Gass_. 
 Book_. 
 
,G, 
 
HEROES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REVOLUTION: 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 LIVES OF OFFICERS 
 
 WHO WERE DISTINGUISHED IN THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 J. FROST, L. L. D. 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE "PICTORLAi HISTORY OF THE 
 UNITED STATES," &c. &c. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 <g 
 
 NEW YORK, 
 
 SAXTON AND MILES. 
 1844. 
 
 Nd. /. 
 
t>' 
 
 <?%^ 
 
 Entered, according to the act of Congress, in 
 the year 1844, by 
 
 SAXTON AND MILES, 
 
 in the Clerk's office of the Southern District 
 of New York. 
 
 STEREOXyPED BY S. DOUGLAS WYETH, 
 No. 7 Pear St. Philadelphia. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LIVES OF OFFICERS. 
 
 Page 
 
 George Washington - - 7 
 
 Nathaniel Greene - - - - 27 
 
 Daniel Morgan - - - - 76 
 
 John- Stark 90 
 
 Hugh Mercer - - - - 106 
 
 Ethan Allen 115 
 
 John Cadwalader - - - - 126 
 
 Thomas Conway - - - - 130 
 
 Wm. Richardson Davie - - - 134 
 
 Christopher Gadsden - - - 142 
 
 Horatio Gates - - - - 151 
 
 Nathan Hale - - - - 173 
 
 Isaac Hayne - - - - - 179 
 
 V 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Charles Lee 184 
 
 John Sullivan - - - - 201 
 
 Joseph Warren - - - - oqs 
 
 John Laurens - - - - 231 
 
 Thomas Mifflin - - - - 239 
 
THE 
 
 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 George Washington was born on the 22d 
 of February, 1732, on the banks of the river 
 Potomac, in Virginia. His father dying when 
 he was ten years old, he received a plain but 
 useful education at the hands of his mother. 
 He soon manifested a serious and contemplative 
 disposition, and in his thirteenth year drew up 
 a code of regulations for his own guidance, in 
 which the germs are visible of those high prin- 
 ciples which regulated his conduct in mature 
 life. As a boy, he conceived a liking for the 
 naval service, but, being dissuaded from this, 
 he qualified himself for the occupation of a 
 land-surve3^or 5 and, at the age of eighteen, 
 obtained, through his relation, Lord Fairfax, 
 the office of Surveyor of the Western District 
 of Virginia. This introduced him to the notice 
 of Grovernor Dinwiddle, and in the following 
 
8 
 
 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 year he was appointed one of the Adjutant- 
 Generals of Virginia, with the duty of training 
 the militij^ 
 
 The boundaries of the British and French pos- 
 sessions in America were at that time subjects 
 of dispute. In 1753 Washington was sent on 
 a mission to the French settlement on the Ohio, 
 which he executed successfully; and on his 
 return published a journal of his route, w^hich 
 attracted much notice. In the following year 
 he was less fortunate, being taken prisoner wdth 
 his party, while in command of an expedition 
 against the French. Being allowed to return 
 home, he withdrew from the service, and went 
 to reside at Mount Vernon, an estate which des- 
 cended to him on the death of an elder brother. 
 In 1755 he accepted the rank of Aide-de-camp 
 to General Braddock, and was present at the 
 surprise of the British in the woods near the 
 Monongahela, where his coolness, courage, and 
 knowledge of Indian warfare, chiefly contrib- 
 uted to the preservation of a handful of the 
 troops. He escaped unhurt, but had three horses 
 killed under him, and his dress was four times 
 pierced with rifle-balls. Having gained much 
 credit by his conduct on this occasion, Washing- 
 ton was next employed to defend the western 
 
WASHINGTON. 9 
 
 frontier against the incursions of the French 
 and Indians. He concluded this harassing ser- 
 vice at the end of four years, by reducing Fort 
 du Quesne, and driving the French beyond the 
 Ohio ; and then resigned his commission. 
 
 After his return to Mount Vernon, in 1759, 
 Washington married ; and during the next four- 
 teen years his time was divided between his 
 duties as a member of the Colonial Assembly 
 and agricultural pursuits, in which he took great 
 interest. The disputes \vhich preceded the Re- 
 volution again drew him from private life. He 
 maintained that the Americans were entitled to 
 all the rights of British subjects, and could not be 
 taxed by a legislature in which they were not 
 represented ; and he recommended that, on the 
 failure of peaceful and constitutional resistance, 
 recourse should be had to arms. In 1774 the 
 command of the troops raised by Virginia was 
 given to him ; and in 1775 he represented that 
 State in the Convention held at Philadelphia. 
 When the war began, Washington was chosen 
 Commander-in-Chief of the American Army ; 
 an office which he accepted without remunera- 
 tion, saj-ing, that emolument would not have 
 tempted him to forego the pleasures of private 
 life, and that he should only require to have his 
 
10 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 expenses reimbursed. His private letters have 
 since proved that his object, at that time, was 
 not to procure separation from England; but 
 his alacrity in entering into the contest, and his 
 constancy throughout its continuance, refute 
 the insinuation, only countenanced by certain 
 forged letters, that he was not hearty in the 
 cause of independence. 
 
 About fourteen thousand people were at this 
 time collected around Boston, where General 
 Gage was held in a state of siege. Washington 
 reached the colonial camp in July, 1775, and 
 proceeded to give to the assembled multitude 
 the form and discipline of a regular force. His 
 next endeavours were to extend the period for 
 which men enlisting Avere obliged to serve, and 
 to ensure the maintenance of the trbops by 
 appointing a Commissary-General to collect 
 supplies, instead of depending for them on the 
 voluntary and uncertain contributions of the 
 several States. Neither of these wishes was 
 complied with, and the want of every requisite 
 obliged Washington to change the siege into a 
 blockade, until the following March, when, 
 having obtained artillery and engineers, he 
 forced the English to give up the town and 
 embark on board their fleet. His conduct during 
 
WASHINGTON. 1 1 
 
 this siege is admirable, both for the resohition 
 with which he maintained the blockade with 
 an inferior army composed of untried men, and 
 the patience with which he endured the re- 
 proaches of the people, to whom the real diffi- 
 culties of his situation, with respect to arms 
 and ammunition, could not be disclosed. He 
 also established the principle, that captured 
 Americans should be treated as prisoners of war. 
 In April, 1776, Washington anticipated 
 the British in occupying New York, and the 
 adjacent islands. Before the arrival of 
 Lord Howe, in July, independence was pro- 
 claimed; and the American general refused to 
 negotiate unless acknowledged as the function- 
 ary of an independent government, saying, that 
 America, being her own mistress, and having 
 committed no fault, needed no pardon. A 
 severe defeat on Long Island, and subsequent 
 losses, compelled him to abandon the State of 
 New York to the English, to retreat with great 
 loss through New Jersey, and to take shelter 
 behind the Delaware, near Philadelphia. He 
 showed much skill in preventing the British 
 from taking advantage of these reverses, which 
 he sought to repair by surprising their posts at 
 Trenton and Princetown, in Jersey, where he 
 
12 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 made many hundred prisoners. These successes 
 were well timed, and revived the broken spirit 
 of the country. 
 
 In 1777 Washington applied to Congress for 
 more extensive powers, which were granted 
 him, with the title of Dictator, by which he 
 was empowered to act on his own responsibility 
 m all military affairs. But he was not supplied 
 with the means of acting eifectually 5 and the 
 campaign of that year was one of misfortunes, 
 the Americans being defeated at Brandywine, 
 and forced to yield Philadelphia to the English. 
 During the winter months Washington occupied 
 a fortified camp at Valley Forge, and his army, 
 ill-supplied with ammunition and provisions, 
 was daily in danger of being destroyed by 
 hunger or the enemy. He freely expressed his 
 opinion to Congress of their misconduct, and 
 his remarks occasioned a faction which desired 
 to displace him from his command, and to 
 substitute General Gates: but this was never 
 seriously attempted. 
 
 The campaign of 1778 was favourable to 
 Washington; he recovered Philadelphia, and 
 following Clinton in his retreat through New- 
 Jersey, brought him to action at Monmouth. 
 The issue of this engagement gave new confi- 
 
WASHINGTON. 13 
 
 dence to the people, and completely restored 
 him to the good will of Congress. During the 
 years 1779 and 1780 the war was actively 
 carried on in the South, and Carolina and 
 Virginia were reduced by the British. In the 
 autumn of 1780 Major Andre, who had been 
 sent by Clinton to concert with Arnold measures 
 for betraying the post at West Point, was seized 
 within the American lines, and tried and hanged 
 as a spy. Whatever were the merits or mis- 
 fortunes of the British officer, the duty of 
 Washington was too plain to be mistaken, and 
 the obloquy he incurred in its performance 
 was undeserved. 
 
 Washington had throughout contended that 
 the country could only be delivered by raising 
 a permanent army, and consolidating the union 
 of the States, so as to form a vigorous govern- 
 ment. Five years' experience had taught 
 Congress the inefficiency of temporary armies, 
 and they resolved to form a permanent one with 
 a system of half-pay and pensions, as an in- 
 ducement to enter the service. But as the 
 government of each State was empowered to 
 levy its own taxes, and co<hiuct all the mea- 
 sures for carrying this resolve into effect, such 
 delay was occasioned, that although Count 
 
14 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 Rochambeau arrived from France in August, 
 1780, with an auxiliary force of five thousand 
 men, the American army could not actively 
 co-operate with him during that year. 
 
 The temporising policy pursued by the States 
 had severely tried the constancy of Washing- 
 ton, but did not lead him to despair of final 
 success. The army, suffering extreme want, 
 was kept in the field chiefly by attachment to 
 his person. Attentive to alleviate their hard- 
 ships, he did not permit any disorderly license j 
 and although early in 1781 he allowed Congress 
 to pacify the revolted troops, he, on a second 
 occasion, shortly after, forcibly compelled the 
 mutineers to submit, and summarily tried and 
 executed many of them. 
 
 The pecuniary aid of France, and increased 
 activity of the American Government, enabled 
 Washington to resume offensive measures in 
 the summer of 1781. Earl Cornwallis, then 
 in Virginia, and but feebly opposed by La- 
 Fayette, sent a part of his army to strengthen 
 Clinton in New York. Shortly after De Grasse 
 arrived off the coast of Virginia with a French 
 fleet. Washington took advantage of this con- 
 juncture to transfer the war to the South. 
 Deceiving Clinton as to his real design, he 
 
WASHINGTON. 15 
 
 marched rapidly through New Jersey and 
 Maryland, and, embarking his army on the 
 Chesapeake, effected a junction at Williamsburg 
 with La Fayette. By the combined operation 
 of their forces, assisted by the fleet under De 
 Grasse, Lord Cornwallis was compelled to 
 surrender at York Town, with his whole force, 
 October 19, after a siege of thirteen days. 
 This event decided the war ) but Washington 
 remained watchful to preserve the advantages 
 gained, and to provide for future contingencies, 
 until 1783, when a general peace was 
 concluded. 
 
 Washington then prepared to resume his 
 station as a private citizen. The army had 
 become disaffected towards the States, and ap- 
 peared not unwilling to subvert the freedom of 
 their country, if the general had sought his 
 own aggrandisement. But he nobly rejected 
 all such schemes, and persuaded the soldiers to 
 return home, and trust to the assurance of Con- 
 gress for the discharsre of the arrears due to 
 them. Having publicly taken leave of his 
 officers, he repaired to Annapolis, and December 
 23, 1783, appeared in Congress, and resigned 
 his commission. He also presented the account 
 of his receipts and expenditure during the late 
 
16 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 war, the items of which were entered in his 
 own handwriting. His expenditure amounted 
 to <£l 9,306, and it subsequently appeared that 
 he had applied considerable sums of his own 
 to the public service, which he neglected to 
 claim. He asked no favour or reward for 
 himself, except that his letters should be free 
 from postage, but he strongly recommended to 
 Congress the claims of his late army. 
 
 Having delivered a farewell address to Con- 
 gress, and forwarded one of a like character to 
 the government of each State, pointing out the 
 advantages they at present possessed, and giving 
 his advice as to the future conduct of their 
 affairs, he retired to Mount Vernon to enjoy the 
 pleasures of private life. But although the 
 next two years were passed in retirement, the 
 mind of Washington was actively directed to 
 public affairs. Beside maintaining a correspon- 
 dence with the most eminent men, as well in 
 Europe as in his own country, he was engaged 
 in various projects to promote the agricultural 
 and commercial interests of his native State. 
 Under his direction, companies were formed to 
 improve the navigation of the rivers James and 
 Potomac, thus making Virginia the trading mart 
 of the Western States. A number of shares 
 
WASHINGTON. 17 
 
 in the James River Company, which were pre- 
 sented to him in 1785 by the legislature of 
 Virginia, he employed in founding the college 
 in Virginia, now called by his name. His 
 deference to the popular feelings and prejudices 
 on the subject of liberty was shown in his 
 conduct with regard to the Cincinnati, a military 
 society of which he was president, instituted 
 to commemorate the occurrences of the late 
 war. An outcry was raised that the honours 
 conferred by this society being hereditary, a 
 titled order would be created in the State. 
 Washington therefore prevailed on the members 
 to annul the offensive regulations, and to agree 
 that the society should cease at the termination 
 of their lives. 
 
 The want of union amongst the States, and 
 the incapacity of the government, engaged the 
 attention of every able man in America, and 
 more especially interested Washington, who 
 desired to witness the estabhshment of a great 
 republic. The principal defect of the existing 
 government was, that no acts of Congress in 
 forming commercial treaties, borrowing money, 
 or introducing national regulations, were 
 binding on the individual States, each of which 
 pursued its own interests, without showing any 
 2* 
 
18 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 disposition to redeem the engagements of the 
 government with the public creditors, either at 
 home or abroad. Washington's principles were 
 democratic ; but he was opposed to those who 
 contended for the absolute independence of the 
 individual States, being convinced that each 
 must sacrifice a portion of its liberty for the 
 security of the whole, and that, without an 
 energetic central government, the confederation 
 would be insignificant. His representations to 
 the Congress and the individual States, backed 
 by the increasing distress of the country, at 
 length brought about the Convention of Phila- 
 delphia, which met in May, 1787, and having 
 chosen Washington president, continued sitting 
 until September, when the federal constitution 
 was finally decided on, and was submitted to 
 the States for their approval. 
 
 Having acquitted himself of this duty, Wash- 
 ington retired to private life until March, 1789, 
 when he was elected President of the United 
 States. He had used no exertion to obtain this 
 distinction, which his impaired health and love 
 of retirement rendered unsuitable to him : he, 
 however, accepted it, and his journey to New 
 York was one continued triumph. April 30, 
 he took the oaths prescribed by the constitution, 
 
WASHINGTON. 19 
 
 and delivered his inaugural address, in which 
 he dwelt most fully on his own reasons for 
 again entering on public life, and on the duties 
 incumbent upon members of the Congress. 
 He declared that he would receive no remune- 
 ration for his services, and required that a 
 stated sum should be allowed for defraying the 
 expenses of his office. 
 
 The President of the Union being a new 
 political personage, it became requisite to 
 establish certain observances of etiquette 
 towards him. Washington's arrangements in 
 this respect were sufficiently simple, yet they 
 excited jealousy, as savouring of regal and 
 courtly customs. The restriction placed on 
 the admission of idle visitors, who hourly in- 
 truded on him, caused much offence, and be- 
 came the subject of remonstrance, even from 
 intelligent men. 
 
 One of the first acts of Washington's ad- 
 ministration was to empower the legislature to 
 become responsible for the general debt .of the 
 States, and to levy taxes for the punctual * 
 discharge of the interest upon it. The opera- 
 tion of the new government was in every 
 respect satisfactory, its beneficial influence 
 being apparent in the increasing prosperity of 
 
20 HEROES OF THE KEVOLUTION. 
 
 the country ; and before the end of the second 
 year's presidency, Rhode Island and North 
 Carolina, which at first were dissentient, desired 
 to participate in the benefits of the Union, and 
 were admitted as members. In 1790 Wash- 
 ington concluded a treaty with the hostile 
 Indians on the Southern frontier : but the war 
 which he directed against the Indians on the 
 North Western frontier was unfortunate, the 
 American forces sustaining three severe defeats. 
 Upon the whole, however, the period of his 
 first presidency passed over prosperously and 
 tranquilly. He was annoyed by occasional 
 differences in his cabinet, and by the discontent 
 of the anti-federal party ; but being supported 
 by John Adams, Hamilton, and other able men, 
 his government suffered no real embarrassment. 
 In 1792, as he possessed the general confi- 
 dence of the people, he was unanimously re- 
 elected President : and in March, 1793, again 
 took the oaths of office. The French Revolu- 
 tion was hailed with joy by the Americans, 
 among whom an almost universal wish pre- 
 vailed to assist in establishing, as they thought, 
 true freedom in Europe. But Washington per- 
 ceived that the real interests of his country 
 required peace. He acknowledged the govern- 
 
WASHINGTON. 21 
 
 ment of the French Republic, and sent an am- 
 bassador to Paris ; but declared his resolution 
 to adopt a strict neutrality in the contest be- 
 tween France and the allied powers of Europe. 
 Still the enthusiasm in favour of the French 
 continued to increase ; and, at the instigation 
 of M. Genet, envoy from Paris, privateers 
 were armed in the American ports, and sent 
 to cruise against the British. Washington 
 promptly suppressed this practice j and the 
 conduct of Genet having been intemperate and 
 insolent towards the President, and calculated 
 to produce serious disturbance in the States, he 
 took the requisite steps for having him recalled. 
 
 The determination of the President to pre- 
 serve peace was not the only ground of pop- 
 ular discontent. The imposition of excise 
 taxes,^ as they were termed by the people, 
 excited serious murmurings; and, in 1794, a 
 general rising took place in Pennsylvania, 
 which was put down without bloodshed by a 
 vigorous display of force, and the principals, 
 after being condemned to death, were pardoned. 
 
 The ferment among the people made a war 
 with England seemingly unavoidable. Wash- 
 ington, at this juncture, appointed IVIr. Jay 
 envoy to England, with full powers to conclude 
 
22 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 a treaty, in which all points then at issue be- 
 tween the two nations should be adjusted. 
 With the concurrence of the Senate he ratified 
 this treaty, regardless of the outcry raised 
 "against it; and subsequently upheld the au- 
 thority of the President, in refusing to permit 
 the House of Representatives to revise the 
 articles it contained. The people soon per- 
 ceived that the advantages to be derived from 
 the contentions in Europe made it impolitic for 
 their own country to become a party to them, 
 and confidence and good will towards the 
 President were in a great measure restored. 
 These favourable dispositions were confirmed 
 by the termination of a successful war against 
 the Indians, and by a treaty with Spain, by 
 which the navigation of the Mississippi to the 
 Ocean was secured to the Americans. 
 
 Among the acts which immediately proceed- 
 ed from Washington during his presidency, 
 were those for forming a fund to pay off the 
 national debt, and for organising the militia of 
 the country. He was active and sssiduous in 
 his duties as chief magistrate, making tours 
 through the States, and ascertaining the pro- 
 gressive improvement in each, and the means 
 which would most tend to increase it. The 
 
WASHINGTON. 23 
 
 limited powers conferred on the President pre- 
 vented his effecting so much as he desired, and 
 the public measures originating from him were 
 but few. He declined being nominated a third 
 time to the office of President, and on his re- 
 tirement published an address to the people of 
 the United States, in which, after remarking 
 on the condition and prospects of the country, 
 he insisted on the necessity of cementing the 
 union of the States, and upholding the su- 
 premacy of the Federal Government ; he also 
 advised them never to admit the influence of 
 foreign powers, and to reap benefit from the 
 quarrels amongst the States of Europe, by re- 
 maining at peace with all. 
 
 Washington passed the rest of his days at 
 Mount Vernon, engaged in the society of his 
 friends, and in the improvement of his estate. 
 He was for several years a member of the 
 British Agricultural Association ; and the efforts 
 he made to form a similar society in America, 
 and his letters to Sir John Sinclair, (a fac-simile 
 copy of which is deposited in the British 
 Museum,) show the interest he took in agri- 
 cultural affairs. He died December 13, 1799, 
 in his sixty-eighth year, after a few days' ill- 
 ness, and was buried at Mount Vernon. He 
 
24f HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 left no family. Congress suspended its sitting 
 on receiving the intelligence of his death, and 
 a public mourning was ordered for him. 
 
 In person, Washington was robust, and above 
 the middle height. He was thoughtful and 
 reserved, without being repulsive; and his 
 manners were those of the old school of 
 English gentlemen. Although mild and hu- 
 mane, he was stern in the performance of duty, 
 and never, upon such occasions, yielded to 
 softness or compassion. His speeches and 
 official letters are simple and earnest, but 
 wanting perhaps in that conciseness, which 
 marks vigour of thought. Whilst President, 
 he was assailed by the violence of party spirit. 
 On his decease his worth was justly appreciated, 
 and the sorrow at his loss was universal and 
 sincere. Washington was distinguished less 
 by the brilliancy of his talents than by his 
 moral goodness, sound judgment, and plain but 
 excellent understanding. His admirable use of 
 those sterling, though homely qualities has 
 gained a rank for him among the greatest and 
 best of men ; and his name will be coexistent, 
 as it was coeval, with that of the empire, of 
 which, no less by his rare civil wisdom than 
 
WASHINGTON. 25 
 
 his eminent military talents, he may be 
 considered the founder. 
 
 The virtues which distinguish him from all 
 others who have united the fame of statesman 
 and captain, were two-fold, and they are as 
 great as they are rare. He refused power 
 which his own merit had placed within his 
 reach, constantly persisting in the preference 
 of a republican to a monarchial form of govern- 
 ment, asjthe most congenial to liberty when it 
 is not incompatible with the habits of the 
 people and the circumstances of society ; and 
 he even declined to continue longer than his 
 years seemed to permit at the head of that 
 commonwealth which he had founded. This 
 subjugation of all ambitious feelings to the 
 paramount sense of duty is his first excellence ; 
 it is the sacrifice of his own ag-sfrandisement to 
 his country's freedom. The next is like unto 
 it ; his constant love of peace when placed at 
 the head of aifairs : this was the sacrifice of 
 the worthless glory which ordinary men prize 
 the most, to the tranquillity and happiness of 
 mankind. Wherefore to all ages and in all 
 climes, they, who most love public virtue will 
 hold in eternal remembrance the name of 
 
26 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 George Washington ; never pronouncing it but 
 with gratitude and awe, as designating a mortal 
 removed above the ordinary lot of human 
 frailty. 
 
 The words of his last will in bequeathing 
 his sword to his nephews — the sword which 
 he had worn in the sacred war of liberty — 
 ought to be graven in letters of gold over every 
 palace in the world : " This sword they shall 
 never draw but in defence of freedom, or of 
 their country, or of their kindred 5 and when 
 thus drawn, they shall prefer falling with it in 
 their hands to the relinquishment thereof." 
 
 For farther information we refer to the 
 works of Ramsay and Marshall} and to the 
 Correspondence of Washington, published by 
 Mr. Sparkes. 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE, 
 
 Major-Genekal in the American Army. 
 
 General Greene, although descended from 
 ancestors of elevated standing, was not indebted 
 to the condition of his family for any part of 
 the real lustre and reputation he possessed. 
 He was literally the founder of his own fortune, 
 and the author of Kis own fame. He was the 
 second son of Nathaniel Greene, a member of 
 the society of Friends, an anchor-smith. 
 
 He was born in the year 1741, in the town 
 of Warwick, and county of Kent, in the 
 province of Rhode Island. Being intended by 
 his father for the business which he himself 
 pursued, young Greene received at school 
 nothing but the elements of a common English 
 education. But to him, an education so limited 
 was unsatisfactory. With such funds as he 
 was able to raise, he purchased a small, but 
 well-selected library, and spent his evenings, 
 and all the time he could redeem from his 
 father's business, in regular study. 
 
 At a period of life unusually early, Greene 
 was elevated, by a very flattering suffrage, to a 
 
 27 
 
28 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 seat in the legislature of his native colony. 
 This was the commencement of a public 
 career, which, heightening as it advanced, and 
 flourishing in the midst of difficulties, closed 
 with a lustre that was peculiarly dazzling. 
 
 Thus introduced into the councils of his 
 country, at a time when the rights of the 
 subject, and the powers of the ruler, were 
 beginning to be topics of liberal discussion, he 
 felt it his duty to avow his sentiments on the 
 momentous question. Nor did he pause or 
 waver, as to the principles he should adopt, 
 and the decision he should form. He was in- 
 flexibly opposed to tyranny and oppression in 
 every shape, and manfully avowed it. But his 
 character, although forming, was not com- 
 pletely developed until the commencement of 
 the troubles which terminated in our independ- 
 ence. It was then that he aspired to a head in 
 the public councils ; and throwing from him, 
 as unsuitable to the times, the peaceful habits 
 in which he had been educated, sternly declared 
 for a redress of grievances, or open resistance. 
 This open departure from the sectarian prin- 
 ciples in which he had been educated, was 
 followed, of course, by his immediate dismission 
 from the society of Friends. 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 29 
 
 The sword was earliest unsheathed in the 
 colony of Massachusetts ; and on the plains of 
 Lexington and Concord, the blood of British 
 soldiers and American subjects mingled first in 
 hostile strife. Nor was Rhode Island, after 
 that sanguinary affair, behind her sister colonies, 
 in gallantry of spirit and promptitude of 
 preparation. 
 
 Greene commenced his military pupilage in 
 the capacity of a private soldier, in October, 
 
 1774, in a military association, commanded by 
 James M. Varnum, afterward brigadier-general. 
 But Rhode Island having, in the month of May, 
 
 1775, raised three regiments of militia, she 
 placed them under the command of Greene, 
 who, without loss of time, conducted them to 
 head-quarters, in the village of Cambridge. 
 
 On the 2d of July, 1775, General Wash- 
 ington, invested by Congress with the command 
 in chief of the armies of his country, arrived 
 at Boston. Greene availed himself of an early 
 opportunity, amid the public demonstration of 
 joy, to welcome the commander-in-chief, in a 
 personal address, in which, with much warmth 
 of feeling and kindness of expression, he 
 avowed his attachment to his person, and the 
 high gratification he derived from the prospect 
 3* 
 
30 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 of being associated with him in arms, and 
 serving under him in defence of the violated 
 rights of his country. 
 
 This was a happy prelude to a friendship 
 between these two great and illustrious officers, 
 which death alone had the power to dissolve. 
 It is a fact of notoriety, that when time and 
 acquaintance had made him thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with the character and merits of 
 General Greene, Washington entertained, and 
 frequently expressed, an anxious wish, that in 
 case of his death he might be appointed his' 
 successor to the supreme command. 
 
 During the investment of Boston by the 
 American forces, a state of things which lasted 
 for months, no opportunity presented itself to 
 Greene to acquire distinction by personal 
 exploit. But his love of action, and spirit of 
 adventure, were strongly manifested; for he 
 was one of the few officers of rank who con- 
 curred with General Washington in the pro- 
 priety of attempting to carry the town by 
 assault. 
 
 On the evacuation of Boston by the British, 
 the American troops were permitted to repose 
 from their toils, and to exchange, for a time, 
 the hardships and privations of a field encamp- 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 31 
 
 ment for the enjoyment of plenty in comfort- 
 able barracks. During this period of relaxation, 
 Greene continued with unabating industry his 
 military studies, and as far as opportunity 
 served, his attention to the practical duties of 
 the field. This course, steadily pursued, under 
 the immediate supervision of Washington, 
 could scarcely fail to procure rank, and lead to 
 eminence. Accordingly, August 26, 1776, he 
 was promoted by Congress to the rank of major- 
 general in the regular army. 
 
 A crisis, most glowing and portentous to the 
 cause of freedom, had now arrived. In the 
 retreat which now commenced through New- 
 Jersey, General Washington was accompanied 
 by General Greene, and received from him all 
 the aid that, under circumstances so dark and 
 unpromising, talents, devotion, and firmness 
 could afford. Possessed alike of an ardent 
 temperament, hearts that neither danger nor 
 misfortune could appal, and an inspiring trust 
 in the righteousness of their cause, it belonged 
 to the character of these two great and illus- 
 trious commanders, never for a moment to 
 despair of their country. Hope and confidence, 
 even now, beamed from their countenances, 
 and they encouraged their followers, and sup- 
 
32 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 ported them under the pressure of defeat and 
 misfortune. 
 
 Greene was one of the council of Wash- 
 ington who resolved on the enterprise of De- 
 cember 26, 1776, against the post of the enemy 
 at Trenton. The issue is known, and is 
 glorious in our history. About one thousand 
 Hessians, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, 
 with their arms, field-equipage, and artillery, 
 were the trophies of that glorious morning, 
 which opened on the friends of American 
 freedom with the day-star of hope. He was 
 again of the council of the commander-in-chief, 
 ^ in planning the daring attack, January 2, 1777, 
 on the British garrison at Princeton, as well as 
 his associate in achieving its execution. In 
 both these brilliant actions, his gallantry, 
 prudence, and skill being alike conspicuous, he 
 received the applauses of his commander. He 
 continued the associate and most confidential 
 counsellor of Washington through the gloomy 
 and ominous period that followed. 
 
 In the obstinate and bloody battle of Brandy- 
 wine, General Greene, by his distinguished 
 conduct, added greatly to his former renown. 
 In the coiu-se of it, a detachment of American 
 troops, commanded by General Sullivan, being 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 33 
 
 unexpectedly attacked by the enemy, retreated 
 in disorder, General Greene, at the head of 
 Weedon's Virginia brigade, flew to their sup- 
 port. On approaching, he found the defeat of 
 General Sullivan a perfect rout. Not a moment 
 was to be lost. Throwing himself into the 
 rear of hi^ flying countrymen, and retreating 
 slowly, he kept up, especially from his cann n, 
 so destructive a fire, as greatly to retard he 
 advance of the enemy. Aiming at lengtl at a 
 narrow defile, secured on the right and J ft by 
 thick woods, he halted, sent forward his c'Snnon, 
 that they might be out of danger, in case of his 
 being compelled to a hasty retreat, and formed 
 his troops, determined to dispute the pass with 
 his small arms. This he effected with complete 
 success, notwithstanding the vast superiority 
 of the assailants ; until, after a conflict of more 
 than an hour and a half, night came on, and 
 brought it to a close. But for this quick-sighted 
 interposition, Sullivan's detachment must have 
 been nearly annihilated. 
 
 On this occasion only did the slightest mis- 
 understanding ever occur between General 
 Greene and the commander-in-chief. In his 
 general orders after the battle, the latter ne- 
 glected to bestow any special applause on 
 
34 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 Weedon's brigade. Against this General Greene 
 remonstrated in person. 
 
 General Washington replied, " You, sir, are 
 considered my favourite officer. Weedon's 
 brigade, like myself, are Virginians. Should 1 
 applaud them for their achievement under your 
 command, I shall be charged with partiality : 
 jealousy will be excited, and the service 
 injured." 
 
 " Sir," exclaimed Greene, with considerable 
 emotion, " I trust your excellency will do me 
 the justice to believe that I am not selfish. In 
 my own behalf I have nothing to ask. Act 
 towards me as you please ; I shall not complain. 
 However richly I prize your excellency's good 
 opinion and applause, a consciousness that I 
 have endeavoured to do my duty constitutes, at 
 present, my richest reward. But do not, sir, 
 let me entreat you, on account of the jealousy 
 that may arise in little minds, withhold justice 
 from the brave fellows I had the honour to 
 command." 
 
 Convinced that prudence forbade the special 
 notice requested, the commander-in-chief per- 
 sisted in his silence. Greene, on cool reflection, 
 appreciated the motive of his general, and lost 
 no time in apologizing for his intemperate 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 35 
 
 manner, if not for his expressions. Delighted 
 with his frankness and magnanimity, Wash- 
 ington replied with a smile, "An officer, tried 
 as you have been, who errs but once in two 
 years, deserves to be forgiven." With that he 
 offered him his hand, and the matter terminated. 
 
