scepticism of future ages. 
 
 Annual Register, 1777, p. SU, c. t. 
 
 For when, at length, the American cruis- 
 ers not only scoured the Atlantic Ocean, 
 but spreading their depredations through 
 the European seas, brought alarm and hos- 
 tility home to our doors; when the destruc- 
 tion which befell the homeward-bound 
 richly laden West India fleets poured equal 
 ruin upon the planters in the islands and 
 the merchants at home; when an account 
 of the failure of some capital house in the 
 city was almost the news of every morning; 
 even in that state of public loss and private . 
 distress, an unusual phlegm prevailed, and 
 the same tranquil countenance and care- 
 less unconcern was preserved by those who 
 had not yet partaken of the calamity. 
 
 Annual Register, 1780, p. 172, e. 1-2. 
 
 Such was the complete and decisive vic- 
 tory gained in behalf of the petitions by 
 the opposition on that extraordinary and 
 memorable day. * * * Without doors, 
 the joy and triumph in most parts of Eng- 
 land, as well in most of the counties that 
 did not petition as in those that did, was 
 great and general, and though not dis- 
 played in the same manner, would not, 
 perhaps, have been exceeded on occasion 
 of the most decisive victory over a foreign 
 enemy. 
 
 Gordon's Aineriraii. Revolution, I, 1,95. 
 
 This astonishing growth of the colonies 
 within little more than half a century and 
 the prodigious share they contribute to our 
 greatness makes them a matter of the fir.vt 
 importance to ourselves and must excite 
 the admiration of future ages. 
 
 Gordon, II, 1,36. 
 
 When at length the American cruisers 
 not only scoured the Atlantic, but spread- 
 ing over the European seas, brought alarm 
 and ho.stility to our doors; when the de- 
 struction which befell the homeward- 
 bound richly laden West India fleetsi)Ourcd 
 equal ruin upon the planters in the islands 
 and the merchants at home; even in that 
 state of public loss and private distress an 
 unusual phlegm prevailed, and the same 
 tranquil countenance was preserved by 
 tho.se who had not partaken of the calamity. 
 
 Gordon, III, 1,16. 
 
 Such was the complete and decisive vic- 
 tory gained by the oppo-sition in behalf of 
 the i>etitions on that extraordinary and 
 memorable day. Without doors, the joy 
 and triumph in most parts of England was 
 great and general, and perhaps would 
 scarcely have been exceeded on occasion 
 of the greatest victory over a foreign 
 enemv. 
 
 Account of the Gordon Riots in London. 
 
 Annual Register, 1780, p. 195, c. 1-2. 
 
 Nothing could be more dismal than that 
 night. Those who were on the spot or in 
 the vicinity say that the present darkness, 
 the gleam of the distant fires, the dreadful 
 .shouts in different quarters of the rioters, 
 the groans of the dying, and the heavy, 
 regular platoon firing of the soldiers formed 
 altogether a scene «o terrific and tremen- 
 
 Gordon, III, iHS. 
 
 The natural darkness of the night, the 
 gleam of the distant fires, the dreadful 
 shouts of the rioters in different quarters, 
 the frequent firings of the soldiers, and the 
 groans of the dying formed altogether a 
 scene so dreadful that no description can 
 easily reach. 
 
 London the next day i)resented in many 
 
GORDON S HISTORY OK AMKRK^AN RKVOHTTION. 
 
 H71 
 
 dulls lis no (Icscriplioii m- even iiuaKiiiudnii 
 (^ould |i()ssil)ly rracli. 
 
 Tliu niotropolis invsi'iitrd on the I'cillow- 
 in{< day in many places tlio inniKe "f a city 
 recently stormed and sacked; all bnsiness 
 at an end, houses and shops shnt np, the 
 Royal Exchanf;;e, public biiildhigs, and 
 streets ]iossessed iin<l occupied by the troops; 
 sniokiiiKiiiid l)iirninK ruins, with a dreadful 
 v<ii<l and silence in scenes of the greatest 
 hurrv, noise, and business. 
 
 places tlie iiiiaKc of a city recently stornied 
 and sacked; all business was at an end, 
 houses and shops were .shut up, the; Royal 
 Exchanse, other piiblii' buildinK» possessed 
 and occupied by the troops; ruins werestill 
 burning and smoking, and a dreadful void 
 and silence reigned where scenes of the 
 greatest hurry and noise were habitual. 
 
 Annual Uci/islri; 17SI, p. l.i'j, c. 1. 
 
 Thus, after the strougi'st appearances on 
 every side of an api)roacliing and heavy 
 tempest, the sky was suddenly cleared, and 
 everything went smoothly and jirosperous- 
 ly with administration. 
 
 I'age 111, c. '2. 
 
 The i)roclamation for dissolving the I'ar- 
 liamcnt operated like ii thunderclap with 
 respect to suddennes.s and surprise on those 
 not in the sei;ret. 
 
 Odi-flon IV, I,. 
 
 The strong appearances of an ai)proach- 
 iiig storm with which a<lniinistratioii was 
 threatened having .subsided, and every- 
 thing going on smoothly and in-osperously. 
 * * * • 
 
 When the proclamation for the dis.solv- 
 ing of it appeared, it wrought like a thun- 
 derclap with respect to suddenness and 
 surprise on those who were unacquainted 
 with the design. 
 
 AnWCK ON (TlBIiALTAK. 
 
 Annual R('(/inlir, li'SJ, p. In/,, 
 
 l-'J. (ionhni, IV, 7S. 
 
 One liundred and .seventy i)ieces of caii- 
 nou (if the heaviest metal and eighty mor- 
 tars disgorged their trem«iidous torrents of 
 fire all at once upon that narrow spot. 
 This dreadful cannonade and bombard- 
 ment was continued night and day for a 
 considerable time without intermission. 
 Nothing could be more splendidly magnifi- 
 cent or dreadfully sublime than the view 
 and report of this tremendous scene to tho.se 
 who observed them from tht' neighboring 
 hills of Barbary and Spain during the night, 
 especially in the beginning, when, the can- 
 nonade of the enemy being returned by 
 General Elliot with still superior power and 
 greater fierceness, the whole rock seemed 
 to vomit out fire, and all distinction of 
 [larts was lost in flame and smoke. 
 
 One luimlred and seventy jiieces of can- 
 non of the heaviest metal and fourscore 
 mortars disgorged their tremendous tor- 
 rents of fire all at once upon that narrow 
 spot. It seemed as if not only the works, 
 but the rock itself, must have been over- 
 whelmed. This dreadful cannonade and 
 bombardment was continued night and 
 day for a considerable time without inter- 
 mission. It is said, and may well be sup- 
 posed, that nothing could be more sijlen- 
 didly magnificent or dreadfully suljlime 
 than the view and the report of this tre- 
 mendous scene to those who ob.served 
 them from the neighboring hillsof Barbary 
 and Spain during the night, especially in 
 the beginning, when, the cannonade of the 
 enemy being returned with still superior 
 power and greater fierceness by General 
 Elliot, ^the whole rock secmeil to vomit 
 out fire, and all distinction of [i.irts was 
 lost in flame and smoke. 
 
