•3 .S9S r ^2^ v-*^ vOO. '^^> .^x^"^' l'^ -^ ^'^^^^.^ ^^ -^ ^:^ .0 0. .0- "?7, ' o . X * ^0 \> %^ ' « r > V: ^-^-^ -* ^c^\) .0^' &-/?^^ ^0^ ^>>^ ,\0 ^^. -> N « \^ V o "^<^": . ,/X^ ^ -v: > >-> ^ OF THE /f yj^^ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, DISCOVERY OF THE CONTINENT IN 1492, FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR INDEPENDENCE. BY RFA'. LA BOY SUNDERLAND. Written for thr S. S. Union of ihe Methodist E. Church. NEW.YORK, PUBLISHED BY B. WAUGH AND T. MASON, For the Sunday School Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church, at the Conference Office, 200 Mulberry-street. J. Collord, Printer. 1834. en% " Entered according to Act of Congiess, in the year 1834, by B. Waugh and T. Mason, in the Clerk's Office of the Dis- trict Court of the Southern District of New-York." ^/y^r DEDICATION. To the Youth connected icith the Sunday School Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Dear Youth :— I have written the following pages expressly for you. There are a great many reasons why you should become acquaint- ed with the history of the country where you were born, and the particulars by which that country is disUnguished from other portions of the world. Among other things you have probably beef? taught, and certainly you should never forget, that your highest interests, and your greatest felicity, depend on your being good ; and it is a truth of equal importance, that the second object of your existence is, that you may do good. To secure both of these objects, therefore, your Creator has put within your power the means of becoming intelligent and wise, of im- proving your minds with knowledge, by which you may be qualified, in some sense, to be use- ful as long as you live. What an unhappy thing, then, must it be tor any one to grow up in ignorance, especially 4 IIPDICATION. when the means of instruction are every where multipUed in such abundance. Let me hope, therefore, that you will feel it a pleasure to seek instruction by reading and studying the history of the country in which you live. Study to be good and to do good ; so when you are advanced in life, you will not find yourself unfit for the society with which you may be surrounded, nor be constrained to say, " How have I despised instruction, and my soul has hated reproof!" La Roy Suisderlatcd PREFACE. The following history was undertaken at the request of the editors of the Sabbath School and Youth's Library of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It embraces an account of the discovery ot the American continent, and the various settle, ments made by different nations, within the pre- sent limits of the United States ; together with notices of the population, government, rehgion, arts, and employments of its original inhabitants. It also describes the growth of the colonies, the many distressing wars and calamities in which they were involved, and a particular detail of the'circumstances which finally separated them from the government of England, and established their national independence. It is interspersed with narrations of many interesting incidents and remarkable facts ; and the whole is accompanied with observations and reflections designed to illustrate and set forth the most prominent fea- tures in the manners, customs, and government of the people of this country. It has not been the author's aim to adapt his language to the nursery in the composition of 6 PREFACE. the following pages, because the book may pos- sibly be read by young people. He has endea- voured to avoid the too frequent dryness of mere annals on the one hand, and the tiresome diffuse- ness of laboured description on the other, and to render this book such a one as may not be read without some pleasure and profit, both by the young and the old. No history in the world presents so many interesting combinations of piety, wisdom, patri- otism, and daring enterprise, as that of these United States, and none exhibits more striking instances of a Divine Providence in the govern- ment and direction of the aliairs of men. For this reason its study should be one of the first things to interest the attention of our youth, while its pages may assist the pleasing remi- niscences of riper years. The want of time prevents that revision and polish which this work ought to receive before it goes to the press ; but this is impossible, as every page of it has been written in the course of a few weeks, while the author has been under the hands of a physician, and upon a journey for the benefit of his health. New. York, Sept. 8,1834. INTRODUCTION. History — Its object — Advantages to be derived from its study. 1. History, in general, is a narrative, or description, of past or present events. It calls up and sets before the mind of the reader the causes which have contributed to the formation of the characters of eminent men, as well as those which have aided more or less in the rise and fall of empires. It sets before us instances of virtue and patriotism, which are worthy of our imitation, while at the same time it warns us against the repetition of those vices, which have always been followed with misery and the curse of God. 2. The dealings of God with his intelligent creatures, his disposition toward them, and his general government over the world, may be traced on the pages of the faithful historian. Here we learn that there can be no real pros- perity without his blessing ; — that he holds the sceptre of universal dominion, and dispenses his blessings upon nations and individuals, that he may secure their faithfulness in the discharge of the various duties which they respectively owe to him. 3. The people of these United States enjoy many blessings, with which no other nation 8 INTRODUCTION, since the beginning of tiie world was ever favoured. Hence it becomes exceedingly im- portant for all to acquaint themselves with the means which have made this nation what it is ; — that we may acknowledge our gratitude to the great Disposer of all events, and learn not to forfeit, by our vices and infidelity, the manifold mercies by which we have been distinguished. HISTORY UNITED STATES. CHAPTER I. Discovery of America by Cabot and Columbus. 1. That portion of the world generally deno- minated America, was accidentally discovered in the attempts which were made in A. D. 1492, to reach the East Indies trom the ports of Europe. There is no evidence that this continent was ever known to any of the ancient Europeans previous to this time. The Portuguese, some years before, had attempted to find a passage to tiie East Indies, by sailing round the southern extremity of x\frica, but without success. 2. It is supposed that these efforts of the Portuguese, together with the circumstance of pieces of carved wood, a canoe, and two human bodies, of a different complexion from any known to Europeans, having been driven, by westerly winds, upon the shores of some islands which lay near to Europe, induced Christopher Co- lumbus to engage in the enterprise of seeking a passage to the East Indies, by sailing directly west. 3. Columbus himself, however, was not able to meet the expenses of such an expedition ; 10 HISTORY OF THE UMTED STATES. but unwilling to abandon it on this account, he applied tor assistance from his native city, Genoa. The appeal was ineflectual. His coun- trymen saw no cause for advancing funds to aid in an undertaking which appeared to them so perfectly futile and visionary. 4. This enterprising navigator made a num- ber of unsuccessful efforts to obtain assistance, and it was not till he had spent a number of years in fruitless begging, that he finally sue- ceeded in obtaining the help which he so much desired. This was granted by Ferdinand and Isabella, who were then on the united thrones of Castile and Aragon. Columbus set sail from Palos, in Spain, on the 3d of August, 1492. His fleet consisted of three vessels, the Santa Maria, Pinta, and JVina, which were manned with ninety men, 5. In nine days after his departure he touched at the Canary islands ; and after having taken in some provisions for the voyage, he began again to trace his way upon the trackless ocean. They had proceeded about six hundred miles from the most westerly of the Canaries, when an event occurred which exceedingly alarmed the pilots and mariners. It was observed that the magnetic needle did not point, as usual, directly to the north star. Columbus, however, con- trived some method which seems to have quieted their fears for awhile ; but this quiet did not last long. The crew now became generally discon- tented, and some of them insisted, peremptorily, on his immediate return to Spain ; others pro- HISTORY OF THE U>ITED STATES. 11 posed to cast liim into the sea, and return with- out him ; and they were pacitied only by his promising to return, if land should not be dis- covered within the space of three days. 6. Happily, at ten o'clock in the evening of October 11, a light was discovered by Columbus, which was hailed with loud acclamations of joy, as the sign of their immediate approach to land. The whole crew kept watch that night in sleep- less anxiety. Early the next morning the boats were manned and armed, and they put for the shore. In the meantime, the sight of their ships, arid their music, had drawn multitudes of the natives to the surrounding shore, who were seen gazing upon this strange scene with min- gled emotions of astonishment and surprise. 7. Columbus, with his drawn sword, and richly ornamented with his finest dress, stepped first upon the land ; the crew followed, when they all fell upon their knees, and kissed the ground with tears of gratitude and joy. Co- lumbus took possession of the island in the name of his king and queen, by erecting the flag of his country, and calling it San Salvador ; but the natives called it Guanahaiii. 8. Columbus tarried at this island but a kw days, and then proceeded to make further disco- veries. October 27, he discovered the island of Cuba, which he called Juanna. He sailed from Cuba on the .5th of December, and on the fol- lowing day discovered Hayti, which he called Hispaniola, in honour of his own country. While here, he unfortunately lost one of his 12 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ships. By this misfortune the sympathy of the natives was exceedingly excited. They brought their canoes to save what they could from the wreck. The Indian cazique, or chief, prepared a house for the accommodation of the Spaniards, appointed his men to guard their property, and did all in his power to promote their comfort. 9. On January 16, 1493, Columbus set sail for Spain. They were overtaken by a most violent storm, February 14, and threatened with immediate destruction. In this extremity the admiral and the whole crew united in commend- ing themselves to the care and protection of almighty God. To prevent the total loss of his discoveries, he wrote an account of them, folded the manuscript in a piece of oiled cloth, and sealed this up in wax ; and putting it into a light cask, he threw it into the sea, in hopes that if himself and crew were all lost, this writing might float to some distant shore, and make known the success of his adventures. 10. But Columbus and his companions were providentially preserved. On the 15th of March he arrived at Palos, where he was received with joy, and distinguished with special marks of honour by the king and queen, under whose patronage he had sailed. The fame of this voyage led the way for the discovery of America. This honour, however, was reserved for two Venetians, John Cabot, and his son Sabastian. The father, under a commission from Henry Vli., king of England, commenced the voyage v/hich resulted in this HISTORY OF THE U>'ITED STATES. 13 important event, in May, 1497. This voyage was undertaken with the hope of finding a north- west passage to India. On June 2'ith they dis- covered Newfoundland, and a few days after St. John's ; an island which they so named, from the circumstance of its having been first seen on the day of John the Baptist, which is a feast day among the Roman Catholics. They then stretched along the coast of this new world, till they had proceeded as far south as Florida. The want of provisions, and difficulty among the sailors, now induced them to return to Eng- land. It was upon the discoveries made in this voyage, that the English founded their claim to the eastern portion of North America. 11. The spirit of discovery now began to spread itself extensively throughout Europe. In 1499 a voyage to the new world was under- taken by Alonso de Ojeda, who had formerly been an officer under Columbus in his first voyage. Ojeda was accompanied by a Floren- tine gentleman of more than ordinary accom- plishments, by the name of Amerigo Vespucci. It was the interesting account which he gave of the new continent, which led to its being called America^ after his name. 12. No attempt was made to settle a colony in any part of America, which is now included within the bounds of the United States, till the year 1502. And this first attempt appears to have been started by religious persecution. It was planned by a company of French Protest- ants. They are supposed to have landed some. 14 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. where within the present limits of South Carohna, where a fort was built. The effort, however, was unsuccessful. 13. In 1584 two ships were sent to America by Sir Walter Raleigh. They arrived on the coast of North America, July 4. They first landed on the island of Wocokon, and proceed- ed to take formal possession of the country in the name of the then queen of England. They then went to an island called Roanoke, which lies at the mouth of Albemarle sound in North Carolina. After continuing here awhile, and trading with the natives, in September they re- turned to England. The description which these adventurers gave of this new country on their return, so interested Queen Elizabeth, that she determined to call it Virginia, in commemoration of its having been discovered during her reign, and while she was unmarried. 14. After this, a number of unsuccessful ef- forts were made, at ditierent times, to efiect the settlement of a permanent colony on this coast. In 1602, Bartholomew Gosnold sailed from Eng- land to the coast of North America, by a new route. Instead of taking the Canaries and West Indies in his course as others had done before him, he sailed directly west, and in a veiy short time he discovered land. To one place he gave the name of Cape Cod, from the circum.slance of a large quantity of cod fish being found in the waters around it. He also discovered Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Buzzard's Bay, and one of the Elizabeth Islands. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 15 CHAPTER II. British Colonies — The first permanent settlement in Virginia. 1. The first permanent settlement which was ever effected \vithin the limits of the United States was commenced in 1607. A fleet of three ships, under the command of Christopher Newport, with about one hundred emigrants on board, sailed from England in December 1606. A storm prevented their landing at Roanoke, as they designed, and by whicli they were driven to the north as far as the Chesapeake Bay, into which they entered, April 26, 1607. Until the middle of the next month they were employed in searching for a suitable place for commencing a settlement. They finally landed and took pos- session of a place about forty miles from the mouth of the Powhatan River, but which they called James River. They immediatel}^ proceed- ed to fell the trees and make preparations for their intended settlement, and in honour of the king under whose patent they sailed, the place was called Jamestown. 2. The government of this colony consisted of a council of seven persons, who were appointed by the company under whose auspices they had sail- ed. The names of this council, together with the instructions from the king, were brought over from England with the emigrants, sealed up in a box, and were not made known to any one till after they had gained the place of their destination. 3. These adventurers had proceeded but a lit- 16 HISTORY OF THE UMTED STATES. tie way in their labours, before they were thwart- ed by sad calamities. Before the conclusion of this year, the store house, containing their pro- visions, took fire, and was entirely consumed, together with the principal part of their private goods and dwellings ; and during the summer and fall more than fifty persons died from the effects of the chmate. 4. In November, of this year. Captain John Smith, who was a member of the council, started with a company of fifteen men to discover the source of the Chickahominy. He was very soon after surprised by the Indians and taken prisoner. The Indians, it is probable, were pro- voked to this attack by Captain Smith's conduct toward them before this, as he had cheated the natives, it seems, in his attempts to obtain corn of them, and at one time he had stolen an idol from them, for the redemption of which they paid a large quantity of corn. This conduct in Cap- tain Smith was certainly reprehensible, exceed- ingly so ; and as the sequel proves, it like to have cost him his life. 5. He was now carried in triumph through a number of their villages, to their chief or king. After being detained six weeks, a council was called to deliberate on his fate. He was doom- ed to have his brains beaten out with a war club. To this end he was forcibly dragged to a couple of large stones which had been brought for this purpose, his head was placed upon them, and the weapon of death raised to complete the work of destruction. At this moment, Pocahontas, a HISTORY OF THE Ur^ITED STATES. 17 favourite daughter of the king, rushed to the pri- soner, clasped his head in her arms, and in tears, entreated her father to spare his hte. She pre- vailed. The war club dropped from the brawny hand of the savage, and in two days after Smith was sent back to Jamestown with twelve Indians for his guides. 6. It is not known that the natives, found in any part of this country, were ever unkind to strangers unless they were first provoked to re- venge by the whites. On the contrary, they were always hospitable to such as approached them as friends, and seemed to feel pecuhar de- light in administering to their wants. When Captain Newport and his company first landed, after their arrival from England, large numbers of the natives came down to the shore to confer with him on the object of his coming ; and when the English made signs of peace, they were re- ceived by^ the untutored sons of the forest with the utmost cordiality and friendship, and were offered as much land for the purpose of settle- ments as they desired. 