 Following General Greene in his military 
 career, he next presents himself on the plains 
 of Germantown. In this daring assault he 
 commanded the left wing of the American 
 army, and his utmost endeavours were used to 
 retrieve the fortune of the day, in which his 
 conduct met the approbation of the commander- 
 in-chief. Lord Cornwallis, to whom he was 
 often opposed, had the magnanimity to bestow 
 upon him a lofty encomium. " Greene," said 
 he, "is as dangerous as Washington. He is 
 vigilant, enterprising, and full of resources. 
 With but little hope of gaining any advantage 
 over him, I never feel secure when encamped 
 in his neighbourhood." 
 
 At this period the quartermaster department 
 m the American army was in a very defective 
 and alarming condition, and required a speedy 
 and radical reform : and General Washington 
 declared, that such reform could be effected 
 only by the appointment of a quartermaster- 
 
36 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 general, of great resources, well versed in 
 business, and possessing practical talents of the 
 first order. When requested by Congress to 
 look out for such an officer, he at once fixed 
 his eye on General Greene. 
 
 Washington well knew that the soul of 
 Greene was indissolubly wedded to the duties 
 of his line. Notwithstanding this, he expressed, 
 in conversation with a member of Congress, 
 his entire persuasion, that if General Greene 
 could be convinced of his ability to render his 
 country greater services in the quartermaster 
 department than in the field, he would at once 
 accept the appointment. " There is not," said 
 he, "an officer of the army, nor a man in 
 America, more sincerely attached to the inter- 
 ests of his country. Could he best promote 
 their interests in the character of a corporal^ 
 he would exchange, as I firmly believe, without 
 a murmur, the epaulet for the knot. For 
 although he is not without ambition, that ambi- 
 tion has not for its object the highest rank so 
 much as the greatest good." 
 
 When the appointment was first offered to 
 General Greene, he declined it; but after a 
 conference with the commander-in-chief, he 
 consented to an acceptance, on condition that 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 37 
 
 he should forfeit nothing of his right to com- 
 mand in time of action. On these terms he 
 received the appointment, March 22, 1778, and 
 entered immediately on the duties of the office. 
 
 In this station he fully answered the ex- 
 pectations formed of his abilities ; and enabled 
 the American army to move with additional 
 celerity and vigour. 
 
 During his administration of the quarter- 
 master department, he took, on two occasions, 
 a high and distinguished part in the field ; the 
 first in the battle of Monmouth ; the second, 
 in a very brilliant expedition against the enemy 
 in Rhode Island, under the command of General 
 Sullivan. At the battle of Monmouth, the 
 commander-in-chief, disgusted with the be- 
 haviour of General Lee, deposed him in the 
 field of battle, and appointed General Greene 
 to command the right wing, where he greatly 
 contributed to retrieve the errors of his pre- 
 decessor, and to the subsequent events of the 
 day. 
 
 His return to his native state was hailed by 
 the inhabitants with general and lively demon- 
 strations of joy. Even the leading members 
 of the society of Friends, who had reluctantly 
 
 excluded him from their communion, often 
 4, 
 
38 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 visited him at his quarters, and expressed their 
 sincere satisfaction at the elevation he had at- 
 tained in the confidence of his country. One 
 of these plain gentlemen being asked in jest, 
 by a young officer, how he, as an advocate of 
 peace, could reconcile it to his conscience to 
 keep so much company with General Greene, 
 whose profession was war 1 promptly replied, 
 " Friend, it is not a suit of uniform that can 
 either make or spoil a man. True, I do not 
 approve of this many-coloured apparel, (to the 
 officer's dress,) but whatever may be the form 
 or colour of his coat, Nathaniel Greene still 
 retains the same sound head and virtuous heart 
 that gained him the love and esteem of our 
 Society." 
 
 During the year 1779, General Greene was 
 occupied exclusively in the extensive concerns 
 of the quartermaster department. 
 
 About this time General Greene was called 
 to the performance of a duty the most trying 
 and .painful he had ever encountered. We 
 allude to the melancholy affair of Major Andre, 
 adjutant-general to the British army, who was 
 captured in disguise within the American lines. 
 Washington detailed a court for this trial, 
 composed of fourteen general officers, La 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE, 39 
 
 Fayette and Steuben being two of the number, 
 and appointed General Greene to preside. 
 
 When summoned to his trial, Andre frankly 
 disclosed, without interrogatory, what bore 
 heaviest on his own life, but inviolably con- 
 cealed whatever might endanger the safety of 
 others. His confessions were conclusive, and 
 no witness was examined against him. The 
 court were unanimous that he had been taken 
 as a spy, and must suffer death. Of this sen- 
 tence he did not complain, but wished that he 
 might be permitted to close a life of honour by 
 a professional death, and not be compelled, like 
 a common felon, to expire on a gibbet. To 
 effect this, he made, in a letter to General 
 Washington, one of the most powerful and 
 pathetic appeals that ever fell from the pen of 
 a mortal. 
 
 Staggered in his resolution, the commander- 
 in-chief referred the subject, accompanied by 
 the letter, to his general officers, who, with 
 one exception, became unanimous in their de- 
 sire that Andre should be shot. 
 
 That exception was found in General Greene, 
 the president of the court. "Andre," said he, 
 " is either a spy or an innocent man. If the 
 latter, to execute him in any way will be 
 
40 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 murder : if the former, the mode of his death 
 is prescribed by law, and you have no right to 
 alter it. Nor is this all. At the present 
 alarming crisis of our affairs, the public safety 
 calls for a solemn and impressive example. 
 Nothing can satisfy it short of the execution 
 of the prisoner as a common spy ; a character 
 of which his own confession has clearly con- 
 victed him. Beware how you suffer your 
 feelings to triumph over your judgment. In- 
 dulgence to one may be death to thousands. 
 Besides, if you shoot the prisoner, instead of 
 hanging him, you will excite suspicion which 
 you will be unable to allay. Notwithstanding 
 all your efforts to the contrary, you will awaken 
 public compassion, and the belief will become 
 general, that, in the case of Major Andre, there 
 were exculpatory circumstances, entitling him 
 to lenity, beyond what he received^ — perhaps 
 entitling him to pardon. Hang him, therefore, 
 or set him free." 
 
 This reasoning being considered conclusive, 
 the prisoner suffered as a common spy. 
 
 We have now advanced to that period of the 
 revolutionary war in which the situation of 
 Greene is about to experience an entire change. 
 No longer acting in the vicinity, or subject to 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 41 
 
 the immediate orders of a superior, we are lo 
 behold him, in future, removed to a distance, 
 and virtually invested with the supreme com- 
 mand of a large section of the United States. 
 
 Congress, dissatisfied with the loss of the 
 southern army, resolved that the conduct of 
 General Gates be submitted to the examination 
 of a court of inquiry, and the commander-in- 
 chief directed to appoint an officer to succeed 
 him. In compliance with the latter part of 
 the resolution. General Washington, without 
 hesitation, offered the appointment to General 
 Greene. In a letter to Congress, recommend- 
 ing the general to the support of that body, he 
 made the most honourable mention of him as 
 " an officer in whose abilities, fortitude, and in- 
 tegrity, from a long and intimate experience 
 of them, he had the most entire confidence." 
 Writing to Mr. Matthews, a member from 
 Charleston, he says, " You have your wish, in 
 the officer appointed to the sout^iern commands 
 I think I am giving you a general ; but what 
 can a general do without arms, without clothing, 
 without stores, without provisions ?' 
 
 General Greene arrived at Charlotte, the 
 head-quarters of General Gates, December 2, 
 1780, and in entering on the duties of his 
 4* 
 
4t2 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 command, he found himself in a situation that 
 was fearfully embarrassing. His army, con- 
 sisting mostly of militia, amounted to less than 
 two thousand men, and he found on hand but 
 three days' provision, and a very defective 
 supply of ammunition. In front was an enemy, 
 proud in victory, and too strong to be encoun- 
 tered. With such means, and under such 
 circumstances, to recover two states, already 
 conquered, and protect a third, constituted a 
 task that was almost hopeless. 
 
 It was not merely to meet an enemy in the 
 field, to command skilfully and fight bravely, 
 either in proffered or accepted battle. These 
 operations depend on mere professional qualifi- 
 cations, that can be readily acquired by mo- 
 derate capacities. But to raise and provide for 
 an army in a dispirited and devastated country, 
 creating resources where they do not exist ; to 
 operate with an incompetent force on an ex- 
 tended and brc^en line of frontier -, to hold in 
 check in many points, and to avoid coming into 
 contact in any, with an enemy superior in 
 numbers and discipline ; to conduct a scheme 
 of warfare like this — and such, precisely, was 
 that which tested the abilities of General 
 Greene — ^requires a genius of the highest order. 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 43 
 
 combined with indefatigable industry and 
 skill. 
 
 Preparatory to the commencement of the 
 campaign, Greene's first care was to prepare 
 for his troops subsistence and ammunition, and 
 in effecting this, he derived great aid from his 
 personal experience in th^ business of the 
 commissary and quartermaster's departments. 
 This qualification for such a diversity of duties, 
 presented him to his troops in the two-fold re- 
 lation of their supporter and commander. 
 Much of the moral strength of an army con- 
 sists in a confidence in its leader, an attachment 
 to his person, and a spirit of subordination, 
 founded on principle. To such an extent was 
 this true, that even the common soldiery, 
 sensible of the superintendence of a superior 
 intellect, predicted confidently a change of 
 fortune. Their defeat at Camden was soon 
 forgotten by them in their anticipations of 
 future victory. They fancied themselves ready 
 once more to take the field, and felt a solicitude 
 to regain their lost reputation, and signalize 
 their prowess in presence of their new and 
 beloved commander. 
 
 But, notwithstanding the spirit and confi- 
 dence of his troops, Greene found himself 
 
44 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 unable, to meet the enemy in the field. With 
 Washington in his eye, and his own genius to 
 devise his measures, he resolved on cautious 
 movements and protracted war. Yet to sustain 
 the spirit of the country, it was necessary that 
 he should not altogether shun his enemy ; but 
 watching and coifronting his scouts and fo- 
 raging parties, fight, cripple, and beat him in 
 detail; and in all his movements it was 
 necessary for him to maintain a communication 
 with Virginia, from which he was to receive 
 supplies of provisions, munitions, and men. 
 
 General Greene's first movement from the 
 village of Charlotte, was productive of the 
 happiest effect. In the month of December 
 he marched with his main army to the Cheraw 
 Hills, about seventy miles to the right of Lord 
 Cornwallis, despatching, at the same time, 
 General Morgan, with four hundred continen- 
 tals under Colonel Howard, Colonel Wash- 
 ington's corps of dragoons, and a few militia, 
 amounting in all to six hundred, to take a 
 position on the British left, distant from them 
 about fifty miles. 
 
 This judicious disposition, which formed a 
 rallying point for the friends of independence, 
 both in the east and west, and facilitated the 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 45 
 
 procurement of provisions for the troops, ex- 
 cited his lordship's apprehensions for the safety 
 of Ninety-Six and iVugusta, British posts, which 
 he considered as menaced by the movements 
 of Morgan, and gave rise to a train of move- 
 ments which terminated in the celebrated 
 battle of the Cowpens. 
 
 Cornwallis, immediately on learning the 
 movements of Greene, despatched Colonel 
 Tarlton with a strong detachment, amounting, 
 in horse and foot, to near a thousand, for the 
 protection of Ninety-Six, with orders to bring 
 General Morgan, if possible, to battle. Greatly 
 superior in numbers, he advanced on Morgan 
 with a menacing asppct, and compelled him, at 
 first, to fall back rapidly. But this was not 
 long continued. Glorying in action, and re- 
 lying with great confidence in the spirit and 
 firmness of his regular troops, Morgan halted 
 at the Cowpens, and prepared to give his 
 adversary battle. The opportunity was eagerly 
 seized by Tarlton, An engagement was the 
 immediate consequence, and a complete victory 
 was obtained by the Americans. Upwards 
 of five hundred of the British laid down their 
 arms and were made prisoners, and a very con- 
 
 * Vide Biography of General Morgan. 
 
4-6 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 siderable number were killed. Eight hundred 
 stand of arms, two field-pieces, and thirty-five 
 baggage wagons, fell to the victors, who had 
 only twelve killed and sixty wounded. 
 
 The victory of the Cowpens, although 
 achieved under the immediate command of 
 Morgan, was the first stroke of General Greene's 
 policy in the south, and augured favourably of 
 his future career. It led to one of the most 
 arduous, ably conducted, and memorable ope- 
 rations, that occurred in the course of the 
 revolutionary war — the retreat of Greene, and 
 the pursuit of Cornwallis, during the inclement 
 cies of winter, a distance of two hundred and 
 thirty miles. 
 
 Galled in his pride, and crippled in his 
 schemes by the overthrow of Tarlton, Lord 
 Cornwallis resolved, by a series of prompt and 
 vigorous measures, to avenge the injury and 
 retrieve the loss which the royal arms had 
 sustained at the Cowpens. His meditated 
 operations for this purpose were, to advance 
 rapidly on Morgan, retake his prisoners, and 
 destroy his force ; to maintain an intermediate 
 position, and prevent his union with General 
 Greene or in case of the junction of the two 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 47 
 
 armies, to cut off their retreat towards Virginia, 
 and force them to action. 
 
 But General Greene, no less vigilant and 
 provident than himself, informed, by express, 
 of the defeat of Tarlton, instantly perceived 
 the object of his lordship, and ordering his 
 troops to proceed under General Huger to 
 Salisbury, where he meditated a junction with 
 Morgan's detachment, he himself, escorted by 
 a few dragoons, set out for the head-quarters 
 of that officer, and joined him shortly after. 
 
 Cornwallis having committed to the flames 
 his heavy baggage, and reduced his army to the 
 condition of light troops, dashed towards Mor- 
 gan. And here commenced the retreat of 
 General Greene, in the course of which he 
 displayed such resources, and gained in the end 
 such lasting renown. Sensible of the immense 
 prize for which he was contending, he tasked 
 his genius to the "uttermost. On the issue of 
 the struggle was staked, not merely the lives of 
 a few brave men, not alone the existence of 
 the whole army, but the fate of the south and 
 the integrity of the Union. But his genius 
 was equal to the crisis. By the most masterly 
 movements, Greene effected a junction of the 
 two divisions of his little army. 
 
48 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 To his great mortification, Lord Cornwallis 
 now perceived that in two of his objects, the 
 destruction of Morgan's detachment, and the 
 prevention of its union with the main division, 
 he was completely frustrated by the activity 
 of Greene. But to cut off the retreat of the 
 Americans into Virginia, after their union, and 
 to compel them to action, was still perhaps 
 practicable, and to the achievement of this he 
 now directed his undivided energies. 
 
 The genius of Greene, however, did not de- 
 sert him on this trying occasion. Self-collected, 
 and adapting his conduct to the nature of the 
 crisis, his firmness grew with the increase of 
 danger ; and the measure of his greatness was 
 the extent of the difficulties he was called to 
 encounter. Notwithstandino; the vigilance and 
 activity of his enemy, he brought his men in 
 safety into Virginia ; and to crown the whole, 
 no loss was sustained by him, either in men, 
 munitions, artillery, or any thing that enters 
 into the equipment of an army. 
 
 Frustrated thus in all his purposes, Lord 
 Cornwallis, although the pursuing party, must 
 be acknowledged to have been fairly van- 
 quished. Victory is the successful issue of a 
 struggle for superiority. Military leaders con- 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 49 
 
 tend for different objects; to vanquish their 
 enemies in open conflict ; to attack and over- 
 throw them by stratagem and surprise ; to ex- 
 haust their resources by delay of action ; or to 
 elude them in retreat, until, strengthened by 
 reinforcements, they may be able to turn and 
 meet them in the field. Of this last description 
 was the victory of Greene in this memorable 
 retreat. 
 
 In Virginia, General Greene received some 
 reinforcements, and had the promise of more ; 
 on which he returned again into North Carolina, 
 where, on their arrival, he hoped to be able to 
 act on the offensive. He encamped in the vi- 
 cinity of Lord Cornwallis's army. By a variety 
 of the best concerted manceuvres, lie so judi- 
 ciously supported the arrangement of his troops, 
 by the secrecy and promptitude of his motions, 
 that during three weeks, while the enemy re- 
 mained near him, he prevented them from 
 taking any advantage of their superiority ; and 
 even cut off all opportunity of their receiving 
 succours from the royalists. 
 
 About the beginning of March he effected a 
 junction with a continental regiment and two 
 considerable bodies of Virginia and Carolina 
 militia. He then determined on attacking the 
 
50 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 British commander without loss of time, " being 
 persuaded," as he declared in his subsequent 
 despatches, " that if he was successful, it would 
 prove ruinous to the enemy ; and, if otherwise, 
 that it would be but a partial evil to him." 
 On the 14th he arrived at Guilford Court-House, 
 the British then lying at twelve miles distance. 
 
 His army consisted of about four thousand 
 five hundred men, of whom near two-thirds 
 were North Carolina and Virginia militia. The 
 British were about two thousand four hundred, 
 all regular troops, and the greater part inured 
 to toil and service in their long expedition 
 under Lord Cornwallis, who, on the morning 
 of the 15th, being apprised of General Greene's 
 intention^, marched to meet him. The latter 
 disposed his army in three lines : the militia of 
 North Carolina were in front ; the second line 
 was composed of those of Virginia ; and the 
 third, which was the flower of the army, was 
 formed of continental troops, near fifteen 
 hundred in number. They were flanked on 
 both sides by cavalry and riflemen, and posted 
 on a rising ground, a mile and a half from 
 Guilford Court-House. 
 
 *'The eno;ao:ement commenced at half an 
 ,hour after one o'clock, by a brisk cannonade ; 
 
NATHANIEL GKEENE. 51- 
 
 after which the British advanced in three 
 columns, and attacked the first line, composed 
 of North Carolina militia. Those who pro- 
 bably had never been in action before, were 
 panic-struck at the approach of the enemy; 
 and many of them ran away without firing a 
 gun, or being fired upon, and even before the 
 British had come nearer than one hundred and 
 forty yards to them. Part of them, however, 
 fired ; but they then followed the example of 
 their comrades. Their officers made every 
 possible effort to rally them ; but neither the 
 advantages of position, nor any other considera- 
 tion, could induce them to maintain their 
 ground. This shameful conduct had a great 
 effect upon the issue of the battle. The next 
 line, however, behaved much better. They 
 fought with great bravery, and were thrown 
 into disorder ; rallied, returned to the charge, 
 and kept up a heavy fire for a long time ; but 
 were at length broken and driven on the third 
 line, when the engagement became genera], 
 very severe, and very bloody. At length, 
 superiority of discipline carried the day from 
 superiority of numbers. The conflict endured 
 an hour and a half, and was terminated by 
 General Greene's ordering a retreat, when he 
 
52 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 perceived that the enemy were on the point of 
 encircling his troops." 
 
 This was a hard-fought action, and the ex- 
 ertions of the two rival generals, both in pre- 
 paring for this action, and during the course 
 of it, were never surjiassed. Forgetful of 
 every thing but the fortune of the day, they, 
 on several occasions, mingled in the danger 
 like common soldiers. 
 
 The loss sustained by the Americans in this 
 battle, amounted, in killed and wounded, to 
 only about four hundred ; while, in its effect 
 on the enemy, it was murderous ; nearly one 
 third of them, including many officers of dis- 
 tinction, were killed and wounded. 
 
 The result of this conflict, although techni- 
 cally a defeat, was virtually a victory on the 
 part of General Greene. In its relation to his 
 adversary, it placed him on higher ground than 
 he had previously occupied; enabling him, 
 immediately afterward, instead of retreating, 
 to become the pursuing party. This is evi- 
 denced by his conduct soon after the action. 
 
 Not doubting that Lord Cornwallis would 
 follow him, he retreated slowly, and in good 
 order, from the field of battle, until attaining, 
 at the distance of a few miles, an advantageous 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 53 
 
 position, he again drew up his forces, deter- 
 mined to renew the contest on the arrival of 
 his enemy. But his lordship was in no con- 
 dition to pursue. Having, by past experience, 
 not to be forgotten, learnt that his adversary was 
 a Ulysses in wisdom, he now perceived that 
 he was an Ajax in strength. Alike expert in 
 every mode of warfare, and not to be van- 
 quished either by stratagem or force, he found 
 him too formidable to be again approached. 
 
 Influenced by these sentiments. Lord Corn- 
 wallis, instead of pursuing his foe, or even 
 maintaining his ground, commenced his retreat, 
 leaving behind him about seventy of his 
 wounded, M^hom he recommended, in a letter 
 written by himself, to the humanity and 
 attention of the American chief. 
 
 Had General Greene been in a situation to 
 pursue his lordship as soon as he commenced 
 his retreat, the destruction of that officer and 
 his army would have been inevitable. Some 
 spot on the plains of Carolina would have 
 witnessed the surrender that was reserved for 
 Virginia; and the hero of the south would 
 have won the laurels which shortly afterwards 
 decorated the brow of the hero of the nation. 
 But Greene's military stores were so far ex- 
 5* 
 
54 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 pemied that he could not pursue, until he 
 received a supply ; and the delay, thus occa- 
 sioned, gave time to the British commander to 
 effect his escape. 
 
 Having received his supplies, Greene im- 
 mediately pursued the enemy ; but the advanced 
 position of Lord Cornwallis, and the impracti- 
 cable condition of the roads, frustrated every 
 exertion that General Greene could make to 
 compel the enemy to a second engasrement: 
 convinced of this, he halted to indulge his 
 troops in that refreshment and repose which 
 they so much needed. 
 
 Were we to indicate the period in the life 
 of General Greene most strongly marked by 
 the operations, and irradiated by the genius of 
 a great commander, we would, without hesita- 
 tion, select that which extends from the com^ 
 mencement of his retreat before Cornwallis, to 
 the termination of his pursuit of him at this 
 time. Perhaps a brighter era does not adorn 
 the military career oi^ any leader. It was in 
 the course of it that he tiurned the current of 
 adverse fortune consequent on the defeat of 
 Gates, which he afterwards directed with such 
 certain aim and irresistible force, as to keep the 
 enemy from his numerous strong holds in the 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 55 
 
 southern department, and contributed so pre- 
 eminently to the speedy and felicitous issue of 
 the war. 
 
 Having abandoned the pursuit of the British 
 army, the general again found himself encircled 
 with difficulties. Of the southern department 
 of the Union, over which Greene's command 
 extended, the enemy was in force in three 
 large and important sections. Georgia and 
 South Carolina were entirely in their posses- 
 sion ] Lord Cornwallis had taken post in the 
 maritime district of North Carolina, and part 
 of Virginia was occupied by a powerful de- 
 tachment of British troops, under the command 
 of General Phillips, At a loss to determine 
 in which of these points he should act in per- 
 son, he consulted his officers, and found them 
 greatly divided in opinion. He however re- 
 solved, in accordance to the views of Colonel 
 Lee, that leaving his lordship, whose object 
 evidently was the invasion of Virginia, to be 
 met by the energies of that state, with such 
 assistance as might arrive from the north, he 
 should penetrate South Carolina, his army 
 divided into two columns, attack and beat the 
 enemy at their different posts, without per- 
 mitting them to concentrate their forces, and 
 
5rt HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 thus recover that rich and important member 
 of the Union. 
 
 An officer who had distinguished himself in 
 the late action, not satisfied with the proposed 
 plan of operations, asked General Greene, by 
 way of remonstrance, " What will you do, sir, 
 in case Lord Cornwallis throws himself in your 
 rear, and cuts off your communication with 
 Virginia?" "I will punish his temerity,"Te- 
 plied the general with great pleasantness, "by 
 ordering you to charge him as you did at the 
 battle of Guilford. But never fear, sir ; his 
 lordship has too much good sense ever again to 
 risk his safety so far from the sea-board. He 
 has just escaped ruin, and he knows it, and I 
 am greatly mistaken in his character as an 
 officer, if he has not the capacity to profit by 
 experience." 
 
 On the 7th of April, General Greene broke 
 up his encampment, and with the main column 
 of his army moving to the south, took position 
 on Hobkirk's Hill, in front of Camden, the 
 head-quarters of Lord Rawdon, now the com- 
 mander-in-chief of the British forces in the 
 south. 
 
 The strength of the British position, which 
 was covered on the south and east side by a 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 57 
 
 river and creek, and to the westward and 
 northward by six redoubts, rendered it im- 
 practicable to carry it by storm with the small 
 army Greene had, consisting of about seven 
 hundred continentals, the militia having gone 
 home. He therefore encamped at about a mile 
 from the town, in order to prevent supplies 
 from being brought in, and to take advantage 
 of such favourable circumstances as might 
 occur. 
 
 Lord Rawdon's situation was extreniely 
 delicate. Colonel Watson, whom he had 
 some time before detached for the protection 
 of the eastern frontiers, and to whom he had, 
 on the intelligence of General Greene's in- 
 tentions, sent orders to return to Camden, was 
 so effectually watched by General Marion, that 
 it was impossible for him to obey. His lord- 
 ship's supplies were, moreover, very preca- 
 rious ; and should General Greene's reinforce- 
 ments arrive, he might be so closely invested 
 as to be at length obliged to surrender. In this 
 dilemma, the best expedient that suggested 
 itself, was a bold attack ; for which purpose he 
 armed every person with him capable of 
 crrrying a musket, not excepting his musicians 
 and drummers. He sallied out on the 25th of 
 
58 
 
 HEROES OF THE EEVOLUTION. 
 
 April, and attacked General Greene in his 
 camp. The defence was obstinate; and for 
 some part of the engagement the advantage 
 appeared to be in favour of America. Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Washington, who commanded 
 the cavalry, had at one time not less than two 
 hundred British prisoners. However, by the 
 misconduct of one of the American regiments, 
 victory was snatched from General Greene, 
 who was compelled to retreat. He lost in the 
 action about two hundred killed, wounded and 
 prisoners. Rawdon lost about two hundred 
 and fifty-eight. 
 
 There was a great similarity between the 
 consequences of the affair at Guilford, and 
 those of this action. In the former. Lord 
 Cornwallis was successful ; but was afterward 
 obliged to retreat two hundred miles from the 
 scene of action, and for a time abandoned the 
 grand object of penetrating to the northward. 
 In the latter. Lord Rawdon had the honour of 
 the field, but was shortly after reduced to the 
 necessity of abandoning his post, and leaving 
 behind him a number of sick and wounded. 
 
 The evacuation of Camden, with the vigi- 
 lance of General Greene, and the several 
 officers he employed, gave a new complexion 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 59 
 
 to affairs in South Carolina, ^vhere the British 
 ascendency declined more rapidly than it had 
 been established. The numerous forts garri- 
 soned by the enemy, fell, one after the other, 
 into the hands of the Americans. Orange- 
 burg, Motte, Watson, Georgetown, Granby, 
 and others, Fort Ninety-Six excepted, were 
 surrendered ; and a very considerable number 
 of prisoners of war, with military stores and 
 artillery, were found in them. 
 
 On the 22d of May, General Greene sat down 
 before Ninety-Six with the main part of his 
 little army. The siege was carried on, for a 
 considerable time, with great spirit; and the 
 place was defended with equal bravery. At 
 length the works were so far reduced that a 
 surrender must have been made in a few days, 
 when a reinforcement of three regiments from 
 Europe arrived at Charleston, which enabled 
 Lord Rawdon to proceed to relieve this im- 
 portant post. The superiority of the enemy's 
 force reduced General Greene to the alternative 
 of abandoning the siege altogether, or, previous 
 to their arrival, of attempting the fort by storm. 
 The latter was more agreeable to his enterpri- 
 sing spirit; and an attack was made on the 
 morning of the 19th of June. He was re- 
 
60 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 pulsed with the loss of one hundred and fifty 
 men. He raised the siege, and retreated over 
 the Saluda. 
 
 Dr. Ramsay, speaking of the state of affairs 
 about this period, says, " truly distressing was 
 the situation of the American army; when in 
 the grasp of victory, to be obHged to expose 
 themselves to a hazardous assault, and after- 
 ward to abandon a siege. When they were 
 nearly masters of the whole country, to be 
 compelled to retreat to its extremity ; and after 
 subduing the greatest part of the force sent 
 against them, to be under the necessity of 
 encountering still greater reinforcements, when 
 their remote situation precluded them from the 
 hope of receiving a single recruit. In this 
 gloomy situation there were not wanting per- 
 sons who advised General Greene to leave the 
 state, and retire with his remaining forces to 
 Virginia. To arguments and suggestions of 
 this kind he nobly replied, ' I will recover the 
 country, or die in the attempt.' This distin- 
 guished officer, whose genius was most vigorous 
 in those extremities when feeble minds abandon 
 themselves to despair, adopted the only resource 
 now left him, of avoiding an engagement until 
 the British force should be divided." 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 61 
 
 Greene having, without loss, made good his 
 passage over the rivers in front, Lord Rawdon, 
 perceiving the futility of any further attempt 
 to overtake him, abandoned the pursuit, and 
 retreating to Ninety-Six, prepared for its 
 evacuation. Thus did the policy of Greene, 
 which is moral strength, compel the surrender 
 of that fortress, although, from a want of 
 physical strength, he failed to carry it by the 
 sword. 
 
 No sooner had Lord Rawdon commenced his 
 retrograde movement towards Ninety-Six, than 
 General Greene changed his front and moved 
 in the same direction. On the breaking up of 
 the garrison of Ninety-Six, and the return of 
 Lord Rawdon towards Charleston, which im- 
 mediately ensued, the British army moved in 
 two columns, at a considerable distance from 
 each other. It was then that General Greene 
 became, in reality, the pursuing party, ex- 
 ceedingly anxious to bring the enemy to battle. 
 But this he was unable to accomplish until 
 September. 
 
 September the 9th, General Greene having 
 assembled about two thousand men, proceeded 
 to attack the British, who, under the command 
 of Colonel Stewart were posted at the Eutaw 
 
62 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 Springs. The American force was drawn up 
 in two lines; the first, composed of Carolina 
 militia, was commanded by Generals Marion 
 and Pickens, and Colonel de Malmedy. The 
 second, which consisted of continental troops 
 from North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland, 
 was commanded by General Sumpter, Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Campbell, and Colonel Wil- 
 liams : Lieutenant-Colonel Lee, with his legion, 
 covered the right flank 5 and Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Henderson, wdth the state troops, covered the 
 left. A corps de reserve was formed of the 
 cavalry under Lieutenant-Colonel Washington, 
 and the Delaware troops under Captain Kirk- 
 wood. As the Americans came forward to the 
 attack, they fell in with some advanced parties 
 of the enemy, at about two or three miles 
 ahead of the main body. These being closely 
 pursued, were driven back, and the action soon 
 became general. The militia were at length 
 forced to give way, but were bravely supported 
 by the second line. In the hottest part of the 
 engagement, General Greene ordered the Mary- 
 land and Virginia continentals to charge with 
 trailed arms. This decided the fate of the day. 
 ** Nothing," says Dr. Ramsay, " could surpass 
 the intrepidity of both officers and men on this 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 63 
 
 occasion. They rushed on in good order, 
 through a heavy cannonade and a shower of 
 musketry, with such unshaken resokition that 
 they bore down all before them." The British 
 were broken, closely pursued, and upwards of 
 five hundred of them were taken prisoners. 
 They, however, made a fresh stand in a favour- 
 able position, in impenetrable shrubs and a 
 picketed garden. Lieutenant-Colonel Wash- 
 ington, after having made every effort to dis- 
 lodge them, was wounded and taken prisoner. 
 Four six-pounders were brought forward to 
 play upon them, but they fell into their hands ; 
 and the endeavours to drive them from their 
 station being found impracticable, the Ameri- 
 cans retired, leaving a very strong picket on 
 the field of battle. Their loss was about five 
 hundred ; that of the British upwards of eleven 
 hundred. 
 
