y^ fj^i*^ '■■«r J^]/^^tiJ[E v0L£K^- '^ '^■f^Mkm/^. '^' IL^f)Oo ' '> I ■t^ '^ / PICTORIA.I. HISTORY OF THE WARS OF / THE UNITED STATES: COMPEISINO A Complete History of all the Wars of the Country. EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME ; INCLTJDINO THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS, THE WAR OF THE REYOLUTION, THAT OF 1812, THE SEMINOLE WAR, AND THE LATE WAR WITH MEXICO; EMBRACING THE BRILLIANT CAREER OP WASHINGTON, 'R-ATNE, JACKSON, TAYLOR, SCOTT, AND THEIR NOBLE COilPATRIOTS. BY JOHX LEDYAKD DEOTSON, A. M. Illustrated, witla nLnmerous Engravings, BAXY OF WHICH ARK BEAUTIFULLY COLORED, CONSISTING OF PORTRAITS OF DlSTINGUISHBr MILITARY COMMANDERS, LIFE-LIKE KEPRESENTATIOXS OF THE PRINCIPAL BATTLES, ETC., FROM DESIGNS BY LOSSING, DABLKY% AND OTHEB CELEBRATED ARTISTS. SOLD ONLY BY DISTRIBUTINa AGENTS. CINCINNATI, 0.: PUBLISHED BY W. II. BURTIS &: CO. 1860. Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1S59, BY HENET BILL, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Connecticut I ^'^ Lx j^ A. ALVOP.P. rRl.tTER. NEW YORK. PREFACE. |IIE importance of military organization for the preservation of national independence and the defence of the soU, is a sufficient reason for detaching this portion of the his- tory of our country from its political and social annals. In detailing the principal incidents in our military history, the chief objects are to show the necessity of discipline, courage, and patriotism, to preserve the national spirit, to excite emulation among those upon whom the public defence will hereafter devolve, and to exhibit the necessity of military preparation in times of peace. In recording the great events which mark our national progress, care has been exercised to intersi^erse suitable bio- graphical sketches of the men who have acted a noble part in the great drama; and the varied and romantic fortunes that have attended them, together with the \acissitudes of our patriot armies, and the sudden rise of the nation to one of the first powers of the earth, cannot faU to impress the reader with the distinguished marks of Divine favor that have ever attended the defenders of our liberty. It is only within a recent period that the warlike resources and power of the United States have been justly appreciated. 4 PREFACE. The late contest with Mexico has called the attention of our own people, and of foreign nations, more particularly to that branch of our history ; and inquiring minds are directing their thoughts to the military career of a people who have conducted a war for the most part in a foreign territory, and by forces mainly composed of raw troops, — a war in which every battle was fought against superior numbers, and in which every battle was a victory, — a war in which the American troops were suc- cessful in every department of warlike enterpi-ise — in scientific as well as in physical movements — in that which depends on military genius and attainment, as well as in that where per- sonal courage is more especially demanded. The authorities which have been consulted are chiefly those contemporary with the several events, and many of the ac- counts are given in the words of eye-witnesses. The engrav- ings have been collected with great care, and nothing has been left undone to render the volume worthy of the American people. JOHN L. DENISON. -~7".~^^^ CONTENTS. PAGE Chapter I. — French and Indian Wars 5 Chapter II. — Commencement of the Revolutionary War 39 Chapter III. — Expedition to- Canada 55 Chapter IV. — Campaign of 1776 61 Chapter V. — Campaign of 1777 96 Chapter Y1. — Northern Campaign of 1777 121 Chapter VII. — Campaign of 1778 141 Chapter VIII. — Campaign of 1779 163 Chapter IX.— Campaign of 1780 187 Chapter X. — Campaign of 1781 223 Chapter XI. — Close of the Revolution 248 Chapter XII. — The Campaign in Africa 259 Chapter XIII. — The North-west War, and the Tippecanoe War 266 Cuaptek XIV.— Causes of the war of 1812 275 Chapter XV.— Campaign of 1812 280 Chapter XVI. — Northern Campaign of 1813 313 Chapter XVII. — Eastern and Southern Campaign of 1813' 345 Chapter XVIII. — Northern Campaign of 1814 375 Chapter XIX. — Eastern and Southern Campaign of 1814 405 Chapter XX.— Black Hawk"s War 457 Chapter XXI.— The Seminole Wars 464 Chapter XXII.— The Mexican War.— The Central Army 473 Chapter XXIII.— The Mexican War.— The Army of the West 50i) Chapter XXIV.— The Mexican War.— The Southern Array 522 CHAPTER I. French and Indian Wars. HE first discoverers of the American continent found it inhabited by a distinct variety of the human race hitherto unknoA^Ti to Europe, and as tlie new regions ^^ were supposed to belong to the East Indies, the natives were called Indians. Excepting some of the central tribes, they all were probably uncivilized, and although divided into petty communities, were linked together into confederacies. Codes of laws and courts 6 INDIAN DIFFICULTIES. of justice were unknown among them, and nothing but the blood of the aggressor could give satisfaction. Their mode of warfare was peculiar to themselves, and to surprise their foes, to create and take advantage of a sudden alarm, were the principal points of their tactics. Their warfare was carried on mostly in small parties, as they feared a fair and open contest. Without literature of any kind, their only edu- cation was derived from observation, and so attentive were they to every mark and track, that they were able to trace the footsteps of their enemies with accuracy, tell their numbers, the time when they passed, and to what nation they belonged. Their captives were either adopted into the tribes of their captors or put to death with all the tortures that savage inge- nuity could invent, or human fortitude endure. How often did TBO0BLES OF THE EARLY SETTLEBS. the settler return from the field to see his house in flames, and his wife and little ones falling victims to the barbarous scalp- ing-knife or the hoi'rid tomahawk ! For them to be annoyed by such an enemy would seem to unite them for their common CAUSES OF FRENOn WAR. defence. But so far from tliis, considering themselves the rep- resentatives of two rival nations, they contended for the ascen- dency. The French foi-med close alliances with the Indians, and with these auxiliaries, often carried fire and sword into the TRADING WITH THE INDIANS. English colonies. This imminent danger roused them from tlieir inactivity, and the assistance of the parent country was sought in securing to themselves immunity from such foes. 8 BREAKING OUT OF WAR. And so from petty differences of local interest the contest arose to one of national importance, and the bi'each between the two nations widened rapidly. The English claimed the entire seacoast from Nova Scotia to Florida, and many of their grants of land, before the French settled in the Valley of the Mississippi, extended westward to the Pacific Ocean. The French founded their claim upon their exploration and actual occupation of the country. They had settled Canada and Acadia, had long occupied Detroit, had fixed themselves at Kaskaskia and Viucennes, and along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. But a royal grant, conferring upon an association called the Ohio Company six hundred thousand acres of land near the river Ohio, led the Governor of Canada to suspect that the English intended to deprive the French of the trade with the Twightees, and cut off their communication between Canada and Louisiana. His letters to the goveraors of New York and Pennsylvania claimed that English traders had encroached upon the French territory by trading with their Indians, and threatened to seize them if they did not desist. While the Oliio Company were surveying their grant, a French party seized three traders, and carried them to a strong fort at Presque Isle, on Lake Erie. To retaliate this violence done to their allies, the indignant Twightees scoured the woods, and finding three French traders, sent them to Pennsylvania. The alleged intrusion of the Ohio Company was the immediate cause of the renewal of hostilities between France and England. The French built a fort upon a branch of the Ohio, and an- ther at its junction with the Wabash — thus comj)leting the long- desired communication between the St. Lawrence and tlie moiith of the Mississippi. The Ohio Company complaining loudly of these aggressions upon a tract granted to them as a part of Virginia, the gover- nor of that colony, Robert Din^dddie, felt called upon to de- mand of the French commander of the western posts a vnth- drawal of his troojis. To conduct this embassy to the French officer was, however, a difficult and dangerous service, as the WASHINGTON" AND ST. PIERRE, season was unusually severe, and as half of the route, or two hundred miles, lay through a region inhabited by savages un- friendly to the English. Nothing daunted, however, by the gloomy prospect, George Washington undertook the delicate and perilous mission. Unattended save by a single person, he set out from Williamsburgh on the 31st of October, and on the 12th of December arrived at a strong fort, the head-quarters of the commandant on the Ohio, M. Dagardier De St. Pierre, Washington's interview with st. fiebbe. who received him politely, and to whom he delivered the letter of Governor Dinwiddle. The officers retirmg for consulta- tion, the sagacious Washington seized the opportunity of tak- ing the dimensions and observing the condition of the fort. On his way back, he narrowly escaped fi-om a party of Indians, one of whom, at a short distance, fired upon him, but fortu- nately missed him. While crossing a river, he was thrown from a raft by the ice, and barely escaped from being drowned. On his arrival at Williamsburgh, the letter of St. Pierre was 10 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR, oj^ened. He refused to withdraw the troops, asserting that he acted by orders from the Governor-general of Canada. This reply being unsatisfactory, preparations were made in Virginia to enforce the claims of the British crown. The Oliio Company sent thirty men to build a fort at the junction of the Alleghany with the Monongahela, and early in the spring a regi- ment under Washington advanced into the disputed territory. The men of the Ohio Company had just commenced their fort, when they were driven off by tlie French, who completed the works, and called the place Fort Du Quesne. Having defeated rUROWING UP FOKT NECESSITY. a party of French on his route, and built a small fort, which he called Fort Necessity, Wasliiugton, ■\\ith four hundred men, proceeded towards Fort Du Quesne, but hearing that De Vil- liers was advancing from tliat point witli nine hundred men to attack him, he returned to Fort Necessity, where he was soon beseiged by nearly fifteen hundred of the enemy. After an obstinate defence of ten hours, he was offered the most honor- able terms of capitulation, which he accepted, and, with his gallant little band, returned unmolested to Virginia. On the very day of the surrender, a convention sitting at Albany adopted a plan of Dr. Franklin for a union of the colo- PEEPARATIOFS FOR WAR. 11 nies for the general defence. The general government was to be administered by a governor-general of royal appointment, and a council of delegates from the colonial assemblies. The covernor-areneral had a negative on the acts of the council, and all laws were to be submitted to the king for his ratification. The plan was rejected both by the colonial legislatures and by the parliament, and it was determined to carry on the war with British troops, and such as might be furnished by the colonial assemblies. Early in 1755, General Braddock, a brave and deserving officer, with two regiments, arrived from Ireland, as com- mander-in-chief of the British and provincial forces. In April, he met in convention the colonial governors, assembled at his request in Virginia, to confer upon the plan of the ensuing campaign. Three expeditions were resolved on — one against Fort Du Quesne, under Braddock himself; one against forts Niagara and Frontignac, under Governor Shirley; and one against Crown Point, under General Johnson. During the preparations for these expeditions, another, pre- viously concerted, was carried on against the forts in Nova Scotia, these being considered as encroachments upon the Eng- lish territory. Two thoiisand militia, under Colonel Monck- ton, embarked at Boston, and, joined on their passage by three hundred regulars, reached in April the place of their destina- tion. In a short time, and with the loss of but three men, the English gained possession of the province, according to their own definitions of its boundaries. On the 10th of June, General Braddock set out from Fort Cumberland with a force of British regulars and provincials amounting to a little more than two thousand. Fearing a re- inforcement at Fort Du Quesne, he hastened on with tAvelve hundred chosen men, while Colonel Dunbar followed slowly in the rear with the main body and the heavy baggage. On the morning of the 9th of July, when the army was in the vicinity of Fort Du Quesne, the provincial scouts discovered a large party of French and Indians in ambush. Washington, now acting as aid to General Braddock, modestly suggested 12 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR, the danger to be apprehended from their mode of warfare, and begged for permission to place himself at the head of the Vir- ginia riflemen, and fight them in their own way. Braddock had always manifested supreme contempt for the provincials, oflicers as well as soldiers. "High times! high times!" he ex- claims, " when a young buckskin teaches a British general how to fight."* The troops were ordered to advance in columns through the woods, and in a little time the ruin foretold by Washington ensued. Their front was sud- denly fired on by an unseen foe, and, unused to Indian war- fare, was thrown into confu- sion. After this the comman- der of the enemy fell, and a cessation of the fire led General Braddock to suppose that their foes had fled. Delusive hope ! Soon from behind trees, logs, and rocks was poured the in- cessant, deadly storm. The soldiers fell in heaps on every side, nor could the survivors tell Adhere to direct their aim to revenge the deaths of their comrades, or prevent their own. Their general was brave and ob- stinate, and instead of retreating a little and forming anew, per- sisted in his vain attempts to rally his men on the very spot where they were first attacked, until three horses were killed under him. Every mounted oflicer fell except Washington, and Braddock himself was mortally wounded, when the rout of his troops became laniversal. Nearly half of the privates, and about three-fourths of the officers, were either killed or wound- ed. Though the despised provmcials had been placed in the * Gallup. INDIAN ■WARr.iaR. EXPEDITION AGAINST CROWN POINT. 13 rear, they alone, led on by Washington, advanced against the Indians, covered the retreat, and saved the army from total destruction. The flying troops met those of Dunbar forty QKNEBAX BBADDOCK'9 RETREAT, miles in the rear, and so great was the panic of the latter, that they never halted until safe within the walls of Fort Cumber- land. The expedition against Crown Point had been intrusted to General Johnson, afterwards Sir William Johnson. In the summer, about six thousand men, under General Lyman, as- sembled at the carrying place between Lake George and the Hudson, and built and named Fort Lyman, afterwards called Fort Edward. In the latter part of August, Johnson arrived, assumed the command, and proceeded to the head of Lake George, where he learned that nearly two thousand French and Indians were marchmg from Crown Point to attack Fort Edward. But when near the fort, their commander, Baron Dieskau, at the request of the Indians, who greatly dreaded the English cannon, changed his route, intending to attack the 14 FALL OF COL. WILLIAMS. cainp of Johnson. Meanwhile Jolinson had sent out a thou- sand provincials under Colonel Williams, and two hundred Indians under the great and wise Hendricks, a chief of the Mohawks, to intercept the enemy on their return from Fort Edward. The English, drawn into ambush, were overpowered by numbers, and driven back with great loss. Williams and Hendricks were killed. The firing was heard in Johnson's camp, and warned by its near approach of the defeat of Wil- liams, he threw up a breastwork of trees, and mounted some FALL OF COLONEL WILLIAMS, cannon which he had two days before received fi'om Fort Edward. Scarcely had the fugitives arrived in the camp, when the enemy appeared, and commenced a brisk attack ; but their unexpected reception by the English cannon soon lowered their spirit : the militia and Indians fled, and the regulars were ordered to retreat. Wounded and alone, Dieskau was found leaning upon the stump of a tree. While feeling for his watch, WAR DECLARED. 15 for the purpose of surrendering it, an Englishman, thinking that he Avas seeking for a pistol, fired upon him, inflicting a mortal wound. This victory raised the spirits of the colonists from the depression occasioned by the defeat of General Brad- dock ; but the advantage was not improved according to their expectation. At his place of encampment, Johnson built a fort, which he called Fort William Henry. It was deemed ad- visable not to advance further. Commissioners from Massa- chusetts and Connecticut met with the Governor of New York, and it was unanimously agreed that Johnson's army should be discharged, excepting six hundred men to garrison Fort Ed- ward and Fort "William Henry. Thus ended the campaign of 1755, Great preparations had been made, but not one of the objects of the three expeditions had been accomplished. The plan for the campaign of 1756 was concerted by a coun- cil of war assembled by General Shirley, successor to General Braddock as commander-in-chief of all the forces. Like that of the preceding year, it contemplated the reduction of Fort Du Quesne, Crown Point, and Niagara. Lord Loudon, ap- pointed by the king to the supreme command of his forces in America, not being able to leave immediately. General Aber- crombie, a distinguished oflficer, was sent before him to com- mand the troops till his arrival. In May and June following, war was formally declared — first by Gi-eat Britain, and after- wards by France. Much delay was experienced, and even after the arrival of Loudon, no step of importance was taken. While the English were adjusting difierences, and debating whether to attack one fort or another, Montcalm, the successor of Dieskau as com- mander-in-chief of the French, marched against Oswego with five thousand men — French, Canadians, and Indians. With more than thirty pieces of cannon, he laid siege to Fort Onta- rio, on the east side of the Oswego River. A vigorous but short defence ensued ; the fort was abandoned, the garrison retiring to the old fort on the west side. It numbered about fifteen hun- dred men, who soon surrendered themselves prisoners of Avar. Vessels, provisions, and miUtary stores, including one hundred 16 FKENOH WAR. and thirty-four pieces of cannon, fell into the hands of the enemy. The fort had been an object of jealousy to the Five Nations, and Montcalm wisely demolished it in their presence. Encouraged by the defeat of Braddock, and incited by the French, the Indians on the western frontier killed or carried into capti\*ity great numbers of the inhabitants. Colonel Arm- strong, with nearly three hundred men, marched upon Kitta- ning, their chief town on the Alleghany. Though surprised, the Indians, refusing quarter, fought with great bravery. The principal chiefs were slain, the town was destroyed, and eleven captives were recovered. The remainder of the year passed away, and none of the great objects of the campaign were ac- complished. Rejecting the complex plans of former campaigns, Loudon resolved to employ all his forces in the reduction of Louisburg, With this view, he sailed from New York with six thousand regulars for Halifax, where he was joined by a powerful fleet under Admiral Holbourn, and a land force of five thousand men from England. He was soon informed, however, of the preparations made by the French for the defence of Louisburg, and perceiving it useless to contend against such a force, re- turned to New York. During these transactions, Montcalm, collecting his forces at Ticonderoga, advanced with nine thousand men, of whom two thousand were Indians, and laid siege to Fort William Henry. The garrison at this place, under Colonel Monro, consisted of more than two thousand regulars. The works were strong, and for further security. General Webb was stationed at Fort Edward, fifteen miles distant, Avith four thousand men. The brave garrison held out for six days, anxiously waiting for re- inforcement from Fort Edward, until informed that no reUef would be attempted, and their ammunition began to fail, when they were obliged to surrender by capitulation. For their bravery they were to be allowed the honors of war, and an escort until wdthin the reach of Fort Edward. But the next morning many of the Indians admitted within the lines began to plunder, and meeting no resistance, fell upon the sick and MASSACRE AT FORT WILLIAM HENRY. 17 wounded, whom they immediately massacred. Their appetite for carnage tlius aroused, they attacked the defenceless troops Avith the fury of fiends. Monro iu vain implored Montcalm to furnish the stipulated guard, and the massacre proceeded in all its turbulence and horror, savages everywhere butchering and scalping their victims. Their hideous yells, mingled with the groans of the dying, and the shrieks of men shrinking from the upraised tomahawk, were heard by the French unmoved, and fifteen hundred were killed or carried into captivity. Such is MASSACRE AT FORT WILLIAM HENRY. the common version of this affair; but some writers, with greater pi'obability, believe that Montcalm and his officers used every means, except that of firing upon the Indians, to arrest the massacre. The next year was not destined, like its predecessors, to pass away without important results in favor of the English. A new administration was formed, and Mr. Pitt, afterwards Lord Chatham, was placed at its head. To raise men and provide transports, great and successful exertions were made in Amer- ica. Nor was the mother country less active. She dispatched Admiral Boseawen to Halifax with a formidable squadron, and 2 18 SURRENDER OF LOUISBURGH. a force of twelve tliousand men. Three expeditions wei-e planned : one against Louisburgh, one against Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and one against Fort Da Quesne. On tlie first of these, Admiral Boscawen sailed from Halifax, with thirty-eight vessels, and fourteen thousand men under General Amherst, and on the 2d of June arrived before Louisburgh. SURRENDER OF LOUISBURGH. Having effected a landing, General Wolfe was sent to seize a post of the enemy at Lighthouse Point, whence their ships and fortifications might be greatly annoyed. On the approach of Wolfe, the post was abandoned by the enemy, and batteries CROSSING LAKE GEORGE. 19 were erected by their opponents. Approaches were made on the opposite side of the town, and the siege pressed with vigor, though with great caution. A very heavy cannonade being kept up against the town and shipping in the harbor, a bomb at length blew up one of the largest ships, and the flames were communicated to two others, which were also destroyed. Bos- cawen now sent six hundred men in boats to make attempts upon two ships of the line, one of which being aground was destroyed, and the other towed off in triumph. This truly gallant exploit gave possession of the harbor, and the governor offered to capitulate. The French were compelled to surren- der the city. Island Royal, and St. John's, and themselves as prisoners of war. Two hundred and twenty-one cannon, and eighteen mortars, with other military stores, were found by the conquerors. ABEKCROMBIE CHOSSINtt LAKF. GKOKQE. In the mean time. General Abercrombie, successor to Lord Loudon, was advancing upon Ticonderoga. Embarking on Lake George, with more than fifteen thousand men and a for- 20 DEATH OF LORD HOWE. mid able train of artillery, he landed on the borders of a cove in the northwestern portion of the lake, whence he marched upon the advanced guard of the French, consisting of a single battalion posted in a camp ol logs, destroying what he could, and making a hasty retreat. While marching in the "woods towards Ticonderoga, the columns became confused and en- tangled with each other. At this critical juncture, Lord Howe, at the head of the right center column, met a part of the ad- vanced guard of the enemy, which had been lost in the wood while retreating from Lake George, attacked it immediately, but was himself killed at the first fire. The enemy were routed. DEATH OF LORD HOWE. but the victory was dearly bought by the loss of that much- admired and valuable ofiicer, Avho has been well called " the soul of the expedition." Learning from his prisoners the strength of the fort at Ticon- deroga, and assured by his chief engineer that the intreuch- ments were unfinished, Abercrombie again advanced to attack the place. The troops having been ordered to march up FORT FRONTIGNAO TAKEI^. 21 briskly, rushed upon the enemy's fire, and reservhig their own till they had passed a breastwork, moved to the assault with great intrepidity. But an unlooked-for obstacle was encoun- tered. In front of the breastwork, trees had been felled with their branches outward, many of them sharpened to a point. The assailants were retarded, entangled in the branches, and exposed to a most galling fire. After a contest of nearly four hours, a retreat was ordered, the English leaving nearly two thousand killed or wounded upon the field of battle. This failure was followed by a new and highly successful expedition against Fort Frontignac, which was proposed by Colonel Bradstreet. The fort in question, situated on the north side of the St. Lawrence, just where it issues from Lake Ontario, was the key to the communication between Canada and Louisiana, and the general depot ot stores for the enemy's western and southern posts. Late in the evening of the 25th of August, Colonel Bradstreet, having been dispatched by Abercrombie with three thousand men, landed within a mile of the fort. An attack at this point had not been anticipated. The garrison of one hundred and ten men, with a few Indians, could not hold out long. Bradstreet posted his mortars so near the fort that every shell told, and the commander was> soon forced to surrender at discretion. Sixty pieces of cannon, and other military stores, provisions,^and nine armed vessels, were among the fruits of this victory. The expedition against Fort Da Quesne, under General Forbes, was greatly delayed. Early in July he set out from Philadelphia with nine thousand men. It was September be- fore Washington, with the Virginia troops, was ordered to join the main body at Ray's Town. An advanced party, com- manded by Major Grant, was attacked near the fort, and de- feated with a loss of three hundred men. As the main body advanced, the French, deserted by the Indians, escaped down the Ohio the evening before the arrival of the English. The latter took possession of the* fort, and in honor of Mr. Pitt, changed its name to Pittsburgh. The western Indians soon afterwards concluded a peace with the English. The inhabit- 22 PROJECT OF PITT. ants of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania were thus re- leased from the terrors of the torch, the tomahawk, and the scalping-knife. The results of the campaign were important, and honorable alike to England and her colonies. Its success was principally owing to the talents of Mr. Pitt, and to the confidence reposed in them both in England and America. The governors of the Northern colonies so promptly obeyed the requisitions of his circular letter in 1757, that by May of the following year, Massachusetts had seven thousand, New Hampshire three thousand, and Connecticut five thousand men ready to take the field. This campaign, though successful and glorious, exhausted the strength of the American provinces, and when a circular from Mr. Pitt to the governors led the colonies to resolve upon the most vigorous preparations for the next, they found their resources by no means commensurate Avith their zeal. In spite of this difficulty, it was resolved to carry out the magnificent project of Pitt for the complete conquest of Canada in a single campaign. The plan was, that three powerful ai-mies should enter the French territories by three different routes, and attack their strongholds nearly at the same time. Briga- dier-general Wolfe, a young officer who had distinguished him- self at Louisburgh, was to ascend the St, Lawrence and lay siege to Quebec, escorted by a powerful fleet to co-operate with his troops. The central and main army of British and provin- cials was to march upon Ticonderoga and Crown Point, under General Amherst, now commander-in-chief, who had acquired a very high reputation in the siege of Louisburgh. This able officer, after becoming master of these places, was to proceed over Lake Champlain, and by way of the Richelieu River, to the St. Lawrence, and deseending the latter, unite with General Wolfe before the walls of Quebec. A third army, chiefly of provincials, aided by a strong Indian force, was to be led by General Prideaux against Niagara, and after reducing that place, to proceed down the lake and river against Montreal. Early in the winter. General Amherst began to prepare for his part of the enterprise, but it was almost summer before his RUINS OF TICONDEROGA. 23 troops assembled at Albany, and as late as the 22d of July when he arrived, with more than eleven thousand men, before Ticonderoga. As France had been prevented by the naval superiority of Great Britain from sending out reinforcements, none of the posts in this section could ^dthstand so great a force as that of General Amherst. While he was preparing for the attack, the French abandoned their lines, and retired to KUINS OF TICONDEKOGA. the fort. This also they soon abandoned, and retired to Crown Point. General Amherst advanced upon this post, and tlie garrison retired to Isle aux Noix, in the river Sorel. After constructing vessels to acquire a naval superiority on the lake, the army embarked in pursuit of the enemy, but adverse storms compelled them to return and go into winter-quarters at Crown Point ; otherwise they would probably have effected the proposed junction with Wolfe at Quebec. 24 EEDUOTION OF NIAGARA. General Prideaux, intrusted with the enterprise against Ni- agara, proceeding by the way of Schenectady and Oswego, embarked on Lake Ontario, and on the 6th of July landed without opposition about three miles from the fort. While directing the siege, the general, through the carelessness of a gunner, was killed by the bursting of a cohorn, and the com- mand devolved upon Sir William Johnson. This officer pur- sued the plan of his predecessor, and urged the attack with an energy which soon brought the besiegers within a hundred yards of the covered way. Meanwhile the French, alarmed at the prospect of losing a post so important, had collected a large force from Detroit and other places, and were resolved to raise the siege. Informed of their intention to risk a battle, Johnson ordered his light-infantry, with some grenadiers and regular foot, to take post between the cataract of Niagara and the fortress, placed his Indian auxiliaries on his flanks, and took measures to secure his lines, and bridle the garrison. On the 24th of July, at nine o'clock in the morning, the enemy ap- peared, and the territfc warwhoop of their Indians was the signal for battle. Although the French, as usual, charged with impetuosity, they were received with firmness, and in less than an hour were completely routed. The garrison next morning, despairing of assistance, submitted to terms of ca- pitulation. The reduction of Niagara cut off the French communication between Canada and Louisiana. But of all the expeditions, that against Quebec was the most daring, as it was also the most important. Strong by nature and still stronger by art, it merited its appellation of the Gibraltar of America. More than this, it was now commanded by that consummate general and ever successful commander, the great Marquis de Mont- calm. To any one but Pitt, its reduction must have seemed chimerical. But he knew that the boldest enterprises are often the most successful, when intrusted to ardent minds full of en- thusiasm and panting for glory. Such a mind he had dis- covered in young Wolfe, whose conduct at Louisburgh had attracted his attention. He appointed him to conduct this ex- ATTACK ON QUEBEC. 25 pedition, aided by Brigadier-generals Monckton, Townshend, and Murray, all young and ardent like himself. Sailing up the St. Lawrence with eight thousand men, under convoy of twenty-two ships of the line, and as many frigates and small armed vessels, commanded by Admirals Holmes, Saunders, and Durel, he landed the whole army, near the end of June, on the island of Orleans, a few miles below Quebec. Here the obstacles to be overcome could be distinctly seen, and so formidable did they appear, that, in a letter to Mr. Pitt, even Wolfe declared that he saw little prospect of reducing the place. But his desire to answer the expectations of his country overcame all considerations of difficulty or danger. Quebec, on the north side of the St. Lawrence, consists of an upper and lower town. The lower town lies between the river and a bold, lofty eminence running parallel to it far to the westward. This elevation, it is said, can be ascended only by steps cut in the rock on which the upper town stands. Ex- tending itself westward with a bold and steep front, this rock forms above the city the Heights of Abraham. The French, numbering thirteen thousand men, occupied the city, and a camp, strongly intrenched, and reaching from the river St. Charles to the Montmorency. On the western bank of the island of Orleans, which extends up to the very basin of Que- bec, and at Point Levi, a high point of land opposite to this on the southern bank of the St. Lawrence, Wolfe erected bat- teries, the fire of which destroyed many houses of the lower town, but had little effect upon the works, whose strength, dis- tance, and elevation placed them beyond the reach of the fleet. Convinced of the impossibility of success in this way, he soon decided on more daring measures. The northern shore of the St. Lawrence above Quebec was so bold and rocky that no land- ing could be effected in face of an enemy. If the Montmorency were passed, and the French driven from their intrenchments, the St. Charles, with its rough channel and steep banks, might prove an insuperable obstacle. Yet Wolfe, heroically, resolved to pass the Montmorency and St. Lawrence, and bring the French commander to an engagement. Thirteen companies of 26 ATTACK ON QUEBEC. grenadiers, and two hundred of the second battahon of royal Americans, Avere landed a little above the Montmorency, while two divisions under Generals Townshend and Murray prepared to cross it higher up. Wolfe intended first to attack a redoubt near the water's edge, but on the approach of the troops the redoubt was forsaken, and the American general, observing some confusion in the French camp, resolved on an immediate attack. The grenadiers and royal Americans were ordered to form on the beach, and advance to the charge, supported by Monckton's corj)s, as soon as the other troops should have crossed the ford to their assistance. But, Avithout forming or waiting for support, they rushed impetuously, and without order, toward the enemy's intrenchments, and Avere received Avith a fire of musketry, so steady and tremendous, that they were forced to shelter themselves behind the redoubt which the enemy had abandoned. Here they Avere detained by a violent thunder-storm, and exposed to a galling fire from the French. The general, perceiving that they could not form in this situa- tion, ordered them to retreat, and form behind Monckton's corps, which, by this time, was draAvn up in good order on the beach. In this imfortunate afi:air, more than five hundred men, among whom Avere many brave ofiicers, Avere lost by the Eng- lish. General Wolfe rejDassed the river, and returned to the Isle of Orleans. He next conceived that advantage might be gained by at- tempting to destroy the French fleet, and to distract the atten- tion of Montcalm by descents i;pon the northern shore. At this juncture, intelligence arrived that Niagara had been taken, that Ticonderoga and Crown Point had been abandoned, and that General Amherst instead of hastening to their relief, was preparing to attack the Isle aux Noix. Although rejoicing at the good fortune of his brethren in arms, yet contrasting it with his own want of success, the sensitive and high-minded Wolfe declined in health, fell sick with a violent fever, and was, for a time, unable to take the field in person. He called, there- fore, a council of ofiicers, and, asking their advice, he proposed a second attack upon the French lines. This they deemed in- LANDING OF THE TROOPS. 27 expedient, but proposed that the array should endeavor to gain the heights which overlooked the city. The troops and artil- lery were accordingly conveyed to Point Levi, and afterward to some distance above the city. For several days, Admiral Holmes, by movements up the river, sought to divert the atten- tion of the enemy as far as possible from the city. M. Bougain- ville was detached, with fifteen hundred men, to watch the movements of the English. General Wolfe finally resolved to land in the night within a league of Cape Diamond, and ascend the Heights of Abraham. The stream was rapid, the beach shelving, the bank precipitous, and the only place of ascent de- fended by a captain's guard and a battery of four guns. Dur- ing the night of the 12th of September, the troops, in flat-bot- tomed boats, fell silently down the stream, and landed near the precipice. Colonel Howe, with the van, soon clambered np the rocks, drove away the guard, and siezed the battery. By daybreak the army was marshaled on the Heights of Abraham. At first Montcalm could not believe the intelligence, but Avhen assured of its truth, he made all prudent haste to decide a battle which could now be avoided only by the surrender of Quebec. Leaving his camp, he crossed the St. Charles, for the purpose of attacking the English army. Observing this movement, Wolfe began to form his order of battle. His force consisted of six battalions and the Louisburgh grenadiers. The right wing was commanded by Monckton, the left by Murray. The right flank was covered by the grenadiers, the rear and left by Howe's light-infantry. Townshend, with three battalions, was sent to out-flank the enemy's left. A regiment in eight divi- sions at large intervals, formed a body of reserve. Equally masterly were the dispositions of the great French commander. Fifteen hundred Indians and Canadians, excellent marksmen, advancing in front, but screened by surrounding thickets, be- gan the battle. About nine in the morning, the main body of the French advanced briskly to the charge. The English re- served their fire, until their foes had approached within forty yards, when they poured in upon them a terrific discharge which took efiect in its whole extent. This fire was maintained 28 STORMING THE HEIGHTS, with uniform steadiness, and the French everywhere gave way to it. Montcalm having taken post on the left of the Fi-ench, and Wolfe on the right of the English, the two generals met each other where the battle was most severe. Conspicuous in the front of the line, Wolfe was aimed at by the enemy's marks- men. He was wounded in the M'Hst, but, betraying no symp- toms of pain, he wrapped his arm in a handkerchief, and con- tinued to encourage his men. Soon afterAvard, he received a shot in the groin, but concealing the wound, he pressed on at the head of the grenadiers with fixed bayonets, when a third STOKMINO THE HEIGHTS OF ABKAHAM. ball pierced his breast. Undismayed by his fall, the army con- tinued the action under Monckton, until this ofiicer received a ball in his right breast, when the command devolved on Town- shend. While the grenadiers pressed on with their bayonets, Murray, advancing with a destructive fire, broke the center of the French, and the Highlanders, falling impetuously on them with their broadswords, hewed them down with terrible slaughter. After having lost their first and second in com- Ci.\^ \u *„.^/,,F'^.f 'i '^^^ DEATHOFWOLFE. 29 mand, the right and center were driven from the field. The left was following their example, when Bougainville appeared in the rear with the fifteen hundred men who had been sent to watch the motions of the Enghsh, But General Townshend met the emergency, which seemed to jeopardize all the advan- tages which had been gained, in such a way that Bougainville, after a few feeble eiforts, was obliged to retire, leaving the English troops the undisputed masters of the field. The loss of the English was about five hundred men, that of the French about fifteen hundred men. On receiving his mortal wound. General Wolfe was con- veyed to the rear. In the agonies of death, his only thoughts were of his country, and he displayed the greatest anxiety re- specting the fate of the day. Extremely faint, he reclined his head upon the arm of an officer, but was soon aroused by the cry, " They fly, they fly !" " Who fly ?" exclaims the dying hero. " The French," replies his attendant. " Then I die con- tented," was the answei", and he immediately expired in the arms of Victory. The ingenious jDcncil of our great country- man, West, has done all that art can do in depicting this sol- emn and touching scene. His associate in glory and death, the Marquis de Montcalm, was carried into the city, and when in- formed that his wound was mortal, replied, "I am glad of it ;" and when told he could live but a few hours, he answered, " So much the better, I shall not then live to see the surrender of Quebec." The next day the city was surrendered. In the spring, the French attempted its recovery, and after a bloody battle on the Heights of Abraham, drove the English to their fortifications. They were prevented, however, from completing their conquest by the excellent arrangements of General Murray, and the successive arrivals of English ships, under Commodore Scranton, and a fleet under Lord Colville. During the season, General Amherst made extensive prepa- rations for the conquest of Montreal, the only post of import- ance left to the French in Canada. Early in September, three powerful armies, by different routes, formed a junction at that place, when the Marquis de Vaudreuil, perceiving resistance 30 PLACE D'ARMES, MONTREAL, PLACi. D A14MK3, MONTREAL. useless, surrendered Montreal and all the other French posts to the King of Great Britain. Early in tins year, the Cherokees commenced hostilities with the southern colonies. General Amherst sent against them the active Colonel Montgomery, who chastised them severely, but feeling obliged by his orders to return, left them rather exas- perated thau subdued. They besieged Fort Loudon, compelled tlie garrison to capitulate, and afterward treacherously fell upon them in their march homeward, and killed all the officers except Captain Stewart, with twenty-five of the soldiers, carry- ing the rest into a dreadful captivity. In 1761, Colonel Grant marched into their country, vanquished them in battle, de- stroyed their villages, and compelled them to sue for peace. On the 10th of Februaiy, 1763, a definitive treaty was signed at Paris. France surrendered to Great Britain her North American territories east of the Mississippi, from its source to the Iberville and thence through lakes Maurepas and Ponchartrain to the Gulf Heretofore the best feeling had existed between England and her American dependencies, but during the contest which PASSAGE OF THE STAMP ACT. 31 ended with the restoration of peace with France, they learned tlie art of war, and unconsciously had disciplined themselves for the part they were to take in the great revolutionary strug- gle. They little thought, as they followed the gallant Wolfe to the attack on Quebec, that in the short period of sixteen years from that time, some of them would be marching against the same place, and against the government which they were then aiding. But such is the historic record. The British ministry determined on a course of policy, then new to the colonists, and which involved principles and pre- tensions that they, flushed with their triumphs over the French, could hardly be supposed to allow or even submit to, without an effort to secure their rights. Heretofore they had imposed taxes upon themselves for the defences, improvements, and ex- penses of their own colonial establishments. Now the Parlia- ment of Great Britain, in which they had no representative, called upon them by taxes to contribute for the support of the general government. The storm-clouds gathered slowly until the passage of the stamp act. The effect of this measure was little anticipated by the mother country. Remonstrances and addresses were sent to the king and Par- liament from a congress of deputies from nine out of the thir- teen colonies. This body also adopted several resolutions, in Avliich they set forth that the inhabitants of the colonies were entitled to the same rights, privileges, and immunities, as the people of Great Britahi ; that no taxes had been or could be imposed on them but by re])resentatives chosen by themselves ; that trial by jury was the right of a British sulijeet ; and that the stamp act, by imposing taxes, and extending the jurisdic- tion of the courts of admiralty beyond their ancient limits, had a tendency to subvert the rights and liberties of the colonists. These resolutions of the deputies, with others passed by them at the same time, are moderate when compared with those of particular States. The people of New England questioned the right and authority of Parliament to levy duties or taxes upon the colonies in any form or shape whatever, and maintained that the exercise of such an authority by Parliament was an KECEPTION OF THE STAMP ACT. infraction, not only of the privileges of the colonists as British subjects, but of their rights as men. In the mean time the spirit of tumult and insurrection was aroused in all the large cities. The people met and expressed Tv^^ their indignation by destroying the prop- erty of those who were appointed to distribute the stamp- ed papers, and bui'n- ing them in effigy. When the stamps ar- rived, in some places they were not allow- ed to be taken out of the ships ; in others, the bells were tolled, and the flags of the shipping were hoist- ed at half-mast. In the following year, 1*766, the stamp act was repealed; but in ]'767, Parlia- ment passed an act, imposing duties on jsaper, glass, painters' colors, and teas imported into the colonies. Petitions, resol;;- tions, and remonstrances were again sent to the British minis- try by the colonists; and in 1768, the assembly of Massachu- setts addressed a circular letter "to the representatives and burgesses of the people throughoiit the continent," calling on them to unite with the people of Massachusetts in suitable measures to obtain redress. This was approved by the other colonial assemblies, and many of them joined their petitions to those which had already been sent by the assembly. This act gave great oifence to the British government, and on the refusal of Massachusetts to rescind the resolutions and votes by which the circular letter was agreed upon, and some resistance being made to the collection of the duties imposed by the new acts, RECEPTION OF THE STAMP ACT. BOSTON MASSACRE. 33 an armed force was sent to Boston and quartered in the public buildings. The colonists, though disgusted and insulted, were not overawed by the presence of the military. They refused to provide them with barracks : and such was their antipathy to having soldiers quartered in their town, that they were con- tinually quarreUng with them. On the 5th of March, 1V70, while a company of the soldiers was under arms, the populace pressed upon them, insulted them by throwing missiles at them and daring them to fire. One of the soldiers received a blow from something that was thrown, and fired at the aggressor. This was followed by a discharge from some of the other sol- BOSTON MASSACRE. diers, by which three of the mob were killed and five danger- ously wounded. The whole tOAATi was instantly in the greatest commotion, and thousands of the people assembled ; the drums beat to arms, and the rest of the troops were assembled. The people were quieted by the assurances of the governor that the troops would be removed. The next day they were marched to Castle William. One of the wounded men died, and the bodies of those who had been killed were carried in proces- sion through the town attended by an immense concourse of people, and interred with military honors. The company of soldiers and their captam were brought to trial and two of 3 34 DESTRUCTION OF TEA, them were found guilty of manslaughter. The officers were acquitted. On the 12th of April, 1770, all the duties, except that on tea were repealed. This was unsatisfactory to the colonists, as it still left the great principle of the right of taxation unsettled ; and they determined to oppose it. Meetings were held, at which it was resolved that they would abstain from the use of tea tmtil the duty was taken off it. On the arrival of the tea- ships at the port of Charlestown, the tea was taken out and fBtored in cellars, where it was left to rot. The ships which DESTKUCTION OF THE TEA IN BOSTON HAKBOR. came to Philadelphia and New York, were sent back, with their ladings, to England. The consignees of the Boston ships, refusing to send them back, a company of armed men, disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded them, and breaking the boxes, emptied the tea into the dock. This again roused the indigna- tion, and called forth the resentment of the English ministry ; and the Boston Port Bill was passed, by which the privilege of landing or discharging, lading or shipping goods, wares, and FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 35 merchandise, was taken from the port of Boston, and every vessel was required to leave the harbor, unless laden with food or fuel. On receiving the news of the passage of this bill, the legislatures of the different colonies passed resolutions expres- sive of their sympathy with the suffering inhabitants of Boston ; and sent them letters and addresses, approving their conduct, and assuring them of their assistance if they should be driven to take up arms. Contributions were everywhere raised for the relief of those whose means of subsistence would be taken from them by the closing of their port, and the loss of their trade. On the 5th of September, 1774, the first Continental Con- gress, consisting of delegates from eleven colonies, met at Phil- adelphia, and agreed upon a declaration of rights. A petition was sent to the king, and addresses voted to the people of the Canadas, to the inhabitants of Great Britain, and to the Ameri- can people. After renewing the non-importation, non-consump- tion, and non-exportation agreement, and recommending that another congress be held at Philadelphia, on the lOth of May, 1775, unless the redress of their grievances should be previously obtained, they dissolved after a session of eight weeks. The colonists, now becoming daily more alarmed, began to take measures for their defense. They had already collected arms and ammunition in several places ; and the proclamation of the king, prohibiting the exportation of military stores from Great Britain, which reached America toward the close of the year, only hastened their operations ; and resolutions were passed in some of the colonies for obtaining arms and military stores, and raising and arming the inhabitants. In the mean time, the king refused to hear the petition of the Continental Congress ; and bills were passed by Parliament for restraining further the trade of the colonies. In February, 1775, a provincial congress met in Massachusetts, and published a resolution, stating that the total destruction of the colony was to be apprehended, fi-om the tenor of the news from England ; and that large reinforcements of troops were daily expected. They recommended the militia, and especially a select body of armed 86 CONTINENTAL BILLS. SPECIMENS OF CONTINENTAL BILLS. men, wlio held themselves in readiness to march at a minnte's warning, and hence were called minute-men, to use aU dili- gence in perfecting themselves in military discipline. They also passed resolutions for collecting and storing fire-arms and provisions. These orders and resolutions were eagerly and strictly complied with. Thus were matters rapidly drawing to a crisis. Eleven years only had passed since the Treaty of Paris, which terminated the Seven Years' "War, and many of the officers who had dis- tinguished themselves in that war, were now ready to assist their countrymen with their experience and their influence, in that which now seemed approaching with giant strides. No open acts of hostility had, as yet, taken place, but the time was fast approaching for the people of America to show to the in- habitants of Great Britain that they were no longer to be insulted, enslaved, and trampled on — that they were ready to assert and maintain by the sword those rights which had been denied them when humbly petitioned for. The battles of Lexington and Bunker's Hill, a detailed account of which we CONCLUSION. 37 will resen-e for our next chapter, commenced that war which ended in the independence of oiir beloved country, and in- sured to us the blessmgs of that Hberty for which they fought and died. CHAPTER II. Commencement of the Revolutionary War. T soon became evident that the time had at length arrived in which it was necessary for the Americans to oppose British oppression by force of arms. They had collected some military stores at Con- cord, which General Gage, the British Governor, deter- mined to destroy. For this purpose a secret expedition was planned, to set out from Boston on the 19th of April ; but, by some means or other, the Americans had obtained infor- mation of the meditated attack, the Committee of Safety had taken measures to save the stores at that place, by removing them to different places, and the whole population of the towns through which the British troops were to pass, were alarmed and ready to oppose them as soon as they should make their appearance. At this time, the Americans had no 39 J, 40 COMMENCEMENT OF THE REVOLUTION. regular commander, and consequently could not act in con- cert, but the opposition and spirit manifested by these de- tached companies of militia served to show the British government that every inch of ground would be disputed with obstinacy and determination. The British Grenadiers and Light Infantry, to the number of about eight hundred, under Lieutenant Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn, left Boston on the evening of the 18th, and proceeded towards Concord. When they reached Lexington, they saw a company of about one hundred men assembled on the green near the church ; and Major Pitcairn riding up, called out " Disperse, ye rebels, throw down your arms and disperse." The British then advanced in quick march, and the Americans, seeing their numerical superiority, began to disperse, when the regulars huzzaed, a pistol or two was dis- charged by some of their officers ; then the report of four or five muskets, discharged by the soldiers, which was followed immediately by a general discharge, by which eight of the Americans were killed and seven wounded. The detach- ment then hastened on to Concord, where they destroyed a few military articles, and sixty barrels of flour. The British were now, however, completely alarmed ; they saw the militia from the neighboring towns advancing along the roads ; they saw the heights around the town lined with women and children, who fled from the town at their ap- proach, and whom they magnified, in their terror, into armed warriors. Parties were despatched to the different bridges to prevent the entrance of the Americans. One of these parties tore up the planks of the South bridge ; the other attempted to destroy the North bridge ; but the militia, resolving to keep open the communication with the town, advanced in regular order, commanded for the time by Colonel Robinson and Major Buttrick. The Acton militia, led on by the gallant Davis, formed the van. As this little company approached, the British fired three alarm guns, but seeing that that had no effect on the advancing column, one of the soldiers discharged his musket at Major Buttrick. The ball passed between his I**! ' (• BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. 43 arm and his side, and slightly wounded a person behind him. This was the signal for a general discharge from the regulars, by which Captain Davis and others were killed. The Americans now returned the fire, and compelled the British to retreat towards the centre of the town, where they hastily reassembled their several detachments, and then com- menced that celebrated retreat, in which they first felt the galling effects of fire-arms, in the hands of freemen whom they had insulted and endeavoured to enslave. The whole country was by that time alarmed : the minute- men, volunteers, and militia, assembled from all quarters, and posted themselves among the trees, in houses, and behind walls, along the road through which the British troops were to pass, while the militia who had been engaged at the bridge, reinforced by others from the country, pressed upon their rear. Through this living wall of the yeomanry of the country, they commenced their retreat towards Boston ; and no retreat recorded in the annals of history, except, indeed, it be that of Napoleon from Russia in 1812, can for an instant be compared with that of the British troops from Concord. As soon as they began their march, an incessant, though irregular fire commenced, which was kept up during the whole of their march back to Lexington, " whither," says one of their own historians, " they were driven before the Americans like sheep." While they were at Lexington in the morning, the disposi- tions of the Americans alarmed Lieutenant Colonel Smith so much that he sent to General Gage for a reinforcement. Lord Percy was immediately ordered out with about a thousand men and two field pieces. He took the road over the neck through Roxbury, his band during the march playing " Yankee Doodle," by way of showing their contempt for, and derision of the Yankees. They played a different tune on their return. This reinforcement joined the party under Colonel Smith at Lexington, just in time to save that devoted body from entire demolition. Percy formed his detachment in the form of a square, m 44 BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. the centre of which he enclosed Colonel Smith's party, who were " so much exhausted with fatigue" says the same British writer which we have before quoted, " that they were obliged to lie down for rest on the ground, their tongues hanging out of their mouths, like those of dogs after a chase." Afber resting in this manner for a few minutes, Lord Percy deemed it prudent to commence his march towards Boston. During the whole of that arduous march, the Americans kept up an incessant fire on the retreating column, from the walls, houses, and trees along the road, which it was useless for the British to return, as the Americans were concealed, and they could see no object at which to fire. Their great object was to reach Boston with as little loss as possible ; but, the fire of the Americans slacking a little at some parts of the road, they took the opportunity to set fire to a few houses, to plunder others, and to murder some persons found in their houses, though they were unarmed. They arrived at Charlestown at sun-set, quite spent and worn down with fatigue. The British boats immediately conveyed the wounded to Boston, while the remainder of the troops at that place, crossed to Charlestown to defend their exhausted com rades during the night. The loss sustained during that day, by the British, was sixty-five men killed, one hundred and seventy-four wounded, and twenty-four made prisoners. That of the Americans was forty-nine killed, and thirty-nine wounded and missing. This affair had the effect of placing the colonies at open variance with the mother country ; but, still they aimed not at independence, it was not until months of war showed them that they need expect no reconciliation with the mother country, that they grasped ?A freedom^ at independent liberty. On the 19th of April, 1775, they also experienced the effi- ciency with which they might act against the all-conquering regulars of Britain, and led them to trust in themselves, their knowledge of their weapons, and the fatal precision of their marksmen. They did not stop with compelling the regulars to seek the protection of Boston. An army sprung up almost CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 45 instantaneously, soldiers flocked towards that point from all the colonies, and before the close of the next day, the royal army was completely inclosed, and formally besieged in Boston. The affair at Lexington was the signal for the commence- ment of hostilities. The Provincial Congress of Massachu- setts immediately passed resolutions for raising an army of thirty thousand men in New England. This force was soon added to the force blockading Boston, and General Gage, beginning to feel alarmed at the prospect before him, declared the colony of Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion. In the meantime, a small body of the militia of Connecticut, consisting principally of hardy mountaineers, known through- out the country by the name of the Green Mountain Boys, headed by Colonel Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold, proceeded against Ticonderoga, a fortress which in the event of a final struggle, would be of the greatest importance to the Ameri- cans. Situated on a promontory, formed at the junction of the waters of Lake George and Lake Champlain,itwas the key of all communication between New York and Canada. With less than three hundred men they proceeded on their expedition, and on the night of the 9th of May, arrived on the shore of Lake Champlain, opposite Ticonderoga. Allen and Arnold crossed over with eighty-three men, and landed near the gar- rison. At first, the tw^o colonels contended for the post of danger, but it was at length decided that they should enter the fort together ; they accordingly advanced abreast, and entered the fortress at the dawn of day. A sentinel snapped his piece at them and then retreated through the covered way to the parade, whither he was immediately followed by the Americans. When they reached the open space, used as a place for the parade of the troops, they drew up in the form of a hollow square, and awakened the garrison with three loua huzzas. Some slight skirmishing ensued. Allen pro- ceeded to the quarters of De La Place, the commander of the fort, knocked loudly at the door of his room where he was 46 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. Ijing asleep. Allen called on him instantly to appear, or his whole garrison would be sacrificed. The astonished captain came forth rubbing his eyes, and wondering what such an unexpected summons could mean, when he was ordered instantly to surrender the fort. Surprised at the demand, he asked, " By what authority" he presumed to call on him fo! such an act. " I demand it," replied Allen, in a loud voice, " in the name of the great Jehovah, and of the Continental Congress." Captain De La Place, had, probably, never heard of the Continental Congress, and began to argue. But Allen lifted his sword above his head, and reiterated his demand. The summons was obeyed ; and the fort, with one hundred pieces of cannon, other valuable stores, and forty-eight prisoners, fell into the hands of the Americans. The boats which had conveyed the first party across the lake, had been sent back for the remainder of the men, but the business was done before they arrived. Colonel Seth Warner was sent off with a party, to take possession of Crown point, which was garrisoned by a Ser- jeant and twelve men. Their mission was speedily effected. In order to preserve these conquests, it was necessary to obtain the command of the lake. This was effected by Arnold capturing a British sloop of war, lying off St. Johns, at the northern extremity of the lake. Generals Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton arrived at Boston with considerable reinforcements, about the latter part of May; and General Gage, encouraged by the augmentation of his troops, issued a proclamation, offering pardon to all who would lay down their arms, except John Hancock and Samuel Adams ; and declaring martial law to be in force in Massachusetts. This proclamation only served to unite more closely those whom it was intended to intimidate. The commanders of the New England army had, about the 14th of June, received advice that General Gage had issued orders for a party of the troops under his command to post themselves on Bunker's Hill, a promontory just at the entrance BATTLE OF BUNKER'S HILL. 49 of the peninsula at Charlestown, which orders were soon to be executed ; upon which it was determined to send a party, who might erect some fortifications upon the said hill, and defeat the design of our enemies. Accordingly, on the 16th, orders were issued that a detachment of one thousand men should that evening march to Charlestown, and intrench upon that hill. Just before nine o'clock they left Cambridge, and proceeded to Breed's Hill, situated on the further part of the peninsula, next to Boston, (for by some mistake this hill was marked out for the intrenchment instead of the other.) Many things being necessary to be done preparatory to the intrenchments being thrown up, which could not be done be- fore, lest the enemy should discover and defeat the design, it was nearly twelve o'clock before the works were entered upon. They were then carried on with the utmost diligence and alacrity ; so that by the dawn of day they had thrown up a small redoubt about eight rods square. At this time a heavy fire began from the enemy's ships, a number of floating batteries, and from a fortification of the enemy upon Copp's Hill, in Boston, directly opposite our little redoubt. An in- cessant shower of shot and bombs was rained by these upon our works. The Americans continued to labour indefatigably till they had thrown up a small breast- work, extending from the east side of the redoubt to the bottom of the hill, but were prevented completing it by the intolerable fire of the enemy. Between twelve and one o'clock a number of boats and barges, filled with the regular troops from Boston, were ob- served approaching towards Charlestown ; these troops landed at a place called Moreton's Point, situated a little to the eastward of our works. This brigade formed upon their landing, and stood thus formed till a second detachment arrived from Boston to join them ; having sent out large flank guards, they began a very slow march towards our lines. Our troops, within their intrenchments, impatiently awaited the attack of the enemy, and reserved their fire till they came within ten or twelve rods, and then began a furious discharge 50 BATTLE OF BUNKER'S HILL. of small arms. This fire arrested the enemy, which they for some time returned, without advancing a step, and then re- treated in disorder and with great precipitation to the place of landing, and some of them sought refuge even within their boats. Here the officers were observed by the spectators on the opposite shore, to run down to them, using the most passionate gestures, and pushing the men forward with their swords. At length they were rallied, and marched up, with apparent reluctance, towards the intrenchments. At this instant, smoke and flames were seen to arise from the town of Charlestown, which had been set on fire by the enemy, that the smoke might cover their attack upon our lines, and perhaps with a design to rout or destroy one or two of our regiments who had been posted in that town. If either of these was their design, they were disappointed ; for the wind shifting on a sudden, carried the smoke another way, and the regiments were already removed. The Americans again reserved their fire until the enemy came within five or six rods, and a second time put the regulars to flight, who ran in great confusion towards their boats. Similar and superior exertions were now necessarily made by the officers, which, notwithstanding the men discovered an almost insuperable reluctance lo fighting in this cause, were again successful. They formed once more, and having brought some cannon to bear in such a manner as to rake the inside of the breast- work from one end of it to the other, our troops retreated within their little fort. The ministerial army now made a decisive effiart. The fire from the ships and batteries, as well as from tlie cannon in the front of their army, was redoubled. The officers in the rear of the army were observed to goad forward the men with renewed exertions, and they attacked the redoubt on three sides at once. The breast-work on the outside of the fort was abandoned ; our ammunition was ex- pended, and but few of our troops had bayonets to affix to their muskets. Can it then be wondered that the word was given by the commander of the party to retreat ? but this he delayed till the redoubt was half filled with regulars, and our Sf BATTLE OF BUNKER'S HILL. 51 troops had kept the enemy at bay some time, confronting them with the butt end of their muskets. The retreat of this Uttle handful of brave men would have been effectually cut off, had it not happened that the flanking party of the enemy, which was to have come upon the back of the redoubt, was checked by a party of our men, who fought with the utmost bravery, and kept them from advancing farther than the beach ; the engagement of these two parties was kept up with the utmost vigour ; and it must be acknowledged that this party of the ministerial troops evinced a courage worthy of a better cause : all their efforts however were insufficient to compel their equally gallant opponents to retreat, till their main body had left the hill ; perceiving this was done, they then gave ground, but with more regularity than could be expected of troops who had no longer been under discipline, and many of whom never before saw an engagement. In this retreat the Americans had to pass over the neck which joins the peninsula of Charlestown to the main land. This neck was commanded by the Glasgow man of war, and two floating batteries, placed in such a manner that their shot raked every part of it. The incessant tire kept up across this neck had, from the beginning of the engagement, pre- vented any considerable reinforcements from getting to our troops on the hill, and it was feared it would cut off their re- treat, but they retired over it with little or no loss. With a ridiculous parade of triumph, the ministerial gene- rals again took possession of the hill which had served them as a retreat in flight from the battle of Concord. It was ex- pected that they would prosecute the supposed advantage they had gained, by marching immediately to Cambrido-e, which was distant but two miles, and which was not then in a state of defence. This they failed to do. The wonder excited by such conduct soon ceased, when, by the best accounts from Boston, we are told, that of 3000 men who marched out upon this expedition, no less than 1048, (eighty- nine of whom were commissioned officers) were killed or wounded. Such a slaughter was perhaps never before made 52 BATTLE OF BUNKER'S HILL. upon British troops in the space of about an hour, duiing which the heat of the engagement lasted, by about 1500 men, which were the most that were at any time engaged on the American side. The loss of the New England army amounted, according to an exact return, to 145 killed and missing, and 304 wounded : thirty of the first were wounded and taken prison- ers by the enemy. Among the dead was Major general Joseph Warren, a man whose memory will be endeared to his countrymen, and to the worthy in every part and age of the world, so long as virtue and valour shall be esteemed among mankind. The heroic colonel Gardner, of Cambridge, died of his wounds ; and the brave lieutenant colonel Parker, of Chelmsford, who was wounded and taken prisoner, perished in Boston gaol. These three, with major Moore, and major M'Clary,* who nobly struggled in the cause of their country, were the only officers of distinction which we lost. The town of Charlestown, the buildings of which were large and elegant, and which contained effects belonging to the unhappy sufferers in Boston, to a very great amount, was entirely destroyed. The following day the British threw up a breast- work on Bunker's Hill ; which commands the neck of the peninsula ; and leaving a detachment to defend it, the remaining troops crossed into Boston. f Such was the battle of Bunker's Hill, which was fought on the 17th of June 1775, and was the first important action that took place in that revolution, w^hich, to use the words of Mr. Pitt, " deprived the diadem of Britain of its finest jewel, and created a great and powerful empire in the west." After this action the British strongly fortified themselves on the peninsulas both of Boston and Charlestown ; while the provincials remained posted in the circumjacent country, and * This brave officer was killed by a cannon-ball on the retreat, whilst crossing Charlestown Neck. He was generally esteemed, and his loss much regretted. f Analectic Magazine, vol. xi., p. 262 — 264. FORMATION OF THE ARMY. 53 Dy fortifying Prospect Hill, held their enemies as closely be- sieged as before. The secona provincial Congress met at Philadelphia on the 10th of May, according to their resolution the preceding year, and Peyton Randolph was again chosen President. Among other business transacted by them, they resolved that the colonies should be put in a state of defence, and that for that purpose twenty thousand men should immediately be equipped. They also chose George Washington, a mem- ber of the Congress from Virginia, commander-in-chief of all the forces raised and to be raised by the United Colonies.* On the 2d of July, General Washington arrived at Cambridge, the head-quarters of the American army, where he found between fourteen and fifteen thousand men assem- bled. These were disorderly, ill armed, ill disciplined, and almost without gunpowder. Washington, at once com- menced the herculean task of moulding the mass of men before him into a regular army, and giving to their move- ments something of the mechanism necessary to the men who expected to contend with the best disciplined troops of Europe. He formed the army into three grand divisions, consisting of about twelve regiments each, and appointed Major General Ward to command the right wing. Major General Lee, the left wing, and Major General Putnam, the reserve. As none of the soldiers were deficient in courage, they were soon moulded into form, and nothing was wanting but eflfective under officers. The want of gunpowder and arms was not so easily obviated. At the commencement of the contest, the government of Great Britain forbade the exportation of warlike stores to the colonies. It was necessary, therefore, to make great exertions to induce the people to manufacture saltpetre and gun- powder. The supply, however, was still slow and in- adequate. A party from Charleston, forcibly took about 17,000 pounds of powder from a vessel near the bar of St. * Frost's United States, vol. ii, p. 176. 54 SIEGE OF BOSTON. Augustine. Some time after, Commodore Hopkins, stripped Providence, one of the Bahama Islands, of a quantity of artillery and stores ; but the whole, procured from all these quarters, fell far short of a sufficiency. The dangerous situation of public affairs led Washington to conceal the real scarcity of arms and ammunition ; but he continued to strengthen his camp around Boston, and to occupy a space of ground nearly twelve miles in length. All this time the British troops were suffering the inconve- nience of a blockade. From the 19th of April they were cut off from those refreshments which their situation re- required ; and it was not till the stock of the garrison was nearly exhausted, and famine began to stare them in the face, that the transports from England entered the port of Boston, and relieved the distresses of the garrison. They had strong entrenchments on Bunker's Hill and Roxbury Neck ; and were defended by floating batteries in the Mystic river, and a ship of war lying between Boston and Charlestown. The respective forces being thus disposed, the siege of Bostoi) continued until the succeeding year.* * Ramsay vol. ii. p. !»9. Frost's United States, vol. ii, p. 198. CHAPTER III. Expedition to Canada. IR GUY CARLETON, the governor of Canada, no sooner heard that the Americans had surprised Ticonderoga and Crown Point, than he planned a scheme for their recovery. The In- dians, however, refused to take up the hatchet ; and the Canadians de- clared themselves ready to defend the province, but refused to march out of it, or to commence hostilities on their neighbours. Sir Guy then declared martial law, in order to compel the inhabitants to take up arms.* Congress, fearing for the safety of the colonies, should Canada be left as an open door, by which the British might at any time invade their northern frontier, and counting on the backwardness of the Canadians to engage in a war w^ith them, and the general discontent attendant upon the Quebec act, resolved upon the invasion of that province should it be found practicable. Besides, as it was evident that Britair was as resolutely determined to maintain her authority, anc Ramsay vol. ii, p. 56. 55 56 SIEGE OF ST. JOHNS. continue her encroachments, as they were to resist both, and considering the possession of Canada as indispensable to the preservation of their conquests at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, they determined to prosecute the war with vigour, to act on the offensive, and prevent a formidable force from attacking them in the rear, while they were usmg their utmost endeavours to protect their cities and sea-coasts. The invasion of Canada was therefore resolved upon. Congress committed the management of their military arrangements, in this northern department to Generals Schuyler and Montgomery. The former issued an address to the inhabitants of Canada, informing them, " that the only views of Congress were, to restore to them those rights, to which every subject of the British empire, of whatever religious sentiments he may be, is entitled ; and that, in the execution of these trusts he had received the most positive orders to cherish every Canadian, and every friend to the cause of liberty, and sacredly to guard their property."* The Americans proceeded at once, to make an attack on St. Johns, the nearest British post in Canada, but finding it stronger and better guarded than they expected, they w^ere obliged to fall back to Isle Aux Moix, about twelve miles from St. Johns. At that place, General Schuyler was at- tacked by a dangerous sickness, which made it necessary for him to retire to Ticonderoga, leaving Montgomery in com- mand of the army. He soon returned and laid siege to St. Johns. Being greatly in want of ammunition, he despatched a detachment of three hundred men to attempt the reduction of Fort Chamblee. Success attended this measure. By its surrender, six tons of gunpowder, upwards of six thousand muskets, and other military stores in abundance were ob- tained, which enabled Montgomery to press the siege of St. Johns with vigour. Sir Guy Carleton, hastened with eight hundred men to the relief of the besieged ; but, in at- tempting to cross the St. Lawrence, he was defeated by Colonel Warner, who was stationed on the bank with * Ramsay. Stedman. Frost's United States, vol. ii. p. 184. CAPTURE OF QUEBEC PROPOSED. 57 three hundred Green Mountain boys, and compelled to return to Montreal. The garrison of St. Johns surrendered unconditionally on the 13th of November, and Montgomery proceeded to Montreal, During the siege of St. Johns, Colonel Ethan Allen, who was returning to the American camp, with about eighty men, from a tour on which he was sent by his General, was surprised near Montreal, and he himself taken prisoner. Though he had surrendered in action, with arms in his hands, under a verbal condition that he should receive good treatment, he was loaded with irons, and sent to England to be tried as a rebel. He was sent back as a prisoner of war to America, and thrown into the provost gaol at New York, w^here he remained until he was exchanged in May 1778, a witness of the most horrid scenes of oppression and cruelty to the American prisoners, confined at that place. When the news of the reduction of St. Johns arrived at Montreal, the British forces at that place repaired for safety to the shipping, in the hope of escaping down the river. They were prevented. General Prescott, with several officers and one hundred and twenty privates, became the prisoners of the provincial General. Eleven sail of vessels, with all their contents, consisting of ammunition, provisions and intrenching tools were also taken. Montreal, of course, fell into the hands of the Americans, but Governor Carleton escaped to Quebec ; whither he was quickly followed by Montgomery.* About the same time that Canada was thus invaded by the usual route from New York, Colonel Arnold, then with Washington, besieging Boston, volunteered to penetrate into that province by a new route, and surprise Quebec while it was unprepared for resistance. He proposed to sail up the Kennebec river, with a detachment of one thousand five hundred men, and penetrating through the swamps, forests, and hilly land which separate New England from Canada, descend the Chaudiere to the St. Lawrence, unite with Montgomery and surprise the town. * Ramsay. Stedman. 58 ARNOLD'S MARCH. General Washington having testified his approbation of the proposal, Arnold set out on his expedition. Great were the difficulties and dangers he encountered and surmounted with the most astonishing fortitude and perseverance. The Kennebec, being full of rocks and shoals, this gallant detachment w^as often obliged to carry their boats and rafts on their backs for miles along the shore. Nor wdien they had traversed the length of the Kennebec were their difficul- ties diminished. The swampy grounds, added to the fatigues already endured, produced a variety of disorders ; provisions began to fail, and a third part of the detachment, on some trivial pretence, deserted with a Colonel at their head. Difficulties, however, seemed only to invigorate Arnold. Neither dispirited by the desertion of a part of his army, nor by the diseases under which many of the re- mainder laboured, the Colonel left the sick behind him and marched on. Six weeks after his departure from Boston, he arrived at the St. Lawrance, and immediately encamped at a spot called Point Levi, opposite Quebec* The consternation occasioned by his unexpected arrival, and by the intrepedity of the achievement, was universal ; and had not the boats been removed before his approach, he would doubtless have made himself master of the capital of the Canadas. The bold enterprise of one American army, marching through the wilderness, at a time when success was crowning every undertaking of another, invading in a different direction, struck terror into the breasts of those Canadians, who were unfriendly to the designs of Congress. In a few days. Colonel Arnold crossed the St. Lawrence ; but his chance of succeeding by a coup de, mahi was, in that short space, greatly diminished. The critical moment was past. The garrison had been reinforced by the arrival of Colonel Maclean, and by the embodying of the in- habitants for their common defence. As Colonel Arnold had no artillery, after parading some days on the heights near Quebec, he drew off his troops, and determined to employ * Stedman vol. i, p. 137, 138. SIEGE OF QUEBEC. 59 himself, until the arrival of Montgomery, in cutting off all supplies to the garrison. Montgomery arrived before Quebec on the 5th of Decem- ber. .He immediately summoned the city to surrender but his summons was treated with contempt. The Americans then commenced a bombardment with some small mortars and a six-gan battery. Montgomery and Arnold were now in a most critical situation for want of proper artillery ; for as they had none heavier than twelve pounders, they soon saw the impossibility of making any impression on the fortifica- tions of Quebec. From the Canadian malcontents they had nothing more to expect, because they had thought it more prudent to unite with the British for the preservation of their own property. Winter was approaching fast, and to consume it on the plains of Canada was a prospect most dreary and unpromising: yet, on the other hand, it was essentially ne- cessary that the first campaign should be closed with a bril- liancy that should prevent the public ardoar from experiencing any diminution. Thus situated, it was resolved to storm the city. General Montgomery divided his small army, (in all but 800 men) into four detachments and ordered two feints to be made against the upper town, while he and Arnold should at the same time make two real attacks on the lower town. The attacks were to be begun at day-break on the morning of the 31st of December, 1775, and the firing of rockets was to be the signal. By some mistake, however, the attacks on the upper town were commenced first, and the English discover- ing their real character, left only a slight force to defend it and conveyed the greater part of their strength to the lower town, where they supposed the real attacks were to be made.* At five o'clock in the morning General Montgomery ad- vanced against the lower town. He led his men to the attack with that coolness and intrepidity which never forsook him, and he soon drove the enemy from the first barrier. One of the Canadians, in retiring, applied a match to a gun and fired it without stopping to take aim. This shot was fatal. By it * Ramsay 69. 60 DEATH OF MONTGOMERY. the Americans lost the brave Montgomery, Captain M'Phersqn, Captain Cheeseman, and two others. The assailants, thus deprived of their gallant leader, paused a moment, but did not retreat. They marched on to the attack with firmness, and for half an hour sustained a most galling discharge of cannon and musketry. Finding then, that their attempts could not be attended with success, Colonel Campbell, on whom the command had devolved, thought proper to draw them off. In the meantime, Arnold, at the head of three hundred and fifty men, assailed the town on the other side. He attacked and carried without considerable loss, the first barrier. Early in the action, he received a wound in the leg, which made it necessary to carry him off the field ; but Colonel Morgan, the next in command continued the attack with unabated vigour. He pushed on, and soon made himself master of a second barrier ; but Montgomery's detachment having re- treated, the whole force of the garrison was brought to bear against Morgan. For three hours, those brave men sustained the attack of immensely superior numbers ; but, finding them- selves hemmed in, without hopes, either of success, relief or retreat, they yielded themselves prisoners of war. Colonel Arnold, though thus disappointed in his endeav- ours, resolved not to withdraw from the province. He still remained encamped on the heights of Abraham, whence he could intercept any supplies that might be attempted to be conveyed into the city.* Such was the issue of the campaign of 1775 in Canada. Though it was finally unsuccessful, yet the advantages which the Americans gained in September and October, gave fresh spirits to their army and people. The boldness of the enter- prise might have taught Great Britain the folly of persisting in the design of subduing America. But instead of pre- serving the union, and restoring the peace of the empire, by repealing a few of her laws, she, from mistaken dignity, re- solved on a more vigorous prosecution of the war. * Stedman. Ramsay 71. CHAPTER IV. Campaign of 1776. ^^OLONEL ARNOLD remained "^^^ during the winter, encamped be- fore Quebec. Though unable to capture the town, he reduced it to great distress, by cutting off all communications between the inhabitants and the adjacent country. But the season now approaching when reinforcements might be expected to arrive from England, he recommenced the siege in due form. Batteries were erected on the shores of the St. Lawrence, to burn the shipping, and Arnold prepared scaling ladders to storm the town. The Americans gained the suburbs, where they set fire to several houses and obliged the garrison to pull down the others to prevent the fire from spreading. They could penetrate no farther, and were com- pelled to withdraw, with very little loss. While the Ameri- 61 G2 RETREAT FROM CANADA. cans were engaged in this siege, the small pox broke out among them with great violence. The soldiers inoculated themselves, though their officers issued positive orders to the contrary. In March and April, reinforcements arrived at the American camp from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania ; so that, on the first of May, the army, in name, amounted to two thousand men ; but, from the prevalence of the small pox, there were only nine hundred fit for duty. On this account, and certain that succour would soon arrive from England, General Thomas, who iiad just arrived to command the army, resolved to retire towards Montreal. The next morning, some British ships by great exertions, and with much danger, pressed through the ice, and landed some troops. General Carleton, thus reinforced, sallied out on the Americans, who fled with great precipitation, leaving behind them their artillery and military stores. In this manner, at the expiration of five months, the mixed siege and blockade of Quebec was raised. The prisoners taken by General Carleton, were treated with the greatest lenity ; he not only fed and clothed them, but permitted them when recovered to return home. The Americans retreated forty-five miles before they stopped. After a short halt, they proceeded to the Sorrel, at which place, they threw up some slight works for their safety. They were there joined by some battalions coming to reinforce them. Aboiit this time. General Thomas was seized with the small-pox, and died ; the command de- volving at first on Arnold, and afterwards on General Sulli- van. It soon became evident, that the Americans must abandon the Avhole province of Canada.* On the 19th of May, the British attacked and took the American post called the Cedars, on the St. Lawrence, forty miles above Montreal. The Americans made an un- successful attempt to surprise a detachment of the British army, encamped at Three Rivers ; and, on the 15th of June. Ihey quitted Canada, and retreated to Crown Point, and * Ramsay. SIEGE OF BOSTON. 63 thence to Ticonderoga. In October, the British succeeded in obtaining the command of Lake Champlain, by causing the destruction of the American flotilla, and, on the 15th of that month, they took possession of Crown Point, which had previously been evacuated by the Americans. General Carleton then advanced with part of his fleet and army, and reconnoitered the works of the fort at Ticonderoga, which Generals Gates and Schuyler had determined to defend to the last extremity. The apparent strength of the works, however, prevented him from attempting its reduction, and the winter coming on, induced him to return to Canada.* In the meantime, the British troops blockaded in Boston suffered incredible hai'dships and fatigue. They had been closely invested ever since the affair of Lexington; pro- visions were scarce ; and though they sent to the West Indies for a fresh supply, they could obtain none, on account of the great dearth existing in that quarter. General Washington, also began to prosecute the siege with more vigour, in order that he might capture the place before the arrival of re- inforcements from Great Britain, His army now amounting to fourteen thousand men, he resolved to take possession of, and fortify Dorchester Heights. To conceal this design, and to distract the attention of the garrison, a bombardment of the town from other directions was commenced on the 2d of March, and was carried on for three days, with as much briskness as a deficient stock of powder would admit. On the night of the 4th, General Thomas, with about two thousand men, silently took possession of the Heights, and with the aid of fascines and hay in bundles, completed lines of defence, before the morning, which astonished the garrison. From these works, such a furious discharge of cannon and bombs was immediately commenced on the British shipping in the harbour, that the Admiral informed General Howe, that if the Americans kept possession of these Heights, he would not be able to keep one of his Majesty's ships in the harbour. It was, therefore, in a council of war, * Stedman. Ramsay. Frost's United States. 64 BOSTON EVACUATED. determined to dislodge the Americans, and Howe despatched some troops in transports to commence the attack ; but, a furious storm coming on, scattered them, and they returned. Besides, Dorchester Heights, now, could not fail to remind the British of Bunker's Hill ; and the Americans had prepared hogsheads chained together in great numbers, and filled with stones, to roll down upon them as they marched up. This expedient, would effectually have destroyed all order, and whole columns would have been swept off at once. General Howe, therefore, determined to evacuate the city. A fort- night afterwards, this measure was effected ; and, at ten on the morning of the 17th of March, the British troops, amounting to more than seven thousand men, sailed from Boston ; leaving their barracks standing ; a number of pieces of cannon spiked ; four large iron sea-mortars ; and stores to the value of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Washington immediately took possession of the capital of Massachusetts. Fearing that the British fleet would proceed to New York, he detached several regiments to the defence of that place ; and soon after followed them with the remainder of the army.* As some months would still elapse, before the British could assemble their troops, and open the general campaign in the north, they determined to send an expedition immediately against the southern states, where the climate could oppose no obstacle and a decisive blow, it was thought, might be struck with a small army. The Americans obtained intelli- gence of the designs of the enemy, by the movements of their army, and by means of an intercepted letter, which designated Charleston as the place of attack. The people made every exertion to put the place in a respectable posture of defence ; the higher classes labouring with their hands on the works, in company with their servants and slaves. The defences of the town, were greatly strength- ened, and a new fort, afterwards called Fort Moultrie, was erected on Sulivan's Island, which is situated near the ♦ Murray. ATTACK ON CHARLESTON. 65 channel leading up to the town, and separated by a creek from Long Island. In May, the British fleet, under Sir Peter Parker, arrived, and formed a junction with the land forces under Sir Henry Clinton, at Cape Fear, and, on the 4th of June, the whole force, fleet and army, appeared within half a mile of Charleston. The attack of the fort, however, from various obstacles, was not commenced until the morning of the 28th, between ten and eleven o'clock ; when a tremendous fire was opened upon it from the fleet, which comprised two fifty gun ships, and six other vessels, carrying from twenty to thirty guns each. The garrison, consisting of three hundred and seventy five regulars and a few militia, under the command of Colonel Moultrie, made a most gallant defence. They fired deliberately ; taking aim, and seldom missing their object. The ships were rendered unmanageable, several of the highest British officers fell, and the Commodore was at one time left alone on his own deck. General Clinton had been landed with a number of troops on Long Island, and, it was expected that he would have co- operated with Sir Peter Parker, by crossing over the narrow passage between the two islands, and attacking the fort in its unfinished rear : but, the extreme danger to which he would have been exposed, induced him to decline the perilous attempt. The firing ceased in the evening, and the ships slipped their cables. Before morning they had retired about two miles from the island, having first set on fire one of theii frigates, which had run aground. Within a few days more, the troops re-embarked and sailed for New York, having lost in their attack, about two hundred men. The loss of the garrison, was only ten men killed, and twenty-two wounded. The fort, being built of a firm, spongy palmetto wood, was little damaged, the balls having sunk m the walls, without shattering them.* During this engagement, the inhabitants stood with arms in their hands, at their respective posts, prepared to receive the * Ramsay. Murray. 66 DEFEAT OF THE CHEROKEES. enemy whenever they might land. Impressed with high ideas of British prowess and bravery, they were apprehensive that the fort would be either silenced or passed, and that they should be called to immediate action. They were cantoned in the various landing places near Charleston, and their resolution was fixed to meet the invaders at the water's edge, and dispute every inch of ground, trusting the event to Heaven, The thanks of Congress were given to General Lee, who had been sent on by Congress to take the command in Carolina; and also to Colonels Moultrie and Thompson, for their good conduct on that memorable day. In compliment to the commanding officer, the fort was from that time, called Fort Moultrie. This whole affair was most fortunate, adding another to the series of successes gained by the new levies, and inspiring them with fresh courage. When the British fleet, under Sir Peter Parker first appeared m Charleston bay, the Cherokee Indians, instigated by John Stuart an officer of the crown, treacherously invaded the western frontier of the province, and commenced their horrid system of warfare, murdering the unprotected and spreading ruin and devastation wherever they turned. The repulse and speedy retreat of the British fleet, and the tranquillity which succeeded their unsuccessful attempt on Fort Moultrie, left the Indians exposed to the vengeance of the Americans ; who, resolving to prevent them from committing similar outrages in future, carried the war into their own territories. They entered the Indian country, in considerable force, and at different points, from Virginia and Georgia, defeated their warriors, burnt their villages, and destroyed their crops. They were at last compelled to sue for peace in a most sub- missive manner, and a treaty was made with them, by which they ceded a considerable portion of their land to South Carolina. This expedition so intimidated the Cherokees, tliat, for several years they attempted no further hostilities.* * Ramsay. Murray. STATE OF PARTIES. 67 During the course of the winter of 1775 — 6, a momentous design was in active progress, which had a very important issue. Several leading men, particularly in New England, had, from the beginning, extended their views to the entire dissolution of their connexion with Britain. Overpowered, however, by a majority of their own number, and by the force of public opinion, they did not openly acknowledge their designs, but watched the train of events. Down to 1775, the great body of the people seem to have entertained no wash, or even idea, of final separation; though in the course of that year, some partial movements began in its favour. In May, a convention in Mecklenburg county. North Carolina, declared for it, but the example was nowhere fol- lowed, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Virginia, and other royal colonies, being left without a government, authority was given to the people to establish one for themselves, limited to the continuance of the dispute with the mother country. Towards the close of the year, detached parties every where began openly to pronounce for independence ; yet the general feeling was still strong against it. This sentiment was forcibly expressed by the assemblies of New York and New Jersey, the latter declaring "their detestation of that horrid measure." Dr. Franklin, though not openly professing it, circulated articles of union and confederation ; but they were coldly received, and not even sanctioned by congress.* In spring 1776, news was received that their second petition to the king had been rejected ; that they had been declared rebels ; that large armies were preparing to subckie them; and that their whole commerce was utterly prohibited. Thenceforth a large majority of the leading men formed the determined purpose of asserting independence. The Union, it appeared to them, could never be then restored on any footing, but that of complete subjugation. Doubtless they felt personally, that they themselves would be precipitated from the high place they at present occupied, and become ever after objects of suspicion, or even proscription. A * Murray. 68 INDEPENDENCE. general desire, accordingly, was now felt to carry out this measure in a decided form, before the expected military force, or the conciliatory commission, should arrive from Great Britain ; yet great exertions are admitted to have been ne- cessary, and much difficulty felt, in bringing the body of the people to this conclusion. The press was most actively em- ployed through gazettes, newspapers, and pamphlets. The essays signed Common Sense, by Thomas Paine, from their rough and homely shrewdness, were considered to have pro- duced a very powerful effect on the multitude. As a pre- parative, congress authorized the immediate suppression of royal jurisdiction in all the colonies, and the formation of governments emanating from the people ; while they met the prohibition against their trade by throwing it open to the whole world except Britain.* On the 22d of April, the convention of North Carolina empowered their delegates to concur with the others in the establishment of independence. That of Virginia went farther, instructing theirs to propose it. Boston was now somewhat less forward, merely intimating, if congress should think it necessary, their willing concurrence. Thus supported, Mr. Lee, a Virginian delegate, on the 7th of June 1776, submitted a resolution for dissolving all connexion with Great Britain, and constituting the united colonies free and inde- pendent states. It was warmly debated from the 8th to the 10th, when it was carried, by a majority of one. As this was not a footing on which so mighty a change could be placed, the final decision was postponed till the 1st of July ; and during the interval, every possible engine was brought to act upon the dissentient colonies. The smaller states were threatened with exclusion from all the benefits and protection which might be derived from the proposed union. As the assemblies of Pennsylvania and Maryland still refused their concurrence, conventions of the people were called, where majorities were at length obtained. Thus, on the 4th of * Murray. INDEPENDENCE. G9 July, votes trora all the colonies had been procured in favour of the measure. The Declaration of Independence, which had already been carefully prepared, was forthwith emitted; publishing and declaring that " these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, FREE and independent states," and entitled, as such, to carry on war, make peace, form alliances, regulate com- merce, and discharge all other sovereign functions. This Declaration of Independence was immediately circula- ted throughout the provinces, and proclaimed to the army ; and was every where received with demonstrations of joy. Its effect was electrifying. The people felt themselves to be no longer colonists complaining to and petitioning a distant sovereign, with arms in their hands vigorously resisting an authority which they yet owned ; but a free people, asserting their independence and repelling the aggressions of a foreign and invading foe. They felt that they were forever separated from Great Britain and her tyrannical rule, and that a new and a great nation had just been born into the world, which would forever reckon its birth from the 4th of July 1776. There were, at this period, in the United States, four classes of men. The first consisted of those who eagerly desired the independence of their country, and who counting their own lives as nothing in the scale were resolved to obtain its freedom at all hazards. The second, consisting of the agricultural population, were by far the most numerous, and still remained ardently attached to the mother country. These in great numbers, supported and aided Howe in the states of New York and New Jersey ; and Washington, at a later period declares, that the spirit of all Pennsylvania was bad, with the single exception of Philadelphia. In Carolina, a rising early took place in favour of the royalist cause ; and at a very advanced period, when the struggle seemed even decided, they openly declared in its favour. These constituted the class of Tories * There was another class consisting of those who, distant * Murray vol. ii, p. 13. 10 THE BORDER WARRIORS. from the scene of tumult, lived in ease and abundance on the produce of their fields. It was vain to attempt to enlist them on the side of the new government; they felt them- selves perfectly happy, and the British government, represented as so tyrannical, never gave them the slightest annoyance. They saw most reluctantly this peaceful order broken up, and as they thought, by the efforts of a few daring spirits. Yet the British were disappointed when, on the re- port of these sentiments, they called upon them to rise in arms and join the royal standard. What they desired was, to be left as they were, and have no disturbance on the subject. To exchange their peaceful labours for the hardships and perils of the field, was what they were by no means prepared for. This class during the greater part of the war, remained neutral, taking no active part on either side, and seeming to care little which party triumphed in the end. There remained still a class, small indeed in number, but which, notwithstanding, acted a prominent part in the great struggle. These were the rude borderers, who roved through the unbroken forests, or on the rough slopes of the Alleghany. Engaged here in perpetual contests with wild beasts and wilder men, war, which broke up all the habits and enjoy- ments of the cultivator, presented theirs under a heightened and more animating form. In the straggling warfare which could alone be waged in those rude and entangled tracts, they were equal or superior to the best trained regular troops. The free and daring habits generated by this mode of life were probably the cause which led most of them to embrace with ardour, the independent cause ; and the British, when- ever they penetrated deep into the interior, roused this game from its lair, and in conflicting with it, experienced the most signal and formidable disasters.