Class .tj_!lS_ Book. .Tn 5 ^ G(piglitN^_12LZ^S COPaaGm DKPosrr. 5,/? » ••> POPULAR HISTORY OF THE United States of America, FROM THE ABORIGINAL TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY. EMBRACING , AN ACCOUNT OF THE ABORIGINES; THE NORSEMEN IN THE NEW WORLD; THE DISCOVERIES BY THE SPANIARDS, ENGLISH, AND FRENCH ; THE PLANT- ING OF SETTLEMENTS; THE GROWTH OF THE COLONIES; THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY IN THE REVOLUTION; THE ESTAB- LISHMENT OF THE UNION ; THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATION ; THE CIVIL WAR ; AND THE CENTENNIAL OF INDEPENDENCE. BY JOHN CLARK RIDPATH, A.M., LL.D., n Prefesior of History in Indiana Asbury University; Author of Ridpath's Schcol Historitt of the United States; Ridpath's Inductive Grammar; etc., etc. lUnstrattb teit^ Paps, Charts, |)odraits, anb diagrams. PHILLIPS & HU N '^^^"'■" ' ■""■-'^° NEW YORK VC'/ru, 1S83. •J Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1876, by JOHN T. JONES, la the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. PREFACE. Dear People of the United States: — By this, my Preface, I offer to you a New History of your coun- tiy and mine. The work is presented in the form of an abridged narrative. My reasons for such a venture are brief, but, I trust, sat- isfactory : First, to every American citizen some knowledge of the history of his country is indispensable. The attainment of that knowledge ought to be made easy and delightful. Second, the Centennial of the Republic furnishes an auspicious oc- casion for the study of those great events which compose the warp and woof of the new civilization in the West. This book is intended for the average American; for the man of business who has neither time nor disposition to plod through ten or twenty volumes of elaborate historical dissertation; for the prac- tical man of the shop, the counter, and the plow. The work is dedicated to the household and the library of the working man. It is in- scribed to the father, the mother, the son, and the daughter of the American family. If father, mother, son, and daughter shall love their country better — if they shall understand more clearly and ap- preciate more fiiUy the founding, progress, and growth of liberty in the New World — the author will be abundantly repaid. (Hi) iy PREFACE. In the preparation of the work the following objects have been kept in view: I. To give an accurate and spirited Narrative of the principal events in our National history from the aboriginal times to the pres- ent day. II. To discuss the Philosophy of that history as fully as possible within the narrow limits of the work. III. To avoid all Partiality, Partisanship, and Prejudice, as things dangerous, baneful, and wicked. '^ IV. To preserve a clear and systematic Arrangement of the sev- eral subjects, giving to every fact, whether of peace or wa cs true place and importance in the narrative. V. To give an Objective Representation by means of charts, maps, drawings, and diagrams, of all the more important matters in the history of the nation. VI. To secure a Style and Method in the book itself which shall be in keeping with the spirit and refinement of ^ae times. Whether these important ends have been attained, dear People, it is not my province but yours to decide. I have lab -ed earnestly to reach the ideal of such a work, and if success has not rewarded the effort, the failure has been in the execution rather than in the plan and purpose. I surrender the book, thus undertaken and completed, to You — for whom it was intended. With diffidence I ask a considerate judg- ment and just recognition of whatever worth the work may be found to possess. J. C. R. Indiana Asbury UNivKRsrrY, 1 January 1, 1882. / CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. "^Vhat constitutes a period in history. — The period of the Aborigines. — The second periu in the history of the United States. — Extends from the discovery of the conti- nent to the establishment of permanent settlements. — The third period. — Reaches from the first colonies to the war of the Revolution. — The fourth period. — Embraces the Revoln » and the consolidation of the government. — The fifth period is most im- portant Extends from the adoption of the Constitution to the present time. — The names and dates of the several periods 39, 40. i.. PART I. ABORIGINAL AMERICA. CHAPTER I. ' ■■( THE BED MEN — ORIGIN, DISTBIBUTION, CHARACTER. The Indians. — Their name accounted for. — Differences between them and the Asiatics. — The origin of the Indian races unknown. — Theories controverted. — The question likely to remain unsolved. — Language may give us light. — The Red men Gan- owanians. — Habit i of that race. — Divisions of the aboriginal nations.--The Esqui- maux. — Their manner of life. — The race of Algonquins. — Their distribution. — And character. — The Huron-Iroquois. — Their domain. — Nature of their confederation. — Their influence and character. — The Southern races. — Cherokees. — Mobilians. — Man- ners and characteristics. — The Dakotas. — Their limits. — The Comanches. — The na- tions beyond tlie Mountains. — Shoshonees. — Selish. — Klamaths. — Californians. — Aztecs and Toltecs of old. — The Indian character in general. — Sense of personal inde- pendence. — Passion for war. — Principles of war. — And of peace. — The Indian unsocial and solitary. — His family organization. — The European family. — Diagram thereof. — Indian method. — And diagram. — Aboriginal government. — Powers and limitations. — Native religion. — Beliefs of the Red men. — Their arts. — Rudeness of the same. — The Indian house. — Utensils. — Weapons. — Clothing. — Decorations. — Paint. — And writing. — The savage tongues. — Peculiarities of Indian speech. — Personal appearance of the aborigines. — Stature. — Features. — Bodily habit. — Indian amusements. — The dance. — Other sports. — Gaming. — The use of tobacco. — Strong drinks. — Indian prospects. — Hi-flections 41-50. (v) yi CONTENTS. PART II. VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. A. B. 986—1607. CHAPTER II. THE ICELANDERS AND NORWEGIANS IN AMERICA. Herjulfson ia driven by a storm to the American coast. — Lief Erickson discovers America. — Thorwald and Tliorstein Erickson make voyages. — Thorfinn Karlsefne ex- plores the shores of Maine and Massachusetts. — Other voyages are made by the Norse- men. — The name of Vinland. — Character of the sea-kings. — Voyages in the following centuries. — No practical results from the Icelandic discoveries. — Their authenticity. — Note 51-54. CHAPTER III. SPANISH DISCOVERIES. Spain makes the New World known to Europe. — Old ideas about the figure of the earth. — Columbus. — Sketch of his life. — The favor of Isabella. — Columbus departs on his first voyage. — Discovers San Salvador, Cuba, and Hayti. — Second voyage of Co- lumbus. — Third. — He discovers South America. — Fourth voyage. — Columbus's misfort- unes and death. — Wrong done to his memory. — Vespucci makes two voyages to South America. — Excitement in Europe on account of discoveries. — Colony planted on the Isthmus. — Balboa discovers the Pacific— Ponce de Leon makes explorations in Flor- ida. — Is killed in a fight with the Indians 54-58. CHAPTER IV. SPANISH DISCOVERIES — CONTINUED. Cordova discovers Yucatan. — Grijalvaexplores Mexico. — Cortez lands at Tabasco. — Terror pervades the country. — The natives are beaten back. — Cortez proceeds to Vera Cruz. — Montezuma sends embassies and presents. — The Spaniards march towards the capital. — And are forbidden to approach. — The Mexican tribes revolt. — Cortez reatlies the city. — And enters. — His critical situation. — He seizes Montezuma. — Who acknowl- edges the king of Spain. — The governor of Cuba sends forces against Cortez. — He over- powers them. — Returns to the capital. — The struggle for possession of the city. — Mon- tezuma is wounded. — And dies. — The Spaniards are victorious. — Mexico becomes a Spanish province. — Magellan sails around South America. — Crosses the Pacific. — Is killed at the Philippines. — His crew reach the East Indies. — Double the Cape of (Jood Hope. — Return to Europe. — De Narvaez is appointed governor of Florida. — Ex- plores the country around the Gulf. — The company embark in boats, and are wrecked. — Four men reach San Miguel. — De Soto sets out on an expedition to explore and con- quer Florida. — Arrives at Tampa Bay. — Marches into the interior. — Spends the winter on Flint River. — The company march into South Carolina. — Cross into Georgia. — Capt- ure Manville. — Spend the next winter on the Yazoo. — Discover the Mississippi. — Ex- plore Arkansas and return to the Mississippi. — De Soto dies. — His men again march Trestward to the mountains. — Return to the mouth of Red River. — Bnild boats and descend the Mississippi. — Reach the Spanish settlements in Mexico. — Melendez comes CONTENTS. vii to Florida, and founds St. Augustine. — MurderB the Huguenots on the St. John's. — Massacres the crews of the French vessels. — Extent of the Spanish explorations. — The Portuguese voyage of Gaspar Cortereal. — He sells a cargo of Indian slaves in Portu- gal 61-59. CHAPTER V. THE FKENCH IN AMERICA. First acquaintance of the French with America. — Verrazzani is sent out to make ex- plorations. — Arrives on the coast of North Carolina. — Explores the shores of the country as far north as Newfoundland. — Cartier is sent on a voyage to America. — Beaches Newfoundland and enters the Gulf and River of St. Lawrence. — Returns to Europe. Sails on a second expedition. — Ascends the St. Lawrence to Montreal. — His crew are attacked with scurvy.— He passes the winter near the site of Quebec—And returns to France. — Roberval undertakes to colonize the country. — Cartier joined to the under- taking. — Prisons of France are opened to furnish emigrants.— Expedition reaches the St. Lawrence. — The leaders quarrel, and Cartier goes back to France. — The whole colony returns. — Roberval sails with another fleet.— And is lost at sea. — Ribault con- ducts a band of Huguenots to Port Royal.— Builds Fort Carolina.— The settlement is abandoned.— The enterprise renewed by Laudonniere.— A Huguenot colony estab- lished on the St. John's River.— But destroyed by Melendez.— De Gourges takes venge- ance on the Spaniards. — La Roche is commissioned to plant colonies in America. French prisons again opened.— A settlement is made on Sable Island.— The company rescued and carried to France.— De Monts made viceroy of New France.— Departs with a colony.— Reaches the Bay of Fundy.— Port Royal founded by Poutrincourt, and the St. Croix settlement by De Monts.— The country named Acadia.— Champlain receives a commission.— Sails with a colony to the St. Lawrence.— Goes against the Iroquois.— Returns and founds Quebec 70-76 CHAPTER VI. ENGLISH DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS. Henry VII. commissions John Cabot.— Who discovers North America.— Is re- oommissioned.— Sebastian takes charge of the expedition.— Explores the American coast from Labrador to Cape Hatteras.— Leaves England to become pilot of Spain— The notable year 1498.— Causes which impeded English discovery.— Maritime enter- prise revives under Elizabeth.— Frobisher sails to America and discovers Meta Incog- nita.— Takes spurious ore to London.— A new voyage is planned.— Frobisher conducts a fleet to Meta Incognita.— The expedition proves a failure.— Sir Francis Drake cap- tures Spanish merchantmen.— Goes to the Pacific coast.— Attempts the disco verv of a north-west passage.— Gilbert forms a plan of colonization.— Is assisted bv Raleigh.— Conducts a fleet to Newfoundland.- -The crews find spurious minerals.— flie voyage is continued to Massachu.setts.— Gilbert loses his best ship and a hundred men.— .Smarts home, and is lost at sea —Raleigh sends Amidas and Barlow with a colony.— They reach Roanoke Island and begin a settlement.— The place is abandoned.— Ralei<^h sends a second colony under Lane.— The colonists reach Roanoke and begin to build — Difliculties arise with tlie Indians.-The settlement is broken up.-The colony taken home by Drake.-A new charter granted by Raleigh, and White chosen governor - The new emigrants arrive at Roanoke.-The foundationsof a town laid on the Island — Troubk-s with the Tndians.-Manteo is made a peer.- White returns to England.-Birth of Virgmia Dare.-The fate of the colony never ascertained.-Condition of afiairs in England.-White returns, and finds Roanoke deserted .-Raleigh assigns his patent to ^jjj CONTENTS. London merchants.— Gosnold makes a voyage directly across the Atlantic— Attempt! to form a settlement on Elizabeth Island.— The place is abandoned.— Gosnold trades with the natives. — The crew demand to return. — Flattering accounts are given of the country.— An expedition is sent out under Pring.— He explores a part of the New En"land coast, and returns to Bristol.— Waymouth sails on a voyage.— Trades with the Indians of Maine.— Returns to England 76-85. CHAPTER VII. ENGLISH DISCOVEKIES AND SETTLEMENTS. — CONTINUED. Kin"^ James issues patents to the London and Plymouth Companies. — The London Company to plant colonies between the 34th and the 38th parallels. — The Plymouth Com- pany to make settlements from the 41st to the 45th degree. — Gosnold, Smith, Hakluyt and Wingfield lead the afl'airs of the Southern Company. — No democratic principles are recognized in the charter. — A ship is sent out by the Plymouth Company. — A second vessel is dispatched to America. — A settlement is attempted at the mouth of the Kennebec. — Is abandoned in the summer of 1608. — A fleet with a colony is sent out by the London Company. — Newport commands. — They arrive in the Chesapeake. — Enter James River. — Make a landing and lay the foundations of Jamestown. — The affairs of the Plymouth Company are revived by Smith. — He explores and maps the coast of Maine and Massachusetts. — Several attempts are made to form a colony in New Eng- land — The Plymouth Company is superseded by the Council of Plymouth. — A new plan of colonization is made, and Smith appointed admiral. — The Puritans arise in the North of England. — They remove to Amsterdam and Leyden. — Determine to remove to America. — Ask permission of the king and the Council of Plymouth. — Meet with di8« couragements. — Procure two vessels at their own expense. — Sail from Leyden, and after- ward from Southampton. — The Speedwell is found unfit for the voyage, and the Pilgrims de})art in the Mayflower. — The Pilgrims have a stormy voyage. — Come in sight of Cape Cod. — They make a frame of government. — Carver is elected governor. — The landing is delayed by bad weather. — The ship is driven by storms. — Enters Plymouth harbor. — The Puritans go asliore on the 11th of December. — Begin to build. — Are attacked with diseases. — Many of the colony die. — An early spring brings them relief. . 85-91. CHAPTER VIII. VOYAGES AW© SETTLEMENTS OF THE DUTCH. Dutch settlements in America result from the voyages of Hudson. — He is employed by London merchants to reach the Indies. — Sails into the North Atlantic. — Fails in his eflort. — Is sent on a second voyage. — And fails. — Goes into the service of the Dutch East India Company. — Sails on a third voyage. — Is driven back by the icebergs. — Turns to America. — Reaches Newfoundland. — Sails southward to the Chesapeake. — Then north- ward to New York harbor. — Discovers the Hudson River. — Explores that stream as far as .Vlbany. — Returns to Dartmouth. — Is detained by the Englisii government. — Is .sent on a fourth expedition. — Discovers Hud.son Strait and Bay. — Is overtaken by winter. — The crew mutiny. — Hudson is cast off among the icebergs. — Dutch vessels begin to trade at the mouth of the Hudson. — The states-general grant a right to trade. — A settlement is made on Manhattan Island. — Block explores Lonr Island Sound. — Christianson builds Fort Nassau. — May explores the coast of New Jersey. — Holland claims the country from Delaware Bay to Cape Cod 92-94 CONTENTS. ix PART III. COLONIAL HISTORY. A. 1>. 1607— 1775. PARENT COLONIES. CHAPTEK IX. VIRGINIA. — THE FIRST CHARTER. The progress of Virginia is hindered. — First settlers are of bad character. — Necessity drives them to labor. — The king gives sealed instructions. — Smith is arrested. — And ex- cluded from the council.— He and Newport explore the James. — Eeturn to Jamestown. — Newport goes to England. — The colonists are discouraged. — Disease ravages the settle- ment. — Gosnold dies. — Wingfield embezzles the funds. — And is removed from office.— Eatcliffe succeeds.— And is also impeached.— Smith takes control of the colony. — Sketch of his life. — The settlement flourishes under his care. — He explores the country, and pro- cures supplies.— The Indians furnish provisions.— Smith explores the Chickahominy.— Is captured by the Indians.— Saves his life by stratagem.— Is carried to Orapax.— Thence to Pamunkey. — Is condemned to death. — And saved by Pocahontas. — He remains in Powhatan's household.— Is liberated.— Returns to Jamestown.— Terrifies tlie savages.— Deplorable condition of the settlement.— Plot to abandon the place.— Newport arrives •with new immigrants. — Who are as bad as the others. — The gold-hunters go abroad.— And find mica in the sand of James Eiver. — A ship is loaded with dirt and sent to Eng- land.— The planting season goes by.— Smith makes his great exploration of the Chesa- peake.— And maps the country. — Returns. — Is elected president. — Newport arrives with more immigrants and supplies. — Progress of the colony 9.>-104. CHAPTER X. VIRGINIA. — THE SECOND CHARTER. King James grants a new charter. — Changes are made in the form of government. — A new council is organized. — Delaware is chosen governor. — The other officers. — A fleet with five hundred emigrants sails for America. — Encounters a storm. — Two vessels are wrecked. — Seven ships reach Jamestown. — The commissioners are left on the Bermuda Islands. — Smith retains the presidency. — New settlements are projected. — Smith is wounded.— Delegates his authority to Percy.— Returns to England.— Colony suflfers after his departure. — The starving time. — Gates and liis companions reacli Virginia. — The settlement is abandoned. — Delaware meets the colony. — And persuades them to return.— Prosperity begins.— But Delaware falls sick. — And returns to England.— Percy is deputy. — Dale arrives as governor. — Brings immigrants. — Writes for supplies and new colo- nist-s. — Who arrive. — TI>e colony improves. — Gates is made governor. — The right of private property i.s recognized. — .\nd the settlements enlarged. . . . 104-107 ^ CONTENTS. CHAPTER XL VIRGINIA. — THE THIKD CHARTER. The London Company receive a third patent. — The colony had proved unprofitable. — Afali kidnaps Pocahontas. — Who is married to Rolfe. — They visit England.— And leave descendants in Virginia. — Argall destroys the French settlements in Acadia. — And reduces the Dutch colony of Manhattan.— Dale becomes governor of Virginia.— Tobacco is the staple of Jamestown.— And is used for money.— Argall is chosen gov- ernor.-Delaware sails for America.— And dies.— Yeardley supersedes Argall.— Abolishes martial law.— Establislies the House of Burgesses.— Slavery is introduced.— Society is low_ Women are sent over. — .\nd married to the colonists. — A constitution is granted. "Wvatt liecomes governor. — Settlements spread abroad. — The Indians become jealous. —And massacre the people.— But are defeated.— The company is opposed by the king.— A commission is appointed.— Who report against the company. — And its charter is re- voked.— But liberty is planted in Virginia 108-113 CHAPTER XII. VIRGINIA. — THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT. Roval government Is established. — But the administration is unchanged. — Charles I. becomes king.— Recognizes tlie Virginia Assembly. — Yeardley is re-elected governor. — Dies. — West is chosen by the council. — Harvey arrives from England. — Land-grants vex the people. — Harvey is impeached. — But is sustained by the king. — Wyatt succeeds. — English Revolution breaks out. — King Charles is beheaded. — Monarchy is abolished. — Cromwell becomes Protector.— Virginia inclines to royalty.— Berkeley becomes gov- ernor. — The Puritans are persecuted. — An Indian war arises. — The savages are beaten. — Virginia refuses to acknowledge Parliament. — Cromwell restricts her commerce. — Sends a fleet to America. — And the Virginians submit. — Favorable terms are granted — Peace continues during the commonwealth. — The Burgesses elect three governors.^ Berkeley is thus chosen, — Accepts. — But at the Restoration renounces his acceptance, — And issues writs in the king's name. — Tyranny follows. — Commerce is restricted. — The Virginians complain. — In vain. — Charles II. gives away Virginia lands. — And finally the whole State to Arlington and Culpepper. — The Quakers and the Baptists are persecuted. — Taxes are odious.— The people rebel, — An Indian war is the excuse. — And Berkeley's tyranny the cause. — Bacon heads the insurrection. — The Indians are punished. — Berkeley abdicates. — Returns. — Captures Jamestown. — Bacon takes the place, and burns it. — Dies. — The patriots are dispersed. — And the leaders hanged. — A worse despotism is established. — Culpepper becomes governor. — Treats Virginia as an estate. — .-Vrlington surrenders his claim. — The king recalls the grant. — And Vir- ginia becomes a royal province. — Howard and Nicholson administer the government. — William and Mary College founded. — Andros becomes governor. — Future history of Vir- rinia. .... ......... 114-123 CHAPTER XIII, .MASSACHUSETTS. — SETTLEMENT. The Pilgrims are saved by the coming of hpring. — Health is restored, — Miles Stan- dish is sent out to reconnoitre. — Samoset and Squanto come to Plymouth. — A treaty is made with Ma.ssasoit. — Other tribes acknowledge the sovereignty of England. — Canon- icns is overawed. — .\n unfruitful summer. — Iiumigrants arive. — Are quartered on the colony. — Tlic Pilgrims are destitute. — The new-comers found W^ey mouth, — The Indi- CONTENTS. xi ans plan a massacre. — And arc punished by Standish. — Weymouth is abandoned. — A plentiful harvest. — Robinson remains at Leyden. — The colonial enterprise proves un- profitable. — The managers sell out to the colonists. — The Established Church is fa- vored. — Salem is founded. — The Company of Massachusetts Bay is chartered by the king and the council. — Boston is founded. — The government is transferred to America. — A large immigration in 1630. — Wintlirop is governor. — Cambridge is founded. — Watertown. — Roibury. — Dorchester. — The colony suffers greatly. — Suffrage is restricted. — Williams protests. — And is banished. — Goes among the Indians. — Is kindly received. — Tarries at Seekonk. — Removes. — And founds Providence. — A representative govern- ment is established. — The ballot-box is introduced. — Tliree thousand immigrants ar- rive. — Vane and Peters are the leaders. — Concord is founded. — Colonies remove to the Connecticut. — Religious controversies. — Mrs. Hutchinson is banished. — She and her friends establish a republic on Rl)ode Island. — Harvard College is founded at Cam- bridge. — A printing-press is set up. — Eliot, Welde, and Mather translate the Psalms. — Liberty flourishes in Massachusetts. — Emigration is hindered by England. 123-133. CHAPTER XIV. MASSACHUSETTS. — THE UNION. Progress of New England. — Circumstances favor a union of the colonies. — Massa- cliusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut and New Haven are confederated. — No other colonies are admitted. — A Body of Liberties is formed. — The two legislative branches are sepa- rated. — Tlie English Revolution is favorable to New England. — Vane and others de- fend the rights of the colonies. — The Parliament demands the charter of Massachusetts. — Which is refused. — Cromwell the friend of Massachusetts. — Maine is annexed.— Early settlements in Maine. — The Quakers arrive at Boston. — Are persecuted and baii- i.shed. — The death-penalty is passed against them. — Four persons are executed. — Reac- tion against the law. — And the law is abolished. — News of the Restoration reaches Boston. — Whalley and Goffe arrive. — And escape to Connecticut. — Vane and Peters are executed. — The Navigation Act is passed. — Its bearing on the commerce of New Eng- land. — War between England and Holland. — Charles II. attempts to subvert the colo- nial charters. — Commissioners are sent to Massachusetts. — Are met with resistance. — And defeated in their objects. — The colony prospers. .... 133-139. CHAPTER XV. MASSACHUSETTS. — KING PHILIP'S WAR. Philip becomes king of the Wampanoags. — Causes of jealousy and war. — Alexan- der's imprisonment. — Outrages are committed. — The war begins. — Swanzey is attacked. — Philip is pursued to Mount Hope. — Escapes to Tiverton. — Is driven from the Narra- gansett country. — Goes to the Nipmucks. — A general war ensues. — The Narragansetts are obliged to remain neutral. — English ambassadors are massacred at Brookfield. — The town is attacked. — Rescued. — Abandoned. — Burned. — Deerfield is partly destroyed. — Lathrop attempts to bring off the harvests. — Is ambushed at Bloody Brook. — The battle. — Hadley is attacked. — Rescued by Goffe. — Springfield is assaulted. — And destroyed. — Hadley is burned. — The savages are defeated at Hatfield. — Philip repairs to the Nar- ragansetts. — The English declare war. — And invade the country. — Philip and his forces take refuge in a swamp. — Are surrounded. — Attacked. — And utterly routed.— Ruin of the Narragansett nation. — The war continues on the frontiers. — Towns and villages are destroyed. — The savages grow feeble. — Canonchet is taken. — And put to death. — Philip's family are captured. — And sold as slaves. — Himself hunted down. — And shot. — Sub- Xll CONTENTS. mission of the tribes.— Losses of New England.— The English government refuses help. — Randolph conies to abridge the liberties of Massachusetts. — And is defeated. — Mas- Bachusetts pnrchast-s Maine of llie heirs of Gorges. — Difficulties concerning New llamp- shire — A royal government is established in the province. — Cranfield's administration, — The king's hostility. — The charter of Massachusetts is annulled. — King Charles dies. — James 11. appoints Dudley governor. — And then Andros. -The liberties of the peo- ple are destroyed. — The government of Andros is extended over New England. — But tlie charter of Connecticut is saved. — The Eevolution of 1688. — Andros is seized, and ; imprisoned. — And the colonies restore their liberties, .... 139-147. CHAPTER XVI. MASSACHTJSETTS. — WAR AND WITCHCRAFT. King William's War begins. — The causes, — Dover is attacked and burned. — Pema- quid is destroyed. — And then Schenectady. — And Salmon Falls. — An expedition is planned against Canada. — Phipps takes Port Royal. — But fails at Quebec. — And re- turns. — Paper money is issued. — Failure of the expedition against Montreal. — Phipps goes to England. — And returns as royal governor. — Oyster River is destroyed. — Haver- hill is attacked and burned. — Mrs. Dustin's captivity. — The treaty of Ryswick. — The witchcraft excitement begins at Salem. — The causes. — Parris and Mather. — The trials. — Convictions.— Executions. — The reaction, — Mather's book, — Reflections. 147-153. CHAPTER XVII, MASSACHTJSETTS. — WARS OF ANNE AND GEORGE, Causes of Queen Anne's War, — Field of operations in America, — A treaty is made with the Five Nations, — The conflict begins. — Deerfield is burned. — And the inhab- itants carried captive to Canada, — Barbarities of the Indians. — An expedition is sent against Port Royal. — The attempt fail.s. — Is renewed in 1710. — Port Royal is taken. — And named Annapolis. — Preparations are made for invading Canada. — Nicholson com- mands the land forces. — And Walker the fleet. — The squadron is delayed, — Stops at Gasp6 Bay. — Is shattered by a storm in the St. Lawrence. — Returns in disgrace, — The expedition by land is abandoned. — A treaty is made at Utrecht. — A separate peace is concluded with the Indians. — The people of Massachusetts resist the royal governor, — Causes of King George's War. — The conflict begins. — Importance of Louisburg. — Its conquest is planned by Shirley. — The colonies contribute men and means. — The expe- dition leaves Boston. — Is detained at Canseau, — Joined by Warren's fleet, — Reaches Gabarus Bay. — Invests Louisburg. — The siege. — The surrender. — Cape Breton siibmits. — France attempts to retio'nquer Louisburg. — Treat}' of Aix-la-Chapelle. — Character of the Puritans 153-160. CHAPTER XVIII, NEW YORK. — SETTLEMENT. Character of Sir Henry Hudson. — The East India Company govern Manhattan. — A colony is sent from Holland. — A charter is granted to the West India Company, — The Walloons arrive at New Am.sterdam, — May builds Fort Nassau, — And Joris, Fort Orange.— Civil government begins in New Netherland. — May is governor, — And then VeriiulBt.— And Minuit. — Manhattan is purchased. — And fortified.— Friendly relations are established between the Walloons and the Puritan.s.— The Dutch devote themselves to the fur-trade. — Growth of the colony. — A charter is granted. — The patroons, — Five manors are laid out. — Delaware is colonized. — And then abandoned. — Van Twiller sue- CONTENTS. xiii ceeds Minuit. — A fort is built at Hartford. — The English claim the Connecticut. — Swe- den purposes to plant an American colony. — The project is delayed. — But renewed by Minuit. — A Swedish colony reaches the Delaware. — Settles at Christiana. — Is prosper- ous. — And New Netherland is jealous. — Fort Nassau is rebuilt. — Printz removes to Tin- icum. — The Indians are provoked by the Dutcli. — War breaks out. — A desultory contest. — The Mohawks come. — Kieft massacres the Algonquius. — The war continues. — Fate of Mrs. Hutcliinson. — Underbill conquers the Indians. — Kieft the author of the war. — DeVries succeeds him. 160-167. CHAPTER XIX. NEW YORK. — ADMINISTRATION OF STUYVESANT. Stuyvesant is appointed governor. — Peace established with the Indians. — Free trade succeeds monopoly. — Growth of the colony. — A boundary is established between New England and New Netherland. — The Dutch again claim New Sweden. — Build Fort Casimir. — The place is captured by the Swedes. — Stuyvesant conquers and annexes New Sweden. — The Algonquins rebel. — And are subdued. — The Indians of Ulster rise. — Burn Esopus. — Are punished. — Stuyvesant is troubled about his boundaries. — Domes- tic difficulties. — New Netherland lags. — The Dutch prefer English laws. — The province is granted to the Duke of York. — The duke makes good his claim. — Sends out Nicolls. -^And conquers New Netherland. 167-171. CHAPTEE XX. NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. Nicolls settles the boundaries of New York. — New Jersey is granted to Berkeley and Carteret. — Is claimed by Nicolls. — But the claim is set aside. — The Territories. — The Dutch claim liberty. — Are disappointed. — New land-titles are issued. — Lovelace succeeds Nicolls. — And is resisted by the people. — His tyranny. — Friendship of the English and the Dutch. — War with Holland. — Evertsen reconquers New York. — But the province is restored to England. — Andros begins his government. — Proves himself a despot. — Claims the country from the Connecticut to Maryland. — Goes to Saybrook. — Is baffled by Captain Bull. — Attempts to overawe New Jersey. — And fails. — Delaware is separated from New York. — And joined to Pennsylvania. — Dongan becomes gov- ernor. — The right of representation is conceded. — Character of the Constitution. — A treaty is made with the Iroquois. — The Duke of York becomes king. — And overthrows colonial liberties. — Andros is sent out as governor of New England. — Usurps the gov- ernments of all the colonies north of the Delaware. — Leisler's insurrection. — The prov- ince yields to his authority. — Schenectady is burned. — Ingoldsby arrives as governor. — Leisler and Milborne are arrested.— Tried. — And hanged. — The Iroquois treaty is renewed. — The Indians make war on the French. — The assembly declares against ar- bitrary authority. — Fletcher becomes governor. — Attempts to usurp the government of Connecticut and New Jersey.— Is defeated.— Effort to establish the Episcopal Church.— The project fails.— The French invade New York.— Are repelled. — Bello- mont becomes governor. — The career of Captain Kidd. — Cornbury succeeds Bellomont. — New Jersey is annexed to New York. — Cornbury's fraudulent administration. — He is overthrown. — And succeeded by Lovelace. — An unsuccessful expedition is made against Montreal.— The fleet also fails.— New York is in debt.— The treaty of Utrecht. —The Tuscarora migration.— A fort is built at Oswego.— The French fortify Niagara and Crown Point. — Crosby is sent out as governor. — Assails the freedom of the press. — The trial of Zenger. — The negro plot. — French invasions of New York. — Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. — Slow growth of the province. — Prospects. — Reflections. . 172-1S3. XIV CONTENTS. COLONIAL HISTORY.— Continued. MINOR EASTERN COLONIES. CHAPTER XXI. CONNECTICUT. Connecticut is granted to Warwick. — And transferred to Sav-and-Seal. — The Dutch fortifj Hartford. — The Puritans claim the country. — Send an expedition up the Con- necticut. — Found Windsor. — A colony leaves Boston. — Settles on the Connecticut. — Winthrop founds Saybrook. — The English control the river. — The Pequod War. — The Narragansetts make a treaty with the English. — The Pequods do likewise. — Violate the compact. — Attempt an alliance with the Narragansetts. — Williams defeats the project. — The Mohegans join the English. — A massacre at Wethersfield. — Mason is chosen to command. — A force is organized. — Proceeds against the Pequods. — And destroys the nation. — The coast of Long Island Sound is explored. — New Haven is founded. — The Bible for a constitution. — Civil government begins in Connecticut. — Character of the laws. — Connecticut joins the Union. — Saybrook is annexed. — A treaty is made with Stuyvesant. — War with New Netherland is threatened. — King Charles is recognized. — Winthrop is sent to England. — Obtains a charter. — Returns. — Is chosen governor. — Growth of the colony. — Andros attempts to assume the government. — Is thwarted at Say- brook. — Returns after twelve years. — Invades the assembly at Hartford. — Subverts the government. — The charter is saved. — Fletcher enters the colony. — Is baffled by Wads- worth. — Yale College is founded. — Development of the province. — Reflections. 184-192. CHAPTER XXII. KHODE ISLAND. Williams founds Rhode Island.— Sketch of his life.— The Baptist Church is or- ganized. — Civil government begins. — Character of the institutions. — Massachusetts re- fuses to recall Williams from exile. — A colony at Portsmouth. — The Jewish common- wealth. — Newport is founded. — The Norse tower. — A democracy is established. — Rhode Island is rejected by the Union. — Williams procures a charter. — The island of Rhode Island secedes. — Is reannexed. — Patriotism of Williams. — Charles II. reissues the charter. — Prosperity of Rhode Island. — .\ndros overturns the government. — Is over- thrown.— Henry Bull is governor.— Reflections 193-198. CHAPTER XXIII. NEW HAMPSHIKE. New Hampshire is granted to Gorges and Mason. — And colonized. — Settlements on the Piscataqua. — The province is divided. — Wheelwright purchases the Indian title.— Mason's patent is conflrmed. — He dies. — Difficulties ensue. — Exeter is founded. — New Hampshire is united with Massachusetts. — The Masonian claim is revived. — The question is decided. — The two provinces are separated. — Cranfield is appointed governor. — A general assembly is convened. — Character of the laws. — The royal officers CONTENTS. xy^ are resisted. — Andros assumes the government. — New Hampshire and Massachusetts are united. — Governed by Bellomont. — Finally separated. — The Masonian claim again. How decided. — Suffering of the colony in the Indian wars. — Character of the people. — Eeflections on the New England colonists. 198-202. COLONIAL HISTORY.— Continued. MINOR MIDDLE COLONIES. CHAPTER XXIV. NEW JERSEY. Early settlements in New Jersey.— At Bergen.— And Fort Nassau.— Grants and purchases. — The province is given to Berkeley and Carteret. — Nicolls makes a grant to Puritans. — Elizabethtown is founded. — Nicolls contends with the Carterets. — The pro- prietors frame a constitution. — Character of the laws. — The quit-rents. — The colonists resist payment. — Philip Carteret is deposed. — And James Carteret becomes governor. — New Jersey is retaken by Holland. — And again ceded to England. — The Duke of York has his charter renewed. — Andros comes as governor. — Carteret resists. — Berkeley .sells AVest Jersey to Fen wick. — Philip Carteret and Andros dispute about the Eastern prov- ince. — Laurie, Lucas, and Penn buy West Jersey. — Object of the j)urchase. — New Jersey is divided. — Line of division. The proprietors of West Jersey issue the Concessions. — The Quakers colonize West Jersey. — The Duke of York claims the country. — Sir Wil- liam Jones decides against him. — Andros's claim to East Jersey is annulled. — The Qua- Icers convene an assembly. — And frame a constitution. — East Jersey is purcha-sed by the Friends. — Barclay is governor. — The two Jerseys submit to Andros. — And afterward regain their liberties. — Conflicting claims to the country. — Discord. — The proprietors- surrender their rights of government to the Crown. — New Jersey becomes a royal province. — Is attached to New York under Cornbury. — The people petition for a sepa- ration. — Which is granted. — Morris becomes governor. — New Jersey not injured by Indian wars. — Eeflections 203-208. CHAPTER XXV. PENNSYLVANIA. The Friends are persecuted in Europe. — Penn designs to plant a Quaker State in America. — Charles II. grants the charter of Pennsylvania. — Penn relinquishes his ■claims on the British government. — Declares his purposes. — Writes a letter to the Swedes. — Invites emigration. — A colony departs under Markham. — The Indians are assured of friendship. — Penn frames a constitution. — The Duke of York surrenders Delaware. — Extent of Penn's dominion. — He leaves England with a second colony. — Sketch of his life. — He addresses the people at New Castle. — Passes through the Jerseys to New York.— Returns. — Makes the great treaty with the Indians. — Which is kept inviolate. — A convention is held at Chester. — A provisional constitution is adopted. — Penn visits Lord Baltimore. — Philadelphia is founded. — Growth of the xvi CONTENTS. city. — Penn sails for England. — Lloyd remains as governor. — Delaware secedes. — Penn adheres to the Stuarts. — Is imprisoned. — His province is taken away. — But afterward restored. — Penn revisits America. — The constitution is modified. — Delaware is finally separated. — Penn returns to England. — Condition of his province. — Hamilton and Evans deputy governors. — Conduct of the latter. — He is removed from office. — Succeeded by Gookin. — Penn's trials in England. — He dies. — His sons become proprietors of Penn- sylvania. — The province is purchased by the colonial assembly. — Reflections. 209-215, COLONIAL HISTORY— Continued. MINOR SO UTHERN COLONIES. CHAPTER XXVI. MARYLAND. " CLiyborne is commissioned by the London Company. — Explores the Chesapeake.— Establishes trading-posts. — Sketcli of Sir George Calvert's life. — He plans a Catholic colony. — Sends a company to Newfoundland. — Goes to Virginia. — Refuses the oath. — Returns to England. — Obtains a charter. — Character and extent of the patent. — Calvert dies. — Sir Cecil succeeds him. — The name of Maryland. — A colony is sent out under Leonard Calvert. — Reaches tlie Chesapeake. — Ascends the Potomac. — Returns. — And founds St. Mary's. — Friendly relations are established with the Indians. — Growth of the colony. — An assembly is convened. — Clayborne incites an insurrection. — Is beaten. — Escapes into Virginia. — Is sent to England. — Representative government is estab- lished. — An Indian war breaks out. — Clayborne returns to America. — Leads a second insurrection. — Overthrows the government. — The rebellion is suppressed.— Tolerant character of the laws. — Division of the legislature. — Commissioners are appointed by Parliament.— Dissensions of Stone and Clayborne.— The civil war between the Catliolics and Protestants.— Fendall's rebellion. — Maryland declares intlependence.— Feiidall is condemned.— Charles Calvert is governor.— The Protestants gain control of the State. — Maryland becomes a royal province. — The heir of i^ord Baltimore is restored to his rights.— The Cal verts rule the colony until the Revolution.— Reflections. . 216-224. CHAPTER XXVII. NORTH CAROLINA. The name of Carolina.— Early explorations.— The country is granted to Clarendon and others.— Albemarle and Clarendon colonies are founded.— Cooper and Locke frame the grand model.— Its establishment impossible.— Clarendon county is aban- doned.— The proprietors oppress the colonists.- A rebellion ensues. — Governor CuL pepper goes to England. — And defends the people. — Clarendon sells his rights. — Sothel is sent out as governor. — His tyranny. — He is overthrown. — Ludwell succeeds. — And then Walker. — The colony prospers. — Decline of the Indian tribes. — A war breaks out. — Barnwell's expedition. — Peace. — And war again. — Moore invades the country of the Tuscaroras.— The savages are beaten. — The nation is divided. — Tlie Tuscarora migra- tion. — Division of the Carolinas. — Character of the people. . . . 224-229. CONTENTS. xxvii New York. — Discussion of the tariff in Congress. — A protective duty laid on fabrics. A new departure in American history. — Adams renominated for the Presidency. — Gen- eral Jackson put forward by the Democrats. — And elected. . . , 423-426. CHAPTER LIV. Jackson's administration. Sketch of Jackson's life and character. — He fills the oflSces with his political friends —Opposes the rechartering of the United States Bank. — And vetoes the bill. — The new political organization. — Sketch of parties. — The tariff question again. — South Carolina attempts nullification. — Debate of Webster and Hayne. — The President's proc- lamation. — South Carolina recedes from her position. — Mr. Clay's tariff compromise. — The Black Hawk war breaks out. — Generals Scott and Atkinson are sent against the Eed men. — Who are driven to submission. — The difficulty with the Cherokees. — Char- acter of that race.— The wrongs done to them. — Scott compels their removal to the West. — A second Seminole war. — The arrest of Osceola. — His release and conspiracy. — Dade's massacre. — Murder of General Thompson. — Clinch fights the savages and re- treats. — Gaines defeats the Indians on the Withlacoochie. — Battle of the Wahoo Swamp. — A second fight. — The President orders the distribution of the funds. — A panic follows. — The President is vituperated. — Is censured by Congress. — But re-elected. — He brings France and Portugal to terms. — Death-list of eminent men. — Fires in New York and Washington. — Arkansas and Michigan admitted into the Union. — Jackson's farewell address. — Van Buren elected President 426-436. CHAPTER LV. VAN bueen's administration. Sketch of the new executive. — Another monetary disturbance. — Continuance of the Seminole war. — Colonel Taylor hunts the savages to Lake Okeechobee. — Defeats them, — And compels submission. — The financial panic of '37. — Causes which led thereto. — Especially the Specie Circular. — The banks suspend. — Tremendous failures. — Treasury notes are issued. — The Independent Treasury Bill is discussed. — And finally passed. — Partial revival of business. — The Canada insurrection. — Affair of the Caroline. — Wool is sent to the Niagara. — Order- is restored. — An early presidential canvass. — Uneventful character of Van Buren's administration. — The sixth census. — General Harrison is elected President 436-440 CHAPTER LVI. administrations of HARRISON AND TYLER. Sketch of the President's life. — He enters upon his duties. — Falls sick. — And dies. — Tyler succeeds to the Presidency. — Sketch. — Repeal of the Independent Treasury Bill. — A bill is passed to recharter the United States Bank. — And vetoed by the Presi- dent. — The bankrupt law. — Rupture between the executive and Congress. — Resignation of the cabinet.-rThe north-eastern boundary is settled by the Webster-Ashburton treaty. — The Rhode Island insurrection. — The suffrage party elects Dorr. — And the law-and- order party, King. — The latter is supported by the government. — Dorr's followers are scattered. — And himself convicted of treason. — But afterward pardoned. — Building and dedication of Bunker Hill monument. — The Van Rensselaer land troubles in New York. — The Mormons. — They are driven from Missouri. — Found Nauvoo. — Popular feeling against them. — Smith and his brother are murdered. — And the Mormons driven xviii CONTENTS. of the Jesuits. — Missions are established on the lakes. — Joliet and Marquette discover the Mississippi. — Descend the river. — Keturii to Micliigan. — La Salle passes through the lakes. — Descends the Illinois. — Goes to Canada. — Returns. — And explores the Missis- sippi to tiie guli'. — Sails for France. — Returns with a colony. — Reaches Texas. — Seta out for Canada. — Is murdered. — French posts are established. — The Ohio valley to be occupied. — The animosity of France and England leads to war. — The frontiersmen of the two nations come in conflict. — The Ohio Company is organized. — Obtains a grant ot land. — Bienville explores and claims the Ohio valley. — Gist traverses the country to the falls of the Ohio. — The French fortify Le Bceuf and Venango. — Attack a British post. — Gist makes a second exploration.— An English colony on the Youghiogheny. — The Indians favor the English. — The Half-King goes to Erie. — The chiefs confer with Franklin. — Dinwiddle sends a despatch to St. Pierre. — Washington is chosen for the mission. — Sets out by way of Will's Creek to the site of Pittsburg, — And thence to Le Bo^f. — Washington confers with St. Pierre. — And returns to Virginia. — Hardships of the journey. — Trent begins a fort at the fork of the Ohio. — The French capture the place. — And build Du Quesne. — Washington is sent to retake the fort. . 245-255. CHAPTER XXXI. CAMPAIGNS OP WASHINGTON AND BRADDOCK. Washington marches to Great Meadows. — Builds Fort Necessity. — Attacks and defeats Jumonville. — Extends the road toward Du Quesne. — De Villiers approaches. — Attacks Fort Necessity. — And compels a surrender. — An American congress assembles at Albany. — Franklin plans a union. — The colonies reject the constitution. — France sends soldiers to America. — Braddock is sent by England. — He confers with the gov- ernors. — Plans four compaigns. — Marches his army to Foi't Cumberland. — Proceeds against Du Quesne. — Approaches the fort. — Meets the French and Indians. — And is v terribly defeated. — Washington saves the remnant of the army. — Death of Braddock. — Dunbar retreats. — Destroys the stores. — Evacuates Fort Cumberland. — Retires to Philadelphia 25-5-261. CHAPTER XXXIL BUIN OF ACADIA. Nova Scotia under English rule. — Lawrence fears an insurrection. — Is authorized to subdue the French inhabitants. — The English fleet leaves Boston. — The French forts on the Bay of Fundy. — The fleet arrives at Beau-Sejour. — The place is besieged. — And obliged to surrender. — The other forts capitulate. — The British officers deter- mine to exile the inhabitants. — The country is laid waste. — And the people carried into banishment 261-264. CHAPTER XXXIIL EXPEDITIONS OF SHIRLEY AND JOHNSON. A campaign is planned against Niagara. — Shirley commands. — Proceeds to Os- wego. — Wastes the time. — Marches homeward.— Oswego Is rebuilt. — Johnson and Ly- man go against the French on Lake Champlain.— Build Fort Edward.— Form a camp on Lake George. — Dieskau approaches. — Proceeds by way of Wood Creek against Fort Edward. — Meets the English. — And drives them to the camp. — Tlie battle. — The French are defeated. — Dieskau is killed. — The English lose heavily. — Johnson builds Fort William Henry. — The French reinforce their forts 264-266. CONTENTS. xix CHAPTER XXXIV. TWO YEAK8 OP DISASTER. Shirley becomes commander-in-chief. — Washington repels the Indians. — Franklin . 1775-1789. CHAPTER XXXVII. CAUSES. Importance of the revolution. — The question decided by it. — Character of the con- test. — The causes. — Great Britain claims the right of arbitrary government. — France incites the rebellion. — The disposition of the Americans encourages independence. — Public opinion leads to the same result. — The king provokes a conflict. — Parliament passes oppressive acts. — The question of taxation. — Nature of the dispute. — The Im- portation Act. — Its provisions. — Writs of Assistance are issued. — And resisted. — The sugar and wine duties. — The colonists refuse to pay them. — A Stamp Act is proposed. — Indignation in the colonies. — The question of the Indian war-debt arises. — The Stamp Act is passed. — Its provisions. — The news is received in America. — Tlie wrath of the people- — Scene in the House of Burgesses. — Patrick Henry's speech. — Passage of the resolutions. — Other assemblies pursue a similar course. — Tiie first Colonial Congress. — A declaration of Rights is adopted. — Memorials to the king and Parliament. — The Stamp Act is resisted. — And the stamps destroyed. — Suspension of business. — The Sons of Liberty. — A non-importation agreement is made. — The wrath of England.— Camden and Pitt defend the colonists. — Repeal of the Stamp Act. — Joy follows. — Townshend re- news the scheme. — Secures the passage of a glass and tea-tax. — The Americans resist the act. — Circular of Massachusetts. — Seizure of a sloop at Boston. — Insurrection of the people. — Gage takes possession of Boston. — Is ordered to arrest the patriots. — Rebellion of Virginia and North Carolina. — Conflict at New York. — The Boston massacre. — Re- peal of the duties. — Passage of the Salary Act. — Burning of the Ga.spee. — Stratagem of the ministry. — Tea is shipped to America. — Is spoiled at Charleston. — Refused at New York and Philadelphia. — And poured overboard at Boston. — Passage of the Port Bill. — Opposition of the Burgesses. — The charter of Massachusetts is annulled. — The people declared rebels. — The .second Congress assembles. — Resolutions and addresses. — A British army is ordered to America. — Boston Neck fortified. — Military stores re- moved. — The assembly refuses to disband. — War becomes inevitable. . 285-296. CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE BEGINNING. Tlie patriots remove their stores. — Gage plans to destroy them. — Pitcairn is sent for that purpose. — Dawes and Revere arouse the people. — The British reach Lexington. — Fire on the patriots. — Proceed to Concord. — Ransack the village. — Are attacked. — Anjl driven back to Boston. — The country is fired. — The patriots gather at Cambridge. — Allen and Arnold march against Ticonderoga. — .\nd capture the fortress. — The British are reinforced. — Proclamation of Gage. — His plans. — The Americans fortify Breed's Hill. — Amazement of the British. — The battle. — Excitement of the people. — The North Carolinians declare independence. — The Colonial Congress assembles. — An appeal to the king. — Washington commander-in-chief. — Sketch of his life. — His duties and em- CONTENTS. xxi barrassments.— Organization of the army.— Koyal rule is overthrown.— Struggle with Dunmore.— Expedition against Quebec— Led by Schuyler, Montgomery and Arnold.— 4Schuyler falls sick.— Montgomery takes Montreal.— Hardships of Arnold's march.— He and Montgomery unite against Quebec. — The town is invested. — The assault and defeat. — Pall of Montgomery. — The expedition is abandoned. — Sketch of Montgomery. 297-305. CHAPTER XXXIX. THE WORK OF '76. The king answers the colonies.— Howe succeeds Gage. — Siege of Boston. — The Brit- ish evacuate the city. — The Americans enter.— Public rejoicings. — Washington goes to ]New York. — Clinton threatens the city. — Cornwallis and Parker proceed against Charleston. — Eising of the Carolinians. — The attack on Moultrie. — Repulse of the Brit- ish. — Distresses of the army. — Great Britain hires the Hessians. — And makes new lev- ies. — Exasperation of the patriots. — The question of independence. — Lee's resolutions. — Debates. — A committee is appointed. — The Declaration of Independence adopted. — And received with enthusiasm. — Its leading principles. — Howe returns. — Lands an army. — Attempts to open negotiations. — And fails.— The British advance on Long Is- land. — Fight a battle. — And defeat the patriots. — Washington saves the army. — Dis- couragement of the people.— The British take New York.— Negotiations are again at- tempted. — But fail. — Movements of the two armies. — Battle of White Plains. — Dispo- sition of the American forces. — Notice of Hamilton. — The capture of Fort Washington — Fort Lee is taken. — The Americans retreat across New Jersey. — The pursuit ends. — Enlargement of Washington's powers. — British successes in Rhode Island. — Lee's cap- ture. — Washington recruits his army. — Recrosses the Delaware. — Defeats the British at Trenton.— Effect of tlie battle.— Alarm of the British.— Robert Morris to the rescue.— Washington threatens the British posts 305-317. CHAPTER XL. OPERATIONS OF '77. • The British advance against Trenton. — Washington withdraws his forces. — Attacks Princeton. — And wins a victory. — Takes post at Morristown. — The British at New Brunswick. — Cornwallis on the defensive. — Destruction of stores at Peekskill. — Lincoln attacked at Boundbrook. — Tryon burns Danbury.— Is attacked and driven away. — Meigs takes Sag Harbor.— Washington advances into New Jersey. — The British threaten Philadelphia. — Retire to Araboy.— -Leave the State. — Barton captures Prescott. — Congress returns to Philadelphia. — Help from France. — Coming of La Fayette and De Kalb. — Plan of Burgoyne's campaign. — The invasion begins. — Fall of Crown Point and Ticonderoga. — The battle of Hubbaiflton. — Capture of Whitehall. — Fort Edward is taken. — Schuyler retreats to the Mohawk.— The British advance is impeded. — The battle of Bennington. — St. Leger besieges Schuyler. — Herkimer brings relief. — And is defeated. — Arnold advances. — The Indiajis desert the British. — St. Leger retreats. — Dis- couragement of Burgoyne. — Gathering of the Americans. — Burgoyne at Saratoga. — The first battle. — Critical condition of the British. — A diversion is attempted by Clinton. — But fails. — The second battle. — The Americans victorious. — Burgoyne is surrounded. — And driven to surrender. — The army of the North relieves Washington. — The move- ment of Howe against Philadelphia.^He enters the Chesapeake. — The battle of Brandy- wine. — Retreat of the Americans. — Washington advances to Warren's Tavern. — A storru prevents the battle. — Countermarching of the armies. — The British capture Phil- adelphia. — Congress adjourns to Lancaster. — Washington on Skippack Creek. — The xxii CONTENTS. battle of Germantown, — Capture of Forts Mercer and Mifflin. — The Americans at Whitemarsh. — Adventure of Lydia Darrah. — The British winter at Philadelphia. — The Americans at Valley Forge.-^orrows of Washington 317-328, CHAPTER XLI. FRANCE TO THE RESCUE. Silas Deane is sent to France. — His mission. — France favors the Americans. — Sup- plies are sent to the patriots. — Steuben arrives. — Lee and Franklin are appointed to negotiate a treaty. — Franklin's influence at the French court. — A treaty is concluded. — Sketch of Franklin. — Arrival of D'Estaing's fleet. — War threatened between France and England. — Effort of Great Britain for peace. — The British fleet at Philadelphia. — With- drawal of the squadron. — The city evacuated. — Washington pursues. — The battle of Monmouth. — Lee disobeys orders. — Is court-martialed and dismissed. — British concen- trate at New York. — The city threatened by D'Estaing. — He sails against Rhode Island. — Sullivan co-operates against Newport. — Howe follows D'Estaing. — Both squadrons shattered by a storm. — The .siege of Newport. — Abandonment of the enterprise.— De- struction of American shipping. — Byron succeeds Howe. — Marauding of the British. — The Wyoming massacre. — Ruin of Cherry Valley. — The expedition of Major Clarke. — Tlie French and British fleets sail away. — A force is sent against Savannah. — Capture of the city.— The situation 328--333, CHAPTER XLIL MOVEMENTS OF '79. Hard.ships of the soldiers. — T-yon's expedition. — Is attacked by the militia. — Putj- nam's exploit. — Fall of Stony Point and Verplank's. — Insurrection in Virginia. — Tryork invades Connecticut. — Destruction of East Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk.— Stony Point is retaken by Wayne. — Lee captures Jersey City. — An American flotilla sails ta the Penobscot. — Is ruined. — Sullivan ravages the Indian country. — The British evacuate 'Rhode Island. — War in the South. — Fort Sunbury is taken. — Fall of Augusta. — Ander- son defeats the tories. — Pickens gains a victory. — Augusta is evacuated. — Defeat of Lincoln's army. — The militia rally. — Lincoln takes the field. — Threatens Augusta. — Returns to Charleston. — Is beaten at Stono Ferry. — Suspension of activity. — D'Estaing arrives. — Siege of Savannah. — The unsuccessful assault. — Paul Jones's victory. — Re- flections " 334-339. CHAPTER XLIII. REVERSES Alft) TREASON. Operations in the North suspended. — Ternay's fleet arrives. — Campaigns are planned. — Arbutlinot and Clinton besiege Charleston. — The city is taken. — Ravages of Tarleton. , — Plan of tlie British to conquer .South Carolina. — Capture of Ninety-Six. — Cornwallis's ' success. — Tarleton's mas.sacre. — South Carolina is subjugated. — Clinton returns to New York. — Marion and Sumter's bands. — They scour the country. — Their victories. — Gates takes command. — The British at Camden. — Gates advances against them. — Is met and defeated. — Is superseded by Greene. — Sumter's corps is broken up. — Cruelty of the British. — Rawdon advances into North Carolina. — Ferguson's tories are defeated. — Financial distresses.— Sacrifices of Morris.- The treason of Arnold.— Sketch of his career. — Andr^ is sent to a conference. — The interview.— Andr^ attempts to return to New York.— Is captured, condemned, and executed.— Treaty with Holland. 339-345. CONTENTS. xxiii CHAPTER XLIV. THE END. 9 Desperate condition of the army. — The Pennsylvania line revolt. — Mutiny of the Jersey brigade. — Eobert Morris secretary of finance. — Champe attempts to capture Arnold. — Fails. — Arnold's expedition to Virginia. — Second plan to capture him. — He becomes commander-in-chief in Virginia. — Is superseded. — And ordered out of the State. — Leads a band into Connecticut. — Captures Fort Griswold. — Greene in the South. — Advances into South Carolina. — Morgan at the Cowpens.— Is attacked by Tarleton. — But defeats him. — Cornwallis attempts to cut off Morgan's retreat. — Greene takes command. — Crosses the Catawba. — Eace for the Yadkin. — Greene wins it. — • Eace for the Dan. — Greene wins it. — Chagrin of the British. — Greene turns upon the enemy. — Lee disperses the tories. — Greene moves forward to Guilford. — Cornwallis attacks him. — An indecisive battle. — The British retreat to Wilmington. — Cornwallis goes to Virginia. — The Americans advance into South Carolina. — The battle of Hob- kirk's Hill. — The British retire to Eutaw Springs. — The siege of Ninety-Six. — The place is abandoned by the enemy. — Greene in the Highlands. — Sumter, Lee, and Marion overrun the country. — Execution of Hayne. — Greene advances against Eutaw Springs. — The battle. — The British retreat to Charleston. — The situation. — The cam-^ paign in Virginia. — Cornwallis ravages the State. — Marches down the James. — Iff attacked by Wayne. — Proceeds to Portsmouth. — And thence to Yorktown. — The Army of the North comes down upon him. — The French fleet co-operates. — Yorktown is- besieged. — And Cornwallis's army taken. — Eejoicings. — Fall of tiie king's party in Par- liament. — Negotiations for peace. — A treaty is concluded. — Its terms.-^Carleton super- sedes Clinton. — Evacuation of New York. — Washington bids farewell to his officers. — Eetires to private life. .... 345-356> CHAPTEE XLV. CONFEDERATION AND CNION. Bad condition of the government. — Its defects. — Franklin pleads for union. — A committee appointed to prepare a Constitution. — The Articles of Confederation are adopted. — The colonies are slow to ratify. — The Confederation. — Defects of the same. — Chaotic condition of affairs. — A firmer Constitution is projected. — The con- vention at Annapolis. — Adjournment to Philadelphia. — The Constitution is re- ported to the convention. — And adopted. — The last colonial Congress. — Its final work. — The North-Avestern Territory is organized. — The several States cede their rights- away. — St. Clair appointed governor. — Plan of organization. — Slavery is restricted. — — The people divide on the question of adopting the Constitution. — Sketch of Ham- ilton. — Character of the Constitution. — Amendments thereto. — The struggle in the colonial conventions. — Eatification by eleven States. — Washington is chosen Pres- ident. — .John Adams for the vice-presidency. — Washington's journey to New Y'"ork. — Conclusion . 356-362. XXIV CONTENTS. PAET V. NATIONAL PERIOD. CHAPTER XLVI. Washington's administration. Washington is inaugurated President. — And the new government organized. — The country is beset with difficulties. — A cabinet is formed. — The Supreme Court is organ- ized. — Rhode Island and North Carolina ratify the Constitution. — Washington makes a tour through New England. — Presidential etiquette. — Hamilton's financial measures. — The seat of government is fixed. — An Indian war breaks out. — Harmar marches against tlie Miamis. — Is defeated on the Maumee. — The Bank of the United States is established. — Vermont is admitted into the Union. — The first census. — St. Clair is sent against the Indians. — His army is defeated. — The wrath of Washington. — St. Clair is superseded by Wayne. — Kentucky is admitted. — Washington re-elected. — The foreign relations of the government are troubled. — Genet's conduct. — Fouchet supersedes him. — Troubles in tlie President's cabinet. — Antagonism of Jefferson and IJamilton. — Tlie wliisky insurrection breaks out. — Is suppressed by Lee. — Wayne invades the Indian country. — Defeats the Red men at Waynesfield. — Compels a cession of ter- ritory. — Dies. — Great Britain orders the seizuie of American vessels. — Jay procures reparation and a treaty. — Popular opposition thereto. — The compact with Spain. — Peace is purchased of Algiers. — Tennessee is admitted. — Washington issues liis Fare- well address. — The candidates for the Presidency. — Adams is elected. — ^Jeiferson for Vice-President 363-371. CHAPTER XLVII. ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION. Sketch of John Adams. — Opposition to the new administration. — France demands an alliance. — Orders the destruction of American commerce. — Pinckney is dismissed. — The extra session of Congress. — Gerry, Marshall, and Pinckney are sent to France. — The Directory want money. — Pinckney's answer. — An American army is organized. — Washington coniander-in-chief. — The work of the navy. — Truxtun's victories.-- -Doings of Talleyrand. — Napoleon .seeks jieace. — The successful embassy of Murray, ElLsworlh, and Davie. — Death of Washington. — Close of the administration. — Growth of the country. — The Alien and Sedition laws. — Overthrow of the Federal party. — Jefferson is elected President. — And Burr Vice-President 372-376. CHAPTER XLVIII. Jefferson's administration. Sketch of Jefferson. — He puts Democrats in office. — Ohio is admitted. — Indiana and Mississippi organized. — Louisiana is purchased from France. — Boundaries. — Tlie territory of Orleans is set off. — John Marshall in the chief-justiceship. — The Mediter- CONTENTS. XXV Tanean pirates.— Preble is sent against them. — The Philadelphia is captured. — Eetaker, and burned. — The siege of Tripoli. — Expedition of Eaton. — Yusef signs a treaty. — The duel of Burr and Hamilton. — Jefferson is re-elected. — Michigan is organized. — Lewis and Clarke explore Oregon. — Burr makes a conspiracy. — Is tried for treason. — Brit- ish aggressions on American commerce. — England blockades the coast of France. — JNapoleon retaliates. — Great Britain forbids the coasting trade. — An old abuse revived. —The rule of 1756 again asserted. — The effect on American commerce. — The English theory of citizenship. — The object of that theory. — The attack of the Leopard on the Chesapeake. — Passage of the Embargo Act. — The Orders in Council and Milan Decree. — » Fulton and his steamboat. — Invention of the torpedo. — Summary of events. 376-388. CHAPTER XLIX. MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION AND THE WAK OF '12. Sketch of the life and previous services of Madison. — His politics. — The Non- intercourse Act takes the place of the Embargo. — Erskine promises the repeal of the Orders in Council. — The promise not fulfilled. — Bonaparte makes a decree. — And then revokes it. — Obstinacy of Great Britain. — A crisis is reached. — Third census. — Tecumtha and the Prophet. — Harrison purchases lands. — Tecumtha refuses to ratify. — Harrison marches up the Wabash Valley. — Approaches the Prophet's town. — Is attacked by night. — And routs the savages. — Fight of the President and Little Belt. — The twelfth Congress. — "War inevitable. — The President's timid disposition. — Henry's conspiracy is discovered. — Nature of the plot. — Effect of the disclosure. — British vessels are embar- goed. — Louisiana is admitted. — War declared against England. — Preparations. — Relative strength of the belligerents. — Hull's campaign. — He marches to the head of Lake Erie. — Readies Detroit. — Invades Canada. — Retreats. — Van Home's defeat. — Miller's vic- tory. — Siege of Detroit. — Hull's disgraceful surrender. — He is convicted of cowardice. — Capture and burning of Fort Dearborn. — Character assumed by the war.— Sketch of the American defences. — The Constitution captures the Guernere. — The Waxp the Frolic. — The Poictiers the Wasp. — The United States the Macedonian. — The Essex the Nocton. — And the Constitution the Java. — Effect of these victories. — Comment of the English newspapers. — Van Rensselaer moves against Queenstown. — Carries the batteries. — Death of Brock. — The Americans entrench. — But are forced to surrender. — Smyth suc- ceeds Van Rensselaer. — And makes a fool of himself. — The Americans at Black Rock •cross and recross the river. — Madison re-elected. . > . . . 388-399. CHAPTER L. WAR OF '12. — CONTINUED. Plan of the campaigns of '13. — The Americans capture Frenchtown. — Are as- sailed by Proctor. — Surrender. — And are butcheied.— Harrison at Fort Meigs. — He is besieged. — Clay raises the siege. — Proctor and Tecumtha return. — Attack Fort Stephenson. — And are defeated by Croghan. — Affairs on Lake Eiie. — Perry builds a fleet. — Attacks the British squadron. — And gains a signal victory. — Harrison em- barks his forces to Maiden. — Follows the British and Indians to the Thames. — And routs them in battle.-^The Creeks massacre the garrison at Fort Mims. — Jackson and Coffee with the Tennesseeans. — They burn Tallushatchie. — Battles of Talladega and Autosse. — Winter and starvation. — Battle of Emucfau. — And Horse Shoe Bend. — Dearborn proceeds against Toronto. — Battle at the water's edge. — The Americans •capture th§ town. — The British attack Sackett's Harbor. — The Americans on the iliagara. — They storm Fort George. — Suspension of operations. — Wilkinson is made xxvi CONTENTS. commander-in-chief. — Expedition against Montreal, — The battle of Chrysler's Field, —The expedition is abandoned. — Winter quarters at Fort Covington.— McClure evacuates Fort George. — Burns Newark. — The British retaliate. — Tlie Hornet captures the Peacock. — The Chesapeake is taken by the Shannon. — Death of Lawrence. — Cap- ture of the ^r^ws.— The Enterprise takes the Boxer.— The Essex is captured by the Plwebe and Chei-vh.—X British fleet bombards Lewiston.— Marauding in the Chesa- peake 400-407. CHAPTER lA. CAMPAIGNS OF '14. Scott and Ripley capture Erie.— Battles of Chippewa and Niagara.— The Amer- icans retreat to Erie. — Siege of that place by the British.— They are driven oif. — Winter quarters at Black Rock. — Wilkinson again invades Canada. — Is defeated at La CoUe. — And retreats to Plattsburg. — McDonough's squadron on the lake. — The British ad- vance. — Attack by land and water. — And are defeated. — Cochrane and Ross in the Chesapeake. — Barney destroys his vessels. — Battle of Bladensburg. — Washington is captured by the British.— Public buildings burned. — Alexandria pays a ransom. — Siege of Baltimore.— Ravages in New England.— The Federal peace party.— The Hart- ford Convention. — Jackson captures Pensacola. — Takes command at New Orleans. — Approach of the British. — Skirmishing and fighting. — The decisive battle. — Ruin of Packenham's army. — The news of peace. — Sea-fights afterward. — The treaty of Ghent. — Great rejoicings.— Terms of tlie treaty. — Condition of the country. — Rechartering of tlie United States Bank. — Tlie Mediterranean pirates again. — Decatur sent out against them. — He ca()tures a Moorish ship. — And then another. — Enters the Bay of Algiers. — And dictates the terms of peace. — Indiana is admitted. — Liberia founded. — Monroe is elected President 407-416. CHAPTER LII. Monroe's administration. The new President and his policy. — The cabinet. — Revival of the country. — De- mand for the recognition of Hayti. — Treaty witli the Northwestern Indians. — Missis- sippi is admitted. — Tlie pirates of Amelia Island dispersed. — The question of internal improveuients arises. — The canal from Buffalo to Albany. — The Seminole war breaks^ out. — Jackson invades the hostile country. — Captures St. Marks. — Hangs Arbuthnot and Ambrister. — Takes Pensacola. — An excitement follows. — W^hich leads to the cession of Florida. — Great financial crisis of 1819. — Illinois is admitted. — And Alabama. — Ar- kansas is organized. — And Maine admitted. — And Missouri. — The slavery agitation. — And Missouri Compromise. — Its terms. — Monroe and Tompkins are re-elected.— Com- modore Porter suppresses piracy in the "West Indies. — Sympathy of the United States for the South American republics. — The Monroe Doctrine. — The visit of La Fayette. — Excitement attending the presidential election. — John Quincy Adams chosen. 416-423.. CHAPTER LIII. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS's ADMINISTRATION. Sketch of the President. — Partisan opposition in Congress. — Internal improve- \ients favored by the executive. — Trouble with Georgia about the lands of the Creeks, 'Settled by a treaty. — Death of Adams and Jefferson. — The Masonic excitement in CONTENTS xvii CHAPTER XXVIII. SOUTH CAROLINA. A colony is sent out under West and Sayle. — Reaches Beaufort. — But settles on Asliley River. — Locke's constitution is rejected. — And a simple government adopted. — West becomes governor. — And then Yeamans. — Slavery is introduced. — Rapid immi- gration. — Charleston is founded. — An Indian war arises. — Immigrants arrive from England, Scotland, and Ireland. — The Edict of Nantes is revoked. — The Huguenots flock to South Carolina. — Colleton becomes governor. — Declares martial law. — Is over- thrown. — Sothel Takes the office. — Is banished. — Ludwell next. — Who retires to Vir- ginia. — The proprietors abrogate the grand model. — The Quaker Archdale. — His wise administration. — Moore succeeds. — The war with Florida. — Moore and Daniel attempt to take St. Augustine. — And fail. — Moore makes a successful campaign against the In- dians. — The Church of England is established. — The dissenters are disfranchised. — But the act is revoked by Parliament. — The Spaniards besiege Charleston. — And are re- pelled. — War with the Yamassees. — The savages are conquered. — Popular revolution in South Carolina. — Nicholson is governor. — The proprietors sell Carolina to the king. — A royal government is established. — Character of the people. . 230-237. CHAPTER XXIX. GEOBGIA. Georgia founded in benevolence. — Oglethorpe the founder. — Sketch of his life. — He leads forth a colony. — And founds Savannah. — The friendly natives. — A treaty is made with the Muskhogees. — Immigrants arrive from various parts of Europe. — Ogle- thorpe goes to England-T-Returns. — The Moravians. — The Wesleys. — And Whitefield. — Conflicting claims of Georgia and Florida. — Oglethorpe builds forts. — Is commissioned as general. — AVar breaks out. — The governor besieges St. Augustine. — And fails. — The Spaniards invade Georgia. — Oglethorpe's stratagem. — The battle of Bloody Marsh. — 'The Spaniards are defeated. — And retreat to Florida. — The governor returns to Eng- land. — Slavery is introduced. — The prohibitory law is repealed. — Growth of Georgia. — .Eeflections on the thirteen colonies 238-244. COLONIAL HISTORY.— Continued. FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. CHAPTER XXX. CAUSES. The colonies begin to act together. — A sense of common danger unites them. — The Trench and Indian War arises. — Causes considered. — Conflicting territorial claims. — English colonies on the sea-boar9. — French colonies in the interior. — France purposes ■to confine the English to the Atlantic slope. — French settlements result from the efibrta xxviii CONTENTS. into exile. — They journey to Salt Lake. — The Texas excitement begins. — Outline of Texas history. — The people rebel against Mexico. — Battle of Gonzales. — Capture of the- Alamo. — And massacre of the garrison. — Tlie battle of San Jacinto decides the contest. — Texas independent. — Seeks admission into tlie Union. — Is refused at first. — The peo- ple of the United States divide on the question of annexation. — On that issue Polk is elected President. — Professor Morse and the telegraph. — Texas admitted into the Union 440-447. CHAPTER LVII. Sketch of President Polk. — Texas ratifies the annexation. — General Taylor sent to- defend the country. — The boundary question. — Proposition to negotiate. — Mexico refuses. — Taylor ordered to the Neuces. — And thence to the Rio Grande. — He estab- lishes a jjost at Point Isabel. — And builds Fort Brown. — Beginning of liostilities by tlie Alexicans. — Taylor retires to Point Isabel. — Mexican boasting. — Returns toward Mata- moras. — Meets the Mexicans. — Fights and gains the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palnia. — Siege of Fort Brown. — News of the battles in the United States. — Declaration of War. — Plan of tlie campaigns. — General Wool musters the forces. — Taylor captures- Matamoras. — Advances against Monterey. — Besieges and storms the town. — An armis- tice. — Santa Anna made President of Mexico and general of the army. — Saltillo is taken by Worth. — Victoria by Patterson. — And Tampico by Conner. — Wool advances. — And Scott a.ssumes command. — Kearney captures Santa Fe. — Maves westward. — Is joined by Carson. — And marches to the Pacific coast. — The deeds of Colonel Fremont. — Rebellion of the Californians. — They defeat the Mexicans. — Monterey, San Diego, and Los Angelos taken. — Battle of San Gabriel. — The march and battles of Colonel Doniphan. — Taylor's and Wool's forces ordered to the coast. — Critical condition of Taylor's army. — Ap- proach of Santa Anna. — Battle of Buena Vista. — Retirement of Taylor from the service. — Scott besieges and captures Vera Cruz. — Marches against the capital. — Battle of Cerro Gordo — Jalapa, Perote, and Puebla are taken. — Negotiations. — The march renewed. — The army passes the Cordilleras. — Reaches Aj'otla. — Turns to the left. — The approaches and fortifications of the city. — Storming of Contreras and San Antonio. — Churubusco is carried. — The Mexicans driven back to Chapultepec. — More foolish nego- tiations. — Scott rests his army. — And then advances. — Molino del Rey and Casa de Mata are stormed. — Chapultepec is taken. — Flight of the Mexican government. — The American army enters the city. — Santa Anna attacks the hospitals at Pnebla. — Is driven oflT by General Lane. — Downfall of the Mexican authority. — The treaty of Gaudalupe Hidalgo. — Its terms. — Settlement of the Oregon boundary. — The international line es- tablished on the forty-ninth parallel. — Tlie discovery of gold in California. — The excite- ment which ensued. — Importance of the mines. — Founding of the Smith.sonian Institu- tion. — Death of Jackson and John Quincy Adams. — Wisconsin is admitted. — Establi.«h- ment of the Department of the Interior. — The canvass for President. — Rise of the Free Soil party. — The Wilmot proviso. — Election of Taylor to the presidency. 447-462. CHAPTER LVIII. ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOK AND FILLMORE. Sketch of the chief magistrate. — The question of slavery in California. — .\ terri- torial government is organized. — A petition for admission. — The controversy in Con- gress. — Other political vexations. — Clay as a peace-maker. — Passage of the Omnibus Bill. — And its provisions. — Death of the President. — The slavery excitement subsides- CONTENTS. XXIX — The question not permanently settled. — Eetirement of Mr. Clay. — Effects of the Om- nibus Bill on the administration. — The Cuban expedition is organized. — Lopez and hi* associates are executed. — Important measures recommended by the President. — A diffi- culty arises about the coast-fisheries. — And is settled by a treaty. — The tour of Ko.ssuth. — Arctic expeditions of Franklin, De Haven, and Kane. — Death of Calhoun, Clay, and Webster. — The Cuban excitement in Europe. — The Tripartite Treaty is proposed. — And rejected. — Everett's reply to France and Great Britain. — The candidates for th& presidency. — Pierce is elected 463-469. CHAPTER LIX. Pierce's administration. Sketch of Franklin Pierce. — A route for a Pacific railroad is explored. — Settle- ment of the boundary of New Mexico. — The Japanese ports are opened to the United States. — The World's Fair. — Walker organizes a filibustering expedition against Central America. — Is captured.— Makes a second descent on Nicaraugua. — And then a third.-^ Is defeated, captured, and executed. — The Martin Koszta affair. — Cuban difficulties. — The Ostend manifesto. — A bill to organize Kansas and Nebraska is passed. — Repeal of the Missouri Compromise. — Renewal of the slavery agitation. — The troubles in Kan- sas. — Two territorial governments are organized. — Geary sent thither as military gov- ernor. — Marshaling of parties on the slavery question. — Buchanan is elected to the pres- idency 469-474. CHAPTER LX. Buchanan's administration. Sketch of the President. — The Dred Scott decision. — The Mormon rebellion ir> Utah. — Is suppressed by the army. — A difficulty arises with Paraguay. — But is settled by treaty. — The first Atlantic cable is laid. — Minnesota is admitted. — Retirement and sketch of Houston. — Death of Washington Irving. — His work in American literature. — The Personal Liberty bills. — John Brown's insurrection. — Continuance of the troubles in Kansas — The political parties again divide on the slavery question. — The National conventions. — ^The candidates and the canvass. — Lincoln is elected President. — Condi- tion of affairs in the government. — Position of Buchanan. — The drama of secession. — Seven States Avithdraw from the Union. — The secession conventions. — Position of Steph- ens. — Organization of the Provisional Confederate government. — Davis for President. — The peace movements end in failure. — Paralysis of the administration. — Seizure of forts and arsenals by the Confederates. — The strife in Kansas continues. — The Stxir of the West is driven off from Fort Sumter. — The President elect reaches Wash- ington 474-482. CHAPTER LXI. Lincoln's administration and the civil war. Sketch of Abraham Lincoln. — Organization of his cabinet. — His purpose to repos- sess the forts of the United States. — Preparations to reinforce Fort Sumter. — Confed- erate movements in Charleston. — Bombardment and fall of Fort Sumter. — The event fires the nation. — The call for troops. — Secession of Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. — The soldiers attacked in Baltimore. — Capture of Harper's Ferry and the Norfolk navy yard. — Prodigious activity and preparations. — Davis and his cabinet at Richmond 482-485i XXX CONTENTS. CHAPTER LXII. THE CAUSES. The causes. — First, the different construction of the Constitution in the North and the South. — Fatal character of this dispute. — Second, the system of slavery. — The cotton gin. — The Missouri agitation. — The annexation of Texas, and the Mexican War. — The nullification measures of South Carolina. — The Omnibus Bill. — The Kan- sas-Nebraska imbroglio. — Third, the want of intercour.se between the North and the South. — Fourth, the publication of sectional books. — Fifth, the influence of dema- .^ogues. ......... . . . . 485—488. CHAPTER LXIir. FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR. Advance of the Union army. — Fight at Big Bethel. — Morris and McClellan move forward in West Virginia. — Engagements at Philippi, Rich Mountain, Carrick's Ford, Carnifex Ferry, Cheat Mountain, and Romney. — The Confederates concentrate at Manassas. — The national forces advance. — The skirmish, the battle, and the rout.— Effect on the country. — The Confederate government at Richmond. — Sketch of Davis. — Affairs in Missouri. — Confederates capture Liberty. — Form Camp Jackson. — Lyon defends St. Louis. — Battles of Carthage and Springfield. — Price captures Lexington. — Fremont pursues him. — And is superseded. — Grant captures Belmont. — McClellan is made commander-in-chief. — The disaster at Ball's Bluff. — Hatteras inlet, Port Royal, and Hilton Head secured by the Federals. — Capture of Mason and Slidell. — They are released by Mr. Seward 490-495. CHAPTER LXIV. CAMPAIGNS OF '62. o Extent and position of the Union forces. — The Confederates defeated on the Bi Sandy and at Mill Spring. — Fort Henry is taken. — Siege and capture of Fort Donelson. — Battle of Shiloh. — Island Number Ten is taken. — The battle of Pea Ridge. — Fight of the Monitor and the Merrimac. — Burnside captures Roanoke Island, Newbern, and Beaufort. — Savannah is blockaded. — Farragut aud Butler ascend the Mississippi. — Pass Forts Jackson and St. Philip. — Capture of New Orleans. — Fall of Jackson and St. Philip. — Kirby Smith invades Kentucky. — Battle of Richmond. — Bragg marches on Louisville. — The city held by Buell. — Bragg retreats. — Battle of Perry ville. — Battles of luka and Corinth. — Grant moves against Vicksburg. — Retreats. — Battle of Chickasaw Bayou. — Battle of Murfreesborough.— Banks and Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley. — Fight at Front Royal. — The Federals retreat across the Potomac. — The Confederates fall back in turn.— Battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic— McClellan advances. — Beginning of the Peninsular campaign. — Yorktown is taken. — Then "Williamsburg and West Point.— Wool captures Norfolk.— The Virginia destroyed.- Battle of Fair Oaks.— Lee made general-in-chief of the Confederates.— McClellan changes base.— The seven days' battles.— The Union army at Harrison's Landing. — Lee strikes for Washington. — Is opposed by Pope.— Flank movement of Jackson.— Battles of Manassas, Centreville, and Chantilly.— I^e invades Maryland.— Harper's Ferry is taken.— Engagement at South Mountain.— Battle of Antietam.— Confederates retreat.— Burnside in command.— Plans a campaign against Richmond. — Advances against Fredericksburg. — And is de- feated 495-510. CONTENTS. xxxi CHAPTER LXV. THE WORK OF '63. Proportions of the conflict. — New calls for troops. — The Emancipation Proclama- -tion. — Capture of Arkansas Post. — Movements against Vicksburg. — The fleet passes the batteries. — Grant at Bruinsburg. — Battles of Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, and Champion Hills.— The siege and capture of Vicksburg. — Fall of Port Hudson.— Cav- alry raids of Jackson, Stuart, and Grierson. — Rosecrans drives Bragg across the Ten- nessee. — Battle of Chattanooga. — And the siege. — Storming of Lookout and Missionary Ridge. — Longstreet in Tennessee. — Siege of Knoxville. — Engagements at Springfield, Cape Girardeau, and Helena. — The sacking of Lawrence. — Capture of Little Rock. — Morgan invades Indiana. — Passes into Ohio. — Is hemmed in and captured. — The Con- federates take Galveston. — The siege of Charleston. — Hooker commands the Army of the Potomac. — Battle of Chancellorsville. — Death of Stonewall Jackson. — Stoneman's raid. — Siege of Suffolk. — Lee invades Pennsylvania. — The battle of Gettysburg. — Re- treat of the Confederates.— The conscription.— Riot in New York.— The draft.— New calls for soldiers. — West Virginia a State. ...... 510-523. 'o* CHAPTER LXVL THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. Sherman's campaign to Meridian. — Smith fails to form a junction. — Sherman retires to Vicksburg. — Forrest's raid. — The Red River expedition. — Plan of the cam- paign. — Capture of Fort de Russy, Alexandria, and Natchitoches. — Union disaster and retreat. — Steele falls back to Little Rock. — Grant lieutenant-general. — Plan of the cam- paigns of '64. — Sherman advances. — Battles of Dalton, Resaca, and Dallas. — Attacks and repulses at Kenesaw. — The Confederates fall back to Atlanta. — Siege and capture of the stronghold. — Hood invades Tennessee. — Thomas sent to confront him. — Battle of Franklin. — Siege of Nashville. — Rout and ruin of Hood's army. — Sherman's march to the .v^" .ovxris ' Illinois^ ^- ...d-.Sliawneesl ^ S5 — -?^ l^' ?'/#''■ 1^" ,\ <$> CnicUakAs /J'/f ■ /;^ — ---s!v> CB^ctas\|;>i, / Jj ^ iMlilM 30 'S- G TT Z F Mm^ K o < 31 :e X I ^' ^^OV^^GINAL AMERICA SHOWIIfO THE DISTRIBUTION AND TERRITORIAL LIMITS ^^£ INDIAN! NAT\0^^'^ m THE NEW WORLD, SCAI.K OP WILES 100 iOO 300 ^ 400 500 West 95 from Greenwich 80 76 ABORIGINAL AMERIGA. 45 warfare. Fighting was limited to the surprise, the ambuscade, the massacre ; and military strategy consisted of cunning and treachery. Quarter was rarely asked, and never granted ; those who were spared from the fight were only reserved for a barbarous captivity, ransom, or the stake. In the torture of his victims all the diabolical ferocity of the savasre warrior's nature burst forth without restraint. In times of peace the Indian character shone to a better advan- tage. But the Ked man was, at his best estate, an unsocial, solitary, and gloomy spirit. He was a man of the woods. He communed only with himself and the genius of sol- itude. He sat apart. The forest was better than his wigwam, and his wigwam bet- ter than the vil- lage. The Indian woman was a de- graded creature, a drudge, a beast of burden ; and the social prin- ciple was c o r - respondingly low. The organization of the Indian fam- ily was so peculiar as to require a special consideration. Among civilized nations the family is so constructed that the lines of kinshij) diverge constantly from the line of descent, so that collateral kinsmen with each gen- eration stand at a still greater remove from each other. The above diagram will serve to show how in a European family the lines of consanguinity diverge until the kinship becomes so feeble as to be no longer recognized. It will be observed that this fact of constant di- vergence is traceable to the establishment of a male line of descent. In the Indian family all this is reversed. The descent is es- tablished in the female line; and as a consequence the ties of kinship DIAGRAM OF EUROPEAN KINSHIP. 46 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. converge upon each other until they all meet in the granddaughter. That is, in the aboriginal nations of North America, every grandson and granddaughter was the grandson and granddaughter of the whole tribe. This arose from the fact that all the uncles of a given person were reckoned as his fathers also ; all the mother's sisters were mothers ; all the cousins were sisters and brothers; all the nieces were daugh- ters ; all the nephews, sons, etc. This peculiarity of the Indian family organization is illustrated in the annexed diagram. Civil government among the Indian na- tions was in its primi- tive stages of develop- ment. Each tribe had its own sachem, or chieftain, to whom in matters of peace and war a tolerable degree of obedience was ren- dered. At times con- federations were form- ed, based either on ties of kinship or the exi- gencies of war. But these confederations were seldom enduring, and were likely at any time to be broken up by the barbarous pas- sion and insubordina- tion of the tribes who composed them. Sometimes a sachem would arise with such marked abilities, warlike prowess, and strength of will, as to gain an influence, if not a positive leadership over many nations. But with the death of the chieftain, or sooner, each tribe, resuming its independence, would return to its own ways. No general Indian Congress was known; but national and tribal councils were frequently called to debate questions of policy and right. In matters of religion the Indians were a superstitious race, but seldom idolaters. They believed in a great spirit, everywhere present, ruling the elements, showing favor to the obedient, and punishing the sinful. Him they worshiped; to him they sacrificed. But not in tem- DIAGRAM OF INDIAN KINSHIP. ABOBIOINAL AMERICA. 47 pies, for the Indians built none. They also believed in many subordi- nate spirits — some good, some bad. Both classes frequented the earth. The bad spirits brought evil dreams to the Indian ; diseases also, bad passions, cruel winters, and starvation. The good spirits brought sun- shine, peace, plentiful harvests, all the creatures of the chase. The Medicine Man, or Prophet, obtained a knowledge of these things by fasting and prayer, and then made revelations of the will and purposes of the spirit world. The religious ceremonies of the Indians were per- formed with great earnestness and solemn formality. In the matter of the arts the Indian was a barbarian. His house was a wigwam or hovel. Some poles set up in a circle, converging at the top, covered with skins and the branches of trees, lined and some- times floored with mats, a fire in the center, a low opening opposite the point from which the wind blew — such was the aboriginal abode of North America. Indian utensils were few, rude, and primitive. Poorly-fashioned earthen pots, bags and pouches for carrying provis- ions, and stone hammers for pounding parched corn, were the stock and store. A copper kettle was a priceless treasure. The warrior's chief implement was his hatchet of stone or copper. This he always carried with him, and it was rarely free from the stain of blood. His weapon of offence and defence was the bow and arrow, by no means an insignificant or feeble instrument. The arrow pointed with stone or iron was frequently driven entirely through the ponderous buffalo. The range of the winged missile was two hundred yards or more, and the aim was one of fatal accuracy when the White man was the tar- get. The Indian's clothing was a blanket, thrown over his shoulders, bound around him perhaps with a thong of leather. The material for his moccasins * and leggins was stripped from the red buck, elk, or buffalo. He was fond of hanging about his person an infinity of non- sensical trappings ; fangs of rattlesnakes, claws of hawks, feathers of eagles, bones of animals, scalps of enemies. He painted his face and body, specially when the passion of war was on him, with all manner of glaring and fantastic colors. So the Prophet of his nation taught him; so he would be terrible to his enemies; so he would exemplify the peculiarities of his nation and be unlike the Pale face. All the higher arts were wanting. Indian writing consisted only of quaint and half-intelligible hieroglyphics rudely scratched on the face of rocks or cut in the bark of trees. The artistic sense of the savage could rise no higher than a coarse necessity compelled the flight. The language spoken by a people is always a matter of special * The Algonquin word is viaklsin. 48 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. SPECIMEN OF INDIAN WRITING. interest and importance. The dialects of the North American races bear many and evident marks of resemblance among themselves; but little or no analogy to the languages of other nations. If there is any similarity at all, it is found between the Indian tongues and those spoken by the nomadic races of Asia. The IpJ^jJ^^jJ ^ |!^ ^ wo \? v7 w VA vocabulary of the Red men was a very limited one. The principal objects of na- ture had spec- ial names, and actions were likewise spe- cifically e X - pressed. Ab- stract ideas but rarely f o u n d expression in any of the Indian languages ; such ideas could only be expressed by ti long and labored circumlocution. Words had a narrow but very intense meaning. There was, for instance, no general word signify- ing to hunt or to fish ; but one word signified " to-kill-a-deer-with-an- arrow ; " another, " to-take-fish-by-striking-the-ice." In most of the dialects there was no word for brother; but "elder-brother" and "younger-brother" could be expressed. Among many of the tribes the meanings of words and phrases were so restricted that the war- rior would use one set of terms and the squaw another to express the same ideas. The languages were monosyllabic ; but many of the monosyllables might be combined to form compounds resembling the polysyllables of European tongues. These compounds, expressing ab- stract and difficult ideas, were sometimes inordinately long,* the whole ibrming an explanation or description of the thing rather than a sin- gle word. Scholars have applied the term agglutinative to those lan- guages in which such labored and tedious forms of expression occur. Of this sort are the tongues spoken by the nomadic races of Asia. * For instance, in the Massachusetts dialect, the form of speech meaning "our ques- Hon" was this: Kum-mog-ko-don-at-toot-tura-moo-et-it-e-a-ong-an-nun-non-ash. Tramlaiion : Eight soldiers (9), with muskets (10), commanded by a cap- tain (1), and accompanied by a secretary (2), a geologist (3), three attend- ants (4, 5, 6), and two Indian guides, encamped here. They had three camp fires (13, 14, 15), and ate a turtle and a prairie hen (11, 12), for supper. ABORIGINAL AMERICA. 49 In personal appearance the Indians were strong/y marked. In statnre they were nearly all below the average of Europeans. The Esquimaux are rarely five feet high, but are generally thick-set and heavy. The Algonquins are taller and lighter in build; a straight and agile race, lean and swift of foot. Eyes jet-black and sunk- en ; hair black and straight; beard black and scant; skin copper-colored, a red- dish-black, cin- namon-hued, brown ; high cheek bones ; forehead and skull variable in shape and proportion; hands and feet small ; body lithe but not strong; expression sinister, or rarely dignified and noble : — these are the well-known features and person of the Indian. Though gener- ally sedate in man- ners and serious in behavior, the Red men at times gave themselves up to merry-making and hilarity. The dance was universal — not the social dance of civ- ilized nations, but the dance of ceremony, of religion, and of war. Sometimes the warriors danced alone, but frequently the women joined in the wild exercise, circling around and around, chanting the weird, monotonous songs of the tribes. Many other amusements were com- mon, such as running, leaping, wrestling, shooting at a mark, racing in canoes along swift rivers or placid lakes, playing at ball, or en- gaging in intricate and exciting games, performed with small stones resembling checkers cr dice. To this latter sport was not unfre- quently added the intoxication of gambling, in which the warriors, under the influence of their fierce passion, Avould often hazard and * An authentic portrait of the celebrated Black Hawk, chief of the Sacs and Foxes. 4 A NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN.- 50 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. lose their entire possessions. In soberer moments, the Red men, never inclined to conversation, would sit in silence, communing each with his own thoughts or lost in a dream under the fascination of his pipe. The use of tobacco was universal and excessive; and after the introduction of intoxicating liquors by the Europeans the Indi- ans fell into terrible drunkenness, only limited in its extent by the amount of spirits which they could procure. It is doubtful whether any other race has been so awfully degraded by drink. Such is a brief sketch of the Red man — who was rather than is. The only hope of the perpetuity of his race seems now to center in the Choctaws, Cherokees, Creeks and Chickasaws of the Indian Ter- ritory. These nations, numbering in the aggregate about forty-eight thousand souls, have attained a considerable degree of civilization ; and with just and liberal dealing on the part of the Government the outlook for the future is not discouraging. Most of the other Indian tribes seem to be rapidly approaching extinction. Right or wrong, such is the logic of events. Whether the Red man has been justly deprived of the ownership of the New World will remain a subject of debate ; that he has been deprived, can be none. The Saxon has come. His conquering foot has trodden the vast domain from shore to shore. The weaker race has withered from his presence and sword. By the majestic rivers and in the depths of the solitary woods the feeble sons of the Bow and Arrow will be seen no more. Only their names remain on hill and stream and mountain. The Red man sinks and fails. His eyes are to the West. To the prairies and forests, the hunting-grounds of his ancestors, he says farewell. He is gone ! The cypress and the hemlock sing his requiem. PART 11. YOTAGE A.'ND DISCOYEET. A. ». 986-1607. CHAPTER II. THE ICELANDERS AND NORWEGIANS IN AMERICA. THE western continent was first seen by white men in A. D. 986. A Norse navigator by the name of Heejulfson, sailing from Iceland to Greenland, was caught in a storm and driven westward to Newfoundland or Labrador. Two or three times the shores were seen, but no landing was made or attempted. The coast was low, abounding in forests, and so diiferent from the well-known cliffs of Greenland as to make it certain that another shore hitherto unknown was in sight. On reaching Greenland, Herjulfson and his companions told wonderful stories of the new lands seen in the west. Fourteen years later, the actual discovery of America was made by Lief Erickson. This noted Icelandic captain, resolving to know the truth about the country which Herjulfson had seen, sailed west- ward from Greenland, and in the spring of the year 1001 reached Labrador. Impelled by a spirit of adventure, he landed with his companions, and made explorations for a considerable distance along the coast. The country was milder and more attractive than his own, and he was in no haste to return. Southward he went as far as Massachusetts, where the daring company of Norsemen remained for more than a year. Rhode Island was also visited; and it is alleged that the hardy adventurers found their way into New York harbor. What has once been done, whether by accident or design, may easily be done again. In the years that followed Lief Erickson's dis- covery, other companies of Norsemen came to the shores of America. Thorwald, Lief 's brother, made a voyage to Maine and Massachu- setts in 1002, and is said to have died at Fall River in the latter state. (51) i^. 52 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Then another brother, Thorstein by name, arrived with a band of followers in 1005 ; and in the year 1007, Thoefinn Kaelsefne, the most distinguished mariner of his day, came with a crew of a hundred and fifty men, and made explorations along the coast of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and per- haps as far south as the capes of Virginia. Other companies of Icelanders and Norwegians visited the countries f a r t h e r north, and planted col- onies in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Little, however, was known or imagined by these rude sailors of the extent of the country which they had discovered. They supposed that it was only a portion of Western Greenland, which, bend- ing to the north around an arm of the ocean, had reappeared in the west. The settlements which were made, were feeble and soon broken up. Commerce was au im- possibility in a country where there were only a few wretched savages with no disposition to buy and nothing at all to sell. The spirit of adventure was soon appeased, and the restless Northmen returned to their own country. To this undefined line of coast, now vaguely known to them, the Norse sailors gave the name of Vinland; and the old Icelandic chroniclers insist that it was a pleasant and beauti- ful country. As compared with their own mountainous and frozen island of th<3 North, the coasts of New England may well have seemed delightful. The men who thus first visited the shores of the New World were a race of hardy adventurers, as lawless and restless as any that ever sailed the deep. Their mariners and soldiers penetrated every clime. The better parts of France and England fell under their do- minion. All the monarchs of the latter country after AYilliam the Conqueror — himself the grandson of a sea-king — are descendants of NORSE EXPLOKATIONS. VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 53 the Norsemen. They were rovers of the sea ; freebooters and pi- rates; "warriors audacious and headstrong, wearing hoods surmounted with eagles' wings and walruses' tusks, mailed armor, and for robes the skins of polar bears. Woe to the people on whose defenceless coasts the sea-kings landed with sword and torch! Their wayward life and ferocious disposition are well portrayed in one of their own old bal-< lads * He scorns to rest 'neath the smoky rafter, He plows with his boat the roaring deep ; Tlie billows boil and the storm howls after — But the tempest is only a thing of laughter, — The sea-king loves it better than sleep ! During the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries occa- sional voyages continued to be made; and it is said that as late as A. D. 1347 a Norwegian ship visited Labrador and the north-eastern parts of the United States. The Norse remains which have been found at Newport, at Garnet Point, and several other places seem to point clearly to some such events as are here described; and the Ice- landic historians give a uni- form and tolerably consistent account of these early ex- ploits of their countrymen. When the word America is mentioned in. the hearing of the Icelandic schoolboys, they will at once answer, with en- thusiasm, " Oh, yes ; Lief Er- ickson discovered that country in the year 1001." An event is to be weighed by its consequences. From the discovery of Amer- ica by the Norsemen, nothing whatever resulted. The world was neither wiser nor better. Among the Icelanders themselves the place and the very name of Vinland were forgotten. Europe never heard of such a country or such a discovery. Historians have until late years been incredulous on the subject, and the fict is as though it had never been. The curtain which had been lifted for a A NORSE SEA-KING OF THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. 54 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. moment was stretched again from sky to sea, and the New World still lay hidden in the shadows. * CHAPTER III. SPANISH DISCO VEBIES IN AMERICA. IT was reserved for the people of a sunnier clime than Iceland first to make known to the European nations the existence of a Western con- tinent. Spain was the happy country under whose auspicious patronage a new world was to be added to the old ; but the man who was destined to make the revelation was not himself a Spaniard : he was to come from genial Italy, the land of olden valor and the home of so much greatness. Christopher Columbus was the name of that man whom after ages have justly rewarded with imperishable fame. The idea that the world is round was not original with Columbus. Others before him had held a similar belief; but the opinion had been so feebly and uncertainly entertained as to lead to no practical results. Copernicus, the PriLssian astronomer, had not yet taught, nor had Galileo, the great Italian, yet demonstrated, the true system of the universe. The English traveler, Sir John Mandeville, had declared in the very first English book that ever was MTitten (A. D. 1356) that the world is a sphere; that he himself, when traveling northward, had seen the polar star approach the zenith, and that on going southward the antarctic con- stellations had risen overhead ; and that it was both possible and practicable for a man to sail around the world and return to the place of starting : but neither Sir John himself nor any other seaman of his times was bold enough to undertake so hazardous an enterprise.! Columbus was, no doubt, the first practical believer in the theory of circumnaviga- tion ; and although he never sailed around the world himself, he demonstrated the possibility of doing so. * As to the reality of the Norse discoveries in America, the following from Hum- boldt's Cosmos, Vol. II., pp. 269-272, may be cited as conclusive : " We are here on historical ground. By the critical and highly praiseworthy efforts of Professor Rafn and the Royal Society of Antiquaries in Copenhagen, the Sagas and documents in regard to the expeditions of the Norsemen to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Vinland have been published and satisfactorily commented upon. « * « » The dis- covery of the iiorthei-n part of Amenca by the Norsemen can not be disputed. The length of the voyage, the direction in which they sailed, the time of the sun's rining and setting, are accurately given. While the Caliphate of Bagdad was still flourish- ing^ •» » «■ * America was discovered about the year A. D. 1000, by Lief, the son of Eric the Red, at the latitude of forty-one and a-half degrees north." t See Appendix A. VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 55 The great mistake with Columbus and others who shared his opinions was not concerning the figure of the earth, but in regard to its size. He believed the world to be no more than ten thousand or twelve thousand miles in circumference. He therefore confidently expected that after sail- ing about three thousand miles to the westward he should arrive at the East Indies ; and to do that was the one great purpose of his life. Christopher Columbus was born at Genoa, a seacoast to\\Ti of North- western Italy, in A. D. 1435. He was carefully educated, and then devoted himself to the sea. His ancestors had been sea- men before him. His o^^^l inclination as well as his early training made him a sailor. For twenty years he traversed the Mediter- ranean and the parts of the Atlantic adjacent to Europe; he visited Iceland; then went to Portugal, and finally to S]>ain. The idea of reaching the Indies by crossing the Atlan- tic had already pos- sessed him. For more than ten years the poor enthusiast was a beg- CHIIISTOPHER COLtTMBUS. gar, going from court to court, explaining to dull monarchs and bigoted monks the figure cf the earth and the ease with which the rich islands of the East might be reached by sailing westward. He found one appreciative listener, after- ward his constant and faithful friend — the noble and sympathetic Isa- bella, queen of Castile. Be it never forgotten that to the faith, and insight, and decision of a woman the final success of Columbus must be attributed. On the morning of the 3d day of August, 1492, Columbus, with his three ships, left the harbor of Palos. After seventy-one days of sailing, in the early dawn of October 12, Hodrigo Triana, who chanced to be on the lookout from the Pinta, set up a shout of '^Land!'' A gun was fired as the signal. The ships lay to. There was music and jubilee ; 56 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. and just at sunrise Columbus himself first stepped ashore, shook out the royal banner of Castile in the presence of the wondering natives, and named the island San Salvador. During the three remaining months of this first voyage the islands of Concepcion, Cuba and Hayti were added to the list of discoveries ; and on the bay of Caracola, in the lasfc= named island, was erected out of the timbers of the Santa Maria a fortj the first structure built by Europeans in the New World. In the early part of January, 1493, Columbus sailed for Spain, where he arrived in March, and was everywhere greeted with rejoicings and applause. In September of the following autumn Columbus sailed on his second voyage. He still believed that by this route westward he should reach, if indeed he had not already reached, the Indies. The result of the second voyage was the discovery of the Windward group and the islands of Jamaica and Porto Rico. It was at this time that the first colony was established in Hayti and Columbus's brother appointed governor. After an absence of nearly three years, Columbus returned to Spain in the sum- mer of 1496 — returned to find himself the victim of a thousand bitter jealousies and suspicions. All the rest of his life was clouded with perse- cutions and misfortunes. He made a third voyage, discovered the island of Trinidad and the mainland of South America, near the mouth of the Orinoco. Thence he sailed back to Hayti, where he found his colony disorganized ; and here, while attempting to restore order, he was seized by Bobadilla, an agent of the Spanish government, put in chains and car- ried to Spain. After a disgraceful imprisonment, he was liberated and sent on a fourth and last voyage in search of the Indies ; but besides making some explorations along the south side of the Gulf of Mexico, the expedition accomplished nothing, and Columbus, overwhelmed with discouragements, returned once more to his ungrateful country. The good Isabella was dead, and the great discoverer found himself at last a friendless and despised old man tottering into the grave. Death came, and fame afterward. Of all the wrongs done to the memory of Columbus, perhaps the greatest was that which robbed him of the name of the new conti- nent. This was bestowed upon one of the least worthy of the many adventurers whom the genius and success of Columbus had drawn to the West. In the year 1499, Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine navigator of some daring but no great celebrity, reached the eastern coast of South America. It does not appear that his explorations there Avere of any great importance. Two years later he made a second voyage, and then hastened home to give to Euro])e the first published account of the Western World. Vespucci's only merit consisted in his recognition of lOOO Central I'oriod of the 31iil. Henry I. 54. Henry 89. 99. The PLANTAGENETS. 87. DANISH KINGS IN ENGiiAND, The NORMANS. 1. LEIF ER1CK80S, an Icelandic navigiitor, sailing westward from Greenland, discovers the coast of Labrador, and makes explorations !is far south as Khode l.sland. Bjarne Herjnlfson driven by cL storm within sij;ht of the American coast A. I>. 9»i«. 2. I'horivald Erickson re- turns to America and re- mains three years. 5. Tliorstein Erickson co nest of Ireland, ilip II. the Gnelphs and dihibel lines. Wars of the ISaronsJ 28. 15. !Magna Cliarta II. Ricliaril I. John. Heroic Age. grante 72. Edward I, 7. Edna W THE WESTERN CONTINENT UNKNOWN 21. Erik ITpsi sent as mes to America. 7. Thorlinn Karlsefne ex plores the coastof Massachusetts. 11. Expedition of Freydls AMERICA to Vinland. 70. Allege TO TH UNDER 1 discovery of America by 9Ia doc the \N' THE ABORIG JO IPt J%. lO ~V I X_v jCjC -ctL Xv Ji X» PERIOD OF VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. A. D. 986-1607. Icelandic discoTerles in gr^ Spanish " " ye' Knollsh " " ra Fkknch " " Wh OuTCH '* *' hr PORTUGUSSK " " pVi 1400 1500 HiOO >m of Jeru Maleui overtliro^ii. I :::,. C'uliinihus born. 15. John llii>^$>). ok written in Eii;; 56. Fir*it bo Ii»tii, ill Mandevil figure of bility of which the author, Sir John le, declares the spherical the eartli and the practica- eircumnavigatioii. 'J8. 80. ,€h "••*"^^'- Innttr.g ► V. 11-31. Joan of Are. (I. USE OF A.LOIS. ■2-2. Charles VII. 61. liOnls 77. Bic harU II. 99. [I. litre. [ward III. Wars of the Roses. he LAN CASTERS. 74. Fer The a3. H The YOKKS.I Henry IV. 13. Henry V. 22. Henry VI. 61. £4lwar«i 83. E 83. K l>c tiiaina doubles the Cape of Good Hope and reaches the liast Indies. I>. Francis I. Henry IV. IS. TreaSy of Westphalia. 89. 1.). C'harles V. «linane I^eon explores Flori 20. Corioz, coiujucrs Mex 25. I>e Aylloii in Caro 28. I»e Xarvaeas mak 39. I>e .Solo in Am Cm. Melen 97. 98. Norsemen in America. TRIBES. West Indies, Col John Cabot discovers No Sebastian Cabot explores 7S. Ma 79. I)r 83. 4.i K 11 ill bus visits Iceland and leanis of the New World. a voyage to South America. da. ico. liiia. .es explorations in Florida. 'erica, «le* founds St Augustine rth America, tlic American const. rtiii Frobisher'N voyages. «ke (111 the Pacific coast. ilbert'N voyage. [tion. al<>iK:h*N attempts at coloniza- 2. t^OMiioIirN direct voyage. 3. I'rinjr's voy:ii.'e. 7. Setlleiiieiit at JaineMlowil 8. Waynioiith in Maine. 20. Till' i'lirilaiiN at I'lynioiilh. 24. Verraz.xaiil cxplor 34. Carli«'r's exped 42. Kolterval in 6-'. Kibanlt 6-1. LMiitIo 98. 1 cs the American coast ition. I Canada. ' with the Til- - ■ ■-•. ■iiiier<''M < lilt Kochf .~^cotia. 4. I>e .MoiitN and Cham- plain. 5. I*«»rt Koyai fuiimlcd. 8. Koiiiidiiig of 4(nebee. 9. Hn4lj^0m&^ MAP in. ENGLISH GRANTS. 1606—1732. VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 87 among whom were Wingfield and Smith, left England. Newport, to begin with, committed the astonishing folly of taking the old route by way of the Canaries and the West Indies, and did not reach the American coast until the month of April. It was the design that a landing should be made in the neighborhood of Koanoke Island, but a storm prevailed and carried the ships northward into the Chesapeake. Entering the magnificent bay and coasting along the southern shore, the vessels came to the mouth of a broad and beautiful river, which was named in honor of King James. Proceeding up this stream about fifty miles, Ne^vport noticed on the northern bank a peninsula more attractive than the rest for its verdure and beauty ; the ships were moored, and the emigrants went on shore. Here, on the 13th day of May (Old Style), in the year 1607, were laid the foundations of Jamestown, the oldest English settle- ment in America. It was within a month of a hundred and ten years after the discovery of the continent by the elder Cabot, and nearly forty- iwo years after the founding of St. Augustine. So long a time had been required to plant the first feeble germ of English civilization in the New World. After the unsuccessful attempt to form a settlement at the mouth of the Kennebec, very little was done by the Plymouth Company for several years ; yet the purpose of planting colonies was not relinquished. Meanwhile, a new impetus was given to the affairs of North Virginia by the ceaseless activity and exhaustless energies of John Smith. Wounded by an accident, and discouraged, as far as it was possible for such a man to be discouraged, by the distractions and turbulence of the Jamestown colony. Smith left that settlement in 1609, and returned to England. On recovering his health he formed a partnership with four wealthy mer- chants of London, with a view to the fur-trade and probable establish- ment of colonies within the limits of the Plymouth grant. Two ships were accordingly freighted with goods and put under Smith's command. The summer of 1614 was spent on the coast of lower Maine, where a profitable traffic was carried on with the Indians. The crews of the ves- sels were well satisfied through the long days of July with the plea- sures and profits of the teeming fisheries, but Smith himself found nobler work. Beginning as far north as practicable, he patiently explored the country, and drew a map of the whole coast-line from the Penobscot River to Cape Cod. In this map, which is still extant, and a marvel of accuracy considering the circumstances under which it was made, the country was called New England — a name which Prince Charles con- iirmed, and which has ever since remained as the designation of the North- eastern States of the republic. In the month of November the ships re- 88 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. turned to Plymouth, taking with them many substantial proofs of a suc- cessful voyage. Smith now pleaded more strongly than ever in behalf of coloniza- tion. Some of his friends in the Plymouth Company gave him aid, and in 1615 a small colony of sixteen persons was sent out in a single ship. When nearing the American coast, they encountered a terrible storm, and after being driven about for two or three weeks were obliged to return to England. In spite of these reverses, the undaunted leader renewed the enterprise, and again raised a company of emigrants. Part of his crew became mutinous, betrayed him, and left him in mid-ocean. His own ship was run down and captured by a band of French pirates, and him- self imprisoned in the harbor of E,ochelle. Later in the same year he escaped in an open boat and made his way back to London. With as- tonishing industry, he now published a description of jSTew England,, and was more zealous than ever in inciting the company of Plymouth to energetic action. In these efforts he was much impeded. The London Company was jealous of its rival, and put obstacles in the way of every enterprise. The whole of the years 1617-18 was spent in making and unmaking plans of colonization, until iinally, on the petition of some of its own leading members, the Plymouth Company was formally super- seded by a new corporation called the Council of Plymouth, consisting of forty of the most wealthy and influential men of the kingdom. On this body were conferred, by the terms of the new charter, almost un- limited powers and privileges. All that part of America lying between the fortieth and the forty-eighth parallels of north latitude, and extending from ocean to ocean, was given to the council in fee simple. More than a million of square miles were embraced in the grant, and absolute jurisdic- tion over this immense tract was committed to forty men. How King James was ever induced to sign such a charter has remained an unsolved mystery. A plan of colonizing was now projected on a grand scale. John Smith was appointed admiral of New England for life. The king, not- withstanding the opposition of the House of Commons, issued a procla- mation enforcing the provisions of the charter, and everything gave promise of the early settlement of America. Such were the schemes of men to possess and people the Western Continent. Meanwhile, a Power higher than the will of man was working in the same direction. The time had come when, without the knowledge or consent of James L, without the knowledge or consent of the Council of Plymouth, a per- manent settlement should be made on the bleak shores of New England. The Puritans ! Name of all names in the early history of the VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. S9- West ! About the close of the sixteenth century a number of poor dis- senters scattered through the North of England, especially in the counties of Nottingham, Lincoln and York, began to join themselves together for the purposes of free religious worship. Politically, they were patriotic subjects of the English king; religiously, they were rebels against the authority of the English Church. Their rebellion, however, only ex- tended to the declaration that every man has a right to discover and ap- ply the truth as revealed in the Scriptures without the interposition of any power other than his own reason and conscience. Such a doctrine was- very repugnant to the Church of England. Queen Elizabeth herself declared such teaching to be subversive of the principles on which her monarchy was founded. King James was not more tolerant ; and from time to time violent persecutions broke out against the feeble and dis- persed Christians of the north. Despairing of rest in their own country, the Puritans finally deter- mined to go into exile, and to seek in another land the freedom of wor- ship which their own had denied them. They turned their faces toward Holland, made one unsuccessful attempt to get away, were brought back and thrown into prisons. Again they gathered together on a bleak heath in Lincolnshire, and in the spring of 1608 embarked from the mouth of the Humber. Their ship brought them in safety to Amsterdam, where, under the care of their heroic pastor, John Robinson, they passed one winter, and then removed to Leyden. Such was the beginning of their wandering. They took the name of Pilgrims, and grew content to have no home or resting-place. Privation and exile could be endured when sweetened with liberty. But the love of native land is a universal passion. The Puritans in Holland did not forget — could not forget — that they were Englishmen. During their ten years of residence at Leyden they did not cease to long for a return to the country which had cast them out. Though ruled by a heartless monarch and a bigoted priesthood, England was their country- still. The unfamiliar language of the Dutch grated harshly on their ears. They pined with unrest, conscious of their ability and willingness to do something which should convince even King James of their patriotism and worth. It was in this condition of mind that about the year 1617 the Puritans began to meditate a removal to the wilds of the New "World. There, with honest purpose and prudent zeal, they would extend the dominions of the English king. They would forget the past, and be at peace with their country. Accordingly, John Carver and Robert Cush- man were despatched to England to ask permission for the church of ^0 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Leyden to settle in America. The agents of the London Company and the Comicil of Plymouth gave some encouragement to the request, but the king and his ministers, especially Lord Bacon, set their faces against any project which might seem to favor heretics. The most that King James would do was to make an informal promise to let the Pil- grims alone in America. Such has always been the despicable attitude of bigotry toward every liberal enterprise. The Puritans were not discouraged. With or without permission, protected or not protected by the terms of a charter which might at best be violated, they would seek asylum and rest in "the Western wilderness. Out of their own resources, and with the help of a few faithful friends, they provided the scanty means of departure and set their faces toward the sea. The Speedwell, a small vessel of sixty tons, was purchased at Amsterdam, and the Mayflower, a larger and more substantial ship, was hired for the voyage. The former was to carry the emigrants from Ley- den to Southampton, where they were to be joined by the Mayflower, with another company from London. Assembling at the harbor of Delft, on the River Meuse, fifteen miles south of Leyden, as many of the Pilgrims as could be accommodated went on board the Speedwell. The whole con- gregation accom2)anied them to the shore. There Robinson gave them a consoling farewell address, and the blessings and prayers of those who were left behind followed the vessel out of sight. Both ships came safely to Southampton, and within tw^o weelvs the emigrants were ready for the voyage. On the 5th of August, 1620, the vessels left the harbor ; but after a few days' sailing the Speedwell was found to be shattered, old and leaky. On this account both ships an- chored in the port of Dartmouth, and eight days were spent in making the needed repairs. Again the sails were set ; but scarcely had the land receded from sight before the captain of the Speedwell declared his vessel unfit to breast the ocean, and then, to the great grief and discouragement of the emigrants, put back to Plymouth. Here the bad ship was aban- doned ; but the Pilgrims were encouraged and feasted by the citizens, and the more zealous went on board the Mayflower, ready and anxious for a final efibrt. On the 6th day of September the first colony of New Eng- land, numbering one hundred and two souls, saw the shores of Old England grow dim and sink behind the sea. The voyage was long and perilous. For sixty-three days the ship was buffeted by storms and driven. It had been the intention of the Pilgrims to found their colony in the beautiful country of the Hudson ; but the tempest carried them out of their course, and the first land seen was the desolate Cape Cod. On the 9th of November the vessel was VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY 91 anchored in the bay ; then a meeting was held on board and the colony- organized under a solemn compact. In the charter whicli they there made for themselves the emigrants declared their loyalty to the English Crown, and covenanted together to live in peace and harmony, with equal rights to all, obedient to just laws made for the common good. Such was the simple but sublime constitution of the oldest New England State. A nobler document is not to be found among the records of the world.* To this instrument all the heads of families, forty-one in number, solemnly set their names. An election was held in which all had an equal voice, and John Carver was unanimously chosen governor of the colony. After two days the boat was lowered, but was found to be half rotten and useless. More than a fortnight of precious time was required to make the needed repairs. Standish, Bradford and a few other hardy spirits got to shore and explored the country ; nothing was found but a heap of Indian corn under the snow. By the 6th of December the boat was ready for service, and the governor, with fifteen companions, went ashore. The weather was dreadful. Alternate rains and snow-storms converted the clothes of the Pilgrims into coats-of-mail. All day they wandered about, and then returned to the sea-shore. In the morning they were attacked by the Indians, but escaped to the ship with their lives, cheerful and giving thanks. Then the vessel was steered to the south and west for forty-five miles around the coast of what is now the county of Barnstable. At nightfall of Saturday a storm came on ; the rudder was wrenched away, and the poor ship driven, half by accident and half by the skill of the pilot, into a safe haven on the west side of the bay. The next day, being the Sabbath, was spent in religious devotions, and on Monday, the 11th of December, Old Style, 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers landed on the Rock of Plymouth. It was now the dead of winter. There was an incessant storm of sleet and snow, and the houseless immigrants, already enfeebled by their sufferings, fell a-dying of hunger, cold and exposure. After a few days spent in explorations about the coast, a site was selected near the first landing, some trees were felled, the snow-drifts cleared away, and on the 9th of January the heroic toilers began to build New Plymouth. Every man took on himself the work of making his own house ; but the rav- ages of disease grew daily worse, strong arms fell powerless, lung-fevers and consumptions wasted every family. At one time only seven men were able to work on the sheds which were building for shelter from the storms ; and if an early spring had not brought relief, the colony must have perished to a man. Such were the privations and grieis of that "terrible winter when New England began to be. * See Appendix, note h. 92 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER VIII. VOYAGES AND SETTLEMENTS OF THE DUTCH. THE first Dutch settlement in America was made on Manhattan or New York Island. The colony resulted from the voyages and explorations of the illustrious Sir Henry Hudson. In the year 1607 this great British seaman was employed by a company of London mer- chants to sail into the North Atlantic and discover a route eastward or westward to the Indies. He made the voyage in a single ship, passed up the eastern coast of Greenland to a higher point of latitude than ever before attained, turned eastward to Spitzbergen, circumnavigated that island, and then was compelled by the icebergs to return to England. In the next year he renewed his eiforts, hoping to find between Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla an open way to the East. By this course he confi- dently expected to shorten the route to China by at least eight thousand miles. Again the voyage resulted in failure ; his employers gave up the enterprise in despair, but his own sj^irits only rose to a higher determi- nation. When the cautious merchants would furnish no more means, he quitted England and went to Amsterdam. Holland was at this time the foremost maritime nation of the world, and the eminent navigator did not long go begging for patronage in the busy marts of that country. The Dutch East India Company at once furnished him with a ship, a small yacht called the Half Moon, and in April of 1609 he set out on his third voyage to reach the Indies. About the seventy-second parallel of latitude, above the capes of Norway, he turned eastward, but between Lapland and Nova Zembla the ocean was filled with icebergs, and further sailing was impossible. Baffled but not discouraged, he immediately turned his prow toward the shores of America ; somewhere between the Chesapeake and the North Pole he would find a passage into the Pacific ocean. In the month of July Hudson reached Newfoundland, and pa-ssing to the coast of Maine, spent some time in repairing his ship, which had been shattered in a storm. Sailing thence southward, he touched at Cape Cod, and by the middle of August found himself as far south as the Chesapeake. Again he turned to the north, determined to examine the coast more closely, and on the 28th of the month anchored in Delaware- VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 93 Bay. After one day's explorations the voyage was continued along the coast of New Jersey, until, on the 3d of September, the Half Moon came to a safe anchorage in the bay of Sandy Hook. Two days later a land- ing was effected, the natives flocking in great numbers to the scene, and bringing gifts of corn, wild fruits and oysters. The time until the 9th of the month was spent in sounding the great harbor ; on the next day the vessel passed the Narrows, and then entered the noble river which bears the name of Hudson. To explore the beautiful stream was now the pleasing task. For eight days the Half Moon sailed northward up the river. Such mag- nificent forests, such beautiful liills, such mountains rising in the distance, such fertile valleys, planted here and there with ripening corn, the Neth- erlanders had never seen before. On the 19th of September the ve&sel was moored at what is now the landing of Kinder! look; but an exploring party, still unsatisfied, took to the boats and rowed up the river beyond the site of Albany. After some days they returned to the ship, the moor- in gs were loosed, the vessel dropped down the stream, and on the 4th of October the sails were spread for Holland. On the homeward voyage Hudson, not perhaps without a touch of national pride, put into the har- bor of Dartmouth. Thereupon the government of King James, with characteristic illiberality, detained the Half Moon, and claimed the crevr as Englishmen. All that Hudson could do was to forward to his employ- ers of the East India Company an account of his successful voyage and of the delightful country which he had visited under the flag of Holland. Now were the English merchants ready to spend more money to find the north-west passage. In the summer of 1610, a ship, called the Discovery, was given to Hudson ; and with a vision of the Indies flitting before his imagination he left England, never to return. He had learned by this time that nowhere between Florida and Maine was there an open- ing through the continent to the Pacific. The famous pass must now be sought between the Gulf of St. La^vrence and the southern point of Greenland. Steering between Cape Farewell and Labrador, in the track which Frobisher had taken, the vessel came, on the 2d day of August, into the mouth of the strait which bears the name of its discoverer. No ship had ever before entered these waters. For a while the way west- ward was barred with islands ; but passing between them, the bay seemed to open, the ocean widened to the right and left, and the route to China was at last revealed. So believed the great captain and his crew ; but sailing farther to the west, the inhospitable shores narrowed on the more inliospitable sea, and Hudson found himself environed with the terrors of winter in the frozen gulf of the North. With unfaltering courage he 94 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. bore up until his provisions were almost exhausted ; spring was at hand, and the day of escape had already arrived, when the treacherous crew broke out in mutiny. They seized Hudson and his only son, with seven other faithful sailors, threw them into an open shallop, and cast them off among the icebergs. The &te of the illustrious mariner has never been ascertained. In the summer of 1610 the Half Moon was liberated at Dartmouth, and returned to Amsterdam. In the same year several ships owned by Dutch merchants sailed to the banks of the Hudson River and engaged in the fur-trade. The traffic was very lucrative, and in the two following years other vessels made frequent and jtrofitable voyages. Early in 1614 an act was passed by the States-General of Holland giving to certaiu merchants of Amsterdam the exclusive right to trade and establish settle- ments within the limits of the country explored by Hudson. Under this commission a fleet of five small trading-vessels arrived in the summer of the same year at Manhattan Island. Here some rude huts had already been built by former traders, but now a fort for the defence of the place was erected, and the settlement named New Amsterdam. In the course of the autumn Adrian Block, who commanded one of the ships, sailed through East River into Long Island Sound, made explorations along the coast as far as the mouth of the Connecticut, thence to Narraganset Bay, and even to Cape Cod. Almost at the same time Christianson, another Dutch commander, in the same fleet, sailed up the river from Manhattan to Castle Island, a short distance below the site of Albany, and erected a block-house, which was named Fort Nassau, for a long time the northern outpost of the settlers on the Hudson. Meanwhile, Cornelius May, the captain of a small vessel called the Fortune, sailed from New Amsterdam and explored the Jersey coast as far south as the Bay of Delaware. Upon these two voyages, one north and the other south from Manhattan Island where the actual settlement was made, Holland set up a feeble claim to the country which was now named New Netherlands, extending from Cape Henlopen to Cape Cod — a claim which Great Britain and France treated with derision and contempt. Such were the feeble and inaus- picious beginnings of the Dutch colonies in New York and Jersey. PART III. oolo:nial history. A. I>. 1607—1775. PARENT COLONIES. CHAPTER IX. VIRGINIA.— THE FIRST CHABTEB. MANY circumstances impeded the progress of the oldest Virginia colony. The first settlers at Jamestown were idle, improvident, dissolute. Of the one hundred and five men who came with Newport in the spring of 1607, only twelve were common laborers. There were four carpenters in the company, and six or eight masons and blacksmiths, but the lack of mechanics was compensated by a long list of forty-eiglit gentlemen. If necessity had not soon driven these to the honorable vocations of toil, the colony must have f)erished. The few married men who joined the expedition had left their families in England. The pros- pect of planting an American State on the banks of James Eiver was not at all encouraging. From the first the affairs of the colony were badly managed. King James made out instructions for the organization of the new State, and then, with his usual stupidity, sealed up the parchment in a box which was not to be opened until the arrival of the emigrants in America. The names of the governor and members of the council were thus unknowTi during the voyage; there was no legitimate authority on shipboard; insubordination and anarchy prevailed among the riotous company. In this state of turbulence and misrule, an absurd suspicion was blown out against Captain John Smith, the best and truest man in the colony. He was accused of making a plot to murder the council, of which he was supposed to be a member, and to make himself monarch of Virginia. An arrest followed, and confinement until the end of the voyage. When at last the colonists reached the site of their future settlement, the king's instructions were unsealed and the names of the seven members of the- S6 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Inferior Council made kno"UTi. Then a meeting of that body was held and Edward Wingfield duly elected first governor of Virginia. Smith, who had been set at liberty, was now charged with sedition and excluded from his seat in the council. He demanded to be tried ; and when it was found that his jealous enemies could bring nothing but their own suspi- cions agamst him, he was acquitted, and finally, through the good offices of Kobert Hunt, restored to his place as a member of the corporation. As soon as the settlement was well begun and the affairs of the colony came into a better condition, the rest- less Smith, accom- panied by New- port and twenty others, ascended and explored James River for f o r t y-fi V e miles. This was the first of those marv^elous expeditions which were undertaken and carried out by Smith's enterprise and daring. Just below the falls of the river, at the present site of Richmond, the English explorers came upon the capital of Pow- hatan, the Indian king. Smith was not greatly impressed with the mag- nificence of an empire whose chief city was a squalid village of twelve wigwams. The native monarch received the foreigners with formal courtesy and used his authority' to moderate the dislike which his sub- jects manifested at the intrusion. About the last of May the company returned to Jamestown, and fifteen days later Newport embarked for England. The colonists now for the fii'st time began to realize their situation. They were alone amid the solitudes of the New World. The beauties of the Virginia wilderness were around them, but the terrors of the CAPTArN JOHN SMITH. VIRGINIA.— FIRST CHARTER. 97 approacliing winter were already present to their imagination. In the latter part of August dreadful diseases broke out in the settlement, and the colony was brought to the verge of ruin. The fort which had been built for the defence of the plantation was filled with the sick and dying. At one time no more than five men were able to go on duty as sentinels. Bartholomew Gosnold, the projector of the colony and one of the besi men in the council, died, and before the middle of September one-half of the whole number had been swept off by the terrible malady. If the frosts of autumn had not come to check the ravages of disease, no soul would have been left to tell the story. Civil dissension was added to the other calamities of the settlement. President Wingfield, an unprincipled man, and his confederate, George Kendall, a member of the council, were detected in embezzling the stores of the colony. Attempting to escape in the company's vessel, they were arrested, impeached and removed from office. Only three councilmen now remained, Ratcliffe, Martin and Smith ; the first was chosen presi- dent. He was a man who possessed neither ability nor courage, and the affairs of the settlers grew worse and worse. After a few weelvs of vacil- lation and incompetency, he, like his predecessor, was caught in an attempt to abandon the colony, and willingly gave up an office which he could not fill. Only Martin and Smith now remained ; the former elected the lat- ter president of Virginia ! It was a forlorn piece of business, but very necessary for the public good. In their distress and bitterness there had come to pass among the colonists a remarkable unanimit}' as to Smith's merits and abilities. The new administration entered upon the discharge of its duties without a particle of opposition. The new president, though not yet thirty years of age, was a veteran in every kind of valuable human experience. Born an Englishman; trained as a soldier in the wars of Holland ; a traveler in France, Italy and Egypt; again a soldier in Hungary; captured by the Turks and sold as a slave; sent from Constantinople to a prison in the Crimea; killing a taskmaster who beat him, and then escaping through the woods of Russia to Western Europe ; going with an army of adventurei-s against Morocco; finally returning to England and joining the London Com- pany, — he was now called upon by the very enemies who had persecuted and ill-treated him to rescue them and their colony from destruction. A strange and wonderful career ! John Smith was altogether the most noted man in the early history of America. Under the new administration the Jamestown settlement soon began to show signs of vitality and progress. Smith's fii'st care, after the set- tlers were in a measure restored to health, was to improve the buildinga 7 98 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. of the plantation. The fortifications of the place were strengthened, dwellings were repaired, a storehouse erected, and everything made ready for the coming winter. The next measure was to secure a supply of pro- visions from the surrounding country. A plentiful harvest among the Indians had compensated in some degree for the mismanagement and rascality of the former officers of the colony, but to procure corn from the natives was not an easy task. Although ignorant of the Indian language, Smith undertook the hazardous enterprise. Descending James River as far as Hampton Roads, he landed with his five companions, went boldly among the natives, and began to offer them hatchets and copper coins in exchange for corn. The Indians only laughed at the proposal, and then mocked the half-starved foreigners by offering to barter a piece of bread for Smith's sword and musket. Finding that good treatment was only thrown away, the English captain formed the desperate resolution of fight- ing. He and his men fired a volley among the affrighted savages, who ran yelling into the woods. Going straight to their wigwams, he found an abundant store of corn, but forbade his men to take a grain until the Indians should return to attack them. Sixty or seventy painted warriors, headed by a priest who carried an idol in his arms, soon came out of the forest and made a violent onset. The English not only stood their ground, but made a rush, wounded several of the natives and captured their idol. A parley now ensued ; the terrified priest came and humbly begged for his fallen deity, but Smith stood grimly with his musket across the pros- trate idol, and would grant no terms until six unarmed Indians had loaded his boat with corn. Then the image was given up, beads and hatchets were liberally distributed among the warriore who ratified the peace by performing a dance of friendship, while Smith and his men rowed up the river with a boat-load of supplies. There were other causes of rejoicing at Jamestown. The neighbor- ing Indians, made liberal by their own abundance, began to come into the fort with voluntary contributions. The fear of famine passed away. The woods were full of wild turkeys and other game, inviting to the chase as many as delighted in such excitement. Good discipline was maintained in the settlement and friendly relations established Avith several of the native tribes. Seeing the end of their distresses, the colonists revived in spirit; cheerfulness and hope took the place of melancholy and despair. As soon as the setting in of winter had made an abandonment of the colony impossible, the president, to whose ardor winter and summer were alike, gave liimself freely to the work of exploring the country. With a company of six Englishmen and two Indian guides he began the ascent of the Chickahominy River. It was generally believed by the VIRGINIA.— FIRST CHARTER. 99 people of Jamestown that by going up this stream they could reach the Pacific Ocean. Smith knew well enough the absurdity of such an opin- ion, but humored it because of the opportunity which it gave him to explore new territoiy. The rest might dig imaginary gold-dust and hunt for the Pacific; he would see the country and map the course of the river. The company proceeded up the Chickahominy until their barge ran aground in shallow water. Mooring the boat in a place of safety, Smith left four of the Englishmen to guard it, and with the other two and the Indian guides ascended the stream in a canoe. When this smaller craft could go no farther, it was put in charge of the white men, while the captain, with only the savages, proceeded on foot. For twenty miles he continued along the banks of the river, now dwindled to a mere creek winding about the woods and meadows. Meanwhile, the men who were left to protect the barge disobeyed their orders, and wandering into the forest, were attacked by three hundred Indians under the command of their king, Opechan- canough, the brother of Powhatan. Three of the Englishmen escaped to the boat, but the fourth, George Cassen by name, was taken prisoner. Him the savages compelled by torture to reveal the whereabouts of Smith. The two men who guarded the canoe were next overtaken and killed. The captain himself was at last discovered, attacked, wounded with an arrow and chased through the woods. The missiles of the barbarians flew around him in a shower, but he compelled the Indian guides to stand between him and his enemies, and every discharge of liis musket brought down a savage. He fought like a lion at bay, tied one of the guides to his left arm for a buckler, ran and fired by turns, stumbled into a morass, and was finally overtaken. The savages were still wary of their danger- ous antagonist until he laid down his gun, made signs of surrender and was pulled out of the mire. Without exhibiting the least signs of fear. Smith demanded to see the Indian chief, and on being taken into the presence of that dignitary began to excite his interest and curiosity by showing him a pocket com- pass and a watch. These mysterious instruments struck the Indians with awe ; and profiting by his momentary advantage, the prisoner began to draw figures on the ground, and to give his captors some rude lessons in geography and astronomy. The savages were amazed and listencxi for an hour, but then grew tired, bound their captive to a tree and prepared to shoot him. At the critical moment he flourished his compass in the air as though performing a ceremony, and the Indians forbore to shoot. His sagacity and courage had gained the day, but the more appalling danger of torture was yet to be avoided. The savages, however, were 100 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. thoroughly superstitious, and became afraid to proceed against him except iu the most formal manner. He was regarded by them as an inhabitant of another world whom it was dangerous to touch. Smith was first taken to the town of Orapax, a few miles north- east of the site of Richmond. Here he found the Indians making great preparations to attack and destroy Jamestown. They invited him to join them and become their leader, but he refused, and then terrified them by describing the cannon and other destructive weapons of the English. He also managed to write a letter to his countrymen at the settlement, telling them of his captivity and their own peril, asking for certain articles, and requesting especially that those bearing the note should be thoroughly frightened before their return. This letter, which seemed to them to have such mysterious power of carrying intelligence to a dis- tance, was not lost on the Indians, who dreaded the writer more than ever. When the warriors bearing the epistle arrived at Jamestown and found everything precisely as Smith had said, their terror and amazement knew no bounds, and as soon as they returned to Orapax all thought of attack- ing the settlement was at once given up. The Indians now marched their captive about from village to vil- lage, the interest and excitement constantly increasing, until, near the ibrk of York River, they came to Pamunkey, the capital of Opechan- canough. Here Smith was turned over to the priests, who assembled in their Long House, or judgment-hall, and for three days together danced around him, sang and yelled after the manner of their superstition. The object was to determine by this wild ceremony what their prisoner's fate should be. The decision was against him, and he was condemned to death. It was necessary that the sanction of the Indian emperor should be given to the sentence, and Smith was now taken twenty-five miles down the river to a town where Powhatan lived in winter. The savage monarch was now sixty years of age, and, to use Smith's ovm language, looked every inch a king. He received the prisoner with all the rude formalities peculiar to his race. Going to the Long House of the village, the emperor, clad in a robe of raccoon skins, took his seat on a kind of throne prepared for the occasion. His two daughters sat right and left, while files of AAarriors and women of rank were ranged around the hall. The king solemnly reviewed the cause and confirmed the sentence of death. Two large stones were brought into the liall. Smith was dragged forth bound, and his head put into position to be crushed with a war- club. A stalwart painted savage was ordered out of the rank and stood ready for the bloody tragedy. The signal was given, the grim execu- tioner raised his bludgeon, and another moment liad decided the fate of VIRGINIA.— FIRST CHARTER. 101 both the illustrious captive and his colony. But the peril went by harm- less. Matoaka,* the eldest daughter of Powhatan, sprang from her seat and rushed between the warrior's uplifted club and the prostrate prisoner. She clasped his head in her arms and held on with the resolution of despair imtil her father, yielding to her frantic appeals, ordered Smith to be unbound and lifted up. Again he was rescued from a terrible death. There is no reason in the world for doubting the truth of this affecting and romantic story, one of the most marvelous and touching in the his- tory of any nation. Powhatan, having determined to spare his captive's life, received him into favor. The prisoner should remain in the household of the mon- arch, making hatchets for the warriors and toys for the king's daughters. By degrees his liberties were enlarged, and it was even agreed soon afterward that he should return to his own people at Jamestown. The conditions of his liberation were that he should send back to Orapax two cannons and a grindstone. Certain warriors were to accompany Smith to the settlement and carry the articles to Powhatan. There should then be peace aad friendship between the English and the Red men. The journey was accordingly begun, the company camping at night in the woods, and Smith being in constant peril of his life from the uncertain disposition of the savages. But the colony was reached in safety, the lost captain and his twelve Indian guides being received with great gladness. Smith's first and chief care was to make a proper impression on the minds of the savages. He had improved the opportunities of his captivity by learning the language of Powhatan's people, and by making himself familiar with their peculiarities and weaknesses — an experience of vast importance to himself and the colony. He now ordered the two cannons which he had promised to give Powhatan to be brought out and loaded to the muzzle with stones. Then, under pretence of teaching the Indians gunnery, he had the pieces discharged among the tree-tops, which were bristling with icicles. There was a terrible crash, and the savages, cowering with fear and amazement, could not be induced to touch the dreadful engines. The barbarous delegation returned to their king with neither guns nor grindstones. As a matter of fact, the settlers were very little to be dreaded by anybody. Only thirty-eight of them were left alive, and these were frost- bitten and half starved. Their only competent leader had been absent for seven weeks in the middle of one of the severest winters known in * Powhatan's tribe had a superstition that no one who!>e real name was unknown could be injurec". They therefore told the English falsely that Matoaka's name was Poca- hontas. 102 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. mcdern times. The old fears and dLscontents of the colonists had revived ; and when Smith returned to the settlement, he found all hands preparing to escape in the pinnace as soon as the ice should break in the river. With much persuasion and a few wholesome threats he induced the majority to abandon this project, but the factious spirits of the colony, burning with resentment against him and his influence, made a conspir- acy to kill him, and he knew not what hour might be his last. In the mid.st of these dark days Captain Newport arrived from England. He brought a full store of supplies and one hundred and twenty emigrants. Great was the joy throughout the little plantation ; only the president was at heart as much grieved as gladdened, for he saw in the character of the new comers no promise of anything but vexation and disaster. Here were thirty-four gentlemen at the head of the list to begin with ; then came gold-hunters, jewelers, engravers, adventurers, strollers and vagabonds, many of whom had more business in jail than at Jamestown. To add to Smith's chagrin, this company of worthless creatures had been sent out contrary to his previous protest and injunc- tion. He had urged Newport to bring over only a few industrious mechanics and laborers; but the love of gold among the members of the London Company had prevailed over common sense to send to Virginia another crowd of profligates. The kind of industry which Smith had encouraged in the colony was now lauglied at. As soon as the weather would permit, the new- comers and as many of the old settlers as had learned nothing from the past year's experience began to stroll about the country digging for gold. In a bank of sand at the mouth of a small tributary of the James some glittering particles were found, and the whole settlement was ablaze with excitement. Martin and Newport, both members of the council, were carried away with the common fanaticism. The former already in imagi- nation saw himself loaded with wealth and honored with a peerage. The latter, having filled one of his ships with the supposed gold-dust, sent it to England, and then sailed up James River to find the Pacific Ocean ! Fourteen weeks of the precious springtime, that ought to have been given to ploughing and planting, were consumed in this stupid nonsense. Even the Indians ridiculed the madness of men who for imaginary grains of gold were wasting their chances for a crop of corn. In this general folly Smith was quite forgotten ; but foreseeing that the evil must soon work its own cure, he kept his patience, and in the mean time busied himself with one of his most brilliant and successful enterprises ; this was no less than the exploration of Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Accompanied by Dr. Russell and thirteen other comrades VIRGINIA.— FIRST CHARTER. 103 who had remained faithful to him, he left Jamestown on the 2d day of June. He had nothing but an open barge of three tons' burden, but in this he steered boldly out by way of Hampton Roads and Cape Henry as far as Smith's Island. Returning thence around the peninsula which ends with Cape Charles, the survey of the eastern shore of the bay was begun, and continued northward as far as the river Wicomico, in Mar^• land. From this point the expedition crossed over to the mouth of the Patuxent, and thence coasted northward along the western side to the Pataps- co. Here some members of the company became discon- tented, and insisted on return- ing to the colony. Smith gave fl, reluctant consent, but in steer- ing southward had tlie good fortune to enter the mouth of the Potomac. The crew were so much pleased with the pros- pect that they agreed to explore the great river before returning homeward. Accordingly, the barge was steered up stream as far as the falls above George- town. The country was much admired ; and when the explor- ers were tired of adventure, they dropped down the river to the bay, and turning south- ward, reached Jamestown on the 21st of July. After a rest of three days a second voyage was begun. This time the expedition reached the head of the bay, and sailed up the Susquehanna River until the volume of water would float the barge no farther. Here an acquaintance was made with a race of Indians of gigantic stature and fiercer disposition than was known among the natives of Virginia. On the return voyage Smith passed down the bay, exploring every sound and inlet of any note, as far as the mouth of the Rappahannoc ; this stream he ascended to the head of navigation, and then, returning by way of the York and Chesapeake Rivers, reached Jamestown on the 7th of Septem- Jamestown and Vicinity. Smith's First Voyage in the Chesapeake -- Smith's Second Voyage in the Chesapeake 104 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ber. He had been absent a little more than three months, had explored the winding coast of the great bay for fully three thousand miles, had encountered hostile savages by hundreds and thousands, had been driven hither and thither by storms, once wrecked, once stung by a poisonous fish and brought so near to death that his comrades digged his grave ; now he was come back to the colony with a Map of the Chesapeake^ which he sent by Newport to England, and which is still preserved. Only one man had been lost on the expedition. Richard Fetherstone had died, and was buried on the Rappahannoc. Within three days after Smith's return to Jamestown he was form- ally elected president. He entered at once upon the duties of his office, correcting abusas, enforcing the laws and restoring order to the distracted colony. There was a marked change for the better ; gold-hunting be- came unpopular, and the rest of the year was noted as a season of great prosperity. Late in the autumn Ne\vport arrived with seventy additional immigrants, increasing the number to more than two hundred. The health was so good that only seven deatlis occurred between September and May of the following year. Excellent discipline was maintained. Every well man was obliged to work six hours a day. New houses were l>uilt, new fields fenced in; and all through the winter the sound of axe and saw and hammer gave token of a prosperous and growing village. Such was the condition of affairs in the spring of 1609. CHAPTER X. VIRGINIA.