 General Greene was honoured by Congress 
 with a British standard and a gold medal, em- 
 blematical of the engagement, ^' for his wise, 
 decisive, and magnanimous conduct in the 
 action at Eutaw Springs, in which, with a force 
 inferior in number to that of the enemy, he 
 obtained a most signal victory." 
 
 In the evening of the succeeding day, 
 
64 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 Colonel Stewart abandoned his post, and re- 
 treated towards Charleston, leaving behind 
 upwards of seventy of his wounded, and a 
 thousand stand of arms. He was pursued a 
 considerable distance, but in vain. 
 
 In Dr. Caldwell's Memoirs of the Life of 
 General Greene, we have the following inter- 
 esting story as connected with the severe con- 
 flict at Eutaw Springs. 
 
 " Two young officers, bearing the same rank, 
 met in personal combat. The American per- 
 ceiving that the Briton had a decided superiority 
 in the use of the sabre, and being himself of 
 great activity and personal strength, almost 
 gigantic, closed with his adversary, and made 
 him his prisoner. 
 
 " Gentlemanly, generous, and high-minded, 
 this event, added to a personal resemblance 
 which they were observed to bear to each other, 
 produced between these two youthful warriors 
 an intimacy, which increased, in a short time, 
 to a mutual attachment. 
 
 " Not long after the action, the American 
 officer returning home on furlough, to settle 
 some private business, obtained permission for 
 his friend to accompany him. 
 
 "Travelling without attendants or guard, 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 65 
 
 they were both armed and well mounted. Part 
 of their route lay through a settlement highly 
 disaffected to the American cause. 
 
 " When in the midst of this, having, in 
 consequence of a shower of rain, thrown 
 around them their cloaks, which concealed 
 their uniforms, they were suddenly encountered 
 by a detachment of tories. 
 
 "The young American determined to die 
 rather than become a prisoner, especially to 
 men v/hom he held in abhorrence for disloyalty 
 to their country, and the generous Briton re- 
 solved not to survive one by whom he had been 
 distinguished and treated so kindly : they both 
 together, with great spirit and self-possession, 
 charged the royalists, having first made signals 
 in their rear, as if directing others to follow 
 them ; and thus, without injury on either side, 
 had the address and good fortune to put the 
 party to flight. 
 
 " Arriving in safety at their place of desti- 
 nation, what was their surprise and augmented 
 satisfaction on finding, from some questions 
 proposed by the American officer's father, that 
 they were first cousins ! 
 
 " With increasing delight, the young Briton 
 passed several weeks in the family of his kins- 
 6* 
 
66 HEROES OP THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 man, where the writer of this narrative saw 
 him daily, and often listened, with the rapture 
 of a child, to the checkered story of his 
 military adventures. 
 
 " To heighten the occurrence, and render it 
 more romantic, the American officer had a 
 sister, beautiful and accomplished, whose heart 
 soon felt for the gallant stranger more than the 
 affection due to a cousin. The attachment was 
 mutual. 
 
 " But here the adventure assumed a tragical 
 cast. The youthful foreigner being exchanged, 
 was summoned to return to his regiment. The 
 message was fatal to his peace, but military 
 honour demanded the sacrifice, and the lady, 
 generous and high-minded as himself, would 
 not be instrumental in dimming his laurels. 
 The parting scene was a high-wrought picture 
 of tenderness and sorrow. On taking leave 
 the parties mutually bound themselves, by a 
 solemn promise, to remain single a certain 
 number of years, in the hope that an arrange- 
 ment contemplated might again bring them 
 together. A few weeks afterward, the lady 
 expired under an attack of the small-pox. 
 The fate of the officer we never learnt." 
 
 Judge Johnson in his Life of General Greene, 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 67 
 
 says, "At the battle of Eutaw Springs, Greene 
 says, ' that hundreds of my men were naked 
 as they were born.' Posterity will scarcely 
 believe that the bare loins of many brave men 
 who carried death into the enemy's ranks at 
 the Eutaw, were galled by their cartouch- 
 boxes, while a folded rag or a tuft of moss 
 protected their shoulders from sustaining the 
 same injury from the musket. Men of other 
 times will inquire, by what magic was the army 
 kept together? By what supernatural pov/er 
 was it made to fight ?" 
 
 General Greene, in his letters to the secretary 
 at war, says, " We have three hundred men 
 without arms, and more than one thousand so 
 naked that they can be put on duty only in 
 cases of a desperate nature." Again he says, 
 ''Our difficulties are so numerous, and our 
 wants so pressing, that I have not a moment's 
 relief from the most painful anxieties. I have 
 more embarrassments than it is proper to dis- 
 close to the world. Let it suffice to say that 
 this part of the United States has had a narrow 
 escape. / have been seven months in the field 
 without taking off my clothes.''^ 
 
 The battle of Eutaw Springs being termina- 
 ted, General Greene ordered the light troops 
 
68 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 under Lee and Marion to march circnitously, 
 and gain a position in the British rear. But 
 the British leader was so prompt in his measures, 
 and so precipitate in his movements, that, 
 leaving his sick and wounded behind him, he 
 made good his retreat. The only injury he 
 received in his flight was from Lee and Marion, 
 who cut off part of his rear-guard, galled him 
 in his flanks, killed several, and made a number 
 of prisoners. 
 
 Such was the issue of the battle of Eutaw. 
 Like that of every other fought by General 
 Greene, it manifested in him judgment and 
 sagacity of the highest order. Although he 
 was repeatedly forced from the field, it may be 
 truly said of that officer, that he never lost an 
 action — the consequences, at least, being always 
 in his favour. In no instance did he fail to 
 reduce his enemy to a condition relatively 
 much worse than that in which he met him, 
 his own condition, of course, being relatively 
 improved. 
 
 The battle of the Eutaw Springs was the last 
 essay in arms, in which it was the fortune of 
 General Greene to command, and was succeeded 
 by the abandonment of the whole of South 
 Carolina by the enemy, except Charleston. 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 69 
 
 During the relaxation that followed, a danger- 
 ous plot was formed by some mutinous persons 
 of the army, to deliver up their brave general 
 to the British. The plot was discovered and 
 defeated; the ringleader apprehended, tried, 
 and shot, and twelve of the most guilty of his 
 associates deserted to the enemy. To the 
 honour of the American character, no native 
 of the country was known to be concerned in 
 this conspiracy. Foreigners alone were its 
 projectors and abetters. 
 
 The surrender of Lord Cornwallis, whose 
 enterprising spirit had been, by the British 
 ministry, expected to repair the losses, and 
 wipe away the disgrace which had been in- 
 curred through the inactivity and indolence of 
 other generals, having convinced them of the 
 impracticability of subjugating America, they 
 discontinued offensive operations in every 
 quarter. The happy period at length arrived, 
 when, by the virtue and bravery of her sons, 
 aided by the bounty of heaven, America 
 compelled her invaders to acknowledge her 
 independence. Then her armies quitted the 
 tented field, and retired to cultivate the arts of 
 peace and happiness. General Greene im- 
 
70 
 
 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 mediately withdrew from the south, and re- 
 turned to the bosom of his native state. 
 
 The reception he there experienced was 
 cordial and joyous. The authorities welcomed 
 him home with congratulatory addresses, and 
 the chief men of the place waited upon him 
 at his dwelling, eager to testify their gratitude 
 for his services, their admiration of his talents 
 and virtues, and the pride with which the}^ 
 recognized him as a native of Rhode Island. 
 
 On the close of the war, the three southern 
 states that had been the most essentially bene- 
 fitted by his wisdom and valour, manifested at 
 once their sense of justice, and their gratitude 
 to General Greene, by liberal donations. South 
 Carolina presented him with an estate valued 
 at ten thousand pounds sterling ; Georgia with 
 an estate, a few miles from the city of 
 Savannah, worth five thousand pounds; and 
 North Carolina, with twenty-five thousand 
 acres of land in the state of Tennessee. 
 
 Having spent about two years in his native 
 state, in the adjustment of his private aifairs, 
 he sailed for Georgia in October, 1785, and 
 settled with his family on his estate near 
 Savannah. Engaging here in agricultural pur- 
 suits, he employed himself closely in arrange- 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 71 
 
 ments for planting, exhibiting the fairest pro- 
 mise to become as eminent in the practice of 
 the peaceful virtues as he had already shown 
 himself in the occupation of war. 
 
 But it was the will of heaven that in this 
 new sphere of action his course should be 
 limited. The short period of seven months 
 was destined to witness its commencement and 
 its close. 
 
 Walking over his grounds, as was his custom, 
 without his hat, on the afternoon of the 15th 
 of June, 1786, the day being intensely hot, he 
 was suddenly attacked with such a vertigo and 
 prostration of strength, as to be unable to re- 
 tm-n to his house without assistance. The 
 aifection was what was denominated a " stroke 
 of the sun." It was succeeded by fever, 
 accompanied with stupor, delirium, and a dis- 
 ordered stomach. All efforts to subdue it 
 proving fruitless, it terminated fatally on the 
 19th of the month. 
 
 Intelligence of the event being conveyed to 
 Savannah, but one feeling pervaded the place. 
 Sorrow was universal j and the whole town 
 instinctively assumed the aspect of mourning. 
 All business was suspended, the dwelling houses, 
 
72 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 stores, and shops, were closed, and the shipping 
 in the harbour half-masted their colours. 
 
 On the following day, the body of the de- 
 ceased being conveyed to the town, at the re- 
 quest of the inhabitants, was interred in a 
 private cemetry with military honours; the 
 magistrates of the place, and other public 
 officers, the society of the Cincinnati, and the 
 citizens generally, joined in the procession.* 
 
 In estimating the military character of Gen- 
 eral Greene, facts authorized the inference that 
 he possessed a genius adapted by nature to 
 military command. After resorting to arms, 
 his attainment to rank was much more rapid 
 than that of any other officer our country has 
 produced ; perhaps the most rapid that history 
 records. These offices, so high in responsibility 
 and honour, were conferred on him, not as 
 matters of personal favour or family influence, 
 nor yet through the instrumentality of political 
 intrigue. They were rewards of pre-eminent 
 merit, and tokens of recognised fitness for the 
 highest functions of military service. 
 
 It is said, that on his very first appearance 
 in the camp at Cambridge, from the ardour of 
 * General Greene left behind him a wife and five children. 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 73 
 
 his zeal, unremitted activity, and strict attention 
 to every duty, he was pronounced by soldiers 
 of distinction,* a man of real military genius. 
 
 '' His knowledge," said General Knox to a 
 distinguished citizen of South Carolina, "is 
 intuitive. He came to us the rawest and most 
 untutored being I ever met with : but in less 
 than twelve months he was equal in military 
 knowledge to any general officer in the army, 
 and very superior to most of them." Even the 
 enemy he conquered did homage to his pres 
 eminent talents for war. Tarlton, who had 
 strong ground to know him, is reported to 
 have pronounced him, on a public occasion, 
 the most able and accomplished commander 
 that America had produced. 
 
 When acting under the order of others, he 
 never failed to discharge, to their satisfaction, 
 the duties intrusted to him, however arduous. 
 But it is the southern department of the Union 
 that constitutes the theatre of his achievements 
 and fame. It was there, where his views were 
 unshackled and his genius free, that, by per- 
 forming the part of a great captain, he erected 
 for himself a monument of reputation, durable 
 * Colonel Pickering and others. 
 
741 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 as history, lofty as victory and conquest could 
 render it, and brightened by all that glory could 
 bestow. 
 
 In compliment to his brilliant successes, the 
 chivalric De la Luzerne, the minister of France, 
 who, as a knight of Malta, must be considered 
 as a competent judge of military merit, thus 
 speaks of him : " Other generals subdue their 
 enemies by the means with which their country 
 or their sovereign furnished them, but Greene 
 appears to subdue his enemy by his own means. 
 He commenced his campaign without either an 
 army, provisions, or military stores. He has 
 asked for nothing since, and yet scarcely a post 
 arrives from the south that does not bring 
 intelligence of some new advantage gained 
 over his foe. He conquers by magic. History 
 furnishes no parallel to this." 
 
 On the 12th of August, of the year in 
 which the general died, the Congress of the 
 United States unanimously resolved, " That a 
 monument be erected to the memory of the 
 Honourable Nathaniel Greene, at the seat of 
 the federal government, with the following 
 inscription : 
 
NATHANIEL GREENE. 75 
 
 SACRED 
 
 to the Memory of the 
 HON. NATHANIEL GREENE, 
 
 who departed this Life 
 
 the 19th of June, MDCCLXXXVI, 
 
 late Major-General in the 
 
 Service of the U. S. and 
 
 Commander of the Army in the 
 
 Southern Department. 
 
 The United States, in Congress 
 
 assembled, in honour of 
 
 HIS PATRIOTISM, VALOUR, AND ABILITY, 
 
 have erected this 
 
 MONUMENT. 
 
 To the disgrace of the nation, no monument 
 has been erected ; nor, for the want of a head- 
 stone, can any one at present designate the spot 
 where the relics of the Hero of the South lie 
 interred. 
 
DANIEL MORGAN, 
 
 Brigadier-General in the American Armt. 
 
 General Morgan was the creator of his own 
 fortune. Born of poor, though honest parents, 
 he enjoyed none of the advantages which result 
 from wealth and early education. But his 
 was a spirit that would not tamely yield to 
 difficulties. 
 
 " He was born in New Jersey, where, from 
 his poverty and low condition, he had been a 
 day-labourer. To early education and breeding, 
 therefore, he owed nothing. But for this de- 
 ficiency his native sagacity and sound judgment, 
 and his intercourse with the best society, made 
 much amends in after life. 
 
 " Enterprising in his disposition, even now 
 he removed to Virginia, in 1755, with a hope 
 and expectation of improving his fortune. 
 Here he continued, at first, his original business 
 of day-labour ; but exchanged it afterward for 
 the employment of a wagoner. 
 
 "His military novitiate he served in the 
 campaign under the unfortunate Braddock. 
 The rank he bore is not precisely known. It 
 76 
 
DANIEL MORGAN. 77 
 
 mustj however, have been humble ; for, in 
 consequence of imputed contumely towards a 
 British officer, he was brought to the halbert, 
 and received the inhuman punishment of five 
 hundred lashes ; or, according to his own state- 
 ment, of four hundred and ninety-nine ; for he 
 always asserted that the drummer charged with 
 the execution of the sentence, miscounted and 
 jocularly added, * That George the Third was 
 still indebted to him one lash.' To the honour 
 of Morgan he never practically remembered 
 this savage treatment during the revolutionary 
 war. Towards the British officers whom the 
 fortune of battle placed within his power, his 
 conduct was humane, mild, and gentlemanly. 
 
 "After his return from this campaign, so 
 inordinately was he addicted to quarrels and 
 boxing matches, that the village of Berrystown, 
 in the county of Frederick, which constituted 
 the chief theatre of his pugilistic exploits, re- 
 ceived, from this circumstance, the name of 
 Battletown. 
 
 " In these combats, although frequently over- 
 matched in personal strength, he manifested 
 the same unyielding spirit which characterized 
 him afterward in his military career. When 
 worsted by his antagonist, he would pause for 
 
IfB HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 a time, to recruit his strength, and then return 
 to the contest, again and again, until he rarely 
 failed to prove victorious. 
 
 "Equally marked u^as his invincibility of 
 spirit in maturer age, when raised, by fortune 
 and his own merit, to a higher and more 
 honourable field of action. Defeat in battle 
 he rarely experienced ; but when he did, his 
 retreat was sullen, stern, and dangerous. 
 
 " The commencement of the American re- 
 volution found Mr. Morgan married and culti- 
 vating a farm, which, by industry and economy, 
 he had been enabled to purchase, in the county 
 of Frederick. 
 
 "Placed at the head of a rifle company, 
 raised in his neighbourhood in 1775, he marched 
 immediately to the American head-quarters in 
 Cambridge, near Boston. 
 
 "By order of the commander-in-chief, he 
 soon afterward joined in the expedition against 
 Quebec, and was made prisoner in the attempt 
 on that fortress, where Arnold was wounded, 
 and Montgomery fell. 
 
 " During the assault, his daring valour and 
 persevering gallantry attracted the notice and 
 admiration of the enemy. 
 
 " The assailing column to which he belonged 
 
DANIEL MORGAN. 79 
 
 was led by Major Arnold. When that officer 
 was wounded, and carried from the ground, 
 Morgan threw himself into the lead, and, 
 rushing forward, passed the first and second 
 barriers. For a moment, victory appeared 
 certain. But the fall of Montgomery closing 
 the prospect, the assailants were repulsed, and 
 the enterprise abandoned. During his captivity, 
 Captain Morgan was treated with great kind- 
 ness, and not a little distinction. He was re- 
 peatedly visited in confinement by a British 
 officer of rank, who at length made an attempt 
 on his patriotism and virtue, by offering him 
 the commission and emoluments of colonel in 
 the British army, on condition that he would 
 desert the American and join the royal standard. 
 
 " Morgan rejected the proposal with scorn, 
 and requested the courtly and corrupt negoti- 
 ator ' never again to insult him in his misfor- 
 tunes by an offer which plainly implied that he 
 thought him a villian.' The officer withdrew, 
 and did not again recur to the subject. 
 
 " On being exchanged, Morgan immediately 
 rejoined the American army, and received, by 
 the recommendation of General Washington, 
 the command of a regiment. 
 
 "In the year 1777, he was placed at the 
 
80 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 head of a select rifle corps, with which, in 
 various instances, he acted on the enemy with 
 terrible effect. His troops were considered the 
 most dangerous in the American service. To 
 confront them in the field was almost certain 
 death to the British officers. 
 
 "On the occasion of the capture of Bur- 
 goyne, the exertions and services of Colonel 
 Morgan and his riflemen were beyond all praise. 
 Much of the glory of the achievement be- 
 longed to them. Yet so gross was the injustice 
 of General Gates, that he did not even mention 
 them in his official despatches. His reason for 
 this was secret and dishonourable. Shortly 
 after the surrender of Burgoyne, General Gates 
 took occasion to hold with Morgan a private 
 conversation. In the course of this he told 
 him confidentially, that the main army was 
 exceedingly dissatisfied with the conduct of 
 General Washington; that the reputation of 
 the commander-in-chief was rapidly declining; 
 and that several officers of great worth threat- 
 ened to resign, unless a change were produced 
 in that department. 
 
 "Colonel Morgan fathoming in an instant 
 the views of his commanding officer, sternly, 
 and with honest indignation, replied, 'Sir, I 
 
DANIEL MORGAN. 81 
 
 have one favour to ask. Never again mention 
 to me this hateful subject ; under no other man 
 but General Washington, as commander-in- 
 chief, vv^ill I ever serve.' 
 
 " From that moment ceased the intimacy 
 that had previously subsisted between him and 
 General Gates. 
 
 " A few days afterward the general gave a 
 dinner to the principal officers of the British, 
 and some of those of the American . army. 
 Morgan was not invited. In the course of the 
 evening, that officer found it necessary to call 
 on General Gates, on official business. Being 
 introduced into the dining-room, he spoke to 
 the general, received his orders, and immedi- 
 ately withdrew, his name unannounced. Per- 
 ceiving, from his dress, that he was of high 
 rank, the British officers inquired his name. 
 Being told that it was Colonel Morgan, com- 
 manding the rifle corps, they rose from the 
 table, followed him into the yard, and iiK 
 troduced themselves to him, with many conv 
 plimentary and flattering expressions, declaring 
 that, on the day of action, they had very se- 
 verely felt him in the field. 
 
 " In 1780, having obtained leave of absence 
 from the army on account of the shattered 
 
82 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 condition of his health, he retired to his estate 
 in the county of Frederick, and remained 
 there until the appointment of General Gates 
 to the command of the southern army. 
 
 " Being waited on by the latter, and re- 
 quested to accompany him, he reminded him, 
 in expressions marked by resentment, of the 
 unworthy treatment he had formerly experi- 
 enced from him, in return for the important 
 services which, he did not hesitate to assert, he 
 had rendered him in his operations against the 
 army of General Burgoyne. 
 
 " Having received no acknowledgement, nor 
 even civility, for aiding to decorate him with 
 laurels in the north, he frankly declared that 
 there were no considerations, except of a 
 public nature, that could induce him to co- 
 operate in his campaigns to the south. ' Mo- 
 tives of public good might influence him ; be- 
 cause his country had a claim on him, in any 
 quarter where he could promote her interest ; 
 but personal attachment must not be expected 
 to exist where he had experienced nothing but 
 neglect and injustice.' 
 
 " The two officers parted, mutually dissatis- 
 fied ; the one, on account of past treatment ; 
 the other, of the recent interview. 
 
DANIEL MORGAN, 83 
 
 " In the course of a few weeks afterward, 
 Congress having promoted Colonel Morgan to 
 the rank of brigadier-general by brevet, with 
 a view to avail themselves of his services in 
 the south, he proceeded without delay to join 
 the army of General Gates. But he was pre- 
 vented from serving any length of time under 
 that officer, by his defeat near Camden, before 
 his arrival, and his being soon afterward super- 
 seded in command by General Greene. 
 
 " Soon after taking command of the southern 
 army, General Greene despatched General 
 Morgan with four hundred continentals under 
 Colonel Howard, Colonel Washington's corps 
 of dragoons, and a few militia, amounting in 
 all to about six hundred, to take position on 
 the left of the British army, then lying at 
 Winnsborough, under Lord Cornwallis, while 
 he took post about seventy miles to his right. 
 This judicious disposition excited his lordship's 
 apprehensions for the safety of Ninety-Six and 
 Augusta, British posts, which he considered as 
 menaced by the movements of Morgan. 
 
 " Colonel Tarleton, with a strong detachment, 
 amounting, in horse and foot, to near a thousand 
 men, was immediately despatched by Corn- 
 wallis to the protection of Ninety-Six, with 
 
S4 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 orders to bring General Morgan, If possible, to 
 battle. To the ardent temper and chivalrous 
 disposition of the British colonel this direction 
 was perfectly congenial. Greatly superior in 
 numbers, he advanced on Morgan with a mena- 
 cing aspect, and compelled him, at first, to fall 
 back rapidly. But the retreat of the American 
 commander was not long continued. Irritated 
 by pursuit, reinforced by a body of militia, and 
 reposing great confidence in the spirit and 
 firmness of his regular troops, he halted at the 
 Cowpens, and determined to gratify his ad- 
 versary in his eagerness for combat. This was 
 on the night of the 16th of January, 1781. 
 Early in the morning of the succeeding day, 
 Tarleton, being apprised of the situation of 
 Morgan, pressed towards him with a redoubled 
 'rapidity, lest, by renewing his retreat, he should 
 again elude him. 
 
 " But Morgan now had other thoughts than 
 those of flight. Already had he, for several 
 days, been at war with himself in relation to 
 his conduct. Glorying in action, his spirit re- 
 coiled from the humilation of retreat, and his 
 resentment was roused by the insolence of 
 pursuit. This mental conflict becoming more 
 intolerable to him than disaster or death, his 
 
DANIEL MORGAN. 85 
 
 courage triumphed, perhaps, over his prudence, 
 and he resolved on putting every thing to the 
 hazard of the sword. 
 
 "By military men who have studied the 
 subject, his disposition for battle is said to have 
 been masterly. Two light parties of militia 
 were advanced in front, with order to feel the 
 enemy as they approached ; and preserving a 
 desultory, well aimed fire, as they fell back to 
 the front line, to range with it, and renew the 
 conflict. The main body of the militia com- 
 posed this line, with General Pickens at its 
 head. At a suitable distance in the rear of the 
 first line, a second was stationed, composed of 
 the continental infantry and two companies of 
 Virginia militia, commanded by Colonel How- 
 ard. Washington's cavalry, reinforced with a 
 company of mounted militia, armed with 
 sabres, was held in reserve. 
 
 "Posting himself then in the line of the 
 regulars, he waited in silence the advance of 
 the enemy. 
 
 " Tarleton coming in sight, hastily formed 
 
 his disposition for battle, and commenced the 
 
 assault. Of this conflict, the following picture 
 
 is from the pen of General Lee : 
 
 < The American light parties quickly yielded, 
 8 
 
86 HEROES OF THE EEVOLUTION. 
 
 fell back, and arrayed with Pickens. The 
 enemy shouting, rushed forward upon the front 
 line, which retained its station, and poured in a 
 close fire ; but continuing to advance with the 
 bayonet on our militia, they retired, and gained 
 with haste the second line. Here, with part 
 of the corps, Pickens took post on Howard's 
 right, and the rest fled to their horses, probably 
 with orders to remove them to a further 
 distance. Tarleton pushed forward, and was 
 received by his adversary with unshaken firm- 
 ness. The contest became obstinate ; and each 
 party, animated by the example of its leader, 
 nobly contended for victory. Our line main- 
 tained itself so firmly as to oblige the enemy 
 to order up his reserve. The advance of 
 M' Arthur reanimated the British line, which 
 again moved forward, and outstretching our 
 front, endangered Colonel Howard's right. 
 This ofiicer instantly took measures to defend 
 his flank, by directing his right company to 
 change its front ; but, mistaking this order, the 
 company fell back ; upon which the line be- 
 gan to retire, and General Morgan directed it 
 to retreat to the cavalry. This manoguvre 
 being performed with precision, our flank be- 
 came relieved, and the new position was 
 
DANIEL MORGAM. 87 
 
 assumed with promptitude. Considering this 
 retrograde movement the precursor of flight, 
 the British line rushed on with impetuosity and 
 disorder; but as it drew near, Howard faced 
 about, and gave it a close and murderous fire. 
 Stunned by this unexpected shock, the most 
 advanced of the enemy recoiled in confusion. 
 Howard seized the happy moment, and followed 
 his advantage with the bayonet. This decisive 
 step gave us the day. The reserve having been 
 brought near the line, shared in the destruction 
 of our fire, and presented no rallying point to 
 the fugitives. A part of the enemy's cavalry 
 having gained our rear, fell on that portion of 
 the militia who had retired to their horses. 
 Washington struck at them with his dragoons, 
 and drove them before him. Thus, by a si- 
 multaneous effort, the infantry and cavalry of 
 the enemy were routed. Morgan pressed home 
 his success, and the pursuit became vigorous 
 and general.' 
 
 " In this decisive battle we lost about seventy 
 men, of whom twelve only were killed. The 
 British infantry, with the exception of the 
 baggage guard, were nearly all killed or taken. 
 One hundred, including ten officers, were killed; 
 twenty-three officers and five hundred privates 
 
88 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 were taken. The artillery, eight hundred 
 muskets, two standards, thirty-five baggage 
 wagons, and one hundred dragoon horses, fell 
 into our possession." 
 
 In this battle, so glorious to the American 
 arms, Tarleton had every advantage in point of 
 ground, cavalry, and numbers, aided by two 
 pieces of artillery. 
 
 Soon after this brilliant exploit, frequent 
 attacks of the rheumatism compelled General 
 Morgan to retire from the army, and he re- 
 turned to his seat in Frederick, Virginia, where 
 he continued in retirement until the insurrec- 
 tion in the western part of Pennsylvania, in 
 1794, when he was detached by the executive 
 of Virginia, at the head of the militia quota 
 of that state, to suppress it. This done, he re- 
 turned into the bosom of his family, where he 
 remained until death closed his earthly career, 
 in 1799. 
 
 " There existed in the character of General 
 Morgan a singular contradiction, which is 
 worthy of notice. 
 
 " Although in battle no man was ever more 
 prodigal of the exposure of his person to 
 danger, or manifested a more deliberate disre- 
 gard of death ; yet, so strong was his love of 
 
^ DANIEL MORGAN. 89 
 
 life at other times, that he has been frequently 
 heard to declare, * he would agree to pass half 
 his time as a galley-slave, rather than quit this 
 world for another.' 
 
 " The following outline of his person and 
 character is from the pen of a military friend, 
 who knew him intimately : 
 
 * Brigadier-General Morgan was stout and 
 active, six feet in height, strong, not too much 
 encumbered with flesh, and was exactly fitted 
 for the toils and pomp of war. His mind was 
 discriminating and solid, but not comprehensive 
 and combining. His manners plain and dec- 
 orous, neither insinuating nor repulsive. His 
 conversation grave, sententious, and considerate, 
 unadorned, and uncaptivating. He reflected 
 deeply, spoke little, and executed, with keen 
 perseverance, whatever he undertook. 
 
 " A considerable time before his death, when 
 the pressure of infirmity began to be heavy, he 
 became seriously concerned about his future 
 welfare. From that period, his chief solace 
 lay in the study of the Scriptures, and in de- 
 votional exercises. He died in the belief of 
 the truths of Christianity, and in full commu- 
 nion with the Presbyterian Church." 
 
 8* 
 
JOHN STARK, 
 
 Brigadier-General, in tue American Armv. 
 
 General Stark was a native of New-Hamp- 
 shire, and was born in Londonderry, August 
 17th, 1728. From his early youth he had 
 been accustomed to the alarm of war, having 
 lived in that part of the country which was 
 continually subject to the incursions of the 
 savages. While a child, he was captured by 
 them, and adopted as one of their own 3 but 
 after a few years was restored. 
 
 Arrived at manhood, his manners were plain, 
 honest, and severe ; excellently calculated for 
 the benefit of society in the private walks of 
 life ; and as a courageous and heroic soldier, 
 he is entitled to a hio-h rank amonoj those who 
 have been crowned with unfading laurels, and 
 to whom a large share of glory is justly due. 
 He was captain of a company of rangers in 
 the provincial service during the French war, 
 in 1755. 
 
 From the commencement of the difficulties 
 with the mother country, until the closing 
 scene of the revolution, our country found in 
 90 
 
JOHN STARK. 91 
 
 General Stark one of its most resolute, inde- 
 pendent, and persevering defenders. The first 
 call of his country found him ready. When 
 the report of Lexington battle reached him, he 
 was engaged at work in his saw-mill : fired 
 with indignation and a martial spirit, he imme- 
 diately seized his musket, and with a band of 
 heroes proceeded to Cambridge. The morning 
 after his arrival, he received a colonel's com- 
 mission, and availing himself of his own 
 popularity, and the enthusiasm of the day, in 
 two hours he enlisted eight hundred men. On 
 the memorable 17th of June, at Breed's Hill, 
 Colonel Stark, at the head of his backwoods- 
 men of New-Hampshire, poured on the enemy 
 that deadly fire, from a sure aim, which effected 
 such remarkable destruction in their ranks, and 
 compelled them twice to retreat. During the 
 whole of this dreadful conflict. Colonel Stark 
 evinced that consummate bravery and intrepid 
 zeal, which entitle his name to perpetual 
 remembrance. 
 
 His spirit pervaded his native state, and ex- 
 cited them to the most patriotic efforts. The 
 British General Burgoyne, in one of his letters, 
 observes, " That the Hampshire Grants, almost 
 unknown in the last war, now abound in the 
 
92 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 most active and most rebellious race on the 
 continent, and hang like a gathering storm upon 
 my left." 
 
 Distinct from his efforts in rallying the 
 energies of his native state, he obtained great 
 credit in the active operations of the field. At 
 that gloomy period of the revolution, the re- 
 treat of Washington through New Jersey, in 
 1776, when the saviour of our country, appa- 
 rently deserted of heaven and by his country, 
 with the few gallant spirits who gathered the 
 closer around him in that dark hour, precipi- 
 tately fled before an imperious and victorious 
 enemy — it was on this occasion that the per- 
 severing valour of Stark enrolled him among 
 the firm and resolute defenders of their country; 
 and, with them, entitles him to her unceasing 
 gratitude. 
 
 But as he fearlessly shared with Washington 
 the dark and gloomy night of defeat, so also 
 he participated with him in the joy of a bright 
 morning of victory and hope. In the suc- 
 cessful enterprise against Trenton, Stark, then 
 a colonel, acted a conspicuous part, and covered 
 himself with glory. General Wilkinson, in 
 his memoirs, says, " I must not withhold due 
 praise from the dauntless Stark, who dealt death 
 
JOHN STARK. 93 
 
 wherever he fouad resistance, and broke down 
 all opposition before him." 
 