* In the decisive posture which affairs had now assumed, Washington was actively endeavouring to organize the means of maintaining the hazardous contest upon which he had entered, as well as of resisting the attack that immediately * Murray. STATE OF THE ARMY. "^l impended. His most urgent representations to congress upon the necessity of forming a permanent army had been disregarded ; and he found himself at the head of a motley group, in which soldiers, enlisted only for a year half elapsed, were mixed with militia whose services were to be still more temporary. In these circumstances, the restraints of disci- pline extended little beyond the general orders. The differ- ent states, having hitherto been almost entirely separated, viewed each other with jealous and even hostile feelings, which were shared by their respective troops, who would, it is said, more cheerfully have fought with their neighbours than with their common enemy. Their leader was soon painfully convinced, that though bodies of people may be inspired with bursts of patriotism, self-interest soon becomes among them the ruling principle. Some of them, availing themselves of the possession of arms, they indulged in predatory practices of the most scandalous nature. In general, however, they were willing to fight, and had shown themselves capable both of forming and defending intrench- ments. Washington made it a rule never to spare the spade ; many were well skilled in the desultory use of the rifle, yet ill fitted for a field campaign with a large body of regular troops. Even of these ineffective soldiers there were, at the beginning of July 1776, only 17,000 ; and though they were raised in a few weeks to 27,000, it was mostly by militia, numbers of whom were soon on the sick-list.* Meantime, General Howe was engaged in conveying his army to the scene of action. The abrupt departure from Boston had considerably deranged his plans, as all the supplies were directed toward that city, and some thus fell into the hands of the Americans. In June, however, the armament set sail ; and he himself landed at Sandy Hook, a long promontory forming the northern extremity of New Jer- sey. He preferred, however, to land the troops on Staten, an island south of Long Island, much smaller, and separated by a narrow channel. On the 3d July, he disembarked * Murray. 72 STATE OF THE BRITISH ARMY. there without opposition, being greeted with warm assuran- ces of welcome and support from the adjacent territories. On the 12th, he was joined by his brother, Lord Howe, who had been appointed commander of the fleet, and also joint commissioner to treat of pacification ; while the ships, with the large reinforcements from Britain, began arriving in successive detachments. As operations were delayed till the whole were assembled, his lordship circulated a proclamation, offering full pardon to all who should return to their duty, and to any port or colony so acting, peace, protection, and free trade. No concession being mentioned as to the original grounds of dispute. Congress considered it so unsatisfactory that they studiously circulated it among the people. Lord Howe, also attempted to open communications with "Washington ; but as he did not choose to address him under his title of general, his advances were politely de- clined. The British designs had been well concealed, and Wash- ington remained long in anxious doubt, whether the inroad was not to be made on the side of Canada. Considering New York, however, as the most probable and dangerous point, he had been diligently strengthening all its approaches. Having determined also to make a stand for the defence of Long Island, he formed strong lines at Brooklyn, nearly opposite to the city, stationing the flower of his troops along a range of strongly fortified heights in front of the British quarters on Staten Island. Howe, meantime, on pretty solid grounds, and with his characteristic caution, waited till his whole force was mustered, when he could follow up without interruption any success he might obtain. About the middle of August, he had been joined by nearly all the reinforcements from Britain, and also by those from the south under Clinton and Cornwallis, which augmented his force to about 30,000 men. He still, ho.wever, waited a few days on account of the intense heat, which, he dreaded, would injure the health of his troops.* * Murray. THE BRITISH ON LONG ISLAND. 73 At length, on the 22d August, the British army crossed the channel, and, covered by the guns of the fleet, landed on Long Island, taking post opposite to the range of heights occupied by the Americans. The Americans, under General Sullivan, to the number of fifteen thousand, were posted on a small peninsula, between Mill Creek, a Uttle above Red Hook on the right, and a bend of the river called Wallabout Bay on the left. They had constructed strong fortifications opposite to New York, from which they were separated by the East river, at that place about a mile wide. In front, they were protected by a line of fortifications stretching from Mill Creek to Wallabout Bay ; which had been erected by General Green before his sickness compelled him to resign the command. From this post ten thousand men under General Putnam were detached, to occupy the heights which obliquely intersected the Island, and separated them from the British troops. There were three passes through these hills ; one near the narrows, a second on the Flatbush road, and a third on the road leading from Bedford to Flatbush, At each of these, Putnam stationed eight hundred men, a guard fully sufficient to maintain them against any force which might attempt to pass. But there was a fourth road leading around the extreme easterly end of the hills to Jamaica. At this place, a corps of observation only was stationed, consisting of a battalion of rifle-men under the command of Colonel Miles. Opposite the centre of Putnam's line, stood, in the plain, the village of Flatbush. To this town the Hessians under General De Heister, were advanced with orders to occupy the attention of the Americans by continual skirmishes with their patroles. In the meantime. Sir Henry Clinton and Sir William Howe, having reconnoitered the position of the American forces, saw that it would not be a difficult matter to turn their left flank, and thus oblige them to come to an engagement or to retire under manifest disadvantage. Accordingly, on the night of the 26 th of August, the right * Ramsay. Stedman vol. ii, p. 125. 74 BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. wing of the English army, consisting of a strong advanced /corps, commanded by General Clinton, and supported by Percy's brigades, moved aross the country, by Flat-Land, in order to secure the Jamaica road. They surprised and inter- cepted Colonel Miles' small corps of observation, and gained the pass without communicating the alarm to the Americans. At nine o'clock in the morning, the British passed the heights and reached Bedford. An attack was immediately com- menced on the American left, which being thus surprised, and finding their enemy in their rear, made but a feeble resistance, and retired from the woody ground to their lines, into which they threw themselves in some confusion. In the meantime. General De Heister, with a column of Hessians from Flatbush, attacked the centre of the Ameri- cans, and drove them back on Clinton's column, then imme- diately in their rear. They were driven back by Clinton on the Hessians. They were thus alternately driven back and intercepted between General Clinton and General De Heister, until at last, though almost surrounded and overpowered by numbers, the most of them succeeded in effecting their escape to the American lines.* The British left column, led by General Grant, advancing from the narrows by the edge of the bay, in order to divert the attention of the Americans from the principal attack on the right, about midnight, fell in with their advanced guard, which retired before them until they arrived at an advantageous post where their commander Lord Stirling with the remainder of the detachment was stationed ; and there they maintained their ground. On the advance of the English, a furious cannonade was commenced on both sides, which was continued with unceasing perseverance till they heard the firing at Bedford. The Americans, in this quarter did not attempt to retire until they received notice of the total route of the rest of the army. Apprehensive then of being unable to regain their lines, Stirling ordered them to retreat by crossing a morass and mill dam which was close * Stedman vol. i, p. 194. M BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 15 to the right of the works ; while he with 400 young Mary- land gentlemen, in order to draw the attention of the British from their retreating companions, attacked a house above the place where the crossing was to be made, and in which Lord Cornwallis was posted. Stirling was confident of effecting his object, and perhaps of driving Cornwallis from the house. He advanced several times to the charge ; but Corn- wallis was strongly reinforced and Grant coming up, made an attack on the rear of the Americans. Stirling, and his brave followers were at length compelled to surrender themselves prisoners of w^ar ; but not before their comrades had crossed the creek and escaped. The loss of the British and Hessians in this ensjagement was about four hundred and fifty ; while that of the Ajneri- cans in killed, wounded and missing exceeded one thousand. Brigadier-Generals Lord Stirling, and Woodhull, and Major- General Sullivan, were taken during or after the battle. Colonel Smallwood's regiment, consisting of young gen- tlemen of the best familes in Maryland, sustained a loss of two hundred and fifty-nine men in killed and wounded.* On the evening of the 27th the victorious army encamped in front of the American works ; and, on the 28th broke ground about five hundred yards from a redoubt on the left of the American lines. The same day. General MifBin crossed over from New York, and General Washington called a council of war to consult on the measures proper to be taken. It was determined, that the objects in view were in no degree proportioned to the dangers, to wdiich, by continuing on the Island, they would be exposed. Conformably to this opinion, dispositions were made for an immediate retreat. The retreat commenced soon after it was dark on the evening of the 29th, from two points, the upper and lower ferries on East river. At first the wind and tide were both unfavoura- ble to them, and it was feared that it would be impossible to (jross on that night. But, about eleven o'clock, the wind shifting, the tide turning, and the sea becoming calmer, the * Stedman. Ramsay. V6 RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND. boats were enabled to pass. Another remarkable circum- stance was, that, over Long Island hung a thick fog, which prevented the British troops from discovering the operations of the Americans ; while on the side of New York the atmosphere was perfectly clear. This retreat was effected in thirteen hours, though nine thousand men had to pass over the river, besides field artillery, ammunition, provisions, cattle, horses and carts. The circumstances of this retreat were particularly glorious to the Americans. They had been driven to the corner of an island, where they were hemmed in within the narrow space of two square miles. In their front was an encamp- ment of upwards of twenty thousand men ; in their rear, an arm of the sea, a mile wide, which they could not cross but by several embarkations. Notwithstanding these difficulties, they secured a retreat without the loss of a man. The pickets of the English army arrived only in time to fire upon their rear-guard, already too far removed from the shore to receive any damage. In about half an hour after the last had crossed, the fog cleared away, and the British entered the works which had just been relinquished. The unsuccessful termination of the action on the 27th led to consequences more seriously alarming to the Americans, than the loss of their men. Their army was universally dis- pirited. The militia ran off by companies, and their example infected the regular regiments. The loose footing on which the militia came to camp, made it hazardous to exercise over them that discipline, without which, any army is a mob. To restrain one part of* an army, while another claimed and ex- ercised the right of doing as they pleased, was no less impracticable than absurd.* A council of war recommended to act on the defensive, and not to risk the army for the sake of New York. To retreat, subjected the commander-in-chief to reflections pain- ful to bear, and yet impolitic to refute. To stand his ground, * Ramsay. GENERAL HOWE'S OPERATIONS. 11 and, by suffering himself to be surrounded, to hazard the fate of America on one decisive engagement, was contrary to every rational plan of defending the wide ex- tended states committed to his care. A middle line, between abandoning and defending, was therefore for a short time adopted. The public stores were removed to Dobb's ferry, about 26 miles from New York. Twelve thousand men were ordered to King's Bridge at the northern extremity of New York island, and 4,500 to remain for the defence of the city ; while the remainder occupied the intermediate space, with orders, either to support the city, or King's Bridge, as exigencies might require. Before the British landed, it was impossible to tell what place would be first attacked. This made it necessary to erect works for the defence of a variety of places, as well as of New York. General Howe, having prepared every thing for a descent on New York island, began to land his men under cover of five ships of war, between Kipp's bay and Turtle bay. A breast work had been erected in the vicinity, and a party stationed in it to oppose the British, in case of their attempt- ing to land ; but on the first appearance of danger, they ran off* in confusion. The commander-in-chief came up, and in vain attemped to rally them. Though the British in sight did not exceed sixty, he could not, either by example, intreaty, or authority, prevail on a superior force to stand their ground, and face that inconsiderable number.* On the day after this shameful flight of part of the Ameri- can army, a skirmish took place between two battalions of light infantry and Highlanders, commanded by Brigadier Leslie, and some detachments from the American army, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Knowlton of Connecticut, and Major Leitch of Virginia. The colonel was killed, and the major badly wounded. Their men behaved with great bravery, and fairly beat their adversaries from the field. Most of these were the same men, who had * Ramsay. 78 FIRE IN NEW YORK. disj^raced themselves the day before, by running away. Struck with a sense of shame for their late misbehaviour, they had offered themselves as volunteers, and requested the commander-in-chief to give them an opportunity to retrieve their honour. Their good conduct, at this second engage- ment, proved an antidote to the poison of their example on the preceding day. It demonstrated that the Americans only wanted resolution and good officers, to be on a footing with the British ; and inspired them with hopes, that a little more experience would enable them to assume, not only the name and garb, but the spirit and firmness of soldiers. The Americans, having evacuated the city of New York, a brigade of the British army marched into it. They had been only a few days in possession, when a dreadful fire broke out, and consumed about a thousand houses. Dry weather, and a brisk wind, spread the flames to such an extent, that, had it not been for great exertions of the troops and sailors, the whole city must have shared the same fate. After the Americans had evacuated New York, they retired to the north end of the island, on which that city is erected. In about four weeks, Gineteen years of age, he espoused the cause of the Americans, with the most disinterested and generous ardour. Having determined to join them, he communicated his intentions to the Ameri- can commissioners, at Paris. They justly conceived, that a patron of so much importance would be of service to their cause, and encouraged his design. Before he had embarked from France, intelligence arrived in Europe, that the Ameri- can insurgents, reduced to 2000 men, were fleeing through Jersey before a British force , of 30,000. Under these circumstances, the American commissioners at Paris thought it but honest to dissuade him from the present prosecution of his perilous enterprise. It was in vain that they acted so candid a part. His zeal to serve a distressed country, was not abated by her misfortunes. Having embarked in a vessel, which he purchased for the purpose, he arrived in Charleston, early in 1777, and soon after joined the American army. Congress resolved, that " in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he should have the rank of Major-General in their army." Independent of the risk he ran as an American officer, he hazarded his large fortune, in consequence of the laws of France, and also the confinement of his person, in case of capture, when on his way to the United States, without the chance of being acknowledged by any nation ; for his court had forbidden his * Marshall. 108 BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE. proceeding to America, and had despatched orders to have him confined in the West Indies, if found in that quarter. This gallant nobleman, who under all these disadvantages had demonstrated his good will to the United States, re- ceived a wound in his leg, at the battle of Brandywine, but he nevertheless continued in the field, and exerted himself both by word and example in rallying the Americans. Other foreigners of distinction also shared in the engagement Count Pulaski, a Polish nobleman, the same who a few years before had carried off king Stanislaus from his capital, though surrounded with a numerous body of guards, and a Russian army, fought with the Americans at Brandywine. He was a thunderbolt of war, and always sought for the post of danger as the post of honour. Soon after this engagement Congress appointed him commander of horse, with the rank of Brigadier. Monsieur du Coudray, a French officer of high rank, and great abilities, while on his way from Phila- delphia to join the American army, about this time was drowned in the river Schuylkill. He rode into a flat- bottomed boat on a spirited mare, whose career he was not able to stop, and she went out at the farther end into the river, with her rider on her back. The evening after the battle of Brandywine, a party of the British went to Wilmington, and took president M'Kinley prisoner. They also took possession of a shallop, loaded with the most valuable effects of the inhabitants.* Howe persevered in his scheme of gaining the right flank of the Americans. This was no less steadily pursued on the one side, than avoided on the other. Washington came forward in a few days with a resolution of risking another action. He accordingly advanced as far as the Warren tavern on the Lancaster road. Near that place both armies were on the point of engaging with their whole force, but were prevented by a most violent storm of rain, which continued for a whole day and night. When the rain ceased, the Americans found that their ammunition was almost * Ramsay. ACTION AT PAOLI TAVERN. 109 entirely ruined. They therefore withdrew to a place of safety. Before a proper supply was procured, the British marched from their position near the White Horse tavern, down towards the Swedes' Ford. The Americans again took post in the front ; but the British, instead of urging an action, began to march up towards Reading. To save the stores which had been deposited in that place, Washing- ton took a new position, and left the British in undisturbed possession of the roads which lead to Philadelphia. His troops were worn down with a succession of severe duties. There were in his army above a thousand men who were barefooted, and who had performed all their late movements in that condition. About this time the Americans sustained a considerable loss by a night attack, conducted by General Grey on a detachment of their troops, which was encamped near the Paoli tavern under W^ayne. The outposts and pickets were forced without noise, about one o'clock in the morning. The men had scarcely time to turn out, and when they turned out they unfortunately paraded in the light of their fires. This directed the British how and where to proceed. They rushed in upon them and by a free and exclusive use of the bayonet succeeded in killing or wounding over 2000 of the Americans. The enterprise was conducted w'ith so much address, that the loss of the assailants did not exceed eight. Congress, which after a short residence at Baltimore, had returned to Philadephia, were obliged a second time to consult their safety by flight. They retired at first to Lancas- ter, and afterwards to Yorktown. The bulk of the British army being left in Germantown, Sir William Howe, with a small part, made his triumphal entry into Philadelphia, and was received with the hearty welcome of numerous citizens, who either from conscience, cowardice, interest, or principal, had hitherto separated themselves from the class of active whigs.* The possession of the largest city in the United States, * Ramsay. 110 HOWE IN PHILADELPHIA. together with the dispersion of that grand council which had heretofore conducted their public affairs, were reckoned by the short sighted as decisive of their fate. The submission of countries, after the conquest of their capital, had often been a thing of course ; but in the great contest for the sovereignty of the United States, the question did not rest with a ruler, or a body of rulers, nor was it to be determined by the possession or loss of any particular place. It was the public mind, the sentiments and opinions of the yeomanry of the country, which were to decide. Though Philadelphia had become the residence of the British army, yet as long as the bulk of the people of the United States were opposed to their government, the country was unsubdued. Indeed it was presumed by the more discerning politicians, that the luxuries of a great city would so far enervate the British troops as to indispose them for those active exertions to which they were prompted, while inconveniently encamped in the open country. To take off the impression the British successess might make in France, to the prejudice of America, Doctor Franklin gave them an ingenious turn, by observing, " that instead of saying Sir William Howe had taken Philadelphia, it would be more proper to say, Philadelphia had taken Sir William Howe."* The city being now securely in the possession of the British army, Lord Howe turned his attention to removing the obstructions in the Delaware, placed there for the purpose of saving Congress from an attack by the British fleet. Three rows of chevaux-de-frise, composed of immense beams of timber, connected together by bolts, and armed with iron pikes firmly fixed in every direction had been sunk in the river, some distance below the mouth of the Schuyl- kill. The lower line of these works was defended by a fortification at Billingsport on the Jersey side of the river, and the upper by a fort, furnished with heavy artillery, at a place called Red Bank, on the same side. Works had also * Ramsay. MARCH TO GERMANTOWN. Hi been erected on a low marshy island, formed by depositions of mud and sand, whence it received its name of Mud Island. The redoubt on Red Bank, being situated on high and commanding ground, served also as a protection to the water force, which might retire there for safety. This con- sisted of fourteen gallies mounting heavy cannon, two floating batteries of nine guns each, with a number of armed vessels, fire-ships and rafts. To remove these obstructions so as to open a communica- tion between the fleet and the army, was an object of the utmost importance, but its accomplishment could only be effected by reducing the forts by which they were defended. Three large batteries were commenced on Province Island, formed by the junction of the Schuylkill with the Delaware, immediately opposite Mud Island. While yet incomplete, they were attacked by two frigates aided by many of the smaller vessels. For some time, the vessels kept up a heavy fire upon the town, but, when the tide fell, the frigate Delaware was left aground, and captured by the enemy, the smaller vessels being compelled to fly to the forts for protection. The British General now had possession of the ferry, and was enabled to intercept the supplies sent to the forts below from Trenton.* But, whilst the enemy were thus engaged in clearing the river, General Washington who had been reinforced at his camp at Skippack, about twenty miles from Philadelphia and sixteen from Germantown, by all the expected troops except the Virginians, formed the plan of surprising the camp of Germantown. He was the more induced to attempt it from the knowledge he had received of the large detach- ments sent to take possession of Philadelphia, and employed on the river service. At about six o'clock in the afternoon of the 3d of October, the army quitted the encampment at Skippack and commenced a night march for Germantown. Wayne and Sullivan were to attack the left wing of the enemy in front, whilst Armstrong with the Pennsylvania * Marshall. Stedman. 112 BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN. militia, accompanied by the commander-in-chief in person, attacked it on the rear. Greene and Stephens were to attack the right wing in front, whilst Smallwood fell upon its rear. Stirling's division, together with Nash and Maxwell's brigade, formed a corps de reserve. At dawn of day on the 4th, the troops under Sullivan drove in the picket at the head of the village. The 40th regiment under Colonel Musgrave was next attacked and defeated. That gallant officer throw- ing himself into a stone house belonging to Mr. Chew, with five companies which he succeeded in preserving entire. From the windows he poured an incessant and galling fire upon the advancing Americans, and by his gallant con- duct succeeded for a time in arresting their progress. After making several bloody and ineffectual attempts to take the house by storm, and vainly endeavouring to make an impression on its walls with light artillery, a regiment was left to guard it, and the column moved off to the left.* Meanwhile, the left wing of the American army had attacked and driven from its position the light infantry which formed the front of the British right wing. Whilst pursuing the flying enemy, Woodford's brigade was arrested by a heavy fire from Chew's house, directed against its right flank. The artillery being brought to play upon the house, caused the advance of the brigade to be retarded, whilst it was too light to render any service. Whilst the two bri- gades of Stephens' division were thus separated from each other, General Greene had entered the town, broken a part of the British right wing and made a number of prisoners. Hitherto the events of the morning had seemed to promise success, but the troops of the different bodies had necessarily become separated, and a thick fog which had proved advan- tageous on the commencement of the action, now not only prevented the commander-in-chief from learning the position of the different regiments, but also rendered the troops incapable of distinguishing friend from foe. The number of fences, too, which the army were obliged to cross, and * Marshall. Stedman. AMERICANS RETREAT. 113 m many cases to tear up to allow of the passage of the artillery, impeded all their motions, and Washington soon perceived that a retreat was inevitable. The attacks on the flanks and rear appear not to have been made, and the troops in that part of the enemy's camp were left at liberty to meet the right of Sullivan's division, which had penetrated far into the town, whilst his left was detained at Chew's house. The action soon became warm in this quarter, and Greene was prevented from aiding Sullivan with that part of his division which had entered the town, by an attack from the British right, which had by this time recovered from its confusion. This was the sharpest contest of the day, and had the other divisions of the army fulfilled their instructions as accurately as did Greene, there can be no doubt but that victory would have crowned the American banner. But the American right wing now began to retreat, owing, it is said, to the want of ammunition, and the fog breaking, discovered to Greene the troops of Sullivan, retreating in confusion under an attack made by General Grant upon the left of his line, whilst he was engaged in front. Greene was now in great danger of being surrrounded, and he slowly retired, covering the retreat of the army without loss. This long and sharp action lasted near two hours and a half, the bayonet being used only on the American left, owing to the nature of the ground. Had there been sufficient light for the Americans to discover the manner in which the enemy had formed, their movements might have been adapted to the occasion, when there could have been no doubt as to the result, and Generals Washington and Greene were both of the opinion that the Americans retreated at the moment when victory was within their grasp. In a letter to Congress, written three days after the battle, the commander- in-chief writes ; " It is with much chagrin and mortification I add that every account confirms the opinion I at first entertained, that our troops retreated at the instant when victory was declaring in our favour. The tumult, disorder, * Marshall. Stedman. lit ATTACK ON RED BANK. and even despair, which it is said had taken place in the British army, were scarcely paralelled." The artillery was all saved, even to a piece belonging to Greene's column, that had been dismounted ; the fact of his coolly ordering it to be placed in a wagon and brought away, is conclusive evidence that the retreat was not hurried. In this battle, the Ameri- cans lost about two hundred in killed, three times that number wounded, and about four hundred prisoners. Gene- ral Nash was killed, and among the wounded was Colonel Matthews, whose regiment of Virginians had penetrated into the centre of the town. The British acknowledged a loss of six hundred in killed and wounded ; among the former were Brigadier-General Agnew and Colonel Bird. After the action, the American army marched to Perkiomen Creek, where it was reinforced by fifteen hundred Virginia militia and a state regiment, when Washington again advanced and took post at Skippack. Howe soon after the battle, brought the whole of his army to Philadelphia, where he again turned his attention to the reduction of the forts on the river.* An attempt was soon made to carry the redoubt and in- trenchment at Red Bank by assault. The execution of this enterprise was entrusted to Colonel Donop, a brave and high spirited German officer, who, with three battalions of Hessian grenadiers, the regiment of Mirbach, and the infantry chas- seurs, 2000 men in all, passed the Delaware, from Philadel- phia, on the 21st of October, and, on the following day in the afternoon, reached the place of his destination. A dis- position for the attack was instantly made, and the brave Donop, with undaunted firmness, led on his troops to the assault, through a heavy fire, not only from the works at Red Bank, but from the gallies and floating batteries upon the river. Whilst destruction every instant thinned their ranks, the German battalions advanced to the charge, and forced an extensive outwork, from which the Americans had retired within the redoubt. By this time Donop had fallen, his thigh * Marshall. Johnson. Stedman. THE AUGUSTA BURNED. 115 having been fractured by a musket shot, and the second in command was also wounded. The redoubt was more than eight feet high, with a parapet boarded and frized, and could not be forced without scaling ladders, and for want of them the enemy were obliged precipitately to retire through such a fire as that under which they had advanced, leaving their commander behind them, who died of his wound some few days after, whilst a prisoner in the hands of the Ameri- cans who had so bravely defended the post. The Hessians lost in killed and wounded about four hundred men, whilst Colonel Greene of Rhode Island who commanded in the fort lost but 32 men in all.* But this was not the only misfortune that happened at this time, to the British. It was intended that a part of the fleet, by moving up the river as far as it could go, should make a diversion in favour of the attack by land. For this purpose the Augusta, Roebuck, Liverpool, Pearl, and Merlin sloop, were ordered to pass through the opening in the lower chevaux de frize, and be in readiness. As soon as Donop's attack commenced, these ships slipped their cables and moved slowly up the river with the flood tide; but the natural course of the channel having been altered by the artificial obstructions thrown across it. and sand-banks being collected where there were none before, two of them, the Augusta and the Merlin, got aground a little below the second line of chevaux de frize. At the next tide every exertion was made to get them off', but in vain, the flow of the tide having been prevented from rising to its usual height by a strong northerly wind. It was not until the following morn- ing that the situation of these ships was perceived by the Americans, when they began to fire upon them from their works, gallies, and floating batteries, and sent down several fire-ships with the expectation of destroying them. The fire- ships were towed off" by the seamen but, not before the Augusta had caught fire, and the flames spreading so rapidly that they could not be got under, it was with the utmost Stedman, 116 ATTACK ON MUD ISLAND. difHculty tbat the greatest part of the crew were saved. Several, amongst whom were the second lieutenant, chaplain, and gunner, perished in the flames. It now became necessary to remove with all haste the frigates which lay near the Augusta, that they might not suffer by her explosion ; and as the Merlin could not be got off", orders were given to abandon and destroy her. Congress expressed its high sense of the gallantry of the troops in the forts by voting a sword to Colonel Greene of Rhode Island who commanded in fort Mercer at Red Bank, Colonel Smith of Maryland, who commanded in Fort Mifflin, and to Commodore Hazlewood, of the gallies. In the mean time the preparations for reducing the fort on Mud Island were going forward on the western shore of the Delaware ; but, from the difficulty of constructing works in marshy grounds, and the length of time required for trans- porting through swamps such heavy stores as were indispen- sably necessary, the batteries were not opened before the 10th of November. Between the Island and the western shore was a narrow channel of sufficient depth to admit ships of a mo- derate draught of water. For some days, that part of the fleet which was destined to co-operate in the attack, was prevented by contrary winds from moving up the river; but on the 15th of November, the wind proving favourable, and every thing being in readiness, the Vigilant armed ship, followed by a hulk, both of them mounted with heavy cannon, passed through between Province and Hog Island, and got into the channel behind, so as to bring their guns to bear upon that part of the fort which was least provided with defences. At the same time two of the large ships, the Isis and the Somer- set, with the Roebuck, and several frigates, sailed up the main channel of the river, and lay as near the front of the fort as the second line of the chevaux de frize would permit. The ships being thus disposed, a heavy cannonade com- menced as well from them as from the batteries on shore, which dismounted several of the guns in the fort, and other- Stedman. zii HOWE LEAVES PHILADELPHIA. 117 wise so damaged its defences, that the garrison, fearful of an assault, quitted it the ensuing night, and were carried off by their shipping. Two days after, the redoubt at Red Bank was also abandoned upon the approach of Lord Cornwallis wnth a detachment sent to reduce it; and the water force, being now no longer protected by the works on shore, quitted its station, and retired up the river. Some of the smaller gallies, by keeping close on the Jersey shore, passed Phila- delphia in the night, and escaped. Others were abandoned and burned. And thus a communication by the Delaware was at last opened by the British between the navy and army. During these transactions on the Delaware, General Greene was sent into the Jerseys for the purpose of meeting and engaging a detachment of 3000 men under Cornwallis, then collecting provisions in the country round Red Bank. Both parties were repeatedly reinforced and alternately offered and refused battle, until finally, Cornwallis put an end to these manoeuvres by retiring suddenly to Philadelphia with his stores and baggage, and Greene rejoined the main army. General Washington, after receiving a reinforcement of four thousand men from the northern army, had left his strong situation at Skippack Creek, now drew nearer to the British lines, and encamped at White Marsh, an advan- tageous station, about fourteen miles from Philadelphia. A valley and a rivulet were in his front ; and to the south and east an abbattis of trees, their top branches pointed and lying outwards.* Sir William Howe hoped that, in consequence of this reinforcement, Washington might be tempted to risk an engagement in the view of regaining possession of the capital of Pennsylvania. With this expectation he marched with the army from Philadelphia on the 4th of December at night, and on the following morning took post on Chesnut Hill, in front of the right wing of the American encamp- ment. Here the British army remained for two days, of '^ S tollman. 118 ATTEMPTED SURPRISE. fering battle ; but the Americans continued within their lines, except a corps of about one thousand men, which being sent out to skirmish with the light infantry under Lieutenant- Colonel Abercrombie, who were posted in front, was repulsed after a sharp contest. On the 6th at night the enemy was again put in motion, and the following morning took post on Edge Hill, an eminence one mile in front of the American left, which was occupied by a strong corps of northern troops, and from whence they were driven by the van-guard of the army under Lord Cornwallis. The same morning, another out- post was forced by a column of the enemy under Major- General Grey. During all this time General Washington remained quiet within his lines ; and Howe, seeing no prospect of being able to provoke him to an engagement, viewed the right, left, and centre, of his encampment, judging it unadvisable to attack him in his present strong position, returned on the 8th with the army to Philadelphia. It was generally ex- pected that Sir William Howe would have made some farther attempts on General Washington. General Washington could not believe that General Howe, with a victorious army, and that lately reinforced with four thousand men from New York, should come out of Philadel- phia only to return thither again. He therefore presumed that to avoid the disgrace of such a movement, the British commander would, from a sense of military honour, be com- pelled to attack him, though under great disadvantages. When he found him cautious of engaging and inclining to his left, a daring design was formed, which would have been executed, had the British either continued in their position, or moved a little farther to the left of the American army. This was, to have attempted in the night to surprise Phila- delphia. The necessary preparations for this purpose were made, but the retreat of the British prevented its execution.* Not long after the retreat of the British troops from White * Stedman. Ramsay. VALLEY FORGE. 119 Marsh, General Washington quitted his camp at that place in the night, crossed the Schuylkill, and took post at Valley Forge, about twenty-six miles distant from Philadelphia.* Had the American array retired to Lancaster, York, and Carlisle, the nearest towns where they could have been ac- commodated with winter quarters, a large and fertile district of country would have been left open for the British troops to forage in at pleasure, to prevent which General Washington recommended to his troops to build huts in the woods at their present station. Valley Forge. It is perhaps one of the most striking traits in General Washington's char- acter, that he possessed the faculty of gaining such an as- cendency over his raw and undisciplined followers, most of whom were destitute of proper winter clothing, and otherwise unprovided with necessaries, as to be able to prevail upon so many of them to remain with him, during the winter, in so distressing a situation. With immense labour he raised wood- en huts, covered with straw and earth ; which formed very un- comfortable quarters. On the east and south an intrenchment was made ; the ditch six feet wide and three in depth — the mound not four feet high, very narrow, and such as might easily have been beat down by cannon. Two redoubts were also begun, but never completed. The Schuylkill was on his left, with a bridge across. His rear was mostly covered by an impassable precipice, formed by Valley Creek, having only a narrow passage near the Schuylkill. On the right, his camp was accessible with some difficulty ; but the approach on his front was on ground nearly on a level with his camp. It is indeed difficult to give an adequate description of his misery in this situation. His army was destitute of almost every necessary of clothing, nay, almost naked ; and very often on short allowance of provisions ; an extreme mortality raged in his hospitals, nor had he any of the most proper medicines to relieve the sick. There were perpetual de- sertions in his camp, and in three months he had not four thousand men, and these by no means to be termed * Stedman. 120 VALLEY FORGE. eifective. Not less than five hundred horses perished from want and severity of the season. He had often not three days provision in his camp, and at times not enough for one day. The cheerfulness with which the general and his army submitted to spend a severe winter, in such circumstances, rather than leave the country exposed, by retiring farther, de- monstrated as well their patriotism as their fixed resolution to suffer every inconvenience, in preference to submission. Thus ended the campaign of 1777. Though Sir William Howe's army had been crowned with the most brilliant success, having gained two con- siderable victories, and been equally triumphant in many smaller actions, yet the whole amount of this tide of good fortune was no more than a good winter lodging for his troops in Philadelphia, whilst the men under his com- mand possessed no more of the adjacent country than what they immediately commanded with their arms. Con- gress, it is true, was compelled to leave the first seat of their deliberations, and the greatest city in the United States exchanged a number of its whig inhabitants for a numerous royal army ; but it is as true that the minds of the Americans were, if possible, more hostile to the claims of Great Britain than ever, and their army had gained as much by discipline and experience, as compensated for its diminution by defeats. The events of this campaign were adverse to the sanguine hopes which had been entertained of a speedy conquest of the revolted colonies. Repeated proofs had been given, that, though General Washington was very forward to engage when he thought it to his advantage, yet it was impossible for the royal commander to bring him to action against his judgment. By this mode of conducting the defence of the new formed states, two campaigns had been wasted away, and the work which was originally allotted for one, was still unfinished.* * Ramsay. CHAPTER VI. Northern Campaign of 1777. T will be necessary now to turn our attention from the south to the north; from the plains of Penn- sylvania to those of Canada. The administration of Great Britain resolved to carry on the war upon the side of Canada and the lakes with activity and energy. The command of this expedition was entrusted to general Burgoyne. His army consisted of British and German troops, amounting to seven thousand one hun- dred and seventy-three men, exclusive of the corps of artillery. Of these the Germans amounted to near one half. This body of troops accorded very nearly with the plan sub- mitted to the minister by General Burgoyne. He had required eight thousand regulars, rank and file, exclusive of the artil- lery, a corps of watermen, two thousand Canadians, including hatchet-rjien, with a thousand savages. * Stedman. 121 122 ADVANCE OF BURGOYNE. General Burgoyne was furnished with picked and experi- enced officers. The most eminent of these were Major- General PhiUps, Brigadier-Generals Frazer, Powel, and Hamilton; the Brunswick Major-General Reidesel, and Brigadier-General Specht. This large body of veteran troops was to be kept together as much as possible. In order to produce this effect, the inhabitants of Canada were com- manded to furnish men sufficient to occupy the woods on the frontiers, to prevent desertion, to procure intelligence, and to intercept all communication between the Americans and iheir friends in the province. They were also required to provide men for the completion of the fortifications at Sorel, St. John's, Chamblee, and Isle aux Noix, for the carriage of provisions, artillery, and stores, and for making roads. In addition to this, they were to furnish an adequate quantity of horses and carts. Colonel St. Leger, mth a body of light troops and Indians, amounting to between seven and eight hundred men, having been previously detached by the way of Lake Ontario, and the Mohawk river, in order to make a diversion in favour of the army, General Burgoyne set out from St. John's on the 16th of June 1777. The British fleet proceeded without any opposition, and, under its protection, the troops were landed about the middle of June, and encamped at a small distance from Crown Point on the north side. The advanced parties of the Americans retired on the approach of the army. At this place General Burgoyne thought proper to give the Indians a war-feast, and to make a speech to them. The purport of it was, to induce them to refrain from cruelty, and to mitigate their natural ferocity.* Before the royal army advanced to Ticonderoga General Burgoyne issued a proclamation or manifesto, in which, with a most ill-judged policy, he threatened to punish with the utmost severity, those who refused to attach themselves to the British cause. At the same time he magnified the * Stcdnnn. SIEGE OF TICONDEROGA. 123 ferocity of the savages, animadverting with pecuUar emphasis of diction on the eagerness which they discovered to butcher those M'ho continued hostile to the mother country, whose interests they had espoused. Having remained at Crown Point a few days, in order to rest themselves, and to establish magazines, the whole army proceeded with caution to the in- vestment of Ticonderoga. Ticonderoga is situated on the western shore, a few miles to the northward of a narrow inlet which unites Lake George to Lake Champlain, Crown Point lies more northward than Ticonderoga, and is situated on an angle of land washed on two sides by water flowing over rocks. A deep morass covered the third side, except in a small part, where formerly the French had erected lines, which still continued, and which the Americans had now strengthened by additional works.* Opposite to Ticonderoga, on the eastern shore, the Ameri- cans had with great industry fortified a high hill called Mount Independence. On the top of it, which is flat, a star fort had been erected, containing extensive barracks well supplied with artillery. The mountain stretched in a sloping direction into the water, strongly entrenched to its base, and well sup- plied with heavy artillery. Midway up the mountain, another battery was erected to cover the lower works. With infinite labour the Americans had united Ticonderoga and Mount Lidependence by a strong bridge of communication over the inlet. Twenty-two sunken piers supported the bridge at equal distances. Between the piers floats were placed, fastened together with chains and rivets, and bound to the sunken piers. On the Lake Champlain side of the bridge, a boom, composed of very large timber, was erected, fastened together by rivetted bolts and double chains, made of iron an inch and a half square. This bridge effectually prevented any attack by water from the northern side. But Ticonderoga, notwithstanding its apparent strength, had one disadvantage to contend with. To the southward of the bridge of com- * Stedman. 124 SIEGE OF TICONDEROGA. munication was a hill, called Sugar Hill, which overlooked and commanded both the works at Ticonderoga, and on Mount Independence. This place the Americans were unable to fortify, on account of the want of men ; General St. Clair, who commanded at Ticonderoga, not having abov& three thousand men. The royal army, when they left Crown Point, advanced with the greatest circumspection and prudence on both sides of the Lake, the fleet keeping in the centre till the army had enclosed the fortress on the land side, and the fleet had arrived just out of cannon-shot of their works. On the approach of the British right wing on the second of July, the garrison instantly relinquished and set fire to their works on the side of Lake George. Major-General Philips therefore immediately secured the possession of an important place called Mount Hope, which commanded the American line, and cut off all communication with Lake George.* The royal army having arrived at Ticonderoga, proceeded with expedition and alacrity to construct works necessary for the investment of that place. By the 5th of July these works were completed, and a road made to the top of Sugar Hill for the construction of a battery there. The garrison, dis- covering these vigorous operations, thought proper to hold a council of war, in which it was resolved to evacuate Ticonderoga and Mount Independence immediately. In consequence of this determination, their baggage, provisions, and stores, were embarked in two hundred batteaux, and despatched up the South river to Skenesborough. The army took the Castle Town road, in order to reach Skenesborough by land. St. Clair conceived that his retreat would be made without any difficulty, on account of the obstacles which the English must necessarily overcome before they could pursue him. The dawn of the day, on the 6th of July, discovered this unexpected retreat. The British commodore, Lutwych, immediately began to prepare for a pursuit by removing an immense work of framed timber sunk in the water, and by * Stedman. EVACUATION OF TICONDEROGA. 125 cutting away the boom that obstructed the passage, and which had cost, in the completion of it, near twelve month's labour. As soon as these obstructions were removed (which task -was effected by nine o'clock in the morning), a brigade of gun- boats, gave chase, and pursued that division of the Ameri- cans which was making its retreat by water, overtook them near the falls of Skenesborough, engaged and captured some of their largest gallies, and obliged them to set the others on fire, together with a considerable number of their batteaux. The grand division of the army under General Burgoyne, in gun-boats, the Royal George and Inflexible, frigates, approaching the Falls, were saluted by a' discharge of cannon from the works at Skenesborough. On this account the general thought proper to return and land his army at South Bay, where part of the batteaux of the Americans had taken refuge. These would certainly have been destroyed if the day had not been too far advanced. Immediately on the landing of the English the garrison evacuated the stockade fort, and other works, to which, as well as to the mills and storehouses, they set fire prev^ious to their departure.* During these operations by water, Brigadier-General Fra- zer, at the head of the advanced corps of grenadiers and light infantry, pressed hard upon the rear of that division of the Americans which had taken the route of Hubberton, and which he overtook at five o'clock on the morning of the 6th of July. This division consisted of a large detachment of the best marksmen and chosen troops, under the command of Colonel Warner. They were posted on strong ground, and received the attack of the British from behind breast- works composed of logs and old trees. General Frazer's detachment being about equal in point of number to the troops under Warner ; he commenced the engagement, ex- pecting a reinforcement of troops under the German general, Reidesel. The Americans maintained their post with great resolution and bravery. The reinforcements did not arrive so soon as was expected, and victory for a long time * Stedman. 126 ACTION NEAR FORT ANNE. was doubtful. The arrival however of General Reidesel decided the fate of the day. The Americans lost in this action the brave Colonel Francis, several other officers, and above two hundred men killed. The same number were taken prisoners ; and it is supposed that not less than six hundred wounded died in the woods.* The loss on the part of the British did not exceed, according to their own account, twenty officers, none, except two majors, of any rank ; and about one hundred and twenty men killed and wounded. This, however, is very improba- ble, as the best informed writers consider it as having been much greater. During this engagement General St. Clair was at Castle Town, about six miles distant from the field of battle. Immediately on receiving intelligence of this defeat, he bent his course to the woods on his left, fearful of being intercepted at Fort Anne ; but yet uncertain whether he should proceed to the upper part of the Connecti- cut, or to Fort Edward. In the meantime a party of the Americans having taken the road by Wood Creek, in • order to proceed beyond Fort Anne, after their retreat from Skenes- borough, were pursued by Colonel Hill and the ninth regi- ment, and overtaken near Fort Anne. A warm engagement immediately commenced ; but Colonel Hill had posted him- self in such a judicious manner, that all attacks in front were ineffectual. A disposition was then made to surround him, which he avoided, by changing his situation in the heat of the action. The engagement still continued, with various success, for three hours, when the Americans were repulsed, and forced to retreat, to Fort Edward, after setting fire to Fort ^nne. The artillery lost, by the evacuation of the northern posts, and taken or destroyed in the armed vessels at Skenes- borough, amounted to no less than one hundred and twenty- eight pieces, serviceable and unserviceable. The lo«s of flour, biscuit, pork, and beef, was also very considerable. At Fort Edward, where General Schuyler was joined by * Stedman. DIFFICULTIES OF BURGOYNE. 127 General St. Clair on the 12th, after a fatiguing march, the whole strength of the Americans did not exceed four thousand four hundred men, including militia. It may not be improper to relate here one of those stratagems in which the genius of the Americans, during the whole course of the war, was remarkably fertile. Schuyler took out of a canteen with a false bottom, a letter from a person in the interest of the provincials to General Sullivan, and prepared an answer to it, drawn up in such a strain as to perplex and distract Burgoyne, and leave him in doubt what course to follow. This letter, which fell, as was intended, into the English General's hands, had the desired effect; for he was com- pletely duped and puzzled by it for several days, and at a loss whether to advance or retreat.* General Burgoyne, after remaining some time at Skenes- borough, left that place, with an intention of taking the road that leads to Hudson's river, and thence to Albany, in order to open a communication with Lake George, on which he had embarked the heavy artillery and baggage. In this undertaking, the difficulties which the royal army had to encounter were infinite. Swamps and morasses were to be passed. Bridges were to be constructed, not only over creeks, but over ravines and gullies. The roads were to be cleared of the forest trees, which had been felled and dis- posed by Schuyler in such a manner as to intersect each other. General Schuyler had posted himself, immediately after the affair of Hubberton, as already observed, at Fort Edward. On the advance of the royal army he retreated down Hudson's river to Saratoga, where he issued a proclamation calculated to counteract the effect intended to be produced by the manifesto published by General Burgoyne. The royal army, on account of the numberless difficulties they had to encoun- ter, advanced but slowly ; and it w^as not till the 30th of July that they arrived on Hudson's river. Here their progress was checked for some time, because it was necessary, before they could proceed, that the provisions, stores, and other * Stedman. 128 SITUATION OF STILL WATER. necessaries, which had been brought to Fort George from Ticonderoga, by General Phihps, should be embarked.* The delays which had been occasioned by the route which General Burgoyne thought proper to take, had afforded time for the Americans to recruit their strength. Where the Mohawk falls into Hudson's river, about eight miles from Albany, is an island in the shape of an half moon, called Still Water. On this place General Schuyler, who had assembled about 2700 men at Saratoga, on receiving a reinforcement of men and artillery, under the command of General Arnold, posted his army, in order to check the progress of Colonel St. Leger. That officer, early in June, had been detached from Lashene, six miles from Montreal, by the way of Lake Ontario and the Mohawk river, in order, to make a diversion in favour of the main army. He had under his command a considerable number of savages, who, in spite of General Burgoyne's address to them, could not be restrained from the commission of several acts of ferocity. General Burgoyne still remained in the neighbourhood of Fort Edward, where, on account of the difficulty of bringing the stores from Fort George to Hudson's river, the royal army began to experience great hardships. At this juncture he received intelligence that Colonel St. Leger had advanced up the St. Lawrence, and had commenced his operations against Fort Stanwix or Schuyler, situated on a rising ground at the upper end of the ISIohawk river, about three hundred yards from its source. General Burgoyne saw the necessity of co-operating with Colonel St. Leger, and of immediately making a rapid movement forward. But this intention could not be carried into execution under the present circumstances. Ox teams, carriages, and other necessaries, were indispensably necessa- ry ; to procure which, Burgoyne resolved to detach a body of troops to Bennington, in Vermont, about twenty-four miles to the eastward of Hudson's river, where stores and provisions were deposited. On this expedition the German * Stedman. BATTLE OF BENNINGTON. 1-29 Colonel Baum was despatched with about 600 men, mostly Germans, including a detachment of Reidesel's dragoons. Baum advanced as far as Walloon Creek, about seven miles from Bennington, where such intelligence was received as to leave no doubt of a formidable opposition. In conse- quence of this information he thought proper to halt, and transmit the particulars to General Burgoyne. A de- tachment of 500 Germans, under the command of Lieu- tenant-Colonel Breyman, was sent to his assistance. The roads were bad ; nor was the mode in which the Germans marched calculated to promote expedition. They halted ten times in an hour to dress their ranks, which, through the embarrassments attending their march, were liable to be broken at every turn. General Starke, with a body of one thousand men from New Hampshire, was at this period on his route to join General Schuyler. Ha\ang received intelligence, however, of the approach of Colonel Baum, he hastened towards Bennington, where, joining the continental troops under Colonel Warner, he set out on the 16th of August, and, by ten o'clock in the morning, surrounded Baum's detachment. Starke, immediately commenced a furious attack upon him on all sides, but the Germans, though surprised, resolved to make a vigorous defence. For upwards of an hour Baum endured a terrible discharge of musketry, but having lost their artillery, the German troops were under the necessit)- of retreating into the woods, leaving their commander mortally wounded on the field of battle. Flushed with this victory, the Americans advanced against the detachment under Colonel Breyman, who, ignorant of the defeat of Baum, was advancing to his relief; but the tardiness of their method of marching, added to the obstacles which the roads presented, had retarded their progress in such a manner, that twentj^-four hours were spent in marching sixteen miles. The consequence was, that Breyman came up just in time to join the fugitives of Baum's detachment. The Americans began a vigorous * Stedman. 130 HERKIMER'S DEFEAT. attack on Breyman, who was obliged to retreat, after a gallant resistance. The loss of the British in these two engagements amounted to about six hundred. Immediately after the defeat of Colonel Baum, and the retreat of Colonel Breyman, the royal army which had advanced to Saratoga, drew back.* In the meantime Colonel St. Leger had commenced his attack upon Fort Stanwix or Schuyler, a small square log fort with four bastions and a stockaded covered way, without any other outworks. It was defended by Colonels Gan- sevoort and Willet, with 700 men. The commencement of the siege wv\s attended with unfavourable circumstances. On the 5th of August, Colonel St. Leger received in- telligence that one thousand militia, under the command of General Herkimer, were advancing to the relief of the fort. Sir John Johnson, with a party of regulars, and a number of savages, was despatched into the woods, whert he placed his men in ambush. Herkimer advanced incau- tiously, and fell into the trap that was laid for him. A sudden and unexpected fire was poured in from behind trees and bushes, and the savages rushing from their concealment, made a dreadful slaughter with their spears and tomahawks. The militia, though surprised and somewhat dismayed, did not retreat precipitately, but recovered a rising ground, which enabled them, by a kind of running fight, to preserve about one third of their detachment. The number of killed and wounded on the part of the Americans amounted to near 400, The garrison being informed of the approach of General Herkimer, made a sally under Colonel Willet, which was attended with some success. Having received, however, intelligence of the defeat of the Americans, he and another officer undertook a very perilous expedition. They penetrated in the dead of night through the camp of the besiegers, and traversed a space of fifty miles, through deserts, woods, and morasses, in order to bring relief to the fort. Every proposal for a surrender was treated by Colonel * Stedman. RETREAT OF ST. LEGER. 131 Gansevoort with derision and contempt. On the 22nd of August, one of the garrison purposely conveyed himself into the British camp, and declared that he had escaped from the fort at the hazard of his life, in order to inform the British commander that General Arnold, with 2000 men and ten pieces of cannon, was advancing rapidly to raise the siege. He also informed him that General Burgoyne had been defeated, and his array cut to pieces. Colonel St. Leger was not intimidated by this information ; nor did he give much credit to it ; but it produced an immediate eifect on the savages. The British commander called a council of their chiefs, and endeavoured, by the influence of Sir John Johnson and Colonel Butler, to induce them not to withdraw their assistance. Every effort however was ineffectual; a large party of the savages departed while the council was sitting; and the rest threatened to follow their example, unless the British commander would immediately make a retreat. To this mortifying proposition he was under the necessity of acceding. The tents were left standing, and the artillery and stores fell into the possession of the garrison. With respect to the intimation of General Arnold's ap- proach to the relief of Fort Schuyler, it was in part true. He was advancing up the Mohawk river and had , left the main body, and moved rapidly forward with a chosen detachment. He arrived at the fort two days after the siege had been raised. His assistance being now unnecessary, he returned with his array to reinforce General Gates, who had a short time before taken the comraand of the American army in the north.* General Burgoyne having by unremitting industry collect- ed about thirty days' provisions, and a bridge of boats being constructed in lieu of the bridge of rafts which had been carried away by incessant rains, the whole army crossed the Hudson on the 13th and 14th of September, and en- camped on the heights and plains of Saratoga, -with a vast train of artillery. On the 19th of September the army * Stedman. 1 132 BATTLE OF STILL WATER. advanced to Still Water where a detachment attempted to turn the right wing, and attack Burgoyne in his rear. Being checked in their design by General Frazer, they made a rapid movement, and advanced to attack the British line on the right. The engagement began at three o'clock in the afternoon of the 19th of September, and continued till after sunset. The troops were led by General Arnold, who dis- tinguished himself in an extraordinary manner. Both parties behaved with great gallantry and firmness, receiving and returning the heaviest fires with coolness and intrepidity, for the space of four hours. Night closed the battle and the Americans retired. The loss on each side was nearly equal ; 600 being killed and wounded on the part of the British, and about the same number on the side of the Americans. No advantages resulted to the British troops from this encounter. The con- duct of the Americans had fully convinced every one that they were able to sustain an attack in open plains with the intrepidity, the spirit, and the coolness of veterans. For four hours they maintained a contest hand to hand ; and when they retired, it was not because they were conquered, but because the approach of night made a retreat to their camp absolutely necessary. The British army lay all night on their arms in the field of battle, and the next day works were erected within cannon- shot of the American lines, the right being fortified by strong redoubts. Every possible method was now taken to inform General Clinton of the situation of General Burgoyne, and arguments used that might induce him to make a diversion in his favour. Under the conviction that Clinton would make a diversion in his favour, Burgoyne had crossed the Hud- son, and given up all communication with the Lakes. He had expected that a diversion would have been made before this period.* After the battle of Still Water, the savages discovered a * Stedman. BATTLE OF TICONDEROGA. 13.3 disinclination to continue with General Burgoyne. They had been disappointed in their hopes of plunder, and the check which the English had received at Bennington and Fort Schuyler had chilled that ardour and enthusiasm which they had at first manifested. They withdrew their assistance, and deserted General Burgoyne, unmoved by any representa- tions made to them of the distress in which their secession would involve him. Both armies lay in sight of each other for some time, each fortifying their camp in the strongest manner possible. This delay was extremely prejudicial to the British, inasmuch as it enabled the Americans to increase their number of men, and to obtain stores and provisions from the southern pro- vinces. The only probable means left to Burgoyne of saving himself from destruction lay in a retreat. An expedi- tion was therefore planned by Gates and Arnold, to prevent the adoption of this measure, by cutting off all communica- tion with the Lakes, and by recovering the possession of Ticonderoga and Mount Independence. This expedition was entrusted to the command of Colonel Brown, who with great secrecy and diligence gained the rear of the royal army undiscovered. He arrived on the 18th of September at the north end of Lake George, where one small sloop and the boats employed in transporting pro- visions to the British army were surprised and taken, with a number of Canadians and a few seamen. Three companies of the fifty-third regiment were at the same time made prisoners. Immediately after they had secured the possession of the armed vessels, they made an unsuccessful attack upon Ticonderoga with two pieces of cannon, which they had obtained from the captured sloop.* General Burgoyne's difficulties began now to increase daily. His army was reduced to litde more than five thousand men, who were limited to half the usual allowance of provisions. The stock of forage was entirely exhausted, and the horses were perishing for the want of it. In addition to these * Stedman. 134 SECOND BATTLE OF STILL WATER. circumstances, no intelligence had yet been received of the approach of General Clinton, or of the diversion which was to be made. Environed by difficulty and danger, Burgoyne resolved to attempt to dislodge the Americans from their posts on the left, which would enable him to retreat to the lakes. Pursuant to this determination he detached a body of fifteen lundred men, which he headed himself, being attended by Generals Philips, Reidesel and Frazer. This detachment had scarce formed, wathin less than half a mile of the Americans intrenchments, when a furious attack was made by Poor's brigade on the left, where the grenadiers were posted. The enemy was soon obliged to retreat, and would inevitably have been cut to pieces, but for the intervention of the light infantry and another regiment. The whole detachment now retired, with the loss of six pieces of artillery. Scarce had the British troops entered the lines when they were again im- petuously attacked by Arnold, who began a furious assault upon their intrenchments. The resistance was firm, and the engagement for a long while doubtful. A wound which Arnold received caused the Americans to retire. In another quarter, however, they were more successful. The intrench- ments defended by the German troops under Colonel Brey- man were carried sword in hand. The colonel was killed, and his troops retreated, with the loss of all their baggage and artillery. Night closed the dreadful scene. The Eng- lish lost, this day, General Frazer, Colonel Breyman, and several other officers of note, besides a large number of wounded. The Americans tool^ upwards of 200 officers and privates prisoners ; besides nine pieces of brass artillery, and the encampment of a German brigade, with all their equipage. But what was of the greatest consequence, they obtained from the spoils of the field a large supply of ammunition, under a scarcity of which they had long laboured. General Burgoyne could not continue in his present position without a certainty of destruction. With great secrecy and silence his whole army was therefore removed, * Stedman. RETREAT OF THE BRITISH. 135 with all their baggage and artillery, to the heights above the hospital during the night. At nine o'clock on the evening of the 8th of October, the British retreated to Saratoga, leaving their sick and wounded behind. General Gates, however, behaved with his wonted humanity, and the un- fortunate tenants of the hospital were treated with all imaginable tenderness. General Burgoyne having ordered the roads and the bridges to be broken in their march forward, the movement of the army in their retreat was necessarily tardy. The fords of Fish Kill Creek, which are somewhat to the northward of Saratoga, were not passed till ten o'clock on the succeeding morning. The militia, watch- ing every motion with the most anxious attention, had already arrived at this place before them ; but, on the approach of the British troops, they retired over the Hudson, to a larger force, which had been detached there to obstruct the passage of the royal troops. Surrounded by destruction and dismay, General Burgoyne resolved to attempt a retreat by night to Fort Edward, each soldier carrying his provision on his back; but while the army were preparing to march, intelligence was received that the Americans had already possessed themselves of the road to Fort Edward, and that they were well provided with artillery. The situation of General Burgoyne had now attained the climax of difficulty and danger. Out of eight thousand men, of which the army consisted after the capture of Ticonderoga, not more than three thousand five hundred fighting men remained, one half of which only were British. Pro"\asions were almost exhausted, and no hope remained of procuring a fresh supply. An engagement was studiously avoided by the Americans, on account of their knowledge of the desperate situation of the British troops ; and they were posted in so advantageous a manner that they could not be attacked.* Burgoyne called a council of war, at which not only field * Stedman. I- 136 CLINTON ON THE HUDSON. officers but every captain was ordered to assist. After some consultation on the emergency of affairs, it was unani- mously resolved to enter into a convention with the Ameri- cans. Gates' first demand was, that the whole force should ground their arms and become prisoners of war ; but after some discussion, he agreed to grant the honours of war, and a free passage to the British on condition of their not serving again in North America during the present contest. While General Burgoyne was pushing on towards Albany, an unsuccessful attempt to relieve him was made by the British commander in New York. For this purpose. Sir Henry Clinton conducted an expedition up the Hudson. This consisted of about 3000 men, and was accompanied by a suitable naval force. After making many feints, he landed at Stony Point, and marched over the mountains to Fort Montgomery, and attacked the different redoubts. The garrison, commanded by Governor Clinton, a brave and intelligent officer, made a gallant resistance. But as the post had been designed principally to prevent the passing of ships, the works on the land side were incomplete and untenable. When it began to grow dark, the British entered the fort with fixed bayonets. The loss on neither side was great. Governor Clinton, General James Clinton, and most of the officers and men, effected their escape under cover of the thick smoke and darkness that suddenly prevailed.* The reduction of this post furnished the British with an opportunity for opening a passage up the North river, but instead of pushing forward to Burgo}Tie's encampment, or even to Albany, they spent several days in lading waste the adjacent country. The Americans destroyed Fort Con- stitution, and also set fire to two new frigates, and some other vessels. General Tryon at the same time destroyed a settlement called Continental village, which contained barracks for fifteen hundred men, besides many stores. Sir * Stedman. Ramsay. CLINTON ON THE HUDSON. 137 James Wallace with a flying squadron of light frigates, and General Vaughan with a detachment of land forces, con- tinued on and near the river for several days, desolating the country near its margin. General Vaughan so completely burned jEsopus, a fine flourishing village, that not a single house was left standing, though on his approach the Americans had left the town without making any resistance. Charity would lead us to suppose that these devastations were designed to answer military purposes. Their authors might have hoped to divert the attention of General Gates, and thus indirectly relieve General Burgoyne, but if this was intended, the artifice did not take effect. The preservation of property was with the Americans only a secondary object. The capturing of Burgoyne promised such important conse- quences, that they would not suffer any other consideration to interfere with it. General Gates did not make a single movement that lessened the probability of effecting his grand purpose. He wrote an expostulary letter to Vaughan, part of which was in the following terms : " Is it thus your king's generals think to make converts to the royal cause ? It is no less surprising than true, that the measures they adopt to serve their master, have quite a contrary effect. Their cruelty establishes the glorious act of independence upon the broad basis of the resentment of the people." Whether policy or revenge led to this devastation of property is uncertain, but it cannot admit of a doubt that it was far from being the most effectual method of relieving Burgoyne.* The passage of the North river was made so practicable by the advantages gained on the 6th of October, that Sir Henry Clinton, with his whole force, amounting to 3000 men, might not only have reached Albany, but General Gates' encampment, before the 12th, the day till which Burgoyne had agreed to wait for aid from New York. While the British were doing mischief to individuals without serving the cause of their royal master, it seems as though they might by pushing forward about 136 miles in six days, * Ramsay. I'^S MARCH OF PRISONERS TO BOSTON, have brought Gates' army between two fires, at least twenty- four hours before Burgoyne's necessity compelled his sub- mission to articles of capitulation.* Immediately after the surrender of the troops commanded by Lieutenant-General Burgoyne, they were marched to the iacinity of Boston. On their arrival they were quartered in the barracks on Winter and Prospect hills. The general court of Massachusetts passed proper resolutions for pro- curing suitable accommodations for the prisoners ; but from the general unwillingness of the people to oblige them, and from the feebleness of that authority which the republican rulers had at that time over the property of their fellow citizens, it was impossible to provide immediately for so large a number of officers and soldiers, in such a manner as their convenience required, or as from the articles of conven- tion they might reasonably expect. The officers remonstra- ted to General Burgoyne, that six or seven of them were crowded together in one room, without any regard to their respective ranks, in "vaolation of the 7th article of the con- vention. General Burgoyne, on the 14th of November forwarded this account to General Gates, and added, " the public faith is broken." This letter being laid before Con- gress, gave an alarm. It corroborated an apprehension, preAdously entertained, that the captured troops on their embarkation would make a junction ^^^th the British gar- risons in America. The declaration of the general, that, " the public faith was broken" while in the power of Congress, was considered by them as destroying the security which they before had in his personal honour, for in every event he might adduce his previous notice to justify his future conduct. They therefore resolved, " That the em- barkation of Lieutenant-General Burgoyne, and the troops under his command, be postponed, till a distinct and explicit ratification of the convention of Saratoga be properly notified by the court of Great Britain to Congress." General Bur- goyne explained the intention and construction of the passage * Ramsay. CONVENTION SUSPENDED. 139 objected to in his letter, and pledged himself, that his officers would join with him in signing any instrument that might be thought necessary for confirming the convention, but Congress would not recede from their resolution. They alleged, that it had been often asserted by their adversaries, that " faith was not to be kept with rebels," and that there- fore they would be deficient in attention to the interests of their constituents, if they did not require an authentic ratifi- cation of the convention by national authority, before they parted with the captured troops. They urged farther, that by the law of nations, a compact broken in one article, was no longer binding in any other. They made a distinction between the suspension and abrogation of the convention, and alleged that ground to suspect an intention to violate it, was a justifying reason for suspending its execution on their part, till it was properly ratified. The desired ratification, if Great Britain was seriously disposed to that measure, might have been obtained in a few months, and Congress uniformly declared themselves willing to carry it into full effect, as soon as they were secured of its observance by proper authority on the other side. About eight months after, certain royal commissioners, whose official functions shall be hereafter explained, made a requisition respecting these troops — offered to ratify the con- vention, and required permission for their embarkation. On enquiry it was found, that they had no authority to do any thing in the matter which would be obligatory on Great Britain. Congress therefore resolved, " that no ratification of the convention, which may be tendered in consequence of powers, which only reach that case by construction and implication, or which may subject whatever is transacted relative to it, to the future approbation or disapprobation of the Parliament of Great Britain, can be accepted by Congress."* Till the capture of Burgoyne the powers of Europe were only spectators of the war between Great Britain and her late * Ramsay. 140 EUROPEAN SYMPATHY, colonies, but soon after that event they were drawn in to be parties. In every period of the controversy, the claims of the Americans were patronized by sundry respectable for- eigners. The letters, addresses, and other public acts of Congress, were admired by many who had no personal interest in the contest. Liberty is so evidently the undoubt- ed right of mankind, that even they who never possessed it feel the propriety of contending for it, and whenever a people take up arms either to defend or to recover it, they are sure of meeting with encouragement or good wishes from the friends of humanity in every part of the world. From the operation of these principles, the Americans had the esteem and good wishes of multitudes in all parts of Europe. They were reputed to be ill used, and were repre- sented as a resolute and brave people, determined to resist oppression. Being both pitied and applauded, generous and sympathetic sentiments were excited in their favour. These circumstances would have operated in every case, but in the present, the cause of the Americans was patronized from additional motives. An universal jealousy prevailed against Great Britain. Her navy had long tyrannized over the nations of Europe, and demanded as a matter of right, that the ships of all other powers should strike their sails to her, as mistress of the ocean. From her eagerness to prevent supplies going to her rebellious colonists, as she called the Americans, the vessels of foreign powers had for some time past been subjected to searches and other interruptions, when steering towards America, in a manner that could not but be impatiently borne by independent nations. That pride and insolence which brought on the American war, had long dis- gusted her neighbours, and made them rejoice at her misfor- tunes, and especially at the prospect of dismembering her overgrown empire.* * Ramsay. CHAPTER VII. Campaign of 1778. N Pennsylvania, meantime, the two armies continued viewing each other without any material warlike move- ment except a few success- ful excursions of parties from Philadelphia to the neighbouring country, for the purpose of bringing in supplies, or destroying pro- perty. In one of these, a party of the British proceeded to Bordentown, and there burned four store-houses full of useful commodities. Before they returned to Philadelphia, they burned two frigates, nine ships, six privateer sloops, twenty- three brigs, with a number of sloops and schooners.* Soon after, an excursion from Newport was made by 500 British and Hessians, under the command of Lieutenant- Colonel Campbell. These having landed in the night * Ramsay. 141 142 AFFAIR OF BARREN HILL. marched next morning in two bodies, the one for Warren, the other for the head of Kickemuet riv,er. They destroyed about 70 flat bottomed boats, and burned a quantity of pitch, tar and plank. They also set fire to the meeting house at Warren, and seven dwelling houses. At Bristol they burned the church and 22 houses. Several other houses were pltindered, and women were stripped of their shoe buckles, gold rings, and handkerchiefs. About the 19th of May 1778, General Washington de- tached the Marquis de Lafayette to take post with nearly 3000 men upon Barren Hill, a position seven miles advanced from the camp of Valley Forge ; but upon the opposite or eastern side of the river. On the night of the 20th of May, 5000 of the choicest troops in the British army set out from Philadelphia, marching close to the Delaware, in the opposite direction from Barren Hill. After the detachment had proceeded some miles, it turned to the left, and passing White Marsh soon after day- break, it reached at length its destined point, without having fallen in with any patrole or out-post of the Americans. This point was directly in the rear of Lafayette's position, consequently between him and the camp of General Wash- ington. The road here forked ; one branch led to the camp of Lafayette, at the distance of a mile ; the other went to Matron's Ford across the Schuylkill, at about the same distance. In the course of the night, a strong detachment had marched from Philadelphia along the western branch of the Schuylkill, and stationed themselves at a ford two or three miles in front of Lafayette's right flank, whilst the remainder of the British army advanced to Chesnut Hill.* The retreat of Lafayette was thus cut off" from every passage but Matron's Ford ; and his distance from it was much greater than that of the British. General Grant ar- rived at his destination about the time Lafayette received notice of his danger by means of the vigilance of Colonel Mac Lane of Delaware, who learned the intended expedition * Ramsay. Stedman. RETREAT OF BARREN HILL. 143 from two British grenadiers which he captured in the night near Philadelphia. He rode in person to warn Lafayette ; and, at the same time the column was discovered by glasses from the camp of General Washington, who, by the firing of cannon, attempted to give his detachment notice of the danger. Considerable time seems to have been lost by Gray in making a disposition for the intended attack, during which delay Lafayette quickly retreated over Matron's Ford through the low woody grounds which border the river. Information of this circumstance is said to have been given to General Grant, and his superior proximity to Matron's Ford is reported to have been urged to him, and even pointed out in the strongest manner ; but under the persuasion that this was only a part of Lafayette's troops, detached for some un- accountable reason, he persisted in his resolution of ad- vancing to Barren Hill, notwithstanding the strong remon- strances of Sir William Erskine against that measure. This post was luckily concealed from view by intervening trees, otherwise the desertion of it by the Americans would have been perceived. The British having advanced to the church, and found the camp abandoned, undertook the pursuit of Lafayette by the very track which he himself had taken. In the meantime he had reached the Ford ; but his troops, had hurried across the river, leaving behind them the six field pieces which they had brought from the camp on the bank of the river. Lafayette formed his battalions on the other side, and perceiving that the British did not approach by the road in which he feared they would, sent a corps across for his cannon, ordering some small parties to be advanced into the woods to retard the progress of the British advanced guard, should it approach whilst the artillery was in the river. The cannon were dragged over, and the parties of observation retired with the loss of only nine men. The British generals advanced to the Ford, and peceiving that Lafayette was so advantageously posted on the other side of the river, with his artillery on the high and broken grounds which arose from the water's edge, that nothing further could 144 EVACUATION OF PHILADELPHIA. be attempted against him, returned to the city. Thus failed the object of the expedition. A French squadron, consisting of 12 ships of the line and lour frigates, commanded by Count D'Estaing, sailed from Toulon for America, in about two months after the treaty had been agreed upon between the United States and the king of France. After a passage of eighty-seven days, the count ar- rived at the entrance of the Delaware. From an apprehension of something of this kind, and from the prospect of greater security, it was resolved in Great Britain, forthwith to evacuate Philadelphia and to concentrate the royal force in the city and harbour of New York. The commissioners brought out the orders for this movement, but knew nothing of the matter. It had an unfriendly influence on their proposed negotiations, but it was indispensably necessary ; for if the French fleet had blocked up the Delaware, and the Americans besieged Philadelphia, the escape of the British from either, would have been scarcely possible.* The royal army passed over the Delaware into New Jersey. General Washington, having penetrated into their design of evacuating Philadelphia, had previously detached General Maxwell's brigade, to co-operate with the Jersey militia, in obstructing their progress, till time would be given for his army to overtake them. The British were incumbered with an enormous baggage, which, together with the impediments thrown in their way, greatly retarded their march. The American army having, in the pursuit of the British, crossed the Delaware, six hundred men were immediately detached under Colonel Morgan, to reinforce General Maxwell. Wash- ington halted his troops, when they had marched to the vicinity of Princeton. The general officers in the American army, being asked by the commander-in-chief, " Will it be advisable to hazard a general action?" answered in the negative, but recommended a detachment of 1500 men to be immediately sent, to act as occasion might serve, on the enemy's left flank and rear. This was immediately forwarded * Ramsay. BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 145 under General Scott. When Sir Henry Clinton had aavanced to Allentown, he determined instead of keeping the direct course towards Staten Island, to draw towards the sea-coast and to push on towards Sandy Hook. General Washington, on receiving intelligence that Sir Henry was proceeding in that direction towards Monmouth court-house, despatched 1000 men under General Wayne, and sent the Marquis de La- fayette to take command of the whole advanced corps, with orders to seize the first fair opportunity of attacking the enemy's rear. General Lee, who having been lately ex- changed had joined the army, was offered this command, but he declined it, as he was in principle against hazarding an attack. The whole army followed at a proper distance for supporting the advanced corps, and reached Cranberry the next morning. Sir Henry Clinton, sensible of the approach of the Americans, placed his grenadiers, light infantry, and chasseurs in his rear, and his baggage in front. General Washington increased his advanced corps with two brigades, and sent General Lee, who now wished for the command, to take charge of the whole, and followed with the main army to give it support. On the next morning orders were sent to Lee, to move on and attack, unless there should be powerful reasons to the contrary. W^hen Washington had marched about five miles to support the advanced corps, he found the whole of it retreating by Lee's orders, and without having made any opposition of consequence. Washington rode up to Lee, and proposed certain questions to him which implied censure. Lee answered with warmth and unsuitable lan- guage. The commander-in-chief ordered Colonel Stewart's and Lieutenant-Colonel Ramsay's battalions, to form on a piece of ground, which he judged suitable for giving a check to the advancing enemy. Lee was then asked if he would command on that ground, to which he consented, and was ordered to take proper measures for checking the enemy, to which he replied, "your orders shall be obeyed, and T will not be the first to leave the field." Washington then * Ramsay 146 BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. rode to the main army, which was formed "svith the utmost expedition. A warm cannonade immediately commenced between the British and American artillery, and a heavy faring between the advanced troops of the British army, and the two battalions which General Washington had halted. These stood their ground, till they were intermixed with a part of the British army. Lieutenant-Colonel Ramsay, the commander of one of them, was wounded and taken prisoner. General Lee continued till the last on the field of battle, and brought ofl' the rear of the retreating troops.* The check the British received, gave time to make a disposition of the left wing, and second line of the American army in the wood, and on the eminence to which Lee was retreating. On this, some caimon were placed by Lord Ster- ling, who commanded the left wing, which, with the co- operation of some parties of infantry, effectually stopped the advance of the British in that quarter. General Greene took a very advantageous position, on the right of Lord Sterhng. The IBritish attempted to turn the left flank of the Americans, but were repulsed. They also made a movement to the right, with as little success, for Greene with the artillery dis- appointed their design. Wayne advanced with a body of troops, and kept up so severe and well directed a fire, that the British were soon compelled to give way. They retired and look the position, which Lee had before occupied. Washington resolved to attack them, and ordered General Poor to move round upon their right, and General Woodford to their left ; but they could not get within reach, before it was dark. These remained on the ground which they had been directed to occupy during the night, with an intention of attacking early next morning, and the main body lay on their arms in the field to be ready for supporting them. General Washington reposed himself in his cloak, under a tree, in hopes of renewing the action the next day. But these hopes were frustrated: The British troops marched away in the night, in such silence, that General Poor, though * Ramsay. 4r — » TRIAL OE GENERAL LEE. 149 he lay very near them, knew nothing of their departure. They left behind them, four officers and about forty privates, all so badly wounded, that they could not be removed. Their other wounded were carried off. The British pursued their march without further interruption, and soon reached the neighbourhood of Sandy Hook, without the loss of either their covering party or baggage. The American general declined all farther pursuit of the royal army, and soon after drew off his troops to the borders of the North river. The loss of the Americans, in killed and wounded, was about 250. The loss of the royal army, inclusive of prisoners, was about 350. Lieutenant-Colonel Monckton, one of the British slain, on account of his singular merit, was uni- versally lamented. Colonel Bonner of Pennsylvania, and Major Dickerson of Virginia, officers highly esteemed by their country, fell in this engagement. The uncommon heat of the day was such, that some of the Americans, and 59 of the British, were found dead on the field of battle, without any marks of violence upon their bodies. It is probable, that Washington intended to take no farther notice of Lee's conduct on the day of action, but the latter could not brook the expressions used by the former at their first meeting, and wrote him two passionate letters. This occasioned his being arrested, and brought to trial. The charges exhibited against him were : — First. For dis- obedience of orders, in not attacking the enemy on the 28th of June, agreeably to repeated instructions. Secondly. For misbehaviour before the enemy, on the same day, by making an unnecessary, disorderly and shame- ful retreat.* Thirdly. For disrespect to the commander-in-chief in two letters. After a tedious hearing before a court-martia:l of which Lord Sterling was president, Lee was found guilty and sentenced to be suspended from any command in the armies of the United States, for the term of one year, but the seconu charge was softened by the court-martial, who in their award * Ramsay. 150 SENTENCE ON GENERAL LEE. only found him guilty of misbehaviour before the enemy, bj making an unnecessary and in some few instances a disorderly retreat. Many were displeased with this sentence. They argued " that by the tenor of Lee's orders, it was submitted to his discretion, whether to attack or not, and also, that the time and manner were to be determined by his own judgment. That at one time he intended to attack, but altered his opinion on apparently good grounds. That the propriety of an attack considering the superiority of the British cavalry, and the openness of the ground, was very questionable. That though it might have distressed the enemy's rear in the first instance, it would probably have brought on a general action, before the advanced corps could have been supported by the main body, which was some miles in the rear." If, said they, " Lee's judgment was against attacking the enemy, he could not be guilty of disobeying an order for that purpose, which was suspended on the condition of his own approbation of the measure." They also agreed that a suspension from com- mand, was not a sufficient punishment for his crimes, if really guilty. They therefore inferred a presumption of his inno- cence from the lenient sentence of his judges. Though there was a diversity of opinions relative to the first and second charges, all were agreed in pronouncing him guilty of dis- respect to the commander-in-chief. The Americans had formerly idolized General Lee, but some of them now went to the opposite extreme, and pronounced him treacherous or deficient in courage, though there was no foundation for either of these suspicions. His temper was violent, and his impatience of subordination had led him often to quarrel with those whom he was bound to respect and obey; but his courage and fidelity could not be questioned.* Soon after the battle of Monmouth, the American army took post at the White Plains, a few miles beyond Kings- bridge, and the British, though only a few miles distant, did not molest them. They remained in this position from an early day in July, till a late one in the autumn, and then the * Ramsay. ARRIVAL OF THE FRENCH FLEET. 151 Americans retired to Middle Brook in Jersey, where they built themselves huts in the same manner as they had done at Valley Forge. The British had but barely completed the removal of their fleet and army, from the Delaware and Philadelphia to the harbour and city of New York, when they received intelligence that a French fleet was on the coast of America. This was commanded by Count D'Estaing, and consisted of twelve ships of the line and three frigates. Among the former, one carried 90 guns, another 80, and six 74 guns each. Their first object was the surprise of Lord Howe's fleet in the Delaware, but they arrived too late. D'Estaing, disappointed in his first scheme, pursued and appeared off" Sandy Hook. American pilots of the first abilities, provided for the purpose, went on board his fleet. Among them were persons, whose circumstances placed them above the ordinary rank of pilots. These pilots declared it to be impossible to carry the large ships of the French fleet over the bar, on account of their draught of water. D'Estaing on that account and by the advice of General Washington, left the Hook and sailed for Newport. The British had now been in possession of Rhode Island since December, 1776. A combined attack against it was projected, and it was agreed that General Sullivan should command the American land forces. Such was the eagerness of the people to co-operate with their new allies, and so confident were they of success, that some thousands of volunteers engaged in the service. The militia of Massa- chusetts was under the command of General Hancock. The royal troops on the island, having been lately reinforced, were about 6,000. Sullivan's force was about 10,000. Lord Howe reinforced by the fleet under Admiral Byron followed the Count D'Estaing, and came within sight of Rhode Island, the day after the French fleet entered the harbour of Newport. The British fleet exceeded the French in point of number, but was inferior with respect to effective force and weight of metal. On the appearance of Lord Howe, the French 152 EXPEDITION TO RHODE ISLAND. admiral put out to sea with his whole fleet to engage him. While the two commanders were exerting their naval skill to gain respectively the advantages of position, a strong gale of wind came on which afterwards increased to a tempest, and greatly damaged the ships on both sides. In this conflict of the elements, two capital French ships were dismasted. The Languedoc of 90 guns, D'Estaing's own ship, after losing all her masts and her rudder, was attacked by the Renown of 50 guns, commanded by Captain Dawson. The same evening the Preston of 50 guns, fell in with the Tonnant of 80 guns, with only her mainmast standing, and attacked her with spirit, but night put an end to the engagement. Six sail of the French squadron came up in the night, which saved the disabled ships from any farther attack. There was no ship or vessel lost on either side. The British suffered less in the storm than their adversaries, yet enough to make it necessary for them to return to New York, for the purpose of refitting. The French fleet came to anchor, on the 20th, near to Rhode Island, but sailed on the 22d, to Boston. Before they sailed. General Greene and the Marquis de Lafayette went on board the Languedoc, to consult on measures proper to be pursued. They urged D'Estaing to return with his fleet into the harbour, but his principal officers were opposed to the measure, and protested against it. He had been instructed to go to Boston, if his fleet met with any misfortune. His officers insisted on his ceasing to prosecute the expedition against Rhode Island, that he might conform to the orders of their common superiors. Upon the return of Greene and Lafayette, and their reporting the determina- tion of Count D'Estaing, a protest was drawn up and sent to him, which was signed by John Sullivan, Nathaniel Greene, John Hancock, I. Glover, Ezekiel Cornel, William Whipple, John Tyler, Solomon Lovell, Jon. Fitconnell. In this they protested against the count's taking the fleet to Boston, as derogatory to the honour of France, contrary to the intention of his Most Christian Majesty, and the interest of his nation, and destructive in the hio^hest decree to the welfare of the EXPEDITION TO RHODE ISLAND. 153 United States, and highly injurious to the alliance formed between the two nations. Whatever were the reasons which induced his adoption of that measure, the Americans were greatly dissatisfied. They complained that they had incurred great expense and danger, under the prospect of the most effective co-operation — that depending thereon, they had risked their lives on an island, where, without naval protection, they were exposed to par- ticular danger — that in this situation, they were first deserted, and afterwards totally abandoned, at a time, when by perse- vering in the original plan, they had well grounded hopes of speedy success. Under these apprehensions, the dis- contented militia went home in such crowds, that the regular army which remained, was in danger of being cut off from a retreat. In these embarrassing circumstances. General Sulli- van extricated himself with judgment and ability. He began to send off his heavy artillery and baggage on the 26th, and retreated from his hnes on the night of the 28th. It had been that day resolved in a council of war, to remove to the north end of the island — fortify their camp, secure a communication with the main, and hold the ground till it could be known whether the French fleet would return 10 their assistance. The Marquis de Lafayette, by desire of his associates, set off for Boston, to request the speedy return of the French fleet. To this Count D'Estaing would not consent, but he made a spirited offer to lead the troops under his command, and co-operate with the American land forces against Rhode Island.* Sullivan retreated with great order, but he had not been five hours at the north end of the island, when his troops were fired upon by the British, who had pursued them on discovering their retreat. The pursuit was made by two parties and on two roads ; to one was opposed Colonel Henry B. Livingston, to the other John Laurens, aid-de- camp to General Washington, and each of them had a command of light troops. In the first instance, these light * Ramsay. 10 154 RETREAT FROM RHODE ISLAND. troops were compelled by superior numbers to give way, but they kept up a retreating fire. On being reinforced, they gave their pursuers a check, and at length repulsed thein. By degrees the action became in some respects general, and near 1200 Americans were engaged. The loss on the side of the Americans was 211 : that of the British 260. Lord Howe's fleet, with Sir Henry Clinton and about 4000 troops on board, being seen off the coast. General Sullivan concluded immediately to evacuate Rhode Island. As the sentries of both armies were within 400 yards of each other, the greatest caution was necessary. To cover the design of retreating, the show of resistance and continuance on the island was kept up. The retreat was made in the night, and mostly completed by twelve o'clock. Towards the last of it the Marquis de Lafayette returned from Boston. He had rode thither from Rhode Island, a distance of near 70 miles, in seven hours, and returned in six and a half. Anxious to partake in the engagement, his mortification was not little at being out of the way on the day before. He was in time to bring off' the pickets, and other parties that covered the retreat of the American army. This he did in excellent order. Not a man was left behind, nor was the smallest article lost. The bravery and good conduct which John Laurens displayed on this occasion, were excelled by his republican magnanimity, in declining a military commission which was conferred on him by the representatives of his country. Congress resolved, that he should be presented with a conti- nental commission of lieutenant-colonel, in testimony of the sense which they entertained of his patriotic and spirited services, and of his brave conduct in several actions, particu- larly in that of Rhode Island on the 29th of August. On the next day he wrote to Congress a letter, expressing " his gratitude for the unexpected honour which they were pleased to confer on him, and of the satisfaction it would have afforded him, could he have accepted it without injuring the rights of the officers in the line of the army, and doing EXPEDITION TO BEDFORD. 