— THE SECOND CHARTER. ON the 23d of May, 1609, King James, without consulting the wishes of his American colonists, revoked their constitution, and granted to the London Company a new charter, by the terms of which the govern- ment of Virginia was completely changed. The territory included under the new patent extended from Cape Fear to Sandy Hook, and westward to the Pacific Ocean. The members of the Superior Council were now to be chosen by the stockholders of the company, vacancies were to be filled by the councilors, who were also empowered to elect a governor from their own number. The council was at once organized in accordance •with this charter^ VIRGINIA.— SECOND CHARTER. 105 and the excellent Lord De La Ware chosen governor for life. With him were joined in authority Sir Thomas Gates, lieutenant-general ; Sir George Somers, admiral ; Christopher Newport, vice-admiral ; Sir Thomas Dale, high marshal ; Sir Ferdinand Wainman, master of horse ; and other dig- nitaries of similar sort. Attracted by the influence of these noblemen, a large company of more than five hundred emigrants was speedily col- lected, and early in June a fleet of nine vessels sailed for America. Lord Delaware did not himself accompany the expedition, but delegated his authority to three commissioners, Somers, Gates and Newport. About the middle of July the ships, then passing the West Indies, were over- taken and scattered by a storm. One small vessel was wrecked, and another, having on board the commissioners of Lord Delaware, was driven ashore on one of the Bermuda Islands, where the crew remained until April of the following year ; the other seven ships came safely to James- town. But who should now be governor ? Captain Smith was at first dis- posed to give up his office, but in a few days the aifairs of the colony were plainly going to ruin, and he was urged by the old settlers and the better class of new-comers to continue in authority. Accordingly, declar- ing that his powers as president under the old constitution did iiot cease until some one should arrive from England properly commissioned to supersede him, he kept resolutely to the discharge of his duties, although in daily peril of his life. He arrested Ratcliffe* and Archer, put some of the most rebellious brawlers in prison, and then, in order to distract the attention of the rest, planned two new settlements, one, of a hun- dred and twenty men, under the command of Martin, to be established at Nansemond ; the other, of the same number, under Captain West, to form a colony at the falls of the James. Both companies behaved badly. In a few days after their departure troubles arose between West's men and the Indians. The president was sent for in order to settle the diffi- culty ; but finding his efforts unavailing, he returned to Jamestown. On his way down the river, while asleep in the boat, a bag of gunpowder lying near by exploded, burning and tearing his flesh so terribly that in his agony he leaped overboard. Being rescued from the river, he was carried to the fort, where he lay for some time racked with fever and tor- tured with his wounds. Finally, despairing of relief under the imperfect medical treatment which the colony affi^rded, he decided to return to England. He accordingly delegated his authority to Sir George Percy, a brother of the earl of Northumberland, and about the middle of Sep- * This man's real name was not RatclifFe, but Sicklemore. He had been president of the colony in 1607, and was an accomplished thief as well as an impostor. 106 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. tember, 1609, left the scene of his heroic toils and sufferings, never to return. There remained at Jamestown a colony of four hundi'ed and ninety persons, well armed, well sheltered and well supplied. But such was the viciousuess and profligacy of the greater number, and such the insubor- dination and want of proper leadership, after Smith's departure, that by the beginning of winter the settlement was face to face with starvation. The Indians became hostile and hovered around the plantations, strag- glers were intercepted and murdered, houses were fired at every opportu- nity, disease returned to add to the desolation, and cold and hunger completed the terrors of a winter which was long remembered with a shudder and called The Staeving Time. By the last of March there were only sixty persons alive, and these, if help had not come speedily, could hardly have lived a fortnight. Meanwhile, Sir Thomas Gates and his companions, who had been shipwrecked in the Bermudas, had constructed out of the materials of their old ship, with such additional timber as they could cut from the for- est, two small vessels, and set sail for Virginia. They came in full expec- tation of a joyful greeting from a happy colony. What, therefore, was their disappointment and grief when a few wan, half-starved wretches crawled out of their cabins to beg for bread ! Whatever stores the com- missioners had brought with them were distributed to the famishing settlers, and Gates assumed control of the government. But the colonists had now fully determined to abandon for ever a place which promised them nothing but disaster and death. In vain did the commissioners remonstrate; they were almost driven by the clamors around them to yield to the common will. An agreement was made to sail for Newfoundland ; there the remnant of the Virginia colony should be distributed among the fishermen until such time as some friendly ship might carry them back to England. On the 8th of June Jamestown was abandoned. The disheartened settlers, now grown resentful, were anxious before leaving to burn the town, but Gates defeated this design, and M-as himself the last man to go on board. Four pinnaces lay at their moorings in the river ; embark- ing in these, the colonists dropped down with the tide, and it seemed as though the enterprise of Raleigh and Gosnold had ended in failure and humiliation. But Lord Delaware was already on his way to America. Before the escaping settlers had passed out of the mouth of the river, the ships of the noble governor came in sight. Here were additional immigrants, plentiful supplies and promise of better things to come. Would the VIRGINIA.— SECOND CHARTER. 107 colonists return ? The majority gave a reluctant consent, and before night- fall the fires were again kindled on the hearthstones of the deserted village. The next day was given to religious services ; the governor caused his com- mission to be read, and entered upon the discharge of his duties. The amiability and virtue of his life, no less than the mildness and decision of his administration, endeared him to all and inspired the colony with hope. Autumn came, and Lord Delaware fell sick. Against his own will, and to the great regret of the colony, he was compelled to return to Eng- land. Having reluctantly delegated his authority to Percy — the same who had been the deputy of Captain Smith — the good Delaware set sail for his own country. It was an event of great discouragement ; but for- tunately, before a knowledge of the governor's departure reached England, the Superior Council had despatched a new shipload of stores and another company of emigrants, under command of Sir Thomas Dale. The vessel arrived at Jamestown on the 10th of May, and Percy was superseded by the captain, who bore a commission from the council. Dale had been a military officer in the wars of the K^etherlands, and he now adopted a system of martial law as the basis of his administration. He was, how- ever, a man so tolerant and just that veiy little complaint was made on account of his arbitrary method of governing. One of Dale's first acts was to write to the council in England, requesting that body to send out immediately as large a number of colon- ists as possible, with an abundance of supplies. For once the council acted promptly ; and in the latter part of August, Sir Thomas Gates arrived with a fleet of six ships, having on board three hundred immigrants and a large quantity of stores. There was great thanksgiving in the colony, a fresh enthusiasm was enkindled, and contentment came with a sense of security. Thus far the property of the settlers at Jamestown had been held in common. The colonists had worked together, and in time of harvest deposited their products in storehouses which were under the control of the governor and council. Now the right of holding private property was recognized. Governor Gates had the lands divided so that each set- tler should have three acres of his own; every family might cultivate a garden and plant an orchard, the fruits of which no one but the owner was allowed to gather. The benefits of this svstem of labor were at once apparent. The laborers, as soon as each was permitted to claim the rewards of his own toil, became cheerful and industrious. There were now seven hundred persons in the colony ; new plantations were laid out on every side, and new settlements were formed on both banks of the river and at considerable distances from Jamestown. The promise of an American State, so long deferred, seemed at last to be realized. 108 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XI. VIRGINIA.— THE THIRD CHARTER. EARLY in the year 1612 the London Company obtained from the king a third patent, by the terms of which the character of the gov- ernment was entirely changed. The Superior Council was abolished and the powers of that body transferred to the stockholders, who were author- ized to hold public meetings, to elect their own officers, to discuss and decide all questions of law and right, and to govern the colony on their own responsibility. The cause of this change was the unprofitableness of the colony as a financial enterprise, and the consequent dissatisfaction of the company with the management of the council. The new patent, although not so intended by the king, was a great step toward a demo- cratic form of government in Virginia. 2. The year 1613 was marked by two important events, both of them resulting from the lawless behavior of Captain Samuel Argall. While absent on an expedition up the Potomac River he learned that Pocahon- tas, who had had some difficulty with her father's tribe, was residing in that neighborhood. Procuring the help of a treacherous Indian family, the English captain enticed the unsuspecting girl on board his vessel and carried her captive to Jamestown. The authorities of the colony, instead of jnmishing Argall for this atrocity, aggravated the outrage by demand- ing that Powhatan should pay a heavy ransom for his daughter's libera-, tion. The old king indignantly refused, and ordered his tribes to prepare for war. Meanwhile, Pocahontas, who seems not to have been greatly grieved on account of her captivity, was converted to the Christian faith and became by baptism a member of the Episcopal Church. She was led to this course of action chiefly by the instruction and persuasion of John Rolfe, a worthy young man of the colony, who after the baptism of the princess sought her in marriage. Powhatan and his chief men gave their consent, and the nuptials were duly celebrated in the spring of the following year. By this means war was averted, and a bond of union established between the Indians and the whites. 3. Two years later Rolfe and his wife went to England, where they were received in the highest circles of society. Captain Smith gave them a letter of introduction to Queen Anne, and many other flattering atten- VIRGINIA.— THIRD CHARTER. 109 tions were bestowed on the modest daughter of the Western wilderness. In the following year, Rolfe made preparations to return to America ; but before embarking, Pocahontas fell sick and died. There was left of this marriage a son, who afterward came to Jamestown and was a man of some importance in the affairs of the colony. To him several influential families of Virginians still trace their origin. John Randolph of Roanoke was a grandson of the sixth generation from Pocahontas. When Captain Argall returned from his expedition up the Potomac, he was sent with an armed vessel to the coast of Maine. The avowed object of the voyage was to protect the English fishermen who frequented the waters between the Bay of Fundy and Cape Cod, but the real pur- pose was to destroy the colonies of France, if any should be found within the limits of the territory claimed by England. Ai-riving at his destina- tion, Argall soon found opportunity for the display of his violence and rapacity. The French authorities of Acadia were at this time building a village on Mount Desert Island, near the mouth of the Penobscot. This settlement was the first object of ArgalFs vengeance. The place was cap- tured, pillaged and burned ; part of the inhabitants were put on board a vessel bound for France, and the rest were carried to the Chesapeake. The French colony at the mouth of the St. Croix River next attracted the attention of the English captain, who cannonaded the fort and destroyed every building in the settlement. Passing thence across the bay to Port Royal, Argall burned the deserted hamlet which Poutrincourt and his companions had built there eight years before. On his way back to Virginia he made a descent on the Dutch traders of Manhattan Island, destroyed many of their huts, and compelled the settlers to acknowledge the sovereignty of England. The result of these outrageous proceedings was to confine the French settlements in America to the banks of the St. Lawrence, and to leave a clear coast for the English flag from Kova Scotia to Florida. In the month of March, 1614, Sir Thomas Gates returned to Eng- land, leaving the government in the hands of Dale, whose administration lasted for two years. During this time the laws of the colony were much improved, and, more imj^ortaut still, the colonial industry took an entirely different form. Hitherto the labor of the settlers had been directed to the planting of vineyards and to the manufacture of potosli, soap, glass and tar. The managers of the London Company had at last learned that these articles could be produced more cheaply in Europe than in America. They had also discovered that there were certain products peculiar to the New World which might be raised and exported with great profit. Chief among such native products was the plant called 110 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. tobacco, the use of which had already become fashionable in Spain, Eng- land and France. This, then, became the leading staple of the colony, and was even used for money. So entirely did the settlers give them- selves to the cultivation of the famous weed that the very streets of Jamestown were ploughed up and planted with it. It was a great disaster to the people of the colony when Argall wa» chosen deputy-governor. He was a man who had one virtue, courage ; and in all other respects was thoroughly bad. The election occurred in 1617, and through the influence of an unscrupulous faction composed of Argall's friends he was not only selected as Lord Delaware's deputy in America, but was also made an admiral of the English navy. His administration was characterized by fraud, oppression and violence. Neither property nor life was secure against his tyranny and greed. By and by, the news of his proceedings reached England ; emigration ceased at once, and the colony became a reproach, until Lord Delaware restored confidence by embarking in person for Virginia. But the worthy noble- man died on the voyage, and Argall continued his exactions and cruelty. In the spring of 1619, he was at last displaced through the influence of Sir Edwyn Sandys, and the excellent Sir George Yeardley appointed to succeed him. ^lartial law was now abolished. The act which required each settler to give a part of his labor for the common benefit was also repealed, and thus the people were freed from a kind of colonial servi- tude. Another action was taken of still greater importance. Governor Yeardley, in accordance with instructions received from the company, divided the plantations along James River into eleven districts, called boroughs, and issued a proclamation to the citizens of each borough to elect tAVO of their own number to take part in the government of the colony. The elections were duly held, and on the 30th of July, 1619, the delegates came together at Jamestown. Here was organized the Virginia House of Burgesses, a colonial legislature, the first popular assembly held in the New World. The Burgesses had many privileges, but very little power. They might discuss the affairs of the colony, but could not control them ; pass laws, but could not enforce them ; declare their rights, but could not secure them. Though the governor and council should both concur in the resolutions of the assembly, no law was binding until ratified by the company in England. Only one great benefit was gained — the freedom of debate. Wherever that is recognized, liberty must soon follow. The year 1619 was also marked by the introduction of negro slavery mto Virginia. The servants of the people of Jamestown had hitherto VIRGINIA.— THIRD CHARTER. Ill been persons of English or German descent, and their term of service had varied from a few months to many years. No perpetual servitude had thus far been recognized, nor is it likely that the English colonists would of themselves have instituted the system of slave labor. In the month of August a Dutch man-of-war sailed up the river to the planta- tions, and oiFered by auction twenty Africans. They were purchased by the wealthier class of planters, and made slaves for life. It was, however, nearly a half century from this time before the system of negro slavery became well established in the English colonies. Twelve years had now passed since the founding of Jamesto^vn. Eighty thousand pounds sterling had been spent by the company in the attempted development of the new State. As a result there were only six hundred men in the colony, and these for the most part were rovers who intended to return to England. Sir Thomas Smith, the treasurer, had managed matters badly. Very few families had emigrated, and society in Virginia was coarse and vicious. In this condition of affairs Smith was superseded by Sir Edwyn Sandys, a man of great prudence and integrity. A reformation of abuses was at once begun and carried out. By his wisdom and liberality the new treasurer succeeded before the end of the summer of 1620 m collecting and sending to America a company of twelve hundred and sixty-one persons. Another measure of still greater importance was equally successful. By the influence of Sandys and his friends, ninety young women of good breeding and modest man- ners were induced to emigrate to Jamestown. In the following spring sixty others of similar good character came over, and received a hearty welcome. The statement that the early Virginians bought their wives is absurd. All that was done was this : when Sandys sent the first company of women to America, he charged the colonists with the expense of the voyage — a measure made necessary by the fact that the company was almost bankrupt. An assessment was made according to the number who were brought over, and the rate fixed at a hundred and twenty pounds of tobacco for each passenger — a sum which the settlers cheerfully paid. The many marriages that followed were celebrated in the usual way, and nothing further was thought of the transaction. When the sec- ond shipload came, the cost of transportation was reported at a hundred and fifty pounds for each passenger, which was also paid without complaint. In July of 1621 the London Company, which had now almost run its course, gave to Virginia a code of written laws and fi-ame of government modeled after the English constitution. The terms of the instrument were fev» and easily understood. The governor of the colony was as li'therto to be appointed by the company, a council to be chosen 112 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. by the same body, and a house of burgesses, two members from each district, to be elected by the people. In making laws the councilors and burgesses sat together. When a new law was proposed, it was debated, and if passed received the governor's signature, then was transmitted to England and ratified or rejected by the company. The constitution also acknowledged the right of petition and of trial by jury, but the most remarkable and liberal concession was that which gave the burgesses the power of vetoing any objectionable acts of the company. Governor Yeardley's administration ended in October of 1621. At that time Sir Francis Wyatt arrived, commissioned as governor and bearing the new constitution of Virginia. The colony was found in a very flourishing condition. The settlements extended for a hundred and forty miles along both banks of James River and far into the interior, especially northwai'd toward the Potomac. There remained but one caase of foreboding and alarm. The Indians had seen in all this growth and prosperity the doom of their own race, and had determined to make one desperate effort to destroy their foes before it should be too late. To do this in open war was impossible ; necessity and the savage impulse work- ing together suggested treachery as the only means likely to accomplish the result. Circumstances favored the villainous undertaking. Pocahon- tas was dead. The peaceable and faith-keeping Powhatan had likewise passed away. The ambitious and crafty Opechancanough, who succeeded to his brother's authority in 1618, had ever since been plotting the destruc- tion of the English colony, and the time had come for the bloody tragedy. The savages carefully concealed their murderous purpose. Until the very day of the massacre they continued on terms of friendship with the English. They came unmolested into the settlements, ate with their victims, borrowed boats and guns, made purchases, and gave not the slightest token of hostility. The attack was planned for the 22d of March, at mid-day. At the fatal hour the work of butchery began. Every hamlet in Virginia was attacked by a band of yelling barbarians. No age, sex or condition awakened an emotion of jiity. ISIen, women and children were indiscriminately slaughtered, until three hundred and forty-seven had perished under the knives and hatchets of the savages. But Indian treachery was thwarted by Indian faithfulness. What was the chagrin and rage of the warriors to find that Jamestown and the other leading settlements had been warned at the last moment, and were prepared for the onset ? A converted Red man, wishing to save an Eng- lishman who had been his friend, went to him on the night before the massacre and revealed the plot. The alarm was spread among the settle- ments, and thus the greater part of the colony escaped destruction. But VIRGINIA.— THIRD CHARTER. 113 the outer plantations were entirely destroyed. The people crowded to- gether on the larger farms about Jamestown, until of the eighty settlements there were only eight remaining. Still, there were sixteen hundred reso- lute men in the colony ; and although gloom and despondency prevailed for a while, the courage of the settlers soon revived, and sorrow gave place to a desire for vengeance. It was now the turn of the Indians to suffer. Parties of English soldiers scoured the country in every direction, destroying wigwams, burning villages and killing every savage tnat fell in their way, until the tribes of Opechancanough were driven into the wilderness. The colon- ists, regaining their confidence and zeal, returned to their deserted farms, and the next year brought such additions that the census showed a popu- lation of two thousand five hundred. Meanwhile, difficulties arose between the corporation and the king. Most of the members of the London Company belonged to the patriot party in England, and the freedom with which they were in the habit of discussing political and governmental matters was very distasteful to the monarch. A meeting of the stockholders, now a numerous body, was held once every three months, and the debates took a wider and still wider range. The liberal character of the Virginia constitution was offensive to King James, who determined by some means to obtain con- trol of the London Company, or else to suppress it altogether. A com- mittee was accordingly appointed to look into the affairs of the cor- poration and to make a report on its management. The commissioners performed their duty, and reported that the company, in addition to being a hot-bed of political agitation, was unsound in every part, that the treas- ury was bankrupt, and especially that the government of Virginia was bad and would continue so until a radical change should be made in the constitution of the new State. Legal proceedings were now instituted by the ministers to ascer- tain whether the company's charter had not been forfeited. The question came before the judges, who had no difficulty in deciding that the violated patent was null and void. In accordance with this decision, the charter of the corporation was canceled by the king, and in June of 1624 the London Company ceased to exist. But its work had been well done ; a torch of liberty had been lighted on the banks of the James which all the gloomy tyranny of after times could not extinguish. The \^irgin- lans were not slow to remember and to claim ever afterward the precious rights which were guaranteed in the constitution of 1621. And the other colonies would be satisfied with nothing less than the chartered pn^t.^ileges which were recognized in the laws of the Old Dominion. 114 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XII. VIRGINIA.— THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT. A ROYAL government was now established in Virginia. To the colonists themselves the change of authorities was scarcely percepti- ble. The new administration consisted of a governor and twelve coun- cilors appointed by the crown. The General Assembly of the colony was left undisturbed, and all the rights and privileges of the colonists remained as before. Tlie king's hostility had been directed against the London Company, and not against the State of Virginia ; now that the former was destroyed the latter was left unmolested. Governor Wyatt was continued in office; and in making up the new council the king wisely took jjains to select the known friends of the colony rather than certain untried partisans of his own court. The Virginians found in the change of government as much cause of gratitude as of grief. King James of England died in 1625. His son, Cliarles I., a young, inexperienced and stubborn prince, succeeded to the throne. The new king paid but little attention to the affairs of his American colony, until the commerce in tobacco attracted his notice. Seeing in this product a source of revenue for the crown, he attempted to gain a monopoly of the trade, but the colonial authorities outwitted him and defeated the project It is worthy of special note that while conferring with the colony on ihh\ subject the king recognized the Virginia assembly as a rightfully consti- tuted power. The reply which M-as finally returned to the king's projiosal was signed not only by the governor and council, but by thirty-one of the burgesses. In 1626 Governor Wyatt retired from office, and Yeardley, the old friend and benefactor of the colonists, was reappointed. The young State was never more prosperous than under this administration, which was terminated by the governor's death, in November of 1627. During the preceding summer a thousand new immigrants had come to swell th« population of the growing province. The council of Virginia had a right, in case of an emergency, to elect a governor. Such an emergency was now present, and Francis West was chosen by the councilors ; but as soon as the death of Yeardley VIRGINIA.— THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT. 115 was known in England, King Charles commissioned John Harvey to assume the government. He arrived in the autumn of 1629, and from this time until 1635, the colony was distracted with the presence of a most unpopular chief magistrate. He seems to have been disliked on general principles, but the greatest source of dissatisfaction was his par- tiality to certain speculatoi-s and land monopolists who at this time in- fested Virginia, to the annoyance and injury of the poorer people. There were many old land grants covering districts of territory which were now occupied by actual settlers, and between the holders of the lands and the holders of the titles violent altercations arose. In these disputes the governor became a partisan of the speculators against the people, until the outraged assembly of 1635 passed a resolution that Sir John Harvey be thrust out of office, and Captain West be appointed in his place " until the king's pleasure may be known in this matter." A majority of the councilors sided with the burgesses, and Harvey was obliged to go to England to stand his trial. King Charles treated the whole affair with contempt. The com- missioners appointed by the council of Virginia to conduct Harvey's im- peachment were refused a hearing, and he was restored to the governor- ship of the unwilling colony. He continued in power until the year 1639, when he was superseded by Wyatt, who ruled until the spring of 1642. And now came the English Revolution. The exactions and tyranny of Charles at last drove his subjects into open rebellion. In January of 1642, the king and his friends left London, and repairing to Nottingham, collected an army of royalists. The capital and southern part of the country remained in the power of Parliament. The High Church party and the adherents of monarchy took sides with the king, while the re- publicans and dissenters made up the opposing forces. The country was plunged into the horrors of civil war. After a few years of conflict the royal army was routed and dispersed ; the king escaped to Scotland, and the leading royalists fled to foreign lands. On the demand of Parliament Charles was given up and brought to trial. The cause was heard, a sen- tence of death was passed, and on the 30th of January, 1649, the unhappy monarch was beheaded. Monarchy was now abolished. Oliver Cromwell, the general of the Parliamentary army, was made Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England. By him the destinies of the nation were controlled until his death, in 1658, when he was succeeded by his son Richard. But the latter, lacking his father's abilities and courage, became alarmed at the dangers that gathered around him, and resigned. For a few months the 116 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. country was in anarchy, until General Monk, who commanded the Eng- lish army of the North, came down from Scotland and declared a restora- tion of the monarchy. The exiled son of Charles I. was called home and proclaimed king, the people acquiesced. Parliament sanctioned the measure, and on the 18th of May, 1660, Charles II. was placed on the throne of England. These were times full of trouble. Virgmia shared in some degree the distractions of the mother-country, yet the evil done to the new State by the conflict in England was less than might have been expected. In the first year of the civil war Sir William Berkeley became governor of the colony, and, with the exception of a brief visit to England in 1645, remained m office for ten years. His administration, notwitlistanding the commotions abroad, was noted as a time of rapid growth and develop- ment. The laws were greatly improved and made conformable to the English statutes. The old controversies about the lands were satisfacto- rily settled. Cruel punishments were abolished and the taxes equalized. The general assembly was regularly convened to bear its part in the gov- ernment, and Virginia was in all essential particulars a free as well as a prosperous State. So rapid was the progress that in 1646 there were twenty thousand people in the colony. But there M^ere also drawbacks to the prosperity of Virginia. Re- ligious intolerance came with its baleful shadow to disturb the State. The faith of the Episcopal Church was established by law, and dissenting was declared a crime. The Puritans were held in contempt by the people, who charged them with being the destroyers of the peace of England. In INIarch of 1643 a statute was enacted by the assembly declaring that no person who disbelieved the doctrines of the English Church should be allowed to teach publicly or privately, or to preach the gospel, within the limits of Virginia. The few Puritans in the colony were excluded from their places of trust, and some were even driven fi'om their homes. Gov- ernor Berkeley, himself a zealous churchman, was a leader in these per- secutions, by which all friendly relations with New England were broken off for many years. A worse calamity befell in a second war with the Indians. Early in 1644, the natives, having forgotten their former punishment, and believing that in the confusion of the civil war there still remained a hope of destroying the English, planned a general massacre. On the 18th of April, at a time when the authorities were somewhat off their guard, the savages fell upon the frontier settlements, and before assistance could be brought murdered three hundred people. Alarmed at their own atrocity, tlie warriors then fled, but were followed by the English forces and VIRGINIA.— THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT. 117 driven into the woods and swamps. The aged Opechancanough was cap- tured, and died a prisoner. The tribes were chastised without mercy, and were soon glad to purchase peace by the cession of large tracts of land. The Virginians adhered with great firmness to the cause of Charles I. in his war with Parliament, and after his death proclaimed the exiled Cliarles 11. as rightful sovereign of the country. Cromwell and the Parliament were much exasperated at this course of conduct, and mea- sures were at once devised to bring the colony to submission. An ordi- nance was passed laying heavy restrictions on the commerce of such English colonies as refused to acknowledge the supremacy of Parliament. All foreign ships, especially those of Holland, were forbidden to enter the colonial harbors. In 1651 the noted statute called the Navigation Act was passed, and the trade of the colonies was still more seriously distressed. In this new law it was enacted that the foreign commerce of Virginia, now grown into importance, should be carried on wholly in English vessels, and directed exclusively to English ports. The Virginians held out, and Cromwell determined to employ force. A war-vessel called the Guinea was sent into the Chesapeake to compel submission, but in the last extreme the Protector showed him- self to be just as well as wrathful. There were commissioners. on board the frigate authorized to make an offer of peace, and this was gladly accepted. It was seen that the cause of the Stuarts was hopeless. The people of Virginia, although reftising to yield to threats and violence, cheerfully entered into negotiations with Cromwell's delegates, and ended by acknowledging the supreme authority of Parliament. The terms of the settlement were very favorable to popular libert}'-; the commercial restrictions of the two previous years were removed, and the trade of the colony was made as free as that of England. No taxes might be levied or duties collected except such as were imposed by the general assembly of the State. The freedom of an Englishman was guaranteed to every citizen, and under the control of her own laws Virginia again grew pros- perous. No further difficulty arose during the continuance of the Common- wealth. The Protector was busied with the affairs of Europe, and had neither time nor disposition to interfere in the affairs of a remote colony. The Virginians were thus left free to conduct their government as they would. Even the important matter of choosing a governor was sub- mitted to an election in the House of Burgesses ; when so great a power had been once exercised, it was not likely to be relinquished without a struggle. Three governors were chosen in this way, and what was at first only a privilege soon became a right. Special acts of the assembly 118 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. declared that such a right existed, and that it should be transmitted to posterity. In 1660, just at the time of the resignation of Richard Cromwell, Samuel Matthews, the last of the three elected governors, died. The burgesses were immediately convened, and an ordinance was passed de- claring that the supreme authority of Virginia was resident in the colony, and would continue there until a delegate with proper credentials should arrive from the British government. Having made this declaration, the house elected as governor Sir William Berkeley, who by accepting the office acknowledged the right of the burgesses to choose. The question of recognizing Charles II. as king was debated at the same session, but prudence suggested that the colonial authorities would better await the natural course of events. For the present it was decided to remain faith- ful to Parliament. Most of the people, no doubt, desired the restoration, but policy forbade any open expressions of such a preference. It would be time enough when monarchy was actually restored. In May of 1660 Charles II. became king of England. As soon as this event was known in Virginia, Governor Berkeley, forgetting the source of his own authority, and in defiance of all consistency, issued wTits in the name of the king for the election of a new assembly. The friends of royalty were delighted with the prospect. The adherents of the Com- monwealth were thrust out of office, and the favorites of the king estab- lished in their places. Great benefits were expected from the change, and the whole colony was alive with excitement and zeal. But the disap- pointment of the people was more bitter than their hopes had been extrav- agant. The Virginians soon found that they had exchanged a republican tyrant with good principles for a monarchial tyrant with bad ones. King Charles II. was the worst monarch of modern times, and the people of Virginia had in him and his government a special cause of grief The commercial system of the Commonwealth, so far from being abolished, was re-enacted in a more hateful form than ever. The new statute pro- vided that all the colonial commerce, whether exports or imports, should be carried on in English ships, the trade between the colonies was bur- dened with a heavy tax for the benefit of the government, and tobacco, the staple of Virginia, could be sold nowhere but in England. This odious measure gave to English merchantmen a monopoly of the carry- ing trade of the colonies, and by destroying competition among the buy- ers of tobacco robbed the Virginians to that extent of their leading product. Remonstrance was tried in vain. The cold and selfish monarch only sneered at the complaints of his American subjects, and the commer- cial ordinances were rigorously enforced. VIRGINIA.— THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT. 119 Charles II. seemed to regard the British empire as personal property to be used for the benefit of himself and his courtiers. In order to reward the worthless profligates who thronged his court, he began to grant to them large tracts of land in Virginia. AVhat did it matter that these lands had been redeemed from the wilderness and were covered with orchards and gardens ? It was no uncommon thing for an American planter to find that his farm, which had been cultivated for a quarter of a century, was given away to some dissolute flatterer of the royal household. Great distress was occasioned by these iniquitous grants, until finally, in 1673, the king set a limit to his own recklessness by giving away the whole State. Lord Culpepper and the earl of Arlington, two ignoble noblemen, received under the great seal a deed by which was granted to them for thirty- one years all the dominion of land and water called Virginia. Unfortunately, the colonial legislation of these times became an selfish and narrow-minded as the policy of the king was mean. An "aristocratic party which had arisen in the colony obtained control of the House of Burgesses, and the new laws rivaled those of England in illiber- ality. Episcopalianism was again established as the State religion. A proscriptive ordinance was passed against the Baptists, and the peace-lov- ing Quakers were fined, persecuted and imprisoned. Burdensome taxes were laid on personal property and polls ; the holders of large estates were exempt and the poorer people afflicted. The salaries of the officers were secured by a permanent duty on tobacco, and, worst of all, the biennial election of burgesses was abolished, so that the members of the existing assembly continued indefinitely in power. For a while Berkeley and his council outdid the tyranny of England. And then came open resistance. The people were worn out with the governor's exactions, and availed themselves of the first pretext to assert their rights by force of arms. A war with the Susquehanna In- dians furnished the occasion for an insurrection. The tribes about the head of Chesapeake Bay and along the Susquehanna had been attacked by the Senecas and driven from their homes. They, in turn, fell upon the English settlers of Maryland, and the banks of the Potomac became the scene of a border war. Virginia and Maryland made common cause against the savages. John "Washington, great-grandfather of the first president of the United States, led a company of militia into the enemy's country, and compelled the Susquehannas to sue for peace. Six of their chieftains went into Virginia as ambassadors, and, to the lasting dishonor of the colony, were foully murdered. This atrocity maddened the savages, and a devastatino- warfare raa-ed along the whole frontier. Governor Berkeley, not without some show of justice, sided with 120 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. the Indians, But the colonists remembered only the many acts of treachery and bloodshed of which the red men had before been guilty, and were determined to have revenge. In this division of sentiment among the people, the assembly and the aristocratic party took sides with the governor and favored a peace; while the popular party, disliking Berkeley and hating the Indians, resolved to overthrow him and destroy them at one blow. A leader was found in that remarkable man, Nathaniel Bacon. Young, brave, eloquent, patriotic, full of enthusiasm and energy, he became the soul and life of the popular party. His own farm in the county of Henrico had been pillaged and his tenants murdered by the savages. Exasperated by these injuries, he was the more easily urged by the public voice to accept the dangerous office of leading an insurrecfion. Five hundred men rushed to arms and demanded to be led against the Indians. Alarm, excitement and passion prevailed throughout the colony. The patriot forces were organized ; and without permission of a government which they had ceased to regard, the march was begun into the enemy's country. Berkeley and the aristocratic faction were enraged at this proceeding, and proclaimed Bacon a traitor. A levy of troops was made for the purpose of dispersing the rebellious militia ; but scarcely had Berkeley and his forces left Jamestown when another popular uprising in the lower counties compelled him to return. Affairs were in an uproar. Bacon came home victorious. The old assembly was unceremoniously broken up, and a new one elected on the basis of universal suifrage. Bacon w^as chosen a member for Henrico, and soon after elected com- mander-in-chier of the Virginia army. The governor refused to sign his commission, and Bacon appealed to the people ; the militia again flew to arms, and Berkeley was compelled to yield. Not only was the com- mission signed, but a paper drawn up by the burgesses in commendation of Bacon's loyalty, zeal and patriotism received the executive signature and was transmitted to Parliament. Peace returned to the 'colony. The power of the savages was com- pletely broken. A military force was stationed on the frontier, and a sense of security returned to all the settlements. But Berkeley was petu- lant, proud and vengeful ; and it was only a question of time when the struggle would be renewed. Seizing the first opportunity^, the governor left Jamestown and repaired to the county of Gloucester, on the north side of York River. Here he summoned a convention of loyalists, who, contrary to his expectations and wishes, advised moderation and com- promise ; but the hot-headed old cavalier would yield no jot of his pre- rogative to what he was pleased to call a rabble, and Bacon was again proclaimed a traitor. VIRGINIA.— THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT. 121 It was evident that there must be figlitiug. Berkeley and his forces left Gloucester, crossed the Chesapeake Bay, and took station on the eastern shore, in the county of Accomac. Here his trooj)s were organized ; the crews of some English ships were joined to his command, and the fleet set sail for Jamestown. The place was taken without much resistance ; but when Bacon with a few companies of patriots drew near, the loyal forces deserted and went over to his standard. The governor with his adherents was again obliged to fly, and the capital remained in possession of the people's party. The assembly was about to assume con- trol of the government without the governor, whose flight to Accomac had been declared an abdication, when a rumor arose that an English fleet was approaching for the subjugation of the colonies. The j)atriot leaders held a council, and it was determined that Jamestown should be burned. Accordingly, in the dusk of the evening the torch was applied, and the only town in Virginia laid in ashes. The leading men set the example by throwing firebrands into their own houses ; others caught the spirit of sacrifice ; the flames shot up through the shadows of night ; and Governor Berkeley and his followers, on board a fleet twenty miles down the river, had tolerably fair warning that the capital of Virginia could not be used for the purposes of despotism. In this juncture of affairs Bacon fell sick and died. It was an event full of grief and disaster. The patriot party, discouraged by tlie loss of the heroic chieftain, was easily dispersed. A few feeble efforts were made to revive the cause of the people, but the animating spirit which had controlled and directed until now was gone. The royalists found an able leader in Robert Beverly, and the authority of the governor was rapidly restored throughout the province. The cause of the people and the leader of the people had died together. Berkeley's vindictive passions were now let loose upon the defeated insurgents. Fines and confiscations became the order of the day. The governor seemed determined to drown the memory of his own wrongs in the woes of his subjects. Twenty-two of the leading patriots were seized and hanged with scarcely time to bid their friends farewell. Thus died Thomas Hansford, the first American who gave hLs life for freedom. Thus perished Edmund Cheesman, Thomas Wilford and the noble Wil- liam Drumraond, martyrs to liberty. Nor is it certain when the vengeful tyrant would have stayed his hand, had not the assembly met and parsed an edict that no more blood should be spilt for past offences. One of the burgesses from the county of Northampton said in the debate that if tlie governor were let alone he would hang half the country. When diaries II. heard of Berkeley's ferocity, he exclaimed, " The old fool has taken 122 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. away more lives in that naked country than I for the murder oi my father" ; and the saying was true. The history of this insurrection was for a long time reciifed by Bacon's enemies. Until the present century no one appeared to rescue the leader's name from obloquy. In the light of after times his character will shine with a peculiar lustre. His motives were as exalted as his life was pure, and his virtues as noted as his abilities were great. His ambi- tion was for the public welfare, and his passions were only excited against the enemies of his country. The consequences of the rebellion were very disastrous. Berkeley and the aristocratic party had now a good excuse for suppressing all liberal sentiments and tendencies. The printing-press was interdicted. Educa- tion was discouraged or forbidden. To speak or to write anything against the administration or in defence of the late insurrection was made a crime to be punished by fine or M^hipping. If the offence should be three times repeated, it was declared to be treason punishable with death. The former tyrannical methods of taxation were revived, and Virginia was left at the mercy of arbitrary rulers. In 1675, Lord Culpepper, to whom with Arlington the province had been granted two years previously, obtained the appointment of governor for life. The right of the king was thus by his own act relin- quished, and Virginia became a proprietary government. The new execu- tive arrived in 1680 and assumed the duties of his office. His whole administration was characterized by avarice and dishonesty. Regarding Virginia as his personal estate, he treated the Virginians as his tenants and slaves. Every species of extortion was resorted to, until the nmtter- ings of rebellion were again heard throughout the impoverished colony. In 1683, Arlington surrendered his claim to Culpepper, who thus became sole proprietor as well as governor ; but before he could proceed to further mischief, his official career was cut short by the act of the king. Charles II,, repenting of his own rashness, found in Culpepper's vices and frauds a sufficient excuse to remove him from office and to revoke his patent. In 1684, Virginia again became a royal province, under the government of Lord Howard, of Effingham, mIio was succeeded by Francis Nich- olson, formerly governor of New York. His administration was sig- nalized by the founding of William and Mary College, so named in honor of the new sovereigns of England. This, next to Harvard, was the first institution of liberal learning planted in America. Here the boy Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, shall be educated! From these halls, in the famous summer of 1776, shall be sent forth young James Monroe, future President of the United States ! 1600 11. Gustaviis Adolplius the Great. Grotius. Galileo. 18. The Thirty Years' War begins. Kepler. 48. Peace of Westphalia. 24-42. Richelieu. 43. Louis XIV. Shakespeare. Bacon. 3. James VI. ) James I. J 25. Charles I. 42. The Revolution. Milton. 49. Cromwell. 60. The Restoration. 89. Pete 9? 85. Revocation 1 87. Habeas c Locke. 88. Secoii 88. Willia of Mary, 94. \V 60. Charles II. 85. James 1 7. 9. Second Charter granted. 42. Berkeley's administration. 12. The Third Charter. 44. Indian massacre. 76. Bacon's Rebellion. 19. House of Burgesses established. 77. Virginia becomes VIRGINIA colonized by the London 51. First \avigation Act. 84. Royal govt- Company at Jamestown. 24. Dissolution of the 50. London Company. 19. Introduction of Slavery. John Smith, governor. S3. Seth Sothc NOETH OAEOLINA settled by the Englis 63. Grant made to Lord Clarendon. 85. Sir Johi 65. Sir John Yeamans, goverm 77. Culpepper's rebe 34. MARYLAND settled by the Catho- 91. Ma lies under Lord Baltimore. 75. Charles Calvert. 39. Representative government established. 92. L : 38. Governor Kief. 64. Taken by the English. 91. Sl« 14. : NEW YORK settled by the Dutch. Berkeley and ciarteret. 92. : 47. Stuyvesant. 70. Lovelace. 9 56. New York City founded. 74. Edmu i : 25. Minuits, governor. : 38. Wilmington settled by the Swedes. 82.:DELA'WAI' 23. NEW JERSEY settled by the Dutch. 81. First General : 29. NEW HAMPSHIRE settled. 30. Boston founded. 79. : New Hampshire : as a distinct colony. 30. : MAINE settled. 20. : MASSACHUSETTS settled by the Puritans at Plymouth. : 30. Winthrop, governor. : 38. Harvard College founded. 39. First printing-press set up at Cambridge. 76. King Philip's defe;. 84. Massach 90. First! 90. Kin I 92, Wit! exc 36. : RHODE ISLAND settled by Roger Williams. : 39. Newport founded. 87. Rhode 30. 37. Pequod War. OONNEOTIOUT granted to the earl of Warwick. 35. Savbrook founded. 33. Hartford founded. 62. New charter granted. 89. The.lH 70. ^^UL SOUTH OAROLINi Locke's Constitution adu 86. Arrival 82. PENNS"^: the Qu: 92. Per, 1700 the Great. Jharles XII. War of the Spanish Succession. Leibnitz. 13. Peace of Utrecht. Mict of Nantes. 'US. 15. Louis XV. ilevolutioi:. and Mary, and after the death fiam III. 2. Anne. 14. George I. 27. George II. 62. Catharine II. 40. Frederick the Great. 40. War of the Austrian Succession terminated by 48. Peace of Aix-la-Chapelie. 89. French Revolution. 93. Keign Voltaire. 74. Louis XVI. "^ '^^" ror. Dr. Johnson. Burke. (55. The Rockingham Ministrj'. Newton. Chatham. Pi"- 55. War between France and England * "*• 65. The Stamp Act. 60. George III. Proprietary government. nent re-established. 32. Birth of Washington. 65. The Virginia: Resolutions. (governor. i 9. Arrival of the German immigrants. Irchdale^ governor. 1 11. The Coree War. kn. 29. Final separation of the Carolinas. land becomes a royal government. lel Copley. - shire, against the protests and petitions of her people, was forcibly sepa- rated from the mother colony. The war still continued, but without decisive results. In 1694, the village of Oyster River, now Durham, was destroyed by a band of savages led by the French captain Villieu. The inhabitants, to the number of ninety-four, were either killed or carried into captivity. Two years later 150 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. the English fortress at Pemaquid was a second time surrendered to the French and Indians, under command of Baron Castin. The captives were sent to Boston and exchanged for prisoners in the hands of the English. In the following March, the town of Haverhill, on the Merri- mac, was captured under circumstances of special atrocity. Nearly forty persons were butchered in cold blood ; only a few were spared for cap- . tivity. Among the latter was Mrs. Hannah Dustin. Her child, only a week old, was snatched out of her arms and dashed against a tree. The heartbroken mother, with her nurse and a lad named Leonardson, from Worcester, was taken by the savages to an island in the Merrimac, a short distance above Concord. Here, while their captors, twelve in number, were asleep at night, the three prisoners arose, silently armed themselves with tomahawks, and with one deadly blow after another crushed in the temples of the sleeping savages, until ten of them lay still in death; then, embarking in a canoe, the captives dropped doAvn the river and reached the English settlement in safety. Mrs. Dustin carried home with her the gun and tomahawk of the savage who had destroyed her family, and a bag containing the scalps of her neighbors. It is not often that the mother of a murdered babe has found such ample vengeance. But the war was already at an end. Early in 1697, commissioners of France and England assembled at the town of Ryswick, in Holland ; and on the 10th of the following September, a treaty of peace was con- cluded. King William was acknowledged as the rightful sovereign of England, and the colonial boundary-lines of the two nations in America were established as before. Massachusetts had in the mean time been visited with a worse calamity than war. The darkest page in the history of New England is that wliich bears the record of the Salem Witchcraft. The same town which fifty-seven years previously had cast out Roger Williams was now to become the scene of the most fatal delusion of modern times. In February of 1692, in that part of Salem afterward called Dan vers, a daughter and a niece of Samuel Parris, tlie minister, were attacked Avith a nervous disorder which rendered them partially insane. Parris be- lieved, or affected to believe, that the two girls were bewitched, and that Tituba, an Indian maid-servant of the household, was the author of the affliction. He had seen her performing some of the rude ceremonies of her own religion, and this gave color to his suspicions. He tied Tituba, and whipped the ignorant creature until, at his own dictation, she con- fessed herself a witch. Here, no doubt, the matter would have ended had not other causes existed for the continuance and spread of the miser- able delusion. MASSACHUSETTS.— WAR AND WITCHCRAFT. 151 But Parris had had a quarrel in his church. A part of the congre- gation desired that George Burroughs, a former minister, should be rein- stated, to the exclusion of Parris. Burroughs still lived at Salem ; and there was great animosity between the partisans of the former and the present pastor. Burroughs disbelieved in witchcraft, and openly ex- pressed his contempt of the system. Here, then, Parris found an oppor- tunity to turn the confessions of the foolish Indian servant against his enemies, to overwhelm his rival with the superstitions of the community, and perhaps to have him put to death. There is no doubt whatever that the whole murderous scheme originated in the personal malice of Parris. But there w^ere others ready to aid him. First among these was the celebrated Cotton Mather, minister of Boston. He, being in high re- pute for wisdom, had recently preached much on the subject of witchcraft, teaching the people that witches w^ere dangerous and ought to be put to death. He thus became the natural confederate of Parris, and the chief author of the terrible scenes that ensued. Sir William Phipps, the royal governor, who had just arrived from England, was a member of Mather's church. Increase Mather, the father of Cotton, had nominated Phipps to his present office. Stoughton, the deputy-governor, who was appointed judge and presided at the trials of the witches, was the tool of Parris and the two Mathers. To these men, more especially to Parris and Mather, must be charged the full infamy of what followed. By the laws of England witchcraft was punishable with death. The code of Massachusetts was the same as that of the mother-country. In the early history of the colony, one person charged wdth being a wizard had been arrested at Charlestown, convicted and executed. But with the progress and enlightenment of the people, many had grown bold enough to denounce and despise the baleful superstition. Something, therefore, had to be done to save the tottering fabric of witchcraft from falling into contempt. A special court was accordingly appointed by Governor Phipps to go to Salem and to sit in judgment on the persons accused by Parris. Stoughton was the presiding judge, Parris himself the prosecutor, and Cotton Mather a kind of bishop to decide when the testimony was sufficient to condemn. On the 21st of March, the horrible proceedings began. Mary Cory was arrested, not indeed for being a witch, but for denying the reality of witchcraft. When brought before the church and court, she denied all guilt, but was convicted and hurried to prison. Sarah Cloyce and Rebecca Nurse, two sisters of the most exemplary lives, were next appre- hended as witches. The only witnesses against them were Tituba, her half- witted Indian husband and the simple girl Abigail Williams, the niece 152 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. of Parris. The victims were sent to prison, protesting their innocence. Giles Cory, a patriarch of eighty years, was next seized ; he also was one of those who had opposed Parris. The Indian accuser fell down before Edward Bishop, pretending to be in a fit under satanic influence; the sturdy farmer cured him instantly with a sound flogging, and said that lie could restore the rest of the afflicted in the same manner. He and his Avife were immediately arrested and condemned. George Burroughs, the rival of Parris, was accused and hurried to prison. And so the work went on, until seventy-five innocent people were locked up in dungeons. Not a solitary partisan of Parris or Mather had been arrested. In the hope of saving their lives, some of the terrified prisoners now began to confess themselves witches, or bewitched. It was soon found that a confession was almost certain to procure liberation. It be- came evident that the accused were to be put to death, not for being witches or wizards, but for denying the reality of witchcraft. The special court was already in session ; convictions followed fast ; the gallows stood waiting for its victims. The truth of Mather's preaching was to be estab- lished by hanging whoever denied it ; and Parris was to save his pastorate by murdering his rival. When the noble Burroughs mounted the scaffold, he stood composedly and repeated correctly the test-prayer which it wa* said no wizard could utter. The people broke into sobs and moans, and would have rescued their friend from death ; but the tyrant Mather dashed among them on horseback, muttering imprecations, and drove the hang- man to his horrid work. Old Giles Cory, seeing" that conviction was cer- tain, refused to plead, and ivas pressed to death. Five women were hanged in one day. Between the 10th of June and the 22d of September, twenty victims were hurried to their doom. Fifty-five others had been tortured into the confession of abominable falsehoods. A hundred and fifty lay in prison awaiting their fate. Two hundred were accused or suspected, and ruin seemed to impend over New England. But a reaction at last set in among the people. Notwithstanding the vociferous clamor and denuncia- tions of Mather, the witch tribunals were overthrown. The representative assembly convened early in October, and the hated court which Phipps had appointed to sit at Salem was at once dismissed. The spell was dis- solved. The thralldom of the popular mind was broken. Reason shook off" the terror that had oppressed it. The prison doors were opened, and the victims of malice and supei'stition went forth free. In the beginning of the next year a few persons charged with witchcraft were again arraigned and brought before the courts. Some were even convicted, but the conviction went for nothing ; not another life was sacrificed to passion and fanaticism. MASSACHUSETTS.— WARS OF ANNE AND GEORGE. 153 Most of those who had participated in the terrible deeds of the preceding summer confessed the great wrong which they had done ; but confessions could not restore the dead. The bigoted Mather, in a vain attempt to justify himself before the world, wrote a treatise in which he expressed his great thankfulness that so many witches had met their just doom. It is not the least humiliating circumstance of this sad business that Mather's hypocritical and impudent book received the approbation of the president of Harvard College. In all this there is to the American student one consoling reflection — the pages of his country's history will never again be blotted with so dark a stain. CHAPTER XVII. MASSACHUSETTS.— WARS OF ANNE AND GEORGE. THE peace which followed the treaty of Ryswick was of short dura- tion. Within less than four years France and England were again involved in a conflict which, beginning in Europe, soon extended to the American colonies. In the year 1700, Charles II., king of Spain, died, having named as his successor Philip of Anjou, a grandson of Louis XIV. This measure pointed clearly to a union of the crowns of France and Spain. The jealousy of all Europe was aroused; a league was formed between England, Holland and Austria; the archduke Charles of the latter country was put forward by the allied powers as a candidate for the Spanish throne; and war was declared against Louis XIV. for suj)porting the claims of Philip. England had against France another cause of offence. In Septem- ber of 1701, James II., the exiled king of Great Britain, died at the court of Louis, who now, in violation of the treaty of Ryswick, recognized the son of James as the rightful sovereign of England. This action was re- garded as an open insult to English nationality. King William led his armies to the field not less to thwart the ambition of France than to save his own crown and kingdom. But the English monarch did not live to carry out his plans. While yet the war was hardly begun, the king fell from his horse, was attacked with fever, and died in May of 1702. Parliament had already settled the crown on Anne, the sister-in-law of William and daughter of James II. The new sovereign adopted the 154 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. policy of her predecessor. From the circumstance of her reign, the con^ flict with France, which lasted for nearly thirteen years, is known in his- tory as Queen Anne's War; but a better name is The War of the Spanish Succession. In America the field of operations was limited to New England and South Carolina. The central colonies were scarcely aw^are that war existed. The military operations of both parties were conducted in a feeble and desultory manner. The more influential Indian tribes held aloof from the struggle. In August, 1701, the powerful Five Nations, whose dominions south of Lake Ontario and the river St. Lawrence formed a barrier between Canada and New York, made a treaty of neutrality with both the French and the English. The Abenakis of Maine did the same; but the French Jesuits prevailed with the latter to break their compact. The first notice of treachery which the English had, was a fearful massacre. In one day the whole country between the town of Wells and the Bay of Casco was given up to burning and butchery. In midwinter of 1703-4 the town of Deerfield was destroyed. A war-party of three hundred French and Indians, setting out from Canada, marched on the snow-crust into the Connecticut valley. On the last night of February, the savages lay in the pine forest that surrounded tiie ill-fated village. Just before daybreak they rushed from their covert and fired the houses. Forty-seven of the inhabitants were tomahawked. A hundred and twelve were dragged into captivity. The prisoners, many of them women and children, were obliged to marcli to Canada. The snow lay four feet deep. The poor wretches, haggard with fear and starvation, sank down and died. The deadly hatchet hung ever above the heads of the feeble and the sick. Eunice Williams, the minister's M'ife, fainted by the wayside ; in the presence of her husband and five captive children, her brains were dashed out with a tomahawk. Those who survived to the end of the journey were afterward ransomed and permitted to return to their desolated homes. A daughter of Mr. Wil- liams remained with the savages, grew up among the jNIohawks, married a chieftain, and in after years returned in Indian garb to Deerfield. No entreaties could induce her to remain with her friends. The solitude of the woods and the society of her tawny husband had prevailed over the charms of civilization. In Maine and New Hampshire the war was marked with similar barbarities. Farms were devastated ; towns were burned ; the inhabitants were murdered or carried to Canada. Prowling bands of savages, led on by French officers, penetrated at times into the heart of Massachusetts. Against the treacherous barbarians and their bloodthii-sty leaders there MASSACHUSETTS.— WARS OF ANNE AND GEORGE. 155 was no security either at home or abroad. Along the desolated frontier ruin prevailed, as in the days of King Philip. In 1707, the reduction of Port Royal was undertaken by Massa- chusetts. A fleet, bearing a thousand soldiers, was equipped and sent against the town. But Baron Castin, who commanded the French garri- son, conducted the defence with so much skill that the English were obliged to abandon the undertaking. From this costly and disastrous 'expedition Massachusetts gained nothing but discouragement and debt. Nevertheless, after two years of preparation, the enterprise was renewed ; and in 1710 an English and American fleet of thirty-six vessels, having on board four regiments of troops, anchored before Port Royal. The garrison was weak; Subercase, the French commander, had neither talents nor courage ; famine came ; and after a feeble defence of eleven days, the place surrendered at discretion. By this conquest all of Nova Scotia passed under the dominion of the English. The flag of Great Britain was hoisted over the conquered fortress, and the name of Port Royal gave place to Annapolis, in honor of Queen Anne. Vast preparations were now made for the invasion of Canada. A land force under command of General Nicholson was to march against Montreal, while Quebec, the key to the French dominions in America, was to be reduced by an English fleet. For this purpose fifteen men-of- war and forty transports were placed under command of Sir Hovenden Walker. Seven regiments of veterans, selected from the armies of Europe, were added to the colonial forces and sent with the expedition. Before such an armament the defences of Quebec could hardly hold out an hour. But for the utter incompetency of the admiral, success would have been assured. For six weeks in midsummer the great fleet lay idly in Boston Har- bor. Sir Hovenden was getting ready to sail. The Abenaki Indians carried the news leisurely to Quebec ; and every day added to the strength of the ramparts. At last, on the 30th of July, when no further excuse could be invented, the ships set sail for the St. Lawrence. At the Bay of Gasp6 the admiral thought it necessary to loiter a while; then he busied himself with devising a plan to save his ships from the ice during the next winter. Proceeding slowly up the St. Lawrence, the fleet, on the 22d of August, was enveloped in a thick fog. The wind blew hard from the east. The commander was cautioned to remain on deck, but went quietly to bed. A messenger aroused liim just in time to see eight of his best vessels dashed to pieces on the rocks. Eight hundred and eighty-four men ■went down in the foaming whirlpools. A council of war ^^as held, and all voted that it was impossible to proceed. In a letter to 156 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. the English government, Walker expressed great gratitude that by the loss of a thousand men the rest had been saved frovi freezing to death at Quebec. The fleet sailed back to England, and the colonial troops were disbanded at Boston. Meanwhile, the army of General Nicholson had marched against Montreal, But when news arrived of the failure of the fleet, the land expedition was also abandoned. The dallying cowardice of \Yalker had brought the campaign of 1711 to a shameful end. France had already made overtures for peace. Negotiations were formally begun in the early part of 1712; and on the 11th of April in the following year a treaty was concluded at Utrecht, a town of Holland. By the terms of the settle- ment, England obtained control of the fisheries of Newfoundland. Labra- dor, the Bay of Hudson and the whole of Acadia, or Nova Scotia, were ceded to Great Britain. On the 13th of July the chiefs of the hostile Indian tribes met the ambassadors of New England at Portsmouth, and a second treaty was concluded, by which peace was secured throughout the American colonies. For thirty-one years after the close of Queen Anne's war, Massa- chusetts was free from hostile invasion. This was not, however, a period of public tranquillity. The people were dissatisfied with the royal govern- ment which King William had established, and were at constant variance with their governors. Phipps and his administration had been heartily disliked. Governor SImte was equally unpopular. Burnett, who suc- ceeded him, and Belcher afterward, were only tolerated becaxise they could not be shaken off. The opposition to the royal officers took the form of a controversy about their salaries. The general assembly in- sisted that the governor and his councilors should be paid in proportion to the importance of their several offices, and for actual service only. But the royal commissions gave to each officer a fixed salar)", which was fi'equently out of all proportion to the services required. After many years of antagonism, the difficulty was finally adjusted with a compromise in which the advantage was wholly on the side of the people. It was agreed that the salaries of the governor and his assistants sliould be an- nually allowed, and the amount fixed by vote of the assembly. The representatives of popular liberty had once more triumjihed over the principles of arbitrary rule. On the death of Charles YI. of Austria, in 1740, there were two principal claimants to the crown of the empire — Maria Theresa, daughter of the late emperor, and Charles Albert of Bavaria. Each claimant had his party and his army ; war followed ; and nearly all the nations of Europe were swept into the conflict. As usually happened in MASSACHUSETTS.— WARS OF ANNE AND GEORGE. 157 such struggles, England and France were arrayed against each other. The contest that ensued is generally known as the War of the Austrian Succession, but in American history is called King George's Wae; for George II. was now king of England. In America the only important event of the war was the capture of Louisburg, on Cape Breton Island. This place had been fortified at vast expense by the French. Standing at the principal entrance to the gulf and river of St. Lawrence, the fortress was regarded as a key to the Canadian provinces. Now England was quick to note that both New- foundland and Nova Scotia were threatened so long as the French flag floated over Louisburg. Governor Shirley brought the matter before the legislature of Massachusetts, and it was resolved to attempt the capture of the enemy's stronghold. The other colonies were invited to aid the enterprise. Connecticut responded by sending more than five hundred troops ; New Hampshire and Rhode Island each furnished three hundred; a park of artillery was sent from New York; and Pennsylvania contributed a supply of provisions. The forces of Massachusetts alone numbered more than three thousand. It only remained to secure the co-operation of the English fleet then cruising in the West Indies. An earnest invitation was sent to Commodore Warren to join his armament with the colonial forces ; but having no orders, he declined the request. Everything devolved on the army and navy of New England, but there was no quailing under the responsibility. William Pepperell, of Maine, w^as appointed commander- in-chief; and on the 4th of April, 1745, the fleet sailed for Cape Breton. At Canseau, the eastern cape of Nova Scotia, the expedition was detained for sixteen days. The sea was thick with ice-drifts floating from the north. But the delay was fortunate, for in the mean time Com- modore Warren had received instructions from England to proceed to Massachusetts and aid Governor Shirley in the contemplated reduction of Cape Breton. Sailing to the north, Warren brought his fleet safely to Canseau on the 23d of April. On the last day of the month the arma- ment, now numbering a hundred vessels, entered the Bay of Gabarus in sight of Louisburg. A landing was effected four miles below the city. On the next day a company of four hundred volunteers, led by William Vaughan, marched across the peninsula and attacked a French battery which had been planted on the shore two miles beyond the town. The French, struck with terror at the impetuosity of the unexpected charge, spiked their guns and fled. Before morning the cannons were re-drilled and turned upon the fortress. An English battery was established on the east side of the harbor, but the sea-walls of Louisburg were so strong 158 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. that little damage was done by the guns across the bay. An artack in the rear of the town seemed impossible on account of a large swamp which lay in that direction ; but the resolute soldiers of New England lashed their heavy guns upon sledges, and dragged them through the marsh to a tract of solid ground within two hundred yards of the enemy's bastions. Notwithstanding the advantage of this position, the walls of the fort stood firm, and the siege progressed slowly. On the 18th of May a French ship of sixty-four guns, laden with stores for the garrison, was captured by Warren's fleet. The French were greatly discouraged by this event, and the defence grew feeble. The English were correspondingly elated with the prospect of success. On the 26th of the month an effort was made to capture the French bat- tery in the harbor. A company of daring volunteers undertook the hazardous enterprise by night. Embarking in boats, they drew near the island where the battery was planted, but were discovered and repulsed with the loss of a hundred and seventy-six men. It was now determined to carry the town by storm. The assault M-as set for the 18th of June; but on the day previous the desponding garrison sent out a flag of truce ; terms of capitulation were proposed and accepted, and the English flag rose above the conquered fortress. By the terms of this surrender not only Louisburg, but the whole of Cape Breton, was given up to England. The rejoicing at Boston and throughout the colonies was only equaled by the indignation and alarm of the French government. Louis- burg must be retaken at all hazards, said the ministers of France. For this purpose a powerful fleet, under command of Duke d'Anville, was sent out in the following year. Before reaching America the duke died of a pestilence. His successor went mad and killed himself. Storms and ship- wrecks and disasters drove the ill- fated expedition to utter ruin. The renewal of the enterprise, in 1747, was attended with like misfortune. Commodores Warren and Anson overtook the French squadron and compelled a humiliating surrender. In 1748, a treaty of peace was concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle, a town of Western Germany. After eight years of devastating warfare, nothing was gained but a mutual restoration of conquests. By the terms of settlement. Cape .Breton was surrendered to France. With grief and L^ ^-i:»-i:s'Trs SIEGE OF LOUISBURG, 1745. MASSACHUSETTS.— WARS OF ANNE AND GEORGE. 159 ehame the fishermen and farmers of New England saw the island which had been subdued by their valor restored to their enemies. Of all the disputed boundary-lines between the French and English colonies in America, not a single one was settled by this treaty. The European nations had exhausted themselves with fighting ; what cared they for the welfare of distant and feeble provinces ? The real war between France and England for colonial supremacy in the West was yet to be fought. Within six years after the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the two great powers were involved in the final and decisive conflict. The history of Massachusetts has now been traced through a period of a hundred and thirty years. A few words on the Character op THE Puritans may be appropriately added. They were in the begin- ning a vigorous and hardy people, firm-set in the principles of honesty and the practices of virtue. They were sober, industrious, frugal ; reso- lute, zealous and steadfast. They esteemed honor above preferment, and truth more than riches. Loving home and native land, they left both for the sake of freedom ; and finding freedom, they cherished it with the zeal and devotion of martyrs. Without influence, they became influential ; without encouragement, great. Despised and mocked and hated, they rose above their revilers. In the school of evil fortune they gained the discipline of patience. Suffering without cause brought resignation with- out despair. Themselves the victims of persecution, they became the founders of a colony — a commonwealth — a nation. They were the chil- dren of adversity and the fathers of renown. The gaze of the Puritan was turned ever to posterity. He believed in the future. His affections and hopes were with the coming ages. For his children he toiled and sacrificed ; for them the energies of his life were cheerfully exhausted. The system of free schools is the enduring monu- ment of his love and devotion. The printing-press is his memorial. Almshouses and asylums are the tokens of his care for the unfortunate. With him the outcast found sympathy, and the wanderer a home. He was the earliest champion of civil rights, and the builder of the Union. The fathers of New England have been accused of bigotry. The charge is true : it is the background of the picture. In matters of re- ligion they were intolerant and superstitious. Their religious faith was gloomy and foreboding. Human life was deemed a sad and miserable journey. To be mistaken was to sin. To fail in trifling ceremonies was reckoned a grievous crime. In the shadow of such belief the people be- came austere and melancholy. Escaping from the splendid formality of the Episcopal Church, they set up a colder and severer form of worship; and the form was made like iron. Dissenters themselves, they could not 160 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. tolerate the dissent of others. To restrain and punish error seemed right and necessary. Williams and Hutchinson were banished; the Quakers were persecuted and the witches hanged. But Puritanism contained within itself the power to correct its own abuses. Within the austere and gloomy fabric dwelt the very soul and genius of Free Thought. Under the ice-bound rigors of the faith flowed a current which no fatalism could congeal, no superstition poison. The heart of a mighty, tumultuous, liberty-loving life throbbed within the cold, stiif body of formalism. A powerful vitality, which no disaster could subdue, no persecution quench, warmed and energized and quickened. The tyranny of Phipps, the malice of Parris, and the bigotry of Mather are far outweighed by the sacrifices of Winthrop, the beneficence of Harvard, and the virtues of Sir Henry Vane. The evils of the sys- tem may well be forgotten in the glory of its achievements. Without the Puritans, America would have been a delusion and liberty only a name. CHAPTER XVIII. NEW YORK.— SETTLEMENT. ILLUSTRIOUS Sir Henry Hudson ! Indomitable explorer, daunt- less cavalier of the ocean ! Who so worthy to give a name to the great inland sea of the frozen North as he who gave his life in heroic combat with its terrors ? Who so fit to become the father of a colony in the New World as he who braved its perils and revealed its mys- teries ? And where should the new State be planted unless by the broad haven — broadest and best on the American coast — and among the beautiful hills and landscapes Where The. Hudson came rolling through valleys a-smoke From the lands of the Iroquois? « It was the good fortune of the American colonies to be founded by men whose lives, like the setting suns of summer, cast behind them a long and glorious twilight. But for the name and genius of Hud- son the province of New Nethcrland had never been. For ten years after the founding of New Amsterdam the colony was governed by directors. These officers were appointed and sent I^EW YORK.— SETTLEMENT. 161 out by the Dutch East India Company, in accordance with the char- ter of that corporation. The settlement on Manhattan Island was as yet only a village of traders. Not until 1623 was an actual colony sent from Holland to New Netherland. Two years previous- ly, the Dutch West India Company had been organized, with the exclusive privi- lege of planting set- tlements in America. The charter of this company was grant- ed for a period of twenty-four years, with the privilege of renewal ; and the territory to be colo- nized extended from the Strait of Magel- lan to Hudson's Bay. Manhattan Island, with its cluster of huts, passed at once under the control of the new corpcration. In April of 1623, the ship New Netherland, having on board a colony of thirty families, arrived at New Amsterdam. The colonists, called Walloons, were Dutch Protestant refugees from Flanders, in Belgium. They were of the same religious faith with the Huguenots of France, and came to America to find repose from the persecutions of their own country. Cornelius May was the leader of the company. The greater number of the new immigrants settled with their friends on Man- hattan Island ; but the captain, with a party of fifty, passing down the coast of New Jersey, entered and explored the Bay of Delaware. Sailing up the bay and river, the company landed on the eastern shore ; here, at a point a few miles below Camden, where Timber Creek falls into the Delaware, a site was selected and a block-house built named Fort Nassau. The natives were won over by kindness ; and when shortly after the fort was abandoned and the settlers returned to New Amsterdam, the Indians witnessed their departure with affectionate regret. In the same year Joris, another Dutch captain, ascended the Hudson to Castle Island, SIR HENRY HUDSON. 11 162 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. where, nine years previously, Christianson had built the older Fort Nassau. A flood in the river had swept the island bare. Not deeming it prudent to restore the works in a place likely to be deluged, Joris sailed up stream a short distance and rebuilt the fortress on the present site of Albany. The name of this northern outpost was changed to Fort Orange ; and here the eighteen families of Joris's company were per- manently settled. In 1624 civil government began in New Netherland. Cornelius May M^as first governor of the colony. His official duties, however, were only such as belonged to the superintendent of a trading-post. In the next year William Verhulst became director of the settlement. Herds of cattle, swine and sheep were brought over from Holland and distributed among the settlers. In January of 1626, Peter Minuit, of Wesel, was regularly appointed by the Dutch West India Company as governor of New Netherland. Until this time the natives had retained the owner- ship of Manhattan Island ; but on Minuit's arrival, in May, an offer of purchase was made and accepted. The whole island, containing more than twenty thousand acres, was sold to the Dutch for twenty-four dol- lars. The southern point of land was selected as a site for fortifications ; there a block-house was built and surrounded with a palisade. New Amsterdam was already a town of thirty houses. In the first year of Minuit's administration were begun the settlements of Wallabout and Brooklyn, on Long Island. The Dutch of New Amsterdam and the Pilgrims of New Plymouth were early and fast friends. The Puritans themselves had but recently arrived from Holland, and could not forget the kind treatment which they had had in that country. They and the Walloons were alike exiles fleeing from persecution and tyranny. On two occasions, in 1627, a Dutch embassy was sent to Plymouth with an expression of good Mill. The English were cordially invited to remove without molestation to the more fertile valley of the Connecticut. Governor Bradford replied with words of cheer and sympathy. The Dutch were honestly advised of the claims of England to the country of the Hudson ; and the people of New Netherland were cautioned to make good their titles by accepting new deeds from the council of Plymouth. A touch of jealousy was manifested when the Dutch were warned not to send their trading-boats into the Bay of Narragansett. In 1628 the population of Manhattan numbered two hundred and seventy. The settlers devoted their whole energies to the fur-trade. Every bay, inlet and river between Rhode Island and tlie Delaware was visited by their vessels. The colony gave promise of rapid development 2fEW YORK.— SETTLEMENT. 163 and of great profit to the proprietors. If the houses were rude and thatched with straw, there were energy and thrift within. If only wooden chimneys carried up the smoke, the fires of the hearthstones were kindled with laughter and song. If creaking windmills flung abroad their un- gainly arms in the winds of Long Island Sound, it was proof that the people had families to feed and meant to feed them. The West India Company now came forward -nith a new and pecu- liar scheme of colonization. In 1629, the corporation created a Chaeter OF Pkivileges, under which a class of proprietors called patroons were authorized to possess and colonize the country. Each patroon might select anywhere in New Netherland a tract of land not more than sixteen miles in length, and of a breadth to be determined by the location. On the banks of a navigable river not more than eight miles might be ap- propriated by one proprietor. Each district was to be held in fee simple by the patroon, who was empowered to exercise over his estate and its inhabitants the same authority as did the hereditary lords of Europe. The conditions were that the estates should be held as dependencies of Holland ; that each patroon should purchase his domain of the Indians ; and that he should, within four years from the date of his title, establish on his manor a colony of not less than fifty persons. Education and re- ligion were commended in the charter, but no provision was made for the support of either. Under the provisions of this instrument five estates were imme- diately established. Three of them, lying contiguous, embraced a district of twenty-four miles in the valley of the Hudson above and below Fort Orange. The fourth manor was laid out by Michael Pauw on Staten Island ; and the Afth, and most important, included the southern half of the present State of Delaware. To this estate a colony was sent out from Holland in the spring of 1631. Samuel Godyn was patroon of the do- main, but the immediate management was entrusted to David Peterson de Vries. With a company of thirty immigrants, he reached the entrance to Delaware Bay, and anchored within Cape Henlopen. Landing five miles up the bay, at the mouth of Lewis Creek, the colony selected a site and laid the foundations of Lewistown, the oldest settlement in Delaware. After a year of successful management, De Vries returned to Hol- land, leaving the settlement in charge of Gillis Hosset. The latter, a man of no sagacity, soon brought the colony to ruin. An Indian chief who offended him was seized and put to death. The natives, who thus fer had treated the strangers with deference and good faith, were aroused to vengeance. Rising suddenly out of an ambuscade upon the terrified colonists, they left not a man alive. The houses and palisades were 164 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. burned to the ground ; nothing but bones and ashes remained to testify of savage passion. When De Vries returned, in December of 1632, he found only the blackened ruins of his flourishing hamlet. He sailed first to Virginia for a cargo of supplies, and thence to New Amsterdam ; but before the colony could be re-established, Lord Baltimore had received from the English government a patent which embraced the whole of Delaware ; the weaker, though older, claim of the Dutch patroon gave way before the charter of his more powerful rival. In April of 1633, Minuit was superseded in the government of New Netherland by Wouter van Twiller. Three months previously the Dutch had purchased of the natives the soil around Hartford, and had erected a block-house within the present limits of the city. This was the first fortress built on the Connecticut River ; but the Puritans, though pro- fessing friendship, were not going to give up the valley without a struggle. In October of the same year an armed vessel, sent out from Plymouth, sailed up the river and openly defied the Dutch commander at Hartford. Passing the fortress, the English proceeded up stream to the mouth of the river Farmington, where they landed and built Fort Windsor. Two years later, by the building of Saybrook, at the mouth of the Connecticut, the English obtained command of the river both above and below the Dutch fort. The block-house at Hartford, being thus cut off, \xas> com- paratively useless to the authorities of New Netherland ; English toAvns multiplied in the neighborhood ; and the Dutch finally surrendered their eastern outpost to their more powerful rivals. Four of the leading European nations had now established perma- nent colonies in America. The fifth to plant an American State was Sweden. As early as 1626, Gustavus Adolphus, the Protestant king of that country and the hero of his age, had formed the design of estab- lishing settlements in the West. For this purpose a company of mer- chants had been organized, to whose capital the king himself contributed four hundred thousand dollars. The objects had in view were to form a refuge for persecuted Protestants and to extend Swedish commerce. But before his plans of colonization could be carried into effect, Gustavus be- came involved in the Thirty Years' War, then raging in Germany. The company was disorganized, and the capital wasted in the purchase of mili- tary stores. In November of 1632 the Swedish kino; was killed at the battle of Liitzen. For a while it seemed that tlie plan of colonizing America had ended in failure, but Oxenstiern, the great Swedish minis- ter, took up the work which his master had left unfinished. The charter of the company was renewed, and after four years of preparation the enterprise was brought to a successful issue. NEW YORK— SETTLEMENT. tQ5 In the mean time, Peter Minuit, the recent governor of New Netherland, had left the service of Holland and entered that of Sweden. To him was entrusted the management of the first Swedish colony which was sent to America. Late in the year 1637, a company of Swedes and Finns left the harbor of Stockholm, and in the following February arrived in Delaware Bay. Never before had the Northerners beheld so beautiful a land. They called Cape Henlopen the Point of Paradise. The whole country, sweeping around the west side of the bay and up the river to the falls at Trenton, was honorably purchased of the Indians. In memory of native land, the name of New Sweden was given to this fine territory. The colony landed just below the mouth of the Brandy- wine, in the northern part of the present State of Delaware. On the left bank of a small tributary, at a point about six miles from the bay, a spot was chosen for the settlement. Here the foundations of a fort were laid, and the immigrants soon provided themselves with houses. The creek and the fort were both named in honor of Christiana, the maiden queen of Sweden. The colony prospered greatly. By each returning ship letters were borne to Stockholm, describing the loveliness of the country. Immigra- tion became rapid and constant. At one time, in 1640, more than a hun- dred families, unable to find room on the crowded vessels which were leaving the Swedish capital, were turned back to their homes. The banks of Delaware Bay and River were dotted with pleasant hamlets. On every hand appeared the proofs of well-directed industry. Of all the early settlers in America, none were more cheerful, intelligent and virtuous than the Swedes. From the first, the authorities of New Amsterdam were jealous of the colony on the Delaware. Sir William Kieft, who had succeeded the incompetent Van Twiller in the governorship, sent an earnest remon- strance to Christiana, warning the settlers of their intrusion on Dutch territory. But the Swedes, giving little heed to the complaints of their neighbors, went on enlarging their borders and strengthening their out- posts. Governor Kieft was alarmed and indignant at these aggressions, and as a precautionary measure sent a party to rebuild Fort Nassau, on the old site below Camden. The Swedes, regarding this fortress as a menace to their colony, adopted active measures of defence. Ascending the river to within six miles of the mouth of the Schuylkill, they landed on the island of Tinicum, and built an impregnable fort of hemlock logs. Here, in 1643, Governor Printz established his residence. To Pennsylvania, as well as to Delaware, Sweden contributed the earliest colony. 166 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. In 1640, New Netherland became involved in a war with the [ndians of Long Island and New Jersey. The natives of the lower [ludson were a weak and unwarlike people; under just treatment they would have faithfully kept the j)eace. But dishonest traders had mad- :^Gncd them with rum and then defrauded and abused them. Burning with resentment and hate, the savages of the Jersey shore crossed over to Staten Island, laid waste the farms and butchered the inhabitants. New Amsterdam was for a while endangered, but was soon put in a state of defence. A company of militia was organized and sent against the Delawares of New Jersey, but nothing resulted from the expedition. A large bounty was offered for every member of the tribe of the Raritans, and many were hunted to death. On both sides the war degenerated into treachery and murder. Through the mediation of Roger Williams, the great peacemaker of Rhode Island, a truce was obtiiined, and imme- diately broken. A chieftain's son, who had been made drunk and robbed, went to the nearest settlement and killed the first Hollander whom he met. Governor Kieft demanded the criminal, but the sachems refused to give him up. They offered to pay a heav}' fine for the wrong done, but Kieft would accept nothing less than the life of the murderer. "While the dispute was still unsettled, a party of the terrible Mo- riawks came down the river to claim and enforce their supremacy over the natives of the coast. The timid Algonquins in the neighborhood of New Amsterdam cowered before the mighty warriors of the North, huddled together on the bank of the Hudson, and begged assistance of the Dutch. Here the vindictive Kieft saw an opportunity of wholesale destruction. A company of soldiers set out secretly from Manhattan, crossed the river and discovered the lair of the Indians. The place was surrounded by night, and the first notice of danger given to the savages was the roar of muskets. Nearly a hundred of the poor wretches were killed before daydawn. Women who shrieked for pity were mangled to death, and children were thrown into the river. When it was known among the tribes that the Dutch, and not the Mohawks, were the authors of this outrage, the war was renewed with .fury. The Indians were in a frenz}^ Dividing into small war-parties, Jiey concealed themselves in the woods and swamps ; then rose, without a moment's warning, upon defenceless farmhouses, burning and butchering without mercy. At this time that noted woman Mrs. Anne Hutchinson was living with her son-in-law in the valley of the Housatonic. Her liouse was surrounded and set on fire by the savages ; every member of the family except one child wa.s cruelly murdered. jNIi-s. Hutchinson Verself was burned alive. NEW YORK.— ADMINISTRATION OF STU YVES ANT. 167 In 1643, Captain John Underhill, a fugitive from Massachusetts, was appointed to the command of the Dutch forces. At the head of a regiment raised by Governor Kieft he invaded New Jersey, and brought the Delawares into subjection. A decisive battle was fought on Long Island ; and at Greenwich, in Western Connecticut, the power of the In- dians was finally broken. Again the ambassadors of the Iroquois came forward with proposals for peace. Both parties were anxious to rest from the rum and devastation of war. On the 30th of August, 1645, a treaty was concluded at Fort Amsterdam. Nearly all of the bloodshed and sorrow of these five years of war may be charged to Governor Kieft. He was a revengeful and cruel man, whose idea of government was to destroy whatever opposed him. The people had many times desired to make peace with the Indians, but the project had always been defeated by the headstrong passions of the- governor. A popular party, headed by the able De Vries, at last grew powerful enough to defy his authority. As soon as the war was ended, petitions for his removal were circulated and signed by the people. Two years after the treaty, the Dutch West India Company revoked his com- mission and appointed Peter Stuyvesant to succeed him. In 1647, Kieft embarked for Em'ope; but the heavy-laden merchantman in y,'hich he sailed was dashed to pieces by a storm on the coast of Wales, and the guilty governor of New Netherland found a grave in the sea. CHAPTER XIX. NEW YORK.— ADMINISTRATION OF STUYVESANT. THE honest and soldierly Petee Stuyvesant was the last and greatest of the governors of New Netherland. He entered upon his duties on the 11th of May, 1647, and continued in office for more than seventeen years. His first care was to conciliate the Indians. By the wisdom and liberality of his government the wayward red men were re- claimed from hostility and hatred. So intimate and cordial became the relations between the natives and the Dutch that they were suspected of making common cause against the Englisli; even Massachusetts was alarmed lest such an alliance should be formed. But the policy of Governor Stuyvesant was based on nobler principles. Until now the West India Company had had exclusive control of 168 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. the commerce of New Netherland. In the first year of the new adminis- tration this monopoly was abolished, and regular export duties were sub- stituted. The benefit of the change was at once apparent in the improve- ment of the Dutch province. In one of the letters written to Stuyvesant by the secretary of the company, the remarkable prediction is made that the commerce of New Amsterdam should cover every ocean and the ships of all nations crowd into her harbor. But for many years the growth of the city was slow. As late as the middle of the century, the better parts of Manhattan Island were still divided among the farmers. Central Park was a forest of oaks and chestnuts. In 1650, a boundary-line was fixed between New England and New Netherland. The Dutch Mere fearful lest the English should reach the Hudson and cut off the fur-trade between Fort Orange and New Amster- 'dam. Governor Stuyvesant met the ambassadors of the Eastern colonies at Hartford, and after much discussion an eastern limit Avas set to the Dutch possessions. The line there established extended across Long Island north and south, passing through Oyster Bay, and thence to Green- wich, on the other side of the sound. From this point northward the dividing-line was nearly identical with the present boundary of Connec- ticut on the west. This treaty was ratified by the colonies, by the West India Company and by the states-general of Holland; but the English government treated the matter with indifference and contempt. Stuyvesant had less to fear from the colony of New Sweden. The people of New Netherland outnumbered the Swedes as ten to one, and the Dutch claim to the country of the Delaware had never been re- nounced. In 1651, an armament left New Amsterdam, entered the bay and came to anchor at a point on the western shore five miles below the mouth of the Brandy wine. On the present site of New Castle, Fort Cas- imir was built and garrisoned with Dutch soldiers. This act was equivalent to a declaration of war. The Swedish settlement of Christiana was almost in sight of the hostile fortress, and a confliict could hardly be avoided. Rising, the governor of the Swedes, looked on quietly until Fort Casimir was completed, then captured the place by stratagem, over- jiowered the garrison and hoisted the flag of Sweden. It Avas a short-lived triumph. The West India Company were secretly pleased that the Swedes had committed an act of open violence. Orders were at once issued to Stuyvesant to visit the Swedish colonists with vengeance, and to compel their submission or drive them from the Delaware. In September of 1655 the orders of the company were car- ried out to the letter. The old governor put himself at the head of more than six hundred troops — a number almost equal to the entire poi)ulation NEW YORK.— ADMINISTRATION OF STUYVESANT. 169 of New Sweden — and sailed to Delaware Bay. Resistance was hopeless. The Dutch forces were landed at New Castle, and the Swedes gave way. Before the 25th of the month every fort belonging to the colony had been forced to capitulate. Governor Rising was captured, but was treated with great respect. Honorable terms were granted to all, and in a few days the authority of New Netherland was established throughout the country. Except a few turbulent spirits who removed to Maryland and Virginia, the submission was universal. After an existence of less than eighteen years, the little State of New Sweden had ceased to be. The American possessions and territorial claims of France, England, Holland, Sweden and Spain will be best understood from an examination of the accom- panying map, drawn for the year 1655. How hardly can the nature of savages be restrained I While Gov- ernor Stuyvesant was absent on his expedition against the Swedes, the Algonquin tribes rose in rebellion. The poor creatures were going to take New Amsterdam. In a fleet of sixty-four canoes they appeared be- fore the town, yelling and discharging arrows. What could their puny missiles do against the walls of a European fortress? After paddling about until their rage, but not their hate, was spent, the savages went on shore and began their old work of burning and murder. The return of the Dutch forces from the Delaware induced the sachems to sue for peace, which Stuyvesant granted on better terms than the Indians had deserved. The captives were ransomed, and the treacherous tribes were allowed to go with trifling punishments. For eight years after the conquest of New Sweden the peace of New Netherland was unbroken. In 1663 the natives of the county of Ulster, on the Hudson, broke out in war. The town of Esopus, now Kingston, was attacked and destroyed. Sixty-five of the inhabitants were either tomahawked or carried into captivity. To punish this outrage a strong force was sent from New Amsterdam. The Indians fled, hoping to find refuge in the woods ; but the Dutch soldiers pursued them to their vil- lages, burned their wigwams and killed every warrior who could be over- taken. As winter came on, the humbled tribe began to beg for mercy. In December a truce was granted; and in May of the following yea*' a treaty of peace was concluded. Governor Stuyvesant had great difficulty in defending his province beyond the Delaware. The queen of Sweden and her ministers at Stock- holm still looked fondly to their little American colony, and cherished the hope of recovering the conquered territory. A more dangerous com- petitor was found in Lord Baltimore, of Maryland, whose patent, given under the great seal of England, covered all the territory between the 170 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Chesapeake and Delaware Bay, as far north as the latitude of Phila- delphia. Berkeley, of Virginia, also claimed New Sweden as a part of his dominions. Connecticut pushed her settlements westward on Long Island, and purchased all the remaining Indian claims between her western frontier and the Hudson. Massachusetts boldly declared her in- tention to extend her boundaries to Fort Orange. The indignant Stuy- vcsant asked the agents of Connecticut where the province of New Netherland could shortly be found ; and the agents coolly answered that tlicy did not know. Discord at home added to the governor's embarrassments. For many years the Dutch had witnessed the growth and prosperity of the English colonies. Boston had outgrown New Amsterdam. The schools of Massachusetts and Connecticut flourished; the academy on Man- hattan, after a sickly career of two years, was discontinued. In New Nctherland heavy taxes were levied for the support of the poor ; New England had no poor. Liberty and right were the subjects of debate in every English village ; to the Dutch farmers and traders such Avords had little meaning. The people of New Netherland grew emulous of the progress of their powerful neighbors, and attributed their own abasement to the mismanagement and selfish greed of the West India Company. Without actual disloyalty to Holland, the Dutch came to prefer the laws and customs of England. Under these accumulating troubles the faithful Stuyvesant was wellnigh overwhelmed. Such was the condition of affairs at the beginning of 1664. Eng- land and Holland were at peace. Neither nation had reason to appre- hend an act of violence from the other. In all that followed, the arbi- trary principles and unscrupulous disposition of the English king were fully manifested. On the 12th of March in this year the duke of York received at the hands of his brother, Charles IL, two extensive patents for American territory. The first grant included the district reaching from the Kennebec to the St. Croix River, and the second embraced tlie whole country between the Connecticut and the Delaware. Without re- gard to the rights of Holland, in utter contempt of the West India Com- pany, through whose exertions the valley of the Hudson had been peopled, with no respect for the wishes of the Dutch, or even for the voice of his own Parliament, the English monarch in one rash hour despoiled a sister kingdom of a well-earned province. The duke of York made haste to secure his territory. No time must be left for the states-general to protest against the outrage. An English squadron was immediately equipped, put under command of Kichard Nicolls and sent to America. In July the armament reached NEW YORK.— ADMINISTRATION OF STUYVESANT. 171 Boston, and tlience proceeded against New Amsterdam. On the 28th of August, the fleet passed the Narrows, and anchored at Gravesend Bay. T]ie English camp was pitched at Brooklyn Ferry; and before the Dutch had recovered from their surprise, the whole of Long Island was sub- dued. An embassy came over from New Amsterdam. Governor Stuy- vesant, ever true to his employers, demanded to know the meaning of all this hostile array. To receive the surrender of New Netherland was the quiet answer of Nicolls. There must be an immediate acknowledgment of the sovereignty of Eng- land. Those who sub- mitted should have the rights of Englishmen ; those who refused should hear the crash of cannon-balls. The Dutch council of New Amsterdam was im- mediately convened. It was clear that the burgomasters meant to surrender. The stormy old governor exliorted them to rouse to action and fight; some one replied that the Dutch West India Company was not worth fighting for. Burning with indig- nation, Stuyvesant snatched up the written proposal of Nicolls and tore it to tatters in the presence of his council. It was all in vain. The brave old man was forced to sign the capitulation ; and on the 8th of September, 1664, New Netherland ceased to exist. The English flag was hoisted over the fort and town, and the name of New York was substituted for New Amsterdam. The surrender of Fort Orange, now named Albany, followed on the 24th; and on the 1st of October the Swedish and Dutch settlements on the Delaware capitulated. The con- quest was complete. The supremacy of Great Britain in America was finally established. From the north-east corner of Maine to the southern limits of Georgia, every mile of the American coast was under the flag of England. PETER STUYVESANT. 172 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XX. HJEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. RICHARD XICOLLS, the first English governor of New York, began his duties by settling the boundaries of his province. It was a work full of trouble and vexation. As early as 1623 the whole of Long Island had been granted to the earl of Stirling. Connecticut also claimed and occupied all that part of the island included in the present county of Suffolk. Against both of these claimants the patent of the duke of York was now to be enforced by his deputy Nicolls. The claim of Stirling was fairly purchased by the governor, but the pretensions of Connecticut were arbitrarily set aside. This action was the source of so much discontent that the duke was constrained to compensate Connecticut by making a favorable change in her south-west boundary-line. Tm'O months before the conquest of New Netherland by the Eng- lish, the irregular territory between the Hudson and the Dekware, as far north as a point on the latter river in the latitude of forty-one degrees and forty minutes, was granted to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. This district, corresponding, except on the northern boundary, with the present State of New Jersey, was now wrested from the jurisdiction of New York, and a separate government established by the proprietors. The country below the Delaware, until recently called New Sweden, but now named The Territoeies, was consolidated with New York and ruled by deputies appointed by the governors of that province. Finally, the new name conferred by Nicolls on his capital was extended to all the country formerly called New Netherland. At the first the people were deluded with many promises of civil 'iberty. To secure this, the Dutch, against the passionate appeals of the ,xitriotic Stuyvesant, had voluntarily surrendered themselves to the Eng- lish government. But it was a poor sort of civil liberty that any province was likely to obtain from one of the Stuart kings of England. The promised right of representation in a general assembly of the people was evaded and withheld. To this was added a greater grief in the annulling of the old titles by which, for half a century, the Dutch farmers had held their lands. The people were obliged to accept new deeds at the hands NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. 173 of tlie English governor, and to pay him therefor such sums as yielded an immense revenue. The evil done to the province, however, was less than might have been expected from so arbitrary and despotic a government. In 1667, Nicolls was superseded by Lovelace. With less ability and generosity than his predecessor, he proved a greater tyrant. The bad principles of the system established by the duke of York were now fully developed. The people became dissatisfied and gloomy. Protests against the government and petitions for redress were constantly presented, and constantly rejected with contempt. The discontent was universal. The towns of Southold, Southampton and Easthampton resisted the tax- gatherers. The people of Huntington voted that they were robbed of the privileges of Englishmen. The villagers of Jamaica, Flushing and Hemp- stead passed a resolution that the governor's decree of taxation was contrary to the laws of the English nation. The only attention which Lovelace and his council paid to these resolutions was to declare them scandalous, illegal and seditious, and to order them to be publicly burnt before the town-house of New York. When the Swedes, naturally a quiet and submissive people, resisted the exactions of the government, they were visited with additional severity. " If there is any more murmuring against the taxes, make them so heavy that the people can do nothing but think how to pay them," said Lovelace in his instructions to his deputy. The Dutch and the English colonists were always friends. Not once in the whole history of the country did they lift the sword against each other. Even while England and Holland were at war, as they were in 1652-54, the American subjects of the two nations remained at peace. Another war followed that act of violence by which, in 1664, the duke of York possessed himself of New Netherland ; but the conflict did not extend to America. A third time, in 1672, Charles II. was induced by the king of France to begin a contest with the Dutch government. This time, indeed, the struggle extended to the colonies, and New York was revolutionized, but not by the action of her own people. In 1673 a small squadron was fitted out by Holland and placed under command of the gallant Captain Evertsen. The fleet sailed for America, and arrived be- fore Manhattan on the 30th of July. The governor of New York was absent, and Manning, the deputy-governor, was a coward. The defences of the city were dilapidated, and the people refused to strengthen them. Within four hours after the arrival of the squadron the fort was sur- rendered. The city capitulated, and the M^hole j^rovince yielded without a struggle. New Jersey and Delaware sent in their submission ; the name of New Netherland was revived ; and the authority of Hoiland was restored from Connecticut to Maryland. 174 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. The reconquest of New York by the Dutch was only a brief mili- taay occupation of the country. The civil authority of Holland was never reestablished. In 1674, Charles II. was obliged by his Parliament to conclude a treaty of peace. There was the usual clause requiring the restoration of all conquests made during the war. New York reverted to the English government, and the rights of the duke were again recog- nized in the province. To make his authority doubly secure for the future, he obtained from his brother, the king, a new patent confirming the provisions of the former charter. The man who now received the appointment of deputy-governor of New York was none other than Sir Edmund Andros. On the last day of October the Dutch forces Avere finally withdrawn, and Andros assumed the government. It was a sad sort of government for the people. The worst prac- tices of Lovelace's administration were revived. The principles of arbi- trary rule were openly avoM'cd. Taxes were levied without authority of law, and the appeals and protests of the people were treated with derision. The clamor for a popular legislative assembly had become so great that Andros was on the point of yielding. He even wrote a letter to the duke of York advising that thick-headed prince to grant the people the right of electing a colonial legislature. The duke replied that popular assem- • blies were seditious and dangerous ; that they only fostered discontent and disturbed the peace of the government ; and finally, that he did not see any use for them. To the people of New York the civil liberty of the New England colonies seemed farther off than ever. By the terms of his grant the duke of York claimed jurisdiction over all the territory between the Connecticut River and Maryland. To assert and maintain this claim of his master was a part of the deputy- governor's business in America. The first effort to extend the duke's territorial rights to the limits of his charter was made in July of 1675. With some armed sloops and a company of soldiers, Andros proceeded to the mouth of the Connecticut in the hope of establishing his jurisdiction. The general assembly of the colony had heard of his coming, and had sent word to Captain Bull, who commanded the fort at Saybrook, to re- sist Andros in the name of the king. When the latter came in sight and hoisted the flag of England, the same colors were raised within the fortress. The royal governor was permitted to land ; but when he began to read his commission, he was ordered in the king's name to desist. Overawed by the threatening looks of the Saybrook militia, Andros retired to his boats and set sail for Long Island. Notwithstanding the grant of New Jersey to Carteret and Berkeley, the attempt was now made to extend the jurisdiction of New York over NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. 175 the lower province. Andros issued a decree that ships sailing to and from the ports of New Jersey should pay a duty at the custom-house of New York. This tyrannical action was openly resisted. Andros attempted to frighten the assembly of New Jersey into submission, and proceeded so far as to arrest Philip Carteret, the deputy-governor. But it was all of no use. The representatives of the people declared them- selves to be under the protection of the Great Charter, wliich not even the duke of York, or his brother the king, could alter or annul. In August of 1682 the territories beyond the Delaware were granted by the duke to William Penn. This little district, first settled by the Swedes, afterward conquered by the Dutch, then transferred to England on the conquest of New Netherland, was now finally separated from the jurisdiction of New York and joined to Pennsylvania. The governors of the latter province continued to exercise authority over the three counties on the Delaware until the American Revolution. At the close of Andros's administration, in 1683, Thomas Dongan, a Catholic, became governor of New York. For thirty years the people had been clamoring for a general assembly. Just before Andros left the province, the demand became more vehement than ever. The retiring governor, himself of a despotic disposition, counseled the duke to concede the right of representation to the people. At last James yielded, not so much with the view of extending popular rights, as with the hope of in- creasing his revenues from the improved condition of his province, Dongan, the new governor, came with full instructions to call an assem- bly of all the freeholders of New York, by whom certain persons of their own number should be elected to take part in the government. Seventy years had passed since the settlement of Manhattan Island ; and now for the first time the people were permitted to choose their own rulers and to frame their owp laws. The first act of the new assembly was to declare that the supreme legislative power of the province resided in the governor, the council and THE PEOPLE. All freeholders were granted the right of suffrage ; trial by jury was established ; taxes should no more be levied except by con- sent of the assembly; soldiers should not be quartered on the people; martial law should not exist ; no person accepting the general doctrines of religion should be in any wise distressed or persecuted. All the rights and privileges of Massachusetts and Virginia were carefully written by the zealous law-makers of New York in their first charter of liberties. In July of 1684 an important treaty was concluded at Albany. The governors of New York and Virginia were met in convention by the sachems of the Iroquois, and the terms of a lasting peace were settled. 176 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. A long war ensued between the Five Nations and the French. The Jesuits of Canada employed every artifice and intrigue to induce the Indians to break their treaty with the English, but all to no purpose ; the alliance was faithfully observed. In 1684, and again in 1687, the French invaded the territory of the Iroquois ; but the mighty Mohawks and Oneidas drove back their foes with loss and disaster. By the barrier of the friendly Five Nations on the north, the English and Dutch colo- nies were screened from danger. In 1685 the duke of York became kin"; of England. It was soon found that even the monarch of a great nation could violate his pledges. King James became the open antagonist of the government which had been established under his own directions. The popular legislature of New York was abrogated. An odious tax was levied by an arbitraiy decree. Printing-presses were forbidden in the province. All the old abuses were revived and made a public boast. In December of 1686, Edmund Andros became governor of all New England. It was a part of his plan to extend his dominion over New York and New Jersey. To the former ])rovince, Francis Nicholson, the lieutenant-general of Andros, was sent as de})nty. Dongan was super- seded, and until the English Revolution of 1688, New York was ruled as a dejiendency of New England. When the news of that event and of the accession of William of Orange reached the province, tliere was a general tumult of rejoicing. The people rose in rebellion against the government of Nicholson, who was glad enough to escape from New York and return to England. The leader of the insurrection was Jacob Leisler, a captain of the militia. A committee of ten took upon themselves the task of reorganizing the government. Leisler was commissioned to take possession of the fort of New York. Most of the troops in the city, together witli five hundred volunteers, proceeded against the fort, which was surrendered without a struggle. The insurgents published a declaration in which they avowed their loyalty to the prince of Orange, their countryman, and expressed their determination to yield immediate obedience to his authority. A provisional government was organized, with Leisler at the head. Tlie provincial councilors, who were friends and adherents of the deposed Nicholson, left the city and repaired to Albany. Here the party who were oj)posed to the usurpation of Leisler proceeded to organize a second provisional government. Both factions were careful to exercise authority in the name of William and Mary, the new sovereigns of England. In September of 1689, ]\Iilborne, the son-in-law of Leisler, was sent to Albany to demand the surrender of the town and fort. Court- NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. 177 laud and Bayard, who were the leaders of the northern faction, opposed the demand with so much vigor that Milborne was obliged to retire with- out accomplishing his object. Such was the condition of affairs at the beginning of King William's War. How the village of Schenectady was destroyed by the French and Indians, and how an unsuccessful expedition by land and water was planned against Quebec and Montreal, has been narrated in the history of Massachusetts. Such was the dispiriting effect of these disasters upon the people of Albany and the north that a second effort made by Milborne against the government of the opposing faction was successful ; and in the spring of 1690 the authority of Leisler as tem- porary governor of New York was recognized throughout the province. The summer was spent in fruitless preparations to invade and conquer Canada. The general assembly was convened at the capital ; but little was accomplished except a formal recognition of the insurrectionary government of Leisler. In January of 1691, Richard Ingoldsby arrived at New York. He bore a commission as captain, and brought the intelligence that Colo- nel Sloughter had been appointed royal governor of the province. Leisler received Ingoldsby with courtesy, and offered him quarters in the city ; but the latter, without authority from either the king or the governor, haughtily demanded the surrender of His Majesty's fort. Leisler refused to yield, but expressed his willingness to submit to any one who bore a commission from King William or Colonel Sloughter. On the 19th of March the governor himself arrived ; and Leisler on the same day despatched messengers, tendering his service and submission. The mes- eengers were arrested, and Ingoldsby, the enemy and rival of Leisler, was sent with verbal orders for the surrender of the fort. Leisler foresaw his doom, and hesitated. He wrote a letter to Sloughter, expressing a desire to make a personal surrender of the post to the governor. The letter was unanswered; Ingoldsby pressed his demand; Leisler wavered, capitu- lated, and with Milborne was seized and hurried to prison. As soon as the royal government was organized the two prisoners were brought to trial. The charge was rebellion and treason. Dudley, the chief-justice of New England, rendered a decision that Leisler had been a usurper. The prisoners refused to plead, were convicted and sen- tenced to death. Sloughter, however, determined to know the pleasure of the king before putting the sentence into execution. But the royalist assembly of New York had already come together, and the members were resolved that the prisoners should be hurried to their death. The governor "Was invited to a banquet ; and when heated with strong drink, the death- Avarrant was thrust before him for his signature. He succeeded in affix- is 178 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ing his name to the fatal parchment ; and almost before the fumes of his drunken revel had passed away, his victims had met their fate. On the 1 6th of May, Leisler and Milborne were brought from prison, led through a drenching rain to the scaffold and hanged. Within less than a year afterward, their estates, which had been confiscated, were restored to their heirs; and in 1695 the attainder of the families was removed. The same summer that witnessed the execution of Leisler and Milborne was noted for the renewal of the treaty with the Iroquois. At Albany, Governor Sloughter met the sachems of the Five Nations, and the former terms of fidelity and friendship were reaffirmed. In the fol- lowing year the valiant JNIajor Schuyler, at the head of the New York militia, joined a war-party of the Iroquois in a successful expedition against the French settlements beyond Lake Champlain. Meanwhile, the assembly of the province had been in session at the capital. Although the representatives were royalists, a resolution was passed against arbitrary taxation, and another which declared the people to be a part of the govern- ing power of the colony. It was not long until one of the governors had occasion to say that the people of New York were growing altogether too big with the privileges of Englishmen. Soon after his return from Albany, Sloughter's career was cut short by death. He was succeeded in the office of governor by Benjamin Fletcher, a man of bad passions and poor abilities. The new executive arrived in September of 1692. One of the first measures of his adminis- tration was to renew the recent treaty with the Iroquois. It was at this time the avowed purpose of the English monarch to place under a com- mon government all the territory between the Connecticut River and Delaware Bay. To further this project, Fletcher was armed with an ample and comprehensive commission. He was made governor of New York, and commander-in-chief not only of the troops of his own province, but also of the militia of Connecticut and New Jersey. In the latter province he met with little opposition ; but the Puritans of Hartford re- sisted so stubbornly that the alarmed and disgusted governor was glad to return to his own capital. The next effort of the administration was to establish the Episcopal Church in New York. The Dutch and the English colonists of the province were still distinct in nationality ; the former, though Calvinists, were not unfriendly to the Episcopal service which the Puritans so heartily despised. In a religious controversy between Fletcher's council and the English, the Dutch, not being partisans of either, looked on with comparative indifference. But when the governor w'as on the point of succeeding with his measures, the general assembly interposed, passed a NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. 179 decree of toleration, and brought the pretentious Church to a level with the rest. Fletcher gave vent to his indignation by calling his legislators a set of unmannerly and insubordinate boors. In 1696 the territory of New York was invaded by the French under Frontenac, governor of Canada. The faithful Iroquois made com- mon cause with the colonial forces, and the formidable expedition of the French was turned into confusion. Before the loss could be repaired and a second invasion undertaken. King William's War was ended by the treaty of Ryswick. In the following year, the earl of Bellomont, an Irish nobleman of excellent character and popular sympathies, succeeded Fletcher in the government of New York. His administration of less than four years was the happiest era in the history of the colony. His authority, like that of his predecessor, extended over a part of New Eng- land. Massachusetts and New Hampshire were under his jurisdiction, but Connecticut and Rhode Island remained independent. To this period belong the exploits of the famous pirate. Captain William Kidd. For centuries piracy had been the common vice of the high seas. The nations were just now beginning to take active measures for the sup- pression of the atrocious crime. The honest and humane Bellomont was one who was anxious to see the end of piratical violence. His commission contained a clause which authorized the arming of a vessel to range the ocean in pursuit of pirates. The ship was to bear the English flag, and was also commissioned as a privateer to prey upon the commerce of the enemies of England. The vessel was owned by a company of distin- guished and honorable persons ; Governor Bellomont himself was one of the proprietors ; and William Kidd received from the English admiralty a commission as captain. The ship sailed from England before Bello- mont's departure for New York. Hardly had the earl reached his province when the news came that Kidd himself had turned pirate and become the terror of the seas. For two years he continued his infamous career, then appeared publicly in the streets of Boston, was seized, sent to England, tried, convicted and hanged. What disposition was made of the enormous treasures which the pirate-ship had gathered on the ocean has never been ascertained. It has been thought that the vast hoard of ill-gotten wealth was buried in the sands of Long Island. Governor Bellomont was charged with having shared the booty, but an in- vestigation before the House of Commons showed the accusation to be groundless. In striking contrast with the virtues and wisdom of Bellomont were the vices and folly of Lord Cornbury, who succeeded him. He arrived at New York in the beginning of May, 1702. A month 180 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. previously the proprietors of New Jersey had surrendered their rights in the province to the EngHsh Crown. All obstacles being thus removed, the two colonies were formally united in one government under the authority of Cornbury. For a period of thirty-six yeai-s the territories, though with separate assemblies, continued under the jurisdiction of a single executive. One of Cornbury's first acts was to forge a clause in his own com- mission. Desiring to foster the Established Church, and finding nothing to that effect in his instructions, he made instructions for himself. At first the people received him with great favor. The assembly voted two thousand pounds sterling to compensate him for the expenses of his voyage. In order to improve and fortify the Narrows, an additional smn of fifteen hundred pounds was granted. The money was taken out of the treasury, but no improvement was visible at the Narrows. The repre- sentatives modestly inquired what had become of their revenues. Lord Cornbury replied that the assembly of New York had no right to ask questions until the queen should give them permission. The old and oft-repeated conflict between jjersonal despotism and popular liberty broke out anew. The people of the province were still divided on the subject of Leisler's insurrection. Cornbuiy became a violent partisan, favoring the enemies and persecuting the friends of that unfortunate leader ; and so from year to year matters grew constantly worse, until between the gov- ernor and his people there existed no relation but that of mutual hatred. In 1708 the civil dissensions of the province reached a climax. Each succeeding assembly resisted more stubbornly the measures of the governor. Time and again the people petitioned for his removal. The councilors selected their own treasurer, refused to vote appropriations, and curtailed Cornbury's revenues until he was impoverished and ruined. Then came Lord Lovelace with a commission from Queen Anne, and the passionate, wretched governor was unceremoniously tiu-ned out of office. Left to the mercy of his injured subjects, they arrested him for debt and threw him into prison, where he lay until, by his father's death, he be- came a peer of England and could be no longer held in confinement. During the progress of Queen Anne's War the troops of New York cooperated with the army and navy of New England. Eighteen hun- dred volunteers from the Hudson and the Delaware composed the land forces in the unsuccessfiil expedition against Montreal in the winter of 1709-10. The provincial army proceeded as far as South River, cast of Lake George. Here information was received that the English fleet Avhich was expected to cooperate in the reduction of Quebec had been sent to Portugal ; the armament of New England was insufficient of NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. 181 itself to attempt the conquest of the Canadian stronghold ; and the troops of New York and New Jersey were obliged to retreat. Again, in 1711, when the incompetent Sir Hovenden Walker was pretending to conduct his fleet up the St. Lawrence, and was in reality only anxious to get away, the army which was to invade Canada by land was furnished by New York. A second time the provincial forces reached Lake George ; but the dispiriting news of the disaster to Walker's fleet destroyed all hope of success, and the discouraged soldiers returned to their homes. Failure and disgrace were not the only distressing circumstances of these campaigns ; a heavy debt remained to overshadow the prosperity of New York and to consume her revenues. For many years the re- sources of the province were exhausted in meeting the extraordinary expenses of Queen Anne's war. In 1713 the treaty of Utrecht put an end to the conflict, and peace returned to the American colonies. In this year the Tuscaroras of Carolina — a nation of the same race with the Iro- quois and Hurons of the North— were defeated and driven from their homes by the Southern colonists. The haughty tribe marched north- ward, crossed the middle colonies and joined their warlike kinsmen on the St. Lawrence, making the sixth nation in the Iroquois confederacy. Nine years later a great council was held at Albany. There the grand sachems of the Six Nations were met by the governors of New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. An important commercial treaty was formed, by which the extensive and profitable fur-trade of the Indians, which, until now, had been engrossed by the French, was diverted to the English. In order to secure the full benefits of this arrangement, Governor Burnett of New York hastened to establish a trading-post at Oswego, on the southern shore of Lake Ontario. Five years later a substantial fort was built at the same place and furnished with an English garrison. As late as the middle of the century, Oswego continued to be the only forti- fied outpost of the English in the entire country drained by the St. Law- rence and its tributaries. The French, meanwhile, had built a strong fort at Niagara, and another at Crown Point, on the western shore of Lake ChampI lin. The struggle for colonial supremacy between the two nations was already beginning. The administration of Governor Cosby, who succeeded Burnett in 1732, was a stormy epoch in the history of the colony. The people were in a constant struggle with the royal governors. At this time the contest took the form of a dispute about the freedom of the press. The liberal or democratic party of the province held that a public journal might criti- cise the acts of the administration and publish views distasteful to the p^overnment. The aristocratic party opposed such liberty as a dangerous 182 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. license, which, if permitted, would soon sap the foundations of all au- thority. Zenger, an editor of one of the liberal newspapers, published hostile criticisms on the policy of the governor, was seized and put in prison. Great excitement ensued. The people were clamorous for their champion. Andrew Hamilton, a noted lawyer of Philadelphia, went to New York to defend Zenger, who was brought to trial in July of 1735. The charge was libel against the government; the cause was ably argued, and the jury made haste to bring in a verdict of acquittal. The aldermen of the city of New York, in order to testify their appreciation of Hamil- ton's services in the cause of liberty, made him a present of an elegant gold box, and the people were wild with enthusiasm over their victory. New York, like Massachusetts, Avas once visited with a fatal delu- sion. In the year 1741 occurred what is known as the Negro Plot. Slavery was permitted in the province, and negroes constituted a large fraction of the population. Several destructive fires had occurred, and it was believed that they had been kindled by incendiaries. The slaves were naturally distrusted ; now they became feared and hated. Some degraded women came forward and gave information that the negroes had made a plot to burn the city, kill all who opposed them, and set up one of their own number as governor. The whole story was the essence of absurdity ; but the people were alarmed, and were ready to believe anything. The reward of freedom was offered to any slave who would reveal the plot. ]\Iany witnesses rushed forward with foolish and contra- dictory stories ; the jails were filled with the accused ; and more than thii*ty of the miserable creatures, with hardly the form of a trial, were convicted and then hanged or burned to death. Others were transported and sold as slaves in foreign lands. As soon as the su])posed peril had passed and the excited people regained their senses, it came to be doubted whether the whole shocking affair had not been the result of terror and fanaticism. The verdict of after times has been that there was no plot at all. During the progress of King George's War the territory of New York was several times invaded by the French and Indians. But the invasions were feeble and easily repelled. Except the abandonment of a few villages in the northern part of the State and the destruction of a small amount of exposed property, little harm was done to the province. The alliance of the fierce MohaAvks with the English always made the in- vasion of New York by the French an exploit of more danger than profit. The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, concluded in 1748, again brought peace and prosperity to the people. Notwithstanding the central position of New York, her growth NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. 183 was slow, her development unsteady, and her prospects darkened with much adversity. In population she stood, at the outbreak of the French and Indian war, but sixth in a list of the colonies. Massa- chusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia had all outstripped her in the race. But the elements of future renown were nowhere else more abundantly bestowed. Here at the foot of her principal city lay the most convenient and commodious harbor on the Atlantic. A magnificent river— draining the country as far as where, at Onondaga, burned the great council-fire of the Six Nations— rolled down through fruitful valleys to join the waters of the bay. Best of all, the people who inhabited the noble province were ever ready to resist oppression, bold to defend their rights, and zealous in the cause of freedom. Such is the history of the little colony jilanted on Manhattan Island. A hundred and thirty years have passed since the first feeble settlements were made ; now the great valley of the Hudson is filled with beautiful farms and teeming villages. The Walloons of Flanders and the Puritans of New England have blended into a common people. Dis- cord and contention, though bitter while they lasted, have borne only the peaceful fruit of colonial liberty. There are other and greater struggles through which New York must pass, other burdens to be borne, other calamities to be endured, other fires in which her sons must be tried and purified, before they gain their freedom. But the oldest and greatest of the middle colonies has entered upon a glorious career, and the ample foundations of an Empire State are securely laid. COLONIAL HLSTORY.— Continued. MINOR EASTERN COLONIES. CHAPTER XXI. CONNECTICUT. THE history of Connecticut begins with the year 1630. The first grant of the territory was made by the council of Plymouth to the earl of Warwick ; and in March of 1631 the claim was transferred by him to Lord Say-and-Seal, Lord Brooke, John Hampden and others. Before a colony could be planted by the proprietors, the Dutch of New Netherland reached the Connecticut River and built at Hartford their fort, called the House of Good Hope. The people of New Plymouth immediately organized and sent out a force to counteract this movement of their rivals. The territorial claim of the Puritans extended not only over Connecticut, but over New Netherland itself and onward to the west. Should the intruding Dutch colonists of Manhattan be allowed to move eastward and take possession of the finest valley in New Eng- land? Certainly not. The English expedition reached the mouth of the Connecticut and sailed up the river. When the little squadron came opposite the House of Good Hope, the commander of the garrison ordered Captain Holmes, the English officer, to strike his colors; but the order was treated with derision. The Dutch threatened to fire in case the fleet should attempt to pass ; but the English defiantly hoisted sails and proceeded up the river. The puny cannons of the House of Good Hope remained cold and silent. At a point just below the mouth of the Farmington, seven miles above Hartford, the Puritans landed and built the block-house of Windsor. In October of 1635 a colony of sixty persons left Boston, traversed the forests of Central Massachusetts, and settled at Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield. Earlier in the same year the younger Winthrop, a man who in all the virtues of a noble life was a worthy riv^al of liis (184) CONNECTICUT. 185 father, the governor of Massachusetts, arrived in New England. He bore a commission from the proprietors of the Western colony to build a fort at the mouth of the Connecticut River, and to prevent the further encroachments of the Dutch. The fortress was hastily completed and the guns mounted just in time to prevent the entrance of a Dutch trading-vessel which appeared at the mouth of the river. Such was the founding of Saybrook, so named in honor of the proprietors. Lords Say- and-Seal and Brooke. Thus was the most important river of New Eng- land brought under the dominion of the Puritans ; the solitary Dutch settlement at Hartford was cut off from succor and left to dwindle into insignificance. To the early annals of Connecticut belongs the sad story of the Pequod War. The country west of the Thames was more thickly peopled with savages than any other portion of New England. The haughty and warlike Pequods were alone able to muster seven hundred warriors. The whole effective force of the English colonists did not amount to two hundred men. But the superior numbers of the cunning and revengeful savages were more than balanced by the unflinching courage and destructive weapons of the English. The first act of violence was committed in the year 1633. The crew of a small trading- vessel were ambushed and murdered on the banl;s of the Connecticut. An Indian embassy went to Boston to apologize for the crime ; the nation was forgiven and received in friendship. A treaty was patched up, the Pequods acknowledging the supremacy of the Eng- lish and promising to become civilized. The Narragansetts, the heredi- tary enemies of the Pequods, had already yielded to the authority of Massachusetts and promised obedience to her laws. A reconciliation was thus effected between the two hostile races of savages. But as soon as the Pequods were freed from their old fear of the Narragansetts, they began to violate their recent treaty with the English. Oldham, the worthy captain of a trading- vessel, was murdered near Block Island. A com- pany of militia pursued the perpetrators of the outrage and gave them a bloody punishment. All the slumbering hatred and suppressed rage of the nation burst forth, and the war began in earnest. In this juncture of affairs the Pequods attempted a piece of danger- ous diplomacy. A persistent effort was made to induce the Narragansetts and the Mohegans to join in a war of extermination against the English ; and the plot was wellnigh successful. But the heroic Roger Williams, faithful in his misfortunes, sent a letter to Sir Henry Vane, governor of Massachusetts, warned him of the impending danger, and volunteered his services to defeat the conspiracy. The governor replied, urging Williams 186 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. to use his utmost endeavors to thwart the threatened aUiance. Embark- ing alone in a frail canoe, the exile left Providence, which he had founded only a month before, and drifted out into Narragansett Bay. Every mo- ment it seemed that the poor little boat with its lonely passenger would be swallowed up ; but his courage and skill as an oarsman at last brought him to the shore in safety. Proceeding at once to the house of Canonicus, king of the Narragansetts, he found the painted and bloody ambassadors of the Pequods already there. For three days and nights, at the deadly peril of his life, he pleaded with Canonicus and Miantonomoh to reject the proposals of the hostile tribe, and to stand fast in their allegiance to the English. His noble efforts were successful; the wavering Narra- gansetts voted to remain at peace, and the disappointed Pequod chiefs were sent away. The Mohegans also rejected the proposed alliance. Uncas, the sachem of that nation, not only remained faithful to the whites, but fur- nished a party of warriors to aid them against the Pequods. In the meantime, repeated acts of violence had roused the colony to vengeance. During the winter of 1636-37 many murders were committed in the neighborhood of Saybrook. In the following April a massacre occurred at Wethersfield, in which nine persons were butchered. On the 1st day of May the three towns of Connecticut declared war. Sixty gallant volun- teers — one-third of the whole effective force of the colony — were put under command of Captain John Mason of Hartford. Seventy Mohegans joined the expedition ; and the thoughtful Sir Henry Vane sent Captain Under- bill with twenty soldiers from Boston. The descent from Hartford to Saybrook occupied one day. On the 20th of the month the expedition, sailing eastward, passed the mouth of the Thames ; here was the principal seat of the Pequod nation. When the savages saw the squadron go by without attempting to laud, they set up shouts of exultation, and persuaded themselves that the English were afraid to hazard battle. But the poor natives had sadly mistaken the men with whom they had to deal. The fleet proceeded quietly into Narragansett Bay and anchored in the harbor of Wickford. Here the troops landed and began their march into the country of the Pequods. After one day's advance. Mason reached the cabin of Canonicus and JNIiantonomoh, sachems of the Narragansetts. Them he attempted to persuade to join him against the common enemy ; but the wary chieftains, knowing the prowess of the Pequods, and fearing that the English might be defeated, decided to remain. neutral. , On the evening of the 25th of May the troops of Connecticut came within liearing of the Pequod fort. The unsuspecting warriors spent CONNECTICUT. 187 their last night on earth in uproar and jubilee. At two o'clock in the morning the English soldiers rose suddenly from their places of conceal- ment and rushed forward to the fort. A dog ran howluig among the wigwams, and the warriors sprang to arms, only to receive a deadly volley from the English muskets. The fear- less assailants leaped over the puny palisades and began the work of death ; but the savages rose on every side in such numbers that Mason's men were about to be overwhelmed. " Burn them ! burn them !" shouted the dauntless captain, seizing a flaming i V , I Provi'leiioenvV SCENE OF THE PEQUOB 'WAR. mat and running to the windward of the cabins. "Burn them!" resounded on every side; and in a few minutes the dry wigwams were one sheet of crackling flame. The Eng- lish and Mohegans hastily withdrew to the ramparts. The yelling savages found themselves begirt with fire. They ran round and round like wild beasts in a burning circus. If one of the wretched creatures burst through the flames, it was only to meet certain death from a broadsword or a musket-ball. The destruction was complete and awful. Only seven warriors escaped ; seven others were made prisoners. Six hundred men, women and children perished, nearly all of them being roasted to death in a hideous heap. Before the rising of the sun 'the pride and glory of the Pequods had passed away for ever. Sassacus, the grand sachem of the tribe, escaped into the forest, fled for protection to the Mohawks, and was murdered. Two of the English soldiers were killed and twenty others wounded in the battle. In the early morning three hundred Pequods, the remnant of the nation, approached from a second fort in the neighborhood. They had heard the tumult of battle, and supposed their friends victorious. To their utter horror, they found their fortified town in ashes and nearly all their proud tribe lying in one blackened pile of half-burnt flesh and bones. The savage warriors stamped the earth, yelled and tore their hair in desperate rage, and ran howling through the woods. Mason's men re- turned by way of New London to Saybrook, and thence to Hartford. New troops arrived from Massachusetts. The renmants of the hostile nation were pursued into the swamps and thickets west of Saybrook. Every wigwam of the Pequods was burned, and every field laid waste. The remaining two hundred panting fugitives were hunted to death oi captivity. Tlie prisoners were distributed as servants among the Narra- 188 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. gansetts and Mohegans ; a few were sold as slaves. The first war between the English colonists and the natives had ended in the overthrow and destruction of one of the most powerful tribes of New England. For many years the other nations, when tempted to hostility, remembered the fate of the Pequods. The final capture of the Pequod fugitives was made at Fairfield, on Long Island Sound, fifty miles south-west from Saybrook. The Eng- lish thus became better acquainted with the coast west of the mouth of the Connecticut. Some men of Boston were delighted with the beautiful plain between the Wallingford and West Rivers. Here they tarried over winter, building some cabins and exploring the country; such was the founding of New Haven. Shortly afterward, a Puritan colony from England, under the leadership of Theophilus Eaton and John Davenport, arrived at Boston. Hearing of the beauty of the country on the somid, the new immigrants again set sail, and about the middle of April reached New Haven. On the morning of the first Sabbath after their arrival the colonists assembled for worship under a spreading oak ; and Davenport, their minister, preached a touching and appropriate sermon on The Temptation in the Wilderness. The next care was to make an honorable purchase of land from the Indians — a policy which was ever afterward faithfully adhered to by the colony. For the first year there was no government except a simple covenant, into which the settlers entered, that all would be obedient to the rules of Scripture. In June of 1639 the leading men of New Haven held a convention in a barn, and formally adopted the Bible as the constitution of the State. Everything was strictly conformed to the religious standard. The govern- ment was called the House of Wisdom, of Avhich Eaton, Davenport and five others were the seven Pillars. None but church members were ad- mitted to the rights of citizenship. All offices were to be filled by the votes of the freemen at an annual election. For twentv vears consecu- tively, Mr. Eaton — first and greatest of the pillars — was chosen governor of the colony. Other settlers came, and pleasant villages sprang up on both shores of Long Island Sound. Civil government began in Connecticut in the year 1639. Until that time the Western colonies had been subject to Massachusetts, and had scarcely thought of independence. But when the soldiers of Hartford returned victorious from the Pequod war, the exulting people began to think of a separate commonwealth. If they could fight their own battles, could they not make their own laws? Delegates from the three towns came together at Hartford, and on the 14th of January a constitution was framed for the colony. The new instrument M'as one of the most simple CONNECTICUT. 189 and liberal ever adopted. An oath of allegiance to the State was the only qualification of citizenship. No recognition of the English king or of any foreign authority was required. Diiferent religious opinions were alike tolerated and respected. All the officers of the colony were to be chosen by ballot at an annual election. The law-making power was vested in a general assembly, and the representatives were apportioned among the towns according to population. Neither Saybrook nor New Haven adopted this constitution, by which the other colonies in the valley of the Connecticut were united in a common government. In 1 643, Connecticut became a member of the Union of New Eng- land. Into this confederacy New Haven was also admitted ; and in the next year Saybrook was purchased of George Fenwick, one of the pro- prietors, and permanently annexed to Connecticut. The anticipated diffi- culties with the Dutch of New Netherland had made the colonies of the West anxious for a closer union with Massachusetts. The fears of the people were not entirely quieted until 1650, when Governor Stuyvesant met the commissioners of Connecticut at Hartford, and established the western boundary of the province. This measure promised peace ; but in 1651 war broke out between England and Holland, and notwithstanding the recent pledges of friendship. New England and New Netherland were wellnigh drawn into the conflict. Stuyvesant was suspected of inciting the Indians against the English ; a declaration of war was proposed be- fore the delegates of the united colonies, and was only prevented from passing by the veto of Massachusetts. Left without support, Connecticut and New Haven next sought aid from Cromwell, who entered heartily into the project and sent out a fleet to co-operate with the colonists in the reduction of New Netherland. But while the western towns were busily preparing for war, the news of peace arrived, and hostilities were happily averted. ■ On the restoration of monarchy in England, Connecticut made haste to recognize King Charles as rightful sovereign. It was as much an act of sound policy as of loyal zeal. The people of the Connecticut valley were eager for a royal charter. They had conquered the Pequods ; they had bought the lands of the Mohegans ; they had purchased the claims of the earl of Warwick ; it only remained to secure all these acquisitions with a patent from the king. The infant republic selected its best and truest man, the scholarly younger Winthrop, and sent him as ambassador to London. He bore with him a charter which had been carefully prepared by the authorities of Hartford ; the problem was to induce the king to sign it. The aged Lord Say-and-Seal, for many years the friend and bene- 190 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. factor of the colony, was noAv an important officer of the Crown. To him Wiuthrop delivered a letter, unfolded his plans and appealed for help ; and the appeal was not in vain. The earl of Manchester, lord chamber^ lain to the king, was induced to lend his aid. Winthrop easily obtained an audience with the sovereign, and did not fail to show him a ring which Charles' I. had given as a pledge of friendship to Wmthrop's grandfather. The little token so moved the wayward monarch's feelings ^ that in a moment of careless mag- nanimity he signed the colonial charter without the alter- ation of a letter. Winthrop returned to the rejoicing col- ony, bearing a pat- ent the most liberal and ample ever granted by an Eng- lish monarch. The power of govern- ing themselves was conferred on the people without qualification or re- striction. Eveiy right of sovereign- ty and of inde- pendence, except the name, Avas con- ceded to the new State. The territory included under the charter ex- tended from the bay and river of the Narragansetts westward to the Pacific. The people who had built the House of Wisdom at New Haven now found themselves the unwilling subjects of the new com- monwealth of Connecticut. For fourteen years the excellent Winthrop was annually chosen governor of the colony. Every year added largely to the population and wealth of the province. The civil and religious institutions were the freest and best in New England. Peace reigned ; the husbandman was undisturbed in the field, the workman in his shop. Even during King Philip's War, Connecticut was saved from invasion. Not a war-whoop THE YOUNGER WINTHROP. CONNECTICUT. 