 It is very evident from these examples that Gordon copied 
 with care and impartiality wherever opportunity offered. 
 The selections given cover the entire range of foreign topics 
 even remotely connected with the American Revolution. It 
 will be observed also that each of the four volumes is repre- 
 sented in the.se parallel ({notations. 
 
372 
 
 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 When we come to the material in the Roxbury letters there 
 is necessarily less taken from the Register, though even here 
 there is evident an astonishing lack of original sources. If 
 anywhere in Gordon's work we should look for original 
 material it is in that part dealing with his adopted State. He 
 was an active participant in the stirring events of the early 
 war, and in more than one instance is known to have person- 
 ally collected material for his future history. Yet strangely 
 enough some of the most aggravated cases of plagiarism are 
 to be found in these very pages. In the letter dated Septem- 
 ber 28, 1774, is found an eloquent and remarkably clear state- 
 ment of the conditions existing in America. 
 
 Annual licr/lstcr, 1775, p. 10, c. 1-2. 
 
 The people of America at this time, with 
 respect to political opinions, might, in gen- 
 eral, be divided into two great classes. Of 
 these one was for rushing headlong into the 
 greatest extremities; they would put an im- 
 mediate stop to trade without waiting till 
 other measures were tried or receiving the 
 general sense of the colonies upon a subject 
 of such alarming importance, and, though 
 they were eager for the holding of a con- 
 gress, they would leave it nothing to do 
 but to prosecute the violences which they 
 had begun. The other, if less numerous, 
 was not less respectable, and though more 
 moderate were perhaps equally firm. These 
 were averse to any violent measures being 
 adopted until all other means were inelTec- 
 tnally tried; they wished further applica- 
 tions to be made to Great Britain and the 
 grievances they complained of, with the 
 rights ^ hich they claimed, to be clearly 
 stated and properly presented. This they 
 said could only be done effectually by a 
 general congress, as in any other manner it 
 might be liable to the objection of being 
 only the act of a few men or of a particu- 
 lar colony. We, however, acknowledge a 
 third party which ^vere the friends to the 
 administration in England, or, more prop- 
 erly those who did not totally disapprove of 
 its measures; but their still, small voice was 
 so low that except in a very few particular 
 places it could scarcely be distinguished. 
 
 We may, by this time, l)egin to understand where Gordon 
 acquired his ''aloofness of vision" with which he is credited. 
 
 Oordoii, I, 37S-.17H. 
 
 Tlie people may be divided iiiti) twogreat 
 classes. One is for rushing headlong into the 
 greatest extremities without waiting till 
 other mea.sures are tried or receiving the 
 general sen.se of the colonies; and, though 
 eager for holding a congress, would leave it 
 nothing to do but to prosecute the violences 
 which they have began. The other is 
 averse to violent measures till all other 
 means are ineffectually tried. They wish 
 further applications to be made to Britain 
 and the grievances they complain of, with 
 the rights which they claim, to be clearly 
 stated and properly presented. This, they 
 say, can be effectually done only by a gen- 
 eral congress. There is a third party, who 
 are friends to the British administration, 
 or, rather, who do not totally disapprove of 
 its measures; but their' voice is so low t^iat 
 except in a few particular places it can 
 scarcely be distinguished. 
 
Gordon's history ok amkrioan UEVonrTioN. J^78 
 
 It is pcrhiips th<» iic^xt Ix'st thinn', when an aiitlioi' (l()(\s not 
 possess this inv:iliial)l(' (luality, foi' liini lo know iiow to ac- 
 (juiro a r(>putation for liavino- it. 
 
 In his use of docunuMitarv niatci'ial foi' (his ])art of iiis 
 work, our autiior depends (ptite often upon the sunnuaries 
 found in the Annual K(\oister, and these lie uses so carelessly 
 as to fall into several capital (M'rors. 
 
 1. Boston town nieetino-s of May 18 and l.S, 1774. 
 
 Here (xordoii seems to have had the original documents, 
 l)ut follows the Register's mistake in mentioning on(> meeting 
 only and iti compressing the two sets of resolutions into one. 
 This leads him into the further error of giving the wrong 
 date for (rage's landing at Boston.' 
 
 2. Salem resolution of June is, 177-1, on the Boston port 
 bill, presented to General Gage. 
 
 In this case the summary in tlu> Annual Register is used to 
 the almost entire exclusion of the original, but a single phrase 
 being used that shows knowledge of its exMstence.^ 
 
 3. Proceedings of the Massachusetts provincial congress, 
 October 11, 1774. 
 
 Their petition to General Gage and his answer are given 
 from the Annual Register, and a comparison with the original 
 shows certain slight ])ut decisive variations.^ 
 
 4. Action of Suffolk county convention on Gage's fortifi- 
 cation of Boston Neck, Septend)er 1(>, 1774. 
 
 The resolutions are given in (ioi'don from theoriofinal doc- 
 uments,* but in Gage's reply he follows the Annual Register 
 into the serious error of confusing Gage's answer to the 
 Boston Selectmen, September U, and his later reply to the 
 Suffolk County convention. This is an error which might 
 easily occur in the preparation of the English pul)lication, 
 but our author should have been better informed. As this 
 
 1 Gordon, I, 3G0. Annual Registi-r, 177r>, ].. 1. c. J. Boston Evoniii^,' I'ost, May IG, 1"4, 
 1>. 2, c% 2 ; May 23, 1774, p. 2, c. 3. 
 
 2(;ordon, I, 374. Annual HcsistLT, 1775, ]i\>. s-'.l. Hoslon ICvenim,-- I'ost, .Inno -M, 1774, 
 1>. 2, c. 3. 
 
 ■''Gordon, I, 411-112. Annual Register, 177.'), ]>)>. Jl-i'l. Ksscx <;a7.i'tti,()cl<il)cr U-ls. 1774, 
 Vol. VII, 325; Oct. 18-25, 1774, Vol. VII, 32ti. 
 
 * 1,389-391. Annual Register, 1775. }>\<. is-iy. 
 
374 
 
 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, 
 
 case illustrates several interestfng features of Gordon's 
 methods, the material is subjoined for comparison: 
 
 C4AGE's answer to the ADDKESS of the SUFFOLK 
 COUNTY CONVENTION OF SEPTEMBER 10, 1774. 
 
 jiiiviiiil TiCf/iiitcr, 177 r>, p. 20, 
 0. 1. 
 
 To this !u:ldri,'L-s General 
 Gage answered that he had 
 no intention to prevent the 
 free egress and regress of any 
 person to and from the town 
 of Boston; that he would 
 suffer none under his com- 
 mand to injure the person 
 or property of any of His 
 Majesty s subjects; but that 
 it was his duty to preserve 
 the peace and to y)revent 
 surprise, and that no use 
 would be made of tlie can- 
 non inilcss their hostile pro- 
 ceedings should render it 
 necessary. 
 
 Gordon, I, S92. 
 
 I have no intention to pre- 
 vent tlie free egress and re- 
 gress of any person to and 
 from the town of Boston. I 
 .shall .suffer none under my 
 command to injure the per- 
 son or property of any of His 
 Majesty's .subjects; but it is 
 my duty to preserve the 
 peace and to prevent sur- 
 pri.se; and no use will be 
 made of the cannon unless 
 the hostile proceedings of the 
 jieople shall render it necea- 
 ■sarv. 
 