155 an evident injustice to his colleagues, in the family of the commander-in-chief. That having been a spectator of the convulsions occasioned in the army by disputes of rank, he held the tranquillity of it too dear, to be instrumental in dis- turbing it, and therefore entreated Congress to suppress their resolve, ordering him the commission of lieutenant-colonel, and to accept his sincere thanks for the intended honour. With the abortive expedition to Rhode Island, there was an end to the plans, which were in this first campaign pro- jected by the allies of Congress, for a co-operation. The Americans had been intoxicated with hopes of the most decisive advantages, but in every instance they were disap- pointed. Lord Howe, with an inferiority of force, not only preserved his own fleet, but counteracted and defeated all the views and attempts of Count D'Estaing. The French fleet gained no direct advantages for the Americans, yet their arrival was of great service to the cause. Besides deranging the plans of the British, it carried conviction to their minds that his Most Christian Majesty, was seriously disposed to support them. The good will of their new allies was manifested to the Americans, and though it had failed in producing the effects expected from it, the failure was charged to winds, weather, and unavoidable incidents. Some censured Count D'Estaing, but while they attempted to console themselves, by throwing blame on him, they felt and acknowledged their obligation to the French nation, and were encouraged to persevere in the war, from the hope that better fortune would attend their future co-operation. Sir Henry Clinton finding that the Americans had left Rhode Island, returned to New York ; but directed General Grey to proceed to Bedford and the neighbourhood, where several American privateers resorted. On reaching the place of their destination, the general's party landed, and in a few hours destroyed about 70 sail of shipping, besides a number of small craft. They also burnt magazines, wharves, stores, warehouses, vessels on the stocks, and a considerable number of dwelling houses. The building;. 156 NO-FLINT GENERAL. burned in Bedford, were estimated to be worth about 100,000 dollars. The other articles destroyed were worth much more. The royal troops proceeded to Martha's vine- yard. There they destroyed a few vessels, and made a requisition of the militia arms, the public money, 300 oxen and 2000 sheep, which was complied with. A similar expedition under the command of Captain Fer- guson, was about the same time undertaken against Little Egg Harbour, at which place the Americans had a number of privateers and prizes, and also some salt works. Several of the vessels got off, but all that were found were de- stroyed. Previous to the embarkation of the British from Egg Harbour to New York, Captain Ferguson with 250 men, surprised and put to death about 50 of a party of the Ameri- cans, who were posted in the vicinity. The attack being made in the night, little or no quarter was given. The loss sustained by the British in these several ex- cursions was trifling, but the advantage was considerable, from the supplies they procured, and the check which was given to the American privateers. One of the most disastrous events which occurred at this period of the campaign, was the surprise and massacre of an American regiment of light dragoons, commanded by Lieu- tenant-Colonel Baylor. While employed in a detached situation, to intercept and watch a British foraging party, they took up their lodging in a barn near Taapan. The officer who commanded the party which surprised them, was Major-General Grey. He acquired the name of the " No flint general," from his common practice of ordering the men under his command to take the flints out of their muskets, that they might be confined to the use of their bayonets. A party of militia, which had been stationed on the road by which the British advanced, quilted their post, without giving any notice to Colonel Baylor. This disorderly con- duct was the occasion of the disaster which followed. Grey's men proceeded with such silence and address, that they cut off a sergeant's patrol without noise, and surrounded SURPRISE OF BAYLOR. 157 old Taapan without being discovered. They then rushed in upon Baylor's regiment, while they were in a profound sleep. Incapable of defence or resistance, cut off from every prospect of selling their lives dear, the surprised dragoons sued for quarter. Unmoved by their supplications, their ad- versaries applied the bayonet, and continued its repeated thrusts while objects could be found in which any signs of life appeared. A few escaped, and others, after having received from five to eleven bayonet wounds in the trunk of the body, were restored, in a course of time, to perfect health. Baylor himself was wounded, but not dangerously : he lost, in killed, wounded and taken, 67 privates out of 104. About 40 were made prisoners. These were in- debted, for their lives, to the humanity of one of Grey's captains, who gave quarters to the whole fourth troop, though contrary to the orders of his superior officers. In the summer of this year, an expedition was undertaken against East Florida. This was resolved upon, with the double view of protecting the state of Georgia from depreda- tion, and of causing a diversion. General Robert Howe, who conducted it, had under his command about 2000 men, a few hundred of which were continental troops, and the remainder militia of the states of South Carolina and Georgia. They proceeded as far as St. Mary's river, and without any opposition of consequence. At this place, the British had erected a fort, which, in compliment to Tonyn, governor of the province, was called by his name. On the approach of General Howe, they destroyed this fort, and after some slight skirmishing, retreated towards St. Augus- tine. The season was more fatal to the Americans than any opposition they experienced from their enemies. Sickness and death raged to such a degree that an immediate retreat became necessary ; but before this was effected, they lost nearly one fourth of their whole number. Towards the close of the year a new system of carrying on the war was introduced. Hitherto the conquest of the states had been attempted by proceeding from north to south : but 158 EXPEDITION TO GEORGIA. that order was henceforth inverted, and the southern states became the principal theatre on which the British conducted their offensive operations. Georgia being one of the weakest states in the union, and at the same time abounding in pro- visions, was marked out as the first object of renewed warfare. Lieutenant- Colonel Campbell, an officer of known courage and ability, embarked from New York, for Savannah, with a force of about 2000 men, under convoy of some ships of war commanded by Commodore Hyde Parker. To make more sure of success in the enterprise. Major General Prevost who commanded the royal forces in East Florida, was directed to advance with them into the southern extremity of Georgia. The fleet that sailed from New York, in about three weeks effected a landing near the mouth of the river Savannah. From the landing place a narrow causeway of six hundred yards in length, with a ditch on each side, led through a swamp. A body of the British light infantry moved forward along this causeway. On their advance they received a heavy fire, from a small party under Captain Smith, posted for the purpose of impeding their passage. Captain Cameron was killed, but the British made their way good, and com- pelled Captain Smith to retreat. General Howe, the Ameri- can officer to whom the defence of Georgia was committed, took his station on the main road, and posted his little army, consisting of about 600 continentals and a few hundred militia, between the landing place and the town of Savannah, with the river on his left and a morass in front. This dis- position announced great difficulties to be overcome, before the Americans could be dislodged. While Colonel Campbell was making the necessary arrangements for this purpose, he received intelligence from a negro, of a private path through the swamp, on the right of the Americans, which lay in such a situation that the British troops might march through, it unobserved. Sir James Baird, with the light infantry, was directed to avail himself of this path, in order to turn the right wing of the Americans and attack the rear. As soon as it was supposed that Baird had cleared his passage, the CONQUEST OF GEORGIA 159 British m front of the Americans were directed to advance and engage. Howe, finding himself attacked in the rear as well as in the front, ordered an immediate retreat. The British pursued with great execution : their victory was com- plete. Upwards of 100 of the Americans were killed. Thirty-eight officers, 415 privates, 48 pieces of cannon, 23 mortars, the fort with its ammunition and stores, the shipping in the river, a large quantity of provisions, with the capital of Georgia, were all, in the space of a few hours, in the possession of the conquerors. The broken remains of the American army retreated up the river Savannah for several miles, and then took shelter by crossing into South Carolina. Agreeably to instructions. General Prevost had marched from East Florida about the same time that the embarkation took place from New York. After encountering many difficulties, the king's troops from St. Augustine reached the inhabited parts of Georgia, and there heard the welcome tidings of the arrival and success of Colonel Campbell. Savannah having fallen, the fort at Sunbury surrendered. General Prevost marched to Savannah, and took the command of the com- bined forces from New York and St. Augustine. Previous to his arrival, a proclamation had been issued, to encourage the inhabitants to come in and submit to the conquerers, with promises of protection, on condition that with their arms they would support the royal government. Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell acted with great policy, m securing the submission of the inhabitants. He did more in a short time, and with comparatively a few men, towards the re-establishment of the British interest, than all the general officers who had preceded him. He not only extir- pated military opposition, but subverted for some time every trace of repubhcan government, and paved the way for the re-establishment of a royal legislature. Georgia, soon after the reduction of its capital, exhibited a singular spectacle. It was the only state of the union, in which after the Decla- ration of Independence, a legislative body was convened under the authority of the crown of Great Britain. The 160 BARON STEUBEN. modefation and prudence of Lieutenant- Colonel Campbell were more successful in reconciling the minds of the citizens to their former constitution, than the severe measures which had been generally adopted by other British commanders. The errors of the first years of the war forced on Congress some useful reforms, in the year 1778. The insufficiency of the provision made for the support of the officers of their army, had induced the resignation of between two and three hundred of them, to the great injury of the service. From a conviction of the justice and policy of making commissions valuable, and from respect to the warm, but disinterested recommendations of General Washington, Congress resolved " That half-pay should be allowed to their officers, for the term of seven years, after the expiration of their service." This was afterwards extended to the end of their lives. And finally, that was commuted for full pay, for five years. Resignations were afterwards rare, and the states reaped the benefit of experienced officers continuing in service, till the war was ended. A system of more regular discipline was introduced into the American army, by the industry, abilities and judicious regulations of Baron de Steuben, a most excellent disciplina- rian, who had served under the king of Prussia, A very important reform took place in the medical department, by appointing different officers, to discharge the directing and purveying business of the military hospitals, which had been before united in the same hands. Dr. Rush was prin- cipally instrumental in effecting this beneficial alteration. Some regulations which had been adopted for limiting the prices of commodities, being found not only impracticable, but injurious, were abolished. A few detached events, which could not be introduced without interrupting the narrative of the great events of the campaign, shall close this chapter. In February, Captain James Willing, in the service of the United States, arrived with a few men from Fort Pitt, at Natches, a British settlement in West Florida. He sent out INDIAN FIGHT. 161 parties, who, without any resistance, made the inhabitants prisoners. Articles of agreement were entered into between them and Captain Willing, by which they promised to observe a neutrality in the present contest, and in return it was engaged, that their property should be unmolested.* Congress early in the year 1778, had resolved upon several expeditions against the Indians upon the western frontier of the middle states ; but their exertions did not equal their resolutions, and the frontier settlers remained almost unprotected. Late in June, a party of 300 white men and 500 Indians, assembled on the Tioga, descended the Susquehanna, and suddenly appeared on the northern boundary of the flourishing valley of Wyoming. This party was commanded by Colonel John Butler and the Indian chief Brandt, two leaders in every way fitted for the work of murder and cruelty intended to be executed. They first seized on a small fort called Wintermoot's, which they burned. The inhabitants assembled at the first alarm at Forty-Fort, four miles below the camp of the invaders, on the west side of the Susquehanna. The regular troops were commanded by Colonel Zebulon Butler, and numbered about 60 men. The militia were led by Colonel Dennison. In compliance with the wish of the inhabitants. Colonel Butler marched from Forty-Fort on the 3d of July, at the head of 400 men to attack the enemy, who were prepared to receive them, in an advantageous position. The battle was com- menced by a fire from the enemy, when Colonel Zebulon Butler formed his line of battle. He himself commanded on the right, and had gained some advantage, when a large body of Indians succeeded in turning the left flank, which was composed of militia. They poured a heavy fire on the rear, when an officer shouted the word " retreat," and a most disorderly flight ensued. Most of the officers were killed oi wounded in an attempt to form the line a second time ; and tlie confusion was completed by the Indians, who commenced a massacre with the tomahawk. The cries for mercy were * Ramsay. 162 CAPTURE OF THE PIGOT. answered by the hatchet and the scalping knife ; and though but 60 men escaped to the fort, only three prisoners were taken to Niagara. Further resistance was impracticable, and the inhabitants capitulated ; Colonel Butler and the remnant of continental troops being refused quarter, fled from the place. The inhabitants soon after abandoned the settle- ments, which the Indians totally destroyed.* On the 29th of October, Major Talbot took the British schooner Pigot, of eight 12 pounders, as she lay on the eastern side of Rhode Island. The major, with a number of troops on board a small vessel, made directly for the Pigot in the night, and sustaining the fire of her marines, reserved his own till he had run his jib-boom through her fore- shrouds. He then fired some cannon, and threw in a volley of musketry, loaded with bullets and buck-shot, and imme- diately boarded her. The captain made a gallant resistance, but he was not seconded by his crew. Major Talbot soon gained undisturbed possession, and carried off his prize in safety. Congress, as a reward of his merit, presented him with the commission of lieutenant-colonel. * Marshall. CHAPTER VIII. Campaign of 1779. g ^^^^^ URING the year 1779, the British seem to have aimed at little more, in the states to the northward of Caroli- na, than distress and de- ^^& predation. Having pub- licly announced their resolution of making " The colonies of as little avail as possible to their new connections," they planned sundry expeditions on this principle. One of these consisting of both a naval and land force, was committed to Sir George Collier and General Mat- thews, who made a descent on Virginia. They sailed for Portsmouth, and on their arrival took possession of that 163 1G4 RAVAGES IN VIRGINIA. town. Norfolk on the opposite side of the river, fell of course into their hands. The Americans burned some of their own vessels, but others were made prizes by the invaders. The British guards marched 18 miles in the night, and arriving at Suffolk by morning, proceeded to the destruction of vessels, naval stores, and of a large magazine of provisions, which had been deposited in that place. A similar destruction was carried on at Kemp's landing, Shepherds-gosport,* Tanners creek, and other places in the vicinity. The frigates and armed vessels were employed on the same business along the margin of the rivers. Three thousand hogsheads of tobacco were taken at Portsmouth. Every house in Suffolk was burnt except the church, and one dwelling house. The houses of several private gentlemen in the country, shared the same fate. Above 130 vessels were either destroyed or taken. All that were upon the stocks were burned, and every thing relative to the building or fitting of ships, was either carried off or destroyed. The fleet and army after demolishing Fort Nelson, and setting fire to the store houses, and other public buildings in the dock- yard at Gosport, embarked from Virginia, and returned with their prizes and booty safe to New York, in the same month in which they had left it. This expedition into Virginia dis- tressed a number of its inhabitants, and enriched the British forces, but was of no real service to the royal cause. It was presumed that by involving the citizens in losses and distress, they would be brought to reflect on the advantages of sub- mitting to a power, against which they had not the means of defending themselves : but the temper of the times was un- favourable to these views. Such was the high toned state of the American mind, that property had comparatively lost its value. It was fashionable to suffer in the cause of inde- pendence. Some hearty whigs gloried in their losses, with as much pride as others gloried in their possessions. In about five weeks after the termination of the expedition to Virginia, a similar one was projected against the exposed margin of Connecticut. Governor Tryon was appointed to EXPEDITION TO CONNECTICUT. 165 the command of about 2600 land forces, employed on this business, and he was supported by General Garth. The transports which conveyed these troops, were covered by a suitable number of armed vessels, commanded by Sir George Collier. They proceeded from New York, by the way of Hurl-gate, and landed at East Haven. One of the many addresses, issued by the British Com- mander, was sent by a flag to Colonel Whiting of the militia, near Fairfield. The Colonel was allowed an hour for his answer, but he had scarcely time to read it before the town was in flames. He nevertheless returned the followinor reply : " Connecticut, having nobly dared to take up arms against the cruel despotism of Great Britain, and the flames having preceded the answer to your flag, they will persist to oppose to the utmost, the power exerted against injured innocence." The British marched from their landing to New Haven. The town on their entering it, was delivered up to promiscous plunder, a few instances of protection excepted. The inhabitants were stripped of their household furniture and other moveable property. The harbour and water side was covered with feathers, which were discharged from opened beds. An aged citizen who laboured under a natural inability of speech, had his tongue cut out by one of the royal army. After perpetrating every species of enormity, but that of burning houses, the invaders suddenly re-embark- ed and proceeded by water to Fairfield. The militia of that place and the vicinity, posted themselves at the Court House green, and gave considerable annoyance to them, as they were advancing, but soon retreated to the height back of the town. On the approach of the British the town was evacua- ted by most of its inhabitants. A few women remained, with the view of saving their property. They imagined, that their sex would protect them. They also reposed confi- dence in an enemy who they knew had been formerly famed for humanity and politeness, but they bitterly repented their presumption. Parties of the royal army entered the deserted houses of the inhabitants, broke open desks, trunks, closets 1G6 EXPEDITION TO CONNECTICUT, and chests, and took every thing of value that came in their way. They robbed the women of their buckles, rings, bonnets, aprons and handkerchiefs. They abused them with the foulest language, threatened their lives, and presented the bayonets to their breasts. A sucking infant was plundered of part of its clothing, while the bayonet was presented to the breast of its mother. Towards evening, they began to burn the houses which they had previously plundered. The women begged General Tryon to spare the town. Mr. Sayre, the Episcopal minister, who had suffered for his attachment to the royal cause, joined the women in their request, but their joint supplications were disregarded. They then begged, that a few houses might be spared for a general shelter. This was at first denied, but at length Tryon con- sented to save the buildings of Mr. Burr and of Mr. Elliot, and also said, that the houses for public worship should be spared. After his departure on the next morning with the main body, the rear guard, consisting of German yaugers, set fire to every thing which Tryon had spared, but on their departure the inhabitants extinguished the flames, and saved some of the houses. The militia were joined by numbers from the country which successively came in to their aid, but they were too few to make effectual opposition. The British in this excursion, also burned East Haven, the greatest part of Green's farms, and the flourishing town of Norwalk. A considerable number of ships, either finished or on the stocks, with whale-boats, and a large amount of stores and merchandise, were destroyed. Particular accounts of these devastations were, in a short time, transmitted by authority to Congress. By these it appeared that there were burnt at Norwalk, two houses of public worship, eighty dwelling houses, eighty-seven barns, twenty-two stores, seventeen shops, four mills, and five vessels ; and at Fairfield, two houses of public worship, fifleen dwelling houses, eleven barns and several stores. There were at the same time a number of certificates transmitted to General Washington, in FEARS OF THE AMERICANS. 167 which sundry persons of veracity bore witness on oath to various acts of brutality and cruehy, committed on aged persons, women and prisoners. Congress, on receiving satisfactory attestation of the ravages of the British in this and^ other similar expeditions, resolved, " To direct their marine committee to take the most effectual measures, to carry into execution their manifesto of October 30th 1778 by burning or destroying the towns belonging to the enemy,' in Great Britain or the West Indies," but their, resolve was never carried into effect. The fires and destruction which accompanied this expedi- tion, were severely censured by the Americans, and apologized for by the British in a very unsatisfactory manner. The latter in their vindication, alleged that the houses which they had burned gave shelter to the Americans, while they fired from them, and on other occasions concealed their retreat. While the British were proceeding in these desolating opera- tions. General Washington was called upon for continental troops, but he could spare very few. He durst not detach largely, as he apprehended that one design of the British in these movements was to draw off a proportion of his army from West Point, to favor an intended attack on that important post. General Parsons, though closely connected with Con- necticut, and though from his small force he was unable to make successful opposition to the invaders, yet instead of pressing General Washington for a large detachment of con- tinental troops, wrote to him as follows : "The British may probably distress the country exceedingly, by the ravages they will commit ; but I would rather see all the towns on the coast of my country in flames, than that the enemy should possess West Point." The inhabitants feared much more than they suffered. They expected that the whole margin of their country, one hundred and twenty miles in extent, would suffer the fate of Fairfield and Norwalk. The season of the year added much to their difficulties, as the close attention of the farmers to their harvest- ing could not be omitted, without hazarding their subsistence. 168 PUTNAM ATTACKED. These fears were not of long duration. In about ten days after the landing of the British troops, an order was issued for their immediate return to New York. This they effected, in a short time, and with a loss so inconsiderable, that in the whole expedition, it did not exceed one hundred and fifty men. While the British were successfully making these desultory operations, the American army was incapable of covering the country. The former, having by means of their superior marine force, the command of the numerous rivers, bays and harbours of the United States, had it in their power to make descents, where they pleased, with an expedition that could not be equalled by the American land forces. Had General Washington divided his army, conformably to the wishes of the invaded citizens, he would have subjected his whole force to be cut off in detail. It was therefore his uniform practice, to risk no more by way of covering the country than was con- sistent with the general safety. His army was posted at some distance from the British head quarters in New York, and on both sides of the North River. The van thereof consisting of three hundred infantry and one hundred and fifty cavalry, under the command of Colonel White, patroled constantly, for several months, in front of the British lines, and kept a constant watch on the Sound and on the North River. This corps had sundry skirmishes with parties of the British, and was particularly useful in checking their excursions, and in procuring and communicating intelli- gence of their movements. About this time. General Putnam, who had been stationed with a respectable command at Reading in Connecticut, when on a visit to his outpost at Horse-Neck, was attacked by Gov- ernor Tryon, with about 1500 men. General Putnam had only a picket of one hundred and fifty men, and two iron field pieces without horses or drag-ropes. He however planted his cannon on the high ground, near the meeting house, and by several fires retarded the advancing enemy, and continued to make opposition till he perceived the enemy's horse, supported by the infantry, were about to charge. General Putnam, after STONY POINT. 169 ordering the picket to provide for their safety, by retiring to a swamp inaccessible to horse, plunged down the precipice at the church. This is so steep as to have artificial stairs, com- posed of nearly one hundred stone steps, for the accommoda- tion of foot passengers. The dragoons stopped short, without venturing down the abrupt declivity, and before they got round the brow of the hill, Putnam was far enough beyond their reach ; of the many balls that were fired at him, all missed except one, which went through his hat. He proceeded to Stamford, and haidng strengthened his picket with some militia, faced about and pursued Governor Tryon on his return. The campaign of 1779, though barren of important events, was distinguished by one of the most gallant enterprises which took place in the course of the war. This was the capture of Stony Point, on the North River. General Wayne, who had the honour of conducting this enterprise, set out at the head of a strong detachment of the most active infantry in the American army at noon, and completed a march of about fourteen miles, over bad roads, by eight o'clock in the evening. The detach- ment being then within a mile and a half of its object, was halted and formed into columns. The general, with a few of his officers, advanced and reconnoitred the works. At half- past eleven, the whole moved forward to the attack. The van of the right, consisting of one hundred and fifty volunteers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Fleury, advanced with unloaded muskets and fixed bayonets. These were preceded by twenty picked men, who were particularly instructed to remove the abbatis and other obstructions. The van of the left was led by Major Stewart, and advanced with unloaded muskets and fixed bayonets. It was also preceded by a similar " forlorn hope." The general placed himself at the head of the right column, and gave the most pointed orders not to fire, but to depend solely on the bayonet. The two columns directed their attacks to opposite points of the works, while a detachment engaged the attention of the garrison, by a feint in their front. The approaches were more difficult than had been apprehended. 11 IVO GENERAL WAYNE. The works were defended by a deep morass, which was also, at that time, overflowed by the tide. Neither the morass, the double row of abbatis, nor the strength of the works, damped the ardour of the assailants. In the face of a most tremendous fire of musketry, and of cannon loaded with grape-shot, they forced their way, at the point of the bayonet, through every obstacle, until both columns met in the centre of the works, at nearly the same instant. General Wayne, as he passed the last abbatis, was wounded in the head by a musket ball, but nevertheless insisted on being carried forward, adding as a reason for it, that " if he died he wished it might be in the fort," Lieutenants Gibbons and Knox, who led each a division, escaped unhurt, although the first lost seventeen men out of twenty, and the last nearly as many. The killed and wounded of the Americans amounted to ninety-eight. The killed of the garrison were sixty-three, and the number of theii prisoners five hundred and forty-three. Two flags, tw^o stand- ards, fifteen pieces of ordnance, and a considerable quantity of military stores, fell into the hands of the conquerors. The vigour and spirit with which this enterprise was conducted, was matter of triumph to the Americans. Congress gave their thanks to General Washington, " For the vigilance, wisdom and magnanimity with which he had conducted the military operations of the States, and which were among many other signal instances, manifested in his orders for the above enter- prise." They also gave thanks to General Wayne, and ordered a medal, emblematical of the action, to be struck, and one of gold to be presented to him. They directed a silver one to be presented to Lieutenant Colonel Fleury, and also to Major Stewart. At the same time, they passed general resolutions in honour of the oflEicers and men, but particularly designating Lieutenant Colonel Fleury, Major Stewart, and Lieutenants Gibbons and Knox. To the two latter, and also to Mr. Archer, the General's volunteer Aid-de-camp, they gave the rank of captain. The clemency shewn to the van- quished, was universally applauded. The customs of war, and the recent barbarities at Fairfield and Norwalk, would SOUTHERN AFFAIRS. I7l have been an apology for the conquerors, had they put the whole garrison to the sword ; but the assailants, no less gener- ous than brave, ceased to destroy as soon as their adversaries ceased to resist. Upon the capture of Stony Point, the victors turned its artillery against Verplanck's Point, and fired upon it with such effect, that the shipping in its vicinity cut their cables and fell down the river. As soon as the news of these events reached New York, preparations were instantly made to relieve the latter post and to recover the former. It by no means accorded with the cautious prudence of General Washington, to risk an engagement for either or both of them. He therefore removed the cannon and stores, destroyed the works, and evacuated the captured post. Sir Henry Clinton regained possession of Stony Point, on the third day after its capture, and placed in it a strong garrison. The successful enterprise of the Americans at Stony Point, was speedily followed by another, which equalled it in bold- ness of design. This was the surprise of the British garrison at Powles Hook, opposite to New York, which was effected by Major Lee, with about three hundred and fifty men. Major Sutherland the commandant, with a number of Hessians, got off safe to a small block house on the left of the fort, but about thirty of his men were killed and one hundred and sixty taken prisoners. The loss of the Americans was inconsiderable. Major Lee, in conformity to the orders he had received, made an immediate retreat, without waiting to destroy either the barracks or the artillery. Congress honoured him with their thanks, and ordered a medal of gold, emblematical of the affair, to be struck, and presented to him as a reward " for his pru- dence, address and bravery." In the year 1779, though the war was carried on for little more than distress and depredation in the northern states, the re-establishment of British government was seriously at- tempted in Carolina and Georgia. After the reduction of Savannah, a great part of the state of Georgia was restored to British influence. The royal army in that quarter was strengthened by a numerous reinforcement from East Florida, 172 DEATH OF WILKINS. and the whole was put under the command of Major- General Prevost. The force then in Georgia gave a serious alarm to the adjacent states. There were at that time but few conti- nental troops in Georgia or South Carolina, and scarce any in North Carolina, as during the late tranquillity in the southern states, they had been detached to serve in the main army commanded by General Washington. A body of militia was raised and sent forward by North Carolina to aid her neigh- bours. These joined the continental troops, but not till they had retreated out of Georgia, and taken post in South Caro- lina. Towards the close of the year 1778, General Lincoln, at the request of the delegates of South Carolina, was appointed by Congress, to take the command of their southern army. This consisted only of a few hundred conti- nentals. To supply the deficiency of regular soldiers, a considerable body of militia was ordered to join him, but they added much more to his numbers than to his effective force. The royal army at Savannah being reinforced by the junc- tion of the troops from St. Augustine, was in condition to extend their posts. Their first object was to take posses- sion of Port Royal, in South Carolina. Major Gardiner with two hundred men being detached with this view, landed on the island, but General Moultrie at the head of an equal number of Americans, in which there were only nine regular soldiers, attacked and drove him off it. This advantage was principally gained by two field pieces, which were well served by a party of Charleston militia artillery. The British lost almost all their officers. The Americans had eight men killed and twenty- two wounded ; among the former. Lieu- tenant Benjamin Wilkens, an artillery officer of great merit, and a citizen of distinguished virtue, whose early fall de- prived a numerous family of their chief support. He was the first officer of South Carolina who lost his life in supporting its independence. This repulse restrained the British from attempting any immediate enterprise to the northward of Savannah, but they fixed posts at Ebenezer, THE TORIES. 173 and Augusta, and extended themselves over a great part of Georgia. They also endeavoured to strengthen themselves by reinforcements from the tories, in the western settlements of Georgia and Carolina. Emissaries were sent among the inhabitants of that de- scription, to encourage them to a general insurrection, they were assured that if they embodied and added their force to that of the king's army in Georgia, they would have such a decided superiority as would make a speedy return to their homes practicable, on their own terms. Several hundreds of them accordingly rendezvoused, and set off to join the royal forces at Augusta. Among those who called themselves loyalists, there were many of the most infamous character. Their general complexion was that of a plundering banditti, more solicitous for booty, than for the honour and interest of their royal master. At every period before the war, the western wilderness of these states which extended to the Mississippi, afforded an asylum for the idle or disorderly, who disrelished the restraints of civil society. While the war raged, the demands of militia duty and of taxes contributed much to the peopling of those remote settlements, by holding out prospects of exemption from the control of government. Among these people the royal emissaries had successfully planted the standai'd of royalty, and of that class was a great proportion of those, who in the upper country of the Caro- linas and Georgia, called themselves the king's friends. They had no sooner embodied and began their march to join the royal army at Augusta, than they commenced such a scene of plundering of the defenceless settlements through which they passed, as induced the orderly inhabitants to turn out to oppose them. Colonel Pickens, with about three hundred men of the latter character, immediately pursued, and came up with them near Kettle creek. An action took place, which lasted three quarters of an hour. The tories were totally routed. About forty of them were killed, and in that number was their leader Colonel Boyd, who had been secretly employed by British authority to collect and head lU SOUTHERN AFFAIRS. them. By this action the British were disconcerted. The tones were dispersed. Some ran quite off. Others went to their homes, and cast themselves on the mercy of their country. These were tried by the laws of South Carolina for offending against an act called the " Sedition act," which had been passed since the revolution for the security of the new government. Seventy of them were condemned to die, but the sentence was only executed on five of their ring- leaders. As the British extended their posts on the Georgia side of Savannah river, General Lincoln fixed encampments at Black Swamp, and nearly opposite to Augusta on the Carolina side. From these posts he formed a plan of crossing into Georgia, with a view of limiting the British to the low country, near the ocean. In the execution of this design. General Ash with 1500 North Carolina militia and a few regular troops, after crossing the river Savannah, took a position on Briar creek ; but in a few days he was surprised by Lieutenant- Colonel Prevost, who having made a circuitous march of about fifty miles, came unexpectedly on his rear with about nine hundred men. The militia were thrown into confusion, and fled at the first fire. One hundred and fifty of the Americans were killed, and one hundred and sixty-two were taken. Few had any chance of escaping but by crossing the Savannah, in attempting which many were drowned. Of those who got off safe, a great part returned home. The number that rejoined the American camp did not exceed foui hundred and fifty men. The few continentals under Colonel Elbert made a brave resistance, but the survivors of them, with their gallant leader, were at last compelled to surrender. This event deprived General Lincoln of one fourth of his numbers, and opened a communication between the British, the Indians, and the tories of North and South Carolina. The series of disasters which had followed the American arms since the landing of the British near Savannah, occa- sioned well founded apprehensions for the safety of the adja- cent states. The militia of South Carolina was therefore put GENERAL PREVOST. 175 on a better footing, and a regiment of cavalry was raised. Governor Rutledge was invested, in conjunction with his council, with dictatorial powers. By virtue of his authority, he convened a large body of the militia near the centre of the state, that they might be in constant readiness to march whithersoever public service required. The original plan of penetraung into Georgia was resumed. Part of the American force was stationed on the north side of the Savannah, at Purysburg and Black Swamp, while General Lincoln and the main army crossed into Georgia near Augusta. General Prevost availed himself of the critical moment, when the American army had ascended one hundred and fifty miles towards the source of the Savannah, and crossed into Caro- lina over the same river near to its mouth, with about two thousand four hundred men. A considerable body of Indians, whose friendship the British had previously secured, were associated with the British on this expedition. The superior British force which crossed the Savannah, soon compelled General Moultrie, who was charged with the defence of South Carolina, to retire, Lincoln, on receiving information of these movements, detached three hundred of his light troops to reinforce IMoultrie, but proceeded with his main army towards the capital of Georgia. He was induced to pursue his original intention, from an idea that General Prevost meant nothing more than to divert him by a feint on Carolina, and because his marching down on the south side of the river Savannah, would cause very little delay in repairing to its defence. When Lincoln found that Prevost was seriously pushing for Charleston, he re-crossed the Savannah and pur- sued him. The British proceeded in their march by the main road near the sea coast, with but little opposition, and in the mean time the Americans retreated before them towards Charleston. General Moultrie, who ably conducted this retreat, had no cavalry to check the advancing foe. Instead of his receiving reinforcements from the inhabitants, as he marched through the country, he was abandoned by many of the militia, who went to their homes. Their families and lYe CHARLESTON THREATENED. property lay directly in the route of the invading army. The absence of the main army under Lincoln, the retreat of Moul- trie, the plunderings and devastations of the invaders, and above all the dread of the Indian savages which accompanied the royal army, diffused a general panic among the inhabi- tants. The terror of each individual became a source of ter- ror to another. From the influence of these causes, many were induced to apply for British protection. New converts to the royal standard endeavoured to ingratiate themselves with their protectors, by encouraging them to attempt the reduction of Charleston. Being in their power, they were more anxious to frame intelligence on the idea of what was agreeable, than of what was true. They represented the inhabitants as being generally tired of the war, and wishing for peace at all events. They also stated that Charleston was incapable of much resistance. These circumstances, combined with the facility with which the British marched through the country, induced General Prevost to extend his plan and push for Charleston. Had he designed it at first, and continued his march with the same rapidity with which it was begun, the town would probably have been carried by a coup-de-main, but he halted two or three days when ad- vanced near half the distance. In that interval every prepa- ration was made by the South Carolinians for the defence of their capital. All the houses in its suburbs were burnt. Lines and abbatis were, in a few days, carried across the peninsula between Ashley and Cooper rivers, and cannon were mounted at proper intervals on its whole extent. Though this visit of the British, and especially an attack on the land side, was unexpected, yet in a few days great preparations were made, and a force of three thousand three hundred men assembled in Charleston for its defence.* The main body and baggage of the British army being left on the south side of Ashley river, an advanced detachment of nine hundred men crossed the ferry and appeared before the *own. In the mean time Lincoln was marching forward as * Ramsay. _J r=_— — DEATH OF HUGER. Ill fast as possible, for the relief of Charleston, but as his arrival was doubtful and the crisis hazardous, to gain time was a mat- ter of consequence. A whole day was therefore spent in the exchange of flags. Commissioners from the garrison were instructed " to propose a neutrality during the war between Great Britain and America, and that the question whether the state shall belong to Great Britain, or remain one of the United States, be determined by the treaty of peace between these powers." The British commanders refused this advantageous offer, alleging that they did not come in a legislative capacity, and insisted that as the inhabitants and others were in arms, they should surrender prisoners of war. This being refused, the garrison prepared for an immediate assault, but this was not attempted. About this time Major Benjamin Huger, com- manding a party without the lines, was through mistake killed by his countrymen. By his fall the country was deprived of one of its firmest and most useful friends, and the army lost one of its brightest ornaments. Prevost knowing, by an intercepted letter, that Lincoln was coming on in his rear, retreated from Charleston, and filed off with his whole force from the main to the islands near the sea, that he might avoid being between two fires. Both armies encamped in the vici- nity of Charleston, watching each other's motions till the 20th of June, when an attack was made with about twelve hun- dred Americans on six hundred or seven hundred of the British, advantageously posted at Stono ferry. The latter had redoubts, with a line of communication, and field pieces in the intervals, and the whole was secured with an abbatis. By a preconcerted plan, a feint was to have been made from James island, with a body of Charleston militia, at the mo- ment when General Lincoln began the attack from the main, but from mismanagement, they did not reach their place of destination till the action was over. The attack was contin- ued for an hour and twenty minutes, and the assailants had the advantage, but the appearance of a reinforcement, to pre- vent which the feint from James island was intended, made their retreat necessary. The loss of the Americans in killed 178 COUNT D'ESTAING. and wounded was about one hundred and fifty. Among the former was Colonel Roberts, an artillery officer of distin- guished abilities. In the short interval between his being wounded and his dying, he was visited on the field of battle by his son Captain Roberts, of his own regiment. The ex- piring father presented his sword to his son, with an exhorta- tion to behave worthy of it, and to use it in defence of liberty and his country. After a short conversation he desired him' to return to his proper station, adding as a reason, "that there he might be useful, but to him he could be of no service." Immediately after this attack, the American militia, impa- tient of absence from their homes, returned to their planta- tions, and about the same time the British left the islands adjacent to Charleston, retreating from one to another, till they arrived at Port-Royal and Savannah. A considerable garrison was left at the former place under Colonel Maitland, but the main body went to Savannah. This incursion into South Carolina contributed very little to the advancement of the royal cause, but added much to the wealth of the officers, soldiers and followers of the British army, and still more to the distresses of the inhabitants. Soon after the affair at Stono, the continental forces, under the command of General Lincoln, retired to Sheldon, a healthy situation in the vicinity of Beaufort. Both armies remained in their respective encampments till the arrival of D'Estaing on the coast, on the 1st of September, roused the whole country to immediate activity. His fleet consisted of twenty sail of the line, two of fifty guns, and eleven frigates. His appearance was so unexpected that the Experiment man of war, of fifty guns, commanded by Sir James Wallace, and three frigates, fell into his hands. As soon as his arrival on the coast was known. General Lincoln with the army under his command, marched for the vicinity of Savannah, and orders were given for the militia of Georgia and South Carolina to rendezvous near the same place. The British were equally diligent in preparing for their defence. Great numbers were employed both by day CHARLESTON BESIEGED. 179 and night, in strengthening and extending their lines. The American militia, flushed with the hope of speedily expelHng the British from their southern possessions, turned out with an alacrity which far surpassed their exertions in the pre- ceding campaign. D'Estaing before the arrival of Lincoln demanded the surrender of the town to the arms of France. Prevost in his answer declined surrendering on a general summons, and requested that specific terms should be pro- posed, to which he would give an answer. The count re- plied, that it was the part of the besieged to propose terms. Prevost then asked for a suspension of hostilities, for twenty- four hours, for preparing proper terms. This was incon- siderately granted. Before the twenty-four hours elapsed, Lieutenant-Colonel Maitland with several hundred men who had been stationed at Beaufort, made their way good through many obstacles, and joined the royal army in Savannah. The garrison, encouraged by the arrival of so respectable a force, determined on resistance. The French and Ameri- cans, who formed a junction the evening after, were there- fore reduced to the necessity of storming or besieging the garrison. The resolution of proceeding by siege being adopted, several days were consumed in preparing for it, and in the meantime the works of the garrison were hourly strengthened by the labour of several hundred negroes, directed by Major Moncrief. The besiegers opened with nine mortars, thirty-seven pieces of cannon from the land side, and fifteen from the water. Soon after the commence- ment of the cannonade, Prevost solicited for leave to send the women and children out of town, but this was refused. The combined army suspected that a desire of secreting the plun- der, lately taken from the South Carolinians, was covered under the veil of humanity. It was also presumed that a refusal would expedite a surrender. On a report from the engineers that a considerable time would be necessary to reduce the garrison by regular approaches, it was determined to make an assault. This measure was forced on Count D'Estaing by his marine oflScers, who had remonstrated 180 DEATH OF PULASKI. against his continuing to risk so valuable a fleet on a dan- gerous coast, in the hurricane season, and at so great a distance from the shore, that it might be surprised by a British fleet, completely repaired and fully manned. In a few days the lines of the besiegers might have been carried into the works of the besieged, but under these critical circum- stances, no farther delay could be admitted. To assault or raise the siege was the alternative. Prudence would have dictated the latter, but a sense of honour determined the besiegers to adopt the former. Two feints were made with the country militia, and a real attack on Spring Hill battery early in the morning, with three thousand five hundred French troops, six hundred continentals, and three hundred and fifty of the inhabitants of Charleston. These boldly marched up to the lines, under the command of D'Estaing and Lincoln, but a heavy and well directed fire from the batteries, and a cross fire from the gallies, threw the front of their columns into confusion. Two standards were neverthe- less planted on the British redoubts. A retreat of the assail- ants was ordered, after they had stood the enemy's fire for fifty-five minutes. Count D'Estaing and Count Pulaski were both wounded, the former slightly, but the latter mortally. Six hundred and thirty-seven of the French, and upwards of two hundred of the continentals and militia, were killed or wounded. General Prevost, Lieutenant-Colonel Maitland, and Major Moncrief, deservedly acquired great reputation by this successful defence. The force of the garrison was between two and three thousand, of which about one hun- dred and fifty were militia. The damage sustained by the besieged was trifling, as they fired from behind works, and few of the assailants fired at all. Immediately after this unsuccessful assault, the militia, almost universally, went to their homes. Count D'Estaing re-embarked his troops and artillery, and left the continent. While the siege of Savannah was pending, a remarkable enterprise was effected by Colonel John White of the Georgia line. Captain French had taken post with about one hundred SIEGE RAISED. 181 men near the river Ogechee, some time before the siege began. There were also at the same place, forty sailors on board of five British vessels, four of which were armed. All these men, together with the vessels and one hundred and thirty stand of arms, were surrendered to Colonel White, Captain Elholm and four others, one of which was the colonel's servant. On the preceding night, this small party kindled a number of fires in different places, and adopted the parade of a large encampment. By these and a variety of deceptive stratagems, Captain French was fully impressed with an opinion, that nothing but an instant surrender, in conformity to a peremptory summons, could save his men from being cut to pieces by a superior force. He therefore gave up without making any resistance. This visit of the fleet of his Most Christian Majesty to the coast of America, though unsuccessful as to its main object, was not without utility to the United States. It disconcerted the measures already digested by the British commanders, and caused a considerable waste of time, before they could determine on a new plan of operations. It also occasioned the evacuation of Rhode Island. But this was of no advan- tage to the United States. For of all the blunders committed by the British in the course of the American war, none was greater than their stationing near six thousand men for two years and eight months, on that island, where they were lost to every purpose of co-operation, and where they could render very litde more service to the royal cause, than could have been obtained by a couple of frigates cruising in the vicinity. The siege being raised, the continental troops retreated over the river Savannah. The vicissitudes of an autumnal atmosphere made a severe impression on the irritable fibres of men, exhausted with fatigue and dejected by defeat. In proportion to the towering hopes, with which the expedition was undertaken, was the depression of spirits subsequent to its failure. The Georgia exiles, who had assembled from all quarters to repossess themselves of their estates, were a 182 COLONEL CLARKE. second time obliged to flee from their country and posses- sions. The most gloomy apprehensions respecting the south- ern states, took possession of the minds of the people. Thus ended the southern campaign of 1779, without any thing decisive on either side. After one year, in which the British had overrun the state of Georgia for one hundred and fifty miles from the sea coast, and had penetrated as far as the lines of Charleston, they were reduced to their original limits in Savannah. All their schemes of co-operation with the tories had failed, and the spirits of that class of the inhabitants, by successive disappointments, were thoroughly broken. An expedition which was to have taken place under Henry Hamilton, Lieutenant-Governor of Detroit, fortunately for the Virginia back settlers, against whom it was principally directed, fell through, in consequence of the spirited conduct of Colonel Clarke. The object of the expedition was extensive, and many Indians were engaged in it. Hamilton took post at St. Vincents in the winter, to have all things in readiness for in- vading the American settlements, as soon as the season of the year would permit. Clarke, on hearing that Hamilton had weakened himself by sending away a considerable part of his Indians against the frontier settlers, formed the resolution of attacking him, as the best expedient for preventing the mis- chiefs which were designed against his country. After sur- mounting many difficulties, he arrived with one hundred and thirty men unexpectedly at St. Vincents. The town immediately gave up to the Americans, and assisted them in taking the fort. The next day Hamilton, with the garrison, agreed to surrender prisoners of war on articles of capitulation. Clarke, on hearing that a convoy of British goods and provisions was on its way from Detroit, detached a party of sixty men, which met them and made prize of the whole. By this well-conducted and spirited attack on Hamilton, his intended expedition was nipped in the bud. Colonel Clarke transmitted to the Council of Virginia letters and papers, relating to Lieutenant-Governor INDIAN ENMITY. 183 Hamilton, Philip de Jean, justice of peace for Detroit, and William Lamothe, captain of volunteers, whom he had made prisoners. The Board reported that Hamilton had incited the Indians to perpetrate their accustomed cruelties on the defence- less inhabitants of the United States — had at the time of his captivity sent considerable detachments of Indians against the frontiers — had appointed a great council of them, to meet him and concert the operations of the ensuing campaign — had given standing rewards for scalps, and had treated American prison- ers with cruelty. They also reported, that it appeared that De Jean was the willing and cordial instrument of Hamilton, and that Lamothe was captain of the volunteer scalping parties of Indians and Tories, who went out from time to time, under general orders to spare neither men, women, nor children. They therefore considering them as fit objects on which to begin the work of retaliation — advised the governor to put them in irons — confine them in the dungeon of the public jail — debar them the use of pen, ink and paper, and exclude them from all converse, except with their keeper. Colonel Goose Van Schaick, with fifty-five men, marched from Fort Schuyler to the Onandago settlements, and burned the whole, consisting of about fifty houses, together with a large quantity of provisions. Horses, and stock of every kind, were killed. The arms and ammunition of the Indians were either destroyed or brought off, and their settlements were laid waste. Twelve Indians were killed, and thirty-four made prisoners. This expedition was performed in less than six days, and without the loss of a single man. A particular detail of the devastation of property — of the distress of great numbers who escaped, only by fleeing to the woods, where they subsisted without covering, on the sponta- neous productions of the earth — and of the barbarous murders which were committed on persons of every age and sex, would be sufficient to freeze every breast with horror. In sundry expeditions which had been carried on against the Indians, ample vengeance had been taken on some of them, but these partial successes produced no lasting benefit. The 184 GENERAL CLINTON. few who escaped, had it in their power to make thousands miserable. For the permanent security of the frontier inhabit- ants, it was resolved in the year 1779, to carry a decisive expedition into the Indian country. A considerable body of continental troops was selected for this purpose, and put under the command of General Sullivan. The Indians who formed the confederacy of the six nations, commonly called the Mohawks, were the objects of this expedition. They inhabited that immense and fertile tract of country, which lies between New England, the Middle States, and the province of Canada. They had been advised by Congress, and they had promised to observe neutrality in the war, but they soon departed from this line of conduct. The Oneidas and a few others were friends to the Americans, but a great majority took part decidedly against them. Overcome by the presents and promises of Sir John Johnson and other British agents, and their own native appetite for depredation, they invaded the frontiers, carrying slaughter and devastation wherever they went. From the vicinity of their settlements, to the inhabited parts of the United States, they facilitated the inroads of the more remote Indians. Much was therefore expected from their expulsion. When General Sullivan was on his way to the Indian country he was joined by the American general, Clinton, with upwards of one thousand men. The latter made his way down the Susquehanna by a singular contrivance. The stream of water in that river was too low to float his batteaux. To remedy this inconvenience, he raised with great industry a dam across the mouth of Lake Otse- go, which is one of the sources of the river Susquehanna. The lake being constantly supplied by springs soon rose to the height of the dam. General Clinton having got his batteaux ready, opened a passage through the dam for the water to flow. This raised the river so high that he was enabled to embark all his troops and to float them down to Tioga. By this exertion they soon joined Sullivan. The Indians on hearing of the ex- pedition projected against them, acted with firmness. They collected their strength, took possession of proper ground, and fortified it with judgment. General Sullivan attacked them in I BRANDT 185 their works. They stood a cannonade for more thaii two hours, but then gave way. This engagement proved decisive : after the trenches were forced, the Indians fled without making any attempt to rally. They were pursued for some miles but without effect. The consternation occasioned among them by this defeat was so great, that they gave up all ideas of farther resistance. As the Americans advanced into their settlements, the Indians retreated before them, without throwing any obstructions in their way. General Sullivan penetrated into the heart of the country inhabited by the Mohawks, and spread desolation everywhere. Many settlements in the form of towns were destroyed, besides detached habitations. All their fields of corn, and whatever was in a state of cultivation, underwent the same fate. Scarcely a house was left standing, nor was an Indian to be seen. In about three months from his setting out, Sullivan reached Easton in Pennsylvania, and soon after rejoined the army. The Indians, by this decisive expedition, being made to feel in the most sensible manner, those calamities they were wont to inflict on others, became cautious and timid. The sufferings they had undergone, and the dread of a repetition of them, in case of their provoking the resentment of the Americans, damped the ardour of their warriors from making incursions into the American settlements. The frontiers, though not res- tored to perfect tranquillity, experienced an exemption from a great proportion of the calamities in which they had been lately involved. Though these good consequences resulted from this expedi- tion, yet about the time of its commencement, and before its termination, several detached parties of Indians distressed different settlements ni the United States. A party of sixty Indians, and twenty-seven white men, under Brandt, attacked the Minisink settlement, and burnt ten houses, twelve barns, a fort and two mills, and carried off much plunder, together wdth several prisoners. The militia from Goshen and the vicinity, to the amount of one hundred and forty-nine, collected and pursued them, but with so little caution that, on the 23d of 12 186 INDIAN EXPEDITIONS July, they were surprised and defeated. In August, General Williamson and Colonel Pickens, of South Carolina, entered the Indian country adjacent to the frontier of their state, burned and destroyed the corn of eight towns, and insisted upon the Indians removing immediately from their late habitations into more remote settlements. In the same month, Colonel Broadhead engaged in a suc- cessful expedition against the Mingo, Munsey, and Seneca Indians. He left Pittsburg with six hundred and five men, •and was gone about five weeks, in which time he penetrated about two hundred miles from the fort, destroyed a number of Indian huts and about five hundred acres of corn.* * Ramsay. CHAPTER IX. Campaign of 1780. sooner was the departure of the French fleet known and confirmed, than Sir Henry Clinton committed the command of the royal army in New York to Lieutenant-General Kniphausen, and embarked for the southward, with four flank battal- ions, twelve regiments, and a corps British, Hessian and provincial, a powerful detachment of artillery, two hundred and fifty cavalry, together with an ample supply of military stores and provisions. Vice-Admiral Arbuthnot, with a suitable naval force, undertook to convey the troops to the place of their destination. The whole sailed from New York. After a tedious and dangerous passage, in which part of their ordnance, most of their artillery, and all their cavalry horses were lost, the fleet arrived at Tybee, in Georgia. In a few days, the transports, with the army on board, sailed 187 188 SOUTHERN AFFAIRS. from Savannah for North Edisto, and after a short passage, the troops made good their landing about thirty miles from Charleston, and on the 11th of February took possession of John's Island and Stono ferry, and soon after of James Island, and Wappoo Cut. A bridge was thrown over the canal, and part of the royal army took post on the banks of Ashley river opposite to Charleston. The Assembly of the state was sitting when the British landed, but broke up after " delegating to Governor Rutledge, and such of his council as he could conveniently consult, the power to do every thing necessary for the public good, except the taking away the life of a citizen without a legal trial." The governor immediately ordered the militia to rendezvous. Though the necessity was great, few obeyed the pressing call. A proclamation was issued by the governor, under his extra- ordinary powers, requiring such of the militia as were regu- larly drafted, and all the inhabitants and owners of property in the town to repair to the American standard and join the garrison immediately, under pain of confiscation. This se- vere though necessary measure produced very little effect. The country was much dispirited by the late repulse at Savannah. The tedious passage from New York to Tybee, gave the Americans time to fortify Charleston. This, together with the losses which the royal army had sustained in the late tem- pestuous weather, induced Sir Henry Clinton to despatch an order to New York for reinforcements of men and stores. He also directed Major- General Prevost to send on to him twelve hundred men from the garrison of Savannah. Brigadier- General Patterson, at the head of this detachment, made his way good over the river Savannah, and through the interme- diate country, and soon after joined Sir Henry Clinton near the banks of Ashley river. The royal forces without delay proceeded to the siege. At Wappoo, on James Island, they formed a depot, and erected fortifications both on that island and on the main, opposite to the southern and western extre- mities of Charleston. An advanced party crossed Ashley SIEGE OF CHARLESTON. 189 river, and soon after broke ground at the distance of eleven hundred yards from the American works. At successive periods, they erected five batteries on Charleston neck. The garrison was equally assiduous in preparing for its defence. The works which had been previously thrown up, were strengthened and extended. Lines and reboubts were con- tinued across from Cooper to Ashley river. In front of the whole was a strong abbatis, and a wet ditch made by passing a canal from the heads of swamps, which run in opposite directions. Between the abbatis and the lines, deep holes were dug at short intervals. The lines were made particularly strong on the right and left, and so constructed as to rake the wet ditch in almost its whole extent. To secure the centre, a hornwork had been erected, which being closed during the siege, formed a kind of citadel. Works were also thrown up on all sides of the town, where a landing was practicable. Though the lines were no more than field works, yet Sir Henry Clinton treated them with the respectful homage of three parallels. From the 3d to the 10th of April, the first parallel was completed, and immediately after the town was summoned to surrender. On the 12th, the batteries were opened, and from that day an almost incessant fire was kept up. About the time the batteries were opened a work was thrown up near Wando river, nine miles from town, and an- other at Lempriere's point, to preserve the communication with the country by water. A post was also ordered at a ferry over the Santee, to favour the coming in of reinforce- ments, or the retreat of the garrison when necessary. The British marine force, consisting of one ship of fifty guns, two of forty-four guns, four of thirty-two, and the Sandwich armed ship, crossed the bar in front of Rebellion Road and anchored in Five Fathom Hole. The American force opposed to this was the Bricole, which, though pierced for forty-four guns, did not mount half of that number, two of thirty-two guns, one of twenty-eight, two of twenty-six, two of twenty, and the brig Notre Dame, of sixteen guns. The first object of its com- mander, Commodore Whipple, was to prevent Admiral 190 SIEGE OF CHARLESTON. Arbuthnot from crossing the bar, but on farther examination this was found to be impracticable. He therefore fell back to Fort Moultrie, and afterwards to Charleston. The crew and guns of all his vessels, except one, were put on shore to reinforce the batteries. Admiral Arbuthnot weighed anchor at Five Fathom Hole, and with the advantage of a strong southerly wind, and flowing tide, passed Fort Moultrie without stopping to engage it, and anchored near the remains of Fort Johnson. Colonel Pinck- ney, who commanded on Sullivan's Island kept up a brisk and well-directed fire on the ships in their passage, which did as great execution as could be expected. To prevent the royal armed vessels from running into Cooper River, eleven vessels were sunk in the channel opposite to the exchange. The batteries of the besiegers soon obtained a superiority over the town. The former had twenty-one mortars and royals, the latter only two. The regular force in the garrison was much inferior to that of the besiegers, and but few of the militia could be persuaded to leave their plantations, and rein- force their brethren in the capital. A camp was formed at Monk's Corner to keep up the communication between the town and country, and the militia without the lines were requested to rendezvous there : but this was surprised and routed by Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton. The British having now less to fear, extended themselves to the eastward of Cooper river. Two hundred and fifty horse, and six hundred infantry were detached on this service, but nevertheless, in the opinion of a council of war, the weak state of the garrison made it improper to detach a number sufficient to attack even that small force. About the 20th of April, Sir Henry Clinton received a rein- forcement of three thousand men from New York. A second council of war, held on the 21st, agreed that " a retreat would be attended with many distressing inconveniences, if not altogether impracticable," and advised, " that olTers of capitu- lation, before their affairs became more critical, should be made to General Clinton, which might admit of the army's withdrawing, and afford security to the persons and property SEIGE OF CHARLESTON. 191 of the inhabitants." These terms being proposed, were instantly rejected, but the garrison adhered to them, in hopes that succours would arrive from the neighbouring states. The bare offer of capitulating dispirited the garrison, but they con- tinued to resist in expectation of favourable events. The British speedily completed the investment of the town, both by land and water. After Admiral Arbuthnot had passed Sulli- van's Island, Colonel Pinckney, with one hundred and fifty of the men under his command, were withdrawn from that post to Charleston. Soon after the fort on the island was surren- dered without opposition, to Captain Hudson of the royal navy. On the same day, the remains of the American cavalry which escaped from the surprise at Monk's Corner, on the 14th of April, were again surprised by Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton at Laneau's ferry on the Santee, and the whole either killed, cap- tured or dispersed. While everything prospered with the Brit- ish, Sir Henry Clinton began a correspondence with General Lincoln, and renewed his former offers to the garrison in case of their surrender. Lincoln was disposed to close with them, as far as they respected his army, but some demur was made with a view of gaining better terms for the citizens, which it was hoped might be obtained on a conference. This was asked : but Clinton, instead of granting it, answered " that hostilities should recommence at eight o'clock." Nevertheless, neither party fired till nine. The garrison then recommenced hostilities. The besiegers immediately followed, and each cannonaded the other with unusual briskness. The British batteries of the third parallel opened on this occasion. Shells and carcasses were thrown into almost all parts of the town, and several houses were burned. The cannon and mortars played on the garrison at a less distance than a hundred yards. The Hessian chasseurs were so near the American lines, that with their rifles they could easily strike any object that was visible on them. The British, having crossed the wet ditch by sap, advanced within twenty-five yards of the American works, and were ready for making a general assault by land and water. All expectation of succour was at an end. The only hope left 192 CAPITULATION. was that nine thousand men, the flower of the British army, seconded by a naval force, might fail in storming extensive lines defended by less than three thousand men. Under these circumstances, the siege was protracted till the 11th. On that day a great number of the citizens addressed General Lincoln in a petition, expressing their acquiescence in the terms which Sir Henry Clinton had otTered, and requesting his acceptance of them. On the reception of this petition. General Lincoln wrote to Sir Henry, and offered to accept the terms before proposed. The royal commanders wishing to avoid the extremity of a storm, and unwilling to press to unconditional submission an enemy whose friendship they wished to con- ciliate, returned a favourable answer. A capitulation was signed, and Major General Leslie took possession of the town on the next day. The loss on both sides during the siege was nearly equal. Of the king's troops, seventy-six were killed, and one hundred and eighty-nine wounded. Of the Americans eighty-nine were killed, and one hundred and forty wounded. Upwards of four hundred pieces of artillery were surrendered. By the articles of capitulation, the garrison was to march out of town, and to deposit their arms in front of the works : but the drums were not to beat a British march, nor the colours to be uncased. The continental troops and seamen were to keep their baggage, and remain prisoners of war till exchanged. The militia were to be permitted to return to their respective homes as prisoners on parole, and while they adhered to their parole, were not to be molested by the British troops in person or property. The inhabitants of all conditions to be considered as prisoners on parole, and to hold their property on the same terms with the militia. The officers of the army and navy to retain their servants, swords, pistols, and baggage unsearched. They were permitted to sell their horses, but not to remove them ; a vessel was allowed to proceed to Philadel- phia with General Lincoln's despatches unopened. The numbers which surrendered prisoners of war, inclusive of the militia and every adult male inhabitant, was above five thousand, but the proper garrison at the time of the surrender CAPITULATION. 193 did not exceed two thousand five hundred. The precise num- ber of privates in the continental army was one thousand nine hundred and seventy-seven, of which number five hundred were in the hospitals. The captive officers were much more in proportion than the privates, and consisted of one major general, six brigadiers, nine colonels, fourteen lieutenant colo- nels, fifteen majors, eighty-four captains, eighty-four lieutenants, thirty-two second lieutenants and ensigns. The gentlemen of the country, who were mostly militia officers, from a sense of honour repaired to the defence of Charleston, though they could not bring with them privates equal to their respective commands. The regular regiments were fully officered, though greatly deficient in privates. This was the first instance in which the Americans had attempted to defend a town. The unsuccessful event, with its consequences, demonstrated the policy of sacrificing the towns of the Union, in preference to endangering the whole, by risk- ing too much for their defence. Shortly after the surrender, the British commander adopted sundry measures to induce the inhabitants to return to their allegiance. It was stated to them in a handbill, which, though without a name, seemed to flow from authority : " That the helping hand of every man was wanting to re-establish peace and good government — that the commander-in-chief wished not to draw them into danger, while any doubt could remain of his success, but as that was now certain, he trusted that one and all would heartily join, and give effect to necessary measures for that purpose." Those who had families were informed " That they would be permitted to remain at home, and form a militia for the maintenance of peace and good order, but from those who had no families it was expected that they would cheerfully assist in driving their oppressors, and all the miseries of war, from their borders." To such it was promised, " That when on service, they would be allowed pay, ammunition and provisions in the same manner as the king's troops." About the same time. Sir Henry Clinton, in a proclamation, declared, *' That if any person should thenceforward appear in arms in "-="^1 104 MASSACRE AT THE VVAXHAW. order to prevent the establishment of his majesty's government in that country, or should under any pretence or authority whatever, attempt to compel any other person or persons so to do, or who should hinder the king's faithful subjects from join- ing his forces, or from performing those duties their allegiance required, such persons should be treated with the utmost severity, and their estates be immediately seized for confisca- tion." In a few days after. Sir Henry Clinton and Admiral Arbuthnot, in the character of commissioners for restoring peace, offered to the inhabitants, with some exceptions, " Par- don for their past treasonable offences, and a reinstatement in the possession of all those rights and immunities which they heretofore had enjoyed under a free British government, exempt from taxation, except by their own legislatures." The capital ha^nng surrendered, the next object with the British, was to secure the general submission of the whole body of the people. To this end, they posted garrisons in different parts of the country to awe the inhabitants. They also marched with up- wards of two thousand men towards North Carolina. This caused an immediate retreat of some parties of Americans, who had advanced into the northern extremity of South Caro- lina, with the expectation of relieving Charleston. One of these, consisting of about three hundred continentals, com- manded by Colonel Buford, was overtaken at the Waxhaws by Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton, and completely defeated. Five out of six of the whole were either killed or so badly wounded, as to be incapable to be removed from the field of battle ; and this took place though they made such ineffectual opposition as only to kill twelve and wound five of the British. This great disproportion of the killed on the two sides, arose from the circumstance that Tarleton's party refused quarter to the Americans, after they had ceased to resist and laid down their arms. Sir Henry Clinton having left about four thousand men for the southern service, embarked early in June with the main army for New York. On his departure the command devolved AFFAIRS OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 195 on Lieutenant General Cornwallis. The season of the year, the condition of the army, and the unsettled state of South Carolina, impeded the immediate invasion of North Carolina. Earl Cornwallis despatched instructions to the principal loyal- ists in that state, to attend to the harvest, prepare provisions, and remain quiet till the latter end of August or beginning of September. His lordship committed the care of the frontier to Lord Rawdon, and repairing to Charleston, devoted his prin- cipal attention to the commercial and civil regulations of South Carolina. In the meantime, the impossibility of fleeing with their families and effects, and the want of an army to which the militia of the states might repair, induced the people in the country to abandon all schemes of farther resistance. At Beaufort, Camden, and Ninety-Six, they generally laid down their arms, and submitted either as prisoners or as subjects. Excepting the extremities of the state bordering on North CaroHna, the inhabitants who did not flee out of the country preferred submission to resistance. This was followed by an unusual calm, and the British believed that the state was thoroughly conquered. The precautions taken to prevent the rising of the royalists in North Carolina, did not answer the end. Several of the inhabitants of Tryon county, under the direction of Colonel Moore, took up arms, and were in a few days defeated by the whig militia, commanded by General Rutherford. Colonel Bryan, another loyalist, though equally injudicious as to time, was successful. He reached the seventy-first regiment sta- tioned in the Cheraws with about eight hundred men, assembled from the neighbourhood of the river Yadkin. While the conquerors were endeavouring to strengthen the party for royal government, the Americans were not inatten- tive to their interests. Governor Rutledge, who during the siege of Charleston had been requested by General Lincoln to go out of town, was industriously and successfully negotiating with North Carolina, Virginia, and Congress, to obtain a force for checking the progress of the British arms. Representa- tions to the same effect, had also been made in due time by 196 SUMPTER'S OPERATIONS. General Lincoln. Congress ordered a considerable detach ment from their main army, to be marched to the southward. North Carolina also ordered a large body of militia to take the field. As the British advanced to the upper country of South Carolina, a considerable number of determined whigs retreated before them, and took refuge in North Carolina. In this class was Colonel Sumpter, a distinguished partizan, who was well qualified for conducting military operations. A party of exiles from South Carolina, made choice of him for their leader. At the head of this little band of freemen, he returned to his own state, and took the field against the victo- rious British, after the inhabitants had generally -abandoned all ideas of farther resistance. The first effort of renewed warfare was two months after the fall of Charleston, when one hundred and thirty-three of Colonel Sumpter's corps attacked and routed a detachment of the royal forces and militia, which were posted in a lane at Williamson's plantation. This was the first advantage gained over the British, since their landing in the beginning of the year. The steady persevering friends of America, who were very numerous in the north-western frontier of South Carolina, turned out with great alacrity to join Colonel Sumpter, though opposition to the British government had entirely ceased in every other part of the state. His troops in a few days amounted to six hundred men. With this increase of strength, he made a spirited attack on a party of the British at Rocky Mount, but as he had no artillery, and they were secured under cover of earth filled in between logs, he could make no impression upon them, and was obliged to retreat. Sensible that the minds of men are influenced by enterprise, and that to keep militia together it is necessary to employ them, this active partizan attacked another of the royal detachments, consisting of the prince of Wales' regi- ment, and a large body of tories, posted at the Hanging Rock. The prince of Wales' regiment was almost totally destroyed. From two hundred and seventy-eight it was reduced to nine men. The loyalists, who were of that party GATES IN THE SOUTH. 197 which had advanced from North Carolina under Colonel Brian, were dispersed. The panic occasioned by the fall of Charleston daily abated. The whig militia on the extremities of the state formed themselves into parties under leaders of their own choice, and sometimes attacked detachments of the British army, but more frequently those of their own country- men, who as a royal militia were co-operating with the king's forces. While Sumpter kept up the spirits of the people by a succession of gallant enterprises, a respectable continental force was advancing through the middle states, for the relief of their southern brethren. With the hopes of relieving Charleston, orders were given for the Maryland and Delaware troops to march from General Washington's head-quarters to South Carolina, but the quarter-master-general was unable to put this detachment in motion as soon as was intended. After marching through Jersey and Pennsylvania, they embarked at the head of Elk, and landed soon after at Petersburg, and thence proceeded through the country to- wards South Carolina. This force was at first put under the command of Major-General Baron de Kalb, and afterwards of General Gates. The success of the latter in the northern campaigns of 1776 and 1777, induced many to believe that his presence as commander of the southern army, would re-animate the friends of independence. While Baron de Kalb commanded, a council of war had advised him to file off from the direct road to Camden, towards the well culti- vated settlements in the vicinity of the Waxhaws: but General Gates on taking the command did not conceive this movement to be necessary, supposing it to be most for the interest of the states that he should proceed immediately with his army, on the shortest road to the vicinity of the British encampment. This led through a barren country, in passing over which, the Americans severely felt the scarcity of provisions. Their murmurs became audible, and there were strong appearances of mutiny, but the officers who shared every calamity in common with the privates, inter- posed, and conciliated them to a patient sufferance of their I J 198 SUFFERINGS OF THE ARMY. hard lot. They principally subsisted on lean cattle, picked up in the woods. The whole army was under the necessity of using green corn and peaches in the place of bread. They were subsisted for several days on the latter alone. Dysenteries became common in consequence of this diet. The heat of the season, the unhealthiness of the climate, together with insufficient and unwholesome food, threatened destruction to the army. The common soldiers, instead of desponding, began after some time to be merry with their misfortunes. They used "starvation" as a cant word, and vied with each other in burlesquing their situation. The wit and humour displayed on the occasion contributed not a little to reconcile them to their sufferings. The American army, haAang made its way through a country of pine-barren, sand- hills and swamps, reached Clermont, thirteen miles from Camden. The next day General Stephens arrived with a large body of Virginia militia. The similarity of language and appearance between the British and American armies, gave opportunities for imposing on the inhabitants. Lieutenant-Colonel Tarleton with a party, by assuming the name and dress of Americans, passed themselves near Black river, for the advance of General Gates' army. Some of the neighbouring militia were eagerly collected by Mr. Bradley, to co-operate with their supposed friends, but after some time the veil being thrown aside, Bradley and his volunteers were carried to Camden, and confined there as prisoners. The army with which Gates advanced, was by the arrival of Stephens' militia, increased nearly to four thousand men, but of this large number, the whole regular force was only nine hundred infantry, and seventy cavalry. On the ap- proach of Gates, Earl Cornwallis hastened from Charleston to Camden, and arrived there on the 14th. The force which his lordship found collected on his arrival, was seventeen hundred infantry and three hundred cavalry. This inferior number would have justified a retreat, but he chose rather to stake his fortune on the decision of a battle. On the night BATTLE OF CAMDEN. 199 of the 15th, he marched from Camden with his whole force, intending to attack the Americans in their camp at Clermont. In the same night, Gates, after ordering his baggage to the Waxhaws, put his army in motion, with an intention of advancing to an eligible position, about eight miles from Camden. The American army was ordered to march at ten o'clock P. M. in the following order. Colonel Armand's ad- vance cavalry. Colonel Porterfield's light infantry, on the right flank of Colonel Armand's in Indian-file, two hundred yards from the road. Major Armstrong's light infantry in the same order as Colonel Porterfield's on the left flank of the legion advanced guard of foot, composed of the advanced pickets, first brigade of Maryland, second brigade of Mary- land, division of North Carolina, Virginia rear guard, volun- teer cavalry, upon flanks of the baggage equally divided. The light infantry upon each flank were ordered to march up and support the cavalry, if it should be attacked by the British cavalry, and Colonel Armand was directed in that case to stand the attack at all events. The advance of both armies met in the night and engaged. Some of the cavalry of Armand's legion, being wounded in the first fire, fell back on others, who recoiled so suddenly, that the first Maryland regiment was broken, and the whole line of the army was thrown into confusion. This first impression struck deep, and dispirited the militia. The American army soon recovered its order, and both they and their adversaries kept their ground, and occasionally skir- mished through the night. Colonel Porterfield, a most excel- lent officer, on whose abilities General Gates particularly de- pended, was wounded in the early part of this night attack. In the morning a severe and general engagement took place. At the first onset, a great body of the Virginia militia, who formed the left wing of the army, on being charged with fixed bayo- nets by the British infantry, threw down their arms, and with the utmost precipitation fled from the field. A considerable part of the North Carolina militia followed the unworthy example, but the continentals, who formed the right wing of 200 BATTLE OF CAMDEN. the army, inferior as they were in numbers to the British, stood their ground and maintained the conflict with great resolution. Never did men acquit themselves better : for some time they had clearly the advantage of their opponents, and were in possession of a considerable body of prisoners : overpowered at last by numbers, and nearly surrounded by the enemy, they were compelled reluctantly to leave the ground. In justice to the North Carolina militia it should be remarked, that part of the brigade commanded by General Gregory acquitted themselves well. They were formed immediately on the left of the continentals, and kept the field while they had a cartridge to fire. General Gregory himself was twice wounded by a bayonet in bringing off' his men, and several of his brigade, who were made prisoners, had no wounds except from bayonets. Two hundred and ninety American wounded prisoners were carried into Camden, after this action. Of this number two hundred and six were con- tinentals, eighty-two were North Carolina militia, and two were Virginia militia. The resistance made by each corps, may in some degree be estimated from the number of wounded. The Americans lost the whole of their artillery, eight field pieces, upwards of two hundred waggons, and the greatest part of their baggage. Almost all their officers were separated from their respective commands. Every corps was broken in action and dispersed. The fugitives who fled by the common road, were pursued above twenty miles by the horse of Tarleton's legion, and the way was covered with arms, baggage and waggons. Baron de Kalb, the second in command, a brave and experienced officer, was taken prisoner and died on the next day of his wounds. The baron, who was a German by birth, had long been in the French service. He had travelled through the British pro- vinces, about the time of the Stamp act, and is said to have reported to his superiors on his return, " that the colonists were so firmly and universally attached to Great Britain, that nothing could shake their loyalty." Congress resolved that a monument should be erected to his memory in Annapohs GATES' RETREAT. 201 General Rutherford of North Carolina, was wounded and taken prisoner. The royal army fought with great bravery, but the com- pleteness of their victory was in a great degree owing to their superiority in cavalry, and the precipitate Hight of the Ameri- can militia. The whole loss is supposed to have amounted to several hundreds. To add to the distresses of the Americans, the defeat of Gates was immediately followed by the surprise and disper- sion of Sumpter's corps. While the former was advancing near to the British army, the latter, who had previously taken post between Camden and Charleston, took a number of pri- soners, and captured sundry British stores, together with their convoy. On hearing of the defeat of his superior officer, he began to retreat with his prisoners and stores. Tarleton, with his legion, and a detachment of infantry, pursued with such celerity and address as to overtake and surprise this party at Fishing Creek. The British rode into their camp before they were prepared for defence. The retreating Americans, having been four days with little or no sleep, were more obedient to the calls of nature, than attentive to her first law, self-preser- vation. Sumpter had taken every prudent precaution to pre- vent a surprise, but his videttes were so overcome with fatigue, that they neglected their duty. With great difficulty he got a few to stand their ground for a short time, but the greater part of his corps fled to the river or the woods. He lost all his artillery, and his whole detatchment was either killed, captured or dispersed. The prisoners he had lately taken were all re-taken. On the 17th and l8th of August about one hundred and fifty of Gates' army rendezvoused at Charlotte. These had reason to apprehend that they would be immediately pursued and cut to pieces. There was no magazine of provisions in ■the town, and it was without any kind of defence. It was therefore concluded to retreat to Salisbury. A circumstantial detail of this would be the picture of complicated wretched- ness. There were more wounded men than could be conve- 13 202 RIGOUR OF CORNWALLIS. niently carried off. The inhabitants, hourly expecting the British to advance into their settlement, and generally intend- ing to flee, could not attend to the accommodation of the suf- fering soldiers. Objects of distress occurred in every quarter There were many who stood in need of kind assistance, but there were few who could give it to them. Several men were to be seen with but one arm, and some without any. Anxiety, pain and dejection, poverty, hurry and confusion, promiscuously marked the gloomy scene. Under these cir- cumstances the remains of that numerous army, which had lately caused such terror to the friends of Great Britain, re- treated to Salisbury, and soon after to Hillsborough. General Gates had previously retired to this last place, and was there in concert with the government of North Carolina, devising plans of defence, and for renewing military operations. Though there was no army to oppose Lord Cornwallis, yet the season and bad health of his army, restrained him from pursuing his conquests. By the complete dispersion of the continental forces, the country was in his power. The present moment of triumph seemed therefore the most favourable con- juncture for breaking the spirits of those who were attached to independence. To prevent their future co-operation with the armies of Congress, a severer policy was henceforward adopted. Orders were given by Lord Cornwallis " that all the inhabi- tants of the province, who had submitted, and who had taken part in this revolt, should be punished with the greatest rigour — that they should be imprisoned, and their whole pro- perty taken from them or destroyed." He also ordered in the most positive manner "that every militia man, who had borne arms with the British, and afterwards joined the Ame- ricans, should be put to death." At Augusta, at Camden, and elsewhere, several of the inhabitants were hanged in con- sequence of these orders. The men who suffered had been compelled, by the ne(^essities of their families, and the pros- pect of saving their property, to make an involuntary submis- sion to the royal conquerors. Experience soon taught them z=U THE EXILES. 203 the inefficacy of these submissions. This in their opinion ab- solved them from the obligations of their engagements to sup- port the royal cause, and left them at liberty to follow their inclinations. Notwithstanding the decisive superiority of the British armies in South Carolina, several of the most respectable citizens, though in the power of their conquerors, resisted every temptation to resume the character of subjects. To enforce a general submission, orders were given by Lord Cornwallis immediately after his victory, to send out of South Carolina a number of its principal citizens. Lieutenant- Governor Gadsden, most of the civil and militia officers, and some others, who had declined exchanging their paroles for the protection of British subjects, were taken up, put on board a vessel in the harbour, and sent to St. Ausfustine. General Moultrie remonstrated against the confinement and removal of these gentlemen, as contrary to their rights derived from the capitulation of Charleston. They at the same time challenged their adversaries to prove any conduct of theirs, which merited expulsion from their country and families. They received no farther satisfaction, than that the measure had been " adopted from motives of policy." To convince the inhabitants that the conquerors were seriously resolved to remove from the country all who refused to become subjects, an additional number of about thirty citizens of South Caro- lina, who remained prisoners on parole, were sent off to the same place in less than three months. General Rutherford and Colonel Isaacs, both of North CaroHna, who had been lately taken near Camden, were associated with them.* The disaster of the array under General Gates, . --erspread at first the face of American affairs with a dismal gloom, but the day of prosperity to the United States began, as will appear in the sequel, from that moment to dawn. Their prospects brightened up, while those of their enemies were obscured by disgrace, broken by defeat, and at last covered with ruin. Elated with their victories, the conquerors grew more insolent * Ramsay. 204 SUMPTER AND MARION. and rapacious, while the real friends of independence became resolute and determined. We have seen Sumpter penetrating into South Carolina, and re-commencing a military opposition to British government. Soon after that event, he was promoted by Governor Rutledge, to the rank of brigadier-general. About the same time Marion was promoted to the same rank, and in the north-eastern extremities of the state, successfully prosecuted a similar plan. This valuable officer, after the surrender of Charleston, retreated to North Carolina. On the advance of General Gates, ho obtained a command of sixteen men. With these he penetrated through the country, and took a position near the Santee. On the defeat of General Gates, he was compelled to abandon the state, but returned after an absence of a few days. For several weeks he had under his command only seventy men. At one time, hardships and dangers reduced that number to twenty- five, yet with this inconsiderable number he secured himself in the midst of surrounding foes. Various schemes were tried to detach the inhabitants from co-operating with him. Major Wemys burned scores of houses on Pedee, Lynch's Creek and Black River, belonging to such as were supposed to do duty with Marion, or to be subservient to his views. This had an effect different from what was intended. Revenge and despair co-operated with patriotism, to make these ruined men keep the field. Having no houses to shelter them, the camps ot their countrymen became their homes. For several months, Marion and his party were obliged to sleep in the open air, and to shelter themselves in the recesses of deep swamps. From these retreats they sallied out, whenever an opportunity of har- rassing the enemy, or of serving their country presented itself. Opposition to British government was not wholly confined to the parties commanded by Sumpter and Marion. It was at no time altogether extinct in the extremities of the state. The disposition to revolt, which had been excited on the approach of General Gates, was not extinguished by his defeat. The spirit of the people was overawed, but not subdued. The severity with which revolters who fell into the hands of the British were CLARKE AND FERGUSON. 205 treated, induced those who escaped to persevere and seek safety in swamps. From the time of the general submission of the inhabitants in 1780, pains had been taken to increase the royal force by the co-operation of the yeomanry of the country. The British persuaded the people to form a royal militia, by representing that every prospect of success in their scheme of independence was annihilated, and that a farther opposition would only be a prolongation of their distresses, if not their utter ruin. Major Ferguson of the seventy-first regiment, was particularly active in this business. He visited the settlements of the disaffected to the American cause, and collected a corps of militia of that description, from which much active service was expected. He advanced to the northwestern settlements, to hold commu- nication with the loyalists of both Carolinas. From his pre- sence, together with assurances of an early movement of the royal army into North Carolina, it was hoped that the friends of royal government would be roused to activity in the service of their king. In the meantime every preparation was made for urging offensive operations, as soon as the season and the state of the stores would permit. That spirit of enterprise, which has already been mentioned as beginning to revive among the American militia about this time, prompted Colonel Clarke to make an attempt on the British post at Augusta in Georgia ; but in this he failed and was obliged to retreat. Major Ferguson, with the hope of intercepting his party, kept near the mountains and at a con- siderable distance from support. These circumstances, toge- ther with the depredations of the loyalists, induced the hardy republicans on the west side of the Alleghany mountains, to form an enterprise for reducing that distinguished partizan. This was done of their own motion, without any direction from the governments of America, or from the officers of the conti- nental army. There was, without any apparent design, a powerful combi- nation of several detached commanders of several adjacent states, with their respective commands of militia. Colonel 206 KING'S MOUNTAIN. Campbell of Virginia, Colonels Cleveland, Shelby, Sevier, and M'Dowell of North Carolina, together with Colonels Lacey, Hawthorn and Hill, of South Carolina, all rendezvoused toge- ther, with a number of men amounting to sixteen hundred, though they were under no general command, and though they were not called upon to embody by any common authority, or indeed by any authority at all, but that of a general impulse on their own minds. They had so little of the mechanism of a regular army, that the colonels of some of the states by com- mon consent, commanded each day alternately. The hardships these volunteers underwent were very great. Some of them subsisted for weeks together, without tasting bread or salt, or spirituous liquors, and slept in the woods without blankets. The running stream quenched their thirst. At night the earth afforded them a bed, and the heavens, or at most the limbs of trees were their only covering. Ears of corn or pompions thrown into the fire, with occasional supplies of beef or venison, killed and roasted in the woods, were the chief articles of their provisions. They had neither commissaries, quarter-masters, nor stores of any kind. They selected about a thousand of their best men, and mounted them on the fleetest of their horses. These attacked Major Ferguson on the top of King's Mountain, near the confines of North and South Carolina. The Americans formed three parties. Colonel Lacey of South Carolina led one, which attacked on the west end. The two others were commanded by Colonels Campbell and Cleveland, one of which attacked on the east end, and the other in the centre. Ferguson with great boldness attacked the assailants with fixed bayonets, and compelled them successively to retire, but they only fell back a little way, and getting behind trees and rocks, renewed their fire in almost every direction. The British being uncovered, were aimed at by the American marksmen, and many of them were slain. An unusual number of the killed were found to have been shot in the head. Rifle- men took off" riflemen with such exactness, that they killed each other when taking sight, so etfectually that their eyes re- mained after they were dead, one shut and the other open, in DEATH OF FERGUSON. 