191 was heard, not a hamlet burned, not a life lost, within her borders. Her soldiers made common cause with their brethren of Massachusetts and Ehode Island; but their own homes were saved from the desolations of war. In July of 1675, Sir Edmund Andros, the governor of New York, arrived with an armed sloop at the mouth of the Connecticut. Orders were sent to Captain Bull, who commanded the fort at Saybrook, to sur- render his post; but the brave captain replied by hoisting the flag of England and assuring the bearer of the message that his master would better retire. Andros, however, landed and came to a parley with the officers of the fort. He began to read his commission, but was ordered to stop. In vain did the arrogant magistrate insist that the dominions of the duke of York extended from the Connecticut to the Delaware. " Connecticut has her own charter, signed by His Gracious Majesty King Charles II.," said Captain Bull. " Leave off your reading, or take the consequences!" The argument prevailed, and the red-coated governor, trembling with rage, was escorted to his boat by a company of Saybrook militia. In 1686, when Andros was made royal governor of New England, Connecticut was again included in his jurisdiction. The first year of his administration was spent in establishing his authority in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. In the following October he made his famous visit to Hartford. On the day of his arrival he invaded the provincial assembly while in session, seized the book of minutes, and with his own hand wrote FiNis at the bottom of the page. He demanded the immediate surrender of the colonial charter. Governor Treat pleaded long and earnestly for the preservation of the precious document. Andros was inexorable. The shades of evening fell. Joseph Wadsworth found in the gathering darkness an opportunity to conceal the cherished parch- ment — a deed which has made his own name and the name of a tree immortal. Two years later, when the government of Andros was over- thrown, Connecticut made haste to restore her liberties. In the autumn of 1693, another attempt was made to subvert the freedom of the colony. Fletcher, the governor of New York, went to Hartford to assume command of the militia of the province. He bore a commission from King William ; but by the terms of the charter the right of commanding the troops was vested in the colony itself. The general assembly refused to recognize the authority of Fletcher, who, nevertheless, ordered the soldiers under arms and proceeded to read his commission as colonel. " Beat the drums !" shouted Captain Wadsworth, who stood at the head of the company. " Silence I" said Fletcher ; the 192 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. drums ceased, and the reading began again. "Drum! drum!" cried Wadsworth ; and a second time tlie voice of the reader was drowned in the uproar. " Silence ! silence !" shouted the enraged governor. The dauntless Wadsworth stepped before the ranks and said, "Colonel Fletcher, if I am interrupted again, I will let the sunshine through your body in an instant." That ended the controversy. Benjamin Fletcher thought it better to be a living governor of New York than a dead colonel of the Connecticut militia. " I give these books for the founding of a college in this colony." Such were the words often ministers who, in the year 1700, assembled at the village of Branford, a few miles east of New Haven. Each of the worthy fathers, as he uttered the words, deposited a few volumes on the table around which they were sitting ; such was the founding of Yale College. In 1702 the school was formally opened at Saybrook, where it continued for fifteen years, and was then removed to New Haven. One of the most liberal patrons of the college was Elihu Yale, from whom the famous institution of learning derived its name. Common schools had existed in almost eveiy village of Connecticut since the planting of the colony. The children of the Pilgrims have never forgotten the cause of education. The half century preceding the French and Indian war was a period of prosperity to all the western districts of New England. Con- necticut was especially favored. Almost unbroken peace reigned through- out her borders. The ble&sings of a free commou\^'ealth were realized in full measure. The farmer reaped his fields in cheerfulness and hope. The mechanic made glad his dusty shop with anecdote and song. The merchant feared no duty, the villager no taxes. Want was unknown and pauperism unheard of. Wealth was little cared for and crime of rare occurrence among a people with whom intelligence and virtue were the only foundations of nobility. With fewer dark pages in her history, less austerity of manners and greater liberality of sentiment, Connecticut had all the lofty purposes and shining wtues of Massachusetts. The visions of Hooker and Haynes, and the dreams of the quiet Winthrop, were more than realized in the happy homes of the Connecticut valley. RHODE ISLAND. 193 CHAPTER XXII- RHODE ISLAND. IT was in June of 1636 that the exiled Roger Williams left the country of the Wampanoags and passed down the Seekonk to Narragansett River. His object was to secure a safe retreat beyond the limits of Ply- mouth colony. He, with his five companionSj landed on the western bank, at a place called Moshassuck, purchased the soil of the Narragansett sachems, and laid the foundations of Providence. Other exiles joined the company. New farms were laid out, new fields were ploughed and new houses built; here, at last, was found at Providence Plantation a refuge for all the distressed and persecuted. The leader of the new colony was a native of Wales ; born in 1606 ; liberally educated at Cambridge ; the pupil of Sir Edward Coke ; in after years the friend of Milton ; a dissenter ; a hater of ceremonies ; a disciple of truth in its purest forms; an uncompromising advocate of freedom; exiled to Massachusetts, and now exiled by Massachusetts, he brought to the banks of the Narragansett the great doctrines of perfect religious liberty and the equal rights of men. If the area of Rhode Island had corresponded with the grandeur of the principles on which she was founded, who could have foretold her destiny ? Roger Williams belonged to that most radical body of dissenters called Anabaptists. By them the validity of infant baptism was denied. Williams himself had been baptized in infancy ; but his views in regard to the value of the ceremony had undergone a change during his ministry at Salem. Now that he had freed himself from all foreign authority both of Church and State, he conceived it to be his duly to receive a second baptism. But who should perform the ceremony ? Ezekiel Holliman, a layman, was selected for the sacred duty. Williams meekly received the rite at the hands of his friend, and then in turn baptized him and ten other exiles of the colony. Such was the organization of the first Baptist Church in America. The beginning of civil government in Rhode Island was equally simple and democratic. Mr. Williams was the natural ruler of the little province, but he reserved for himself neither wealth nor privilege. The 194 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. lands which he purchased from Canonicas and Miantonomoh were freely distributed among the colonists. Only two small fields, to be planted and tilled with his own hands, were kept by the benevolent founder for himself How different from the grasping avarice of Wingfield and Lord Cornbury ! All the powers of the colonial government were entrusted to the people. A simple agreement was made and signed by the sattlers that in all matters not affecting the conscience they would yield a cheerful obedience to such rules as the majority might make for the public welfare. In questions of religion the individual conscience should be to every man a guide. When Massachusetts objected that such a democracy would leave nothing for the magistrates to do, Rhode Island answered that magistrates were wellnigh useless. The new government stood the test of experience. The evil prophe- cies of its enemies were unfulfilled ; instead of predicted turmoil and dis- sension. Providence Plantation had nothing l)ut peace and quiet. It w^as found that all religious sects could live together in harmony, and that difference of opinion was not a bar to friendship. All beliefs were avcI- come at Narragansett Bay. A Buddhist from Japan or a pagan from Madagascar would have been received at Providence and cordially enter- tained. Miantonomoh, the youilg sachem of the Narragansetts, loved Roger AVilliams as a brother. It was the confidence of this chieftain that enabled Williams to notify Massachusetts of the Pequod conspiracy, and then at the hazard of his life to defeat the plans of the hostile nation. This magnanimous act awakened the old affections of his friends at Salem and Plymouth, and an effort was made to recall him and his fellow-exiles from banishment. It was urged that a man of such gracious abilities, so full of patience and charity, could never be dangerous in a State; but his enemies answered that the principles and teachings of Williams would subvert the commonwealth and bring Massachusetts to ruin. The pro- })osal was rejected. The ancient Greeks sometimes recalled their exiled heroes from banishment ; the colony of Massachusetts, never. During the Pequod war of 1637, Rhode Island was protected by the friendly Narragansetts. The territory of this powerful tribe lay between Providence and the country of the Pequods, and there was little fear of an inviision. The next year was noted for the arrival of Mrs. Hutchinson and her friends at the island of Rhode Island. The leaders of the com- pany were John Clarke and William Coddington. It had been their intention to conduct the colony to Long Island, or perhaps to the country of the Delaware. But Roger Williams made haste to welcome them to his province, where no man's conscience might be distressed. Gov- ernor Vane of Massachusetts, sympathizing with the refugees, prevailed RHODE ISLAND. 195 with Miantonomoh to make thera a gift of Rhode Island. Here, in the early spring of 1638, the colony was planted. The first settlement was made at Portsmouth, in the _^.^^,_ ^^-.^^^^ - ^^b^s^ ^ _- northern part of the island, ^j, ==^„^.,^.., Other exiles came to join their :; friends, and civil government was thought desirable. The Jev/ish nation furnished tliei model. William Coddington was chosen judge in the new Israel of Narragansett Bay, and three elders were ap- pointed to assist him in the government. In the follow- ing year the title of judgo gave way to that of governor, and the administration be- came more modern in its methods. At the same time a party of colonists removed from Portsmouth, already crowded with exiles, to the south-western part of the island, and laid the foundations of Newport. Hither had come, more than six hundred years before, the hardy adven- turei's of Iceland. Here had been a favorite haunt of the wayward sea- kings of the eleventh century. Plere, in sight of the new settlement, stood the old stone tower, the most celebrated monument left by the Norsemen in America. * The island was soon peopled. The want of civil government began to be felt as a serious inconvenience. Mr. Coddington's new Israel had proved an utter failure. In March of 1641 a public meeting was con- vened ; the citizens came together on terms of perfect equality, and the task of framing a constitution was undertaken. In three days the instru- ment was completed. The government was declared to be a "Demo- CRACIE," or government by the people. The supreme authority was lodged with the whole body of freemen in the island ; and freemen, in this instance, meant everybody. The vote of the majority should always rule. No soul should be distressed on accoun of religious doctrine. Liberty of conscience, even in the smallest particular, should be uni- versally respected. A seal of State was ordered, having for its design a sheaf of arrows and a motto of Amor vincet omnia. The little THE OLD STONE TOWER AT NEWPORT. 196 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. republic of Narragansett Bay was named the Plantation of Rhode Island. In 1643 was formed the Union of New England. Providence and Ehode Island both pleaded for admission, and both were rejected. The meauino- of this illiberal action on the part of the older and more power- ful colonies was that the settlements on the Narragansett belonged to the jurisdiction of Plymouth. Alarmed at the prospect of being again put under the dominion of their persecutors, the exiled republicans of Rhode Island determined to appeal to the English government for a charter. Roo-er Williams was accordingly appointed agent of the two plantations and sent to London. He was cordially received by his old and steadfast friend Sir Henry Vane, now an influential member of Parliament. The plea of Rhode Island was heard with favor; and on the 14th of March in the following year the coveted charter was granted. Great was the rejoicing when the successful ambassador returned to his people. The grateful colonists met their benefactor at Seekouk, and conducted him to Providence with shouts and exultation. Rhode Island had secm-ed her independence. The first general assembly of the province was convened at Ports- mouth, in 1647. The new government was organized in strict accordance Avith the provisions of the charter. A code of laws was framed; the principles of democracy were reaffirmed, and full religious toleration and freedom of conscience guaranteed to all. A president and subordinate officers were chosen, and Rhode Island began her career as an independent colony. Once the integrity of the province was endangxirad. In 1651, William Coddington, who had never been satisfied with the failure of his Jewish commouAvealth, succeeded in obtaining from the English council of state a decree by which the island of Rhode Island was separated from the common government. But the zealous protests of John Clarke and Roger Williams, who went a second time to London, prevented the dis- union, and the decree of separation was revoked. The grateful people now desired that their magnanimous benefactor should be commissioned by the English council as governor of the province ; but the blind grat- itude of his friends could not prevail over the wisdom of the prudent leader. He foresaw the danger, and refused the tempting commissioa. Roger Williams was proof against all the seductions of ambition. The faithful Clarke remained in England to guard the interests of the colony. It was not long until his services were greatly needed. The restoration of monarchy occurred in 1660. Charles II. came home in triumph fi-om his long exile. Rhode Island had accepted a charter from RHODE ISLAND. 197 the Long Parliament ; that Parliament had driven Charles I. from his throne, had made war upon him, beaten him in battle, imprisoned him, beheaded him. Was it likely that the son of that monarch would allow a colonial charter issued by the Long Parliament to stand ? Would he not with vindictive scorn dash the patent of the little republic out of exist- ence ? The people of Rhode Island had hardly the courage to plead for the preservation of their liberty ; but taking heart, they wrote a loyal petition to the new sovei'cign, praying for the renewal of their charter. To their in- finite delight, and to the wonder of after times, the king listened with favor ; Clarendon, the minister, assented; and on the 8th of July, 1663, the charter was reissued. The freedom of the colony was in no wise restricted. All the liberal provisions of the parliamentary patent were revived. Not even an oath of allegiance was requu'ed of the people. On the 24th of November the island of Rhode Island was thronged with people. George Baxter had come with the charter. Opening the box that contained it, he held aloft the precious parchment. There, sure enough, was the signature of King Charles II. There was His Majesty's royal stamp ; there was the broad seal of England. The charter was read aloud to the joyful people. The little "democracie" of Rhode Island was safe. The happy colonists were not to blame when they began their letter of thanks as follows: "To King Charles of England, for his high and inestimable — ^yea, incomparable — favor." For nearly a quarter of a century Rhode Island prospered. The distresses of King Philip's War were forgotten. Roger Williams grew old and died. At last came Sir Edmund Andros, the enemy of New England. After overthrowing the liberties of Massachusetts, he next demanded the surrender of the charter of Rhode Island. The demand was for a while evaded by Governor Walter Clarke and the colonial as- sembly. But Andros, not to be thwarted, repaired to Newport, dissolved the government and broke the seal of the colony. Five irresponsible councilors were appointed to control the affairs of the province, and the commonwealth was in ruins. But the usurpation was as brief as it was shameful. In the spring of 1689 the news was borne to Rhode Island that James II. had abdi- cated the throne of England, and that Andros and his officers were pris- oners at Boston. On May-day the people rushed to Newport and made a proclamation of their gratitude for the great deliverance. Walter Clarke was reelected governor, but was fearful of accepting. Almy was elected, and also declined. Then an old Quaker, named Henry Bull, more than eighty years of age, was chosen. He was one of the founders of the colony. He had known Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams. Should he, in 198 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. his gray hairs, through fear and timidity, refuse the post of danger? The old veteran accepted the trust, and spent his last days in restoring the liberties of Rhode Island. Again the little State around the Bay of Narragansett was pros- perous. For more than fifty years the peace of the colony was undis- turbed. The principles of the illustrious founder became the principles of the commonwealth. The renown of Rhode Island has not been in vastness of territory, in mighty cities or victorious armies, but in a stead- fast devotion to truth, justice and freedom. CHAPTER XXIII. NEW HAMPSHIRE. IN the year 1622 the territory lying between the rivers Merrimac and Kennebec, reaching from the sea to the St. Lawrence, was granted by the council of Plymouth to Sir Ferdinand Gorges and John Mason. The history' of New Hampshire begins with the folloMing year. For the proprietors made haste to secure their new domain by actual settlements. In the early spring of 1623 two small companies of colonists were sent out by Mason and Gorges to people their province. The coast of New Hampshire had first been visited by Martin Pring in 1603. Eleven years later the restless Captain Smith explored the spacious harbor at the mouth of the Piscataqua, and spoke with delight of the deep and tranquil waters. One party of the new immigrants landed at Little Harbor, two miles south of the present site of Portsmouth, and began to build a village. The other party proceeded up stream, entered the Cocheco, and, four miles above the mouth of that tributary, laid the foundations of Dover. With the exception of Plymouth and "Weymouth, Portsmouth and Dover are tJie oldest towns in New England. But the progress of the settlements was slow; for many years the two villages were only fishing-stations. In 1629 the proprietors divided their dominions. Gorges retaining the part north of the Piscataqua, and ]\Iason taking exclusive control of the district between the Piscataqua and the Merrimac. In May of this ^-oar, Rev. John Wheelwright, wlio soon afterward ])eoame a leader in the party of Anne Hutchinson, visited the Abenaki chieftains, and purchased their NEW HAMPSHIRE. 199 claims to the soil of the whole territory held by Mason ; but in the fol- lowing November, Mason's title was confirmed by a second patent from the council, and the name of the province was changed from Laconia to New Hampshire. Very soon Massachusetts began to urge her chartered rights to the district north of the Merrimac ; already the claims to the jurisdiction of the new colony were numerous and conflicting. In November of 1635, Mason died, and his widow undertook the government of the province. But the expenses of the colony were greater than the revenues ; the chief tenants could not be paid for their services ; and after a few years of mismanagement the territory was given up to the servants and dependents of the late proprietor. Such was the condition of affairs when Mrs. Hutchinson and her friends were banished from Boston. "Wheelwright, who was of the number, now found use for the lands which he had purchased in New Hampshire. When Clarke and Coddington, leading the greater number of the exiles, set out for Rhode Island, Wheelwright, with a small party of friends, repaired to the banks of the Piscataqua. At the head of tide-water on that stream they halted, and founded the village of Exeter. The little colony was declared a republic, established on the principle of equal right and universal toler- ation. The proposition to unite New Hampshire with Massachusetts was received with favor by the jDeople of both colonies. The liberal provisions of the Body of Liberties, adopted by the older province in 1641, excited the villagers of the Piscataqua, and made them anxious to join the desti- nies of the free commonwealth of Massachusetts. A union was immedi- ately proposed; on the 14th of the following April terms of consolidation were agreed on, and New Hampshire, by the act of her own people, was united with the older colony. It is worthy of special notice that the law of Massachusetts restricting the rights of citizenship to church members was not extended over the new province. The people of Portsmouth and Dover belonged to the Church of England, and it was deemed unjust to discriminate against them on account of their religion. New Hampshire was the only colony east of the Hudson not originally founded by the Puritans. The union continued in force until 1679. In the mean time tht heirs of Mason had revived the claim of the old proprietor of the province. The cause had been duly investigated in the courts of England, and in 1677 a decision was reached that the Masonian claims were invalid as to the civil jurisdiction of New Hampshire, but valid as to the soil — ^that is, the heirs were the lawful owners, but not the lawful governors, of the territory. It was evident from the character of this decision that King Charles in- 200 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. tended to assert his own right of government over New Hampshire, and at the same time to confer the ownership of the soil upon the represent- atives of Mason. Nor was the province long left in doubt as to the king's intentions. On the 24th of July, 1679, a decree was published by which New Hampshire was separated from the jurisdiction of Massachusetts and organized as a distinct royal province. The excuse was that the claims of the Masons against the farmers of New Hampshire would have to be determined in colonial courts, and that colonial courts could not be estab- lished without the organization of a separate colony. It was clearly fore- seen that in such trials the courts of Massachusetts would always decide against the Masons. The purpose of the king became still more apparent when Robert Mason, himself the largest claimant of all, was allowed to nominate a governor for the province : Edward Cranfield was selected for that office. The people of New Hampshire were greatly excited by the tlireatened destruction of their liberties. Before Cranfield's arrival the rugged saw- yers and lumbermen of the Piscataqua had convened a general assembly at Portsmouth. The first resolution which was passed by the represent- atives showed the spirit of colonial resistance in full force. ^' No act, im- position, law or ordinance," said the sturdy legislators, " shall be valid unless made by the assembly and approved by the people." When the indignant king heard of this resolution, he declared it to be both Avicked and absurd. It was not the first time that a monarch and his people had disagreed. In November of 1682, Cranfield dismissed the popular assembly. Such a despotic act had never before been attempted in New England. The excitement ran high ; the governor was openly denounced, and his claims for rents and forfeitures were stubbornly resisted. At Exeter the sheriff was beaten with clubs. The farmei-s' wives met the tax-gatherers with pailfulls of hot water. At the ^'illage of Hampton, Cranfield's deputy was led out of town with a rope round his neck. When the governor ordered out the militia, not a man obeyed the summons. It was in the midst of these broils that Cranfield, unable to collect his rents and vexed out of his wits, wrote to England begging for the privilege of going home. The " unreasonable" people who were all the time caviling at his commission and denying his authority were at length freed from his presence. An effort Avas now made to restore New Hampshire to the jurisdiction of Massachusetts ; but before this could be done the charter of the latter province had been taken away and Edmund Andros ap])ointed governor of all New England. The colonies north of the Merrimac, seeing that JS\tJiV HAMPSHIRE. 201 even Massachusetts had been brought to submission, offered no resistance to Andros, but quietly yielded to his authority. Until the English revo- lution of 1688, and the consequent downfall of Andros, New Hampshire remained under the dominion of the royal governor. But when he was seized and imprisoned by the citizens of Boston, the people of the northern towns also rose in rebellion and reasserted their freedom. A general as- sembly was convened at Portsmouth in the spring of 1690, and an ordi- nance was at once passed reannexing New Hampshire to Massachusetts. But in August of 1692 this action was annulled by the English govern- ment, and the two provinces were a second time separated against the protests of the people. In 1698, when the earl of Bellomont came out as royal governor of New York, his commission was made to include both Massachusetts and New Hampshire. For a period of forty-two years the two provinces, though retaining their separate legislative assemblies, con- tinued under the authority of a common executive. Not until 1741 was a final separation effected between the colonies north and south of the Merrimac. Meanwhile, the heirs of Mason, embarrassed with delays and vexed by opposing claimants, had sold to Samuel Allen, of London, their title to New Hampshire. To him, in 1691, the old Masonian patent was transferred. His son-in-law, named Usher, a land speculator of Boston, was appointed deputy governor. The new proprietor made a long and futile effort to enforce his claim to the lands of the province, but was every- where resisted. Lawsuits were begun in the colonial courts, but no judgments could be obtained against the occupants of lands ; all efforts to drive the farmers into the payment of rents or the surrender of their homes were unavailing. For many years the history of New Hampshire contains little else than a record of strife and contention. Finally, Allen died; and in 1715, after a struggle of a quarter of a century, his heirs abandoned their claim in despair. A few years afterward one of the de- scendants of Mason discovered that the deed which his kinsmen had made to Allen was defective. The original Masonian patent was accordingly revived, and a last effort was made to secure possession of the province, but was all in vain. The colonial government had now groAvn stroncj enough to defend the rights of its people, and the younger Masons were obliged to abandon their pretensions. In the final adjustment of this long-standing difficulty the colonial authorities allowed the validity of the Masonian patent as to the unoccupied portions of the territory, and the heirs made a formal surrender of their claims to all the rest. Of all the New England colonies, New Hampshire suffered most from the French and Indian Wars. Her settlements were feeble, and her 202 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. territory most exposed to savage invasion. In the last year of King Philip's War the suffering along the frontier of the province was very great. Again, in the wars of William, Anne and George, the villages of the northern colony were visited with devastation and ruin. But in the intervals of peace the spirits of the people revived, and the hardy settlers returned to their wasted farms to begin anew the struggle of life. Out of these conflicts and trials came that sturdy and resolute race of pioneers who bore such a heroic part in the greater contests of after years. Such is the story of the planting, progress, and development of New England. Hither had come, in the beginning, a people of sober habits, frugal lives, and lofty purposes. Before their imagination was one vision — the vision of freedom. And freedom to the men who laid the foundations of civilization in New England meant the breaking off of every species of thralldom. These people came to the New World to stay. They voluntarily chose the wilderness with its forests, and snows, and savages. For forests, and snows, and savages were better than luxury with despotism. In Virginia as late as the middle of the eighteenth century many of the planters still looked fondly across the ocean and spoke of England as their " home." Not so with the peo- ple whose hamlets were scattered from the Penobscot to the Housa- tonic. With them the humble cabin in the frozen woods under the desolate sky of winter was a cheerful and sunny "home" — if only Freedom was written on the threshold. COLONIAL HISTORY.— Continued. MINOR MIDDLE COLONIES. CHAPTER XXIY. NEW JERSEY. THE colonial history of New Jersey properly begins with the found- ing of Elizabethtown, in 1664. As early as 1618 a feeble trading station had been established at Bergen, west of the Hudson ; but forty years elapsed before permanent dwellings were built in that neigh- borhood. In 1623 the block-house, called Fort Nassau, was erected at the mouth of Timber Creek, on the Delaware ; after a few months' occupancy. May and his companions abandoned the place and returned to New Amsterdam. Six years later the southern part of the present State of New Jersey was granted to Godyn and Blomaert, two of the Dutch patroons; but no settlement was made. In 1634 there was not a single European living between Delaware Bay and the fortieth degree of latitude. In 1651 a considerable district, including the site of Elizabethtown, was purchased by Augustine Herman ; but still no colony was planted. Seven years afterwards a larger grant, embracing the old trading house at Bergen, was made; and in 1663 a company of Puritans, living on Long Island, obtained permission of Governor Stuyvesant to settle on the banks of the Raritan ; but no settlement was effected until after the conquest. All the territory of New Jersey was included in the grant made by King Charles to his brother the duke of York. Two months before the conquest of New Netherland by the English, that portion of the duke's province lying between the Hudson and the Delaware, extending as far north as forty-one degrees and forty minutes, was assigned by the proprietor to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. These noblemen were already proprietors of Carolina ; but they had adhered to the king's cause during the civil war in England, and were now rewarded with a second Amer- ican province. Almost immediately after the conquest another company of Puritans made application to Governor Nicolls, and received an exten- sive grant of land on Newark Bay. The Indian titles were honorably (203j 204 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. purchased; in the following October a village was begun and named Elizabethtown, in honor of Lady Carteret. In August of 1665, Philip Carteret, son of Sir George, arrived as governor of the province. At first he was violently opposed by Nicolls of NcAV York, who refused to believe that the duke had divided his terri- tory. But Carteret was armed with a commission, and could not be pre- vented from taking possession of the new settlements below the Hudson. Elizabethtown was made the capital of the colony ; other immigrants arrived from Long Island and settled on the banks of the Passaic ; New- ark w^as founded ; flourishing hamlets appeared on the shores of the bay as far south as Sandy Hook. In honor of Sir George Carteret, who had been governor of the Isle of Jersey, in the English Channel, his American domain w^as named New Jersey. Experience had taught the proprietors wisdom ; "they had learned that freedom is essential to the prosperity of a colony, and that liberal concessions to the people are better than great outlays of money. Berke- ley and Carteret, though royalists themselves, provided for their new State an excellent constitution. Person and property were put under the protec- tion of law. The government was made to consist of a governor, a council and a popular legislative assembly. There should be no taxation unless levied by the representatives of the people. Difference of opinion should be respected, and freedom of conscience guaranteed to every citizen. The proprietors reserved to themselves only the right of annulling objection- able acts of the assembly and of appointing the governor and colonial judges. The lauds of the province were distributed to the settlers foi- a quit-rent of a half penny per acre, not to be paid until 1670. In 1668 the first general assembly convened at Elizabethtown. Nearly all the representatives were Puritans, and the laws and customs of New England were thus early impressed on the legislation of the colony. Affairs went well until 1670, when the half-penny quit-rents M'ere due to the proprietors. The colonists, in the mean time, had purchased their lands of the Indians, and also of Governor Nicolls of New York, who still claimed New Jersey as a part of his province. To the settlers, therefore, it seemed that their titles to their farms were good with(xit further payment to Philip Carteret or anybody else. The collection of the rents was accordingly resisted ; and the colony became a scene first of strife and tlien of revolution. In May of 1672 the colonial assembly convened and deposed the governor from office. James Carteret, another son of Sir George, was chosen governor, and Philip returned to England. In 1673 the Dutch succeeded in retaking New York from the Eng- lish. For a few months the old province of New Netherland, including NEW JERSEY. 205 the country as far south as the Delaware, was restored to Holland. But in the next year the whole territory was re-ceded by the states-general to England. The duke of York now received from his brother, the king, a second patent for the country between the Connecticut and the Delaware, and at the same time confirmed his former grant of New Jersey to Berke- ley and Carteret. Then, in utter disregard of the rights of the two pro= prietors, the duke appointed Sir Edmund Andros as royal governor of the whole province. Carteret determined to defend his claim against the authority of Andros ; but Lord Berkeley, disgusted with the duke's vacil- lation and dishonesty, sold his interest in New Jersey to John Eenwick, to be held in trust for Edward Byllinge. In 1675, Philip Carteret returned to America and resumed the government of the province from which he had been expelled. Andros opposed him in every act ; claimed New Jersey as a part of his own dominions; kept the colony in an uproar; compelled the ships which came a-trading with the new settle- ments to pay tribute at New York ; and finally arrested Carteret and brought him to his own capital for trial. Meanwhile, Byllinge became embarrassed with debt, and was forced to make an assignment of his property. Gawen Laurie, Nicholas Lucas and William Penn were appointed trus- tees, and to them Byllinge's interest in New Jersey was assigned for the benefit of his creditors. The assignees were Quakers. Here, then, was an opportunity to establish another asylum for the persecuted, and to found a common- wealth of Friends. Penn and his associates at once applied to Sir George Carteret for a division of the province. That nobleman was both willing and anxious to enter into an arrangement by which his own half of the territor}^ could be freed from all encumbrance. It was accordingly- agreed to divide New Jersey so that Carteret's district should be separated EAST AND WEST JERSEY, 1677. 206 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. from the domain of the Quakers. After much discussion an agreement was reached in the summer of 1676, and a line of division was drawn through the province as follows : Beginning at the southern point of land on the east side of Little Egg Harbor, and running north of north- west to a point on the river Delaware in the latitude of forty-one degrees and forty minutes. The territory lying east of this line remained to Sir George as sole proprietor, and was named East Jersey ; while that portion lying between the line and the Delaware was called West Jersey, and passed under the exclusive control of Penn and his asso- ciates as assignees of Byllinge. Early in the following March the Quaker proprietors completed and published a body of laws under the singular title of Concessions. But the name was significant, for everything was conceded to the people. This first simple code enacted by the Friends in America rivaled the charter of Connecticut in the liberality and purity of its principles. The authors of the instrument accompanied its publication with a general letter addressed to the Quakers of England, recommending the province and invitino; immio;ration. The invitation was not in vain. Before the end of the year a colony of more than four hundred Friends arrived in the Delaware, and found homes in West Jersey. Only one circumstance clouded the pros- pects of the new commonwealth of peace. The agent of Andros, governor of New York, was stationed at New Castle, on the western bank of the Delaware, to command the entrance to the river. The Quaker shi{is were obliged to pay customs before proceeding to their destination. A powerful remonstrance was drawn up by the Friends and sent to Eng- land. For once the duke of York listened to reason and agreed to sub- mit his cause to the courts; and for once a decision was rendered in accordance with right and justice. The eminent jurist Sir William Jones decided that the duke had no legal right to collect duties and taxes in the country of the Delaware. All claims to the territory and govern- ment of West Jersey were accordingly withdrawn ; and the Quaker col- onists were left in the enjoyment of independence. The heirs of Sir George Carteret were quick to see that the same decision would free their half of the province from the jurisdiction of Andros, An effort was accordingly made by the proprietors of East Jersey to secure a deed of release from the duke of York. The petition Avas favorably entertained, the deed issued and the whole territory between the Hudson and the Delaware freed from foreign authority. In November of 1681, Jennings, the deputy-governor of West Jersey, convened the first general assembly of the province. The men NEW JERSEY. 207 who had so worried the aristocracy of England by wearing their hats in the presence of great men, and by saying Thee and TTiou, now met together to make their own laws. The code was brief and simple. The doctrines of the Concessions were reaffirmed. Men of all races and of all religions were declared to be equal before the law. No superiority was conceded to rank or title, to wealth or royal birth. Imprisonment for debt was forbidden. The sale of ardent spirits to the Red men was prohibited. Taxes sliould be voted by the representatives of the people. The lands of the Indians should be acquired by honorable purchase. Finally, a criminal — unless a murderer, a traitor or a thief — might be pardoned by the person against whom the offence was committed. In 1682, William Penn and eleven other Friends purchased of the heirs of Carteret the province of East Jersey. Robert Barclay, an em- inent Quaker of Aberdeen, in Scotland, and author of the book called Barclay's Apology, was appointed governor for life. The whole of New Jersey was now under the authority of the Friends. The administration of Barclay, which continued until his death, in 1690, was chiefly noted for a large immigration of Scotch Quakers who left the governor's native country to find freedom in East Jersey. The persecuted Presbyterians of Scotland came to the province in still greater numbers. On the accession of James II., in 1685, the American colonies from Maine to Delaware were consolidated, and Edmund Andros appointed royal governor. His first year in America was spent in establishing his authority at Boston, Providence and HartforiJ. Not until 1688 were New York and the two Jerseys brought under his jurisdiction. The short reign of King James was already at an end before Andros could succeed in setting up a despotism on the ruin of colonial liberty. When the news came of the abdication and flight of the English monarch, the governor of New England could do nothing but surrender to the indig- nant people whom he had wronged and insulted. His arrest and im- prisonment was the signal for the restoration of popular government in all the colonies over which he had ruled. But the condition of New Jersey was deplorable. It was almost impossible to tell to whom the jurisdiction of the territory rightfully be- longed. So far as the eastern province was concerned, the representatives of Carteret claimed it ; the governor of New York claimed it ; Penn and his associates claimed it. As to the western province, the heirs of Byllinge claimed it ; Lucas, Laurie and Penn claimed it ; the governor of New York claimed it. Over all these pretensions stood the paramount claim of the English king. From 1689 to 1692 there Avas no settled form of government in the territory ; and for ten years thereafter the colony was 208 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. vexed and distracted with the presence of more rulers than any one province could accommodate. At last self-interest solved the problem. The proprietors came to see that a peaceable possession of the soil of the Jerseys was worth more than the uncertain honors of government. A proposition was accordingly made that all the claimants should surrender their rights of civil jurisdic- tion to the English Crown, retaming only the ownership of the soil. The measure was successfully carried out; and in April of 1702, all propri- etary claims being waived in favor of the sovereign, the territory between the Hudson and the Delaware became a royal province. New Jersey was now attached to the government of Lord Corn- bury of New York. The union of the two colonies, however, extended only to the office of chief magistrate ; each province retained its own legis- lative assembly and a distinct territorial organization. This method of government continued for thirty-six years, and was then terminated by the action of the people. In 1728 the representatives of New Jersey sent a petition to George II., praying for a separation of the two colonies ; but the application was at first refused. Ten years later the petition was renewed, and through the influence of Lewis Morris brought to a success- ful issue. New Jersey was made independent, and Morris himself received a commission as first royal governor of the separated province. The people of New Jersey were but little disturbed by the succes- sive Indian wars. The native tribes on this part of the American coast were weak and timid. Had it not been for the cruelties of Kieft and the wrongs of other governors of New York, the peace of the middle colonies would never have been broken. The province of New Jersey is specially interesting as being the point where the civilization of New England met and blended with the civilization of the South. Here the institutions, manners and laws of the Pilgrims were first modified by contact with the less rigid habits and opinions of the people who came with Gosnold and Smith. The dividing line between East and West Jersey is also the dividing line between the austere Puritans of Massachusetts and the chivalrous cavaliers of Virginia. Happily, along this dividing line the men of peace, the followers of Penn and Barclay, came and dwelt as if to subdue ill-will and make a Union possible. PENNS YL VANIA. 209 CHAPTER XXV. PENNSYLVANIA. THE Quakers were greatly encouraged with the success of their col* onies in West New Jersey. The prospect of establishing on the banks of the Delaware a free State, founded on the principle of universal brotherhood, kindled a new enthusiasm in the mind of William Penn. For more than a quarter of a century the Friends had been buffeted with shameful persecutions. Imprisonment, exile and proscription had been their constant portion, but had not sufficed to abate their zeal or to quench their hopes of the future. The lofty purpose and philanthropic spirit of Penn urged him to find for his afflicted people an asylum of rest. In June of 1680 he went boldly to King Charles, and petitioned for a grant of territory and the privilege of founding a Quaker commonwealth in the New World. The petition was seconded by powerful friends in Parliament. Lords North and Halifax and the earl of Sunderland favored the propo- sition, and the duke of York remembered a pledge of assistance which he had given to Penn's father. On the 5th of March, 1681, a charter was granted ; the great seal of England, with the signature of Charles II., was affixed ; and William Penn became the proprietor of Pennsylvania. The vast domain embraced under the new patent was bounded on the east by the river Delaware, extended north and south over three degrees of latitude, and westward through five degrees of longitude. Only the three counties comprising the present State of Delaware were reserved for the duke of York. In consideration of this grant, Penn relinquished a claim of sixteen thousand pounds sterling which the British government owed to his father's estate. He declared that his objects were to found a free com- monwealth without respect to the color, race or religion of the inhabitants; to subdue the natives with no other weapons than love and justice ; to establish a refuge for the people of his own faith; and to enlarge the borders of the British empire. One of the first acts of the great propri- etor was to address a letter to the Swedes who might be included within 14 210 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. the limits of his province, telling tliem to be of good cheer, to keep their homes, make their own laws and fear no oppression. Within a month from the date of his charter, Penn published to the English nation a glowing account of his new country beyond the Del- aware, praising the beauty of the scenery and salubrity of the climate, promising freedom of conscience and equal rights, and inviting emigra- tion. There was an immediate and hearty response. In the course of the summer three shiploads of Quaker emigrants left England for the land of promise. William Markham, agent of the proprietor, came as leader of the company and deputy-governor of the province. He was instructed by Penn to rule in accordance with law, to deal justly with all men, and especially to make a league of friendship with the Indians. In October of the same year the anxious proprietor sent a letter directly to the natives of the territory, assuring them of his honest purposes and brotherly affection. The next care of Penn was to draw up a frame of government for his province. Herein was his great temptation. He had almost ex- hausted his father's estate in aiding the persecuted Quakers. A stated revenue would be very necessary in conducting his administration. His proprietary rights under the charter were so ample that he might easily reserve for himself large prerogatives and great emoluments in the govern- ment. He had before him the option of being a consistent, honest Quaker or a politic, wealthy governor. He chose like a man ; right triumphed over riches. The constitution which he framed was liberal almost to a fault ; and the people were allowed to adopt or reject it as they might deem proper. In the mean time, the duke of York had been induced to surrender his claim to the three reserved counties on the Delaware. The whole country on the western bank of the bay and river, from the open ocean below Cape Henlopen to the forty-third degree of north latitude, was now under the dominion of Penn. The summer of 1682 was spent in fiirther preparation. The proprietor wrote a touching letter of farewell to the Friends in England ; gathered a large company of emigrants ; em- barked for America ; and on the 27th of October landed at New Castle, where the people were waiting to receive him. William Penn, the founder of Philadelphia, was born on the 14th of October, 1644. He was the oldest son of Vice- Admiral Sir William Penn of the British navy. At the age of twelve he was sent to the University of Oxford, where he distinguished himself as a student until he was expelled on account of his religious opinions. Afterward he traveled on the Continent ; was again a student at Saumur ; returned to PENNSYLVANIA. 211 Study law at London; went to Ireland; became a soldier; heard the preaching of Loe and was converted to the Quaker faith. His disap- pointed and angry father drove him out of doors, but he was not to be turned from his course. He pub- licly proclaimed the doctrines of the Friends ; was ar- rested and impris- oned for nine months in the Tow- er of London. Be- ing released, he re- peated the offence, and lay for half a year in a dungeon at Newgate. A second time liber- ated, but despair- ing of toleration for his people in Eng- land, he cast his gaze across the Atlantic. West Jersey was purchased ; but the boundary was narrow, and" the great-souled proprietor sought a grander and more beautiful domain. His petition was heard with favor and the charter of Pennsylvania granted by King Charles. Colonists came teeming ; and now the Quaker king himself, without pomp or parade, without the dis- charge of cannon or vainglorious ceremony, was come to New Castle to found a government on the basis of fraternity and peace. It was fitting that he should call the new republic a holy experiment. As soon as the landing was effected, Penn delivered an affectionate and cheerful address to the crowd of Swedes, Dutch and English who came to greet him. His former pledges of a liberal and just government were publicly renewed, and the people were exhorted to sobriety and honesty. From New Castle the governor ascended the Delaware to Ches- ter ; passed the site of Philadelphia ; visited the settlements of West New Jersey ; and thence traversed East Jersey to Long Island and New York. After spending some time at the capital of his friend, the duke of York, WILLIAM PENN. 212 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. and speaking words of cheer to the Quakers about Brooklyn, he returned to his own province and began his duties as chief magistrate. Markham, the deputy-governor, had been instructed to estabHsh fraternal relations with the Indians. Before Penn's arrival treaties had been made, lands purchased, and pledges of friendship given between the Friends and the Red men. Now a great conference was aj^pointed with the native chiefs. All the sachems of the Lenni Lenapes and other neighbor- ing tribes were invited to assemble. The council was held on the banks of the Delaware under the open sky. Penn, accompanied by a few un- armed friends, clad in the simple garb of the Quakers, came to the ap- pointed spot and took his station under a venerable elm, now leafless ; for it was winter. The chieftains, also unarmed, sat, after the manner of their race, in a semicircle on the ground. It was not Penn's object to purchase lands, to provide for the interests of trade or to make a formal treaty, but rather to assure the untutored children of the woods of his honest purposes and brotherly affection. Standing before them with grave demeanor and speaking by an interpreter, he said : " My Friends : We have met on the broad pathway of good faith. We are all one flesh and blood. Being brethren, no advantage shall be taken on either side. AVhen disputes arise, we will settle them in council. Between us there shall be nothing but openness and love." The chiefs replied : " While the rivers run and the sun shines we will live in peace with the children of William Penn." No record was made of the treaty, for none was needed. Its terms were written, not on decaying parchment, but on the living hearts of men. No deed ol violence or injustice ever marred the sacred covenant. The Indians vied with the Quakers in keeping unbroken the pledge of perpetual peace. For mo" , than seventy years during which the province remained under the control of the Friends, not a single war-whoop was lieard within the borders of Pennsylvania. The Quaker hat and coat proved to be a better defence for the wearer than coat-of-mail and musket. On the 4th of December, 1682, a general convention was held at Chester. The object was to complete the territorial legislation — a work M'hich occupied three days. At the conclusion of the session, Penn de- livered an address to the assembly, and then hastened to the Chesapeake to confer with Lord Baltimore about the boundaries of their respective provinces. After a month's absence he returned to Chester and busied himself with drawing a map of his proposed capital. ■ The beautiful neck of land between the Schuylkill and the Delaware was selected and ])ur- chased of the Swedes. In February of 1683 the native chestnuts, wal- PENNSYLVANIA. 213 PHILADEIiPHIA AND VICINITY. nuts and ashes were blazed to indicate the lines of the streets, and Phil- adelphia — City of Brotherly Love — was founded. Within a month a general assembly was in session at the new capital. The people were eager that their Charter of Liberties, now to be framed, should be dated at Philadelphia. The work of legislation was begun and a form of government adopted which was essen- tially a representative democracy. The leading officers were the governor, a council consisting of a limited number of members chosen for three years, and a larger popular assembly, to be annually elected. Penn conceded everything to the people; but the power of vetoing objectionable acts of the council was left in his hands. The growth of Philadelphia was astonishing. In the summer of 1683 there were only three or four houses. Tlie ground-squirrels still lived in their burrows, and the wild deer ran through the town without alarm. In 1685 the city contained six hundred houses ; the schoolmaster had come and the printing-press had begun its work. In another year Philadelphia had outgrown New York. Penn's work of establishing a free State in America had been well and nobly done. In August of 1684 he took an affectionate fare- well of his flourishing colony, and sailed for England. Thomas Lloyd was appointed as president during the absence of the proprietor, and five commissioners, members of the provincial council, were chosen to assist in the government. Nothing occurred to disturb the peace of Pennsylvania until the secession of Delaware in 1691. The three lower counties, which, ever since the arrival of Penn, had been united on terms of equality with the six counties of Pennsylvania, became dissatisfied with some acts of the general assembly and insisted on a separation. The proprietor gave a reluctant consent; Delaware withdrew from the union and received a separate deputy-governor. Such was the . condition of affairs after the abdication of King James II. William Penn was a friend and favorite of the Stuart kings. It was from Charles II. that he had received the charter of Pennsylvania. Now that the royal house was overthrown, he sympathized with the fallen monarch and looked with coldness on the new sovereigns, William and 214 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Mary. For some real or supposed adherence to the cause of the exiled James II., Perm was several times arrested and imprisoned. In 1692 his proprietary rights were taken away, and by a royal commission the government of Pennsylvania was transferred to Fletcher of New York. In the following year Delaware shared the same fate ; all the provinces between Connecticut and Marj'land were consolidated under Fletcher's authority. In the mean time, the suspicions against Penn's loyalty were found to be groundless, and he was restored to his rights as governor of Pennsylvania. In December of 1699, Penn again visited his American common- wealth, now groM^n into a State. The prosperity of the province was all that could be desired ; but the people were somewhat dissatisfied with tlie forms of government. The lower counties were again embittered against the acts of the assembly. In order to restore peace and harmony, the benevolent proprietor drew up another constitution, more liberal than the first, extending the powers of the people and omitting the objectionable features of the former charter. But Delaware had fallen into chronic discontent, and would not accept the new frame of government. In 1702 the general assemblies of the two provinces were convened apart ; and in the following year Delaware and Pennsylvania were finally separated. But the rights of Penn as j^roprietor of the whole territory remained as before, and a common governor continued to preside over both colonies. In the winter of 1701, William Penn bade a final adieu to his friends in America and returned to England. He left Pennsylvania in a state of peace and prosperity. Though there was not a single fort within her borders, the province had been secure against invasion. With neither police nor militia, the people Avent abroad in safety. With no difference in rank, no preference in matters of opinion, and no proscription for religion's sake, the colony flourished and waxed strong. But the English ministers had now formed the design of abolishing all the proprietary governments, with a view to the estab- lishment of royal governments instead. The presence and influence of Penn were especially required in England in order to prevent the success of the ministerial scheme. After much controversy his rights were recognized and secured against encroachment. In the mean time, the affairs of Pennsylvania were administered by the deputy- governors, Andrew Hamilton and John Evans. The latter, a worldly sort of man, not very faithful to the principles of the Friends, greatly troubled the province by purchasing warlike stores, building forts, and attempting to organize a regiment of militia. The assembly en- tered a strong protest against these proceedings, so irreconcilable with PENNS YL VANIA. 215 the policy of the Quakers, and in 1708 Evans was removed from office. After him Charles Gookin received a commission as dep- uty-governor and entered upon his administration in 1709. Soon afterwards Penn was well-nigh overwhelmed by the rascality of his English agent, Ford, who first involved him in debt and then had him imprisoned. From a shameful confinement of many months he was finally released, and his old age was brightened by a gleam of prosperity. But the end of his labors was at hand. In July of 1718 the magnanimous founder of Pennsylvania sank to his final rest. His estates, vast and valuable, but much encumbered with debt, were be- queathed to his three sons, John, Thomas and Richard, who thus be- came proprietors of Pennsylvania. By them, or their deputies, the province was governed until the American Revolution. In the year 1779 the entire claims of the Penn family to the soil and jurisdiction of the State were purchased by the legislature of Pennsylvania for a hundred and thirty thousand pounds sterling. The colonial history of the State founded by William Penn and the Quakers is one of special interest and pleasure. It is a narrative that recounts the victories of peace and the triumph of the nobler virtues over violence and wrong. It is doubtful whether the history of any other colony in the world is touched with so many traits of innocence and truth. When the nations grow mercenary and the times seem full of fraud, the early annals of Pennsylvania may well be recited as a perpetual protest against the seeming success of evil. "I will found a free colony for all mankind," were the words of William Penn. How well his work was done shall be fitly told when the bells of his capital city shall ring out the first glad notes of American Independence. COLONIAL HISTORY.— Continued. MINOR SOUTHERN COLONIES. CHAPTER XXyi. MARYLAND. CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH was the first white man to explore the Chesapeake and its tributaries. After him, in 1621, William Clay- borne, a resolute and daring English surveyor, Avas sent out by the London Company to make a map of the country about the head-waters of the bay. By the second charter of Virginia the territory of that province had been extended on the north to the forty-first parallel of latitude. All of the present State of Maryland was included in this enlargement, which also embraced the whole of Delaware and the greater part of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The ambition of Virginia was greatly excited by the possession of this vast domain; to explore and occupy it was an enterprise of the highest importance. Clayborne was a member of the council of Virginia, and secretary of state in that colony. In May of 1631 he received a royal commission authorizing him to discover the sources of the Chesapeake Bay, to survey the country as far as the forty-first degree of latitude, to establish a trade with the Indians, and to exercise the right of government over the com- panions of his voyage. This commission was confirmed by Governor Harvey of Virginia, and in the spring of the following year Clayborne began his important and arduous work. The members of the London Company were already gathering imaginary riches from the immense fur- trade of the Potomac and the Susquehanna. The enterprise of Clayborne was attended with success. A trading- post was established on Kent Island, and another at the head of the bay, in the vicinity of Havre de Grace. The many rivers that fall into the Chesapeake were again explored and a trade opened with the natives. The limits of Virginia were about to be extended to the borders of New Netherland. But in the mean time, a train of circumstances had been (216) MARYLAND. 217 prepared in England by which the destiny of several American provinces was completely changed. As in many other instances, religious perse- cution again contributed to lay the foundation of a new State in the wilderness. And Sir George Calvert, of Yorkshire, was the man who was destined to become the founder. Born in 1580 ; educated at Oxford; a. man of much travel and vast experience ; an ardent and devoted Cath- olic; a friend of hu- manity ; honored with knighthood, and after- ward with an Irish peerage and the title of Lord Baltimore,, — he now in middle life turned aside from the dignities of rank and affluence to devote the energies of his life to the welfare of the oppressed. For the Catholics of England, as well as the dissent- ing Protestants, were afflicted with many and bitter persecu- tions. Lord Baltimore's first American enter- prise was the planting of a Catholic colony in Newfoundland. King James, who was not unfriendly to the Eoman Church, had granted him a patent for the southern promontory of the island; and here, in 1623, a refuge was established for distressed Cath- olics. But in such a place no colony could be successful. The district was narrow, cheerless, desolate. Profitable industry was impossible. French ships hovered around the coast and captured the English fishing- boats. It became evident that the settlement must be removed, and Lord Baltimore wisely turned his attention to the sunny country of the Ches- apeake. In 1629 he made a visit to Virginia. The general assembly offered him citizenship on condition that he would take an oath of allegiance ; but the oath was of such a sort as no honest Catholic could subscribe to^ liOBD BALTIMORE. 218 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. In vain did Sir George plead for toleration ; the assembly was inexorable. It was on the part of the Virginians a short-sighted and ruinous policy. For the London Company had already been dissolved ; the king might therefore rightfully regrant that vast territory north of the Potomac which by the terms of the second charter had been given to Virginia. Lord Baltimore left the narrow-minded legislators, returned to London, himself drew up a charter for a new State on the Chesapeake, and easily induced his friend, King Charles L, to sign it. The Virginians had ^aved their religion and lost a province. The territory embraced by the new patent was bounded by the ocean, by the fortieth parallel of latitude, by a line drawn due south from that parallel to the most western fountain of the Potomac, by the river itself from its source to the bay, and by a line running due east from the mouth of the river to the Atlantic. The domain included the whole of the present States of Maryland and Delaware and a large part of Penn- sylvania and New Jersey. Here it was the purpose of the magnanimous proprietor to establish an asylum for all the afflicted of his own faith, and to plant a State on the broad basis of religious toleration and popular lib- erty. The provisions of the charter were the most liberal and ample which had ever received the sanction of the English government. Christianity was declared to be the religion of the State, but no preference was given to any sect or creed. The lives and property of the colonists were care- fully guarded. Free trade was declared to be the law of* the province, and arbitrary taxation was forbidden. The rights of the proprietor ex- tended only to the free appointment of the officers of his government. The power of making and amending the laws was conceded to the freemen of the colony or their representatives. One calamity darkened the prospect. Before the liberal patent could receive the seal of State Sir George Calvert died. His title and estates descended to his son Cecil; and to him, on the 20th of June, 1632, the charter which had been intended for his noble father was finally issued. In honor of Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV. of France and wife of Charles L, the name of Maryland was conferred on the new province. Independence of Virginia was guaranteed in the constitution of the colony, and no danger was to be anticipated from the feeble forces of New Netherland. It only remained for the younger Lord Baltimore to raise a company of emigrants and carry out his father's benevolent designs. The work went forward slowly, and it was not until November of 1633 that a colony numbermg two hundred persons could be collected. Meanwhile, Cecil Calvert had abandoned the idea of coming in person to America, and had appointed his brother Leonard to accompany the col- MARYLAND. 219 onists to their destination, and to act as deputy-governor of the new province. In March of the following year the immigrants arrived at Old Point Comfort. Leonard Calvert bore a letter from King Charles to Governor Harvey of Virginia, commanding him to receive the new- comers with courtesy and favor. The order was complied with ; but the Virginians could look only with intense jealousy on a movement which must soon deprive them of the rich fur-trade of the Chesapeake. The colonists proceeded up the bay and entered the Potomac. At the mouth of Piscataway Creek, nearly opposite Mount Vernon, the pinnace was moored, and a cross w^as set up on an island. On the present site of Fort Washington there was an Indian village whose inhabitants came out to meet the English. A conference was held, and the sachem of the nation told Leonard Calvert in words of dubious meaning that he and his colony might stay or go just as they pleased. Considering this answer as a menace, and deeming it imprudent to plant his first settlement so far up the river, Calvert again embarked with his companions, and dropped down stream to the mouth of the St. Mary's, within fifteen miles of the bay. Ascending the estuaiy for about ten miles, he came to an Indian town. The natives had been beaten in battle by the Susquehannas, and were on the eve of migrating into the interior. The village was already half ■deserted. With the consent of the Eed men, the English moved into the vacant huts. The rest of the town was purchased, with the adjacent ter- ritory, the Indians promising to give possession at the opening of the spring. The name of St. Mary's was given to this the oldest colony of Maryland, and the name of the river was changed to St. George's. Calvert treated the natives with great liberality. The consequence was that the settlers had peace and plenty. The Indian women taught the wives of the English how to make corn-bread, and the friendly war- riors instructed the colonists in the mysteries of hunting. Game was abundant. The lands adjacent to the village were already under cultiva- tion. The settlers had little to do but to plant their gardens and fields and wait for the coming harvest. There was neither anxiety nor want. The dream of Sir George Calvert was realized. Within six months the colony of St. Mary's had grown into greater prosperity than the settle- ment at Jamestown had reached in as many years. Best of all, the pledge of civil liberty and religious toleration was redeemed to the letter. Two years before the founding of Rhode Island the Catholics of the Ches- apeake had emancipated the human conscience, built an asylum for the distressed, and laid the foundations of a free State. Within less than a year after the founding of St. Mary's the free- 220 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. men were convened in a general assembly. In February of 1635 the- work of colonial legislation was first begun. The records of this and several succeeding sessions were destroyed in the rebellion of 1645^ and not much is known concerning the character of the earliest laws. But it is certain that the province was involved in difficulty. For Clay- borne still stood his ground on Kent Island, and openly resisted Lord Baltimore's authority. His settlement on the island was almost as strong as the colony at St. Mary's ; and Clayborne, unscrupulous as to the right, and confident in his power, resolved to appeal to arms. In 1637 a bloody skirmish occurred on the banks of the river Wicomico, on the eastern shore of the bay. Several lives were lost, but the insurgents were defeated. Calvert's forces proceeded to Kent Island, overpowered thft settlement, and executed one or two persons who had participated in the rebellion. Clayborne, in the mean time, had escaped into Virginia. The assembly of Maryland demanded the fugitive ; but the governor refused, and sent the prisoner to England for trial. The legislators of St. Mary's charged the absent criminal with murder and piracy, tried him, con- demned him and confiscated his estates. Clayborne, who was safe in England, appealed to the king. The cause was heard by a committee of Parliament, and it was decided that the commission of Clayborne, which was only a license to trade in the Chesapeake, had been annulled by the dissolution of the London Company, and that the charter of Lord Balti- more was valid against all opposing claimants. Clayborne, however, was allowed to go at large. In 1639 a regular representative government was established in Maryland. Hitherto a system of popular democracy had prevailed in the province ; each freeman had been allowed a vote in determining the laws. With the growth of the colony it was deemed expedient to substitute the more convenient method of representation. When the delegates came together, a declaration of rights was adopted, and the prerogative of the proprietor more clearly defined. All the broad and liberal principles of the colonial patent were reaffirmed. The powers of the assembly were made coextensive with those of the House of Commons in England. The rights of citizenship were declared to be identical with those of Eng- lish subjects in tlie mother country. The Indians of Maryland and Virginia had now grown jealous of foreign encroachments. Vague rumors of the English Revolution had been borne to the Red men, and they believed themselves able to expel the intruders from the country. In 1642 hostilities were begun on the Potomac, and for two years the province was involved in war. But the^ MARYLAND. 221 settlements of Maryland were few and compact, and no great suffering was occasioned by the onsets of the barbarians. In 1644 the savages agreed to bury the hatchet and to renew the broken pledges of friendship. Hardly, however, had the echo of Indian warfare died away, when the colony was visited with a worse calamity by the return of its old enemy, William Clayborne. He came to find revenge, and found it. The king was now at war with his subjects, and could give no aid to the proprietor of an American province. Clayborne saw his opportunity, hurried to Mary- land, and raised the standard of rebellion. Arriving in the province in 1644, he began to sow the seeds of sedition by telling the restless and lawless spirits of the colony that they were wronged and oppressed by a usurping government. Early in 1645 an insurrection broke out. Com- panies of desperate men came together, and found in Clayborne a natural leader. The government of Leonard Calvert was overthrown, and the governor obliged to fly for his life. Escaping from the province, he found refuge and jjrotection with Sir William Berkeley of Virginia. Clayborne seized the colonial records of Maryland, and destroyed them. One act of violence followed another. The government was usurped, and for more ihan a year the colony was under the dominion of the insurgents. Mean- while, however. Governor Calvert collected his forces, returned to the province, defeated the rebels, and in August of 1646 succeeded in restor- ing his authority. It marks the mild and humane sj^irit of the Calverts that those engaged in this unjustifiable insurrection were pardoned by a general amnesty. The acts of the provincial legislature in 1649 were of special im- portance. It was enacted in broad terms that no person believing in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity should, on account of his religious opinions or practices, be in any wise distressed within the borders of Maryland. It was declared a finable offence for citizens to apply to each other the opprobrious names used in religious controversy. Freedom of conscience was reiterated with a distinctness that could not be misunder- stood. While Massachusetts was attempting by proscription to establish Puritanism as the faith of New England, and while the Episcopalians of Jamestown were endeavoring by exclusive legislation to make the Church of England the Church of Virginia, Maryland was joining with Rhode Island and Connecticut in proclaiming religious freedom. It sometimes happened in those days that Protestants escaping from Protestants found an asylum with the Catholic colonists of the Chesapeake. In 1650 the legislative body of Maryland was divided into two branches. The upj)er house consisted of the governor and members of 222 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. his council appointed by the proprietor. The lower house, or general assembly, was composed of burgesses elected by the people of the province. Again the rights of Lord Baltimore were carefully defined by provincial law. An act was also passed declaring that no taxes should be levied without the consent of the assembly. Such was the condition of affairs in the colony when the commonwealth was established in England. Par- liament was now the supreme power in the mother country, and it could hardly be expected that Lord Baltimore's charter would be allowed to stand. In 1651 parliamentary commissioners were appointed to come to America and assume control of the colonies bordering on the Chesapeake. Clayborne was a member of the body thus appointed. When the com- missioners arrived in Maryland, Stone, the deputy of Lord Baltimore, was deposed from office. A compromise was presently effected between the adherents of the proprietor and the opposing faction ; and in June of the following year. Stone, with three members of his council, was per- mitted to resume the government. In April of 1653 the Long Par- liament, by whose authority the commissioners had been appointed, was dissolved. Stone thereupon published a proclamation declaring that the recent interference of Clayborne and his associates had been a rebellious usurpation. Clayborne, enraged at this proclamation, collected a force in Virginia, returned into Maryland, again drove Stone out of office, and entrusted the government to ten commissioners appointed by himself. The Puritan and republican party in Maryland had now grown sufficiently strong to defy the proprietor and the Catholics. A Protestant assembly was convened at Patuxent in October of 1654. The first act was to acknowledge the supremacy of Cromwell ; the next to disfranchise the Catholics and to deprive them of the protection of the laws. The un- grateful representatives seemed to forget that if Lord Baltimore had been equally intolerant not one of them would have had even a residence within the limits of Maryland. It would be difficult to find a more odious piece of legislation than that of the assembly at Patuxent. Of course the Catholic party would not submit to a code by which they were virtually banished from their own province. Civil war ensued. Governor Stone organized and armed the militia, seized the records of the colony, and marched against the oppos- ing forces. A decisive battle was fought just across the estuarj' from the present site of Annapolis. The Catholics were defeated, wuth a loss of fifty men in killed and wounded. Stone himself was taken prisoner, and was only saved from death by the personal friendship of some of the in- surgents. Three of the Catholic leaders were tried by a court-martial MARYLAND. 223" and executed. Cromwell paid but little attention to these atrocities, and made no effort to sustain the government of Lord Baltimore. In 1656 Josias Fendall, a weak and impetuous man, was sent out by the proprietor as governor of the province. There was now a Cath- olic insurrection with Fendall at the head. For two years the govern- ment was divided, the Catholics exercising authority at St. Mary's, and the Protestants at Leonardstown. At length, in March of 1658, a com- promise was effected; Fendall was acknowledged as governor, and the- acts of the recent Protestant assemblies were recognized as valid. A gen- eral amnesty was published, and the colony was again at peace. I When the death of Cromwell was announced in Maryland, the provincial authorities were much perplexed. One of four courses might be pursued : Richard Cromwell might be recognized as protector ; Charles II. might be proclaimed as king ; Lord Baltimore might be acknowledged as hereditary proprietor ; colonial independence might be declared. The latter policy was adopted by the assembly. On the 12th of March, 1660, the rights of Lord Baltimore were formally set aside; the provincial council was dissolved, and the whole power of government was assumed by the House of Burgesses. The act of independence was adopted just one day before a similar resolution was passed by the general assembly of Virginia. The population of Maryland had now reached ten thousand. On the restoration of monarchy the rights of the Baltimores were again recognized, and Philip Calvert was sent out as deputy-governor. In the mean time, Fendall had resigned his trust as agent of the proprietor, and had accepted an election by the people. He was now repaid for his double-dealing with an arrest, a trial and a condemnation on a charge of treason. Nothing saved his life but the clemency of Lord Baltimore, who, with his customary magnanimity, proclaimed a general pardon. Sir Cecil Calvert died in 1675, and his son Charles, a young man who had inherited the virtues of the illustrious family, succeeded to the estates and title of Baltimore. For sixteen years he exercised the rights of proprietary governor of Maryland. The laws of the province were carefully revised, and the liberal principles of the original charter re- affirmed as the basis of the State. Only once during this period was the happiness of the colony disturbed. When the news arrived of the abdi- cation of King James IL, the deputy of Lord Baltimore hesitated to acknowledge the new sovereigns, William and Mary. An absurd rumor was spread abroad that the Catholics had leagued Avith the Indians for the purpose of destroying the Protestants of Maryland in a general mas- sacre. An opposing force was organized ; and in 1689 the Catholic party was compelled to surrender the government. For two years the Protest- 224 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ants held the province, and civil authority was exercised by a body called the Convention of Associates. On the 1st day of June, 1691, the government of Maryland was revolutionized by the act of King William. The charter of Lord Balti- more was arbitrarily taken away, and a royal governor appointed over the province. Sir Lionel Copley received a commission, and assumed the government in 1692. Every vestige of the old patent was swept away. The Episcopal Church was established by law and supported by taxation. Religious toleration was abolished and the government administered on despotic principles. This condition of affairs continued until 1715, when Queen Anne was induced to restore the heir of Lord Baltimore to the rights of his ancestor. Maryland again became a proprietary government under the authority of the Calverts, and so remained until the Revolu- tionary war. The early history of the colony planted by the first Lord Balti- more on the shores of the Chesapeake is full of j)rofitable instruction. In no other American province were the essential vices of intolerance more clearly manifested; in no other did the principle of religious freedom shine with a brighter lustre. Nor will the thoughtful student fail to observe how the severe dogmas of Catholicism were softened down when brought into contact with the ennobling virtues of the Calverts, until over river and bay and shore a mellow light was diffused like a h-i'io shining fix)m the altars of the ancient Church. CHAPTER XXVII. NORTH CAROLINA. THE first effort to colonize North Carolina was made by Sir Walter Raleigh. In 1630 an immense tract lying between the thirtieth and the thirty-sixth parallels of latitude was granted by King Charles to Sir Robert Heath. But neither the proprietor nor his successor, Lord Mai- travers, succeeded in planting a colony. After a useless existence of thirty-three years, the patent was revoked by the English sovereign. The only effect of Sir Robert's charter was to perjietuate the name of Carolina, which had been given to the country by John Ribault in 1562. In the year 1622 the country as far south as the river Chowan was NORTH CAROLINA. 225 explored by For}-, the secretary of Virginia. Twenty years later a com- pany of Virginians obtained leave of the assembly to prosecute discovery on the lower Roanoke and establish a trade with the natives. The first actual settlement was made near the mouth of the Chowan about the year 1G51. The country was visited just afterw^ard by Clayborne of Maryland, and in 1661 a company of Puritans from New England passed down the coast, entered the mouth of Cape Fear River, purchased lands of the Indians and established a colony on Oldtown Creek, nearly two hundred miles farther south than any other English settlement. In 1663 Lord Clarendon, General Monk, who was now honored with the title of duke of Albemarle, and six other noblemen, received at the hands of Charles 11. a patent for all the country between the thirty-sixth parallel and the river St. John's, in Florida. With this grant the colonial history of North Carolina properly begins. In the same year a civil government was organized by the settlers on the Chowan. William Drummond was chosen governor, and the name of Albemarle County Colony was given to the district border- ing on the sound. In 1665 it was found that the settlement was north of the thirty-sixth j)arallel, and consequently beyond the limits of the province. To remedy this defect the grant was extended on the north to thiriy-six degrees and thirty minutes, the present boundary of Virginia, and westward to the Pacific. During the same year the little Puritan colony on Cape Fear River was broken up by the Indians ; but scarcely had this been done when the site of the settlement, with thirty-two miles square of the surrounding territory, was purchased by a company of planters from Barbadoes. A new county named Clarendon was laid out, and Sir John Yeamans elected governor of the colony. The pro- prietors favored the settlement; immigration was rapid; and within a year eight hundred people had settled along the river. The work of preparing a frame of government for the new province was assigned to Sir Ashley Cooper, earl of Shaftesbury. The proprietors, not without reason, looked forward to the time when a powerful nation should arise within the borders of their vast domain. To draft a suitable constitution was deemed a work of the greatest importance. Shaftesbury was a brilliant and versatile statesman who had entire confidence in his abilities ; but in order to give complete assurance of perfection in the proposed statutes, the philoso-pher John Locke was employed by Sir Ashley and his associates to prepare the constitution. The legislation of the world furnishes no parallel for the pompous absurdity of Locke's performance. From ]\Iarch until July of 1669 the philosopher worked away in. 15 226 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. the preparation of his Grand Model ; then the mighty instrument was done, and signed. It contained a hundred and twenty articles, called the " Fundamental Constitutions ;" and this was but the beginning of the im- perial scheme which was to stand like a colossus over the huts and pas- tures along the Cape Fear and Chowan Rivers. The empire of Carolina was divided into vast districts of four hundred and eighty thousand acres each. Political rights were made dependent upon hereditary wealth. The offices were put* beyond the reach of the people. There were two grand orders of nobility. There were dukes, earls and marquises; knights, lords and esquires ; baronial ' courts, heraldic ceremony, and every sort of feudal nonsense that the human imagination could conceive of. And this was the magnificent constitution which a great statesman and a wise philosopher had planned for the government of a few colonists who lived on venison and potatoes and paid their debts with tobacco ! It was one thing to make the grand model, and another thing to get it across the Atlantic. In this the proprietors never succeeded. All at- tempts to establish the pompous scheme of government ended in necessary failure. Tlie settlers of Albemarle and Clarendon had meanwhile learned to govern themselves after the simple manner of pioneers, and they could but regard the model and its authors with disdainful contempt. After twenty years of fruitless effort, Shaftesbury and his associates folded up their grand constitution and concluded that an empire in the pine forests of North Carolina was impossible. The soil of Clarendon county was little better than a desert. For a while a trade in staves and furs supplied a profitable industry ; but when this traffic was exhausted, the colonists began to remove to other settle- ments. In 1671, Governor Yeamans was transferred to the colony which had been founded in the previous year at the mouth of Ashley River, and before the year 1690 the whole county of Clarendon was a second time surrendered to the native tribes. The settlement north of Albemarle Sound was more prosperous, but civil dissension greatly retarded the development of the country. For the proprietors were already busy trj'^ing to establish their big in- stitutiong in the feeble province. The humble commerce of the colony was burdened with an odious duty. Every pound of the eight hundi-ed hogs- heads of tobacco annually produced was taxed a penny for the benefit of the government. There were at this time less than four thousand people in North Carolina, and yet the traffic of these poor settlers with New England alone was so weighed down with duties as to yield an annual revenue of twelve thousand dollars. Miller, the governor, was a hareh. and violent man. A gloomy opposition to the proprietary government I^ORTH CAROLINA. 227 pervaded the colony; and when, in 1676, large numbers of refugees from Virginia — patriots who had fought in Bacon's rebellion — arrived in the Chowan, the spirit of discontent was kindled into open resistance. The arrival of a merchant-ship from Boston and an attempt to en- force the revenue laws furnished the occasion and pretext of an insurrec- tion. The vessel evaded the payment of duty, and waf declared a smug- gler. But the people flew to arms, seized the governor and six members of his council, overturned the existing order of things and established a new government of theu" own. John Culpepper, the leader of the insur- gents, was chosen governor; other officers were elected by the people; and in a few weeks the colony was as tranquil as if Locke's grand model had never been heard of. But in the next year, 1679, the imprisoned Mil- ler and his associates escaped from confinement, and going to London told a dolorous story about their wrongs and sufferings. The English lords of trade took the matter in hand, and it seemed that North Carolina was doomed to punishment. But the colonists were awake to their interests. Governor Cul- pepper went boldly to England to defend himself and to justify the rebel- lion. He was seized, indicted for high treason, tried and acquitted by a jury of Englishmen. It marks a peculiar feature of this cause that the sagacious earl of Shaftesbury came forward at the trial and spoke in de- fence of the prisoner. But Lord Clarendon was so much vexed at the acquittal of the rebellious governor that he sold his rights as proprietor to the infamous Seth Sothel. This man in 1680 was sent out by his associ- ates as governor of the province. In crossing the ocean he was captured by a band of pirates, and for three years the colony was saved from his evil presence. At last, in 1683, he arrived in Carolina and begaa his work, which consisted in oppressing the people and defrauding the pro- prietors. Cranfield of New Hampsliire, Cornbury of New York and Wingfield of Virginia were all respectable men in comparison with Sothel, whose sordid passions have made him notorious as the worst colonial gov- ernor that ever plundered an American province. After five years of avaricious tyranny, the base, gold-gathering, justice-despising despot was overthrown in an insurrection. Finding himself a prisoner, and fearing the wrath of the defrauded proprietors more than he feared the indigna- tion of the outraged colonists, he begged to be tried by the assembly of the province. The request was granted, and the culprit escaped with a sentence of disfranchisement and a twelve months' exile from North Carolina. Sothel was succeeded in the governorship by Ludwell, who arrived in 1689. His administration of six years' duration was a period of peace 228 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. and contentment. The wrongs of his predecessor were corrected as far as possible by a just and humane chief magistrate. In 1695 came Sir John Archdale, another of the proprietors, the rival of Ludwell in prudence and integrity. Then followed the tranquil administration of Governor Henderson Walker; then, in 1704, the foolish attempt of Robert Daniel to establish the Church of England. In the mean time, the colony had grown strong in population and resources. The country south of the Roanoke besran to be dotted with farms and hamlets. Other settlers came from Virginia and Maryland. Quakers came from New England and the Delaware. A band of French Huguenots came in 1707. A hundred families of German refugees, buffeted with war and persecution, left the banks of the Rhine to find a home on the banks of the Neuse. Peasants from Switzerland came and founded New Berne at the mouth of the River Trent. The Indians of North Carolina had gradually wasted away. Pes- tilence and strong drink had reduced jiowerful tribes to a shadow. Some nations were already extinct ; others, out of thousands of strong-limbed warriors, had only a dozen men remaining. The lands of the savages had passed to the whites, sometimes by purchase, sometimes by fraud, often by forcible occupation. The natives were jealous and revengeful, but weak. Of all the mighty tribes that had inhabited the Carolinas in the days of Sir Walter Raleigh, only the Corees and the Tuscaroras were still formidable. The time had come when these unhappy nations, like the rest of their race, were doomed to destruction. The conflict which ended, and could only end, m the ruin of the Red men, began in the year 1711. In September of this year, Lawson, the surv^eyor-general of North Carolina, ascended the Neuse to explore and map the country. The In- dians were alarmed at the threatened encroachment upon their territory. A band of warriors took Lawson prisoner, led him before their council, condemned him and burned him to death. On the night of the 22d, com- panies of savages rose out of the woods, fell upon the scattered settlements between the Roanoke and Pamlico Sound, and murdered a hundred and thirty persons. Civil dissension prevented the colonial authorities from adopting vigorous measures of defence. The protection of the people and the punishment of the barbarians were left to the neighboring prov- inces. Spottswood, governor of Virginia, made some unsuccessful efforts to render assistance, and Colonel Barnwell came from South Carolina with a company of militia and a body of friendly Cherokees, Creeks and Cataw- bas. The savages were driven into their fort in the northern part of Craven county, but could not be dislodged. While afiPairs were in this NORTH CAROLINA. 229 condition a treaty of peace was made ; but Barnwell's men, on their way homeward, violated the compact, sacked an Indian village and made slaves of the inhabitants. The war was at once renewed. In September of the next year, while the conflict was yet unde- cided, the yellow fever broke out in the country south of Pamlico Sound. So dreadful were the ravages of the pestilence that the peninsula was wellnigh swept of its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Colonel James Moore of South Carolina had arrived, in command of a regiment of whites and In- dians, and the Tuscaroras were pursued to their principal fort on Cotentnea Creek, in Greene county. This place was besieged until the latter part of March, 1713, and was then carried by assault. Eight hundred warriors were taken prisoners. The power of the hostile nation was broken, but the Tuscarora chieftains were divided in council ; some were desirous of peace, and some voted to continue the war. This difference of opinion led to a division of the tribe. Those who wished for peace were permit- ted to settle in a single commrmity in the county of Hyde. Their hostile brethren, seeing that further resistance would be hopeless, determined to leave the country. In the month of June they abandoned their hunting- grounds made sacred by the traditions of their fathers, marched across Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, reached Northern New York, joined their kinsmen, the Oneidas, and became the sixth nation of the Iroquois confederacy. Thus far the two Carolinas had continued under a common gov- ernment. In 1729 a final separation was effected between the provinces north and south of Cape Fear River, and a royal governor appointed over each. In spite of Locke's grand model and the Tuscarora war, in spite of the threatened Spanish invasion of 1744, the northern colony had greatly prospered. The intellectual development of the people had not been as rapid as the growth in numbers and in wealth. Little attention had been given to questions of religion. There was no minister in the province until 1703. Two years later the first church was built. The first court- house was erected in 1722, and the printing-press did not begin its work until 1754. But the people were brave and patriotic. They loved their country, and called it the Land of Summer. In the farmhouse and the village, along the banks of the rivers and the borders of the primeval for- ests, the spirit of liberty pervaded every breast. The love of freedom was intense, and hostility to tyranny a universal passion. In the times of Sothel it was said of the North Carolinans that they would not pay trib- ute even to Coesar, 23e HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XXVIII. SOUTH CAROLINA. IN January of 1670 the proprietors of Carolina sent out a colony under command of Joseph West and William Sayle. There was at this time not a single European settlement between the mouth of Cape Fear River and the St. John's, in Florida. Here was a beautiful coast of nearly four hundred miles ready to receive the beginnings of civilization. The new emigrants, sailing by way of Barbadoes, steered far to the south, and reached the mainland in the country of the Savannah. The vessels first entered the harbor of Port Royal. It was now a hundred and eight years since John Ribault, on an island in this same harbor, had set up a stone engraved with the lilies of France ; now the Englishman had come. The ships were anchored near the site of Beaufort. But the colo- nists were dissatisfied with the appearance of the country, and did not go ashore. Sailing northward along the coast for forty miles, they next en- tered the mouth of Ashley River, and landed where the first high land appeared upon the southern bank. Here were laid the foundations of Old Charleston, so named in honor of King Charles II. Of this, the oldest town in South Carolina, no trace remains except the line of a ditch which was digged around the fort ; a cotton-field occupies the site of the ancient settlement. Sayle had been commissioned as governor and West as commercial agent of the colony. The settlers had been furnished with a copy of Locke's big constitution, but they had no more use for it than for a dead elephant. Instead of the grand model, a little government was organized on the principles of common sense. Five councilors were elected by the people, and five others appointed by the proprietors. Over this council of ten the governor presided. Twenty delegates, composing a house of representatives, were chosen by the colonists. Within two years the sys- tem of popular government was firmly established in the province. Ex- cept the prevalence of diseases peculiar to the southern climate, no calam- ity darkened the prospects of the rising State. In the beginning of 1671 Governor Sayle died, and M^'est, by com- mon consent, assumed the duties of the vacant office. After the lapse of SOUTH CAROLINA. 231 a few months, Sir John Yeamans, who had been governor of the northern province and was now in Barbadoes, was commissioned by the proprie- tors as chief magistrate of the southern colony. He brought with him to Ashley River a large cargo of African slaves. From the beginning the colonists had devoted themselves to planting ; but the English laborers, unused as yet to the climate, could hardly endure the excessive heats of the sultry fields. To the Caribbee negroes, already accustomed to the burn- in o- suu of the tropics, the Carolina summer seemed temperate and pleasant. Thus the labor of the black man was substituted for the labor of the white man, and in less than two years from the founding of the colony the system of slavery was firmly established. In this respect the history of South Carolma is peculiar. Slavery had been introduced into all the America© colonies, but everywhere else the introduction had been effected by those M'ho were engaged in the slave-trade. In South Carolina alone was the system adopted as a political and social experiment and with a view to the regular establishment of a laboring class in the State. Governor Yeamans was the first to accept this policy, which soon became the general policy of the province. The importation of negroes went on so rapidly that in a short time they outnumbered the whites as two to one. Immigration from England did not lag. During the year 1671 a system of cheap rents and liberal bounties was adopted by the proprietors, and the country w^as rapidly filled with people. A tract of a hundred and fifty acres was granted to ever}^ one who would either immi^-ate or im- port a negro. Fertile lands were abundant. Wars and pestilence had almost annihilated the native tribes; whole counties were almost without an occupant. The disasters of one race had prepared the way for the coming of another. Only a few years before this time New Netherland had been conquered by the English. The Dutch were greatly dissatisfied with the government which the duke of York had established over them, and began to leave the country. The proprietors of Carolina sent several ships to New York, loaded them with the industrious but discontented people, and brought them without expense to Charleston. The unoccupied lands west of Ashley River were divided among the Dutch, who formed there a thriving settlement called Jamestown. The fame of the new country reached Holland, and other emigrants left fatherland to join their kinsmen in Carolina. Charles IL, who rarely aided a colony, collected a company of Protestant refugees from the South of Europe, and sent them to Carolina to introduce the silk- worm and to begin the cultivation of the grape. In 1680 the present metropolis of South Carolina was founded. The site of Old Charleston had been hastily and injudiciously selected. The 232 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. delightful peninsula called Oyster Point, between Ashley and Cooper Rivers, was now chosen as the spot on which to build a city. The erec- tion of thirty dwellings during the first summer gave proof of enterprise ; the name of Charleston was a second time bestowed, and the village immediately became the capital of the colony. The unhealthy climate for a while retarded the progress of the new town, but the people were lull of life and enterprise; storehouses and wharves were built, and mer- chant-ships soon began to throng the commodious harbor. Injustice provoked an Indian war. Some vagabond Nesto&s, whose only offence consisted in strolling through the plantations, were shot. The tribe appealed to the government, and the proprietors showed a wil- lingness to punish the wrongdoers ; but the pioneers were determined to fight and the savages were naturally revengeful. Scenes of violence con- tinued along the border, and hostilities began in earnest. In the prosecu- tion of the war the colonists were actuated by a shameful spirit of avarice. The object was not so much to punish or destroy the savages as to take them prisoners. A bountj^ was offered for every captured Indian, and as fast as the warriors were taken they were sold as slaves for the West In- dies. The petty strife continued for a year, and was then concluded ^vith a treaty of peace. Commissioners were aj^pointed, to whom all complaints and disputes between the natives and the colonists should henceforth be submitted. South Carolina was favored with rapid immigration, and the immi- grants were worthy to become the founders of a great State. The best nations of Europe contributed to people the country between Cape Fear and the Savannah. England, continued to send her colonies. In 1683 Joseph Blake, a brother of the great English admiral, devoted his fortune and the last years of his life to bringing a large company of dissenters from Somersetshire to Charleston. In the same year an Irish colony under Ferguson arrived at Ashley River, and met a hearty welcome. A company of Scotch Presbyterians, ten families in all, led by the excellent Lord Cardross, settled at Port Royal in 1684. The authorities of Charles- ton claimed jurisdiction there, and the new immigrants reluctantly yielded to the claim. Two years afterward a band of Spanish soldiers arrived irom St. Augustine, and the unhappy Scotch exiles were driven from their homes. But intolerant France gave up more of her subjects than did all the other nations. As early as 1598 Henry IV., king of the French, had published a celebrated proclamation, called the Edict of Nantes, by the terms of which the Huguenots were protected in their rights of religious worship. Now, after eighty-seven years of toleration, Louis XIV., blinded with bigotiy SOUTH CAROLINA. 233 and passion and hoping to make Catholicism universal, revoked the kindly edict, and exposed the Protestants of his kingdom to the long-suppressed rage of their enemies. In order to enforce the decree of revocation the French army was quartered in the towns of the Huguenots, the ports were closed against emigration, and the borders were watched to prevent escape. How foolish are the ways of despotism ! In spite of every precaution, five hundred thousand of the best people of France, preferring banishment to religious thraldom, escaped from their country and fled, self-exiled, into foreign lands. The Huguenots were scattered from the Baltic Sea to the Cape of Good Hope, and on the Western continent from Maine to Flor- ida. But of all the American colonies. South Carolina received the great- est number of French refugees within her borders. They were met by the proprietors with a pledge of protection and a promise of citizenship ; but neither promise nor pledge was immediately fulfilled, for the colony had not yet determined what should be its laws of naturalization. Both the general assembly and the proprietors claimed the right of fixing the conditions. Until that question could be decided the Huguenots were kept in suspense, and were sometimes unkindly treated by the jealous English settlers. Not until 1697 were all discriminations against the French immigrants removed. In 1686 came James Colleton as colonial governor. He began his administration with a foolish attempt to establish the mammoth constitu- tion of Locke and Shaftesbury. No wonder that the assembly resisted his authority, and that the people were embittered against him. The rents came due; payment was refused, and the colony was in a state of rebellion. In order to divert attention from himself, Colleton published a proclama- tion setting forth the danger of a pretended invasion by the Indians and Spaniards. The militia was called out and the province declared under martial law. It was all in vain. The people were only exasperated by the arbitrary proceedings of the governor. Tidings came that James II. had been driven from the throne of England. The popular assembly was convened, and William and Mary were proclaimed as sovereigns. In 1690 a decree of impeachment was passed against Colleton, and he was banished from the province. The people of North Carolina had just performed a similar service for Seth Sothel. Not satisfied with his previous success, he at once re- paired to Charleston and assumed the government of the southern colony. To Sothel's other merits were added the qualifications of a first-rate dem- agogue ; he induced the people to acquiesce in his usurpation and to sus- tain his authority. But his avaricious disposition could not long be held in check. The proprietors disclaimed his acts and after a turbulent rule 234 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. of two years, he and his government were overthrown. One bright page redeems the record of his administration. In May of 1691 the first gen- eral act of enfranchisement w'as passed in favor of the Huguenots. Philip Ludwell, who had been collector of customs in Virginia, and since 1689 governor of North Carolina, was now sent to establish order in the southern province. He spent a year in a well-meant effort to administer the government of the proprietors; but the people were fixed in their antagonism to the constitution, and nothing could be accom- plished. Ludwell gave up the hopeless task, withdrew from the prov- ince, and returned to Virginia. South Carolina had fallen into a condi- tion bordering on anarchy. Nearly a quarter of a century had elapsed since Locke drafted the grand model. At last the proprietors came to see that the establishment of such a monstrous frame of government over an American colony Avas impossible. Pride said that the constitution should stand, for the nobility of England had declared it immortal. But self-interest and common sense demanded its abrogation, and the demand prevailed. In April of 1693 the proprietors assem})led and voted the boasted model out of exist- ence. It was enacted at the same meeting that since the people of Caro- lina preferred a simple charter government, their request be granted. The magnificent paper empire of Shaftesbury was swept into oblivion. Thomas Smith was now appointed governor, but was soon super- seded by John Archdale, a distinguished and talented Quaker. Arriving in 1695, he began an administration so just and wise that dissension ceased and the colony entered u])0u a new career of prosperity. The quit-rents on lands were remitted for four years. The people were given the option of paying their taxes in money or in produce. The Indians were concili- ated with kindness and protected against kidnappers. Some native Cath- olics were ransomed from slavery and sent to their homes in Florida, and the Spanish governor reciprocated the deed Avith a friendly message. When the old jealousy against the Huguenots asserted itself in the gen- eral assembly, the benevolent influence of Archdale procured the passage of a law by which all Christians, except the Catholics, were fully enfran- chised ; the ungenerous exception was made against the governor's will. It was a real misfortune to the colony when, in 1698, the good governor was recalled to England. James Moore was next commissioned as chief magistrate. The first important act of his administration was a declaration of hostilities against the Spanish settlement of St. Augustine. Queen Anne's War had broken out. The Spaniards were in alliance with the French against the English. By the ant&gonism of England and Spain, South Carolina and SOUTH CAROLINA. 235 Florida were brought into conflict. Yet a declaration of war was strong- ly opposed in the a,ssembly at Charleston, and was only passed by a small majorit}\ It was voted to raise and equip a force of twelve hun- dred men, and to invade Florida by land and water. The summer of 1702 was spent in preparation, and in SejDtember the expeditions departed, the land-forces led by Colonel Daniel and the fleet commanded by the governor. The English vessels sailed down the coast, entered the St. John's and blocked up the river. Daniel marched overland, reached St. Augus- tine and captured the town. But the Spaniards withdrew without serious loss into the castle, and bade defiance to the besiegers. Without artilleiy it was evident that the place could not be taken. Colonel Daniel was despatched with a sloop to Jamaica to procure cannons for the siege ; but before his return two Spanish men-of-war appeared at the mouth of the St. John's, and Governor Moore found himself blockaded. His courage was not equal to the occasion. Abandoning his ships, he took to the shore, and collecting his forces hastily retreated into Carolina. Daniel returned and entered the St. John's, but discovered the danger in time to make his escape. The governor's retreat occasioned great dissatisfaction. There were insinuations of cowardice and threats of impeachment, but no formal action was taken against him. The only results of the unfor- tunate expedition were debt and paper money. In order to meet the heavy exjienses of the war, the assembly was obliged to issue bills of credit to the amount of six thousand pounds sterling. Governor Moore retrieved his reputation by invading the Indian nations south-west of the Savannah. In December of 1705 he left the province at the head of fifty volunteers and a thousand friendl}' nati\'es. White men had not been seen marching in these woods since the days of De Soto. On the 14th of the month the invaders reached the fortified town of Ayavalla, in the neighborhood of St. Mark's. An attack was made and the church set on fire. A Franciscan monk came out and begged for mercy ; but the place was carried by assault, and more than two hundred prisoners were taken, only to be enslaved. On the next day Moore's forces met and defeated a large body of Indians and Spaniards. Five important towns were carried in succession, and the English flag was borne in triumph to the Gulf of Mexico. Communication between the Spanish settlements of Florida and the French posts in Louisiana was entirely cut off". Meanwhile, the Church of England had been established by law in South Carolina. In the first year of Johnston's administration tlie High Church party succeeded in getting a majority of one in the colonial 236 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. assembly, and immediately passed an act disfranchising all the dissenters in the province. An appeal was carried to the proprietors, only to be re- jected with contempt. The dissenting party next laid their cause before Parliament, and that body promptly voted that the act of disfranchisement was contrary to the laws of England, and that the proprietors had for- feited their charter. The queen's ministers were authorized to declare the intolerant law null and void. In November of the same year the colo- nial legislature revoked its own act so far as the disfranchising clause was concerned ; but Episcopalian ism continued to be the established faith of the province. The year 1706 was a stirring epoch in the history of South Caro- lina. A French and Spanish fleet was sent from Havana to capture Charleston and subdue the country. The orders were more easily given than executed. The brave people of the capital flew to arms. Governor Johnson and Colonel William Rhett inspired the volunteers with courage; and when the hostile squadron anchored in the harbor, the city was ready for a stubborn defence. Several times a landing was attempted, but the invaders were everywhere repulsed. At last a French vessel succeeded in getting to shore with eight hundred troops, but they were attacked with fury and driven off" with a loss of three hundred in killed and prisoners. The siege was at once abandoned ; unaided by the proprietors, South Car- olina had made a glorious defence. In the spring of 1715 war broke out with the Yamassees. ^Vs usual with their race, the Indians began hostilities with treachery. ^Vt the very time when Captain Nairue was among them as a friendly ambas- sador, the wily savages rose upon the frontier settlements and committed an atrocious massacre. The people of Port Royal were alarmed just in time to escape in a ship to Charleston. The desperate savages rushed on to within a short distance of the capital. It seemed that the city would be taken and the whole colony driven to destruction. But the brave Charles Craven, governor of the province, rallied the militia of Colleton district, and the blood-stained barbarians were driven back. A vigorous pursuit began, and the savages were pressed to the banks of the Salke- hatchie. Here a decisive battle was fought, and the Indians were com- pletely routed. The Yamassees collected their shattered tribe and retired into Florida, where they were received by the Spaniards as friends and confederates. In 1719 the government of South Carolina was revolutionized. At the close of the war with the Yamassees the assembly petitioned the proprietors to bear a portion of the expense. But the avaricious noble- men refused, and would take no measures for the future protection of the SOUTH CAROLINA. 237 colony. The people were greatly burdened with rents and taxes. The lands were mono])olized ; every act of the assembly which seemed for the public good was vetoed by the proprietors. In the new election every delegate was chosen by the popular party. The 21st of December was training-day in Charleston. On that day James Moore, the new chief magistrate elected by the people, was to be inaugurated. Governor John- son forbade the military display and tried to prevent the inauguration ; but the militia collected in the public square, drums were beaten, flags were flung out on the forts and shipping, and before nightfall the propri- etary government of Carolina was overtlu-own. Governor Moore was duly inaugurated in the name of King George I. A colonial agent was at once sent to England ; the cause of the colonists was heard, and the forfeited charter of the proprietors abrogated by act of Parliament. Francis Nicholson was now commissioned as governor. He had already held the office of chief magistrate in New York, in Virginia, in Maryland and in Nova Scotia. He began a successful administration in South Carolina by concluding treaties of peace and commerce with the Cherokees and the Creeks. But another and final change in colonial aflairs was now at hand. In 1729 seven of the eight proprietors of the Carolinas sold their entire claims in the provinces to the king. Lord Carteret, the eighth proprietor, would surrender nothing but his right of jurisdiction, reserving his share in the soil. The sum paid by King George for the two colonies was twenty-two thousand five hundred pounds sterling. Royal governors were appointed, and the affairs of the province were settled on a permanent basis, not to be disturbed for more than forty years. The people who colonized South Carolina were brave and chival- rous. On the banks of the Santee, the Edisto and the Combahee were gathered some of the best elements of the European nations. The Hu- guenot, the Scotch Presbyterian, the EngHsh dissenter, the loyalist and High Churchman, the Irish adventurer and the Dutch mechanic, com- posed the powerful material out of which soon grew the beauty and re- nown of the Palmetto State. Equally with the rugged Puritans of the North, the South Carolinians were lovers of liberty. Without the severe morality and formal manners of the Pilgrims, the people who were once governed by the peacefi^il Archdale and once led to war by the gallant Craven became the leaders in courtly politeness and high-toned honor be- tween man and man. In the coming struggle for freedom South Caro- lina will bear a noble and distinguished part ; tlie fame of the patriotic R.hett will be perpetuated by Marion and Sumter. 238 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XXIX. GEORGIA. aEORGIA, the thirteenth American colony, was founded in a spirit of pure benevolence. The laws of England permitted imprisonment for debt. Thousands of English laborers, who through misfortune and thoughtless contracts had become indebted to the rich, were annually ar- rested and thrown into jail. There were desolate and starving families. The miserable condition of the debtor class at last attracted the attention of Parliament. In 1728 a commissioner was appointed, at his own request, to look into the state of the poor, to visit the prisons of the kingdom, and to report measures of relief. The work was accomplished, the jails were opened, and the poor victims of debt returned to their homes. The noble commissioner was not yet satisfied. For the liberated prisoners and their friends were disheartened and disgraced in the country of their birth. Was there no land beyond the sea where debt was not a crime, and where poverty was no disgrace ? To provide a refuge for the down-trodden poor of England and the distressed Protestants of other countries, the commissioner now appealed to George II. for the privilege of planting a colony in America. The petition was favorably heard, and on the 9th of June, 1732, a royal charter was issued by which the terri- tory between the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers, and westward from the upper fountains of those rivers to the Pacific, was organized and granted to a corporation for twenty-one years, to be held in trust for the poor. In honor of the king, the new province received the name of Georgia. But what was the name of that high-souled, unselfish commissioner of Parliament ? James Oglethorpe, the philanthropist. Born a loyalist, educated at Oxford, a High Churchman, a cavalier, a soldier, a member of Parliament, benevolent, generous, full of sympathy, far-sighted, brave as John Smith, chivalrous as De Soto, Oglethorpe gave in middle life the full energies of a vigorous body and a loft}' mind to the work of building in the sunny South an asylum for the oppressed of his own and other lands. The raagnaniraity of the enterprise was heightened by the fact that he did not believe in the equality of men, but only in the right and duty of the strong to protect the weak and sympathize with the lowly. To Oglethorpe, as GEORGIA. 239 principal member of the corporation, the leadership of the first colony to be planted on the banks of the Savannah, was naturally entrusted. By the mid- dle of November a hundred and twen- ty emigrants were ready to sail for the New World. Oglethorpe, like the elder Win- throp, determined to share the dan- gers and hardships of his colony. In January of 1733 the company was welcomed at Charleston. Pass- ing down the coast, the vessels were anchored for a short time at Beau- fort, while the gov- ernor with a few companions as- cended the bound- aiy river of Georgia, and selected as the site of his settlement the high bluff on which now stands the city of Savannah. Here, on the 1st day of February, were laid the foundations of the oldest English town south of the Savannah River. Broad streets were laid out ; a public square was reserved in each quarter ; a beautiful village of tents and board houses, built among the pine trees, appeared as the capital of a new common- wealth where men were not imprisoned for debt. Tomo-chichi, chief of the Yamacraws, came from his cabin, half a mile distant, to see his brother Oglethorpe. There was a pleasant con- ference. " Here is a present for you," said the red man to the white man. The present was a buffalo robe painted on the inside with the head and feathers of an eagle. " The feathers are soft, and signify love ; the buf- falo skin is the emblem of protection. Therefore love us and protect us," said the old chieftain. Such a plea could not be lost on a man like Ogle- thorpe. Seeing the advantages of peace, he sent an invitation to the chiefs JAMES OGLETHORPE. 240 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. of the Muskhogees to meet him in a general council at his capital. The conference was held on the 29th of May. Long King, the sachem of Oconas, spoke for all the tribes of his nation. The English were wel- comed to the country. Bundles of buckskins, and such other good gifts as savage civilization could offer, were laid down plentifully at the feet of the whites. The governor and his poor but generous colony responded with valuable presents and words of faithful friendship. The fame of Oglethorpe spread far and wide among the Red men. From the distant mountains of Tennessee came the noted chief of the Cherokees to confer with the humane and sweet-tempered governor of Georgia. The councilors in England who managed the affairs of the new State encouraged emigration with every liberal offer. Swiss peasants left their mountains to find a home on the Savannah. The plaid cloak of the Scotch Highlander was seen among the wigwams of the Muskhogees. From distant Salzburg, afar on the borders of Austria, came a noble col- ony of German Protestants, singing their way down the Rhine and across the ocean. Oglethorpe met them at Charleston, bade them \A'elcome, led them to Savannah and thence through the woods to a point twenty miles up the river, told them of English rights and the freedom of conscience, and left them to found the viliao;e of Ebenezer. In April of 1734, Governor Oglethorpe made a visit to England. His friend Tomo-chichi went with him, and made the acquaintance of King George. It was said in London that no colony was ever before founded so wisely and well as Georgia. The councilors prohibited the importation of rum. Traffic with the Indians — always a dangerous mat- ter — was either interdicted or regulated by special Hcense. When it came to the question of labor, slavery was positively forbidden. It was said that the introduction of slaves would be fatal to the interests of the Eng- lish and German laborers for whom the colony had been founded. While the governor was still abroad, the first company of INIoravians, number- ing nine, and led by the evangelist Spangenberg, arrived at Savannah. In February of 1736, Oglethorpe himself came back with a new colony of three hundred. Part of these were JMoravians, and nearly all were peojile of deep piety and fervent spirit. First among them — first in zeal and first in the influence which he was destined to exert in after times — was the celebrated John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. Overflowing with religious enthusiasm, he came to Georgia, not as a poli- tician, not as a minister merely, but as an apostle. To lead the people to righteousness, to spread the gospel, to convert the Indians, and to intro- duce a new type of religion characterized by few forms and much emo- tion, these were the purposes that thronged his lofty fancy. He was GEORGIA. 241 doomed to much disappointment. The mixed people of the new province could not be moulded to his will ; and after a residence of less than two years he left the colony with a troubled spirit. His brother, Charles Wesley, came also as a secretary to Governor Oglethorpe; but Charles was a poet, a timid and tender-hearted man who pined with homesickness and gave way under discouragement. But when, in 1738, the famous George Whitefield came, his robust and daring nature proved a match for all the troubles of the wilderness. He preached with fiery eloquence. To build an orphan-house at Savannah he went through all the colonies ; and those who heard his voice could hardly refuse him money. Think- ing no longer of native land, he found a peaceful grave in New England. Meanwhile, Oglethorpe was busy with the affairs of his growing province. Anticipating war with Spain, he began to fortify. For the Spaniards were in possession of Florida, and claimed the country as far north as St. Helena Sound. All of Georgia was thus embraced in the Spanish claim. But Oglethorpe had a charter for Georgia as far south as the Altamaha, and he had secured by treaty with the Indians all the territory between that river and the St. Marj^'s. In 1736 he ascended the Savannah and built a fort at Augusta. On the north bank of the Altamaha, twelve miles from its mouth, Fort Darien was built. On Cumberland Island, at the mouth of the St. Mary's, a fortress was erected and named Fort William. Proceeding down the coast with a company of Highlanders, the daring governor reached the mouth of the St. John's, and on Amelia Island built still another fort, which he named St. George. The river St. John's was claimed from this time forth as the southern boundary of Georgia. To make his preparations complete, the governor again visited England, and was commissioned as brigadier-general, with a command extending over his own province and South Carolina. In Octo- ber of 1737 he returned to Savannah, bringing with him a regiment of six hundred men. Such were the vigorous measures adopted by Ogle- thorpe in anticipation of a Spanish war. The war came. It was that conflict known in American history as King George's War. England published her declaration of hostility against Spain in the latter part of October, 1739. In the first week of the following January the impetuous Oglethorpe, at the head of the Georgia militia, made a dash into Florida, and captured two fortified towns of the Spaniards. His plans embraced the conquest of St. Augustine and the entire extinction of Spanish authority north of the Gulf of Mexico. Repairing to Charleston, he induced the assembly to support his measures. By the first of May he found himself in command of six hundred regular troops, four hundred volunteers and a body of Indian auxiliaries. With 16 242 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. this force he proceeded at once against St. Augustine. The place was strongly fortified, and the Spanish commandant, Monteano, was a man of ability and courage. The siege continued for five weeks, but ended in disaster to the English. For a while the town was successfully block- aded ; but some Spanish galleys, eluding the vigilance of Oglethorpe's squadron, brought a cargo of supplies to the garrison. The Spaniards made a sally, attacked a company of High- landers, and dispersed them. Sickness prevailed in the English camp. The general himself was enfeebled with fever and excitement, but he held on like a hero. The troops of CaroKna, disheart- ened and despairing of success, left their camp and marched homeward. The English vessels gathered up their crews, abandoned the siege and returned to Frederica. Oglethorpe, yielding only to necessity, collected his men from the trenches and withdrew into Georgia. The Spaniards now determined to carry the war northward and drive the English beyond the Savannah. The Combahee River should be made the Jl- northern boundary of Florida. Prep- COUNTRY OF THE SAVANNAH, 1740. arations began on a vast scale. A pow- erful fleet of thirty-six vessels, carrying more than three thousand troops, was brought from Cuba, and anchored at St. Augustine. In June of 1742 the squadron passed up the coast to Cumberland Island, and at- tempted the reduction of Fort William. But Oglethorpe by a daring exploit reinforced the garrison, and then fell back to Frederica. The Spanish vessels followed and came to anchor in the harbor of St. Simon's. From the southern point of the island to Frederica, Oglethorpe had cut a road which at one place lay between a morass and a dense forest. Along this path the Spaniards must pass to attack the town. The English gen- eral had only eight hundred men and a few Indian allies. In order to cope with superior numbers, Oglethorpe resorted to stratagem. A Frenchman had deserted to the Spaniards. To him the English general now wrote a letter as if to a spy. *• A Spanish prisoner in Ogle- thorpe's hands was liberated and bribed to deliver the letter to the de- serter. The Frenchman was advised that two British fleets were coming GEORGIA. 243; to America, one to aid Oglethorpe and the other to attack St. Augustine, Let the Spaniards remain on the island but three days longer, and they would be ruined. If the enemy did not make an immediate attack on Frederica, his forces would be captured to a man. Oglethorpe knew very well that the prisoner, instead of delivering this letter to the deserter,, would give it to the Spanish commander, and that the Spanish commander could not possibly know whether the communication was the truth or a fiction. This letter was delivered, and the astonished Frenchman was arrested as a spy, but the Spaniards could not tell whether his denial was true or false. There was a council of war in the Spanish camp. Ogle- thorpe's stratagem was suspected, but could not be proved. Three ships had been seen at sea that day ; perhaps these were the first vessels of the approaching British ?LQe\s. The Spaniards were utterly perplexed; but it was finally decided to take Oglethorpe's advice, and make the attack on Frederica. The English general had foreseen that this course would be adopted. He had accordingly advanced his small force from the town to the place where the road passed between the swamp and the forest. Here an am- buscade was formed, and the soldiers lay in wait for the approaching Span- iards. On the 7th of July the enemy's vanguard reached the narrow pass, were fired on from the thicket and driven back in confusion. The main body of the Spanish forces pressed on into the dangerous position where superior numbers were of no advantage. The Highlanders of Oglethorpe's regiment fired with terrible eifect from the oak woods by the roadside. The Spaniards stood firm for a while, but were presently driven back with a loss of two hundred men. Not without reason the name of Bloody Marsh was given to this battle-field. Within less than a week the whole Spanish force had re-embarked and sailed for Florida. On the way south- ward the fleet made a second attack on Fort William. But Captain Stuart, with a garrison of only fifty men, made a vigorous and successful defence. The English watched the retreating ships beyond the mouth of the St. John's ; before the last of July the great invasion was at an end. The Spanish authorities of Cuba were greatly chagrined at the failure of the expedition. The commander of the squadron was arrested, tried by a court-martial and dismissed from the service. The commonwealth of Georgia was now firmly established, and the settlements had peace. In 1743, Oglethorpe bade a final adieu to the col- ony to whose welfare he had given more than ten years of his life. He had never owned a house nor possessed an acre of ground within the lim- its of his own province. He now departed for England crowned with blessings, and leaving behind him an untarnished fame. James Ogle- 244 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. tliorpe lived to be nearly a hundred years old; benevolence, integrity and honor were the virtues of his declining years. But the new State which he had founded in the West was not always free from evils. For the regulations wliich the councilors for Georgia had adopted were but poorly suited to the wants of the colony. The settlers had not been permitted to hold their lands in fee simple. Agriculture had not flourished. Commerce had not sprung up. The laws of property had been so arranged that estates could descend only to the oldest sons of fam- ilies. The colonists were poor, and charged their poverty to the fact that slave-labor was forbidden in the province. This became the chief ques- tion which agitated the people. The proprietary laws grew more and more unpopular. The statute excluding slavery was not rigidly enforced, and, indeed, could not be enforced, when the people had determined to evade it. Whitefield himself jjleaded for the abrogation of the law. Slaves began to be hired, first for short terms of service, then for longer periods, then for a hundred years, which was equivalent to an actual pur- chase for life. Finally, cargoes of slaves were brought directly from Africa, and the primitive free-labor system of Georgia was revolutionized. Plantations were laid out below the Savannah, and cultivated, as those of South Carolina. Another and more important change was at hand. It became evident that there could be no progress so long as the original char- ter remained in force. However benevolent the impulse which had called Georgia into being, the scheme of government had proved a sham. The people were improvident, idle, inexperienced. More than six hundred thousand dollars in parliamentary grants, besides private contributions amounting to nearly ninety thousand dollars, had been fruitlessly expended on the lagging province. In 1752 there were only a few scattered plantations and three inconsiderable villages be- low the Savannah. The white population amounted, at this time, to seventeen hundred souls ; and the blacks numbered about four hun- dred. The industry of Georgia was at a stand-still. The extravagant hopes wliich the colonial managers had entertained of wine, and silk, and indigo, found no realization in the facts. The annual exports of the colony amounted to less than four thousand dollars ; and the pros- pect for the future was as discouraging as the present condition was gloomy. At last, however, the new order of things was acknowledged by the councilors of the province. They yielded to necessity. In June «f 1752, just twenty years from the granting of the charter, the trust- ees made a formal surrender of their patent to the king. A royal GEORGIA. 245 government was established over the country south of the Savannah, and the people were granted the privileges and freedom of English- men. A constitution was drawn up by the British Board of Trade, and Captain John Reynolds was commissioned as royal governor. In October of 1754 he arrived at Savannah and began the work of reor- ganization. For two years and a half he labored assiduously to ex- tricate the affairs of Georgia from the confusion into which they had fallen ; and so successful was his work that at the end of this time the population had reached six thousand. The southern boundary of the province remained to be decided by the issue of the French and Indian War. During the progress of that conflict Georgia was saved from calamity by the prudent administration of Governor Ellis, who secured from the powerful Creek confederacy a new treaty of peace. A barrier was thus interposed between the colony and the hostile nations of the West and North. In the year 1758 the province was divided into eight parishes, and at the same time the Church of Eng- land was established by law. Still, for a while, the progress of the colony was not equal to the expectations of its founder. But before the beginning of the Revolution, Georgia, though the feeblest of all the Anglo-American provinces, had become a prosperous and growing State. Such is the story of the planting by our fathers of the Old Thir- teen republics — such the record of their growth and prospects. From the gloomy coast of Labrador, where, two hundred and fifty years be- fore, John Cabot had set up the flag of England and arms of Henry VII., to the sunny waters where Ponce de Leon, looking shoreward, called his cavaliers to gaze on the Land of Flowers, — the dominion of Great Britain had been established. Would that dominion last forever? Would the other nations of Europe ever rally and regain their lost ascendency on the Western continent? Would the ties of kinship, the affinity of language, the bond of a common ancestry, stretching from these sea-shore commonwealths across the Atlantic, bind them in perpetual union with the mother Islands ? Would these isolated provinces in America — now so quick to take offence at each other's beliefs and actions, and so easily jealous of each other's power and fame — ever unite in a common cause ? ever join to do battle for life and liberty? ever become a Nation? Such were the momentous questions, the problems of destiny, which hung above the colonies at 246 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. the middle of the eighteenth century — problems which the future <30uld not be long in solving. The history of these American colonies from their first feeble be- ginnings is full of interest and instruction. The people who laid the foundations of civilization in the New World were nearly all refugees, exiles, wanderers, pilgrims. They were urged across the ocean by a common impulse, and that impulse was the desire to escape from som^ form of oppression in the Old World. Sometimes it was the oppres- sion of the Church, sometimes of the State, sometimes of society. Iq the wake of the emigrant ship there was always tyranny. Men loved, freedom ; to find it they braved the perils of the deep, traversed the solitary forests of Maine, built huts on the bleak shores of New Eng- land, entered the Hudson, explored the Jerseys, found shelter in the Chesapeake, met starvation and death on the banks of the James, were buffeted by storms around the capes of Carolina, built towns by the estuaries of the great rivers, made roads through the pine-woods, and carried the dwellings of men to the very margin of the fever-haunted swamps of the South. It is all one story — the story of the human rac^ seeking for liberty. COLONIAL HISTORY.— Continued. FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. CHAPTER XXX. CAUSES. THE time came when the American colonies began to act together. From the beginning they had been kept apart by prejudice, suspi- cion and mutual jealousy. But the fathers were now dead, old antago- nisms had passed away, a new generation had arisen with kindlier feel- ings and more charitable sentiments. But it was not so much the growth of a more liberal public opinion as it was the sense of a common dangefi that at last led the colonists to make a united effort. The final struggle between France and England for colonial supremacy in America was at hand. Necessity compelled the English colonies to join in a com- mon cause against a common foe. This is the conflict known as the French and Indian War ; with this great event the separate histories of the colonies are lost in the more general history of the nation. The contest began in 1754, but the causes of the war had existed for many years. The first and greatest of these causes was the conflicting territorial claims of the two nations. England had colonized the sea-coast ; France had colonized the interior of the continent. From Maine to Florida the Atlantic shore was spread with English colonies; but there were no inland settlements. The great towns were on the ocean's edge. But the claims of England reached far beyond her colonies. Based on the discoveries of the Cabots, and not limited by actual occupation, those claims extended westward to the Pacific. In making grants of territory the English kings had always proceeded upon the theory that the voyage of Sebastian Cabot had given to England a lawful right to the country from one ocean to the other. Far different, however, were the claims of France ; the French had first colonized the valley of the St. Lawrence. Montreal, one (247) 248 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. of the earliest settlements, is more than five hundred miles from the sea, If the French colonies had been limited to the St. LawTence and its trib- utaries, there would have been little danger of a conflict about territorial dominion. But in the latter half of the seventeenth century the French began to push their waj westward and southward ; first, along the shores of the great lakes, then to the head-waters of the Wabash, the Illinois, the Wisconsin and the St. Croix, then down these streams to the Missis- sippi, and then to the Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of the French, as manifested in these movements, was no less than to divide the American continent and to take the larger portion, to possess the land for France and for Catholicism. For it was the work of the Jesuit missionaries. So important and marvelous are those early movements of the French in the valley of the Mississippi that a brief account of the leading explora- tions may here be given. The zealous Jesuits, purposing to extend the Catholic faith to all lands and nations, set out fearlessly from the older settlements of the St. Lawrence to explore the unknown AVest, and to convert the barbarous races. In 1641, Charles Raymbault, the first of the French missionary explorers, passed through the northern straits of Lake Huron and entered Lake Superior. In the thirty years that followed, the Jesuits continued their explorations with prodigious activity. Missions were established at various points north of the lakes, and in Michigan, Wisconsin and Illi- nois. In 1673, Joliet and Marquette passed from the head-waters of Fox River over the watershed to the upper tributaries of the Wisconsin, and thence down that river in a seven days' voyage to the Mississippi. For a full month the canoe of the daring adventurers carried them on toward the sea. They passed the mouth of Arkansas River, and reached the limit of their voyage at the thirty-third parallel of latitude. Turn- ing their boat up stream, they entered the mouth of the Illinois and returned by the site of Chicago into Lake Michigan, and thence to De- troit. But it was not yet known whether the great river discharged its flood of waters into the southern gulf or into the Pacific Ocean. It remained for Robert de la Salle, most illustrious of the French explorers, to solve the problem. This courageous and daring man was living at the outlet of Lake Ontario when the news of Marquette's voyage reached Canada. Fired with the passion of discovery, La Salle birilt and launched the first ship above Niagara Falls. He sailed west- ward through Lake Erie and Lake Huron, anchored in Green Bay, crossed Lake Michigan to the mouth of the St. Joseph, ascended that stream with a few companions, traversed the country to the upper Kanka- kee, and dropped down with the current into the Illinois. Here disas- CAUSES. 24^ fers overtook the expedition, and La Salle was obliged to return on foot to Fort Frontenac, a distance of nearly a thousand miles. During his- absence, Father Hennepin, a member of the company, traversed Illinois^ and explored the Mississippi as high as the Falls of St. Anthony. In 1681, La Salle returned to his station on the Illinois, bringing men and supplies. A boat was built and launched, and early in the following year the heroic adventurer, with a few companions, descended the river to its junction with the Mississippi, and was borne by the Father of Waters to the Gulf of Mexico. It was one of the greatest exploits of modern times. The return voyage was successfully accom- plished. La Salle reached Quebec, and immediately set sail for France. The kingdom was greatly excited, and vast plans were made for coloniz- ing the valley of the Mississippi. In July of 1684 four ships, bearing two hundred and eighty emigrants, left France. Beaujeu commanded the fleet, and La Salle was leader of the colony. The plan was to enter the gulf, ascend the river, and plant settlements on its banks and tributa- ries. But Beaujeu was a bad and headstrong captain, and against La Salle's entreaties the squadron was carried out of its course, beyond the mouths of the Mississippi, and into the Bay of Matagorda. Here a landing was effected, but the store-ship, with all its precious freightage, was dashed to pieces in a storm. Nevertheless, a colony was established, and Texas became a part of Louisiana. La Salle made many unsuccessful efforts to rediscover the Missis- sippi. One misfortune after another followed fast, but the leader's reso- lute spirit remained tranquil through all calamities. At last, with sixteen companions, he set out to cross the continent to Canada. The march . began in January of 1687, and continued for sixty days. The wanderers were already in the basin of the Colorado. Here, on the 20th of March, while La Salle was at some distance from the camp, two conspirators of the company, hiding in the prairie grass, took a deadly aim at the famous explorer, and shot him dead in his tracks. Only seven of the adventurers succeeded in reaching a French settlement oh the Mis- sissippi. France was not slow to occupy the vast country revealed to her by the activity of the Jesuits. As early as 1688 military posts had been established at Frontenac, at Niagara, at the Straits of Mackinaw, and on the Illinois River. Before the middle of the eighteenth century, permanent settlements had been made by the French on the Maumee, at Detroit, at the mouth of the river St. Joseph, at Green Bay, at Yincennes on the Lower Wabash, on the Mississippi at the mouth of the Kaskas- kia, at Fort Rosalie, the present site of Natchez, and on the Gulf of 250 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Mexico at the head of the Bay of Eiloxi. At this time the only outposts of ths English colonies were a small fort at Oswego, on Lake Ontario, and a few scattered cabins in West Virginia. It only remained for France to occupy the valley of Ohio, in order to confine the provinces of Great Britain to the country east of the Alleghanies. To do this became the sole ambition of the French, and to prevent it the stubborn purpose of the English. A second cause of war existed in the long-standing national animos- ity of France and England. The two nations could hardly remain at peace. The French and the English were of different races, languages and laws. For more than two centuries France had been the leader of the Catholic, and England of the Protestant, powers of Europe. Religious prejudice intensified the natural jealousy of the two nations. Rivalry prevailed on land and sea. When, at the close of the seventeenth century, it was seen that the people of the English colonies outnumbered those of Canada by nearly twenty to one, France was filled with envy. When, by the enterprise of the Jesuit missionaries, the French began to dot the basin of the Mississippi with fortresses, and to monopolize the fur-trade of the Indians, England could not conceal her wrath. It was only a question of time when this unreasonable jealousy would bring on a colo- nial war. The third and immediate cause of hostilities was a conflict between the frontiersmen of the two nations in attempting to colonize the Ohio valley. The year 1749 witnessed the beginning of difficulties. For some time the strolling traders of Virginia and Pennsylvania had fre- quented the Indian towns on the upper tributaries of the Ohio. Now the traders of Canada began to visit the same villages, and to compete with the English in the purchase of furs. Virginia, under her ancient char- ters, claimed the whole country lying between her western borders and the southern shores of Lake Erie. The French fur-gatherers in this dis- trict were regarded as intruders not to be tolerated. In order to prevent further encroachment, a number of prominent Virginians joined them- selves together in a body called the Ohio Company, with a view to the immediate occupation of the disputed territory. Robert Dinwiddle, governor of the State, Lawrence and Augustus Washington, and Thomas Lee, president of the Virginia council, were the leading members of the corporation. In March of 1749 the company received from George II. an extensive land-grant covering a tract of five hundred thousand acres, to be located between the Kanawha and the Monongahela, or on the northern bank of the Ohio. The conditions of the grant were that the Jands should be held free of rent for ten years, that within seven years a CAUSES. 251 colony of one hundred families should be established in the district, and that the territory should be immediately selected. But the French were equally active. Before the Ohio Company could send out a colony, the governor of Canada despatched Bienville with three hundred men to explore and occupy the valley of the Ohio. The expedition was successful. Plates of lead bearing French inscrip- tions were buried here and there on both banks of the river, the region was •explored as far west as the towns of the Miamis, the English traders were expelled from the country, and a letter was written to Governor Hamil- ton of Pennsylvania admonishing him to encroach no farther on the territory of the king of France. This work occupied the summer and fall of 1749. In the mean time, the Ohio Company had equipped an exploring party, and placed it under command of Christopher Gist. In November of 1750 he and his company reached the Ohio opposite the mouth of Beaver Creek. Here the expedition crossed to the northern side, tarried at Logstown, passed down the river through the several Indian confederacies to the Great Miami, and thence to within fifteen miles of the falls at Louisville. Returning on foot through Kentucky, the explorers reached Virginia in the spring of 1751. This expedition was followed by still more vigorous movements on the part of the French. Descending from their headquarters at Presque Isle, now Erie, on the southern shore of the lake, they built a fortress called Le Boeuf, on French Creek, a tributary of the Alleghany. Pro- ceeding down the stream to its junction with the river, they erected a second fort, named Venango. From this point they advanced against a British post on the Miami, broke up the settlement, made prisoners of the garrison and carried them to Canada. The king of the Miami con- federacy, who had assisted the English in defending their outpost, was inhumanly murdered by the Indian allies of the French. About the same time the country south of the Ohio, between the Great Kanawha and the Monongahela, was explored by Gist and a party of armed sur- veyors, acting under orders of the company. In the summer of 1753 the English opened a road from Will's Creek through the mountains into the Ohio valley, and a colony of eleven families was planted on the Youghi- ogheny, just west of Laurel Hill. It was impossible that a conflict be- tween the advancing settlements of the two nations could be much longer averted. The Indian nations were greatly alarmed at the threatening pros- pect. Solemn councils were held among all the tribes, and the affairs of the race were gravely discussed by the copper-colored orators. From the first the Red men rather favored the English cause, but their allegiance 252 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. was wavering and uncertain. After the murder of the Miami chieftain their hostility to the French became more decided. When, in the spring of 1753, the news was borne to the council-fires on the Ohio that Du Quesne, the governor of Canada, had despatched a company of twelve hundred men to descend the Alleghany and colonize the country, the jealousy of the natives was kindled into open resistance. The tribes most concerned were the Delawares, the Shawnees, the Miamis and the Mingoes. The chieftain of this confederacy, named Tanacharisson, was called the Half-King from the fact that his subjects, except the Miamis, owed a kind of indefinite allegiance to the Iroquois or Six Nations. By the authority of a great council held at Logstown the Half-King was now sent to Erie to remonstrate with the French commandant against a further invasion of the Indian country. " The land is mine, and I will have it," replied the Frenchman, with derision and contempt. The insulted sachem returned to his nation to lift the hatchet against the enemies of his people. It was at this time that the chiefs of many tribes met Benja- min Franklin at the town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and formed a treaty of alliance with the English. Virginia was now thoroughly aroused. But before proceeding to actual hostilities. Governor Dinwiddle determined to try the effect of a final remonstrance with the French. A paper M^as accordingly drawn up setting forth the nature and extent of the English claim to the valley of the Ohio, and solemnly warning the authorities of France against further intrusion into that region. It was necessary that this paper should be carried to General St. Pierre, now stationed at Erie as commander of the French forces in the West. Who should be chosen to bear the important parchment to its far-off destination ? It was the most serious mission ever yet undertaken in America. A young surveyor, named George Washington, was called to perform the perilous duty. Him the governor summoned from his home on the Potomac and commissioned as ambassador, and to him was committed the message which was to be borne from Williamsburg, on York River, through the untrodden wilder- ness to Presque Isle, on the shore of Lake Erie. On the last day of October, 1753, Washington set out on his long journey. He was attended by four comrades besides an interpreter and Christopher Gist, the guide. The party arrived without accident at the mouth of Will's Creek, the last important tributary of the Potomac on the north. From this place Washington proceeded through the moun- tains to the head-waters of the Youghiogheny, and thence down that stream to the site of Pittsburg. The immense importance of this place» lying at the confluence of the two great tributaries of the Ohio, and com- CAUSES. 