 GAGE'S REPLY TO THE 
 BOSTON SELECTMEN, 
 SEPTEMBER 9. 
 
 BoMon Eveniny PoM, Srptnn- 
 hrr IZ, 1771,, p. S, r. 1. 
 
 When you lately applied 
 to me respecting my order- 
 ing somecannon to be placed 
 at the entrance of the town 
 
 * * * I thought you was 
 satisfied the people had 
 nothing to fear from that 
 measure, as no use should be 
 made thereof unless their 
 hostile proceedings should 
 make it necessary. * * * 
 I have thought proper to .as- 
 sure you that I have no 
 intention to prevent tlie 
 egress and regress of any 
 person to and from the town, 
 
 * * * neither shall I suf- 
 fer any under my command 
 to injiire the person or 
 property of any of His 
 Majesty's subjects. But as 
 it is my duty, so it shall be 
 my endeavor, to preserve the 
 peace and ])rornotc the hap- 
 piness of every in(liviil\iiil. 
 
 Gage's real addres.s to the Suffolk Count}^ convention, "which 
 Gordon must have read at the time, as everybody did, differs 
 from his earlier one in so many points that it could not pos- 
 sil)ly be mistaken for it. A few words quoted, from it will 
 illustrate the difference. It booius: 
 
 I hoped the assurance I gave the selectmen of Boston on the subject yon 
 now address me had l)i'en satisfactory to everybody. I can not possibly 
 intercept the intercourse Ijetween the town and the country. * * •* i 
 would ask what occasion there is for such numbers going armed in and out 
 of the town, and through the country in an hostile manner; or why were 
 the guns removed privately in the night from the battery at Charlestown? ' 
 
 In April 2(5, 1775, the Massachusetts provincial congress 
 issued an address to the inhabitants of Great Britain. Gor- 
 don had l)een chaplain of thi.s l)ody in 177-1: and was, of course, 
 thoroughly familiar with its proceedings, especially at this 
 exciting period in its histor3'. Yet it is sufficient comment 
 
 1 Boston Evening Post, September 19, 1774, p. 2, c. 1-2. 
 
GORDON S HISTORY OF AMKUIOAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 375 
 
 on his carefulness as a historian that, in referring to this 
 important address, he copies a summary of it verbatim fi'om 
 the Animal lieo-ister. Tht^ original document is oiven below 
 with its variations: 
 
 Aiir Knr/luixl Clinmiclc or 
 Ki,fcx GaseiU', May 78-2.5, 
 1775, Vol. VII r, 356, p. 2. 
 We profess to be liis loyal 
 and dutiful sutijeels. * * * 
 Nevertheless, to tlie persecu- 
 tion and tyranny of his cruel 
 ministry we will not tamely 
 submit — appealinjc to heav- 
 en for the jiistice of our 
 cause, we determine to die 
 or be free. 
 
 We can not think that the 
 honor, wisdom, and valor of 
 Britons will suffer them to 
 be longer inactive speeta- 
 t(trs. ^ ^ ■^ 
 
 AiiiiiKil Urnixtrr. 1775 
 c. 1. 
 
 p. 129, 
 
 In the meantime tlic pro 
 vineial congress drew up an 
 address. * * * They * * * 
 place much dependence on 
 the honor, wisdom, and val- 
 or of Britons, from which 
 they hope tlieir interference 
 in preventing the prosecu- 
 tion of measures which they 
 represent a.s equally ruinous 
 to the mother country and 
 the colonies; they make 
 great professions of loyalty; 
 but declare that they will 
 not tamely submit to the per- 
 secution and tyranny of a 
 cruel ministry, and (appeal- 
 ing to heaven for the ju.stice 
 of their cause) that they are 
 determined to die or be free. 
 
 (Ion 1 1,11, I, l,'.n-'Z. 
 
 In t lie address tile congress 
 proft'ss to place nnicli de- 
 pendence on the honor, wis- 
 dom, and valor of Britons, 
 from which they hoi>e for 
 their interference in i)re- 
 venting the prosecution of 
 present measures. T h e y 
 make great professions of 
 loyalty, but declare that 
 they will not tamely submit 
 to the persecutions and tyr- 
 anny of a cruel ministry; 
 and that they are determined 
 to die or be free. They ap- 
 peal to heaven forthe justice 
 of their cause. 
 
 Such examples might be multiplied for the historv of Mas- 
 sachusetts in the years 1774 and 1775. The Annual Register 
 is depended upon to supply dates, documents, and summaries 
 of conditions in the colony with complete disregard for 
 historical accuracy. 
 
 In a somewhat similar fashion are the proct^edings of other 
 provincial congresses treated. And even the Contiiu'utal 
 Congress does not wholly escape, though the paucity of 
 material of this kind in the Annual Register compelled our 
 author to have recourse to the originals. Occasionally, how- 
 ever, he was able to appropriate a passage like tlu^ following 
 in resfard to the Continental Conofress: 
 
 All II nil/ Riiiisfrr, 1775, p. .W, r. ;?. 
 
 * * * it must be acknowledged that the 
 petition and siddresses from the Congress 
 have been executed with uncommon en- 
 ergy, address, and ability; and that con- 
 sidered abstractedly, with respect to vigor 
 of mind, strength of sentiment, and the lan- 
 guage, at least of patriotism, they would 
 not have disgraced any as.sembly that ever 
 existed. 
 
 Onrclnn. T, MO. 
 
 The impartial world will go near to 
 acknowledge that the petitions and ad- 
 dresses from the Congress have been exe- 
 cuted with uncommon energy, skill, and 
 ability; and tliat abstractedly con.sidered, 
 in respect to vigor of mind, strength of senti- 
 ment, and [>atriotic language, they would 
 not di.sgrace any assembly whatsoever. 
 
376 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 In 1780, when Congress was urging" the States to make up 
 their respective quotas in order to be ready for an}^ decisive 
 move that might be concerted with the French fleet, letters 
 were sent out by a committee of Congress in support of the 
 measure. The efi'ort put forth at this time is thus described: 
 
 Annual Register, 17S1, p. 19, c. -2. Gordon, III, 375. 
 
 The disgrace of appearing contemptible The disgrace of appearing contemptible 
 in the eyes of their great ally and the mis- in the eyes of their great ally and the mis- 
 chief and ruin which must be the conse- chief which must be the consequence Were 
 quence of their being incapable to benefit strongly urged. The people were passion- 
 of his intentions in their favor were strongly ately called upon not to suffer the curse of 
 urged. And the people were passionately another campaign to rest upon America, 
 called upon not to suffer the curse of an- They were told that the eyes of all Europe 
 other campaign to rest upon America. The were upon them, ajid thjt their future inde- 
 eyes of all Europe were upon them, and pendence, fortune, and happiness depended 
 their future independence, fortune, and up(m their present exertion, 
 happiness, as they said, depended upon 
 their present exertion. 
 