 Soon after this affair, Colonel Stark, from 
 some supposed injustice toward him on the 
 part of Congress, quitted the continental ser- 
 vice, and returned to New Hampshire. 
 
 " When he was urged by the government of 
 New Hampshire to take the command of their 
 militia, he refused, unless he should be at 
 liberty to serve or not, under a continental 
 officer, as he should judge proper. It was not 
 a time for debate, and it was known that the 
 militia would follow wherever Stark would 
 lead. The assembly therefore invested him 
 with a separate command, and gave him orders 
 to * repair to Charlestown, on Connecticut 
 River ; there to consult with a committee of 
 <the New Hampshire Grants respecting his 
 future operations, and the supply of his men 
 with provisions ; to take the command of the 
 militia, and march into the Grants ; to act in 
 conjunction with the troops of that new state, 
 or any other of the states, or of the United 
 States, or separately, as it should appear ex- 
 pedient to him, for the protection of the 
 people and the annoyance of the enemy.' " 
 
 Agreeably to his orders, Stark proceeded, in 
 
94 HEUOES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 a few days, to Charlestown; his men ver)^ 
 readily followed, and, as fast as they arrived, 
 he sent them forward to join the troops of 
 Vermont under Colonel Warner, who had 
 taken his situation at Manchester. At that 
 place he joined Warner witli about eight 
 hundred men from New Hampshire, and found 
 another body of men from Vermont, who put 
 themselves under his command ; and he was at 
 the head of fourteen hundred men. Most of 
 them' had been in the two former campaigns, 
 and well officered ; and were, in every respect, 
 a body of very good troops. Schuyler re- 
 peatedly urged Stark to join the troops under 
 his command, but he declined complying. He 
 was led to this conduct not only by the reasons 
 which have been mentioned, but by a difference 
 of opinion as to the best method of opposing" 
 Burgoyne. Schuyler wished to collect all the 
 American troops in the front, to prevent Bur- 
 goyne from marching on to Albany. Stark 
 was of opinion that the surest way to check 
 Burgoyne was to have a body of men on his 
 rear, ready to fall upon him in that quarter, 
 whenever a favourable opportunity should pre- 
 sent. The New England militia had not 
 formed a high opinion of Schuyler as a 
 
JOHN STARK. 95 
 
 general ; and Stark meant to keep himself in a 
 situation in which he might embrace any 
 favourable opportunity for action, either in 
 conjunction with him, or otherwise ) and with 
 that view intended to hang on the rear of the 
 British troops, and embrace the first opportu- 
 nity which should present, to make an attack 
 upon that quarter. But Stark assured Schuyler 
 that he would join in any measure necessary to 
 promote the public good, but wished to avoid 
 any thing that was not consistent with his own 
 honour; and if it was thought necessary, he 
 would march to his camp. He wrote particu- 
 larly, that he would lay aside all private re- 
 sentment, when it appeared in opposition to 
 the public good. But in the midst of these 
 protestations he was watching for an opportu- 
 nity to discover his courage and patriotism, by 
 falling upon some part of Burgoyne's army. 
 
 While the American army was thus assu- 
 ming a more respectable appearance, General 
 Burgoyne was making very slow advances 
 towards Albany. From the 28th of July to 
 the 15th of August, the British army was con- 
 tinually employed in bringing forward batteaux, 
 provisions, and ammuniton, from Fort George 
 to the first navigable part of Hudson's Kiver j 
 
96 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 a distance of not more than eighteen miles. 
 The labour was excessive ; the Europeans were 
 but little acquainted with the methods of per- 
 forming it to advantage, and the effect was in 
 no degree equivalent to the expense of labour 
 and time. With all the efforts that Burgoyne 
 could make, encumbered with his artillery and 
 baggage, his labours were inadequate to the 
 purpose of supplying the army with provisions 
 for its daily consumption, and the establishment 
 of the necessary magazines. And after his 
 utmost exertions for fifteen days, there were 
 not above four day's provisions in the store, 
 nor above ten batteaux in Hudson's River. 
 
 In such circumstances, the British general 
 found that it would be impossible to procure 
 sufficient supplies of provisions by the way of 
 Fort George, and determined to replenish his 
 own magazines at the expense of those of the 
 Americans. Having received information that 
 a large quantity of stores were laid up at Ben- 
 nington, and guarded only by the militia, he 
 formed the design of surprising that place ; and 
 was made to believe that as soon as a detach- 
 ment of the royal army should appear in that 
 quarter, it would receive effectual assistance 
 from a large body of loyalists, who only waited 
 
JOHN STARK. 97 
 
 for the appearance of a support, and would in 
 that event come forward and aid the royal 
 cause. Full of these expectations, he detached 
 Colonel Baum, a German officer, with a select 
 body of troops, to surprise the place. His 
 force consisted of about five hundred regular 
 troops, some Canadians, and more than one 
 hundred Indians, with two light pieces of ar- 
 tillery. To facilitate their operations, and to 
 be ready to take advantage of the success of 
 the detachment, the royal army moved along 
 the east bank of Hudson's River, and encamped 
 hearly opposite to Saratoga; having, at the 
 same time, thrown a bridge of rafts over the 
 river, by which the army passed to that place. 
 With a view to support Baum, if it should be 
 found necessary, Lieutenant-Colonel Brey man's 
 corps, consisting of the Brunswick grenadiers, 
 light infantry, and chasseurs, were posted at 
 Battenkill. 
 
 General Stark having received information 
 that a party of Indians were at Cambridge, sent 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Greg, on August the 13th, 
 with a party of two hundred men, to stop their 
 progress. Toward night he was informed by 
 express that a large body of regulars was in 
 the rear of the Indians, and advancing toward 
 9 
 
98 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 Bennington. On this intelligence, Stark drew 
 together his brigade, and the militia that were 
 at hand, and sent on to Manchester, to Colonel 
 Warner, to bring on his regiment ; he sent ex- 
 presses at the same time to the neighbouring 
 militia, to join him with the utmost speed. 
 On the morning of the 14th, he marched with 
 his troops, and at the distance of seven miles 
 he met Greg on the retreat, and the enemy 
 within a mile of him. Stark drew up his 
 troops in order of battle; but the enem}', 
 coming in sight, halted upon a very advanta- 
 geous piece of ground. Baum perceived the 
 Americans were too strong to be attacked with 
 his present force, and sent an express to Bur- 
 goyne with an account of his situation, and to 
 have Breyman march immediately to support 
 him. In the meantime small parties of the 
 Americans kept up a skirmish with the enemy, 
 killed and wounded thirty of them, with two 
 of their Indian chiefs, without any loss to 
 themselves. The ground the Americans had 
 taken was unfavourable for a general action, 
 and Stark retreated about a mile, and encamped. 
 A council of war was held, and it was agreed 
 to send two detachments upon the enemy's 
 rear, while the rest of the troops should make 
 
JOHN STARK. 99 
 
 an attack upon their front. The next day the 
 weather was rainy, and though it prevented a 
 general action, there were frequent skirmishes 
 in small parties, which proved favourable and 
 encourao-ino; to the Americans. ' 
 
 On August the 16th, in the morning. Stark 
 was joined by Colonel Symonds and a body of 
 militia from Berkshire, and proceeded to attack 
 the enemy, agreeably to the plan which had 
 been concerted. Colonel Baum in the meantime 
 had entrenched on an advantageous piece of 
 ground near St. Koick's mills, on a branch of 
 Hoosic River ; and rendered his post as strong 
 as his circumstances and situation would admit. 
 Colonel Nichols was detached with two hun- 
 dred men to the rear of his left. Colonel Her- 
 rick with three hundred men to the rear of his 
 right ; both were to join, and then make the 
 attack. Colonels Hubbard and Stickney, with 
 two hundred men, were ordered on the right, 
 and one hundred were advanced towards the 
 front, to draw the attention of the enemy that 
 way. About three o'clock in the afternoon 
 the troops had taken their station, and were 
 ready to commence the action. While Nichols 
 and Herrick were bringing their troops together, 
 the Indians were alarmed at the prospect, and 
 
100 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 pushed off between the two corps; but re- 
 ceived a fire as they were passing, by which 
 three of them were killed and two wounded. 
 Nichols then began the attack, and was followed 
 by all the other divisions ; those in the front 
 immediately advanced, and in a few minutes 
 the action became general. It lasted about two 
 hours, and was like one continued peal of 
 thunder. Baum made a brave defence ; and 
 the German dragoons, after they had expended 
 their amn^unition, led by their colonel, charged 
 with their swords, but they were soon over- 
 powered. Their works were carried on all 
 sides, their two pieces of cannon were taken, 
 Colonel Baum himself was mortally wounded 
 and taken prisoner, and all his men, except a 
 few who had escaped into the woods, were 
 either killed or taken prisoners. Having com- 
 pleted the business by taking the whole party, 
 the militia began to disperse and look out for 
 plunder. But in a few minutes Stark received 
 information that a large reinforcement was on 
 their march, and within two miles of him. 
 Fortunately at that moment Colonel Warner 
 came up with his regiment from Manchester. 
 This brave and experienced officer commanded 
 a regiment of continental troops, which had 
 
JOHN STARK. 101 
 
 been raised in Vermont. Mortified that he had 
 not been in the former engagement, he instantly 
 led on his men against Breyman, and began 
 the second engagement. Stark collected the 
 militia as soon as possible, and pushed on to his 
 assistance. The action became general, and 
 the battle continued obstinate on both sides 
 till sunset, when the Germans were forced to 
 give way, and were pursued till dark. They 
 left their two field-pieces behind, and a con- 
 siderable number were made prisoners. They 
 retreated in the best manner they could, im- 
 proving the advantages of the evening and 
 night, to which alone their escape was ascribed. 
 In these actions the Americans took four 
 brass field-pieces, twelve brass drums, two 
 hundred and fifty dragoon swords, four ammu- 
 nition wagons, and about seven hundred prison- 
 ers, with their arms and accoutrements. Two 
 hundred and seven men were found dead upon 
 the spot, the numbers of wounded were un- 
 known. The loss of the Americans was but 
 small ; thirty were slain, and about forty were 
 wounded. Stark was not a little pleased at 
 having so fair an opportunity to vindicate his 
 own conduct. He had now shown that no ne- 
 glect from Congress had made him disaffected 
 9* 
 
102 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 to the American cause, and that he had ren- 
 dered a much more important service than he 
 could have done by joining Schuyler, and re- 
 maining inactive in his camp. Congress em- 
 braced the opportunity to assign to him his 
 rank; and though he had not given to them 
 any account of his victory, or wrote to them 
 at all upon the subject, on October the fourth 
 they resolved, " That the thanks of Congress 
 be presented to General Stark, of the New- 
 Hampshire militia, and the officers and troops 
 under his command, for their brave and suc- 
 cessful attack upon, and signal victory over 
 the enemy, in their lines at Bennington : and 
 that Brigadier Stark be appointed a brigadier- 
 general in the army of the United States." 
 And never were thanks more deserved, or more 
 wisely given to a military officer. 
 
 " In his official account of the affair. General 
 Stark thus writes: *It lasted two hours, the 
 hottest I ever saw in rmj life ; it represented one 
 continued clap of thunder : however, the enemy 
 were obliged to give way, and leave their field- 
 pieces and all their baggage behind them : they 
 were all environed within two breast-works 
 with artillery ; but our martial courage proved 
 too strong for them. I then gave orders to rally 
 
JOHN STARK. 103 
 
 ' again, in order to secure the victory ; but in a 
 few minutes was informed that there was a 
 large reinforcement on their march, within 
 two miles. Colonel Warner's regiment luckily 
 coming up at the moment, renewed the attack 
 with fresh vigour. I pushed forward as many 
 of the men as I could to their assistance ; the 
 battle continued obstinate on both sides until 
 sunset ; the enemy was obliged to retreat ; we 
 pursued them till dark, and had day lasted an 
 hour longer, should have taken the whole body 
 of them.' 
 
 "On what small events does the popular 
 humour and military success depend ! The cap- 
 ture of one thousand Germans by General 
 Washington, at Trenton, had served to wake up, 
 and save the whole continent. The exploit of 
 Stark at Bennington, operated with the same 
 kind of influence, and produced a similar effect. 
 
 This victory was the first event that had 
 proved encouraging to the Americans in the 
 northern department, since the death of General 
 Montgomery. Misfortune had succeeded mis- 
 fortune, and defeat had followed defeat from 
 that period till now. The present instance was 
 the first in which victory had quitted the royal 
 standard, or seemed even to be wavering. She 
 
104' HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 was now found with the American arms, and 
 the effect seemed, in fact, to be greater than the 
 cause. It raised the spirit of the country to an 
 uncommon degree of animation; and by 
 showing the militia what they could perform, 
 rendered them willing and desirous to turn out 
 and try what fortunes would await their ex- 
 ertions. It had a still greater effect on the 
 royal army. The British generals were sur- 
 prised to hear that an enemy whom they had 
 contemplated with no other feelings than those 
 of contempt, should all at once wake up, and 
 discover much of the spirit of heroism. To 
 advance upon the mouth of cannon, to attack 
 fortified lines, to carry strong entrenchments, 
 were exploits which they supposed belonged 
 exclusively to the armies of kings. To see a 
 body of American militia, ill dressed, but little 
 disciplined, without cannon, armed only with 
 farmers' guns,without bayonets, and who had 
 been accustomed to fly at their approach ; that 
 such men should force the entrenchments, cap- 
 ture the cannon, kill and make prisoners of a 
 large body of the royal army, was a matter of 
 indignation, astonishment and surprise." 
 
 "General Stark volunteered his services 
 under General Gates at Saratoga, and assisted in 
 
JOHN STARK. 105 
 
 the council which stipulated the surrender of 
 General Burgoyne ; nor did he relinquish his 
 valuable services till he could greet his native 
 country as an independent empire. General 
 Stark was of the middle stature, not formed by 
 nature to exhibit an erect soldierly mien. His 
 manners were frank and unassuming, but he 
 manifested a peculiar sort of eccentricity and 
 negligence, which precluded all display of 
 personal dignity, and seemed to place him 
 among those of ordinary rank in life. His 
 character, as a private citizen, was unblemished, 
 and he was ever held in respect. For the last 
 few years of his life, he enjoyed a pecuniary 
 bounty from the government. He lived to the 
 advanced age of ninety-three years, eight 
 months, and twenty-four days, and died May 
 8th, 1822." 
 
HUGH MERCER, 
 
 MajorGeneral in the American Armt. 
 
 To fight 
 In a just cause, and for our country's glory, 
 Is the best office of the best of men ; 
 And to decline when these motives urge, 
 Is infamy beneath a coward's baseness. 
 
 Havard's Regulus, 
 
 In the revolution which released our country 
 from the domination of Great Britain, foreign- 
 ers as -well as native Americans, espoused the 
 cause of the colonies. No examples are ne- 
 cessary to prove this : — we at once think of 
 Steuben, — of Lafayette, — of Kosciusko — of 
 the many who left their native land to strike a 
 blow for freedom in the Western World. 
 Numerous were the Britons, also, who joined 
 the standard of patriotism, even though it was 
 raised in opposition to the lion of their own 
 banner. Instances of two of the most cele- 
 brated of these, both for their noble qualities 
 and early deaths, — for they occurred during an 
 early period of the contest, — we see in James 
 Montgomery, and Hugh Mercer. The former 
 106 
 
HUGH MERCER. 107 
 
 we need not further mention in this place, — 
 but of the latter we will give a brief sketch. 
 
 Hugh Mercer was born near Aberdeen in 
 the north of Scotland, about the year 1723. 
 He studied medicine, and as an assistant surgeon 
 he was with the army of the Pretender, Charles 
 Edward, at the field of Culloden. That battle 
 was fought on the 16th April, 1746, and early 
 in the year 1747, Mercer, fleeing from Scotland 
 in consequence of his participation in the re- 
 bellion, landed at Philadelphia. Thirty years 
 afterwards his corpse was interred in that 
 place — and finally, on the 26th November 
 1840, his remains, with all the * pride, pomp, 
 and circumstance, of glorious war,' were re- 
 moved from their first resting place, and buried 
 in the beautiful cemetry of Laurel Hill, near 
 the same city. 
 
 From Philadelphia Mercer proceeded to the 
 frontier of Pennsylvania, and settled near 
 the present village of Mercersburg, Franklin 
 County. Here he remained engaged, it is be- 
 lieved, in farming occupations, until the com- 
 mencement of the French and Indian war of 
 1755. After Braddock's defeat, the whole 
 frontier of this province lay exposed to the 
 attacks of the savages. The colonists were 
 
108 HEROES OF TIIE REVOLUTION. 
 
 continually harassed by their incursions, and at 
 last the Legislature raised a force of three 
 hundred men, and gave the command to Colonel 
 John Armstrong, under whom Mercer was 
 appointed captain. The troops marched, in 
 1756, from Fort Shirley through a hostile 
 country to the Alleghany river, and, unknown 
 to the enemy, arrived at an Indian town called 
 Kittanln^, within twenty-five miles of Fort 
 Du Quesne. At day-break the Americans at- 
 tacked the place, and after a short action 
 carried the town, and completely destroyed it. 
 In this conflict Mercer was severel)'- wounded 
 in the right wrist and during the confusion 
 which succeeded the taking of the Fort, he 
 became separated from the rest of his company, 
 and was obliged to set off alone, for the settle- 
 ments. Becoming faint from loss of blood, 
 and hearing the war-whoop of a body of Indians 
 who approached, he secreted himself in the 
 hollow trunk of a large tree. The savages 
 came up, and stayed about the place some time^ 
 for the purpose of resting themselves, but soon 
 continued their way. Mercer then pushed on, 
 and, having reached the waters that emptied 
 into the Potomac, he finally, after wandering 
 
HUGH MERCER. 109 
 
 in the woods for some weeks, arrived at Fort 
 Cumberland. 
 
 In 1758, the provincial forces were reorga- 
 nized, and placed in a more effective condition. 
 Mercer was promoted to the rank of lieutenant- 
 colonel, and accompanied General Forbes in his 
 expedition to Fort Du Quesne. He was left 
 with two hundred men in charge of the fort, 
 and maintained it until he was relieved, not- 
 u'^hstanding the difficulties which attended it. 
 Washington — with whom Mercer first became 
 acquainted in this expedition — wrote to Gover- 
 nor Fauquier that the men left in the fort were 
 *^ in such a miserable condition, having hardly 
 rags to cover their nakedness, and exposed to 
 the inclemency of the weather in this inclem- 
 ent season, that sickness, death and desertion, 
 if they are not speedily supplied, must destroy 
 them." As soon as he was relived, Mercer 
 left the army, and repaired to Fredericksburg, 
 in Virginia, where he continued to practise his 
 profession. 
 
 ** The repose which the colonies enjoyed be- 
 tween the peace of 1763 and the beginning of 
 the revolution, was short and restless. The 
 young Nation lay, not in the slumber of ex- 
 haustion, but in the fitful sleep which the 
 10 
 
110 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 consciousness of a great futurity allows. It 
 slept too with arms by its side, and there 
 needed but the trumpet's feeblest note to arouse 
 it to action. The involuntary concord of the 
 Colonies at the outbreak of the Revolution is 
 one of its most singular characteristics. It 
 was a concord that transcended all mere po- 
 litical relations — it was beyond, and above all 
 political union. It was the instinctive appre- 
 ciation of common right, the quick sens^ of 
 common injury. There seemed to be but one 
 frame, and when the hand of tyranny was 
 rudely laid on a single member, the whole 
 system quivered beneath the contact, and braced 
 itself to resistance."* 
 
 None of the colonies was more distinguished 
 in the contest, for firm resistance to the arbi- 
 trary measures of the mother country, than 
 were MasAchusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia. 
 Hancock and Adams, Morris and Hopkinson, 
 Henry and Jefferson, — all were untiring in 
 their efforts to arouse their countrymen. Nor 
 were these alone : other men, less celebrated 
 in the annals of our country, perhaps, but yet 
 equally patriotic, aided them. Of these Mer- 
 <:er was one. On the 25th of April 1775, he 
 
 * Reed's eulogy on General Mercer. 
 
HUGH MERCER. Ill 
 
 wrote to Washington informing him of an 
 attack upon Williamsburg by some seamen 
 from a British vessel, and of their removal of 
 the powder from the magazine, by order of the 
 Governor. He also said that the volunteer 
 company of Fredericksburg intended to march 
 in a few days to Williamsburg to secure the 
 military stores yet remaiaing there. In June 
 of the same year Washington was appointed 
 Commander-in-chief, and on June 5th 1776, 
 at the instance of Washington himself, Mercer 
 was created Brigadier-General of the American 
 troops. 
 
 The army was at New York when Mercer 
 joined, and he remained with it constantly. 
 The projected attack on Staten Island was 
 confided to him — he was with the forces at 
 White Plains — during the retreat through New 
 Jersey, — and in short he continued in active 
 service until his death. 
 
 The Americans had at last retired across the 
 Delaware, but the gloomy appearance of their 
 prospects increased. In Philadelphia " all able 
 bodied men who were not conscientiously 
 scrupulous about bearing arms," were ordered 
 by General Putnam to " appear in the State 
 House yard with their arms and accoutrements," 
 
112 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 that they might be sent to reinforce General 
 Washington. With the assistance of these 
 militia, it was resolved by the Commander-in- 
 chief, — and the design was warmly seconded 
 by Greene, Reed, and Mercer, — to attack the 
 Hessian troops at Trenton. The result of this 
 plan need not be here given; it is too well 
 known to every reader of American history. 
 General Washington immediately after the 
 action recrossed the Delaware with his prison- 
 ers, and remained in his former position until 
 the 29th of December, when he again entered 
 New Jersey, and on the 2d of January met the 
 main body of the British troops. The approach 
 of darkness deferred the action, and during the 
 night a council of the American officers was 
 held to consider the means of rescuing them- 
 selves from the difficulties which surrounded 
 them. In this state of affairs Mercer proposed 
 the brilliant plan of ordering up the Phila- 
 delphia militia, and making a night march upon 
 Princeton and Brunswick. It was agreed to 
 without dissent and the troops were set in 
 motion. General Mercer commanded the ad- 
 vanced party, and as day broke he observed a 
 large body of British troops marching towards 
 Trenton. He immediately proposed to the 
 
HUGH MERCER. 113 
 
 Commander-in-chief to throw himself between 
 this corps, and their reserve at Princeton, and 
 thus bring on a general action, — and upon the 
 consent of Washington he executed the move- 
 ment. The Americans were however thrown 
 into confusion at the death of Colonel Hazlet, 
 and fell back. Mercer's horse was killed, but 
 notwithstanding that he was alone, he refused 
 to surrender and fought single handed with a 
 British detachment which advanced towards 
 him. The combat was too unequal, however, 
 and he was beaten down by the butts of mus- 
 kets and mortally wounded by bayonets. After 
 the American troops had gained the day he 
 was removed to a neighbouring house, and 
 there expired, January 12th, 1777. 
 
 "On the 14th of January the remains of 
 Mercer were brought to Philadelphia, and on the 
 next day but one were interred in the grave 
 from which they were removed to Laurel Hill 
 November 26th 1840. 
 
 "There are aged men yet amongst us — so 
 aged that before the brief remnant of this year 
 expires the generation may cease to live — who 
 remember the solemnity of that funeral. It 
 was the Nation mourning for her first child. 
 It was a people in sad amazement that a 
 10* 
 
114* HEROES OP THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 gallant citizen had indeed died for them. 
 And when the ancient inhabitants of this city 
 thus gathered in throngs to bear the soldier's 
 mangled corpse to its place of rest, it was com- 
 mitted to the ground with the sacred service 
 which bade them look to the promised day 
 when '^ the earth and the sea shall give up their 
 dead." The grave thus solemnly closed 
 has been unsealed — affectionately, reverently, 
 piously. — But yet upon the solemnities of this 
 day, the reproach of a vain and profane pageant 
 may fasten, if the mouldering remains of the 
 dead can be placed in the midst of the living 
 without stirring every heart to its very centre."* 
 
 * Reeds eulogy. Delivered at Philadelphia November 
 26th, 1840, when the remains of Mercer were disinterred 
 and again buried at Laurel ililL 
 
ETHAN ALLEN, 
 
 Brigadier-General in the American Armt. 
 
 General Allen was born in Salisbury, Con- 
 necticut, from whence, while he was yet 
 young, his parents emigrated to Vermont. By 
 this circumstance he was deprived of the ad- 
 vantages of an early education. But, although 
 he never felt its genial influence, nature had 
 endowed him with strong powers of mind ; and 
 when called to take the field, he showed him- 
 self an able leader, and an intrepid soldier. 
 
 At the commencement of the disturbances in 
 Vermont, about the year 1770, he took a most 
 active part in favour of the Green Mountain 
 Boys, as the first settlers were then called, in 
 opposition to the government of New York. 
 Bold, enterprising, and ambitious, he undertook 
 to direct the proceedings of the inhabitants, and 
 wrote several pamphlets to display the supposed 
 injustice and oppressive designs of the New 
 York proceedings. The uncultivated rough- 
 ness of his own temper and manners seems to 
 have assisted him in giving a just description of 
 the views and proceedings of speculating land- 
 
 115 
 
116 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 jobbers. His writings produced effects so hostile 
 to the views of the state of New York, that an 
 act of outlawry was passed against him, and five 
 hundred guineas were offered for his apprehen- 
 sion. But his party was too numerous and 
 faithful to permit him to be disturbed by any 
 apprehensions for his safety. In all the 
 struggles of the day he was successful, and 
 proved a valuable friend to those whose cause 
 he had espoused. 
 
 The news of the battle of Lexington deter- 
 mined Allen to engage on the side of his country, 
 and inspired him with the desire of demonstra- 
 ting his attachment to liberty by some bold 
 exploit. While in this state of mind, a plan 
 for taking Ticonderoga and Crown-Point by 
 surprise, which was formed by several gentle- 
 men in Connecticut, was communicated to 
 him, and he readily engaged in the project. 
 Receiving directions from the General Assembly 
 of Connecticut, to raise the Green Mountain 
 Boys and conduct the enterprise, he collected 
 two hundred and thirty of the hardy settlers, 
 and proceeded to Castleton. Here he was 
 unexpectedly joined by Col. Arnold, who had 
 been commissioned by the Massachusetts com- 
 mittee to raise four hundred men, and effect 
 
ETHAN ALLEN. 117 
 
 the same oljt'ct which was now about to be 
 accomplished. They reached the lake opposite 
 Ticonderoga on the evening of the 9th of 
 May, 1775. With the utmost difficulty boats 
 were procured, and eighty-three men M-ere 
 landed near the garrison* Arnold now wished 
 to assume the command, to lead on the men, 
 and swore that he would go in himself the first. 
 Allen swore that he should not. The dispute 
 beginning to run high, some of the gentlemen 
 present interposed, and it was agreed that both 
 should go in together, Allen on the right hand, 
 and Arnold on the left. The following is 
 Allen's own account of the affair : — 
 
 " The first systematical and bloody attempt 
 at Lexington, to enslave America, thoroughly 
 electrified my mind, and fully determined me 
 to take a part with my country. And while I 
 was wishing for an opportunity to signalize 
 nnyself in its behalf, directions were privately 
 gent to me from the then colony, now state of 
 Connecticut, to raise the Green Mountain Boys, 
 and, if possible, with them to surprise and take 
 the fortress of Ticonderoga. This enterprise I 
 cheerfully undertook : and after first guarding 
 all the several passes that led thither, to cut off 
 all intelligence between the garrison ancMhe 
 
118 HEUOES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 country, made a forced march from Bennington, 
 and arrived at the lake opposite Ticonderoga on 
 the evening of the 9th day of May, 1775, with 
 two hundred and thirty valiant Green-mountain 
 Boys ; and it was with the utmost difficulty 
 that I procured boats to cross the lake. 
 However, I landed eighty-three men near the 
 garrison, and sent the boats back for the rear- 
 guard, commanded by Col. Seth Warner ; but 
 the day began to dawn, and I found myself 
 necessitated to attack the fort before the rear 
 could cross the lake ; and as it was viewed 
 hazardouf, I harangued the officers and soldiers 
 in the manner following : — * Friends and 
 fellow-soldiersj you have, for a number of 
 years past, been a scourge and terror to 
 arbitrary powers. Your valour has been famed 
 abroad, and acknowledged, as appears by the 
 advice and orders to me from the General 
 Assembly of Connecticut, to surprise and take 
 the garrison now before us. I now propose to 
 advance before you, and in person conduct you 
 through the wicket-gate ; for we must this 
 morning either quit our pretensions to valour, 
 or possess ourselves of this fortress in a few 
 minutes; and inasmuch as it is a desperate 
 attempt, which none but the bravest of men 
 
ETHAN ALLEN. 119 
 
 dare undertake, I do not urge it on any contrary 
 to his will. You that will undertake volunta- 
 rily, poise your firelock.' 
 
 " The men being at this time drawn up in 
 three ranks, each poised his firelock. I ordered 
 them to face to the right, and at the head of 
 the centre file, marched them immediately to 
 the wicket-gate aforesaid, where I found a sentry 
 posted, who instantly snapped his fusee at me. 
 I ran immediately towards him, and he 
 retreated through the covered way into the 
 parade within the garrison, gave a halloo, and 
 ran under a bomb-proof. My pa^ty, who 
 followed me into the fort, I formed on the 
 parade in such a manner as to face the barracks, 
 which faced each other. The garrison being 
 asleep, except the sentries, we gave three 
 huzzas, which greatly surprised them. One 
 of the sentries made a pass at one of my officers 
 with a charged bayonet, and slightly wounded 
 him. My first thought was to kill him with 
 my sword, but in an instant I altered the design 
 and fury of the blow to a slight cut on the side 
 of the head ; upon which he dropped his gun 
 and asked quarters, which I readily granted 
 him ; and demanded the place were the com- 
 manding officer kept. He showed me a pair of 
 
120 HEROES OF THE nEVOLUTION. 
 
 stairs in the front of the garrison, wliich 
 led up to a second story in said barracks, to 
 which I immediately repaired, and ordered 
 the commander, Captain Delaplace, to come 
 forth instantly, or I would sacrifice the whole 
 garrison ; at which time the captain came 
 immediately to the door with his breeches in 
 his hand, when I ordered him to deliver to me 
 the fort instantly; he asked me by what 
 authority I demanded it. I answered him, * In 
 the name of the great Jehovah, and the 
 Continental Congress.' The authority of 
 Congress being very little known at that time, 
 he began to speak again : but I interrupted him, 
 and witli my drawn sword near his head, again 
 demanded an immediate surrender of the 
 garrison 5 with which he then complied, and 
 ordered his men to be forthwith paraded 
 without arms, as he had given up the garrison. 
 In the meantime, some of my officers had given 
 orders, and in consequence thereof, sundry of 
 the barrack doors were beat down, and about 
 one third of the garrison imprisoned, which 
 consisted of said commander, a Lieutenant 
 Feliham, a conductor of artillery, a gunner, 
 two sergeants, and forty-four rank and file; 
 about one hundred pieces of cannon, one 
 
ETHAN ALLEN. 121 
 
 thirteen inch mortar, and a number of swivels. 
 This surprise was carried into execution in the 
 gray of the mornino; of the 10th of May, 1775. 
 The sun seemed to rise that morning with a 
 superior lustre ; and Ticonderoga and its de- 
 pendencies smiled on its conquerors, who tossed 
 about the flowing bowl, and wished success to 
 Congress, and the liberty and freedom of 
 America. Happy it was for me, at that time, 
 that the future pages of the book of fate, which 
 afterwards unfolded a miserable scene of two 
 years and eight months' imprisonment, were hid 
 from my view." 
 