253 O R K FIRST SCENE OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR, 1750. manding them both, was at once perceived by the young ambassador, who noted the spot as the site of a fortress. Washington was now conducted across the Alleghany by the chief of the Delawares, and thence twenty miles down the river to Logstown. Here a council was held with the Indians, who renewed their pledges of friendship and fidelity to the Eng- lish. The emissaries of the French were already in the country trying in every conceivable way to entice the Red men into an alliance ; but every proposal was rejected. In the beginning of December, Washington and his party moved northward to the French post at Venango. The officers of the fort took no pains to conceal their purpose ; the project of imiting Canada and Louisiana by way of the Ohio valley was openly avowed. From Venango, Washington set out through the forest to Fort le Boeuf on French Creek, fifty miles above its junction with the Alleghany. This was the last stage in the journey. It was still fourteen miles to Presque Isle ; but St. Pierre, the French commander, had come down ii'om that place to superintend the fortifications at Le Boeuf. Here the conference was held. Washington was received with great courtesy, but the general of the French refused to enter into any discussion on the rights of nations. He was acting, he said, under military instructions given by the governor of New France. He had been commanded by his superior officer to eject every Englishman from the valley of the Ohio, and he meant to carry out his orders to the letter. A firm but courteous reply was returned to Governor Dinwiddle's message. France claimed the country of the Ohio in virtue of discovery, exploration and occupa- tion, and her claim should be made good by force of arms. Washington was kindly dismissed, but not until he had noted with keen anxiety the immense preparations which were making at Le Boeuf. There lay a fleet of fifty birch-bark canoes and a hundred and seventy boats of pine ready to descend the river to the site of Pittsburg. For the French, as well as the English, had noted the importance of that spot, and had determined to fortify it as soon as the ice should break in the rivers. It was now the dead of M'inter. Washington returned to Ve- 254 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. nango, and then, with Gist as his sole companion, left the river and struck into the woods. It was one of the most solitary marches ever made by man. There in the desolate wilderness was the future President of the United States. Clad in the robe of an Indian, with gun in hand and knapsack strapped to his shoulders ; struggling through interminable snows ; sleeping with frozen clothes on a bed of pine-brush ; breaking through the treacherous ice of rapid streams ; guided by day by a pocket compass, and at night by the North Star, seen at intervals through the leafless trees ; fired at by a prowling savage from his covert not fifteen steps away ; thrown from a raft into the rushing Alleghany ; escaping to an island and lodging there until the river was frozen over ; plunging again into the forest ; reaching Gist's settlement and then the Potomac, — the strong-limbed young ambassador came back without wound or scar to the capital of Virginia. For his flesh was not made to be torn with bullets or to be eaten by the wolves. The defiant despatch of St. Pierre was laid before Governor Dinwiddle, and the first public service of Wash- ington was accomplished. In the mean time, the Ohio Company had not been idle. About mid-winter a party of thirty-three men had been organized and placed under command of Trent, with orders to proceed at once to the source of the Ohio and erect a fort. The company must have been marching to its destination when Washington returned to Virginia. It was not far from the middle of March, 1754, when Trent's party reached the confluence of the Alleghany and the Monougahela, and built the first rude stockade on the site of Pittsburg.* After all the threats and boasting of the French, the English had beaten them and seized the key to the Ohio valley. But it was a short-lived triumph. As soon as the approaching spring broke the ice-gorges in the Alleghany, the French fleet of boats, already prepared at Venango, came sweeping down the river. It was in vain for Trent with his handful of men to ofier resistance. Washington had now been commissioned as lieutenant-colonel, and was stationed at Alexandria to enlist recruits for the Ohio. A regiment of a hundred and fifty men had been enrolled ; but it was impossible to bring succor to Trent in time to save the post. On the 17th of April the little band of Englishmen at the head of the Ohio surrendered to the enemy and with- drew from the countr}^ The French immediately occupied the place, felled the forest-trees, built barracks and laid the foundations of Fort DU QuESNE. To recapture this place by force of arms Colonel Wash- ington set out from Will's Creek in the early part of May, 1754. Nego- * The accounts of this important event are very obscure and unsatisfactory. CAMPAIGNS OF WASHINGTON AND BRADDOCK. 255- tiations had failed ; remonstrance had been tried in vain ; the possession of the disputed territory was now to be determined by the harsher methods- of war. CHAPTER XXXI. CAMPAIGNS OF WASHINGTON AND BRADDOCK. WASHINGTON now found himself in command of a little army oT Virginians. His commission was brief and easily understood : To construct a fort at the source of the Ohio ; to destroy whoever opposed him in the work ; to capture, kill or repel all who interrupted the progress of the English settlements in that country. In the month of April the young commander left Will's Creek, but the march westward was slow and toilsome. The men were obliged to drag their cannons. The roads were miserable ; rain fell in torrents on the tentless soldiers ; rivers were bridgeless ; provisions insufficient. All the while the faithful Half-King was urging Washington by repeated despatches to hasten to the rescue of the Red men. On the 26th of May the English regiment reached the Great Meadows. Here Washington was informed tliat a company of French was on the march to attack him. The enemy had been seen on the Youghiogheny only a few miles distant. A stockade was immediately erected, to which the commander gave the appropriate name of Fort Necessity. Ascertaining from the scouts of the Half-King that the French company in the neighborhood was only a scouting-party, Washington, after conference with the Mingo chiefs, determined to strike the first blow. Two Indians followed the trail of the French, and discovered their hiding- place in a rocky ravine. The English advanced cautiously, intending ta surprise and capture the whole force ; but the French were on the alert, saw the approaching soldiers and flew to arras. Washington with musket in hand was at the head of his company, " Fire !" was the clear coumiand that rang through the forest, and the first volley of a great war went flying on its mission of death. The engagement was brief and decisive. Jumonville, the leader of the French, and ten of his party were killed, and twenty-one were made prisoners. A month of precious time was now lost in delays. While Washing- ton at Fort Necessity waited in vain for reinforcements, the French at. ^56 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ■ Fort du Quesne were collecting in great numbers. One small company of volunteers from South Carolina arrived at the English camp ; but the captain was an arrogant blockhead who, having a commission from the king, undertook to supersede Washington. The latter, with the Vir- ginians, spent the time of waiting in cutting a road for twenty miles across the rough country in the direction of Fort du Quesne. The In- dians were greatly discouraged at the dilatory conduct of the colonies, and the strong war-parties which had been expected to join Washington from the Muskingum and the Miami did not arrive. His whole effect- ive force scarcely numbered four hundred. Learning that the French general De Yilliers was approaching with a large body of troops, besides Indian auxiliaries, Washington deemed it prudent to fall back to Fort Necessity. The Carolina captain, who had remained within the fortifica- tions, had done nothing to strengthen the works, although there was the greatest need. The little fort stood in an open space, midway between two emi- nences covered with trees. Scarcely were Washington's forces safe within the enclosure, when on the 3d of July the regiment of De Villiers, num- bering six hundred, besides the savage allies, came in sight, and surrounded the fort. The French stationed themselves on the eminence, about sixty yards distant from the stockade. From this position they could fire down upon the English with fatal effect. Many of the Indians climbed into the tree-tops, where they were concealed by the thick foliage. For nine hours, during a rain-storm, the assailants poured an incessant shower of balls upon the heroic band in the fort. Thirty of W^ashington's men were killed, but his tranquil presence encouraged the rest, and the fire of the French was returned with unabated vigor. At length De Villiers, fear- ing that his ammunition would be exhausted, jjroposed a parley. Wash- ington, seeing that it would be impossible to hold out much longer, ac- cepted the honorable terms of capitulation which were offered by the French general. On the 4th of July the English garrison, retaining all its accoutrements, marched out of the little fort, so bravely defended, and withdrew from the country. The whole valley of the Ohio remained in undisturbed possession of the French. Meanwhile, a congress of the American colonies had assembled at Albany. The objects had in view were twofold : first, to renew the treaty with the Iroquois confederacy ; and secondly, to stir up the colonial authorities to some sort of concerted action against the French. The Iroquois had wavered from the beginning of the war ; the recent reverses of the English had not strengthened the loyalt}'^ of the Red men. As to the French aggressions, something must be done speedily, or the flag of CAMPAIGNS OF WASHINGTON AND BRADDOCK. 267 England could never be borne into the vast country west of the Alle- glianies. The congress was not wanting in abilities of the highest order. JN'o such venerable and dignified body of men had ever before assembled on the American continent. There were Hutchinson of Massachusetts, Hopkins of Rhode Island, Franklin of Pennsylvania, and others scarcely less distinguished. After a few days' consultation, the Iroquois, but hall' satisfied, renewed their treaty and departed. The chieftains were anxious and uneasy lest, through inactivity and want of union on the part of the colonies, the Six Nations should be left to contend alone with the power of France. The convention next took tij) the important question of uniting the colonies in a common government. On the 10th day of July, Benjamin Franklin laid before the commissioners the draft: of a federal constitu- tion. His vast and comprehensive mind had realized the true condition and wants of the country ; the critical situation of the colonies demanded a central government. How else could revenues be raised, an army l^e organized and the common welfare be provided for? According to the proposed plan of union, Philadelphia, a central city, was to be the cap- ital. It was urged in behalf of this clause that the delegates of New Hampshire and Georgia, the colonies most remote, could reach the seat of government in fifteen or twenty days ! Slow-going old patriots ! Tlic chief executive of the new confederation was to be a governor-general appointed and supported by the king. The legislative authority M^as vested in a congress composed of delegates to be chosen triennially by the general assemblies of the resi>ective provinces. Each colony should be represented in proportion to its contributions to the general government, but no colony should have less than two or more than seven represent- atives in congress. With the governor was lodged the power of appoint- ing all military officers and of vetoing objectionable laws. The appoint- ment of civil officers, the raising of troops, the levying of taxes, the super- intendence of Indian affairs, the regulation of commerce, and all the general duties of government, belonged to congress. This body was to convene once a year, to choose its own officers, and to remain in session not longer than six weeks.* Such was the constitution drafted by Franklin and adopted, not without serious opposition, by the commissioners at Albany. It remained for the colonies to ratify or reject the new scheme of government. Copies of the proposed constitution were at once transmitted to the several colon- ial capitals, and were everywhere received with disfavor ; in Connecticut, rejected ; in Massachusetts, opposed; in New York, adopted with indiffer- •".nce. The chief objection urged against the instrument was the power of ^"^ * See Apnendix C. 258 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. veto given to the governor-general. Nor did the new constitution fare better in the mother country. The English board of trade rejected it with disdain, saying that the froward Americans were trying to make a government of their own. Meanwhile, the French were strengthening their works at Crown Point and Fort Niagara, and rejoicing over their success in Western Pennsylvania. But the honor of England, no less than the welfare of her colonies, was at stake, and Parliament came to the rescue. It was determined to send a British army to America, to accept the service of such provincial troops as the colonies might furnish, and to protect the frontier against the aggressions of France. As yet there had been no declaration of war. The ministers of the two nations kept assuring each other of peaceable intentions ; but Louis XV. took care to send three thousand soldiers to Canada, and the British government ordered General Edward Braddock to proceed to America with two regiments of regulars. Early in 1755 the English armament arrived in the Chesapeake. On the 14th of April Braddock met the governors of all the colonies in a convention at Alex- andria. The condition of colonial affairs was fully discussed. It was resolved, since peace existed, not to invade Canada, but to repel the French on the western and northern frontier. The plans of four cam- paigns were accordingly submitted and ratified. Lawrence, the governor of Nova Scotia, was to complete the conquest of that province according to the English notion of boundaries. Johnson of New York was to enroll a force of volunteers and Mohawks in British pay, and to capture tlie French post at Crown Point. Shirley of jMassachusetts was to equip a regiment and drive the enemy from their fortress at Niagara. Last and most important of all, Braddock himself as commander-in-chief was to lead the main body of regulars against Fort du Quesne, retake that j)ost and expel the French from the Ohio valley. In the latter part of April the British general set out on his march from Alexandria to Will's Creek. The name of the militarj'- post at the mouth of this stream was now changed to Fort Cumberland. Braddock's army numbered fully two thousand men. They were nearly all veterans who had seen service in the wars of Europe. A few provincial troops had joined the expedition ; two companies of volunteers, led by Colonel Horatio Gates of New York, were among the number. Washington met the army at Fort Cumberland, and became an aid-de-camp of Braddock. The colonies would have assisted with large levies of recruits, had it not been for the nature of the general's authority. It was prescribed in his commission that the provincial captains and colonels should have no rank "when ser\ang in connection with the British army. So odious was thia CAMPAIGNS OF WASHINGTON AND BRADDOCK. 259 regulation that Washington had set the example of withdrawing from the service ; patriotic motives and the wish of Virginia now induced him to return and to accept a post of responsibility. On the last day of May the march began from Fort Cumberland. A select force of five hundred men was thrown forward to open the roads in the direction of Fort du Quesne. Sir Peter Halket led the advance, and Braddock followed with the main body. The army, marching in a slender columUj was extended for four miles along the narrow and broken road It was in vain that Washington pointed out the danger of am- buscades and suggested the employment of scouting-parties. Braddock was self-willed, arrogant, proud ; thoroughly skilled in the tactics of European warfare, he could not bear to be advised by an inferior. The sagacious Franklin had admonished him to move with caution ; but he only replied that it was impossible for savages to make any impression on His Majesty's regulars. Now, when Washington ventured to repeat the advice, Braddock flew into a passion, strode up and down in his tent, and said that it was high times when Colonel Buckskin could teach a British general how to fight. On the 19th of June, Braddock put himself at the head of twelve hundred chosen troops and pressed forward more rapidly. Colonel Dun- bar was left behind with the remainder of the army. On the 8th of July the van reached the junction of the Youghiogheny and the Monongahela. It was only twelve miles farther to Fort du Quesne, and the French gave up the place as lost. On the next morning the English army advanced along the Monongahela, and at noon crossed to the northern bank just beyond the confluence of Turtle Creek. Still there was no sign of an enemy. Colonel Thomas Gage was leading forward a detachment of three hundred and fifty men. The road was but twelve feet wide ; the country uneven and woody There was a dense undergrowth on either hand; rocks and ravines ; a hill on the right and a dry hollow on the left. A few guides were in the advance, and some feeble flanking-parties ; in the rear came the general with the main division of the army, the artillery and the baggage. All at once a quick and heavy fire was heard in the front. France was not going to give up Fort du Quesne without a strug- gle. For two months the place had been receiving reinforcements ; still the garrison was by no means able to cope with Braddock's army. Even the Indians realized the disparity of the contest. It was with great diffi- culty that, on the night before the battle, the commandant of the fort induced the savages to join in the enterprise of ambuscading the British. At last a force of two hundred and thirty French, led by Beaujeu and 260 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Dumas, and a body of six hundred and thirty-seven Indians set out from Du Quesne with a view to harass and annoy the English rather than to face them in a serious battle. It was the purpose of the French, Avho were entirely familiar with the ground, to lay an ambuscade at a favor- able point seven miles distant from the fort. They were just reaching the selected spot and settling into ambush when the flanking-parties of the English came in sight. The French fired ; the Indians yelled and slunk into their hiding-places, and the battle began. If Gage had at once thrown forward his forces to the support of the guards, the day could have been saved ; but he was confused and un- decided. The flanking parties were driven in, leaving their six-pounders in the hands of the enemy. Gage's men wavered, and were mixed in the thickset underwood with a regiment which Braddock had pushed forward to the rescue. The confusion became greater, and there were symptoms of a panic. The men fired constantly, but could see no enemy. Every volley from the hidden foe flew with deadly certainty into the crowded ranks of the English. The rash but brave general rushed to the front and rallied his men with the energy of despair ; but it was all in vain. The men stood huddled together like sheep, or fled in terror to the rear. The forest was strewn with the dead ; the savages, emboldened by their unex- pected success, crept farther and farther along the flanks; and the battle became a rout. Braddock had five horses shot under him ; his secretary was killed ; both his English aids were disabled ; only Washington re- mained to distribute orders. Out of eighty-two ofiicers twenty-six were killed and thirty-seven wounded. Of the privates seven hundred and fourteen were dead or bleeding with wounds. At last the general re- ceived a ball in his right side and sank fainting to the ground. "What shall we do now, colonel ?" said he to Washington, who came to his assist- ance. " Retreat, sir — retreat by all means," replied the young hero, upon whom everything now depended. His own bosom had been for more than two hours a special target for the savages. Two horses had fallen under him, and fo;ir times his coat had been torn with balls. A Shawnee chief singled him out and bade his warriors do tlio same; bv.t tholv \'oiycys SCENE OF BRADDOCK'S DEFEAT. 1755., RUIN OF ACADIA. 261 went by harmless. The retreat began at once, and the thirty Virginians, who, with Washington, were all that remained alive, covered the flight of the ruined army. The artillery, provisions, baggage and private paj)ers of the general were left on the field. The losses of the French and Indians were slight, amounting to three officers and thirty men killed, and as many others wounded. There was no attempt made at pursuit. The savages fairly reveled in the spoils of the battle-field. They had never known so rich a harvest of scalps and booty. The tawny chiefs returned to Fort du Quesne clad in the laced coats, military boots and cockades of the British officers. The jiying Braddock was borne in the train of the fugitives. Once he roused himself to say, " Who would have thought it ?" and again, " We shall better know how to deal with them another time." On the evening of the fourth day he died, and was buried by the roadside a mile west of Fort Necessity. When the fugitives reached Dunbar's camp, the confusion was greater than ever. Dunbar was a man of feeble capacity and no courage ; pretending to have the orders of the dying general, he proceeded to de- stroy the remaining artillery, the heavy baggage, and all the public stores, to the value of a hundred thousand pounds. Then followed a precipitate retreat to Fort Cumberland, and then an abandonment of that place for the safer precincts of Philadelphia. It was only the beginning of Auguet, yet Dunbar pleaded the necessity of finding winter quarters for his forces, fne great expedition of Braddock had ended in such a disaster as spread »consternation and gloom over all the colonies. CHAPTER XXXII. RUIN OF ACADIA. BY the treaty of Utrecht, made in 1713, the province of Acadia, or Nova Scotia, was ceded by France to England. During the following fifty years the <;olony remained under the dominion of Great Britain, and was ruled by English officers. But the great majority of the people were French, and the English government amounted only to a military occu- pation of the peninsula. The British colors, floating over Louisburg and Annapolis, and the presence of British garrisons here and there, were the only tokens that this, the oldest French colony in America, had passed under the control nf foreifrner?. 262 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. At the time of the cession the population amounted to about three thousand ; by the outbreak of the French and Indian War the number had increased to more than sixteen thousand. Lawrence, the deputy- governor of the province, pretended to fear an insurrection. When Brad- dock and the colonial governors convened at Alexandria, it was urged tliat something must be done to overawe the French and strengthen the English authority in Acadia. The enterprise of reducing the French peasants to complete humiliation was entrusted to Lawrence, who was to be assisted by a British fleet under Colonel Monckton, On the 20th of May, 1755, the squadron, with tluree thousand troops, sailed from Boston for the Bay of Fundy. Tlie French had but two fortified posts in the province ; both of these were on the isthmus which divides Nova Scotia from New Bruns- wick. The first and most important fortress, named Beau-Sejour, was sit- uated near the mouth of Messagouche Creek, at the head of Chignecto Bay. The other fort, a mere stockade called Gaspereau, was on the north side of the isthmus, at Bay Verte. De Ver- gor, the French commandant, had THE ACADIAN ISTHMUS, 1755. no intimation of approaching danger till the English fleet sailed fearlessly into the bay and anchored before the walls of Beau-Sejour. There was no preparation for defence. On the 3d of June the English forces landed, and on the next day forced their way across the ]Messa2;ouche. A vi2:orou3 siege of four days followed. Fear and confusion reigned among the gar- rison ; no successful resistance could be offered. On the 16th of the month Beau-Sejour capitulated, received an English garrison and took the name of Fort Cumberland. The feeble post at Gaspereau was taken a few days afterward, and named Fort Monckton. Captain Rous was despatched with four vessels to capture the fort at the mouth of the St. John's ; but before the fleet could reach its destination, the French reduced the town to ashes and escaped into the interior. In a campaign of less than a month, and with a loss of only twenty men, the English had made themselves mastei-s of the whole country east of the St. Croix. The war in Acadia was at an end ; but what should be done with the people? The French* inhabitants still outnumbered the English nearly three to one. Governor Lawrence and Admiral Boscawen, in con- RUIN OF ACADIA. 263 ference with the chief justice of the province, settled upon the atrocious measure of driving the people into banishment. The first movement was to demand an oath of allegiance which \vas so framed that the French, as honest Catholics, could not take it. The priests advised the peasants to declare their loyalty^ but refuse the oath, which was meant to ensnare their souls. The next step on the part of the English was to accuse the French of treason, and to demand the surrender of all their firearms and boats. To this measm-e the broken-hearted people also submitted. They even offered to take the oath, but Lawrence declared that, having once refused, they must now take the consequences. The British vessels were made ready, and the work of forcil^le eniljarkation began. The country about the isthmus was covered with peaceful hamlets. THE EXILE OF THE ACADIANS. * These were now laid waste, and the people driven into the larger towns on the coast. Others were induced by artifice and treachery to j)ut thejn- selves into the power of the English. Wherever a sufficient number of the French could be gotten together they were driven on shipboard. They were allowed to take their wives and children and as much property as would not be inconvenient on the vessels. The estates of the province were confiscated, and what could not be ap])ropriated was given to the * Longfellow's Evangeline is founded on this incident. 264 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. flames. The wails of thousands of bleeding hearts were wafted to heaven with the smoke of burning homes. At the village of Grand Pre four hundred and eighteen unarmed men were called together and shut up in a church. Then came the wives and children, the old men and the mothers, the sick and the infirm, to share the common fate. The whole company numbered more than nineteen hundred souls. The poor crea- tures were driven down to the shore, forced into the boats at the point of the bayonet, and carried to the vessels in the bay. As the moaning fugitives cast a last look at their pleasant town, a column of black smoke floating seaward told the story of desolation. More than three thousand of the hapless Acadians were carried away by the British squadron and scattered, helpless, half starved and dying, among the English colonies. The history of civilized nations furnishes no parallel to this wanton and wicked destruction of an inoffensive colony. CHAPTER XXXIII. EXPEDITIONS OF SHIRLEY AND JOHNSON. THE third campaign planned by Braddock at Alexandria was to be conducted by Governor Shirley of Massachusetts. The expedition was to proceed from Albany to Oswego, and thence by water to the mouth of the Niagara. It was known that Fort Niagara was an insig- nificant post, depending for its defence upon a small ditch, a rotten palisade and a feeble garrison. To capture this place, to obtain command of the river, and to cut off the communications of the French by way of the lakes, were the objects of the campaign. " Fort du Quesne can hardly detain me more than three or four days," said Braddock to Shirley, " and then I will meet you at Niagara." In the early part of August, Shirley set out at the head of nearly two thousand men. It was the last of the month before he reached Oswego. Here the provincial forces had been ordered to assemble. Four weeks were spent in preparing boats for embarkation. When ever}'thing was in readiness, a storm arose ; and when the storm abated, the wmds blew in the wrong direction. Then came another tempest and another delay ; then thickness prevailed in the camp. With the beginning of October EXPEDITIONS OF SHIRLEY AND JOHNSON. 2G5 Shirley declared the lake to be dangerous for navigation. The Indians deserted the standard of a leader whose skill in war consisted in framin^ excuses. The fact was that the general, while on the march to Oswego^ had learned of the destruction of Braddock's army, and feared that a sim- ilar fate might overtake his own. On the 24th of October the greater part of the provincial forces, led by Shirley, marched homeward. Only one result of any importance folloM^ed from the campaign— the fort at Oswego was well rebuilt and garrisoned with seven hundred men under Mercer. Far more important was the expedition entrusted to General Wil- liam Johnson. The object had in view was to capture the enemy's fort- ress at Crown Point, and to drive the French from the shores of Lake Champlain. Johnson's army numbered three thousand four hundred men, including a body of friendly Mohawks. The active work of the campaign began early in August, when General Phineas Lyman, at the head of the New England troops, proceeded to the Hudson above Albanv, and at a point just below where the river bends ab- ^ ruptly to the west built Fort Edward. Thither in the last days of summer came the commanding general with the main division. The watershed between the Hudson and Lake George is only twelve miles wide. Johnson's army marched across to the head of the lake and laid out a commodious camp. A Aveek was spent in bringing forward the artillery and stores. The soldiers were busy preparing boats for embarkation, and the important matter of fortifying the camp was wholly neglected. In the mean time, Dieskau, the daring command- ant at Crown Point, determined to anticipate the movements of the English. With a force of fourteen hundred French, Canadians and Indians he sailed up Lake Champlain to South Bay. From this point he marched to the upper springs of Wood Creek, intending to strike to the south, pass the English army and capture Fort Edward before the alarm could be given. But the news was carried to General Johnson ; and a force of a thousanj detachments of French soldiers. The Marquis of Vaudreuil in sur- rendering Montreal had stipulated that all the western forts under the control of France should be given up to England. In the fall of 1760 Major Robert Rogers was accordingly despatched by General Amherst, with a company of two hundred provincial rangers, to receive the sur- render of the outposts. By the last of November, Rogers, having ascended the St. Law- rence and passed through Lakes Ontario and Erie, reached Detroit. Over this, the most important of the French posts in the West, the English flag was raised ; Forts Miami on the southern shore of Lake Michigan and Ouatanon on the Wabash were also given up without resistance. Rogers then pressed on to take possession of Mackinaw, Green Bay and St. Marie, but was turned back by the storms on Lake Huron ; and it was not until the following summer that those remote fortresses were garrisoned by detachments of British soldiers. No sooner were the English in complete possession of the coun- try than they began by neglect and ill-treatment to excite, the dor- mant passions of the Red men. During the progress of the war the Indians had become completely subordinated by French influence ; and the English were hated with all the ferocity of the savage na- ture. It was not long till there were mutterings of an outbreak. The tribes could not be made to comprehend that Canada had been finally taken from their friends, the French. They confidently ex- pected the day when the king of France should send new armies and expel the detested English. Infatuated with this belief, instigated by the French themselves, and stung by many insults real and im- aginary, the warriors began their usual atrocities on the frontiers. In the summer of 1761, the Senecas conspired with the Wyandots to capture Detroit by treachery, and massacre the garrison ; and the plot was barely thwarted by Colonel Campbell, the commandant. In the following summer another attempt of a similar sort was discovered and defeated. It was in this condition of affairs that the celebrated Pontiac came forward and organized the most far-reaching and dan- gerous conspiracy ever known among the Indian tribes of America. Pontiac was chief of the Ottawas, whose principal seat was the district between Lakes Erie and Michigan. In the somewhat pro- longed interval between the conquest of Canada and the treaty of 1763, this sagacious warrior, doubting the possibility of a peace be- tween the rival nations, conceived the design of uniting all the Indian tribes from the Alleghanies to the Mississippi in an overwhelming 278 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. confederacy, which should upon a given day strike all the English forts upon the frontier a deadly blow, and sweep away in a common ruin every English family west of the mountains. The plot was con- structed with the White man's skill and the Red man's cunnins;. The 7th of May, 1763, was named as the day of destruction. But when the time came the impatient savage tribes were unable to act in per- fect concert, and ultimate failure was the consequence, though the immediate result was terribly disastrous. Pontiac reserved for himself the most difficult task of all — the capture of Detroit. But in the hour of impending doom, Avoman's love interposed to save the garrison from butchery. An Indian girl of the Ojibwa nation, came to the fort with a pair of moccasins for Major Gladwyn, the commandant, and in parting with him manifested unusual agitation and distress. She was seen to linger at the street corner, and the sentinel summoned her to return to the major's quar- ters. There, after much persuasion and many assurances of protec- tion, she yielded to his urgent inquiries into the cause of her grief and revealed the plot. When Pontiac's band on the following day attempted to gain the fort by treachery, they found every soldier and citizen under arms and ready to receive them. Then followed a protracted siege, and the savage horde was finally driven off. But TWO YEARS OF SUCCESSES. 279 in all other quarters the attacks were attended with the most fatal results. On the 16th of May Fort Sandusky was taken and burned, and the garrison butchered by a baud of Wyandots. A few days later Fort St. Joseph suffered a similar fate at the hands of the Pot- tawattamieg. On the 29th of the month Fort Mackinaw was taken and its defenders nearly all murdered by the Chippeways. One out- post after another was captured and burned, until by the middle of summer every English fort in the West, except Niagara, Fort Pitt and Detroit, had fallen into the hands of the savages. But in the mean time rumors of a treaty between France and England were borne to the Red men; and they, becoming alarmed at their own atrocities, began to sue for peace. The confederacy crumbled into nothing. Every tribe seemed as anxious to avoid the consequences as it had been to take up the hatchet. Pontiac and his band of Ot- tawas held out for two years longer; then, abandoned by his follow- ers, he fled to the Illinois, among whom he was finally killed in a drunken brawl at the Indian town of Cahokia, opposite St. Louis. For three years after the fall of Montreal the war between France and England lingered on the ocean. The English fleets were everywhere victorious. On the 10th of February, 1763, a treaty of peace was made at Paris. All the French possessions in North Amer- ica eastward of the Mississippi from its source to the river Iberville, and thence through Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the Gulf of Mexico, were surrendered to Great Britain. At the same time Spain, with whom England had been at war, ceded East and AVest Florida to the English Crown. As reciprocal with this provision France was obliged to make a cession to Spain of all that vast terri- tory west of the Mississippi, known as the Province of Louisiana. By the sweeping provisions of this treaty the French king lost his entire possessions in the New World. Thus closed the French and Indian War, one of the most important in the history of mankind. By this conflict it was decided that the decaying institutions of the Middle Ages should not prevail in the West; and that the powerful language, laws and liberties of the English race should be planted for ever in the vast domains of the New World. 280 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XXXyi. CONDITION OF THE COLONIES. "DEFORE entering upon the stirring events of the Revolution, it -A-' will be of interest to glance at the general, condition of the American Colonies. There were thirteen of them: four in New England, — Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hamp- shire ; four Middle Colonies, — New York, New Jersey, Pennsylva- nia, Delaware ; five Southern, — Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia. All had grown and prospered. The ele- ments of power were everywhere present. A willful, patriotic, and vigorous race of democrats had taken possession of the New World. Institutions unknown in Europe, peculiar to the West, made neces- sary by the condition and surroundings of the colonies, had sprung up and were taking deep root in American soil. According to estimates made for the year 1760 the population of the colonies amounted to a million six hundred and ninety-five thousand souls. Of these about three hundred and ten thousand were blacks. Massachusetts was at this period perhaps the strongest col- ony, having more than two hundred thousand people of European ancestry within her borders. True, Virginia was the most populous, having an aggregate of two hundred and eighty-four thousand inhab- itants, but of these one hundred and sixteen thousand were Africans, slaves. Next in strength stood Pennsylvania with a population of nearly two hundred thousand; next Connecticut with her hundred and thirty thousand people ; next Maryland with a hundred and four thousand ; then New York with eighty-five thousand ; New Jersey not quite as many; then South Carolina, and so through the feebler col- onies to Georgia, in whose borders were less than five thousand in- habitants, including the negroes. By the middle of the eighteenth century the people of the Amer- ican colonies had to a certain extent assumed a national character; but they were still strongly marked with the peculiarities which their an- cestors had brought from Europe. In New England, especially in Mas- sachusetts and Connecticut, the principles and practices of Puritanism still held universal sway. On the banks of the Hudson the language, manners, and customs of Holland were almost as prevalent as they CONDITION OF THE COLONIES. 281 had been a hundred years before. By the Delaware the Quakers were gathered in such numbers as to control all legislation, and to prevent serious innovations upon the simple methods of civil and social organization introduced by Penn. On the northern bank of the Potomac, the youth- ful Frederick, the sixth Lord Baltimore, a friv- olous and dissolute gov- ernor, ruled a people who still conformed to the order of things es- tablished a hundred and thirty years previously by Sirs George and Ce- cil Calvert. In Vir- ginia, mother of States and statesmen, the peo- ple had all their old peculiarities ; a some- what haughty demean- or; pride of ancestry; fondness for aristocratic sports; hospitality; love of freedom. The North Carolinians were at this epoch the same rugged and insubordinate race of hunters that they had always been. The leg- islative assembly, in its controversies with Gov- ernor Dobbs, manifested all the intractable stubbornness which char- acterized that body in the days of Seth Sothel. In South Carolina there was much prosperity and happiness. But there, too, popular liberty had been enlarged by the constant encroachment of the leg- islature upon the royal prerogative. The people, mostly of French descent, were as hot-blooded and jealous of their rights as their an- cestors had been in the times of the first immigrations. Of all the American colonies Georgia had at this time least strength and spirit. Under the system of government established at the first the common- wealth had languished. Not until 1754, when Governor Eeynolds THE OLD THIRTEEN COLONIES. N 282 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. assumed control of the colony, did the affairs of the people on the Savannah begin to flourish. Even afterwards, something of the indio-ence and want of thrift which had marked the followers of o Oglethorpe still prevailed in Georgia. Nevertheless, after making allowance for all these differences of colonial character, a consid- erable degree of American unity had been attained ; inter-colonial relations were well established; and the people were far less antag- onistic and sectional than they had been. In matters of education New England took the lead. Her system of free schools extended everywhere from the Hudson to the Penobscot. Every village furnished facilities for the acquirement of knowledge. So complete and universal were the means of instruc- tion that in the times preceding the Revolution there loas not to be found in all Neio England an adult, horn in the country, ivho could not read and lorite. Splendid achievement of Puritanism ! In the Middle Colonies education was not so general ; but in Pennsylvania there was much intelligent activity among the people. Especially in Philadelphia did the illustrious Franklin scatter the light of learn- ing. South of the Potomac educational facilities were irregular and generally designed for the benefit of the wealthier classes. But in some localities the means of enlightenment were well provided; in- stitutions of learning sprang up scarcely inferior to those of the East- ern provinces, or even of Europe. Nor should the private schools of the colonial times be forgotten. Many men — Scottish reformers, Irish liberals, and French patriots — despising the bigotry and intolerance of their countrymen, fled for refuge to the New World, and there by the banks of the Housatonic, the Hudson, the Delaware, the Poto- mac, the Ashley, and the Savannah, taught the lore of books and the lesson of liberty to the rugged boys of the American wiklerness. Among the Southern colonies Virginia led the van in mattei-s of edu- cation ; while Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia lagged behind. Previous to the Revolution nine colleges worthy of the name had been established in the colonies. These were Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, Princeton, King's (now called Columbia), Brown, Queen's (afterwards called Rutgers), Dartmouth, and Hampden and Sydney. In 1764 the first medical college was founded, at Philadelphia. Of the printing-press, that other great agent and forerunner of civilization, the work was already effective. As early as 1704 the Boston Neivs- Letter, first of periodicals in the New World, was pub- lished in the city of the Puritans; but fifteen years elapsed before another experiment of the same sort was made. In 1721 the New England Courant, a little sheet devoted to free thought and the ex- CONDITION OF THE COLONIES. 283 tinction of rascality, was established at Boston by the two Franklins — James and Benjamin. In 1740 New York had but one period- ical, Virginia one, and South Carolina one ; and at the close of the French and Indian War, there were no more than ten newspapers published in the colonies. The chief obstacles to such publications were the absence of great cities and the difficulty of communication between distant sections of the country. Boston and Philadelphia had each no more than eighteen thousand inhabitants; New York but twelve thousand. In all Virginia there was not one Important town; while as far south as Georgia there was scarcely a considerable Tillage. To reach this widely scattered population with periodical j)ublications was quite impossible. Books were few, and of little value. Some dry volumes of history, theology, and politics were the only stock and store. On the latter subject the publications were sometimes full of pith and spirit. But notwithstiinding this barren- ness of books and general poverty of the resources of knowledge, it was no unusual thing to find at the foot of the Virginia mountains, in the quiet precincts of Philadelphia, by the banks of the Hudson, or in the valleys of New England, a man of great and solid learn- ing. Such a man was Thomas Jefferson ; such were Franklin, and Livingston, and the Adamses — men of profound scholarship, bold in thought, ready with the j^en, skillful in argument; studious, witty, and eloquent. Nothing impeded the progress of the colonies more than the want of thoroughfares and easy communication between the different sections. No general system of post-offices or post-roads had as yet been established; and the people were left in comparative or total ignorance of passing events. No common sentiments could be ex- pressed — no common enthusiasm be kindled in the country — by the slow-going mails and packets. The sea-coast towns and cities found a readier intercourse by means of small sloops plying the Atlantic ; but the inland districts were Avholly cut off from such advantages. Roads were slowly built from point to point, and lines of travel by coach and wagon were gradually established. To the very beginning of the Revolution the people lived apart, isolated and dependent upon their own resources for life and enjoyment. When in 1766 an ex- press wagon made the trip from New York to Philadelphia in two days, it was considered a marvel of rapidity. Six years later the first stage-coach began to run regularly between Boston and Providence.* * It is remarkable to note how tardily the attention of a people will be turned to the tuilding of roads. 3?hus, for instance, in so old a country as Scotland there were no great thoroughfares constructed until after the Scotch Rebellion of 1745. 284 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Before the Revolution the Americans were for the most part an agricultural J)eopie. Within the tide-water line of Virginia the lands were divided into estates, and the planters devoted themselves almost exclusively to the cultivation of tobacco. Farther inland the products were more various: wheat, maize, potatoes; upland cotton, hemp, and flax. In the Carolinas and Georgia the rice crop was most important; after that, indigo, cotton, and some silk; tar, tur- pentine, and what the hunter and fisherman gathered from the woods and streams. New York, Philadelphia and Boston were then as now the great centers of trade ; but commerce was carried on in a slow and awkward manner, wholly unlike the rushing activity of more recent times. Ship-building was one of the most important colonial interests. In the year 1738 no less than forty-one sailing vessels, with an average burden of a hundred and fifty tons, were built and launched at the ship-yards of Boston. New England was the seat of Avhatever manufacturing interest prevailed in the country. But all enterprise in this direction was checked and impeded by the British Board of Trade, whose stupid and arbitrary restrictions acted as a damper on every kind of colonial thrift. No sooner would some enterprising company of New England men begin the building of a factory than this officious Board would interfere in such a way as to inake success impossible. So jealous was the English ministry of American progress! If, previous to the Revolution, any colonial manufacture was successfully established, it was done against the will of Great Britain, and in spite of her mean and churlish opposition. Such were the American colonies — such the people whose bud- ding nationality was now to be exposed to the blasts of war. These people, whose ancestors had been driven into exile by the exactions of European governments and the bigotry of ecclesiastical power, had become the rightful proprietors of the New World. They had fairly won it from savage man and savage nature. They had subdued it and built States within it. They owned it by all the claims of actual possession ; by toil and trial ; by the ordeal of suffering ; by peril, privation, and hardship ; by the baptism of sorrow and the shedding of blood. No wonder that patriotism was the child of such travail and discipline ! No wonder that the men who from mountain and sky and river, from orchard and valley and forest, from the memo- ries of the past, the aspirations of the present and the hopes of the future, had drank in the spirit of Liberty until their souls were per- vaded with her sublime essence, — were now ready when the iron heel of oppression was set upon their cherished rights, to draw the vindic- tive sword f'von ncainst the venerable monarchv of En2:landl PART IV. REYOLUTIO^ AND OOlNrFEDERATIOK A. D. 1775—1789. CHAPTER XXXVII. CA USES. THE war of American Independence was an event of vast moment, affecting the destinies of all nations. The question decided by the conflict was this : Whether the English colonies in America, becoming sovereign, should govern themselves or be ruled as dependencies of a European monarchy. The decision was rendered in favor of separation and mdependence. The result has been the grandest and most promising example of republican government in the history of the world. The struggle was long and distressing, though not characterized by great violence ; the combatants were of the same race and spoke a common lan- guage. It is of the first importance to understand the causes of the war. The most general cause of the American Revolution was the eight OF AEBITRAEY GOVERNMENT, claimed by Great Britain and denied by the colonies. So long as this claim was asserted by England only as a theory, the conflict was postponed ; when the English government began to enforce the principle in practice, the colonies resisted. The question began to be openly discussed about the time of the treaty of Aix-la- Chapelle, in 1748 ; and from that period until the beginning of hostilities, in 1775, each year witnessed a renewal of the agitation. But there were also many subordinate causes tending to bring on a conflict. First of these was the influence of France, which was constantly exerted so as to incite a spirit of resistance in the colonies. The French king would never have agreed to the treaty of 1763 — by which Canada was ceded to Great Britain — had it not been with the hope of securing American independence. It was the theory of France that by giving up Canada on the north the English colonies would become so strong as to renounce their allegiance to the crown. England feared such a result. More than once it was proposed in Parliament to re-cede Canada to France (285) 286 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. in order to check the gro\^'th of the American States. " There, now !" said a French statesman when the treaty of 1763 was signed; "we have arranged matters for an American rebellion in which England will lose her empire in the West." Another cause leading to the Revolution was found in the natural disposition and inherited character of the colonists. They were, for the most part, republicans in politics and dissenters in religion. The people of England were monarchists and High Churchmen. The colonists had never seen a king. The Atlantic lay between them and the British min- istry. Their dealings with the royal officers had been such as to engender a dislike for monarchical institutions. The people of America had not forgotten — could not well forget — the circumstances under which their ancestors had come to the New World. For six generations the colonists had managed their own affairs ; and their methods of government were necessarily republican. The experiences of the French and Indian War had shown that Americans were fully able to defend themselves and their country. The growth of public opinion in the colonies tended to independence. The more advanced thinkers came to believe that a complete separation from England was not only possible, but desirable. As early as 1755, John Adams, then a young school-teacher in Connecticut, wrote in his diary : " In another century all Europe will not be able to subdue us. The only way to keep us from setting up for ourselves is to disunite us." Such opinions were at first expressed only in private, then by hints in pam- phlets and newspapers, and at last publicly and everywhere. The mass of the people, however, were slow to accept an idea which seemed so rad- ical and dangerous. Not until the war had actually begun did the ma- jority declare for independence. Another cause of the conflict with the mother country was found in the personal character of the king. George III., M-ho ascended the Eng- lish throne in 1760, was one of the worst monarchs of modern times. His notions of government were altogether despotic. He was a stubborn, stupid, thick-headed man in whose mind the notion of human rights \va3 entirely wanting. It was impossible for him to conceive of a magnan- imous project or to appreciate the value of civil liberty. His reign of sixty years was as odious as it was long. In the management of the British empire he employed only those who were the narrow-minded partisans of his own policy. His ministers were, for the most part, men as incompetent and illiberal as himself. With such a king and sucn a ministry it was not likely that the descendants of the Pilgrims would get on smoothly. CAUSES. 287 The more immediate cause of the Revolution was the passage by- Parliament of a number of acts destructive of colonial liberty. These acts were resisted by the colonies, and the attempt was made by Great Britain to enforce them with the bayonet. The subject of this unjust legislation, which extended over a period of twelve years just preceding the war, was the question of taxation. It is a well-grounded princi]3le of English common laAV that the people, by their representatives in the House of Commons, have the right of voting whatever taxes and customs are neces- sary for the support of the kingdom. The American colonists claimed the full rights of Englishmen, With good reason it was urged that the general assemblies of colonies held the same relation to the American people as did the House of Commons to the people of England. The English ministers replied that Parliament, and not the colonial assemblies, was the proper body to vote taxes in any and all parts of the British empire. But we are not represented in Parliament, was the answer of the Americans ; the House of Commons may therefore justly assess taxes in England, but not in America, Many of the towns, boroughs and shires in these British isles have no representatives in Parliament, and yet the Parliament taxes them, replied the ministers, now driven to sophistry. If any of your towns, boroughs and shires are not represented in the House of Commons, they ought to be, was the American rejoinder ; and there the argument ended. Such were the essential points of the controversy. It is now proper to notice the several parliamentary acts which the colonies complained of and resisted. The first of these was the Importation Act, passed in 1733. This statute was itself a kind of supplement to the old Navigation Act of 1651. By the terms of the newer law exorbitant duties were laid on all the sugar, molasses and rum imported into the colonies. At first the payment of these unreasonable customs was evaded by the merchants, and then the statute was openly set at naught. In 1750 it was further^ enacted that iron-works should not be erected in America. The man- ufacture of steel was specially forbidden ; and the felling of pines, outside of enclosures, was interdicted. All of these laws were disregarded and denounced by the people of the colonies as being unjust and tyrannical. In 1761 a strenuous effort was made by the ministry to enforce the Im- portation Act. The colonial courts were authorized to issue to the king's officers a kind of search-warrants, called Writs of Assistance. Armed with this authority, petty constables might enter any and every place, searching for and seizing goods which were suspected of having evaded the duty. At Salem and Boston the greatest excitement prevailed. The application for the writs was resisted before the courts. James Otis, an 288 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. able and temperate man, pleaded eloquently for colonial rights, and de- nounced the parliamentary acts as unconstitutional. The address was a masterly defence of the peoj)le, and produced a profound sensation through- out the colonies. Already there were hints at resistance by force of arms. In 1763, and again in the following year, the English ministers undertook to enforce the law requiring the payment of duties on sugar and molasses. The officers of the admiralty were authorized to seize and confiscate all vessels engaged in the unlawful trade. Before the passage of this act was known at Boston, a great town-meeting was held. Samuel Adams was the orator. A powerful argument was produced showing conclusively that under the British constitution taxation and representa- tion were inseparable. Nevertheless, vessels from the English navy were sent to hover around the American harbors. A great number of mer- chantmen bearing cargoes of sugar and wine were seized; and the colonial trade with tlie West Indies was almost destroyed. The year 1764 witnessed the first formal declaration of the purpose of Parliament to tax the colonies. Mr. Grenville was now prime minis- ter. On the 10th of JMarch a resolution was adopted by the House of Commons declaring that it would be proper to charge certain stamp- duties on the American colonies. It was announced that a bill embody- ing this principle would be prepared by the ministers and presented at the next session of Parliament. In the mean time, the news of the pro- jDOsed measure was borne to America. Universal excitement and indig- nation prevailed in the colonies. Political meetings became the order of the day. Orators were in great demand. The newspapers teemed with arguments against the proposed enactment. Resolutions were passed by the people of almost every town. Formal remonstrances were addressed to the king and the two houses of Parliament. Agents were appointed by the colonies and sent to London in the hope of preventing the passage of the law. A new turn was now given to the controversy. The French and Indian War had just been concluded with a treaty of peace. Great Britain had incurred a heavy debt. The ministers began to urge that the expenses of the war ought to be borne by the colonies. The Americans replied that England ought to defend her colonies, from motives of humanity; that in the prosecution of tlie war the colonists had aided Great Britain as much as Great Britain had aided them ; that the cession of Canada had amply remunerated England for her losses ; that it was not the payment of money which the colonies dreaded, but the surrender of their liberties. It was also added that in case of another war ^the American States would try to fight their own battles. CAUSES. 289 Early in March of 1765, the EngHsh Parliament, no longer guided by the counsels of Pitt, passed the celebrated Stamp Act. In the House of Commons the measure received a majority of five to one. In the House of Lords the vote was unanimous. At the time of the passage of the act the king was in a fit of insanity, and could not sign the bill. On the 22d of the month the royal assent was given by a board of commis- sioners acting for the king. "The sun of American liberty has set,'* wrote Benjamin Franklin to a friend at home. " Now we must light the lamps of industry and economy." " Be assured," said the friend, in reply, " that we shall light torches of another sort." And the answer reflected the sentiment of the whole country. The provisions of the Stamp Act were briefly these : Every note, bond, deed, mortgage, lease, license and legal document of whatever sort, required in the colonies, should, after the 1st day of the following No- vember, be executed on paper bearing an English stamp. This stamped paper was to be furnished by the British government ; and for each sheet the colonists were required to pay a sum varying, according to the nature of the document, from three pence to six pounds sterling. Every colonial pamphlet, almanac and newspaper was- required to be printed on paper of the same sort, the value of the stamps in this case ranging from a half- penny to four pence ; every advertisement was taxed two shillings. No contract should be of any binding force unless written on paper bearing the royal stamp. The news of the hateful act swept over America like a thunder- cloud. The people were at first grief-stricken ; then indignant ; and then wrathful. Crowds of excited men surged into the towns, and there were some acts of violence. The muffled bells of Philadelphia and Boston rung a funeral peal ; and the people said it was the death-knell of liberty. In New York a copy of the Stamp Act was carried through the streets with a death's-head nailed to it, and a placard bearing this inscription : The Folly of England and the Euin of America., The general assemblies were at first slow to move ; there were many loyalists among the members ; and the colonial governors held their offices by appointment of the king. It was hazardous for a provincial legislator to say that an act of the British Parliament was the act of tyrants. But the younger representatives, hot-blooded as well as patriotic, did not hesitate to ex- press their sentiments. In the Virginia House of Burgesses there was a memorable scene. Patrick Henry, the youngest member of the House, an uneducated mountaineer recently chosen to represent Louisa county, waited for some older deleL!;ate to lead the burgesses in opposition to Parliament, But the 290 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. older members hesitated or went home. Offended at this lukewarmness, Henry in his passionate way snatched a blank-leaf out of an old law- book and hastily drew up a series of fiery resolutions, declaring that the Virginians were Eng- lishmen with English rights ; that the people of Great Britain had the exclusive privilege of voting their own taxes, and so had the Americans; that the colonists were not bound to yield obedi- ence to any law im- posing taxation on. them ; and that who- ever said the contrary was an enemy to the country. The resolu- tions were at once laid before the house. A violent de- bate ensued, in which the patriots had the best of the argument. It was a moment of intense interest. Two future Presidents of the United States were in the audience ; Washington occupied his seat as a delegate, and Thomas Jefferson, a young collegian, stood just outside of the railing. The eloquent and audacious Henry bore down all opposition. " Tarquin and Caesar had each his Brutus," said the indignant orator ; " Charles I. had his Cromwell, and George III. — " " Treason !" shouted the speaker. " Treason ! treason !" exclaimed the terrified loyalists, springing to their feet. " — And George III. may })rofit by their example," continued Henry ; and then added as he took his seat, " If that be treason, make the most of it !" The resolutions were put to the house and carried ; but the majorities on some of the votes were small, and the next day, when Henry was absent, the most violent par- agraph was reconsidered and expunged : some of the members were greatly frightened at their own audacity. But the resolutions in their entire form liad gone before the country as the formal expression of the PATKICK HENBY. CAUSES. 291 oldest American commonwealth, and the effect on the other colonies was like the shock of a battery. Similar resolutions were adopted by the assemblies of New York and Massachusetts — in the latter State before the action of Virgmia was known. At Boston, James Otis successfully agitated the question of an American Congress. It was proposed that each colony, acting withou< leave of the king, should appoint delegates, who should meet in the fol- lowing autumn and discuss the affairs of the nation. The proposition was favorably received ; nine of the colonies appointed delegates ; and on the \ 7th of October the First Colonial Congress assembled at New York, y There were twenty-eight representatives : Timothy Ruggles of Massachu- setts was chosen president. After much discussion a Declaration of Rights was adopted setting forth in unmistakable terms that the Amer- ican colonists, as Englishmen, could not and would not consent to be taxed but by their own representatives. Memorials were also prepared and addressed to the two houses of Parliament. A manly petition, pro- fessing loyalty and praying for a more just and humane policy toward his American subjects, was directed to the king. The 1st of November came. On that day the Stamp Act was to take effect. During the summer great quantities of the stamped paper had been prepared and sent to America. Ten boxes of it were seized by the people of New York and openly destroyed. In Connecticut, the stamp-officer was threatened with hanging. In Boston, houses were de- stroyed and the stamps given to the winds and flames. Whole cargoes of the obnoxious paper were reshipped to England ; and every stamp- officer in America was obliged to resign or leave the country. By the 1st of November there were scarcely stamps enough remaining to furnish after times with specimens. The day was kept as a day of mourning. The stores were closed ; flags were hung at half mast ; the bells were tolled ; effigies of the authors and abettors of the Stamp Act were borne about in mockery, and then burned. The people of New Hampshire formed a funeral procession and buried a coffin bearing the inscription of Liberty. A cartoon was circulated hinting at union as the remedy for existing evils. The picture represented a snake broken into sections. Each joint was labeled with the initials of a colony ; the head was marked " N. E." for New England ; and the title was Join or Die ! At first, legal business was almost entirely suspended. The court- houses were shut up. Society was at a standstill ; not even a marriage license could be legally issued. By and by, the people breathed more freely ; the offices were opened, and business went on as before ; but was not transacted with stamped paper. It was at this juncture that the 292 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. patriotic society known as the Sons of Liberty was organized. The members were pledged to oppose British tyranny to the utmost, and to defend with their lives the freedom of the colonies. Equally important was the action of the colonial merchants. The importers of New York, Boston and Philadelphia entered into a solemn compact to purchase no more goods of Great Britain until the Stamp Act should be repealed„ And the people, applauding the action of their merchants, cheerfully de- nied themselves of all imported luxuries. Great was the wrath of the British government when the news of these proceedings was borne across the ocean. But a large party of Eng- lish tradesmen and manufacturers sided with the colonists. Better still, some of the most eminent statesmen esj)oused the cause of America. Even Lord Camden in the House of Lords spoke favorably of colonial rights. Before the House of Commons Mr. Pitt delivered a powerful address. " You have," said he, " no right to tax America. I rejoice that America has resisted. Three millions of our fellow-subjects so lost to every sense of virtue as tamely to give up their liberties would be fit instruments to make slaves of the rest." The new Whig prime minister, the marquis of Rockingham, was also a friend of the colonies, and looked with dis- favor on the legislation of his predecessor. On the 18th of March, 1766, the Stamp Act was formally repealed. As a kind of balm to soothe the wounded feelings of the Tories — as the adherents of Grenville were now called — a su})plemental resolution was added to the repeal declaring that I'^arliament had the right to bind the colonies in all cases whatsoever: The joy both in England and America was unbounded. The vessels in the river Thames were decked with flags, and the colonial orators spoke to enthusiastic crowds gathered around bonfires. There was a great calm in all the country ; but it M^as only the lull before the com- ing of a greater storm. A few months after the repeal of the Stamp Act the ministry of Rockingham was dissolved and a new cabinet formed under tlie leadership of Pitt, who was now made earl of Chatham. Un- fortunately, liowever, the prime minister was for a long time confined by sickness to his home in the country. During his absence, ]Mr. Towns- hend, chancellor of the exchequer, in a moment of unparalleled iolly, brought forward a new scheme for taxing America. On the 29th of June, 1767, an act was passed imposing a duty on all the glass, paper, painters' colors and tea which should thereafter be imported into the colonies. At the same time a resolution was adopted suspending the powers of the general assembly of New York until that body should vote certain sup- plies for the royal troops stationed in the province. A more rash and disastrous piece of legislation never was enacted. CAUSES. 293 All the smothered resentment of the colonies burst out anew. Another agreement not to purchase British goods was immediately en- tered into by the American merchants. The newspapers were filled with bitter denunciations of Parliament. Early in 1768 the assembly of Mas- sachusetts adopted a circular calling upon the other colonies for assistance in the effort to obtain redress of grievances. The ministers were enraged and required the assembly in the king's name to rescind their action, and to express regret for that " rash and hasty proceeding." Instead of that, the sturdy legislature reaffirmed the resolution by a nearly unanimous vote. Thereupon Governor Bernard dissolved the assembly; but the members would not disperse until they had prepared a list of charges against the governor and requested the king to remove him. In the month of June fuel was added to the flame. A sloop, charged with attempting to evade the payment of duty, was seized by the custom-house officers. The people rose in a mob ; attacked the houses of the officers, and obliged the occupants to seek shelter in Castle William, at the entrance of the harbor. The governor now appealed to the min- isters for help; and General Gage, commander-in-chief of the British forces in America, was ordered to bring from Halifax a regiment of reg- ulars and overawe the people. On the 1st of October the troops, seven hundred strong, marched with fixed bayonets into the capital of Mas- sachusetts. The people were maddened by this military invasion of their city. When the governor required the selectmen of Boston to provide quarters for the soldiers, he was met with an absolute refusal ; and the troops were quartered in the state-house. In February of 1769, Parliament advanced another step toward war. The people of Massachusetts were declared rebels, and the governor was directed to arrest those deemed guilty of treason and send them to ^ England for trial. The general assembly met this additional outrage with defiant resolutions. Scenes almost as violent as these were at the same time enacted in Virginia and North Carolina. In the latter State a popular insurrection was suppressed by Governor Tryon; the insur- gents, escaping across the mountains, obtained lands of the Cherokees, and became the founders of Tennessee. Early in 1770 a serious affi:'ay occurred in New York. The soldiers wantonly cut down a liberty pole which had stood for several years in the park. A conflict ensued, in which the people came out best ; another pole was erected in the northern part of the city. On the 5th of March a more serious difficulty occurred in Boston. An altercation had taken place between a party of citizens and the soldiers. A crowd gathered, surrounded Captain Preston's company of the city guard, hooted 294 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. at them, and dared them to fire. At length the exasperated soldiers dis- charged a volley, killing three of the citizens and wounding several others. This outrage, known as the Boston Massacre, created a profound sensa- tion. The city was ablaze with excitement. Several thousand men assembled under arms. Governor Hutchinson came out, promising that justice should be done and trying to appease the multitude. The brave Samuel Adams spoke for the people. An immediate withdrawal of the troops from the city was demanded, and the governor was obliged to yield. Captain Preston and his company were arrested and tried for murder. The prosecution was conducted with great spirit, and two of the offenders were convicted of manslaughter. On the very day of the Boston massacre. Lord North, who had become prime minister, secured the passage by Parliament of an act re- pealing all the duties on American imports except that on tea. The exception was made only to show that the right of taxing the colonies was not relinquished. The merchants of New York and Boston at once relaxed their non-importation agreement except so far as it related to tea ; to that extent the compact was retained; and the people volimta.ri]3r pledged themselves to use no more tea until the duty should be uncon- ditionally repealed. The antagonism toward the mother country was abating somewhat, when in 1772 an act was passed by Parliament requir- ing that the salaries of the governor and judges of IVIassachusetts should be paid out of the colonial revenues without consent of the assembly. That body retaliated by a declaration that the parliamentary statute "was a violation of the chartered rights of the people, and therefore void. About the same time the Gaspee, a royal schooner which had been annoy- ing the people of Providence, was boarded by a company of patriots and burned. In 1773 the ministers attempted to enforce the tea-tax by a strat- agem. Owing to the duty, the price of tea in the American market iiad been doubled. But there was no demand for the article ; for the people would not buy. As a consequence the warehouses of Great Britain were stored with vast quantities of tea, awaiting shipment to America. Par- liament now removed the export duty which had hitherto been charged on tea shipped from England. The price was by so much lowered ; and the ministers i>ersuaded themselves that, when the clieaper tea was offered in America, the silly colonists would pay their own import duty without suspicion or complaint. To carry out this scheme English ships were loaded with tea for the American market. Some of the vessels reached Charleston ; the tea was landed, but the people forbade its sale. The chests were stored in CA USES. 295 moulclj cellars, and the contents ruined. At Xew York and Philadelphia the ports were closed and the ships forbidden to enter. At Boston the vessels entered the harbor. The tea had been consigned to Governor Hut- chinson and his friends ; and special precautions were taken to prevent a failure of the enterprise. But the authorities stubbornly stood their ground, and would not permit the tea to be landed. On the 16th of De- cember the dispute was settled in a memorable manner. There was a great town-meeting at which seven thousand people were assembled. Adama and Quincy spoke to the multitudes. Eve- ning came on, and the meeting was about to adjourn, when a war- whoop was heard, and about fifty men dis- guised as Indians pass- ed the door of the Old South Church. The crowd followed to Griffin's wharf, where the three t e a-s hips were at anchor. Then everything became quiet. The disguised men quickly boarded the vessels, broke open the three hundred and forty chests of tea that composed the cargoes, and poured the con- tents into the sea. Such was THE Boston Tea-Party. Parliament made haste to find revenge. On the last day of March, 1774, THE Boston Port Bill was passed. It was enacted that no kind of merchandise should any longer be landed or shipped at the wharves of Boston. The custom-house was removed to Salem, but the people of that town refused the benefits which were proffered by the hand of tyranny. The inhabitants of Marblehead tendered the free use of their warehouses to the merchants of Boston. The assembly stood stoutly by the cause of the people. When the news of the passage of the Port Bill reached Virginia, the burgesses at once entered a protest on the SAMTTEL ADAMS. 296 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. journals of the house. AYhen Governor Dunmore ordered the members to their homes, they met in another place, and passed a recommendation for a general congress of the colonies. On the 20th of May the vener- ated charter of Massachusetts was annulled by act of Parliament. The people were declared rebels ; and the governor was ordered to send abroad for trial all persons who should resist the royal officers. The colonial assembly made answer by adopting a resolution that the powers of language were not sufficient to express the impolicy, injustice, in- humanity and cruelty of the acts of Parliament. In September the Second Colonial Congeess assembled at Philadelphia. Eleven colonies were represented. It was unanimously agreed to sustain Massachusetts in her conflict with a wicked ministry. One address was sent to the king ; another to the English nation ; and another to the people of Canada. Before adjournment a resolution was adopted recommending the suspension of all commercial intercourse with Great Britain until the wrongs of the colonies should be redressed. Par- liament immediately retaliated by ordering General Gage, who had been recently appointed governor of Massachusetts, to reduce the colonists by force. A fleet and an army of ten thousand soldiers were sent to America to aid in the work of subjugation. In accordance with the governor's orders, Boston Neck was seized and fortified. The military stores in the arsenals at Cambridge and Charlestown were conveyed to Boston; and the general assembly was ordered to disband. Instead of doing so, the members resolved them- selves into a provincial congress, and voted to equip an army of twelve thousand men for the defence of the colony. There was no longer any hope of a peaceable adjustment. The mighty arm of Great Britain was stretched out to smite and crush the sons of the Pilgrims. The colonists were few and feeble ; but they were men of iron wills "vvho had made up their minds to die for liberty. It was now the early spring of 1775, and the day of battle was at hand. THE BEGINNING. 297 CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE BEGINNING. AS soon as the intentions of General Gage were manifest, the people of Boston, concealing their ammunition in cart-loads of rubbish, conveyed it to Concord, sixteen miles away. Gage detected the move- ment, and on the night of the 18th of April despatched a regiment of eight hundred men to destroy the stores. Another purpose of the ex])0.- dition was to capture John Hancock and Samuel Adams, who were suj)- posed to be hidden at Lexington or Concord. The fact was that they were not hidden anywhere, but were abroad encouraging the people. The plan of the British general was made with great secrecy ; but the patriots were on the alert, and discovered the movement. About midnitrht the resriment, under command of Colonel Siaitli and Major Pitcairn, set out for Concord. The people of Boston, Charles- town and Cambridge were roused by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons. Two hours before, the vigilant Joseph Warren had de- spatched William Dawes and Paul Revere to ride with all speed to Lex- ington and to spread the alarm through the country^ Against two o'clock in the morning the minute-men were under arms ; and a company of a hundred and thirty had assembled on the common at Lexington. The patriots loaded their guns and stood ready ; but no enemy appeared, and it was agreed to separate until the drum-beat should announce the hour of danger. At five o'clock the British van, under command of Pitcairn, came in sight. The provincials to the number of seventy reassembled ; Captain Parker was their leader. Pitcairn rode up and exclaimed: " Disperse, ye villains ! Throw down your arms, ye rebels, and dis- perse !" The minute-men stood still ; Pitcairn discharged his pistol at them, and with a loud voice cried, " Fire !" The first volley of the Revolution whistled through the air, and sixteen of the patriots, nearly a fourth of the whole number, fell dead or wounded. The rest fired a few random shots, and then dispersed. The British pressed on to Concord; but the inhabitants had re- moved the greater part of the stores to a place of safety, and there was but little destruction. Tm^o cannons were spiked, some artillery carriao-es 298 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. burned, and a small quantity of ammunition thrown into a mill-pond. While the British were ransacking the town the minute-men began to assemble from all quarters. Attempting to enter the village, the patriots encountered a company of soldiers who were guarding the North Bridge, over Concord River. Here the Americans, for the first time, fired under orders of their ofl&cers, and here two British soldiers were killed. The bridge was taken by the provincials, and the enemy began a retreat^ — firet into the town, and then through the town on the road to Lexington. This was the signal for the minute-men to attack the foe from every side. For six miles the battle w^as kept up along the road. Hidden behind rocks, trees, fences and barns, the patriots poured a constant fire upon the thinned ranks of the retreating enemy. Nothing but good discipline and reinforcements which, under command of Lord Percy, met the fugitives just below Lexington, saved the British from total rout and destruction. The fight continued to the precincts of Charlestown, the militia becoming more and more audacious in their charges. At one time it seemed that the whole British force would be obliged to surrender. Such a result was prevented only by the fear that the fleet would burn the city. The American loss in this the first battle of the war was forty-nine killed, thirty-four wounded and five missing ; that of the enemy was two hundred and seventy-three — a greater loss than the English army sustamed on the IHains of Abraham. The battle of Lexington fired the country. Within a few days an army of twenty thousand men had gathered about Boston. A line of entrenchments encompassing the city was drawn from Roxbury to Chel- sea. To drive Gage and the British into the sea was the common talk in that tumultuous camp. And the number constantly increased. John Stark came down at the head of the New Hampshire militia. Israel Putnam, with a leather waistcoat on, was helping some men to build a stone wall on his fiirm when the news from Lexington came flying. Hurrying to the nearest town, he found the militia already nuistered. Bidding the men follow as soon as possible, he mounted a horse and rode to Cambridge, a distance of a hundred miles, in eighteen hours. Rhode Island sent her quota under the brave Nathaniel Greene. Benedict Arnold came with the provincials of New Haven, Ethan Allen, of Vermont, made war in the other direction. This daring and eccentric man was chosen colonel by a company of two hundred and seventy patriots who had assembled at Bennington. Before the battle of Lexington, the legislature of Connecticut had pri- vately voted a thousand dollars to encourage an expedition against Ticon- deroga. To capture this important fortress, with its vast magazine of THE BEGINNING. 299 stores was the object of Allen and the audacioas mountaineers of whom he was the leader. Benedict Arnold left Cambridge, and joined the expe- dition as a private. On the evening of the 9th of May, the force, whose movements had not been discovered, reached the ea.stern shore of Lake Champlain, opposite Ticonderoga. Only a few boats could be procured; and when day broke on th following morning, but eighty-three men had succeeded in crossing. With this mere handful — for the rest could not be waited for — Allen, with Arnold by his side, made a dash, and gained the gateway of the fort. The sentinel was driven in, closely followed by the mountaineers, who set up such a shout as few garrisons had ever heard. Allen's men hastily faced the barracks and stood ready to fire ; he himself rushed to the quarters of Delaplace, the commandant, and shouted for the incumbent to get up. The startled official thrust out his head. " Surrender this fort instantly," said Allen. " By what authority ?" inquired the astounded officer. " In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Con- gress !" * said Allen, flourishing his sword. Delaplace had no alternative. The garrison, numbering forty-eight, were made prisoners and sent to Connecticut. A fortress which had cost Great Britain eight million pounds sterling was captured in ten minutes by a company of undiscij)- lined j)rovincials. By this daring exploit a hundred and twenty cannon and vast quantities of military stores fell into the hands of the Americans. Two days afterward Crown Point was also taken without the loss of life. On the 25th of May, Generals Howe, Clinton and Burgoyne arrived at Boston. They brought with them powerful reinforcements from Eng- land and Ireland ; the British army was augmented to more than ten thou- sand men. Gage, becoming arrogant, issued a proclamation, branding those in arms as rebels and traitors, offering pardon to all Avho would submit, but excepting Samuel Adams and John Hancock ; these two were to suffer the penalty of treason — provided Gage could inflict it. It was now rumored — and the rumor was well founded — that the British were ai^out to sally out of Boston with the purpose of burning the neighboring towns and devastating the country. The Americans determined to anticipate this movement by seizing and fortifying Bunker Hill, a height which commanded the peninsula of Charlestown. On the night of the 16tli of June the brave Colonel Prescott, grandfather of Prescott the historian, was sent with a thousand men to occupy and entrench the hill. Marching by way of Charlestown Neck, * This Baying will appear especially amusing when it is remembered that the "Conti- nental Congress" referred to did not convene until about six hours after Ticonderoga was captured. 300 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. >v< .?^ the j^rovincials came about eleven o'clock to the eminence which they were instructed to fortify. Prescott and his engineer Gridley, not liking the position of Bunker Hill, proceeded down the peninsula seven hundred yards to another height, afterward called Breed's Hill. The latter was witliin easy cannon range of Boston. On this summit a redoubt eight rods squai'e was planned by the engineer ; and there, from midnight to day-dawn, the men worked in silence. The British ships in the harbor were so near that the Americans could hear the sentinels on deck repeat- ing the night call, " All is well." The works were not yet completed when morning revealed the new-made redoubt to the astonished British of Boston. " We must carry those works immediately," said General Gage to his officers. For he saw that Prescott's cannon now commanded the city. As soon as it was light, the ships in the harbor began to cannonade the American position. The British bat- teries on Copp's Hill also opened a heavy fire. But little damage was done in this way ; and the Americans returned only an occasional shot ; for their supply of ammunition was very limited. Just after noon a British column of about three thousand vet- erans, commanded by Generals Howe and Pigot, landed at Morton's Point. The plan was to carry Breed's Plill by assault. The Americans num- bered in all about fifteen hundred. They were worn out witli toil and hunger ; but there was no quailing in the presence of the enemy. During the cannonade Prescott climbed out of the defences and walked leisurely around the parapet in full view of the British officers. Generals Putnam and Warren volunteered as privates, and entered the trenches. At three o'clock in the afternoon Howe ordered his column forward. At the same time every gun in the fleet and batteries was turned upon the American r-osition. Charlcstown was wantonly set on fire and four hundred build- ings burned. Thousands of eager spectators climbed to the house-tops in Boston and waited to behold the shock of battle. On came the British in a stately and imjiosing column. The Americans reserved their fire until the advancing line was within a hundred and fifty feet. " Fire !" cried Prescott ; and instantly from breastwork and redoubt every gun was discharged. The front rank V tl ■■■- ii SCENE OF THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, 1775. THE BEGINNING. 301 of the British melted away ; there was a recoil, and fifteen minutes after- ward a precipitate retreat. Beyond musket range Howe rallied his men and led them to the second charge. Again the American fire was with- held until the enemy was but a few rods distant. Then with steady aim volley after volley was poured upon the charging column until it was broken and a second time driven into flight. The British ofiicers were now desperate. The vessels of the fleet changed position until the guns were brought to bear upon the inside of the American works. For the third time the assaulting column was put in motion. The British soldiers came on with fixed bayonets up the hillside strewn with the dead and dying. The Americans had but three or four rounds of ammunition remaining. These were expended on the advancing enemy. Then there was a lull. The British clambered over the ramparts. The provincials clubbed their guns and hurled stones at the assailants. It was in vain ; the heroic defenders of liberty were driven out of their trenches at the point of the bayonet. Prescott lived through the battle, but the brave Warren gave his life for freedom. The loss of the British in this terrible engagement was a thousand and fifty-four in killed and wounded. The Americans lost a hundred and fifteen killed, three hundred and five wounded, and thirty-two prisonei-s. Prescott and Putnam conducted the retreat by way of Charlestown Neck to Prospect Hill, where a new line of entrenchments was formed which still com- manded the entrance to Boston. The battle of Bunker Hill- rather inspired than discouraged the colonists. It was seen that the British soldiers were not invincible. To capture a few more hills would cost General Gage his whole army. The enthusiasm of war spread throughout the country. The news was borne rapidly to the South, and a spirit of determined opposition was every- where aroused. The people began to speak of the United Colonies OF America. At Charlotte, North Carolina, the citizens ran together in a hasty convention, and startled the country by making a declaration of independence. The British ministers had little dreamed of raising such a storm. On the day of the capture of Ticonderoga the colonial Congress, which had adjourned in the previous autumn, reassembled at Philadelphia. Washington was there, and John Adams and Samuel Adams, Franklin and Patrick Henry ; Jefferson came soon afterward. A last appeal was addressed to the king of England ; and the infatuated monarch was plainly told that the colonists had chosen war in preference to voluntary slavery. Early in the session John Adams made a powerful address, in the course of which he sketched the condition and wants of the country and of the 802 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. army. The necessity of appointing a commander-in-chief and the qual- ities requisite in that high officer were dwelt upon ; and then the speaker concluded by putting in nomination George Washington of Virginia. As soon as his name was mentioned, Washington arose and withdrew from the hall. For a moment he was overpowered with a sense of the respon- sibility which was about to be put upon him, and to his friend Patrick Henry he said with tears in his eyes : " I fear that this day will mark the downfall of my reputation." On the 15th of June the nomination was unanimously confirmed by Congress ; and the man who had saved the wreck of Braddock's army was called to build a nation. George Washington, descended from the distinguished family of the Wessyngtohs in England, was born in Westmoreland county, Virginia, on the 11th of February (Old Style), 1732. At the age of eleven he was left, by the death of his father, to the sole care of a talented and affectionate mother. His education was limited to the common branches of learning, extending only to geometry and trigonometry. Sur- veying was his favorite study. In his boyhood he was passionately foud of athletic sports and military exercises. As he grew to manhood he >\ as marked above all his companions for the dignity of his manners, the soundness of his judgment and the excellence of his character. At the age of sixteen he was sent by his uncle to survey a tract of land on the Soutli Potomac, and for three years his life was in the wilderness. On reaching his majority he was already more spoken of than any other young man in the colony. The important duties which he performed in the service of the Ohio Company, the beginning of his military ciireer and his noted campaign with Braddock have already been narrated. After the French and Indian War he was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses ; was then chosen a member of the Continental Congress ; and was now called by that body to control the destinies of the unorganized mass of men composing the American army. With great dignity he accepted the appointment, refused all compensation beyond his actual expenses, set out with an escort by way of New York, and reached Cam- bridge fifteen days after the battle of Bunker Hill. Washington's duties and responsibilities were overwhelming. Con- gress had voted to raise and equip twenty thousand men, but the means of doing so were not furnished. The colonies had not yet broken their allegiance to the British Crown. For six months Congress stood waiting for the king's answer to its address. The country was sound and patri' otic; but its methods of action were irregular and uncertain. Washington had a force of fourteen thousand five hundred men, but they were undis- ciplined and insubordinate. The revenues and supplies of war were THE BEGINNING. 303 almost wholly wanting. At the time of the battle of Bunker Hill the whole army liad but twenty -seven half barrels of powder. The work of organ- ization was at once begun. Four major-generals, one adjutant and eight brigadiers were appointed; The army was arranged in three divisions. The right wing, under General Ward, held Roxbury ; the left, commanded by General Charles Lee, rested at Prospect Hill, near Charlestown Neck ; the centre, under the immediate direction of the commander-in-chief, lay at Cambridge. Boston was regularly invested, and the siege was pressed with constantly increasing vigor. During the summer and autumn of 1775, the king's authority was overthrown in all the colonies. The royal governors either espoused the cause of the people, were compelled to resign or were driven off in insur- rections. Lord Dunmore, governor of Virginia, seized the public powder. Patrick Henry led the people, and demanded restitution. The governor was overawed, and paid the value of the powder. Fearing further aggres- sion, he Avent on board a man-of-war, proclaimed freedom to the slaves, raised a force of loyalists, met the provincials at the village of Great Bridge near Norfolk, and was defeated. Obliged to retire from the coun- try, he gratified his vindictive disposition by burning Norfolk. The American colonies looked to Canada for sympathy and aid. It was believed that the Canadians would make common cause asrainst Great Britain. In order to encourage such a movement and to secure possession of the Canadian government, an expedition was planned against the towns on the St. Lawrence. Generals Schuyler and Montgomery were placed in command of a division which was to proceed by way of Lake Champlain and the river Sorel to St. John and Montreal. The former fort was reached on the 10th of September, but the Americans, finding the place too strong to be carried by assault, fell back twelve miles to Isle-aux-Noix in the Sorel. This place General Schuyler fortified, and then returned to Ticonderoga for reinforcements. Sickness detained him there, and the whole command devolved on Montgomery. This gallant officer returned to St. John and captured the fortress. Fort Chambly, ten miles farther north, was also taken. Montreal was next invested, and on the 13th of November obliged to capitulate. Leaving garrisons in the conquered towns, Montgomery proceeded with his regiment, now reduced to three hundred men, against Quebec. This stronghold was already threatened from another quarter. Late in the autumn. Colonel Benedict Arnold set out with a thousand men from Cambridge, passed up the Kennebec and urged his way through the wil- derness to the Chaudiere, intending to descend that stream to Point Levi. The march was one of untold hardship and suffering. As winter came 304 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. on the men were brought to the verge of starvation. The daring leader pressed on in the hope of gathering supplies from some unguarded French village. Before his return the famishing soldiers had killed and devoured every dog that could be found. Then the brave fellows gnawed the roots of trees and ate their moose-skin moccasins until Arnold's return, when the whole force proceeded to Quebec. JNIorgan, Greene and ISIeigs, all three noted leaders of the Revolution, and Aaron Burr, one day to be- come Vice-President of the United States, were in this company of suf- fering heroes. Arnold and his men, climbing to the Plains of Abraham, as Wolfe had done sixteen years previously, offered battle. But the English gar- rison of Quebec remained in their fortihcations awaiting an assault which the Americans were not strong enough to make. Conscious of his weak- ness, Arnold withdrew his men to Point aux Trembles, twenty miles up the river, and there awaited the approach of Montgomery. When the latter arrived, he assumed command of the whole force, which did not exceed nine hundred effective men. Quebec was defended by greatly superior numbers, well fortified and warmly quartered. For three weeks, with his handful of men, Montgomery besieged the town, and then, rely- ing only on the courageous valor of his men, determined to stake every ■= Ihing on an assault. It was the last day of December, 1775. Before daybreak the little army was divided into four columns. The first division, under Mont- gomery, was to pass down the St. Lawrence and attack the Lower To\vn in the neighborhood of the citadel. The second column, led by Arnold, was to sweep around the city to the north, attack by M-ay of the St. (/harles, and join jSluntgomery in order to storm the Prescott Gate. The other two divisions were to remain in the rear of the LTpper Town, making ■tiiigned attacks to draw the attention of the garrison. IMontgomery's column reached the point from which the charge was to begin. A battery lay just before, and it was thought that the gunners had not discovered the assailants. " Men of New York," said the brave Montgomery, " you will not fear to follow where your general leads ! Forward !" There were masses of ice and clouds of blinding snow, and broken ground and the cold gray light of morning. As the Americans were rushing forward, all of a sudden the battery burst forth with a storm of grape-shot. At the first discharge Montgomery and both of his aids fell dead. The column was shattered. The men were heartbroken at the death of their beloved general. They staggered a moment, then fell back, and returned to Wolfe's Cove, above the city. Arnold, ignorant of what had happened, fought his way into the THE WORK OF 76. 305 Lower Town on the north. While leading the charge he was severely wounded and borne to the rear. Captain Morgan, who succeeded him, Jed his brave band farther and farther along the narrow and dangerous streets until tie was overwhelmed and compelled to surrender. Arnold retired with his broken remnant to a point three miles above the city. .Reinforcements soon began to arrive ; but the smallpox broke out in the camp, and active operations could not be resumed. As soon as the ice dis- appeared from the St. Lawrence, Quebec was strengthened by the arrival of fresh troops from England. Governor Carleton now began offensive movements ; the Americans fell back from post to post, until, by the mid- dle of the following June, Canada was entirely evacuated. The worst calamity of the whole campaign was the death of Gen- eral Richard Montgomery. He was one of the noblest of the many noble men who gave their lives in the cause of American liberty. Born of an illustrious Irish family, he became a soldier in his boyhood. He had shared the toils and the triumph of Wolfe. To the enthusiasm of a warm and affectionate nature he joined the highest order of military talents and the virtues of an exalted character. Even in England his death was mentioned with sorrow. New York, his adopted State, claimed his body, brought his remains to her own metropolis and buried them with tears. To after times the Congress of the nation transmitted his fame by erecting a noble motiument. CHAPTER XXXIX. THE WORK OF 76. AT last came the king's answer to the appeal of Congress. It was such an answer as George III. and his ministers always made to the petitioners for human rights. The colonies were insulted and spurned ; their petition was treated with contempt. The king of England did not --/ know any such a body as the Continental Congress. The first thing necessary was to disband the army and to submit without conditions. Then the monarch would settle all questions with each colony separately. By this offensive and tyrannical answer the day of independence was brought nearer. Meanwhile, General Howe had succeeded Gage in command of the 20 306 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. British troops in Boston, All winter long the city was besieged by Washington. By the middle of February the American army had in- creased to fourteen thousand men. The country became restless ; and Congress urged the commander-in-chief to press the enemy with greater vigor. Washington, knowing the insufficiency of his supplies, and fear- ing the consequences of rashness more than the charge of inactivity, nar-= rowed his lines, strengthened his works, and waited his opportunity. By the first day of spring, 1776, he felt himself strong enough to risk an. assault ; the officers of his staff thought otherwise, and a different plan ■was adopted. On the north, Boston was commanded by the peninsula of Charles- town ; on the south, by Dorchester Heights. Since the battle of Bunker Hill the former position had been held by the British ; the latter was, as yet, unoccupied. Washington now resolved to take advantage of the enemy's oversight, to seize the Heights and drive Howe out of Boston. A strong entrenching part}"" was prepared and put under com- mand of General Thomas. For two TonS ) H days the attention of the British was drawn by a constant fire from the American batteries. Then, on the night of the 4th of March, the de- tachment set out under cover of the darkness, passed over Dorchester Neck, and reached the Heights un- perceived. Through the night the Americans worked with an energy rarely equaled. The British, dis- tracted with the cannonade, noticed nothing unusual ; and when morning dawned, they could hardly trust their senses. There was a line of for- midable entrenchments frowning upon the city ; cannon were mounted, and the Americans in force. Howe saw at a glance that he must imme- diately carry the threatening redoubts or himself abandon Boston. En- raged at being outgeneraled, he ordered Lord Percy to select a column of two thousand four hundred men and storm the American works before SIEGE OF BOSTON, 1776. nightfall. Percy put his men in order and proceeded as far as Castle Island, intending to make the assault in the afternoon. Washington visited the trenches and exhorted his men. It was the anniversary of the Boston Massacre, and the soldiers were eager to avenge the deaths of their coun- ■F 1775 76 77 78 79 SO 81 Louis George XVI. Capture of 3Io ntreal. Quebec.— De&t h of Montgom 17,000 Hessi ans hired for \ll, Amer ican army eva TIRGINIA. Norfolk burn NORTH SOUTH CiEORG CAROIil Chart CAROIil lA. 1^ Ticond Crown eroga. Point. American NEW YO RK. New York NEW JE NEW HA RHODE tf^ Lexingt 9IASSAC CON NEC 0^/;»»j7 Is British ed by Lord Du NA. eston. NA. Alliance ery. the American cuates Canad The British fleet arrives nmore. with France. Paul Arrival of La Fort Ed army arrives Ben taken by the land. White Plains. Zi\ Fort Wash-ingt'on. RSEY. W f^"'"^- Li^Princeton. Savan- nah. Fayette. bor. ward abandon at New York. nington. Saratoga, and British. war. a. ministry offer in Chesapeake Sunbury capt MPSHIR ISLAND. 071. ker Hill. HUSETTS British evac TICUT. Washing ton appointed Deelara PENNSY EVANIA. Silas Deane Dr.Fr commissioner IWARYLA ND. DErAW.lRE. E. W uate Boston. Tryon's expe Win ubbardton. French dition. commander-in -chief. tion of Inde pendence. Philadel phia captured sent to Fran ce. British anklin, K^\Brandi/ici7ie. to France, r^ Germantoum. ed. surrender of , Stony Jones^ victory. War terms to the Bay. f^King's r^ Mount El^tegfe of ter-quarters at Morristown. fleet in Narra ker Hill. evacuate Phil ured by the Br Siege of Savan Arn An Burgoyne. Point. P^ Spring gansett Bay. French Penobscot Biv between Ei Americans. Richmond General G Charleston. k's Comer. Sanders Crt KJi Cowpen: r*< Camdeii: itish. nah. j old's treaso' dr6 execute adelphia. Mutiny of field. Mutiny of fleet arrive: er. Artie I 83 83 84 85 86 87 88 Retirement Pre of Lord North. liminary trea Supplement nd. I^efin o/ Gibraltar. ty. al treaty. itive treaty. 4# / c: m CDNi 789.^^ :ii. \ land and Holla ' p3 Siege D. 1775-1: HART ] rned by Arno Yorktovm. Id. Washington Virgin retires to Mou ia cedes the to the Gov nt Vernon. North-western ernment. territory Virginia rat- ifies the Constitution. ord. ne's retreat. Six. Springs. The British evacu ate Charlesto n. South Caro- lina ratifies the Consti- tution. Dissatis The British evacu ate Savannah. Georgia rati- fifcc 'he Con- stitution, The faction in the British evacu^ army. 'ate New York. Decimal ■ currency adop New the ted. New York ra- tifies the Constitution. New Jersey Pennsylvania line, line. Jersey ratifies Constitution. Newport. New Hamp- shire ratifies the Constitu'n old's depreda tions. Massa ter chusetts cedes ritory to the Shay's the North-wes Government. rebellion, tern Massachusetts ratifies the Constitution. Connecticut ratifies the Constitution. of Confeder - ation ratifie Wa d. shington re signs his com Constitu ven Constitu Constitu tional Con- tion. tion adopted, tion ratified. Annapo ven lis Con- tion. tifies the Constitution. Dela the ware ratifies Constitution. THE WORK OF 76. 307 trj'^men. A battle was momentarily expected ; but while Percy delayed, a violent storm arose and rendered the harbor impassable. It continued to blow for a whole day, and the attack could not be made. Before the following morning the Americans had so strengthened and extended their fortifications that all thoughts of an assault were abandoned. Howe found himself reduced to the humiliating extremity of giving up the capital of New England to the rebels. After some days there was an informal agreement between Washing- ton and the British general that the latter should be allowed to retire from Boston unmolested on condition that the city should not be burned. On the 17th of March the arrangement was consummated, and the whole British army went on board the fleet and sailed out of the harbor. Nearly fifteen hundred loyalists, fearing the vengeance of the patriots, left their homes and fortunes to escape with Howe. The American advance at once entered the city. On the 20th, Washington made a formal entry at the head of the triumphant army. The desolated town, escaping from the calamities of a ten months' siege, broke forth in exultation. The exiled patriots returned by thousands to their homes. The country was wild with delight. From all quarters came votes of thanks and messages of encouragement. Congress ordered a gold medal to be struck in honor of AVashington, victorious over an enemy " for the first time put to flight." The next care of the commander-in-chief was to strengthen the defences of Boston. That done, he repaired with the main division of the army to New York. It was not known to what part of the coast Howe would direct his course ; and Washington feared that his antagonist might make a sudden descent in the neighborhood of Long Island. Gen- eral Lee pressed forward with the Connecticut militia, and reached New York just in time to baffle an attempt of Sir Henry Clinton, whose fleet arrived off Sandy Hook and threatened the city. Clinton next sailed southward, and on the 3d of May was joined by Sir Peter Parker, in command of another fleet, and Lord Cornwallis with two thou- sand five hundred men. The force was deemed sufficient for any enter- prise, and it was determined to capture Charleston. In the mean time. General Lee had reached the South, and was watching the movements of Clinton. The Carolinians rose in arms and flocked to Charleston. The city was fortified ; and a fort, which com- manded the entrance to the harbor, was built on Sullivan's Island. On the 4th of June the British squadron came in sight, and a strong detach- ment was landed on Long Island, a short distance east of Fort Sullivan. There was a delay until the 28th of the month ; then the British fleet began a furious bombardment of the fortress, which was commanded by 808 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Colonel Moultrie, Three nicu-of-war, attempting to pass the fort, were stranded. Clinton ordered a storming-party to wade the channel between Long Island and Sullivan's Island and carry the ^^^orks by assault ; but the water was too deep to be ibrded, and Colonel Thompson, who was stationed with a company of riflemen on the opposite bank, drove the British back in confusion. For eight hours the vessels of the fleet poured a tempest of balls upon the fort ; but the walls, built of the spongy pal- metto, were little injured. The four hundred militiamen who composed the garrison fought like veterans. The republican flag Avas shot away and thrown outside of the parapet ; Sergeant Jasper leaped down from the ^vall, recovered the flag and set it in its place again. The fire from the fleet was returned with great spirit ; and as evening drew on the British were obliged to retire with a loss of more than two hundred men. Lord Campbell, the royal governor of South Carolina, was killed, and Admiral Parker was severely wounded. The loss of the garrison amounted in killed and wounded to thirty-two. As soon as the British could repair their shattered fleet they abandoned the siege and set sail for New York, In honor of its brave defender the fort on Sullivan's Island was named Fort Moultrie. During the summer Washington's forces were augmented to about twenty-seven thousand men ; but the terms of enlistment were constantly expiring ; sickness prevailed in the camp ; and the effective force was but little more than half as great as the aggregate. On the other hand. Great Britain was making the vastest preparations. By a treaty with some of the petty German States, seventeen thousand Hessian mercenaries were hired to fight against America. George III. was going to quell "his re- volted provinces by turning loose upon them a brutal foreign soldiery. Twenty-five thousand additional English troops were levied ; an immense squadron was fitted out to aid in the reduction of the colonies, and a million dollars were voted for the extraordinary expenses of the war department. By these measures the Americans \vere greatly exasperated. Until now it had been hoped that the difliculty with the mother country could be satisfactorily adjusted without breaking allegiance to the British Crown. The colonists had constantly claimed to be loyal subjects of Great Britain, 'allis was strongly reinforced, and the American general would not OPERATIONS OF 77. 327 hazard a battle. On the 20th of November Fort Mercer was abandoned to the British ; and thus General Howe obtained undisputed control of the Delaware. After the battle of Germantown Washington took up his head- quarters at Whitemarsh, twelve miles from Philadelphia. Winter Avas approaching, and the patriots began to suffer for food and clothing. Howe, knowing the distressed condition of the Americans, determined to surprise their camp. On the evening of the 2d of December he held a council of war, and it was decided to march against Washington on the following night. But Lydia Darrah, at whose house the council was held, overheard the plan of the enemies of her country. On the follow- ing morning she obtained a passport from Lord Howe, left the city on pretence of going to mill, rode rapidly to the American lines, and sent information of the impending attack to Washington. When, on the morning of the 4th, the British approached Whitemarsh they found the cannon mounted and the patriots standing in order of battle. The British general manoeuvred for four days, and then marched back to Philadel- phia. During the remainder of the winter the city was occupied by nearly twenty thousand English and Hessian soldiers. There they reveled and rioted. Everything that the magazines of Great Britain could furnish was lavished upon the army of invaders who lay warmly housed in the city of Penn. In the patriot camp there was a different scene. On the 11th of December Washington left his position at White- marsh and went into winter-quarters at Valley Forge on the right bank of the Schuylkill. The march thither occupied four days. Thousands of the soldiei-s were without shoes, and the frozen ground was marked with bloody footprints. The sagacity of Washington had pointed to a strong position for his encampment. To the security of the river and hills the additional security of redoubts and entrenchments was added. Log cabins were built for the soldiers, and everything was done that could be done to secure the comfort of the suffering pat- riots. But it was a long and dreary winter ; moaning and anguish were heard in the camp, and the echo fell hea\'y on the soul of the commander. These were the darkest days of Washington's life. Congress in a mea- sure abandoned him, the people withheld their sympathies. The brilliant success of the army of the North was unjustly compared with the reverses ENCAMPMENT AT VALLEY FOICGE, 1777-8. 828 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. of the army of the South. Many men high in military and civil station left the great leader unsupported in the hour of his grief; even Samuel Adams, impatient under calamity, withdrew his confidence. There was a miserable conspiracy headed by Gates, Conway and Mifflin. Washing- ton was to be superseded, and Gates or Lee was to be made commander- in-chief. But the alienation was only for a moment ; the allegiance of the army remained unshaken, and the nation's confidence in the troubled chieftain became stronger than ever. Still, at the close of 1777, the patriot cause was obscured with clouds and misfortune. CHAPTER XLI. FRANCE TO THE RESCUE. TjlOUR months before the declaration of independence, Silas Deane of -"- Connecticut was appointed commissioner to France. His business at the French court was to act as the political and commercial agent of the United Colonies. His first service was to make a secret arrangement with Beaumarchais, a rich French merchant, by which the latter was to supply the Americans with the materials necessary for carrying on the war. The king of France and his prime minister, Vergennes, winked at this proceeding ; but the agents of Great Britain were jealous and suspicious, and it wiis not until the autumn of 1777 that a ship laden with two hun- dred thousand dollars' worth of arms, ammunition and specie could be sent to America. In that ship came Baron Steuben, a veteran soldier and disciplinarian from the army of Frederic the Great. Arriving at Ports- mouth, the baron tarried a short time in New England, and then repaired to York, where Congress was in session. From that body he received a commission, and at once joined AVashington at Valley Forge. His acces- sion to the American army was an event of great importance. He re- ceived the appointment of inspector-general ; and from the day in which he entered upon the discharge of his duties there was a marked improve- ment in the condition and discipline of the soldiers. The American reg- ulars were never again beaten when confronted by the British in equal numbers. In November of 1776 Arthur Lee and Benjamin Franklin were appointed by Congress to negotiate an open treaty of friendship and com- FRANCE TO THE RESCUE. 329 merce with the French king. In the following month they reached Paris and began their conferences with Vergennes. For a long time King Louis and his minister were wary of the proposed alliance. They cor- dially hated Great Britain, they rejoiced that the British empire was about to be dismembered, they gave secret encouragement to the colonies to hold out in their rebellion, they loaned money and shipped arms to America ; but an open alliance was equivalent to a war with England, and that the French court dreaded. Now it was that the genius of Dr. Franklin shone with a peculiar kistre. At the gay court of Louis XVI. he stood as the representative of his country. No nation ever had an ambassador of greater wisdom and sagacity. His reputation for learning had preceded him ; the dignity of his demeanor and the simplicity of his manners added to his fame. Whether as philosopher or diplomatist, no man in that great city of fashion was the equal of the venerable American patriot. His wit and genial humor made him admired ; his talents and courtesy commanded respect ; his patience and perseverance gave him final success. During the whole of 1777 he remained at Paris and Versailles, availing himself of every opportunity to promote the interests of his country. At last came the news of Burgoyne's surrender. A powerful British army had been sub- dued by the colonists without aid from abroad. The success of the Amer- ican arms and the prospect of commercial advantage decided the wavering policy of the king, and in the beginning of winter he made an announce- ment of his determination to accept an alliance with the colonies. On the 6th of February, 1778, a treaty was concluded ; France acknowledged the independence of the United States and entered into relations of reciprocal friendship with the new nation. It was further stipulated that in case England should declare war against France, the Americans and the French should make common cause, and that neither should subscribe to a treaty of peace without the concurrence of the other. In America the news of the new alliance was received with great rejoicing ; in England, with vindictive anger. Benjamin Franklin, the author of the first treaty between the United States and a foreign nation, was born in Boston on the 17th of January, 1706. His father was a manufacturer of soap and candles. To this humble vocation the young Benjahiin was devoted by his parents; but the walls of a candle-shop were too narrow for his aspiring genius. At the age of twelve he was apprenticed to his brother to learn the art of printing ; but the brother beat him, and he ran off to New York. There he found no employment. In 1723 he repaired to Philadelphia, entered a nrintinp'-office, and rose to distinction. He visited Enorlnnd ; returned; 330 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. founded the first circulating librarj^ in America ; became a man of science; edited Poor Richard's Almanac ; originated the American Philosophical Society ; discovered the identity of electricity and lightning; made himself known in both hemispheres; espoused the cause of the pat- riots ; and devoted the unimpaired energies of his old age to per- fecting; the American Union. The name of Franklin is one of the brightest in the history of any nation. In May of 1778 Congress ratified the treaty Avith France. A month before this time a French fleet, com- manded by Count d'Estaing, had been despatched to Amer- ica. The object was BKNJAIIIN FRANKLIN. to sail into the Del- aware and blockade the British squadron at Philadelphia. Both France and Great Britain understood full well that war was inevitable, and each immediately prepared for the conflict. George III. now became willing to treat with his American subjects. Lord North, the prime minister, brought forward two bills in Avhich everything that the colonists had claimed was conceded. The bills were passed by Parliament, and the king assented. Commissioners were sent to America ; but Congress in- formed them that nothing but an express acknowledgment of the inde- pendence of the United States Avould now be accepted. Then the com- missioners tried bribery and intrigue ; and Congress would hold no further conference with them. From September of 1777 until the following June the British army remained at Philadel])hia. The fleet of Admiral HoAve lay in the Del- aware. In the spring of 1778, General Howe w^as superseded by Sir Henj;}' Clinton. When the rumor came that the fleet of D'Estaing was FRANCE TO THE RESCUE. 331 approaching, the English admiral withdrew from the Delaware and sailed for New York. Finally, on the 18tli of June, the British army evacuated Philadelphia and retreated across New Jersey. Washington occupied the city, crossed the river, and followed the retreating foe. At JNIonmouth, eighteen miles south-east of New Brunswick, the British were overtaken. On the morning of the 28th General Lee was ordered to attack the enemy. The first onset was made by the American cavalry under La Fayette ; but they were driven back by Cornwallis and Clinton. Lee, who had opposed the battle, and was not anxious for victory, ordered his line to fall back to a stronger position ; but the troops mistook the order and began a retreat, the British charging after them. Washington met the fugitives, rallied them, administered a severe rebuke to Lee, and ordered him to the rear. During the rest of the engagement the haughty officer, half treacherous in his principles and practices, remained at a distance, making satirical remarks about the battle. The fight continued till night- fall ; the advantage was with the Americans ; and Washington, in hope of a complete victory, anxiously waited for the morning. During the night, however, Clinton succeeded in withdrawing his forces from the field, and thus escaped the peril of defeat. The loss of the Americans in the battle of Monmouth was sixty- seven killed and a hundred and sixty wounded. The British left nearly three hundred dead on the field. On the day after the battle Washington received an insulting letter from Lee demanding an apology for the lan- guage which the commander-in-chief had used. Washington replied that the language was warranted by the circumstances. This Lee answered in a still more offensive manner, and was thereupon arrested, tried by a court-martial, and dismissed from his command for twelve months. The brave, rash man never re-entered the service, and did not live to see his country's independence. The British land and naval forces were now concentrated at New York. Washington followed, crossed the Hudson, and took up his head- quarters at White Plains. On the llth of July Count d'Estaing's fleet arrived off Sandy Hook and attempted to attack the British squadron in the bay ; but the bar at the entrance prevented the passage of the French vessels. D'Estaing next sailed for Newport, Rhode Island, where the British, commanded by General Pigot, were in strong force. At the same time a division of the American army, led by General Sullivan, proceeded to Providence to co-operate with the French fleet in the attack on New- port. Greene and La Fayette came with reinforcement, and the whole army took post at Tiverton. On the 9th of August Sullivan succeeded in crossing the eastern passage of the bay, and secured a favorable pocition 332 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. on the island. A joint attack by land and sea was planned for the fol- lowing day. On that morning, however, the fleet of Lord Howe, who had left New York in pursuit of the French, came in sight ; and D'Estaing, instead -^f beginning the bombardment of Newport, sailed out to give battle to Howe. Just as the two squadrons were about to begin an en- <'-agement a violent storm arose by which the fleets were parted and greatly damaged. D'Estaing repaired to Boston, and Howe returned to New York. Sullivan laid siege to Newport; but when the French squadron sailed away, he found it necessary to retreat. The British pursued the Americans, and overtook them in the northern part of the island ; a battle ensued, and Pigot was repulsed with a loss of two hundred and sixty men. On the following night Sullivan succeeded in reaching the main- land ; and it was well that he did so ; for on the next day General Clin- ton arrived at Newport with a division of four thousand regulars. The Americans saved themselves by hastily retiring from the neighborhood. Clinton, having sent out a detachment under Colonel Grey to burn the American shipping in Buzzard's Bay, destroy the stores in New Bedford and ravage Martha's Vineyard, returned to New York. The command of the British naval forces in America was now transferred from Lord Howe to Admiral Byron. Sir Henry Clinton, unable to accomplish anything in honorable warfare, descended to maraud- ing and robbery. Early in October a band of incendiaries, led by Fer- guson, burned the American ships at Little Egg Harbor. For several miles inland the country was devastated, houses pillaged, barns burned, patriots murdered. To the preceding July belongs the sad story of the Wyoming massacre. Major Jolm Butler, a tory of Niagara, raised a company of sixteen hundred loyalists, Canadians and Indians, and marched into the valley of Wyoming, county of Luzerne, Pennsylvania. The settlement Avas defenceless. The fathers and brothers were away in the patriot army. There were some feeble forts on the Susquehanna in the neighborhood of Wilkesbarre, but they were useless without defenders. On the approach of the tories and savages the few militia remaining in the valley, together with the old men and boys, rallied for the defence of their homes. A battle was fought, and the poor patriots were utterly routed. The fugitives fled to the principal fort, which was crowded with M-omen and children. On came the murderous horde, and demanded a surrender. Honorable terms were promised by Butler, and the garrL^on capitulated. On the 5th of July the gates were opened, and the bar- barians entered. Immediately they began to plunder, then to burn, and then to use the hatchet and the scalping-knife. Tliere is no authentic FRANCE TO THE RESCUE. 833 record of the horrible atrocities that followed. The savages divided into parties, scattered through the valley, plundered, robbed, burned, and drove almost every surviving family into the swamps or mountains. In this way George III. would subdue the American colonies. November witnessed a similar massacre at the village of Cherry Valley, Otsego county. New York. This time the invaders were led by Joseph Brant, the Mohawk sachem, and Walter Butler, a son of J\Iajor John Butler. The people of Cherry Valley were driven from their homes ; every house in the village was burned ; women and children were tomahawked and scalped ; and forty miserable sufferers dragged into cap- tivity. To avenge these outrages an expedition was sent against the savages on the Upper Susquehanna ; and they in turn were made to feel the terrors of war. In the preceding December the famous Major Clarke had received from Patrick Henry, then governor of Virginia, a commis- sion to proceed against the Indians west of the Alleghanies. The expe- dition left Pittsburg in the spring of 1778 ; descended to the mouth of the Ohio ; and on the 4th of the following July captured Kaskaskia. Other important posts were taken ; and in August Vincennes was forced to capitulate. On the 3d of November Count d'Estaing's fleet sailed from Boston for the West Indies. In December Admiral Byron, in command of the British squadron, left New York to try the fortunes of war on the ocean. A few days previously, Colonel Campbell, with a force of two thousand men, was sent by General Clinton for the conquest of Georgia. On the 29th of December the expedition reached Savannah. The place was de- fended by General Hobert Howe with a regiment of five hundred and fifty regulars, and three hundred militia. Notwithstanding the superior numbers of the British, Howe determined to risk a battle ; but the result was disastrous. The Americans were routed and driven out of the city. Escaping up the river, the defeated patriots crossed into South Carolina and found refuge at Charleston. Such was the only real conquest made by the Britisli during the year 1778. It was now nearly four years since the battle of Concord, and Great Britain had lost vastly more than she had gained in her struggle with the colonies. The city of New York was held by Clinton ; Newport was garrisoned by a division under Pigot ; the feeble capital of Georgia was conquered ; all the rest remained to the patriots. 834 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XLII. MOVEMENTS OF '79. THE winter of 1778-79 was passed by the American arniy at Middle- brook, New Jersey. With the opening of spring there was much discouragement among the soldiers ; for they were neither paid nor fed. Only the personal influence of Washington and the patriotism of the camp prevented a mutiny. Clinton opened the campaign with a number of predatory incursions into the surrounding country. In February, Tryon, the old tory governor of New York, a man so savage in his nature that the Indians called him the Big Wolf, marched from Kingsbridge with a body of fifteen hundred regulars and tories to destroy the salt- works at Horse Neck, Connecticut. General Putnam, who chanced to be in that neighborhood, rallied the militia and made a brave defence. The Americans planted some cannon on the brow of a hill and fought with much spirit until they were outflanked by the British and obliged to fly. It was here that General Putnam, pursued and about to be over- taken by a party of dragoons, turned out of the road, spurred his horse down a precipice and escaped.* Tryon destroyed the salt-works, plun- dered and burned the village of West Greenwich and returned to Kings- bridge. In the latter part of May Clinton himself sailed Avith an armament up the Hudson to Stony Point. This strong position, commanding the river, had been chosen by Washington as the site of a fort ; the Amer- icans were engaged upon the unfinished works when Clinton's squadron came in sight. The feeble garrison, unable to resist the overwhelming numbers of the enemy, escaped from the fortifications. On the 1st of June the British entered, mounted cannon and began to bombard Ver- planck's Point, on the other side of the river. Here the patriots made a brave resistance ; but the British landed a strong force, surrounded the fort and compelled a surrender. Both Verplanck's and Stony Point were strongly fortified and garrisoned by the enemy. About the same time Virginia suffered from an incursion of the tories. A vast amount of public and private property was destroyed ; and several towns, including Norfolk and Portsmouth, were laid in ashes. * After all, Putnam's exploit was not so marvelous. In 1825 some of General La Fayette's dragoons rode down the same hill for sport. MOVEMENTS OF 79. 335 In July the ferocious Tryon again distinguished himself. With a force of twenty-six hundred Hessians and tories he sailed to New Haven, captured the city and would have burned it but for fear of the gathering militia. Having set East Haven on fire, the destroyers sailed down the Sound to the beautiful town of Fairfield, which was given to the flames. At Norwalk, while the village was burning and the terrified people flying from their homes, Tryon, on a neighboring hill, sat in a rocking-chair and laughed heartily at the scene. It was not long until these dastardly outrages were made to appear more dastardly by contrast with a heroic exploit of the patriots. Early in July General Wayne received orders to attempt the recap- ture of Stony Point. On the 15th of the month he mustered a force of light infantry at a convenient point on the Hudson and marched against the seemingly impregnable fortress. The movement was not discovered by the enemy. At eight o'clock in the evening Wayne halted a mile from the fort and gave orders for the assault. A negro who had learned the countersign went with the advance ; the British pickets were deceived, caught and gagged. The Americans advanced in tM'O columns, the first led by Wayne, and the second by the gallant Frenchman, Colonel De Fleury. Everything was done in silence. Muskets were unloaded and bayonets fixed ; not a gun was to be fired. Tlie two divisions, attacking from opposite sides, were to meet in the middle of the fort. The assault was made a little after midnight. Within pistol-shot of the sentinels on the height, the Americans were discovered. There was the cry, To arms! the rattle of drums, and then the roar of musketry and cannon. The patriots never wavered. The ramparts were scaled ; and the British, find- ing themselves between two closing lines of bayonets, cried out for quar- ter. Sixty-three of the enemy fell in the struggle ; the remaining five hundred and forty-three were made prisoners. Of the Americans only fifteen were killed and eighty-three wounded. In the days that followed the assault Wayne secured the ordnance and stores, valued at more than a hundred and fifty thousand dollars, then destroyed the fort and marched away. On the 20th a division of the British army, arriving at Stony Point, found nothing but a desolated hill. In honor of his brave deed General Wayne received a gold medal from Congress. Three days after the taking of Stony Point, Major Lee with a com- pany of militia attacked the British garrison at Jersey City. Again the assault was successful, the enemy losing nearly two hundred men. On the 25th of the same month a fleet of thirty-seven vessels, which had been equipped by Massachusetts, was sent against a British post recently established at the mouth of the Penobscot. The enterprise, however, was 336 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. managed with little skill and less success. On the 13th of August, while the American ships were still besieging the post, they were suddenly attacked and destroyed by a British fleet. In the summer of this year an army of four thousand six hundred men, commanded by Generals Sul- livan and James Clinton, was sent against the Indians of the Upper Sus- quehanna. The atrocities of Wyoming were now fully avenged, and the savages driven to destruction. At Elmira, on the Tioga River, the In- dians and tories had fortified themselves ; but on the 29th of August they were forced from their stronghold and utterly routed. The whole coun- try between the Susquehanna and the Genesee was wasted by the patriots, who, in the course of the campaign, destroyed forty Indian villages. In the latter jjart of October Sir Henry Clinton, alarmed by the rumored approach of the French fleet, withdrew the British forces from Rhode Island. The retirement from Newport was made with so much haste that the heavy guns and large quantities of stores were left behind. Such were the leading military movements in the North. Meanwhile, the war had continued in Georgia and South Carolina ; and the patriots had met with many reverses. At the beginning of the year Fort Sunbury, on St. Catherine's Sound, was the only post held by the Americans south of the Savannah. On the 9th of January this ibrt was captured by a body of British troops from Florida, led by General Provost. This officer then joined his forces with those of Colonel Camp- bell, M'ho had just effected the conquest of Savannah, and assumed com- mand of the British army in the South. A force of two thousand reg- ulars and loyalists, commanded by Campbell, was at once despatched against Augusta ; for there the republican legislature had assembled after the fall of Savannah. On the 29th of January the British reached their destination, and Augusta fell a prey to the invaders. For a while the whole of Georgia was prostrated before the king's soldiery. In the mean time, the tories of Western Carolina had risen in arms and were advancing to join the forces of Campbell at Augusta. While marching thither they were attacked and defeated in a canebrake by the patriots under Captain Anderson. On the 14th of February the tories were again overtaken in the countr)' west of Broad River. Colonel Pickens, at the head of the Carolina militia, fell upon them with such fury that the whole force was annihilated. Colonel Boyd, the tory leader, and seventy of his men were killed. Seventy-five others were captured, tried for treason and condemned to death ; but only five of the ringleader were hanged. On receiving intelligence of what had happened, Campbell hastily evacuated Augusta and retreated toward Savannah. The western half of Georgia was recovered more quickly than it had been lost. MOVEMENTS OF 79. 337 While the British were retreating down the river, General Lincoln, who now commanded the American forces in the South, sent General Ashe with a division of two thousand men to intercept the enemy. On the 25th of February the Americans crossed the Savannah and pursued Campbell as far as Brier Creek, forty-five miles below Augusta. The bridge over this stream had been destroyed by the retreating British, anc] the patriots came to a halt. While they were delayed General Prevosr marched with a strong force from Savannah, crossed Brier Creek above the American position, and completely surrounded General Ashe's com- mand. A battle was fought on the 3d of March ; the Americans, after losing more than three hundred men in killed, wounded and prisoners, were totally routed and driven into the swamps and river. The rem- nants of Ashe's army rejoined General Lincoln at Perrysburg. The shock of this defeat again prostrated Georgia, and a royal government was established over the State. But the Carolinians rallied with great vigor. AVithin a month Gen- eral Lincoln was again in the field with a force of more than five thou- sand men. Still hoping to reconquer Georgia, he advanced up the left bank of the river in the direction of Augusta ; but at the same time Gen- eral Prevost crossed the Savannah and marched against Charleston. On the 12th of May he summoned the city to surrender, but General Moultrie, who commanded the patriots, was in no humor to do it. Prevost made preparations for a siege ; but learning that General Lincoln had turned back to attack him, he made a hasty retreat. The Americans pursued, overtook the enemy at Stono Ferry, ten miles west of Charleston, made an imprudent attack and were repulsed with considerable loss. Before retiring from the State, Prevost succeeded in establishing a post at Beau- fort, and then fell back to Savannah. From June until September military operations were almost wholly suspended. And now came Count d'Estaing with his fleet from the West Indies to Carolina to co-operate with General Lincoln in the reduction of Savannah. Prevost was alarmed, and concentrated his forces for the defence of the city. The storm-winds of the equinox were approaching, and D'Estaing stipulated with the Americans that his fleet should not be long detained on that coast devoid of harbors. On the 12th of September the French, numbering six thousand, effected a landing, and advanced to the siege. Eleven days elapsed before the slow-moving General Lincoln arrived with his forces. Meanwhile, on the 16th of the month, D'Estaing had demanded a surrender ; but Prevost, who asked a day for consulta- tion and used it in strengthening his works and in receiving reinforce- ments from Beaufort, answered with a message ofv defiance. After Lin- 22 338 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. coin's arrival the siege was prosecuted with great vigor. The city was bombarded wellnigh to destruction; the people were driven into the cellars, and dared not venture forth on peril of their lives. But the British defences remained unshaken. At last the impatient D'Estaing notified Lincoln that the city must be stormed or the siege abandoned. The former course was preferred. On the 8th of October a conference was held, and it was determined to make the assault at daylight on the following morning. Accordingly, an hour before sunrise the allies advanced against the redoubts of the British. The attack was made irregularly, but with great vehemence; the defence, with desperate determination. The struggle around the ramparts was brief but furious. At one time it seemed that the works would be carried. The French and the patriots mounted the parapet and planted the flags of Carolina and France. But the emblems of victory, with those who bore them, were hurled into the dust. Here the brave Sergeant Jasper, the hero of Fort Moultrie, fell to rise no more. After an hour of the most gallant fighting, the allied columns were shat- tered and driven back with fearful losses. D'Estaing was twice wounded. The noble Pulaski was struck with a grape-shot and borne dying from the field. The repulse was complete, humiliating, disastrous. D'Estaing re- tired with his men on board the fleet and sailed for France. Lincoln with the remnants of his army retreated to Charleston. While the siege of Savannah was progressing, the American arms were made famous on the ocean. On the 23d of September Paul Jones, cruisino; off the coast of Scotland with a flotilla of French and American vessels, fell in with a fleet of British merchantmen, convoyed by two men-of-war. The battle that ensued was bloody beyond precedent in naval warfare. For an hour and a half the Serapis, a British frigate of forty-four guns, engaged the Poor Richard^ within musket-shot. Then the vessels, both in a sinking condition, were run alongside and lashed together. The marines fought with the fury of madmen until the Serapis struck her colors. Jones hastily transferred his men to the conquered ship, and the Poor Richard went down. The remaining British vessel was also attacked and captured. So desperate was the engagement that of the three hundred and seventy-five men on board the fleet of Jones three hundred were either killed or wounded. So closed the year 1779. The colonies were not yet free. The French alliance, which had promised so much, had brought but little benefit. The credit of Congress had sunk almost to nothing ; the national treasury was bankrupt. The patriots of the army were poorly fed, and * So nam(>d in honor of Dr. Franklin's almanac. REVERSES AND TREASON. 339 paid only with unkept promises. The disposition of Great Britain was best ilhistrated in the measures adopted by Parliament for the campaigns of the ensuing year. The levies made by the House of Commons were eighty-five thousand marines and thirty-five thousand additional troops ; while the extraordinary expenses of the War Department were set at twenty million pounds sterling. CHAPTER XLIII. REVERSES AND TREASON DURING the year 1780 military operations at the North were, for the most part, suspended. Twice did the British under Knyphausen advance from New York into New Jersey ; and twice they were driven back. Early in July Admiral De Ternay arrived at Newport with a French squadron and six thousand land-troops under Count Rocham- beau. The Americans were greatly elated at the coming of their allies ; but Washington's army was in so destitute a condition that active co- operation was impracticable. In September the commander-in-chief held a conference with Rochambeau, and the plans of future campaigns were in part determined. In the South there was much activity, and the patriots suffered many reverses. South Carolina was completely overrun with the invading armies. On the 11th of February Admiral Arbuthnot, in command of a British squadron, anchored before Charleston. Sir Henry Clinton and a division of five thousand men from the army in New York were on board the fleet. The plan of the campaign was to subjugate the whole South, beginning with Charleston. The city was defended by fourteen hundred men, under General Lincoln, who began his preparations by fortifying the neck of the peninsula. The British effected a landing a few miles below the harbor, advanced up the right bank of Ashley River, and crossed to the north of the city. A month was spent by Clinton in mak- ing cautious approaches toward the American entrenchments. On the 7th of April General Lincoln was reinforced by seven hundred veterans from Virginia. Two days afterward Admiral Arbuthnot, favored by the wind and tide, succeeded in passing Fort Moultrie with his fleet, and anchored within cannon-shot of the city. A summons to surrender was 340 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 'answered by Lincoln with the assurance that Charleston would be defended to the last extremity. A siege was at once begun, and prosecuted with great vigor. Desir- ing to keep a way open for retreat, Lincoln sent a body of three hundred men under General Huger to scour the country north of Cooper E-iver and rally the militia. Apprised of this movement, Tarleton with a legion of British cavalry stole upon Huger's forces at Monk's Corner, thirty miles north of Charleston, routed and dispersed the whole com- pany. The city was now fairly hemmed in, and the thunder of two hundred cannon shook the beleaguered ramparts. From the beginning the SIEGE OF CHARLESTON, 1780. dcfeucc liad bceu hopeless, and every day the condition of the town became more desperate. Finally the fortifications were beaten down, and Clinton made ready to storm the American works ; not till then did Lincoln and the civil authorities, dreading the havoc of an assault, agree to capitulate. On the 12th of May the principal city of the South was given uj) to the British and the men who had so bravely defended it became prisoners of war. A few days before the surrender Tarleton, who was ranging the country to the north and west, surprised and dispersed a body of militia v.ho had gathered on the Santee. After the capture of the city, three expeditions were directed into different sections of the State. The Amer- ican post at Ninety-Six, a hundred and fifty miles north-Avest of the caj)- ital, was seized. A second detachment of the British invaded the country bordering on the Savannah. Cornwallis with the principal division marched to the north-east, crossed the Santee and captured Georgetown, near the mouth of the Great Pedee. Here he learned that Colonel Buford, with a body of five hundred patriots, wdio had left North Carolina for the relief of Charleston, was now retreating through the district north of Camden. Tarleton with seven hundred cavalry pressed rapidly across the country, overtook the Americans on the AVaxhaw, a tributary of the Catawba, surprised them, and, while negotiations for a surrender Avere pending, charged upon and massacred nearly the vi'hole company. For this atrocious deed Cornwallis commended Tarleton to the sj)ecial favor of the Britisli Parliament. By such means the authority of Great Britain was re-established over South Carolina. As soon as the work Avas done, Clinton and Arbuthnot, Avith about half of the British army, sailed for Ncav York. ConiAA'allis was left Avitli the remainder to hold the conquered territory ; REVERSES AND TREASON. 341 I for it was the territory, and not the people, who were conquered. In this -^ condition of affairs, two daring patriot leaders arose to rescue the repub- ,\ lican cause. These men, ever afterward famous, were Thomas Sumter > and Francis Marion. Under their leadership the militia in the central ) and western portions of the State, especially on the upper tributaries of Broad River, were rallied, armed and mounted. An audacious partisan warfare was begun, and exposed detachments of the British army were swept off as though an enemy had fallen on them from the skies. At Eocky Mount, on the Wateree, Colonel Sumter burst upon a party of dragoons, who barely saved themselves. On the 6th of August he attacked a large detachment of regulars and tories at Hanging Rock, in Lancaster county, defeated them and retreated. It was in this battle that young Andrew Jackson began his career as a soldier. The exploits of Sumter were even surpassed by those of Marion. His company consisted at first of twenty men and boys, white and black, half clad and poorly armed. But the number constantly increased, and the "Ragged Regiment" soon became a terror to the enemy. Every British outpost was in peril. There was no telling when or where the sword of the fearless leader would fall. From the swamps at midnight he and his men would suddenly dart upon the encampments of the enemy, sweeping everything before them. When the British expected Marion in front, he would assail the rearguard with the utmost fury, and then dis- appear ; when they thought him hovering on their flank, he was a hun- dred miles away. During the whole summer and autumn of 1780 he swept around Cornwallis's positions, cutting his lines of communication and making incessant onsets with an audacity as destructive as it was pro- voking. In the midst of this wild and lawless warfare, Marion preserved an unblemished reputation. Fifteen years afterward, when he lay on his deathbed, he declared that he had never intentionally wronged any man ; and it was truthfully written on his monument that he lived without fear and died without reproach. After the fall of Charleston, General Gates was appointed to com- mand in the South. With a strong force of regulars and such militia as would join his standard, he advanced across North Carolina, and at the beginning of August reached the southern boundary of the State. Lord Rawdon, who commanded the British posts in the northern parts of South Carolina, called in his detachments and concentrated his forces at Camden. Hither came also Cornwallis with reinforcements from Charleston and Georgetown. The Americans moved forward and took post at Clermont, thirteen miles north-west from Camden. By a singular coincidence Corn- wallis and Gates each formed the design of surprising his antagonist in 342 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. the night. Accordingly, on the evening of the 15th of August, Gates set out for Camden, and at the same time Cornwallis moved toward Cler- mont. About daydawn the two armies met midway on Sander^s Creek. Both generals were surprised, but both made immediate preparations for battle. As soon as it was light the con- flict began. Steadiness and courage in all parts of the field would have given the victory to the Americans, but at the first onset the Virginia and Carolina militia broke line, threw their arms away and fled. For a while the Continentals of Maryland and Delaware sustained the battle with great bravery, but at length they were outflank- ed by Webster's cavalry and driven back. The American SCENE OF OPEKATIONS IN THE SOUTH, 1780, 81. officers made heroic efforts to save the day, but all in vain ; the retreat became a rout. Baron de Kalb, the friend of La Fayette and fellow-sufierer with Washington at Valley Forge, remained on the field trying to rally his men until he was wounded eleven times and fell in the agony of death. More than a thousand of the Americans were killed, wounded or captured. The shattered remnants continued the retreat to Charlotte, North Carolina^ eighty miles distant. The military reputation of Gates, which never had any solid foundation, was blown away like chafF, and he was superseded by General Greene, who, after Washington, was the best officer of the Revolution. Cornwallis was again master of South Carolina. A few days after the battle of Sander's Creek, Sumter's corps was overtaken by Tarleton at Fishing Creek, thirty miles north-west from Camden, and completely routed. Only Marion and his troopers remained to harass the victorious enemy. The triumph of the British was marked by cruelty and oppres- sion. Cornwallis visited the patriots with merciless severity, and the ruined State crouched at the feet of the conqueror. On the 8 th of Sep- tember the British advanced from Camden into North Carolina, and on the 25th reached Charlotte, the Americans having retreated to Salisbury. While this movement was in progress. Colonel Ferguson, with a force of REVERSES AND TREASON 343 eleven hundred regulars and tories, was sent into the country west of the Catawba to overawe the patriots and encourage the loyalists to take up arms. On the 7th of October, while Ferguson and his men were en- camped on the top of King's Mountain, they were suddenly attacked by a thousand riflemen led by Colonel Campbell. The camp was surrounded ■ a desperate battle of an hour and a half ensued ; Ferguson was slain, and three hundred of his men were killed or wounded ; the remaining eight hundred threw down their arms and begged for quarter. On the morn- ing after the battle ten of the leading tory prisoners were condemned by a court-martial and hanged. During the remaining two months of the year there were no military movements of importance. Georgia and South Carolina were in ihe power of the British, and North Carolina was invaded. Meanwhile, the financial credit of the nation was sinking to the lowest ebb. Congress, having no silver and gold with which to meet the accumulating expenses of the war, had resorted to paper money. At first the expedient was successful, and the continental bills were received at par; but as one issue followed another, the value of the notes rapidly diminished, until, by the middle of 1780, they were not worth two cents to the dollar. To aggravate the evil, the emissaries of Great Britain executed counterfeits of the congressional money and sowed the spurious bills broadcast over the land. Business was paralyzed for the want of a currency, and the distress became extreme ; but Robert Morris and a few other wealthy patriots came forward with their private fortunes and saved the suffering colonies from ruin. The mothers of America also lent a helping hand ; and the patriot camp was gladdened with many a contribu- tion of food and clothing which woman's sacrificing care had provided. In the midst of the general gloom the country was shocked by the rumor that Benedict Arnold had turned traitor. And the news, though hardly credible, was true. The brave, rash man, who, on behalf of the patriot cause, had suffered untold hardships and shed his blood on more fields than one, had blotted the record of his heroism with a deed of treason. After the battle of Bemis's Height, in the fall of 1777, Arnold was promoted by Congress to the rank of major-general. Being disabled by his wound, he was made commandant of Philadelphia after the evac- uation of the city by the British. Here he married the daughter of a loyalist, and living in the old mansion of William Penn entered upon a career of luxury and extravagance which soon overwhelmed him with debt and bankruptcy. In order to keep up his magnificence, he began a system of frauds on the commissary department of the army. His bear- ing toward the citizens was that of a military despot ; the people groaned under his tyranny, and charges were preferred against him by Congress. 