207 the usual manner of marksmen when levelling at their object. Major Ferguson displayed as much bravery as was possible ni his situation : but his encampment on the top of the mountain was not well chosen, as it gave the Americans an opportunity of covering themselves in their approaches. Had he pursued his march on charging and driving the first party of the militia which gave way, he might have got off with the most of his men, but his unconquerable spirit disdained either to flee or to surrender. After a severe conflict he received a mortal wound. No chance of escape being left, and all prospect of successful resistance being at an end, the contest was ended by the sub- mission of the survivors. Upwards of eight hundred became prisoners, and two hundred and twenty-five had been pre- viously killed or wounded. Very few of the assailants fell, but in their number was Colonel Williams, a distinguished militia officer in Ninety-Six district, who had been very active in opposing the re-establishment of British government. Ten of the royal militia who surrendered were hanged by their con- querors. They w^ere provoked to this measure by the severity of the British, who had lately hung several of the captured Americans, in South Carolina and Georgia. They also alleged that the men who suffered were guilty of previous felonies, for which their lives were forfeited by the laws of the land. The fall of Ferguson was in itself a great loss to the royal cause. He possessed superior abilities as a partisan, and his spirit ot enterprise was uncommon. To a distinguished capacity for planning great designs, he also added the practical abilities necessary to carry them into execution. The unexpected advantage which the Americans gained over him and his party, in a great degree frustrated a well-concerted scheme for strengthening the British army by the co-operation of the tory inhabitants, whom he had undertaken to discipline and prepare for active service. The total rout of the party, which had joined Major Ferguson, operated as a check on the future exertions of the loyalists. The same timid caution, which made them adverse to joining their countrymen in opposing the claims of Great Britain, restrained them from risking any 208 SUMPTER'S OPERATIONS. more in support.of the royal cause. Henceforward they waited to see how the scales were likely to incline, and reserved themselves till the British army, by its own unassisted efforts, should gain a decided superiority. In a few weeks after the general action near Camden, Lord Cornwallis left a small force in that village, and marched with the main army towards Salisbury, intending to push forwards in that direction. While on his way thither, the North Caro- lina militia was very industrious and successful in annoying his detachments. Riflemen frequently penetrated near his camp, and from behind trees made sure of their objects. The late conquerors found their situation very uneasy, being exposed to unseen dangers if they attempted to make an excursion of only a few hundred yards from their main body. The defeat of Major Ferguson, added to these circumstances, gave a serious alarm to Lord Cornwallis, and he soon after retreated to Winnsborough. As he retired, the militia took several of his wagons, and single men often rode up within gunshot of his army, discharged their pieces, and made their escape. The panic occasioned by the defeat of General Gates had in a great measure worn off. The defeat of Major Ferguson and the consequent retreat of Lord Cornwallis, encouraged the American militia to take the field. Sumpter, soon after the dispersion of his corps on the 18th of August, collected a band of volunteers, partly from new adventurers, and partly from those who had escaped on that day. With these, though for three months there was no continental army in the state, he constantly kept the field in support of American independence. He varied his position from time to time about Enoree, Broad and Tyger rivers, and had frequent skirmishes with his adver- saries. Having mounted his followers, he infested the British parties with frequent incursions — beat up their quarters — inter- cepted their convoys, and so harrassed them with successive alarms, that their movements could not be made but with caution and difficulty. His spirit of enterprise was so particu- larly injurious to the British, that they laid sundry plans for destroying his force, but they all failed in the execution. He DEFEAT OF TARLETON. 209 was attacked at Broad river November 12th, by Major Werays, commanding a corps of infantry and dragoons. In this action the British were defeated, and their commanding officer taken prisoner. Eight days after he was attacked at Black Stocks, near Tyger river, by Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton. The attack was begun with one hundred and seventy dragoons and eighty men of the sixty-third regiment. A considerable part of Sumpter's force had been thrown into a large log barn, from the apertures of which they fired with security. Many of the sixty-third regiment were killed. Tarleton charged with his cavalry, but, being unable to dislodge the Americans, re- treated, and Sumpter was left in quiet possession of the field. The loss of the British in this action was considerable. Among their killed were three officers. Major Money, and Lieutenants Gibson and Cope. The Americans lost very few, but General Sumpter received a wound, which for several months inter- rupted his gallant enterprises in behalf of his country. His zeal and activity in animating the militia, when they were dis- couraged by repeated defeats, and the bravery and good con- duct he displayed in sundry attacks on the British detachments, procured him the applause of his countrymen, and the thanks of Congress. For the three months which followed the defeat of the American army near Camden, General Gates was industriously preparing to take the field. Having collected a force at Hills- borough he advanced to Salisbury, and very soon after to Charlotte. He had done every thing in his power to repair the injuries of his defeat, and was again in a condition to face the enemy ; but from that influence which popular opinion has over public affairs in a commonwealth. Congress resolved to supersede him, and to order a court of enquiry to be held on his conduct. This was founded on a former resolve, that whoever lost a post should be subject to a court of enquiry. The cases were no ways parallel, he had lost a battle but not a post. The only charge that could be exhibited against General Gates was that he had been defeated. His enemies could accuse him of no military crime, unless that to be unsuc- 210 AFFAIRS IN THE NORTH. cessful might be reckoned so. The pubUc, sore with their losses, were desirous of a change, and Congress found it neces- sary to gratify them, though at the expense of the feeUngs or one. of their best, and till August, 1780, one of their most suc- cessful officers. Virginia did not so soon forget Saratoga. When General Gates was at Richmond on his way home from Carolina, the house of Burgesses of that state unanimously re- solved " that a committee of four be appointed to wait on General Gates, and assure him of their high regard and esteem, and that the remembrance of his former glorious services could not be obliterated by any reverse of fortune ; but that ever mindful of his great merit, they would omit no opportunity of testifying to the world the gratitude which the country owed to him in his military character." These events, together with a few unimportant skirmishes not worthy of being particularly mentioned, closed the cam- paign of 1780 in the southern states. While the war raged in South Carolina, the campaign of 1780, in the northern states, was barren of important events. In January, Lord Sterling made an effectual attempt to sur- prise a party of the enemy on Staten Island. While he was on the island, a number of persons from the Jersey side passed over and plundered the inhabitants, who had submitted to the British government. In the first months of the year 1780, while the royal army was weakened by the expedition against Charleston, the British were apprehensive for their safety in New York. The rare circumstance which then existed, of a connection between the main and York Island, by means of ice, seemed to invite to the enterprise, but the force and equipments of the American army were unequal to it. Lieutenant General Kniphausen, who then commanded in New York, apprehending such a design, embodied the inhabitants of the city as a militia for its defence. In June, an incursion was made into Jersey from New York, with five thousand men, commanded by Lieutenant- General Kniphausen. They landed at EUzabethtown, and OPERATIONS IN NEW JERSEY, 211 proceeded to Connecticut farms. In this neighbourhood lived the Rev. Mr. James Caldwell, a presbyterian clergyman of great activity, ability and influence, whose successful ex- ertions in animating the Jersey militia to defend their rights, had rendered him particularly obnoxious to the British. When the royal forces were on their way into the country, a soldier came to his house in his absence, and shot his wife, Mrs. Caldwell instantly dead, by levelling his piece directly at her through the window of the room, in which she was sitting with her children. Her body at the request of an officer of the new levies, was moved to some distance, and then the house and every thing in it was reduced to ashes. The British burnt about twelve other houses, and also the Presbyterian church, and then proceeded to Spring- field. As they advanced they were annoyed by Colonel Dayton with a few militia. On their approach to the bridge near the town, they were farther opposed by General Max- well, who with a few continental troops was prepared to dispute its passage. They made a halt, and soon after returned to Elizabethtown. Before they retreated, the whole American army at Morristown marched to oppose them. While this royal detachment was in Jersey, Sir Henry Clinton returned with his victorious troops from Charleston to New York. He ordered a reinforcement to Kniphausen, and the whole advanced a second time towards Springfield. They were now opposed by General Greene, with a considerable body of continental troops. Colonel Angel with his regiment and a piece of artillery was posted to secure the bridge in front of the town. A severe action took place which lasted forty minutes. Superior numbers forced the Americans to retire. General Greene took post with his troops on a range of hills, in hopes of being attacked. Instead of this the British began to burn the town. Near fifty dwelling houses were reduced to ashes. The British then retreated, but were pursued by the enraged militia, till they entered Eliza- bethtown. The next day they set out on their return to New York. The loss of the Americans in the action was about 212 THE TORIES. eighty, and that of the British was supposed to be considerably more. By such d^suhory operations, were hostiUties carried on at this time in the northern states. Individuals were killed houses were burnt, and much mischief done ; but nothing was effected which tended either to reconcilement or subjugation. The loyal Americans who had lied within the British lines, commonly called refugees, reduced a predatory war into system. On their petition to Sir Henry Clinton, they had been, in the year 1779, permitted to set up a distinct govern- ment in New York, under a jurisdiction called the honourable board of associated loyalists. They had something like a lleet of small privateers and cruisers, by the aid of which, they committed various depredations. A party of them who had formerly belonged to Massachusetts, went to Nantucket, broke open the warehouses, and carried off every thing that fell in their way. They also carried off two loaded brigs and two or three schooners. The distress which the Americans suffered from the di- minished value of their currency, though felt in the year 1778, and still more so in the year 1779, did not arrive to its highest pitch till the year 1780. Congress not possessing the means of supporting their army, devolved the business on the component parts of the confederacy. Some states, from their internal ability and local advantages, furnished their troops not only with clothing, but with many conveniences. Others supplied them with some necessaries, but on a more contracted scale. A few, from their particular situation, could do little or nothing at all. The officers and men in the routine of duty, mixed daily and compared circumstances. Those who fared worse than others, were dissatisfied with a service which made such injurious distinctions. From causes of this kind, superadded to a complication of wants and sufferings, a disposition to mutiny began to show itself in the American army. This broke forth into full action among the soldiers which were stationed at Fort Schuyler. Thirty-one of the men of that garrison went off in a body. Being pur- sued, sixteen of them were overtaken, and thirteen of MUTINY OF THE TROOPS. 213 the sixteen were instantly killed. About the same time, two regiments of Connecticut troops mutinied and got under aims. They determined to return home, or to gain subsistence at the point of bayonet. Their officers reasoned wdth them, and urged every argument, that could either interest their pride or their passions. They were reminded of their good conduct, of the important objects for which they were contending, but their answer was, " our sufferings are too great, and w^e want present relief." After much expostulation, they were at length prevailed upon to go to their huts. It is remarkable, that this mutinous disposition of the Connecticut troops, was in a great measure quelled by the Pennsylvania line, which in a few months, as shall hereafter be related, planned and ex- ecuted a much more serious revolt, than that which they now suppressed. About the same time, or rather a little before, the news ar- rived of the reduction of Charleston, and the capture of the whole American southern army. Such was the firmness of the common soldiery, and so strong their attachment to the cause of their country, that though danger impelled, want urged, and British favour invited them to a change of sides, yet on the arrival of but a scanty supply of meat for their subsistence, military duty was cheerfully performed, and no uncommon desertion took place. While unexampled preparations were making in America, the armament which had been promised by his Most Christian Majesty, was on its way. As soon as it was known in France, that a resolution was adopted, to send out troops to the United States, the young French nobility discovered the greatest zeal to be employed on that service. Court favour was scarcely ever solicited with more earnestness, than was the honour of serving under General Washington. The number of applicants was much greater than the service required. The disposition to support the American revolution, was not only prevalent in the court of France, but it animated the whole body of the nation. The winds and waves did not second the ardent wishes of the French troops. Though 214 ARRIVAL OF THE FRENCH. they sailed from France on the 1st of May, 1780, they did not reach a port in the United States till the 10th of July following. On that day, to the great joy of the Americans, M. de Ternay arrived at Rhode Island, with a squadron of seven sail of the line, five frigates, and five smaller armed vessels. He likewise convoyed a fleet of transports, with four old French regiments, besides the legion de Lauzun, and a battalion of artillery, amounting in the whole to six thousand men, all under the command of Lieutenant.-General Count de Rochambeau. To the French as soon as they landed, possession w^as given of the forts and batteries on the island, and by their exertions they were soon put in a high state of defence. In a few days after their arrival, an address of congratulation from the general assembly of the state of Rhode Island, was presented to Count de Rochambeau ; and General Washington recommended, in public orders to the American officers, as a symbol of friendship and affection for their allies, to wear black and white cockades, the ground to be of the first colour, and the relief of the second. The French troops, united both in interest and affection with the Americans, ardently longed for an opportunity to co- operate with them against the common enemy. The conti- nental army wished for the same with equal ardour. One circumstance alone seemed unfavourable to this spirit of enterprise. This was the deficient clothing of the Americans. Some whole lines, officers as well as men, were shabby, and a great proportion of the privates were without shirts. Such troops, brought along side even of allies fully clad in the elegance of uniformity, must fiave been more or less than men to feel no degradation on the contrast. Sir Henry Clinton, who had returned in the preceding month with his victorious troops from Charleston, embarked about eight thousand of his best men, and proceeded as far as Huntington-bay on Long Island, with the apparent design of concurring with the British fleet, in attacking the French force at Rhode Island. When this movement took place. General Washington set his army in motion, and proceeded to ARNOLD'S TREASON. 215 Peekskill. Had Sir Henry Clinton prosecuted what appeared to be his design, General Washington intended to have attacked New York in his absence. Preparations were made for this purpose, but Sir Henry Clinton instantly turned about from Huntington-bay towards New York. In the meantime, the French fleet and army being blocked up at Rhode Island, were incapacitated from co-operating with the Americans. Hopes were nevertheless indulged, that by the arrival of another fleet of his Most Christian Majesty then in the West Indies, under the command of Count de Guichen, the superiority would be so much in favour of the allies, as to enable them to prosecute their original intention, of attacking New York. When the expectations of the Americans were raised to the highest pitch, and when they were in great forwardness of preparation to act in concert with their allies, intelligence arrived that Count de Guichen had sailed for France. This disappointment was extremely mortifying. The Americans had made uncommon exertions, on the idea of receiving such aid from their allies, as would enable them to lay effectual siege to New York, or to strike some decisive blow. - Their towering expectations were in a moment levelled with the dust. Another campaign was anticipated, and new shades were added to the deep cloud, which for some time past had overshadowed American affairs.* An occurrence now happened which excited an intense in- terest throughout the Union. General Arnold, next to Washington, had been the most conspicuous military character of the revolution. His campaign in Canada, notwithstanding its misfortunes, had elevated him to the highest reputation. Unluckily, his temper and manners, proud and overbearing raised up numerous enemies, who became even a majority in congress. Hence, when an extensive promotion was made, he was passed over, and five officers junior in the service, and much inferior in reputation, were placed over his head. Washington deeply deplored this injustice, and remonstrated, * Ramsay. ^n\ 216 ARNOLD'S TREASON. though vainly, against it. He did every thing possible tc soothe the wounded pride of his friend, whose exploits as a volunteer, during several attacks on the coast of New England, were so very splendid, that Congress could no longer avoid granting the promotion, though tardily and ungraciously. The commander-in-chief then procured for him an appointment in the army sent against Burgoyne, where he greatly augmented his reputation, and being disabled by severe wounds for field service, obtained from the same authority the honourable sta- tion of commandant in Philadelphia. Here, however, his lofty bearing brought him into collision with the members of congress and the provincial council of that city. He made a claim for reimbursement of advances during the Canadian campaign, which was alleged by his enemies to be exorbitant, and even fraudulent. Its amount or nature being nowhere stated, it is difficult to judge ; but there could be nothing very gross, since the hostile party never founded upon it any charge, nor was the demand ever withdrawn by himself. Congress, only alleging the intricacy of the account, delayed the settle- ment from time to time, and no part was ever actually paid. This was the more harrassing, as an extravagant mode of living had involved him in embarrassments, which he sought to relieve by privateering and commercial speculations, not certainly dishonest, yet considered unsuitable to his rank and situation ; and being unfortunate, they aggravated his distress. From the observation of these circumstances, his enemies in- ferred the likelihood of his abusing, for corrupt purposes, the powers attached to his command. Eagerly scanning with this view every particular, the city council presented a series of charges to congress ; but a committee of that body reported that nothing criminal had been proved. Among its members, however, then violently rent by faction, the party hostile to him preponderated. The report of their own committee was rejected, and a new one named, composed partly of the accu- sing council ; yet, as even this was not found to work well, the affair was finally referred to a court-martial. The great difficulty found in making up a plausible accusation, with some ARNOLD'S TREASON. 217 military operations, caused a cruel delay of more than a year. At length, on the 26th January, 1780, the court pronounced its sentence, finding him guilty only of two charges, — that when at Valley Forge he had granted protection to a vessel sailing from Philadelphia, when it was somewhat irregular to do so ; and that he had once employed public wagons in the conveyance of private property, though paying all the expenses. Neither act, in the opinion of the court, implied any criminal intention ; yet upon these nugatory grounds he was sentenced to be publicly reprimanded by the commander-in-chief. That great man could not escape the unwelcome task, but executed it in the most delicate possible manner, rendering it indeed rather a panegyric than a censure. He recalled his great actions, and promised fresh opportunities for distinction ; but nothing probably could soothe his wounded feelings at not olDtaining that full acquittal to which he felt himself entitled.* Arnold now finally determined to go over to the British cause. The grounds assigned by him were, that America had gained all her demands, and there remained no longer any motive for separation, war, and the odious alliance with France. These were motives which might have fairly swayed his mind, had they been openly and honourably acted upon ; and even some bias from accumulated wrongs might have been excused by human infirmity. But the purpose was car- ried out in a manner which fully justifies the Americans in branding him with the name of traitor, though not for the ex- treme rancour with which they have followed his memory. He made, perhaps, too large personal stipulations for himself, especially if they included a sum of money, which, however, seems not to have been ascertained. He carried on a lono: correspondence, and gave information to the British, while he held office, and professed zeal in the American interest ; lastly, he took steps now to be narrated, by which no man of honour would seek to support even the best of causes. His object was to obtain the possession of some important post, by delivering over which he might gain high credit with * Sparks' American Biography, vol. iii. 14 218 ARNOLD'S TREASON. his new employers ; and this design was facilitated by the great value set on his talents by the commander-in-chief. He accordingly solicited the command at West Point, the key of all the positions on the Hudson, and by which the two wings of the army mainly communicated. This choice surprised Washington, who had destined him for leader of one of the wings of the army, as likely to be both the most useful and the most agreeable to his ardent temper ; however, he consented. Arnold could then arrange that, while the place appeared perfectly secure, there might be left an unguarded point by which an enemy could enter. Of this he apprised Major Andre, with with whom he had all along corresponded, at the same time soliciting and pointing out means for a meeting within the American lines. This was effected after some diffi- culty, and all the necessary arrangements were. then made. Circumstances obliged the English officer to return by a cir- cuitous route ; but with an escort and Arnold's passport, he succeeded in passing safely all the hostile guards, and had reached a sort of neutral ground, where he appeared quite safe. Suddenly three men rushed out from a wood, stopped his horse, and one presented a pistol to his breast, when erro- neously supposing them to be British, he rashly betrayed his own character. They then searched his person, and found papers containing all the particulars of the plot, which, along with the prisoner, were carried to ColonelJameson, the nearest commandant, who, bewildered and unable to see the bearings of the affair, sent expresses at once to Washington and to Arnold himself. The latter received his while at breakfast, and waiting a visit of inspection from the commander. He suppressed his emotions, and having taken a hurried and agonizing leave of his w4fe, ran down to the river, threw him- self into a boat, and by urgency and promises induced the men to row him down with the utmost rapidity till he got on board a British vessel. Washington was not a little surprised on arriving not to find Arnold, of whom nothing could be learned during the whole forenoon. At four he received Jameson's despatch, when he is said to have displayed the utmost self- DEATH OF ANDRE. 219 possession, only saying to La Fayette, '< Whom can we trust now?" Andre, thus placed in the power of his enemies, was consi- dered the most rising young officer in the British army. After a few years' service, Clinton had appointed him adjutant-gene- ral, and he had every prospect of rising to the highest com- mands. His brilliant accomplishments, amiable temper, and engaging manners, rendered him the idol of his brother officers. With a noble though imprudent frankness, he wrote to Wash- ington a statement of all the circumstances, not seemingly dreading that he would be treated otherwise than as a pnsoner of war. That commander, however, submitted the case to a council of fourteen general officers, who decided that he ought to be considered as a spy, and as such to suffer death. The legality of the sentence was indubitable, since the only plea offered, that he came at the desire and under the flag of an American general, appeared futile when the well-known pur- pose was considered. Clinton lavished offers of exchange, and Arnold wrote a violent letter, threatening bloody reprisals ; but this rather in- jured the cause. The- only overture made was to take the latter himself in exchange, to which, of course, Clinton could never listen. The captive met his doom with a gentle and heroic fortitude, admired even by those who condemned him. The American writers, while they defend the measure, express deep sympathy in his fate, and have almost indeed canonized his memory.* This grand project terminated with no other alteration in respect of the British, than that of their exchanging one of their best officers for the worst man in the American army. Arnold was immediately made a brigadier-general, in the service of the King of Great Britain. The failure of the scheme respect- ing West Point, made it necessary for him to dispel the clouci which overshadowed his character, by the performance of some signal service for his new masters. The condition of the American army afforded him a prospect of doing something oi * Murray. 220 CONDUCT OF ARNOLD. constqnence. He flattered himself that by the allurements o^ pay and promotion, he should be able to raise a numerous force from among the distressed American soldiery. He there- fore took methods for accomplishing this purpose, by obviating their scruples, and working on their passions. His first public measure was issuing an address, directed to the inhabitants of America, dated from New York, five days after Andre's execu- tion. In this he endeavoured to justify himself for deserting their cause. He said, " that when he first engaged in it, he conceived the rights of his country to be in danger, and that duty and honour called him to her defence. A redress of grievances was his only aim and object. He however acquiesced in the Declaration of Independence, although he thought it precipitate. But the reasons that were then offered to justify that measure, no longer could exist, when Great Britain, with the open arms of a parent, offered to embrace them as children and to grant the wished for redress. From the refusal of these proposals, and the ratification of the French alliance, all his ideas of the justice and policy of the war were totally changed, and from that time, he had become a professed loyalist." He acknowledged, that " in these principles he had only retained his arms and command, for an opportunity to surrender them to Great Britain." This address was soon followed by another, inscribed to the officers and soldiers of the continental army. This was intended to induce them to follow his example, and engage in the royal service. He in- formed them, that he was authorised to raise a corps of cavalry and infantry, who were to be on the same footing with the other troops in the British service. To allure the private men, three guineas were offered to each, besides payment for their horses, arms and accoutrements. Rank in the British army was also held out to the American oflncers, who would recruit and bring in a certain number of men, proportioned to the different grades in military service. These offers were pro- posed to unpaid soldiers, who were suffering from the want ot both food and clothing, and to officers who were in a great degree obliged to support themselves from their own resources, CAPTURE OF FORT GEORGE, 221 while they were spending the prime of their days, and risking their hves in the unproductive service of Congress. Though they were urged at a time when the paper currency was at its lowest ebb of depreciation, and the wants and distresses of the American army were at their highest pitch, yet they did not produce the intended effect on a single sentinel or officer. Whether the circumstances of Arnold's case, added new shades to the crime of desertion, or whether their providential escape from the deep laid scheme against West Point, gave a higher tone to the firmness of the American soldiery, cannot be un- folded : but either from these or some other causes, desertion wholly ceased at this remarkable period of the war. A gallant enterprise of Major Talmadge about this time de- serves notice. He crossed the Sound to Long Island with eighty men, made a circuitous march of twenty miles to Fort George, and reduced it without any other loss than that of one private man wounded. He killed and wounded eight of the enemy, captured a lieutenant-colonel, a captain, and fifty-five privates.* During the winter, Washington was indefatigable in urging Congress and the states to take measures for rendering the army somewhat efficient. His remonstrances, with the shame of a palpable failure before their great ally, roused them to a certain degree of activity. But their finances were in a more despe- rate state than ever. Their paper had ceased to bear any value ; their credit was entirely exhausted ; the taxes which could be levied on the people were of small amount, slow and uncertain in collection. There remained no resource unless from foreign courts, whom they had already wearied out by repeated applications. Mr. Jay, nevertheless, was sent to Spain, which, having recently joined the confederacy, and pro- fessed great friendship for the new republic, was expected to grant some assistance. That gentleman, however, soon learned that the favour of this as of other courts rested solely upon interest, or even the whim or caprice of statesmen. The Count de Florida Blanca subjected him to a most rigid inter- * Ramsay. 222 FINANCIAL AFFAIRS. rogatory as to the resources and prospects of the Union ; and it transpired that the cabinet was very apprehensive of having embarked in a contest in which it would not be duly supported. In this view, the deep financial distress which the solicitation exhibited was very unfavourable. Spain, moreover, earnestly insistea on having ceded to her the course of the Mississippi, and even all the country west of the Alleghany ; a vast pros- pective object which Jay could not yield. Congress had sent over bills for j6100,000, but after the acceptance of an amount of 14,000 dollars, the Spanish purse was closed, and it was necessary to send the rest to Paris in search of better fortune. There, however, Franklin had complained how distressing he found it to be, as he terms it, " continually worrying the court for money ;" and having sent out at great expense a fleet and an army, it might reasonably claim exemption from farther de- mands. Congress, in this extremity, sent over on a special mission Colonel Laurens, who by presenting a memorial in person to the king, and even hinting to the minister that America might otherwise be obliged to join Britain, procured a subsidy of 6,000,000 livres (^£240,000), with a farther sum by way of loan, and guarantee for a Dutch loan of 5,000,000 guilders (^£4 14,000).* ♦Ramsay. -~==^. GENEKAL OREENE. CHAPTER X. ,^^^^ Campaign of 1781. LN'ERAL GREENE having been selected in accordance with the wishes of Congress by the commander-in-chief, as a fit officer to take the place of Gates in the command of the southern army, reached its head-quarters at Charlotte in the early part of December, 1780. 223 224 SINGULAR STRATAGEM. About the time of his arrival, an occurrence happened which was considered as a favourable omen by the people, who were the more ready to co-operate with the army. General Morgan and Colonel Washington had been sent against a party of loyalists, who were engaged in preventing the parties of the Americans from foraging. Upon Morgan's approach, the enemy retreated, and he was returning to camp, when he received intelligence of a party stationed at Rugely's farm, about thirteen miles from Camden. Colonel Washing- ton immediately marched against them with his troop, but his force was of no avail, as the enemy were posted in a logged barn, well fortified and inaccessible to cavalry. The trunk of a pine tree was quickly painted and mounted on a carriage so as to resemble a field-piece. A summons to surrender was then sent to the garrison, whilst the supposed cannon was brought to bear upon the barn. Dreading the prospect of a cannonade, Colonel Rugely and his party, to the number of one hundred and twelve men, surrendered themselves prisoners of war. Soon after, Greene finding his supply of provisions almost exhausted determined to remove to a more plentiful district. Morgan was despatched to take a position near the confluence of the Pacolet and Broad rivers. His force consisted of about three hundred continental troops under Colonel Howard, of Washington's light dragoons, and two companies of Virginia militia, most of whom were veterans. He expected to be joined on Broad river by a body of militia and volunteers under General Davidson. The main body of the army then marched to a place on the Pedee, opposite to the Cheraw Hills. From this position, Greene was enabled to make himself extremely formidable to the loyalists in that section of the country, who were embodying for the aid of Cornwallis. Morgan was supposed to have designs on Ninety- Six, and Tarleton was despatched with about one thousand men, the flower of the British army, to cover that post. Having made preparations to enter North Carolina, Corn- wallis ordered Tarleton to make an attack on Morgan, whilst ©[ERl^ ©o BATTLE OF THE COWPENS. 225 he marched to the north with the main body, recently re- inforced with two thousand six hundred men under General Leslie, Tarleton's movements were made with much more rapidity than those of Lord Cornwallis, and he reached the Pacolet, the fords of which Morgan wished to defend on the 16th of January, 1781. Crossing six miles below Morgan's posts, he marched up the river side towards that general'scamp. The Americans hastily retreated and Tarleton encamped for the night within the abandoned lines. Flight from an enemy, however famed did not well accord with Morgan's temper, and he determined though inferior in force, to risk a battle. For this purpose he halted at the Cowpens. The militia under General Pickens formed the first line ; the second was com- posed of the continentals under Colonel Howard, Washing- ton commanded the cavalry which were drawn up as a reserve in the rear of the second line. Meanwhile, Tarleton had left his baggage at three o'clock in the morning, and ap- peared in front of the American line soon after Morgan's dispositions were completed. Quickly forming his line, he rushed forward to the assault, his troops shouting as they ad- vanced. Two battalions of volunteers, which had been ad- vanced in front of the first line, fell back on Pickens after a single fire. A warm conflict then ensued, the militia being finally driven into the rear of the continentals. Thinking success certain, the British troops advanced in some disorder and were received with a warm fire from the continental troops. Tarle- ton then ordered up his reserve and some changes were made by Howard in his dispositions which were mistaken for a re- treat both by the British and Americans, but the promptness of Morgan repaired the error and secured the victory. Per- ceiving the disorder, the British pressed on with great eager- ness and when within thirty yards of the Americans, a fire from the whole line threw them in their turn into confusion, which Howard improved by a charge with the bayonet. At the same time, the cavalry were defeated by the reserve under Howard under peculiar circumstances. Many of the militia compos- ing the first line under Pickens rode to the ground, tying their 226 BATTLE OF T HE C O W P E xN S . horses to the woods in the rear. When that line was broken, many of them fled to their horses for safety pursued by the British cavalry who had passed the flank of the second line. Washington charged the pursuers with drawn swords, and compelled them to seek safety in flight, but they were soon after strengthened by the remainder of the British cavalry and a sharp struggle ensued. Howard, however, having totally routed the British, infantry, came to the support of Washington and Tarleton abandoned the field. In this action, the British lost one hundred of their number in killed, ten of whom were commissioned officers, and five hundred and twenty-nine prisoners ; besides eight hundred stand of arms, two field pieces, thirty-five baggage wagons, one hundred dragoon horses, and two standards. The whole number of killed and wounded on the part of the Amer- icans, amounted to less than eighty. Tarleton, having lost all his light-infantry, and, what was of more consequence, his fame as an invincible partisan officer, bore to head-quar- ters the first news of his defeat, and the loss of one fifth part of the royal army.* Cornwallis sought, however, to repair, by active exertions, the loss which he had suffered, and determined, if possible, to intercept Morgan, and compel him to restore the trophies of his victory. This resolution led to a military race, which may be, without exaggeration, termed one of the most cele- brated in history. Each army strove to precede the other at the fords of the Catawba, from which both were equally dis- tant. The American troops endured almost incredible hard- ships, being sometimes without meat, often without flour, and entirely destitute of spirituous liquors. A large portion of the troops were without shoes, '^.nd, marching over frozen ground, marked with blood every step of their progress. On the twelfth day after the engagement, Morgan reached the fords and crossed the Catawba ; and two hours afterwards Cornwallis arrived, and, it being then dark, encamped on the bank. During the night, a heavy fall of rain made the river * Marshall. Stedman. CROSSING OF THE DAN. 227 impassable, which gave Morgan an opportunity to remove the prisoners beyond the reach, of his pursuer. The movements of the royal army induced General Greene immediately to retreat from Hick's Creek ; and, leaving the main army under the command of General Huger, he rode a hundred and fifty miles through the country to join the detachment under General Morgan, that he might be in front of Lord Cornwallis, and so direct both divisions of his army as to form a speedy junction between them. Lord Cornwallis, after three days' delay, effected the passage of the Catawba, and recommenced the pursuit. The Americans, continuing their expeditious movements, crossed the Yadkin on the 3d of February, and secured their boats on the north side ; but the British, though close in their rear, were incapable of crossing it through the rapid rising of the river from prece- ding rains, and the want of boats. This second remarkable escape confirmed the impression on the minds of the Amer- icans, that their cause was favoured by Divine Providence. After a junction of the two divisions of the American army at Guilford court-house, it was concluded, in a council of offi- cers called by General Greene, that he ought to retire over the Dan, and to avoid an engagement until he should be re- inforced. Lord Cornwallis kept the upper countries, where only the rivers are fordable, and attempted to get between General Green and Virginia, to cut off his retreat, and oblige him to fight under many disadvantages ; but the American general completely eluded him. So urgent was the pursuit of the British, that, on the 14th of February, the American light troops were compelled to retire above forty miles ; and on that day General Greene, by indefatigable exertions, transported his army over the Dan into Virginia. Here again the pursuit was so close, that the van of the British just arri- ved as the rear of the Americans had crossed. The continental army being now driven out of North Carolina, Earl Cornwallis left the Dan, and proceeded to Hillsborough, where he set up the royal standard. Greene, perceiving the necessity of some spirited measure to counteract his lordship's 228 BATTLE OF GUILDFORD. influence on the inhabitants of the country, concluded, at every hazard, to recross the Dan. After manceuvring in a very masterly manner to avoid an action with Cornwallis three weeks, his army was joined by two brigades of militia from North Carolina, and one from Virginia, and also by four hundred regulars. This reinforcement giving him a supe- riority of numbers, he determined no longer to avoid an engagement, and, on the 15th of March, he accepted battle.* Greene had drawn up his army very judiciously, near Guild- ford court-house, mostly on a range of hills covered with trees and brushwood. Adopting still the system of making the militia bear the first brunt, he placed that of Carolina in the front, while the Virginian, considered somewhat better, formed the second line, and he remained in the third with the con- tinental troops, in whom alone he placed full confidence. The British, proceeding with impetuosity, and having driven in the advanced guard of cavalry, attacked the Carolina line, who, scarcely discharging their muskets, fled precipitately after the first hostile fire, and many even before. This front hav- ing gone for nothing, the next movement was against the Vir- ginians, who stood their ground with some firmness ; but being unable to resist the bayonet, which was soon brought against them, they too were put to flight. The assailants then advanced against the third line ; but the regiments, having experienced different degrees of resistance, came on impetu- ously, in an uneven line and some disorder. Greene then felt sanguine hopes, that a steady charge from his chosen troops would turn the fortune of the day. He was dismayed to see the second Maryland regiment give way at once, after which he thought of retiring ; but Colonel Gunby at the head of the first gained a decided advantage over the corps under Colonel Stewart, and there followed an obstinate and some- what desultory contest between the different corps, after which the Americans were compelled to a general retreat. Yet a strong body of riflemen on the left flank kept up a galling fire, * Hinton. DISTRESSES OF THE ENGLISH. 229 till Tarleton with the cavalry drove them off the field. In this hard fought battle, the .Americans own a loss of three hundred and twenty six killed and wounded, and about eight hundred militia dispersed. The English victory was dearly earned, the killed and wounded amounting to five hundred and thirty-two, in- cluding Colonels Stewart and Webster, two of their best offi- cers, and reducing the effective force below one thousand five hundred. This small corps, too, was in a very reduced and exhausted state. Stedman feelingly describes the hard- ships endured during the long marches, when, after reaching their nightly quarters in a very fatigued state, they had still to collect cattle and provisions amid woods and swamps, some- times having beef without bread, sometimes the reverse ; the latter mostly in the shape of Indian corn to be ground down by the joint action of the bayonet and canteen ; "not unfrequ- ently it was in the ear, distributed at the rate of five ears be- tween two men. Even after this triumphant day the army was nine miles distant from forage, and had been two days without bread ; while they had not been joined by the native loyalists to any important extent. In short, the English general formed the resolution to fall tack upon Wilmington near the mouth of Cape Fear River, which had been occupi- ed by Major Craig, where he could recruit his troops and obtain supplies and reinforcements by sea. Without a minute knowledge of the circumstance, it is impossible to de- cide, and Cornwallis was never suspected of leaning to timid counsels ; yet we cannot but feel that much ought to have been done and suffered before taking so fatal a step, which in- volved at least the abandonment of North Carolina. Greene retreated about fifteen miles ; taking post behind a small stream named Troublesome Creek, where he expected and determined to await an attack ; but was soon agreeably surprised by learning that his antagonist was in full retreat, and had even left eighty wounded, recommended to his care. He immediately set out in pursuit, and after overcommg various obstacles, arrived on the 28th of March at Ramsay's 230 CORNWALLIS'S MOVEMENTS. Mills, on Deep River, where, having learned the direction which the British were taking, he paused for a few days to re- cruit, and deliberate on his future plans. At Wilmington, the hostile army would be in communication with the sea, of which they were then masters ; so that there no serious impression could be made upon them ; and if they received reinforcements, serious danger might be incurred. He formed, therefore, the bold but able resolution of carrying the war into South Carolina, to which he was now nearer than his adver- sary, and where Lord Rawdon (afterwards Marquis of Hast- tings) had been left with only the force that appeared neces- sary to keep down insurrection. Directing his march imme- diately to this quarter, he made some progress before the tidings reached Lord Cornwallis, by whom this movement appears to have been quite unexpected. He now, however, considered that it was impossible to reach the American army till the collision had taking place between it and Lord Rawdon ; and if the latter should retreat upon Charleston, he himself could reach the scene of action only by a long and difficult march, crossing several broad rivers, and exposed to attack in disadvantageous positions. He resolved, in preference, to advanoe in the opposite direction upon Virgi- nia, where, uniting himself to considerable forces already assem- bled, he might make the cause decidedly preponderant. He hoped thus to recall Greene ; or, at all events, by conquering that great and important colony, to secure the ultimate subjugation of the southern states.* Greene, without regard to the movements of his opponent, pushed on to his destination. The militia having either de- serted, or their term of service being expired, his force was reduced to one thousand eight hundred men ; but those, in fact, included all on whom he could ever place much depend- ence. Approaching Camden, he found it occupied by Raw- don, with about eight hundred men, the other troops being employed upon the defence of detached posts ; yet his position was judged so strong as to afford no hope of success * Murray. CAPTURE OF FORT WATSON. 231 in a direct attack. The object aimed at was, by throwing out detachments which might capture the forts, and cut off the supplies in his rear, to compel him gradually to fall back. Lee, for this purpose, was sent with a strong party to co-operate with Marion and Sumpter. The English general, seeing the troops thus reduced to about one thousand five hundred, formed the bold resolution of attacking them. Making a large circuit round a swamp, he came upon the left flank when they quickly stood to their arms, and formed in order of battle. They had even gained some advantages, when the 1st Maryland regiment, considered the flower of the army, and which had highly distinguished itself both at Cow- pens and Guildford, fell into confusion ; and when ordered to make a retrograde movement, converted it into a complete retreat. The other corps, also, beginning to give ground, Greene thought it expedient to cause the whole to retire. The loss on each side was about two hundred and sixty killed and wounded ; and the Americans carried off fifty prisoners. Though the British claimed the victory, Greene could still maintain his position, and support the detachments operating in the rear of his adversary. Lee and Marion proceeded first against Fort Watson on the Santee, which commanded in a great measure the communication with Charleston. Having neither artillery nor besieging tools, they reared a tower above the level of the rampart, whence their rifles' fire drove the defenders, and they themselves then mounted and compelled the garrison to surrender. They could not, however, prevent Colonel Watson from leading five hundred men to reinforce Lord Rawdon, who then advanced with the intention of bringing Greene again to action, but found him fallen back upon so strong a position, as to afford no reasonable hopes of success. His lordship finding his convoys intercepted, and viewing the generally insecure state of his posts in the lower country, considered himself under at least the temporary necessity of retreating thither. He had first in view the relief of Motte's house on the Congaree ; but before reaching it, had the mortification to find that, with the garrison of one 232 SIEGE OF NINETY-SIX. hundred and sixty-five, it had fallen into the hands of Marion and Lee. He continued his march to Monk's Corner, where he covered Charleston and the surrounding country. The partisan chiefs rapidly seized this opportunity of attacking the interior posts, and reduced successively Orangeburg, Granby on the Congaree, and Augusta, the key of upper Georgia. In these five forts they made eleven hundred prisoners. The most important one, however, was that named Ninety-six, on the Saluda, defended by a garrison of five hundred men. Orders had been sent to them to quit and retire downwards ; but the messenger was intercepted ; and Colonel Cruger, the commander, made the most active preparations for its defence. Greene considered the place of such importance, that he undertook the siege in person, with a thousand regulars. He broke ground before it on the night of the 23d of May, and though much impeded by a successful sally on the following day, proceeded with such energy, that by the 3d of June, the second parallel was completed, and the garrison summoned, but in vain, to surrender. On the 8th, he was reinforced by Lee, from the capture of Augusta ; and though he 'encountered a most gallant and effective resistance, trusted that the place must in due time fall. Three days after, however, he learned that Rawdon, having received a reinforcement from Ireland, was in full march to relieve it, and had baffled the attempts of Sumpter to impede his progress. The American leader, therefore, feeling himself unable to give battle, saw no pros- pect of carrying the fortress unless by storm. On the l8th, an attack against the two most commanding outworks was led by Lee and Campbell, the former of whom carried his point ; but the latter, though he penetrated into the ditch, and main- tained his party there for three quarters of an hour, found them exposed to so destructive a fire as compelled a general retreat. The siege was immediately raised, and Lord Rawdon, on the 21st, entered the place in triumph. Being again master of the field, he pressed forward in the hope of bringing his antagonist to battle ; but the latter rather chose to fall back towards the distant point of Charlotte in Virginia, BATTLE OF EUTAW. 233 while Rawdon did not attempt to pursue him beyond the Ennoree. Notwithstanding this present superiority, his lordship, having failed in his hopes of a decisive victory, and viewing the general aspect of the country, considered it no longer possible to attempt more than covering the lower districts of South Carolina. He therefore fell back to Orangeburg on the Edisto ; and though he attempted at first to maintain Cruger with a strong body at Ninety-six, was soon induced to recall him. Greene, being reinforced by one thousand men under Marion and Sumpter, reconnoitred his position, but judged it imprudent to attack ; and both armies, exhausted by such a series of active movements, took an interval of repose during the heat of the season. Lord Rawdon, being at this time obliged by ill health to return home, left the army under Colonel Stuart, who, to cover the lower country, occupied a position at the point where the Congaree and Wateree unite in forming the Santee. Greene, having received reinforcements from the north, and collected all his partisan detachments, found himself strong enough to try the chance of battle. His approach with this evident view induced the other party to retire forty miles down the river, to the strong post of Eutaw, whither Greene immediately followed by slow and easy marches. On the 8th of September, he determined to attack the British camp, placing as usual his militia in front, hoping that the English, in beating and pursuing them, would at least get into con- fusion ; but from this very dread, the latter had been warned to keep their posts till ordered to move. The American front, however, maintained their ground better than usual, and the British, before beating them, became heated, and forget- ful of the warnings given, pushed forward irregularly. They were then charged by the veterans in the second line, and after a very desperate struggle, driven off the field. There lay in their way, however, a large brick building and adjacent garden, where Stuart placed a strong corps, who could not be dislodged, and kept up a deadly fire, which cheeked the vic- 15 234 BATTLE OF EUTAW. tors, enabling the retreating troops to be formed anew. At the same time, Colonel Washington attacked the British flank ; but finding it strongly posted among woods, he was repulsed with loss, and himself taken prisoner. The Ameri- can general, seeing no hope of making any further impression, retreated to his previous position. In this bloody battle, both parties claimed the victory. It was certainly far from decisive ; and the enemy's loss of eighty-five killed and six hundred and eight wounded was about twice that of the Americans, who carried off also above two hundred prison- ers. The British commander then formed a resolution, prompted both by the result of the day, and the general state of the upper country, and the numbers and activity of the American light troops. Conceiving himself unable to main- tain so advanced a position, he moved to Monk's Corner, where he merely covered Charleston and its vicinity. Seven- ty wounded and one thousand stand of arms were left behind on the march. To this post and to Savannah were now limited British authority, which had lately extended so widely over the southern states.* In the belief that it would be satisfactory to the reader to trace this eventful campaign in the south continuously, rather than in fragments intermingled with other subjects, we have thus been led to anticipate the order of time, and must now go back to trace the course of events in the more central parts of the theatre of war. When the winter of 1780 commenced, the troops of the northern army retired to the quarters which they had last occupied. Again they endured distress at which patriotism feels indignant and humanity weeps. The harvest had been abundant ; plenty reigned in the land, while want was still felt in the camp of its defenders. Lassitude had succeeded enthusiasm, in the breasts of the people, and Congress exerted its powers with too little vigour to draw forth the resources of the country. The soldiers of the Pennsylvania line stationed at Morristown, New Jersey, complained that, in * Murray. MUTINY. 237 addition to sustaining sufferings common to all. they were retained in service contrary to the terms of their enlistments. In the night of the 1st of January, thirteen hundred, on a concerted signal, paraded under arms, and declared their intention of marching to Philadelphia, and demanding of Congress a redress of their grievances. The officers strove to compel them to relinquish their purpose. In the attempt, one was killed, and several were wounded. General Wayne presented his pistols, as if intending to fire. They held their bayonets to his breast ; " We love and respect you," said they ; " but if you fire you are a dead man. We are not going to the enemy. On the contrary, if they were now to come out, you should see us fight under your orders with as much alacrity as ever. But we will be amused no longer ; we are determined to obtain what is our just due." They elected temporary officers, and moved off in a body towards Princeton. General Wayne, to prevent them from plundering the inhabitants, forwarded provisions for their use. The next day he followed, and requested them to appoint a man from each regiment, to state to him their complaints ; a conference was accordingly held, but he refused to comply with their de- mands. They then proceeded in good order to Princeton, where three emissaries from Sir Henry Clinton met them, and made liberal offers to entice them from the service of Con- gress. The offers-were indignantly rejected, and the emissa- ries seized and executed as spies. Here they were also met by a committee of Congress, and a deputation from the state of Pennsylvania ; and the latter, granting a part of their demands, succeeded in persuading them to return to their duty. This mutiny, and another in the Jersey line, which was instantly suppressed, aroused the attention of the states to the miserable condition of their troops. The amount of three months' pay was raised and forwarded to them in specie ; it was received with joy, as affording an evidence that their country was not unmindful of their sufferings. Deplorably deficient of provisions and supplies, and pro- mised reinforcements being greviously delayed, Washington 238 OPERATIONS IN VIRGINIA. still remained undiscouraged, and determined, in conjunction with the French fleet, to resume vigorous operations. New York was the destined point of the combined attack ; but the large reinforcements which had recently arrived there, and other unfavourable circumstances, induced the commander-in- chief, so late as August, entirely to change the plan of the campaign, and to resolve to attempt the capture of the army of Lord Cornwallis, which had now taken up a position at Yorktown, in Virginia. The defence of West Point, and of the other posts on the Hudson, was committed to General Heath, and a large portion of the troops raised in the northern states was for this service left under his command. General Washington resolved in person to conduct the Virginia expedition. Virginia had insensibly, as it were, become a principal the- atre of war. Leslie, had been sent thither to rein- force Cornwallis, who, it was hoped, might penetrate through the Carolinas ; but, after Ferguson's disaster, he was ordered to go round by Charleston. With the view, however, of creating a diversion in favour of the southern army, Clinton, in December 1780, sent Arnold with one thousand six hundred men to the Chesapeake. That officer, displaying all his wonted activity, overran a great extent of country, and captured Richmond, the capital, destroying great quantities of stores. Washington, most anxious to strike a blow against him, prevailed upon Destouches, the French admiral, to proceed thither with a land-force ; but the latter was overtaken by Arbuthnot, and endured a hard battle, which, though not admitted to be a defeat, oblig- ed him to return. Clinton, still with the same view, sent an- other force of two thousand men, under General Philips, which arrived in the Chesapeake on the 26th of March. This officer, being complete master of the field, overran the coun- try between the James and York rivers, seized the large town of Petersburg, as also Chesterfield court-house, the militia ren- dezvous, and other stations, destroying great quantities of shipping and stores, with all the warehoused tobacco. La- OPERATIONS IN VIRGINIA. 239 fayette being sent against him, added to his force about two thousand militia, and succeded by good dispositions in securing Richmond. Operations seemed at a stand, when intelHgence was received of Cornwallis' march into this territory ; and, in spite of every effort of the French general, he, in the end of May, joined Phillips at Petersburg, taking the command of the whole army. Being then decidedly su- perior, he took possession of Richmond, and began a hot pur- suit of Lafayette, who retreated into the upper country so rapidly and so skilfully, that he could not be overtaken. The English general then turned back, and sent a detachment under Colonel Simcoe, who destroyed a magazine at the junction of the two branches of James River. Tarleton pushed his cavalry so swiftly upon Charlotteville, where the state assembly was met, that seven members were taken, and the rest very narrowly escaped. Lafayette, however, now returned with a considerable force, and, by his manoeuvres, induced the British commander to retire to Williamsburg. He afterwards continued his retreat to Portsmouth, in the course of which an attack, was made by Wayne with eight hundred men on the whole British army. The gallant general however escaped with little loss. The movement of Cornwallis into Virginia had been wholly disapproved by Clinton, who complained that, contrary to all his views and intentions, the main theatre of war had been transferred to a territory, into which he never proposed more than partial inroads, considering it very difficult to subdue and maintain. His grand object had always been, first to secure New York, and if sufficient strength was afforded, to push offensive operations thence into the interior. Hoping, there- fore, that the Carolinas, once subdued, might be retained by a small force, he had repeatedly solicited the partial return of the troops. Cornwallis defended the movement by observing, that his situation at Wilmington, allowing no time to send for instructions, obliged him to act on his own responsibility. Communicating also with the government at home, he urged that the Carolinas could not be securely held without the 240 OPERATIONS IN VIRGINIA. possession also of Virginia ; that this might be attained by a vigorous effort, and would make Britain mistress of all the fine southern colonies, whose resources could be then employed in conquering the more stubborn regions of the north. These arguments, recommended by his lordship's bril- liant achievements at Camden and elsewhere, convinced the ministry ; and Lord Germaine wrote to the commander- in-chief to direct his principal attention to the war in Virginia, and to the plan of conquest from south to north. The latter, considering himself thus slighted, solicited permission to resign, and leave the command to an officer who enjoyed greater confidence ; but his merits being highly estimated, this tender was not accepted. Under the apprehension inspired by the threatening move- ments of Washington and the French army against New York, he had ordered a considerable reinforcement from Virginia, but countermanded it on receiving the above instruc- tions, along with an additional body of troops. He had formed apparently a favourite plan, somewhat of a compromise between the two. It is nowhere distinctly developed in his letters ; but by a passage in one, very active operations were proposed at the head of the Chesapeake, to be combined probably with a movement from New York, and comprehend- ing Philadelphia and Baltimore. Aware that this plan re- quired the maritime command of that great inlet, he inquired if ministers would ensure its maintenance ; and they made this engagement without duly considering its difficulties. Under these views, he directed Cornwallis to occupy and fortify a naval position at the entrance of the bay, specially recommend- ing Old Point Comfort, at the mouth of James River. This measure did not harmonize with Cornwallis's views : however he obeyed ; but the above position being declared by the en- gineers indefensible, he recommended, in preference, York, on the river of that name ; which was agreed to, and opera- tions actively commenced. Washington, meantime, had been meditating movements in V^irginia, and had solicited De Grasse, then in the West WASHINGTON MARCHES TO VIRGINIA. 241 Indies, to secure for him at least a temporary command of the Chesapeake. After the failure of his efforts and hopes in regard to New York, this became his main object. With the highest satisfaction he received the intimation, that, on the 3d of August, the French admiral, with above twenty five ships of the line and three thousand two hundred troops, would sail for the Chesapeake, and remain there till the middle of Octo- ber. No hesitation was then made in commencing a move- ment upon Virginia with the whole French army and a strong detachment of the American. It was impossible that so great a movement could be concealed ; but the utmost pains were taken to lead Clinton into the belief that its object was New York. This was the less difficult, as the American com- mander's aims and efforts had long been really turned in that direction, and his opponent had felt extremely sensitive on that subject. The crossing of the Hudson, and the march down its right bank, might have been undertaken with either design. Letters were written, and contrived to be intercep- ted, tending to confirm the deception. It was not till the 31st of August that the aUied force took their direct route to the Che- sapeake : they had then an easy march to the head of that es- tuary, down which they would be conveyed in transports to Lord Cornwallis' position, which could be reached from New York only amid the uncertainties of a maritime voyage, and the access, it was hoped, blocked up by a superior fleet. In fact, De Grasse, with twenty-eight sail of the line, had entered it in the end of August. Rodney had been opposed to him in the West Indies ; but imagining that a great part of the French fleet must have been sent to protect a convey going to Europe, he himself took that direction, and sent only four- teen sail, under Admiral Hood, to New York. That oflScer there came under the command of his senior. Admiral Graves, who, having nineteen vessels, hesitated not to sail for the Chesapeake, to attafck the superior force of De Grasse. He found it ranged across the entrance, and an obstinate con- test ensued, with various and on the whole indecisive results. Then, however, Barras from Newport brought a reinforcement. 242 OPERATIONS IN VIRGINIA. which rendered the French force so decidedly superior, that Graves was obUged to return. Amid all these movements, it was not till the 6th of Septem- ber that Clinton became fully aware of Washington's des- tination, and of the extreme danger to which Cornwallis would thus be exposed. He then wrote to that nobleman, pointing out the circumstances, and proposing, as the only mode of relieving him, that he himself should sail from New York, and join him with a reinforcement of four thousand troops. This course implied that the Virginian army should meantime remain on the defensive in its present position. It appears to us manifest that the plan involved a capital error ; and that the only assured safety for that army was to have in- stantly commenced a rapid retreat upon Charleston. It would then have been in a much stronger position, and could either have retired or been reinforced by sea. Clinton's plan depended on the uncertain operations of a fleet, which had, moreover, to defeat or elude a superior one ; while the army, when landed, would have had to cut its way through another three times more numerous. Afterwards, when it became evident that the march southwards would have been the eligi- ble course, he insisted that there was nothing to preclude its having been followed by Cornwallis, who, in his separate command, had been allowed, and had most liberally exercised, a discretionary power. His lordship, however, seems reason- ably to urge, that the case was very different when he had a letter from his commander-in-chief, written in full knowledge of all the circumstances, and pointing out as the only eligible course one in which he himself was preparing to act a part. Not to have co-operated with him, but to have followed a plan directly opposite, would have been complete- ly to disregard his authority ; while an awful responsibility would have been incurred in the abandonment of his posts, stores, and hospitals, in a rapid retreat before a superior opponent. He continued, therefore, in his position at York, while perils thickened around him. Washington, dreading chiefly SIEGE OF YORKTOWN. 243 the march southward, directed Lafayette to take post at WilUamsburg, where he himself arrived on the 14th of Septem- ber. Tarleton, ever enterprising, urged an attack upon this force while still inferior to the British ; but this was declined ; and indeed it should seem that such able commanders would easily have avoided fighting in a disadvantageous position by retreating behind the broad estuary of James River. The successive divisions, descending the Chesapeake, continued to arrive at Williamsburg, w^here, on the 25th of September, the last of them landed, raising the army to seven thousand French, five thousand five hundred American regulars, and three thousand five hundred militia. On the 28th, this force broke up and moved towards York, which the Brit- ish commander had been diligently fortifying, while a smaller post was maintained at Gloucester, on the opposite side of the river. He had formed an outer circuit of intrenched lines ; but these, during the evening of the 29th, he abandoned, re- tiring within the body of the fort. He had just, however, received a letter from Clinton, intimating a full expectation of saiUng on the 5th of October, or at most, two or three days later; and judging the works fully sufficient to hold out till his arrival, dreaded loss and peril from encountering, even within lines, so superior an enemy. The operations of the besieging army were confined to a strict blockade till the 6th of October, when the artillery and military stores arrived in the camp. On the evening of that day the first parallel was begun with silence and caution, and before morning was so far advanced as in a great measure to cover the troops. All being felt to depend upon rapidity, operations were pushed with the utmost ardour, and the two nations were incited to a rivalry in deeds of valour. By the 10th, the fire had become formidable ; a number of the enemy's batteries were silenced, and a frigate and three transports in the harbour set on fire and consumed. On the night of the 11th, the second parallel was commenced, and had the same success as the first, of being undiscovered till morning. Three days were devoted to its completion ; but the British, "=^1 n 244 SIEGE OF YORKTOWN. ha\ing with great labour opened several new batteries, then poured in a heavy fire. That in particular from two redoubts was so destructive, that without carrying them, the siege could not be prosecuted. This grand operation was fixed for the night of the 14th, when one fort was undertaken by the French under the Baron de Viomenil, the other by the Ameri- cans under Lafayette, aided by Colonels Hamilton and Lau- rens. The latter rushed on with such impetuosity, that, with- out firing a gun, they soon carried the post, making twenty prisoners, though losing forty killed and wounded. The French encountered a stronger resistance, and suffered the loss of about a hundred, but finally carried their redoubt also. Cornwallis now perceived that a surrender was rapidly ap- proaching. He endeavoured to retard it by a sally, on the morning of the 16th, of three hundred and fifty men under Colo- nel Abercrombie, who carried the two most advanced batteries, but could not retain them for a sufl[icient time to complete their destruction. On the following night, the enemy deter- mined to cross to the northern bank, and endeavour to force a way by land to New York. The boats were collected with the greatest secrecy, the first embarkation completed, and even the landing commenced, when a violent tempest of wind and rain interrupted the movement, and obliged the troops to em- ploy all their efforts in regaining the fortress. On the follow- ing day, all the batteries of the second parallel were finished, and began to play with such tremendous effect, that, in the opinion of the officers and engineers, the place was no longer tenable. Cornwallis therefore opened a negotiation for sur- render, on the basis of the garrison being sent to Europe and remaining on parole until released or exchanged ; but Wash- ington would admit only of unconditional surrender. It was agreed, however, that the officers should be allowed the hon- ours of war, with their arms and baggage ; and that the Bonetta sloop of war should be permitted to go unsearched, with the understood view of placing in security those civil officers who had rendered themselves obnoxious to the United States government. On these conditions, the capitulation was GENERAL KNOX. 245 signed on the morning of the 19th. The prisoners surrend- ered were seven thousand and seventy three, of whom, how- ever, only four thousand and seventeen were fit for duty. Clinton, meantime, had not been forgetful of his promises ; but the British fleet had been so much shattered in the late engagement, that some preparation was necessary to fit it for sailing. It was, however, resolved, at a general meeting both of the military and naval commanders, that the 5th of Octo- ber should be fixed as the period for this movement ; and he had therefore a reasonable expectation of fulfilling his promise. On the 28th of September, he addressed a letter to Admiral Graves on this important point, who replied that the fleet could not sail till the 8th ; it did not, however, depart till the 19th, the very day on which the capitulation was signed.* The capture of so large a British army excited universal joy, and on no occasion during the war did the Americans manifest greater exultation. From the nature and duration of the contest, the affections of many had been so concentra- ted upon their country, and so intense was their interest in its fate, that the news of this brilliant success produced the most, * To the successful results of this memorable seige, the last brilliant act of our revolutionary contest, no officer contributed more essentially than General Knox, the commander of the artillery. His animated exertions, his military skill, his cool and determined bravery in this tri- umphant struggle, received the unanimous approbation of his brethren in arms, and he vv'as immediately created Major-general by Congress, at the recommendation of the commander-in-chief, with the concurrence of the whole army. In fact Knox was the most trusted and valued friend of Washington through the whole war, and there can be no higher testimony to his merits, than that, during a war of so long continuance, passed almost constantly in the presence of Washington, he uniformly retained his confidence and esteem, which at their separ- ation had ripened into friendship and affection. The parting interview between General Knox and his illustrious and beloved chief, after the evacuation of New York by the British and Knox had taken possession of it at the head of a detachment of our army was inexpressibly affec- ting. The hour of their separation having arrived, Washington, incapa- ble of utterance, grasped his hand and embraced him in silence, and tears. His letters, to the last moment of his life, contain the most flat- tering expressions of his unabated friendship. 246 EXPEDITION TO CONNECTICUT. rapturous emotions, under the operations of which, it is said, some were even deprived of their reason, and one aged patriot in Philadelphia expired. The day after the capitula- tion. General Washington ordered, " that those who were under arrest should be pardoned and set at liberty ;" and an- nounced, that " Divine service shall be performed to-morrow in the different brigades and divisions. The commander-in- chief recommends, that all the troops that are not upon duty do assist at it with a serious deportment, and that sensibility of heart which the recollection of the surprising and particu- lar interposition of Providence in our favour claims." Con- gress, as soon as they received General Washington's official letter giving information of the event, resolved to go in procession to the Dutch Lutheran church, and return thanks to Almighty God for the signal success of the American arms ; and they issued a proclamation, recommending to the citizens of the United States to observe the 13th of December as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. While these successful operations had been carrying on in Virginia, Sir Henry Clinton endeavoured, if possible, to recall Washington, or at least to divert his attention, by some daring enterprise in the north. Giving to the traitor Arnold, who had just returned from his destructive expedition to Virginia, the command of a strong detachment, he sent him against New London, a flourishing city situated upon the river Thames, in his native state. Nearly opposite, on a hill in Groton, stood Fort Griswold, which was then garrisoned by militia, hastily summoned from their labours in the field. Against this fort, Arnold despatched a part of his troops. It was assaulted on three sides at the same moment. The garri- son, fighting in view of their property and their homes, made a brave and obstinate resistance. By their steady and well directed fire many of the assailants were killed. Pressing forward with persevering ardour, the British entered the fort through the embrasures. Immediately all resistance ceased. Irritated by gallantry which should have caused admiration, a British officer inquired who commanded the fort. " I did," EXPEDITION TO CONNECTICUT, 24Y said Colonel Ledyard, " but you do now;" and presented hiin his sword. He seized it, and, with savage cruelty, plunged it into his bosom. This was the signal for an indiscriminate massacre. Of one hundred and sixty men, composing the gar- rison, all but forty were killed or wounded, and most of them after resistance had ceased. Seldom has the glory of victory been tarnished by such detestable barbarity. The British then entered New London, which was set on fire and con- sumed. The property destroyed was of immense value. Perceiving no other object within the reach of his force, Arnold led back his troops to New York.* * Uinton. DEVTII OF COLOXF.L STEWART AT THE BATTLE OF GOILDFORU. CHAPTER XI. Close of the Revolution. L T H U G H the battle of Eutaw may be considered as closing the national war in the South, yet after that period several small enterprises were executed by the partisans on both sides. In the close of the year 1781, when the successes of the American army had confined the late conquerors to the vicinity of Charleston, a desperate band of tories adopted the infernal scheme of taking their last revenge, by carrying fire and sword into the settlements of the whig militia. To this end Major William Cunningham, of the British militia, collected a party, and having furnished them with every thing neces- sary for laying waste the country, sallied from Charleston. He and his associates concealed themselves till they arrived in the back settlements, far in the rear of the American army, and there began to plunder, burn and murder. In the un- suspecting hour of sleep, and domestic security, they entered the houses of the solitary farmers, and sacrificed to their re- 248 TORY MOVEMENTS. 249 venge the obnoxious head of the family. Their cruelties induced some small parties to associate and arm in self-defence. Captain Turner and twenty men had, on these principles, taken post in a house, and defended themselves till their am- munition was nearly expended. After which they surrendered on receiving assurances that they should be treated as prison- ers of war. Notwithstanding this solemn agreement. Captain Turner and his party were put to instant death by Cunningham and the men under his command. Soon after this massacre, the same party of tories attacked a number of the American militia, in the district of Ninety-six, commanded by Colonel Hayes, and set fire to the house in which they had taken shel- ter. The only alternative left was either to be burned, or to surrender themselves prisoners. The last being preferred. Colonel Hayes, and Captain Daniel Williams were hung at once on the pole of a fodder-stack. This breaking, they both fell, on which Major William Cunningham cut them into pieces with his own sword, when, turning upon the others, he continued on them the operations of his savage barbarity, till the powers of nature being exhausted, and his enfeebled limbs refusing to administer any longer to his insatiate fury, he called upon his comrades to complete the dreadful work by kiUing whichsoever of the prisoners they pleased. They instantly put to death such of them as they personally disliked. Only two fell in action, but fourteen were deliberately cut to pieces after their surrender. About the same time, and under the same influence, emis- saries from the British induced the Cherokee Indians to com- mence hostilities. Early in the year 1781 General Greene had concluded a treaty with them, by which they had engaged to observe a neutrality. This was attended with the beneficial eflfect of saving the frontier settlements both in North and South Carolina from their incursions, while the inhabitants were left at full liberty to concentrate their force against the army under the command of Lord Cornwallis. When the co-operation of the Indians could be of the least service to the British forces, they were induced to break through their en- 250 INDIANS DEFEATED. gageraents of neutrality. They, with a number of disguised white men, who called themselves the King's friends, made an incursion into the district of Ninety-six, massacred some fami- lies, and burned several houses. General Pickens collected a party of the American militia, and penetrated into the settle- ments of the Cherokees. This he accomplished in fourteen days, at the head of three hundred and ninety-four horsemen In that short space he burned thirteen towns and villages, killed upwards of forty Indians, and took a greater number prisoners. Not one of his party was killed, and only two were wounded. None of the expeditions carried on against the Cherokees had been so rapid and decisive as the present one. General Pickens did not expend three pounds of ammunition, and yet only three Indians escaped, after having been once seen. On this occasion a new and successful mode of fighting the savages was introduced. Instead of firing, the American militia rushed forward on horseback, and charged with drawn swords. This was the second time during the American war that the Cherokee Indians had been chastised in their own settlements, in consequence of suffering themselves to be ex- cited by British emissaries to commence hostilities against their white neighbours. They again sued for peace, in the most submissive terms, and obtained it, after promising that, instead of listening to the advice of the loyalists instigating them to war, they would deliver those of them that visited their set- tlements, on that errand, to the authority of the state. In consequence of these civil wars between the whigs and lories — the incursions of the savages — and the other calamities resulting from the operations of the British and American ar- mies. South Carolinia exhibited scenes of distress which were shocking to humanity. Nor is it wonderful that the country was involved in such accumulated distress. The American government was suspended, and the British con querors were careless of the civil rights of the inhabitants. They conducted as though interior order and police were scarcely objects of attention. The will of the strongest was the law. Such was the general complexion of those who ji-— THE ALLIGATOR. 251 tailed themselves royalists, that nothing could be expected from them, unrestrained as they were by civil government, but outrages against the peace and order of society. Though among the tories in the lower parts of South Carolina there were gentlemen of honour, principle and humanity, yet, in the interior and back parts of the state, a great proportion of them was an ignorant unprincipled banditti, to whom idle- ness, licentiousness, and deeds of violence, were familiar. Horse-thieves and others, whose crimes had exiled them from society, and attached themselves to parties of the British. Encouraged by their example, and instigated by the love of plunder, they committed the most extensive depredations. Under the cloak of attachment to the old government, they covered the basest and most selfish purposes. The necessity which their indiscriminate plundering imposed on all good men of defending themselves, did infinitely more damage to the royal cause than was compensated by all the advantages resulting from their friendship. They could scarcely ever be brought to the field of battle. They sometimes furnished the British army v/ith intelligence and provisions, but on all other accounts their services were of very little importance. From among a variety of projects which were undertaking by detached parties of Americans, in the year 1782, the fol- lowing is selected as meriting particular notice. On the nineteenth of March Captain Rudolph, of Lee's legion, and Lieutenant Smith, of the Virginia line, with twelve men, captured and burned the British galley Alligator, lying in Ashley river, which mounted twelve guns, besides a variety of swivels, and was manned with forty-three seamen. The Americans had the address to pass themselves for negroes who were coming to market with poultry. They were there- fore permitted to come so near the galley that they boarded her with ease, while their adversaries suspected no danger Three or four of the British were killed, and twenty-eight were brought off prisoners. After General Greene moved from the high hills of Santee into the low country near Charleston, a scene of inactivity 16 252 CONDITION OF THE ARMY. succeeded different from the busy operations of the late cam- paign. He was unable to attempt any thing against the British within their lines; and they declined risking any gene- ral action without them. While the American soldiers lay encamped in this inactive situation, their tattered rags were so completely worn out, that seven hundred of them were as naked as they were born, excepting a small slip of cloth about their waists ; and they were nearly as destitute of meat as of clothing. In this con- dition they lay for three months within four hours march of the British garrison in Charleston, which contained in it more regular troops than there were continentals in the American army. Though they had abundant reason to complain, yet, while they were every day marching, and almost every week fighting, they were in good health, good spirits, and good humour ; but when their enemy was confined within their forti- fications, and they were inactive, they became sickly and dis- contented, and a few began to be mutinous. Their long arrears of pay, the deficiency of their clothing, and their want of many comforts, were forgotten whilst constant action em- ployed their minds and bodies ; but when an interruption of hostilities gave them leisure to brood over their calamities, these evils were presented to their imaginations in the most aggravated colours. A plan was seriously laid to deliver their gallant and victorious leader into the hands of the British ; but the whole design was happily discovered and prevented from being carried into execution. To the honour of the continental army, it may with justice be added, that, notwith- standing the pressure of their many sufferings, the whole number concerned in this plot did not exceed twelve. In the course of the year 1782, John Mathews, Esq., governor of South Carolina, concerted measures with some of the citizens in Charleston, who wished to make their peace with their countrymen, for sending out of the British lines necessary clothing for the almost naked continentals. When their distresses had nearly arrived to that point beyond which human nature can bear no more, Mr. Joshua Lockwood, NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE. 253 under the direction of Governor Mathews, brought out of Charleston a large quantity of the articles which were most needed in the American camp. This seasonable supply, though much short of their due, quieted the minds of the suf- fering soldiers. Tranquillity and good order were restored in the camp, and duty was cheerfully performed.* The result of the campaign of 1781, convinced the British nation that America could not be subdued by force ; and led to a change of administration and pacific overtures. A new administration was soon after formed — the Marquis of Rock- ingham was placed at the head of the treasury, and the Earl of Shelburne and Mr. Fox held the important places of secretaries of state. Soon after their appointment, the new ministers sent a Mr. Oswald to France, to sound the French court, as well as Dr. Franklin, on the subject of peace. In a conference with the Count de Vergennes, Mr. Oswald was informed that the French court were disposed to treat for peace, but could do nothing without the consent of their allies ; and the count ex- pressed a wish that Paris might be the place of meeting for entering upon this important business. About the l8th of April the British agent went back to London, and on the 4th of May returned to France with the assent of the British cabinet to treat of a general peace, and for that purpose to meet at Paris. One of the first measures of the new administration, was to appoint Sir Guy Carlton commander-in-chief in America, in the room of Sir Henry Clinton, and to authorize Admiral Digby and himself to treat for peace. One object of confer- ring this power was to induce Congress to agree to a separate treaty. Sir Guy Carleton arrived in America on the 5th of May, and two days afterwards informed General Washing- ton, that he and Admiral Digby were authorized to treat for peace, and requested a passport for their secretary, as the bearer of despatches to Congress on the subject. A copy of this letter was forwarded by the general to that body ; but * Ramsay. 254 PEACE. the members being determined not to negotiate without their allies, refused the passport. A majority of the new British cabinet very early de- termined to offer America unlimited unconditional inde- pendence, as the basis of a negotiation for peace, and so instructed their minister, Mr. Grenville. The instructions of Congress to the American commission- ers not to conclude peace without the consent of France, rendered their situation complicated and embarrassing. There were several questions which the Americans deemed of the first importance, in which the French court either felt no interest, or were opposed to the American claims. The principal of these points referred to the right of fishery on the Grand Bank, and the western boundary of the United States. On the latter point, Spain, who was also a party to the negotiations, was extremely desirous of limiting as much as possible the extent of the American territory. These circumstances occasioned much difficulty and considerable delay. At length the American commissioners determined to agree to a provisional treaty without the concurrence of the French court. Mr. Oswald, who had succeeded Mr. Gren- ville, on the part of the British government, strongly urged the propriety of the American loyalists being compensated for the losses they had incurred during the struggle for indepen- dence ; but this proposition was met by a counter one from Dr. Franklin, that a similar arrangement should be made by Great Britain in favour of the Americans who had suffered in their property from the destruction carried on by the British troops. This point was therefore ultimately waived, and other difficulties being overcome, a provisional treaty was agreed to on the 30th of November ; and after great delay, oc- casioned by the strenuous endeavours of the court of Madrid to procure the cession of Gibralter by Great Britain, preliminary treaties of peace were signed on the 20th of January, 1783, between France, Spain, and Great Britain. On the 24th of March, intelligence of a general peace reached America by a letter from the Marquis de Lafayette ; WASHINGTON'S LETTER. 255 and orders were immediately issued, recalling all armed vessels cruising under the authority of the United States. Congress soon after received official information of the agreement between the ministers of the United States and Great Britain, and of the exchange of ratifications of the pre- liminary articles between Great Britain and France ; and, on the 11th of April, they issued a proclamation, declaring the cessation of arms, as well by sea as by land, agreed upon be- tween the United States and his Britannic Majesty, and enjoining its strict observance. On the 19th of April, peace was proclaimed in the American army by the commander-in- chief, precisely eight years from the day of the first effusion of blood at Lexington. The independence of the United States was acknowledged by Sweden, on the 5th of February ; by Denmark, on the 25th of February ; by Spain, on the 24th of March ; and by Russia, in July ; treaties of amity and commerce were also concluded with each of those powers. On the 8th of June, General Washington addressed a letter to each of the govern- ors of the several states in the union, on the present situation, and what appeared to him the wisest policy, of the United States. In this paternal and affectionate letter, he stated four things which he conceived to be essential to their well-being, and even to their existence, as an independent power : " An indissoluble union of the states under one general head; a sacred regard to ^ubUc justice ; the adoption of a proper peace establishment ; and the prevalence of that pacific and friendly disposition, among the people of the United States, which will induce them to forget their local prejudices and politics, to make those mutual concessions which are requisite to the general prosperity, and, in some instances, to sacrifice their individual advantages to the interest of the community. These," he added, " are the pillars on which the glorious fabric of our independence and national character must be supported." Having requested that each governor would communicate these sentiments to his legislature at their next meeting, and that they might be considered " as the legacy of 256 TREATY SIGNED. one who has ardently wished, on all occasions, to be useful to his country, and who, even in the shade of retirement, will not fail to implore the Divine benediction upon it ;" he con- cluded his letter in language becoming a Christian patriot, and worthy of perpetual remembrance : " I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you, and the state over which you preside, in his holy protection, that he would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subor- dination and obedience to government ; to entertain a brother- ly affection and love for one another, for their fellow citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the field ; and, finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed reli- gion, without an humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation." The definitive treaty of peace between Great Britain and the United States of America was signed at Paris on the 3d of September, by David Hartley, Esq., on the part of his Britannic Majesty, and by John Adams, Benjamin Frank- lin, and John Jay, on the part of the United States. The pro- visions of the treaty attest the zeal and ability of the American negotiators, as well as the liberal feelings which actuated the British ministry. The independence of the United States was fully acknowledged. The right of fishing on the banks of Newfoundland, and certain facilities in the enjoyment of that right, were secured to them for ever ; and territory was ceded to them more extensive than the most sanguine had dared to anticipate or to hope. While the negotiations were pending, the American troops were retained in service, but remained unemployed at their various stations. They saw with pleasure the end of their toils approaching, but apprehended that their country, when she no longer needed their services, would forget with what zeal and fidelity they had been rendered. The oflficers, espe- DISCONTENTS IN THE ARMY. 257 cially, dreaded that, after having, for want of pay, expended their private fortunes, and after having exhausted their strength in the performance of arduous and protracted services, they should be dismissed in poverty, without any secure provision for their future support. In the course of the war, a resolu- tion had been adopted by Congress, stipulating that the officers, after being disbanded, should receive half-pay for life. This resolution had never been ratified by the requisite number of states, and no safe reliance could therefore be placed upon it. In December, 1782, the officers forwarded to Congress a petition, praying that all arrears which were due to them might be discharged, and that, instead of half-pay foi life, a sum equal to five years' full pay should be paid or secured to them when disbanded. The delay of Congress to comply with this request produced an alarming agitation in that portion of the army stationed at Newburgh. An address to the officers was privately circulated, w^ritten wdth great ability, and admirably well fitted to work upon those passions which recent sufferings and gloomy forebodings had excited in every bosom. The writer boldly recommended that, as all the applications to the sympathy and justice of Congress had failed of success, an appeal should be made to their fears. Fortunately, the commander-in-chief was in the camp. Though conscious that the officers had just cause of complaint, he was aware that duty to his country, and even friendship for them, required that he should prevent the adoption of rash and disorderly expedients to obtain redress. Calling them together, he, by a calm and sensible address, persuaded them to rely still longer upon the disposition of Congress to perform for them whatever the limited means of the nation would permit. In a letter to that body, giving an account of these occurrences, he maintained and enforced the claims of the officers with such pathos and strength of reasoning, that their request was granted. On the 18th of October, Congress issued a proclamation for disbanding the army. This document states, "That, in the progress of an arduous and difficult war, the armies of the 258 WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL. United States of America have displayed every military and patriotic virtue, and are not less to be applauded for their for- titude and magnanimity in the most trying scenes of distress, than for a series of heroic and illustrious achievements, which exalt them to high rank among the most zealous and success' ful defenders of the rights and liberties of mankind ; and that, by the blessing of Divine Providence on our cause and our arms, the glorious period is arrived when our national inde- pendence and sovereignty are established, and we enjoy the prospect of permanent and honourable peace. The United States, in congress assembled, thus impressed with a lively sense of the distinguished merit, and good conduct of the said armies, do give them the thanks of their country for their long, eminent, and faithful services. And it is our will, and pleasure, that such part of the federal armies as stand engaged to serve during the war, and as by our acts of the 26th of May, the 11th of June, the 9th of August, and the 26th of Septem- ber last, were furloughed, shall, from and after the 3d day of November next, be absolutely discharged, by virtue of this our proclamation, from the said service." New York was evacuated by the British, on the 25th of November, and the Americans took possession of the city the same day ; and a short time after the army was disbanded, and again mingled with their fellow citizens. General Washington, taking an affectionate leave of his of- ficers, repaired to Annapolis, where Congress was sitting, and there, at a public audience, with dignity and sensibility, resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Ameri- can armies. Then, with a character illustrious throughout the world, he returned to his residence at Mount Vernon, posses- sing the sincere love and profound veneration of his coun- trymen.* * Hinton. CHAPTER XII. The Campaign in Africa. merce, escape HE piratical states of Bar- ,i bary had long been in the habit of committing the most barbarous cruelties, mak- ing the most flagrant extortions, and leaguing together in unprincipled intrigues against the peace and com- ''^ merce of all the powers of Europe. The extension of the American com- in the Mediterranean, was too tempting an object to their avarice and thirst for plunder. Hitherto they had 259 260 AFFAIRS OF TU MS. encountered no serious check, and the Bashaw of Tripoli, determined to improve the occasion by making a demand for tribute. In 1799, he threatened speedy depredations on the defenceless vessels of America, unless certain terms, totally inadmissible in their nature, were complied with. On the re- monstrance of the American consul, and the rejection of those terms by the government of the United States, the consul was ordered by the Bashaw, to withdraw from his dominions ; and, during the month of June, 1801, five American vessels were captured by Tripolitan cruizers. During the year 1801, the government of the United States, despatched three frigates and a sloop of war to the Mediterra- nean under Commodore Dale ; and the next year Commodore Murray, in the Constellation, sailed for the same destination. In 1803, a squadron of seven sail under Commodore Preble was despatched into the Mediterranean. One of these ships, the Philadelphia, being sent in to reconnoitre the harbour of Tripoli, ran aground and was taken. The subsequent recap- ture and burning of this ship, under the very guns of the Tripolitan batteries and corsairs, was one of the most brilliant achievements of Decatur, who was then a lieutenant, and accomplished this famous feat in a small schooner with but twenty six men, and with the inconsiderable loss of only four men slightly wounded.* The fleet, however, would have effected little had it noi been for the skill and activity of General Eaton, then the American Consul of Tunis. He found that the reigning Bas- haw was a usurper, having expelled his elder brother, Hamet Caramalli, from the sovereignty a few years before. Having ascertained that the subjects of the usurper were disaffected, and ripe for revolt in favor of the exiled brother, he immedi- ately suggested to Mr. Madison, then secretary of state, a project for converting this circumstance into a means of de- priving the Bashaw of his mischievous power, and restoring a prince, whom gratitude, and a milder disposition would in- * For a particular account of the naval events of this vi'ar, see Frost's Book of the Navy page 91 — 113 ADDRESS OF EATON. 261 cline to a more liberal and pacific system of conduct towards the United States. The plan briefly was, that General Eaton and the exiled Bashaw, with such an army as they could raise by means of some pecuniary aid from the United States, should attack the usurper by land, while our naval force in the Mediterranean should co-operate in the enterprise. Being informed that Hamet was at Alexandria in Egypt, Eaton repaired thither, and upon his arrival learned that Hamet could not be engaged in the service without the con- sent of Elfy Bey, to whom he had attached him ; and that he was then with him in Upper Egypt, acting with the Mameluke Beys against the Ottoman government. With an escort of three officers and fifteen men from the brig Argus, he pro- ceeded up the Nile to Grand Cairo, where he found the prime minister of Hamet, who immediately despatched a messenger to the Mameluke camp, informing His Highness of the general's arrival. In a few days he received an answer, proposing an interview near the Lake Fiaum, on the borders of the desert, and nearly two hundred miles from the sea coast. In repairing to the appointed place, from Alexandria, whither he had returned, it became necessary to pass through the Turkish camp : in attempting which he was arrested, and carried before the General. Eaton soon found that this Gen- eral was proud, vain, and jealous, and he regulated his con- duct accordingly. He commenced the conversation by com- plimenting the Turk on the correctness of his military conduct and vigilance, and saying that had he been in his place he would have done the same things ; that he had expected he would be apprehended ; in short, that, knowing the magnan- imity of the great man to whose presence he was admitted, he had determined to have an interview with him, in full confidence that he would aid a measure so purely humane, and so manifestly favorable to the Turkish interest in Egypt. Eaton then hinted that he had it in charge to tender him a douceur in testimony of the exalted opinion held by the Americans, of his name and merits. He was moved, — said that the confidence placed in him should not be disappointed, 262 PASSAGE OF THE DESERT. and called into his tent an Arab chieftain who promised to bring about a meeting with Hamet Bashaw in ten days. The meeting soon took place, and it w^as agreed between them to raise an army immediately, and to march over land, through the desert of Lybia, to the City of Derne, while Cap- tain Hull, with the Argus, and two other .vessels would pro- ceed and join them at Bomba, a port about eighty miles to the eastward of Derne, with supplies of provisions and ammu- nition. This army, which w^as organized on the 8th of March 1805, consisted of nine Americans, including three officers ; a company of twenty-five cannoniers, and thirty- eight Greeks. The Bashaw's suite consisted of about ninety men. These, together wath a party of Arab cavalry under the orders of two of their own Sheiks, and including the foot- men and camel drivers, made the whole number about four hundred. They had not proceeded far before discontent, disobedience and revolt, began to interrupt their concord. The camel drivers insisted on their pay in advance; the Arab cavalry became impatient and disheartened, and threatened to go back ; and as rumors were almost every day reaching their ears that a powerful army was advancing against them from Tripoli, the unfortunate Hamet himself began to show signs of irresolution and despondency. In these trying and per- plexing situations, Eaton required all the spirit and energy of his character, and all the resources of his genius, to extricate himself. When within a few days march from Bomba, which had been appointed the rendezvous for the supply vessels, a most alarming misunderstanding and contest took place, which threatened not only to terminate the expedition prematurely, but to have buried the very history of it in oblivion.* The courage and presence of mind of General Eaton, however, succeeded in allaying the mutiny, and they proceeded on their march towards Bomba, where they arrived on the 15th of April, and the next day, being almost entirely destitute of provisions, and even of water, they had the transporting joy ♦See the Life of General Eaton pp— 322— 324 DERNE ASAULTED. 