 This brilliant exploit secured to Allen a high 
 reputation for intrepid valour throughout the 
 country. In the fall of 1775, he was sent 
 twice into Canada to observe the dispositions 
 of the people, and attach them, if possible, to 
 the American cause. During one of these 
 excursions, he made a rash and romantic 
 attempt upon Montreal. He had been sent by 
 General Montgomery, with a guard of eighty 
 men, on a tour into the villages in the neigh- 
 bourhood. On his return he was met by a 
 Major Brown, who had been on the same 
 business. It was agreed between them to make 
 a descent upon the island of Montreal. Allen 
 11 
 
122 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 was to cross the river, and land with his party 
 a little north of the city j while Brown was to 
 pass over a little to the south, with near two 
 hundred men. Allen crossed the river in the 
 night, as had been proposed; but, by some 
 means, Brown and his party failed. Instead 
 of returning, Allen, with great rashness, con- 
 cluded to maintain his ground. General 
 Carlton soon received intelligence of Allen's 
 situation and the smallness of his numbers, and 
 marched out against him with about forty 
 regulars, and a considerable number of English, 
 Canadians, and Indians, amounting, in the 
 whole, to some hundreds. Allen attempted to 
 defend himself, but it was to no purpose. 
 Being deserted by several of his men, and 
 having fifteen killed, he, with thirty-eight of 
 his men, were taken prisoners. 
 
 He was now kept for some time in irons, 
 and was treated with the most rigorous and 
 unsparing cruelty. From his narrative, it 
 appears that the irons placed on him were 
 uncommonly heavy, and so fastened, that he 
 could not lie down otherwise than on his back. 
 A chest was his seat by day and his bed by 
 night. Soon after his capture, still loaded with 
 irons, he was sent to England, being assured 
 
 J 
 
ETHAN ALLEN. 1^3 
 
 that the halter would be the reward of his 
 rebellion when he arrived there. Finding that 
 threats and menaces had no effect upon him, 
 hio;h command and a laro^e tract of the con- 
 quered country, were afterward offered him, 
 on condition that he would join the British. 
 To the last he replied, " that he viewed their 
 offer of conquered United States land to be 
 similar to that which the devil offered to Jesus 
 Christ : to give him all the kingdoms of the 
 world, if he would fall down and worship him, 
 when, at the same time, the poor devil had not 
 one foot of land upon earth." 
 
 After his arrival, about the middle of 
 December, he was lodged, for a short time, in 
 Pendennis Castle, near Falmouth. On the 8th 
 of January, 1776, he was put on board a frigate, 
 and by a circuitous route again carried to 
 Halifax. Here he remained closely confined 
 in the jail from June to October, when he was 
 removed to New- York. During the passage to 
 this place, Captain Burke, a daring prisoner, 
 proposed to kill the British captain, and seize 
 the frigate ; but Allen refused to engage in the 
 plot, and was probably the means of saving 
 the life of Captain Smith, who had treated him 
 with kindness. He was kept at New- York 
 
124« HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 about a year and a half, sometimes imprisoned, 
 and sometimes permitted to be on parole. 
 While here, he had an opportunity to observe 
 the inhuman manner in which the American 
 prisoners were treated. In one of the churches 
 in which they were crowded, he saw seven 
 lying dead at one time, and others biting 
 pieces of chips from hunger. He calculated, 
 that of the prisoners taken on Long-Island and 
 at Fort-Washington, near two thousand perished 
 by hunger and cold, or in consequence of 
 diseases occasioned by the impurity of their 
 prisons. 
 
 Colonel Allen was exchanged for a Colonel 
 Campbell, May 6th, 1778, and after having 
 repaired to head quarters, and offered his 
 services to General Washington, in case his 
 health should be restored, he returned to Ver- 
 mont. His arrival on -the evening of the last 
 day of May gave his friends great joy, and it 
 was announced by the discharge of cannon. 
 As an expression of confidence in his patriotism 
 and military talents, he was very soon ap- 
 pointed to the command of the state militia. 
 His intrepidity, however, was never again 
 brought to the test, though his patriotism was 
 tried by an unsuccessful attempt of the British 
 
ETHAN ALLEN. 125 
 
 to bribe him to attempt a union of Vermont 
 with Canada. He died suddenly on his estate, 
 February 13th, 1789. 
 
 General Allen was brave, humane, and gen- 
 erous ; yet his conduct does not seem to have 
 been much influenced by considerations res- 
 pecting that holy and merciful Being, whose 
 character and whose commands are disclosed 
 to us in the Scriptures. His notions with re- 
 gard to religion were loose and absurd. He 
 believed with Pythagoras, the heathen phil- 
 osopher, that man, after death, would trans- 
 migrate into beasts, birds, fishes, reptiles, &c. 
 and often informed his friends that he himself 
 expected to live again in the form of a large 
 white horse. 
 
 11* 
 
JOHN CADWALADER, 
 
 Brigadier-General in the American Army. 
 
 This zealous and inflexible friend of America 
 ^vas born in Philadelphia, 174-2. He was 
 distinguished for his intrepidity as a soldier, 
 in upholding the cause of freedom during the 
 most discouraging periods of danger and mis- 
 fortune that America ever beheld. 
 
 At the dawn of the revolution, he com- 
 manded a corps of volunteers, designated as 
 " The silk stocking company," of which nearly 
 all the members were appointed to commissions 
 in the line of the army. He afterwards was 
 appointed colonel of one of the city battalions, 
 and being thence promoted to the rank of 
 brigadier-general, was intrusted with the com- 
 mand of the Pennsylvania troops, in the 
 important operations of the winter campaign 
 of 1776 and 1777. He acted with this com- 
 mand, as a volunteer, in the actions of Prince- 
 ton, Brandy wine, Germantown, and Monmouth, 
 and on other occasions,. and received the thanks 
 of General Washington, whose confidence and 
 regard he uniformly enjoyed. 
 
 126 
 
JOHN CADWALADER. 127 
 
 The merits and services of General Cadwal- 
 ader, induced Congress, early in 1778, to 
 compliment him, by a unanimous vote, with 
 the appointment of general of cavalry ; which 
 appointment he declined, under an impression 
 that he could be more useful to his country in 
 the sphere in which he had been acting. 
 
 He was strongly and ardently attached to 
 General Washington, and his celebrated duel 
 with General Conway arose from his spirited 
 opposition to the intrigues of that officer to 
 undermine the standing of the commander-in- 
 chief. The following anecdote of the ren- 
 counter is related in the "Anecdotes of the 
 Revolutionary War." 
 
 " The particulars of this duel, originating in 
 the honourable feelings of General Cadwalader, 
 indignant at the attempt of his adversary to 
 injure the reputation of the commander-in- 
 chief, by representing him as unqualified for 
 the exalted station which he held, appears 
 worthy of record. Nor ought the coolness 
 observed on the occasion by the parties to be 
 forgotten, as it evinces very strongly, that 
 though imperious circumstances may compel 
 men of nice feeling to meet, the dictates of 
 honour may be satisfied without the smallest 
 
128 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 deviation from the most rigid rules of politeness. 
 When arrived at the appointed rendezvous, 
 General Cadwalader, accompanied by General 
 Dickenson, of Pennsylvania, General Conway 
 by Colonel Morgan, of Princeton, it was agreed 
 upon by the seconds, that on the word being 
 given, the principals might fire in their own 
 time, and at discretion, either by an off-hand 
 shot, or by taking a deUberate aim. The 
 parties having declared themselves ready, the 
 word was given to proceed. General Conway 
 immediately raised his pistol, and fired with 
 great composure, but without effect. General 
 Cadwalader was about to do so, when a sudden 
 gust of wind occurring, he kept his pistol down 
 and remained tranquil. ' Why do you not fire, 
 General Cadwalader? exclaimed Conway. 
 'Because,' replied General Cadwalader, ' we 
 came not here to trifle. Let the gale pass and 
 I shall act my part.' ' You shall have a fair 
 chance of performing it well,' rejoined Con- 
 way, and immediately presented a full front. 
 General Cadwalader fired, and his ball enterinoj 
 the mouth of his antagonist, he fell directly 
 forward on his face. Colonel Morgan running 
 to his assistance, found the blood spouting from 
 behind his neck, and lifting up the club of his 
 
JOHN CADWALADER. 129 
 
 hair, saw the ball drop from it. It had passed 
 through his head, greatly to the derangement 
 of his tongue and teeth, but did not inflict a 
 inortal wound. As soon as the blood was 
 sufficiently washed away to allow him to speak. 
 General Conway, turning to his opponent, said, 
 good humouredly, ' You fire, general, with much 
 deliberation, and certainly with a great deal of 
 effect.' The parties then parted, free from all 
 resentment." 
 
 This patriotic and exemplary man died Feb- 
 ruary 10th, 1786. In his private life he 
 exemplified all the virtues that ennoble the 
 character of man. His conduct was not 
 marked with the least degree of malevolence 
 or party spirit. Those who honestly differed 
 from him in opinion, he always treated with 
 singular tenderness. In sociability and cheer- 
 fulness of temper, honesty and goodness of 
 heart, independence of spirit, and warmth of 
 friendship, he had no superior. Never did any 
 man die more lamented by his friends and 
 neighbours ; to his family and relations his 
 death was a stroke still more severe. 
 
THOMAS CONWAY, 
 
 Major-General in the American Army. 
 
 " This gentleman was born in Ireland, and 
 went with his parents to France at the age of 
 six years, and was, from his youth, educated to 
 the profession of arms. He had obtained con- 
 siderable reputation as a military officer, and 
 as a man of sound understanding and judgment. 
 He arrived from France with ample recom- 
 mendations, and Congress appointed him a 
 brigadier-general in May, 1777. He soon be- 
 came conspicuously inimical to General Wash- 
 ington, and sought occasions to traduce his 
 character. In this he found support from a 
 faction in Congress, who were desirous that 
 ike commander-in-chief should be superseded. 
 The Cono;ress not lono; after elected General 
 Conway to the office of inspector-general to 
 our army, with the rank of Major-general, 
 though he had insulted the commander-in-chief, 
 and justified himself in doing so. This gave 
 umbrage to the brigadiers over whom he was 
 promoted, and they remonstrated to Congress 
 against the proceeding, as implicating their 
 130 
 
THOMAS CONWAY. 131 
 
 Honour and character. Conway, now smarting 
 under the imputation of having instigated a 
 hostile faction against the ilkistrious Washing- 
 ton, and being extremely unpopular among the 
 officers in general, and finding his situation did 
 not accord with his feelings and views, resigned 
 his commission, without having commenced 
 the duties of inspector. He was believed to 
 be an unprincipled intriguer, and after his 
 resignation, his calumny and detraction of the 
 commander-in-chief, and the army generally, 
 were exercised with unrestrained virulence and 
 outrage. 
 
 No man was more zealously engaged in the 
 scheme of elevating General Gates to the station 
 of commander-in-chief. His vile insinuations 
 and direct assertions in the public newspapers, 
 and in private conversations, relative to the 
 incapacity of Washington k) conduct the op- 
 erations of the army, received countenance 
 from several members of Congress, who were 
 induced to declare their want of confidence in 
 him, and the affair assumed an aspect threat- 
 ening the most disastrous consequences. 
 Conway maintained a correspondence with 
 General Gates on the subject, and in one of 
 his letters he thus expresses himself : " Heaven 
 
132 HEROP.S OF THfi REVOLUTION. 
 
 has been determined to save your country, or 
 a weak general and bad counsellors would have 
 ruined it." He was himself at that time one of 
 the counsellors against whom he so basely in- 
 veighs. Envy and malice ever are attendant 
 on exalted genius and merit. But the delusion 
 was of short continuance ; the name of Wash- 
 ington proved unassailable, and the base in- 
 trigue of Conway recoiled with bitterness on 
 his own head. 
 
 General Cadwalader, of Pennsylvania, in- 
 dignant at the attempt to vilify the character 
 of Washington, resolved to avenge himself on 
 the aggressor in personal combat. The par- 
 ticulars of this meeting are given in the biogra- 
 phy of General Cadwalader. General Conway, 
 conceiving his wound to be mortal, and be- 
 lieving death to be near, acted honourably in 
 addressing to Gei^ral Washington, whom he 
 had perfidiously slandered, the following letter 
 of apology : 
 
 « Philadelphia, Feb. 23, 1778. 
 
 " Sir, — ^I find myself just able to hold my 
 pen during a few minutes, and take this op- 
 portunity of expressing my sincere grief for 
 having done, written, or said any thing dis- 
 agreeable to your excellency. My career will 
 
THOMAS CONWAY. 133 
 
 soon be over, therefore, jastice and truth 
 prompt me to declare my last sentiments. 
 You are, in my eyes, the great and good man. 
 May you long enjoy the love, esteem, and 
 veneration of these states, whose liberties you 
 have asserted by your virtues. 
 
 I am, with the greatest respect, 
 Your Excellency's 
 
 Most obedient and humble servant, 
 THS. CONWAY « 
 
 l^ 
 
, WILLIAM RICHARDSON DAVIE, 
 
 Colonel-Commandant of the State Cavalry of North-Carolina. 
 
 Colonel Davie was born in the village oi 
 Egremont, in England, on the 20th of June, 
 1759. His father, visiting South Carolina soon 
 after the peace of 1763, brought vi^ith him this 
 son; and returning to England, confided him 
 to the Rev. William Richardson, his maternal 
 uncle : who becoming much attached to his 
 nephew, not only took charge of his education, 
 but adopted him as his son and heir. At the 
 proper age, William was sent to an academy 
 in North Carolina ; from whence he was, 
 after a few years, removed to the college of 
 Nassau-Hall, in Princeton, New Jersey, then 
 becoming the resort of most of the southern 
 youth, under the auspices of the learned and 
 respectable Dr. Witherspoon. Here he 
 finished his education, graduating in the 
 autumn of 1776, a year memorable in our 
 military as well as civil annals. 
 
 Returning home, young Davie found himself 
 shut out for a time from the army, as the 
 commissions for the troops just levied had been 
 134 
 
WILLIAM RICHARDSON DAVIE. 135 
 
 issued. He went to Salisbury, where he com- 
 menced the study of law. The war con- 
 tinuing, contrary to the expectations which 
 generally, prevailed when it began, Davie could 
 no longer resist the wish to plant himself 
 among the defenders of his country. Inducing 
 a worthy and popular friend, rather too old 
 for military service, to raise a troop of dra- 
 goons, as the readiest mode of accomplishing 
 his object, Davie obtained a lieutenancy in 
 this troop. Without delay the captain joined 
 the southern army, and soon afterward return- 
 ed home on a furlough. The command of 
 the troop devolving on Lieutenant Davie, it 
 was, at his request, annexed to the legion of 
 Count Pulaski, where Captain Davie continued, 
 until promoted by Major-General Lincoln to 
 the station of brigade-major of cavalry. In 
 this office Davie served until the affair at Stono, 
 devoting his leisure to the acquirement of 
 professional knowledge, and rising fast in the 
 esteem of the general and army. When 
 Lincoln attempted to dislodge Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Maitland from his entrenched camp on 
 the Stono, Davie received a severe wound, and 
 was removed from camp to the hospital in 
 
136 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 Charleston, where he was confined five 
 months. 
 
 Soon after his recovery, he was empowered 
 by the government of North Carolina to raise 
 a small legionary corps, consisting of one troop 
 of dragoons and two companies of mounted 
 infantry ; at the head of which he was placed 
 with the rank of major. 
 
 Quickly succeeding in completing his corps, 
 in whose equipment he expended the last 
 remaining shilling of an estate bequeathed to 
 him by his uncle, he took the field, and was 
 sedulously engaged in protecting the country 
 between Charlotte and Camden from the 
 enemy's predatory excursions. On the fatal 
 19th of August, he was hastening with his 
 corps to join the army, when he met our dis- 
 persed and flying troops. He nevertheless 
 continued to advance toward the conqueror; 
 and by his prudence, zeal, and vigilance, saved 
 a few of our wagons, and many of our strag- 
 glers. Acquainted with the movement of 
 Sumpter, and justly apprehending that he 
 would be destroyed unless speedily advised of 
 the defeat of Gates, he despatched imme- 
 diately a courier to that officer, communicating 
 what had happened, performing, in the midst 
 
WILLIAM KICHAEDSON DAVIE. 137 
 
 of distress and confusion, the part of an ex- 
 perienced captain. 
 
 So much was his conduct respected by the 
 ECovernment of North Carolina, that he was in 
 the course of September promoted to the rank 
 of colonel commandant ©f the cavalry of the 
 state. 
 
 At the two gloomiest epochs of the southern 
 war, soon after the fall of Charleston and the 
 overthrow of Gates, it was the good fortune 
 of Colonel Davie to be the first to shed a gleam 
 through the surrounding darkness, and give 
 hope to the country by the brilliancy of his 
 exploits. In one instance, without loss or in- 
 jury on his part, he entirely destroyed an 
 escort of provisions, taking forty prisoners, 
 with their horses and arms. In the other, 
 under the immediate eye of a large British 
 force, which was actually beating to arms to 
 attack him, he routed a party stronger than his 
 own, killing and wounding sixty of the enemy, 
 and carrying off with him ninety-six horses 
 and one hundred and twenty stand of arms. 
 
 When Lord Cornwallis entered Charlotte, a 
 
 small village in North Carolina, Colonel Davie, 
 
 at the head of his detachment, threw himself 
 
 in his front, determined to give him a specimen 
 
 12* 
 
138 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 of the firmness and gallantry with which the 
 inhabitants of the place were prepared to dis- 
 pute with his lordship their native soil. 
 
 Colonel Tarlton's legion formed the British 
 van, led by Major Hanger, the commander 
 himself being confined by sickness. When 
 that celebrated corps had advanced near to the 
 centre of the village, where the Americans 
 were posted, Davie poured into it so destruc- 
 tive a fire, that it immediately wheeled and 
 retired in disorder. Being rallied on the 
 commons, and again led on to the charge, it 
 received on the same spot another fire with 
 similar effect. 
 
 Lord Coinwallis witnessing the confusion 
 thus produced among his choicest troops, rode 
 up in person, and in a tone of dissatisfaction 
 upbraided the legion with unsoldierly conduct, 
 reminding it of its former exploits and reputa- 
 tion. 
 
 Pressed on his flanks by the British infantry, 
 Colonel Davie had now fallen back to a new 
 and well selected position. To dislodge him 
 from this, the legion cavalry advanced on him 
 a third time, in rapid charge, in full view 
 of their commander-in-chief, but in vain. 
 Another fire from the American marksmen 
 
WILLIAM RICHARDSON DAVIE. 139 
 
 killed several of their officers, wounded Major 
 Hanger, and repulsed them again with increased 
 confusion. 
 
 The main body of the British being now 
 within musket shot, the American leader 
 abandoned the contest. 
 
 It was by strokes like these that he seriously 
 crippled and intimidated his enemy, acquired 
 an elevated standing in the estimation of his 
 friends, and served very essentially the interest 
 of freedom. 
 
 In this station he was found by General 
 Greene, on assuming the command of the 
 southern army ; whose attention had been oc- 
 cupied from his entrance into North Carolina, 
 in remedying the disorder in the quarter-master 
 and commissary departments. To the first, 
 Carrington had been called ; and Davie was 
 now induced to take upon himself the last, 
 much as he preferred the station he then 
 possessed. At the head of this department. 
 Colonel Davie remained throughout the trying 
 campaign which followed, contributing greatly 
 by his talents, his zeal, his local knowledge, 
 and his influence, to the maintenance of the 
 difficult and successful operations which fol- 
 lowed. While before Ninety-Six, Greene, 
 
140 HEROES OF THE P.EVOLUTION. 
 
 foreseeing: the difficulties ao;ain to be encoun- 
 tered in consequence of the accession of force 
 to the enemy by the arrival of three regiments 
 from Ireland, determined to send a confidential 
 officer to the legislature of North Carolina, 
 then in session, to represent to them his relative 
 condition, and to urge their adoption of effectual 
 measures without delay, for the collection of 
 magazines of provisions and the reinforcement 
 of the army. Colonel Davie was selected by 
 Greene for this important mission, and immedi- 
 ately repaired to the seat of government, where 
 he ably and faithfully exerted himself to give 
 effect to the views of his general. 
 
 The effect of the capture of Cornwallis as- 
 suring the quick return of peace. Colonel 
 Davie returned home, and resumed the profes- 
 sion with the practice of the law in the town 
 of Halifax, on the Roanoke. 
 
 He was afterward governor of North Caro- 
 lina, and one of our ambassadors to France at 
 a very portentous conjuncture. 
 
 The war in the south was ennobled by great 
 and signal instances of individual and parti zan 
 valour and enterprise. Scarcely do the most 
 high drawn heroes of fiction surpass, in their 
 darings and extraordinary achievements, many 
 
WILLIAM RICHARDSON DAVIE. HI 
 
 of the real ones of Pickens, Marion, Sumpter, 
 and Davie, who figured in the southern states 
 during the conflict of the revolution. 
 
 Colonel Davie, although younger by several 
 years, possessed talents of a higher order, and 
 was much more accomplished in education and 
 manners, than either of his three competitors 
 for fame. For the comeliness of his person, 
 his martial air, his excellence in horsemanship, 
 and his consummate powers of field eloquence, 
 he had scarcely an equal in the armies of his 
 country. But his chief excellence lay in the 
 magnanimity and generosity of his soul, his 
 daring courage, his vigilance and address, and 
 his unrelaxing activity and endurance of toil. 
 If he was less frequently engaged in actual 
 combat than either of his three compeers, it 
 was not because he was inferior to either 
 of them in enterprise or love of battle. His 
 district being more interior, was, at first, less 
 frequently invaded by British detachments. 
 When, however, Lord Cornwallis ultimately 
 advanced into that quarter, his scouts and 
 foraging parties found in Colonel Davie and 
 his brave associates, as formidable an enemy 
 as they had ever encountered. 
 
CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN, 
 
 Brigadier*G£Nera.l and LieotenantGovernor of Sodtb 
 Carolina. 
 
 This venerable patriot of the revolution was 
 born in Charleston, about the year 1724. He 
 was sent to England by his father, while a 
 youth, where he was educated. At the age 
 of sixteen he returned to Carolina, and finished 
 his education in the counting-house of Mr. 
 Lawrence, of Philadelphia. 
 
 General Gadsden had naturally a strong love 
 for independence. He was born a republican. 
 Under a well ordered government he was a 
 good subject, but could not brook the encroach- 
 ments of any man, or body of men, to entrench 
 on his rights. 
 
 "As early as 1766," says Judge Johnson, 
 " there was at least one man in South Carolina 
 who foresaw and foretold the views of the 
 British government, and explicitly urged his 
 adherents to the resolution to resist even to 
 death. General Gadsden, it is well known, 
 always favoured the most decisive and energetic 
 measures. He thought it folly to temporize, 
 142 
 
CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN. 143 
 
 and insisted that cordial reconciliation, on 
 honourable terms, was impossible. When 
 the news of the repeal of the stamp-act arrived, 
 and the whole community was in ecstacy at 
 the event, he, on the contrary, received it with 
 indignation, and privately convening a party 
 of his friends, he harangued them at con- 
 siderable length on the folly of relaxing their 
 opposition and vigilance, or indulging the 
 fallacious hope that Great-Britain would re- 
 linquish her designs or pretensions. He drew 
 their attention to the preamble of the act, and 
 forcibly pressed upon them the absurdity of 
 rejoicing at an act that still asserted and main- 
 tained the absolute dominion over them. And 
 then reviewing all the chances of succeeding 
 in a struggle to break the fetters, when again 
 imposed upon them, he pressed them to prepare 
 their minds for the event. The address was 
 received with silent but profound devotion ; 
 and with linked hands, the whole party pledged 
 themselves to resist ; a pledge that was faith- 
 fully redeemed when the hour of trial arrived." 
 "In June, 1775, when the Provincial 
 Congress determined to raise troops, Gadsden, 
 though absent on public duty at Philadelphia, 
 was, without his consent or knowledge, elected 
 
144 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 colonel of the first regiment. For personal 
 courage he was inferior to no man. In know- 
 ledge of the military art, he had several 
 equals, and some superiors ; but from the great 
 confidence reposed in his patriotism, and the 
 popularity of his name, he was put at the head 
 of the new military establishment. He left 
 Congress, and repaired to the camp in Carolina, 
 declaring that ' wherever his country placed 
 him, whether in the civil or military depart- 
 ment ; and if in the latter, whether as corporal 
 or colonel, he would cheerfully serve to the 
 utmost of his ability.' " 
 
 In the next year he was promoted by Con- 
 gress to the rank of brigadier-general. He 
 commanded at Fort-Johnson, when the fort 
 on Sullivan's Island was attacked ; and he was 
 prepared to receive the enemy in their progress 
 to Charleston. The repulse of the British pre- 
 vented his coming into action. Their retreat 
 relieved South Carolina from the pressure of 
 war for two years. In this period, Gadsdeit 
 resigned his military command, but continued 
 to serve in the assembly and the privy council, 
 and was very active in preparing for and 
 endeavouring to repel the successive invasions 
 of the state by the British in 1779 and 1780. 
 
CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN. 145 
 
 He was the friend of every vigorous measure, 
 and ahvays ready to undertake the most 
 laborious duties, and to put himself in the front 
 of danger. 
 
 When Charleston surrendered by capitula- 
 tion, he was lieutenant-governor, and paroled 
 as such, and honourably kept his engagement. 
 For the three months which followed, he was 
 undisturbed ; but on the defeat of Gates, in 
 August, 1780, the British resolved that he and 
 several others, who discovered no disposition 
 to return to the condition of British subjects, 
 should be sent out of the country. He was 
 accordingly taken in his own house by a file 
 of soldiers, and put on board a vessel in the 
 harbour. He knew not why he was taken up, 
 nor what was intended to be done with him, 
 but supposed it was introductory to a trial 
 for treason or rebellion, as the British gave 
 out that the country was completely con- 
 quered. 
 
 He was soon joined by twenty-eight com- 
 patriots, who were also taken up on the same 
 day. 
 
 He drew from his pocket half a dollar, and 
 turning to his associates with a cheerful coun- 
 tenance, assured them that was all the money 
 13 
 
146 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 he had at his command. The conquerors sent 
 him and his companions to St. Augustine, then 
 a British garrison. 
 
 On their landing, limits of some extent were 
 offered to them, on condition of their renewing 
 the parole they had given in Charleston, " to 
 do nothing injurious to the British interest." 
 When this was tendered to General Gadsden, 
 he replied, " That he had already given one, 
 and honourably observed it ; that, in violation 
 of his rights as a prisoner under a capitulation, 
 he had been sent from Charleston, and that, 
 therefore, he saw no use in giving a second 
 parole." The commanding officer replied, 
 ^*He would enter into no arguments, but 
 demanded an explicit answer whether he 
 ■ would or would not renew his parole." Gene- 
 • ral Gadsden answered with that high-minded 
 republican spirit which misfortunes could not 
 keep down, " I will not. In God I put my 
 trust, and fear no consequences." " Think 
 better of it, sir," said the officer • " a second 
 refusal will fix your destiny ; a dungeon will 
 be your future habitation." "Prepare it 
 then," said the inflexible patriot, " I will give 
 no parole, so help me God.''* He was instantly 
 hurried off to the castle, and there confined for 
 
CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN. 147 
 
 ten months in a small room, and in a state of 
 complete separation from his fellow-prisoners, 
 and in total ignorance of the advantages gained 
 by his countrymen, but with most ample 
 details of their defeats, and particularly of 
 the sequestration of his estate with that of the 
 other Carolina rebels. 
 
 After Andre's arrest. Colonel Glazier, the 
 governor of the castle, sent to advise General 
 Gadsden to prepare himself for the worst, 
 intimating that as General Washington had 
 been assured of retaliation if Andre was 
 executed, it was not unlikely that he would 
 be the person selected. To this message he 
 magnanimously replied, " That he was always 
 prepared to die for his country, and that he 
 would rather ascend the scaffold than purchase 
 with his life the dishonour of his country." 
 
 In the course of 1781, the victories of 
 General Greene procured an equivalent for 
 the release of all the prisoners belonging to 
 South Carolina. Mr. Gadsden was discharged 
 from close confinement, and rejoined his 
 fellow-prisoners. The reciprocal congratula- 
 tions on the change of circumstances, and 
 on seeing each other after ten months separa- 
 tion, though in the same garrison, may be 
 
14^ HEROES OP THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 more easily conceived than expressed. They 
 were all conveyed by water from St. Augustine 
 to Philadelphia, and there delivered. On 
 their arrival they were informed, for the first 
 time, of the happy turn American affairs had 
 taken subsequent to Gates' defeat. General 
 Gadsden hastened back to Carolina to aid in 
 recovering it from the British. He was elected 
 a member of the assembly which met at 
 Jacksonborough in 1782. 
 
 General Gadsden continued in the country 
 throughout the year 1782, serving as one of 
 the governor's council. On the 14th of 
 December, 1782, he, with the American army 
 and citizens, made their triumphant entry into 
 Charleston in the rear of the evacuating 
 British. In the first moment of his return, 
 after an absence of more than two years, he 
 had the pleasure of seeing the British fleet, 
 upward of three hundred sail, in the act of 
 departing from the port, and the capital, as 
 well as the country, restored to its proper 
 owners. Mr. Gadsden henceforward devoted 
 himself to private pursuits, but occasionally 
 served in the assembly, and with unspeakable 
 delight in the two state conventions; the one 
 for the ratification of the national constitution 
 
CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN. 149 
 
 in 1788, and the other for revising the state 
 constitution in 1790. 
 
 He survived his 81st year, generally en- 
 joying good health, and at last died, more 
 from the consequences of an accidental fall 
 than the weight of disease, or decays of nature. 
 
 His opinions of lawyers were not favourable. 
 He considered their pleadings as generally 
 tending to obscure what was plain, and to 
 make difficulties where there were none ; and 
 much more subservient to render their trade 
 lucrative than to advance justice. He adhered 
 to that clause of Mr. Locke's fundamental 
 constitution, which makes it " a base and vile 
 thing to plead for money or reward;" and 
 wished that the lawyers, when necessary to 
 justice, should be provided with salaries at the 
 public expense, like the judges, that they 
 might be saved from the shame of hiring their 
 tongues to the first who offered or gave the 
 largest fee. Of physicians he thought very 
 little. He considered temperance and exercise 
 superior to all their prescriptions, and that in 
 most cases they rendered them altogether 
 unnecessary. In many things he was particu- 
 lar. His passiorfs were strong, and required 
 all his religion and philosophy to curb them. 
 13* 
 
150 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 His patriotism was both disinterested and 
 ardent. He declined all offices of profit, and 
 through life refused to take the compensations 
 annexed by law to such offices of trust as were 
 conferred on him. His character was im- 
 pressed with the hardihood of antiquity ; and 
 he possessed an erect, firm, intrepid mind, 
 which was well calculated for buffeting with 
 revolutionary storms." 
 
HORATIO GATES, 
 
 Major-General in the American Army. 
 
 General Gates was a native of England, 
 and was born in the year 1728. He was 
 educated to the military profession, and entered 
 the British army at an early age, in the capa- 
 city of lieutenant, where he laid the foundation 
 of his future military excellence. Without 
 purchase he obtained the rank of major. He 
 was aid to General Monckton at the capture 
 of Martinico, and after the peace of Aix-la- 
 Chapelle he was among the first troops which 
 landed at Halifax under General Cornwallis. 
 He was an officer in the army which accom- 
 panied the unfortunate Braddock in the ex- 
 pedition against Fort du Quesne, in the year 
 1755, and was shot through the body. 
 
 When peace was concluded, he purchased 
 an estate in Virginia, where he resided until 
 the commencement of the American war, in 
 1775. Having evinced his zeal and attach- 
 ment to the violated rights of his adopted 
 country, and sustaining a high military reputa- 
 tion, he was appointed by Congress adjutant- 
 
 151 
 
152 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 general, with the rank of brigadier, and he 
 accompanied General Washington to the 
 American camp at Cambridge, in July, 1775, 
 where he was employed for some time in a 
 subordinate, but highly useful, capacity. 
 