344 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. The cause was finally heard by a court-martial in December of 1779. Arnold was convicted on two of the charges, and, by the order of the court, was mildly reprimanded by Washington. Professing unbounded jDatriotism, and seeming to forget the dis- grace which his misconduct had brought upon him, Arnold applied for and obtained command of the important fortress of West Point on the Pludson. On the last day of July, 1780, he reached the camp and assumed control of the most valuable arsenal and d^pot of stores in Amer- ica. He had already formed the treasonable design of surrendering the fort into tiie hands of the enemy. For months he had kept up a secret correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton, and now the scheme ripened, on Arnold's part, into an open proposition to betray his country for gold. It was agreed that on a certain day the British fleet should ascend the Hudson, that the garrison should be divided and scattered, and the fc>rt- ress given up without a struggle. On the 21st of September Sir Henry Clinton sent Major John Audr6 up the river to hold a personal conference with Arnold and make the final arrangements for the surrender. Andr6, through whom the correspondence between Arnold and Clinton had been car- ried on, was a former acquaintance of Ar- nold's wife, and now held the post of adju- tant-general in the British army. He went to the conference, not as a spy, but wearing full uniform; and it was agreed that the meeting should be held outside of the Ameri- can lines. About midnight of the 21st he went ashore from the Vulture, a sloop of war, and met Arnold in a thicket on the west bank of the river, two miles below Haverstraw. Daydawn approached, and the conspirators were obliged to hide themselves. In doing so they entered the American lines ; Arnold gave the password, and Andre, disguising him- self, assumed the character of a spy. During the next day the traitor and his victim remained concealed at the house of a tory named Smith. Here the awful business was com- pleted. Arnold was to surrender West Point, its garrisons and stores, and to receive for his treachery ten thousand pounds and a commission as brigadier in the British army. All preliminaries being settled, papers containing a full description of West Point, its defences and the best SCKNK OF ARNOLD'S TREASON, 1780. THE END. 345 method of attack were made out and given to Andre, who secreted the dangerous documents in his stockings. During that day an American battery drove the Vulture from its moorings in the river ; and at night- fall Andre was obliged to cross to the other side and proceed by land toward New York. He passed the American outposts in safety ; but at Tarrytown, twenty-five miles from the city, he was suddenly confronted by three militiamen * who stripped him, found his papers, and delivered him to Colonel Jameson at North Castle. Through that officer's amazing stupidity Arnold was at once notified that John Anderson — that being the assumed name of Andre — had been taken with his passport and some papers " of a very dangerous tendency." Arnold, on hearing the news, fled to the river and escaped on board the Vulture. Andre was tried by a court-martial at Tappan, and condemned to death. On the 2d of Oc- tober he was led to the gallows, and, under the stern code of war, was hanged. Though dying the death of a felon, he met his doom like a brave man, and after times have commiserated his sad fate. Arnold received \\\s,pay. In the dark days of December there came a ray of light fi-om Europe. For several years Holland had secretly favored the Americans ; now she began negotiations for a commercial treaty similar to that already existing between France and the United States. Great Britain discovered the purposes of the Dutch government ; there were angry remonstrances, and then, on the 20th of December, an open declaration of war. Thus the Netherlands were added to the enemies of England ; it seemed that George III. and his ministers would have enough to do without further efforts to enforce a stamp-act or levy a tax on tea. CHAPTER XLIV. THE END. FOR the Americans the year 1781 opened gloomily. The condition of the array was desperate — no food, no pay, no clothing. Even the influence of Washington was not sufficient to quiet the growing discontent of the soldiery. On the first day of January the whole Pennsylvania line, numbering nearly two thousand, mutinied, left their camp at Morris- * John Paulding, David Williams and Isaac van Wart. Congress afterward rewarded them with silver medals and pensions for life. 346 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. town and marched toward Philadelphia. General Wayne, after trying in vain to prevent the insurrection, went with his men, still hoping to con- trol them. At Princeton they were met by two emissaries from Sir Henry Clinton, and were tempted with offers of money, clothing and release from military service if they would desert the American standard. The mu- tinous patriots made answer by seizing the British agents and delivering tliem to General Wayne to be hanged as spies. For this deed the com- missioners of Congress, who now arrived, offered the insurgents a large reward, but the reward was indignantly refused. Washington, knowing how shamefully the army had been neglected by Congress, was not un- willing that the mutiny should take its own course. The congressional agents were therefore left to adjust the difficulty with the rebellious troops. But the breach was easily healed ; a "^ew liberal concessions on the part of the government sufficed to quiet the mutiny. About the middle of the same month the New Jersey brigade, sta- tioned at Pompton, revolted. This movement Washington quelled by force. General Robert Howe marched to the camp with five hundred regulars and compelled twelve of the principal mutineers to execute the two leaders of the revolt. From that day order was completely restored. These insurrections had a good rather than a bad effect; Congress was thoroughly alarmed, and immediate provisions were made for the better support of the army. An agent was sent to France to obtain a further loan of money. Robert Morris was appointed secretary of finance ; the Bank of North America was organized ; and although the outstanding debts of the United States could not be paid, yet all future obligations were promptly met, for Morris and his friends pledged their private fortunes to sustain the credit of the government. In the North military movements were begun by Arnold. On arriving at New York the traitor had received the promised commission, and was now a brigadier-general in the British army. In the preceding November, Washington and Major Henry Lee formed a plan to capture him. Sergeant John Champe undertook the daring enterprise, deserted to the enemy, entered New York, joined Arnold's company, and with two assistants concerted measures to abduct him from the city and convey him to the American camp. But Arnold suddenly moved his quarters, and the plan was defeated. A month afterward he was given command of a fleet and a land-force of sixteen hundred men, and on the 16th of Decem- ber left New York to make a descent on the coasts of Virginia. Early in January the traitor entered James River and began war on his countrymen. His proceedings were marked with much ferocity, but not Avith the daring which characterized his former exploits. In the THE END. 347 vicinity of Richmond a vast quantity of public and private property was destroyed. The country along the river was devastated ; and when there was nothing left to excite his cupidity or gratify his revenge, Arnold took up his headquarters in Portsmouth, a few miles south of Hampton Roads. Again Washington planned his capture. The French fleet, anchored at J^ewport, was ordered to sail for Virginia to co-operate with La Fayette, who was sent in the direction of Portsmouth with a detachment of twelve hundred men. But Admiral Arbuthnot, being apprised of the movement, sailed from New York and drove the French squadron back to Rhode Island. La Fayette, deprived of the expected aid, was forced to abandon the undertaking, and Arnold again escaped. About the middle of April General Phillips arrived at Portsmouth witli a force of two thousand British regulars. Joining his troops with those of Arnold, he assumed command of the whole, and again the fertile districts of Lower Virginia were ravaged with fire and sword. Early in May, Phillips died, and for seven days Arnold held the supreme com- mand of the British forces in Virginia. That was the height of his trea- sonable glory. On the 20th of the month Lord Cornwallis arrived at Petersburg and ordered him to begone. Returning to New York, he received from Clinton a second detachment, entered the Sound, landed at New London, in his native State, and captured the town. Fort Griswold, which was defended by Colonel Ledyard with a hundred and fifty militia- men, was carried by storm. When Ledyard surrendered, the British officer who received his sword stabbed him to death ; it was the signal for a massacre of the garrison, seventy-three of whom were murdered in €old blood ; of the remainder, thirty were wounded and the rest made prisoners. With this bloody and ignominious deed the name of Arnold disappears from American history. Meanwhile, some of the most stirring events of the war had occurred at the South. At the close of the preceding year General Greene had taken command of the American army — which was only the shadow of an army — at Charlotte, North Carolina. Cornwallis had fallen back in the direction of Camden. Greene with great energy reorganized his forces and divided them into an eastern and a western division ; the com- mand of the latter was given to General Morgan. In the first days of January this gallant officer was sent into the Spartanburg district of Soutli Carolina to repress the tories and encourage the patriot militia. His suc- cess was such as to exasperate Cornwallis, wlio immediately despatched Colonel Tarleton with his famous cavalry legion to destroy Morgan's forces or drive them out of the State. The Americans, apprised of Tarle- ton's approach, took a favorable position at the Cowpens, where, on the 348 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 17th of January, they were attacked by the British, eleven hundred strong. Tarleton, confident of success, made the onset with impetuosity ; but Mor- gan's men sustained the shock with firmness, and, when the enemy's re- serves were called into action, either held their ground or retired in good order. At the crisis of the battle the American cavalry, commanded by Colonel William Washington, made a furious charge and scattered the British dragoons like chaff before them. The rout Avas complete — the vic- tory decisive. Washington and Tarleton had a personal encounter on the field, and the latter fled with a sword-gash in his hand. His corps was annihilated ; ten British officers and ninety privates were killed, and five hundred and twenty-three were captured. Two pieces of artillery, eight hundred muskets and two flags were among the trophies of the battle. When Cornwallis, who was encamped with his army thirty miles down the Catawba, heard of the disaster to his arms, he made a ra})id march up the river to reach the fords in Morgan's rear. But Gi^ecne, wiio had also heard the news, hastened to the camp of JNIorgan, took com- mand in person and began a hasty retreat. At the same time he sent word to General Huger, who commanded the eastern division, to fall back toward Charlotte, where it was proposed to form a junction of the two wings of the army. On the 28th of January Morgan's division reached the Catawba and crossed to the northern bank, with prisoners, spoils and baggage. Within two hoiu's the British van arrived at the ford ; but it was already sunset, and Cornwallis concluded to wait for the morning; then he would cross and Avin an easy victory. During the night the clouds opened and poured down torrents ; in the morning the river was swollen to a flood. It was many days before the British forced their way across, dispersing the militia on the opposite bank. And now beffan a second race, this time for the fords of the Yadkin. The distance was sixty miles and the roads wretched. In two day» the Americans reached the river. The crossing Avas nearly effected, Avhen the British appeared in sight, attacked the rearguard and captured a fe\Y wagons; nothing else Avas injured. That night tlio Yadkin Avas made impassable by rains in the mountains, and ConiAvallis Avas again delayed; Greene pressed forward to Guilford Court-House, Avhere he arrived on the 7th of February. The British marched up the Y''adkin to the shalloAV ford at Huntsville, AA^here, on the 9th of the month, they succeeded in crossing. The lines of retreat and pursuit AA^ere now parallel, and the tAvo armies Avere less than tAventy-five miles apart. A third time the race began, and again the Americans Avon it. On the 13th, Greene, with the main division, crossed the Dan into Virgin ua, and on tne louowmg aay the American rearo-uard entered thf* boats and was safe. The British van o THE END. 349 was already in sight and the whole army but a few miles distant. Never was a retreat more skillfully conducted. Cornwallis, mortified at his repeated failures, abandoned the pursuit and retired with his at^my to Hillsborough. Once in Virginia, Greene was rapidly reinforced. After a few days of recruiting and rest he felt himself strong enough to begin offensive movements. On the 22d of February he recrossed the Dan into North Carolina. Meanwhile, Cornwallis had despatched Tarleton with a body of cavalry into the region between the Haw and Deep Rivers to encourage the tories. Being informed of this movement, Greene sent Colonel Lee into the same district. Three hundred loyalists, already under arms, were marching to join Tarleton. On the route they were intercepted by the American cavalry, whom, supposing them to be British, they saluted with a shout of " Long live the king !" Colonel Lee and his men quietly surrounded the unsuspecting tories, fell upon them as a band of traitors, and killed or captured the entire company. By the addition of the Virginia militia Greene's army now num- bered four thousand four hundred men. Determining to avoid battle no longer, he marched to Guilford Court-House, took a strong position and awaited his antagonist. Cornwallis, accepting the challenge, at once moved forward to the attack. On the 15th of March the two armies met on Greene's chosen ground, and a severe but indecisive battle was fought. The forces of Greene were superior in numbers, and those of Cornwallis in discipline. If the American militia had stood firm, the result would not have been doubtful ; but the raw recruits behaved badly, broke line and fled. Confusion ensued ; the Americans fought hard, but were eventually driven from the field and forced to retreat for several miles. In killed and wounded the British loss was greatest ; but large bodies of the militia returned to their homes, reducing Greene's army to less than three thou- sand. Nevertheless, to the British the result was equivalent to a defeat. Cornwallis now boasted, made big proclamations, and then re- treated. On the 7th of April he reached the sea-coast at Wilmington- and immediately thereafter proceeded to Virginia. How he arrived at Petersburg, superseded Arnold and sent him out of the State has already been narrated. The British forces in the Carolinas remained under com- mand of Lord Rawdon, who was j)osted with a strong division at Cam- den, With him General Greene, after the departure of Cornwallis, was left to contend. The American army was accordingly advanced into South Carolina. A detachment was sent against Fort Watson, on the east bank of the Santee, and the place was obliged to surrender. Greene marched with the main body to Hobkirk's Hill, a short distance north of 350 HISTORY OF THE VISITED STATES. Camden, posted his men in a strong position and awaited the movements of Rawdon. What that officer would do was not long a question of doubt. On the 2oth of April he moved from Camden with his entire force and attacked the American camp. For once General Greene came near being surprised ; but his men were swiftly formed for battle ; Rawdon's column was badly arranged ; and for a while it seemed that the entire British force would be slain or captured. Just at the critical moment, however, some valuable American officers who commanded in the centre were killed; their regiments, becoming confused, fell back; Rawdon saw his advantage, pressed forward, broke the centre, captured the hill, and. won the day. The Americans retired from the field, but saved their artillery and bore away the wounded. Again the genius of Greene made defeat seem little less than victory. On the lOtli of JNIay Lord Rawdon evacuated Camden and retired to Eutaw Springs, sixty-five miles above the mouth of the Sautee. The British posts at Granby, Orangeburg, Fort Mott and Augusta fell suc- 'iessively into the hands of the patriots. By the 5th of June only Eutaw Springs, Charleston and Ninety-Six remained in possession of the enemy. The latter place was already besieged by General Greene, who, after the battle of Hobkirk's Hill, advanced to Fort Granby, and thence to Ninety- Six. For twenty-seven days the siege w^as pressed with vigor. Tiie supply of water was cut off from the fort, and the garrison could not have held out more than two days longer; but Lord Rawdon was rapidly approaching with a force of two thousand men ; and the Ameri- cans, after an unsuccessful assault, were obliged, on the 18th of June, to raise the siege and retreat. Rawdon pursued, but Greene escaped, as usual, and the British, abandoning Ninety-Six, fell back to Orangeburg. Greene, with ceaseless activity, followed the retreating enemy, and would, but for their strength, have assaulted Rawdon's works. Deeming the position impregnable, the American general recrossed the Santee and took his station on the highlands in Sumter district. Here, in the healthiul air of the hill-country, he passed the sickly months of summer. Sumter, Lee and Marion were constantly abroad, traversing the country in all directions, cutting off supplies from the enemy, breaking his lines of communication and smiting the tories right and left. Lord Rawdon now resigned the command of the British forces to Colonel Stuart and went to Charleston. While there he became a jirincipal actor in one of the most shameful scenes of the Revolution. Colonel Isaac Hayne, an eminent patriot who had formerly taken an oath of allegiance to the king, was caught in command of a troop of American cavalry. He was at once taken to Charleston, arraigned before Colonel Balfour, the commandant. THE END. 351 hTirried through the mockery of a trial and condemned to death. Eaw- don gave his sanction, and on the 31st of July Colonel Hayne was hanged. Just men in Europe joined with the patriots of America in denoimcing the act as wortky of barbarism. On the 22d of August General Greene left the heights of the Santee and marched toward Orangeburg. The British decamped at his approach, and took post at Eutaw Springs, forty miles below. The Americans pressed after them and overtook them on the 8th of September. One of the fiercest battles of the war ensued ; and General Greene was denied a decisive vic- tory only by the bad conduct of some of his men, who, before the field was fairly won, abandoned themselves to eating and drink- ing in the enemy's camp. Stuart rallied his troops, returned to the charge and regain- ed his position. Greene, after losing five hundred and fifty- five men, gave over the struggle. The British lost in killed and wounded nearly seven hundred, and more than five hun- dred prisoners. On the day after the battle Stuart hastily retreated to Monk's Corner ; Greene followed with his army, and after two months of manoeuvring and de- sultory warfare the British were driven into Charleston. In the mean time, General St. Clair had cleared North Carolina by forcing the enemy to evacuate Wilmington. In the whole country south of Virginia only Charleston and Savannah remained under dominion of the king's army ; the latter city was evacuated by the British on the 11th of July, and the former on the 14th of December, 1782. Such was the close of the Revo- lutiou in the Carolinas and Georgia. QENEBAIi GREENE. 352 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. But the final scene was to be enacted in Virginia. There, in the last days of April, 1781, Cornwallis took command of the British army and began to ravage the country on both banks of the James. In the course of the following two months property, public and private, wai destroyed to the value of fifteen million dollars. La Fayette, to whom the defence of the State had been entrusted, was unable to meet Corn wallis in the field, but watched his movements with sleepless vigilance. While the British were in the vicinity of Richmond a detachment under Tarleton proceeded as far west as Charlottesville, where the Virginia legislature was in session. The town was taken, the country devastated, and seven members of the assembly made prisoners. Governor Jefferson escaped only by riding into the mountains. When there was little left to destroy, Cornwallis marched down the north bank of the James to Green Springs, eight miles above the site of Jamestown. He had received orders from Sir Henry Clinton to de- scend the river and take such a position on the coast as would keep the army within supporting distance of New York ; for Clinton was very apprehensive that Washington and the French would attack him. La Fayette hovered upon the rear of Cornwallis ; and on the 6th of July, when it was supposed that the main body of the enemy had crossed the James, General Wayne, who led the American advance, suddenly attacked the whole Britisli army. Cornwallis was so surprised by the audacious onset that v.hen W>.yne, seeing his mistake, made a hasty retreat, no pur- suit was attempted. The loss of the two armies was equal, being a hun- dred and twenty on each side. After the passage of James River, the British marched to Portsmouth, where Arnold had had his headquarters in the previous spring There Cornwallis would have fortified himself; but the orders of Clinton were otherwise ; and in the first days of August the army was again embarked and conveyed to Yorktown, on the southern bank of York River, a few miles above the mouth. La Fayette quickly advanced into the peninsula and took post but eight miles distant from the British. From this position he sent urgent despatches to Washington, beseeching him to come to Virginia and aid in striking the enemy a fatal blow. A powerful French armament, com- manded by Count de Grasse, was hourly expected in the Chesapeake, and La Fayette saw at a glance that if a fleet could be anchored in tJic mouth of York River, cutting off retreat, the doom of Cornwallis would be sealed. During the months of July and August, Washington, from his camp on the Hudson, looked wistfully to the South. But all the while Clinton was kept in feverish alarm by false despatches, written for the purpose of falling into his hands. Thc^e intercepted messages indicated THE END. 353 that the Americans and French would immediately begin the siege of New York ; and for that Clinton made ready. When, in the last days of August, he was informed that Washington had broken up his camp and was already marching with his whole army toward Virginia, the British general would not believe it, but went on preparing for a siege. Washington pressed rapidly forward, paused two days at Mount Vernon, where he had not been for six years, and met La Fayette at Williams- burg. Meanwhile, on the 30th of August, the French fleet, numbering twenty-eight ships of the line, with nearly four thousand troops on board, had reached the Chesapeake and safely anchored in the mouth of York River. Cornwallis, with the British army, was blockaded both by sea and land. To add still further to the strength of the allies. Count de Barras, who commanded the French flotilla at Newport, sailed into the Chesa- peake Avith eight ships of the line and ten transports, bear- ing cannon for the siege. On the 5th of September the English admiral Graves ap- peared in the bay, and a naval battle ensued, in which the British ships were so roughly handled that they returned to New York. On the 28th of September the allied armies, superior in numbers and confident of success, en- camped around Yorktown. The story of the siege is brief. Tarleton, who occupied Glou- cester Point, on the other side of the river, made one spirited sally, but was driven back with severe loss. On the night of the 6th of October the trenches were opened at the distance of six hundred yards from the British works. The cannonade was constant and effective. On the 11th of the month the allies drew their second parallel withm three hundred yards of Cornwallis's redoubts. On the night of the 14th the enemy's outer works were carried by storm. At daydawn of the 16 th the British made a sortie, only to be hurled back into their entrenchments. On the next day Cornwallis proposed a sur- render; on the 18th terms of capitulation were drawn up and signed; and at two o'clock in the afternoon of the 19th Major-General O'Hara— SIEGE OF YORKTOWN, OCTOBER, 1781. 354 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. for Cornwall is, feigning sickness, remained in his tent — led the whole British army from the trenches into an open field, where, in the presence cf the allied ranks of France and America, seven thousand two hundred and forty-seven English and Hessian soldiers laid down their arms, de- livered their standards, and became prisoners of war. Eight hundred and forty sailors were also surrendered. Seventy-five brass and thirty- one iron guns were taken, together with all the accoutrements of the army. By a swift courier the news was borne to Congress. On the even- ing of the 23d the messenger rode into Philadelphia. When the sentinels of the city called the hour of ten that night, they added, " and Cornwallls is taken." On the morrow Congress assembled, and before that august body the despatch of Washington was read. The members, exulting and weeping for gladness, went in concourse with the citizens to the Dutch Lutheran church and turned the afternoon into a thanksgiving. The note of rejoicing sounded through the length and breadth of the land ; for it was seen that the dominion of the Briton in America was for ever broken. After the surrender the conquered army was marched under guard to the barracks of Lancaster. Washington, with the victorious Americans- and French, returned to the camps of New Jersey and the Hudson. On the Continent of Europe the news was received with every demonstration of gladness. In England the king and his ministers heard the tidings with mortification and rage ; but the English people were either secretly pleased or openly rejoiced. During the fall and winter the ministerial majority in Parliament fell off rapidly; and on the 20th of March, 1782, Lord North and his friends, unable longer to conduct the government, resigned their offices. A new ministry was immediately formed, favor- able to America, favorable to freedom, favorable to peace. In the begin- ning of May the command of the British forces in the United States was transferred from Clinton to Sir Guy Carleton, a man friendly to American interests. The hostile demonstrations of the enemy, now confined to New York and Charleston, ceased ; and Washington made no efforts to dis-' lodge the foe, for the war had really ended. In the summer of 1782 Richard Oswald was sent by Parliament to Paris. The object of his mission was to confer with Franklin and Jay, the ambassadors of the United States, in regard to the terms of peace. Before the discussions were ended, John Adams, arriving from Amsterdam, and Henry Laurens from London, entered into the negotia- tions. On the 30th of November preliminary articles of peace were agreed to and signed on the part of Great Britain by Oswald, and on be- Jbalf of the United States by Franklin, Adams, Jay and Laurens. I» THE END. 355 the following April the terms were ratified by Congress; but it was not until the 3d of September, 1783, that a final treaty was effected be- tween all the nations that had been at war. On that day the ambassadors of Holland, Spain^ England, France and the United States, in a solemn conference at Paris, agreed to and signed the articles of a permanent peace. The terms of the Teeaty of 1783 were briefly these: A full and complete recognition of the independence of the United States ; the recession by Great Britain of Florida to Spain ; the surrender of all the remaining territory east of the Mississippi and south of the great lakes to the United States ; the free navigation of the Mississippi and the lakes by American vessels ; the concession of mutual rights in the Newfound- land fisheries ; and the retention by Great Britain of Canada and Nova Scotia, with the exclusive control of the St. Lawrence. Early in August Sir Guy Carleton received instructions to evacuate New York city. Three months were spent in making arrangements for this important event. Finally, on the 25th of November, everything was in readiness ; the British army was embarked on board the fleet ; the sails were spread ; the ships stood out to sea ; dwindled to white specks on the horizon ; disappeared. The Briton was gone. After the struggles and sacrifices of an eight years' war the patriots had achieved the inde- pendence of their country. The United States of America took an equal station among the nations of the earth. Nine days after Carletou's departure there was a most affecting scene in the city. Washington assembled his officers and bade them a final adieu. When they were met, the chieftain spoke a few affectionate words to his comrades, who came forward in turn and with tears and sobs which the veterans no longer cared to conceal bade him farewell. Washington then walked to Whitehall, followed by a vast concourse of citizens and soldiers, and thence departed to Annapolis, where Congress was in session. On his way he paused at Philadelphia and made to the proper officers a report of his expenses during the war. The account was in his own handwriting, and covered a total expenditure of seventy-four thousand four hundred and eighty-five dollars — all correct to a cent. The route of the chief from Paulus's Hook to Annapolis was a continuous triumph. The people by hundreds and thousands flocked to the villages and roadsides to see him pass ; gray-headed statesmen to speak words of praise ; young men to shout with enthusiasm ; maidens to strew his way with flowers. On the 23d of December Washington was introduced to Congress. To that body of patriotic sages he delivered an address full of feeling. •^ 356 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. wisdom and modesty. Then with that dignity which always marked his conduct he surrendered his commission as commander-in-chief of the American army. General Mifflin, the president of Congress, responded in an eloquent manner, and then the hero retired to his home at Mount Vernon. The man whom, the year before, some disaffected soldiers were going to make king of America, now, by his own act, became a citizen of the Eepublic. CHAPTER XLY. CONFEDERATION AND UNION. DURING the progress of the Revolution the civil government of the United States was in a deplorable condition. Nothing but the im- minent peril of the country had, in the first place, led to the calling of a Continental Congress. And when that body assembled, it had no method of proceeding, no constitution, no power of efficient action. The two great wants of the country were money to carry on the war and a central authority to direct the war: the former of these was never met; and Washington was made to supply the latter. Whenever Congress would move in the direction of a firmer government, division would spring up, and action would be checked by the remonstrance of jealous colonies. Nevertheless, the more far-seeing statesmen of the times labored constantly to create substantial political institutions. Foremost of all those who worked for better government M-as Ben- jamin Franklin. As early as the times of the French and Indian War he began fo agitate the question of a permanent union of the colonies. During the troubled years just preceding the Revolution he brooded over his cherished project, and in 1775 laid before Congress the plan of a per- petual confederation of the States. But the attention of that body Avas wholly occupied with the stirring events of the day, and Franklin's measure received but little notice. Congress, without any real authority, began to conduct the government, and its legislation was generally ac- cepted by the States. Still, the central authority was only an authority by sufferance, and was liable at any time to be annulled by the caprice of State legislatures. Under such a system thinking men grew restless. On the 11th of June, 1776, a committee was appointed by Congress to prepare a plan CONFEDERATION AND UNION. 357 of confederation. After a month the work was completed and laid before the house. Another month was spent in fruitless debates, and then the question was laid over till the following spring. In April of 1777 the discussion was resumed, and continued through the summer. Meanwhile, the power of Great Britain being overthrown, the States had all adopted republican governments, and the sentiment of national union had made considerable headway. Finally, on the 15th of November, a vote was taken in Congress, and the articles of confederation reported by the com- mittee were adopted. The next step was to transmit the articles to the several State legislatures for ratification. The time thus occupied ex- tended to the following June, and then the new frame of government was returned to Congress with many amendments. These having been con- sidered and the most serious objections removed, the articles were signed by the delegates of eight States on the 9th of July, 1778. Later in the same month the representatives of Georgia and North Carolina affixed their signatures. In November the delegates of New Jersey, and in the following February those of Delaware, signed the compact. Maryland held aloof; and it was not until March of 1781 that the consent of that commonwealth could be obtained. Thus the Revolution was nearly ended before the new system was finally ratified. The government of the United States under the articles of con- federation was a democratic republic. It presented itself under the form of A Loose Union of Independent Commonwealths — a con- federacy of sovereign States. The executive and legislative powers of the general government were vested in Congress — a body composed of not less than two nor more than seven representatives from each State. But Congress could exercise no other than delegated powers^ the sover- eignty w^ reserved to the States. The most important of the exclusive privileges of Congress were the right of making war and peace, the regu- lation of foreign intercourse, the power to receive and send ambassadors, the control of the coinage of money, the settlement of disputed boundaries and the care of the public domain. There was no chief magistrate of the Republic ; and no general judiciary was provided for. The consent of nine States was necessary to complete an act of legislation. In voting each State cast a single ballot. The union of the States was declared to be perpetual. On the day of the ratification of the articles by Maryland the old Congress adjourned, and on the following morning reassembled under the new form of government. From the very first the inadequacy of that government was manifest. To beg^n with, it contradicted the doctrines of the Declaration of Independence. Congress had but a shadow of S58 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. authority, and that shadow, inMead of proceeding from the people, emanated from States which were declared to be sovereign and inde-- pendent. The first great duty of the new government was to provide for the payment of the war debt, which had now reached the sum of thirty-eight milHon dollars. Congress could only recommend to the several States the levying of a sufficient tax to meet the indebtedness. Some of the States made the required levy ; others were dilatory ; others refused. At the very outset the government was balked and thwarted. The serious troubles that attended the disbanding of the army were trace- able rather to the inability than to the indisposition of Congress to pay the soldiers. The princely fortune of Robert Morris was exhausted and him- self brought to poverty in a vain effort to sustain the credit of the govern- ment. For three years after the treaty of peace public aifairs Avere in a condition bordering on chaos. The imperiled state of the Republic was viewed with alarm by the sagacious patriots who had carried the Revolu- tion to a successful issue. It was seen that unless the articles of confedera- tion could be replaced with a better system the nation would go to ruin. The project of remodeling the government originated at Mount Vernon. In 1785, Washington, in conference with a company of states- men at his home, advised the calling of a convention to meet at Annapolis in the following year. The proposition was received with favor ; and in September of 1786 the representatives of five States assembled. The question of a tariff on imports was discussed ; and then the attention of the delegates was turned to a revision of the articles of confederation. Since only a minority of the States were represented in the conference, it was resolved to adjourn until May of the following year, and all the States were urgently requested to send representatives at that time. Congress also invited the several legislatures to ajipoint delegates to the proposed convention. All of the States except Rhode Island responded to the call ; and on the second Monday ia May, 1787, the representatives assembled at Philadelphia. Washington, who was a delegate from Vir- ginia, was chosen president of the convention. A desultory discussion followed until the 29th of the month, when Edmund Randolph intro- duced a resolution to set aside the articles of confederation and adopt a new constitution. There was further debate ; and then a committee waa appointed to revise the articles. Early in September the work was done j the report of the committee was adopted ; and that report was the Con- stitution OF THE United States.* At the same time it was resolved to send copies of the new instrument to the several legislatures for ratifi- cation or rejection. * The Constitution was written by Gouverneur Morris, of Pennsylvania. CONFEDERATION AND UNION. 359 While the constitutional convention was in session at Philadel- phia the last colonial Congress was sitting in New York. The latter body was in a feeble and distracted condition. Only eight States were represented. It was evident that the old Confederation, under which the colonies had won their freedom, was tottering to its fall. Nevertheless, before the adjournment of Con- gress, a measure was suc- cessfully carried through which was only second in importance to the forma- tion of tlie constitution. This was the organiza- tion of THE North- western Territory. As a preliminary meas- ure this vast domain was <;eded to the United States by Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. For the government of the territory an ordinance, drawn up by Mr. Jeffer- son, was adopted on the 13th of July, 1787. General Arthur St. Clair, then president of Congress, received the appointment of military governor, and in the summer of the following year began his duties with headquarters at Marietta. By the terms of the ordinance it was stipulated that not less than three nor more than five States should be formed out of the great territory thus brought under the dominion of civilization ; that the States when organized should be admitted on terms of equality with the original members of the confederation, and that slavery should be prohibited. Out of this noble domain the five great States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin were destined in after times to be formed and added to the Union. On the question of adopting the Constitution the people were ■divided. It was the first great political agitation in the country. Those who favored the new frame 'of government were called Fed- eralists; those who opposed, Anti-Federalists or Republicans. The leaders of the former party were Washington, Jay, Madison, and ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 360 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Hamilton, the latter statesman throwing the whole force of his genius and learning into the controversy. In those able papers called the Fed- eralist he and Madison successfully answered every objection of the anti-Federal party. Hamilton was the first and perhaps the greatest expounder of constitutional liberty in America. To him the Republic owes a debt of j)eri3etual gratitude for having established on a firm and enduring basis the true principles of free government. Under the Constitution of the United States the powers of gov- ernment are arranged under three heads — Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The legislative power is vested in Congress — a body composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The members of the Senate are chosen by the legislatures of the several States, and serve for a period of six years. Each State is represented by two Sen- ators. The members of the House of Representatives are elected by the people of the respective States ; and each State is entitled to a num- ber of representatives proportionate to the population of that State. The members of this branch are chosen for a term of two years. Con- gress is the law-making power of the nation ; and all legislative ques- tions of a general character are the appropriate subjects of congress- ional action. The executive power of the United States is vested in a Pres-^ ident, who is chosen for a period of four years by a body of men called the electoral college. The electors composing the college are chosen by the people of the several States ; and each State is entitled to a number of electors equal to the number of its representatives and senators in Congress. The duty of the President is to enforce the laws of Congress in accordance Avith the Constitution. He is commander- in-chief of the armies and navies of the United States. Over the legislation of Congress he has the power of veto ; but a two-thirds con- gressional majority may pass a law without the President's consent. He has the right of appointing cabinet officers and foreign ministers; but all of his appointments must be approved by the Senate. The treaty-making power is also lodged with the President; but here again the concurrence of the Senate is necessary. In case of the death, resig- nation, or removal of the President, the Vice-President becomes chief magistrate ; otherwise his duties are limited to presiding over the Senate. The judicial power of the United States is vested in a supreme court and in inferior courts established by Congress. The highest judicial officer is the chief-justice. All the judges of the supreme and inferior courts hold their offices during life or good behavior. The jurisdiction of these courts extends to all causes arising under the CONFEDERATION AND UNION 361 Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States. The right of trial by jury is granted in all cases except the impeachment of public officers. Treason against the United States consists only in levying war against them, or in giving aid and comfort to their enemies. The Constitution further provides that full faith shall be given in all the States to the records of every State ; that the citizens of any State shall be entitled to the privileges of citizens in all the States; that new territories may be organized and new States admitted into the Union ; that to every State shall be guaranteed a republican form of government ; and that the Constitution may be altered or amended whenever the same is proposed by a two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress, and ratified "by three-fourths of the legislatures of the sev- eral States. In accordance with this last provision fifteen amendments have been made to the Constitution. The most important of these are the articles which guarantee religious freedom ; change the method of electing President and Vice-President; abolish slavery; and forbid the abridgment of suffrage on account of race or color.* Such was the Constitution adopted, after much debate, for the government of the American people. Would the people ratify it? or had the work been done in vain? The little State of Delaware was first to answer the question. In her convention on the 3d of Decem- ber, 1787, the voice of the commonwealth was unanimhusly recorded in favor of the new Constitution. Ten days later Pennsylvania gave her decision by a vote of forty-six to twenty-three in favor of ratifi- cation. On the 19th of December New Jersey added her approval hy a unanimous vote; and on the 2d of the following month Georgia did the same. On" the 9th of January the Connecticut convention followed, with a vote of a hundred and twenty-eight to forty, in favor of adoption. In Massachusetts the battle was hard fought and barely won. A ballot, taken on the 6th of February, resulted in ratification by the close vote of a hundred and eighty-seven to a hundred and sixty-eight. This really decided the contest. On the 28th of April Maryland rendered her decision by the strong vote of sixty-three to twelve. Next came the ratification of South Carolina by a vote of a hundred and forty-nine to seventy-three. In the New Hampshire convention there was a hard struggle, but the vote for adoption finally stood fifty-seven to forty-six, June 21st, 1788. This was the ninth State, and the work was done. For, by its own terms, the new gov- ernment was to go into operation when nine States should ratify. The great commonwealth of Virginia still hesitated. Washington and * See Appendix F. 362 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Madison were for the Constitution; but Jefferson and Henry were opposed. Not until the 25th of June did her convention declare for adoption, and then only by a vote of eighty-nine to seventy-nine. It was now clear that the new government would be organized, and this fact was brought to bear as a powerful argument in favor of adoption by the convention at Poughkeepsie. The hope that New York city would be the seat of the Federal government also acted as a motive, and a motion to ratify was finally carried, July 27th, 1788. Only Rhode Island and North Carolina persisted in their refusal. But in the latter State a new convention was called, and on the 13th of November, 1789, the Constitution was formally adopted. As to Rhode Island, her pertinacity was in inverse ratio to her importance. At length Providence and Newport seceded from the commonwealth; the question of dividing the teritory between Massachusetts and Connecti- cut was raised, and the refractory member at last yielded by adojDting the Constitution, May 29th, 1790. Then, for the first time, the Eng- lish-speaking race in the New World was united under a common gov- ernment — strong enough for safety, liberal enough for freedom. In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and a reso- lution of Congress, the first Wednesday of January, 1789, was named as the time for the election of a chief magistrate. The peoj)le had but one voice as to the man who should be honored with that trust. Early in April the ballots of the electors were counted in the presence of Congress, and George Washington was unanimously chosen President and John Adams Vice-President of the United States. On the 14th of the month Washington received notification of his election, and departed for New York. His route thither was a constant triumph. Maryland welcomed him at Georgetown. Philadelphia by her execu- tive council, the trustees of her university, and the officers of the Cin- <^,innati, did him honor. How did the people of Trenton exult in the presence of the hero who twelve years before had fought their battle ! There over the bridge of the Assanpink they built a triumphal arch, iind girls in white ran before, singing and strewing the way with flow- ers. At Elizabethtown he was met by the principal officers of the gov- ernment and welcomed to the capital where he was to become the first cliief magistrate of a free and grateful people. With this auspicious event the period of revolution and confederation ends, and the era of nationality in tlie New Republic is ushered in. Long and glorious be the history of that Republic, bought with the blood of patriots and consecrated in the sorrows of our fiathers ! PART y. IsTATIOJ^AL PEEIOD. A. ». 1789—1882. CHAPTER XLVI. WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION, 1789-1797. ON" the 30th of April, 1789, "Washington was duly inaugurated first President of the United States. The new government was to have gone into operation on the 4th of March, but the event was con- siderably delayed. The inaugural cere- mony was performed on the balcony of the old City Hall, on the present site of the Custom-House, in AVall street. Chancel- lor Livingston of New York administered the oath of office. The streets and house-tops were thronged with people ; flags flutter- ed ; cannon boomed from the Battery. As soon as the public cere- mony was ended, Washington retired to the Senate chamber and delivered his in- augural address. The organization of the two houses of Congress had ^already been effected. (363) ■WASHINGTON. 364 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. The new government was embarrassed with many difficulties. The opponents of the Constitution were not yet silenced, and from the begin- ning they caviled at the measures of the administration. By the treaty of 1783 the free navigation of the Mississippi had been guaranteed. Now the jealous Spaniards of Xew Orleans hindered the passage of American ships. The people of the West looked to the great river as the natural outlet of their commerce ; they must be protected in their rights. On many parts of the frontier the malignant Red men were still at war with the settlers. As to financial credit, the United States had none. In the very beginning of his arduous duties Washington was prostrated with sickness, and the business of government was for many weeks delayed. Not until September were the first important measures adopted. On the 10th of that month an act was passed by Congress instituting a department of foreign affairs, a treasury department and a department of war. As members of his cabinet Washington nominated Jefferson, Knox and Hamilton ; the first as secretary of foreign affairs ; the second, of war ; and the third, of the treasuiy. In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, a supreme court was also organized, John Jay receiving the appointment of first chief-justice. With him were joined as associate justices John Rutledge of South Carolina, James Wilson of Pennsyl- vania, William Cushing of Massachusetts, John Blair of Virginia, and James Iredell of North Carolina. Edmund Randolph was chosen attorney-general. Many constitutional amendments were now brought forward, and ten of them adopted. By this action on the part of Congress, the objections of North Carolina and Rhode Island were removed and both States ratified the Constitution, the former in No- vember of 1789 and the latter in the following May. On the 29th of September, 1789, Congress adjourned until the following January, and Washington availed himself of the opportu- nity thus offered to make a tour of the Eastern States. Accompanied by his secretaries, he set out in his carriage from New York on the 15th of October, and nine days afterward reached Boston. At every point on the route the affection of the people, and especially of the Revolutionary veterans, burst out in unbounded enthusiasm. On reaching Boston the President was welcomed by Governor John Hancock and the selectmen of the city. No pains were spared that could add to the comfort and pleasure of the new nation's chief mag- istrate. After remaining a week among the scenes associated with his first command of the American army, he proceeded to Portsmouth and thence returned with improved health and peace of mind by way of Hartford to New York. 1789 93 97 1801 French Oeor Washington, 91. Vermon the 89. North Carolina rat 90. Rhode Island 90. Seat of govern 92. K Wash 91. 91. Bank of John Adams, Vice- Jo John Jay, Chief- Jeflferson, Secret Hamilton, Sec Knox, Secre Revolution. 94. Partition of 93. Execution of Louis 93. Fall of the Girond 93. Reign of Te 94. Fall of Robes ge III. 96. Gr President. t admitted into Union, ifies the Constitution 96. Te ratifies the Constituti ment at Philadelphia. 94. I' II Wayne's 93. Genet, French min entucky admitted into ington re-elected Clair's dejeat. the United States estab iy Insur 95. Jay's T 94. Whisky Insur President hn Adams re-elected Justice, ary of State, retary of Treasury, tary of War. Napo 97. Pinckney rejected Poland. XVI. 99. Overth ists. 99. Napole rror. pierre. 1800 eat political disturbanc 1800. to nnessee admitted into on. 1800. John Adams, 99. Washin 98. War with Fra victory. ister at Washington, the Union. 99. Treaty President. lished. rection. reaty. Thomas Jefferson, Vice-President. ^ m^-m nf leon Bonapar by the French Directo 4. The row of the Directory. on,First Consul. . ^t ' 4. Nap Bombardment of Copenhagen. Marengo. es in England. 2. Ohio admitted Removal of the seat of Washington, D. C. the Union. Passage of the Alien President. gton dies at Mount Ver nee. 4. Ha with France. Thomas Jeffer te. great I oleon, I ^Tra, 6. 6. 5.1)1. into tb govern) i and Sed non, a. ' milton 6. Vice-President. 1. Aaron Burr, Vice- 1. War with Tripoli. 3. Commod 3. Purchase son, 5, The lis Jefft Preside! Georg ore Prei of Loui 9 13 8. The rebellion. '. Treaty of jror. ir. I Jena. ikadeofthe rlitz. Lion. \ Laws. 3d in a du •r's conspir lident. sm of patro in the pub on re-elec 7.Firststea 7. Attack 1. Passage linton, Yi sent to the m. 14. Deposition of 9. Divorce of Josephi ne 14. Louis XVIII. Peninsular War. 10. Marriage of N Tilsit. to Maria 12. In Orders in Coun 9. Wagram. coast from Brest to the Elbe. 11 11. el. acy. James 12. Su 12. Su Tippe 12. H \ThePr 12. Se 12. W 12. IM George Clinton re 12 nage estab- lic offices. ted President. 12. 12. 12. 12. 15. » Wa apoleon Louisa. vasion of liussia. cil. 15. Treaty 15. Rise of 16. Pa 15. li Jl Bomb 15. War wi 17 Napoleon. terloo, and banishment of Paris. the Radical Party in George IV. rliamentary reforms. ardment of Algiers. th Algiers. 31 1835 mboat on the Hudson on the Chesapeake, of the Embargo Act. ce-President. Mediterranean. 12. Lo Madison, Presid rrender of Mackinaw, rrender of Detroit. canoe. 14. Hartford Co enry Dearborn* appoin 14. li 11 Capture esident and Little Belt, Madison re-elec cond embargo. ar declared against Gr Fort Dearborn. elected Vice-President, 14. Capture and Queenstown. The Constitution and 14. Treaty of Gh The Wasp and'theFrol The United States and The Constitution and 13. wil i^rencA^owTO. 14. ^^i^'ori iJ/c 13. ill i^'orf if eij'S. 13. I^iy Perry's victo \Z.^€^The Thames. \5.¥^NeivOrlea 13.111 Horseshoe Bend. 13. |£1 The Homo, r"^ The Chesapea uisiana admitted into Elbridge Gerry, Vi 21. Napoleon dies. 24. Charles X^ of Napoleon. England. ent. nvention. ted commander-in-chi 20. M the of York. ted President. eat Britain. 18. The Seminole 18. Capture of St. burning of Washingt James Monro the Guerriere. ent. ic. the Macedonian. the Java. 18. Illinois admit Henry. Daniel Tompkins, diana admitted into ef. aine admitted into- Union. 13. The Argus . Lundy's lA^kuPlattiburg. 14. ry. ns. 19. Alabam in and the Peacock, ke and the Shannon. the Union. ce-President. and the Pelican. Lane. 17. Mississippi admitt 19. Florida War. Marks and Pensacola.. 24. Vis- it of La on. Fayette. e, President. Monroe re elect- ed President. 21. Missouri admitted into the Union. ted into the Union. Vice-President, the Union. Tompkins re-elect- ed Vice-President. a admitted to the Union. 21. Rise of the Slavery agitation. 21. The Missouri Com- promise. ed into the Union, ceded to the United I States. WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 365 In the first months of his administration Washington was much vexed about questions of ceremony and etiquette. How should he appear in public ? How often ? What kind of entertainment should he give ? Who should be invited ? What title should he bear ? And in what manner be introduced ? In these matters there was no pre- cedent to guide him; for who had ever held such a station before? He must not, on the one hand, demean himself like a king, surrounded with peers and courtiers, nor, on the other hand, must he degrade his high office by such blunt democratical ceremonies as would render himself ridiculous and the Presidency contemptible. In his embar- rassment Washington sought the advice of Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, and others in regard to a suitable etiquette and ceremonial for the Republican court. Adams in answer would have much ceremony; Jefferson, none at all. The latter said : " I hope that the terms Excel- lency, Honor, Worship, Esquire, and even Mr. shall shortly and forever disappear from among us." Hamilton's reply favored a mod- erate and simple formality ; and this view was adopted by Washington as most consistent with the new frame of government. In the mean- time Congress had declared that the chief magistrate should have no title other than that of his office ; namely. President of the United States. So with ceremonies few and simple the order of affairs in the presidential office was established. The national debt, however, was the greatest and most threat- ening question ; but the genius of Hamilton triumphed over every difficulty. The indebtedness of the United States, including the revolutionary expenses of the several States, amounted to nearly eighty millions of dollars. Hamilton adopted a broad and honest policy. His plan, which was laid before Congress at the beginning of the second session, proposed that the debt of the United States due to American citizens, as well as the war debt of the individual States, should be assumed by the general government, and that all should be fully paid. By this measure the credit of the country was vastly improved, even before actual payment was begun. As a means of augmenting the revenues of the government a duty was laid on the tonnage of merchant-ships, with a discrimination in favor of American vessels ; and customs were levied on all imported arti- cles. Hamilton's financial schemes were violently opposed; but his policy prevailed, and the credit of the government was soon firmly established. The proposition to assume the debts of the States had been coupled with another to fix the seat of government. After much discussion it was 'S66 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. agreed to establish the capital for ten years at Philadelphia, and afterward at some suitable locality on the Potomac. The next important measure was the organization of the territory south-west of the Ohio. In the autumn of 1790 a M^ar broke out with the Miami Indians. Fort Wash- ington, on the present site of Cincinnati, had been established as the capital of the North-western Territory ; and General St. Clair had re= ccived the appointment as governor. The Indians had fairly relinquished their rights to the surrounding country; but other tribes came forward with pretended claims, and went to war to recover their lost possessions. At the close of September, General Harmar, with fourteen hundred troops, set out from Fort Washington to chastise the hostile Miamis. After de- stroying several villages and wasting the country as far as the Maumee,^ he divided his army into detachments. Colonel Hardin, who commanded the Kentucky volunteers, was ambuscaded and his forces routed at a vil- lage eleven miles from Fort Wayne; and on the 21st of October the main division was defeated with great loss at the Maumee Ford. Gen- eral Harmar was obliged to abandon the Indian country and retreat to Fort Washington. In the beginning of 1791 an act was passed by Congress establish- ing THE Bank of the Uxited States. The measure originated with the secretary of the treasury, and was violently opposed by Jefferson and the anti-federal party. About the same time Vermont, which had been an independent territory since 1777, adopted the Constitution, and on the 18th of February was admitted into the Union as the fourteenth State. The claim of New York to the jurisdiction of the province had been pur- chased, two years previously, for thirty thousand dollars. The first census of the United States, completed for the year 1790, showed that the popu- lation of the country had increased to three million nine hundred and twentv-nine thousand souls. After the defeat of Harmar the government adopted more vigorous measures for the repression of Indian hostilities. On the 6th of Septem- ber, 1791, General St. Clair, with an army of two thousand men, set out from Fort AVashington to break the power of the Miami confederacy. On the night of November 3d he reached a point nearly a hundred miles north, of Fort Washington, and encamped on one of the upper tribu- taries of the Wabash, in what is now the south-west angle of Mercer county, Ohio. On the following morning at sunrise his camp was sud- denly assailed by more than two thousand warriors, led by Little Turtle and several American renegades who had joined the Indians. After a terrible battle of three hours' duration, St. Clair was completely defeated, with a loss of fully half his men. The fugitive militia retreated pre- WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. SGT cipitately to Fort Washington, where they arrived four days after the battle. The news of the disaster spread gloom and sorrow throughout the land. When the tidings reached Philadelphia the government was for a while in consternation. For once the benignant spirit of Washington gave way to wrath. "jHere," said he in a tempest of indignation, — " here, in this very room, I took leave of General St. Clair. I wished him success and honor. I said to him, ' You have careful instructions from the secretary of war, and I myself will add one word — beware of a surprise. You know how the Indians fight us. Beware of a surprise !' He went oif with that, my last warning, ringing in his ears. And yet he has suffered that army to be cut to- pieces, hacked, butchered, tomahawked by a surprise, — the very thing I guarded him against ! How can he answer to his country ? The blood of the slain is upon him, — the curse of widows and orphans ! " Mr. Lear, the secretary, in whose presence this storm of wrath burst forth, sat speechless. Presently Washington grew silent. "What I have uttered must not go beyond this room," said he in a manner of great seriousness. Another pause of several minutes ensued, and then he continued in a low and solemn tone : " I looked at the despatches- hastily and did not note all the, particulars. General St. Clair shall have justice. I will receive him without displeasure, — he shall have full justice." Notwithstanding his exculpation by a committee of Con- gress, poor St. Clair, overwhelmed with censures and reproaches,, resigned his command and was superseded by General Wayne, whom the people had named Mad Anthony. The population of the Territory of Kentucky had now reached seventy-three thousand. Only seventeen years before, Daniel Boone, the hardy hunter of North Carolina, had settled with his companions at Boonesborough. Harrodsburg and Lexington were founded about the same time. During the Revolution the pioneers were constantly beset by the savages. After the expedition of General Clarke^ in 1779, the frontier was more secure; and in the years following the- treaty thousands of immigrants came annually. In the mean time, Virginia had relinquished her claim to the territory; and on the 1st of June, 1792, Kentucky was admitted into the Union. At the presi- dential election, held in the autumn of the same year, Washington was again unanimously chosen; as Vice-President, John Adams was also re-elected. During Washington's second administration the country was greatly troubled in its relations with foreign governments. Europe was in an uproar. The French Revolution of 1789 was still running. 3(58 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. its dreadful course. After three years of unparalleled excesses, the Ja- cobins of France had beheaded the king and abolished the monarchy. Citizen Genet was sent by the new French republic as minister to the United States. On his arrival at Charleston, and on his way to Phil- adelphia, he was greeted with unbounded enthusiasm. Taking advan- tao-e of his popularity, the ambassador began to abuse his authority, fitted out privateers to prey on the commerce of Great Britain, planned expeditions against Louisiana, and, although the President had already issued a proclamation of neutrality, demanded an alliance with the government. Washington and the cabinet firmly refused; and the au- dacious minister threatened to appeal to the people. In this outrageous conduct he was sustained and encouraged by the anti-Federal party, and for a while the government was endangered. But Washington stood unmoved, declared the course of the French minister an insult to the sovereignty of the United States, and demanded his recall. The republican authorities of France heeded the demand, and Genet was superseded by M. Fouchet. The President was also much embarrassed by dissensions in his cab- inet. From the beginning of his first official term the secretaries of state and the treasury had maintained towards each other an attitude ■ of constant hostility. They had gradually become the heads of rival parties in the government. Hamilton's financial measures were at- tacked with vehement animosity by Jefferson ; and the policy of the latter in his relations and duties as secretary of foreign affairs was the subject of much bitter criticism from the former's scathing pen. The breach between the rivals grew wider and wider. Washington's influ- ence was barely sufficient to prevent the breaking up of his cabinet. So great were the abilities and so valuable the experience of the two secretaries that the services of neither could be spared without serious detriment to the government. Both officers were patriots, and both had insisted on Washington's reelection to the Presidency. After that event, however, Jefferson, in January of 1794, resigned his office and retired to private life at Monticello. A year later Hamilton also re- tired from the cabinet and was succeeded by Oliver Wolcott of Con- necticut. During the summer and autumn of 1794 the country was much disturbed by a difficulty in Western Pennsylvania known as the whisky insurrection. Hoping to improve the revenues of the government, Con- gress had, three years previously, imposed a tax on all ardent spirits dis- tilled in the United States. While Genet was at Philadelphia, he and his partisans incited the people of the distilling regions to resist the tax- WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 36'J collectors. The disaffected rose in arms. Washington issued two proc- lamations, warning the insurgents to disperse ; but instead of obeying, they fired upon and captured the officers of the government. The Presi- dent then ordered General Henry Lee to enter the rebellious district with a sufficient force to restore order and enforce the law. When the troops reached the scene of the disturbance, the rioters had already scattered. The insurrection was a political rather than a social outbreak : the anti- Federalists were in a majority in the distilling region, and the whisky-tax was a measure of the Federal party. Meanwhile, General Wayne had broken the Miami confederacy. In the fall of 1793 he entered the Indian country with a force of three thousand men. Beaching the scene of St. Clair's defeat, he built a stockade named Fort Recovery, and then pressed on to the junction of the Au Glaize and the Maumee, in Williams county, Ohio. Here he built and garrisoned Fort Defiance. Descending the Maumee to the rapids, he sent proposals of peace to the Indians, who were in council but a few miles distant. Little Turtle, more wise than the other chiefs, w^ould have made a treaty ; but the majority were for battle. On the 20th of August Wayne marched against the savages, overtook them where the present town of Waynesfield stands, and routed them with ter- rible losses. The relentless general then compelled the humbled chief- tains to purchase peace by ceding to the United States all the territory east of a line drawn from Fort Recovery to the mouth of the Great Miami River. This was the last service of General Wayne. Re- maining for a while in the Indian country, he embarked on Lake Erie to return to Philadelphia. In December of 1796 he died on board the vessel, and was buried at Presque Isle. The conduct of Great Britain toward the United States became as arrogant as that of France was impudent. In November of 1793 George III. issued secret instructions to British privateers to seize all neutral vessels that might be found trading in the French West Indies. The United States had no notification of this high-handed measure; and American commerce to the value of many millions of dollars was swept from the sea by a process differing in nothing from highway robbery. But for the temperate spirit of the government the country would have been at once plunged into war. Prudence prevailed over passion ; and in May of 1794 Chief-Justice Jay was sent as envoy extraordinary to demand redress of the British government. Contrary to expectation, his mission was successful ; and in the following November an honor- able treaty was concluded. The terms of settlement, however, were -exceedingly distasteful to the partisans of France in America, and they 24 370 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. determined to prevent its ratification. Every argument and motive which ingenuity or prejudice could supply was eagerly paraded before the people to excite their discontent. Public meetings were held and excited orators harangued the multitudes. In New York a copy of the treaty was burned before the governor's mansion. In Philadel- phia there was a similar proceeding ; and the whole country was in an uproar. Washington, however, believing the treaty to be just in its main provisions, and earnestly desiring that war might be avoided^ favored ratification. The majority in the Senate remained unmoved, and finally in the latter part of June, 1795, the terms of settlement were duly ratified, and signed by the President. It was specified in the treaty that Great Britain should make ample reparation for the injuries done by her privateers, and surrender to the United States certain AVestern posts which until now had been held by English gar- risons. Thus was the threatened war averted. In October of 1795 the boundary between the United States and Louisiana was settled by a treaty with Spain. The latter country at the same time guaranteed to the Americans the free navigation of the ]Mis- sissippi. Less honorable was the treaty made with the kingdom of Algiers. For a long time Algerine pirates had infested the Mediter- ranean, preying upon the commerce of civilized nations; and those nations, in order to purchase exemption from such ravages, had adopted the ruinous policy of paying the dcy of Algiers an annual tribute. In consideration of the tribute the dey agreed that his pirate ships should confine themselves to the Mediterranean, and should not attack the vessels of such nations as made the payment. Now, however, with the purpose of injuring France, Great Britain winked at an agreement with the dey by which the Algerine sea-robbers were turned loose on the Atlantic. By their depredations American commerce suffered greatly ; and the government of the United States was obliged to purchase safety by paying the shameful tribute. In the summer of 1796, Tennessee, the third new State, was organized and admitted into the Union. Six years previously North Carolina had surrendered her claims to the territory, which at that time contained a population of thirty-five thoasand ; and within five years the number was more than doubled. The first inliabitants of Tennessee were of that hardy race of pioneers to whom the perils of the wilderness are as nothing provided the wilderness is free. By the addition of the two States south-Avest of the Ohio more than eighty-three thousand square miles of territory were brought under the dominion of civilization. Nothing in history is more surprising than the ascendency which WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 371 Washina-ton, unto the end of his official career, continued to exercise over the minds of his countrymen. In the House of Representatives, during the hist two sessions, there had been a clear majority against him and his policy ; and yet the House continued its support of his measures. Even the provisions necessary to carry into effect the hated treaty with Great Britain were made by that body, though the vote was close. So powerful were the President's views in determining the actions of the people that Jefferson, writing to Monroe at Paris, said: "Congress has adjourned. You will see by their proceedings the truth of what I always told you, namely, that one man outweighs them all in influence over the people, who support his judgment against their own and that of their representatives. Republicanism resigns the vessel to its pilot." Washington was solicited to become a candidate for a third elec- tion to the presidency ; but he would not. His resolution had already been made to end his public career. With the Father of his Country the evening of life drew on, and rest was necessary. Accordingly, in September of 1796, he issued to the people of the United States his Farewell Address — a document crowded Avith precepts of political wisdom, prudent counsels, and chastened patriotism."^ As soon as the President's determination was made knoAvn the political parties mar- shaled their forces and put forward their champions, John Adams ap- pearing as the candidate of the Federal, and Thomas Jefferson of the anti-Federal party. Antagonism to the Constitution, which had thus far been the chief question between the parties, now gave place to another issue — whether it was the true policy of the United States to enter into intimate relations with the republic of France. The anti- Federalists said, Yes ! that all republics have a common end, and that Great Britain was the enemy of them all. The Federalists said. No ! that the American republic must mark out an independent course among the nations, and avoid all foreign alliances. On that issue Mr. Adams was elected, but Mr. Jefferson, having the next highest num- ber of votes, became Vice-President ; for according to the old provis- ion of the Constitution, the person who stood second on the list was declared the second officer in the government. *See Appendix G 372 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER XLVII. ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION, 1797-1801. JOHN ADAMS, second President of the United States, was born in the town of Braintree, Massachusetts, October 19th, 1735. He was a great-grandson of that Henry Adams who, emigrating from Great Brit- ain in 1640, founded in America a family made famous by many illus- trious names. Eight sons of the elder Adams settled around Massachusetts Bay, the grandfather of the President in that part of Braintree after- wards called Quincy, The father of John Adams was a Puritan deacon, a selectman of the town, a farmer of small means, and a .shoemaker. The son received a classical ed- ucation, being gradu- ated at the a2;e of twenty from Harvard College. For a while he taught school, but finding that vocation to be, as he expressed it, a school of affliction, he turned his attention to the study of law. In this profession he soon became eminent, removed to Boston, engaged with great zeal in the controversy with the mother country, and was quickly recognized as an able leader of public opinion. From this time forth his services were in constant demand both in his native State and in the several colonial Congresses. He was a member of the celebrated committee appointed to draft the Declaration of Inde- pendence, and in the debates on that instrument was its chief defender. :^^^^''m^'' JOHN ADAxMS. ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION. 373 During the last years of the Revolution he served his country as ambassador to France, Holland, and Great Britain, being the first minister to that country after the recognition of American independ- ence. From this important station he returned in 1788, and was soon afterwards elected Vice-President under the new frame of government. After serving in this office for eight years, he was chosen as the suc- cessor of Washington. On the 4th of March, 1797, President Adams was inaugurated. From the beginning his administration was embarrassed by a power- ful and well-organized opposition. Adet, the French minister, made inflammatory appeals to the people, and urged the government to conclude a league with France against Great Britain. When the President and Congress stood firmly on the doctrine of neutrality, the French Directory grew insolent, and began to demand an alli- ance. The treaty which Mr. Jay had concluded with England was especially complained of by the partisans of France. On the 10th of March the Directory issued instructions to French men-of-war to assail the commerce of the United States. Soon afterward Mr. Pinck- ney, the American minister, was ordered to leave the territory of France. These proceedings were equivalent to a declaration of war. The President convened Congress in extraordinary session, and measures were devised for repelling the aggressions of the French. Elbridge Gerry and John Marshall were directed to join Mr. Pinckney in a final effort for a peaceable adjustment of the difficulties. But the effi^rt was fruitless. The Directory of France refused to receive the ambassadors except upon condition that they wovild pledge the pay- ment into the French treasury of a quarter of a million of dollars. Pinckney answered with the declaration that the United States had millions for defence, hut not a cent for tribute. The envoys were then ordered to leave the country ; but Gerry, who was an anti-Federalist, was permitted to remain. These events occupied the summer and fall of 1797. In the beginning of the next year an act was passed by Con- gress completing the organization of the army. Washington was called from the retirement of his old age and appointed commander-in-chief. Hamilton was chosen first major-general. A navy of six frigates, be- sides privateers, had been provided for at the session of the previous year; and a national loan had been authorized. The patriotism of the people was thoroughly aroused ; the treaties with France were de- clared void, and vigorous preparations were made for the impending 374 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ■war. The American frigates put to sea, and in the summer and fall of 1799 did good service for the commerce of the country. Commo- dore Truxtun, in the ship Constellation, won distinguished honors. On the 9th of February, while cruising in the West Indies, he attacked the Insurgent, a French man-of-war carrying forty guns and more than four hundred seamen. A desperate engagement ensued ; and Truxtun, though inferior in cannons and men, gained a complete victory. A year later he overtook another frigate, called the Vengeance, and after a five hours' battle in the night would have captured his antagonist but for a storm and the darkness. These events added greatly to the renown of the American flag. The organization of the provisional army was soon completed. The commander-in-chief repaired to Philadelphia and remained five weeks with Generals Hamilton and Pinckney, superintending the work. Such measures were taken as were deemed adequate to the defence of the nation, and then Washington retired to Mount Ver- non, leaving the greater part of the responsibility to be borne by Hamilton. The news of these warlike proceedings was soon carried to France, and the shrewd Talleyrand, minister of foreign affairs for the French republic, seeing that his dismissal of Mr. Monroe and General Pinckney had given mortal oifence to the American people, managed to signify to Vans Murray, ambassador of the United States to Holland, that if President Adams would send another minister to Paris he would be cordially received. Murray immediately transmit- ted this hint to the President, who caught eagerly at this opportunity to extricate the country from apprehended war. On the 18th of Feb- ruary he transmitted a message to the Senate nominating Mr. Murray himself as minister plenipotentiary to the French republic. The nom- ination was confirmed, and the ambassador was authorized to proceed at once to France. It was also agreed by the Senate that two other per- sons should be added to the embassy ; and Oliver Ellsworth and Will- iam R, Davie were accordingly commissioned to proceed to Amsterdam and join Murray in his important mission to the French capital. Meanwhile, Napoleon Bonaparte had overthrown the Directory of France and made himself first consul of the republic. More wise and politic than his associates in the government, he immediately sought peace with the the United States. For he saw clearly enough that the impending war would, if prosecuted, inevitably result in an alliance between America and England — a thing most unfavorable to the interests of France. He was also confident that peaceful overtures on his part Avould be met with favor. The three American ambassa- ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION. S75 -dors — Murray, Ellsworth and Davie — reached Paris, after many delays, in the beginning of March, 1800. Negotiations were at once opened, and, in the following September, were happily terminated with a treaty of peace. In all his relations with the United States Napoleon acted the part of a consistent and honorable ruler. Before the war-cloud was scattered America was called to mourn the loss of Washington. On the 14th of December, 1799, after an illness of only a day, the venerated chieftain passed from among the living. All hearts were touched with sorrow. The people put on the garb of mourn- ing. Congress went in funeral procession to the German Lutheran church, where General Henry Lee, the personal friend of Washington, delivered a touching and eloquent oration. Throughout the civilized world the memory of the great dead was honored with appropriate ceremonies. To the legions of France the event was announced by Bonaparte, who paid a beautiful tribute to the virtues of " the warrior, the legislator and the citizen without reproach." As the body of Washington was laid in the sepulchre, the voice of partisan malignity that had not hesitated to assail his name was hushed into everlasting silence ; and the world with un- covered head agreed with Lord Byron in declaring the illustrious dead t® have been among warriors, statesmen and patriots " The first, the last, the best, The Cincinnatus of the West." The administration of Adams and the eighteenth century drew to a dose together. In spite of domestic dissensions and foreign alarms, the new republic was growing strong and influential. The census of 1800 showed that the population of the country, including the black men, had increased to over five millions. The seventy-five post-offices reported by the census of 1790 had been multiplied to nine hundred and three ; the exports of the United States had grown from twenty millions to nearly seventy-one millions of dollars. The permanency of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land was now cheerfully recognized. In Decem- ber of 1800 Congress for the first time assembled in Washington city, the new capital of the nation. Virginia and Maryland had ceded to the United States the District of Columbia, a tract ten miles square lying on both sides of the Potomac ; but the part given by Virginia was afterward re-ceded to that State. The city which was designed as the seat of govern- ment was laid out in 1792; and in 1800 the population numbered be- tween eight and nine thousand. With prudent management and unanimity the Federal party might have retained control of the government. But there were dissensions in 376 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Mr. Adams's cabinet. Much of the recent legislation of Congress had been unwise and unpopular. The alien law, by which the President wa& authorized to send out of the country any foreigners whose presence should be considered prejudicial to the interests of the United States, was- specially odious. The sedition law, which punished with fine and im- prisonment the freedom of speech and of the press when directed abusively against the government, was denounced by the opposition as an act of tyranny. Partisan excitement ran high. Mr. Adams and Mr. Charles C. Pinckney were put forward as the candidates of the Federalists, and Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr of the Republicans or Democrats. The latter were triumphant. In the electoral college Jefferson and Burr each received seventy-three votes; Adams, sixty-five; and Pinckney, sixty-four. In order to decide between the Democratic candidates, the election was re- ferred to the House of Representatives. After thirty-five ballotings, the choice fell on Jefferson ; and Burr, who was now second on the list, was declared Vice-President. After controlling the government for twelve years, the Federal party passed from power, never to be restored. CHAPTER XLVIII. JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION, 1801-1809. THOMAS JEFFERSON was born in the county of Albemarle,. Virginia, on the 2d of April, 1743. Of his ancestry, history has preserved no record other than the name of his father. Colonel Peter Jefferson, a man noted for native abilities and force of character. The son found excellent advantages of early training in the private school of an exiled Scottish clergyman, and afterwards completed his educa- tion at William and Mary College. He then entered upon the study of law, and soon rose to distinction. Like his predecessor in the pres- idential office, he became in his early manhood deeply absorbed in the controversy with the mother country, and by his radical views in the House of Buro-esses contributed much to fix forever the sentiments of that body against the arbitrary measures of the English ministry. From the councils of his native State Jefferson was soon called to the councils of the nation. His coming was anxiously awaited in the famous Congress of 1776 ; for his fame as a thinker and a demo- JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 377 crat had preceded him. To his pen and brain the almost exclusive authorship of the great Declaration must be awarded. During the struggles of the Revolution he was among the most distinguished and uncompromising of the patriot leaders. After the war was over, he? was sent abroad with Adams and Franklin to negotiate treaties of amity and com- merce with the Eu- ropean nations, and was then appointed minister plenipoten- tiary of the new Republic to France. From this high trust he was recalled to become secretary of state under Wash- ington; in 1796 was elected Vice - Presi - dent, and in 1800 President of the United States. The American decimal system of coinage, the statute for relig- ious freedom, the Declaration of Independence, the University of Virginia, and the presidency of the Union are the immutable foun- dations of his fame. At the beginning of his administration Mr. Jefferson transferred the chief offices of the government to members of the Democratic party. This policy had in some measure been adopted by his prede- cessor; but the principle was now made universal. Such action was justified by the adherents of the President on the ground that the affairs of a republic will be best administered when the officers hold the same political sentiments. One of the first acts of Congress was to abolish the system of internal revenues. The unpopular laws against foreigners and the freedom of the press were also repealed. But the territorial legislation of Jefferson's first term was most important of all. In the year 1800 a line was drawn through the North-west THOMAS JEFFERSON. 378 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Territory from the mouth of the Great Miami River to Fort Recovery-j and thence to Canada. Two years afterward the country east of this line was erected into the State of Ohio and admitted into the Union. The portion west of the line, embracing the present States of Indi- ana, Illinois, Wisconsin and a part of Michigan, was organized under the name of the Indiana Teeeitory. Yincennes was the capital ; and General William Henry Harrison received the appointment of governor. About the same time the organization of the Mississippi Teeeitoey, extending from the western limits of Georgia to the great river, was completed. Thus another grand and fertile district of a hundred thousand square miles was reclaimed from barbarism. More important still was the purchase of Louisiana. In 1800 Napoleon had compelled Spain to make a secret cession of this vast territory to France. The First Consul then prepared to send an army to New Orleans for the purpose of establishing his authority. But the government of the United States remonstrated against such a pro- ceeding ; France was threatened with multiplied wars at home ; and Bonaparte, seeing the difficulty of maintaining a colonial empire at so great a distance, authorized his minister to dispose of Louisiana by sale. The President appointed Mr. Livingston and James Monroe to negotiate the purchase. On the 30th of April, 1803, the terms of transfer were agreed on by the agents of the two nations ; and for the sum of eleven million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, Louisi- ana was ceded to the United States.* In another convention, which was signed on the same day, it was agreed that the government of the United States should assume the payment of certain debts due from France to American citizens ; but the sum thus assumed should not, inclusive of interest, exceed three million seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Thus did the vast domain west of the Mississippi, embracing an area of more than a million square miles, pass under the dominion of the United States. Four nations — France, the United States, Great Britain, and Spain — were concerned in determining the boundaries of the ceded territory. In regard to the eastern limit, all were agreed that it should be the Mississippi from its source to the thirty-first parallel of latitude. On the south-east the boundary claimed by the United States, Great Britain, and France, was the thirty-first parallel from the Mississippi to the Appalachicola, and down that river to the Gulf, * BoTiai)arte accepted in payment six per cent, bonds of tlie United States, payable fifteen years after date. He also agreed not to sell the bonds at such a price aa would •degrade the credit of the American government. JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 379 From this line, however, Spain dissented, claiming the Iberville and Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain as the true limit between Louisi- ana and her possessions in West Florida; but she was obliged, after fruitlessly protesting, to yield to the decision of her rivals. On the south, by the consent of all, the boundary was the Gulf of Mexico as far west as the mouth of the Sabine. The south-western limit was established along the last named river as far as the thirty-first paral-' lei ; thence due north to Red River ; up that stream to the one-hun- dredth meridian from Greenwich ; thence north again to the Arkan- sas; thence with that river to the mountains; and thence north with the mountain chain to the forty-second parallel of latitude. Thus far .all four of the nations were agreed. But the United States, Great Britain, and France — again coinciding — claimed the extension of the boundary along the forty-second parallel to the Pacific Ocean ; and to this extension Spain, for several years, refused her assent; but in the treaty of 1819 her objections were formally withdrawn. In fixing the northern boundary only the United States and Great Britain were concerned ; and the forty-ninth parallel from the Lake of the Woods to the Pacific was established as the international line.* The purchase of Louisiana was the greatest event of Jefferson's administration. Out of the southern portion of the new acquisition the Territory of Orleans was organized, with the same limits as the present State of Louisiana ; the rest of the vast tract continued to be called the Territory of Louisiana. The possession of the Mississippi was no longer a matter of dispute. Very justly did Mr. Livingston say to the French minister as they arose from signing the treaty: "We have lived long, but this is the noblest work of our ^whole lives." Two years previous to these events John Marshall had been nominated and confirmed as chief-justice of the United States. His appointment marks an epoch in the history of the country. In the colonial times the English constitution and common law had pre- * See Map VII. The discussion of the boundaries of Louisiana is thus fully given because of the many statements, needlessly contradictory, which have been made on the subject. Between the years 1803 and 1819 there was some ground for controversy, but since the latter date none whatever — except as to the northern line. For all the facts tending to elucidate the subject, see American State Papers; topics : Treaty of Paris, 1763 ; Definitive Treaty between Great Britain and the United States, 1783 ; Text •of the Louisiana Cession, 1803; Boundary Conventions between the United States and ■Great Britain, 1818 and 1846; Treaty of Washington, 1819. See also Walker's Statis- 'lical Atlas of the United States; subject: Areas and Political Divisions, pp. 2 and 3; and tthe American Cyclopoedia ; article : Louisiana. 380 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. vailed in America, and judicial decisions were based exclusively on precedents established in English courts. When, in 1789, the new republic was organized, it became necessary to modify to a certain extent the principles of jurisprudence and to adapt them to the al- tered theory of gov- ernment. In some measure this great work was undertak- en by Chief-Justice Jay ; but he was a great statesman ra- ther than a great judge. It remained for Chief- Justice Marshall to estab- lish on a firm and enduring basis the noble structure of American law. For thirty-five years he remained in his high office, bequeathing to after times a great number of valuable decisions, in which the principles of the jurisprudence of the United States are set forth with unvarying clear- ness and invincible logic. The Mediterranean pirates still annoyed American merchantmen. All of the Barbary States — as the Moorish kingdoms of Northern Af- rica are called — had adopted the plan of extorting annual tributes from the European nations. The emperors of Morocco, Algiers and Tripoli became especially arrogant. In 1803 the government of the United States despatched Commodore Preble to tlie Mediterranean to protect American commerce and punish the hostile powers. The ar- mament proceeded first against Morocco; but the frigate Philadelphia, commanded by Captain Bainbridgc, was sent directly to Tripoli. AVhen nearing his destination, Bainbridge gave chase to a pirate which fled for safety to the batteries of the harbor. The Philadelphia, in close pursuit, ran upon a reef of rocks near the shore, became unmanage- able, and was captured by the Tripolitaus. The crew and officers CimCF-JUSTICE MARSHALL. JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 381 were taken ; the latter were treated with some respect, but the former were enslaved. The emperor Yusef and his barbarous subjects were greatly elated at their unexpected success. In the following February Captain Decatur recaptured the Phil- adelphia in a marvelous manner. Sailing from Sicily in a small ves- sel called the Intrepid, he came at nightfall in sight of the harbor of Tripoli, where the Philadelphia was moored. The Intrepid, being a Moorish ship which the American fleet had captured, was either un- seen or unsuspected by the Tripolitans. As darkness settled on the sea, Decatur steered his course into the harbor, slipped alongside of the Philadelphia, lashed the two ships together, sprang on deck with his daring crew of only seventy-four men, and killed or drove over- board every Moor on the vessel. In a moment the frigate was fired, for it was the purpose to destroy her; then Decatur and his men, es- caping from the flames, returned to the Intrepid and sailed out of the harbor amid a storm of balls from the Tripolitan batteries. Not a man of Decatur's gallant band was lost, and only four were wounded. In the last of Julv, 1804, Commodore Preble arrived with his fleet at Tripoli and began a blockade and siege which lasted till the following spring. The town was frequently bombarded, and several Moorish vessels were destroyed; but not even the pounding- of Amer- ican cannon-balls was sufficient to bring Yusef to terms. In the mean- time, however, it was ascertained that the services of Hamet, Yusef 's elder brother, the deposed sovereign of Tripoli, might be secured to aid in reducing the barbarians to submission. Hamet was at this time in Upper Egypt, commanding an army of Mamelukes in a war against the Turks. To him General William Eaton, the American consul at Tunis, was despatched with proposals of an alliance against the usurp- ing Yusef. Hamet eagerly accepted the overture, and furnished Gen- eral Eaton with a fine body of Arab cavalry and seventy Greek soldiers. AVith this force the American commander set out from Alexandria on the 5th of March, 1805. He traversed the Desert of Barca for a thou- sand miles, and on the 25th of April reached Derne, one of Yusef 's eastern sea-ports. Yusef himself was already approaching with an army ; and General Eaton found it necessary to storm the town. A division of the American fleet arrived in the harbor at the fortunate moment and aided in the work. The place was gallantly carried. The assaulting column was made up of Arab cavalry, Greek infantry, Tripolitan rebels, and American sailors serving on land ! The Stars and Stripes never before or since waved over so motley an assem- blage ! Yusef, alarmed at the dangers which menaced him by sea 882 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. and land, made hasty overtures for peace. His offers were accepted by ]\Ir. Lear, the American consul-general for the Barbary States ; and a treaty was concluded on the 4th of June, 1805.* For several years thereafter the flag of the United States was respected in the Mediterranean. In the summer of 1804 the country was shocked by the intelligence that Vice-President Burr had killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. As the fii-st term of Mr. Jefferson drew to a close. Burr foresaw that the President would be renominated, and that he himself would not be re- nominated. Still, he had his eye on the presidency, and was determined not to be baffled. He therefore, while holding the office of Vice-Presi- dent, became a candidate for governor of New York. From that posi- tion he would pass to the presidency at the close of Jefferson's second term. But Hamilton's powerful influence in New York prevented Burr's election ; and his presidential ambition received a stunning blow. From that day he determined to kill the man whom he pretended to regard as the destroyer of his hopes. He accordingly sought a quarrel with Hamil- ton ; challenged him ; met him at Weehawken, opposite New York, on the morning of the 11th of July, and deliberately murdered him; for Hamilton had tried to avoid the challenge, and when face to face with his antao-onist refused to fire. Thus under the savac:e and abominable custom of dueling the brightest intellect in America was put out in darkness. In the autumn of 1804 Jefferson was re-elected President. For Vice-President George Clinton of New York was chosen in place of Burr. In the following year that part of the North-western Territory called Wayne county was organized under a separate territorial govern- ment with the name of Michigan. In the same spring, Captains Lewis and Clarke, acting under orders of the President, set out from the falls of the Missouri River with a party of thirty-five soldiers and hunters to cross the Rocky Mountains and explore Oregon. Not until November did they reach their destination. For two years, through forests of gigantic pines, along the banks of unknown rivers and down to the shores of the Pacific, did they continue their explorations. After wandering among unheard-of tribes of barbarians, encountering grizzly bears more ferocious than Bengal tigers, escaping perils by forest and flood, and traversing a route of six thousand miles, the hardy adventurers, with the loss of but one man, returned to civilization, bringing new ideas of the vast domains of the West. * It is a matter of astonishment that Lear agreed to pay Yusef sixty thousand dollars for the liberation of American slaves: their liberation ought to have been compelled-^ and might have been if Lear had said so. JEFFERSON'S jlDMINISTRATION. 383 After the death of Hamilton, Burr fled from popular indignation and sought refuge in the South. At the opening of the next session of Congress he returned to the capital, and presided over the Senate until the expiration of his term of office. Then he delivered his valedictory, Avent to the "West, and, after traveling through several States, took up his residence with an Irish exile named Harman Blannerhassett, who had laid out an estate and built a splendid mansion on an island in the Ohio, just below the mouth of the Muskingum. Here Burr made a -wicked and treasonable scheme against the peace and happiness of the country. His plan was to raise a sufficient military force, invade Mexico, wrest that country from the Spaniards, detach the Western and Southern States from the Union, make himself dictator of a South-western empire, and perhaps subvert the government of the United States. For two years he labored to perfect his plans. But his purposes were suspected. In accordance with a proclamation of the President, the military preparations at Blan- nerhassett's Island v/ere broken up ; and in February of 1807 Burr him- self was arrested in Alabama and taken to Richmond to be tried on a charge of treason. Chief-Justice Marshall presided at the trial, and Burr conducted his own defence. The verdict was, " Not guilty, for want of sufficient j)roof " But his escape was so narrow that under an assumed name he fled from the country. Returning a few years afterward, he re- sumed the practice of law in JSTew York, lived to extreme old age, and died alone in abject poverty. During Jeiferson's second administration the country was con- stantly agitated by the aggressions of the British navy on American com- merce. England and France were engaged in deadly and continuous war. In order to cripple the resources of their enemy, the British authorities struck blow after blow against the trade between France and foreign nations; and Napoleon retaliated Math equal energy and vindictiveness against the commerce of Great Britain. The measures adopted by the two powers took the form of blockade — that is, the surrounding of each other's ports with men-of-war to prevent the ingress and egress of neutral ships. By such means the commerce of the United States, which had grown vast and valuable while the European nations were fighting, was greatly injured and. distressed. In May of 1806 England declared the whole coast of France from Brest to the Elbe to be in a state of blockade. Neutral nations had no warning. Many American vessels, approaching the French ports, were seized and condemned as prizes ; all this, too, while the harbors of France were not actually, but only declared to be, blockaded. In the following November Bonaparte issued a decree blockading the British isles. Again. ;384 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. the unsuspecting merchantmen of the United States were subjected to seizure^ this time by the cruisers of France. In January of the next year the government of Great Britain retaliated by an act ^prohibiting the French coasting-trade. Every one of these measures was in fla- grant violations of the laws of nations. The belligerent powers had iio right to take such steps toward each other; as to neutral States, tiieir rights were utterly disregarded; and the nation that suffered most was the United States. In addition to these causes of complaint an old crime against international law had, in the mean time, been revived by the Eng- lish government, to the great distress of American commerce. At the ■outbreak of the French and Indian War George II. had issued an edict forbidding the vessels of neutral nations to trade with the colonies of France or the provinces of any other country with which Great Brit- ain might be at war. The offences committed under the authority of this arbitrary decree, which was known as the Rule of 1756, had been greatly injurious to the commerce of the colonies, and during Washington's administration had occasioned many complaints and re- monstrances. But in June of 1801, in a treaty between Great Britain and Russia, the former government assented to such a modification of the Rule as rendered it comparatively harmless. The effect of this modification was exceedingly beneficial to neutral nations, especially to America. Between the years 1803 and 1806 the foreign carrying- trade of the United States was increased nearly fivefold, while that of England fell off in a nearly corresponding ratio. Vexed and morti- fied at this result, and caring little for justice if the supremacy of the British merchant-marine could be maintained, the ministry, in the summer of 1805, revived the old edict in full force, and impudently asserted that it was a part of the km of nations ! The result, as had been clearly foreseen by the English lords of trade who contrived the measure, was that American merchantmen trading largely with the dependencies of France and Spain, were driven from the ocean, and the commerce of the United States shrank suddenly into insignifi- cance. Finally Great Britain aggravated her injustice by a still more arrogant and unwarrantable procedure. The English theory of citi- zenship is, that whoever is born in England remains through life a subject of the British Empire. The privilege of an Englishman to expatriate himself— that is, the right to go abroad, to throw off his allegiance to the British crown, and to assume the obligations of citi- zenship in another nation — is absolutely denied. Under this iron rule of " once an Englishman, always an Englishman," the British cruisers JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 385 ■were from time to time authorized to search American vessels and to take therefrom all persons suspected of being subjects of Great Brit- ain. One of the chief objects had in view in this iniquitous business was to prevent the emigration of the Irish to the United States. The impulsive sons of the Emerald Isle, hearing of the free institutions and boundless prospects of America, were flocking hither in great num- bers, and something must be done to stop the movement. George Hi. and his advisers therefore marshaled forth their despotic theory of cit- izenship and set it up like a death's-head at every port of the British Isles, Inasmuch as every Irishman or Scotchman who ventured on board an American vessel would expose himself to the peril of seizure and impressment, it was, with good reason, believed that not many would take the fearful risk. And the apprehensions of the emigrants were well founded ; for all those who had the misfortune to be over- taken at sea were, without inquiry, impressed as marines in the Eng- lish navy. To crowd the decks of their men-of-war with unwilling recruits, torn from home and friends, was the end which the British king and ministry were willing to reach at whatever sacrifice of na- tional honor. Finally to these general wrongs was added a special act of violence which kindled the indignation of the Americans to the highest pitch. On the 22d of June, 1807, a frigate, named the Chesapeake which had just sailed out of the bay of the same name, was approached by a British man-of-war, called the Leopard. The frigate was hailed ; Brit- ish officers came on board as friends, and then, to the astonishment of Commodore Barron, who commanded the Chesapeake, made a demand to search the vessel for deserters. The demand was indignantly re- fused and the ship cleared for action. But before the guns could be gotten in readiness, the Leopard poured in several destructive broad- sides and compelled a surrender. Four men were taken from the captured ship, three of whom proved to be American citizens; the fourth, who was an actual deserter, was tried by the British naval officers and hanged. The government of Great Britain disavowed the outrage of the Leopard, and promised reparation ; but the prom- ise was never fulfilled. The President at once issued a proclamation forbidding British ships of war to enter the harbors of the United States. Still, there was no reparation ; and on the 21st of December Congress passed the celebrated Embargo Act. By its provisions all American vessels were detained in the ports of the United States. The object was, by cutting off commercial intercourse with France and Great Britain, to •compel them to recognize the rights of American neutrality. But the 25 386 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. measure was of little avail; and after fourteen months the embargo- act was repealed.* Meanwhile, in November of 1808, the British government outdid all previous proceedings by issuing an " order in council/' prohibiting all trade with France and her allies. And Napo- leon, not to be outdone, issued his famous " Milan decree," forbidding all commerce with England and her colonies. Between these outra- geous acts of foreign nations and the American embargo, the com- merce of the United States was well-nigh crushed out of existence. While the country was distracted with these troubles Robert Ful- ton was building the first steamboat. This event exercised a vast influence on the fu- ture development of the nation. It was of the first impor- tance to the people of the inland States that their great riv- ers should be enliv- ened with rapid and regular navigation. This, without the ap- plication of steam, was impossible ; and this Fulton success- fully accomplished. Indeed, the steam- boat was the harbin- ger of a new era in civilization. Fulton was an Irishman by descent and a Penn- sylvanian by birth. His education was meagre and imperfect. In his boyhood he became a painter of miniatures at Philadelphia. His friends sent him to London to receive instruction from Benjamin West; but his tastes led him to the useful rather than to the fine arts. From London he went to Paris, where he became acquainted with Chancellor Livingston; and there he conceived the project of applying steam to the purposes of navigation. Returning to New York, he began the construction of a steamboat in East River. When * The embargo act was the subject of mucli ridicule. The opponents of the measure ppelling the word backward, called it the Grab me act. Koi5iii;T 1 ri.roN. JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 387 the ungainly craft was completed and brought around to the Jersey side of the city, Fulton invited his friends to go on board and enjoy a trip to Albany. It was the 2d of September, 1807. The incredu- lous crowds stood staring on the shore. The Avord was given, and the boat did not move. Fulton went below. Again the word was given, and this time the boat moved. On the next day the happy company reached Albany. For many years this first rude steamer, called the Clermont, plied the Hudson. The old methods of river navigation were revolutionized. But the inventive genius of Fulton was by no means satisfied with the great achievement. For years his thoughts had been busy with another project which was considered by himself of greater value and importance to the future interests of mankind than the steamboat. His object was to produce some kind of an engine, so destructive to ships as to banish naval warfare by making it possible for any one to destroy the most formidable vessels which could be constructed. Finally his plans were matured, and the result was the invention of that sub- marine bomb, called the Torpedo, which has played so important a part in the bay and river battles of modern times. This terrible ma- chine is as distinctly and certainly the fruit of Fulton's brain as is steam navigation itself; but the result has hardly met the expectations of the inventor. As early as 1804, having completed the invention at Paris, he oifered it successively to the governments of France, Hol- land, and Great Britain ; but neither nation would accept the patron- age of so dangerous an engine. In England a public demonstration of its destructive eifects was given in the presence of British states- men and men of science.* On the 15th of October, in Walmer Roads, within sight of the residence of William Pitt, the Danish brig Doro- thea, which had been given by the government for that purpose, was blown to atoms on the first trial. But, although the success of the torpedo was manifest, the English ministry refused to accept the in- vention on the ground that Great Britain, already mistress of the seas, did not need torpedoes, and that their use by other nations would de- stroy her supremacy. Logic of habitual selfishness ! In 1807, and again in 1810, Fulton offered his invention to the United States, and in the latter year received an appropriation of five thousand dollars for further experiments. Such was the terror inspired by the torpedo that, although it was not very successfully used in the war that ensued, the British cruisers were notably shy of the American coast, and many a sea-port town was saved from destruction. * Colonel Congreve, inventor of the " Congreve Kocket," was present on the occasiori. 388 EISTOBY OF THE UNITED STATES. Jeiferson's administration drew to a close. The territorial area of the United States had been vastly extended. Burr's wicked and dangerous conspiracy had come to naught. Pioneers were pouring into the valley of the Mississipj^i. Explorers had crossed the mount- ains of the great West. The woods by the river-shores resounded with the cry of steam. But the foreign relations of the United States were troubled and gloomy. There were forebodings of war. The President, following the example of "Washington, declined a third election, and was succeeded in his high office by James Madison of Virginia. For Vice-President George Clinton was re-elected. CHAPTER XLIX. MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION, AND WAR OF 1812. JAMES MADISON, fourth President of the United States, was born at King George, Virginia, on the 16th of March, 1751. He was educated first in a private school and afterwards at Princeton College, Avhere he was graduated at the age of twenty. Devoting himself to the profession of the law, he found time for extensive reading and a profound study of morals, metaphysics, and polite literature. From these pursuits, so congenial to his disposition, his sterling patriotism called him to take an active part in the struggles of the Revolution. In the councils of his own State and afterwards in the Continental Congress his influence was marked and powerful. But of all the pa- triot leaders Madison had the calmest and least aggressive spirit. Not by oratory and vehemence of passion, but by philosophy and cogent argument, did he mould the opinions of his fellow-men. It was he who, in 1786, secured the passage by the legislature of Virginia of the resolution, suggested by Washington, calling for a convention of the States at Annapolis — a work which resulted in the formation of the Federal Constitution. Afterwards, with Hamilton and Jay, he defended that great instrument in the Federalist; but with the new division of parties, his views underwent a change and he joined him- self with the Jeffersonian school of statesmeo. For eight years he held the office of secretary of state ; and on the 4th of March, 1809, was inaugurated as Jeffijrson's successor in the presidency. He owed his election to the Democratic party, whose sympathy with France and hostility to the policy of Great Britain were well known. Three MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 389 days before the new administration came into power, the embargo act was repealed by Congress ; bnt another measure was adopted instead, called the non-intercourse act. By its terms American merchantmen were allowed to go abroad, but were forbidden to trade with Great Brit- ain. Mr. Erskine, the British minister, now gave notice that by the 10th of June the " orders in council," so far as they affect- ed the United States, should be repealed. But the British gov- ernment disavowed the act of its agent; and the orders stood as before. In the following spring the emperor of the French issued a decree authoriz- ing the seizure of all American vessels that might approach the ports of France or other harbors held by his troops, year the hostile decree was reversed, and all restrictions on the com- merce of the United States were removed. If Great Britain had acted with equal liberality and justice, there would have been no further complaint. But that government, with peculiar obstinacy, adhered to its former measures, and sent ships of war to hover around the Amer- ican ports and enforce the odious orders issued in the previous years. It was only a question of time when such insolence would lead to re- taliation and war. The affairs of the two nations were fast approaching a crisis. It became more and more apparent that the wrongs perpetrated by Great Britain against the United States would have to be corrected by force of arms. That England, after such a career of arrogance, would now make reparation for the outrages committed by her navy was no longer to be hoped for. The ministry of that same George III. with wliom the colonies had struggled in the Revolution still directed the affair? JAMES MADISON. But in November of the same 390 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. of the kingdom ; from him, now grown old and insane, nothing was to be expected. The government of the United States had fallen completely under control of the party which sympathized with France, Avhile the Federal party, from its leaning toward British interests and institutions, grew weaker year by year. The American people, smart- ing under the insults of Great Britain, had adopted the motto of Free Trade and Sailors' Rights, and for that motto they had made up their minds to fight. The elections, held between 1808 and 1811, showed conclusively the drift of public opinion; the sentiment of the country was that war was preferable to further humiliation and dis- grace. In the sj^ring of 1810 the third census of the United States was completed. The population had increased to seven million two hun- dred and forty thousand souls. The States now numbered seventeen, and several new Territories were preparing for admission into the Union. The resources of the nation were abundant; its institutions deeply rooted and flourishing. But with the rapid march of civilization westward the jealousy of the Red man was aroused, and Indiana Ter- ritory was afflicted with an Indian war. The Shawnees were the leading tribe in the country between the Ohio and the Wabash. Their chief was the famous Tecumtha, a brave and sagacious warrior; and with him was joined his brother Elkswa- tawa, called the Prophet. The former was a man of real genius; the latter, a vile impostor who pretended to have revelations from the spirit-world. But they both worked together in a common cause; and their plan was to unite all the nations of the North-west Territory in a final effort to beat back the whites. When, therefore, in September of 1809, Governor Harrison met the chiefs of several tribes at Fort AYayne, and honorably purchased the Indian titles to three million acres of land, Tecumtha refused to sign the treaty, and threatened death to those who did. In the year that followed he visited the nations as far south as Tennessee and exhorted them to lay aside their sectional jealousies, in the hope of saving their hunting-grounds. Governor Harrison from Vincennes, the capital of the Territory, remonstrated with Tecumtha and the Prophet, held several conferences Avith them, and warned them of what would follow from their proceed- ings. Still, the leaders insisted that they would have back the lands which had been ceded by the treaty of Fort Wayne. The governor stood firm, sent for a few companies of soldiers and mustered the mi- litia of the Territory. The Indians began to prowl through the Wa- bash Valley, murdering and stealing. In order to secure the country MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 391 and enforce the terms of the treaty, Harrison advanced up the river to Terra Haute, built a fort which received his own name, passed on to Montezuma, where another block-house was built, and then hastened toward the town of the Prophet, at the mouth of the Tippecanoe. When within a few miles of his destination, Harrison was met by In- dian ambassadors, who asked for the appointment of a conference on the following day. Their request was granted ; and the American army encamped for the night. The place selected was a piece of high ground covered with oaks. Burnet Creek skirted the encampment on the west. Beyond that, as well as to the east of the oak grove, were prairie marsh-lands covered with tall grass. Before daybreak on the following morning, 7th of November, 1811, the treacherous savages, numbering seven hundred, crept through the marshes, surrounded Harrison's position and burst upon the camp like demons. But the American militia were under arms in a moment, and fighting in the darkness, held the Indians in check until daylight, and then routed them in several vigorous charges. On the next day the Americans burned the Prophet's town and soon afterward returned victorious to Vincennes. Tecumtha was in the South at the time of the battle; when he returned and found his people scattered and subdued, he re- paired to Canada and joined the standard of the British. Meanwhile, the powers of Great Britain and the United States had come into conflict on the ocean. On the 16th of May Commo- dore Rodgers, cruising in the American frigate President, hailed a vessel off the coast of Virginia. Instead of a polite answer, to his salutation, he received a cannon-ball in the mainmast. Other shots fol- lowed, and Rodgers responded with a broadside, silencing the enemy's guns. In the morning — for it was already dark — the hostile ship was found to be the British sloop-of-war Little Belt. The vessel had been severely though justly punished by the President, having eleven men killed and twenty-one wounded. The event produced great ex- citement throughout the country. On the 4th of November, 1811, the twelfth Congress of the United States assembled. In the body were many men of marked ability and patriotism. John C. Calhoun of South Carolina now took his seat as a member of the House of Representatives. Henry Clay, already distinguished as a statesman, was chosen speaker. From the first it was seen that war was inevitable. It was impossible for the United States, knowing that more than six thousand American citi- zens had been impressed into the British navy, to endure, without dis- honor, further injury and insolence. Still, many hoped for peace; and 392 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. the winter passed without decisive measures. The President himself had no disposition and little capacity for war; and his various mes- sages to Congress were marked as the productions of a ruler over-cau- tious and timid. But not so with the fiery leaders of the Democracy who supported the President's administration ; and notwithstanding the opposition of the Federalists, the war-spirit fired the popular heart. In the mean time a transaction was brought to light which cre- ated intense excitement and roused the indignation of the whole country. On the night of the 2d of February, 1812, an Irishman, named John Henry, now a naturalized citizen of the United States, called at the President's mansion and revealed to him the astounding fact that the ministry of Great Britain, cooperating with Sir James Craig, governor of Canada, had been engaged for some years in a trea- sonable scheme to destroy the American Union! Henry bore a letter from Governor Gerry of Massachusetts, and all the documents neces- sary to prove the truth of his statements. As early as 1808 the atten- tion of the Canadian governor had been called to certain published articles written by Henry against republican governments; and the latter was summoned to Montreal. From him Craig learned of the intense hostility of the Federal party to the administration and of the great distress of New England on account of the Embargo and other restrictions on commerce. These facts were communicated to the British ministry, and Sir James promised Henry an annual salary of five thousand dollars to return to Boston and become the secret agent of England and Canada. The purpose of the conspirators was to aggravate the popular dis- content of New England until the Eastern States should be induced to secede from the Union and join themselves with Canada./ But with the repeal of the Embargo and the subsidence of political excite- ment, Henry found the depravity of his business only equaled by its unprofitableness. The people of Massachusetts were in no humor to be led into a rebellion. Sir James Craig died, and Henry, unsuc- cessful and unpaid, went, in 1811, to London and presented his claim for thirty thousand pounds to the English ministers. By them he was well received ; but the payment of thirty thousand pounds for services which had resulted in nothing was reckoned a serious matter; and Henry was sent back to get whatever remuneration he could from Sir George Prevost, the successor of Craig in the governorship of Canada. Enraged at his treatment, the spy, instead of returning to Montreal, sailed to Boston, and going thence to Washington divulged the whole conspiracy to the President, surrendered his correspondence with MADISON'S ADMINISTBATION. 393 Craig, and received therefor fifty thousand dollars out of the secret service fund of the United States. The disclosure of this perfidious business contributed greatly to consolidate public sentiment against Great Britain and to strengthen the hands of the war party in the government. On the 4th of April, 1812, an act was passed by Congress laying an embargo for ninety days on all British vessels within the jurisdic- tion of the United States. But Great Britain would not recede from her hostile attitude. One of the ministers declared that it was " an ancient and well-established right" of His Majesty's government to impress British seamen on board of neutral vessels. Before the final decision of England was known, Louisiana, the eighteenth State, was, on the 8th of April, admitted into the Union. The area of the new commonwealth was more than forty-one thousand square miles ; and her population, according to the census of 1810, had reached seventy- seven thousand. On the 4th of June a resolution declaring war against Great Britain was passed by the House of Representatives. On the 17th of the same month the bill received the sanction of the Senate ; and two days afterward the President issued his proclamation of war. Vigor- ous preparations for the impending conflict were made by Congress. It was ordered to raise twenty-five thousand regular troops and fifty thousand volunteers. At the same time the several States were re- quested to call out a hundred thousand militia for the defence of the coasts and harbors. A national loan of eleven million dollars, was au- thorized. Henry Dearborn of Massachusetts was chosen first major- general and commander-in-chief of the army. Great Britain was already prepared for the conflict. Her armies in Europe were immense and thoroughly equipped. Napoleon just at this time began his famous invasion of Russia, and the allied nations of Western Europe were for a while relieved of their apprehensions. The British navy amounted to no less than a thousand and thirty-six vessels. Of these there were two hundred iand fifty-four ships-of-the- line, not one of which carried less than seventy-four guns of large caliber. At various stations on the American coast there were eighty- five war-vessels bearing the English flag, and ready for immediate ac- tion. Lake Ontario was commanded by four British brigs carrying an aggregate of sixty guns. The Canadian armies of England amounted to seven thousand five hundred regulars and forty thousand militia. Back of all these forces and armaments stood the seemingly inexhaust- ible British treasury, Avith the ambitious young Lord Castlereagh and ■394 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ^ SCENE OF HULL'S CAMPAIGN, 1812. his associate ministers to disburse it. As to George III., old age and incurable insanity had at last prevailed to displace him from the throne and to make the Prince Regent, George IV., the actual sovereign. In all that appertained to preparation and readiness for the conflict the United States bore no comparison to the pow- erful foe. The first movement of the war was made by General William Hull, governor of Michi- gan Territory. A force of twelve hundred Ohio volunteers, together with three hundred regu- lars, was organized at Dayton for the purpose of overawing the Indians on the north-western frontier. Hull was also authorized, should cir- cumstances warrant such a course, to invade and conquer Canada. The march began on the 1st of June J and it was a full month before the army, toiling through more than two hundred miles of forests, reached the western extremity -of Lake Erie. Arriving at the Maumee, Hull despatched his baggage, stores and official papers in a boat to Detroit. But the British forces posted at Maiden had already been informed of the declaration of hostilities; and Hull's boat with every thing on board was captured. Nevertheless, the American army pressed on to Detroit, where early ■in July the general received despatches informing him of the dec- laration, of war, and directing him to proceed with the invasion of Canada. On the 12th of the month he crossed the Detroit River to Sandwich with the avowed purpose of capturing Maiden. And this might easily have been accomplished had not the inefficiency of the general checked the enthusiasm of the army. Meanwhile, the news came that the American post at Mackinaw had been surprised and captured by the British. This intelligence fur- nished Hull a good excuse for recrossing the river to Detroit. Here he received intelligence that Major Brush, sent forward by Governor Meigs of Ohio, was approaching with reinforcements and supplies. Major Van Home was accordingly despatched with a body of troops to meet Brush at the River Raisin and conduct him safely to Detroit. But Tecumtha, assisted by some British troops, had cut the lines of communication and laid an ambush for Van Home's forces in the neigborhood of Brownstown. The scheme was successful ; Van Home ran into the trap and was severely defeated. Any kind of energetic movement on Hull's part would have retrieved the disaster; but en- MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 395 •ergy was altogether wanting ; and when, three days later, Colonel Mil- ler with another detachment attacked and routed the savages with great loss, he was hastily recalled to Detroit. The officers and men lost all faith in the commander, and there were symptoms of a mutiny. In the mean time. General Brock, the governor of Upper Can- ada, arrived at Maiden and took command of the British forces. Act- ing in conjunction with Tecumtha, he crossed the river, and on the 16th of August advanced to the siege of Detroit. The Americans in their trenches outside of the fort were eager for battle, and stood with lighted matches awaiting the order to fire. When the British were within five hundred yards, to the amazement of both armies Hull hoisted a white flag over the fort. There was a Lrief parley and then a surrender, perhaps the most shameful in the history of the United States. Not only the army in Detroit, but all the forces under Hull's command, became prisoners of war. The whole of Michigan Territory was surrendered to the British. At the capitulation the American offi- cers in rage and despair stamped the ground, broke their swords and tore off their epaulets. The whole country was humiliated at the dis- graceful business. The government gave thirty British prisoners in exchange for Hull, and he was brought before a court-martial charged with treason, cowardice and conduct unbecoming an officer. He was convicted on the last two charges, and sentenced to be shot; but the President, having compassion on one who had served the country in the Revolution, pardoned him. After all the discussions that have been had on Hull and his campaign, the best that can be said of him is that he was a patriot and a coward. About the time of the fall of Detroit, Fort Dearborn, on the present site of Chicago, was invested by an army of Indians. The garrison was feeble, and the commandant proposed a surrender on condition that his men should retire without molestation. This was agreed to; but the savages, finding that the garrison had destroyed the whisky that was in the fort, fell upon the retreating soldiers, killed some of them, and distributed the rest as captives. On the day after the capitulation Fort Dearborn was burned to the ground. These losses, however, were more than compensated by the brill- iant achievements of the young American navy. From the first it became apparent that the war was destined to be a conflict on the sea- coast and the ogean. The United States would act for the most part on the defensive, and Great Britain would rely chiefly upon her navy. The condition of both nations was such as to provoke this sort of war- fare. On the one side was the British armament superior to any other 396 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ill the world, and on the other an exposed sea-coast, a few fortresses,. and a navy of almost insignificant proportions. From the beginnings the policy of the American government had been distinctly declared against a standing array and a regular fleet. It was held that a citizen soldiery and an extemporized flotilla would be sufficient for every emergencv. A large military establishment, said the defenders of the American system, is enormously expensive and a constant menace to civil liberty. After the Revolution, especially during the administra- tion of Jefferson, the military spirit was discouraged and the defenses of the country fell into decay. In 1808 the whole coast of Maine was defended only by Fort Sumner, at Portland. New Hampshire had but one fortress, a half ruined block-house at Portsmouth. On the coast of Massachusetts four fortifications — one at Cape Ann, one at Salem, one at Marblehead, and Fort Independence in Boston Harbor furnished the only security against attack. In the neighborhood of Newport, Rhode Island, there were six works, some of importance, others insignificant. New London, Connecticut, was defended by Fort Trumbull, a block-house of considerable strength but in bad repair. On Governor's Island, in New York Harbor, stood Fort Jay, which, together with the Battery at the south end of Manhattan and some slight fortifications on Ellis's and Bedloe's Islands, furnished a toler- able protection. The whole coast of New Jersey lay open to invasion. On Mud Island in the Delaware, a short distance below Philadelj)hia, stood the formidable Fort Mifflin, an old British fort of the Revolu- tion. Not less in strength and importance was Fort McHenry on the Patapsco, commanding the approach to Baltimore. Annapolis was defended by Fort Severn, then only a group of breast-works. Nor- folk, Virginia, relied for protection on a fort of the same name and another work, called Fort Nelson, on the opposite side of Elizabeth River. In Charleston Harbor stood Fort Johnson on James's Island, Fort Pinckney in front of the city, and Fort Moultrie of Revolutionary fame. Upon these scattered fortifications and the terror inspired by Fulton's torpedoes the Americans must depend for the defense of a coast-line reaching from Passamaquoddy to the St. Mary's. Such was the attitude and relative strength of the two nations. Great, therefore, was the astonishment of the world when the American sailors, not waiting to be attacked, went forth without a tremor to smite the mistress of the seas. And greater the admiration when a scries of brilliant victories declared for the flag of the Republic. During the summer of 1812 the navy of the United States won a just ■and lasting renown. On the 19th of August the frigate Consfitulion^ MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 397 commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, overtook the British ship-of-war Guerriere, off the coast of Massachusetts. Captain Dacres, who com- manded the British vessel, had been boasting of his prowess and send- ing challenges to American vessels to come out and fight; now there was an opportunity to exhibit his valor. The vessels manoeuvred for a while, the Constitution closing with her antagonist, until at half-pistol shot she poured in a terrible broadside, sweeping the decks of tlie Guerriere and deciding the contest. Dacres, after losing fifteen men killed and sixty-three wounded, struck his colors and surrendered his shattered vessel as a prize. The American loss was seven killed and an equal number wounded. On the following morning the Guerriere, being unmanageable, was blown up; and Hull returned to port with his prisoners and spoils. On the 18th of October the American sloop-of-war Wasp, of eighteen guns, under command of Captain Jones, fell in with a fleet of British merchantmen off the coast of Virginia. The squadron was under convoy of the brig Frolic, of twenty-two guns, commanded by Captain Whinyates, who put his vessel between the merchantmen and the Wasp, and prepared for battle. A terrible engagement ensued, lasting for three-quarters of an hour. Both ships became nearly help- less; but the Wasp closed with her foe and delivered a final broadside which completely cleared the deck. The American crew then boarded the Frolic and struck the British flag ; for not a seaman was left above deck to perform that service. Scarcely had the smoke of the conflict cleared away when the Poictiers, a British seventy-four gun ship, bore down upon the scene, captured the Wasp and retook the wreck of the Frolic. But the fame of Captain Jones's victory was not dimmed by the catastrophe. Seven days afterward. Commodore Decatur, commanding the frigate United States, of forty-four guns, attacked the British frigate Macedonia, of forty-nine guns. The battle was fought a short distance west of the Canary Islands. After a two hours' engagement, in which the United States was but little injured, the Macedonia surrendered, with a loss in killed and wounded of more than a hundred men. On the 12th of December the ship Essex, commanded by Captain Porter, captured the Nocton, a British packet, having on board fifty-five thou- sand dollars in specie. More important still was the capture of the frigate Java by the Constitution, now under command of Commodore Bainbridge. On the 29th of December the two vessels met off San Salvador, on the coast of Brazil. A furious battle ensued, continuing for two hours. Every mast was torn from the British ship, and her 398 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. hull was burst with round shot. The deck was made slippery with the- blood of more than two hundred killed and wounded seamen. The vessel was reduced to a wreck before her flag was struck; then the crew and passengers, numbering upward of four hundred, were trans- ferred to the Constitution, and the hull of the Java was burned at sea. The news of these successive victories roused the enthusiasm of the people to the highest pitch. In the course of the year two hundred and fifty British ships, carrying three thousand sailors, and cargoes of immense value, were captured by the American cruisers. Filled with exultation, the people of the United States saw in these naval tri- umphs the omens of complete overthrow to the arrogant dominion of Britain on the seas. The nations of Europe heard in astonishment. France was well pleased ; for in these humiliations of her great enemy she witnessed the fulfillment of Napoleon's prophecy when, at the cession of Louisiana, he exclaimed with delight : " There ! I have this day given to England a maritime rival that will sooner or later hum- ble her pride!" For a while the English themselves were well-nigh paralyzed. The British newspapers burst forth raging and declared that the time-honored flag of England had been disgraced " by a piece of striped bunting flying at the mast-heads of a few fir-built frigates, manned by a handful of * -^^ * * and outlaws !" And the com- ment, though stated in unpleasant language, was true ! During the summer and autumn of 1812 military operations were active, but not decisive, on the Niagara frontier. The troops- in that quarter, consisting of the New York militia, a few regulars, and recruits from other States, were commanded by General Stephen Van Rensselaer. The first movement of the Americans was made against Queenstown, on the Canada side of the river. On the 13th of October a thousand men were embarked in boats and landed on the western shore. They were resisted at the water's edge, and Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, the leader, was wounded. The subordinate officers led the charge, and the British batteries on the heights of Queenstown were carried. The enemy's forces were ral- lied, however, by General Brock, and returning to the charge, were a second time repulsed. General Brock fell mortally wounded. The Americans began to entrench themselves, and orders were sent across the river for the remaining division, twelve hundred strong, to has- ten to the rescue. But the American militia on the eastern shore de- clared that they were there to defend the United States, and not to invade Canada. There they stood all afternoon, while their comrades at Queenstown were surrounded by the British, who came with strong: MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. .199* reinforcements fi om Foit George. The Americans bravely defended themselves until th-ey had iosz a hundred and sixty men in killed and wounded, and were then obliged to surrender. General Van Rensse- laer, disgusted at the conduct of the New York militia, resigned his. command, and was succeeded by General Alexander Smyth of Virginia. This officer began his career as com- mander by issuing two proclamations that would have put to shame the bulletins of Bonaparte or Caesar. He declared that in a few days his standards should be planted in the strongholds of Canada. After cross- ing Niagara and conquering the British do- minions, he would annex them to the United States ! His predecessors in command of the army had been popular men, but wholly des- titute of skill or experience in the art of war ! The soldiers of the "Army of the Center," as he called the militia under his authority, had now a general who would lead them to cer- tain victory ! Every man who performed a gallant action should have his name immortalized in the annals of his country ! And so on for quantity and style. In the mean time the Americans, numbering between four and five thousand, had been rallied at Black Rock, a few miles north of Buffalo. From this point, on the 28th of November, a company was sent across to the Canada shore ; but instead of following with a stronger detachment, General Smyth ordered the advance party to return. A few days afterward another crossing was planned, and the Americans were already embarked, when they were commanded to return to winter quarters. The militia became mutinous. Smyth was charged with cowardice and disloyalty, and after three months was deposed from his command. Thus ended the military operations of 1812. In the autumn Madison was re-elected President; the choice for Vice-President fell on Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts. In the debates at the opening of Congress the policy of the administration was strongly condemned by the opponents of the war; but vigorous measures were adopted for strengthening the army and navy. THE NIAGARA FRONTIER, 1812. 400 HISTORY OF THE UNTED STATES. CHAPTER L. WAR OF 1812.— CONTINUED. IN the beginning of 1813 the American army was organized in three divisions: the Army of the North, commanded by General Wade Hampton, to operate in the country of Lake Champlain; the Army of the Centre, under direction of the commander-in-chief, to resume offensive movements on the Niagara frontier and Lake Ontario ; THE Army of the West, under command of General Winchester, who was soon superseded by General Harrison. Early in January the latter division, made up of various detachments of militia from the Western States, moved toward the head of Lake Erie to regain the ground lost by Hull in the previous summer. On the 10th of the month the American advance, composed of eight hundred men under Winchester, reached the rapids of the Maumee. A body of British and Indians was posted at Frenchtown, on the river Raisin, thirty miles from Winchester's camp. A detachment of Americans pressed forward, attacked the enemy, captured the town, encamped there, and on the 20th of the month were joined by Winchester with the main division. Two days afterward the Americans were suddenly assaulted by a force of a thousand five hundred British and Indians under command of General Proctor. A severe battle was fought, each party losing nearly three hundred men. The British were checked, and for a while the issue was doubtful ; but General Winchester, having been taken by the enemy, advised his forces to capitulate under a pledge of protection given by Proctor and his subordinates. As soon as the surrender was made the British general set off at a rapid rate to return to Maiden. The American wounded were left to the mercy of the savages, who at once began their work with tomahawk and scalping-knife and torch. The two houses into which most of the wounded had been crowded were fired, while the painted barbarians stood around and hurled back into the flames whoever attempted to escape. The rest of the prisoners were dragged away through untold sufferings to Detroit, where they were ransomed at an enormous price. This shameful campaign has fixed on the name of Proctor the indelible stain of infamy. General Harrison, on hearing the fate of Winchester's division, fell back from the Maumee, but soon returned and built Fort Meigs. Here WAR OF '12. 401 he remained until the 1st of May, when he was besieged by a force of two thousand British and savages, led by Proctor and Tecumtha, Meanwhile, General Clay with twelve hundred Kentuckians advanced to the relief of the fort. The besiegers were attacked in turn, and at the same time the besieged made a successful sally. But for the mistake of Colonel Dudley, who allowed his detachment to be cut off and captured, the British would have been completely routed. Again the American prisoners were treated with savage cruelty until Tecumtha, not Proctor, interfered to save them. In a few days the Indians deserted in large numbers, and Proctor, be- coming alarmed, abandoned the siege, and on the 9th of May retreated to Maiden. For nearly three months active operations were suspended. In the latter part of July, Proctor and Tecumtha with a force of nearly four thousand men returned to Fort Meigs, now commanded by General Clay. For several days the British general beat about the American position, attempting to draw out the garrison. Failing in that, he filed off with about half his forces and attacked Fort Stephenson, at Lower Sandusky. This place was defended by a hundred and sixty men under command of Colonel Croghan, a stripling but twenty-one years of age. But he ex- hibited the skill and bravery of a veteran. To the enemy's summons, accompanied with a threat of massacre in case of refusal, he answered that the fort should be held as long as there was a man left alive within it. For a while the British cannonaded the ramparts without much effect, and on the 2d of August advanced to carry the place by storm. Croghan filled his only gun with slugs and grape-shot, and masked it in such a position as to rake the ditch from end to end. The British, believing the fort to be silenced, crowded into the fatal trench, and were swept away almost to a man. The repulse was complete. Proctor, fearing the ap- proach of Harrison, raised the siege and returned to Maiden. At this time the waters of Lake Erie were commanded by a British squadron of six vessels carrying sixty-three guns. It was seen that a suc- cessful invasion of Canada could only be made by first gaining control of the lake. This serious undertaking was imposed on Commodore Oliver H. Perry of Rhode Island — a young man not twenty-eight years old who had never been in a naval battle. His antagonist, Commodore Barclay, was a veteran from the sea-service of Europe. With indefatigable energy Perry directed the construction of nine ships, carrying fifty-four guns, and was soon afloat on the lake. On the 10th of September the two fleets met a short distance north-west of Put-in Bay. Careful directions had been given by both commanders for the impending battle ; both were resolved on victory. The fight was begun by the American squadron, Perry's 26 402 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. flag-ship, the Lawrence, leading the attack. His principal antagonist was the Detroit, under the immediate command of Barclay. The British guns, being longer, had the wider range, and were better served. The Lawrence was ruined; nearly all the cannon were dismounted, masts torn away, sailors killed. Between the other ships the battle was proceeding in a desultory way without much damage ; but Barclay's flag-ship was almost as nearly wrecked as the Laivrence. Perceiving with quick eye how the battle stood, the dauntless Perry, himself unhurt, put on his uniform, seized his ban- ner, got overboard into an open boat, passed within pistol-shot of the enemy's ships, a storm of balls flying around him, and transferred his flag to the Niagara. A shout went up from the American fleet ; it was the signal of victory. With the powerful Niagara still uninjured by the battle. Perry bore down upon the enemy's line, drove right through the midst, discharging terrible broadsides right and left. In fifteen minutes the work was done ; the British fleet was helpless. Perry with a touch of pride returned to the bloody deck of the Lawrence, and there received the surrender. And then he sent to General Harrison this femous despatch : " We have met the enemy, and they are ours — two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop." This victory gave the Americans full control of Lake Erie. Both Proctor and Harrison awaited the result. If Barclay should win, Proctor would invade Ohio; if Perry should prove victorious, Harrison would conquer Canada. For the Americans the way was now opened. On the 27th of September Harrison's army was embarked at Sandusky Bay and landed near Maiden. The disheartened British retreated to Sandwich, the Americans following hard after. From the latter place Proctor con- tinued his retreat to the river Thames, and there faced about to fight. The battle-field was well chosen by the British, whose lines extended from the river to a swamp. Here, on the 5th of October, they were attacked by the Americans led by Harrison and General Shelby, governor of Kentucky. In the beginning of the battle. Proctor, being a coward, ran. The British regulars sustained the attack with firmness, and were only broken when furiously charged by the Kentuckians under Colonel Richard M. Johnson. When that part of the field was won, the Ameri- cans wheeled against the Indians, who, to the number of fifteen hundred, lay hidden in the swamp to the west. Here the battle raged fiercely. Tecuratha had staked all on the issue. For a while his war-whoop sounded above the din of the conflict. Presently his voice was heard no longer, for the great chieftain had fallen. At the same time Colonel Johnson was borne away severely wounded. The savages, appalled by WAR OF '12. 403 the death of their leader, fled in despair. The victory was complete. So ended the campaign in the West. The Indian confederacy was broken to pieces. All that Hull had lost was regained. Michigan was recovered. Ohio no longer feared invasion. Perry swept Lake Erie with his fleet. Canada was prostrated before the victorious army of Harrison. Meanwhile, the Creeks of Alabama, kinsmen of the Shawnees, had taken up arms. In the latter part of August, Fort Mims, forty miles north of Mobile, was surprised by the savages, who appeased their thirst for blood with the murder of nearly four hundred people ; not a woman or child was spared, and but few of the men in the fort escaped. The news of the massacre spread consternation throughout the Southwest. The governors of Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi Territory made immediate preparations for invading the country of the Creeks. The Tennesseeans, under command of General Jackson, were first to the res- cue. A detachment of nine hundred men, led by General Coifee, reached the Indian town of Tallushatchee, attacked it, burned it, left not an Indian alive. On the 8th of Novem- ber a battle was fought at Talladega, east of the Coosa, and the savages were defeated with severe losses. In the latter part of the same month another fight occurred at Autosse, on the south bank of the Tallapoosa, and again the Indians were routed. During the winter Jackson's troops, un- provided and starving, became mutinous and Avere going home. But the general set the example of living on acorns ; then rode before the rebellious line and threatened with death the stirred. And no man stirred. SCENE OF THE CKEEK WAK, 1813-14. first mutineer who On the 22d of January, 1814, the battle of Emucfau was fought on the west bank of the Tallapoosa. The valor of the Tennesseeans again gave them the victory. At Tohopeka, called by the whites the Horseshoe Bend, the Creeks made their final stand. Here the Tallapoosa winds westward and northward, enclosing a large tract of land in the form of a peninsula with a narrow neck. This posi- tion the Indians had fortified with more than their usual skill. The whites, led by General Coffee, surrounded the place, so as to prevent escape by crossing the river. On the 27th of March, the main body of whites under General Jackson stormed the breastworks and drove the Indians into the bend. There, huddled together without the pos- sibility of escape, a thousand Creek warriors, with the women and 404 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. children of the tribe, met their doom. The desperate Red men asked no quarter, and none was given. The few chiefs who were still abroad sent in their submission ; the spirit of the nation was completely broken. On the 25th of April, 1813, General Dearborn, commanding the A.rmy of the Centre, embarked his forces at Sackett's Harbor, near the eastern extremity of Lake Ontario, The object of the exjjedition was to capture Toronto, the capital of Upper Canada. Here was the most im- portant depot of supplies in British America. The American fleet under Commodore Chauncey had already obtained the mastery of the lake, so that Dearborn's passage was unopposed. On the 27th of the month a force of seventeen hundred men, commanded by General Pike, was landed within two miles of Toronto. At the water's edge they were met by the British. The Americans drove the enemy for a mile and a half, stormed a battery, and rushed forward to carry the main de- fences. At that moment the British magazine blew up Avith terrific violence. The assaulting column was covered with the debris of the explosion. Two hundred men were killed or wounded. General Pike was fatally injured, but lived long enough to hear the shout of vic- tory; for the Americans, first shocked and then maddened by the calamity, made a furious charge and drove the British out of the town. General Sheaife with a body of regulars escaped ; the rest were taken prisoners. Property to the value of a half million dollars was secured to the victors. While this movement was taking place the enemy made a descent on Sackett's Harbor. By the withdrawal of the American forces that post had been left exposed. The British succeeded in destroying a quan- tity of stores ; but General Brown rallied the militia, and drove back the assailants with considerable loss. Meanwhile, the victorious troops at Toronto had re-embarked and crossed the lake to the mouth of the Niagara. On the 27th of May the Americans, led by Generals Chandler and Winder, crossed the river and stormed Fort George, on the Canada shore. The British hastily destroyed their posts along the Niagara and retreated to Burlington Bay, at the western extremity of the lake. The Americans, pursuing them thither, were attacked in the night, but suc- ceeded in repulsing the enemy with loss. During the months of summer military operations on the frontier were suspended. After the battle of the Thames, General Harrison had transferred his forces to Buffalo, and then resigned his commission. On account of old age and ill health General Dearborn also withdrew from the service, and wito succeeded by General Wilkinson. The next cam- WAR OF '12. 405 paign, which was {planned by General Armstrong, secretary of war, em- braced the conquest of Montreal. For this purpose the Army of the Centre, under Wilkinson, was ordered to join the Army of the North at some convenient point on the St. Lawrence. The enterprise was attended with many difficulties and not a few delays. Not until the 5th of Novem- ber did a force of seven thousand men, embarking from the mouth of French Creek, twenty miles north of Sackett's Harbor, sail down the St. Lawrence for the conquest of Montreal. Parties of British, Canadians and Indians, gathering on the northern bank of the river, constantly im- peded the progress of the expedition. General Brown was landed with a considerable force to disperse these bands or drive the enemy into the interior. On the 11th of the month a severe battle was fought at a place called Chrysler's Field. Neither party gained a victory, but the advantage remained with the British. The Americans, having lost nearly three hundred men in the fight, passed down the river to St. Regis, on the southern shore, where the forces of General Hampton were expected from Plattsburg to form a junction with Wilkinson's command. But Hampton did not stir; and the project of attacking Montreal had to be abandoned. The Americans then Avent into winter quarters at Fort Covington, at the fork of Salmon River, nine miles from St. Regis. In the mean time, the British on the Niagara frontier rallied and advanced against Fort George. General McClure, the commandant, abandoned the place on the approach of the enemy, but before retreating burned the Canadian town of Newark. It cost the people of Northern New York dearly ; for the British and Indians crossed the river, cap- tured Fort Niagara, and fired the villages of Youngstown, Lewiston and Manchester. On next to the last day of the year Black Rock and BuiFalo were laid in ashes. In the sea-fights of 1813 victory generally declared for the British. During the year both nations wasted much blood and treasure on the ocean. Off the coast of Demarara, on the 24th of February, the sloop- of-war Hornet, commanded by Captain James Lawrence, fell in with the British brig Peacock. The ships were equally matched. A terrible battle of fifteen minutes ensued, and the Peacock, already sinking, struck her colors. While the Americans were trying to transfer the conquered crew the ocean yaAvned and the brig sank out of sight. Nine British sailors and three of Lawrence's men were sucked down in the whirlpool. On returning to Boston the command of the Chesapeake — one of the best frigates in the American navy — ^was given to Lawrence, and again he put to sea. Before sailing he received a challenge from Captain 406 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Broke, of the British frigate Shannon, to come out and fight him. Law- rence ought not to have accepted the banter; for his equipments were incomplete and his crew ill assorted, sick and half mutinous. But he was young, and the favorite of the nation ; fired with applause, he went un- hesitatingly to meet his foe. Eastward from Cape Ann the two vessels met on the first day of June. The battle was obstinate, brief, dreadful. In a short time every officer who could direct the movements of the Chesapeake was either killed or wounded. The brave young Lawrence was struck with a musket-ball, and fell dying on the bloody deck. As they bore him down the hatchway he gave in feeble voice his last lieroic order — ever afterward the motto of the American sailor — " Don't GIVE UP THE SHIP !" The British were already leaping on deck, and the flag of England was hoisted over the shattered vessel. Both ships were charnel-houses; but the Shannon was still able to tow her prize into the harbor of Halifax. There the bodies of Lawrence and Ludlow, second in command, were tenderly and honorably buried by the British. The next important naval battle was fought on the 14th of August between the American brig Argus and the British Pelican. The former vessel had made a daring cruise about the coasts of England, capturing more than twenty ships. Herself overtaken by the Pelican, she was obliged, after a severe conflict, to surrender. On the 5th of September another British brig, the Boxer, cruising off the coast of Maine, was over- hauled and captured by the American Enterprise, commanded by Captain Burrows. The fight raged for three-quarters of an hour, when the Boxer surrendered. Captain Blyth, the British commander, was killed; and the gallant Burrows received a mortal wound. The bodies of both officers were taken to Portland and buried side by side with military honors. All summer long Captain Porter in the frigate Essex cruised in the South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. For five months he was the terror of British merchantmen in those broad waters. On the 28th of the following March, while the Essex was lying in the harbor of Val- paraiso, she was beset, contrary to the law of nations, by two powerful British vessels, the Phoebe and the Cherub. The Essex had been crippled by a storm, and was anchored in neutral waters ; in that condition Captain Porter fought his two antagonists until nearly all of his men were killed or wounded ; then struck his colors and surrendered. Notwithstanding the losses sustained by the American navy, privateers continued to scour the ocean and capture British vessels. From honorable warfare the naval officers of England stooped to marauding along the sea-shore. Early in the year a squadron entered THE CAMPAIGNS OF '14. 