263 of seeing the Argus, the Hornet and the Nautilus, cast anchor in the bay. After remaining there a few days to recruit the strength and spirits of the half famished and disheartened troops, and concerting measures for seizing on the city of Derne, the governor of which had declared his allegiance and fidelity to the reigning Bashaw, they resumed their march with renewed vigor, and on the morning of the 25th took post on an eminence overlooking the town. Several chiefs came out to meet the Bashaw Hamet, with assurances of fealty and attachment. By them Eaton learned that the city was divided into three departments; two of which were in the interest of the Bashaw, and one in opposi- tion. This department, though fewest in numbers, was strongest in position and resource, being defended by a bat- tery of eight guns, the blind walls of the houses which are provided in all directions with loop holes for musketry, and by temporary parapets thrown up in several positions, not covered by the battery ; this department is the nearest the sea, and the residence of the Bey. On the morning of the 26th terms of amity were offered the Bey on condition of allegiance and fidelity. The flag of truce was sent back to Eaton, with the laconic answer, " My head or yours! " On the 27th the three American vessels having arrived in the bay, Derne was assaulted. In three quarters of an hour, the battery was silenced, but not aband- oned. The fire of the only field piece in possession of the assailants was relaxed in consequence of the rammer being shot away. The fire of the enemy's musketry became warmer, and was continually augmenting. The troops were thrown into confusion, and, undisciplined as they were, it was impossible to reduce them to order. Eaton saw that a charge was his only resort. He led his litde army forward against a host of savages more than ten times their number. As this gallant band advanced, the enemy fled from their coverts ir- regularly, firing in retreat from every palm tree and partition wall in their way. At this moment, Eaton received a ball through his left wrist which deprived him of the use of 264 CAPTURE OF DERNE. his hand, and of course of his rifle also. Lieutenant O'Ban- non, accompanied by Mr. Mann of Annapolis, pressed for- ward with his marines, Greeks, and such of the cannoniers, as were not necessary to the management of the field piece ; passed through a shower of musketry from the walls of the houses ; took possession of the battery ; planted the Star spangled Banner upon its ramparts ; and turned its guns upon the enemy ; who, being now driven from their outposts, fired only from their houses, from which they were soon dislodged, by the whole fire from the vessels being directed into them. The Bashaw soon got possession of the Bey's palace ; his cavalry flanked the flying enemy ; and, a little after four o'clock, the allies had complete possession of the town. The action lasted above two hours and a half. The governor and his adherents fled, some to the desert, and others to the ad- vancing Tripolitan army, which, on the morning of the 27th was within fourteen hours march of Derne. Of the few Christians who fought on shore there were fourteen killed or wounded ; three of whom were marines ; the rest being chiefly Greeks, who, thr'^ughout the whole affair, well sup- ported their ancient character.* On the 13th of May, the reigning Bashaw, came up with a strong force and attempted to recover the place, but was re- pulsed ; and on the 10th of June he sustained another defeat. Immediately after these events the American fleet was reinforced by the arrival of the Constitution frigate. While affairs thus wore a triumphant aspect, and while the capital was in alarm of im- mediate attack, Colonel Lear, the consul, thought fit to listen to overtures from the enemy and conclude a peace. It comprehend- ed the delivery of the prfsoners on both sides ; there being a balance of 200 in favour of the Bashaw, for which 60,000 dollars were to be paid. All co-operation was to be mth- drawn from Hamet, in whose favour it was only stipulated, that his wife and children should be released. Whatever may have been the real advantage gained to the United States by this treaty, and the sudden termination ot * General Eaton's letter to Samuel Barron, the Commander-in-chief CAPTURE OF UERNE. 265 hostilities ; yet there has existed but one opinion among the American people, as to the probable consequences of the longer continuance of the war. Eaton, supported by the navy, would, in all human probability, have penetrated to Tripoli; deposed the reigning Bashaw; elevated Hamet, the ally of the United States; liberated the American captives without ransom ; and settled an advantageous commercial con- vention with the restored Hamet. Though it may be alleged, that there is uncertainty in the issue of battle, it is, nevertheless, believed, that the treaty under existing circumstances, was to be regretted ; not on account of the paltry sum of $60,000; but, from an aversion, purely national, to the purchase of peace, with money. The objection does honour to the American people; and acquires additional weight, from peace having been already earned by the enterprise, and nearly secured by the sword of an Amer- ican soldier. The released prisoners sailed for the United States, in the frio-ate President where they arrived on the 6th of August. Thus terminated the campaign in Africa.* * Ramsay. CHAPTER XIII. The North-west War, and the Tippecanoe War. F T E R (he termination of the Revolu- tionary struggle, the hardy pioneers of our western frontiers, had still a bloody war to maintain with the sav- ages by whom they were surrounded. During that struggle the Indians had taken a decided part with the British, Ix^'^^^^^^^^ and now that peace was concluded, many of th 'r tribes refused to lay down their arms, and still continued their merciless ravages on the back-settlers. The Northern Indians in 1790, were supposed to amount to five thousand warriors; of these about fifteen hundred were at open war with the United States; and, of the residue in that quarter, several tribes were far from being friendly. They were now much more formidable, than the early English rolonists had found them. They no longer depended on bows 266 "gr. THECREEKWAR. 267 and arrows, for the purposes of attack and defence. Seventy years had elapsed, since the French began to instruct them in the use of fire-arms, tomahawks and swords. In the several wars, which had taken place in that period, and particularly in the late war of the Revolution, they had acquired a con- siderable knowledge of discipline. In natural courage they were never deficient, though, in bodily strength, they were inferior to the Virginians, and other descendants of Europeans ; especially such of them, as inhabited the hilly country of the west. In the south, the Creek Indians, whose fighting men amounted to six hundred, were at war with Georgia. Their chief, McGillivray, was irritated, because of the confiscation of the property of his father, who was a white man, and had been a tory. The state of Georgia claimed a tract of land on the Oconee, under a purchase, the validity of which the In- dians denied. The whole regular force of the United States was less than six hundred men. Under such circumstances, policy as well as humanity to the natives, and a regard to justice, pointed out negotiation and pacific measures, as most proper to be pursued. A treaty was opened with the Creek Indians in Georgia; but was soon broken otT by McGillivray, who was supposed to be partially influenced by his Spanish neighbours. To remove all bias from that quarter, a proposi- tion was made to him, to treat with the United States, at New York. This being accepted, he, and several of the head men of his nation repaired thither, and on the 7th of August, 1790, they concluded a treaty with the United States, which satisfied both parties, and preserved the peace of that quarter of the Union.* Pacific overtures were also made to the North-western Indi- . ans ; but were rejected. Vigorous hostile measures became, therefore, necessary. Experience had proved, that offensive operations, carried into the towns and settlements of the Indi- ans, were the most efficient means of procuring peace, and securing the frontiers, exposed to their incursions. Accord * Moore. Ramsay. Sparks. 17 268 HARMAR'S EXPEDITION. ingly in September 1790, General Harmar was sent forward with three hundred and twenty regulars, who, being rein- forced by the militia of Pennsylvania and Kentucky, formed a corps of one thousand four hundred and fifty-three men. The Indians on his approach set fire to their villages; but this was nothing, unless they could be brought to an engagement. Harmar, however, instead of advancing himself with the main body, sent forward Colonel Harden, with two hundred and thirty men, of whom only thirty were regulars. They were attacked ; the militia fled ; the others were nearly cut off. The general then sent forward Harden with three hundred and sixty men, who speedily encountered another large body. After a brave contest, in which this party lost nearly half their num- ber, they retreated on the main body. Harmar claimed the victory, on what ground it is difl^icult to discern. His con- duct in keeping behind and encountering the enemy with these small detachments seems most unaccountable ; yet, on being tried by a court-martial, he w^as acquitted. To retrieve this failure, Washington obtained authority to raise two thousand men for six months' service ; not likely to constitute a very efficient force. From various difficulties it could not be forwarded till the end of 1791, when it w^as placed under General St Clair, governor of the north-western territory. The object was to destroy the settlements on the Miami, and expel the natives from that district. St Clair, with fourteen hundred men, advanced on the 3d of November to the vicinity of these villages, where he took post to await re- inforcements. Before sunrise next day the troops were roused by the sound of the Indian war-cry ; the enemy were in the camp, and in a few minutes had penetrated throughout, and even to the rear. Invisible death continued to pour in from every side ; the assailants, stretched on the ground, or lurking behind trees, were seen only as they sprung from one covert to another. As usual, a number of the militia fled, when the others, with broken ranks, bore the whole brunt, and the officers, who were veteran and brave, became fatally exposed. Several charges were made with the bayonet ; but in this ST CLAIR'S DEFEAT. 269 scene of confusion they could not be effectively followed up St Clair at length saw no alternative but to order a retreat, which was effected in the utmost confusion. His loss amount- ed to six hundred and thirty-one killed, among whom were General Butler and thirty-seven other officers, and two hun- dred and sixty-three wounded. Yet by a committee of in- quiry in Congress he was fully acquitted, which we cannot but think another instance of extreme leniency, since it seems impossible to consider him as having taken due precaution against surprise. This intelligence fell like a thunderbolt upon the govern- ment, which had already to struggle against a strong spirit of discontent. It was easy to foresee, what indeed immediately ensued, that all the treaties would be dissolved, and a general savao-e confederacy formed against the United States. Wash- ington, impressed with the necessity of having some kind of regular force, proposed to raise three regiments of infantry for three years, which, with a squadron of cavalry, would give a total of five thousand. The opposition strongly objected, arraigning the origin of the war, insisting that it should now be purely defensive, and that the border militia were the best fitted for it,— a most delusive idea, when their conduct had been its chief cause. The motion was carried ; but such a strong desire of peace was manifested, that Washington, though with scarcely a hope of success, sent two distinguished officers with proposals ; but both were unhappily murdered by the savages. The Miami and Wabash Indians opened com- munications with all the tribes that had entered into the treaty at Fort Harmar, and even with part of the Creeks and Chero- kees. A meeting was held of sixteen nations, in which it was determined to accept of no terms short of making the Ohio the boundary between them and the States. Though St Clair had been acquitted, he was not continued in the command; his place being supplied by General Wayne. That officer, however, could not fully bring forward his strength till the summer of 1794. He then, with two thou- sand six hundred regulars and one thousand and twenty-nine 270 WAYNE'S EXPEDITION. mounted militia, advanced along the Miami. On the 7th of July, Major M'Mahon, occupying a fortified post, was attack- ed by a strong body, who were repulsed ; yet they rallied, and kept up a fire during the whole day. He lost twenty-two killed and thirty wounded, four of the former being officers. Wayne now pushed forward upon their main fort of Grand Glaize, which he reached on the 8th August. It had been precipitately abandoned the preceding evening, and, he believes, would have been surprised had not a deserter from his own army given warning. He then advanced upon the main body, drawn up at six miles distance under cover of a British fort. Major Price commanding his vanguard, was driven back, but the troops soon after came in view of the enemy. They held a position well fitted for their peculiar warfare, being within a thick wood, encumbered with felled trees; and their line, in three divisions, within supporting distance, ex- tended two miles. Wayne had the sagacity to discover, that against this enemy, so posted, a regular fire in line would be wholly ineffective. He directed his troops to march through the wood with trailed arms, then with the bayonet rouse the enemy from their covert, and when they were up, pour in a close, well-directed fire, followed up by a brisk charge. The cavalry, in two bodies, under General Scott and Captain Campbell, were by a circuitous route, to come on their right and left flanks. The attack, however, made by the foremost line according to the above directions, was attended with such immediate success, that the second line and the cavalry only partially came into action. The enemy was dislodged from their position, and driven in confusion through the woods, till they found shelter under the guns of the English fort. The American loss amounted to one hundred and seven killed and wounded. That of the enemy was much greater. Wayne now laid waste the country, destroying the villages for fifty miles on each side of the Miami ; then returned to Grand Glaize, and began fortifying his positions. Though his triumph deterred many tribes from joining the cause, the main enemy remained in arms, while his own forces were moulder- TREATY OF GREENVILLE. 271 ing away, through the unhappy system of temporary enlistment. The miUtia ought to have remained till the 14th of November; but by the middle of October they were seized, he says, with such violent symptoms of homesickness, that it became neces- sary to dismiss them. The legion was reduced to a skeleton; and by May next, the period of service for all would expire. The forts were becoming tolerably strong, but were in great danger of being left without garrisons ; so that unless extraor- dinary exertions were made to reinforce the army, it would have fought, bled, and conquered in vain. . Secretary Picker- ing was thus obliged to give to Congress the unwelcome inti- mation, that an additional force would be necessary, even to maintain a defensive attitude. The Indians, however, appear to have been stunned by the blow, and by seeing, doubdess, that there was a method by which they could be vanquished. A number moved westward, and some even crossed the Mississippi. They were probably finally determined by the evacuation of all the western forts by Britain in June 1795. On the 16th, four chiefs came and presented the calumet of peace, and were followed, on the 3d of July, by a more nu- merous deputation, all declaring their desire of a treaty with the Fifteen Fires. Their reception was courteous ; two forfeit- ed lives of their countrymen were spared ; and the negotiation, proceeding with the most favourable disposition, terminated in the treaty of Greenville, in which ten nations were included. A considerable cession of land was required ; in other respects, the terms were the same as on former occasions.* This decisive victory of General Wayne, did not entirely exempt the Western States from the horrors of Indian warfare. British influence still continued to embroil the natives and the settlers of the western borders in continual strife. Nor was this the only exciting cause for Indian hostilities. A confed- eration of Indians, under the command of Tecumseh — a daring and sagacious man, and an able military leader, — and his brother, a Shawanese impost er known by the name of " the * Murray. 272 GOVERNOR HARRISON. Prophet," — had been formed, and had for some time excited the vigilance of the Indiana government. In the autumn of 1811, the murders and other outrages committed by these savages, determined the government to adopt measures for the protection of the exposed citizens against frontier molestation. A small force of regulars and militia was assembled at Vincen- nes, and placed under the command of William Henry Harri- son, Governor of the Indiana Territory, with instructions to march to the Prophet's Town or Tippecanoe, and demand a restoration of the property, carried off by his partisans. He was also authorized to obtain redress by coercive measures, if necegsary.* On the 6th of November, Governor Harrison arrived before the town. Messengers from the Prophet were sent out to meet him; and, after an interview, in which it was mutually agreed that no hostilities should take place before the next morning, when amicable conferences were to be held, the army proceeded to a creek north-west of the village, and bivouacked on a bank of dry oak land, considerably elevated, and situated between two prairies. The infantry, in two columns, occupied the front and rear, separated on the left, one hundred and eighty yards, and on the right about half that distance. The left flank was covered by two companies of mounted riflemen, containing one hundred and fifty, rank and file, commanded by Major- General Wells, of Kentucky; and the right flank, by Spencer's troop of mounted riflemen, to the number of eighty. The front line was composed of one bat- talion of the fourth regiment of the United States' infantry, un- der the command of Major Floyd, flanked on the right by two companies of militia, and on the left by one. The rear line was formed of another battalion of the fourth United States' infantry, under Captain Baer, acting Major, flanked by four companies of militia under Lieutenant Colonel Decker. Two troops of dragoons, sixty strong, took post in the rear of the left flank ; and another, somewhat stronger, in the rear of the * Ramsay. BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 273 front line. To guard against a night attack, the order of en- campment was appointed the order of battle ; and each man rested upon his arms. One flank was protected by two Captain's guards, each of four non-commissioned officers, and forty two privates ; and the other by two subaltern's guards, each of twenty non-com- missioned officers and privates. Just before reveille, on the morning of the 7th of November 1811, an attack com- menced on the left flank, and the pickets were driven in. The first notice of the approach of the enemy was the usual yells of the savages within a short distance of the lines. They had violated the armistice agreed upon to subsist until the ensuing day ; which, it would seem, they had pro- posed with a view to gain an opportunity of surprising their adversaries, in their usual manner. Nothing but the precau- tion of encamping in order of battle, and the deliberate firm- ness of the officers in counteracting the effects of a surprise, saved the army from total defeat. The storm first fell upon Captain Barton's regulars, and Captain Geiger's mounted ri- flemen, Some Indians forced themselves through the line, and penetrated into the encampment, where they were killed. The companies thus suddenly and severely attacked, were reinforced with all possible speed. A heavy fire then opened, to the left of the front, immediately on the regu- lar companies of Captains Baer, Snelling and Prescott. A gallant charge by the cavalry, from the rear of the front line, under Major Daviess, was ordered for the purpose of break- ing the Indians, who appeared in great force among some trees a few yards distant in front. The Major received a mor- tal wound and his men were driven back by superior numbers of the enemy. Captain Snelling's Company then char- ged with fixed bayonets, and the enemy were dislodged. The enemy's fire now extended along the left flank, the whole of the front, the right flank, and part of the rear line. Upon Spencer's mounted riflemen, and the right of Warwick's company, it was excessively heavy. Captain Spencer, and his first and ■second Lieutenants were killed ; and 274 PROPHET'S TOWN BURNT Captain Warwick fell, mortally wounded. The troops, not- withstanding the fall of their officers bravely maintained their posts, until reinforced. Day approached, when Major Wells, reconnoitering the position of the enemy on the left, charged and broke them. At this favouring moment, a small detach- ment from the cavalry dashed furiously upon the retreating Indians, and precipitated them into a marsh. Simultaneously with these successful efforts on the left, the enemy were charged on the right by the companies of Captain Cook and Lieutenant Larabie, supported by the mounted riflemen, who pursued and killed a number of the Indians in their flight. The effect of these resolute charges was the complete dispersion of the enemy, who fled in all directions. The Americans lost, in killed and wounded one hundred and eighty-eight men. That of the Indians was estimated at one hundred and fifty. On the 9th of November, General Harrison burned the Prophet's town, and laid waste the surrounding districts, and soon after returned, with his forces into the settled country. Many of the Indian tribes, now submitted to the authorities and sued for peace, Tecumseh, at the time of the battle of Tippecanoe was in the south, instigating the Creeks to join his confederacy.* * Hinton. CHAPTER XIV. Causes of the war of 1812. T the time when Great Britain, by the treaty of Paris, conclu- ded in 1783, acknowledged the independ- ence of the United States, she did not, by any means, re- sign all hope of again becoming the possessor, of that bright jewel in her diadem, her American colonies. No, she acknowledged the "freedom, sovereignty, and independence of the United States," because it was her interest to do so at that time. She found that she could not compel her colonies to subjection, and she resolved to try other means. It was thought, that, left to itself, the government established in the infant republic, would soon fall to pieces; that, through the jealousy of the states the clashing of the interests of the several factions, and the want of a more perfect union, Britain would be invited to take peaceable possession of that which she could not obtain by force of arms. American affairs indeed, for many yt;ars after the treaty of Paris wore no favourable aspect, and, had it not been for the bright galaxy of patriotic spirits, with which we were then blessed, it is probable that, at this day, the washes of Britain would have been accomplished, and the United States of America would have passed away from among the nations of the earth. These men, however, by adopting our admirable constitution and organizing 275 276 POLICY OF GREAT BRITAIN. our present form of government, damped the hopes of intrigu- ing England.* She now determined to change her poUcy. From being merely a passive, she determined to become an active, though in some instances, a secret agent for our destruction. Con- trary to express stipulation, the military posts on our north western frontier,! though confessedly within the boundaries of the United States, were still retained ; and her savage al- lies, the Indians, were instigated, and supplied with the means to renew hostilities on the frontier settlers. She is next found extending her territory in the United States, and taking a position on the Miami of the Lakes, from which place, for three campaigns, she supplied the Indians with provisions and ammunition, and prompted them to new and repeated aggres- sions. Wayne's victory in 1794, having put a stop to this part of Britain's plan for desolating the United States, she next turned her attention to the dissolution of the union. Perceiving the geographical distinctness of the eastern states, and mistaking the freedom of political discussion, for a spirit of revolt, she despatched a confidential agent to the capital of Massachu- setts, with instructions to foment discontent with the general government ; to observe the state of public opinion, with re- gard to a war, or a connection with England ; and the com- parative strength of the two great parties into which the coun- try was divided, with the views and designs of that which might ultimately prevail ; It is not improbable," he was told, " that the party which would be successful in obtaining that decided influence which might enable them to direct the public opinion, rather than submit to a continuance of the difficulties and distress to which they were then subject, would exert that influence to bring about a separation from the general union.:]: The failure of this enterprise, forbade its * Armstron g^. Brae kenbrid ge. t The posts thus retained, were Michilimackinac, Detroit, Niagara, Oswegalchi, Point au Fer, and Dutchman's Point. J See Frost's Pictorial United States vol IV. p 76. HENRY'S MISSION. 27Y avowal by the British government, but the number and character of the documents, forwarded to congress, by John Henry, the agent employed by Britain, places the truth of the matter beyond a doubt. While Britain was thus trying the patience of America on land, she was not idle on the ocean. When, in 1793, she became a party in the war against republican France, she found that America, the most active, and finally almost the only maritime neutral power, was reaping a rich harvest by engaging in the commerce between the ports of the belligerent states. In order to put a stop to this, the odious rule of 1756 was revived. That was soon followed by the orders in council of the 8th of January 1793, authorizing the British cruizers to capture and carry into British ports " all vessels, laden wholly, or in part, with corn, flour, or meal, destined to France, or to other countries, if occupied by the arms of that nation." This, it will be at once seen, became the source of intolerable • vexation to American merchants, but bad as it was, it was again exceeded by the orders of the 6th of November of the same year, which were circulated secretly among the British cruizers, and subjected " to capture and adjudication all vessels laden with the produce of any of the colonies of France, or carrying provisions or supplies to such colonies." By this the greater part of the commerce of the United States, was at one blow, swept from the ocean. England, however, not yet content, went on to add other o-rievances, and she soon interdicted all neutral commerce, not only with particular blockaded ports, (which, according to the laws of war, she had a right to do,) but with whole countries and extensive coasts, which would require a naval force ten times as large as that possessed by her, to blockade. Nor did she stop even there. As if to leave nothing untried to drive America into a war, she next invaded the personal rights of our seamen. She claimed the right of entering our merchant vessels, nay, even our vessels of war, and seizing the sailors employed in them, men, owing her no allegiance, and having 278 IMPRESSMENT OF SEAMEN. no connexion of any kind with her policy or arms, and drag- ging them on board her ships of war, making them fight her battles, and obey the orders of men, whether right or wrong, they were told they had no business to inquire. Their whole duty was obedience. And, all this was done under the specious pretext, at first, of searching our merchant vessels for deserters from the British service ; next, it was the right to impress British seamen who had entered and engaged them- selves in American ships ; and, finally, every one who could not prove on the spot, to the satisfaction of the boarding ofilicer, that he was not born in Britain or any of her colonies, was carried away to a most hateful bondage. In this manner, thousands of American citizens were seized and carried to distant ports, where they could not procure proofs of their origin, and those actually produced, were not often regarded. In a report to Congress, it is stated, " that the number impressed since the beginning of the war was four thousand two hundred and twenty-eight, of whom nine hundred and thirty-six had been afterwards discharged on proof of their being American citizens. By far the greater propor- tion of those four thousand and upwards, were native Ameri- cans, and in six hundred and ninety-seven recent cases, only twenty-three were British, and one hundred and five doubtful.* Evils of such magnitude, and continued for such a length of time, could not fail to produce great excitement among the people, and induce something of the same feeling on the part of the government. During Washington's administration, the conduct of Great Britain gave sufficient cause for war ; but he had marked out for himself, the course of conduct, w^hich he has recommended in his farewell address, which was to " beware of the insidious wnles of foreign influence," to keep aloof from European policy, and avoid all entanglement in their wars. He succeeded in effecting the treaty of 1794, by which Britain merely evaded a war for which she was not then prepared. She was not long in recommencing the old disputes again. * Murray. DECLARATION OF WAR, 279 Adams and Jefferson also saw causes sufficien. for war, in the conduct of their old enemy, but they doubted the expedi- ency of the measure. They determined to employ diplomacy, persuasion, arguments, remonstrances; but, unfortunately, with a nation like Great Britain, which makes its own interest and convenience the only text for right and wrong, all these proved unavailing. Madison, also, tried negotiation, until at last, Britain, not wishing further to discuss wrongs which she did not intend to redress, and feeling herself now to be in a condition fit for war, declared officially that " farther negotia- tion was inadmissible." Madison could no longer hesitate. A bill, declaring war against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and their dependencies, passed both houses of Congress. On the 18th of June, 1812, it received the approbation of the president, and, on the next day was by him publicly armounced by proclamation. CHAPTER XV. Campaign of 1812. HE declaration of war, found the Ameri- cans but ill prepared for the contest. The principle of Jefferson's administration had been ri- gid economy, the smallest possible standing force, and an almost entire dependence upon the militia. Yet every effort to give to that body an organized and efficient character had proved abortive. The army in 1808, was reduced to three thousand, and though authority nad since been given to raise it to thirty-five thousand, the nation was so averse to the bondage of a military engagement, that the recruiting went on very slowly. At the declaration of war, it amounted only to eleven thousand eight hundred men, of whom five thousand were employed in garrisoning posts. The only effective force, in fact, consisted of the Ohio and Kentucky mounted militia, who were hardened by incessant and terrible conflicts with the Indian tribes. In the month of April, 1812, the governor of Ohio, was ordered by the president to call out twelve hundred militia. The people of the western states, being unanimous and enthusiastic in favour of the war, this requisition was immediately filled by volunteers, who assembled at Dayton on the 29th of April, and were shortly after placed under the command of William 280 CANADA INVADED. 281 Hull then governor of the Michigan territory, who had served with reputation in the war of the Revolution, and had recentW received the appointment of Brigadier-General in the regular army. With this force, the fourth United States' regiment of infantry, and some detachments of other regiments, he arrived at Detroit on the 5th of July, having been obliged to cut his road for nearly two hundred miles, from the settlements on the Ohio, through a swampy and intricate wilderness. Before they reached Detroit, the soldiers were informed of the declaration of war.* As General Hull had received, before his taking command of the army, discretionary powers to act offensively in case of war, the invasion of Canada was now determined on, and the utmost diligence was used in preparation for that event. The arms of the troops were repaired, a part of the ordnance found in the fort at Detroit was mounted, and every exertion was used by the officers to impress on the minds of the sol- diery the necessity of strict discipline and obedience to orders. On the 12th of July, the army crossed into Canada, with the exception of a small part of one company of militia, that refused to pass the river. They encamped at Sandwich, a little below Detroit, where a proclamation was issued by General Hull. The inhabitants fled in the utmost conster- nation on the approach of the army, but on receiving the pro- clamation, many of them returned to their homes. On the 14th, a company of militia and a rifle corps, under Colonel M'Arthur, were detached to reconnoitre the country. They penetrated to M'Gregor's mills, upon the river La Tranche, or Thames, a short distance from the field of battle where the British army was captured fifteen months afterwards by General Harrison. On the 17th, they returned to camp, having collected a great quantity of provisions, and a number of blankets, besides a considerable quantity of ammunition and other military stores. That part of upper Canada traversed by the detachment is * Murray. Hist. Reg. vol. ii. Frost's U. S. Ramsay. 282 COLONEL CASS RECONNOITRES. described by one of the volunteers that composed it as extremely fertile and beautiful. The fields of wheat and Indian corn were remarkable fine ; but as ever}- male capable of bearing arms had been drafted for the defence of the province, vast quantities of the wheat remained ungathered. On the 16th, another reconnoitering party of two hundred and eighty men, under Colonel Cass, was despatched in an opposite direction, towards Fort Maiden, where the British and Indians had concentrated their forces. Maiden, or Amherstburgh, is situated near the the junction of Detroit river with Lake Erie, about thirteen miles south from the camp of General Hull at Sandwich. The road lies along the river, and crosses two creeks, and the river Aux Canards, the latter about four miles from Maiden. Cass's de- tachment found the British advanced posts in possession of a bridge over the Aux Canards. After examining their position the colonel posted a company of riflemen near the bridge, and forded the river about five miles above, with the remainder of his force, with the intention of surprising the British post. For that purpose, the riflemen were instructed to commence firing, in order to divert the attention of the enemy, as soon as they should perceive their companions on the opposite side of the river. Unfortunately, however, being entirely destitute of guides, the detachment marched too near the bank of the river, and found their progress checked by a creek, which obliged them to make a circuit of two or three miles. This gave the enemy time to make their arrangements, and prepare for their defence. On being attacked, however, they retreat- ed to Maiden, and left the bridge in possession of the detach- ment ; but as Colonel Cass had received no orders to keep possession of any post, but had been sent merely to re- connoitre ; this bridge, which formed the principal obstruction between the American camp and Maiden, was abandoned, and the detachment returned to camp. Meanwhile the main body of the Americans remained inactive at Sandwich. Not a single cannon or mortar was on wheels suitable for the attack of Maiden ; nor was it until the INDIAN OPERATIONS, 283 7th of August, that two twenty-four pounders and three howitzers were prepared. Previous to that day, however, a great change had taken place in the prospect of the Ameri- cans. The news of the surprise and capture of the island and fort of Michillimackinac by a combined force of British and Indians, which took place on the 17th of July, reached the the army on the 28th. The surrender of this post is stated by General Hull to have " opened the northern hive of Indians," and to have induced those who had hitherto been friendly, to pass over to the British. By the fall of Michillimackinac, the junction of the Indians, and the reinforcements, both of militia and regulars, which the inactivity of the Americans enabled the British to collect for the defence of Maiden, it soon became evident that no effective measures towards the reduction of Canada could be undertaken by this army. In the meantime the Indians had crossed the Detroit, and cut off the communication of the American army with the state of Ohio, on which they depended for their supplies. As a small reinforcement of volunteers, with a quantity of provisions for the army, was daily expected by this route, a corps of two hundred men w^as detached on the 4th of August to open the communication. This detachment fell into an ambuscade which was formed by the Indians at Brownstown, where they were totally defeated, and returned to camp without effecting the object of their expedition. It being indispensably necessary to open the communica- tion with Ohio, General Hull resolved to suspend the opera- tions against Maiden, and to concentrate the main force of the army at Detroit. Unwilling, however, to abandon the inhabitants of upper Canada, many of whom had accepted his protection under the proclamation, he established a fortress on the banks of the river, a little above Sandwich, w^here he left a garrison of three hundred men. The remainder of the army recrossed the river, and encamped at Detroit, on the evening of the 7th and the morning of the 8th of August. In pursuance of the object of opening the communication, 18 284 TECUMSEH. six hundred men were immediately detached under Lieutenant- Colonel Miller. This detachment consisted principally of the regular troops, and a corps of artillerists, with one six pounder and a howitzer, a small body of cavalry, and detachments from the Ohio and Michigan volunteers. They marched from Detroit on the evening of the 8th of August, and on the 9th, about four o'clock P. M. the van guard was fired upon by an extensive line of British and Indians, at the lower part of the Maguago, about fourteen miles from Detroit. The van guard maintained their position in a most gallant manner, under a very heavy fire, until the line was formed, when the whole, excepting the rear guard, was brought into action. The enemy were formed behind a temporary breast-work of logs, the Indians extending in a thick wood on their left. The Americans advanced till within a small distance of the enemy, where they made a general discharge, and then pro- ceeded with charged bayonets. The enemy maintained their position till forced at the point of the bayonet, when they com- menced a retreat. They were pursued in the most vigorous manner, about two miles, when the pursuit was discontinued on account of the fatigue of the troops, the approach of evening, and the necessity of returning to take care of the wounded. The Indians in this battle were under the command of Tecumseh, and are said to have fought with great obstinacy. The British regulars and volunteers in this action are stated in General Hull's despatch to have amounted to four hundred, with a larger number of Indians : the Americans were six hundred in number. The American loss was eighteen killed, and sixty-four wounded : that of the British was not ascertained. Four of the regulars were made prisoners, who stated that the commander, Major Muir, and two subalterns, were wounded, and that fifteen were killed and wounded of the 41st regiment ; and as the militia and volunteers Avere in the severest part of the action, their loss must have been much greater. About forty Indians were found dead on the field ; and Tecumseh, their leader, was slightly wounded. CANADA EVACUATED, 285 Nothing, however, but honour was gained by this victory. The communication was opened no farther than the pomts of their bayonets extended ; and the necessary care of the sick and wounded, and a severe storm of rain, rendered their return to camp indispensably necessary. Boats had been sent from Detroit to transport the wounded thither by water ; but the attempt was found impracticable. The boats being des- cried from Maiden, the Hunter and Queen Charlotte were despatched in pursuit, and they were forced to convey the wounded from the boats into the woods, and there leave them until wagons could be procured from Detroit. It was now determined entirely to abandon Canada, and accordingly the fort at Sandwich was evacuated and destroyed. Suspicions of treachery in the general, which had begun to arise immediately after the return of the army to Detroit, had now become very prevalent among the troops. A letter was written to Governor Meigs of Ohio, by five of the principal officers, begging him instantly to make every effort to open the communication, and informing him of their fears and sus- picions. On the 14th of August, another attempt was made to pene- trate to the river Raisin, where it was understood the detach- ment from Ohio had arrived with the provisions. Colonels M' Arthur and Cass selected three hundred of the most effective men, and set off" by an upper route through the woods. The same day the British began to erect batteries opposite Detroit. On the 15th, General Brock despatched two officers, with a flag of truce, from Sandwich, which had previously been taken possession of by the British, requiring the surrender of Fort Detroit to the arms of his Britannic Majesty, and threat- ening that the Indians would be beyond his control the moment the contest commenced. General Hull, in his answer, replied, that he was ready to meet any force which might be at his disposal, and any consequences which might result from his exertion of it. On the return of the flag of truce, the BriUsh commenced a fire upon Detroit from their 286 SURRENDER OF DETROIT. batteries, which was vigorously returned from the American fort. The British continued to fire and throw shells till ten o'clock that night, and at break of day the firing was renewed on both sides. During the night the ships of war had moved up the river, nearly as high as Detroit, and the British and Indians landed under cover of their guns, and were advancing towards the fort, when General Hull ordered a white flag to be hoisted, and the firing to be discontinued. The firing from the oppo- site side was immediately stopped, and a parley was held, when articles of capitulation were agreed upon, by which Fort De- troit, with all the troops, regulars as well as militia, with all the public stores, arms, and every thing else of a public na- ture, were surrendered to the British. The militia and volunteers were to be permitted to go home, on condition of not serving again till exchanged. The detachment with the provisions at the river Raisin, and that under Colonel M'Arthur, which had been sent to meet it, were included in the surrender. It was stipulated that private persons and pro- perty of every description should be respected. Shortly after this capitulation took place, Colonel M' Arthur's detachment returned to Detroit, their attempt to penetrate to the river Raisin having proved equally unsuccessful with the former ones. When they arrived within a mile of that place, they learned its surrender, on which a council was held, when it was determined to send an officer to the fort with a flag of truce. In the evening he returned with two British officers, who informed them that they were prisoners of war. The de- tachment then marched to Detroit, where they stacked their arms on the citadel. The day following the surrender of the army, a British offi- cer arrived at the river Raisin, and delivered to Captain Brush, the commander of the detachment from Ohio, copies of the capitulation, and of a letter from Colonel M'Arthur, stating that his force was included in the surrender. At first these papers were considered forgeries, and the officer and his party were put into confinement ; but their truth being confirmed by SURRENDER OF DETROIT. 287 several soldiers who had made their escape from the garrison at Detroit, a council of the officers was held to consider what was proper to be done. This council decided that General Hull had no right to capitulate for them, and that they were not bound by his acts; and they accordingly concluded in- stantly to return to Ohio, and to carry with them all the pub- lic property that was possible. It was determined, however, that it would be improper to destroy those public stores that could not be carried off, as there were a number of American families who had taken refuge in the fort, and some soldiers, who were too sick to be removed, had to be left behind. It was likewise conceived, that the destruction of the stores might induce the enemy to deal more rigidly with the garrison at Detroit. These resolutions of the council were immediately carried into effect, and the detachment returned to the settlements. Twenty-five pieces of iron, and eight of brass ordnance fell into the hands of the British at Detroit ; several of the latter being pieces which had been surrendered by Burgoyne on the same day, thirty-five years before, viz, the 16th of August, 1777. Twenty-five hundred muskets and rifles, and a considerable quantity of ammunition, likewise fell into their hands. The reason stated by general Hull for this unfortunate sur- render, were, the great inferiority of his force to that of the enemy, joined to the numerous band of Indians, who were daily increasing in number ; the hazardous situation in which the detachment under Colonels M'Arthur and Cass was placed ; and the impossibility of furnishing his army with the necessary supplies of provisions, military stores, clothing, and comforts for the sick, on pack horses, through a wilderness of two hundred miles, filled with hostile savages. The contest, he observes, could not have been sustained more than a day for the want of powder, and but a very few days for the want of provisions. " A large portion," continues he, " of the brave and gallant officers and men I commanded, would cheerfully have contested until the last cartridge had been ex- 288 SURRENDER OF DETROIT. pended, and the bayonets worn to the sockets. I could not consent to the useless sacrifice of such brave men, when I knew it was impossible for me to sustain my situation." * Thus ended, in discomfiture and disgrace, the first campaign of the British war. That it was boldly planned, and improvi- dently undertaken, hardly admits of a doubt ; but it is equally clear, that the principal part of the subsequent disasters must be attributed to a deficiency of judgment or courage in the commanding officer. The surprise with which the orders to surrender were received by the army, was only equalled by their indignation. General Hull was publicly accused of imbecility and cowardice ; and on his exchange, he was brought to trial before a court-martial, found guilty of cow- ardice and un-officer-like conduct, and sentenced to be shot. In consequence of his age, however, and revolutionary services he was recommended to the mercy of the President, who remitted the capital punishment, but ordered his name to be stricken from the rolls of the army — a punishment worse than death. By the issue of this unfortunate expedition besides the loss of men and arms at Detroit, a weak frontier of vast extent was exposed to the brutality of Indian warfare, which continued for twelve months to harass the western settlements, and the territory of Michigan was occupied as a British province. As soon as governor Meigs received the letter which we have mentioned as written to him by some of the officers at Detroit, he began to make preparations for the raising of an additional army. No sooner did the intelligence of the capitulation of Hull and surrender of Detroit become known, than an army sprung, as it were, from the dust, with the determination to revenge the loss of their friends and relatives, and retrieve the tarnished honour of their country. All classes and ages appeared to be animated with the same military ardour, and volunteers poured in so fast from all parts of Kentucky and Ohio, that it became necessary to repress the * Historical Reorister. HARRISON IN COMMAND. 289 ardour of the citizens, and many were discharged, and with difficulty prevailed on to return to their homes. General Harrison, was invested by the Governor of Kentucky, with the command of the militia of the state with the rank of Major- General and on the 29th of August put his troops in motion from Cincinnati. His first operations were directed to the re- lief of the frontier posts. He arrived at Piqua on the 30th of September with about two thousand five hundred men, whence, after completing his arrangements and receiving his military stores, he marched on the 6th for Fort Wayne, a post situated at the confluence of the rivers St. Mary and St. Joseph, which after their junction assume the name of the Miami of the Lake. This post had been for some time invested by hostile Indians, but, on hearing of the approach of Harrison they precipitately retreated, and the army arrived at the fort, without opposition, on the 12th of September. Not being able immediately to move on towards Detroit, on account of the want of proper supplies, Harrison determined to employ the intermediate time in breaking up the towns of the hostile Indian tribes. For this purpose two expeditions were organized, one of which was destined against the Miami towns, situated upon the Wabash, a little below its confluence with the Tippecanoe river, the other against the Potawatamie villages, which stand on a river called St. Joseph, which falls into lake Michigan. Both of these detachments were suc- cessful. Nine villages were burnt, and all the corn cut up and destroyed, in order that the want of provisions might force the Indians to leave that part of the country. A few days after the return of the troops from those expedi- tions, general Winchester arrived at Fort Wayne with addi- tional reinforcements. Winchester had been originally des- tined to the command of this army by the president ; Harrison, who was governor of the Indiana territory, had merely been appointed a major-general by brevet by the governor of Kentucky, and by him placed in the command pro tempore^ on account of the urgency of the occasion. On the arrival 290 HARRISON AT FORT WAYNE. of Winchester, Harrison accordingly relinquished the com- mand, and set out for his own territory with a body of mounted men, for the purpose of breaking up the Indian settlements in that quarter. He had not proceeded far, however, before he received, by express, a commission from the president, constituting him commander-in-chief of the north-western army, general Winchester to act as second in command. These counteracting measures are said to have been owing to the ignorance of the president, at the time of Winchester's appointment, of the brevet appointment of Harrison, and to the general expression of confidence in the latter by the Ken- tuckians having reached the seat of government shortly after. Fortunately the measure created neither jealousy nor dislike on either side. General Harrison arrived at Fort Wayne, and resumed the command on the 23d of September. The day previous to his arrival general Winchester had marched for Fort Defiance with two thousand men, consisting of four hundred regulars, a brigade of Kentucky militia, and a troop of horse.* His design was to take possession of the fort, and there await the arrival of reinforcements from Kentucky and Ohio. The country, through which he w^as obliged to pass, presented difl[iculties of no ordinary nature, by reason of the almost impenetrable thickets and marshes, with which it is covered. The progress of the army was therefore very slow, seldom exceeding five or six miles in twenty four hours. From the apprehensions entertained of an attack by the Indians, it was thought necessary to fortify the camp every night ; and the march of the army was always preceded by a reconnoit- ring party of spies. On the 25th, ensign Ligget, of the advanced party, obtained permission to proceed, with four volunteers, for the purpose of discovering the strength of the enemy at Fort Defiance. Late on the same evening they were attacked by a party of Indians, and, after defending themselves with great valour, were overpowered', and the whole party put to death. Subsequently to this affair various skirmishes * Historical Register. Tr- FORT WAYNE THREATENED. 291 took place between the spies in advance and the savage forces, which had the effect of impeding the march of the army, and harassing the men. The Indians appear to have been the advanced party of an army destined to attack Fort Wayne, which consisted of two hundred regulars, with four pieces of artillery, and about one thousand savages, the whole under the command of Major Muir. The intelligence, however, of the approach of the force under Winchester, the numbers of which were consid- erably exaggerated, and the report of an additional body being on the Au Glaize, caused an abandonment of the project, and a retreat down the Miami. General Winchester, who was ignorant of the motions of his enemy, proceeded with great caution, fortifying his camp as usual, at night, and sending re- connoitring parties in all directions. The army had now be- gan to suffer severely from a want of provisions. Colonel Jen- nings, who had been despatched by General Harrison, down the Au Glaize with a supply, not being able to reach Fort De- fiance from the presence of the enemy. An escort was there- fore sent forward by General Winchester; and after great difficulty and labour, the supplies were conveyed to the army on pack-horses. An express, had, in the meantime, been de- spatched to General Harrison, acquainting him with the situation of the troops and the force of the enemy ; and, on the 30th of September, the army took possession of Fort De- fiance, from which the enemy had previously retreated, and where General Harrison arrived with a part of his forces on the 3d of October.* On the 4th Harrison, having left at Fort Defiance the force which constituted the left wing of the army, under general Winchester, returned to bring up the centre and right wing. On the day of his departure, he ordered general Tupper, with the mounted troops under his command, consisting of nearly one thousand men, to proceed on an expedition to the Rapids. This expedition was never carried into effect. Its failure arose partly from the undisciplined state of the troops which had been * Ramsay. 292 EXPEDITION TO THE RAPIDS. selected for the enterprise, and partly from a disagreement which took place between their commander and general Win- chester. The inefficiency of raw militia was perhaps never more strikingly displayed than on this occasion. General Tupper, after returning with his mounted volun- teers to Urbanna, was despatched with the centre of the north-western army, consisting of a regiment of regulars, and the Ohio volunteers and militia, to Fort M 'Arthur. The right wing, consisting of a brigade of Pennsylvania, and a brigade of Virginia militia, were stationed at Sandusky. Shortly after his arrival at Fort M'Arthur, general Tupper organized another expedition for the purpose of proceeding to the Rapids of the Miami. He left the fort on the 10th, with a force consisting of upwards of six hundred men, the soldiers carrying provisions in their knapsacks for five days. On the evening; of the 13th, being: then about thirteen miles from the rapids, an officer was despatched to examine the situation of the enemy, by whom it was ascertained that the British and Indians still occupied the settlements and fort at the rapids, and that the boats and vessels lay a little below. In consequence of this information the detachment halted until sunset, when they proceeded to a ford about two miles and a half above the rapids, whence scouts were again detached to observe more particularly the situation and force of the enemy. The necessary information being soon re- ceived, the troops were ordered to cross the river, in order to attack the enemy at the dawn of day. Unfortunately, how- ever, it was impracticable for the troops to cross. Every ex- pedient that could be devised was unavailing, and a number of men who were swept down the rapids were with difficulty saved, with the loss of their muskets and ammunition. In the morning, convinced that he was unable to reach the enemy. General Tupper ordered the spies to endeavour to decoy them over ; and they accordingly proceeded down and discovered themselves. The stratagem, however, proved unsuccessful ; for though a few Indians crossed the river, they were too cautious to be drawn within the lines. The mam BATTLE ON THE MIAMI. 293 body was then marched down the Miami, opposite to the en- campment of the enemy. They appeared in considerable disorder as the advanced guard opened from the woods. The British, who were in the vessels and boats, immediately slipped their cables and proceeded down the river. The Indian women were seen running off on the road leading to Detroit ; the men commenced a fire at the detachment from their muskets and a four pounder. General Tupper having observed a number of mounted Indians proceeding up the river, and fearful of the camp being surprised, ordered the detachment to return. When within about a mile of the encampment, some of the soldiers, pi-essed probably by hunger, the provisions being now entirely ex- hausted, fired upon a drove of hogs, contrary to orders, and pursued them nearly half a mile ; others left the ranks, and entered a field to gather corn. At this moment a body of mounted Indians came upon them, killed four men, and then commenced an attack on the rear of the riffht fiank. The column being instantly thrown back, commenced a brisk fire, which caused the Indians to give ground ; but they quickly rallied, and passing along the van-guard, made a violent charge upon the rear of the left column. This column was also thrown briskly back, and every attempt made to break the lines being resisted, in twenty minutes the Indians were driven from the field. Conceiving, however, that the charge of the mounted men was merely intended to throw the troops into disorder to make room for an attack of the foot, General Tupper ordered the right column to move up into marching order, lest that attack should be made on the right flank. This column had scarcely regained their position, when information was received that the Indians were crossing the river in considerable numbers. Tupper im.mediately or- dered the left column to resume their marching order, and proceeded to the head of the right column, where he found that a number of Indians had crossed on horse-back, that some were still in the middle of the river, and about two hundred on the opposite bank. A battalion was immediately 294 S E C O N D A C T I O x\ . ordered to advance and dislodge them. This attack was suc- cessful. The Indians were forced to retire, and several of them were shot from their horses while crossing the river. The horses used by the Indians in this attack are stated to have been much superior to those they had been accustomed to ride. They were high and active ; they were also supplied with pistols and holsters. A number of Indians were shot from their horses ; but they were with great dexterity thrown on again, and carried off the field. Split Log led on several of the charges at the commencement of the attack, mounted on a well trained white horse, from which he sometimes fired, and at other times leaped from him behind a tree. It was sup- posed that he was wounded in the action, as another warrior rode the same horse in some of the last charges. After the retreat of the Indians the detachment were compelled to return with all speed to Fort M'Arthur, as their provisions were consumed, and they had to march forty miles before there was a possibility of supply. On the 13th of December, General Tupper conducted an- other detachment to the rapids, consisting of between one thousand five hundred and two thousand men. On the east side of the Miami, a few miles above the rapids, a body of the enemy was discovered, consisting of three hundred British regulars and six hundred or seven hundred Indians. Having ascertained the position of the enemy, Tupper ordered a small detachment to advance and commence an attack, and then to retreat. This stratagem succeeded. The enemy pursued with impetuosity until they were nearly surrounded, and on being charged, were repulsed on all quarters with considerable slaughter, and put to flight. Fourteen or fifteen of the British, and seventy or eighty Indians, were left on the field. Many were likewise killed in swimming across the river, into which they precipitately plunged, that being their only means of escape. While these operations were carried on on the borders of lake Erie, several expeditions were set on foot against SIEGE OF FORT HARRISON. 295 the Indian settlements in the Indiana and Illinois territories. A portion of the Kentucky volunteers, under General Hopkins, and a corps of Kentucky rangers, commanded by Colonel Russell, were particularly destined for this service. This force having met at Vincennes, it was agreed that Hopkins should first proceed to the relief of Fort Harrison, a post higher up the Wabash, which was at that time invested by the Indians, and should then proceed to the Peoria Indian towns on the river Illinois, where he was to be met by the rangers under Russell. Another detachment, under Captain Craig, was to join them at the same place. This last detachment, was to march up the Illinois river. Captain Taylor, the commander at Fort Harrison, having received information of the approach of the hostile Indians a short time before they made their appearance, had used every precaution that the smallness of his garrison would admit of. The first hostile symptoms appeared on the evening of the 3d of September, when two young men, who had been employed a short distance from the fort, were shot and scalped, and were found in that condition the next morning by a small party that had been sent out to seek them. This circumstance caused them to redouble their vigilance, and the officers of the guard were directed to walk the round all night, in order if possible to prevent any surprise. About 11 o'clock on the evening of the 4th, the garrison being alarmed by the firing of one of the sentinels, every man instantly flew to his post. In a few minutes the cry of fire added to the alarm ; when it was discovered that the lower block-house, in which had been deposited the property of the contractor, had been fired by the Indians. Such was the darkness of the night, that although the upper part of the building was occupied by a corporal's guard as an alarm post, yet the Indians succeeded in firing it undiscovered, and unfor- tunately, a few minutes after the discovery of the fire, it com- municated to a quantity of whiskey that had been deposited there, and immediately ascended to the roof, baffling every effort that was made to extinguish it. As the block-house 296 SIEGE OF FORT HARRISON. adjoined the barracks, which constituted part of the fortifica- tions, most of the men gave themselves up for lost ; and indeed the raging of the fire, the yells of the Indians, and the cries of the women and children (who had taken refuge in the fort,) were sufficient to appal the stoutest heart. Happily the presence of mind of the commander never forsook him. He instantly stationed a part of his men on the roof of the barracks, with orders to tear off that part adjoining the block- house, while the remainder kept up a constant fire on the Indians from another block-house and two bastions. The roof was torn off under a shower of bullets from without, by which, however, only one man was killed and two wounded. By this success the soldiers were inspired with firmness, and now used such exertions, that before day they had not only extinguished the fire, but raised a breast-work five or six feet high in the gap occasioned by the burning of the block-house, although the Indians continued to pour in a heavy fire of ball and showers of arrows during the whole time the attack lasted (which was seven hours,) in every part of the parade. On the first appearance of the fire, two of the soldiers had, in despair, jumped the pickets. One of them returned about an hour before day, and, running up towards the gate, begged for God's sake that it might be opened. On suspicion that this was an Indian stratagem, he was fired at. He then ran to the other bastion, where, his voice being known, he was directed to lie down till daylight behind an empty barrel that happened to be outside of the pickets. This poor fellow was shockingly wounded, and his companion cut to pieces by the Indians. After keeping up a constant fire till six in the morning, which after daylight was returned with considerable effect by the garrison, the Indians retreated out of reach of the guns. They then drove together all the horses and hogs in the neighbourhood, and shot them in sight of their owners. The whole of the horned cattle they succeeded in carrying off. In this attack the Americans had but three killed, and three wounded, including the two that jumped the pickets. Tho FORT HARRISON RELIEVED. 297 Indian loss was supposed to be considerable, but as they always carry off both their dead and wounded, the amount could not be ascertained. At the moment of the attack there were only fifteen effective men in the garrison, the others being either sick or convalescent. The Indians, disheartened by this failure, made no further attempt on the fort, but the garrison still remained in a peril- ous situation, as the greater part of their provisions had been destroyed by the fire, and the loss of their stock prevented future supplies. Captain Taylor therefore attempted to send, by night, two men in a canoe down the river to Vincennes, to make known his situation, but they were forced to return, the river being found too well guarded. The Indians had made a fire on the bank of the river, a short distance be- low the garrison, which gave them an opportunity of seeing any craft that might attempt to pass, with a canoe ready below to intercept it. A more fortunate attempt was made by land, and the garrison was immediately after relieved by the force under General Hopkins, consisting of nearly four thousand men. After the relief of Fort Harrison, Hopkins began his preparations for his expedition against the Peoria towns. They commenced their march on the morning of the 15th of October, and continued it for four days in a direction nearly north. But here again the spirit of insubordination began to show itself. The general states in his official despatch, that having ordered a halt in the afternoon of the 4th day, in a fine piece of grass, for the purpose of refreshing the horses, he was addressed by one of his majors, in the most rude and dic- tatorial manner, requiring him instantly to resume his march, or his battalion would break from the army and return. Of the reply of the general to this modest request we are not in- formed. Next evening, however, an event took place, which seems to have spread the spirit of discontent through the whole detachment. A violent gust of wind having arisen about sun-set, just as the troops had encamped, the Indians set fire to the prairie all around them, which drove furiously 298 MUTINY. on the camp. They succeeded, however, in protecting them- selves by firing the grass around the encampment. Next morning, in consequence of the discontent that pre- vailed, the general called a council of his officers, to whom he stated his apprehensions, the expectations of the country, and the disgrace attending the failure of the expedition ; and, on the other hand, the exhausted state of the horses, and the want of provisions. He then requested the commandants of each regiment to convene the whole of the officers belonsjins; to it, and to take fully the sense of the army on the measures to be pursued ; adding, that if five hundred volunteers turned out he would put himself at their head, and proceed in quest of the Indian towns, and the rest of the army might return to Fort Harrison. In less than an hour the report w^as made al- most unanimously to return. In vain did the general request that he might dictate the course for that day only. His au- thority was now at an end ; and all the effiDrts of the officers were necessary to restore order in the ranks, and to conduct the retreat without danger from the surrounding though unseen foe.* Though this expedition returned almost without obtaining the sight of an enemy, yet it was not altogether unproductive of benefit. The Indians of the neighbouring towns, hearing of its approach, had marched the greater part of their warriors to meet it, lea\ang their villages in a defenceless condition. In this state they were found by Colonel Russell, who had marched upon them in the expectation of meeting with Hopkins' army, and his detachment attacked and defeat- ed those who had been left behind. Having driven them into a swamp, through which the rangers pursued them for three miles, up to their waists in mud and water, he returned and burnt their towns, and destroyed their corn. The number of warriors who advanced to meet Hopkins from those towns IS stated to have amounted to seven hundred ; Russell's force consisted of not more than four hundred men. A consider- able number of Indians were killed in this attack. On the * Historical Register. ! PROPHET'S TOWN DESTROYED. 299 part of the Americans there were only four wounded, none of them mortally. Craig's force was still smaller than that under Russell ; it is stated to have consisted of not more than eighty men. With this small body he marched up the Illinois river, twenty miles above the town destroyed by Russell. Here he attacked an Indian settlement, w^hich he totally destroyed, with all the improvements, and took forty-two prisoners, one of them an Enc^lishman, and a laro;e collection of furs. He returned with his prisoners and booty, without the loss of a man. In the month of November another Indian expedition was undertaken by General Hopkins, with about twelve hundred and fifty men. This was directed against the towns on the Wabash, where the battle of Tippecanoe had been fought about twelve months before. Having left Fort Harrison on the 11th, accompanied with boats for the transportation of provisions, forage, and military stores, Hopkins arrived al the Prophet's town on the 19th, without interruption. Early in the morning of that day, three hundred men were detached to surprise the Winebago town, on Ponce Passu creek, a short distance below the Prophet's. Having surrounded it about the break of day, they were surprised to find it evacu- ated. The party, accordingly, after destroying it, rejoined the main body at the Prophet's town. For three days Hopkins' detachment was employed in achieving the complete destruction of the Prophet's town, and the large Kickapoo village adjoining, the former consis- ting of forty and the latter of one hundred and sixty cabins and huts. They likewise destroyed all their cultivated fields, fences, &c. and constructed works for the defence of the boats and of the encampment. On the 21st a reconnoitring party were attacked by a body of Indians, and one of their number killed. The following day sixty horseman were despatched to bury their comrade, and gain a better knowledge of the ground, but they unfortu- nately fell into an ambuscade, in which eighteen of the party were killed, wounded, or missmg. This party, on their re- 19 300 RETURN TO FORT HARRISON. turn, brought information of a large assemblage of the enemy, who, encouraged by the strength of their camp, appeared to be waiting an attack. Every preparation was accordingly made to march early next morning, to engage the enemy. A violent fall of snow, however, prevented the movement on the 23d ; and the camp was found abandoned on the following day. The position which the Indians had thus abandoned is spoken of as having been remarkably strong. The Ponce Passu, a deep rapid creek, was in their rear, running in a semicircle ; in front was a bluff, one hundred feet high, al- most perpendicular, and only to be penetrated by three steep ravines. On the return of the troops to camp, the river was found so full of ice, as to alarm them for the return of the boats. Hopkins had intended to have spent one week more in endeavouring to find the Indian camps ; but the shoeless, shirtless state of the troops, now clad in the remnants of their summer dress ; a river full of ice ; the hills covered with snow ; and, above all, the uncertainty of finding an enemy ; all these circumstances determined him to return. They accordingly set out on the 25th, and in a few days arrived at Fort Harri- son, having completed a march of upwards of one hundred miles into the Indian country, which is totally devoid of roads, and destroyed three of their principal towns, in the space of less than twenty days. The last Indian expedition of which mention is made, in this quarter, is one which was commanded by Colonel Campbell, consisting of six hundred men, which marched from Greenville (Ohio) against the towns on the Mississinewa, a branch of the Wabash. On the 17th of December, after marching all night, Camp- bell arrived at one of the towns about day-break, which he in- stantly attacked, and the Indians were driven across the Mis- sissinewa river, with the loss of seven killed and thirty-seven pri- soners. Only one American was killed and one wounded in this skirmish. After securing the prisoners, a part of the detach- ment was despatched down the river, who returned the samr^ FRONTIER OPERATIONS. 301 day, having burned three villages without resistance. They then encamped on the ground where the first village stood. The following morning, a little before day-light, the camp was attacked by a body of Indians, supposed to be about three hundred. They commenced their attack on the right, with a horrid yell. After a desperate conflict of about three quarters of an hour, a charge was made by the cavalry, which forced the Indians to retreat, leaving forty killed on the field. In this affair the Americans had eight killed, and twenty-five or thirty wounded. Another attack was anticipated, as information was received that Tecumseh, with four or five hundred warriors, was only fifteen miles from the scene of action; but reinforcements shortly after arriving from Greenville, they effected their re- treat without molestation.* The country which borders on Lake Ontario, bears very little resemblance to that through which the war, the details of which we have just narrated, was carried. The setdements of American citizens extended to the shores of the lakes ; and the fertility of the surrounding country, as well as the excel- lence and security of the communication with the Adantic fronder, afforded every convenience for the operations of regu- lar hostility. The ample bosom of the lakes presented a fair field for the manceuvres of naval warfare, and an easy convey- ance to an invading army. The milida, too, of the states of New York and Pennsylvania, two of the most populous and powerful of the confederacy, had testified a desire to co-oper- ate with the regular force, both in the defence of their terri- tory, and in the prosecution of offensive measures. The northern and eastern frontiers were therefore considered, with reason, those from which the provinces of the enemy could be most efficiently invaded. The American forces on this frontier were stationed at Plattsburg, under Brigadier-General Bloomfield; at Buffalo, under Brigadier-General Smith ; at Sackett's Harbour, Black- Rock, and Ogdenburg, the whole being under the command * Historical Reofister. 302 ATTACK ON QUEENSTOWN. of Major General Dearborn. The militia of the state of New York, amounting to about three thousand five hundred men, and commanded by Major General Van Rensselaer, were then in the service of the United States and stationed at Lewistown. Owing to the repeal of the orders in council and an armis- tice between Sir George Prevost, the Governor General of Canada, and Major General Dearborn, it was late in the sea- son before any action of importance took place between the two armies. The regular officers, and those of the militia were employed in organizing and disciplining their troops, of which both species of force stood very much in need. Several skirmishes had, indeed, taken place betwen small parties, in which great enterprise and bravery were displayed. On the 21st of September, Captain Forsyth, after defeating a superior force of the enemy, captured a small village in Canada, and brought off a considerable quantity of military stores with some prisoners. By way of retaliation for this exploit, an attack was soon after made, on the town of Ogdensburg, by about four hundred British troops, after .a heavy bombard- ment from the opposite shore. They were met, with great gallantry, by the Americans, under Brigadier-General Brown, of the New York militia ; and, after an obstinate contest, were obliged to relinquish their attempt, with the loss of many men. The season for military operations being now far advanced, and the militia, displaying great eagerness to be led against the enemy. General Van Rensselaer, determined to make an attack on the British post at Queenstown; situated on the Canada side of the Niagara, directly opposite to his quarters at Lewistown. The morning of the 11th of October, had been fixed upon for this attempt, but, on account of the tempestuous violence of the weather, and the want of a sufficient number of boats, it was postponed until the morning of the 13th at break of day. There were at Lewistown about two thousand five hundred New York militia, as yet perfectly raw and undisciplined. Two hundred regulars had arrived in detachments from Fort Niagara, under Lieutenant Colonel Fenwick and Chrystie, BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN. 303 and Major Mullany, on the night of the 12th, to join in the expedition. It was intended that Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, of the militia, should have the chief command of the expedition, the plan of which seems to have been this : two columns were to make a simultaneous descent on the British shore, one of about three hundred militia, under Colo- nel Van Rensselaer, the other, consisting of an equal number of regulars from the thirteenth regiment, under Lieutenant Colonel Chrystie. Lieutenant Colonel Fenwick, with Major Mullany's detachment, was to sustain both columns. All the boats which had been collected were divided equally between Colonel Van Rensselaer and Lieutenant Colonel Chrystie, but neither of them had enough to enable hira to embark his whole column at once. This circumstance was productive of the most serious evils ; the troops were brought into action by piece meal, without order or concert, and the boats did not return with any regularity for those who had been left. Colonel Van Rensselaer, however, effected a land- ing with the greater part of the two columns, but Christie was less fortunate ; his boat was soon perforated by the fire of the enemy's artillery, which had been early awakened, and became unmanageable ; he himself was slightly wounded. With some difficulty he regained the American shore, about half a mile below the point of embarkation. The subsequent embarkations were yet more irregular. The number of boats which had been originally provided, about twelve or fourteen, was altogether inadequate, and several of these had been lost early in the attack. The pilots and boatmen became irreso- lute, and finally fled from the ferry. Under these circumstances, about day-break. Lieutenant Colonel Fenwick and Major Mullany embarked as many as they could (about two hundred in all) of the remaining detachment. This division of boats, without pilots was forced, by the violence of the current, upon the enemy's shore, immediately under his batteries ; and the whole detachment was taken, with the ex- ception of Major Mullany, who, with eight or ten men, escaped in a boat. Lieutenant Colonel Fenwick was severely 304 BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN. wounded in three or four places. The troops which had effected their landing were immediately in action ; the enemy gradually gave ground in front of Colonel Van Rensselaer, who, after having advanced one hundred and fifty paces, re- ceived two severe wounds, and was forced to leave the field , not, however, without having first imparted to the officers nearest to him such local information as he possessed with re- spect to the ground to be contested, and endeavoured to ani- mate them to prosecute the attack, by exhortations such as courage dictated. There was now no common commander ; the regulars took the lead, under Captains Wool, Malcolm, Armstrong, Ogilvie, and Lieutenant Randolph, who indepen- dently commanded their several companies. Other small par- ties, of twenty or thirty men each, followed on, as the boats successively arrived. These gallant young men were soon in possession of the greater height, called the mountain, having in their ascent carried a battery of one eighteen pounder and two mortars, which was planted midway the acclivity. The enemy, beaten and dispersed, fled to the village of Queens- town. Here the fugitives were met and rallied by General Brock, who brought up with him a detachment of the York volunteers, and instantly advanced to the charge. The path of his ascent was winding and difficult. At the distance of a hundred paces from the American line, this gallant and accom- plished soldier fell at the head of his troops, who were again instantly dispersed. At this instant, eight o'clock in the morning, Lieutenant Colonel Scott arrived on the heights, having been ordered over to take the command of the whole of the troops engaged ; but the presence of Brigadier General Wadsworth of the militia, who had crossed without the knowledge of the commander-in-chief, soon obliged him to limit his attention to the regulars, of whom, about two hundred and thirty in all, he retained the independent command. Every arrangement was promptly made for the reception of the enemy. Assisted by the judgment of Captain Totten of the engineers, Scott drew up his little army in a strong posi- tion. This was chosen with a view not only to receive the BATTLE OF QUEENSTOW'N. 305 enemy, but also to cover the ferry, under the idea that they would speedily be reinforced by the whole of the troops at Lewistown. The enemy allowed them but a short breathing time. The first gun which had been fired in the morning had put in motion the garrison at Fort George, and the body of Indi- ans collected there. The latter, about four hundred in number, arrived first, and were joined by the light troops previously engaged. A sharp and gallant conflict ensued. Scott receiv- ed the enemy with his regulars, routed and pursued him as far as the great object in view, the protection of the ferry, would permit. Our troops having resumed their position, the enemy, from his great superiority in numbers, was induced to renew the attack, drove in the advanced picket, and forced his way into the midst of the American line. All was now confusion ; defeat and massacre seemed inevitable. At the critical mo- ment Scott, who had been everywhere in the thickest of the fire, by great exertions brought the retreating line to the right about. With one of those sudden revolutions of feelings which act upon large bodies of men, so instantaneously and so wonderfully, his troops seemed at once to catch the spirit of their leader. With one burst of enthusiasm, as sudden as the panic of the preceding moment, the line, which had just be- fore been retreating in broken confusion, now threw itself for- ward on the enemy, w-ho again fled with precipitation, leaving a considerable number of dead and wounded on the field. The rout was followed up a considerable distance, but the ferry could not be lost sight of. Throughout these affairs, the militia did not act in a body, but many gallant individuals among them fought, as individuah, by the side of the regu- lars, and participated in their dangers and successes. The Indians and light troops, so frequently beaten, were now content to await the arrival of the garrison of Fort George, (eight hundred and fifty in number,) then in sight, at the dis- tance of a mile, under Major General SheafTe. Lieutenant Colonel Chrystie and Major Mullany, who had joined Scott 306 GE.XERAL SCOTT. during the last pursuit, but without any reinforcements brought information that no aid was to be expected from Lewistown. Major General Van Rensselaer had done every thing in his power to induce the militia to cross over, but the sight of Sheaffe's column excited in them " constitutional scruples'''' not to be overcome. They were contented to watch the fate of their countrymen, on the opposite heights, themselves far removed from danger. Retreat had now be- come as hopeless as succour. The few remaining boats were on the American side. Scott resolved to receive the enemy on the ground which he occupied, when, if any survived the shock, it would be time enough to surrender. Major Gene- ral Sheaffe approached warily with his force, suspecting the small band in view to be but the outpost of the principal army. At length they closed ; the action was sharp, bloody, and des- perate, for some eight or ten minutes, when, being nearly sur- rounded on all sides, the Americans broke and retreated to the bank of the river, under cover of the precipice. The greatest mortification experienced by those who had done their duty, was to find, under the rocks and the fissures of the pre- cipice, upwards of one hundred of the militia, who, it seems, had been forced over the river, but never ascended the height, or came within sight of the enemy. During the whole of these affairs, Scott exposed his person in the most fearless manner. He was in his full uniform, and being, besides, remarkable for his stature, was evidently singled out as a mark. He was advisd by an officer to throw aside, or cover some part of his dress : No, said he smiling, I will die in my robes. Captain Laurence soon after fell danger- ously (it was then thought, mortally) bounded, by his side. After he had surrendered himself, an Indian came up to Colo- nel Scott, and, attentively surveying him, said, you are not born to be shot — so many times — (holding up all the fingers of both hands, to count ten) — so many times have I levelled, and fired my rifle at you. From Queenstown Scott was sent a prisoner to Quebec ; GENERAL SMYTH. 309 thence, about a month after, he embarked for Boston. He was exchanged in January, 1813, soon after his return to the United States.* Thus ended the battle of Queenstown, in which the Ameri- cans engaged, with the exception, perhaps, of a few of the miUtia, behaved with the utmost coolness and bravery. The refusal of the rear division to cross the river, alone prevented them from reaping the fruits of their exertions , while it ren- dered doubly brilliant the conduct of those who did their duty to their country and themselves. The loss of the Americans in this battle is variously stated, but it is believed not to have exceeded one thousand in killed, wounded, and prisoners, of whom, perhaps, more than one half were regulars. The loss of the enemy is not known, but must have been considerable, as they were twice repulsed, and driven down the heights. The death of their brave commander. General Brock, was a severe misfortune, and one which they felt in a peculiar man- ner in all their subsequent operations. The Americans showed their respect for his character by firing minute guns from Fort Niagara during the funeral procession. General Van Rensselaer shortly after this affair resigned his command, which devolved on General Smyth, who, towards the end of November, projected another expedition, which was to have sailed from Buffalo, at the head of the Niagara river. This expedition failed from the same cause which brought about the disaster at Queenstown, the refusal of the militia to cross the lines. Preparatory to the intended invasion, two parties were sent over, the one for the purpose of capturing a guard and destroying a bridge, below Fort Erie, the other to spike the cannon in the enemy's batteries, and some light artillery in the neighbourhood. The first party made some prisoners, but failed to destroy the bridge. The second, after rendering unserviceable the light artillery, separated by some misappre- hension, and a part of them returned with the boats, leaving behind four officers, and sixty men. This small body, how- * Analectic Magazine. J 310 INEFFECTUAL OPERATIONS. ever, advanced to the batteries, attacked and took two of them in succession, spiked the cannon, and took a number of prisoners. They then retreated down the Niagara, where they found two boats, on board of which thirty of the privates, three officers, and all the prisoners embarked, leaving behind a captain and thirty men, who were captured by the British before the boats could return. Meanwhile, as soon as day began to appear, all the troops in the neighbourhood were marched to the place of embarka- tion. A part of the detachment which had passed to the opposite shore having now returned and excited appre- hensions for the residue, about three hundred and fifty men under colonel Winder put off in boats for their relief, and a part of this force had landed, when a superior force with a piece of artillery appeared. A retreat was then ordered, which was effected with a loss of six killed and twenty-two wounded. The general embarkation now commenced ; but there not being a greater number of boats than would hold one thousand men, a council of officers was held, at which it was determin- ed, that as positive orders had been received not to cross with less than three thousand men, it was inexpedient to make the attempt until a sufficient number of boats could be procured for the whole number to embark at once ; dependence being still placed on the volunteering of the militia, it was thought that the actual number of volunteers could not be determined without an embarkation. The boats were accordingly moved a short distance up the river, and the troops disembarked. An additional number of boats being procured, another em- barkation took place on the morning of the first of December, but still no attempt was made to cross. After remaining in the boats a few hours, the troops were ordered to be with- drawn, and huts to be built for their winter-quarters. Nothing could exceed the mortification of the troops on this occasion, nor indeed the disgust felt generally through- out the country. Proclamations had been issued by General Smyth a short time previous, in which reflections had been ARMY OF THE CENTRE. 311 cast on the conductors of the former enterprises against Canada, and the " men of New York" had been called on to join the army for a few weeks, and acquire glory and renown under his banners. A number of volunteers had been collected by this invitation, some of whom had come a considerable distance. Their mortification may easily be conceived ! General Smyth, in his official report, relies, for his justifica- tion, on the positive orders that he had received not to cross without three thousand men at once, and states that consider- ably less than two thousand was the extent of the force which could be depended upon. If this were the case, Smyth was certainly fully justified in declining the invasion ; but it is to be lamented that measures for ascertaining the strength of the army could not have been adopted without such a waste of public patriotism, and such a degradation of the military character. Perhaps the public mind was never so much distracted, nor public confidence so much shaken as on this occasion.* The troops whose attempts we have just narrated were de- nominated '■'■the army of the centre^'' to distinguish them from the " north-western^'' force, and the " northern army.'''' No operation of any importance was undertaken by the last during this season. A large body of regulars had been col- lected during the summer and autumn, which, at the close of October were concentrated at Plattsburg. General Dearborn, who commanded, had his head quarters at Greenbush ; while Generals Bloomfield and Chandler were at the head of brigades. At length, on the 16th of November, the army broke up from Plattsburg, and moved towards the Canada frontier. On the 18th, it encamped at Champlain, within a short distance of the lines ; and, on the succeeding day, General Dearborn took the command. On the same day. Colonel Pike, an offi- cer of great merit, advanced, with his regiment several miles mto the enemy's country; surprised a body of British and In- dians ; destroyed a considerable quantity of public stores, and returned without much loss. It was now expected that the * Historical Register. 312 CAMPAIGN CLOSED, whole army would advance into Canada; but, probably from the lateness of the season, and the failure of the attempts on the borders of Lake Erie and Ontario, the enterprise was abandoned ; and, on the 23d the troops returned to Plattsburg, at which place and its vicinity they went into winter quarters. The first campaign of the war had now closed, upon all parts of the Canada frontier. Although no event, strikingly beneficial to the nation, had occurred, and, in one melancholy instance, serious inconvenience had been experienced, yet many useful lessons were taught, and much practical informa- tion gained. The individual bravery of the various species of forces engaged, was exhibited on many occasions; and talents were there first displayed, which afterwards gained for their possessors promotion and renown. CHAPTER XVI. Northern Campaign of 1813. RE AT exertions were now made ii the west to retrieve the disgrace of Hull's expedition. The total amount of the force under the command of General Harrison, was estimated at ten thousand men. From the extreme rigour of the season, however, it was supposed that the whole effective force on the frontier did not exceed six thousand three hundred, which appear to have been entirely infantry. This force was to proceed in three divisions from Fort Defiance, Fort M'Arthur, and Upper Sandusky, to ihe Rapids of the Miami ; there to collect provisions ; and making a feint upon Detroit, cross the strait upon the ice, and 313 314 BATTLE OF FRENCHTOWN. invest Maiden. General Winchester arrived first at the Rapids, and being strongly urged by the inhabitants of Frenchtown, on the river Raisin to protect them from the violence and outrage of the horde of savages by whom they were surrounded, and to whose brutalities they were daily exposed. Yielding to the call of humanity, Winchester, on the 17th of January, by the unanimous advice of his offi- cers, but, it appears, without consulting General Harrison, detached a body of about seven hundred and fifty men, under General Lewis, to their relief. On the following day, when within three miles of French- town, information was received that a body of British and In- dians were encamped at that place, and that they had received notice of their approach. The troops were accordingly ar- ranged and directed to prepare for action, and then proceeded within a quarter of a mile of the enemy, who immediately commenced a fire with a howitzer, from which, however, no injury was received. The line of battle being instantly formed, the whole detachment was ordered to advance across the river on the ice ; in which they succeeded, though it was in many places extremely slippery. The left wing and centre were then ordered to possess themselves of the houses and picketing about which the enemy had collected, and where they had placed their cannon. This order was executed in a few minutes. Both battalions advanced amidst an incessant shower of bullets, and succeeded in dislodging the enemy, neither the picketing nor the fencing over which they had to pass checking their progress. The right wing fell in with the enemy at a considerable dis- tance to the right, and pursued them a mile to the woods, where they made a stand with their howitzer and small arms, covered by a chain of enclosed lots and a group of houses, with a thick brushy wood full of fallen timber in their rear. Lewis now ordered the left and centre to possess themselves ot the wood on the left, and to move up towards the main body of the enemy as fast as practicable, in order to divert their attention from the ri2;ht. At the moment that the left COLONEL PROCTOR. 315 and centre commenced their fire, the ri^ht advanced, and the enemy being soon driven from the fences and houses, both parties entered the wood together. The fight now became close, and extremely hot on the right wing, the enemy concentrating their forces on that side, in order to force the line. They were, however, still obliged to retreat, although slowly, the Americans being much fatigued, and were driven, on the whole, not less than two miles, every foot of the way under a continual charge. The battle lasted from three in the afternoon till dark, when the detachment was drawn oflf in good order, and encamped at the place which the enemy had first occupied. The force of the enemy in this affair has never been exactly ascertained ; but from the best information, there were eighty to one hundred British and four hundred Indians. The number of their killed and wounded is likewise unknown, as they were enabled to carry off all but those left on the field where the battle commenced, which was about fifteen ; but from the blood, the trails of bodies dragged off, and the reports of the people who lived near the place, the slaugh- ter must have been great. One Indian and two of the Cana- dian militia were taken prisoners. A quantity of public stores was also taken. The loss of the Americans was twelve kill- ed and fifty-five wounded. On the 20th, General Winchester joined the detachment, with a reinforcement of two hundred and fifty men. Meanwhile Colonel Proctor, who commanded at Detroit, hearing of the approach of the Americans, advanced to meet them with a body of one thousand five hundred Indians and British, three hundred of whom were regulars. On the night of the 21st he discovered the American detachment, and early next morning commenced an attack on their lines. The attack commenced at six in the morning, by a heavy fire of musketry, assisted by six field pieces. The main body of the Americans were stationed within pickets on the left ; a smaller force, unprotected, occupied the right, who gallant- ly sustained the shock for a quarter of an hour, when they be- 31G GENERAL HARRISON. gan TO give ground for the purpose of forming in a situation more favourable for their fire, and less exposed to that of the enemy. At this moment Winchester arrived at the place of conflict, his quarters having been at the distance of three or four hundred yards from the camp, and his attention was immediately directed to rally the retreating party. This retreat, however, being discovered by the enemy, the whole Indian force, together with a portion of the militia, bore down upon them with redoubled violence, and by the superiority of their numbers, and the severity of their fire, prevented their forming. After a short conflict, in which they sufiered se- verely, all that survived were made prisoners. The left, who were stationed within the pickets, maintained their ground for several hours, and repulsed the British regu- lars, in three successive charges, with great slaughter. About eleven o'clock, however, Winchester was brought in as a prisoner to this part of the field, and perceiving that resistance was in vain, and influenced by the threat of their being abandoned to savage fury unless they instantly surren- dered, he acceded to a capitulation, and sent a flag to the pickets to inform them they were prisoners. General Harrison was at Lower Sandusky, when he re- ceived the intelligence of Lewis having adA^anced to the river Raisin, and fearing that he might be overpowered, he immedi- ately set out for the Rapids, which he found that Winchester had just left with the reinforcement. When the news of Winchester's disaster reached Harrison, he was about three miles above the Rapids, with three hundred and sixty men. He immediately ordered them to prepare to march, and set out with his staff to overtake a detachment of three hundred men that had set out that morning for the river Raisin. He soon overtook them ; but before the troops that he had left came up, it was ascertained that the defeat was complete, and it was the unanimous opinion of the officers that the detach- ment should return. A hundred and seventy of the most active men, however, were sent forward, with directions to proceed as far as possible to assist those who were fortunate MASSACRE BY INDIANS. 317 enough to escape. These, however, were but few : the snow was so deep that the fugitives were entirely exhausted in running a few miles ; those that did get off effected it by turning down to the lake, and secreting themselves. There were not more than forty or fifty that got a mile from the scene of action, and the greater part even of these were overtaken. Though the resistance on the part of the Americans was put an end to by the capitulation concluded by Winchester, we regret to say, that the most tragical events of this disastrous day are still to be recorded, events which affix an indelible stain on the arms of the British. After the battle the British returned to Maiden with their prisoners, except about fifty or sixty wounded, who were not able to march. A few of the Indians remained behind, who, being joined next morning by about fifty more from Maiden, immediately com- menced a massacre of the wounded Americans, and after- wards set fire to the houses in which they had been left, and consumed their remains. The same day the Indians massa- cred a number of their prisoners who had not been wounded, whose remains they would not suffer to be interred, but left them above ground, where they were torn to pieces and devoured by hogs. These horrid outrages are but too well substantiated, not only by the inhabitants of Frenchtown, but by some of the officers who had the good fortune to escape, by being purchased from the savages. Great indignities were likewise inflicted on a surgeon and his two companions, who, a few days after the battle, had been despatched by Harrison with a flag of truce, to attend to the wounded. One of them was killed by the Indians, and the others robbed of the money \vith which they had been intrusted by the gen- eral, for the relief of the most pressing wants of the wounded. After suffering many indignities, not only from the Indians but from the British, under the flimsy pretext of their using the flag only as a cover, they were at length set at liberty at Montreal, whither they had been carried and imprisoned. On the 23d of January, the day after the surrender of 20 318 FORT MEIGS. Winchester, Harrrison retreated to Carrying river, about mid- way between Sandusky and the Miami. In the following month he again advanced to the Rapids, where he construct- ed a fort, which; in honour of the Governor of Ohio, was named Fort Meigs. This fort contains about nine acres of ground, nearly in an octagon form. At each corner is a strong block-house, with cannon planted so as to rake each line, and command every elevated point near the fort. Between the block-houses are strong picketings fifteen feet in height, against which a breast-work of clay is thrown up on both sides, and in addition to this, several long batteries were erected, which were well supplied with cannon. The terra of service of a large portion of the militia in Harrison's army having expired, one thousand two hundred men were called out by the Governor of Kentucky, and des- patched under General Green Clay to supply their place. They left Cincinnati, their place of rendezvous, in the begin- ning of April, and arrived near Fort Meigs on the 4th of May, which they learnt was besieged by a large force of British and Indians, under General Proctor. Proctor had set out for Fort Meigs with one thousand Brit- ish and one thousand two hundred Indians, about the middle of April, with the expectation of capturing it before the arrival of Harrison's reinforcements and supplies, but, owing to incessant and heavy rains, he was not able to open his batter- ies before the first of May. A brisk firing was kept up on both sides until the fifth, when a small party of General Clay's detachment arrived, with information of the rest being close at hand.* General Harrison determined to make a sally against the enemy ; and sent an officer with directions to General Clay, to land about eight hundred men, about a mile above the camp ; with orders to storm the British batteries on the left bank of the river, to spike the cannon, and cross to the fort. The remainder of the men were to land on the right side, and fight their way into the camp, through the Indians. During ♦Historical Register. GENERAL CLAY. 319 this operation, General Harrison intended to send a party from the fort to destroy the batteries on the south side. In conformity with this direction, a body of men under Colonel Dudley, were landed in good order, at the place of destination. They were divided into three columns, when within half a mile of the British batteries, which it was intended to surround. Unfortunately, no orders appear to have been given by the commanding officer, and the utmost latitude was, in consequence taken by the troops. The left column being in advance, rushed upon the batteries and carried them without opposition, there being only a few artillerymen on the spot. Instead, however, of spiking the cannon, or destroying the carriages, the whole body either loitered in fatal security in the neighbourhood, or, with their colonel, were engaged in an irregular and imprudent contest with a small party of Indians. The orders and entreaties of General Harrison were in vain ; and the consequences were such as might have been foreseen, had the commanding officer possessed the slightest portion of military knowledge. The fugitive artillerists re- turned, with a reinforcement from the British camp, which was two miles below. A retreat was commenced in disorder by the Americans ; most of whom were captured by the British or Indians, or were killed in the pursuit. Among the latter was Colonel Dudley. About two hundred escaped into the fort : and thus this respectable body of men, who, if pro- perly disciplined and commanded, might have defeated the operations of the enemy, became the victims of their own imprudence. The remainder of General Clay's command were not much more successful. Their landing was impeded by the Indians, whom they routed, and, with their characteristic impetuosity, pursued to too great a distance. General Harrison, perceiving a large force of the enemy advancing, sent to recall the victors from the pursuit. The retreat was not, however, effected without considerable loss, the Indians having rallied, and, in turn, pursued them for some distance.* * Ramsay. 