7. In August, 1607, a company of emigrants to the number of one hundred sailed from Ply- mouth, England, and landed on a peninsula or island, at the mouth of Kennebec River. The first thing they did after reaching the shore was to hear a sermon from their minister, after which the laws were read by which they were to be governed. The ships in which they sailed re- turned in the following December, and forty-five persons were left in the colony. But these be- 18 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. came discouraged in the course of the next year, and where so overwhelmed ^\ ith a series of mis- fortunes that befell them, that they all returned to the mother country, and the colony was given up. 8. The company in London, for colonizing Virginia, in 1609 obtained a new charter from the king, with greater privileges than the first. They immediately despatched nine ships, with five hundred emigrants on board, to augment the rising colony ; but all of them did not arrive till some time in the fall. Circumstances now seemed to render the natives jealous of the in- creasing numbers of the whites. Accordingly a plan was fixed for their destruction ; and but for the timely notice given by the same girl who saved the life of Captain Smith, (see 5, above,) this plot had proved latal. She was now only about twelve years of age, and yet, at the ha- zard of her life, she walked to the settlement of Jamestown, in a dark and dreary night, on purpose to make tlie English acquainted with her father's design, whicii had been formed for their destruction. This attempt of the na- tives was provoked by an attack ^^•hich a party of the whites made on some Indians at the falls of James River. In the beginning of 1610 the colony became exceedingly disheartened and reduced by a dread- ful famine. It prevailed to such an extent, that the people were induced to subsist on the skins of animals, and finally on human flesh. In the space of six months the colony was reduced from five hundred persons to sixty. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 19 9. It was some time during the year 1612 that a Captain Argal, while on a voyage for trade to the Potomac, visited Pocahontas, who was then somewhere in the vicinity ; he prevailed on her to accompany him to his vessel. He sup- posed that by detaining her among the English at Jamestown, the hostile feelings of her father, who was then at war with the whites, would he sub- dued. Powhatan, however, refused to be brought to terms of peace in this way. Her stay at Jamestown, in the meantime, was not without its advantages to the English. The sympathy and noble interest which she had manifested for the whites, won the affections of Mr. Rolfe, a young man, who was a planter in the colony. Pow- hatan consented to their marriage ; and as the consequence of this union peace was restored between the contending parties. This couple afterward went over to England, where the young princess was treated with great respect and atten- tion by the king and nobility. She died when about to return to America, universally beloved for her kindness and friendship to the white people. 10. The Dutch commenced a settlement and built a fort on Hudson's River, where Albany now stands, in 1614 ; and the next year they com- menced another settlement on what was then called Manhattan, now Ncw-York. John Smith, who has been mentioned before, (see 4, above,) having some time previously returned to Eng- land, was sent out this year with two ships to New-England, which was then known by the 20 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. name of North Virginia. After visiting this coast to some considerable extent, and trading with the natives, he returned to England. The descrip- tion which he gave of that part of the country which he visited was exceedingly interesting to Prince Charles, hence he determined that it should be called New-England. 11. It is worthy of notice here, that efforts were made to found a college or university, within the bounds of the Virginia colon)-, as early as 1619; and one thousand five hundred pounds sterling were collected for this noble purpose in England. And another event occurred about this time which marked this period as one never to be forgotten. Twenty innocent and defence- less Africans were brought into James River, and offered for sale as slaves by the Dutch. They were purchased ^^ithout any hesitancy by the colonists, and doomed to unending bondage. "This," says Hale, "was the commencement, in the English American colonies, of a traffic, ab- horrent to humanity, disgraceful to civilization, and fixing the foulest blot upon the character of the age and people." CHAPTER III. British Colonies — Settlement of New-England. 1. It would seem that every American must feel a peculiar interest in tracing the early his- tory of his native country. In this kind of his- tory there is a peculiar charm, which the com- HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 21 bined excellencies of truth, and heroism, and virtue, and enterprise cannot fail to spread before the mind. In this chapter we shall find instances of cou. rage, and faith, and perseverance, which will be held in pleasing remembrance by the virtuous and good as long as the world shall endure. 2. The first permanent settlement which was ever effected in that part of the United States called New-England, was formed in 1620, by a sect known by the name of PwitansJ* This name appears to have been given them in the same way that the name of " Methodist" was first given to the Messrs. Wesleys at Oxford col- lege, in England. They were persecuted in many instances with unrelenting severity ; and to avoid which, a company of them formed the design of escaping to America. After many protracted hardships, which they suffered in their attempts to find a resting place for themselves and posterity, they anchored in Cape Cod har- bour, November 10. 3. The next day, after having engaged in solemn prayer and thanksgiving to God, the company formed a kind of contract with each other, for their future government. After this, some of the men armed themselves and went on shore for wood, and to make discoveries ; they all returned, in the evening, without having seen any of the natives or the places of their habita- tion. * Because they professed the attainment of greater purity than others. 22 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. They did not find a place which they judged suitable for a permanent residence, till Monday, December 11. This place they afterward call- ed Plymouth, in memory of the Christian friends whom they left at a town of this name, when they took their departure from the mother country. The whole company went on shore, December 23, and very soon engaged in building, and in preparations to defend themselves against the inclemency of the winter and the attacks of the savages. A most distressing mortality broke out among the colonists, and within three months after their arrival, scarcely fifty, out of the one hundred and one of their original number, remained alive. But in November, 1621, another ship arrived from England with thirty. five emigrants, who were now added to the colony. 4. During this year a.fiee school was found- ed in Virginia. The college also at Henrico, mentioned chap, ii, 11, received new additions to its funds. That the cause of education should receive such attention at this early period, cer- tainly shows well in the history of those ancient times. Connected with this also may be men- tioned, the provision which the Virginia company made at this time for the support of the Gospel ministry. Each minister was allowed a quanti- ty of produce, estimated at two hundred pounds per year. 5. March 22, 1622. A terrible massacre was perpetrated by the Indians on the Virginia colony. It is said to have been planned by the HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 23 savages to revenge the death of one of their warriors who was slain by the whites. And it is acknowledged by ail who have examined the history of this country, that in too many in- stances the English were not at all careful about preserving the friendship and good will of the natives. Frequent hostilities and bloodshed were the consequence. Three hundred and forty-seven persons, of both sexes, and of all ages, fell victims to savage barbarity in this conflict, during one day; and it was followed with a fierce and exterminating war ; and to this was added the horrors and miseries of a most severe famine. A reinforcement of one thousand three hun- dred persons was made to the colony from Eng- land this year ; so that the losses by war and famine were more than counterbalanced. 6. In the beginning of 1623, a most severe drought prevailed among the people in Plymouth, which induced the government to appoint a day of fasting and prayer ; and a day of public thanksgiving also was soon after set apart to acknowledge the goodness of God in the show- ers which he sent them. This was probably the commencement of the custom which prevails in New-England, and some others of the states, of appointing days of public fasting and thanksgiving. A settlement at Cape Ann was commenced in 1624, and another at a place which the settlers called Weymouth ; both being within the bounds of what afterward became the state of Massa- chusetts. 24 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 7. The foundation for the colony of Massa- chusetts was commenced this year, 1628. The first settlement was begun by a small company under the government of John Endicot, at a place called Naumkeak by the Indians, but the settlers gave it the name of Salem, and by this name it has ever since been known. In the course of the next year a company left this place, and began a settlement at Mishawum. To this place they gave the name of Charles- town. Measures were taken during the fall of this year, 1629, to plant a colony within the bounds of what is now called the state of New-Hamp- shire. Two small settlements, however, had been commenced within these bounds as early as 1623, one of them at a place called Little Hober, and the other at Dover. 8. During the summer of 1630 a settlement was begun where the city of Boston now stands. The place was then called, by the Indians* Shawmut ; — and others also at Dorchester, Watertown, and Roxbury, in the same vicinity. Much suffering among the people of Massachu- setts and Plymouth colonies was occasioned during the winter of this year by the severity of the weather ; such intense cold had never been experienced by any of the inhabitants before ; there was a scarcity of provision also among them, and many of the people died. Notwith- standing the hardships and calamities with which those early settlers of this soil were assailed, yet they continued firm and unshaken in their pur- HISTOltY OF THE UNITED STATES. '25 pose, without ever regretting the pains and ex- pense they had taken to secure for themselves and posterity the privileges and blessings of religious freedom. 9. Various laws were passed by the Massa- chusetts legislature during the years 16,32-3. The court of assistants ordered that no member of the colony should make any use of tobaccopuft- licly, and that every person should pay the sum of one penny as a tax or fine for making use of this noxious weed in any place. However sin- gular this law may seem to us at this time, there can be no doubt but that it would add much to the health of the people were such a law to be made and enforced in every state throughout the union. A law was passed requiring constables to present to the magistrates for correction, all " unprofitable fowlers" and " tobacco fakers" The prices of labour were fixed also by the go- vernment for mechanics ; and it was ordered, that no articles for trade imported from England should be sold for more than four pence on a shilling, above the first cost. To account for these and other laws passed by those early settlers of this country, we must consider the object which they had in view in coming here, which was the establishment of a commonwealth, strictly religious in its cha. racter and operations. Hence, in 1681, it was decreed by a general court, that no one should be admitted a member of the corpo- ration, or be allowed the privilege of voting, 26 IIlSTOllY OF THE UNITED STATES. who had not previously made a pubUc profession of rehgion. 10. The first house was erected in Connecti- cut in 1633 ; the Enghsh having been in a friendly manner invited by some of the sachems or Indian chiefs in that region to do so. Some of the Plymouth colony first complied with this invitation, and in the space of one or two years they were followed by others, to the number of sixty, from Newton and Watertown, in Massa- chusetts. The place of their settlement was called Windsor. In 1684, Roger Williams, who was a minis- ter of Salem, for "heresy and sedition" was banished from the Massachusetts colony. He removed with his family to a place called by the Indians 31ooshawsic, where he commenced a settlement which he called Providence. He visited England in about ten years after this, and obtained a charter of incorporation for " Provi- dence and Rhode-Island Plantations." Universal toleration was given to all denominations equally in this state, which, together with the fertility of its soil, very much increased its population. CHAPTER IV. Settlements — Indian wars, Sec. 1. The year 1637 is remarkable in the his- tory of the British colonies in North America, for the wars which were commenced between HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 27 the Indians and the whites, and by which the colonies were in many places throughout New- England exceedingly distressed. There was a tribe of Indians living within the bounds of Connecticut, known by the name of the Pequods, or Pequots, who had frequently annoyed the settlers in their vicinity, by ravaging their property, and in several instances a number of the inhabitants had been killed. Between the Pequots and the Narragansetts, another tribe of Indians, living within the bounds of Rhode-Island, there had existed an implacable hatred ; but the Narragansetts were friendly to the whites. The Pequots now proposed an amicable adjustment of their difficuUies, and requested to have their assistance in prosecuting a contemplated war with the English. To this proposal, however, the Narragansetts refused to listen : they imme- diately communicated this intelligence to the colony in Connecticut, and invited the English to engage with them in a war with the Pequots. 2. In the meantime the Pequots continued their hostilities. In March of this year they made an assault on the commander of Saybrook fort and twelve of his men, three of whom were killed. In April they killed six men and three women near Weathersfield, as they were pro- ceeding one day to their labour. They also killed twenty cows, and carried away two girls captives. At this crisis the colonies were exceedingly alarmed. A court was immediately summoned, which met at Hartford, May 1 , of this year. At 28 HISTOBY OF THE UNITED STATES. this court it was determined that an offensive war should be carried on against the Pequots. As this was viewed as a common cause among the different colonies, Massachusetts and Ply- mouth agreed to unite with Connecticut, and attempt the utter destruction of the Pequots. May 24. An arm3\ consisting of seventy- seven Englishmen, and about three hundred friendly Indians, commenced their march into the coun try of the enemy, under the command of Cap tain Mason. The next day this army was in creased to the number of five hundred Indians On the morning of the 26th of this month, Csip tain Mason had arrived at Mystic, one of the enemy's principal forts, within the limits of the present town of Stonington, Conn. The village was surrounded with trees and brush, designedly placed so by the Indians, as, if possible, to pre- vent the approach of an enemy. As they came near the village, the alarm was given by the barking of a dog ; and a severe struggle ensued. The Indians resisted the attack with savage des- peration, till, by the order of Captain Mason, their wigwams and the whole village was set in flames. In less than one hour and a half seventy of their dwellings were in ruins, and six hundred of the Indians slain. Captain Mason had two men killed, and six- teen wounded. 8. In June following, another victory was gained over the Pequots, in a great swamp near Fairfield, Conn., by Captain Stoughton. Thirty men were killed, and fifty women and children HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 29 taken captives. Others were pursued to a swamp near New-Haven, where two hundred of the Pe- quots were either slain or taken prisoners. — Thus this bloody struggle was concluded, and a valiant tribe of the sons of the forest completely extirpated. 4. In the spring of 1638 a colony was com- menced at Quinnapiac, which afterward took the name of New-Haven, and this, and a number of other places settled in the same vicinity, went by the name of the New-Haven colony, for some time after. In this, as in other cases of the English settlements, the land was regularly pur- chased of the natives, and for which a satisfac- tory price was given. . This year the foundation was laid for Harvard college. The place where it was located being called Newtown, this name was changed to that of Cambridge, in memory of the seat of learning at a place of this name in England. The province of Maryland, first settled in 1634, was divided into baronies and manors this year ; and a number of laws and regulations were adopted by the assembly, the first of which any record appears in the province. Hartford, Wind- sor, and Weathersfield, three towns on the Con- necticut River, adopted a constitution, and formed the commonwealth of Connecticut this year, 1639. A similar constitution was soon after adopted by the New-Haven colony. This year also a charter was obtained from the king of all the land from Pascataqua and Sagadahock, which was called the province of Maine. 30 HISTORY OF THE UIS'ITED STATES. 5. From the above date to 1642, many new towns had been formed and settled within the hmits of New-England ; the state of society was much improved, and the toil and sufferings of the emigrants seemed now to be abundantly re- warded. The people were generally supplied with the word of life, as within New-England alone there were at this time seventy-seven ministers settled over ditlerent Churches. 