 Turning now to the military operations of the war, we find 
 the same use of borrowed material varying in amount accord- 
 ing- to the distance from Boston. The l)attle of Bunker Hill 
 is quite free from it; the operations about New York City, 
 Long Island, and through New Jersey show considerable evi- 
 dence of copying. The campaign in Canada and Burgoyne's 
 expedition arc full of ])orrowed phrases, sentences, and even 
 whole paragraphs. And when we reach the operations on the 
 frontier, as in the Wyoming massacre and Clark's expedi- 
 tion, the entire account is taken almost verbatim. The method 
 is quite simple and invariable, since it was the business of our 
 historian to produce as complete a compilation as possible, 
 absence of material must be compensated for by the appro- 
 priation of the work of someone better informed, and in this 
 case the greater the deficiency the more complete the theft. 
 Clark's expedition is thus described: 
 
 Annual h'lyistrr, 1779. p. 16, r. 1. Gordon, III, 193. 
 
 The situation of this small party in the * * * w^q dangerous situation of this 
 
 heart of the Indian country, at the back of small corps in the inner part of the Indian 
 
 some of their most cruel and hostile tribes, territory, at the back of .some of the most 
 
 in the track of many others, and more or cruel and hostile tribes, in the track of 
 
 less in the way of all, was converted to pe- many others, and more or less in the way of 
 
 culiar advantage by the extraordinary ac- all, was converted to peculiar advantage by 
 
 tivity and unwearied .spirit of their com- the extraordinary activity and unwearied 
 
 mander. He directed and timed his attacks spirit of the commander. He directed and 
 
 with such judgment and executed them timed his attacks with such judgment and 
 
 with .such silence and dispatch that the executed them with such silence and dis- 
 
 savages at length found their own mode patch that the Indians found their own 
 
GORDON S HISTORY OF AMERICAN" UEVOHTTION. 
 
 877 
 
 of war olToctiinlly turned upon them. Sur- 
 prised in tlieir inmost retreats and most 
 se(iuestered reeesses, at those times and 
 seasons wlieii tlu'v were scarcely less in- 
 disposed for action than unprepared for 
 defense. * * * , 
 
 mode of war elTectually turned ui)on tliem. 
 Surprised in their inmost retreats and most 
 sequestered reeesses, at those times and 
 seasons when tlicy were si'urcely less 
 disposed for action than unpre|)arcd for 
 defen.se. * * * 
 
 Hut while (iroixU)!! had the o-ood taste to prefer the hicid 
 statements and l)eautit'ully rounded phrases of the Annual 
 Register to his own awkward and limping' sentences, yet he 
 does not seem to have Ween appreciative of tigui'es of speech. 
 The following account of conditions in tlie Wyoming Valley 
 just })receding the massacre well illustrates this: 
 
 All II Hill Uiiii.'iler, 1779, p. U. 
 
 * * * they hail no inconsiderable mix- 
 ture of loyalists among themselves, and the 
 two parties were actuated by sentiments of 
 the most violent animo.sity. Nor were 
 these animosities confined to i)articular 
 families or places, or marked by any line 
 of distinction, but creeping within the 
 roofs and to the hearths and boards where 
 they were least expected, served, as it after- 
 wards fatally appeared, equally to poison 
 the sources of domestic security and happi- 
 ness and to cancel the laws of nature and 
 humanity. 
 
 Our author betrays his ohtuseness by sul)stituting the woi'd 
 ** floors''' for the original '" boards '' in Burke's account, thus 
 spoiling the figure and marring the finish of the period. 
 
 In his account of Arnold's treason and Andre's death the 
 Annual Register is his source throughout. This ought to l)e 
 a fair test of an American historian's accuracy — his treatment 
 of a sul)ject so wddely discussed in this country and involving 
 so many men of rank on both sides of the contest. A quota- 
 tion will show the real authorship of Gordon's version of the 
 afiair : 
 
 Onrihm, in, isr,. 
 
 But it was their uuliai)piness to have a 
 considerable mixture of royalists among 
 them, and the two parties were actuated hy 
 sentiments of the most violent animosit , 
 which was not confined to particular fami- 
 lies or places, but creeping within the roofs 
 and to the hearths and floors where it was 
 least expected, served equally to poison the 
 sources of domestic security and happine.'-s 
 and to cancel the laws f)f nature and 
 humanitv. 
 
 Aiiiiuiil RiijUliT, 17S1, p. Ut, C.2. 
 
 This excellent young man, disdaining all 
 subterfuge and evasion, and only study- 
 ing, by the magnanimity which he should 
 now display, and the intrepidity with 
 which he would encounter the expected 
 sentence, to throw such a luster over his 
 character as might prevent the smallest 
 shade of that imputation which he so much 
 dreaded, voluntarily confes.sed more than 
 he was asked, and sought not to palliate 
 anything that related to himself, wliilst lu' 
 concealed with the most guarded and 
 scrupulous nicely \\ halever niiKliI involve 
 others, p. 4.'), c. 'J. 
 
 Gordon. Ill, /,sr,, /,S7. 
 
 Andre, di.sdaining all subterfuge and 
 evasion, and studying oidy to place his 
 character in so fair a light as miglit prevent 
 its being shaded by jjresent circumstiinces, 
 voluntarily confes.sed more than he was 
 asked and sought not to [lalliate anything 
 relating to nimsclf. while he concealed 
 with the most guarded and scrupulous 
 nieit y whatever might involve others. 
 
 Page 4SS: 
 
378 
 
 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Andre was superior to the terrors of 
 death, but that disgraceful mode of dying 
 which the usage of war had annexed to 
 his unhappy situation was to him infinitely 
 dreadful. 
 
 He encountered his fate with a compo- 
 sure, dignity, and fortitude which equally 
 excited the admiration and melted tlie 
 hearts of all the spectiitors. 
 
 The sympathy which Andre excited in 
 the American army is perhaps unexampled 
 under anv similar circumstances. 
 
 The major was superior to the torror.s of 
 death, but the disgraceful mode of dying 
 which the usage of war had annexed to 
 his unhap7)y situation was infinitely dread- 
 ful to him. 
 
 Page 489: 
 
 (He) performed the last offices to him- 
 self with a composure that excited the 
 admiration and melted the hearts of all 
 the spectators. 
 
 Page 490: 
 
 The sympathy he had excited in the 
 American army was perhaps unexampled 
 under any similar circumstances. 
 
 It is of interest to note in this connection that this descrip- 
 tion of the Andre aifair was quoted in one of the London 
 magazines in 1789, as illustrative of Gordon's stAde/ 
 
 It may not be surpri-sing after what has been related of the 
 uu^thods of our historian that his only apparent source for 
 the naval operations this side of the Athintic is the Annual 
 Register. This is more marked for those of the West Indies, 
 and the niatei'ial is sometimes adapted and al>ridged, more 
 frequently copied entire without change or acknowledgment. 
 But it does c^reate surprise to find the closing campaign of 
 the war and th(^ surrender at Yorktown described with such 
 evident reference to his English source. He has here, how- 
 ever, one advantage; two authorities had covered the ground 
 already and it was easier to appropriate without detection in 
 this case than in most others. How intricately he wove his 
 narative from material obtained from the two sources may be 
 seen from the following parallel quotations describing the 
 closing scene at Yorktown: 
 
 Annual Register, 17SI, pp. 
 133-UV,. 
 