320 WINTER OPERATIONS. The sortie, made by a detachment under Colonel Miller, oi the regulars, gained for those who participated in it, much more reputation. The party, consisting of about three hundred and fifty men, advanced to the British batteries with the most determined bravery, and succeeded in spiking the cannon, driving back their opponents, who were supposed to be double their number, and capturing forty prisoners. The enemy suffered severely ; but rallied, and pressed upon the detachment, until it reached the breast- work. The attempt to raise the siege was thus defeated, from the imprudence and insubordination of the troops engaged, rather than from any original defect in the plan. Proctor, however, finding himself still unable to storm the intrenchments, and being de- serted by many of his Indian allies, who began to be weary of so long a siege, made a precipitate retreat on the 9th of May, having previously secured his ordnance on board a sloop. The celebrated chieftain, Tecumseh, particularly distinguished himself in the siege of Fort Meigs. The loss of the garrison during the siege was about two hundred and sixty in killed and wounded, principally in the attempt of General Clay, and the sortie on the 5th.* No event of consequence took place on the New York frontier during the winter. The opposing armies being divided by a barrier of ice, not sufficiently strong to allow of the transportation of artillery, peace was only disturbed by a few petty incursions, which each party justified by the plea of retaliation. On the 6th of February, Captain Forsythe, the commanding officer at Ogdensburg, on the St, Lawrence, received informa- tion that several men who had deserted from the opposite shore, on the ice, had been taken on the American side by a party of British, and carried off and confined in the jail at Brockville. In consequence of this intrusion, as it was deemed, Forsythe the same evening crossed over with about two hundred militia and riflemen, for the purpose of retaking the * Murray. r" CAPTURE OF OGDENSBURG. 321 prisoners, and capturing the military stores at Brockville. On approaching the Canada shore, a flanking company was detached above, and another below the town, to secure all the passes, to prevent information being communicated to the country. Before the main force reached the shore they were fired at by the sentinels, but, instead of returning it they rushed through the main street to the jail, which was instantly carried, the prisoners liberated, and then the magazine was secured. The troops in the town were completely surprised. One major, three captains, three lieutenants, one surgeon's mate, and forty-two privates, together with their arms, besides one hundred and thirty rifles and muskets captured by the British at Detroit, and several casks of powder and fixed am- munition, were secured and brought off. Perfect order was observed by the officers and men, scrupulous respect paid to private property, and no injury was done to any individual. Although a severe fire was kept up from the houses as the Americans advanced to the jail, there were none killed, and but one wounded. The following evening a party of forty-six Indians, headed by a British officer, crossed over from Prescott, a village in Canada, a mile and a half above Ogdensburg, for the purpose of capturing a picket guard of nine men, belonging to For- sythe's company. They succeeded in taking the sentinel on post, and then attacked the guard, but were repulsed by their steady bravery, aided by their advantageous position. The succeeding evening fifteen or twenty American volunteers again crossed, and took a lieutenant and two men, together with fifteen or twenty stand • of arms. On the morning of the 22d of February, the British crossed over in considerable force, and succedeed in capturing Ogdens- burg. Forsythe, with a force of less than half that of the British, effected his retreat to Black Lake in a masterly manner. Considerable alarm for the safety of Sackett's Har- bour was excited by this event, and immediate measures were taken for reinforcing it. No attempts were made, how- =n 322 BATTLE OF LITTLE YORK. ever, at further conquest ; the British shortly after retirea across the St. Lawrence. The ice having disappeared on Lake Ontario about the middle of April, the look-out boat Growler sailed from Sackett's Harbour on the 19th to reconnoitre the lake, and immediate preparations were made for an embarkation of troops for the invasion of Canada. The troops, to the number of seventeen hundred, under the command of General Dearborn, were embarked by the 23d, but the weather proving stormy, the fleet did not sail till the 25th.* On the 27th of April, General Pike arrived at York, with about seventeen hundred chosen men, and immediately pre- pared to land. The spot which was selected for landing, was the site of an old French fort called Torento, of which scarcely any vestiges now remain. The plan of attack was formed by General Pike himself, and clearly and minutely detailed in his general orders, which were directed to be read at the head of every corps ; every field officer was also directed to carry a copy of them, in order that he might at any moment refer to them, and give explanations to his subor- dinates. Every thing was arranged, and every probable exigency provided for with admirable method and precision. As soon as the debarkation commenced, a body of British grenadiers was paraded on the shore, and the Glengary Fenci- bles, a local force which had been disciplined with great care, and had repeatedly proved itself fully equal to any regular force, appeared at another point. Large bodies of Indians were also seen in different directions, while others filled the woods which skirted the shore. General SheafTe com- manded in person. Forsythe's riflemen were the first to land, which they effected under a heavy fire of musketry and rifles from the Indians and British. As soon as the fire from the shore commenced, Major Forsythe had ordered his men to rest for a few moments upon their oars, and return the fire. At this moment, Pike was standing upon the deck of his ship. He * Historical Register. BATTLE OF LITTLE YORK 323 saw the pause of his first division, and, impatient at the delay, exclaimed, " I can stay here no longer, come, jump into the boat ;" and springing into it, followed by his staff, was immediately rowed into the thickest of the fire. The infantry had followed the riflemen, and formed in pla- toons as soon as they reached the shore. General Pike took the command of the first platoon which he reached, and ordered the whole to prepare for a charge. They mounted the bank, and the enemy, after a short conflict, broke at once, and fled in disorder towards the works. At that moment, the sound of Forsythe's bugles was heard, announcing his success at another point. Its effect upon the Indians was almost electrical ; they gave a horrible yell, and fled in every direction. The whole force, being now land',a and collected, was again formed and led on by General Pike in person to attack the enemy's works. They advanced through the woods, and after carrying one battery by assault, in the most gallant man- ner, moved on in columns towards the main work. The fire of the enemy was soon silenced by our artillery, and a flag of surrender was expected, when a terrible explosion suddenly took place from the British magazine, which had been pre- viously prepared for this purpose. Pike, after aiding in removinsf a wounded man with his own hands, had sat down on the stump of a tree with a British sergeant, who had been taken, and was employed with Captain Nicholson and one of his aids in examining the prisoner. The explosion was tremendous ; an immense quantity of large stones were thrown in every direction with terrible force, and scattered destruction and confusion around among our troops. The general, his aid, Captain Nicholson, and the prisoner, fell together, all, except the aid, mortally wounded. General Pike had been struck on the breast by a heavy stone. The troops were instantly formed again ; as a body of them passed by their wounded general, he said, " Push on, brave fellows, and avenge your general." While the surgeons were carrying him out of the field, a tumultuous huzza was 324 CAPTURE OF LITTLE YORK. heard from our troops ; Pike turned his head with an anxious look of inquiry; he was told by a sergeant, "The British union jack is coming down, general — the stars are going up." He heaved a heavy sigh, and smiled. He was then carried on board the commodore's ship, where he hngered for a few hours. Just before he breathed his last, the British standard was brought to him ; he made a sign to have it placed under his head, and expired without a groan.* On the fall of General Pike, the command devolved on Colonel Pearce, who immediately advanced to the British bar- racks, which he found already occupied by Captain Forsythe's company. As soon as the magazine was blown up, the British set fire to their naval stores and a ship on the stocks ; and then the regulars, with General SheafTe at their head, made a precipitate retreat from the town. By two in the afternoon, the Ameri- can flag was substituted for the British, and by five, the troops were in peaceable possession of York, a capitulation having been agreed on with the commanding officer of the militia, by whom the town, stores, and nearly three hundred men were surrendered. Besides these three hundred prisoners, the loss of the British was estimated by General Dearborn at about one hundred killed and three hundred wounded. The American troops, in general, behaved with the cool- ness and bravery of veterans. Many of the officers were particularly distinguished, and several experienced the same melancholy fate with their general. The total loss of the American army, in killed and wounded, amounted to three hundred and twenty men, of whom thirty-eight were killed, and two hundred and twenty-two wounded by the explosion of the magazine.* The day after the capture of York was employed in burying the dead. The public buildings, barracks, &c., were then destroyed, together with the military stores that could not be brought away, and by the 1st of May, the town was entirely evacuated, the militia prisoners paroled, and the troops em- * Ramsay. EMBARKATION. 327 barked ; but, owing to contrary winds, the fleet did not sail till the 5tli. During the whole time of their stay in Canada, the troops manifested the most scrupulous regard for the rights of private property. On the 8th, they were landed at a creek, distant about four miles from Niagara. On the succeedins: day, a party of about one hundred men, under Captain Mor- gan, succeeded in taking some of the enemy's stores, at the head of the lake. On the 10th, the squadron sailed for Sacketts' Harbour, conveying there the wounded officers and men ; and, on the 24th, returned with a reinforcement of three hundred and fifty of the regiment of artillery, and some pieces of ordnance.* Major General Dearborn, having assembled a force of near five thousand men, now determined on attempting the reduction of the Peninsula on the opposite side of the straits. Of this. Fort George was the bulwark. The necessary arrangements having been completed, at one o'clock in the morning. May 27th, the whole army embarked on lake Onta- rio, three miles east from Fort Niagara. It was arranged in six divisions of boats ; the first contained the advanced guard under Colonel Scott, who was specially selected for this com- mand. This was followed by Colonel Porter with the field train, the brigades of Boyd, Winder, and Chandler, and a re- serve under Colonel Macomb. Commodore Chauncey was present with his squadron, and favoured the descent by the fire of his small schooners ; and Captain Perry, who was then serving under Commodore Chauncey, volunteered to conduct the divisions, which was an operation of some nicety, in consequence of the winds and a strong current, together with the early-roused fire of the enemy. In the discharge of this duty, he was present at every point where he could be useful, under showers of musketry, and rendered very essential services to the ad- vance guard, which he accompanied nearly to its point of attack. At nine in the morning. Colonel Scott effected his landing, * Ramsay. Murray. 328 CAPTURE OF FORT GEORGE. in good order, under a heavy fire of musketry and artillery, about a mile and a quarter from the village of Newark, and the same distance west of the mouth of the Niagara. He for- med his line on the beach of the lake, covered by a bank of twelve or fifteen feet in height, which served as a parapet against the enemy's fire. This bank was to be scaled against the bayonets of the enemy, who had now drawn up his force fifteen hundred strong, immediately on its brow. They were soon driven from their ground by a brisk and vigorous charge, but rallied, and took a second position behind a ravine, at a little distance. An action, of some twenty minu- tes, ensued ; it was short and desperate, and ended in the to- tal rout of the enemy at every point. During the last five minutes, Boyd had landed in the rear of the advance guard, and a part of his brigade participated in the action. Colonel Scott pursued the rout as far as the village, where he was joined by the sixth regiment, under Colonel Miller ; from thence the enemy was closely pressed at a distance of five miles up the river, until Scott was recalled from the pur- suit by order of General Lewis. As our troops approached towards Fort George, it was perceived that the garrison were in the act of abandoning the work. Two companies were instantly detached from the head of the pursuing column, to prevent this movement, and some prisoners were made. They were at the distance of about eighty paces from the fort, when one of its magazines blew up with a tremendous explo- sion. The front gate was instantly forced by our men ; Scott was the first to enter, and took with his own hands the British flag yet waving over the works. At the same time Captains Hindsman and Stockton snatched away the matches which had been applied by the retreating garrison to three other magazines.* At the capture of York, the explosion was attributed by the British commander to accident ; and the loss of part of his own troops, to the number of about forty, by that explosion, appeared to corroborate the assertion. But the discovery of * Analectic Magazine. CAPTURE OF BOERSTLER. 329 the matches, lighted and applied, at fort George, leads us to conclude, that the destruction of the Americans was premedi- tated in both cases. In the first, the destruction of the whole army was frustrated by the caution, and in the other, by the quickness and presence of mind, of the General. To a charge like this, of a proceeding so inconsistent with the principles of civilized war, the mind would hesitate to give belief, had not the previous conduct of the enemy been marked by an equal disregard for those rules. Posterity will scarcely credit a fact, which is nevertheless, stated upon the most conclusive authority,* that a human scalp was found suspended over the speaker's chair, in the house appropriated to the sittings of the legislature of Upper Canada. The loss of the Americans in the attack on Fort George was thirty nine killed and one hundred and ten wounded ; Lieu- tenant Hobart of the first brigade was the only officer killed. The British lost one hundred and eight killed, and one hun- dred and sixty wounded, who, together with one hundred and fifteen regulars, and five hundred militia, became prisoners. After this engagement, the British force, under General Vincent, retired, and took a position on the heights of Burling- ton bay, about forty miles west of Fort George, where they concentrated their forces with reinforcements from Forts Erie and Chippewa. Generals Chandler and Winder were des- patched from Fort George with two brigades, for the purpose of cutting off the retreat of this body now amounting to fifteen hundred men. They were however surprised by a night at- tack of the enemy, both generals were captured, and the de- tachment compelled by the arrival of the British fleet, to retreat to Fort George. Lieutenant Colonel Boerstler, with five hundred and seventy men was next sent forward to Beaver Dams, to attack and disperse a body of the enemy who had collected there. On his way to that place, his detachment was surrounded by a large body of British and Indians and he was obliged to surrender. The British troops being considerably reinforced and placed * Commodore Chauncey's and General Dearborn's official letters. 330 BURNING OF YORK. under the command of Major-General De Rottenburgh, inves- ted Fort George, without, however, making any regular attack upon it. Several affairs of outposts occurred, in which skilful manoeuvring as well as individual bravery, were displayed. The American commander, finding that the Brit- ish army still continued to employ the hostile Indians, at length determined to retaliate, by accepting the services of a number of that race, who were friendly to the United States. About four hundred warriors, principly of the Seneca nation, were accordingly received under his command, with an ex- press covenant, that their treatment of the enemy should be similar to that pursued by the Americans. From this sys- tem of humanity, they do not appear to have ever deviated, a proof that their attachment to a sanguinary system of warfare may be restrained where the disposition to do so exists. They were found of great service to the American army on various occasions, in which they were opposed to the Indians in the service of the enemy. On the 11th of July, a British force of about two hundred and fifty men, under Colonel Bishops, crossed the Niagara, and made a sudden attack upon the American post at Black Rock, driving before them the militia by whom it was garri- soned. They succeeded in setting fire to the barracks and other buildings ; and, after spiking the cannon carried off a quantity of provisions. On their retreat, however, they were assailed by the American troops, who poured a heavy fire upon them, by which their commander was mortally wounded, and a considerable loss otherwise sustained. In return for this exploit, a second attack was made upon the town of York, on the 28th of July. Colonel Scott, with about three hundred men, landed from Commodore Chaun- cey's squadron on that day, and having destroyed all the public stores and property, and released a number of Ameri- can prisoners, returned without loss. While the greater part of the Americans were thus engaged on the Canada frontier the British resolved to make an STATE OF SACKETT'S HARBOUR. 331 attack on Sackett's Harbour, then in a comparatively defence- less state. At the time of the attack, which was made on the 29th of May 1813, by Sir George Prevost, at the head of twelve hundred veteran troops, aided by the skill and bravery of his whole staff. General Brown was not officially in military command. Having, in the capacity of brigadier of the militia, completed his tour of duty in the preceding campaign , he had retired to his estate at Brownville, where he was employ- ed in the superintendence of his private affairs. Still, how- ever, being situated on the lines, and his competency being known and highly appreciated, his services as a citizen were claimed by government, to give notice of the force and move- ments, and to ascertain, as far as possible, the intentions of the enemy. It was ordered, moreover, by the proper author- ity, that, in case of an attack upon the Harbour, he should repair immediately to the scene of action, assume the com- mand, and conduct the defence. Signals of alarm were accordingly agreed upon, and other points relating to their re- quisite co-operation in the expected conjuncture, settled between General Brown, and Lieutenant Colonel Backers, who, in the absence of his senior officers, commanded the post. With the exception of two hundred invalids, and two hundred and fifty dragoons, who had lately arrived, the regular troops had been all withdrawn from Sackett's Har- bour, and were now employed in the enterprise against Fort George, and for the better equipment of the expedition up the lake, General Wilkinson had dismantled of nearly all their ordnance, both the batteries on shore, and such of the ships of war as he had left behind him. Thus was a most important post, with a vigilant and powerful enemy in its vicinity, left to the defence of a few soldiers of infirm health, a handful of dismounted dragoons unversed in the tactics of infantry, and such volunteer militia from the surrounding country as might be embodied on a pressing and sudden emergency. But it was so ordered that the whole 332 ATTACK ON SACKETT'S HARBOUR was. left under the superintendence of an officer whose presence and individual services proved a host in them- selves. All things remained quiet, until the night of the 27th of May, when the alarm guns were heard, and shortly after- wards a messenger arrived at General Brown's quarters, about eight miles from the Harbour, with information that the enemy's fleet from Kingston was observed in motion. Not a moment was to be lost. After taking the most prompt and energetic measures to call out the militia from the neighbouring district, the general hastened to the post of danger. In the course of the 28th, he saw assembled around him from five to six hundred men fresh from their homes, not one of whom, perhaps, had ever faced an enemy in the field, or heard the sound of a hostile ball. In regulars and militia, of the description we have mentioned, the army of defence amounted now to nearly a thousand. On the 28th the enemy appeared in force in the offing, but did not make any attempt to land. Fortunately for the defenders there was but one place where a landing was prac- ticable. Here General Brown had a breastwork thrown up, surmounted by a piece of field artillery and defended, by the militia and Albany volunteers under the command of Colonel Mills. Throughout the night of the 28th General Brown was continually on the alert. His troops slept on their arms, while he himself reconnoitred in person the shores of the Har- bour. With the dawn of the 29th, the enemy was discovered pressing for the shore. The general prepared for their recep- tion by posting Colonel Mills with his militia behind the breastwork thrown up near to the water's edge, while the reg- ulars and a few volunteers who formed in line with them under the command of lieutenant Colonel Backus, were drawn up at a considerable distance in the rear. As the enemy's boats advanced, the militia betrayed no signs of fear ; but even appeared cheerful, and anxious for the conflict. The general knowing his position to be ATTACK ON SACKETT'S HARBOUR. 333 good, and persuading himself that the hearts of his soldiers were firm, anticipated a speedy and glorious result. His or- ders were, to suffer the foe to approach within pistol shot, and then with deliberate and deadly aim, to open on him at once with the field-piece and musketry. The orders were executed with great precision, and the first fire was very destructive. Several British officers and many men were seen to fall, evident disorder prevailed among the boats, and for a moment their advance appeared to be checked. From a commencement so promising every thing was to be hoped. But, to the utter disappointment and mortification of the general, before half of the militia had fired a second round, he saw them all, without distinction, as if seized by a strange and simultaneous panic, abandon the contest, and fly with pre- cipitation. For a time dismay and confusion prevailed. All efforts to stop the flight of the troops were unavailing. In the attempt to rally them Colonel Mills was mortally wounded. At length, however, by the activity and good conduct of Cap- tain M'Knitt, about a hundred of them were rallied, and for- med in line with the regulars and volunteers, who still kept their ground, ready to act as circumstances might require. The enemy disembarked without further opposition, and immediately commenced his march towards the village. But he was little aware of the opposition he had to encounter. A Spartan band was still before him prepared for death, but not for dishonour. By this handful of heroes, (for such they pro- ved themselves to be) amounting at the utmost to about five hundred men, he was received with such a firm front and des- tructive fire, as deadened his advance and shook his resolution. On the American side the volunteers and even that portion of the flying militia rallied by Captain M'Knitt seemed now to vie with the regulars in deeds of valour. Although compelled to fall back by the superior weight of the British columns, they bravely disputed every inch of ground, and evinced a determination not to yield. They at length took possession of a few log huts built for the winter accommodation of 334 STRATAGEM OF GENERAL BROWN. the soldiers whence they kept up a continued and deadly fire, and from which the enemy by all his efforts was unable to dislodge them. Struck with admiration at the conduct of these brave men, General Brown, who had been every where present w4th them, determined on a final, which happily proved a successful, ef- fort in their favor. Being informed that the militia, who, at the beginning of the contest, had so precipitately fled, had not yet entirely dispersed, but were still in sight of the battle ground, in company with a few more who had just arrived from the countr}', he resolved to make another attempt to recall them to their duty. Accordingly, after exhorting his few gallant associates who still kept in check the whole British force, amounting to more than twice their number, to be mindful of themselves and hold out to the last, he hastened in person to the fugitive militia, who were assembled at a distance, looking at the conflict. After sternly reproaching with cowardice and dishonor, both officers and men, many of whom shed tears at the rebuke of their general and the recollection of their conduct, he ordered them instantly to form and follow him, threatening the first act of disobedience with immediate death. The order was no sooner issued than obeyed. Finding himself now at the head of three or four hundred troops, on whose firmness in action he was still unwilling to rely, he determined to attempt by stratagem what he had not force sufficient to achieve in open combat. He accordingly ordered this body of militia to pass silently through a distant wood , (thus counterfeiting an effort to conceal their move- ment, yet still keeping in sight of the field of battle that they might be certamly seen,) toward the place of landing, as if to turn the flank of the enemy, fall on his rear, and take possession of his boats. The scheme succeeded beyond expectation. Sir George Prevost, feeling himself very roughly handled in front, and suspecting an attempt to place him between two fires and cut oflThis retreat, abandoned the contest, and hurried to his GENERAL BROWN PROMOTED. 335 boats, leaving behind him all his killed, and many of his wounded. General Brown being in no condition to press on his rear, but making a bold demonstration as if preparatory to that effect, suffered him to embark without much molestation. In a short time they were far on their way from the American shore. In this affair, the nature of the ground, and other circum- stances, operated strongly against the invaders. The country, in the immediate vicinity of Sackett's Harbour is covered with trees, which afforded all the advantages that could be desired by American marksmen : behind them many were posted with very signal effect, who yet, from their undisciplined state, as we have seen, could not be brought to stand an encounter with the veteran troops of the enemy. The British regulars, on the contrary, found little room for the manoeuvres to which they had been trained, and to which only disciplined soldiers are in general adapted, their loss was, however, not so great as might have been expected. Three field officers, one cap- tain, and twenty-five privates were killed ; two Captains and twenty soldiers were found wounded ; and three officers and thirty two soldiers were taken prisoners. The American loss was much greater ; one hundred and fifty six in all, being kill- ed, wounded, and missing. An unfortunate mistake caused the destruction of part of the barracks and stores, under the charge of Lieutenant Chauncey. A false report having reached that officer, of the defeat of the Americans, he conceived it necessary to comply with the orders he had received, to set fire to the buildings and prevent the stores from falling into the hands of the ene- my. He was, however, no sooner apprised of the incorrect- ness of the information, than he spared no exertions to extin- guish the conflagration, and his efforts were finally successful, though not until considerable damage had been done. General Brown, in recompense for his exertions on this oc- casion was shortly afterwards appointed a Brigadier in the re- gular army.* * Ramsay. 21 336 ATTACK ON FORT STEPHENSON. Nor were the British inactive upon Lake Erie. After their retreat from Fort Meigs in the beginning of May, several threatening movements were made from the lake at Fort Meigs, Lower Sandusky, Cleveland, and Erie. No serious attempt was made, however, on any of these posts, until the first of August, when a combined force of the enemy, amount- ing to at least five hundred regulars and seven or eight hund- red Indians, under the immediate command of General Proctor, made its appearance before Fort Stephenson at Lower Sandusky. As soon as the general had made such a disposi- tion of his troops as would cut off the retreat of the garrison, he sent Colonel Elliot, accompanied by Major Chambers, with a flag, to demand the surrender of the fort, stating that he was anxious to spare the effusion of blood, which he should probable not have in his power to do, should he be reduced to the necessity of taking the place by storm. The commander of the fort. Major Croghan, answered that he was determined to defend the place to the last extremity, and that no force, however large, should induce him to surrender it. So soon as the flag returned, a brisk fire was opened upon the fort, from the gun-boats in the river, and from a five and a half inch howitzer on shore, which was kept up with little intermission throughout the night. At an early hour the next morning, three sixes, which had been placed during the night within two hundred and fifty yards of the pickets, began to play, but with little effect. About four in the afternoon, discovering that the fire from all the guns was concentrated against the north-western an- gle of the fort, Croghan became confident that the object was to make a breach, and attempt to storm the works at that point. He therefore ordered out as many men as could be employed for the purpose of strengthening that part, which was so effectually secured by means of bags of flour, sand, &c. that the picketing suffered little or no injury ; notwith- standing which, about five hundred of the enemy, having for- med in close column, advanced to assault the works at the ex- pected point, at the same time making two feints on other THE BRITISH REPULSED. 337 parts of the fort. The column which advanced against the north-western angle, consisting of about three hundred and fifty men, was so completely enveloped in smoke, as not to be discovered until it had approached within eighteen or twenty paces of the hnes ; but the men, being all at their posts and ready to receive it, commenced so heavy and galling a fire as to throw the column a litde into confusion ; being quickly rallied, however, it advanced to the outer works, and began to leap into the ditch. At that moment a fire of grape was opened from a six-pounder, which had been previously arranged so as to rake in that direction, which, together with the musketry, threw them into such confusion, that they were compelled to retire precipitately to the woods. During the assault, which lasted about half an hour, an incessant fire was kept up by the enemy's artillery, which consisted of five sixes and a howitzer, but without effect. Before the attack was ended, the soldiers in the garrison supplied the wounded enemy in the ditch with water, by throwing over full canteens. The whole number of men in the garrison was not more than one hundred and sixty. Their loss during the siege was one killed and seven wounded slightly. The loss of the ene- my in killed, wounded, and prisoners, must have exceeded one hundred and fifty ; one lieutenant-colonel, a Heutenant, and fifty rank and file were found in and about the ditch, dead or wounded. Those of the remainder who were not able to escape were taken off during the night by the In- dians.* About three in the morning the enemy sailed down the river, leaving behind them a boat containing clothing and considera- ble military stores. Seventy stand of arms, and several brace of pistols, were afterwards collected near the works. Major Croghan, the commander who so gallantly resisted such a superior force, was a youth of only twenty-one years of age ; and his defence of the fort, with means so small, against a foe distinguished for his skill and bravery, was * Ramsay. 338 TREATMENT OF PRISONERS. truly one of the most brilliant achievements of the war. Major Croghan was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant- Colonel, and together with his brave companions, received the thanks of Congress. A few days after the assault, Proctor despatched a surgeon with a flag of truce, to assist in the care of the wounded, and with a request that such of the prisoners as were in a condition to be removed, might be permitted to return to Maiden, on his parole of honour that they should not serve until exchanged.* H?rrison, in his reply, stated, that on his arrival at Fort Stephenson, on the morning of the 3d, he found that Major Croghan, conformably to those principles which are held sacred in the American army, had caused all the care to be taken of the wounded prisoners that his situation would per- mit ; that his hospital surgeon was particularly charged to attend to them, and he was warranted in the belief that every thing which surgical skill could give was afforded. They had been liberally furnished, too, with every article necessary in their situation which the hospital stores could supply. Having referred to his government, he added, for orders re- specting the disposition of the prisoners, he could not, with propriety comply with the request for an immediate exchange. But he assures him, that as far as it depends upon him, the course of treatment which has been commenced towards them while in his possession would be continued. It is impossible here to avoid contrasting the conduct of Proctor and Harrison, in two exactly parallel cases, the care of the wounded, and treatment of the surgeon sent for their relief after the battles of Frenchtown and Sandusky. In the one case, the surgeon is treated with politeness, and only sent back because his aid is unnecessary, and the wounded are supplied with water by the garrison, even whilst the attack is carried on. The conduct of Proctor need not be repeated here. It has made too deep an impression to be soon effaced. On receiving the news of the battle of Lake Erie, and the * Hist. Reg. vol. ii. Frost's U. S. Ramsay. BATTLE OF THE THAMES 339 capture of the British fleet, General Proctor immediately abandoned Maiden, and commenced a retreat towards Que- bec ; and General Harrison, with the American army, now considerably reinforced by the arrival of Governor Shelby with the Kentucky volunteers, started instantly in pursuit. On the 5th of October, they came up with the fugitives, at the Moravian towns on the banks of the Thames, in the pro- vince of Upper Canada. The ^llied army was drawn up across a narrow isthmus, covered with beach trees, and formed by the river Thames on the left, and a swamp running parallel to the river on the right. The British regulars were drawn up in a double line, BATTLE OF THE THAMES. With their left on the river, supported by the artillery ; while the Indians, under Tecumseh, were placed in a dense wood, with their right on the morass. In the order in which the 340 BATTLE OF THE THAMES. American army was first formed, the regulars and volunteer infantry were drawn up in three lines, in front of the British force ; while the mounted volunteers were posted opposite to the Indians, with directions to turn their right flank. It was soon perceived, however, that the nature of the ground on the enemy's right would prevent this operation from being at- tempted M'ith any prospect of success. General Harrison, therefore, determined to change his plan of attack. Finding that the enemy's regulars were drawn up in open order, he conceived the bold idea of breaking their ranks, by a charge of part of the mounted infantry. They were accordingly formed in four columns of double files, with their right in a great measure out of the reach of the British artillery. The army moved on in this order but a short distance, when the mounted men received the fire of the British line, and were Instantly ordered to charge. The horses in the frrnt of the column recoiled from the fire ; but, on receiving a second fire, thi* column got into motion, and immediately, at full speed, broke through the enemy with irresistible force. In one minute, the contest was over in this part of the line. The British officers, seeing no hope of reducing their disordered ranks to order, the mounted infantry wheeling upon them, and pouring in a destructive fire, immediately surrendered. Only three of the Americans were wounded in this charge. Upon the American left, however, the contest with the Indians was more severe. Colonel Johnson, who commanded on that flank of the army, received a most galling fire, which he returned with great effect. The Indians still further to the left, advanced, fell in with the front line of the infantry, and, for a moment, made an impression upon it. Governor Shelby, who was stationed near that point, brought up a regiment to its support. The enemy now received such a severe fire, that they broke and fled with the greatest precipitation, pursued by the mounted volunteers. A complete and brilliant victory was thus obtained by th« American army over an enemy, who, though somewhat mfo- rior in numbers, possessed very decided advantages in the DEATH OF TECUMSEH. 341 choice of his position, as well as the experience of his officers and men. The battle was, indeed, chiefly fought bj the mounted volunteers, to whose unprecedented charge against a body of regular infantry, posted behind a thick wood, the fortune of the day was principally owing. This novel manoeuvre, at variance with the ordinary rules of military tactics, reflects the highest credit on the general who con- ceived and the troops who executed it. The whole of the American force fully performed its duty, as far as it was en- gaged. The venerable governor of Kentucky was seen at the head of the militia of his state, exciting their valour and patriotismby the inlluence of his personal example, and adding to the laurels he had acquired thirty years before in a contest with the same enemy. The trophies acquired by this victory were of the most gratifying nature. All the territory surrendered by General Hull was recovered ; and, besides a great quantity of small arms and stores, six pieces of brass artillery were captured, three of which had been taken during the Revolution, at Saratoga and Yorktown ; and were part of the fruits of Hull's surrender. The prisoners amounted to about six hundred, in- cluding twenty-five officers. Of the Americans, seven were killed and twenty-two wounded ; and of the British troops, twelve were killed and twenty-two wounded. The Indians, however, suffered far more severely. The loss of thirty of their number killed, was trifling, in compari- son with that sustained by the death of Tecumseh, their cele- brated leader. His intelligence and bravery were no less conspicuous on this occasion than in the preceding part of the war. He was seen in the thickest press of the conflict, en- couraging his brethren by his personal exertions ; and, at the conclusion of the contest, his body was found on the spot where he had resisted the charge of the mounted regiment. His death infficted a decisive stroke on the confederacy of the savages, from which it never recovered, and deprived the British troops of a most active and efficient auxiliary. 342 GENERAL WILKINSON. The consequences of this victory upon the interests of the Indian tribes were soon perceived. Being cut off from their communications, with the British posts in Canada, many of them sent deputations to General Harrison, to sue for peace. Previous to the engagement on the Thames, an armistice had been concluded with the Ottawas and Chippewas, on condition of their raising the tomahawk against the British : and soon afterwards the Miamis and Potawatamies submitted on the same terms. The object of the expedition having been accomplished by the capture of the British army, the troops commenced their march for Detroit on the 7th. They arrived at Sandwich on the 10th, and soon afterwards the Kentucky infantry returned home, and were discharged at Limestone on the 4th of No- vember, after having received the thanks of General Harrison for their exemplary conduct during the campaign. In the mean time, the General was without orders from the war de- partment, for his subsequent operations, the despatches of the government having been put on board a vessel, which was lost on the lake. He resolved, therefore, to take upon him- self the responsibility of proceeding down the lake in the fleet. Accordingly, having left General Cass, with his brigade, at Detroit, he sailed on the 22d of October, from Erie, with General M'Arthur's brigade, and a battalion of regular riflemen, and arrived at Buffalo on the 24th. From this place, he march- ed, by the bank of the Niagara, to Newark, where he shortly afterwards received orders from General Armstrong the Secre- tary of war, to send M'Arthur's brigade to Sackett's Harbour, and was informed that he had permission to return to his family. This information, which was considered by him as an order to retire from the command, he immediately obeyed, and this able and distinguished officer, the most popular and successful of the commanders that the republic had yet employed, shortly afterwards resigned his commission. General Wilkinson, having succeeded General Dearborn in the command of the northern army, made an ineffectual at- NEWARK BURNT. 343 tempt upon Canada by descending the St. Lawrence towards Montreal ; during which an indecisive battle was fought at Williamsburg. The whole expedition, though under the personal superintendence of the Secretary of War, turned out a complete failure.* On the 10th of December, Fort George was evacuated and blown up by the Americans. Before crossing to their own side of the river, the town of Newark, a handsome little place, containing about two hundred houses, and situated about a mile below the fort, was reduced to ashes. On the 19th of December, about four in the morning, the British crossed the river, a few miles above Fort Niagara, and succeeded in taking the place by storm about an hour before day-break. The fort appears to have been completely sur- prised. The men were nearly all asleep in their tents, when the enemy rushed in, and commenced a dreadful slaughter. Such as escaped the fury of the first onset, retired to the old mess-house, where they kept up a fire on the enemy, until a w^ant of ammunition compelled them to surrender. The dis- aster is attributed, and with but too much appearance of pro- bability, to gross neglect or treasonable connivance on the part of the commanding officer of the fort, who is stated to have been absent at the time it took place, notwithstanding the attack was expected, as appears from the general orders issued by M'Clure a few days previous. After the capture of the fort, the British, wath a large body of Indians, proceeded up the river as far as Lewistown, and, having driven off a detachment of militia stationed at Lewis- town Heiojhts, burnt that villao;e and those of Youngstown and Manchester, and the Indian Tuscarora village. A number of the inoffensive inhabitants are said to have been butchered by the savages. On the 30th another detachment of the Brit- ish and Indians crossed the Niagara, near Black Rock. They were met by the militia under General Hall ; but, overpower- ed by numbers, and the discipline of the enemy, the militia * Frost's U. S. vol, iv., p. 124. 344 BLACK ROCK BURNT soon gave way and fled on every side, and every attempt to rally them was ineffectual. The enemy then set fire to Black Rock, when they proceeded to Buffalo, which they likewise laid in ashes, thus completing the desolation of the whole of the Niagara frontier, as a retaliation for the burning of Newark. ♦Historical Register. CHAPTER XVn. Eastern and Southern Campaign of 1813. HE British gov- ernment, issu- ed an order on the 26th of De- cember, 1812, declaring the Delaware and the Chesapeake Bays in a state of blockade, and on the 20th of March all the ports south of Rhode Island were included. During the winter, intelli- gence had been repeatedly received by American prisoners from Bermuda, of the arrival of a British squadron at that place, well stored with bombs and Congreve rockets, and with a considerable body of troops on board, for the purpose of destroying some of our southern cities. The alarm, then, that was excited at Norfolk may be easily conceived, when intelUgence was received of the approach of this squadron, which on the 4th of February was perceived in the Chesa- peake, standing towards Hampton Roads, to the number of two seventy-four's, three frigates, a brig, and a schooner. The frigate Constellation had come down the bay, and anch- ored in Hampton Roads the day before, and on the arrival of the first news of the near approach of the hostile squadron, it being then ebb-tide, was fast aground at Willoughby spit. Fortunately, however, the flood made, and the ship was afloat, before the enemy hove in sight. She was immediately 345 ._l 346 BRITISH FLEET IN THE DELAWARE. brought up Elizabeth river to Norfolk, and anchored between the two forts. Every exertion was now made for the defence of the place, by calling out the militia, &c. ; .the recruits at the barracks were brought down to the fort, and the gun-boats stationed in the most favourable position to resist the expected attack. No attempt, however, was made upon the town. The squadron confined its operations to the capturing and destroying of the bay craft, and forming an effectual blockade of the waters of the Chesapeake. About the same time a British squadron entered the Delaware bay, which consisted of the Poictiers, seventy four, the frigate Belvidera, and several small vessels, and for some weeks were employed in fixing buoys, intercepting and cap- turing the outward and inward bound vessels, and burning the bay craft. On the 16th of March, Sir J. P. Beresford^ the commander of the squadron, transmitted a letter to Levvistown, a small fishing town near the mouth of the bay, addressed to the first magistrate, requesting him to send twenty live bul- locks, with a proportionate quantity of vegetables and hay, on board the Poictiers, for the use of the squadron, which should be immediately paid for at the Philadelphia prices. The re- quest was accompanied with a threat, that, in case of a refusal, he should burn the town. This demand was positively, though politely, refused, as " a compliance would be an immediate violation of the laws, and an eternal stigma on the nation." To which Beresford answered, " that the demand he had made was, in his opin- ion, neither ungenerous, nor wanting in that magnanimity which one nation ought to observe to another with which it is at war. It is in my power," continues he, " to destroy your town, and the request I have made upon it, as the price of its security, is neither distressing nor unusual. I must, therefore, persist, and whatever sufferings may fall upon the inhabitants of Lewis, must be attributed to yourselves, by not complying with a request so easily acquiesced in." Nothing further passed on the subject, till the 6th of April, LEWISTOWN BOMBARDED. 347 when they renewed the demand, and fired several thirty-two pound shot into the town, previous to sending the flag on shore, to show that they were serious in their threats. In Beresford's letter on this occasion, he urges that no dishonour can be attached to complying with his demand, in considera- tion of his superior force. "I must, therefore," continues he, " consider your refusal to supply the squadron as most cruel on your part to the inhabitants. I grieve for the distress the women and children are reduced to by your conduct, and earnestly desire they may be instantly removed." To this letter merely a verbal reply was returned, that the commander. Colonel Davis, was a gallant man, and had already taken care of the ladies. On the return of the flag, a cannonade was commenced from four launches with twenty-four and eighteen pounders; two sloops, with thirty- two pounders and a mortar; a pilot boat, with six pounders ; and a schooner with twelve pounders, covered by the frigate Belvidera. The town, being seated on a considerable eminence, sus- tained little or no injury ; the rockets passing over, and the bombs falling short. The fire from an eighteen pounder on shore, which was supplied by shot thrown by the enemy, silenced one of their most dangerous gun-boats Above six- hundred shot were fired at the place, a great part of which was afterwards dug by the boys out of the sand, viz. forty of thirty- two pound, ninety-six of eighteen pound, one hundred and fifty-six of twelve's and nine's with a large quantity of six's and grape, besides shells and remains of rockets. Not a man was killed on the side of the Americans during this attack. On the forenoon of the following day, a number of small boats approached the shore, apparently with the intention of landing ; but, being gallantly met by the militia on the beach, they were recalled by a signal from the squadron. In the Chesapeake, the principal part of the squadron began to move up the bay about the beginning of April. On the 9th of April they reached Annapolis, and on the 16th appeared off the mouth of the Patapsco, twelve 348 NORFOLK THREATENED. or fourteen miles from Baltimore. Both Annapolis and Balti- more were threatened with an attack, but nothing was attempt- ed, the enemy carefully keeping their vessels at a safe dis- tance from the guns of the forts. But though the fortified towns escaped the vengeance which had so long been threatened, it was not the case with the un- protected villages, which skirt the rivers that fall into the head of the bay. Four of these were laid in ashes by Admiral Cockburn, who gallantly led the barges which ascended the rivers for this purpose. These plundering and burning expe- ditions will long render his name famous in the neighbourhood of the Chesapeake bay. Having sufficiently signalized their prowess by the burning of Frenchtown, Havre de Grace, Georgetown, and Frederick- town, and the farm houses, mills, &c. adjoining, the squadron returned down the bay, destroying the oyster boats, wood shallops, and other river craft in their progress, and showing themselves, but at a convenient distance, at every fortification near the bay. The squadron, after returning down the bay, resumed their station in Hampton Roads, with a view of attacking Norfolk. Early on the morning of the 22d of June, they landed a large body of troops, from the accounts of deserters about two thou- sand five hundred, on the west side of Elizabeth river, and marched them up towards Craney Island, the passage to which from the main land, is fordable at low water. Forty- five or fifty boats full of men, were then sent to effect a landing on the north side of the island, with whom the force on the main land was directed to co-operate. The whole force on the island at the time of the attack was four hundred and eighty-seven, riflemen, infantry, and artillery, and one hundred and fifty seamen and marines, forty-three of whom were on the sick list. — With this handful of men was the landing of the enemy successfully opposed, and they were forced to retreat to their ships, with the loss of several boats by the fire of the artillery. Foiled in their meditated attack on Norfolk by this repulse HAMPTON SACKED. 349 at the mouth of the harbour, the British again turned their at- tention to the easier task of laying waste unprotected villages, and that of Hampton, which lay nearly opposite, naturally presented itself. Here they landed a body of two thousand five hundred men, with but little opposition, there being only a small detachment of militia encamped near the town, who were soon forced to retreat under a heavy fire of artillery, musketry, and Congreve rockets. The British now took pos- session of the village ; and here a horrid scene of barbarity ensued, which was characterized by plunder, devastation, murder, and rape. The British troops shortly after retreated to their ships, when a correspondence took place by means of flags between General Taylor, the commandant at Norfolk, and sir Sidney Beckwith, quarter-master-general of the British forces, on the subject of these excesses. Sir Sidney attempted to justify them on the ground of inhumanity in some of the American troops on Craney island, whom he charged with having waded into the river, and shot at their unresisting and yielding foe, who clung to the wreck of a boat which had been sunk by the fire of their guns. This imputation was promptly repelled, and a board of officers was immediately ap- pointed to investigate the charge. From the evidence ad- duced it appeared, that in the action at Craney island, two of the enemy's boats in front of their line were sunk by the fire of the batteries ; the soldiers and sailors who were in those boats were consequently afloat and in danger of drowning, and and being in front of the boats that were uninjured, guns were necessarily fired in the direction of the men in the water, but with no intention whatever to do them further harm ; but, on the contrary, orders were given to prevent this, by ceasing to fire grape, and only to fire round shot ; it also was substanti- ated that one of the enemy who had apparently surrendered, advanced towards the shore, about one hundred yards, when he suddenly turned to his right and endeavoured to make his escape to a body of the enemy who had landed above the is- land, and who were then in view ; then and not till then was he fired upon to bring him back, which had the desired effect, 350 CREEK WAR. and he was taken unhurt to the island. It further appeared, that the American troops exerted themselves in acts of hospitality and kindness to the unresisting and yielding foe. But even if this charge had been founded on fact, it could not have justified the measures adopted by the British. The facts 'should surely have been first clearly ascertained and re- dress demanded, before any retahation was resorted to, especi- ally a retaliation so extravagant in its measure, applying not to the perpetrators of the alleged offence, nor to their comrades, but to the unresisting, innocent, and helpless. During the remainder of the summer, hostile demonstrations were made by the British squadron in various points on the waters, of the Chesapeake, particularly at Washington, Annapolis, and Baltimore, in which, if the aim of the enemy was merely to harass, they were certainly eminently successful. A part of the Chesapeake squadron, under admiral Cockburn, likewise appeared off Ocracock bar. North Carolina, where their barges destroyed two privateers, and landed a number of men at Portsmouth and Ocracock, who committed a number of wanton depredations. In the mean time, the calamities of war began to extend to the southern portion. In the summer of 1813 the Creek na- tion commenced hostilities by an attack on Fort Mims, a post upon the Tensaw river. Before we enter on a narrative of the events of this war, however, it will be proper to notice another important event which took place in this quarter, in the month of April ; namely, the surrender of Mobile to the arms of the United States. By the treaty of St. Ildefonso, concluded on the 1st of October, 1800, between France and Spain, the latter, in con- sideration of certain stipulations in favour of the duke of Parma, ceded to the French republic " the colony or province of Louisiana, with the same extent that it now has in the hands of Spain, and that it had when France possessed it ; and such as it should be after the treaties subsequently entered into between Spain and other states." By a treaty concluded CREEK WAR. 351 at Paris, on the 30th of April, 1803, France ceded to the United States, the territory she had acquired by the treaty of St. Ildefonso, " as fully and in the same manner as they have been acquired by the French republic." In virtue of the above-mentioned treaties, the United States claimed, as the southern portion of Louisiana, all the country lying between the Sabine and Perdido rivers. The Spanish government, however, resisted this claim, and contended that its eastern boundary was the river Mississippi, and the lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain. This country had accordingly been the subject of negotiation for several years, between the American and Spanish governments, the latter still hold- ing possession of the country. This negotiation was put an end to by the troubles which took place in old Spain, in 1807 ; and a revolution breaking out in Florida, the United States, on the ground that Spain could no longer hold possession of the country, and that her rights would be jeopardized or lost, by suffering it to pass into the hands of a third party (the rev- olutionists), on whom they could have no claim, took posses- sion of the whole of the disputed country, in 1812, except the post of Mobile, a small fortified town of about four hundred inhabitants, situated on the west side of Mobile bay, which continued to be held by a Spanish garrison until the loth of April, 1813, when it was summoned to surrender to the arms of the United States, under General Wilkinson, which was immediately done without the slightest opposition. The country of the Creek Indians, was situated in the western part of the state of Georgia, and the eastern part of the Mississippi territory, between the Ocmulgee and Tom- bigbee rivers, and extends from the Cherokee country, which borders on Tennessee, to Florida. In the course of the sum- mer, several families were murdered, near the mouth of the Ohio river, by a party of Indians passing from the great lakes to the Upper Creeks. The principal chiefs of the nation, on the application of the United States' agent, determined to pun- ish the murderers by putting them to death, and a party of warriors was appointed to execute their determination 22 352 FORT MIM'S. This was no sooner done, than the resentment of the friends of the murderers broke out in acts of open violence against all wno had been in any way concerned in causing the murderers to be put to death, and a civil war was the consequence. It appears, however, that this circumstance only produced a premature disclosure of their object, as it has since been as- certained that most of the Upper Creeks had previously determined to take part with the northern Indians in their war with the United States. About the middle of July, the secretary of war wrote to the governor of Georgia, and at the same time transmitted a copy of his letter to the governor of Tennessee, stating, that information through various channels had reached the general government, of the hostility of a portion of the Creek nation, and of the necessity of breaking it down by some prompt and vigorous measures ; and suggested the propriety of embodying a portion of the Georgia militia, who should either act sepa- rately against the enemy, or in concert with another corps of militia, drawn from Tennessee. This letter was received by Governor Mitchell in the end of July, when he immediately took measures for calling out fifteen hundred of the Georgia militia, who were soon after marched to the Ocmulgee river. Their number was subsequently enlarged to a full brigade. Meanwhile appearances became every day more threatening. The friendly Indians were forced to leave their towns and re- treat towards the white settlements, and fortify themselves against the attacks of the war party. The latter proceeded in great numbers to the south, where it is asserted they were supplied by the Spanish governor of Pensacola with arms and ammunition. At last, upon the 30th of August, they com- menced hostilities against the United States, by an attack upon Mim's fort, on the Tensaw, a branch of the Mobile river, in the Mi'-issippi territory, commanded by Major Beasley. Information had been received about a week previous that a large number of Indians were approaching with hostile in- tentions, but the attack was wholly unexpected at the moment it occurred, which was about eleven in the forenoon. The FORT MIM'STAKEN. 353 whole garrison, however, was immediately under arms. The front gate being open, the enemy ran in great numbers to pos- sess themselves of it, and in the contest for it many fell on both sides. Soon, however, the action became general, the enemy fighting, on all sides in the open field, and as near the stockade as they could get. The port-holes were taken and retaken several times. A block-house was contended for by captain Jack, at the head of his riflemen, for the space of an hour after the enemy were in posession of part of it ; when they finally succeeded in driving his company into a house in the fort, and, having stopped many of the port-holes with the ends of rails, possessed themselves of the walls. The troops made a most gallant defence from the houses, but the enemy having set fire to the roofs, and the attempt to extinguish it proving unsuccessful, the few who now remained alive at- tempted a retreat, having previously thrown into the flames many of the guns of the dead. Few, however, succeeded in escaping. Major Beasley fell gallantly fighting at the head of his command, near the gate, at the commencement of the action. The other officers fell nobly doing their duty ; the non-commissioned officers and soldiers behaved equally well. The loss of the Americans was great : sixty-five, including officers and men, of the Mississippi territory volunteers, and twenty-seven volunteer militia, were killed. Many respecta- ble citizens, with numerous famiUes, who had abandoned their farms, and fled to the fort for security, were also killed, or burnt in the houses into which they fled. A detachment which was sent from cantonment Mount Vernon, on the 21st of September, to collect the bones of their countrymen, collected, and consigned to the earth, two hundred and forty- seven persons, including men, women, and children. The detachment likewise searched the woods for bodies, where they found at least one hundred dead Indians, w^ho were cov- ered with rails, brush, &c. These Indians had been interred with their war-dresses and implements, by which they were recognized. 354 GENERAL COFFEE'S EXPEDITION. On the receipt of the disastrous intelligence of the destruc- tion of Major Beasley's garrison, preparations were immedi- ately made for collecting a large force of Tennessee mi- litia, and providing supplies for those of Georgia, which had already assembled. The Tennessee militia were march- ed in two divisions, under the orders of Major-Generals Jack- son and Cocke. On the 2d of November, Major- General Jackson despatched Brigadier-General Coffee from the camp at Ten-Islands, with nine hundred men, consisting of cavalry and mounted rifle- men, on an expedition against Tallushatchee where a consid- erable force of the Creeks was concentrated. Coffee arrived within a mile and a half of the town on the morning of the 3d, where he divided his force into two divisions, and directed them to march so as completely to encircle the town, which was effected in a masterly manner. When they arrived with- in about half a mile of the town, the enemy began to prepare for action, which was announced by the beating of their drums, mingled with savage yells. About an hour after sun- rise the action was brought on by two companies, who had gone within the circle of ahgnment, for the purpose of drawing the enemy out from their buildings. As soon as the two companies exhibited their front in view of the town, and gave a few scattering shot, the enemy formed and made a violent charge upon them, on which they gave way, and were followed by the Indians, until they reached the main body, who immediately opened a general fire, and then char- ged. The Indians now, in their turn, retreated firing, until tney got around and in their buildings, when they made a most determmed resistance, fighting to the very last moment, as long as they could stand or sit, not one shrinking or complaining ; not one asking for quarter. Every warrior in the town was killed, and all the women and children were taken prisoners, except a few who were unintentionally slain, in consequence of the men flying to the houses and mixing with their families, and at the same time refusing quarter. The number found killed of the enemy was one hundred BATTLE OF TALLEDEGA. 355 and eighty-six, and a number of others were killed in the woods, who were not found. The number of women and children taken was eighty-four. Of the Americans, five were killed and forty-one wounded, the greater part slightly, none mortally ; two of the killed were with arrows, which ap- peared to form a principal part of the arms of the Indians on this occasion, every man having a bow, with a bundle of ar- rows, which he used after the first fire with his gun, until a leisure time for loading offered. Coffee bestows much praise on his men, for their delibera- tion and firmness. " Notwithstanding our numbers," says he, " were far superior to that of the enemy, it was a circum- stance to us unknown, and from the parade of the enemy we had every reason to suppose them our equals in number ; but there appeared no visible traces of alarm in any ; on the con- trary, all appeared cool and determined ; and, no doubt, when they face a foe of their own, or of superior number, they will show the same courage as on this occasion." The following day General Coffee returned with his detach- ment to the camp. Late on the evening of the 7th a friendly Indian arrived at the camp, who brought intelligence that the enemy had arrived in great numbers at Talledega, about thirty miles be- low the camp, where one hundred and sixty men of the friendly Creeks had erected a fort, the more effectually to re- sist the efforts of the hostile party, and where they were now stationed with their wives and children. The messenger re- presented that, unless speedy relief could be obtained from the army, the fort would certainly be taken. General Jackson immediately gave orders for taking up the line of march, with twelve hundred infantry and eight hundred cavalry and mounted riflemen, leaving behind the sick, the wounded, and the baggage, with a sufficient force for their protection. By twelve o'clock that night the army was in motion, and commenced crossing the river opposite the encampment, which was effected in a few hours, and on the night of the 8th the army was encamped within six miles of the enemy. At 356 BATTLE OF TALLEDEGA, eleven that night a soldier and two Indians, who had been sent forward to reconnoitre, returned with the intelligence that the enemy were encamped within a quarter of a mile of the fort ; but they had not been able to approach near enough to ascertain either their number or precise situation. At mid- night the adjutant-general was ordered to prepare the line of march, and by four o'clock the army was in motion. The infantry marched in three columns ; the cavalry and niounted riflemen were in the rear, with flankers on each wing. The advance consisted of a company of artillery with muskets, and two companies of riflemen. A company of spies marched four hundred yards in front of the whole, to bring on the engagement. Having arrived within a mile of the enemy at seven o'clock, two hundred and fifty of the cavalry and mounted riflemen were placed in the rear of the centre as a corps de reserve^ and the remainder were ordered to advance on the right and left of the infantry, and, after having encircled the enemy, by uniting the fronts of their columns, and keeping their rear connected with the infantry, to face and press inwards towards the centre, so as to leave the enemy no possibility of escape. The infantry were ordered to advance by heads of companies. General Hall's brigade occupying the right, and General Roberts's the left. About eight o'clock, the advance, having arrived wdthin eighty yards of the enemy, who were concealed in a thick shrubbery which covered the margin of a rivulet, received from them a heavy fire, which they immediately returned, and then charged and dislodged them from their position. The advance now fell back, as they had been previously ordered, to the centre. On the approach of the enemy, three of the militia companies, having given one fire, commenced a retreat, notwithstanding the utmost exertions of their oflScers. To fill the vacancy occasioned by this retreat, Jackson imme- diately ordered up a regiment of volunteers ; but finding the advance of the enemy too rapid to admit of their arrival in time, the reserve was ordered to dismount and meet them. This order was executed with great promptitude and gallantry, SURPRISE OF HILL A BEE. 359 and the retreating militia, seeing the spirited stand made by the reserve, immediately rallied, and recovered their position, pouring in upon the enemy a most destructive fire. The en- gagement now became general ; and in fifteen minutes the Indians were seen flying in every direction. On the left they were met and repulsed by the mounted riflemen ; but on the right it unfortunately happened that too great a space had been left between the cavalry and infantry, by which numbers escaped. They were pursued, however, for three miles to the mountains with great slaughter. The force of the enemy was represented by themselves at a thousand and eighty, two hundred and ninety-nine of whom were left dead on the ground, and a great many were killed in their flight. It is believed that very few escaped without a wound. The American loss was fifteen killed and eighty w^ounded. On the 11th of November, General Cocke, who com- manded the other division of the Tennessee miUtia, ordered Brigadier-General White, with a detachment of mounted infantry and cavalry, to proceed from Fort Armstrong, where this division was stationed, on an expedition against the Hil- labee towns of the hostile Creeks on the Tallapoosa rivei. This expedition was completely successful. They penetrated one hundred miles into the enemy's country, and burned four of their villages, three of which they found deserted. Previ- ous to their arrival at the fort, they learned that a party of the hostile Creeks were assembled there. Having marched the whole of the night of the 17th, they surrounded and com- pletely surprised the town at day-light of the morning of the 18th, and of the whole party, which consisted of three hund- red and sixteen, not one escaped, sixty being killed and the remainder made prisoners. The detachment now returned to camp, where they arrived on the 23d, having lost not one drop of blood in this enterprise. The country through which they marched was exceedingly rough and hilly, and they had to pass several narrow defiles, where it was necessary to use the utmost precaution. The troops and horses, likewise, had 360 BATTLE OF AUTOSSEE. to be subsisted, in a great degree, on such supplies as could be procured in the enemy's country, which rendered their march more tardy than it would otherwise have been. The Georgia miUtia, though embodied before those of Ten- nessee, were not able, from the want of military supplies, to proceed to active operations till the end of November. Bri- gadier-General Stewart had been originally destined for the command, as the senior brigadier ; but family considerations inducing him to decline its acceptance, brigadier^ General Floyd was appointed in his room. Towards the end of November Floyd received information . that numbers of the hostile Indians were assembled at Autos- see, a town on the southern bank of the Tallapoosa river, about twenty miles above its junction with the Coosa. He immediately left his camp, which was situated on the west side of the Chatahoochee river, and proceeded against the enemy with nine hundred and fifty militia, and between three and four hundred of the friendly Creeks. On the evening of the 28th the detachment encamped within nine or ten miles of the place of destination, and having resumed their march about one next morning, at half past six they were formed for action in front of the town. The detachment was formed in two columns, with a rifle company on each flank, and a com- pany of artillery in front of the right column. It was Floyd's intention to have completely surrounded the enemy, by resting the right wing of his force on Canleebee creek, at the mouth of which he was informed their town stood, and resting his left on the river bank below the town ; but to his surprise, as the day dawned, he perceived a second town about five hundred yards below that which he was pre- paring to attack. The plan, therefore, was instantly changed ; three companies of infantry on the left were wheeled to the left en echelon, and advanced to the lower town, accompanied by a rifle company and two troops of light dragoons. The remainder of the force approached the upper town, and the battle soon became general. The Indians presented them- selves at every point, and fought with desperate bravery ; but BATTLE OF AUTOSSEE. 361 the well-directed 'fire of the artillery and the bayonets of the infantry soon forced them to take refuge in the out-houses, thickets, and copses in the rear of the town. Many, it was supposed, secured themselves in caves, previously formed for this purpose in the high bluff of the river, which was thickly covered with reeds and brush-wood. It was intended that the friendly Indians should have crossed the river above the town, and been posted on the opposite shore during the action, to fire on such of the enemy as should attempt to escape, or to keep in check any reinforcements which might be attempted to be thrown, in from the neighbouring towns. Owing to the difficulty of the ford, however, and the coldness of the weather and lateness of the hour, this arrangement failed, and their leaders were directed to cross Canleebee creek, and occupy that flank, to prevent escapes from the Tallisee town. Some time after the action commenced, the friendly Indians thronged in disorder in the rear of the militia, when the hostile tribes fell on the flanks of the detachment and fought with great intrepidity. By nine o'clock, however, the enemy was completely driven from the plains, and the houses of both towns were wrapped in flames. It was impossible to determine the strength of the enemy, but from the information of some of the chiefs, which it is said could be relied on, there were assembled at Autossee warriors from eight towns for its defence, it being their beloved ground, on which they proclaimed no white man could approach without inevitable destruction. Neither was it pos- sible to ascertain their loss ; but from the number which were lying scattered over the field, together with those destroyed in the towns, and those slain on the bank of the river, whom respectable officers affirmed they saw lying in heaps at the water's edge, where they had been precipitated by their sur- viving friends, their loss, in killed alone, must have been at least two hundred, among whom were the Autossee and Tallisee kings. The number of buildings burnt is supposed to be four hundred ; some of them were of a superior order for the dwellings of savages, and filled with valuable articles r^:riJ 362 WEATHERFORD. The Americans had eleven killed and fifty-four wounded, among the latter was General Floyd. The detachment being now sixty miles from any depot of provisions, and their rations pretty nearly consumed, as soon as the dead and wounded were properly disposed of, the place w^as abandoned, and the troops commenced their march back to the camp on the Chatahoochee, a measure the more neces- sary as they were in the heart of an enemy's country, which in a few days could have poured from its numerous towns hosts of warriors. They arrived at the camp in safety, having marched one hundred and twenty miles in seven days. On the 9th of December another detachment of the Georgia miUtia, consisting of about five hundred and thirty men, under the command of general Adams, marched on an expedition against the Creek towns on the Tallapoosie river. Notwith- standing the precautions which they used to prevent the Indians from hearing of their approach, they found the villages deserted, and were unable to bring the enemy to action, though their yells were repeatedly heard on both sides of the river. Having burnt two of their villages, therefore, the de- tachment returned to camp.* Notwithstanding the decisive victories that had been ob- tained by the American troops, and the heavy losses of the Indians, and the destruction of their principal towns, this brave people were still unsubdued. General Claiborne, there- fore, marched a detachment from Fort Claiborne, on the 13th of December, 1813, with a view to the further destruction of their towns. Fort Claiborne is situated on the Alabama river, at no great distance above where, by its junction with the Tombigbee, it forms the Mobile river. The object in view was a town called by the Creeks, Eccanachaca, or Holy Ground. This place, Claiborne was informed, was occupied by a large body of the enemy, under the command of Wea- therford, a half-breed chief, who commanded the Indians that commenced the war by the destruction of the garrison at Fort Mims. * Historical Register vol. ii. DEFEAT OF THE INDIANS. 363 When about thirty miles from the town, a stockade was erected for the security of the sick and the heavy baggage, and on the morning of the 22d the troops resumed their hne of march. Their course lay chiefly through woods, without a track to guide them. On the morning of the 23d, the dis- position for the attack was made. The troops advanced in three columns, a small body acting a corps de reserve. About noon, the right column came in view of the town, and was immediately vigorously attacked by the enemy, who had been apprised of their approach, and had chosen their field of action. Before the centre or the left could come generally into action, the enemy were repulsed and flying in all direc- tions, many of them casting away their arms. Thirty of the Creeks were killed in this rencontre, and judg- ing from appearances, many were wounded. The loss on the part of the Americans was one killed and six wounded. A pursuit was immediately ordered ; but from the nature of the country nothing was effected. The town was nearly surrounded by swamps and deep ravines, which rendered the approach of the troops difficult, while it facilitated the escape of the Indians. In the town was found a large quantity of provisions, and immense property of various kinds, which the enemy, flying precipitately, were obliged to leave behind. All were destroyed, together with the village, consisting of about two hundred houses. The Indians had barely time to remove their women and children across the Alabama, which runs near where the town stood. The town had been built since the commencement of hostihties, and was estabhshed as a place of security for the inhabitants of several villages. In the house of Weatheiford, the commander, was found a letter from the Spanish governor of Pensacola to the leader of the Creeks, stating, that he had represented their request of arms and munitions to the captain-general in Havanna, but had as yet received no answer. He was in hopes, however, he stated, of receiving them ; and as soon as that took place, they should be informed. The following day was occupied by the troops in destroying 364 THE ARMY REINFORCED. a town consisting of sixty houses, eight miles higher up the river, and in taking and destroying the boats of the enemy. At this place three Indians of some distinction were killed. The term of service of the volunteers having now generally expired, they marched to Fort Stoddart, in order to be paid off. Soon after the battle of Talledega, General Jackson's army had been almost entirely broken up, by the expiration of the time of the militia, but on the 14th of January, 1814, he was joined at Fort Strother by about eight hundred new raised volunteers from Tennessee, making his whole force, exclusive of Indians, nine hundred and thirty. The term of service of the volunteers being short, and the men full of ardour to meet the enemy, he determined immediately to employ them in active service ; and to this he was particularly induced by the information, that the Indians w^ere concentrating with the view of attacking Fort Armstrong, a position about fifty miles above Fort Strother, on the same river, and also by his desire to make a diversion in favour of General Floyd, who was about making a movement to the Tallapoosa river, near its junction wnth the Coosa. The volunteers therefore were marched across the river the day after their arrival, and on the next day, Jackson followed with the remainder of his force, consisting of the artillery company, with one six pounder, one company of infantry of forty-eight men, two companies of spies, of about thirty men each, and a company of volunteer officers, headed by General Coffee, who had been abandoned by his men, under some misapprehension as to their term of service, and who still re- mained in the field waiting the orders of the government. On the 17th, the troops took up the line of march, and on the night of the 18th encamped at Talledega Fort, where they w^ere joined by between two and three hundred friendly In- dians ; sixty-five of whom were Cherokees, the remainder Creeks. On the 20th, they encamped at Enotachopco, a small Hillibee village, about twelve miles from Emuckfau. Here Jackson began to perceive very plainly how little TALLAPOOSA. 365 knowledge the spies had of the country, of the situation of the enemy, or of the distance the army was from them. The insubordination of the new troops, and the want of skill in most of their officers, also became more and more apparent. But their ardour to meet the enemy was not diminished ; and Jackson had a sure reliance upon the guards, and the com- pany of old volunteer officers, and upon the spies, in all about one hundred and twenty-five. On the morning of the 21st, the troops marched from Eno- tachopco, as direct as possible for the bend of the Tallapoosa, and about 2 o'clock P. M., the spies having discovered two of the enemy, endeavoured to overtake them, but failed. In the evening, a large trail was perceived, which led to a new road, much beaten and lately travelled. Knowing that he must have arrived within the neighbourhood of a strong force, and it being late in the day, Jackson determined to encamp, and reconnoitre the country in the night. He accordingly chose the best site the country w^ould admit, encamped in a hollow square, sent out spies and pickets, doubled the senti- nels, and made the necessary arrangements before dark for a night attack. About ten o'clock at night, one of the pickets fired at three of the enemy, and killed one, but he was not found until the next day. At eleven, the spies returned with the information, that there was a large encampment of Indians at the distance of about three miles, who, from their whooping and dancing, seemed to be apprised of the approach of the troops. One of these spies, an Indian in whom Jackson had great confidence, assured him that they were carrying off their women and children, and that the warriors would either make their escape or attack him before day. Being prepared at all points, nothing remained to be done but to await their ap- proach, if they meditated an attack, or to be ready, if they did not, to pursue and attack them at daylight. While the troops were in this state of readiness, the enemy, about six o'clock in the morning, commenced a vigorous attack on the left flank, which was as vigorously met ; the action continued to rage on that flank, and on the left of the 366 BATTTE OF TALLAPOOSA. rear, for about half an hour. So soon as it became light enough to pursue, the left wing, having sustained the heat of the action, and being somewhat weakened, was reinforced by a company of infantry, and was ordered and led on to the charge by General Coffee, who was well supported by all the officers and privates who composed that line. The enemy was completely routed at every point, and the friendly Indians joining in the pursuit, they were chased about two miles with considerable slaughter. The chase being over. General Coffee was detached with four hundred men and all the Indian force to burn the encampment ; but with orders, if it was fortified, not to attack it, until the artillery could be sent forward to reduce it. On viewing the encampment and its strength, the general thought it most prudent to return, and guard the artillery, thither. The wisdom of this step was soon discovered — in half an hour after his return to camp, a considerable force of the enemy made its appearance on Jackson's right flank, and commenced a brisk fire on a party of men, who had been on picket-guard the night before, and were then in search of the Indians they had fired upon. General Coffee immediately requested two hundred men to turn their left flank, which were accordingly ordered ; but, through some mistake, not more than fifty-four followed him, among whom were the old volunteer officers. With these, however, he immediately commenced an attack on the left flank of the enemy, and Jackson ordered two hundred of the friendly Indians to fall in upon their right flank, and co-operate with General Coffee. This order was promptly obeyed, and what was expected was realized. The enemy had intended the attack on the right as a feint, and, expecting to direct all Jackson's attention thither, meant to attack him again, and with their main force, on the left flank, which they had hoped to find weakened and in dis- order. But they were disappointed ; for Jackson had ordered the left flank to remain firm to its place, and the moment the alarm gun was heard in that quarter, he repaired thither, and ordered Captain Ferrill, with part of the reserve, to support DEFEAT OF THE INDIANS. 3(57 it. The whole line met the approach of the enemy with as- tonishing intrepidity, and having given a few fires, they forth- with charged with great vigour. The effect was immediate and inevitable. The enemy fled with precipitation, and were pursued to a considerable distance, by the left flank and the friendly Indians, with a galling and destructive fire. In the meantime. General Coffee was contending with a superior force of the enemy. The Indians who had been ordered to his support, and who had set out for this purpose, hearing the firing on the left, had returned to that quarter, and when the enemy were routed there, entered into the chase. That being now over, one hundred of them were sent to the relief of Coffee, and as soon as they reached him, the charge was made and the enemy routed : they were pursued about three miles, and forty-five of them slain, who were found. General Coffee was wounded in the body, and his aid-de- camp, A. Donaldson, killed, together with three others. The camp was now fortified, in order that the troops might be the better prepared to repel any attack which might be made the following night, and next morning the troops set out on their return to Fort Strother, General Jackson not deeming it prudent to proceed farther on account of the scarcity of supplies, the number of his wounded, and the probability of the Indians receiving reinforcements from below. The re- treat commenced at ten o'clock on the 23d, and the troops were fortunate enough to reach Enotachopco before night, having passed a dangerous defile without interruption. The camp was again fortified. Having another defile to pass in the morning, across a deep creek, and between two hills, which Jackson had viewed Avith attention, as he passed on, and where he expected he might be attacked, he determined to pass it at another point, and gave directions to the guide and fatigue-men accordingly. The general's expectation of an attack in the morning was increased by the signs of the night, and with it his caution. Before the wounded were removed from the interior of the camp, the front and rear guards were formed, as well as the right and left columns, and the centre 368 SEVERE ENGAGEMENT. moved off in regular order, leading down a ridge to Enota- chopco creek, at a point where it was clear of reeds, except immediately on its margin. A general order had been pre- viously issued, pointing out the manner in which the men should be formed in the event of an attack on the front, or rear, or on the flanks, and the officers had been particularly cautioned to halt and form accordingly, the instant the word should be given. The front guard had crossed with part of the flank columns, the wounded were over, and the artillery in the act of enter- ing the creek, when an alarm gun was heard in the rear. Having chosen the ground, Jackson expected there to have entirely cut off the enemy, by wheeling the right and left columns on their pivot, re-crossing the creek above and below, and falling in upon their flanks and rear. But, to his aston- ishment and mortification, when the word was given to halt and form, and a few guns had been fired, the right and left columns of the rear guard precipitately gave way. This shameful retreat was disastrous in the extreme : it drew along with it the greater part of the centre column, leaving not more than twenty-five men, who, being formed by Colonel Carrol, maintained their ground, as long as it was possible to main- tain it. There was then left to repulse the enemy, the few who remained of the rear guard, the artillery company, and Captain Russell's company of spies. Their conduct, how- ever, exceeded the highest expectations. Lieutenant Arm- strong, who commanded the artillery company in the absence of Captain Deadrick, who was confined by sickness, ordered them to form and advance to the top of the hill, whilst he and a few others dragged up the six-pounder. Never was more bravery displayed than on this occasion. Amidst the most galling fire from the enemy, more than ten times their number, they ascended the hill and maintained their position, until their piece was hauled up, when, having levelled it, they poured upon the enemy a fire of grape, reloaded and fired again, charged and repulsed them. A number of the troops now crossed the creek, and entered GENERAL FLOYD'S SUCCESS. 369 into the chase. Captain Gordon of the spies, who had rushed from the front, endeavoured to turn the left flank of the enemy, in which he partially succeeded, and Colonel Carroll, Colonel Higgins, and Captains ElUot and Pipkins, pursued the enemy for more than two miles, who fled in consternation, throwing away their packs, and leaving twenty- six of their warriors dead on the field. This last defeat was decisive, the troops being no more disturbed in their re- treat. The loss sustained in these several engagements was twenty killed and seventy-five wounded, four of whom afterwards died. The loss of the enemy could not be accurately ascer- tained : one hundred and eighty- nine of their warriors were found dead ; but this must fall considerably short of the num- ber really killed. Their wounded can only be guessed at. Meanwhile General Floyd was advancing towards the Indian territory from Chatahoochee river. On the twenty- seventh of January his camp was attacked by a large body of Indians, at the hour usually chosen for their operations, viz. about an hour before day. They stole upon the sentinels, fired upon them, and then with great impetuosity rushed upon the line. In twenty minutes the action became general, and the front of both flanks were closely pressed, but the gallant conduct of the officers, and the firmness of the men, repelled them at every point. As soon as it became light enough to distinguish objects, Floyd strengthened his right wing, to pre- pare them for a charge, and the cavalry was ordered to form in their rear, to act as circumstances should dictate. The order for the charge was promptly obeyed, and the enemy fled in every direction before the bayonet. The order was then given for the charge of the cavalry, who pursued and sabred fifteen of the enemy. Thirty-seven Indians were left dead on the field. From the effusion of blood, and number of the war-clubs and head- dresses found in various directions, their loss must have been considerable. Floyd's loss was seventeen killed, and one hundred and thirty-two wounded. 23 370 HORSE SHOE BEND. The Creeks being rather inspirited than cast down by their last encounters with the whites, more vigorous efforts became necessary. General Jackson, therefore, having received re- inforcements of militia from Tennessee, and being joined by a considerable body of Cherokee and friendly Creek Indians, set out on another expedition to the Tallapoosa river. He put his army in motion from the Coosee river on the morning of the 24th of March, and having a passage of fifty-two and a half miles over the ridges which divide the waters of the two rivers, reached the bend of the Tallapoosa, three miles beyond where the engagement of the 22d of January took place, and at the southern extremity of New Youca, on the morning of the 27th. This bend resembles in its curvature that of a horse-shoe, and IS thence called by that name among the whites.* Nature furnishes few situations as eligible for defence ; and barbari- ans never rendered one more secure by art, than was this by the Creeks. Across the neck of land which leads into it from the north, they had erected a breastwork, ot the greatest com- pactness and strength, from five to eight feet high, and pre- pared with double rows of port-holes very artfully arranged. The figure of this wall manifested no less skill in the projec- tors of it, than its construction ; an army could not approach it without being exposed to a double and cross fire from the enemy, who lay in perfect security behind it. The area of this peninsula, thus bounded by breastworks, included about eighty or one hundred acres. In this bend the warriors from Oakfuskee, Oakchaya, New Youca, Hillabees, the Fish Ponds, and Eufauta towns, appriz- ed of Jackson's approach, had collected their strength. Their exact number was not ascertained ; but it was believed to have been about one thousand : and relying with the utmost confidence upon their strength, their situation, and the assur- ances of their prophets, they calculated on repulsing Jackson with great ease. Early on the morning of the 27th, having encamped the * It is called by the Indians Tohopeka. HORSE SHOE BEND. 371 preceding night at the distance of six miles from the bend, Jackson detached General Coffee with the mounted men, and nearly the whole of the Indian force, to pass the river at a ford about three miles below their encampment, and to sur- round the bend in such a manner that none of them should es- cape by attempting to cross the river. With the remainder of the forces Jackson proceeded along the point of land, which led to the front pf their breastwork ; and at half past ten o'clock, planted his artillery on a small eminence, distant from the nearest point of the breastwork about eighty yards, and from its farthest about two hundred and fifty ; from which a brisk fire was immediately opened upon its centre. When- ever the enemy showed themselves behind their works, or ventured to approach them, a galling fire was opened on them with musketry and rifles. Meanwhile General Coffee, having crossed below, turned up the river, bearing away from its cliffs. When within half a mile of the village, which stood at the extremity of the peninsula, the savage yell was raised by the enemy. Expect- ing an immediate attack, Coffee drew up his forces in line of battle, in open hilly woodland, and moved forward in that position. The friendly Indians had been previously ordered to advance secretly and take possession of the bank of the river, and prevent the enemy from crossing on the approach of Jackson's main body in front. Accordingly, the fire of Jackson's cannon commencing when Coffee's troops were within about a quarter of a mile from the river, his Indians immediately rushed forward with great impetuosity to its banks. The militia were halted, and kept in order of battle, an attack on the rear being expected from the Oakfuskee villages, which lay on the river about eight miles below. The fire of the cannon and small arms becoming now general and heavy in front, animated the Indians on the bank ; and seeing about one hundred of the warriors, and all the squaws and children of the enemy running about among the huts of the village on the opposite shore, they could no longer remain silent spectators. While some kept up a fire across 3Y2 STORMING OF THE WORKS. the river (here about one hundred and twenty yards wide), to prevent the enemy's approach to the bank, others plunged into the river and swam across for canoes, that lay on the other side in considerable numbers. Having succeeded in bringing them over, numbers embarked, and landing in the peninsula, advanced into the village, and soon drove the enemy from the huts up to the fortification, where they pursued and continued to annoy them during the whole action. This movement of the friendly Indians leaving the river bank unguarded, made it necessary that a part of Coffee's line should take their place. A company of rangers were accord- ingly posted on the bank of the upper part, and a lieutenant with forty men took possession of an island in the lower part of the bend. Finding that the friendly Indians, notwithstanding the determined bravery they displayed, were wholly insufficient to dislodge the enemy, and that General Coffee had secured the opposite banks of the river, Jackson determined upon taking possession of the works by storm. Never were men better disposed for such an undertaking, than those by whom it was to be effected. They had entreated to be led to the charge with the most pressing importunity ; and received the order which was now given with the strongest demonstration of joy. The effect was such as this temper of mind foretold. The regular troops, led by Colonel Williams and Major Mont- gomery, were presently in possession of the nearer side of the breastwork ; and the militia accompanied them in the charge with a vivacity and firmness which could not have been exceeded, and have seldom been equalled by troops of any description. Having maintained for a few minutes a very obstinate con- test, muzzle to muzzle, through the port holes, in which many of the enemy's balls were welded to the American bayonets, they succeeded in gaining possession of the opposite side of the- works. The event could then no longer be douDtful ; the enemy, although many of them fought to the last with that TOTAL DEFEAT OF THE CREEKS. 373 kind of bravery which desperation inspires, were routed and cut to pieces. The whole margin of the river which sur- rounded the peninsula, was strewed with the slain : five hun- dred and fifty-seven were found, besides a great number who were thrown into the river by their surviving friends, and kill- ed in attempting to pass it, by General Coffee's men, stationed on the opposite banks. Not more than twenty could have escaped. Among the dead was found their famous prophet Manahoee, shot in the mouth by a grape-shot, and two other prophets. Two or three women and children were killed by accident. The number of prisoners taken exceeded three hundred, all women and children excepting three or four. The battle may be said to have continued with severity for about five hours ; but the firing and the slaughter continued until it was suspended by the darkness of the night. The next morning it was resumed, and sixteen of the enemy slain, who had concealed themselves under the banks. Jackson's loss was twenty-six white men killed, and one hundred and seven wounded ; eighteen Cherokees killed, and thirty-six wounded ; five friendly Creeks killed, and eleven wounded. This most decisive battle completely broke the spirit as well as power of the hostile Creeks, who were never after able to make head against the troops of the United States. Jackson shortly after completely scoured the Coosa and Talla- poosa rivers, and the intervening country. A part of the enemy on the latter river, just before his arrival, made their escape across it, and fled in consternation towards Pensacola. Most of the inhabitants on the Coosa and the neighbouring country came in, and surrendered unconditionally. Many of the negroes taken at Fort Mims were delivered up, and one white woman, with her two children. A detachment of militia from North and South Carolina, under the command of Colonel Pearson, scoured the country below, upon the Alabama, took a number of prisoners, and received the submission of a great number of Creek warriors and prophets. On the return of Pearson's expedition, he had 374 SUBMISSION OF THE CREEKS. with him upwards of six hundred of the late hostile Creeks, and nearly all the remaining negroes that had been captured at Fort Miras.* On the first of August, the principal chiefs of the hostile Creeks, came to Fort Jackson and sued for peace. Their submission was complete. They agreed to deUver to the United States, a large and valuable portion of their territory, as an equivalent for the expenses incurred in prosecuting the war ; and the right of the United States to establish military posts and trading houses, and to open roads within their terri- tory, was acknowledged, as also", the right to the free naviga- tion of all their waters. All the prisoners on both sides were to be restored ; and the United States engaged to guarantee to them the remainder of their territory. In consideration of the nation being reduced to extreme want, and not having at present the means of subsistence, the United States engaged, from motives of humanity, to continue to furnish them gra- tuitously with the necessaries of life, until the crops of corn could be considered competent to yield the nation a supply ; and to establish trading houses to enable the nation by industry and economy to procure clothing. Thus ended the Creek war, after a prodigious slaughter of those brave, misguided men, and the unconditional submission of the remainder, excepting a few who took refuge in Florida. * Historical Register vol. iv. CHAPTER XVIII. Northern Campaign of 1814. '^Jt is to be observed that the commence- ^^ ment of the year 1814 was distinguished by events in Europe of the most porten- i^ tous magnitude; the entry of the alhed '^' armies into Paris, the forced abdication winter. My warriors fell around me ; it began to look dismal. I saw my evil day at hand. The sun rose dim on us on the morning, and at night it sunk in a dark cloud, and looked like a ball of fire. That was the last sun that shone on Black Hawk. His heart is dead, and no longer beats quick in his bosom. He is rlow a prisoner to the white men ; they will do with him as they wish. But fie can stand tor- ture, and is not afraid of death. He is no coward. Black Hawk is an Indian." In this strain of impassioned eloquence he continued telling them that he had done nothing for which an Indian ought to DEATH OF BLACK HAWK. 463 be ashamed ; that an Indian who was as bad as the white men would not be allowed to live in his nation; that, though the white men do not scalp the head, they poison the heart, and in a few years his countrymen would become like the white men, so that they could not be trusted, and they would, as in the white settlements, have need of nearly as many officers as men, to take care of them and keep them in order. He concluded with the following words : " Fare- well, my nation ! Black Hawk tried to save you, and avenge your wrongs. He drank the blood of some of the whites. He has been taken prisoner and his plans are stopped. He can do no more. He is near his end. His sun is setting, and he will rise no more. Farewell to Black Hawk." Black Hawk was taken to Washington where he had an interview with the President. He was then conducted through the principal Atlantic cities, to show him the power, the greatness and the number of the people against whom he had been contending, and the folly of waging war against such a nation. He was every where received with the most marked attention and hospitality ; and, on being set at liberty, he returned to his own nation, on the Des Moines river, where he died on the 3d of October 1838. CHAPTER XXI. The Seminole Wars, S soon as the war of 1812 was ended, the Indians in Florida, in- stigated by Edward Nichols and James Woodbine^ formerly officers in the British service, again took up the hatchet against their white neighbours. These two men, in order the more com- pletely to effect their purpose, established a fort on the Appalachicola river, to which they encouraged the disaffected Indians and runaway negroes to flee as to a place of safety. At this place, naturally strong by its position, they mounted twelve pieces of artillery, and in July 1816, their garrison amounted to four hundred negroes and Indians, who were well supplied with provisions and all the munitions of war.* To dislodge this band of outlaws. Colonel Clinch was des- patched with a small number of regulars and some Indians under the command of their chief Mcintosh, and in the begin- ning of July he laid siege to the fort on the land side. Two schooners had been sent from New Orleans to supply * Moore's Indian Wars. 464 I DESTRUCTION OF THE FORT 465 Clinch with provisions and munitions of war. Having obtained the permission of the Governor of Pensacola, these vessels proceeded up the Appalachicola, under the convoy of two gun boats, each mounting one twelve pounder, and carrying twenty-five men. Colonel Clinch deemed this small force insufficient to attack the fort on the river side and accordingly cautioned the commander against any offensive operations. But, when near the fort, a watering party of seven men were attacked by an ambuscade of negroes; five were killed, one escaped and the other was taken pris- oner, tortured, and murdered. The commander of the gun-boats immediately warped up sufficiently near to the fort and commenced a fire on it with hot shot, one of which enter- ed the magazine and blew up the fort. By this accident the fort was completely destroyed ; two hundred and seventy of the enemy were killed, and most of the remainder wounded. An immense quantity of arms and munitions of war, designed for supplying the Indians and negroes, with the ineans of an- noying the frontier settlers, fell into the hands of the con- querors.