 In June, 1776, Gates was appointed to the 
 command of the army of Canada, and on 
 reaching Ticonderoga, he still claimed the 
 command of it, though it was no longer in 
 Canada, and was in the department of General 
 Schuyler, a senior officer, who had rendered 
 eminent services in that command. On rep- 
 resentation to Congress, it was declared not to 
 be their intention to place Gates over Schuyler, 
 and it was recommended to these officers to 
 endeavour to cooperate harmoniously. Gen- 
 eral Schuyler was, however, shortly after 
 directed by Congress to resume the command 
 of the northern department, and General Gates 
 withdrew himself from it ; after which he 
 repaired to head-quarters, and joined the army 
 under General Washington in Jersey. 
 
 Owing to the prevalent dissatisfaction with 
 the conduct of General Schuyler in the eva- 
 cuation of Ticonderoga, Gates was again di- 
 rected to take command. He arrived about the 
 21st of August, and continued the exertions 
 
HORATIO GATES. 153 
 
 to restore the affairs of the department, which 
 had been so n uch depressed by the losses 
 consequent on the evacuation of Ticonderoga. 
 It was fortunate for General Gates that the 
 retreat from Ticonderoga had been conducted 
 under other auspices than his, and that he took 
 the command when the indefatigable, but 
 unrequited labours of Schuyler, and the courage 
 of Stiirk and his mountaineers, had already 
 ensured the ultimate defeat of Burgoyne. 
 
 Burgoyne, after crossing the Hudson, advan- 
 ced along its side, an 1 encamped on the height, 
 about two miles from Gates' camp, which was 
 three miles above Stillwater. This movement 
 was the subject of much discussion. Some 
 charged it on the impetuosity of the general, 
 and alleged that it was premature, before he 
 was sure of aid from the ro3^al forces posted 
 in New York, but he pleaded the peremptory 
 orders of his superiors. The rapid advance of 
 Burgoyne, and especially his passage of the 
 North River, added much to the impracticabil- 
 ity of his future retreat, and made the ruin of 
 his army in a great degree unavoidable. The 
 Americans, elated with their successes at 
 Bennington and Fort Schuyler, thought no 
 more of retreating, but came out to meet the 
 
154 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 advancing British, and engaged them with 
 firmness and resolution. 
 
 The attack began a little before mid-day, 
 September 19th, between the scouting parties 
 of the two armies. The commanders of both 
 sides supported and reinforced their respec- 
 tive parties. The conflict, though severe, was 
 only partial for an hour and a half; but after 
 a short pause, it became general, and continued 
 for three hours without any intermission. A 
 constant blaze of fire was kept up, and both 
 armies seemed determined on death or victory. 
 The Americans and British alternately drove, 
 and were driven by each other. The British 
 artillery fell into our possession at every 
 charge, but we could neither turn the pieces 
 upon the enemy nor bring them off, so sudden 
 were the alternate advantages. It was a 
 gallant conflict, in which death, by familiarity, 
 lost his terrors ; and such was the order of the 
 Americans, that, as General Wilkinson states, 
 the wounded men, after having their wounds 
 dressed, in many instances returned again into 
 the battle. Men, and particularly officers, 
 dropped every moment, and on every side. 
 Several of the Americans placed themselves 
 on high trees, and as often as they could dis- 
 
HORATIO GATES. 155 
 
 tinguish an officer's uniform, took him off by 
 deliberately aiming at his person. Few actions 
 have been characterized by more obstinacy 
 in attack or defence. The British repeatedly 
 tried their bayonets, but without their usual 
 success in the use of that weapon. 
 
 The British lost upwards of five hundred 
 men, including their killed, wounded, and 
 prisoners. The Americans, inclusive of the 
 missing, lost three hundred and nineteen. 
 Thirty-six out of forty-eight British artillerists 
 were killed or wounded. The 62d British 
 regiment, which was five hundred strong 
 when it left Canada, was reduced to sixty men, 
 and four or five officers. In this eneao-ement 
 General Gates, assisted by Generals Lincoln 
 and Arnold, commanded the American army, 
 and General Burgoyne was at the head of his 
 army, and Generals Phillips, Reidesel, and 
 Frazer, with their respective commands, were 
 actively engaged. 
 
 This battle was fought by the general con- 
 cert and zealous cooperation of the corps 
 engaged, and was sustained more by individual 
 courage than military discipline. General 
 Arnold, who afterwards traitorously deserted 
 his country, behaved with the most undaunted 
 
156 HEnOES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 courage, leading on the troops, and encouraging 
 them by his personal efforts and daring ex- 
 posure. The gallant Colonel Morgan obtained 
 immortal honour on this day. Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Brooks, with the eighth Massachusetts' 
 regiment, remained in the field till about eleven 
 o'clock, and was the last who retired. Major 
 Hull commanded a detachment of three hun- 
 dred men, who fought with such signal ardour 
 that more than half of them were killed. 
 The whole number of Americans engaged in 
 this action was about two thousand five hun- 
 dred \ the remainder of the army, from its 
 unfavourable situation, took little or no part ia 
 the action. 
 
 Each army claimed the victory, and each 
 believed himself to have beaten, with only 
 part of its force, nearly the whole of the 
 enemy. The advantage, however, was de- 
 cidedly in favour of the Americans. In every 
 quarter they had been the assailants, and after 
 an encounter of several hours they had not lost 
 a single inch of ground. 
 
 General Gates, whose numbers increased 
 daily, remained on his old ground. Hs right, 
 which extended to the river, had been rendered 
 
HORATIO GATES. 157 
 
 unassailable, and he used great industry to 
 strengthen his left. 
 
 Both armies retained their position until the 
 7th of October ; Burgoyne, in the hope of being 
 relieved by Sir Henry Clinton ; and Gates, in 
 he confidence of growing stronger every day, 
 and of rendering the destruction of his enemy 
 more certain. But receiving no further in- 
 telligence from Sir Henry, the British general 
 determined to make one more trial of strength 
 with his adversary. The following account of 
 the brilliant affair of the 7th of October, 1777, 
 is given in Thacher's Military Journal : — 
 
 *' I am fortunate enough to obtain from our 
 officers, a particular account of the glorious 
 event of the 7th instant. The advanced parties 
 of the two armies came into contact about 
 three o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, and imme- 
 diately displayed their hostile attitude. The 
 Americans soon approached the royal army, 
 and each party in defiance awaited the deadly 
 blow. The gallant Colonel Morgan, at the 
 head of his famous rifle corps, and Major 
 Dearborn, leading a detachment of infantry, 
 commenced the action, and rushed coura- 
 geously on the British grenadiers, commanded 
 by Major Ackland ; and the furious attack was 
 14 
 
158 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 most firmly resisted. In all parts of the field 
 the conflict became extremely arduous and 
 obstinate ; an unconquerable spirit on each side 
 disdaining to yield the palm of victory. 
 Death appeared to have lost his terrors ; brea- 
 ches in the ranks were no sooner made than 
 supplied by fresh combatants, awaiting a 
 similar fate. At length the Americans press 
 forward with renewed strength and ardour, and 
 compel the whole British line, commanded by 
 Burgoyne himself, to yield to their deadly fire, 
 and they retreat in disorder. The German 
 troops remain firmly posted at their lines j 
 these were now boldly assaulted by Brigadier- 
 General Learned, and Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Brooks, at the head of their respective com- 
 mands, with such intrepidity, that the works 
 were carried, and their brave commander, 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Bre3^man, was slain. The 
 Germans were pursued to their encampment, 
 which, with all the equipage of the brigade, 
 fell into our handsi Colonel Cilley, of Gene- 
 ral Poor's brigade, having acquitted himself 
 honourably, was seen astride on a brass field- 
 piece, exulting in the capture. Major Hull, 
 of the Massachusetts line, was among those 
 who so bravely stormed the enemy's entrench- 
 
HORATIO GATES. 159 
 
 ment, and acted a conspicuous part. General 
 Arnold, in consequence of a serious misunder- 
 standing with General Gates, was not vested 
 with any command, by which he was ex- 
 ceedingly chagrined and irritated. He en- 
 tered the field, however, and his conduct was 
 marked with intemperate rashness ; flourishing 
 his sword, and animating the troops, he struck 
 an officer on the head without cause, and gave 
 him a considerable wound. He exposed him- 
 self to every danger, and, with a small party 
 of riflemen, rushed into the rear olthe enemy, 
 where he received a ball which fractured his 
 leg, and his horse was killed under him. 
 Nightfall put a stop to our brilliant career, 
 though the victory was most decisive ; and it 
 is with pride and exultation that we recount 
 the triumph of American bravery. Besides 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Breyman slain, General 
 Frazer, one of the most valuable officers in the 
 British service, was mortally wounded, and 
 survived but a few hours. Frazer was the soul 
 of the British army, and |/as just changing the 
 disposition of a part of the troops to repel a 
 strong impression which the Americans had 
 made, and were still making, on the British 
 right, when Morgan called together two or 
 
160' HEROES OF THE KEVOLUTIOJT. 
 
 three of his best marksmen, and pointing to 
 Frazer, said, * Do you see that gallant officer? 
 that is General Frazer — I respect and honour 
 him ; but it is necessary he should die.' This 
 was enough. Frazer immediately received 
 his mortal wound, and was carried off the 
 field. Sir Francis Clark, aid-de-camp to Gene- 
 ral Burgoyne, was brought into our camp with 
 a mortal wound, and Major Ackland, who 
 commanded the British grenadiers, was wound- 
 ed through both legs, and is our prisoner. 
 Several other officers, and about two hundred 
 privates, are prisoners in our hands, with nine 
 pieces of cannon, and a considerable supply 
 of ammunition, which was much wanted for 
 our troops. The loss on our side is supposed 
 not to exceed thirty killed, and one hundred 
 wounded, in obtaining this signal victory." 
 
 The position of the British army, after the 
 action of the 7th, was so dangerous, that an 
 immediate and total change of position became 
 necessary, and Burgoyne took immediate 
 measures to regain his former camp at Sara- 
 toga. There he arrived with little molestation 
 from his adversary. His provisions being now 
 reduced to the supply of a few days, the 
 transports of artillery and baggage towards 
 
HORATIO GATES. 161 
 
 Canada being rendered impracticable by the 
 judicious measures of his adversary, the British 
 general resolved upon a rapid retreat, merely 
 with what the soldiers could carry. On ex- 
 amination, however, it was found that they 
 were deprived even of this resource, as the 
 passes through which their route lay, were so 
 strongly guarded, that nothing but artillery 
 could clear them. In this desperate situation 
 a parley took place, and on the 17th of Octo- 
 ber the whole army surrendered to General 
 Gates. 
 
 The prize obtained consisted of more than 
 five thousand prisoners, forty-two pieces of 
 brass ordnance, seven thousand muskets, clo- 
 thing for seven thousand men, with a grea 
 quantity of tents, and other military stores. 
 
 Soon after the convention was signed, the 
 Americans marched into their lines, and were 
 kept there until the royal army had deposited 
 their arms at the place appointed. The deli- 
 cacy with which this business was conducted, 
 reflected honour on the American general. 
 Nor did the politeness of Gates end here. 
 Every circumstance was withheld that could 
 constitute a triumph in the American army. 
 The captive general was received by his con- 
 14* 
 
162 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 queror with respect and kindness. A number 
 of the principal officers of both armies met at 
 General Gates' quarters, and for a while 
 seemed to forget, in social and convivial plea- 
 sures, that they had been enemies. 
 
 General Wilkinson gives the following 
 account of the meeting between General Bur- 
 goyne and General Gates : 
 
 "General Gates, advised of Biirgoyne's 
 approach, met him at the head of his camp, 
 Burgoyne in a rich royal uniform, and Gates 
 in a plain blue frock. When they had ap- 
 proached nearly within sword's length, they 
 reined up and halted. I then named the 
 gentleman, and General Burgoyne, raising his 
 hat most gracefully, said, ' The fortune of war, 
 General Gates, has made me your prisoner j' 
 to which the conqueror, returning a courtly 
 salute, promptly replied, 'I shall always be 
 ready to bear testimony that it has not been 
 through any fault of your excellency.' " 
 
 The thanks of Congress were voted to Gene- 
 ral Gates and his army ; and a medal of gold, 
 in commemoration of this great event, was 
 ordered to be struck, to be presented to him 
 by the president, in the name of the United 
 States. 
 
HORATIO GATES. 163 
 
 It was not long after that the wonderful 
 discovery was supposed to be made, that the 
 illustrious Washi.igtpn was incompetent to the 
 task of conducting the operations of the Ame- 
 rican army, and that General Gates, if elevated 
 to the chief command, would speedily melior- 
 ate the condition of our affairs. There were 
 those who imputed to General Gates himself a 
 principal agency in the affair, which, how- 
 ever, he promptly disavowed. But certain it 
 is, that a private correspondence was main- 
 tained between him and the intriguing General 
 Conway, in which the measures pursued by 
 General Washington are criticised and repro- 
 bated ) and in one of Conway's letters, he 
 pointedly ascribes our want of success to a 
 weak general and bad counsellors. General 
 Gates, on finding that General Washington 
 had been apprised of the correspondence, 
 addressed his excellency, requesting that he 
 would disclose the name of his informant ; and 
 in violation of the rules of decorum, he 
 addressed the commander-in-chief on a subject 
 of extreme delicacy, in an open letter trans- 
 mitted to the president of Congress. General 
 Washington, however, did not hesitate to 
 disclose the name and circumstances which 
 
164« HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 brought the affair to light. General Gates, 
 then, with inexcusable disingenuousness, at- 
 tempted to vindicate the conduct of Conway, 
 and to deny that the letter contained the repre- 
 hensible expressions in question, but utterly 
 refused to produce the orio;inal letter. This 
 subject, however, was so ably and candidly 
 discussed by General Washington, as to cover 
 his adversary with shame and humiliation. It 
 was thought inexcusable in Gates, that he ne- 
 glected to communicate to the commander-in- 
 chief an account of so important an event as 
 the capture of the British army at Saratoga, 
 but left his excellency to obtain the information 
 by common report. 
 
 Dr. Thacher, in his Military Journal, relates 
 the following anecdote : " Mr. T , an en- 
 sign in our regiment, has, for some time, dis- 
 covered symptoms of mental derangement. 
 Yesterday he intruded himself at General Gates' 
 head-quarters, and after some amusing conversa- 
 tion, he put himself in the attitude of devotion, 
 and prayed that God would pardon General 
 Gates for endeavouring to supersede that god- 
 like man, Washington. The general appeared 
 to be much disturbed, and directed Mr. Pierce, 
 his aid-de-camp, to take him away." 
 
HORATIO GATES. 165 
 
 On the 13th of June, 1780, General Gates 
 was appointed* to the chief command of the 
 southern army. Rich in fame from the fields 
 of Saratoga, he hastened to execute the hio-h 
 and important trust ; and the arrival of an 
 officer so exalted in reputation, had an imme- 
 diate and happy effect on the spirits of the 
 soldiery and the hopes of the people. It was 
 anticipated that he who had humbled Great 
 Britain on the heights of the Hudson, and 
 liberated New York from a formidable invasion, 
 would prove no less successful in the south, 
 and become the deliverer of Carolina and 
 Georgia from lawless rapine and military rule. 
 But anticipations were vain, and the best 
 founded hopes were blighted ! In the first and 
 only encounter which he had with Lord Corn- 
 wallis, at Camden, August 15th, he suffered a 
 total defeat, and was obliged to fly from the 
 enemy for personal safety.* 
 
 Proudly calculating on the weight of his 
 name, and too confident in his own superiority, 
 he slighted the counsel which he ought to have 
 respected, and hurrying impetuously into the 
 
 * When the appointment of General Gates to the chief 
 commaiid of tlie southern army was announced, General 
 Lee vcmaiktd, that "/as norihern laurels would soon be 
 exchanfred for soulhern uUIoils." 
 
166 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 field of battle, his tide of popularity ebbed as 
 fast at Camden as it had flowed at Saratoo-a. 
 
 o 
 
 It would be great injustice, however, to 
 attribute the misfortune altogether to the com- 
 mander, under his peculiar circumstances. A 
 large proportion of his force consisted of raw 
 militia, who were panic-struck, and fled at the 
 first fire ; their rout was absolute and irretriev- 
 able. In vain did Gates attempt to rally them. 
 That their speed might be the greater, they 
 threw away their arms and accoutrements, and 
 dashed into the woods and swamps for safety. 
 A rout more perfectly wild and disorderly, or 
 marked with greater consternation and dismay, 
 was never witnessed. Honour, manhood, 
 country, home, every recollection sacred to 
 the feelings of the soldier and the soul of the 
 brave, was merged in an ignominious love of life. 
 
 But from the moment General Gates assumed 
 the command in the south, his former judgment 
 and fortune seemed to forsake him. He was 
 anxious to come to action immediately, and to 
 terminate the war by a few bold and energetic 
 measures ; and two days after his arrival in 
 camp, he began his march to meet the enemy, 
 without properly estimating his force. 
 
 The active spirits of the place being roused 
 
HORATIO GATES. 167 
 
 and encouraged by the presence of a con- 
 siderable army, and daily flocking to the 
 standard of their country, General Gates, by a 
 delay of action, had much to gain in point of 
 numbers. To the prospects of the enemy, on 
 the contrary, delay would have been ruinous. 
 To them there was no alternative but immediate 
 battle and victory, or immediate retreat. Such, 
 however, was the nature of the country, and 
 the distance and relative position 6f the two 
 armies, that to compel the Americans to action 
 was impossible. The imprudence of the 
 American general in hazarding an engagement 
 at this time, is further manifested by the fact, 
 that in troops on whose firmness he could safely 
 rely, he was greatly inferior to his foe, they 
 amounting to sixteen hundred veteran and 
 highly disciplined regulars, and he having less 
 than a thousand continentals. 
 
 General Gates having retreated to Salisbury, 
 and thence to Hillsborough, he there succeeded 
 in collecting around him the fragments of an 
 army. Being soon after reinforced by several 
 small bodies of regulars and militia, he again 
 advanced towards the south, and took post in 
 Charlotte. Here he continued in command 
 until the 5th day of October, fifty days after 
 
168 HEROCS OF TIIK r.KVOLUTION. 
 
 his defeat at Camden, when Congress passed a 
 resolution requiring the conrmiander-in-chief to 
 order a court of inquiry on his conduct, as 
 commander of the southern army, and to ap- 
 point some other oflicer to that command. 
 The inquiry resulted in his acquittal ; and it 
 was the general opinion that he was not treated 
 by Congress with that delicacy, or indeed 
 gratitude, that was due to an officer of his 
 acknowledged merit. HeJ however, received 
 the order of his supersedure and suspension, 
 and resigned the command to General Greene 
 with becoming dignity, as is manifested, much 
 to his credit, in the following order: 
 
 ^'■Head-quarters, Charlotte^ 'M Dec, 1780. 
 
 Parole, Springfield — countersign, Greene. 
 
 "The honourable Major-General Greene, 
 who arrived yesterday afternoon in Charlotte, 
 being appointed by his excellency General 
 Washington, with the approbation of the 
 honourable Congress, to the command of the 
 southern army, all orders will, for the future, 
 issue from him, and all reports are to be made 
 to him. 
 
 " General Gates returns his sincere and 
 grateful thanks to the southern army for their 
 perseverance, fortitude, and patient endurance 
 
HORATIO GATES. 169; 
 
 of all the hardships and sufferings they have 
 undergone while under his connmand. He 
 anxiously hopes their nnisfortunes will cease, 
 therewith, and that victory, and the glorious 
 advantages of it, may be the future portion of 
 the southern army." 
 
 General Greene had always been, and con- 
 tinued to be, the firm advocate of the reputa- 
 tion of General Gates, particularly if he heard 
 it assailed with asperity • and still believed and 
 asserted, that if there was any mistake in the 
 conduct of Gates, it was in hazarding an action 
 at all against such superior force ; and w^hen 
 informed of his appointment to supersede him, 
 declared his confidence in his military talents, 
 and his willingness " to serve under him." 
 
 General Gates was reinstated in his military 
 command in the main army, in 1782; but the 
 great scenes of war were now passed, and he 
 could only participate in the painful scene of 
 a final separation. 
 
 In the midst of his misfortune, General Gates 
 was called to mourn the afflictive dispensation 
 of Providence, in the death of his only son. 
 Major Garden, in his excellent publication, has 
 recorded the following affecting anecdote, 
 
 which he received from Dr. William Eeed : 
 15 
 
170 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 " Having occasion to call on General Gates, 
 relative to the business of the department under 
 my immediate charge, I found him traversing 
 the apartment which he occupied, under the 
 influence of high excitement ; his agitation 
 was excessive — every feature of his counte- 
 nance, every gesture betrayed it. Official des- 
 patches, informing him that he was superseded, 
 and that the command of the southern army 
 had been transferred to General Greene, had 
 just 'been received and perused by him. His 
 countenance, however, betrayed no expression 
 of irritation or resentment 5 it was sensibility 
 alone that caused his emotion. An open letter, 
 which he held in his hand, was often raised to 
 his lips, and kissed with devotion, while the 
 exclamation repeatedly escaped them — * Great 
 man ! Noble, generous procedure !' When 
 the tumult of his mind had subsided, and his 
 thoughts found utterance, he, with strong ex- 
 pression of feeling, exclaimed, * I have received 
 this day a communication from the commander- 
 in-chief, which has conveyed more consolation 
 to my bosom, more ineffable delight to my 
 heart, than I had believed it possible for it ever 
 to have felt again. With affectionate tender- 
 ness he sympathizes with me in my domestic 
 
HORATIO GATES. 171 
 
 misfortunes, and condoles with me on the loss 
 I have sustained by the recent death of an only 
 son ; and then with peculiar delicacy, lament- 
 ing my misfortune in battle, assures me that his 
 confidence in my zeal and capacity is so little 
 impaired, that the command of the right wing 
 of the' army will be bestowed on me so soon as 
 I can make it convenient to join him.' " 
 
 After the peace he retired to his farm in 
 Berkley county, Virginia, where he remained 
 until the year 1790, when he went to reside in 
 New York, having first emancipated his slaves, 
 and made a pecuniary provision for such as 
 were not able to provide for themselves. 
 Some of them would not leave him, but con- 
 tinued in his family. 
 
 On his arrival at New York, the freedom of 
 the city was presented to him. In 1800 he 
 accepted a seat in the leg'slature, but he re- 
 tained it no longer than he conceived his 
 services might be useful to the cause of liberty, 
 which he never abandoned. 
 
 His political opinions did not separate him 
 from many respectable citizens, whose views 
 differed widely from his own. He had a 
 handsome person, and was gentlemanly in his 
 manners, remarkably courteous to all, and gave 
 
172 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 indisputable marks of a social, amiable, and 
 benevolent disposition. A few weeks before 
 his death he closed a letter to a friend in the 
 following words : — " I am very weak, and 
 have evident signs of an approaching dissolu- 
 tion. But I have lived long enough, since I 
 have to see a mighty people animated with a 
 spirit to be free, and governed by transcendent 
 abilities and honour." He died without pos- 
 terity, at his abode near New York, on the 10th 
 day of April, 1806, aged seventy-eight years. 
 
NATHAN HALE, 
 
 Captain in the American Army. 
 
 After the unfortunate engagement on Long 
 Island, General Washington called a council 
 of war, who determined on an immediate re- 
 treat to New York. The intention was pru- 
 dently concealed from the army, who knew 
 not whither they were going, but imagined it 
 was to attack the enemy. The field artillery, 
 tents, baggage, and about nine thousand men, 
 were conveyed to the city of New York, over 
 the East River, more than a mile wide, in less 
 than thirteen hours, and without the knowledgre 
 of the British, though not six hundred yards 
 distant. Providence in a remarkable manner 
 favoured the retreating army. The wind, 
 which seemed to prevent the troops getting 
 over at the appointed hour, afterward shifted 
 to their wishes. 
 
 Perhaps the fate of America was never sus- 
 pended by a more brittle thread than previously 
 to this memorable retreat. A spectacle is here 
 presented of an army destined for the defence 
 of a great continent, driven to the narrow 
 15* 173 
 
174 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 borders of an island, with a victorious army 
 double its number in front, with navigable 
 waters in its rear; constantly liable to have its 
 communication cut off by the enemy's navy, 
 and every moment exposed to an attack. The 
 presence of mind which animated the com- 
 mander-in-chief in this critical situation, the 
 prudence with which all the necessary measures 
 were executed, redounded as much or more to 
 his honour than the most brilliant victories. 
 An army, to which America looked for safety, 
 preserved ; a general who was considered as 
 an host himself, saved for the future necessities 
 of his country. Had not, however, the cir- 
 cumstances of the night, of the wind and 
 weather, been favourable, the plan, however 
 well concerted, must have been defeated. To 
 a good Providence, therefore, are the people 
 of America indebted for the complete success 
 of an enterprise so important in its consequences. 
 This retreat left the British in complete 
 possession of Long Island. What would be 
 their future operations remained uncertain. 
 To obtain information of their situation, their 
 strength, and future movements, was of high 
 importance. For this purpose. General Wash- 
 ington applied to Colonel Knowlton, who 
 
NATHAN HALE. 175 
 
 commanded a regiment of light infantry, 
 which formed the rear of the American army, 
 and desired him to adopt some mode of gaining 
 the necessary information. Colonel Knowlton 
 communicated this request to Captain Nathan 
 Hale, of Connecticut, who was a captain in 
 his regiment. 
 
 This young officer, animated by a sense of 
 duty, and considering that an opportunity pre- 
 sented itself by which he might be useful to 
 his country, at once offered himself a volunteer 
 for this hazardous service. He passed in dis- 
 guise to Long Island, and examined every part 
 of the British army, and obtained the best 
 possible information respecting their situation 
 and future operations. 
 
 In his attempt to return, he was apprehended, 
 carried before Sir William Howe, and the 
 proof of his object was so clear, that he 
 frankly acknowledged who he was, and what 
 were his views. Sir William Howe at once 
 gave an order to have him executed the next 
 morning. 
 
 This order was accordingly executed in the 
 most unfeeling manner, and by as great a 
 savage as ever disgraced humanity. A clergy- 
 man, whose attendance he desired, was refused 
 
176 HEROES OF THE P.EVOLUTION. 
 
 him J a Bible, for a few moments' devotion, 
 was not procured, although he wished it. 
 Letters which, on the morning of his execution, 
 he wrote to his mother and other friends, were 
 destroyed ; and this very extraordinary reason 
 given by the provost-martial, " That the rebels 
 should not know they had a man in their army 
 who could die with so much firmness. ^^ 
 
 Unknown to all around him, without a single 
 friend to offer him the least consolation, thus 
 fell as amiable and as worthy a young man as 
 America could boast, with this as his dying 
 observation, that " he only lamented that he had 
 hut one life to lose for his country.''^ 
 
 Although the manner of this execution will 
 ever be abhorred by every friend to humanity 
 and religion, yet there cannot be a question but 
 that the sentence was conformable to the rules 
 of war, and the practice of nations in similar 
 cases. 
 
 It is, however, but justice to the character 
 of Captain Hale to observe, that his motives 
 for engaging in this service were entirely 
 different from those which generally influence 
 others in similar circumstances. Neither ex- 
 pectation of promotion, nor pecuniary reward, 
 induced him to this attempt. A sense of duty, 
 
NATHAN HALE. 177 
 
 a hope that, he might in this way be useful to 
 his country, and an opinion which he had 
 adopted, that every kind of service necessary 
 to the genera] good became honourable by being 
 necessary, were the great motives which in- 
 duced him to engage in an enterprise by which 
 his connexions lost a most amiable friend, and 
 his country one of its most promising supporters. 
 
 The fate of this unfortunate young man 
 excites the most interesting reflections. To see 
 such a character, in the flower of youth, 
 cheerfully treading in the most hazardous paths, 
 inflaenced by the purest intentions, and only 
 emulous to do good to his country, without the 
 imputation of a crime, fall a victim to policy, 
 must have been wounding to the feelings even 
 of his enemies. 
 
 Should a comparison be drawn between 
 Major Andre and Captain Hale, injustice would 
 be done to the latter, should he not be placed 
 on an equal ground with the former. While 
 almost every historian of the American revo- 
 lution has celebrated the virtues, and lamented 
 the fate of Andre, Hale has remained unnoticed, 
 and it is scarcely known such a character 
 existed. 
 
 To the memory of Andre, his country has 
 
178 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 erected the most magnificent monuments, and 
 bestowed on his family the highest honours 
 and most liberal rewards. To the memory of 
 Hale, not a stone has been erected, nor an 
 inscription to preserve his ashes from insult ! 
 
ISAAC HAYNE, 
 
 Colonel in the American Army. 
 
 "This gentleman had been a distinguished 
 and very active officer in the American service, 
 previous to the subjugation of Charleston. 
 When this event took place, he found himself 
 called to a separation from his family, a dere- 
 liction of his property, and submission to the 
 conqueror. In this situation he thought it his 
 duty to become a voluntary prisoner, and take 
 his parole. On surrendering himself, he offered 
 to engage and stand bound on the principles of 
 honour, to do nothing prejudicial to the British 
 interest until he was exchanged ) but his abilities 
 and services were of such consideration to his 
 country, that he was refused a parole, and told 
 he must become a British subject, or submit to 
 close confinement. 
 
 *' His family was then in a distant part of 
 the country, and in great distress by sickness, 
 and from the ravages of the royalists in their 
 neighbourhood. Thus he seemed impelled to 
 acknowledge himself the subject of a govern- 
 ment he had relinquished from the purest 
 
 179 
 
180 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 principles, or renounce his tenderest connexions, 
 and leave them without a possibility of his 
 assistance, and at a moment when he hourly 
 expected to hear of the death of an affectionate 
 wife, ill of the small-pox. 
 
 *^In this state of anxiety, he subscribed a 
 declaration of his allegiance to the king of 
 Great Britain, with this express exception, that 
 he should never be required to take arms 
 against his country. Notwithstanding this, he 
 was soon and repeatedly called upon to arm in 
 support of a government he detested, or to 
 submit to the severest punishment. Brigadier- 
 General Patterson, commandant of the garrison, 
 and the intendant of the British police, a Mr. 
 Simpson, had both assured Colonel Hayne that 
 no such thing would be required ; and added, 
 * that when the royal army could not defend a 
 country without the aid of its inhabitants, it 
 would be time to quit it.' 
 
 " Colonel Hayne considered a requisition to 
 act in British service, after assurances that this 
 would never be required, as a breach of con- 
 tract, and a release in the eye of conscience, 
 from any obligation on his part. Accordingly 
 he took the first opportunity of resuming his 
 arms as an American, assumed the command 
 
ISAAC HAYNE. 181 
 
 of his own regiment; and all fond of their 
 former commander, Colonel Hayne marched 
 with a defensible body to the relief of his 
 countrymen, then endeavouring to drive the 
 British partizans, and keep them within the 
 environs of Charleston. He very unfortunately, 
 in a short time, fell into the hands of a strong 
 British party, sent out for the recovery of a 
 favourite officer, who had left the American 
 cause, and become a devotee to the British 
 government. 
 
 " As soon as Colonel Hayne was captured, 
 he was closely imprisoned. This was on the 
 twenty-sixth of July. He was notified the 
 same day, that a court of officers would as- 
 semble the next day, to determine in what 
 point of view he ought to be considered. On 
 the twenty-ninth, he was informed that in 
 consequence of a court of inquiry held the 
 day before, Lord Rawdon and Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Balfour had resolved upon his execution 
 within two days. 
 