 But things were now draw- 
 ing to that crisis which 
 could no longer be averted. 
 The works were every- 
 where sinking under the 
 weight of the enemy's artil- 
 lery and Lord Cornwallis 
 himself could not but concur 
 in opinion * * * that a 
 continuance of the same fire 
 only for a few hours longer 
 would reduce them to such 
 a condition tliat it would 
 
 Ramscjj, II, f>'2f'>. 
 
 By this time the works of 
 the beseiged were so broken 
 that they were assailable in 
 many places, and the troops 
 were exhausted by constsint 
 watching and unceasing fa- 
 tigue. The time in which 
 relief from New York was 
 promised had elapsed. 
 Longer resistance could an- 
 swer no purpose, and might 
 occasion the loss of many 
 valuable lives. Lord Corn- 
 
 Gimloii, IV. li)!,-196. 
 
 Matters were now hasten- 
 ing to a crisis, which could 
 not be longer averted. The 
 British works were sinking 
 under the weight of the 
 American and French artil- 
 lery. The continuance of 
 the allied fire, only for a few 
 more hours, would reduce 
 them to such a condition that 
 it would be rashness to at- 
 tempt their defence. The 
 time for expecting relief 
 
 1 Literary Magazine, London, 17S9, II, :38l-:iS3. 
 
GORDON S HISTORY OF AMEKICAlsr REVOLUTION. 
 
 370 
 
 then become desperate to at- 
 tempt their defence. * * * 
 The troops were not only <li- 
 niinished hy loss and by 
 sickness, but the strength 
 uikI spirits of those in the 
 works wore exhansted and 
 
 wallis, therefore, on the 17th, 
 wrote a letter to general 
 Washington, reqnesting a 
 cessation of arms for twenty- 
 four hours, and that com- 
 missioners might be appoint- 
 ed for digesting terms of 
 
 worn down by constant capitulation. It is remark- 
 watching and unremitting able, while lieuteiiant-col- 
 fatigne. * * * Lord Corn- onel Laurens, the ofliccr 
 wallis accordingly wrote a employed by general Wash- 
 letter to General Washington ington on this occasion, was 
 on the same day, the 17th, drawingiiparticlesby which 
 proposing a cessation of a numerous British army be- 
 arms for twenty-four hours, came prisoners, that his 
 and that commissioners father was closely confined 
 might be ai)pointed on both in the Tower of London, 
 sides for settling the terms • 
 of capitulation. * * * 
 
 Page ISrr 
 
 It was remarkable that the 
 commissioner ai>pointcd by 
 the Americans to settle the 
 terms, and who himself drew 
 up the articles of a capitula- 
 tion by which a British army 
 became prisoners to hi.s 
 country, was Colonel Lau- 
 rons,son of that Mr. Laurens, 
 late president of the Con- 
 gress, who was then, and 
 had been for a con.siderable 
 time, a close prisoner in the 
 Tower of London. 
 
 Note.— This quotation raises a question regarding the 
 material. But no one who has read Ram.sey would charge 
 of which Gordon is continually guilty. 
 
 from New York was elapsed. 
 The strength and spirits of 
 the royal troops were worn 
 down by constant watching 
 and unremitting fatigue. 
 Lord Corn wallis, therefore, 
 sent out a flag at 10 o'clock 
 in the morning of the 17tli, 
 with a letter to general 
 Washington, requesting a 
 ces.sation of arms for twenty- 
 four hours, and that con - 
 missioners niightbeappoin:- 
 ed for digesting the terms 
 of capitulation. * * * 
 Commissioners were appoin 1- 
 ed— the side of the allies, 
 viscount de Noaille, and 
 lieutenant-Colonel Laurens, 
 whose father was in close 
 confinement at the Tower, 
 while the son was drawing 
 np articles by which an 
 English nobleman and a 
 British army became jiris- 
 oners. 
 
 source of some of Ramsey's 
 him with the gross plagiarism 
 
 Nothing })etter reveals Gordon'.s value us uii historian tliiui 
 his account of the negotiations of the Howes with Washino-- 
 ton. The affair was known very widely through the news- 
 papers and Congress passed resolutions respecting it. In 
 Gordon, however, in spite of his boasted access to Washing- 
 ton's correspondence, we are treated merely witli the account 
 at second hand. 
 
 Sjiaik-K' Li/r (111(1 W'ritiiKjK af 
 
 WdshiiKjii,,!. IV, (ipp. r,()'.i- 
 r>n. X((. I, jj. //,. 
 
 The (iencral declined the 
 letter and said that it was 
 true the Ac. Ac. &v. implied 
 everything, and they also 
 implied anything. 
 
 Gen. Washington replied 
 that * * * from what had 
 appeared or transpired on 
 this head Lord Ilowe and 
 
 Aiiiiiinl liCt/islcr, 1770, p. ](!S, 
 C. -2. 
 
 The General replied * * * 
 that it was true et ceteras 
 implied everything, but they 
 also implied anything." 
 
 Page 1G9, c. 1: 
 * * * "he received for 
 answer, among other things, 
 that, by what liad appeared, 
 their powers were only to 
 
 (iin-doii, IT, :mi-SOi. 
 
 ^^'ash ington .says: * * * 
 it is true the et ceteras im- 
 jily everything, but it is no 
 less true that they imply 
 anything. 
 
 Theii jiowers are only to 
 grant i)ardons. They who 
 have committed no fault 
 want no pardons. The 
 
380 
 
 AMERICAK HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Krant pardons; that those 
 who had committed no fault 
 wanted no pardon, and that 
 they themselves were only 
 defending what they deemed 
 their indisputable right. 
 
 Americans are only defend- 
 ing what they think their 
 indispvitable rights. 
 
 General Howe were only to 
 grant pardons; that those 
 who had committed no fault 
 wanted no pardon; that we 
 were only defending what 
 we deemed our indisputable 
 rights. 
 
 It may now be clear why the larger part of Gordon's four 
 volume.s so conspicuously lacks bibliography. The first vol- 
 ume is an exception, as it contains in the first letter footnotes 
 giving numerous authorities consulted. In the next two let- 
 ters, however, the number is much less, and from letter IV 
 to the end of the volume but twelve references occur in 300 
 pages. The remainder of the work is even less well supplied 
 than this. This paucity of references marks the appearance 
 of the material from the Annual Register, which, of course, 
 could not safel}' be acknowledged. Letter III is in no small 
 part a copy in ideas, arrangement, and phrasing of the Regis- 
 ter. This material increases till it swallows up every other, 
 the only exception, of course, being those parts taken from 
 Ramsay. 
 
 It was obviously unsafe to ])e too precise in stating his 
 authority, since it is no eas}' task to conduct a theft on so 
 large a scale without betraying it to the reader. The single 
 instance in which he refers to the Annual Register is in con 
 nection with the fieet of Rochambeau, when he takes pains in 
 a footnote to point out that the list in the "English publica- 
 tions" is in error. ^ A Providence paper is here mentioned as 
 his authority, but he follows it only partiallv, since material 
 from the Annual Register appears side by side with that from 
 the local newspaper. Apropos of the arrival of the French 
 fleet Gordon mentions an order to the arni}^ officers issued b}^ 
 Washington with reference to the wearing black and white 
 cockades. And though this order was published in this local 
 newspaper alread}^ referred to, he copies his statement of it 
 from the usual source. 
 