* Nichols and Woodbine had fled on the first appearance of the troops, having first exacted an oath from their followers, not to suffer an American to approach the fort and live. While these events were passing in West Florida, a similar system of operations was carried on in East Florida. The in- terior of that province of Spain was occupied by runaway Indians — outlaws — known by the name of Seminoles, which in the Creek language signifies wild^ and they were so called because they had estranged themselves from their for- mer country and comrades. These Indians were in close alliance with another tribe called Red-Sticks, who were Creeks expelled from their lands in 1813. They had erected a high pole at their principal village of Mikasau- -ky, which they striped with red paint. Hence their name of Red-Sticks. This pole was only erected when the people in- tended to make war, and used as a kind of flag-staff', the flag * Moore's Indian Wars. 466 INDIANS REFUSE TO MOVE. Deing formed of the scalps of murdered enemies. These, with the assistance of some hundreds of runaway negroes from Georgia, could bring upwards of fifteen hundred warriors into the field, and were continually committing depredations on the border settlements, aided and encouraged it is said by the Spanish authorities of Florida. The region which had thus become the seat of a sanguin- ary border warfare was under the immediate command of Gen- eral Gaines, who directly set about strengthening and pro- tecting the frontier by the erection of Forts Scott and Gaines, on the Flint river ; the former, near its junction with the Chatahoo- chee, and the latter on the line between Georgia and Missis- sippi. He also built a fort on the Canocho branch of the Escam- bia river. In pursuance of his orders " to remove the Indians still re- maining on the lands ceded by the treaty made by General Jack- son with the Creeks," General Gaines, on the 19th of Novem- ber 1816, sent an officer to Fowltown, to require the removal of certain Indians still remaining there. The chief returned a haughty refusal. The next day Major Twigs being despatched with a strong force to bring the chief and Indians to Fort Scott, was attacked on the way, but he succeeded in repulsing the ene- my and continued his march to Fowltown, which he found de- serted. On the 30th of November, Major Muhlenburg, with three vessels containing stores for Fort Scott arrived in the Ap- palachicola, but owing to contrary winds was unable to ascend, the river. Lieutenant Scott was sent to his assistance with a boat and forty men. When he reached the vessels, Muhlenburg, took twenty of the men out of the boat, and filling their places w^ith his sick soldiers and women, sent the boat back to the Fort. When they reached the mouth of the Flint river, they were suddenly attacked by the old Chief Hornotlimed and his band of warriors, and all were killed except six soldiers who escaped to the oposite shore by swimming. The Indians took the scalps of their victims and carried them to Mikasauky, where they were added to the trophies on the red pole. CAPTURE OF PENSACOLA. 467 General Jackson arrived at Fort Scott with nine hundred Georgia militia on the 9th of March 1817, and immediately took the command. On the 1st. of April he was joined by one thousand Tennessee Volunteers ; and about the same time by Mcintosh the Creek chief, with fifteen hundred warriors thus increasing his whole force to four thousand three hundred men. With this overwhelming force he proceeded to Mikasauky, which he found deserted by the inhabitants, who had left their red pole standing, with the scalps upon it. He burned the town to the ground, orderd Mcintosh to scour the country in search of the fugitives, and marched to St. Marks then in possession of Spain, took posession of it and sent the garrison to Pensacola. Hornotlimed and the Creek Chief Francis Hillishago were decoyed into a vessel at the mouth of the Appalachicola, and soon after hung as traitors. In the neighbourhood of St. Marks General Jackson captured a Scotch trader named Alexander Arbuthnot, who had been carrying on an extensive inter- course with the hostile Indians and negroes. On the 9th of April the General marched from St. Marks and on the 16th arrived at the Sawaney villages, which he found almost deserted. The villages were destroyed and parties sent out in search of the fugitives. On the l8th Robert Ambrister who had been a Lieutenant of Marines under Nichols was captured, together with a schooner belonging to Arbuthnot. The schooner was employed in transporting the sick and bag gage of the army to St. Marks. When Jackson arrived at St Marks Arbuthnot and Ambrister were tried by a Court Martial, condemned and executed. Receiving intelligence that some of the fugitive Seminoles had escaped to West Florida, after leaving a garrison at St. Marks, Jackson marched for Pensacola, took possession of the town, and compelled the governor and garrison to take refuge in Fort Barancas. The bombardment of that fortress was instant- ly commenced and it was obliged to surrender to the United States on the 27th of May. St Augustine was next captured .J 4G8 REMOVAL OF THE INDIANS. Dy a detachment under General Gaines, and the first Seminole war ended by the conquest of Florida. But the Seminoles were not yet subdued ; and other nations of the south showed that they yet retained the warlike spirit of their fathers. The remains of their tribes, by successive wars, purchases, and treaties, had become scattered throughout the territory in detached sections, completely surrounded and enclosed by their conquerors. In such a situation, frequent collision was almost unavoidable. The Indians murmured, that the rem- nant of their territory was eagerly coveted and grasped at by every possible means ; that they were exposed to constant outrages, without hope of redress ; to which might be added, that they often sought it themselves not in the mildest manner. The state governments complained, that to have independent states of so turbulent a character enclosed within their domain, was incompatible with any regular system of administration. In these circumstances a plan was devised, which was first developed by Monroe in his message of the 7th of December 1824. Beyond the most western frontier of the states there lay a great extent of territory, which though rude, contained as much productive land as would be sufficient for the support of all these tribes. It was proposed to present such motives as might induce them to quit all the domains now held by them with- in the Union, and emigrate thither. They were to be paid the full price of the former, to be freely transported and establish- ed in their new possessions, and receive their subsistence for one year. This plan continued to be prosecuted under the administra- tion of Adams, yet without, for some time, making much pro- gress To quit their native seats, the home of their fathers, the tombs of their ancestors, appeared to the Indians an evil not to be compensated by any external advantages in a distant and unknown region. Jackson, however, applied himself to the object with characteristic energy and determination. With- out employing absolute compulsion, he intimated that they could only remain on condition of ceasing to be independent, and be« FLORIDA WAR, 469 coming subject to the laws of the state within which they were located. This alternative, as was expected, appeared to them so terrible, that a reluctant consent to removal began to be extorted. In December 1830, the president could announce a treaty to that efl'ect with the Choctaws and Chickasaws. Fruitless negotiations were carried on with the Cherokees ; but in 1832 agreements were made with the Creeks in Alabama, and the Seminoles in Florida, who in their difficult country, had been reinforced by fugitives from various states. The latter stipulated for a deputation to proceed and to exam- ine the territory assigned, understanding that the final decision was to depend upon its report. Government, on the contrary conceived the engagement to be absolute, and in April 1834 obtained a vote of congress for its execution. The deputation, on their return reported favourably of the territory, but objected to the vicinity in which they would be placed to some hostile tribes. The year 1835 having nearly elapsed without any movement, Jackson pressed with extreme urgency their im- mediate departure. The resolution was then taken of resist- ing to the last extremity. Oceola, the chief proclaimed it treason for any Indian to leave the country. A general attack was commenced on the American frontier posts, which, being very unprepared, suffered severely. On the 28th of December 1835, a detachment of one hundred and two men commanded by Major Dade was cut off, three only escaping ; and the bodies of the slain were found fifty- three days after, lying unburied on the field of battle. On the 31st a body of between two and three hundred was defeated with the loss of sixty-three killed and wounded. The war spread among the adjacent tribe ot the Creeks, and became one of the longest and most obstinate ever waged between the two races. When the main force of the States was brought up, the insurgents were unable to face it in the open field ; but to root them out of the swamps, morasses, and dense entangled forests of this most difficult country, proved a task truly arduous. What rendered the American force both inefficient and expensive was its being mostly com- posed of militia, called out only for a certain time, a great part 470 FLORIDA WAR. of which was occupied in the march and return. In July, 1836, Major-General Jessup was appointed to the chief com- mand in Florida. For more than a year he carried on the war without any apparent advantage, pursuing the Indians from place to place, or falling back before them ; watching them in their swamps, from which they would sally at night and cut up small parties, devastate the country, and retire again to their inaccessible fastnesses, before they could bo overtaken or their retreat cut off. In December, 1837, Colonel Zachary Taylor was detached from Fort Gardner with eleven hundred men, with instruc- tions to proceed against the enemy with the least possible delay, to give him battle, and to destroy or capture his forces. After a march of five days, he, on the 25th of December, arrived on the borders of a dense swamp, where the enemy was reported to be in force, waiting to give him battle. Taylor immediately formed his order of battle, placing the volunteers in the first line, with orders, if hard pressed to fall back and form in the rear of the regulars, who formed his second line. As the swamp consisted of an oozy mass of mud and water, nearly two feet deep, over which waved a thick growth of coarse "saw-grass," as tall as a man, it was utterly impassable for cavalry. In consequence of this, all the officers and men were dismounted at the edge of the swamp, and the horses and baggage left under a suitable guard. These arrangements being satisfactorily completed, the army entered the swamp in order of battle. Scarcely had the first line entered, when a heavy fire was opened upon them by a concealed foe, which carried death and confusion into their ranks. Their com- mander. Colonel Gentry, fell mortally wounded, and they fled in disorder to the baggage, where they remained during the remainder of the battle, notwithstanding the order of Colonel Taylor, to form in the rear of the regulars. Exhilarated by their success, the Indians rushed forward upon the second line, discharging a heavy fire of musketry. They were, however, coolly met, and driven back to some distance. Colonel Taylor then ordered a regiment to gain the enemy's right flank, and FLORIDA WAR. 471 BATTLK OF OKEE-CHO-BEE. turn it if possible. This order was executed with promptness and effect. As soon as the regiment got into position, the In- dians, fearing to be surrounded, gave one fire and retreated, and were pursued by the troops until near night, along the bank of the Lake Okee-Cho-bee, which stretched out in the rear of their encampment, and which has given its name to the battle. This action lasted two hours and a half. The Americans lost twenty-six killed, and one hundred and twelve woundey. The loss of the Indians was never ascertained. The battle of Okee-Cho-bee opened the whole country to the Americans. Many of the chiefs, with their followers, surrendered themselves, and gave up the contest, and the rem- nant could never afterwards be prevailed upon to risk a general 29 472 CLOSE OF THE FLORIDA WAR. battle. Colonel Taylor was promoted to the rank of brevet brigadier-general, and in the May following, he was appointed to the command of the Florida army, in place of General Jessup. In 1839, a treaty was concluded with the Seminoles, by which they were permitted to occupy, unmolested, a certain range of territory. Thence, however, they made formidable incursions, and it was not till 1842, that the government could announce the final termination of this contest. In 1840, Gene- ral Taylor requested permission to retire from Florida, and was succeeded by General Armistead. In 1841, Taylor was appointed to the command of the first military department of the south-west, comprehending the States of Alabama, Ar- kansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. It was in consequence of this appointment that it fell to his lot to command the army of occupation on the breaking out of the Mexican war. CORPUS CHRISTI. CHAPTER XXII. The Mexican War. — The Central Army* N 1836, Texas refusing to accede to the new Con- stitution which had lately been adopted by Mexico, was invaded by the Mex- icans under Santa Anna. A complete victory was gained by the Texans at the battle of San Jacinto ; Santa Anna, the presi- dent of Mexico was taken prisoner, and the State delivered from invasion. A convention of dele- • We have adopted this designation for convenience. General Wool's column was called the Central Army. We are aware that 473 474 ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. gates soon afterwards declared Texas a free and sovereign Republic, adopted a constitution, and organized a government. The independence of the new Republic was acknowledged by the principal nations of the world. Mexico, however, still asserted her claim to the country, but was hindered by the distracted state of her government from prosecuting her plan of subjugation. In this state of affairs, Texas sought the assistance of a more povTerful government. As early as the 4th of August, 1837, she proposed to annex herself to the United States, but the terms were declined by Mr. Van Buren. The negotiations, however, were renewed in 1843, and after a thorough examination and discussion of the question, a reso- lution of annexation passed both houses of Congress in March, 1845, was approved by the president, and on the 4th of July of the same year, ratified by the Texan Congress. Thus Texas became one of the United States. On the 7th of July, a reso- lution was adopted by a general convention in the new State, requesting the president of the United States to occupy their ports, and send an army for their defence. This request was immediately complied with. General Zachary Taylor had already been ordered to hold himself in readiness, with the troops under his command, to embark for the western frontier of Texas, as soon as he should receive positive infor' iation of the acceptance of the terms of annexation proposed by Con- gress. The country lying between the Nueces and Rio Grande being in dispute between Texas and Mexico, he was ordered to extend his protection to the banks of the latter river, but not to disturb the posts on the eastern side thereof, in the actual occupancy of Mexican forces, or Mexican settlements, over which the Republic of Texas did not exercise jurisdic- tion at the time of annexation, or shortly before that event. In consequence of these instructions, General Taylor crossed the Nueces, and in August concentrated his forces at Corpus Christi. In the latter part of the month, he was authorized to make a requisition for volunteers, from the States of Louisiana and Alabama, if Mexico should declare war, or commence hostilities, by crossing the Rio Grande with a considerable OCCUPATION OF POINT ISABEL. 475 POINT ISABEL. force. He was also ordered to approach as near the boundary- line, the Rio Grande, as he deemed prudent. Accordingly, in March, 1846, the army left Corpus Christi, and marched west- ward. When they reached the Colorado, General Mejia, who commanded a party of Mexicans on the western side of the river, sent a despatch to General Taylor, stating that the pas- sage of the Colorado, by the United States army, would be regarded as a declaration of war, and the signal for the com- mencement of hostilities. Taylor, however, crossed the river on the 20th of March, without opposition, and on the 25th occupied Point Isabel. The Mexicans now considered the war begun, though no rencontre had as yet taken place. On the 28th, General Taylor advanced up the Rio Grande, and took a position opposite the Mexican town of Matamoras. Batteries were erected in the opposite town, and General Taylor com- menced the erection of a battery to command those of the 476 ARISTA ASSUMES COMMAND. GALLANT ACTION OF CAPTAIST THORNTON. enemy. Thus far the American army had advanced, merely to assert the right of the United States to Texas up to the Rio Grande, merely to occupy the territory recently acquired. The United States considered peace still to exist, and Taylor was ordered not to engage in hostilities, unless the Mexicans, by crossing the Rio Grande, should invade the territory of the United States, and place the country in a state of war. On the 24th of April, General Arista assumed the chief command of the army of Mexico. A rumour having reached General Taylor to the effect, that the Mexicans had crossed the river, both above and below his camp, with the intention of surrounding him, he, on the 24th of April, despatched Captain Ker to the crossing below the fort, and Captain Thornton, with sixty-three dragoons to that above, in order to ascertain the truth of the rumour. Thornton's party were ]^\ into an ambuscade, about thirty miles from the camp, and COMMENCEMENT OF THE WAR. 411 attacked by about ten times their number of Mexican soldiers, under General Torrejon. After losing sixteen men, killed and wounded, Thornton was compelled to surrender to the Mexi- cans. This was the first actual fight of the war; and it was considered by the Mexicans as a favourable augury of their final success. Disregarding the disparity in the numbers of the two parties, it was considered as an important victory, and was immediately followed by like attacks on other small parties. Crossing the river in large detachments, the Mexi- cans moved down to the east of Taylor's camp, and spread themselves between it and Point Isabel, so as completely to inteiTupt the communication of General Taylor with his sup- plies at that place. He immediately apprized the war depart- ment at Washington, that hostilities had commenced, and made a requisition upon the governors of Texas and Louisiana for six regiments of infantry. Such was the state of affairs when Captain Walker arrived at the camp of General Taylor, on the 30th of April, with the information, that the enemy were in great force between Point Isabel and the camp, and were hourly threatening an attack on the former place. General Taylor, immediately resolved to set out in person with the greater part of his army for the relief of Point Isabel, and to secure his supplies. He accord- ingly left Major Brown in command of the works, W'hich afterwards bore his name, and reached Point Isabel on the 2d of May, without opposition. He found the place completely invested, and the greatest anxiety prevailing among the troops. His march to Point Isabel was considered by the Mexicans in Matamoras as a flight, and his departure was hailed with the ringing of bells, and loud shouts from the populace. Still the stars and stripes waved over Fort Brown, and a few men were to be seen about the works, still engaged in increasing their strength. On the 3d of May, they opened upon the workmen a battery of seven guns, which was soon increased by a heavy cannonade from all the forts of the town. This bombardment was continued till midnight, and was warmly returned by the Americans. The cannonade was not renewed 478 BOMBARDMENT OF FORT BROWN. FORT BnoWK. on the 4th, but on the morning of the 5th, the plain around was seen covered with the enemy, and a fire was commenced from a strong battery, which had been erected during the night, in the rear of the fort. This bombardment was con- tinued at intervals, and warmly returned by the fort, until the 10th, when its brave defenders were relieved. This gallant defence cost the life of the heroic commander of the fort, Major Brown, who was mortally wounded by a shell on the 6th, and died three days afterwards ; he was succeeded in the command by Captain Hawkins. Having accomplished the object of his expedition, and garrisoned the depot with fresh troops. General Taylor, on the 7th of May, set out to return to Fort Brown. In the evening, the main body, consisting of two thousand men, with two hundred and fifty wagons, encamped on the plain, seven miles from Point Isabel. The next morning the march was resumed, and at noon the enemy was discovered three miles from Palo BATTLE OF PALO ALTO. 481 Alto, drawn up in order of battle, to the number of more than six thousand. Taylor ordered his men to halt and refresh themselves at a pool of fresh water, which was by the side of the road ; and then forming them into two wings, and leaving the train of wagons, near the pool, protected by a guard, advanced by heads of columns. The right wing was com- manded by Colonel Twiggs, and the left by Lieutenant-Colonel Belknap. The American army advanced steadily until within a quarter of a mile of the enemy, when the Mexican cannon opening upon them, they were deployed into line, and the firing answered by the artillery of Ringgold, Duncan and Churchill. The Mexican cavalry, mostly lancers, were on their left, opposed to the American artillery, and were forced back by its rapid and deadly fire. To prevent their entire destruction they were ordered by Arista, the commander-in- chief of the Mexican army, to charge and make an attempt to capture the guns. They did charge but were met by Lieu- tenant Ridgely with his flying artillery, the 5th regiment of infantry, and driven back with slaughter. About this time the prairie grass caught fire, and under the cover of its smoke the Americans advanced to the position just occupied by the Mexican cavalry. The lancers again charged and were again driven back. The artillery of Churchill and Ringgold did terrible execution ; and yet the broken ranks of the enemy were filled up with a promptness and courage, which called forth the admiration of their enemies. While Major Ringgold was directing one of his pieces, he was mortally wounded by a cannon-ball, and died of his wound shortly afterwards. Lieutenant- Colonel Childs's artillery was now brought up to support the artillery on the right ; and as the cavalry of the enemy were again advancing in overwhelming numbers, the battalion of artillery was formed into a square, in order to receive their charge ; but when the advanced squadrons were within close range, a fire of canister dispersed them. The battle now ceased on the right of the American line. Meanwhile, the cavalry and infantry which formed the right wing of the Mexican army, advanced under cover of the 482 BATTLE OF PALO ALTO. 1 DEATH OF MAJOR RINGGOLD. smoke of the burning grass, but were met within range of their small guns by Captain Duncan and Lieutenant Belknap, who poured upon them a discharge of shells and round shot which twice compelled them to retreat, and finally to fly to the cha- parral, when darkness put an end to the battle. The Americans had forty-four men killed and wounded, while the los:> of the Mexicans was estimated by Arista at two hundred and fifty- two, killed, wounded, and missing. General Taylor encamped on the field of battle until two P. M. the next day ; while Arista fell back to Re^Jdca de la Palma ; several miles distant. On the 9th of May at two P. M., the American army agaip took up the line of march, and in two hours came in siglit of the Mexicans again, drawn up in battle array, across the road. Taylor's disposition was soon made. A battery of artiller} BATTLE OF R E S A C A D E LA P A L M A, 483 DUNCAN S BATTERY. under Lieutenant Ridgely, moved up the main road, while ihe 3d, 4th, and 5th regiments of infantry deployed on either side, to support it, and act as skirmishers. The action commenced by the fire of the Mexican artillery, which was returned by Ridgely's battery, and by the infantry on the wings. In this firing, the Mexican cannon were well managed by Generals La Vega and Requena, and the effect began to be severely felt on the American lines. It was necessary to dislodge them ; and this duty was assigned to Captain May of the dragoons. The charge was gallantly made ; the dragoons cut through the enemy ; the artillery-men were dispersed, and General La Vega taken prisoner. The dragoons, however, had advanced beyond support, and fell back on the main body. The regi- ments of infantry now charged the Mexican line, and the battle was soon ended. Their columns, broken by successive charges, were unable to bear the continued, and well-directed fire poured upon them by both infantry and artillery, and they fled precipitately from the field, rapidly pursued by the American 484 BATTLE OF RESACA DE LA PALMA. CAPTAIK Mat 0RD£R£0 TO CHARGE THE MEXICAJf BATTERIES. rear-guard. The Mexicans lost many prisoners, and ceased not their flight until they either crossed, or were drowned in, the waters of the Rio Grande. The Americans lost in the battle of Resaca de la Palma, three officers, and thirty-six men killed, and seventy-one wounded. The Mexican loss, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, was estimated by General Taylor, at one thousand men. Thus were the Mexicans de- feated over and over again, Fort Brown relieved, and the communication opened between the fort and Point Isabel.* On the 11th of May, news of the capture of Captain Thorn- ton's party, having reached Washington, the president sent a message to Congress, informing that body that the Mexican goverament had invaded American territory and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our own soil. Two days after- • Frost's Life of Taylor. — Mansfield's Mexican War> SURRENDER OF MATAMORAS. 485 wards, Congress declared that, '' by the act of the Republic of Mexico, a state of war exists between that government and the United States." Authority was given to the president to accept the services of fifty thousand volunteers, and ten millions of dollars were placed at his disposal, to enable him by a vigorous effort and decisive victories, soon to put an end to the war. Measures were at once taken to increase the army on the frontier ; the plan of the campaign was formed at Washington, requisitions made upon the states for volunteers, and an effective plan of transportation formed by Major- General Scott, the senior major-general of the United States army. In the mean time, the want of the means of transporting his troops across the Rio Grande, prevented General Taylor from following up his victories by an attack on Matamoras, until the 17th of May; when he crossed over, and demanded the surrender of the city. The prefect returned for answer that Arista had abandoned the city with all his troops, and that it was consequently at the disposal of the American army. Taylor accordingly entered and took possession of the city. Preparations were immediately made for an advance into the interior of Mexico ; but here Taylor encountered difficulties, which, to a less enterprising man, would have appeared insur- mountable. He had neither provisions, nor means of trans- portation sufficient to enable him to undertake a march through a hostile country. He had besides the express commands of the government to act only on the defensive, until the amount of his men and provisions would justify him in pro- ceeding otherwise. He knew, however, that the longer he remained at Matamoras, the more the enemy would be likely to recover from the panic of defeat, and th« more certainly would a large force be concentrated in the interior, which might finally effectually prevent his advance, and render his present advantages useless. He therefore placed his army under marching orders, but so great was the scarcity of pro- visions, that he was unable to leave Matamoras before the month of August. In the mean time, the Mexican villages of .J 486 DESCRIPTION OF MONTEREY. MOWTEHET, FROM THE BISHOP S PALACE. Reynosa, Mier, and Caraargo, were captured and occupied by detachments. General Taylor advanced to the latter place on the 5th of August, and on the 20th of that month hearing that a large body of Mexicans, under the command of Generals Arevalo and Ampudia, had entered Monterey, the capital of New Leon, and were actively engaged in strengthen- ing the defences of that place, he ordered General Worth to advance with the van of the array, and on the 5th of September, he himself left Camargo, and on the 9th concentrated his army at the Wa^ut Springs, about three miles from Monterey. Monterey is remarkable for the strength of its defences. It is built, like Matamoras, in the old Spanish style, and sur- rounded by massive stone walls, defended by ditches, bastions, and towers. The houses are of stone, and mostly but one story high, but the cathedrals and public buildings, like most of those m Mexico, are large and imposing. The Mexicans DESCRIPTION OF MONTEREY 487 BISHOPS PALACE, MONTEREY. had taken every precaution for its successful defence, and not only were the walls and parapets lined with cannon, but even the private houses were fortified, and the streets barricaded, and defended by artillery, planted in such a manner as to sweep their whole length. In the rear of the city, and under the mountain ridges of the Sierra Madre, runs the river San Juan. On the east — the left of the American army, the river makes a turn so as nearly to cover that side. On the opposite side lay the road to Saltillo, up the valley of San Juan. On the heights in the rear of the city and beyond the river, forti- fications were erected which commanded the valley and all the approaches from the south. North of the Saltillo road, west of the city, and between the Americans and the river, upon Independence Kill, stood the Bishop's Palace, and near it were several other heights, all strongly fortified. To the north of the city, in front of the American army, was the (^/.l>fcdral fort, or Citadel, which was regularly fortified, and 488 STORMING OF MONTEREY. commanded the approaches to the city from the north. It stood about two thousand yards in front of, and below the Bishop's Palace. Forts were also erected on the eastern side of the city, and there were trenches cut and barricades raised in the streets. Thus both the natural and artificial defences of Monterey were very .strong. Their nature and strength, however, were unknown to the Americans. These different works were defended by a garrison of about seven thousand regular troops, and two or three thousand volunteers ; while nearly three thousand regulars and auxiliary cavalry, were outside of the walls, watching a favourable opportunity to fall upon the advancing army. The American force consisted of four hundred and twenty-five officers, and six thousand two hundred and twenty men. Their artillery consisted of one ten-inch mortar, two twenty-four-pound howitzers, and four light field batteries of four guns — the mortar being the only piece suitable to the operations of a siege. The first offer of resistance shown by the enemy, was on the 18th, when General Taylor with a detachment of dragoons was fired upon when within two hundred yards of the city, the first ball striking the ground about ten yards from the spot on which he stood. About the same time, two hundred and sixty Mexican cavalry appeared on the plain, and after firing a few volleys retired into the city. On the evening of the 19th a reconnoissance was made on both sides of the city, and from the report of the officers by whom it was conducted, General Taylor formed his plan of attack. On the afternoon of the 20th, General Worth, with his division, was ordered to make a detour to the right, to en- deavour to find and reach the Saltillo road, effect a thorough reconnoissance of the approaches to the city from that direction, to cut off supplies and reinforcements, and if practicable, to carry the heights. This movement was executed in the course of the evening, and the division resied under arms, for the night, just beyond the range of the enemy's guns. During the night of the 20th, General Taylor placed in battery against the citadel, his ten-inch mortar, and his two .STORMING OF MONTEREY. 489 twenty-four-pound howitzers, and on the morning of the 21st, he commenced the main action against the lower part of the city. A column of six hundred and fifty men, with Bragg's artillery, all under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Gar- land, w^ere ordered to make a strong demonstration against that part of the city, and carry one of the enemy's advanced ■works if it could be done without too heavy loss. The front defence here was a redoubt, into the rear of which, notwith- standing its fire, the column rapidly moved, entered the suburbs, and commenced its assault on the town. Here it was hindered by intrenched streets and barricaded houses, and by a heavy fire of artillery from the redoubt, the citadel, and of musketry from the roofs of the houses on every side. A movement to the right was attempted, with the view of gaining the rear of the redoubt, and carrying it, if possible, but its approaches were so much exposed, and the enemy so well covered, that it was deemed expedient to fall back to a more secure position. Captain Backus, with a portion of his own and other companies of infantry, took possession of a strong fortified building, from the roof of which he poured a destructive fire into the redoubt, and upon the strong building in its rear. It Avas at this moment that General Taylor ordered the 4th infantry and the volunteer regiments from Ohio, Tennessee, and Mississippi, to support Garland. Major-General Butler, with the Ohio regiment, entered the town to the right ; while General Quitman led the Tennessee and Mississippi regiments against the redoubt. These regiments were preceded by the 4th infantry, which was received with so deadly a fire that one-third of the men were killed or disabled, and the regiment compelled to retire. Quitman, however pushed on, and though the Tennessee regiment suffered almost as much as the regulars, they finally, with the aid of Captain Backus's com- pany, carried the redoubt in handsome style, as well as the strong building in the rear. The guns were immediately turned against another battery at a little distance on the right : agamst which the Ohio regiment was then advancing, under the com- mand of Major-General Butler. The strength of this battery, 30 490 STORMING OF MONTEREY. however, and the heavy musketry fire, flanking the approach, rendered it impossible to carry it without great loss, and General Butler being wounded, the Ohio regiment was with- drawn. Colonel Garland was again ordered forward with another column. They were compelled to pass several streets intrenched and barricaded, and after another severe contest retired in good order. Up to this time no important advantage had been gained against the lower part of the city. Repeated assaults had been made, one battery carried, and a lodgment effected, but the enemy still preserved the main part of his defences untouched. The Mexican cavalry had made several msuccessful charges. The main object, however, proposed STORMING OF MONTEREY. 491 GENERAL AMPUDIA. by General Taylor, had been effected, h powerful diversiou had been made to favour the operations of the second division, under General Worth. Early on the morning of the 21st, General Worth was re- intorced by May's dragoons and Wood's Texan cavalry, which had been detached for that purpose by General Taylor. He immediately advanced and took a position on the Saltillo road, cutting off" completely the enemy's line of communication. From that position he carried in succession the two heights south of the Saltillo road, and turned the guns of one of them against the Bishop's Palace. At dawn on the 22d, Worth again advanced, and soon stormed the height above the Bishop's Palace, and in the afternoon the Palace itself was taken, and its guns turned upon its fugitive garrison, and the enemy in the city. The complete success of the second division, and the capture of the Bishop's Palace, which was considered as the key of Monterey, turned the tide of victory entirely in favour of the Americans. During the night of the 23d, Ampudia evacuated nearly all of his defences in the 492 SURRENDER OF MONTEREY. lower part of the city, and concentrated his troops in the Citadel and the Plaza. General Taylor on the 23d ordered General Quitman to enter the place, but he found every house fortified, and every street barricaded by the inhabitants. He was actually compelled to dig through the walls from house to house, until he reached a street but one square in rear of the principal plaza, in, and near which, the enemy's force was mainly concentrated. In the mean time. General Worth's divi- sion, after having captured the palace, had also gained a lodgment in the city, and at nightfall, he had arrived to within a very short distance on the other side of the plaza. On the same evening, September 23d, about nine o'clock, General Ampudia sent in propositions to General Taylor, which, after considerable negotiation, resulted in the surrender and evacuation of Monterey. The terms of capitulation pro- vided, that the Mexican troops should retire beyond the line formed by the Pass of Rinconada, the city of Linares, and San Fernando de Presas; and that the United States forces should not advance beyond the same line before the expiration of eight weeks, or until the instructions of the respective govern- ments should be received. The Mexicans were allowed to march out with the honours of war, retaining part of their arms, and a small quantity of ammunition. The American loss, in the capture of Monterey, was one hundred and twenty killed, and three hundred and sixty-eight wounded. The loss of the Mexicans has never been accurately ascertained. General Ampudia stated it, in a letter to the secretary of war, to be four hundred and thirty-eight killed and wounded, but probably twice that number would be nearer the correct estimate. On the 13th of October, the government at Washington sent instructions to General Taylor to give notice that the armistice was at an end, and that each party was at liberty to renew hostilities. This notice was communicated to General Santa Anna, then at the head of the Mexican army, and at the same time the idea of an honourable peace was suggested. Santa Anna in reply, said that no idea of peace could be entertained OCCUPATION OF SALTILLO. 493 ^ \ VICTORIA AND TULA PASS. while a single North American in arms remained in the territor}' of the Republic of Mexico. General Taylor immediately ordered the occupation of Sal- tillo, the capital of the State of Coahuila, by the United States troops; and before the middle of November, General Worth, with twelve hundred men, took possession of that place with- out opposition. General Wool arriving soon after, was sent forward to reinforce Worth. On the 15th of December, General Taylor, with the main army, left Monterey, and proceeded towards Victoria, where he expected to find a considerable Mexican force, under General Urrea. On the 17th he was joined by two regiments from Camargo, and had advanced as far as Monte Morales, when an express from General Worth, informed him that an attack by Santa Anna was daily expected at Saltillo. In con- sequence of this information he fell back upon Monterey, and despatched General Quitman with a field battery to Saltillo. The enemy, however, retired towards San Luis Potosi, and 494 OCCUPATION OF VICTORIA. G£X£RALS SCOTT. General Taylor, imraediately resuming his original plan, took up his march for Victoria, where he arrived on the 30th of December, and occupied the place with but little opposition. It was while General Taylor occupied this position that he received orders from General Scott, (who had been ordered by the war department to the scene of operations, and being the senior officer, superseded Taylor,) to detach some of his troops to aid him in an immediate attack upon Vera Cruz. In obedience to this command. General Taylor immediately ordered the divisions of Generals Twiggs, Quitman, Pillow, Patterson, and Worth, to join General Scott at Tampico, or at the Brazos. Five hundred regulars were left, together with four thousand five hundred newly arrived volunteers. With these, Taylor thought it necessary to fall back and establish his AMERICANS AT BUENA VISTA. 495 head-quarters at Monterey. Santa Anna, in the mean time, was at San Luis Potosi, with an army of twenty-two thousand men. In February, General Taylor received reinforcements, and immediately determined to march at all hazards to meet the Mexican army, which announced its advance by the capture of several small advanced parties of Americans. He accordingly left Monterey at the head of five thousand four hundred men, and on the 20th of February, was at Agua Nueva, about twenty miles south of Saltillo. There, on the 21st, he received intelligence that Santa Anna was advancing, within thirty miles, with his whole army. Having carefully examined the country, as he advanced, he decided to give battle to the over- powering numbers of the enemy, at a place called Buena Vista, on the road leading to San Luis, about seven miles south of Saltillo. He accordingly fell back to that place, and awaited the approach of the enemy. The spot chosen for a conflict, which both generals knew Mould decide the fate of the whole region of country in which it was fought, was admirably cal- culated to hinder the operations of cavalry, and to diminish the advantages of a superiority of numbers. On the morning of the 22d, General Taylor was informed that the enemy was in sight, advancing. They had left Encar- nacion at 11 o'clock, on the 21st, and had driven in a mounted force, left at Agua Nueva, to cover the removal of the public stores. General Taylor had spent the night of the 21st, and morning of the 22d, at Saltillo, making some necessary arrange- ments for the defence of the town, while Brigadier-General Wool was left in the command of the troops. He immediately formed the army in order of battle, according to a plan which had been previously agreed upon. Captain Washington's battery was posted to command the road, while the first and second Illinois regiments, under Colonels Hardin and Bissell, and the second Kentucky regiment, under Colonel McKee, occupied the crests of the ridges on the left and in the rear. The Arkansas and Kentucky regiments of cavalry, commanded by Colonels Yell and Marshall, occupied the extreme left, near 496 TAYLOR SUMMONED TO SURRENDER. eSITEBAI. TATLOR. the base of the mountain; while the Indiana brigade, under Brigadier-General Lane, the Missisippi riflemen, under Colonel Davis, the squadrons of the first and second dragoons, under Captain Steen and Lieutenant-Colonel May, and the light batteries of Captains Sherman and Bragg, were held in re- serve. These dispositions were made for some time, when the enemy was seen advancing in the distance, and they soon formed in order of battle just beyond the range of the Ame- rican guns. About 11 o'clock. General Taylor received a summons from General Santa Anna, to surrender at discretion. Taylor de- clined acceding to the request. Santa Anna, having waited until his whole army had arrived and taken its position, late on the afternoon of the 22d, detached a regiment of infantry, which ascended the mountains on the American left, from which, at the distance of three hundred yards, they opened a heavy fire upon Colonel Marshall's regiment. This was re- turned by two of his companies, which were dismounted for SKIRMISH ON THE TWENTY-SECOND. 497 GENERAL WOOL. that purpose, and the skirmishing was continued till after dark. Three pieces of Captain Washington's battery were detached to the left, and were supported by the second Indiana regi- ment. A shell was occasionally thrown by the enemy, but without effect. It was evidently the intention of the enemy to make no serious attack before the morning, and General Taylor ordering the troops to lie on their arms and bivouac without fires, returned with the Mississippi and the second squadron of dragoons to Saltillo, in order to complete the preparations for its defence, which he had left unfinished in the morning. A body of cavalry, numbering about fifteen hundred, had been visible all day in the rear of the town, evidently in- tending to make an attempt on it, or perhaps break up and 498 BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA. harass the expected retreat of the Americans. The city was occupied by four companies of Illinois volunteers, and one company of artillery with two twenty-four-pound howitzers, while the train and camp was guarded by two companies of Mississippi riflemen, with one field-piece. Having made these dispositions for the protection of the rear of the army, General Taylor, on the morning of the 23d, proceeded with all the other available troops to Buena Vista. The battle had com- menced before he had arrived on the field. During the night of the 22d, the enemy had thrown a body of light troops on the mountain side, with the intention of out- flanking the American left, and they had so stationed a twelve- pounder at the base of the mountain, that it could be made to command any position which the Americans might take. The battle was commenced by quick, heavy discharges from this piece, and that of the light troops above. These discharges were received and answered with great coolness by the rifle- men under Colonel Marshall, who had previously been rein- forced by three companies of the second Illinois regiment, under Major Trail. Meanwhile, Lieutenant O'Brien was detached with three pieces of Washington's battery, then on the left of the line, to counteract the effect of the Mexican field-piece. A few well-directed shots accomplished the end, and Captain O'Brien held his advanced position for some time. About eight o'clock, a strong demonstration was made against the American centre, a heavy column moving along the road. They were, however, soon dispersed by a few rapid and well-directed shots from Captain Washington's battery. Meanwhile the enemy was seen to be concentrating a large force, both of cavalry and infantry, on the American left, with the obvious intention of forcing or turning that part of the line. General Lane being in immediate command, ordered the second Indiana regiment and Captain O'Brien, with his three pieces of artillery, to advance within effective range. The artillery unlimbered within musket range of a heavy body of Mexican infantry, and was served against it with great effect, but without being able to check its advance. The In- 1 BATTLE Ot' BUENA VISTA. 501 diana regiment, ordered to its support, had fallen back in disorder, being exposed, as well as the battery, not only to a severe fire of small arms from the front, but also to a tre- mendous cross fire of grape and canister from the Mexican battery on the left. The Indiana regiment could not be rallied, except a handful of men, who, under their colonel, Bowles, joined the Mississippi regiment, and did good service. The others retreated to Buena Vista, and at a later period of the day, assisted in defending the train and depot at that place. The retreat of this regiment filled the enemy with exulta- tion. To their imagination, it was but the prelude to the flight of the whole army, and shouts of triumph arose above the explosion of the artillery and the din of battle. Their troops poured on by thousands, and redoubled their fire. Against so tremendous a charge, Captain O'Brien found it impossible to retain his position without support, but was able only to with- draw two of his pieces, all the horses and cannoneers of the third being killed or disabled. At the same time. Colonel Bissell's regiment, which had been joined by a section of Captain Sherman's battery, having been completely out- flanked, and being entirely unsupported, was compelled to fall back. The enemy was now certain of victory, and was pouring masses of infantry and cavalry along the base of the mountain on the American left, towards a station in their rear. At this moment General Taylor arrived from Saltillo. The Mississippi regiment had been directed to the left, before reaching the position, and immediately came into action against the Mexican infantry, which had already gained the rear of the line. The second Kentucky regiment, and a sec- tion of artillery under Captain Bragg, had been ordered from the right, to reinforce the left, and they also arrived at this opportune moment. The latter regiment, and a portion of the first Illinois came rapidly into action, drove the enemy back, and recovered some of the lost ground. The batteries of Sherman and Bragg did much execution, not only in front, but also on the masses which had gained the rear. The battle now raged along the entire line. Washington's 502 BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA. COLONEL JEFFERSON PAyiS. battery, now on the extreme right, had opened its fire, and driven back a large body of lancers, advancing in that direc- tion. Five thousand Americans were contending with twenty- two thousand Mexicans for the laurel wreath of victory. The Mexican cavalry, still pressing on the left, now charged in great force upon the Mississippi riflemen, who, under Colonel Davis, had been ordered to support the third Indiana regiment. The colonel immediately threw his command into the form of a V, with the opening towards the enemy, and firmly awaited the attack. The cavalry came on in handsome style, but the Ameri- cans reserved their fire until they were within eighty yards, when BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA. 503 the enemy halted, and the American lines poured forth a volley, which broke the opposing ranks, overthrowing horse and rider in promiscuous slaughter. Thus checked, they retired, but again formed, and this time advanced upon the baggage train, which was observed slowly winding along the Saltillo road, near the hacienda of Buena Vista. Lieutenant-Colonel May, with the Kentucky and Arkansas cavalry, and two pieces of artillery from Sherman's battery, was despatched to oppose the threat- ened charge, and defend the depot. The Mexican lancers, advancing in close column along the base of the mountain, were somewhat disconcerted by a furious charge, made by Lieutenant Rucker, with a few dragoons, who dashed fear- lessly among them, broke their ranks, and hastened their movement considerably. Advancing at full speed towards the Saltillo road, they were met by May's dragoons, and the two squadrons of cavalry under Colonels Marshall and Yell. The Mexican column immediately divided, one portion sweep- ing by the depot, when it received a destructive fire from the broken companies collected there, and then gained the moun- tain opposite, under a fire from Lieutenant Reynold's section of artillery, and were soon out of sight. The other portion returned to the base of the mountain on the left, where they were pursued by May, who, with the aid of the Arkansas and Indiana troops, held in check the right flank of the enemy, upon whose masses, crowded in the narrow gorges and ravines, the American artillery was doing fearful execution. That part of the Mexican army which had gained the rear of the American line was now in a very critical situation, its retreat being almost entirely cut off, when it wa's saved by the cunning of Santa Anna. He despatched a messenger to Gene- ral Taylor with a white flag, desiring to know what he wanted. General Wool was sent to the Mexican general to say, that the Americans wanted peace ; and during the passage of the flags, the firing was stopped on the American side. Not so, however, on that of the enemy, for Wool, finding it impossible to cause the enemy to cease their fire, returned without obtain- ing an interview. The extreme right of the enemy had, during 504 BATTLK OF BUENA VISTA. GENEHAt SANTA AKNA. the interim, continued their retreat along the base of the moun- tain, and finally, notwithstanding a brisk and terrible fire, which the Americans reopened upon them, effected a junction with the remainder of the army. Encouraged by this increase of his disposable force, Santa Anna determined to make a final effort to retrieve the fortunes of the day. He ordered his reserve, together with the column of attack, then on his left flank, wuth a battery of eight-pounders, to advance to the right of his line, and, covered by a battery of twenty-four-pounders, to make a crowning and decisive charge. The Illinois and second Kentucky regiments, being still in advance, received the charge of this vastly superior force, with the greatest coolness and courage. But they were over- whelmed with numbers — almost surrounded — and were com- pelled to fall back in some disorder on the reserve. General BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA. 505 GE17ERAI. TAYLOR AT BUENA TISTA. Taylor hurried to the spot where the real battle seemed but to have begun, and found Captain O'Brien, with his two pieces of artillery, unsustained by infantry, resisting the overwhelming charge of the Mexicans. O'Brien wounded, with all his horses killed, was finally obliged to leave his guns on the field and retire, not having a single cannoneer to load or fire. The moment was most critical. Captain Bragg, who had just arrived from the left, was ordered into battery ; and without infantry to support him, and at the imminent risk of losing his guns, he came rapidly into action, the Mexican line being but a few yards from the muzzles of his pieces. His first discharge of canister caused the enemy to hesitate, the second and third drove him back in disorder and confusion. The light troops were ordered to pursue the flying enemy, and they followed them closely with a deadly fire, mingled with shouts which were heard above the noise of the battle. In this pursuit, the 1st Illinois and the 2d Kentucky regiments were foremost. Forgetting their deficiency of numbers in the ardour of the chase, and the excitement of victory, they advanced beyond supporting distance ; when the Mexicans, wheeling with magical quickness, attacked them. For a while the carnage 506 BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA. was terrible on both sides ; but the Americans being but a handful in comparison with the dense masses of their oppo- nents, were obliged to retreat. Thus the day again seemed lost ; but the victory was for the third time retrieved by the artillery. Closely pressed by the Mexican cavalry, the Ameri- cans were driven through a ravine, which passed within range of Washington's battery, and at its extremity a body of Mexican lancers was stationed to cut off their retreat. No sooner, however, did the pursuers come within range of the artillery than such a torrent of grape shot was thrown among them, as overthrew vast numbers, and compelled the others to retire as fast as they had advanced. In the mean time the rest of the American artillery was advanced to its position on the plateau, covered by the Mississippi and 3d Indiana regiments, the former of which had reached the ground in time to pour a volley into the right flank of the enemy, and thus contribute to his repulse. No farther attempt was made by the enemy to force the American position, and the battle having now continued for many hours, both parties seemed willing to pause upon the result The near approach of night gave an opportunity to the Ameri- can officers to pay proper attention to the wounded, and to refresh the exhausted soldiers. During the day the cavalry of General Minon, who had been ordered by Santa Anna to make an attack upon the rear of the American line, ascended the elevated plain above Saltillo, and occcupied the road between the city and the battle-field, where they intercepted several of the American soldiers, passing from one place to the other. Approaching the town they were fired upon by Captain Webster from the redoubt, when they moved off towards the eastern side of the valley, and obliquely towards Buena Vista. Before they reached that place, however, they were met by Captain Shover, with one cannon, supported by a miscellaneous command of mounted voliinteers. He fired several shots at the Mexican cavalry, which had the effect of driving them into the ravines leading to the lower valley. They were pursued by Captain Shover, who was BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA. 607 '^1 A SALTILLO. reinforced by another cannon supported by a company of Illinois volunteers. The enemy made several efforts to charge the artillery, but they were finally driven back in a confused mass, and did not again appear on the field. During the night of the 23d, General Taylor removed the wounded to Saltillo, and made every preparation to receive the enemy, should the battle be renewed during the night, or on the next morning. The troops bivouacked again without fires, though the night was severely cold. Santa Anna abandoned his position during the night, and fell back upon Agua Nueva. An exchange of prisoners was negotiated, and satisfactorily completed on the following day ; and soon after the Mexicans retreated through Encarnacion, in the direction of Matehuala. The American loss in the battle of Buena Vista was two hundred and sixty-seven killed, four hundred and fifty-six wounded, and twenty-three missing. General Taylor thus reports the loss of the American officers. " Our loss has been especially severe in officers, twenty-eight having been killed 31 508 BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA. upon the field. We have to lament the death of Captain George Lincoln, assistant adjutant-general, serving in the staff of General Wool — a young officer of high bearing and ap- proved gallantry, who fell early in the action. No loss falls more heavily upon the army in the field than that of Colonels Hardin and McKee, and Lieutenant-Colonel Clay. Possessing in a remarkable degree the confidence of their commands, and the last two having enjoyed the advantage of a military edu- cation, I had looked particularly to them for support in case we met the enemy. I need not say that their zeal in engaging the enemy, and the cool and steadfast courage with which they maintained their positions during the day fully realized my hopes, and caused me to feel yet more sensibly their untimely loss." The Mexican loss was estimated at fifteen hundred. At least five hundred of their killed were left upon the field of battle. This victory secured the whole frontier of the Rio Grande, and filled the hearts of the Mexican people with terror and dismay.* On the 7th of March an attack was made by General Urrea with fifteen hundred men, upon a train of one hundred and fifty wagons, escorted by two hundred and sixty soldiers. They succeeded in capturing and burning forty of the wagons, in consequence of the desertion of the drivers, but they were compelled to retire in the direction of Seralvo, and before the morning they evacuated the town. In this affair two privates and fifteen teamsters were killed ; while the Mexicans lost forty-five in killed and wounded. General Taylor left Agua Nueva for the purpose of capturing Urrea, and continued the pursuit until he reached Caidereta, and had chased the Mexicans beyond the mountains. He then returned towards Monterey, and pitched his camp at Walnut Springs. * General Taylor's Official Report. — Frost's Life of Taylor. CHAPTER XXIII. The Mexican War. — The Army of the West. iHILE the central army was thus going on from victory to victory, from Palo Alto to Buena Vista, another, though a far smaller body of men, was performing equal wonders in the north. It will be remembered that Mexico was in- vaded in three different portions of her territory by three different armies at very nearly the same time. The central array, as we have seen, fought its way into the very centre of the hostile republican territory, while the army of the west was designed to operate in the states of New Mexico and California, in co- operation with the naval squadron in the Pacific ; and that of the south, likewise commencing its operations with the aid of the naval force in the Gulf of Mexico, was intended to over- 509 610 CAPTURE OF SANTA F E. SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO. run the southern portion of Mexico, and if possible capture the capital. The army of the west, under the command of General Kearny, moved from Fort Leavenworth, in two columns ; the first of about sixteen hundred men, marched on the 30th of June, and taking the route of the traders across the prairies, arrived on the l8th of August, at Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico. Having thus performed a difficult march of eight hun- dred and seventy-three miles, with this handful of men, he took possession of the capital without resistance ; about four thousand Mexicans, under the command of the Governor Armijo, having fled at his approach in the direction of Chihuahua. The in- habitants, not only of Santa Fe, but of the whole department of New Mexico, submitted to the arms of the United States. General Kearny immediately took measures for securing the territory thus acquired, by organizing a civil government ; and leaving Colonel Doniphan with his regiment to garrison Santa Fe, until the arrival of the second column of the array of the LIEUTENANT-COLONEL FREMONT. 511 west, took up his line of march for California with the remainder of his forces, intending to move down the Rio Grande about two hundred miles, then to strike across to the Gila, and proceed down that river to its juncture with the Colorado, then to cross the Colorado, and take a straight course for the Pacific, where he expected to arrive about the end of November. Before he reached the Gila, however, he was met by an express from California, going to the city of Washington with despatches from Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, by whom he was informed of the capture of California by the American land and naval forces. Thinking that an additional force would not be required in California, he directed most of those with him to return to Santa Fe, and sending instructions to Colonel Doniphan, to make a campaign against the Navaho Indians, who had shown themselves hostile, he with about one hundred men, repaired forthwith to join the forces under Lieutenant- Colonel Fremont. In 1838, an exploring expedition was sent out by the war department, under the direction of Lieutenant Nicollet, to make a scientific exploration of the countries bordering on the Pacific Ocean. On the death of Lieutenant Nicollet, in 1843, Captain, afterwards Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, who had been his principal assistant, was appointed to the command of the expedition. Hardly had he entered California, in January, 1846, when he received information that General Castro, with a large force, was advancing to drive him from the territory, though this same Castro had but a few weeks before, given him permission to winter in the valley of San Joaquin. Colonel Fremont was in no condition to act against this force; his intentions in entering the territory had been entirely pacific, and his whole force was but sixty-two men. With this little band, however, he determined to await the attack of Castro, and accordingly took position on a mountain about thirty miles from Monterey, where he intrenched himself and raised the flag of the United States, and then continued for a week, when, not being attacked, he thought it best to retire, by slow marches, towards Oregon. On the 15th of May, he 512 CAPTURE OF SONOMA. . arrived at the Great Tlamath Lake. There he found his further progress completely barred, by the double obstacle of hostile Indians, incited against him by Castro, and the lofty moun- tains, covered with deep and falling snows. These were the difficulties and dangers in front. Behind, General Castro was assembling his troops, at Sonoma, with the avowed inten- tion of attacking Fremont's party, and exterminating all the American settlers, whom he accused of an intention to revolt. Such being the state of affairs, Colonel Fremont de- termined, after mature deliberation, on the 6th of June, to turn upon his pursuers, and secure his safety as well as that of the American settlers, by overturning the Mexican govern- ment in California. At that time the war w^ith Mexico had commenced, and the two battles on the Rio Grande had been fought, but of this Fremont knew^ nothing. He formed his judgment on the circumstances around him, and not on any of the previous events connected with military operations. Having come to this determination, he, on the 11th of June, captured a convoy of two hundred horses, going to the camp of Castro; and on the 15th, at daybreak, surprised the military post of Sonoma, and captured it, together with nine pieces of brass cannon, two hundred and fifty stand of arms, and several officers, whom he detained as prisoners. Leaving a garrison of fourteen men at Sonoma, Colonel Fremont repaired to the American settlements on the Rio de los Americanos to obtain assistance. Scarcely had he arrived there, when an express reached him, with the information that Castro was preparing to attack his little garrison. He immediately, on the 23d of June, set out for Sonoma, and arrived there on the 25th, with ninety mounted riflemen. A party of twenty, sent forward to recon- noitre, fell in with the vanguard of Castro's force, consisting of a squadron of seventy dragoons, which they attacked and defeated, killing two 'and wounding three, without harm to themselves. Castro, immediately after this defeat, fell back, first to Santa Clara, and then farther towards Ciudad de los Angelos. In the course of this pursuit Fremont learned, for tht-' first time, that war existed between the United States and CAPTURE OF LOS ANGELOS 513 ^k"^^' ' ' \^: " ' ¥i?! ^<^ ^'t^i^ *-l ,. j*^ ^ ~"^ ^ r^^^^^^i^^,:^^ £__ J. 4 MOKTERET, VPPETl CALIFORNIA. Mexico ; and that Monterey, in Upper California, had been taken by a naval force under Commodore Sloat, on the 7th of July. The commodore instructed him to march through Mon- terey, when he would arrange with him a combined land and naval expedition to pursue Castro, and subjugate the territory. He did so, and found Commodore Stockton in command, Com- modore Sloat having returned to the United States. The combined pursuit of Castro was rapidly continued, and on the 12th of August Commodore Stockton and Colonel Fre- mont, with a detachment of marines from the squadron and some riflemen, entered the city of Los Angelos, without opposition; the Governor-General Pico, the Commandant-Ge- neral Castro, and all the Mexican authorities having fled and dispersed. Commodore Stockton took possession of the whole country as a conquest of the United States. On the 1st of September, Fremont despatched a courier with news of the conquest of California, who was met by General Kearny between the Rio Grande and the Gila. 514 BATTLE OF SAN PASQUAL. GENERAL KEARNY. Several desperate attempts were made by the inhabitants ot California and New Mexico, in the latter part of 1846 and the beginning of 1847, to recover possession of their soil, but they were defeated in every engagement. In the mean time, General Kearny, with one hundred men and two mountain howitzers, proceeded along the river Gila to its junction with the Colorado, and thence across the desert, until on the 5th of December, 1846, he was met, about forty miles from San Diego, by a small party of volunteers, sent by Commodore Stockton to escort him to that place. On the next morning, December 6th, a party of one hundred and sixty Californians was discovered at San Pasqual and attacked, and after a severe engagement, in which the Americans lost thirty- four men in killed and wounded, were completely routed. The loss of the enemy was not ascertained. The detachment reached San Diego on the 12th of December, 1846. BATTLE OF SAN GABRIEL. 615 On the 29th of December, General Kearny, and Commo- dore Stockton, with five hundred men, mostly marines and sailors, and a battery of artillery, left San Diego for Los An- gelos, then in the possession of the enemy. On the 8th of January, the enemy was discovered, numbering about six hundred, occupying a strong position on a rising ground, com- manding the passage of the river San Gabriel. The troops were soon formed in order of battle, the river forded, the heights carried after about an hour's fighting, when the enemy were compelled to retreat. On the next day, the enemy ap- peared in force on the front and flanks of the Americans, harassing and galling them with their artillery for about two hours, when, arriving at the plains of the Mesa, they concen- trated their forces, and made a charge upon the American left. This being repulsed, with some loss to them, they retired, and on the 10th the city was entered without further molestation. The American loss on the 8th and 9th of January, was one killed and thirteen wounded. The loss of the enemy was not known, as they were mounted on good horses, and carried off their killed and wounded. On the 12th of January, 1847, the enemy encountered Colonel Fremont, with four hundred volunteers from Santa Barbara, on his way to Los Angelos. The Californians sent forward a flag of truce, with propositions for a treaty of peace or a cessation of hostilities. Commissioners were appointed on each side, who, on the 13th, agreed on terras of capitulation, whereby the Californian forces delivered up their artillery and public arms and disbanded themselves. This capitulation was approved by Colonel Fremont, and afterwards by General Kearny, on the part of the Americans, and by Governor Flores on the part of the Californians. On the 14th, Colonel Fremont entered Los Angelos, and reported to General Kearny. Thus was California finally conquered for the United States. In the mean time, General Wool, with an army numbering two thousand "nine hundred and forty men, was directed by the department at Washington to march against Chihuahua, the capital of the province of that narne, and supposed to be a 516 BATTLE OF BRACITO. place of considerable strength. Assembling at Antonio de Bexar, on the river Antonio, they took up their line of march early in September, 1846, and crossed the Rio Grande at the Presidio, and then pushed on by long and tiresome marches to Santa Rosa. There not being able to find a passage through the mountains to Chihuahua, they were compelled to turn southward towards Saltillo. On the 29th of October, they reached Monclova, where they remained about a month, when they were ordered by General Taylor, then about to march to Victoria, to advance to Parras. There they remained a short time, and in the month of December, joined the divi- sion of General Worth, in Saltillo, and soon after did good service at the battle of Buena Vista. The Illinois regiments, the Arkansas regiment, and Washington's artillery, all belonged to Wool's Chihuahua army, and constituted nearly one-third of General Taylor's force at his last battle. On the departure of General Kearny from Santa Fe for California, he left Colonel Doniphan in command, with orders, on the arrival of Colonel Price, to march his regiment to Ciiihuahua, and report to General W^ool. Previously, how- ever, to his departure from Santa Fe, he was ordered to make a campaign against the Navaho Indians. He divided his regiment into four battalions, and entered the country of the hostile Indians at four points in the middle of winter, and on the 22d of November, compelled them to enter into a treaty with the United States. Colonel Price having arrived with the second column of the army of the west, Colonel Doniphan left Santa Fe on the 1st of December with his regiment, numbering nine hundred and twenty-four, including Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell's escort of one hundred picked men. His march lay along the left bank of the Rio Grande, and on the 25th of December he had arrived at a place called Bracito, two hun- dred and eighty-four miles from Santa Fe, where they first met the enemy. About six hundred of the men encamped on that day at two o'clock P. M., and were engaged in carrying wood and water, their horses being unsaddled and grazing at a short distance, when the word was ])assed that the enemy BATTLE OF BRACITO. 517 BATTLE OF BRACITO. was in sight, advancing. The troops were called together instantly, but as there was not time to saddle their horses, they were drawn up as infantry. The Mexicans, numbering about eleven hundred, drew up in good order, on the summit of a small hill, with their cavalry on the right of their line, a small howitzer in the centre, and on the left their infantry. Previous to the encounter, a lieutenant advanced from theii ranks bearing a black flag, for the purpose of informing Colonel Doniphan that the Mexicans before him gave no quarter, and would ask none. Their charge was immediately made by their dragoons against the left of the American line, the infantry at the same time advancing steadily and pouring in three volleys before they were answered. But when the cavalry had advanced within one hundred steps of the line, such a volley was returned as caused the whole of the enemy's line to waver, and another sent the dragoons to the left, in their flight making an attack on the provision train. There they met with a warm reception, and were soon compelled to fly in every direction 618 BATTLE OF SACRAMENTO. in the utmost confusion. In the mean time, the enemy's infantry had been put to flight, and were pursued by fifteen men under Captain Reid, who had jumped upon their horses, while a company of volunteers taking advantage of their posi- tion on the rout of the enemy, charged upon them and cap- tured their cannon. The rout was complete, and the enemy fled, without stopping, nearly a hundred miles, neglecting to fortify El Paso, which a few determined men might have defended against a vastly superior force. The American loss in this, the first battle of the army of the west, was seven men wounded, none killed. The Mexicans lost about thirty men killed, and eight prisoners, six of whom afterwards died of their wounds. The number of their wounded was not ascer- tained. The town of El Paso was occupied by Colonel Doniphan on the 27th of December, and there he remained until the Sth of February, 1847, awaiting the arrival of the artillery under Major Clarke. On that day, his whole command of nine hun- dred and twenty-four men being concentrated, he commenced his march on the city of Chihuahua, and advanced without opposition until the 27th, when his spies reported that the enemy, in great force, had fortified the pass of the Sacramento river, about fifteen miles in advance, and about the same dis- tance from the city. On the 27th of February, the enemy was discovered occupy- ing a very strong position between the Rio Sacramento and Arroyo Seco, which completely commanded the road to Chi- huahua. Their whole force, numbering two thousand nine hundred men, was drawn up across the valley, their right resting on the Cerro Frijoles, which had high, precipitous sides, and on its summit was a battery of four guns, at a good elevation to sweep the plain, and commanding the pass to Chihuahua, through the Arroyo Seco. Their left rested on the Cerro Sacramento, a pile of immense volcanic rocks, surmounted by a battery commanding the main road to Chi- huahua. Near the centre, between these two batteries, was the fortified Rancho Sacramento. The ground between the BATTLE OF SACRAMENTO. 519 batteries rises abruptly to a height of sixty feet ; and on the crest of the ascent twenty-seven redoubts were thrown up, extending at short intervals across the whole ground. In these their infantry was placed and was completely protected. Their cavalry was drawn up in front and in rear of the redoubts, so as to mask them as much as possible. Colonel Doniphan, after reconnoitring, determined to ap- proach the enemy, and gain the table-land if possible, by crossing the Arroyo Seco, which could only be done within leach ol" the enemy's fire. The troops were deployed to the left for that purpose, but were opposed by the advance of one ihousand cavalry, under General Conde. Major Clark was ordered to open his battery upon them, and at the third fire they fell back, and rallied behind a redoubt. Having crossed the galley, the Americans formed in line, and attacked the nearest redoubt with artillery. Captain Weightman charging with two howitzers, supported by two companies of cavalry, under Captains Reid and Hudson. They advanced to the very brink of the redoubt, attacked the enemy with their sabres, and drove him out. In the same way the other redoubts were taken, one after the other. The Cerro Frijoles was attacked by the artillery, and the enemy, after a severe struggle, was obliged to retire, being pursued for some distance towards the mou'^ntains by Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell. The Rancho Sa- cramento was next attacked and captured, notwithstanding a desperate charge, made by a column of cavalry which attempted to pass to the left, for the purpose of attacking the wagons. Though the redoubts were cleared, and the batteries on Ae left and in the centre silenced, that on the right still continued to pour in a constant and heavy fire. Major Clarke was now directed to commence a heavy fire upon it, while Mitchell and Jackson were ordered to carry their guns into the battery on the left, and direct them against the Cerro Sacramento, and Major Gilpin was directed to lead the second battalion on foot up the rough ascent of the mountain on the opposite side. The fire of the American battery was so effec- tive, as completely to silence that of the enemy, and the rapid 520 OCCUPATION OF CHIHUAHUA. advance of the column put them to flight over the mountains in great confusion. The Mexicans were driven from their last position, and the victory was complete. The Americans lost two men killed and seven wounded. The Mexicans, three hundred killed, about the same number wounded, and forty prisoners, together with ten pieces of artillery and ten wagons. On the next day, March 1st, Colonel Doniphan took formal possession of the city of Chihuahua, in the name of the United States government. It was at this place that he was ordered to report to General Wool, but he now learned that he was at Saltillo, whither he received orders, on the 23d of April, to march his forces. On the 25th, after organizing a civil government, he took up his line of march for Saltillo, passing through the towns of San Pablo, Santa Cruz, Soncillo, Santa Rosalia, and Guagu- quilla, in the state of Chihuahua. On the march, about twenty-five miles above Parras, a party of thirty men, under Captain Reid, encountered between fifty and sixty Indians, who were immediately charged, and after an obstinate fight of two hours, compelled to fall back, with the loss of nine Mexi- can prisoners, whom Captain Reid set at liberty, and about one thousand head of horses and mules, which, as far as practi- cable, were returned to the Mexicans from whom the Indians had stolen them. Captain Reid was the only American wounded. Colonel Doniphan reported to General Wool at Saltillo on the 22d of May, and to General Taylor at Monterey on the 27th, whence, the time of service of his regiment having ex- pired, they marched to Matamoras, nine hundred miles from Chihuahua. This long march they accomplished in forty-five days, carrying with them seventeen pieces of artillery, as tro- phies, which General Taylor permitted them to bring home, in consideration of their gallantry and noble bearing. They sailed from Brazos Santiago on the 10th of June, and arrived at New Orleans about the 16th, and thence they shaped their course to St. Louis and home. There they were most heartily welcomed on the 2d of July, 1847, after their twelve months' RETURN OF DONIPHAN'S REGIMENT. 521 expedition, the most wonderful ever recorded in history. The whole distance traversed by them from St. Louis, back to the same place, was five thousand one hundred and twenty-four miles. Colonel Doniphan's march has been compared with the re- treat of the ten thousand Greeks under Xenophon. It only resembled the Grecian march in the circumstance of being conducted through a hostile country. Doniphan's operations were all offensive and triumphant; Xenophon's were all defen- sive, and he and his Greeks were very glad to escape from the Persian diminions with their lives. CASTLE OF SAN JUAN DE ULLOA. CHAPTER XXIV. Tiie Mexican War. — The Southern Army. N November, 1846, Major-Ge- neral Winfield Scott, the gene- ral-in-chief of the American army, was directed by the secretary of war to proceed to Mexico, and take the com- mand of the forces there as- sembled, and particular]}^ to make arrangements for, and set on foot, an expedition to operate on the Gulf coast. The design of this expedition was to capture the city of Vera Cruz, with the castle of San 522 CAPTURE OF TAMPICO. 523 Juan de Ulloa, and thence to proceed through the heart of the country to the capital. In a very few days all the preliminary arrangements were made, and General Scott left Washington for New York on the 24th of November, 1846. On the 25th, he wrote to General Taylor, communicating the orders of the government at Washington, and regretting that, in order to execute those orders, he would be compelled to deprive him of the greater part of the regular army then under his command. He sailed from New York on the 30th of November, and reached the seat of war on the 1st of January, 1847. Early in 1846, a small squadron of United States vessels, under the command of Commodore Conner, was placed in the gulf, with instructions to aid in every possible way the opera- tions of the land forces. After materially assisting General Taylor, while in the vicinity of the Rio Grande, Commodore Conner captured the town of Tobasco, and in November, the city of Tampico. Such was the state of affairs when the general-in chief arrived at the mouth of the Rio Grande. The troops ordered from the army of General Taylor reached him in February, and made the number of men then under his immediate orders about eleven thousand men. To oppose these, Santa Anna had at San Luis Potosi twenty-two thousand, and there was a strong garrison in the city of Vera Cruz. The American troops embarked on board of their transports early in March, and on the 7th arrived at Anton Lizardo. General Scott, in company with Commodore Conner, imme- diately made a reconnoissance of the city, the castle, and the coast, for the purpose of selecting a suitable landing-place. It was directed that the beach, westward from the island of Sacrificios, was the best suited for that purpose, and there the troops were accordingly landed on the 9th without opposition. The marines of the squadron were permitted, at the request of General Scott, to land with the troops, and during the siege they acted as a part of the 3d regiment of artillery. The several corps were immediately put in motion to occupy the 32 524 SIEGE OF VERA CRUZ. lines of investment around the city, which had been respec- tively assigned to them by General Scott's orders. Several parties of the enemy appeared, and skirmishes took place, but nothing seriously interrupted the progress of the investment, which was entirely completed on the 12th of March. During the whole of this period a constant but almost harmless fire was kept up from the city and the castle of San Juan de Ulloa. The lines of investment extended for about five miles, around the city. On the night of the 18th the trenches were opened, and the army gradually drew their lines closer. On the 22d, every thing being prepared for a bombardment, General Scott sommoned the town and garrison to surrender, assuring them that they should be treated with all the honours of war. This the governor refused to do, informing General Scott that he might commence hostilities as soon as convenient. Seven mortars were then in battery, and were ordered to open imme- diately upon the city. Shortly after, all the smaller vessels of the squadron approached the city, within about a mile and a quarter, and being partially covered from the guns of the castle, opened a brisk fire. This was continued by both batteries and vessels, with but little interruption until nine o'clock the next morning. The night scene was grand and terrible. Bombs and rockets traversed the blazing pathway of battle, contrasting strongly with the dense gloom that surrounded them ; while the roaring of mortars, the bursting of bombs, the crashing of buildings, and the dim cry of the sufferers, heard faintly in the distance, rendered that night memorable to every beholder. In the morning the smaller vessels were withdrawn, on account of their exposed situation. Three additional mortars were placed in battery, and the whole fire of the Americans was now concentrated upon the city with terrible effect. At the same time the guns of the castle were in full blaze ; but although shot and shell were flying in every direction, the American loss was only two men killed, and four wounded. On the same day, thirteen heavy guns arrived from Tampico, two of which were landed, but a storm commenced, and con SIEGEOFVERACRUZ. 525 linued with such violence, that communication with the fleet, and even the operations of the siege itself were suspended. During the night the storm abated, and early the next morning the fleet recommenced the landing of military stores. The firing continued at intervals during the whole of the 24th, the naval batteries co-operating with the land forces. Towards evening the ammunition became exhausted, and the occur- rence of another storm prevented any active operation on the American side. Daring this cessation, General Scott received from the foreign consuls of the city, a request that a truce might be granted to allow neutrals, and the Mexican women and children, to leave the city. To this the general replied, that a truce could be granted only on the application of Governor Morales, with a view to surrender ; that in sending safeguards or passes to the different consuls, commencing as far back as the 15th instant, he had distinctly admonished them of subsequent dangers ; that although at that date he had refused to allow any persons to pass the line of investment either way, yet the blockade had been left open to the consuls and other neutrals to pass out to their respective ships of war, up to the 22d instant. This^ answer contained a copy of the summons to the governor, showing that General Scott had considered the case of the women and children before the siege commenced. The destruction within the city was now so great that the citizens implored the governor to surrender. This he refused to do. A council of citizens and officers was then held, which resulted in the deposition of Morales, and the appointment of General Landero as his successor. On the morning of the 26th the new governor sent to the American commander overtures of surrender, and the negotiations were immediately commenced. Late on the night of the 27th, the articles of capitulation were signed and exchanged. Agreeably to the terms of capitulation, on the morning of the 29th the garrison, to the number of five thousand, marched out of the city with the honours of war, grounded their arms and surrendered themselves prisoners on parole. Nearly five 526 BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. hundred pieces of artillery were surrendered, and the Ameri- can flag was hoisted on the famed castle of San Juan, which had been said to be impregnable, and in the city of Vera Cruz, the key to the Republic of Mexico. The city was immediately occupied by the American forces. A governor was appointed, and the general-in-chief issued a proclamation, solemnly pro- mising the people protection in the enjoyment and exercise of all their rights, social and religious, while at the same time he exhorted them to remain neutral, and avoid every thing that might foster a spirit of distrust and retaliation between them- selves and the American soldiers.* The American army remained at Vera Cruz until the 8th of April, when the march for the interior was commenced. On the 17th they encountered the Mexican army under Santa Anna at Cerro Gordo, a strong mountain pass on the main road to the capital, between Vera Cruz and Jalapa. This pass was strongly fortified, and defended by between fifteen and twenty thousand men. Perceiving the impossibility of carrying the enemy's works in front. General Scott pushed reconnois- sances towards his position, in order to open a road to the rear, which would enable him to attack him at two points simultaneously. This most difficult design was executed as far as the height of Cerro Gordo, when it became evident that further progress without a battle was impossible. The general, therefore, on the 17th, issued his celebrated order, detailing, with prophetic accuracy, every movement of both armies, and laying down the line and distance of pursuit. In the evening of that day, Twiggs's division was thrown into position, and while the advanced parties were working upon the road, they were discovered and fired upon with grape and musketry. A rather severe skirmish ensued, which lasted until Colonel Har- ney came into action, with a body of riflemen, and drove in the enemy's pickets. In the course of the night, a thousand men were detached from Twiggs's division, to erect a battery on the hill which they had captured during the evening's skir- • Frost's Mexico and the Mexican War BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 527 BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. mish, and which lay but a short distance north of Cerro Gordo. This duty was one of a great difficulty and danger. The sol- diers were worn out through long marching and the evening's assault; the height was steep, rocky, and several hundred feet high ; the night singularly dark, and the pieces so heavy as to be almost unmanageable, on such ground. The detachment was divided into two sections, and they relieved each other by dragging up the pieces alternately. When one section had ,L- 528 BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. advanced the specified distance, they locked the wheels and sunk exhausted on the rocks, while their comrades advanced to relieve them. The result was, that at three o'clock, A. M., on the morning of the 18th, the battery, consisting of one twenty- four-pounder, and two howitzers, was in a position to open on the enemy and command all his works, except the tower and works on Cerro Gordo, which, rising above all, was evi- dently the key of the Mexican position. The Rio del Plan, a small stream running directly east and west, bounded the Mexican works on the south. On each side of this narrow channel a steep mountain wall rises to the height of one thousand feet, and then spreads out towards the north, in table-land, divided into two portions by a chain of rocky hills, running from north to south. On the west, this high surface descends abruptly into a long, narrow valley, from which, on the opposite or western side, rises the commanding mount of Cerro Gordo, situated a little north of the river, and west of the plateau of table-land. The National road crosses the stream at a small gorge, and there passing along the eastern side of the table-land, turns to the west, and bounds the northern portion until it enters the narrow valley between the table-land and Cerro Gordo. It runs through this, and turn- ing south, sweeps round the foot of that position, and then runs west towards Jalapa. West of Cerro Gordo was another fortified height, also commanding the road, and to the north of it that upon which Twiggs planted his battery on the night of the 17th. Cerro Gordo was defended by a tower and numerous works, and the road leading up the hill to it was at least half a mile in length. An assailing force marching up this road, would be exposed to the full range of the enemy's cannon throughout its whole extent. Here Santa Anna had posted his main force of more than six thousand men, whom he commanded in person. The height to the west was also occupied by a large force. But the new road cut by the Americans, north of these hills, and ascending them from the north and west by precipitous ascents, where cannon could not well operate upon an assail- BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 529 ing force, saved General Scott's army from the terrible slaughter which would have attended a direct attack upon the front or south side. The storming of this main point was intrusted to General Twiggs. The plateau, with the ridge of hills running north and south was defended by several strong batteries, rang- ing along the crest of the hill, and extending from the National road on the north to the river on the south. Here General La Vega was stationed with more than two thousand men, and gallantly maintained his position against the attack of General Pillow on the l8th. Shields's brigade was ordered to move forward and take up a position across the National road in the enemy's rear, so as to cut off his retreat towards Jalapa. Before daylight on the 18th, the entire division of General Twiggs was roused to storm the height. As the loud cannon opened on each side, Shields hurried on against the fort to the west, so as to carry it and gain the Jalapa road. As light gradually spread among the mountains, the long lines of Ame- rican soldiery could be seen clambering up the precipitous ascent, in direct route for the main height. Colonel Harney, assisted by Colonel Childs, led the assault, while General Scott anxiously watched the movement. Although for some time protected by steep ledges, the assailants came at 'length within range of the opposing fire, and the front ranks began to melt away before its withering showers. The gallant Harney, regardless of personal danger, cheered on his men, rushing along their front, through showers of death raining on every side. Animated by his voice and example, the troops breasted the murderous storm, reached the parapet, and leaped over amono- their enemies. Then the cannon ceased, and its noise was succeeded by the ringing of bayonets, and the groans of the dying. The struggle was short. Dismayed by the im- petuous charge, the enemy either threw down their arms or broke and fled down the southern side of the hill to the main road. Generals Santa Anna, Canalizo, and Almonte, escaped to Jalapa, and Twiggs's division pursued the fugitives until late in the afternoon. Meanwhile General Shields, with his volunteers, had stormed i ^ — ===^^ 530 BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. and carried the heights to the west, and marching down ra- pidly into the road, cut off the retreat of many of the fugitives from Cerro Gordo. In the commencement of the action, the general was paralyzed by a musket-ball, which passed through his lungs. Colonel Baker took the command and led the pursuit. At the same time General Pillow had attacked the strons: positions of the enemy on the plateau. General La Vega received him with a galling fire, but without being able to check his advance, until a sudden and heavy fire from a masked battery, drove back the leading regiments with great loss. Pillow restored his line, and again ordered it forward. The troops advanced with spirit, but the Mexicans, animated by their former success, poured forth so terrible a discharge from all their batteries, that the assailants were again driven back. At this moment the American flag was observed on Cerro Gordo, and judging it useless to resist further, General La Vega surrendered. The force of the Americans at Gerro Gordo was about eight thousand five hundred ; their loss was thirty-three officers, and three hundred and ninety-eight men — total, four hundred and thirty-one, of whom sixty-three were killed. The loss of the enemy in killed and wounded was never known, but during the battle it, no doubt, equalled that of their antagonists, and in the retreat was greatly augmented by the slaughter committed among the fugitives by Harney's dragoons. Three thousand prisoners, including five generals, were taken, and all except the generals paroled. Forty-three pieces of bronze artillery, with five thousand stand of arms, and all the muni- tions of the army were captured. On the 19th, General Twiggs entered Jalapa, in pursuit of the flying enemy. On the 19th and 20th, the Mexicans abandoned the strong position of La Hoya ; and on the 22d, General Worth entered and took possession of the town and castle of Perote. Here fifty-four pieces of cannon, bronze and iron mortars, eleven thousand cannon-balls, fourteen thousand Dombs, and five hundred muskets fell into the hands of the GUERRILLA WAR 531 American army. On the 15th of May, General Worth, after encountering but little resistance, entered the city of Puebla. Thus, in a campaign of two months and three days, General Scott and his gallant army had captured three large cities, two strong castles, ten thousand men, more than seven hun- dred cannon, and an immense quantity of shells, shot, and small arms. After the fall of Vera Cruz, the Mexican government author- ized the formation of guerrilla parties. These were small bands of robbers and murderers, who spread themselves over the country through which the route of the Americans lay, and captured, robbed, and murdered stragglers and small parties, wherever they could come upon them. Different parties of guerrillas were attacked and dispersed by American detach- ments, but only to reassemble and recommence their depreda- tions. At one time they succeeded in effectually cutting off the communication of General Scott's army with Vera Cruz, and in preventing the arrival of supplies and reinforcements 632 GUERRILLA WAR. They were finally dispersed, or held in check, and communi- cations opened by Generals Cadwalader, Patterson, Pierce, and other officers, who successfully conducted reinforcements and supplies to the city of Puebla. General Scott remained at Puebla, awaiting reinforcements, until the beginning of August, when he advanced his army in four divisions under Generals Worth, Twiggs, Pillow, and Quitman, towards the city of Mexico. The whole number of men who left Puebla for the city of Mexico, in General Scott's army, was ten thousand seven hundred and thirty-eight. On the 10th of August, the division of General Twiggs, which was in advance, encamped at the base of the mountains in the basin of Mexico, and on the 11th, he advanced as far as Ayotla, only fifteen miles by the National road from the city, and there he awaited the arrival of the other divisions; and on the 13th, the whole American army was encamped around the southern end of Lake Chalco. A general reconnoissance of the ap- proaches to the city and its defences was now made ; and it was found that there were only three roads by which it might be reached from the position occupied by the Americans, the National road, on which the troops were encamped. The approach to the city by this road, however, was defended by two very strong fortifications, El Penon on the right, and Mexicalzingo on the left. A careful reconnoissance of these works convinced Scott, that an attempt to carry them, even if successful, would be attended by great and disproportionate loss, and have a chilling eflfect upon the subsequent battles which he anticipated before the city walls. He consequently abandoned the idea of a direct march upon the city ; and de- termined to pass around the southern and western shores of Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco, towards the village of San Augustin, on the Acapulco road. Accordingly a road was cut, and on the 18th, the troops marched to San Augustin, Twiggs's division being left behind to threaten El Penon and Mexicalzingo, and mask Scott's movements until the next day, when they also moved forward. In passing from Ayotla to Chalco, near a place called Buena Vista, General Twiggs POSITION OF THE ARMIES. 533 was attacked by a body of Mexicans, more than double his numbers, under General Valencia; but the American general halted, formed in line, and opened upon them a brisk discharge from Taylor's field battery, by which many of them were killed and wounded, and the rest dispersed. This was the only interruption experienced in the march, except from guerrilla parties on the heights. San Augustin, at which the American army was now sta- tioned, is on the Acapulco road, about ten miles south of the city of Mexico. A little north was the strongly fortified village of San Antonio, which was well defended by field-works con- taining heavy guns, and a numerous garrison. It could only be approached in front over a narrow causeway flanked by wet ditches of great depth, and could only be turned on the left, and then but by infantry over a very difficult route — a field covered with volcanic rocks and lava. About five miles to the north-west of San Augustin, on the rocks bordering the western side of the valley, is the strongly fortified post of Con- treras. About the same distance north of San Augustin, and on the same road, is the fortress of Churubusco, also fortified in the strongest manner. West of this, and on the road lead- ing to Contreras is San Angel, and east of it, near the northern extremity of Lake Xochimilco, San Pablo, both afterwards used as points of attack on Churubusco. On the evening of the 18th, General Valencia occupied Contreras with the " flower" of the Mexican army, General Rincon took command at Churubusco, while Santa Anna occu- pied San Angel, ready to throw reinforcements towards either San Antonio or Contreras. On the same night General Worth occupied a hacienda on the road in front of San Antonio, and within reach of the enemy's guns. He was ordered not to attack, but to threaten and mask the plan. Twiggs was at a little village to the left of Worth's corps, and the divisions of Pillow and Quitman were in the rear not far distant. The commander-in-chief was at San Augustin, and there, on the evening of the 18th, he formed his plan of attack, which seems to have been to turn J 534 SMITH BEFORE CONTRERAS. San Antonio by taking the fort at Contreras, when the commu- nication with Mexico being cut off, the former fort would be abandoned, or its garrison compelled to surrender at discretion. To carry out this plan, however, it was necessary to cut a road for artillery from San Augustin to Contreras, and if possible, to surprise that post which was so strongly defended by artillery that an open attack in front would probably fail. On the morning of the 19th, Pillow's division was advanced to make the new road, while Twiggs's was thrown farther in front, to cover that operation. Having, in the execution of this duty arrived within range of the Mexican guns, a heavy fire was opened upon Twiggs from the hill. He immediately placed two batteries in position, and for several hours a severe cannonade was maintained, which proved so destructive to the Americans, that the batteries were at length withdrawn and placed under shelter. Twiggs now ordered General Smith's brigade to advance along the American batteries and gain a position in the enemy's rear. Smith advanced over a field of lava, scarcely passable even for single pedestrians, until he came within range of the Mexican batteries on the San Angel road. He then found that he was advancing by the only path that crossed the broken bed of lava, and on which the enemy, having cleared away all obstructions, were prepared to receive him. They immediately opened their fire. Smith wheeled his brigade to the right, and after crossing a rock nearly a mile in length, descended and took possession of the village of En- celda, near to Contreras, and somewhat in the rear. A large body of troops being observed approaching from the capital, and forming in line opposite the village. Smith fortified the village as well as he could, determined to hold out as long as possible. The Mexicans did not advance, and about sunset the Americans were reinforced by the arrival of four regiments of Pillow's division, under General Cadwalader, and Riley's bri- gade of Twiggs's division, who had been sent to the support of General Smith. Thus reinforced. Smith formed his men in column, and prepared to attack the enemy, but was prevented by the darkness of the night and the arising of a storm of rain. ~l BATTLE OF CONTRERAS. 535 Then, surrounded by eighteen thousand troops, with thirty pieces of cannon, and six thousand cavalry, this company of three thousand men, without cavalry or artillery, passed the night in the rain, within range of the enemy's guns. It was then that Smith resolved to attack Contreras in the rear before daylight. The plan was no sooner formed than it was com- municated to the officers of brigades, with directions to form their men and have them ready to march at half-past two the next morning. Captain Lee, of the engineers, volunteered to return to the commander-in-chief, inform him of the contem- plated movement, and solicit a diversion to favour it and protect the rear. An aid of General Shields arrived in the course of the night, who reported that officer at hand with the New York and South Carolina volunteers. Though General Shields was the superior officer, he placed himself under the command of General Smith, on learning the plan he had in view, and chose the important though less brilliant task of defending the village and cutting off the retreat of the Mexicans. At three o'clock on the morning of the 20th, the troops commenced their march from the centre of the village, the rain still descending in torrents. Riley's brigade formed the van. He was followed by Cadwalader, and Smith's own bri- gade brought up the rear. So great were the impediments in the way, that it was six o'clock before the arrangements for battle were all made, but then General Smith being immedi- ately in the rear of the Mexican works, and hidden from them only by a slight acclivity, he gave the order to charge with the bayonet. Throwing forward his first two companies as skir- mishers, Riley ordered his men to follow, rushed towards the fort, and entered it in the very face of the enemy's fire. Nothing could resist them ; the batteries were taken ; the army of Valencia, in less than twenty minutes, was driven out in utter rout; and its flying remnants pursued on the road to Mexico. The actual conflict lasted less than twenty minutes, the pursuit several hours. Meanwhile their cavalry, drawn up on the outside for a charge, were attacked by Major Dimick's 536 BATTLE OF CONTRERAS. STOnMIJTG OF CO?fTnERAS. troops with the bayonet, their ranks broken, and both men and horses overwhelmed in irreihediable slaughter. The large body of Mexicans, seen before Encelda on the previous even- ing, had, during the night placed batteries along his line, and in the morning moved detachments forward to take in flank the attack which he knew was meditated against him the preceding evening. The movement upon Contreras in the morning, w^hile the village was still occupied, made him sup- pose that large reinforcements had arrived during the night; and his movements, first towards the village, (where Shields had kindled many fires as if to prepare breakfast for a large army,) and then in the direction of the attacking column, and ao-ain towards the village, indicated great perplexity. The fall of Contreras left him no longer in doubt, and he immediately commenced a hasty retreat along the top of the hill, inclining towards the San Angel road. Shields was now free to attend 1o the fugitives from the hill, who found themselves intercepted by the South Carolina regiment, whose sure fire compelled many of them to surrender, and others to break away over the RESULT OF THE BATTLE. 