407 Delaware Bay and anchored before Lewistown. A requisition on the in- habitants to supply the fleet with provisions was met with a brave refusal. A threat to burn the town was answered with a message of defiance. A bombardment of twenty-four hours' duration followed ; the houses were much injured, and the people fled, carrying their property to places of safety. Other British men-of-war entered the Chesapeake and burned several villages on the shores of the bay. At the town of Hampton, just above the Roads, the soldiers and marines perpetrated such outrages as covered their memory with shame. Commodore Hardy, to whom the blockade of the New England harbors had been assigned, behaved with more humanity; even the Americans recognized and praised Lis honor- able conduct. The year 1813 closed without decisive results. CHAPTER LI. THE CAMPAIGNS OF '14. IN the spring of 1814 another invasion of Canada was planned. Thb Niagara frontier was the scene of operations; but there was much delay in bringing the scattered detachments of General Wilkinson's army into proper position. Not until the 3d of July did Generals Scott and Ripley, at the head of three thousand men, cross the Niagara from Black Rock to Fort Erie. This post, garrisoned by two hundred British, was surrendered without a battle. On the following day the Americans ad- vanced down the river-bank in the direction of Chippewa village. Before reaching that place, however, they were met by the British army, led by General Riall. On the evening of the 5th a severe battle was fought on the plain just south of Chippewa River. The Americans, led on by Generals Scott and Ripley and the gallant Major Jessup, won the day t but their loss amounted to three hundred and thirty-eight men. The British veterans, after more than five hundred of their number had fallen, urere driven into their entrenchments. General Riall retreated first to Queenstown and afterward to Bur- lington Heights. General Scott, commanding the American right, was detached to watch the movements of the enemy. On the evening of the 25th of July he found himself suddenly confronted by Riall's army, «trongly posted on the high grounds in sight of Niagara Falls. Here 408 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. was fought the hardest battle of the war. A man less courageous and self-confident than Scott would have retreated; but with extraordinary daring he held his own until reinforced by the other divisions of the army. The British reserves were also rapidly brought into action. Twilight faded into darkness, and still the battle was undecided. A de- tachment of Americans, getting upon the British rear, captured General Riall and his entire staff. Still the contest raged. The key to the enemy's position was a high ground crowned with a battery. Calling Colonel James Miller to his side and pointing to the hilL General Browu said, " Colonel, take your regiment and storm that battery." " I'll tey, SIR," was the answer of the gallant officer ; and he did take it, and held it against three desperate assaults of the British. In the last charge General Drummond, who led, was wounded, and the royal army, num- bering fully five thousand, was driven from the field with a loss of eight hundred and seventy-eight men. The Americans engaged in the battle numbered about four thousand ; their loss in killed, wounded and miss- ing was more than eight hundred. After this battle of Niagara, or Lundy's Lane, as it is sometimes called, General Ripley took commandof the American forces; for Generals Brown and Scott were both wounded. It was deemed prudent to fall back to Fort Erie. To that place General Gaines crossed over from Buffalo, and being the senior officer, assumed command of the army. Very soon General Drummond received reinforcements, moved forward, and on the 4th of August invested Fort Erie. The siege continued for ten days, and then the British attempted to storm the works, but were driven back with severe losses. But the enemy was reinforced and the siege resumed. A regular and destructive bombardment was kept up by the British, and was answered by the Americans with equal energy. On the 28th of August General Gaines was injured by the explosion of a shell and obliged to relinquish his command. General Brown, though still suffering from the wound received at Niagara, was again called to direct the defences of the fort. On the 17th of September a sortie was ordered, and the advanced works of the British were gallantly carried. At the same time news arrived that the American general Izard was ai>- proaching from Plattsburg with strong reinforcements. Alarmed at the threatening aspect of affairs, the British raised the siege and retreated to Fort George. On the 5th of November Fort Erie was evacuated and destroyed by the Americans, who then recrossed the Niagara and went into winter quarters at Black Rock and Buffalo. So ended the war in the country between Lakes Erie and Ontario. The winter of 1813-14 was passed by the Army of the North at THE CAMPAIGNS OF 14. 40& French Mills, afterward called Fort Covington. In the latter part of February General Wilkinson advanced his forces to Plattsburg, and in the following month began an invasion of Canada. At La Colle, on the west bank of the Sorel, he encountered a force of the enemy, made an im- prudent attack and was defeated. Falling back to Plattsburg, he was superseded by General Izard. How that officer marched to the relief or General Brown at Fort Erie has already been narrated. The remaining division of the northern army, fifteen hundred strong, was left under com- mand of General Macomb at Plattsburg. At this time the American flotilla on Lake Champlain was commanded by Commodore MacDonough. For the purpose of destroying this fleet and obtaining control of the lake, the British general Prevost advanced into Northern New York at the head of fourteen thousand men, and at the same time ordered Commodore Downie to ascend the Sorel with his fleet. The invading army reached Plattsburg without opposition. Com- modore MacDonough's squadron lay in the bay. On the 6th of Septem- ber General Macomb retired with his small but courageous army to the south bank of the Saranac, which skirted the village. On came the British, entered the town, and attempted to cross the river, but were driven back. For four days they renewed their efibrts ; the Americans had torn up the bridges, and a passage could not be effected. The British fleet was now ready for action, and a general battle by land and water was planned for the 11th. Prevost's army, arranged in three columns, was to sweep across the Saranac and carry Macomb's position, while Downie's powerful flotilla was to bear down on MacDonough. The naval battle began first, and was obstinately fought for two hours and a half. At the end of that time Downie and many of his officers had been killed; the heavier British vessels were disabled and obliged to strike their colors. The smaller ships escaped ; for the American brigs were so badly crippled that pursuit could not be made. Nevertheless, the victory on the lake was complete and glorious. The news was carried ashore, where the Americans were bravely contesting the passage of the river against overwhelming; numbers. At one ford the British column succeeded in crossing ; but the tidings from the lake fired the militia with ardor ; they made a rush, and the enemy was driven back. Prevost, after losing nearly two thousand five hundred men and squandering two and a half million dollars in a fruitless campaign, retired precipitately to Canada, The ministry of England, made wise by the disasters of this invasion, began to devise measures looking to peace. In the country of the Chesapeake the scenes of the previous year were renewed by the British. Late in the summer Admiral Cochrane 410 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ■ arrived off the coast of Virginia with an armament of twenty-one vessels. General Ross Avith an army of four thousand veterans, treed from service in Europe, came with the fleet. The American squadron, commanded by Commodore Barney, was unable to oppose so powerful a force. The enemy's flotilla entered the Chesapeake wdth the purpose of attacking Washington and Baltimore. The larger division of the British fleet sailed into the Patuxent, and on the 19th of August the forces of General Ross were landed at the town of Benedict. Commodore Barney was obliged to blow up his vessels and take to the shore. From Benedict the British advanced against Washington. At Bladensburg, six miles north- east of the capital, they were met, on the 24th of the month, by the militia and the marines under Barney. Here a battle was fought. The undisciplined militia behaved badly. Barney's seamen were overpowered by the British, and himself taken prisoner. The news of the defeat was rapidly borne to Washington. The President, the cabinet officers and the people betook themselves to flight, and Ross marched unopposed into the city. He had been ordered by his superiors to use the torch, and the work of destruction was accordingly begun. All the public buildings ex- cept the Patent Office were burned. The beautiful but unfinished Capitol and the President's house were left a mass of blackened ruins. Many private edifices were also destroyed ; but General Ross, himself a humane man, did less than he was ordered to do.* Five days after the capture of Washington, a portion of the British fleet, ascending the Potomac, reached Alexandria. The inhabitants of that town, in order to avoid the fate of the capital, purchased the forbear- ance of the enemy by the surrender of twenty-one ships, sixteen thousand barrels of flour and a thousand hogsheads of tobacco. Baltimore redeemed herself more bravely. Against that city, after the capture of Washington, General Ross proceeded with his army and fleet. Meanwhile, the militia, to the number of ten thousand, had gathered under command of General Samuel Smith, a Revolutionary veteran. On the 12th of September the British were landed at North Point, at the mouth of the Patapsco ; and the fleet began the ascent of the river. The land-forces, after marching about halfway to Baltimore, were met by the Americans under General Strieker. A skirmish ensued in which General Ross was killed; but Colonel Brooks assumed command of the invading army, and the march continued. AVhen approaching the city, the British came upon the Ameri- can lines and were brought to a halt by a severe cannonade. General * An excuse for this outrageous barbarism was found in tlie previous conduct of the Americans, who, at Toronto and other places on the Canadian frontier, had behared but little better. THE CAMPAIGNS OF '14. 411 Strieker, however, ordered his men to fall back to a second line of defences, from which they gave the enemy a permanent check. Meanwhile, the British squadron had ascended the Patapsco and begun the bombardment of Fort McHenry, at the entrance to the har- bor. From sunrise of the 13th until after midnight the guns of the ileet poured a tempest of shot and shells upon the fortress.''^ At the end of that time the soldiers of the garrison were as full of spirit and the works as strong as at the beginning. It was plain that the Brit- ish had undertaken more than they could accomplish. Disheartened and bafBed, they ceased to fire. The land-forces retired from before the American entrenchments and re-embarked. The siege of Balti- more was at an end. During the summer of 1814 two expeditions were made against the British and Indians of the North-west. In May a force of two hundred men ascended the Mississijjpi from St. Louis and took post at Prairie du Chien, a short distance above the mouth of the Wiscon- sin. The object was to overawe the hostile Winnebagoes and Chip- pewas by establishing an outpost in their territory. But before the fort was well begun a force of six hundred Canadians and Indians in- vested the place, and on the 17th of July compelled the detachment to surrender. The more important expedition was directed against the British fortress and depot of stores at Mackinaw. A regiment of six hundred men, commanded by Colonel Croghan, famous for his heroism at Sandusky, marched northward in midsummer from De- troit. Some vessels of Perry's fleet accompanied the land forces as a convoy ; but the movement was slow, and Mackinaw was not reached until the 4th of August. Finding the defences of the place too high and strong to be injured by his guns, Croghan ordered an assault, which was made with spirit, but repulsed. The enterprise was then abandoned, with no further injury to the British than the destruc- tion of some supplies and shipping in Georgian Bay. New England did not escape the ravages of war. On the 9th :and 10th of August the village of Stonington, in the south-eastern •corner of Connecticut, was bombarded by Commodore Hardy; but the British, attempting to land, were beaten back by the militia. The fisheries of the New England coast were for the most part bro- ken up. The salt-works at Cape Cod escaped only by the payment -of heavy ransoms. All the principal harbors from Maine to Dela- * During the night of the bombardment, Francis S. Key, detained on board a British ship and watching the American flag over Fort McPIenry — seen at intervals bv the glare •of rockets and the flash of cannon — composed The Star-spangled Banner. 412 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ware were under a rigorous blockade, and the foreign commerce of the Eastern States was totally destroyed. The beacons in the light- houses were allowed to burn out, and a general gloom settled over the country. From the beginning many of the peojsle of New England had opposed the war. Their interests centred in ships and factories; the former were captured at sea, and the latter came to a stand-still. Industry was paralyzed. The members of the Federal party cried out against the continuance of the contest. The legislature of ISIassachu- setts advised the calling of a convention. The other Eastern States responded to the call ; and on the 14th of December the delegates assembled at Hartford. The objects of the convention were not very clearly expressed; but opposition to the war and the policy of the administration Avas the leading principle. The leaders of the Dem- ocratic party, who supported the war-policy of the government, did not hesitate to say that the purposes of the assembly were disloyal and treasonable. Be that as it may, the convention ruined the Fed- eral party. After remaining in session with closed doors for nearly three weeks, the delegates published an address more moderate and just than had been expected ; and then adjourned. But little hope of political preferment remained for those who participated in the Hartford convention. During the progress of the war the Spanish authorities of Flor- ida sympathized with the British. In the month of August a de- tachment of the enemy's fleet was allowed by the commandant of Pensacola to use that post for the purpose of fitting out an expedition against Fort Bowyer, commanding the entrance to the bay of Mobile. On the 15th of September the latter post was attacked, but the assail- ants were driven off. General Jackson, who at that time commanded the American forces in the South, remonstrated with the Spaniards against this violation of neutrality, but received no satisfaction. Jack- son, whose way it was to mete out summary justice to offenders, marched a force against Pensacola, stormed the town and drove the British out of Florida. This was the beginning of the last campaign of the war. After the taking of Pensacola, General Jackson returned to his headquarters at Mobile. There he learned that the British were mak- ing formidable preparations for the conquest of Louisiana. Bepairing at once to New Orleans, he assumed control of the city, declared mar- tial law, mustered the militia, and adopted the most vigorous meas- ures for repelling the invasion. From La Fitte, chief of a band of smugglers in the Bay of Barataria, he obtained information of the- THE CAMPAIGNS OF '14. 413 enemy's plans. The British army, numbering twelve thousand, came in a fleet of fifty vessels from Jamaica. Sir Edward Packenham, broth- er-in-law of the duke of Wellington, was commander of the invading forces. On the 10th of December the squadron entered the outlet of Lake Borgne, sixty miles north-east of New Orleans. Four days af- terward a flotilla of gun-boats which had been placed to guard the lake was captured by the British, but not until a severe loss had been inflicted on the enemy. On the 2 2d of the month Packenham's advance reached the Mississippi nine miles below the city. A detachment was sent to the western bank of the river, but this operation was checked by a counter movement on the part of the Americans. On the night of the 23d General Jackson sent a schooner down the Mississippi to bombard the British camp, while at the same time he and General Coffee advanced with two thousand Tennessee riflemen to attack Packenham's camp in front. After a bloody assault Jackson was obliged to retire, the enemy losing most in the engagement. On the following day Jackson fell back and took a strong position along the canal, four miles below the city. Packenham advanced, and on the 28th cannonaded the American position with but little effect. On New Year's day the attack was renewed. The heavy guns of the British had now been brought into position; but the Americans easily held their ground, and the enemy was again driven back. Packenham now made arrange- ments to lead his whole army in a grand assault on the American lines. Jackson was ready. Earthworks had been constructed, and a long line of cotton-bales and sand-bags thrown up for protection. On the morning of the memorable 8th of January the British moved for- ward. They went to a terrible fate. The battle began with the light of early morning, and was ended before nine o'clock. Packenham hurled column after column against the American position, and col- umn after column was smitten with irretrievable ruin. Jackson's men, behind their breastworks, were almost entirely secure from the enemy's fire, while every discharge of the Tennessee and Kentucky rifles told with awful effect on the exposed veterans of England. Packenham, trying to rally his men, was killed; General Gibbs, second in com- mand, was mortally wounded. General Keene fell disabled; only General Lambert was left to call the shattered fragments of the army from the field. Never was there in a great battle such disparity of losses. Of the British fully seven hundred were killed, fourteen hun- dred wounded, and five hundred taken prisoners. The American loss amounted to eight hilled and tliirteen wounded. 414 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. After the battle Jackson granted a truce for the burial of the- British dead. That done, General Lambert recalled the detachment from the west bank of the river and retired with his ruined army into Lake Borgne. At Fort Bowyer he received the news of peace. Jackson marched into New Orleans with his victorious army, and was received with unbounded enthusiasm. Such, so far as operations by land were concerned, was the close of the war. On the ocean hostili- ties lingered until spring. On the 20th of February the American frigate Constitution, cruising off Cape St. Vincent, caught sight of two- hostile vessels, gave chase, and after a severe fight captured them. They proved to be British brigs — the Cyane, of thirty-six guns, and the Levant, of eighteen. On the 23d of March the American Hornet, commanded by Captain Biddle. ended the conflict by capturing the British Penguin off the coast of Brazil. Already a treaty of peace had been made and ratified. Both na- tions had long desired such a result. In the summer of 1814 Amer- ican commissioners were sent to Ghent, in Belgium, and were there met by Lord Gambler, Henry Goulburn and William Adams, ambas- sadors of Great Britain. The agents of the United States were John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Jonathan Russell and Albert Gallatin. Several months were spent in negotiations ; and on the 24th of December, 1814, a treaty was agreed to and signed. In England the news was received with deep satisfaction; in the United States, with a delight bordering on madness. Before the terms of settlement could be known, the people broke forth in universal jubilee^ Nobody stopped to inquire whether the treaty was good or bad, hon- orable or dishonorable. The Federalists found abundant reason for rejoicing that a war which they had persistently opposed as impolitic and unjust, was at an end. The Democrats sent up a double huzza, shouting first for Jackson's victory and afterward for peace. Nor could the country well be blamed for rejoicing that a conflict which hftd cost the United States a thousand six hundred and eighty-three vessels and more than eighteen thousand sailors, was ended. The war-cloud rolled away like an incubus from the public mind. The long blockaded, half-rotten shipping of New England was decked with flags and streamers, and in one day the dock-yards were ringing with the sound of saw and hammer. On the 18th of February the treaty was ratified by the Senate of the United States, and peace was publicly proclaimed. It was in the interim between the conclusion of the treaty and the reception of the news in the United States that the battle of New Orleans was fought. A telegraph would have saved all that bloodshed. There never was a more absurd treaty than that of Ghent. Its- THE CAMPAIGNS OF '14. 415- only significance was that Great Britain and the United States, having been at war, agreed to be at peace. Not one of the distinctive issues to decide which the war had been undertaken was settled or even men- tioned. Of the impressment of American seamen not a word was said. The wrongs done to the commerce of the United States were not re- ferred to. The rights of neutral nations were left as undetermined as before. Of " free trade and sailors' rights," which had been the battle- cry of the American navy, no mention was made. The principal articles of the compact were devoted to the settlement of unimportant bounda- ries and the possession of some petty islands in the Bay of Passama- quoddy. There is little doubt, however, that at the time of the treaty Great Britain gave the United States a private assurance that impress- ment and the other wrongs complained of by the Americans should be practiced no more. For the space of sixty years vessels bearing the flag of the United States have been secure from such insults as caused the war of 1812. Another advantage gained by America was the recognition of her naval power. It was no longer doubtful that American sailors were the peers in valor and patriotism of any seamen in the world. It was no small triumph for the Republic that her flag should henceforth be honored on every ocean. At the close of the conflict the country was burdened with a debt of a hundred million dollars. The monetary affairs of the na- tion were in a deplorable condition. The charter of the Bank of the United States expired in 1811, and in the following years the other banks of the country were obliged to suspend specie payment. The people were thus deprived of the currency necessary for the transac- tion of business. Domestic commerce was paralyzed by the want of money, and foreign trade destroyed by the enemy's fleet. In the year after the close of the war a bill was passed by Congress to recharter the Bank of the United States. The measure being objectionable, the President interposed his veto ; but in the following session the bill was again passed in an amended form. The capital was fixed at thir- ty-five million dollars. The central banking-house was established at Philadelphia, and branches were authorized at various other cities. On the 4th of March, 1817, the new financial institution went into operation ; and the business and credit of the country were thereby greatly improved. Meanwhile, the United States had been engaged in a foreign war. During the conflict with Great Britain the Algerine pirates re- newed their depredations on American commerce. As soon as the treaty of Ghent was concluded the government of the United States ordered Commodore Decatur, commanding a fleet of nine vessels, to proceed to 416 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. the Mediterranean and chastise the Barbary sea-robbers into submission. On the 17th of June, Decatur, cruising near Gibraltar, fell in with the principal frigate of the Algerine squadron, and after a severe fight of twenty minutes compelled the Moorish ship to surrender. Thirty of the piratical crew, including the admiral, were killed, and more than four hundred taken prisoners. On the 19th Decatur captured another frigate, bearing twenty guns and a hundred and eight men. A few days after- ^ward he sailed into the Bay of Algiers, and dictated to the humbled and terrified dey the terms of a treaty. The M.oorish emperor was obliged to release his American prisoners without ransom, to relinquish all claims to tribute, and to give a pledge that his ships should trouble American mer- <3hantmen no more. Decatur next sailed against Tunis and Tripoli, com- pelled both of these states to give pledges of good conduct, and to pay large sums for former violations of international law. From that day until the present the Barbary powers have had a wholesome dread of the American flag. The close of Madison's troubled administration was signalized by the admission of Indiana — the smallest of the Western States — into the Union. The new commonwealth, admitted in December, 1816, came with an area of nearly thirty-four thousand square miles, and a popula- tion of ninety-eight thousand. About the same time was founded the Colonization Society of the United States. Many of the most distin- guished men in America became members of the association, the object of which was to provide somewhere in the world a refiige for free persons of color. Liberia, on the western coast of Africa, was finally selected as the seat of the proposed colony. A republican form of government was established there, and immigrants arrived in sufficient numbers to foimd a flourishing negro State. The capital was named Monrovia, in honor of James Monroe, who, in the fall of 1816, was elected as Madison's suc- cessor in the presidency. At the same time Daniel D. Torapkius of New York was chosen Vice-President. CHAPTER LII. MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION. TN its political principles the new administration was Democratic. Thp -*- policy of Madison was adopted by his successor. But the stormy times of Madison gave place to many years of almost unbroken peace. The new President was a native of Virginia ; a man of great talents and MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION. 417 tujcomplishments. He had been a Revolutionary soldier ; a member of the House of Representatives; a senator; governor of Virginia; envoy to France ; minister to England ; secretary of state under Madison. The members of the new cabinet were — John Quincy Adams, secretary of state ; William H. Crawford, secretary of the treasury ; John C. Calhoun, secre- tary of war ; William Wirt, attorney-general. The animosities and party strifes of the previous years were in a measure forgotten. Statesmen of all parties devoted their energies to the payment of the national debt. It was a herculean task ; but commerce revived ; the government was economic- ally administered ; population increased ; wealth flowed in ; and in a few years the debt was honestly paid. In the first summer of Monroe's administration the attention of the United States was directed to the little kingdom of Hayti in the northern part of St. Domingo. Christophe, the sovereign of tlie country, was anxious to secure from America a recognition of Hay- tian independence ; for he feared that Louis XVIII. , the restored Bourbon king of France, would reclaim Hayti as a part of the French empire. The President met the overtures of Christophe with favor, and an agent was sent out in the frigate Congress to conclude a treaty of" commerce with the kingdom. But the Haytian authorities refused to negotiate with an agent who was not regularly accredited as a minister to an independent state; and the mission resulted in failure and dis- appointment. In September of the same year an important treaty was con- cluded with the Indian nations of what was formerly the Northwestern Territory. The tribes mostly concerned were the Wyandots, Dela- wares, Senecas, and Shawnees ; but the Chippewas, Ottawas, and Pot- tawattamies were also interested in the treaty. The subject discussed was the cession, by purchase and otherwise, of various tracts of land, mostly in Ohio. The Indian title to about four millions of acres, em- bracing the valley of the Maumee, was extinguished by the payment to the tribes concerned of fourteen thousand dollars in cash. Besides this, the Dela wares were to receive an annuity of five hundred dollars ; while to the Wyandots, Senecas, Shawnees and Ottawas was guaran- teed the payment of ten thousand dollars annually forever. The Chippewas and Pottawattamies received an annuity of three thousand three hundred dollars for fifteen years. A reservation of certain tracts, -amounting in the aggregate to about three hundred thousand acres, was made by the Red men with the approval of the government. For it was believed that the Indians, living in small districts surrounded with American farms and villages, would abandon barbarism for the 27 418 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. habits of civilized life. But the sequel proved that the men of thfc woods had no aptitude for such a change. In December of 1817 the western portion of Mississippi Terri- tory was organized as the State of Mississippi and admitted into the Union. The new State contained an area of forty-seven thousand square miles, and a population of sixty-five thousand souls. At the same time the attention of the government was called to a nest of buccaneers who had established themselves on Amelia Island, off the north-eastern coast of Florida. One Gregor McGregor, acting under a commission from the revolutionary authorities of New Granada and Venezuela, had put himself at the head of a band of adventurers, gathered mostly from Charleston and Savannah, and fortified the island as a rendezvous of slave-traders and South American privateers. It was thought by the audacious rascals that the well-known sympathy of the United States for the Spanish American republics south of the Isthmus of Darien would protect them from attack. They accord- ingly proclaimed a blockade of St. Augustine and proceeded with their business as though there was no civilized power in the world. But the Federal government took a different view of the matter. An armament was sent against the pirates, and the lawless establishment was broken up. Another rendezvous of the same sort, on the island of Galveston, oif the coast of Texas, was also suppressed. In the first year of Monroe's administration the question of inter- nal improvements began to be much agitated. The territorial vastness of the country made it necessary to devise suitable means of communi- cation between the distant parts. Without railroads and canals it was evident that the products of the great interior could never reach a market. Had Congress a right to vote money to make the needed improvements? Jefferson and Madison had both answered the ques- tion in the negative. Monroe held similar views; and a majority of Congress voted against the proposed appropriations. In one instance, however, a bill was passed appropriating the means necessary for the construction of a national road across the Alleghanies, from Cumber- land to Wheeling. The question of internal improvements was then referred to the several States ; and New York took the lead by con- structing a splendid canal from Buffalo to Albany, a distance of three hundred and sixty-three miles. The cost of this important work was more than seven and a half million dollars, and the eight years of Monroe's administration were occupied in completing it. In the latter part of 1817 the Seminole Indians on the frontiers of Georgia and Alabama became hostile. Some bad negroes and treacher- 3I0NR0E'S ADMINISTRATION. 419 ous Creeks joined the savages in their depredations. General Gaines^ commandant of a post on Flint River, was sent into the Seminole country, but after destroying a few villages his forces were found in- adequate to conquer the E,ed men. General Jackson was then ordered to collect from the adjacent States a sufficient army and reduce the Seminoles to submission. Instead of following his directions, that stern and self-willed man mustered a thousand riflemen from West Tennessee, and in the spring of 1818 overran the hostile country with little opposition. The Indians were afraid to fight the man whom they had named the Big Knife. While engaged in this expedition against the Seminoles, Jackson entered Florida and took possession of the Spanish post at St. Mark's. He deemed it necessary to do so in order to succeed in suppressing the savages. The Spanish troops stationed at St. Mark's were removed to Pensacola; and two Englishmen, named Arbuthnot and Ambrister,^ who fell into Jackson's hands, were charged with inciting the Semi- noles to insurrection, tried by a court-martial, and hanged. Jackson then advanced against Pensacola, captured the town, besieged and took the fortress of Barancas, at the entrance to the bay, and sent the Span- ish authorities to Havana. These summary proceedings excited much comment throughout the country. The enemies of General Jackson condemned him in unmeasured terms; but the President and Con- gress justified his deeds. A resolution of censure, introduced into the House of Representatives, was voted down by a large majority. The king of Spain complained much; but his complaint was unheeded. Seeing that the defence of such a province would cost more than it was worth, the Spanish monarch then proposed to cede the territory to the United States. For this purpose negotiations were opened at Washington City; and on the 22d of February, 1819, a treaty was concluded by which East and West Florida and the outlying islands were surrendered to the American government. In consideration of the cession the United States agreed to relinquish all claim to the ter- ritory of Texas and to pay to American citizens, for depredations com- mitted by Spanish vessels, a sum not exceeding five million dollars. By the same treaty the eastern boundary of Mexico was fixed at the River Sabine. The year 1819 was noted for a great financial crisis — the first of many that have occurred to disturb and distress the country. With the reorganization of the Bank of the United States in 1817, the im- proved facilities for credit gave rise to many extravagant speculations, generally conceived in dishonesty and carried on by fraud. The great 420 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. branch bank at Baltimore was especially infested by a band of unscru^ pulous speculators who succeeded, in connivance with the officers, in withdrawing from the institution fully two millions of dollars beyond its securities. President Cheves, however, of the superior Board of Directors, adopted a policy which exposed the prevailing rascality, and by putting an end to the system of unlimited credits, gradually restored the business of the country to a firmer basis. But, for the time being, financial affairs were thrown into confusion; and the Bank of the United States itself was barely saved from suspension and bankruptcy. Monroe's administration was noted for the great number of new members which were added to the Union. In 1818, Illinois, the twenty-first State, embracing an area of more than fifty-five thousand square miles, was organized and admitted. The population of the new commonwealth was forty-seven thousand. In December of the following year Alabama was added, with a population of a hundred and twenty-five thousand, and an area of nearly fifty-one thousand square miles. About the same time Arkansas Territory was organ- ized out of the southern portion of the Territory of Missouri. Early in 1820 the province of Maine, which had been under the jurisdic- diction of Massachusetts since 1652, was separated from that govern- ment and admitted into the Union. At the time of admission the lx)pulation of the new State had reached two hundred and ninety- eight thousand ; and its territory embraced nearly thirty-two thou- sand square miles. In August of 1821 the great State of Missouri, with an area of sixty-seven thousand square miles, and a population of seventy-four thousand, was admitted as the twenty-fourth member of the Union ; but the admission was attended with a political agita- tion so violent as to threaten the peace of the country. The bill to organize Missouri as a territory was brought forward in February of 1819. The institution of slavery had already been planted there, and the question was raised in Congress whether the new State should be admitted with the existing system of labor, or whether by congressional action slave-holding should be prohibited. On motion of James Tallmadge of New York a clause was inserted in the territorial bill forbidding any further introduction of slaves into Missouri and granting freedom to all slave-children on reaching the age of twenty-five. The bill as thus amended became the organic law of the territory. A few days afterwards when Arkansas was presented for territorial organization, John W. Taylor of New York moved the insertion of a clause similar to that in the Missouri bill; MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION. 421 but the proposed amendment was voted down after a hot debate. Taylor then made a motion that hereafter, in the organization of ter- ritories out of the Louisiana purchase, slavery should be interdicted in all that part north of the parallel of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes. This proposition was also lost after a very excited discus- sion. Meanwhile, Tallmadge's amendment to the Missouri bill was defeated in the Senate, and as a consequence both the new territories were organized without restrictions in the matter of slavery. When the bill to admit Missouri as a State was finally, in Jan- uary of 1820, brought before Congress, the measure was opposed by those who had desired the exclusion of slavery. But at that time the new Free State of Maine was asking for admission into the Union ; and those who favored slavery in Missouri determined to exclude Maine unless Missouri should also be admitted. After another angry debate, which lasted till the 16th of February, the bill coupling the two new States together was actually passed ; and then Senator Thomas of Illinois made a motion that henceforth and forever slavery should be excluded from all that part of the Louisiana cession — Missouri excepted — lying north of the parallel of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes. Such was the celebrated Missouri Compromise, one of the most important acts of American legislation — a measure chiefly sup- ported by the genius, and carried through Congress by the persistent eiForts, of Henry Clay. The principal conditions of the plan were these : first, the admission of Missouri as a slave-holding State ; sec- ondly, the division of the rest of the Louisiana purchase by the par- allel of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes; thirdly, the admission of new States, to be formed out of the territory south of that line, with or without slavery, as the people might determine ; fourthly, the pro- hibition of slavery in all the new States to be organized out of terri- tory north of the dividing-line. By this compromise the slavery agi- tation was allayed until 1849. Meanwhile, the country had measurably recovered from the effects of the late war. With peace and plenty the resources of the nation were rapidly augmented. Toward the close of his term the President's administration grew into high favor with the people ; and in the fall of 1820 he was re-elected with great unanimity. As Vice- President, Mr. Tompkins was also chosen for a second term. Scarcely had the excitement over the admission of Missouri subsided when the attention of the government was called to an alarming system of piracy which had sprung up in the West Indies. Early in 1822 the American frigate Congress, accompanied with eight smaller vessels. 422 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. •was sent thither; and in the course of the year more than twenty piratical ships were captured. In the following summer Commodore Porter was despatched with a larger fleet to cruise about Cuba and the neighboring islands. Such v/as his vigilance that the retreats of the sea-robbers were completely broken up; not a pirate was left afloat. At this time the countries of South America were disturbed with many revolutions. From the days of Pizarro these states had been dependencies of European monarchies. !N^ow they declared their independence, and struggled to maintain it by force of arms. The people of the United States, having achieved their own liberty, nat- urally sympathized with the patriots of the South. Mr. Clay urged upon the government the duty of giving official recognition to the South American republics. At last his views prevailed ; and in March of 1822 a bill was passed by Congress recognizing the new states as sovereign nations. In the following year this action was followed up by the President with a vigorous message, in which he declared that for the future the American continents were not to he considered as sub- jects for colonization by any European power. This famous declara- tion constitutes what has ever since been known in the politics and diplomacy of the United States as the Monroe Doctrine — a doc- trine by which the entire Western hemisphere is consecrated to free institutions. Great was the joy of the American people in the summer of 1824. The venerated La Fayette, now aged and gray, returned once more to visit the land for whose freedom he had shed his blood. The honored patriots who had fought by his side came forth to greet him. The younger heroes crowded around him. In every city, and on every battle-field which he visited, he was surrounded by a throng of shouting freemen. His journey through the country was a triumph. It was a solemn and sacred moment when he stood alone by the grave of Washington. Over the dust of the great dead the patriot of France paid the homage of his tears. In September of 1825 he bade a final adieu to the people who had made him their guest, and then sailed for his native land. At his departure, the frigate Brandy- wine — a name significant for him — was prepared to bear him away. While Liberty remains to cheer the West, the name of La Fayette shall be hallowed. Before the departure of the illustrious Frenchman another pres- idential election had been held. It was a time of great excitement and much division of sentiment. Four candidates were presented for ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION. 423 the suflfrages of the people. There was an appearance of sectionalism in the canvass. John Quincy Adams was put forward as the candi- date of the East; William H. Craw- ford of Georgia as the choice of the South ; Henry Clay and Andrew Jack- son as the favorites of the West. Nei- ther candidate re- ceived a majority of the electoral votes, and for the second time in the history of the government the choice of Presi- dent was referred to the House of Rep- resentatives. By that body Mr. Ad- ams was duly elec- ted. For Vice- T> • J J. T 1. i^ LA FAYETTE. President, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina had been chosen by the electoral college. CHAPTER LIII. ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION, 18S5-1829. THE new President was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1825. He was a man of the highest attainments in literature and states- manship. At the age of eleven years he accompanied his father, John Adams, to Europe. At Paris and Amsterdam and St. Petersburg the son continued his studies, and at the same time became acquainted with the manners and politics of the Old World. The vast opportu- nities of his youth were improved to the fullest extent. In his riper years he served his country as ambassador to the Netherlands, Portu- 424 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. gal, Prussia, Russia and England. Such were his abilities in the field of diplomacy as to elicit from Washington the extraordinary praise of being the ablest minister of which America could boast. His life, from 1794 till 1817, was devoted almost wholly to diplomatical services at the various European capitals. At that critical period when the rela- tions of the United States with foreign nations were as yet not well established, his genius secured the adoption of treaty after treaty in which the interests of his country were guarded with patriotic vigi- lance. In 1806 he was honored with the professorship of Rhetoric and Belles-Lettres at Harvard College of which he was an alumnus. He had also held the office of United States senator from Massachu- setts; and on' the accession of Monroe to the presidency was chosen secretary of state. To the presidential chair he brought the wisdom of mature years, great experience and unusual ability. The new administration was an epoch of peace and prosperity in the country ; but the spirit of party manifested itself with much vio- lence. The adherents of General Jackson and Mr. Crawford united in opposition to the policy of the President; and there was a want of unanimity between the different departments of the government. In the Senate the political friends of Mr. Adams were in a minority, and their majority in the lower House only lasted for one session. In his inaugural address the President strongly advocated the doc- trine of internal improvements ; but the adverse views of Congress prevented his recommendations from being adopted. For a quarter of a century a difficulty had existed between the government of the United States and Georgia in respect to the lands held in that State by the Creek Indians. When, in 1802, Georgia relinquished her claim to Mississippi Territory, the general govern- ment agreed to purchase and surrender to the State all the Creek lands lying within her own borders. This pledge on the part of the United States had never been fulfilled, and Georgia complained of bad faith. The difficulty became alarming ; but finally, in March of 1826, a treaty was concluded between the Creek chiefs and the Pres- ident, by which a cession of all their lands in Georgia was obtained. At the same time the Creeks agreed to remove to a new home beyond the Mississippi. On the 4th of July, 1826 — just fifty years to a day after the Dec- laration of Independence — the venerable John Adams, second Presi- dent of the United States, and his successor, Thomas Jefferson, both died. Both had lifted their voices for freedom in the early and per- ilous days of the Revolution. One had written and both had signed 18S5 29 33 37 Charles X. George IV, Frederick Wil liam III. | 27. Acknowl edgment of the independ ence of Greece. 28. Abo 30. French Revolu Louis lition of the " Test Act." 30. Polish Revolu 31. Fall of 32. Pas 30. Williamliv. tion and election of Philippe. tion. Warsaw. sage of the Great Reform 40. 37. Attempted captur 39. Supp 40.' bill by Parliament. 37. Victoria. John Q. Adams, 25. Controversy concern 26. John Adams 26. Thomas Jeff John C. Calh 28. Gr President, ing the lands of the Creek Andrew Jack The d, July 4. erson d. July 4. OUn, Vice-President. 32. The eat political excitement Calhoun re-elected 32.Grea 32. The 32. Proc Indians. son, President. 36. Ar Black Hawk War. Jackson re-elected 35. Seminole bill to recharter the Uni throughout the country. 35. Removal Vice-President. t tariff excitement, doctrine of nullification de lamation by the President. Martin Van Buren, 33. Passage of Mr. Clay's 33. Removal of Govern San Antonio 36. 36. taken TEX MEXICO. Santa Anna, President. 36. The 37. Michigan admitt kansas admitted into President. War. Martin Van I ted States Bank vetoed 37. Failure of the Si of the Cherokees. 40.1 clared by South Carolii Vice-President. Compromise bill. Richard M. J(i ment funds from the T 37. Financial crisis. by the Texans. The Alamo. AS INDEPENDEN 38. Lamar, Pr San Jacinto, 38. Vera Cruz be "Central Republic" d. 37. Bustamente, Pr 41 ederick William IV. Madrid by Don Carlos. ion of the Carlists in Sp body of Napoleon return 43 48. Ou 46. Election of Pius 48. Re 48. A 48. Lo ain. ed to France. 49 tbreak of the Hungarian IX. 52. Fall volution in France. ga republic proclaimed. uis Napoleou Bonapa 52. Lo dent 52. Lo 33 into the Union. 43. The Dorr Union. 44. First 41. The Webster- Ashbur- ton treaty. reil, President. the President, treasury bill. William H. Har (Died April 4, sage of the Treasury bill. 41. Treasury bill repealed. 41. Passage of the Bankru 41. Veto of the United Sta and resignation of the dent's Cabinet. nSOIl, Vice-President, ted States bank. John Tyler, vice- and President from April, ,tl. Houston, President, ient. James K. Polk, 45. Florida admitted into rebellion in Rhode Island. 46. Iowa admitted telegraph line in the Uni 48. Wis 46. Thenorth-weste 46. General Taylor 46. Congress declar 46. ,1 mPaloAlto. 46. m MResaca de 46. 46. || ml Capture of hjl3Ionterei/. George M. Dallas, 48. Dis rison. President. 1841.) 47. m|lljBue pt law. (i^^M tes Bank, ¥4X1 Presi- 47. I>I(A Ver 47. ff II Cer 11. Santa Anna, Presid jed by the French. ired. ient. President, 1841. 47. 47. f Con JIol Cha 47. 47. t^^Fall 48. Tre 45. Texas admitted into ent. Revolution. of Kossuth and the Hun- rian cause. rte elected President. uis Napoleon, Presi- for ten years. uis Napoleon, Emperor. 54. The Crimean War. President, the Union. Zacliary Taylor, (Died Julv 9, into the Union. ted States. cousin admitted into the rn boundary fixed at 49°. ordered to the Rio Grande, es war against Mexico. la Palma. 3Iatanioras. Vice-President. covery of gold in Californ Millard Fillmo President from na Vista. a Cruz. 51. The Fugi ro Gordo. 50. Utah erected into treras. ino del Hey. 49. New Mexico erected pultepec. of Mexico. aty of peace with Mexico, the Union. 50. The " Omnibus 50. California adm President. 1850.) Fr'nkliii Pierce, Union. [President. 54. Treaty with Ja- pan. 54. Passage of the Kansas and Nebraska bill. 54. The Missouri Compromise rei)eaied. is. 54. Troubles in Kansas. re, Vice-President, and July, 1850. W. R. King, Vice-Pres. tive Slave Jaw passed. a Territorial government. into a Territorial govern- ment. • Bill " passed, itted into the Union. ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION. 425 the great Declaration. Both had lived to see their country's independ- ence. Both had served that country in its highest official station. Both had reached extreme old age : Adams was ninety ; Jefferson, eighty- two. Now, while the cannon were booming for the fiftieth birthday of the nation, the gray and honored patriots passed, almost at the same hour, from among the living. In the following September, William Morgan, a resident of Western New York, having threatened to publish the secrets of the Masonic fraternity, of which he was a member, suddenly disap- peared from his home, and was never heard of afterward. The Ma- sons fell under the suspicion of having abducted and murdered him. A great clamor was raised against them in New York, and the ex- citement extended to other parts of the country. The issue between the Masons and their enemies became a political one, and many emi- nent men were embroiled in the controversy. For several years the anti-Masonic party exercised a considerable influence in the elections of the country. De Witt Clinton, one of the most prominent and valuable statesmen of New York, had to suffer much, in loss of repu- tation, from his membership in the order. His last days were clouded with the odium which for the time being attached to the Masonic name. In the congressional debates of 1828 the question of the tariff was much discussed. By a tariff is understood a duty levied on im- ported goods. The object of the same is twofold : first, to produce a revenue for the government ; and secondly, to raise the price of the article on which the duty is laid, in order that the domestic manu- facturer of the thing taxed may be able to compete with the foreign producer. When the duty is levied for the latter purpose, it is called a protective tariff. Whether it is sound policy for a nation to have protective duties is a question which has been much debated in all civilized countries. Mr. Adams and his friends decided in favor of a tariff; and in 1828 the duties on fabrics made of wool, cotton, linen and silk, and those on articles manufactured of iron^ lead, etc., were much increased. The object of such legislation was to stimulate the manufacturing interests of the country. The question of the tariff has always been a sectional issue. The people of the Eastern and Middle States, where factories abound, have favored protective du- ties ; while in the agricultural regions of the South and West such duties have been opposed. The administration of John Quincy Adams was the beginning of a new epoch in the history of the United States. The Revolution- 426 HISTORY OF TEE UNITED STATES. ary sages had gradually fallen out of the ranks of leadership; and the influences of the Revolution were not any longer distinctly felt in the decision of national questions. Even the war of 1812, with its bitter party antagonisms, its defeats and victories, and its absurd ending, was fading out of memory. New dispositions and tastes arose among the people ; new issues confronted the public ; new methods prevailed in the halls of legislation. Old party lines could no longer be traced; old party names were reduced to a jargon. Already the United States had surpassed in growth and development the sanguine expectations of the fathers. But the conflicting oj^inions and interests of the na- tion, reflected in the stormy debates of Congress, gave cause for con- stant anxiety and alarm. With the fall of 1828 came another presidential election. The contest was specially exciting. Mr. Adams, supported by Mr. Clay, the secretary of state, was put forward for re-election. In accordance with an understanding which had existed for several years. General Jackson appeared as the candidate of the opposition. In the previ- ous election Jackson had received more electoral votes than Adams; but disregarding the popular preference, the House of Representa' tives had chosen the latter. Now the people were determined to have their way; and Jackson was triumphantly elected, receiving a hundred and seventy-eight electoral votes againstjeighty-three for his opponent. As soon as the election was over, the excitement — as usual in such cases — abated ; and the thoughts of the people were turned to other subjects. CHAPTER LIV. JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION 18S9-18S7. THE new President was a native of North Carolina, born on the Waxhaw, March 15th, 1767. His belligerent nature broke out in boyhood, and his mother's plan of devoting him to the ministry was hopelessly defeated. At the age of thirteen he was under arms and witnessed Sumter's defeat at Hanging Rock. He was captured by the British, maltreated, and left to die of smallpox; but his mother se- cured his release from prison and his life was saved. After the Revo- lution he began the study of law, and at the age of twenty-one went JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 427 to Nashville. In 1796 he was elected to the House of Representatives from the new State of Tennessee. Here his turbulent and willful dis- position manifested itself in full force. During the next year he was promoted to the Senate, where he remained a year, without making a speech or easting a vote. He siarned his then re- .^....v^ ^ seat and returned home. His subsequent career is a part of the history of the country, more par- ticularly of the South- west with which sec- tion his name was identified. He came to the presidential of- fice as a military hero. But he was more than that: a man of great native powers and in- flexible honesty. His talents were strong but unpol- ished ; his integrity unassailable; his will like iron. He was one o f those men for whom no toils are too arduous, no responsibility too great. His personal character was strongly impressed upon his administration. Believing that the public affairs would be best conducted by such means, he removed nearly seven hundred office-holders, and appointed in their stead his own political friends. In defence of such a course the precedent established by Mr. Jefferson was pleaded. In his first annual message the President took strong grounds against rechartering the Bank of the United States. Believing that institution to be both inexpedient and unconstitutional, he recom- mended that the old charter should be allowed to expire by its own limitation in 1836. But the influence of the bank, with its many branches, was very great; and in 1832 a bill to recharter was brought before Congress and passed. To this measure the President opposed his veto; and since a two-thirds majority in favor of the bill could not ANDREW JACKSON. 428 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. be secured, the proposition to grant a new charter failed, and the bank ceased by the original limitation. It was in the early part of Jackson's administration that the partisan elements of the country, which for some years had been whirling about in a chaotic condition, was resolved into the two great factions of Whig and Democratic — a form which remained as the es- stablished order in politics for a quarter of a century. The old Fed- eral party, under whose auspices the government was organized, had lost control of national affairs on the retirement of John Adams from the presidency. Still the party lingered, opposed the war of 1812, and became odious from its connection with the Hartford Convention. In 1820 only enough of the old organization remained to be severely handled in the great debates on the Missouri Compromise. Then fol- lowed, during Monroe's second term, what is known in American po- litical history as the Era op Good Feeling. Partisanship seemed ready to expire. On the other side, the line of political descent had begun with the anti-Federalists who after opposing the National consti- tution and the administrative policy of Washington and Adams, became under the name of Republicans the champions of France as against Great Britain. But this name was soon exchanged for that of Demo- crats; and under that title the party came into power with the admin- istration of Jefferson. Then followed the administrations of Madison,. Monroe, and John Quincy Adams under the same political banner. But in the case of Adams the new forces were already at work. When Jackson became President his arbitrary measures alarmed the country and drove all the elements of the opposition into a compact phalanx under the leadership of Clay and Webster. To this new party organi- zation the name of Whig was given — a name taken from the old Scotch Covenanters and English republicans of the seventeenth cen- tury, worn by the patriots of the American Revolution to distinguish them from the Tories, and now adopted as the permanent title of the opponents of Jeffersonian Democracy. The reopening of the tariff question occasioned great excitement in Congress and throughout the country. In the session of 1831-32 additional duties were levied upon manufactured goods imported from^ ■abroad. By this act the manufacturing districts were again favored at the expense of the agricultural States. South Carolina was spe- cially offended. A great convention of her people was held, and it was resolved that the tariff-law of Congress was unconstitutional, and therefore null and void. Open resistance was threatened in case the officers of the government should attempt to collect the revenues in JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 429 the harbor of Charleston. In the United States Senate the right of a State, under certain circumstances, to nullify an act of Congress was boldly proclaimed. On that issue occurred the famous debate be- tween the eloquent Colonel Hayne, senator from South Carolina, and Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, per- haps the greatest mas- ter of American ora- tory. The former ap- peared as the cham- pion of State rights, and the latter as the advocate of constitu- tional supremacy. But the question was not decided by debate. The Presi- dent took the matter in hand and issued a proclamation denying the right of any State to nullify the laws of Congress. But Mr. •Calhoun, the Vice- President, resigned his office to accept a seat in the Senate, where he might better defend the doctrines of his State. The President, having warned the people of South Carolina against pursuing those doctrines further, ordered a body of troops under General Scott to proceed to Charleston, and also sent thither a man-of-war. At this display of force the leaders of the nullifying party quailed and receded from their position. Bloodshed was happily avoided ; and in the following spring the excitement was allayed by a compromise. Mr. Clay brought forward and secured the passage of a bill providing for a gradual reduction of the duties complained of until, at the end of ten years, they should reach the standard demanded by the South. In the spring of 1832 the Sac, Fox and Winnebago Indians of Wisconsin Territory began a war. They were incited and led by the famous chief Black Hawk, who, like many great sachems before him, believed in the possibility of an Indian confederacy sufficiently pow- erful to beat back the whites. The lands of the Sacs and Foxes. DANIEL WEBSTER. 430 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. lying in the Rock Riv^er country of Illinois, had been purchased by the government twenty-five years previously. The Indians, however, remained in the ceded territory, since there was no occasion for im- mediate occupation by the whites. When at last, after a quarter of a century, the Indians were required to give possession, they caviled at the old treaty, and refused to comply. The government insisted that the Red men should fulfill their contract, and hostilities began on the frontier. The governor of Illinois called out the militia, and General Scott was sent with nine companies of artillery to Chicago. At that place his force was overtaken with the cholera, and he was prevented from co-operating with the troops of General Atkinson. The latter, however, waged a vigorous campaign against the Indians, defeated them in several actions, and made Black Hawk prisoner. The cap-- tive chieftain was taken to Washington and the great cities of the East, where his understanding was opened as to the power of the nation against which he had been foolish enough to lift his hatchet. Returning to his own people, he advised them that resistance was hopeless. The warriors then abandoned the disputed lands and re- tired into Iowa. Difficulties also arose with the Cherokees of Georgia. These were the most civilized and humane of all the Indian nations. They had adopted the manners of the whites. They had pleasant farms, goodly towns, schools, printing-presses, a written code of laws. The government of the United States had given to Georgia a pledge to purchase the Cherokee lands for the benefit of the State. The pledge was not fulfilled ; the authorities of Georgia grew tired of waiting for the removal of the Indians ; and the legislature passed a statute by which the government of the Red men was abrogated and the laws of the State extended over the Indian domain. With singular illiberal- ity, it was at the same time enacted that the Cherokees and Creeks should not have the use of the State courts or the protection of the laws. This code, however, was declared unconstitutional by the supreme court of the United States. The Indians then appealed to the President for help ; but he refused to interpose between them and the laws of Geor- gia. He also recommended the removal of the Cherokees to lands be- yond the Mississippi ; and with this end in view, the Indian Terri- tory was organized in the year 1834. The Indians yielded with great reluctance. More than five million dollars were paid them for their lands ; but still they clung to their homes. At last General Scott was ordered to remove them to the new territory, using force if necessary to accomplish the work. The years 1837-38 were oc- JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 431 cupied with the final transfer of the Cherokees to their homes in the West. More serious still was the conflict with the Seminoles of Florida. The trouble arose from an attempt on the part of the government to remove the tribe to a new domain beyond the Mississippi. Hostili- ties began in 1835, and continued for four years. The chief of the Seminoles was Osceola, a half-breed of great talents and audacity. He and Micanopy, another chieftain, denied the validity of a former treaty by which the Seminole lands had been ceded to the government. So haughty was the bearing of Osceola that General Thompson, the agent of the government in Florida, arrested him and put him in irons. The red warrior dissembled his purpose, gave his assent to the old treaty, and was liberated. As might have been foreseen, he immedi- ately entered into a conspiracy to slaughter the whites and devastate the country. At this time the interior of Florida was held by General Clinch, who had his headquarters at Fort Drane, seventy-five miles south-west from St. Augustine. The post was considered in danger; and Majoi Dade with a hundred and seventeen men was despatched from Fort Brooke, at the head of Tampa Bay, to reinforce General Clinch. After marching about half the distance, Dade's forces fell into an ambus- cade, and were all massacred except one man who was left alive un- der a heap of the dead. On the same day Osceola, with a band of warriors, prowling around Fort King, on the Ocklawaha, surrounded a storehouse where General Thompson was dining with a company of friends. The savages poured in a murderous fire, and then rushed forward and scalped the dead before the garrison of the fort, only two hundred and fifty yards away, could bring assistance. General Thompson's body was pierced by fifteen balls ; and four of his nine companions were killed. On the 31st of December General Clinch fought a battle with the Indians on the banks of the Withlacoochie. The savages were repulsed, but Clinch thought it prudent to retreat to Fort Drane. In the following February General Scott took command of the American forces in Florida. On the 29th of the same month General Gaines, who was advancing from the West with a force of a thousand men for the relief of Fort Drane, was attacked near the battle-field where Clinch had fought. The Seminoles made a furious onset, but were repulsed with severe losses. In May some straggling Creeks who still remained in the country began hostilities ; but they were soon subdued and compelled to seek their reservation beyond the Missis- 432 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. sippi. In October of 1836 Governor Call of Florida marched with a force of two thousand men against the Indians of the interior. A division of his army overtook the enemy in the Wahoo Swamp, a short distance from the scene of Dade's massacre. A battle ensued, and the Indians were driven into the Everglades with considerable losses. Soon afterward another engagement was fought on nearly the same ground; and again the savages were beaten, though not deci- sively. The remainder of the history of the Seminole War belongs to the following administration. In the mean time the President had given a final quietus to the Bank of the United States. After vetoing the bill to recharter that institution, he conceived that the surplus funds which had accu- mulated in its vaults would be better distributed among the States. He had no warrant of law for such a step; but believing himself to be in the right, he did not hesitate to take the responsibility. Ac- cordingly, in October of 1833, he ordered the accumulated funds of the great bank, amounting to about ten million dollars, to be distri- buted among certain State banks designated for that purpose. This action on the part of the President was denounced by the opposition as a measure of incalculable mischief — unwarranted, arbitrary, dan- gerous. In the Senate a powerful coalition, headed by Calhoun, Clay, and Webster, was formed against the President; and the new officers, who had been appointed to carry out his measures, were rejected. A resolution censuring his conduct was then introduced and carried; but a similar proposition failed in the House of Representatives. For a while there was a general cry of indignation, and it seemed that the administration would be overwhelmed; but the President, ever as fearless as he was self-willed and stubborn, held on his course, un- moved by the clamor. The resolution of censure stood upon the jour- nal of the Senate for four years and was then expunged from the record through the influence of Senator Thomas H. Benton of Mis- souri. The financial panic of 1836-7, following soon after the removal of the funds, was attributed by the opponents of the admin- istration to the President's arbitrary action and the prospective des- truction of the national bank. To these strictures the adherents of his own party replied that the financial distress of the country was attributable to the bank itself, which was declared to be an institution too powerful and despotic to exist in a free government. The Presi- dent was but little concerned with the excitement: he had just en- tered on his second term, with Martin Van Buren for Vice-President instead of Mr. Calhoun. In 1834 the strong will of the chief magistrate was brought into I O o > H :^ SiS H O '^ (433) JACKSON'S ADAIINISTBATION. 43& conflict with France. The American government held an old claim against that country for damages done to the commerce of the United States in the wars of Napoleon. In 1831 the French king had agreed to pay five million dollare for the alleged injuries; but the dilatory government of France postponed and neglected the payment until the President, becoming wrathful, recommended to Congress to make reprisals on French commerce, and at the same time directed the American minister at Paris to demand his passports and come home. These measures had the desired effect, and the indemnity was promptly paid. The government of Portugal was brought to terms in a similar manner. The country, though flourishing, was not without calamities. Several eminent statesmen fell by the hand of death. On the 4th of July, 1831, ex-President Monroe passed away. Like Jefferson and Adams, he sank to rest amid the rejoicings of the national anniver- sary. In the following year- Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, died at the age, of ninety-six. A short time afterward Philip Freneau, the poet of the Revolution, departed from the land of the living. The patriot bard had reached the age of eighty. On the 24th of June, 1833, John Handolph of Roanoke died in Philadelphia. He was a man admired for his talents, dreaded for his wit and sarcasm, and respected for his- integrity as a statesman. In 1835 Chief- Justice Marshall breathed his last, at the age of fourscore years ; and in the next year ex-Pres- ident Madison, worn with the toils of eighty-five years, passed away. To these losses of life must be added two great disasters to property. On the 16th of December, 1835, a fire broke out in the lower part of New York City and laid thirty acres of buildings in ashes. Five hundred and twenty-nine houses and property valued at eighteen million dollars were consumed. Just one year afterward the Patent Office and Post-Office at Washington were destroyed in the same manner. But upon the ruins of these valuable buildings, more noble and imposing structures were soon erected. Jackson's administration was signalized by the addition of two new States. In June of 1836 Arkansas was admitted, with an area of fifty-two thousand square miles, and a population of seventy thou- sand. In January of the following year Michigan Territory was oriranized as a State and added to the Union. The new common- wealth brought a population of a hundred and fifty-seven thousand, and an area of fifty-six thousand square miles. The administration was already within two months of its close. The President, follow- ing the example of Washington, issued a patriotic farewell address. 436 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. The dangers of discord and sectionalism among the States were set forth with all the masculine energy of the Jacksonian dialect. The people of the United States were again solemnly warned, as they had been by the Father of his Country, against the baleful influence of demagogues. The horrors of disunion were portrayed in the strong- est colors ; and people of every rank and section were exhorted to maintain and defend the American Union as they would the last fortress of human liberty. This was the last of those remarkable public papers contributed by Andrew Jackson to the history of his country. Already, in the autumn of the previous year, Martin Van Buren had been elected President. The opposing candidate was Gen- eral Harrison of Ohio, who received the support of the new Whig party. As to the vice-presidency, no one secured a majority in the electoral college, and the choice devolved on the Senate. By that body Colonel Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky was duly elected. CHAPTER LV. VAN BUREN' S ADMINISTRATION, 1837-1S41. MARTIN VAN BUREN, eighth President of the United States, was born at Kinderhook, New York, on the 5th of December, 1782. After receiving a limited education he became a student of law, and before reaching his majority was recognized as an influential democratic politician. In his thirtieth year he was elected to the Senate of his native State ; and six years afterwards, by supplanting De Witt Clinton, became the recognized leader of the Democracy in New York. In 1821, and again in 1827, he was chosen United States Senator ; but in the following year he resigned his office to accept the governorship of his native State. He also, in 1831, resigned his place as secretary of State in the first cabinet of President Jackson, and was appointed minister to England. But when, in December of the same year, his nomination was submitted to the Senate the influence of Vice-President Calhoun assisted by the Whig leaders. Clay and Webster, procured the rejection of the appointment. Mr. Van Buren returned from his unfulfilled mission ; became the candidate for the vice-presidency, and was elected in the fall of 1832. Four years later he was called by the voice of the powerful party to which he be- longed, to succeed General Jackson in the highest office of the nation. VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRATION. 437 One of the first duties of the new administration was to finish the Seminole War. In the beginning of 1837 the command of the army irk Florida was transferred from General Scott to General Jessup. In the^ following fall Osceola came to the American camp with a flag of truce ; but he was suspected of treachery, seized, and sent a prisoner to Fort Moultrie, where he died in 1838. The Seminoles, though disheartened by the loss of their chief, continued the war. In December Colonel Zachary Taylor, with a force of over a thousand men, marched into the Everglades of Florida, determined to fight the savages in their lairs. After unparalleled sufferings he overtook them, on Christmas day, near Lake Okeechobee. A hard battle was fought, and the Indians were de- feated, but not until a hundred and thirty-nine of the whites had fallen. For more than a year Taylor continued to hunt the Ked men through the swamps. In 1839 the chiefs sent in their submission and signed a treaty; but their removal to the West was made with much reluctance and delay. In the first year of Van Buren's administration the country was afflicted with a monetary panic of the most serious character. The preceding years had been a time of great prosperity. The national debt was entirely liqui- dated, and a surplus of nearly forty million dollars had accumulated in the treasury of the United States. By act of Congress this vast sum had been distributed among the several States. Owing to the abundance of money, speculations of al 1 sorts grew rife. The credit system pervaded every department of business. The banks of the country were suddenly multi- plied to nearly seven hundred. Vast issues of irredeemable paper money stimulated the speculative spirit and increased the opportunities for fraud. The bills of these unsound banks were receivable at the land-offices ; and settlers and speculators made a rush to secure the public lands while money was plentiful. Seeing that in receiving such an unsound currency in exchange for the national domain the government was likely to be defrauded out of millions, President Jackson had issued an order called THE Specie Circular, by which the land-agents were directed hence- forth to receive nothing but coin in payment for the lands. The effects of this circular came upon the nation in the first year of Van Buren's administration. The interests of the government had been secured by Jackson's vigilance ; but the business of the country was prostrated by the shock. The banks suspended specie payment. Mercantile houses failed ; and disaster swept through every avenue of trade. During the months of March and April, 1837, the failures in New York and New Orleans amounted to about a hundred and fifty million dollars. A com- mittee of business men from the former city besought the President to rescind the specie circular and to call a special session of Congress. The 438 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. former request was refused and the latter complied with ; but not until the executive was driven by the distresses of the country. When Congress convened in the following September, several measures •of relief were brought forward. A bill authorizing the issue of treasury notes, not to exceed ten millions of dollars, was passed as a temporary ex- pedient. More important by far was the measure proposed by the Presi- dent and brought before Congress under the name of the Independent Treasury Bill. By the provisions of this remarkable project the public funds of the nation were to be kept on deposit in a treasury to be established for that special purpose. It was argued by Mr. Van Buren and his friends that the surplus money of the country would drift into the independent treasury and lodge there ; and that by this means the speculative mania would be eifectually checked; for extensive speculations could not be carried on without an abundant currency. It was in the nature of the President's plan to separate the business of the United States from the general business of the country. » The independent treasury bill was passed by the Senate, but de- feated in the House of Representatives. But in the following regular session of Congress the bill was again brought forward and adopted. In the mean time, the business of the country had in a measure revived. During the year 1838 most of the banks resumed specie payments. Commercial affairs assumed their wonted aspect ; but trade M-as less vigorous than before. Enterprises of all kinds languished, and the people were greatly disheartened. Discontent prevailed ; and the administration Avas blamed with everything. In the latter part of 1837 there was an insurrection in Canada. A portion of the people, dissatisfied with the British government, broke out in revolt and attempted to establish their independence. The insurgents found much sympathy and encouragement in the United States, especially in New York. From that State a party of seven hundred men, taking arms, seized and fortified Navy Island, in the Niagara River. The loyalists of Canada attempted to capture the place, and failed. They suc- ceeded, however, in firing the Caroline, the supply-ship of the adven- turers, cut her moorings, and sent the burning vessel over Niagara Falls. These events created considerable excitement, and the peaceful relations of the United States and Great Britain were endangered. But the Presi- dent issued a proclamation of neutrality, forbidding interference with the affairs of Canada ; and General Wool ^^'as sent to the Niagara frontier with a sufficient force to quell the disturbance and punish the disturbers. The New York insurgents on Navy Island were obliged to surrender, and order was soon restored. VAN BUBEN'S ADMINISTRATION. 439 Hardly had the excitement attendant upon the Canadian troubles subsided, before the question was raised as to Van Buren's successor in the presidency. The canvass began early and in a very bitter spirit. The measures of the administration had been of such a nature as to call forth the fiercest political controversy. The Whigs, ani- mated with the hope of victory, met in national convention on the 4th of December, 1839, and again nominated General Harrison as their leader in the coming contest. On the Democratic side Mr. Van Buren had no competitor ; but the unanimity of his j^arty could hardly com- pensate for his misfortunes and blunders. The canvass was the most •exciting in the political history of the country. The President was blamed with every thing. The financial distress was laid at his door. Extravagance, bribery, corruption — every thing bad was charged upon him. Men of business advertised to pay six dollars a barrel for flour if Harrison should be elected ; three dollars a barrel if Van Buren should be successful. The Whig orators tossed about the luckless ad- ministration through all the figures and forms of speech; and the President himself was shot at with every sort of dart that partisan wit and malice could invent. The enthusiasm in the ranks of the oppo- sition rose higher and higher; and the result was the defeat of the Democrats in every State except Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, New Hampshire, Virginia, and South Carolina. The electoral votes of these States — numbering sixty — were given to Van Buren; and the remainder, amounting to two hundred and thirty-four, were cast for General Harrison. After controlling the destinies of the govern- ment for nearly forty years, the Democratic party was temporarily routed. For Vice-President, John Tyler of Virginia was chosen. In the last year of Van Buren's administration was completed the ■sixth census of the United States. The tables were, as usual, replete with the evidences of growth and progress. The national revenues for the year 1840 amounted to nearly twenty millions of dollars. Dur- ing the last ten years the center of population had moved westward along the thirty-ninth parallel of latitude from the South Fork of the Potomac to Clarksburg, West Virginia — a distance of fifty-five miles. The area of the United States now actually inhabited, amounted to eight hundred and seven thousand square miles, being an increase in ten years of twenty-seven and six-tenths per cent. The frontier line, circumscribing the population, passed through Michigan, Wiscon- sin, Iowa, and the western borders of Missouri, Arkansas, and Loui- siana — a distance of three thousand three hundred miles. The popu- lation had reached the aggregate of seventeen million souls, being an 440 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. increase since 1830 of more than six millions. It was found from the- tables that eleven-twelfths of the people lived outside of the larger cities and towns, showing the strong preponderance of the agricultural over the manufacturing and commercial interest. One of the most interesting lessons of the census was found in the fact that the wonderful growth of the United States was in extent and area, and not in accu^ iiiulation — in the spread of civilization rather than in intensity. For, isince 1830, the average population of the country had not increased by so much as one person to the square mile ! The administration of Van Buren has generally been reckoned, as unsuccessful and inglorious. But he and his times were unfortu- nate rather than bad. He was the victim of all the evils which fol- lowed hard upon the relaxation of the Jacksonian methods of govern- ment. He had neither the will nor the disposition to rule as his predecessor had done; nor were the people and their representatives any longer in the humor to suffer that sort of government. The pe- riod was unheroic : it was the ebb-tide between the belligerent excite- ments of 1832 and the war with Mexico. The financial panic added opprobrium to the popular estimate of imbecility in the government. " The administration of Van Buren/' said a bitter satirist, " is like a parenthesis: it may be read in a low tone of voice or altogether omitted without injuring the sense ! " But the satire lacked one essen- tial quality — truth. CHAPTER LVI. ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER, I84I-IS45. THE new President was a Virginian by birth, and the adopted son of Robert Morris, the financier of the Revolution. He was a grad- uate of Hampden-Sidney College, and afterward a student of medicine. Attracted by the military life, he entered the army of St. Clair; was rapidly promoted ; became lieutenant-governor and then governor of Indiana Territory, which office he filled with great ability. His mil- itary career in the North-west has already been narrated. He was inaugurated President on the 4th of March, 1841, and began his duties by issuing a call for a special session of Congress to consider " sundry important matters connected with the finances of the coun- try." An able cabinet was organized, at the head of which was Dan- ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 441 iel Webster as secretary of state. Everything promised well for the new Whig administration ; but before Congress could convene, the venerable President, bending under the weight of sixty-eight years, fell sick, and died just one month after his inauguration. It was^ the first time that such a calamity had befallen the American peo- ple. Profound and universal grief was manifested at the sad event. On the 6th of April Mr. Tyler took the oath of office, and became President of the United States. He was a statesman of considerable distinction ; a native of Vir- ginia ; a graduate of William and Mary College. At an early age he left the profession of law to enter public life ; was chosen a member of Congress; and in 1825 was elected governor of Virginia. From that position he was sent to the Senate of the United States ; and now at the age of fifty-one was called to the presidency. He had been put upon the ticket with General Harrison through motives of expe- diency ; for although a Whig in political principles, he was known to be hostile to the United States Bank. And this hostility was soon to be manifested in a remarkable manner. The special session of Congress continued from May till Septem- ber. One of the first measures proposed and carried was the repeal of the independent treasury bill. A general bankrupt law was then brought forward and passed, by which a great number of insolvent business men were relieved from the disabilities of debt. The next measure — a favorite scheme of the Whig-s — was the recharterine: of the bank of the United States. The old charter had expired in 1836 ; but the bank had continued in operation under the authority of the State of Pennsylvania. Now a bill to recharter was brought forward and passed. The President interposed his veto. Again the bill was presented, in a modified form, and received the assent of both Houses, only to be rejected by the executive. By this action a final rupture- was produced between the President and the party which had elected him. The indignant Whigs, baffied by a want of a two-thirds major- ity in Congress, turned upon him with storms of invective. All the members of the cabinet except Mr. Webster resigned ; and he retained his place only because of a pending difficulty with Great Britain. The difficulty was in the nature of a dispute about the north- eastern boundary of the United States. The territorial limit of tlie country in that direction, not having been clearly defined by the treaty of 1783, had been one of the points under discussion by the commis- sioners at Ghent in 1814. But like other matters presented for adju- dication before that polite and easily satisfied congress, the boundary 442 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. question had been postponed rather than settled. It was then agrev,d, however, to refer the establishment of the entire line between the United States and Canada to the decision of three commissioners to be jointly constituted by the two governments. The first of these bodies accomplished its work successfully by awarding to the United States the islands in the Bay of Passamaquoddy. The third commission also performed its duty by establishing the true boundary line from the intersection of the forty-fifth parallel of latitude with the River St. Lawrence to the western point of Lake Huron. To the second commission was assigned the more difficult task of settling the bound- ary from the Atlantic to the St. Lawrence ; and this Avork they failed to accomplish. For nearly twenty-five years the limit of the United States on the northeast remained in controversy; and at times the dif- ficulty became so serious as to endanger the peace of the two nations. Finally the whole matter at issue was referred to Lord Ashburton, acting on the part of Great Britain, and Mr. Webster, the American Secretary of State. After an able discussion of all the points in dis- pute, the boundary was definitely established as follows: From the mouth of the River St. Croix ascending that stream to its western fountain; from that fountain due north to the St. John's; thence with that river to its source on the watershed between the Atlantic and the St. Lawrence; thence in a southwesterly direction along the crest of the highlands to the northwestern source of the Connecticut; and down that stream to and along the forty-fifth parallel to the St. Law- rence. The work of the commissioners extended also to the estab- lishment of the boundary from the western point of Lake Huron through Lake Superior to the northwestern extremity of the Lake of Woods, thence — confirming the treaty of October, 1818, — southward to the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, and thence with that parallel to the Rocky Mountains. This important settlement, known as the Web- -STER-AsHBURTON Treaty, was completed on the 9th of August, 1842, and was ratified by tlie Senate on the 20th of the same month. In the next year the country was vexed with a domestic trouble. For nearly two centuries the government of Rhode Island had been administered under a charter granted by Charles II. By the terms of that ancient instrument the right of suffrage was restricted to those who held a certain amount of property. There were other clauses re- pugnant to the spirit of republicanism; and a proposition was made to change the constitution of the State. On that issue the people of Rhode Island were nearly unanimous ; but in respect to the manner •of abrogating the old charter there was a serious division. One fac- ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 443 tion, called the " law and order party/' proceeding in accordance with the former constitution, chose Samuel W. King as governor. The other faction, called the "suffrage party," acting in an irregular way, elected Thomas W. Dorr. In May of 1842 both parties met and or- ganized their rival governments. The " law and order party " now undertook to suppress the faction of Dorr. The latter resisted and made an attempt to capture the State arsenal. But the militia, under the direction of King's officers, drove the assailants away. A month later the adherents of Dorr again appeared in arms, but were dispersed by the troops of the United States. Dorr fled from Rhode Island; returned soon afterward, was caught, tried for treason, convicted, and sentenced to imprisonment for life. He was then offered pardon on condition of taking an oath of allegiance. This he stubbornly refused to do; and in June of 1845 obtained his liberty without conditions. The year 1842 was noted for the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument. No enterprise of a similar character had, in the whole history of the country, called forth so much patriotic enthusiasm. The foundation of the noble struc- ture was laid on the 17th of June, 1825, the corner-stone being put into its place by the venerable La Fay- ette. Daniel Webster, then young in years and fame, delivered the ora- tion of the day, while two hundred Revolutionary veterans — forty of them survivors of the battle fought -on that hill-crest just fifty years be- fore — gathered with the throng to hear him. But the work of erection went on slowly. More than a hun- dred and fifty thousand dollars were expended, and seventeen years elapsed before the grand shaft — com- memorative of the heroes living and ■dead — was finished. At last the work was done, and the mighty column of Quincy granite, thirty-one feet square at the base and two hundred and twenty-one feet in height, 5tood out sublimely against the clouds and sky. It was deemed fit- ting, however, to postpone the dedication until the next anniversary of the battle; and preparations were made accordingly. On the 17th BUNKER HILL MONUMENT. 444 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. of June, 1843, an immense multitude of people — including most of the Revolutionary soldiers who had not yet fallen — gathered from all parts of the Republic to witness the imposing ceremony. Mr. Web- ster, now full of years and honors, was chosen to deliver the address of dedication — a duty which he performed in a manner so touching and eloquent as to add new luster to his fame as an orator. The celebra- tion was concluded with a public dinner given in Faneuil Hall, the cradle of American liberty. In the latter part of Tyler's administration the State of New York was the scene of a serious social disturbance. Until the year 1840 the descendants of Van Rensselaer, one of the old Dutch pa- troons of New Netherland, had held a claim on certain lands in the counties of Rensselaer, Columbia and Delaware. In liquidation of this claim they had continued to receive from the farmers certain trifling rents. At last the farmers grew tired of the payment, and rebelled. From 1840 until 1844 the question was frequently dis- cussed in the New York legislature ; but no satisfactory settlement was reached. In the latter year the anti-rent party became so bold as to coat with tar and feathers those of their fellow-tenants who made the payments. Officers were sent to ajiprehend the rioters ; ;ind them they killed. Time and again the authorities of the State were invoked to quell the disturbers ; and the question in dispute has^ never been permanently settled. Of a different sort was the difficulty with the Mormons, who now began to play a part in the history of the country. Under the leader- ship of their prophet, Joseph Smith, they made their first important set- tlement in Jackson county, Missouri. Here their numbers increased to fully fifteen hundred ; and they began to say that the great West was to be their inheritance. Not liking their neighbors or their practices,^ the people of Missouri determined to be rid of them. As soon as op- portunity offered, the militia was called out, and the Mormons were obliged to leave the State. In" the spring of 1839 they crossed the Mississippi into Illinois, and on a high bluff overlooking the river laid out a city which they called Nauvoo, meaning the Beautiful. Here they built a splendid temple. Other Mormons from different parts of the Union and from Europe came to join the community, until the number was swelled to ten thousand. Again popular sus- picion was aroused against them. Under the administration of Smith, laws were enacted contrary to the statute of Illinois. The people charged the Mormons with the commission of certain thefts and mur- ders ; and it was believed that the courts in the neighborhood of Nau- voo would be powerless to convict the criminals. ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 445 In the midst of much excitement Smith and his brother were ar- rested, taken to Carthage, and lodged in jail. On the 27th of June, 1844, a mob gathered, broke open the jail doors and killed the prisoners. Dur- ing the rest of the summer there were many scenes of violence. In 1845 the charter of Nauvoo was annulled bv the legislature of Illinois. Most of the Mormons gave up in despair and resolved to exile themselves be- yond the limits of civilization. In 1846 they began their march to the far West. In September Nauvoo was cannonaded for three days, and the remnant of inhabitants driven to join their companions at Council Bluffs. Thence they dragged themselves wearily westward; crossed the Hocky Mountains; rea'^hed the basin of the Great Salt Lake, and founded Utah Territory. Meanwhile, a great agitation had arisen in the country in regard to the republic of Texas. From 1821 to 1836 this vast territory lying be- tween Louisiana and Mexico, had been a province of the latter country. For a long time it had been the policy of Spain and Mexico to keep Texas uninhabited, in order that the vigorous race of Americans might not encroach on the Mexican bcj ders. At last, however, a large land- grant was made to Moses Austin of Connecticut, on condition that he would settle three hundred American families within the limits of his do- main. Afterward the grant was confirmed to his son Stephen, with the privilege of establishing five hundred additional families of immigrants. Thus the foundation of Texas was laid by people of the English race. Owing to the oppressive policy adopted by Mexico, the Texans, in the year 1835, raised the standard of rebellion. Many adventurers and some heroes from the United States flocked to their aid. In the first battle, fought at Gonzales, a thousand Mexicans were defeated by a Texan force numbering five hundred. On the 6th of March, 1836, a Texan fort, called the Alamo, was surrounded by a Mexican army of eight thousand, commanded by President Santa Anna. The feeble garrison was overpowered and massacred under circumstances of great atrocity. The daring David Crocket, an ex-congressman of Tennessee, and a famous hunter, was one of the victims of the butchery. In the next month was fought the decisive battle of San Jacinto, which gave to Texas her freedom. The independence of the new State was ac- knowledged by the United States, Great Britain and France. As soon as the people of Texas had thrown off the Mexican yoke they asked to be admitted into the Union. At first the proposition was declined by President Van Buren, who feared a war with Mex- ico. In the last year of Tyler's administration the question of annex- ation was again agitated. The population of Texas had increased to more than two hundred thousand souls. The territory embraced an 44G HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. area of two hundred and thirty-seven thousand square miles — a do- main more than five times as large as the State of Pennsylvania. It was like annexing an empire. The proposition to admit Texas into the Union was the great question on which the people divided in the presidential elec- tion of 1844. The annexation was fa- vored by the Demo- crats and opposed by the Whigs. The parties were equally matched in strength; and the contest sur- passed in excitement anything which had been known in Amer- ican politics. James K. Polk of Tennessee was put forward as the Democratic can- didate, while the Whigs chose their favorite leader, Hen- ry Clay. The former was elected, and the hope of the latter to reach the presidency was forever eclipsed. For Vice-President, George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania was chosen. The convention by Avhich Mr. Polk was nominated was held at Baltimore. On the 29th of May, 1844, the news of the nomination was sent to Washington by the Magnetic Telegraph. It was the first despatch ever so transmitted ; and the event marks an era in the his- tory of civilization. The inventor of the telegraph, which has proved 60 great a blessing to mankind, was Professor Samuel F. B. Morse of Massachusetts. The magnetic principle on which the invention depends had been known since 1774 ; but Professor Morse was the first to apply that principle for the benefit of men. He began his experi- ments in 1832: and five years afterward succeeded in obtaining a patent on his invention. Then followed another long delay ; and it was not until the last day of the session in 1843 that he procured from Congress an appropriation of thirty thousand dollars. With that appropriation was constructed between Baltimore and Wash- PROFESSOR MORSE. POLK'S ADMINISTBATION: 447 ington the first telegraphic line in the world. Perhaps no other invention has exercised a more beneficent influence on the welfare and happiness of the human race. When Congress convened in December of 1844, the proposition to admit Texas into the Union was formally brought forward. Dur- ing the winter the question was frequently debated ; and on the 1st of March — only three days before Tyler's retirement from the presi- dency — the bill of annexation was adopted. The President imme- diately gave his assent; and the Lone Star took its place in the constellation of the States. On the day before the inauguration of Mr. Polk bills for the admission of Florida and Iowa were also signed ; but the latter State — the twenty-ninth member of the Amer* lean Union — was not formally admitted until the following year. CHAPTER LVII. POLK'S ADMimSTRATION, AND THE MEXICAN WAR, 1845-1849. PRESIDENT POLK was a native of North Carolina. In boyhood he removed with his father to Tennessee ; entered the legislature of the State ; and was then elected to Congress, where he served as member or speaker for fourteen years. In 1839 he was chosen gov- ernor of Tennessee, and from that position was called, at the early age of forty-nine, to the presidential chair. At the head of the new cabinet was placed James Buchanan of Pennsylvania. It was an of- fice requiring high abilities; for the threatening question with Mexica came at once to a crisis. As soon as the resolution to annex Texas was adopted by Congress, Almonte, the Mexican minister at Washing- ton, demanded his passports and left the country. On the 4th of July, 1845, the Texan legislature ratified the act of annexation ; and the union was completed. Knowing the warlike determination of Mexico, the authorities of Texas sent an immediate and urgent request to the President to despatch an army for their pro- tection. Accordingly, General Zachary Taylor was ordered to march from Camp Jessup, in Western Louisiana, and occupy Texas: The real question at issue between that State and Mexico was concerning boundaries. The foundation of the difficulty had been laid as early as- 448 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. the Mexican revolution of 1821. By that event Mexico had achieved her independence of Spain, and in rearranging her civil administra- tion had united Coahuila and Texas — the two frontier States east of the Rio Grande — under one provincial government. Such was the condition of affairs at the time of the Texan rebellion of 1836. Texas, being successful in her struggle with Mexico, naturally claimed that her own independence carried with it the independence of Coahuila, and that, therefore, the territory of the latter province became an in- tegral part of the new Texan republic. This theory the joint legis- lature of Texas and Coahuila made haste to put into statutory form by a resolution of December 19th, 1836. Mexico, however, insisted that Texas only, and not Coahuila, had revolted against her authority, and that, therefore, the latter province, was still rightfully a part of the Mexican dominions. Thus it came to pass that Texas — now a State in the American Union — claimed the Rio Grande as her west- ern limit, while Mexico was de- termined to have the Nueces as the separating line. The ter- ritorv between the two rivers Avas in dispute. The govern- ment of the United States made a proposal to settle the contro- versy by negotiation, but the authorities of Mexico scornfully refused. This refusal was con- strued by the Americans as a virtual acknowledgment that the Mexicans were in the wronjr, and that the Rio Grande might justly be claimed as the boundary. Instructions were accoi'dingly sent to General Taylor to advance his army as near to that river as circum- stances would warrant. Under these orders he moved forward to Cor- j)us Christi, at the mouth of the Nueces, established a camp, and by the beginning of November, 1845, had concentrated a force of between four and five thousand men. In tlie following January General Taylor was ordered to advance to the Rio Grande. It was known that the Mexican government had resolved not to receive the American ambassador sent thither to ne- TEXAS AND COAHUILA, 1845. POLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 449 SCENE OF TAYLOR'S CAMPAIGN, 1846-47. gotiate a settlement. It had also transpired that an army of Mexicans was gathering in the northern part of the country for the invasion of Texas, or, at any rate, for the occupation of the disputed territory. On the 8th of March the American army began the advance from Corpus Christi to Point Isabel, on the gulf. At that place General Taylor established a d§p6t of sup- plies, and then pressed forward to the Rio Grande. Arriving at the river a few miles above the mouth, he took his station opposite Matamoras and hastily erected a fortress, after- ward named Fort Brown. On the 26th of April, General Arista, who had arrived at Matamoras on the previous day and assumed com- mand of the Mexican forces on the frontier, notified General Tay- lor that hostilities had begun. On the same day a company of Amer- ican dragoons, commanded by Captain Thornton, was attacked by a body of Mexicans, east of the Rio Grande, and after losing sixteen men in killed and wounded, was obliged to surrender. This was the first bloodshed of the war. At the same time large bodies of Mexi- cans — marauders, infantry, and cavalry — crossed the Rio Grande be- low Fort Brown and threatened the American lines of communication. General Taylor, alarmed lest the Mexicans should make a circuit and capture the stores at Point Isabel, hastened to that place and strength- ened the defences. The fort opposite Matamoras was left under the command of Major Brown with a garrison of three hundred men. The withdrawal of the American general with the greater part of his forces was witnessed by the Mexicans in Matamoras, who, mistaking the movement for a retreat inspired by fear, were in great jubilation. The Republican Monitor, a Mexican newspaper of Matamoras, pub- lished on the following day a flaming editorial, declaring that the cowardly invaders of Mexico had fled like a gang of poltroons to the sea-coast and were using every exertion to get out of the country be- fore the thunderbolt of Mexican vengeance should smite them. Ar- ista himself was confident that the Americans, becoming alarmed at their exposed position, had shrunk from the conflict and that it was only necessary for him to bombard Fort Brown in order to end the war. As soon as his supplies at Point Isabel were deemed secure. General Taylor set out with a provision-train and an army of more than two thousand men to return to Fort Brown. Meanwhile, the Mexicans to the number of six thousand had crossed the Rio Grande 29 450 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. and taken a strong position at Palo Alto, directly in Taylor's route. At: noon on the 8th of May the Americans came in sight and immediately joined battle. After a severe engagement of five hours' duration the Mexicans were driven from the field, with the loss of a hundred men. The American artillery was served with signal efiect ; while the fighting of the enemy was clumsy and ineffectual. Only four Americans were killed and forty wounded; but among the former was the gallant and much-lamented Major Ringgold of the artillery. On the following day General Taylor resumed his march in the direction of Fort Brown. When within three miles of that place, he again came upon the Mexicans, who had rallied in full force to dispute his advance. They had selected for their second battle-field a place called Resaca de la Palma. Here an old river-bed, dry and overgrown with cactus, crossed the road leading to the fort. The enemy's artillery was well posted and better served than on the previous day. The Ameri- can lines were severely galled until the brave Captain May with his regi- ment of dragoons charged through a storm of grape-shot, rode over the Mexican batteries, sabred the gunners, and captured La Vega, the com- manding general. The Mexicans, abandoning their guns and flinging away their accoutrements, fled in a general rout. Before nightfall they had put the Rio Grande between themselves and the invincible Americans. On reaching Fort Brown, General Taylor found that during his absence the place had been constantly bombarded by the guns of Matamoras. But a brave defence had been made, which cost, with other losses and suffering, the life of Major Brown, the commandant. Such was the be- ginning of a war in which Mexico experienced a long list of humiliating defeats. When the news of the battles on the Rio Grande was borne through the Union, the war spirit was everywhere aroused. Party dissensions were hushed into silence. The President, in a message to Congress, noti- fied that body that the lawless soldiery of Mexico had shed the blood of American citizens on American soil. On the 11th of May, 1846, Con- gress promptly responded with a declaration that war already existed by the act of the Mexican government. The President was authorized to accept the services of fifty thousand volunteers, and ten million dollars were placed at his disposal. War meetings M^ere held in all parts of the country, and within a few weeks nearly three hundred thousand men rushed forward to enter the ranks. A grand invasion of Mexico was planned by General Scott. The American forces were organized in three divisions : the Arjiy of the West, under General Kearney, to cross the Rocky Mountains and conquer the northern Mexican provinces r r POLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 451 THE Aemy of the Centre, Under General Scott as commander-in- chief, to march from the gulf coast into the heart of the enemy's country , THE Army of Occupation, commanded by General Taylor, to subdues and hold the districts on the Rio Grande. The work of mustering the American troops was entrusted to Gen- eral "Wool. By the middle of summer he succeeded in despatching t< . General Taylor a force of nine thousand men. He then established his camp at San Antonio, Texas, and from that point prepared the gathering recruits for the field. Meanwhile, Taylor had resumed active operations on the Rio Grande. Ten days after the battle of Resaca de la Palma he crossed from Fort Brown and captured Matamoras. Soon afterward he began his march up the right bank of the river and into the interior. The Mexicans, grown wary of their antagonist, fell back and took post at the fortified town of Monterey". To capture that place was the next object of the campaign ; but the American army was feeble in numbers, and General Taylor was obliged to tarry near the Rio Grande until the latter part of August. By that time reinforcements had arrived, increasing his numbers to six thousand six hundred. With this force the march against Monterey was begun ; and on the 19th of September the town, defended by fully ten thousand troops, under command of Ampudia, was reached and invested. The siege was pressed with great vigor. On the 21st of the month several assaults were made, in which the Americans, led by General Worth, carried the fortified heights in the rear of the town. In that part of the defences only the bishop's palace — a strong building of stone — re- mained ; and this was taken by storm on the following day. On the morning of the 23d the city was successfully assaulted in front by Gen- erals Quitman and Butler. In the face of a tremendous cannonade and an incessant tempest of musket-balls discharged from the house-tops and alleys, tlie American storm ing-parties charged resistlessly into the town» They reached the Grand Plaza, or public square. They hoisted the vic- torious flag of the Union. They turned upon the buildings where the Mexicans were concealed ; broke open the doors ; charged up dark stair- ways to the flat roofs of the houses ; and drove the terrified enemy to an ignominious surrender. The honors of war were granted to Ampudia, who evacuated the city and retired toward the capital. The storming of Monterey was a signal victory, gained against great superiority of num- bers and advantage of position. After the capitulation General Taylor received notice that overtures of peace were about to be made by the Mexican government. He there- fore agreed to an armistice of eight weeks, during which time neither party 452 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. should renew hostilities. In reality the Mexicans had no thought of peace. They employed the whole interval in warlike preparations. The famous general Santa Anna was called home from his exile at Havana to take the presidency of the country. In the course of the autumn a Mexican army of twenty thousand men was raised and sent into the field. In the mean time, the armistice had expired ; and General Taylor, acting under orders of the War Department, again moved forward. On the 15th of November, the town of Saltillo, seventy miles south-west from Mon- terey, was captured by the American advance under General Worth. In the following month, Victoria, a city in the province of Tamaulipas, was taken by the command of General Patterson. To that place General Butler advanced from Monterey on the march against Tampico, on the river Panuco. At Victoria, however, he learned that Tampico had already capitulated to Captain Conner, commander of an American flotilla. Meanwhile, General Wool, advancing with strong reinforce- ments from San Antonio, entered Mexico, and took a position within sup- porting distance of Monterey. It was at this juncture that General Scott arrived and assumed the command of the American forces. The Army of the West had not been idle. In June of 1846 General Kearney set out from Fort Leavenworth, on the Missouri, for the conquest of New Mexico and California. After a long and wearisome march he reached Santa Fe, and on the 18th of August captured and gar- risoned the city. The whole of New Mexico submitted without further resistance. With a body of four hundred dragoons Kearney then con- tinued his march toward the Pacific coast. At the distance of three hun- dred miles from Santa Fe he was met by the famous Kit Carson, who brought intelligence from the far West that California had already been subdued. Kearney accordingly sent back three-fourths of his forces, and with a party of only a hundred men made his way to the Pacific. On that far-off coast stirring events had happened. For four years Colonel John C. Fremont had been exploring the •country west of the Rocky Mountains. He had hoisted the American flag on the highest peak of the great range, and then directed his route by Salt Lake to Oregon. Turning southward into California, he received despatches informing him of the impending war with JNIexico. Deter- mined to strike a blow for his country, he urged the people of California, many of whom were Americans, to declare their independence. The hardy frontiersmen of the Sacramento valley flocked to his standard ; and a campaign was at once begun to overthrow the Mexican authority. In several petty engagements the ximericans were victorious over greatly *uiperior numbers. Meanwhile, Commodore Sloat, commanding an POLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 453 American fleet, had captured the town of Monterey, on the coast, eighty miles south of San Francisco. A few days afterward Commodore Stock- ton took command of the Pacific squadron and made himself master of San Diego. Hearing of these events, Fremont raised the flag of the United States instead of the flag of California, and joined the naval com- manders in a successful movement against Los Angelos, which was taken without opposition. Before the end of summer the whole of the vast province was subdued. In November General Kearney arrived with his company and joined Fremont and Stockton. About a month later the Mexicans rose in rebellion, but were defeated on the 8th of January,. 1847, in the decisive battle of San Gabriel, by which the authority of the United States was completely established. A country large enough for an empire had been conquered by a handful of resolute men. In the mean time, Colonel Doniphan, who had been left by Kear- ney in command of New Mexico, had made one of the most brilliant movements of the war. With a body of seven hundred fearless men he began a march through the enemy's country from Santa Fe to Saltillo, a distance of more than eight hundred miles. Reaching the Rio Grande on Christmas day, he fought and gained the battle of Bracito ; then, crossing the river, captured El Paso, and in two months pressed his way to within twenty miles of Chihuahua. On the banks of Sacramento Creek he met the Mexicans in overwhelming numbers, and on the 28th of February completely routed them. He then marched unopposed into Chihuahua — a city of more than forty thousand inhabitants — and finally reached the division of General Wool in safety. As soon as General Scott arrived in Mexico he ordered a large part of the Army of Occupation to join him on the gulf for the conquest of the capital. By the withdrawal of these troops from the divisions of Taylor and Wool these officers were left in a very exposed and critical condition ; for Santa Anna was rapidly advancing against them with an army of twenty thousand men. To resist this tremendous array General Taylor was able to concentrate at Saltillo a force numbering not more than six thousand ; and after putting sufficient garrisons in that town and Mon- terey, his effective forces amounted to but four thousand eight hundred. With this small but resolute army he marched boldly out to meet the Mexican host. A favorable battle-ground was chosen at Buena Vista^ four miles south of Saltillo. Here Taylor posted his troops and awaited the enemy. On the 22d of February the Mexicans, twenty thousand strong, came pouring through the gorges and over the hills from the direction of San Luis Potosi. Santa Anna demanded a surrender, and was met with 454 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. defiance. On the morning of the 23d the battle began with an effort to out- flank the American position on the right ; but the attempt was thwarted by the troops of Illinois. A heavy column was then thrown against the centre, only to be shattered and driven back by Captain Washington's artillery. The Mexicans next fell in great force upon the American left flank, where the second regiment of Indianians, acting under a mistaken order, gave way, putting the army in great peril. But the troops of Mississippi and Kentucky were rallied to the breach ; the men of Illinois and Indiana came bravely to the support; and again the enemy was hurled back. In the crisis of the battle the INIexicans made a furious and final charge upon Captain Bragg's battery ; but the gunners stood at their posts un- daunted, and the columns of lancers were scattered with terrible volleys of grape-shot. A charge of American cavalry, though made at the sacri- fice of many lives, added to the discomfiture of the foe. Against tremen- dous odds the field was fairly won. On the night after the battle the Mexicans, having lost nearly two thousand men, made a jirecipitate re- treat. The American loss was also severe, amounting, in killed, wounded and missing, to seven hundred and forty-six. This was the last of General Taylor's battles. He soon afterward returned to the United States, where he was received with great enthusiasm. On the 9th of March, 1847, General Scott began the last campaign of the war. With a force of twelve thousand men he landed to the south of Vera Cruz, and in three days the investment of the city was completed. Trenches were opened at the distance of eight hundred yards ; and on the morning of the 22d the cannonade was begun. On the water side Vera Cruz M'as defended by the celebrated castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, erected by Spain in the early part of the sev- enteenth century, at the cost of four million dollars. For four days an incessant storm of shot and shell from the fleet of Commodore Conner and tlie land-batteries of Scott was poured upon the doomed castle and town. Life and property were swept into a common ruin. An assault was already planned, when the humbled authorities of the city proposed ca- pitulation. On the night of the 27th terms of surrender were signed, and two days afterward the American flag floated over Vera Cruz. The route from the gulf to the capital was now open. On the 8th of April General Twiggs, in command of the American advance, set out SCENE OF SCOTT'S CAMPAIGN, 1S47. POLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 455 on the road to Jalapa. The main division, led by General Scott in per- son, followed immediately. For several days there was no serious oppo- sition; but on the 12th of the month Twiggs came upon Santa Anna, who, with an army of fifteen thousand men, had taken possession of the heights and rocky pass of Cerro Gordo. The position, though seemingly impregnable, must be carried, or further advance was impossible. On the morning of the 18th the American army was arranged for an assault which, according to all the rules of war, promised only disaster and ruin. But to the troops of the United States nothing now seemed too arduous, no deed too full of peril. Before noonday every position of the Mexicans had been suc- cessfully stormed and themselves driven into a precipitate rout. Nearly three thousand prisoners were taken, together with forty-three pieces of bronze artillery, five thousand muskets and accoutrements enough to supply an army. The American loss amounted to four hundred and thirty-one, that of the enemy to fully a thousand. Santa Anna escaped with his life, but left behind his private papers and wooden leg. On the next day the victorious army entered Jalapa. On the 22d the strong castle of Perote, crowning a peak of the Cordilleras, was taken without resistance. Here another park of artillery and a vast amount of warlike stores fell into the hands of the Americans. Turning southward, 'General Scott next led his army against the ancient and sacred city of Puebla. Though inhabited by eighty thousand people, no defence was made or attempted. The handful of invaders marched unopposed through the gates, and on the 15th of May took up their quarters in the city. The American army was now reduced to five thousand men, and General Scott was obliged to pause until reinforcements could be brought forward from Yera Cruz. Negotiations were again opened in the hope of peace ; but the Mexican authorities, stubborn and foolhardy as at the beginning, preferred to fight it out. By the 7th of August General Scott had received reinforcements, rswelling his numbers to nearly eleven thousand. Leaving a small garri- cson in Puebla, he again began his march upon the capital. The route now lay over the summit of the Cordilleras. At the passes of the moun- tains resistance had been expected ; but the advance was unopposed, and the army swept through to look down on the Valley of Mexico. Never before had the American soldiery beheld such a scene. Clear to the horizon stretched a most living landscape of green fields, villages and lakes — a picture too beautiful to be torn with the dread enginery of war. The army pressed on to Ayotla, only fifteen miles from the capital. Thus far General Scott had followed the great national road from Vera Cruz to Mexico ; but now, owing to the many fortifications and danger- 456 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ous passes in front, it was deemed advisable to change the route. From Ayotla, therefore, the army wheeled to the south, around Lake Chalco, and thence westward to San Augustine. From this place it was but ten miles to the capital. The city could be approached only by causeways leading across marshes and the beds of bygone lakes. At the ends of*' these causeways were massive gates strongly defended. To the left of the line of march were the almost inaccessible positions of Contreras, San Antonio and Molino del Rey. Directly in front, beyond the marshes and closer to the city, were the powerful defences of Churubusco and Chapul- tepec^ the latter a castle of great strength. These various positions were held by Santa Anna with a force of more than thirty thousand Mexicans. That General Scott, with an army not one-third as great in numbers, could take the city seemed an impossibility. But he was resolved to do it. On the 19th of August the divisions of Generals Pillow and Twiggs were ordered to storm the Mexican position at Contreras. About night- fall the line of communications between that place and Santa Anna's re- serves was cut, and in the darkness of the following midnight an assault- ing column, led by General Persifer F. Smith, moved against the enemy's camp. The attack was made at sunrise, and in seventeen minutes six thousand Mexicans, commanded by General Valencia, were driven in utter rout from their fortifications. The American storm ing-party num- bered less than four thousand. This was the Jirst victory of that mem- orable 20th of August. A few hours afterward General Worth advanced against San Antonio, compelled an evacuation and routed the flying gar- rison. This was the second victory. Almost at the same time General Pillow led a column against one of the heights of Oliurubusco where the enemy had concentrated in great force. After a terrible assault the posi- tion was carried and the Mexicans scattered like chaff. This was the third triumj)h. The division of General Twiggs added a fourth victory by storming and holding another height of Churubusco, while the ffth and last was achieved by Generals Shields and Pierce, who defeated Santa Anna, coming to reinforce his garrisons. The whole Mexican army was hurled back upon the remaining fortification of Chapultepec. On the mornino: after the battles the IMexican authorities sent out a proposition to negotiate. It was only a ruse to gain time, for the terms proposed by them were such as conquerors would have dictated to the vanquished. General Scott, who did not consider his army vanquished, rejected the proposals with scorn, rested his men until the 7th of Septem- ber, and then renewed hostilities. On the next morning General Worth was ordered to take ^Molino del Rey and Casa de JSIata, the western de- POLK 'S ADMINISTRA TION. 45r l.ences of Chapultepec. These positions were held by fourteen thousand Mexicans; but the Americans, after losing a fourth of their number in the desperate onset, were again victorious. The guns were next brought to bear on Chapultepec itself, and on the 13th of the month that frowning citadel was carried by storm. Through the San Cosme and Belen gates the conquering army swept resistlessly, and at nightfall the soldiers of the Union were in the suburbs of Mexico. In the darkness of that night Santa Anna and the officers of th& government fled from the city; but not un- til they had turned loose two thousand convicts to fire upon the American army. On the following morning, before day- dawn, forth came a deputation from the city to beg for mercy. This time the messen- gers ivere in earnest; but General Scott, weary of trifling, turned them away ^ with contempt. " For- ward!" was the order that rang along the American lines at sun- rise. The war-worn regiments swept into the beautiful streets of the famous city, and at seven o'clock the flag of the United States floated over the halls of the Montezumas. So ended one of the most brilliant campaigns known in modern history. On leaving his conquered capital Santa Anna, with his usual treachery, turned about to attack the American hospitals at Puebla. Here about eighteen hundred sick men had been left in charge of Colonel Childs. For several days a gallant resistance was made by the feeble garrison, until General Lane, on his march to the capital, fell upon the besiegers and scattered them. It was the closing stroke of the war — a GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. 458 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. contest in which the Americans, few in number and in a far-distantj, densely-peopled country, had gained every victory. The military power of Mexico was now completely broken. Santa Anna was a fugitive. It only remained to determine the conditions of peace. In the winter of 1847-48 American ambassadors met the Mexican Congress, in session at Guadalupe Hidalgo, and on the 2d of February a treaty was concluded between the two nations. The compact was ratified by both governments, and on the 4th of the following July President Polk made a proclamation of peace. By the terms of settlement the boundary- line between Mexico and the United States was fixed as follows: The Rio Grande from its mouth to the southern limit of New Mexico ; thence westward along the southern and northward along the western boundary of that territory to the river Gila ; thence down that river to the Colo- rado ; thence westward to the Pacific. The whole of New Mexico and Upper California was relinquished to the United States. ISIexico guar- anteed the free navigation of the Gulf of California, and the river Colo- rado from its mouth to the confluence of the Gila. In consideration of these territorial acquisitions and privileges the United States agreed to surrender all places held by military occupation in Mexico, to pay into the treasury of that country fifteen million dollars, and to assume all debts due from the Mexican government to American citizens, said debts not to exceed three million five hundred thousand dollars. Thus at last was the territory of the United States spread out in one broad belt from ocean to ocean. In the mean time the troublesome and alarming question of ihb Oregon Boundary was finally disposed of. For more than a quarter •of a century the territorial limit of the United States on the northwest had been a matter of controversy between the Federal government and Great Britain. By the terms of the convention of 1818 the in- ternational line had been carried westward from the northwestern ex- tremity of the Lake of the Woods along the forty-ninth parallel to the crest of the Rocky Mountains; but from that point to the Pacific no agreement could be reached. As early as 1807, and again in 1818 and 1826, the United States had formally claimed the parallel of fifty- four degrees and forty minutes; but this boundary Great Britain refused to accept. By a convention, held in August of 1827, it was agreed by the representatives of the two powers that the territory lying between the forty-ninth parallel — which, according to the English theory, was the true international line — and the parallel of fifty-four degrees and forty minutes should remain open indefinitely and impartially for the joint occupancy of British and American citizens. By this action the POLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 459 -difficulty was postponed for sixteen years; but thouglitful statesmen of both nations became alarmed that a question of such magnitude should remain unsettled, and negotiations were renewed. In 1843 the minister resident of the United States in London again proposed the parallel of fifty-four degrees and forty minutes, but the proposition was rejected. In the next year the British ambassador at Washington again suggested the forty-ninth degree of latitude as the true bound- ary; but to this the government of the United States refused to ac- cede. Then came the war with Mexico and with it the prospective extension of territory on the southwest. The views of the adminis- tration in regard to the northwestern boundary became less stringent; and finally, in a convention of the two powers held on the 15th of June, 1846, the question was definitely settled by a treaty. Every point of the long-standing controversy was decided in favor of Great Britain. The forty-ninth parallel was established as the international boundary from the summit of the Rocky Mountains to the middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver's Island; thence southerly through tlie middle of said channel and of Fuca's Straits to the Pacific. Vancouver's Island itself was awarded to Great Britain; and the free navigation of the Columbia River was guaran- teed to the Hudson Bay Company and other British subjects on the .same conditions as those imposed on citizens of the United States. The treaty was by no means so favorable as might have been expected, and by many it was denounced as actually dishonorable to the Fed- eral government. It is certain that better terms might have been de- manded and obtained.* A few days after the signing of the treaty of peace with Mexico an event occurred in California which spread excitement through the civilized world. A laborer, employed by Captain Sutter to cut a mill- race on the American fork of the Sacramento River, discovered some pieces of gold in the sand where he was digging. With further search other particles were found. The news spread as if borne on the wind. From all quarters adventurers came flocking. Other explorations led to further revelations of the precious metal. For a while there seemed no end to the discoveries. Straggling gold-hunters sometimes picked up in a few hours the value of five hundred dollars. The intelligence went flying through the States to the Atlantic, and then to the ends *Such was the indignation of the opponents of this treaty — especially of the leaders of the Whig party — tliat the political battle-cry of ^'Fifty-four Forty or Fight/" became almost as popular a motto as "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights" had been in the War •of 1812. 460 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. of the world. Men thousands of miles away were crazed with excite- ment. Workshops were shut up, business houses abandoned, fertile farms left tenantless, offices deserted. Though the overland routes to California were scarcely yet discovered, thousands of our eager adven- turers started on the long, long journey. Before the end of 1850 San Francisco had grown from a miserable village of huts to a city of fifteen thousand inhabitants. By the close of 1852 the territory had a population of more than a quarter of a million. The importance of the gold mines of California, whose richness is not yet exhausted, can hardly be overestimated. THE SMITUbONIAN INSTITUTION. In April of 1846, Congress passed an act organizing the Smith- sonian Institution at Washington City. Twenty-two years previ- ously an eminent English chemist and philanthropist named James Smithson* had died at Genoa, bequeathing on certain conditions a large sum of money to the United States. In the fall of 1838, by the death of Smithson's nephew, the proceeds of the estate, amount- ing to five hundred and fifteen thousand dollars, were secured by the * Until after his graduation at Oxford in 1786, this remarkable man was known hy the name of James Lewis Made. Afterward, of his own accord, he chose the name of. his reputed futlier, Hugh Smithson, duke of Northumberland, POLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 461 agent of the national government and deposited in the mint. It had been provided in the will that the bequest should be used for the establishment at Washington of an institution Jor the increase and dif- fusion of knowledge among men. To carry out the great design of the testator a plan of organization, prepared by John Quincy AdamS; was laid before Congress and after some modifications adopted. In the act of establishment it was provided that the institution contemplated by Mr. Smithson should be named in his honor " The Smithsonian Institution " ; that the same should be under the imme- diate control of a Board of Regents composed of the President, Vice- President, judges of the Supreme Court, and other principal officers of the government; that the entire Smithsonian fund, amounting with accrued interest to six hundred and fifty-five thousand dollars, should be loaned forever to the United States at six per cent. ; that out of the proceeds, together with congressional appropriations and private gifts, buildings should be provided suitable to contain a museum of nat- ural history, a cabinet of minerals, a chemical laboratory, a gallery of art, and a library. Professor Joseph Henry of Princeton College was chosen secretary of the institution, and the plan of organization was speedily and successfully carried out. The result has been the establishment in the United States of one of the most beneficent in- stitutions known in the history of mankind. The Smithsonian Con- tributions to Knoioledge already amount to eighteen volumes quarto; and the future is destined to yield still richer results in widening the boundaries of human thought and increasing the happiness of men. In the first summer of President Polk's administration the coun- try was called to mourn the death of General Jackson. The veteran warrior and statesman lived to the age of seventy-eight, and died at his home, called the Hermitage, in Tennessee. On the 23d of Feb- ruary, 1848, ex-President John Quincy Adams died at the city of Washington. At the time of his decease he was a member of the House of Representatives. He was struck with paralysis in the very seat from which he had so many times electrified the nation with his eloquence. In 1848 Wisconsin, the last of the five great States formed from the North-western Territory, was admitted into the Union. The new commonwealth came with a population of two hundred and fifty thou- sand and an area of nearly fifty-four thousand square miles. By estab- lishing the St. Croix instead of the Mississippi as the western boundary of the State, Wisconsin lost a considerable district rightfully belonging to her territory. 462 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Near the close of Polk's administration an important addition was made to the President's cabinet by the establishment of the De- partment OP THE Interioe. To the three original departments of the government, as organized during the administration of Washing- ton, had already been added the offices of Postmaster-General and Secretary of the Navy. The Attorney-General had also come to be recognized as a regular member of the cabinet. With the growth and development of the nation it was found that the duties belong- ing to the departments of state and the treasury had become so man- ifold as to require the establishment of a separate office. A certain part of these duties were accordingly detached, and the new " Home Department" — afterwards called Department of the Interior — was constituted by act of Congress. In the beginning of the next admin- istration the new secretaryship was assigned to General Thomas Ewing of Ohio. Another presidential election was at hand. Three well-known candidates were presented for the suffrages of the people. General Lewis Cass of Michigan was nominated by the Democrats, and Gen- eral Zachary Taylor by the Whigs. As the candidate of the new Free-Soil party, ex-President Martin Van Buren was put forward. The rise of this new party was traceable to a question concerning the territory acquired by the Mexican War. In 1846 David Wilraot of Pennsylvania brought before Congress a bill to 'prohibit slavery in all the territory which might be secured by treaty with Mexico. The bill was defeated; but the advocates of the measure, which was called the WiLMOT Proviso, formed themselves into a party, and in June of 1848 nominated Mr. Van Buren for the presidency. The real contest, however, lay between Generals Cass and Taylor. The posi- tion of the two leading parties on the question of slavery in the new territories was as yet not clearly defined, and the election was left to turn on the personal popularity of the candidates. The memory of his recent victories in Mexico made General Taylor the favorite with the people, and he was elected by a large majority. As Vice-Presi- dent, Millard Fillmore of New York was chosen. So closed the agi- tated but not inglorious administration of President Polk. ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOR AND FILLMORE. 465^ CHAPTER LVIII ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOR AND FILLMORE, 1849-185S. THE new President was a Virginian by birth, a Kentuckian by breed- ing, a soldier by profession. In 1808 he left the farm to accept a commission in the army. During the war of 1812 he distinguished him- self in the North-west, especially in defending Fort Harrison against the. Red men. In the Seminole War he bore a conspicuous part, but earned his greatest re- nown in Mexico. His reputation, though strictly military, was enviable, and his cha- racter above reproach. His administration be- gan with a violent agi- tation on the question of slavery in the terri- tories; California, the El Dorado of the West, was the origin of the dispute. In his first mes- sage President Taylor expressed his sympa- thy with the Califor- nians, and advised them to form a State government prepara- tory to admission into the Union. The advice was promptly accepted,. A convention of delegates was held at Monterey in September of 1849. A constitution 'prohibiting slavery was framed, submitted to the people, and adopted with but little opposition. Peter H. Burnet was elected governor of the Territory ; members, of a general assembly Avere chosen ; and on the 20th of December, 1849, the new government was organized PRESIDENT TAYLOR. 464 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. at San Jose. At the same time a petition in the usual form was for- warded to Congress asking for the admission of California as a State. The presentation of the petition was the signal for a bitter contro- versy. As in the ease of the admission of Missouri, the members of Con- gress, and to a great extent the people, were sectionally divided. But now the position of the parties was reversed ; the proposition to admit the new State was favored by the representatives of the North and opposed by those of the South. The ground of the opposition was that with the extension of the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific the right to in- troduce slavery into California was guaranteed by the general government, and that therefore the proposed constitution of the State ought to be re- jected. The reply of the North Avas that the argument could apply only to a 'part of the new State, that the Missouri Compromise had respect only to the Louisiana purchase, and that the people of California had framed their constitution in their own way. Such was the issue; and the debates grew more and more violent, until the stability of the Union was seriously endangered. Other exciting questions added fuel to the controversy. Texas claimed New Mexico as a part of her territory, and the claim was resisted by the people of Santa Fe, who desired a separate government. The peo- ple of the South complained bitterly that fugitive slaves, escaping from their masters, were aided and encouraged in the North. The opponents of slavery demanded the abolition of the slave-trade in the District of Columbia. Along the whole line of controversy there was a spirit of suspicion, recrimination and anger. The illustrious Henry Clay appeared as a peacemaker. In the spring of 1850 he was appointed chairman of a committee of thirteen, to whom all the questions under discussion were referred. On the 9th of May he brought forward, as a compi-omise covering all the points in dis- pute, THE Omnibus Bill, of which the provisions were as follows: First, the admission of California as a free State ; second, the formation of new States, not exceeding four in number, out of the territory of Texas, said States to permit or exclude slavery as the people should determine; third, the organization of territorial governments for New Mexico and Utah, without conditions on the question of slavery ; fourth, the establishment of the present bonndar}'- between Texas and New Mexico, and the pay- ment to the former for surrendering the latter the sum of ten million dol- lars from the national treasury ; ffth, the enactment of a more rigorous law for the recovery of fugitive slaves ; si^th, the abolition of the slave- trade in the District of Columbia. When the Omnibus Bill was laid before Congress, the debates began ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOR AND FILLMORE. 465 anew, and seemed likely to be interminable. While the discussion was at its height and the issue still undecided, President Taylor fell sick, and died on the 9th of July, 1850. In accordance with the provisions of the constitution, Mr. Fillmore at once took the oath of office and entered upon the duties of the presidency. A new cabinet was formed, with Daniel Webster at the head as secretary of state. Notwithstanding the death of the chief magistrate, the government moved on without disturbance. The compromise proposed by Mr. Clay and sustained by his elo- quence was at length approved by Congress. On the 18th of Sep- tember the last clause was adopted, and the whole received the im- mediate sanction of the President. The ex- citement in the coun- tiy rapidly abated, and the distracting contro- versy seemed at an end. Such was the last, and perhaps the greatest, of those pacific mea- sures originated and carried through Con- gress by the genius of Henry Clay. He shortly afterward bade adieu to the Senate, and sought at his be- loved Ashland a brief rest from the arduous <^res of i)ul)lic life. The passage of the Omnibus Bill brought a political quiet ; but the moral convictions of very few men were altered by its provisions. Public opinion remained as before : in the North, a general, indefinite, but growing hostility to slavery; in the South, a fixed and resolute purpose to defend and extend that institution. To the President, whose party was in the ascendency in most of the Free States, the measure was fatal ; for although his cabinet had advised him to sign the bill, the Whigs were at heart opposed to the fugitive slave law, 90 HENKY CLAY. 466 HISTORY OF TEE UNITED STATES. and when he gave his assent they turned coldly from him. In the "Whig National convention, two years afterwards, although the policy of the President was approved and the compromise measures ratified by a vote of two hundred and twenty-seven against sixty, not twenty Northern votes could be obtained for his renomination. Thus do political parties punish their leaders for hesitating to espouse a prin- ciple which the parties themselves are afraid to avow. The year 1850 was marked by a lawless attempt on the part of some American adventurers to gain possession of Cuba. It was- thought that the people of that island were anxious to throw off the Spanish yoke and to annex themselves to the United States. In order to encourage such a movement. General Lopez organized an expedi- tion in the South, and on the 19th of May, 1850, effected a landing at Cardenas, a port of Cuba. But there was no uprising in his favor ; neither Cubans nor Spanish soldiers joined his standard, and he was obliged to seek safety by returning to Florida. Renewing the attempt in the following year, he and his band of four hundred and eighty men were attacked, defeated and captured by an overwhelming force of Spaniards. Lopez and the ringleaders were taken to Havana^ tried, condemned and executed. The first annual message of the President was a document of great ability. Among the many important measures pressed upon the attention of Congress were the following : a system of cheap and uni- form postage ; the establishment, in connection with the Department of the Interior, of a Bureau of Agriculture; liberal appropriations for the improvement of rivers and harbors; the building of a national asylum for disabled and destitute seamen ; a permanent tariff with specific duties on imports and discrimination in favor of American manufactures ; the opening of communication between the Mississij^pi and the Pacific coast; a settlement of the land difficulties in Califor- nia ; an act for the retirement of supernumerary officers of the army and navy; and a board of commissioners to adjust the claims of pri- vate citizens against the government of the United States. Only two of these important recommendations — the asylum for sailors and the settlement of the land claims in California — were carried into effect. For the President's party were in a minority in Congress ; and the majority refused or neglected to approve his measures. In 1852 a serious trouble arose with England. By the terms of former treaties the coast-fisheries of Newfoundland belonged ex- clusively to Great Britain. But outside of a line drawn three miles from the shore American fisherman enjoyed equal rights and privi- ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOR AND FILLMORE. 467 leges. Now the dispute arose as to whether the line shoukl be drawn from one headland to another so as to give all the bays and inlets to England, or whether it should be made to conform to the irregulari- ties of the coast. Under the latter construction American fishing^- vessels would have equal claims in the bays and harbors; but this privilege was denied by Great Britain, and the quarrel rose to such a height that both nations sent men-of-war to the contested waters. But reason triumphed over passion, and in 1854 the difficulty was happily settled by negotiation ; the right to take fish in any of the bays of the British possessions was conceded to American fishermen. During the summer of 1852 the celebrated Hungarian patriot Louis Kossuth made the tour of the United States. Austria and Kussia had united against his native land and overthrown her liber- ties. He came to plead the cause of Hungary before the American people, and to obtain such aid as might be privately furnished to his oppressed countrymen. Every-where he was received with expres- sions of sympathy and good-will. His mission was successful, though the long-established policy of the United States forbade the govern- ment to interfere on behalf of the Hungarian patriots. About this time the attention of the American people was di- rected in a special manner to explorations in the Arctic Ocean. In 1845 Sir John Franklin, one of the bravest of English seamen, went on a voyage of discovery to the extreme North. He believed in the possibility of passing through an open polar sea into the Pacific. Years went by, and no tidings came from the daring sailor. It was only known that he had passed the country of Esquimaux, Other expeditions were despatched in search, but returned without success. Henry Grinnell, a wealthy merchant of New York, fitted out several vessels at his own expense, put them under command of Lieutenant De Haven, and sent them to the North ; but in vain. The govern- ment came to Mr. Grinnell's aid. In 1853 a new Arctic squadron was equipped ; the command of which was given to Dr. Elisha Kent Kane; but the expedition, though rich in scientific results, returned without the discovery of Franklin. During the administrations of Taylor and Fillmore the country was called to mourn the loss of many distinguished men. On the 31st of March, 1850, Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina passed away. His death was much lamented, especially in his own State, to whose interests he had devoted the energies of his life. His earnest- ness and zeal and powers of debate have placed him in the front rank of American orators. At the age of sixty-eight he fell from his place 468 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. like a scarred oak of the forest never to rise again. Then followed the death of the President; and then, on the 28th of June, 1852, Henry Clar, having fought his last battle, sank to rest. On the 24th of the following October the illustrious Daniel AVebster died at his home at Marshfield, Massachusetts. The place of secretary of State, made vacant by his death, was conferred on Edward Everett. In Europe the news of Lopez's ri- diculous invasion of Cuba created great excitement. Not- Avithstanding a dis- tinct disavowal of the whole proceeding on the part of the Federal government, notwithstanding the immediate dismissal of the officer at New Orleans who had al- lowed the expedition of Lopez to escape from that port, — the governments of Great Britain and France affec- ted to believe that the covert aim and purpose of the United States was to acquire Cuba by conquest. Acting upon this presumption the British and French ministers proposed to the American government to enter into a Tripartite Treaty — so called — in which each of the con- tracting nations was to disclaim then and forever all intention of pos- sessing Cuba. To this proposal Mr. Everett replied in one of the most masterly State papers on record. Great Britain and France were informed that the annexation of Cuba was regarded by the United States as a measure hazardous and impolitic ; that entire good faith would be kept with Spain and with all nations; but that the Federal government did not recognize in any European power the right to meddle with affairs purely American, and that, in accordance with the doctrine set forth by President Monroe, any such interference JOHN C. CALHOUN. PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. 469 would be resented as an affront to the sovereignty of the United States. As Filhiiore's administration drew to a close the political parties again marshaled their forces. Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire appeared as the candidate of the Democratic party, and General Win- field Scott as the choice of the Whigs. The question at issue before the country was the Compromise Act of 1850. But the parties, in- stead of being divided, were for once agreed as to the wisdom of that measure. Both the Whig and Democratic platforms stoutly reaffirmed the justice of the Omnibus Bill, by which the dissensions of the coun- try had been quieted. A third party arose, however, whose members, both Whigs and Democrats, doubted the wisdom of the compromise of 1850, and declared that all the Territories of the United States ought to be free. John P. Hale of New Hampshire was put forward as the candidate of this Free Soil party. Mr. Pierce was elected by a large majority, and William R. King of Alabama was chosen Vice- President. CHAPTER LIX. PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION, 1853-1857. rpHE new chief magistrate was a native of New Hampshire, a graduate -L of Bowdoin College, a lawyer, a politician, a general in the Mexican War, a statesman of considerable abilities. Mr. King, the Vice-Presi- dent, had for a long time represented Alabama in the Senate of the United States. On account of failing health he was sojourning in the island of Cuba at the time of the inauguration, and there he received the oath of office. Growing still more feeble, he returned to his own State, Avhere he died on the 18th of April, 1853. As secretary of state under the new administration William L. Marcy of New York Avas chosen. In the summer of 1853 the first corps of engineers was sent out by the government to explore the route for a Pacific Railroad. The enterprise was at first regarded as visionary, then believed in as possible, and finally undertaken and ^iccomplished. In the same year that marked the beginning of the project the disputed boimdary between New Mexico and Chihuahua was satisfactorily settled. The maps on which the former treaties with Mexico had been based were found to be erroneous. Santa 470 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Anna, who had again become president of the Mexican republic, at- tempted to take advantage of the error, and sent an army to occupy the territory between the true and the false boundary. This action was resisted by the authorities of New Mexico and the United States, and a second Mexican war seemed imminent. The difficulty was ad- justed, however, by the purchase of the doubtful claim of Mexico. This transaction, known as the Gadsden Purchase, led to the erec- tion of the new Territory of Arizona. The first year of Pierce's administration was signalized by the opening of intercourse between the United States and the great em- pire of Japan. Hitherto the Japanese ports had been closed against the vessels of Christian nations. In order to remove this foolish and injurious restriction Commodore Perry, a son of Oliver H. Perry of the war of 1812, sailed with his squadron into the Bay of Yeddo. When warned to depart, he explained to the Japanese officers the sin- cere desire of the United States to enter into a commercial treaty with the emperor. After much delay and hesitancy consent was obtained to hold an interview with that august personage. Accordingly, on the 14th of July, the commodore with his officers obtained an audience with the dusky monarch of the East, and presented a letter from the President of the United States. Still the government of Japan was wary of accepting the proposition, and it was not until the spring of 1854 that a treaty could be concluded. The privileges of commerce were thus conceded to American merchant vessels, and two ports of entry were designated for their use. On the very day of Commodore Perry's introduction to the em- peror of Japan the Crystal Palace was opened in the city of New York for the second World's .Fair. The palace itself was a marvel in ar- chitecture, being built exclusively of iron and glass. Thousands of specimens of the arts and manufactures of all civilized nations were put on exhibition within the spacious building. The enterprise and inventive genius of the whole country were quickened into a new life by the beautiful and instructive display. International exhibitions are among the happiest fruits of an enlightened age. During the administration of Pierce the country was frequently disturbed by the filibustering expeditions of General William Walker into Central America. This audacious and unscrupulous adventurer began his operations in 1853 by escaping with a band of followers from the port of San Francisco and making a descent on La Paz in LoAver California. In the spring of 1854 he marched overland with a hundred men and raised the standard of revolt in the state of Sonora; PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. 471 l)ut the company was dispersed and himself made prisoner. In May of the same year he was tried by the authorities of San Francisco and acquitted. But not satisfied with his previous experience, he again raised a band of sixty-two followers and proceeded to Central America. Being joined by a regiment of natives he fought and gained a battle at Rivas, on the 29th of June, 1855. In a second battle at Virgin Bay he was also successful. Fighting continued until the following summer when his influence had become so powerful that he was elected president of Nicaraugua. Then came a change in his fortunes. A great insurrection ensued ; and the other Central American states, assisted by the Vanderbilt steam-ship company, whose rights he had violated, combined against him and on the 1st of May, 1857, he was again made prisoner. But in a short time he was foot-loose at New Orleans, where he organized a third company of adventurers — men who had everything to gain and nothing to lose — and on the 25th of November succeeded in reaching Punta Arenas, Nicaraugua. Within less than a month, however, he was again obliged to sur- render to Commodore Paulding of the United States navy. For a "while the great filibuster was a prisoner at New York ; but getting his liberty, he continued his scheming, and in June of 1860 a third time reached Central America at the head of a considerable force. This time the descent was made at Truxillo, Honduras. But the president of that state, assisted by a British man-of-war, soon overpowered and captured the whole band. On the 3d of September Walker was tried by a court-martial at Truxillo, condemned, and shot. The courage with which he met his fate has half redeemed his forfeited fame and left after times in doubt whether he shall be called fanatic or hero. ^ To this period also belongs the history of what is known in American diplomacy as the Martin Koszta Affair. Martin Koszta was a leader in the Hungarian revolt against Austria, in 1849. After the rebellion was suppressed he fled to Turkey whence he was demanded by the Austrian government as a refugee and traitor. The Turkish authorities, however, refused to give him up but agreed that he should be sent into exile to some foreign land never to return. Koszta chose the United States as his asylum, came hither, and took out partial but not complete papers of naturalization. In 1854 he returned to Tur- key, contrary — as it was alleged — to his former promise. At the city of Smyrna he received a passport from the American consul residing there, and went ashore. But the Austrian consul at Smyrna, hearing * It will be observed that the narrative of Walker's exploits and end, extends nearly to the conclusion of Buchanan's administration. 472 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. of Koszta's arrival and having no power to arrest him on shore, induced some bandits to seize him and throw him into the water of the bay where a boat in waiting picked him up and carried him on board an Austrian frigate. The American officials immediately demanded his release, which was refused. Thereupon Captain Duncan Ingraham, commanding the American sloop of war St. Louis, loaded his guns, pointed them at the Austrian vessel, and was about to make hot work, Avhen it was agreed by all parties that Koszta should be put in charge of the French government until his nationality should be decided. In this condition of affairs the question was given over for discussion to Baron Hiilseman — the Austrian minister at Washington — and William L. Marcy, the American secretary of state. The correspondence was one of the ablest on record and extended, before its termination, to almost every question affecting naturalization and citizenship, and in- deed to many other important topics of international law. Mr. Marcy was completely triumphant in his argument and Koszta was remanded to the United States. Of so much importance is the life of one many when it involves the great question of human rights. In the years 1853-54, the peaceable relations of the United States and Spain were again endangered by Cuban difficulties. Presi- dent Pierce believed that owing to the financial embarrassment of the Spanish government, Cuba might now be purchased at a reasonable price and annexed to the United States. The delicate business of ne- gotiating was intrusted at first to Mr. Soul6, the American minister at Madrid. But afterwards James Buchanan and John Y. Mason were added to the mission. A convention of the ambassadors of the vari- ous governments concerned was held at Ostend, and an important in- strument was there drawn up — chiefly by Mr. Buchanan — known as- THE Ostend Manifesto. The document was chiefly devoted to an elaborate statement of the arguments in favor of the purchase and an- nexation of Cuba by the United States, as a measure of sound wisdom to both the Spanish and American governments. But nothing of prac- tical importance resulted from the embassy or the manifesto. And now the great domain lying west of Minnesota, Iowa and 'Missouri was to be organized into territorial governments. Already into these vast regions the tide of immigration was pouring, and it be* came necessary to provide for the future. In January of 1854, Sen- ator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois brought before the Senate of the United States a proposition to organize the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. In the bill reported for this purpose a clause was inserted providing that the people of the two Territories, in forming their con- PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. 473; stitutions, should decide for themselves whether the new States should be free or slaveholdiug. This was a virtual repeal of the Missouri Com- promise, for both the new territories lay north of the parallel of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes. Thus by a single stroke the old settlement of the slavery question was to be undone. From Jan- uary until May, Mr. Douglas's report, known as the Kansas-Ne BEASKA Bill, was debated in Congress. All the bitter sectional antagonisms of the past were aroused in full force. The bill was violently opposed by a majority of the representatives from the East and North; but the minority, uniting with the congressmen of the South, enabled Douglas to carry his measure through Congress, and in May of 1854 the bill received the sanction of the President. Kansas itself now became a battle-field for the contending par- ties. Whether the new State should admit slavery now depended upon the vote of the people. Wherefore both factions made a rush for the territory in order to secure a majority. Kansas was soon filled with an agitated mass of people, thousands of whom had been sent thither to vote. An election held in November of 1854 resulted in the choice of a pro-slavery delegate to Congress, and in the general territorial election of the following year the same party was triumphant. The State Legislature thus chosen assembled at Lecompton, organized the government and framed a constitution permitting slavery. The Free Soil party, declaring the general election to have been illegal on ac- count of fraudulent voting, assembled in convention at Topeka, framed a constitution excluding slavery, and organized a rival government. Civil war broke out between the factions. From the autumn of 1855 until the following summer the Territory was the scene of constant turmoil and violence. On the 3d of September the President ap- pointed John W. Geary of Pennsylvania military governor of Kansas, with full powers to restore order and punish lawlessness. On his ar- rival the hostile parties were quieted and peace restored. But the agitation in the Territory had already extended to all parts of the Union, and became the issue on which the people divided in the presi- dential election of 1856. The parties made ready for the contest. James Buchanan of Pennsylvania was nominated as the Democratic candidate. By plant- ing himself on a platform of principles in which the doctrines of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill were distinctly reaffirmed, he was able to secure a heavy vote both North and South. For many Northern Democrats, though opposed to slavery, held firmly to the opinion that the people of every Territory ought to have the right to decide the question for • 474 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. themselves. As the candidate of the Free Soil or People's party, John C. Fremont of California was brought forward. The exclusion of slavery from all the Territories of the United States by congres- sional action was the distinctive principle of the Free Soil platform. Meanwhile, an American or Know-Nothing party had arisen in the country, the leaders of which, anxious to ignore the slavery question and to restrict foreign influences in the nation, nominated Millard Fill- more for the presidency. But the slavery question could not be put aside; on that issue the people were really divided. A large majority decided in favor of Mr. Buchanan for the presidency, while the choice for the vice-presidency fell on John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. CHAPTER LX. BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION, 1857-1861. JAMES BUCHANAN was a native of Pennsylvania, born on the 13th of April, 1791, educated for the profession of law. In 1831 he was appointed minister to Russia, was afterward elected to the Senate of the United States, and from that position was called to the -office of secretary of state under President Polk. In 1853 he received the appointment of minister to Great Britain, and resided at London ■until his nomination for the presidency. As secretary of state in the new cabinet. General Lewis Cass of Michigan was chosen. A few days after the inauguration of the new chief magistrate, the Supreme Court of the United States delivered the celebrated opin- ion known in American history as the Deed Scott Decision. Dred Scott, a negro, had been held as a slave by Dr. Emerson of Missouri, -a surgeon in the United States army. On the removal of Emerson to Rock Island, Illinois, and afterwards, in 1836, to Fort Snelling, Min- nesota, Scott was taken along ; and at the latter place he and a negro woman, who had been bought by the surgeon, were married. Two children were born of the marriage, and then the whole family were taken back to St. Louis and sold. Dred thereupon brought suit for his freedom. The cause was heard in the circuit and supreme courts of ^Missouri, and, in May of 1854, was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. After a delav of nearlv three vears a decision was finally reached in March of 1857. Chief-Justice Taney, speaking BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 475 for the court, decided that negroes, whether free or slave, were not cit- izens of the United States, and that they could not become such by any process known to the Constitution; that under the laws of the United States a negro could neither sue nor be sued, and that therefore the court had no jurisdiction of Dred Scott's cause ; that a slave was to be regarded in the light of a personal chattel, and that he might be removed from place to place by his owner as any other piece of prop- erty ; that the Constitution gave to every slave-holder the right of re- moving to or through any State or Territory with his slaves, and of returning at his will with them to a State where slavery was recog- nized by law; and that therefore the Missouri Compromise of 1820, as well as the compromise measures of 1850, was unconstitutional and void. In these opinions six of the associate justices of the supreme bench — Wayne, Nelson, Grier, Daniel, Campbell, and Catron — con- •curred ; while two associates — Judges McLean and Curtis — dissented. The decision of the majority, which was accepted as the opinion of the court, gave great satisfaction to the ultra slave-holding sentiments of the South, but excited in the North thousands of indignant com- ments and much bitter opposition. In the first year of Buchanan's administration there Avas a Mor- mon rebellion in Utah. The difficulty arose from an attempt to ex- tend the judicial system of the United States over the Territory. Thus far Brigham Young, the Mormon governor, had had his own way of administering justice. The community of Mormons was organized on a plan very different from that existing in other Territories, and many usages had grown up in Utah which were repugnant to the laws of the country. When, therefore, a Federal judge was sent to preside in the Territory, he was resisted, insulted and driven violently from the seat of justice. The other officials of the Federal government were also expelled, and the Territory became the scene of a reign of terror. The Mormons, however, attempted a justification of their conduct on the ground that the character of the United States offi- cers had been so low and vicious as to command no respect. But the excuse was deemed insufficient, and Brigham Young was super- seded in the governorship by Alfred Cumming, superintendent of Indian affairs on the Upper Missouri. Judge Delana Eckels of In- diana was appointed chief-justice of the Territory; and an army of two thousand five hundred men was organized and despatched to Utah to put down lawlessness by force. But Young and the Mormon elders were in no humor to give u]3 their authority without a struggle. The approaching American 476 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. army was denounced as a horde of barbarians, and preparations were made for resistance. In September of 1857 the national forces reached the Territory; and on the 6th of October a company of Mormon ran- gers made good the threats of Young by attacking and destroying most of the supply trains of the army. Winter came on, and the Federal forces, under command of Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston, were obliged to find quarters on Black's Fork, near Fort Bridges. Meanwhile, however, the President had despatched Thomas L. Kane of Pennsylvania with conciliatory letters to the Mormons. Going by way of California, he reached Utah in the spring of 1858, and in a short time succeeded in bringing about a good understanding between Governor Gumming and the insurgents. In the latter part of May, Governor Powell of Kentucky and Major McCulloch of Texas ar- rived at the quarters of the army, bearing from the President a proc- lamation of pardon to all \\\io would submit to the national authority. The passions of the Mormons had by this time somewhat subsided and they accepted the overture. In the fall of 1858 the army pro- ceeded to Salt Lake City, but was soon afterwards quartered at Camp Floyd, forty miles distant. The Federal forces remained at this place until order was entirely restored, and in May of 1860 were withdrawn from the Territory. Early in 1858 an American vessel, while innocently exploring- the Paraguay River, in South America, was fired on by a jealous gar- rison. When reparation for the insult was demanded, none was given, and the government of the United States was obliged to send out a fleet to obtain satisfaction. A commissioner was sent with the squad- ron who was empowered to offer liberal terms of settlement for the injury. The authorities of Paraguay quailed before the American flag, and suitable apologies were made for the wrong which had been, committed. The 5th of August, 1858, was a memorable day in the history of the w'orld. On that day was completed the laying of the firsT' TELEGRAPHIC CABLE across the Atlantic Ocean. The successful ac- complishment of this great w^ork was due in a large measure to the energy and genius of Cyrus W. Field, a wealthy merchant of New York. The cable, one thousand six hundred and forty miles in length, Avas stretched from Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, to Valentia Bay, Ireland. Telegraphic communication Avas thus established be- tween the Old World and the New, and the fraternal greetings of peaceful nations were for the first time transmitted through the depths of the sea. BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 477 In 1858 Minnesota was added to the Union. The area of the new State was a little more than eighty-one thousand square miles, and its population at the date of admission a hundred and fifty thousand souls. In the next year Ore- gon, the thirty-third State, was admitted, with a population of forty-eight thousand, and an area of eighty thousand square miles. On the 4th of the pre- ceding March General Sam Houston of Texas bade adieu to the Sen- ate of the United States and retired to private life. His ca- reer had been marked by the strangest vicis- situdes. He was a Virginian by birth, but his youth was hardened among the mountains of Tennes- see. He gained a mil- itary fame in the Sem- inole War, then rose to political distinction, and was elected governor of his adopted State. Overshadowed with a domestic calamity, he suddenly resigned his office, left his home, and exiled himself among the Cherokees, by whom he was made a chief. Afterward he went to Texas, joined the patriots, and be- came a leading spirit in the struggle for independence. It was he who commanded in the decisive battle of San Jacinto; he who became first president of Texas, and also her first representative in the Senate of the United States. Through all the misfortunes, dangers and trials of his life his character stood like adamant. In the fall of 1859 the people of the United States were called to mourn the death of Washington Irving, the Prince of Amer- ican Letters. For full fifty years the powers of his sublime genius had been unremittingly devoted to the great work of creating for his native land a literature that should adorn and glorify his own and GENERAL SAM HOUSTON. 478 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. after ages. On both sides of the Atlantic, in every civilized country^ his name had become familiar as a household word. He it was, first of all, who wrung from the reluctant and prescriptive reviews of England and Scot- land an acknowledg- ment of the power and originality of Amercan genius. The literature of the New "World was no longer a scoif and a by-word when Murray, the bookseller of London,, was obliged to pay for the manuscript of " Bracebridge Hall " — which he had not yet seen — the sum of a thousand guineas. Except Sir Walter Scott and Lord Byron no other author of Irving's times re- ceived such a munifi- cent reward for his labor — no other was so much praised and loved. Whether as humorist or writer of prose fiction, historian or biogra- pher, his name ranks among the noblest and brightest of the world. When the petty revolutions of society and the bloody conflicts of the battle field are forgotten, the monument which the affections of his countrymen have reared to the memory of the illustrious Irving shall stand unshaken and untarnished, transmitting to all after times the record of his virtues and achievements. From the beginning the new administration had stormy times. The slavery question continued to vex the nation. The Dred Scott Decision, to which the President had looked as a measure calculated to allay the excitement, had only added fuel to the flame. In some of the Free States the opposition rose so high that Personal Lib- erty Bills were passed, the object of which was to defeat the exe- cution of the Fugitive Slave law. In the fall of 1859 the excitement was still further increased by the mad attempt of John Brown of Kansas to excite a general insurrection among the slaves. With a WASHINGTON IRVING. BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 479. party of twenty-one men as daring as himself, lie made a sudden de- scent on the United States arsenal at Harjjer's Ferry, captured the place, and held his ground for nearly two days. The national troops and the militia of Virginia were called out in order to suppress the revolt. Thirteen of Brown's men were killed, two made their escape, and the rest were captured. The leader and his six companions were given over to the authorities of Virginia, tried, condemned and hanged. In Kansas the old controversy still continued, but the Free Soil party gained ground so rapidly as to make it certain that slavery would be interdicted from the State. All these facts and events tended to widen the breach between the people of the North and the South. Such was the alarming condition of affairs when the time arrived for holding the nineteenth presidential election. The canvass was one of intense excitement. Four candidates were presented. The choice of the People's party — now called Re- publican — was Abraham Lincoln of Illinois. The platform of prin- ciples adopted by this party again declared opposition to the extension of slavery to be the vital issue. In the month of April the Democratic convention assembled at Charleston. The delegates were divided on the question of slavery, and after much debating the party was dis- rupted. The Southern delegates, unable to obtain a distinct expres- sion of their views in the platform of principles, and seeing that the Northern wing was determined to nominate Mr. Douglas — the great defender of popular sovereignty — withdrew from the convention. The rtjst continued in session, balloted for a while for a candidate, and on t]ie 3d of May adjourned to Baltimore, where the delegates, reassem- bling on the 18th of June, chose Douglas as their standard-bearer in the approaching canvass. The seceding delegates adjourned first to Richmond, and afterwards to Baltimore, where they met on the 28th of June and nominated John C Breckinridge of Kentucky. The American party — now known as Constitutional Unionists — chose John Bell of Tennessee as their candidate. The contest resulted in the election of Mr. Lincoln. He received the electoral votes of all the Northern States except those of New Jersey, which were divided between himself and his two opponents. The support of the South- ern States was for the most part given to Breckinridge. The States of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee cast their ballots, thirty-nine in number, for Mr. Bell. Mr. Douglas received a large popular but small electoral vote, his supporters being scattered through all the States without the concentration necessary to carry any. Thus after controlling the destinies of the Republic for sixty years, with only 480 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. the temporary overthrow of 1840, the Democratic party was broken into fragments and driven from the field. The result of the election had been anticipated. The leaders of the South had openly declared that the choice of Lincoln would be regarded as a just cause for the dissolution of the Union. The Republicans of the populous North crowded to the polls, and their favorite was chosen. As to the government, it was under the control of the Douglas Democracy ; but a majority of the cabinet and a large number of senators and rejjre- sentatives in Congress were supporters of Mr. Breckinridge and the advo- cates of disunion as a justifiable measure. It was now evident that with the incoming of the new administration all the departments of the govern^ ment Avould pass under the control of the Republican party. The times were full of passion, animosity and rashness. It was seen that disunion was now possible, and that the possibility would shortly be removed. The attitude of the President favored the measure. He was not himself a disunionist. He denied the right of a State to secede ; but at the same time he declared himself not armed with the constitutional power neces- sary to prevent secession by force. The interval, therefore, between the presidential election in November of 1860 and the inauguration of the following spring was seized by the leaders of the South as the opportune moment for dissolving the Union. The actual work of secession began in South Carolina. On the 17th of December, 1860, a convention assembled at Charleston, and after three days of deliberation passed a resolution that the union hitherto existing between South Carolina and the other States, under the name of the United States of America, was dissolved. It was a step of fearful importance. The action was contagious. The sentiment of disunion sjiread with great rapidity. The cotton-growing States were almost unanimous in support of the measure. By the 1st of February, 1861, .six other States — Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas — had passed ordinances of secession and withdrawn from the Union. Nearly all of the senators and representatives of those States, following the action of their constituents, resigned their seats in Congress and gave themselves to the disunion cause. In the secession conventions there was but little opposition to the . movement. In some instances a considerable minority vote was cast. A . few of the speakers boldly denounced disunion as bad in principle and ruinous in its results. The course of Alexander H. Stephens, afterward Vice-President of the Confederate States, was peculiar. In the con- vention of Georgia he undertook the task of preventing the secession of Jiis State. He delivered a long and powerful oration in which he de- BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 481 fended the theory of secession, advocated the doctrine of State sove- reignty, declared his intention of abiding by the decision of the conven- tion, but at the same time spoke against se- cession, on the ground that the measure was impolitic, unwise, dis- astrous. Not a few prominent men at the South held similar views; but the oppo- site opinion prevailed, and secession, was ac- complished. On the 4th of February, 1861, dele- gates from six of the seceded States assem- bled at Montgomery, Alabama, and formed a new government, under the name of The Confederate States of America. On the 8th of the month the government was organized by the election of Jefferson Davis of Mississippi as provis- ional President, and Alexander H. Stephens as Yice-President. On the same day of the meeting of the Confederate Congress, at Montgomery, a peace conference assembled at Washington. Delegates from twenty-one States were present; certain amendments to the Constitution were pro- posed and laid before Congress for adoption, but that body gave little heed to the measures suggested, and the conference adjourned without practical results. The country seemed on the verge of ruin. The national govern- ment was for the time being paralyzed. The army was stationed in de- tachments on remote frontiers. The fleet was scattered in distant seas. The President was distracted with hesitancy and the adverse counsels of his friends. "With the exception of Forts Sumter and Moultrie in Charleston Harbor, Fort Pickens near Pensacola, and Fortress Monroe in the Chesapeake, all the important posts in the seceded States had been 81 ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS. 482 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. seized by the Confederate authorities, even before the organization of their government. All this while the local warfare in Kansas had continued ; but the Free State party had at last gained the ascendency, and the early admission of the new commonwealth, with two additional Republican senators, was foreseen. Early in January the President made a feeble attempt to reinforce and provision tlie garrison of Fort Sumter. The steamer Star of the West was sent with men and supplies, but in approach- ing the harbor of Charleston was fired on by a Confederate battery and compelled to return. Thus in gloom and grief, and the upheavals of revolution, the administration of Buchanan drew to a close. Such was the dreadful condition of affairs that it was deemed prudent for the new President to approach the capital without recognition. For the first time in the history of the nation the chief magistrate of the republic slipped into \Yashington city by night. CHAPTER LXI. LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION, AND THE CIVIL WAR, 1861-1865. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, sixteenth President of the United States, was a native of Kentucky, born in the county of Larue, on the 12th of February, 1809. His ancestors had emigrated thither from Rockingham County, Virginia : both father and mother were Virgin- ians by birth. The childhood of the future President was passed in utter obscurity. In 1816 his father removed to Spencer County, In- diana — just then admitted into the Union — and built a cabin in the woods near the present village of Gentryville. Here was the scene of Lincoln's boyhood — a constant struggle with poverty, hardship, and toil. At the age of sixteen we find him managing a ferry across the Ohio, at the mouth of Anderson Creek — a service for which he was paid six dollars per month. In his youth he received in the aggregate about one year of schooling, which was all he ever had in the way of education. In the year of his majority he removed with his father's family to the north fork of the Sangamon, ten miles west of Decatur, Illinois. Here another log-house was built and a small farm cleared LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 483 and fenced ; and here Abraham Lincohi began for himself the hard battle of life. The uncleared forest, the unbroken soil, The iron bark that turns the lumberer's axe, The rapid that o'erbears the boatman's toil, The prairie, hiding the mazed wanderer's ti-acks, The ambuslied Indian, and the prowling bear; — Such were the needs that helped his youth to train — Eough culture ! — but such trees large fruit may bear. If but their stocks be of right girth and grain ! After serving as a flatboatraan on the Mississijjpi, Lincoln re- turned to New Salem, twenty miles from Springfield, and became a clerk in a country store. Then, as cap- tain of a company of volunteers, he served in the Black Hawk war. From 1833 to 1836 he was engaged in merchandising, but a dissolute partner brought him to bank- ruptcy. Turning his attention to the prac- tice of the law, for which p r o f e s s i o n he had always had a liking, he gradually gained the attention of his fellow-men and soon rose to distinc- tion. His peculiar power — manifested at all periods of his life — of seizing the most difficult thought and presenting it in such quaint and homely phrase as to make the truth appreciable by all men, made him a natural leader of the people. As candidate for the office of United States senator from Illinois he first revealed to the nation, in his great debates with Senator Douglas, the full scope and originality of his genius. Now, at the age of fifty-two, he found laid upon him ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 484 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. such a burden of care and responsibility as had not been borne by any ruler of modern times. On the occasion of his inauguration he delivGi'ed a long and thoughtful address, declaring his fixed purpose to uphold the Constitution, enforce the laws, and preserve the integ- rity of the Union. The new cabinet was organized with William H. Seward of New York as secretary of state. Salmon P. Chase of Ohio was chosen sec- retary of the treasury, and Simon Cameron secretary of war ; but he, in the following January, w^as succeeded in office by Edwin M. Stan- ton. The secretaryship of the navy was conferred on Gideon Welles. In his inaugural address and first official papers the President indi- cated the policy of the new administration by declaring his purpose to repossess the forts, arsenals and public property which had been seized by the Confederate authorities. It was with this purpose that the first military preparations were made. In the mean time, on the 12th of March, an effort was made by commissioners of the seceded States to obtain from the national government a recognition of their independence ; but the negotiations were unsuccessful. Then followed a second attempt on the jiart of the government to reinforce the gar- rison of Fort Sumter; and with that came the beginning of actual hostilities. The defences of Charleston Harbor were held by Major Robert Anderson. His entire force amounted to seventy-nine men. Owing to the weakness of his garrison, he deemed it prudent to evacuate Fort Moultrie and retire to Sumter. Meanwhile, Confederate volun- teers had flocked to the city, and powerful batteries had been built about the harbor. When it became known that the Federal gov- ernment would reinforce the forts, the authorities of the Confederate States determined to anticipate the movement by compelling Ander- son to surrender. Accordingly, on the 11th of April, General P. T. Beauregard, commandant of Charleston, sent a flag to Fort Sumter, demanding an evacuation. Major Anderson replied that he should hold tlie fortress and defend his flag. On the following morning, at half-past four o'clock, the first gun was fired from a Confederate battery. A terrific bombardment of thirty-four hours' duration fol- lowed ; the fort was reduced to ruins, set on fire, and obliged to ca- pitulate. The honors of war were granted to Anderson and his men, \,'ho had made a brave and obstinate resistance. Although the can- nonade had been long continued and severe, no lives were lost either in the fort or on the shore. Thus the defences of Charleston Harbor were secured by the Confederates. LINCOLN'S ADMINISTBATION 485 The news of this startling event went through the country like a flame of fire. There had been some expectation of violence, but the actual shock came like a clap of thunder. The people of the towns poured into the streets and the country folk flocked to the villages to gather the tidings and to comment on the coming conflict. Gray- haired men talked gravely of the deed that was done, and prophesied of its consequences. Public opinion in both the North and the South was rapidly consolidated. Three days after the fall of Sumter Presi- dent Lincoln issued a call for seventy-five thousand volunteers to serve three months in the overthrow of the secession movement. Two days later Virginia seceded from the Union. On May 6th Arkansas followed the example, and then North Carolina on the 20th of the same month. In Tennessee — especially in East Tennessee — there was a powerful op- position to disunion, and it was not until the 8th of June that a secession ordinance could be passed. In Missouri, as will presently be seen, the movement resulted in civil war, while in Kentucky the authorities issued a proclamation of neutrality. The people of Maryland were divided into hostile parties, the disunion sentiment being largely prevalent. On the 19th of April, when the first regiments of Massachusetts volunteers were passing through Baltimore on their way to Washington, they were fired upon by the citizens, and three men killed. This was the first bloodshed of the war. On the day before tliis event a body of Con- federate soldiers advanced against the armory of the United States at Harper's Ferry. The officer in command hastily destroyed a portion of the vast magazine collected there, and then escaped into Pennsylvania. On the 20th of the month another company of Virginians assailed the great navy yard at Norfolk. The officers commanding fired the build- ings and ships, spiked the cannon and withdrew their forces. Most of the guns and many of the vessels were afterward recovered by the Con- federates, the property thus captured amounting to fully ten millions of dollars. So rapidly was Virginia filled with volunteers and troops from the South that, for a Mdiile, Washington city was in danger of being taken. But the capital was soon secured from immediate danger; and on the 3d of May the President issued another call for soldiers. This time the number was set at eighty-three thousand, and the term of service at three years or during the war. Lieutenant-General W^infield Scott was made commander-in-chief. As many war ships as could be provided were sent to blockade the Southern ports. On every side were heard the notes of preparation. In the seceded States there was boundless and in- cessant activity. Already the Southern Congress had adjourned from Montgomery, to meet on the 20th of July at Richmond, which was 486 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. chosen as the capital of the Confederacy. To that place had already come Mr. Davis and the officers of his cabinet, for the purpose of direct- ing the affairs of the government and the army. So stood the antag- onistic powers in the beginning of June, 1861. It was now evident to all men (how slow they had been to believe it !) that a great war, perhaps the greatest in modern times, was impending over the nation. It is appropriate to look briefly into the Causes of the approaching conflict. CHAPTER LXII. CA USES. THE first and most general cause of the civil war in the United States was the different construction put upon the national Constitution by the people of the North and the South. A difference of opinion had always existed as to how that instrument was to be understood. The question at issue was as to the relation between the States and the general govern- ment. One party held that under the Constitution the Union of the States is indissoluble ; that the sovereignty qf the nation is lodged in the central government; that the States are subordinate; that the acts of Congress, until they are repealed or pronounced unconstitutional by the supreme court, are binding on the States ; that the highest allegiance of the citizen is due to the general government, and not to his own State ; and that all attempts at nullification and disunion are in their nature dis- loyal and treasonable. The other party held that the national Constitu- tion is a compact between sovereign States ; that for certain reasons the Union may be dissolved ; that the sovereignty of the nation is lodged in the individual States, and not in the central government ; that Congress can exercise no other than delegated powers ; that a State feeling ag- grieved may annul an act of Congress ; that the highest allegiance of the citizen is due to his own State, and afterward to the general government ; and that acts of nullification and disunion are justifiable, revolutionary and honorable. Here was an issue in its consequences the most fearful that ever disturbed a nation. It struck right into the vitals of the government. LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 487 It threatened with each renewal of the agitation to undo the whole civil structure of the United States. For a long time the parties who disputed about the meaning of the Constitution were scattered in various section^. In the earlier history of the country the doctrine of State sovereignty was most advocated in New England. "With the rise of the tariff question the position of parties changed. Since the tariff— a congressional mea- sure—favored the Eastern States at the expense of the South, it came to pass naturally that the people of New England passed over to the advo- cacy of national sovereignty, while the people of the South took up the doctrine of State rights. Thus it happened that as early as 1831 the right of nullifying an act of Congress was openly advocated in South Carolina, and thus also it happened that the belief in State sovereignty became more prevalent in the South than in the North. These facts tended powerfully to produce sectional parties and to bring them into conflict. A second general cause of the civil war was the different system of labor in the North and in the South. In the former section the laborers were freemen, citizens, voters ; in the latter, bondmen, property, slaves. In the South the theory was that the capital of a country should own the labor; in the North that both labor and capital are free. In the begin- ning all the colonies had been slaveholding. In the Eastern and Middle States the system of slave-labor was gradually abolished, being unprofit- able. In the five great States formed out of the North-western Territory slavery was excluded by the original compact under which that Territory was organized. Thus there came to be a dividing line drawn through the Union east and west. It was evident, therefore, that whenever the question of slavery was agitated a sectional division would arise between the parties, and that disunion and war would be threatened. The danger arising from this source was increased and the discord between the sections aggravated by several subordinate causes. The first of these was the invention of the Cotton Gik. In 1793, Eli Whitney, a young collegian of Massachusetts, went to Georgia, and resided with the family of Mrs. Greene, widow of General Greene, of the Revolution. While there his attention was directed to the tedious and difficult process of picking cotton by hand— that is, separating the seed from the fibre. So slow was the process that the production of up- land cotton was nearly profitless. The industry of the cotton-growing States was paralyzed by the tediousness of preparing the product for the market. Mr. Whitney undertook to remove the difficulty, and succeeded in inventing a gin which astonished the beholder by the rapidity and excellence of its work. From being profitless, cotton became the most profitable of all the staples. The industry of the South was revolution- 488 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ized. Before the civil war it was estimated that Whitney's gin had added a thousand millions of dollars to the revenues of the Southern States. The American crop had grown to be seven-eighths of all the cotton produced in the world. Just in proportion to the increased profit- ableness of cotton slave-labor became important, slaves valuable and the system of slavery a fixed and deep-rooted institution. From this time onward there was constant danger that the slavery question would so embitter the politics and legislation of the country as to bring about disunion. The danger of such a result was fully mani- fested in THE Missouri Agitation of 1820-21. Threats of dissolving the Union were freely made in both the North and the South — in the North, because of the proposed enlargement of the domain of slavery ; in the South, because of the proposed rejection of Missoiu'i as a slave-holding State. When the Missouri Compromise was enacted, it was the hope of Mr. Clay and his fellow-statesmen to save the Union by removing for ever the slavery question from the politics of the country. In that they suc- ceeded for a while. Next came the Nullification Acts of South Carolina. And these, too, turned upon the institution of slavery and the profitableness of cotton. The Southern States had become cotton-producing ; the Eastern States had given themselves to manufacturing. The tariff measures favored manufactures at the expense of producers. Mr. Calhoun and his friends proposed to remedy the evil complained of by annulling the laws of Congress. His measures failed ; but another compromise was found necessary in order to allay the animosities which had been awakened. The Annexation of Texas, with the consequent enlargement of the domain of slavery, led to a renewal of the agitation. Those who opposed the Mexican War did so, not so much because of the injustice of the conflict as because of the fact that thereby slavery would be extended. Then, at the close of the war, came another enormous acquisition of territory. Whether the same should be made into free or slave-holding States was the question next agitated. This controversy led to the passage of the Omnibus Bill, by which again for a brief period the excitement was allayed. In 1854 THE Kansas-Nebraska bill was passed. Thereby the Missouri Compromise was repealed and the whole question opened anew. Meanwliile, the character and the civilization of the Northern and the Southern people had become quite different. In population and wealth the North had far outgrown the South. In the struggle for territorial dominion the North had gained a considerable advantage. In 1860 the division of the Democratic party made certain the election of ]Mr. Lincoln 1857 FredericU M'illiani 60. Ti-e Bfapoieou III. Victoria. 58. Mutiny in the E 61 IV, atf of Peace between Clii 01. William I. 62. Death of l*riiic ast India arm v. JAMES BITCH AXAX, President. Jobn CMtreckinridge, Vice-President. .57. The Dred Scott De- cision 65 CiC. War between and Austria. 07. Hanover na and England. CS. For 65. Fenian troubles in Ire e Albert, the Consort. 68. Pas 69 Prussia 71. Kin^ Ell 70. Beginning of ' absorbed by Prussia. mation of a Xortli G( land. 70. |j^ S'edan. 70. Downfall of 71. ,Tre: sage of the Reform Bil 70. Disestablishiii 71. Bill fori 72. 1 57. Personal Liberty Bill. 57. The Mormon rebellion In Utah. 58. The first Atlan- tic Telegraph Cable. ABRAHAm.I]N'<'01.:\ Hannibal Hamlin, Vi 01. 'I'en of the Southern S 01. The "Star of the West' 61. 61. 61. 61. 61. Fall of Fort Sumte Tlie President calls for The Confederate Cong The President calls for Bull Hun. Ball's Bluff. 62. p^ Mill Spnng. 61. Mason & Slidell capt'd. 61. Kansas admitted into Fort Donels 62. 62. 62. 62. 58. Troubles with P 59. Wa.shingt died, age 60. Tl) m U 60. Di D at 60. Po 60. De DC 60. So 59. Oreg'oii Union. 62. 58. Minnesota ad mitted into the Union. 60. Wal ten def eated. 58. The- great camp aign of Mr. Lincoln and Senator Douglas. Pittsburg La The Monitor the Merri Murfreesbor Front Royal Fair Oaks. Seven Days Antieiam. Pi-esident. ce-Presideut. tales secede, flred upon. ^ 66. The Atlantic Ca 7.'),000 volunteers. ess at Montgomery. 500,000 lueu. ker's fllibus- tiS. The Ema ng schemes ao lOl Siege araguay. on Irving d76. e Japanese Com- ission in tlie nited Stiites. ^- »wi4 Chick «.> Y- T» Looko ^='- V^Missio 63. Wes« Vir 63. Pi %Tg 63. P^^e«!/« 63. The Presi 6J. The 64. 64. sruption of tlie emocratic Party Cliarleston. 64 64. She 64.^4 pulation, 31,443,23L «. P« feat of the Dem- f^, If^ ratic party. ^- S-il 64. I.I uth Carolina secedes. admitted into the 64. Ne ^_ ^, ^ , ^ 62. French invasion 5/. Distracted condition of affairs In Mexico. 64. Ma 0.5. Reconstruction of the ANMREW JOHN.SON 6.5. Amnesty Proclani the Union. 071. 66. Tenne.sseQ re-ad nding. and ■mac. 67. Purchase ough. and Port Republic. 68. Imp battles. 68. The 68. Ark neipation Proclamat of Vicksburg. amauga. ul Mountain. nary Ridge. {finia admitted into the of Knoxville. an's raid. cellorsviUe. nvades Pennsylvania. burg. UETSSE.S S. GRAX Schuyler Colfax, Vi 09. Tlie Pacific Railro; 69. Edwin M.Stanton ble laid. 70. The Fifteentl 70. Robert E. L< 70. Admiral Fan 70. Virginia, Mis dent orders a draft for 200, President calls for 300.000 Dalton, Resaca. Dallas, Kencsaw. , Siege of Atlanta. Franklin. JVashrille. 67. Webraska r man's march. Fort McAllister. Petersburg. Mobile Bay. Fort Fisher. The Alabama and the Ke The Wilderness. Cold Harbor. NCOE.V re-elected. Five Forks. - Lee's surrender. 6-5. President Lincoln a.ssa va4la admitted into the 70. Population, seceded States undertak President after April ation. mitted into the Union 1 of Alaska. eachment of President . Fourteenth Amendmen ansas, Alabama, Georgi) ion. 71. Burning 69. Great monetary pan Union. 65. of Mexico. xinillian elected Emper 67. The Frenc 67. Maximil 72. T^ 72. w 72. « 72. H. 72. Gi 72. G 72. B. 000 troops, men. admitted into the Unioi arsarge. ssinated. Union. or. h army withdrawn. ian executed at Quel 73 77 81 1885 (liani proclaimed •or. FraiiC4k-t>russian War in Confederation. 73. The Iri.sli University 74. Overtlirow of tli 74. UiMi-aeli, Prim i>oIeoii III. / Paris ; uf Peace. ■ of the Irish Church, ling tlie sale of Comissio ilatiou of the United Kin 77. The Kusso-TtirkiKh 77 1?^ Capture of Plevna "• rM Collapse of the Ot 78. Treaty of San 78. 'I'rcaty of Iter Bill defeated. e Gladstone Ministry. e Minister. 79. The Zulu 79. Death of 79. Death of 79. Accession 79. Overthrow 79. Gladstone 80. Brit ns. gdora, 31,4&5,480. President, ^resident. t ompleted. ., aged 55. iLmendment adopted. uied, aged 63. •t died, aged 69. appi, and Texas re-admilt 58,371. i3y the President. :S65. RIJTHERFOltD B. H William A. Wlieeler, 77. The disputed Presiden 77. New policy adopted 77. Tlae great Railroad Str ed into the Union. nson. idopted. i;iorida, Louisiana, Nortli •I Chicago. in New York City. [Alabama Claims settl imi H. Seward died, aged A NT re-elected. Henry Wilson, Vice- Bee Greeley died, aged 61. Iral George G. Meade died, 8t fire in Boston. Wary dispute between Modoc War. The Credit Mobilier in Chief -J ustice Chase di Great financial crisis. 74. Charles Sumner 76. The 76. The 76. Col 76. Cen War breaks out. by the Russians, toman Empire. stefaiio. liu. War. the Prince Imperial. Pius IX. of Leo XIII. of the Disraeli Ministry. Premier of England, ish troubles in Afghanistan. 81. Assassination of the [Czar of Russia. 81. Acces.sion of Alexander III. AYES, President. Vice-President. .TAMICSA.OARFIEI.n Chester A. Arthur, Vi cy is settled by a Joint Hi toward the Southern Stat ikes and Riots. 81. President Garfield assas 77. The Nez Peroe Wa 77. Great financial depres 77. Oliver P. Morton died. 78. The act remonet 78. The Halifax Fis lars against the 78. William Cullen 78. The Yellow Fev 78. Bayard Taylor 78. Establishment 78. The Life-saving Carolina, and South .Carol ed. 71, 79. Resumpti 77-79. Tour of 79. Zachariah 80. The 80. The President, died Novemb aged 57. the United States and Gre President. ce-President. gh Commission. es sinated. sion in the countiy. aged 54. CHESTER A.ARTHUR 19, 1881. izing silver passed by Con hery Commission make United States. Bryant died, aged 84. er scourges the Southern died, aged 54. of a Chine.se Embassy in Service established by the ina re-admitted into the President after September gress. an award of 5,500,000 dol- States. the United States. Government. Union. on of Specie Payments by General Grant around tli Chandler died. Refunding Question in Co Tenth Census: Populatio er 22, 1875. vests gation. ed, aged 65. died, aged 63. Sionx War. Custer Massacre. orado admitted into the teiinial Celebration at at Britain settled. 81. Matt. H. Carpenter Union. Philadelphia. the Government. e world. n gress. n, 50,152,866. died. CB[iVKT VI NATIONAL PERIOD -THIRD SECTION. A. D. 1857-1885. LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 48? by the votes of the Northern States. The people of the South were exasperated at the choice of a chief-magistrate whom they regarded a& indifferent to their welfare and hostile to their interests. The third general cause of the civil war was the want of intercourse between the people of the North and the South. The great railroads and thoroughfares ran east and west. Emigration flowed from the East to the West. Between the North and the South there was little travel or inter- change of opinion. From want of acquaintance the people, without in- tending it, became estranged, jealous, suspicious. They misjudged each other's motives. They misrepresented each other's beliefs and purposes. They suspected each other of dishonesty and ill-will. Before the out- break of the war the people of the two sections looked upon each other almost in the light of different nationalities. A fourth cause was found in the publication of sectional boohs. Dur- ing the twenty years preceding the war many works w^ere published, both in the North and the South, whose popularity depended wholly on the- animosity existing between the two sections. Such books were generally filled with ridicule and falsehood. The manners and customs, language and beliefs, of one section were held up to the contempt and scorn of the people of the other section. The minds of all classes, especially of the young, were thus prejudiced and poisoned. In the North the belief was fostered that the South was given up to inhumanity, ignorance and bar- barism, while in the South the opinion prevailed that the Northern people were a selfish race of mean, cold-blooded Yankees. 11. The evil influence of demagogues may be cited as the fifth general cause of the war. It is the misfortune of republican governments that they many times fall under the leadership of bad men. In the United States the demagogue has enjoyed special opportunities for mischief, and the people have suffered in proportion. From 1850 to 1860 American statesmanship and patriotism were at a low ebb. Many ambitious and scheming men had come to the front, taken control of the political parties and proclaimed themselves the leaders of public opinion. Their purposes were wholly selfish. The welfare and peace of the country were put aside as of no value. In order to gain power and keep it many unprincipled men in the South were anxious to destroy the Union, while the dema- gogues of the North were willing to abuse the Union in order to accom- plish their own bad purposes. Such, in brief, were the causes which led. to the civil war, one of the most terrible conflicts of modern times. 490 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER LXIII. FIRST YEAR OF TEE WAR. ON the 24th of May the Union army crossed the Potomac from Wash- ington city to Alexandria. At this time Fortress Monroe, at the mouth of James River, was held by twelve thousand men, under command of General B. F. Butler. At Bethel Church, in the immediate viciu- ity,was stationed a detachment of Con- federates commanded by General Ma- gruder. On the 10th of June a body of Union troops was sent to dislodge them, but was repulsed with consider- able loss. Meanwhile the conquest of West Virginia had been undertaken by General George B. M'Clellan, In the last days of May General T. A. Morris moved forward from Parkers- burg to Grafton with a force of Ohio and pJ Indiana troops, and on the 3d of June j^ came upon the Confederates stationed at Philippi. After a brief engagement the Federals were successful ; the Confede- rates retreated toward the mountains. General McClellan now arrived, took command in person, and on the 11th of July gained a victory at Rich Mountain. General Garnett, the Confederate commander, fell back with his forces to Carrick's Ford, on Cheat River, made a stand, was again de- feated and himself killed in the battle. On the 10th of August General Floyd, commanding a detachment of Confederates at Carnifex Ferr}', on Gauley River, was attacked by General Rosecrans and obliged to retreat. On the 14th of September a division of Confederates under General Rob- ert E. Lee was beaten in an engagement at Cheat Mountain — an action which completed the restoration of Federal authority in West Virginia. In the mean time, other movements of vast importance had taken place. In the beginning of June General Robert Patterson marched from Chambersburg with the intention of recapturing Harper's Ferry. On the 11th of the month a division of the army commanded by Colonel SCKNE OF OPEKATIOKS IN WEST VIKGIMA, 1861. FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR. 491 Lewis Wallace made a sudden and successful onset upon a detachment of Confederates stationed at Romney. Patterson then crossed the Poto- mac with the main body, entered the Shenandoah Valley, and pressed back the Confederate forces to Winchester. Thus far there had been only petty engagements, skirmishes and marching. The time had now come when the first great battle of the war was to be fought. After the Union successes in West Virginia the main body of the Confederates, under command of General Beauregard, was concentrated at Manassas Junction, on the Orange Railroad, twenty-seven miles west of Alexandria. Another large force, commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston, was within supporting distance in the Shenandoah Valley. The Union army at Alexandria was commanded by General Irwin McDowell, while General Patterson was stationed in front of Johnston to watch his movements and prevent his forming a junction with Beauregard. On the 16th of July the national army moved forward. Two days afterward an unimportant engagement took place between Centreville and Bull Run. The Unionists then pressed on, and on the morning of the 21st came upon the Confederate army, strongly posted between Bull Run and Manassas Junction. A general battle ensued, continuing with great severity until noonday. At that hour the advan- tage was with McDowell, and it seemed not unlikely that the Confed- erates would suffer a complete defeat. But in the crisis of the battle General Johnston arrived with nearly six thousand fresh troops from the Shenandoah Valley. The tide of victory turned immediately, and in a short time McDowell's whole army was hurled back in utter rout and confusion. A ruinous panic spread through the defeated host. Soldiers and citizens, regulars and volunteers, horsemen and footmen, rolled back in a disorganized mass into the defences of Washington. The Union loss in killed, wounded and prisoners amounted to two thousand nine hundred and fifty-two ; that of the Confederates to two thousand and fifty. Great was the humiliation of the North, and greater the rejoicing of the South. For a while the Federal government was more concerned about its own safety than about the conquest of Richmond. In that city, on the VICINITY OF MANASSAS JUNCTION, 1861. 492 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. day before tlie battle, the new Confederate government was organized. In the Southern Congress and cabinet were many men of distinguislied abil- ities. Jefferson Davis, the President, was a far-sighted man, of wide expe- rience in the affairs of state, and considerable reputation as a soldier. He had led the troops of Mississippi in the Mexican War, had served in both houses of the national Congress, and as a member of President Pierce's cabinet. His talents, decision of character and ardent advocacy of State rights had made him a natural leader of the South. The next milita- ry movements were made in Missouri. That commouAvealth, though slaveholding,, still retained its place in the Union. A con- vention, called by Governor Jackson in accordance with an act of the legislature, had in the previous IMarch refused to pass an or- dinance of secession^ ^p' The disuniouists, how- ever, were numerous- and powerful; the governor favored their cause, and the State became a battle-field for the contending parties. Both Federal and Confederate camps were organized, and hos- tilities began in several places. By capturing the United States arsenal at Liberty, in Clay county, the Confederates obtained a considerable sup- ply of arms and ammunition. By the formation of Camp Jackson, near St. Louis, the arsenal in that city was also endangered ; but by the vigi- lance of Captain Nathaniel Lyon the arms and stores were sent up the river to Alton, and thence to Springfield. Camp Jackson was soon after- ward broken up by the exertions of the same officer. The lead-mines in the south-west part of the State became an object of great imjiortanee to the Confederates, who, in order to secure them. JKFFBRSON DAVIS. FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR. 493 hurried up large bodies of troops from Arkansas and Texas. On the 17th of June Lyon encountered Governor Jackson with a Confederate force at Booneville, and gained a decided advantage. On the 5th of July the Unionists, led by Colonel Franz Sigel, were again successful in a severe engagement with the governor at Carthage. On the 10th of August the hardest battle thus far fought in the West occurred at Wilson's Creek, a short distance south of Springfield. General Lyon made a daring but rash attack on a much superior force of Confederates under command of Generals McCullough and Price. The Federals at first gained the field against heavy odds, but General Lyon was killed, and his men retreated under direction of Sigel. Price General Jr'rice now pressed northward across the State to Lexington, on the Missouri Hiver. This place Avas defended by a force of Federals two thousand six hundred strong, commanded by Colonel Mulligan. A stubborn defence was made by the garrison, but Mulligan was soon obliged to capitulate. Price then turned southward, and on the 16th of October Lexington was retaken by the Federals. General John C. Fremont, who had been appointed to the command of SCENE OF OPERATIONS IN THE SOUTH-WEST, 1861. the Union forces in Missouri, followed the Confederates as fav as Spring- field, and was on the eve of making an attack, when he was superseded by General Hunter. The latter, after retreating to St. Louis, was in turn superseded by General Halleck on the 18th of November. It was now Price's turn to fall back toward Arkansas. The only remaining move- ment of importance was at Belmont, on the Mississippi. The Confederate general Polk, acting under orders of his govern- ment, had, notwithstanding that State's neutrality, entered Kentucky with an army, and had captured the town of Columbus. Batteries planted here commanded the Mississippi. The Confederates gathered in force at Bel- mont, on the opposite bank. In order to dislodge them Colonel Ulys- ses S. Grant, with a brigade of three thousand Illinois troops, was sent by way of Cairo into Missouri. On the 7th of November he made a vigor- 494 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ous and successful attack on the Confederate camp ; but General Polk sent reinforcements across the river, the guns of Columbus were brought to bear on the Union position, and Grant was obliged to retreat. The rout at Bull Run had the effect to quicken the energies of the North, and troops were rapidly hurried to Washington. The aged Gen- eral Scott, unable to bear the burden resting upon him, retired from active duty, and General McClellan was called from West Virginia to take com- mand of the Army of the Potomac. By the middle of October his forces had increased to a hundred and fifty thousand men. On the 21st of that month a brigade, numbering nearly two thousand, was thrown across the Potomac at Ball's BluflP. Without proper support or means of retreat, the Federals were attacked by a strong force of Confederates under Gen- eral Evans, driven to the river, their leader. Colonel Baker, killed, and the whole force routed with terrible loss. Fully eight hundred of Baker's men wer ; killed, wounded or taken prisoners. Juring the summer of 1861 the Federal government sent to sea several important naval expeditions. One of these, commanded by Com- modore Stringham and General Butler, proceeded to the North Carolina coast, and on the 29th of August captured the forts at Hatteras Inlet. On the 7tli of November a second armament, under command of Com- modore Dupont and General Thomas W. Sherman, entered the harbor of Port Royal, and captured Forts Walker and Beauregard. Hilton Head, a point most advantageous for military operations against Charleston and Savannah, thus fell into the power of the Federals. Around the whole coast the blockade became so rigorous that commerce and communication between the Confederate States and foreign nations were almost wholly cut off. In this juncture of affairs a difficulty arose which brought the United States and Great Britain to the very verge of war. The Confederate government had appointed James M. Mason and John Slidell, formerly senators of the United States, to go abroad as am- bassadors from the Confederate States to France and England. The envoys went on board a blockade runner, and escaping from Charleston Harbor, reached Havana in safety. At that port they took passage on the British mail steamer Trent, and sailed for Europe. On the 8th of November the vessel was overtaken by the United States frigate San Jacinto, com- manded by Captain Wilkes. The Trent was hailed and boarded; the two ambassadors and their secretaries were seized, transferred to the San Jacinto, carried to Boston, and imprisoned. The Trent proceeded on her way to England ; the story of the insult to the British flag was told, and the whole kingdom burst out in a blaze of wrath. At first the people of the United States loudly applauded Captain CAMPAIGNS OF '62. 495 Wilkes, and the government was disposed to defend his action. Had such a course been taken, war would have been inevitable. The country- was saved from the peril by the adroit and far-reaching diploma- cy of William H. Sew- ard, the secretary of state. When Great Britain demanded rep- aration for the insult and the immediate lib- eration of the prison- ers, he replied in a mild, cautious and very able paper. It was con- ceded that the seizure of Mason and Slidell was not justifiable ac- cording to the law of nations. A suitable apology was made for the wrong done, the Confederate ambassa- dors were liberated, put on board a vessel and sent to their des- tination. This action of the secretary was both just and politic. The peril of war went by, and Great Britain was committed to a policy in regard to the rights of neutral flags which she had hitherto denied and Avhich the United States had always contended for. So ended the first year of the civil war. ■WILLIAM H. SEWARD. CHAPTER LXIV. CAMPAIGNS OF '6S. THE Federal forces now numbered about four hundred and fifty thou- sand men. Of these nearly two hundred thousand, under command of General McClellan, were encamped in the vicinity of Washington. Another army, commanded by General Buell, was stationed at Louisville^ 496 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Kentucky, and it was in this department that the first military move- ments of the year were made. On the 9th of January Colonel Humphrey Marshall, commanding a force of Confederates on Big Sandy River, in Eastern Kentucky, was attacked and defeated by a body of Unionists, led by Colonel Garfield. Ten days later another and more important battle was fought at Mill Spring, in the same section of the State. The Con- federates were commanded by Generals Crittenden and Zollicoifer, and the Federals by General George H. Thomas. After a hot engagement, in which both sides lost heavily, the Confederates suffered a defeat which was rendered more severe by the loss of Zollicoffer, who fell in the battle. The next operations were on the Tennessee and the Cumberland. The former river was commanded at the southern border of Kentucky by Fort Henry, and the latter by the more important Fort Donelson, ten miles south of the Tennessee line. At the beginning of the year the cap- ture of both these places was planned by General Halleck. Early in February Commodore Foote was sent up the Tennessee with a flotilla of gunboats, and at the same time General Grant Avas ordered to move for- ward and co-operate in an attack on Fort Henry. Before the land-forces were well into position the flotilla compelled the evacuation of the fort, the Confederates escaping to Donelson. Eighty-three prisoners and a large amount of stores were captured. The Federal gunboats now dropped down the Tennessee, took on supplies at Cairo, and then ascended the Cumberland. Grant pressed on from Fort Henry, and as soon as the flotilla arrived began the siege of Fort Donelson. The defences were strong, and well manned by more than ten thousand Confederates, under General Buckner. Grant's entire force numbered nearly thirty thousand. On the 14th of February the gunboats were driven back with considerable loss. Commodore Foote being among the wounded. On the next day the garrison, hoping to break through Grant's lines, made a sally, but met a severe repulse. On the 16th Buckner was obliged to surrender. His army of ten thousand men became prisoners of war, and all the magazines, stores and guns of the fort fell into the hands of the Federals. It was the first decided vic- tory which had been won by the national arms. The immediate result of the capture was the evacuation of Kentucky and the capital of Tennes- see by the Confederates. After his success at Fort Donelson General Grant ascended the Ten- nessee as far as Pittsburg Landing. In the beginning of April a camp was established at Shiloh Church, a short distance from the river ; and here, on the morning of the 6th, the Union army was suddenly attacked by the Confederates, led by Generals Albert S. Johnston and Beauregard. CAMPAIGNS OF '62. 497 The onset was at first successful. All day long the battle raged with tre- mendous slaughter on both sides. The Federals were forced back to the river, and but for the protection of the gunboats would have been driven to destruction. Night fell on the scene with the conflict undecided ; but in this desperate crisis General Buell arrived from Nashville with strong reinforcements. On the following morning General Grant assumed the offensive. General Johnston had been killed in the battle, and Beaure- gard, on whom the command devolved, was obliged to retreat to Corinth. The losses in killed, wounded and missing in this dreadful conflict were more than ten thousand on each side. There had never before been such a harvest of death in the New World. Events of importance were also taking place on the Mississippi. When the Confederates evacuated Columbus, Kentucky, they proceeded to Island Number Ten, a few miles below, and built strong fortifications commanding the river. On the western shore was the town of New Mad- rid, which was held by a Confederate force from Missouri. Against this place General Pope advanced with a body of Western troops, while Commodore Foote descended the Mississippi with his flotilla to attack the forts on the island. Pope was entirely successful in his movement, and gained possession of New Madrid. The land-forces then co-operated with the gunboats, and for twenty-three days Island Number Ten was vigorously bombarded. On the 7th of April, when the Confederates could hold out no longer, they attempted to escape ; but Pope had cut off retreat, and the entire garrison, numbering about five thousand, was cap- tured. The Mississippi was thus opened as far down as Memphis, and that city was taken by the fleet of Commodore Davis on the 6th of the following June. In the beginning of the year General Curtis had pushed forward through Missouri, entered Arkansas and taken position at Pea Ridge, among the mountains in the north-western angle of the State. Here he was attacked on the 6th of March by an army of more than twenty thou- sand Confederates and Indians, under command of Generals McCuUoch, Mcintosh and Pike. After a hard-fought battle, which lasted for two days, the Federals were victorious. McCulloch and Mcintosh were both • killed and their men obliged to retreat toward Texas; but the Union losses were most severe, and the battle was barren of results. On the next day after the conflict at Pea Ridge an event occurred at Fortress Monroe which came near changing the character of naval warfare. Captain John Ericsson of New York had invented and built a peculiar war-vessel with a single round tower of iron exposed above the water-line. Meanwhile, the Confederates had raised the United States 32 498 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. frigate Merrimac, one of the sunken ships at the Norfolk navy yard, and had plated the sides with an impenetrable mail of iron. This done, the vessel was sent to attack the Union fleet at Fortress Monroe. Reaching that place on the 8th of March, the Merrimac, now called the Virginia, began the work of destruction, and before sunset two valuable vessels, the Cumberland and the Congress, were sent to the bottom. During the nighty however, Ericsson's . strange ship, called the Monitor, arrived from New York, and on the following morning the two iron-clad monsters turned their terrible enginery upon each other. After fighting for five hours, the Virginia was obliged to give up the contest and to return badly dam- aged to Norfolk. Such was the excitement produced by this novel sea- fight that for a while the whole energies of the navy department were devoted to building monitors. Early in 1862 a strong land and naval force, commanded by Gen- eral Ambrose E. Burnside and Commodore Goldsborough, was sent against the Confederate garrison of Roanoke Island. On the 8th of Feb- ruary the squadron reached its destination ; the fortifications on the island were attacked and carried, and the garrisons, nearly three thousand strong, taken prisoners. Burnside next proceeded against Newbern, North Car- olina, and on the 14th of March captured the city after four hours of severe fighting. Proceeding southward, he reached the harbor of Beau- fort, carried Fort Macon, at the entrance, and on the 25th of April took possession of the town. On the 11th of the same month Fort Pulaski, commanding the mouth of the Savannah River, surrendered to General Gillmore. By this important capture the chief emporium of Georgia was effectually blockaded. But these reverses of the Confederates were trifling in com- parison with that which they sustained in the loss of the city of New Orleans. Early in April a powerful squadron, commanded by General Butler and Admiral Farragut, entered the Mississippi and proceeded as far as Forts Jackson and St. Philip, thirty miles above the gulf. The guns of these forts, standing on opposite shores, completely commanded the river, and obstructions had been placed in the channel. The forty- five vessels comprising the Federal fleet were brought into position, and a furious bombardment of the forts was begun. From the 18th to the 24th of April the fight continued without cessation. At the end of that time the forts were but little injured, and Farragut undertook the hazardous enterprise of running past the batteries. In this he succeeded, breaking the chain across the river and overpowering the Confederate fleet above the obstructions. On the next day he reached New Orleans with a portion of his fleet, and took possession of the city. General But- CAMPAIGNS OF '62. 499 ler became commandant, and the fortifications were manned with fifteen •thousand Federal soldiers. Three days afterward Forts Jackson and St, Philip surrendered to Admiral Porter, who had remained below and prosecuted the siege. The control of the Lower Mississippi and the me- tropolis of the South was thus recovered by the Federal government. The Confederates were not going to give up Kentucky without a struggle. From East Tennessee they invaded the State in two strong divisions, the one led by General Kirby Smith and the other by General Bragg. On the 30th of August Smith's army reached Richmond, at- tacked a force of Federals stationed there, and routed them with heavy losses, Lexington was taken, and then Frankfort; and Cincinnati was saved from capture only by the extraordinary exertions of General Wal- lace. Meanwhile, the army of General Bragg had advanced from Chatta- nooga to Mumfordsville, where, on the 17th of September, he captured a Federal division of four thousand five hundred men. From this point the Confederate general pressed on toward Louisville, and would have taken the city but for a forced march of General Buell from Tennessee. The latter arrived with his army only one day ahead of Bragg, but tlaat one day gave the Unionists the advantage, and the Confederates were turned back. From the North came reinforcements for Buell's army, swelling his numbers to a hundred thousand. In the beginning of Octo- ber he again took the field, the Confederates slowly retiring to Perryville. At this place, on the 8th of October, Bragg was overtaken, and a severe but indecisive battle was fought. The retreat was then continued to East Tennessee, the Confederates sweeping out of Kentucky a train of four thousand wagons laden with the spoils of the campaign. In September there were some stirring events in Mississippi. On the 19th of the month a hard battle was fought at luka between a Fed- eral army, commanded by Generals Rosecrans and Grant, and a Confed- erate force, under General Price. The latter was defeated, losing, in addi- tion to his killed and wounded, nearly a thousand prisoners. General Rosecrans now took post at Corinth with twenty thousand men, while General Grant, with the remainder of the Federal forces, proceeded to Jackson, Tennesse(3. Perceiving this division of the army, the Confede- rate generals Van Dorn and Price turned about to recapture Corinth. Advancing for t!iat purpose, they came on the 3d of October upon the Federal defences. Another obstinately contested battle ensued, which ended, after two days' fighting and heavy losses on both sides, in the re- pulse of the Confederates. In the Qiean time. General Grant had removed his headquarters from Jackson h) La Grange. His purpose was to co-operate with Gen- 500 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. eral Sherman, then at Memphis, in an effort to capture Vicksburg. The movement promised to be successful, but on the 20th of December Gene- ral Van Dorn succeeded in cutting Grant's line of supplies at Holly- Springs, and obliged him to retreat. On the same day General Sherman, with a powerful armament, dropped down the river from Memphis. Proceeding as far as the Yazoo, he effected a landing, and on the 29th of the month made an unsuccessful attack on the Confederates at Chick- asaw Bayou. The assault was ex- ceedingly disastrous to the Federals, who lost in killed, wounded and pris- oners more than three thousand men. The enterprise was at once aban- doned, and the defeated army re- turned to the fleet of gunboats in the Mississippi. The closing conflict of this year's operations in the West was tlie great battle of Murfreesborough. After his successful defence of Cor- inth General Rosecrans was trans- ferred to the command of the Army of the Cumberland. Late in the fall he made his headquarters at Nash- ville, and there collected a powerful army. Meanwhile, General Bragg, on his retirement from Kentucky, had thrown his forces into Murfreesborough. Thus the two generals found themselves face to face, and but thirty miles apart. Late in December Bosecrans moved forward to attack his imtagonist, and on the evening of the 30th came upon the Confederates strongly posted on Stone's River, a short distance north-west of jMurfreesborough. During the night preparations were made on both sides for the impending battle. The plan of attack adopted by the Federal commander contem- plated the massing of his forces on the left in such numbers as to crush the Confederate right M'ing under Breckinridge before assistance could be brought from the west side of the river. Bragg's plan of battle was the exact counterpart of that adopted by Rosecrans. Before daylight the Confederates were heavily massed under Hardee or^ the left; and in the early morning the battle began by a furious a.id unexpected BATTLE OF MURFREESBOROUGH, DEC. 31ST, 1862. CAMPAIGN OF '62. 501 charge on McCook who commanded the right wing of the Federals. McCook's outcry for help was at first unheeded by Rosecrans, who did not realize the real nature of the Confederate onset. After a terrible struggle which lasted until noonday the Union right was shattered to fragments and driven from the field. The brunt of the battle now fell upon General Thomas, who commanded the Federal right center; and he, too, after des- perate fighting, was obliged to fall back to a new position. Here, however, he rallied his forces and held his ground until Gen- eral Rosecrans readjusted his whole line of battle. While this work was going on, the Confederates were barely prevented from a complete and overwhelming triumph by the almost unparalleled heroism of the division of General AVilliam B. Hazen. With only thirteen hundred men he stayed the oncom- ing tide of victorious assailants until the Federal lines were completely restored. At nightfldl more than seven thousand Union soldiers were missing from the ranks. But General Rosecrans, though de- feated, was by no means disposed to abandon the contest. During the night after the bat- tle, a council of war was held and complete preparations were made for renewing the struggle on the morrov/. On New Year's morning Gen- eral Bragg found his antagonist strongly posted, with shortened lines, and manifest disposition for battle. The Confederate commander grew cautious; and the day was spent in indecisive skirmishing and artillery firing at long range. Early on the morning of the 2d, the conflict broke out afresh on the east side of Stone's River, and for some hours there was terrific cannonading in that quarter. At three o'clock in the afternoon the Confederates were massed against the Union left, and the Nationals were driven across the river by the shock. But at this juncture the Federal artillery, advantageously posted on the hills west of the stream, opened a murderous fire on the assailing columns. At the same time, the discomfited Federals, rallying to the charge, turned upon their pursuers and in one tremendous onset drove them from the field with the slaugh- ter of thousands. General Bragg had lost the prize. During the night he withdrew his broken and exhausted columns through BATTLE OF MURFREESBOROUGH, JAN. 2d, 1803. 502 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Murfreesborough and retreated in the direction of Tullahoma. The Union loss in the two battles was a thousand five hundred and thirty- three killed, seven thousand two hundred and forty-five wounded, and nearly three thousand prisoners; that of the Confederates amounted in killed, wounded, and prisoners to between ten and eleven thou- sand men. In Virginia the campaigns of 1862 were even more grand and destructive than those in the West. The first stirring scenes of the year were enacted in the Shenandoah Valley. Desiring to occupy this important district, the Federal government sent forward a strong division under General Banks, who pressed his way southward, and in the last days of March occupied the town of Harrisonburg. In order to counteract this movement, the gallant Stonewall Jackson was sent with a force of twenty thousand men to pass the Blue Ridge and cut off Banks's retreat. At Front Royal, on the Shenandoah, just before the gap in the Mountains, the Confederates fell upon a body of Federals, routed them, captured their guns and all the military stores in the town. Banks succeeded, however, in passing with his main division to Strasburg. There he learned of the disaster at Front Royal, and immediately began his retreat down the valley. Jackson pursued him hotly, and it was only by the utmost exertions that the Federals gained the northern bank of the Potomac. The Confederate leader, though completely victorious, now found himself in great peril. For General Fremont, at the head of a strong force of fresh troops, had been sent into the valley to intercept the re- treat of the Confederates. It was now Jackson's time to save his army. With the utmost celerity he sped up the valley, and succeeded in reaching Cross Keys before Fremont could attack him. Even then the battle was so little decisive that Jackson pressed on to Port Republic, attacked the division of General Shields, defeated it, and then retired from the scene of his brilliant campaign to join in the defense of Richmond. On the 10th of March the grand army of the Potomac, num- bering nearly two hundred thousand men, under command of General McClellan, set out from the camps about Washington to capture the Confederate capital. The advance proceeded as far as Manassas Junc- tion, the Confederates falling back and forming a new line of defences on the Rap])ahannock. At this stage of the campaign McClellan, changing his plan, embarked a hundred and twenty thousand of his men for Fortress Monroe, intending from that point to march up the peninsula between the James and the York. By the 4th of April the CAMPAIGNS OF '62. 503 transfer of troops was completed, and the Union army left Fortress Monroe for Yorktown. This place was garrisoned by ten thousand Confederates under General Magruder; and yet with so small a force McClellan's advance was delayed for a whole month. When at last, on the 4th of May, Yorktown was taken by siege, the Federal army pressed forward to Williamsburg, where the Confederates made a stand, but were defeated with se- vere losses. Four days afterward, in an engagement at West Point, at the confluence of the Matta- pony and Pamunkey, the Confed- erates were again overpowered and driven back. The way to Rich- mond was now open as far as the Chickahominy, ten miles north of the city. The Union army reached that stream without fur- ther resistance, and crossed at Bottom's Bridge. Meanwhile, General Wool, the commandant of Fortress Mon- roe, had not been idle. On the 10th of May he led an expedition against Norfolk and captured the scene of ca^ipaign in Virginia, maeyland n ,-, /-^ n 1 • -^^ND PENNSYLVANIA, 1862. town ; lor the Coniederate garri- son had been withdrawn to aid in the defence of Richmond. On the next day the celebrated iron-clad Virginia was blown up to save her from capture by the Federals. The James River was thus opened for the ingress of national transports laden with supplies for the Army •of the Potomac. That army, now advanced toward Richmond, and when but seven miles from the city was attacked on the 31st of May by the Confederates at a place called Fair Oaks or Seven Pines. Here for a part of two days the battle raged with great fury. At last the Confederates were driven back; but McClellan's victory was by no means decisive. The Confederate loss was largest, amounting to nearly eight thousand in killed and wounded; that of the Feder- als was more than five thousand. Among the severely wounded was General Joseph E. Johnston, the commander-in-chief of the Con- federates. .Two days after the battle his place was filled by the appointment of General Robert E. Lee, a man of military genius. 504 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. On an- en- who, until its final downfall, remained the chief stay of the Confed- eracy. In the lull that followed the battle of Fair Oaks, McClellan formed the design of changing his base of supplies from the White House, on the Pamunkey, to some suitable point on the James. The movement was one of the utmost haz- ard, and before it was fairly begun General Lee, on the 25th of June, swooped down on the right wing of the Union army at Oak Grove, and a hard - fought battle ensued without de- cisive results, the next day other dreadful gagement occurred a t Mechanicsville, and this time the Federals won the field. But on the following morning Lee renewed the struggle at Gaines's Mill, and came out victorious. On the 28th there was but little fighting. On the 29th McClellan's retreating army was twice attacked — in the morning at Savage's Station and in the afternoon in the White Oak Swamp — but the divisions defending the rearguard kept the Confederates at bay. On the 30th was fought the desperate but indecisive battle of Glendale or Frazier's Farm. On that night the Federal army reached Malvern Hill, on the north bank of the James, twelve miles below Richmond. Although this position was protected by the Federal gunboats in the river. General Lee deter- mined to carry the place by storm. Accordingly, on the morning of the 1st of July the whole Confederate army rushed forward to the as- sault. All day long the furious struggle for the possession of the high grounds continued. Not until nine o'clock at night did Lee's shat- tered columns fall back exhausted. For seven days the terrific roar GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE. CAMPAIGNS OF '62. 505. VICIKITY OF RICHMOND, 18G2. of battle had been heard almost without cessation. No such dreadful scenes had ever before been enacted on the American continent. Although victorious on Malvern Hill, General McClellan, instead of advancing at once on Richmond, chose a less hazardous movement, and on the 2d of July retired with his army to Harrison's Landing,, a few miles down the river. The great campaign was really at an end. The Federal army had lost more than fifteen thousand men, and the capture of Richmond, the great object for which the expedi- tion had been undertaken, seemed further off than ever. The losses of the Confederates had been heav- ier than those of the Union army, but all the moral eifect of a great victory remained with the exultant South. General Lee, perceiving that Richmond was no longer endan- gered, immediately formed the de- sign of invading Maryland and capturing the Federal capital. The Union troops between Richmond and Washington, numbering in the aggregate about fifty thousand, were under command of General John Pope. They were scattered in detachments from Fredericksburg to Winchester and Harper's Ferry. Lee moved northward about the middle of August, and on the 20th of the month Pope, concentrating his forces as rapidly as possible, put the Rappahannock between his army and the advancing Confederates. Meanwhile General Banks, while attempting to form a junction with Pope, was attacked by Stone- wall Jackson at Cedar Mountain, where nothing but desperate fighting saved the Federals from complete rout. No sooner had Pope gotten his forces well in hand than Jackson shot by with his division on a flank movement, reached Manassas Junction, and made large captures of men and stores. Pope with great audacity threw his army between the two divisions of the Confederates, hoping to crush Jackson before Lee could come to the rescue. On August 28th and 29th there was terrible but undecisive fighting at Manassas Junction, the old Bull Run battle-ground, and Centreville. At one time it seemed that Lee's army would be completely defeated; but Pope's reinforcements were purposely delayed by General Porter,, :506 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. aud on the 31st of the month the Confederates bore down on the Union army at Chantilly, fought all day, and won a victory. Gen- erals Stevens and Kearney were among the thousands of brave men who fell in this battle. On that night Pope withdrew his shattered columns as rapidly as possible, and found safety within the defences of Washington. His wish to be relieved of his command was imme- diately complied with; his forces, known as the Army of Virginia, were consolidated with the Army of the Potomac, which had now TDeen recalled from the peninsula below Richmond; and General Mc- ■Clellan was placed in supreme command of all the divisions about 'Washington. General Le© prosecuted his invasion of Maryland. Passing up the right bank of the Potomac, he crossed to Point of Rocks, and on the 6th of September captured Frederick. On the 10th Hagerstown was taken, and on the 15th a division of the Confederate army, led by Stonewall Jackson came upon Harper's Ferry and frightened Colo- nel Miles into surrender by which the garrison, nearly twelve thou- sand strong, became prisoners of war. On the previous day there was a hard-fought engagement at South Mountain, in which the Federals, led by Hatch and Doubleday, were victorious. McClellan's whole army was now in the immediate rear of Lee, who, on the night of the 14th, fell back to Antietam Creek, and took a strong position in the vicinity of Sharpsburg. On the morning of the 15th there was some ^harp but desultory fighting between the Union and Confederate cav- alry. During the afternoon the Federal advance, coming in on the Sharpsburg road from Keedysville, received the opening salutes of the Confederate guns on the Antietam. But nightfall came without a se- rious conflict. On the following morning there was great activity of preparation in both armies. Later in the day the corps of General Hooker, who commanded on the Federal right, was thrown across the stream which separated the combatants and brought into a favorable position for action. In this quarter of the field the Confederate left under General Hood was assaulted and driven back a half mile in the direction of Sharpsburg. The rest of the day was spent in an irregu- lar cannonade. During the night General Mansfield's corps crossed the Antietam on the north bridge and joined Hooker. On the morning of the 17th both commanders had their armies well into position, the Federals being strongest in numbers and the Confederates having the advantage of an unfordable stream in their front. It was of the first importance that General McClellan should gain and hold the four stone bridges by which only his forces could CAMPAIGNS OF '62. 507 be thrown to the other side. General Burnside, who was ordered to take the lower bridge, cross over, and attack the division of A. P. Hill, encountered unexpected delays and was greatly retarded in his movements. On the right. Hooker renewed the battle at sunrise, and until late in the afternoon the conflict raged with almost unabated fury. Here fell the veteran General Mans- field and thousands of his comrades. Mean- while, Burnside had forced the lower cross- ing and carried the battle far up in the di- rection of Sharpsburg. But the Confederates beins: reinforced from other parts of the field made a rally, and the Federals were driven back nearly to the An- tietam. It was only by terrible fighting that General Burnside suc- ceeded in holding his position on the west bank of the stream. But on the approach of darkness the great- er part of the Union army had gained a safe lodgment between the creek and Sharpsburg. Nevertheless, the Confederate forces occupied nearly the same ground as in the morning ; and it seemed that the final struggle was reserved for the morrow. On that day, however, General McClellan acted on the defensive. Two strong divisions of reinforcements, under Generals Humphreys and Couch, arrived, and it was resolved to renew the at- tack on the following morning. But in the mean time. General Lee had taken advantage of the delay, withdrawn his shattered legions from their position, and recrossed the Potomac into Virginia. The great mmand- er still preferred to advance by the route which he had taken the previous spring, making his base of supplies at West Point on the Pamunkey. But this plan was open to the objection that Wash- ington city would thereby be again uncovered and exposed to a coun- ter movement on the part of the Confederates. Yielding to the pro- test of the President and his cabinet, McClellan altered his plans and chose Alexandria on the Potomac as his base of operations. From this point it was proposed to advance on the Confederate capital by way of the Orange Railroad through Culpepper to Gordonsville, and thence by the Virginia Central to its junction with the line reaching from Fredericksburg to Richmond. The month of October was wasted with delays, and November was well begun before the Federal general with his army of a hundred and twenty thousand men, an- nounced himself ready for the forward movement. On the 7th of THE PROPOSED POUTES FROM WASHINGTON TO RICH- MOND, 1862. CAMPAIGNS OF '62. 509 the month, just as the Union commander was about to begin the cam- paign, he was superseded and his command transferred to Genera] Burnside. Right or wrong, the President at last reached the decision that General McClellan was a man over-cautious and slow — too pru- dent and too much absorbed in preliminaries to lead the armies of the Republic to victory. General Burnside immediately changed the plan of the proposed campaign. It was decided to form a new base of supplies at the mouth of Acquia Creek, fifty-five miles below Washington and from that point to force a way by battle southward through Fredericks- burg. But again movements were much delayed, and that, too, when everything depended on celerity. The pontoons, which were neces- sary for the crossing of the Rappahannock, were not forthcoming, and a fortnight was lost in preparations. General Lee found abun- dant time to gather his legions and occupy the heights in the vicinity of Fredericksburg. It was not a part of his plan to dispute the pas- sage of the river but to allow the Federals to cross over and then beat them back from his entrenchments. On the 11th of December the Union army was brought into position on the east bank of the Rappahannock. The divisions lay from the village of Falmouth to a point opposite the mouth of the Massaponax, about three miles be- low. In front of the corps of General Franklin, who commanded the Federal left wing, the pontoons were successfully laid and the crossing of the river was effected without serious opposition. But opposite Fredericksburg, where the divisions of Generals Sumner and Hooker, who held the Union center and right, were to cross, the work of laying the bridges was hindered by the Confederate sharpshooters lying concealed in the town. General Burnside ordered the Federal guns to be turned in that direction, and in a short time Fredericks- burg was battered and burned into ruins. Some Union regiments were next ferried over in boats, and the Confederate picket lines were driven back to the heights. The bridges were completed, and by nightfall of the 12th the army had been transferred to the western side of the river. On the morning of the 13th the battle began on the left where Franklin's division encountered the corps of Stonewall Jackson. A gallant charge was made by General Meade and a gap was made in the Confederate lines; but no reinforcements were sent forward; the Confederates rallied, and the Federals were driven back with a loss •of three thousand seven hundred men. Jackson's loss was almost as 510 ElSiORY OF THE UNITED STATES. great, and in this part of the field neither side might claim a decisive victory. Not so in the center and on the right. Here a portion of General Sumner's men were ordered forward against the Confederates securely and impregnably posted on Marye's Hill. They were mowed down by thousands and hurled back in disdain, while the defenders of the heights hardly lost a man. Time and again the assault wag recklessly renewed. A part of Hooker's gallant troops, led by Gen- eral Humphreys, came forward ; charged with unloaded guns ; and in fifteen minutes one-half of the four thousand brave fellows went down in death. Night came and ended the useless carnage. General Burn- side would have renewed the battle ; but his division commanders finally dissuaded him and on the night of the 15th the Federal army was silently withdrawn across the Rappahannock. The Union losses in this terrible conflict amounted to a thousand five hundred killed, nine thousand one hundred wounded, and sixteen hundred and fifty prisoners and missing. The Confederates lost in killed five hundred and ninety-five, four thousand and sixty-one wounded, and six hun- dred and fifty-three missing and prisoners. Of all the important movements of the war only that of Fredericksburg was undertaken with no probability of success. Under the plan of the battle — if plan it might be called, nothing could be reasonably expected but repulse, rout, and ruin. Thus in gloom and disaster to the Federal cause ended the great campaign of 1862. CHAPTER LXV. THE WORK OF '63. npIIE war had now grown to enormous proportions. The Confederate -■- States were draining every resource of men and means in order to support their armies. The superior energies of the North, though by no means exhausted, were greatly taxed. In the previous year, on the day after the battle of Malvern Hill, President Lincoln had issued a call for three hundred thousand additional troops. During the exciting days of Pope's retreat from the Rappahannock he sent forth another call for thre^ THE WOBK OF '63. 5 IX, hundred thousand, and to that was added a requisition for a draft of three hundred thousand more. Most of these enormous demands were promptly met, and it became evident that in respect to resources the Federal gov- ernment was vastly superior to the Confederacy. On the 1st day of January, 1863, the President issued one of the most unportant documents of modern times: The Emancipation Peoclamation.* The war had been begun with no well-defined inten- tion on the part of the government to free the slaves of the South. But the President and the Republican party looked with disfavor on the in- stitution of slavery; during the progress of the war the sentiment of abolition had grown with great rapidity in the North ; and when at last it became a military necessity to strike a blow at the labor-system of the Southern States, the step was taken with but little hesitancy or oppo- sition. Thus, after an existence of two hundred and forty-four years, the institution of African slavery in the United States was swept away. The military movements of the new year began on the Mississippi After his defeat at Chickasaw Bayou, General Sherman laid a plan for the capture of Arkansas Post, on the Arkansas River. In the first days of January an expedition set out for that purpose, the land-forces being commanded by General McClernand, and the flotilla by Admiral Porter. Entering the Arkansas, the Union forces reached their destination on the 10th of the month, fought a hard battle with the Confederates, gained a victory, and on the next day received the surrender of the post with nearly five thousand prisoners. After this success the expedition returned to the vicinity of Vicksburg, in order to co-operate with General Grant in a second effort to capture that stronghold of the Confederacy. Again the Union forces were collected at Memphis, and embarked on the Mississippi. A landing was efiected at the Yazoo ; but the cap- ture of the city from that direction was decided to be impracticable. The first three months of the year were spent by General Grant in beating about the bayous, swamps and hills around Vicksburg, in the hope of getting a position in the rear of the town. A canal was cut across a bend in the river with a view to turning the channel of the Mississippi and opening a passage for the gunboats. But a flood in the river washed the works away, and the enterprise ended in failure. Then another canal was begun, only to be abandoned. Finally, in the first days of April, it was determined at all hazards to run the fleet past the Vicksburg batteries. Accordingly, on the night of the 16th, the boats were made ready and silently dropped down the river. All of a sudden the guns burst forth with terrible discharges of shot and shell, pelting the passing * See Appendix H. 512 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. steamers ; but they went by with comparatively little damage, and found a safe position below the city. Elated with the successful pas- sage of his fleet, General Grant now marched his land-forces down the right bank of the Mississippi and formed a junction with the squadron. On the 30th of April he crossed the river at Bruinsburg, and on the following day fought and defeated the Confederates at Port Gibson. The evacuation of Grand Gulf, at the mouth of the Big Black River, followed imme- diately afterward. The Union army Vicksburg. On the morning of VICKSBURG AND VICINITY, 1863. now swept around to the rear of the 12th a strong Confederate force was encountered at Raymond, and after a severe engagement was repulsed. Pressing on toward Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, General Grant's right wing, under Sherman and McPherson, met the advance of General Johnston's division coming to reinforce the garrison of Vicksburg. Here, on the 14th of the month, a decisive battle was fought ; the Confederates were beaten, and the city of Jackson captured. The communications of Vicksburg were now cut oif, and General Pemberton was obliged to repel the Federals or suffer a siege. Sallying forth with the greater part of liis forces, he met the Union army on the 16th at Champion Hills, on Baker's Creek. In the battle that followed, as well as in a conflict at tlie Black River Bridge on the 17th, Grant was again victorious, and Pemberton retired with his dis- heartened troops within the defences of Vicksburg. The investment of the city was rapidly completed. Believing that the Confederate works could be carried by storm, General Grant, on the 19th of May, ordered an assault, which resulted in a repulse with terrible losses. Three days afterward the attempt was renewed, but the assailants were again hurled back with a still greater destruction of life. The Union loss in these two unsuccessful assaults amounted to nearly three thousand men. Finding that Vicksburg could not be taken by storm, General Grant began a regular siege, and pressed it with ever-increasing severity. Admiral Porter got his gunboats into position and bombarded the unfortunate town incessantly. Reinforcements swelled the Union ranks. On the other hand, the garrison of the city was in a starving con- dition. Still, Pemberton held out for more than a month ; and it was THE WORK OF '63. 513 not until the 4th of July that he was driven to surrender. By the act of capitulation the defenders of Vicksburg, numbering nearly thirty thousand, became prisoners of war. Thousands of small-arms, hundreds of cannon, vast quantities of ammunition and warlike stores were the fruits of this great Union victory, by which the national government gained more and the Confederacy lost more than in any previous struggle of the war. Meanwhile, General Banks, who had superseded General Butler in command of the department of the gulf, had been conducting a vigor- ous campaign on the Lower Mississippi. Early in January, from his headquarters at Baton Rouge, he advanced into Louisiana, reached Brash- ear City, and shortly afterward gained a victory over a Confederate force at a place called Bayou Teche. Returning to the Mississippi, he moved northward to Port Hudson, invested the place and began a siege. The beleaguered garrison, under General Gardner, made a brave defence ; and it was not until the 8th of July, when the news of the fall of Vicksburg was borne to Port Hudson, that the commandant, with his force of more than six thousand men, was obliged to capitulate. By this important surrender the control of the Mississippi throughout its whole length M'as recovered by the National government. During the progress of the war cavalry raids became more and more frequent. Of this nature was Stonewall Jackson's campaign down the Shenandoah valley in the summer of 1862. Later in the same year, just after the battle of Antietam, the Confederate General Stuart, with a troop of eighteen hundred cavalrymen, made a dash into Pennsylvania, reached Chambersburg, captured the town, made a complete circuit of the Army of the Potomac, and returned in safety to Virginia. Just before the in- vestment of Vicksburg, Colonel Benjamin Grierson, of the Sixth Illinois Cavalry, struck out with his command from La Grange, Tennessee, en- tered Mississippi, traversed the State to the east of Jackson, cut the rail- roads, destroyed property, and after a rapid course of more than eight hundred miles gained the river at Baton Rouge. By these raids the border country of both sections was kept in perpetual agitation and alarm. For a while after the battle of Murfreesborough Rosecrans re- mained inactive. Late in the spring Colonel Streight's command went on a raid into Georgia, met the division of the Confederate general Forrest, was surrounded and captured. In the latter part of June, Rose- crans by a series of flank movements succeeded in crowding General Bragg out of Tennessee into Georgia. The union general followed his antago- nist and took post at Chattanooga, on the left bank of the Tennessee. During the summer months General Bragg was heavily reinforced by 33 514 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Johnston from Mississippi, and Longstreet from Virginia. On the 19th of September he turned upon the Federal army at Chickamauga Creek, in the north-west angle of Georgia. During this day a hard battle was fought, but night fell on the scene with the victory undecided. During the night the Confederates were reinforced by the arrival of General Longstreet, who was stationed with his division on the left wing of Bragg's army. The right was given to General Polk, while the center was held by Ewell and Johnston. The Federal left wing was commanded by General Thomas, the center by Crit- tenden, and the right by Mc- Cook. The plan of the Con- federate commander was to crush the Union line, force his way through a gap in Missionary Eidge, capture Rossville and Chattanooga, and annihilate Rosecrans's army. The battle began at half past eight o'clock on the morning of the 20th, the Confederates moving on in powerful masses, and the Federals holding their ground with unflinching courage. After the conflict had continued for some hours, the national battle-line was opened by General AYood, acting under mistaken orders. The Confederate general, seeing his advantage, thrust forward a heavy column into the gap, cut the Union army in two, and drove the shattered right wing in utter rout from the field. General Thomas, with a desperate firmness hardly equaled in the annals of war, held the left until nightfall, and then, under cover of darkness, withdrew into Chattanooga, where the defeated army of Rosecrans had already found shelter. The Union losses in this dreadful battle amounted in killed, wounded and missing to nearly nineteen thousand, and the Confederate loss was even more appalling. General Bragg at once pressed forward to besiege Chattanooga. The Federal lines of communication were cut oif, and for a while the army of Rosecrans was in danger of being annihilated. But General BATTLK OF CHICKAMAUGA, SEPT. 19, 20, 1863. THE WORK OF 63. 515 Hooker arrived with two corps from the Army of the Potomac, opened the Tennessee River, and brought relief to the besieged. At the same time General Grant, being promoted to the chief command of the Western armies, assumed the direction of aifairs at Chattanooga. Gen- eral Sherman also arrived with his division, so strengthening the Army of the Cumber- land that offen- sive operations were at once renewed. The left Av i n g of the Confederate army now rest- ed on Look- out Mountain, and the right o n Missionary A po- sition seemingly more impregna- ble could hard- ly be conceived of. General Bragg was not only confident of his ability to hold his lines against any ad- E-idge LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN AND MISSIONARY EIDGE, NOV. 23-25, 1863. vance of the Federals but even contemplated the storming of Chatta- nooga. On the 20th of November he gave notice to General Grant to remove all non-combatants as the town was about to be bombarded; but no attention was paid to the despatch. On the 23d General Hooker threw his corps across the river below Chattanooga and gained a foot- ing at the mouth of Lookout Creek facing the mountain. From this position the assault was made on the following morning. Hooker was supported by the divisions of Generals Geary and Osterhaiis, and the remainder of the Union army was kept in a state of activity in order to prevent the reinforcement of Lookout from Missionary Ridge. A dense fog hung like a hood over the mountain, efiectually concealing the movements of the Federals. The charge began between eight and nine o'clock, and in the space of two hours the ranges of Confederate rifle-pits among the foot-hills had been successfully carried. It had 516 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. been General Hooker's purpose to pause when this work should be accomplished, but the enthusiasm of his army rose to such a pitch as to suggest the still greater achievement of carrying the whole Confed- erate position. Taking advantage of the fog and the spirit of his soldiers Hooker again gave the command to charge ; and up the almost inaccessible slopes of the mountain the troops sprang forward with re- sistless energy. It was such a scene of dauntless heroism as has rarely been portrayed in the records of battle. The charging columns, strug- gling against the obstacles of nature and facing the murderous fire of the Confederate guns, could not be checked. The Union flag was carried to the top; and before two o'clock in the afternoon Lookout Mountain, with its cloud-capped summit overlooking the town and river, was swarming with Federal soldiers. The routed Confederates retreated down the eastern slope and across the intervening hills and valleys in the direction of Missionary Ridge. The second great conflict was reserved for the morrow. During the night of the 24th General Bragg concentrated his forces and made preparations to defend his position to the last. On the following morning Hooker's victorious troops poured down from Lookout, crossed the Chattanooga, and renewed the battle at the southwestern extremity of Missionary Ridge. General Sherman had already built pontoon bridges over the Tennessee and Chickamauga, thrown his corps across those streams, and gained a lodgment on tlic northeastern declivity of the Ridge. General Thomas, commanding the Union center, lay with his impatient soldiers, on the southern and eastern slopes of Orchard Knob, awaiting the result of Sherman's and Hooker's onsets. At two o'clock in the afternoon orders were given by Gen- eral Grant for an assault along the whole line. And the command was instantly obeyed. The thrilling scene of Lookout Mountain was again enacted. The Federal soldiers charged to the summit of Mis- sionary Ridge and the Confederates were driven into a disastrous rout. During the night General Bragg withdrew his shattered columns and retreated in the direction of Ringgold, Georgia. The Federal losses in the two great battles amounted to seven hundred and fifty-seven killed, four thousand five hundred and twenty-nine wounded, and three hundred and thirty missing; the loss of the Confederates in killed, wounded and prisoners reached considerably beyond ten thousand. The results of the conflict were so decisive as to put an end to the war in Tennessee until it was renewed by Hood at Franklin and Nashville in the winter of 1864. In the mean time, Gen*>ral Burnside was making an effort to hold Ea.st Tennessee. On the 1st of September he arrived with his command THE WORK OF '63. 517 at Knoxville, where he was received by the people with lively satisfac- tion. After the battle of Chickamauga, General Longstreet was sent into East Tennessee to counteract the movements of the Unionists. On his march to Knoxville he overtook and captured several small detachments of Federal troops, then invested the town and began a siege. On the 29th of November the Confederates made an attempt to carry Knoxville by storm, but were repulsed with heavy losses. After the retreat of Bragg from Chattanooga, General Sherman marched to the relief of Burnside; but before he could reach Knoxville, Longstreet raised the siege and re- treated into Virginia. In the early part of 1863 the Confederates, led by Generals Mar- maduke and Price, resumed activity in Arkansas and Southern Missouri. On the 8th of January they made an attack on Springfield, but were re- pulsed with considerable losses. Three days afterward, at the town of Hartsville, a battle was fought with a similar result. On the 26th of April, General Marmaduke attacked the post at Cape Girardeau, on the Mississippi, but the garrison succeeded in driving the Confederates away. On the day of the surrender of Vicksburg the Confederate general Holmes, with a force of nearly eight thousand men, made an attack on Helena, Arkansas, but was repulsed with a loss of one-fifth of his men. On the 13th of August the town of Lawrence, Kansas, was sacked and burned, and a hundred and forty persons killed by a band of desperate fellows led by a chieftain called Quantrell. On the 10th of September the Federal general Steele reached Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas, captured the city and restored the national authority in the State. To the summer of this year belongs the story of General John Morgan's great raid through Kentucky into Indiana and Ohio. His starting-point was Sparta, Tennessee; the number of his forces three thousand. Pushing northward through Kentucky, he gathered strength, reached the Ohio at Brandenburg, crossed into Indiana, and began his march to the north and east. He was resisted at Corydon and other points by bodies of home-guards, and hotly pursued by a force under General Hobson. Morgan crossed into Ohio at Harrison, made a circuit to the north of Cincinnati, and attempted to recross the river. But the Ohio was now guarded by gunboats, and the raiders were driven back. With numbers constantly diminishing the Confederate leader pressed on, fighting and flying, until he came near the town of New Lisbon, where he was surrounded and captured by the brigade of General Shackelford. For nearly four months Morgan was held as a prisoner; then mak- ing his escape, he fled to Kentucky, and finally reached Richmond. The year 1863 was marked by some movements of importance on 518 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. tlie sea-coast. On the 1st of January General Marmaduke, by a brilliant exploit, caj)tured Galveston, Texas. By this means the Confederates se- cured a port of entry, of which they were greatly in need in the South- west. On the 7th of April Admiral Dupont, with a powerful fleet of iron- clads, made an attempt to capture Charleston, but the squadron was driven back much damaged. In the last days of June the siege of the city was begun anew by a strong land-force, under command of General Q. A. Gillmore, assisted by the fleet under Admiral Dahlgren. The Federal army first effected a lodgment on Folly Island, and soon afterward on the south end of Morris Island, where batteries were planted bearing upon Fort Sumter in the channel and Fort Wagner and Battery Gregg at the northern extremity of the island. After the bombardment had continued for some time, General Gillmore, on the 18th of July, made an attempt to carry Fort Wagner by assault, but was repulsed with a loss of more than fifteen hundred men. The siege then progressed until the night of the 6 th of September, when the Confederates evacuated the fort and Bat- tery Gregg, and retired to Charleston. Gillmore thus obtained a position within four miles of the city, and brought his guns to bear on the wharves and buildings of the lower town. Meanwhile, the walls of Fort Sumter on the side next to Morris Island had been pounded into powder by the land-batteries and guns of the monitors. The harbor and city, however, still remained under control of the Confederates, the only gain of the Federals being the establishment of a blockade so complete as to seal up the port of Charleston. During the spring and summer of 1863 the Army of the Potomac was engaged in several desperate conflicts. After his fatal repulse at Fredericksburg General Burnside was superseded by General Joseph Hooker, who, in the latter part of April, moved forward with his army in full force, crossed the Rappahannock and the Bapidan, and reached Chancellorsville. Here, on the evening of the 2d of May, he was at- tacked by the veteran Army of Northern Virginia, led by Lee and Jack- son. The latter general, with extraordinary daring, put himself at the head of a division of twenty-five thousand men, filed off from the battle- field, outflanked the Union army, burst like a thunder-cloud upon the right wing, and swept everything to destruction. But it was the last of Stonewall's battles. As night came on, with ruin impending over the Federal army, the brave Confederate leader, riding through the gather- ing darkness, received a volley from his own lines, and fell mortally wounded. He lingered a week, and died at Guinea Station, leaving a gap in the Confederate ranks Avhich no other man could fill. On the morning of the 3d the battle was furiously renewed. Gen- eral Sedgwick, attempting to reinforce Hooker from Fredericksburg, was THE WORK OF '63. 519 •defeated and driven across the Rappahannock. The main army was crowded between Chancellorsville and the river, w^here it remained in the utmost peril until the evening of the 5th, when General Hooker succeeded in withdrawing his forces to the northern bank. The Union losses in these terrible battles amounted in killed, wounded and prisoners to about seventeen thousand ; that of the Confederates was less by five thousand. Taken altogether, the campaign was the most disastrous of any in which tne Federal army had yet been engaged. The defeat of General Hooker was to some extent mitigated by the successful cavalry raid of General Stoneman. On the 29th of April he crossed the Rappahannock with a body of ten thousand men, tore up the Virginia Central Railroad, dashed on to the Chickahominy, cut General Lee's communications, swept around within Si few miles of Rich- mond, and on the 8th of May recrossed the Rappahannock in safety. At the same time. General Peck, the Federal command- ant of Suifolk, on the JS^ansemond, w^as suc- ces^ully resisting a siege conducted by General Longstreet. The Confederates re- treated from before the town on the very day of the Union disaster at Chancellorsville. Elated with his success on the Rappa- hannock, General Lee determined to carry the war into Mary- land and Pennsylvania. STONEWALL, JACKSON.* In the first week of June he moved forward *The true name of this remarkable man was Thomas Jonathan Jackson. In the be^ ginning of the battle of Bull Run, when the Confederates in one part of the field were routed and flying, General Bee, pointing to an immovable column of men, cried out, " Here is Jackson, standing like a stone tvall !" From that day the man at the head of that column was called Stonewall Jackson. 520 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. with his whole army, crossed the Potomac, and captured Hagerstown.. .On the 22d of June the invaders entered Chambersburg, and then pressed on through Carlisle to within a few miles of Harrisburg. The militia of Pennsylvania was called out, and volunteers came pouring in from other States. General Hooker, at the head of the Army of the Potomac, pushed forward to strike his antagonist. It was evident that a great and deci- sive battle was at hand. General Lee, abandoning his purpose of invasion, rapidly concentrated his forces near Get- tysburg, the cap- ital of Adams County, Penn- sylvania. On the very eve of bat- tle the command of the Union ar- my was transfer- red from General Hooker to Gen- eral George G. Meade, who has- tily advanced his forces through the hill - country in the direction of Gettysburg, After more than two years of indecisive warfare it seemed that the fate of the Amer- ican Republic was to be staked on the issue of a single battle. On the morning of the 1st of July the Union advance, led by Generals Reynolds and Buford, while moving westward from Gettysburg, en- countered the Confederate division of General Hill, coming up on the road from Hagerstown ; and the struggle began. In the afternoon strong reinforcements were received and a severe battle was fought for the possession of Seminary Ridge. In this initial conflict the BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG, JULY 1, ! 1SC3. THE WORK OF '63. 521 Confederates were victorious, driving the Union line from its posi- tion, through the village, and back to the high grounds southward. Here at nightfall a stand was made, and a new battle-line was formed reaching from an eminence called Round Top, where the left wing rested, around the crest of the ridges to Cemetery Hill, where the center was posted, and thence to Wolf Hill on Rock Creek. To this position, well-choseu and strong, the whole Union army, ex- cept Sedgwick's corps, was hurried forward during the night. Tbe Confederate forces were all brought into position on Seminary Ridge and the high grounds to the left of Rock Creek, forming a semi- circle about five miles long. The cavalry of both armies hung upon the flanks, doing effective service but hardly participating in the main conflict of the center. On the morning of July 2d, the corps of General Longstreet on the Confederate right moved forward impetuously and attacked the Union left under Sickles. The struggle in this part of the field was for the possession of Great and Little Round Top ; and after terrible fighting, which lasted until six o'clock in the evening, these strong- positions remained in the hands of the Federals. In the center a similar conflict, lasting for the greater part of the day, ensued for the possession of Cemetery Hill. Here, too, notwithstanding the desper- ate assaults of the Confederates, the integrity of the National line wa^s preserved till nightfall. On the right the Confederate onset was more successful, and the Union right under General Slocum was somewhat shattered. But at ten o'clock at night, when the fighting ceased, it was found that the position of the two armies had not been materially changed by a conflict which had left forty thousand dead and wounded men on the field of battle. Under cover of the darkness both generals made arrangements to renew the struggle on the morrow, but when morning came both were loath to begin. For each felt that this day's action must be de- cisive. General Meade had some advantage in the fact that Lee, in in order to continue his invasion, must carry the Union position or retreat. The whole forenoon of the 3d was spent in preparations. At midday there was a lull. Then burst forth the fiercest cannonade ever known on the American continent. Until after two o'clock the hills were shaken Avith the thunders of more than two hundred heavy guns. The Confederate artillerymen concentrated their fire on the Union center at Cemetery Hill which became a scene of indescribable uproar and death. Then came the crisis. The cannonade ceased. A Confederate column, nearly three miles long, headed by the Yir- 522 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ginians under General Pickett, made a final and desperate charge on the Union centre. But the onset was in vain, and the brave men who made it were mowed down with terrible slaughter. The victory remained with the national army, and Lee was obliged to turn back with his shat- tered legions to the Potomac. The entire Confederate loss in this the greatest battle of the war was nearly thirty thousand ; that of the Fede- rals in killed, wounded and missing, twenty-three thousand a hundred and eighty-six. General Lee withdrew his forces into Virginia, and the Union army resumed its old position on the Potomac and the Rappahan- nock. Such were the more important military movements of 1863. During this year the administration of President Lincoln was beset with many difficulties. The w^ar-debt of the nation was piling up moun- tains high. The last calls for volunteers had not been fully met. The anti-war party of the North had grown more bold, and openly denounced the measures of the government. On the 3d of March the Conscrip- tion Act was passed by Congress, and two months afterward the Presi- dent ordered a general draft of three hundred thousand men. All able- bodied citizens between the ages of twenty and forty-five years were subject to the requisition. The measure was bitterly denounced by the opponents of the war, and in many places the draft-officers were forcibly resisted. On the 13th of July, in the city of New York, a vast mob rose in arms, demolished the buildings which were occupied by the provost marshals, burned the colored orphan asylum, attacked the police, and killed about a hundred people, most of whom were negroes. For three days the authorities of the city were set at defiance. On the second day of the reign of terror Governor Seymour arrived and addressed the mob in a mild-mannered way, promising that the draft should be suspended, and advising the rioters to disperse ; but they gave little heed to his mellow admonition, and went on with the w^ork of de- struction. General Wool, commander of the military district of New York, then took the matter in hand; but the troops at his disposal were at first unable to overawe the insurgents. Some volunteer regi- ments, however, came trooping home from Gettysburg ; the Metropol- itan police companies were compactly organized ; and the combined forces soon crushed the insurrection with a strong hand. After the fall of Vicksburg and the retreat of Lee from Pennsylvania, there were fewer acts of domestic violence. Nevertheless, the anti-war spirit in some parts of the North ran so high that on the 19th of August President Lincoln issued a proclamation suspending the priv- ileges of the writ of habeas corpus throughout the Union. As a means of procuring soldiers the draft amounted to nothing ; THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 523 Dnly about fifty thousand men were thus directly obtained. But volun- teering was greatly quickened by the measure, and the employment of substitutes soon filled the ranks of the army. Such, however, were the terrible losses by battle and disease and the expiration of enlistments that in October the President issued another call for three hundred thou- sand men. At the same time it was provided that any delinquency in meeting the demand would be supplied by a draft in the following Janu- ary. By these active measures the columns of the Union army were made more powerful than ever. In the armies of the South, on the other hand, there were already symptoms of exhaustion, and the most rigorous con- scription was necessary to fill the thinned but still courageous ranks ol the Confederacy. It was on the 20th of June in this year that West Vir- ginia, separated from the Old Dominion, was organized and admitted as the thirty-fifth State of the Union. CHAPTER LXVI. THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. AS in the previous year, the military movements of 1864 began in the West. In the beginning of February General Sherman left Vicks- burg with the purpose of destroying the railroad connections of Eastern Mississippi. Marching toward Alabama, he reached Meridian on the 15th of the month. Here, where the railroad from Mobile to Corinth intersects the line from Vicksburg to Montgomery, the tracks were torn up for a distance of a hundred and fifty miles. Bridges were burned, locomotives and cars destroyed, vast quantities of cotton and corn given to the flames. At Meridian General Sherman expected the arrival of a strong force of Federal cavalry which had been sent out from Memphis, under command of General Smith. The latter advanced into Mississippi, but was met, a hundred miles north of Meridian, by the cavalry of For- rest, and driven back to Memphis. Disappointed of the expected junc- tion of his forces. General Sherman retraced his course to Vicksburg. Forrest continued his raid northward, entered Tennessee, and on the 24th of March captured Union City. Pressing on, he reached Paducah, Ken- tucky, made an assault on Fort Anderson, in the suburbs of the town, but was repulsed with a loss of three hundred men. Turning back into Ten- nessee, he came upon Fort Pillow, on the Mississippi, seventy miles .above Memphis. The place was defended by five hundred and sixty 524 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. soldiers, about half of whom were negroes. Forrest, having gained the outer defences, demanded a surrender, hut was refused. He then ordered an assault, and carried the fort by storm. To the spring of 1864 belongs the story of the Red River Expe- dition, conducted by General Banks. The object had in view was the capture of Shreveport, the seat of the Confederate government of Louisi- ana. A strong land-force was to march up Red River, supported by a fleet of gunboats, under command of Admiral Porter. The army was composed of three divisions : the first, from Vicksburg, numbering ten thousand, commanded by General Smith ; the second, from New Orleans, led by General Banks in person; the third, from Little Rock, under com- mand of General Steele. In the beginning of March Smith's division moved forward to Red River, and was joined by Porter with the fleet. On the 14th of the same month the advance reached Fort de Russy, which was taken by assault. The Confederates retreated up the river to Alexandria, and on the 16th that city was occupied by the Federals. Three days afterward Natchitoches Avas captured; but here the road turned from the river, and further co-operation between the gunboats and the army was impossible. The flotilla proceeded up stream toward Shreveport, and the land-forces whirled off in a circuit to the left. On the 8th of April, when the advanced brigades were approach- ing the town of Mansfield, they were suddenly attacked by the Confede- rates in full force and advantageously posted. After a short and bloody engagement, the Federals were completely routed. The victors made a vigorous pursuit as far as Pleasant Hill, where they were met on the next day by the main body of the Union army. The battle was renewed with great spirit, and the Federals were barely saved from ruin by the hard fighting of the division of General Smith, who covered the retreat to the river. Nearly three thousand men, twenty pieces of artillery and the supply-trains of the Federal army were lost in these disastrous bat- tles. With great difficulty the flotilla descended the river from the direc- tion of Shreveport ; for the Confederates had now planted batteries on the banks. When the Federals had retreated as far as Alexandria, they were again brought to a standstill ; the river had fallen to so low a stage that the gunboats could not pass the rapids. The squadron was finally saved from its peril by the skill of Colonel Bailey of Wisconsin, who constructed a dam across the river, raising the water so that the vessels could bo floated over. The whole expedition returned as rapidly as possible to the Mississippi. General Steele had, in the mean time, made an advance from Little Rock to aid in the reduction of Shreveport ; but learning of the Federal defeats, he withdrew after several severe engagements. To the. THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 525 national government the Red River expedition was a source of much shame and mortification. General Banks was relieved of his command, and General Canby was appointed to succeed him. On the 2d of March, 1864, General Grant was appointed com- mander-in-chief of all the armies of the United States. The high grade of lieutenant-general was revived by act of Congress, and conferred upon him. No less than seven hundred thousand Union soldiers were now to move at his command. The first month after his appointment was spent in planning the great campaigns of the year. These were tAvo in num- ber. The Army of the Potomac, under command of Meade and the gen- €ral-in-chief, was to ad- vance upon Richmond, still defended by the Army of Northern Vir- ginia, under Lee. Gen- eral Sherman, command- ing the army at Chatta- nooga, now numbering a hundred thousand men, was to march against Atlanta, which was de- fended by the Con fed- ^^ erates, under General Johnston. To these t\A^o great movements all other military operations were to be subordinate. On the 7th of May General Sherman moved forward from Chatta- nooga. At Dalton he was confronted by the Confederate army, sixty thou- sand strong. After some manoeuvring and fighting, he succeeded in turning Johnston's flank, and obliged him to fall back to Resaca. After two hard battles on the 14th and 15th of May, this place was also carried, and the Confederates retreated by way of Calhoun and Kingston to Dallas. Here, on the 28th, Johnston made a second stand, entrenched himself and fought, but was again outnumbered, outflanked, and compelled to fall back to Lost Mountain. From this position he was forced on the 17th of June, after three days of desultory fighting. The next stand of the Confederates was made on the Great and Little Kenesaw Mountains. From this line on the 22d of June the division of General Hood made a fierce attack upon the Union centre, but was repulsed with heavy losses. Five days afterward General Sherman attempted to coxry the Great Ken- esaw by storm. The assault was made with great audacity, but ended in a dreadful repulse and a loss of three thousand men. Sherman, undis- SHERMAN'S CAMPAIGN, 1861. 526 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. mayed by his reverse, resumed his former tactics, outflanked his antago- nist, and on the 3d of July compelled him to retreat across the Chatta- hoochee. By the 10th of the month the whole Confederate army had retired within the defences of Atlanta. This stronghold of the Confederacy was at once besieged. Here were the great machine-shops, foundries, car- works and ddpots of supplies upon the possession of which so much depended. At the very beginning of the siege the cautious and skillful General Johnston was superseded by the rash but daring General J. B. Hood. It was the policy of the latter to fight at whatever hazard. On the 20th, 22d and 28th of July he made three desperate assaults on the Union lines around Atlanta, but was re- pulsed with dreadful losses in each engagement. It was in the beginning of the second of these battles that the brave General James B. McPherson, the pride of the Union army, was killed while reconnoitring the Con- federate lines. In the three conflicts the Confederates lost more men than Johnston had lost in all his masterly retreating and fighting between Chattanooga and Atlanta. For more than a month the siege was pressed with great vigor. At last, by an incautious movement, Hood separated his army ; Sherman thrust a column between the two divisions ; and the immediate evacuation of Atlanta followed. On the 2d of September the Union army marched into the captured city. Since leaving Chattanooga General Sherman had lost fully thirty thousand men ; and the Confederate losses were even greater. By retiring from Atlanta Hood saved his army. It was now his policy to strike nortliM'ard into Tennessee, and thus compel Sherman to evacuate Georgia. But the latter had no notion of losing his vantage- ground ; and after following Hood north of the Chattahoochee, he turned back to Atlanta. The Confederate general now swept up through Northern Alabama, crossed the Tennessee at Florence and advanced on Nashville. Meanwhile, General Thomas, with the Army of the Cumberland, had been detached from Sherman's army at Atlanta and sent northward to confront Hood in Tennessee. General Scliofield, who commanded the Federal forces in the southern part of the State, fell back before the Con- federates and took post at Franklin, eighteen miles south of Nashville. Here, on the 30th of November, he was attacked by Hood's legions, and after a hard-fought battle held them in check till nightfall, when he escaped across the river and retreated within the defences of Nashville. At this place all of General Thomas's forces were rapidly concentrated. A line of entrenchments was drawn around the city on the south. Hood came on, confident of victor}^, and prepared to begin the siege by block- ading the Cumberland ; but before the work was fairly begun. General THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 527' Thomas, on the 15th of December, moved from his works, fell upon the Confederate army, and routed it with a loss, in killed, wounded and prisoners, of more than twenty-five thousand men. For many days of freezing weather Hood's shattered col- umns were pursued, until at last they found refuge in Alabama. The Confederate army was ruined, and the rash general who had led it to destruction was relieved of his command. On the 14th of November General Sherman burned At- lanta and began his famous March to THE Sea. His army of veterans numbered sixty thousand men. Believing that Hood's army would be de- stroyed in Tennessee, and knowing that no Confederate force could with- stand him in front, he cut his communications with the JSTorth, abandoned his base of supplies, and struck out boldly for the sea-coast, more than two hundred and fifty miles away. As had been foreseen, the Confed- erates could oifer no successful resistance. The Union army swept on through Macon and Milledgeville ; reached the Ogeechce and crossed in safety ; captured Gibson and Waynesborough ; and on the 10th of De- cember arrived in the vicinity of Savannah. On the ISth Fort McAllister, below the city, was carried by storm by the division of General Hazen, On tlie night of the 20th General Hardee, the Confederate commandant, escaped from Savannah with fifteen thousand men and retreated to Charleston. On the followinsj mornino- the national advance entered, and on the 22d General Sherman made his headquarters in the city. On his march from Atlanta he had lost only five hundred and sixty-seven men. The month of January, 1865, was spent by the Union army at GENERAL THOMAS. 528 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Savannah. On the 1st of February General Sherman, having garri- soned the city, began his march against Columbia, the capital of South Carolina. To the Confederates the further progress of the invasion through the swamps and morasses of the State had seemed impossible. Now that the veteran legions were again in motion, alarm and terror pervaded the country. Gov- ernor Magarth had already summoned to the field every white man in the State between the ages of sixteen and sixty ; but the requi- sition was compar- atively ineffectual. Nevertheless, the Confederates formed a line of defence along the Salkhatch- ie and prepared to dispute Sherman's march northward. It was all in vain. The passages of the river were forced, and on the 11th of the month the Confederate lines of communica- tion between Charleston and Augusta were cut oif. On the next day Orangeburg was taken by the Seventeenth Corps. On the 14th the fords and bridges of the Congaree were carried and the State road opened in the direction of Columbia. The several divisions pressed rapidly forward; bridges were thrown across the Broad and Saluda Rivers, and the capital lay at the mercy of the conquerors. On the morning of the 17th Mayor Goodwyn and a committee of the com- mon council came out in carriages and the city was formally sur- rendered. As soon as it became certain that Columbia must fall into the hands of the Federals, General Hardee, the commandant of Charles- ton, determined to abandon that city also, and to join Generals Beau- GENF.RAL SHERMAX. THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 529 regard and Johnston in North Carolina. Accordingly, on the day of the capture of the capital, guards were detailed to destroy all the ware- houses, stores of cotton, and depots of supplies in Charleston. The torch was applied, the flames raged, and consternation spread through- out the city. The great depot of the Northwestern Railway, where a large quantity of powder was stored, caught fire, blew up with terrific violence, and buried two hundred people in the ruins. Not until four squares in the best part of the city were laid in ashes was the confla- gration checked. During the same night General Hardee with his fourteen thousand troops escaped from desolate Charleston and made his way northward. On the morning of the 18th the news was borne to the National forces on James's and Morris Islands. During the forenoon the Stars and Stripes were again raised over Forts Sumter, Ripley, and Pinckney. Mayor Macbeth surrendered the city to a company which was sent up from Morris Island. The work of saving whatever might be rescued from the flames was at once begun, the citizens and the Federal soldiers working together. By strenuous ex- ertions the principal arsenal was saved; a depot of rice was also pre- served and its contents distributed to the poor. Colonel Stewart L. Woodford of the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh New York was appointed military governor; and relations, more friendly than might have been expected, were soon established between the soldiery and the citizens. After destroying the arsenals, machine shops, and founderies of Columbia General Sherman immediately renewed his march north- ward in the direction of Charlotte, North Carolina. The army swept on without opposition as far as Winnsboro, where a junction was ef- fected with the Twentieth Corps under Slocum. Crossing the Great Pe- dee at Cheraw, the Union commander pressed on towards Fayetteville where he arrived without serious hindrance, and on the 11th of March took possession of the town. Three days before the campaign had been rendered exciting by a dashing fight between Hampton's and Kilpatrick's cavalry. The former ofi&cer was defending the rear of Hardee's column on the retreat from Charleston when the latter, re- solving to intercept him, cut through the Confederate lines. But early the next morning Kilpatrick was surprised in his quarters, at- tacked, and routed, himself barely escaping on foot into a swamp. Here, however, he suddenly rallied his forces, turned on the Confed- erates and scattered them in a brilliant charge. Hampton, not less resolute than his antagonist, now made a rally and returned to the onset. But Kilpatrick held his ground until he was reinforced by & 84 530 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. division of the Twentieth Corps under General Mitchell, when the Confederates were finally driven back. The Union cavalry then pro- ceeded without further molestation to Fayetteville where Sherman's forces were concentrated on the 11th of March. General Johnston had now been recalled to the command of the Confederate forces, and the advance of the Union forces began to be seriously opposed. At Averasborough, on Cape Fear River, a short distance north of Fayetteville, General Hardee made a stand, but was- repulsed with considerable loss. When, on the 19th of March, Gen- eral Sherman was incautiously approaching Bentonsville, he was sud- denly attacked by the ever-vigilant Johnston, and for a while the Union army, after all its marches and victories, was in danger of des- truction. But the tremendous fighting of General Jefferson C. Davis's division saved the day, and on the 21st Sherman entered Goldsborough unopposed. Here he was reinforced by a strong column from New- bern under General Schofield, and another from Wilmington com- manded by General Terry. The Federal army now turned to the north-west, and on the 13th of April entered Raleigh. This was the end of the great march ; and here, thirteen days after his arrival. Gen- eral Sherman received the surrender of Johnston's army. While these great and decisive events were taking place in the- Carolinas, the famous cavalry raid of General Stoneman was in pro- gress. About the middle of March he set out from Knoxville with a force of six thousand men, crossed the mountains, captured Wilkes- boro, and forced his way across the Yadkin at Jonesville. It had been the original purpose of the raid that Stoneman should make a diversion in favor of Sherman by striking into the western districts of South Carolina; but that commander, by the celerity of his move- ments, had already reached Goldsboro in the North State, and was in no need of help. Stoneman's movement therefore became an inde- pendent expedition, the general object being the destruction of public property, the capture of Confederate stores, and the tearing up of railroads. Turning to the north, the troopers traversed the western end of North Carolina and entered Carroll county, Virginia. At Wytheville the railroad was torn up, and then the whole line was de- stroyed from the bridge over New River to within four miles of Lynch- liurg. Christiansburg was captured and the track of the railway ob- literated for ninety miles. Turning first to Jacksonville and then southward, the expedition next struck and destroyed the North Caro- lina Railroad between Danville and Greensboro. The track in the direction of Salisbury was also torn up, and the factories at Salem THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 531 burned. The Union prisoners at Salisbury were removed by the Confederates in time to prevent their liberation ; but the town was captured and a vast store of ammunition, arms, provision, clothing, and cotton fell into the hands of the raiders. Finally, on the 19th of April, a division under Major Moderwell reached the great bridge where tlic South Carolina Rail- road crosses the Ca- tawba River. This niaernificent struct- ure, eleven hundred and fifty feet in length, was set on fire and completely destroyed. After a iight with F e r g u - son's Confederate ADMIRAL FARKAGUT. cavalry, the Feder- als turned back to Dallas, where all the divisions were con- centrated, — and the raid was at an end. During the progress of the expedition six thousand prison- ers, forty-six pieces of artillery, and im- mense quantities of small arms had fallen into the hands of Stoneman's men : the amount of property destroyed and the damage otherwise done to the tottering Confederacy could not be estimated. Meanwhile, events of even greater importance had occurred on the gulf and the Atlantic coast. In the beginning of August, 1864, Admiral Farragut bore down with a powerful squadron upon the de- fences of Mobile. The entrance to the harbor of this city was com- manded on the left by Fort Gaines, and on the right by Fort Morgan. The harbor itself was defended by a Confederate fleet and the monster iron-clad ram Tennessee. On the 5th of August Farragut prepared for battle and ran past the forts into the harbor. In order to direct the movements of his vessels, the brave old admiral mounted to the maintop of his flag-shij), the Hartford, lashed himself to the rigging, 532 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. and from that high perch gave his commands during the battle. One of the Union ships struck a torpedo and went to the bottom. The rest attacked and dispersed the Confederate squadron ; but just as the bay seemed won the terrible Tennessee came down at full speed to strike and sink the Hartford. The latter avoided the blow ; and then followed one of the fiercest conflicts of the war. The Union iron-clads closed around their black antagonist and battered her with their beaks and fifteen-inch bolts of iron until she surrendered. Two days after- ward Fort Gaines was taken ; and on the 23d of the month Fort Morgan was obliged to capitulate. The port of Mobile was effectually sealed up. Not less important to the Union cause was the capture of Fort Fisher. This powerful fortress commanded the entrance to Cape Fear River and Wilmington — the last sea-port held by the Confederates. In December Admiral Porter was sent with the most powerful American squadron ever afloat to besiege and take the fort. General Butler, with a land-force of six thousand five hundred men, accompanied the expedi- tion. On the 24th of the month the bombardment began, and the troops were sent ashore with orders to carry the works by storm. When Gen eral Weitzel, Avho led the column, came near enough to the fort to recon- noitre, he decided that an assault could only end with the destruction of his army. General Butler held the same opinion, and the enterprise was abandoned. Admiral Porter remained before Fort Fisher with his fleet, and General Butler returned with the land-forces to Fortress Monroe. Early in January the same troops were sent back to Wilmington, under command of General Terry. The siege was at once renewed by the army and the fleet, and on the 15th of the month Fort Fisher was taken by storm. In the previous October the control of Albemarle Sound had been secured by a daring exploit of Lieutenant Gushing of tlie Federal navy. These waters were commanded by a tremendous iron ram called the Albe- marle. In order to destroy the dreaded vessel a number of daring volun- teers, led by Gushing, embarked in a small steamer, and on the night of the 27th of October entered the Roanoke. The ram was discovered lying at the harbor of Plymouth. Cautiously approaching, the lieutenant with his own hands sank a terrible torpedo under the Confederate ship, ex- ploded it, and left the ram a ruin. The adventure cost the lives or cap- ture of all of Cushing's party except himself and one other, who escaped. A few days afterward the town of Plymouth was taken by the Federals. During the progress of the war the commerce of the United States had suffered dreadfully from the attacks of Confederate cruisers. As THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 533 early as 1861 the Southern Congress had granted commissions to priva- teers ; but neutral nations would not allow such vessels to bring prizes into their ports, and the Privateering Act was of little direct benefit to the Confederacy. But the commerce of the United States was greatly injured. The first Confederate ship sent out was the Savannah, which was captured on the same day that she escaped from Charleston. In June of 1861 the Sumter, commanded by Captain Semmes, ran the blockade at New Orleans, and for seven months did fearful work with the Union merchantmen. But in February of 1862 Semmes was chased into tlie harbor of Gibraltar, where he Avas obliged to sell his vessel and discharge his crew. In the previous October the Nashville ran out from Charles- ton, went to England, and returned with a cargo worth three millions of dollars. In March of 1863 she was sunk by a Union iron-clad in the mouth of the Savannah River. The ports of the Southern States were now so closely blockaded that war-vessels could no longer be sent abroad. In this emergency the Confederates turned to the ship-yards of Great Britain, and from that vantage-ground began to build and equip their cruisers. In spite of the remonstrances of the United States, the British government connived at this proceeding ; and here was laid the foundation of a difficulty which afterward cost the treasury of England fifteen millions of dollars. In the harbor of Liverpool the Florida Avas fitted out ; and going to sea in the summer of 1862, she succeeded in running into Mobile Bay. Escaping in the following January, she destroyed fifteen merchantmen, was cap- tured in the harbor of Bahia, Brazil, and brought into Hampton Roads, where an accidental collision sent her to the bottom. The Georgia, the Olustee, the Shenandoah and the Cliickamauga, all built at the ship-yards of Glasgow, Scotland, escaped to sea and made great havoc with the mer- chant-ships of the United States. At the capture of Fort Fisher the Chiokamauga and another cruiser called the Tallahassee were blown up by the Confederates. The Georgia was captured in 1863, and the Shen- andoah continued abroad until the close of the war. Most destructive of all the Confederate vessels was the famous Alabama, built at Liverpool. Her commander was Captain Raphael Semmes, the same who had cruised in the Sumter. A majority of the crew of the Alabama were British subjects ; her armament was entirely British; and whenever occasion required, the British flag was carried. In her w^hole career, involving the destruction of sixty-six vessels and a loss of ten million dollars to the merchant service of the United States, she never entered a Confederate port, but continued abroad, cajituring and burning. Early in the summer of 1864 Semmes entered the harbor 534 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. of Cherbourg, France, and was there discovered by Captain Winslow, commander of the steamer Kearsarge. The French government gave the Confederate captain orders to leave the port, and on the 19th of June he went out to give his antagonist battle. Seven miles from the shore the two ships closed for the death-struggle; and after a desperate battle of an hour's duration, the Alabama was shattered and sunk. Semnies and a part of his officers and crew were picked up by the English yacht Deerhound and carried to Southampton. After the great battle of Gettysburg, the Confederate army under General Lee was withdrawn into the Shenandoah valley. The Union oavalry, led by General Gregg, pressed after him and at Shepherds- town gained some advantage over the division of Fitzhugh Lee. Meade himself, at the head of the Army of the Potomac, entered Vir- ginia near Berlin and moved southward through Lovettsville to War- renton. The Blue Ridge was again interposed between the two armies. It was the policy of the Union commander to preoccupy and hold the passes of the mountains and to strike his antagonist a fatal blow when he should attempt to return to Richmond. But Lee's movements were marked witli his usual caution and sagacity. ISIaking a feint of crowding his army through Manassas Gap, he succeeded in drawing thither the bulk of the Federal forces, and then by a rapid march southward gained Front Royal and Chester Gap, swept through the pass, and reached Culpepper in safety. General Meade, disappointed in his expectations of a battle, advanced his army and took up a po- sition on the Rappahannock. In the lull that ensued from July till September of 1863, both generals were much weakened by the withdrawal of large numbers of their troops to take part in the struggles of the Southwest. From Lee's army Longstreet's whole corps had been detached for the aid of Bragg who was hard pressed by Rosecrans, in Tennessee. General Meade, learning of the weakened condition of his foe, crossed the Rappahannock, pressed him back to the south bank of the Rapidan and himself occupied Culpepper. Soon, however, Howard's and Slo~ cum's corps were withdrawn from the Army of the Potomac, and Meade was in turn obliged to act on the defensive. But his ranks were soon filled with reinforcements and the middle of October found him planning a forward movement. Lee, however, had already as- sumed the offensive and bv skillful manoeuvers had again thrown his army on the Union flank. Then began the old race for the Potomac, and in that the Federals were successful, reaching Bristow Station and taking up a strong ])osition on the Heights of Centreville. Lee in THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 535 turn fell back and the two great armies at last came to rest for the wi.nter, the one at Culpepper and the other on the Upper Rappahan- nock. In the following spring no movements of importance occurred until the beginning of the campaign of the Army of the Potomac, now commanded by Generals _ Grant and Meade ; and this, which may well be consider- ed as one of the great cam- paigns of history, has been reserved for the closing nar- rative of the war. On the night of the 3d of May, 1864, the national camp at Culpep- per was broken up, and the march on Richmond was begun. In three successive summers the Union army had been beaten back from that metropolis of the Confed- eracy. Now a hundred and forty thousand men, led by the lieutenant-general, were to begin the final struggle with the veterans of Lee. On the first day of the ad- vance Grant crossed the Rap- idan and entered the Wilder- ness, a country of oak woods and thickets west of Chancellorsville. He was immediately confronted and attacked by the Confederate army. During the 5th, 6th and 7th of the month the fighting con- tinued incessantly with terrible losses on both sides; but the results were indecisive. Lee retired within his intrenchments, and Grant made a flank movement on the left in the direction of Spottsylvania Court-house. Here followed, from the morning of the 9th till the night of the 12th, one of the bloodiest struggles of the war. The Federals gained some ground and captured the division of General Stewart ; but the losses of Lee, who fought on the defensive, were less dreadful than those of his antagonist. After the battle of Spottsylvania, Grant again moved to the left, *;rossed the Pamunkey to Hanovertown, and came to a place called OPERATIONS IN VIRGINIA, '64, AND '65. 