 Gordon, III., aso. 
 
 MassacJmsctts Spy, Aiigiid 10, 
 
 ITSO, No. m, p. 3, e. 2. Avimal Jiegister, 17 SI, pp. 
 
 [Extrac-t from General oi_9^-> 
 Orders.] 
 
 It is recommended to the In the meantime Washing- The American command- 
 officers of the American ton issued a requisition in er in chief recommended 
 army to have black and public orders to the Ameri- the officers of the Continon- 
 white cockades, a black can officers, soliciting and tal Army, in general orders, 
 
 1 Gordon, III, ;^>T'J. Note. 
 
Gordon's history ok American KKV(>LirTi<>N. 881 
 
 ground Willi a white ri'licf, sln)n,i,'ly rccomiiK'ndiiig lo the wciiriiig of bliick uiii] 
 
 (.'lubk'iniUic of the expected tliem the wearing of black vviiite cockades (the ground 
 
 union of the two armies. and white cockades (the being of tlic first color and 
 
 ground being of the first the relief of tlio second) as 
 
 color and the relief of the a compliment to and a syiu- 
 
 second) as a compliment to Ix)! of Tricndsbip and alTce- 
 
 and a symbol < f friendship linn for their allies. 
 and afTection for their allies. 
 
 Notliiiii;' has Ihhmi said so far rospectinj^ the part taken l)y 
 the Southern States in tht», war. Before the breaking out of 
 hostilities, and in the lirst 3'(^ai's of the strugo-l(>, Gordon's 
 souree was (juite hirgcly the Aiuuial Register, especially for 
 Virginia and North Carolina. In his preface he mentions the 
 fact that Dr. Ramsay's history of the war in South Carolina 
 was sent him in maiuiscript, with full lilxu-ty to use it as he 
 saw tit. It is so used by him, sometimes as an acknowledged 
 source, more often as a partial one, and a still greater number 
 of times with no acknowledgment whatever. Ver}^ little of 
 value indeed does Gordon add to the history of the Southern 
 war. And his manifest unfairness in his use of Ramsa}^ is 
 only exceeded by his dishonest manipulation of the material 
 borrowed from the Aiuiual Register. The following descrip- 
 tion is thoroughly typical of Rumsa3''s style at its best, and 
 Gf)rdon uses it as his own: 
 
 RaniK(ti/'s Jlldori/ uf tlie Mrvulntion in Soiiili 
 
 Carolina, II, I23-m. Gordo,,, IV, l.JS-m. 
 
 In tills crisis of danger to the liberties of Here let me introduce an account of the 
 
 America the ladies of Soutli Carolina con- manner in wliich most of the whig ladies 
 
 ducted themselves with more than Spartan conducted themselves while they remained 
 
 magnanimity. They gloried in the appel- in Charleston. They Showed an amazing 
 
 lation of rebel ladies. * * * in the fortitude and the strongest attachment to 
 
 height of the British conquests, when pov- the cause of their country, and gloried in 
 
 erty and ruin .seemed the unavoidable por- the appellation of rebel ladies. * * * in 
 
 tion of every adherent to the independence the height of the British conquests, when 
 
 of America, the ladies in general discovered poverty and ruin seemed the unavoidable 
 
 more firmness than the men. Many of portion of every adherent to the independ- 
 
 them, like guardian angels, preserved their ence of America, they discovered more 
 
 husbands from falling in the hour of temp- firmness than the men. Many of them, like 
 
 fcition, when interest and convenience had guardian angels, preserved their hu.sbands 
 
 almost gotten the better of honor and from falling in the hour of ti'niptation, 
 
 patriotism. when interest and convenience had almost 
 
 ' gotten the better of honor and patriotism. 
 
 Examples similar to this might Ix' iiuiltiplied indefinitely. 
 Even where a compiler with oidy an average amount of 
 industr}' would abridge or condense, material is copied ver- 
 batim. In view of the courtesy by which Ramsaj^'s manu- 
 script was placed at his disposal, thi>i theft on Gordon's part 
 
382 AMERICAK HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 becomes all the more inexcusal)le' The pursuit by the Ameri- 
 cans of Colonel Ferguson is one of the most characteristic 
 descriptions in Ramsay. As it reappears in (xordon, it is 
 given here in parallel version. 
 
 Ramsay, II, 181-182. Gurdon, III, J,63. 
 Each man set out with his blanliet, knap- Eacli man .set out with his blanket, knap- 
 sack, and gun in quest of Col. Ferguson, sack, and gun in quest of major Ferguson, 
 in the .same manner he was used to pursue in the same manner he was used to pursue 
 the wild beasts of the forest. At night the the wild beasts of the forest. At night the 
 earth afforded them a bed and the Heavens earth afforded them a bed and the heavens 
 a covering; the running stream quenched a covering; the running stream quenched 
 their thirst, while a few cattle driven in their thir.st, while a few cattle driven in 
 their rear, together with the supplies ac- their rear, together with the supplies ac- 
 quired by their guns, secured them i)rovi- quired by their guns, .secured them j>rovi- 
 sion. sion. 
 
 What, then, remains of the two thousand pages in four vol- 
 umes of Gordon's History of the American Revolution? Of 
 the first part of the first volume, Letters I and II, he may be 
 the author, or at least the compiler. The style is certainly 
 stiff and clum.sy enough to be the author's own. But as for 
 the remainder of the work, especially from Letter IX, Vol- 
 ume I, it is conspicuously lacking in that essential unity of 
 thought and st^de which should pervade a geiniine piece of 
 historical writing.^ In its place we have a sorry patchwork 
 in which selections or adaptations from Burke and Ramsay 
 are raggedl}^ joined to material of quite another kind. Mani- 
 festly we can not cut out the portions copied from other 
 writers and in this way make sure that the remainder is gen- 
 uine. The persistent plagiarism of which he has been guilty 
 vitiates his entire work. There is inevitably a taint of dis- 
 honesty about the whole. 
 
 1 After this study ^vas completed the attention of the writer was called by Profe.ssor 
 Bourne, of Yale, to a citation in Allibone's Dictionary of Authors (art. Gordon) which indi- 
 cates that Gordon's indebtedness to the Annual Register was early discovered. Allibone 
 quotes from a work which he calls Supp. Vol. Diet. Hist., 1812, the sentence "The best 
 part of it occurs where he made most use of Dodsley's Annual Register." In response to 
 request for a verification of this quotation Mr. Bourne .suggests that it was taken from 
 Chalmer's Biog. Diet. (art. Gordon), where the same citaticjn is given and credited to the 
 "Supplemental Volume to the Dictionnaire Historiquc, 1812, which consists chiefly of 
 American lives probably contributed by an American." This Dictionnaire Historique 
 was the Nouveau Dictionnaire Historique, par L. M. Chandon et Delaudinc Lyon, 1804, 
 new ed., Paris, 1810-1812, under the title Diet. Universel, hist. crit. et bibliog., 20 vols. 
 From this source this statement of Gordon's obligations to the Annual Register has been 
 taken up in several of the biographical dictionaries, but so far as I know has never been 
 verified, nor at present can its author be identified. It is, however, the only direct asser- 
 tion I have ever found indicating anything like an appreciation of Gordon's plagiarism 
 
GOKDOJSf's IIISTOUV OK AMERICAN KKVOLU'rioN, 383 
 
 II. 
 