 "His astonishment at these summary and 
 illegal proceedings can scarcely be conceived. 
 He wrote Lord Rawdon that he had no intima- 
 tion of any thing more than a court of inquiry, 
 to determine whether he should be considered 
 16 
 
182 HEROES OF THE HEVOLUTION. 
 
 as an American or a British subject : if the 
 first, he ought to be set at liberty on parole ; if 
 the last, he claimed a legal trial. He assured 
 his lordship, that on a trial he had many things 
 to urge in his defence ; reasons that would be 
 weighty in a court of equity ; and concluded 
 his letter with observing, ' If, sir, I am refused 
 this favour, which I cannot conceive from your 
 justice or humanity, I earnestly entreat that 
 my execution may be deferred, that I may at 
 least take a last farewell of my children, and 
 prepare for the solemn change.' 
 
 " But his death predetermined, his enemies 
 were deaf to the voice of compassion. The 
 execution of his sentence was hastened, though 
 the reputation and merits of this gentleman 
 were such, that the whole city was zealous for 
 his preservation. Not only the inhabitants in 
 opposition to the British government, but even 
 Lieutenant-Governor Bull, at the head of the 
 royalists, interceded for his life. The principal 
 ladies of Charleston endeavoured, by their 
 compassionate interference, to arrest or in- 
 fluence the relentless hand of power. They 
 drew up and presented to Lord Bawdon, a 
 delicate and pathetic petition in his behalf. 
 His near relations, and his children, who had 
 
ISAAC HAYNE. 183 
 
 just performed the funeral rites over the grave 
 of a tender mother, appeared on their bended 
 knees, to implore the life of their father. But 
 in spite of the supplications of children and 
 friends, strangers and foes, the flinty heart of 
 Lord Rawdon remained untouched, amidst 
 these scenes of sensibility and distress. No 
 melioration of the sentence could be obtained ; 
 and this affectionate father took a final leave 
 of his children in a manner that pierced the 
 souls of the beholders. To the eldest of them, 
 a youth of but thirteen years of age, he de- 
 livered a transcript of his case, directed him 
 to convey it to Congress, and ordered him to 
 see that his father's remains were deposited in 
 the tomb of his ancestors. 
 
 "Pinioned like a criminal, this worthy 
 citizen walked with composure through crowds 
 of admiring spectators, with the dignity of the 
 philosopher, and the intrepidity of the Chris- 
 tian. He suffered as a hero, and was hanged 
 as a felon, amidst the tears of the multitude, 
 and the curses of thousands, who execrated the 
 perpetrators of this cruel deed." 
 
CHARLES LEE, 
 
 Major General in the American Army. 
 
 General Lee was an original genius, pos- 
 sessing the most brilliant talents, great military 
 prowess, and extensive intelligence and know- 
 ledge of the world. He was born in Wales, 
 his family springing from the same parent stock 
 with the Earl of Leicester. 
 
 He may be properly called a child of Mars, 
 for he was an officer when but eleven years old. 
 His favourite study was the science of war, 
 and his warmest wish was to become dis- 
 tinguished in it ; but though possessed of a 
 military spirit, he was ardent in the pursuit of 
 general knowledge. He acquired a competent 
 skill in Greek and Latin, while his fondness for 
 travelling made him acquainted with the Italian, 
 Spanish, German, and French languages. 
 
 In 1756, he came to America, captain of a 
 company of grenadiers, and was present at the 
 defeat of General Abercombie at Ticonderoga, 
 where he received a severe wound. In 1762, 
 he bore a colonel's commission, and served 
 under Burgoyne in Portugal, where he greatly 
 184. 
 
CHARLES LEE. 185 
 
 distinguished himself, and received the strongest 
 recommendations for his gallantry ; but his 
 early attachment to the American colonies, 
 evinced in his writings against the oppressive 
 acts of parliament, lost him the favour of the 
 ministry. Despairing of promotion, and des- 
 pising a life of inactivity, he left his native 
 soil, and entered into the service of his Polish 
 majesty, as one of his aids, with the rank of 
 major-general. 
 
 His rambling disposition led him to travel all 
 over Europe, during the years of 1771, 1772, 
 and part of 1773, and his warmth of temper 
 drew him into several rencounters, among 
 which was an affair of honour with an officer 
 in Italy. The contest was begun with swords, 
 when the general lost two of his fingers. Re- 
 course was then had to pistols. His adversary 
 was slain, and he was obliged to flee from the 
 country, in order that he might avoid the un- 
 pleasant circumstances which might result from 
 this unhappy circumstance. 
 
 General Lee appeared to be influenced by 
 an innate principle of republicanism; an at- 
 tachment to these principles was implanted in 
 the constitution of his mind, and he espoused 
 
 16 
 
186 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 the cause of America as a champion of her 
 emancipation from oppression. 
 
 Glowing with these sentiments, he embarked 
 for this country, and arrived at New York on 
 the 10th of November, 1773. On his arrival 
 he became daily more enthusiastic in the cause 
 of liberty, and travelled rapidly through the 
 colonies, animating, both by conversation and 
 his eloquent pen, to a determined and perse- 
 vering resistance to British tyranny. 
 
 His enthusiasm in favour of the rights of 
 the colonies was such, that, after the battle of 
 Lexington, ha accepted a major-general's com- 
 mission in the American army; though his 
 ambition had pointed out to him the post of 
 commander-in-chief as the object of his wishes. 
 Previous to this, however, he resigned his com- 
 mission in the British service, and relinquished 
 his half-pay. This he did in a letter to the 
 British secretary at war, in which he expressed 
 his disapprobation of the oppressive measures 
 of parliament, declaring them to be absolutely 
 subversive of the rights and liberties of every 
 individual subject, so destructive to the whole 
 empire at large, and ultimately so ruinous to 
 his majesty's own person, dignity, and family, 
 that he thought himself obliged in conscience, 
 
CHARLES LEE. 187 
 
 as a citizen, Englishman, and soldier of a free 
 state, to exert his utmost to defeat them. 
 
 Immediately upon receiving his appointment, 
 he accompanied General Washington to the 
 camp at Cambridge, where he arrived July 2d, 
 1775, and was received with every mark of 
 respect. 
 
 As soon as it was discovered at Cambridge 
 that the British General Clinton had left Boston, 
 General Lee was ordered to set forward, to 
 observe his manoeuvres, and prepare to meet 
 him in any part of the continent he m.ight visit. 
 No man was better qualified, at this early stage 
 of the war, to penetrate the designs of the 
 enemy, than Lee. Nursed in the camp, and 
 well versed in European tactics, the soldiers 
 believed him, of all other officers, the best ab'e 
 to face in the field an experienced British 
 veteran, and lead them on to victory. 
 
 New York was supposed to be the object of 
 the enemy, and hither he hastened with all 
 possible expedition. Immediately on his ar- 
 rival, Lee took the most active and prompt 
 measures to put it in a state of defence. He 
 disarmed all suspected persons within the reach 
 of his command, and proceeded with such 
 rigour s^ainst the tories, as to give alarm at his 
 
188 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 assumption of military powers. From the 
 lories he exacted a strong oath, and his bold 
 measures carried terror wherever he appeared. 
 
 "Not long after he was appointed to the 
 command of the southern department, and in 
 his travels through the country, he received 
 every testimony of high respect from the 
 people. General Sir Henry Clinton, and Sir 
 Peter Parker, with a powerful fleet and army, 
 attempted the reduction of Charleston while 
 he was in command. The fleet anchored 
 within half musket-shot of the fort on Sulli- 
 van's Island, where Col. Moultrie, one of the 
 bravest and most intrepid of men, commanded. 
 A tremendous engagement ensued on the 28th 
 of June, 1776, which lasted twelve hours 
 without intermission. The whole British force 
 was completely repulsed, after suffering an 
 irreparable loss. 
 
 " General Lee and Colonel Moultrie received 
 the thanks of Congress for their signal bravery 
 and gallantry. 
 
 " Our hero had now reached the pinnacle of 
 his military glory ; the eclat of his name alone 
 appeared to enchant and animate the most 
 desponding heart. But here we pause to con- 
 template the humiliating reverse of human 
 
CHAKLES LEE. 189 
 
 events. He returned to the wain army in 
 October; and in inarrbing; at the head of a 
 laro-e detachment tlirough the J* iveys, leaving, 
 from a desire of retaining a separate command, 
 delayed his march several days, in disobedience 
 of express orders from the commander-*n-chief, 
 he was guilty of most culpable negligence in 
 regard to his personal security. He took up 
 his quarters two or three miles from the main 
 body, and lay for the night, December 13th, 
 1776, in a careless, exposed situation. In- 
 formation of this being communicated to 
 Colotiel Harcourt, who commanded the British 
 li'^ht-horse, he proceeded immediately to the 
 house, fired into it, and obliged the general to 
 surrender himself a prisoner. They mounted 
 him on a horse in haste, without his cloak or 
 hat, and conveyed him in triumph to New 
 York." 
 
 Lee was treated, wl ile a prisoner, with 
 great severity by the enemy, who affected to 
 consider him as a state prisoner and deserter 
 from the service of his Britannic mnjesty, and 
 denied the privileges of an American officer. 
 General Washington promptly retaliated the 
 treatment received by Lee upon the British 
 officers in his possession. This state of things 
 
190 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 existed until the capture of Burgoyne, when 
 a complete change of treatment was observed 
 towards Lee; and he was shortly afterward 
 exchanged. 
 
 The first military act of General Lee after 
 his exchange, closed his career in the American 
 army. Previous to the battle of Monmouth, 
 his character in general was respectable. From 
 the beginning of the contest, his unremitted 
 zeal in the cause of America excited and di- 
 rected the military spirit of the whole conti- 
 nent; and his conversation inculcated the 
 principles of liberty among all ranks of the 
 people. 
 
 His important services excited the warm 
 gratitude of many of the friends of America. 
 Hence it is said that a strong party was formed 
 in Congress, and by some discontented officers 
 in the army, to raise Lee to the first command : 
 and it has been suggested by many, that General 
 Lee's conduct at the battle of Monmouth was 
 intended to eifect this plan: for could the 
 odium of the defeat have been at this time 
 thrown on General Washington, there is great 
 reason to suppose that he would have been de- 
 prived of his command. 
 
 It is now to be seen how General Lee termi- 
 
CHA.RLES LEE. 191 
 
 nated his military career. In the battle of 
 Monmouth, on the 28th of June, 1778, he 
 commanded the van of the American troops, 
 with orders from the comnXander-in-chief to 
 attack the retreating enemy. Instead of 
 obeying this order, he conducted in an un- 
 worthy manner, and greatly disconcerted the 
 arrangements of the day. Washington, ad- 
 vancing to the field of battle, met him in his 
 disorderly retreat, and accosted him with strong 
 expressions of disapprobation. Lee, incapable 
 of brooking even an implied indignity, and 
 unable to restrain the warmth of his resentment, 
 used improper language in return, and some 
 irritation was excited on both sides. The 
 following letters immediately after passed be- 
 tween Lee and the commander-in-chief : 
 
 Camp, English -Town, 1st July, 1778. 
 Sir — From the knowledge that I have of 
 your excellency's character, I must conclude 
 that nothing but the misinformation of some 
 very stupid, or misrepresentation of some very 
 wicked person, could have occasioned your 
 making use of such very singular expressions 
 as you did, on my coming up to the ground 
 where you had taken post : they implied that 
 
102 HEROES OF THE nEVOLUTION. 
 
 I was guilty either of disobedience of orders, 
 want of conduct, or want of courage. Your 
 excellency will, therefore, infinitely oblige me 
 bv lettino* me know on which of these three 
 articles you ground your charge, that I may 
 prepare for my justification ; which I have the 
 happiness to be confident I can do to the army, 
 to the Congress, to America, and to the world 
 in general. Your excellency must give me 
 leave to observe, that neither yourself, nor 
 those about your person, could, from your 
 situation, be in the least judges of the merits or 
 demerits of our manoeuvres ; and, to speak with 
 a becoming pride, I can assert that to these 
 manoeuvres the success of the day was entirely 
 owing. I can boldly say, that had we remained 
 on the first ground — or had we advanced — or 
 had the retreat been conducted in a manner 
 different from what it was, this whole army, 
 and the interests of America, would have risked 
 being sacrificed. I ever had, and I hope ever 
 shall have, the greatest respect and veneration 
 for General Washington ; I think him endowed 
 with many great and good qualities j but in this 
 instance I must pronounce, that he has been 
 guilty of an act of cruel injustice towards a 
 man who had certainly some pretensions to the 
 
CHARLES LEE. 193 
 
 regard of every servant of his country ; and I 
 think, sir, I have a right to demand some 
 reparation for the injury committed ; and unless 
 I can obtain it, I must, in justice to myself, 
 when the campaign is closed, which I believe 
 will close the war, retire from a service, at the 
 head of which is placed a man capable of 
 offering such injuries ; — but at the same time, 
 in justice to you, I must repeat that I, from my 
 soul, believe that it was not a motion of your 
 own breast, but instigated by some of those 
 dirty earwigs, who will for ever insinuate 
 themselves near persons in high office ; for I 
 am really assured that, when General Wash- 
 ington acts from himself, no man in his army 
 will have reason to complain of injustice and 
 indecorum. 
 
 I am, sir, and I hope ever shall have reason 
 to continue. Yours, &c. 
 
 CHARLES LEE. 
 His excellency General Washington. 
 
 Head-quarters, English- Town, June 28, 1778. 
 Sir — I received your letter, dated through 
 mistake the 1st of July, expressed, as I conceive, 
 in terms highly improper. I am not conscious 
 of having made use of any singular expressions 
 17 
 
19 4f HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 at the time of my meeting you, as you intimate. 
 What I recollect to have said was dictated by 
 duty, and warranted by the occasion. As 
 soon as circumstances will admit, you shall 
 have an opportunity, either of justifying your- 
 self to the army, to Congress, to America, and 
 to the world in general, or of convincing them 
 that you are guilty of a breach of orders, and 
 of misbehaviour before the enemy on the 28th 
 instant, in not attacking them as you had been 
 directed, and in making an unnecessary, dis- 
 orderly, and shameful retreat. 
 
 I am, sir, your most obedient servant, 
 
 G. WASHINGTON. 
 
 A court-martial, of which Lord Stirling was 
 president, was ordered for his trial, and after a 
 masterly defence by General Lee, found him 
 guilty of all the charges, and sentenced him to 
 be suspended from any command in the army 
 for the term of twelve months. This sentence 
 was shortl}^ afterward confirmed by Congress. 
 
 When promulgated, it was like a mortal 
 wound to the lofty, aspiring spirit of General 
 Lee ; pointing to his dog, he exclaimed — " Oh 
 that I was that animal, that I might not calJ 
 man my brother." He became outrageous, and 
 
CHARLES LEE. 195 
 
 from that moment he was more open and 
 virulent in his attack on the character of the 
 commander-in-chief, and did not cease in his 
 unwearied endeavours, both in his conversation 
 and writings, to lessen his reputation in the 
 estimation of the army and the public. He 
 was an active abettor of General Conway in 
 his calumny and abuse of General Washington, 
 and they were believed to be in concert in their 
 vile attempts to supersede his excellency in the 
 supreme command. With the hope of effecting 
 his nefarious purpose, he published a pamphlet 
 replete with scurrilous imputations unfavourable 
 to the military talents of the commander-in- 
 chief, but this, with his other malignant alle- 
 gations, was consigned to contempt. 
 
 At length Colonel Laurens, one of General 
 Washington's aids, unable longer to suffer this 
 gross abuse of his illustrious friend, demanded 
 of Lee that satisfaction which custom has 
 sanctioned as honourable. A rencounter ac- 
 cordingly ensued, and Lee received a wound 
 in his side. 
 
 Lee now finding himself abandoned by his 
 friends, degraded in the eye of the public, and 
 despised by the wise and virtuous, retired to 
 his sequestered plantation in Virginia. In this 
 
196 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 spot, secluded from all society, he lived in a 
 sort of hovel, without glass windows or plaster- 
 ing, or even a decent article of house furniture ; 
 here he amused himself with his books and 
 dogs. On January 10th, 1780, Congress re- 
 solved that Major-General Lee be informed 
 that they have no further occasion for his 
 services in the army of the United States. In 
 the autumn of 1782, wearied with his forlorn 
 situation and broken spirit, he resorted to 
 Philadelphia, and took lodgings in an ordinary 
 tavern. He was soon seized with a disease of 
 the lungs, and after a few days' confinement, 
 he terminated his mortal course, a martyr to 
 chagrin and disappointment, October 2d, 1782. 
 The last words which he was heard to utter 
 were, " stand by me, my brave grenadiers." 
 
 General Lee was rather above the middle 
 size, " plain in his person even to ugliness, and 
 careless in his manners even to a degree of 
 rudeness : his nose was so remarkably aquiline, 
 that it appeared as a real deformity. His voice 
 was rough, his garb ordinary, his deportment 
 morose. He was ambitious of fame, without 
 the dignity to support it. In private life he 
 sunk into the vulgarity of the clown." His 
 remarkable partiality for dogs was such, that a 
 
CHARLES LEE. 197 
 
 number of these animals constantly followed 
 in his train, and the ladies complained that he 
 allowed his canine adherents to follow him into 
 the parlour, and not unfrequently a favourite 
 one might be seen on a chair next his elbow at 
 table. 
 
 In the year 1776, when our army lay at 
 White-Plains, Lee resided near the road which 
 General Washington frequently passed, and he 
 one day with his aids called and took dinner. 
 After they had departed, Lee said to his aids, 
 " You must look me out other quarters, or I 
 shall have Washington and his puppies calling 
 till they eat me up." The next day he ordered 
 his servants to write with chalk on the door, 
 *• No victuals cooked here to-day." The 
 company seeing the hint on the door, passed, 
 with a smile at the oddity of the man. " The 
 character of this person," says one who knew 
 him well, " is full of absurdities and qualities 
 of a most extraordinary nature." 
 
 While in Philadelphia, shortly before his 
 death, the following ludicrous circumstance 
 took place, which created no small diversion. 
 
 The late Judge Brackenridge, whose poign- 
 ancy of satire and eccentricity of character 
 were nearly a match for that of the general, 
 17* 
 
198 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 had dipped his pen in some gall, which greatly 
 irritated Lee's feelings, insomuch that he chal- 
 lenged him to single combat, which Bracken- 
 ridge declined in a very eccentric reply. Lee 
 having furnished himself with a horsewhip, 
 determined to chastise him ignominiously on 
 the very first opportunity. Observing Brack- 
 enridge going down Market street a few days 
 after, he gave him chase, and Brackenridge 
 took refuge in a public house, and barricadoed 
 the door of the room he entered. A number 
 of persons collected to see the result. Lee 
 damned him, and invited him to come out and 
 fight him like a man. Brackenridge replied, 
 that he did not like to be shot at, and made 
 some other curious observations, which only 
 increased Lee's irritation, and the mirth of the 
 spectators. Lee, with the most bitter impre- 
 cation, ordered him to come out, when he said 
 he would horsewhip him. Brackenridge re- 
 plied, that he had no occasion for a discipline 
 of that kind. The amusing scene lasted some 
 time, until at length Lee, finding that he could 
 accomplish no other object than calling forth 
 Brackenridge's wit for the amusement of the 
 bystanders, retired. 
 
 General Lee was master of a most genteel 
 
CHARLES LEE. 199 
 
 address, but was rude in his manners, and 
 excessively negligent in his appearance and 
 behaviour. His appetite v^^as so w^himsical, 
 that he was every where a most troublesome 
 guest. Two or three dogs usually followed 
 him wherever he went. As an officer, he was 
 brave and able, and did much towards disci- 
 plining the American army. With vigorous 
 powers of mind and a brilliant fancy, he was 
 a correct and elegant classical scholar, and he 
 both wrote and spoke his native language with 
 propriety, force, and beauty. His temper was 
 severe j the history of his life is little else 
 than the history of disputes, quarrels, and 
 duels, in every part of the world. He was 
 vindictive, avaricious, immoral, impious, and 
 profane. His principles, as would be expected 
 from his character, were most abandoned, 
 and he ridiculed every tenet of religion. 
 Two virtues he possessed to an eminent de- 
 gree, sincerity and veracity. It was notorious 
 that General Lee vv^as a man of unbounded 
 personal ambition ; and, conscious of his 
 European education, and pre-eminent military 
 talents and prowess, he effected a superiority 
 over General Washington, and constantly 
 aimed at the supreme command, little scrupu 
 
200 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 lous as to the means employed to accomplish 
 his own advancement. 
 
 The follov^ing is an extract from General 
 Lee's will. 
 
 " I desire most earnestly that I may not be 
 buried in any church or church-yard, or with- 
 in a mile of any Presbyterian or Anabaptist 
 meeting house ) for since I have resided 
 in this country, I have kept so much bad 
 company while living, that I do not choose to 
 continue it while dead." 
 
JOHN SULLIVAN, 
 
 Major-General in the American Army. 
 
 General Sullivan was a native of New 
 Hampshire, where he resided before the revo- 
 lution, and attained to a high degree of emi- 
 nence in the profession of the law. He was 
 a member of the first Congress, in 1774; but 
 on the commencement of hostilities, preferring 
 a military commission, he relinquished the 
 fairest prospects of fortune and fame, and ap- 
 peared among the most ardent patriots and 
 intrepid warriors. 
 
 " In 1775, he was appointed a brigadier 
 general, and immediately joined the army 
 at Cambridge, and soon after obtained the com- 
 mand on Winter Hill. The next year he was 
 ordered to Canada, and, on the death of Gene- 
 ral Thomas, the command of the army de- 
 volved on him. The situation of our army in 
 that quarter was inexpressibly distressing ; des- 
 titute of clothing, dispirited by defeat and 
 constant fatigue, and a large proportion of the 
 troops sick with the small-pox. By his great 
 exertions and judicious management, he raeli- 
 
 201 
 
202 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 orated the condition of the army, and obtained 
 general applause. On his retiring from that 
 command July 12th, 1776, the field-officers 
 thus addressed him : 'It is to you, sir, the 
 public are indebted for the preservation of 
 their property in Canada. It is to you we 
 owe our safety thus far. Your humanity will 
 call forth the silent tear and the grateful 
 ejaculation of the sick. Your universal im- 
 partiality will force the applause of the wea- 
 ried soldier.' 
 
 " In August, 1776, he was promoted to the 
 rank of major-general, and soon after was, 
 with Major-General Lord Stirling, captured by 
 the British in the battle on Long Island. 
 General Sullivan being paroled, was sent by 
 General Howe with a messao;e to Cono-ress, 
 after which he returned to New York. In 
 September he was exchanged for Major Gene- 
 ral Prescott. We next find him in command 
 of the right division of our troops, in the 
 famous battle at Trenton, and he acquitted 
 himself honourably on that ever memorable 
 day. 
 
 "In August, 1777, without the authority of 
 Congress, or the commander-in-chief, he plan- 
 ned and executed an expedition against the 
 
JOHN SULLIVAN 203 
 
 enemy on Staten Island. Though the enter- 
 prise was conducted with prudence and success, 
 in part, it was said by some to have been less 
 brilliant than might have been expected under 
 his favourable circumstances ; and as that act 
 was deemed a bold assumption of responsibili- 
 ty, and reports to his prejudice being in circu- 
 lation, a court of inquiry was ordered to in- 
 vestiscate his conduct. The result was an 
 honourable acquittal ; and Congress resolved, 
 that the result, so honourable to General Sulli- 
 van, is highly pleasing to Congress, and that 
 the opinion of the court be published, in justi- 
 fication of that injured officer. 
 
 " In the battles of Brandywine and German- 
 town, in the autumn of 1777, General Sulli- 
 van commanded a division, and in the latter 
 conflict his two aids were killed, and his own 
 conduct was so conspicuously brave, that Gene- 
 ral Washington, in his letter to Congress, con- 
 cludes with encomiums on the gallantry of 
 General Sullivan, and the whole right wing of 
 the army, who acted immediately cinder the 
 eye of his excellency. 
 
 "In August, 1778, General Sullivan, was 
 sole commander of an expedition to the Island 
 of Newport, in co-operation with the French 
 
204" HEROES OF TIIE REVOLUTION. 
 
 fleet under the Count D'Estaing. The Marquis 
 de la Fayette and General Greene volunteered 
 their services on the occasion. The object of 
 the expedition was defeated, in consequence of 
 the French fleet being driven ofl" by a violent 
 storm. By this unfortunate event, the enemy 
 were encouraged to engage our army in battle, 
 in which they suffered a repulse, and General 
 Sullivan finally effected a safe retreat to the 
 main. This retreat, so ably executed, without 
 confusion or the loss of baggage or stores, 
 increased the military reputation of General 
 Sullivan, and redounds to his honour as a 
 skilful commander. 
 
 " The bloody tragedy acted at Wyoming, in 
 1778, had determined the commander-in-chief, 
 in 1779, to employ a large detachment from 
 the continental army to penetrate into the 
 heart of the Indian country, to chastise the 
 hostile tribes and their white associates and ad- 
 herents, for their cruel aggressions on the 
 defenceless inhabitants. The command of this 
 expedition was committed to Major-General 
 Sullivan, with express orders to destroy their 
 settlements, to ruin their crops, and make such 
 thorough devastations as to render the country 
 entirely uninhabitable for the present, and thus 
 
JOHN SULLIVAN. 205 
 
 to compel the savages to remove to a greater 
 distance from our frontiers. 
 
 " General Sullivan had under his command 
 several brigadiers, and a vi^ell chosen army, to 
 which were attached a number of friendly 
 Indian warriors. With this force he penetra- 
 ted about ninety miles, through a horrid 
 swampy wilderness and barren mountainous 
 deserts, to Wyoming, on the Susquehanna 
 river, thence by water to Tioga, and possessed 
 himself of numerous towns and villages of 
 the savages. 
 
 " During this hazardous expedition General 
 Sullivan and his army encountered the most 
 complicated obstacles, requiring the greatest 
 fortitude and perseverance to surmount. He 
 explored an extensive tract of country, and 
 strictly executed the severe, but necessary 
 orders he had received. A considerable num- 
 ber of Indians were slain, some were captured, 
 their habitations were burnt, and their planta- 
 tions of corn and vegetables laid waste in the 
 most effectual manner. ' Eighteen villages, a 
 number of detached buildings, one hundred 
 and sixty thousand bushels of corn, -and those 
 fruits and vegetables which conduce to the 
 comfort and subsistence of man, were utterly 
 18 
 
206 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 destroyed. Five weeks were unremittingly 
 employed in this work of devastation.' 
 
 " On his return from the expedition, he and 
 his army received the approbation of Congress. 
 It is remarked on this expedition, by the trans- 
 lator of M. Chastelleux's travels, an English- 
 man, then resident in the United States, that 
 the instructions given by General Sullivan to 
 his officers, the order of march he prescribed 
 to his troops, and the discipline he had the 
 ability to maintain, would have done honour 
 to the most experienced ancient or modern 
 generals. 
 
 "At the close of the campaign of 1779, 
 General Sullivan, in consequence of impaired 
 health, resigned his commission in the army. 
 Congress, in accepting his resignation, passed 
 a resolve, thanking him for his past services. 
 His military talents and bold spirit of enter- 
 prise were universally acknowledged. He 
 was fond of display, and his personal appear- 
 ance and dignified deportment commanded 
 respect. After his resignation, he resumed 
 his professional pursuits at the bar, and was 
 much distinguished as a statesman, politician, 
 and patriot. He acquired very considerable 
 proficiency in general literature, and an exten- 
 
JOHN SULLIVAN. 207 
 
 sive knowledge of men and the world. He 
 received from Harvard University a degree of 
 master of arts, and from the University of 
 Dartmouth a degree of doctor of laws. He 
 was one of the convention who formed the 
 state constitution for New Hampshire, was 
 chosen into the first council, and was after- 
 wards elected chief magistrate in that state, 
 and held the office for three years. In Sep- 
 tember, 1789, he was appointed judge of the 
 district court for the district of New Hamp- 
 shire, and continued in the office till his death, 
 in 1795." 
 
JOSEPH WARREN, 
 
 Major-General in the American Army. 
 
 "Joseph Warren was born in Roxbury, 
 near Boston, in the year 1741. His father 
 was a respectable farmer in that place, who 
 had held several municipal offices, to the 
 acceptance of his fellow citizens. Joseph, 
 with several of his brothers, was instructed in 
 the elementary branches of knowledge, at the 
 public grammar-school of the town, which 
 was distinguished for its successive instructers 
 of superior attainments. In 1755, he entered 
 college, where he sustained the character of a 
 youth of talents, fine manners, and of a 
 generous independent deportment, united to 
 great personal courage and perseverance. An 
 anecdote will illustrate his fearlessness and de- 
 termination at that age, when character can- 
 hardly be said to be formed. Several students 
 of Warren's class shut themselves in a room 
 to arrange some college affairs, in a way which 
 they knew was contrary to his wishes, and 
 barred the door so effectually, that he could 
 not without great violence force it : but he did 
 208 
 
JOSEPH WARREN. 209 
 
 not give over the attempt of getting among 
 them ; for perceiving that the window of the 
 room in which they were assembled was open, 
 and near a spout which extended from the 
 roof of the building to the ground, he went to 
 the top of the house, slid down to the eaves, 
 seized the spout, and when he had descended as 
 far as the window, threw himself into the 
 chamber among them. At that instant the 
 spout, which was decayed and weak, gave 
 way^and fell to the ground. He looked at it 
 without emotion, said that it had served his 
 purpose, and began to take his part in the 
 business. A spectator of this feat and narrow 
 escape, related this fact to me in the college- 
 yard, nearly half a century afterward ; and 
 the impression it made on his mind was so 
 strong, that he seemed to feel the same emo- 
 tion as though it had happened but an hour 
 before. 
 
 *'0n leaving college, in 1759, Warren 
 turned his attention to the study of medicine, 
 under the direction of Doctor Lloyd, an emi- 
 nent physician of that day, whose valuable 
 life has been protracted almost to the present 
 time. Warren was distinguished very soon 
 after he commenced practice 3 for when, in 
 18* 
 
210 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTIOxV. 
 
 1764*, the small-pox spread in Boston, he was 
 among the most successful in his method of 
 treating that disease, which was then consider- 
 ed the most dreadful scourge of the human 
 race ; and the violence of which had baffled 
 the efforts of the learned faculty of medicine 
 from the time of its first appearance. From 
 this moment he stood high among his brethren, 
 and was the favourite of the people ; and what 
 he gained in their good-will he never lost. 
 His personal appearance, his address, his cour- 
 tesy, and his humanity, won the way to the 
 hearts of all ; and his knowledge and superi- 
 ority of talents secured the conquest. A 
 bright and lasting fame in his profession, with 
 the attendant consequences, wealth and influ- 
 ence, were within his reach, and near at hand : 
 but the calls of a distracted country were 
 paramount to every consideration of his own 
 interests, and he entered the vortex of politics, 
 never to return to the peaceful course of 
 professional labour. 
 