637 GEKERAL aUITMAW. opposite fields, and to take shelter in the ditches and ravines. Many of them thus escaped to the rocks, and thence to the mountains and Mexico. In the mean time, the divisions of Worth and Quitman were ordered forward to attack the enemy in front, and draw his attention from the operations in the rear, but they did not arrive until the battle was won and the enemy were in full retreat. The reports of Mexican officers captured left no doubt that there were in and about Contreras, prior to the attack, seven thousand regular troops, under General Valencia, and twelve thousand in front of Encelda, under Santa Anna. Their loss was seven hundred killed, a large number wounded, and 538 RESULT OF THE BATTLE. fifteen hundred prisoners, including several generals. The Americans captured twenty-two pieces of brass ordnance, seven hundred pack-mules, a large number of horses, and immense quantities of shells, ammunition, and small arms. The latter were destroyed. The American loss in killed and wounded did not exceed sixty. The battle of Contreras being won, the advancing brigades which had been ordered to make a diversion in front, were ordered back to their respective positions; Quitman's to garri- son San Augustin, and Worth's to the attack of San Antonio. Worth was directed, w^hen he should have forced San Antonio, to march forward and rejoin the other divisions in the attack of the defences of Churubusco. General Pillow, with one of his brigades, Twiggs's division, and Shields's brigade of Quitman's division, was ordered to pursue the enemy through San Angel towards his defences at Churubusco ; while Cadwalader's bri- gade of Pillow's division, was detached to the right to aid General Worth by attacking the rear of San Antonio. General Worth ordered his two brigades to the attack of San Antonio. This post being left unprotected by the loss ot Contreras, could now be turned, and accordingly Clarke, with his brigade, was ordered to turn the enemy's right by a sweep to the left, and attack him in the rear or on his right flank, while the other brigade, under Colonel Garland, attacked him in front. Clarke came out on the high road between San Antonio and Mexico, just in time to cut the retreating garrison in the centre. One half of them made good their retreat to Churubusco, but the other half being between the brigades of Clarke and Garland, were driven off to the east, never stopping until they took refuge in Dolores. General Worth united his two brigades and marched forward in pursuit of those who had fled towards Churubusco. The whole army, with the exception of Quitman's second brigade, now marched forward in two columns to the attack of the fortified post in front. The division of Worth, reinforced by Cadwalader's brigade, approached along the road from San Antonio, in front, while the division of Twiggs, with the B A T T L E F H U R I B U S C O. 539 brigades of Shields and Pierce approached the enemy's right, from Coyoacan, to which point they had pursued the flying garrison of Contreras. This naturally resolved the battle into two distinct actions on the same field, and so closely connected as to be within half cannon-shot of the centres of contest. These were respectively, the tete de pont, attacked by the first column under Worth, and the fortified church and hacienda, attacked by the second column under Twiggs. It was about one P. M., when the army was formed in line, and the battle commenced throughout its whole extent. The fortified church, or convent, hotly pressed by Twiggs, had already held out about an hour, when Worth with his division, and Pillow with Cadwalader's brigade, began to manoeuvre on the tete de pont. On arriving within cannon-shot, the enemy opened with effect upon the head of the leading bat- talion. Garland's brigade, to which had been added the light battalion under Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, was then thrown promptly to the right of, and in line of columns, obliquely to, the road — the light battalion on its right. Clarke's brigade marched forward in the line with Garland's, directly on the road ; and this again was supported, on the left, by Cadwala- der's brigade, and the whole moved steadily up towards the bridge under a tremendous discharge both of small arms and cannon. At length, this well combined and daring movement led the assailants to the very brink of the deep and wet ditch which surrounded the tete de pont. Clarke's brigade soon, though under a terrible fire, effected a passage over the ditch, and followed by Pillow and Garland, carried the work by the bayonet, and immediately turned the captured cannon upon the church or convent, which still resisted the attack of Twiggs. Thus, after a hot conflict of an hour and a half, the enemy at the tete de pont gave way, and retreated towards the capital, pursued by the greater part of Worth's and Pillow's divisions. In the mean time, a yet more bloody and eventful action took place to the left of Worth's column, in the attack upon the church of San Pablo de Churubusco, the fortification at the hacienda, before mentioned. Here General Scott commanded 33 540 BATTLE OF CHURUBUSCO. GENERAL PILLOW. in person. Twiggs's division was ordered to attack the forti- fications in front. Pierce's brigade first, and soon after Shields's were ordered to take a road leading to the rear of Churubusco, and divert the troops of Santa Anna, which were drawn up in a long line behind the village, with instructions to cut oiT the retreat of the Mexican forces to the city, in the event of the success of the attack in front. This corps was under the command of General Shields as senior officer. The disposi- tions thus rapidly made were as quickly executed. The troops moved steadily and regularly to their appointed places, and the attack on the church or citadel commenced, and was BATTLE OF CTTURUBUSCO. 541 STORMINS OF catTRUBUSCO. continued uninterruptedly for three hours. Half an hour after the capture of the tete de pont by Worth, the citadel was stormed, and a white flag being displayed at the same instant, Captain Alexander of the 3d infantry, the first oificer on the balcony, received the surrender, and displayed the flags of his regiment in triumph. The brigades of Pierce and Shields, in the mean time, en- countered, far to the left, the Mexican reserve under Santa Anna, numbering four thousand infantry and three thousand cavalry. Shields being greatly outnumbered, and the enemy manifesting an intention of outflanking him, and turning his left, he determined to attack him in front. The battle vv^as long, hot, and varied, the regiments charged with the bayonet, with a spirit and courage never before equalled, and ultimately won for themselves a glorious victory. The enemy fled in confused masses towards the city. A junction was formed by General Shields with Generals Worth and Pillow, and the three continued to press upon the fugitives until within a mile and a half of the gates of the capital. There, Colonel Harney, 542 BATTLE OF CHURUBUSCO. with a small part of his brigade of cavalry, rapidly passed to the front, and charged the enemy up to the nearest gate. Thus had General Scott, five times, in as many different places, in one day, defeated the enemy in sight of the capital of Mexico. The American loss, during the day, was one hundred and thirty-seven killed, including fourteen officers ; sixty-two officers, and eight hundred and fifteen privates wounded ; and thirty-eight rank and file missing. The largest number at any time actually engaged with the enemy was eight thousand five hundred ; who, together with the second Pennsylvania regiment of volunteers, and a. detachment of United States marines, in garrison at San Augustin, under General Quitman, and the sick, formed the entire strength of the army now before Mexico. The Mexicans lost three thousand five hundred prisoners ; one thousand five hundred killed, wounded, and missing; thirty-seven pieces of artillery captured ; and immense quanti- ties of small arms, ammunition, and equipments.* During the night of the 20th of August, proposals were received from the Mexican general for the conclusion of a truce, in order that commissioners should be appointed to enter into negotiations for peace. The armistice was signed on the 23d of August, and commissioners were appointed by the Mexican government, to meet Mr. Trist, on the part of the United States, for that purpose. The commissioners could not agree in relation to the boundary to be established between the two nations, and on the 5th and 6th of September Santa Anna violated an article of the armistice, requiring both generals to refrain from enlarging or strengthening any military work or fortification for offence or defence within thirty leagues of the city of Mexico. Santa Anna was called upon for an explanation or apology, but he merely accused General Scott with having also broken the armistice. This General Scott denied; the correspondence closed, and the armistice was at an end. * Scott's official report, No. 32. — Mansfield's Mexican War. SCOTT'S PLAN OF OPERATION. 543 General Scott having determined to take the city of Mexico by assault, made a reconnoissance of the approaches and defences on the 7th of September. The little village of Tacu- baya, at which General Scott's head-quarters had been esta- blished on the night after the five battles, is about two miles and a half from the city. About twelve hundred yards north of it is the hill of Chapultepec, fortified from its base to its summit ; where were the buildings of the military college of the republic, commanding all the roads around, as well as the city itself. The hill was steep, and seemed to defy approach, except on the western side, where it sloped down towards the causeways leading to the city. At the foot of this slope was a line of defence extending about four hundred yards, having on one side Molino del Rey, and on the other Casa de Mata, both strong stone buildings, defended by fourteen thousand men. Unless Molino del Rey was taken, Chapultepec could not be reached, and if Chapultepec was not taken, the city could not be reached. Chapultepec captured, the city must necessarily fall. Besides there was a great quantity of military stores deposited at Casa de Mata, which was also used as a foundry for casting cannon. Accordingly, General Worth was ordered on the 8th of September, with his division, Cadwalader's brigade, and a detachment of dragoons and artillery, amounting in all to three thousand one hundred and fifty-four men, to attack and break up the enemy's line of intrenchments, destroy the munitions of war in Molino del Rey or Casa de Mata, and then retire to Tacubaya. This he accomplished literally after several hours hard fighting. Casa de Mata was blown up, eight hundred prisoners taken, with all the guns, and a large quantity of ammunition and small arms. Such stores as could not be used, together with the cannon moulds found in Molino del Rey, were destroyed. The total loss of the enemy was about three thousand, exclusive of two thousand who deserted during the flight ; Worth's loss was one hundred and sixteen killed, six hundred and sixty-five wounded, and eighteen missing. General Scott continued to reconnoitre the different ap 544 STOxRMING OF CHAPULTEPEC. proaches and defences of the city until the 11th, when he made his final arrangements, and commenced the assault on the city. He determined to make a feint, as if to storm the gates on the southern side by gathering three-fourths of his army to that point, and then, by a night march, suddenly to transfer them to the western and south-western side, maintain- ing in the mean time a fire of artillery on the southern posts, so as to mask his real intention. This stratagem was admirably executed ; the transfer of the troops made on the night of the 11th, and Twiggs, with Riley's brigade and two field batteries was left in front of the southern gates, to manoeuvre and amuse the enemy by the appearance of a warm attack. The first step in this movement was the capture of Chapul- tepec ; and on the night of the 11th, four batteries were erected, to weaken and cripple the works, before the general assault could be made. These batteries commenced firing on the morning of the 12th, while the enemy answered by raining down an incessant fire upon their assailants. This cannonade and bombardment continued during the w^hole of the 12th, while Twiggs kept up such a fire upon the gates as to deceive t'.ie enemy and prevent him from sending reinforcements to Cha- pultepec. On the afternoon of the 12th, General Scott made his final disposition for the assault on the following morning. The force designed for this service consisted of two columns, acting independently of each other, and on different sides of the hill. The first was led by General Pillow, the second by General Quitman, each preceded by a select storming party of two hundred and fifty men. The column of Pillow was to advance by the western side of the hill, that of Quitman on the south-east. Smith's brigade was ordered to act with the column of Quitman, while Worth's division was held in reserve to assist either column, or if their assistance should not be needed, to turn the castle, and come into the road on the north, there either to assist the assault, or cut off the retreat of the enemy towards the gates. Early in the morning of the 13th, the batteries reopened on the castle, while, at the same moment, Twiggs's guns were STORMING OF CHAPULTEPEC. 545 STOHMIITG OF CHAPULTEPEC. heard battering the gates of San Antonio and Piedad. The bombardment of the castle became so warm, that all the gar- rison, except a number barely sufficient to manage the guns, were withdrawn from their works, and formed in a secure posi- tion on the hill, whence they could easily return in case of an assault. Every thing being in readiness, at nine o'clock the signal was given, by the momentary silence of the batteries, and im- mediately the storming columns rushed forward to the attack. The Mexicans opened all their batteries, the fires from which swept every approach, and glared in front of the advancing troops like a volcano. Pillow advanced through an open grove L 646 STOliMING OF CHAPULTEPEC. on the west, filled -with sharp shooters. These were speedily dislodged, and the column emerged into an opening at the base of the rocky acclivity. There General Pillow was wounded, and the command devolved upon General Cadwalader. The broken acclivity was still to be ascended, and a strong redoubt midway to be carried, before reaching the castle on the heights. Bravely led by gallant officers, the men advanced slowly but surely. Unwaveringly they advanced over rocks, chasms, and mines, and under the hottest fire of cannon and musketry. The redoubt soon yielded to resistless valour, and the shouts which followed announced to the castle the fate that impended. The enemy were steadily driven from shelter to shelter. The re- treat did not allow time to fire a single mine, without the cer- tainty of blowing up friend as well as foe. At length the ditch and wall of the main work were reached ; the ditch was filled with fascines ; the scaling-ladders were brought up and fixed by the storming parties ; some of the daring spirits first on the wall were cast down, killed or wounded ; but a lodgment was soon made ; the men rushed up with a shout ; the castle was carried, all opposition overcome, and the American flag planted on the upper walls. In the mean time, Quitman's column approached the fortress on the opposite side. He moved over a causeway with cuts and barriers, defended by an army strongly posted outside, to the east of the works. These formidable obstacles Quitman had to face, with but little shelter for his troops, or space for manoeuvring. Deep ditches, flanking the causeway, made it difficult to cross on either side into the adjoining meadows, and these again were intersected by other ditches. Brigadier- General Smith, with his brigade, was ordered to make a sweep to the right, in order to present a front against the enemy's line, and to turn or silence two intervening batteries, near the foot of Chapultepec. This movement was also intended to support Quitman's storming parties on the causeway. Smith's brigade carried the two batteries in the road, took some guns and many prisoners, and drove back the enemy posted to sup- port them. The New York, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania STORMING OF CHAPULTEPEC. 547 volunteers, headed by the gallant Quitman, crossed the mea- dows in front, under a heavy fire, and rushed on in cue unbroken tide until they reached the outer breastworks. The batteries from behind continued to pour shells and shot over their heads into the enemy's fortress. The Mexican fire was tremendous, but the Americans reached the breastworks, when the contest was for a time most terrible. Hand to hand, the fierce antagonists met each other's strokes, while, as though pausing for the result, the loud noise of opposing batteries for a time died away. Swords and bayonets were crossed, rifles clubbed, and friend and foe mingled in one confused, strug- gling mass. Resistance, however, to the desperate valour of the assailants was vain. The batteries and strong works were swept, and the ascent to Chapultepec laid open on that side ; a few minutes more, and they joined the other column, under General Pillow, in time to make a united attack on the castle on the summit. Chapultepec was gained, its defenders cap- tured, and the roads to the city undefended, except by the works at the gates. General Scott, from the castle of Chapultepec, now sur- veyed the whole field, as it lay spread out before him, around the city of Mexico. On the right, the road passed on to the Belen gate ; on the left it passed to the San Cosme causeway and gate. Worth was on the San Cosme road, pursuing the enemy whom he had defeated. Scott immediately ordered a regiment of infantry to garrison Chapultepec, Quitman to pur- sue the enemy by the causeway to the Belen gate, while he, with Cadwalader's brigade followed Worth towards the San Cosme gate. They entered the suburbs, and were attacked by the enemy, from behind ditches, and from the flat roofs of the houses, the whole village having been made a fortification, and it was defended, and its possession disputed inch by inch. Worth ordered forward the mountain howitzers of Cadwalader's brigade, preceded by skirmishers and pioneers, with pickaxes and crowbars to force windows and doors, or to burrow through walls. The assailants were soon in an equality of position fatal to the enemy ; and by eight o'clock in the evening Worth 548 STORMING OF BELEN GATE. had carried two batteries, and was preparing to attack the gate itself, the only defence remaining, and which it was known could not resist an attack by daylight for half an hour, when he received orders from the commander-in-chief to post his guards and sentinels, and place his troops under shelter for the night. In the mean time, Twiggs was relieved from battering the southern gates, and sent to reinforce Worth, with Riley's brigade, while the field-battery of Captain Steptoe was ordered to rejoin General Quitman, who was also reinforced by Smith's and Pierce's brigades. Quitman, though he knew that his approach was only to mask, and draw attention from that of Worth, pressed nobly on, under galling flank and direct fires ; carried a battery of two guns, on the road ; and stormed the Belen gate, before two o'clock in the afternoon ; and became exposed to the fire of a strong citadel just within the gate. In this position, within the city, he began to add defences to the position he had won, to shelter his men as well as possible, and to make arrange- ments for the capture of the citadel on the return of daylight. At about four o'clock on the morning of the 14th of Sep- tember, a deputation from the city council waited upon General Scott, and informed him that the federal government and the army of Mexico had fled from the capital about midnight, and that they had been deputed to ask terms of capitulation. The general replied, that the city was virtually in his possession from the time that Worth and Quitman had effected their lodgments on the preceding evening, and that the American army would come under no terms not self-imposed. About daylight. Worth and Quitman were ordered to advance slowly and cautiously towards the heart of the city, and to occupy its stronger and more commanding points. Quitman proceeded to the great square, planted guards and hoisted the colours of the United States, on the National Palace. Worth was halted by General Scott within three squares of the same place ; and at seven A. M., on the 14th of September, 1847, the Mexican capital was occupied and garrisoned by the American army. During the morning, some liberated convicts, aided by the i .ife 1 CAPTURE OF MEXICO. 551 mob of the city, made an insurrection, opening a fire upon the troops, from the roofs of houses, from windows, and the corners of the streets. This was not put down until twenty-four hours had passed ; and until many w^ere killed and wounded. The object of the insurrection was more plunder than hatred to the American troops. The American loss in the battle of Mexico, fought on the 12th, 13th, and 14th of September, was one hundred and thirty killed, seven hundred and three wounded, and twenty- nine missing. — Total, eight hundred and sixty-two.* Immediately on establishing his quarters in the city, and as soon as order was restored. General Scott issued a proclama- tion, enforcing the observance of law by the American army, and calling on the troops to return public thanks to Almighty God, for their safety and success in their late important en- gagements. Under his admirable arrangements, together with those of General Quitman, whom he had appointed governor, the citizens returned to their homes, business slowly revived, and the city soon resumed its wonted appearance of beauty and cheerfulness. On the march of the American army from Puebla, Colonel Childs, with about four hundred men, was left there as a gar- rison. He was soon beseiged by a large Mexican array, which, after the fall of the capital, was doubled by the arrival of a large reinforcement under Santa Anna. On the 25th of Sep- tember, Childs was summoned to surrender, but declining to do so ; a severe bombardment and cannonade was commenced by Santa Anna, and continued until the 12th of October, when the weary garrison was relieved, and the Mexicans dispersed by the arrival of General Lane from Vera Cruz. This siege lasted forty days, and was the longest single operation of the war. The result appears astonishing when it is remembered that it was sustained so long by four hundred troops, encum- bered by sick, and deficient in supplies, against an array of eight thousand, commanded by the general-in-chief of the Mexican army. * Scott's official despatch. 552 BATTLE OF HUAMANTLA. In his advance from Vera Cruz to Puebla, General Lane was met at Huamantla, by a large body of Mexicans, whom he succeeded in defeating, after a hard-fought battle. He lost thirteen men killed and eleven wounded. Among the former was Captain Walker, who had distinguished himself in every action in which he had taken any part since the commence- ment of the war. The Mexicans lost one hundred and fifty in killed and wounded, besides two guns, numerous wagons, and a large quantity of ammunition. Lane then marched to the relief of Colonel Childs, at the city of Puebla. Learning, on the l8th of October, that the Mexican general, Rea, was at Atlixco, with a large force, General Lane left Puebla on the 19th, with the intention of fighting them. After a forced march of five hours, he came in sight of the enemy's advanced guard, at Santa Isabella. A running fight imme- diately commenced, the Mexicans falling back, until they reached the main body, which was observed posted on a hill behind rows of chaparral hedges, within less than two miles of Atlixco. Without stopping to ascertain their numbers, the cavalry dashed among them, dealing death on every side, and forcing them within the thickest part of their shelter. Then dismounting, the assailants entered the chaparral, and fought hand to hand with the foe ; when a long and terrible struggle commenced, and continued until the arrival of the infantry, who came up at a run, notwithstanding their fatiguing march of sixteen miles. The Mexicans fell back to the town, followed by the Americans, but before they reached it, night set in, and General Lane ordered the artillery to be posted on a hill com- manding the town, and to open upon it, while the infantry and cavalry rested their weary limbs on the ground behind the battery. This bombardment continued for nearly an hour, the gunners being enabled by the light of the moon to point their guns with deadly aim. The firing from the town then ceased, and the city council came out and desired that their town might be spared. Quiet was accordingly restored, the town surrendered, and on the following morning Lane disposed of such ammunition as he could find and returned to Puebla, CAPTURE OF GUAYMAS. 553 by the way of Cholula. He had lost m the expedition but two men, one killed, and one wounded. The enemy stated their own loss to have been two hundred and nineteen killed, and three hundred wounded. About the same time, an American squadron of three vessels, under Captain Lavallette, entered the harbour of Guaymas, and after a bombardment of more than an hour, compelled the town to surrender. About the same time another portion of the squadron captured the port of Mazatlan. On the 16th of November, 1847, one hundred and twenty- six men under Colonel Burton, were attacked at La Paz, Lower California, by a large number of Mexicans, who, after keeping up an irregular fight until the 21st, were compelled to retire. On the 9th of March, 1848, General Price, with two hundred and fifty men, laid siege to the town of Santa Cruz de Resales, where General Trias, with a large body of Mexicans, had strongly fortified himself. On the 16th, being reinforced by the arrival of three companies of Missouri horse, and a battery of artillery, under Lieutenant-Colonel Lane, General Price determined to carry the place by assault. At half-past ten the American batteries opened, and for nearly an hour a heavy fire was poured into the town, destroying many buildmgs, and gradually driving the enemy from their positions. It was answered by heavy guns, which produced, however, little or no effect upon the assailants. Shortly after sun-down, the garrison surrendered. General Trias and forty-two of his principal officers were made prisoners ; while twenty pieces of artillery and five hundred and seventy-seven stand of arms fell into the hands of the Americans. The American loss was four killed and nineteen wounded. On the 21st, General Armijo, the Mexican governor of New Mexico, surrendered himself to General Price, and the war in New Mexico and California was ended. In January, 1848, negotiations were recommenced, and a " treaty of peace, friendship, limits, and settlement, between the United States of America and the Mexican republic," was 554 RATIFICATION OF THE TREATY. soon agreed upon. In March the treaty was submitted to the American senate, and it was by them agreed to, after a few alterations, on the 10th of March. On the 25th of May, it was approved by the Mexican congress, assembled at Quere- taro, and soon after ratified by the presidents of the two republics. General Butler, who had been appointed to super- sede General Scott in the chief command, immediately com- menced the removal of the American troops from the territory of Mexico, and about the 1st of July the whole army had arrived at New Orleans. Thence they were shipped to their respective states, and the volunteers were paid and mustered out of the service. Since that time there has been no national contest in which we could gain fresh laurels, and our standing army has been stationed at our ports of defence, or employed in various mis- sions on our western border, where it has signalized itself and honored the country by quelling the disturbances so common to the early settlement of a wilderness bordering on a terri- tory occupied by savages. The prompt and energetic efforts of the officers in command, sustained by the co-operation of the Executive, happily resulted in the suppression of difficulties among the Mormons, the ces- sation of hostilities in California and Oregon, and no country enjoys greater freedom from military difficulties than the United States. APPENDIX. THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Framed during the year 1787, by a convention of delegates, who met at Philadel phia,froin the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia. We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote tlie general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. ARTICLE I. Sect. I. — All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a congress of the United States, which shall consist of a senate and house of representa- tives. Sect. II. — 1. The house of representatives shall be composed of members, chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and tiie electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature. 2. No person shall be a representative, who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen. 3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included witliin this Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to servitude for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each state shall have at least one representative : and, until such enumeration shall be made, the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Car ohna five, and Georgia three. 4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any state, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 2LS 680 APPENDIX. 5. The house of representatives shall choose their speaker, and other officers and shall have the sole power of impeachment. Sect. III. — 1. The senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years : and each senator shall have one vote. 2. Immediately after they shall be assembled, in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. Tlie seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year ; of the second class, at the expiration of the fourth year ; and of the third class, at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every second year ; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the legislatiu-e of any state, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments, until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 3. Xo person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not. when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for wliich he shall be chosen. 4. Tlie vice-president of the United States shall be president of the senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 5. The senate shall choose their other otEcers, and also a president pro tem- pore, in the absence of the vice-president, or when he shall exercise the office of president of the United States. 6. The senate shall have the sole power to try aU impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath, or affirmation. When the president of the United States is tried, the chief-justice shall preside : and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. 7. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honour, trust, or profit imder the United States ; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. Sect. IV. — 1. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the congress may, at any time by law, make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators. 2. The congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, utdess they shall, by law, appoint a different day. Sect. V. — 1. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide. 2. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behaviour, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a mem- ber. 3. Each hoiise shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may, in their judgment, require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any question, shaU, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journals. 4. Neither house, during the session of congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. Sect. YI. — 1. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasurj' of the United States. They shall, in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session uf their respective houses, and in going to and returning from the same ; and for any CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 681 speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 2. Xo senator or representative shall, during the time for -which he was elect- ed, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time ; and no person, holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either house during his continuation in office. Sect. V'II. — 1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the house of '•epresentatives ; but the senate may propose or concur with amendments, as on other bills. 2. Every bill which shall have passed the house of representatives and the senate shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the president of the Uni- ted States ; if he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to recon.-ider it. If after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall Ukewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined bv yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the president within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the congress, by their adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 3. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of the senate and house of representatives may be necessary, (except on a question of adjourn- ment,) shall be presented to the president of the United States ; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him ; or, being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-tiiirds of the senate and house of representatives, ac- cording to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a biU. Sect. VIII. — The congress shall have power — 1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises ; to pay the debts, and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States. 2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States. 3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes. 4. To establish a uniform rule of naturahzation, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout tlie United States. 5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and &x the standard of weights and measures. 6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States. 7. To establish post-offices and post-roads. 8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for limited limes, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. 9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court. 10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations. 11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules con- cerning captures on land or water. 12. To raise and support armies ; but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years. 1 3. To provide and maintain a navy. 14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces. 682 APPENDIX. 15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions. 1(3. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of tlie United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia, according to the discipline prescribed by congress. 17. To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such dis- trict, (not exceeding ten miles square,) as may, by cession of particular states, atid tlie acceptance of congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings : — and 18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or office thereof. Sect. IX. — 1. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall thmk proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the congress, prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. 3. No bill of attainder, or ex-post facto law, shall be passed. 4. No capitation, or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census, or enumeration, herein before directed to be taken. 5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state. No preference shall be given, by any regulation of commerce or revenue, to the ports of one state over those of another ; nor shall vessels, bound to or from one state, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 6. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of ap- propriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time. 7. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States; and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of congress, accejjt of any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state. Skct. X. — 1 No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and rejirisal ; coin money; emit bills of credit ; make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts ; pass any bill oi attamder, ex-post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 2. No state shall, without the consent of congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws : and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports and exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States, and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of congress. No state shall, without the consent of congress, lay any duty on tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war, in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. ARTICLE II. Sect. I. — 1. The executive power shall be vested in a president of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the vice-president, chosen for the same term, be elected as follows : 2. Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may CCNSTITU'nON OF THE UNITED STATES. 683 direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and repre- sentatives to which the state may be entitled in the congress ; but no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit uuder the United States, shall be appointed an elector. 3. The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves. And they snail make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each ; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of government of the United States, directed to the president of the senate. The president of the senate shall, in the presence of the senate and house of representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the house of repi'esentatives shall immediately choose, by ballot, one of them for president : and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list, the said house shall, in like manner, choose the president. But in choosing the president, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the president, the person having the greatest number of votes of the electors, shall be tlie vice-president. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the senate shall choose from them, by ballot, the vice-president. 4. The congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes : which day shall be the same throughout the United States. 5. No person, except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall be eligible to the office of president, neither shall any person be eligible to that office, who shall not have attained the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States. 6. In case of the removal of the president from office, or of his death, resigna- tion, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the vice-president ; and the congiess may, by law, provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the president and vice-president, declaring what officer shall then act as president, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a president shall be elected. 7. The president shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive, within that period, any other emolument from the United States, or any of them. 8. Before he enters on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath, or affi"mation : " I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." Sect. II. — 1. The president shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States ; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject, relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant I'eprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, to make treatie.s, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur ; and he shall uominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint 684 APPENDIX. ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, judges of the supreme court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law. But the con- gress may, by law, vest the appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper in the president alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 3. The president shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the senate, by granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of their next session. Sect. III. — He shall, from time to time, give to the congress information of the ^^fcate of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient ; he may, on extraordinary occasions, con- vene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper ; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States. Sect. IV. — The president, vice-president, and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. ARTICLE III. Sect. I. — The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the congress may, from time to time, ordain and establisL The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behaviour, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. Sect. II. — 1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority ; to all cases affecting ambas- sadors, other public ministers and consuls ; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to wliich the United States shall be a party ; to controversies between two or more states, between a state and citizens oi another state, between citizens of diffei'ent states, between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states, and between a state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects. 2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, and those in which a state shall be a party, the supreme court shall have original jurisdiction. In all other cases before mentioned, the supreme court shall have iippellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under sucli regulations, as the congress shall make. 3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury, and such trials shall be held in tlie state where the said crime shall have been committed ; but when not committed within any state, the trial shall be at such place or places as the congress may, by law, have directed. Sect. III. — 1. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two witness- es to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 2. The congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted. ARTICLE IV. SvcT. I. — Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, reri'i.lj, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the congress may, iiy L^'ifieral laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceed- ii\.;3 siiall be proved, and the effect thereof. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 685 Sect. II. — 1. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states. 2. A person, charged in any state with treason, felony, or otlier crime, wlio shall flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having the jurisdiction of the crime. 3. No person, held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law, or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. Sect. III. — 1. New states may be admitted by the congress into this Union, but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other state ; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states, or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned, as well as of the congress. 2. The congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory, or other property, belonging to tlie United States ; and nothing in this constitution shall be so construed as to pre- judice any claims of the United States, or of any particular state. Sect. IV". — The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union, a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion ; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive, (when the legislature cannot be convened,) against domestic violence. ARTICLE V. The congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary shall propose amendments to this constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for pro- posing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of this constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three- fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may bo proposed by the congress : Provi- ded, that no amendment, which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, shall, in any manner, affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article ; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrages in the senate. ARTICLE VL 1. All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this consti- tution, as under the confederation. 2. This constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land ; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding. 3. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatui-es, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath, or affirmation, to support this constitution ; and no religious test shall ever be required, as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. 686 APPENDIX. ARTICLE VII. Tbe ratification of the conventions of nine states, shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution, between the states so ratifying the same. Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present, the seven- teenth day of September, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the twelfth. In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names. The Constitution, although formed in 1787, was not adopted until 1788, and did not commence its operations until 1789. The number of delegates chosen to this convention was sixty-five, of whom ten did not attend, and sixteen re- fused to sign the Constitution. The following thirty-nine signed tbe Consti- tution : — A'ew Hampshire — John Langdon, Nicholas Gelman, Mas.'iachusetts. — Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King. Connecticut. — William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman. New York. — Alexander Hamilton. New Jersey. — William Livingston, David Brearley, William Paterson, Jonathan Dayton. Fe7insylvania. — Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimmons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris. Delaware. — George Read, Gunning Bedford, jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bas- sett, Jacob Broom. Maryland. — James M'Henry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll. Virginia. — John Blair, James Madison, jr. North Carolina. — William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson. South Carolina. — John Rutledge, Charles C. Pinkney, Charles Pinkney, Pierce Butler. Georgia. — William Few, Abraham Baldwin. GEORGE WASHINGTON, President WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary. AMENDMENTS To the Constitution of the United States, ratified according to the Provisions of the Fifth Article of the foregoing Constitution. Art. I. — Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the rights of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Art. II. — A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. Art. III. — No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house with- out the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be pre- scribed by law. Akt. IV. — The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, pnpers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated ; and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affir- mation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Art. V. — No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise in- famous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of war, or public danger ; nor shall any person be subject for CONSllTDTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 6^7 the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall private pro- perty be taken for public use without just compensation. Art VL— In all ciiminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the riglit to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusa- tion ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence. Art. VII. — In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact, tried by jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. Art. VIII. — Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Art. IX. — The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. Art. X. — The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. Art. XI. — The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States, by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. Art. XII. — The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot, for president and vice-president, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves ; they shall name, in their ballots, the person voted for as president, and, in distinct ballots, the person voted for as vice-president ; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as president, and of all persons voted for as vice-president, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the president of the senate. The president of the senate shall, in the presence of the senate and house of representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes for president, shall be the president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have such a majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as pre- sident, the house of representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the president. But, in choosing the president, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the house of representatives shall not choose a president, whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of M.arch next following, then the vice-president shall act as president, as in the case of the death, or other consti- tutional disability of the president. The person having the greatest number of votes as vice-president, shall be the vice-president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have a majority, then, from the two nighest nun.- bers on the lists, the senate shall choose the vice-president — a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of senators, and a ma- jority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person, constitutionally ineligible to the office of president, shall be eligible to that of vice-president of the United States. 8M 688 APPENDIX. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. JULY 4th, 1776. THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED. When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident : that all men are created equal : that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the con- sent of the governed ; that, whenever any form of government becomes destruc- tive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organiz- ing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes ; and, accord- ingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursu- ing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient suffer- ance of these colonies, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world : He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing im- portance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained ; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature — a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the repository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected ; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise — the state remaining, in the mean time, exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without and convulsions within. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 689 He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states — for that pur- pose obstructing the laws of naturalization of foreigners, refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropria- tions of lands. He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establisliing judiciary powers. He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their offices and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the con- sent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws — giving his assent to their acta of pretended legislation. For quarteriog large bodies of armed troops among us ; For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states ; For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world ; For imposing taxes on us without our consent; For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury ; For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offences; For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same ab- solute rule into these colonies ; For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments; For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated government here by declaring us out of his protection, and waging war against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to com- plete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun, with circum- stances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. He has excited domestic insurrections among us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and condi- tions. In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated petitions have been answered only by re- peated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts, by their legislature, to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circum- stances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably inter- rupt our connections and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the GOO APPENDIX. necessity which denounces our separation, and liold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace, friends. "We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in general Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the rec- titude 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 independent states ; that they are ab- solved from ail allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and tlie state of Great Britain is, and 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 to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the sup- port of tliis declaration, witli a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Provi- dence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. i The foregoing declaration was, by order of Congress, engrossed and signed by the following members : Adams, John Adams, Samuel Bartlett, Josiah Braxton, Carter Carroll, Charles, of CarroUton Chase, Samuel Clark, Abraham Clymer, George Ellery, William Floyd, William Franklin, Benjamin Gerry, Elbridge Gwinnett, Button Hall, Lyman Hancock, John Harrison, Benjamin Hart, John Heyward, Thomas, Jun. Hewes, Joseph Hooper, William Hopkins, Stephen HoPKiNsoN, Francis Huntington, Samuel Jefferson, Thomas Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Richard Henry Lewis, Francis Livingston, Philip Lynch, Thomas, Jun. M'Kean, Thomas Middleton, Arthur Morris, Lewis Morris, RoBEtiT Morton, John Nelson, Thomas, Jun. Paca, William Paine, Robert Teeat Penn, John Read, George Rodney, C^sar Ross, George Rush, Benjamin, M. D Rutledge, Edward Sherman, Roger Smith, James Stockton, Richard Stone, Thomas Taylor, George Thornton, Matthew Walton, George Whipple, William Williams, William Wilson, James Witherspoon, John Wolcott, Oliver Wythe, George AETICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 691 THE ORIGINAL ARTICLES OF COIs^FEDERATION. TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, We, the undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our names, send greeting. WHEREAS, the delegates of the United States of America in congress ai sembled, did, on the fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord onts thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven, and in the second year of the inde- pendence of America, agree to certain articles of confederation and perpetual union between the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, in the words following, viz.: Articles of Confederation and perpetual union between the States of New Hamp- shire, Massachusetts Baif, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecti- cut, New York, New Jerseij, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Article I. — The style of this confederacy shall be " The United States of America." Art. II. — Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to tlie United States in congress assembled. Art. IIL — The said states hereby severally enter into a firm league of friend- ship with each other, for their common defence, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare ; bincHng themselves to assist each other against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on ac- count of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any otlier pretence whatever. Art. IV. — The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and inter- course among the people of the different states in tliis union, the free inhabitants of each of these states, paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several states ; and the people of each state shall have free ingress and regress to and from any other state, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the same duties, impositions, and restrictions as the inhabit- ants thereof respectively, provided that such restrictions shall not extend so far as to prevent the removal of property imported into any state, to any other state of which the owner is an inhabitant ; provided also, that no imposition, duties, or restriction shall be laid by any state on the property of the United States, or eitlier of them. If any person guilty of, or charged with treason, felony, or other high mis- demeanor, in any state, shall flee from justice, and be found in any of the United States, he shall, upon demand of the government or executive power of the state from which he fled, be delivered up and removed to the state having jmis- diction (if his offence. Full faith and credit shall be given in each of these states to the records, acts, and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates of every other state. 692 APPENDIX. Aet. V. — For the more convenient management of the general interests of tlie United States, delegates shall be annually appointed, in such manner as the leg- islature of each state shall direct, to meet in congress on the first Monday in November, in every year ; with a power reserved to each state to recall its dele- gates, or any of them, at any time within the year, and to send others in tlieir stead for the remainder of the year. Ko state shall be represented in congress by less than two, nor by more than seven members ; and no person shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six years; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any office under the United States, for which he, or another for his benefit, receives any siilary, fees, or emolument of any kind. Each state shall maintain its own delegates in a meeting of the states, and while they act as members of the committee of the states. In determining questions in the United States, in congress assembled, each state shall have one vote. Freedom of speech and debate in congress shall not be impeached or ques- tioned in any court or place out of congress, and the members of congress shall be protected in their persons from arrests and imprisonments, during the time of their going to, and from, and attendance on congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace. Art. VI. — No state, without the consent of the United States in congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any embassy from, or enter into any conference, agreement, alliance, or treaty with any king, prince, or state; nor shall any person holding any office of profit or trust under the United States, or any of them, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever from any king, prince, or foreign state ; nor shall the United States in congress assembled, or any of them, grant any title of nobility. No two or more states shall enter into any treaty, confederation, or alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the United States in congress assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for which the same is to be entered into, and how long it shall continue. No state shall ls>v any imposts or duties, which may interfere with any stipu lations ir treaties, entered into by the United States in congress assembled, with anj King, prince, or state, ^n pursuance of any treaties already proposed by con- gress, to the Courts of France and Spain. No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace by any state, except such number only as shall be deemed necessary by the United States in congress assembled, for the defence of such state or its trade ; nor shall any body of forces be kept up by any state in time of peace, except such number only as, in the judgment of the United States, in congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison the forts necessary for the defence of such state ; but every state shall always keep up a well-regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutred, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use, in public stores, a due number of fieldpieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition, and camp equipage. No state shall engage in any war without the consent of the United States in congress assembled, unless such state be actually invaded by enemies, or shall have received certain advice of a resolution being formed by some nation of In- dians to invade such state, and the danger is so imminent as not to admit of a delay, till the United States in congress assembled can be consulted : nor shall any state grant commissions to any ships or ve^sels of war, nor letters of marque or "reprisal, except it be after a declaration of war by the United States in con- gress assembled, and then only against the kingdom or state and the subjects thereof, against which war has been so declared, and under such regulations as shall be established by the United States in congress assembled ; unless such state be infested by pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fitted out for that occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall conlinue, or until the United States in congress assembled shall determine otherwise. Aet. VIL— When land forces are raised by any state for the common defence, AKTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. C93 all officers of or under the rank of colonel, shall be appointed by the legislature of each state respectively, by whom sucli forces shall be raised, or in such man- ner as sucii state shall chrect ; and all vacancies shall be filled up by the state which first made the appointment. Art. VIII. — All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the common defence or general welfare, and allowed by the United States in coni,n-es.? assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several states, in proportion to the value of all land within each state, granted to or surveyed for any person, as such land and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be estimated, according to such mode as the United States in congress assembled shall from time to time direct and appoint. The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the several states, within the time agreed upon by the United States in congress assembled. Art. IX. — The United States in congress assembled shall have the sole and exclusive right and power of determining on peace and war, except in the cases mentioned in the sixth article — of sending and receiving ambassadors — entering into treaties and alliances, provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made, whereby the legislative power of the respective states shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and duties on foreigners, as their own people are subjected to, or from prohibiting the exportation or importation of any species of goods or commodities whatsoever — of establishing rules for deciding, in all cases, what captures on land or water shall be legal, and in what manner prizes taken by land or naval forces in the service of the United States shall be divided or ap- propriated — of granting letters of marque and reprisal in times of peace — appointing courts fc)r the trial of piracies and felonies committed on the high seas — and establishing courts for receiving and determining finally appeals in all cases of captures, provided that no member of congress shall be appointed a judge of any of the said courts. The United States in congress assembled shall also be the last resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting, or that hereafter may arise be- tween two or more states, concerning boundary, jurisdiction, or any other cause whatever ; which authority shall always be exercised in the manner following. Whenever the legislative or executive authority, or lawful agent of any state in controversy with another, shall present a petition to congress, stating the mat- ter in question, and praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order of congress to the legislative or executive authority of the other state in con- troversy, and a day assigned for the appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, who shall then be directed to appoint, by joint consent, commissioners or judges to constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in question , but if they cannot agree, congress shall name three persons out of each of the Uni- ted States, and from the fist of such persons eacn party shall alternately strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until the number shall be reduced to thirteen ; anil from that number not less than seven, nor more than nine names, as congress sliall direct, shall in the presence of congress be drawn out by lot, and the persons whose names shall be so drawn, or any five of them, shall be commissioners or judges, to hear and finally determine the controversy, so always as a major part of the judges who shall hear the cause shall agree in the determination; and if either party shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without showing rea- sons which congress shall judge sufficient, or being present shall refuse to strike, the congress shall proceed to nominate three persons out of each state, and the secretary of congress shall strike in behalf of such party absent or refusing ; and the judgment and sentence of the court to be appointed, in the manner before prescribed, shall be final and conclusive ; and if any of the p.arties shall refuse to submit to the authority of such court, or to appear or defend their claim or cause, the court shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence, or judgment, which shall in like manner be final and decisive; the judgment or sentence and other proceedings being in either case transmitted to congress, and lodgedamong 694 APPENDIX. the acts of congress, for tlie security of the parties concerned ; provided tliat every commissioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take an oatli, to be ad- ministered by one of tlie judges of tlie supreme or superior court of llie state ■where the cause shall be tried, "?w// and truly to hear and determine the matter in question, according to the best of his jtuh/ment, without favour, affection, or hope of reward ;" provided also that no state shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the United States. All controversies concerning the private right of soil, claimed under different grants of two or more states, "wlujse jurisdictions, as they may respect such land;;, and the states which passed such grants, are adjusted, the said grants or either of them being at the same time claimed to liave oi-iginated antecedent to such settlement of jurisdiction, shall, on the [letition of either party to tlie congress of tlie United States, be finally determined as near as may be in the same man- ner as is before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction between different states. The United States in congress assembled shall also have the sole and exclu- sive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck by their own authority, or by that of the respective states — fixing the standard of weights and measures throughout the United States — regulating the trade and man- aging all affairs with the Indians, not members of any of the states, provided that the legislative right of any state within its own limits be not inf inged or violated — establishing and regulating post-offices from one state to another, throughout all the United States, and exacting such posttige on the papers pass- ing through the same as may be requisite to defray the expenses of the said office — appointing all officers of the land forces in the service of tlie United States, excepting regimental officers — appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and commissioning all officers whatever in the service of the United States — making rules for the government and regulation of the said land and naval forces, and directing their operations. The United States in congress assembled shall have authority to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of congress, to be denominated "a Committee of the States," and to consist of one delegate from each state ; and to appoint such other committee and civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of the United States under their direction — to appoint one of their num- ber to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of Pres- ident more than one year in any term of three years ; to ascertain the necessary sums of money to be raised for the service of the United States, and to appro- priate and apply the same for defraying the public expenses — to borrow monej', or emit bills on the credit of the United States, transmitting every half year to the respective states an account of the sums of money so borrowed or remitted — to build and equip a navy — to agree upon the number of land forces, and to make requisitions from each state for its quota, in proportion to the number of white inhabitants in such state ; which requisitions shall be binding, and there- upon the legislature of each state shall appoint the regimental officers, raise the men, and clothe, arm, and equip them in a soldier-like manner, at the exjiense of the United States; and the officers and men so clothed, armed, and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the United States in congress assembled : but if the United States in congress assembled shall, on consideration of circumstances, judge proper that any state should not raise men, or should raise a smaller number than its quota, and that any other state should raise a greater number of men than the quota thereof, such extra number shall be raised, officered, clothed, armed, and equipped in the same man- ner as the quota of such state, unless the legislature of such state shall judge that such extra number cannot be safely spared out of the same, in which case they shall riiise, officer, clothe, arm, and equip as many of such extra number as they judge can be safely spared. And the officers and men so clothed, armed, and equijiped, shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the United States in congress assembled. The United States in congress assembled shall ne\Lr engage in a war, nor grant ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 695 lettprs of marque and reprisal in time of peace, nor entf^r into treaties or alli- 'ances, nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof, nor ascertain the sums and expenses necessary for the defence and welfare of tlie United States, or any ot thom, nor emit bills, nor borrow money on the ci'edit of the United States, nor appropriate money, nor agree upon the number of vessels of war to be built or purchased, or the number of land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a com- mander in chief of the army or navy, unless niu€ states assent to the same : nor shall a question on any other point, except for adjourning from day to day, be determined, unless by tlie votes of a majority of the Uuited States in congress assembled. The congress of the United States shall have power to adjourn to any time within the year, and to any place within the United States, so that no period of adjournment be for a longer duration than the space of six months ; and shall Eiiblish the journal of their proceedings monthly, except such parts thereof re- tting to treaties, alliances, or military operations, as in their judgment require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the delegates of each state on any question shall be entered on the journal, wlien it is desired by any delegate ; and the del- egates of a state, or any of them, at his or their request, shall be furnished with a transcript of the said journal, except such parts as are above excepted, to lay before the legislatures of the several states. Art. X — The committee of the states, or any nine of them, shall be author- ized to execute, in the recess of congress, such of the powers of congress as the United States in congress assembled, by the consent of nine states, shall from time to time think expedient to vest them witli ; provided that no power bo delegated to the said committee, for the exercise of which, by the Articles of Confederation, the voice of nine states in the congress of the United States assembled is requisite. Art. XI. — Canada acceding to this confederation, and joining in the measures of the United States, shall be admitted into, and entitled to all the advantages of this union ; but no other colony shall be admitted into the same, unless such admission be agreeil to by nine states. Art. XII. — All bills of credit emitted, moneys borrowed, and debts contracted by, or under tlie authority of congress, before tlie assembling of the United States, in pursuance of the present confederation, shall be deemed and considered as a charge against the United States, for payment and satisfaction whereof, the said United States and the public faith are hereby solemnly pledged. Art. XIII. — Every state shall abide by the determinations of the United States in congress assembled on all questions which by this confederation are submitted to them. And the articles of this confederation shall be inviolably observed by every state, and the union shall be perpetual ; nor shall any alter- ation at any time hereafter be made in any of them, unless such alteration be agreed to by a congress of tlie United States, and be afterwards confirmed by the legislatures of every state. And whereas it bath pleased the great Governor of the World to incline the hearts of the legishitures we respectively represent in congress to approve of and to authorize us to ratify the said articles of confederation and perpetual union ; KNOW TE, that we, the undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power and au- thority to us given fir that purpose, do by these presents, in the name and in behalf of our respective constituents, fully and entirely ratify and confirm each and every of the said articles of confederation and perpetual union, and all and singular the matters and things therein contained : and we do further sol- emnly plight and engage the faith of our respective constituents, that they shall abide by the determinations of the United States in congi-ess assembled, on all questions which, by the said confederation, are submitted to them ; and that the articles thereof shall be inviolably observed by the states we respectively repre- sent, and that the union shall be perpetual. In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands in congress. Done at Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania, the ninth day of July, in the year of 696 APPENDIX. our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight, and in the third year of the independence of America. On the fart and lehalfofihe State of New Hampshire. JOS I AH BAETLETT, JOHN WENTWORTH, Jun., August 8, 1778. On the part and lehalf of the State af Massachusetts Bay. JOHN HANCOCK, ELBEIDGE GERRY, JAMES LOVELL, SAxMUEL ADAMS, ' FRANCIS DANA, SAMUEL HOLTEN. On tlie fart and hehalf of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. WILLIAM ELLEEY, HENRY MARCHANT, JOHN COLLINS. On the part and hehalf of the State of Connecticut. ROGER SHERMAN, OLIVER WOLCOTT, ANDREW ADAMS, SAMUEL HUNTINGTON, TITUS HOSMER. On the yart and hehalf of the State of New Yorh. J AS. DUANE, ERA. LEWIS, WM. DUER, GOUV. MORRIS On the part and helialf of the State of "^ Jersey. JNO. WITHERSPOON, November 26, 1778, NATH. SCUDDER, do. On the part and hehalf of the State of Pennsylvania. EOBT. MORRIS, JONA. BAYARD SMITH, JOS. REED, 22d July, 1778, DANIEL ROBEEDEAU, WILLIAM CLINGAN. On the part and hehalf of the State of Delaware. THOS. M'KEAN, Feb. 13, 1779, NICHOLAS VAN DYKE. JOHN DICKINSON, May 5, 1779. On the part and hehalf of ths State of Maryland. JOHN HANSON, March 1, 1781, DANIEL CARRt)LL, do. On the part and hehalf of the State of Virginia. RICHARD HENRY LEE, THOS. ADAMS, FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE. JOHN BANISTER, JNO. HARVIE. On the part and hehalf of the State of North Carolina. JOHN PENN, July 21, 1778. CORNS. HARNETT, JNO. WILLIAMS. On the part and helialf of the State of South Carolina. HENRY LAURENS, JNO. MATTHEWS, THOS. HEYWARD, Jun., WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON, RICHARD UUTSON. On the part and hehalf of the State of Georgia. JNO. WALTON, 24th July, 1778. EDWD. TELFAIR, EDW. LANGWORTHY. rjvbfe.— From the circumstance of delegates from the same state having signed the Articles of Confed- eration at different times, as appears by the dates, it is probable they affixed their names as they Iwppened •o be present in congress, after they had been authorized by their constituents.] THS FAEEWELL ADDRESS GEORGE WASHINGTON. Friends and Fellow-Citizens : — The period for a new election of a citizen, to administer the executive government of the United ISlates, being not far distant, and the time actually arrived wlien your thoughts must be employed in designating the person who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being con- sidered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made. I beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice to be assured, that this resolu- tion has not been taken, without a strict regard to all the considerations apper- taining to the relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country; and that, in withdrawing the tender of service which silence in my situation might imply, 1 am influenced by no diminution of zeal for your future interest — no deficiency of grateful respect, for your past kindness; but am supported by a full convic- tion that the step is compatible with both. The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in, the office to which your suifrages have twice called me, have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty, and to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. I constantly hoped, that it would have been much earlier in my power, con- sistently with motives which I was not at liberty to disregard, to return to that retirement from which I had been reluctantly drawn. The strength of my in clination to do this, previous to the last election, had even led to the prepara tion of an address to declare it to you; but mature reflection on the then per- plexed and critical posture of our affairs with foreign nations, and the unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence, impelled me to abandon the idea, I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external as well as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of inclination incompatible with the sentiments of duty or propriety ; and am persuaded, whatever partiality may be retained fur my services, that in the present circumstances of our country, you will not dis- approve my determination to retire. The impressions with which I first undertook the arduous trust, were ex- plained on the proper occasion. In the discharge of this trust, I will only say, that I have, with good intentions, contributed towards the organization and administration of the government, the best exertions of which a very falliljle judgment was capable. Not unconscious, in the outset, of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps still more in the eyes of others, has strengthened the motive to ditbdence of myself; and, every day, the 098 FAREWELL ADDRESS OF GEORGE WASHIN'GTON. iiKTeasing weight of years admonishes me more and more that the shade of re- tirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied that if any circumstances have given peculiar value to ray services, tliey were teinpoi-ary, I have the consolation to believe, that while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it. In looking forward to the moment, which is intended to terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country, for the many honors it has conferred upon me ; still more for the steadfast con- fidence with which it has supported me ; and for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment, by services faithful and persevering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If benefits have re- sulted to our country from these services, let it always be remembered to your praise, and as an instruciive example in our annals, that under circumstances in which the passions, agitated in every direction, were liable to mislead, amidst appearances sometimes dubious — vicissitudes of fortune often discouraging — in situations in which not unfrequenlly want of success has countenanced the spirit of criticism — the constancy of your support was the essential prop of the efforts, and a guarantee of the plans by which they were effected. Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave as a strong incitement to unceasing vows that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence — that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual-^that the free constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained — that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue — that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete, by so care- ful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing, as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and the adoption oi every nation which is yet a stranger to it. Here perhaps I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to thai solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn con- templation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments, which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all important to the permanency of your felicity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more freedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motives to bias his counsel. Nor can I forget as an encouragement to it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion. Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment. The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so ; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad ; of your safety ; of your prosperity ; of that very liberty which you so highly- prize. But as it is easy to foresee, that from different causes and from differ- ent quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth ; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national union to your collective and individual happiness ; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it ; accustom- ing yourselves to think and to speak of it as the Palladium of your political safety and prosperity ; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a sus- picion that it can in any event be abandoned ; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together (ho rarious parts. FAREWELL ADDRESS OF GEORGK WASHINGTON. 6li9 For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to coiicen- tnite your atfections. The name of American, whicli belongs to j-ou in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism, more than any apfiellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of dif- ference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together ; the independence and liberty^ you possess are the work of joint counsels and joint efforts, of common danger, sufferings, and success. But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those wiiich apply more immediately to your interest. Here every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the union of the whole. The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the South, protected by the equal laws of a common government, finds in the productions of the latter, great additional resources of maritime and commercial enterprise, and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The South, in the same intercourse, benefiting by the agency of the North, sees its agriculture grow, and its com- merce expand. Turning partly into its own channels the seamen of the North, it finds its particular navigation invigorated ; and while it contributes, iu dif- ferent ways, to nourish and increase the general mass of the national naviga- tion, it looks forward to the protection of a maritime strength, to which itself is unequally adapted. Tlie East, in a like intercourse with the Went, already finds, and in the progressive improvement of interior communications, by land and water, will more and more find, a valuable vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad, or manufactures at home. The West derives from the East supplies requisite to its growth and comfort ; and what is perhaps of still greater consequence, it must of necessity owe the secure enjoyment of indis- pensable outlets for its own productions to the weight, influence, and the future maritime strength of the Atlantic side of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community of interest as one nation. Any other tenure by which the West can hold this essential advantage, whether derived from its own separate strength, or from an apostate and unnatural connection with any foreign power, must be intrinsically precarious. While then every part of our coimtrv thus feels an immediate and par- ticular interest in union, all the parties combined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably greater security from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations; and, what is of inestimable value, they must derive from union an exemption from those broils and wars between themselves, which so frequently afflict neighboring countries, not tied together by the same govern- ment; which their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite alliances, attachments, and intrigues, would stimulate and em- bitter. Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments which, under any form of government, are inanspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty ; in this sense it is, that your union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear you to the preservation of the other. These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance of the union as a primary object of patriotic desire. Is there a doubt, whether a common government can embrace so large a spliere? L^t experience solve it. To listen to mere speculation in such a case were eritiiinal. We are authorized to hope that a proper organiza- tion of the whole, with tlse auxiliary agency of governments for the respective subdivisions, will afford a happy issue to the experiment. 'Tis well worth a fair and full experiment. With such powerful and obvious motives to union, affecting all parts of our country, while experience shall not have demonstiated its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism ot those, who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken its bands. 87 7>J3 FAKKWIXL ADDRKSS OK GKvORGE WASHINGTON. In contemplating the causes that may disturb our union, it occurs as a matter of serious concern, that any ground should have been furnished for pliaracterizing parties hy geographical discriminations — Northern and Sunthern — Atlantic and Wentern ; whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief ti)at there is a real difference of local interest and views. One of tlie expedients of party to acquire influence, within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourself too much aj;ainst the jealousies and heart-burnings which spring from these misrepi-esen tations : they tend to render alien lo each other those who ought to be bound U)gether by fraternal affection. The inhabitants of our western country have lately had a useful lesson on this head : they have seen in the negotiation by the executive, and in the unanimous ratification by the Senate, of the treaty with Spain, and in the universal satisfaction at that event throughout the United States, a decisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions propagated among them of a policy in the general government and in the Atlantic Slates, unfriendly to their interest in regard to the Mississippi ; they have heen wit- nesses to the formation of two treaties, that with Great Britain and that with Spain, which secure to them every thing they could desire, in respect to our foreign relations, towards confirmmg their prosperity. Will it not be their wisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on the union by which they were procured ? Will they not henceforth be deaf to those advisers, if such there are, who would sever them from their brethren and connect them with aliens ? To the efficacy and permanency of your union, a government for the whole Is indispensable. No alliances, however strict, between the parts, can be aji adequate substitute: tliey must inevitably experience the infi-aetions and inter- ruptions which all alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved yavw first essay, by the adoption of a constitution of government better calculated than your former, for an intimate union, and for the efficacious man-igement of your common concerns. This government, the offspring of our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its princi- ples, in the distribution of its powers, uniting security with energy, and con- taining within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political system is the right of tho people to make and alter their constitutions of government. But, the consti- tution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish government, presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government. All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associa- tions, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, con- trol, counteract, or awe the reijular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force, — to put in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the comm inity ; and ac cording to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public ad- ministration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels, and modified by mutual interests. However combinations or associa- tions of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely .n the c.^urse of time and things to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men, will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, anrl to usurp to themselves the reins of government ; destroying afterwards the very energies which have lifted them to unjust dominitm. Towarils the preservation of your government, and the permanency of your present happ} state, it is requisite, not only that yoa steadily discounteuauca FAREWELL ADDRESS OF GKORGK WASJtlNGTON. ^(bl irregular oppositions to its acknowledj^ed authority, but also that you re- sist with care the spirit of innovation u[)Oii its principles, however specious the pretext. One method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the con- stitution, alterations which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be overthrown. In all the changes to winch you may be invited, remember th.it time and habit are at least aa necessary to tix the true character of governments, as of other human institutions — that experience in the surest standard by which to tcbt the real tendency of the existing con- stitution of a country — that facility in changes upon the credit of mere hypo- thesis and opinion, exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypiithesisand opinion ; and remember especially, that for the efBcieut manage- ment of your common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty, is indis- pensable. Liberty itself will tind in such a government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name where the government is too feeble to withstand the eiiterpris>is of faction, to confine each member of the s.brm, it is seen in its greatest rankness, aud is truly their worst enemy. The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which, ia different ages and countries, has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual ; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty. Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind, (which neverthe- less ought not to be entirely out of sight,) the common and continual mis- chiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest aud duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. It serves always to distract the public Counsels and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the com- munity with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one [lart against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself, through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy aud will of another. There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the government, and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This within certain limits is probably true ; and in governments of a monarchical cast, patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of a popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it ia certain there will always be enough of that spirit lor every salutary purpose. And there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be, Ijy force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it de- mands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume. It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking, in a free country, should iuspu-e caution in those intrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exer- 702 FAREWELL ADDKE6S OF GEOKGE WASHINGTON. cise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of enciioachiiient tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A just estimate of tliat love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which pre- dominates in the human heart, is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this posi- tion. The necessity of recijirocal checks in tlie exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different depositories, and constituting each the guardian of public weal against invasions by others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern, some of tliem in our country and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If, in the opinion of tlie people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation ; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The pre- cedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit which the use can at any time yield. Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, reli- gion and morality are indispensable supports. — In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asl^ed, where is tlie security for property, for reputa- tion, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ; and let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national moral- ity can prevail in exclusion of relitcious principle. 'Tis substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule in- deed extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to ahake the foundation of the fabric? Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge In proportion as the structure of a govern- ment gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened. As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible ; avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace ; but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger, frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulations of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your representatives, but it is necessary that public o|)inion should co-operate. To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear in mind that towards the payment of debts there must be revenue ; to have re- venue there must be taxes ; that no taxes can be aevised which are not more or less inconvenient and unplfaeant , that the intnnsic embarrassment insepai- able from the selection of the proper abject (which is always a choice of diffi- culties) ought to be a decisive motive for a candid construction of the con- duct of the government in makmg it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the measures for obtaining revenue which the public emergencies may at any time dictate. Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and lianuony with all : religion and morality enjoin this conduct ; and can it be that good policy does not equally enjoin it ? It will be worthy of a free, en- lightened, and, at no distant period, a gi'eat nation, to give to mankind the FAREWELL ADDRESS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. 703 magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that in the course of lime and things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages which might be lost b}' a steady adherence to it ? Can it be, that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue ? The experiment at least is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices? In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essential than that per- manent inveterate antipathies against particular nations, and passionate attach- ments for others, should be excluded ; and that in place of them just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another an habituiil hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity, or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one nation against another di-sposea each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental or" trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests: The nation, prompted by ill-will and resentment, sometimes impels lo war the government, contrary to the best calculations of policy. The government sometimes participates in the national propensity, and adopts through passion what reason would reject ; at other times it makes the animosity of the nation subservient to projects of hostility instigated by pride, ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes perhaps the liberty, of nations has been the victim. So likewise a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter, without adequate induce- ment or justification. It leads also to the concession to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the nation making the concessions, — by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained, and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld ; and it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the favorite nation) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, some- times even with popularity ; gilding with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation. As avenues to foreign induence in innumerable ways, such attachments are particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and independent patriot. How many opportunities do they afiford to tamper with domestic factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the public councils ! Such an attachment of small or weak, towards a great and power- ful nation, dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter. — Against the in- sidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens), the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the moat baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial : else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defence against it. — Excessive partiality for one foreign nation, and excessive d'»slike of another, cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. — Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favorite, are liable to become suspected and odious; while its tools an.d dupes usurp the applause and con- fidence of the people, to surrender their interests. Tlie great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have witli them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith, — Htr.i Iwt u« ttop. TOi FAREWELL ADDRESS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. Europe has a set of piimary interests, which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves bj' artificial ties, in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of lier friendships or enmities. Our detached and distant situation invites and enables ns to pursue a different course. If we remain one people, under an efficient government, the period is not far off, when we may defy material injury from external annoyance ; when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously respected ; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation ; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel. Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation ? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? W'hy, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of Eu- ropean ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice I 'Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances- with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now ut liberty to do it ; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no lets applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is urmecessary, and would be unwise, to extend them. Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable establish- ments, on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordmary emergencies. Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But even our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand ; neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or pre- ferences; consulting the natural course of things ; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the streams of commerce, but forcing nothing; establishing with powers so disposed, in order to give ti'ade a stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to enal>le the government to support them, conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual opinion will permit, but temporary, and liable to be from time to time varied, as ex- perience or circumstances shall dictate: constantly keeping in view, that 'tis lolly in one nation to look for disinterested favors from another; that it must pay with a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept under that character; that by such acceptance, it may place itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal favor.*, and yet of being reproached w.th ingratitude for not giving more. There can be no greater error than to ex- pect, or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. 'Tis an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard. In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish ; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations : but, if I may even flatter myself, that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefe of foreign intrigues, and guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism ; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated. How far, in the discharge of my official duties, I have been guided by the principles which have been delineated, the public records, and other evidences of my conduct, must witness to you and to the world. To myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I have at least believed myself to be guided by them. In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my proclamation of the 22d of April, 1793, is the index to my plan. Sanctioned by your approving voice, and by that of your representatives in both houses of congress, the spirit of FAREWELL ADDRESS OF GKORGP^ WASHINGTON. 705 that measure has continually governed me, uninfluenced by any attempt to deter or divert me from it. After deliberate examination, with the aid of tlie best lights I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, under all the circumstances of the case, had a right to take, and was bound in duty and interest, to take a neutral position. Having taken it, I determined, as far as Bhould depend upon me, to maintain it, with moderation, perseverance, and firmness. The consideration which respects the right to hold the conduct, it is not ne- cessary on this occasion to detail. I will only observe, that according to my understanding of the matter, that right, so far from being denied by any of the belligerent powers, has been virtually admitted by all. The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be inferred, without any thing more, from the obligation which justice and humanity impose upon every nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace and amity towards other nations. The inducements of interest for observing that conduct will best be referred to your own reflections and experience. With me, a predomi- nant motive has been to endeavor to gain time to our country to settle and mature its yot recent institutions, and to progress without interruption, to that degree of strength and consistency, which is necessary to give it, humanly speaking, the command of its own fortunes. Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of ray defects not to think it probable that I have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence ; and that after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service, with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of reet. Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that fervent love towards it, which is so natural to a man who views in it the native soil of himself and his progenitors for several generations ; I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat, in which I promise myself to realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the benign influence of good laws under a free government — the ever favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual care, labors, and dangers. G. WASHINGTON. A.GE1TTS A^^^Is^TED SCHOOL TEACHERS, Professional Men, and Young Men from the Country, are Wanted to act as AGENTS, in introducing into each County in the United States and Canada, the following publications, which are sold only by Subscrip- tion. Agents now operating usually make from $50 to $200 per month. Several young ladies that have formerly been engaged as teachers are very successful as Canvassers, and have made from $40 to $100 per month. Agents will not be required to canvass territory previously occupied unless they choose, and all books remaining unsold may be returned at prices originally charged, if in good condition ; providing they are returned within four months from the time of shipment. Persons wishing appointments as agents or to obtain further information on the subject, will apply immediately at the Office of the Subscriber, or address by maU. HENRY BILL, Norwich, Conn. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ALL NATIONS: COM PRISING A COMPLETE PHYSICAL, STATISTICAL, CIVIL AND POLITICAL DESCEIPTION THE TVORL.D; Exhibiting its various rivers, mountains, lakes, plains, &c. ; the natural history of each country — beasts, birds, fishes, shells, minerals, insects, flowers, plants, Ac. ; and the pro- ductive industry, commerce, political institutions, as well as the civil and social state of all the empires, kingdoms, republics and principalities of the globe ; with a particular account of all the principal cities and towns. INCLUDING THE LATE DISCOVERIES AND TRAVELS OF DR. KANE, DR. EARTH, AND DR. LIVINGSTONE. Also, a General View of Astronomy, showing the relation of the Earth to the Heavenly Bodies. BY HUGH MUEKAT, F. E. S. E. Assisted in Geology,