 'i'hr. quostion iu)\v n;itui:illy iU'iscs, Was (xordoii u conscioiis 
 l)lao-ijiri,st in our iiicaniiio- of the tcriii, or was it the fault of 
 tlie time in which he lived? The (|uestion can of course never 
 he satisfactorily answ(>red, ])ut there is some evidence upon it 
 worth consideration. First, as to contemporary opinion 
 regarding- Oordon's character, purposes, and writings. 
 
 The historian seems not to have made a very favorable 
 impression upon those who knew him in America. John 
 Adams wrote of him in 1775, "I fear his indiscreet prate will 
 do harm in this city. lie is an eternal talker and somewhat 
 vain, and not accurate nor judicious."^ Hamilton in 177!> 
 referred to him contemptuously as ''the old Jesuit.'"' 
 
 Belknap, writino' to Hazard from Boston in 178!»with refer- 
 ence to Gordon's history, says: 
 
 I l)elievt) it will be no easy matter for (i. to tind any peraons of eharaeter 
 and coiisequenee who will stand forth as hin vouchers. He was not much 
 l)eloved nor regarded while he was liere, and the stories he has told of one 
 and another in his book have helped to sink him in the general estimation, 
 though now and then I find some who are rather inclined to speak favor- 
 alily of him.'' 
 
 James Sullivan speaks of him in much the same fashion, 
 and refers also to the low esteem in whic-h he was held in 
 Massachusetts. He adds: 
 
 In every part of his history there is a very remarkal)lewant of truth and 
 integrity, but the arrows of his envy and Malevolence are so blunted by 
 the indiscretion of his attacks and the want of decency in his manner that 
 tlicy do no injury. 
 
 In Ills estimation (iordoii is a '" mercenary scrih])ler who 
 makes hooks with no other object than to gain a fewpenct'."' 
 This charge of being intluenced l)y mercenary motives is one 
 that appears again and again. It never can l>e substantiated, 
 but the evidence is very damaging. The letters of John 
 Adams'^ and Jetl'erson''' both show traces of it, even before the 
 edition a{)i)ear(Hi. In 1818 flohn Adams writes: 
 
 It is with grief that 1 record a fact which I ought to record relative to 
 <i(jrdon's history. His object was profit. He was told that his book 
 
 1 Life and Works of John Adams. Bcston, 1850, II, 42:M24. 
 
 2 Hamilton's Works. LndjifL' cd., VII, 57G. 
 ■iBelkniii) Puikts. Part H, liU. 
 
 ••Amory, Life of Jiuncs Sulliviiii. Hdstoii, ls.V.), Vol. I, iW. Ni>to. 
 
 Works. IX, 550. 
 
 ojefXer.son's Works. Wiisliiiiginii, l.soo, II, 107. 
 
384 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 would not sell if printed according to lii» manuscript. It was accordingly 
 thrown into a new form of letters between a gentleman in England and 
 one in America. He was told, besides, that the style was so bold that it 
 would damn the work, and that many other things were so favorable to 
 America and others so disgraceful to Britons that neither would be borne. 
 Accordingly the style and spirit was altered and accommodated more to 
 the British taste and feelings. In this labor of love he had the assistance 
 of some of the dissenting clergymen, and among them I can name the Drs. 
 Towers, father and son.^ Had the original manuscript been printed the 
 work would have appeared very differently.'' 
 
 Thus stated by a contemporai\v is the whole charge against 
 Gordoirs reputation as a man and a historian. Another con- 
 temporary of Gordon goes still further and insists that he 
 saw the original manuscript before the author went to Eng- 
 land, and that it was changed in one instance of which he was 
 aware. ^ Dr. Luther M. Harris, one of Gordon's friends, 
 claimed that more than 100 pages were struck out of the 
 original manuscript, while others confirm this evidence and 
 add that the author was paid for the alteration.* The case 
 against Gordon, as stated l\v his contemporaries, is certainly 
 strong enough to justify further examination. 
 
 Secondly, we may consider the internal evidence of Gor- 
 don's history. If the author was paid for changing his mami- 
 script to conform it to the English feeling, the plagiarism 
 from the pages of the Annual Register was conscious and 
 deliberate. For purposes of concealment, transposition of 
 material was resorted to very frequently, as where a three- 
 page description was ])uilt up out of eleven fragments taken 
 from material filling fifteen pages of the Annual Register, and 
 rearranged in such an order as to be almost unrecognizable." 
 
 The proof of direct change of form in manuscript itself in 
 favor of the English view is not now possible, for Gordon's 
 original manuscript has in all probalnlity perished. But 
 fortunately there is in existence a letter written by him on 
 
 1 Dictionary of National Biography, LVIII, 91. Jo.seph Towers. 1737-1799. Editor of 
 "British Biography;" chief work, Memoirs of Frederick III of Prussia. Joseph L. 
 Towers. 1767-1831. Unitarian preacher, writer, and book collector. 
 
 2 Austin, Life of Elbridge Gerry, Boston, 1828. .\ppendi.\, p. 530. Winsor's account of 
 Gordon, Nar. and Crit. History, VIII, 470-471, has been the chief means used in tracing 
 the contemporary opinion of Gordon. 
 
 3 Recollections of a Bostonian: Niles, Principles and Acts of the Revolution. Balti- 
 more, 1822, pp. 482, 483. 
 
 ^Loringin Historical Magazine, VI, 78-82. 
 
 5 Gordon, III, 302-304. Annual Register, 1780, pp. 21-30. Here Gordon's eleven consecu- 
 tive fragments are to be found in the Annual Register in the order 2,8,4,1,5,6,7,10,9, 
 8, 11. 
 
Gordon's histoky ok amekican ukvolution. 385 
 
 May 17, 1775, dcsc-rihino- the battles of Loxino'toii and Con- 
 cord/ In comparing' this early account with that appearing 
 in his later work due allowance must ])e made for the inter- 
 vening years and the consequent cooling of the passions of 
 the moment. We should hardly expect, for instance, to find 
 in sober history such a sentence as this: "Eight hundred of 
 the best British Troops in America having thus nol)ly van- 
 quished a company of nonresisting Yankees while dispersing, 
 and slaughtering a few of them by way of experiment, 
 marched forward in the greatness of their might to Con- 
 cord." And while we may bo able to understand why he 
 omitted in his later account the phrase "inimical torified 
 natives," yet he should have mentioned that they were pres- 
 ent in the Lexington-Concord expedition. One of the most 
 curious alterations occurs in connection with the Lexington 
 skirmish. In the first account it is related that as the officers 
 of the regiment rode up toward the Americans one of them 
 shouted, "You damned rebels, lay down your arms;" another, 
 "Stop, you rebels;" and a third, "Disperse, j^ou rebels." 
 But in his history ^ the version of the affair is taken from the 
 Annual Register, as follows: "An officer in the van called out, 
 ^Disperse, you reheU; tliToui dmnn your arm-9 and disperse.'' ''^ ^ 
 In his treatment of Major Pitcairn, Gordon shows his change 
 clearly enough. In the letter of 1775 he says: "Major Pit- 
 cairn, I suppose, thinking himself justified by Parliamentary 
 authority to consider them as rebels, perceiving that they did 
 not actually lay down their arms, observing that the generality 
 were getting off, while a few continued in their military posi- 
 tion, and apprehending there could be no great hurt in kill- 
 ing a few such Yankees, which might probably, according to 
 the notions that had been instilled into him by the tory party, 
 of the Americans being poltroons, end all the contest, gave 
 the command to fire, then fired his own pistol, and so set the 
 whole affair agoing. " This hardly reads like the later version: 
 "An instant compliance not taking place, which he might 
 construe into contempt, he rode a little farther, fired his pis- 
 tol, flourished his sword, and ordered the soldiers to fire;" 
 
 1 An Account of Uie Commencement of Hostilities between Great Britain and America 
 in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Force, American Archives, fourth scries, II, 
 625-631. 
 
 •-Gordon, 1, 478. 
 
 s Annual Register, 1775, p. 12G, c. 2. 
 
 HIST 99, VOL I 25 
 
386 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 • 
 
 "undoubtedl3',"hesa3's, furtheron, " from the mistaken appre- 
 hension he had entertained of American resolution, for he has 
 the character of a good-tempered officer."" This last sounds 
 somewhat different from his denunciation of the same officer 
 in 1775, which he concludes by saying, "1 have no such great 
 opinion of the Major\s character." 
 
 With all its mutilation, however, we ma}" be sure that this 
 letter of 1775 was the basis for his later account of the first 
 bloodshed of the Revolution. There are so man}' agreements 
 of detail, wording, and spirit which no revision could quite 
 destroy. The expedition of 1,100 men, for instance, to 
 Jamaica Plains and Dorchester, resulting in a great destruc- 
 tion to the stone fences; the influence of the Tories in causing 
 Gage to send out the famous expedition; the presence of 
 British officers on the road out of Boston the night before the 
 battle of Lexington; the taking of the grenadiers and light 
 infantr}' off duty under pretense of learning a new exercise, 
 which made the "Bostonians jealous;" the incident connected 
 with the Lexington meetinghouse, or "meeting "as he calls it, 
 which he proves did not shelter armed Americans; the brain- 
 ing of a wounded British soldier by a young farmer armed 
 with an ax, and his denial of the report the British soldiers 
 were scalped — these details with their exact phraseology reap- 
 pear as evidence of the essential unity of the two accounts. 
 The most curious feature of the later account occurs in the 
 description of Lord Percj^'s march to aid the flying British, 
 where Gordon pauses midwa}' to explain at length the origin 
 of the terrjj "Yankee." Stranger still is the alteration of his 
 original story of Lord Percy's playing Yankee Doodle as he 
 marched out of Boston, and being reminded later how he had 
 been made to dance to that tune. This at least has local color; 
 but in his history Gordon tells us that a mocking youth calls out 
 to Lord Perc}' that he is soon to dance to the tune of Chevy 
 Chase. Now, though we are aware of the uncommon precoc- 
 ity of the Boston boys of 1775, j^et it is hard to believe that 
 one of them could so cleverly connect Lord Percy with the 
 hero of Chevy Chase. This smacks decidedly of the atmos- 
 phere of some quiet English study, but is out of harmony 
 with everything in Boston at this period of her history. 
 
 The net result of the alterations, then, of this original letter 
 of 1775 is to give a view decidedly more favorable to the 
 
GOKUUN's history ok AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 887 
 
 British. The im-idont of the braining of a wounded soldier 
 is retained, while he omits to mention Pitcairn's insolence 
 and ))rutality, the presence of Tories in the detachment of 
 soldiers sent to Lexington, and the detail of atrocities com- 
 mitted by the British soldiers. Most curious of all is the 
 addition (in parenthesis, to be sure) of the statement that at 
 the l)attle of Concord Lieutenant Gould would have been 
 killed but for the intervention of a clergyman. Yet in his 
 deposition soon after the battle, Gould gives every important 
 detail of his experience except this one.' In his use of Ram- 
 say, also, Gordon shows the same partiality for the British 
 side by attempting to palliate the injustice and cruelty of 
 their soldiers in Charleston by citing cases somewhat similar 
 on the part of the Americans elsewhere," oven making use of 
 Washington's losses by dishonest debtors to show how cor- 
 rupt they had become.^ 
 
 To sum up our conclusions thus far, we may say that Gor- 
 don was neither a man of unimpeachable veracity nor a great 
 historian, and that his history mvist be rejected Avholly as a 
 source for the American Revolution. And it is meant to include 
 in this statement not only the three-fourths taken largely from 
 other histories, but also the remaining portion, chiefly con- 
 tained in the first eight letters of Volimie I. We may con- 
 clude further that Gordon's letter of 1775 (Anierican Archives), 
 d(>scribing the battles of Lexington and Concord, is a fair 
 type of his original history, as he took it to England for pub- 
 lication, and that his later accoimt of these battles shows how 
 the history sufi'ered in contents and spirit by the revision to 
 which it was subjected. 
 
 It must be admitted, on the other hand, that while there are 
 abundant evidences of the presence of the original manu- 
 script in Gordon's history, it is by no means easy to verify 
 the hypothesis of his compilation of the work hy the aid of 
 friends in England. How many portions of his published 
 history resemble the description of the battles of Lexington 
 and Concord it is impossible to say, and in the absence of 
 similar material for comparison we have little means of Ivnow- 
 ing. Internal evidence alone can hardly reveal whether it was 
 
 1 Hubley, History of the American Revolution. Northumberland, Penn., 1805. I, 242-243. 
 2 Gordon, III, 4.>1. Ramsay, II, 169-170. 
 81b. 111,260. 
 
388 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 • 
 Cxordonor his clerical friends who mangled this original manu- 
 script and transcribed portions of the Annual Register in the 
 production of the published work. We ma}" be quite sure, 
 however, that Gordon passed judgment upon the whole pro 
 duction and gave to certain portions of • it a characteristic 
 animus which is easily recognizable. A good example of 
 this is his treatment of Gates, which betrays his partisanship 
 for this ignoble rival of Washington. This could hardly be 
 the result of a fortuitous selection from Gordon's entire 
 manuscript by an ordinary compiler. The work must have 
 been done under his constant supervision, and nowhere, unless 
 it be in the foreign letters, do we fail to find traces of its 
 presence. 
 
 There remains, consequently, the difficult task of disen- 
 tangling the composite of original and borrowed material 
 and the assignment of each fragment to its proper source. 
 This is by no means the simple problem it at first appears, for 
 after the material of the original has been separated from that 
 of the Annual Register and of Ramsay, we are confronted 
 with the difficulty of distinguishing the particular compiler 
 who copied or abridged the various portions of the plagiarized 
 material. That there were several compilers at work upon 
 the histor}^ seems quite apparent; what each . contributed to 
 the composite result is exceedingly difficult to determine. 
 These and other similar questions must await a more detailed 
 and careful stud}^ of the whole subject at some future time, 
 but even though new evidence may modify, as to minor details, 
 the conclusions so far reached, the main contention is beyond 
 cavil that no part of Gordon's history can an}" longer be taken 
 as authority on the American Revolution. 
 
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