6. For several years a confederacy had been contemplated by the colonies of Plymouth, Mas- sachusetts, Connecticut, and New-Haven ; this union was finally effected in May, 1643. There were special reasons for this confederacy ; a general combination of the Indians against the English was feared ; and the encroachments of the Dutch, Swiss, and French, who were set- tling in the vicinity. And then the colonies were strongly inclined to such a measure from a con- sideration of the religion which they professed, as well as a desire for the general peace and safety of the whole. Hence they took the name of "the United Colonies of New-England." According to this confederacy, the colonies were mutually bound to assist each other in case of any invasion or war, though each was to re- tain its distinct and separate government. This union was of great utility to the colonies, and it was continued till their charters were taken away, about forty years after its formation, by James II. 7. This year, 1644, is memorable for a law that 'was passed by the legislature of Massachu- HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 31 setts, in relation to the Baptists. The preamble of this law states, that " divers" of the Baptists, " have, since our coming into New-England, ap- peared among ourselves, some whereof have (as others before them) denied the ordinance of magistracy, and the lawfulness of making w^ar, and others the lawfulness of magistrates, which opinions, if they should be connived at by us, are like to be increased among us, and so must ne- cessarily bring guilt upon us, infection and trou- ble to the Churches, and hazard to the common- wealth."* The next year the general court of Massachu- setts ordered that a negro who had been " fraudu- lently and injuriously taken and brought from Guinea," and sold to a Mr. Williams of Pasca- taqua, should be taken and " sent back to his native country without delay." 8. In 1654 preparations were commenced for a college in New-Haven. It is worthy of con- stant remark, how closely the early settlers of this and the other New-England colonies devoted their first attention to the interests of learning and religion ; nor should their posterity forget how deeply they are indebted to them on this account. In July, 1656, the Quakers appeared in Mas- sachusetts for the first time. The general court, considering them opposed, like the Baptists, to the civil and religious order of the commonwealth, banished the whole of them, twelve in number, out of the colony. No one will pretend to jus- * Hazard Hist. Col. 32 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. tify these severities, at this period of the world, certainly ; and yet, it must be confessed, that the history of those times shows but too plainly that many of those sects, against whom laws were enacted, were highl)- censurable in their con- duct. Their inveighing against the laws and regulations of the colonies was most evidently calculated to call down upon them many of the calamities which they suflered. 9. The next event of importance in our his- tory is the granting of a new charter by King Charles II. to Connecticut. This was done in 1662. By this instrument this colony was now constituted a body corporate and politic, by the name of " The Governor and Company of the English Colony of Connecticut, in New-England, in America." Cotton Mather says, it was " as amply privileged a charter as was ever enjoyed perhaps by anv people under the cope of hea- ven." A similar one was granted the next year to Rhode-Island and Providence plantations. About this time provision was made by the assembly of Virginia for the establishment and maintenance of a college. The preamble to this law says, — " The want of able and faithful minis- ters in this country deprives us of those great blessings and mercies that always attend upon the service of God." Hence this act provides, that for the promotion of piety and learning, the education of j'outh, and the supply of the Gos- pel ministry, there should be land taken up for a college and free school ; and that with all con- HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 33 venieiit speed suitable buildings should be erect- ed upon it for the entertainment of students and scholars. An act of the British parliament, passed against dissenting ministers, took efiect in Au- gust of this year ; and two thousand of these men were separated from their churches and people, w ithout any means of support for them- selves or families ; and very soon after they were forbidden the privilege of coming within five miles of any corporation in England. Some of them, however, did exercise their ministry contrary to this law ; and as the con.sequence, they were shut up in prison, where several of them died ; many others tvn-ned their attention to New-England, and here they found tiie privi- lege of which they were deprived in their mother country. 10. In 1663 a project was formed by Ed- ward, earl of Clarendon, for settling the extensive territory lying to the southvvard of Virginia, and Charles II. granted him a charter for this pur- pose. This charter conveyed to the earl and his company all the land lying between the thirty-first and thirty-sixth degrees of north lati- tude, reserving to the king the sovereign dominion only. It gave them the pow er of enacting laws for dieir own regulation ; also the right of ap. j)oiating their own magistrates, and constituting their own courts of judicature ; and to do every thing, in a word, necessary for the peace, de- fence, and prosperity of the colony. And the charter directed farther, that fedch 3 34 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. freedom should be allowed in matters of religion, as the colonial government might, in its wisdom, think proper. All were to enjoy the privilege of thinking and acting in relation to this subject, as their consciences dictated ; provided the civil order of community were not thereby disturbed ; as " it might happen that several of the inha- bitants could not, in their private opinions, con- form to tlie exercise of religion according to the liturgy and ceremonies of the Church of Eng- land." This colony was called Carolina. 11. In January of this year a most tremen- dous earthquake was experienced throughout the northern parts of America. It was felt in New-England, New-York, and Canada ; but most sensibly in the latter place. It was first observed there a little past five in the evening. All was calm and serene, when a sudden and violent roar was heard, like that of a great fire ; the houses tottered and shook in every direction. This continued for about thirty minutes, and it was followed by a number of violent shocks during the same evening and the next day. One writer thus describes the effects of the first shock : — " The doors opened and shut of themselves, with a fearful clattering. The bells rang without being touched. The walls split asunder. The floors separated, and fell down. The fields put on the appearance of precipices ; and the mountains seemed to be moving out of their places. Many fountains and small rivers were dried up ; in others the water became sul- phureous ; and in some, the channel in which HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 35 they ran before was so altered, that it could not be distinguished. Many trees were torn up, and tlu'ovvn to a considerable distance ; and some mountains appeared to be much broken and moved." CHAPTER V. Settlements — War with the Indians, 1. We have betbre seen that the Dutch com- menced the settlement of New-York in 1615, (see chap, ii, 10.) The English were frequently annoyed by these settlers, as they were of a dif- ferent nation, and having interests different from most of the other colonies. It therefore became an object with King James II. to dispossess them. Accordingly, a fleet was fitted out in 1664, for this purpose, among others, under the command of Colonel Richard Nicolls ; who proceeded directly to Manhattan. He demanded a surrender of Stuyvesant, the governor, who made a feeble attempt at resistance, but soon capitulated on certain conditions. The Dutch were to possess their property unmolested, and to be allowed the privileges of free citizens, and the freedom of trade to Holland. They were not to be disturbed in their modes of wor- ship, and the rites of their Church polity. New Amsterdam, as this place had been called by the Dutch, now took the name of New-York, in honour of the duke of York and Albany, to 36 HISTORY OF THE LIN'ITED STATES. whom a grant had been made by James II. of several tracts of land, including New- Jersey, Delaware, and the colony which now took his name. 2. Soon after the above-named grant, the duke of York made over to Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret the territory of New- Jersey. This name was given to this territory in compli- ment to Carteret, who had formerly been go- vernor of the Isle of Jersey, in the English channel. Various settlements had been made in New-Jersey some time before this, by the Dutch and Danes. Delaware, which was in the possession of the Dutch and Swedes, was also capitulated to the English this year, and became subject to the British crown. The Connecticut and New-Haven colonies, which had till now (1665) been separate and independent communities, became united, under the charter granted by Charles II. three years before. New-York became an incorporated city in June of this year. It will be remembered that Rhode-Island was settled by tlie Baptists, for the purpose of allow- ing unrestrained liberties of conscience in mat- ters of religion ; yet a law was passed by this state this year, by which Quakers were rendered outlaws, and by which their estates might be confiscated ; however, it never was carried into effect. 3. The Dutch took possession of New-York the second time, in 1673. War having com- niSTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 37 menced between England and Holland, the latter sent a small squadron to destroy the commerce of the English colonies in America. This fleet, after effecting its object on the coast of Virginia, proceeded to New- York, and the city not being in a state for defence, it surren- dered without resistance. But the next year a treaty of peace being ratified between Holland and Great Britain, New-York was conditionally restored to the English, and a new charter granted to the duke of York. Soon after the restoration of New-York to the English, many of the Dutch in the city and vicinity emigrated to Carolina. They settled on the southwest side of Ashley River, and they formed the first Dutch colony within the limits of Carolina. 4. As v/e have advanced in the course of this history thus far, we have seen the growing pros- perity of the English colonies. In about fifty years the face of nearly this whole country had become materially changed ; deserts had been made a fruitful field, and the wilderness caused to bud and blossom as the rose. The population in New-England alone amounted to as many as one hundred and twenty thousand inhabitants, and within its limits more than a hundred towns had been organized and settled. The habits of honest industry and economy still prevailed among the people, such habits as are always crowned more or less with comparative affluence and comfort. But as the whites increased in their numbers and possessions, the hunting grounds and haunts 38 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. of the poor natives were narrowed and decreased, and those original proprietors of the American soil found their tribes and their privileges gradu- ally wasting away before the rising power of their white neighbours. Hence, for tome years, the Indians in many places had been watching the movements of the English with increasing jealousy. They saw and felt sufficient cause for alarm ; and a plot was formed against the colonies in New-England, which, had it proved successful, would have entirely extinguished their existence. 5. An exterminating war was determined against the whites. In this war Philip, king of the Wampanoags, took the lead ; hence it has since been known in history by the name of King Philip's war. He first procured the death of an Indian missionary who was a particular friend of the whites, for making known to them the plot of the Indians. For this murder three Indians were tried, convicted, and executed at Plymouth. One of these was the intimate friend and counsellor of Philip : he was instantly aroused to vengeance : he immediately called his men and equipped them for the bloody strife. At this time between three and four thousand warriors waited for his command. The first hostilities were commenced, June 24, 1675, in Svvanzey as the people were returning from public worship, it being a day of fasting and prayer, which had been appointed by the pious inhabitants un- der fearful apprehension of approaching calami- ties. Eight or nine persons were killed. The HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 39 alarm of war was now givea throughout the colonies. 6. Two companies with one hundred and ten volunteers immediately set out from Boston, and on the 28th joined the Plymouth forces at Swan- zey ; in the evening a skirmish ensued between the hostile parties, and one of the whites was killed ; on the next day five or six of the Indians were killed. Philip with his forces now fled into Pocasset, and entered a swamp. On the 18th of July the English pursued and attempted to charge them ; but in this attempt they lost five of their men, and the Indians making their way deeper into the swamp, the Enghsh commander ordered a retreat. At this the savages seemed to take courage, and the torch of war was kindled throughout the country. 7. This was a most awful crisis. Imagine for one moment the situation of the whites. Their dwellings were few and far apart, and generally surrounded by thick and deep forests. The In- dians lived in these forests and possessed every facility for acquainting themselves with the places where the whites might be found, whether at their devotions on the Sabbath, or within their own habitations with their families, or at work in their fields. Thus the savages had every imaginable opportunity for attacking them in their defenceless moments, and butchering the people often withcmt a moment's warning; many were inhumanly scalped by their own firesides, or shot dead as they v.ero proceeding to their 40 HISTORY OF THE U^'ITED STATES. work ; others as they went to or from the house of God, or on errands, to visit their friends and relatives, fell victims to the stroke of the tomma- havvk, or v/ere shot by some invisible foe who lay concealed in the thicket around them. No one could feel safe ; danger and death were the constant attendants of all ; fear and anxiety pre- vailed in eveiy direction. 8. During the summer of this year engage, ments were very frequent between the whites and Indians : numbers were lost on both sides ; generally, however, the whites prevailed, but not without considerable damage, and which they were at this time but poorly able to bear, as the savages often burned their houses and destroyed their cattle and fields of grain. A melancholy detail is given of the destruction of a Captain Lothrop and ninety men with him, at a place called from this circumstance Bloody Brook, but since known by the name of Muddy Broolc, in Connecticut. He had been to Deer- field with a number of teams for grain, by order of the commanding officer at Had ley, the place of head quarters. He was returning, and hav- ing arrived near the south point of Sugarloaf- Hill, he was met and attacked by a party of seven hundred Indians. Lothrop's company was made up of young men, of whom one his- torian says, " they were the flower of the coun- try." At first they were thrown into confusion, but they soon rallied, and fought with inconceiv. able bravery, till their resistance proved useless. Only seven or eight of a hundred escaped. ^^1 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 41 9. A decisive battle was fought on the 19th of December, 1675, in a swamp which lay three or four miles to the west of South Kingston, R. I. About one thousand eight hundred troops, and one hundred and sixty Indians under the com- mand of Governor Winslow, of Plymouth, com- menced their march from Petaquamscut on the day previous. They marched through a deep snow, and though the weather was quite cold, they passed the night in the open field. They arrived in sight of the Indian fort at one o'clock in the afternoon. This stood on a small tract of elevated ground in the middle of the swamp, sur- rounded and defended with a hedge about six- teen feet thick. The English rushed immedi- ately to the onset. The struggle was degperate on both sides, and bloody. For some time the crisis seemed doubtful till fire was put to the In- dian fort. Five or six hundred wigwams were now set in a blaze, and many Indian women and children perished in the conflagration. This was a dreadful scene ! the shrieks of the chil- dren, with the exclamations of dying mothers, wrapt together in the devouring flames ; the deep, dark volumes of smoke rolling up toward the heavens, and the roar of musketry, kept up for about three hours, conspired to render the ene inconceivably awful. 10. The Indians in the fort were estimated at four thousand, one thousand of whom perished in that fight, three hundred were taken prisoners, and the rest fled. The English lost eighty-five, who were either killed or died of their v/ounds. 42 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. This defeat was total, and from it the savages never recovered. But the war was continued, and a number of severe battles were fought after this, and much damage done to many of the white settlements, till August, 1676, when the finishing stroke was given to the contest by the death of King Phihp. He was shot through the heart on an island called Mount Hope, not far from Bristol, R. I. In the course of this war six hundred of the inhabitants of New-England were slain by the savages, about six hundred buildings, principally dwelling houses, were consumed, and twelve or thirteen towns entirely destroyed. These were distressing calamities, and it is reasonable to suppose that they must have checked for a while the growth and prosperity of the colonies. With so much toil and suffering were many of the blessings purchased which now so richly crown the people of these United States. CHAPTER VI. Oppression of the colonies — Insurrection in Virginia, 1. The war with the Indians had scarcely terminated, when the New-England colonies found themselves involved in a new scene of calamities. Certain laws had some time before been passed in England, for the purpose of regu- lating the commerce of the colonies with each other and with other nations. By these laws, taxes were HISTORY OF THE UXITED STATES. 43 imposed upon specified commodities, when car- ried from one colony to another, or when imported from any other country heside England. Com- plaints were now made in England against the New-England colonies for disregarding these acts of navigation, upon which the king imme- diately required that persons should be sent to England to answer in their behalf for the trans- gression of these laws. Persons were also com- missioned from England to visit the colonies, and empowered to take measures for enforcing the strictest obedience to the navigation laws ; and to add to their intolerance, it was also or- dered " that no Mediterranean passes should be granted to New-England, to protect its vessels against the Turks, till it is seen what dependence it will acknowledge on his majesty, or whether his custom-house officers are received as in other colonies. 2. These acts were considered by all the colonies as exceedingly cruel and oppressive, in- asmuch as they were passed by a parliament in which they were not represented, and in direct violation of their chartered rights. They bore with great weight on the trade of Virginia and Delaware, and the discontent of the people was soon manifested in acts of open rebellion. Vir- ginia was now at war with the Susquehannah Indians. Nathaniel Bacon, a bold and eloquent young Englishman, who was at this time in the colony, seized on this opportunity to ask a com- mission to proceed r gainst the savages. Berk, ley, the governor, however, refused to grant 44 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. him his request, and treated him with indignity. Bacon soon after proceeded to Jamestown and besieged the grand assembly with six hundred armed followers, and demanded a commission. It was granted ; but he had scarcely left the town when the governor, by the advice of the assembly, denounced him publicly as a rebel. 3. Bacon, on hearing what the governor had done, returned immediately to Jamestown, and the governor, finding himself unable to resist him, fled to Accomack. He finally gathered a few of his friends and proceeded against the in- surgents, but without much success. James- town was burned by the insurgents in the con- flict, and a number of lives were lost. But in the midst of the excitement Bacon was taken sick and died ; tlie commotion very soon after died away, and the insurgents returned to their homes in peace. From 1676 to 1679 various measures were adopted by the colonies for the purpose of concili- ating the favour of the British parliament ; agents were appointed to visit England, addresses were made to the king, and laws were passed to punish high treason, and to require all persons to swear allegiance to the king, but all to no purpose ; the acts of trade were not regarded, and the difli- culty between the mother country and the colo- nies still continued. 4. In 1680 New-Hampshire was separated from the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, and became a distinct colony. During this year the foundation was laid for the present city of HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 45 Charleston, in South Carolina. The settlers first located themselves on the banks of the river Ashley, but they afterward removed and com- menced the city at a place called " Oyster point," which is formed by the confluence of the rivers Ashley and Cooper ; thirty houses were erected the first year. Pennsylvania was founded in 1681. A charter was granted by Charles II., king of England, of a tract of territory between the bay and river of Delaware, and Lord Baltimore's province of Maryland, to William Penn ; and after him this tract has since been called Penn- sylvania.* The first settlements were com- menced by the Quakers. The next year Penn laid out the plan of a city, to which he gave the name of Philadelphia. 5. A letter having been sent this year, 1682, from the king to the people of Massachusetts, complaining of their continued disregard of the navigation laws, the general court resolved to despatch an agency to England for the purpose of adjusting the difficulty ; but this measure did not succeed. It was during this year that M. de la Sale descended the Mississippi River to the sea, and in honour of Louis XIV., king of France, he gave the name of Louisiana to the vast tract of coun- try watered by that majestic river. In June 1684 the high court of chancery in England gave judgment on the controversy which had now been pending for some years * Literally, Feuri's WooJs. 46 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. between the king and the governor and company of Massachusetts. The court decreed that their charter, the safeguard of their hberties, should be cancelled, and that the government of this colony should be placed in the hands of the king, the bitterest, firmest enemy of the people. The other colonies had been fearing the like fate, in their own case, which had now befallen Massachusetts ; and, to prevent this, prayers, peti- tions, and remonstrances were laid at the feet of King Charles and his successor, James II., but all to no effect. 6. The prospect before the New-England colonies at this time was distressing in the ex- treme : after having endured the toils and dan- gers incident to the settlement of a new country ; after having patiently suffered privations and hardships, the bare thought of which would seem enough to make humanity shudder, their liberties, the fruit of their labours, were now about to be wrested from them and placed at the disposal of a merciless tyrant. Proceedings, simi- lar to those which had deprived Massachusetts of her charter, were taken against the other colonies. Rhode-Island gave up hers ; Plymouth colony sent hers to the king, with a respectful request that it should be restored again ; but this was not granted. In December, 1686, Sir Edmond Andros ar- rived in Boston, who had been arbitrarily appoint- ed, by the king, governor of all New-England, except Plymouth. This appointnieat was still more afflicting to the people : this man was HISTORY OF THE UxMTED STATES. 47 known as having been most tyrannical in his proceedings when he was governor in New- York a few years before. His conduct now confirmed all that the people had feared concern- ing him. He immediately proceeded to re- strain the liberty of the press, he introduced new regulations with rerijard to the settlements of estates, marriage, and public worship. Ex- horbitant fees were extorted by himself and all who were employed under him ; and without even the sliow of justice he compelled the people to take out new titles to their land, and for which large sums were exacted. 7. In October, 1687, this man proceeded with his suit and about si\ty regular troops, to Hartford, and demanded the charter of Connec- ticut of the assembly, which was then in session in that place. But this was too precious a trea- sure to be thus surrendered without reluctance. It was secreted by a stratagem, beyond the reach of Andros ; but he closed the records of the assembly, and assumed the reins of government without it. The next year this wicked man continued to oppress the people in Massachusetts. He caused a most unjust tax to be raised on the polls and estates, and also upon all goods imported into the country, and fined and imprisoned some of the selectmen for delaying to assess it. It was now determined to add New-York and the Jerseys to the jurisdiction of New-England ; and so Andros was appointed vice general and admiral over the whole. 48 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. These measures but increased the sufferings of the people, and excited their contempt and hatred tor the man who had been the cause of tlieir calamities. However, we may believe that the great Avenger of wrongs interposed, at this time, for the afflicted colonies, and averted the evils with which their existence was threat- ened. CHAPTER VII. Reflections — State of this country' when first disco- vered — Character and habits of the natives — Their decline and extinction — Progress of civiUzation — Character and manners of the colonists. 1. It may be proper for us to pause now, for a few moments, and reflect on some of the events noticed in the foregoing pages. The facts we have narrated are among the most interesting features which serve to make up the volume of universal history. We cannot therefore consider them too attentively, seeing they are the seeds from which our national ex- istence has sprung, and the means which have contributed more or less in the formation of the habits and manners of one of the greatest and most powerful of nations. 2. We have now passed over a period of nearly two hundred years. At its commence- ment this vast continent was one unbroken wil- derness. We now see it diversified with plains, hills, fruitful tieldy, and villages, and cities, HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 49 scattered in every direction ; and scarcely a foot of land can be found but which bears the marks of human industry. But a little less than two centuries before this period, almost one impenetrable forest was spread over this exten- sive continent. Within its dark and solemn recesses the catamount and panther ranged un- disturbed for their food. The wolf, the bear, and the wild cat; the elk, moose, and the buffalo, were covered in its shade. Birds of almost every description, and in innumerable flocks, enlivened the woods and the air with their notes. The spontaneous productions of the soil served both the savage and the beast for food. 3. At this time it is supposed the natives of this country amounted to as many as one hun- dred and fifty thousand. They were divided into different clans or tribes, and each tribe was known by its appropriate name, and generally by the place of its residence. One above the rest in every tribe was acknoAvledged as the sachem, or chief. Sometimes, in important business, he consulted others in the affairs of the government; but generally his will was supreme law, and his decisions final. At other times a number of chiefs deliberated together in council, when they determined on war or peace. One spoke at a time, and each at his pleasure ; to which the others listened with the profoundest silence ; and for giving their atten- tion to what is said when addressed by a public speaker, the natives of our western wilds are remarkable even to this day. 4 50 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 4. The persons of the savages were generally well proportioned ; they were tall and straight, with long black hair, and of a red or copper colour. A small covering about the middle of the body was all the clothing they wore in the summer, but in winter they wrapt themselves in the furs and skins of wild beasts. Their habi- tations consisted of a few poles set into the ground around a circle of twelve or fifteen feet, and brought together in a point at the top ; these were then covered with turf, or the bark of trees, so as to shed the snow and rain. These dwellings were called wee-ke-warns, or wigwams. 5. The savages were not skilled in any of the sciences or arts which now distinguish civilized hfe. The use of the saw, the plane, the plough, and the like, were altogether unknown to them. Their labours were confined simply to the con- struction of their wigwams, their bows, their stone arrows, and hatchets, and mortars for pounding parched corn. Specimens of their arrows and hatchets may still be found in almost every part of America, and in many places they are laid up as works of interesting curiosity. Their food consisted chiefly of corn, berries of various kinds, peas, beans, potatoes, &c, and the flesh of various beasts, and different kinds of fish, with which the rivers and lakes gene- rally abounded. They had no knowledge of books or letters ; their time was spent principally in war, in hunt- ing, and in amusements, such as dancing, leap, ing, and shooting at a mark. niSTOEY OF THE UNITED STATES. 51 6. As to their peculiar character, dispositions, and views, some of them often exhibited the brightest evidence of genius, and traits of charac- ter which combine in constituting the noblest feelings of our nature. Witness the case of Pocahontas, chap, ii, 5. And the persevering, undaunted courage, and patriotism of King Philip, when considered with the age in which he lived, the circumstances with which he was surrounded, and the motives also by which he was actuated, form a subject of melting interest to every person who has a heart to feel. It is true the death of this valiant warrior, at the time it happened, excited universal rejoicing, because it was then viewed in connection with all the horrors of a merciless and exterminating war ; he was considered as a savage, implacable enemy, and the blow by which he fell was hailed as the token of approaching peace, and the close of a protracted and most distressing conflict. Time, however, has changed the scene, and we can now contemplate the character of King Philip without seeing the curling flame and ascending smoke of the faggot, or hearing the appalling sound of the warwhoop. And if we are to judge of him as we now judge of others who have been called great men, then Philip of Pokanoket was a hero and a patriot, a valiant warrior, and a mighty sovereign. His pene- trating mind foresaw the increasing power of the whites, the loss of his dominion, and the utter extinction of his nation. He put forth one mighty effort to save them, but that effort failed. 52 HISTORY OF THE UAITED STATES. Had King Philip enjoyed the privileges of educa- tion and the blessings of civilized life, his name might have been handed down to posterity as one of the great men who have attracted the attention of a wondering and admiring world. 7. One cannot reflect without melancholy on the fate which has attended the original inheritors of this soil. Where are those once powerful and warlike tribes who ranged over these hills, gathered on the plains, or skimmed over the lakes and rivers at their pleasure, and undisturb- ed? This widely-extended territory was all their own ; here they kindled their council fires without molestation ; no field nor dwelling of the white man interrupted their chase of the stag or the deer. Hundreds and thousands in a tribe, and by thousands of these tribes, these Atlantic shores were once covered ; the hill, the dale, or the deep and gloomy forest, was alike a home for them. But they have nearly all passed away and gone down to the shades of death. At the presence of the white man their strength has departed, their numbers have wasted away, their forests have disappeared ; even their very name is well nigh perished and forgotten. 8. Another race of men now occupy their hunting grounds, and by other hands their fields are tilled ; where they paddled their bark canoes large ships of commerce are now seen floating, villages and populous cities have now taken the place of their rude wigwams and council fires. Up to the close of the period before mention- ed, circumstances had been working gradually HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 53 ill giving some peculiar features to the character and manners of the colonists. From a small beginning they had now increased to about two hundred thousand, and this in the space of about eighty-two years. For the spirit of self sacri- ficing, of bold and hardy enterprise, the early settlers of this country were certainly never ex- ceeded by any others. They willingly forsook the blessings and refinements of civilized life in Europe, unaccustomed to the difficulties and pri- vations which their settlement in a wilderness would cost them. They cleared the forests, braved dangers, endured suffering, encountered the horrors of savage w^arfare, established them- selves in a new country, defended their liberties when assailed by a foreign tyrant, and they laid wisely-concerted plans for the good of their pos- terity ; and by these means the wilderness which their toil subdued has become as the garden of the Lord ; and a wise and powerful nation has sprung into being, to diffuse the blessing of civil and religious liberty all over the world. CHAPTER VIII. The charters restored or renewed to tlie colonies — Witchcraft — King William's war. 1. In 1689 things began to take a new turn in the colonies. King James left the throne of England in December the previous year, and William, prince of Orange, was proclaimed king 54 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. on the 16th of February following. The news, however, had scarcely reached the colonies, when the people of Boston seized Andros, and about fifty of his associates, and confined them in prison. The former ofiicers of the colony, whom Andros had deposed, were immediately reinstated, and on the 29th of May, William was proclaimed king with great rejoicings. 2. Massachusetts, Rhode-Island, and Connec- ticut now resumed their charters, of which they had been deprived under the former government of King James. Their example was soon after followed by Virginia and Maryland. When the intelligence of Wilham and Mary's ascension was received in New-York, the lieutenant go- vernor and council were about to proclaim them, but while they waited for some consultation with regard to the pubhc safety, one Jacob Leisler, and about fifty men, seized the fort. This oc- casioned a division among the people which was far from being pleasant. Peace was not restored to the colony till 1691, when Colonel Sloughter, as the king's governor, called an as- sembly who formed a constitution which secured the rights of the people. 3. In 1692 a most extraordinary delusion broke out in the Massachusetts colony. It is scarcely possible to read any plain account of it at this day without horror, or even for one to believe one half which he reads. An infatuation so strange, spreading such disorder through the community, and so manifestly the offspring of sheer ignorance and superstition, may well form HISTORY OF Till: UNITED STATES. o5 an item in the history of the place where it oc- curred, that after ages may learn the better how to prize the light by which the mists of such pernicious and silly errors have been so com- pletely dissipated. The infatuation which we are now about to notice, was denominated witchcraft. However, it is believed, there is nothing at this time in this country, of which we can obtain any definite knowledge by either of the five senses, which will answer what was meant by this word at the time above mentioned. That there is an evil agency in this world called in the Bible the devil, and Satan, is admitted by all true believers in that good book ; but that persons were at this time possessed by evil spirits in the way which was then supposed, is not supported by any evi- dence which is entitled to credit. 4. Toward the last of February of this year, some children in Danvers, then a part of Salem, began to be strangely affected. They exhibited singular contortions of their features and limbs : whether they did this at first in sport, or merely to do mischief, does not appear. But their idle stories about themselves were believed, and by many who should have known better. Very soon the infection spread into other places, and many seemed really to covet the mania by hear- ing and telling the reports that were put in cir- culation about it. Suspicions and accusations now became fre- quent ; courts were formed and trials instituted for the purpose of punishing those who were 56 HISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. thought to be guilty, till finally two hundred per- sons were accused, one hundred and fifty were apprehended and shut up in prision, and nine- teen others had suffered death upon the gallows. 5. The people were alarmed. Reason began to work ; the people seemed to awake as from the slumbers of night ; they looked into the sub- ject, considered more minutely the nature of the supposed crime, the inexplicit and often obscure and silly testimony by which it was thought to be proved, together with the character of many who were accused, and they finally began to suspect themselves as having been too credulous on a subject involving such solemn consequences. The delusion gradually died away ; those con- demned were pardoned by the governor, and others who were imprisoned were set at liberty. Some of the persons who had served as jurors, by whom a number of unfortunate victims had been condemned to suffer death, afterward pub- licly confessed their error and asked forgiveness. And one of the Churches in Danvers, which had expelled a person who was hung for the supposed crime of witchcraft, revoked the sentence a num- ber of years afterward, assigning this as the rea- son, — "that it might not stand against her to all generations." 6. We have seen above that King James left the British throne in December, 1688. He fled to France, and the French king attempted to support him ; as the consequence the two king- doms and their colonies were involved in war. The next year the governor of Canada fitted out HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 57 three expeditions against the American colonies. One party of one hundred and fitly French and Indians marched against Nevv-York. They fell upon Schenectady, a village on the Mohawk River, which they entered at eleven o'clock on the night of February 8. The unsuspecting in- habitants were in a profound sleep : the cold was exceedingly severe, and the snow so deep that travelling was deemed almost impossible. Upon a preconcerted signal, the inhuman soldiers rush- ed into the houses ; men, women, and children were dragged from their beds and butchered in the snow ; the dwellings were set on fire, and the naked inmates compelled to flee in a dark night through the cold and snow for safety, or to perish in the flames. Sixty persons were massacred, thirty were taken prisoners, the rest fled through the snow and naked to Albany. — Twenty-five of them lost their limbs and were otherwise debilitated through the suflTerings which they endured in their flight. 7. A second party proceeded to Salmon Falls, in New-Hampshire, where they surprised and killed thirty of the inhabitants, and carried away fifty-four prisoners. The other party attacked the people in Saco, Maine ; they destroyed the fort and killed and captured one hundred of the people. These atrocities alarmed the colonies. Com- missioners were appointed to consult on the common safety, and a congress of the colonies was held in the city of New-York on the first of May 1690. 58 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. An expedition was now fitted out by Massa- chusetts of seven vessels and eight hundred men, which proceeded against Port Royal ; the fort, not being in a state for defence, surrendered with but Tittle resistance. Another attempt was fitted out againt Canada, but it failed. 8. From 1690 to 1697 this war, which is dis- tinguished by the name of King William's War, raged between the French and Enghsh colonies with unexampled severity. Barbarities were perpetrated by the Indians and the French, in this protracted contest, the most shocking to hu- manity, and when described scarcely to be be. lieved. Women in a state of maternity were ripped up, or otherwise inhumanly murdered. Sometimes the savages seemed to rack their invention to find methods of torture tor the im. happy victims who unfortunately fell into their hands. Infants were dashed to pieces in the sight of their mothers, or at other times they were well nigh strangled and then thrown at their mothers to be recovered and restored to life that they might with their own eyes see again the bloody work repeated, till their cries were hush- ed by a blow from the Indian hatchet ; or, per- haps, they were thrown upon a bed of coals to broil. One poor little thing was found fastened to the body of its dead mother, where it was vainly endeavouring to draw nourishment from her clay, cold breast. Some were spared to endure tortures more cruel than even death itself. Often amidst rain and snow, and in the severest cold, they were HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 59 compelled to travel by night and by day, without shoes or clothes, and frequently with but a morsel of food for a number of days and nights together. Sometimes they expired at the stake to which they had been tied, and surrounded with faggots they were roasted to death with a slow fire ; or, to make the death still more cruel, splinters of pitch-knots were forcibly driven into their flesh in different parts of the body and set on fire ; and even this death might be preferred to many of the savage tortures which often awaited those who were spared. 9. An act was passed in 1694 in the Massa- chusetts legislature which deserves notice here ; it required the selectmen in each town to post up in every public house within the town, a list of the names of all persons reputed tipplers, or common drunkards ; and it imposed a fine upon every keeper of such houses, who might give them entertainment. Yale College in New-Haven, Connecticut, was founded in 1701. The churches now having become numerous, a greater want was felt of an efficient and learned ministry ; and it being some distance to Cambridge, it was resolved by some of the ministers to have a college in their im- mediate vicinity. A petition was soon after pre- sented to the general assembly, in which it was stated, — " That from a sincere regard to, and zeal for upholding the Protestant religion, by a succession of learned and orthodox men, they had proposed that a collegiate school should be erected in this colony, wherein youth should be 60 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. instructed in all parts of learning to qualify them for public employments in Church and civil state." The college was first established at Saybrook, and afterward removed to New-Haven. 10. It may not, perhaps, be out of place here to observe, in connection with the above and the like items of history before noticed in this work, that we are indebted to religion and to ministers of the Gospel for about all the institutions of learning in our country. It is a fact, therefore, that ministers of the Protestant faith have gene- rally been the guardians of common and liberal education. A minister of the Gospel who has the advantages of learning himself, will not lack the disposition to promote its blessings among others as far as may be in his power. It would be out of place to stop here to show how deeply the Church of Christ and the civilized nations of the earth are indebted to sound learning and the light of education. 11. In the latter part of the year above named, an attempt was made by the inhabitants of Bos- ton to prevent the introduction of negro slavery into the colony. We have before seen that the first slave imported into New-England was taken by order of the general court and sent back to Guinea. To these early efforts, it may be, Mas- sachusetts now owes her exemption from the evils of the slavery system. HISTORY OF THE U?esh zeal and courage in resisting what they considered im- 106 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. just encroachments upon their happiness and liberties. A meeting of the inhabitants was called in Boston on the arrival of the acts above named, when the following resolution was passed : — "That it is the opinion of this town, that, if the other colonies come into a joint resolution to stop all importation from, and exportation to, Great Britain and the West Indies, till the act for blocking up this harbour be repealed, the same will prove the salvation of North America and her liberties ; and tbat the impolicy, injus- tice, inhumanity, and cruelty of the act exceed our powers of expression. We therefore leave it to the just censure of others, and appeal to God and tiie world." Copies of this resolution were transmitted to each of the colonies, imme- diately after it was passed ; and in return letters and addresses were forwarded fi'om every part of the continent, exliorting and encouraging the people of Boston to persevere in tlie manly de- fence of their rig!its, and assuring them of the sympathy and co-operation of their sister colo- nies in what was now every where considered one common cause. # 15. June 1st, 1774, the Boston port act was to take effect. The day was devoutly kept in Virginia and some other places, as a day of fast- ing, humiliation, and prayer. The Divine bless- ing was most solemnly implored upon the sufler- ing colonies ; and the ministers of religion did not fail to give their people instructions adapted to the times. They painted before them the HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 107 dreadful calamities to which they were exposed, and the worse evils that would follow a tame submission of these colonies to the arbitrary mea- sures of their unrelenting oppressors. And to the prayers and instructions of many ministers of the Gospel of that trying age, the people of these United States are now most deeply indebt- ed for the civil and religious liberties which they enjoy. CHAPTER XIV. First continental congress — Open hostilities com- menced against the colonies — War with England. 1. During the session of the Massachusetts general court, in June, 1774, measures had been taken for calling a general meeting of commit- tees from the several colonies, for the purpose of deliberating on the miseries to which the pro- vinces were now reduced, and also to determine on the most appropriate means for the recovery and establishment of their just rights and liber- ties, and the restoration of union and harmony between Great Britain and the colonies, which was "most ardently desired by all good men." 2. Accordingly, on the 4th September follow- ing, deputies met in Philadelphia from eleven different colonies, and the next day organized their meeting, by choosing Payton Randolph president, and Charles Thompson secretary. It was first decided that each colony, repre- sented by more or less delegates in the con^ 108 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. gress, should be allowed but one vote only. They next drew up and agreed on a bill of rights, recited the various acts of the British parliament by which those rights had been vio- lated, and declared their repeal to be absolutely necessary for the restoration of harmony between England and the colonies. They resolved that all exports and transports to and from Great Britain should cease on the first day of the fol- lowing December, unless the cause of their grievances were removed. 3. They farther agreed on a loyal address to his majesty, and others also to the people in Canada and the inhabitants of Great Britain. These papers inspired the people of the colonies with great confidence in the wisdom and abilities of their delegates, and the justice of the cause in which they were engaged. They were every where read with kindling emotions of enthusiasm, nor did they fail of producing a sympathy and unanimity of feeling in favour of the suffering colonies, which never forsook the friends of America, even in the darkest hour of her peril. Lord Chatham, speaking of them in the house of lords, expressed himself as follows : — " When your lordships look at the papers transmitted to us from America, — when you consider their decency, firmness, and wisdom, you cannot but respect their cause, and wish to make it your own. For myself, I must declare and avow, that in all my reading and observation, — and it has been my favourite study ; I have read Thu- cydides, and have studied and admired the HISTORY OF THE r?fITED STATES. 109 master spirits of the world, — that for solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity, and wisdom of con- clusion, under such complication of circumstances, no nation, or body of men, can stand in preference to the general congress at Philadelphia." 4. Measures were now taken by General Gage, the governor of Massachusetts, and other enemies of the colonies, to prepare for the crisis which they saw to be approaching. He with- drew the troops from different places where they had been stationed, and encamped them in Boston. Soon after he caused fortifications to be erected on Boston Neck, and repaired and manned those at the entrance of the town. On the 1st of September he sent a company of troops, silently in the night, and took away the powder deposited in the arsenal at Ciiarlestown, and removed it to Fort William. These move- ments greatly enraged the people in the vicinity; so much so, that a general consultation was thought necessary, and a meeting appointed for that purpose. A delegation met, September 6th, from the several towns in Suffolk, and passed a number of spirited resolutions, ex- pressive of their determined opposition to the acts of parliament, and the means adopted to carry them into effect. 5. An assembly having been ordered by Go- vernor Gage to meet in Salem on the 5th of October, he undertook to counteract it afterward by a proclamation. But the legality of the pro- clamation being doubted by most of the mem- bers, about ninety of them met, and the governor 110 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. not appearing, they adjourned to Concord. Here they met, and chose John Hancock pre- sident ; made some communications to the governor, who warned them to cease from their illegal proceedings. Without regarding his advice, however, they adjourned to meet again in Cambridge. On meeting again, they pro- ceeded to draw up a plan for the immediate defence of the province. 6. In November this congress met again, and resolved to raise twelve thousand men, armed and equipped, in readiness to act on any emer- gency ; and that a fourth of the militia should be enlisted for pay, and stand as minute men ; and committees were sent to New- Hampshire, Rhode-Island, and Connecticut, to request these provinces to assist in raising an army of twenty thousand men. In the meanwhile the more southern provinces were by no means idle. Congresses were as- sembled, and committees of safety appointed in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. One general spirit of patriotism and self defence seemed to pervade the country, and animate the people. 7. In January, 1775, Mr. Pitt made one more effort to bring the British parliament to the adoption of some means which might restore harmony and good feeling again between the colonies and the mother country; but the con- ciliatory bill which he i»itroduced for this pur- pose was contemptuously rejected, and not even suffered to lay upon the table for an after HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Ill consideration. The very next day an act was passed, in despite of reason, and every law of justice and humanity, to restrain the New-Eng- land colonies from the privilege of taking fish from tlie ocean on the banks of Newfoundland. 8. Another congress met in February of this year for the province of Massachusetts ; a reso- lution was passed and published, by which the people were informed of the warlike prepara- tions of the times on the part of Great Britain, and what the friends of the colonies might ex- pect, should they not be in a state of preparation for the storm which was seen gathering. They urged, in the strongest terms, the militia and minute men to use every opportunity, and spare no pains to perfect themselves in military dis- cipline. Measures were also taken for supply- ing the people with tire arms and bayonets ; and thus every precaution was taken for the approaching crisis. 9. General Gage, having learned that a con- siderable quantity of military stores had been deposited at Concord, a town in Massachusetts^ about eighteen miles from Boston, purposed to destroy them. Accordingly, on the 18th of April, a detachment of eight hundred grena- diers, under Lieutenant Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn, were ordered to Concord, and particular precautions taken to prevent any notice of their approach from preceding them. But by the time the troops had reached Lexing- ton the next morning, the alarm had been spread through the vicinity, and about seventy of the 112 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. minute men were assembled on the green near the church in that town, for the purpose of con- sulting what to do. Major Pitcairn immediately rode up to them, and boisterously cried out, " Disperse, disperse, you rebels ; throw dovvri your arms, and disperse." The sturdy farmers not instantly obeying his orders, he rode still nearer, discharged his pistol at them, flourished his sword, and ordered his men to lire. A dis- charge of arms iVom the British soldiers fol- lowed, a number of the provincials fell, and the others began to disperse. The troops continued to fire after the citizens had left the parade ; eight of them were killed, and a number wounded. But a very few scattering shots were returned by the minute men, and not even these till they were fired upon, killed, and wounded, and saw no possible way to escape. 10. The troops next proceeded to Concord. Some measures had been taken here for defence, but on the approach of the British the militia retired beyond the town. The regulars entered the town, destroyed what provisions came in their way, and the military stores. As they were leaving the town, the militia, receiving some reinforcements, pursued them, when they were fired upon, and a skirmish ensued ; the regulars were forced to retreat with some loss. When they arrived at Lexington, Lord Piercy joined them with a reinforcement of nine hun- dred men, which now increased the enemy to one thousand eight hundred. They soon re- commenced their march for Boston, but the citi- HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 113 zens continued to press upon their rear, and as the alarm of war had now spread through the adj;icent towns, their number increased hourly; and by their close firing from behind the thick- ets, stone walls, and buildings, they kept the Briiis'.i in no small confusion. Before the regu- lars reached Charlestown that night, where they rested, they had lost two hundred and seventy-three of their men ; and they were not a little mortifit d, in finding that the '■\fiock of Yankees,'" as they called the Americans who came out against them, had lost no more than eighty-eight killed, wounded, and missing. 11. The dreadfiil drama was now begun. The news of this affair soon spread through the country, a.nd reached the remotest parts of the continent. IMie provincial congress was in ses- sion at this time, and they immediately caused a minute account of the battle at Lexington to be taken and sent to England, together with an address to the inhabitants of Great Britain. In these communications they showed that the British troops were the first aggressors at Lex- ington, and they most frankly avowed their loyalty to the king, and at the same time ex- pressed their unshaken determination never to submit tamely to the persecution and tyranny of his evil ministry; "appealing to Heaven," say they, '• for the justice of our cause, we deter- mine to die or be free.'*^ 12. The signal of war which had been given at Lexington was immediately answered by the friends of liberty throughout the colonies. The 8 114 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. forts, magazines, and arsenals were seized for the use of the Americans, and an army of twenty thousand men was soon posted in the vicinity of Boston, and to which additions were made every day. In the meantime the project was formed by some bold men in Connecticut of taking by surprise Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Ac- cordingly a company of volunteers from Con- necticut and Vermont, under the command of Colonel Allen and Benedict Arnold, marched against these important places, and took them without any difficulty, May 10th. 13. About this time a considerable reinforce- ment arrived from England at Boston, and from some movements of General Gage, it was apprehended that he designed to penetrate into the country. Tlie provincial congress there- fore recommended the council of war to take measures for the immediate fortification of Dor- chester Neck and Bunker's Hill. Accordingly, orders were issued for a detachment of one thousand men to proceed to the latter place, under the command of Colonel Prescot ; but through mistake they commenced their intrench- ments on Breed's Hill, which was contiguous to the one designated. By the break of day, June 17, they had thrown up a redoubt four feet high and eight rods square. As soon as they were discovered, in the morning, they were fired upon by the ships of war and several floating batteries lying in the river near, and also from Copp's Kill, a fortification directly opposite in Boston. 14. But notwithstanding an incessant shower HISTORY OF THE UXITED STATES. 115 of bombs and shot, which was now pouring in upon them from a number of directions, the Americans continued their hT.bour, till they had extended their breastwork from the east side of the redoubt toward the river Mystic, to the bottom of the hill. Soon after twelve o'clock, three thousand regu- lars, under the command of Major General Howe and Brigadier General Pigot, landed at More- ton's Point, and after forming, they waited for a reinforcement from Boston. At the same time about five hundred were added to the Americans on the hill. The issue of the approaching battle now hung in dreadful suspense, in the anxious minds of thousands who had covered the house tops, church spires, and all the heights in Boston and vicinity, to witness the horrors of the scene. The second detachment having arrived, the British troops, in two lines, commenced their march up the hill. Tiiey advanced slowly, and frequently halted, to allow sufficient time for the artillery to produce effect, in demolishing the redoubt. At this time orders were given to set fire to Charlestown, and in a few minutes nearly four hundred houses were wrapped in one gene- ral blaze. As the British advanced, they com- menced their firing at some distance, but the Americans reserved their fire till the enemy were within twelve rods.* They then opened * A person who was present and engaged in that dreadful conflict, once gave the writer a most thrilling account of every part of this battle. " Reserve your 116 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. upon the advancing lines a most destructive fire ; they tell in columns ; and the dreadful shock brought the ranks witli their backs toward the redoubt, and they made down the hill to the place where they landed, and some of them even took refuge in their boats. 15. The officers strove hard to rally their men ; they ran after them, addressed and threat- ened them, till ihey finally ascended the hill again. The Americans, as before, manifested no haste to throw away their ammunition; they waited till the enemy approaclied nearer than before, when they poured into their ranks a dreadful fire, and cut them down in heaps ; and again they fled down the hill in confusion. But once more they rallied, and renewed the attack. By this time, however, the Americans had ex- pended their powder, and were obliged to retreat. In making their way over Charlestown Neck, they were exposed to a raking fire from the Glasgow man-of-war and two floating batteries, but providentially a few only were killed. In this action the British had one thousand and fifty. four killed and wounded, among whom was that Major Pitcairn, who wantonly and with- out provocation fired upon the citizens at Lex- infijton. The Americans had one hundred and thirty-nine killed, and three hundred and Iburteen wounded and missing. The news of this battle fire, — d(.n't throw away a single sliot, my boys," was the oft-repeated caution of General Putnam. " AVait till you can see the white of their eyes, and aim directlv at their waistbands," HISTOHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 117 electrified the whole country, and crowned the American forces with the honours of a decided victory- Bin the joy which it occasioned was mingled with sorrow. General Joseph Warren, a gallant and distinguished patriot, was found among the slain of tliat day. His death was deeply and universally lamented. Colonel Gardner of Cam- bridge, Lieut. Colonel Parker of Chelmsford, and Major Moore, and Major M'Clany, were also among the honoured dead. 10. The second continental congress had al- ready met in Philadelphia ; it comprised dele- gates from twelve colonies, who were now ani- mated with the spirit of freedom, and ready to unite their counsels for the safety and salvation of the people whom they represented. They first agreed on another petition to the king, ad- dresses were prepared also to the people of Great Britain, and Canada, and to the assembly of Jamaica. It was voted to raise and equip an army of twenty thousand men; and they unani- mously chose George Washington, then a dele- gate Irom Virginia, to be general and commander in chief of all the American forces, and pledged the twelve united colonies, represented in that congress, for the raising of three millions of dol- lars to detray the expenses of the war. On the 6th of July the congress agreed to a declaration or manifesto, showing the causes which induced them to take up arms, which it was ordered shoidd be read to the army ia orders, and to the people from the pulpit. — 118 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. After giving a clear and spirited account of the origin, progress, and conduct of the colonies, and the measures of the British government toward them, they exclaim : — 17. "But why should we enumerate our inju- ries in detail ? By one statute it is declared, that parliament can of right make laws to bind us IN ALL CASES WHATSOEVER. What is to de- fend us against so enormous, so unlimited a power 1 Not a single man of those who assume it was chosen by us, or is subject to our control or influence ; but, on the contrary, they are all of them exempt from the operation of such lawj?, and an American revenue, if not diverted from the ostensible purposes for which it is raised, would actually lighten their own burdens, in pro- portion as it increases ours. We saw the misery to which such despotism would reduce us. We, for ten years, incessantly and ineflectually be- seiged the throne as suppliants ; we reasoned, we remonstrated with parliament in the most mild and decent language. 18. " We are now reduced to the alternative of choosing unconditional submission to the will of irritated ministers, or resistance by force. — The latter is om* choice. We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery. Honour, justice, and hu- manity forbid us tamely to surrender that free- dom wiiich we received from our gallant ances- tors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us. We cannot endure the infamy and guilt of resigning succeeding HISTORY OF THE fNITED STATES. 119 generations to that wretcliedness wliich inevita- bly awaits them if we basely entail hereditary bondage upon them. 19. "Our cause is just, our union is perfect, our internal resources are great, and, if neces- sary, foreign assistance is undoubtedly attainable. We gratefully acknowledge as a signal instance of the Divine favour toward us, that his provi- dence would not permit us to be called into this severe controversy, until we were grown up to our present strength ; had been previously exer- cised in war-like operations, and possessed the means of defending ourselves. 20. " With hearts fortified by these animating reflections, we most solemnly, before God and the world, declare, that exerting the utmost energy of those powers which our beneficent Creator hath graciously bestowed, the arms we have been comj)elled by our enemies to assume, we will, in defiance of every hazard, with una- bating firmness and perseverance, employ for the preservation of our liberties, being with one mind resolved to die freemen, rather than to live slaves." 21. Another resolution worthy of notice which was passed by this congress, recommended, in view of the then impending calamities, the 20th July, to be ke|)t as a day of public humiliation, fasting, and prayer. The day was accordingly observed with great solemnity, and this was the first general fast ever held in one day throughout the colonies. Thus we perceive that the leading characters in that eventful struggle were men 120 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. who feared God, and hence we find them com- mitting themselves to his care and protection, in the important concern which tlien engaged their attention. " With an humble confidence," say they at the close of their declaration, " in the supreme and impartial Judge and Ruler of the universe, we most devoutly implore his Divine goodness to protect us happily through this great conflict, to dispose our adversaries to reconcilia- tion on reasonable terms, and thereby relieve the empire from the calamities of civil war." 22. General Washington set out for Cam- bridge soon after his appointment, accompanied by General Lee, and a number of other gentle- men. In every place through which he passed, he received the most evident demonstrations of respect and confidence from the citizens. When he arrived at Cambridge, he found an army of about fourteen thousand men, posted in the vici- nity of Boston, and forming a line from Iloxbury on the right, to the Mystic River on the left, a distance of two miles. His first attention was directed to the introduction of system and disci- pline into the army, a work which the wisdom and judgment of Washington* very soon accom- plished, though it was by no means an easy task to perform. He also supplied the American troops with ammunition, for which an ordnance ship of the British, captured by Captain Manley, contributed very timely assistance. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 121 CHAPTER XV. The British evacuate Boston — Declaration of Inde- pendence. 1. We have before observed that the Ameri- cans found no difficuhy in reducing Crown Point and Ticonderoga. In the latter part of this year, 1775, an expedition was fitted out with great spirit against Canada. Tlie charge of this enterprise was committed to Generals Schuyler and Montgomery. On the first of September about one thousand American troops landed at St. John's, the first British post in Canada, lying a little more tiian one hundred miles from Ti- conderoga ; but they found it necessary to retreat to the Isle aux Noix. G^^neral Schuyler soon after was obliged to retire to Ticonderoga on the account of extreme ill health, but he return- ed in a few days to St. John's, and opened a bat- tery against it. This important post surrendered soon after, by which thirty-nine pieces of can- non, five-hundred stands of fire arms, and six hundred prisoners fell into the hands of the Americans. 2. Montreal next fell into the power of the pro- vincials, under the command of Montgomery ; here he left a few troops, and hastened forward to Quebec. Before his arrival, however, Gen. Washington had planned an attack upon this place in another direction. He sent out Colonel Arnold, with a detachment from his camp before Boston, who proceeded up the Kennebec River, 122 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. and forcing their way through that dreary and almost impenetrable wilderness which lies be- tween the settled parts of the state of Maine and the St. Lawrence, they arrived in six weeks on the plains of Canada, and encamped at Point Levi, betbre Quebec. In this enterprise most incredible hardships were endured, as the soldiers were often under the necessity of carrying their boots and crafts upon their backs for miles up the Kennebec ; many of them also became sickly in passing the swampy grounds, their provisions failed them, and, to support life, they were re- duced to the necessity of eating their doffs, clothes, cartouch boxes, and shoes. 3. Montgomery, having now effected a junc- tion with Arnold, proceeded to besiege Quebec, which was continued nearly a month to no pur- pose. They then made a desperate attempt to scale the walls, but it proved tatal to the brave Montgomery, and with him fell Captain M'Pherson, his aid, and Captain Cheeseman. The attempt was finally abandoned, with the loss of one hundred killed, and three hundred taken prisoners. Events of importance occurred this year in Virginia. Lord Dunmore, the governor, seized some military stores belonging to the colony, and conveyed them on board a British ship, in James's River. Tins conduct roused the re- sentment of the inhabitants, and the intrepid Patrick Henry, placing himself at the head of an armed ibrce in his neighbourhood, marched against the governor, with the determined pur- mSTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 128 pose of procuring the stores, or their vakie in money. Before he had proceeded far, however, he was met by a messenger who paid him what he demanded^ and he and his company returned to their liomes. 4. The governor now put himself out of the way, and retired on board the Fowey man-of- war, and issued his prochmiation, ofiering free- dom to all those slaves who would leave their masters, and engage in the British service. He also put the colony under martial law, and re- duced the town of Norfolk to ashes. By the close of this year each of the royal governors had retired, and the British govern- ment ceased tliroughout the colonies. Efficient measures were taken this year by the general congress to raise a navy to be employed in the American service. And in December it was resolved to tit out for sea tiiirteen ships ; five of thirty-two, five of twenty- eight, and three of twenty-four guns, and a com- mittee appointed to carry this resolution into effect. 5. For some time before March, 1776, Gen. Washington had been contemplating an attack on the British forces in Boston. In a council of war which he called tor considering tliis sub- ject, it was determined advisable to obtain pos- session of the heigiits of Dorchester, from which he could easily annoy tlie enemy's shipping in the harbour, as well as their forces in the town, and by these means he hoped also to succeed in bringing on a general engagement. In the night 124 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. of the 4th of March a detachment of eight hundred, followed by a working party of twelve hundred more, proceeded silently with suitable tools, and took possession of the heights. They laboured with incredible diligence through the night, and by morning they were securely defended by the works they had thrown up from the firing of the enemy. 6. In the morning the British were utterly astonished at the sight of what they saw upon the heights, and they confessed that there was no safety for their ships in the harbour unless the Americans were driven at once from these intrenchments : without hesitancy, therefore, they determined either to dislodge them or eva- cuate the town. The latter was immediately chosen, and means adopted to effect it. The British accordingly evacuated Boston, March 17, under the command of Lord William Howe, to the number of ten thousand strong ; and the last of them were scarcely out of town when General Washington entered in triumph, and was received with expressions of unfeigned re- joicing by the afflicted inhabitants. 7. In June and July of this year an attempt was made by General Clinton and Sir Peter Parker to destroy the fort on Sullivan's Island, near Charleston, South Carolina. On the morn- ing of the 28th, nine ships of two hundred and fifty guns commenced a violent assault upon the fort, which was garrisoned by four hundred Americans under tiie command of Capt. Moultrie. On the fort were mounted twenty-six cannon HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 125 of eighteen and nine pounders. After n. fierce and bloody action of ten hours, the British re- tired with the loss of two hundred killed and wounded, beside considerable damage which was done to their shipping. The Americans had but ten killed and twenty-two wounded. Among the American troops stationed in this fort, there was a Sergeant Jasper who distinguished himself during this action, and whose heroism it may be proper briefly to notice here. 8. In the heat of ihe action the flag staff" of the fort was shot away, and the flag fell to the bottom of the ditch upon the outside of the fort. As soon as Jasper discovered this accident, he leaped from one of the embrasures, snatched up the flag, and regardless of the shots of the enemy, he placed it upon the rampart, where he held it until another staff* was procured. The conduct of all the American soldiers was alike heroic in that engagement, and worthy of grateful remembrance. Some of them wliile in the agonies of death exhorted their compa- nions not to yield, but to die in defence of liberty. The garrison afterward received the thanks of congress for their gallantry, displayed on that day, and well they deserved more honours than they ever received. 9. The time had now arrived when many in the colonies began to contemplate the probable issue of the contest in which they were engaged. They had taken up arms merely in self defence ; they had from the beginning made the sincerest professions of their loyalty, and declared their 126 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. readiness to lay down their arms as soon as the cause of their grievances was removed. But the encroachments which had been made upon their Uberties by those who should have protect- ed them, and the hostihties which had been committed against them, now began to work a material change in tlie minds of the people. — Essays on the evils of monarchy, and the bless- ings of republican institutions, were industriously circulated in newspapers and pamphlets through- out the country. 10. In May, of this year, congress had re- commended to all those colonies that had not adopted constitutions, not to delay the establish- ment of such forms of government for themselves as might best conduce to the safety and happi- ness of the people. The compliance of the colonies with this recommendation, gave the people generally a good conception of the supe- rior advantages of an elective government, and a desire for independence. Accordingly, on the 8th of June, Richard Henry Lee, one of the de- legates from Virginia, made a motion, which was seconded by John Adams, of Massachusetts, for declaring the colonies free and independent. This motion called tbrth some very interesting debates. In conclusion of Mr. Lee's remarks in its support, he said : — " Why do we longer delay, why deliberate ? Let this most happy day give birth to the American republic. Let her arise, not to devastate and to conquer, but to re- establish the reign of peace and of the laws. — The eyes of Europe are fixed upon us ; she de- HISTORY OF THE UISITED STATES. 127 mands of us a living example of freedom, that may contrast, by the felicity of the citizens, with the ever increasing tyranny which desolates her polluted shores. She invites us to prepare an asylum, where the unhappy may find solace, and the persecuted repose. She entreats us to cultivate a propitious soil, where that generous plant, which first sprung up and grew in Eng- land, but is now withered by the poisonous blasts of Scottish tyranny, may revive and flourish, sheltering, under its salubrious and intermina- ble shade, all the unfortunate of tlie human race." 11. On the 11th of June this motion was dis- cussed again, and a committee appointed to draw up a declaration according to the resolu- tion. This committee consisted of Thomas Jef- ferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. On the memorable 4th of July, this declaration was unanimously adopted, by which these thirteen united colonies dissolved their cormection with the British crown, and declared themselves free and indtyendent states. 12. " We hold these truths," say they in their declaration, " to be self evident, that all mankind are created equal ; and that they are endowed b}-^ their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these, are life, liberty, and the pur. suit of happiness ; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers troni the consent of the govern- ed ; that whenever any form of government be- 128 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. comes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to aher or aboHsh it, and to insti- tute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them may seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness." 13. This able paper then goes on to a brief recital of the repeated injuries which the king of Great Britain had inflicted upon the people of these colonies, and the means which had been used to obtain redress, but without effect. " We, therefore," it proceeds, " the representatives of the United Slates of America, in general con- gress assembled, appealing to the supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and iNnKPi^ADEXT STATES ; that they are absolved from all alle- giance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and of right ought to be, totally dis- solved ; and that, as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. Atid for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protec- tion of Divine Providence, we mutually |)ledge to each our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honour." 14. The news of the above act of congress HISTORV OF THE UMTED STATES. 129 was hailed with great joy throughout the colo- nies ; it was received in nearly every city and hamlet with extraordinary expressions of ecsta- sy, and it diffused through the army a spirit of enthusiastic devotion to the cause of liberty and independence. This event marks a new era in our history, and one which is unparalleled in the history of the world. The rise and fall of empires, and fate of all the nations which have ever been known, together with all the convulsions which have agitated the political world, cannot have been mor« eventful and lasting in their conse- quences. And what subject can be more inte- resting, than to contemplate, for a moment, the settlement of these colonies ; their poverty and want, their strugglings with the savage foes which surrounded them ; their patience under the accumulated weight of oppressions which were heaped upon them ; and then their stepping into the held, without arms, to meet a powerful and vindictive foe— -and yet, with ten thousand chances against them, to see them rising above their oppressors, free and independent, to take their place among the most powerful nations of the earth. 15. The government they established still lives, an iinperishabie monument of the wisdom and integrity of those who formed it, an asylum for the oppressed, shedding its blessing upon millions of free and happy people. Let us who now enjoy the blessings which it imparts, lift our hearts in gratitude to that gr^at 9 130 HISTORY OF THE UMTED STATES. and good Being by whose kind providence they were given, and not forget the toil and bloodshed with which they were bought. CHAPTER XVI. Battle on Long Island — White Plains — Trenton — and Princeton. 1. The attention of General Washington had for some time been directed to New-York, and having every reason to believe that the enemy designed to possess themselves of that important place, he resolved as soon as possible to make it the head quarters of his army. At the same time many people in the counties contiguous to the city, in lending their assistance in that im- portant crisis, showed their willingness to co- operate with the commander-in-chief in all his measures for the promotion of the general safety ; and accordingly one fourth of the militia in the above counties were immediately engaged, and sent to his service. The American army, now in the neighbour- hood of New-York, amounted to seventeen thou- sand two hundred and twenty- five men ; these were divided, and a part stationed at Brooklyn, Long Island, others in the city, and a few in some other places. 2. In July, General Howe, with a powerful naval force, arrived in the harbour of New-York, and accompanied with an army of twenty-four HISTORY OF THE UMTED STATES. 131 thousand men ; and being joined by his brother, Admiral Howe, it was determined to make their first attack on Long Island, and accordingly they landed at Gravesend Bay, to the right of the Nar- rows, nine miles from the city. General and Admiral Howe, before they com- menced their military operations, proposed to effect a union between the colonies and the go- vernment of Great Britain, as they had been empowered as commissioners for this purpose. In making their proposals, however, they were too haughty to address General Washington by the proper title due to his rank, and he conse- quently declined noticing their communication. They finally addressed the principal magistrates in the colonies, and promised pardons to ail such as would abandon the cause of treedom and sub- mit peaceably to the yoke of British tyranny. 3. The Americans, stationed on the island, were posted near Brooklyn, to the number of fifteen thousand, under the command of Major General Sullivan. On the 27th of August they were attacked by the British forces under Sir Henry Clinton, Percy, and Cornwallis, and after a spirited and desperate resistance, they were defeated with the loss of more than a thousand men. The loss of the enemy was about four hundred. During this engagement, General Washington passed over to Brooklyn, where he witnessed with indescribable concern the slaugh- ter of his troops, but it was out of his power to afford them assistance, as the forces of the ene- my so far outnumbered his own. On the 30th 132 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. he effected their retreat from the island with great prudence and abihty. 4. Lord Howe now supposed the Americans were sufficiently chastened for their rebellion, and of course were ready to accept of the over- tures which he made to congress. A commit- tee was appointed to meet him on Staten Island according to his request ; and as a hostage for their safety, he sent one of his principal officers. But the committee took the hostage with them when they proceeded to the British head quar- ters, to show that they had more confidence in their cause, than in the enemies who attempted to oppress them. They soon found, however, that the British general was not disposed to re- ceive them in the character of representatives of free and independent states, and of course the conference closed without their coming to any definite conclusion. 5. It now became an object of importance with General Washington to leave New-York, and accordingly, about the middle of September, he retired with his troops to the heights of Har- laem, and the enemy immediately took possession of the city. Soon after, a considerable body of the British troops proceeded to the plains be- tween the two camps, and Washington resolved to attack them. Colonel Knowlton, with a corps of rangers, and Major Leitch with three companies of a Virginia regiment, were ordered to assail them in the rear, while he proceeded as if to attack them in the front. A spirited en- gagement followed, and the Americans were HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 133 successful ; they lost about fifty men, and the British one hundred. General Howe next at- tempted to dislodge Washington from Harlaem, and accordingly he embarked a considerable part of his forces in flat-bottomed boats through Hell- gate* into the sound, and landed them at a place called Frog's Neck. But Washington was ap- prized of his design, and moved his army to the northward, toward White Plains. 6. He was pursued, and on the 28th of Octo- ber attacked by the British and Hessians, and a partial action was fought, and about the same number lost on both sides. There were a num- ber of reasons whicl\ prevented Washington at this titne from entering into a general engage- ment with the enemy. Considerable numbers of the militia and some of the troops had desert- ed and left his standard, and many others, from various causes, had become discouraged ; and beside, the whole of his army was but as a hand- ful in comparison with tlie enemies they had to encounter. Hence his plan was to harass and wear out the enemy as much as possible, with- out coming to any general action, unless success in it was pretty certain. In the meantime, he hoped to succeed in diffusing among his troops such a spirit of persevering ambition as would be of special service to the cause whenever it were necessary to call it into exercise. 7. Finding it impossible to draw Washington into such an engagement as he desired, Howe next resolved to return and reduce fort Wash- * Or Hurlgate, as it is sometimes called. 134 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ington, where, for the defence of which, three thousand Americans had been garrisoned. It was assailed on the 16th of November; Colonel Magaw and his men made a gallant defence, but they were finally compelled to yield to the supe- rior forces of the enemy. Two days after the British crossed the Hudson, and proceeded to at- tack Fort Lee, which was directly opposite. — The garrison here determined at first to make what defence they could, but finding the numbers of the enemy so tar exceeded their own, they im- mediately evacuated the fort, under the direction of General Greene, and joined Washington at Newark, N. J., on the south side of the Passaic. But Washington soon found it necessary to leave Newark : with the British forces in pursuit of him, he retreated successively to Brunswick and to Princeton, till finally he crossed the Dela- ware into Pennsylvania ; and so closely was he followed in this flight, that the rear of the Ame- rican army was often within sight, and within shot of the van of the other. 8. The circumstances under which this retreat was eflfected, deserve some notice, as they shed the brightest lustre upon the character of him by whom it was conducted. We have before stated, that a spirit of discouragement and discontent pervaded the American army, and during all this time it had rather been increasing. Two forts had now been lost, and with one about three thousand men. The time had expired for which large proportions of the militia had engaged to serve ; and they accordingly, with many of the HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 135 troops, wished to be discharged. Bodies of ihem finally left the army, and retired to their homes ; so that Washington had barely three thousand left. 9. And then, the general distress was height- ened by the want of food, blankets, and tents for such as remained ; and stern winter had already set in. But in the midst of these affect- ing calamities, the patience and fortitude of Washington were the more conspicuous, and excited the wonder and admiration of all around him. He betrayed no symptoms of fear ; and the unyielding firmness and constancy which the army beheld in him, in that dark hour of his country's peril, served more than any other cause, perhaps, to inspire them with persevering confidence and hope of ultimate success. But Washington fixed on a plan which very soon changed the aspect of affairs. On the night of December 25th, with two thousand four hundred men, he crossed the Delaware in a storm of snow and rain, surprised a body of Hessians stationed at Trenton, and took nine hundred prisoners, without the loss of scarcely half a dozen of his men. This bold achieve- ment put new life into the American troops, and imbued them with a spirit which prepared them for future conquests. Washington next proceeded to Princeton, and on the 1st of January, 1777, engaged a party of the enemy with success ; more than one hun- dred of them were killed, and about three hun- dred more were taken prisoners. He soon after 136 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. carried his army into winter quarters at Morris- town. 10. We may now turn our attention from the contemplation of these warhke scenes, and notice some of the doings of congress, at the close of this year, 1776. On the 11th of De. cember, congress passed the following resolu- tion : — " Whereas the war in which the United States are engaged with Great Britain, has not only been prolonged, but it is likely to be car* ried to the greatest extremity ; and whereas it becomes all public bodies, as well as private persons, to revei-ence the providence of God, and look to him as the supreme disposer of all events, and the arbiter of the fate of nations ; therefore resolved, that it be recommended to all the United States, as soon as possible, to appoint a day of solemn fasting and humiliation, to implore of almighty God the forgiveness of the many sins prevailing among all ranks, and to beg the continuance and assistance of his provi- dence in the prosecution of this just and neces- sary war." 11. "The congress do also, in the most earnest manner, recommend to all the members of the United States, and particularly the officers, civil and miUtary, under them, the exercise of repentance and reformation ; and farther, require of them the strict observance of the articles of war, and particularly that part of the said arti- cles which forbids profane swearing, and all immorality, of which such officers are desired to take notice." HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 137 12. Articles of confederation were adopted this year by congress. By these articles it was agreed, that each state should reserve the right of forming laws for the regulation of its own government, while they were to contribute for the common defence of the whole. No alii- ances were to be made with any power, or government, nor to send ambassadors, or receive them from any other nation, without the consent of the United States. No presents were to be received from any foreign king or power, by any who held a com- mission from the United States ; and no titles of nobility were to be conferred by any indivi- dual state. Other regulations also were included in these articles, by which the powers and liber- ties of the several states were defined, and the relation described which each would sustain to the whole. CHAPTER XVII. Campaign of 1777. 1. The general congress took some efficient measures for the support of the American cause this year. They resolved to increase the army by enlisting men to serve for three years, or during the war, and they also made large emis- sions of money for meeting the expenses. Com- missioners were appointed, and sent to the court of France, for the purpose of soliciting from that 138 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. nation a loan of money and a supply of arms. This mission was successful. Very soon after a vessel from France arrived in Portsmouth, N. H., with more than eleven thousand stands of arms, and one thousand barrels of powder ; and about the same time ten thousand stands of arms arrived in another place. 2. These supphes came most opportunely for the American cause. A lamentable state of destitution of ammunition, as well as food and clothing, had in a number of cases greatly afflicted the American troops. Sometimes whole regiments were without a single blanket or tent in the most inclement part of the season, and they were often under the necessity of marching upon the frozen ground without shoes, and their bare feet were so lacerated and torn, that they marked the roads with their blood. 3. Those who had been made prisoners of w^ar during the past year, were doomed by their unfeeling enemies to endure greater hardships still. They were mostly confined in churches and ships in New-York, and during the severest part of a most rigorous winter they were de- prived of fire, and without clothes ; and fre- quently whole days passed when they were not supplied with a mouthful of food, and even when it was brought to them, it was .so damaged and loathsome, as to be unfit to be tasted ; so that numbers perished with hunger, still more with the disease produced by the food which ihey ate. And it is said of some of those mise- rable sufferers, thnt when they were released HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 139 to be exchanged, in attennpting to walk from the places of their confinement to the vessels ap- pointed to carry them away, they fell down and died in the streets, so greatly were they reduced by the complicated sufferings which they were compelled to endure. 4. Washington left his winter quarters near the end of May and proceeded to Middlebrook ; by this time his army had been augmented to near ten thousand. The British forces soon after left Brunswick, and General Howe by various movements endeavoured to draw Wash- ington from his plan, and involve him in a general engagement. Not succeeding in his attempts, he next proceeded to Staten Island. From this place he sailed with sixteen thousand troops on the 24th of July ; his design was kept concealed till on the 24th of August he landed at the head of Elk River, and being soon after joined by the troops under Grant and Knyphausen, the whole army, in two columns, marched directly for Philadelphia. 5. During the whole of this time Washington had been watching the movements of the enemy, and suspecting it was tlieir design to take pos- session of Philadelphia, he had brought nearly the whole of his army and placed them behind Red-Clay Creek, on the road directly between the British camp and the city. On the 11th of September the two forces met, and after an un- equal engagement, which continued nearly the whole day, the Americans were compelled to re- tire, and a retreat was ordered to Chester. In this 140 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. battle the Americans lost three hundred killed, and about six hundred were wounded, and more than half of these were made prisoners. The loss of the British was one hundred killed, and four hundred wounded. 6. Two foreign officers fought in this battle, the Marquis de la Fayette, and Count Pulaski, a nobleman from Poland ; the former was Avounded in the leg while endeavouring to rally some of the Americans, who were turning their backs to the enemy. These valiant men had left their native soil to assist the opprest in asserting their rights against the tyranny of foreign foes. As this battle was scarcely considered deci- sive on either side, movements were made again immediately for another. Accordingly they met at Goshen, September 16th, but a heavy shower of rain separated the advanced parties, who had begun to skirmish. As the powder in the car- tridge boxes of the Americans became wet, the whole army was compelled to retire. 7. But we must now leave Washington and his army a few moments, and turn our attention to the north, as a number of events have already taken place there which are worthy of notice. In the fall of 1776 there was a severe engage- ment between the naval forces of the Americans, under General Arnold, and of the British, under Sir Guy Carleton, on Lake Champlain. The action lasted about an hour, and the enemy, not being able to bring the whole of their force into the engagement, retired. The action was re- nevved the next day, when the Americans, HISTORY or THE UNITED STATES. 141 having bravely defended themselves against a superior force as long as there appeared to be any possibility of success, run their vessels upon the shore, and set them on fire. 8. The next spring a plan was matured in England, at the instance of General Burgoyne, for the invasion of the northern states, by which it was supposed all intercourse with the colo- nies would be effectually cut off between New- England and the southern and middle states, and a communication opened for the British between Canada and New- York. By this means it was thought the country would be easily divided and subdued. For the execution of this project, seven thousand choice troops, beside a powerful train of artillery, and several tribes of Indians, were placed under the command of General Burgoyne, and a number of officers of distin- guished abilities were selected to aid him in the enterprise. On the first of July he landed, and proceeded immediately to invest Ticonderoga. The American garrison, under the command of Gen. St. Clair, amounted to about three thousand men ; at this time they were short of provisions, the only alternative for them therefore was to submit or abandon the fort. They accordingly left it on the 5th : they were closely pursued into Vermont, and from thence to Hudson River. la their march, however, the rear of the army was overtaken and attacked by the British. The ac- tion was severe on both sides for awhile, when others of the enemy arriving, the Americana made a rapid retreat. 142 HISTORY OF Till: UMTJiD STATES. 9. Soon after, these joined General Schuyler at Fort Edward : the whole army retired to Sara- toga, thence to Bridgewater, and the British still continuing to pursue them, they retreated on the 14th of August to Van Shaick's Island, a few miles north of Troy. General Burgoyne with a considerable body of his troops, after he took possession of Ticon- deroga, proceeded to Skeensborough, and de- stroyed a quantity of military stores which had been deposited there. Then he went to Fort Edward ; and while he stayed there he sent a large detachment of his troops, with one hun- dred Indians for the same purpose, to Benning- ton, Vermont. 10. In this attempt, however, he was totally defeated. Col. Baum, who commanded this de- tachment, on his arrival near Bennington, learn- ing that the Americans were prepared to give him a warm reception, halted and sent back to Burgoyne for a reinforcement. At this titne General Slark, who was on his way to join General Schuyler, hearing of Baum's attempt, proceeded immediately to Bennington, where he united his miUtia with a company of Green Mountain Boys, and marched on the 16th of August to attack Baum in his intrenchments. A fierce and bloody battle followed : for two hours the contest was dreadful, till finally the enemy took to flight, after the most of them were killed or made prisoners. At this moment the reinforcement from Burgoyne arrived, and tlie action was renewed ; and happily for the HISTORV OF THE UNITED STATES. 143 Americans, a company at this juncture arrived from Manchester, under Col. Warner : the battle was continued till sunset, when the British fled with the loss of about seven hundred in killed and wounded ; the Americans lost about one hundred. 11. The news of this decisive victory soon diffused new confidence and encouragement through the United States. The clouds of mis- fortune which before had seemed to lower upon the destiny of the nation were now dissipated, and the rainbow of promise arched the heavens in their place. The prospects of the Americans continued to brighten : the garrison at Fort Schuyler under Colonels Gansevoort and Willet, under circum- stances the most discouraging, made a successful defence against the powerful forces of St. Leger. Burgoyne, after the defeat which his detach- ment suffered at Bennington, found himself under the necessity of sending to Fort George for his provisions. After accomplishing this difficult labour, he removed his army and encamped about four miles from the Americans, now com- manded by General Gates, who had succeeded Gen. Schuyler. A few days after, the scouting parties of the two armies had a number of skir- mishes, which were continued till about the whole of both armies were engaged. A most obstinate and destructive battle ensued ; each party pre- vailed by turns, till night ended the conflict. In this engagement three hundred and nineteen Americans were killed, and of the British more 144 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. than five hundred. The victory was too deci- sive on the part of the Americans, not to be felt in mortification by their enemies generally. 12. The army of Burgoyne was still distressed for the want of provisions, and discouragements pressed upon them from other quarters. They now made an attempt to retreat to the lakes, but General Gates discovered it, and a sudden and hot engagement ensued. It was more fierce and bloody on both sides than the former. As night approached, the enemy began to give way ; two hundred of them were made prisoners, and night again forced the parties to retire. 13. Burgoyne, now perceiving the danger to which he was exposed, retreated to the heights of Saratoga. Gates, placing a suflicient force on the east bank of the river to keep him from crossing, immediately commenced pursuit. The enemy attempted to escape to Fort George, but they soon found that there Avas no direction which they could take, which was not too pow- erfully guarded with strong bodies of militia.-r- To retreat was impossible, and they had not suf- ficient provision to last them three days. In this extremity a council of war was called. While they were deliberating, it is said a can- non ball, from one of the American field pieces, passed across the table around which they were sitting. 14. The council unanimously advised a ne^ gotiation with the American general, and accord- ingly on the 17th of October, 1777, the whole British army, to the number of fiv • 9 Relate the circumstance which took place in Provi- dence at the commencement of the revolutionary From what facts does it appear that the United States were before Great Britain m their eitorts to abolish slavery ? „ .. ■ • And how does it appear that Great Britain is now before us in this good work ? 10 What circumstances occurred which seemed likely to involve the United States in difficulty about this time ? . 11. What measures were taken on these apprelien- sions ? What finally terminated them ? ■ ■ ,u 12. What led to an insurrection in Pennsylvania in the summer of 1794? How was it suppressed ? ,.,.,. 13 What were some of the reasons which induced Washington to decline standing for an election the third time to the office of president of the United States ? • • 17qc7 What state was admitted into the union in 179b ! 14. How did Washington signify his design to retire from public life ? What may be said of this address ? , . , 15. Give the substance of the paragraph quoted here ! 16 What is the substance of this quotation 7 17 What is exhibited in the lan^age of this address ? What reflections does it suggest concerning the man who uttered it ? When did Washington die? Where did this event take place ? How did it affect the nation ? , , . , What means were adopted to express the high sense which was every where entertained of his worth ? 270 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XXIII. 1. Who was the next president of the United states? Wiiat do you observe concerning his first speech ? 2. What interested the attention of congress soon after Mr. Adams came into office ? For what purpose had Mr. Pinkney been appointed minister to the court of France ? 3. What reception did he meet with there? 4. What did congress next do ? 5. What kind of a reception did the next ministers meet with ? 6. How did a knowledge of this affect the people throughout the United States ? When was this difficulty finally settled ? What engagement was fought just before this ? 7. Describe the District of Columbia. When was the seat of government removed to Washington ? 8. Who was the next president ? Who was elected vice president ? What have you to remark concerning the adminis- tration of Mr. Adams ? What concerning Mr. Jefferson's speech ? 9. What are the sentiments here quoted from it? 10. What are those quoted here ? 11. What does he farther say ? 12. What led to the war wiih the Algerines? What was done to chasten them for their insolence ? 13. Describe the enterprise which was undertaken by Captain Eaton. How did he succeed ? 14. What particulars are here detailed concerning him? 15. When was Ohio admitted into the union ? What ordinance was previously passed by congress concerning this state ? When was Mr. Jefferson inducted into office the second time ? Who was chosen vice president for this term ? HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 271 16. What noted event occurred in the summer of 1807? 17. What measures were soon after taken to redress this wrong ? 18. What induced congress to lay an embargo upon all vessels within its jurisdiction about this time ? What warlike preparations were adopted about this time ? 19. Who was tried on a charge of treason against the United States, in 1807 ? What led to suspicion against him ? 20. What is said here concerning the embargo law ? CHAPTER XXIV. 1. Who succeeded Mr. Jefferson in the presidency? When was Mr. Madison inducted into office ? What rendered the situation of the United States particularly gloomy and critical at this time ? 2. To what subjects did the president call the attention of congress in June, 1812 ? 3. What important question did he submit to their con- sideration ? What bill was passed by the house of representa- tives, June 4th ? When did it pass the senate ? When was war declared by the president of the Uni- ted States against Great Britain ? 4. What were the views taken of this measure by the committee on foreign relations ? 5. What were the views of the minority in the house of representatives concerning this step ? 6. What measures were next adopted for carrying on this war ? What were the views and feelings of many in the nation at tliis time ? 7. What difficulties lay in the way of our success in this war ? 8. Who was appointed commander-in-chief? 272 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. What important event occurred in the fall of 1812 ? 9. What served to lessen the grief occasioned by this event ? Mention some of them. 10. What other naval battles were fought soon after ? What were the results of some of them ? 11. Describe the battle fought by Commodore Decatur soon after the above-mentioned battles. What class of men have long been proverbial for their generosity ? Give an instance which occurred after the above battle. 12. Give the particulars of a battle fought on the 29th of December between the Constitution and Java. How was the American army divided and stationed at this time ? 13. What extra measures were taken in the fall of 1812 for carrying on the war ? For what purpose did the president call upon the several governors of the states ? How was this call obeyed ? 14. What important event took place on March 4th» 1813? Mention some of the military operations of this year» 15. When and how was Fort George taken ? What took place soon after ? 16. By what means was the United States frigate Che- sapeake captured ? How was this event viewed by the British ? 17. Describe some of the naval engagements which followed the above in August and September. 18. What took place at Cranby Island ? 19. Give an account of the battle on Lake Erie. 20. What farther account can you give of it ? 21. What enterprise was soon after undertaken by General Harrison? 22. How did he succeed ? 23. What put a conclusion to the Indian war in the west ? HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 273 CHAPTER XXV. 1. What led to the appointment of comniissionors on the part of the United States to meet at St. Pe- tersburgh ? 2. What was done on the second Thursday in Sep- tember, 1813? What have you to observe concerning the move- ments of the Indians at the south ? 3. How were they brought to terms of peace ? 4. What measures were adopted for the farther prose- cution of the war in December, 1813 ? 5. What intelligence was communicated to congress at this session ? What did congress do upon this? 6. Give some account of the naval engagements which were fought in the beginning of the year 1814. 7. When and where was the first regular pitched bat- tle fought during this war ? Give an account of it. 8. Give me some account of the battle which was fought near the Niagara Falls, July 25. What served to render the scene of this battle most solemn and awful ? 9. What loss was sustained by both sides in the above battle ? What ineffectual attempt was made soon after by the enemy ? How did this attempt terminate ? 10. Why did the movements of the British navy now particularly attract the attention of the American nation ? What events occurred in August, 1814 ? 11. Give an account of the capture of the United States capital. Give an account of the attack on the city of Balti- more. 12. What were the warlike movements in the town of Plattsburg about this time ? 13. Give me an account of the different naval forces on Lake Champlain. 18 274 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 14. When and how was this battle commenced? How did it terminate on the lake ? 15. How did the battle terminate upon the land ? 16. What measure was proposed by the Massachusetts legislature with the view of relieving the nation from existing troubles ? 17. Where and when did this convention meet? Give me some account of its doings ? 18. When was the battle of New-Orleans fought? How was this battle brought about ? 19. Give an account of this battle. 20. What officers of the enemy were killed ? How many were lost by each party? 21. W^hat events followed soon after the above battle ? 22. What important event occurred in June of this year ? What led to the war with Algiers ? What important stipulation was made in the treaty of peace with England ? In what language was it expressed ? When was Indiana admitted into the uni