536 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Cold Harbor, twelve miles north-east of Richmond. Here, on the 1st of June, he attacked the Confederates, strongly posted, but was re- pulsed with heavy losses. On the morning of the 3d the assault was renewed, and in the brief space of half an hour nearly ten thousand Union soldiers fell dead or wounded before the Confederate entrench- ments. The repulse of the Federals was complete, but they held their lines as firmly as ever. Since the beginning of the campaign the losses of the Army of the Potomac, including the corps of Burnside, had reached the enormous aggregate of sixty thousand. During the same period the Confederates had lost in killed, wounded and pris- oners about thirty-five thousand men. General Grant now changed his base to James River with a view to the capture of Petersburg and the conquest of Richmond from the south-east. General Butler had already moved with a strong division from Fortress IMonroe, and on the 5th of ]May had taken Bermuda Hun- dred and City Point, at the mouth of the Appomattox. Advancing against Petersburg, he was met on the 16th by the corps of General Beauregard and driven back to his position at Bermuda Hundred, where he was obliged to entrench himself and act on the defensive. Here, on the 15th of June, he was joined by General Grant's whole army, and the combined forces moved against Petersburg. On the 17th and 18th sev- eral assaults were made on the Confederate entrenchments, but the works could not be carried. Lee's army was hurried within the defences, and in the latter part of June Petersburg was regularly besieged. IMeanwhile, movements of great importance were taking place in the Shenandoah valley. When General Grant moved forward from the Rapidan, he sent General Sigel up the valley with a force of eight thou- sand men. "Wliile the latter was advancing southward he was met at New Market, fifty miles above ^Winchester, by an army of Confederate cavalry, under General Breckinridge. On the 15th of ]\Iay Sigel was attacked and routed, and the command of his flying forces was transferred to General Hunter. Deeming the valley cleared, Breckinridge returned to Richmond, whereupon Hunter faced about, marched toward Lynchburg, came upon the Confederates at Piedmont, and gained a signal victory. From this i)lace he advanced with his own forces and the cavalry troops of General Averill against Lynchburg ; but finding tliat he had run into peril, he was obliged to retreat across the mountains into West Virginia. By this movement the valley of the Shenandoah was again exposed to an invasion by the Confederates. In the hope of compelling Grant to raise the siege of Petersburg, Lee immediately despatched General Early with orders to cross the Blue THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 537'^ Ridge, sweep down the valley, invade Maryland and threaten Washing- toji city. With a force of twenty thousand men Early began his move- ment northward, and on the 5th of July crossed the Potomac. On the 9th he met the division of General Wallace on the Monocacy, and de- feated him with serious losses. But the check given to the Confederates by the battle saved Washington and Baltimore from capture. After dashing up within gunshot of these cities, Early ordered a retreat, and on the 12th his forces recrossed the Potomac with vast quantities of plunder. "^ General Wright, who was sent in pursuit of Early's army, fol- lowed him as far as Winchester, and there, on the 24tli of July, defeated a portion of his forces. But Early wheeled upon his antagonist, and the Union troops were in turn driven across the Potomac. Following up his advantage, the Confederate general next invaded Pennsylvania, burned Chambersburg, and returned into the valley laden with spoils. Seeing the necessity of putting an end to these devastating raids. General Grant in the beginning of August appointed General Philip H. Sheridan to the command of the consolidated army on the Upper Potomac. The troops thus placed at Sheridan's disposal numbered nearly forty thousand, and with these he at once moved up the valley. On the 19th of September he came upon Early's army at Winchester, attacked and routed him in a hard-fought battle. On the 22d he overtook the defeated army at Fish- er's Hill, assaulted Early in his entrenchments, and gained another com- plete victory. In accordance with orders given by the commander-in-chief, Sher- idan now turned about to ravage the valley. The ruinous work was fear- fully well done; and what with torch and axe and sword, there was noth- ing left between the Blue Eidge and the Alleghanies worth fighting for. Maddened by this destruction and stung by his defeats, the veteran Early rallied his shattered forces, gathered reinforcements, and again entered the valley. Sheridan had posted his army in a strong position on Cedar Creek, a short distance from Strasburg, and feeling secure, had gone to Washington. On the morning of the 19th of October Early cautiously approached the Union camp, surprised it, burst in, carried the position, captured the artillery, and sent the routed troops flying in confusion to- ward Winchester. The Confederates pursued as far as Middletown, and there, believing the victory complete, paused to eat and rest. On the previous night Sheridan had returned to Winchester, and was now com- ing to rejoin his army. On his way he heard the sound of battle, rode twelve miles at full speed, met the panic-struck fugitives, rallied them with a word, turned upon the astonished Confederates, and gained one .538 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. of the most signal victories of the war. Early's army was disorganized and ruined. Such was the end of the strife in the valley of the Shen.in- doah. All fall and winter long, General Grant pressed the siege of Peters- burg with varying success. On the 30th of July a mine was exploded under one of the forts. An assaulting column sprang forward to carry the works, gained some of the defences, but was finally repulsed with heavy losses. On the 18th of August a division of the Union army seized the Weldon Railroad and held it against several desperate assaults, in which each army lost thousands of men. On the 28th of September Batteiy Harrison, on the right bank of the James, was stormed by the Federals, and on the next day General Paine's brigade of colored soldiers carried a powerful redoubt on Spring Hill. On the 27th of October there was a hard-fought battle on the Boydton road, soutli of Petersburg ; and then the army went into quarters for the winter. Late in February the struggle began anew. On the 27th of the month General Sheridan, who had moved from the Shenandoah, gained a victory over the forces of General Early at Waynesborough, and then joined the commander-in-chief at Petersburg. On the 1st of April a severe battle was fought at Five Forks, on the Southside Railroad, in which the Confederates were defeated with a loss of six thousand prisoners. Ou the next day Grant ordered a general assault on the lines of Petersburg, and the works were carried. On that night the army of General Lee and the members of the Confederate government fled from Richmond ; and on the following morning that city, as well as Petersburg, was entered by the Federal army. The warehouses of the ill-fated Confederate capital were fired by the retreating soldiers, and the better part of the city was reduced to ruins. The strife lasted but a few days longer. General Lee retreated -as rapidly as possible to the south-west, hoping to join the army of General Johnston from Carolina. The Confederates, flying from Pe- tersburg, joined those on the retreat from Richmond at Amelia Court House. To this place General Lee had ordered his supply-trains; but the officer having the same in charge, had foolishly mistaken his orders and driven the train on in the direction of Danville. Nearly one- half of the Confederate army, now growing hopeless, had to be dis- persed to gather supplies by foraging. The 4th and 5th of April — days precious to the sinking heart of Lee — were consumed with the delay. The victorious Federals were pressing on in full pursuit; and on the morning of the 6th nearly the whole Union army was at Jet- tersville, on the Danville railroad, ready to strike the Confederates at THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 539 Amelia. Sheridan pressed on by the left flank in the direction of Deatonsville. Ord came up with his division by way of the South Side Railroad to Burke's Station. Lee fell back to the west from Amelia Court House and reached Deatonsville where a severe battle was fought, in which Ewell's division six thousand strong was over- whelmed and captured by Sheridan. The main army of the Confed- erates, however, gained the Appomattox at Farmville, crossed to the northern bank, and burned the bridges. Lee noAv endeavored to in- terpose the river as a barrier between himself and his relentless pur- suers; but it was all in vain. Hoping against hope, he made a des- "^ /-- — CONFED ^/ Federa rrate retbkat eral advance Roads -O \ Dogan & Folper Ci g PETERSBURG, RICHMOND, APPOMATTOX, 18C5. perate effort to hold the line of the Lynchburg Railroad, but the vig- ilant Sheridan was there before him. On the 7th of April a slight .success in battle gave a momentary encouragement to the exhausted army ; but the flame of hope was blown out as soon as kindled. On that day General Grant, now at Farmville, addressed a note to the Confederate commander expressing a desire that the further effusion of blood might be saved by the surrender of the Confederate army. To this General Lee replied by declaring his desire for peace but add- ing that the occasion for the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia had not arrived. On the morning of the 9th, however, when it became known that the left wing of the Union army had se- cured the line of the Lynchburg Railroad — when the wreck of Long- street's veterans, attempting to continue the retreat, were confronted and driven back bv Sheridan — then the iron-souled Confederate leader, seeing the utter uselessness of a further struggle, sent General Grant a note asking for a meeting preliminary to a surrender. The Union commander immediately complied with the request. At two o'clock in the afternoon of Palm Sunday, the 9th of April, 1865j the two 540 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. great generals met each other in the parlor of William McLean at Appomattox Court House. There the terms of surrender were dis- cussed and settled. It was agreed that General Grant should put his proposition in the form of a military note to which General Lee should return a formal answer. The Union commander accordingly drew up and presented the following memorandum : Appomattox Court House, Va., April 9, 1865, General: In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the 8th inst- ant, I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia on the fol- lowing terms, to-wit : Kolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate ; one copy to be given to an officer to be designated by me, the other to be retained by such other officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their individual paroles not to take up arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged; and each company or regimental commander to sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The arms, artillery, and public property, to be parked, and stacked, and turned over to the officers appointed by me to receive them. This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers nor their private horses or baggage. This done, eacli officer and man will be allowed to return to his home, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they reside. ^ g_ GRANT, Lieutenant- Genercd. To this memorandum General Lee responded as follows: Head-Quarters, Army of Northern Virginia, April 9, 1865. General: I received your letter of this date, containing the terms of the surren- der of the Army of Northern Virginia, as proposed by you. As they are substantially the same as those expressed in your letter of the 8th instant, they are accepted. 1 will proceed to designate the proper officers to carry the stipulations into eflfect. R. E. LEE, General. Thus the work was done ! How the army of General Johnston was surrendered at Raleigh a few days later has already been nar- rated. After four dreadful years of bloodshed, devastation, and sorrow, THE Civil War in the United States was at an end. The Federal authority was rapidly extended over the Southern States. After the surrender of Lee and Johnston, there was no further hope of reorganizing the Confederacy. Mr. Davis and his cabinet escaped to Danville, and there for a few days kept up the forms of government. From that place they fled into North Carolina and were scattered. The ex-President with a few friends continued his flight through South Caro- lina into Georgia, and encamped near the village of Irwinsville, ^here, on the 10th of May, he was captured by General Wilson's cavalry. He was conveved as a prisoner to Fortress INIonroe, and ke])t in confinement until May of 1867, when he was taken to Richmond to be tried on a charge of THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 541 treason. He was admitted to bail ; and his cause, after remaining untried for a year and a half, was finally dismissed. At the presidential election in the autumn preceding the downfall of the Confederacy, Mr. Lincoln was chosen for a second term. As Vice- President, Andrew Johnson of Tennessee was elected in place of Mr. • Hamlin. The opposing candidates, supported by the Democratic party, were General George B. McClellan and George H. Pendleton of Ohio. Mr. Lincoln's majority was very heavy. General McClellan carrying only the States of Kentucky, Delaware and New Jersey. In the summer pre- ceding the election the people of Nevada framed a constitution, in accord- ance with an actof Congress, and on the 31st of October the new common- wealth was proclaimed as the thirty-sixth State of the Union. The gold and silver mines of Nevada were developed with such rapidity that they soon surpassed those of California in their yield of the precious metals. At the outbreak of the civil war the financial credit of the United States had sunk to a very low ebb. By the organization of the army and navy the expenses of the government w^re at once SMclled to an enormous aggregate. The price of gold and silver advanced so rapidly that the redemption of bank-notes in coin soon became impossible ; and on the 30th of December, 1861, the banks of New York, and afterward those of the whole country, suspended specie payments. Mr. Chase, the secretary of the treasury, first sought relief by issuing Treasury Notes, receivable as money and bearing seven and three-tenths per cent, interest. This ■expedient was temporarily successful, but by the beginning of 1862 the expenses of the government had risen to more than a million of dollars daily. To meet these tremendous demands other measures had to be adopted. Congress accordingly made haste to provide an Internal Revenue. This was made up from two general sources : first, a tax on manufactures, incomes and salaries; second, a stamp-duty on all legal documents. The next measure was the issuance by the treasury of a hundred and fifty millons of dollars in non-interest-bearing Legal. Tender Notes of the United States, to be used as money. These are the notes called Greenbacks. The third great measure adopted by the government was the sale of United States Bonds. These were made redeemable at any time after five and under twenty years from date, and were from that fact called Five- Twenties. The interest upon them w^as fixed at six per cent., payable semi-annually in gold. Another important series of bonds, called Ten-Forties, was afterward issued, being redeem- able by the government at any time between ten and forty years from j. of the 1780 TO 1882 SCALE OF MILB 95 from Greenwich GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 555 ■On the 23d of February a like action was taken in regard to MississipiM ; and on the 30th of March the work was finished by tlie readmission of Texas, the last of the seceded States. For the first time since the outbreak of the civil war the voice of all the States was heard in the councils of the nation. In this year was completed the ninth census of the United States. It was a work of vast importance, and the results presented were of the most encouraging character. Notwithstanding the ravages of war, the last decade had been a period of wonderful growth and progress. Durino" that time the population had increased from thirty-one million four hun- dred and forty-three thousand to thirty-eight million five hundred and eighty-seven thousand souls. The centre of population had now moved westward into the great State of Ohio, and rested at a point fifty miles east of Cincinnati. The national debt, though still enormous, was rapidly falling off. The products of the United States had grown to a vast aggregate ; even the cotton crop of the South was regaining much of its former importance. American manufactures were competing with those of England in the markets of the world. The Union now embraced thirty-seven States and eleven Territories.* From the narrow limits of the thirteen original colonies, with their four hundred and twenty-one thousand square miles of territory, the national domain had spread to the vast area of three million six hundred and four thousand square miles. Few things, indeed, have been more marvelous than the territorial growth of the United States. The purchase of Louisiana more than doubled the geographical area of the nation ; the several Mexican acquisitions were only second in importance ; Avhile the recent Russian cession alone was greater in extent than the original thirteen States. The nature of this territorial development will be best understood from an examination of the accompanying map. In January of 1871 President Grant appointed Senator Wade of Ohio, Professor White of New York and Dr. Samuel Howe of Massa- chusetts as a board of commissioners to visit Santo Domingo and report upon the desirability of annexing that island to the United States. The question of annexation had been agitated for several years, and the measure was earnestly favored by the President. After three months spent abroad, the commissioners returned and reported in favor of the proposed annexation ; but the proposal was met with violent opposition in Congress, and defeated. The claim of the United States against the British government for damages done to American commerce by Confederate cruisers during the * Including the Indian Territory and Alaska. 556 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. civil war still remained unsettled. These cruisers had been built and. equipped in English ports and with the knowledge of the English gov- ernment. Such a proceeding was in plain violation of the law of nations^ even if the independence of the Confederate States had been recognized. Time and again Mr. Seward remonstrated with the British authorities, but without effect. After the war Great Britain became alarmed at her own conduct, and grew anxious for a settlement of the difficulty. On the 27th of February, 1871, a joint high commission, composed of five British and five American statesmen, assembled at Washington city. From the fact that the cruiser Alabama had done most of the injury complained of, the claims of the United States were called the Alabama Claims. After much discussion, the commissioners framed a treaty, known as the Treaty of Washington, by which it was agreed that all claims of either nation against the other should be submitted to a board of arbitration to be appointed by friendly nations. Such a court w-as formed, and in the summer of 1872 convened at Geneva, Switzerland. The cause of the two nations was impartially heard, and on the 14th of September decided in favor of the United States. Great Britain was obliged, for the wrongs which she had done, to pay into the Federal reasury fifteen million five hundred thousand dollars. During the year 1871, there were laid and put into operation in the United States no less than seven thousand six hundred and seventy miles of railroad! There is perhaps no fact in the history of the world which exhibits so marvelous a development of the jihysical resources of a nation. Ere the mutterings of the civil war, with its untold destruction of life and treasure, had died away in the distance, the recuperative power, enterprise, and genius of the American peo- ple were revealed, as never before, in establishing and extending the lines of travel and commerce. In 1830 there were but twenty-three miles of railway track in the New World. In 1840 the lines in the United States had been extended to two thousand eight hundred and eighteen miles. Ten years later there were nine thousand and twenty- one miles of track. According to the reports for 1860, the railroads of the country had reached the enormous extent of thirty thousand six hundred and thirty-five miles ; and in the next ten years, embrac- ing the period of the civil war, the amount was nearly doubled. Such is the triumphant power of free institutions — the victory of free enter- prise, free industry, free thought. There stands the fact! Let the adherents of the Old World's methods, the eulogists of the j^ast, take it and read it. Wherever the human race pants for a larger activity, a more glorious exercise of its energies, let the story be told how the f GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 557 United States, just emerged from the furnace of war, smarting with wounds, and burdened with an enormous debt, built in a single year more than twice as many miles of railroad as Spain, ridden with her precedents of kingcraft and priestcraft, has ever built in her whole career. The year 1871 is noted in American history for the burnino- of Chicago. On the evening of the 8th of October a fire broke out in De Koven street, and was driven by a high wind into the lumber-yards and wooden houses of the neighborhood. The flames leaped the South Branch of the Chicago Eiver and spread with great rapidity through the business parts of the city. All day long the deluge of fire rolled on, crossed the main channel of the river, and swept into a blackened ruin the whole dis- trict between the North Branch and the lake as far northward as Lincoln Park. The area burned over was two thousand one hundred acres, or three and a third square miles. Nearly two hundred lives were lost in the conflagration, and the property destroyed amounted to about two hundred millions of dollars. No such a terrible devastation had been witnessed since the burning of Moscow in 1812. In the extent of the district burned over, the Chicago fire stands first, in the amount of property destroyed second, and in the suffering occasioned third, among the great conflagrations of the world. On the 21st of October, 1872, was settled the only remaining dispute concerning the boundaries of the United States. By the terms of the treaty of 1846 it was stipulated that the North-western bound- ary line, running westward along the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, should extend to the middle of the channel which separates the con- tinent from Vancouver's Island, and thence southerly through the mid- dle of said channel and of Fuca's Straits to the Pacific. But what was ^' the middle of said channel " ? for there were several channels. The British government claimed the Straits of Rosario to be the true line intended by the treaty, while the United States would have the Canal de Haro. So the question stood for a quarter of a century, and was then referred for settlement to the arbitration of William I., Em- peror of Germany. That monarch heard the cause, decided in favor of the United States, and the Canal de Haro became the international boundary. As the first official term of President Grant drew to a close the political parties made ready for the twenty-second presidential election. Many parts of the chief magistrate's policy had been made the subjects of criticism and controversy. The congressional plan of reconstructing the Southern States had prevailed, and with that plan the President was in 558 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. accord. But the reconstruction measures had been unfavorably re- ceived in the South. The elevation of the negro race to the full rights of citizenship was regarded with apprehension. Owing to the disor- ganization of civil government in the Southern States, an opportunity was given in certain districts for bad men to band themselves together in lawlessness. The military spirit was still rife in the coun- try, and the issues of the civil war were rediscussed, s o m e - times with much bitterness. On these issues the people di- vided in the election of 1872. The Re- publicans renomi- nated General Grant for the presidency. For the vice-presi- dency Mr. Colfax declined a renomi- nation, and was suc- ceeded by Henry Wilson of Massa- chusetts. As the standard ^ bearer of the Liberal Repul^lican and Democratic parties Horace Greeley, ed- itor of the New York Tribune, was nominated. This was the last act in that remarkable man's career. For more than thirty years he had been an acknowledged leader of public opinion in America. He had discussed with vehement energy and enthusiasm almost every question in which the people of the United States have any interest. After a lifetime of untiring industry he was now, at the age of sixty-one, called to the forefront of political strife. The canvass was one of wild excitement and bitter denunciations. Mr. Greeley was over- whelmingly beaten, and died in less than a month after the election. In his death the nation lost a great philanthropist and journalism its brightest light. A few days after the presidential election the city of Boston was visited by a conflagration only second in its ravages to that of Chicago- HORACE GREELEY. GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 559. in the previous year. On the evening of the 9th of November a fire broke out on the corner of Kingston and Summer streets, spread to the north-east, and continued with almost unabated fury until the morning of the 11th. The best portion of the city, embracing some of the finest blocks in the United States, was laid in ashes. The burnt district covered an area of sixty-five acres. Eight hundred buildings, property to the value of eighty million dollars, and fifteen lives were lost bv the conflagration. In the spring of 1872 an order had been issued to Superintendent Odeneal to remove the Modoc Indians from their lands on the southern shore of Lake Klamath, Oregon, to a new reservation. The Indians, who had been greatly mistreated by former agents of the government, refused to go ; and in the following November a body of troops w'as sent to force them into compliance. The Modocs resisted, kept up the war during the winter, and then retreated into an almost inaccessible volcanic region called the lava-beds. Here, in the spring of 1873, the Indians were sur- rounded, but not subdued. On the 11th of April a conference was held between them and six members of the peace commission; but in the midst of the council the treacherous savages rose upon the kind-hearted men who sat beside them and murdered General Canby and Dr. Thomas in cold blood. Mr. Meacham, another member of the commission, was shot and stabbed, but escaped with his life. The Modocs were then be- sieged and bombarded in their stronghold; but it was the 1st of June before General Davis with a force of regulars could compel Captain Jack and his murderous band to surrender. The chiefs Avcre tried by court- martial and executed in the following October. In the early part of 1873 a difficulty arose in Louisiana which threatened the peace of the country. Owing to the existence of double election-boards two sets of presidential electors had been chosen in the- previous autumn. At the same time two governors — William P. Kellogg and John McEnery — were elected; and rival legislatures were also re- turned by the hostile boards. Two State governments were accordingly organized, and for a while the commonwealth was in a condition bor(]er- ing on anarchy. The dispute was referred to the Federal government, and the President decided in favor of Governor Kellogg and his party. The rival government was accordingly disbanded ; but on the 14th of September, 1874, a large party, opposed to the administration of Kellogg and led by D. B. Penn, who had been returned as lieutenant-governor with McEnery, rose in arms and took possession of the State-house. Governor Kellogg fled to the custom-house and appealed to the President for help. The latter immediately ordered the adherents of Penn to dis- 560 JIISTOBY OF THE UNITED STATES. perse, and a body of national troops was sent to New Orleans to enforce the proclamation. On the assembling of the legislature in the following December the difficulty broke out more violently than ever, and the sol- diery was again called in to settle the dispute. About the beginning of President Grant's second term, the country was greatly agitated by what was known as the Credit Mobilier Investigation in Congress. The Credit Mobilier of America was a joint stock company organized in 1863 for the purpose of facilitating the construction of public works. In 1867 another company Avhich had undertaken to build the Pacific Railroad j)urchased the charter of the Credit Mobilier, and the capital was increased to three million seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Owing to the profitableness of the work in which the company was engaged, the stock rose rapidly in value and enormous dividends were paid to the shareholders. In 1872 a law- suit in Pennsylvania developed the startling fact that much of the stock of the Credit Mobilier ivas oioned by members of Congress. A suspicion that those members had voted corruptly in the legislation affecting the Pacific Railroad at once seized the public mind and led to a congressional investigation, in the course of which many scandalous transactions were brought to light, and the faith of the people in the integrity of their servants greatly shaken. In the autumn of 1873 occurred one of the most disastrous finan- cial panics known in the history of the United States. The alarm was given by the failure of the great banking-house of Jay Cooke & Company of Philadelphia. Other failures followed in rapid succes- sion. Depositors everywhere hurried to the banks and withdrew their money and securities. Business was suddenly paralyzed, and many months elapsed before confidence was sufficiently restored to enable merchants and bankers to engage in the usual transactions of trade. The primary cause of the panic was the fluctuation in the volume and value of the national currency. Out of this had arisen a wild spirit of speculation which sapped the foundations of business, destroyed financial confidence, and ended in disaster. Not the least of the evil results of the great monetary disturb- ance was the check given to the Northern Pacific Railroad. As early as 1864 a company had been organized under a congressional charter to construct a railway from Lake Superior to Puget Sound. The work also contemplated the running of a branch road, two hun- dred miles in length, down the valley of the Columbia River to Port- land, Oregon. Large subsidies were granted to the company by Con- gress, and other favorable legislation was expected. In 1870 the work GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 561 of construction was begun and carried westward from Duluth, Minne- sota. Jay Cooke's banking-liouse made heavy loans to the company, accepting as security the bonds of the road; for it was confidently expected that such legislation would be obtained as should secure the success of the enterprise and bring the bonds to par. In this condi- tion of affairs the Credit Mobilier scandal was blown before the coun- try; and no Congress would have dared to vote further subsidies \o a railroad enterprise. Jay Cooke's securities became comparatively worthless; then followed the failures and the panic. The work of constructing the road was arrested by the financial distress of the country, and has since been pushed forward but slowly and with great difficulty. In 1875 the section of four hundred and fifty miles, ex- tending from Duluth to Bismarck, Dakota, had been put in opera- tion ; and another section, a hundred and five miles in length, between Kalama and Tacoma, in Washington Territory, had also been com- pleted. Meanwhile, the attention of the country was turned to the Texas and Pacific line, which had been projected from Shreveport, Louisiana, and Texarkana, Arkansas, by Avay of El Paso to San Diego, California — a distance from Shreveport of a thousand five hundred and fourteen miles. In 1875 the main line had been carried west- ward a hundred and eighty-nine miles to Dallas, Texas, while the line from Texarkana had progressed seventy-five miles towards El Paso. On the 4th of March, 1875, the Territory of Colorado was au- thorized by Congress to form a State constitution. On the 1st of July, in tlie following year, the instrument thus provided for, was ratified by the people ; a month later, the President issued his proc- lamation, and " the Centennial State " took her place in the Union. The new commonwealth embraced an area of a hundred and four thousand five hundred square miles, and a population of forty-two thousand souls. Public attention was directed to the territory by the discovery of gold, in the year 1852. Silver was discovered about the same time, and in the winter of 1858-9, the first colony of miners was established on Clear Creek and in Gilpin County. The entire yield of gold up to the time of the admission of the State was esti- mated at more than seventy millions of dollars. Until 1859, Colo- rado constituted a part of Kansas ; but in that year a convention was held at Denver, and in 1861 a distinct territorial organization was effected. Since 1870, immigration has been rapid and constant. The last years of the history of the Republic have been noted -for the number of public men who have fallen by the hand of death. In December of 18G9, Edwin M. Stanton, secretary of war under .36 562 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. President Lincoln, and more recently justice of the supreme court of the United States, died. In 1870 General Robert E. Lee, president of Washington and Lee University, General George H. Thomas and Ad- miral Farragut passed away. In 1872 William H. Seward, Professor Morse, Horace Greeley and General Meade were all called from the scene of their earth- ly labors. On the 7th of May, 1873, Chief-Justice Chase fell under a stroke of paralysis at the home of his daugh- ter in New York City; and on the 11th of March in the following year, Senator Charles Sumner of Massa- chusetts died at AVashington. He was a native of Bos- ton; born in 1811 ; liberally educated at Harvard College. At the age of thir- ty - five he entered the arena of public life, and in 1850 succeeded Daniel Webster in the Senate of the United States. This position he retained until the time of his death, speaking much and powerfully on all the great questions that agitated the nation. His last days were spent in considering the interests and welfare of that country to whose service he had given the life- long energies of his genius. On the 22d of November, 1875, Vice- President Henry Wilson, whose health had been gradually failing since his inauguration, sank under a stroke of paralysis and died at Washington city. Like Roger Sherman, he had risen from the shoe- maker's bench to the highest honors of his country. Without the learning of Seward and Sumner — without the diplomatic skill of the one or the oratorical fame of the other — he nevertheless possessed those great abilities and sterling merits which will transmit his name to after times on the roll of patriot statesmen. CHARLES SrMNER. GE ANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 563 As the Centennial of American Independence drew near, the people made ready to celebrate the great event with appropriate ceremonies A hundred years of national prosperity-though not unclouded by ominous shadows and not unhurt by the devastations INDEPENDENCE HALL, 1876. Of war-had swept away, and at last the dawn of the centennial morning was rising in the eastern sky. It was not to be supposed that the thoughtful and patriotic of the land would allow so lustrous an epoch to go by without impressing upon the present generation the 564 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. lesson of the past and the hope of the fiitnre. As early as 1866, a proposition was made by Professor John L. Campbell of Wabash College, that steps should be taken looking to the proper celebration of the great national anniversary. About the same time the question of an international exhibition in honor of our independence, was agitated by the Honorable John Bigelow, a former minister of the United States to France. A correspondence was soon afterward begun and carried on by the Honorable Morton McMichael, Mayor of Philadcljjhia, Senator Henry S. Lane of Indiana, M. R. Muckle of Pennsylvania, and General Charles B. Norton, who had served as a commissioner of the United States at the Exposition Internationale of 1867. To these men, more than to others perhaps, must be awarded the honor of having originated the Centennial Exposition. But it is hardly to be supposed that the American people wonld have failed, , from the want of leaders or any other circumstance, to mark with an imposing display the hundredth year of the Republic. Such was the origin of the movement ; but the development of the project was discouraged for a while with considerable opposition and much lukewarmness. The whole scheme was a vision of enthu- siasm, a Quixotical dream, — said the critics and objectors. No such ixw enterprise could be carried through except under the patronage of the Government, and the Government had no right to make appropri- ations merely to preserve an old reminiscence. We had had enough of the Fourth of July already. Besides, — said the wits and caricatur- ists, — the other nations would present a ludicrous figure in helping us to celebrate the anniversary of a rebellion which they had tried to crush a hundred years ago. Victoria was expected — so said they — to send over commissioners to heap contumely and contempt on the grave of her grandfather ! No nation of Europe would consent to its own stultification by joining in the jubilee of republicanism. Besides all this caviling, it was foreseen that Philadelphia would quite certainly be selected as the scene of the proposed display, and on that account a good deal of local jealousy was excited in the other principal cities of the Union. Nevertheless, the advocates of the enterprise continued to urge the feasibility and propriety of the exposition ; the more enlightened newspapers of the country lent tlieir influence, and the popular voice soon declared in favor of the measure. As early as the beginning of 1870, the general plan and princi- pal features of the celebration had been determined in the minds of its projectors. As to the form of the display, an International Expo- GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 565 sition of Arts and Industries was decided on ; as to the scene, the city of Philadelphia, hallowed by a thousand Revolutionary memories, was selected; as to the time, from the 19th of April to the 19th of October, 1876. The first organized body to give aid and encourage- ment to the enterprise was the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia. Through the influence of that patriotic organization, a Centennial Commission, consisting of seven members appointed by the city council, was constituted, with John L. Shoemaker as chairman. Shortly afterwards a resolution was adopted by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, invoking the aid of Congress in behalf of the j^roposed celebration ; and on the 3d of March, 1871, a bill was passed by the House of Representatives, which became the basis of all subsequent proceedings relating to the Centennial. In this bill it was provided that an exhibition of American and Foreign arts, products and manufactures should be held under the auspices of the Government of the United States, in the city of Phil- adelphia, in 1876 ; that a Centennial Commission, consisting of one member and one alternate from each State and Territory, should be appointed by the President; that to this board of commissioners should be referred the entire management and responsibility of the enter- prise ; that the members of the board should receive no compensa- tion ; that the United States should not be liable for any of the expenses of the exposition ; and that the President, when officially informed that suitable buildings had been erected and adequate pro- visions made for the proposed exhibition, should make proclamation, of that fact to the people of the United States and to all foreign nations. During the year 1871, the Centennial Commission was con- stituted in accordance with the act of Congress. On the 4th of March, 1872, the members assembled at Philadelphia and effected a perma- nent organization by the election of General Joseph R. Hawley of Connecticut as President. Orestes Cleveland of Ne^v Jersey, John D. Creigh of California, Robert Lowry of Iowa, Robert Mallory of Ken- tucky, Thomas H. Coldwell of Tennessee, John McNeill of Missouri, and William Gurney of South Carolina, were chosen as the seven vice- presidents of the organization. As secretary, Professor John L. Camp- bell of Indiana was elected. The important office of director-general was conferred on Alfred T. Goshorn of Ohio ; and as counselor and solicitor John L. Shoemaker of Pennsylvania was chosen. The question of money next engaged the attention of the man- agers. How to provide the funds necessary for carrying forward so vast an enterprise became a source of much discussion and no little bQQ HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. anxiety. The positive refusal of the government to become respon- sible for any part of the expenses of the Exhibition added to the em- barrassment; for it was now seen that private resources and the good will of the people must furnish the entire sum necessary for the suc- -cess of the enterprise. Several measures were accordingly adopted by the Centennial Commis- sion looking to the creation of a treasury. By an act of Congress, passed on the 1st of June, 1872, provision was made for the organization of a Centennial Board of Fi- nance, to which the whole monetary management of tiie Exposition should be entrusted. This board was organized by the election of John Welsh of Philadel- . phia as president. AYilliam Sellers and John S. Barbour were chosen vice-presidents. The office of secretary and treasurer was conferred on Frederick Fraley ; that of auditor, on H. S. Lansing ; and that of finiincial agent, on William Bigler. The board was au- thorized to issue stock in shares of ten dollars each, the whole num- ber of shares thus issued not to exceed one million. It was also pro- vided that a series of Centennial Memorial Medals should be struck at the mint of the United States, and that the sale of such medals should be under the exclusive control of the Board of Finance. The medals were elegantly executed in several styles and sizes — of gilt, silver, and bronze — furnishing for after ages an impressive token of the American Ilcpublic in its hundredth year. Careful estimates, made bv the Centennial Commission and the Board of Finance, placed the entire expense of the Exposition at eight million five hundred thousand dollars. Of this sum about two and a half millions were raised by the sale of stock — a work which was at first entrusted to the banks of the country and afterward to a Bureau of Revenue established for that purpose. Long before this amount was secured, however, the legislature of Pennsylvania made a glorious GENERAL JOSEPH R. HAWLEY. GRANTS ADMINISTRATION. 567 record for that State by appropriating one million dollars for the Exhibition. The "City of Brotherly Love" did better still by voting the sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars. The people of New York City made a contribution of a quarter of a million. The State of New Jersey gave a hundred thousand dollars; New CENTENNIAL MEDAL.— OBVERSE. CENTENNIAL MEDAL.— REVERSE. Hampshire, Connecticut, and Delaware, ten thousand dollars each. But notwithstanding these magnificent contributions, the aggregate sum fell far short of the estimates ; and the Centennial Commission — in the face of the former illiberal action of Congress — resolved to make a second appeal to that body for help. A bill was accordingly prepared, asking for an appropriation of three million dollars from the national treasury; but on the 6th of May, 1874, the bill was decisively defeated — an act well calculated to bring the American name into contempt and shame.* The managers of the Exposition ■were again thrown back upon the people for sympathy and aid. Meanwhile, the sale of stock and of medals, as well as other enterprises for the increase of the Centennial funds, was going on successfully. The Exposition gained constantly in public favor. Even in the Far West, Centennial orators traveled through the country districts, stirring up the enthusiasm of the people. The public Free Schools, by exhibitions and excursions, contributed their part towards the success of the great celebration. In June of 1874, * After times may be astonished to know that the empire of Japan cheerfully contributed six hundred thousand dollars to the success of the American Centennial after the Congress of the United States had twice refused to vote a cent. 568 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. the President of the United States extended a cordial invitation t *8 < e o a; 590 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. eral State authorities. The buildings of New York, Xew Jersey^ Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kansas were perhaps superior to any others of this class in elegance of design and structure. Of similar sort was the splendid Educational Hall of Pennsylvania, designed for the display, by models and model-work, of all the methods and products of education in the Keystone State. Of private structures the grounds were full. There was a commo- dious and valuable edifice situated at the intersection of the Agricul- tural Avenue with that of the Republic, called the Department of Public Comfort — a name significant of its design. An elegant build- ing, devoted to the displays of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, stood on the southern declivity of the Lansdowne Valley, north of the Art Gallery. Southward froiii Machinery Hall a Shoe and Leather Building had been erected, the design of which was to illus- trate the various processes and products of that important branch of manufacture. The Building of the Centennial Photographic Associa- tion was located on the east side of Belmont Avenue, and was a spacious edifice where all the processes of photography were illustrated. Sev- eral of the leading newspapers of the country had buildings of limited size, where their respective publications were advertised and offered for sale. Then came the restaurants, cafes, and bazaars, varying in their sort from common-place and mediocrity to a high degree of ele- gance and luxury. — An extended description of structures of this grade and fashion would hardly be appropriate in an abridged history of the great Exhibition. This account of the Exposition buildings can not be better con- cluded than by a brief reference to the unexpected and extraordinary part which the Empire of Japan had taken in the Centennial. The Japanese buildings — two in number — though neither elaborate in their style nor expensive in construction, were far more elegant, tasteful, and commodious than had been anticipated. The Japanese Dwelling stood on George's Hill, north of the Spanish Government Building; and the oriental edifice ims the better of the tivo ! Spain, whose immor- tal navigator of the fifteenth century "gave a New World to Castile and Leon," did obeisance at the American Centennial to the dusky Island Empire of the Far Pacific! The Bazaar of these progressive foreigners was located near the Building of Public Comfort, and ex- tended around three sides of a court. The edifice was of carved wood, built without nails, low in elevation, covered with tiles. The grounds were laid off in the style of a Japanese garden, and were surrounded with a quaint fence of interwoven bamboo. These buildings, however,. GRANT'S administration: 591 creditable as they were, by no means did justice to the enterprise and wit of the men who had them in charge. The people of the Western Nations have felt a keen surprise at the intelligence, public spirit, and progress manifested by the Japanese at the Centennial Exhibition. Such were the buildings erected for the great occasion. And the time drew near when they were to fulfill their purpose. On the 5th of January, 1876, the formal reception of articles for the Exposition was begun. From that time forth the work of setting in proper array the almost infinite variety of materials which came pouring in from all quarters of the world, was pressed with the utmost expedition by the Centennial Commissioners. A branch track of the Pennsylvania Railway was laid to the very portals of the great halls, and every meas- ure was adopted by the managers which could facilitate the delivery and arrangement of the articles of display. Still, there were delays,,, foreseen and unforeseen ; and it became apparent that a brief post- ponement of the formal opening of the Exhibition would be neces- sary. The anniversary of the battle of Lexington had been fixed upon as a suitable time for the inaugural ceremonies ; but the work lagged, and the Commissioners reluctantly changed the date of opening to the 10th of May, and of closing to the 10th of November. Meanwhile, on the 13th of October, 1875, A System of Awards had been adopted by the Centennial Commission. The members of that body — availing themselves of past experience, and improving upon the imperfect methods employed by the managers of the Inter- national Expositions of Paris and Vienna — presented the following General Scheme : I. Awards shall be based upon Written Reports, attested by the signatures of their authors. II. Two hundred Judges shall be appointed to make such re- ports, one-half of whom shall be foreigners, and one-half citizens of the United States. They shall be selected for their known qualifica- tions and character, and shall be experts in the departments to which they shall be respectively assigned. The foreign members of this body shall be appointed by the commissioners of each country, and in conformity with the distribution and allotment to each, which will be hereafter announced. The judges from the United States shall be appointed by the Centennial Commission. III. The sum of one thousand dollars will be paid to each com- missioned judge, for personal expenses. IV. Reports and awards shall be based upon Merit. The ele- ments of merit shall be held to include considerations relating to 592 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. originality, invention, discovery, utility, quality, skill, workmanship, fitness for the purposes intended, adaptation to public wants, economy, and cost. V. Each report shall be delivered to the Centennial Commission as soon as completed, for final award and publication. VI. Awards shall be finally decreed by the United States Cen- tennial Commission, in compliance with the act of Congress, and shall consist of a Diploma, with a uniform bronze Medal, and a spe- cial Report of the judges on the subject of the award. VII. Each exhibitor shall have the right to reproduce and pub- lish the report awarded to him, but the United States Centennial Commission reserves the right to publish and dispose of all reports in the manner it thinks best for public information, and also to em- body and distribute the reports as records of the Exhibition. The day of opening came. Philadelphia was thronged with strangers from all parts of the world. Every line of travel contrib- uted its multitude. The morning of the 10th of May broke heavily with clouds and rain. But patriotism made gloom impossible in the Quaker City, and enthusiasm supplied the place of sunshine. A thousand flags fluttered in every street, and more than ten times ten thousand people, cheering as they went, pressed their way towards Fairmount Park. A military escort, four thousand strong, conducted the President of the United States to the Centennial grounds. For it was he who should declare the formal opening of the Exposition. The notables of many nations had already preceded him to the scene of the ceremonies. The great open space — traversed by the Avenue of the Republic — between the Main Building and Memorial Hall, had been prepared for the inauguration. There had assembled the Supreme Court of the United States, members of the Cabinet and the American Congress, the governors of many of the States, distin- guished officers of the army and navy, the ministers from foreign countries, Dom Pedro II. of Brazil and his queen, illustrious civil- ians, statesmen and diplomatists, noblemen with titles and greater men without them,— -to witness the imposing pageant. At the appointed hour the splendid orchestra, led by Theodore Thomas, burst forth with the national airs of the various countries participating in the Exhibition. Soon the President ascended the platform and was seated, with the Brazilian Emperor and Empress on his right. Then followed Wagner's celebrated Centennial Inaugu- ration 3Iai'ch, composed for the occasion. Matthew Simpson, bishop of the INIethodist Episcopal Church, then offered an eloquent and fer- GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 593 vent prajer, which was followed by the singing of John G. Whittier's Centennial Hymn. When the strains had died away, the Honorable John Welsh, chairman of the Board of Finance, arose and made a formal presentation of the buildings and grounds to General Hawley, president of the Centennial Commission. The latter, in an appropri- ate manner, accepted the trust ; and then followed the singing of Sid- ney Lanier's Centennial Cantata. General Hawley next delivered an address, recounting briefly the things accomplished by the Centennial Commission, and in the name thereof presenting to the President of the United States the International Exhibition of 1876. The President — most famous of all American chief-magistrates for oiot de- INATJGUBAL CEREMONIES OF THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION. livering orations— replied to General Hawley in the following well- chosen address : — " My Countrymen : It has been thought appropriate, upon this Centennial occasion, to bring together in Philadelphia, for popular inspection, specimens of our attainments in the Industrial and Fine arts, and in literature, science, and philosophy, as well as in the great business of agriculture and commerce. That we may the more thor- oughly appreciate the excellencies and deficiencies of our achieve- ments, and also give emphatic expression to our earnest desire to cul- tivate the friendship of our fellow-members of this great family ot nations, the enlightened agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing people of the world have been invited to send hither corresponding 38 594 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. specimens of their skill to exhibit on equal terms, in friendly com- petition with our own, — For so doing we render them our hearty thanks. " The beauty and utility of the contributions "will this day be submitted t'> your inspection. We are glad to know that a view of specimens of the skill of all nations will aiford you unalloyed pleas- ■-"re, as well as yield to you a valuable practical knowledge of so many of the remarkable results of tiie wonderful skill existing in enlightened communities. " One hundred years ago our country was new, and but partially settled. Our necessities have compelled us chiefly to expend our means and time in felling forests, subduing prairies, building dwell- ings, factories, ships, docks, Avarehouses, roads, canals, and machin- ery. Most of our schools, churches, libraries, and asylums have been established within a hundred years. Burdened with these great pri- mal works of necessity, which could not be delayed, Me yet have done what this Exhibition will shoM- in the direction of rivaling older and more advanced nations in law, medicine, and theology ; in science^ literature, philosophy, and the fine arts. Whilst proud of what we have done, we regret that we have not done more. Our achievements have been great enough, however, to make it easy for our people to acknowledge superior merit wherever found. " And now, fellow-citizens, I hope a careful examination of what is about to be exhibited to you will not only inspire you with a profound respect for the skill and taste of our friends from other nations, but also satisfy you with the attainments made by our own people dur- ing the past one hundred years.. I invoke your generous cooperation with the worthy Commissioners, to secure a brilliant success to this- International Exhibition, and to make the stav of our forcifrn visit- ors — to whom we extend a hearty welcome — botli profitable and pleasant to them. " I DECLARE THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIRITIOX NOW OPEN." When the President's brief oration was concluded, the National ensign was flung out as a signal from the great flag-staff of the jNIain Building; the banners of foreign nations were immediately unfurled;, cheers rent the air; a salute of a hundred guns from the battery on George's Hill answered to the shout. Memorial Hall, the Main Building, and Machinery Hall were now thrown open to receive the procession of invited guests — four thousand in number, and first to behold the handiwork of the nations. General Grant and Major Alfred T. Goshorn, the able and indefatigable Director-General of GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 595 the Exhibition, led the way from the Main Building, and down the great aisle of Machinery Hall to the center, where a special work had been reserved for the President and the Brazilian Emperor. This honorable duty was to open the valves of the mighty Corliss Engine, whose tremendous pistons were to start into life and motion the in- finite machinery of the hall. At twenty minutes past one o'clock, the. signal was given by George H. Corliss, the maker of the iron giant. The President and the Emperor, standing upon the raised platform, opened the valves ; the ponderous fly-wheel started on its tireless rounds, and the multitudinous engines of the hall began their varied work. — The Centennial Ex- hibition was fairly inaugu- rated under the most auspi- cious omens. Such was the begin- ning. Into the spacious and beautiful park, into the great buildings provided by national wealth and patriot- ism, had come the products of all lands and the people of all climes. Never before in the his- tory of the world had so many of the fruits of human genius been brought together — never before had so rich a display of the handi- work and skill of man been made. What, therefore, of the Exposi- tion itself? How did it impress the imagination of the beholder? How enlarge his faculties and increase his fund of knowledge? In what way conduce to a higher standard of civilization? For that was the object aimed at. The first effect of the great Exposition upon the mind of the be- holder was a sense of alarm and beioilderment at the extent of the dis-^ play. At the very beginning, he despaired of realizing the exhibition on account of its vast proportions. On ascending from the valley of the Schuylkill to the Lansdowne Plateau, a vision rose upon him pos- sessing every element of intellectual interest, from the simple beauty of the green sward and flower-gardens at his feet, to the stately magnifi- ALFRED T. GOSHORN. 596 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. cence of the Main Building and the grandeur of Memorial Hall. Here wound the long asphaltuni boulevards^ thronged^ but not crowded, with ten thousand strangers. Beyond lay a landscape of sloping hill- sides, lakes, forest, and fountains. The entire space, though a most living picture, was noiseless, airy, and clean — a field of many colors, fiill of sunshine, foliage, and flags. For the banners of all nations .saved everywhere. Entering under the eastern arches of the Main Building, the vis- itor, rallying from his first surprises, began a work which he should never accomplish — that of examining in detail the exhibits of the great hall. From the gallery overhead floated down upon him the melodi- ous and far-reaching harmonies of the mammoth Hastings organ with its twentv-seven hundred pipes and its twelve hundred and eighty square feet of front. Ascending to the gallery, the observer found himself face to face with the splendid educational display of the State of Massachusetts — best of its kind at the Exposition — embracing the finest of the plans, models, and methods employed in the schools of the Old Bay Commonwealth. Turning about and glancing to the west, down the long avenues, the full vision of the Exhibition burst upon him. There on the ground-floor lay the magnificent " courts," or hollow squares, into which the space had been divided — each of these courts an exposition in itself. Afar to the right, where the main transept ended in the north projection of the building, the gal- lery was occuined with the great Roosevelt organ with its electric echo and hydraulic engine. In the corresponding gallery, at the south end of the transept, were the fine educational displays of Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. In the gallery at the western end of the main avenue — dimly seen at the distance of thirty-five hundredths of a mile — was placed the exhibit of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the display consisting of models, drawings, and photographs peculiar to engineering art. Descending to the main floor, the observer found himself in a world of wonders. Near the eastern entrance was the fine exhibit made by American stationers, and south of this the splendid book display, representing the superb work done by all the great publish- ing houses of the country. Further westward was the department allotted to the Yale Lock Manufacturers for the exhibition of their model post-offices. Next came the large section set apart for the dis- play of American silks, woolens, and cotton goods — fabrics rivaling GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 597 the richest products of European and Oriental factories. And the carpet pavilion — also American — with its patterns, delicate, novel, luxurious, merited equal praise for the splendor of its treasures. Nor did the cutlery of the United States, which was exhibited above the Bections allotted to textile fabrics, suffer by comparison with the finest corresponding products of British skill. Among the southeastern squares Avas likewise set the display of American pottery and porcelain. Near by stood a collection of gran- ite monuments, and in the same vicinity a splendid exhibit of iron and steel, chiefly from the furnaces and works of Pittsburgh. More attractive still was the great display of American watches, made by VIEW IN THE MAIN EXHIBITION BUILDING. the Waltham Company of Massachusetts and the Elgin of Illinois. Beyond the main aisle, to the north, bristled batteries of Gatling and Parrott guns, and farther on were placed exhibits of safes from sev- eral noted firms. The next sections were occupied with the beautiful and costly displays of furnishing goods, costumes, etc., from the prin- cipal merchants of New York and Philadelphia. Then came an ex- hibit of vases, pedestals, and fountains, in terra cotta ; then the sec- tions set apart for threads, cordage, and cables ; and south of these, beyond the principal avenue, the massive display of the Centennial Safe Deposit Company and the beautiful department of American clocks. On the line of the main aisle, between the eastern entrance and 598 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. the greater transept, were arranged the fine collections of cut an(7 ground glass, the best being from the works of Wheeling and Pitts- burgh. In the adjacent sections stood the glittering show-eases of the Meriden Britannia Company with their beautiful specimens of silver, plated wares, and bronzes. But more magnificent still was the jew- elers' pavilion — Moorish in its style — standing at the southeast angle of the principal nave and transept. In this were displayed the almost priceless treasures of the leading American jewelers — Starr and Mar- cus, Caldwell of Philadelphia, and the Gorham Manufacturing Com- pany of Providence. Among the articles exhibited by the latter was the celebrated Century Vase, representing by its beautiful allego- ries and emblems in raised silver the progress of America from bar- barism to renown. Here also were the matchless show-cases of Tiffany, starlit with diamonds, and blazing w^ith all manner of precious stones. It was here, moreover, that the observer found the best view over- head; for at this point, by the bisection of the principal nave and transept, abundant room was afforded above for the display of art. Each of the four sides of the vaulted space was occupied with an immense allegorical painting. That on the east represented America, Avith Washington and Franklin for its central figures. The piece em- blematical of Europe stood opposite, with Charlemagne and Shake- speare as its typical heroes. Asia was represented at the south curve of the transept by a group of figures and emblems, with Confucius -and Mohammed in the midst; while in the north division was set the painting of Africa, Rameses II. and Sesostris occupying the center. In the section south and east of the jewelers' pavilion were placed the exhibits of ores, paints, and chemicals. The display of printing-inks was made near by; and further to the east stood the perfume-fountains with their jets of cologne and halos of fragrant mist. Still eastward were set the cases containing the exhibit of phil- osophical and surgical instruments ; and in the same vicinity, to the south, were the sections allotted to furniture, much of which was of the richest woods and most elaborate finish known to that branch of art. And before the observer had finished his examination of these superb apartments — for here the courts were fitted up after the man- ner of a suite of rooms — his ear was saluted with strains of music, and turning about, he found himself face to face with the finest dis- play of piano-fortes ever made in the world. All of the great makers had here done their best, under the stimulus of the sharpest compe- tition — Stein way, Chickering, Decker, Stock, Knabe, Weber, — each with his claims of peculiar excellence, and each anxious for the su- GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. ''■>99 preme award.— So ended a ramble through the seven acres of space apportioned on the ground-floor of the Main Building to the exhibits of the United States. But the Saxon's Island Empire, mother of English liberty, was also there with her arts and industries. Over the northwest angle of the main aisle and transept hung the Red banner of Lancaster, bearino- the words " Great Britain and Ireland." There were the courts apportioned to the British commission. In the first of these was placed the celebrated exhibit of the Elkingtons, silver- smiths of Birmingham. Their collection embraced several pieces worthy to rank among the highest products of human skill and pa- tience. The work was mostly in the new style of art called Be^ouss^ —the process of developing figures in relief upon metallic surfaces by hammering. Here stood THE Helicon Vase with its infinite stories ^rom the legends of Greece. Here hung the Milton Shield, beai- incr upon its ample disc the sublime visions of Paradise Lost^ Here a ^reat number of less valuable works in silver and bronze gave ex- tent and variety to one of the richest collections in the whole Exhi- bition. Nearer to the northern projection of the Main Building were placed the British porcelains and potteries, embracing some of the iinest specimens of ceramic art. Farther northward was the display of ornamental iron-work, and to the west an extensive exhibit of tiles. Next came the department of British furniture, rivaling that of the United States in the elaborate and sumptuous character of its specimens. Near by, the pavilion of the Royal School of Art and Needlework attracted a constant throng of visitors. For the queen herself and the members of her family were the makers of those splen- did embroideries. Farther to the west was the magnificent display of the British carpet-dealers. Then came the exhibit of fire-arms, cut- lery philosophical instruments, stained glass, jewelry— chiefly Scot- tish—and then the superb collection of cotton and woolen goods, Irish poplins, cloths, silks, and laces, with which the section was filled along the main avenue. The British Colonies had emulated the zeal of the mother-coun- try The Canadian exhibit was of the highest order. The educa- tional system of Ontario was fully and meritoriously displayed by '^ It Nvas a matter of oft-repeated inquiry among the visitors at the Centennial, why these superb specimens of workmanship exhibited by the Elkingtons as well as the Tiffany Bryavt Fas. and the Gorham Century Fase, were not transferred to Memorial Hall, along with other works of art in no respect superior. 600 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. models, plans, and drawings illustrative of the methods and work of the public schools. The geological department was enriched with a full collection of ores, especially plumbago, coal, and granite. The Canadian Indians had sent a large contribution of peltry, bead-work, and apparel ; and this display was contrasted with the richer and more extensive exhibit of furs made by the Company of Hudson Bay. In another section specimens of furniture from the shops of Quebec and Toronto gave token of tastefully furnished homes in the Dominion. Models of Canadian vessels showed commercial enterprise ; cotton and woolen goods told of extensive factories ; sewing-machines and pianos repeated the music of the Northern household. Far Australia had also remembered the jubilee of Independence. The flocks on her hill-sides had contributed their magnificent fleeces to surprise the Western nations. The Argonauts of the South Pacific were home ao-ain with the richest of treasures ! Here stood an obe- lisk of phantom gold, showing in cubic inches the quantity of real gold taken from the mines of New South Wales since 1851, Here were bars of New Zealand tin and blocks of coal ; sections of beau- tiful timber and cocoons of silk; ores of antimony and copper; na- tive wines and heaps of precious stones. Excellent photographs of Australian cities and scenery added much to the interest of the ex- hibit. British India had also contributed specimens of her arts and industries. Photographs of her dusky people — oldest of the Aryan races — whose ancestors and our ancestors, in the far hill-country of Bactria, abode together, watching the same flocks, gazing at the same stars, and dreaming the same dream of destiny in the ages agone, — and photographs of Hindu homes as well, made the display of special interest. India carpets, gems from Bombay, and Delhi embroidery added brilliancy to the exhibit. Here, too, were jeweled weapons,, native pottery, and precious stones ; shawls and laces ; silks and wool- ens; cereals and cotton from the banks of the Indus. The colony of New Zealand was chiefly represented by paintings and drawings. But an important display of copper ores, lead, and coal Avas also made. The section of the Cape of Good Hope wa& occupied with a collection of native wines and brandies; gems and weapons ; costumes and ores ; and specimens illustrating the natural history of the country. Gold-dust, skins of animals, idols, ornaments^ and weapons composed the display from the Gold Coast. Jamaica sent her rums and sugars, native woods and hemp. Tasmania had also come with an exhibit of zoological and mineral specimens. Tlie GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 601 Bahamas, Bermudas, Trinidad, and Guiana were represented by their various products, ranging from shells and corals to sugars, tobacco, and manufactures. La Belle France — for the third time a republic ! After a hun- dred years the land of LaFayette had come to do homage at the shrine Avhich his blood had helped to consecrate. The space allotted to the French Commission was located between the main aisle and the north wall of the building, east of the central transept. The section of chief importance was that containing the exhibit of porce- lains, rivaling in beauty and excellence the choicest work of the East. In glassware, too, the French display was of the highest order. The superb mirrors and chandeliers, exhibited by Brocard of Paris, were a delight to thousands who thronged around them. The section set apart for the display of bronzes and antiques was also crowded with admiring multitudes. Here stood an elegant mantel-piece of black marble, fifteen feet in height, exquisitely embellished with statues and reliefs ; and here were grouped artistic cabinets, quaint figures, and articles in gilt. Another department of great beauty was that in which were ex- hibited the treasures of French fashion — laces, gloves, silks, velvets, satins, and costumes. In this dazzling court Lyons and Paris were rivals. Near by was a second department of apparel, where courtly wax-figures, dressed to the excess of magnificence, did obeisance to other figures in splendid shawls and laces. Further on, stood the pavilion of the book publishers of France ; and opposite to this was the court of engravings. The walls of the booksellers' pavilion were hung with the most elegant tapestries ; and many of the publica- tions displayed within were in the highest style of art. North of these sections, was the department of French vehicles — a unique col- lection, ranging from the quaint Cynofere, or dog-car, to carriages, of state. In the matter of personal ornaments and articles of household economy, the French exhibit was of great excellence. The display of the Paris jewelers was exceptional in its beauty and tastefulness. Of mantel ornaments there was an almost infinite variety, ranging from little ivory sprites and phantoms in ebony to elaborate clocks and bronzes. Of musical instruments — violins, flutes, cornets, music- boxes, and mimic birds — the exhibit was elegant after its kind. But the French pianos and organs were hardly comparable with the mag- nificent instruments displayed by the United States. In the depart- ment of cutlery a fine collection was presented, but the display was ■602 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. inferior to the corresponding exhibit made by Great Britain. The ■comparison turned the other way, hoAvever, in the sectio.n of plate ^lass ; for in that department the French specimens were peerless.* West of the central transept and south of the principal aisle were the sections allotted to the German Empire. Across the avenue, di- rectly opposite the American jewelers' pavilion, was placed the mag- nificent exhibit of the Royal Factory of Berlin. Here stood an im- posing crescent-shaped case, with black columns at either end, bearing upon their summits the golden eagles of empire — the empire of Cffisar and Charlemagne restored in HohenzoUern. In this case were dis- played the German porcelains, next to the French in excellence and beauty. Here were plates, busts, and statuettes, elaborate in design xind intensely national in every part. Here were the three superb ■emblematical pieces called the Germania, the Aurora, and the Otho Vases — queenly rivals of the splendid works of the Elkingtons, Tiffany, and Gorham. Further to the west was the section of plate ^lass; then the exhibit of the German jewelers; and then the court of armory, where were displayed the uniforms, accouterments, and weapons of the German soldiery, from the Crusading times to the present. Next came a section filled with toys from Niirnberg, and next the displays of Elberfeld silks and Saxon hosiery. On the southern aisle the objects of chief interest were the ivories exhibited by Meyer of Hamburg, the woven wire goods of Dresden, the gold and silver leaf exhibit of Bavaria, and the perfumes of Cologne. Nearer to the southern wall was the display of the German chem- ists. Then came the Leipsic lamps and lanterns, and then the Lin- ■den pavilion of velvets. The southwest section of the German department was occupied with what musical instruments soever are played upon in Fatherland. But here again, as in the department of France, the inadequacy of the pianos and organs to compete with the instruments of the United States was plainly apparent. Along the southern wall was placed iin interesting collection of articles illustrating the appliances and * The manufacture of American plate glass is yet in its incipiency, and is beset with siKoial difficulties. Chief among the embarrassments which have attended the enter- prise is tlie want of adequate protection, and the inveterate determination of foreign •establishments to prevent the success of such manufacture in tlie United States. Never- theless, it is known to the author that but for the serious misfortune of breaking the finest plnte in piicking, the Honorable W. C. De Pauw, president of the Star Glass "Works of Now AUmny, Indiana, would have contributed to the E.xposition specimens of liis work fairly rivaling the best of the French exhibit. Tiie largest of the De Pauw collection was a magnificent plate having a superficial area of 21,095 square inches. GRANT'S ADMINISTBATIOK 603 methods of a German army hospital. Near by was the exhibit of the Schwartzwold clock-makers — a quaint and beautiful collection. Models of the Hamburg steamships were found in the southeastern sections, and, finally, the elegant pavilion of the German booksellers — best of the kind from Europe. A description of the departments of the leading Western nations and of the exhibits made thereby, is in some measure a description of the rest. True, the beholder as he wandered from court to court was ever impressed with the multifarious aspects of human life and the ever-varying phases of civilization. Still, so far as the displays made by the different branches of the Aryan race were concerned, there was unity in variety — a generic similarity with specific modifi- cations. As to the Oriental nations, there was a wider departure from the common type, but a noticeable similarity of features among their own displays. The thoughtful observer rarely failed to find in the various courts an exhibit typical of a known civilization, but he also found more than that. Thus, for instance, the Austrian sections presented the expected treasures of Bohemian cut-glass ; of amber- work and meerschaums; of pipes ad infinitum; of Viennese porte- monnaies, diaries, and albums ; and the ^mexpected treasures of tlie silk-weavers of the Danube. Also in the Italian court were found the anticipated reproductions of ancient art ; trophies commemorative of the Italian Radicals from Columbus to Garibaldi ; the religious balo over every thing ; and the w/mnticipated display of Venetian pottery. The Belgian section presented the finest of Brussels linens, laces, and tapestries ; and, as if in contrast with these, an elaborate display of fire-arms and an illuminated advertisement of the min- eral waters of Spa. Holland made an exhibit of what things soever the Netherlander prizes — from dikes to pipe-stems, from magnificent bridges to humble roofs of thatch. Nor had the conquerors of the North Sea forgotten the refinements of letters ; for the Dutch book- sellers' pavilion was among the finest at the Exposition. Here stood the cuckoo clocks of Switzerland. Geneva, city of political philosophy and quaint watches, was present with all her arts. The embroidered lace curtains of St. Gall hung tastefully over pho- tographs of the Alpine glens, and the Swiss pavilion of education stood near by. Sweden contributed a court of exceptional elegance, well filled with the products of her arts and industries. The chief attractions of the display were the specimens of Bessemer steel and cutlery, Swedish arms and armor, woolens and silks, safety-matches and pottery. Norway presented her glassware from Christiana. An- 604 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. cient weapons were placed in contrast with a modern Norwegian school-house, and old coins and medals with modern jewels and sil- verware. Among the sections of chief interest were the courts of Den- mark, Egypt, and Spain. These were set contiguous, fronting the main aisle, and representing in their style and contents three diverse types of civilization. The articles most attractive in the Danish court were terra cotta ornaments, silverware from Copenhagen, Esquimau apparel, and a rich collection of furs. Across the entrance-M^ay to the Egyptian court was this inscription : " Egypt — Soudan — the OLDEST PEOPLE OF THE WORLD SENDS ITS MORNING GREETING TO THE YOUNGEST NATION." Entering, the visitor was confronted Avitli a bust of Rameses the Great and a model of the Pyramid of Gireh. Then came a gorgeous display of the caparisons and gold-studded, harness of the steeds of the modern Pharaohs; then cabinets of ebony, costly and quaint ; and then an exhibit of Arabic books and manuscripts. The court of Spain was richly hung with Spanish tro- phies and curtains of velvet. AVithin were the portraits of those dar- ing adventurers, Cortez, De Leon, De Soto, and Pizarro. The articles displayed were typical of the country and people. Scarfs and shawls, silks and woolens, porcelain tiles and glassware, chemicals and fire- arms, were the chief products exhibited. Opposite the departments allotted to Sweden stood the court of Japan. The contents surpassed description. The display of bronzes attracted universal attention and universal praise. The porcelains were, beyond comparison, the finest of the whole Exposition — finest in quality and in the immense variety of the exhibit. Richness of coloring — vivid hues of scarlet, green, and gold — prevailed every- where. Lacquered ware of every variety, superb cabinets, and silken screens embroidered w'ith figures infinite, curious faces, and Japanese costumes, made up a display which astonished the Western mind with the profusion of Eastern art. China did not half so well — yet well. About the whole display were the anticipated characteristics of overdone conservatism. Here was the expected array of drawings without perspective and designs, consisting wholly of color. Here was a pagoda painted in fantastic hues, and here that China ware — a rich profusion of plates and vases — for which the Celestial empire has had immemorial fame. Here, too, were the beautiful silks, and cloths with gold embroidery, and elab- orate bedsteads carved with dragons' heads, and woven forms unnam- able iu tapestry and screen. The polite and impassive man of the GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 605 almond eyes and cue — manager of the exhibit — walked among the trophies of his civilization and did reverence before a wooden image of Fo. The Russian court was placed between the sections of Spain and Austria. An iron statue of the inspired barbarian, Peter the Great, stood like a grim sentinel to guard the treasures of his empire. Mucli fine silverware, of excellent design and workmanship, was displayed as the exhibit of Moscow. A magnificent piece in Repousse, called The Adoration of the Magi, elicited universal praise. St. Peters- burg had sent a similar collection, and also a imique group of bronzes illustrative of the life and manners of the Russian peasants. Another section contained a superb chandelier, together with statuettes, cas- kets, cabinets, and mantels. The exhibit of Russian furs was unsur- passed ; and the display of embroidered cloths, velvets, and silks was well calculated to excite the jealousy of more favored lands. The section of Portup-al was found in the rear of the court of Egypt. Glassware, porcelain, and pottery constituted a large part of the exhibit. The life, costumes, and manners of the Portuguese peas- antry were here represented by groups of statuary in plaster. The Azores made a beautiful display of phantom ships and floM-er-baskets woven of the fiber of the fig-tree. Along the south wall of the sec- tion was placed a fine collection of geological and topographical maps and charts illustrating the physical aspect of Portugal. The exhibit of raw silk, cotton goods, blankets, and embroidery, was exceptionally good. Of the African kingdoms — after Egypt — the best and only dis- plays were made by the Orange Free State and Tunis. The court of the latter was located in the rear of the sections of Denmark and Turkey, and was almost exclusively occupied with the personal ex- hibit made by the Dey. The collection consisted of articles illustra- tive of the manners and customs of the Bedouins, and of antiquities from the ruins of Carthage. The court of the Orange Free State occupied the southwestern angle of the building, and was wholly devoted to the governmental exhibit made by the authorities of that country. An unexpected array of minerals, native woods, ivory, grains, mohair, and wool, composed the chief part of the collection. But the cases containing the wealth of the feathery races of South- eastern Africa, from the infinitesimal humming-birds of Madagascar to the straggling descendants of the dinornis, were of >,till greater interest and beauty. No department in the Main Building was more admired and 606 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. praised than the court of Brazil. Dom Pedro and his queen had > f> cause of shame in the presence of their national exhibit. The Bra- zilian pavilion was located between the courts of the Netherlands and Belgium, and was characterized throughout by elegant magnificence of structure and contents. At the entrance was a brilliant display of flowers and designs delicately woven from the plumage of Brazilian birds. Topographical maps and photographs illustrated the physical aspect of the country; while the splendid display of tropical woods, together with the finest of coffees, yams, ginger, and rice, revealed the true riches of the empire. The minor South American States were also fairly represented. The pavilion of Peru was tastefully ornamented ; the contents, of value and interest. Gold, silver, cinnabar, cojjpcr, iron, and lead, were the principal minerals exhibited; coffee, pepper, cinnamon, co- coa, caoutchouc, and cinchona, the chief vegetable products. The court of Chili was of similar sort, and contained some fine specimens of silk and worsted-work; but the most interesting part was the case filled with the stuffed skins of Chilian wild animals. The exhibit of the Argentine Confederation was chiefly of ores — gold, silver, copper, and lead. The display also embraced fine specimens of building- stone, quartz, and plumbago. The manufactures were, for the most part, of leather; and handicraft was mainly illustrated in a collection of native weapons. — Far Hawaii, also, had a pavilion of considerable interest, containing a collection of birds, shells, and sea-weed ; fans, ferns, and feather-work. Mexico, with her pseudo-Latin civilization and anarchic repub- licanism, had pitched her court next to that of the United States. The pavilion was Aztec in its style, with hints of a more modern date. The exhibit was principally historic, consisting of antiquities and remains. The display of manufiictures embraced some fine silks and elegant leather goods. Here were effigies of Mexican cavaliers, formidable as Quixote in armor. Here were native wines and me- dicinal plants, and here a fine collection of ores — silver, galena, and iron. But the exhibit in its entirety was neither striking nor ex- tensive. In the Carriage Annex the observer found much to instruct and amuse. For here were the ridiculous vehicles which the fathers made their journeys in — old Virginia or Concord coaches, heavy enough for a fortification. But here, in contrast, was the full triumph of modern art in the combination of the ornate and the useful. All things elegant and luxurious of silver-palace car or private carriage GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 607 studded with gold, and all things prosy of spokes and hubs and har- ness, were here displayed in profusion. Here again Brazil, compet- ing with Pullman and Woodruff, presented a splendid coach from the Rio Janeiro Railway. Here Canadian sleighs and sledges were contrasted with the diminutive coaches of Italy and the substantial vehicles of Old England. — And so the rambler, passing under the western arches of the Main Building, found himself in the open air, facing the Bartholdi Fountain. The way across the beautiful esplanade led to Machinery Hall,. INTERIOR VIEW OF MACHINERY HALL. Entering at the southeastern portal of that great edifice, the observer came at once into the department of the German Empire. Immedi- ately before him stood the famous Krupp guns, gigantic twelve hun- dred pounders, black and terrible as the Miltonic artillery. Several rifled cannon of smaller caliber were set in contrast; and just across the aisle was a pyramid of iron-ore, showing the material out of which the great guns were cast. On the opposite side of the battery was exhibited a brick-making machine from Berlin. Near the southeast- ern angle of the building, the Gas Motor Factory of Deutz displayed a peculiar engine in which the piston is propelled by the explosion of gas. The best steam-engines exhibited in the German section were from the works of Leipsic. 608 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. The department of France embraced the northeastern division of the ground-floor. Near the entrance thereto was placed an elegant pavilion in wliicli were illustrated the processes of working in brass and copper. The confectioners' section, where bon-bons were made and sold, came next, and then the department of Parisian soaps and cosmetics. In tliis part also stood the silk-looms of Lyons, and fur- ther to the north a set of machines illustrating the processes of li- thography. An apparatus for the manufacture of beet-sugar was also exhibited, and an ice-making machine from Paris. The rest of the French contrivances had respect, for the most part, to fashionable wants and the avocations of polite society. Further westward was placed the section of Belgium. Chaudron of Brussels led the exhibit with an effective and tremendous machine for boring wells.* Car-wheels and axles from Louvain, a trip-ham- mer and steam shears from Marcinelle, and models of machinery for the manufacture of stcarine, were the next attractive features of the display. A splendid exhibit of wool-carding apparatus was presented as the contribution of Verviers ; and the city of Ghent added a superb horizontal engine, built for the mint at Brussels. The Northern nations had contributed little in the way of ma- chinery : Denmark nothing at all. Sweden made a small but respect- able display in the way of trip-hammers, stationary engines, one small locomotive, a fire-engine, and several sewing-machines. The con- tribution of Norway consisted of some odd-looking machinery for working in wood and metal. The Russian display was almost wholly of artillery — partly good, partly indifferent in its quality. In the same vicinity was the fine exhibit made by Brazil, consisting of models of dry docks and men-of-war; military and naval enginery; arms, ac- couterments, and munitions ; stationary, locomotive, and fire-engines ; pumps, jiin-making apparatus, and machinery employed in the Impe- rial mint. The best of the exhibits made by foreign nations was that of Great Britain. Two of the Rochester traction-engines, standing near the eastern entrance to the hall, were much wondered at and praised. So, also, the fine carding-machine just opposite. Manchester made a fine display of steam hammers, circular saws, and enginery of coinage and stamping dies. The armor-plate exhibited here was the best ever produced, ranging from nine inches to twenty-two inches in thickness, * It is clear that, in respect to machined for upland excavation, the Americans have much to learn. That whole line of contrivance, beginning with the plow and endine with the dredging-machine, is subject to great and radical improvements. GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 609 Keemingiy impenetrable. The Applebys of London exhibited two of their tremendous cranes — giants after their kind. English sewing- machines — mostly of the hand-power pattern — were plentifully dis- played. In the sections near by, the spinning and winding of cotton thread was illustrated, and further on, the delicate looms for weaving silken badges were in operation. Gadd of Manchester exhibited a: engine capable of printing calicoes in eight colors at one impression. An effective system of railway switching and signaling was shown by Brierly and Reynolds of London. In an adjoining square stood a fine model of an Inman steamship, and east of this a Walter printing- press in operation. Farther on, Tait and Watson of London displayed a collection of machines, including a sugar-mill, a valveless engine, and centrifugal drying-pans. — Across the aisle was the exhibit of Can- ada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, — embracing turbine wheels, a set of railway signals, quartz-mills from Halifax, Toronto marbles, fire-engines, sewing-machines, and Indian canoes. Of the American department — three-fourths of the whole in ex- tent — the greatest trophy was the Corliss vertical engine, standing in the middle of the central aisle. The platform was fifty-six feet in diameter; the stroke of the piston, ten feet; the weight of the fly- wdieel, a hundred and twelve thousand pounds. It required twenty tubular boilers of large capacity to furnish the proper amount of steam. The periphery of the fly-wheel was geared w^ith cogs into the underground line of shafting, and the power applied was equivalent to that of fourteen hundred horses; but the movements of the great engine were smooth and noiseless. From the central station, the observer, glancing down the south transept, had a full view of the Hydraulic Annex. Here pumps of every grade and fashion were pouring their torrents into a vast tank having a capacity of sixty-three thousand cubic feet of water. An interesting display of steel ware was made in a section near by, and further on, an exhibit of metal piano-frames by the Steinways. Here the process of making nails and tacks was illustrated, and there a machine was cutting corks. On this hand was an extensive collec- tion of files and screws, and on that a pyramid of grindstones. Far- ther on, to the west, was an exhibit of rolled iron, and next, a large display of axles and machinists' tools. A huge brick-making ma- chine, capable of moulding four thousand bricks in an hour, was fairly matched with a mammoth planing machine, weighing a hundred and sixty-two thousand pounds, and having a traverse of forty-four feet. In an adjacent section, paper envelopes were made by an automatic .S9 610 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. apparatus at the rate of a hundred and twenty per minute. Worces- ter, Massachusetts, contributed a collection of edged tools, dies, and presses; and Paterson, New Jersey, a machine for spinning silk. On the central aisle model steamers, men-of-war, yachts, and life-boats were exhibited. Next came the sections occupied with Hoe and Bul- lock printing-presses; then the book-binding, stereotyping, and elec- trotyping display, and then the splendid roller-drum book-press of Cottrell and Babcock, New York. A type-writer stood near by, and farther on was a section where all the steam- and sailing-vessels owned in the ports of Massachusetts -were exhibited by models. In the department of confections the American display rivaled chat of France. Close to the bon-bon section w^ere placed some fine wheat-cleaning and centrifugal sugar-drying apparatuses. Then came an old Virginia tobacco factory, where all the processes of making were exhibited. And the colored people, as they wrought, made the hall resound with the w'cird plantation melodies of the Southland. Farther east the manufacture of India-rubber shoes of all sorts and sizes was illustrated by the actual processes of the art. Then came the glass-blowers' exhibit, and then an excellent display of wall- paper by the Howells of Philadelphia. A collection of washing- and wringing-machines caught the attention for a moment, and then the observer found himself before the huge sugar-refining apparatus ex- hibited by the Colwell Iron Works of New York. The Wharton automatic switch was exhibited near by, and then came a splendid display of common and platform scales. Mining machinery was shown by the Dickinson Company of Scranton, and American loco- motives — unsurpassed by any in the world — by the Baldwin Works and the Pennsylvania Railway. In the adjacent section the Westing- house air-brake and the Henderson hydraulic-brake were exhibited in sharp competition. The Backus Avater-motor here attracted much attention, as did also an odd hydraulic-ram near the western entrance. The department of American power-looms — rivaling those of the best European factories — was constantly thronged with visitors, and the section where Waltham watches were made was a similar scene of eager interest. The Pyramid Pin Company of New Haven exhibited a quaint little machine for sticking pins in papers. A powerful hy- draulic cotton-press was shown by the Taylor Iron Works of Charles- ton, and a magnificent collection of wire ropes and cables by the Roeblings of Trenton. The display of railway bars — iron and steel — was, for the most part, made by the works of Pittsburgh. Among the western sections GEANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 611 of the hall some fine ditching and draining enginery was exhibited; and near by was the display of American knitting-machines. Of sew- ing-machines the exhibit was unrivaled. The competition reminded the observer of that among the piano-fortes in the Main Building. Every form of patent, from the original Howe to the most recent in- novation, was duly praised by its group of advocates and admirers. The American Steamship Company exhibited their vessels by models, and eastward from their section stood a handsome pavilion contain- ing an unlimited assortment of saws. The department of fire-engines and extinguishers was adjacent ; and near by, the famous Weimar blowing-engine and an apparatus for charging blast-furnaces were displayed. Many relics of old machinery were exhibited in various parts of the hall. Chief of these antiquated contrivances was a section of the FIRST STEAM-ENGINE ever used in the United States, — an odd piece of mechanism of the Cornish pattern, which was brought to America in 1753 and set in operation in a copper-mine near Newark, New Jersey. The first saw-maker's anvil, imported in 1819, was exhibited near by. In another section were several pieces of excellent work- manship from the mechanical department of Cornell University. An automatic shingle-machine, having a working capacity of twenty-five thousand shingles per day, was an attractive object in an adjoining division ; and in the same space the work of dovetailing, moulding, carving, and paneling by machinery was illustrated. Then came the work of barrel-making, shown by the actual processes; then an ex- hibit of scroll-saws in operation ; then blast-furnaces by models, steam drills, gas apparatus of every variety, and a machine for crushing an- thracite coal. — Taken all in all, the exhibit of American machinery was the finest display of the kind ever made by man. On his way from the western entrance of Machinery Hall to the Government Building of the United States, the observer would hardly fail to pause and admire the Roman Catholic Total Abstinence Fount- ain, one of the most beautiful of the outdoor works of Fairmount Park. Thence a brief walk northward on Belmont Avenue brought him to the edifice erected by Congress for the exhibition of the functions of the American Government in times of peace, and its resources in war. The building itself has already been described. Without, to the east, stood a model monitor, having the same dimensions and appearance as the original. In the same vicinity a huge Rodman twenty-inch gun and others hardly less formidable were exhibited. On the south, also, many pieces of heavy artillery were displayed, together with shot. 612 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. shells, and projectiles of various kinds. Here, too, were the boats Faith and Advance, used by De Haven and Kane in their Arctic voyages. Near by, two postal cars, for the fast-mail service of the United States, were exhibited by the Post-office Department. On the north, the War Department made a display of pontoons, bridge trains, and army wagons. Within, the south division of the principal tran- sept was occupied with the Centennial Post-office. Here the mails were regularly received and distributed with systematic precision. The sul)ordinate sections of this department were named respectively the divisions of Topography, of Books and Blanks, of Mail Equipment, and of Stamps. In the last section a machine of unimaginable inge- nuity was displayed, having an automatic capacity to cut, fold, gum, stamp, count, and pack, the Government envelopes. Another large display in the Government Building was made under the auspices of the Agricultural Bureau. The subordinate di- visions of this exhibit were of Statistics, Chemistry, Botany, Micros- copy, Entomology, and Horticulture. In the first named of these sections were large outline maps of the United States, showing the areas of forest- and farming-lands, the various products and capaci- ties of soils, the distribution of animals, etc. In the department of chemistry was a fine and well-arranged exhibit of the earths, together with illustrations of the processes of growth, fermentation, distilla- tion, and the like, as well as the methods of manufacturing vegetable ])rodacts. In the botanical division the various M'oods of the United States were exhaustively exhibited. The collection was very exten- sive and valuable, embracing sections of nearly every species of wood growing between Central America and Canada, and from Passama- quoddy to the Golden Gate. The microscopic section was occupied with a series of charts and drawings illustrative of vegetable diseases. The entomological division was chiefly devoted to an exhibit of insect- eating birds and of what creatures soever prey upon the farmer's fruits and grains. In the horticultural section a display w^as made of those plants which have an economic and commercial value, such as corn, tobacco, cotton, and flax. The exhibit made by the Department of the Interior was com- posed chiefly of the well-known treasures of the Patent Office and the National Museum at Washington. In addition to these, special dis- plays were made by the Land and Indian offices, and by the Bureaus of Education and Pensions. Here, also, was exhibited a complete set of the census reports from 1790 to 1870, inclusive. But surpassing all in interest and value was the magnificent exhibit made by the GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 613 Smithsonian Institution. This extraordinary display embraced, first of all, a classified collection of the animals of America. These ani- mals were grouped according to the relation which they bear to man, as useful or injurious; and the exhibit included all those contrivances and implements which man employs in capturing them when wild, or subjecting and controlling them when domesticated. The collection illustrative of the fishery resources of the United States was equally complete and full of interest. In the department of American eth- nology an extensive exhibit was made of aboriginal implements and contrivances peculiar to the primitive modes of life. The last branch INTERIOR VIEW OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT BUILDING. ©f the Smithsonian contribution was that illustrating the mineral re- sources of the United States — a collection of great extent and value. The first section under the auspices of the Treasury Department was devoted to the exhibition of the money, money-making, and med- als of the national mint. The special display, made by the Light- house Board, of lanterns, reflectors, sea-signals, and electrical and calcium lights, fairly rivaled the great exhibit of similar apparatus made in the government building of France. The whole collection was of the highest order, and gave token that no branch of humani- tarian science is making more rapid strides than that which apper- tains to the perfection of light-houses and the safety of mariners. The Navy Department made an exhibit of torpedoes, and of the 614 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. methods of using them in naval warfare. The collection embraced all of the patterns of that terrible engine, from the original as invented by Fulton, to the more modern forms produced by Ericsson and Lay. Another section was devoted to marine arms and armor, shot, shells, munitions, uniforms, and what weaponry soever is peculiar to men- of-war. The Naval Observatory exhibited — besides its own publica- tions — a fine collection of photographs and chronometers. Here, too, were found most of the precious relics of the Arctic explorations, from the voyage of De Haven to that of Hall. The exhibit made by the War Department was still larger and more complete. In this division was arranged the splendid display of the Signal Service under direction of General Albert J. Merer, chief signal officer of the army. Here were exhibited all of the del- icate instruments and tentative apparatus peculiar to the half- formed science of meteorology ; and here the methods of observing and re- cording the multiform and many times capricious phenomena of earth, air, and sky, were fully illustrated. The Engineering Corps also con- tributed an interesting exhibit, chiefly composed of maps and draw- ings illustrative of the coast, lake, and river improvements of the United States during the past century. The section of the Ordnance Service was devoted to the display of fire-arm manufacture as the same is carried on at the Government Armory at Springfield, Massa- chusetts. The making of cartridges was also fully illustrated by the actual processes. Next came the exhibits made by the Post Hospital and the Laboratory — full of interest after their kind — and, last of all, the model light-house standing at the northeast angle of the building, without, and not far off the tremendous fog-horn called the Siren. In the extensive exhibits of Agricultural Hall — varied and full of interest, as they were — there was, of course, a less display of hu- man skill and a greater revelation of the beneficence of nature. For here the products exhibited wert, for the most part, the offspring of the ground — the fruits of air, water, and sunshine. In this vast hall, the agency of man extended but little further than the modification and utilization of the gratuitous riches of the world. The display, there- fore, was in a large measure limited to tne collection and exhibition of things uncommon and prodigious. — A brief summary of the objects of principal interest in the various departments of the hall may here guffice. The products of the United States occupied more space than did those of all other nations combined. And the general superiority of American exhibits over those of foreio;n lands was noticeable from the GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 615 first. In the northeastern division of the hall were placed the sec- tions of agricultural implements, plows being a specialty. The ex- hibit made by Speer and Sons of Pittsburgh, as well as that by Oliver Ames and Sons of North Easton, Massachusetts, was specially varied and excellent. In a section to the north were shown rakes and threshers of the most approved patents, and in the same collection a specimen of Foust's hay-lifting machine, which called forth many commendations. Near by stood the superb plows manufactured by the Oliver Chilled-Plow Company of South Bend, Indiana.* Far- ther on was another collection, by the Higganum Plow Company of Connecticut; and then came a section of gang-plows, exhibited by Collins and Company of New York. In the department of reapers and mowers all the great makers were fully represented. The Sweepstakes, Harvester, McCormick, Champion, and Buckeye machines were specially conspicuous in the exhibit. The Union Corn Planter, from the shops of Peoria, Illi- nois, attracted much attention, and the superb Westinghouse steam- thresher was greatly praised. An excellent reaper, called the Planet, was shown by the Wayne Agricultural Works of Richmond, Indiana. Slosser's self-loading excavator — a powerful ditch-digging machine — etood close by; and near the eastern entrance was exhibited one of the well-known Adams Power Cornshellers. Grain-drills next attracted attention, especially the display made by the Farmers' Friend Company of Dayton, Ohio. In the south end of the central transept several excellent cider-mills were exhibited in operation — that of Boomer and Boschert leading the collection. Farm .scales were shown by the Howe Manufacturing Company, and farm saw-mills by Harbert and Raymond of Philadelphia. In this vicin- ity two models of stables — one of wood, and the other of iron — were exhibited, and also some fine horse-powers from Racine, Wisconsin. The observer next found himself in other scenes, amid the Amer- ican wine-growers' exhibit, near the northern entrance. The Califor- nia display was first in excellence and extent. After the vintage of the Pacific Slope came the fine exhibits of Ohio, Missouri, and New York. South of the wine collection, at the bisection of the nave and transept, stood a large bronze fountain, throwing high its cooling Avaters ; and at the four angles round about was set the display of canned fruits and meats, hops, malts, and spices. Here, too, was a * One plow exhibited by this firm was perliaps the finest ever made. Tlie metallic ])arts were plated with uickei, and the rosewood frame was splendidly embossed with agricultural emblems. 616 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. gplen^lid exhibit of starches, chief of which was the fine perfumed starch manufactured by Erkenbrecher of Cincinnati. Here, more- over, the appetite of whatsoever creatures live by bread was provoked by the bountiful display of that article. Close by, in the middle of the avenue, stood a huge windmill, purposely old-fashioned, thirty feet in height, dated 1776. Next came the zoological exhibit, com- posed of stuifed animals and birds, but more especially of a magnifi- cent museum of plaster casts prepared by Professor Henry A. Ward ©f Rochester University. Along the western wall of the building all INTERIOR VIEW OF AOKK ri.Tl'RAL HALL. varieties of edible fishes, out of the fresh and salt waters of the United States, were exhibited alive in a series of aquaria. The northwestern courts of the building were occupied with the tobacconists' pavilions. The display was very extensive, embracing every variety and caprice of manufacture. North of the tobacco sec- tion the Delta Moss Company of New Orleans exhibited a tree bear- ing a rich array of Southern moss ; and the prepared product was shown in bales near by. A huge evaporator for drying fruits, and a massive road-roller driven by steam, next caught the attention ; and then came the sections set apart for the general display of the woods, grains, vegetables, and fruits of the various States — perhaps the larg- est and most imposing collection of such articles ever brought to- gether. In the court of New Hampshire were exhibited, along with GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 617 other wonders, two enormous swine, stuffed, stupid, and prodigious as nature and taxidermy could make them. Farther on was the fish and fishery exhibit of Massachusetts, and farther still, the silk-worm display of California. South of the central transept the rich soils of Iowa were exhibited in large glass cylinders ; and beyond was placed a fine collection of the minerals of Nevada. — Such were the objects of chief interest in the departments allotted to the United States. The exhibit of Great Britain occupied the southeast division of the hall. First of all, the display of condiments was equal to the expectancy of the most accomplished epicure. Equally commendable were the exhibits of preserved meats, patent coffees and teas, prepara- tions of milk, sugar, and the like, presented by the Colonial Produce Company of London. An adjoining section contained a full assort- ment of the famous English ales ; and farther south was placed the department of British agricultural machinery, embracing some fine road-wagons, portable engines, and the smaller implements peculiar to field, orchard, and garden. Last of all came a display of mill- stones, tiles, and ornaments in terra cotta. The Canadian section, in the southwest quarter of the hall, was well filled with interesting products. And the exhibit was specially well arranged. The front line of cases was occupied with an exten- sive display of root vegetables, pulse, and cereals. In the next line, secondary products, such as wool, feathers, and pelts, were shown ; and in the third tier of cases, prepared animal and vegetable mate- rials — cured fish, flour, salt, pickles, and cheese — were displayed. Of agricultural implements the list was varied and extensive. Plows, rivaling the best of the American collection, were exhibited by Spar- die of Stratford, Ontario, and by Ross of Chatham. Fine threshing- machines, adjustable platform reapers, and turnip-drills of superior pattern, were the other objects of chief interest in the collection. — British Columbia, also, made a creditable display of her products, consisting chiefly of wheat and oats, woods, barks, and woolen goods of Indian manufacture. France displayed her vintage. The exhibit was complete, em- bracing the whole list of vinous liquors from claret to brandy. In the same section were shown the unrivaled chocolates manufactured by Menier ami Company of Paris. Vilmorin and Andrieux of the same city exhibited the products of their famous flower-gardens; and Strasbourg displayed her preserved fruits, sardines, and condiments. The process of manufacturing mineral waters was illustrated by Ga- zaubon of Paris, and near by was shown the method of bottling wine. 618 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Millstones, crucibles, cements, and artificial stone, were displayed in another department ; and last of all, the fine cocoons and raw silks for which Southern France is so justly celebrated. Along the south wall of the building was arranged the exhibit of the German Empire. Here, again, the display of wines was pre- eminent. The vintage of the Rhine elicited most praise. Nor did Gambrinus the king look down displeased from the florid labels of the Bavarian and Prussian beer-mugs. The exhibit of smoking- and chewing-tobacco was next in extent and importance ; after that, the display of confections. Then came a palm-tree with the mowing scythes of Wurtemberg for its branches ; then specimens of curled hair out of the shops of Frankfort, and then some beautiful tufts of wool from the sheepcotes of Silesia. The products of Austria and Hungary were displayed together. The cereals of the different parts of the empire were well exhibited. Vienna sent a fine collection of canned fruits, Pesth her boxes of nuts, and Prague her offering of wine and raisins. Flax, and wool, and hemp, were the staples of the Hungarian section, and leather of the exhibit of Bohemia. On the south side of the central transept lay the court of Russia. And the display was unexpectedly complete and well arranged. Th« strictly agricultural element predominated throughout the whole ex- hibit, only a small space being devoted to wines and liquors. Wheat, oats, rye, and barley — all of the finest quality — constituted the majot part of the display, and gave token of abundant wealth in the al- most sunless fields of the Muscovite. The fiber-producing plants, of many and superior kinds, were shown ; and excellent candied fruits and confections — the contribution of Poland — completed one of the most interesting divisions of the hall. Among the best of the exhibits made by the Southern nations, was that of Spain, located on the south side of the central transept, adjoining the Russian court. Here, again, the true agricultural idea was maintained, and the wine and liquor exhibit given a secondary rank. The display of Spanish cereals, fruits, pulse, and nuts, was set in glass-encased panels, around the sides of the court, presenting a fair summary of the field and garden products of the kingdom. The exhibit of wools was among the finest of the Exposition, and the col- lection of wines admirable after its kind. Specimens of the gum- and resin-bearing trees of the Philippine Islands were exhibited in an adjoining section ; and near by, Havana displayed her cigars and chocolates. The space allotted to Portugal was well filled with her GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 619 products, the exhibit being similar to that of Spain, and equally meritorious. The Italian court occupied the southeast division of the hall. The collection embraced specimens of all those products for which the peninsula has been immemorially famous. Here were grains, and fruits, and nuts; olive-oil and raisins; oranges, figs, and lemons; citrons, pomegranates, and liquorice; and wine— such as the Latin -wits and poets quaffed when Britain belonged to the Druids. The court of the Netherlands joined that of Austria on the south. The Dutch display was arranged with much skill and tastefulness ; and neither Gambrinus nor the grape was the be-all and the end-all of the exhibit. But the collection was as intensely national as those of Germany. The products were mostly shown under the auspices of the Giilderland and Zealand agricultural societies. The various sections presented a full array of grains, plants, and pulse, as well as the more valuable woods, especially those used in the manufacture of dyes. Fine specimens of the famous Holland cheese and flour were shown, and in the sections to the west an assortment of choc- olates and cod-liver oil. The Dutch fishing interests were also well illustrated with tackles, seines, and boats. The beet-sugar makers of Arnhem made a fine display of their product, as did also the mann- iiicturers of those peculiar pungent beers, gins, and heavy liquors, -which are so popular in Holland. In the court of Norway the section of greatest interest was that oontaining the exhibit of her fisheries. The collection of fishing ves- sels and apparatus was extensive and complete. Cured specimens of nearly all the fishes known in the Norwegian marts were included in the display. The space devoted to agricultural implements contained some rude but characteristic machines and tools from the fields and shops of the North. But the display of leather was excellent, and that of the waterfowl of Norway especially interesting. — Similar in sort Avere the exhibits made by Sweden and Denmark. In the Japanese court the principal product displayed was tea — a large and varied collection. Here, again, the fishing interest was Avell represented, nets and tackle being a specialty. Then came illus- trations of the silk culture, by the actual processes, from the worm to the web. The woods of Japan were displayed to good advantage as were also the grains and vegetables of the empire. — No exhibit of their agricultural resources was made by the other nations of the East. Among the South American States, Brazil here — as elsewhere — was preeminent. Before the Brazilian court stood a much admired 620 HISroRY OF THE UNITED STATES. rustic pavilion so flecked on post and rafter with tufts of fleecy cotton as to look like the greatcoat of St. Nicholas. Within was the coifee exhibit — a full and complete display of the leading industry of the empire. Leaf-tobacco was also shown, and near by was an unsur- passed collection of the tropical woods for which Brazil is famous. In a section farther on were exhibited fine Brazilian sugars, rivaling those of Cuba and the United States. Last of all came the display of the silk interest of Brazil, beginning with the mild-mannered worm peculiar to that country, and ending with the finished fabric. — Vene- zuela and the Argentine Republic also made small but interesting ex- hibits of their resources, ranging from feathers, waxes, and native gums to leather- work, silk, and liquors. Here, too, Liberia made a display of her resources and industries. Entering the Mauresque doorways of the Horticultural Building, the rambler stopped to admire the Foley Fountain in the center of the hall. Around him was the luxuriance of the tropics. Fragrance bathed the air, and silence sat like a plumed but songless bird on all the motionless leaves of this green world of wonders. Here was the great central conservatory, filled with the choicest plants and richest flowers culled out of every clime where sunshine and air are woven into leaf and petal. Here were the date-tree and the palm, fern, and cactus, lemon shrub and banana — a wilderness of blossoms- and fruits, cool and silent as the bowers visited in dreams. Alone: the sides of the main conservatory were the green-houses for the propagation of plants. The floors were sunk ten feet below the level of the main hall, and the aisle in each was a hundred feet in length. Passing up and down these avenues, the observer found on either side an indescribable array of whatever the hand of nature has done of quaint or beautiful in moss, or fern, or flower. No ex- tended account will here be attempted of the variety and beauty of this, the kingdom of the plants. — The collections of Horticultural Hall were the floral offcrino; of the United States — a wreath for the altar of Inde- pendence. But the leaves of the garland were gathered from all climes. No structure of Fairmount Park was more characteristic of the epoch than the Woman's Pavilion. The building and its contents- illustrated one of the grandest tendencies of American civilization — the complete emanci])ation of woman. In ancient times her chains were forged; the ^[iddle Age re-riveted them upon her; the Modern Era — even the Reformatian — has mocked her with the .semblance and the show of liberty. America sets her free and lifts her to the seat of honor. GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 621 The collections of the Pavilion were rich and varied. The southeast division was set apart for the display of woman's inven- tions. The contrivances were mostly of such sort as appertain tc domestic economy and the improvement of home. Now and then, however, some capricious apparatus of fashion, invented in the realm ■of whim, attracted the gaze of the curious. Photographs of such benevolent institutions as are under the conduct of women formed an interesting exhibit, as did also the worsted and silk embroideries which were displayed in an adjoining court. The art collection em- braced some creditable — even excellent — specimens of drawing, a fair \\\\/' -MjI'/ '\ t \'{ !-^^l^^ :i-\ \jr/-ij^ 1 / m- sl \ ^^f^/^'ba >?v^ INTERIOR VIEW (IF HORTICUI.TU R AL HALL. display of p;;intiiigs, ,and several commendable pieces of statuary. In the center of the hall was an elegant printing office, where The J^eiv Century for Women was published and distributed during the Exposition. The southwestern quarter was occupied by foreign exhibitors. Here, too, the display of woman's work was varied and of a high or- der of merit. The royal ladies of the Old World had contributed much to the excellence and interest of the exhibit. Queen Victorians School of Art and Needlework made some splendid offerings of em- broidery. Many contributions of similar sort were presented by the women of France, Sweden, and Canada. Egypt had its section of artistic designs in gold and silver thread- work; even the queen of Tunis had heard of Independence and sent some superb gold-em- broidered velvets as a token of her good will. The Japanese exhibit 622 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. was composed for the most part of silken screens, writing desks, and cabinets, delicately ornamented after the style of the country. The Brazilian women, also, had honored the pavilion with some beautiful specimens of gold lace, shell \vork, and silk and worsted embroideries. But it was among the art treasures of Memorial Hall that the stranger in Fairmount Park tarried longest : and then came again and again. For the variety was wellnigh infinite — the pageant ever new. Here were the bright ideals which flit for a moment across the vision of genius, and in that moment are made immortal. Here was a scene where the human imagination had transfused itself into the radiant imagery of the canvas and the imperishable forms of marble. Here, for a season, the scales fell from the sordid eyes of Utility, and the gaze was lifted up in the serener air of the True and the Beautiful. In the arrangement of the exhibits in the Art Gallery, Italy was given the preference. The main hall, before the southern entrance, was set apart for her treasures. Here the best of the Italian sculp- tors were represented by their works. Caroni of Florence exhibited his Afrieaine and several other fine pieces of statuary. The Boy Franklin from the studio of Zocchi and Washington and his Hatchet from that of Romanetti attested how much American legends are loved in Italy; and a colossal bust by Gaurnerio of Milan showed the heroic estimate placed upon the Father of his Country in that land. The humorous in art was well represented in The Forced Prayer by the same noted artist. The Milanese sculptor, Baroaglio, was repre- sented by several fine pieces, chief of which was a colossal statue called Flying Time. Hardly less attractive were the Berenice by Peduzzi, and Sunshine and Storm by Popatti. The Florentine Torclli presented Eva St. Clair as a specimen of his work ; and Ropi of Milan contributed a bust of Garibaldi. TJie Night of October Wfli was the name of a piece by D'Amore, illustrating the discovery of Guanahani; while a number of child-statues were shown as the work of the Milanese sculptor Pereda. A Miltonic Lucifer from the studio of Corti was a work of the highest order of merit, as was also the beautiful Madonna by Romanelli. A Psyche by Pagani attracted much attention; and a Bacchu^ by Braga was greatly praised. Of Italian paintings — mostly copies from the famous productions of the old masters — the collection was large and attractive. One of the finest of the exhibit was Galileo before the Inquisition, after Ra- phael. The original pictures, mostly of the Penaissance, were of va- rious degrees of merit, the Columbus in Chains by Fumigalli deserving GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 623 special praise. — Nor must mention be omitted of the famous Cas- tellani Museum of Antiquities, which was exhibited in the northeast- ern quarter of the hall — a display unsurpassed in interest by any other of the whole Exposition. The exhibit embraced one of the rarest, most valuable, and best classified collections of ancient and mediseval gems, classic busts, and personal ornaments, now in existence. The museum was under the care of Professor Castellani himself, and the section was the especial haunt of scholars and antiquaries. The American exhibit in Memorial Hall was divided between the ROTUNDA OF MEMORIAL HALL. main edifice and the annex. The collection was very extensive, em- bracing several thousand works in painting and statuary. The chief display of paintings was made in the great north corridor of the main hall. Here were exhibited a vast number of pieces, ranging from second-class and mediocrity to the highest productions of genius. The eastern end of the corridor was wholly occupied with Rothermel's immense painting of The Battle of Gettysburg. Page's Farragut in Mobile Bay was also exhibited as a historic sketch ; and as an alle- gorical work, Thorpe's Westimrd the Star of Empire takes its Way was shown. Here, also, were exhibited six of Bierstadt's famous land- scapes — <5plendid scenes from the Pacific coast. Then came a num- 624 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. berless array of portraits, landscapes, sketches, and ideal works, hv well-known American artists and new aspirants for fame, amono- whose productions, though furnishing abundant room for comment and criticism, it would be invidious, within this narrow limit, to dis- criminate. Of American statuary, also, a large exhibit was made — chiefly in the central hall. Under the dome was set a fine group in terra cotta, being the allegory of America from the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park, London. Not far off stood Connelly's Thetis with the Inj'ant Achilles, much and justly admired. Story's Medea gave proof of that artist's genius ; and Margaret Foley's Cleopatra was a work of great beauty. Several busts of Americans by Americans, attested the skill of the artists, especially that of Charles Sumner by Preston Powers. In the northwest corridor was exhibited The Dying Cleopatra — a work of remarkable beauty and power — by Edmonia Lewis, the colored sculjitress. Too much praise could hardly be bestowed upon the British col- lection of paintings. It was generally conceded that the exhibit, both in the merit of the works themselves and in the admirable grouping which had been effected by the managers, was the best of the Ex- position. If any doubt existed as to whether the first artists had coutributed their choicest works to the American collection, no such doubt existed in respect to the genius of England. For here was The Battle of Naseby by Sir John Gilbert; a Summer Moon by Fred- erick Leighton ; The Raihray Station by Powell ; Armitage's Julian the Apostate; Sir Edwin Landseer's Lions and Marriage of Grisclda; Maclise's Banquet Scene in Macbeth; Sir Thomas Lawrence's Three Partners of the House of Baring ; William Powell Frith's Marriage of the Prince of Wales; West's Death of Wolfe; and a vast number of landscapes, sketches, portraits, drawings, water-colors, pencilings and crayon-work — making a collection so complete and meritorious as to awaken the pride of every Briton. The art department of France was hardly representative of the genius of that country. Still, the collection embraced many pieces deserving of high praise. Among the best was Rizpah protecting the Bodies of her Sons, by George Becker ; The Conspiracy of the Medici, by Louis Adan ; and The Death of Caesar, by Clement. Hillemacher's Napoleon I. vrith Goethe and Wieland, and Yiger's Josephine in 1814, were notable pieces of portraiture. Leda and the Swan, by Jules Saintin, and The First Step in Crime, by Pierre Antigua, received GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 625 many commendations, and Duran's exquisite portrait of Mademoi- selle Croixette of the Theatre Fran9ais was universally praised. In the German collection the most striking picture was StefFeck's CrcMon Prince in the Front of Battle. Louis Braun and Count Harras each contributed a Surrender of Sedan — striking sketches of that his- toric event. The Arrest of Luther, likewise by Harras, was a picture of great merit, as was also Elizabeth signing the Death Warrant of Mary Stuart, by Julius Schrader. In the way of humorous pictures. After the Church Festival was exhibited by Ferdinand Meyer, and the Village Gossips by Meyer of Bremen. Nor should mention be omitted of The Flight of Frederick V. from Prague, by Faber du Tour — one of the best historic pieces in Memorial Hall. Another work of the same sort, and almost equally meritorious, was Briicke's Discovery of America. Last of all — exhibited in a separate corridor — was Wag- ner's great painting, A Scene in the Circus Maximus at Rome. In the way of portraits, that of Pauline Lucca by Begas, and of George Ban- croft by Gustave Richter, were worthy of special praise. In the eastern gallery was placed the collection of Austria. Here was John Makart's magnificent picture, entitled Venice Paying Horn-- age to Catharine Cornai-o — a historic study of great interest. As speci- mens of figure-painting Ernest Lafitte contributed a Girl of Upper Austria, and Aloysius Schonn a Siesta of an Oriental Woman. Of similar sort were the two fine pictures. A Page and A Girl with Fruit, by Canon of Vienna — works in imitation of Rembrandt. Friedlan- der was represented in the collection by Tasting the Wine, and Miiller by an English Garden at Palermo. — Several fine pieces of statuary were shown as a part of the Austrian exhibit. The principal of these were the busts of Francis Joseph, Maximilian I., and Charles V. To this collection also belonged The Freedman, by Pezzicar^-a bronze statue emblematical of the emancipation of the slaves by Lincoln. In the Spanish department The Landing of Columbus was the sub- ject of two paintings — the first by Gisbert, and the second by Puebla. Here also was shown a Christ on the Cross by Murillo. Columbus before the Monks of La Rabida was the title of a large and striking work by Gano. But the painting most esteemed in the Spanish ex- hibit was a superb production called The Burial of St. Lorenzo, by Alejo Vera of Rome. — The Portuguese painters and sculptors were not represented in the collections of the hall. The Northern nations — Sweden, Norway, Denmark — made a creditable showing of their art. The Swedish collection was arr 40 • ■ 626 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. ranged along the eastern wall of the western gallery, and was com- posed of several fine and some commonplace productions. One of the best was Tlie Burning of the Royal Palace at Stockholm — a paint- ing by Hockert. Then came The Winter Day, The First Snow, and The Poor People^s Burying Ground, by Baron Hermelin, the Swedish art commissioner at the Exposition. A fine work called Dark Mo- ments was exhibited by Baron Cederstrom, and Sigurd Ring by Se- verin Nilsson. Several other legends of the Vikings were represented in the works of Winge, exhibited near by ; while a Market Day in Dilsseldorf illustrated the genius of August Jernberg. — The Norwe- gian collection was made up of two fine pieces by Professor Gude ; one excellent picture entitled A Scene in Romsdalsfiord, by Norman ; The Hardengerjiord, from the studio of Thurman ; and several pro- ductions of less conspicuous merit. — The Danish group embraced The Discovery of Greenland in A. D. 1000, by Rasmussen ; Two Greenland Pilots, by the same artist; and A Midsummer Night under Iceland's Rough Weather, by Wilhelm Melby. The Belgian pictures constituted a notable collection. Here, first of all, was Autumn on the Meuse, by Asselberg — a work of great ex- cellence ; as was, also, Rome from the Tiber, by Bossuet. De Keyser's Dante and the Young Girls of Florence attracted much admiration. Then came The Sentinel at the Gate of the Harem, by St. Cyr; Sunday at the Convent, by Meerts ; Xavier Mellery's Woman of the Roman Campagna; Mols's Dome of the Invalides ; Smits's War; Stallaert's Cave of Diomede; and After the Rain, by Van Luppen. The Desde- mona of Van Kiersbilck, and The Deception by Jean Portaels, were works deserving the highest praise. Next in interest Avas the art exhibit of the Netherlands. Nor did the collection in its entirety suffer by comparison with the best at the Exposition. Here again the observer was constantly reminded of the nationality — both of the artist and his work. Every thing was distinctly marked with the characteristics of Lowland life, method, and manners. First in the display were four large pieces by Altraann of Amsterdam — all excellent paintings — entitled respectively The Banquet of the Civic Guards, The Five Masters of the Drapers, The Masters of the Harlem Guild, and The Young Bull — a copy from Paul Potter. Then came Koster's Vieio on the Yo, Rust's Amsterdam in the Sixteenth Century, and A Landscape on the Mediterranean Coast by Hilverdink. The other principal pieces of the collection were Four Weeks after St. John's Day by Huybers, Bosboom's Church of Trier, and Mesdag's Evening on the Beach. Besides these, many minor GRANT'S ADMINISTBATION. 627 paintings in the exhibit testified of the genius of the Lowland artists. In the eastern galleries of the annex were placed a few meritor- ious pictures by the painters of Brazil and Mexico. But the collec- tions were comparatively unimportant. Among the Brazilian produc- tions the best were The Defense of Cabrito and The Battle of Humaita — both scenes from the recent war with Paraguay. In the Mexican gallery the most interesting pieces were The Valley of Mexico by Val- esquez, and portraits of Bartholomew de las Casas and Donna Isabella of Portugal. — Such is a brief survey of the art treasures of Memorial Hall. During the months of early summer, every day brought its throng to Fairmount Park. The enthusiasm of the people rose with the occasion. The fame of the great Exposition spread through all the land. Success had crowned the enterprise. As the Anniversary of Independence drew near preparations were made for an elaborate celebration at Philadelphia. The day came. Countless multitudes thronged the streets.* The city was alive with flags and banners. Battery answered battery with thunderous congratulation. The scene was set in Independence Square, in the rear of the old Hall, on the very spot where liberty was proclaimed a century ago. Platforms were erected and awnings spread above them, where four thousand in- vited guests could be seated to witness the ceremonies. The people crowded into the open space to the south until the whole square was a sea of upturned faces. Senator Ferry of Michigan, acting Vice- President of the United States, was the presiding officer. General Hawley and other members of the Centennial Commission acted as his assistants. Dom Pedro II. and Prince Oscar of Sweden sat near by, and distinguished citizens of many nations were present. At ten o'clock the exercises were formally opened. Centennial hymns were sung, and the national airs were played by the finest bands of the country. Richard Henry Lee, grandson of him who offered the fa- mous Resolution of Independence, then read the Declaration from the original manuscript. Other music followed ; and then came the read- ing of The National Ode by Bayard Taylor. Last of all came The Centennial Oration by William M. Evarts of New York. The throng receded, and the ceremonies were at an end. But the pageant was re- vived at night with a display of fireworks and a brilliant illumination of the city. *It was estimated that on the night of the 3d of July there were fully two hun- dred and fifty thousand strangers in Philadelphia. 628 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. The daily attendance at the Exhibition grounds during the sum- mer varied from five thousand to two hundred and seventy-five thou- sand. And the interest in the Centennial \vas intensified near its close. The whole number of visitors attending the Exposition, as shown by the registry of the gates, was nine million seven hundred and eighty-six thousand one hundred and fifty-one. The daily average attendance was sixty-one thousand nine hundred and thirty-eight. The grounds were open for one hundred and fifty-eight days, and the total receipts for admission were three million seven hundred and sixty-one thousand five hundred and ninety-eight dollars. On the 10th of November — in accordance with the purpose of the Centennial Commissioners — the International Exhibition of 1876 was formally closed. At two o'clock in the afternoon the President of the United States attended by General Hawley, Director-General Goshorn — upon whom for his successful management of the Exposi- tion too great praise can hardly be bestowed — other members of the Commission, and distinguished foreigners — ascended the platform, and the ceremonies began. Theodore Thomas's magnificent orchestra again furnished music worthy of the occasion. A hundred thousand people were present to witness the closing exercises. Brief addresses were delivered by the Honorable Daniel J. Morrell of Pennsylvania and the Honorable John Welch, president of the Board of Finance. The history of the Exposition and of its management was then re- counted in appropriate orations by Major Goshorn and General Haw- ley. The hymn America was sung by the audience, led by the or- chestra ; and then President Grant arose and said : — " I DECLARE THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION CLOSED." The valves of the great Corliss engine were shut, and the work was done. In its general character and results the Exposition had outranked all of its predecessors, and had left an impress upon the minds of the American people likely to endure for a generation and then become a patriotic tradition with posterity.* * Since the close of the Exliibition steps have been taken to secure as far as p/acti- cable the 'permanency of the Centennial display. Machinery Hall has been purchased by the Common Council of Philadelphia, and is to stand intact. The Main Building also, has been sold by auction, and the purchasers have decided that it shall remain as a permanent Exposition hall. The Woman's Executive Committee have voted that their Pavilion shall also stand in its present state. The authorities of Great Britain, Ger- many, and France have given their respective Government Buildings to the city of Philadelphia as permanent ornaments of the grounds and as tokens of international good will ; and it seems not unlikely that the principal features of the delightful park, where so many thousand people have spent the holiday hours of the Centennial sum- mer, will be preserved as they were during the Exposition. GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 629 During the last year of President Grant's administration the country was disturbed by A war with the Sioux Indians. These fierce savages had, in 1867, made a treaty with the United States agreeing to relinquish all the territory south of the Niobrara, west of the one hundred and fourth meridian, and north of the forty-sixth parallel of latitude. By this treaty the Sioux were confined to a larsre reservation in southwestern Dakota, and upon this reservation they agreed to retire by the 1st of January, 1876. Meanwhile, how- ever, gold was discovered among the Black Hills — a region the greater part of which belonged, by the terms of the treaty, to the Sioux reservation. But no treaty could keep the hungry horde of gold-diggers and adventurers from overrunning the interdicted dis- trict. This gave the Sioux a good excuse for gratifying their native s*^^^^ °^ ™^ ^^^^^ ^^^' ^^'^• disposition by breaking over the limits of the reservation and roam- ing at large through Wyoming and Montana, burning houses, steal- ing horses, and murdering whoever opposed them. The Government now undertook to drive the Sioux upon their reservation. A large force of regulars, under Generals Terry and Crook, was sent into the mountainous country of the Upper Yellow- stone, and the savages to the number of several thousand, led by their noted chieftain Sitting Bull, were crowded back against the Big Horn Mountains and River. Generals Custer and Reno, who were sent forward with the Seventh Cavalry to discover the whereabouts of the Indians, found them encamped in a large village extending for nearly three miles along the left bank of the Little Horn. On the 25th of June, General Custer, without waiting for reinforcements, charged headlong with his division into the Indian town, and was immediately surrounded by thousands of yelling warriors. Of the details of the struggle that ensued very little is known. For General Custer and every man of his command fell in the fight. The conflict equaled, if it did not surpass, in desperation and disaster any other Indian battle ever fought in America. The whole loss of the Sev- enth Cavalry was two hundred and sixty-one killed, and fifty-two wounded. General Reno, who had been engaged with the savages 630 BISTOBY OF THE UNITED STATES. at the lower end of the town, held his position on the blufiPs of the Little Horn until General Gibbon arrived with reinforcements and saved the remnant from destruction. Other divisions of the army were soon hurried to the scene of hostilities. During the summer and autumn the Indians were beaten in several engagements, and negotiations were opened looking to the removal of the Sioux to the Indian Territory. But still a few des- perate bands held out against the authority of the Government; be- sides, the civilized Nations of the Territory objected to having the fierce savages of the North for their neighbors. On the 24th of No- vember, the Sioux were decisively defeated by the Fourth Cavalry, under Colonel McKenzie, at a pass in the Big Horn Mountains. The Indians lost severely, and their village, containing a hundred and seventy-three lodges, was entirely destroyed. The army now went into winter-quarters at various points in the hostile country ; but active operations were still carried on by forays and expeditions during December and January. On the 5th of the latter month, the sav- ages were again overtaken and completely routed by the division of Colonel Miles. Soon after this defeat, the remaining bands, under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, being able to offer no further serious resistance, escaped across the border and became subject to the authorities of Canada. Here they remained until the following autumn, when the Govern- ment opened negotiations with them for their return to their reserva- tion in Dakota. A commission, headed by General Terry, met Sitting Bull and his warriors at Fort AValsh, on the Canadian frontier. Here a conference was held on the 8th of October. Full pardon for past oifenses was offered to the Sioux on condition of their peaceable re- turn and future good behavior. But the irreconcilable Sitting Bull and his savage chiefs rejected the proposal Avitli scorn; the conference was broken off, and the Sioux were left at large in the British domin- ions north of Milk River.* The excitement occasioned by the outbreak of the war with the Sioux, and even the interest felt in the Centennial celebration, was soon overshadowed by the agitation of the public mind, attendant upon the twenty-third Presidential election. Before the close of June the national conventions were held and standard-bearers selected by the two leading political parties. General Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio and William s: The result of the Fort Walsh conference was by no means distasteful to the Govern- ment. By formally refusing to return to their reservation, the Indians virtually re- nounced all relations witii the United States, and the authorities were thus, by an unex- pected stroke of good fortune, freed from the whole complication. Canada can hardly be congratulated on such an accession to her population ! GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. , 631 A. Wheeler of New York, were chosen as candidates by the Repub- licans ; Samuel J. Tilden of New York and Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana, by the Democrats. A third — the Independent Geeen- BACK — party also appeared, and presented as candidates Peter Cooper of New York and Samuel F. Gary of Ohio. The canvass began early and Avith great spirit. The battle-cry of the Democratic party was Reform — reform in the public service and in all the methods of ad- ministration. For it was alleged that many of the departments of the Government and the officers presiding therein had become cor- rupt in practice and in fact. The Republicans answered back with the cry of Reform, — averring a willingness and an anxiety to correct public abuses of whatsoever sort, and to bring to condign punishment all who dared to prostitute the high places of honor to base uses. To this it was added that the nationality of the United States, as against the doctrine of State sovereignty, must be upheld, and that the rights of the colored people of the South must be protected with additional safeguards. The Independent party echoed the cry of Reform — mon- etary reform first, and all other reforms afterwards. For it was al- leged by the leaders of this party that the measure of redeeming the national legal-tenders and other obligations of the United States in gold — which measure was advocated by both the other parties — was a project unjust to the debtor-class, iniquitous in itself, and impossi- ble of accomplishment. And it was further argued by the Independ- ents that the money-idea itself ought to be revolutionized, and that a national paper currency ought to be provided by the Government, and be based, not on specie, but on a bond bearing a low rate of interest, and interconvertible, at the option of the holder, with the currency itself. But the advocates of this theory had only a slight political organization, and did not succeed in securing a single elect- oral vote. The real contest lay — as it had done for twenty years — between the Republicans and the Democrats. The canvass drew to a close. The election was held , the general result was ascertained, and both parties claimed the victory ! The election was so evenly balanced between the two candidates, there had been so much irregularity in the voting and subsequent electoral proceedings in the States ot Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon, and the powers of Congress over the votes of such States were so vaguely defined, under existing legislation, that no certain declaration of the result could be made. The public mind was confounded with perplexity and excite- ment ; and more than once were heard the ominous threatenings of «ivil war. 632 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. When Congress convened in December, the whole question of the disputed presidency came at once before that body for adjust- ment. The situation was seriously complicated by the political complexion of the Senate and the House of Representatives. In the former body the Republicans had a majority sufficient to control its action ; while in the House the Democratic majority was still more decisive and equally willful. The debates began and seemed likely to be interminable. The question at issue was as to whether the electoral votes of the several States should, at the proper time, be opened and counted by the presiding officer of the Senate, in accord- ance with the immemorial and constitutional usage in such cases, or whether, in view of the existence of duplicate and spurious returns from some of the States, and of alleged gross irregularities and frauds in others, some additional court ought to be constituted to open and count the ballots. Meanwhile the necessity of doing something became more and more imperative. The great merchants and manufacturers of the country and the boards of trade in the principal cities grew clamorous for a speedy and peaceable adjustment of the difficulty. The spirit of compromise gained ground ; and after much debating in Congress it was agreed that all the disputed election returns should be referred to a Joint High Commission, consisting of five members to be chosen from the United States Senate, five from the House of Representatives, and five from the Supreme Court. 'The judgment of this tribunal should be final in all matters referred thereto for de- cision. The Commission was accordingly constituted. The counting was begun as usual in the presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives. When the disputed and duplicate returns were reached they were referred. State by State, to the Joint High Commis- sion ; and on the 2d of March, only two days before the time for the hi' auguration, a final decision was rendered. The Republican candidates were declared elected. One hundred and eighty-five electoral votes were cast for Hayes and Wheeler, and one hundred and eighty-four foi Tilden and Hendricks. The greatest political crisis in the history of the country passed harmlessly by without violence or bloodshed. HAYES'S ADMINISTRATION. 633 CHAPTER LXIX. HAYES'S ADMINISTRATION, 1877-1881. RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, nineteenth President of the United States, was born in Delaware, Ohio, on the 4th day of October, 1822. His ancestors were soldiers of the Revolution. His primary education was received in the public schools. Afterwards, his studies Avere extended to Greek and Latin at the N o r w a 1 k Academy; and in 1837 he became a stu- dent at Webb's preparatory school, at Mid- dletown, Con- necticut. In the following year. he en- tered the Freshman class at Ken- yon College, and in 1842 was graduated from that in- stitution with the highest Three years after his graduation, he completed his legal studies at Harvard University, and soon afterward began the practice of his profession, first at Marietta, then at Fremont, and finally as city solicitor, in Cincinnati. Here he won distinguished reputation as a lawyer. During the Civil War he performed much honorable service in the Union cause, rose to the rank of major- PRESIDENT HAYES. honors of his class. 634 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. general, and in 1864, while still in the field, was elected to Congress. Three years later he was chosen governor of his native State, and was reelected in 1869, and again in 1875. At the Cincinnati conven- tion of 1876, he had the good fortune to be nominated for the presi- dency over several of the most eminent men of the nation. In his inaugural address, delivered on the 5th of March,* President Hayes indicated the policy of his administration. The patriotic and conciliatory utterances of the address did much to quiet the bitter spirit of partisanship which for many months had disturbed the country. The distracted South was assured of right purposes on the part of the new chief-magistrate ; a radical reform in the civil service was avowed as a part of his policy ; and a speedy return to specie payments was recommended as the final cure for the deranged finances of the nation. The immediate effect of these assurances — so evidently made in all good faith and honesty — was to rally around the incipient administration the better part of all the parties and to introduce a new "Era of Good Feeling" as peaceable and beneficent in its character as the former turbulence had been exciting and dangerous. On the 8th of March, the President named the members of his cabinet. Here, again, he marked out a new departure in the policy of the government. For the cabinet, though exceptionably able and statesmanlike, was noticeably non-partisan in its character. As secre- tary of state William M. Evarts, of New York, was chosen; John Sherman, of Ohio, was named as secretary of the treasury ; George W. McCrary, of Iowa, secretary of war; Richard W. Thompson, of Indiana, secretary of the navy; Carl Schurz, of Missouri, secretary of the interior; Charles E. Devens, of Massachusetts, attorney-general; and David M. Key, of Tennessee, postmaster-general. These nomina- tions were duly ratified by the Senate ; and the new administration and the new century of the republic were ushered in together. In the summer of 1877 occurred the great labor disturbance known as the Railroad Strike. For several years the mining districts of the country had been vexed with disputes and outbreaks having their origin in the question of usages. The manufacturing towns and cities had witnessed similar troubles, and the great cor- porations having control of the lines of travel and commerce were frequently brought to a stand-still by the determined opposition of their employes. The workingmeu and the capitalists of the country *The4