 " The change in public opinion had been 
 gradually preparing the minds of most men 
 for a revolution. This was not openly avow- 
 ed : amelioration of treatment for the present, 
 and assurances of kindness in future, were all 
 
JOSEPH WARREN. 211 
 
 that the colonies asked from Great Britain- but 
 these they did not receive. The mother country 
 mistook the spirit of her children, and used 
 threats when kindness would have been the 
 best policy. When Britain declared her right 
 to direct, govern, and tax us in any form, and 
 at all times, the colonies reasoned, remonstra- 
 ted, and entreated for a while ; and when 
 these means did not answer, they defied and 
 resisted. The political writers of the province 
 had been active and busy, but they were gene- 
 rally screened by fictitious names, or sent their 
 productions anonymously into the world ; but 
 the time had arrived, when speakers of nerve 
 and boldness were wanted to raise their voices 
 against oppression in every shape. Warren 
 possessed first rate qualities for an orator, and 
 had early declared in the strongest terms his 
 political sentiments, which were somewhat in 
 advance of public opinion ; for he held as 
 tyranny all taxation which could be imposed 
 by the British parliament upon the colonies. 
 In times of danger, the people are sagacious, 
 and cling to those who best can serve them ; 
 and every eye was on him in every emergency ; 
 for he had not only the firmness and decision 
 they wished for in a leader, but was prudent 
 
212 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION 
 
 and wary in all his plans. His first object was 
 to enlighten the people ; and then he felt sure 
 of engaging their feelings in the general cause. 
 He knew, wh*en once they began, it would be 
 impossible to tread back — independence only 
 would satisfy the country. With an intention 
 of directing public sentiment, without appear- 
 ing to be too active, he met frequently with a 
 considerable number of substantial mechanics, 
 and others in the middling classes of society, 
 who were busy in politics. This crisis re- 
 quired such a man as they found him to be ; 
 one who could discern the signs of the times, 
 and mould the ductile materials to his will, 
 and at the same time seem only to follow 
 in the path of others. His letter to Barnard, 
 which attracted the notice of government, had 
 been written several years before, in 1768; 
 but in some form or other he was constantly 
 enlightening the people by his pen : but it is 
 now difficult, and of no great importance, 
 to trace him in the papers of that period. 
 The public was not then always right in 
 designating the authors of political essays. In 
 the different situations in which he was called 
 to act, he assumed as many characters as fable 
 has ever given to the tutelar god of his pro- 
 
JOSEPH WARREN. 213 
 
 fession, and like him, in every one of them, 
 he retained the wisdom to guide and the power 
 to charm. At one time he might be found re- 
 straining the impetuosity, and bridling the fury 
 of those hot-headed politicians who felt more 
 than they reasoned, and dared to do more than 
 became men. Such was his versatility, that 
 he turned from these lectures of caution 
 and prudence, to asserting and defending the 
 most bold and undisguised principles of liberty, 
 and defying, in their very teeth, the agents of 
 the crown. Twice he was elected to deliver 
 the oration on the 5th of March, in commem- 
 oration of the massacre ; and his orations are 
 among the most distinguished produced by that 
 splendid list of speakers who addressed their 
 fellow citizens on this subject, so interesting to 
 them all. In these productions generally, the 
 immediate causes of this event were over- 
 looked, and the remote ones alone were 
 discussed. Here they were on safe ground; 
 for tyranny, in its incipient stages, has no 
 excuses from opposition ; but in its march, it 
 generally finds some plausible arguments for its 
 proceedings, drawn from the very resistance it 
 naturally produces. These occasions gave the 
 orators a fine field for remark, and a fair oppor- 
 
214 HEROES or THE PwEVOLUTION. 
 
 tunity for effect. The great orators of antiqui- 
 ty, in their speeches, attempted only to rouse 
 the people to retain what they possessed. 
 Invective, entreaty, and pride, had their effect 
 in assisting those mighty masters to influence 
 the people. They were ashamed to lose what 
 their fathers left them, won by their blood, 
 and so long preserved by their wisdom, their 
 virtues, and their courage. Our statesmen had 
 a harder task to perform ; for they were com- 
 pelled to call on the people to gain what 
 they had never enjoyed — an independent rank 
 and standing among the nations of the world. 
 
 " His next oration was delivered March 6th, 
 1775. It was at his own solicitation that he 
 was appointed to this duty a second time. The 
 fact is illustrative of his character, and worthy 
 of remembrance. Some British officers of the 
 army then in Boston, had publicly declared 
 that it should be at the price of the life of 
 any man to speak of the event of March 5th, 
 1770, on that anniversary. Warren's soul took 
 lire at such a threat, so openly made, and he 
 wished for the honour of braving it. This was 
 readily granted: for at such a time a man 
 would probably find but few rivals. Many 
 who would spurn the thought of personal fear, 
 
JOSEPH WARREN. 215 
 
 might be apprehensive that they would be so 
 far disconcerted as to forget their discourse. 
 It is easier to fight bravely, than to think clearly 
 or correctly in danger. Passion sometimes 
 nerves the arm to fight, but disturbs the 
 regular current of thought. The day came, 
 and the weather was remarkably fine. The 
 Old South Meeting House was crowded at an 
 early hour. The British ofiicers occupied the 
 aisles, the flight of steps to the pulpit, and 
 several of them were within it. It was not 
 precisely known whether this was accident or 
 design. The orator, with the assistance of his 
 friends, made his entrance at the pulpit win- 
 dow by a ladder. The officers seeing his 
 coolness and intrepedity, made way for him to 
 advance and address the audience. An awful 
 stillness preceded his exordium. Each man 
 felt the palpitations of his own heart, and saw 
 the pale but determined face of his neighbour. 
 The speaker began his pration in a firm tone 
 of voice, and proceeded with great energy 
 and pathos. Warren and his friends were 
 prepared to chastise contumely, prevent dis- 
 grace, and avenge an attempt at assassination. 
 
 "The scene was sublime; a patriot, in 
 whom the flush of youth and the grace and 
 
216 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 dignity of manhood were combined, stood 
 armed in the sanctuary of God, to animate and 
 encourage the sons of liberty, and to hurl de- 
 fiance at their oppressors. The orator com- 
 menced with the early history of the country, 
 described the tenure by which we held our 
 liberties and property — the affection we had 
 constantly shown the parent country, and 
 boldly told them how, and by whom these 
 blessings of life had been violated. There 
 was in this appeal to Britain — in this descrip- 
 of suffering, agony, and horror, a calm and 
 high-souled defiance which must have chilled 
 the blood of every sensible foe. Such another 
 hour has seldom happened in the history of 
 man, and is not surpassed in the records of na- 
 tions. The thunders of Demosthenes rolled at 
 a distance from Philip and his host — and Tully 
 poured the fiercest torrent of his invective 
 when Cataline was at a distance, and his 
 dagger no longer to be feared : but Warren's 
 speech was made to proud oppressors, resting 
 on their arms, whose errand it was to overawe, 
 and whose business it was to fight. 
 
 " If the deed of Brutus deserved to be com- 
 memorated by history, poetry, painting, and 
 sculpture, should not this instance of patriotism 
 
JOSEPH WARREN. 317 
 
 and bravery be held in lasting remembrance'^ 
 If he 
 
 * That struck the foremost man of all this world,' 
 
 was hailed as the first of freeman, what 
 honours are not due to him, who undismayed 
 bearded the British lion, to show the world 
 what his countrymen dared to do in the cause 
 of liberty ? If the statue of Brutus was placed 
 among those of the gods who were the pre- 
 servers of Roman freedom, should not that of 
 Warren fill a lofty niche in the temple reared 
 to perpetuate the remembrance of our birth as 
 a nation ? 
 
 "If independence was not at first openly 
 avowed by our leading men at that time, the 
 hope of attaining it was fondly cherished, and 
 the exertions of the patriots pointed to this 
 end. The wise knew that the storm which the 
 political Prosperos were raising, would pass 
 away in blood. With these impressions on his 
 mind, Warren for several years was preparing 
 himself by study and observation, to take 
 a conspicuous rank in the military arrange- 
 ments which he knew must ensue. 
 
 « On the 18th of April, 1775, by his agents 
 in Boston, he discovered the design of the 
 19 
 
218 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 British commander to sieze or destroy our few 
 stores at Concord. He instantly despatched 
 several confidential messengers to Lexington. 
 The late venerable patriot, Paul Revere, was 
 one of them. This gentleman has given a 
 very interesting account of the difficulties he 
 encountered in the discharge of this duty. 
 The alarm was given, and the militia, burning 
 with resentment, were, at day-break on the 
 19th, on the road to repel insult and aggression. 
 The drama was opened about sunrise, within a 
 few yards of the house of God, in Lexington. 
 Warren hastened to the field of action, in the 
 full ardour of his soul, and shared the dangers 
 of the day. While pressing on the enemy, a 
 musket-ball took off a lock of his hair close to 
 his ear. The lock was rolled and pinned, 
 after the fashion of that day, and considerable 
 force must have been necessary to have cut it 
 away. The people were delighted with his 
 cool, collected bravery, and already considered 
 him as a leader, whose gallantry they were to 
 admire, and in whose talents they were to 
 confide. On the 14th of June, 1775, the 
 Provincial Congress of Massachusetts made 
 him a major-general of their forces ; but pre- 
 vious to the date of his commission, he had 
 
JOSEPH WARREN. 219 
 
 been unceasing in his exertions to maintain 
 order and enforce discipline among the troops, 
 which had hastily assembled at Cambridge, 
 after the battle of Lexington. He mingled in 
 the ranks, and by every method and argument 
 strove to inspire them with confidence, and 
 succeeded in a most wonderful manner in 
 imparting to them a portion of the flame 
 which glowed in his own breast. At such 
 a crisis genius receives its birth-right — the 
 homage of inferior minds, who, for self-pre- 
 servation, are willing to be directed. Pre- 
 vious to receiving the appointment of major- 
 general, he had been requested to take the 
 office of physician-general to the army, but he 
 chose to be where wounds were to be made, 
 rather than where they were to be healed. Yet 
 he lent his aid and advice to the medical 
 department of the army, and was of great ser- 
 vice to them in their organization and arrange- 
 ments. 
 
 " He was at this time president of the Pro- 
 vincial Congress, having been elected, the pre- 
 ceding year, a member from the town of 
 Boston. In this body he discovered his extra- 
 ordinary powers of mind, and his peculiar 
 fitness for responsible offices at such a juncture. 
 
220 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 Cautious in proposing measures, he was assidu- 
 ous in pursuing what he thought, after mature 
 deliberation, to be right, and never counted the 
 probable cost of a measure, when he had 
 decided that it was necessary to be taken. 
 When this Congress, which was sitting at 
 Watertown, adjourned for the day, he mounted 
 his horse and hastened to the camp. Every 
 day ' he bought golden opinions of all sorts of 
 men j* and when the troops were called to act 
 on Breed's Hill, he had so often been am.ong 
 them, that his person was known to most 
 of the soldiers. 
 
 " Several respectable historians have fallen 
 into some errors in describing the battle in 
 which he fell, by giving the command of the 
 troops on that day to Warren, when he was 
 only a volunteer in the fight. He did not 
 arrive on the battle-ground until the enemy 
 had commenced their movements for the 
 attack. As soon as he made his appearance on 
 the field, the veteran commander of the day, 
 Colonel Prescott, desired to act under his 
 directions ; but Warren declined taking any 
 other part than that of a volunteer, and added, 
 that he came to learn the art of war from an 
 experienced soldier, whose orders he should be 
 
JOSEPH WARREN. 221 
 
 happy to obey. In the battle he was armed 
 with a musket, and stood in the ranks, now and 
 then changing his place, to encourage his 
 fellow-soldiers by words and by example. 
 He undoubtedly, from the state of hostilities, 
 expected soon to act in his high military 
 capacity, and it was indispensable, according 
 to his views, that he should share the dangers 
 of the field as a common soldier with his 
 fellow-citizens, that his reputation for bravery 
 might be put beyond the possibility of suspi- 
 cion. The wisdom of such a course would 
 never have been doubted, if he had returned 
 in safety from the fight. In such a struggle 
 for independence, the ordinary rules of pru- 
 dence and caution could not govern those who 
 were building up their names for future use- 
 fulness by present exertion. Some maxims 
 drawn from the republican writers of antiqui- 
 ty, were worn as their mottos. Some precepts 
 descriptive of the charms of liberty, were 
 ever on their tongues ; and some classical 
 model of Greek or Roman patriotism was 
 constantly in their minds. Instances of great 
 men mixing in the rank of common soldiers, 
 were to be found in ancient times, when men 
 fought for their altars and their homes. The 
 19* 
 
222 HEROES OP THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 cases were parallel, and the examples were 
 imposing. When the battle was decided, and 
 our people fled, Warren was one of the last 
 who left the breastwork, and was slain within 
 a few yards of it, as he was slowly retiring. 
 He probably felt mortified at the event of the 
 day ) but had he known how dearly the victory 
 was purchased, and how little honour was 
 gained by those who won it, his heart would 
 have been at rest. Like the band of Leoni- 
 das, the vanquished have received, by the 
 judgment of nations, from which there is no 
 appeal, the imperishable laurels of victors. 
 His death brought a sickness to the heart 
 of the community, and the people mourned 
 his fall, not with the convulsive agony of a 
 betrothed virgin over the bleeding corpse 
 of her lover — but with the pride of the Spar- 
 tan mother, who, in the intensity of her grief, 
 smiled to see that the wounds whence life had 
 flown, were on the breast of her son — and 
 was satisfied that he had died in defence of his 
 country. The worth of the victim, and the 
 horror of the sacrifice, gave a higher value to 
 our liberties, and produced a more fixed determi- 
 nation to preserve them. 
 
 « The battle of Bunker's Hill has often been 
 
JOSEPH WARREN. 223 
 
 described, and of late its minutest details given 
 to the public; but never was the military, 
 moral, and political character of that great 
 event more forcibly drawn, than in the follow- 
 ing extract from the North American Review, 
 for July, 1818 : 
 
 * The incidents and the result of the battle 
 itself, were most important, and indeed most 
 wonderful. As a mere battle, few surpass 
 it in whatever engages and interests the atten- 
 tion. It was fought on a conspicuous emi- 
 nence, in the immediate neighbourhood of a 
 populous city ; and consequently in the view 
 of thousands of spectators. The attacking 
 army moved over a sheet of water to the 
 assault. The operations and movements were 
 of course all visible and* all distinct. Those 
 who looked on from the houses and heights of 
 Boston had a fuller view of every important 
 operation and event, than can ordinarily be had 
 of any battle or that can possibly be had of 
 such as are fought on a more extended ground, 
 or by detachments of troops acting in different 
 places, and at different times, and in some 
 measure independently of each other. When 
 the British columns were advancing to the 
 attack, the flames of Charlestown, (fired, as is 
 
224 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 generally supposed, by a shell,) began to ascend. 
 The spectators, far outnumbering both armies, 
 thronged and crowded on every height and 
 every point which afforded a view of the 
 scene, themselves constituting a very important 
 part of it. 
 
 ' The troops of the two armies seemed like 
 so many combatants in an amphitheatre. The 
 manner in which they should acquit them- 
 selves was to be judged of, not as in other cases 
 of military engagements, by reports and future 
 history, but by a vast and anxious assembly 
 already on the spot, and waiting with unspeak- 
 able concern and emotion the progress of 
 the day. 
 
 * In other battles, the recollection of wives 
 and children has beeh used as an excitement to 
 animate the warrior's breast, and nerve his 
 arm. Here was not a mere recollection, but 
 an actual 'presence of them and other dear con- 
 nexions, hanging on the skirts of the battle, 
 anxious and agitated, feeling almost as if 
 wounded themselves by every blow of the 
 enemy, and putting forth, as it were, their own 
 strength, and all the energy of their own 
 throbbing bosoms, into every gallant effort of 
 their warring friends. 
 
JOSEPH WARREN. 225 
 
 'But there was a more comprehensive, and 
 vastly more important view of that day's con- 
 test, than has been mentioned ; a view, indeed, 
 which ordinary eyes, bent intently on what 
 was immediately before them, did not embrace, 
 but which was perceived in its full extent and 
 expansion by minds of a higher order. Those 
 men who were at the head of the colonial 
 councils, who had been engaged for years 
 in the previous stages of the quarrel with 
 England, and who had been accustomed to look 
 forward to the future, were well apprised of 
 the magnitude of the events likely to hang on 
 the business of that day. They saw in it not 
 only a battle, but the beginning of a civil war, 
 of unmeasured extent and uncertain issue. 
 All America, and all England, were likely to 
 be deeply concerned in the consequences. 
 The individuals themselves, who knew full 
 well what agency they had had in bringing 
 affairs to this crisis, had need of all their 
 courage : not that disregard of personal safety, 
 in which the vulgar suppose true courage to 
 consist, but that high and fixed moral senti- 
 ment, that steady and decided purpose, which 
 enables men to pursue a distant end with a full 
 view of the difficulties and dangers before 
 
226 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 them, and with a conviction that, before they 
 arrive at the proposed end, should they ever 
 reach it, they must pass through evil report as 
 well as good report, and be liable to obloquy 
 as well as to defeat. 
 
 < Spirits that fear nothing else, fear disgrace ; 
 and this danger is necessarily encountered 
 by those who engage in civil war. Unsuccess- 
 ful resistance is not only ruin to its authors, 
 but is esteemed, and necessarily so, by the laws 
 of all countries, treasonable. This is the case, 
 at least till resistance becomes so general and 
 formidable as to assume the form of regular 
 war. But who can tell, when resistance com- 
 mences, whether it will attain even to that 
 degree of success ? Some of those persons 
 who signed the Declaration of Independence, 
 in 1777, described themselves as signing it, 
 * as with halters about their necks.' If there 
 were grounds for this remark in 1776, when 
 the cause had become so much more general, 
 how much greater was the hazard when the bat- 
 tle of Bunker-Hill was fought ! 
 
 ' These considerations constituted, to en- 
 larged and liberal minds, the moral sublimity 
 of the occasion ; while, to the outward senses, 
 the movement of armies, the roar of artillery, 
 
JOSEPH WARREN. 227 
 
 the brilliancy of the reflection of a summer's 
 sun from the burnished armour of the British 
 columns, and the flames of a burning town, 
 made up a scene of extraordinary grandeur.' 
 
 " This eminence has become sacred ground. 
 It contains in its bosom the ashes of the brave 
 who died fighting to defend their altars and 
 their homes. Strangers from all countries 
 visit this spot, for it is associated in their 
 memories with Marathon and Platsea, and all 
 the mighty struggles of determined freemen. 
 Our citizens love to wander over this field — 
 they agreed to awake recollections, and the 
 youthful to excite heroic emotions. The 
 battle-ground is now all plainly to be seen — 
 the spirit of modern improvement, which 
 would stop the streams of Helicon to turn 
 a mill, and caused to be felled the trees of 
 Paradise to make a rafter, has yet spared this 
 hallowed height. 
 
 " If ' the days of chivalry be gone for ever,' 
 and the high and enthusiastic feelings of gen- 
 erosity and magnanimity be not so widely 
 diffused as in more heroic ages, yet it cannot be 
 denied but that there have been, and still are, 
 individuals whose bosoms are warmed with a 
 spirit as glowing and ethereal as ever swelled 
 
228 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 the heart of ' mailed knight,' who, in the 
 ecstacies of love, religion, and martial glory, 
 joined the v^ar-cry on the plains of Palestine, 
 or proved his steel on the infidel foe. The 
 history of every revolution is interspersed 
 w^ith brilliant episodes of individual prowess. 
 The pages of our own history, when fully 
 written out, will sparkle profusely with these 
 gems of romantic valour. 
 
 " The calmness and indifference of the 
 veteran * in clouds of dust, and seas of blood,' 
 can only be acquired by long acquaintance 
 with the trade of death ; but the heights of 
 Charlestown will bear eternal testimony how 
 suddenly, in the cause of freedom, the peace- 
 ful citizen can become the invincible warrior 
 — stung by oppression, he springs forward 
 from his tranquil pursuits, undaunted by oppo- 
 sition, and undismayed by danger, to fight even 
 to death for the defence of his rights. Pa- 
 rents, wives, children, and country, all the 
 hallowed properties of existence, are to him 
 the talisman that takes fear from his heart, and 
 nerves his arm to victory. 
 
 "In the requiem over those who have 
 fallen in the cause of their country, which 
 
JOSEPH WARREN. 229 
 
 'Time with his owii eternal lips shall sing,' 
 
 the praises of Warren shall be distinctly 
 heard. The blood of those patriots who have 
 fallen in the defence of republics, has often 
 ' cried from the ground' against the ingratitude 
 of the country for which it was shed. No 
 monument was reared to their fame 5 no 
 record of their virtues written j no fostering 
 hand extended to their offspring — but they and 
 their deeds were neglected and forgotten. 
 Toward Warren there was no ingratitude — 
 our country is free from this stain. Congress 
 were the guardians of his honour, and remem- 
 bered that his children were unprotected 
 orphans. Within a year after his death Con- 
 gress passed the following resolutions : 
 
 " That a monument be erected to the memory 
 of General Warren, in the town of Boston, 
 with the following inscription : 
 
 IN HONOUR OF 
 
 JOSEPH WARREN, 
 
 Major-General, of Massachusetts-Bay. 
 
 He devoted his Life to the 
 
 Liberties of his Country, 
 
 and, in bravely defending them, 
 
 fell an early Victim in the 
 
 20 
 
230 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 BATTLE OF BUNKER-HILL, 
 
 June 17, 1775. 
 
 The Congress of the United States, 
 
 as an acknowledgment of his 
 
 Services and distinguished 
 
 Merit, have erected this 
 
 Monument to his 
 
 memory. 
 
 " It was resolved, likewise, ' that the eldest 
 son of General Warren should be educated, 
 from that time, at the expense of the United 
 States.' On the 1st of July, 1780, Congress, 
 recognising these former resolutions, further 
 resolved, ' That it should be recommended to 
 the executive of Massachusetts-Bay to make 
 provision for the maintenance and education 
 of his three younger children. And that 
 Congress would defray the expense to the 
 amount of the half-pay of a major-general, to 
 commence at the time of his death, and con- 
 tinue till the youngest of the children should 
 be of age.' The part of the resolutions re- 
 lating to the education of the children, was 
 carried into effect accordingly. The monu- 
 ment is not yet erected, but it is not too late.'* 
 
JOHN LAURENS, 
 
 Colonel in the American Army, 
 
 "Son of Henry Laurens, was born in 
 Charleston, in 1755. In youth he discovered 
 that energy of character which distinguished 
 him through life. When a lad, though labour- 
 ing under a fever, on the cry of fire, he leaped 
 from his bed, hastened to the scene of danger, 
 and was in a few minutes on the top of the expo- 
 sed houses, risking his life to arrest the progress 
 of the flames. This is the more worthy of 
 notice, for precisely in the same way, and 
 under a similar, but higher impulse of ardent 
 patriotism, he lost his life in the year 1782. 
 
 " At the age of sixteen he was taken to 
 Europe by his father, and there put under the 
 best means of instruction in Geneva, and 
 afterward in London. 
 
 " He was entered a student of law at the 
 temple in 1774, and was daily improving in 
 legal knowledge till the disputes between 
 Great Britain and her colonies arrested his 
 attention. He soon found that the claims 
 of the mother country struck at the root of 
 
 231 
 
232 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 liberty in the colonies, and that she perse- 
 veringly resolved to enforce these claims at 
 every hazard. Fain would he have come out 
 to join his countrymen in anns at the com- 
 mencement of the contest ; but the peremptory 
 order of his father enjoined his continuance in 
 England, to prosecute his studies and finish his 
 education. As a dutiful son, he obeyed these 
 orders ; but as a patriot burning vi^ith desire to 
 defend his country, he dismissed Coke, Little- 
 ton, and all the tribe of jurists, and substituted 
 in their place Vauban, Folard, and other 
 writers on war. He also availed himself of 
 the excellent opportunities which London 
 affords of acquiring practical knowledge of 
 the manual exercise, of tactics, and the me- 
 chanism of war. Thus instructed, as soon as 
 he was a freeman of legal age, he quitted 
 England for France, and by a circuitous 
 voyage in neutral vessels, and at a considerable 
 risk, made his way good, in the year 1777, to 
 Charleston. 
 
 " Independence had been declared — the 
 American army was raised, officered, and in 
 the field. He who, by his attainments in 
 general science, and particularly in the military 
 art, deserved high rank, had no ordinary door 
 
JOHN LAURENS. 233 
 
 left open to serve his country, but by entering 
 in the lowest grade of an army abounding 
 with officers. General Washington, ever 
 attentive to merit, instantly took him into 
 his family as a supernumerary aid-de-camp. 
 Shortly after this appointment, he had an 
 opportunity of indulging his military ardour. 
 He fought and was wounded in the battle of 
 Germantown, October 4th, 1777. He con- 
 tinued in General Washington's family, in the 
 middle states, till the British had retreated from 
 Philadelphia to New York, and was engaged 
 in the battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778. 
 
 " After this, the war being transferred more 
 northwardly, he was indulged in attaching 
 himself to the army on Rhode Island, where 
 the most active opeftitlons were expected soon 
 to take place. There he was entrusted with 
 the command of some light troops. The 
 bravery and good conduct which he displayed 
 on this occasion was honoured by Congress. 
 
 "On the 5th of November, 1778, they 
 resolved, ' that John Laurens, Esq. aid-de-camp 
 to General Washington, be presented with 
 a continental commission of lieutenent-colo- 
 nel, in testimony of the sense which Congress 
 entertain of his patriotic and spirited services 
 20* 
 
234 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 as a volunteer in the American army 5 and of 
 his brave conduct in several actions, particu- 
 larly in that of Rhode Island, on the 29th of 
 August last ; and that General Washington be 
 directed, whenever an opportunity shall offer, 
 to give Lieutenant-Colonel Laurens command 
 agreeable to his rank.' On the next day, a 
 letter from Lieutenant-Colonel Laurens was 
 read in Congress, expressing ' his gratitude for 
 the unexpected honour which Congress was 
 pleased to confer on him by the resolution 
 passed the day before ; and the high satisfac- 
 tion 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 an 
 evident injustice to his colleagues in the family 
 of the commander-in-chiel' — that having been 
 a spectator of the couvulsions occasioned in 
 the army by disputes of rank, he held the 
 tranquillity of it too dear to be instrumental in 
 disturbing it, and therefore entreated Congress 
 to suppress the resolve of yesterday, ordering 
 him a commission of lieutenant-colonel, and 
 to accept his sincere thanks for the intended 
 honour.' In this relinquishment there was a 
 victory gained by patriotism over self-love. 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Laurens loved military 
 
JOHN LAURENS. 235 
 
 iame and rank ; but he loved his country more, 
 and sacrificed the former to preserve the peace 
 and promote the interest of the latter. 
 
 " In the next year the British directed their 
 military operations chiefly against the most 
 southern states. Lieutenant-Colonel John 
 Laurens was induced by double motives to 
 repair to Carolina. The post of danger was 
 always the object of his preference. His 
 native state was become the theatre of war. 
 To its aid he repaired, and in May, 1779, with 
 a party of light troops, had a skirmish with 
 the British at Tulifinny. In endeavouring to 
 obstruct their progress towards Charleston, he 
 received a wound. This was no sooner cured 
 than he rejoined the army, and was engaged in 
 the unsuccessful attack on Savannah, on the 
 9th of October of the same year. To prepare 
 for the defence of Charleston, the reduction 
 of which was known to be contemplated by 
 the British, was the next object of attention 
 among the Americans. To this Colonel Lau- 
 rens devoted all the energies of his active 
 mind. 
 
 " In the progress of the siege, which com- 
 menced in 1780, the success of defensive 
 operations became doubtful. Councils of war 
 
236 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 were frequent — several of the citizens were 
 known to wish for a surrender, as a termina- 
 tion of their toils and dangers. In these 
 councils, and on proper occasions. Colonel 
 Laurens advocated the abandonment of the 
 front lines, and to retire to new ones to be 
 erected within the old ones, and to risk an 
 assault. When these spirited measures were 
 opposed on the suggestion that the inhabitants 
 preferred a capitulation, he declared that he 
 would direct his sword to the heart of the first 
 citizen who would urge a capitulation against 
 the opinion of the commander-in-chief. 
 
 " When his superior officers, convinced of 
 the inefficacy of further resistance, were dis- 
 posed to surrender on terms of capitulation, 
 he yielded to the neccessity of the case, and 
 became a prisoner of war. This reverse of 
 fortune opened a new door for serving his 
 country in a higher line than he ever yet had 
 done. He was soon exchanged, and reinstated 
 in a capacity for acting. In expediting his 
 exchange. Congress had the ulterior view of 
 sending him a special minister to Paris, that he 
 might urge the necessity of a vigorous co- 
 operation on the part of France with the 
 United States against Great Britain. When 
 
JOHN LAURENS. 237 
 
 this was proposed to Colonel Laurens, he 
 recommended and urged that Colonel Alexan- 
 der Hamilton should be employed in preference 
 to himself. Congress adhered to their first 
 choice. 
 
 " Colonel Laurens sailed for France in the 
 latter end of 1780, and there, in conjunction 
 with Dr. Franklin, and Count de Vergennes, 
 and Marquis de Castries, arranged the plan of 
 the campaign for 1781, which eventuated in 
 the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, and finally 
 in a termination of the war. Within six 
 months from the day Colonel Laurens left 
 America, he returned to it, and brought with 
 him the concerted plan of combined opera- 
 tions. Ardent to rejoin the army, he was 
 indulged with making a verbal report of his 
 negotiations to Congress ; and in three days set 
 out to resume his place as one of the aids 
 of Washington. The American and French 
 army about this time commenced the siege 
 of York Town. In the course of it. Colonel 
 Laurens, as second in command, with his 
 fellow-aid, Colonel Hamilton, assisted in 
 storming and taking an advanced British re- 
 doubt, which expedited the surrender of Lord 
 Cornwallis. The articles of capitulation were 
 
238 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 arranged by Colonel Laurens on behalf of the 
 Americans. 
 
 " Charleston and a part of South Carolina 
 still remained in the power of the British. 
 Colonel Laurens thought nothing done while 
 any thing remained undone. He therefore, on 
 the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, repaired to 
 South Carolina, and joined the southern army 
 commanded by General Greene. In the course 
 of the summer of 1782, he caught a common 
 fever, and was sick in bed when an expedition 
 was undertaken against a party of the British, 
 which had gone to Combakee to carry off rice. 
 Colonel Laurens rose from his sick bed and 
 joined his countrymen. While leading an 
 advanced party, he received a shot, which, on 
 the 27th of August, 1782, at the close of the 
 war, put an end to his valuable life, in the 
 27th year of his age. His many virtues have 
 been ever since the subject of eulogy, and his 
 early fall, of national lamentation. The 
 fourth of July seldom passes without a tribute 
 to his memory." 
 
THOMAS MIFFLIN, 
 
 Major-General in the American Army. 
 
 " Thomas Mifflin, a major-general in the 
 American army during the revolutionary war, 
 and governor of Pennsylvania, was born in 
 the year 1744', of parents who were Quakers. 
 His education was intrusted to the care of the 
 Rev. Dr. Smith, with whom he was connected 
 in habits of cordial intimacy and friendship 
 for more than forty years. Active and zea- 
 lous, he engaged early in opposition to the 
 measures of the British parliament. He was a 
 member of the first Congress, in 1774. He 
 took arms, and was among the first officers 
 commissioned on the organization of the con- 
 tinental army, being appointed quartermaster- 
 general in August, 1775. For this offence he 
 was read out of the society of Quakers. In 
 1777, he was very useful in animating the 
 militia, and enkindling the spirit which seemed 
 to have been damped. His sanguine disposi- 
 tion, and his activity, rendered him insensible 
 to the value of that coolness and caution 
 which were essential to the preservation of 
 
 239 
 
240 HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION. /.^^fr-^Ji 
 
 such an army as was then under the command 
 of General Washington. In 1787, he was a 
 member of the convention which framed the 
 constitution of the United States, and his name 
 is affixed to that instrument. In October, 
 1788, he succeeded Franklin as president of 
 the supreme executive council of Pennsylvania, 
 in which station he continued till October, 
 1790. In September, a constitution for this 
 state was formed by a convention, in which he 
 presided, and he was chosen the first governor. 
 In 1794, during the insurrection in Penn- 
 sylvania, he employed, to the advantage of his 
 country, the extraordinary powers of elocution 
 with which he was endowed. The imper- 
 fection of the militia laws was compensated 
 by his eloquence. He made a circuit through 
 the lower counties, and, at different places, 
 publicly addressed the militia on the crisis in 
 the affairs of their country, and through his 
 animating exhortations the state furnished the 
 quota required. He was succeeded in the 
 office of governor by Mr. M'Kean, at the 
 close of the year 1799, and he died at Lancas- 
 ter, January 20, 1800, in the fifty-seventh 
 year of his age." 
 
 THE END. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS