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LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 WASHINGTON; 
 
 A BIOGRAPHY 
 
 PERSONAL, MILITARY, AND POLITICAL. 
 
 BY BENSON T. LOSSING, 
 
 J h 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 VIRTUE .A.ND COMPANY, 
 
 36 JOHN -STREET. 
 
L75 
 
 , I 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty. 
 
 By BENSON J. LOSSING, 
 
 In the Clerk s Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
 Southern District of New York. 
 
TO 
 
 airioia in all f anh, 
 
 WHO LOVE JUSTICE AND FREEDOM, 
 
 AND EEVEEENOE THE RIGHTS OF MAN, 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THEIR GREAT EXEMPLAR, 
 
 ABE DEDICATED BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 7742G7 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THIS Biography of WASHINGTON was projected by the late Rufus 
 Wilmot Griswold, D.D. He had entered upon the labor of pre 
 paring it for the press, with zeal and ability, when brain and hand 
 were prostrated by disease which, for years, had been lurking in 
 his system. He had then written about two hundred pages of the 
 work, and the publishers had commenced issuing it in monthly 
 parts. Ever hopeful, and anxious to make this the crowning act 
 of his literary life, he hesitated long before he would consent to 
 abandon the enterprise and leave its execution to another. He 
 had arranged the plan with care ; he had selected the subjects for 
 a greater portion of the illustrations; and he had given minute 
 instructions concerning many of the designs. For several weeks 
 he lay upon his bed, contemplating the performance of this task, 
 so congenial to his tastes and feelings, and hourly hoping for a 
 favorable change in his malady, that should permit him to resume 
 it with renewed vigor. 
 
 Four monthly parts had been issued, and several thousands of 
 dollars had been spent by the publishers in the preparation of 
 the engravings, when Doctor Griswold was compelled to lay aside 
 his pen. They waited patiently for its resumption; but, finally, 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 influenced by a natural desire to proceed with the work, and fulfil 
 their engagements with the public, they insisted that he should 
 relinquish the enterprise. They then solicited the present writer 
 to undertake the completion of the Biography. He consented 
 with reluctance, chiefly because the Life of Washington, by Mr. 
 Irving, was then in course of preparation and publication, and he 
 was unwilling to be engaged in a similar labor that might, in the 
 least degree, interfere with that of his friend. This objection was 
 overruled by the consideration that the work was already com 
 menced, and w r ould be continued; and he undertook the comple 
 tion of it with a determination to give to the pleasant task all 
 the advantages of his experience in similar labors for several 
 years before, and such abilities as he possessed. He had just 
 entered upon the duties he had assumed, when Doctor Griswold 
 died. With the exception of the first two hundred pages of the 
 first volume, it is entirely from the pen of the present writer. 
 
 Justice to all parties seemed to require the foregoing explana 
 tory history of these volumes. The same consideration makes it 
 necessary for the writer to observe that whatever praise may be 
 due for judgment and taste in the selection and execution of the 
 illustrations, belongs chiefly to the original projector, and to the 
 
 publishers. With these he had little to do. 
 
 B. J. L. 
 
 POUGHKEEPSIB, NEW YoBK, September, 1860. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. I. 
 
 PORTRAIT OP WASHINGTON (PEALE s) FRONTISPIECE. 
 
 BIRTHPLACE OF WASHINGTON VIGNETTE TITLE. 
 
 WASHINGTON AND FAIRFAX AT A WAR-DANCE TO FACE PAGE 54 
 
 NATURAL BRIDGE, VIRGINIA 56 
 
 A TREACHEROUS INDIAN 89 
 
 WASHINGTON AND GIST VISIT QUEEN ALIQUIPPA 91 
 
 WASHINGTON READING PRAYERS IN HIS CAMP 117 
 
 BURIAL OF GENERAL BRADDOCK 171 
 
 MISS MARY PHILIPSE 199 
 
 SETTLERS IMPLORING WASHINGTON S PROTECTION 211 
 
 WASHINGTON PLANTING THE BRITISH FLAG AT FORT DUQUESNE 283 
 
 MARTHA WASHINGTON 287 
 
 PORTRAITS OF SIR WILLIAM PEPPERELL, SIR J. AMHERST, GENERALS BRAD- 
 DOCK, ABERCROMBIE, AND WOLFE 290 
 
 THE DEATH OF GENERAL WOLFE . . . 299 
 
 DESTRUCTION OF THE SCHOONER GASP&, IN THE WATERS OF RHODE ISLAND, 
 
 IN 1772 381 
 
 FANUEIL HALL, BOSTON 382 
 
 BOSTON IN 1774, FROM DORCHESTER HEIGHTS 416 
 
 PORTRAITS OF PATRICK HENRY, CHARLES THOMSON, PEYTON RANDOLPH, REV. 
 
 J. DUCH&, AND RICHARD HENRY LEE 420 
 
 BATTLE AT LEXINGTON 505 
 
 PORTRAITS OF GENERALS WARREN, STARK, PUTNAM, HEATH, AND WARD... 513 
 
 JOHN HANCOCK 534 
 
 THE BATTLE AT BUNKER S HILL, NEAR BOSTON, JUNE 17, 1775 569 
 
 WASHINGTON TAKING COMMAND OF THE ARMY AT CAMBRIDGE, 1775 584 
 
 MAP OF BOSTON, WITH ITS ENVIRONS 619 
 
 PORTRAITS OF GENERAL GAGE, SIR HENRY CLINTON, CHARLES MARQUIS CORN- 
 
 WALLIS, GENERAL BURGOYNE, AND LORD HOWE 620 
 
 DEATH OF GENERAL MONTGOMERY 718 
 
 ACTION BETWEEN THE SERAPIS AND THE BON HOMME RICHARD, SEPTEMBER 
 
 22, 1779 743 
 
 WASHINGTON MONUMENT AT RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 768 
 
WASHINGTON. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 GENEALOGY OF THE WASHINGTON FAMILY EMIGRATION OF JOHN AND LAWRENCE 
 WASHINGTON TO AMERICA BIRTH OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON was born at a modest farmhouse near the 
 place where a small stream called Pope s creek falls into the Poto 
 mac river, on the twenty-second day of February, in the year of 
 our Lord 1732, which was the fifth year of the reign of George 
 the Second, sovereign of these dominions. In the same year was 
 planted Georgia, the last of the old thirteen colonies which this 
 child was destined to lead to independence and liberty. 
 
 The family of Washington was eminently respectable, and had 
 been so for many generations. Mr. Sparks, in his careful and 
 judicious history of our illustrious hero has elucidated this point 
 with great particularity and exactness of research. Not only is 
 pride of ancestry an honorable pride, but there are few feelings apt 
 to be productive of more happy consequences. The ambition to 
 transmit to posterity a shining name untarnished or with added 
 lustre is often the strongest incentive to generous action and the 
 surest safeguard of virtue. In this country, where so many noble 
 men have been the creators of their own family distinctions, and 
 meaner characters, without hereditary elevation, have also been 
 without that bravery of nature necessary to the establishment of a 
 far reaching good reputation, the sentiment here commended is 
 
 frequently undervalued or depreciated. But how many men of 
 
 2 
 
18 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 great fortunes are among us who would give half their possessions, 
 if by doing so it were possible to dignify the traditional positions 
 of their ancestors, or relieve their inherited names from well- 
 deserved reproaches! Such is the infirmity of human nature 
 however that persons of this description are more likely than any 
 others to stigmatise as unrepublican or otherwise to decry a respect 
 for blood. The ignorant and vulgar ambition of characters, badly 
 made at last, to be regarded as self-made, is much inculcated by a 
 class who are sensible of the disadvantages of birth only, or who 
 have but inadequate perceptions of their moral or intellectual 
 deficiencies. This large class has been effectively exposed to con 
 temptuous ridicule by Mr. Charles Dickens in his instructive novel 
 of "Hard Times." It is not to be questioned that the pursuit 
 under difficulties of knowledge, glory, or a capacity for usefulness, 
 is entitled to generous admiration. God forbid. From the begin 
 ning the heights of fame were of rough ascent, and the most for 
 tunate never attained to their serener atmosphere but by excessive 
 toil and self-sacrifice. It is as natural and wise however to believe 
 that a man w r hose father has scaled these elevations will be more 
 successful than another in repeating the achievement, as that a 
 horse sired by the winner of a hundred fields will secure the stakes 
 upon a course where every competitor is from a drayman s stable. 
 Though this law obtains so commonly as to compel a recognition of 
 its authority, happily it is not inflexible. A rude boy like Daniel 
 Morgan may sometimes in ripened years wear gallantly the decora 
 tions of the general, or a gentlemanly bred Charles Lee, learned 
 and used to the atmosphere of courts, may fall into the temper and 
 habits of a vagabond. 
 
 The lineage of Washington is traceable through six hundred 
 years to William de Hertburn of the manor of Washington or 
 Wessyngton in the county of Durham in England. According to a 
 custom which at that period obtained among Norman families of 
 consideration De Hertbum assumed as a surname the name of his 
 estate. For between two and three centuries the De Wessingtons, 
 as knights of the palatinate of Durham, were engaged in frequent 
 
GENEALOGY OF THE FAMILY. 19 
 
 chivalrous enterprises, or as ecclesiastics, were attached to its clois 
 ters. John De Wessyngton, prior of the Benedictine convent con 
 nected with the Durham cathedral, and author of a learned treatise 
 maintaining the rights of his priory, in 1426 presided at a general 
 chapter of his order. The family increased and was honorably 
 known in different parts of England. The name underwent a 
 variety of changes ; the seigniorial prefix of de was abandoned, and 
 Wessyngton became Wassington, Wasshington, and, finally, Wash 
 ington. John Washington, of Warton, in Lancashire, was the 
 immediate ancestor of the American Washingtons. His son Law 
 rence was of Gray s Inn, held the office of mayor of Northampton, 
 and when Henry the Eighth, in 1538, carrying out a plan he had 
 formed and partially executed two years before, shut up the larger 
 as well as the smaller religious houses, the domain of Sulgrave, a 
 part of the confiscated property which had belonged to the mon 
 astery of St. Andrew, near that borough, was granted to him, 
 perhaps for services rendered in the then recent rebellion in the 
 northern counties. Sulgrave remained in the possession of his heirs 
 nearly a century, and was commonly called the Washington manor. 
 Lawrence Washington died at an advanced age in 1584, and with 
 Anne his wife was buried there. He had four sons and eleven 
 daughters.* His second son, Lawrence Washington, jr., became 
 chief register of the chancery, and was knighted. His wife also 
 was named Anne, and their monument is still shown in the parish 
 church of Garsdon, about three miles from Malmesbury, in Wiltshire, 
 where Sir Lawrence died, at the age of sixty-four, in 1643. One 
 of his grand-daughters married an earl of Ferrars. Another son of 
 the grantee of Sulgrave, Sir William Washington, of Packington, in 
 the county of Kent, married a half-sister of George Villiers, Duke 
 of Buckingham, whose name is so conspicuous in the history of 
 Charles the First. Sir William s son, Sir Henry, was a colonel in 
 the king s army in the ensuing civil war, and after distinguishing 
 
 * So Mr. Irving infers, i. 13, from a personal examination of the monumental inscription in Sul 
 grave church, dated 1564. Mr. Sparks, i. 545, copying a letter from Sulgrave written in 1793 to 
 Sir Isaac Heard, says " four sons and seven daughters." 
 
20 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 himself under Prince Rupert, in 1643, gave Cromwell s general 
 Fairfax a great deal of trouble at Worcester, which he refused to 
 surrender until the last extremity, in 1646. Though the Washing- 
 tons in most cases adhered to the royal cause, an exception is 
 discovered in Joseph Washington, of the Temple, author of several 
 works in the law and in general literature, who translated Milton s 
 Defensio pro Populo Anglicano Claudii Salmasii Defensionem 
 Kegem a defence of the people of England against Salmasius s 
 defence of the king which did more harm to the party of the 
 Stuarts than would have been done by fifty defeats in battle. 
 
 Lawrence Washington of Sulgrave, as has been mentioned, had 
 fifteen children. His eldest son, Robert, had sixteen, and the second 
 eldest son in the direct line, Lawrence, was the father of fourteen : 
 seven sons and seven daughters. The second and fourth of these 
 sons, John and Lawrence* Washington, in 1657 emigrated to Vir 
 ginia, a favorite resort of the cavaliers during the period of the 
 commonwealth. ) 
 
 The population of Virginia at this period scarcely exceeded thirty 
 thousand, exclusive of the Indians. Fourteen years afterward Sir 
 William Berkeley estimated the number at but " forty thousand per 
 sons, men, women, and children," of whom there were " two thousand 
 black slaves, six thousand Christian servants for a short time, and 
 the rest," he says, " have been born in the country or have come 
 in to settle or serve in hope of bettering their condition. ^ The 
 people were hospitable but indolent. The home government had 
 
 * Andrew, according to Mr. Irving ; Mr. Sparks gives the name Lawrence instead of Andrew, 
 following memoranda prepared for Sir Isaac Heard by President Washington in 1792. 
 
 t A short time before the emigration of the Washingtons, Sir William Davenant, the poet, under 
 the patronage of the queen mother of France, had projected and organized a company comprising 
 a large number of artificers collected in that kingdom, with whom he set sail with the purpose of 
 founding a new plantation in Virginia. The expedition was intercepted by Cromwell s fleet, and 
 Davenant, who was taken prisoner, owed the safety of his life to the friendly interposition of 
 Milton. Cowley, referring to this enterprise, in a poem addressed to Davenant, exclaimed : 
 
 " Sure twas the noble boldness of the muse 
 Did thy desire to seek new worlds infuse." 
 
 Cowley himself was anxious for a " safer world" than Europe was at that time, and in the preface 
 to a volume of his poems published in 1656 declares that " his desire had been for some time past, 
 and did still very vehemently continue, to retire to some of the American plantations, and to forsake 
 this world for ever." 
 
 t Answers to the Lords of the Committee of Colonies. 
 
OPPRESSIVE LAWS. 21 
 
 adopted the principle of Montesquieu that "the mother country 
 alone shall trade in the colonies, and that from very good reason : 
 because the design of the settlement was the extension of com 
 merce, and not the foundation of a city or a new empire."* The 
 colony was subjected to excessive commercial oppression. By the 
 Navigation Act of the first year of Charles the Second, which made 
 the trade of the several plantations completely subject to govern 
 mental authority, and exclusively subservient to the interests of 
 English commerce and navigation, the policy of the Long Parlia 
 ment was simply continued. By this act it was ordained that no 
 commodities should be imported into any English settlement or 
 exported thence but in vessels built in England or her colonial 
 plantations, and navigated by crews of which the masters and three 
 fourths of the mariners should be English subjects, under the pen 
 alty of forfeiture of ship and cargo ; and that none but natural-born 
 subjects of the English crown, or persons legally naturalized, should 
 exercise the occupation of merchant or factor in any English or 
 colonial settlement but at the peril of losing goods and chattels. 
 These regulations being evaded or found insufficient it was ordained 
 that the colonists could have no foreign goods which were not first 
 landed in England, and carried directly thence to the plantations. 
 " This was a misfortune," says Beverley, " that cut with a double 
 edge ; for it reduced their staple to a very low price, while it raised 
 the value of European goods to what the merchants pleased." It 
 is amusing to read of the sham compensation which was offered by 
 the parliament for these restraints, in declaring that the colonies 
 should enjoy the exclusive privilege of supplying tobacco, the culti 
 vation of which was prohibited in England, Ireland, Guernsey, and 
 Jersey. Their natural energies thus repressed and their activity 
 thus discouraged, it is not strange that the Virginians were gener 
 ally content with the easily acquired necessaries of a comfortable 
 subsistence. "They depend," says Beverley, writing a few years 
 after the emigration of the Washingtons, "altogether upon the 
 liberality of nature, without endeavoring to improve its gifts by art 
 
 * Spirit of Laws. 
 
22 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 or industry. They spunge upon the blessings of a warm sun and a 
 fruitful soil, and almost grudge the pains of gathering in the 
 bounties of the earth."* 
 
 The Washingtons however were not men to be forced or seduced 
 into lives of idleness. They purchased lands in Westmoreland coun 
 ty, on the northern neck, between the Potomac and Eappahannock 
 rivers, and became active and successful planters. John had a 
 vocation for public affairs, and was in turn a soldier and a legislator. 
 The Seneca Indians, a tribe of the Iroquois, had driven the Susque- 
 hannahs, who occupied the region about the head of the Chesa 
 peake, southward into Maryland, and the people of that province 
 had been compelled to take arms for the defence of their territory. 
 Apprehensive that Virginia might be invaded, the Potomac was 
 guarded, and, as dangers increased, at the solicitation of Governor 
 Calvert was crossed, by Colonel "Washington, who took an ener 
 getic part in the vengeful and not very creditable war.f He became 
 a magistrate also, and a member of the house of burgesses. His 
 distinction and popularity are illustrated in the fact that the parish 
 in which he resided received and has ever since borne the name of 
 Washington. He married Anne Pope, daughter of a neighboring 
 planter, by whom he had several children, the eldest of whom was 
 Lawrence Washington, married in 1689 to Mildred Warner, of the 
 county of Gloucester. Lawrence Washington died at an early age, 
 in 1697, leaving two sons, John and Augustine. Augustine Wash 
 ington, born in 1694, was married at twenty-one to Jane Butler, of 
 his native county, who lived thirteen years, and sixteen months 
 after her death became the husband of Mary Ball, the mother of 
 the Liberator. 
 
 As has already been stated, George Washington was born on the 
 twenty-second of February, (old style, the eleventh,) in the year of 
 
 * History of Virginia, part iv., ch. 22. 
 
 t The Indians " began to be more inclinable to peace than war, which was the cause (no more horse 
 flesh being to had), that they sent out six of their woerowances (chief men) to commence a treaty. 
 What the artiklos were that they brought along with them, to treat of, I do not know, but certainely 
 they were so unacceptable to the English, that they caused the commissioners braines to be knocked 
 out for dictating so badly to their tongues : which yet, tis possible, expressed more reason than the 
 English had to prove the lawfulness of this action, being diametricall to the law of arms." Bur- 
 wtll s Account of Uacon s and Inyram s liebcllion, p. 2. 
 
BIRTHPLACE OF WASHINGTON. 23 
 
 grace 1732. He was the eldest son by the second marriage, and a 
 great-grandson of his emigrant ancestor. By his first wife Angus- 
 tine Washington had four children, two of whom, Lawrence and 
 Augustine, lived to mature years. By the second he had six, 
 George, Betty, Samuel, John Augustine, Charles, and Mildred. 
 
 The house in which George Washington was born was of a very 
 modest appearance. It was the old homestead which the family 
 had occupied for three quarters of a century, with but four rooms, 
 and attics, a steep roof with projecting eaves, and a large chimney 
 at each end. Not a vestige of it is now remaining, but the last 
 surviving executor of his will has placed a stone where it stood, 
 with an inscription of his name and the date of his birth. In 
 describing the place Mr. Paulding, writing in 1834, says : "A few 
 scanty relics alone remain to mark the spot, which will ever be 
 sacred in the eyes of posterity. A clump of old decayed fig trees, 
 probably coeval with the mansion, yet exists ; and a number of 
 vines, and shrubs, and flowers, still reproduce themselves every 
 year, as if to mark its site, and flourish among the hallowed ruins." 
 
24 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1735. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 REMOVAL OF THE FAMILY TO STAFFORD COUNTY EARLY TRAINING OF GEORGE 
 
 WASHINGTON HIS BROTHER LAWRENCE A CAPTAIN IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN 
 
 COMES HOME AFTER THE BATTLE OF CARTHAGENA HIS MARRIAGE DEATH 
 
 AND CHARACTER OF LAWRENCE WASHINGTON CHARACTER OF HIS WIDOW. 
 
 SOON after the birth of George Washington his father removed 
 from the family seat in Westmoreland county to an estate which he 
 owned in Stafford county, on the east bank of the Kappahannock, 
 opposite Fredericksburg. Here was passed Washington s childhood. 
 The new home was a small house, built of wood, in the style gen 
 erally adopted by the better class of Virginia farmers at that time. 
 It looked out on an ample meadow, sloping away to the river, and 
 was surrounded with trees and a finely cultivated garden. 
 
 Augustine Washington was a large man, with fine health, and 
 addicted to the sports of country gentlemen, but thrifty and pros 
 perous in his commerce with the world. He was fond of his chil 
 dren, and anecdotes have come down to us which show the care 
 with which he attended to their moral as well as their intellectual 
 culture. The sons of many of the wealthier families in the middle 
 and southern colonies were in this period educated abroad, and 
 the learned professions were largely occupied by graduates of 
 the English universities. Augustine Washington sent his eldest son, 
 Lawrence, to England, when about fifteen years of age, that he 
 might possess every advantage which could give grace or dignity to 
 the future head of his house. George, the eldest son by the second 
 marriage, was instructed at home, and in a school kept by one of his 
 father s tenants, the sexton of the parish, named Hobby, whose own 
 acquirements were probably limited to a meagre knowledge of read 
 ing, writing, and arithmetic. Such schools, provided by the joint con 
 tributions of neighboring planters, were not uncommon in Virginia, 
 There were some of a better description in the villages, and a few 
 
JEx. 7.] EARLY TRAINING. 25 
 
 clergymen, here and there, found leisure from parochial duties for 
 attention to private classes in more advanced studies. The best 
 public means of education would however have been unfortunate 
 for George Washington if they had caused his withdrawal in any 
 considerable degree from the altogether suitable and excellent 
 culture which he received at home. There is, as -Mr. Upham well 
 observes,* every reason to believe that he enjoyed from his earliest 
 years the best advantages that result from wise and faithful parental 
 care and affection. From his subsequent character it is quite certain 
 that the elements of moral principle, of careful and accurate obser 
 vation, of industry and order, were instilled into his mind at the 
 very beginning. The qualities and habits for which he was remark 
 able were precisely those which indicate the power of domestic 
 education, and could not have sprung from any other influence than 
 the ever watchful eye and untiring attention of affectionate and 
 thoughtful parents. From the first opening of his mind, through 
 the whole forming period of childhood, he was guarded, guided, and 
 led forward, by unwearied vigilance and devoted fidelity on the part 
 of his father and mother. 
 
 When he was seven or eight years of age, his brother Lawrence, 
 having recently attained to his majority, returned from England, 
 well educated, accomplished, and with a brave and manly character. 
 The large, fine-looking, frank, ingenuous, and intelligent boy, whose 
 opening virtues had already made him an object of especial tender 
 ness and pride to his parents, appears at once to have taken a 
 strong hold upon his affections, and we may well believe that they 
 became almost inseparable companions : the one describing gayeties 
 and splendors and pleasant or strange adventures he had encoun 
 tered in the old world, where the smallest villages were as imposing 
 as Virginia s most populous towns, with their winding bridle-path 
 connections reaching through primeval forests, or haply kindling 
 at the recollection of grand reviews which he had seen of fleets or 
 armies, or at the anticipation of triumphs which awaited England 
 in the opening war with Spain ; and the other listening with trustful 
 
 *Life of Washington, i. 14. 
 
26 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1741. 
 
 enthusiasm, of all that was to him so new and wonderful, and 
 thinking that his accomplished and high-minded brother, really so 
 superior to the other young men with whom he had been ac 
 quainted, was a character entitled to his warmest admiration, a 
 faultless model to be studied and imitated. 
 
 Discontents had been continually growing between England and 
 Spain since the treaty of Seville, in 1729, and at length the conduct 
 of Spain in prohibiting all foreign intercourse with her American 
 dominions, and the severity w r ith which she enforced this policy, 
 leading to the seizure of many British subjects, and their condemna 
 tion to slavery in the mines of Potosi, induced Sir Robert Walpole 
 to consent to reprisals. The first display of hostility was the 
 granting of letters of marque against the Spaniards in America. 
 Edward Vernon, who had just been advanced to the rank of vice 
 admiral of the blue, and appointed commander in chief of all his 
 majesty s naval forces in the West Indies, had often boasted that 
 with six ships only he could take Porto Bello, and having gained 
 permission to make the experiment, by a combination of extra 
 ordinary temerity and good fortune he succeeded. His auspicious 
 commencement of the w r ar induced unusual efforts for its vigorous 
 prosecution. A more formidable armament was immediately placed 
 under Admiral Yernon s command, and orders were given that the 
 land forces despatched to Jamaica under General "Wentworth should 
 be increased by a regiment of four battalions to be raised in the 
 colonies. Virginia entered with ardor into the contest. Her ancient 
 woods and rivers echoed to scattered hamlets the inspiring music of 
 the fife and drum, and her quota of men was rapidly assembled and 
 embarked under her popular governor, General Gooch. In this 
 expedition Lawrence Washington held the rank of captain. The 
 fleet at anchor before Jamaica on the first of February, 1741, con 
 sisting of thirty-one sail of the line, w r as the most powerful that 
 had ever been collected in the American seas. At a council of war 
 composed of the naval and military chiefs it was resolved to attack 
 Carthagena, and on the ninth of May an assault was made upon 
 the forts guarding the approach to that wealthy and stately city. 
 
^ET. 10.] THE SPANISH WAR. 27 
 
 These were carried with unexpected ease, and the sanguine admiral 
 despatched a ship to England with the intelligence and assurances 
 that he should take the town. He was however disappointed. The 
 troops became sickly, and a feud existed between Yernon and Went- 
 worth, each of whom seemed more anxious for the disgrace of his 
 rival than for the glory of his country. The castle "Bocca Chica and 
 six forts had been overcome ; but a single fort was in the way of a 
 complete triumph ; and the general, who had been reproached by the 
 admiral for inactivity, suddenly determined, without consulting the 
 latter, to attempt carrying it by storm ; the rash attempt failed, and 
 six hundred of the flower of the army were left dead before the 
 enemy s cannon. The town was next bombarded by the fleet, but 
 unsuccessfully, and, the rainy season setting in, the armament 
 returned to Jamaica, with a total loss in the different engagements 
 and by sickness of more than three thousand men. 
 
 The Virginia troops remained in the West Indies nearly two 
 years, until operations in that quarter were abandoned. Captain 
 Washington with his company had behaved gallantly at Carthagena, 
 and notwithstanding the quarrels of Wentworth and Vernon, en 
 joyed the friendly confidence of both these commanders. What 
 ever may have been his feelings toward the general, he regarded 
 the admiral with unfaltering respect and affection. 
 
 When he came home in the autumn of 1742 his brother George 
 was nearly eleven years of age, and had evinced new qualities, cal 
 culated to endear him more and more to the young soldier. The 
 events of the war had made a profound impression on his mind, and 
 the play ground by the school house had under his influence become 
 a mimic camp. Master Hobby s boys were classified as Spanish and 
 English, and had frequent sham fights. The former were commanded 
 by William Bustle, and the latter by George Washington, who was 
 always, when the school was not thus divided, for parades, reviews, 
 or battles, the acknowledged chief of the whole, by his judgment 
 guiding their conduct, and by his justice settling their disputes. 
 
 On leaving the army Lawrence Washington had felt a strong 
 predilection for the military profession, and during several months 
 
28 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1743. 
 
 had cherished an intention to rejoin his regiment in England ; but 
 becoming attached to Miss Anne Fairfax, eldest daughter of the 
 Honorable William Fairfax, of Fairfax county,, he declared himself 
 her lover, was accepted, and the time was appointed for their mar 
 riage. This event however was deferred on account of a sudden 
 and unexpected misfortune : Augustine Washington, the father, 
 after a short and painful attack of gout in the stomach, died sud 
 denly on the twelfth of April, 1743, in the forty-ninth year of his 
 age. 
 
 Everything we know of Augustine Washington justifies an 
 impression of his dignified respectability. Of a race of gentlemen, 
 he cultivated, as has already been stated, the manly pastimes that 
 are characteristic of the better classes of English society ; among 
 his books was a copy of Isaac Walton s " Complete Angler," to read 
 w r hich, says Charles Lamb, "would at any time sw r eeten a man s 
 temper, and christianize every discordant passion." A memorial of 
 his addiction to field sports is said to be still existing in a gun of 
 large size and extraordinary weight, confirming traditions of his 
 commanding figure and muscular energy. His piety and the 
 kindliness of his nature are illustrated in reminiscences of the 
 enlightened instruction and discipline with which he developed the 
 qualities of that marvellous boy, whose veracity and integrity of 
 heart shone as conspicuously to him, during their garden walks, as 
 afterward to mankind when he appeared as the leading character 
 in the theatre of the world. That he was industrious and judicious 
 in the care and management of his private affairs is evident from 
 the extent and condition of his estate, which had been mainly 
 acquired by his own thoughtful activity; and his forecast and 
 method appeared in the preparation it was found he had made for 
 his death, while it seemed very remote. To each of his sons he 
 was able to give a separate plantation. To Lawrence, the eldest, 
 he bequeathed that on the Potomac, containing twenty-five hundred 
 acres, since memorable and hallowed under the name of Mount 
 Vernon, besides other lands, and shares in productive iron works in 
 Virginia and Maryland. To Augustine, the second, was left the 
 
^ET. 11.] MARY WASHINGTON. 29 
 
 old homestead of the family at Pope s creek. George on becoming 
 of age, was to have the house and lands occupied by his father in 
 his later years on the Rappahannock, and each of the younger sons 
 was provided with an estate of six or seven hundred acres. To 
 the only surviving daughter, Betty Washington, afterward Mrs. 
 Lewis, was also secured an independence. 
 
 Augustine Washington by his will declared his widow the sole 
 guardian of their children, the only custodian of their property 
 until they should cease to be minors. A dying husband could 
 leave no better praise of his wife. She had not yet entered her 
 thirty-eighth year, and having all her life had excellent health, was 
 now in the perfection of her womanhood. Mr. Paulding says she 
 was described to him by those who knew her well, as of ordinary 
 stature, " once a great belle and beauty in that part of Virginia. 
 High spirited, yet of great simplicity of manners, uncommon 
 strength of mind, and decision of character, she exacted great 
 deference from her sons, of whom George was the favorite." She 
 was remarkable, according to the same author, for having but a 
 single weakness, which was "an excessive fear of thunder, originated 
 in the melancholy death of a young female friend who was struck 
 dead at her side by lightning, when she was about fifteen years old." 
 She was inflexible in the performance of the ordinary duties of life, 
 punctual in discharging the obligations of justice, and conscientious 
 in the observance of those nicer social morals which, as they elude 
 definition, are often violated without reproach. " There was a plain 
 honesty and truth about her, peculiar to that age, and which has 
 been ill exchanged for empty professions and outward polish. As a 
 native of Virginia she was hospitable by birthright, and always 
 received her visitors with a smiling welcome ; but they were never 
 asked to stay but once, and she always speeded the parting guest 
 by affording every facility in her power. She possessed all those 
 domestic habits and qualities which confer value on woman, but had 
 no desire to be distinguished by other titles than those of a good 
 wife and mother." 
 
 Her attention, when not occupied with the various and compli- 
 
30 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1743. 
 
 cated affairs connected with their several estates, was given as 
 largely as possible to the education of her five young children, of 
 whom the oldest had but just entered his twelfth year when she 
 became a widow. One of the means to which she resorted for this 
 purpose was that of reading to them every day lessons of religion 
 and morality from some standard author, and it is known that her 
 favorite book on such occasions was the "Contemplations, Moral and 
 Divine, by Sir Matthew Hale, late Chief Justice of the Court of 
 King s Bench." The copy that she used, in which is written with 
 her own hand her name, Mary Washington, was preserved with 
 filial care by her son, who exemplified in so striking a manner its 
 admirable maxims for outward action as well as self-government, and 
 it is still shown among the cherished relics at Mount Vernon, Mr. 
 Paulding remarks that one of the chapters appears to have been 
 selected as an ordinary lesson, and is marked for that purpose in 
 the table of contents. It is entitled " The Great Audit," and we 
 may well believe that it had much influence in the formation of 
 George Washington s character. Some parts of this chapter are so 
 noticeable for their harmony with the life they contributed to form 
 that it is thought proper here to extract them. In histories of the 
 development of noble natures what more significant fact can be 
 cited than that any one of them was guided and strengthened in 
 boyhood by such words as these : 
 
 " As touching my conscience, and the light thou hast given me 
 in it, I have been very jealous of wounding, or grieving, or dis 
 couraging or deadening it. I have therefore chosen rather to foster 
 that which seemed but indifferent, lest there should be somewhat in 
 it that might be useful ; and would rather gratify my conscience 
 with being too scrupulous than displease or disquiet it by being too 
 venturous. I have still chosen, therefore, what might be probably 
 lawful, than to do what might possibly be unlawful ; because, though 
 I could not err in the former, I might in the latter. If things were 
 disputable, whether they might be done, I rather chose to forbear, 
 because the lawfulness of my forbearance was unquestionable. 
 
 "Touching human prudence and understanding in affairs, and 
 
^T. 11.] SIR MATTHEW HALE S CONTEMPLATIONS." 31 
 
 dexterity in the arranging of them : I have ever been careful to 
 mingle justice and honesty with my prudence, and have always 
 esteemed prudence, actuated by injustice and falsity, the arrantest 
 and most devilish practice in the world, because it prostitutes thy 
 gift to the service of hell, and mingles a beam of thy divine excel 
 lence with an extract of the devil s furnishing, making a man so 
 much the worse by how much he is wiser than others. 
 
 " I always thought that wisdom which, in a tradesman or a poli 
 tician, was mingled with deceit, falsity, and injustice, deserved the 
 same name, only the latter is so much the worse, because it is of 
 the more public and general concernment. Yet because I have 
 often observed great employments, especially in public affairs, are 
 sometimes under great temptations of mingling too much craft with 
 prudence, and then to miscall it policy, I have, as much as may be, 
 avoided such temptations, and if I have met with them, I have 
 resolutely rejected them. 
 
 " I have always observed that honesty and plain-dealing in trans 
 actions, as well public as private, is the best and soundest prudence 
 and policy, and commonly, at the long-run, over-matcheth craft and 
 subtilty. And more advantage is derived from possessing the con 
 fidence of mankind, than can ever be made by deceiving them. 
 
 " As human prudence is abused if mingled with falsity and deceit, 
 though the end be never so good, so it is much more debased if 
 directed to a bad end, to the dishonor of thy name, the oppression 
 of thy people, the corrupting thy worship or truth, or to practise 
 any injustice toward any person. 
 
 " It hath been my care as not to err in the manner, so neither in 
 the end of the exercising of thy providence. I have ever esteemed 
 thy prudence best employed when it was exercised in the preserva 
 tion and support of thy truth, in contemning, discovering, and dis 
 appointing the designs of evil and treacherous men, in delivering 
 the oppressed, in righting the injured, in preventing of wars and 
 discord?, in preserving the public peace and tranquillity of the 
 people where I live, and in all those offices laid upon me by thy 
 providence, under every relation. 
 
32 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1743. 
 
 " When my end was most unquestionably good, I ever then took 
 most heed that the means were suitable and justifiable. Because 
 the better the end was, the more easily are we cozened into the 
 use of ill means to effect it. We are too apt to dispense with our 
 selves in the practice of what is amiss, in order to the accomplish 
 ment of an end that is good ; w r e are apt, while with great intense- 
 ness of mind we gaze upon the end, not to take care what course 
 we take so we attain it ; and we are apt to think that God will dis 
 pense with, or at least overlook the miscarriages in our attempts, if 
 the end be good. 
 
 " Because many times, if not most times, thy name and honor do 
 more suffer by attempting a good end by bad means, than by at 
 tempting both a bad end, and by bad means. For bad ends are 
 suitable to bad means; they are alike and it doth not immedi 
 ately as such concern thy honor. But everything that is good hath 
 somewhat of thee in it, thy name, and thy nature, and thy honor is 
 written upon it ; and the blemish that is cast upon it, is, in some 
 measure, cast upon thee. The evil, and scandal, and ugliness that 
 is in the means, is cast upon the end, and doth disparage and blem 
 ish it, and, consequently, is dishonor to thee. To rob for burnt- 
 offerings, or to lie for God, is a greater disservice to thy majesty, 
 than to rob for rapine, or to lie for advantage." 
 
 " Touching my eminence of place and power in this world, this is 
 my account. I never sought or desired it, and that for these rea 
 sons. First, because I easily saw that it was rather a burden than a 
 privilege. It made my charge and my account the greater, my 
 contentment and my rest the less. I found enough in it to make 
 me decline it in respect to myself, but not any that could invite me 
 to seek or desire it. 
 
 " That external glory and splendor that attended it I esteemed as 
 vain and frivolous in itself, a bait to allure vain and inconsiderate 
 persons to affect and delight not valuable enough to invite a con 
 siderate judgment to desire or undertake it. I esteemed them as 
 the gilding that covers a bitter pill, and I looked through this dress 
 and outside and easily saw that it covered a state obnoxious to 
 
Mr. 11.] SIR MATTHEW KALE S "CONTEMPLATIONS." 33 
 
 danger, solicitude, care, trouble, envy, discontent, unquietness, temp 
 tation, and vexation. 
 
 " I esteemed it a condition which, if there were any distempers 
 abroad, they would be infallibly hunting and pushing at it ; and if 
 it found any corruptions within, either of pride, vainglory, insolence, 
 vindictiveness, or the like, it would be sure to draw them out and 
 set them to work. And if they prevailed, it made my power and 
 greatness not only my burden but my sin ; if they prevailed not, 
 yet it required a most watchful, assiduous, and severe labor and in 
 dustry to suppress them. 
 
 "When I undertook any place of power or eminence, first, I 
 looked to my call thereunto to be such as I might discern to be thy 
 call, not my own ambition. Second, that the place was such as 
 might be answered by suitable abilities in some measure to perform. 
 Third, that my end in it might not be the satisfaction of any pride, 
 ambition, or vanity in myself, but to serve Providence and my gen 
 eration honestly and faithfully. 
 
 " In the holding or exercising these places, I kept my heart hum 
 ble ; I valued not myself one rush the more for it. First, because I 
 easily found that that base affectation of pride, which commonly is 
 the fly that haunts such employments, would render me dishonora 
 ble to thy majesty, and discreditable in the employment. Second, 
 because I easily saw that great places were slippery places, the 
 mark of envy. It was, therefore, always my care so to behave in 
 them as I might be in a capacity to leave them ; and so to leave 
 them, as that, when I had left them, I might have no scars and 
 blemishes stick upon me. I carried, therefore, the same evenness 
 of temper in holding them as might become me if I were without 
 them. I found enough in great employments to make me sensible 
 of the danger, trouble, and cares of them ; enough to make me 
 humble, but not enough to make me proud and haughty. 
 
 " I never made use of my power or greatness to serve my own 
 turns, either to heap up riches, or oppress my neighbor, or to re 
 venge injuries, or to uphold injustice. For, though others thought 
 
 me great, I knew myself to be still the same, and in all things, be- 
 
 2 
 
34 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1743. 
 
 sides the due execution of my place, my deportment was just the 
 same as if I had been no such man ; for I very Avell and practically 
 knew that place, and honor, and preferment are things extrinsical, 
 and have no ingredience into the man. His value and estimate be 
 fore, and under, and after his greatness is still the same in itself 
 as the counter that now stands for a penny, anon for sixpence, and 
 anon for twelve pence is still the same counter, though its place and 
 extrinsical denomination be changed." 
 
 " Though I have loved my reputation, and have been careful not 
 to lose or impair it by my own neglect, yet I have looked upon it 
 as a brittle thing that the devil aims to hit in an especial manner ; 
 a thing that is much in the power of a false report, a mistake, or 
 misapprehension to wound and hurt, and notwithstanding all my 
 care, I am at the mercy of others, without God s wonderful over 
 ruling providence. 
 
 " And as my reputation is the esteem that others have of me, so 
 that esteem may be blemished without my default. I have, there 
 fore, always taken this care not to set my heart upon my reputa 
 tion. I will use all fidelity and honesty, and take care it shall not 
 be lost by any default of mine, and if, notwithstanding all this, my 
 reputation be foiled by evil or man, I will patiently bear it, and 
 content myself with the serenity of my own conscience. 
 
 " When thy honor or the good of my country was concerned, I 
 then thought it was a seasonable time to lay out my reputation for 
 the advantage of either, and to act with it, and by it, and upon it, 
 to the highest, in the use of all lawful means. And upon such an 
 occasion, the counsel of Mordecai to Esther was my encouragement, 
 Who Jcnoweth whether God hath not given thee this reputation and esteem 
 for such a time as this ? J " 
 
 These sentences might readily be taken for a reviewal by Wash 
 ington of his own history. 
 
12.] SCHOOL OF MR. W T LLIAMS. 35 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 WASHINGTON AT MR. WILLIAMS S SCHOOL HIS PREEMINENCE AMONG THE PUPILS 
 
 SPORTS AND ATHLETIC EXERCISES PRACTICAL STUDIES FORMS OF WRI 
 TING RULES OF CONVERSATION AND BEHAVIOR IN COMPANY HIS CHARACTER 
 
 FORMED BY SELF-DISCIPLINE. 
 
 THE marriage of Lawrence Washington with Miss Fairfax was 
 followed by that of his brother Augustine with Anne Aylett, daughter 
 of Mr. William Aylett, a gentleman of wealth and social eminence 
 in Westmoreland county. Augustine Washington established him 
 self in the house where he was born, on the domain of his ancestors 
 at Pope s Creek. He had less inclination than his elder brother for 
 public life, and found the satisfaction of his desires in the delights 
 of home, the care of his estate, and such interchange of neigh 
 borly courtesies as then prevailed among the planters of Virginia. 
 Partly perhaps for anticipated pleasures from his society, but mainly 
 for the greater advantages of education which might there be 
 offered him, he invited his half brother George to become a member 
 of his family, and Mrs. Washington having consented to this arrange 
 ment, the pupil of Master Hobby, who was no longer capable of in 
 structing him, was transferred to the school of Mr. Williams, reputed 
 to be one of the best of its class in the colony. Many years after, 
 when the hero was in the zenith of his fame, it was the frequent 
 boast of Hobby that he had " laid the foundation of his greatness," 
 but it was reserved for Mr. Williams to guide his quick intelligence 
 and persevering will through those common and practical studies 
 which were best adapted to the development of his peculiar faculties 
 and the most suitable preparation for his future career. 
 
 His new companions quickly discovered and acknowledged the 
 superiority of his abilities and his elevation and force of character. 
 They yielded him the deference he had won from the younger boys 
 
36 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1744. 
 
 on the Rappahannock. Their confidence in his judgment and 
 probity was such that his decisions in all matters of disagreement 
 were received with unhesitating acquiescence and satisfaction, and 
 his courage and firmness were so well understood that he never 
 suffered insult or wrong from even the most unscrupulous of his 
 school fellows. Boys sometimes acquire certain immunities and 
 shows of respect by simply being unsocial or manifesting an un 
 willingness to share in sports which are usual at their age ; but this 
 was not the case with young Washington ; at thirteen not only his 
 demeanor but his height and well knit frame indicated a life much 
 more advanced, and his associates who were superior in years, as 
 well as those who were younger, spontaneously recognised him as 
 the leader in all their games and exploits. He could leap, run, 
 wrestle, pitch the bar, or toss the quoit, with the strongest and the 
 most skilful, and though keenly enjoying these active exercises, 
 bore the triumphs which they brought him with so amiable a grace 
 as to provoke no jealousies, no rivalries, but only a generous emu 
 lation. 
 
 In the schoolroom all these pastimes and excitements were for 
 gotten, and if he failed of his out-door preeminence he was at least 
 distinguished for such method and diligence as secured him an 
 honorable place in his class. Of the degree of his improvement in 
 the different branches of education not much is certainly known. 
 At thirteen he had become a proficient in arithmetic, and entered 
 upon the study of geometry. His manuscript school books, from 
 this period, have been preserved, and are remarkable for neatness 
 and accuracy, as well as for the nature of their contents. The 
 earliest of them is occupied with forms of mercantile and legal 
 papers, such as receipts, notes of hand, bills of exchange, bonds, 
 mortgages, deeds, indentures, land warrants, leases, and. wills, written 
 out with care, and with the prominent words in varied and striking 
 characters such as are used by scriveners. The fact that any boy 
 so young should practise these dry business details for amusement 
 or as a voluntary preparation for active life would attract attention 
 for its singularity and suggestiveness. All we know of the early 
 
MT. 13.] CLERKLY ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 37 
 
 days of Washington indicates, if not a particular interposition of 
 Providence to prepare him for his high calling, at least a discipline 
 of his powers and passions so admirably fitted for that end as to 
 justify our special wonder. These clerkly accomplishments, thus 
 acquired, at the only period in which he had time or opportunity 
 for their acquisition, were of inestimable importance to him and to 
 the country in subsequent years. They enabled him to draft docu 
 ments with a lawyer s skill, and to keep accounts with a merchant s 
 exactness ; and his concerns with his various estates, his dealings 
 with his domestic stewards and foreign agents, his transactions with 
 government, and all his pecuniary affairs, are thus recorded in his own 
 handwriting down to the week of his death. Those who consider 
 intelligently the difficulties and responsibilities of his earlier and 
 later military and civil administrations will not doubt that much of 
 his success resulted from the strict and methodical habits of business 
 which he maintained through his whole life, and it will be admitted 
 that the purity of his fame is in a large degree attributable to that 
 persevering industry which enabled him to leave for the study of 
 posterity such particular and perspicuous demonstrations of his 
 integrity in the most inconsiderable as well as the most important 
 affairs in which he was ever engaged. 
 
 Another and more noticeable portion of this manuscript volume 
 is a series of practical maxims for the government of conduct in 
 society. Mr. Sparks supposes they were drawn from miscellaneous 
 sources, and Mr. Everett that they were transcribed from some 
 manual of good-manners. The only evidence however that they 
 were not composed by Washington himself appears to be that they 
 have a certain precision and maturity of style to which he had not 
 attained at the period in which the handwriting shows that they 
 were copied into the book. No trace of any collection of such 
 rules from which they could have been borrowed has been discov 
 ered. The series consists of one hundred and ten paragraphs, of 
 which Mr. Sparks selects the following : 
 
 " 1. Every action in company ought to be with some sign of 
 respect to those present. 
 
38 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1745. 
 
 " 2. In the presence of others, sing not to yourself with a hum 
 ming noise, nor drum with your fingers or feet. 
 
 " 3. Speak not when others speak, sit not when others stand, and 
 walk not when others stop. 
 
 " 4. Turn not your back to others, especially in speaking ; jog not the 
 table or desk on which another reads or writes ; lean not on any one. 
 
 " 5. Be no flatterer, neither play with any one that delights not 
 to be played with. 
 
 " 6. Read no letters, books, or papers in company ; but when 
 there is a necessity for doing it, you must ask leave. Come not 
 near the books or writings of any one so as to read them, unasked ; 
 also, look not nigh when another is writing a letter. 
 
 " 7. Let your countenance be pleasant, but in serious matters 
 somewhat grave. 
 
 " 8. Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another, though 
 he were your enemy. 
 
 " 9. They that are in dignity or office have in all places prece 
 dency ; but whilst they are young, they ought to respect those that 
 are their equals in birth or other qualities, though they have no 
 public charge. 
 
 " 10. It is good manners to prefer them to whom we speak before 
 ourselves, especially if they be above us, with whom, in no sort, we 
 ought to begin. 
 
 " 11. Let your discourse with men of business be short and com 
 prehensive. 
 
 " 12. In visiting the sick, do not presently play the physician, if 
 you be not knowing therein. 
 
 " 13. In writing or speaking, give to every person his due title, 
 according to his degree and the custom of the place. 
 
 " 14. Strive not with your superiors in argument, but always 
 submit your judgment to others with modesty. 
 
 " 15. Undertake not to teach your equal in the art himself pro 
 fesses ; it savors of arrogancy. 
 
 " 16. When a man does all he can, though it succeeds not well, 
 blame not him that did it. 
 
Mr. 13.] RULES OF BEHAVIOR. 39 
 
 " 17. Being to advise or reprehend any one, consider whether it 
 ought to be in public or in private, presently or at some other time, 
 also in what terms to do it ; and in reproving, show no signs of 
 choler, but do it with sweetness and mildness. 
 
 " 18. Mock not, nor jest at anything of importance ; break no 
 jests that are sharp or biting, and if you deliver anything witty or 
 pleasant, abstain from laughing thereat yourself. 
 
 " 19. Wherein you reprove another be unblamable yourself, for 
 example is more prevalent than precept. 
 
 " 20. Use no reproachful language against any one, neither curses 
 nor revilings. 
 
 " 21. Be not hasty to believe flying reports, to the disparagement 
 of any one. 
 
 " 22. In your apparel be modest, and endeavor to accommodate 
 nature rather than procure admiration. Keep to the fashion of 
 your equals, such as are civil and orderly with respect to time and 
 place. 
 
 "23. Play not the peacock, looking everywhere about you to 
 see if you be well decked, if your shoes fit well, if your stockings 
 sit neatly, and clothes handsomely. 
 
 " 24. Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem 
 your own reputation, for it is better to be alone than in bad com 
 pany. 
 
 66 25. Let your conversation be without malice or envy, for it is a 
 sign of a tractable and commendable nature, and in all causes of 
 passion admit reason to govern. 
 
 " 26. Be not immodest in urging your friend to discover a secret. 
 
 "27. Utter not base and frivolous things amongst grown and 
 learned men: nor very difficult questions or subjects amongst the 
 ignorant, nor things hard to be believed. 
 
 "28. Speak not of doleful things in time of mirth, nor at the 
 table: speak not of melancholy things, as death and wounds, and 
 if others mention them, change, if you can, the discourse. Tell not 
 your dreams but to your intimate friends. 
 
 "29. Break not a jest where none take pleasure in mirth. Laugh 
 
40 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1745. 
 
 not aloud, nor at all without occasion. Deride no man s misfortune, 
 though there seem to be some cause. 
 
 " 30. Speak not injurious words, neither in jest or earnest. Scoff 
 at none, although they give occasion. 
 
 "31. Be not forward, but friendly and courteous, the first to 
 salute, hear and answer, and be not pensive when it is a time to 
 converse. 
 
 " 32. Detract not from others, but neither be excessive in com 
 mending. 
 
 "33. Go not thither, where you know not whether you shall be 
 welcome or not. Give not advice without being asked, and when 
 desired, do it briefly. 
 
 " 34. If two contend together, take not the part of either uncon 
 strained, and be not obstinate in your opinion : in things indifferent 
 be of the major side. 
 
 u 35. Reprehend not the imperfections of others, for that belongs 
 to parents, masters, and superiors. 
 
 "36. Gaze not on the marks or blemishes of others, and ask not 
 how they came. What you may speak in secret to your friend, 
 deliver not before others. 
 
 " 37. Speak not in an unknown tongue in company, but in your 
 own language ; and that as those of quality do, and not as the 
 vulgar. Sublime matters treat seriously. 
 
 " 38. Think before you speak pronounce not imperfectly, nor 
 bring out your words too hastily, but orderly and distinctly. 
 
 " 39. When another speaks, be attentive yourself, and disturb not 
 the audience. If any hesitate in his words, help him not, nor 
 prompt him without being desired ; interrupt him not, nor answer 
 him till his speech be ended. 
 
 " 40. Treat with men at fit times about business, and whisper not 
 in the company of others. 
 
 " 41. Make no comparisons, and if any of the company be com 
 mended for any brave act of virtue, commend not another for the 
 same. 
 
 " 42. Be not apt to relate news, if you know not the truth thereof. 
 
Mf. 13.] RULES OF BEHAVIOR. 41 
 
 In discoursing of things you have heard, name not your author 
 always. A secret discover not. 
 
 " 43. Be not curious to know the affairs of others, neither ap 
 proach to those that speak in private. 
 
 " 44. Undertake not what you can not perform ; but be careful 
 to keep your promise. 
 
 " 45. When you deliver a matter, do it without passion and indis 
 cretion, however mean the person may be you do it to. 
 
 " 46. When your superiors talk to anybody, hear them, neither 
 speak nor laugh. 
 
 " 47. In disputes, be not so desirous to overcome as not to give 
 liberty to each one to deliver his opinion, and submit to the judg 
 ment of the major part, especially if they are judgers of the 
 dispute. 
 
 " 48. Be not tedious in discourse, make not many digressions, nor 
 repeat often the same matter of discourse. 
 
 " 49. Speak no evil of the absent, for it is unjust. 
 
 " 50. Be not angry at table whatever happens, and if you have 
 reason to be so, show it not, put on a cheerful countenance, espe 
 cially if there be strangers, for good humor makes one dish a feast. 
 
 "51. Set not yourself at the upper end of the table, but if it be 
 your due, or the master of the house will have it so, contend not, 
 lest you should trouble the company. 
 
 " 52. When you speak of God or his attributes, let it be seriously 
 in reverence and honor, and obey your natural parents. 
 
 " 53. Let your recreations be manful, not sinful. 
 
 " 54. Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celes 
 tial fire, called conscience." 
 
 These rules show an instinctive and thorough appreciation 
 of the principles of courtesy and propriety, and the conformity 
 of Washington s own conduct with their spirit during all his life 
 proves that he adopted them as an imperative law for the gov 
 ernment of his deportment. Other rules in the collection are 
 trivial, or suited only to form the habits of a child, but all, how 
 ever quaint or formal or circumstantial, are essentially just, and 
 
42 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1745. 
 
 excellently adapted for the control of an impulsive and ardent 
 temper. Chief Justice Marshall, who had failed to discover them 
 during his own diligent researches respecting the life of Washington, 
 on reading them in the pages of Mr. Sparks, expressed his convic 
 tion that they were the most interesting and important revelation 
 that had been made of the constitution of his character. Mr. 
 Sparks himself says, that " in studying the character of Washington 
 it is obvious that this code of rules had an influence upon his whole 
 life. His temperament was ardent, his passions strong, and, amidst 
 the multiplied scenes of temptation and excitement through which 
 he passed it was his constant effort and ultimate triumph to check 
 the one and subdue the other. His intercourse with men, public 
 and private, in every walk and station, w r as marked with a consist 
 ency, a fitness to occasions, a dignity, decorum, condescension, and 
 mildness, a respect for the claims of others, and a delicate percep 
 tion of the nicer shades of civility, which were not more the dictates 
 of his native good sense and incomparable judgment, than the 
 fruits of a long and unwearied discipline." 
 
. 14.] EARLY ASSOCIATIONS. 43 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WASHINGTON S YOUTHFUL ASSOCIATIONS HIS MARTIAL SPIRIT OBTAINS A MID 
 SHIPMAN S WARRANT HIS MOTHER S OBJECTIONS TO HIS ENTERING THE NAVY 
 
 HE RETURNS TO MR. WILLIAMS S SCHOOL INSTRUCTED IN THE MANUAL 
 
 EXERCISE BY ADJUTANT MUSE A YOUTHFUL PASSION THE FAIRFAX FAMILY 
 
 LORD FAIRFAX HUNTING A SURVEYING EXPEDITION PROPOSED. 
 
 WHILE George Washington remained a pupil of Mr. Williams the 
 school vacations and perhaps some additional portions of the time 
 were passed with his mother or with his brother Lawrence at Mount 
 Yernon. Since the death of their father Lawrence had evinced for 
 him a still warmer affection and had taken a truly paternal interest 
 in his affairs. Such society as he was likely to meet at Mount 
 Vernon could hardly fail of strengthening his boyish predilections 
 for a military life. The materials of much of the conversation he 
 had heard in the family circle from his earliest years had been 
 drawn from the French and Indian wars in which the colonists 
 had been so frequently involved, from the first settlement of the 
 country, and, as his mind expanded, the battles and sieges in which 
 his brother had been engaged in the West Indies had made him 
 familiar with the pomp and circumstance of a higher -and more 
 fascinating martial experience. Lawrence Washington was now a 
 leading character in Westmoreland county, a member of the house 
 of burgesses, and adjutant general of the district. His father-in-law, 
 the Honorable William Fairfax, had also been a soldier, and had 
 served with distinction many years in various parts of the world. 
 His seat, called Belvoir, was but a few miles away, down the river, 
 and the two families were in habits of frequent and familiar inter 
 course. George Washington appears to have been a favorite guest 
 at Belvoir, where, as well as at Mount Yernon, he must sometimes 
 
44 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1746. 
 
 have met the companions in arms of Mr. Fairfax and his brother 
 Lawrence, or other officers of the army or navy, brought into the 
 Potomac upon the public service. Scenes of chivalry and intrepidity 
 on land and sea, stories of cruisings in the East and West Indies, 
 and campaigns against pirates or barbarian or civilized armies, 
 repeated or debated at the table, kindled his enthusiasm and shaped 
 his ambition, until the quiet life of a planter, for which he had been 
 intended, ceased to have any strong attractions for his youthful and 
 adventurous spirit. 
 
 Observing the development in him of a taste and temper so 
 congenial with his own, and regarding the navy as more probable 
 than the army to lead to distinction, Lawrence Washington, in 1746, 
 when he was about fourteen years of age, proposed to his mother 
 to send him to sea as a midshipman. Mr. Fairfax entered into the 
 scheme, and on the tenth of September in that year wrote to his 
 son-in-law : " George has been with us, and says he will thankfully 
 follow your advice., as his best friend .... I have spoken to Dr. 
 Spencer, who I find is often at the widow s/ and has some influence, 
 to persuade her to think better of your advice of putting George 
 to sea." Mrs. Washington reluctantly and after much persuasion 
 consented; a midshipman s warrant was obtained; the youth en 
 tered with a buoyant spirit upon preparations for his departure, and 
 it is said that his luggage was actually on board a man of war 
 anchored in the river, when his mother relented. On the eighteenth 
 of October a friend of the family, Mr. Robert Jackson, wrote to 
 Lawrence Washington from Fredericksburg : "I am afraid Mrs. 
 Washington vill not keep up to her first resolution. She seems to 
 intimate a dislike to George s going to sea, and says several persons 
 have told her it was a bad scheme. She offers several trifling 
 objections, such as fond unthinking mothers habitually suggest; 
 and I find that one word against his going has more weight than 
 ten for it. Colonel Fairfax seems desirous he should go, and wished 
 me to acquaint you with Mrs. Washington s sentiments. I intend 
 shortly to take an opportunity to talk with her, and will let you 
 
 * Mrs. Washington s. 
 
JEr. 14.] PROJECT OF ENTERING THE NAVY. 45 
 
 know the result." This result was a jtersistence in her objections, 
 and the plan was abandoned. 
 
 It was one of the grand turning points in Washington s life, and 
 if there is a providence in the affairs of men it can hardly be 
 doubted that the mother s heart was swayed on this occasion, as Mr. 
 Upham suggests, by a divine impulse. A strong current of maternal 
 tenderness and anxiety is made to pour over her soul, filling it with 
 a timidity which does not appear to have been natural or habitual 
 to her, rendering her insensible to the persuasions of all around her, 
 and leading her to rescue her son from a step that might have 
 changed the destinies of half the world. " Shall his feet quit the 
 firm soil of his country !" exclaims Mr. Everett ; " shall he enter a 
 line of duty and promotion, in which, if he escape the hazards and 
 gain the prizes of his career, he can scarce fail to be carried to 
 distant scenes to bestow his energies on foreign expeditions, in 
 remote seas, perhaps in another hemisphere in which he will 
 certainly fail of the opportunity of preparing himself, in the camp 
 and field of the approaching war, to command the armies of the 
 revolution, and not improbably sink under the pestilential climate 
 of the West Indies and the Spanish main? Such indeed seems 
 almost inevitably his career. He desires it ; his brother, standing 
 in the place of a father, approves it ; the warrant is obtained. But 
 nothing could overcome the invincible repugnance of his widowed 
 mother. She saw only the dangers which awaited the health, the 
 morals, and the life of her favorite child ; and her influence pre 
 vailed. Thus the voice of his high destiny first spoke to the affec 
 tions of the youthful hero, through the fond yearnings of a mother s 
 heart. He was saved to the country." 
 
 Washington returned to Mr. Williams s school, and continued 
 there more than a year, devoting his attention chiefly to mathe 
 matical studies, especially geometry and trigonometry, and to prac 
 tical surveying, with the view of becoming familiar with the appli 
 cation of principles and the use of instruments. He made surveys 
 about the neighborhood, and kept regular field books, in which the 
 boundaries and measurements of the grounds surveyed were care- 
 
46 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1747. 
 
 fully entered, with diagrams, as neatly and exactly as if they were 
 intended to be guides in important transfers of property. 
 
 After leaving school, where, it is said, he was so much beloved 
 and respected by his companions that they parted from him with 
 tears, he went to reside with his brother Lawrence at Mount Yernon, 
 but passed some portions of his time with his mother near Frede- 
 ricksburg, and with the Fairfax family at Belvoir. 
 
 He had not given up all thoughts of being a soldier, and as 
 opportunities presented, or leisure from the severer science to which 
 he still applied himself, he studied the principles of w^ar, and 
 acquired great dexterity in the manual exercise, with a certain 
 Adjutant Muse, who had accompanied Captain Washington in the 
 expedition against Carthagena. He also became an expert fencer, 
 under the instruction of a Frenchman named Van Braam, who 
 afterwards was his interpreter, on his first expedition to the Ohio. 
 
 At fifteen he was tall and finely proportioned, firmly knit and 
 agile as a young athlete, and had an intrepidity of spirit and dignity 
 of demeanor suitable for an age yet more advanced than that to 
 which he seemed to have attained. He had been little used to 
 the society of the drawing room, and was now, as for many years 
 afterwards, apt to be silent and embarrassed in the presence of 
 women. He preferred the bold brave life of the fields, the solitary 
 quests of the hunter, the manly games which were a test of skill as 
 well as strength, or those equestrian exercises in which he excelled 
 all his youthful associates. These tastes were inherited in a degree 
 from both his parents. His mother, Mr. Paulding tells us, was very 
 fond of fine horses, so much so that on one occasion when she 
 became possessed of a pair of handsome grays, she had them turned 
 out to pasture in a meadow before her house, that she might at all 
 hours see them from the windows of her sitting room. It chanced 
 that at one time she owned a handsome and spirited young horse 
 which had never been broken to the saddle, and which no one was 
 permitted to ride. A party of her son s friends, spending the day 
 with him, proposed after dinner to mount the colt and make the 
 circuit of the field. No one could accomplish the feat, and several 
 
Mr. 15.] THE FAIRFAX FAMILY. 47 
 
 were baffled in attempting to mount, or thrown from the animal s back 
 afterwards. Young Washington however succeeded, and gave the 
 favorite such a breathing that he at length fell dead under his rider, 
 who immediately went and told his mother of the misfortune. Her 
 reply was characteristic. " George," said she, " I forgive you, because 
 you have had the courage to tell the truth, at once ; had you 
 skulked away, I should have despised you." 
 
 Notwithstanding his shyness and the little pleasure he seems to 
 have found in female society it appears from copies of verses still 
 preserved in the waste pages of his manuscript school books, and 
 from other records, as well as from traditions, that he did not escape 
 that sad but sweet disease to which every youth is more or less 
 exposed, and which is rarely cured except by the homoeopathic law 
 of similia similibus. While staying at his brother Augustine s, 
 before he was fifteen years of age, he was captivated by the charms 
 of some rural beauty, whose image he bore in his heart long after 
 his removal to other scenes. It is not known that he ever declared 
 his passion, and it is doubtful who was its object, though Mr. Irving 
 mentions an impression which prevails in Virginia that she was a 
 Miss Grimes of Westmoreland, afterwards Mrs. Lee, the mother of 
 Colonel Henry Lee, the Light Horse Harry of Lee s Legion, " who 
 was always a favorite with Washington, probably from the recollec 
 tions of his early tenderness for the mother." 
 
 The society to which Washington was accustomed was eminently 
 refined, intelligent and chivalric. There was in Virginia none more 
 truly elegant. The characters of his elder brothers have been 
 indicated in preceding pages. When not with them, or his mother, 
 as stately as she was fond and wise, he was generally with the 
 Fairfaxes. The family of Lord Fairfax was one of the most an 
 cient and distinguished in the British aristocracy. It was of Anglo 
 Saxon origin, and was settled in Northumberland before the con 
 quest. The first peer was created Baron Fairfax of Cameron in 
 Scotland, in 1627. The third was the celebrated republican general 
 who defeated the king s troops at Naseby. Thomas, the sixth lord, 
 inherited from his mother a daughter of Lord Colepepper, formerly 
 
48 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1748. 
 
 governor of Virginia, a splendid fortune, consisting of several 
 manors in Kent, estates in the isle of Wight, and the vast tract of 
 land called the Northern Neck, between the Potomac and Rappa- 
 hannock rivers in Virginia, which was estimated to contain five 
 million and seven hundred thousand acres. From his father he 
 received Fenton Hall and other property in Yorkshire, but was 
 induced by his mother and grandmother to sell it in order to 
 redeem the Colepepper manor. He had been educated at Oxford, 
 and afterwards held a commission in the Horse Guards, and Mr. 
 Irving, following Mr. Sparks, states that he acquired distinction in 
 literature by contributing several papers to the Spectator.* His 
 career as a man of fashion is said to have been suddenly brought to 
 a close by an affair of the heart. A young lady of rank accepted 
 his offer of marriage, and every preparation had been made for the 
 wedding and for the matrimonial establishment, when she changed 
 her mind, fascinated by the superior brilliancy of a ducal coronet. 
 After this he was comparatively unknown in the gay world of 
 London, and about 1739, when he had entered upon his fiftieth 
 year, made a voyage to Virginia, to examine his immense domain 
 there, and was so captivated with the soil, climate, scenery, and 
 other attractions of the country, that he resolved to make it his 
 home for the remainder of his life. He therefore returned to 
 England to arrange his affairs, and in 1748 had recently arrived a 
 second time in the colony to carry into effect his purposes. 
 
 Lord Fairfax was large, more than six feet high, sharp featured, 
 with an aquiline nose, and a swarthy complexion. At sixty he 
 retained all the muscular energy of youth, and, when his eccentric 
 humor prompted, much of its vivacity. After spending a short time 
 with his cousin, William Fairfax, at Belvoir, he established himself 
 in the wilderness, at a place which he named Greenway Court, about 
 twelve miles from the present town of Winchester, where he con 
 tinued ever afterwards to reside and to maintain a baronial hos 
 pitality. 
 
 * This however may be doubted, as his name docs not appear to be mentioned by any of the 
 editors of that work. 
 
JEr. 15.] LORD FAIRFAX. 49 
 
 His dress was plain and simple, his manners modest and unaf 
 fected, and his style of living as generous and magnificent as was 
 possible in a somewhat rudely built story-and-a-half house of wood. 
 Such was his liberality that he gave up his English estates to a 
 younger brother, and the surplus of his American income was 
 distributed with a lavish hand among his tenants and neighbors. 
 His principal amusement was hunting, and after the close of a 
 morning s sport he was wont to invite all his companions to dinner. 
 He had been educated in revolutionary principles, and had received 
 high notions of republican liberty. He was the principal magistrate 
 of Frederick county, and presided at the provincial courts at Win 
 chester, where, during the sessions, he kept an open table.* 
 
 The Honorable William Fairfax*)* had resided several years in 
 Virginia, in charge of his cousin s estates, before the marriage of his 
 daughter with Lawrence Washington, and he remained there until 
 his removal to New England, two or three years after the period 
 here referred to. His eldest son, George William Fairfax, now 
 about twenty-two years of age, had been educated in England, and 
 since his return had married a daughter of Colonel Carey, of 
 Hampton, on James river, whom, with her sister, he had brought 
 home to Belvoir. 
 
 George Washington received and accepted an invitation from 
 the old lord to accompany the bridal party to Greenway Court, and 
 while there wrote a letter to one of his youthful confidants from 
 which it appears that he still suffered from the melancholy depres 
 sion induced by unrequited or hopeless love. "As it is the greatest 
 mark of friendship and esteem," he says, u which absent friends can 
 show each other, to write and often communicate their thoughts, I 
 
 * See Lodge s Peerage. Burke s ditto. 
 
 t William Fairfax was born in England, and after serving in the army in the East and West 
 Indies and Spain was made governor of New Providence and chief justice of the Bahamas, whence 
 he was transferred to some office in New England. He was living here when his kinsman Lord 
 Fairfax persuaded him to undertake the charge of his estates in Virginia. Here he became distin 
 guished in public affairs, and was for several years a member, and for some time president, of the 
 council of state. He returned to New England, where he had acquired some property,soon after the 
 arrival of Lord Fairfax in this country, and died there in 1757, leaving two sons, of whom the 
 younger, the Rev. Bryan Fairfax, became the eighth Lord Fairfax. His descendant, Thomas, the 
 tenth Lord Fairfax, was in 1855 residing at Woodburne in Maryland. 
 
 4 
 
50 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1748. 
 
 shall endeavor from time to time, and at all times, to acquaint yon 
 with my situation and employments in life, and I could wish you 
 would take half the pains to send me a letter by any opportunity, 
 as you may be w r ell assured of its meeting a welcome reception. 
 My place of residence at present is at his lordship s, where I might, 
 were my heart disengaged, pass my time very pleasantly, as there 
 is a very agreeable young lady in the same house, Colonel George 
 Fairfax s wife s sister. But that only adds fuel to the fire, as being 
 often and unavoidably in company with her revives my passion for 
 your lowland beauty ; whereas, were I to live more retired from 
 young women, I might in some measure alleviate my sorrow by 
 burying that chaste and troublesome passion in oblivion ; and I am 
 very well assured that this will be the only antidote or remedy." 
 
 It was the hunting season, and Lord Fairfax w r as an accomplished 
 and bold sportsman, keenly enjoying the chase in those grand old 
 woods, so different from the scenes of his earlier sporting experi 
 ences. Through half cleared fields, or tangled copses, or among 
 the gigantic trees whose foliage gave what seemed a boundless 
 shade to the bear, panther, buffalo, deer, fox, raccoon, squirrel or 
 opossum,* he guided his horse after a well trained pack of hounds,") 
 with a skill and daring that had hitherto been rarely known on this 
 continent. But he found young Washington as expert and fearless 
 in the saddle as himself, and in many of the mysteries of American 
 hunting fitted to be his teacher. The valley of the Shenandoah 
 
 * Beverley gives a much larger list of animals hunted in the forests of Virginia. " Though some 
 of their names may seem frightful to the English, who hear not of them in their own country," he 
 remarks, "they are not so here, for all these creatures ever fly from man." 
 
 t Lord Fairfax is said to have brought to Virginia a pack of foxhounds. But "hunting, in its 
 true acceptation, with trained hounds followed in view by mounted hunters," says Mr. Herbert, our 
 best authority on this subject, "can hardly be said to exist in North America. Gentlemen in the 
 south keep packs of hounds for the pursuit of the deer and the bear, and, when the ground is prac 
 ticable, ride to them well and daringly, but the woody nature of the country, and the unwillingness 
 of the game to break covert and take to the open field, render it nearly impossible to keep near the 
 hounds ; the principal utility of which is to drive the animal across the stand of the ambushed 
 hunter." Field Sports, ii. 146. The presence of better game has from the first nearly prevented 
 fox-hunting in this country. " The fox," remarks Mr. Herbert, in the same work, " is pursued 
 merely for the sake of destroying a noxious animal, generally on foot, with a few heavy southern 
 hounds, and the gun." The impression therefore that Lord Fairfax was a hard riding fox hunter 
 in Virginia, and that Washington was his companion in any sport of this description, is probably 
 erroneous. 
 
^r. 16.] APPOINTED A SURVEYOR. 51 
 
 was famous for its wild turkeys, which Beverley describes as " of 
 incredible bigness," and partridges, pigeons, and other species of 
 winged game abounded there. The youth was familiar with all 
 the manoeuvering and finesse most in vogue among the Virginia 
 hunters, and he grew rapidly in the nobleman s regard. His frank 
 ness, modesty, and unfailing good sense, together with his nice 
 appreciation of social proprieties, and native undaunteclness of 
 spirit, commanded his affection as well as his confidence. He was 
 already acquainted with the quality of his education, and had 
 perhaps noticed his practice with the theodolite and chain about 
 the grounds at Mount Yernon, or looked over his field books, so 
 remarkable for their exactness and completeness ; and though 
 knowing him to be scarcely sixteen years of age, he resolved to 
 procure him a commission as a public surveyor, giving authority to 
 his reports and enabling him to have them recorded in the county 
 offices, and to employ him in the division and measurement of his 
 immense wilderness estate. 
 
 It was thus to his acquaintance with the Fairfaix family that 
 Washington was, in the outset of his active life, chiefly indebted for 
 the opportunity of performing those acts which were the foundation 
 of his subsequent advancement in the world. 
 
52 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1748. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 WASHINGTON S FIRST SURVEYING EXPEDITION A PREPARATION FOR HIS FUTURE 
 
 LIFE DIARY OF HIS ADVENTURES SWOLLEN RIVERS AND IMPASSABLE ROADS 
 
 UNCOMFORTABLE LODGINGS VISITS THE BERKELEY SPRINGS AN INDIAN 
 
 WAR DANCE SUPPER AT THE HOUSE OF A FOREST SQUIRE GERMAN SETTLERS 
 
 RETURNS TO MOUNT VERNON CHARACTERISTIC LETTER OTHER EXPEDI 
 TIONS MANNER IN WHICH HIS SURVEYS WERE EXECUTED PECULIAR ADVAN 
 TAGES DERIVED FROM THEM BY HIM HIS ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE BACK 
 WOODSMEN AND INDIANS ACCURACY OF HIS TOPOGRAPHICAL ESTIMATES. 
 
 IT would be difficult to conceive of an experience more excel 
 lently adapted to prepare Washington for the high destiny which 
 awaited him than that upon which he now entered. The lands 
 possessed by Lord Fairfax, between the Potomac and Eappahannock 
 rivers, and extending back beyond the Alleghany mountains, had 
 never been surveyed. Hitherto the population of Virginia had 
 been principally confined to the narrow region east of the Blue 
 Ridge, but now a tide was setting toward the west, and adventurous 
 settlers were finding their way up the streams and along the rich 
 valleys, and occupying the most fertile and attractive places without 
 warrants from the proprietors. In the absence of any system of 
 public surveys, such as now prevails, it was of the utmost import 
 ance to them that their estates should be methodically divided into 
 lots and accurately measured, for the purpose of claiming quit-rents 
 and giving legal titles. The duty assigned to young Washington 
 became to him one of the sternest but most beneficent processes of 
 his education. In the period which he devoted to it, the future 
 leader of the Virginia forces and chief of the continental army 
 could not have been more suitably disciplined in the best military 
 school in Christendom. " I know not," says Mr. Everett, " if it would 
 be deemed unbecoming, were a thoughtful student of our history 
 
JT. 16.] SURVEYING EXPERIENCES. 53 
 
 to say that he could almost hear the voice of Providence, in the 
 language of Milton, announce its high purpose : 
 
 " To exercise him in the wilderness; 
 There he shall first lay down the rudiments 
 Of his great warfare, ere I send him forth 
 To conquer !" 
 
 Washington set out from Mount Yernon on his first surveying 
 expedition, in company with George William Fairfax, Mrs. Lawrence 
 Washington s elder brother, early in March, 1748, just after he had 
 completed his sixteenth year. He kept a journal of his proceed 
 ings and adventures, which is still preserved, and its details, though 
 in themselves of very little significance, are extremely interest 
 ing as a portion of his biography. After leaving Greenway Court, 
 Lord Fairfax s lodge in the valley of the Shenandoah, they struck 
 into the wilderness, and their nights were passed under the shelter 
 of trees or rocks on blankets or bear skins, with feet to the blazing 
 fires they had kindled, or in tents or rude cabins, affording but an 
 inadequate protection against the weather of that inclement season. 
 The retreating winter sent down floods from melting snows on the 
 mountains, which, with frequent rains, rendered the streams impas 
 sable at the usual fords except by swimming the horses, and the 
 roads and paths through the woods were in their worst condition. 
 
 On the thirteenth of March they passed through beautiful groves 
 of sugar maples, and " spent the best part of the da}^ in admiring 
 the trees and the richness of the land." On the sixteenth he writes 
 that they " worked hard till night, and then returned" to the house 
 of a settler. "After supper we were lighted into a room, and I, 
 not being so good a woodsman as the rest, stripped myself very 
 orderly, and went into the bed, as they called it, when to my sur 
 prise I found it to be nothing but a little straw matted together, 
 without a sheet or any thing else but one threadbare blanket, with 
 double its weight of vermin. I was glad to get up, and put on my 
 clothes, and lie as my companions did. Had we not been very 
 tired I am sure we should not have slept much that night. I made 
 a promise to sleep so no more, choosing rather to sleep in the open 
 air before a fire." Two days after, finding the river, in consequence 
 
54 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1748. 
 
 of rains that had fallen among the Alleghanies, so high as not to be 
 fordable, they made an excursion to see the warm springs, since 
 called the Berkeley Springs at Bath. The water did not subside, 
 and, having swum their horses to the Maryland side, on the morn 
 ing of the twenty-first the surveyors crossed over in a canoe, and 
 travelled all day, " about forty miles," he says, " over the worst road 
 I believe that ever was trod by man or beast." They stopped at 
 the house of a Colonel Cresap, where they were detained three or 
 four days by bad weather. On the second day they were surprised 
 by the appearance of more than thirty Indians, coming from a 
 battle, with the scalp of an enemy. Having some liquor, they gave 
 the savages a part of it, which put them in the humor of dancing, 
 so that the surveyors had the spectacle of a war dance. After 
 clearing away a large space and building a fire in the centre, the 
 warriors seated themselves around it, and their principal orator 
 made a speech. When he had finished, the best dancer in the 
 company started up as if from sleep, and " ran and jumped about 
 the ring in a most comical manner." The rest followed. After the 
 dancing came their music. One of them drummed on a deer skin, 
 stretched over a pot half filled with water, and another rattled a 
 few shot in a gourd which was decorated with a horse s tail. It 
 must have been a picturesque and striking sight amid those lonely 
 old woods, to see the savages, in their wild costume, dancing, in the 
 strong fire-light to the discordant music of their war songs. To 
 Washington it was a novelty, and the particularity with which it is 
 described in his diary shows that he was deeply interested by it. 
 
 From Cresap s the party proceeded to the mouth of Patterson s 
 creek, where they recrossed the Potomac in a canoe, swimming 
 their horses as before ; and the next day, after travelling a consider 
 able distance, supped at the house of Solomon Hedges, Esquire, one 
 of his majesty s justices of the peace for the county of Frederick, 
 whose style of living is illustrated by the fact that there was neither 
 a knife nor a fork on the table except those brought in the pockets 
 of the guests. The night of the second of April was rainy, and 
 the straw on which Washington was sleeping caught fire ; " but I 
 
MT. 18.] SURVEYING EXPERIENCES. 55 
 
 was luckily preserved," he says, " by one of our men awaking when 
 it was in a flame." On the fourth Mr. Fairfax left him to go down 
 to the mouth of the river. He himself with his assistants went on 
 surveying, and was attended by a large company of people, men, 
 women, and children, who followed him through the woods, " showing 
 their antic tricks." They seemed to him as ignorant as the Indians. 
 They would never speak English, he says, but when addressed 
 always answered in Dutch. The night of the fifth " was so intoler 
 ably smoky" that they were obliged to leave their tent to the mercy 
 of the wind and fire. On the seventh one of the men killed a wild 
 turkey weighing twenty pounds, and they surveyed fifteen hundred 
 acres. Mr. Fairfax had now rejoined him, and in his journal, for 
 the eighth of the month, he says, u we camped in the woods, and 
 after we had pitched our tent and made a large fire, pulled out 
 our knapsacks to recruit ourselves. Every one was his own cook. 
 Our spits were forked sticks ; our plates were large chips." 
 
 Having completed the tasks which they had undertaken they set 
 forth from the south branch of the Potomac on their way home 
 ward, and, on the twelfth, Mr. Fairfax was at Belvoir and Washing 
 ton at Mount Vernon. 
 
 There is preserved among his papers a letter written to a friend, 
 while he was engaged on one of his surveying tours, which, though 
 its details are of a homely kind, brings him before us in all the truth 
 of real life. " Yours," he says, " gave me the more pleasure, as I 
 received it among barbarians, and an uncouth set of people. Since 
 you received my letter of October last I have not slept above three 
 or four nights in a bed ; but after walking a good deal all day I 
 have lain down before the fire, upon a little hay, straw, fodder, or a 
 bear skin, whichever was to be had, with man, wife, and children, 
 like dogs and cats, and happy is he who gets the berth nearest the 
 fire. Nothing would make it pass off tolerably but a good reward. 
 A doubloon is my constant gain every day that the weather will 
 permit my going out, and sometimes six pistoles.* The coldness 
 of the weather will not allow of my making a long stay, as the 
 
 * A pistole is three dollars and sixty cents ; a doubloon is twice that sum. 
 
56 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1750. 
 
 lodging is rather too cold for the time of year. I have never had 
 my clothes off, but have lain and slept in them, except the few 
 nights I have been at Fredericksburgh." 
 
 Washington continued in the business of surveying about three 
 years, with few or no interruptions except during the severe weather 
 of the winters. He was exposed while in the field to continual 
 hardships, privations, and dangers, and was without any of the 
 comforts or necessaries of civilized life, but he endured every thing 
 with a brave cheerfulness for the sake of acquiring pecuniary 
 independence, without which he probably perceived that it is 
 generally difficult for even men of the finest and highest qualities 
 to maintain either self respect or good reputation. But few au 
 thorized and competent surveyors were at that time in the colony, 
 there was a large demand for their services, and the pay they 
 received was consequently liberal. Washington s perseverance, 
 industry, and habits of despatch, rendered the occupation very 
 profitable to him. The satisfaction of his professional charges 
 however constituted but a small proportion of the benefits he 
 derived from this employment. The knowledge which it gave him 
 of the excellence of the soil in various places, and of the value of 
 particular localities, guided him afterwards in the purchase of 
 extensive tracts of land which became the most productive portions 
 of his fortune. 
 
 The manner in which he executed his duties was entirely satisfac 
 tory to Lord Fairfax, who would doubtless have retained him in the 
 same service for many subsequent years had not circumstances led 
 to his abandonment of such pursuits. His surveys extended along 
 the tributaries of the Potomac river among the farthest ridges and 
 spurs of the Alleghany mountains, and embraced much of the 
 richest valley country of Virginia. The curious fact has frequently 
 been pointed out in proof and illustration of the skill and integrity 
 with which they were made, that they are almost the only ones 
 recorded previous to the revolution in their respective counties 
 which have not since been disturbed by decisions of the courts. 
 
 At the Natural Bridge, in Rockbridge county, carved at a great 
 
JEr. 19.] FRONTIER LIFE. 57 
 
 elevation, the initials of the youthful surveyor s name, renewed, of 
 course, in later years, are still shown to the traveller. For a long 
 time it was the highest inscription at the place, but .recently some 
 one has had the indifferent taste to register his name above that of 
 the Father of his country. 
 
 His home during this period was with his brother Lawrence at 
 Mount Vernon, which was nearer than Fredericksburgh to the 
 scenes of his labors; but he frequently visited his mother, and 
 assisted in the management of her affairs. He was sometimes also 
 the guest of his employer, at Greenway Court, where he found a 
 good library. The books he read on these occasions are mentioned 
 in his diary, and appear to have been selected with the excellent 
 judgment which characterized all his actions. 
 
 His experience as a surveyor was eminently favorable to the 
 development of his strength and activity of muscle and limb. 
 From childhood his frame had seemed precociously large and 
 vigorous, and now he had reached a maturity of physical energy, a 
 firmness, size, and symmetry of person, and a hardihood of temper 
 ament, such as men of his inherited social position have rarely been 
 able to acquire. 
 
 He thoroughly acquainted himself with the habits and feelings 
 of the frontier settlers, the outer and expanding circle of civilization, 
 who at this time constituted a large proportion of the whole popula 
 tion of the country. Their log cabins, scattered at remote distances 
 through the forest, afforded him shelter from night or storm, and in 
 his familiar intercourse with them, around the hearth or in the fields, 
 he learned their character, and the influences by which they were 
 most apt to be moved ; and he himself also became extensively 
 known to these backwoodsmen, upon whom the simplicity, frank 
 ness and earnestness of his nature must have made the most favor 
 able impressions ; so that when an army was to be made up largely 
 of individuals of this description, and deriving from them its chief 
 moral and physical qualities, he was found above all men fitted to 
 appreciate its efficiency and command its confidence. 
 
 In these three years he had also ample opportunities for studying 
 
58 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY". [1751. 
 
 the character and temper of the Indians, whose predatory or venge 
 ful incursions upon the settlements had at one time or another 
 brought mourning into almost every household, and whose uncer 
 tain dispositions made them a continual terror not only to women 
 and children but to the most bold spirited and sagacious invaders of 
 the forests. He saw them stealthily following the wild game on the 
 mountains, and in their wigwams, about their council fires, or cele 
 brating their prowess in fraternal wars ; and was so careful and wise 
 an observer of their peculiarities that during his subsequent military 
 and civil administrations few were as good judges as to the best 
 modes of dealing with them. 
 
 There are not many things more important or essential to the 
 great commander than a proper education of the eye. The quick 
 glance which accurately measures distances, numbers, or elevations, 
 as it ranges across the battle field through clouds of smoke and 
 bristling rows of bayonets, is in most cases a result of long expe 
 rience in the conduct^ arrangement and disposition of armies. 
 Washington s observation as a surveyor enabled him to estimate 
 with astonishing rapidity and certainty the features and capacities 
 of fields as large as his vision comprehended, so that he could direct 
 the movements of forces in such a manner as to be assured of every 
 advantage within his reach that depended on the favorable acci 
 dents of nature. 
 
 On the whole it would be difficult to conceive of any manner in 
 which Washington might have passed this portion of his life more 
 advantageously, either with reference to his private interest or his 
 preparation for the great work before him. 
 
JEt. 19.] ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 5U 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH DOMINIONS IN AMERICA TREATY OF AIX LA CHAPELLE 
 
 SURVIVING CONTROVERSIES RESPECTING BOUNDARIES ON THIS CONTINENT 
 
 THE OHIO COMPANY PROSPECTS OF WAR WASHINGTON APPOINTED ADJUTANT 
 
 GENERAL ENTERS UPON A MILITARY LIFE HIS BROTHER LAWRENCE HAS 
 
 CONSUMPTION HE ACCOMPANIES HIM TO THE WEST INDIES IS ATTACKED 
 
 WITH THE SMALL POX RETURNS TO VIRGINIA DEATH OF LAWRENCE WASH 
 INGTON GEORGE WASHINGTON HIS EXECUTOR AND LEGATEE. 
 
 BEFORE the seven years war, which has with propriety been 
 regarded as the school of the revolution, this continent had been 
 the scene of numerous sanguinary conflicts between the English 
 and the French. The former possessed the sea coast from Nova 
 Scotia to Florida, and claimed dominion westward to the Pacific, 
 but the latter had established themselves in the interior from the 
 St. Lawrence to the Mississippi. The treaty of Aix la Chapelle, 
 signed on the seventh of October, 1748, was framed by the wisest 
 statesmen of Europe, and was expected to give peace to the world, 
 but it left the controversy between these two nations respecting 
 their American boundaries entirely unsettled. Neither party ad 
 mitted the right of the other to the valley of the Penobscot or to 
 that of the Ohio. In regard to the English colonies here the treaty 
 embraced only the humiliating stipulation that Louisburg, conquered 
 by their own treasure and blood in 1745, should be given up to 
 France in return for territorial restitutions of which only the queen 
 of Hungary and the States General of Holland reaped advantages. 
 The attachment of the people for the mother country was lessened, 
 but they were soon compelled in self defence to prepare for a renewal 
 of the war against the French. In settling America the European 
 nations admitted no right to the soil on the part of the aborigines, 
 but though this unfortunate race was incapable of maintaining its 
 
GO WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1751. 
 
 independence, it had ample energies for carrying on harassing 
 and destructive incursions into the settlements of the two rival 
 states, and it was alternately stimulated by these parties against 
 each other, and much more commonly and effectively by the 
 French against the English than by the English against the French. 
 Every quarrel in Europe between England and France brought the 
 war whoop and scalping knife to the frontiers, all the way from the 
 St. Croix to the Savannah. 
 
 In western Pennsylvania and Virginia, in Kentucky, and all the 
 region south of it, and in that northwest of the Ohio and west of 
 the Mississippi, there was not a single Anglo Saxon inhabitant. In 
 the early part of the century portions of the Delaware, Shawnee 
 and Mingo tribes of Indians had migrated from Canada and taken 
 up their abodes about the Ohio and its tributaries, and the French 
 pretended to hold them under their protection ; but their doubtful 
 allegiance to the governor of Canada had in recent years been 
 undermined by an influx of fur traders from Pennsylvania. Many 
 of these hardy and rude adventurers became rich with the spoils of 
 their commerce, in which worthless trinkets, gaudy colored fabrics 
 for dress, powder, shot, and rum, were exchanged at enormous 
 profits for valuable furs and peltries. Some of the more enter 
 prising and intelligent gentlemen of Virginia and Maryland were 
 anxious to share in these extraordinary advantages, and soon after 
 the treaty of Aix la Chapelle, declaring peace between England 
 and France, obtained a charter for an association styled the Ohio 
 Company, the avowed object of which was the occupation and 
 settlement of the fertile region southwest of the Ohio river and 
 west of the Alleghany mountains. It consisted of a small number 
 of Virginians and Marylanders, among whom were Augustine and 
 Lawrence Washington, and Mr. Thomas Hanbury, an eminent 
 merchant of London. The company were bound by the terms of 
 a grant of six hundred thousand acres of land, to introduce one 
 hundred families into this district within seven years, and to build a 
 fort and provide a garrison adequate to its defence. 
 
 Preparations for the execution of the conditions of this grant, 
 
jE T . 19.] APPOINTED ADJUTANT GENERAL. 61 
 
 and for opening a trade with the Indians, arrested the attention of 
 the French authorities ; emissaries were sent from Canada to break 
 up the friendly relations which had been entered into between the 
 agents of the company and the Indian tribes ; and during the last 
 winter in which Washington had been engaged in surveying, it 
 became evident that Virginia was to be exposed to the horrors of a 
 border and savage war. As a precautionary measure the colony 
 was divided into four military districts, in each of which an officer 
 was appointed called an adjutant general, with the rank of major, 
 and a salary of one hundred and fifty pounds a year, whose duty it 
 was to assemble and exercise the militia, inspect their arms and 
 equipments, and enforce generally the established regulations for 
 discipline. 
 
 It is probable that Washington during his career as a surveyor 
 had become acquainted with many gentlemen of standing and in 
 fluence in the colony, and it is a proof of the high degree of respect 
 and confidence he had inspired that he received a commission to 
 take charge of one of these districts, though at the time but nine 
 teen years of age. It is true that his brother Lawrence was at this 
 period a member of the house of burgesses, and that his friend Mr. 
 William Fairfax had a seat in the governor s council, but only a 
 diffused and well established reputation for extraordinary talents, 
 accomplishments, and virtues, could have been sufficient to procure 
 under these circumstances of public danger the appointment of so 
 youthful a person to an office thus intimately connected with the 
 preservation of the lives and fortunes of the people. 
 
 The martial propensities which he displayed in boyhood had 
 rather increased than diminished with his years, and a knowledge 
 of these on the part of the governor and council had probably 
 some effect in procuring for him this distinguished position. There 
 were in Virginia many officers besides Lawrence Washington who 
 had served in the French or Spanish wars, and some of them 
 must have been accomplished soldiers, familiar with military 
 science as well as with the practical use of arms. In applying 
 himself with characteristic earnestness to the study of his new 
 
62 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1751. 
 
 duties he was therefore not without some considerable advantages, 
 Jacob Van Braain renewed his instructions in fence, and Adjutant 
 Muse practised with him the manual exercise, described evolutions in 
 the field, and loaned him books on the military art. The Fairfaxes 
 and his brother, with their well informed and critical conversations 
 on such subjects, must have been nearly as serviceable as professed 
 teachers of tactics and strategy. 
 
 He had scarcely entered on the active discharge of the duties of 
 his office when fraternal affection led him to undertake others of a 
 very different nature. His brother Lawrence, who had been to 
 him the wisest and faithfulest of friends, and whose house had been 
 his home from the time of his leaving school, was now in so critical 
 a condition of health that it was deemed necessary by his physicians 
 that he should be removed to a more genial climate for the ap 
 proaching winter. His constitution had always been delicate, his 
 physical energies had gradually been declining ever since his return 
 from the campaign against Carthagena, and at length it was ap 
 parent that he was rapidly failing from consumption. He visited 
 England, hoping the voyage would be of some advantage, but was 
 disappointed; he also passed a summer at the Berkeley Springs, 
 then surrounded by a wilderness, but still found no essential relief; 
 and at last it was resolved, upon consultation with his medical advisers, 
 that he should try the air of the West Indies. Accompanied by his 
 younger brother he accordingly sailed for Barbadoes on the twenty- 
 eighth of September, 1751, and arrived at that island on the third of 
 the following November. George Washington, as was his habit, kept 
 a journal of every day s events and what he saw or heard. On the 
 ship he copied the logbook, and added his own remarks on the 
 weather and on nautical occurrences, and after reaching their 
 destination, described the appearance and resources of the place, the 
 social and political condition of its inhabitants, and the movements 
 of his brother and himself while they remained there. 
 
 The change of scene, pleasantness of the climate, cordial hospi 
 tality of the people, and his brother s watchful attentions, revived 
 the invalid s spirits, and for a while renewed his strength, so that 
 
JET. 19.] LAWRENCE WASHINGTON. 63 
 
 the resident physician whom he consulted encouraged a belief that 
 lie would be restored to health. They took lodgings at an agreeably 
 situated house about a mile from the town, owned by the com 
 mander of the fort, and were invited to dinners by a club of gentle 
 men, and by the principal civil and military dignitaries, and were 
 taken to the theatre, where George Washington for the first time 
 saw a play acted. It was the tragedy of George Barnwell, and he 
 mentions in his diary that " the character of Barnwell, and several 
 others, were said to be well performed." 
 
 He had not been more than a fortnight on the island when he 
 became ill with the small pox. The attack was severe, but by 
 skilful medical treatment, and the kind attentions of friends, he was 
 cured in about three weeks. Some traces of the disease are said to 
 have remained upon his countenance for the rest of his days. He 
 thus happily, at so early an age, and in the favorable climate of the 
 tropics, passed through this terrible ordeal, and before his military 
 career began, was placed beyond the reach of a malady which, in 
 one of his letters written to the governor of Virginia in 1777, he 
 refers to as more dreaded and often more destructive than the 
 enemy s sword. 
 
 Believing that his health was benefited by the climate, Lawrence 
 Washington determined to remain for a considerable period under 
 its healing and invigorating influence, and instead of returning 
 home in the spring, to pass the ensuing summer in Bermuda. 
 Eegretting the absence of his wife, it was arranged that his brother 
 should return to Virginia and bring her out to meet him at that 
 island. Accordingly on the twenty-second of December he sailed 
 for the Chesapeake, and, after a very stormy passage, of five weeks, 
 reached Mount Vernon. 
 
 Lawrence Washington lingered through the winter at Barbadoes, 
 but the invariable beauty and mildness of the climate wearied him. 
 "No place can please me," he wrote, " without a change of seasons." 
 In the beginning of March he proceeded to Bermuda, but the 
 sharp damp winds of the early spring aggravated his disease and 
 induced depression of spirits. Some temporary relief caused him to 
 
64 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1752. 
 
 send home an encouraging account of his condition, and to urge the 
 speedy departure of his wife and brother to join him there, but 
 another letter subdued the hopes which this awakened, and pre 
 vented them from leaving Virginia. He feared, now, that no essen 
 tial improvement would result from a continuance abroad ; soon 
 after, was uncertain whether to go back to Barbadoes or to visit the 
 south of France ; and next, in a moment of despondency, was on 
 the eve of "hurrying home to his grave." His melancholy fore 
 bodings were soon realized. He arrived at Mount Vernon in time 
 to die, surrounded by his kindred and friends, under his own roof, 
 on the twenty-sixth of July, 1752. "Few men," says Mr. Sparks, 
 " have been more beloved for their amiable qualities, or more ad 
 mired for those higher traits of character which give dignity to 
 virtue and a charm to accomplishments of mind and manners." 
 
 He was thirty years of age, and left an only child, a daughter to 
 inherit his large estates, of which the use and income were secured 
 to his widow during her life. In case of the daughter s death 
 without issue it was provided that Mount Vernon and other prop 
 erty specified in the will should descend to his brother George, who 
 was appointed one of his executors. Of these he was the youngest, 
 yet his familiarity with his brother s affairs, and his discretion and 
 integrity, were so well understood, that the business was placed 
 almost entirely in his hands. For several months therefore his 
 attention was largely occupied with private employments, but even 
 in this period he was not forgetful of his duties as adjutant general. 
 As soon as circumstances permitted he visited the several counties 
 in his district, to instruct the militia officers, review the companies 
 and battalions, and by all the means in his power to prepare the 
 country for vigorous military operations. 
 
20.] THE FRENCH DOMINION. 65 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE FRENCH DOMINION IN AMERICA DESIGNS OF THE FRENCH AGAINST THE 
 
 ENGLISH COLONIES FRENCH AND ENGLISH TERRITORIAL CLAIMS INDIAN 
 
 VIEW OF THEM DISTINCTIONS OF THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH POLICY RE 
 MARKABLE PROPHECY BY PETER KALM INCREDULITY OF CARDILLAC A NEW 
 
 ERA PREDICTION OF JOHN ADAMS THE SCHOOL OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 AT this period the fortunes of France on this continent wore 
 their brightest aspect. Along the line of the lakes, and down the 
 Mississippi river, French politics, with the Roman religion, had com 
 passed, through the daring efforts of traders, seconded by ambitious 
 members of the society of Jesus, results eminently dangerous to 
 British power. The Englishman made his way slowly and with 
 difficulty to the affection and the alliance of the savages, but the 
 Frenchman seemed almost without an exertion to secure their 
 friendship. A cordon of French posts was extending slowly but 
 persistently from Lake Erie to New Orleans, already a town of 
 considerable importance, and it was apparent to sagacious statesmen 
 that the far-reaching policy of France, which contemplated the 
 gradual extinction of British authority in America, would be success 
 ful unless met with a degree of energy on the part of the English 
 which they had hitherto failed to display in this controversy. 
 
 Favored by their maritime superiority the English had possessed 
 themselves of the Atlantic coast, but the charters granted to some of 
 their earlier adventurers extended across the continent. The French 
 pretensions, however, would have limited their settlements to the nar 
 row region east of the Alleghanies. The Marquis de la Gallisoniere, 
 while governor of Canada, had pointed to Detroit as the centre of a 
 boundless inland commerce, and to Louisiana and Canada, almost 
 connected by the navigable waters of the St. Lawrence and the 
 
 5 
 
66 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY". [1752. 
 
 Mississippi, bordered by some of the richest lands in the world, as 
 the bulwarks of France in America against English ambition. 
 
 The claims of the rival nations to authority over the disputed 
 territories were alike unfounded. Great Britain asserted her rights 
 to all the country w^est of her dominions on the seaboard, as natu 
 rally appertaining to them, and to that between the mountains and 
 the Mississippi, by an additional title derived from the Indians. 
 By careful and liberal management an amicable relation had been 
 preserved with the powerful confederacy of the Iroquois, inhabiting 
 the eastern and southern borders of Lake Ontario. The chiefs of 
 these tribes, in 1744, had met at Lancaster commissioners from 
 Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, and had ceded to them the 
 lands in question, for four hundred pounds, alleging that they had 
 been conquered by their forefathers. But the Indians by whom 
 they were occupied, and w r hose ancestors had dwelt upon them 
 from time immemorial, derided this proceeding, declaring that they 
 themselves were the only rightful owners of the soil, and that the 
 Six Nations had nothing to do with it in any manner whatever. 
 
 The French rested their claim mainly on the right of discovery, 
 but fortified it by the sanction of treaties at Ryswick, Utrecht, and 
 Aix la Chapelle. Marquette, Joliet, and La Salle, had descended 
 the Mississippi, and settlements had been made by other subjects 
 of the crown of France, southward of Lake Michigan and on the 
 Illinois river, before any Englishman had crossed the Alleghanies. 
 It was held to be an axiom in the law of nations that the discovery 
 of a river gave to the sovereign of the discoverer a right to all the 
 lands drained by it or by its tributaries, and in the treaties referred 
 to the title of France had been recognized to all her actual posses 
 sions in America. 
 
 The jealousy of the Indians was naturally excited by a knowledge 
 of these debates, and a deputy of the Delaware chiefs exposed 
 their absurdity by the natural and pertinent inquiry, addressed to 
 Mr. Gist, while that bold pioneer was examining the valley of the 
 Ohio, in 1752, "Where lie the lands of the Indians? The French 
 claim all on one side of the river, and the English all on the other ?" 
 
jE T . 20.] A PROPHECY OF INDEPENDENCE. 67 
 
 Although the white population of the English colonies wa.s 
 supposed to amount to more than one million, and that of the 
 French was not estimated to exceed fifty or sixty thousand, the 
 latter had still great advantages, independent of any support from 
 the mother country, which it was believed would justify an appeal 
 to arms for the settlement of their territorial jurisdiction. 
 
 The English colonists were peaceable farmers and traders, slowly 
 extending their settlements by diligent and continuous cultivation, 
 and, except in New England, little used to the excitements of a 
 military life. They were divided into separate commonwealths, 
 differing in religion and political constitutions, jealous of each other, 
 and united only by a common distrust of the temper and designs 
 of the parent state. The suspicion had long been entertained that 
 Great Britain was restrained from the maintenance of her colonial 
 rights against the French by apprehensions of American independ 
 ence. Peter Kalm, an accomplished and sensible Swedish traveller, 
 who came to this country in 1748 and remained here two years, 
 was well acquainted with Franklin and other persons eminent in 
 society and in public affairs, and he says, "There is reason to 
 believe that the king never was in earnest in his attempts to drive 
 the French from their possessions, though it might have been done 
 with little difficulty, for the English colonies in this part of the 
 world have increased so much in the number of their inhabitants, 
 
 and in their riches, that they almost vie with England herself. 
 
 I have been told by English subjects, and not only by such as were 
 natives of America, but even by those who had emigrated from 
 Europe, that the English colonies, within the space of thirty or fifty 
 years hence, would be able to form a state by themselves, entirely 
 independent of England ; but as the whole country which lies along 
 the sea shore is unguarded, while on the inland side it is harassed 
 by the French in time of war, these dangerous neighbors are 
 sufficient to prevent the connection of the colonies with the mother 
 country from being quite broken off The English government has, 
 therefore, abundant reason to consider the French in America as 
 the best guardians of the submission of its own plantations." The 
 
68 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1752. 
 
 policy here suggested was perhaps disturbed only by a suspicion 
 that unless the French were driven from the continent, they would 
 not only retard the advancement of the English, but expel them 
 from the region they had already subdued. 
 
 Earlier to see, more comprehensive in designs, superior in activity, 
 and governed by a larger ambition and more generous views, 
 France was already far advanced in the race when England had not 
 yet become aware of its object and importance. More daring, 
 capable and facile men were ranged under her banners. Her chief 
 purposes were mercenary, but for their attainment the cross and 
 the sword were equally under her direction. Personal gallantry in 
 the most eminent degree characterized her commercial as well as 
 her military adventurers, and Jesuit missionaries dreamed that 
 under the banner of France was to be fought the battle which 
 should give to their church and to their order dominion over the 
 continent. These three classes of men, in commercial, military 
 and priestly life, had long been actively interested for the progress 
 of France in America, and their efforts, both here and at home, had 
 been appreciated by a monarch who had inherited the empire and 
 the views of Louis the Fourteenth. Cardillac, governor of Louisi 
 ana, was one of the few Frenchmen in dignified positions who did 
 not foresee the wealth and greatness of the country. Writing to the 
 minister at home, respecting certain instructions issued to his agents 
 by the Sieur Crozat, he exclaims, " What ! is it expected that for 
 any commercial or profitable alms boats will ever be able to run up 
 the Mississippi into the Ohio, Missouri, or Red river ? one might as 
 well try to bite a slice off the moon !" Others anticipated some 
 thing of the power and magnificence which in these regions has 
 crowned the industry of civilized men after one hundred and fifty 
 years. The least efficient of the three classes I have mentioned 
 were the priests. They were generally but appendages to trading 
 houses, and were far more serviceable to the traders than to the 
 church. In Europe it answered very well to appeal to the religious 
 sentiment in behalf of a munificent policy toward the French colonies. 
 The conversions made here by the Jesuits were, however, few and 
 
Mr. 20.] THE CRISIS OF AFFAIRS. 69 
 
 but nominal. Father Marest describes their converts, in 1712, as 
 " lazy, treacherous, fickle, inconstant, deceitful, and thievish, so as 
 even to glory in their address in stealing ; brutal, without honor, 
 without truth, ready to promise any thing for those who are liberal 
 to them, but at the same time ungrateful, and without thankfulness." 
 Father Charlevoix, descending the Mississippi in 1722, though con 
 stantly encountering commercial adventurers, discovered but one 
 cross between the Illinois river and New Orleans, and that was at a 
 trading post. Of the people at one of the stations he says, " They 
 have no priests, but it is not their fault : they had one, whom they 
 were obliged to get rid of, because he was drunken."* Traders and 
 priests were alike accustomed to implicit obedience to despotic 
 power, and were easily moulded into armies when needed as instru 
 ments of war or conquest. Their minds had never been disturbed 
 by visions of liberty, and their only ambition, except that of per 
 sonal gain, was to be witnesses of the aggrandizement and glory of 
 France. The French governors, at least those of Canada, were 
 nearly all soldiers of high reputation, and were intrusted with the 
 absolute regulation and superintendence of Indian affairs, and, with 
 the exception of the Iroquois, or Six Nations, and their tributaries, 
 they had been easily successful in conciliating and gaining the adher 
 ence of all the tribes with whom they had been brought in contact. 
 
 Unity of design and promptness of execution characterized in 
 all its departments the French administration in America, while the 
 councils of the various English colonies were distracted by a hun 
 dred local causes, and by pervading doubts respecting the temper 
 of parliament and the policy of ministers, which had thus far been 
 as selfish and hostile to their true interests as if they had been 
 conquered provinces. 
 
 A new era approached, and to the contemplative intelligence 
 there are few if any others in American history which furnish more 
 incitements to reflection. The destinies of the continent hung in 
 
 * "At the present day," remarks a well informed writer in the Presbyterian Review, "there is 
 but one band of Indians in the northwest who are really civilized, and these received the rudiments 
 of education from Jonathan Edwards. Those who were accustomed to the teachings of the Jesuits, 
 with few exceptions, remain as lustful, warlike, and indolent, as their forefathers." 
 
70 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1752. 
 
 poise, and within a few years clustered deeds that lightened the 
 weight of France in the scale, and caused the beam, heavy with the 
 greatness of an empire, to gravitate to England. In this period 
 young John Adams, then the teacher of a village school, wrote to a 
 friend, " If we can remove the turbulent Frenchmen, our people, 
 according to the exactest calculations, will, in another century, 
 become more numerous than the population of England herself. 
 All Europe will not be able to subdue us. The only w r ay to keep 
 us from setting up for ourselves is to disunite us."* It was a cause 
 of surprise with many that while the Six Nations of savages had 
 no difficulty in preserving their powerful confederation, the English 
 colonies could not be even combined for their common defence. But 
 events were rapidly occurring which gave life to the plans of union 
 first proposed from Philadelphia in 1751, and more distinctly an 
 nounced at Albany, by Franklin, in 1754, The colonies were at 
 length to act in concert, and with unlocked for efficiency. The 
 " turbulent Frenchmen" were to be removed, the field cleared for a 
 larger action, and the people trained for that astonishing contest 
 which thirty years later was to inaugurate the most truly glorious 
 period in human history. 
 
 * October 12, 1755. Life and Works of John Adams, i. 23, 
 
. 20.] EXPEDITIONS OF GIST AND CROGHAN. 71 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 \ 
 
 MOVEMENTS OF THE OHIO COMPANY EXPLORATIONS BY CHRISTOPHER GIST 
 
 TREATY BETWEEN VIRGINIA AND THE MIAMIS MOVEMENTS OF THE FRENCH 
 
 INTERVIEW BETWEEN TANACHARISSON AND THE FRENCH COMMANDER ON LAKE 
 
 ERIE HOSTILITIES COMMENCED BY M. DUQUESNE ROBERT DINWIDDIE MADE 
 
 GOVERNOR HIS OFFICIAL CONDUCT MISSION OF CAPTAIN TRENT WASHING 
 TON APPOINTED TO VISIT THE FRENCH POSTS VAN BRA AM HIS INTERPRETER 
 
 AND GIST HIS GUIDE OBSERVATIONS AT THE CONFLUENCE OF THE MONONGA- 
 
 HELA AND ALLEGHANY RIVERS DETENTION AT LOGSTOWN INDIAN COUN 
 CILS ESCORT OF CHIEFS ARRIVAL AT VENANGO CAPTAIN JONCAIRE REV 
 ELRY AT HIS QUARTERS SCANDAL DIPLOMACY END OF THE JOURNEY. 
 
 THE Ohio Company had proceeded with earnestness to fulfill the 
 conditions of their grant from the crown. In 1750 they entered 
 into an arrangement with Christopher Gist, an experienced woods 
 man and Indian trader, living on the Yadkin, near the borders of 
 North Carolina, to make a careful exploration of the lands which 
 they had acquired, to ascertain the best route to them, to observe 
 the strength of the Indian nations, and to conciliate them in regard 
 to their proposed new settlement. On the last day of October 
 Gist set out by way of Will s creek, since called Cumberland river, 
 for the Ohio. At Logstown, a little below the she of the present 
 city of Pittsburg, he heard of George Croghan, an envoy from the 
 governor of Pennsylvania, charged with friendly communications to 
 several tribes, including the Twightwees, or Miamis, next to the 
 Iroquois the strongest confederacy of Indians on this continent, and 
 two or three days after overtook him, at Muskingum, a town of the 
 Wyandots and Mingoes. Croghan had raised the English flag over 
 his tent, as a sign of opposition to the French, who had recently 
 captured three white men, employed in the fur trade, and sent them 
 as prisoners to Presqu ile. He soon after concluded a treaty of 
 
72 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1752. 
 
 peace and alliance between the English of Pennsylvania and the 
 Weas and Piankeshas, and Gist was assured that all the friendly 
 tribes of the west would assemble the next summer at Logstown for 
 a general negotiation with Virginia. 
 
 The meeting of the representatives of the Ohio tribes with the 
 commissioners of Virginia took place at the time appointed, and it 
 was agreed that none of the settlements which might be made by the 
 agents of the company, on the southeastern side of the river, should 
 be disturbed. Tanacharisson, called Half King, on account of his 
 subordination to the Iroquois, had his home at Logstown, and he 
 advised the Virginians to build a fort at the fork of the Monongahela, 
 as a means of resisting the designs of the French. Gist was accord 
 ingly instructed to commence a settlement there, with suitable 
 defences, and on the faith of the treaty he was joined by twelve 
 families of adventurers. 
 
 The French viewed these proceedings with jealousy, and sent 
 emissaries to break up the amicable relations established between 
 the Indians and the government of Virginia. Succeeding La Jon 
 quiere,* M. Duquesnef had become governor of Canada, and upon 
 a rumor that he had detached twelve hundred men to occupy the 
 
 valley of the Ohio, Tanacharisson repaired to the French posts on 
 
 j 
 
 * The Marquis de la Jonquiere arrived in Canada in August, 1749, succeeding, as governor gen 
 eral, the accomplished scholar, soldier and statesman, Lieutenant General Roland Michel Ban-in, 
 Marquis de la Galissoniere, who had held the same office during the four preceding years. La 
 Jonquiere, born in Languedoc in 1696, was a man of splendid presence, and a good soldier, but was 
 remarkable for excessive avarice. The most noticeable point of his administration in Canada was 
 an attempt to suppress the order of the Jesuits there. He died in Quebec. May 17, 1752. 
 
 t The Marquis de Duquesne de Menneville, whose name is one of the most familiar in the history 
 of the French dominion in America, was a grandson of the famous admiral, Abraham Duquesne, 
 and was himself a captain in the royal marine. He became governor general of Canada in 1752, 
 and in 1754 was recalled, at his own request, to re-enter the naval service. Before leaving Montreal, 
 in an interview with deputies from the Iroquois, he reproached them for their willingness to 
 surrender the control of the Ohio to the English rather than to the French. " Are you ignorant," 
 he inquired, " of the difference between the king of France and the English ? Look at the forts 
 which the king has built : you will find that under the very shadows of their walls the beasts are 
 hunted and slain ; that they are, in fact, fixed in the places most frequented by you, merely to 
 gratify more conveniently your necessities. The English, on the contrary, no sooner occupy a post, 
 than the woods fall before their hands, the earth is subjected to cultivation, the game disappears, and 
 your people are soon reduced to battle with starvation." In this speech he accurately described the 
 two civilizations. M. Duquesne, in 1758, being in France, was appointed to the command of all 
 the forces, sea and land, in America, and in March sailed from Toulon, with a small squadron, but 
 was soon after utterly defeated and driven back by the English. Sec Winthrop Sargent s Expedi 
 tion against Fort Duquesne. 
 
&T. 20.] FRENCH INTRIGUES. 73 
 
 Lake Erie to complain in person of their intended aggressions. 
 " Fathers," said he, "you are disturbers of this land, by building 
 towns, and taking it from us, by fraud or force. We kindled a fire 
 long ago at Montreal, where we desired you to stay, and not to come 
 and intrude upon our country. I now advise you to return thither, 
 for this land is ours. If you had come in a peaceable manner, like 
 our brothers the English, we should have traded with you as we do 
 with them ; but that you should come and take our possessions by 
 force, and build houses upon them, is what we can not submit to. 
 Both you and the English are white. We live in a region between 
 you both. The land belongs to neither of you. The Great Being 
 allotted it to us as a home. So, I desire you, as I have desired our 
 brothers the English, to withdraw, for I will keep you both at arms 
 length. Whoever most regards this request, by them we will stand, 
 and consider them friends. Our brothers the English have heard 
 this, and I now come to tell it to you." And he gave the belt of 
 wampum. The French commandant treated with derision the 
 simple and dignified words of the chief. " Child," he replied, " you 
 talk foolishly ; you say this land belongs to you, but not so much 
 of it as the black of your nails belongs to you. It is mine, and I 
 will have it, let who will stand up against me." And he threw back 
 the belt of wampum with signs of contempt, 
 
 Tanacharisson was wounded and dismayed by the bold language 
 and insolent demeanor of the Frenchman. He saw the approaching 
 ruin of his race, but continued to look with some hope to the 
 English, as less disposed than the French to do them wrong. His 
 favorable disposition was strengthened in a few months by an inter 
 view with Franklin, at Carlisle, in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Duquesne, meanwhile, was active in carrying out the policy 
 enjoined on him by his superiors. The advances of the English 
 into the interior threatened to disturb the splendid scheme which 
 the French had steadily pursued for years, and must be prevented 
 at every hazard. Missionaries were employed to persuade the 
 Indians that the purposes of their new friends were treacherous 
 and dangerous. Some of the traders were seized and sent to 
 
74 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1753. 
 
 France, and a fort was immediately commenced on the Buffalo 
 river,* as a position from which the Indians could be controlled and 
 the Virginians held in check. 
 
 In 1752 Robert Dinwiddie, a shrewd Scotchman, previously a 
 clerk in one of the custom houses of the West Indies, where he 
 had commended himself for favor and promotion by discovering a 
 vast system of fraud that had been practised by his superiors, had 
 arrived in Virginia to preside over her councils as lieutenant 
 governor. In December of the same year he had sent home to the 
 Board of Trade an elaborate report on the condition and prospects 
 of the colony, and solicited particular instructions for the regulation 
 of his conduct in resisting the French. He had recommended a 
 series of western forts, and, urging the benefits of an intimate alliance 
 with the Miamas, had offered to cross the mountains and deliver a 
 present to them in person. The ministers had given little heed to 
 his earnest and sensible recommendations, but he had continued to 
 furnish them with early and accurate intelligence, and at last, in 
 the beginning of 1753, it was decided at Whitehall that the pro 
 ceedings of the French in the valley of the Ohio should be vigor 
 ously opposed. Governor Dinwiddie was reminded of the military 
 resources of Virginia, but neither troops nor money were sent over 
 to aid him in the proposed war against France for the conquest of 
 the western territory. The governor of Canada, pursuing his plans 
 with characteristic activity, was now, it seemed, firmly established 
 on the Ohio river. The approach of the French towards the 
 English settlements had encouraged their Indian allies to frequent 
 and bold assaults upon them, while the tribes which had been 
 friendly to the English were overawed and shaken in their fidelity. 
 
 The necessity of prompt and energetic action, for self preserva 
 tion as well as for the vindication of the rights of the crown, was 
 apparent to every body who gave even the slightest attention to 
 affairs, and Governor Dinwiddie lost no time in sending Captain 
 William Trent as a commissioner to expostulate with the Frencli 
 
 * Now called French creek, in Pennsylvania, but named by the French Riviere aux Boeufs, on 
 account of the great numbers of buffaloes that were found ill its vicinity. 
 
MT. 21.] MISSION TO THE OHIO. 75 
 
 commander on the Ohio for his invasion of the British possessions. 
 This officer seems not to have had the qualities necessary for a fit 
 performance of his duties, and after reaching Piqua, the principal 
 town of the Miamis, where Gist and Croghan had been so well 
 received, and discovering that the enemy s flag waved above its 
 ruins, and that generally the aspect of things on the frontier was 
 more threatening than he had anticipated, he abandoned his pur 
 poses and returned home. 
 
 The immediate appointment of his successor was resolved upon, 
 but it was not an easy matter to find a person of the requisite 
 moral and physical capacities for so responsible and hazardous an 
 enterprise. 
 
 The task to be set before the commissioner was undoubtedly a 
 very difficult one. Four or five hundred miles were to be trav 
 elled, the greater part of the way through a wilderness, made more 
 impassable with mountains and rivers, and inhabited by hostile 
 Indians, in a state of daily increasing irritation. It was near the 
 end of October, and the season added obstacles almost insur 
 mountable. 
 
 The position appears to have been offered to several gentlemen, 
 by all of whom it was declined, when the governor received an 
 intimation that it would be accepted by Major Washington. Wash 
 ington was now twenty-one years of age. He had recently come 
 into possession of the fine estate of Mount Vernon, and had there 
 fore unusual temptations to avoid so laborious and dangerous an 
 undertaking. But his whole constitution was heroical, and it was 
 not consistent with his ideas of patriotism to shrink from any 
 honorable service which could be rendered to his country. Besides, 
 he was ambitious, and ready to avail himself of every good opportu 
 nity for carving his way to eminent distinction. The governor was 
 not ignorant of his reputation, and in his official relations had prob 
 ably become personally acquainted with him. He accepted his offer, 
 saying at the time, u Faith ! you are a brave lad, and if you play 
 your cards well you shall have no cause to repent your bargain."* 
 
 * Paulding, i. 5.?. 
 
76 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1753. 
 
 Washington received his commission and instructions, and a pass 
 port under the great seal of the colony, on the thirty-first of Octo 
 ber. He was directed to proceed without delay to Logstown, and 
 there make known to Tanacharisson, Monacatoocha, and other 
 friendly chiefs, the purport of his errand, and after ascertaining 
 where the French were stationed, to request an escort of warriors 
 to guide and protect him to the end of his journey. On meet 
 ing the French commandant he was to exhibit his credentials, 
 and deliver a letter from the governor of Virginia, demanding 
 an answer, in the name of the king, but not to wait for one 
 beyond a week. He was also to inquire diligently as to the num 
 ber of the French troops that had crossed the lakes, the means 
 of communication with Canada, the reinforcements expected, how 
 many forts had been erected, how they were garrisoned and ap 
 pointed, and their distances from each other; and, in short, to 
 learn every thing possible respecting the condition, prospects and 
 pretensions of the intruders, necessary for the proper information 
 of the government. 
 
 He left Williamsburg the same day, and the next arrived at 
 Fredericksburg, where he was joined by his old fencing master, 
 Jacob Yan Braam, whose familiarity with the French language 
 and habits was deemed of great importance for furthering the 
 objects of the expedition. He also engaged John Davidson, an 
 Indian interpreter. At Alexandria he provided himself with such 
 means of comfort as could be conveniently carried, and at Win 
 chester, then on the frontier, with horses, tents, and other travel 
 ing equipments; and on the fourteenth of November, by a road 
 which had been opened by the Ohio Company, reached Will s 
 creek. Here he found Mr. Gist, whom he engaged to accompany 
 him as a guide, and four other men, two of them Indian traders, 
 were hired as attendants. 
 
 The party, now increased to eight persons, with horses, tents, 
 provisions, and other things necessary for the expedition, the next 
 day entered the wilderness. The season was more than usually 
 unfavorable. There had been heavy and frequent rains, and before 
 
MT. 21.] PROJECTED FORTIFICATION. 77 
 
 the ground was frozen snow had fallen to the depth of more than 
 six inches. The streams were much swollen, and the common 
 difficulties of fording them or crossing them on rafts were greatly 
 increased. They were seven days in reaching John Frazier s peltry 
 house, at the junction of Turtle creek with the Monongahela, a 
 distance of but eighty miles. They were hospitably entertained 
 by Frazier, who loaned them a canoe, in which two of the men were 
 sent with the luggage ten miles farther, to the place where the 
 Monongahela and Alleghany rivers unite to form the Ohio. " As I 
 got down before the canoe," he writes in his journal, a I spent some 
 time in viewing the rivers, and the land in the fork, which I think 
 extremely well situated for a fort, as it has the absolute command 
 of both rivers. The land at the point is twenty or twenty-five feet 
 above the common surface of the water, with a considerable bottom 
 of flat well timbered land all around it, very convenient for build 
 ing. The rivers are each a quarter of a mile or more across, and 
 run here nearly at right angles : the Alleghany bearing northeast, 
 and the Monongahela southeast. The former of these two is very 
 rapid and swift running water, the other deep and still, without any 
 perceptible fall." The Ohio Company had determined to erect a 
 fort two miles farther down, but Washington was impressed with 
 the advantages this point afforded as a military post, and it was 
 by his advice that a fortification was soon after commenced here. 
 French engineers subsequently approved his judgment by selecting 
 the same site for the fort which was so long celebrated under the 
 name of Duquesne. 
 
 Being joined by Shingis, head sachem of the Delawares, they 
 hastened onward to Logstown, about twenty miles below the conflu 
 ence of the rivers, where they arrived on the evening of Saturday the 
 twenty-fourth of the month. Tanacharisson was absent on a hunt, 
 but messengers were despatched to summon him and other chiefs 
 to a meeting on Monday. On Sunday morning four French soldiers 
 came into the town. They had deserted from a company of one 
 hundred men sent up from New Orleans, with eight canoes laden 
 with provisions, expecting to meet at Logstown a detachment from 
 
78 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1753. 
 
 the garrison near Lake Erie. Washington obtained from them 
 an account of the French force at New Orleans, and of the forts 
 along the Mississippi and at the mouth of the Wabash, by which 
 they maintained a communication with the lakes. The deserters 
 were on their way, under the direction of a Pennsylvania trader, 
 to Philadelphia. The half king came in during the afternoon, 
 and he had a long conference with him, in which the chief gave 
 a narrative of his visit to the commandant of the French posts on 
 Lake Erie, and exhibited a drawing, made by himself, of two forts 
 which had been built, one on the lake, and the other at a creek 
 fifteen miles inland. 
 
 On the following morning at an early hour the chiefs met in 
 council, and Washington addressed them in a speech, which was 
 interpreted by Davidson, explaining the objects of his mission, and 
 the wishes of the governor of Virginia in regard to themselves. 
 He then gave them a string of wampum, the usual token of friend 
 ship and alliance, and when they had consulted together Tanacha- 
 risson was deputed to answer him. His words were pacific. They 
 would give back to the French their "speech belt," by which 
 act all amicable relations with them would be ended, and would 
 furnish the commissioner from Virginia an escort, composed of 
 Mingoes, Shawnees, and Delawares, to show the fraternal feelings 
 of these tribes but the young warriors being out on a hunting 
 party, he was requested to wait three days for their return. 
 
 As he had orders to make all possible despatch, and the thought 
 of waiting at Logstown was very disagreeable to him, he told the 
 chief, while thanking him, that his business would not admit of that 
 delay. Tanacharisson was not well pleased that his arrangement 
 was declined, and Washington consented to remain, but finally, on 
 the morning of the thirtieth, set out with only Tanacharisson and 
 four other Indians, one of whom was an aged chief named Jeska- 
 kake, who on the previous evening, in the council house, had 
 rehearsed the speech he was to deliver to the French. It was 
 agreed that unless they would heed this new warning to leave the 
 country the Delawares also would be their enemies, and a large 
 
j T . 21.] CAPTAIN JONCAIRE. 79 
 
 string of black and white wampum was despatched to the Iroquois 
 as a prayer for assistance. 
 
 The imperfect fulfilment of the promises given to Washington 
 on his arrival at Logstown had a secret cause which was probably 
 much more efficient than any that was avowed. The chiefs had 
 heard that Captain Joncaire, an old and well known agent of the 
 governors general in their dealings with the Indians, had called 
 together a considerable number from the Mingoes, Delawares, and 
 other disaffected or doubtful tribes, and informed them that the 
 French, although for the present they had gone into winter quarters, 
 would assuredly in the spring go down the river in great force to 
 attack the English, whom they should conquer, and that he had 
 advised them to remain passive, saying that if they should inter 
 fere the French and English would unite, cut them all off, and 
 divide their land between them. With such rumors preying on 
 their minds the poor savages naturally hesitated a little about com 
 mitting themselves irretrievably to either party. 
 
 The distance to the head quarters of the French was one hundred 
 and twenty miles. The intermediate post, under the command of 
 Joncaire, at Venango, was not much more than half way, but such 
 was the inclemency of the weather and the difficulty of traveling 
 that four days were spent before Washington and his companions 
 reached that ancient Indian town.* 
 
 The commander of this advanced post, Captain Joncaire, had 
 lived among the Indians nearly all his life, and he was now an old 
 man. Taken prisoner in his youth by the Iroquois, he had been 
 adopted into one of their tribes, and had grown up in familiarity 
 with their language, habits and feelings. Returning to Canada, 
 and resuming the usages of civilized life, he entered the military 
 service and became the frequent agent of the government in its 
 various transactions and intrigues with the Indians, and was some 
 times their leader when they were employed by the French in 
 warlike enterprises. He was witty, eloquent, and ingenious, and 
 seldom failed in his diplomacy. In the recent proceedings west of 
 
 * Venango is now Franklin, the seat of justice for Franklin county, Pennsylvania. 
 
80 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1753. 
 
 the Alleghanies he had been conspicuous ever since the agents 
 of the Ohio Company first undertook the exploration of that con 
 tested region. 
 
 When Washington, on arriving at Venango, rode to a house 
 above which was displayed the French flag, and inquired of an 
 officer whom he saw there where he might find the commandant, 
 the person he addressed answered that he was himself Captain 
 Joncaire, and had the command of the Ohio. Being informed of 
 Washington s business, he said there was a general officer at Fort 
 Le Boeuf, who w r ould attend to it ; and thereupon invited the party 
 of the expedition to sup with him at his quarters. 
 
 Joncaire and his friends, says Washington, " treated us with the 
 greatest complaisance. The wine, as they dosed themselves pretty 
 plentifully with it, soon banished the restraint which at first ap 
 peared in their conversation. They told me it was their design to 
 take possession of the Ohio, and, by God, they would do it : for 
 that, although they were sensible the English could raise two men 
 for their one, yet they knew their motions were too slow and dilatory 
 to prevent the success of any undertaking. They pretend to have 
 an undoubted right to the river, from a discovery made by one 
 La Salle, sixty years ago, and the rise of this expedition is to pre 
 vent our .settling on the river, or the waters of it, as they heard of 
 some families moving out in order thereto." 
 
 The Marquis de Duquesne, according to M. Pouchot, a contempo 
 rary French officer of rank, soon after arriving in Quebec had be 
 come the lover of a beautiful woman whose husband could be con 
 veniently removed only by- giving him profitable employments or 
 contracts in connection with distant military operations. It is 
 alleged that the amours of the governor general led to the building 
 of forts, and to the purchase of extraordinary supplies of rich stuffs 
 of silk and velvet, and costly Spanish wines, to be sent into the 
 wilderness for the king s service. To each of the officers, according 
 to this respectable chronicler, was allotted a bottle of wine every 
 day, two gallons of brandy a month, and food in proportion. 
 Washington, with his companions, Van Braam, Gist, and Davidson, 
 
/ET. 21.] INTRIGUES WITH THE INDIANS. 81 
 
 we may therefore suppose was entertained in the most generous 
 manner by Captain Joncaire and his associates ; but he appears not 
 for a moment to have relaxed his watchful interest in their discourse, 
 and before the drunken party broke up he had acquired much 
 interesting and important intelligence concerning the resources, 
 movements and intentions of the French, which he might have 
 sought for in vain by any ordinary means of discovery. 
 
 The next day excessive and continued rain prevented traveling. 
 " Captain Joncaire," says Washington, " sent for the half king, as he 
 had just heard that he came with me. He affected to be much 
 concerned that I did not make free to bring the chiefs in before. I 
 excused it in the best manner of which I was capable, and told him 
 I did not think their company agreeable, as I had heard him say a 
 good deal in dispraise of Indians in general. But another motive 
 prevented me from bringing them into his company : I knew that he 
 was an interpreter, and a person of very great influence among the 
 Indians, and had lately used all possible means to draw them over 
 to his interest. Therefore I was desirous of giving him no oppor 
 tunity that could be avoided. When they came in, there was 
 great pleasure expressed at seeing them. He wondered how they 
 could be so near without coming to visit him ; made several trifling 
 presents ; and applied liquor so fast that they were soon rendered 
 incapable of the business they came about, notwithstanding the 
 caution which was given them." 
 
 The following forenoon Tanacharisson made his appearance in 
 Washington s tent, quite sober, and doubtless humbled by a recollec 
 tion of his weakness. He had however been persuaded that the man 
 agement of Indian affairs was confided entirely to Monsieur Joncaire, 
 and had made up his mind to deliver to him his speech. As Wash 
 ington was desirous of knowing the issue of a proceeding which he 
 perceived that he could not prevent, he agreed to remain until the 
 next morning, but sent the horses and luggage a little way up the 
 creek, with instructions to his servants to raft over and encamp. 
 About ten o clock in the evening the French and Indians met 
 around the council fire, and Tanacharisson made a speech, similar 
 
 6 
 
82 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1753. 
 
 to that I have already quoted as addressed by him to the French 
 general. He ended by offering to return the French their speech 
 belt, but this Joncaire declined receiving, telling him to carry it for 
 ward to the officer in command at Le Boeuf. 
 
 It was not without extreme difficulty that Washington could 
 prevail on the Indians to accompany him, as every stratagem that 
 could be devised had been used to prevent their doing so. At noon 
 on the seventh, however, they started for Le Boeuf, accompanied by 
 a meddlesome French commissary named La Force, with three 
 soldiers. Four days more of bleak and cold December weather, 
 varied with heavy rains and snows, were spent in traveling " through 
 many mires and swamps," which they "were obliged to pass to 
 avoid crossing the creek, which was impassable, either by fording or 
 rafting, the water was so high and rapid." They finally reached 
 their destination* on the evening of the eleventh of December, 
 being the forty-first day after the departure of Major Washington 
 from Williamsburg. 
 
 * Fort Le Boeuf was on the ground now occupied by the village of Waterford, Erie county, 
 Pennsylvania, thirteen miles from Fresqu ile, now Erie, 
 
. 21.] LEGARDEUR DE ST. PIERRE. 83 
 
 CHAPTEE IX, 
 
 FORT LE BCEUF THE CHEVALIER LEGARDEUR DE ST. PIERRE HIS RECEPTION OF 
 
 MAJOR WASHINGTON OCCURRENCES AT THE FORT ATTEMPTS TO SEDUCE THE 
 
 FRIENDLY INDIANS WASHINGTON TAKES LEAVE OF THE FRENCH COMMANDER 
 
 A TRAMP IN THE SNOW SEPARATION OF THE PARTY MURDERING TOWN 
 
 A TREACHEROUS GUIDE PERILOUS ADVENTURES RAFTING ACROSS THE ALLK- 
 
 GHANY VISIT TO QUEEN ALLIQUIPPA PARTING WITH GIST ARRIVAL AT 
 
 WILLIAMSBURG REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR PUBLICATION OF JOURNAL. 
 
 THE fort at Le Boeuf was on a small island or peninsula in the 
 creek of the same name, about thirteen miles from Lake Erie. It 
 consisted of four buildings, arranged so as to form a hollow square, 
 and was protected by bastions, made of palisades, twelve feet high, 
 with openings for cannon and for small arms. Each of these bas 
 tions was large enough to mount eight six pounders. Inside of 
 them were the lodgings of the officers, a chapel, store house, and 
 guard house, and, outside, several barracks and stables, and a smith s 
 shop. 
 
 The morning after his arrival Washington called at the gate, 
 accompanied by M. Yan Braam, to pay his respects and announce 
 the object of his mission. The second officer received him and 
 conducted him to the commandant, Legardeur de St. Pierre, a vete 
 ran knight of the military order of St. Louis, with a high reputation 
 for courage and integrity, whose hard service in European wars 
 was indicated by scars of sabre cuts and the loss of one of his eyes. 
 He had arrived from Montreal but seven days before, and was 
 unwilling to proceed to business until he could summon Captain 
 Reparti, who was in charge of the fort on the lake. At two o clock 
 the captain arrived, and Washington submitted his credentials and 
 the letter of Governor Dinwiddie, which were received in due form, 
 after which the commandant with his officers, of whom a consider- 
 
84 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1753. 
 
 able number were present, retired to a private apartment for their 
 examination and translation. When M. Keparti, who is described 
 as understanding "a little English," had completed his version, 
 Washington was invited to go in, with his interpreter, to peruse and 
 correct it, and, having done so, they were politely dismissed until the 
 following day. 
 
 The answer to the governor s letter was not delivered until the 
 second evening afterwards, and in the meanwhile Washington was 
 careful to observe and record every thing of interest connected 
 with the place, and to obtain all the information possible respecting 
 the fortifications and settlements of the French in that part of the 
 country. The efforts commenced at Venango to alienate Tana- 
 charisson and his brother chiefs from their relations with the English, 
 were continued here, with great pertinacity. When Washington 
 heard this he urged the Indians to surrender immediately their 
 speech belts, as they had promised, that the French might be aware 
 of their intentions and therefore cease to tamper with them. They 
 accordingly pressed for an audience the same evening, and at length 
 were admitted, privately, to an interview with M. de St. Pierre and 
 one or two of his confidential subordinates. The half king reported 
 the result. The chevalier declined receiving the proffered wampum, 
 and made many fair promises of friendship, saying he wished to 
 live in peace and trade amicably with the tribes of the Ohio, in 
 proof of which he would at once send some goods for them to 
 Logstown. Understanding, privately, that a military officer was to 
 accompany the carriers of these goods, Washington was induced to 
 suspect that it was designed to bring off all the straggling English 
 traders they should meet, and the suspicion was made a certainty 
 by the commandant, who, when asked by what authority he had 
 made prisoners of several British subjects, replied that the country 
 belonged to the French, that no Englishman had a right to trade in 
 it, and that he had orders to capture every one who should attempt 
 to deal with the Indians on the Ohio or its waters. 
 
 Governor Dinwiddie declared in his letter that the lands on the 
 Ohio belonged to the crown of Great Britain, complained of the 
 
JET. 2].] M. DE ST. PIERRE S ANSWER. 85 
 
 intrusion of the French, demanded by what authority an armed force 
 had crossed the lakes, and requested their speedy departure. In its 
 conclusion he wrote, "I persuade myself you will receive and enter 
 tain Major Washington with the candor and politeness natural to 
 your nation, and it will give me the greatest satisfaction if you can 
 return him with an answer suitable to my wishes for a long and 
 lasting peace between us." 
 
 On the fourteenth M. de St. Pierre delivered his reply, which 
 was such as became a soldier, who was vested with no diplomatic 
 powers. He should transmit the letter of the governor of Virginia 
 to the governor of Canada, to whom, he observed, " it better belongs 
 than to me to set forth the evidence and reality of the rights of 
 the king, my master, upon the land situated along the Ohio, and to 
 contest the pretensions of the king of Great Britain thereto. His 
 answer shall be law to me.... As to the summons you send me 
 to retire, I do not think myself obliged to obey it. Whatever may 
 be your instructions, I am here by virtue of the orders of my gen 
 eral ; and I entreat you, sir, not to doubt one moment that I am 
 determined to conform myself to them with all the exactness and 
 resolution which can be expected from the best officer. ... I made 
 it my particular care to receive Mr. Washington with a distinction 
 suitable to your dignity, as well as to his own quality and great 
 merit. I flatter myself that he will do me this justice before you, 
 sir, and that he will signify to you, in the manner I do myself, the 
 profound respect with which I am, sir," &c. 
 
 Although the contents of this letter were not communicated to 
 Washington, his conversations with M. de St. Pierre and his officers, 
 and the whole complexion of affairs on the frontier, left no doubt 
 in his mind as to its nature, and he was anxious to start imme 
 diately upon his homeward journey, that no time might be lost in 
 submitting it with his report to Governor Dinwidclie. 
 
 As the weather was stormy, with much snow, and the horses, 
 wanting proper stabling and provender, were every day losing 
 strength, he had sent them back to Yenango, resolving to go down 
 with his interpreters and the sachems by water, in a canoe which 
 
66 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1753. 
 
 had been offered him for that purpose. But he found that expe 
 dients were still plied to detain the Indians. The friendship of 
 Tanacharisson was of too much importance to be yielded without 
 many efforts to retain it. " The commandant/ he writes, " ordered 
 a plentiful store of liquor and provisions to be put on board of our 
 canoes, and appeared to be extremely complaisant, though he was 
 exerting every artifice which he could think of to set our Indians 
 at variance with us, to prevent their going until after our departure : 
 presents, rewards, and every thing w r hich could be suggested by 
 him or his officers. I can not say that ever in my life I suffered so 
 much anxiety as I did in this affair. I saw that every stratagem 
 which the most fruitful brain could invent was practised to w r in the 
 half king to their interest, and that leaving him there was giving them 
 the opportunity they aimed it. I w T ent to the half king and pressed 
 him in the strongest terms to go ; he told me the commandant 
 would not discharge him till morning; I then went to the com 
 mandant and desired him to do their business, and complained of 
 ill treatment ; for, keeping them, as they were part of my company, 
 was detaining me. This he promised not to do, but to forward my 
 journey as much as he could. He protested that he did not keep 
 them, but was ignorant of the cause of their stay, though I soon 
 found it out : he had promised them a present of guns and other 
 things if they w r ould wait until morning. As I was very much 
 pressed by the Indians to w r ait this day for them, I consented, on a 
 promise that nothing should hinder them in the morning." On the 
 sixteenth the French continued their intrigues, but without success. 
 They were obliged to fulfil their promise in respect to the guns, but 
 endeavored next to detain the chiefs with liquor, which at any 
 other time would probably have prevailed ; but Washington insisted 
 with Tanacharisson so closely upon his word, that he resisted the 
 temptation and set out for Venango. 
 
 They had a tedious and fatiguing passage down the creek. Sev 
 eral times there was danger that the canoe would be staved against 
 the rocks, and the entire party were frequently compelled to get 
 out and remain in the water half an hour or more, getting over the 
 
Mr. 21.] A MARCH ON FOOT. 87 
 
 shoals. At one place the ice had lodged, making the creek quite 
 impassable, and Washington, Gist, Van Braam, and Davidson, were 
 obliged to carry their canoe a quarter of a mile, across a neck of 
 land, where they again launched it. Here they were rejoined by 
 the Indians, who had been separated from them, and had been so 
 fortunate as to kill three bears on the way. The Indians were 
 accompanied by some Frenchmen, in a canoe with presents, and 
 Gist alludes to them in his journal,* for the twenty-second, with 
 characteristic feeling. " The creek began to be very low," he says, 
 " and we were forced to get out, to keep our canoe from oversetting, 
 several times the water freezing to our clothes. We had the 
 pleasure of seeing the French upset, and the brandy and wine 
 floating in the creek, and we ran by them and left them to shift for 
 themselves." That night they reached Venango, where they found 
 their horses and men. 
 
 Washington was now compelled to part with the chiefs, one of 
 whom had been injured in some way so that he could not travel. 
 He was apprehensive of evil from the shrewd management of the 
 expeiienced Captain Joncaire, and warned Tanacharisson against 
 his machinations ; but the sachem desired him not to be concerned : 
 he knew the French too well for any thing to engage him in their 
 favor. 
 
 The horses were so emaciated and jaded that it was doubtful 
 whether they could ever cross the mountains. The provisions and 
 other luggage were to be transported on their backs, and to lighten 
 their burden as much as possible Washington, Gist, and the inter 
 preters, determined to proceed on foot, confiding them to the direc 
 tion of the servants. Washington put on an Indian walking dress, 
 and continued with them three days, when, finding that there was 
 no probability of their getting home in any reasonable time, that 
 the beasts became less able to travel every day, that the cold in 
 creased very fast, and that the roads were becoming much worse 
 by a deep snow, continually freezing, he determined to proceed in 
 
 * Printed, with notes by Dr. Mease, in the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
 third series, vol. v. 
 
88 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1753. 
 
 advance, the nearest way, through the woods. Leaving the rest of 
 the party, with the luggage, in charge of Van Bra am, therefore, 
 with money and directions to provide necessaries from place to 
 place, and orders to go on as rapidly as he could, he tied a heavy 
 watch coat close about him, and, with gun in hand, and a knapsack, 
 containing provisions and his papers, on his shoulders, left the 
 cavalcade, accompanied only by Mr. Gist, who was equipped in the 
 same manner. 
 
 Abandoning the beaten path, they directed their way through the 
 woods so as to cross the Alleghany near Shannopinstown, two or 
 three miles above the intersection of that river with the Mononga- 
 hela. Washington s own account of the hardships and dangers 
 which succeeded is modest and subdued but extremely interesting. 
 The narrative of Mr. Gist is in this part more ample, but perfectly 
 consistent with that of his leader. "I was unwilling," writes the 
 guide, "that he should undertake such a march, who had never 
 been used to walking, before this time ; but as he insisted on it, we 
 set out, with our packs, like Indians, and travelled eighteen miles. 
 That night we lodged at an Indian cabin, and the major was much 
 fatigued. It was very cold : all the small streams were frozen, so 
 that we could hardly get water to drink." At two o clock the next 
 morning they were again on foot, and pressed forward until they 
 struck the southeast branch of Beaver creek, at a place called 
 Murderingtown, the scene, probably, of some Indian massacre. 
 "Here," proceeds Mr. Gist, "we met with an Indian, whom I thought 
 I had seen at Joncaire s, at Venango, when on our journey up to 
 the French fort. This fellow called me by my Indian name, and 
 pretended to be glad to see me. He asked us several questions, as, 
 how came we to travel on foot, when we left Venango, where we 
 parted from our horses, and when they would be there. Major 
 Washington insisted upon traveling on the nearest way to the forks 
 of the Alleghany. We asked the Indian if he could go with us 
 and show us the nearest way. He seemed very glad and ready to 
 do so ; upon which we set out, and he took the major s pack. We 
 traveled quite briskly for eight or ten miles, when the major s feet 
 
jE-r. 21.] A TREACHEROUS INDIAN. 89 
 
 grew very sore, and he very weary, and the Indian steered too 
 much northeastwardly. The major desired to encamp, upon which 
 the Indian asked to carry his gun ; but he refused that, and then 
 the Indian grew churlish, and pressed us to keep on, telling us there 
 were Ottawa Indians in these woods, and that they would scalp us if 
 w r e lay out ; but to go to his cabin and we would be safe. I thought 
 very ill of the fellow, but did not care to let the major know I mis 
 trusted him. But he soon mistrusted him as much as I. The Indian 
 said he could hear a gun from his cabin, and steered us more north 
 wardly. We grew uneasy, and then he said two whoops might be 
 heard from his cabin. We went two miles farther. Then the 
 major said he would stay at the next w r ater, and we desired the 
 Indian to stop at the next water ; but before we came to water we 
 came to a clear meadow. It was very light, and snow was on the 
 ground. The Indian made a stop, and turned about. The major 
 saw him point his gun toward us, and he fired. Said the major, 
 Are you shot? No, said I; upon which the Indian ran forward 
 to a big standing white oak, and began loading his gun, but we 
 were soon with him. I would have killed him, but the major would 
 not suffer me. We let him charge his gun. We found he put in a 
 ball ; then we took care of him. Either the major or I always stood 
 by the guns. We made him make a fire for us by a little run, as 
 if we intended to sleep there. I said to the major, As you will 
 not have him killed, we must get him away, and then we must 
 travel all night ; upon which I said to the Indian, I suppose you 
 were lost, and fired your gun. He said he knew the way to his 
 cabin, and it was but a little way. Well, said I, do you go home ; 
 and as we are much tired, we will follow your track in the morning/ 
 He was glad to get away. I followed him, and listened until he 
 was fairly out of the way, and then we went about half a mile, 
 when we made a fire, set our compass, and fixed our course and 
 traveled all night. In the morning we were on the head of Piney 
 creek." 
 
 There is little reason to doubt that it was the intention of the 
 savage to kill one or both of them. Washington, alluding to the 
 
90 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1753. 
 
 incident, writes : " We fell in with a party of French Indians, who 
 had lain in wait for us. One of them fired at Mr. Gist or me, not 
 fifteen steps off, but fortunately missed. We took the fellow into 
 custody, and kept him till nine o clock at night, and then let him go, 
 and walked all the remaining part of the night, without making any 
 stop, that we might get the start so far as to be out of the reach of 
 their pursuit the next day, since we were w r ell assured they would 
 follow our track as soon as it was light." They were riot again 
 seen or heard of, however, and soon after sunset the next evening 
 the travelers came to the Alleghany river, where they thought 
 themselves " safe enough to sleep." They had hoped to be able to 
 cross over on the ice ; but in this they were disappointed, as the 
 river had been frozen only a few yards on each side, and great 
 quantities of ice were driving down the current. 
 
 Travel worn, and exhausted with privation, cold, and excitement, 
 they were compelled to wrap themselves in their blankets and lie 
 down in the snow ; and when morning came the prospect of being 
 able to cross the river seemed almost desperate. " There was no 
 way of getting over," Washington writes, " but on a raft, which we 
 set about with but one poor hatchet, and finished just after sunset. 
 This was a whole day s work. We next got it launched, and went 
 on board of it ; then set off; but before we were half way over we 
 were jammed in the ice in such a manner that we expected every 
 moment our raft would sink and ourselves perish. I put out my 
 setting pole to try and stop the raft, that the ice might pass by, 
 when the rapidity of the stream threw it with so much violence 
 against the pole, that it jerked me over, into ten feet water ; but I 
 fortunately saved myself by catching hold of one of the raft logs. 
 Notwithstanding all our efforts, we could not get the raft to either 
 shore, but were obliged, as we were near an island, to quit our raft, 
 and make to it." 
 
 When they reached the island it was nearly dark, but there was 
 nothing possible but to wait, and in the intense cold, with their 
 garments wet, they passed the night, contemplating a more hopeless 
 morning than either of them had probably ever known. Mr. Gist s 
 
[3 
 
 
 m 
 
Mr. 21.] VISIT TO QUEEN ALIQUIPPA. 91 
 
 hands and feet were frozen, and the sufferings of both must have 
 been extreme. The inclement weather however brought them 
 more good than evil; they must have perished, had it been less 
 severe, for want of means by which to leave the island, or by the 
 rifles or tomahawks of the unfriendly Indians ; but when the day 
 dawned they perceived that the river was congealed so strongly 
 as to bear their weight, and crossing over, safely, they were before 
 night in comfortable quarters at Mr. Frazier s trading house, on the 
 Monongahela, where they had stopped on their way wes& Here 
 they were detained two or three days, before they could procure 
 horses on which to prosecute their journey. 
 
 The morning after their arrival, having heard that an Indian 
 princess, called Queen Aliquippa, had expressed dissatisfaction at 
 their failure to call upon her on their way to the French posts, they 
 proceeded to her residence, where the Youghiogany falls into the 
 Monongahela. Washington obtained her forgiveness by an apology 
 for his previous inattention and by the present of a watch coat and 
 a bottle of rum. " The latter," he says, " was thought much the best 
 of the two." 
 
 On the first of January they left Frazier s, and the next day 
 arrived at a place owned by Mr. Gist at Monongahela. On the 
 sixth they met seventeen horses, laden with materials and stores 
 sent out by the Ohio Company for a fortified trading post at the 
 confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, and, soon 
 after, several families going there to settle. They had previously 
 learned that a band of Ottawas, a tribe in the interest of the 
 French, had massacred a family of seven white persons, a few days 
 before, on the banks of the Great Kanawha river. On the sev 
 enth they reached Will s creek, where they separated. Washington 
 hastened on to Belvoir, stopped there one day to rest, and on the 
 sixteenth, eleven weeks from the time of his departure, was at the 
 seat of government, where he delivered to Governor Dinwiddie 
 the letter of M. de St. Pierre, and a report of his mission. This 
 report was published by order of the government, copied into most 
 of the colonial newspapers, reprinted in London under the auspices 
 
92 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 of the ministry, and from every one commanded for its author ad 
 miration and respect. 
 
 "Such," says Mr. Everett,* "was the journey undertaken by 
 Washington, at a season of the year when the soldier goes into 
 quarters, in a state of weather when the huntsman shrinks from the 
 inclemency of the skies, amidst perils from which his escape was 
 almost miraculous; and this, too, not by a penniless adventurer 
 fighting his way through desperate risks to promotion and bread, 
 but by a young man already known most advantageously in the 
 community, who, by his own honorable industry and the bequest of 
 a deceased brother, was already in possession of a fortune. In this, 
 his first official step, taken at the age of twenty-one, he displayed a 
 courage, resolution, prudence, disinterestedness, and fortitude, on a 
 small scale, though at the risk of his life, which never afterwards 
 failed to mark his conduct. He seemed to spring at once into 
 public life, considerate, wary, and fearless; and that Providence, 
 which destined him for other and higher duties, manifestly extended 
 a protecting shield over his beloved head." 
 
 * Orations and Speeches, i, 588, 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. 93 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MEASURES INDUCED BY MAJOR WASHINGTON S REPORT VIRGINIA APPEALS TO 
 
 THE OTHER COLONIES CAPTAIN TRENT SENT TO THE OHIO WASHINGTON 
 
 STATIONED AT ALEXANDRIA TEMPER OF THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES SUP 
 PLIES VOTED WASHINGTON MADE A LIEUTENANT COLONEL MUSE, A MAJOR, 
 
 AND VAN BRAAM A CAPTAIN MARCH TO THE FRONTIER CAPTAIN TRENT S 
 
 CONDUCT M. CONTRECOEUR CAPITULATION OF ENSIGN WARD OPENING OF 
 
 THE SEVEN YEARS* WAR MESSAGE FROM TANACHARISSON LETTERS TO THE 
 
 GOVERNORS OF VIRGINIA, MARYLAND, AND PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 THE result of Major Washington s expedition to the neighbor 
 hood of Lake Erie justified the darkest apprehensions of Governor 
 Dinwiddie. It was no longer possible to doubt that an aggressive 
 policy had been determined upon and commenced by the French 
 government, and that it must be promptly and vigorously met by 
 an appeal to arms, if Great Britain would retain her American 
 possessions, or her colonies would save themselves from the hor 
 rors of border warfare and ultimate destruction. Anticipating the 
 state of things contemplated by the ministry, when imposing it as 
 a duty in case of an invasion of the king s dominions to repel it by 
 force, the governor had already attempted to awaken the assembly 
 to a sense of danger, but no supplies had been voted for military 
 purposes. He now summoned a convention of the house of bur 
 gesses, sent agents to effect alliances with the southern Indian tribes, 
 the Catawbas and Cherokees, and called upon the governors of the 
 other colonies to make common cause with Virginia against the 
 enemy. But the colonies were still isolated from each other, and 
 easily found excuses for keeping as much as possible aloof from a 
 controversy in which they were not immediately interested. Massa 
 chusetts, indeed, saw the French establishing themselves on her own 
 eastern frontier, and holding Crown Point on the northwest, so that 
 
94 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 she could well allege the need of all her resources at home. Besides, 
 only the governor of Virginia had received such instructions as 
 would justify even a defensive war against France. 
 
 Before the burgesses came together, Governor Dinwiddie, by 
 advice of his council, ordered the enlistment of two companies, of 
 one hundred men each, in the northern counties, and Major Wash 
 ington was appointed to the chief command of them. The first 
 recruits, principally traders and backwoodsmen, were placed under 
 the orders of Captain Trent, who was well acquainted on the 
 frontiers, and supposed to be capable of exercising a powerful influ 
 ence over the Indians, through his brother in law, George Croghan. 
 Trent was directed to take a position on the fork of the Ohio, before 
 the French should come down the river from Le Bceuf and unite 
 with the forces expected from the Mississippi, and to commence 
 without delay the building of a fort there, in pursuance of the 
 recommendation of Major Washington. Though enjoined to act 
 only on the defensive, he was to drive away, kill, destroy, or seize as 
 prisoners, all persons who might attempt to obstruct that work, or 
 to interrupt the English settlements on the Ohio river and its trib 
 utaries. 
 
 Washington himself was stationed at Alexandria, to superintend 
 the recruitment of the second company, and obtain and forward 
 supplies for the projected fort. Lord Fairfax, who, as county lieu 
 tenant, had authority over the militia of his neighborhood, was 
 active in promoting the business in which his young friend was 
 engaged, but the few men who offered to enlist were for the most 
 part idle, worthless, and destitute, though willing to clothe them 
 selves decently if the government would advance a sufficient 
 amount of pay for that purpose. 
 
 When the burgesses met, in February, and the governor laid 
 before them his plan of operations, he found it would receive but a 
 qualified and hesitating support. Some of them deprecated any 
 action in the matter, on the ground that it was doubtful whether 
 the king had really any just claim to the disputed territory. " You 
 can well conceive," the governor wrote to a friend, " how I fired at 
 
JEr. 22.] MILITARY BOUNTY LANDS. <JO 
 
 this : that an English legislature should presume to doubt the right 
 of his majesty to the interior parts of this continent, the back of 
 his dominions." At length, after a protracted debate, while profess 
 ing an unwillingness to commit any acts of hostility against France, 
 they agreed to borrow ten thousand pounds, to be appropriated " for 
 the encouragement and protection of the settlers on the waters of 
 the Mississippi ;" and they took care, greatly to his excellency s irri 
 tation, since he held that by virtue of his office he should have the 
 exclusive disposal of all money raised for public uses, to place the 
 disbursement of this sum under the superintendence of their own 
 committee. He complained that the burgesses were " in a repub 
 lican way of thinking," but was obliged to confess that he was un 
 able to bring them " to order." 
 
 The governor dissembled his ill feeling, and entered earnestly 
 with the committee upon such measures as were warranted by these 
 limited means. The two companies already enlisted were ordered 
 to be increased to six, each of fifty men ; and to induce a more 
 respectable class of persons to enter the service, he issued a procla 
 mation offering two hundred thousand acres of land on the Ohio 
 for division among the troops, and releasing it from quitrents for 
 fifteen years. One thousand acres, to be called the garrison lands, 
 were to be set apart adjoining the proposed fort, for the soldiers 
 doing duty there. The principal reasons assigned to the home 
 administration for this grant were, that the soldiers would probably 
 become permanent settlers, and that it was better to secure the 
 lands by giving titles to a hundred thousand acres than to suffer 
 the French to take undisputed possession of a hundred million 
 acres. The king approved the proclamation, but the governor and 
 assembly of Pennsylvania were very reasonably displeased at this 
 generous disposition of territory which they asserted was within the 
 limits of that province. Governor Dinwiddie adroitly replied to an 
 expostulatory letter of Governor Hamilton on the subject by sug 
 gesting that the claims of Pennsylvania were at least doubtful, since 
 a boundary line had not been agreed upon, that his grant did not 
 necessarily imply future jurisdiction, and that if the pretensions 
 
96 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1751. 
 
 now set up should be maintained the quitrents might be paid to the 
 proprietary instead of the crown. About the same time he received 
 an encouraging letter from the earl of Holdernesse, authorizing him 
 to call to his aid two companies of colonial troops, supported at the 
 king s charge and under officers with royal commissions, one of 
 which was stationed in New York and the other in South Carolina. 
 
 The entire force thus brought together was placed under the 
 orders of Colonel Joshua Fry, a highly respectable English gentle 
 man, supposed to be well acquainted with the western country, 
 and Washington was made second in command, with the rank of 
 lieutenant colonel. In a letter to a relation, who was a member 
 of the governor s council, he had written, that he neither desired 
 nor expected the first place in the expedition, "for," he added, "I 
 must be impartial enough to confess, it is a charge too great for my 
 youth and inexperience." The position he received would un 
 doubtedly have been offered to him without any solicitation, as 
 Governor Dinwiddie had conceived a very high opinion of his 
 abilities and heroism. 
 
 Since the proclamation of bounties in lands the enlistment of 
 privates had been less difficult, but there w r as still a want of officers, 
 several gentlemen who had been appointed having declined their 
 commissions. Washington found himself almost alone, at the head 
 of one hundred and fifty " self-willed, ungovernable" recruits. His 
 old instructor, Adjutant Muse, had been made a captain, and soon 
 after a major, and the captaincy vacated by his promotion was, on 
 Washington s recommendation, given to M. Van Braam. 
 
 Anxious to be usefully employed, in active service, as soon as 
 possible, the young commander obtained permission to march with 
 the two companies assembled at Alexandria, in advance of the 
 other troops, to the frontier ; and, starting on the second of April, 
 he arrived on the twentieth at Will s creek, having been joined on 
 the way by a detachment under Captain Adam Stephen. The roads 
 were extremely bad, and the absence of any interest in the expedi 
 tion on the part of the people was illustrated by the difficulties he 
 encountered in securing wagons for the use of the quartermaster. 
 
JEt. 22.] THE SEVEN YEARS WAR COMMENCED. 97 
 
 At Winchester it became necessary to enforce the militia law, which 
 authorized impressments, though that law was not strictly applicable 
 in this case, as it was doubtful whether the territory to be defended 
 was within the limits of Virginia. Out of seventy-four wagons 
 impressed there," Washington wrote to Governor Dinwiddie, " we 
 got but ten, after waiting a week, and some of these so badly pro 
 vided with teams that the soldiers were obliged to assist them up 
 the hills, although it was known they had better teams at home. I 
 doubt not that in some points I may have strained the law, but I 
 hope, as my sole object was to expedite the march, I shall be sup 
 ported in it, should my authority be questioned, which at present I 
 do not apprehend." Colonel Fry, with the remainder of the regi 
 ment, and the artillery, was to follow by a less direct but more con 
 venient route. 
 
 Before their arrival at Will s creek a vague rumor reached the 
 little army of the capture of Captain Trent and his company on 
 the Ohio. Captain Trent himself however was found quite safe at 
 the creek, and all uncertainty as to the fate of the men was ended 
 two days afterwards by their appearance, conducted by Ensign Ward, 
 who in the absence of the captain and his lieutenant had become 
 their first officer. Washington wrote to Governor Dinwiddie that 
 the conduct of Trent had confirmed a common suspicion of "his 
 great timidity." The lieutenant was Frazier, the Indian trader, and 
 of him he said, that, " though not altogether blameless, he is much 
 more excusable, for he would not accept of his commission until 
 he had a promise from the captain that he should not be required 
 to reside at the fort, or to visit it above once a week, or as he saw 
 necessity." 
 
 M. Contrecoeur, an experienced and vigilant soldier, had suc 
 ceeded M. de St. Pierre in command of the French forces at Fort 
 Le Boeuf, and as soon as the spring opened had commenced prepar 
 ations for carrying out the plans inferred by Washington from the 
 conversation of his predecessor. Descending the Alleghany river, 
 from Venango, at the head of from five hundred to a thousand 
 men, with eighteen pieces of artillery, he halted within a short dis- 
 
 7 
 
98 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 tance of the unfinished fort at the junction of the Alleghany with 
 the Monongahela, and summoned Ensign Ward to surrender, allow 
 ing him an hour to consider the subject, and directing him to deliver 
 an answer in writing at his camp. As the party commanded by the 
 ensign amounted to but forty-one men, it was of course impossible 
 to make any resistance ; but before coming to a decision he con 
 sulted Tanacharisson, who advised him to inform M. Contrecceur 
 that he was only a subaltern, without authority to act in so import 
 ant a matter, and to request him to await the arrival of his superior 
 officer. He accordingly, accompanied by the half king, proceeded 
 with this answer to the enemy s lines, but M. Contrecceur declined 
 to make any change in his demands, and it was therefore agreed 
 that a capitulation should take place the next day, and that Ensign 
 Ward should be permitted to retire with his men, carrying their 
 working tools. These preliminaries being settled, M. Contrecceur 
 invited the ensign to sup with him, and treated him with much 
 civility. The seizure of this post was regarded as the first overt 
 act in the memorable war which for seven years raged in both 
 Europe and America memorable, in Europe, for the achieve 
 ments of Frederick the Great, by which Prussia was raised to the 
 first rank of nations, and for the splendid displays of political genius 
 which enabled Pitt to infuse unprecedented vigor into the British 
 councils ; and in America, for the entire overthrow of the French 
 dominion on this continent. 
 
 The French immediately began to complete and enlarge the works 
 which they had taken, and in a month they were made, under the 
 direction of M. de Mercier,* an accomplished engineer, of sufficient 
 capacity to receive a garrison of a thousand men, and of sufficient 
 
 * The chevalier de Mercier, the architect of Fort Duquesne, was a captain in the artillery. Soon 
 after the events here mentioned he was sent to France by the governor general with an account of 
 the campaign on the Ohio. His opinion had great weight at Versailles, and in 1755 he returned 
 with Vaudreuil and Dieskau to America. Too much confidence in his judgment led Dieskau to 
 the measures which ended in his utter defeat by Lake George, on the eighth of September, 1755. 
 In August, the following year, M. de Mercier directed with eminent ability the works with which 
 M. de Montcalm besieged Oswego, and he is charged by M. Pouchot, a contemporary historian, 
 with secreting for his own use a large share of the public property on the surrender of that place. 
 The next season he was the messenger sent by M. de Vaudreuil to demand the keys of Fort Will 
 iam Henry. 
 
Mf. 22.] LETTER TO GOVERNOR HAMILTON. 99 
 
 strength to resist any force that was likely to be brought against 
 them. In honor of the governor general of New France they 
 received the name of Fort Duquesne. 
 
 Ensign Ward was accompanied to Will s creek by two Indian 
 warriors, sent by Tanacharisson, to ascertain the intentions of 
 Washington and the number of his men. They conveyed to him 
 a message from the chief. " Come to our assistance as soon as you 
 can," were his words ; " come soon, or we are lost, and shall never 
 meet again. I speak it in the grief of my heart." 
 
 The position of Washington was eminently critical and embar 
 rassing. With but three small and undisciplined companies he 
 occupied an advanced post on the frontier, beyond which there was 
 no obstacle to prevent the approach of the powerful French force by 
 which the country was invaded, and which was reported to be con 
 tinually receiving accessions from the Mississippi and the St. Law 
 rence. Colonel Fry had not yet joined him, nor had he any means 
 of ascertaining, with certainty, when that officer would assume the 
 command. The entire responsibility of deciding and acting, at a 
 moment when the utmost promptness and energy were necessary, 
 to insure the subordination of his troops and the confidence and 
 faithfulness of his Indian allies, therefore rested on himself. Under 
 these circumstances, he sent express messengers to the governors of 
 Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, with letters explaining his 
 weak and exposed situation and soliciting reinforcements. To Gov 
 ernor Hamilton of Pennsylvania he wrote : " I have arrived thus far 
 with a detachment of one hundred and fifty-nine men. Colonel 
 Fry, with the remainder of the regiment and the artillery, is daily 
 expected. In the meantime we shall advance slowly across the 
 mountains, making the roads, as we march, fit for the carriage of 
 the great guns ; and design to proceed as far as the mouth of Red 
 stone creek, which enters the Monongahela about thirty-seven 
 miles above the fort the French have taken, whence we have a 
 water carriage down the river. There is a storehouse, built by the 
 Ohio Company, at that place, which for the present may serve as a 
 receptable for our ammunition and provisions. Besides the French 
 
100 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 under Monsieur Contrecoeur, we have credible information that 
 another party are coming up the Ohio. We also have intelligence 
 that six hundred Chippewa and Ottawa Indians are marching 
 down Scioto creek to join them. I ought first to have begged 
 pardon of your excellency for this liberty of writing, as I am not 
 happy enough to be ranked among your acquaintance. It was the 
 glowing zeal I owe my country that influenced me to impart these 
 advices, and my inclination prompted me to do it to you, as I know 
 you are solicitous for the public welfare, and warm in this inter 
 esting cause." 
 
 In his letter to Governor Dinwiddie Washington mentioned his 
 communications to the chief magistrates of the other near prov 
 inces. " I considered that the assembly of Maryland was to sit in 
 five days," he wrote, " that the Pennsylvania assembly is now sitting, 
 and that, by giving timely notice, something might be done in favor 
 of this expedition, which now requires all the force we can muster." 
 Governor Dinwiddie himself had written to the governors of all 
 the provinces, from New York to South Carolina, setting forth the 
 condition of affairs, and asking for assistance. 
 
 The decision to advance into the wilderness, without waiting 
 for Colonel Fry, was approved by a council of war, and sixty men 
 were at once detached to commence the preparation of the proposed 
 military road. 
 
JT. 22.] RUMORS OF THE ENEMY.-- 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 WASHINGTON LEAVES WILL S CREEK BUILDING A MILITARY ROAD RUMORS OP 
 
 THE FRENCH AND INDIANS DISCONTENTS RESPECTING PAY CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 ON THIS SUBJECT EXPLORATION OF THE YOUGHIOGANY FAMINE ALARMING 
 
 MESSAGE FROM TANACHARISSON MARCH TO THE GREAT MEADOWS MORE 
 
 RUMORS OF THE ENEMY A NIGHT EXPEDITION JOINED BY TANACHARISSON 
 
 WASHINGTON S FIRST BATTLE DEATH OF JUMONVILLE. 
 
 ON the twenty-ninth of April Washington departed from Will s 
 creek with about one- hundred men. The volunteers of Captain 
 Trent s company who had come in from the Ohio under Ensign Ward, 
 were detached, with orders to await the arrival of Colonel Fry. By 
 the terms of their enlistment they had considered themselves exempt 
 from the rigor of martial law, and it was apprehended that the ex 
 ample of their insubordination would have an injurious effect upon 
 the discipline of the other troops. The party of sixty men sent for 
 ward to work upon the road had made but little progress, and when, 
 it was joined by the main body, and all were engaged in the labor, 
 two, three or four miles a day were all that could be accomplished. 
 On the seventh of May they were at Little Meadows, but twenty 
 miles from Will s creek, and here they were detained between two 
 and three days in building a bridge. Accounts were continually 
 received from traders, driven from the extreme frontier by increas 
 ing dangers, of the activity of the French and Indians. One of 
 them reported that at Mr. Gist s new settlement, beyond Laurel 
 Hill, he had seen the French emissary, La Force, who had joined 
 Washington and his party and attempted to seduce from him his 
 Indian attendants, a few months before, between Venango and Fort 
 Le Boeuf. He was now prowling about the woods, with four sol 
 diers at his heels, on a specious pretence of hunting after deserters, 
 
102 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 but really to reconnoitre, and ascertain the force and movements 
 of the English. The same trader brought intelligence that the 
 French down the Ohio were sending presents and invitations to all 
 the neighboring tribes, and that Tanacharisson, still faithful in his 
 friendship, was coming to meet Washington at the head of fifty 
 warriors. 
 
 On the seventeenth of May Ensign Ward returned to the camp, 
 which was now on the banks of the Youghiogany, with a letter 
 from Governor Dinwiddie, whom he had left at Winchester, where 
 he was making arrangements for an amicable meeting with several 
 chiefs. In his answer, written the next day, Washington made a 
 spirited protest against the ill-judged economy of the committee 
 of the house of burgesses in allowing the colonial officers a smaller 
 compensation* than was received in the regular army. It was 
 admitted that the officers dependent immediately on the royal 
 treasury were obliged to furnish their own tables, but their superior 
 pay enabled them to do so in a luxurious manner, while the pro 
 vincials w r ere compelled to do hard service on salt provisions. 
 Washington sympathized with his companions in resenting this 
 inferiority of wages. "Nothing," he wrote, "prevents them from 
 throwing down their commissions but the approaching danger, 
 w r hich has too far engaged their honor for them to recede till other 
 officers are sent in their room, or an alteration is made in their pay, 
 during which time they will assist with their best endeavors volun 
 tarily : that is, without receiving the gratuity allowed by the re 
 solves of the committee." He had no thought of surrendering his 
 own commission, however. " I have a constitution hardy enough 
 to encounter and undergo the most severe trials, and, I flatter 
 myself, resolution to face what any man dares," he remarked ; " and 
 I will with the greatest pleasure devote my services to the expedi 
 tion, without any other reward than the satisfaction of serving my 
 
 * The pay of the colonial forces was as follows : to a colonel, fifteen shillings a day; to a lieute 
 nant f-olond, twelve shillings and sixpence; to a major, ten shillings; a captain, eight shillings; a 
 lieutenant, four shillings ; and an ensign, three hillings. The privates received eight pence per 
 da} r , and a pistole bounty, and half a pint of rum was allowed each man. The uniform was a red 
 coat and breeches. See Dinvviddie s Letter, in Pennsylvania Colonial Kecords, vi. 6, 
 
>Er. 22.] EXCURSION DOWN THE YOUGHIOGAN Y. 103 
 
 country ; but to be slaving dangerously for only the shadow of pay, 
 through the woods, rocks, mountains I would rather dig for a 
 maintenance, provided I were reduced to the necessity, than serve 
 upon such ignoble terms ; for I really do not see why the lives of his 
 majesty s subjects in Virginia should be of less value than those of 
 his subjects in other parts of his American dominions, especially 
 when it is well known that we must undergo double their hard 
 ships." Although it was the indignity involved in the proposition 
 of the government that induced this manifestation of feeling, he 
 took care to set before the governor the absolute injustice of the 
 pay which was offered. " Now," he wrote, " if we could be fortunate 
 enough to drive the French from the Ohio, as far as your honor 
 would please to have them sent, in any short time, our pay will not 
 be sufficient to discharge our first expenses. I would not have you 
 imagine from this that I have said ah 1 these things to have our pay 
 increased, but to justify myself, and to show you that our complaints 
 are not frivolous, but founded in strict reason." " The motives which 
 have led me here," he added, " are pure and noble : I had no view 
 of acquisition, but that of honor, by serving my king and country ;" 
 and in conclusion : " Be the consequences what they will, I am de 
 termined not to leave the regiment, but to be among the last men 
 who quit the Ohio, even if I serve as a private volunteer, which I 
 greatly prefer to the establishment we are now upon." Serious 
 distress and growing discontents were at the same time prevailing 
 in consequence of a failure of provisions, caused by the neglect of 
 the commissaries to fulfil their contracts. 
 
 The water in the Youghiogany was so high that it was impossible 
 for the troops to cross that river, and the same cause secured them 
 from any attack by the enemy. Assured by Indians and traders 
 that he could descend this stream in boats, and that increasing 
 difficulties would discourage his attempt to open a wagon road to 
 Redstone creek, Washington, on the twentieth, confided the chief 
 military command to a subordinate officer, and, embarking in a 
 canoe, with a lieutenant, three privates, and an Indian guide, pro 
 ceeded down the river nearly thirty miles, encountering shoals, 
 
104 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 rapids, fallen trees, and other obstacles, until, having passed between 
 two mountains, he came to a fall that rendered any further advance 
 impracticable. He therefore returned. 
 
 On the twenty-third he received a message from Tanacharisson 
 warning him to be on his guard, as a portion of the French army 
 had been two days on the march toward him, determined to attack 
 the first English they should meet. In the evening this account 
 w r as confirmed by another, that the French were at a crossing of the 
 Youghiogany about eighteen miles distant. He proceeded immedi 
 ately to a place called the Great Meadows, where he cleared away 
 the bushes, threw up a slight fortification, and prepared what he de 
 scribed as " a charming field for an encounter." Upon his arrival 
 there several men were sent out on the wagon horses to recon 
 noitre, but they came back, on the twenty-sixth, without having 
 seen anything of the enemy. The night after their departure 
 an alarm was given, about two o clock, and the soldiers were kept 
 under arms until near sunrise, when it was found that six men had 
 deserted. Their movements had probably attracted the attention 
 of the sentinels. 
 
 Early on the twenty-seventh Mr. Gist came into the camp with 
 intelligence that M. La Force had been at his place, thirteen miles 
 away, the previous day at noon, at the head of fifty men, 
 whose trail he had observed within five miles. Seventy-five men 
 were detached under Captain Adam Stephen to find and bring 
 them to an engagement if possible, and the best preparations 
 which circumstances permitted were made for their reception at 
 Great Meadows. At nine o clock in the evening a messenger ar 
 rived from Tanacharisson, who was with a party of his warriors 
 about six miles off, stating that he had seen the tracks of two 
 Frenchmen, and that the whole force was near him. 
 
 Before an hour had elapsed Washington placed himself at the 
 head of forty men, and set off to join his Indian allies. The night 
 was extremely dark, the rain fell fast and heavily, and the path 
 through the woods was so narrow and intricate as to be frequently 
 missed, and found only with great difficulty, by groping among 
 
,ET. 22.] DEATH OF JUMONVILLE. 105 
 
 bushes, and fallen trees, and rocks. The tents of the Indians were 
 not reached until after day light. 
 
 A conversation was held with the half king and his chiefs, which 
 resulted in their agreement to join without any delay in the 
 search after the French. Tanacharisson, Monacatoocha, and a few 
 others, accordingly proceeded with the English, and when they 
 came to the place where footprints had been discovered, two of 
 them were despatched to ascertain whither they led. They soon 
 returned, with information that the enemy was in an obscure re 
 treat, surrounded with rocks and trees, half a mile from the road. 
 A plan of attack was quickly formed ; approaching the hiding place 
 of the French in two parties, the English and Indians nearly sur 
 rounded it ; and when Washington, at the head of his men, march 
 ing in single file, came so near as to be seen, the French instantly 
 seized their arms, put themselves in an attitude of defence, and 
 firing commenced on both sides, though the guns and ammunition 
 of the English were so w^et that they were compelled to rely chiefly 
 on the use of the bayonet. The engagement lasted about fifteen 
 minutes, when the French surrendered. Ten of their number had 
 been killed, one escaped to carry news of the disaster to M. Con- 
 trecoeur, and twenty-two were taken prisoners. Among the killed 
 was M. Jumonville, and one of the prisoners was La Force. Of the 
 English one was killed and two or three were wounded.* 
 
 * Horace Walpole, in his Memoirs of George the Second, says, "In the express which Major 
 Washington despatched on his preceding little victory (the skirmish with Jumonville), he concluded 
 with these words : I heard the bullets whistle, and, believe me, there is something charming in the 
 sound. On hearing this the king said, sensibly, He would not say so if he had been used to hear 
 many. However, this brave braggart learned to blush for his rhodomontade, and, desiring to serve 
 General Braddock as his aid-de-camp, acquitted himself nobly." 
 
 Mr. Sparks, quoting the above paragraph, remarks that in Washington s despatch giving an ac 
 count of the encounter with Jumonville s party there is "nothing about the whistling of bullets, nor is 
 such a sentiment uttered in any of his letters which have been preserved ;" and that " as the writer refers 
 to no authority, it may be presumed that he had none but rumor, for either the saying of Washington 
 or the more sensible reply of the king." But Mr. Irving has discovered Walpole s authority, in a 
 letter from Washington to one of his brothers, which by some means found its way, not long after it 
 was written, into the London Magazine for 1754. Before Walpole s work came out, however, the 
 story had been printed by Gordon, who says in his History (ii. 203) : " A gentleman, who had heard 
 the reverend Mr. Davies relate that Colonel Washington had mentioned, he knew of no music so 
 pleasing as the whistling of bullets, being alone with him in conversation at Cambridge, asked him 
 whether it was as he related. The general answered, If I said so, it was when I was young. " 
 The witty earl was mistaken in saying that Washington desired to serve Braddock as aid-de-camp : 
 it was at Braddock s solicitation that he attended him in that capacity. 
 
106 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 It is said that Washington, on giving the order to fire, set an ex 
 ample with his own musket, and Mr. Bancroft, referring to the scene, 
 says, " That word of command kindled the world into a flame ; it 
 was the signal for the first great revolution ; there, in the western 
 forest, began the battle which was to banish from the soil and 
 neighborhood of our republic the institutions of the middle age, 
 and to inflict on them fatal wounds throughout the continent of 
 Europe. In repelling France from the basin of the Ohio Wash 
 ington broke the repose of mankind, and waked a struggle, which 
 could admit only of a truce, until the ancient bulwarks of catholic 
 legitimacy w^ere thrown down."* 
 
 The elevation of Washington s character and the integrity of his 
 conduct were all through his life so conspicuous as to save his repu 
 tation in a very remarkable degree from the assaults of calumny ; 
 but this affair of the death of M. Jumonville has from the beginning 
 been scandalously misrepresented by many French and by some 
 other writers, with a view to show that the first blood ever shed by 
 Washington s orders was shed in violation of the laws and usages 
 of war. Truth justifies no such conclusion. 
 
 The rencounter took place just after seven o clock on the morn 
 ing of the twenty-eighth of May. On the following day Washing 
 ton w r rote a particular account of it to Governor Dinwiddie, at 
 Winchester, which he sent by the officer in command of the guard 
 despatched at the same time with the prisoners. The most impor 
 tant of these were M. Drouillon, and the M. La Force whom he had 
 previously known, and had described to the governor as " a bold, 
 enterprising man, of great subtlety and cunning." They claimed to 
 be set at liberty, on the absurd pretext that they had been captured 
 while under the sacred protection of an embassage. It needed little 
 penetration to discover that they were really spies, and far more 
 justly entitled to the halter than to the leniency Washington ex 
 hibited in considering them prisoners of war. 
 
 It is true that war had not yet been formally declared by either 
 Great Britain or France ; yet Governor Dinwiddie, specially in- 
 
 * History of the United States, iv. 11& 
 
&T. 22.] JUMONVJLLE S INSTRUCTIONS. 107 
 
 structed to do so by the English ministers, had protested against the 
 occupation of the Ohio by the French, as an invasion of British ter 
 ritory ; and, knowing this, the governor general of Canada, instead 
 of referring the subject to his superiors and awaiting their farther 
 orders, had directed still other advances into the disputed region, 
 and had already taken forcible possession of a fort which was being 
 erected there by the English. Doubtless the instructions of M. 
 Duquesne were as distinct and imperative as those given to Mr. 
 Dinwiddie, and both governors were enjoined to appeal to the sword 
 in support of the pretensions of their sovereigns. War therefore 
 did actually exist by the action of the highest authorities recognised 
 by either party. Besides, it was known that this detachment, so im 
 pudently called an embassy, had been stealthily wandering through 
 the country for several days, endeavoring to estrange the Indians 
 in the British interest, and gaining all the information they could 
 as to the strength and purposes of the force sent from Virginia. 
 
 M. Contrecceur, repeating what was told him by the Canadian sol 
 dier who escaped, wrote to M. Duquesne that on discovering the ap 
 proach of Washington M. Jumonville instantly ordered the reading 
 of a communication of which he was the bearer, and that he was 
 shot down while his interpreter was performing this duty. Some 
 of the prisoners afterward declared that the French called out to 
 the English with the design to make known that their mission had 
 a peaceful object. But evidently these are fictions. Neither the 
 French who were taken, nor the English or Indians, observed any 
 attempt to read a paper ; and Washington, who was at the head of 
 his men, and the first person seen by the French, wrote to Gov 
 ernor Dinwiddie that he believed it impossible that any such call 
 should have been made without his hearing it, which was not the 
 case, but on the contrary he " saw them run to their arms, and im 
 mediately commence firing." 
 
 On the person of Jumonville were found papers which fully justi 
 fied the most unfavorable impression as to his purposes. From a 
 letter of instructions it appeared that he was to inform himself of 
 the roads, creeks, and other features of the country, as far as the 
 
108 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 Potomac; to send back from time to time all the information he 
 could obtain, and to give notice of the day on which he expected 
 to serve an accompanying summons upon the commander of the 
 English troops. This summons was a mere parody of the message 
 conveyed by Washington to M. de St. Pierre : it warned the Eng 
 lish to retreat beyond the Alleghanies, and threatened compulsory 
 measures if it should not be obeyed. Jumonville probably did not 
 intend to make any use of it, except in the event of his capture. 
 
 After suggesting that thirty-six men would have been a retinue 
 for a princely ambassador, instead of one of so mean rank, Washing 
 ton remarks : " Why did they, if their designs were open, stay so long 
 within five miles of us, without delivering their message or acquaint 
 ing me with it ? Their waiting could be with no other design than 
 to get detachments to enforce the summons as soon as it was given. 
 They had no occasion to send out spies, for the name of an ambas 
 sador is sacred among all nations ; but it was by the tracks of their 
 spies that they were discovered, and that we got intelligence of 
 them. They would not have retired two miles back without deliv 
 ering the summons, and sought a skulking-place, but for some spe 
 cial reason." 
 
 In another letter to the governor, respecting the prisoners, he 
 wrote : " I have still stronger presumption, indeed almost confirma 
 tion, that they were sent as spies.... I doubt not but they will 
 endeavor to amuse you with many smooth stories, as they did me ; 
 but they were confuted in them all, and, by circumstances too plain 
 to be denied, almost made ashamed of their assertions." 
 
 M. Thomas, a French poet of considerable reputation, and a mem 
 ber of the Academy, published on this subject in 1759 a tragic 
 poem in four cantos, under the title of " Jumonville," in which he 
 attempts to dignify his hero, to paint the circumstances of his death 
 in the darkest colors, and to trace the subsequent misfortunes of 
 the English to the retributive justice of Heaven. 
 
 The conduct of Washington has been vindicated by Mr. Sparks, 
 elaborately and with marked ability, in notes to the first volume of 
 his edition of Washington s Writings. 
 
JET. 22.] FORT NECESSITY. 109 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 DANGEROUS SITUATION OF WASHINGTON- FORT NECESSITY LETTER TO GOV 
 ERNOR DINWIDDIE INDIAN ALLIES COUNCIL OF WAR AT FORT DUQUESNE 
 
 DEATH OF COLONEL FRY WASHINGTON BECOMES COMMANDER OF THE EXPEDI 
 TION REINFORCEMENTS COLONEL INNES CAPTAIN MACKY DIFFICULTIES 
 
 CONCERNING RANK PRAYERS IN THE CAMP ADVANCE TO GIST S SETTLEMENT 
 
 DISCOURAGING RUMORS RETREAT TO FORT NECESSITY DESERTION BY THE 
 
 INDIANS THE FORT ATTACKED CAPITULATION VAN BRAAM AS AN INTER 
 PRETER VAN BRAAM AND STOBO HOSTAGES RETURN OF THE TROOPS TO 
 
 WILLIAMSBURG THANKED BY THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES WASHINGTON RE 
 SIGNS HIS COMMISSION. 
 
 ON returning to the encampment at Great Meadows, Washington 
 perfectly understood the imminent danger to which he was exposed, 
 of an attack from the main body of the French troops, consisting, 
 it was believed, of nearly a thousand men, besides Indian allies, 
 with continual additions of reinforcements. Whether the person 
 who had escaped the previous day s encounter had reached Fort 
 Duquesne or failed to do so, M. Contrecoeur could not long remain 
 in ignorance of the catastrophe which had overtaken his corps of 
 observation ; and as the messengers sent by Jumonville on the 
 twenty-seventh must have informed him of the weakness of the 
 English, it was natural to suppose that he would at once adopt 
 effective measures of retaliation. 
 
 The small stockade erected at Great Meadows, for the purpose 
 of securing the provisions and horses, was enlarged, strengthened, 
 nearly surrounded with entrenchments, and significantly named 
 Fort Necessity. On the twenty-ninth Washington wrote to Colonel 
 Fry, who was sick at Will s creek, that if assistance should not be 
 received, he must either quit his ground, or fight very unequal 
 numbers, and that he would choose the last alternative rather than 
 
110 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. L 1754. 
 
 give up an inch of what he had gained. To Governor Dinwiddie 
 he wrote the same day : " I shall expect every hour to be attacked, 
 and by unequal numbers, which I must withstand, if there are five 
 to one, for I fear the consequence will be that we shall lose the 
 Indians if we suffer ourselves to be driven back.... I will not be 
 surprised, let them come at what hour they will, and this is as much 
 as I can promise ; but my best endeavors shall not be wanting to 
 effect more. I doubt not, if you hear I am beaten, you will hear 
 at the same time that we have done our duty in fighting as long as 
 there is a shadow of hope." 
 
 A few days spent in active preparation for anticipated dangers 
 abated in a degree the excitement of the young commander, and on 
 the third of June he addressed to the governor a letter* in which his 
 circumstances and feelings are presented in an interesting manner. 
 
 " The half king," he writes, " with about twenty-five families, con 
 taining nearly eighty persons, including women and children, arrived 
 here last night. He has given me some account of the Twigtwees,^ 
 Wyandots, and several other nations of Indians, which I have trans 
 mitted to your honor by an express, as you inquired circumstan 
 tially, in your last, and I was then unable to give any account at 
 all of them. The French, early in the spring, sent a speech to the 
 Wyandots, Twigtwees, and their allies, and desired them to take 
 up the hatchet and start for the Ohio, and to cut off the inhabit 
 ants, with all the English, thereon. This, Big Kettle acquainted the 
 half king with ; and at the same time assured him of their good 
 intentions of assisting the Six Nations and their brothers the Eng- 
 
 * This letter appears to have escaped the researches of Mr. Sparks, Mr. Irving, and other 
 biographers. 
 
 t This account of the Twigtwees has not heen discovered among the Washington MSS. or the 
 colonial papers of Virginia. Mr. Gist, who visited them in 1751, writes of them as follows : "The 
 Twigtwees are a very numerous people, consisting of many different tribes under the same form of 
 government. Each tribe has a particular chief, or king, one of whom is chosen indifferently out of 
 any tribe to rule the whole nation, and is vested with greater authority than any of the others. 
 They are accounted the most powerful nation to the westward of the English settlements, and much 
 superior to the Six Nations, with whom they are now in amity. They formerly lived on the farther 
 side of the Wabash, and were in the French interest. They have now revolted from them, and have 
 left their former habitations for the sake of trading with the English." The French wrote the name 
 Tuigtuis. Mr. Wynne is referred to by Mr. Sparks as believing the Twigtwees to have been the 
 same as the Ottawas. 
 
MT. 22.] LETTER TO GOVERNOR DINWIDDIE. Ill 
 
 lish against the French, and that they only waited to see ns begin. 
 I have enclosed the speech of the chiefs, to which was added another 
 from the warriors, informing me that they were busy in counseling 
 with the Chippewas, Ottawas, and others, and striving to bring all 
 into the same mind with themselves. They desire the Six Nations, 
 Virginians, and Pennsylvanians, not to doubt but that they shall 
 accomplish their designs in this, and when they do, they will send 
 word thereof. 
 
 " Monacatoocha was sent by the half king about five nights ago 
 to Logstown, with four French scalps, two of which were to be sent 
 to the Wyandots, and the other two to the Six Nations, telling them 
 that the French had tricked them out of their lands, for which, with 
 their brothers the English, who joined hand in hand, they had let 
 them feel the weight of their hatchet, which was but trifling yet, as 
 it only laid on thirty, for that they intended with their brothers to 
 drive the French beyond the lakes. Monacatoocha has orders to 
 draw all the Indians from the Ohio, and then repair to our camp. 
 
 " I proposed to the half king sending their women and children 
 in to the inhabitants, for, as they must be supported by us, it may 
 be done at less expense there than here ; besides this, there may 
 another good attend it : their children may imbibe the principles of 
 love and friendship in a stronger degree, which, if taken when 
 young, are generally more firm and lasting. He told me he would 
 consider of it, and give answer when Monacatoocha arrived. I 
 hope this will be agreeable to your honor, whom I wrote to before 
 on this head, without receiving an answer. We find it very difficult 
 procuring provisions for them, as they eat equally with our own 
 men, which is unavoidable without turning them adrift entirely. 
 
 " Mr. Montour* would be of singular use to me here at this pres 
 ent, in conversing with the Indians, for I have no persons that I can 
 put any dependence in. I make use of all the influence I can to 
 engage them warmly on our side, and flatter myself that I am not 
 unsuccessful, but for want of a better acquaintance with their cus- 
 
 * Montour was a Canadian, of Indian extraction, and employed in the Indian trade when engaged 
 by the English as an interpreter. He was supposed to have much influence with the Iroquois. 
 
112 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 toms I am often at a loss how to behave, and should be relieved 
 from many anxious fears of offending them if Montour were here to 
 assist me ; and, as he is in the government s employment, I hope 
 your honor will think with me that his services cannot be applied 
 to so great advantage elsewhere as here upon this occasion. 
 
 " There were three French deserters (one an Englishman) met a 
 few days ago at Loyal Henning, going to Virginia, by one Crawford, 
 a man of veracity, who was assured by them that there were two 
 Maryland traders confined in irons at the fort when Monsieur Ju- 
 monville was detached ; and, at the same time that he departed for 
 this, another party of fifty was sent down the Ohio to kill or take 
 prisoners all the English they should meet with. They assure as 
 that Jumonville had all chosen men fixed upon for this enterprise ; 
 they likewise confirm the report the prisoners gave, that eleven 
 hundred men are now in the fort, and reinforcements expected. 
 
 "If the whole detachment of the French behave with no more 
 resolution than this chosen party did, I flatter myself we shall have 
 no great trouble in driving them to the devil or Montreal. Though 
 I took forty men under my command when I marched out, yet the 
 darkness of the night was so great that, by wandering a little from 
 the main body, seven were lost, and but thirty-three engaged. 
 There were also but seven Indians with arms, two of whom were 
 boys : one, Dinwiddie, your honor s godson, who behaved well in 
 action. There were five or six other Indians, who served to knock 
 the poor unhappy wounded in the head and bereave them of their 
 scalps. So that we had but forty men, with which force we tried 
 and took thirty-two or thirty-three, besides others who may have 
 escaped. One, we have certain account, did. 
 
 " We have just finished a small palisaded fort, in which, with my 
 small numbers, I shall not fear the attack of five hundred men. 
 
 "There are three separate strings of wampum which the half 
 king has desired me to send : one is from the Wyandot chiefs, to 
 confirm what they said ; another from the warriors, to confirm their 
 speech; and the other (white) is from Monacatoocha ; and since 
 writing the above there have arrived two Indians from the Musk- 
 
JEr. 22.] COUNSELS AT FORT DUQUESNE. 113 
 
 ingum, who inform me that the Wyandots, &c., are ready to strike so 
 soon as they hear the Six Nations and English have." 
 
 Tanacharisson appeared to enter heartily into the purposes of 
 Washington. With the scalps of the slain Frenchmen he sent black 
 wampum and hatchets to his allies, assuring them that their brothers 
 the English, had " now begun in earnest." The camp was thronged 
 with Indians, among whom were Queen Aliquippa and her son, and 
 many other chiefs, besides the half king and his retainers. Their 
 services, however, were but an inadequate compensation for the 
 trouble of managing them, and the cost of their support, 
 
 The suspicions of Washington as to the effect which intelligence 
 of the recent engagement would produce at Fort Duquesne were 
 entirely correct. A council of war was summoned as soon as the 
 single fugitive from the scene of disaster had told his story, false in 
 almost everything except that his companions had been surprised, 
 killed, or captured. In this council the opinions of all the officers 
 present were submitted in writing. Coulon de Villiers, a brother 
 of Jumonville, fiery and brutal, and widely known, for the prowess 
 he had displayed in border and savage warfare, as Le Grand Viltiers, 
 was for prompt and vengeful action; but M. de Mercier advised 
 moderation : in his opinion it was not expedient to do anything which 
 could be construed into a violation of the letter of the treaty of 
 Utrecht, though he and every member of the council must have 
 known that the spirit of that treaty was outraged by even their 
 presence in the valley of the Ohio. M. Contrecoeur appreciated the 
 policy of preserving as far as possible the appearances of peace, and 
 adopted M. de Mercier s views. It was decided therefore that M. de 
 Villiers should be despatched with about six hundred men to meet 
 the English, and that M. de Mercier should accompany him as sec 
 ond in command. 
 
 Washington had scarcely completed his last despatches to Gov 
 ernor Dinwiddie respecting the affair of Jumonville when he heard 
 that Colonel Fry had died suddenly at Will s creek. By this event 
 the chief command devolved on himself. Major Muse came in on 
 the ninth of June with the recruits, by whom the little arrny at 
 
114 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 Great Meadows was increased to about three hundred men. He 
 was accompanied by Dr. James Craik, a surgeon, born and educated 
 in Scotland, who from this period until the last moment of Wash 
 ington s life was one of his most intimate and trusted friends ; and by 
 Montour, the Indian interpreter, whose presence enabled the com 
 mander with ease and effect to go through the ceremonial of present 
 ing a belt of wampum which the governor had sent to Tanacharisson, 
 with medals to all the chiefs, and various gifts of merchandise to 
 the other friendly Indians. The death of Colonel Fry* rendered 
 necessary a reorganization of the regiment, and he gave to Captain 
 Adam Stephen, who had displayed unusual judgment and intre 
 pidity, a major s commission, which he found in blank among the 
 papers of the deceased officer, and recommended acting captain 
 Van Braam and others for promotion. 
 
 Almost every hour brought some excitement or surprise. Soon 
 after the arrival of this reinforcement w r ord was received that a 
 party of the enemy was approaching; it was understood that it 
 amounted to ninety men ; and Washington marched out at the head 
 of one hundred and thirty of his best soldiers, " with the hope of 
 procuring another present of French prisoners" for the governor, 
 but "was as much disappointed as ever in his life" when he found 
 that he had mistaken ninety for nine, and that these were deserters 
 seeking protection. 
 
 On the tenth the independent company from South Carolina, 
 consisting of one hundred, which had been for some time expected, 
 arrived at the fort, and, about the same time, intelligence was re 
 ceived that Colonel Irmes, of North Carolina, was approaching with 
 a force of three hundred. Governor Dinwiddie had appointed this 
 officer to the head of the expedition, but had confirmed Washington 
 in the command of the Virginia regiment. The selection of limes 
 
 * Joshua Fry was a native of England, and was educated at the university of Oxford. Soon 
 after coming to Virginia he became professor of mathematics in the college of William and Mary, 
 and, resigning this place, was elected a member of the house of burgesses, and otherwise employed 
 in public services, chiefly as a surveyor of the boundaries of the colony, and as a negotiator with 
 the Indians. In an obituary notice it is remarked of him that " he was of so clear a head, so mild 
 a temper, and so good a heart, that he never failed to engage the love and esteem of all who knew 
 or were concerned with him." He died on the thirty-first of May. 
 
MT. 22.] DIFFICULTIES RESPECTING RANK. 115 
 
 gave little satisfaction. He was a Scotchman, and it was thought 
 the governor had evinced an undue partiality for a countryman. 
 Besides, he was from another province, and so not entitled to the 
 leadership of an enterprise undertaken and mainly prosecuted by 
 Virginia. Washington, however, who knew his good reputation, 
 and had agreeable recollections of him as one of the gentlemen who 
 had served with his brother Lawrence in the West Indies, expressed 
 the pleasure he felt that he was e( likely to be under the orders of 
 an experienced officer and man of sense." Neither Colonel Innes 
 nor his troops, however, advanced beyond Winchester. The com 
 pany summoned from New York landed at Alexandria, and set out 
 for the interior, but did not reach the Virginia camp until it was 
 too late for them to be of any advantage. 
 
 Washington had anticipated difficulties respecting rank and prece 
 dence with the captains of the independent companies. On other 
 occasions gentlemen holding royal commissions had refused to be 
 commanded by provincial officers, and on being advised of the 
 approach of Captain Mackay he had therefore written to the 
 governor on the subject. " I should have been particularly obliged," 
 was his language, " if you had declared whether he was under my 
 command or independent of it. I hope he will have more sense 
 than to insist upon any unreasonable distinction, because he and 
 his officers have commissions from his majesty. Let him consider 
 that though we are greatly inferior in respect to advantages of 
 profit, yet we have the same spirit to serve our gracious king as 
 they have, and are as ready and willing to sacrifice our lives for 
 our country s good. And here, once more, and for the last time, I 
 must say that it will be a circumstance which will act upon some 
 officers of this regiment above all measure, to be obliged to serve 
 upon such different terms, when their lives, their fortunes, and 
 their operations, are equally, and, I dare say, as effectually exposed 
 as those of the others, who are happy enough to have the king s 
 commissions." Captain Mackay was gentlemanly in his manners 
 and of an amiable temper, so that in the discussions of this matter 
 between him and Washington there were no exhibitions of warmth 
 
116 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 or discourtesy, but he persisted in declaring that an officer holding 
 rank from the king could receive no orders from one commissioned 
 by a colonial governer ; and he encamped separately, had a distinct 
 patrol, and would not consent that Washington should select any 
 rallying place for his men in case of alarm, or even to receive from 
 him the countersign necessary for their common safety. 
 
 The question at issue very seriously affected the interests of the 
 service, and Washington, always deeply sensitive upon points of 
 honor, sent an express to the governor with a letter soliciting relief 
 from his embarrassing situation. He had made it his particular 
 study to receive Captain Mackay with all the respect and politeness 
 due to his rank, or that he was capable of showing, and from ap 
 pearances did not doubt that a friendly intimacy might grow up 
 between himself and that gentleman if this matter should be satis 
 factorily adjusted. "I have been particularly careful," he wrote, 
 " in discovering no feverish desire of commanding him, neither have 
 I intermeddled with his company in the least, nor given any direc 
 tions concerning it, except in general, as to the countersign, and 
 place of meeting in case of an alarm, which he thinks he should not 
 receive. I have testified to him in the most serious manner the 
 pleasure I should take in consulting and advising with him upon all 
 
 occasions Before orders will be observed, however, it must be 
 
 known who is to command, and I am very confident you will see 
 the absurdity and consider the effects of Captain Mackay s having 
 the direction of the regiment, for it would certainly be the hardest 
 thing in life if we are to do double and treble duty and neither be 
 entitled to the pay nor the rank of soldiers." 
 
 That there might be no further altercation upon this subject, 
 which could be settled, if settled at all, only by the authoritative 
 interference of Governor Dinwiddie, and to remove the Virginia 
 regiment from contagious examples of disobedience and idleness, 
 Washington decided immediately to proceed towards Redstone 
 creek, and to prepare a military road as he advanced. Accordingly 
 he set out the next day from Fort Necessity, leaving Captain 
 Mackay s company as a guard to that post. To clear and grade the 
 
Mr. 22.] PRAYERS IN THE CAMP. 117 
 
 way, so that it should present no unnecessary obstacles to the pas 
 sage of artillery carriages, was a task of such difficulty that two 
 weeks were spent in effecting a march through a narrow gorge of 
 the mountains to Gist s settlement,, a distance of but thirteen miles. 
 
 It must have been a picturesque and an impressive sight, to see 
 by some streamlet, dashing through clefts of precipices, and under 
 gigantic trees whose branches were bent with the rich green foliage 
 of early summer, the troops, in their red uniforms, with arms glis 
 tening in the occasional rays of sunlight which penetrated the en 
 during shade, coming together at the morning drum beat, with the 
 hereditary kings of the forest and their followers, with painted faces 
 and strange and grotesque costumes, to hear the public prayers 
 which Washington by the advice of his friend William Fairfax had 
 instituted in the camp. As they had no chaplain it may be that he 
 himself read the solemn words of devotion. Certainly he must 
 have set a fit example of reverent attention to them. 
 
 Scouts were continually in advance, sometimes almost as far as 
 Fort Duquesne, and their reports, with intelligence brought in by 
 traders, deserters, and friendly Indians, of accessions to the French 
 garrison and of a projected movement against the English by M. 
 Coiitrecceur, induced a halt at Gist s place, where a council of war 
 decided that it was best to make a stand and await the coming of 
 the enemy. Entrenchments were undertaken, two parties sent out 
 under Captains Lewis and Poison were recalled, and an express 
 despatched to the Great Meadows to summon Captain Mackay with 
 his independent company. On the thirtieth, another council was 
 held, at which the officers of the Virginia regiment and of the corps 
 from South Carolina were present. They had now information 
 from a trusty sachem who but two days before had been at the fort 
 on the Ohio, that he had seen a considerable reinforcement arrive 
 there from Canada, and heard that De Yilliers would without delay 
 march at the head of eight hundred French and four hundred 
 Indians to attack the English. Others represented that the enemy 
 was rapidly approaching, "as numerous as the pigeons in the 
 woods." The troops were nearly destitute of provisions, the ground 
 
113 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 they occupied had few advantages for defence, and it was known 
 that by another defile than that by which they had passed through 
 the mountains the French might reach the Great Meadows, cut off 
 their supplies, starve them into a surrender, or fight them with a 
 superiority of three to one. Under these discouraging circum 
 stances it was without hesitation decided to retreat. 
 
 Preparations for retracing their steps were reluctantly but imme 
 diately commenced. There was a deficiency of horses, and Wash 
 ington surrendered his to be laden with ammunition and other 
 public stores, hiring some of the men for four pistoles to carry 
 forward his personal luggage. This generous example was followed 
 by the other officers. Nine swivels were drawn over the rough 
 road by soldiers of the Virginia regiment, feeble with hunger and 
 the sultry heat, without any assistance from the South Carolinians, 
 who considered it beneath their position to perform services of this 
 nature. They also refused to act as pioneers, or to take any part 
 in the extraordinary duties which belonged to the occasion. The 
 spectacle of their comfortable idleness had an unhappy influence 
 upon the troops who had thus far borne all the burthen of the 
 difficult campaign, and their submission to a proper discipline was 
 only secured by Washington s inflexible will, and ready participation 
 as far as possible in their toils and sufferings. 
 
 They reached the Great Meadows on the first of July, having 
 been two days on their march. When leaving Gist s plantation it 
 had not been the intention of Washington to stop at this place, but 
 he found that the men were too much exhausted with fatigue and 
 a want of food to proceed further. They had been eight days 
 without bread, and the commissary s agent whom they met here 
 had but a few bags of flour, not enough for a week, and for cooking 
 or preserving beef, for which they had cattle, there was no salt. In 
 the hope of being quickly joined by the New York companies, of 
 whose landing at Alexandria they had heard, it was determined to 
 reoccupy Fort Necessity, and to await the issue of a siege or a 
 battle. 
 
 De Villiers arrived in sight of the works at Laurel Hill early on 
 
/T. 22.] SCENES AT THE GREAT MEADOWS. 119 
 
 the morning after" they were abandoned, and concluding that the 
 English had made good their retreat to the settlements, and that it 
 was too late to pursue them, was about returning to Fort Duquesne, 
 when informed by a deserter that Washington had halted at his 
 former post, where his troops were in a starving condition. The 
 fellow, as if ashamed of his part, added that he had been impelled 
 to leave his companions by apprehensions that he would otherwise 
 die of hunger. De Yilliers ordered him into confinement, to be 
 rewarded or hanged, as he should determine upon ascertaining 
 whether his words were true or false. 
 
 Washington meanwhile was exerting his utmost energies in 
 strengthening Fort Necessity, upon which Captain Mackay s com 
 pany had done nothing during the three weeks of its occupation 
 by them. The fort, which under the direction of Captain Robert 
 Stobo, the acting engineer of the expedition, had grown from a 
 small stockade into a breastwork of heavy logs, about one hundred 
 feet square, with three bastions guarding its entrances, and ditches 
 on two sides, was by the side of a narrow stream, in a level meadow 
 two hundred and fifty yards wide, which was covered with long 
 grass and low bushes. The nearest bluffs or hills were distant a 
 hundred yards or more, so that its garrison could not be effectively 
 assailed from them with musketry. 
 
 The second was passed in making such additional preparations as 
 seemed practicable for defence. The South Carolinians were no 
 longer expected to assist, and they manifested as little interest in 
 the efforts which were being made by the Virginians as if they 
 were to have no share in the approaching dangers. Washington 
 himself was everywhere conspicuous, animating the common sol 
 diers and inferior officers by words of sympathy and encourage 
 ment, and exciting their emulation by an active participation in 
 their labors. 
 
 The Indians were quick to understand the vacillations of fortune. 
 The camp had been thronged with emissaries from tribes secretly 
 in the French interest, and though their representations had proba 
 bly not induced Tanacharisson to consider favorably overtures 
 
120 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 intended to attach him to the French, he was disheartened at the 
 faint prospects of securing advantages for his people through any 
 successes of the English. He was a patriot and a hero, in his way, 
 and never pretended to any kindly regard for the English except 
 as they seemed to him less dangerous neighbors than their adver 
 saries. He was now dissatisfied at being subjected to military 
 regulations, and wounded by a suspicion that his counsels had not 
 had a proper influence ; and foreseeing the result of the inevitable 
 conflict, he excused himself by representing the necessity of placing 
 his wife and children in a place of safety, and withdrew from the 
 fort, accompanied by most of his warriors.* 
 
 As the day broke on the morning of the third, Washington, who 
 had probably taken no rest during the night, was already at work, 
 with his men, upon the fort, when a sentinel was brought in wounded, 
 having been fired upon by an advanced party of the French while 
 at his post. The garrison was instantly summoned to arms, and at 
 nine o clock information was received from returning scouts that the 
 main body of the enemy was about four miles distant. Captain 
 Mackay and his company occupied the trenches, which were nearly 
 filled with mud and water, in consequence of a heavy rain that had 
 commenced early in the day, and Washington arranged the Vir 
 ginians on the cleared level ground outside the inclosure, to await 
 the attack, which it was supposed would be by a vigorous assault, 
 
 * Very few of the Indians whose names are preserved in American history are entitled to a more 
 respectful notice than Tanacharisson. He was honest, sagacious, and brave, and should not be 
 judged with severity for abandoning Washington in this hour of peril. He considered himself the 
 father of his people, and had steadily maintained that their interests were his rule of action. Charles 
 Thompson, afterwards secretary of the Continental Congress, while usher to a quaker grammar 
 school in Philadelphia, two years after these occurrences, wrote a small volume entitled, "An In 
 quiry into the Causes of the Alienation of the Delaware and Shawanese Indians," c., in which he 
 repeats some observations which the chief made to Conrad Weiser respecting this campaign. " The 
 colonel/ said Tanacharisson, "took upon him to command the Indians as his slaves, and would 
 have them every day upon the scout, and to attack the enemy by themselves, but would by no means 
 take advice from them. He lay in one place from one full moon to another without making any 
 fortifications except that little thing on the Meadows ; whereas, had he taken advice, and built such 
 defences as I recommended, he might easily have beat off the French. But the French acted like 
 cowards, and the English like fools." Washington and Tanacharisson never met again. The 
 half king retreated into Pennsylvania, became melancholy, and his health rapidly declined. It 
 was believed by his tribe that the French had bewitched him for killing Jumonville, who was said to 
 have fallen by his hand. He died at the place of John Harris, an Indian trader, then called Harris s 
 Ferry and now Harrisburgh, on the fourth of October, 1754. 
 
JET. 22.] ARTICLES OF CAPITULATION. 121 
 
 as soon as the French emerged from the forest. But M. de Yilliers 
 preferred a different course ; approaching as nearly as he could 
 under the cover of trees that crowned a neighboring hill, he com 
 menced a desultory discharge of musketry, without incurring any 
 danger. It was however from so great a distance as to cause no 
 injury, and suspecting that it was but a stratagem to draw him from 
 his position, Washington ordered his men to reserve their fire until 
 it should be certain that it would take effect. At length, as there 
 were no indications that the French would adopt a bolder conduct, 
 he retreated into the trenches and behind the breastworks, and in 
 structed his men to fire at their discretion, as suitable opportunities 
 should be presented. 
 
 The skies were covered with gloomy clotfds, and all day the rain 
 fell in torrents ; yet an irregular fire was kept up by both sides 
 until dark. The English were nearly exhausted, many of their 
 guns were rendered unfit for use by the storm, and they had left 
 but a few rounds of cartridges, and but a very small supply of 
 provisions. At eight o clock the French requested a parley, but as 
 it might be only an artifice by which to procure the admission of a 
 spy into the fort, Washington hesitated, until it was repeated, with 
 the stipulation than an officer might be sent to them, under an 
 engagement of his safety by M. de Villiers, when he despatched Cap 
 tain Van Braam, the only person in his regiment who could speak 
 French except M. de Peyroney, an ensign, who was so severely 
 wounded as to be unfit for any service. Van Braam returned 
 twice with inadmissible conditions of capitulation, but the third 
 time brought terms which, as he translated them, were accepted. 
 
 According to this agreement, as it was understood by Washington 
 and all his officers, the garrison was to leave the fort the following 
 morning, with the honors of war, drums beating and colors flying, 
 taking everything they possessed except their artillery, and to retire 
 without molestation from the French or Indians to the inhabited 
 parts of Virginia. As all their horses and cattle had been killed, 
 and no means were left for transporting the heavy luggage, it was 
 conceded that it might be left in some secret place, under a guard, 
 
1 22 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 until wagons could be sent in which to carry it away. The prisoners 
 taken in the skirmish with Jumonville were to be restored, and 
 Captains Van Braam and Stobo were to remain with the French as 
 hostages until they returned. And finally, the party capitulating 
 were to attempt the building of no fortresses or other establish 
 ments on lands belonging to the king of France for one year. 
 
 These articles were read in English from the French manuscript, 
 by the light of a flickering candle which it was difficult to protect 
 from the drenching rain, among the wrecks of the battle, and in 
 the presence of the dying and the dead. By the mistranslation of 
 a word, through ignorance, carelessness, or intention, Washington 
 was made to sign an article in which the death of Jumonville was 
 called an assassination, and by another erroneous rendering, to 
 pledge his honor not to be concerned for a stipulated period in any 
 invasion of the country west of the mountains. Van Braam, who, 
 as I have mentioned, was a Dutchman, not very familiar with either 
 the French or the English language, may possibly have thought 
 that his oral and unconsidered version of this document was correct, 
 but it is more probable, notwithstanding his preceding and subse 
 quent good conduct, considering the prevailing qualities of his 
 character, that, being persuaded of the impossibility of obtaining 
 better conditions from M. de Yilliers, and that his commander would 
 sooner die than agree to these, he consulted his own safety, and 
 especially his appetite, by what has been called his " too great con 
 descension" in this matter.* 
 
 * Washington did not become acquainted with the real import of the language used in the articles 
 of capitulation until some time afterwards, and it was not until his attention was called to an ac 
 count of these transactions published by M. de Villiers, that he took the trouble, in a letter to a 
 friend, entirely to refute the calumnies to which the weakness or wickedness of Van Braam had ex 
 posed him. In this letter he says : "I can not help remarking on Villicrs s account of the battle of 
 and transactions at the Meadows, as it is very extraordinary, and not less erroneous than incon 
 sistent. He says the French received the first fire. It is well known, that we received it at six 
 hundred paces distance. He also says, our fears obliged us to retreat in a most disorderly manner 
 after the capitulation. How is this consistent with his other account ? He acknowledges, that we 
 sustained the attack warmly from ten in the morning until dark, and that he called first to parley, 
 which strongly indicates that we were not totally absorbed in fear. If the gentleman in his account 
 had adhered to the truth, he must have confessed that we looked upon his offer to parley as an 
 artifice to get into and examine our trenches, and refused, on this account, until they desired an 
 officer might be set to them, and gave their parole for his safe return. He might also, if he had 
 been as great a lover of the truth as he was of vainglory, have said, that we absolutely refused their 
 
MT. 22.] FORT NECESSITY ABANDONED. 123 
 
 In this action twelve men were killed and forty-three wounded 
 of the Virginia regiment. The number of killed and wounded of 
 Captain Mackay s company is not known. M. de Villiers states 
 in his journal of these transactions, subsequently published, that 
 the French loss was but three killed and seventeen dangerously 
 wounded. It was however generally supposed that it was much 
 greater. 
 
 Early on the morning of the fourth of July Washington led out 
 the remains of his gallant regiment, in good order, but they had 
 proceeded only a short distance when a considerable body of In 
 dians began to annoy them and to plunder their luggage. Per 
 ceiving that the French did not or would not protect them, accord 
 ing to the terms of the capitulation, and that all their property 
 which they could not carry on their shoulders would fall into the 
 hands of the savages, he ordered it to be destroyed, as well as the 
 public stores for which it had been agreed that he should send con 
 veyances. At ten o clock the melancholy march was resumed, the 
 
 first and second proposals, and would consent to capitulate on no other terms than such as we 
 obtained. That we were wilfully or ignorantly deceived by our interpreter in regard to the word 
 assassination, I do aver, and will to my dying moment ; so will every officer that was present. The 
 interpreter was a Dutchman, little acquainted with the English tongue, therefore might not advert 
 to the tone and meaning of the word in English ; but, whatever his motives were for so doing, certa ; n 
 it is, he called it the death, or the loss, of the Sieur Jumonville. So we received and so we under 
 stood it, until, to our great surprise and mortification, we found it otherwise in a literal translation. 
 " That we left our baggage and horses at the Meadows is certain ; that there was not even a pos 
 sibility to bring them away is equally certain, as we had every horse belonging to the camp killed or 
 taken away during the action ; so that it was impracticable to bring any thing off , that our shoulders 
 were not able to bear; and to wait there was impossible, for we had scarce three days provisions, and 
 were seventy miles from a supply ; yet, to say we came off precipitately is absolutely false ; not 
 withstanding they did, contrary to articles, suffer their Indians to pillage our baggage, and commit 
 all kinds of irregularity, we were with them until ten o clock the next day; we destroyed our 
 powder and other stores, nay, even our private baggage, to prevent its falling into their hands, as 
 we could not bring it off . When we had got about a rnile from the place of action, we missed two 
 or three of the wounded, and sent a party back to bring them up ; this is the party he speaks of. 
 We brought them all safe off", and encamped within three miles of the Meadows. These are cir 
 cumstances, I think, that make it evidently clear, that we were not very apprehensive of danger. 
 The colors he speaks of as left were a large flag of immense size and weight ; our regimental colors 
 were brought off and are now in my possession. Their gasconade, and boasted clemency, must 
 appear in the most ludicrous light to every considerate person, who reads Villiers s journal ; such 
 preparations for an attack, such vigor and intrepidity, as he pretends to have conducted his march 
 with, such revenge as by his own account appeared in his attack, considered, it will hardly be 
 thought that compassion was his motive for calling a parley. But to sum up the whole, Mr. Vil 
 liers pays himself no great compliment in saying, we were struck with a panic when matters were 
 adjusted. We surely could not be afraid without cause, and if we had cause after capitulation, it 
 was a reflection upon himself." 
 
124 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 soldiers carrying not only their arms and personal effects, but also 
 their wounded companions. In this way they were compelled to 
 proceed, slowly and wearily, seventy miles, to Will s creek, where 
 they found ample provisions for their comfort in the military 
 magazines. 
 
 Leaving here both the Virginia regiment and the independent 
 company from South Carolina, Washington, with Captain Mackay, 
 proceeded to Williamsburgh, and in person communicated to Gov 
 ernor Dinwiddie the closing events of the campaign. He had the 
 satisfaction of learning that his conduct and that of his troops was 
 warmly approved by the governor, the council, and the public. 
 
 He soon after returned to Mount Yernon, and having passed a 
 brief period in attending to his private affairs, visited his mother, at 
 Fredericksburg, and rejoined his regiment, which had now arrived 
 at Alexandria. 
 
 The house of burgesses assembled in the beginning of August, 
 and the subject of the late operations against the French was im 
 mediately brought before it. The agreement between himself and 
 M. de Villiers, of which Washington had received a duplicate copy, 
 was printed, with a correct translation, and its objectionable features 
 for the first time understood by him. His indignation, and that of 
 his friends, was excited by what they believed to have been the 
 culpable conduct of Van Braam in connection with it. The bur 
 gesses, to whom the facts were properly explained, recognized with 
 great unanimity the honorable services of Washington and his 
 officers, in resolutions of thanks for "their bravery and gallant 
 defence of their country;" and voted from the public treasury 
 three hundred pistoles nearly eleven hundred dollars to be 
 distributed among the private soldiers engaged in the action. From 
 these expressions of gratitude the names of Washington s early 
 instructors in the military art, Major Muse and Captain Van Braam, 
 were excluded : the first being charged with cowardice, and the last 
 with treachery in erroneously rendering into English the articles of 
 capitulation. 
 
 Governor Dinwiddie was not at all disheartened by the recent 
 
yE T . 22.] NEW MOVEMENTS PROPOSED. 125 
 
 misfortunes, but his ardor and ignorance of military affairs led him 
 to propose new measures for the recovery of the disputed territory 
 which were wholly impracticable. Soon after Washington had 
 rejoined his regiment he received instructions to fill up his deci 
 mated companies with recruits, and march without delay to Will s 
 creek, where Colonel Innes with the remnant of his North Carolina 
 troops, the South Carolina company of Captain Mackay, and the 
 two independent companies from New York, were building Fort 
 Cumberland f and at the same time he was informed of the gov 
 ernor s intention to order the combined forces immediately across 
 the mountains to capture Fort Duquesne or erect another fort on 
 the Ohio. On the eleventh of the month he addressed a letter to 
 Mr. William Fairfax, who was a member of the governor s council, 
 in which he represented with unanswerable ability the absurdity of 
 this scheme. It was out of time, as, commenced at that season it 
 would have to be prosecuted in the winter ; his men had not been 
 paid their wages for the last campaign, and were so destitute that 
 scarcely one of them had shoes, stockings, or a hat ; they had nei 
 ther provisions nor military stores of any description sufficient to 
 justify their taking the field ; and not a shilling was furnished with 
 which to obtain these necessities or secure new enlistments. 
 
 Washington had too just a sense of his duties as a soldier to 
 permit a conviction of the difficulties of executing the governor s 
 designs to prevent his obedience to superior authority, and he 
 therefore attempted to carry into effect the orders sent to him. 
 The house of burgesses having risen however without appropri 
 ating any funds for the prosecution of the war, the project for dis 
 possessing the French of their conquests was abandoned. 
 
 The burgesses came together again in October, and though they 
 had still various unsettled controversies with the governor, they 
 voted twenty thousand pounds for the public service, and the ap 
 peals he had made to the home administration were soon afterwards 
 answered by a grant of ten thousand pounds and a supply of arms. 
 
 * So called in honor of the Duke of Cumberland, at that time captain general of the British 
 
126 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 The money received from England was entirely under his control, 
 and he made use of it in enlarging the army to ten companies of 
 one hundred men each, and other vigorous preparations for a new 
 expedition against the French, to march early in the spring. In 
 consequence of letters he had written to the ministers on the sub 
 ject, orders were sent out, " for settling the rank of the officers of 
 his majesty s forces when serving with the provincials in North 
 America," in which it was directed " that all officers commissioned 
 by the king or his general should take rank of all officers commis 
 sioned by the governors of the respective provinces ; and further, 
 that the general and field officers of the provincial troops should 
 have no rank when serving with the general and other commissioned 
 officers commissioned by the crown ; but that all captains and other 
 inferior officers of the royal troops should take rank over provincial 
 officers of the same grade, having senior commissions." The effect 
 was to reduce Washington from the rank of colonel to that of 
 captain. So humiliating a degradation was not, of course, to be 
 submitted to by a gentleman, and he indignantly resigned his com 
 mission and retired to private life. 
 
. 22.] THE CONGRESS AT ALBANY. 127 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 CONGRESS OF DELEGATES AT ALBANY FRANKLIN S PLAN OF UNION IT IS RE 
 JECTED BY THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT AND THE COLONIAL ASSEMBLIES MEET 
 ING WITH THE CHIEFS OF THE IROQUOIS SPEECH OF HENDRIK THE DUKE 
 
 OF NEWCASTLE AND HORATIO GATES GOVERNOR SHARPE APPOINTED COM 
 MANDER IN CHIEF MAKES OVERTURES TO WASHINGTON TO REENTER THE 
 
 SERVICE WASHINGTON S REPLY GOVERNOR DINWIDDIE S CONDUCT IN RE 
 GARD TO THE FRENCH PRISONERS DROUILLON AND LA FORCE CAPTAINS VAN 
 
 BRAAM AND STOBO. 
 
 THE same fourth of July, 1754, on which Washington marched 
 out of Fort Necessity, with the honors of war, Benjamin Franklin, 
 at this time in the maturity of his genius, submitted to a congress 
 of delegates from each of the colonies north of the Potomac, assem 
 bled at Albany, a plan of union. Union, since our principal source 
 and assurance of strength, was then unknown among the provincial 
 governments, and the successes of the French, threatening misfor 
 tune or ruin to all British America, had impressed the wisest of our 
 public characters, in every direction, with a sense of its paramount 
 necessity. The metropolis of the proposed confederation was to be 
 Philadelphia, the most populous, growing and central city in the 
 king s dominions this side of the sea. Franklin supposed it could 
 be reached from the extremes of the country, New Hampshire or 
 South Carolina, in fifteen or twenty days. A grand council of forty- 
 eight members, consisting of not more than seven nor less than two 
 from any colony, elected triennially, was to undertake the com 
 mon defence at the common cost, apportion demands of men and 
 money, direct the operations of the troops, and pass such laws 
 as should be necessary for the general welfare. The chief execu 
 tive officer, to be styled the president general, was to be appointed 
 by the crown, and to have a veto upon all acts of the council, and, 
 
 _J 
 
128 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 with the concurrence of that body, the appointment of all the mil 
 itary officers, and the entire direction of Indian affairs. The coun 
 cil, in turn, was to nominate civil officers, for the confirmation of 
 the president general. Nearly all the delegates from New England 
 supported this plan, but it was disapproved by those from Connecti 
 cut, who were apprehensive of danger from the veto of the presi 
 dent. On the other side, James Delancy, of New York, opposed it 
 on the ground that he would have reserved to the colonial gov 
 ernors a negative on all elections to the grand council. It was 
 however popular with the people, and Franklin, as its author, re 
 ceived unusual compliments as he passed through New York on his 
 way homeward. But when it came before the several assemblies, 
 they all rejected it, as conferring too much power on the king. In 
 London it found as little favor for the opposite reason ; and so com 
 plete and judicious a system of government created surprise, and 
 revived fears of American independence. It was suggested by the 
 Board of Trade, that a convention of colonial governors and others 
 be authorized to draw on the royal treasury for certain purposes, 
 and that the sums thus obtained be repaid by taxes imposed by 
 parliament. It became apparent that the colonies would not readily 
 submit to this scheme of taxation, and nothing was done for the 
 organization of their energies. 
 
 A delegation of the head men of the Iroquois met the provincial 
 congress at Albany, to renew treaties, receive presents, and concert 
 plans of combined activity. Hendrik, the great sachem of the 
 Mohawks, expressed their feelings in one of his speeches. "We 
 thank you," he said, "for renewing and brightening the covenant 
 chain. We will take this belt to Onondaga, where our council fire 
 always burns, and keep it so securely that neither the thunderbolt 
 nor the lightning shall break it," And, contemplating the inefficiency 
 of the English, as compared with their enemies, he added, in the 
 temper displayed a few weeks previously by Tanacharisson, " You 
 desired us to open our minds and hearts to you : Look at the 
 French ; they are near ; they are fortifying everywhere ; but, we 
 are ashamed to say it, you are like women, without any fortifica- 
 
Mr. 22.] THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE. 129 
 
 tlons ; it is but a step from Canada hither, and the French may 
 easily come and turn you out of doors." 
 
 The want of forecast of which the Indian complained could 
 scarcely be charged against the royal governors, who were gener 
 ally willing to drain the colonies of their resources for the prose 
 cution of the war, or any thing else that would please the home 
 administration ; but for one reason or another they nearly all agreed 
 with Dinwiddie that the opposing assemblies were "obstinate, self- 
 opinionated, a stubborn generation ;" and that there was no means 
 of managing this matter in a satisfactory way but " by an act of 
 parliament to compel subjects here to obedience to his majesty s 
 commands, and to protect their property from the insults of the 
 French." Mr. Sparks very properly suggests, in answer to this, that 
 the people who owned the property and lived on the spot were 
 quite as well qualified to judge for themselves how far it needed 
 protection. 
 
 No decided measures were adopted in England or America for 
 regaining possession of the Ohio, or resisting new advances of the 
 enemy, though it was known that Fort Duquesne was inadequately 
 guarded, and that at other points they were ill prepared for de 
 fence. The Duke of Newcastle, the most powerful subject in the 
 realm, "a statesman without capacity or the smallest tincture of 
 human learning, a secretary who could not write, a financier who 
 did not understand the multiplication table, and the treasurer of a 
 vast empire who never could balance accounts with his own butler,"* 
 was willing to obtain applause by proposing a successful system of 
 operations, but his lack of wit prevented. He consulted several 
 persons, in the hope .that one or another of them would suggest an 
 
 * Smollet tells us that "he was generally laughed at, as an ape in politics, whose office and 
 influence only served to render his folly the more notorious." Horace W alpole relates that when 
 General Ligonier hinted to him the necessity of some defence for Annapolis, he replied, with his 
 evasive, lisping hum, "Annapolis ! Annapolis ! Oh, yes ! Annapolis must he defended; to be sure, 
 Annapolis should be defended : where is Annapolis ?" (George the Second, i. 344.) His knowledge 
 of geography is illustrated by another anecdote, of an earlier date. At the beginning of the war he 
 was once frightened by a story that thirty thousand French had left Acadia for Cape Breton. 
 " Where did they find transports ?" was asked. "Transports !" cried he, "they marched by land." 
 "By land, to the island of Cape Breton!" "What! is Cape Breton an island? are you sure of 
 that 1 Egad ! I will go directly and tell the king that Cape Breton is an island !" 
 
 9 
 
130 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 idea that he might turn to account as his own, but was disappointed. 
 Horatio Gates, destined to act a conspicuous part in our history, 
 had just returned from America, where he had acquired some repu 
 tation, and the minister sent for him. The young officer however 
 understood his own position, and was deferential and incommunica 
 tive. He pleaded his inexperience, said he had seen nothing of the 
 country except those parts of Nova Scotia in which his regiment 
 had been quartered, and begged to be excused from advising in a 
 matter so much above his abilities. He was too shrewd to submit 
 a scheme of which the failure would be his ruin, or the success but 
 an addition to the fame of his superiors. Mr. Hanbury, the London 
 agent of the Ohio Company, it was thought might know something 
 of America, and he was summoned. He does not appear to have 
 affected any modesty, or to have evinced an unwillingness to give 
 the government advantage of his wisdom. Early in November, 
 upon his recommendation, Lieutenant Colonel Horatio Sharpe, who 
 was governor of Maryland, received the king s commission as com 
 mander in chief of all the forces engaged against the French, with 
 instructions to make his headquarters in Virginia. He immediately 
 endeavored to induce Washington to re-enter the army. Colonel 
 Fitzhugh, who during his own absence in visiting the military posts, 
 or in executing his duties as governor, was to have the command, 
 by his orders addressed the retired soldier a flattering letter on the 
 subject. "I am confident," remarked this officer, "that the general 
 has a very great regard for you, and will by every circumstance 
 in his power make you very happy. For my part I shall be ex 
 tremely fond of your continuing in the service, and would advise 
 you by no means to quit it. In regard to the independent com 
 panies, they w r ill in no shape interfere with you, as you will hold 
 your post during their continuance here, and when the regiment is 
 reduced will have a separate duty." 
 
 Washington replied in a manner which must have convinced the 
 royal officers that his co-operation was to be secured only upon the 
 most honorable conditions. After thanking Colonel Fitzhugh for 
 the terms in which he had written to him, he added, " But I think 
 
JET. 22.] DECLINES REENTERING THE ARMY. 131 
 
 the disparity between the present offer of a company and my 
 former rank too great to expect any real satisfaction or enjoyment 
 in a corps where I once had or thought I had the right to command, 
 even if his excellency had the power to suspend the orders received 
 in the letter of the secretary of war, which, hy the by, I am very 
 far from thinking he has. . . . You make mention of my continuing 
 in the service and retaining my colonel s commission. This idea 
 has filled me with surprise, for if you think me capable of holding 
 a commission that has neither rank nor emolument annexed to it, 
 you must entertain a very contemptible opinion of my weakness.... 
 I could enumerate many good reasons that forbid all thoughts of 
 iny returning, and which to you or any other person would, upon 
 the strictest scrutiny, appear to be well founded.... I shall have 
 the consolation of knowing that I have opened the way, when the 
 smallness of our numbers exposed us to the attacks of a superior 
 enemy ; that I have hitherto stood the heat and brunt of the day, 
 and escaped untouched in time of extreme danger ; and that I have 
 the thanks of my country for the service I have rendered it." 
 
 Washington had learned that Governor Dinwiddie had been 
 guilty of duplicity in the proceedings which caused his resignation, 
 and he added, " The information T have received shall not sleep in 
 silence, that those peremptory orders from home, which you say 
 could not be dispensed with, for reducing the regiment to inde 
 pendent companies, were generated and hatched at Will s creek. 
 Ingenuous treatment and plain dealing I at least expected." The 
 governor had requested such orders, and was confident of ob 
 taining them, but they did not arrive until the following winter. 
 Washington concluded his letter to Colonel Fitzhugh by saying: 
 "It is to be hoped the project w r ill answer; it shall meet with my 
 acquiescence in every thing except personal services. I herewith 
 inclose Governor Sharpe s letter, which I beg you will return to 
 him, with my acknowledgments for the favor he intended me. 
 Assure him, as you truly may, of my reluctance to quit the service, 
 and of the pleasure I should have received in attending his for 
 tunes. Inform him, also, that it was to obey the call of honor, and 
 
132 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 the advice of my friends, that I declined it, and not to gratify any 
 desire I had to leave the military line. My inclinations are strongly 
 bent to arms." 
 
 He had other and quite sufficient reasons for leaving the army, 
 besides those affecting his rank. One of these was the refusal of 
 Governor Dinwiddie to give up the French prisoners taken in the 
 skirmish with Jumonville, according to the conditions of the sur 
 render of Fort Necessity. This subject had been ineffectually 
 discussed by him in repeated remonstrances. The governor at 
 tempted an explanation of it, in a letter to the Board of Trade. 
 " The French/ he wrote, " after the capitulation entered into with 
 Colonel Washington, took eight of our people, and exposed them 
 for sale, and, missing thereof, sent them prisoners to Canada. On 
 hearing of this, I detained the seventeen privates, the officer, 
 and two cadets, as I am of opinion that after they were in my 
 custody Washington could not engage for their being returned. I 
 have ordered a flag of truce to be sent to the French, offering the 
 return of their officer and the two cadets for the two hostages they 
 have of ours." Of course, such an arrangement was declined ; the 
 contract had been specific and particular, and M. Contrecoeur was 
 entirely justifiable in refusing to liberate Van Braam and Stobo 
 until the English fulfilled their part of it. 
 
 The officer mentioned by the governor was M. Drouillon, de 
 scribed by Major Adam Stephen as "a pert fellow," and probably 
 not regarded by any one as a very dangerous enemy. No proposi 
 tion was made to set at liberty a more important prisoner. Wash 
 ington had written from the Great Meadows : " La Force would, if 
 released, I really think, do more to our disservice than fifty other 
 men, as he is a person whose active spirit leads him into all parties, 
 and has made him acquainted with all parts of the country; added 
 to which, is a perfect use of the Indian tongue, and great influence 
 with the Indians." When he visited Williamsburg, after resigning 
 his commission, he found him in close confinement, though Drouillon 
 and the cadets were allowed to go at large. The governor was 
 inclined to keep him in idleness as long as possible, and did not 
 
JET. 22.] CAPTAIN ROBERT STOBO. 133 
 
 wish to understand the principles of honor and equity upon which 
 Washington demanded his liberation.* 
 
 The course pursued by Governor Dinwiddie respecting the 
 French prisoners, especially his treatment of La Force, naturally 
 gave offence to M. Contrecceur, and in retaliation he sent the hos 
 tages received from Washington to Quebec, to be imprisoned there, 
 though not until Captain Stobo had found means to communicate 
 some important information from Fort Duquesne as to the numbers, 
 resources, and designs of the enemy. 
 
 Robert Stobo, now about twenty-eight years of age, was a native 
 of Glasgow, and had settled in Virginia as a shopkeeper before the 
 commencement of the war. His Scotch origin probably procured 
 him a commission in Fry s regiment, which the Huguenot Maury 
 says was officered with " raw, surly and tyrannical Scots, several of 
 them mere boys from behind the counters of the factors."-}- Stobo, 
 whatever the means or influences by which his place was acquired, 
 w^as not unworthy of it. On the twenty-eighth of July he induced 
 an Indian to carry a letter, embracing the information above 
 referred to, and accompanied by a plan of the fort, to the Eng 
 lish camp. " There are two hundred men here," he wrote, " and 
 two hundred are expected. The rest have gone off in detachments, 
 to the amount of one thousand, besides Indians. None lodge in 
 the fort but Contrecoeur and the guard, consisting of forty men 
 and five officers : the rest lodge in bark cabins around it. The 
 Indians have access day and night, and come and go when they 
 please. If one hundred trusty Shawnees, Mingoes, and Delawares, 
 were picked out, they might surprise the fort, lodging themselves 
 under the palisades by day, and at night secure the guard with their 
 tomahawks, shut the sally gate, and the fort is ours." Alluding to 
 the danger in which Van Braam and himself might be involved, he 
 
 * Burke, in his history of Virginia, gives an interesting though a somewhat confused account of 
 the detention of La Force. By almost incredible efforts he escaped from the prison at Williamsburg, 
 and made his way several miles into the country, when his imperfect English betrayed him, and he 
 was arrested and subjected to a more rigorous confinement. Mr. Lyman C. Draper conjectures that 
 he was the same person who was active as " M. La Force, captain of the schooner Iroquois/ on 
 Lake Ontario, just before the surrender of Fort Niagara to the English, in 1759. 
 
 t Memoirs of a Huguenot Family, p. 404. 
 
134 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 added, " consider the good of the expedition, without regard to us ; 
 when we engaged to serve the country it was expected we w r ere to 
 do it with our lives. For my part, I would die a hundred deaths to 
 have the pleasure of possessing the fort but one day. They are so 
 vain of their success at the Meadows, it is worse than death to hear 
 them." This letter fell into the hands of George Croghan, the 
 Indian trader, by whom it was forwarded to the governor of Penn 
 sylvania, so that it may not have reached its proper destination for 
 several weeks. Being found by the French in Braddock s cabinet, 
 the next year, it exasperated them against the author of it, and 
 caused an increase of severity in his imprisonment.* 
 
 * Stobo and Van Braam were confined first at Quebec and afterwards at Montreal. By extra 
 ordinary exertions they escaped from prison, but soon after separated, and Van Braam, fainting 
 with fatigue and hunger, and despairing of success, on perceiving from under the arch of a cause 
 way, where he was concealed, the governor general passing in his carnage, came out and surrendered 
 himself, and was remanded to his old quarters, where he remained until Montreal was captured by 
 the British on the eighth of September, 1760. Early in the following November he returned to 
 Williarnsburg, Virginia, having been absent six years. Time and his sufferings appear to have 
 softened prejudices or modified opinions in regard to his conduct at Fort Necessity, for he now ob 
 tained his share of the Virginia bounty lands, under an award made by Washington, as commis 
 sioner, ar.d on the fourteenth of June, 1777, was made a major in the royal American sixtieth regi 
 ment of foot, then stationed in the West Indies. 
 
 The career of Stobo was more remarkable. After many perilous adventures he succeeded about 
 the beginning of June, 1759, in reaching Louisburg, in the island of Cape Breton, where he was 
 kindly received by General Wolfe, to whom he was able to give much important information relative 
 to the French armament in Canada. He accompanied the English forces to the plains of Abraham, 
 and in the beginning of the next December was again in Williamsburg, where the legislature, then in 
 session, passed a resolution " that the sum of one thousand pounds be paid by the treasurer of this 
 colony to Captain Robert Stobo, over and above the pay that is due to him from the time of his 
 surrendering himself as a hostage to this day, as a reward for his zeal to his country, and a recom 
 pense for the great hardships he has endured during his confinement," &c. By another resolution 
 the governor was desired to promote him in the public service, and by a third, Mr. Nicholas, Mr. 
 Bland and Mr. Washington were appointed a committee to thank him and congratulate him on his 
 safe return to Virginia. On the fifth of June, 1760, he was made a captain in Amherst s regiment, 
 (the fifteenth foot,) and he is known to have held this position as late as 1765. In 1768 he was in 
 England, and David Hume thus mentions him in a letter to Tobias Smollet, written on the twenty- 
 first of September in that year : " I did not see your friend Captain Stobo till the day I left Civen- 
 cester, and only for a little time ; but he seemed to be a man of good sense, and has surely had the 
 most extraordinary adventures in the world. He has promised to call on me when he comes to 
 London, and I shall always see him with pleasure." It has been stated that he was the original of 
 Smollet s famous character of Lishmahago. He published Memoirs of his Life, but I have not been 
 able to discover where or at what time he died. 
 
JEr. 22.] THE BRADDOCK FAMILY. 135 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 GOVERNOR SHARPE SUPERSEDED IN THE CHIEF COMMAND THE BRADDOCK FAMILY 
 
 FANNY BRADDOCK CAREER AND CHARACTER OF GENERAL EDWARD BRAD- 
 DOCK HE IS APPOINTED GENERALISSIMO OF THE BRITISH FORCES IN AMERICA 
 
 HIS LAST NIGHT IN LONDON HIS ARRIVAL IN THE CHESAPEAKE VISIT TO 
 
 DINWIDDIE MEETS SIR JOHN ST. CLAIR OVERTURES TO WASHINGTON 
 
 CONGRESS OF GOVERNORS PLANS OF OPERATIONS WHO SHALL FILL THE MIL 
 ITARY CHEST WASHINGTON INTRODUCED TO THE GOVERNORS. 
 
 TIIE appointment of Governor Sharpe to the chief command of 
 the army in America was a measure of temporary expediency. 
 His friends would have persuaded the king to continue him in this 
 position. They urged in his behalf his exceeding honesty, while 
 compelled to admit that he was not possessed of much ability. " A 
 little less honesty," replied his majesty, " and a little more ability, 
 might upon the present occasion better serve our turn." The gov 
 ernment, though still attempting to amuse the French with profes 
 sions of peace, had decided vigorously to maintain all its pretensions 
 on this continent, and with this view to send out at the head of 
 an adequate force one of the bravest and most accomplished soldiers 
 of the empire. Such a one, in the opinion of the Duke of Cumber 
 land, captain general of the army, was Edward Bradclock, and 
 Horace Walpole, describing him as " desperate in his fortune, brutal 
 in his behavior, and obstinate in his sentiments," agreed with the 
 royal chief that " he was still intrepid and capable." 
 
 Major General Edward Bradclock, the elder, of the Coldstream 
 Guards, had died at Bath in 1725, leaving two daughters and one 
 son, with incomes suificient for the preservation of an elegant style 
 of living. The son, then about thirty years of age, had been nine 
 years a lieutenant in the Guards. One of the daughters died soon 
 after, and the other, a brilliant and beautiful woman, sacrificed her 
 
136 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1754. 
 
 fortune to relieve the necessities of a man she loved, was abandoned 
 by him, driven to the gaming table, and reduced to the condition 
 of a governess in the family of a tradesman. Her melancholy 
 
 history is related by Goldsmith, as that of " Sylvia S ," in his 
 
 life of Richard Nash. It was closed by suicide. " Thus," says the 
 amiable author, " ended a female wit, a toast, and a gamester, 
 formed for the delight of society, fallen by imprudence into an 
 object of pity." The conduct of her brother, who on hearing of 
 the event exclaimed, " Poor Fanny ! I always thought she would 
 play till forced to tuck herself up," led Walpole to declare him " a 
 very Iroquois in disposition." This heartlessness was characteristic. 
 Braddock was with his regiment in the celebrated battle of Fon- 
 tenoy, in the summer of 1745, and in the following November 
 was made its lieutenant colonel, the next year became a brigadier 
 general, and in 1749 was again stationed in London, where he 
 rapidly acquired new distinctions among profligate men of rank 
 and fashion. " He once had a duel," writes Walpole, " with Colonel 
 Glumley, who had been his great friend, As they were going to 
 engage, Glumley, who had good humor and wit, said, Braddock, 
 you are a poor dog! here, take my purse if you kill me you will 
 be forced to run away, and then you will not have a shilling to 
 support you ! He refused the purse, insisted on the duel, was dis 
 armed, and would not even ask for his life."* In 1753, anxious to 
 leave England, on account of debts and other causes, he was sta 
 tioned at Gibraltar; during his absence, on the twenty-ninth of 
 May, 1754, was appointed a major general; and on the twenty- 
 fourth of the ensuing September was ordered to proceed to Virginia, 
 as commander in chief of all the British troops in North America. 
 The night before he left London he called with two of his com 
 panions, Colonel Burton and Captain Orme, upon Anne Bellamy, 
 the actress, with whom he had maintained for many years a peculiar 
 relation. " Before we parted," she informs us in her memoirs, " the 
 general told me he should never see me more, for he was going 
 with a handful of men to conquer whole nations, and to do this 
 
 * Walpolc s Correspondence, Hi., 142. 
 
M-e. 22.] GENERAL BRADDOCK. 137 
 
 they must cut their way through unknown woods. He produced a 
 map of the country, saying, at the same time, We are sent like 
 sacrifices to the altar. " She defends him from the charge of a 
 want of feeling. " As we were walking in the Park one day/ she 
 says, " we heard a poor fellow was to be chastised, when I requested 
 him to beg off the offender. Upon his application to the general 
 officer, whose name was Dury, he asked Braddock how long since 
 he had divested himself of brutality and the insolence of his man 
 ners ; to which the other replied, 4 You never knew me insolent to 
 my inferiors ; it is only to such rude men as yourself that I behave 
 with the spirit which I think they deserve. " It is an agreeable 
 duty to soften as much as possible the repulsive portrait commonly 
 drawn of him by his contemporaries. His name is more familiar in 
 this country than that of any other British soldier of our colonial 
 era. His bravery was unquestionable, and no one would regret a 
 conviction that he had other virtues. 
 
 General Braddock sailed for America on the twenty-first of 
 December, in the Norwich, convoyed by the Centurion, flag ship 
 of Commodore Keppel, and arrived in Hampton Eoads on the 
 twentieth of February. He was soon folloAved by the rest of the 
 squadron, with two regiments, each of five hundred men, one under 
 Colonel Sir Peter Halket, and the other under Colonel Thomas Dun- 
 bar. Two more regiments, each of one thousand men, were to be 
 raised in the colonies, at the king s cost, and commanded by Sir Wil 
 liam Pepperell and Governor Shirley of Massachusetts. These, 
 with the independent companies, the levies expected of the several 
 governors, and such Indians as it was believed might be enlisted, it 
 was thought would make up an effective force of not less than 
 twelve thousand. 
 
 In the preceding October Lieutenant Colonel Sir John St. Clair 
 had been sent out as deputy quartermaster general, and he had 
 since been actively engaged in visiting military posts, exploring 
 the scenes of anticipated operations, making contracts for supplies, 
 and preparations generally for an expedition into the disputed terri 
 tory. 
 
13d WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 General Braddock immediately proceeded to Williamsburg to 
 confer with Governor Dinwiddie. He found Sir John St. Clair 
 there awaiting his arrival, and they were soon joined by Commodore 
 Keppel. The interviews which followed were in the main satis 
 factory, though the favorable reports of the governor and the 
 quartermaster in regard to provisions and means of transportation, 
 to be furnished by inhabitants of Virginia and Maryland, were not 
 justified by subsequent occurrences. While at Williamsburg the 
 general wrote to the governors of all the colonies, informing them 
 of his commission, recommending a common fund for military pur 
 poses, and urging an earnest cooperation in the business which the 
 king had undertaken for the benefit of his American subjects. In 
 his communications to Shirley of Massachusetts, Delancey of New 
 York, Morris of Pennsylvania, and Sharpe of Maryland, he re 
 quested them to meet him at Annapolis on the first of April, for 
 consultation upon matters of great importance to the country, and 
 for the settlement of a plan of operations against the French. On 
 the twenty-sixth of March the general, with Governor Dinwiddie 
 and Commodore Keppel, arrived at Alexandria, where the troops 
 were encamped, and the next day issued his first general orders to 
 the army in America. 
 
 Since resigning his commission Washington had been industriously 
 occupied with agricultural pursuits, for which, as is well known, he 
 had through all his life a strong predilection. The debarkation and 
 temporary establishment at Alexandria of the regiments of Halket 
 and Dunbar, superior in discipline and appointments to any soldiers 
 he had hitherto seen, revived his military enthusiasm, and he did not 
 attempt to conceal his regret at being unable without a sacrifice 
 of self respect to share with them the duties and dangers of the 
 approaching campaign. General Braddock, who was acquainted 
 with his merits and services, could not disapprove of the feelings 
 which had induced his retirement from the army, and properly 
 appreciating the advantages to be derived from his abilities and 
 experience, he directed Captain Orine, one of his aids, to propose 
 an expedient by which the principal difficulties in the case would 
 
JEr. 23.] BRADDOCK AND WASHINGTON. 139 
 
 be removed. " The general/ this officer wrote to Washington on 
 the second of March, "having been informed that you expressed 
 some desire to make the campaign, but that you declined it upon 
 some disagreeableness that you thought might arise from regulations 
 of command, has ordered me to acquaint you that he will be very 
 glad of your company in his family, by which all inconveniences of 
 that kind will be obviated." He did not at once determine what 
 course to pursue, but in reply to this note frankly stated that he 
 was anxious to increase his acquaintance with the military art, and 
 should be strongly influenced by the consideration that he might 
 do so under a commander of Braddock s reputation. There was 
 some further correspondence on the subject, and on the second of 
 April he addressed to Orme the conditions upon which he would 
 accept the invitation. " I find myself," he said, " much embarrassed 
 with my affairs, having no person, in whom I can confide, to intrust 
 the management of them with ; notwithstanding, I am determined 
 to do myself the honor of accompanying you, upon this proviso, 
 that the general will permit my return as soon as the active part 
 of the campaign is at an end, if desired, or, if there should be a 
 space of inaction, long enough to admit of a visit to my home, that 
 I may be indulged in coming to it." Captain Orme answered, 
 " The general orders me to give you his compliments, and to assure 
 you his wishes are to make it agreeable to yourself and consistent 
 with your interests ; and therefore he desires you will so settle your 
 business at home as to join him at Will s creek, if more convenient 
 to you ; and whenever you find it necessary to return, he begs you 
 will look upon yourself as entirely your own master, and judge 
 what is proper to be done." 
 
 In a letter to his friend Mr. Robinson, speaker of the house of 
 burgesses, Washington explained with his customary sincerity and 
 modesty the reasons which induced him to accept a place in General 
 Braddock s staff. Pecuniary advantage was impossible, as he was a 
 volunteer, receiving neither compensation nor even his expenses, and 
 compelled to neglect private affairs which demanded all his atten 
 tion ; and he looked for no promotion, as it was not in the power 
 
140 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 of the commander to confer on him any welcome military distinc 
 tion. In a degree he was doubtless fascinated by the circumstance 
 and excitement of war. and he confessed an anxiety to study strat 
 egy, tactics, and the art of moving armies, under an approved mas 
 ter. Schooled in the wildernesses to the vicissitudes of the seasons, 
 and the difficulties and perils of border and savage life, the educa 
 tion necessary for his great mission was incomplete till he should 
 learn the refinements of discipline and conduct with such leaders 
 as he was to meet as enemies ; and dreams of this sort may have 
 mingled with his ever earnest desire to become an accomplished 
 soldier ; but the controlling motive which led him to the field was, 
 as he says, "the laudable one of serving his country not the 
 gratification of any ambitious or lucrative plans. My friends," he 
 added, " may conceive that some advantageous offers have engaged 
 my services, when, in reality, it is otherwise, for I expect to be a 
 considerable loser in my private affairs by going. It is true, I have 
 been importuned to make the campaign by General Braddock, as a 
 member of his family, he conceiving, I suppose, that the small 
 knowledge I have had an opportunity of acquiring, of the countrv 
 and the Indians, is worthy of his notice, and may be useful to him 
 in the progress of the expedition." 
 
 Before he complied with the general s invitation, his mother, 
 having heard that he would probably return to the army, and again 
 expose himself to the hardships and dangers of a campaign, has 
 tened from Fredericksburg to Mount Yernon to dissuade him from 
 any project of this kind. The feelings which had led her to pre 
 vent his entering the navy were still more powerful than all others 
 in her heart. But he reasoned with her of duty, sterner in au 
 thority than affection, and obtained her reluctant acquiescence in. 
 his decision. 
 
 Braddock had been ill, but was recovered sufficiently to meet the 
 governors whom he had summoned to a council at Annapolis. 
 They went to Alexandria, where, on the fourteenth of April, he 
 laid before them his instructions, his plans, and his expectations. 
 Besides Dinwiddie, there were present Shirley, Delancey, Sharpe, 
 
JET. 23.] EXPEDITIONS PROPOSED. 141 
 
 and Morris. Commodore Keppel also was admitted to their delib 
 erations. 
 
 Upon consultation it was resolved that there should be three 
 distinct expeditions. The first, against Fort Duquesne, for the 
 expulsion of the French from the valley of the Ohio, was to be 
 conducted by General Braddock in person, with his English regulars, 
 the levies from Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and such 
 Indians as might be induced to join him. After taking this strong 
 hold the general in chief proposed to continue his advance to 
 Niagara, reducing all the French establishments on his route. A 
 garrison of not less than two hundred provincials was to be left at 
 Fort Duquesne, at the cost of the nearest colonies ; and as the 
 enemy, should they retreat on his approach, would probably destroy 
 as much as they could of their defences, any restorations or addi 
 tions he might think necessary were to be executed by the same 
 interested parties, who were also to furnish the post with artillery 
 and provisions. Should he decide to build a fort upon the Erie, 
 and to order one or more vessels to be constructed for the protection 
 of that lake, the expense attending both these measures was like 
 wise to be borne by the above named governments. He anticipated 
 a series of conquests as easy as they would be considerable, and 
 already felicitated himself upon the prospect of spending a merry 
 Christmas with Governor Morris, in Philadelphia. The second 
 expedition was to march against Niagara, leaving reinforcements on 
 the way at Oswego, a post of the greatest importance for facilitating 
 the proposed attack on Niagara, and securing the retreat of the 
 troops to be employed on that service. This was to be under the 
 direction of Governor Shirley, who had recently been appointed a 
 major general. He was to improve the fort at Oswego, and build 
 and equip two ships there, each of sixty tons, for the command of 
 Lake Ontario. The third was for the reduction of Crown Point, on 
 the Champlain, and was to be led by Colonel William Johnson. It 
 was to consist of the irregulars promised by New Jersey, New York, 
 Massachusetts, Connecticut, Khode Island, and New Hampshire, 
 amounting to four thousand and four hundred men, besides Indians. 
 
142 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 At the same time Lieutenant Colonel Monckton was instructed to 
 cooperate with Colonel Lawrence, governor of that province, in 
 measures for driving out the French from Nova Scotia. 
 
 Colonel Johnson, Avho had resided more than twenty years near 
 the Mohawk river, in the province of New York, where he had 
 acquired not only a large estate, but, it was believed, an unprece 
 dented influence with the Indian tribes of that part of the country, 
 was offered a diplomatic agency to the Six Nations, but at first 
 declined it, as promises he had been authorized to make these 
 Indians in 174G had not yet been fulfilled, so that he was placed 
 under the disagreeable necessity of deceiving them, and the French 
 had made use of this fact very much to the disadvantage of the 
 English. The general conviction of his especial fitness for the 
 duties proposed, and the extraordinary powers with which it was 
 agreed to invest him, overcame his objections, however, and he was 
 commissioned as sole manager and director of Indian affairs, and 
 intrusted with ample funds for the purchase of presents, or to be 
 used according to his discretion in securing the friendship of the 
 Iroquois and their allies.* 
 
 It was suggested to General Braddock that New York should be 
 made the centre of operations, as from that colony there was easy 
 access by water to the heart of the French possessions in Canada ; 
 
 * William Johnson was a native of Ireland, and was born in 1715. His uncle, Vice Admiral 
 Sir Peter Warren, who acquired distinction at the capture of Louisburg, and by the defeat of the 
 French squadron sent to recover that post, had married Susan, eldest sister of Governor James 
 Delancey, of New York, and had become possessed of very large estates in the valley of the 
 Mohawk. Johnson, when about nineteen years of age, in consequence of the unfortunate ending 
 of a love affair, wished to leave Ireland, and his uncle sent for him to take charge of his wild lands 
 in this country. He settled first at the mouth of the Schoharie, but after learning the language of 
 the Indians, and carrying on a lucrative trade with them several years, he built the two mansions in 
 the Mohawk valley known as Johnson Castle and Johnson Hall, both of which were fortified, arid sur 
 rounded with cabins for the accommodation of the Indians. He supplied the place of his former love 
 by a Dutch damsel, who bore him several children, and was married by him when on her deathbed. 
 A subsequent favorite was a sister of Brant, the celebrated Mohawk chief. He held the place of 
 commissioner for Indian affairs in New York from 1746 to 1751, and when the chiefs of the Six 
 Nations met the Congress at Albany, in 1754, they applied for his reappointment. No other white 
 man had ever acquired as great an influence among them. Soon after the council at Alexandria he 
 was made a major general, and his victory over Dieskau, at Lake George, procured him a baronetcy 
 and a gift of five thousand pounds from the king. He died suddenly some thought by suicide 
 on the eleventh of July, 1774. His mind was coarse, but quick and vigorous, and he was not very 
 scrupulous of the rights of others. No biography of him has been written, but valuable materials 
 for one have been published by Dr. O Callaghan in the Documentary History of New York. 
 
JE-r. 23.] SHALL THE COLONIES BE TAXED? 143 
 
 but he was not at liberty to depart from his instructions, in which 
 the recent fortifications of the enemy in the valley of the Ohio 
 were named as the objects to which he was to direct his personal 
 attention. The Pennsylvanians held that even for this purpose the 
 selection of the point from which the army was to inarch was 
 unfortunate, as Virginia could furnish neither forage, provisions, 
 wagons, nor cattle, in all of which Pennsylvania abounded, but it 
 was too late for any changes of this nature, even if consistent with 
 the orders received from the captain general. 
 
 But the subject first presented and most earnestly commended 
 to the consideration of the governors was that of colonial revenue. 
 His instructions commanded him to insist that a fund be established 
 for the benefit of all the colonies collectively, and as Sir Thomas 
 Robinson had explained to them in advance the views of the ad 
 ministration on this question his anger was excited that no such 
 fund was already established. The governors present recapitulated 
 their controversies with their assemblies, and replied that nothing 
 of this nature could be accomplished here but by the direct inter 
 position of parliament. "Having found it impracticable to obtain 
 in their respective governments the proportions expected by his 
 majesty toward defraying the expense of his service in North 
 America, they were unanimously of opinion that it should be pro 
 posed to his majesty s ministers to find out some method of com 
 pelling them to give it, and of assessing the several governments, in 
 proportion to their respective abilities, their shares of the whole 
 money already furnished, and which it shall be thought proper for 
 them further to furnish, towards the general expense of his service."* 
 The king s agents were the king s friends, in all controversies of 
 this description. The opinions of the governors were sent home 
 by the general with a declaration of his own conviction of their 
 justice. But these opinions had little weight with the inhabitants 
 of the country, and were entitled to little with the crown. " The 
 people of the colonies," Franklin had written to Shirley, "are better 
 
 * Minutes of the Council at Alexandria, as published in the Documentary History of New 
 York, ii. 379. 
 
144 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 judges of the necessary. preparations for defence, and of their own 
 abilities to bear them, Governors often come to the colonies merely 
 to make fortunes, with which they intend to return to Britain ; are 
 not always men of the best abilities or integrity; and have no 
 natural connection with us, that should make them heartily con 
 cerned for our welfare." Besides, it was held in that day, against 
 the pretence that England was graciously expending her treasure 
 here exclusively for our benefit, " that these colonies were an object 
 of the highest importance to the mother country, and already the 
 chief basis of its trade and independence ;" and " that it was more 
 for the interest of the nation to carry on a war with the French, in 
 America, than in any other part of the world, since all the money 
 circulated in the colonies returned in the end to Great Britain."* 
 Franklin, in a paper which was reprinted in London in 1755, had 
 drawn attention to the rapid increase of population in this country. 
 His estimates were confirmed by Shirley, in a letter to Sir Thomas 
 Robinson. Every twenty years the number of the inhabitants was 
 doubled, and as the demand for British manufactures, with a corre 
 sponding employment of shipping, increased with still greater 
 rapidity, the reasonableness of the demand that the colonies should 
 pay all the expenses of the war was not very apparent. 
 
 General Braddock wrote to Lord Halifax, " I cannot sufficiently 
 express my indignation against the provinces of Pennsylvania and 
 Maryland, whose interests being alike concerned in this expedition, 
 and much more so than any others on this continent, refuse to con 
 tribute anything towards the project." But admitting the equity 
 of the claim on these colonies, their conduct is vindicated in what 
 Franklin says of Pennsylvania, which is equally applicable to the 
 case of Maryland. " The proprietaries, our hereditary governors," 
 he tells us, " when any expense was to be incurred for the de 
 fence of their province, with incredible meanness instructed their 
 deputies to pass no act for levying the necessary taxes unless 
 their vast estates were in the same act expressly exonerated ; 
 
 * Bradford s American Magazine and Monthly Chronicle for the British Colonies, for Novem 
 ber, 1757. 
 
MT. 1?3.] INTRODUCTION TO THE GOVERNORS. 145 
 
 and they had even taken bonds of their deputies to observe such 
 instructions." 
 
 Although the colonies of Virginia, New York and Massachusetts, 
 with some others, had voted liberal appropriations of money for carry 
 ing on the war, and New England generally had surpassed the expec 
 tations of the ministers in supplies of munitions and men, this ques 
 tion of revenue was not to be finally decided until the revolution, 
 twenty years after ; and the congress of governors at Alexandria 
 could only recommend to the commander in chief that he should 
 make use of his credit with the home government for current ex 
 penses lest the expedition should come to a stand.* 
 
 Washington was introduced to the assembled governors, and the 
 manner in which he was treated by them was a flattering assur 
 ance of the consideration in which his character was already held 
 throughout the country. A son of Shirley had accompanied Brad- 
 dock from England, as his secretary, and with him the young sol 
 dier had perhaps already become intimate, so that his acquaintance 
 with the father was more familiar than that he formed with the 
 others. Certainly, he was " especially well received" by that distin 
 guished person, whose abilities and demeanor u perfectly charmed" 
 him. " I think," he wrote, " his every word and action discover in 
 him the gentleman and the politician." The meaning of this last 
 word has changed in the hundred years since it was thus used by 
 Washington. 
 
 * Colonial Records of Pennsylvania, vi. 366. 
 
 10 
 
146 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 DELAYS OF THE ARMY DEPARTURE FROM ALEXANDRIA WASHINGTON AN 
 NOUNCED AS AID DE CAMP THE GENERAL IS ENRAGED SIR JOHN ST. CLAIR 
 
 ACTS THE LION RAMPANT ALARM OF THE PENNSYLVANIA ASSEMBLY FRANK 
 LIN VISITS THE CAMP HIS INTERVIEWS WITH BRADDOCK PROVIDES FOR HIM 
 
 HORSES AND WAGONS BECOMES ACQUAINTED WITH WASHINGTON THE MARCH 
 
 TO WILL S CREEK THE MUSTER AT FORT CUMBERLAND GATES, MORGAN, ETC. 
 
 COLONEL GAGE INDIANS AND BACKWOODSMEN SCENES IN THE CAMP. 
 
 EVERY day brought to General Braddock some new disappoint 
 ment. He had written to the Duke of Newcastle from Williams- 
 burg on the first of March that he should be beyond the Alleghanies 
 by the end of April, and his sanguine expectations were not 
 changed when a month afterwards he advised the ministers to look 
 for intelligence of his successes in June. It was not until the 
 twentieth of April, however, that he left Alexandria, and he had 
 proceeded only to Fredericktown in Maryland when compelled to 
 halt for means of transportation. Sir John St. Clair had reported 
 to him arrangements for supplying twenty-five hundred horses and 
 two hundred wagons, but only one hundred horses and fifteen 
 wagons had been furnished, and there was no prospect of any more. 
 "Washington, who had been detained by private business at Mount 
 Vernon, joined him here, and on the tenth of June was announced 
 in the orders of the day as an aid de camp to the commander in 
 chief. He found him in the midst of his anger, and was not pre 
 pared to regard it as altogether unreasonable, though he combated 
 the general s opinion that the great body of the people were as 
 much at fault as the irresponsible contractors who had deceived the 
 commissary. It is true nevertheless that the inhabitants of the 
 country manifested very little interest in the expedition. They 
 suspected that Great Britain and France had chosen for considera- 
 
JEr. 23.] SIR JOHN ST. CLAIR IN A STORM. 147 
 
 tioiis in which they were not deeply concerned to carry on a war 
 in America, and were disposed to be as passive as circumstances 
 would permit. 
 
 Edward Shippen, afterwards chief justice of Pennsylvania, men 
 tions in a letter to his father* that Governor Morris had laid before 
 the assembly of that province a communication from General Brad- 
 dock in which he stated that he should " take due care to burthen 
 those colonies most that showed least loyalty to his majesty ; and 
 that he was determined to obtain by unpleasant methods what it 
 was their duty to contribute with the utmost cheerfulness. The 
 assembly," continues Shippen, " know not how to stomach this mili 
 tary address, but it is thought it will frighten them into some reason 
 able measures, as it must be a vain thing to contend with a general 
 at the head of an army, though he should act an arbitrary part, 
 especially as in all probability he will be supported in everything 
 at home." Subsequently the members of a commission sent to 
 Will s creek, to attend to the construction of a military road, wrote 
 to Governor Morris some details of an interview they had had there 
 with Sir John St. Clair. " He was extremely warm and angry at 
 our province," they observed, "and stormed like a lion rampant. 
 He said the want of this road and the provisions promised by the 
 Pennsylvanians had retarded the expedition, and might cost them 
 their lives, because of the fresh numbers of French which might be 
 poured into the country ; that instead of marching to the Ohio he 
 would in nine days march his troops into Cumberland county, to 
 cut roads, and press wagons and horses ; that he would not allow a 
 soldier to handle an axe, but would by the sword compel the people 
 
 to do it, and take every man that refused to the Ohio ; that if 
 
 the French defeated them in consequence of the delays of this 
 province, he would with his drawn sword pass through it, and treat 
 the inhabitants as traitors to his master ; that he would write to 
 England by a man of war, revoke Mr. Penn s proprietaryship, and 
 represent Pennsylvania as a disaffected province ; that he would 
 
 * Letters and Papers relating chiefly to the Provincial History of Pennsylvania, &c., (edited by 
 Thomas Balch, Esq., and privately printed:) p. 35. 
 
H8 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 not hesitate to impress our assembly, for his hands were not tied, 
 and that we should find." 
 
 The assembly, apprehending from these and other communica 
 tions on the subject, that the general had received violent prejudices 
 against them, as averse to the service, requested Franklin to wait 
 upon him, not as from them, but as postmaster general, with the 
 pretended object of settling, at their expense, the mode of con 
 ducting his correspondence with the provincial governors. In his 
 memoirs Franklin informs us that he accepted the mission, and pro 
 ceeded with his son to the camp at Fredericktown, where they found 
 the general impatiently waiting the return of persons he had sent 
 into the back parts of Maryland and Virginia to collect wagons. 
 " I stayed with him," he writes, " several days, dined with him daily, 
 and had full opportunities of removing his prejudices by information 
 of what the assembly had before his arrival actually done, and were 
 still doing, to facilitate his operations." 
 
 The quiet humor, strong sense, and practicalness of Franklin 
 pleased the general, but it was impossible even for this eloquent 
 and shrewd talker to disturb his mind with a doubt of success. 
 One clay Braddock gave him some account of his intended progress. 
 "After taking Fort Duquesne," said he, " I am to proceed to Niagara, 
 and having taken that, to Frontenac, if the season will allow time ; 
 and I suppose it will, for Duquesne can hardly detain me above 
 three or four days and then I can see nothing that can obstruct 
 my march to Niagara." Franklin having revolved in his mind the 
 long line the army must make in their march by a very narrow 
 road, to be cut for them through the woods and bushes, and also 
 what he had heard of a former defeat of fifteen hundred French 
 who invaded the Illinois country, had conceived some doubts and 
 some fears for the event of the campaign ; but he ventured only to 
 say, " To be sure, sir, if you arrive well before Duquesne with these 
 fine troops, so well provided with artillery, the fort, though com 
 pletely fortified, and assisted with a very strong garrison, can proba 
 bly make but a short resistance. The only danger I apprehend of 
 obstruction to your march, is from the ambuscades of the Indians, 
 
JT. 23.] BRADDOCK AND FRANKLIN. 149 
 
 who, by constant practice, are dexterous in laying and executing 
 them; and the slender line, nearly four miles long, which your 
 army must make, may expose it to be attacked by surprise on its 
 flanks, and to be cut like thread into several pieces, which, from 
 their distance, cannot come up in time to support each other." 
 The general smiled at his ignorance, and replied, " These savages 
 may indeed be a formidable enemy to raw American militia, but 
 upon the king s regular and disciplined troops, sir, it is impossible 
 they should make an impression." The philosopher tells us he was 
 conscious of the impropriety in his disputing with a military man 
 in matters of his profession, and said no more. 
 
 When he was about to depart the returns of wagons to be ob 
 tained were brought in, by w r hich it appeared that they amounted 
 only to twenty-five, and not all these were in serviceable condition. 
 The general and all the officers were surprised, declared the expedi 
 tion was then at an end, being impossible, and exclaimed against 
 the ministers for ignorantly sending them into a country destitute 
 of the means even of carrying their stores and baggage, not less 
 than one hundred and fifty wagons being necessary. 
 
 Franklin happened to say he thought it was a pity they had not 
 landed in Pennsylvania, as in that country almost every farmer had 
 his wagon. Braddock eagerly laid hold of his words and said, 
 "Then you, sir, who are a man of interest there, can probably 
 procure them for us, and I beg you will undertake it." He asked 
 what terms were to be offered the owners of the wagons, and was 
 desired to put on paper such as to him appeared necessary. He 
 did so, they were agreed to, and a commission and instructions 
 immediately prepared. 
 
 Colonel D unbar, while Franklin was supping with the officers of 
 his regiment, one evening, expressed to him some anxiety in regard 
 to his subalterns, whose purses, never very well filled, were now 
 completely drained by the exorbitant prices exacted for every sort 
 of domestic stores needed for a long march through the wilderness. 
 He said nothing of his intention, but the next morning wrote to a 
 committee of the Pennsylvania assembly, who had still in hand 
 
150 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 some part of an appropriation for military purposes, warmly recom 
 mending the condition of these officers to their consideration, and 
 proposing that a present should be sent them of necessaries and 
 refreshments. 
 
 By characteristically adroit means, which are detailed in his 
 autobiography, he succeeded in obtaining from the counties of Lan 
 caster, York, and Cumberland, the one hundred and fifty wagons, 
 with four horses to each wagon, and fifteen hundred saddle or pack 
 horses, needed for the expedition ; and the committee of the assem 
 bly did not hesitate to forward to the camp as soon as possible the 
 generous supplies he requested for the comfort of the inferior 
 officers of Dunbar s and Halket s regiments. In the opinion of the 
 army Franklin almost redeemed the character of the American 
 people. He and Washington met at Fredericktown for the first 
 time ; and these two were the only natives of the country for 
 whom Braddock had a word of praise in his despatches.* 
 
 Soon after Franklin left the camp at Fredericktown the army 
 marched in divisions by various routes for Fort Cumberland at 
 Will s Creek. Colonel Dunbar s regiment was in advance, and at 
 noon, on the tenth of May, w r hen within a few miles of its destina 
 tion, was overtaken by the general. He preserved on all occasions 
 as much as circumstances permitted of the state belonging to his 
 rank in Europe, and now rode in a chariot which he had purchased 
 of Governor Sharp e, with his staff accompanying him, and his guard 
 of light horse galloping before and in the rear, A little after one 
 o clock he reached Will s creek, and was saluted with seventeen 
 guns from the fort. 
 
 * General Braddock writes of the principal service here rendered by Franklin, "It is almost the 
 only instance of address and integrity which I have seen in all these provinces." For the provisions, 
 &c., sent to the subalterns, both Colonel Dunbar and Sir Peter Halket wrote that " the gentlemen 
 whom the committee have been so good as to think of in so genteel a manner return their hearty 
 thanks." Mr. Sparks states that, "when Franklin returned to Philadelphia, the house of assembly 
 was in session, and unanimously passed a vote of thanks to Benjamin Franklin, a member of this 
 house, for the great services done to the king s forces, and to this province, in his late journey 
 through Maryland and our back counties. It should be added, also," Mr. Sparks continues, " that 
 no profit on his own account was either expected or leceived. On the contrary, after General Brad- 
 dock s death, the owners of the wagons and horses came upon Franklin for their pay, amounting in 
 all to nearly twenty thousand pounds; and he was much embarrassed with these claims, till they 
 were finally allowed and settled by General Shirley, who succeeded Braddock in the command." 
 
;ET. 23.] THE MUSTER AT FORT CUMBERLAND. 151 
 
 The next day notice was given that the general would hold a 
 levee at his tent every morning between ten and eleven ; and, on 
 the twelfth, the Indians who had been awaiting his arrival one of 
 whom was Monacatoocha, the successor of Tanacharisson were 
 received with military honors, and such formalities and displays as 
 it was thought would impress them most strongly with a sense of 
 English power and magnificence. At the end of the interview, in 
 which Braddock addressed them through an interpreter some flat 
 teries and promises, there was a discharge of all the artillery, and 
 in the evening, at their own camp, about two miles distant, a feast 
 was provided, by his direction, and they had a war dance, which was 
 seen by a few of the foreign officers with as much wonder as the 
 Indians had felt at the martial exhibition in the afternoon. 
 
 The force assembled at Will s creek amounted to more than two 
 thousand effective men. The regiments of Halket and Dunbar, 
 embracing together when they landed about one thousand, had 
 been increased to fourteen hundred by picked additions from the 
 provincial levies, and besides these there were the two independent 
 companies from New York, five companies of rangers and two of 
 carpenters or pioneers from Virginia, one company of rangers from 
 Maryland, one company of rangers from North Carolina, one com 
 pany from South Carolina, and thirty seamen, under a lieutenant of 
 the navy, furnished by Admiral Keppel, having four pieces of cannon, 
 which they were to assist in dragging over the mountains. The 
 colonial troops were regarded by the regulars as of little importance. 
 u They performed their evolutions and firings as well as could be 
 expected," Captain Orme* wrote in his journal, " but their languid, 
 spiritless, and unsoldierlike appearance, considered with the lowness 
 
 * Kobert Orme, of Devonshire, author of the " Journal" from which are derived a large proportion 
 of the particulars now known of Braddoc.k s Expedition, became a lieutenant in the Coldstream 
 Guards on the twenty-fourth of April, 1754. He was on very intimate terms with Braddock, and 
 before coming to this country had "made some noise in London by an affair of gallantry." Hero 
 he produced a very favorable impression on all with whom he came in contact. Soon after the 
 affair near Fort Duquesne, in which he was wounded, he returned to England, and in October, 1756, 
 resigned his commission, and married Audrey Townshend, only daughter of Lord Townshend, and 
 sister of Lieutenant Colonel Koger Townshend, who fell at Ticonderoga in 1759, as well as of 
 George, afterwards first Marquis Townshend, who succeeded General Wolfe on the capture of 
 Quebec. Winthrop Sargent s History of Braddock s Expedition, p, 283. 
 
152 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY [1755. 
 
 and ignorance of most of their officers, gave little hope of their fu 
 ture good behavior." Among these officers were Adam Stephen, the 
 Chevalier de Peyroney, William Poison, and several others, who had 
 fought by the side of Washington at Fort Necessity. Hugh Mercer, 
 a Scotchman, who had been with the pretender, Charles Edward, at 
 the battle of Culloden, and who subsequently, with Stephen, served 
 under Washington as a brigadier general, in the revolution, was a 
 surgeon. One of the wagoners was Daniel Morgan, a native of New 
 Jersey, who after working two years as a day laborer in Virginia had 
 been able with his accumulated earnings to buy a team, with which 
 he attached himself to a troop raised in that province. A difficulty 
 occurred between his commander and a brutal athlete who accom 
 panied the army, and it was agreed that they should settle it by per 
 sonal combat. The captain stepped out to meet his antagonist, when 
 Morgan came up and said, " You must not fight that man." " Why 
 not ?" " Because, you are our captain, and if the fellow were to whip 
 you we should all be disgraced ; but I will fight him, and if he whips 
 me it will not hurt the credit of the company." The officer remon 
 strated, but feeling the impropriety of placing himself on a level 
 with such a creature, at last consented to the arrangement, and 
 young Morgan, then only nineteen, gave the muscular and well 
 trained pugilist so severe a beating that he could not rise from the 
 ground. Though rude, he was as sagacious and manly as he was 
 brave, and by such acts he acquired, at this early period, a reputation 
 which assured his future greatness. Thomas Gage, afterwards com 
 mander in chief of the British forces in America, and the last royal 
 governor of Massachusetts, was a lieutenant colonel in Halket s 
 regiment, and Horatio Gates, who became a major general in the 
 revolution, was captain of one of the independent companies from 
 New York. 
 
 Braddock s expectations in regard to the Indians were disap 
 pointed. The French, since the surrender of Fort Necessity, had 
 labored assiduously and successfully to alienate them from the 
 English ; but a small number of fighting men were at any time in 
 the camp, and these were discontented, and soon withdrew. Mona- 
 
JE.T 23.] CAPTAIN JACK. H3 
 
 catoocha offered the common excuse for such conduct : " the great 
 general/ he said, " looked upon us as dogs, and would never hear 
 anything that was said to him ; we often endeavored to advise him 
 and to tell him the danger he was in with his soldiers ; but he never 
 appeared pleased with us ; and that was the reason a great many 
 of our warriors left him, and would not be under him." Another 
 cause of trouble was that the British officers " were scandalously fond 
 of their women." Monacatoocha, and eight of his followers, were 
 all who continued at Fort Cumberland until the march was recom 
 menced. 
 
 Braddock appears to have been little inclined to connect with 
 the army any parties who would not submit themselves entirely to 
 military regulations. He was a soldier of the schools, a man of 
 routine, a martinet, and from education and age incapable of adapt 
 ing himself to the novel exigencies of American warfare. He 
 therefore treated the offers of service which were made by back 
 woodsmen, willing to fight only in their own way, with the same 
 indifference which had wounded the pride of the Indians. A well 
 known character, called Captain Jack, the Wild Hunter of the 
 Juniata,* proposed upon easy conditions to furnish scouts. Settling 
 many years previously on the extreme frontier, he had returned 
 one evening, from a hunt, to look upon the ashes of his home and 
 the charred bodies of his murdered wife and children. From that 
 hour he was controlled by an insatiable thirst for revenge, and the 
 Indians of western Pennsylvania dreaded him more than any other 
 enemy. He led his band into the camp armed and equipped with 
 rifles, knives, hunting shirts, leggings, and moccasins, and having 
 asked an interview with the general, requested that they should be 
 employed as a reconnoitering party to start the savages from their 
 ambuscades. Braddock answered that there was time enough for 
 such arrangements, and that he had experienced troops on whom 
 
 * In Mr. Winthrop Sargent s History of Braddock s Expedition, and in Hazard s Pennsylvania 
 Register, there are some interesting particulai-s of this person s history. " On one occasion, near the 
 Juniata, in the middle of a dark night, a family were suddenly awaked from sleep by the report of a 
 gun ; they jumped from their beds, and by the glimmering light from the chimney saw an Indian 
 fall in the pains of death. The open door exposed to view the wild hunter. I have saved your 
 lives/ he cried, then turned, and was buried in the gloom." 
 
154 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 he could rely for all purposes. The Indian hater was offended at a 
 reception so forbidding, and on retiring from the commander s tent 
 led his associates back into the forests. 
 
 The character and condition of the army at this period was 
 sketched by Mr. Shirley, the general s secretary, in a letter to 
 Governor Morris. He writes, " We have a general most judiciously 
 chosen for being disqualified for the service he is employed in, in 
 almost every particular," and thinks it a great error to suppose the 
 good qualities of inferior officers can make up for the deficiencies 
 of a commander in chief. " The mainspring," he continues, " must be 
 the mover ; others, in many cases, can do no more than follow and 
 correct a little its motions. As to them, I do not think we have 
 much to boast ; some are ignorant and insolent ; some capable, but 
 rather aiming to show their abilities than to make a proper use of 
 them. I have a very great love for my friend Orme, and think it 
 uncommonly fortunate for our leader that he is under the influence 
 of so honest and competent a man, but I wish, for the sake of the 
 public, he had a little more experience of business, especially in 
 America. As for myself, I came out of England expecting that I 
 might be taught the business of a military secretary; but I am 
 already convinced of my mistake. I w r ould willingly, however, 
 think my time may not be quite lost to me. You will think me 
 out of humor. I own I am so. I am greatly disgusted at seeing 
 an expedition so ill concerted originally in England, and so ill ap 
 pointed, so improperly conducted in America, and so much fatigue 
 and expense incurred for a purpose which, even if attended with 
 success, might better have been left alone. I speak with regard to 
 our peculiar share of it... I am likewise further chagrined at 
 seeing the prospect of affairs in America, which, when we were at 
 Alexandria, I looked upon as great and promising, through delays 
 and disappointments which might have been prevented, grown 
 cloudy, and in danger of ending in little or nothing."* 
 
 Before the march from Fredericktown Washington had been sent 
 to Williamsburg to obtain four thousand pounds for the military 
 
 * Colonial Records of Pennsylvania, vi., 404. 
 
/Er. 23.] BRADDOCK S DINNER PARTIES. 155 
 
 chest. The commission was executed in a satisfactory manner, and 
 on the thirtieth of May he rejoined the army at Will s creek. The 
 general was still complaining of breaches of contract, and denounced 
 the country as destitute of honor. " On this head," writes Wash 
 ington, "we have frequent disputes, which are maintained with 
 warmth on both sides, especially on his, as he is incapable of 
 arguing without it, or giving up any point he asserts, be it ever so 
 incompatible with reason or common sense." The horses and wag 
 ons hired by Franklin began now, however, to come in every day, 
 with liberal supplies of forage and provisions, and he grew amia 
 ble. At his table, which was served by two excellent cooks whom 
 he had brought from England, he maintained the generous hospi 
 tality which became his rank. Here Washington met the distin 
 guished persons who visited the camp, and had pleasant intercourse 
 with his friends Shirley and Orme. The other aid, Roger Morris, 
 he does not often mention, and it is probable that he was less inti 
 mate with him. Some philosophers might suggest that he was 
 separated by a natural repulsion from one who was three years 
 after to be his successful rival for the heart of the great heiress, 
 Mary Philipse, of New York, 
 
150 WASHINGTON; A BIOGRAPHY. [1755 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 LOITERING NEWS OF REINFORCEMENTS OF THE FRENCH MARCH FROM WILL S 
 
 CREEK SUPERFLUOUS CAMP EQUIPAGE SAVAGE MOUNTAIN AND THE SHADES 
 
 OF DEATH COUNCIL AT THE LITTLE MEADOWS IT ADOPTS SUGGESTIONS BY 
 
 WASHINGTON DIVISION OF THE ARMY ILLNESS OF WASHINGTON HIS COR 
 RESPONDENCE WITH THE OTHER AIDS DE CAMP HALTS AT FORT NECESSITY 
 
 REJOINS THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF INCIDENTS OF THE MARCH TRACES OF 
 
 THE ENEMY INDIAN MURDERS FUNERAL OF THE SON OF MONACATOOCHA 
 
 CHRISTOPHER GIST CAMP ON THE MONONGAHELA. 
 
 TWENTY-SEVEN days had been passed in the march of the army 
 from Alexandria to Will s creek. Here it was detained three weeks. 
 This loitering and delay were fatal. On the sixth of June intelli 
 gence was received that a party of three hundred Frenchmen had 
 passed Oswego on their w T ay to Fort Duquesne, and that another 
 and larger detachment was expected to follow every moment. 
 There were other accounts of the departure of five hundred men 
 from Canada for the same destination. " We have reason to be 
 lieve," Washington wrote to William Fairfax, "that we shall have 
 more to do than to go up the hills and come down." 
 
 From Will s creek to the Ohio is about one hundred and 
 thirty miles. On the thirtieth of May six hundred men under Sir 
 John St. Clair and Major Chapman were sent forward to open the 
 roads and convey provisions to the Little Meadows. Sir Peter Hal- 
 ket followed with his regiment on the seventh of June, Lieutenant 
 Colonel Burton with the independent companies and rangers on 
 the eighth, and Colonel D unbar with his brigade on the tenth. The 
 same day, after seeing the last company on the march, General 
 Braddock set out with his staff and body guard. Fort Cumberland, 
 with the hospital, filled with invalids, was left under the care of 
 Colonel Innes. 
 
JET. 23.] RETRENCHMENTS IN EQUIPAGE. 157 
 
 The advance over the rough road, with wagons loaded with un 
 necessary luggage and camp equipage as well as with munitions and 
 supplies, was difficult and slow. Eememhering his own experience 
 in crossing the mountains, with men divested of everything not 
 indispensable, Washington had anticipated that the movement of 
 the train would be " tedious, very tedious indeed." On the twelfth 
 the general appears to have arrived at a similar conclusion, and, 
 calling together his officers, he informed them that it would be 
 impossible to continue the march without some change in this re 
 spect, " which he was persuaded they would readily assist in, as they 
 had hitherto evinced the greatest spirit and inclination for the ser 
 vice." He recommended their sending back to the fort all such prop 
 erty as was not absolutely necessary; gave assurances that if any 
 of them having horses in good condition would spare them for the 
 public benefit he would see that such evidence of their regard for it 
 was not forgotten, and set an example, with his family, by contrib 
 uting twenty, which had such an influence that many of the officers 
 gave up their own tents, and made use of those of the soldiers, for 
 the rest of the way, and nearly a hundred of the best animals in 
 the camp were yielded for the common advantage. But there was 
 still a great deal of superfluous furniture of various sorts retained, 
 by gentlemen whose European training had failed to prepare them 
 for the self denials demanded in this wilderness warfare, and in a 
 letter written on the fourteenth Washington expressed fears that 
 the number of wagons would prove an insurmountable obstacle to 
 the success of the expedition. They formed a line three or four 
 miles long, with soldiers so dispersed for their defence that any 
 attack would have thrown them into confusion. Passing the great 
 Savage Mountain, and the gloomy pine forest known as the Shades 
 of Death, they reached the Little Meadows, but twenty-four miles 
 from Will s creek, at the end of ten days. Here there was a second 
 council, at which the general appealed to the officers for a still 
 further retrenchment of their effects, and Washington, to encour 
 age the rest, gave up his best horse, which he tells us he never 
 heard of afterwards, and reserved no more clothing than half 
 
158 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 enough to fill his portmanteau. Before the council assembled " the 
 general/ writes Washington to his brother, "asked my private 
 opinion concerning the expedition. I urged him in the warmest 
 terms I was able to use, to push forward, even if he did it with a 
 small but chosen band, with such artillery and light stores as were 
 necessary, leaving the heavy guns, baggage, and the like, with the 
 rear division of the army, to follow by slow and easy marches, 
 which they might do with safety while w r e were advanced in front." 
 He vindicated this advice by referring to information in their pos 
 session of the weakness of the garrison at Fort Duquesne, and of 
 reinforcements hourly expected for its support. These reinforce 
 ments could not in his opinion pass from the Erie to the Ohio, with 
 a necessary quantity of provisions and other supplies, until the exces 
 sive drought then prevailing should be ended by such a fall of rain 
 as would render possible their transportation down the river Le 
 Boeuf. By a quick movement, therefore, it was probable that the 
 fort might be reached, with enough troops to carry it, before the 
 arrival of the aid sent from Canada ; but if this policy should not 
 be adopted, such were the delays attending the advance of the 
 whole army, that rains sufficient to make the river navigable might 
 reasonably be anticipated, and the entire force of the enemy would 
 be collected for their reception: a circumstance likely to invest 
 the undertaking with extreme difficulties or quite prevent its suc 
 cess. The proposed blow, to be effective, must be struck at once. 
 
 The suggestions of the young aid de camp accorded with the 
 temper of the commander in chief and were approved by the coun 
 cil, and immediate measures were taken for carrying them into 
 execution. On the eighteenth a strong body of pioneers was sent 
 forward to prepare the roads, and on the nineteenth the general 
 marched with the first division, consisting of twelve hundred men, 
 besides officers, selected from the different companies, and furnished 
 with eight pieces of artillery, provisions for thirty-five days, on pack- 
 horses, and less than thirty carriages, including those which con 
 tained the ammunition, all with strong teams. The second division, 
 with the remaining stores, munitions, and equipage, was to follow 
 
jET. 23.] ILLNESS ON THE MARCH. 159 
 
 under Colonel Dunbar. Washington contemplated with "infinite 
 delight" the prospect of a forced and rapid march, but this prospect 
 was soon clouded, and his hopes " brought very low indeed," when 
 he found that instead of pushing on vigorously, without regarding 
 a little rough road, there were halts to level every molehill and 
 erect bridges over every brook, so that four days were spent in 
 getting to the Youghiogany, a distance of only twelve miles. 
 
 Since the fourteenth Washington had suffered from a violent 
 fever and pain in the head, which continued without intermission 
 until the twenty-third, when he was relieved by the general s order 
 ing the physician to give him James s powders, which he describes 
 as " one of the most excellent medicines in the world," with some 
 reason, as it induced immediate ease, and in four days assured his 
 convalescence. His illness had been so severe that he could not 
 support himself in the saddle, and the jolting of the covered wagon 
 to which he was removed was soon found to be unendurable. He 
 was therefore, by the advice of Dr. Craik, and the imperative orders 
 of General Braddock, left at the Youghiogany, with the doctor and a 
 servant, a guard, and some necessaries, to await the approach of 
 Colonel Dunbar s detachment, which was two days in the rear : the 
 general pledging his word of honor in the most solemn manner 
 that he should be brought forward before the advanced division 
 reached the Ohio. Colonel Dunbar came up on the twenty-second, 
 and he proceeded with his division, by slow stages, and not without 
 considerable pain from frequent shocks received by the vehicle in 
 passing over the rugged road. On the twenty-fourth Captain 
 Morris wrote to him that there would be a halt of two or three 
 days at the Great Meadows, and added, "It is the desire of 
 every individual in the family, and the general s positive command 
 to you, not to stir but by the advice of the person under whose 
 care you are, till you are better, which we all hope will be very 
 soon." On the thirtieth Washington wrote to his friend Orme, " My 
 fevers are very moderate, and, I hope, near terminating. Then I shall 
 have nothing to encounter but my weakness, which is excessive, 
 and the difficulty of getting to you, arising therefrom ; but this I 
 
1GO WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 would not miss doing before you arrive at Fort Duquesne for five 
 hundred pounds." The next day, the first of July, he received 
 from Orme an account of the incidents of the march, with intima 
 tions that the army was in excellent spirits, and that the French 
 were evidently very much alarmed. On the second, Colonel Dun- 
 bar s division was at the Great Meadows, where he saw what M. de 
 Yilliers had suffered to remain of Fort Necessity, and on the third 
 he set out in a covered wagon, accompanied by Dr. Craik, and with 
 an escort of one hundred men, guarding also a supply of provisions, to 
 rejoin the commander in chief, which he succeeded in accomplishing 
 on the eighth, at the junction of the Youghiogany with the Monon- 
 gahela having been detained in the rear nearly two weeks. 
 
 The march of the advanced division of the army meanwhile 
 had been impeded by numerous obstacles. On one occasion the 
 company of sailors were compelled to lower the wagons from a 
 precipitous hill, with ropes ; and the horses, feeding on wild grass, or 
 browsing among the shrubs, for want of forage, became too weak 
 to drag them, unless very slowly, over even the best parts of the 
 road. 
 
 The day following that on which Washington and Dr. Craik had 
 been left by the Youghiogany, a camp was discovered apparently just 
 abandoned by a party of nearly two hundred Indians and French 
 men, and the neighboring trees, stripped of their bark, were found 
 covered with threats, bravadoes, and scurrilous taunts. From vari 
 ous causes there were continual fears of ambuscades. One morning 
 three men who had ventured beyond the sentinels were shot, and 
 their scalps, two days afterwards, were found painted with signs of 
 triumph on the trunks of trees, where many Frenchmen had in 
 scribed their names with insolent expressions. 
 
 The single spies and small detachments of the enemy prowling 
 through the woods were so numerous and so adroit in eluding 
 efforts for their discovery that the few Indians who had been re 
 tained in the army by a prodigal use of presents, became unwilling 
 to act as scouts. Monacatoocha and his son, wandering one day 
 a short distance from the line of march, were surrounded and cap- 
 
jE T . 23.] INCIDENTS OF THE MARCH. 1G1 
 
 tured. The son escaped, informed the warriors of the half king of 
 his misfortune, and they hastened to rescue or revenge him. The 
 French had threatened to kill him, but their savage allies, connected 
 with the chief by some tie of kindred or friendship, declared that 
 if the design were persisted in they would join the English. It was 
 therefore agreed to leave him tied to a tree, and in this condition 
 he was discovered by his followers. 
 
 After the capture of Monacatoocha the few Indians attached to 
 the expedition seemed very unwilling to act as scouts, but on the 
 fourth of July two of them consented to reconnoitre in the direction 
 of the fort, and, without knowing that he would do so, shortly after 
 their departure Christopher Gist, who had been with Washington 
 the previous year, and who now acted as guide to General Brad- 
 dock, set off on a similar errand. The Indians returned after an 
 absence of two days, bringing the scalp of a French officer whom 
 they declared they had killed while he was shooting within half a 
 mile of his quarters. They said they had seen very few footprints, 
 very few men, and no additional fortifications ; from all which it 
 was inferred that not many of the enemy were out upon observa 
 tion. Mr. Gist came in a few hours later in the same day, and his 
 report corresponded very nearly with that of the Indians. He had 
 however perceived smoke in a valley between the camp and the 
 fort, and while endeavoring in the night to get a closer view of the 
 latter, had been discovered, pursued, and in imminent danger of 
 being made a prisoner. 
 
 On the sixth, after a march of less than seven miles, three or four 
 men loitering in the rear were shot and scalped. They were so 
 near that the general heard the sound of muskets, and sent back a 
 company of grenadiers to ascertain what had happened. Some 
 friendly Indians were soon after seen in advance, and though they 
 gave the proper countersign holding up boughs and grounding 
 arms in the excitement of the moment they were believed to be 
 enemies, and fired upon. One of them, a son of Monacatoocha, 
 was killed. As soon as the mistake was known the body of the 
 young chief was brought to the general, who immediately ordered 
 
162 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 the army to halt and encamp ; and sending for the father and his 
 friends, he expressed to them his regret on account of the melan 
 choly occurrence, gave them presents of expiation, and, as soon as 
 proper arrangements could be made, caused the heir of the half 
 king to be buried with military honors. The funeral was attended 
 by the officers, and a volley was fired over the grave. The tact 
 thus displayed by Braddock had more than its anticipated effect. 
 It was apprehended that this misfortune would quite alienate the 
 remaining Indians, but these exhibitions of sympathy and respect 
 were so gratifying that they became more than ever attached to 
 the English. 
 
 On the seventh and eighth the advanced division of the army 
 proceeded twenty miles, and encamped the last of these days not far 
 from the Monongahela river, and in the neighborhood of Frazier s 
 trading house and the village of Queen Aliquippa. Here, as has 
 been stated, Washington rejoined the staff, after an extremely 
 fatiguing journey. He was cordially received by his friends, but 
 had little time for idle gratulations. Exhausted as he was, by illness 
 and weariness, he entered without delay upon inquiries and discus 
 sions respecting the plan of operations which had been adopted 
 before his arrival. Generally the officers and the troops were 
 elated with the assurance of an easy triumph over the French, but 
 Sir Peter Halket is said to have evinced doubt and anxiety on the 
 subject, and his feelings were perhaps shared by Secretary Shirley.* 
 Sir John St. Clair suggested that a detachment should attempt to 
 invest the fort that night, but so many objections were urged that 
 the project was not submitted to the general. Had it been exe 
 cuted, however, it would probably have prevented the next day s 
 catastrophe. A party of Indians, who had abandoned the expedi 
 tion some time previously, in consequence of the slight consideration 
 with which they were treated, during the evening came into the 
 camp and renewed the offer of their services. Washington under 
 took to negotiate between them and Braddock. He urged their 
 
 * Winthrop Sargent on the Expedition against Fort Duqueene, p. 214. History of the War, by 
 Bntick, i. 145. 
 
Mr. 23.] SPECULATIONS OF THE FRENCH. 163 
 
 knowledge of the ground, their skill in forest warfare, and their 
 value as guards and scouts. But the general peremptorily refused 
 to have anything to do with them. He declared the disdain he 
 felt for such allies, and his confidence in well trained and veteran 
 soldiers, under all circumstances, dismissing the overture in a man 
 ner as ungracious as it was determined.* All ambuscades would 
 have been harmless if a dozen Indians had preceded the army 
 after it crossed the Monongahela. 
 
 In the French fortress there had been alarm, daily increasing, 
 and the commandant was near deciding upon a retreat. Accounts 
 received from his scouts had greatly exaggerated the strength of 
 the English, and he cherished no hope of successfully resisting it. 
 In a council of war, however, he heard, from his most experienced 
 and able officers, a diversity of opinions, and finally resolved to 
 maintain his position as long as possible, and if compelled to sur 
 render, to do so upon honorable terms. 
 
 * Sparks s Washington, i. 70. 
 
164 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE NINTH OF JULY ANTICIPATIONS OF VICTORY FRANKLIN IN DOUBT ON THE 
 
 SUBJECT THE ARMY IN CAMP MOVEMENT OF THE ADVANCE THE MAIN BODY 
 
 IN ORDER OF MARCH WASHINGTON S DESCRIPTION OF IT AN AMBUSCADE 
 
 PANIC OF THE REGULARS BRAVERY OF THE PROVINCIALS UNPARALLELED 
 
 COURAGE BRADDOCK BEHAVES LIKE A HERO NOBLE CONDUCT OF WASHING 
 TON HE IS PRESERVED BY PROVIDENCE THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF MOR 
 TALLY WOUNDED ENTIRE ROUT OF THE ARMY THE RETREAT BRADDOCK s 
 
 DEATH AND BURIAL COWARDICE AND FLIGHT OF D UNBAR WASHINGTON S 
 
 LETTERS TO HIS FRIENDS THE POWER OF ENGLAND IN AMERICA BROKEN 
 
 PROPHECY OF THE REV. SAMUEL DAVIES. 
 
 THE ninth of July, 1755, was one of the most important days in 
 American history, and one of the most interesting in the life of 
 Washington. It was expected with hope, but no proud anticipations 
 were equal to the great results with which it was crowned by an 
 allwise and beneficent though mysterious Providence. 
 
 Beyond the camp ? in which \Yashington, and his companions in 
 previous expeditions, observed the temper and conduct of the com 
 mander in chief with such apprehensions as were justified by their 
 own experience, scarcely a doubt was entertained in all British 
 America of the easy and complete success of the attempt to drive 
 the French from the valley of the Ohio. In Philadelphia, New 
 York, and Boston, intelligence from Fort Duquesne was looked for, 
 not with anxiety respecting the result, but only as a signal for pub 
 lic rejoicings. In the former city the doctors Bond, two gentlemen 
 of leading influence in society, called on Benjamin Franklin with 
 a subscription paper for raising money to defray the expense of a 
 grand display of fireworks, to be made on receiving news of Gen 
 eral Braddock s victory. The printer looked grave, and said it 
 would in his opinion be time enough to prepare the rejoicing when 
 
^T. 23.] LAST MARCH OF BRADDOCK. 165 
 
 they knew they should have occasion to rejoice. His visitors 
 seemed to be surprised that he did not at once comply with their 
 proposal. "Why, the devil!" said one of them, "you surely don t 
 suppose that the fort will not be taken?" "I don t know that it 
 will not be taken/ he answered, with characteristic caution, "but I 
 know that the events of war are subject to great uncertainty." He 
 gave them reasons for having some doubts in the case, and the sub 
 scription was dropped.* 
 
 The English camp was a little below the place where the Yough- 
 iogany falls into the Monongahela, and fifteen miles from the fort, 
 at the confluence of the latter river with the Alleghany. Both the 
 fort and the camp were within these arms of the Ohio. A portion of 
 the road between them was narrow, with the river on one side and 
 a steep mountain on the other, and in so bad a condition as to be 
 impassable for carriages. It had therefore been determined to cross 
 the Monongahela by a shallow ford near the camp, proceed along 
 its west bank about five miles, and recross it by another ford, 
 between which and the fort there were no considerable obstruc 
 tions. 
 
 Before daylight Lieutenant Colonel Gage marched with two com 
 panies of grenadiers, two companies of infantry, and Captain Gates s 
 independent company, containing together three hundred and fifty 
 men, with directions to halt beyond the second ford, which they 
 were to guard until it should be passed by the main body ; at four 
 o clock he was followed by Sir John St. Clair with a working 
 party of two hundred and fifty men, to prepare the roads for the 
 artillery and baggage wagons ; and at eight the general, accom 
 panied by his aids, Orme, Morris, and Washington the latter still 
 so ill that it w T as with difficulty he kept his place in the saddle 
 set out with the remainder of the army, which, on gaining the west 
 side of the river, formed in proper marching order. It was a 
 delightful summer morning. The troops, though enfeebled by toil 
 and unwholesome food, were in excellent spirits, and confident of an 
 approaching triumph. Dressed in their showy and brilliant uniforms, 
 
 * Franklin s Works, i., 194. 
 
166 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 with their burnished arms gleaming in the bright sun, they moved 
 in regular columns, to the sound of martial music, between the 
 placid river and the deep overshadowing forest. Washington was 
 often heard to say in after years that they presented at this hour 
 the most beautiful spectacle he had ever seen. About ten the gen 
 eral received from Gage a despatch in which it was stated that he 
 had repassed the Monongahela, without interruption, and posted 
 himself as commanded. 
 
 By two o clock the several parts of the army were reunited on 
 the east side of the river, and the line of march was again formed, 
 Gage and St. Clair being in advance, with guides and flanking 
 parties, and the general following with the artillery and baggage 
 and the rest of the forces. Suddenly a heavy fire, with a wild and 
 terrible Indian war cry, was heard in front. Advised by his scouts 
 of Braddock s progress, M. Contrecoeur, who was still in charge of 
 Fort Duquesne, had decided in council the previous evening his plan 
 of operations. Captain Beaujeu, an enterprising and fearless officer, 
 had proposed an ambuscade, and been intrusted with its execution. 
 With two hundred and thirty French and Canadians, and between 
 six and seven hundred Indians, he intended to dispute the passage of 
 the second ford, but arrived too late, and posted himself in an open 
 wood, filled with prostrate trees, bushes, and high grass, near the bor 
 der of an undulating plateau, above the river. His attack was furi 
 ous, and as unexpected as lightning from a cloudless sky. It was 
 received by the forward companies of the detachment under Gage, 
 who, instead of supporting them, sent to the general for orders, and 
 by his indecision made certain the disasters of the afternoon. The 
 onset was met courageously, but the enemy poured a murderous 
 fire from places in which they were perfectly concealed, and Gage s 
 men returned it almost at random, and with very little effect. They 
 were thrown into a panic by the strangeness of their situation. 
 Gage attempted to rally them for a charge with the bayonet ; but 
 no foe was to be seen, while bullets flew among them like tempest 
 driven hail, and all commands were unheeded. He was soon 
 wounded, and they retreated in dismay, until stopped by a rein- 
 
JEr. 23.] BATTLE OF THE MONONGAHELA. 167 
 
 forcement of eight hundred men under Lieutenant Colonel Burton, 
 which the general had promptly ordered to their assistance. These 
 caught the alarm, and the two regiments were mixed in inextricable 
 confusion, among the trees and tangled underbrush, through which 
 only practised woodsmen could easily find a way. 
 
 The general had despatched an aid de camp for particular infor 
 mation, but without awaiting his return, started himself, and now 
 came up to share the danger and animate the troops. The artillery, 
 advancing along the road, began to play with energy, and though 
 it did little execution upon the hidden enemy, the Indians for a 
 moment suspended their fire ; the French leader, De Beaujeu, was 
 killed ; the English raised shouts of victory ; but Dumas, who suc 
 ceeded De Beaujeu, infused new life into his followers, and the tide 
 turned again. Sending the savages to assail their flanks, while with 
 his French and Canadians he kept up the attack in front, they 
 continued between two and three hours with the utmost ardor yet 
 with the coolest judgment, from behind large trees and from the 
 edge of a ravine, to shoot down the terror stricken English. 
 
 The provincial companies alone seemed to retain their senses. 
 Scattering themselves through the forest, they fought according to 
 the Indian manner, each governed by his own opportunity and 
 discretion. The general would not suffer the regulars to follow 
 their example.* He endeavored to form them into platoons and 
 columns, but merely succeeded in grouping them so that the French 
 and Indian marksmen were able without difficulty to effect their 
 destruction. They kept up an irregular and aimless fire, but their 
 friends suffered from it more than their enemies. Under the cir 
 cumstances there was but one means of success ; this was a quick 
 and determined charge with the bayonet by all the infantry, which 
 would have started the foe from their cover, and reversed the ad 
 vantages ; but it was not attempted. 
 
 * " The enemy kept behind trees and logs of wood, and cut down our troops as fast as they could 
 advance. The soldiers then insisted much to be allowed to take to the trees, which the general 
 denied, and stormed much, calling them cowards ; and even went so far as to strike them with his 
 own sword for attempting the trees." Letter of Major James Burd to Governor Morris : Colonial 
 Records of Pennsylvania, vi., 501. 
 
168 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 Braddock s errors as a general were of the judgment only, and 
 fruits of his education. Washington had strongly advised him on 
 his arrival in the camp, the previous evening, to keep scouts and 
 guards in advance and on the wings of his army, who would have 
 saved him from this surprise, and all its consequences ; but he had 
 a contempt for Indian warfare and an absurd confidence in the 
 prowess of veteran soldiers. In these hours of carnage he proved 
 the injustice of a taunting jest w r hich his delays had caused to be 
 current in London, that he " was not at all impatient to be scalped." 
 His bravery and undauntedness were never surpassed. His secre 
 tary, acting as an aid, fell dead by his side ; Morris and Orme were 
 wounded and borne to the rear; Sir Peter Halket and other field 
 officers were killed \ three fourths of his guard of cavalry were 
 slain before his eyes ; and five horses were disabled under him ; but 
 still he persevered in desperate efforts to win the day. All the 
 officers, so far as we know, exhibited the most admirable gallantry ; 
 but the troops were ungovernable ; their faculties were palsied by 
 fear and horror. To Washington, early in the engagement, was left 
 the whole duty of distributing the general s orders. As if uncon 
 scious of his illness, or of the perils with which he was surrounded, 
 he rode from place to place in the thickest of the fight. Two horses 
 were killed under him, and four bullets passed through his coat ; 
 but, to the astonishment of all, he escaped unhurt, though every 
 other officer on horseback was either killed or wounded. " I ex 
 pected every moment," said his friend Dr. Craik, " to see him fall. 
 Nothing but the superintending care of Providence could have 
 saved him from the fate of all around him." An Indian chief, 
 whose attention was arrested by his daring and activity, fired at 
 him several times, and directed his warriors to do so, but saw with 
 wonder that none of their balls took effect. Persuaded that he 
 was under the protection of some potent Manitou he ceased to 
 make him a target for their skill. "Death," Washington himself 
 wrote to his brother, " was levelling my companions, on every side 
 of me ; but, by the all powerful dispensations of Providence, I have 
 been protected." 
 
JET. 23.] BATTLE OF THE MONONGAHELA. 169 
 
 It was near five o clock when Lieutenant Colonel Burton, having 
 assembled about one hundred men who retained sufficient repose 
 and courage for another effort, was commanded by General Brad- 
 dock to take possession of an eminence, on the right, from which 
 the enemy had directed a constant and galling fire. This was the 
 last attempt to continue the battle, and was unsuccessful. Burton 
 was disabled, and his men came back in disorder. At this moment 
 the general was mortally wounded, by a ball which passed through 
 his right arm into his side, and, as he fell from his horse, was caught 
 by Captain Stewart, of his guards, who, assisted by a member of 
 his company, and a servant, placed him in a wagon that they might 
 bring him off the ground. This was against his will. Seeing the 
 completeness of his overthrow, and his unavoidable disgrace, he 
 would have died there. He had already ordered a retreat, but it 
 was too late to retreat with any regularity. The British troops, 
 " by one common consent," writes Orme, " left the field, running off 
 with the greatest precipitation. The officers used all possible en 
 deavors to stop the men, and to prevail upon them to rally, but a 
 great number of them threw away their arms, and even their 
 clothes to escape the faster." The provincials were the last to turn 
 from the scene. " The Virginia companies," Washington wrote to 
 Governor Dinwiddie, " behaved like men, and died like soldiers ; for, 
 I believe, of three companies on the ground, scarce thirty men were 
 left alive. Captain Peyroney, and all his officers, down to a cor 
 poral, were killed. Captain Poison had almost as hard a fate, for only 
 one of his escaped. In short, the dastardly conduct of the regular 
 troops, so called, exposed those who were inclined to do their duty 
 to almost certain death ; and, at length, in spite of every effort to 
 the contrary, they broke, and ran as sheep before hounds, leaving 
 the artillery, ammunition, baggage, provisions, and, in short, every 
 thing, a prey to the enemy; and when we endeavored to rally 
 them, in hopes of regaining the ground and what we had left upon 
 it, it was with as little success as if we had attempted to stop the 
 wild bears of the mountains." 
 
 Until now very few of the enemy had been seen. Some of the 
 
170 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 officers declared that during the entire engagement they did not see 
 a Frenchman or an Indian. But when the guns of the English were 
 all silenced, and the rout became complete, they left their hiding 
 places and gave themselves up to pillage, and so were prevented 
 from following the fugitives, though a few continued the pursuit to 
 the river. 
 
 About a quarter of a mile beyond the ford there was a halt. 
 Less than a hundred men, of the army which at one o clock had 
 passed that way so exultingly, could now be collected around their 
 dying leader. It was hoped that an advantageous position here 
 might be held until reinforcements should be summoned from Fort 
 Cumberland. But before the end of an hour nearly all these men 
 resumed their flight, leaving the general, and his surviving officers, 
 many of whom were also wounded, to continue their retreat in the 
 best manner they could devise. 
 
 A consultation was held, which resulted in the general s despatch 
 ing Washington to Colonel D unbar, with orders to send hospital 
 stores, provisions, and wagons for the wounded, under a guard of 
 two companies of grenadiers, to meet him at Gist s plantation, or 
 nearer if possible. The general was in extreme pain, which was 
 increased by the manner in which he had thus far been conveyed, 
 and after Dr. Craik had dressed his wounds, he would have mounted 
 his horse, but was unable to do so, and was carried by the soldiers, 
 closely attended by the surgeon, and Captain Stewart, who left him 
 scarcely a moment during the march. His aids, Orme and Morris, 
 were placed on litters, borne by horses. When they had proceeded 
 a few miles they were joined by Lieutenant Colonel Gage, who had 
 succeeded in rallying nearly eighty men. The melancholy company 
 kept on their inarch all night. The general spoke only once, and 
 then but ejaculated, " Who would have thought it !" The next day 
 he was equally silent, merely saying, as if not quite despairing of 
 life, " We shall know better how to deal with them another time !" 
 In the evening they reached Gist s place, where they were met by 
 Washington, with supplies. Here, for the first time, they rested. 
 On the morning of the eleventh they went on to Dunbar s camp, 
 
o 
 Si 
 
JT. 23.] DEATH AND BURIAL OF BRADDOCK. 171 
 
 which was pervaded by a panic almost as great as that which had 
 prevailed in the battle. The trembling fugitives who had arrived 
 from the scene of the disaster could not easily have exaggerated its 
 horrors, but it ill became the tried veterans to whom these were 
 recited to think of flying. Dunbar, however, did not for a moment 
 consider the propriety of making a stand. He destroyed the re 
 maining artillery, and burned the heavy baggage, to the value of a 
 hundred thousand pounds, pretending that he was ordered to do 
 so by the almost or quite unconscious commander in chief. The 
 meanest soldier in the provincial ranks must have observed this 
 proceeding with mingled astonishment and contempt. 
 
 On Sunday, the thirteenth, the retreat was resumed, and soon 
 after eight o clock, when the army was within a mile of the Great 
 Meadows, General Braddock expired. The following morning he 
 was buried, in the middle of the road, to prevent the discovery of 
 his body by the Indians, and the wagons in the train were drawn 
 over the place to obliterate all signs of the disturbance of the 
 ground.* The chaplain having been wounded, Washington read 
 the funeral service, from the Book of Common Prayer.-)- On the 
 seventeenth the troops arrived at Fort Cumberland, where Colonel 
 Innes, the commandant, had two or three days before received a 
 vague but sufficiently alarming account of the massacre. 
 
 There were about thirteen hundred men, British and colonial, in 
 the action, of whom seven hundred and fourteen were either killed 
 or wounded. Of these at least one half were supposed to be killed. 
 There were eighty-six officers, of whom twenty-six were killed and 
 thirty-seven wounded. The military chest fell into the hands of 
 the enemy, with Braddock s papers, including his instructions, and 
 letters to and from the ministers after his arrival in Virginia ; and 
 Washington lost a private journal, and his official correspondence 
 
 * General Morgan gives these particulars. He was not in the battle, but with Dunbar, and 
 remained with him until they reached Fort Cumberland. Life of General Daniel Morgan, by James 
 Graham, p. 26. Braddock s grave, according to Mr. Bancroft, (History, iv. 192,) may still be seen, 
 near the national road, about a mile west of Fort Necessity. 
 
 t Mr. Irving s Life of Washington is the only work in which I have seen this statement. As the 
 chaplain was disabled, and Washington was now the only active member of the general s family, it 
 is not improbable. 
 
]72 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 during the campaign of the preceding year.* Of the French and 
 their allies only three officers and thirty privates were killed, and 
 but as many more were wounded. Before the sun had set on the field 
 of carnage Contrecoeur was surprised by signals of triumph from 
 the Indians returning to Fort Duquesne. Dressed in the uniforms 
 of the slain English, and stained with blood from their burthens of 
 scalps, they must have seemed like a horde of demons. The French, 
 laden with the more valuable spoils of the victory, followed with 
 less disorder ; and in the rear were a small party of English pris 
 oners, whom the savages that night put to death with the appalling 
 and hideous means and ceremonies they were apt to use on such 
 occasions. 
 
 Colonel Dunbar s force at Fort Cumberland amounted to nearly 
 fifteen hundred men. Under the command of Washington, or of 
 any of the better class of provincial officers, they would have re 
 trieved the lost honor of the army by an immediate retaliation of 
 the defeat on the Monongahela. Within a fortnight the French 
 would have been driven from Fort Duquesne and from the valley 
 of the Ohio. But this pusillanimous officer, pausing only to give 
 some directions to the Virginia and Maryland companies respecting 
 the sick and wounded, with all the horses at his disposal in conse 
 quence of the destruction of the public stores, pushed his shameless 
 flight toward the settlements. It was in vain that he was implored 
 to post his troops on the frontiers, so as to afford some protection 
 to the inhabitants ; " he did not think himself safe," writes Franklin, 
 " till he arrived at Philadelphia, where the inhabitants could protect 
 him." 
 
 Washington contemplated these proceedings with grief and indig 
 nation. He was compelled to remain a few days at Fort Cumberland 
 to recover a little strength, and while there wrote with great freedom 
 on the subject to Governor Dinwiddie and to several of his relations 
 and friends. To Dinwiddie, as has been seen, he described the con- 
 
 * A considerable portion of the manuscripts of Braddock and Washington were subsequently 
 translated and published under the direction of the French government, to prove the hostile intentions 
 of the British court before the declaration of war. 
 
JET. 23.] RESULTS OF THE BATTLE. 173 
 
 duct of the regular troops as " dastardly ;" to his mother he wrote 
 that " they behaved with more cowardice than it is possible to con 
 ceive ;" to his brother, that they had been "scandalously beaten by a 
 trifling body of men ;" and, a few days after, to Mr. Robert Jackson, 
 " We have been beaten! shamefully beaten by a handful of men who 
 only intended to molest and disturb our march ! Victory was their 
 smallest expectation. But see the wondrous works of Providence, 
 the uncertainty of human things ! we, but a few moments before, 
 believed our numbers almost equal to the entire force of Canada ; 
 they, only thought to annoy us ; yet, contrary to all expectation 
 and probability, and even to the common course of things, we were 
 totally defeated, and have sustained the loss of everything." 
 
 Whatever of horror or despair gathered with the darkness about 
 its close, no day had yet dawned more surely auspicious of American 
 independence than this memorable ninth of July. Intelligence of 
 the slaughter flew fast through all the inhabited parts of the country, 
 creating among people of every condition the profoundest conster 
 nation. It was regarded as decisive of the fall of the British 
 empire in America ; and in one sense it was so ; but the overthrow 
 of this empire was not to be accomplished by the servants of Louis 
 the Fifteenth. They who look for the hand of God in history will 
 no where find it more distinctly visible than over this field of death. 
 Dieskau was speedily to yield before the militia of Massachusetts, 
 Connecticut, and New Hampshire, at Lake George; and a few 
 months later, on the plains of Abraham, Wolfe, by the last and 
 most masterly exhibition of his military genius, was to destroy for 
 ever the dominion of France in this part of the continent. But 
 after the battle of the Monongahela the power of England over her 
 own children here was broken. There was no longer confidence in 
 the prowess of British regular troops. It was felt and understood 
 that the colonies must take care of themselves. If a stamp act, such 
 as was advocated by Dinwiddie, Sharpe, Shirley, and other royal 
 governors, for the collection -of revenue with which to support a 
 British army, could have been carried into execution before, it was 
 not to be doubted that any measure of this kind would now be 
 
174 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 resisted with stubborn indignation. No more of the king s troops 
 were wanted. At least, from this time they were not held to be 
 worth the price asked for them. Had the results of the expedition 
 to the Ohio been different, it may be doubted whether America 
 would have had that confidence in her ability to cope with England 
 which was a necessary condition of the revolution that in the next 
 twenty years grew continually more probable. 
 
 Washington rode amidst this havoc as safely as the three Hebrews 
 walked in the furnace upon the plains of Dura. He was not more 
 distinguished by his bravery than by his judgment. Everything 
 that was not lost, he saved. His conduct was celebrated in all the 
 colonies, and was praised as universally as it was known. He 
 reaped only honor from a field of disgrace. No conceivable com 
 bination of circumstances could have been more favorable to his 
 reputation. Had the battle ended in victory, his displays of the 
 most consummate valor would but have added to the laurels of 
 the commander in chief. Ending in defeat, which without him 
 would have been annihilation, the faults of all who were engaged 
 in it seemed to increase the splendor of his indefectible conduct. 
 "Never," writes Mr. Everett, "did victorious consul return to repub 
 lican Rome, loaded with the spoils of conquered provinces, with 
 captive thousands at his chariot wheels, an object of greater confi 
 dence and respect, than Washington, at the close of two disastrous 
 campaigns, from one of which he was able to save his regiment 
 only by a painful capitulation, in the other barely escaping with his 
 life and the wrecks of the army." On the seventeenth of the 
 following month, the Reverend Samuel Davies, afterwards president 
 of Princeton college, in a sermon entitled, " Religion and Patriotism 
 the Constituents of Good Soldiers," preached to a company of vol 
 unteers, raised in Hanover county, Virginia, made use of the mem 
 orable words, "As a remarkable instance of martial fire, I may 
 point out to the public that heroic youth, Colonel Washington, 
 whom I cannot but hope Providence has hitherto preserved, in so 
 signal a manner, for some important service to his country."* 
 
 * Sermons on Important^ Subjects, by Samuel Dnvies, A. M., iii. 47. 
 
23.] NEW ENGLAND AND THE SOUTH. 175 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 OTHER EXPEDITIONS NEW ENGLAND AND THE SOUTHERN AND WESTERN COLONIES 
 
 COMPARISONS UNFAVORABLE TO THE LATTER BY WASHINGTON AND SHIRLEY 
 
 RELATIONS OP GREAT BRITAIN AND FRANCE CAPTURE OF THE ALCIDE AND THE 
 
 LYS THE ACADIANS BEAU SEJOUR TAKEN POETRY AND HISTORY ABSURD 
 ITY OF COMMON REPRESENTATIONS OF THE NEUTRAL FRENCH AND THEIR SUF 
 FERINGS PROVINCIAL ARMY AT LAKE GEORGE DEFEAT OF DIESKAU SHIR 
 LEY FAILS TO REACH NIAGARA. 
 
 THE other expeditions announced at Alexandria were composed 
 of provincial troops, and were successful except where their failure 
 resulted from that of the commander in chief. In every period of 
 our colonial history the people of New England displayed a degree 
 of patriotic liberality and heroism hardly known in the western and 
 southern parts of the country. When the congress of governors 
 met General Braddock at his camp on the Potomac, Washington 
 illustrated his sensibility upon this point in a letter to William 
 Fairfax. Mentioning Governor Shirley, he wrote, " I heartily wish 
 the same unanimity may prevail among us that seemed to exist 
 between him and his assembly, when they, to expedite the public 
 business and forward his journey hither, sat till eleven and twelve 
 o clock every night." Shirley himself, about the same time, repre 
 sented the matter strongly to the ministers.* Enterprises were on 
 foot before the arrival of Braddock which would have settled every 
 dispute with the French in 1Y55, " if the five most western colonies 
 had exerted themselves for their own defence," as Massachusetts 
 and other parts of New England " had done for the general service." 
 But while Massachusetts had raised four thousand and five hundred 
 men, and the other three governments east of the Hudson had 
 
 * Letter to Sir Thomas Robinson. Documents relating to the Colonial History of New York, 
 vi., 943. 
 
376 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. []?55. 
 
 voted two thousand and one hundred more for an attack on Crown 
 Point, the colonies bordering on the Ohio and the great lakes, 
 "after being harassed by a dangerous and increasing enemy at 
 their doors, after suffering two defeats from them, though more 
 populous and much richer than those of New England," had not 
 produced above eleven hundred men for the protection of their 
 wives and children, and the houses in which they lived. 
 
 The French had evinced a settled determination to make them 
 selves masters of this continent. They anticipated success from a 
 system of profound duplicity. But the inconsistency of their pro 
 testations with their proceedings in America was too apparent to 
 escape detection by intelligent observers of affairs, and open war 
 would have resulted but for the incapacity and temporizing policy of 
 the Duke of Newcastle s administration. The establishment of the 
 posts on the Ohio was clearly aggressive under the treaty of Aix la 
 Chapelle. The occupation of the works commenced by the English 
 at the junction of the Monongahela with the Alleghany, and the cap 
 ture of Fort Necessity, were acts of war, and whether the parent 
 states chose to preserve or to interrupt relations of peace in Europe, 
 a decent respect for the dignity of the empire made it necessary for 
 the ministers in London to provide for the defence of the boundaries 
 of her provinces. As soon as it was known in Paris that General 
 Braddock had sailed for Virginia an attempt was made to check the 
 proposed operations of this officer by new assurances of amicable pur 
 poses on the part of France. When however the ambassador, the 
 Marquis de Mirepoix, submitted to the British cabinet the declarations 
 of his sovereign, their insincerity was shown by abundant evidences, 
 and he hastened home to complain of having been made an instru 
 ment of dissimulation. Mirepoix was a weak though an honorable 
 man. The king subdued the irritation of his feelings, and sent him 
 back to London with still further assertions of friendly dispositions, 
 which it was believed would prolong the inactivity of the British 
 government. But it was too late for such resorts. The foreign 
 secretary exhibited to him indisputable proofs that a powerful 
 squadron was nearly ready to leave Brest for the St. Lawrence, and 
 
^Er. 23.] EXPEDITION TO NOVA SCOTIA. ]?7 
 
 soon afterwards news was received of its departure, with a great 
 quantity of military stores, and an army of four thousand men, 
 commanded by the veteran and distinguished Baron Dieskau.* 
 Under these circumstances, though in sending General Braddock 
 to America the ministers had avowed an intention only to resist en 
 croachments, it was deemed proper to despatch Admiral Boscawen 
 to watch the motions of the enemy s ships ; and on the seventh of 
 June, near the southern point of Newfoundland, he came up with 
 three of them, the Alcide, the Lys, and the Dauphin, which had 
 been separated from the rest, and after a short engagement captured 
 the Alcide and the Lys.f Dieskau, with the Marquis de Yaudreuil,| 
 successor of the Marquis Duquesne, governor general of New 
 France, a few days afterwards arrived in Quebec. 
 
 On the twentieth of May, while General Braddock was slowly ad 
 vancing towards the Ohio, three thousand men embarked at Boston 
 for the Bay of Fundy, to drive the French from disputed territory, 
 beyond the Messagouche and east of the St. Lawrence, which was 
 claimed as a part of Acadia, by the English named Nova Scotia. 
 
 * Baron Dieskau had been a favorite pupil of Saxe. The value set upon his abilities is shown 
 by his salary. He received twelve thousand livres a year as a major general, and twenty-five thou 
 sand more as commander in chief of the French army in America. 
 
 t Captain Eichard Howe, afterwards- Admiral Lord Howe, distinguished himself in this action. 
 
 J Pierre Eigaud, Marquis de Vnudreuil-Cavagnac, was the son of the Marquis de Vaudreuil who 
 was governor of Canada from 1703 to 1725, and was born in Quebec in 1698. He had served in 
 Canada during the later years of his father s administration, and had been governor of Louisiana 
 from 1743 to 1753. Mr. Gayarre, in his History of Louisiana, gives some interesting revelations of 
 his character. It happened, says this entertaining historian, that one of his servants acted with 
 insolence towards an officer of the garrison in New Orleans, who had come to pay his respects to the 
 governor on one of his reception days. The marchioness, having been informed of the fact, brought 
 it to the knowledge of her husband, and insisted on the culprit s being dismissed. De Vaudreuil 
 acquiesced in a demand which he thought just, and consented to part with the servant, although a 
 favorite one. He sent for his purse, and after having paid the wages due to the man, he added a 
 bounty of three hundred livres. His wife expostulated with him on this strange piece of liberality, 
 and observed that it was offering a reward to impertinence. Unmoved, and without returning 
 an answer, the marquis threw again three hundred livres to the lacquey, and, seeing the flush of 
 anger rising to his wife s brow, said to her, with the greatest composure, " Madam, I do not reward 
 him for his insolence, but for his faithful past services, and if you show too much displeasure to the 
 poor devil, I will give him the whole purse, to indemnify him for his having incurred the mortifica 
 tion which you now inflict upon him." De Vaudreuil was remarkable for grace and elegance of 
 person, the dignity of his demeanor, and the fascination of his address, and was fond of luxury, 
 show, and pleasure. Surrounded by a host of brilliant officers, of whom he was the idol, he lovod 
 to keep up a miniature court, in distant imitation of that of Versailles. He carried to Canada the 
 same tastes and habits, relieving the gloom of war with magnificent balls, sumptuous dinners, and 
 everything that could be devised, calculated to attach the people to his person, or to render life 
 agreeable. History of Louisiana: the French Domination, ii. 18, 66. 
 
 12 
 
178 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 They were led by John Winslow, a great grandson of Edward Wins- 
 low, one of the most distinguished of the founders of Plymouth colony, 
 and himself a man of eminent respectability and popularity. He 
 held the rank of major general in the Massachusetts militia, but acted 
 in the present expedition as a lieutenant colonel, under a commission 
 from Governor Shirley. After a passage of eight days they arrived 
 at Chignecto, at the head of the bay, where they were joined by three 
 hundred regulars, with a train of artillery, under Colonel Monckton, 
 who assumed the chief command. On the fourth of June, after 
 a short engagement, they forced the passage of the Messagouche, 
 defended by a small party, with a few pieces of cannon, and on the 
 twelfth invested the fort at Beau Sejour, which surrendered on the 
 sixteenth, on condition that the troops, agreeing not to bear arms 
 against Great Britain for six months, should be sent to Louisburg. 
 The fort received an English garrison, and, from the brother of the 
 king, who was captain general of the army, was named Cumber 
 land : an honor bestowed on the most southwestern as well as the 
 most northeastern British post in America. An inconsiderable 
 force at Fort Gaspereaux soon afterwards capitulated on the same 
 terms and an officer sent with three frigates and a sloop to reduce 
 St. John s, found that the enemy had abandoned and burned their 
 works there and left the country. The entire province of Nova 
 Scotia, according to the English definition of its boundaries, was 
 thus conquered, with a loss of but twenty men killed, and about 
 the same number wounded. 
 
 In Acadia were made the first European settlements in this part 
 of the continent. The province was the scene of frequent contests 
 between the French and English until finally relinquished to Great 
 Britain by the treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Of the population, con 
 sisting mainly of Breton peasants, we know very little except that 
 they were extremely ignorant and superstitious. It was agreed 
 that they should continue to hold their lands if they would take 
 the oath of fidelity to their new sovereign ; this they refused to do, 
 unless excused from every obligation to bear arms against France. 
 The feeling thus displayed was natural and honorable, but the favor 
 
JE.T. 23.] REMOVAL OF THE ACADIANS. 170 
 
 was an extraordinary one to be asked by a conquered people. The 
 officer in command of the British forces, however, granted it, and, 
 though it was subsequently disallowed by the crown, the Acadians 
 continued to claim the privileges of neutrality. Yet they were 
 never neutral. In all the period since the treaty of Utrecht they 
 had continued to be as thoroughly French, in feeling and conduct, 
 in language, religion, and manners, as before the change made in 
 their political relations. They had been ready to support any 
 movement which promised to restore them to their ancient mas 
 ters. "Indulged in their prejudices, and resigned to the manage 
 ment of priests, who were instructed by the bishop of Quebec, from 
 whom they derived their stipends,"* " they had secretly courted the 
 visit of the French troops, and furnished them and their Indian allies 
 with intelligence, quarters, and every assistance."^ Three hundred 
 of their young men were taken in arms at Beau Sejour. Their 
 lands were forfeited, and they might lawfully as well as justly have 
 been ordered to leave the country- but if permitted to go where 
 they pleased they would have retired to Montreal or Louisburg, and 
 strengthened the enemy in those places. It was necessary therefore 
 to overawe them by a strong military government, or transport 
 them to the southern British provinces ; and, after a careful consid 
 eration of the subject, the latter alternative was adopted. The duty 
 of effecting their removal was confided to General Winslow. 
 
 Poetry, in the disguise of History, and in her proper costume and 
 language, has celebrated the misfortunes of the Acadians, and the 
 inhumanity alleged to have been exhibited against them by the 
 British authorities. But there was no inhumanity in the case. 
 On the contrary, no subjugated community was ever treated with 
 more generosity. " For nearly forty years," writes Mr. Bancroft, 
 " no tax gatherer counted their folds, no magistrate dwelt in their 
 harnlets."J Bigoted and intolerant, like their ancestors, they lis 
 tened with enthusiasm to the denunciations which their priests made 
 
 * Chalmers s Introduction to the History of the Revolt of the American Colonies, ii. 280. 
 t Williamson s History of Maine. Gayarre s Louisiana. 
 J History of the United States, iv. 194. 
 
180 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 against the heretics who had possessed themselves of the country. 
 " Better/ said these creatures, " surrender your meadows to the sea, 
 and your houses to the flames, than at the peril of your souls take 
 the oath of allegiance to the British government."* 
 
 General Winslow knew that he had to deal with an enemy en 
 tirely insensible to the obligations of honor or gratitude, and the 
 means to which he resorted for making them prisoners were suitable 
 to their character and his own circumstances. They were indeed 
 the only means by which it was possible to accomplish his purpose, 
 and, however disagreeable, in no way deserving of censure. The 
 sufferings of the Acadians were undoubtedly very great ; and it has 
 been the fortune of war that the anguish of its victims could never 
 be graduated to individual deserts ; but in this case it appears incon 
 siderable when contrasted with that which its subjects themselves 
 had assisted in spreading, as with a tide of fire, all along our western 
 borders, for nearly a dozen years. The needless cruelties which 
 marked the progress of this protracted contest were caused by the 
 French, who, intent upon driving the English from the vast regions 
 they inhabited, sent the remorseless savages under their control, 
 with the tomahawk, the scalping knife, and the torch, to murder 
 and destroy, without regard to age or sex or condition, the unpro 
 tected settlers on the British frontiers from Canada to Georgia. 
 
 The troops raised in New England for the expeditions of Gov 
 ernor Shirley and General Johnson were nearly all assembled in 
 Albany before the close of June, but were detained several weeks 
 from active operations. General Phineas Lyman, of Connecticut, 
 with between four and five thousand men, in July inarched to a 
 point near the head waters of the Hudson about sixty miles north 
 ward, where he commenced the fortification afterwards known as 
 Fort Edward. Here he was joined by General Johnson w r ho entered 
 upon the chief command, and on the twenty-second of August it 
 was resolved in a council of Avar to construct a military road as far 
 as the lake of the Holy Sacrament, on the way towards Crown 
 Point. In the following week General Johnson advanced with 
 
 * Bancroft : History of the United States, iv. 196. 
 
Mr. 23.] CAPTURE OF DIESKAU. 181 
 
 three thousand and four hundred men to the lake, to which, in 
 honor of the king and in assertion of his right of dominion there, 
 he gave the name of George ; and after clearing several acres, in 
 the midst of a dense forest, where, he writes, "never was house 
 or fort erected before," he encamped his army. 
 
 Baron Dieskau, soon after his arrival in Montreal, commenced 
 vigorous preparations for a campaign. He determined first to 
 reduce Oswego, and had already sent a detachment up the St. Law 
 rence, for that destination, when intelligence was received of the 
 danger that threatened Crown Point, and he reluctantly changed 
 his plans to ascend the Champlain. Leaving a part of his forces to 
 strengthen that post, he proceeded with about two thousand French, 
 Canadians, and Indians, to the southern extremity of the lake, and 
 began a rapid inarch in the direction of Fort Edward ; but w r hen 
 within four miles of this place, the Indians, apprehensive that it was 
 defended with artillery, refused to approach any nearer, though 
 willing to go and attack the main body of the army, which they 
 supposed was without cannon or entrenchments. 
 
 Advised of his approach, Johnson, on the morning of the eighth, 
 sent back a thousand men, commanded by Colonel Ephraim Wil 
 liams, of Massachusetts, and two hundred Mohawk Indians, under 
 the veteran and faithful king Hendrik, to relieve Fort Edward ; but 
 they had proceeded only four miles when they were surprised by 
 Dieskau, and, after a short engagement, in which they fought with 
 great intrepidity, compelled to retreat, leaving Colonel Williams* 
 and the Indian sachem, with a considerable number of inferior 
 officers and privates, dead on the ground. Legardeur de St. Pierre, 
 who had received Washington the previous year at Fort Le Boeuf, 
 and who accompanied Dieskau at the head of his Indian auxilia 
 ries, was among the killed of the other side. 
 
 * Ephraim Williams, a man of address and wit, with uncommon military talents the founder 
 of Williamstown and of Williams College, in Massachusetts was born at Newton, in that colony, 
 in 1715. In early life he made several visits to Europe, and from his twenty-fifth year was connected 
 with the provincial army. As if having a presentiment of death, while passing through Albany, on 
 the way to Johnson s headquarters, he made his will, by which he endowed with a considerable por 
 tion of his property a free school for western Massachusetts, since grown into Williams College. 
 He was slain in the fortieth year of his age. 
 
382 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 Johnson s camp was protected on the north by the lake, on the east 
 and west by heavily wooded swamps, and on the south by a breast 
 work formed of the trunks of trees which he had found growing 
 on the field now occupied by his tents. The sound of musketry 
 and the presence of fugitives soon warned him that the enemy was 
 not far off, but, hindered in various ways, they came forward so 
 slowly that the alarm caused by the defeat of Colonel Williams had 
 nearly subsided, and several cannon, received two days before from 
 Fort Edward, had been judiciously mounted, when, a little before 
 twelve o clock, the assault was commenced, by the French regulars, 
 in front, seconded by the Canadians and Indians on the right and 
 left. As soon as the artillery began to play the Canadians and 
 Indians fled in disorder, and Dieskau, after bravely sustaining the 
 attack for four hours, was compelled to order a retreat. Johnson 
 had been slightly wounded in the early part of the battle, and the 
 command had devolved upon General Lyman, whose good marks 
 men, taking deliberate aim, decimated the unflinching French regu 
 lars at every fire. He pursued the enemy a short distance, and 
 succeeded in making a considerable number of prisoners. Those 
 who escaped fled to Crown Point. Dieskau had received three 
 balls in different parts of his person, and an attendant was killed 
 while endeavoring to assist him from the field. Left alone, and 
 attempting to support himself against a tree, he was discovered, 
 and, in the act of exhibiting his watch, in the hope that by surren 
 dering it he might secure kind treatment, he was shot through the 
 hips, by an officer who thought he was searching for a pistol with 
 which to defend himself. 
 
 Towards evening, when the pursuit had been discontinued, the 
 larger portion of the survivors of the French army were reunited 
 near the scene of the morning s conflict, where, not suspecting an 
 enemy was in the rear, they had left their baggage and camp 
 equipage. While unpacking some provisions they were suddenly 
 attacked by two hundred men, under Captain McGinnes, of New 
 Hampshire, on their way from Fort Edward to support the main 
 body of the provincials, and after a single discharge of their mus- 
 
MT. 23.] BRADDOCK AND DIESKAU. 183 
 
 kets, by which McGinnes was killed, they again fled in disorder, 
 leaving all their public and private stores in possession of the 
 victors. 
 
 In the several conflicts which occurred during the day the loss 
 of the British provincials was about two hundred and sixteen killed, 
 and ninety-six wounded. The loss of the French was variously 
 estimated at from six hundred to one thousand. 
 
 The exultation of the French at their triumph on the Mononga- 
 hela was checked by their defeat at Lake George. In the first 
 conflict one army lost its commander in chief, a tried and popu 
 lar soldier of the school of Marlborough ; in the second, the other 
 was deprived of a leader who had been the favorite pupil and 
 was regarded as the most accomplished of the disciples of Saxe.* 
 
 * Peter Wraxall, author of " Records of Indian Affairs in the Colony of New York from 1678 
 to 1751," and aid de camp to General Johnson, describes Dieskau as " an elderly man, and very 
 much of a gentleman." Johnson, in a letter to Sir Charles Hardy, dated the sixteenth of Septem 
 ber, says, " I forwarded this day the French general and his aid de camp : the general to travel in a 
 litter or batteau to Albany, and thence to New York, as his wounds will permit." On the eighth 
 of October Governor Hardy wrote from Albany to the Lords of Trade, " The French general has 
 been here some time under cure, is somewhat better, and has desired to be removed to New York : 
 I shall send him there by the first opportunity." In Parker and Weyman s New York Gazette, for 
 the twenty-ninth of October, 1755, 1 find the following notice of his arrival : " Baron de Dieskau, the 
 French Major General taken by General Johnson, and who, by Louis of France is allowed a pension 
 of four thousand livres per annum, was brought down prisoner from Albany on Monday afternoon 
 last, to this city ; and about nine o clock at night, to avoid a crowd of people assembled to see him, 
 was landed and carried to lodgings prepared for him in Nassau street, where he now lies dangerously 
 ill of his wounds. His aid de camp is with him." After lingering some time in New York Dieskau 
 was sent to England, whence, as his restoration was deemed impossible, he was permitted to retire, 
 on his parole, to Germany, at one of the spas of which country the veteran soldier lived several 
 years, a sufferer from his wounds, of which he finally died. 
 
 The designs entertained by Dieskau before the battle are stated very distinctly by Captain Henry 
 Babcock, of Connecticut, in a letter to the Rev. Dr. Cooper (Documentary History of New York, 
 iv. 302). He says, "Had the baron succeeded in his attempt against Sir William, this country, at 
 least a good part of it, would have been deluged in blood and slaughter, and such scenes of horror 
 and distress would have ensued as would shock the ears of the most obdurate wretch : General 
 Braddock being defeated at Monongahela, and the army under his command almost cut to pieces 
 one third killed, one third wounded, and one third run away, which General Burton, who was 
 in the action, afterwards assured me was as near the truth of the matter as he could relate. Gen 
 eral Shirley at that time was at Oswego. The city of Albany would have instantly fallen a sacri 
 fice to that very enterprising general, the baron, . . . who very justly observed that, had he won the 
 day, he would have easily cut off all supplies from. General Shirley, who of course must have sub 
 mitted to any terms the baron would have pleased to impose. The Six Nations, had Sir William 
 been defeated, undoubtedly would have joined the baron, and the city of New York would have 
 been the baron s headquarters. But, thanks be to God ! all indulgent Heaven did not think proper 
 to devote this country to ruin." Braddock, it will be remembered, thought of eating his Christmas 
 dinner in Philadelphia; it is not improbable that Dieskau had some expectation of a similar pleasure 
 in New York. 
 
184 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 Each received a death-wound in his first American battle. The 
 tide of popular feeling was changed with the reversed fortunes of 
 the war. The British government evinced its sense of the import 
 ance of Dieskau s overthrow by making Johnson a baronet and 
 presenting him a gratuity of five thousand pounds. The honor of 
 the result was however more justly claimed for Lyman, of Connec 
 ticut. The army and its officers were nearly all New England men, 
 and Europe never had seen as large a collection of troops possessing 
 an equal average of intelligence, property, and good reputation. 
 Colonel Timothy Ruggles, who distinguished himself in this action, 
 was afterwards president of the Stamp Act Congress ; Captain Is 
 rael Putnam was to fill the measure of his renown at Bunker Hill ; 
 Colonel Gridley, who had been at Louisburg, was also to share the 
 danger and glory of the first great battle of the revolution ; Lieu 
 tenant Colonel Pomroy, of Northampton, who wrote from before 
 Louisburg, to his wife, that " if it were the w r ill of God he hoped to 
 see her pleasant face again, but, if God in his holy and sovereign 
 providence had ordered it otherwise, he hoped he should have a 
 pleasant meeting with her in the kingdom of Heaven, where there 
 are no w r ars, nor fatiguing marches, nor roaring cannons, nor crack 
 ing bombshells, nor long campaigns, but an eternity to spend in per 
 fect harmony and undisturbed peace," had seen his wife s pleasant 
 face again, and had written home to his neighbors, from the camp 
 at Lake George, " Come to the help of the Lord against the mighty : 
 you that value our holy religion and our liberties will spare nothing, 
 even to the one half of your estate." This appeal, with others, be 
 traying a kindred enthusiasm, was answered. Two thousand men 
 were sent from Massachusetts to reinforce the northern army ; but 
 they arrived after the defeat of the French, and the incompetency 
 and cowardice of Johnson paralyzed their energies. The applause 
 he received for sagacity and valor displayed by his subordinates 
 was too dearly prized to be hazarded in a second engagement, 
 and, instead of using his advantage by driving the enemy from 
 Ticonderoga and Crown Point, he wasted the autumn in building 
 Fort William Henry, near Lake George, and on the approach of 
 
MT. 23.] FAILURE OF THE NIAGARA EXPEDITION. 185 
 
 winter, garrisoning the useless structure with six hundred men, 
 disbanded the remainder of his forces. 
 
 Shirley meanwhile, with two regiments, enfeebled by sickness 
 and disheartened by news of the defeat of Braddock, reached 
 Oswego on the twenty-first of August. Here vessels were built, 
 and preparations made for proceeding against Niagara. On the 
 eighteenth of September six hundred men were to embark on the 
 Ontario for the conquest of that post : a blockhouse, almost in ruins, 
 surrounded by a shallow ditch and a rotting palisade, and defended 
 by but thirty soldiers, badly armed. A succession of heavy rains, 
 followed by head winds, and other causes, prevented their departure 
 until the season was too far advanced. On the twenty-third of 
 October, therefore, leaving at Oswego a garrison of seven hundred 
 men, General Shirley, by the death of Braddock raised to the 
 supreme command of the British forces in America, began his re 
 treat towards Albany. 
 
186 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY". [1755. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON CORRESPONDENCE WITH HIS BROTHER AUGUS 
 TINE RETROSPECT OF HIS MILITARY EXPERIENCE INTRIGUES AT THE SEAT 
 
 OF GOVERNMENT LETTER TO HIS MOTHER IS APPOINTED COMMANDER IN 
 
 CHIEF OF THE VIRGINIA FORCES TOUR OF INSPECTION INCURSION OF THE 
 
 INDIANS PANIC AMONG THE PEOPLE DIFFICULTIES IN THE CAMP SCENES 
 
 AT WINCHESTER RETREAT OF THE ENEMY END OF THE SEASON. 
 
 WASHINGTON arrived at Mount Vernon on the twenty-sixth of July. 
 Excitement and activity had prolonged his illness, and he deter 
 mined, in the repose of home, to seek a restoration of his strength ; 
 but he was so honorably conspicuous, for the part he had acted on 
 the Monongahela, that his time was continually occupied with the 
 visits of friends and of other persons alarmed at the exposed and 
 critical condition of the province. As he was still adjutant general 
 of the militia he issued orders for the companies in his district to 
 assemble for exercise and review, and attended to the ordinary 
 duties of that office, but did not otherwise take any part in public 
 affairs. 
 
 His brother Augustine wrote to him from Williamsburg, where 
 the house of burgesses, of which he was a member, had been con 
 vened, that he might derive advantage from being present during 
 the session. He replied, that he was not able, were he ever so wil 
 ling, to go to the seat of government, as it w r as with some difficulty 
 and much fatigue that he visited his plantations, so much had a 
 sickness of five weeks reduced him. " But though it is not in my 
 power to meet you there," he continued, " I can nevertheless assure 
 you that, so little am I dispirited by what has happened, I am al 
 ways ready and willing to render my country any services that I 
 am capable of, though never upon the terms I have done : having 
 
MT. 23.] INTRIGUES AT WILLIAMSBURG. 187 
 
 suffered much in my private fortune besides impairing one of the 
 best of constitutions." He proceeded to sum up the account of his 
 public services and their rewards. " I was employed/ he wrote, " to 
 go a journey, in the winter, when I believe few or none would 
 have undertaken it : and what did I get by it ? My expenses borne ! 
 I was then appointed, with trifling pay, to conduct a handful of 
 men to the Ohio. What did I get by that ? Why, after putting 
 myself to a considerable expense in equipping and providing neces 
 saries for the campaign, I went out, was soundly beaten, and lost 
 all ! came in, and had my commission taken from me ; or, in other 
 words, my command reduced, under pretence of an order from 
 home. I next went out a volunteer, with General Braddock, and 
 lost all my horses, and many other things. But this, being a volun 
 tary act, I ought not to have mentioned it ; nor should I have done 
 so, were it not to show that I have been on the losing side ever 
 since I entered the service, which is now nearly two years." 
 
 The people evidently expected that the leadership of any troops 
 which might be raised for the defence of the province would be 
 given to Washington ; but Dinwiddie had become attached to his 
 countryman Innes, and strongly favored his appointment. He 
 perhaps regarded the popular favorite as quite too young, not 
 withstanding the admirable manner in which he had hitherto con 
 ducted himself, to be placed at the head of the military establish 
 ment of the oldest and richest dominion in America. The assembly 
 voted to raise twelve hundred men, and one of Washington s friends, 
 in conversation with the governor, after suggesting that this number 
 should be increased to four thousand, said, "If this were done, I 
 suppose your honor would give the command of them to Colonel 
 Washington, for I think he deserves everything his country can do 
 for him." The wary Scotchman spoke favorably of him, but inti 
 mated that there was a warm solicitation for the office from another 
 quarter. It was believed, nevertheless, that it would be granted to 
 Washington if he became a suitor for it, and the gentleman who 
 held this colloquy with the executive wrote to him, " If we could 
 be so happy as to have you here at this time, and it were known 
 
188 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 that you are willing to take such a command, I believe it would 
 greatly promote the success of our endeavors with the assembly." 
 Without expressing any disinclination for the service, however, he 
 declined to take any measures for obtaining what he could receive, 
 if at all, only as a voluntarily offered assurance of public confidence. 
 
 While his prospects were thus uncertain, his mother, still influ 
 enced by the feelings she had exhibited when informed that he 
 might join the expedition under General Braddock, endeavored to 
 dissuade him from taking any part in these frontier wars, in which 
 he had already suffered so much and been exposed to so many 
 dangers. In answer to her letter he wrote, on the fifteenth of 
 August, " If it is in my power to avoid going to the Ohio again, I 
 shall ; but if the command is pressed upon me by the general voice 
 of the country, and offered upon such terms as cannot be objected 
 against, it would reflect dishonor on me to refuse it ; and that, I 
 am sure, must, and ought, to give you greater uneasiness, than my 
 going in an honorable command. Upon no other terms will I 
 accept it. At present I have no proposals made to me, nor have 
 I any advice of such an intention, except from private hands." 
 
 In another letter, of the same date, addressed to Mr. Warner 
 Lewis, at Williamsburg, he expressed belief that the command of 
 the army could not be obtained for him upon terms that he would 
 accept. The most important conditions which he mentioned were, 
 that he should be allowed to choose his own officers, and that there 
 should be a better system of military regulations, more promptness 
 in paying the troops, and a thorough reform in all the agencies for 
 procuring supplies. At best the position would be one of extreme 
 difficulty. " I believe," he wrote, " our circumstances are brought 
 to such an unhappy dilemma that no man can gain any honor by 
 conducting our forces at this time, but will rather lose his reputation 
 if he attempts it." 
 
 Before these letters were written, however, Washington had been 
 appointed commander in chief of all the forces raised or to be 
 raised in Virginia, upon the very conditions he had thus announced 
 to his friend, and with the privilege of choosing an aid de camp 
 
JT. 23.] TOUR OF OBSERVATION. 189 
 
 and secretary. The assembly voted forty thousand pounds for the 
 public service ; resolved to increase the number of companies to 
 sixteen ; and granted to George Washington three hundred pounds, 
 to the captains seventy-five pounds each, to every lieutenant and sur 
 geon thirty pounds, and to every soldier five pounds, as " a reward 
 and compensation for their gallant behavior and losses" in the battle 
 near Fort Duquesne. The governor was satisfied or affected to be 
 so with the result, and in a letter to the ministers on the subject 
 mentioned Washington as " a man of great merit and resolution," 
 adding an expression of his conviction that General Braddock, if 
 he had survived, "would have recommended him to the royal 
 favor." 
 
 Upon being advised of his promotion Washington went immedi 
 ately to Williamsburg to consult with the governor respecting the 
 duties which awaited him, and to enter upon their administration. 
 Lieutenant Colonel Adam Stephen and Major Andrew Lewis w^ere 
 chosen to be his principal officers, and it was determined to establish 
 his headquarters at Winchester. After visiting Alexandria and 
 Fredericksburg, where he stationed recruiting agents, he proceed 
 ed to Winchester, arriving there on the fourteenth of Septem 
 ber. In a few days afterwards he set out on a tour of observa 
 tion. He visited Fort Cumberland, on Will s creek, and Fort Din- 
 widdie, on Jackson s river, at both posts taking upon himself the 
 command of the assembled troops and issuing such orders as the 
 condition of affairs made necessary. He returned by way of Alex 
 andria and Fredericksburg, intending to proceed by fast riding to 
 Williamsburg, for consultation with the governor and legislature, 
 and had reached the residence of his friend Colonel Baylor, near 
 Fredericksburg, on the seventh of October, when he was overtaken 
 by an express from Lieutenant Colonel Stephen, whom he had left 
 in charge of Fort Cumberland, informing him that a body of Indians 
 had made an incursion into the settlements, killing and making 
 prisoners of the inhabitants, and destroying their houses and other 
 property. 
 
 Instantly changing his plans, Washington wrote to the gov- 
 
190 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY, [1756. 
 
 ernor an account of what had occurred, and started for Winchester. 
 Passing again through Fredericksburg he met Colonel Stephen, in 
 person, who gave a more startling and discouraging view of matters 
 than that contained in his letter. Stephen was sent on to the seat 
 of government, and "Washington as soon as possible found his way 
 to headquarters, where he arrived on the tenth. He found the 
 place in a state of extreme confusion, the inhabitants of the back 
 country coming in, conveying such of their household goods as they 
 had been able hurriedly to remove, while the people of the town 
 were preparing to find greater security farther east. Making use 
 of every practicable means to allay the excitement, he endeavored 
 to raise a body of militia to proceed without delay against the 
 enemy, but was informed, by Colonel Martin who had already made 
 such an attempt, that it was impossible to get together more than 
 twenty or twenty-five men, the rest of the militia having absolutely 
 refused to leave their homes, declaring that they would rather die 
 with their wives and families than march against the savages. Fail 
 ing in this plan Washington despatched expresses to hasten forward 
 recruits, of whom he had left seventy at Fredericksburg, and more 
 than thirty at Alexandria, and also the militia of Fairfax and Prince 
 William counties, who had been ordered to join him. Spies were 
 likewise sent out to discover the situation of the enemy and to 
 encourage the rangers, who, it was reported, were blocked up by 
 the Indians, in small forts, but whom Washington believed to be 
 " more encompassed with fear than by the enemy." 
 
 The young commander found himself surrounded by innumerable 
 difficulties. The people, though aware of their imminent danger, 
 and indeed exaggerating it in an extraordinary degree, instead of 
 supporting him by a ready co-operation, seemed to exult in every 
 circumstance by which his plans were impeded. " No orders are 
 obeyed," he wrote to Governor Dinwiddie on the eleventh, "but 
 such as a party of soldiers, or my own drawn sword enforces. 
 Without this, not a single horse, for the most earnest occasion, can be 
 had : to such a pitch has the insolence of these people arrived by 
 having every point, hitherto, submitted to them. However, I have 
 
vET. 23.J ALARMS AT WINCHESTER. 191 
 
 given up none where his majesty s service requires the contrary, 
 and where my proceedings are justified by my instructions; nor 
 will I, unless they execute what they threaten, that is, blow out our 
 brains." In the same letter he urged the necessity of the passage 
 of an act by the assembly authorizing the enforcement of military 
 law, which at that time had become almost entirely inoperative in 
 the colony ; and frankly avowed that unless this were done he 
 should resign his commission. 
 
 Although Virginia had now, according to reports transmitted to 
 the Board of Trade, an enrolled militia of twenty-eight thousand,* 
 the prospect of raising a single regiment to protect her frontier 
 from the most dreaded and remorseless of enemies seemed utterly 
 hopeless. The lower counties found an excuse for not furnishing 
 men for this purpose, in the fact that their white population lived 
 in perpetual fear of their negro slaves, who required constant 
 watching, } while the inhabitants of the back country were not only 
 unwilling to do anything for their own defence, but encouraged 
 insubordination in the small force collected for their relief, harbored 
 deserters, and in every way manifested as little sympathy with 
 Washington as might have been expected by the leader of a hostile 
 army. 
 
 The panic which continued to prevail in Winchester is illustrated 
 in the letters which Washington forwarded to the governor. The 
 Sunday after his return to that place an express arrived, exhausted 
 with fatigue and fear, stating that a party of Indians was but twelve 
 miles off, and that the settlers were flying in disorder from their 
 homes. Men familiar with the country were sent out to watch 
 their movements and ascertain their numbers ; the defences of the 
 town were carefully guarded ; and near the end of a night of sleep 
 less anxiety intelligence was received, that the Indians were within 
 four miles of the village, killing and destroying all before them. 
 The trembling messenger alleged that he himself had heard constant 
 firing, and the shrieks of the murdered. Washington immediately 
 
 * Documents Relating to the Colonial History of New York, vi., 993. 
 t Bancroft s History of the United States, iv., 221. 
 
192 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1755. 
 
 collected what force he could, about forty men, and marched directly 
 to the scene of these outrages, when he found that all this terror 
 and trouble had been caused by three drunken soldiers of the ligm> 
 horse, carousing, blaspheming, and firing their pistols. They were, 
 of course, conducted to the camp as prisoners. The alarm of the 
 previous day proved to be quite as ill founded. 
 
 The consternation was not confined to the frontier. It was 
 rapidly spreading throughout the colony. An officer who arrived 
 with a small party of recruits from Alexandria stated that he had 
 found the road across the Blue Ridge obstructed by people flying 
 for their lives; he had in vain endeavored to stop them; they 
 were persuaded that Winchester was in flames, and that the foe was 
 in quick and blood thirsty pursuit. During this state of affairs 
 Washington endeavored to collect and arm the men who had aban 
 doned their homes, and to remove their families to places of com 
 parative safety ; he gave pressing orders to the recently appointed 
 officers, who never ceased to give him occasions of complaint by 
 their inattention to duty, to hasten their recruits ; and directed the 
 county lieutenants below the Blue Ridge to send their militia imme 
 diately to Winchester ; but before sufficient force was assembled to 
 justify an attempt to drive the enemy back to the Ohio they became 
 satiated with butchery and plunder, and had recrossed the Alle- 
 ganies. 
 
 Washington availed himself of the temporary repose which fol 
 lowed to complete, as far as circumstances would permit, the organ 
 ization of his little army. He appointed Captain George Mercer 
 his aid de camp, and a Mr. Fitzpatrick, of Alexandria, his secretary. 
 Compelled to attend personally to every department, he was for a 
 considerable time occupied in making the most judicious disposition 
 of his troops for the defence of the country, and in procuring for 
 them necessary supplies, while with untiring assiduity he urged 
 upon the executive and legislature the establishment of such prin 
 ciples of discipline as obtained in other colonies, and without which, 
 he was persuaded, no supplies of money, however liberal, or levies 
 of men, however large, would enable a commander to satisfy the 
 
ffir. 23.] NEW MILITARY LAW. 193 
 
 reasonable expectations of the people, or to accomplish anything of 
 real and permanent importance against the enemy. He at length 
 succeeded in procuring the passage of a bill through the house of 
 burgesses providing for the punishment of mutiny, desertion, and 
 disobedience, and for holding courts martial. It was not in all re 
 spects such a law as he desired, and he perceived that a clause in it 
 delaying the execution of sentences until approved by the governor 
 would very much impair its efficiency ; but, with this and other de 
 fects, it relieved him from many of the difficulties and embarrass 
 ments to which he had hitherto been subjected, and was a gratify 
 ing concession to his wishes, and a flattering exhibition of respect 
 for his opinions, by the administration. He also strongly urged 
 upon the governor and legislature, as he had repeatedly done be 
 fore, the imperative necessity of conciliating the Indians, and attach 
 ing them to the British interest, as the best means of counteracting 
 the designs of the French ; and in compliance with his recommenda 
 tion Colonel Byrd and Colonel Randolph were appointed commis 
 sioners to negotiate with the Cherokees, Catawbas, and other south 
 ern tribes, for their support in the ensuing year. 
 
 13 
 
194 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 RENEWAL OF DIFFICULTIES RESPECTING RANK CAPTAIN DAGWORTHY APPEAL 
 
 TO GOVERNOR SHIRLEY EXPEDITION TO NEW ENGLAND PHILADELPHIA 
 
 NEW YORK MISS PHILIPSE RECEPTION IN BOSTON DAGWORTHY s CLAIMS 
 
 SILENCED BY THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF. 
 
 THE regulation by the ministers respecting rank, by which all 
 officers holding royal commissions were to have precedence of those 
 appointed by the provincial governments, had been, as has been 
 shown, a cause of continual discontent. Washington had steadily 
 refused to serve under any commander whose titular dignity was 
 inferior to his own, and his feelings on this subject were generally 
 shared by his companions in arms. The only remedy, except a 
 revocation of the order of the twelfth of November, 1754, which 
 merely confirmed the pretensions of the king s officers in America 
 previous to that time, would have been the granting of commissions 
 from the crown to the principal officers selected by the colonial 
 authorities. Assurances from General Braddock, and the honorable 
 distinction he had won in the battle of the Monongahela, had led 
 Washington confidently to expect such a commission. Governor 
 Dinwiddie had strongly, though perhaps reluctantly, recommended 
 him to the home administration as a man whose appointment to a 
 place in his majesty s army would be of "infinite service," and had 
 stated in the same communication that the officers of the Virginia 
 regiment generally, were " dispirited for want" of such commissions 
 as would secure to them, under all circumstances, the consideration 
 properly appertaining to their respective conditions. 
 
 At Fort Cumberland, which was within the limits of Maryland, 
 Governor Sharpe of that colony had stationed about thirty men, 
 under the direction of Captain Dagworthy, who had held a royal 
 
&T. 24.] CAPTAIN DAGWORTHY. 195 
 
 commission in the last war, and now claimed its privileges and 
 authority, refusing to obey any provincial officer, however high in 
 rank. When therefore Colonel Stephen was sent to this post, with 
 a considerable force, Dagworthy paid no attention to his orders, and 
 the garrison was in consequence soon in a state of insubordination, 
 the larger part of it adhering to Colonel Stephen, while the frag 
 ment of a company from Maryland would recognize no commander 
 but Captain Dagworthy. 
 
 Washington represented the matter to the governor and council 
 and solicited their immediate action for its settlement. A corre 
 spondence followed between the two governors, but without any 
 satisfactory result. Sharpe seemed to regard the fort as under his 
 particular charge because it was in his province ; but Dinwiddie 
 replied that it was the king s fort, built in obedience to directions 
 sent to him from the king, by troops chiefly in the king s pay, and 
 consequently not subject to any special control by the governor 
 of Maryland. And as to Dagworthy s pretence that his captain s 
 commission from the crown entitled him to command Colonel 
 Stephen, and the commander in chief of the forces of Virginia, it 
 was known that he had commuted his half pay for a specific sum of 
 money, so that his commission had become null and void as if it had 
 never been granted. The case however presented some questiona 
 ble points, and Dinwiddie was unwilling to give any positive orders 
 in regard to it, though he intimated to Washington that according 
 to military usage Dagworthy might be arrested by him. But this 
 discreet officer did not choose to hazard a proceeding beyond 
 what he conceived to be the sphere of his proper duties, for which 
 he might himself be called to account, and simply expressed his 
 determination to resign his military position, as he had previously 
 done under not dissimilar circumstances, unless the matter should 
 be settled to his satisfaction. 
 
 The messenger despatched by Governor Dinwiddie to General 
 Shirley, commander in chief of the king s forces in America, re 
 questing that the officers of the Virginia regiment be "put upon 
 the establishment," had returned from Boston without having sue- 
 
196 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [175G. 
 
 ceeded in his mission, and these officers, therefore, in the warmest 
 manner, desired Washington to proceed to General Shirley s head 
 quarters in person, and lay before him their memorial of the sev 
 eral difficulties respecting rank, which the conduct of Dagworthy 
 had now invested with an unusual interest. 
 
 On the fourteenth of January, 1756, he solicited of Governor Din- 
 widdie leave of absence for this purpose, which the governor readily 
 granted, in the hope of being relieved from any further trouble in 
 regard to the subject; and after issuing such military orders as he 
 deemed necessary, and arranging his private affairs for the period 
 during which he proposed to be absent, he set out, on the fourth of 
 February, with his aid de camp, Captain George Mercer, and Captain 
 Walter Stewart, of the Virginia light horse, for New England. 
 
 Although he declared in a letter to Colonel Stephen that this 
 expedition had not been thought of until he left Winchester, a few 
 days previously, it so happened that he was generously supplied 
 with whatever was necessary for maintaining an appearance suit 
 able for a Virginia gentleman of fortune, possessing an eminent 
 position in society. He had a short time previously given an order 
 to his agent in London, in which we have exhibited not only his 
 taste and luxury in dress, but an example of the best costume of 
 his class in that period. He directs his correspondent particularly 
 to send, " two complete livery suits for servants, with a spare cloak, 
 and all other necessary trimmings for two suits more. I would have 
 you," he writes, " choose the livery by our arms, only as the field of 
 the arms is white, I think the clothes had better not be quite so, but 
 nearly like the enclosed : the trimmings and facing of scarlet, and a 
 scarlet waistcoat. If livery lace is not quite disused, I should be 
 o;lad to have the cloaks laced : I like that fashion best ; and two 
 
 o 
 
 silver-laced hats for the above servants. One set of horse furniture, 
 with livery lace, with the Washington crest on the housings, &c. : 
 the cloak to be of the same piece and color of the clothes. Three 
 gold and scarlet sword-knots ; three silver and blue ditto ; one fash 
 ionable gold-laced hat."* A private gentleman and his servants, 
 
 * Life by Irving, i., 227, note. 
 
MT. 24.] FRIENDLY CORRESPONDENCE. 197 
 
 with such appointments as are here mentioned or suggested, and 
 riding horses of the best blood and condition, would not now be 
 able to travel from Williamsburg to Boston without exciting con 
 tinual and especial wonder. The last century has brought even to 
 this continent few more noticeable changes, and perhaps none of 
 more questionable propriety, than those which have induced a 
 homely and almost undistinguishable uniformity in our apparel. 
 
 The youthful hero was not ignorant of the extent and quality of 
 his reputation, and, besides seeing Shirley, felt a natural desire to 
 visit the leading cities of the country, in which he was confident of 
 an agreeable reception. He had had a friendly correspondence with 
 Governor Morris, and Mr. Gist, who had been sent to Philadelphia in 
 the preceding October, on some business connected with the service, 
 had written from that city assurances of the high and kindly regard 
 entertained for him there. " Your name," he states, " is more talked 
 of in Pennsylvania than that of any other person in the army, and 
 everybody seems willing to venture under your command." The 
 assembly was sitting. Mr. Franklin and Mr. Peters both told him 
 that if Washington " would write a letter setting forth the murders 
 and plunderings on the frontier, and in view of them asking the 
 assistance of Pennsylvania, his representations would have more 
 influence to that end than those of any man in America." Colonel 
 Gage, who had been his companion in arms on the Ohio, and who 
 twenty years afterwards was to oppose him as commander in chief 
 of the king s forces at Boston, had written to him from Albany in 
 November, "It gave me great pleasure to hear from a person of 
 whom the world has justly so good an opinion, and for whom I have 
 so great an esteem. I shall be happy to have frequent news of your 
 welfare, and hope soon to hear that your laudable endeavors and 
 the noble spirit you have exerted in the service of your country 
 have at last been crowned with the success they merit." 
 
 It is difficult to realize the truth that this country, in its earliest 
 settled and most populous portions, presented so very different an 
 aspect but a century ago. A hundred of the largest towns then 
 existing here would not make one as large as is now the smallest 
 
J98 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 of the three capitals Washington proposed to visit. Everything, 
 except society, has advanced with the same uniform and unprece 
 dented rapidity. To this deputation from Virginia, the material 
 changes and improvements disclosed in their progress toward the 
 metropolis of the eastern colonies, were almost as remarkable as 
 those which time itself has since brought to the Ancient Dominion. 
 
 Travelling on horseback the party reached Philadelphia on Friday 
 the sixth of February, the second day after leaving Alexandria. Phil 
 adelphia was then the most considerable city in North America, and 
 contained about twenty thousand inhabitants. An enumeration made 
 six years previously, by Franklin, the Shippens, and other leading 
 citizens, each taking a ward to canvass, showed that there were in 
 the ten wards and two suburbs two thousand and seventy-six houses, 
 and eleven places of worship. It was near enough to the scene of 
 the wars in which Washington had been engaged for its inquisitive 
 people to learn and to be interested in all the particulars of their 
 history. He remained here a week, receiving, with his companions, 
 marked attentions from the most distinguished of the official and 
 private characters who at that time made the polite society of 
 Philadelphia the most agreeable in the colonies. 
 
 On Sunday, the fifteenth of February, he arrived in New York. 
 This city, which in the next fifteen years doubled its population, 
 contained then but ten thoiisand three hundred and eighty-one 
 inhabitants. In the previous summer the first stage coach for pas 
 sengers between New York and Philadelphia had been established. 
 The time occupied on the road was three days. The same year the 
 mail, which had hitherto been carried once in two weeks, began to 
 be carried every week. This year another stage coach was set up, 
 with the ambitious name of Flying Machine, and its proprietors 
 promised passengers to take them from city to city in two days, 
 at three pence per mile, or twenty shillings for the entire distance. 
 In this quaint old town, which still preserved many of the charac 
 teristics of New Amsterdam ; in which houses, built of materials 
 and according to plans sent from the banks of the Zuyder Zee, 
 were not more peculiar than much in the manners of their occu- 
 
MT. 24.] ARRIVAL IN BOSTON. 199 
 
 pants ; in and about which were settled many of those Huguenot 
 families who have constituted so admirable an element in her socie 
 ty, and in which there was a dignified circle of English and Anglo- 
 American gentry, ready, with the rest, to pay him especial honors, 
 Washington passed nearly a week. 
 
 There are traditions which associate his name in tender connec 
 tion with that of a young woman, a belle of New York, the mansion 
 house of whose family is still visible on the banks of the Hudson. 
 Beverly Robinson, a schoolmate and friend, son of the speaker of 
 the Virginia assembly, resided here at that time, having married 
 a daughter of Mr. Frederick Philipse, one of the nieces and heiresses 
 of a wealthy landholder, Mr. Adolphus Philipse. He was the guest 
 of Mr. Robinson while he remained in the city, and at his house 
 met Mrs. Robinson s sister and coheiress, Mary Philipse, whose 
 charms made a deep impression upon him. She was two years older 
 than himself, and from a portrait of her which has been preserved 
 does not appear to have been remarkably beautiful, but she was un 
 doubtedly an elegant woman, and her liberal expectations as to for 
 tune, and the eminent social position of her family, made her hand 
 an object of ambition among the leading young men of the country. 
 Washington however was less fitted for the drawing room than for 
 the council of war, even at this early age, and notwithstanding his 
 military fame, his indefectible private character, his hereditary 
 respectability, fine person, and various manly accomplishments, was 
 compelled in the society of women to give place to men who had 
 cultivated more successfully the art of pleasing. He kept the secret 
 of his passion, as he had that of his tenderness for the " lowland 
 beauty" whose praises are celebrated in letters which he wrote at 
 seventeen, while surveying the estates of Lord Fairfax; and on 
 Friday, the twentieth of February, pursued his journey, finding 
 occupation for his thoughts in the advanced civilization and pros 
 perity of the provinces east of the Hudson. 
 
 Arriving in Boston, he was received by Governor Shirley with 
 affection, as well as with the respect due to a person of his distin 
 guished reputation. Shirley had been his occasional guest at Mount 
 
200 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1756 
 
 Vernon during the congress of governors at Alexandria, and had 
 "perfectly charmed" him by his "character and appearance," and the 
 young Virginian had not only won his friendship at that time, but 
 had entitled himself to a warmer regard by an intimacy with his 
 son, General Braddock s private secretary, which ended only with 
 the last moment of that person s life, on the field of the Mononga- 
 hela. Shirley was about sixty-four years old, but had married 
 a young Frenchwoman, while in Paris, a few years previously, 
 and now wore gracefully the manners of middle age.* Boston at 
 this period contained nearly fourteen thousand inhabitants, and was 
 not increasing either in population or wealth, but in intelligence it 
 was before any other American city, and was not inferior to any in 
 social refinement. Washington was received here, as he had been 
 in Philadelphia and New York, with the highest consideration, by all 
 
 * William Shirley was born in Sussex, England, about the year 1693, and was bred to the pro 
 fession of the law. He obtained employment under government in London, but having the pros 
 pect of a numerous family was advised to remove to Boston, where he resided six or eight years in 
 expectation of being appointed collector ; but that place having been conferred on another person, 
 he was, in 1741, made governor of Massachusetts. He planned the expedition against Cape Breton 
 in 1745, and on the last day of August in the same year was appointed colonel of a regiment of 
 foot. The next year he published an account of that expedition, in "A Letter from William Shir 
 ley, Esq., Governor of Massachusetts Bay, to his grace the Duke of Newcastle, with a Journal of 
 the Siege of Louisburgh," and returned to England in 1749, when he was appointed one of the 
 commissioners to settle the boundaries between the possessions of England and France on this conti 
 nent. While thus engaged he wrote the Memorial of the English Commissaries, dated the twenty- 
 first of September, 1750, in which he claimed for the English all the land east of the Penobscot and 
 south of the St. Lawrence as constituting the ancient Acadia. He returned to his government of 
 Massachusetts in 1753, and in 1754 explored the Kennebec, on which river he erected Fort Halifax, 
 on the present site of the city of Augusta. On the second of February, 1755, he was appointed 
 major general, and military superintendent of the northern colonies, and made the expedition to 
 Oswego, which has been mentioned in the text, and which brought probably undeserved disgrace 
 upon him. The death of Braddock made him commander in chief of the British army in America, 
 but he was superseded in this office as well as in the government of Massachusetts, soon after the 
 visit of Washington to Boston, and ordered to England, where he was not very well received by his 
 official superiors. There were several publications in his defence, one of which, published in 1757, 
 entitled "A Keview of Military Operations in America," &c., was written by William Smith, the 
 historian. These publications relieved him from much of the odium he had suffered, and in 1759 he 
 became lieutenant general, and soon after was appointed to the government of the Bahama Islands. 
 Shirley was a man of decided abilities, and was much relied upon by the ministers in regard to 
 America. He was strongly opposed to Franklin s plan of union, proposed at Albany in 1754, and 
 urged the establishment of a stamp tax here as early as 1756. He had not the qualities necessary 
 for a successful soldier, but few Englishmen of his age would have made a better minister of war. 
 His literary abilities were respectable, and besides his controversial and historical writings he is said 
 to have been the author of two dramatic pieces, "Electra, a Tragedy," and " The Birth of Hercules, 
 a Masque." He finally returned to Massachusetts, and died at his seat in Roxbury, on the twenty- 
 fourth of March, 1776, at which time he was the senior lieutenant general in the British army. E. 
 B. O Callaghan : Documents Relating to the Colonial History of New York, vi. 959 
 
JET. 24.] PROPOSED CAMPAIGNS. 201 
 
 classes whose courtesies could be grateful to him. A large portion 
 of his time was spent w r ith the commander in chief, in the discus 
 sion of public affairs. 
 
 At a council of the colonial governors at New York, in Decem 
 ber, comprehensive measures had been determined upon for the 
 campaign of the year just commenced an army of six thousand 
 men was to make its way to Niagara ; Crown Point was to be in 
 vested by ten thousand, while the enterprise against Fort Duquesne, 
 notwithstanding the depressing memories of Braddock s march, was 
 to be undertaken again by a force of three thousand ; and, to meet 
 the French advances on every line, two thousand men were to 
 ascend the Kennebec, in Maine, till, striking the head waters of the 
 Chaudiere, they were to follow that river to its confluence with the 
 St. Lawrence, opposite Quebec, and thus carry alarm to the doors 
 of the enemy. The measures necessary to raise men and means 
 for this extensive plan were being discussed in the legislature, and 
 we may suppose that Washington was an attentive listener to the 
 debates, by which his personal interests, as well as the general wel 
 fare, might be very deeply affected. 
 
 Governor Shirley, as commander in chief, does not appear to have 
 had authority to grant commissions in the standing army, but he 
 readily complied with Washington s application in regard to Dag- 
 worthy, giving an order which definitively settled the position of 
 that troublesome person, whom he declared to be simply a provincial 
 captain, " acting under a commission from the governor of Mary 
 land." "And where there are no regular troops joined," the order 
 proceeds, he u can only take rank as a provincial captain, and of 
 course is under the command of all provincial field officers ; and in 
 case it should happen that Colonel Washington and Captain Dag- 
 worthy should join at Fort Cumberland, it is my order that Colonel 
 Washington should take the command." 
 
 After ten days agreeably passed in Boston Washington started 
 on his return to Virginia. In New York he lingered at the house 
 of his friend Kobinson until duty called him away, but did not 
 divulge to Miss Philipse the emotions she had awakened. He 
 
202 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 however intrusted his secret to a confidential friend, probably her 
 brother-in-law, whose letters, Mr. Sparks informs us, " kept him in 
 formed of every important event," and in a few months he was 
 advised that unless he pressed his suit a rival would carry off the 
 prize ; but other cares engrossed his time, and he never saw Miss 
 Philipse again until she had become the bride of his old companion 
 in the military family of Braddock.* 
 
 After an absence of seven weeks, in which he had formed many 
 valuable acquaintances, and acquired much information which was 
 subsequently very useful to him, he returned with his associates to 
 Williamsburg. 
 
 * Miss Philipse was married to Captain Morris on the nineteenth of January, 1758. She is 
 said to have been the original of the heroine of Mr. Cooper s novel of " The Spy." The landed 
 possessions of the Philipse family were very great, embracing much of the district now occupied by 
 the city of New York, and covering an area twice as large as all Yorkshire. Captain Morris con 
 tinued to reside in New York, where he occupied a seat in the council, till the breaking out of the 
 revolution. Adhering to the crown, his estates and those of his wife were confiscated, and he 
 returned to England. By a marriage contract, however, Mrs. Morris s property had been settled 
 on her children, and these being omitted in the act of confiscation, the ministry conceired their 
 rights remained unaffected. Therefore but seventeen thousand pounds were granted from the treas 
 ury to Mr. Morris in satisfaction of his life interest. After the peace it was found impracticable to 
 reinstate the children in their possessions, and in 1809 their claims were purchased by the late Mr. 
 John Jacob Astor for twenty thousand pounds. The estimated value of the property in question 
 was nearlv one million pounds ; at this day the sum would be incalculable. On the nineteenth of 
 May, 1760, Morris was made lieutenant colonel of the forty-seventh foot, and died on the thirteenth 
 of September, 1794. His widow survived to the eighteenth of July, 1825. Their only son was the 
 late Admiral Henry Gage Morris, R. N., Keldgate House, Yorkshire. History of the Expedition 
 to Fort Duquesne, by Winthrop Sargent, p. 369. Sabine s American Loyalists. 
 
M-r. 24.] ANOTHER INDIAN INCURSION. 203 
 
 CHAPTEE XXI. 
 
 NEW INCURSIONS BY THE FRENCH AND INDIANS DIFFERENT PLANS FOR THE 
 
 PUBLIC DEFENCE CONDITION OF THE TROOPS EXPEDITION TO SHAWNEE 
 
 TOWN IMPOSSIBILITY OF OBTAINING RECRUITS BORDER MURDERS BY THE 
 
 ENEMY THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF CONTEMPLATES RESIGNING THE ENEMY 
 
 AGAIN RETIRE BEYOND THE OHIO. 
 
 WASHINGTON returned from Boston on the twenty-third of March, 
 and proceeded to Williamsburg, where, if his habits of life would not 
 allow of ease, he might be permitted, now that the annoying affair 
 of Dagworthy was settled to his satisfaction, to look for a period 
 of tranquil life. But any expectations of this kind, if indulged, 
 were disappointed. Hostilities between the colonial forces of France 
 and England were not even yet recognised by a formal declaration 
 of war, though they were prosecuted with persistence and activity. 
 Under the walls of Fort Cumberland, and other posts nearer the 
 coast, and, indeed, around the headquarters of Washington at Win 
 chester, the yells of Indians, led and managed by Frenchmen, were 
 now heard. An express arrived at the capital with intelligence of 
 a new outbreak within a day or two after Washington s arrival from 
 the north, and with his wonted promptitude he reached Winchester, 
 to attend to measures for its suppression, on the sixth of April. He 
 informed Governor Dinwiddie, by a despatch dated the next day, 
 of the untoward appearance of affairs, and with how poor a front 
 the tardy organization of the British power could meet the daring 
 and facile enemy, whose savage allies were murdering in open day 
 light all around the forts, and spreading alarm far and wide among 
 the people. 
 
 It was at this point that Washington began to urge most strenu 
 ously that line of policy best calculated to meet the designs of 
 France on this continent, and to bring repose to the colonists, from 
 
20i WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 the Hudson to the Savannah. The assembly, although their lib 
 erality did not equal the wishes or expectations of Dinwiddie, 
 seem to have been willing to provide generously for the defence 
 of the colony. They voted twenty thousand pounds to meet this 
 new incursion, and directed the augmentation of the troops in the 
 field to two thousand men. For a present invasion of their terri 
 tory they provided without hesitation. But the plan which appears 
 to have been most favorably considered in the assembly seems to 
 have been one which contemplated continual invasions, instead of 
 such an one as, by well directed offensive operations, would drive 
 the foe from the region from which only invasion could be expected. 
 The burgesses proposed to build a line of forts on the frontier, to 
 resist all incursions from the disputed territory : Washington urged 
 the driving of the French from the Ohio. " It seemed to be the 
 sentiment of the house of burgesses, when I was down," so he writes 
 to Dinwiddie on the seventh of April, referring to the few days he 
 had passed at Williamsburg about the first of the month, " that a 
 chain of forts should be erected on our frontiers for the defence of 
 the people. This expedient, in my opinion, without an inconceiva 
 ble number of men, will never answer their expectations."* 
 
 On the twenty-fourth of April, writing to Mr. Robinson, speaker 
 of the assembly, he sets forth the reasons which might be adduced 
 in favor of either policy. " If," he writes, " a chain of forts is to be 
 erected on our frontiers, it will be done with a design to protect the 
 people ; therefore, if these forts are more than fifteen or eighteen 
 miles, or a day s march asunder, and garrisoned with less than eighty 
 or a hundred men each, the object is not answered, and for these 
 reasons : First, if they are at greater distances, it will be inconve 
 nient for the soldiers to scout, and will allow the enemy to pass 
 between undiscovered. Secondly, if they are garrisoned with less 
 than eighty or a hundred men, the number will be too few to afford 
 detachments. Then, again, our frontiers are so extensive, that were 
 the enemy to attack us on the one side, they might, before the 
 
 * Writings of Washington, bj- Sparks, ii. 135. 
 
JT. 24.] DIFFERENT POLICIES PROPOSED. 205 
 
 troops on the other could reach the spot, overrun and destroy half 
 the country. And it was more than probable, if they had a design 
 in one direction, they would make a feint in another. We are also 
 to consider what sums the building of twenty forts, and the remov 
 ing of stores and provisions to each would cost. In the last place, 
 we are to inquire when and where this expense will end. For, 
 unless we endeavor to remove the cause, we shall be liable to the 
 same incursions seven years hence as now, if the war continues, 
 and the enemy is allowed to remain on the Ohio"* 
 
 Here was a youth of twenty-four setting forth the policy of the 
 white haired Cato. The war should be carried into Africa. But if 
 the Roman senate could endure, year after year, the disheartening 
 struggle to defend their dominions against the invading Carthaginian, 
 till, under Scipio, they won repose and victory and freedom from 
 invasion by the policy of counter-invasion, it is not to be wondered 
 at that the house of burgesses of Virginia should persevere in pro 
 viding for the day s defence, and shrink from undertaking the 
 arduous work of relieving the border from all liability to military 
 disturbance by the expensive and difficult enterprise of invading, 
 by paths uncut or marked only by the bones of their slaughtered 
 countrymen, the fastnesses of the French on the Ohio. The mem 
 ory of Braddock s defeat, less than a year before, though the circum 
 stances of that defeat must have been so well understood by persons 
 connected with the government, had still a depressing eiFect upon 
 all projects proposed for similar purposes. But Washington, with 
 his vivid recollections of the sanguinary time, could separate the 
 merits of the design, and real practicability of the campaign, from 
 the misfortune of its result, and adhere to the promise of the for 
 mer, while he felt that it was possible to avoid the errors that led to 
 the latter. While he clearly perceived the present advantage of 
 an offensive policy, he restrained the impetuosity of his nature, and 
 brought himself with readiness and energy to do best that which 
 
 * Subsequently, writing to the governor, on the fourth of August, he says, "I observe your pro 
 posal to Lord Loudoun, of carrying on an expedition against the Ohio, have always thought it the 
 best and only method to put a stop to the incursions of the enemy, as they would then be obliged to 
 stay at home to defend their own. possession." See Sparks, ii. 
 
206 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 was possible, where what was best was, for the time, quite beyond 
 his ability. "I shall next give the reasons," he says, in his letter to 
 Mr. Robinson, of the twenty-fourth of April, which has just been 
 quoted, " which I think make for a defensive plan. If the neigh 
 boring colonies refuse us their assistance, we have neither strength 
 nor ability to conduct an expedition ; and, if we had, and were the 
 whole to join us, I do not see to what purpose, since we have nei 
 ther a train of artillery, artillerymen, nor engineers, to execute any 
 scheme beyond the mountains against a regular fortress. Again, 
 we have neither stores nor provisions, arms nor ammunition, wagons 
 nor horses, in any degree proportioned to the service ; and to un 
 dertake an affair where we are sure to fall through, would be pro 
 ductive of the worst consequences ; by another defeat we should 
 lose, entirely, the interest of every Indian. If, then, we cannot act 
 offensively with a prospect of success, we must be on the defen 
 sive ;" and he proceeds to declare his adhesion, for the time, to the 
 policy of constructing a chain of .forts. 
 
 The return of the enemy, in greater numbers, of which Washing 
 ton had advised the governor on the seventh of April, and the 
 daring acts of hostility which they committed, in the neighborhood 
 of the chief encampment of the Virginia forces, could not fail to 
 revive the utmost terror among the inhabitants. It was no won 
 der that the fear of death at the hands of the savages, the burning 
 of buildings, and all the atrocities which marked Indian warfare, 
 frightful examples of which were continually familiar to them, drove 
 the scattered dwellers on the border in fear and trembling toward 
 the settled portions of the colony, where they might hope for better 
 protection. Unless a stop were put to the depredations of the 
 Indians, Washington believed the Blue Ridge would soon become 
 the frontier. He wrote that it was injudicious for him to proceed 
 to Fort Cumberland until a considerable accession to his command 
 should be received. Advising with Lord Fairfax and other officers 
 as to the best conduct to pursue in the absence of any proper legal 
 discipline of the troops, he requested each captain to call a private 
 muster and read to the men an exhortation he had prepared for 
 
jE T . 24.] CONFUSION OF MILITARY AFFAIRS. 207 
 
 the purpose. " Orders/ he said, were no longer regarded. It is 
 quite certain that the assemblages of men, drafts or militia, author 
 ized by any act of the colonial government, were left quite without 
 those details of organization which would have assimilated them to the 
 condition of regular troops. It was, indeed, an " uncertain way of 
 raising men for their own protection," which the assembly had hith 
 erto adopted. The commander in chief represented to the governor, 
 on the third of May, the inconveniences which resulted from having 
 no posts assigned to the several companies. Dispersed throughout 
 the country they could not readily be paid or supplied ; so many 
 detachments were out that one captain or lieutenant might happen 
 to command men of every company in the regiment ; of the eight 
 pence per day paid to each soldier two pence were retained for 
 clothing, and, consequently, when clothing or other necessaries were 
 furnished, it would occur, in the case of an officer transferred from 
 the head of men thus irregularly brought together, that this allow 
 ance could not be stopped. " By this," he suggests, " the country 
 loses money, the men are badly supplied, and always discontented." 
 Clothes soon became very much wanted, and soldiers who had been 
 two months enlisted, and had been able to get, as clothing, nothing 
 but a blanket, shoes, and shirt, were very "justly dissatisfied" at 
 having stopped from their pay the entire clothing fund. 
 
 Washington employed his available force in scouring the woods 
 and other places near him where the foe were most apt to select 
 their places of concealment. The Indians were an enemy of whose 
 capacity of giving trouble he had a very thorough knowledge. Five 
 hundred of them, he said, had more power to annoy the inhabitants 
 than ten thousand regulars. In his despatches to Dinwiddie, he 
 sought to impress upon that functionary a sense of "the advanta 
 geous way they had of fighting in the woods ;" the cunning and 
 craft, the activity and watchfulness, the patience under suffering and 
 privation, of antagonists who prowled about like wolves, and like that 
 animal, accomplished their mischief by stealth, depending for their 
 food as well upon their proficiency in hunting game as upon their 
 dexterity in stealing the cattle of the inhabitants. It was to avoid 
 
208 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 the trouble of a merciless and wary foe of this kind, that Washing 
 ton contemplated the necessity of recommending to the legislature 
 to compel the inhabitants in the region exposed to live together, 
 in townships, working on each other s farms by turns, and to drive 
 their cattle into the thickly settled parts of the country. Thus 
 they would have no occasion to fear the attacks of small parties 
 of the enemy, while the difficulties of subsistence would prevent 
 
 the incursions of lanre ones. 
 
 <_j 
 
 Major Lewis had, near the close of the winter, made an attempt, 
 which by the seventh of April was understood to be unsuccessful, 
 to reach the town of the Shawnese.* It was an expedition of 
 which, from the length of the march, Washington had expressed 
 apprehensions, particularly in a despatch written to Governor Din- 
 widdie from Alexandria on the fourteenth of January. Streams 
 swollen from the melting snows retarded the progress of the party, 
 and, after wandering six weeks in the woods, having lost the canoes 
 that contained their supplies, they were compelled to kill their 
 horses for food. They were glad to retrace their way to the set> 
 tlements without accomplishing their mission. Washington how 
 ever saw one advantage in their premature return : the friendly 
 Indians, of whom Major Lewis s force was in part made up, would 
 now be free to be" employed as scouts and guides, and he proposed 
 immediately to send them forward to Fort Cumberland, where they 
 would be of service against a foe of their own race and habits. An 
 expedition directly west to the Ohio, to attack the Indians at a 
 point far below Fort Duquesne, under ordinary circumstances 
 would have met his earnest support ; but when orders for such a 
 movement came from the governor, in January, he was satisfied 
 that the hostile tribes had already moved up the river to the 
 neighborhood of the fort. Since, however, the governor was still 
 determined upon a campaign in that direction, Major Lewis was 
 directed to take command of the troops destined for that service. 
 
 * This resort of the Shawnee tribe of Indians, was situated at or near the junction of the Ohio 
 and Great Kenhawa rivers, where Point Pleasant, in Mason county, Virginia, now is. Howe (Vir. 
 Hist. Col., 360) supposes it was abandoned by the tribe about 1770. 
 
Mr. 24.] DEFEAT OF THE FRENCH AND INDIANS. 209 
 
 M. Dumas, who commanded the French and Indians at Braddock s 
 defeat, after the death of M. de Beaujeu, succeeded Contrecoeur in 
 the command of Fort Duquesne. Toward the close of March, he 
 sent out the Sieur Donville, with fifty Indians, to observe the opera 
 tions of the Virginians in the vicinity of Fort Cumberland. He was 
 directed to harass their convoy s, burn their magazine at Conoco- 
 cheague, if practicable, and use every effort to take prisoners, in 
 order to obtain from them further knowledge of the designs of the 
 provincial authorities. These orders showed great boldness and 
 confidence on the part of the French, for Conococheague was in the 
 midst of a populous district, and the inhabitants, aroused by fear, 
 were exceedingly vigilant. Dumas also humanely instructed Donville 
 to use all his influence to prevent the savages from committing any 
 cruelties upon those who might fall into their hands. " Honor and 
 humanity," he said, " ought, in this respect, to serve as our guide." 
 
 Donville obeyed his superior with alacrity, for he was young, and 
 ambitious of distinction. With his trained savages, he traversed the 
 country watered by the upper tributaries of the Potomac, and spread 
 alarm among the settlers. At the beginning of April he was on the 
 North river, a branch of the Cacapehon, in Hampshire county ; and 
 there he was attacked and defeated by a scouting-party under a 
 brave Virginian named Paris. Donville was killed ; and his scalp, 
 with the instructions of Dumas found upon his person, were sent to 
 Washington. That commander immediately forwarded them to 
 Governor Dinwiddie, with the expressed hope that the party who 
 jointly claimed the merit of securing the trophy would be properly 
 rewarded, notwithstanding it came from the head of a white man.* 
 Such complicity of the generous Washington in a revolting practice 
 
 * The reward for Indian prisoners or scalps was left to the discretion of the governor at that time, 
 as there was no specific law upon the subject. Such law was soon afterward enacted, and the price 
 for every "hostile Indian taken or killed" was fixed at ten pounds. The Virginians had early pre 
 cedents. Seventy years before, a bounty of eight pounds per head was offered by the commissioners 
 of the New England Confederation "for every fighting Indian man slain" by the soldiers. They 
 were also allowed the benefits arising from the sales of such Indians into slavery. At a later period, 
 Massachusetts and New Hampshire offered fifty, and even a hundred pounds, for an Indian scalp ; 
 and in Maryland, at one time, fifty pounds were offered for a prisoner or a scalp taken within that 
 province. The cruelties which the white people suffered at the hands of the Indians, during the 
 early colonial periods, made the life of a savage appear no more sacred than that of a beast of prey. 
 
 14 
 
210 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 of savage warfare seems strangely paradoxical, unless we consider 
 the exigencies of the occasion, and the prevailing habits and senti 
 ments of the border people at that time. Strongly as he opposed 
 the employment of Indians in the War for Independence twenty 
 years later, Washington now as strongly urged the necessity of such 
 an alliance, which expediency imposed. ".Unless we have Indians 
 to oppose Indians," he wrote to Governor Dinwiddie, toward the 
 close of April, " we may expect but small success." 
 
 Washington s hopes of raising a sufficient number of men to drive 
 the enemy from the adjacent mountains, were soon dispelled. The 
 captains of his regiment held the proposed private muster of their 
 companies, read to them the " exhortation" of their colonel, and 
 communicated his orders for them to rendezvous at Winchester on 
 the fifteenth of April. Of the whole sixteen companies, only fifteen 
 men appeared at the time appointed. All manhood seemed to be 
 paralyzed by a sense of impending danger, and the inhabitants saw 
 no chance for safety but in flight to the country eastward of the 
 Blue Ridge. There were not armed men enough at Winchester, to 
 spare, to afford Washington a safe escort to Fort Cumberland, and 
 the garrison at the latter place was greatly weakened by the ab 
 sence of detachments which had been sent out to keep the enemy 
 at bay. The roads between the two places were everywhere in 
 fested by the savages ; and none but hunters, expert in woodcraft, 
 and travelling at night, could make the journey with safety. And 
 one of these, whom Washington had sent to Colonel Stephen with 
 a message, was assailed several times within six miles of Fort Cum 
 berland, and narrowly escaped, after having several bullets pass 
 through his clothes, and his horse shot under him. 
 
 The danger that menaced Winchester grew more and more 
 alarming every hour. A scouting-party of one hundred men, under 
 Captain John Mercer, sent to scour the Warm Spring mountain, 
 were attacked by mounted Frenchmen and Indians within twenty 
 miles of that place. Mercer and several of his men were killed, and 
 the remainder were dispersed. The intelligence of this event, and 
 the tales of horror that hourly arrived, made the inhabitants of 
 
JE-r. 24.] DISTRESS OF THE INHABITANTS. 211 
 
 Winchester expect an attack at any moment. In the extremity of 
 their terror, with no chance for successful flight, they turned to 
 Washington, feebly supported as he was, as their chief hope. " The 
 women," says Irving,* " surrounded him, holding up their children, 
 and implored him, with tears and cries, to save them from the sav 
 ages." The heart of the young commander was powerfully affected, 
 and he wrote a touching letter to Governor Dinwiddie on the twen 
 ty-second of April. " Your honor may see," he said, " to what un 
 happy straits the distressed inhabitants and myself are reduced. I 
 am too little acquainted, sir, with pathetic language to attempt a 
 description of the people s distresses, though I have a generous soul, 
 sensible of wrongs, and swelling for redress. But what can I do ? 
 I see their situation, know their danger, and participate their 
 sufferings, without having it in my power to give them further 
 relief than uncertain promises. In short, I see inevitable destruc 
 tion in so clear a light, that, unless vigorous measures are taken by 
 the assembly, and speedy assistance sent from below, the poor in 
 habitants that are now in forts must inevitably fall, while the re 
 mainder are flying before a barbarous foe.... The supplicating tears 
 of the women, and moving petitions of the men, melt me into such 
 deadly sorrow, that I solemnly declare, if I know my own mind, I 
 could offer myself a willing sacrifice to the butchering enemy, pro 
 vided that would contribute to the people s ease." 
 
 At that time of peril for the inhabitants of northern Virginia, 
 and of great perplexity for Washington, jealousy and private ambi 
 tion, as in after-years when he was in the midst of suffering at Val 
 ley Forge, assailed him with abuse, and cast reproaches upon his 
 faithful officers. The newspaper at Williamsburgf was made the 
 vehicle of these slanders, which emanated from the personal friends 
 of the governor, who sought to place Colonel Innes, his favorite, 
 already mentioned, in the chief command of the troops. In this 
 scheme, the governor became an accomplice, or at least a pliant 
 
 * Life of Washington, i., 235. 
 
 t At that time there was only one newspaper printed in the Virginia colony. It was entitled 
 The Virginia Gazette, and was printed by William Hunt, at the postoffice, in Williamsburg. An 
 other, of the same name, was commenced at Williamsburg in 1766, by William Rind, a Maryland 
 printer, who was supported by the party opposed to the governor. 
 
212 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 instrument. This was manifest to Washington and his friends, and 
 the injustice stung the youthful commander with the keenness of a 
 scorpion. In his letter to the governor just quoted, after alluding 
 to the published calumnies, he said : " These cause me to lament the 
 hour that gave me a commission, and would induce me, at any other 
 time than this of imminent danger, to resign, without one hesitating 
 moment, a command from which I never expect to reap either honor 
 or benefit ; but, on the contrary, have almost an absolute certainty 
 of incurring displeasure below, while the murder of helpless families 
 may be laid to my account here !" 
 
 This letter had a powerful effect at the seat of government, and 
 created much solicitude throughout the province. Patriotic men, 
 especially the personal friends of Washington, who knew his worth 
 and the injustice of his calumniators, urged him to abandon all 
 thoughts of resigning while the danger was so threatening, and as 
 sured him, not only of their support, but of the weakness of the few 
 who sought to disparage him. His friend, Colonel Fairfax, who was 
 one of the governor s council, said in a letter : " The house of bur 
 gesses are pleased with the governor s orders,* and depend on your 
 vigilance and success. Your endeavors in the service and defence 
 of your country must redound to your honor ; therefore do not let 
 any unavoidable interruptions sicken your mind in the attempts you 
 may pursue. Your good health and fortune are the toast at every 
 table." From Mr. Robinson, the speaker of the assembly, he received 
 a most encouraging letter. " Our hopes, dear George," he wrote, " are 
 all fixed on you, for bringing our affairs to a happy issue. Consider 
 what fatal consequences to your country your resigning the com 
 mand at this time may be, especially as there is no doubt most of 
 the officers will follow your example. I hope you will allow your 
 ruling passion, the love of your country, to stifle your resentment, 
 at least till the arrival of Lord Loudoun,f or the meeting of the as 
 sembly, when you may be sure of having justice done." "Nothing 
 but want of power in your country," wrote Landon Carter, a mem- 
 
 * Dinwiddie had ordered out one half of the militia in ten of the northern counties of Virginia, 
 t Lord Loudoun had been appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces in America, and 
 also governor of Virginia. 
 
&r. 24.] THE GENTLEMEN ASSOCIATORS. 213 
 
 ber of the assembly, " has prevented it from adding every honor and 
 reward that perfect merit could have entitled itself to. How are 
 we grieved to hear Colonel George "Washington hinting to his coun 
 try that he is willing to retire ! Give me leave, as your intimate 
 friend, to persuade you to forget that anything has been said to 
 your dishonor ; and recollect that it could not have come from any 
 man that knew you." Many other leading persons, in different 
 parts of the province, expressed their earnest desires that he should 
 remain in command. Thus sustained by the approval and encour 
 agement of the best men in Virginia, and his own conscience, 
 Washington s just pride yielded to the demands of loyalty to his 
 country. 
 
 Washington s stirring letters from Winchester evoked the patri 
 otic action of many leading men. One hundred gentlemen, led by 
 Peyton Randolph, the attorney-general, armed and equipped them 
 selves, and volunteered their services in the field of greatest peril. 
 They were named The Gentlemen Assocwtors ; and, as their offer was 
 gladly accepted, much popular enthusiasm was excited." They were 
 not only to confront the enemy in battle, but were to aid Wash 
 ington in the selection of proper places for the projected frontier 
 forts. There was much preparatory parade, but very little useful 
 action, on their part ; and before they arrived at "Winchester, the 
 foe had departed and the alarm had subsided. 
 
 At the close of April, the French and Indians who had swept 
 over the surrounding hills and valleys like the scythe of death, and 
 had so depopulated the whole region by the terror they inspired 
 that the Blue Ridge had become the frontier, suddenly turned their 
 faces toward Fort Duquesne. They had either become surfeited 
 with blood and plunder, or alarmed by intelligence of increasing 
 strength on the part of Washington. Laden with spoils, prison 
 ers, and scalps, they crossed the Alleghany mountains to the Ohio 
 in such numbers, that returning scouts affirmed that the roads were 
 as hard beaten by them as by Braddock s army the year before. 
 
214 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 ERECTION OF FORT LOUDOUN AT WINCHESTER r PROJECTS FOR A CHAIN OF 
 
 FRONTIER FORTS WASHINGTON S DISAPPROVAL THE CAUTION AND CRAFT 
 
 OF GOVERNOR DINWIDDIE HIS OPINION OF WASHINGTON S MERITS THE 
 
 GOVERNOR S INTERFERENCE HIS AMBIGUITY WASHINGTON S COMPLAINTS 
 
 DISSATISFACTION OF THE SOLDIERS DIFFICULTIES ABOUT FORT CUMBER 
 LAND NEW ALARMS WASHINGTON URGES OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS HE 
 
 MAKES A TOUR OF OBSERVATION HIS REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR, AND ITS 
 
 EFFECTS. 
 
 ALTHOUGH the enemy had retired beyond the mountains, Wash 
 ington did not relax a single effort, nor allow his vigilance to slum 
 ber. In a letter to the governor, he expressed his doubts whether 
 they were gone for the season, or only to bring on a larger party. 
 He inclined to the latter opinion ; and, taking counsel of his pru 
 dence, he commenced the erection of a strong fort at Winchester, 
 which the assembly, on his recommendation, had authorized in 
 March.* This fort was intended as a depository for military stores, 
 and a refuge and rallying-point for the frontier settlers who might 
 be driven from their homes by the incursions of the enemy. It 
 was named Fort Loudoun, in honor of the newly-appointed governor 
 of Virginia. At about the same time, Governor Sharpe, of Mary 
 land, commenced the erection of a quadrangular stone fort upon the 
 North mountain, a few rods from the Potomac river, in Washington 
 county, which was named Fort Frederick. It was a few miles from 
 the mouth of the Conococheague creek, and formed a shelter and 
 defence for the inhabitants of a thickly-settled and fertile country. 
 
 Washington also commenced the erection of a chain of frontier 
 forts, to extend from the Potomac to the North Carolina line, 
 through the ranges of the Alleghany mountains. These had been 
 authorized by the assembly, though earnestly disapproved of by 
 
 * Hening s Statutes, vii., 33. 
 
Mr. 24.] CHAIN OF FORTS. 215 
 
 Washington.* He believed that three or four strong garrisons, sit 
 uated within the borders of settlements, would be far more effective 
 and certainly less expensive, than a score of weak ones in the wil 
 derness, stretching along a line of three or four hundred miles. The 
 governor, too, disapproved of the plan of the assembly. He had 
 already submitted to the board of trade a project for a much more 
 extensive chain of forts. These were to embrace the whole line of 
 frontier from Crown Point, on Lake Champlain, to the country of 
 the Creek Indians in Alabama.^ But both yielded to the views of 
 the assembly ; and Colonel Washington, in conformity with his in 
 structions, drew up a plan and fixed the several positions of twenty- 
 three forts. He also sent out parties to erect them, and gave his 
 personal supervision to those that were within a reasonable distance 
 of his headquarterrs at Winchester. 
 
 In these labors, Washington seems not to have been favored with 
 the aid of " The Gentlemen Associators. r He had expected none, 
 and therefore he w r as not disappointed. As late as the twenty-third 
 of May, they had not appeared, and he wrote to the governor "I 
 am heartily glad that you have fixed upon these gentlemen to point 
 out the places for erecting forts, but regret to find their motions so 
 slow." There was deep meaning and keen irony for the governor 
 and his friends in this passage, which those in power at Williams- 
 burg undoubtedly perceived. But Dinwiddie was both cautious 
 and crafty ; and at this very time, w r hen he was casting obstacles in 
 the way of Washington s success, he joined in paying a just compli 
 ment to his merits. The council and house of burgesses had agreed 
 upon a representation to the king, in which Washington and other 
 officers were recommended to his majesty as worthy of promotion 
 to the regular army. Unwilling to openly oppose the Virginia as 
 sembly in this matter, and perceiving a chance for his favorite 
 
 * An expression of his views is given on page 204. 
 
 t The governor proposed to furnish the funds for erecting these forte, by a poll-tax of one shilling 
 sterling for two years throughout all the colonies, to he levied by parliament ; and to support the 
 garrisons by a perpetual land-tax of two shillings on every one hundred acres of land. He estimated 
 the number of taxable polls in the colonies at one million, and hence the tax would amount to fifty 
 thousand pounds a year. He also estimated the amount of the land-tax at sixty thousand pounds 
 a vear. 
 
216 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 Colonel Innes, by the removal of Washington to another field of 
 duty, Dinwiddie wrote as follows to Major-General Abercrombie on 
 the twenty-eighth of May : " As we are told the earl of Loudoun is 
 to raise three regiments on this continent, on the British establish 
 ment, I do not venture to trouble him immediately on his arrival 
 with any recommendations ; but, good sir, give me leave to pray 
 your interest with his lordship in favor of Colonel George Washing 
 ton, who, I will venture to say, is a very deserving gentleman, and 
 has from the beginning commanded the forces of this dominion. 
 General Braddock had so high an esteem for his merit, that he 
 made him one of his aids-de-camp ; and, if he had survived, I believe 
 he would have provided handsomely for him in the regulars. He 
 is a person much beloved here, and he has gone through many 
 hardships in the service, and I really think he has great merit, and 
 believe he can raise more men here than any one present that I 
 know. If his lordship will be so good as to promote him in the 
 British establishment, I think he will answer my recommendation." 
 These, no doubt, were the true sentiments of Dinwiddie, yet we are 
 justified by events in suspecting him of selfish motives in expressing 
 them at this time. And Washington undoubtedly was sincere in his 
 irony, when he expressed his gladness at the appointment of " The 
 Gentlemen Associators" to determine upon the localities of the 
 frontier forts, for he was perfectly willing to allow others to take 
 the responsibility of doing that which his judgment did not approve. 
 But while he was willing to yield thus much to necessarily incompe 
 tent men, he had just reason to complain of the continual interfe 
 rence of civil officers in military matters, to his great personal an 
 noyance and the detriment of the service. The governor himself, 
 who was unskilled in military affairs, was so exceedingly tenacious 
 of his authority, that he undertook, at the distance of two hundred 
 miles from the scene of action, to regulate the principal operations 
 of the army.* And either from natural stupidity, or a wicked de 
 sire to perplex the popular young commander, of whom he was 
 jealous, Dinwiddie communicated orders and replies to Washington 
 
 * Sparks s Writings of Washington, i., 84. 
 
jE T . 24.] THE GOVERNOR S AMBIGUITY. 217 
 
 in terms so ambiguous, that frequently he could not determine the 
 governor s meaning. Of this he complained bitterly in letters to 
 his friend the speaker of the assembly. " The orders I receive/ he 
 said, " are full of ambiguity. I am left, like a wanderer in the wil 
 derness, to proceed at hazard. I am answerable for consequences, 
 and blamed, without the privilege of defence." Later in the season, 
 after having visited Williamsburg, and urged upon the governor the 
 necessity of abandoning Fort Cumberland as a place of frontier de- 
 posite, he applied for positive directions in the matter. Washington 
 mentioned the affair in a letter to Speaker Robinson, and said : " The 
 following is an exact copy of the governor s answer : Fort Cumber 
 land is a king s fort, and built chiefly at the charge of the colony, 
 therefore properly under our direction until a governor is appoint 
 ed. Now, whether I am to understand this ay or no, to the plain, 
 simple question asked Is the fort to be continued or removed? 
 I know not. But in all important matters, I am directed in this 
 ambiguous and uncertain way." 
 
 Although Washington warmly remonstrated with Speaker Robin 
 son against the perplexing interferences and ambiguous orders of 
 the governor, he endured all with such exemplary dignity and 
 patience, and performed the duties assigned him so diligently and 
 faithfully, that he won for himself not only the sympathy but the 
 highest esteem and admiration of the patriotic party in the house 
 of burgesses, and of the people at large. This dignity and forbear 
 ance irritated Dinwiddie and the little Scottish faction who sought 
 to disgust Washington with the service and cause him to resign, for 
 it foiled every movement in favor of Innes, and taught the governor 
 his own weakness and the abounding strength of the young man he 
 wished to humble. This irritation was increased by Washington s 
 free comments concerning military affairs on the frontier, and espe 
 cially in relation to the absurdity of retaining Fort Cumberland ; 
 and Dinwiddie, with the mean spirit of jealousy and retaliation, 
 made such representations to Lord Loudoun as drew from him an 
 order in which was an implied censure of the young commander-in- 
 chief. In a letter to the governor, after giving a peremptory order 
 
218 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 to keep Fort Cumberland, Loudoun said : " I can not agree with 
 Colonel Washington in not drawing in the posts from the stockade 
 forts, in order to defend that advanced one ; and I should imagine 
 much more of the frontier will be exposed by retiring your ad 
 vanced posts near Winchester, where I understand he is retired ; for, 
 from your letter, I take it for granted he has before this executed 
 his plan, without waiting for any advice. If he leaves any of the 
 great quantity of stores behind, it will be very unfortunate, and he 
 ought to consider that it must be at his own door." 
 
 Loudoun, who was remarkable for his laziness and indecision, 
 wrote, of course, without knowledge. He was too indolent and 
 tardy to satisfy himself by proper inquiries and form a judgment 
 therefrom, but was content to echo the suggestions of Dinwiddie, 
 whose object was thus attained. Strengthened by this expressed 
 opinion of high authority, the governor at once played the part of 
 a wilful boy, determined to have his own way, right or wrong. He- 
 directed the garrisons to be withdrawn from the smaller frontier 
 forts, and these, with most of the troops at Winchester, were ordered 
 to the almost useless Fort Cumberland, which w r as to become the 
 headquarters of the army. The most exposed points were thus 
 weakened, and an unnecessary force was gathered where it was not 
 needed, and could not be made immediately available in the event 
 of an incursion of the enemy. Thus all the wise plans of Washing 
 ton were deranged and reversed, and the labors of the whole army 
 for many weeks were rendered almost abortive. 
 
 A less patriotic officer than Colonel Washington would have left 
 the service under such trying circumstances, but, true to his instinc 
 tive love of country, his sense of responsibility, and his self-sacrifi 
 cing nature, he stood firm while danger impended, yet not without 
 complaining. To his sympathizing friend, the speaker, he wrote : 
 " The late order reverses, confuses, and incommodes everything ; to 
 say nothing of the extraordinary expense of carriage, disappoint 
 ment, losses, and alterations, which must fall heavy on the country. 
 Whence it arises, or why, I am truly ignorant ; but my strongest 
 representations of matters relative to the peace of the frontiers are 
 
MT. 24.] PAY AND DESERTION. 219 
 
 disregarded, as idle and frivolous ; my propositions and measures, as 
 partial and selfish ; and all my sincerest endeavors for the service 
 of my country are perverted to the worst purposes. My orders are 
 dark, doubtful, and uncertain ; to-day approved, to-morrow con 
 demned. Left to act and proceed at hazard, accountable for the con 
 sequences, and blamed without the benefit of defence, if you can 
 think my situation capable of exciting the smallest degree of envy, 
 or affording the least satisfaction, the truth is yet hidden from you, 
 and you entertain notions very different from the reality of the 
 case. However, I am determined to bear up under all these em 
 barrassments some time longer, in hope of a better regulation on 
 the arrival of Lord Loudoun, to whom I look for the future fate of 
 Virginia." 
 
 Another source of great annoyance to the commander-in-ehief 
 was the prevailing practice of desertion, by which his little army 
 was continually weakened, and its moral stamina assailed. The 
 pay of the soldiers was altogether inadequate ; and in this, as in 
 other appropriations and arrangements made by the assembly, a 
 policy entirely too narrow and parsimonious was pursued. The 
 common soldier received only eight pence per day, out of which 
 two pence were stopped for his clothing. This pay was less than 
 in any other part of the continent. Foreseeing the inevitable dis 
 contents of the soldiers, the assembly had provided for the payment 
 of two hundred pounds of tobacco for every deserter who should be 
 arrested and returned to headquarters. Instead of furnishing Wash 
 ington with means to pay for such deserters immediately, he was 
 only allowed to give the captors certificates of the fact, w r hich w r ere 
 to be presented, in due time and form, to a court of claims, and 
 there must lie, perhaps, as he wrote to Robinson, " till they are quite 
 forgotten." The result was as might have been anticipated. No 
 body would apprehend a deserter. And so much dissatisfaction was 
 created, that Washington expressed his opinion that many, " rather 
 than apprehend one, would aid fifty to escape," and that too among 
 the Virginians. 
 
 It was toward midsummer when Washington commenced in ear- 
 
220 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 nest the erection of the chain of frontier forts already mentioned. 
 He had been waiting week after week for reinforcements from the 
 militia, for there was danger in sending out such small detachments 
 as necessity imposed, in the prosecution of the work. But his calls 
 were almost in vain, while he was continually urged to press for 
 ward the work of frontier defences. The military ardor of " The 
 Gentlemen Associators," who were to assist him, seems to have en 
 tirely subsided, for we hear nothing more of them ; and the direc 
 tion of the chain, and the position of the principal forts, were deter 
 mined by a council of officers called by Washington, who assembled 
 at Fort Cumberland about the first of July. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the enemy had been seen in small bands, hov 
 ering upon the Alleghanies, and striking murderous blows here and 
 there among the more remote frontier settlers. Continual fear 
 chilled the hearts of the few inhabitants who remained west of the 
 Blue Ridge. Soon alarm after alarm came upon almost every 
 breeze from the west and north ; and before the close of summer, 
 the settlers upon the upper waters of the Potomac were flying in 
 great confusion. Conococheague and the surrounding country were 
 entirely deserted, and the inhabitants farther down the Virginia side 
 of the Potomac were in motion. These had appealed to Washing 
 ton for protection, but he was almost powerless. He could not send 
 a sufficient force for the purpose, without suspending the public 
 works, and yet he knew not how to deny the suppliants. " It is 
 with infinite concern," he wrote to Lord Fairfax,* at the close of 
 August, " that I see the distresses of the people and hear their com 
 plaints, without being able to afford them relief." And in the same 
 
 * This was Thomas, the sixth Lord Fairfax, who possessed a tract of land, estimated to contain 
 five millions of acres, lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers, in Virginia, a region 
 known as the Northern Neck. His kinsman, William Fairfax, managed this estate for awhile, and 
 in 1739 Lord Fairfax himself came to Virginia. At the end of a year he returned to England, hut 
 came back in 1745, and remained in Virginia until his death, in 1732, when he was in the ninety- 
 second year of his age. 
 
 Lord Fairfax resided several years with his relative, at his beautiful estate of Belvoir. He finally 
 crossed the Blue Ridge to the Shenandoah valley, built a fine mansion a few miles from Winchester, 
 which he named Greenway Court, and there put a farm under the highest cultivation. There ho 
 lived in plain elegance, and held offices of responsibility. He was lieutenant of Frederick county, 
 presided in the courts at Winchester, and was superintendent of the public roads. He was an ac 
 complished scholar, and was a contributor to the Spectator in eai lier life. 
 
Mr. 24.] TOUR OF OBSERVATION. 221 
 
 letter he urged Fairfax to send him some of the militia of Frederick 
 county, over whom he had control, to save the settlements from 
 total desolation. Fortunately, these incursions of the enemy did 
 not extend far into the settlements, yet the fears of the people were 
 kept continually alive by dreadful forebodings. 
 
 From the beginning, as we have seen, Washington had strongly 
 urged the necessity of acting on the offensive, and, by penetrating 
 the country beyond the Alleghanies with a respectable force, to 
 inspire the invaders with awe, and compel them to remain in the 
 wilderness to defend their own domain. While pursuing the oppo 
 site and temporizing policy dictated by the governor and assembly, 
 he continued to express his convictions, from time to time, as op 
 portunity offered, that the only successful measure of relief for the 
 settlements, and basis for permanent repose, would be a counter- 
 invasion. While at Mount Vernon on private business, toward the 
 close of September, he again pressed this subject upon the governor, 
 in a letter. " We may form many schemes," he said, " to defend 
 ourselves, but experience will show that none but removing the 
 cause of the difficulties [by invading the Ohio region] will prove 
 effectual. Unless the assembly concerts some measures to augment 
 the military force, the country, I fear, must inevitably fall. The 
 frontiers, within twelve months, have been totally deserted for fifty 
 miles and upwards from north to south, and all below that distance 
 
 greatly thinned by the removal of numbers I believe I might 
 
 add," he continued, " that no person, who regards his character, will 
 undertake a command without the means of preserving it; since 
 his conduct is culpable for all misfortunes, and never right but when 
 successful." 
 
 On the twenty-ninth of September, Colonel Washington left Win 
 chester on a tour of observation as far as the southwestern frontier, 
 on the borders of North Carolina. In this tour he visited all of the 
 forts and stockades, and was enabled to form a just opinion of their 
 value as defences, and of the actual condition of the settlers. Dis 
 tress everywhere prevailed. The Indians had broken into almost 
 every little settlement, and had spread death and desolation, with 
 
222 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 the knife and torch, along the whole western frontier of Virginia. 
 He found the garrisons in wretched condition. The men were few, 
 idle, insubordinate, and improvident. None of the forts were in a 
 posture of defence, and the Indians often murdered helpless women 
 near them, or carried off children and property from the very gates 
 of the stockades. They kept no guard, few of the captains were on 
 duty, and many private soldiers were away on leave, attending to 
 their personal affairs. The soldiers often refused assistance to a 
 neighboring garrison when assailed, and the inhabitants were taught 
 by these delinquencies to regard them as burdens to themselves 
 and the colony, rather than as defenders. 
 
 The militia, drafted generally for only one month s duty, were 
 no better. They were always tardy in their movements, wasteful 
 of provisions, " obstinate, self-willed, perverse, of little or no service 
 to the people, and very burdensome to the country."* Upon them 
 the inhabitants placed no reliance, and so they were literally with 
 out any defenders against the savages. They petitioned Colonel 
 Washington in the most earnest manner for companies of his regi 
 ment, but it was not in his power to assist them. He could only 
 promise to lay their case before the governor and the house of bur 
 gesses, and use his best endeavors to promote effectual measures for 
 their security .f 
 
 After presenting the state of affairs along the frontiers, in graphic 
 detail, to the governor, Washington remarked : " Perhaps it may be 
 thought that I am partial in my relation, and reflect unjustly. I 
 really do not, sir. I scorn to make any unjust remarks on the be 
 havior of the militia, as much as I despise and contemn the persons 
 
 who detract from mine and the character of the regiment. Were 
 
 
 
 * Washington s Report to Governor Dinwiddie. 
 
 t It is proper to state that there were grave difficulties in the way of furnishing soldiers for distant 
 garrisons. The population of Virginia, at that time, was estimated by Governor Dinwiddie to be 
 two hundred and ninety-three thousand, four hundred and seventy-two, of whom one hundred and 
 seventy-three thousand, three hundred and sixteen, were white, and one hundred and twenty thou 
 sand, one hundred and fifty-six, were black. The militia were computed at thirty-five thousand 
 men fit to bear arms. Dinwiddie wrote to one of the British secretaries of state : "We dare not 
 venture to part with any of our white men any distance, as we must have a watchful eye over our 
 negro slaves, who are upwards of one hundred thousand." Sparks Writings of Washington, note, 
 ii., 154. 
 
/ET. 24.] EFFECT OF WASHINGTON S REPORT. 223 
 
 it not, that I consult the good of the public, and think these garri 
 sons merit attention ; I should not deem it worth mentioning. I 
 only wish to make the country sensible, how ardently I have stud 
 ied to promote its cause, and desire very sincerely, that my succes 
 sor may fill my place more to its satisfaction, in every respect, than 
 I have been able to do. I mentioned in my last that I did not 
 think a less number than two thousand men would be sufficient to 
 defend our extensive and much-exposed frontiers from the ravages 
 of the enemy. I have not had one reason to alter my opinion, 
 but many to strengthen and confirm it. And I flatter myself that 
 the country will, when my determinations are known, be convinced 
 that I have no sinister views, no vain motives of commanding a 
 number of men, w r hich urge me to recommend this number ; but 
 that it proceeds from the knowledge I have acquired of the country 
 and people to be defended." In a subsequent letter upon the same 
 subject, he remarked : " As defensive measures are evidently insuffi 
 cient for the security and safety of the country, I hope no argu 
 ments are requisite to prove the necessity of altering them to a 
 vigorous offensive war, in order to remove the evil." 
 
 This last letter here referred to was accompanied by the report of 
 a council of officers, which had been held at Fort Cumberland, pur 
 suant to a proposition of Dinwiddie himself. In that report the 
 policy of retaining Fort Cumberland was impliedly though not ex 
 plicitly condemned. On the back of the report, Washington had 
 written his own views, and suggested the propriety of erecting a 
 fortress in its stead near the Little Meadows, at the joint expense 
 of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, whose frontiers were 
 equally exposed to the enemy. This expression of opinion by 
 Washington the governor chose to consider impertinent, while the 
 colonel s report of his tour of observation, further irritated the gov 
 ernor because it confirmed the superior judgment of the young 
 commander-in-chief, and loudly condemned the actions of Dinwiddie 
 and the assembly. 
 
 The governor s reply was discourteous and evidently ill-humored, 
 and elicited from Washington a rejoinder full of dignity, and mer- 
 
224 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 ited rebuke for the insolent executive. It was written at Alexan 
 dria, on the twenty-fourth of November. After disclaiming any 
 disrespect to superiors, he proceeded to vindicate his course. Hav 
 ing referred to his services in making the dangerous and fatiguing 
 tour to the southwest, for no other purpose than the public good, 
 Colonel Washington remarked : " I am sorry to find that this, and 
 my best endeavors of late, meet with unfavorable constructions. 
 What it proceeds from, I know not. If my open and disinterested 
 way of writing and speaking has the air of pertness and freedom, 
 I shall correct my error by acting reservedly, and I shall take care 
 to obey my orders without offering anything more." He then pro 
 ceeded to comply with Dinwiddie s peremptory orders to march with 
 the greater portion of his force at Winchester to Fort Cumberland, 
 and make that his headquarters, leaving the far more important 
 post of Fort Loudoun with a weak garrison in command of a sub 
 altern, and a vast amount of public stores destitute of all protection. 
 " So," Washington said, in the letter just quoted from, " if I comply 
 with my orders, which I shall literally do, if I can, not a man will 
 be left there to secure the works, or defend the king s stores, which 
 are almost wholly removed to that place." 
 
JEr. 24.] THE PENNSYLVANIA FRONTIER. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 INDIAN DEPREDATIONS ON THE PENNSYLVANIA FRONTIER ARMSTRONG S EXPE 
 DITION DESTRUCTION OP KITTANNING GOOD EFFECTS OF THIS CHASTISE 
 MENT DECLARATION OF WAR BY ENGLAND AND FRANCE ASPECT OF THE 
 
 ANGLO-AMERICAN COLONIES PREPARATIONS FOR THE CAMPAIGN OF 1755 
 
 FRENCH FORTIFICATIONS THE ROYAL AMERICAN REGIMENT TARDINESS OF 
 
 BRITISH COMMANDERS PROVINCIAL TROOPS AT ALBANY DIFFICULTIES RE 
 SPECTING RANK FATAL DELAYS IMPORTANCE AND EXPOSURE OF OSWEGO 
 
 MOVEMENTS OF MONTCALM CAPTURE OF OSWEGO ABANDONMENT OF NOR 
 THERN EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 WHILE the settlers along the frontiers of Virginia were suffering 
 dreadfully from continual fear and frequent invasions, their imme 
 diate neighbors in Maryland and Pennsylvania were equally an 
 noyed by the foe. King Shingis, the head sachem of the Delawares, 
 already mentioned as Washington s ally in 1753, was now active 
 with the French. He was small in person but great in prowess, 
 always cruel and relentless, and continually thirsted for blood and 
 plunder. He and another chief made their power felt all over the 
 region westward of the Susquehanna. Toward the close of 1755, 
 they led their warriors eastward, and desolated the settlements 
 almost to the Delaware river. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1756 these depredations were renewed by 
 parties of French and Indians. To guard against them, the prov 
 ince of Pennsylvania erected a chain of forts and blockhouses along 
 the Kit tanning hills from the Delaware river to the Maryland line ;* 
 and eight companies, commanded by Colonel John Armstrong, of 
 Carlisle, were established in the country west of the Susquehanna. 
 Yet these forts and troops did not fully protect the inhabitants. 
 
 * These fortifications were erected under the direction of Dr. Franklin, who had accepted a colo 
 nel s commission, and undertook the command of the volunteer militia on the frontier. These vol 
 unteers did not meet the expectations of the people in general, and Franklin soon discovering that 
 he was not particularly fitted for military command, retired from office. 
 
 15 
 
226 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 The foe was wary and expert ; and Captain Jacobs, one of the most 
 desperate of the Delaware chiefs, boasted with some truth that he 
 could " take any fort that would catch fire." Scalping-parties swept 
 through the valleys of the Kiskiminitas and Juniata, and over the 
 adjacent country, almost to Fort Cumberland. In July they ap 
 peared in Sherman s valley ; and, storming Fort Granby, at Lewis- 
 town, they carried away many prisoners to their chief town of Kit- 
 tanning, on the Alleghany river. In these incursions from the west, 
 the Indians had killed full one thousand frontier settlers. 
 
 A thorough chastisement of the marauders was now determined 
 upon; and at the close of August, Colonel Armstrong, with two 
 hundred and eighty provincials, marched from Fort Shirley, on the 
 Juniata, to destroy the nest of bloody vultures a,t Kittanning. He 
 was accompanied by Captain Hugh Mercer, who longed to serve his 
 country, and to avenge the blood of his companions that had flowed 
 so freely upon the banks of the Monongahela the year before. Kap- 
 idly and stealthily the avengers marched over the lofty ridges and 
 through the dark defiles of the Alleghanies, and on the evening of 
 the seventh of September they arrived near the doomed Indian vil 
 lage. The savages, unsuspicious of danger, were gathered arovmd 
 fires near by, and with whoops, and yells, and stirring songs, were 
 celebrating their murderous exploits, by the horrid scalp-dance. 
 The night wore away, their orgies ceased, the fires burned low; 
 some of the Indians retired to their huts, and others lay down and 
 fell asleep by the smouldering embers ; the bright moon went down 
 behind the hills, and all was dark and silent. 
 
 Dividing his little army, Colonel Armstrong directed the attack 
 to be made simultaneously against the huts and the sleepers in the 
 open air. At the first fire, the whole village was aroused. The 
 women and children fled to the woods, and the warriors, encouraged 
 by the voice of Captain Jacobs, fought desperately, and slew several 
 of their assailants. The huts were fired by the provincials, and 
 Jacobs was summoned to surrender. He proudly refused, saying, 
 "I am a man, and will not be a prisoner." "Then you will be 
 burnt," answered his summoner. "Not till I have killed four or 
 
JEr. 24.] DESTRUCTION OF KITTANNING. 227 
 
 five !" he said. Then the flames crept from roof to roof, and in the 
 house of Jacobs, which began to glow with heat, a warrior chanted 
 the defiant death-song. At length the fire and smoke expelled the 
 Indians. Some were shot, and others escaped. Among the former 
 was the savage leader, and also his giant son, a young warrior seven 
 feet in height, who had distinguished himself at Fort Granby. Soon 
 all the dwellings, thirty in number, were in flames ; and when the 
 sun arose, Kittanning was a smoking ruin, and amid the ashes lay 
 nearly forty of the slain savages. Eleven white prisoners were 
 released, and the victory was complete. 
 
 The provincials did not escape unharmed. Seventeen of them 
 were killed, thirteen were wounded, and nineteen were missing at 
 roll-call. Among the wounded was Captain Mercer, who was left 
 behind, and, after a slow and solitary journey through the wilder 
 ness, he reached Fort Cumberland when almost famished. God, in 
 his wisdom, had preserved him for a nobler martyrdom in the ser 
 vice of his country twenty years later, when he fell in battle at 
 Princeton. 
 
 This chastisement of the Indians was effectual, and secured peace 
 to the Pennsylvania frontier for some time.* The savages were 
 thoroughly alarmed. It was the first time that the war had been 
 carried into their country, where they fancied themselves secure, 
 and it had precisely the effect which always presented itself to the 
 mind of Washington, when urging upon the Virginia authorities 
 the necessity of offensive measures. Had those authorities listened 
 
 * The city council of Philadelphia passed a vote of thanks to Colonel Armstrong and his officers 
 for their gallant services, and presented the commander with a piece of plate and a silver medal. 
 On one side of the medal was the device of an officer followed by two soldiers ; the officer pointing 
 to a soldier shooting from behind a tree, and an Indian prostrate before him. In the background, 
 Indian houses in flames are seen. The legend was, " Kittanning destroyed by Colonel Armstrong, 
 September, 1756." On the reverse were the arms of the corporation of the city of Philadelphia, 
 consisting of four devices : on the right, a ship under full sail ; on the left, a pair of scales, equally 
 balanced ; above the ship a wheat-sheaf, and over the scales two hands clasped. A medal was also 
 given to each of the officers. 
 
 When the War for Independence broke out, Colonel Armstrong was appointed a brigadier-gen 
 eral in the Pennsylvania continental line, and did gallant service in defence of Fort Moultrie, at 
 Charleston, in the summer of 1776. In 1777, he was engaged in the battles of Brandywine and 
 Germantown, when, becoming dissatisfied concerning some promotions in the army, he resigned his 
 military commission, and accepted that of a member of the continental Congress. He died at Car 
 lisle, Pennsylvania, on the ninth of March, 1795. 
 
228 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 to his judicious advice, a vast amount of blood and treasure might 
 have been saved. 
 
 At the North, the intercolonial struggle was carried on with con 
 siderable vigor during the year 1756. Until the spring of that 
 year, the war was confined to America, and there was nominal 
 amity between the governments of France and England. But 
 when intelligence of the capture of the Lys and Alcide by Admiral 
 Boscawen reached France, the king ordered the French minister in 
 London to leave England. At the same time, the British govern 
 ment issued letters of general marque and reprisal. And, perceiv 
 ing no prospect of a peaceful termination of difficulties, the English 
 monarch, on the seventeenth of May, published a declaration of war 
 against the king of France.* The gauntlet was taken up by Louis 
 on the ninth of June, and soon the fleets and armies of the two 
 nations were in motion. 
 
 At this time the Anglo-American colonies presented a curious 
 political spectacle. They were separate provinces, having individ 
 ual and isolated interests, and yet there was a strong bond of union, 
 wrought by common commercial and other interests and by com 
 mon dangers, which was strengthening every hour. Left to their 
 own resources in the pursuits of industry and of practical jurispru 
 dence, and separated from the old dynasties by a stormy ocean three 
 thousand miles in breadth, democratic ideas had taken vigorous root 
 and were growing apace in every part of the continent where Eng 
 lish settlements existed, unshadowed by feudal institutions and un- 
 trampled by military despotism. Sagacious statesmen in the mother- 
 country, proud of Britain s power, perceived and deprecated this 
 growth ; and loyal minds, who regarded the integrity of the British 
 realm with reverence, already began to have forebodings of future 
 discontents in America, and predicted the final independence of the 
 colonies. It was even proposed to send over a member of the royal 
 
 * On hearing of this event, Washington inquired of the governor of Virginia "If war is to be 
 declared at this place [his headquarters at Winchester], I should be glad if your honor would direct 
 the manner. I know there is ceremony required, but the order I am ignorant of." Dinwiddie an 
 swered : " The method, by which you are to declare war, is at the head of your companies, with 
 three volleys of small-arms for his majesty s health and a successful war." 
 
JET. 24.] ROYAL AMERICAN REGIMENT. 229 
 
 house, to become a viceroy or an absolute sovereign of all the 
 English colonies in America, in order to prevent a total political 
 dissolution. 
 
 The northern expeditions planned by the council of governors at 
 New York, near the close of 1755, were set in motion as early as 
 circumstances would allow. To excite the colonists to fresh and 
 stronger efforts, Parliament voted one hundred and fifteen thousand 
 pounds sterling (over half a million of dollars) as a reimbursement 
 to the provinces whose men and treasure were employed in the 
 defeat of Dieskau. Other parliamentary grants, for a similar pur 
 pose, were promised, and the king was authorized to cause the 
 enlistment in America of a corps composed of four battalions of one 
 thousand men each, to be named the Royal American regiment. 
 He was also authorized to appoint seventy officers in this regiment 
 from among the foreign protestants settled and naturalized in 
 America, and to confer power upon them to enlist indented servants 
 by paying their masters.* These latter measures produced much 
 dissatisfaction in the colonies, because the provincial officers, who 
 were generally natives, would not be chosen, and because equal 
 enlistment privileges were not given to them. Washington urged 
 Governor Dinwiddie to authorize such enlistment by Virginia offi 
 cers. u If we had this privilege," he said, " we could soon complete 
 the regiment ; and I doubt not but his majesty would order them 
 to be paid for, if we enlist them, as soon as for the regulars ; nay, 
 should he not, the ten pounds fine*]- through the country would go 
 a considerable way towards it. And this we may depend upon, if 
 we have not this liberty granted us, the servants will all run off to 
 the regular officers, who are recruiting around us." But Dinwiddie 
 refused to listen to these suggestions, being more desirous of pleas- 
 
 * These servants were European immigrants, whose services were purchased for a term of years, 
 from themselves, or from the masters of vessels who brought them over, and to whom they were 
 indebted for their passage-money. If they were above nineteen years of age, they could be required 
 to serve only five years, except in specified cases ; if under nineteen, the term of such sendee was 
 limited to the age of twenty-four years. They were exempt from military duty during such service, 
 and upon no account could they be sold as slaves. See Hening s Statutes of Virginia, vi., 356. 
 
 t This was a fine imposed upon such drafted militia as refused to march. It was so low, that 
 many of the drafts preferred to pay it, and stay at home. Sparks s Writings of Washington, note, 
 ii., 169. 
 
230 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 ing the crown than of benefiting the colony. On the contrary, he 
 endeavored, but unsuccessfully, to prevail on the assembly to draft 
 militia for the Koyal regiment. 
 
 Although the earl of Loudoun* had been appointed to the chief 
 command in America as early as February, some hinderances on 
 the part of the government, and his habits of procrastination, pre 
 vented his departure until May, and he did not arrive until July. 
 And April was almost gone before General Abercrombie, Loudoun s 
 lieutenant, who had been ordered forward with troops to take tem 
 porary command, sailed from England. He arrived at New York 
 in June, and was met by strong recommendations of Colonel Wash 
 ington as worthy of promotion in the British establishment. But 
 jealousy of the provincials made England confide more in foreign 
 ers than in Americans ; and the merits of Colonel Washington found 
 in the arrogant officials who came over no generous appreciation 
 and response. Their faces were always turned toward the sun of 
 royalty, in whose beams they basked, and autocracy was their high 
 est ideal of power. " I find," Abercrombie said to Alexander Colden, 
 " you will never be able to carry on anything to any purpose in 
 America, till you have a viceroy or superintendent over all the 
 provinces." At that very moment the young Virginian of less than 
 four-and-twenty summers, whose brilliant achievements in the midst 
 of obstacles were the admiration of his countrymen, was a far wiser 
 and more skilful military commander than the conceited Scotchman 
 of middle age who affected a contempt for all provincial officers 
 wiser and more skilful, indeed, than the old titled commander-in- 
 chief, who was to " produce a great change in affairs." 
 
 * John Campbell, fourth earl of Loudoun, was one of the sixteen Scotch peers, and was born in 
 the year 1705. He succeeded to the title of his father in 1731, and in 1745 he raised a regiment of 
 Highlanders for the crown, to oppose the young Pretender, He was appointed colonel of the regi 
 ment in April of that year, but his services appear to have been of little use. In February, 1755, 
 he was appointed major-general, and in December following he received the commission of colonel 
 of the Royal American regiment of four thousand men to be raised in America. His career during 
 his stay in the colonies was marked by arrogance and inefficiency ; and yet, lacking as he was in mili 
 tary skill, courage, and even in integrity it is said, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general 
 in 1758. It was fortunate for the colonies that he was recalled to England. A few years later he 
 was appointed governor of Edinburgh castle; and in 1770 he became colonel of a regiment of foot 
 guards, and a general in the army. Lord Loudoun was never married. He died at Loudoun castle, 
 in Ayrshire, in April, 1782, at the age of seventy-seven years. 
 
MT. 24.] UNPROFITABLE DISPUTES. 231 
 
 Abercrombie, like his superior, moved slowly. He loitered in 
 New York awhile, and toward the close of June he reached Albany, 
 where Major-General Winslow, a great-grandson of the second gov 
 ernor of Plymouth, who had been appointed to command the expe 
 dition against Crown Point, was anxiously awaiting his arrival, with 
 about seven thousand provincial troops. This number was inade 
 quate for the service, and he hoped that the reinforcement of the 
 three thousand regulars who came with Abercrombie would ena 
 ble him to march immediately toward Lake Champlain. A road 
 through the forests had been cut the previous year, and there 
 seemed nothing to prevent a successful attack upon Crown Point. 
 But Winslow was doomed to disappointment and mortification. 
 The haughty Abercrombie, who outranked and superseded Shirley, 
 resolved that regular officers alone should command the provincials, 
 and that the English troops should be quartered in the houses of 
 the inhabitants. These measures were very offensive to the mili 
 tary and the people ; and Winslow assured Abercrombie that if his 
 resolution respecting rank and command should be adhered to, he 
 might expect very extensive desertions from the army. Abercrom 
 bie was obstinate, and the difficulties growing out of this matter 
 caused much delay. These had just been compromised, when the 
 earl of Loudoun arrived at New York, with a commission that gave 
 him power almost equal to that of a viceroy. There he also loi 
 tered, and with haughty words sought to awe the provincials into 
 submission to his demands concerning rank. He soon perceived 
 that he was dealing with men men of thought and manly inde 
 pendence and not with mere fighting-machines. They respect 
 fully but firmly informed his lordship that they were willing to act 
 in conjunction with the royal forces, but not under the control of 
 the subordinate royal officers, and entreated him to allow them to 
 act separately, so far as might be consistent with the interests of his 
 majesty s service. This was finally granted, and all disputes were 
 satisfactorily settled.* 
 
 While precious time was thus wasted in disputations and personal 
 
 * Graham s Colonial History of the United States, ii., 259. 
 
232 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 affairs, the public service had greatly suffered, and the French, prof 
 iting by the delay, had secured vast advantages. They had been 
 busy in making preparations for a desperate struggle for supremacy, 
 and, while the English were literally slumbering, they were at work. 
 They had erected a chain of forts in the West, from the lakes to 
 the Mexican gulf;* and at this time they had no less than sixty 
 stockades and other smaller fortifications in Canada, the most of 
 them having flourishing settlements around them. The French had 
 been busy, too, in strengthening their bonds of alliance with various 
 Indian tribes, and in weakening the faith of others, who seemed to 
 be disposed to remain neutral, in the friendship of the English. 
 
 The marquis de Montcalm, a descendant of a noble French family, 
 and who had been promoted by degrees to the dignity of a field- 
 marshal, had succeeded Dieskau in the chief command of the French 
 forces in Canada. He was small in stature, but had a deservedly 
 high reputation for vigor and military ability ; and his movements, 
 like his conversation, were rapid and nervous. 
 
 Before Montcalm s arrival at Quebec, small parties of -French 
 troops at Montreal had penetrated the country south and east ot 
 Lake Ontario, and hovered around the passes of the Onondaga river 
 to intercept supplies for the English garrison at Oswego. In spite 
 of these, the brave and energetic Bradstreet, of New York, who had 
 been appointed commissary general, had thrown into the fort there 
 sufficient provisions for five thousand men for six months, and a 
 great quantity of military stores. In these perilous labors he was 
 accompanied by Philip Schuyler, the great patriot of the Revolution, 
 who then took his earliest practical lessons in the art of war. This 
 service was all accomplished early in July, and Shirley urged Aber- 
 crombie to send forward two battalions for the protection of Oswego. 
 But that tardy and overbearing general was thinking more of his 
 
 * According to Governor Pownall, who drew his facts from letters of Governor Vaudreuil, the 
 French employed about two thousand soldiers in the western forts and settlements. At New Or 
 leans, there were three hundred French and seventy-five Swiss soldiers. At Mobile, the French 
 and Swiss numbered four hundred and seventy-five. In the Illinois country, there were three hun 
 dred ; in Arkansas, fifty; in Natchez, fifty; in Natchitoches, fifty; at Point Coupe, fifty; and in a 
 German settlement, fifty. These had great influence over the western tribes ; and Vaudreuil says 
 that at annual meetings or treaties, three thousand Indians would sometimes be present. 
 
Mr. 24.] THE ENGLISH AT OSWEGO. 233 
 
 own authority than the security of important posts ; and he actu 
 ally ordered a survey of Albany, that it might be ditched and stock 
 aded, while the necessities of the frontier were urging him thither. 
 
 Thus left exposed, Oswego became an object of prey for the ac 
 tive and far-sighted Montcalm. While the English army, ten thou 
 sand strong, lay idle at Albany, suffering from small-pox and want 
 of provisions, that active officer ascended the St. Lawrence from 
 Montreal, with five thousand regulars, Canadians, and Indians ; and, 
 crossing Lake Ontario from Frontenac (now Kingston), he landed 
 stealthily behind a wooded cape a few miles below Oswego. 
 
 As early as 1727, Governor Burnet had built and armed at his 
 own expense a small fort at Oswego, and then, for the first time, the 
 British flag was seen upon the shores of Lake Ontario. The French 
 and the Six Nations demurred, but the English flag was never struck 
 from that time until 1756, and had floated over a competent garri 
 son and well-armed fortress during that whole period. In the mean 
 while, the French had built Fort Niagara, and also Fort Frederick 
 on Lake Champlain. In 1755, Governor Shirley strengthened the 
 post at Oswego. The old fort was a strong stone building, on the 
 west side of the harbor, surrounded by a heavy wall, and flanked 
 by four bastions. Shirley erected another of huge logs on the high 
 eastern bank of the harbor, made a wide and deep ditch and heavy 
 wall around it, and called it Fort Ontario. This new fortification 
 had barracks for three hundred men, and full that number were 
 now in garrison there. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Mercer was the commander at Oswego. When 
 he discovered Montcalm, he sent out a brigantine and other armed 
 vessels to keep the French from approaching Oswego by water. 
 The brigantine was driven ashore in a gale, and the heavy guns of 
 the invaders compelled the other vessels to retire. In the mean 
 while, the French besieging cannons were transported to within a 
 short distance of Fort Ontario, and Montcalm s motley army pressed 
 steadily through the woods to invest that post. At midnight, on the 
 twelfth of August, trenches were opened under cover of thirty-two 
 pieces of cannon and several mortars and howitzers, and at dawn 
 
234 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 the garrison commenced a fire upon the besiegers. All day the 
 contest raged, and ceased not until eleven o clock at night, when 
 the scanty ammunition of the garrison was exhausted. Perceiving 
 no possibility of longer defending the post, they spiked the guns, 
 and fled across the river at midnight to the old fort, without losing 
 a man. 
 
 Montcalm took possession of Fort Ontario on the morning of the 
 fourteenth, and opened a heavy cannonade upon the doomed for 
 tress on the opposite side of the harbor. In the meantime, twenty- 
 five hundred Canadians and Indians had crossed the Oswego river 
 by swimming, and cut off all communication between its mouth and 
 Fort George, a small stockade four miles above, commanded by 
 Colonel Schuyler. The English at Oswego could now make but 
 little resistance. At eight o clock a round shot killed Colonel Mer 
 cer, and at ten a white flag, in token of submission, was hoisted upon 
 the walls of Fort Oswego, and the drums of the garrison beat a 
 chamade, or parley.* A capitulation was soon agreed upon. The 
 terms were honorable to both parties. The English were to be 
 exempted from plunder, treated with humanity, and conducted in 
 safety to Montreal. " They shall be shown all the regard the po 
 litest nation can show," said Montcalm; and he added "The Eng 
 lish are an enemy to be esteemed, and none but a brave nation 
 would have thought of defending so weak a place so long."f About 
 sixteen hundred brave Englishmen, of the regiments of Shirley and 
 Pepperell, became prisoners-of-war ; and a large quantity of arms, 
 ammunition, and stores, with vessels in the harbor, passed into the 
 hands of the French. 
 
 Montcalm immediately demolished the forts at Oswego. For 
 thirty years the English flag, floating over an armed trading-station, 
 had been an object of uneasiness to the Six Nations. Montcalm 
 knew this, and, with the policy of a sagacious mind, he swept every 
 vestige of English power from the country of the Iroquois con- 
 
 * Montcalm s despatch. 
 
 t Graham says that Montcalm was faithless ; that he "instantly delivered up twenty of his pris 
 oners to the Indians who accompanied him, as victims to their vengeance for an equal number of 
 their own race who had perished in the siege." He adds that almost all of the prisoners were plun 
 dered, many were scalped, and some murdered. Colonial History of the United States, ii., 259. 
 
ZEr. 24.] FAILURES OF THE ENGLISH. 235 
 
 federacy. With his prisoners and followers he went down Ontario 
 and the St. Lawrence, leaving the Indians in full possession of their 
 domain. This act caused the Six Nations to become neutral ; and 
 ere long four members of the confederacy the Oneidas, Ononda- 
 gas, Cayugas, and Senecas were wholly seduced from the British 
 interest by French emissaries. 
 
 The capture and destruction of Oswego alarmed the English com 
 mander, and all aggressive movements were suspended. The plans 
 of Lord Loudoun, if he had any definite ones, were all thrown into 
 confusion ; and, after a season of indolence and indecision, he or 
 dered an abandonment of the proposed expedition against Crown 
 Point. Finally, the provincials were disbanded and sent home, the 
 regulars were placed in winter quarters, and the French were 
 allowed to proceed in the erection of Fort Ticonderoga, on Lake 
 Champlain, without molestation. Small garrisons were placed in 
 Forts Edward and William Henry, and a thousand regulars were 
 marched to New York and quartered gratuitously upon the inhabit 
 ants. The projected expedition up the Kennebec terminated in a 
 mere exploration of the country by a harmless scout ; the enter 
 prise against Fort Duquesne, as we have seen, was not carried into 
 effect ; and the inefficiency of British commanders, reflecting the 
 imbecility of the imperial government at that time, interfered with 
 the wiser counsels and zealous aspirations of the provincials, defeated 
 every cherished purpose of the campaign, and brought disgrace 
 upon the English name. 
 
236 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. L 1757. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIY. 
 
 WASHINGTON MISREPRESENTED DINWIDDIE s FEARS WASHINGTON S LETTER 
 TO LORD LOUDOUN HE ATTENDS THE COUNCIL AT PHILADELPHIA HIS DIS 
 APPOINTMENT CHARACTER OF LORD LOUDOUN WASHINGTON RETURNS TO 
 
 WINCHESTER HIS DISGUST WITH THE SERVICE IS PLACED UNDER THE 
 
 COMMAND OF COLONEL STANWIX STILL ANNOYED BY THE GOVERNOR DIN- 
 
 WIDDIE S DISCOURTESY AND WASHINGTON S DIGNITY A SLANDER REPELLED 
 THE REGIMENT WEAKENED DISTRESS OF THE INHABITANTS WASHINGTON S 
 
 FAILING HEALTH HE RETIRES TO MOUNT VERNON LONG SICKNESS DE 
 PARTURE OF DINWIDDIE. 
 
 WE have already noticed the order of Loudoun respecting Fort 
 Cumberland, which contained an implied censure of Washington. 
 That young commander felt it keenly, and was satisfied that mis 
 representations had been made to his lordship. Late in December, 
 he wrote to Dinwiddie : " I have read that paragraph in Lord Lou- 
 doun s letter, which you were pleased to send me, over and over 
 
 again, but am unable to comprehend its meaning I see with 
 
 much regret, that he seems to have prejudged my proceedings, 
 without being thoroughly informed of the springs and motives that 
 actuated my conduct. How far I have mistaken the means to rec 
 ommend my services, I know not ; but I am certain of this, that no 
 man ever intended better, or studied the interests of my country 
 with more zeal, than I have done ; and nothing gives me greater 
 uneasiness and concern than that his lordship should have imbibed 
 prejudices so unfavorable to my character, as to excite his belief 
 that I was capable of doing anything that will have a bad effect as 
 to the Dominion,* and no good appearance at home. " In this letter, 
 
 * " The Dominion" was a term frequently applied to Virginia in colonial times, and we now 
 hear it called " The Old Dominion." This term originated in the fact that Governor Berkeley, in 
 1660, on hearing of the probable restoration of Charles the Second to the throne of his father, pro 
 claimed him king of England, Scotland, France, Ireland, and Virginia. Charles was therefore 
 made king, in Virginia, by the supreme authorities of the colony, before he actually became so in 
 
JEr. 25.] LETTER TO LORD LOUDOUN 237 
 
 "Washington expressed a desire to see Lord Loudoun as early as 
 possible, and repeated his request for permission to meet his lord 
 ship at Alexandria, on the occasion of his expected visit to Yirginia. 
 To this the governor was averse, for he evidently felt a conscious 
 ness of guilt, and a fear that his own hand would be chiefly and pal 
 pably seen in the work of misrepresentation. For this reason he 
 sought to apply a palliative to soothe the feelings of the injured 
 young soldier. " The paragraph of Lord Loudoun s letter," he wrote 
 to Washington, " was entirely confined to Fort Cumberland ; he was 
 afraid you would have evacuated and dismantled that fort before 
 his letter reached me ; nor can you think that he either prejudges 
 or has a bad opinion of your conduct." 
 
 This half-apologetic and suspicious answer did not satisfy Wash 
 ington, and he determined to seek an opportunity of placing every 
 thing pertaining to his command in a proper light before the earl. 
 Having been informed that his lordship had appointed a meeting 
 with several of the southern governors, to be held at Philadelphia 
 in March, 1757, to consult about measures for the defence of their 
 respective provinces, he asked permission of Governor Dinwiddie to 
 attend it. Leave was ungraciously given. " I can not perceive," 
 wrote the governor in reply, " what service you can be of, in going 
 there ; as the plan concerted will, in course, be communicated to 
 you and the other officers. However, as you seem so earnest to 
 go, I now give you leave." This reply confirmed the suspicions of 
 Washington and his friends that Dinwiddie had made false repre 
 sentations to the earl, and was desirous that they should not meet. 
 
 In February, about a month before the appointed meeting, Wash 
 ington addressed to Lord Loudoun a long and able letter, occupying 
 some fifteen pages of manuscript, in which he gave a brief history 
 of military events in Virginia, and of the part he had acted in them. 
 
 England. When the Virginians were informed that Parliament was about to send a fleet to reduce 
 them to submission, they despatched a messenger in a small ship to Charles, then at Breda, in Flan 
 ders, to invite him to come over and be king of Virginia. He was on the point of sailing, when he 
 was called to the throne of England. In gratitude to Virginia, he caused the arms of that province 
 to be quartered with those of England, Scotland, and Ireland, as an independent member of the 
 empire. From this circumstance, Virginia received the name of " The Dominion." Coins with 
 these quarterings were made as late as 1773. 
 
238 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1757. 
 
 This letter was a lucid exposition of affairs ; concise yet perspicuous, 
 modest yet dignified. After giving a narrative of events, he pro 
 ceeded to point out the serious defects of the militia system, the 
 confusion which its practical operations engendered, and the total 
 inadequacy of the policy pursued by the Virginia government to 
 restore peace and security to the frontiers. He then spoke mod 
 estly of himself, his services and his grievances. He mentioned the 
 ambiguity of the governor s orders, and the uncertainty in which 
 he was frequently left, concerning very important matters, while he 
 was held responsible for "consequences, and blamed without the 
 privilege of defence." "This, my lord," he said, "I beg leave to 
 declare, is at present my situation. Therefore it is not to be won 
 dered at, if, under such peculiar circumstances, I should be sick of 
 a service which promises so little of a soldier s reward. I have long 
 been satisfied of the impossibility of remaining in this service, with 
 out loss of honor. Indeed, I was fully convinced of it before I ac 
 cepted the command a second time, seeing the cloudy prospect 
 before me ; and I did, for this reason, reject the offer, until I was 
 ashamed any longer to refuse, not caring to expose my character 
 to public censure. The solicitations of the country* overcame my 
 objections, and induced me to accept it." 
 
 " Another reason," continued Washington, " has of late operated 
 to continue me in the service until now, and that is, the dawn of 
 hope that arose, when I heard your lordship was destined by his 
 majesty for the important command of his armies in America, and 
 appointed to the government of his dominion of Virginia. Hence 
 it was, that I drew my hopes, and fondly pronounced your lordship 
 our patron." After mentioning the delay of the Virginia authori 
 ties in making a promised and much-needed reorganization of the 
 military establishment, and the assurances of preferment made to 
 him by General Braddock, Washington continued : " I do not know, 
 my lord, in what light this short and disinterested relation may be 
 received ; but it is offered with the utmost candor and submission. 
 
 * In this connection, as in several other letters of Washington from which we have quoted, the 
 word " country" signifies the members of the Virginia assembly. 
 
jET. 25.] WASHINGTON S DISAPPOINTMENT. 239 
 
 It contains no misrepresentations, nor aggravated statements of 
 facts, nor unjust reflections. Virginia is a country young in war, 
 and, until the breaking out of these disturbances, has remained in 
 the most profound and tranquil peace, never studying war nor war 
 fare. It is not therefore to be imagined, that she can fall into the 
 proper measures at once. All that can be expected at her hands, 
 she cheerfully offers the sinews of war and these only want your 
 lordship s ability and experience to be properly applied and directed." 
 
 This able letter, which exhibited the developing germs of a saga 
 cious statesman and skilful soldier, was an influential herald of the 
 young commander s appearance before the earl of Loudoun. It 
 reached the earl, at New York, on the twenty-seventh of February, 
 and his secretary, in acknowledging the receipt of it, wrote "His 
 lordship seems very much pleased with the accounts you have given 
 him of the situation of affairs to the southward." Washington was 
 present at the council held in Philadelphia a little later, when he 
 was very graciously received by Lord Loudoun. The southern gov 
 ernors, too, who were present, and who were familiar with his char 
 acter and services, treated him with marked respect; and Dr. 
 Franklin and his friends cordially welcomed the noble young Vir 
 ginian among them. 
 
 Lord Loudoun consulted "Washington concerning the future dis 
 position of the forces on the frontiers of the southern colonies, and 
 seemed to attach more weight to his opinions on military affairs 
 than to those of any one present. Yet his wishes for the equitable 
 organization of his regiment, so as to have it on the same footing 
 as the regular army, and the desire to have his own and his officers 
 commissions given by the king, were not gratified. Nor were his 
 cherished plans and earnest recommendations for an invasion of the 
 enemy s country, especially in the direction of Fort Duquesne, con 
 sidered favorably. But his views in regard to Fort Cumberland 
 that bone of contention between himself and the governor were 
 adopted ; and it was agreed that that post should be garrisoned by 
 Maryland forces, and that the Virginia troops, provisions, and stores, 
 should be removed to Fort Loudoun. 
 
240 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1757. 
 
 Washington experienced great disappointment in his personal 
 interview with Lord Loudoun, and he went back to Virginia with a 
 heavy heart. At the close of that interview, instead of regarding 
 his lordship as the destined savior of the colonies, he was constrained 
 to feel that their cause, in such keeping, was a hopeless one. In 
 this feeling the best men in America sympathized with him. Al 
 ready Loudoun s conduct at New York, and in the council composed 
 of the governors of Nova Scotia and the New England provinces, 
 which was held at Boston in January, had provoked the contempt, 
 jealousy, and disgust, of the colonists. He was imperious arid un 
 dignified; always hurried and hurrying others, yet making little 
 progress in the despatch of business ; quick, and forward to project 
 and threaten, but infirm, remiss, and mutable, in pursuit and execu 
 tion ; impotent against the enemy he was sent to vanquish, and for 
 midable only to the spirit of liberty which pervaded the colonies, 
 and which he could not appreciate.* " He is like St. George upon 
 a sign-post," said a gentleman to Franklin "always on horseback, 
 but never advancing." Afterward, in referring to Loudoun and his 
 operations, Franklin said : " On the whole, I wondered much how 
 such a man came to be intrusted with so important a business as 
 the conduct of a great army ; but having since seen more of the 
 great world, and the means of obtaining and motives for giving 
 places and employments, my wonder is diminished."-)- 
 
 Washington returned to Winchester, from the conference at Phil 
 adelphia, and resumed his duties, but not without feelings of regret 
 that such unwise counsels controlled the affairs of his country. Con 
 fined to comparatively inactive service without respite, to the seri 
 ous injury of his private affairs, his situation became irksome in the 
 extreme. In a letter to his kinsman and correspondent in London, 
 written in April, 1757, giving him reasons for long silence, Wash 
 ington wrote : " I have been posted, then, for twenty months past, 
 upon our cold and barren frontiers, to perform, I think I may say, 
 impossibilities; that is, to protect from the cruel incursions of a 
 
 * Graham s Colonial History of the United States, ii., 262. 
 t Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin, written by Himself. 
 
COLONEL STANWIX. 24] 
 
 crafty, savage enemy, a line of inhabitants more than three hundred 
 and fifty miles in extent, with a force inadequate to the task. By 
 this means I am become, in a manner, an exile." 
 
 Although tired and often disgusted with the service, Colonel 
 Washington s love of country and estimate of true honor outweighed 
 all personal considerations, and he remained at his post of duty, 
 faithful and vigilant, until near the close of the year. During all 
 that time, he was continually harassed and perplexed. Kefused a 
 position in the regular army, he was nevertheless placed, in a meas 
 ure, under the commands of Colonel Stanwix, who w T as stationed in 
 the interior of Pennsylvania with five companies of the Royal Amer 
 ican regiment, to defend the frontiers of that colony. But so am 
 biguous were the instructions of Dinwiddie concerning this relation 
 ship to the regular service, that Washington was at a loss to know 
 to what extent he must obey Stanwix rather than the governor of 
 Virginia, when their orders should conflict Finally, in reply to 
 the urgent request of Washington that he should be explicit, Din 
 widdie wrote, in June : " Colonel Stanwix being appointed com- 
 mander-in-chief of the middle and southern provinces, you must 
 submit to his orders without regard to any you may receive from 
 me ; he being nearer the place [Fort Cumberland], can direct affairs 
 better than I can." This letter gave Washington great pleasure. 
 He knew Colonel Stanwix to be a gentleman of culture, urbanity, 
 generosity, and delicacy of feeling ; above all, he was an educated 
 military man, and could understand the needs and difficulties of 
 the service in which the young Virginian was engaged. 
 
 Washington now fondly hoped to be rid of the vexatious inter 
 ference of the weak Dinwiddie. But this hope proved fallacious. 
 That functionary seemed to take special delight in annoying Colo 
 nel Washington. Notwithstanding his explicit order just quoted, 
 he continued to harass him with despatches which conveyed com 
 mands, required returns, or uttered complaints, until the patience 
 of Washington was well-nigh exhausted. Unmanly peevishness and 
 ungenerous censoriousness characterized many of his despatches. 
 At one time he complained that Washington wrote to him " in a 
 
 16 
 
 I 
 
24i> WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1757. 
 
 loose manner ;" at another, the explicit and earnest recommenda 
 tions of the young soldier were considered impertinent ; and when 
 Washington asked permission, after long and laborious service, to 
 visit Mount Vernon, for the purpose of attending to some private 
 affairs, the reasonable request was peremptorily denied with words 
 of discourtesy that no true gentleman would use. And finally, in 
 the autumn, when Dinwiddie was making preparations to leave the 
 province, and Washington wrote "I should be glad of liberty to 
 go down to Williamsburg toward the last of this month [October], 
 or first of the next, if nothing should intervene, to settle some ac 
 counts with you and the committee, which may not be done in so 
 satisfactory a manner after you are gone" the unmannerly gov 
 ernor replied : " I can not agree to allow you to come down at this 
 time. You have been frequently indulged with leave of absence. 
 You know the fort is to be finished, and I fear when you are away 
 little will be done ; and surely the commanding officer should not 
 be absent when daily alarmed with the enemy s intentions to invade 
 our frontiers, and I think you were wrong in asking it. You have 
 no accounts that I know of to settle with me ; and what accounts 
 you may have to settle with the country may be done at a more 
 proper time." 
 
 And yet, after having, from the hour of Washington s appoint 
 ment as commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces, exhibited an 
 unfriendly spirit towards him ; had sought to disparage him and 
 drive him into private life, and had harassed him with almost un 
 ceasing annoyances in the prosecution of his military duties, Din 
 widdie had the effrontery to write : " My conduct to you from the 
 beginning was always friendly ; but you knew I had great reason 
 to suspect you of ingratitude, which I am convinced your own con 
 science and reflection must allow." To this insinuation, Washington 
 replied : " I do not know, that I ever gave your honor cause to sus 
 pect me of ingratitude, a crime I detest, and would most carefully 
 avoid. If an open, disinterested behavior causes offence, I may 
 have offended ; because I have all along laid it down as a maxim, 
 to represent facts freely and impartially, but not more so to others, 
 
far. 26.] A SLANDERER REBUKED. 243 
 
 sir, than to you. If instances of my ungrateful behavior had been 
 particularized, I would have answered them. But I have long been 
 convinced, that my actions and their motives have been maliciously 
 
 misrepresented To give a more succinct account of affairs," he 
 
 said, " than I could in writing, was the principal, among many other 
 reasons, that induced me to ask leave to come down. It was not 
 to enjoy a party of pleasure, that I asked leave of absence. I have 
 indulged with few of those, winter or summer." It was in dignified 
 language like this that Washington always replied, even to the most 
 vexatious letters of the governor. 
 
 A little earlier than this, Washington received a letter informing 
 him that a slanderer had been at the ear of the governor, and had 
 made coarse and severe reflections upon his veracity and honor. 
 That accuser had asserted that Washington had sent to Williams- 
 burg false reports respecting the alarm of the people, for the pur 
 pose of causing the assembly to make large levies in men and 
 money. These slanders, the writer alleged, were believed ; and he 
 asserted that Speaker Robinson had declared that "that piece of 
 deceit, or imposition, had lessened the governor s and some of the 
 leading men s esteem for him." 
 
 Washington immediately enclosed a copy of the letter to Dinwid- 
 die, and said : " I should take it infinitely kind, if your honor would 
 please to inform me, whether a report of this nature was ever made 
 to you ; and in that case, who was the author of it. It is evident, 
 from a variety of circumstances, and especially from the change in 
 your honor s conduct towards me, that some person, as well inclined 
 to detract, but better skilled in the art of detraction, than the au 
 thor of the above stupid scandal, has made free with my character. 
 For I can not suppose, that malice so absurd, so barefaced, so dia 
 metrically opposite to truth, to common policy, and, in short, to 
 everything but villany, as the above is, could impress you with so 
 ill an opinion of my honor and honesty." To this letter the gov 
 ernor replied : " I never heard of it [the slander] before, nor did I 
 ever conceive that you would ever have sent down any alarm with 
 out proper foundation." Under other circumstances, this disclaimer 
 
244 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1757. 
 
 would have been sufficient ; but Washington and his friends had 
 just reason to believe that the governor was utterly insincere. 
 
 In addition to these vexations, Colonel Washington was made to 
 feel keenly his impotence as the defender of his country, because of 
 a lack of means. Instead of having been strengthened, as the dan 
 ger appeared more formidable, he had been weakened. The con 
 vention at Philadelphia decided to draw four hundred men from 
 Washington s regiment for the protection of the frontiers of the 
 more southern colonies, then menaced by a cloud of excited sav 
 ages among whom French emissaries had been for some time work 
 ing with success. And this weakening of his regiment was done at 
 a time when the French and Indians in the Ohio region were again 
 in motion, and threatening the inhabitants w T est of the Blue Eidge 
 with a repetition of former horrors. During the latter part of the 
 summer, and until late in autumn, the settlements along the Vir 
 ginia frontiers were continually excited by a sense of impending 
 danger. 
 
 At that time, Washington with his reduced regiment could have 
 easily captured Fort Duquesne, and established peace and security 
 on the western borders of his province, for the garrison had been 
 weakened by large drafts for the defence of the Canadian frontier, 
 and many of the Indians w T ere upon the war-path in the North. 
 But Washington s urgent advice in the matter was unheeded ; and 
 the savages, emboldened by the inactivity in Virginia and Pennsyl 
 vania, were continually breaking into and plundering the more 
 remote settlements. The provisions for defensive measures were 
 inadequate. " I do not know," Washington wrote to Speaker Rob 
 inson, in October, " on whom these miserable, undone people, are to 
 rely for protection. If the assembly are to give it to them, it is 
 time that measures were at least concerting, and not when they 
 ought to be going into execution, as has always been the case. If 
 they are to seek it from the commander-in-chief, it is time their 
 condition was made known to him ; for I can not forbear repeating 
 again, that while we pursue defensive measures we pursue inevita 
 ble ruin, the loss of the country being the inevitable and fatal con- 
 
Mr. 05.] WASHINGTON S ILLNESS. 245 
 
 sequence. There will be no end to our troubles, while we follow 
 this plan, and every year will increase our expense. This, my dear 
 sir, I urge not only as an officer, but as a friend, who has property 
 in the country, and is unwilling to lose it. This it is, also, that 
 makes me anxious for doing more than barely to represent these 
 matters, which is all that is expected of an officer commanding." 
 To Colonel Stanwix he wrote : " I exert every means in my power 
 to protect a much-distressed country, but it is a task too ardu 
 ous. To think of defending a frontier of more than three hun 
 dred and fifty miles extent, with only seven hundred men, is vain 
 and idle, especially when that frontier lies more contiguous to the 
 enemy than any odier. I am, and have for a long time been, fully 
 convinced, that, if we continue to pursue a defensive plan, the coun 
 try must be inevitably lost." But Colonel Stanwix had no power 
 to order an invasion, and Washington was left to protect the inhab 
 itants as well as he could with his feeble force. 
 
 The hardships he had endured, the vexations he had experienced 
 at the hands of Dinwiddie, and the incessant toils and anxieties to 
 which he was subjected, now seriously affected the spirits and bodily 
 health of Colonel Washington. To his friend Robinson he com 
 plained, toward the close of October, and it was evident that he 
 contemplated a resignation of his commission. The speaker, in 
 reply, after alluding to the expected departure of the governor, 
 said : "Till that event, I beg, my dear friend, that you will bear, so 
 far as a man of honor ought, the discouragements and slights you 
 have so often met with, and continue to serve your country, as I 
 am convinced you have always hitherto done, in the best manner 
 you can with the small assistance afforded you." 
 
 Whatever may have been the desires of Colonel Washington to 
 continue in the service at that critical time, when he knew that the 
 inhabitants of the frontier rested their hopes of protection upon his 
 leadership, he was compelled to go home early in November. He 
 had suffered from dysentery for some time, and now his malady 
 alarmingly increased. His physician and friend, Doctor Craik his 
 companion-in-arms in the dreadful battle on the Monongahela, and 
 
246 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1757. 
 
 the attendant at his death-bed forty-four years later warned him 
 that his life was in danger, and that rest and quiet alone would 
 preserve it. Under these circumstances he proceeded to Mount 
 Vernon, where his disease settled into a fever which confined him 
 four months. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the administration of Governor Dinwiddie* 
 came to an end, and he sailed for England in January, 1758, leav 
 ing behind him an unenviable name. He was arrogant and narrow- 
 minded ; and his large acquisitiveness made him not only sordid 
 and extortionate, but dishonest in the use of the public money com 
 mitted to his care.f The contrast between this haughty official of 
 the crown, and the Virginia colonel called into service by the 
 popular voice, was palpable to every unprejudiced mind ; and while 
 few pleasant thoughts w r ent after Dinwiddie upon the stormy ocean, 
 from a thousand Virginia homes fervent prayers ascended to the 
 throne of God in behalf of the admired and beloved young Wash 
 ington, who was suffering in his quiet retreat upon the banks of the 
 Potomac. 
 
 * Governor Dinwiddie died in 1770, at the age of eighty years. 
 
 t He was charged with applying to his own use twenty thousand pounds sterling, sent to defray 
 the expenses of Virginia for the public service. 
 
. 25.] LOUDOUN S OFFENSIVE SPEECH. 247 
 
 CHAPTER XXY. 
 
 LORD LOUDOUN S OFFENSIVE SPEECH AT BOSTON ASSEMBLING OF TROOPS AT 
 
 NEW YORK EXPEDITION AGAINST LOUISBURG THE PROVINCIAL TROOPS IN 
 
 GARRISON AN EMBARGO AND ITS EFFECTS DEPARTURE FOR THE EAST 
 
 DELAY AT HALIFAX EXPEDITION ABANDONED SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF FORT 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY GENERAL ALARM RECALL OF LOUDOUN WILLIAM PITT 
 
 AND HIS MEASURES RESPONSE IN THE COLONIES WASHINGTON S RECOVERY 
 
 RESUMPTION OF DUTIES DELAYS AND DANGERS GENERAL FORBES IN 
 DIAN DEPREDATIONS FORWARD MOVEMENT. 
 
 WE must now take a brief retrospection of events apart from the 
 theatre upon which Washington was an immediate and prominent 
 actor, that we may possess a clear understanding of his character 
 and services ; for these events, forming a part of the history of his 
 times, have an important relation thereto. We have already done 
 so, in the course of our narrative, and shall continue to do so, 
 when circumstances may seem to require it, 
 
 We have referred to a council which was held at Boston in Janu 
 ary, 1757, composed of Lord Loudoun and the governors of Nova 
 Scotia and of the New England provinces. In that council the earl 
 made a speech full of insolent insinuations and false and absurd 
 assertions. He magnified the services of the English officers and 
 soldiery, and diminished those of the colonies; and he had the 
 effrontery to ascribe the public safety to the regulars, and all of the 
 recent successes of the French to the bad conduct of the American 
 troops or the colonial governments. This was said at a time when 
 his own imbecile conduct, and the disgraceful defeats of the English 
 commanders and troops, were causes for universal and anxious con 
 cern throughout the colonies. That speech created much indigna 
 tion, but the murmurs it excited were soon silenced because of the 
 moderation of his requirements. He asked of all New England only 
 
243 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. []?<>7. 
 
 four thousand troops for the ensuing campaign, and an equal num 
 ber from New York and New Jersey. 
 
 With the foolish display congenial to small minds, Loudoun drew 
 a curtain of mystery around his plans, when there was no occasion 
 for concealment from those who were to co-operate with him ; and 
 when he required the Ne\v England troops to assemble at New York, 
 there to be joined by those of the other two provinces, he conde 
 scended to reveal only the fact that they were to be conducted by 
 him to an enterprise of great importance. These levies W 7 ere speed 
 ily raised, and early in the spring of 1757 his lordship found him 
 self at the head of more than six thousand provincial troops, all 
 animated by the hope and expectation of being led against the 
 French on Lake Champlain, and perhaps to an invasion of Canada. 
 But they were doomed to bitter disappointment. 
 
 We have seen how Washington s urgent recommendation to at 
 tack Fort Duquesne was unheeded. Loudoun had resolved to make 
 the campaign a defensive one, so far as the western and southern 
 frontiers were concerned, and to gather upon his own brow all the 
 laurels of aggressive warfare. And the same policy was adopted in 
 regard to the northern frontier. If the earl originally contemplated 
 an expedition against the French in the North, it was not avowed, 
 and the idea was abandoned ; and, to the amazement and deep re 
 gret of the wisest and best men in the colonies, he finally resolved, 
 late in summer, and after a great deal of senseless bustle, upon an 
 expedition against Louisburg, on the island of Cape Breton, in the 
 far East. He appears to have had such an expedition in contem 
 plation for some time, but his determination was not fixed until he 
 heard of the departure from England, for Halifax, of a powerful 
 squadron under Admiral Holborne and Commodore Holmes, bear 
 ing five or six thousand English troops commanded by George, 
 Viscount Howe. 
 
 The provincial troops who were assembled at New York on the 
 first of June, instead of being " conducted to an expedition of im 
 portance," were ordered to the North, and were placed in garrison 
 at Forts Edward and William Henry for the security of the frontier 
 
JET. 25.] EXPEDITION AGAINST LOUISBURG. 249 
 
 in that direction. Then, without an object that was apparent to 
 the public, Loudoun laid an embargo on all the ships in North 
 American ports, to the great injury of the merchant, the planter, 
 and the laborer. He thought, by this means, to prevent intelligence 
 of his intended expedition against Louisburg reaching the French ; 
 forgetting, or not knowing, that such intelligence was generally 
 communicated by the swift Indian couriers, against whom he could 
 make no provision except celerity of movement. Another object 
 was to prevent exportation, and thus make provisions abundant and 
 cheap for the supply of the army and navy. That effect was real 
 ized. The crops of cereals that year were wonderfully abundant in 
 America, and grain became a drug in the colonies ; while England, 
 then in dread of famine, was deprived of relief from that source.* 
 No one was benefited by this ill-judged and ill-timed embargo but 
 the contractors who supplied the army and navy with flour. These 
 put immense sums of money into their pockets, and in their profits 
 Loudoun no doubt shared. 
 
 Having been reinforced from England, Lord Loudoun sailed for 
 Halifax, early in July, with six thousand regular troops. There he 
 was joined by the fleet of Holborne and the army of Howe. Instead 
 of pressing forward to the attack upon Louisburg, the earl, with his 
 usual procrastination, landed at Halifax, laid out a parade, planted 
 a vegetable garden, and exercised his fine army in mock battles and 
 sieges. " When August came," says Bancroft,*)- " and the spirit of 
 the army was broken, and Charles Lee,J a subaltern, grew frantic 
 with indignation at the general s imbecility, and Lord Charles Hay, 
 a major-general, expressed contempt so loudly as to be arrested, || 
 the troops were embarked as if for Louisburg." But alarm for Lou 
 doun had come upon the wings of the wind. Reconnoitring-vessels 
 brought intelligence that, while he was loitering at Halifax, Admiral 
 De Bois de la Mo the had arrived at Louisburg with one ship more 
 
 * Entick s General History of the Late War London, 1763, ii., 391. 
 
 t History of the United States, iv., 258. 
 
 J A major-general in the continental army, under Washington, twenty years later. 
 
 II Lord Charles Hay said that Loudoun was " keeping the courage of his majesty s soldiers at 
 bay, and expending the nation s wealth in planting cabbages, when they ought to have been fighting 
 the enemies of their king and country, in reality." Entick, ii., 392 
 
250 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. []?57. 
 
 than the English fleet numbered, and a strong land force.* The 
 garrison there was said to be much stronger than was anticipated ; 
 and Loudoun, fearing defeat, turned his back upon the French, and 
 sailed for New York. He arrived there at the close of August, to 
 hear of defeat and disgrace on the northern frontier, the result of 
 his own ignorance and utter unskilfulness. 
 
 When the vigilant Montcalm heard of Loudoun s departure from 
 New York, he left Montreal with a few followers, and hastened 
 toward Ticonderoga. He sent out subalterns and Indian runners 
 in every direction to gather the scattered Canadians and roving 
 savages, and toward the close of July he was at the head of an 
 army of almost nine thousand men, including the garrisons of Ticon 
 deroga and Crown Point. With these, and a heavy train of artil 
 lery, he marched to the siege of Fort William Henry, at the head 
 of Lake George. A like undertaking, on St. Patrick s day, a few 
 months before, had failed ; now, the promises of success were 
 abundant. 
 
 Fort William Henry was garrisoned by three thousand provincial 
 troops, commanded by Colonel George Monro, a brave old English 
 officer, who felt strengthened in his position by the close proximity 
 of his chief-in-command, General Webb, who was at the head of 
 more than four thousand troops at Fort Edward, only fifteen miles 
 distant. But his confidence in his commanding general was sadly 
 misplaced. On the first of August, the French came up the lake, a 
 part in a fleet of boats and swarms of Indian canoes, and a part on 
 foot along its rugged shores ; and two days afterward, when all was 
 ready for a siege, the instant surrender of Fort William Henry was 
 demanded by Montcalm. Colonel Monro boldly refused, for he 
 knew the mettle of his own men, and had sent an express to Gen 
 eral Webb for relief. Then the huge cannons of the besiegers dealt 
 heavy blows upon the weak fortress. Monro still refused submis 
 sion. For five successive days the veteran withstood the attack, 
 with apparently undiminished strength, and every hour he expected 
 
 * Entick (ii., 392) says that a French packet, bearing an exaggerated account of the strength of 
 Louisburg, threw itself in the way of the English licet, was captured, and thus Loudoun s informa 
 tion was obtained. 
 
JET. 25.] LOSS OF FORT WILLIAM HENRY 251 
 
 to see, upon the adjacent hills, strong reinforcements from the camp 
 of Webb. But they came not. His cowardly chief, overrating the 
 forces of the enemy, not only withheld all succor, but sent Monro a 
 letter, advising him to surrender. 
 
 Webb s letter was intercepted by Montcalm at the moment when 
 that general was about to abandon the siege and return to Ticon- 
 deroga. He sent it to Monro, with a peremptory order for him to 
 surrender immediately. The gallant veteran fought on, until his 
 cannons were nearly all disabled, and his ammunition spent ; and 
 then, perceiving no hope of relief from Fort Edward, he hung out 
 a flag of truce. A capitulation was soon agreed upon. Admiring 
 the valor of Monro, the French commander offered him very honor 
 able terms, and promised a safe escort for his army to Fort Edward. 
 But he promised more than he could perform. The Indians thirsted 
 for blood and coveted plunder, and, being two thousand strong, they 
 could not be restrained. When the English had left the fort, and 
 had entered the forests, the savages fell upon them with great fury, 
 slaughtered a large number, plundered their baggage, and pursued 
 them to within cannon-shot of Fort Edward. Montcalm afterward 
 asserted that he beheld this massacre with grief, but he could do 
 nothing.* When the garrison had all disappeared, and the Indians 
 came back from their foray upon them, he demolished the fort with 
 blows and fire, and hastened back to Ticonderoga, a complete vic 
 tor. The fort was never rebuilt, and its site is now occupied by a 
 public house for the accommodation of summer visiters. 
 
 This deadly blow, when there was no army to face the enemy, 
 filled every mind with fear for the common safety. Nothing but 
 the hopes of success at Louisburg appeared to keep up the spirits 
 of the Americans ; and when the fate of that expedition was known, 
 the very existence of the English colonies, menaced as they were 
 upon every hand, seemed to be imperiled. " God only knows where 
 
 * It is hard to believe that a commander so eminent for his humanity and many virtues, should 
 have left any effort unused to prevent the massacre and plunder of men who relied upon his solemn 
 promises for protection. Historians of that day say that he had promised the Indians plenty of 
 plunder, and found himself compelled to fulfil these promises. Their accounts of the cruelties of 
 the Indians their massacre of women and children are truly dreadful. About fifteen hundred 
 persons, in all, were murdered 
 
252 WASHINGTON: j\ BIOGRAPHY. [1756. 
 
 this will end," wrote a prominent citizen of New York, in August ; 
 " the French execute almost everything they attempt ; we neither 
 execute nor attempt anything but noise and a prohibition to the 
 printers to tell the world what they will and do not know without 
 their information." 
 
 With the return of Loudoun s expedition from the East, all active 
 military operations ceased, and the colonists stood in the attitude 
 of defence, only, for the remainder of the year. " Such was the in 
 glorious campaign of the year 1757, in North America," says a con 
 temporary English historian* "a campaign which, by the prepa 
 rations made for it, promised a total ruin to the enemy ; but which, 
 by procrastination in England, and mismanagement in America, left 
 the security of our provinces and the interests of our allies in a 
 much worse situation than they were in the foregoing year." 
 
 Let us now turn to the invalid at Mount Vernon. Although 
 Colonel Washington w r as suffering severely at the time, brighter 
 
 o O */ O 
 
 prospects opened for him as well as for his country, with the dawn 
 of 1758. The imbecile Loudoun, too much engaged in military 
 affairs to assume the duties of civil government, had never offended 
 Virginia by his presence as her chief magistrate ; and after making 
 himself ridiculous and odious in New England by a collision with 
 the government of Massachusetts, which refused to quail before his 
 official frowns, he was recalled, and was superseded in command by 
 his lieutenant, General Abercrombie. This was a part of the first 
 fruits of the salutary change in administrative affairs which had 
 recently occurred in England. Mortified by the disgraces which 
 had fallen upon the British name by successive failures in arms and 
 diplomacy, the spirit of the nation had been for some time kindling. 
 Finally, the people spoke with power. Disgusted with a weak min 
 istry, and perceiving the palpable decline of Britain s puissance 
 under the management of inefficient and corrupt members of the 
 aristocracy, they resolved that the control of public affairs should 
 be directed by wis; r heads and more active hands. 
 
 For a long time, William Pitt, the greatest commoner in England, 
 
 * Entick. 
 

 
 /ET. 26.] PITT AND AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 253 
 
 had bravely combated, with his powerful rhetoric and majestic elo 
 quence, the policy of the government; and every thoughtful man 
 in Britain had learned to admire his real greatness, and to love him 
 for his genuine patriotism. Therefore, contrary to the wishes of the 
 king who feared his inflexible virtue, and the intrigues of powerful 
 placemen who felt dwarfed by his superior genius, he was, in compli 
 ance with the irresistible will of the nation, placed at the head of the 
 British ministry. He had received this appointment in the spring of 
 the preceding year, was dismissed at the close of May, and now, in 
 the autumn, he was reinstated in it more firmly than before. His 
 elevation was hailed with enthusiastic delight as an omen of good 
 for the realm. " Assuming power, he bent all factions to his au 
 thoritative will."* 
 
 American affairs engaged Pitt s earliest attention, and he resolved 
 to prosecute the war there against the French with great vigor. 
 Lord Loudoun was recalled, because the prime minister "could 
 never ascertain what he was doing ;" and better and braver generals 
 than Abercrombie were appointed to the command of separate ex 
 peditions. Pitt arranged the plan of the campaign of 1758 with 
 consummate skill and remarkable forecast. Three expeditions were 
 proposed : the first against Louisburg and the French generally in 
 the East; the second against Ticonderoga and Crown Point; and 
 the third against Fort Duquesne. 
 
 On the thirtieth of December, 1757, Pitt wrote a circular letter 
 to the governors of Pennsylvania and the southern colonies, request 
 ing a hearty co-operation from their respective governments in aid 
 of General Forbes, who had been appointed to the command of the 
 expedition against Fort Duquesne. He agreed to provide the colo 
 nial troops, that might be raised for this purpose, with arms, ammu 
 nition, tents, and provisions, in the same manner as the regular 
 forces, at the expense of the imperial government ; leaving the col 
 onies to bear only the charge of recruiting, clothing, and paying the 
 men. The governors were also authorized to issue commissions to 
 all provincial officers, from colonel downward ; and these were to 
 
 * Bancroft, iv., 275. 
 
2-54 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1758, 
 
 hold rank, in the allied army of regulars and provincials, according 
 to their commissions. 
 
 These liberal and enlightened measures excited much enthusiasm 
 in America, and the heart of Washington was made exceeding glad 
 by the prospect of having his long-cherished plans for the invasion 
 of the Ohio country speedily consummated. Weak and feeble as 
 he was at the close of January, he resolved to go to Williamsburg 
 to settle his accounts with the committee and prepare for the cam 
 paign. He advised Mr. Blair, the president of the council, who was 
 acting governor after the departure of Dinwiddie, of his intention ; 
 and for that purpose he left Fredericksburg, where he was tarrying 
 with his mother. But, on the twentieth of February, he was com 
 pelled to write to President Blair : " I set out for Williamsburg, the 
 day after the date of my letter, but found I was unable to proceed, 
 my fever and pain increasing upon me to a high degree ; and the 
 physicians assured me, that I might endanger my life by prosecu 
 ting the journey." Twelve days afterward he wrote to Colonel 
 Stanwix, from Mount Vernon : " I have never been able to return 
 to my command, since I wrote to you last, my disorder at times 
 returning obstinately upon me, in spite of the efforts of all the sons 
 of ^Esculapius whom I have hitherto consulted. At certain periods, 
 I have been reduced to great extremity, and have now too much 
 reason to apprehend an approaching decay, being visited with sev 
 eral symptoms of such a disease. I am at this time under a strict 
 regimen, and shall set out to-morrow for Williamsburg, to receive 
 the advice of the best physicians there. My constitution is much 
 impaired, and nothing can retrieve it, but the greatest care and the 
 most circumspect course of life. This being the case, as I have now 
 no prospect left of preferment in the military way, and despair of 
 rendering that immediate service which my country may require 
 from the person commanding its troops, I have thoughts of quitting 
 my command, and retiring from all public business, leaving my post 
 to be filled by some other person more capable of the task, and who 
 may, perhaps, have his endeavors crowned with better success than 
 mine have been." 
 
^ET. 26.] WASHINGTON HOPEFUL. 255 
 
 From this time, Colonel Washington s health steadily improved. 
 He visited Williamsburg, as he proposed, settled all of his accounts 
 with the committee, held personal conferences with many of the 
 leading men of Virginia, who were in attendance upon the assembly 
 then in session, and in the first week in April he returned to his 
 command at Fort Loudoun. The assembly, in the meanwhile, had 
 promptly responded to the wishes of Minister Pitt. It authorized 
 an augmentation of the forces of the colony to two thousand men ; 
 offered the tempting bounty of ten pounds for every new recruit, 
 and made provisions for a company of rangers. The troops were 
 formed into two regiments, the first of which was placed under the 
 command of Colonel Washington, and the second under Colonel 
 William Byrd, of Westover, who had been appointed one of the 
 commissioners to treat with the southern Indians toward the close 
 of 1755. These troops were all to be placed under the direction of 
 Brigadier-General Forbes, the commander-in-chief of the middle and 
 southern division of his majesty s forces. The fond hopes of Wash 
 ington now appeared on the point of realization, and, breathing 
 freer in the atmosphere of pleasant anticipations by which he was 
 surrounded, he forgot all of his past disappointments and vexations. 
 In fact, his spirits were uncommonly exuberant. To Major Halket, 
 his companion-in-arms at Braddock s defeat, who was now the aid 
 of General Forbes, he wrote on the twelfth of April, in a strain that 
 exhibited his joyful emotions : " My dear Halket," he said, " are we 
 to have you once more among us ? And shall we revisit together 
 a hapless spot, that proved so fetal to many of our former brave 
 companions ? Yes ; and I rejoice at it, hoping it will now be in our 
 power to testify a just abhorrence of the cruel butcheries exercised 
 on our friends, in the unfortunate day of General Braddock s defeat ; 
 and moreover, to show our enemies that we can practise all that 
 lenity of which they only boast, without affording any adequate 
 proofs." 
 
 At the beginning of April, Colonel Stanwix was commissioned a 
 brigadier-general, and was ordered to take post in the Indian coun 
 try between the upper waters of the Mohawk river and Oneida lake, 
 
256 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1758. 
 
 and erect a fort there. In a letter to that officer, written on the tenth 
 of April, after congratulating him upon his promotion, Washington 
 made the modest request that he might be " mentioned in favorable 
 terms" to General Forbes ; " not," he said, " as a person who would 
 depend upon him for further recommendation to military prefer 
 ment" (for he served in the campaign merely for the purpose of 
 using his best endeavors to bring matters to a conclusion), " but as 
 a person who would gladly be distinguished in some measure from 
 the common run of provincial officers;" adding "I understand there 
 will be a motley herd of us." General Stanwix was glad to find an 
 opportunity to speak favorably of an officer so meritorious; and 
 General Forbes, who was fully informed concerning the skill and 
 gallantry which Washington had displayed on the day w r hen Brad- 
 dock fell, was very desirous of securing his counsels. In the cam 
 paign that ensued, Washington enjoyed the fullest confidence of 
 that officer. 
 
 April was passing rapidly away, and yet Washington saw few 
 actual preparations for the expedition against Fort Duquesne. Re 
 membering the disastrous results of procrastination in previous 
 years, he became impatient ; and, on the twenty-third of April, he 
 wrote to General Forbes, then at Philadelphia, and urged an early 
 campaign, giving, as one special reason for its necessity, the fact 
 that seven hundred friendly Indians were then in readiness to ac 
 company such expedition. He knew that the approach of the 
 planting season would make them restiff, and that delay might 
 cause the loss of their services. But his urgent recommendations 
 were in vain. General Forbes moved slowly; and his excessive 
 caution and strict method became actual incapacity for the impor 
 tant service in which he was engaged. 
 
 Confiding implicitly in Washington s judgment and discretion, the 
 president of the Virginia council had, in the meanwhile, given him 
 unrestricted power to draft the militia, with whom the forts were to 
 be garrisoned while the regular troops were on the proposed expe 
 dition. This commission he accepted unwillingly, and thus early 
 did he instinctively control that strong passion, the love of power, 
 
Mr. 26.] INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 257 
 
 which was a marked trait in his character through life. He well 
 knew that he must often appear as an oppressor to his countrymen, 
 and he was unwilling to face the discontents which even the most 
 judicious exercise of this power would certainly engender. Yet he 
 shrunk not from the performance of his duty, and commenced the 
 task. 
 
 The Virginia assembly was very tardy in its movements, and the 
 delay of the civil authority gave Washington much concern. He 
 found himself obliged not only to perform arduous military duties, 
 but to suggest to the provincial government the proper modes of 
 proceeding in relation to the army. The forces which he was as 
 sembling were sadly in want of arms, tents, field-equipage, and am 
 munition. He had made frequent representations, by letter, of the 
 destitute condition of the Virginia troops, and the necessity -of 
 prompt action, but without avail. Finally, late in May, he went 
 down to Williamsburg, by the express order of Sir John St. Glair, 
 General Forbes s quartermaster-general, for the purpose of enlight 
 ening the government. While there, he addressed quite a long 
 letter to the president of the council, in which he laid before him 
 all necessary information touching the wants of the public service 
 in connection with military affairs. Having thus discharged his 
 duty, he added : " I must now conclude by once more begging that 
 your honor will hasten some speedy determination on these several 
 matters. From w^hat Sir John St. Clair has written, from my orders, 
 and from the statements here made, I conceive it must sufficiently 
 appear, that the greatest despatch is necessary. The success of our 
 expedition will, in a manner, depend on its early commencement. 
 Every delay, therefore, may be attended with pernicious conse 
 quences." 
 
 These anticipations of pernicious consequences were speedily 
 realized. The civil authorities remained strangely apathetic, when 
 the very existence of the Virginia colony depended upon quick 
 and vigorous action. Emboldened by the delay, a large body of 
 French and Indians came from the Ohio, broke into the settlements 
 in Augusta county, murdered threescore persons, ravaged the whole 
 
 17 
 
258 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1758. 
 
 region, and recrossed the Alleghanies with plunder, prisoners, and 
 scalps, before the troops could be assembled to oppose them. The 
 Cherokees, who had been induced to join the expedition, by prom 
 ises of rich presents from the king and plunder from the enemy, 
 grew weary of w r aiting ; and at length, informed that much more 
 delay was probable, they departed in great ill-humor, but promising 
 to return at a proper time. The troops which, for some time. Colo 
 nel Washington had been collecting and training at Winchester, 
 became disorderly, for idleness was constantly breeding mischief. 
 The people, who were compelled to provide food for them, began 
 to murmur because of the heavy burden imposed ; and Washington 
 was on the point of going down to Williamsburg to confer with 
 Governor Fauquier, who arrived from England in June, when he 
 received with joy an order to march his regiment from Winchester 
 to Fort Cumberland. This was the first forward movement in the 
 invasion. 
 
 While these preparations had been slowly progressing, the expe 
 ditions against Louisburg and the fortresses on Lake Champlain had 
 been advancing. As these had ended while the army under Gen 
 eral Forbes was yet eastward of the Alleghanies and had accom 
 plished almost nothing, we will here leave the expedition against 
 Fort Duquesne for awhile, and take a brief view of stirring events 
 in the North and East, for they have a mutual relationship of great 
 importance. 
 
26.] SACRIFICES OF THE PEOPLE. 259 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 GATHERING OF PROVINCIAL TROOPS SACRIFICES OF THE PEOPLE COMPARI 
 SON OF THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH SECOND EXPEDITION AGAINST LOUISBURG 
 
 BRAVERY OF WOLFE THE SIEGE AND CAPITULATION EFFECTS OF THE 
 
 TRIUMPH EXPEDITION AGAINST TICONDEROGA AND CROWN POINT ABER- 
 
 CROMBIE AT LAKE GEORGE NIGHT-VOYAGE ON THE LAKE SKIRMISHES, AND 
 
 DEATH OF LORD HOWE ATTACK ON TICONDEROGA RRPULSE OF THE ENG 
 LISH BRADSTREET S EXPEDITION AGAINST FRONTENAC. 
 
 DETERMINED to strike a deadly blow at the root of troubles in 
 America, instead of gently lopping off the branches, Pitt, in arran 
 ging the campaign of 1758, contemplated the conquest of Canada, 
 and the utter demolition of French dominion in the New World. 
 For these purposes ample preparations were made. The liberal 
 promises of the prime minister elicited a corresponding liberality on 
 the part of the colonists. In every province where requisition was 
 made, men came forward in abundance, ready to bear arms ; and 
 the people, filled with enthusiasm, submitted to taxation enor 
 mous taxation in some instances with cheerfulness. In Boston, 
 individual merchants paid taxes that year to the amount of two 
 thousand dollars ; and Massachusetts, alone, made advances in the 
 aggregate of not less than a million of dollars. The tax on real 
 estate in that province was equal to two thirds of the whole in 
 come ; and not less than seven thousand men were raised there for 
 the army. 
 
 From Virginia northward each province raised ample supplies of 
 men and money. The Royal American regiment, sent to protect 
 the Carolinas, was recalled, to co-operate with the provincials. 
 Large reinforcements of regular troops came from England ; and 
 when he was ready for action, Abercrombie had fifty thousand men 
 at his disposal. Of these, twenty-two thousand were regulars, and 
 
260 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1758. 
 
 the remainder were provincials. The French were much weaker, 
 in men and means. The whole male population of Canada, able to 
 bear arms, did not exceed twenty thousand, while the regular troops 
 numbered not more than five thousand. Tillage having been cur 
 tailed by the employment of cultivators in the ranks of the army, 
 Canada was menaced with famine that year. But the French had 
 strong and numerous allies among the Indian tribes, and active and 
 skilful military leaders. 
 
 The first blow struck by the English fell upon Louisburg. For 
 that purpose, large preparations had been made. Major-General 
 Sir Jeffery Amherst, a soldier of well-earned distinction, who had 
 been in military service ever since his fourteenth year, was the 
 commander-in-chief of the expedition. He arrived at Halifax, near 
 the close of May, with more than thirteen thousand well-disciplined 
 troops. His second in command was Brigadier-General James 
 Wolfe, a young man of less than two-and-thirty years, but having 
 had eighteen years of military experience. This army, well offi 
 cered and supplied, was borne by a fleet of twenty-two ships-of-the- 
 line and fifteen frigates, commanded by Admiral Boscawen, then in 
 the maturity of manhood s prime, and honored for his skill and ex 
 perience in naval warfare. With such preparations and such mate 
 rials, the English commanders felt confident of victory ; and Bos 
 cawen remarked, when told at Halifax that several French men-of- 
 war and transports had gone into the harbor of Louisburg : " I am 
 glad of it ; if all the fleet of France goes in, I will follow them ; 
 there is room enough for us all; the more we find there, the more 
 captures we will make."* This was no idle boask. 
 
 The English left Halifax on the twenty-eighth of May, and on the 
 second of June the fleet anchored in Gabarus bay, a few miles from 
 Louisburg. Behind strong outworks and in the main fortress which 
 
 * Knox s Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 
 1759, and 1760: i., 134. The Honorable Edward Boscawen was the third son of Hugh, first Vis 
 count Falmouth. He was made admiral of the blue in February, 1758, and appointed to command 
 the naval forces sent to America. He had already distinguished himself at the taking of Porto Bello, 
 at Carthagena, and at the engagement with the French fleet off Cape Finisterre. He died of a fever, 
 in 1761, in his fiftieth year. 
 
JET. 26.] CAPTURE OF LOUtSBURG. 261 
 
 guarded the doomed town, were twenty-five hundred French regu 
 lars and six or seven hundred Canadian militia and Indians, under 
 the command of the experienced and brave Chevalier de Drucour. 
 In the harbor were five French ships-of-the-line and five frigates, 
 three of the latter being sunken at the entrance to the basin, to 
 prevent the ingress of Boscawen s vessels. For a week after the 
 arrival of the English, a heavy storm of wind swept along the coast, 
 and the surf dashed so violently upon the rocky shore, that no boat 
 could reach it without encountering fearful perils. At length the 
 intrepid Wolfe, becoming impatient, obtained permission to attempt 
 landing with a strong detachment, to attack the French outworks. 
 After a fierce struggle with the waves, the young leader and his 
 followers landed before dawn on the morning of the eighth of June ; 
 and in spite of the severe fire of the French, and the ramparts of 
 felled trees that lay in their way, they took the advanced batteries 
 and drove the enemy into the main works. The other division 
 effected a landing during the morning, and before night Louisburg 
 was formally invested. The conduct of Wolfe and his detachment 
 in opening the way to conquest, was applauded in highest terms of 
 eulogium, and commended him to Pitt as a worthy leader against 
 Quebec the following year. By his side was young Montgomery, 
 from the north of Ireland, then just arrived at manhood. Eighteen 
 years afterward, he espoused the cause of the American patriots, 
 and fell a martyr to liberty at the foot of Cape Diamond, below the 
 citadel of Quebec. 
 
 Slowly but surely the English approached Louisburg, under cover 
 of mortars and siege-guns. The French kept up an incessant fire 
 from their batteries and ships, but with little effect. For almost 
 fifty days the conflict w^ent on. Then a bombshell fell upon one of 
 the largest of the French ships and set it on fire. Two others were 
 consumed ; and very soon the remainder of the vessels in the har 
 bor were captured or destroyed. Yet the gallant Drucour fought 
 on, until the fortress and half the town were heaps of ruins, and 
 forty of his fifty-two cannon were dismounted. At last, yielding to 
 the prayers of the people and a sense of the utter futility of further 
 
262 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1758. 
 
 defence, Drucour capitulated, and he and his garrison became pris- 
 oners-of-war. On the twenty-sixth of July, Louisburg, and with it 
 the islands of Cape Breton and St. John (now Prince Edward s), 
 passed into the possession of the English ; and where the grand for 
 tress the "Gibraltar of America" once stood, a few fishermen s 
 huts are now seen. Almost six thousand prisoners were sent to 
 England ; and the brother of General Amherst,* who preceded the 
 fleet and bore the first intelligence of victory to the king, carried 
 with him also eleven standards taken from the French. These were 
 hung as choice trophies in St. Paul s cathedral, after being borne in 
 triumph through the streets of London, accompanied by a parade 
 of horse and foot, while all England was vocal with rejoicings. By 
 this victory, the French dominion in America was greatly weakened, 
 and the English became masters of the coast almost to the mouth 
 of the St. Lawrence. 
 
 The troops destined for the expedition against Ticonderoga and 
 Crown Point had rendezvoused at Albany ; and before Amherst and 
 Wolfe had achieved their great victory in the East, Abercrombie 
 was at the head of Lake George with almost sixteen thousand men, 
 and a heavy train of artillery. Of these, more than six thousand 
 were regular troops ; the remainder were levies from the provinces 
 of New England, New York, and New Jersey. Among the subaltern 
 provincial officers were Putnam and Stark, who afterward became 
 famous in the War for Independence. The soul of the expedition 
 was the young Lord Howe, who seemed to regard his titular dis 
 tinction less as a proof of noble nature than as an incentive to noble 
 action, and he was truly beloved by all the soldiers. Although 
 Abercrombie, a friend of the earl of Bute (a pedantic Scotch cour 
 tier of much influence with the king), was nominally the commander- 
 
 * Major-General Amherst entered the army in 1731, and acted as aid-de-camp to Sir John Li- 
 gonier at the hattles of Dettingen, Fontenoy, and Roucoux. He was also aid to the duke of Cum 
 berland at Lafeldt and Hastenbech. In 1756, he became major-general; and in 1760 he was 
 appointed commander-in-chicf of the British forces in America. In 1772, he was made lieutenant- 
 general of ordnance; in 1776, was created Baron Amherst of Holmesdale ; in 1778, appointed 
 commander-in-chief of the land forces in Great Britain ; in 1788, created Baron Amherst of Mon 
 treal, in Kent; and, in 1796, he was promoted to the rank of field-marshal. He died in 1797, at the 
 age of eighty-one years. 
 
^ET. 26.] AN ARMY ON LAKE GEORGE. 263 
 
 in-chief, Pitt had selected Lord Howe as his lieutenant, with the full 
 conviction that he alone could lead the troops to victory. 
 
 In a little more than a thousand small boats, and with the artil 
 lery mounted upon rafts, Abercrombie and his army embarked upon 
 Lake George on the fifth of July. That flotilla, led by Lord Howe 
 in a large boat, made a grand display, with its banners flying, and 
 martial music awakening the echoes of the hills which enclose that 
 beautiful sheet of water. At twilight the whole army landed upon 
 a grassy cape on the western shore, and after midnight* the entire 
 flotilla was again in motion. The sky was clear and starry, and not 
 a breeze ruffled the dark waters as they slept quietly in the shadows 
 of the mountains. The oars were all muifled ; and so silently did 
 the vessels move in the darkness, that not a scout upon the hills 
 observed them. Day dawned just as they were abreast of the Blue 
 mountain, four miles from their landing-place at the foot of the lake ; 
 and the first intimation which the French pickets had of the ap 
 proach of the English was the full blaze of their scarlet uniforms 
 which burst upon their sight as the army swept around a point and 
 prepared to land. 
 
 Montcalm was yet in the general command of the French in Can 
 ada, and was at Ticonderoga with four thousand troops. M. de Levi 
 was hourly expected with three thousand more ; and having strength 
 ened Fort Carillon,-)- and cast up strong breastworks across the neck 
 of the peninsula of Ticonderoga, Montcalm felt confident of success 
 against assailants. When, on the fifth, a white flag upon the mount 
 ains informed him that the English had embarked upon Lake George, 
 he sent forward a battalion to occupy a breastwork of logs near the 
 foot of the lake and oppose the landing of the British. That oppo- 
 
 * It was Saturday when the troops went down Lake George. As it was past midnight, and 
 really Sunday morning, when they re-embarked, Abercrombie named the cape where they had landed 
 Sabbath-day Point. While on the point, Lord Howe called around him several of the young provin 
 cial officers who accompanied the expedition, and made many anxious inquiries about Ticonderoga, 
 its strength, etc. Captain Stark was invited to sup with him, and that officer believed, from many 
 things said by the young nobleman that night, that he had a presentiment of the fate that awaited 
 him the next day. 
 
 t This is a French word that had the same reference to rapid, rushing, noisy waters, as the In 
 dian word Cheonderoga, applied to the same spot. Tionderoga, and not Ticonderoga, is doubtless 
 the correct orthography. The English letter-writers of that period, and later, wrote it without the 
 harsh 9 
 
 ...J 
 
264 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1758 
 
 sition was futile ; and as the army of Abercrombie, moving in four 
 columns (the regulars in the centre and the provincials on the 
 flanks), commenced their march toward Ticonderoga, the French 
 set fire to and abandoned their breastwork. As they destroyed the 
 bridges in their retreat, Abercrombie pressed forward without his * 
 artillery. The forest was dense, and marshes abounded. Deficient 
 in reliable guides, the army was soon in great confusion. Then 
 scouts came with intelligence that the advanced guard of the French 
 were near. These were the retreating battalion, who, lost in the 
 deep forest, had been wandering for many hours, endeavoring to 
 find their way back to their lines. Major Putnam, with a hundred 
 rangers, immediately advanced as a scouting-party to reconnoitre. 
 Lord Howe, eager to engage in the first attack, joined Putnam. 
 They dashed through the woods, and in a few minutes were engaged 
 in a hot skirmish with the French. Lord Howe was instantly slain 
 by a bullet, but the French were repulsed with a loss of more than 
 four hundred in killed and wounded. Dismayed at the death of 
 Howe, and still in great confusion, the English fell back to the land 
 ing-place. There was deep grief at the loss of the young com 
 mander. " With him," said Mante, " the soul of the army seemed 
 to expire." Captain Philip Schuyler conveyed his body to Albany, 
 and placed it in his family vault ; and now the remains of the gal 
 lant soldier repose beneath the chancel of St. Peter s church in that 
 city. He was less than thirty-four years of age, yet he had won 
 imperishable distinction ; and, in testimony of her appreciation, Mas 
 sachusetts appropriated a thousand dollars for the erection of a 
 monument to his memory in Westminster abbey.* 
 
 Early on the following day, Colonel Bradstreet advanced and 
 took possession of some fortified mills, and repaired the bridges. 
 The engineer was sent to reconnoitre the French lines on the neck, 
 and on his reporting that the works were unfinished, and might 
 
 * George Augustus, Viscount Howe, was an elder brother of Richard and William, one a naval 
 and the other a military commander in America, during a part of the War for Independence. Rich 
 ard succeeded to the title and estates of his deceased brother. Abercrombie wrote : " He was the 
 first man that fell ; and as he was, very deservedly, universally beloved and respected throughout 
 the whole army, it is easy to conceive the grief and consternation his untimely fall occasioned." 
 
ZET. 26.] ENGLISH REPULSED AT TICONDEROGA. 265 
 
 easily be taken by storm, Abercrombie moved forward with the 
 whole army, and took post within two miles of Ticonderoga. There 
 he was joined by Sir William Johnson, with almost five hundred 
 warriors of the Six Nations, from the Mohawk river. 
 
 Anxious to make the assault before the garrison could be rein 
 forced, Abercrombie pressed forward on the eighth, without waiting 
 for his cannon, when it was found that the breastworks were full 
 eight feet in height, very strong, and completely sheltered by a 
 deep abatis. Behind this the whole French force lay, awaiting the 
 orders of the vigilant and skilful Montcalm, whose quick eye was 
 upon every point. At the proper moment his order was given, and 
 a heavy fire of artillery was opened upon the assailants. Yet in 
 the face of this terrible storm the regulars pushed gallantly forward, 
 determined to scale the works, and carry them by force of the sword 
 and bayonet. The grenadiers, and Lord John Murray s Scotch 
 Highland regiment, made charge after charge for three hours. 
 Many officers endeavored to hew their way through the prostrate 
 branches with their swords, while scores of brave men were falling 
 around them. Never did troops show bolder courage or more ob 
 stinate persistence against fearful obstacles; and when at length, 
 shattered and in confusion, some of the British battalions fired upon 
 each other and a retreat was sounded, nineteen hundred and forty- 
 four brave soldiers lay dead or wounded on that battle-field. Du 
 ring all that contest of more than four hours, Johnson s Indians 
 looked on with stolid indifference ; while the cowardly Abercrombie 
 remained in safety at the mill, and could not be found when most 
 needed to rally the flying troops, bring up his artillery, and secure 
 a victory at the last, for he had still more than four times as many 
 soldiers as Montcalm. At length he appeared, and, agitated by ex 
 treme fear, he hurried the troops to the foot of Lake George with 
 so much precipitancy, that nothing but the cool courage and manli 
 ness of Bradstreet prevented a disastrous rush into the boats. All 
 were embarked on the morning of the ninth ; and that evening the 
 disgraced commander, with trailing banners, was comforted by the 
 fact that the lake was between himself and Montcalm. 
 
266 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1758. 
 
 Intelligence of this disaster grieved Pitt sorely. He well knew 
 that the chief blame rested upon the incompetency of Abercrombie, 
 and he chid himself for listening to Bute, and giving such an officer 
 the chief command. The shallow Bute, desirous of sustaining his 
 dishonored friend, wrote to the premier : " I think this check, dear 
 Pitt, affects you too strongly. The general and the troops have 
 done their duty, and appear, by the numbers lost, to have fought 
 with the greatest intrepidity ; to have tried all that men could do, 
 to force their way. The commander seems broken-hearted with 
 being forced to retreat."* And the young prince George, then in 
 his twenty-first year, wishing to say something to please somebody, 
 wrote : " I fear this check will prevent Abercrombie s pushing to 
 Crown Point ; but in this, as in everything else, I rely entirely on 
 Providence, and the gallant spirit of my countrymen. Continuing 
 to trust in that superior help, I make no doubt that, if I mount this 
 throne, I shall still, by restoring the love of virtue and religion, 
 make this country great and happy ."f These men, breathing the 
 atmosphere of a corrupt court, could not comprehend the genius of 
 Pitt, nor the magnitude of the events about which they were utter 
 ing such miserable commonplaces ; and their words increased the 
 keenness of the pangs which they were intended to alleviate. 
 
 Abercrombie sent his artillery and ammunition to Albany for 
 security, and then commenced the erection of a military work at 
 the head of the lake, which he called Fort George. While his troops 
 were thus engaged, the active partisans of Montcalm were out in 
 every direction, harassing the provincials and terrifying the scat 
 tered settlers. Opposed to these were the vigilant Rogers and his 
 bold border rangers, and the cool and persistent Putnam with his 
 equally brave scouts. They beat back the French and their dusky 
 allies. At length, Putnam was made a prisoner ; was prepared for 
 the fire-torture in the deep forest; was saved by a providential 
 shower which quenched the flames, and the generous arm of Molang, 
 his enemy in the field ; and, bruised and half-naked, he was carried 
 a captive to Montreal. The stolid Abercrombie finally marched, 
 
 * Correspondence of the Earl of Chatham, i., 335. t Ibid., i., 336. 
 
M T. 26.] BRADSTREET S EXPEDITION. 267 
 
 with his whole army of regulars, to Albany, and put them into win 
 ter quarters. Then he returned to England, where he calumniated 
 the Americans in order to screen his own imbecility ; and, as a mem 
 ber of Parliament, his vote was always given in support of those 
 oppressive measures which finally drove the colonists to rebellion. 
 
 While Abercrombie was at the head of Lake George, Colonel 
 Bradstreet, who had obtained permission to lead a detachment 
 against Fort Frontenac, situated at the foot of Lake Ontario, where 
 Kingston now stands, was nobly accomplishing his purpose. He 
 had long contemplated such an expedition, and it had been warmly 
 approved by the fallen Howe. Frontenac was a post of great im 
 portance. There the Indian tribes resorted for traffic, and there 
 plans and alliances between the French and the savages who were 
 hostile to the English were put in operation. It was also a maga 
 zine of supplies for the more southern French forts. 
 
 With a few men, the gallant Bradstreet went up the Mohawk 
 valley to the Oneida carrying-place, where Brigadier-General Stan- 
 wix was engaged with a strong provincial force in erecting a fort. 
 That officer, perceiving the importance of Bradstreet s expedition, 
 placed more than twenty-nine hundred men at his disposal.* He 
 was also joined by some warriors of the Six Nations, led by Red 
 Head, a powerful Onondaga chief. With eight pieces of cannon 
 and two mortars in charge of a small detachment of the Royal ar 
 tillery, this little army pushed on through the forest to Oswego, and 
 there embarked upon Lake Ontario. 
 
 On the twenty-fifth of August, Bradstreet landed within a mile 
 of Fort Frontenac. It was a work of considerable magnitude and 
 strength, being built of stone, quadrangular in form, with four bas 
 tions, and almost three fourths of a mile in circumference. Upon it 
 were mounted sixty pieces of cannon and sixteen mortars, but there 
 was a garrison of only one hundred and ten men and a few Indians, 
 to use them. These, dismayed by the formidable appearance of 
 
 * These troops, according to Mante, consisted of one hundred and thirty-five regulars, eleven 
 hundred and twelve New York provincials, four hundred and twelve from New Jersey, six hundred 
 and seventy-five from Boston, three hundred and eighteen from Rhode Island, and three hundred 
 batteaux-men. 
 
268 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1758. 
 
 Bradstreet s army, fled or surrendered at discretion on the twenty- 
 seventh ; and the fort, with an immense quantity of stores destined 
 for Forts Niagara and Duquesne, and nine armed vessels in the har 
 bor, fell into the hands of Bradstreet. It was a complete and almost 
 a bloodless victory ; but a malignant fever, which broke out in Brad- 
 street s camp before he left, swept away five hundred of his men. 
 He demolished the fort, burned seven of the vessels, destroyed such 
 stores as he could not carry away, and returned to Lake George by 
 way of Oswego, leaving his troops to complete Fort Stanwix, where 
 the village of Rome now stands. Among the officers who accom 
 panied Bradstreet was Woodhull, who perished on Long Island at 
 the beginning of the Revolution ; and also Yan Schaick, who became 
 a colonel in the New York continental line. 
 
 Bradstreet s victory was of great importance at that moment, for 
 the expedition against Fort Duquesne was in motion. It secured 
 the dominion of Lake Ontario, and cut off the chief source of sup 
 plies for the southern fortresses of the enemy. It alarmed the In 
 dians ; and the Canadians, exhausted by the war, and seeing no 
 hopes of protection for the French frontier from Lake George to 
 the Ohio, w^ere clamorous for peace. Montcalm was disturbed. He 
 saw the full significance of the victory and the power of its influ 
 ence, and he wrote to Yaudreuil : " I am not discouraged, nor are 
 my troops ; we are resolved to find our graves under the ruins of 
 the colony." 
 
26.] THE INVADING ARMY. 269 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 COMPOSITION OF THE ARMY UNDER GENERAL FORBES MARCH OF VIRGINIA 
 
 TROOPS TO FORT CUMBERLAND BOQUET AT RAYSTOWN ADOPTION OF THE 
 
 INDIAN COSTUME BRADDOCK s ROAD A NEW ROUTE PROPOSED UNWISE 
 
 SCHEMES ABANDONED WASHINGTON OPPOSES THE NEW ROUTE HIS INTER 
 VIEW WITH COLONEL BOQUET HISTORY OF BRADDOCK s ROAD NEW ROUTE 
 
 ADOPTED WASHINGTON S DISAPPOINTMENT HIS ELECTION TO THE HOUSE 
 
 OF BURGESSES HIS MATRIMONIAL ENGAGEMENTS TARDY MOVEMENTS OF THE 
 
 ARMY GRANT S DISASTROUS EXPEDITION WASHINGTON S ADVANCE AGAINST 
 FORT DUQUESNE END OF THE CAMPAIGN WASHINGTON RETURNS HOME. 
 
 THERE was great joy m the heart of Washington when, late in 
 June, orders came from General Forbes for the Virginia troops to 
 commence their march toward Fort Duquesne. The army destined 
 for this expedition numbered between six and seven thousand men, 
 consisting of twelve hundred Highlanders from the Carolinas ; three 
 hundred and fifty of the Royal American regiment, recalled from 
 the South ; about twenty-seven hundred Pennsylvania levies ; six 
 teen hundred Virginians, in two regiments ; between two and three 
 hundred men from Fort Frederick, in Maryland ; and two companies 
 of North Carolina militia, under Major Waddell, who afterward be 
 came conspicuous in that province, in the difficulties known as the 
 Regulator War, in 1771. 
 
 The Virginia regiments marched from Winchester to Fort Cum 
 berland in detachments, except a small garrison left at Fort Lou- 
 doun, and a strong party under Lieutenant-Colonel Adam Stephen. 
 These detachments were safe convoys for wagons and pack-horses 
 on the way. They were all assembled at Cumberland early in July, 
 and officers and troops, confident of success, were in high spirits. 
 
 At Raystown (now Bedford), in Pennsylvania, thirty miles from 
 Fort Cumberland, lay Colonel Boquet, with a corps of regulars. 
 
270 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1758. 
 
 He was an active and ambitious officer ; and having been appointed 
 to the command of the advanced division, he made Raystown the 
 headquarters of the gathering army of invaders. Thither Lieuten 
 ant-Colonel Stephen marched, by way of Shippensburg, in Pennsyl 
 vania, with six companies of the first Virginia regiment ; and toward 
 that point the Pennsylvania and other troops slowly approached. 
 
 Washington continued to be annoyed by the remissness of the 
 civil authorities in furnishing his troops with necessary supplies. 
 From his camp near Fort Cumberland he wrote to Colonel Boquet 
 on the third of July, apprizing him of his arrival there, and adding : 
 " My men are very bare of regimental clothing, and I have no pros 
 pect of a supply. So far from regretting this want during the pres 
 ent campaign, if I were left to pursue my own inclination, I would 
 not only order the men to adopt the Indian dress, but cause the 
 officers to do it also, and be the first to set the example myself. 
 Nothing but the uncertainty of obtaining the general approbation 
 causes me to hesitate a moment to leave my regimentals at this 
 place, and proceed as light as any Indian in the woods. It is an 
 unbecoming dress, I own, for an officer; but convenience, rather 
 than show, should be consulted. The reduction of bat-horses alone 
 would be sufficient to recommend it ; for nothing is more certain 
 than that less baggage would be required, and the public benefited 
 in proportion." This sensible suggestion received a sympathetic 
 response from Boquet. But others of the regulars demurred. It 
 could hardly be expected that the British officers, trained to blind 
 obedience of orders, would turn from the deep rut of precedence 
 and routine at the suggestion of a provincial colonel. Like Brad- 
 dock, they preferred to walk according to the straight rules of mili 
 tary tactics, though treading at every step upon common sense and 
 wise expediency, than to adapt themselves and their followers to 
 the exigency of the occasion. Yet Washington tried the experi 
 ment, and it was successful. He equipped two companies in this 
 way, and sent them to headquarters. The weather was extremely 
 hot, and the light costume pleased all wearers. Colonel Boquet 
 wrote : " The dress takes very well here, and, thank God, we see 
 
&T. 26.] ROUTE OVER THE MOUNTAINS. 271 
 
 nothing but shirts and blankets." This was the origin of the Indian- 
 like dress of the American riflemen. 
 
 From Fort Cumberland stretched the open road through the wil 
 derness to the Monongahela, widened by Braddock in 55, at a great 
 expense of toil and money,, and along that road Washington ex 
 pected soon to march. It was broad enough for artillery and wag 
 ons, and it required but slight repairs to put it in good condition. 
 But General Forbes, then ill at Carlisle, influenced by Pennsylvania 
 land-speculators and Indian traffickers of that province, had decided 
 to open a new road along the track of the northern traders, from 
 Raystown to Fort Duquesne. This decision was communicated to 
 Washington, late in July, by Colonel Boquet, who requested his 
 opinion upon the subject. Washington was amazed and distressed. 
 Already he had been compelled to cast his opinion in the way of a 
 proposed expedition, which he knew would be disastrous. The 
 French and Indians were continually harassing the almost idle 
 camps, and Forbes had proposed to send a strong detachment over 
 the mountains, to keep the enemy employed in their own country 
 while the invading army should move on. Concerning this, Boquet 
 asked Washington s opinion. He modestly replied : " Such an en 
 terprise, sir, at this juncture, when we may suppose the enemy have 
 collected, or are collecting, their whole force at Fort Duquesne, 
 would require a formidable detachment, the supplying of which 
 with provisions would be too difficult and cumbersome to be effected 
 undiscovered, as the enemy s parties are continually watching our 
 motions. It is more than likely, therefore, that the enterprise would 
 terminate in a miscarriage, if not in the destruction of the party. I 
 should think it more eligible to defer such an attempt, until the 
 army approaches more nearly to the enemy." These and other 
 suggestions prevailed, and the ill-judged enterprise was abandoned. 
 
 Washington s opinion was equally decisive against the proposed 
 new road. In reply to Colonel Boquet, he wrote, like a true sol 
 dier, on the twenty-fifth of July : " I shall most cheerfully work on 
 any road, pursue any route, or enter upon any service, that the gen 
 eral or yourself may think me usefully employed in, or qualified for, 
 
WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1753. 
 
 and shall never have a will of my own, when a duty is required of 
 me. But since you desire me to speak my sentiments freely," he 
 added, " permit me to observe, that after having conversed with all 
 the guides, and having been informed by others, who have a knowl 
 edge of the country, I am convinced that a road, to be compared 
 with General Braddock s, or, indeed, that will be fit for transporta 
 tion even by pack-horses, can not be made. I have no predilection 
 for the route you have in contemplation for me, not because diffi 
 culties appear therein, but because I doubt whether satisfaction can 
 be given in the execution of the plan. I know not what reports 
 you may have received from your reconnoitring parties ; but I have 
 been uniformly told, that, if you expect a tolerable road by Rays- 
 town, you will be disappointed, for no movement can be made in 
 that way, without destroying our horses." To this, Colonel Boquet, 
 who had been told that the Virginians were selfish in wishing to 
 prevent a new route being opened to the Indian country, replied : 
 " Nothing can exceed your generous disposition for the service. I 
 see, with the utmost satisfaction, that you are above the influences 
 of prejudice, and ready to go heartily where reason and judgment 
 shall direct. I wish seriously that we may all entertain one and 
 the same opinion; therefore I desire to have an interview with you 
 at the houses built half-way between our camps." 
 
 The proposed interview took place on the first of August. Wash 
 ington found Boquet strongly in favor of the new road. They dis 
 cussed the matter long and pleasantly, but could not agree. On 
 his return to camp the next day, Washington addressed a letter to 
 Boquet, to be laid before General Forbes, in which he restated his 
 objections to the new road. He set forth that when the Virginians 
 and Pennsylvania!!* opened a trade with the Indians on the Ohio, 
 many years before, they offered a reward for information concern 
 ing the best route for a road over the mountains. Stimulated by 
 this, some of the most intelligent and experienced Indian hunters 
 indicated routes, and in 1753 the Ohio Company built a road upon 
 the line of the most eligible one. The little army under Washing 
 ton in 1754 repaired it, and it was widened and completed to within 
 
^ET. 26.] WASHINGTON S FOREBODINGS. 273 
 
 six miles of Fort Duquesne, by Braddock, in 1755. He showed that 
 forage was more plentiful along Braddock s road than on the pro 
 posed route, pointed out many other advantages of the former over 
 the latter, and urged, as a principal reason in favor of his own opin 
 ion, that the season was too far advanced to allow a waste of time 
 in making a new road. 
 
 Washington was equally opposed to a scheme which had been 
 suggested of dividing the army and marching by the two different 
 routes. Having been requested to give his opinion, also, as to the 
 best mode of advancing by deposites of provisions and stores, he 
 recommended an order of march by Braddock s road, which, he esti 
 mated, would bring the army before Fort Duquesne in thirty-four 
 days, with a supply of provisions for eighty-six days. He expressed 
 the confident opinion that the campaign might be effected by the 
 middle of October. 
 
 Perceiving the strong bias of Colonel Boquet in favor of Forbes s 
 plans, Washington scarcely hoped that his opinions would be re 
 ceived favorably. Conscious that his views were correct, and that 
 the regular officers were incompetent to engage properly in Indian 
 warfare, he was exceedingly anxious. To Major Halket, the aid-de 
 camp of General Forbes, he thus wrote, on the same day when he 
 prepared his long letter to Boquet, for the general: "I am just re 
 turned from a conference with Colonel Boquet. I find him fixed, 
 I think I may say unalterably fixed, to lead you a new way to the 
 Ohio, through a road, every inch of which is to be cut at this ad 
 vanced season, when we have scarce time left to tread the beaten 
 track, universally confessed to be the best passage through the 
 mountains. If Colonel Boquet succeeds in this point with the gen 
 eral, all is lost, all is lost indeed our enterprise will be ruined, 
 and we shall be stopped at the Laurel hill this winter ; but not to 
 gather laurels^ except of the kind that covers the mountains. The 
 southern Indians will turn against us,* and these colonies will be 
 
 * The Catawbas had already behaved very badly. Early in July, Colonel Boquet wrote to 
 Washington : " The Catawbas, under the command of Captain Johnny, are gone to Winchester. 
 They have behaved in the most shameful manner, and run away like a parcel of thieves, rather than 
 warriors. They have never killed even a deer, and there is the strongest reason to suspect that the 
 
 18 
 
274 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1758. 
 
 desolated by such an accession to the enemy s strength. These 
 must be the consequences of a miscarriage ; and a miscarriage is 
 the almost necessary consequence of an attempt to march the army 
 by this new route. I have given my reasons at large, to Colonel 
 Boquet. He desired that I would do so, that he might forward 
 them to the general. Should this happen, you will be able to 
 judge of their w T eight." 
 
 The remonstrances and arguments of Washington were unavail 
 ing. The officers of the regular army had read the despatches of 
 Braddock, wherein he had described his road as " lying across mount 
 ains and rocks of an excessive height, vastly steep, and divided by 
 torrents and rivers ;" and their fears were enhanced by the tales of 
 interested Pennsylvania traders, who described the new route as a 
 paradise, in comparison with the other. At length, late in August, 
 the new route was adopted, and sixteen hundred men were imme 
 diately set to work upon it, in advance of Eaystown. Washington 
 was mortified, and the Virginia assembly resolved to recall their 
 troops, and place them on their own frontier. These resolves were 
 revoked when intelligence came that the expedition was actually in 
 progress, for its failure would be ascribed, and perhaps justly, to 
 such withdrawal of the Virginia regiments. It was well they were 
 not withdrawn, for the final success of the expedition was achieved 
 by those very troops. 
 
 Washington was yet in camp at Fort Cumberland, with sickly and 
 dispirited troops, on the first of September, and was as impatient as 
 a hound in the leasb. " That appearance of glory," he wrote to 
 Speaker Robinson, " which we had once in view, that hope, that 
 laudable ambition of serving our country, and meriting its applause, 
 are now no more ; all is dwindled into ease, sloth, and fatal inac- 
 
 scalp, which they pretend to have taken, was an old one. I think it very necessary to send a message to 
 their nation, to complain of their conduct, and know at once if they are friends or enemies." Washing 
 ton had urged the necessity of keeping the Indians employed, by sending them out in small parties, to 
 annoy similar small parties of the hostile savages. He also recommended their going out alone, to 
 fight in their own way, but Colonel Boquet insisted upon sending large numbers of white men with 
 them. These, Washington represented to be encumbrances to the Indians, caused disasters, and 
 discouraged them. But the English officers must have lighting done according to precedent, or not 
 at all, and lost instead of winning. 
 
/Ex. 26.] REASONS FOR IMPATIENCE. 275 
 
 tivity. In a word, all is lost, if the ways of men in power, like cer 
 tain ways of Providence, are not inscrutable. But we, who view 
 the actions of great men at a distance, can only form conjectures 
 agreeably to a limited perception ; and, being ignorant of the com 
 prehensive schemes, which may be in contemplation, might mistake 
 egregiously in judging of things from appearances, or by the lump. 
 Yet every fool will have his notions will prattle and talk away; 
 and why may not I ? We seem then, in my opinion, to act under 
 the guidance of an evil genius. The conduct of our leaders, if not 
 actuated by superior orders, is tempered with something, I do not 
 care to give a name to. Nothing now, but a miracle, can bring the 
 campaign to a happy issue." 
 
 Washington had ample excuses for impatience. A desire to serve 
 his country faithfully a laudable thirst for military renown the 
 calls of duty to civil station, and the powerful attractions of affection 
 toward one who had promised to become his wife all conspired 
 to make him anxious to carry on vigorously, and finish speedily, 
 the campaign in which he was engaged. 
 
 Intelligence of the victory at Louisburg had reached the camp 
 toward the close of July, and produced great rejoicings. Washing 
 ton was desirous of striking a blow at the South, against the French 
 dominion, equally brilliant ; and had his counsels prevailed at the 
 beginning, or even at that time, Fort Duquesne might have been 
 an English possession before the summer heats had departed, or at 
 least by the autumnal equinox. But now, when that strong army 
 should have been wearing the laurels of military triumph beyond 
 the mountains, and chanting songs of victory on the banks of the 
 Ohio, it presented the humiliating spectacle of a huge company of 
 road-builders, not yet arrived at the eastern base of the Alleghanies. 
 
 Official station in civil life awaited Washington s return from the 
 camp, and this made him impatient. Having resolved to leave the 
 army at the close of the present campaign, he became a candidate 
 for the house of burgesses, to represent Frederick county. The 
 election came on at the close of July, and his friends urged him to 
 be at Winchester on the occasion. But no force of personal consid- 
 
276 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1758. 
 
 eration could draw him from his post of duty, and the election was 
 carried through without his presence. It was then customary for 
 the candidate to be at the polls during the voting. His friend, 
 Colonel Wood, was his proxy on the occasion, and he was chosen 
 by a large majority over all of his competitors. Colonel Wood was 
 carried about the town in the midst of general applause and loud 
 huzzas for Colonel Washington. This election was significant, for 
 it uttered the praises of a people in the midst of whom he had been 
 in military command in the worst of times. It was a noble com 
 ment upon his faithfulness. " That poll," says Sparks, " cost the 
 new burgess thirty-nine pounds and six shillings. Among the items 
 of charge, which have been preserved, are a hogshead and a barrel 
 of punch, thirty-five gallons of wine, forty-three gallons of strong 
 beer, cider, and dinner for his friends."* 
 
 Another, and not the least powerful of the causes of Washington s 
 impatience at that time, was the love lie bore for one of the best 
 of Virginia s daughters. The story of that love is simple, yet full 
 of romance. The passion w r as awakened while, in the previous 
 spring, Colonel Washington was on the journey to Williamsburg 
 from his camp at Winchester, at the request of Sir John St. Clair, to 
 lay before the civil authorities the pressing needs of his regiment, 
 preparatory to the expedition on which he was now engaged. No 
 better words can paint the picture of that love and brief courtship 
 than those employed, in after-years, by a grandson of the lady. ) 
 "It was in IV 58," he says, "that Washington, attired in a military 
 undress, and attended by a body-servant, tall and mititaire as his 
 chief, was crossing Williams s ferry over the Pamunkey river, a 
 branch of the York river. On the boat touching the southern, or 
 New Kent side, the soldier s progress was arrested by one of those 
 personages who give the beau-ideal of the Virginia gentleman, of 
 the old regime, the very soul of kindness and hospitality. It was in 
 vain the soldier pleaded the urgency of his presence at Williams- 
 
 * Writings of Washington (note), ii., 297. 
 
 t George Washington Parke Custis. Mr. Custis, on the death of his father, was adopted as a 
 son by Washington. He yet (1857) lives at Arlington House, near the banks of the Potomac, oppo 
 site Washington city. He is the sole surviving executor of the will of Washington. 
 
^Er. 26.] WASHINGTON AND MRS. CUSTIS. i>77 
 
 burg. Mr. Chamberlayne, on whose domain the militaire had just 
 landed, would hear of no excuse. Colonel Washington was a name 
 and character so dear to all Virginians, that his passing by one of 
 the castles of the Old Dominion, without calling and partaking of 
 the hospitalities of the host, was out of the question. The colonel, 
 however, did not surrender at discretion, but stoutly maintained his 
 ground till Chamberlayne, bringing up his reserve, in the intimation 
 that he would introduce his friend to a young and charming widow, 
 then beneath his roof, the soldier capitulated, on condition that he 
 should dine only dine and then, by pressing his charger and 
 borrowing of the night, he would reach Williamsburg before his ex 
 cellency could shake off his morning slumbers. Orders were accord 
 ingly issued to Bishop, the colonel s body-servant and faithful fol 
 lower, who, together with the fine English charger, had been be 
 queathed by the dying Braddock to Major Washington, on the 
 famed and fated field of Monongahela. Bishop, bred in the school 
 of European discipline, raised his hand to his cap, as much as to 
 say, Your orders shall be obeyed. 
 
 " The colonel now proceeded to the mansion, and was introduced 
 to various guests (for when was a Virginia domicil of the olden time 
 without guests ?) and, above all, to the charming widow. Tradition 
 relates that they were mutually pleased, on this, their first inter 
 view ; nor is it remarkable. They were of an age when impressions 
 were strongest. The lady was fair to behold, of fascinating manners, 
 and splendidly endowed with worldly benefits. The hero was fresh 
 from his early fields, redolent of fame, and with a form on which 
 
 Every god did seem to set his seal, 
 To give the world assurance of a man. 
 
 " The morning passed pleasantly away ; evening came, with Bish 
 op, true to his orders and firm at his post, holding the favorite 
 charger with one hand, while the other was waiting to offer the 
 ready stirrup. The sun sunk in the horizon, and yet the colonel 
 appeared not. Strange, very strange, thought Bishop ; surely he 
 was not wont to be a single moment behind his appointments, for 
 he was the most punctual of men. 
 
278 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1758. 
 
 " Meantime, the host enjoyed the scene of the veteran at the 
 gate, while the colonel was so agreeably employed in the parlor ; 
 and proclaiming that no visiter ever left his home at sunset, his 
 military guest was, without much difficulty, persuaded to order 
 Bishop to put up the horses for the night. The sun rode high in 
 the heavens the ensuing day, when the enamored soldier pressed 
 with his spurs his charger s side, and speeded on his way to the seat 
 of government, where, having despatched his public business, he 
 retraced his steps, and, at the White House, the engagement took 
 place, with preparations for marriage." 
 
 The " charming widow " was Martha Custis, daughter of John 
 Dandridge, whose husband, John Parke Custis, had been dead about 
 three years. Pie had left her with two young children, and a very 
 large fortune in lands and money. Her residence, " the White 
 House," was in New Kent county, not far from Williamsburg ; and 
 there, before the soldier returned to his camp, he and the widow 
 were betrothed, and they agreed to marry at the close of the cam 
 paign. "And much," continues Mr. Custis, "hath the biographer 
 heard of that marriage, from the gray-haired domestics who waited 
 at the board where love made the feast and Washington the guest. 
 6 And so you remember, I said to old Cully, my grandmother s ser 
 vant, when in his hundredth year and so you remember when 
 Colonel Washington came a-courting your young mistress? Ay, 
 master, that I do, said Cully. Great times, sir, great times shall 
 never see the like again. And Washington looked something 
 like a man, a proper man, hey, Cully ? Never seed the like, sir 
 never the like of him, though I have seen many in my day so tall, 
 so straight, and then he sat on a horse and rode with such an air ! 
 Ah, sir, he was like no one else ! Many of the grandest gentlemen, 
 in the gold lace, were at the w r edding ; but none looked like the 
 man himself " All through the tedious and perilous campaign 
 of that year, which continued until the late autumnal snow^s had 
 fallen, Washington and his affianced were in constant epistolary 
 correspondence. 
 
 * National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans, vol. i. 
 
JEx. 26.] WASHINGTON WITH GENERAL FORBES. 279 
 
 On the first of September, as we have observed, Washington was 
 yet at Fort Cumberland. His troops had been idle most of the 
 summer. A small detachment, under Colonel Mercer, had opened 
 a road from his camp to Raystown, and he had sent out scouts from 
 time to time, to reconnoitre the enemy. These now brought intelli 
 gence which increased his impatience. They had obtained positive 
 information that the garrison of Fort Duquesne did not contain 
 more than eight hundred men, Indians included, at the middle of 
 August, the time when the expedition, six thousand strong, might 
 have been west of the mountains. " See," he wrote to Speaker Rob 
 inson, " how our time has been misspent. Behold how the golden 
 opportunity has been lost, perhaps never more to be regained ! 
 How is it to be accounted for ? Can General Forbes have orders 
 for this ? Impossible. Will, then, our injured country pass by such 
 abuses ? I hope not. Rather let a full representation of the matter 
 go to his majesty. Let him know how grossly his glory and interest, 
 and the public money, have been prostituted." 
 
 A few days after this letter was written, General Forbes, with the 
 powers of life fast ebbing, arrived in a litter at Raystown, and took 
 command of the army.* The new road was then completed to 
 Loyal Hanna, a distance of forty-five miles, where Colonel Boquet, 
 with the advanced party of twenty-five hundred men, was construct 
 ing a fort and place of deposite for stores. On his arrival at Rays- 
 town, General Forbes ordered Washington to join him with his 
 troops. The order was obeyed with alacrity, and Washington was 
 highly gratified by the marked deference which the general paid to 
 his opinions concerning the future operations of the army. Although 
 he had strenuously opposed the scheme of making a new road, yet, 
 it having been adopted, Washington now used every exertion to 
 carry the work forward. He was consulted on all occasions, attended 
 
 * It is related that while General Forbes was on his way from Carlisle to Raystown, borne in a 
 close litter, an embassy from unfriendly Indians came to the army. They were greatly puzzled 
 when they perceived that all commands came from that litter, and eagerly inquired about it. Know 
 ing that the Indians would despise the English if they knew that their general was sick, the British 
 officers told them that in that litter was their great commander, a man so fierce and strong, that lie 
 found it necessary to keep himself bound, hand and foot, and lie still until he came to the enemy s 
 country, lest he should do the embassadors, or even his own men, much mischief. The alarmed 
 savages soon fled in terror to the mountains, glad to escape from the presence of such a warrior. 
 
280 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1758. 
 
 all councils of officers, and, at the request of the general, he drew 
 up a line of march and order of battle, by which the army might 
 advance with facility and safety through the woods. Remembering 
 the fate of Braddock, Forbes was now r willing to yield his opinions 
 and prejudices to the experience and judgment of the young pro 
 vincial whos:.; skill and powers were so signally displayed on the 
 field of Monongahela. 
 
 It was now the middle of September, and the main army was 
 about to move forward, when intelligence of serious disaster reached 
 the camp. Colonel Boquet, without the knowledge of his superior, 
 had sent forward Major Grant, of Montgomery s battalion, with 
 eight hundred Highlanders, and a part of Washington s regiment 
 under Major Lewis, to reconnoitre the vicinity of Fort Duquesne, 
 and ascertain the strength and position of the enemy. Grant, eager 
 for personal distinction, executed his orders, and acted with inex 
 cusable foolhardiness by inviting an attack. He reached a hill near 
 the fort, in the night, and appeared to take special pains to reveal 
 his presence. A party of observation burnt a log-house at a short 
 distance from the fort- and the next morning, having detached 
 Major Lewis, with a baggage-guard, two miles in his rear, he sent 
 an engineer, with a covering party, within full view of the fort, to 
 draw a plan of the works. Not content with this bravado, he or 
 dered the reveille to be beaten in several places. Yet, with all this 
 parade, he elicited no attention, apparently. Not a gun was fired, 
 and Grant mistook this silence for fear. His vain-glory proved his 
 ruin. While in fancied security, and off his guard, the enemy made 
 a sortie and fell upon the Britons, and at the same time clouds of 
 arrows, from ambushed Indian warriors, pierced their flanks. For a 
 time the Highlanders fought bravely, but the terrible yells of the 
 savages, and their sharp arrows, at length produced confusion and a 
 fearful panic. 
 
 At the first sound of battle, Major Lewis left Captain Bullitt, with 
 fifty Virginians, in charge of the baggage, and with the remainder 
 of his command he pressed forward to the relief of Grant, It was 
 too late. With gleaming knives and heavy tomahawks, the Indians 
 
JE-r. 2.6.] BRAVERY OF THE VIRGINIANS. 281 
 
 rushed from the thickets and fell > upon the invaders with terrible 
 effect. Hand to hand they fought, when, overpowered by numbers, 
 Lewis and Grant saved their lives by surrendering to a French offi 
 cer. At that moment the whole detachment fled in dismay, pursued 
 by the exasperated savages. 
 
 The fugitives were rallied by Captain Bullitt, who, after sending 
 back the most valuable baggage with the strongest horses, made a 
 barricade of the baggage-wagons. Behind these he placed his men 
 and took a forlorn stand. It was their only chance for safety, for 
 the savages were rushing wildly on. A volley from behind the 
 wagons checked the fierce current for a moment, but, gathering 
 strength by increment of numbers, it pressed forward more terrible 
 than before. At that perilous juncture, Bullitt, with quick thought 
 and action, made a signal of capitulation, and advanced as if to sur 
 render. When within twenty-five feet of the enemy, he gave a 
 signal, and his men all raised their pieces and poured a destructive 
 shower of bullets upon the foe. The Indians fled in dismay ; and 
 before they recovered from the shock, Bullitt and his men had gath 
 ered up their wounded, and, with the scattered fugitives, retreated 
 with speed beyond the bounds of danger. In fragments the broken 
 detachment came back to Boquet s camp, having left upon the battle 
 field, or in the hands of captors, twenty-one officers and two hundred 
 and seventy-three privates. Of the detachment from Washington s 
 regiment, six officers and sixty privates were lost. Majors Grant 
 and Lewis were taken to Montreal as prisoners. 
 
 This " irruption into the enemy s country," which Washington had 
 uniformly opposed as dangerous, resulted precisely as he had pre 
 dicted. And yet it was the means of exalting the character of his 
 regiment, and increasing the faith of the regulars in his mode of 
 training, for the gallantry displayed by Captain Bullitt and his men 
 elicited the greatest admiration. General Forbes publicly compli 
 mented Washington on the good conduct of his troops ; and soon 
 afterward Bullitt was rewarded with a major s commission. 
 
 Slowly the main army and the artillery now moved along the 
 new but wretched road, and reached Loyal Hanna on the fifth of 
 
282 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1758. 
 
 November. The hills were hoary with snow, and frost was binding 
 the waters in the valleys. The soldiers were scantily clothed and 
 fed, yet knew that immense toil and exposure would be required of 
 them, because fifty miles of the dreary wilderness was still before 
 them, and scarcely a furlong of the road over which they were to 
 travel was constructed. No wonder that the troops were dispirited, 
 or that the ofhcers had gloomy forebodings. 
 
 Placing great reliance upon Colonel Washington s judgment, Gen 
 eral Forbes appeared desirous of doing all in his power to please 
 him. Indeed, like young Howe in the North, Washington was " the 
 soul of the army" in the West. Anxious to make his experience of 
 border warfare profitable to his country, he had, toward the close of 
 July, requested Colonel Boquet to use his influence with the general 
 to get himself and his regiment included in the advanced division. 
 " If any argument is needed to obtain this favor," he said, " I hope 
 without vanity I may be allowed to say, that, from long intimacy 
 with the woods and frequent scouting in them, my men are at least 
 as well acquainted with all the passes and difficulties as any troops 
 that will be employed." At Loyal Hanna this request was gladly 
 complied with, and Washington was placed at the head of a division 
 of one thousand provincials, who were to move in front of the main 
 army and act as pioneers, scouts, and patrols, to prevent surprises, 
 and to cast up entrenchments wherever they appeared necessary as 
 a security to the deposites of provisions. This corps constituted a 
 brigade, and Washington had the temporary rank of a brigadier- 
 general. 
 
 Sick, wearied, and discouraged, the feeble commander-in-chief 
 called a council of war, and it was resolved not to proceed any far 
 ther on account of the lateness of the season, the difficulties of the 
 way, and a rumored reinforcement of the garrison at Fort Duquesne. 
 The prediction of Washington, in August, that " we shall be stopped 
 at the Laurel hill this winter," appeared about to be verified, when a 
 scout brought in three prisoners. From these it was ascertained that 
 the garrison at Duquesne was very weak, their provisions almost 
 exhausted, and that the Indians, dispirited by the fall of Frontenac, 
 
JET. 26.] WASHINGTON AT FORT DUQUESNE. 283 
 
 and the approach of the British, were deserting the French in great 
 numbers. This intelligence revived the hopes of Forbes, and, to the 
 great joy of Washington and his men, he issued orders for the army 
 to move on. 
 
 Celerity of movement was important, and, without tents or heavy 
 baggage, and with a train of light artillery, they advanced rapidly. 
 Washington led the van, and detached Colonel Armstrong with a 
 numerous party to keep in advance as a corps of observation. The 
 provincials, and especially the Virginians, worked cheerfully by the 
 side of their beloved leader. On the fifteenth of November, Wash 
 ington was at Chestnut Ridge ; on the seventeenth he was at Bush 
 Run, and the next day he had opened the road to Armstrong s 
 camp, three miles in advance. " All the men," he wrote to his gen 
 eral, " are in fine spirits and anxious to go on," notwithstanding all 
 along their line of march, as they approached Fort Duquesne, the 
 bones of those who were slaughtered at Braddock s defeat were 
 visible. 
 
 Anxious to know the condition of the fort, General Forbes now 
 offered a reward of forty pounds to any man who would capture a 
 hostile Indian. This was soon accomplished by a sergeant of the 
 North Carolina militia ; and that prisoner informed the general that 
 the Indians, terror-stricken at the approach of the British, had fled 
 in a body from Fort Duquesne, declaring that the Great Spirit had 
 evidently withdrawn his protection from the French. He further 
 affirmed that the French, deprived of expected supplies from Fron- 
 tenac, disheartened by the victory of Bradstreet at that place, and 
 alarmed at the approach of the British, had just abandoned and set 
 fire to the fort, and fled down the Ohio in their boats. Encouraged 
 by this information, Washington and his party pushed forward, and 
 on the following day, the twenty-fifth of November, he unfurled the 
 British flag over the still smoking ruins of that formidable fortress 
 in the wilderness, from which, for three years, had issued the terri 
 ble frontier scourges. Three days afterward he had the pleasure of 
 writing to Governor Fauquier: "The enemy, after letting us get 
 within a day s march of the place, burned the fort, and ran away 
 
284 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1758. 
 
 by the light of it, at night, going down the Ohio by water, to the 
 number of about five hundred, according to our best information."* 
 
 After the first burst of joy at this consummation of their hopes 
 and toils, the whole army, officers and privates, engaged in the pious 
 work of burying the remains of those who were slain at the defeats 
 of Braddock and Grant. When this duty was performed, the fort 
 was repaired. Then, with waving banners and peals of artillery, the 
 event was celebrated, and the post was named Fort Pitt, in honor of 
 the illustrious statesman whose wise and liberal measures, in making 
 provisions for this campaign, had been instrumental in greatly en 
 hancing the glory and puissance of the British realm. Upon that 
 spot, the large and growing city of Pittsburgh now stands, a noble 
 monument to the memory of England s greatest prime minister. 
 
 The Indians, as usual, paid their devotions to the rising sun 
 bowed submissively to the conquering power. Treaties were speed 
 ily concluded with all the tribes between the Ohio and the lakes, 
 and the French dominion in the West now became a part of the 
 history of the past. All of this might have been accomplished long 
 before, if the opinions of Washington could have controlled the 
 councils of his province. 
 
 Ever mindful of the comfort of his troops, it was w r ith great re 
 luctance that Washington left a portion of his command to garrison 
 Fort Pitt, in obedience to the orders of General Forbes. At Loyal 
 
 * When General Forbes was on the eve of starting for Fort Duquesne, it was resolved to employ 
 a trustworthy man to go among the western Indians, who were becoming distrustful of the French, 
 and endeavor to draw them over to the interest of the English. It would be a mission of great peril, 
 yet a man was found to undertake it. That man was Christian Frederick Post, a Moravian who 
 had married a native woman and had lived among the savages seventeen years. He left Philadel 
 phia on the fifteenth of July, proceeded up the Susquehanna river, passed the French post at Ve- 
 nango three weeks afterward, and held conferences witli the Indians at various places. On the 
 twenty-fourth of August, he was with some Indian friends opposite Fort Duquesne, where he had a 
 talk with many of the leading men. He found the Delawares and all the western tribes wavering 
 in their affection for the French. He made a favorable impression upon their minds, yet they com 
 plained bitterly of the encroachments of the English. " Your heart is good," they said to Post 
 " you speak sincerely ; but we know there is always a great number who wisli to get rich ; they have 
 enough. Look ! we do not want to be rich, and take away what others have." " The white people 
 think we have no brains in our heads," said an old chief. " They are big, and we a little handful ; 
 but remember, when you hunt for a rattlesnake you can not find it, and perhaps it will bite you 
 before you see it." But Post persevered, and concluded quite a definite treaty with some of the 
 most influential chiefs. After enduring many hardships in the midst of perils, he returned to Phila 
 delphia early in September. No doubt this mission did much toward the victory at Fort Duquesne, 
 in causing the Indians to desert the French. 
 
WASHINGTON LEAVES THE SERVICE. 285 
 
 Hanna lie wrote a circular letter to the inhabitants of the frontier, 
 urging them to take provisions and clothing to the men at the fort ; 
 and from the same place he addressed a letter to Governor Fau- 
 quier, in which he remarked : " Our men are in such a miserable 
 condition, having hardly rags to cover their nakedness, and exposed 
 to the inclemency of the weather in this rigorous season, that, unless 
 provision is made by the country for supplying them immediately, 
 they must perish." 
 
 And now, for a time, the military career of Washington, after five 
 years of laborious service, was ended. Having assisted in giving 
 peace and security to his country, and abandoned all hope of obtain 
 ing rank in the regular army, he proceeded to Williamsburg, by way 
 of Mount Vernon, to surrender his commission, and report to the 
 civil authorities. General Forbes, in the meanwhile, led his troops 
 back to Philadelphia ; and in that city, worn out with sickness and 
 the fatigues of the campaign, he lingered until the following March, 
 when, on a quiet sabbath, he died.* 
 
 * John Forbes was a native of Petincrief, Fifeshire, Scotland, and was educated for a physician. 
 He entered the army in 1745, and advanced to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was quartermaster- 
 general under the duke of Cumberland, and was appointed brigadier in 1757, and ordered to Amer 
 ica. He died at Philadelphia, as above stated, on the thirteenth of March, 1759, at the age of forty- 
 nine years. 
 
286 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1758. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 WASHINGTON VISITS WILLIAMSBURG AND THE WHITE HOUSE RESIGNATION OF 
 
 HIS COMMISSION ADDRESS OF HIS OFFICERS VALUE OF HIS EXPERIENCE 
 
 HIS MARRIAGE WASHINGTON IN THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES HIS RETIREMENT 
 
 FROM PUBLIC LIFE CAMPAIGN OF 1759 CAPTURE OF FORT NIAGARA THE 
 
 BRITISH ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN EVENTS AT QUEBEC DEATH OF WOLFE AND 
 
 MONTCALM CAPITULATION OF QUEBEC ITS RECAPTURE ATTEMPTED SUR 
 RENDER OF MONTREAL COMPLETE CONQUEST OF CANADA END OF THE 
 
 FRENCH DOMINION. 
 
 WASHINGTON did not remain long at Mount Yernon. Sick and 
 wearied, he coveted and obtained a few days of repose, and then 
 hastened to Williamsburg on an errand of duty, and to the White 
 House on an errand of affection. He went to the former to lay 
 down his military rank at the feet of the civil power from which he 
 received it, and to settle all matters pertaining to his command ; 
 and he went to the latter to meet his waiting bride, and to make 
 arrangements for marriage at an early day. 
 
 It was late in December when Colonel Washington arrived in 
 Williamsburg. He was received with public and private greetings 
 on every side ; and never had young hero greater cause for being 
 proud of well-earned fame than he. At an appointed time he for 
 mally resigned his commission to Governor Fauquier, when his offi 
 cers, making that the occasion, presented him with a most affection 
 ate address. After speaking of the value of his discipline, they 
 remarked: "Judge, then, how sensibly we must be affected . with 
 the loss of such an excellent commander, such a sincere friend, and 
 so affable a companion. How rare is it to find these amiable quali 
 ties blended in one man ! How great the loss of such a man ! 
 
 It gives us additional sorrow," they continued, " when we reflect, to 
 find our unhappy country will receive a loss no less irreparable than 
 

 
 m ^ 
 
 " 
 
 ... - . 
 
MT. 27.] WASHINGTON S MARRIAGE. 287 
 
 our own. Where will it meet a man so experienced in military 
 affairs one so renowned for patriotism, conduct, and courage? 
 Who has so great a knowledge of the enemy we have to deal with ? 
 who so well acquainted with their situation and strength ? who so 
 much respected by the soldiery ? who, in short, so able to support 
 the military character of Virginia ?" Then requesting him to name 
 a fit successor, they added in conclusion : " Frankness, sincerity, and 
 a certain openness of soul, are the true characteristics of an officer, 
 and we flatter ourselves that you do not think us capable of saying 
 anything contrary to the purest dictates of our minds. Fully per 
 suaded of this, we beg leave to assure you that, as you have hith 
 erto been the actuating soul of our whole corps, we shall at all times 
 pay the most invariable regard to your will and pleasure, and will 
 always be happy to demonstrate by our actions how much we re 
 spect and esteem you."- "This opinion," says Marshall, " was not 
 confined to the officers of his regiment. It was common to Virginia, 
 and had been adopted by the British officers with whom he served. 
 The duties he performed, though not splendid, were arduous ; and 
 were executed with zeal and with judgment. The exact discipline 
 he established in his regiment, when the temper of Virginia was 
 extremely hostile to discipline, does credit to his military character ; 
 and the gallantry his troops displayed, whenever called into action, 
 manifests the spirit infused into them by their commander."* And 
 the knowledge, discipline, and experience, which the young soldier 
 then acquired, were of vast benefit not only to himself, but to his 
 country and to mankind. His five years 7 military service on the 
 frontier a service most complicated and peculiar were the 
 school-days of the future commander of patriot armies the libera 
 tor of his country the champion of universal liberty. 
 
 Colonel Washington was married to Mrs. Custis, at her residence 
 in New Kent, on the sixth of January, 1759. Tradition alone has 
 preserved a record of the festivities on that occasion. It was an 
 event long to be remembered by those who participated in it. The 
 beauty, accomplishments, and ample fortune of the bride, and the 
 
 * Life of Washington, second edition, i., 27. 
 
288 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1759. 
 
 social position and proud military distinction of the bridegroom, 
 drew together the best of Virginia s aristocracy on the peninsula 
 and its vicinity, at that period composing the most refined society 
 in America. 
 
 Colonel Washington resided with his wife, at the White House, 
 for three months after marriage, for his duties as a member of the 
 house of burgesses required his presence at Williamsburg a consid 
 erable portion of that time. Soon after the meeting of that body, 
 in January, it was resolved to return their thanks to Washington, 
 in a public manner, for the distinguished services which he had ren 
 dered to his country. His tried friend, Mr. Robinson, was yet the 
 speaker, and upon him devolved the duty. The scene on the occa 
 sion, as related by Mr. Wirt, on the authority of an eye-witness,* 
 was a memorable one. " As soon as Colonel Washington took his 
 seat," says Wirt, " Mr. Robinson, in obedience to this order, and fol 
 lowing the impulse of his own generous and grateful heart, dis 
 charged the duty with great dignity, but with such warmth of col 
 oring, and strength of expression, as entirely to confound the young 
 hero. He rose to express his acknowledgments for the honor; but 
 such was his trepidation and confusion, that he could not give dis 
 tinct utterance to a single syllable. He blushed, stammered, and 
 trembled for a second ; when the speaker relieved him, by a stroke 
 of address that would have done honor to Louis the Fourteenth in 
 his proudest and happiest moment. Sit down, Mr. Washington/ 
 said he, with a conciliatory smile, your modesty is equal to your 
 valor, and that surpasses the power of any language that I pos 
 sess. "f 
 
 When the business of the session was ended, Washington returned 
 to Mount Yernon, taking with him the future mistress of that man 
 sion, where, as was said by a writer a few years afterward : " Your 
 apartments were your home, the servants of the house were yours, 
 and, while every inducement was held out to bring you into the 
 general society of the drawing-room, or at the table, it rested with 
 yourself to be served or not with everything in your own cham- 
 
 * Edmund Randolph. t Wirt s Life of Patrick Henry. 
 
 L 
 
yE-r. 27.] WASHINGTON IN RETIREMENT. 289 
 
 her."* Then he laid aside all ambition for service in public life, 
 except when his country should demand a sacrifice ; and he resolved 
 to pass the remainder of his days in that quiet retreat on the banks 
 of the Potomac, employed in the noble pursuit of agriculture, of 
 which he was so fond. Although the war in which, thus far, he had 
 been a conspicuous actor, went on, it was far from the borders of 
 his own dear Virginia, and he was not drawn from his happy home, 
 by necessity, while it lasted. Yet he was not an indifferent specta 
 tor of its shifting scenes, but watched with intense interest those 
 final acts in the great drama of the Seven Years War, in America, 
 which led to the prostration of the French dominion on this conti 
 nent, and the burying of the hatchet of many a fierce tribe of the 
 dusky children of the forest. As these closing scenes held intimate 
 relationship to Washington s after-life, we will leave him in his 
 happy home for awhile, and briefly consider them. 
 
 The campaign of 1758 was highly honorable and propitious to 
 Great Britain, notwithstanding the misfortune and disgrace at Ti- 
 conderoga. The Indian power, which was a strong element in the 
 French colonial strength, had become almost paralyzed, and successes 
 in the East and West gave increased energy to the English and the 
 colonists. " The British nation," says Graham,*}* " first aroused by 
 resentment, and now inflamed with success and ambition, regarded 
 the recent American campaign as the pledge and harbinger of fur 
 ther and more signal triumphs in the same quarter." Supported 
 by this sentiment, Pitt made every necessary arrangement for a 
 vigorous campaign, so as to close the war, during the year 1759, by 
 the complete conquest of Canada. Parliament, w f ith but one dis 
 senting voice, voted for the year sixty millions of dollars, and pro 
 vided for additional forces by sea and land to an extent hitherto 
 unknown, and even unimagined, in England. "This," exclaimed 
 Lord Chesterfield, " is Mr. Pitt s doing, and it is marvellous in our 
 eyes. He declaies only what he w r ould have Parliament do, and 
 they do it."J 
 
 * The Marquis de Chastellux s Travels in North America, translator s note, ii., 163. 
 t Colonial History of the United States, ii., 284. 
 J Correspondence of the Earl of Chatham, i., 403. 
 
 19 
 
290 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1759. 
 
 General Amherst was appointed to the chief command in America, 
 and, disregarding seniority in rank, Pitt selected, as other leaders, 
 the best officers in the army. The plan of the campaign embraced 
 several distinct operations, all having in view the reduction of Mon 
 treal and Quebec as the final result of their efforts. General Stan- 
 wix was to complete the conquest and occupation of the French 
 posts in the Ohio country from Fort Pitt to Lake Erie, and to scout 
 along the southern shores of Lake Ontario ; General Prideaux, as 
 sisted by Sir William Johnson, was to reduce Fort Niagara; General 
 Wolfe was to ascend the St. Lawrence with a fleet and army, and 
 capture Quebec; and General Amherst was to advance with the 
 main body to Lake Champlain, and take possession of Ticonderoga 
 and Crown Point. 
 
 Prideaux s expedition was first accomplished. It was very im 
 portant. Fort Niagara was the key to the West and South, and its 
 possession by the English would cut off all communication, by the 
 French, with Louisiana. When that should be effected, Prideaux 
 was to descend Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, make himself 
 master of Montreal, and there unite his forces with those of Amherst 
 and Wolfe in the reduction of Quebec. Prideaux embarked at Os- 
 wego on the first of July, with a large number of regulars and pro 
 vincials, accompanied by a considerable body of warriors from 
 the Mohawk valley under Sir William Johnson. They landed with 
 in three miles of the fort on the sixth, and completely invested it 
 the following day. It was a strong fortress, with bastions and rav 
 elins, ditches, covered way, and drawbridge, and other excellent 
 appointments. The garrison was six hundred strong, and a rein 
 forcement was daily expected. 
 
 Prideaux commenced a cannonade on the seventh, and began the 
 siege by regular approaches. While in the trenches, directing op 
 erations, on the fifteenth, he was killed by the bursting of a cohorn, 
 when the command devolved upon Sir William Johnson. When 
 Amherst was informed of the death of Prideaux, he despatched 
 Brigadier-General Gage, the leader of Braddock s advance, to con 
 duct the siege ; but he did not arrive until all was over. His ser- 
 
r 
 
 JE T . 27.] CAPTURE OF FORT NIAGARA. 291 
 
 vices were not needed, for Johnson, though uninstructed in the art 
 of war, conducted operations with singular skill and courage, and 
 pushed on the entrenchments with more vigor than Prideaux had 
 done. These were nearly completed, when, on the morning of the 
 twenty-fourth of July, scouts brought intelligence that twelve hun 
 dred French troops, drawn from Venango, Presqu Isle, and Detroit, 
 and a considerable body of southern Indians, were approaching from 
 Niagara falls, led by Colonel D Aubrey, a gallant officer who was at 
 Ticonderoga the previous year. Johnson immediately sent out 
 some grenadiers and light infantry, and a few of the Mohawk In 
 dians, to meet them. Some of the Mohawks advanced to parley 
 with the French Indians, but were received with the significant 
 war-whoop as a signal for attack. The French and their allies then 
 rushed wildly upon the English, with shouts and yells, and were re 
 ceived with cool courage, while the Mohawks, eleven hundred in 
 number, fell fiercely upon the flanks of the enemy. The conflict, 
 carried on within sound of the sullen roar of the great cataract, was 
 severe, and many fell. In less than an hour, however, the French 
 and their savage allies, thoroughly routed, were flying in confusion 
 through the woods, closely pursued and terribly smitten by the 
 English and Mohawks. D Aubrey and seventeen of his officers were 
 made prisoners, and his defeat was complete. There was no longer 
 any hope for the garrison, and a capitulation w r as signed the next 
 day. The troops marched out with the honors of war, fully protect 
 ed from Johnson s Indians, and were sent prisoners to New York. 
 The women, at their own request, were sent with their children to 
 Montreal, and the sick and wounded were treated with tender care. 
 These humane acts of the victors appeared in forcible contrast with 
 the cruel events at the surrender of Oswego and Fort William Henry. 
 Encumbered with his prisoners, and unable to procure a sufficient 
 number of vessels for the purpose, Johnson could not proceed to 
 Montreal, according to the original plan; so he garrisoned Fort 
 Niagara, and returned home. 
 
 The fall of Niagara made the French extremely solicitous con 
 cerning the safety of Montreal, and M. de Levi was despatched 
 
29-2 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1759. 
 
 from Quebec, with a considerable force, to strengthen Fort Presen 
 tation at Oswegatchie (now Ogdensburgh), and there defend the 
 passage of the St. Lawrence. 
 
 Amherst, in the meanwhile, had assembled twelve thousand men 
 at the head of Lake George. His excessive caution made his prog 
 ress slow ; and had not the quicker movements of Wolfe, which 
 brought him early before Quebec, caused Montcalm to draw largely 
 upon the garrisons at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, his enterprise 
 would doubtless have been as unsuccessful as that of Abercrombie 
 the year before. The extreme weakness of the enemy, caused by 
 these drafts, gave Amherst advantages, and toward the close of July 
 he was in possession of Ticonderoga. Bourlainarque, who command 
 ed the garrison, had been instructed to retreat from post to post, if 
 necessary, until he should reach Canada, rather than risk a defeat 
 and capture. After making a slight resistance on the approach of 
 Amherst, and perceiving no chance for a successful defence, he dis 
 mantled Fort Carillon and retreated to Crown Point on the twenty- 
 sixth of July. Amherst left a garrison to repair and occupy the 
 works at Ticonderoga, and pursued the fugitives. On the first of 
 August, the French abandoned Crown Point also, and fled down 
 Lake Champlain in boats to Isle Aux Noix, in the river Sorel, where, 
 on the borders of Canada, they resolved to make a stand for the 
 defence of the province. Had Amherst still pursued, he might have 
 followed them to Montreal and Quebec, gathering laurels of victory 
 on the way ; but he wasted all the precious days of August, Septem 
 ber, and a part of October, in laying the foundations of costly forti 
 fications at Crown Point, which could be of no service if, as all con 
 fidently expected, the conquest of Canada should be achieved. 
 When Wolfe had performed a great work without his aid, and 
 Amherst had again commenced a pursuit of the French, he was 
 met by a messenger from Quebec, with intelligence of victory. In 
 stead of pushing forward to Montreal, and making the conquest 
 of Canada the grand result of the campaign, by an easy capture of 
 that city, he pleaded the dangers of mid-autumn storms upon the 
 lake, and, returning to Crown Point, went into winter quarters there. 
 
JEr. 27.] EXPEDITION AGAINST QUEBEC. 293 
 
 During that season, his army constructed that strong fortress whose 
 picturesque ruins, after the lapse of more than a hundred years, yet 
 attest its strength. Amherst was a brave and faithful officer, but 
 his perceptions were dull, and he had but few resources. 
 
 Pitt and the English people relied more upon Wolfe and his oper 
 ations, for victory in the New World, than upon Amherst and all 
 the others engaged in the campaign.* Nor were they disappointed. 
 The conduct of Wolfe at Louisburg had made his name synonymous 
 with that of gallantry and skill ; and when, late in November, he 
 wrote to Pitt "I take the freedom to acquaint you, that I have 
 no objections to serving in America, and particularly in the river 
 St. Lawrence, if any operations are to be carried on there" the 
 hint was gladly received, and a few days afterward he was pro 
 moted to the rank of major-general, and placed at the head of the 
 forces destined to act against Quebec. He embarked, early in Feb 
 ruary, with eight thousand men, on board a fleet commanded by 
 Admiral Saunders. There were men in that armament who sub 
 sequently occupied conspicuous places in history. On one of the 
 ships was Jervis, afterward the celebrated Earl St. Vincent ; and the 
 master of another was Captain James Cook, the renowned circum 
 navigator. Wolfe s adjutant-general was Isaac Barre, an Irishman 
 with quick wit and eloquent tongue, who, when in Parliament, a 
 dozen years later, lifted up his voice nobly in defence of the op 
 pressed American colonists. At the head of the grenadiers was Guy 
 Carleton, afterward governor of Canada ; and William Howe, the 
 commander-in-chief of the British army in America during the ear 
 lier years of our War for Independence, commanded a corps of light 
 infantry. Besides these, there were Brigadiers Monckton, Town- 
 shend and Murray, young and brave like Wolfe himself, and already 
 
 * " Considering," says Walpole, " that our ancient officers had grown old on a very small por 
 tion of experience, which by no means compensated for the decay of tire and vigor, it was Mr. Pitt s 
 practice to trust his plans to the alertness and hopes of younger men. This appeared particular! v 
 in the nomination of Wolfe for the enterprise on Quebec. Ambition, industry, passion for the ser 
 vice, were conspicuous in him. He seemed to breathe for nothing but fame, and lost no moments 
 in qualifying himself to compass his object. He had studied for his purpose, and wrote well. Pre 
 sumption on himself was necessary to such a character, and he had it. He was formed to execute 
 the designs of such a master as Pitt." Memoirs of George II., ii., 345. 
 
 J 
 
294 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1759 
 
 made wise by experience in arms ; and scores of subalterns, full of 
 the spirit of their commander, inspired the rank and file with life, 
 hope, and deep earnestness. 
 
 When the ice moved from the St. Lawrence, Wolfe embarked his 
 army at Louisburg, and, borne by a fleet of twenty-two ships-of-the- 
 line, and an equal number of frigates and smaller armed vessels, 
 commanded by Admirals Saunders and Holmes, they arrived at the 
 isle of Orleans, a little below Quebec, on the twenty-sixth of June. 
 They debarked the next day, and pitched scores of tents in the 
 midst of fertile and well-cultivated fields around the pleasant church 
 of St. Laurent ; and there, under the direction of Sir Guy Carleton, 
 some strong batteries were erected. Up the river a few miles, upon 
 and around a loft} promontory at the confluence of the St. Law 
 rence and St. Charles rivers, stood Quebec, not then so strengthened 
 by the hand of art as now, yet very strong in its grand declivities, 
 on the summit of which stood the citadel. In that city, and in a 
 strongly-entrenched camp upon the heights of Beauport, extending 
 from the St. Charles to the Montmorenci rivers, was an army of 
 thirteen thousand men, under the command of the brave and accom 
 plished Montcalm. His force consisted of six battalions of regulars, 
 and the remainder of Canadians and Indians. His headquarters 
 were at Beauport, the centre of his camp, and in front were two 
 batteries placed upon hulks sunk in the channel of the St. Law 
 rence. 
 
 The tents of the English army were just arranged at sunset on 
 the day of the debarkation, when a furious thunderstorm swept 
 down the St. Lawrence with terrible power. Upon its wings, at 
 midnight, came a squadron of flaming fire-ships, sent to destroy the 
 English vessels. The British seamen grappled them without fear, 
 towed them away from the menaced fleet, and allowed them to pass 
 harmlessly down the river with the storm. 
 
 Finding Orleans to be too far away to operate with bombs and 
 cannon-shot upon the city, Wolfe sent General Monckton, on the 
 twenty-ninth, to take possession of and fortify Point Levi, nearly 
 opposite Quebec. This was done without much opposition- and, 
 
MT. 27.] WOLFE ON THE ST. LAWRENCE. 295 
 
 from the batteries of mortar and cannon erected there, Monckton 
 hurled shells and red-hot shot upon the city. Fifty houses were set 
 on fire in one night, and the lower town was laid in ruins ; but the 
 citadel, crowning the lofty declivity, remained unscathed. 
 
 Wolfe, eager for results, and conscious that little progress had 
 been made, resolved to lead his division across the north channel 
 of the St. Lawrence, below the Montrnorenci, and erect batteries 
 there within cannon-shot of the left wing of the French camp. This 
 he accomplished on the tenth of July, in the face of fierce opposi 
 tion. Still, Quebec was too far distant to be further harmed by any 
 of his w r orks ; and so well guarded were the banks of the Montrno 
 renci by steep declivities, all fortified, that he could make no im 
 pression there. Finally, on the eighteenth, he boldly passed up the 
 river, above Quebec, to reconnoitre. The banks were steep, and 
 bristling with entrenchments. The sleepless vigilance of Montcalm 
 was everywhere visible, and Wolfe saw no access to the high plains 
 of Abraham which stretched away from the weakest side of the 
 town. He retired to his camp disappointed but not dispirited, and 
 resolved to storm Montcalm s entrenchments below Beauport, at all 
 hazards. Orders were accordingly given, and preparations were 
 made. 
 
 The last day of July had dawned, when the troops at Point Levi, 
 and a large number of grenadiers under Monckton, crossed the St. 
 Lawrence in the boats of the fleet, and landed a little above the 
 Montmorenci. At the same time, those below the Montmorenci, un 
 der Generals Townshend and Murray, crossed that stream by ford 
 ing it near its mouth, at low water, and joined the other divisions 
 upon the beach. In crossing, several boats ran aground, and much 
 delay occurred, while the French made ample provisions for receiv 
 ing the English. It was almost night when the two divisions met, 
 and awaited orders from Wolfe, who was on the spot. Heavy thun 
 der-clouds were then rolling up from the west. The grenadiers, 
 impatient of restraint, rushed madly upon the enemy s works, before 
 the other troops, that were to sustain them, had time to form. They 
 were driven back to the beach with a severe loss, and sought shelter 
 
 . j 
 
296 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1759. 
 
 behind a redoubt which had been abandoned by the enemy. The 
 French kept up a galling fire, till the gathering tempest burst with 
 great fury upon the combatants. Night closed in while the storm 
 was yet raging. The ocean-tide came roaring up against the cur 
 rent of the St. Lawrence with uncommon strength, and the British 
 were compelled to retreat to their camp across the Montmorenci, to 
 avoid submersion on the beach by the foaming waters. The loss of 
 the English in that unfortunate attempt was more than four hun 
 dred men. 
 
 Wolfe now sent General Murray, with a detachment of twelve 
 hundred men, to co-operate with Admiral Holmes in destroying the 
 French shipping above Quebec, and in opening a communication 
 with Arnherst, from whom nothing had been heard. This expedi 
 tion was almost fruitless, except in the destruction of a magazine ; 
 but Murray returned with the joyful intelligence that the French 
 had been driven from Niagara, Ticonderoga, and Crown Point. This 
 was a ray of light in the midst of the gloom, and Wolfe earnestly 
 and anxiously expected the approach of Amherst every hour. But 
 at that moment, Avhen he should have been on a victorious march 
 to assist in reducing Quebec, Amherst was repairing and building 
 useless fortifications on Lake Champlain. 
 
 Wolfe was greatly dispirited by this repulse from the French 
 works, for he was very sensitive to censure, and he expected much 
 for this miscarriage. The emotions of his mind, co-operating with 
 great fatigue of body, brought on a fever and dysentery, which 
 nearly proved fatal, and it was almost a month before he was able 
 to resume his command in person. Having recovered sufficiently 
 to write, he drew up a despatch to Pitt on the second of September. 
 After detailing the events, referring to his illness, and frankly con 
 fessing that he had called a council of war, to consult for the gen 
 eral safety, he said : " We have almost the whole force of Canada to 
 oppose us. In this situation there is such a choice of difficulties, 
 that I own myself at a loss how to determine. The affairs of Great 
 Britain require the most vigorous measures ; but then the courage 
 of a handful of brave men should be exerted only where there is 
 
#>. o 7 .] PREPARATIONS TO ATTACK QUEBEC. 297 
 
 some hope of a favorable event." When this letter reached Eng 
 land, it excited consternation and anger. Pitt feared that he had 
 been mistaken in his favorite general, and that the next news would 
 be that he had either been destroyed or had capitulated.* But in 
 the conclusion of his melancholy epistle, Wolfe had said that he 
 would do his best; and that "best" turned out to be a miracle of 
 war. He declared that he would rather die than be brought to a 
 court-martial for miscarrying; and, in conjunction with his briga 
 diers and Admiral Saunders, he concerted, while stretched upon his 
 bed in his tent, a plan for scaling the almost inaccessible Heights of 
 Abraham, and gaining possession of that elevated plateau in the 
 rear of Quebec. 
 
 The camp at Montmorenci was now broken up, and all the troops 
 and artillery, except a garrison left on the island of Orleans, were 
 conveyed to Point Levi, and there taken, by a part of the fleet, far 
 up the river, while the remainder lingered and made feigned prepa 
 rations for a second attack upon Montcalm s entrenchments at Beau- 
 port. De Bougainville was sent with fifteen hundred men to watch 
 the movements of the British above Quebec, and so deceived was 
 the French commander by their manoeuvres, that he was fully per 
 suaded that his camp was to be attacked. 
 
 Wolfe, though weak and suffering, resolved to lead the expedi 
 tion, and he was with the troops that ascended the river. It was 
 the twelfth of September, and the brief Canadian summer was over. 
 After midnight, while clouds were gathering in the firmament, the 
 army left the vessels, and in flat-boats, without oars or sails, they 
 glided down noiselessly with the tide, followed by the ships soon 
 afterward. Wolfe was in good spirits, yet there was evidently a 
 presentiment of speedy death in his mind. At his evening mess on 
 
 * The news of the repulse reached England on the morning of the sixteenth of October, and was 
 published in an extra " Gazette " of that date. The same evening, Captain Hale arrived, and 
 brought intelligence of the triumph upon the plains of Abraham. The general grief was suddenly 
 changed into great joy, and a day for public thanksgiving was set apart by the king. In describing 
 this event, Horace Walpole wrote: "The incidents of dramatic fiction could not he conducted with 
 more address, to lead an audience from despondency to sudden exultation, than accident prepared 
 to excite the passions of a whole people. They despaired they triumphed and they wept, for 
 Wolfe had fallen in the hour of victory." 
 
293 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1759. 
 
 the ship, he composed and sang impromptu that little song of the 
 camp, commencing 
 
 " Why, soldiers, why, 
 
 Should we be melancholy, boys ? 
 Why, soldiers, why 
 
 Whose business t is to die !" 
 
 And as he sat among his officers, and floated softly down the river 
 at the past-midnight hour, a shadow seemed to come upon his heart, 
 and he repeated, in low, musing tones, that touching stanza of Gray s 
 Elegy in a Country Churchyard 
 
 "The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, 
 
 And all that beauty, all that wealth e er gave, 
 Await alike the inevitable hour: 
 
 The path of glory leads but to the grave !" 
 
 At the close, he whispered : " Now, gentlemen, I would prefer being 
 the author of that poem to the glory of beating the French to 
 morrow."* 
 
 The flotilla reached a cove which Wolfe had marked for a land 
 ing-place (and which still bears his name), before daybreak, and 
 there debarked. At the head of the main division, Wolfe pushed 
 eagerly up a narrow and rough ravine ; while the light infantry 
 and Highlanders, under Colonel Howe, climbed the steep acclivity 
 by the aid of the maple, spruce, and ash saplings and shrubs which 
 covered its rugged face. The sergeant s guard on its brow was soon 
 dispersed, and at dawn, on the thirteenth, almost five thousand Brit 
 ish troops were drawn up in battle array on the plains of Abraham, 
 three hundred feet above the St. Lawrence. 
 
 Montcalm could hardly believe the messenger who brought him 
 intelligence of this marshalling of the English upon the weak side 
 of the city. "It can be but a small party come to burn a few 
 houses, and return," he said ; but he was soon undeceived. Then 
 he saw the imminent danger to which the town and garrison were 
 exposed ; and he immediately abandoned his entrenchments, and 
 
 * This anecdote is given on the nmhority of Midshipman (afterward Professor) John Robinson, 
 of Edinburgh, who was in the boat with Wolfe. 
 
,Er. 27.] DEATH OF WOLFE. 299 
 
 led a large portion of his army across the St. Charles, to attack the 
 invaders. He sent messengers to call back De Bougainville, and 
 at ten o clock Montcalm was upon the plains of Abraham, and his 
 army in battle line. The French had three field-pieces ; the English 
 had but one, and that was a light six-pounder which some sailors 
 had dragged up the ravine. 
 
 Wolfe placed himself on the right, at the head of the Louisburg 
 grenadiers, who were burning with a desire to wipe out the stain of 
 their defeat at the Montmorenci. Montcalm was on the left, at the 
 head of the regiments of Languedoc, Bearne, and Guienne. So the 
 two commanders stood face to face. Wolfe ordered his men to load 
 with two bullets each, and to reserve their fire until the French 
 should be within forty yards. These orders were strictly obeyed, 
 and their double-shotted guns did terrible execution. After deliv 
 ering several rounds in rapid succession, which threw the French 
 into confusion, the English charged upon them furiously with their 
 bayonets. 
 
 While urging on his battalions in this charge, Wolfe was singled 
 out by some Canadians on the left, and was slightly wounded in the 
 wrist. He stanched the blood with a handkerchief, and, while 
 cheering on his men, received a second wound, in the groin. A 
 few minutes afterward, another bullet struck him in the breast, and 
 brought him to the ground, mortally wounded. At that moment, 
 regardless of self, he thought only of victory for his troops. " Sup 
 port me," he said to an officer near him ; " let not my brave soldiers 
 see me drop. The day is ours keep it!" He was taken to the 
 rear, while his troops continued to charge. The officer on whose 
 shoulder he was leaning, exclaimed, " They run ! they run !" The 
 waning light returned to the dim eyes of the hero, and he asked, 
 "Who runs?" "The enemy, sir; they give way everywhere." 
 " What," feebly exclaimed Wolfe, " do they run already ? Go to 
 Colonel Preston, and tell him to march Webb s regiment immedi 
 ately to the bridge over the St. Charles, and cut off the fugitives 
 retreat. Now, God be praised, I die happy !" These were his last 
 words, and in the midst of sorrowing companions, just at the rno- 
 
300 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1760. 
 
 inent of victory, he expired.* Montcalm, who was fighting gal 
 lantly at the head of the French, also received a mortal wound. 
 "Death is certain," said his surgeon. "I am glad of it," replied 
 Montcalm; "how long shall I survive?" "Ten or twelve hours, 
 perhaps less." "So much the better: I shall not live to see the 
 surrender of Quebec !" He wrote a letter to General Townshend, 
 recommending the prisoners to the humanity of the British, and 
 expired at five o clock the next morning. Almost seventy years 
 afterward, an English governor of Canada caused a noble granite 
 obelisk to be erected in the city of Quebec to the memory of WOLFE 
 and MONTCALM. 
 
 The command of the army now devolved on General Townshend ; 
 and, after the flight of the French, who had five hundred of their 
 number slain on the field, he took a strong position on the plains 
 of Abraham, and commenced the erection of redoubts, preparatory 
 to storming the city. Some of the French officers were disposed to 
 hold out, but the inhabitants said : " We have sacrificed our fortunes 
 and our homes, without murmuring; but we can not expose our 
 wives and children to destruction." Five days afterward, the city 
 of Quebec capitulated ; and the remnant of the grand army of the 
 French, under M. de Levi, who succeeded Montcalm, retired to 
 Montreal. General Murray was left to defend the battered and 
 half-ruined city, and the British fleet, fearful of frost, weighed an 
 chor and left the St. Lawrence, carrying away about a thousand 
 prisoners. Thus brilliantly ended the campaign of 1759. But the 
 conquest of Canada was not complete. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1760, De Levi marched upon Quebec with 
 a motley army of ten thousand men, composed of French regulars, 
 Canadians, and Indians, with a determination to retake the city. 
 
 * James Wolfe was born in Westerham, in Kent, England, on the second of January, 1727. He 
 entered the army very young, and soon distinguished himself by skill, judgment, and bravery. His 
 assault on Quebec was one of the boldest achievements ever attempted, and he fell at the age of 
 thirty-two. His body was conveyed to England on board the Koyal William, and buried at Green 
 wich, on the twentieth of November, 1759, where, in the family vault, the remains of the hero rest 
 by the side of his father and mother. The British government erected a monument to his memory 
 in Westminster abbey. The remains of Montcalm rest within the grounds of the Ursuline convent 
 at Quebec. 
 
^ET. 28.] CONQUEST OF CANADA. 301 
 
 Murray, with seven thousand troops, went out to attack him on the 
 twenty-eighth of April, but was sorely defeated, lost all of his artil 
 lery, and came near being cut oif in his retreat to the town. De 
 Levi followed up his successes most vigorously ; and as soon as the 
 ice left the St. Lawrence, he brought up six French frigates, en 
 camped his army upon the heights above Point Levi, and prepared 
 to beleaguer the city by land and water. Fortunately for the Eng 
 lish, Lord Colville arrived at this juncture, with two good frigates, 
 and destroyed the French vessels in the presence of De Levi. Thor 
 oughly alarmed at the suddenness of the event, and fearing that 
 these two fast sailers were only the van of a powerful fleet, the 
 French commander retreated precipitately to Montreal, leaving his 
 artillery and stores behind. So rapid was his flight, that Murray, 
 who started in pursuit, could not overtake him. 
 
 All was now lost to the French, except Montreal, where Yau- 
 dreuil, the governor-general of the province, had established his 
 headquarters, cast up fortifications, and gathered around him all the 
 military strength that was left. Amherst was again in the field, 
 and during the summer he made extensive preparations to strike 
 the final blow. Slowly, but surely, he concentrated his materials 
 near the doomed city. At the head of almost ten thousand men, 
 and a thousand warriors of the Six Nations under Sir William 
 Johnson, he moved by the way of Lake Ontario and the St. Law 
 rence, and appeared before Montreal on the sixth of September. 
 On the same day, General Murray arrived from Quebec with four 
 thousand troops ; and the next day Colonel Haviland appeared with 
 three thousand more, from Crown Point, having taken the Isle Aux 
 Noix on the way. Against such a crushing force resistance would 
 be vain ; and, on the eighth, Vaudreuil signed a capitulation, by 
 which Montreal and all Canada were surrendered to the English. 
 General Gage was appointed governor of Montreal, and General 
 Murray, with five thousand troops, garrisoned Quebec. 
 
 Thus ended the fierce struggle between the French and English 
 for dominion in the New World. In Washington s encounter with 
 De Jumonville, six years before, the first gun had been fired, and 
 
302 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1760. 
 
 the first blood had flowed. In this contest the colonists discovered 
 their inherent strength and independence ; and the experience 
 gained by the young Virginia colonel, and a host of others, during 
 the war, was of infinite value to their country in after-years, when 
 the Americans fulfilled the prediction of the duke de Choiseul, who 
 consoled himself for the loss of Canada by the full persuasion that 
 it would be a fatal triumph to England. " They will no longer 
 need her protection," he said ; " she will call on them to contribute 
 toward supporting the burden they have helped to bring on her, 
 and they will answer by striking off her dependence." 
 
 Trouble yet lingered in the far South. The Cherokees had been 
 powerfully stirred by French emissaries and by outrages committed 
 upon a party of their warriors by a band of Virginians, and they 
 lifted the hatchet in fierce indignation. In the spring of 1760, they 
 spread destruction along the whole frontier of the Carolinas. Am- 
 herst sent troops thither under Colonel Montgomery, and they deso 
 lated the country of those brave mountaineers. But they were not 
 subdued until the following year, when a strong party under Colo 
 nel Grant chastised them severely, and in June they humbly sued 
 for peace. This was really the last blow given to French power in 
 America. 
 
JET. 28.] WASHINGTON IN RETIREMENT. 303 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON HIS TASTES AND PURSUITS THE MANSION 
 
 AND ESTATE OF MOUNT VERNON THE VIRGINIA PLANTER DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 A LARGE ESTATE PRODUCTS OF WASHINGTON S FARMS HIS BUSINESS HABITS 
 
 IMPORTATIONS OF CLOTHING SOCIETY AND STYLE OF LIVING AMUSE 
 MENTS ANECDOTE INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 
 
 IT is delightful to turn from the contemplation of the dark visage 
 of War, which presents the vices of camps, the tumults of sieges, 
 and the clangor of battles, to that of the serene aspect of Peace, 
 where scenes of contentment and repose, and the virtues and pleas 
 ures of domestic and rural life, appear like luminous pictures of the 
 Land of the Blessed. 
 
 For awhile we have been studying the character of Washington 
 in the lurid glare or painful glitter of war, and have seen in him 
 the development of attributes which prophesied of a remarkable 
 career. Now we may contemplate his life his young and vigor 
 ous life in the soft light and cool shadows of social and domestic 
 pleasures and the charms of rural pursuits, varied only by the dig 
 nified and beneficent duties of a wise legislator in a time of tran 
 quillity. Around his large and beautiful estate of Mount Yernon 
 were clustered associations of deep interest for him. There he had 
 passed many of the happiest days of his boyhood under the careful 
 eye and friendly counsels of a brother who loved him tenderly ; and 
 the mansion and its broad acres, which he now came to occupy, 
 were the gift of that brother when dying. It was therefore, to him, 
 a consecrated spot ; and deeper feelings than those inspired by the 
 idea of possession, or the influence of natural beauties, made it 
 always a retreat to be coveted when the weight of public duties 
 pressed upon him. Agriculture was his delight; and at all times, 
 
304 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1759- 63. 
 
 whether in the camp or in the presidential chair, there was no theme 
 for contemplation that gave his mind more pleasure than this. 
 With an ample fortune at his command, and a large estate,* his 
 highest aims seem to have been to increase that fortune by exem 
 plary management, and to sustain an irreproachable character as a 
 country-gentleman, by a faithful performance of citizenship duties, 
 and the cultivation of the domestic and social virtues. With such 
 aims he wrote to a kinsman in London, a few months after his mar 
 riage : " I am now, I believe, fixed in this seat, with an agreeable 
 partner for life, and I hope to find more happiness in retirement 
 than I ever experienced amidst the wide and bustling world." 
 
 The mansion at Mount V ernon is yet standing, with several of its 
 out-buildings, all bearing deep impressions of the tooth of time ; but 
 the aspect of the landscape around it is much changed, except in 
 the contour of the hills and the expanse of the broad Potomac. It 
 stands upon the brow of a high plateau, which was then crowned 
 with the primeval forest, and commanded a magnificent view up 
 and down the river, and of the opposite shores of Maryland. The 
 grounds around it were arranged in accordance with the taste of 
 English landscape-gardening at that time ; and in different clearings 
 of the forest which covered a great portion of the vast estate, were 
 farms, each devoted to a special kind of culture, in which appropri 
 ate laborers were employed. System was everywhere the rule. 
 The ground was picturesquely diversified ; sometimes furrowed by 
 deep ravines, or scarred by shaded dells scooped in the hillsides, 
 wherein favorite game found shelter ; and it was enlivened in every 
 direction by streams of water. On the river-bank it was indented 
 by estuaries in whose depths the finest table-fishes sported, and on 
 
 * The daughter of Lawrence Washington had recently died, and, according to the provisions of 
 his will, the estate of Mount Vernon passed into the possession of his brother George. This was 
 of itself an ample fortune for a prudent manager like Washington. The property of Mrs. Wash 
 ington, added to this, made him rank among the wealthiest planters in Virginia. Her first husband 
 had left her large landed property, and more than two hundred thousand dollars in money, consist 
 ing of certificates of deposite in the bank of England. The iron chest in which these certificates were 
 kept (for there were no banks in America at that time), is now (1857) in the possession of Mrs. 
 Washington s grandson, George W. P. Custis, of Arlington House. The property left Mrs. Custis 
 was equally divided between herself and her two children, a boy of six and a girl of four years of 
 :it:e. By a decree of the general court, Washington was appointed the guardian of these children. 
 He was always as a father to them, and he managed their property with discretion and fidelity. 
 
MT. 27-31.] A VIRGINIA ESTATE. 305 
 
 whose surface stately swans and flocks of wild geese and ducks de 
 lighted to congregate. " No estate in United America," Washington 
 once wrote, " is more pleasantly situated. In a high and healthy 
 country ; in a latitude between the extremes of heat and cold ; on 
 one of the finest rivers in the world a river well stocked with va 
 rious kinds of fish at all seasons of the year, and in the spring with 
 shad, herrings, bass, carp, sturgeon, etc., in great abundance. The 
 borders of the estate are washed by more than ten miles of tide 
 water ; several valuable fisheries appertain to it : the whole shore, 
 in fact, is one entire fishery." Such was the delightful home to 
 which Washington conveyed his wife, in the spring of 1759. 
 
 But for the pleasures of social intercourse, which fostered a bound 
 less hospitality, the occupation of a Virginia planter before the Rev 
 olution must have been extremely monotonous. The estates were 
 large, the population w r as scattered, and the methods of communica 
 tion were slow and inconvenient. " A large Virginia estate in those 
 days," says Irving, " was a little empire. The mansion-house was 
 the seat of government, with its numerous dependencies, such as 
 kitchens, smoke-houses, workshops, and stables. In this mansion 
 the planter ruled supreme ; his steward, or overseer, was his prime 
 minister and executive officer ; he had his legion of house-negroes 
 for domestic service, and his host of field-negroes for the culture of 
 tobacco, Indian corn, and other crops, and for other out-of-door 
 labor. Their quarter formed a kind of hamlet apart, composed of 
 various huts, with little gardens and poultry-yards, all well stocked, 
 and swarms of little negroes gambolling in the sunshine. Then 
 there were large wooden edifices for curing tobacco, the staple and 
 most profitable production, and mills for grinding wheat and Indian 
 corn, of which large fields were cultivated for the supply of the 
 family and the maintenance of the negroes. Among the slaves 
 were artificers of all kinds, tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, smiths, 
 wheelwrights, and so forth." 
 
 Tobacco was the staple product of Washington s estate. He ex 
 ported large quantities to England, shipping it in his own name, in 
 vessels that came up the Potomac and received it from his wharves. 
 
 20 
 
306 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY [1759- 63. 
 
 He also raised large crops of wheat and Indian corn ; and so noted 
 for excellence was everything bearing his brand, that a barrel of 
 flour stamped " George Washington, Mount Yernon," was exempted 
 from the customary inspection in the West India ports.* 
 
 Unlike many of the Virginia planters, Washington did not leave 
 the care of his estate wholly to his overseer. Active, methodical, 
 and industrious, he exercised a general personal supervision. He 
 was an early riser ; and, after making a frugal breakfast upon a few 
 Indian cakes and some tea or coffee,f he mounted his horse and vis 
 ited every part of his estate where the current operations seemed 
 to require his presence. 
 
 It was the practice in those days for the Virginia planters to send 
 to London for all articles in common use, such as agricultural imple 
 ments, and saddles, bridles, and harness, for their horses. Twice a 
 year, Washington forwarded to his agent, in London, lists of articles 
 that he desired, even of wearing-apparel for himself and family. He 
 gave the names, ages, sizes, and general description, of the two chil 
 dren of Mrs. Washington. In an order sent to Richard Washington 
 in 1761, he says, after referring to an invoice of clothes sent: "As 
 they are designed for wearing-apparel for myself, I have committed 
 the choice of them to your fancy, having the best opinion of your 
 taste. I want neither lace nor embroidery. Plain clothes, with 
 gold or silver buttons, if worn in genteel dress, are all that I desire. 
 Whether it be the fault of the tailor or of the measure sent, I can not 
 say, but, certain it is, my clothes have never fitted me well. I en 
 close a measure, and, for a further direction, I think it not amiss to 
 add, that my stature is six feet ; otherwise rather slender than cor 
 pulent." J Washington always required his agent to send him, in 
 
 * Speech of Robert C. Winthrop on laying the corner-stone of the Washington monument at 
 Washington city. 
 
 t Washington s abstemiousness at breakfast appears to have been a marked exception to a gen 
 eral rule. The Reverend Andrew Barnaby, who travelled extensively in America in the years 1759 
 and 1760, and visited Mount Vernon several times during the first year of Washington s marriage, 
 says : "In several parts of .Virginia, the ancient custom of eating meat at breakfast still continues. 
 At the top of the table, where the lady of the house presides, there is constantly tea and coffee ; but 
 the rest of the table is garnished out with roast fowls, ham, venison, game, and other dainties. Even 
 at Williamsburg, it is the custom to have a plate of cold ham upon the table ; and there is scarcely 
 a Virginian lady who breakfasts without it." 
 
 J "In exact measure," says Sparks (i., 110), "his height was six feet, three inches." 
 
JET. 27-31.] STYLE OF LIVING. 307 
 
 addition to a general bill of the whole, the original vouchers of 
 the shopkeepers and mechanics from whom purchases were made ; 
 and these, for many years, he carefully transcribed into books, 
 with his own hand. He kept his own accounts, and with great 
 accuracy; and every portion of his business was conducted with 
 all the scrupulous care and nicety of mercantile operations. He 
 usually drew up for himself all papers requiring legal knowledge 
 and accuracy ; and it was his habit through life, in private as well 
 as in public transactions, not to rely upon others for what he could 
 do himself. 
 
 Although plain in their persons, Washington and his family lived 
 in a style not unlike that of the English aristocracy at that time. 
 When abroad, he always appeared on horseback, with excellent 
 equipments,* accompanied by Bishop, his favorite body-servant; 
 and his stable was furnished with numerous thoroughbred horses, 
 kept in the best condition, and honored with distinctive names. 
 For Mrs. Washington and her lady-visiters, he kept a chariot and 
 four horses, w r ith black postillions in livery, and these were frequent 
 ly seen and admired on the road between Mount Vernon and Alex 
 andria, or the neighboring estates. He loved the society of persons 
 of intelligence and refinement, and with Mrs. Washington he often 
 visited Annapolis, the seat of government in Maryland, which was 
 then distinguished as a resort of the wealthy, the fashionable, and 
 the learned. Mr. Irving,-)* on the authority of an octogenarian who 
 had resided there in his boyhood, gives a glimpse of fashionable so 
 ciety in Annapolis at that period. " In those parts of the country 
 where the roads were too rough for carriages," said his informant, 
 
 * The following order given to his London agent will give the reader a general idea of his ap 
 pearance, when fully equipped for the road : 
 
 " 1 man s riding-saddle, hogskin seat ; large, plated stirrups, and everything complete. Double- 
 reined bridle, and Pelham bit, plated. 
 
 " A very neat and fashionable Newmarket saddle-cloth. 
 "A large and best portmanteau, saddle, bridle, and pillion. 
 " Cloak-bag, surcingle ; checked saddle-cloth, holsters, &c. 
 
 A riding-frock of a handsome drab-colored broadcloth, with plain double-gilt buttons. 
 
 A riding-waistcoat of superfine scarlet cloth and gold lace, with buttons like those of the coat. 
 
 A blue surtout-coat. 
 
 A neat switch-whip, silver cap. 
 
 Black-velvet cap for servant." 
 
 t Life of Washington, note, i., 322. 
 
308 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1759- 63. 
 
 " the ladies used to ride on ponies, followed by black servants on 
 horseback. In this way my mother, then advanced in life, used to 
 travel, in a scarlet cloth riding-habit, which she had procured from 
 England. Nay, in this way, on emergencies," he added, " the young 
 ladies from the country used to come to the balls at Annapolis, riding 
 with their hoops arranged fore and aft like lateen sails; and, after 
 dancing all night, would ride home again in the morning." 
 
 For fifteen years, Washington was continually a member of the 
 Virginia house of burgesses, being chosen by large majorities at 
 every election ; and while there, he met on terms of great intimacy 
 the governor and others of the most eminent men in the province. 
 The civilities which he received when abroad were always returned, 
 on a large and generous scale, at Mount V ernon. " When he was 
 at home," says Sparks,* " a day seldom passed without the company 
 of friends or strangers at his house. In his diaries the names of 
 these visiters are often mentioned, and we find among them the 
 governors of Virginia and Maryland, and nearly all the celebrated 
 men of the southern and middle colonies, who were afterward con 
 spicuous in the history of the country." The eminent George Ma 
 son, of Gunston Hall, who was his nearest neighbor, and the eccen 
 tric old Lord Fairfax, of Greenway Court, were frequent guests at 
 Mount Vernon ; and among the occasional visiters, whom Washing 
 ton esteemed most highly, were Colonel Hugh Mercer, then quietly 
 following the business of a druggist at Fredericksburg, and Doctor 
 Craik, of Alexandria, his family physician. Both of them had been 
 his companions-in-arms, and the campaigning recollections of the 
 three were fruitful themes for discourse when they met. Indeed, 
 every man, whether officer or private, who had been in military 
 service with Washington, always received a cordial greeting at 
 Mount Vernon. 
 
 Washington was fond of amusements, especially those of the the- 
 atref and of the chase. The former was then a recent importation 
 
 * Writings of Washington, i., 111. 
 
 t The first theatrical performance in America was at Annapolis, in July, 1752. The players 
 were part of a company under the direction of Lewis Hullam. In September of the same year the 
 whole company were at Williamsburg, where they performed Shakespeare s Merchant of Venice. 
 
Mr. 27-31.] THE POACHER PUNISHED. 309 
 
 from England. The attractive appointments of the drama in our 
 day were then unknown, yet the performances were of considerable 
 merit, and delighted the aristocracy of Virginia and Maryland, who 
 were inexperienced in such matters, and had no data for criticism. 
 But the chase was Washington s chief amusement, and at the proper 
 season he would often go out two or three times a week with horses, 
 dogs, and horns, in pursuit of foxes, accompanied by his neighbors 
 or guests. He w r as a fine horseman, but not an expert sportsman, 
 and the foxes frequently eluded him, only to fall a prey to a more 
 skilful companion. But these failures never disturbed him. His 
 chief objects, excitement and recreation, were fully attained, and 
 he was satisfied. 
 
 Washington was also fond of fowling ; and duck-shooting, upon 
 the little bays along his river-front, was his special delight. At cer 
 tain seasons of the year, he could gratify this passion to its fullest 
 extent, for the water would frequently swarm with the fine canvass- 
 backs, now such a luxury upon our tables. In connection with this 
 sport, a story is related which illustrates the muscular strength, per 
 sonal courage, and unwavering determination, of Washington. A 
 lawless vagabond had annoyed him for a long time, by crossing the 
 river from the Maryland shore in a canoe, and shooting ducks and 
 other game in the vicinity of Mount Vernon. He had been warned 
 off repeatedly, but answered by insulting words. One day, Wash 
 ington heard the report of a gun, and mounting his horse, he rode 
 in the direction of the sound. It was the gun of the reckless intru 
 der. He discovered the approach of Washington just in time to 
 jump into his canoe and push from the shore, when it became en 
 tangled in the reeds. As Washington dashed through the bushes 
 toward him, the culprit raised his fowling-piece, cocked it, and took 
 deliberate aim. Washington rode into the water, seized the bow 
 line of the canoe, drew it to the shore, leaped from his horse, 
 snatched the gun and ruined it by bending the barrel over his knee, 
 and then inflicted a severe chastisement upon the poacher. The 
 
 There Washington saw them perform frequently; and, when they left, Governor Dinwiddie gave 
 Mr. Hallam his certificate that his company were good comedians. 
 
310 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1759- 63. 
 
 punishment was effectual, and intruders upon the domain of Mount 
 Vernon were few and cautious afterward. 
 
 Washington loved to be upon the bosom of the Potomac, and, 
 like other Virginia gentlemen of the time, who lived near its banks, 
 he kept a fine barge, and black, liveried oarsmen, for state occasions. 
 Pleasant sailing-boats were frequently seen sweeping along the sur 
 face of the river, freighted with ladies and gentlemen going from 
 mansion to mansion ; and the mutual visiters at Belvoir and Mount 
 Yernon were generally conveyed in this way from one place to the 
 other, when the weather was fine. When at Annapolis or Williams- 
 burg, Mr. and Mrs. Washington generally attended the balls and 
 parties given by the elite of those provincial capitals, and they fre 
 quently joined in the dance. This was not a favorite amusement 
 of Washington ; and by the lips of one who was a belle and a -bride 
 while the Revolution was in progress, we have been assured that, 
 after that event, either from disinclination or a sense of the dignity 
 of his character, Washington never danced. She had seen him fre 
 quently at balls (for he loved to encourage the innocent amuse 
 ments of the young), and he sometimes " walked a figure, but never 
 danced."* 
 
 In rural occupations and pleasant social intercourse, Washington 
 spent several years tranquilly and happily at Mount Yernon. He 
 was childless, but his best affections were cultivated and gratified 
 by the daily intercourse and filial attachment of Mrs. Washington s 
 children, whom he tenderly loved and carefully instructed. Al 
 though he indulged freely in social pleasures, these were never 
 allowed to interfere with his duties, public or private. As a legisla- 
 
 * About a month before his death, Washington wrote the following note in reply to an invitation 
 from a committee of gentlemen, at Alexandria, for himself and Mrs. Washington to attend the 
 dancing assemblies at that place : 
 
 " To Messrs. Jonathan Siuift, George Deneale, William yen-ton, Robert Young, Charles Alexander, jr., 
 
 James II. Hoole, Managers. 
 
 ".MOUNT VKRNON, Kth Novrmber, 1799. 
 
 " GENTLEMEN : Mrs. Washington and myself have been honored with your polite invitation to 
 the assemblies of Alexandria, this winter, and thank you for this mark of your attention. But alas ! 
 our dancing-days are no more. We wish, however, all those who have a relish for so agreeable and 
 innocent an amusement, all the pleasure the season will afford them ; and I am, gentlemen, 
 " Your most obedient and obliged 
 
 " Humble servant, " GEORGE WASHINGTON." 
 
M v. 27-31.] THE DISMAL SWAMP. 311 
 
 tor, he was punctual and industrious ; as a judge of Fairfax county, 
 he was studious and prompt; and every matter of public concern 
 engaged his earnest thoughts, and frequently his personal services. 
 
 Schemes for internal improvements, for facilitating the develop 
 ments of the resources of the country, often occupied Washington s 
 most serious attention. At about the time we are considering, he 
 was engaged, with some other enterprising gentlemen, in a project 
 to drain the Dismal swamp, an immense morass, lying partly in 
 Virginia and partly in North Carolina, and extending thirty miles 
 from north to south, and ten miles from east to west. Within its 
 dark bosom, and nowhere appearing above its surface, are the 
 sources of five navigable rivers and several creeks ; and in its cen 
 tre is a body of water known as Drummond s lake, so named from 
 its alleged first discoverer. A great portion of the morass is covered 
 with tall cypresses, cedars, hemlocks, and junipers, draped with long 
 mosses and covered with creeping vines. In many places it is made 
 impassable by fallen trees, thick brakes, and a dense growth of 
 shrubbery. Thomas Moore, who visited it in 1804, has well indi 
 cated its character, in the following stanzas of his legendary poem, 
 called The Lake of the Dismal Swamp : 
 
 "Away to the Dismal swamp he speeds 
 
 His path was rugged and sore, 
 Through tangled juniper, beds of reeds, 
 Through many a fen where the serpent feeds, 
 And man never trod before ! 
 
 "And when on the earth he sunk to sleep, 
 
 If slumber his eyelids knew, 
 He lay where the deadly vine doth weep 
 Its venomous tears, and nightly steep 
 
 The flesh with blistering dew !"* 
 
 * " They tell of a young man," says Moore, in his introduction to his poem, "who lost his mind 
 upon the death of a girl he loved ; and who, suddenly disappearing from his friends, was never after 
 ward heard of. As he frequently said, in his ravings, that the girl was not dead, but gone to the 
 Dismal swamp, it is supposed that he had wandered into that dreary wilderness, and had died of 
 hunger, or been lost in some of its dreadful morasses." The poet makes him say : 
 
 " They made her grave too cold and damp, " And her fire-fly lamp I eoon shall see, 
 
 For a soul so warm and true, Ami her paddle I soon shall hear ; 
 
 And she s gone to the lake of the Dismal swamp, Long arid loving our life shall be, 
 
 Where all night long by her fire-fly lamp And 1 11 hide the maid in a cypress-tree, 
 
 She paddles her white canoe When the footsteps of Death are near !" 
 
312 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1759- G3. 
 
 Toward the southern portions of the swamp there is a tract cov 
 ered with reeds, without any trees. These are continually green, 
 and, as they wave in the wind, have the appearance of water. On 
 that account it is called " The Green Sea." The eastern borders 
 of the swamp are covered with tall reeds, closely interlaced with 
 thorny bamboo-briers, and present an almost impassable barrier 
 even to the wild beasts that prowl there. Into this dismal region 
 Washington penetrated, on foot and on horseback, until he reached 
 the lake in its centre. He circumtraversed this lake, in a journey 
 of almost twenty miles, sometimes over a quaking bog, and at oth 
 ers in mud and water ; and just at sunset he reached the solid earth 
 on the margin of the swamp, w r here he passed the night. The next 
 day he completed his explorations, and having observed the soil, its 
 productions, the lake and its altitude, he returned home, convinced 
 that the immense morass might be easily drained, for it lay consid 
 erably higher than the surrounding country. Through his influ 
 ence, the Virginia legislature gave a charter to an association of 
 gentlemen who constituted the " Dismal Swamp Company." Some, 
 less sanguine of success than Washington, withheld their co-opera 
 tion, and the project was abandoned for the time. 
 
 It was reserved for the enterprise of a later day to open the Dis 
 mal swamp to the hand of industry. A canal now passes through 
 it from north to south, upon the bosom of which immense quantities 
 of shingles and lumber are floated to accessible deposites. By that 
 canal the swamp might easily be drained, and converted into fine 
 tillable land. To every visiter there, the wisdom and forecast of 
 Washington, in suggesting such improvement a hundred years ago, 
 is remarkably manifest. 
 
JET. 27-31.] EFFECTS OF THE TREATY OF PARIS. 313 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 TREATY OF PARIS BRITISH PRIDE, AND THE SPIRIT OF THE COLONISTS BOARD 
 
 OF TRADE AND ITS OPERATIONS TAXATION WHAT THE COLONISTS HAD 
 
 DONE COMMERCIAL INFLUENCE CANADA AND THE WEST INDIES WRITS 
 
 OF ASSISTANCE OPPOSITION TO THEM JAMES OTIS WASHINGTON A COM 
 MISSIONER TO SETTLE MILITARY ACCOUNTS PONTIAC S WAR RENEWAL OF 
 
 COLONIAL DISCONTENTS THEIR INFLUENCE UPON WASHINGTON REVENUE 
 
 LAWS GEORGE GRENVILLE THE STAMP-ACT PROPOSED EFFECTS OF THE 
 
 PROPOSITION PASSAGE OF THE STAMP-ACT. 
 
 THE war which commenced in America, finally spread over por 
 tions of western Europe and the West India islands, and Spain 
 became a party in the quarrel, on the side of France. That contest 
 was ended by a treaty signed at Paris on the tenth of February, 
 1763. By its provisions, the British possessions in America were 
 made to extend from the Atlantic ocean to the Mississippi river, 
 and from the gulf of Mexico to the Arctic circle. It was a conquest 
 vast and immensely important, and Britain was justly proud of the 
 extent and character of her dominions in the New World. That 
 pride gave birth to intense desires for power, and a jealousy of her 
 transatlantic children, in whom she had discovered so much strength 
 and other palpable elements of independent growth. That pride 
 and jealousy, quickened by this perception, had been active a long 
 time before the close of the war, when the result was plainly fore 
 shadowed, in endeavors to weave a bond of indissoluble union be 
 tween the colonies and the mother-country. And it might have 
 been indissoluble, if its texture had been composed of wise and just 
 materials; for the Anglo-Americans were proud of their origin, and 
 of their political connection with a government so powerful as that 
 of Great Britain, strengthened as it was by many and important 
 victories when the contest drew to a close. 
 
314 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1761- 63. 
 
 From the beginning, the colonists had evinced an impatience of 
 arbitrary rule ; and every manifestation of undue control by local 
 magistrates or distant monarchs every effort to abridge their lib 
 erties or absorb their gains had stimulated the growth of demo 
 cratic principles. These now permeated the whole social life in 
 America, and finally evolved from the crude materials of royal char 
 ters, religious covenants, and popular axioms, that galaxy of repre 
 sentative governments which, having the justice of the English 
 constitution, the truth of Christian ethics, and the wisdom of past 
 experience for their foundation, were united, in " the fullness of 
 time," in that symmetrical combination of free institutions the 
 REPUBLIC OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The board of trade and plantations, through which the colonists 
 were ruled, had been for a long time much troubled by the persist 
 ence of the colonial assemblies in claiming the right of free deliber 
 ation. It had finally resolved to make the colonies feel the superi 
 ority of the imperial government, and to bow submissively to its 
 will ; and to this end an alteration in the several colonial charters 
 was determined upon in council, with the full concurrence of the 
 young king.* The chief alteration the strongest link in the chain 
 of tyrannous measures now r contemplated was that which would 
 make all of the government officials in America dependent upon 
 the crown, and necessarily become supple instruments of its will. 
 It was also resolved, in council, to establish episcopacy, as the gov 
 ernment religion, in the colonies.-}- Under the direction of the earl 
 
 * King George the Second died on the twenty-fifth of October, 1760, and was succeeded by his 
 grandson, Prince George, son of the deceased Frederick, prince of Wales. Young George was mar 
 ried in September, 1761, and in the same month their majesties were crowned. Among those pres 
 ent at that coronation was John Hancock, of Boston, who, a few years later, became an arch-rebel, 
 and out of the pale of that monarch s clemency. King George was an honest but weak man, and 
 during the earlier years of his reign he was controlled by weak and wicked advisers. Himself and 
 his queen were pure in their morals, and their conduct gave such tone to society, that its influence 
 for good was soon perceived. George was king almost sixty years, having ascended the throne in 
 1760 and died early in 1820. For two years (1787 to 1789) he was afflicted with insanity. The 
 malady returned in 1801, and terminated his political life. He was in his eighty-second year when 
 he died. 
 
 t Among other "reforms in the colonies" proposed by Bute and his associates was the curtail 
 ment of the dissenting influence in religious matters in America, by the establishment of episcopacy 
 there. As early as 1748, Doctor Tucker, the archbishop of Canterbury, had offered the mitre to 
 puritan divines, but they refused it. The colonists, viewing episcopacy in its worst light, as cxhib- 
 
JET. 29-31.] TAXING THE COLONIES. 315 
 
 of Bute, the king s confidential adviser, a cabinet was formed of 
 materials appropriate for such work ; and Charles Townshend, who 
 was ever ready to assume large powers, and was thoroughly im 
 pressed with the omnipotence of Parliament, was chosen first lord 
 of the board of trade, and chief instrument in the administration of 
 the colonies. Associated with him in the work of binding the Amer 
 icans, were the eminent Lord Mansfield, the great English jurist; 
 George Grenville, author of the stamp-act at a later period ; the 
 Duke of Bedford, the representative of the landed aristocracy of 
 Great Britain ; and the hot-headed and unscrupulous earl of Egre- 
 mont, who, before this, had sought to make some of the colonies 
 tremble beneath the menaces of his official frowns. 
 
 Townshend was bold and honest, and despised dissimulation. He 
 therefore announced explicitly, when the ministerial schemes were 
 ripe, that there would be " no more requisitions from the king," but 
 an immediate taxation of the colonists by Parliament, for revenue 
 was wanted and must be created. The war had exhausted the 
 British treasury ; and the ministry, having observed the resources 
 of the colonists, as manifested by their efforts during the recent 
 struggle, looked to them for aid in replenishing the exchequer. 
 But instead of asking it as a favor, it was demanded as a right ; in 
 stead of inviting the colonial assemblies to levy taxes and make 
 appropriations, government assumed the right to tax their expand 
 ing commerce, and levy heavy tribute upon their industry. For 
 more than a hundred years that commerce and industry had felt 
 the restrictions of the board of trade. Yet the colonists had strug 
 gled up, unaided and alone, from feebleness to strength. They had 
 
 ited in the early days- of the American settlements, had been taught to fear such power, if it should 
 happen to be wielded by the hand of a crafty politician, more than the arm of civil government. 
 They knew that if Parliament had power to create dioceses among them, and appoint bishops, it 
 would introduce tithes, and crush heresy. For years, controversy upon this subject ran high in 
 America, and much acrimony appeared on both sides. The most prominent American writers on 
 the subject were William Livingston, afterward governor of New Jersey, and Doctor Chandler, and 
 Samuel Seabury, the latter of whom was subsequently made a bishop. The former wrote against 
 episcopacy, the two latter in favor of it. Episcopacy was introduced into America, but not as a na 
 tional establishment. It took root, and flourished. When the Revolution broke out in 1775, there 
 were many of its adherents (Washington among them) found on the side of liberty; though gener 
 ally, so intimate was its relation to the throne, through the mother-church, that its loyalty became 
 a subject of reproach and suspicion, for the episcopalian clergy, as a body, were active or passive 
 loyalists 
 
316 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1761-63. 
 
 built fortifications, raised armies, and fought battles, for England s 
 glory and their own preservation, without England s aid, and often 
 without her sympathy.* Compelled to be self-reliant from the be 
 ginning, they were made strong by the mother s neglect ; and when 
 to that neglect she finally added oppression and scorn, they felt 
 justified in using their developed strength in defence of their rights, 
 and in regarding the restrictions of the board of trade, now sought 
 to be vigorously enforced, as mere ropes of sand. Now was com 
 menced the fulfilment of the Duke de Choiseul s prediction, made 
 when Canada fell. 
 
 In the British councils, everything was compelled to bend to the 
 commercial interests of the realm. The influence of the merchants 
 was omnipotent. The depreciation of the paper currency issued 
 by some of the colonies, had caused them some loss, and, on their 
 memorializing the board of trade on the subject, it was ordered that 
 no paper issued by colonial assemblies, should thenceforward be a 
 legal tender in payment of debts. This measure excited great 
 indignation in America. " This stir of the merchants," wrote Wash 
 ington, " seems to me, ill-timed, and can not be attended with any 
 good effects, but, I fear, the contrary." Even before the treaty of 
 Paris, the suggestions of the commercial interests were more power 
 ful than considerations favorable to the colonists, and it was resolved 
 by the British ministry to restore Canada to the French, and retain 
 the English conquests in the West Indies, if both could not be 
 secured. This unjust compliance with temporary expediency, to 
 the sacrifice of everything for which the colonists had so faithfully 
 contended, awakened their strongest fears, and Dr. Franklin wrote, 
 and widely disseminated, a pamphlet, entitled The Interests of Great 
 Britain considered ivith regard to the Colonies, and the Acquisition of Canada 
 
 * The French and Indian War cost the aggregate colonies full twenty millions of dollars, besides 
 the flower of their youth ; and, in return, Parliament had granted them, through the liberality of 
 Pitt, about five and a half millions of dollars. Georgia alone received parliamentary aid in its set 
 tlement. In all the other colonies, where vast sums were expended in fitting out expeditions, 
 purchasing the soil of the Indians, and sustaining the settlers, neither the crown nor parliament ever 
 contributed a farthing of pecuniary aid. The settling of Massachusetts alone cost private individu 
 als a million of dollars. Lord Baltimore spent two hundred thousand dollars in colonizing Mary 
 land, and William Penn became deeply involved in debt in his efforts to settle and improve Penn 
 sylvania 
 
JET. 29-31.] WRITS OF ASSISTANCE. 317 
 
 and Guadeloupe. This pamphlet met with a warm response ; and so 
 heartily did Washington s feelings sympathize with its sentiments, 
 that he used every means in his power to lay it before men of 
 influence in his own and in other colonies. 
 
 The first measure of the government which aroused the colonies 
 to a lively sense of their danger, was the issuing of writs of assist 
 ance, as they were called, in 1761. The officers appointed to collect 
 revenue from customs, in America, had been instructed to be vigi 
 lant and rigorous in the performance of their duty. They found 
 opposition among the people on every hand ; and, on the petition 
 of one of their officials, the supreme court of judicature issued 
 warrants to customhouse officers, giving them, and their deputies, 
 a general power to violently enter houses or stores where it might 
 be suspected that contraband goods were concealed ; and sheriffs 
 and others were compelled to assist in the work. The idea of such 
 latitude being given to " the meanest deputy of a deputy s deputy," 
 created general indignation and alarm. It might cover the grossest 
 abuses, and no man s privacy would be free from the invasion of 
 these ministerial hirelings. The practical idea contained in the 
 British constitution, that " every man s house is his castle," would 
 thus become a mere abstraction. Open resistance was resolved 
 upon, if necessary. The legality of the measure was at once ques 
 tioned, in Massachusetts, and the matter was brought before a court 
 held in the old town-hall in Boston. The advocate for the crown 
 argued, that as Parliament was the supreme legislature for the 
 whole British nation, and had authorized these writs, no subject had 
 a right to complain. He was answered by James Otis, the younger, 
 then advocate-general of the province. On that occasion the 
 intense fire of his patriotism beamed forth with inexpressible bril 
 liancy, and he boldly called upon the people to breast any storm 
 of ministerial vengeance that might be aroused by opposition here. 
 His eloquence was like lightning, far-felt and consuming. " He was 
 a flame of fire," said John Adams, afterward. " The seeds of pa 
 triots and heroes were there and then sown, and when the orator 
 exclaimed : 4 To my dying day I will oppose, with all the power 
 
318 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1761- 63. 
 
 and faculties God has given me, all such instruments of slavery on 
 one hand,, and villany on the other/ American independence was 
 there and then born. Every man of an immense crowded audience 
 appeared to me to go away, as I did, ready to take up arms against 
 writs of assistance."* The assembly sided with Otis, and even 
 Governor Bernard was opposed to the measure. From that day 
 began the triumphs of the popular will. Very few writs were 
 issued, and these were ineffectual. 
 
 In these political movements Washington took a lively interest, 
 not only as a legislator, but as a private citizen who loved his coun 
 try. He anxiously watched the progress of events, and when the 
 voice of Otis found a ready response, in spirit if not yet in words, in 
 the Virginia assembly, no member of that body more warmly sym 
 pathized with the opposition to oppressive measures in Massachu 
 setts, than Colonel Washington. And when the definitive treaty was 
 signed at Paris, and Canada was secured to the English, he expressed 
 his gratification in all his letters at that time. Then he was called 
 upon to perform an arduous public duty. He was appointed one 
 of the commissioners to settle the military accounts of the colony, 
 w r hich were numerous and very complicated. His method, his com 
 plete knowledge of the subject, and the great sympathy which he felt 
 for his companions-in-arms, and others who had served his country, 
 caused him to execute this difficult task faithfully and judiciously, 
 and to the satisfaction of all parties. 
 
 At the close of the war the colonists looked forward to long years 
 of repose and prosperity, for they regarded the power of the Indians 
 as completely paralyzed. As there appeared to be safety for set 
 tlers west of the mountains, emigration began to pour its living 
 streams over those hitherto barriers of civilization. But, at that 
 
 * Later than this (1768), Otis, writing to a friend in London, said : " Our fathers were a good peo 
 ple ; we have been a free people, and if you will not let us remain so any longer, we shall be a great 
 people, and the present measures [various taxation schemes] can have no other tendency hut to 
 hasten, with great rapidity, events which every good and honest man would wisli delayed for ages." 
 Otis evidently referred to the future independence of the colonies. That event he did not live to 
 see. His clear mind was clouded, in 1709, by a blow on the head, given by a bludgeon in the hands 
 of a government official, which kept reason from its throne most of the time. All through the Revo 
 lution which his eloquence had helped to kindle, he was an almost indifferent spectator ; and, in 
 Mav, 1782, he was killed by lightning, in accordance with his often-expressed desire. 
 
JET. 29-31.] PONTIAC S WAR. 319 
 
 very moment, imminent danger to their peace and existence Avas 
 impending. Pontiac, a sagacious Ottawa chief, who, like Philip of 
 Pokanoket, saw no future for his nation, and who had been an early 
 ally of the French, went secretly from tribe to tribe among the Algon- 
 quins, and obtained their solemn pledges to a confederation, whose 
 object was the expulsion of the English from the country west of the 
 Alleghanies. After the fall of Montreal he had professed an attach 
 ment to the English, and quieted every suspicion. So adroitly were 
 his plans matured, that the commanders of the western forts had 
 no suspicion of his conspiracy until it was fully ripe, and the first 
 blow had been struck, in June, 1763. Then it was discovered that 
 the Shawnees and Delawares, those with whom Washington was 
 most familiar, were the chief conspirators. Even some of the chiefs 
 who had been his allies, were now upon the war-path ; and, prac 
 tising treachery on every hand, they were the worst foes of the 
 English. They massacred traders whom they had invited among 
 them, and seized their property; and large scalping-parties ad 
 vanced to the frontiers of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, 
 spreading death and desolation in their track. They boldly attacked 
 the English outposts almost at the same moment ; and, within a fort 
 night all of these west of Oswego, except Niagara, Fort Pitt, and 
 Detroit, fell into their hands. 
 
 These successes gave heart to more remote tribes, and a general 
 Indian war, extending from Canada to the gulf, was apprehended. 
 Even the Six Nations, so long the firm friends of the English, were 
 anxious to burst the bonds of treaties, and engage in an extermi 
 nating war ; and nothing but the potential influence of Sir William 
 Johnson kept the warriors of that powerful confederacy in neutral 
 quietude. For a moment, the stoutest hearts quailed before the 
 threatenings of the rising storm, for no one could estimate its prob 
 able extent, and destructive energies. The inhabitants on the 
 Virginia border, remembering the horrors of the past, were exceed 
 ingly distressed by fear. "Another tempest has arisen upon our 
 frontiers," Washington wrote to a friend, " and the alarm spread 
 wider than ever. In short, the inhabitants are so apprehensive of 
 
320 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1763. 
 
 danger, that no families remain above the Conococheague road, and 
 many are gone below it. The harvests are in a manner lost, and 
 the distresses of the settlements are evident and manifold. In 
 Augusta many people have been killed, and numbers fled. Con 
 fusion and despair prevail in every quarter." No doubt the sympa 
 thetic heart of Washington made him yearn to be in the field, to 
 oppose this wave of desolation, but his duties as a legislator, and 
 enterprises of public importance now engaged his active mind, and 
 kept him from the rough conflicts of war with the savages. 
 
 Fortunately for the English, the Indians could not garrison the 
 forts they had taken, and they yet held the three most important 
 ones. Amherst, still in command in America, had a force too small 
 to attempt the re-establishment of the lost posts, so he directed all 
 of his efforts to the salvation of Niagara, Fort Pitt, and Detroit, and 
 was successful. In July, Detroit was closely besieged by Pontiac, 
 and Fort Pitt by Shingis, the celebrated Delaware chief. A con 
 siderable force was sent to the relief of the former, and Colonel 
 Boquet, with five hundred men, proceeded to reinforce the latter, 
 and drive the besieging savages back into the wilderness. The 
 Indians came forward to meet him, and he was severely attacked 
 at Bushy Run, on the fifth of August. A general battle ensued, 
 and ended only with the day. The Indians resumed it the next 
 morning, but were finally compelled to flee to the deep wilderness 
 for safety. Four days afterward Boquet reached Fort Pitt, and it 
 was saved. Niagara was not attacked ; and Detroit, after sustaining 
 a siege for almost twelve months, was relieved by a force under 
 Colonel Bradstreet, in May, 1764. The Indians were now speedily 
 subdued. Their power to harm the English was completely broken, 
 and the hostile tribes sent their chiefs to humbly ask for pardon 
 and peace. But the haughty Pontiac refused to bow to stern neces 
 sity. He went to the country of the Illinois, where he was treach 
 erously murdered by a Peoria Indian, w y ho \vas bribed by an Eng 
 lishman to perform the wicked deed. The pay was a barrel of 
 rum. The place of his death was Cahokia, on the east side of 
 the Mississippi, a little below St. Louis. He was buried at the 
 
jr. 32.] A CRISIS 321 
 
 latter place, and his grave is beneath that populous city of the 
 West, 
 
 The discontents of the Americans, which had been awakened by 
 the unwise measures of Great Britain, had been lulled for awhile in 
 the presence of the more tangible trouble of an Indian war. When 
 that had ceased, the popular mind became again excited by the 
 movements of the British ministry which were inimical to liberty 
 in America. The exhausted treasury was yet importunate, and 
 ministers turned their covetous eyes upon the bountiful products of 
 American industry as their last hope. 
 
 We have already observed the effects of w r rits of assistance, and 
 the real impotency of the imperial government in enforcing its arbi 
 trary revenue laws contrary to the will of the colonists. These 
 laws, enacted from time to time during a hundred years, had shut 
 their ports against all but English vessels, compelled the colonists 
 to export only to countries belonging to the British crown, and 
 allowed them to import goods from England only, and in English 
 ships. They had also laid a heavy hand upon domestic industry by 
 prohibitions which discouraged manufactures. In a w r ord, the policy 
 of Great Britain toward her colonies had been a restrictive commer 
 cial one from the beginning, and alienated the affections of the 
 Americans from the mother-country. 
 
 A crisis now approached, and the political events which succeeded 
 the peace of 1763 introduced Washington to a broader and more 
 important field of action. The current of transition from the quiet 
 of his home at Mount Yernon to the struggles of that grand arena 
 where the prizes of nations are contended for, was gradual almost 
 imperceptible in its flow, but steady and powerful. He was keenly 
 alive to everything concerning the honor of his country, and he saw 
 with regret and alarm the rapid growth in England of the idea of 
 absolute colonial subserviency. He perceived with indignation, what 
 Pitt afterward so happily expressed, that "-even the chimney-sweep 
 ers of the streets talked boastingly of their subjects in America ;" 
 and when the admiralty enjoined all naval commanders men 
 whose authoritative habits made them unfit agents for such a ser- 
 
 21 
 
322 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [17C4. 
 
 vice against such a people to execute the revenue laws, he felt 
 that a deliberate blow was levelled against the best interests of his 
 country. Vessels engaged in contraband trade were seized and con 
 fiscated by these men, and the colonial commerce with the West 
 Indies was almost annihilated. " They fell," wrote Burke, " so indis 
 criminately on all sorts of contraband, or supposed contraband, that 
 some of the most valuable branches of trade were driven violently 
 from our ports, which caused a universal consternation throughout 
 the colonies." 
 
 Unable to resist these measures by force, the colonists adopted 
 the most efficient plan of retaliation in their power. They resolved 
 not to purchase British fabrics; and they commenced the home 
 manufacture of clothing very extensively. This measure touched 
 the English people in a tender point, the commercial interest. The 
 demand for British goods in the colonies fell off immensely, and the 
 English merchants became, through self-interest, the powerful advo 
 cates of the Americans. 
 
 And now a bolder scheme of taxation was proposed. Bute re 
 signed the premiership in the spring of 1763, and was succeeded by 
 George Grenville, who, for awhile, had fought shoulder to shoulder 
 with Pitt in the maintenance of his wise policy, but had deserted 
 him to hold the office of chancellor of the exchequer under the 
 Scotch earl. He was an honest statesman, but his vision of duty 
 did not extend beyond the line of official routine, and he was un 
 able to estimate the results of untried measures. Upon him was 
 laid the necessity of replenishing an exhausted treasury. The Eng 
 lish people had been heavily taxed already, and were loudly com 
 plaining of the burden. Grenville feared to increase its weight, and 
 he looked to the American colonies for relief. He conceived the 
 right to draw a revenue from them to be undoubted ; and Parlia 
 ment, by a formal vote, confirmed the opinion. Thus supported by 
 his conscience and the voice of the nation s representatives, he sub 
 mitted to the house of commons, on the fifth of May, 1764, the 
 famous stamp-act. He then assured the colonial agents in England 
 that he would not urge its adoption at that session, but leave the 
 
Mr. 32.] PROPOSED STAMP-DUTIES. 323 
 
 subject open for deliberation. He required the colonies to pay into 
 the national treasury a million of dollars a year in some shape, and 
 he agreed to leave it to them to devise a better measure than the 
 stamp-duty, if possible. 
 
 A stamp-duty for revenue was not an idea original with Grenville. 
 It had been promulgated almost forty years before. Sir William 
 Keith had advised the policy as early as 1728. During the admin 
 istration of Kobert Walpole, in 1732, a stamp-duty was proposed, 
 but that sagacious statesman said, " I will leave the taxation of 
 America to some of my successors who have more courage than I 
 have." Such a measure was urged by the London merchants a 
 little later ; and the recommendation of Douglas, a writer on British 
 America in 1750, to levy a stamp-duty on all legal writings and in 
 struments, was regarded favorably by Doctor Franklin, as just and 
 equitable. Governor Sharpe, of Maryland, was in favor of it in 
 1754; and, in 1755, Lieutenant-Governor Delancy spoke in com 
 mendation of such a method for raising a revenue, in the New York 
 assembly. In 1756, Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, recom 
 mended Parliament to authorize a stamp-tax, and it was proposed 
 to Pitt in 1757. That enlightened statesman would not listen to it, 
 for, like Walpole, he preferred to draw money into the imperial 
 treasury by the exercise of a liberal commercial policy toward the 
 Americans. 
 
 When intelligence of Grenville s scheme reached the colonies, the 
 popular feeling was aroused against it with great intensity. The 
 colonial assemblies deliberated upon the matter, and it was the gen 
 erally-expressed sentiment of the people that Parliament had no 
 right to tax them, unless they were permitted to have representa 
 tives in the national legislature. Then was boldly enunciated that 
 grand postulate that TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION is TYRANNY. 
 This became the fundamental doctrine of their political creed ; this 
 was the touchstone of all parliamentary measures ; this was the 
 strong rock upon which the patriots of the Revolution, which soon 
 broke out, anchored their faith and hope. The press and the pulpit 
 denounced the scheme as a wicked one ; the people met in excited 
 
324 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1765. 
 
 assemblies and boldly expressed their indignation; associations 
 called sSom of Liberty appeared in every colony, pledged to oppose 
 the practical workings of the measure ; petitions and remonstrances 
 were sent to the king and Parliament by different colonies, and 
 Doctor Franklin, as leader of the agents for Pennsylvania, Con 
 necticut, and South Carolina, appeared in London to deprecate the 
 measure, for he now saw, that what appeared to him harmless fifteen 
 years before, was a bared rod of oppression in a strong hand. 
 
 The stamp-act was called up in the house of commons early 
 in February, 1765. William Pitt was there, and he opposed it 
 with all his might. In the warmth of the debate, Grenville, ad 
 dressing Mr. Pitt in reference to the fact, that government knew 
 not where to levy another tax, said : " Why does he not tell ns 
 where we can levy another tax?" and repeated with emphasis, 
 " Let him tell me where only tell me where !" Pitt, though not 
 much given to joking, hummed, in the words of a popular song, 
 " Gentle shepherd, tell me where !" The house burst into a roar of 
 laughter, and christened Grenville, "the gentle shepherd."* The 
 measure was strongly denounced by Barre, the brave soldier who 
 stood by Wolfe in the trenches at Louisburg, and on the Plains of 
 Abraham. He taunted the house with its ignorance of American 
 affairs. This taunt called to his feet Charles Townshend, who 
 prided himself upon his extensive knowledge of America and 
 Americans. After speaking of the equity of the stamp- tax, he 
 said : " And now, will these American children, planted by our care, 
 nourished up by our indulgence to a degree of strength and opu 
 lence, and protected by our arms, grudge to contribute their mite 
 to relieve us from the heavy burden under which we lie ?" Barre 
 instantly replied, his eyes flashing with indignation " They planted 
 by your care ! No ; your oppression planted them in America. 
 They fled from your tyranny to a then uncultivated, inhospitable 
 country, where they exposed themselves to almost all the hardships 
 to which human nature is liable They nourished up by your in 
 dulgence ! They grew by your neglect of them. As soon as you 
 
 * Pictorial History of the Reign of George the Third, i. 34. 
 
 L 
 
MT. 33.] PASSAGE OF THE STAMP-ACT. 325 
 
 began to care about them, that care was exercised in sending per 
 sons to rule them in one department and another, who were, per 
 haps, the deputies of deputies to some members of this house, sent 
 to spy out their liberties, to misrepresent their actions, and to prey 
 upon them .... They protected by your arms ! They have nobly 
 taken up arms in your defence ; have exercised a valor amid their 
 constant and laborious industry, for the defence of a country whose 
 frontier was drenched in blood, while its interior parts yielded all its 
 little savings to your emolument." 
 
 Others denounced the bills, in strong terms, but after a " languid 
 debate," as Burke says, which continued until March, it passed 
 the house, after a single division, by a majority of two hundred 
 and fifty to fifty. On the twenty-second of March, the king 
 gladly gave his assent to the bill by signing it, and the famous 
 stamp-act the entering wedge for the dismemberment of the 
 British empire became a law.* That night Doctor Franklin 
 wrote to his friend, Charles Thomson, who afterward became the 
 permanent secretary of the Continental Congress : " We might as 
 well have hindered the sun s setting : that we could not do. But 
 since tis down, my friend, and it may be long before it rises again, 
 let us make as good a night of it as we can. We may still light 
 candles. Frugality and industry will go a great way toward indem 
 nifying us. Idleness and pride tax with a heavier hand than kings 
 and parliaments ; if we can get rid of the former, we may easily 
 bear the latter."f 
 
 * It provided that every skin, or piece of vellum, or parchment, or sheet, or piece of paper used 
 for legal purposes, such as bills, bonds, notes, leases, policies of insurance, marriage licenses, and a 
 great many other documents, in order to be held valid in courts of law, was to be stamped, and sold 
 to public officers appointed for that purpose, at prices which levied a stated tax on every such docu 
 ment. The Dutch had used stamped paper for some time, and it was familiar to English merchants 
 and companies, but in America it was almost wholly unknown. The stamps were upon blue paper, 
 and contained a representation of the national arms of Great Britain, together with the value of the 
 particular stamp. This was attached to one corner of the document. For a picture and descrip 
 tion of the famous stamp, see Lossing s Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution : Supplement ii. 671. 
 
 t Vide Bancroft s History of the United States, v. 306, note. 
 
WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [,765. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE KING AND PARLIAMENT EFFECTS OF THE STAMP-ACT IN AMERICA PAT 
 RICK HENRY IN THE VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY HIS REBELLIOUS RESOLUTIONS 
 
 WASHINGTON IN THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES HIS OPINION OF THE STAMP-ACT 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS CIRCULAR VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY DISSOLVED COLONIAL CON 
 GRESS OPPOSITION OF THE PEOPLE STAMP DISTRIBUTORS DOMESTIC MAN 
 UFACTURES FRANKLIN BEFORE A COMMITTEE OF PARLIAMENT REPEAL OF 
 
 THE STAMP-ACT JOY OF THE PEOPLE WASHINGTON S OPINION HIS RELI 
 GIOUS VIEWS POHICK CHURCH. 
 
 THE passage of the stamp-act and its ratification by the king, 
 present one of those strange chapters in history which disturb our 
 faith in human sagacity and forecast. But few earnest voices, in 
 or out of Parliament, were raised against the measure ; and Doctor 
 Franklin, who welJ know the temper of the Americans, was almost 
 the only man in England who seriously believed that they would 
 resist it, notwithstanding it struck at one of the dearest rights of 
 Britons trial by jury.* And contemporary writers inform us, that 
 when the king signed that instrument, he was laboring under the 
 first paroxysms of that malady of the brain which, in after-years, 
 unfitted him for the duties of the throne. It was the hand of an 
 insane man that gave vitality to the measure which, above all 
 others, most powerfully aroused the independent spirit of the 
 Americans. The ministry who were the sponsors of that act, 
 seemed almost as insane as the king ; and there is little palliation 
 for their offence against human liberty, except the fact of their 
 admitted ignorance of the true character of the Americans, and 
 their lack of -clear perceptions of right. They could not, or would 
 
 * The act provided, that all offences against it could be tried in any royal, marine, or admiralty 
 court throughout the colonies, however distant from the place where the offence had been committed. 
 This interfered with the cherished right of trial by jury. 
 
>E T . 33.] VOICE OF PATRICK HENRY. 327 
 
 not understand the proposition, that taxation without representation 
 is tyranny. " We have the power to tax the Americans, and we 
 will tax them," said one of the ministry ; and the people, provoked 
 by the claims of independence of Parliament set up by the colonists, 
 concurred in the sentiment. Little did they know of the volcano 
 of mighty energies they were thus uncapping ! 
 
 Intelligence of the passage of the stamp-act set the colonies in a 
 blaze of excitement. Massachusetts and Virginia the head and 
 heart of opposition to ministerial measures, were foremost and 
 loudest in their denunciations, while other colonies, even those who 
 would be least affected by the act, were almost as conspicuous for 
 boldness and generous zeal. New York had already resented a 
 blow at the independence of its judiciary, and now its assembly 
 opened a correspondence with those of other colonies concerning the 
 grievances of the stamp-act and cognate oppressive measures. This 
 correspondence led to the proposition for a general colonial congres?, 
 put forth by the Massachusetts assembly, in a circular letter sent to 
 the speakers of other assemblies, in June, 1765. Already the alarum 
 bell of the Revolution had been sounded by Patrick Henry, in the 
 Virginia legislature. That young man, less than thirty years of 
 age, had but recently emerged from utter obscurity. He came like 
 lightning from a cloud. His eloquence was brilliant and meteor- 
 like, and all Virginia w r as then gazing upon him in wonder. He 
 took his seat in the house of burgesses in the spring of 1765. That 
 body was in session in the old capital at Williamsburg, when intel 
 ligence of the passage of the stamp-act reached it. The members 
 all talked boldly in private, but none were willing to act bravely in 
 public, until near the close of the session, when Henry, the young 
 est member of the assembly, and who had occupied his seat but a 
 few days, arose in his place, and offered a series of five resolutions 
 on the subject of the stamp-act. These were drawn up on a scrap 
 of paper torn from the fly-leaf of an old copy of " Coke upon 
 Lyttleton." The fifth resolution, in which was summed up the 
 essentials of the four preceding ones, declared " That the general 
 assembly of the colony have the sole right and power to levy taxes 
 
328 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1765. 
 
 and impositions upon the inhabitants of this colony ; and that every 
 attempt to vest such power in any other person or persons whatso 
 ever, other than the general assembly aforesaid, has a manifest 
 tendency to destroy British as well as American freedom." 
 
 The effect of these resolutions upon the house of burgesses, was 
 electrical. The boldest were astonished ; the timid were alarmed ; 
 the loyal few were amazed and indignant. Many threats were 
 uttered, and those who were willing to submit to Parliament, abused 
 Mr. Henry without stint. A violent debate ensued, and Henry s 
 genius was aroused in all its sublime majesty. Sometimes deeply 
 pathetic, at other times full of denunciatory invective, his eloquence, 
 like thunder-peals, shook that assembly. In the midst of his ha 
 rangue, he summoned warning events from past history, and ex 
 claimed, in clear bell-tones, "Caesar had his Brutus Charles the 
 First his Cromwell; and George the Third " "Treason!" cried the 
 excited speaker, Robinson ; and " Treason ! treason !" resounded 
 from every part of the house. Henry did not falter for a moment. 
 Rising to a loftier altitude, and fixing his beaming eyes upon Rob 
 inson, he concluded his sentence with the words, " may profit by 
 their example. Sir, if this be treason, make the most of it !"* 
 
 When Henry was seated, Pendleton, Bland, Randolph, Wythe, 
 and others, who afterward became the boldest and most ardent 
 opposers of British power, arose and denounced the resolutions as 
 disloyal, and dangerous to the public welfare. Their hearts were 
 with the ardent Henry, but they adjudged his course to be prema 
 ture and injudicious. Henry again took the floor, and his eloquence, 
 like a mountain torrent, seemed to sweep before it every obstacle 
 of opposition, and the resolutions were adopted the fifth by a 
 majority of only one. During Henry s absence from the house, 
 the next day, the resolutions were reconsidered and modified, and 
 the fifth the soul of the whole was stricken out. But manu 
 script copies were already on their way to other colonies, and the 
 timidity of the Virginia assembly did not soften their force. These 
 formed the first gauntlet of positive defiance that was cast at the 
 
 * Wirt s Life of Patrick Henrv. 
 
^T. 33.] WASHINGTON AND THE STAMP-ACT. 329 
 
 feet of the British monarch by the offended colonists. "The re 
 solves of the assembly of Virginia," wrote a correspondent of 
 Secretary Conway, " gave the signal for a general outcry over the 
 continent," The movers and supporters of them were applauded 
 as the protectors and asserters of American liberty. 
 
 It was on the twenty-ninth of May when the debate on the stamp- 
 act occurred in the Virginia assembly. Washington was then in his 
 seat as a burgess, but on this, as on every other occasion, his voice was 
 not heard in debate. He was, however, always vigilant, and seldom 
 absent from his place ; and he never failed to express his opinion 
 by his vote. While there is no record to show how he voted on 
 the resolutions of Mr. Henry, his known loyalty, his conciliatory 
 spirit, and his abundant caution, seems to render it probable that 
 he voted against them, as premature. Yet the fact of his re-election 
 by the people soon afterward, affords stronger presumptive evidence 
 that he voted in the affirmative. No doubt he sympathized with 
 the spirit of the resolutions, and that the fiery scenes of that day 
 caused the rapid germination in his breast of that patriotic zeal 
 which made him go hand in hand with Lee, Henry, Randolph, and 
 other Virginians, through all the trying preliminary events of the 
 war for independence. 
 
 Previous to this time, Washington seems not to have expressed 
 any positive opinion concerning the growing disputes between 
 Great Britain and her colonies. Now, warmly sympathizing with 
 his countrymen, he appears to have foreseen the inevitable struggle, 
 and was preparing his mind for an active engagement in it. He no 
 longer remained silent, yet he expressed his views with caution. 
 Writing to his wife s uncle,* in London, in September, he said : " The 
 stamp-act imposed on the colonies by the Parliament of Great 
 Britain, engrosses the conversation of the speculative part of the 
 colonists, who look upon this unconstitutional method of taxation 
 as a direful attack upon their liberties, and loudly exclaim against 
 the violation. What may be the result of this, and of some other 
 (I think I may add, ill-judged) measures, I will not undertake to 
 
 * Francis Dandridge. See Sparks s " Writings of Washington," ii. 342. 
 
330 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1765. 
 
 determine ; but this I may venture to affirm, that the advantage 
 accruing to the mother-country will fall greatly short of the expec 
 tations of the ministry ; for certain it is, that our whole substance 
 already, in a manner, flows to Great Britain, and that whatsoever 
 contributes to lessen our importations must be hurtful to her manu 
 factures. The eyes of our people already begin to be open ; and 
 they will perceive that many luxuries, for which we lavish our 
 substance in Great Britain, can well be dispensed with, while the 
 necessaries of life are mostly to be had within ourselves. This, 
 consequently, w r ill induce frugality, and be a necessary incitement 
 to industry. If Great Britain, therefore, loads her manufactures 
 with heavy taxes, will it not facilitate such results ? They will not 
 compel us, I think, to give our money for their exports, whether we 
 will or not ; and I am certain, that none of their traders will part 
 with them without a valuable consideration. Where, then, is the 
 utility of these restrictions? 
 
 " As to the stamp-act, regarded in a single view, one and the first 
 bad consequence attending it is, that our courts of judicature must 
 inevitably be shut up ; for it is impossible, or next to impossible, 
 under our present circumstances, that the act of Parliament can be 
 complied with, were we ever so willing to enforce its execution. 
 And, not to say (which alone would be sufficient) that we have not 
 money to pay for the stamps, there are many other cogent reasons 
 which prove that it would be ineffectual. If a stop be put to our 
 judicial proceedings, I fancy the merchants of Great Britain, trading 
 to the colonies, will not be among the last to wish for a repeal of 
 the act." The prophecy involved in the last clause of this letter, 
 was speedily fulfilled. 
 
 The circular letter of the Massachusetts assembly, proposing a 
 colonial congress, met with a hearty response.* Governor Fauquier, 
 
 * The following is a copy of the letter : 
 
 BOSTON, June, 1765. 
 
 " SIR The house of representatives of this province, in the present session of general court, 
 have unanimously agreed to propose a meeting, as soon as may be, of committees of the houses of 
 representatives, or burgesses, of the several British colonii*? on this continent, to consult together on 
 the present circumstances of the colonies, and the difficulties to which they are, and must be, reduced 
 by the operation of the acts of Parliament for levying duties and taxes on the colonies ; and to eon- 
 
MT. 33.] MEETING OF THE COLONIAL CONGRESS. 331 
 
 who was really opposed to the stamp-act, in principle, was, never 
 theless, as the representative of the king, compelled to support it. 
 Therefore, on being informed of the action of the burgesses in adopt 
 ing Henry s resolutions, he dissolved the assembly and ordered a new 
 election, the result of which was highly satisfactory to the patriots. 
 The eloquence of Henry seems to have touched every heart in the 
 Old Dominion; and everywhere the people re-elected the friends 
 of the resolutions, and filled the seats of those opposed to them 
 with undoubted patriots. 
 
 Fauquier, perceiving the complexion of the new assembly, refused 
 to call the members together to appoint delegates to the proposed 
 colonial congress. The members elect, confiding in the wisdom 
 and patriotism of the delegates from the other colonies, signed a 
 letter in which they promised to acquiesce in any action that might 
 be had. Similar assurances were given by those of New Hamp 
 shire, North Carolina, and Georgia. 
 
 The colonial Congress assembled at New York, on Monday, the 
 seventh day of October, when nine of the thirteen colonies were 
 represented.* It was organized by the election of Timothy Rug- 
 gles, of Massachusetts, as its president, and the appointment of 
 John Cotton, clerk. The session continued fourteen days, and in 
 three well-written documents, the grievances and rights of the col- 
 
 sider of a general and united, dutiful, loyal, and humble representation of their condition to his 
 majesty and to the Parliament, and to implore relief. 
 
 " The house of representatives of this province have also voted to propose, that such meeting- be 
 at the city of New York, in the province of New York, on the first Tuesday in October next, and 
 have appointed a committee of three of their members to attend that service, with such as the other 
 houses "of representatives, or burgesses, in the several colonies, may think fit to appoint to meet 
 them ; and the committee of the house of representatives of this province, are directed to repair to 
 the said New York, on the first Tuesday in October next, accordingly ; if, therefore, your honorable 
 house shall agree to this proposal, it would be acceptable that as early notice of it as possible, might 
 be transmitted to the speaker of the house of representatives of this province." 
 
 * The following are the names of the delegates : 
 
 Massachusetts. James Otis, Oliver Partridge, Timothy Ruggles. 
 
 New York. Robert R. Livingston, John Cruger, Philip Livingston, William Bayard, Leonard 
 Lispenard. 
 
 New Jersey. Robert Ogden, Hcndrick Fisher, Joseph Borden. 
 
 Rhode Island. Metcalf Bowler, Henry Ward. 
 
 Pennsylvania. John Dickenson, John Morton, George Bryan. 
 
 Delaware. Thomas M Kean, Caesar Rodney. 
 
 Connecticut. Eliphalct Dyer, David Rowland, William S. Johnson. 
 
 Maryland. William Murdock, Edward Tilghman, Thomas Ringgold. 
 
 South Carolina. Thomas Lynch, Christopher Gadsden, John Rutledge. 
 
332 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1765. 
 
 onists, a memorial to Parliament for a redress of the former, and an 
 acknowledgment of the latter, and a petition to the king, were ably 
 set forth. These proceedings were applauded by all of the provincial 
 assemblies, and when the first of November arrived (the appointed 
 day for the stamp-act to go into operation), the people were united in 
 a strong determination to resist it. That day was observed as one of 
 fasting and mourning. The colors of vessels were placed at half-mast ; 
 and in various cities there were funeral processions, and the tolling 
 of bells. The courts were all closed ; legal marriages ceased ; ships 
 remained in port; and, for a while, all business was suspended. 
 There was quiet all over the land, but it was not the quiet of sub 
 mission. It was only the ominous lull in the storm, which was to 
 precede more furious blasts. The people were only gathering 
 strength for more vigorous achievements in defence of their rights. 
 The head of active opposition soon appeared on every side, some 
 times in legal form, and at others in the guise of unlawful violence. 
 The stamp distributors, or men appointed by the crown to receive 
 and sell the odious stamps, were treated with scorn, and sometimes 
 with severity. Entirely misapprehending the will of the people, 
 many excellent men accepted the office, because it promised hand 
 some emoluments. Jared Ingersoll, late agent of Connecticut in 
 England, came home with such appointment ; and on his arrival at 
 Boston, early in August, he published the names of all the stamp 
 distributors in America. This directed the attention of the excited 
 people to them, and the popular will soon made such decisive man 
 ifestations of its contempt for these men, that the prudent ones 
 among them resigned their offices. Ingersoll did so gracefully, after 
 being burned in effigy, at Norwich ;* but Oliver, of Boston, under 
 
 * Franklin had advised Ingersoll to accept the office, and said, " Go home and tell your country 
 men to get children as fast as they can :" intimating that they were now too weak to resist such op 
 pressive measures, and that they ought to gain strength, by numbers, as fast as possible. 
 
 When the people first demanded Ingersoll s resignation, he refused compliance, pleading as an 
 excuse, that he awaited the action of the general assembly of Connecticut. But they would listen 
 to no plea, and thinking the cause "not worth dying for," Ingersoll yielded, and signed a paper 
 which declared his resignation of the office. He was then compelled to stand up and read it to the 
 people, and to throw up his hat and cry, " Liberty and property !" and give three cheers. After 
 dinner, a cavalcade of about a thousand escorted him from Wethersfield to Hartford. Good humor 
 prevailed on the way. Ingersoll, who was riding in front, on a white horse, cried out : " I am like 
 Death on the pale horse, in the Revelations, for Hell followed with him. " 
 
MT. 33.] STAMP-ACT EXCITEMENT. 333 
 
 the advice of Hutchinson, the chief-justice, would not. Oliver was 
 hanged in effigy, and a mob broke open the house of Hutchinson, 
 destroyed his furniture, scattered his plate, ready money, books, 
 and manuscripts, and left the premises a total wreck. M Evers, at 
 New York, fearful of consequences, resigned. Lieutenant-governor 
 Golden, who declared his determination to receive and sell the 
 stamps, was burned in effigy ; and the mob, after parading it with 
 an immense placard, inscribed " England s folly and America s ruin," 
 made a bonfire of his coach, the effigy, and the wooden railing 
 around the bowling-green, within a few feet of the gates of Fort 
 George. Cox, of New Jersey, resigned ; no one dared to accept the 
 office, in Philadelphia; and at Annapolis, in Maryland, four or five 
 hundred people pulled down a small house belonging to Hood, the 
 appointed stamp-distributor, and he fled in terror to New York. 
 George Mercer, of Virginia, who, misunderstanding the will of 
 the people, had accepted the office, gladly resigned, and, on his 
 arrival at Williamsburg, the bells rang out merry peals of joy, the 
 town was illuminated, and he was hailed by the people as a true 
 patriot. At Wilmington and Edenton, the popular excitement was 
 great ; and at Charleston the voice of that sturdy patriot, Christo 
 pher Gadsden, was so menacing, that no man dared to receive the 
 stamps. 
 
 More quiet, but far more potential measures, were adopted by 
 the sober and substantial inhabitants of the colonies. Merchants 
 entered into agreements not to import goods from Great Britain 
 while the obnoxious act remained a law; and in almost every 
 family domestic manufactures were commenced. Everybody wore 
 home-made clothing ; and that wool might not become scarce, the 
 use of sheepflesh, for food, was discouraged. Very soon, from all 
 classes in America, there went to the ears of the British ministry, a 
 respectful but firm protest. The merchants and manufacturers of 
 London seconded it with great warmth, and thus made powerful, 
 that voice was heard and heeded in high places. 
 
 At about this time, Grenville was succeeded in office by the more 
 conciliatory Marquis of Rockingharn, and William Pitt came from 
 
334 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1766. 
 
 his retirement, and appeared in Parliament as the earnest champion 
 of the Americans. Then, also, Edmund Burke appeared on the 
 same side ; and during the stormy debates which ensued on the 
 subject of repealing the stamp-act, he achieved some of those 
 earliest and most wonderful triumphs of oratory, which established 
 his fame, and endeared him to the American people. But more 
 powerful than oratory were the simple words of Dr. Franklin, when 
 he was examined before a committee of Parliament, on the subject 
 of the stamp-act. He was asked, " Do you think the people of 
 America would submit to the stamp duty, if it was moderated ?" 
 " No, never," replied Franklin, " unless compelled by force of arms." 
 "What was the temper of the Americans before the year 1763?" 
 they inquired. " The best in the world," he answered. " They 
 submitted willingly to the government of the crown, and paid, in 
 their courts, obedience to acts of Parliament. Numerous as the 
 people are in the several old provinces, they cost you nothing in 
 forts, citadels, garrisons, or armies, to keep them in subjection. 
 They were governed by this country at the expense of only a little 
 pen, ink, and paper ; they were led by a thread. They had not only 
 a respect, but an affection for Great Britain for its laws, its customs, 
 and manners, and even a fondness for its fashions, that greatly in 
 creased the commerce. Natives of Great Britain were always treated 
 with particular regard ; to be an ( Old England man was, of itself, a 
 character of some respect, and gave a kind of rank among us." To 
 the naturally succeeding question, " And what is their temper now ?" 
 Franklin replied : " Oh, very much altered." " Did you ever hear 
 the authority of Parliament to make law^s for America questioned 
 till lately?" they asked. "The authority of Parliament," he replied, 
 " was allowed to be valid in all laws, except such as should lay in 
 ternal taxes. It was never disputed in laying duties to regulate 
 commerce." " If the act is not repealed, what do you think will be 
 the consequences ?" " A total loss of the respect and affection the 
 people of America bear to this country, and of all the commerce 
 that depends on that respect and affection," Franklin firmly replied. 
 Franklin s words were regarded as oracular, and these, with the 
 
^ET. 34.] STAMP-ACT REPEALED. 335 
 
 voices from America, and from the British merchants and manufac 
 turers, compelled the ministry to give way. The stamp-act was re 
 pealed on the eighteenth of March, 1766, and that measure produced 
 great joy in England and America. The warehouses of London were 
 illuminated, and the shipping in the Thames was decorated with 
 gay flags in testimony of satisfaction. In America, public thanks 
 givings, bonfires, and illuminations, attested the general joy ; and 
 Pitt, w r ho had boldly declared his conviction, that Parliament had 
 no right to tax the colonies without their consent, was hailed as a 
 political Messiah, and the assemblies of New York and South Caro 
 lina, each voted an appropriation to erect a statue in his honor. 
 New York, Virginia, and Maryland, also agreed to erect statues of 
 the king, as tokens of their gratitude. The latter also ordered a 
 portrait of Lord Camden ; and the authorities of Boston requested 
 Doctor Franklin to procure full-length portraits of Conway and 
 Barre, for Faneuil hall. The Americans delighted to honor all who 
 had been instrumental in procuring a repeal of the act. They 
 were happy in the thought that their grievances w r ould be redressed, 
 and that they would be permitted to remain free and loyal subjects 
 of the crown. Non-importation associations were dissolved, and a 
 permanent reconciliation was anticipated. 
 
 The repeal of the stamp-act produced great satisfaction at Mount 
 Yernon. " The repeal," Washington wrote to a friend, " to whatever 
 cause, owing, ought much to be rejoiced at ; for, had the Parliament 
 of Great Britain resolved upon enforcing it, the consequences, I 
 conceive, would have been more direful than is generally appre 
 hended, both to the mother-country and her colonies. All, there 
 fore, w r ho were instrumental in procuring the repeal, are entitled to 
 the thanks of every British subject, and have mine cordially." To 
 another correspondent he remarked, " I can not help observing, that 
 a contrary measure would have introduced very unhappy conse 
 quences." Speaking of the friends of repeal in Parliament, he said, 
 " My thanks they always shall have, for their opposition to every 
 act of oppression ; and that act could be looked upon in no other 
 light, by every person who would view it in its proper colors." 
 
336 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1766. 
 
 While the great public questions which agitated the continent 
 engaged the earnest attention of Washington, he was active in 
 every sphere of social duty, in his neighborhood. He was a com 
 municant of the church of England, and took a lively interest in 
 the affairs of Truro parish, in which Mount Vernon was situated. 
 From his earliest years, his conduct had been subservient to a 
 strong religious sentiment; and all through life it formed the basis 
 of his majestic moral qualities. "Neither in the parade of military 
 life, nor in the cares of civil administration -, neither in a state of 
 depression, nor amidst the intoxicating sweets of power and adula 
 tion, did he forget to pay homage to the MOST HIGH, who doeth 
 according to his will in the army of Heaven, and among the inhab 
 itants of earth."* In that broader view of the influence of religion, 
 which comprehends the public good as well as individual well-being, 
 he seems to have been always impressed and controlled by the 
 sentiments such as he expressed in after-years, when he wrote : 
 " Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, 
 religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would 
 that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to sub 
 vert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of 
 the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with 
 the pious man, ought to respect and cherish them. A volume could 
 not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let 
 it simply be asked, Where is the security for property, for reputa 
 tion, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert our oaths, 
 
 which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ? 
 
 Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education 
 on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid 
 us to expect that national morality can prevail, in exclusion of 
 religious principle." " Above all," said a contemporary, " he was 
 influenced by the more permanent and operative principle of reli 
 gion ; by a firm and active persuasion of an all-seeing, all-powerful 
 Deity ; by the high consciousness of future accountability, and the 
 assured hope and prospect of immortality." )* 
 
 * Discourse by William Linn, D. D., Feb. 22, 1800. 
 
 * Discourse by John Davis, before the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1 800. 
 
jET. 34.] WASHINGTON S RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE. 337 
 
 Influenced by these sentiments and convictions, we see Wash 
 ington piously reading the impressive funeral service of the church 
 of England, at the evening funeral of Braddock ; and acknowledging 
 in a letter to his brother, the care of the kind Providence of God 
 in preserving him from death on the field of Monongahela. We 
 see him earnestly endeavoring to have chaplains in his little army 
 on the Virginia frontier, and in his orders, rebuking the profanity of 
 his troops; and in after-years, when leading the armies of the 
 Ee volution, he was ever solicitous to have the soldiers subjected to 
 religious influences as often as possible. " The general requires 
 and expects of all officers and soldiers, not engaged in actual duty," 
 he said, in one of his earliest orders at Cambridge, in 1775, " a punc 
 tual attendance on divine service, to implore the blessings of Heav 
 en upon the means used for our safety and defence." And his 
 diary, kept for many years with great particularity, shows that he 
 rarely omitted attendance upon divine service on Sunday, though 
 the church nearest to Mount Vernon was seven miles distant. 
 
 In 1765, Washington was vestryman of both Truro and Fairfax 
 parishes. The place of worship in the former was at Pohick, and 
 of the latter at Alexandria. His influence in their affairs was con 
 trolling and salutary. The reverend Mr. Massey, who was rector 
 of Pohick church for many years, relates some circumstances 
 respecting the location of that edifice, which illustrates Washing 
 ton s address and sagacity. In the year 1764, the old church build 
 ing, which stood in another part of the parish, had fallen into decay, 
 and it was resolved to erect a new one. Its location became a 
 matter of considerable excitement in the parish, some contending 
 for the site of the old edifice, and others for one nearer the centre 
 of the parish, and more conveniently situated. Among the latter 
 was Washington. A meeting was finally held to settle the question. 
 Washington s neighbor and friend, George Mason, who led the party 
 favorable to the old site, made an eloquent harangue, conjuring the 
 people not to desert the sacred spot, consecrated by the bones of 
 their ancestors. It had a powerful effect, and it was thought there 
 would not be a voice in opposition to it. Washington then arose, 
 
 22 
 
338 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1766. 
 
 and drew from his pocket an accurate survey which he had made 
 of the whole parish, in which was marked the site of the old church, 
 and the proposed locality of the new one, together with the place 
 of residence of each parishioner. He spread this map before the 
 audience, briefly explained it, expressed the hope that they would 
 not allow their judgments to be guided by their feelings, and sat 
 down. The silent argument of the map prevailed, a large majority 
 voted in favor of the new site, and in 1765, Pohick church was 
 erected. That venerated edifice was yet standing, in 1857, though 
 in a state of great dilapidation. It is about seven miles southwest 
 of Mount Yernon, upon an elevation on the borders of a forest, 
 and surrounded by ancient oaks, chestnuts, and pines.* 
 
 * When the writer first visited Pohick church, in 1848, a large portion of the panes of glass were 
 broken, freely admitting the wind and rain, the bats and the birds. The elegant pulpit was marred 
 by desecrating hands, and under its sounding-board a swallow had built her nest, in beautiful illus 
 tration of the words of that sweet singer of Israel : " Yea the sparrow has found a home, and the 
 swallow a place for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altar, O Lord of Hosts \" 
 The law, the prayer, and the creed, painted on a blue ground above the chancel, were quite perfect. 
 The pews were square, and the one occupied by Washington was near the pulpit. Near it was 
 George Mason s and George William Fairfax s, whose initials were yet upon them. The following 
 is from the record book of Pohick church, quoted from the original, in Lossing s Pictorial Field- 
 Book of the Revolution. The names were signed at different times during the summer and autumn 
 of 1765: 
 
 "I, A. B., do declare that I will be conformable to the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of 
 England as by law established. 
 
 " 1765. May 20th. Thomas Withers Coffer, Thomas Ford, John Ford. 
 
 " 19th August. Geo. Washington, Daniel M Carty, Edward Payne, Thomas Withers Coffer, 
 
 Thomas Ford, Edw. Dulin, John Dalton, Daniel French, Richard Sanford, Thos. Shaw, Thos. 
 
 Wren, Townsend Dade, Charles Broadwatcr,* J. W. Payne, William Adams. 
 "20th August. G. W. Fairfax, John West, William Lynton, Wm. Gardner. 
 " 16^ September. Edward Blackburn. 
 " 1 7th September. George Mason, Charles Henderson. 
 " October 21st. John Possey. 
 "21st April, 1766. T. Ellzy. 
 
 * Captain Broad water was with Braddock. His slave, who drove a provision wngon at that time, died in Ohio, 
 in 1849, at the ae of one hundred and fifteen years. 
 
JEx. 34.] DECLARATORY ACT OF PARLIAMENT. 339 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXII. 
 
 THE DECLARATORY ACT PERCEPTIONS OF ITS DANGEROUS CHARACTER WASH 
 INGTON S FOREBODINGS OTHER OBNOXIOUS ACTS OF PARLIAMENT TROOPS 
 
 IN THE COLONIES ACTION OF THE NEW YORK ASSEMBLY PITT MADE EARL 
 
 OF CHATHAM AND PRIME MINISTER NEW TAXATION SCHEMES DISCON 
 TENTS IN AMERICA VOICES OF THE ASSEMBLIES BOLDNESS OF MASSACHU 
 SETTS CONDUCT OF THE MINISTRY COMMISSIONERS OF CUSTOMS RIOTOUS 
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN BOSTON TRIUMPH OF THE POPULAR WILL BRITISH TROOPS 
 
 IN BOSTON IRRITATION OF THE PEOPLE NON-IMPORTATION ASSOCIATIONS 
 
 THE OPINIONS OF WASHINGTON AND MASON ON THE SUBJECT. 
 
 THE repeal of the stamp-act was only a temporary concession of 
 the ministry, to the popular will. It was clearly perceived by Pitt 
 and others, that it would be impossible to obtain a repeal of the 
 act, without, in some way, reasserting the right to absolute control 
 of the colonies, for which Parliament so strenuously contended. 
 How that was to be done without exhibiting great inconsistency, 
 and exposing the weakness of the government, in presence of the 
 opposition in America, was a question of difficult solution. Doctor 
 Franklin, who was in England closely watching every movement, 
 saw no clear way in the matter, and he expressed his belief to his 
 friends in America, that the act would not be repealed. But the 
 sagacious Pitt, who had just boldly proclaimed in Parliament : " I 
 rejoice that America has resisted. Three millions of people so dead 
 to all the feelings of liberty as voluntarily to submit to be slaves, 
 would have been fit instruments to make slaves of all the rest,"* 
 suggested to the ministry a plan by which the obnoxious act might 
 be repealed, and yet no concessions of the binding power of Parlia 
 ment would be made. They acted upon his suggestions, and 
 smoothed the way for the repeal of the stamp-act, by a bill which 
 
 * Charles Fox afterward declared, in the house of commons, that, " The resistance of the Amer 
 icans to the oppression of the mother-country, has undoubtedly preserved the liberties of mankind." 
 
340 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1766. 
 
 declared that the king and Parliament had the right to make laws 
 " to bind the colonies and people of America, subjects of the crown 
 of Great Britain, in all cases whatsoever." Notwithstanding its 
 preamble varied widely from the suggestions of Pitt,* that states 
 man supported the declaratory act, as it was called, because it would 
 insure the repeal of the stamp-act. Yet while thus supporting it, 
 he said, " You have no right to tax America. Nevertheless, I assert 
 the authority of this kingdom to be sovereign and supreme in every 
 circumstance of government and legislation, whatsoever. Taxation 
 is no part of the governing or legislative power ; the taxes are a 
 
 voluntary gift and grant of the commons alone Here we give and 
 
 grant what is our own ; but it is unjust and absurd to suppose, that 
 we can give and grant the property of the commons of America." 
 
 Pitt s position was a delicate one. He gloried in England s power 
 and was unwilling to abridge it in the least degree ; yet his innate 
 sense of justice gave him clear perceptions of the true position of 
 the Americans, and he was necessarily their advocate. He knew 
 that danger to their liberties was involved in the declaratory act, 
 and regarded it only as a temporary expedient to avert an imme 
 diately impending civil war. So "the resolution passed for Eng 
 land s right to do what the treasury pleased with three millions of 
 freemen in America." 
 
 While the eyes of the colonists were filled with tears of joy 
 because of the unexpected repeal of the stamp-act, they did not see 
 the egg of tyranny which lay concealed in the declaratory act. 
 Yet there were a few, like Gadsden of South Carolina, who saw it 
 clearly, and hesitated not, on all proper occasions, to declare the 
 public hopes to be fallacious ; that a cordial friendship with Great 
 Britain would never again exist, and that it was madness on the 
 part of Americans to remit their vigilance, or relax their preparations 
 for a contest which must inevitably ensue. Washington, also, anx- 
 
 * In all this matter the ministry seemed to have no ideas of justice, humanity, and fraternal love. 
 They appeared to think only of P^ngland s pride and commercial ambition, and studied how to avoid 
 wounding either. In the preamble to the declaratory act, this subserviency to Mammon was ex 
 pressed in the words, " The continuance of the said [stamp] act would be attended with many incon 
 veniences, and may be productive of consequences greatly detrimental to the commercial interests of 
 these kingdoms." 
 
JT. 34.] OTHER OBNOXIOUS MEASURES. 341 
 
 ioiisly watching every movement of the British ministry from the 
 quiet and isolated stand-point of Mount Yernon, had similar convic 
 tions, and did not, on reflection, regard the repeal of the Stamp-act 
 as the harbinger of justice to the colonies and permanent reconcilia 
 tion with Great Britain. " I can not perceive," he wrote to a friend, 
 " what solid triumph of principle has been gained by the repeal of 
 the act, while the tyrannical power of Parliament is so strongly 
 asserted. I rejoice that the act is repealed, because our people are 
 spared much trouble, and it is a concession to the popular will. 
 But I very much fear, that out of the declaratory act other oppres 
 sive measures will proceed, and that the people of America will still 
 be held in bondage if they submit." The apprehensions of Wash 
 ington were just. Within a few months afterward, a brood of 
 obnoxious measures were hatched from that egg, which aroused the 
 fiercest indignation of the colonists. 
 
 A large portion of the house of lords, the whole bench of bishops, 
 and a heavy majority in the commons, were favorable to the em 
 ployment of coercive measures toward the colonists. They were 
 irritated by being compelled to yield to the necessity of concession, 
 just wrung from them, and the cruelty of offended tyranny was 
 excited. First, a demand was made upon the colonies, for restitu 
 tion to the crown officers who had suffered losses by the stamp-act 
 riots. This was just, and was so acknowledged by the colonists; 
 but the insolent manner in which Governor Bernard, of Massachu 
 setts, demanded the settlement of such claims, caused the people of 
 Boston to flatly refuse to pay anything until his haughty tone was 
 changed to a more conciliatory key. 
 
 By another act, Parliament required the colonial assemblies to 
 provide, at the expense of the people, for troops that might be sent 
 to America, with quarters, fire, beds, candles, beer, salt, and vine 
 gar. The Massachusetts assembly partially complied; but that 
 of New York, pleading inability, begged to be excused from ma 
 king the necessary appropriations. It was clearly perceived that 
 a deep-laid scheme for enslaving the colonies, and drawing money 
 from their coffers, was in progress, and that the advent of troops 
 
342 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1766. 
 
 would be the introduction of a military despotism to enforce obedi 
 ence to all laws, however obnoxious they might be to the Americans. 
 They, therefore, resolved not to cherish a viper destined for their 
 own destruction. 
 
 The troops came from Halifax, in June, 1766. They found a 
 cool reception in Boston, and in New York their appearance was 
 the signal for serious outbreaks. They were everywhere insolent, 
 and they met sullen rebuffs from the inhabitants at every corner. 
 Parliament, by a large majority, proceeded to punish New York for 
 its contumacy, by suspending the powers of its governor and assem 
 bly until they should comply with its requisitions concerning the 
 troops. This served to strengthen the position of the recusant 
 province, for it won the sympathy of all the other colonies. The 
 despotic act created alarm and indignation all over the land, and 
 the words of Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, when he said, " An 
 act for suspending the legislature of that province hangs like a 
 flaming sword over our heads, and requires, by all means, to be 
 removed," found a warm and ready response in the hearts of the 
 whole people. 
 
 At about this time, the Rockingham cabinet was suddenly dis 
 solved, and Pitt, just created earl of Chatham, was called to the 
 head of affairs, as prime-minister. His cabinet was a curious medley 
 of politicians, brought together, at this crisis, by a seeming neces 
 sity.* Had the general conduct of affairs been in his own hands, 
 as it was eight or nine years before, no doubt things would have 
 gone on well. But others had their hands upon the crank of the 
 government machinery, and Chatham was frequently called away 
 
 * " He made an administration so checkered and speckled," said Burke ; " he put together a 
 piece of joinery so crossly indented and whimsically dove-tailed ; a cahinet so variously inlaid ; such 
 a piece of diversified mosaic ; such a tcsselated pavement without cement ; here a bit of black stone, 
 and there a bit of white ; patriots and courtiers ; king s friends and republicans ; whigs and tories ; 
 treacherous friends and open enemies ; that it was, indeed, a very curious show, but untidy, unsafe 
 to touch, and unsure to tread upon. The colleagues whom he had assorted at the same boards 
 stared at each other, and were obliged to ask, Sir, your name ? Sir, you have the advantage of 
 me. Mr. Such-a-one, I ask a thousand pardons. I venture to say it did so happen, that persons 
 had a single office divided between them, who had never spoken to each other in their lives until they 
 found themselves, they knew not how, pigging together, heads and points, in the same truckle- 
 bed." Speech on American Taxation. 
 
&T. 35.] TAXATION SCHEMES. 343 
 
 from duty by severe attacks of gout, which kept the great orator 
 confined at Hayes, his country-seat in Kent. It was during one of 
 these attacks of illness that Charles Townshend, who was Chatham s 
 chancellor of the exchequer, coalesced with Grenville in bringing 
 new taxation schemes before Parliament. These were matured, 
 and in June, 1767, a bill was passed for levying duties upon tea, 
 glass, paper, painter s colors, etcetera, that should be imported into 
 the colonies. Another bill became a law, early in July, which pro 
 vided for the establishment of a board of trade in the colonies, 
 independent of colonial legislation, and for creating resident com 
 missioners of customs to enforce the revenue laws. Then, soon 
 afterward, the disabling act concerning the New York assembly, 
 already mentioned, was passed. There was a provision in the act 
 relative to the quartering of troops in America, more odious than 
 all others. In addition to the authorization of a standing army in 
 the colonies, it enabled the crown, by sign manual, to establish a 
 general civil list throughout every province, fixing the salaries of 
 governors, judges, and other officers, such salary to be paid by the 
 crown. Thus the executive and judicial officers, from whom the 
 inhabitants were to expect good government, and the righteous 
 administration of laws, were made entirely independent of the 
 people, and became, in fact, mere hireling creatures of the crown. 
 
 These direct blows at popular liberty, and these taxation schemes, 
 produced an excitement in the colonies, almost equal, in intensity, 
 to that created by the stamp-act. The colonial assemblies uttered 
 bold protests ; new non-importation associations were formed ; pam 
 phlets, newspapers, and the pulpit, put forth inflammatory appeals 
 to the people, defining their rights, and urging them to united 
 resistance ; and early in the year 1768, almost every colonial assem 
 bly had spoken out boldly, and expressed its conviction that Parlia 
 ment possessed no right to tax the colonies. These expressions 
 were in response to a circular sent to the several assemblies by 
 Massachusetts, in February of that year, asking them to co-operate 
 in obtaining a redress of grievances, and maintaining the liberties 
 of America. This circular greatly offended the ministers, and Lord 
 
344 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [17G8. 
 
 Hillsborough, the colonial secretary, sent instructions to Governor 
 Bernard to call upon the assembly of Massachusetts to rescind its 
 resolutions, and in the event of non-compliance, to dissolve that 
 body. This very requisition was considered an evidence of the inten 
 tions of the government to enslave the colonists ; and when it came 
 up for debate, the eloquence of the fiery Otis, then a member of the 
 Massachusetts assembly, was heard. "When Lord Hillsborough 
 knows," said Otis, " that we will not rescind our act, he should apply 
 to Parliament to rescind theirs. Let Britons rescind their measures, 
 or they are lost for ever." With half treasonable words like 
 these, he harangued the assembly for nearly an hour, and then the 
 house, by an almost unanimous vote, resolved not to rescind, and 
 passed resolutions denunciatory of this attempt of a minister to 
 arrest free discussion and expression of opinion. These sentiments 
 were embodied in a written answer to the governor, and elicited 
 the commendation and sympathy of the other colonies. Legisla 
 tures were soon dissolved by the royal governors, because of their 
 complicity with the seditious assembly of Massachusetts, and at the 
 opening of 1768, the political firmament in America was filled with 
 abundant forebodings of a great tempest. 
 
 The British ministry, ignorant and careless concerning the temper 
 of the Americans, utterly disregarded the portentous warnings 
 which every vessel from the New World brought to their ears. Not 
 doubting the omnipotency of the military force which they had 
 determined to employ, they became regardless of even the forms 
 of justice, and began to treat the Americans as rebellious subjects 
 rather than as free British brethren. This was the fatal rock upon 
 which they ran the ship of state, to its great and lasting damage. 
 
 A new scene in the drama now opened. The new commissioners 
 of customs arrived in May, and they were regarded with great 
 contempt, as instruments of oppression. Their haughty bearing 
 and insolent words increased the detestation of the people, and it 
 was difficult for the sober citizens to restrain the more ignorant and 
 excitable portion of the community from committing personal vio 
 lence upon them. 
 
jE T . 36.] PATRIOTISM TRIUMPHANT. 345 
 
 The proceedings of the commissioners, on the arrival at Boston, 
 of a sloop belonging to the wealthy merchant, John Hancock, who 
 was one of the public leaders in Massachusetts, produced a serious 
 outbreak, which resulted in the triumph of the popular will. The 
 vessel was laden with Madeira wine. Payment of duties upon it 
 was refused, and the commissioners seized the sloop. When the 
 fact became generally known, a great concourse of citizens appeared, 
 and speedily became a mob. They assailed the commissioners, 
 damaged their offices, and dragging a customhouse boat through 
 the town, they burned it upon the common. The commissioners, 
 failing to receive aid or protection from the alarmed governor, fled 
 for safety to Castle William, situated upon an island in the harbor, 
 three miles from Boston, where a company of British artillery was 
 stationed. 
 
 Governor Bernard, perplexed by fear and indecision, unwisely 
 invited General Gage, then in command of the British troops in 
 America, to bring soldiers to Boston to overawe the inhabitants. 
 When this invitation became known to the people, they were 
 greatly irritated. A public meeting was held in Faneuil hall, and 
 James Otis, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and John Adams, were 
 appointed to wait upon the governor, and ascertain whether the 
 report was true. The governor answered in the affirmative, but his 
 usually haughty tone was changed to one of courtesy in the pres 
 ence of those determined popular leaders. Mistaking the true 
 character of those men, he attempted to bribe them by the gifts of 
 official station. He presented Hancock with a commission as mem 
 ber of his council : that patriot tore the parchment into shreds in 
 the presence of the people. He offered the lucrative place of 
 advocate-general in the court of admiralty to John Adams: the 
 proffered patronage was rejected with disdain. The governor also 
 approached that sturdy representative of the puritans that perfect 
 model of disinterested patriotism Samuel Adams, but found him, 
 though poor in purse, as Hutchinson, on another occasion said, " of 
 such an obstinate and inflexible disposition, that he could never be 
 conciliated by any gift whatsoever." 
 
346 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1768. 
 
 The summer wore away, and on a quiet Sabbath morning, toward 
 the close of September, a British fleet from Halifax cast anchor in 
 Boston harbor, and two regiments of troops, seven hundred in 
 number, were debarked. They landed under cover of the cannon 
 of the ships-of-war, and with charged muskets, fixed bayonets, 
 drums beating, and colors flying, they marched to the common (for 
 the people refused to provide quarters for them), with all the parade 
 of a victorious army entering a conquered city. Some pitched 
 their tents on the common ; others, by the governor s orders, were 
 quartered in the statehouse ; and others in Faneuil hall. Religion, 
 popular freedom, patriotism, were all outraged, and the cup of the 
 people s indignation was full. Mutual hatred, deep and abiding, 
 was engendered between the citizens and the soldiers, and the terms 
 rebel and iyraixt were daily bandied between them. The colonists, 
 from the St. Croix to the St. Mary, were aroused by this indignity, 
 for they saw their own fate foreshadowed by that of the people of 
 Massachusetts, and they were taught the terrible but necessary 
 lesson, that armed resistance must oppose armed oppression. 
 
 Far removed from these scenes of commotion, yet deeply sympa 
 thizing with those who were immediately engaged in them, Wash 
 ington had not, up to this time, appeared in public as a partisan, 
 but had quietly pursued his rural labors and sports on the banks 
 of the Potomac, when not in his seat in the house of burgesses. 
 "Devoid of oratorical powers," says an eminent British writer,* 
 "tranquil, sedate, prudent, dignified, and reserved, he w\as little 
 qualified by genius or habit to make a brilliant figure as a provin 
 cial politician, and he waited the development of a grander scene 
 of counsel and action, more adapted to the illustration of his majes 
 tic wisdom and superior sense." But now the time had arrived 
 when it became the imperative duty of every man of influence to 
 embark boldly upon the current of political affairs, and Washington 
 did not hesitate for a moment. 
 
 The engine of non-importation agreements, which worked so 
 powerfully against the stamp-act, was now put in motion with 
 
 * Graham, Colonial History of the United States, ii., 417. 
 
MT. 36 ] WASHINGTON AND THE LEAGUE. 347 
 
 increased energy. During the winter and spring of 1769, these 
 agreements, called associations, became general throughout the colo 
 nies, under the sanction of the assemblies. Those who signed them 
 were bound not to purchase or use the manufactures of Great 
 Britain, and other goods usually exported from that country, except 
 in cases of the most urgent necessity, during a specified time, unless 
 the obnoxious laws were repealed. 
 
 Just before the assembling of the Virginia legislature, in the 
 spring of 1769, Washington received from Doctor Eoss, of Bladens- 
 burg, in Maryland, sundry papers, which contained the resolves and 
 general proceedings of the merchants of Philadelphia, respecting 
 these associations. On the fifth of April he communicated them to 
 George Mason, his friend and neighbor, of Gunston hall, and asked 
 his opinion upon the subject. In his letter accompanying the 
 package, Washington declared his own sentiments with great en 
 ergy and decision. " At a time," he wrote, " when our lordly mas 
 ters in Great Britain will be satisfied with nothing less than the 
 deprivation of American freedom, it seems highly necessary that 
 something should be done to avert the stroke, and maintain the 
 liberty which we have derived from our ancesters. But the manner 
 of doing it to answer the purpose effectually, is the point in ques 
 tion. That no man should scruple, or hesitate a moment, to use 
 arms in defence of so valuable a blessing, is clearly my opinion. 
 Yet arms, I would beg leave to add, should be the last resource, the 
 dernier resort. We have already, it is said, proved the inefficacy of 
 addresses to the throne, and remonstrances to Parliament. How 
 far, then, their attention to our rights and privileges is to be awa 
 kened or alarmed, by starving their trade and manufactures, remains 
 to be tried. 
 
 " The northern colonies it appears," he continued, " are endeavor 
 ing to adopt this scheme. In my opinion it is a good one, and must 
 be attended with salutary effects, provided it can be carried pretty 
 generally into execution. But to what extent it is practicable to 
 do so, I will not take upon me to determine. That there will be 
 a difficulty attending the execution of it everywhere, from clashing 
 
348 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1769 
 
 interests, and selfish, designing men, ever attentive to their own 
 gain, and watchful of every turn that will assist their lucrative 
 views, can not be denied ; and in the tobacco-colonies, where the 
 trade is so diffused, and in a manner wholly conducted by factors 
 for their principals at home,* these difficulties are certainly en 
 hanced, but I think not insurmountably increased, if the gentlemen, 
 in their several counties, will be at some pains to explain matters 
 to the people, and stimulate them to cordial agreements to purchase 
 none but certain enumerated articles out of any of the stores, after a 
 definite period, and neither import nor purchase any themselves 
 
 " The more I consider a scheme of this sort, the more ardently I 
 wish success to it, because I think there are private as well as public 
 advantages to result from it the former certain, however pre 
 carious the other may prove. In respect to the latter, I have 
 always thought, that by virtue of the same power which assumes 
 the right of taxation, the Parliament may attempt, at least, to 
 restrain our manufactures, especially those of a public nature, the 
 same equity and justice prevailing in the one case as the other, it 
 being no greater hardship to forbid my manufacturing, than it is to 
 order me to buy goods loaded with duties, for the express purpose 
 of raising a revenue." 
 
 After observing that extravagant and improvident living had 
 impoverished many, very many, and caused the sale of a large 
 number of estates for the benefit of creditors, Washington re 
 marked : " A scheme of this sort will contribute more effectually 
 than any other that can be devised, to extricate the country from 
 the distress it at present labors under, I most firmly believe, if it 
 can be generally adopted. And I can see but one class of people, 
 the merchants excepted, who will not, or ought not, to wish well to 
 the scheme, namely: they who live genteelly and hospitably on 
 clear estates. Such as these, were they not to consider the valuable 
 
 * England is here meant by " home." In quoting these remarks, Irving, in his Life of Wash 
 ington, says : " A single word in the passage cited from Washington s letter, evinces the chord 
 which still vibrated in the American bosom : he incidently speaks cf England as home. It was the 
 familiar term with which she was usually indicated by those of English descent; and the writer of 
 these pages remembers when the endearing phrase still lingered on Anglo-American lips even after 
 the Revolution." 
 
JRr. 37.] PATRIOTS IN CONSULTATION. 349 
 
 object in view, and the good of others, might think it hard to be 
 curtailed in their living and enjoyments." 
 
 It was to this latter class that Washington belonged ; yet he was 
 not only willing to make the sacrifice himself, but he was zealous in 
 urging it upon others. In this his patriotism was conspicuous ; and 
 in the admirable letter from which we have quoted so liberally, 
 the thoughtful, practical, benevolent characteristics of a noble 
 nature, are manifest in every line. He concluded by saying : 
 " Upon the whole, therefore, I think the scheme a good one, and 
 that it ought to be tried here, with such alterations as our circum 
 stances render absolutely necessary. But in what manner to be 
 gin the work is a matter worthy of consideration. Whether it 
 can be attempted with propriety or efficacy, further than a com 
 munication of sentiments to one another, before May, when the 
 general court and assembly will meet at Williamsburg, and a uni 
 form plan can be concerted, and sent into the different counties to 
 operate at the same time, and in the same manner, everywhere, is 
 a thing upon which I am somewhat in doubt, and I should be glad 
 to know your opinion." 
 
 To this letter Mr. Mason replied the same day, at considerable 
 length. " I entirely agree with you," he observed, " that no regular 
 plan of the sort proposed, can be entered into here, before the 
 meeting of the general court at least, if not of the assembly. In 
 the meantime, it may be necessary to publish something preparatory 
 to it in our gazettes,* to warn the people of the impending danger, 
 and induce them more readily and cheerfully to concur in the 
 proper means to avert it ; and something of this sort I had begun, 
 but am unluckily stopped by a disorder which affects my head and 
 eyes. As soon as I am able, I shall resume it, and then write you 
 more fully, or endeavor to see you. In the meantime, pray commit 
 to writing such hints as may occur. Our all is at stake, and the 
 little conveniencies and comforts of life when set in competition 
 with our liberty, ought to be rejected, not with reluctance, but with 
 pleasure.... We may retrench all manner of superfluities, finery 
 
 * See note on page 211 
 
350 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1769. 
 
 of all descriptions, and confine ourselves to linens, woollens, &c., not 
 exceeding a certain price. It is amazing how much this practice, 
 if adopted in all the colonies, would lessen the American imports, 
 and distress the various traders and manufacturers in Great Britain. 
 This would awaken their attention. They would see, they would 
 feel, the oppressions we groan under, and exert themselves to pro 
 cure us redress." 
 
 Not, for a moment, entertaining a thought of political separation 
 from Great Britain, but evidently hoping for reconciliation, Mr. 
 Mason continued : " However singular I may be in my opinion, I 
 am thoroughly convinced, that justice and harmony happily re 
 stored, it is not the interest of these colonies to refuse British man 
 ufactures. Our supplying our mother-country with gross materials, 
 and taking her manufactures in return, is the true chain of con 
 nection between us. These are the bands, which, if not broken by 
 oppression, must long hold us together, by maintaining a constant 
 reciprocation of interest. Proper caution should, therefore, be used 
 in drawing up the proposed plan of association. It may not be 
 amiss to let the ministry understand, that, until we obtain a redress 
 of grievances, we will withhold from them our commodities, and 
 particularly refrain from making tobacco, by which the revenue 
 would lose fifty times more than all their oppressions could raise 
 here."* 
 
 Such were the sentiments of Washington and his compatriots in 
 Virginia, when they entered upon that long struggle for right, which 
 resulted in the independence of the colonies. 
 
 * Sparks s Life and Writings of Washington, ii., 354. 
 
MT. 37.] A MELODRAMA. 351 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 LORD BOTETOURT, GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA HIS CHARACTER HIS MISTAKES 
 
 AND FOLLIES IN ASSUMING ROYAL AIRS DISTINGUISHED PATRIOTS IN THE 
 
 VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY THEIR OPPOSITION TO THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT DISSO 
 LUTION OF THE ASSEMBLY MEETING OF THE MEMBERS AT THE RALEIGH TAVERN 
 
 DRAFT OF AN ASSOCIATION PRESENTED BY WASHINGTON ITS UNANIMOUS 
 
 ADOPTION RE-ELECTION OF ALL THE PATRIOTS WASHINGTON S NOBLE EF 
 FORTS IN BEHALF OF HIS COMPANIONS-IN-ARMS JOURNEY TO THE OHIO COUN 
 TRY FINAL ADJUSTMENT OF THE SOLDIERS CLAIMS. 
 
 IN blossoming May, 1769, a curious melodrama in actual life was 
 performed at Williamsburg, the gay little capital of Virginia. Lord 
 Botetourt, one of the king s lords of the bedchamber, had arrived 
 there in the previous autumn, as the successor of the deceased 
 governor Fauquier. He was a man ever ready for action, as 
 evinced by his reply to the king, on his appointment, when his 
 majesty asked, " When will you be ready to go T " To-night," was 
 his lordship s prompt answer. He was an upright, honorable, benev 
 olent, and accomplished man, and came with a sincere desire to 
 govern Virginia with a single eye to the welfare of the people. 
 He was a courtier, too, but not a sycophant. He knew well how to 
 please those whom he wished to oblige. Because of this faculty, 
 Junius described him as a "cringing, bowing, fawning, and sword- 
 bearing courtier ;" and Horace Walpole said, on his departure, that 
 " if his graces do not captivate the Virginians, he will enrage them 
 to fury ; for I take all his douceur to be enamelled on iron." 
 
 The opinion concerning the Americans entertained by Lord 
 Botetourt, is a fair specimen of the general ignorance of their 
 character which then prevailed in Great Britain. He had received 
 the impression that they were immoral, factious, and naturally dis- 
 
352 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1769. 
 
 contented and rebellious; but being vain, ostentatious, and luxu 
 rious, they were easily captivated by titular distinctions, and gaudy 
 pageantries. His outfit was intended to enable him to gratify the 
 foibles of the people he was sent to govern, and thus to secure 
 absolute control over them. The king presented him with a showy 
 state-carriage and steeds. He was allowed the usual quantity and 
 style of plate given to first-class embassadors, and his residence at 
 Williamsburg was styled his " palace." 
 
 From the time of his arrival until the spring of 1769, Lord 
 Botetourt gave but little offence to the most rigid republican sim 
 plicity. He kept everything in reserve for a proper occasion to 
 make a powerful impression upon the popular mind. That occasion 
 was the opening of the Virginia assembly, in May, which it was the 
 duty of the governor to perform in person. This service Botetourt 
 attempted in the style of the royal opening of Parliament, he being 
 the representative of the king. Dressed in official costume, he left 
 his "palace" in his state-carriage, which was drawn by six milk- 
 white horses, driven by a liveried coachman, and attended by liv 
 eried out-riders. In this state he proceeded to the capitol, entered 
 the assembly-chamber with a train of attendants, and having deliv 
 ered his speech in royal form, he returned to his dwelling with the 
 same solemn parade, fondly believing that the legislature and the 
 people were prepared to bow to royal authority, whenever its 
 behests should be uttered by his lips. It was a sad spectacle to see 
 a really good, but wretchedly-deceived man, playing a ridiculous 
 pantomime before an intelligent audience, who despised the de 
 ceivers, and pitied the victim. 
 
 The members of the house of burgesses clearly perceived the 
 intention of all this parade. It was made at a time singularly 
 unpropitious for effect, for the whole country was excited by minis 
 terial wrongs, and the thoughts of the grave men of the Virginia 
 assembly were too much occupied with weighty matters, that con 
 cerned the well-being of their country, and of mankind, to afford 
 more than a passing smile of contempt upon this device to win 
 them from their allegiance to a noble principle. 
 
JET. 37.] VIRGINIA REPUBLICANS. 353 
 
 The Virginia burgesses had been in session but a few days, when 
 their acts effectually dispelled the illusion that misled the judgment 
 of Lord Botetourt. Washington was there, fired with zeal for the 
 cause of his country, and bearing in his hand one of the most 
 powerful weapons with which the colonists at first contended -with 
 Great Britain, as we shall perceive presently. He was surrounded 
 by some of the ablest and most devoted patriots that ever appeared 
 in America. There was the bold Patrick Henry, whose trumpet- 
 tones had recently awakened the moral echoes of a continent. 
 There was Edmund Pendleton, the dexterous politician, and grace 
 ful and persuasive speaker ; and Richard Bland, the profound logi 
 cian, eminent for the extent and accuracy of his knowledge. In 
 the speaker s chair was Peyton Randolph, the popular and eloquent 
 leader, of stern integrity and inflexible resolution, who presided 
 over the first continental Congress a few years later ; and George 
 Wythe, the simple, stern republican, and elegant wit ; and Richard 
 Henry Lee, one of the most accomplished scholars and orators in 
 America, who was called by common consent, the Virginian Cicero. 
 
 There, too, was Thomas Jefferson, a young lawyer, distinguished 
 for his eminent abilities, liberality of views, and boldness of char 
 acter, who now commenced his public life as a friend of mankind. 
 These, and others less celebrated by the pen of history, but no 
 less patriotic and firm, were the compeers of Washington in the 
 Virginia house of burgesses during its short but remarkable session 
 of 1769. 
 
 So united in sentiment were the burgesses, that their consulta 
 tions were not embarrassed by conflicting views. The British 
 houses of Parliament had passed concurrent resolves, censuring the 
 votes, resolutions, and proceeding of Massachusetts ; and in a joint 
 address to the king, they expressed their satisfaction in the measures 
 that he had pursued, and assured him of their strong and uniform 
 support in such measures as might be found necessary, " to maintain 
 the magistrates in a due execution of the laws in Massachusetts 
 Bay." They also besought him to direct the governor of that 
 province to send all persons " charged with treason or misprision of 
 
 23 
 
354 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. L x769. 
 
 treason," committed within that province since the thirtieth of 
 December, 1767, to Great Britain for trial. 
 
 When these resolves and address reached the colonies, they 
 created alarm and indignation. The governor of Massachusetts 
 had dissolved the general assembly of that province, and it had no 
 legislature. Virginia promptly and generously took up the cause 
 of its suffering sister. The burgesses, by unanimous vote on the 
 sixteenth of May, adopted a series of resolutions, counter in letter 
 and spirit to those of Parliament, and directed the speaker forthwith 
 to transmit them to all the houses of assembly in America. In 
 these resolutions the doctrine that the sole right of imposing taxes 
 on the inhabitants of a colony is vested in its assembly; of the 
 privilege of petitioning the sovereign for a redress of grievances ; of 
 the right of every accused person to a trial by his peers of the 
 vicinage ; and of the unconstitutionally of any law that should 
 authorize the transportation to Great Britain of any colonial of 
 fender, for trial, was strongly put forth.* The assembly, at the 
 same time, prepared an address to the king, in which they assured 
 him that the complaints of all of his American subjects were well 
 founded. They disdained any further application to Parliament, 
 and ordered the agent of Virginia, in England, to present their 
 address to the king in person, and then to publish it in the English 
 newspapers. 
 
 This rebellious demonstration of the house of burgesses, so soon 
 after his mock-royal pageant, greatly astonished and alarmed Lord 
 Botetourt. In conformity to his oath and the requirements of his 
 duty to his sovereign, he took immediate steps to avert the revolu 
 tionary movement. At noon the next day, he suddenly appeared 
 in the assembly chamber during the session. There was at once a 
 respectful silence, when he said: "Mr. Speaker and gentlemen, I 
 have heard of your resolutions and augur ill of their effects. You 
 
 * These resolutions were drawn by Thomas Jefferson, one of the youngest members of the as 
 sembly. His first act in the house had evinced his appreciation of freedom. He proposed a law 
 which should give the masters of slaves unrestricted right to emancipate them. The motion did not 
 prevail, but it drew the attention of the assembly to his talents, and he was employed to prepare 
 both the counter-resolutions of the house, and the address to the king. 
 
MT. 57.] NON-IMPORTATION ASSOCIATION. 355 
 
 have made it my duty to dissolve you; and you are dissolved 
 accordingly." His lordship s action was expected by the burgesses, 
 and their future course had been already determined. On the fol 
 lowing morning they assembled in the Apollo room, at the Raleigh 
 tavern, when, professing to assume no other capacity than that of 
 private citizens, they formed themselves into a voluntary conven 
 tion, and appointed their late speaker , Mr. Randolph, their moderator. 
 When the convention was organized, Washington came forward and 
 presented a draft of articles of association against the use of any 
 merchandise imported from Great Britain, which had been concerted 
 between himself and Mr. Mason.* These were in the hand-writing 
 of the latter. They consisted of a preamble and eight resolves, 
 after slight revision, they were assented to unanimously. The 
 association was signed by every person present, and copies were sent 
 throughout the country for the signatures of the people.f These 
 burgesses then repaired to their respective counties, and were all re- 
 elected. 
 
 Washington adhered, with scrupulous exactness, to the terms of 
 the association, and none of the proscribed articles were seen at Mount 
 Vernon while it remained in force. In his first letter to his agent 
 in London, after subscribing the association, he wrote : " You will 
 perceive, in looking over the several invoices, that some of the 
 goods there required, are upon condition, that the act of Parliament 
 imposing a duty on tea, paper, &c., for the purpose of raising a 
 revenue in America, is totally repealed ; and I beg the favor of 
 you to be governed strictly thereby, as it will not be in my power 
 to receive any articles contrary to our non-importation agreement, 
 
 ^ George Mason was a statesman of much distinction. He drafted the first republican constitution 
 of Virginia, in 1 776, and was a member of the convention that framed the federal constitution in 1 787. 
 He was one of the ablest men in that convention. When the constitution came before a convention 
 of the people for consideration, the next year, he joined Patrick Henry in opposing it, because of its 
 encroachments upon state-rights. He also warmly opposed the section allowing a continuance of 
 the slave-trade. 
 
 t The Association is printed in Burke s History of Virginia, iii., 345. " On comparing it with 
 Mr. Mason s manuscript draft," says Sparks (ii., 356), "retained by Washington, I find it precisely 
 the same, except the addition of two short articles, and the omission of another." The one omitted 
 by the burgesses recommended that, "if the measures already entered into should prove ineffectual, 
 a stop should be put to the exportation of tar, pitch, turpentine, lumber, timber, and skins and furs 
 of all sorts." 
 
356 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1770. 
 
 which 1 have subscribed, and shall religiously adhere to, and should, 
 if it were, as I could wish it to be, ten times as strict," Hundreds 
 of others in Virginia made the same cheerful sacrifice of luxuries, 
 and even necessaries, and the ministerial measures were openly 
 condemned, even in the presence of hirelings of the crown. 
 
 Botecourt was soon undeceived, and wisely conforming his con 
 duct to the demands of inexorable circumstances, he conciliated the 
 people, examined into alleged public grievances, became a zealous 
 advocate for a repeal of the laws so obnoxious to the colonists, and 
 in good faith worked nobly for the happiness of the Virginians. 
 Unlike some of the royal governors, he did not make the matter a 
 personal consideration ; and by dignity and justice in his official 
 acts, and courteous deportment toward the people, he won the 
 esteem and confidence of all. When he died in 1771, the event 
 was mourned by the Virginians as a public calamity, and the house 
 of burgesses decreed a statue to his memory. It was erected in 
 front of the old capital ; and now, though in a mutilated state, it 
 may be seen upon the green in front of William and Mary college. 
 
 While public duties were occupying much of Washington s time, 
 after these proceedings at Williamsburg, his attention was called to 
 the claims of the officers and soldiers in the late war, to lands in 
 the Ohio country, promised and granted to them in 1754, by an 
 order in council, and the proclamation of Governor Dinwiddie. As 
 these grants had never been located and actual possession given, on 
 account of the unsettled state of affairs, the flow of emigration 
 over the mountains after the end of Pontiac s war, in 1764, was 
 likely to deprive the grantees of their rightful domain. Early in 
 1770, immediate danger to their claims impended. A company in 
 England solicited a grant, the proposed boundaries of which in 
 cluded nearly all the tract wherein lay the promised bounty-land. 
 Washington at once took the matter in hand, as the champion of 
 the soldier, with great zeal. He first laid before Lord Botecourt an 
 historical account of the claim, and in a letter written on the fif 
 teenth of April, 1770, he entered a warm protest against the pro 
 posed grant to the English company. " I shall take the liberty," 
 
JET. 38.] SOLDIERS CLAIMS. 357 
 
 he said, "to inform your lordship, that the bounds of that grant 
 (solicited by Walpole and others), if obtained upon the extensive 
 plan proposed, will comprehend at least four fifths of the land, for 
 the purchase and survey of which this government has lately voted 
 two thousand five hundred pounds sterling. It must, therefore, 
 destroy the well-grounded hopes of those (if no reservation is 
 made in their favor), who have had the strongest assurances that 
 the government could give, of enjoying a certain portion of the 
 lands which have cost this country so much blood and treasure to 
 secure." 
 
 Washington then cited the proposed boundary in detail, and 
 added : " These, my lord, are the bounds of a grant prayed for, and 
 which, if obtained, will give a fatal blow, in my humble opinion, to 
 the interests of this country. But these are my sentiments as a 
 member of the community at large. I now beg leave to offer 
 myself to your excellency s notice in a more interested point of 
 view, as an individual, and as a person who considers himself in 
 some degree the representative of the officers and soldiers, who 
 claim a right to two hundred thousand acres of this very land, 
 under a solemn act of government, adopted at a period very im 
 portant and critical to his majesty s affairs in this part of the world. 
 I shall, therefore, rely on your lordship s accustomed goodness and 
 candor, while I add a few words in support of the equity of our 
 pretensions, although, in truth, I have very little to say on this 
 subject now, which I have not heretofore taken the liberty of ob 
 serving to your excellency. 
 
 " I will next add," he said in conclusion, " that these troops not 
 only enlisted agreeably to the proclamation, but behaved so much 
 to the satisfaction of the country, as to be honored by the most 
 public acknowledgment of it by the assembly. Would it not be 
 hard, then, my lord, to deprive men, under these circumstances, or 
 these representations, of the just reward of their toils. Was not 
 this act of the governor and council offered to the soldiers, and 
 accepted by them, as an absolute compact ? And though the exi 
 gency of affairs, or the policy of the government made it necessary 
 
358 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1770. 
 
 to continue these lands in a dormant state for a time, ought not 
 their claim to be considered in preference to all others ?" 
 
 Washington s representations to the public authorities, and his 
 untiring personal exertions, chiefly at his own cost, finally procured 
 justice for the claimants. That nothing essential to their interests 
 should remain undone, he resolved to visit the region under con 
 sideration, and select the best tracts of land for his companions-in 
 arms. He set out from Mount Vernon on the fifth of October, 
 1770, accompanied by his friend and neighbor, Doctor Craik, and 
 three negro-attendants, two of whom belonged to Colonel Wash 
 ington. They departed with light hearts, and felt a great pleasure 
 in the prospect of a peaceful revisitation of scenes of conflict in 
 which they had been engaged long years before. The wilderness 
 they were about to penetrate beyond Fort Pitt (old Fort Duquesne), 
 was yet untrodden by the foot of the white man, except those of 
 the hostile Frenchmen, and hunters and traders, or emissaries of 
 land speculators. There were no settlements of white people on the 
 banks of the Ohio below that fort. 
 
 Washington and his companions proceeded to Fort Pitt on horse 
 back. There they were cordially received, after twelve days of 
 weary travel, by Captain Edmonson, who commanded the little 
 garrison of two companies of the royal Irish. There, where Wash 
 ington had unfurled the British flag over a ruined fortress twelve 
 years before, a town of twenty log-houses had grown up, inhabited 
 by Indian-traders, and in one of them, while at dinner, he met his old 
 acquaintance, George Croghan, who, after having experienced many 
 vicissitudes upon the frontiers, now held the commission of colonel, 
 was a deputy Indian agent, under Sir William Johnson, and was 
 residing on the banks of the Alleghany river, about four miles from 
 the fort. At Croghan s residence, the next day, Washington was 
 greeted by White Mingo, and several other chiefs of the Six 
 Nations, who remembered having seen him when he visited the 
 French commander, in 1753. White Mingo made a speech, in 
 which he expressed a desire that the Virginians should consider the 
 Six Nations as their friends and brothers, and a hope that all of the 
 
MT. 38.] WASHINGTON ON THE OHIO. 359 
 
 troubles on the frontier were now settled for ever. A " speech belt" 
 was then presented, which Washington accepted, and made a friendly 
 reply. 
 
 Washington and his companions left their horses at Fort Pitt, and 
 accompanied by John Nicholson, as interpreter, and William Craw 
 ford,* a man well acquainted with the Indians, and experienced in 
 woodcraft, they descended the Ohio in a canoe to Point Pleasant, 
 at the mouth of the Great Kenhawa, a distance of two hundred 
 and sixty-five miles. They were attended by Colonel Croghan and 
 some officers of the garrison, as far as Logstown, where, the reader 
 will remember, was the scene of Washington s first interview with 
 Tanacharisson, the half-king, in 1753. Then, after a pleasant break 
 fast together, Colonel Washington and his companions went down the 
 Ohio, while Colonel Croghan and his attendants cheered them heartily. 
 
 Although the voyage was one of great peril, all being ignorant 
 of the channels of the river, and the real friendship of the neigh 
 boring Indians being a matter of much doubt, yet they had ex 
 quisite enjoyment for several days, in giving free play to their 
 hunting propensities. Game abounded in great profusion, and 
 Washington indulged in his favorite amusement of hunting, to his 
 heart s content. Floating upon the bosom of the beautiful Ohio, 
 they continually encountered large flocks of ducks and geese, while 
 the branches of the trees which bent over the margins of the stream, 
 were filled with wild turkeys. Sometimes they would travel on foot 
 for many miles through the forest, leaving the oarsmen in charge of 
 the canoe, and while chasing the nimble deer, they examined the 
 country, and made valuable observations. These Washington care 
 fully noted in his field-book. They consisted of descriptions of the 
 general contour of the country, the character of the soil as indi 
 cated by the nature of the trees, and the proximity of streams to 
 level tracts of land that might be eligible for settlements. They 
 suffered severe hardships, for the weather became inclement, and 
 they encamped at night with no other protection than their blankets, 
 and no shelter but the umbrageous trees. 
 
 * Crawford, a few years later, suffered a terrible death at the hands of the exasperated Indians. 
 
360 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1770. 
 
 On the twenty-sixth of October the voyagers reached the hunting- 
 camp of Kiashuta, the famous Seneca chief, who was among the 
 first to strike the white people under the direction of Pontiac. His 
 camp was near the mouth of the Muskingum river, and Washington 
 and his companions landed and made a ceremonious visit to the chief. 
 Kiashuta immediately recognised Washington as the young embas- 
 sador whom he saw seventeen years before, at Venango. He re 
 ceived him in the most cordial manner, and after entertaining 
 him and his party in the best of barbaric style, he assured Wash 
 ington of his earnest desire to preserve everlasting peace between 
 his people and the Virginians. He had heard of what had occurred 
 at the interview with the chiefs of the Six Nations, at Colonel 
 Croghan s, and he was unwilling to be outdone in protestations of 
 peaceful desires. 
 
 Washington and his party reached the mouth of the Great 
 Kenhawa soon after this auspicious interview with Kiashuta, and 
 there they remained two or three days, engaged in placing monu 
 ments of recognition upon such tracts of fine land in the vicinity, 
 as he intended to claim for the soldiers, and in the pleasures of 
 hunting. Doctor Craik afterward related, that while they were 
 there, they were visited by an old chief, who was a leader in the 
 ambush that dealt such destruction upon Braddock s troops, on the 
 field of Monongahela. He approached Washington with great 
 reverence, at the head of several of his tribe, and addressed him 
 through Nicholson, the interpreter. The old warrior said he had 
 come a long way to see Colonel Washington, on being told that he 
 was in the country, for, in the battle of Monongahela, he had singled 
 him out as a conspicuous object, fired his rifle at him fifteen times, 
 and directed his young warriors to do the same, but no one could 
 hit him. He was persuaded that the Great Spirit protected the 
 young hero, and ceased firing at him.* 
 
 Having ascended the Great Kenhawa about fourteen miles, and 
 visited and examined every place he desired to, Colonel Washington 
 
 * This circumstance is alluded to on page 168. Washington, in writing to his brother after the 
 battle, said, " I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me." 
 
JET. 38.] THE SOLDIER S REWARD. 361 
 
 and his party returned to Fort Pitt ; and with Doctor Craik and 
 their servants, he proceeded to Mount Vernon, where they arrived 
 after an absence of nine weeks. He now pressed the matter of 
 adjusting the soldiers claims with great vigor, and finally, after 
 much vexatious efforts, he accomplished his object to the general 
 satisfaction of all.* Fifteen thousand acres were awarded to a field- 
 officer, nine thousand to a captain, six thousand to a subaltern, and 
 four thousand to a private. Even Van Braam, who was suspected 
 of treason at the Great Meadows, was not overlooked ; and he and 
 Stobo, who were then in London, each received nine thousand acres, 
 which were subsequently purchased from them by Washington. 
 
 * There were a few dishonorable exceptions. Colonel George Muse, Washington s early mili 
 tary instructor, who had exhibited cowardly traits while in the service, was dissatisfied with the share 
 allotted to him, and wrote an impertinent letter to Washington. It drew from the insulted colonel 
 a most withering reply. The first paragraph is here quoted, to show what a caustic pen Wash 
 ington could wield when necessity called for its exercise : " Sir Your impertinent letter was deliv 
 ered to me yesterday. As I am not accustomed to receive such, from any man, nor would have 
 taken the same language from you personally, without letting you feel some marks of my resent 
 ment, I advise you to be cautious in writing to me a second of the same tenor ; for though I under 
 stand you were drunk when you did it, yet give me leave to tell you, that drunkenness is no excuse 
 for rudeness. But for your stupidity and sottishness, you might have known, by attending to the 
 public gazette, that you had your full quantity of ten thousand acres of land allowed you." 
 
362 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1770. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 WASHINGTON AND PASSING EVENTS THE KING AND HIS ADVISERS WILLIAM 
 
 PITT, HIS HONORS AND INFLUENCE CHANGE IN THE BRITISH CABINET JUNIUS 
 
 LORD NORTH ACTION OF THE BRITISH CABINET DUTY ON TEA RETAINED 
 
 REPEAL OF OTHER DUTIES DISCONTENTS IN AMERICA THE BOSTON MAS 
 SACRE PUBLIC SENTIMENT IN VIRGINIA WISHES OF COLONIAL GOVERNORS 
 
 THE GREAT PRINCIPLES INVOLVED PROGRESS OF POPULAR POWER IN ENGLAND 
 
 AND AMERICA THE REGULATORS. 
 
 THE year 1770 was an eventful one in the history of England, 
 and of the English colonies, and every man in America feeling a 
 concern in the public affairs of the realm, was constrained to act 
 with circumspection, or look on in wonder as the shifting scenes 
 of current events revealed new phases in the political and moral 
 aspects of the world. Of these events Washington was a most 
 attentive and interested spectator. Although himself half uncon 
 scious of the fact, they formed a part of the wonderful web of his 
 destiny, then about to be marked with forms and colors hitherto 
 dimly seen by his countrymen, but which had some well-defined 
 significance to his own vision. 
 
 From the accession of George the Third, to the period in ques 
 tion, his majesty s simplicity of mind and goodness of heart had 
 made him a plastic instrument in the hands of wicked, or ignorant, 
 or indolent men, in weakening the power of his own government, 
 and in eclipsing that prestige of the English name so well estab 
 lished by Pitt and his coadjutors, at the close of his predecessor s 
 reign. For several years after the accession of George, Pitt was 
 disallowed that control of public affairs which his great talents, 
 eminent services, and wide experience entitled him to ; and it was 
 only occasionally, when those affairs became tangled and desperate 
 when the ship of state was among breakers that he was per 
 mitted to take control and guide the helm. When, at length, he 
 
jE T . 38.] PITT AND HIS INFLUENCE. 363 
 
 was elevated to the peerage, and became earl of Chatham and 
 prime-minister, he found, too late, that his popularity had received 
 a deadening blow, and that the sceptre of control seemed passing 
 from him. The people had been proud of him as one of them 
 selves as the greatest commoner in England; now they regarded 
 him as one who had been lured from the path of honor and duty 
 by the glitter of an earldom, and they suspected him of infidelity 
 to their interests. " There is," wrote Burke from Dublin, " still a 
 little twilight of popularity remaining around the great peer, but it 
 fades away every moment ;" and Chesterfield said of his entrance 
 into that " hospital of incurables," as he called the house of lords, 
 " all his enemies, without exception, rejoice at it, and all his friends 
 are stupified and dumb-founded." 
 
 But Pitt did not withdraw his sympathies from the people who 
 loved him so well, when he entered the house of lords, notwith 
 standing he made some foolish displays in his new character.* Such 
 sympathies were always predominant among his sentiments, and 
 his conduct won back the straying confidence and affections of the 
 people. Sickness kept him much away from the active duties of life, 
 and for more than a year and a half before his resignation of the 
 premiership, in the autumn of 1768, his voice was not heard in any 
 cause outside of his close retirement at his country-seat at Hayes. 
 Yet the influence of that great man was wonderful even in his 
 obscurity. His health, his friendships, his agreements and disagree 
 ments with this and that public man, were matters of deep interest 
 to all England, and to the cabinets of Europe. " It is strange," says 
 Lord Mahon, " how large a space in the history of England at that 
 period, must be devoted to the details of his personal health and 
 his family feuds. The fate of the nation seemed to hang suspended 
 on the gout and on the Grenvilles." 
 
 * Chesterfield has left a record of the unusual pomp and needless train of sen-ants that Chatham 
 maintained. In the summer of 1769, he became reconciled to his brother-in-law, Lord Temple, 
 and proceeded, in a formal manner, to visit him at his mansion at Stowe. Burke, writing to the 
 marquis of Rockingham on the 30th of July said : " I ought to tell you that Lord Chatham passed 
 by my door on Friday morning in a jimwhiskee drawn by two horses, one before the other ; he drove 
 himself. His train was two coaches-and-six, with twenty servants, male and female. He was pro 
 ceeding with his whole family, Lady Chatham, two sons, and two daughters, to Stowe." 
 
364 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1770. 
 
 At length Lord Chatham s health improved, and he appeared in 
 public, after an absence of two years and a half. Men gazed upon 
 him as one risen from the dead, but it was soon found that not a 
 particle of the fire of his genius had been quenched. He had 
 recently become reconciled to some of his political friends, and he 
 was in his place in Parliament at its opening in January, 1770, 
 when he appeared on the side of the opposition, in coalition with 
 powerful men, to the great consternation of the ministry. 
 
 American affairs and other subjects were topics for Pitt s match 
 less eloquence and withering invective. Timid lords, shielded by 
 the wings of his leadership, spoke out their sentiments boldly 
 against the ministry. Cabinet officers, alarmed, forsook the king ; 
 and the duke of Grafton, his prime-minister, quailing beneath the 
 falchion blows of Pitt, and the keen shafts of Junius,* resigned his 
 place. " Thus," says Lord Mahon, " no sooner had Lord Chatham 
 emerged from his retirement, and raised his voice against the min 
 istry, than the ministry crumbled to pieces." It was astonishing 
 how great was the effect of his return to public life, and the declara 
 tion of his sentiments. It immediately produced a ministerial crisis 
 as keen and strange as any recorded in British history, and elevated 
 to the premiership of that realm, a man who remained in that 
 important position until the close of our war for independence, and 
 who did more, by his misguided policy, to bring about that result, 
 than any man in England. That man was Frederick, Lord North, 
 second son of the earl of Guilford. He came into office contrary 
 to the wishes or expectations of Pitt, and with very little prospect 
 of permanence. He was the seventh prime-minister chosen during 
 the first ten years of George s reign, and he held the office longer 
 than all of his six predecessors combined. He was an honest man, 
 
 * A series of articles over the signature of Junius, as is well known, was published in the Public 
 Advertiser," one of the newspapers of London, printed by Henry Sampson Woodfall. They cre 
 ated a great sensation at the time, and the authorship has been the theme for much discussion ever 
 since. These letters, addressed to persons of distinction, and even to the king, abounded with the 
 keenest invective, and pierced deeply those against whom the shafts were levelled. The duke of 
 Grafton, and Sir William Draper, were the most prominent objects of attack. The letters were 
 chiefly of apolitical character, yet not always so. Their publication continued from April, 1767, 
 until May, 1772. Great efforts were made to discover the writer, but apparently without effect. It 
 now seems probable, from the best testimony, that the author was Sir Philip Francis. 
 
MT. 38.] REPEAL OF DUTIES. 365 
 
 destitute of all outward advantages of personal grace, sagacious in 
 unravelling the most intricate details of public persons, but lacking 
 energy, firmness, and a fixed and resolute will. His figure was 
 overgrown, and he was extremely near-sighted. He possessed 
 uncommon sweetness of temper, frequently yielded his own delib 
 erate judgment to the persuasions of his sovereign or his friends, 
 and lacked the " power to resist the influence of those he loved."* 
 Such was the man whom w r e shall now meet frequently in the 
 progress of this biography, especially through all of those eventful 
 years in the life of Washington, while he was in command of the 
 continental army in opposition to the measures of that minister. 
 And Pitt, also, who performed such a conspicuous part in the events 
 which elevated North to the ministry, will be frequently found bat 
 tling manfully with the opposition against the measures of his lord 
 ship, especially in his management of American affairs. 
 
 On the fifth of March, 1770, Lord North made his first proposition 
 in Parliament, as the head of the ministry, concerning the American 
 colonies. At a meeting of the cabinet on the first of May prece- 
 ding,-j- the lords present gave it as their opinion and advice to his 
 majesty, that no measure should be taken which could, in any way, 
 derogate from the legislative authority of Great Britain over the 
 colonies ; at the same time they thought it inexpedient to lay any 
 further taxes upon America for the purpose of raising a revenue, 
 and expressed their intention to propose, in the next session of 
 Parliament, to take off the duties upon paper, glass, and colors, 
 imported into America, " upon consideration of such duties having 
 been laid contrary to the true principles of commerce." The min 
 isters then directed Lord Hillsborough, the colonial secretary, to 
 address a circular letter to the colonies, intimating that the duties 
 upon all articles enumerated in the act of 1767, would be taken off, 
 except that upon tea. This would be a partial relief from a light 
 
 * Letter of his daughter, Lady Charlotte Lindsay, to Lord Brougham, February 18, 1839. 
 
 t That meeting of the cabinet was held at the office of Lord Weymouth, and nine lords were 
 present. Lord North was then one of the most active members of the cabinet. He had com 
 menced his long career of opposition to the Americans by offering a resolution on the fourteenth 
 of March, preceding, that a respectful petition or a remonstrance from the people of New York, 
 should not be received. 
 
366 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. J1770. 
 
 burden ; but, as the cause of complaint lay in a violated principle, 
 this concession, wrung from them by expediency, did not remove it. 
 The principle was the same, whether duties were exacted on one 
 article or a dozen, and so long as the assumed right of Parliament 
 to tax the colonies was practically asserted in the smallest degree, 
 so long the Americans felt their rights to be assailed. 
 
 Lord North, who was a member of the cabinet at that time, now 
 (March 5th, 1770) came forward as the head of the administration, 
 and, in accordance with the spirit of Hillsborough s circular, sub 
 mitted a motion to repeal the duties alluded to, except that upon 
 tea. " This was continued," he said, " to maintain the right of Par 
 liamentary taxation ;" at the same time he alleged, that he felt a 
 desire to remove that also, but recent events in Boston and else 
 where, rendered it imprudent to do so, unless the government was 
 willing to abandon its rightful sway over the colonies, and instead 
 of redressing a grievance, relinquish a right. 
 
 The events to which the minister alluded, were indeed revolu 
 tionary, such as the acts of the members of the New York, Virginia, 
 and Massachusetts assemblies ;* and, on the very day when he sub 
 mitted his concessory motion to Parliament, a painful occurrence 
 took place in Boston, which produced a profound sensation through 
 out the colonies, and may be properly regarded as the opening 
 scene of bloodshed in the war for independence. We have already 
 observed the restiffness of the people of Massachusetts because of 
 the armed occupation of their capital. When the general assembly 
 of the province met in May, 1769, they resolved that it was incon 
 sistent with their dignity and freedom to deliberate in the midst of 
 an armed force, and that the presence of a military and naval arma- 
 
 * These measures, which we have already noticed in preceding pages, were deprecated, in a 
 measure, by some of the friends of the Americans. Lord Chatham, in debate in March, 1770, said : 
 " I have been thought to be, perhaps, too much the friend of America. I own I am a friend to that 
 country. I love the Americans because they love liberty, and I love them for the noble efforts they 
 made in the last war. But I must own I find fault with them in many things ; I think they carry 
 matters too far ; they have been wrong in many respects .... If they carry their notions of liberty 
 too far, as I fear they do, if they will not be subject to the laws of this country, especially if they 
 would disengage themselves from the laws of trade and navigation, of which I see too many symp 
 toms, as much of an American as I am, they have not a more determined opponent than they will 
 find in me." 
 
^ET. 38.] THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 367 
 
 ment was a breach of privilege. They refused to enter upon any 
 business except that which pertained to a redress of grievances, and 
 respectfully petitioned Governor Bernard to remove the troops from 
 Boston. Hoping to reconcile the assembly, he adjourned them to 
 Cambridge, but there they refused to make even the smallest appro 
 priation for the support of the troops. Finding the members firm 
 and incorrigible, the governor, on the twelfth of July, prorogued 
 the assembly to the tenth of January, to meet at Boston ; and on 
 the first of August, he sailed for England, leaving affairs in the 
 hands of Hutchinson, his lieutenant, who was a native of the 
 province. 
 
 It was hoped that the departure of Bernard would produce more 
 concord. But the greatest cause for discontent remained. The 
 wound inflicted by the governor, in the introduction of soldiers into 
 Boston, was daily festering, and continual quarrels between the citi 
 zens and the troops occurred. Fights with straggling soldiers were 
 frequent events, and a crisis speedily arrived. On the second of 
 March, a ropemaker quarrelled with a soldier, and struck him. Out 
 of this affray grew a fight between several soldiers and ropemakers. 
 The latter were beaten, and this result aroused the vengeance of 
 the more excitable portion of the inhabitants. 
 
 On the evening of the fifth, about seven hundred of them assem 
 bled in the streets, with clubs and other weapons, shouting, " Let us 
 drive out these rascals! They have no business here drive them 
 out !" In King (now State) street, the mob were addressed by a 
 tall man in a scarlet cloak and wearing a white wig, who closed his 
 harangue by shouting, " To the main guard ! to the main guard !" 
 and then disappeared.* The populace echoed the shout, and, sepa 
 rating into three divisions, took different routes toward the quarters 
 of the main guard. A sentinel was assailed near the customhouse, 
 when Captain Preston, the commandant of the guard, went to his 
 rescue with eight armed men. The mob dared the soldiers to fire, 
 and attacked them with stones, pieces of ice, and other missiles. 
 
 * Although there is no positive evidence of the fact, yet the strongest circumstantial evidence 
 affirms it, that the tall man in question was Samuel Adams. 
 
368 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1770. 
 
 One of the soldiers, who received a blow, fired, and his six compan 
 ions, in the excitement of the moment, also discharged their guns. 
 Three of the citizens were killed, and five were dangerously wound 
 ed. The mob instantly retreated, and all the bells of the city rang 
 an alarum. In less than an hour, several thousands of exasperated 
 citizens were in the streets, and a terrible scene of blood would 
 have ensued, had not Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson assured the 
 people that justice should be vindicated in the morning. 
 
 Morning came, and the people demanded the instant removal of 
 the troops from Boston, and the trial of Captain Preston and his 
 men for murder. The governor acquiesced in these demands. The 
 troops were sent to Castle William, in the harbor, on the twelfth ; 
 and Preston, ably defended by John Adams and Josiah Quincy, two 
 of the popular leaders, was tried and acquitted, with six of his men, 
 by a Boston jury. This was a noble and unanswerable comment up 
 on the libels of the ministerial party, who had asserted that the ser 
 vants of the crown could not obtain justice in America. The victims 
 of this riot were regarded as martyrs to liberty, and until the kind 
 ling of the war for independence, the memory of the Boston Massacre, 
 as it was called, was kept alive by anniversary orations in the city 
 and vicinity on the return of every fifth of March. The story, in 
 all its worst aspects, became a tale of horror, and everywhere it 
 excited the most implacable hatred of British domination ; and the 
 really justifiable act of the soldiers in defending their lives against 
 a lawless mob, was magnified by exaggeration, into an unprovoked 
 assault of armed mercenaries upon a quiet and defenceless people. 
 
 The Virginians were as indignant as the people of Massachusetts, 
 because of the proclamation of the parliamentary right to tax the 
 colonies, made by retaining the duty upon tea. Lord Botetourt 
 had given them confident assurances, when announcing the intended 
 repeal of the other duties, that the tax upon tea would also be given 
 up. Such was his sincere wish ; and Eden, the governor of Maryland, 
 advised the ministry to relinquish it. Golden, of New York, also 
 expressed a similar desire and belief; and the colonists generally, 
 as a matter of convenience, had resumed the importation and con- 
 
JET. 34.] PATRIOTIC WOMEN. 363 
 
 sumption of the proscribed articles, the duties on which had been 
 repealed. But the exaction of the tea-duty, though merely a 
 " pepper-corn tax," aroused their subsiding resentment. The great 
 principle involved in their opposition could not be made less im 
 portant in its application because of the modified form of that 
 application ; and it was too well understood and appreciated by the 
 great body of the colonists, as a solemn question in v/hich their 
 civil liberty was involved, to be lightly regarded. Therefore, the 
 retention of the small duty upon the tea being an act of Parliament 
 avowedly for the purpose of asserting its omnipotency, the Ameri 
 cans confined their issue with Great Britain to that single act. 
 " Will not a repeal of all other duties satisfy the colonists ?" said a 
 member of the ministerial party to Doctor Franklin, in London. 
 "I think not," he promptly replied; "it is not the sum paid in the 
 duty on tea that is complained of as a burden, but the principle of 
 the act expressed in the preamble." A Boston loyalist, at the close 
 of 1769, wrote to his friend in London "The repeal of the duties 
 laid in 67 has caused the resumption of importations, and I think 
 that the efforts of demagogues to persuade the people not to use 
 tea will be unavailing." How blind was he to the teachings of the 
 past, and the progress of current events ! Within six weeks after 
 ward he was practically answered, when the mistresses of three 
 hundred families in Boston alone, subscribed their names to a league, 
 binding themselves not to drink any tea until the act levying a 
 duty upon it should be repealed. Emphasis was given to this prac 
 tical answer three days afterward, when the young ladies of Boston 
 followed the example of the matrons, and multitudes of them said 
 to the world, by their signatures: "We, the daughters of those 
 patriots who have, and do now, appear for the public interest, and 
 in that principle regard their posterity as such, do with pleasure 
 engage with them in denying ourselves the drinking of foreign tea, 
 in hopes to frustrate a plan which tends to deprive a whole com 
 munity of all that is valuable in life." All classes were thoroughly 
 imbued with such feelings, not only in Massachusetts, but in other 
 colonies, and tea was everywhere proscribed, in 1770, as the repre- 
 
 24 
 
370 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1770. 
 
 sentative of a tyranny opposed to the living principle of freedom 
 which had taken a deep hold upon the hearts of the people. 
 
 It was clear to the discerning mind, that the growth of the 
 popular strength was now rapid and steady, and that the popular 
 will was becoming such a mighty power in the state, that the days 
 of feudal despotism were almost numbered. This growth was not 
 confined to the American colonies ; it was equally flourishing under 
 other manifestations, in England, even beneath the shadows of a 
 venerated throne. Principles contended for there had a deep sig 
 nificance for the colonists, because they were vital in the con 
 stitution of a free people. Perceiving this mutual interest, South 
 Carolina, at about this time, sent more than ten thousand pounds 
 currency to the London society for the support of the Bill of 
 Eights, while the enlightened people of England sympathized as 
 warmly with their American brethren in their struggle for the 
 dearest privileges of humanity. The warm sympathies of Ireland, 
 also, were awakened, and the grand idea of popular sovereignty, 
 flashing abroad at this time over the public mind, started Grattaii 
 upon his great and wonderful career as the champion of civil and 
 religious freedom. 
 
 Then, too, in the manufacturing districts of England, the people, 
 for the first time, came together in public meetings to consult upon 
 public affairs, and the power of voluntary assemblies began to be 
 felt by a corrupt Parliament. The press, too, exhibited a boldness 
 hitherto unknown, and Junius dared to speak through it to the 
 king and say : " Can you conceive that the people of this country 
 will long submit to be governed by so flexible a house of commons ? 
 The oppressed people of Ireland give you, every day, fresh marks 
 of your resentment. The colonies left their native land for free 
 dom, and found it in a desert. Looking forward to independence, 
 they equally detest the pageantry of a king, and the supercilious 
 hypocrisy of a bishop." The press in America was equally bold, 
 where the popular assembly, indigenous to the soil, had become 
 almost an institution ; and everywhere these noble sentiments, 
 uttered in the parent-land, found a hearty response in every part 
 
Mr. 38. j THE REGULATORS. 371 
 
 of our broad domain where a free hearthstone was planted, and the 
 love of liberty was installed as a household deity. Their ears were 
 continually bent toward the stormy Atlantic, to hear tidings from 
 the throne, and they listened with inexpressible delight to the 
 voice of Chatham, speaking from its very steps, and saying : " Call 
 the combinations of the Americans dangerous, but not unwarrant 
 able. The discontent of two millions of people should be treated 
 candidly, and its foundation removed. America was settled upon 
 ideas of liberty, and the vine has taken deep root and spread 
 throughout the land. Long may it flourish ! Let slavery exist 
 nowhere among us; for whether it be in America or Ireland, or 
 here at home, you will find it a disease which spreads by contact, 
 and soon reaches from the extremity to the heart." 
 
 The bold manifestations of the spirit of liberty were not con 
 fined to the seaboard cities and elder communities. Away back 
 among the border settlements of the Carolinas, whence the hardy 
 Boone and companions went forth to open a path for civilization 
 over the mountains to the fertile valleys of the Great West, it had 
 already asserted its power and received the applause of the wise 
 and good. We need not stop here to record the details of oppres 
 sive measures which aroused the spirit of resistance there. It is the 
 common story of official rapacity, arrogant assumptions, and utter 
 disregard of the rights and feelings of the people. Extortions in 
 every form compelled the inhabitants to lift the arm of stout resist 
 ance. They first met in public assemblies to consult. Then they 
 petitioned for a redress of grievances, but the local authorities, imi 
 tating the imperial government, treated their respectful representa 
 tion with contempt. At length they formed a league called THE 
 REGULATION, took power into their own hands, and prepared to re 
 dress their own grievances. This remarkable movement was chiefly 
 in the vicinity of Hillsborough, in North Carolina. At the close of 
 1770, the Regulators throughout that region became too numerous 
 and strong to be overcome by local magistrates, and Try on, the 
 royal governor of the province, marched against them with a con 
 siderable body of militia. They had committed grave offences. 
 
372 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1771. 
 
 They had passed resolutions equivalent, in spirit, to a declaration 
 of independence; and they had dared to laugh at the official 
 frowns of men sent to exercise authority over them as sheriffs and 
 judges. 
 
 Tryon pressed forward to the borders of the "rebel" domain in 
 the spring of 1771. At Hillsborough he publicly invited "every 
 person" to shoot the four principal leaders of the Regulators,* and 
 offered one hundred pounds and a thousand acres of land, as a 
 reward for the delivery of either of them, alive or dead. Then 
 penetrating the country to the Allamance creek, he fought and 
 defeated the Regulators on the banks of that stream. After surfeit 
 ing his vengeance by hanging six of them who were taken pris 
 oners, he marched back in triumph to Newbern, in June, to enjoy 
 the luxuries of a palace he had built there at the expense of a 
 people who hated and despised him. 
 
 The movements of the Regulators, and the result of the battle on 
 the Allamance, form an important episode in the history of our Rev 
 olution. The fiercest hatred of British power was aroused at the 
 South, which stimulated that earnest patriotism so early displayed 
 by the people below the Roanoke, when the war for independence 
 was kindled. That defeat did not break the spirits of the patriots ; 
 and many, determined no longer to suffer the oppressions of extor 
 tioners, abandoned their homes, with their wives and children, went 
 beyond the mountains, and planted settlements in the fertile valleys 
 of Tennessee. 
 
 * Herman Husband, a quaker from Pennsylvania, James Hunter, Rednap Howell, from New 
 Jersey, and William Butler. 
 
T. 39.1 A STUDENT OF EVENTS 373 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON HIS PREPARATIONS FOR THE COMING STRUGGLE 
 
 LORD DUNMORE GOVERNOR THE PRIDE OF THE VIRGINIANS TOUCHED 
 
 CHARACTER OF DUNMORE HIS FRIENDSHIP FOR WASHINGTON DOMESTIC 
 
 AFFAIRS AT MOUNT VERNON JOHN PARKE CUSTIS HIS LOVE AND MARRIAGE 
 
 DEATH OF HIS SISTER THE BURGESSES AND THE SLAVE-TRADE DESTRUC 
 TION OF THE GASPE VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY AND GOVERNOR DUNMORE COM 
 MITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE ACTION OF VIRGINIA AND MASSACHUSETTS 
 
 DISSOLUTION OF THE VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY WASHINGTON AND HIS COMPATRIOTS. 
 
 WHILE the commotions in the political world which we have just 
 considered, were agitating society, and calling patriots here and 
 there from narrow provincial spheres of duty to an arena broad 
 and national, Washington yet remained at Mount Vernon an 
 earnest spectator and diligent student of passing events. The 
 time had not yet arrived when he should go forth panoplied for the 
 great contest that was to bring deliverance to his country. He 
 who was to be the chief champion was then preparing for the lists, 
 while others went out as heralds and sounded the trumpets for 
 battle. No sound from the mother-country escaped his quick ear; 
 no movement of monarch, ministers, or people there, eluded his 
 vigilant eye ; no sentiment that stirred his countrymen was left 
 ungarnered in his heart; and these he studied with the calmness 
 of a hero and sage, analyzed with the acuteness of a philoso 
 pher, and arranged, classified, and combined into a momentous 
 syllogism, with all the skill of an expert logician. The conclusion 
 formed the polar-star of his destiny, and upon it he fixed his clear 
 vision. He perceived every omen of the approaching tempest, in 
 whose scope and result he was deeply interested ; and the faintest 
 mutterings of the distant thunder in the political horizon, conveyed 
 to him audible lessons of deep significance. He knew that a crisis 
 
374 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1771. 
 
 was approaching. He had well considered the growing discontents 
 of his own time, and the records of grievances in the more remote 
 past, with the solemn attention of a statesman; and he felt the 
 assurance of a prophetic spirit within him, that a great struggle 
 between old and new ideas between right and might between 
 liberty and despotism must soon commence in his beloved coun 
 try, and that he must fight valiantly for the right. By serious 
 meditation, daily observations, comparison of sentiments with 
 others, faith in the power of truth, and reliance upon God for 
 guidance, he was forging for himself that invincible armor of pa 
 triotism and true courage, with which, a little later, he went into 
 the long-expected conflict as the Joshua of the chosen. 
 
 In the midst of the contemplation of these great events, and 
 while feeling the longings of his spirit to be abroad marshalling the 
 people for battle, he was not forgetful nor neglectful of the minor 
 duties of life. He was the same affectionate husband and foster- 
 father, the same careful husbandman, the same kind and social 
 neighbor, the same wise local legislator, and the same active and 
 sympathizing friend of his neglected companions-iii-arms. 
 
 The death of the amiable Botetourt, whose conciliatory adminis 
 tration had soothed the troubled spirit of Virginia, was the signal 
 for a great change in public sentiment. John Murray, earl of 
 Dunmore, who had succeeded Sir Henry Moore, as governor of 
 New York, in 1770, was transferred to Virginia, as Botetourt s suc 
 cessor. At that time, New York city was gay and luxurious, com 
 pared with the capital of Virginia ; and his lordship, who was fond 
 of display, lingered there so long, leaving the government of the 
 Old Dominion with Nelson, president of the council, and his own 
 military secretary, Captain Foy, that the pride of the Virginians 
 was touched, and on his occasional visits, and final arrival to make 
 a permanent residence, he discovered a temper in the people not at 
 all attractive to him. They had already become acquainted with 
 his character, through the voice of rumor, and felt warranted in 
 pre-judging him. 
 
 Lord Dunmore was descended fiom an ancient Scotch family; 
 
JEr. 39.] WASHINGTON AND DUNMORE. 375 
 
 was full of aristocratic ideas ; was deficient in sound judgment, and 
 that common sense so essential in public life ; and was possessed of 
 an irritable temper and vindictive spirit. No man could have been 
 more unsuited for such a position at such a time, than Lord Dun- 
 more, and his administration was marked by almost incessant con 
 tests with the people and their representatives, who felt keenly the 
 contrast between him and the beloved Botetourt. Yet friendly 
 relations existed between Washington and the governor, notwith 
 standing the former took a prominent part in the popular move 
 ments in Virginia. Their political differences did not disturb their 
 pleasant personal relations. Dunmore appeared to comprehend and 
 value the noble character of Colonel Washington, and he frequently 
 availed himself of his experience, especially in military affairs, in 
 the management of the concerns of the colony. In the summer 
 of 1771, we find Washington taking advantage of this personal 
 friendship, to urge, anew, the claims of the soldiers to bounty lands. 
 Dunmore was at Williamsburg early in June, where Washington 
 had a conference with him upon the subject, and obtained from 
 him a promise, that they might take such steps, at their own risk 
 and expense, as other settlers, to secure their lands agreeably to 
 the proclamation of Dinwiddie, in 1754. On his return to Mount 
 Vernon, he addressed a letter to Dunmore, repeating his urgent 
 solicitations in behalf of his companions-in-arms. As we have 
 already noticed, the efforts of Colonel Washington were successful, 
 and many a soldier and his family had reason to bless him all their 
 lives. 
 
 Domestic affairs at Mount Yernon, especially those that related 
 to the children of Mrs. Washington, occupied the serious attention 
 of her husband at this time. For several months the health of her 
 daughter had been failing. It had now become evident that pul 
 monary consumption was wasting her vital energies, and that no 
 earthly power could stay its ravages. The hopes of the mother 
 now centred in her son, John Parke Custis, then between sixteen 
 and seventeen years of age. He was a very lively youth, with a 
 susceptible and impulsive temperament, and possessed a large hide- 
 
376 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1772. 
 
 pendent fortune.* His mother, made doubly tender toward him 
 on account of the declining health of his sister, was extremely 
 indulgent to her son, and she often pleaded in his behalf when 
 Washington found it necessary to exercise a wholsome restraint 
 upon him. These circumstances combined, rendered the guardian 
 ship of young Custis a delicate and sometimes difficult task. Yet 
 Washington, with steady hand, did not depart from the line of 
 duty which his conscience and his judgment prescribed. 
 
 Young Custis w r as placed under the care of the Reverend Jona 
 than Boucher, an episcopal clergyman residing at Annapolis, to be 
 educated, but the wayward boy was frequently away from his 
 studies, engaged in fox-hunting and other amusements at Mount 
 Vernon and elsewhere. He soon became impatient of the neces 
 sary restraints of the school-room and allotted lessons, and con 
 ceived a strong desire for travel. Soon after Washington s return 
 from his tour to the Ohio country, in 1770, he was pained to find 
 that a scheme for sending the lad abroad, with his tutor, was al 
 ready matured, notwithstanding the mother felt a great reluctance 
 to have him absent while his sister was so ill. Washington mildly 
 but firmly opposed the scheme. He saw the folly of allowing 
 such an interruption of the studies of young Custis, and per 
 mitting him to travel, without suitable acquirements, merely to 
 gratify an idle curiosity. These objections, and others concerning 
 the heavy expenses to be incurred at that time, when a chancery 
 suit against the young man s estate was pending, were presented 
 by Washington to Mr. Boucher and his pupil, in such a way that 
 the scheme was abandoned, and the lad continued his studies, 
 though in the same irregular way. 
 
 A stronger passion than a desire to travel now diverted young 
 Custis from his studies. He became deeply enamored of the 
 second daughter of Benjamin Calvert, Esq, of Maryland, and it 
 
 * The estate of John Parke Custis, according to a letter written by Washington to Benedict 
 Calvert, Esq., of Maryland, in April, 1773, consisted of fifteen thousand acres of land adjoining the 
 city of Williamsburg, and none of it forty miles from that place ; several lots in that city ; between 
 two and three hundred negroes ; and almost ten thousand pounds upon bond, and in the hands of 
 merchants. That estate he held independent of his mother s dower, which would be an addition to 
 it ut her death 
 
 L 
 
m,t. 40.] A MARRIAGE POSTPONED. 377 
 
 was discovered, at the close of 1772, that they had formed a matri 
 monial engagement. This gave Washington much concern. He 
 was as strongly opposed to premature marriages as to premature 
 travel, and on the third of April he addressed a most judicious 
 letter to the young lady s father, on the subject: "How far a union 
 of this sort," he said, " may be agreeable to you, you can best tell ; 
 but I should think myself wanting in candor, were I not to confess, 
 that Miss Nelly s amiable qualities are acknowledged on all hands, 
 and that an alliance with your family will be pleasing to his."* 
 Washington then spoke of the extreme youth, inexperience, and 
 deficient education of Master Custis, as insuperable objections to 
 the speedy completion of the marriage. He considered it his duty, 
 as his guardian, to endeavor to carry him through a regular course 
 of education, and " to guard his youth to a more advanced age, 
 before an event, on which his own peace and the happiness of an 
 other were to depend," should take place. " Not that I have any 
 doubt," he added, " of the warmth of his affections, nor, I hope I 
 may add, any fears of a change in them ; but at present I do not 
 conceive that he is capable of bestowing that attention to the im 
 portant consequences of the married state, which is necessary to be 
 given by those who are about to enter into it, and, of course, I am 
 unwilling he should do it till he is. If the affection, which they 
 have avowed for each other, is fixed upon a solid basis, it will 
 receive no diminution in the course of two or three years, in which 
 time he may prosecute his studies, and thereby render himself 
 more deserving of the lady and useful to society. If, unfortunately, 
 as they are both young, there should be an abatement of affection 
 on either side, or both, it had better precede than follow marriage. 
 Delivering my sentiments thus freely, will not, I hope, lead you 
 into a belief, that I am desirous of breaking off the match. To 
 postpone it is all I have in view; for I shall recommend to the 
 young gentleman, with the warmth that becomes a man of honor 
 (notwithstanding he did not vouchsafe to consult either his mother 
 
 * Mr. Calvert was of the family of Lord Baltimore, and in wealth and social position, was not 
 surpassed by any in the country. 
 
378 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1773. 
 
 or me on the occasion), to consider himself as much engaged to 
 your daughter, as if the indissoluble knot were tied ; and, as the 
 surest means of effecting this, to apply himself closely to his studies 
 (and in this advice I flatter myself you will join me), by which 
 means he will, in a great measure, avoid those little flirtations with 
 other young ladies, that may, by dividing the attention, contribute 
 not a little to divide the affection." 
 
 These suggestions of Washington were approved by Mr. Calvert, 
 and it was agreed that young Custis should pass two years at col 
 lege before marriage. At that time King s (now Columbia) college, 
 in New York, had a very high reputation under the presidency of 
 Eeverend Myles Cooper, D. D., and he was placed in that institution. 
 Washington accompanied him to New York, and on that occasion 
 he saw Alexander Hamilton for the first time, who was then one of 
 the most active students in King s college. 
 
 Young Custis pursued his studies diligently, and received the 
 sincere approbation of the president. His betrothal gave him a 
 topic for serious reflection ; and the loss of his sister, in the summer 
 of 1773, greatly subdued his wayward spirit. That young lady 
 expired at Mount Yernon, on the nineteenth of June, when in the 
 seventeenth year of her age. Her death was a severe blow to 
 Washington. Her gentleness had greatly endeared her to him, and 
 his feelings toward her were truly paternal. He had been absent 
 at Williamsburg for some time, and had made arrangements to ac 
 company Lord Dunmore on a long tour of observation beyond the 
 mountains. On his return home he found Miss Custis in the last 
 stage of consumption. The manly spirit of Washington was bowed 
 with grief, and in deep affliction he knelt at her bedside, and prayed 
 earnestly for her recovery. Her departure left a great void in her 
 mother s heart, and Washington remained in the seclusion of Mount 
 Yernon to console his wife, instead of making the intended journey 
 with the governor. 
 
 Toward the close of the year, young Custis, who maintained a 
 continual epistolary correspondence with Miss Calvert, became 
 impatient for a closer union with her. His mother, more indulgent 
 
MT. 40.] SLAVERY IN VIRGINIA. 379 
 
 than ever toward her only remaining child, consented, and Wash 
 ington did not interpose serious objections. "It has been against 
 my wishes," he wrote to Doctor Cooper, in December, "that he 
 should quit college, in order that he may enter soon into a new 
 scene of life, which I think he would be much fitter for some years 
 hence than now. But having his own inclination, the desires of 
 his mother, and the acquiescence of almost all his relatives to 
 encounter, I did not care, as he is the last of the family, to push 
 my opposition too far, and I have therefore submitted to a kind of 
 necessity." Mr. Custis was permitted to leave college, and he spent 
 a portion of the Christmas holydays of 1773 with his affianced. 
 They were married on the third of February, 1774, when the 
 bridegroom was not yet twenty years of age. 
 
 Lord Dunrnore did not make Virginia his residence until in the 
 summer of 1772. At that time the current of popular feeling in 
 America, against the imperial government, was as strong as ever, 
 but not so turbulent, for no event of sufficient importance to stir 
 up the whole body of the colonists had recently occurred. But 
 local disputes were irritating the people everywhere. In Virginia 
 the efforts of legislators had been strongly put forth, for several 
 years, to cast off the burden of negro-slavery from the province. 
 We have already observed Thomas Jefferson rising into notice 
 upon that topic, as the champion of emancipation. Again and 
 again they had passed laws restraining the importation of negroes 
 from Africa, but these enactments had always been disallowed by 
 the higher authority; and in the year 1770, the king issued in 
 structions, over his own signature, commanding the governor, 
 "upon pain of the highest displeasure, to assent to no law by 
 which the importation of slaves should be in any respect prohib 
 ited or obstructed." 
 
 Yet the Virginians were not discouraged. They saw the light 
 of hope in the future, and took heart. In April, 1772, the bar 
 barous instructions of the king were freely debated in the Virginia 
 assembly, and the votes of Washington, Lee, Jefferson, Nicholas, 
 Bland, Henry, and other patriots, were cast for a resolution autho- 
 
380 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1772. 
 
 rizing the transmission of an address to the king, in which they 
 said : " We are sensible that some of your majesty s subjects in 
 Great Britain may reap emoluments from this traffic ; but when we 
 consider, that it greatly retards the settlement of the colonies with 
 more useful inhabitants, and may, in time, have the most destruc 
 tive influence, we presume to hope that the interest of a few will 
 be disregarded, when placed in competition with the security and 
 happiness of such members of your majesty s dutiful and loyal 
 subjects. Deeply impressed with these sentiments, we most hum 
 bly beseech your majesty to remove all those restraints on your 
 majesty s governors of these colonies, which inhibit their assenting 
 to such laws, as might check so very pernicious a commerce." The 
 Virginians would not address Parliament on the subject, because 
 that would be an acknowledgment of its right to interfere in their 
 domestic concerns, so they made their appeal directly to the throne. 
 It was unavailing, for the king s ear was now deaf to all reason 
 from his transatlantic subjects. 
 
 In New England, fresh causes for irritation now began to appear. 
 The commander of the armed British schooner Gaspe, stationed in 
 Narraganset bay to assist the commissioners of customs in en 
 forcing the revenue laws, greatly annoyed the American navigators 
 in those waters, without deigning to exhibit any evidence of his 
 authority. He haughtily commanded them to lower their colors 
 when they passed his vessel, in token of obedience. The William 
 Tells of the bay refused to bow to the cap of this petty Gesler ; 
 and the governor of Rhode Island sent the sheriff on board, to 
 inquire under what authority Lieutenant Duddington acted. That 
 officer referred the subject to the British admiral, Montagu, at 
 Boston, who insolently answered the governor: "The lieutenant, 
 sir, has done his duty, I shall give the king s officers directions that 
 they send every man taken in molesting them to me. As sure as 
 the people of Newport attempt to rescue any vessel, and any of 
 them are taken, I will hang them as pirates." The people laughed 
 at this pompous threat; and when, on the ninth of June, the 
 Gaspe grounded upon a shoal while chasing a Providence schooner 
 
MT. 40.] DESTRUCTION OF THE GASPE. 381 
 
 that had refused to lower her colors, some bold men proceeded to 
 execute vengeance. In the evening sixty-four of them, well-armed, 
 under the command of Captain Whipple, who was afterward a 
 commodore in the little continental navy, went down from Provi 
 dence in boats, captured all on board the Gaspe, and burned the 
 vessel. Although a large reward was offered for their apprehen 
 sion, they were never betrayed. Three years later, when the war 
 for independence was kindled, and it was known that Whipple was 
 the leader in that enterprise, Sir James Wallace, then in command 
 of a small British fleet in Narraganset bay, wrote thus to the 
 "rebel:" "You, Abraham Whipple, on the ninth of June, 1772, 
 burned his majesty s vessel, the Gaspe, and I will hang you to the 
 yard-arm." To that letter Captain Whipple coolly replied : " Sir ; 
 always catch a man before you hang him." 
 
 In other provinces the insolence of royal governors and subordi 
 nate servants of the crown, was goading the people to rebellion, 
 and their just indignation increased their boldness. In Virginia, 
 this spirit was everywhere manifested. The first measure of the 
 assembly, at its opening, after the arrival of Lord Dunmore, was an 
 indication of the prevailing temper. The members, by resolution, 
 demanded of his lordship by what authority he had awarded fees 
 and salary to his secretary, to be paid out of the treasury of the 
 province, without first consulting the burgesses ; and they wished 
 to know whether his act was authorized by the crown. The gov 
 ernor, startled by this unexpected attitude of the assembly, an 
 swered by wisely rescinding his order, for he perceived that the 
 Virginians were deeply sympathizing with the inhabitants of Mas 
 sachusetts in their opposition to a recent regulation of the ministry, 
 by which the governor of the province was to receive his salary 
 from the crown, and thus become independent of the people. 
 Dunmore lost no time in proroguing an assembly so untrac table ; 
 and finding it continually unsubmissive to his control, he prorogued 
 it from time to time, during several months. In the meanwhile he 
 used every art to conciliate the members, but in vain, for he would 
 not stoop from his aristocratic pedestal, nor yield a particle of his 
 
382 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1773. 
 
 claimed prerogatives. At length circumstances compelled him to 
 convene the burgesses on the third of March, 1773. 
 
 Washington was in his seat at the opening of the session. It was 
 a short but a memorable one in the annals of the republic, for a 
 measure of the greatest importance to the colonies was proposed 
 and executed by the bold patriots of which that assembly was com 
 posed. The scheme had already assumed a tangible form in the 
 minds of several of the members, for the proceedings of the friends 
 of liberty in Boston had suggested it. That measure was, the na 
 tional system of committees of correspondence. In November pre 
 vious, Samuel Adams had arisen in a public meeting at Faneuil 
 hall, and moved " that a committee of correspondence be appointed, 
 to consist of twenty-one persons, to state the rights of the colonists 
 and of this province in particular, as men, as Christians, and as sub 
 jects; to communicate and publish the same to the several towns 
 in this province, and to the world, as the sense of this town, with 
 the infringements and violations thereof that have been or from 
 time to time may be made ; also requesting of each town a free 
 communication of their sentiments on this subject." That motion 
 was adopted, and a committee appointed, on which appear promi 
 nently the names of James Otis, Samuel Adams, and Joseph Warren 
 names dear to every American citizen. The country quickly re 
 sponded, and committees were soon organized in almost every town 
 in the province. 
 
 This was a bold step toward a confederation to resist further op 
 pression. But Virginia speedily made a greater stride in that direc 
 tion. On the second day of the session of the burgesses just alluded 
 to, the assembly resolved itself into a committee of the whole house 
 on the state of the colony, when Dabney Carr, of Charlotte, brother- 
 in-law of Jefferson, and a young man of brilliant genius and pure 
 patriotism, moved a series of resolutions for a system of intercolonial 
 committees of correspondence. This measure had been concerted 
 the evening previous, at a caucus held in the Apollo-room of the 
 Raleigh tavern at Williamsburg. That caucus consisted of Patrick 
 Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Thomas Jefferson, 
 
JE-r. 41.] COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE. 383 
 
 Dabney Carr, and two or three others. The resolutions were written 
 by Mr. Jefferson, and it was proposed that he should submit them to 
 the house, but he preferred to give that honor to his youthful brother- 
 in-law. The plan included a perfect union of all the colonies through 
 committees of correspondence. It was, in effect, a proposition for a 
 national confederation of the Anglo-American colonies. The eloquent 
 voices of Patrick Henry, Peyton Randolph, and Richard Henry Lee, 
 were heard in favor of the resolutions. But they needed no oral ad 
 vocacy. They found a response in every patriot s heart. The whole 
 assembly approved of them ; and, on the twelfth of March, they were 
 unanimously adopted, and a committee for Virginia was appointed.* 
 
 Massachusetts hailed these proceedings with delight, and a copy 
 of the Virginia resolutions was sent to every town and district in 
 that province. Massachusetts had been the first to suggest commit 
 tees of correspondence ivithin its own borders ; Virginia was the first 
 to appoint a committee for national correspondence. Each colony 
 seems to have originated its particular scheme, notwithstanding the 
 general idea was so similar ; for, according to Peyton Randolph, the 
 messengers from the respective legislatures, bearing the resolutions 
 of each, passed each other on the way. 
 
 Rhode Island first, and then Massachusetts, responded to the reso 
 lutions of Virginia, by the appointment of a corresponding commit 
 tee of fifteen, who were instructed to urge the other colonies to take 
 similar action. The New England colonies, and Pennsylvania and 
 Maryland did so, and thus was formed the first sound link of our 
 confederacy. These committees of correspondence became the 
 most powerful instrument of the Revolution that speedily fol 
 lowed, and the scheme was hated bitterly by the ministerial party. 
 "This," said a tory writer of Boston, over the signature of Massa- 
 chusettemis, two years latter, " is the foulest, subtlest, and most veno 
 mous serpent ever issued from the egg of sedition. It is the source 
 of the rebellion. I saw the small seed when it was implanted ; it 
 
 * The committee was composed of Peyton Randolph (speaker of the house of burgesses), 
 Robert Carter Nicholas, Richard Bland, Richard Henry Lee, Benjamin Harrison, Edmund Pendle- 
 ton, Patrick Henry, Dudley Dirges, Dabney Carr, Archibald Carey, and Thomas Jefferson. They 
 were also styled a committee of vigilance. 
 
384 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1773. 
 
 was a grain of mustard. I have watched the plant until it has 
 become a great tree. The vilest reptiles that crawl upon the earth 
 are concealed at the root ; the foulest birds of the air rest upon its 
 branches. I would induce you to go to work immediately with axes 
 and hatchets, and cut it down, for a two-fold reason : because it is a 
 pest to society, and lest it be felled suddenly by a stronger arm, 
 and crush its thousands in its fall." 
 
 When the resolutions just considered had been adopted by the 
 Virginia assembly, it proceeded to pass others equally unsubmissive 
 in tone to arbitrary royal rule, when their proceedings were sud 
 denly terminated by Governor Dunmore, who appeared in the 
 legislative hall and proclaimed the dissolution of the burgesses. 
 They had already accomplished a great work, and were willing to 
 return to their constituents as the faithful exponents of their prin 
 ciples. On the day succeeding the dissolution of the assembly, 
 Washington journeyed homeward on horseback, in company with 
 Richard Henry and Francis Lightfoot Lee, of Westmoreland, and 
 Patrick Henry, of Hanover. For a day and a half they travelled 
 together; and no doubt those hopeful, earnest, and thoughtful 
 patriots, discussed long and solemnly the great question of the 
 day, " How long shall we submit to the oppressive policy of Great 
 Britain?" That question was very soon answered by the inexo 
 rable logic of events. 
 
. 41.] HUTCHINSON S LETTERS. 385 
 
 CHAPTEK XXXVI. 
 
 HUTCHINSON S LETTERS THEIR EFFECTS IN MASSACHUSETTS TREATMENT OP 
 FRANKLIN NEW PHASE IN THE TEA DUTY THE EAST INDIA COMPANY TEA- 
 SHIPS SAIL FOR AMERICA THEIR FATE DESTRUCTION OF TEA AT BOSTON 
 
 EFFECTS OF THE MEASURE RETALIATORY ACTS OF PARLIAMENT EFFECTS IN 
 
 THE COLONIES DESIRES OF THE PEOPLE FRANKLIN S RECOMMENDATION 
 
 MOVEMENTS IN VIRGINIA SCENES AT THE CAPITAL THE PORT-BILL AND THE 
 
 VIRGINIA BURGESSES DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSEMBLY A CONVENTION GEN 
 ERAL CONGRESS PROPOSED BALL TO LADY DUNMORE NON-IMPORTATION 
 
 LEAGUE CONVENTION CALLED FAST DAY AT WILLIAMSBURG WASHINGTON 
 
 RETURNS TO MOUNT VERNON. 
 
 IN the summer of 1773, new causes for irritation affected the 
 public mind in Massachusetts, and touched chords of sympathy in 
 the other colonies. Hutchinson had been commissioned governor 
 in 1771 ; and, though a native born, he was as great an enemy to 
 free institutions as any member of the British aristocracy who had 
 been sent to rule the Americans. He perceived the ominous heavings 
 of the volcano of public sentiment upon which his power and place 
 were seated, and he was uneasy. Earnestly coveting security and 
 the emoluments of office, he wrote many letters to the ministry 
 and others, advising a concentration of power in the colonies, by 
 military control, and an abridgment of the liberties of the people, 
 at the same time he was hypocritically pretending to be their 
 sincere friend. His words were believed by many, and a better 
 feeling was germinating in Massachusetts, when his duplicity was 
 discovered and exposed. Doctor Franklin, in England, had pro 
 cured a number of his letters and sent them to the friends of liberty 
 in Boston. For some time they were privately perused by patriots 
 in different parts of the province ; and on the second of June, 
 Samuel Adams read them in a secret session of the assembly. 
 
 25 
 
386 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPH\ . [1773. 
 
 With bitter scorn that body voted, " that the tendency and design 
 of the letters were to subvert the constitution of the government, 
 and to introduce arbitrary power into the province." Hutchinson 
 tried the arts of falsehood and prevarication to conceal his crime ; 
 and he wrote to his confidential friend in London, to burn such of 
 his letters as might be prejudicial to him "for," he said, "I have 
 wrote what ought not to be made public." It was too late. Suffi 
 cient proof of his guilt was abroad ; and when the letters of 
 Hutchinson and his lieutenant, Andrew Oliver (who was equally 
 culpable), were made public, the indignation of the people was 
 intense.* A petition soon went to the king, asking him to remove 
 Hutchinson and Oliver for ever from the government. The storm 
 was furious, and these misguided men were compelled to bend to it. 
 But they were not then swept away. The political atmosphere 
 was purified by it, and the people were made stronger for the 
 greater tempest then near at hand. 
 
 Early in 1773, a new thought upon taxation entered the brain 
 of Lord North. The British East India Company-j- having lost 
 their valuable tea-customers in America, by the operation of the 
 non-importation associations, and having more than seventeen mil 
 lions of pounds of the herb in their warehouses in England, peti- 
 
 * The publication of these letters produced much excitement in England, and Franklin, to defend 
 innocent persons from censure, generously came forward and took upon himself the whole responsi 
 bility. He was accordingly summoned before the privy council, and there he was grossly abused 
 and insulted, by Wedderburne, the solicitor-general. On going to his lodgings that night, the ven 
 erable and virtuous sage took off his suit of figured Manchester velvet, which he had worn before 
 the council, and declared that he would never put it on again until he should sign the degrada 
 tion of England, and the independence of America. He kept his word, and more than ten years 
 afterward, when, on third of September, 1783, he signed a definitive treaty of peace with Great 
 Britain, on the basis of absolute independence for America, he wore the same suit of clothes, for 
 the first time after his vow was made. Franklin was not only insulted, but the office of postmaster- 
 general of the colonies, was taken from him. Mark the contrast. When he died the civilized world 
 said : " Franklin is dead !" and wept. When Wedderburne died in obscurity, the king said : 
 " Then he has not left a gi-eater knave behind him in my dominion." 
 
 t The East India Company, still in existence, is a vast commercial monopoly. It is a joint-stock 
 company, originally established to carry on a trade by sea, between England and the countries lying 
 eastward of the Cape of Good Hope. It was incorporated by a royal charter in the year 1600, and 
 was united, in 1702, with a similar company chartered in 1688. It enjoyed the rich commerce of 
 the East for almost two hundred and fifty years, and planted the British empire in India, first by 
 establishing armed factories there, and finally, by the conquest of small territories, under the pre 
 tence of securing honest trade. The monopoly of the Chinese trade, which this company had en 
 joyed for so many generations, was abolished in 1833. At the period we are considering, the East 
 India Company was at the height of its success, commercial and political. 
 
j T . 41.] THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. 387 
 
 tioned Parliament to take off the duty of three pence a pound, 
 which was levied upon the article imported into the colonies. 
 Regarding it as a question of revenue, the company offered to pay 
 the government more than an equal amount in export duty, if the 
 change should be made. Here was an excellent opportunity for 
 the government to act justly and wisely, and to bring about a 
 perfect reconciliation with the colonies ; but the stupid ministry, as 
 tenacious of the asserted rights of Parliament as ever the Stuarts 
 were of the royal prerogatives, fearing such a measure might be 
 considered a submission to "rebellious subjects/ refused this prof 
 fered olive-branch of peace. But, blindly misapprehending the 
 real question at issue, North introduced a bill into Parliament 
 allowing the company to send their teas to America on their own 
 account, without paying an export duty. As this would make tea 
 cheaper in America than in England, the minister concluded that 
 the colonists would not object to paying the three pence duty. 
 This concession to a commercial monopoly, while the appeals of a 
 great principle were spurned, w r as a new and aggravated offence, 
 and created great indignation and contempt throughout the col 
 onies. 
 
 The East India Company, as blind as the minister, now regarded 
 the American market as open for their tea, and soon after the pas 
 sage of the bill, they sent over several large ships laden with the 
 article. The colonists had warned them that their adventure would 
 be a loss, but North had assured them that the king was firm, and 
 meant to try the question with the Americans. The latter were 
 fully prepared for the issue. They disliked the odious monopoly, 
 and they were determined to oppose the enforcement of the im 
 post at all hazards. 
 
 The people in the seaboard towns were informed of the ap 
 proaching ships, and the consignees were known and marked. 
 Almost at the same time, these vessels entered the harbors of Bos 
 ton, New York, Philadelphia, Annapolis, Wilmington, and Charles 
 ton. Not a pound of any cargo was allowed to be sold. From 
 some ports the ships left for England without removing their 
 
388 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1773. 
 
 hatches ; in others the tea was stored or destroyed. At Boston it 
 led to a violent popular commotion. Two tea-ships were moored 
 at a wharf, and the consignees, friends of Governor Hutchinson, 
 acting under his advice, resolved to unload the vessels in spite of 
 the menaces of the people. The inhabitants gathered daily in 
 public meetings to discuss the matter, and to perform the duties of 
 a monster vigilance committee. At length, on a cold moonlight 
 evening in December, at the close of one of these meetings, at 
 twilight, a large number of people, disguised as Indians, moving in 
 concert according to a previous arrangement, boarded these vessels, 
 broke open the hatches, and in the course of two hours shattered 
 three hundred and forty-two chests of tea, and cast their con 
 tents in the waters of the harbor. Samuel Adams was one of the 
 principal leaders in this movement; and the next morning the 
 committee of correspondence appointed that inflexible patriot and 
 four others, to draw up a declaration of what had been done, to 
 send forth to the world. 
 
 This event produced a powerful sensation throughout the British 
 realm. It was considered an overt act of treason, and the govern 
 ment, impotent to punish it in the usual form, proceeded to adopt 
 harsh retaliatory measures. When intelligence of the event spread 
 over the colonies, it produced joy and sympathy. Yet justice was 
 not asleep. The patriots respected private property, and at the 
 suggestion of Doctor Franklin, an offer was made to pay the East 
 India Company for every ounce of tea destroyed. But the arm of 
 government vengeance was raised, and it must fall. Nothing could 
 appease the angry ministry. " Boston is the ringleader in every 
 riot, and sets always the example which others follow," exclaimed 
 North. " The Americans are never actuated by decency or reason ; 
 they always choose tarring and feathering as an argument," said a 
 ministerial membrr of Parliament; while another cried "They 
 ought to have their town knocked about their ears, and destroyed ;" 
 and then concluded a tirade of abuse, by quoting the factious shout 
 uttered by Cato : "Delenda est Carthago" Carthage must be 
 destroyed. 
 
MT. 42.] TYRANNICAL MEASURES. 389 
 
 The manly words of defence for the Americans, uttered by Burke 
 and others, were unheeded, and Parliament, by enactment on the 
 seventh of March, 1774, ordered the port of Boston to be closed 
 against all commercial transactions whatever, and the removal of 
 the customhouse, courts of justice, and other public offices, to Salem. 
 The Salem people patriotically refused the proffered advantage at 
 the expense of their neighbors ; and the inhabitants of Marblehead, 
 fifteen miles distant, offered the free use of their harbor and 
 wharves to the merchants of Boston. 
 
 Another act became a law on the twenty-eighth of March, which 
 levelled a deadly blow at the charter of Massachusetts. It decreed 
 that all counsellors, judges, and magistrates, should be appointed by 
 the crown, and hold office during the royal pleasure. Thus they 
 became paid instruments of oppression. 
 
 A third retaliatory act was passed on the twenty-first of April, 
 providing for trial in England of all persons indicted in the colonies 
 for murder, or other capital offence, committed in aiding the magis 
 tracy ; giving, as Colonel Barre said on the floor of the house of 
 commons, " encouragement to military insolence already so insup 
 portable." 
 
 A fourth bill, providing for the quartering of troops in America, 
 was also passed, by large majorities in both houses of Parliament : 
 and in anticipation of rebellion, a fifth act was passed, making great 
 concessions to the Roman catholics in Canada, to prevent that 
 province joining in the revolt. This was known as the Quebec act. 
 
 These oppressive measures, condemned alike by the voice of 
 expediency and common humanity, were speedily put in operation. 
 The Boston port-bill was to take effect on the first of June. Intel 
 ligence of its passage had produced alarm and indignation in the 
 doomed town, and the inhabitants prepared to meet their sad fate 
 with fortitude. 
 
 The people of all the colonies made common cause with the Bos- 
 tonians. The blow about to be inflicted upon that city might fall, at 
 any time, elsewhere, and the liberties of all were in jeopardy. That 
 blow had weakened the last link of colonial fidelity, and the colo- 
 
390 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 nists felt prepared to draw the sword and cast away the scabbard 
 if necessary, for they would not be slaves. The desire for political 
 independence began to kindle in many hearts and thrilled their 
 nerves like an electrical stream, making the recipients prophetic. 
 They saw in the present little hope for reconciliation, for the stand 
 points of argument of the contestants were widely different. But 
 they perceived as clearly as seer of old, a glorious future for 
 America, if America should be true to herself, looming in the dis 
 tance, and they took heart at the apparition. In the field, the 
 workshop, the pulpit, the forum, and the deep forest, men were 
 stirred with emotions hitherto unfelt. There was a great want 
 unsatisfied. A parent s hand had barred the door against them, 
 and their hearts yearned for the strength of confederation, that 
 they might build a tabernacle in the wilderness, preparatory to 
 the erection of a nobler edifice dedicated to the uses of human 
 freedom. 
 
 The people earnestly listened for some oracular voice, speaking 
 with the authority of wisdom, and directing their steps. It had 
 already been uttered by Franklin, from beneath the shadows of the 
 throne which they had been taught, by bitter experience, almost to 
 hate, when, months before, he said, in a letter to the Massachusetts 
 assembly : " Perhaps it would be best and fairest for the colonies, in 
 a general congress now in peace to be assembled, or by means of 
 the correspondence lately proposed, after a full and solemn asser 
 tion and declaration of their rights, to engage firmly with each 
 other, that they will never grant aids to the crown in any general 
 war, till those rights are recognised by the king and both houses of 
 Parliament ; communicating, at the same time, to the crown, this 
 their resolution. Such a step, I imagine, will bring the dispute to 
 a crisis." The accents of the oracle were then lost in the tumults 
 of popular agitation, but now the quicker ears of the people caught 
 the words, and Virginia was the first to give them practical signifi 
 cance, by proposing a CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 
 
 Intelligence of the Boston port-bill had not reached Virginia 
 when a new house of burgesses, summoned by Dimmore, met at 
 
JET. 42.] SOCIAL PLEASURES. 391 
 
 Williamsburg in May. The governor s family, consisting of his 
 lady and several sons and daughters, had arrived, and these received 
 so much attention from the Virginia aristocracy, that the palmy 
 days of Lord Botetourt s administration seemed about to return. 
 Public grievances were for a time forgotten by many of the politi 
 cal leaders ; and Dunmore indulged the hope that the Virginians 
 would be lured from their rebellious attitude toward the crown. 
 Quite a court circle was formed ; and regulations were actually pub 
 lished officially, determining the rank and precedence of officers, 
 civil and military. The most distinguished and wealthy inhabitants 
 vied with each other in their attentions to the family of the gov 
 ernor ; and stately equipages, such as carriages-and-four, with 
 liveried outriders, were frequently seen in Williamsburg, when 
 wealthy planters came with their families to mingle in the gay 
 scenes of the capital. 
 
 Washington, with only Bishop, his favorite body-servant, arrived 
 at Williamsburg on the sixteenth of May, and dined with the 
 governor. He was not only on intimate terms with his lordship, 
 but he held a high position in the court circle, according to the 
 regulations. Everything passed off pleasantly. At the table he 
 met several members of the house of burgesses, but not a word 
 was uttered calculated to mar the general good feeling. And 
 when, on the following day, the assembly was opened in due form 
 by the governor, one of the first measures of the house was an 
 address of congratulation to his lordship, on the arrival of his lady. 
 This was followed by an arrangement to honor Lady Dunmore 
 with a ball on the twenty-seventh of the month. 
 
 On the day when these acts of a pleasant social nature occurred, 
 Peyton Randolph, the speaker of the house of burgesses, received a 
 letter from the Massachusetts committee of correspondence, an 
 nouncing the passage of the bill for closing the port of Boston on 
 the first of June and for inflicting other injuries upon that unhappy 
 town. Randolph read the letter to the house when in full session, 
 and at its close a general murmur of indignation spread over the 
 assembly, followed by bold and eloquent denunciations of the 
 
392 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 measure. A strong protest against that and the other retaliatory 
 measures of Parliament, was entered upon the journal, and on the 
 twenty-fourth, the house adopted a resolution of condolence with 
 their persecuted sister colony, and passed an order, setting apart 
 the first day of June as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer 
 " to implore the Divine interposition for averting the heavy calam 
 ity which threatened destruction to their civil rights, and the evils 
 of civil war, and to give them one heart and one mind firmly to 
 oppose, by all just and proper means, every injury to American 
 rights." At noon the following day, w r hile the members were en 
 gaged in an animated debate, they were summoned to the council 
 chamber by Lord Dunmore, who addressed them as follows : " Mr. 
 Speaker, and gentlemen of the house of burgesses ; I have in my 
 hand a paper, published by order of your house, conceived in such 
 terms as reflect highly upon his majesty, and the Parliament of 
 Great Britain, which makes it necessary for me to dissolve you, 
 and you are dissolved accordingly." 
 
 The delegates, eighty-nine in number (among whom was Wash 
 ington), immediately reassembled in the Apollo room, at the Raleigh 
 tavern, organized themselves into a voluntary convention, and pre 
 pared an address to their constituents, in which they declared, " that 
 an attack made on one of our sister colonies, to compel submission 
 to arbitrary taxes, is an attack made on all British America, and 
 threatens ruin to the rights of all, unless the united wisdom of the 
 whole be applied." They also recommended the committee of cor 
 respondence, to communicate with the several committees of the 
 other colonies, on the expediency of appointing deputies to meet 
 annually in a GENERAL CONGRESS, to deliberate on such measures as 
 the united interests of the several colonies might require. 
 
 Thus was Franklin s suggestion, made months before, and the 
 propositions at town meetings in New York and Boston, moulded 
 into practical form, and presented to the Americans for acceptance 
 or rejection. It was the first recommendation of a general con 
 gress by any legislative or deliberative assembly ; and a few days 
 afterward, before intelligence of these proceedings could have 
 
Mr. 42.] A GENERAL CONGRESS PROPOSED. 393 
 
 reached them, the assembly of Massachusetts, convened at Salem, 
 resolved, u That a meeting of committees from the several colonies 
 on this continent is highly expedient and necessary, to consult 
 upon the present state of the colonies, and the miseries to which 
 they are and must be reduced, by the operation of certain acts of 
 Parliament respecting America ; and to deliberate and determine 
 upon wise and proper measures to be by them recommended to all 
 the colonies, for the recovery and establishment of their just rights 
 and liberties, civil and religious, and the restoration of union and 
 harmony between Great Britain and the colonies, most ardently 
 desired by all good men." 
 
 So, almost simultaneously, and without concert, Virginia and 
 Massachusetts made a similar proposition to the people of America, 
 of the greatest importance, and prepared to act upon it. The 
 Massachusetts assembly immediately appointed five delegates* to 
 attend a general congress when it should assemble, but the Vir 
 ginians postponed further action on the subject, until a more con 
 venient time. The proposition met with a hearty response from 
 the other colonies, and it was agreed that a general congress of 
 delegates should meet at Philadelphia on the fifth of September, 
 
 ensuing. 
 
 The dissolution of the Virginia assembly, and the reorganization 
 of the members into a body hostile, in its position, to the govern 
 ment, did not interrupt the decorous intercourse between Lord 
 Dunmore and the burgesses. On that very day (May twenty-fifth), 
 Washington, according to his diary, dined with the governor, and 
 spent the evening with him and his family. On the following day 
 he noted in his diary : " Rode out with the governor to his farm, 
 and breakfasted with him there ;"f and, on the evening of the 
 
 * Thomas Gushing, Samuel Adams, Robert Treat Paine, James Bowdoin, and John Adams. 
 
 t Dunmore had erected a new "palace" at Williamsburg. It was built of brick, sevenry-four 
 feet in length, including the wings, and sixty-eight feet in width. The wings were yet standing, in 
 1857. The central building was accidentally destroyed by fire, while occupied by the French troops, 
 after the surrender of Cornwallis, in 1781. Attached to the palace were three hundred and sixty 
 acres of land, beautifully laid out in cultivated fields, parks, gardens, carriage-ways, and a bowling- 
 green. The farm proper, and farmhouse, where Washington breakfasted with the governor, was 
 about a mile from the town. 
 
394 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 twenty-seventh, he attended the ball given in honor of Lady Dim- 
 more by the members of the assembly, according to previous 
 arrangement. On that occasion there was no sign of hostile, or 
 even unpleasant feelings toward the governor. Everything passed 
 off harmoniously. But all that gallant courtesy was an evidence 
 of perfect good breeding rather than of real friendly feeling, for it 
 was well known, that the official acts of the governor were conso 
 nant with his private sentiments, and he was, therefore, an antag 
 onist of the people. Yet Washington and others, disposed to be 
 conservative and conciliatory as far as loyalty to correct principles 
 would allow, hoped that, like Botetourt, the governor s opinions ol 
 the colonies and their cause might be changed, and it was thought 
 expedient and just to treat him privately as a friend, so long as he 
 should deserve such consideration. 
 
 Twenty-five of the burgesses remained in Williamsburg, to en 
 gage in the religious services which the assembly had appointed for 
 the first of June. Among them were Washington, Peyton Randolph, 
 Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henr3 r . Two 
 days after the ball (the twenty-ninth), Mr. Randolph received a 
 letter from Boston, containing the proceedings of a town-meeting, 
 held there on the fourteenth, which recommended the inhabitants 
 of the several colonies to enter into a general and solemn league 
 to suspend all commercial intercourse with Great Britain, until the 
 Boston port-bill and other unrighteous enactments of Parliament 
 should be repealed. Randolph assembled the delegates the fol 
 lowing day, and submitted the matter to them. On comparison of 
 views respecting the proposed league, they differed in one essential 
 point, that of the prohibition of exports. Large debts were due to 
 merchants in England, which could only be liquidated by exporting 
 produce from the colonies. To refuse to do this, would be, in effect, 
 refusing to pay honest debts. On this point Washington was very 
 earnest. He insisted, that before exports should be prohibited, all 
 just debts should be paid. Others reasoned that the colonists, after 
 all, would be the greatest sufferers, and that the English merchants 
 ought not to be exempt from the general calamity brought about 
 
>E T . 42.] A SOLEMN FAST. 395 
 
 by the government. Finally, as they could not agree, and they 
 were but a minority of all the delegates, they did not feel at liberty 
 to act in a matter so grave, without the concurrence of the major 
 ity, especially as it was significantly resolved, at the meeting in the 
 Apollo-room, on the twenty-fifth, that "A tender regard for the 
 interests of our fellow-subjects, the merchants and manufacturers 
 of Great Britain, prevents us from going further at this time ; most 
 earnestly hoping that the unconstitutional principle of taxing the 
 colonies without their consent will not be persisted in, thereby to 
 compel us, against our will, to avoid all commercial intercourse 
 with Britain." After considerable discussion, they agreed to issue 
 a circular letter, bearing their signatures, to the inhabitants of the 
 several counties, inviting them to choose delegates to meet in con 
 vention at Williamsburg, on the first of August, to take into con 
 sideration the proposition for a continental league, and other mat 
 ters pertaining to the welfare of the colonies. This circular was 
 accordingly issued ; and it contained a recommendation that the 
 opinions of the people respecting the proposed measure, should be 
 obtained, so that their representatives might act in the convention 
 according to the dictates of the popular will. 
 
 At dawn on the first of June, the day on which the port of 
 Boston was to be closed, the bells of Brenton church, of the cap- 
 itol, and of William and Mary college, tolled solemnly, for it was 
 the appointed day for fasting, humiliation, and prayer. Religious 
 services were held in Brenton church, and Washington noted in his 
 diary, at evening : " June 1st, Wednesday. Went to church and 
 fasted all day." Every true patriot in Williamsburg and vicinity, 
 who could attend, was there, and the church was crowded. On the 
 following day most of the delegates departed for their homes, but 
 Washington was detained by business, and did not leave for Mount 
 Vernon until the twentieth. During all the interval, his friendly 
 relations with Dunmore and his family continued, and they parted 
 with mutual expressions of good will. 
 
39G WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 CONDITION OF THE BOSTON PEOPLE GAGE APPOINTED GOVERNOR TROOPS OR 
 DERED TO BOSTON GAGE S RECEPTION THERE PROCEEDINGS OF A TOWN- 
 MEETING DISTRESS OF THE PEOPLE GENERAL SYMPATHY ACTION OF THE 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS ASSEMBLY BOSTON NECK FORTIFIED ARMING OF THE PEO 
 PLE MINUTE-MEN PUBLIC MEETINGS IN VIRGINIA WASHINGTON AND BRYAN 
 
 FAIRFAX THE CELEBRATED FAIRFAX RESOLVES CONVENTION OF WILLIAMS- 
 BURG WASHINGTON S SPEECH APPOINTMENT OF DELEGATES TO THE CONTI 
 NENTAL CONGRESS. 
 
 SAD, indeed, was the situation of Boston on the first of June, 
 1774, the day when the heel of government oppression was pal 
 pably planted upon the neck of a people yearning to stand erect in 
 the dignity and majesty of freemen. Due preparations had been 
 made to keep that heel firmly settled there. General Gage, the 
 commander-in-chief of all the British forces in America, was ap 
 pointed to succeed Hutchinson as governor of Massachusetts, in 
 order to enforce the port-bill, and the other arbitrary enactments 
 of Parliament, and toward the close of April he prepared to leave 
 New York to take possession of his new office. Hutchinson, 
 thoroughly alarmed by the bold movements of the patriots, and 
 fearing their resentment, remained in seclusion in the country until 
 a favorable opportunity for him to leave the province occurred. 
 
 Doubtful what reception he might experience at Boston, Gage 
 ordered four additional regiments thither, at the beginning of May, 
 and soon afterward, unattended by any military except his staff, he 
 departed for the doomed town. He landed at Long wharf, on the 
 thirteenth of May, and found the people very much excited, for 
 they had just received intelligence of the passage of the port-bill. 
 But he had acted discreetly while in New York, and was favored 
 with a large share of the confidence of the people. He was re- 
 
for. 42.] DISTRESS IN BOSTON. 397 
 
 ceived at the wharf with every mark of respect by the multitude, 
 and he was entertained by the magistrates at a public dinner, on 
 the same day. That evening Hutchinsori was hung in effigy ; and, 
 on the following day, Samuel Adams presided over a large town- 
 meeting held at Faneuil hall, to consider the port-bill. Then it was 
 that the resolutions and other proceedings respecting a continental 
 league against commercial intercourse with {.Great Britain (which, 
 as we have mentioned, were received on the twenty-ninth of May, 
 by the patriots at Williamburgh) had birth, Then it was that the 
 patriots of Massachusetts "passed the river and cut away the 
 bridge." Already on the anniversary of the " Boston Massacre," 
 John Hancock, remembering the recommendation of Franklin, had 
 said to the people : " Permit me here to suggest a general congress 
 of deputies, from the several houses of assembly on the continent, 
 as the most effectual method of establishing such a union as the 
 present posture of our affairs require ;" and now that idea was the 
 most prominent one in the minds and hearts of the people. 
 
 The whole country was inflamed, and everywhere the most lively 
 sympathy for the inhabitants of Boston was awakened. Orators at 
 public gatherings, ministers in the pulpit, and the newspaper press 
 throughout the land denounced the heavy hand of ministerial ven 
 geance laid upon Boston, as a type of what was in store for the 
 whole country. The cause of Boston became the cause of all the 
 colonists, and the active sympathies of the people abroad was com 
 mensurate with the sufferings of the patriots of that town, when 
 their harbor was closed, their business crushed, and destitution sat 
 in every place. The rich, deprived of their rents, became strait 
 ened, and the poor, denied the privilege of labor, were reduced to 
 beggary. But help came to the patriots there in the hour of their 
 need, from every colony. The " Supporters of the Bill of Rights" 
 in London, remembering the contribution of South Carolina to their 
 fund, voted five hundred pounds to relieve the distress of the poor 
 of Boston ; and the city of London, in its corporate capacity, sub 
 scribed one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the same pur 
 pose. Never was the British ministry weaker in its government 
 
398 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 relations to Americans than at this time, when Lord North was 
 forging, as he vainly supposed, the fetters of majestic law to bind 
 the colonies indissolubly to the throne. In honorable concession 
 alone lay his real strength, but of these precious locks the Delilah 
 of haughty ambition and easy persuasion had shorn him, and when 
 he attempted to put forth his power, he found himself, " like other 
 men," weak indeed. 
 
 By proclamation, Governor Gage summoned the members of the 
 Massachusetts assembly to meet at Salem, on the seventh of June. 
 In the meanwhile, Samuel Adams and James Warren, who had 
 been appointed by their compatriots to prepare business for the 
 meeting, had conferred with others, and arranged important schemes 
 for the public good. These were laid before the assembly at its 
 opening, when a partisan of the crown, feigning sickness, withdrew, 
 and hastening to the governor, informed him of what was trans 
 piring. Gage immediately sent his secretary to dissolve the assem 
 bly by proclamation, but the patriots were too vigilant for him. 
 The door of the assembly chamber was locked, and the key was in 
 Samuel Adams s pocket. They proceeded deliberately and undis 
 turbed in the discussion and adoption of their measures. They 
 agreed to and signed a solemn "league and covenant," binding 
 themselves to cease all commercial intercourse with Great Britain, 
 and appointed a committee to send the covenant as a circular to 
 every colony in America, and invite the inhabitants to affix their 
 names to it. They then proceeded to recommend a general con 
 gress "a meeting of committees from the several colonies, to 
 consult upon the state of the country" and as we have seen, 
 appointed the committee for Massachusetts. 
 
 These proceedings irritated Gage, and he gave the people to 
 understand, that he should put into execution all the laws of Par 
 liament with rigor. He enforced military rule in all its strength ; 
 and when told that he must relax it, or rebellion would ensue, he 
 answered by casting up fortifications upon Boston Neck, and pro 
 hibiting free intercourse between the town and the country. No 
 hope of reconciliation appeared, and the people, persuaded that war 
 
jET. 42.] PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. 399 
 
 was inevitable, began to arm themselves and practise military 
 tactics daily. The fife and drum were heard everywhere ; and 
 fathers and sons, encouraged by the gentler sex, took lessons to 
 gether in the art of war. The forge and hammer were busy in 
 making guns and swords, and everything bore the animated but 
 gloomy impress of impending hostilities. During the summer and 
 autumn, the people of New England enrolled themselves into mili 
 tary companies, and prepared to take up arms at a minute s warning. 
 Such was the origin of the famous " minute-men," whose blood was 
 poured out at Lexington, and Concord, and Bunker Hill. 
 
 In other colonies, especially in Virginia, the spirit of liberty now 
 waxed strong, and the forms of resistance multiplied daily. Soon 
 after Washington s return to Mount Vernon, meetings were held in 
 the several colonies, pursuant to the recommendation of the circular 
 issued from Williamsburg. At these meetings resolutions expres 
 sive of the sentiments of the people were adopted, and delegates 
 to the convention to be held at Williamsburg, on the first of 
 August, were elected. Washington presided at the meetings in 
 Fairfax county, and was appointed one of a committee to prepare 
 a series of resolutions concerning the late acts of Parliament, the 
 rights of the colonies, and the proper course to be pursued by 
 them, and to report the same, at a meeting to be held at the court 
 house, on the eighteenth of July. In the meanwhile, an election of 
 delegates to the house of burgesses was to be held, and Washington 
 urged his friend and neighbor, Bryan Fairfax, of Tarlston hall, to 
 offer himself as a candidate.* Fairfax had attended one of the 
 popular meetings, when his loyal feelings were disturbed by the 
 bold spirit of resistance to royal authority then manifested. He 
 perceived the prevailing temper of the people, and he declined the 
 proffered honor, chiefly because he should think himself conscien 
 tiously bound to oppose strong measures, and, therefore, he could 
 not give satisfaction to his constituents. 
 
 * Bryan Fairfax was a younger brother of George William Fairfax, the intimate friend of Wash 
 ington. He was a man of liberal sentiments and enlighted views, but, like many who took the 
 royal side in the war for independence, he was too much attached to ancient rule and the British 
 government, to enter upon a doubtful contest with them. He afterward became Lord Fairfax. 
 
400 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 Fairfax was decidedly in favor of still longer petitioning Parlia 
 ment, and giving it a fair opportunity of repealing the obnoxious 
 acts. These sentiments were communicated in a letter to Washing 
 ton, who replied on the fourth of July, again expressing a wish, that 
 either he or Colonel Mason would offer.* "As to your political 
 sentiments," wrote Washington, "I would heartily join you in them, 
 so far as relates to a humble and dutiful petition to the throne, 
 provided there was the most distant hope of success. But have w r e 
 not tried this already ? Have we not addressed the lords, and 
 remonstrated to the commons? And to what end? Did they 
 deign to look at one petition ? Does it not appear, as clear as the 
 sun in its meridian brightness, that there is a regular, systematic 
 plan formed, to fix the right and practice of taxation upon us ? 
 Does not the uniform conduct of Parliament for some years past 
 confirm this ? Do not all the debates, especially those just brought 
 to us, in the house of commons, on the side of government, ex 
 pressly declare that America must be taxed in aid of the British 
 funds, and that she has no longer resources within herself? Is 
 there anything to be expected from petitioning after this ? Is not 
 the attack upon the liberty and property of the people of Boston, 
 before restitution of the loss to the East India Company was de 
 manded, a plain and self-evident proof of what they are aiming 
 at?" These questions could be answered only in the affirmative, 
 but Fairfax was too conservative and timid to espouse the cause of 
 the people, and he wrote a long letter to Washington, stating his 
 views and objections, and requesting him to read it to the meeting 
 to be held on the eighteenth of the month. 
 
 That meeting was a very important one. It was held in Fairfax 
 county courthouse, and was organized by the appointment of 
 George Washington, chairman, and Robert Harrison, secretary. 
 Its chief business was to receive and act upon resolutions prepared 
 
 * This letter reveals the custom in Virginia, at that time, of making the gathering of the people 
 on the sabbath, for public worship, an occasion for an interchange of sentiments upon political sub 
 jects. Washington speaks of Colonel West " publicly declining, last Sunday," to be a candidate 
 for a seat in the house of burgesses ; and of entreating " several gentlemen at our church yesterday 
 to press Colonel Mason to take a poll." 
 
Mr. 42.] FAIRFAX COUNTY RESOLVES. 401 
 
 by the committee appointed at a previous meeting. Washington 
 had been chosen chairman of that committee, and George Mason 
 was, doubtless, the author of the resolutions then framed.* These 
 were twenty-four in number. They so clearly and forcibly set 
 forth the whole question at issue, and so fairly indicate the causes 
 which impelled the colonists to the contest then opening ; and they 
 form such a lucid exposition of the matured political feelings and 
 opinions of Washington, it seems desirable that some of them 
 should appear here entire, and they are accordingly given, as they 
 were adopted by the meeting. It was resolved 
 
 1. "That this colony and dominion of Virginia can not be con 
 sidered as a conquered country ; and if it was, that the present 
 inhabitants are the descendants, not of the conquered, but of the 
 conquerors. That the same was not settled at the national expense 
 of England, but at the private expense of the adventurers, our 
 ancestors, by solemn compact with, and under the auspices and 
 protection of the British crown; upon which we are, in every 
 respect, as dependent as the people of Great Britain, and in the 
 same manner, subject to all his majesty s just, legal, and constitu 
 tional prerogatives. That our ancestors, when they left their native 
 land and settled in America, brought with them (even if the same 
 had not been conferred by charters), the civil institutions and forms 
 of government of the country they came from ; and were, by the 
 laws of nature and of nations, entitled to all its privileges, immu 
 nities and advantages, which have descended to us, their posterity, 
 and ought of right to be as fully enjoyed, as if we had still con 
 tinued within the realm of England." 
 
 2. " That the most important and valuable part of the British 
 constitution, upon which its very existence depends, is the funda 
 mental principle of the people s being governed by no laws, to 
 which they have not given their consent by representatives freely 
 chosen by themselves; who are effected by the laws they enact, 
 equally with their constituents; to whom they are accountable, 
 
 * Mr. Sparks says, in his Life and Writings of Washington, ii., 488, that the draft of these reso- 
 utions were found among Washington s papers, in the handwriting of George Mason. 
 
 26 
 
402 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 and whoso burthens they share ; in which consists the safety and 
 happiness of the community ; for if this part of the constitution 
 was taken away, or materially altered, the government must degen 
 erate either into an absolute or despotic monarchy, or a tyrannical 
 aristocracy, and the freedom of the people annihilated." 
 
 3. "Therefore, as the inhabitants of the American colonies are 
 not, and, from their situation, can not be represented in the British 
 Parliament, the legislative power here can of right be exercised 
 only by our own provincial assemblies or parliaments, subject to 
 the assent or negative of the British crown, to be declared within 
 some proper limited time. But as it was thought just and reason 
 able, that the people of Great Britain should reap advantages from 
 these colonies adequate to the protection they afforded them, the 
 British Parliament have claimed and exercised the power of regu 
 lating our trade and commerce, so as to restrain our importing 
 from foreign countries such articles as they could furnish us with, 
 of their own growth or manufacture, or exporting to foreign coun 
 tries such articles and portions of our produce, as Great Britain 
 stood in need of, for her own consumption or manufactures. Such 
 a power, directed with wisdom and moderation, seems necessary for 
 the general good of that great body politic, of which we are a 
 part; although in some degree repugnant to the principles of the 
 constitution. Under this idea our ancestors submitted to it ; the 
 experience of more than a century, during the government of his 
 majesty s royal predecessors, has proved its utility, and the recipro 
 cal benefits flowing from it, produced mutual, uninterrupted har 
 mony and good will between the inhabitants of Great Britain and 
 her colonies, who, during that long period, always considered them 
 selves as one and the same people ; and though such a power is ca 
 pable of abuse, and in some instances has been stretched beyond the 
 original design and institution, yet to avoid strife and contention 
 with our fellow-subjects, and strongly impressed with the experience 
 of mutual benefits, we always cheerfully acquiesced in it, while the 
 entire regulation of our internal policy, and giving and granting 
 our own money, were preserved to our own provincial legislatures." 
 
yE-r. 41>.] FAIRFAX COUNTY RESOLVES. 403 
 
 4. " That it is the duty of these colonies, on all emergencies, to 
 contribute, in proportion to their abilities, situation, and circum 
 stances, to the necessary charge of supporting and defending the 
 British empire, of which they are a part ; that while we are treated 
 upon an equal footing with our fellow-subjects, the motives of self- 
 interest and preservation will be a sufficient obligation, as was 
 evident through the course of the last war ; and that no argument 
 can be fairly applied to the British Parliament s taxing us, upon a 
 presumption that we should refuse a just and reasonable contribu 
 tion, but will equally operate in justification of the executive 
 power taxing the people of England, upon a supposition of their 
 representatives refusing to grant the necessary supplies." 
 
 5. " That the claim lately assumed and exercised by the British 
 Parliament, of making all such laws as they think fit to govern the 
 people of these colonies, and to extort from us our money, without 
 our consent, is not only diametrically contrary to the first principles 
 of the constitution, and the original compacts by which we are 
 dependent upon the British crown and government ; but is totally 
 incompatible with the privileges of a free people, and the natural 
 rights of mankind, will render our own legislators merely nominal 
 and nugatory, and is calculated to reduce us from a state of free 
 dom and happiness to slavery and misery." 
 
 6. " That taxation and representation are in their nature insepa 
 rable ; that the right of withholding, or of giving or granting their 
 own money, is the only effectual security, to a free people, against 
 the encroachments of despotism and tyranny ; and that whenever 
 they yield the one, they must quickly fall a prey to the other." 
 
 7. " That the power over the people of America now claimed by 
 the British house of commons, in whose election we have no share, 
 and on whose determinations we can have no influence, whose 
 information must be always defective, and often false, who, in many 
 instances, may have a separate, and in some, an opposite interest to 
 ours, and who removed from those impressions of tenderness and 
 compassion arising from personal intercourse and connections, which 
 soften the rigors of the most despotic governments, must, if con- 
 
404 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 tinued, establish the most grievous and intolerable species of tyr 
 anny and oppression that ever was inflicted upon mankind." 
 
 8. " That it is our greatest wish and inclination, as well as inter 
 est, to continue our connection with, and dependence upon the 
 British government; but though we are its subjects, we will use 
 every means which Heaven hath given us, to prevent our becoming 
 its slaves." 
 
 9. " That there is a premeditated design and system formed and 
 pursued by the British ministry, to introduce an arbitrary govern 
 ment into his majesty s American dominions ; to which end they 
 are artfully prejudicing our sovereign, and inflaming the minds of 
 our fellow-subjects in Great Britain, by propagating the most ma 
 levolent falsehoods, particularly, that there is an intention in the 
 American colonies to set up for independent states ; endeavoring, at 
 the same time, by various acts of violence and oppression, by sud 
 den and repeated dissolutions of our assemblies, whenever they 
 presume to examine the illegality of ministerial mandates, or delib 
 erate on the violated rights of their constituents, and by breaking 
 in upon the American charters, to reduce us to a state of despera 
 tion, and dissolve the original compacts by which our ancestors 
 bound themselves and their posterity, to remain dependent upon 
 the British crown ; which measures, unless effectually counteracted, 
 will end in the ruin of both Great Britain and her colonies." 
 
 10. "That the several acts of Parliament for raising a revenue 
 upon the people of America without their consent, the creating 
 new and dangerous jurisdictions here, the taking away our trials 
 by jury, the ordering persons, upon criminal accusation, to be tried 
 in another country than that in which the fact is charged to have 
 been committed, the act inflicting ministerial vengeance upon the 
 town of Boston, and the two bills lately brought into Parliament 
 for abrogating the charter of the province of Massachusetts Bay. 
 and for the protection and encouragement of murderers in the said 
 province, are part of the above-mentioned iniquitous system. That 
 the inhabitants of the town of Boston are now suffering in the 
 common cause of all British America, and are justly entitled to its 
 
Mi. 31.] WASHINGTON S OPINIONS. 405 
 
 support and assistance ; and, therefore, that a subscription ought 
 immediately to be opened, and proper persons appointed in every 
 county of this colony, to purchase provisions, and consign them to 
 some gentleman of character in Boston, to be distributed among 
 the poorer sort of people there." 
 
 It was also resolved, to join with friends and brethren in other 
 colonies, in all measures for procuring a redress of grievances ; that 
 a closer union should be effected by a general congress ; that petty 
 disputes between separate colonies should be buried in eternal 
 oblivion ; that men of fortune set examples of frugality in living ; 
 that domestic arts and manufactures, and the raising of sheep ought 
 to be encouraged; that all commercial intercourse between the 
 Americans and Great Britain, and her West India colonies, should 
 be discontinued, while the grievances complained of existed ; and 
 that " this and the other associating colonies should break off all 
 trade, intercourse, and dealings, with that colony, province, or 
 town, which declines or refuses to agree to the plan which shall 
 be adopted by the general congress." 
 
 It was also resolved, that "during our present difficulties and 
 distress, no slaves ought to be imported into any of the British 
 colonies on this continent ;" and it was added : " we take this op 
 portunity of declaring our most earnest wishes to see an entire 
 stop for ever put to such a wicked, cruel, and unnatural trade." 
 An humble petition to his majesty was recommended to the general 
 congress, by the last of the resolutions drawn up by the committee, 
 but to this measure Washington was opposed. " As to the resolu 
 tion for addressing the throne," he wrote to Bryan Fairfax, " I own 
 to you, sir, I think the whole might as well have been expunged. 
 I expect nothing from the measure, nor should my voice have sanc 
 tioned it, if the non-importation scheme was intended to be retarded 
 by it ; for I am convinced, as much as I am of my own existence, 
 that there is no relief for us, but in their distress; and I think, at 
 least I hope, that there is public virtue enough left among us to 
 deny ourselves everything but the bare necessaries of life, to 
 accomplish this end." 
 
406 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 The meeting at the courthouse, on the eighteenth of July, was 
 largely attended by all the leading men of the county, and the 
 resolutions reported by the committee were adopted by unanimous 
 vote. These, in substance and spirit, were re-adopted by the con 
 vention at Williamsburg, a fortnight later, and excited universal 
 admiration.* The meeting then proceeded to appoint Colonel 
 Washington and Captain Charles Broadwater (who had lately been 
 elected representatives to serve in the general assembly) the dele 
 gates for Fairfax county, to attend the convention at Williamsburg 
 on the first of August, and to present these resolves. 
 
 Mr. Fairfax, who had previously read the resolutions, and dis 
 sented from many of them, was not present at the meeting, but, as 
 we have observed, expressed his sentiments in a letter, which he 
 requested Washington to read to the people. This request was not 
 complied with. Washington showed the letter to some of the lead 
 ing men there, but only one acquiesced in the sentiments expressed 
 by Fairfax. " As no person present seem in the least disposed to 
 adopt your sentiments," he wrote to Fairfax, on the twentieth, " as 
 there appeared a perfect satisfaction and acquiescence in the meas 
 ures proposed, and as the gentlemen to whom the letter was shown, 
 advised me not to have it read, as it was not likely to make a con 
 vert, and was repugnant, as some thought, to every principle we 
 were contending for, I forbore to offer it." He then, in the same 
 letter, reasoned with his friend, referred to real grievances, and the 
 evident folly of expecting any redress from Parliament, and said : 
 " If I were in any doubt as to the right which the Parliament of 
 Great Britain had to tax us without our consent, I should most 
 heartily coincide with you in opinion, that to petition, and peti 
 tion only, is the proper method to apply for relief; because we 
 should then be asking a favor, and not claiming a right, which, by 
 the laws of nature, and by our constitution, we are, in my opinion, 
 indubitably entitled to. I should even think it criminal to go 
 further than this, under such an idea ; but I have none such. I 
 
 * 
 the 
 
 * " Aug. 23. Tuesday. Went to the coffeo-house [New York], and saw the Virginia paper; 
 spirit of the people is prodigious; their resolutions are really grand." John Adams s Diary. 
 
JT. 42.] WASHINGTON S SPEECH. 407 
 
 think the Parliament of Great Britain have no more right to put 
 their hands into my pocket, without my consent, than I have to 
 put my hands into yours ; and this being already urged to them in 
 a firm, but decent manner, by all the colonies, what reason is there 
 to expect anything from their justice ?" 
 
 The convention assembled at Williamsburg, according to appoint 
 ment, on the first- of August, when almost every county in the 
 colony was represented. Peyton Randolph was chosen moderator, or 
 chairman. Washington was present at the opening, and at a suitable 
 time he presented the Fairfax county resolves, and supported them 
 in a brief but impressive speech. In the course of his address, 
 which Mr. Lynch, from South Carolina, pronounced " the most elo 
 quent speech that ever was made," Colonel Washington exclaimed 
 with warmth : " I will raise one thousand men, subsist them at my 
 own expense, and march, myself at their head, for the relief of 
 Boston."* This enthusiasm was shared by the other members of 
 the convention ; and in the course of a session of six days, they 
 adopted a non-intercourse association, more extensive in its prohibi 
 tions than the former, and embodying, in its general features, the 
 Fairfax county resolves. They also appointed Peyton Randolph, 
 Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard 
 Bland, Benjamin Harrison, and Edmund Pendleton, delegates to the 
 general congress, to be held at Philadelphia on the fifth of Septem 
 ber following. After agreeing upon instructions for these delegates, 
 the convention adjourned, and the members returned to their con 
 stituents, pledged to do all in their power to effect the results con 
 templated in their proceedings. 
 
 * John Adams s Diary, August 31, 1774. 
 
40d WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. L 1774. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXYIII. 
 
 THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS GENERAL VIEW OF THE COLONIES RECOMMEN 
 
 DATIONS OF A GENERAL CONGRESS APPOINTMENT OF DELEGATES THE MIN 
 ISTRY WARNED AND DECEIVED THEIR STRANGE INDIFFERENCE CHATHAM S 
 
 FOREBODINGS DETERMINATION OF THE COLONISTS WASHINGTON S PREPARA 
 TIONS HIS SENTIMENTS EVENTS IN MASSACHUSETTS DELEGATES JOURNEY 
 ING TOWARD PHILADELPHIA ARRIVAL THERE OF WASHINGTON AND HIS 
 
 COLLEAGUES. 
 
 WE are now to consider one of the most important events in the 
 history of the United States, namely, the proceedings of the FIRST 
 CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, in which Washington was a conspicuous actor. 
 In the history of political leagues and confederations with which 
 the annals of the nations abound, this, in its relations to the best 
 earthly interests of mankind, far outweighs them all. It was the 
 inauguration of a higher and holier freedom of opinion and action 
 than the world had yet seen, for it evolved that power of dignified 
 popular will that scatters to the winds of heaven every feudal 
 fetter, and like a full, burning, swinging censor, purifies the temple 
 of Liberty wherein so many crimes have been committed in her 
 name. It was a confederation of a heterogeneous people, widely 
 different in their origin, having separate individual interests, and 
 scattered over a large territory wonderfully diversified by peculiar 
 ities of topography, climate, soil, and productions. Yet it was a 
 people homogeneous in their general interests and their aspirations 
 for the theoretical freedom of the British constitution, and the 
 practical liberty suggested by the laws of their own nature, estab 
 lished by the wise hand of the Omnipotent. 
 
 Widely separated as some of the colonists were by geographical 
 distances and diversity of interests and pursuits, there were, never 
 theless, political, social, and commercial considerations which made 
 
VOICE OF THE COLONIES. 409 
 
 the Anglo-Americans really one people, having common interests 
 and common hopes. Called upon as free subjects of Great Britain 
 to relinquish some of the dearest prerogatives guarantied to them 
 by Magna Charta and hoary custom prerogatives in which were 
 enveloped the most precious kernels of civil liberty they arose as 
 one family to resist the insidious progress of on-coming despotism, 
 and yearned for union to give themselves strength commensurate 
 to the task. 
 
 The idea of a general council, as we have already observed, had 
 kindled the enthusiasm of the people in the spring of 1774, and it 
 found voice and expression almost simultaneously throughout the 
 land. Rhode Island has the honor of first uttering its sentiments 
 on the subject publicly ; a general congress having been proposed 
 at a town-meeting in Providence, on the seventeenth of May. 
 Philadelphia, where various interests and sentiments combined to 
 produce a cautious conservatism, spoke next. It was only four 
 days after the meeting at Providence when a committee appointed 
 by a town-meeting held in the long room of the City tavern, in 
 Philadelphia, recommended the measure ; and on the twenty-third, 
 New York, where, a year earlier, patriotism " seemed to have taken 
 but shallow root, where all political principles were truly unfixed 
 as the wind,"* uttered the same sentiment, at a town-meeting of the 
 people. On the twenty-sixth of the same month, Virginia, the 
 first as a colony speaking by authority through the chosen repre 
 sentatives of the people, recommended, as we have seen, the assem 
 bling of a national council ; and, on the thirty-first, a county meet 
 ing in Baltimore, Maryland, took action in favor of the measure. 
 On the sixth of June, a town-meeting at Norwich, Connecticut, 
 proposed a general congress ; on the eleventh a county-meeting at 
 Newark, New Jersey, did the same ; on the seventeenth the Massa 
 chusetts assembly, and also a large town-meeting held in Faneuil 
 hall, Boston, and presided over by John Adams, strenuously recom 
 mended the measure ; and a county-meeting at New Castle, Dela- 
 
 * Letter of George Clymer, of Philadelphia, to Josiah Quincy, of Boston, July 29, 1773, pub 
 lished in the Memoir of the Life of Josiuh Qnincy, jr., by his son, p 144. 
 
410 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 ware, approved it on the twenty-ninth. On the sixth of July the 
 committee of correspondence, at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, ex 
 pressed its approbation of the measure. A general province meet 
 ing, held at Charleston, South Carolina, on the sixth, seventh, and 
 eighth of July, urged the necessity of such a council ; and a district 
 meeting at Wilmington, North Carolina, held on the twenty-first, 
 heartily responded affirmatively. Georgia, alone, of the thirteen 
 colonies, was silent, but not inactive, during that season of prepara 
 tion. So we perceive, that within sixty-four days, twelve of the 
 colonies spoke out decidedly in favor of a continental Congress ; 
 and before the close of summer delegates for the national council 
 were appointed by them all. 
 
 In Connecticut the delegates were appointed and instructed on 
 the third of June, by the committee of correspondence, acting 
 under authority conferred by the house of representatives ; in 
 Massachusetts, on the seventeenth, by the house of representatives ; 
 in Maryland on the twenty-second, by committees of the several 
 counties ; in New Hampshire on the twenty-first of July, by a con 
 vention of deputies chosen by the towns ; in Pennsylvania on the 
 twenty-second, by the house of assembly ; in New Jersey on the 
 twenty-third, by the committees of the counties, and instructed 
 simply to " represent" the colony ; in the city and county of New 
 York on the twenty-fifth, they were elected by a popular vote taken 
 in seven wards. The same persons were also appointed to act for 
 the counties of Westchester, Albany, and Dutchess, by the respective 
 committees of those counties ; and another was appointed to repre 
 sent Suffolk county. The Delaware delegates, or those from the 
 " counties of New Castle, Kent, and Sussex, on the Delaware," were 
 elected on the first of August, by a convention of the freemen, 
 assembled pursuant to an invitation contained in circular letters 
 issued by the speaker of the house of assembly. The house of 
 commons of South Carolina elected delegates on the second of 
 August. On the fifth, a popular convention of the whole colony 
 of Virginia elected the delegates for the " Old Dominion." On the 
 eleventh the general assembly of Rhode Island appointed and com- 
 
iEx. 42.] THE MINISTRY WARNED. 411 
 
 missioned delegates for that colony; and on the twenty-fifth, 
 a convention in North Carolina chose representatives for that 
 province.* 
 
 These general and decided movements in all the colonies dis 
 turbed the royal governors and other dependents of the crown ; 
 and the ministry were duly informed of every event having a rela 
 tion to the subject. The colonists, likewise, through the committees 
 of correspondence, kept Franklin, Arthur Lee, and other Americans 
 in London, as well as the friends of the cause in Parliament, fully 
 advised of all that was transpiring here. Joseph Reed, of Philadel 
 phia, afterward Washington s adjutant-general, wrote friendly but 
 firm letters to the earl of Dartmouth, the colonial secretary, and 
 warned him of the evil tendency of ministerial measures. " What 
 I ventured to predict in my last letter," he wrote to Dartmouth, on 
 the tenth of June, " your lordship will soon find to happen, viz., a 
 perfect and complete union between the colonies to oppose the Par 
 liament s claims of taxation, and relieve the distresses of the town 
 of Boston. The severity of the administration, and the mode of 
 condemnation, gain them many advocates, even among those who 
 acknowledge their conduct criminal. This union or confederacy, 
 which will probably be the greatest ever seen in this country, will 
 be cemented and fixed in a general congress of deputies from every 
 province, and I am inclined to think that strong efforts will be made 
 
 * The following are the names of the delegates : 
 
 New Hampshire. John Sullivan, Nathaniel Folsom. 
 
 Massachusetts. Thomas Gushing, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine. 
 
 Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Stephen Hopkins, Samuel Ward. 
 
 Connecticut. Eliphalet Dyer, Roger Sherman, Silas Deane. 
 
 New York. James Duane, John Jay, Isaac Low, John Alsop, William Floyd, Philip Living 
 ston, Henry Wisner. 
 
 New Jersey. James Kinsey, Stephen Crane, William Livingston, Richard Smith, John De Hart. 
 
 Pennsylvania. Joseph Galloway, John Morton, Charles Humphreys, Thomas Mifflin, Samuel 
 Rhodes, Edward Biddle, George Ross, John Dickenson. 
 
 Delaware. Caesar Rodney, Thomas M Kean, George Read. 
 
 Maryland. Robert Goldsborough, Samuel Chase, Thomas Johnson, Matthew Tilghman, Wil 
 liam Paca. 
 
 Virginia. Peyton Randolph, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard 
 Bland, Benjamin Harrison, Edmund Pendleton. 
 
 North Carolina. William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, Richard Caswell. 
 
 South Carolina. Henry Middleton, John Rutledge, Thomas Lynch, Christopher Gadsden, 
 Edward Rutledse. 
 
412 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 to perpetuate it by annual or triennial meetings, a thing which is 
 entirely new. The business proposed for the intended congress is 
 to draw up what upon a former occasion, or perhaps upon any other, 
 w r ould be called a bill of rights Your lordship, I think, may con 
 sider it as a fixed truth, that all the dreadful consequences of civil 
 war will ensue before the Americans will submit to the claim of 
 taxation by Parliament." 
 
 Others in America, and true friends of Great Britain, in London, 
 w r ho were acquainted with the colonists, solemnly warned the mis 
 guided ministry of the penalty of their folly and wickedness, but in 
 vain. Gage, Dunmore, Wright, Penn, and other royal governors, 
 affected to make light of the popular demonstrations; and these 
 and subordinate hirelings, and other friends of the crown, were con 
 tinually counteracting the effects of really friendly messages, by 
 deceptive boasts of the strength of Britain s arm, and the weakness 
 and cowardice of the Americans. "I understand," wrote Stephen 
 Sayre, sheriff of London, to Lord Chatham, " that the soldiery in 
 America do all they can to provoke the inhabitants to outrage and 
 violence. The officers write to their friends in England, that the 
 Americans are cowards to a man ; that by a little spirit on the pres 
 ent occasion, all disputes may be silenced by the sword," etc. In 
 reply, Chatham exclaimed, on the fifteenth of August : " What in 
 fatuation and cruelty to accelerate the sad moment of war ! Every 
 step on the side of government, in America, seems calculated to 
 drive the Americans into open resistance, vainly hoping to crush 
 the spirit of liberty, in that vast continent, at one successful blow ; 
 but millions must perish there before the seeds of freedom will 
 cease to grow and spread in so favorable a soil ; and, in the mean 
 time, devoted England must sink herself under the ruins of her own 
 foolish and inhuman system of destruction."* Thirteen days later, 
 Chatham again wrote : " When, then, will infatuated administration 
 begin to fear that freedom they can not destroy, and which they do 
 not know how to love ? Delay is fatal, where repentance will come 
 too late. I fear the bond of union between us and America will be 
 cut for ever."-j- 
 
 * Correspondence of the Earl of Chatham, iv., 359. t Ibid., iv., 360. 
 
^Ex. 41>.] THE WEAPON PREPARED. 413 
 
 At that moment the hand was bared to wield the weapon that 
 should accomplish the severance ! At that moment, the delegates 
 of twelve colonies had been appointed to attend the Continental 
 Congress that was to meet in Philadelphia, eight days later, to forge 
 that keen and unyielding weapon. The great Chatham, who 
 
 " Loved his country, loved that spot of earth 
 Which gave a Milton, Hampden, Bradshaw birth" 
 
 and was, until the last, opposed to American independence, because 
 he wished to see the British realm preserved in its integrity, clearly 
 foresaw in the horoscope of his country s destiny the impending 
 storm. He shuddered as he perceived the half-blind ministry sport 
 ing with the lightning and laughing at the thunder, while with 
 mock-heroic frowns they bade their servants to hush the tempest 
 by imbecile proclamations and insane menaces. The people of the 
 colonies had learned the true value of ministerial dicta, and the 
 weakness of their minions who echoed their mandates ; and, with 
 the manly dignity of creatures conscious of the impress of God s 
 image upon their brows, they walked erect and defiant, like the 
 holy children of old, in the fiery furnace into which they had been 
 cast, for they knew that a redeemer would walk with them. So from 
 twelve colonies the chosen representatives of the people, full of wis 
 dom, full of zeal, and full of love for God and man, went up to 
 Philadelphia the city of brotherly love and there, with solemn 
 ceremonials, planted the seeds of our mighty Banyan-Tree of the 
 West, whose deep-rooted branches are rapidly overspreading the 
 continent. Let us see how the great husbandry was accomplished. 
 Now fairly embarked upon the broader sea of public life, and 
 fully committed to the cause of his country, Washington, with his 
 usual assiduity, commenced preparations for usefulness in the grand 
 council to which he had been elected. Before he left Williamsburg, 
 in August, he wrote to Richard Henry Lee, and asked him if he did 
 not think it necessary that the deputies from Virginia should be 
 furnished with authentic lists of the exports and imports of the 
 colony annually, more especially to and from Great Britain. Assu 
 ming that Lee would agree with him in opinion, he requested him 
 
414 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 to obtain such information from the customhouse-officers on the 
 Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. He also desired the speaker 
 of the Virginia assembly, if he should think it expedient, to furnish 
 him with similar information concerning operations on the York 
 and James rivers. He likewise procured, from Mr. Wythe, the num 
 ber of taxable inhabitants in the colony at the time of the census in 
 1770 ;* and from others he obtained such information as he deemed 
 necessary, that he might truly represent his constituents in the 
 general Congress. 
 
 Soon after his return to Mount Yernon, Washington received a 
 letter from his friend, Bryan Fairfax, in which he was requested to 
 give his views at length on the subject of the current disputes, and 
 to explain to him wherein his letter sent to the Fairfax county con 
 vention on the eighteenth of July, with a request that it should be 
 read, was repugnant to the principles they were contending for. 
 " I beg leave," Fairfax said, " to look upon you as a friend, and it is 
 a great relief to unbosom one s thoughts to a friend. Besides, the 
 information, and the correction of my errors," he continued, " which 
 I may obtain from a correspondence, are great inducements to it. 
 For I am convinced that no man in the colony wishes its prosperity 
 more, would go greater lengths to secure it, or is at the same time 
 a better subject to the crown. Pray, excuse these compliments; 
 they may be tolerable from a friend." 
 
 Preparations for his journey to Philadelphia, attention to private 
 affairs, and the entertainment of company, prevented Washington 
 from replying to his friend for several days; and then, pleading 
 these excuses, he gave him but a brief answer. " I am sure," he 
 said, "I have no new light to throw upon the subject, nor any other 
 arguments to offer in support of my own doctrine, than what you 
 have seen ; and I could only in general add, that an innate spirit of 
 freedom first told me, that the measures, which the administration 
 have for some time been, and now are most violently pursuing, are 
 opposed to every principle of natural justice ; whilst much abler 
 
 * It was estimated by Mr. Wythe that the number of taxable inhabitants in Virginia, in 1774, 
 was full ten thousand. 
 
jE-r. 42.] WASHINGTON TO FAIRFAX. 415 
 
 heads than my own have , fully convinced me, that they are not 
 only repugnant to natural right, but subversive of the laws and con 
 stitution of Great Britain itself, in the establishment of which some 
 of the best blood in the kingdom has been spilt. 
 
 " Satisfied, then, that the acts of the British Parliament are no 
 longer governed by the principles of justice ; that they are tram 
 pling upon the valuable rights of Americans, confirmed to them by 
 charter and by the constitution they themselves boast of; and con 
 vinced, beyond the smallest doubt, that these measures are the 
 result of deliberation, and attempted to be carried into execution 
 by the hand of power, is it a time to trifle, or risk our cause upon 
 petitions, which with difficulty obtain access, and afterward are 
 
 thrown by with the utmost contempt? I could wish, I own, that 
 
 the dispute had been left for posterity to determine, but the crisis 
 is arrived when we must assert our rights, or submit to every impo 
 sition that can be heaped upon us, till custom and use shall make 
 
 us tame and abject slaves If you disavow the right of Parliament 
 
 to tax us, unrepresented as we are, we only differ in respect to the 
 mode of opposition, and this difference principally arises from your 
 belief that they (the Parliament, I mean) want a decent opportu 
 nity to repeal the acts ; whilst I am fully convinced that there has 
 been a regular, systematic plan formed to enforce them, and that 
 nothing but unanimity and firmness in the colonies, w r hich they did 
 not expect, can prevent it. By the best advices from Boston, it 
 seems that General Gage is exceedingly disconcerted at the quiet 
 and steady conduct of the people of the Massachusetts Bay, and at 
 the measures pursuing by the other governments. I dare say he 
 expected to force those oppressed people into compliance, or irri 
 tate them into acts of violence before this, for a more colorable pre 
 tence of ruling that and the other colonies with a high hand."* 
 
 It was even so. " Whatever violences are committed," wrote 
 Dartmouth to Gage, " must be resisted with firmness ; the constitu 
 tional authority of this kingdom over its colonies must be vindicated, 
 and its laws obeyed throughout the whole empire. It is not only 
 
 * Sparks s Life and Writings of Washington, ii. ; 396. 
 
416 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 its dignity and reputation, but its power, nay, its very existence, 
 depends upon the present moment ; for, should these ideas of inde 
 pendence which some dangerous and ill-designing persons here are 
 artfully endeavoring to instil into the minds of the king s American 
 subjects, once take root, that relation between this kingdom and its 
 colonies, which is the bond of peace and power, will soon cease to 
 exist, and destruction must follow disunion." 
 
 Acting upon these instructions and suggestions, and governed also 
 by his fears, Gage removed the seat of government from Salem back 
 to Boston, and commenced fortifying the Neck. But the work went 
 on slowly. British gold could not purchase Boston carpenters, and 
 Gage was finally compelled to import less scrupulous men, with 
 building-materials, from other places. With his six regiments of 
 troops and a train of artillery, he exercised military rule with great 
 stringency ; and, by proclamation after proclamation, he sought to 
 awe the people of Massachusetts, and compel obedience to an act 
 of Parliament which prohibited all political assemblages after the 
 first of August. But his efforts were fruitless. The people con 
 voked assemblies before that day, and kept them perpetually alive 
 by adjournments, and so they accomplished their desires without 
 violating the law. In Boston, Faneuil hall was crowded when these 
 adjourned meetings were held; and in the more spacious South 
 meeting-house, and under the shadows of Liberty-Tree,* the people 
 fearlessly assembled and expressed their sentiments, unmoved by 
 the glitter of scarlet uniforms and menacing bayonets that appeared 
 on every side. " Throughout the colony," says Lord Mahon, " the 
 sheriffs, magistrates, and clerks, either made their peace with the 
 people by solemnly promising not to act under the new law, or else 
 fled for shelter to the well-guarded town of Boston." As a signifi- 
 
 * Liberty-Tree, in Boston, was a venerable elm, similar to some now seen on the Common, and 
 stood on the corner of the present Washington and Essex streets, opposite the Boylston market. 
 It received the name of Liberty-Tree from the circumstance that under it the association of the Sons 
 of Liberty held meetings during the summer of 1765, and adopted measures in opposition to the 
 stamp-act. After that, meetings were frequently held there, until they were prohibited by the Brit 
 ish authorities in 1775. In August of that year, the obnoxious tree was cut down by order of the 
 British commander, when a soldier, who was in its branches, was killed at its fall. The tree bore 
 the inscription, "Liberty-Tree," and the ground under it was called "Liberty Hall." 
 

 Ji 
 
JEx. 42] DELEGATES ON THEIR JOURNEY. 417 
 
 cant commentary upon the state of the colony, he adds that Boston 
 where the whigs, as the patriots were now called, so openly defied 
 the government, " appeared the sole remaining spot within the prov 
 ince where the king s government was obeyed, or where its officers 
 and adherents were secnre."f 
 
 As the time approached when the general Congress was to as 
 semble, the delegates commenced their journeys toward Philadel 
 phia, some on horseback, others in coaches or chaises, but none by 
 public conveyances, for there were few of them even in the most 
 populous provinces. Some travelled alone, others in pairs, and as 
 they approached the Delaware or the Schuylkill, they found them 
 selves in companies. These journeys were like ovations. Every 
 where the inhabitants came out in bands, generally on horseback, 
 to meet and escort them into towns, or to greet them at their dwel 
 lings with the wide-open arms and heart of hospitality, as guests 
 deserving of highest honor. What a glorious spectacle ! From 
 twelve strong vice-royalties, containing an aggregate population of 
 almost three millions, the best and wisest men among the people, 
 obedient to the public will, were on their way, through vast forests 
 and over rugged mountains, across broad rivers and broader moras 
 ses, through richly-cultivated districts, through cheerful villages and 
 expanding cities, to a common goal, there to meet, deliberate, and 
 confederate, for the welfare, not only of a continent, but of the 
 world ! It was a moral spectacle such as had been hitherto unre 
 corded by the pen of history, and well calculated to excite the fears 
 of despots and the hopes of the oppressed ; for their mission was a 
 crusade against civil and political wrongs and hoary errors, and for 
 the rescue of the holy shrines of free thought and free action from 
 the hands of the paynims of dynastic power. 
 
 Washington set out upon the journey from Mount Vernon to 
 Philadelphia on Thursday morning, the thirty-first of August, in 
 company with Patrick Henry and Edmund Pendleton, who had spent 
 a day and a night with him there. He had invited Richard Henry 
 Lee to join those gentlemen at Mount Vernon, but he was detained 
 
 * Mahon s History of England, vi., 17. 
 
 27 
 
418 AVASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 at Chantilly, his seat in Westmoreland county, and did not reach 
 Philadelphia as soon as his colleagues. Mr. Lee was there in time, 
 however, to take his seat in the Congress before the deliberations 
 commenced. Washington was then in the prime of younger man 
 hood, with many associations of military renown clustering about 
 his name. He was fully matured, accustomed to deliberative assem 
 blies, conservative in his feelings, sagacious and bold. Pendleton 
 was several years his senior, a lawyer of fine reputation, experienced 
 in council, and, habituated almost from the days of his youth to 
 public life, was ready, with sage advice and wise illustrations, to 
 teach the less experienced how to manage the affairs of state. Pat 
 rick Henry was a young man of eight-and-thirty, spare in figure, 
 with piercing eyes, but indolent in manner. The glory of almost 
 ten years of oratory and statesmanship then encircled his brow; 
 and he was filled with that latent enthusiasm and burning patriot 
 ism which needed only the electric spark of occasion to make it 
 flash in power and splendor, with matchless influence. 
 
 Such were the three travellers who left Mount Vernon, on horse 
 back, after an early breakfast on that sultry summer morning, crossed 
 the Potomac at the falls, and rode on far toward Baltimore before 
 twilight. On the fourth of September they breakfasted at Christi 
 ana Ferry (now Wilmington); dined at Chester; and that night 
 Washington "lodged at Doctor Shippen s, in Philadelphia, after 
 supping at the New Tavern."* 
 
 # Washington s Diary. 
 
JEr. 42.] DELEGATES IN PHILADELPHIA. 419 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 DELEGATES TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS MEETING OF THE CONGRESS 
 
 ORGANIZATION PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS CHARACTER OF THE CONGRESS 
 
 DEBATE ON REGULATIONS SPEECH OF PATRICK HENRY RULES ADOPTED 
 
 MOTION FOR PRAYERS EVENTS IN NEW ENGLAND SUFFOLK COUNTY RESOLVES 
 
 OPENING OF CONGRESS WITH PRAYER APPROPRIATE PSALM COMMITTEES 
 
 APPOINTED DEBATES RICHARD HENRY LEE ? S RESOLUTIONS THEIR RECEP 
 TION AND IMPORTANCE. 
 
 ON Saturday, the third of September, 1774, forty-four delegates 
 to the continental Congress were in Philadelphia. Some of them 
 had been there for several days, and many of the prominent citi 
 zens had vied with each other in acts of courteous hospitality 
 toward them.* " We are so taken up with the Congress," wrote 
 Joseph Reed, of Philadelphia, "that we hardly think or talk of 
 anything else. About fifty have come to town and more are 
 expected. They have not fixed upon the time of beginning busi 
 ness, but I suppose it will be some day this week. There are some 
 fine fellows come from Virginia, but they are very high. The 
 Bostonians are mere milksops to them. We understand they are 
 the capital men of the colony, both in fortune and understanding."-^ 
 Four of the delegates from Massachusetts (the two Adams s, and 
 dishing and Paine), were among the earliest to arrive. They left 
 Boston together in a coach, from the house of Mr. Cushing, on the 
 
 * It may interest the reader to see a sort of bill of fare at these private entertainments. John 
 Adams, in his diary of the seventh of September, says : " Dined with Mr. Miers Fisher, a young 
 Quaker and a lawyer. We saw his library, which is clever. But this plain Friend, and his plain, 
 though pretty wife, with her thees and thous, had provided us with the most costly entertainment : 
 ducks, hams, chickens, beef, pig, tarts, creams, custards, jellies, fools, trifles, floating islands, beer, 
 porter, punch, wine, and a long &c." Again, at Mr. Powell s, the next day : " A most sinful feast 
 again ! Everything which could delight the eye or allure the taste ; curds and creams, jellies, sweet 
 meats of various sorts, twenty sorts of tarts, fools, trifles, floating islands, wbipt syllabubs, &c., c., 
 Parmesan cheese, punch, wine, beer, porter, &c." 
 
 t Life and Correspondence of President Reed, i. 75. An unfair discrimination. 
 
420 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 tenth of August, and were escorted by several gentlemen on horse 
 back, as for as Watertown. Their peculiar position as representa 
 tives of a colony then suffering severe chastisement at the hands 
 of the sovereign, invested them with more than ordinary interest. 
 They were warmly greeted, caressed, and feasted on their journey, 
 by leading patriots in all the towns through which they passed ; 
 and while halting at Frankford, a few miles from Philadelphia, on 
 the twenty-ninth, their approach became known in the city. A 
 number of citizens in carriages, and several gentlemen on horse 
 back, went out to meet them, among whom were Thomas Mifflin, 
 of Philadelphia ; M Kean, of Delaware ; Folsom and Sullivan, dele 
 gates from New Hampshire ; and Rutledge, a delegate from South 
 Carolina. By these they were escorted into the town ; and at the 
 new City tavern "the most genteel one in America"* they 
 were cordially welcomed by Doctors Shippen and Knox, of Phila 
 delphia, Lynch and Gradsden, delegates from South Carolina, and a 
 multitude of others. During the remainder of the week they were 
 constantly visited or were visiting. Every day at the City tavern, 
 newly arrived delegates were introduced to those already there. 
 
 At ten o clock on Monday morning, the fifth of September, the 
 day appointed for the meeting of the Congress, all the delegates 
 then in Philadelphia assembled at the City tavern and walked to 
 the Carpenters hall, situated at the end of Carpenters court, a 
 short distance south of Chestnut street, between Third and Fourth 
 streets.f The assembly-room in that building, some forty-five feet 
 square, had been chosen for the place of meeting of this national 
 council. In the chamber above was quite a fine library belonging 
 to the Carpenters Association ; and a pleasant lobby afforded a 
 place for walking and conversation. On the question, " Are you 
 satisfied with this room ?" being put, it was answered in the affirma 
 tive, when the delegates all became seated. Then Thomas Lynch, 
 
 * John Adams s Diary. 
 
 t This building is yet standing, and is well preserved. It belongs to the Worshipful Company of 
 Master Carpenters, of Philadelphia. For several years it was used as an auctioneer s salesroom, 
 but in the spring of 1857, the association resolved to use the building for their own purposes onlv, 
 and to preserve it as a precious relic. They took formal possession of it on the fourth of Septem 
 ber following. 
 
JET. 42.] ORGANIZATION OF CONGRESS. 421 
 
 of South Carolina, who was a member of the stamp-act congress, 
 in 1765 a man "solid, firm,, and judicious"* arose and said: 
 " There is a gentleman present who has presided with great dig 
 nity over a very respectable society, greatly to the advantage of 
 America, and I therefore propose that the Honorable Peyton Ran 
 dolph, Esquire, one of the delegates from Virginia, and the late 
 speaker of their house of burgesses, shall be appointed chairman. 
 I doubt not the choice will be made by unanimous vote." And so 
 it was ; and Mr. Randolph, a large, good-looking man, forty-five 
 years of age, took the chair and opened the preliminary proceedings 
 with great dignity, after a few words of thanks to his compeers for 
 their compliment in choosing him to preside over that important 
 assembly. 
 
 Mr. Lynch again arose, and proposed that Mr. Charles Thomson, 
 a gentleman of family, fortune, and character, in Philadelphia (and 
 who was then present on the invitation of some delegates to take 
 minutes of their proceedings), should be chosen the permanent 
 secretary. Mr. Thomson, " the Sam Adams of Philadelphia,"-)- was 
 a spare man, with hollow, sparkling eyes, locks quite gray, and 
 bearing marks of premature old age. He was then in the prime of 
 life, and had just married a sister of Benjamin Harrison, one of the 
 delegates from Virginia. Duane and Jay, of New York, proposed 
 to look further for a secretary, but Thomson was chosen by the 
 voice of all the rest of the delegates, and he at once entered upon 
 the duties of that important office, which he discharged with singu 
 lar ability and fidelity for almost fifteen years. J The gentlemen 
 
 * John Adams s Diary. t Ibid. 
 
 J Charles Thomson was born in Ireland, in the year 1730, and came to America, with his three 
 elder brothers, in 1741. They landed at New Castle, Delaware, with no other dependence but their 
 industry. He was educated by Dr. Alison, the tutor of several of the signers of the Declaration 
 of Independence, at the expense of his brothers, and became a teacher at the Friends academy, at 
 New Castle. From there he went to Philadelphia, where he was favored with the friendship and 
 advice of Doctor Franklin. From 1774 until 1789, when the new government, under the federal 
 constitution, went into operation, Mr. Thomson was sole secretary of Congress. His wife was 
 aunt of the late General Harrison, the ninth president of the United States. " His meagre figure, 
 furrowed countenance, hollow, sparkling eyes, white, straight hair, that did not hang quite so low 
 as his ears," said the Abbe Robin, a member of Rochambeau s staff , "fixed our thorough attention, 
 and filled us with surprise and admiration." Notwithstanding his apparent premature decay, Mr. 
 Thomson lived until the sixteenth of August, 1824, when he died not far from Philadelphia, at the 
 age of ninety-four years. 
 
422 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 from the several colonies now presented their respective credentials, 
 which were read and approved ; and before noon the immortal CON 
 TINENTAL CONGRESS was organized and solemnly inaugurated as a 
 national deliberative assembly. 
 
 " For a long time/ says the eloquent Charles Botta, " no spectacle 
 had been offered to the attention of mankind of so powerful an 
 interest as this of the present American Congress. It was, indeed, 
 a novel thing, and, as it were, miraculous, that a nation hitherto 
 almost unknown to the people of Europe, or only known by the 
 commerce it occasionally exercised in their ports, should, all at 
 once, step forth from this state of oblivion, and, rousing as if from 
 a long slumber, should seize the reins to govern itself; that the 
 various parts of this nation, hitherto disjointed, and almost in 
 opposition to each other, should now be united in one body, and 
 moved by a single will ; that their long and habitual obedience 
 should be suddenly changed for the intrepid councils of resistance, 
 and of open defiance to the formidable nation whence they derived 
 their origin and laws."* The men who composed that first Con 
 gress were possessed of the purest minds, the loftiest and most 
 disinterested patriotism, and moral characters without spot or 
 blemish. The people seemed instinctively to have turned to their 
 best men for counsel and action when the crisis arrived ; and the 
 representatives there assembled, composed the flower of the Ameri 
 can colonies. " There is, in this Congress," wrote John Adams, " a 
 collection of the greatest men upon this continent, in point of 
 
 Mr. Thomson made copious notes of the progress of the Revolution, and after retiring from public 
 life, in 1789, he prepared a history of his own times. His sense of justice and goodness of heart 
 would not permit him to publish it ; and a short time before his death, he destroyed the manuscript. 
 He gave as a reason, his unwillingness to blast the reputation of families rising into repute, whose 
 progenitors were unworthy of the friendship of good men, because of their bad conduct during the 
 war. So the world has lost the most authentic civil history of the struggle of the Americans for 
 independence, ever produced. 
 
 Watson, in his Annals of Philadelphia, relates that Thomson had just come into that city, with 
 his bride, and was alighting from his chaise, when a messenger from the delegates in Carpenters 
 hall came to him, and said they wanted him to come and take minutes of their proceedings, as he 
 was an expert at such business. For his first year s services he would not receive pay. So Con 
 gress informed his wife that they wished to compensate her for the absence of her husband during 
 that time, and wished her to name what kind of a piece of plate she would like to receive. She 
 chose an urn, and that silver vessel is yet in the family. 
 
 * Otis s translation of Botta s History of the American Revolution, i., 128. 
 
J&T. 42.] PATRICK HENRY IN CONGRESS. 423 
 
 abilities, virtues, and fortunes."* The sectional factions and per 
 sonal ambitions which afterward disturbed the harmony and injured 
 the character of the continental Congress, had no tangible shape in 
 this assembly.f They felt, with all the solemnity of wise and 
 virtuous men, the weight of the momentous responsibility resting 
 upon them. They knew that toward them all eyes were turned, 
 all hearts were drawn ; that not only America, but the whole civil 
 ized world, was an interested spectator of their acts ; and that for 
 posterity, more than for contemporaries, they held a trust of value 
 infinitely beyond human estimation. Impressed with the conscious 
 ness of such responsibility the delegates commenced their labors. 
 
 The credentials of the several delegates having been read, Mr. 
 Duane,J of New York, moved the appointment of a committee to 
 prepare regulations for the Congress, when the question arose, 
 " What shall be the method of voting ? by colonies, by the poll, or 
 by interests ?" Then came a pause. Who should take the lead ? 
 What measure should be first proposed ? They had come together 
 from distant provinces, some instructed by the power that appointed 
 them, others left free to act as circumstances should require. The 
 silence was profound. What burning thoughts filled the brains of 
 those grave patriots during that silence, which no one seemed 
 willing to break ! It was becoming painful, when a grave-looking 
 member, in a plain, dark suit of " minister s gray," and unpowdered 
 hair, arose. " Then," said Bishop White, who was present, and 
 related the circumstance, " I felt a regret that a seeming country 
 parson should have so far mistaken his talents and the theatre for 
 their display." But his voice was so musical, his words so eloquent, 
 and his sentiments so profoundly logical, that the whole house was 
 electrified, and the question, " Who is it ? who is it ?" went from lip 
 
 * Letters to his Wife, i., 21. 
 
 t In the opinion of Charles Thomson, no subsequent Congress during the war could compare 
 with the first in point of talent and purity. He represented the Congress that sat at York, in Penn 
 sylvania, while Washington and his troops were at Valley Forge, as a body of weak men compared 
 to former delegations. It was in that Congress that a faction favored the scheme for making Gen 
 eral Gates commander-in-chief of the army, in place of Washington. 
 
 J "Mr. Duane has a sly, surveying eye, a little squint-eyed; between forty and forty-five, I 
 should guess ; very sensible, I think, and very artful." John Adams s Diary. 
 
424 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 to lip. A few who knew the stranger, answered, "It is Patrick 
 Henry, of Virginia !" There was no more hesitation. He who 
 startled the people of America nine years before, by his bold reso 
 lutions against the stamp-act, and a few months afterward by the 
 cry that became a war-note "Give me liberty or give me death!" 
 now gave the impulse to the representatives of that people in 
 grand council assembled, and set in motion that machinery of civil 
 power w r hich worked so nobly while Washington and his com 
 patriots were waging war with the enemy in the field. From that 
 hour the great business of the Congress moved on. 
 
 At first Mr. Henry, as usual, faltered, yet his w r ords were deeply 
 impressive, and very soon his subject kindled his eloquence. He 
 first spoke on the subject of a committee to decide upon the man 
 ner of voting. This he said, was the first general Congress ever 
 known on this continent; that of 1765 was a partial one. They 
 had no precedents, and must establish them. He considered this 
 only one of a series ; there would be occasion for more general 
 congresses, and he thought precedents should be at once estab 
 lished. He then spoke in more general terms of the great occasion 
 on which they were assembled, and his eyes flashed more and more 
 with enthusiasm as he proceeded. " Government," he said, " is dis 
 solved. Fleets and armies, and the present state of things in all 
 the colonies, the meeting in this hall, all proclaim that government 
 is dissolved. We are in a state of nature, sir, ready for reconstruc 
 tion and reorganization. That part of North America which was 
 once Massachusetts Bay, and that part which w^as once Virginia, 
 ought, I apprehend, to be considered as having weight in the scale 
 against less populous colonies ; but all America is thrown into one 
 mass, having a common interest and a common destiny. Where 
 are your landmarks your boundaries of colonies? They are all 
 thrown down. The distinction between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, 
 New Yorkers, and New-Englanders, are no more. I am not a Vir- 
 yinian, hit an American /" 
 
 This speech had a powerful effect upon the assembly, and when 
 Mr. Henry sat down, the house was filled with murmurs of astonish- 
 
JET. 42.] RULES FOR PROCEEDINGS. 425 
 
 ment and applause."* In the course of his exordium, he had pro 
 posed to give each colony a number of votes according to its popu 
 lation. To this proposition, Mr. Lynch, who arose when Henry 
 was seated, offered an amendment. " I think," he said, " that prop 
 erty ought to be considered, and that it ought to be a compound of 
 numbers and property that should determine the weight of the 
 colonies." It was objected, that at present there was not sufficient 
 authentic information on which to base such representation. The 
 debate continued for some time, and was engaged in by Rutledge 
 and Gadsden, of South Carolina, Governor Ward, of Rhode Island, 
 Colonel Bland and Pendleton, of Virginia, John Adams, of Massa 
 chusetts, and Mr. Jay, of New York. Mr. Duane s motion for a 
 committee to prepare regulations did not prevail, and the next day 
 the following rules, in the form of resolutions, were adopted : 
 
 " That in determining questions in this Congress each colony or 
 province shall have one vote the Congress not being possessed of, 
 or at present able to procure proper materials for ascertaining the 
 importance of each colony. 2. That no person shall speak more 
 than twice on the same point, without leave of Congress. 3. That 
 no question shall be determined the day on which it is agitated and 
 debated, if any one of the colonies desire the determination to be 
 postponed to another day. 4. That the door be kept shut during 
 the time of business, and that the members consider themselves 
 under the strongest obligation of honor, to keep the proceedings 
 secret until the majority shall direct them to be made public." 
 
 The Congress also resolved, at the same time, that a committee 
 should be appointed " to state the rights of the colonies in general, 
 the several instances in which those rights are violated or infringed, 
 and the means most proper to be pursued for obtaining a restora 
 tion of them." Also, that " a committee be appointed to examine 
 and report the several statutes, which affect the trade and manu- 
 
 * Mr. Wirt, in his Life of Patrick Henry, says, that he was followed by Richard Henry Lee, of 
 Virginia, "who charmed the house with a different kind of eloquence. Chaste, classical, beautiful, 
 his polished periods rolled along without effort, filling the ear with the most bewitching harmony, 
 and delighting the mind with the most exquisite imagery." According to the journals of Congress, 
 Mr. Lee was not present on that day. He took his seat on Tuesday, the sixth, and could not have 
 followed Henry on that occasion. 
 
426 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 factures of the colonies." The appointment of these committees 
 was deferred until the next day. At this stage of the proceedings, 
 Mr. Cashing renewed a motion which he had previously made, that 
 Congress should be opened with prayer. Mr. Jay and Mr. Rutledge 
 opposed the motion, because the delegates were so divided in reli 
 gious sentiments ; some episcopalians, some quakers, some anabap 
 tists, some presbyterians, and some congregationalists, that they 
 could not join in the same act of worship. Mr. Samuel Adams 
 arose, and said : " I am no bigot, and can hear a prayer from a 
 gentleman of piety and virtue, who is, at the same time, a friend to 
 his country. I am a stranger in Philadelphia, but have heard that 
 Mr. Duche deserves that character, and, therefore, I move that Mr. 
 Duche, an episcopal clergyman, be desired to read prayers to the 
 Congress to-morrow morning." The motion was seconded and 
 passed in the affirmative.* 
 
 When Congress adjourned at four o clock, the people of Philadel 
 phia were greatly excited by a confused account that had arrived 
 during the day, of the bombardment of Boston. This intelligence 
 w r as particularly alarming to the delegates from Massachusetts. 
 Mr. Adams had removed his family to Quincy before his departure, 
 and on hearing the news, lie wrote to his wife, that if there was 
 danger and distress in Boston, to invite as many of their friends as 
 possible, and especially Mrs. Samuel Adams and Mrs. dishing, to 
 take an asylum with her. The startling rumor had birth in the fact, 
 that on the first of September, General Gage, foolishly taking 
 counsel of his fears, had sent a detachment of troops to Charles- 
 town and Cambridge, to seize a quantity of gunpowder there, 
 belonging to the province. The exasperated people of Cambridge 
 gathered in large numbers, determined to attack the British troops 
 in Boston. These movements were magnified into more serious 
 events, and the rumor went abroad, that the ships-of-war in Boston 
 harbor were bombarding the town, and the regular troops were 
 massacring the people, sparing neither age nor sex. The news 
 spread rapidly, and the thrill of horror produced by the report was 
 
 * John Adams s Letters to his Wife, i., 23. 
 
7Ex. 42.] SUFFOLK COUNTY RESOLVES. 427 
 
 succeeded by the cry of vengeance. In less than thirty-six hours, 
 the country, for almost two hundred miles in extent, was aroused. 
 From the shores of Long Island to the green hills of -Berkshire, 
 " To arms ! to arms !" was the universal shout. Instantly, on every 
 side, men of all ages w r ere seen cleaning and burnishing their 
 weapons, furnishing themselves with provisions and warlike stores, 
 and preparing for an immediate march ; gentlemen of rank and for 
 tune exhorting and encouraging others by voice and example. All 
 over New England the minute-men were in arms. The roads were 
 soon crowded with armed men, marching for Boston with great 
 rapidity, but without noise or tumult. Full thirty thousand men 
 were under arms and speeding toward that town; nor did they 
 halt until well assured that the report was untrue. If, as was 
 supposed by some, the report was circulated in order that its 
 effects might show General Gage what multitudes would rise to 
 crush his troops if he dared to abuse his power by committing the 
 least act of violence, it certainly had the desired effect, for Gage 
 adopted more conciliatory measures, and summoned the assembly 
 to convene in October. 
 
 That seizure of po\vder roused the patriots to still bolder and 
 more decisive action. At a convention of delegates from the 
 several towns in Suffolk county (the shire in which Boston was 
 situated), held on Tuesday, the sixth of September, at the house of 
 Mr. Richard Woodward, of Dedham, and by adjournment, at the 
 house of Mr. Vose, of Milton, on Friday, the ninth, a preamble and 
 resolutions, more defiant in tone than any yet adopted, were agreed 
 to, and a certified copy was sent to the continental Congress. After 
 declaring the rights of the colonists and the wrongs they had suf 
 fered, and expressing an opinion of the solemn duty of the op 
 pressed at this crisis, it was resolved, that no obedience was due to 
 any part of the late acts of Parliament ; that collectors of taxes 
 and other officers holding public money, should be advised to retain 
 the funds in their hands until the old charter was restored ; that 
 persons who had accepted seats in the mandamus council,* had 
 
 * A writ of mandamus is a command from a higher power, to any person, corporation, or in 
 
428 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 violated the duty they owed to their country ; that those who did 
 not resign by the twentieth of September, should be considered 
 public enemies; that the Quebec act, establishing the Eoman 
 catholic religion in Canada, was dangerous to protestantism and 
 liberty ; and that they were determined to act on the defensive 
 only so long as just reason required. They also recommended the 
 people to seize and keep as a hostage any servant of the crown 
 who might fall in their way, when they should hear of a patriot 
 being arrested for any political offence. They also drew up an 
 address to General Gage, telling him frankly that they did not 
 desire to commence hostilities, but that they were determined not 
 to submit to any of the late acts of Parliament; and they com 
 plained loudly of the fortifications on Boston Neck. Gage de 
 nounced this convention as treasonable, and in reply to their 
 address, he declared that he should take such measures for the 
 safety of his troops, and the friends of government, as he thought 
 proper; at the same time assuring them, that the cannon placed in 
 battery on the Neck should not be used, except to repel hostile 
 proceedings. 
 
 While this convention was in progress, in which open rebellion 
 was first avowed and menaces of war were distinctly presented, the 
 continental Congress exhibited scenes of great interest. Mr. Duche 
 accepted the invitation of Congress to open the session on the 
 morning of the seventh with prayer, and at the appointed hour, 
 " he appeared with his clerk, and in his pontificals."* The prelim 
 inaries of the Congress had been arranged, and as they were about 
 to enter upon the general business, the delegates publicly sought 
 divine aid. They assembled in Carpenters hall that morning, at 
 ten o clock, under solemn impressions, for they believed the rumor 
 of the attack on Boston ; and when, after reading several prayers, 
 
 ferior court, requiring them to do some specified act, which appertains to their official duty. By 
 the charter of Massachusetts, the council had always been elective, but by one of the bills passed by 
 Parliament in the spring of 1774, that charter was declared void, and the kino- appointed a council 
 by mandamus. They were, of course, chosen from among the loyalists, and many of them accepted 
 the office, and took the prescribed oath. These councillors became very detestable to the whigs, 
 who regarded their act as equivalent to joining the crown in its oppressions. 
 * John Adams s Letter to his Wife, September 8, 1774. 
 
jE T . 42.] FIRST PRAYERS IN CONGRESS. 420 
 
 Mr. Duche turned to the appointed psalm for the seventh day of 
 the month, its appropriateness on that occasion was very marked, 
 and the effect of the reading of it was powerful. It was the thirty- 
 fifth psalm, in which David thus prays for protection against his 
 enemies : 
 
 " Plead thou my cause, Lord, against them that strive with me, 
 and fight thou against them that fight against me. 
 
 " Lay hand upon the shield and buckler, and stand up to help 
 me. 
 
 " Bring forth the spear, and stop the way against them that per 
 secute me : say unto my soul, I am thy salvation." 
 
 " Awake and stand up to judge my quarrel : avenge thou my 
 cause, my God and my Lord. 
 
 " Judge me, Lord, according to thy righteousness, and let them 
 not triumph over me. 
 
 " Let them not say in their hearts, There, there, so would we have 
 it ; neither let them say we have devoured them," et cetera. 
 
 All hearts present warmly responded Amen to the supplications 
 of that psalm. " I never saw a greater effect upon an audience," 
 said John Adams, in a letter to his wife. " It seemed as if Heaven 
 had ordained that psalm to be read on that morning. After this, 
 Mr. Duche unexpectedly struck out into an extempore prayer, 
 which filled the bosom of every man present. Episcopalian as he 
 is, Dr. Cooper himself never prayed with such fervor, such ardor, 
 such earnestness and pathos, and in language so eloquent and 
 sublime, for America, for the Congress, for the province of Massa 
 chusetts Bay, and especially for the town of Boston. It has had 
 an excellent effect upon everybody here." Bishop White, who was 
 present, says, that Washington was the only delegate present who 
 knelt during these prayers, that being the custom of episcopalians, 
 other denominations standing on such occasions. 
 
 The only business transacted by the Congress, on the seventh, 
 was the appointment of two committees, one to state the rights of 
 the colonies, &c., and the other to examine and report upon certain 
 
430 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. L 1774. 
 
 statutes, c., which had been authorized by resolution the previous 
 day. It was agreed that the first committee should consist of two 
 delegates from each of the colonies, and the second of one from 
 each colony.* It was then resolved, that the president should have 
 power to adjourn the Congress, from day to day, when he should 
 not find business prepared to be laid before them ; and that he also 
 might call them together before the time to which they might stand 
 adjourned, if necessary. Accordingly the Congress was adjourned 
 from time to time, until Wednesday, the fourteenth. 
 
 In the meanwhile the two committees had pursued their labors 
 with assiduity. The first, or larger committee appointed to prepare 
 a bill of rights, and a list of infringements or violations of those 
 rights, met every morning, and the topics were considered and 
 debated with great deliberation. The two points which most 
 engaged their attention, were, 1. Whether they should recur to the 
 law of nature, as well as to the British constitution, and the Ameri 
 can charters, and grants ; and, 2. What authority they should con 
 cede to Parliament. The first question involved others of a very 
 grave nature. Mr. Galloway, Mr. Duane, Mr. Eutledge, and Mr. 
 Pendleton, were for excluding the law of nature. " I never could 
 find the rights of Americans," said Mr. Galloway, " in the distinction 
 between taxation and legislation, nor in the distinction between 
 laws for revenue and for the regulation of trade. I have looked 
 for our rights in the law of nature, but could not find them in a 
 state of nature, but always in a state of political society. I have 
 looked for them in the constitution of the English government, and 
 there found them. We may draw them from this source securely." 
 Others contended that the Congress had been called to secure the 
 rights of the colonies, and that the people who appointed the dele 
 gates, had, in their resolves and declarations, limited their action to 
 
 * The first committee was composed of the following delegates : New Hampshire, Sullivan and 
 Folsom ; Massachusetts, John and Samuel Adams ; Rhode Island, Hopkins and Ward ; Connecticut, 
 Dyer and Sherman ; New York, Duane and Jay ; New Jersey, Livingston aud De Hart ; Pennsyl 
 vania, Galloway and Biddle ; Delaware, Rodney and M Kean ; Maryland, Johnson and Golds- 
 borough ; Virginia, Lee and Pendleton : South Carolina, Lynch and John Kutledge. 
 
 The second committee was composed as follows, taking the colonies in the same order as above : 
 Sullivan. Gushing, Hopkins, Deane, Low, Kinscy, Mitflin, Read, Chase, Henry, and Gadsden. 
 
JE-r. 42.] COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS. 431 
 
 the restoration of harmony between Great Britain and these colo 
 nies. If the law of nature was to determine their rights, then all 
 allegiance to the British crown was to be regarded as at an end. 
 
 Mr. Adams, Mr. Jay, Mr. Livingston, Mr. Sherman and others, 
 were favorable to an appeal to the elder law the law of nature 
 for their rights. If the principles of the English constitution in 
 the charters, they argued, were to be the standard for determining 
 these rights, the law of nature, to which Parliament might soon 
 compel them to look, must be excluded from consideration. This 
 they were unwilling to do. As they proceeded in their discussions, 
 it was perceived, that the question of the authority of Parliament 
 was the essence of the whole controversy, some denying it alto 
 gether, others acknowledging it concerning the regulation of trade, 
 but denying its right to interfere with the internal affairs of the 
 colonies. 
 
 After several fruitless essays to arrive at some conclusion, the 
 general committee determined to appoint a sub-committee to make 
 a draft of a set of articles that might be laid, in writing, before the 
 grand committee, and become the foundation of a more regular 
 debate and final decision. 
 
 This sub-committee was in session on the tenth, tw r elfth, and 
 thirteenth of September, while the full committee and the Congress 
 did nothing, awaiting its action. "After a multitude of motions 
 had been made," says Mr. Adams, " and they had been discussed 
 and negatived, it seemed as if we should never agree upon any 
 thing." The alternatives were, either to establish an American 
 legislature, that could control and regulate the trade of the whole 
 country, or else to give the power to Parliament; for, from the 
 local circumstances of the colonies, and their disconnection with 
 each other, the absolute necessity for some such regulation was 
 plain. The committee finally agreed to recommend submission to 
 Parliament in measures regulating the external trade of the colo 
 nies for the common benefit of the whole empire, but denying its 
 power over taxation and internal affairs. They placed this conces 
 sion upon the ground of the necessities of the case, and the mutual 
 
432 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 interests of both countries.* Other questions having been settled 
 to the satisfaction of the sub-committee, they reported to the gen 
 eral committee on the thirteenth. But it was not until Thursday, 
 the twenty-second, nine days afterward, that the grand committee 
 was ready to report. 
 
 The Congress assembled on the fourteenth, when very little was 
 done, and it was adjourned from day to day, until Saturday, the 
 seventeenth. Its action on that clay was really more important, in 
 its bearings upon the great question at issue, than on any other 
 during the session. On that day, the resolves of the Suffolk county 
 convention, and the address of that body to General Gage having 
 been received, were laid before the Congress, and action thereon 
 occupied the time until the early hour of adjournment. The pro 
 ceedings of that convention were read by Secretary Thomson, and 
 the sentiments contained in the resolutions found a hearty response 
 in every heart. It was on this occasion that the eloquence of 
 Richard Henry Lee was first heard in the Congress. When the 
 reading was concluded by the secretary, he arose, and with his 
 sweet musical voice, he vividly and indignantly described and 
 enumerated the wrongs of America ; and exhibiting a vast variety 
 of political and legal knowledge, he accurately stated her constitu 
 tional rights. All ears were charmed by his words ; and when, at 
 the conclusion of his brief address, he offered the following resolu 
 tions, they were adopted without discussion, and almost without 
 remark, except hearty words of approbation : 
 
 "Resolved unanimously, That this assembly deeply feels the suffering 
 of their countrymen in the Massachusetts Bay, under the operation of 
 the late unjust, cruel, and oppressive acts of the British Parliament 
 
 * " Mr. John Rutledge, of South Carolina, one of the committee, addressing himself to me, 
 was pleased to say : Adams, we must agree upon something ; you appear to be as familiar with 
 the subject as any of us, and I like your expressions the necessity of the case, and excluding all ideas 
 of taxation, external and internal ; I have a great opinion of that same idea of the necessity of the 
 case, and I am determined against all taxation for revenue. Come, take the pen, and see if you 
 can t produce something that will unite us. Some others of the committee seconding Mr. Kutledge, 
 I took a sheet of paper and drew up an article. When it was read, I believe not one of the com 
 mittee was fully satisfied with it ; but they all soon acknowledged that there was no hope of hitting 
 on anything in which we could all agree with more satisfaction. All, therefore, agreed to this, and 
 upon this depended the union of the colonies." John Adams s Autobiography. 
 
jE-r. 42.] FIRST LINK OF CONFEDERATION. 433 
 
 that they most thoroughly approve the wisdom and fortitude 
 with which opposition to these wicked ministerial measures has 
 hitherto been conducted, and they earnestly recommend to their 
 brethren a perseverance in the same firm and temperate conduct as 
 expressed in the resolutions determined upon, at a meeting of the 
 delegates for the county of Suffolk on Tuesday, the sixth instant, 
 trusting that the effects of the united efforts of North America in 
 their behalf, will carry such conviction to the British nation, of the 
 unwise, unjust, and ruinous policy of the present administration, as 
 quickly to introduce better men and wiser measures. 
 
 " Resolved unanimously, That contributions from all the colonies for 
 supplying the necessities and alleviating the distresses of our 
 countrymen at Boston ought to be continued, in such manner, and 
 so long, as their occasions may require."* 
 
 By these resolutions the disputes between Massachusetts and 
 Great Britain were adopted by all the other colonies as their own ; 
 and the wrongs sustained by one province became the wrongs of 
 the whole. This was really the first public measure of Congress. 
 Then, for the first time, the nation spoke out, in full voice and defi 
 ant tones; and these resolutions the first sound of the tocsin for 
 independence were sent forth by order of the Congress, upon the 
 wings of the newspaper press in all the colonies, as the deliberate 
 expression of the sentiments of the people of the continent. " They 
 were passed," wrote John Adams to his wife the next day, " in full 
 Congress, with perfect unanimity. The esteem, the affection, the 
 admiration for the people of Boston and the Massachusetts, which 
 were expressed yesterday, and the fixed determination that they 
 should be supported, were enough to melt a heart of stone. I saw 
 the tears gush into the eyes of the old, grave, pacific Quakers of 
 Pennsylvania." And on the day of their adoption, he wrote in his 
 diary : " This was one of the happiest days of my life. In Congress 
 we had generous, noble sentiments, and manly eloquence. This 
 day convinced me that America will support the Massachusetts, or 
 perish with her." 
 
 * Journals of Congress, i., 19. 
 
 28 
 
434 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 SLOW PROGRESS OF CONGRESS LIMITATION OF ACTION CONCERNING GRIEVANCES 
 
 INFLUENCE OF VIRGINIA NON-IMPORTATION RESOLUTION GALLOWAY S 
 
 PROPOSITION THE DEBATES AND RESULT SAMUEL ADAMS S SENTIMENTS 
 
 DIFFERENCES OF OPINION IN CONGRESS LETTER FROM BOSTON THE NOBLE 
 
 RESOLUTION DECLARATION OF RIGHTS THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION STATE 
 
 PAPERS DISSOLUTION OF CONGRESS. 
 
 FOR several days after taking action upon the Suffolk county 
 resolves, the Congress made slow progress in the despatch of busi 
 ness. There was a short session on the nineteenth, when Thomas 
 Gushing, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Mifflin, were added to the 
 large committee appointed to state the rights of the colonists. 
 The Congress was then adjourned from day to day, until Thursday, 
 the twenty-second. After a resolution requesting the merchants to 
 cease importing from Great Britain, until the sense of the Congress 
 on the means to be taken for the preservation of the liberties of 
 America should be made public, was adopted on that day, and 
 ordered to be published in hand-bills, the grand committee made a 
 report, the consideration of which was postponed until Saturday, 
 the twenty-fourth. On that day the subject was debated with 
 much earnestness and warmth, by nearly all the members who 
 were in the habit of speaking ; and near the hour of adjournment* 
 it was "Resolved, That the Congress do confine themselves, at pres 
 ent, to the consideration of such rights only as have been infringed 
 by acts of the British Parliament since the year 1763, postponing 
 
 * The sessions were usually six hours in duration. " We go to Congress at nine, and there we 
 stay, most earnestly engaged in debates upon the most abstruse mysteries of state, until three in ihe 
 afternoon ; then we adjourn, and go to dine with some of the nobles of Pennsylvania, at four o clock, 
 and feast upon ten thousand delicacies, and sit drinking Madeira, claret, and Burgundy, till six or 
 seven, and then go home, fatigued to death with business, company, and care." John Adams to 
 his wife, September 29, 1774. 
 
^ET. 42.] NON-IMPORTATION SCHEME. 435 
 
 the further consideration of the general state of American rights to 
 a future day."* This limitation evinced some hesitation in the 
 Congress, in taking into consideration the general rights of the 
 Americans, founded upon the laws of nature, and the English con 
 stitution. It was evident that there was a disposition, among the 
 more timid and conservative members, to avoid discussions of 
 abstract principles, on which there might be a difference of opinion, 
 and to confine action to the more practical subject of the measures 
 of the ministry during the current reign. This view, according to 
 the report of the South Carolina delegates, was sustained by Vir 
 ginia ; and the influence of the delegates from that colony caused 
 the adoption of the above resolution. 
 
 As soon as this point of limitation was settled, the remainder of 
 the report, stating the violations and infringements of American 
 rights, was presented and read, when Congress resolved, that the 
 consideration of it should be postponed till Monday, and that, in 
 the meanwhile, they should deliberate on the means most proper to 
 be pursued for a restoration of those rights. 
 
 Soon after the assembling of Congress on Monday, the twenty- 
 sixth, Kichard Henry Lee offered a resolution "That from and 
 after the first day of December next, there be no importation into 
 British America from Great Britain or Ireland, of any goods, wares, 
 or merchandises whatever, or from any other place, of any such 
 goods, wares, or merchandises, as shall have been exported from 
 Great Britain or Ireland, and that no such goods, wares, or mer 
 chandises imported after the first of December next, be used or 
 purchased." 
 
 Mr. Lee s motion was warmly debated by himself and many 
 other leading men in Congress, and was adopted, by unanimous 
 vote, on Tuesday, the twenty-seventh. On the following day, 
 Joseph Galloway, the confidential friend of Doctor Franklin, and 
 one of the most able and popular of the leaders in Pennsylvania, 
 submitted a plan of union which came very near proving fatal to 
 the cause of liberty in America. To those who had not examined 
 
 * Journals of Congress, i., 20. 
 
43G WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774 
 
 the great subject under discussion with the keen analytical eye of a 
 philosopher, and relied upon temporary expedients for redress of 
 grievances, his plan appeared feasible, and several members, allured 
 by its promises of peace and security, were captivated by it. When, 
 on the morning of the twenty-eighth, a proposition for a non-expor 
 tation agreement was submitted, Mr. Galloway arose, and said : " A 
 general non-importation from Great Britain and Ireland has been 
 adopted, but, I think, this will be too gradual in its operations for 
 the relief of Boston. A general non-exportation I have ever looked 
 on as an undigested proposition. It is impossible for America to 
 exist under a total non-exportation. We, in this province, should 
 have tens of thousands of people thrown upon the cold hand of 
 charity. Our ships would lie by the walls, our seamen would be 
 thrown out of bread, our shipwrights out of employ it would 
 effect the landed interest, and it would weaken us in another strug 
 gle which I fear is too near."* 
 
 After speaking some time against the policy of interrupting trade 
 with Great Britain, Mr. Galloway urged the necessity of a supreme 
 legislature for the general control of affairs. Referring to events 
 during the French war, he said : " Requisitions came over. A num 
 ber of the colonies gave most extensively and liberally ; others 
 gave nothing, or gave at the last. Pennsylvania gave late, not for 
 want of zeal or loyalty, but owing to their disputes with the pro 
 prietaries. They were disunited, and could not agree upon meas 
 ures for the common good. These delinquencies were handed up 
 to the parentrstate, and gave occasion for the stamp-act. Of that 
 act, America, with the greatest reason and justice, complained. 
 Had ministers proposed some plan of policy, some conciliatory 
 measures ; had some negotiation been set afoot, it would have ter 
 minated in the most happy harmony between the two countries. 
 They repealed the stamp-act, but they passed the declaratory act. 
 Without some supreme legislature, some common arbiter, you are 
 not, say they, part of the state." " We want," he continued, " the 
 aid, assistance, and protection of the arm of our mother-country. 
 
 * John Adams s Diary. 
 
^T. 42.] GALLOWAY S PLAN. 437 
 
 Protection and allegiance are reciprocal duties. Can we lay claim 
 to the money and protection of Great Britain upon principles of 
 honor or conscience ? Can we, on the other hand, wish to become 
 aliens to the mother-state ? We must come upon terms with Great 
 Britain. Some gentlemen are not for negotiation. I wish I could 
 hear some reason against it. I am as much a friend of liberty as 
 exists on this continent, and no man shall go further, in point of 
 fortune, or in point of blood, than the man who now addresses you, 
 to obtain it, but I think it the highest wisdom to hold out the olive- 
 branch of reconciliation and peace until the last moment." He then 
 presented his plan, which contemplated a complete union of the 
 colonies, with a grand council elected by the several colonies, 
 authorized to regulate colonial affairs jointly with the British Par 
 liament, each to have a mutual negative on each other a British- 
 American legislature.* 
 
 This proposition elicited the most important debate of the ses 
 sion. It was favorably received by many delegates of the first 
 ability ; while those who had looked deeper into the causes of the 
 crisis, and foresaw the improbability of such a measure receiving 
 the sanction of the king and Parliament, were alarmed, and vehe 
 mently opposed it. Patrick Henry, whose jealousy of state-rights 
 made him oppose the federal constitution fourteen years afterward, 
 said : " We shall liberate our constituents from a corrupt house of 
 commons, but throw them into the arms of an American legislature, 
 that may be bribed by that nation which avows, in the face of the 
 world, that bribery is a part of her system of government. The 
 original constitution of the colonies was founded on the broadest 
 and most generous base. The regulation of our trade was com 
 pensation enough for all the protection we ever experienced from 
 her."f It was on this occasion that Samuel Adams, regarding the 
 proposition as a concession to tyranny, uttered those noble senti 
 ments which he reiterated twenty months later, when debating the 
 resolution on independence "I should advise," he said, "persisting 
 
 * This plan in printed in full in Sabine s Lives of the American Loyalists, p. 309. 
 * John Adams s Diary 
 
438 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1774 
 
 in our struggle for liberty, though it were revealed from heaven 
 that nine hundred and ninety-nine were to perish, and only one of 
 a thousand were to survive and retain his liberty ! One such free 
 man must possess more virtue, and enjoy more happiness, than a 
 thousand slaves ; and let him propagate his like, and transmit to 
 them what he has so nobly preserved." Mr. Galloway s plan was 
 defeated by a majority of only one state. 
 
 Looking back from this remote stand-point, upon the proceedings 
 of that first Congress, as they appear on the records, we are apt to 
 think that there was very little diversity of opinion among the dele 
 gates, and that everything went on harmoniously. On the contrary, 
 there was the greatest, and sometimes apparently irreconcileable 
 differences of opinion, among those whom we delight to honor for 
 their wisdom, patriotism, and boldness/ 1 They were placed in a 
 position of great delicacy. It was a novel one. There were no 
 precedents to consult. The alternatives seemed to be war, or dis 
 honorable peace ; both dreadful in the sight of the patriot and 
 Christian. The wonder is not that they so much disagreed, but 
 that they ever agreed at all upon those plans and measures which 
 challenge our admiration, and which led to the independence of the 
 colonies. 
 
 The consideration of the grievances of the colonies was not 
 resumed until the fourteenth of October. In the meanwhile several 
 important committees were appointed, and grave measures adopted. 
 A non-exportation resolution was agreed to on the thirtieth of 
 September, and a committee was appointed to bring in a plan for 
 carrying into effect the non-importation, non-consumption, and non- 
 exportation resolves.f On the following day a loyal address to 
 
 * The Virginia delegates hesitated to come into the measure of non-exportation, on the ground 
 of insufficient powers. Judge Drayton, of South Carolina, in his Memoirs of the American Revo 
 lution, i., 168, alluding to the proceedings on that point, says: "It was then pressed in Congress, 
 that the other colonies should, in this measure, act independently of Virginia ; but Maryland and 
 North Carolina represented, that as their exports were similar to those of Virginia, so they could 
 not, with any advantage to the common cause, act independently of her ; for their own commodities 
 would be carried to the Virginia ports, which would run away with all their trade/ But the dele 
 gates from Virginia finally signed the agreement. 
 
 t The committee consisted of Thomas Cushiug, Isaac Low, Thomas Miftiin, Richard Henry Lee, 
 and Thomas Johnson. 
 
jET.42.] 
 
 THE GUANTLET CAST. 439 
 
 his majesty was resolved on, and a committee appointed to prepare 
 it.* For three or four days, the subject of the proper matter to be 
 contained in the address to the king, was debated. 
 
 On the sixth of October, during a debate on the proper means 
 for the restoration of American rights, an express arrived from Bos 
 ton with a letter from the committee of correspondence, dated the 
 twenty-ninth of September, giving information of the hostile move 
 ments of General Gage, and his fortifying the Neck and points on 
 the peninsula. On the following day, a committee was appointedf 
 to prepare a letter to General Gage, representing that " the town 
 of Boston, and province of Massachusetts Bay, are considered by 
 all Americans as suffering in the common cause, for their noble and 
 spirited opposition to oppressive acts of Parliament, calculated to 
 deprive us of our most sacred rights and privileges." They were 
 also to draw up a protest against his warlike measures, and entreat 
 him to discontinue his fortifications. On the following day the 
 whole business of Congress was the consideration of the letter 
 from Boston, and the adoption of a resolution, "That this Congress 
 approve the opposition of the inhabitants of Massachusetts Bay to the execu 
 tion of the late acts of Parliament ; and if the same shall be attempted to 
 be carried info execution by force, in such case, all America ought to support 
 them in their opposition." ]^ This was a noble and emphatic re-affirma 
 tion of the resolution already given, which was adopted by Congress 
 on the seventeenth of September, after receiving the Suffolk county 
 resolves. It spoke in a voice still more decided than that of the 
 former, the determination of the Americans to fight for freedom 
 rather than submit to inglorious political servitude. 
 
 On the twelfth of October, the committee appointed to prepare 
 a plan for carrying into effect the non-importation agreement, 
 brought in a report, which was laid upon the table. The considera 
 tion of the subject of the rights and grievances of the colonies was 
 then resumed, and after being debated for two days, Congress 
 
 * Richard Henry Lee, John Adams, Thomas Johnson, Patrick Henry, and John Rutledge. 
 t Thomas Lynch, Samuel Adams, and Edmund Pendleton. 
 J Journals of Congress, i., 24. 
 
440 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 unanimously adopted a declaration of rights. That document 
 summed up the grievances and rights of the colonies, and placed the 
 latter on the triple foundations of the laws of nature, the English 
 constitution, and the colonial charters. It declared, that as the 
 colonies were not, and from their peculiar local situation, could not 
 be, represented in the British Parliament, they were entitled to a 
 free and exclusive power of legislation in their respective colonial 
 legislatures, where they were represented, and where alone, taxation 
 and internal polity could be legislated upon, such acts being subject, 
 as before, to the negative of their sovereign. It was also declared, 
 that from a regard to the mutual interests of both countries, they 
 would cheerfully concede to Parliament the right to regulate their 
 external commerce, for the purpose of securing the commercial 
 advantages of the whole to the mother-country, and the commercial 
 benefit of its respective members ; but that every idea of taxation, 
 internal and external, for raising a revenue on the subjects in 
 America, without their consent, should be excluded. They asserted 
 the great and inherent right guarantied to them as British subjects, 
 to all the rights, liberties, and immunities of free and natural born 
 subjects within the realm of England ; to the common law of Eng 
 land, and more especially to the great and inestimable privilege of 
 being tried by their peers of the vicinage, according to the course 
 of that law ; to all immunities and privileges granted and confirmed 
 to them by royal charters, or secured by their several codes of 
 provincial laws, and the right peaceably to assemble, consider of 
 their grievances, and to petition the king. 
 
 They then enumerated some of their grievances, and the acts of 
 Parliament which were infringements and violations of their rights ; 
 and concluded by the following declaration : " To these grievous 
 acts and measures Americans can not submit ; but, in hopes their 
 fellow-subjects in Great Britain will, on a revision of them, restore 
 us to that state in which both countries found happiness and pros 
 perity, we have, for the present, only resolved to pursue the follow 
 ing peaceable measures : 1. To enter into a non-importation, non- 
 consumption, and non-exportation agreement or association. 2. To 
 
&r. 42.J NON-INTERCOURSE WITH BRITAIN. 441 
 
 prepare an address to the people of Great Britain, and a memorial 
 to the inhabitants of British America ; and, 3. To prepare a loyal 
 address to his majesty, agreeable to resolutions already entered 
 into."* 
 
 This plan, called the AMERICAN ASSOCIATION, was taken up on Satur 
 day, the fifteenth, and debated until Thursday, the twentieth, when 
 it was read and signed at the table by every delegate present, fifty- 
 two in number.f As this was the great act of the first continental 
 Congress, toward which all other proceedings had been tending, we 
 here give the several articles of the association in full, as they 
 appear in the record, omitting the preamble in which the several 
 grievances of the colonies are recited : 
 
 " To obtain redress of these grievances, which threaten destruc 
 tion to the lives, liberty, and property of his majesty s subjects in 
 North America, we are of opinion, that a non-importation, non- 
 consumption, and non-exportation agreement, faithfully adhered to, 
 will prove the most speedy, effectual, and peaceable measure : 
 And, therefore, we do, for ourselves and the inhabitants of the 
 several colonies whom we represent, firmly agree and associate, 
 under the sacred ties of virtue, honor, and love of our country, as 
 follows : 
 
 " First. That from and after the first day of December next, we 
 will not import into British America, from Great Britain or Ireland, 
 any goods, wares, or merchandises whatever, or from any other 
 place, any such goods, wares, or merchandises, as shall have been 
 exported from Great Britain or Ireland ; nor will we, after that day, 
 import any East India tea from any part of the world ; nor any 
 molasses, syrups, paneles, coffee, or pimento, from the British plan 
 tations, or from Dominica ; nor wines from Madeira or the Western 
 islands ; nor foreign indigo. 
 
 " Second. We will neither import nor purchase any slave imported 
 
 * Journals of Congress, i., 28, 29, 30. 
 
 t It is related that the earl of Dartmouth inquired of an American, in London, of how many 
 members the Congress consisted ? The reply was, " Fifty- two." " Why that is the number of 
 cards in a pack," said his lordship; " how many knaves are there ?" "Not one," answered the 
 American, "your lordship will please to recollect that knaves are court cards." 
 
442 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 after the first day of December next ; after which time we w r ill 
 wholly discontinue the slave-trade, and w r ill neither be concerned 
 in it ourselves, nor will w 7 e hire our vessels, nor sell our commodities 
 or manufactures to those who are concerned in it. 
 
 " Third. As a non-consumption agreement, strictly adhered to, 
 will be an effectual security for the observation of the non-importa 
 tion, we, as above, solemnly agree and associate, that from this day, 
 we will not purchase or use any tea imported on account of the 
 East India Company, or any on which a duty hath been or shall be 
 paid ; and from and after the first day of March next, W T C will not 
 purchase or use any East India tea whatever; nor w r ill we, nor shall 
 any person, for or under us, purchase or use any of those goods, 
 wares, or merchandise, we have agreed not to import, which we 
 shall know, or have cause to suspect, w r ere imported after the first 
 day of December, except such as come under the rules and direc 
 tions of the tenth article hereafter mentioned. 
 
 " Fourth. The earnest desire we have not to injure our fellow- 
 subjects in Great Britain, Ireland, or the West Indies, induces us to 
 suspend a non-exportation until the tenth day of September, 1775; 
 at which time, if the said acts and parts of acts of the British 
 Parliament hereafter mentioned, are not repealed, w r e will not 
 directly or indirectly, export any merchandise or commodity what 
 soever, to Great Britain, Ireland, or the West indies, except rice to 
 Europe.* 
 
 Fifth. Such as are merchants, and use the British or Irish trade, 
 will give orders as soon as possible, to their factors, agents, and 
 correspondents, in Great Britain and Ireland, not to ship any goods 
 to them on any pretence whatever, as they can not be received in 
 America ; and if any merchant residing in Great Britain or Ireland, 
 
 * This exception was made, as a compromise, to secure the signature of the South Carolina 
 delegation. Mr. Gadsden says, that his colleagues were so strenuous in favor of excepting rice and 
 indigo, then the chief productions of their colony which were exported, that, while the members 
 were signing the association, the exception of these articles not being inserted, the South Carolina 
 delegation actually withdrew, and the union so nearly formed, was likely to be broken up by their 
 ungenerous conduct. A compromise was finally effected, by excepting rice and not indigo. This 
 discrimination caused a violent struggle between two parties in the provincial legislature of South 
 Carolina, the indigo cultivators considering their interests sacrificed for the benefit of the rice- 
 planters. See W. II. Drayton s Memoirs of the American Revolution, i., 168-174, inclusive. 
 
jET. 42.] NON-INTERCOURSE WITH BRITAIN. 443 
 
 shall directly or indirectly ship any goods, wares, or merchandise 
 for America, in order to break the said non-importation agreement, 
 or in any manner contravene the same, on such unworthy conduct 
 being well attested, it ought to be made public ; and, on the same 
 being so done, we will not, from thenceforth, have any commercial 
 connection with such merchant. 
 
 " Sixth. That such as are owners of vessels will give positive 
 orders to their captains, or masters, not to receive on board their 
 vessels anv goods prohibited by the said non-importation agree 
 ment, on pain of immediate dismission from their service. 
 
 " Seventh. We will use our utmost endeavors to improve the 
 breed of sheep, and increase their number to the greatest extent ; 
 and to that end we will kill them as seldom as may be, especially 
 those of the most profitable kind ; nor will we export any to the 
 West Indies or elsewhere ; and those of us who are, or may become 
 overstocked with, or can conveniently spare any sheep, will dispose 
 of them to our neighbors, especially to the poorer sort, on moderate 
 terms. 
 
 "Eighth. We will, in our several stations, encourage frugality, 
 economy, and industry, and promote agriculture, arts, and manu 
 factures of this country, especially that of wool; and will discoun 
 tenance and discourage every species of extravagance and dissipa 
 tion, especially all horse-racing, and all kinds of gaming, cock- 
 fighting, exhibitions of shows, plaj^s, and other expensive diversions 
 and entertainments; and on the death of any relative or friend, 
 none of us, nor any of our families, will go into any farther mourn 
 ing-dress, than a black crape or ribbon on the arm or hat, for gen 
 tlemen, and a black ribbon and necklace for ladies, and we will 
 discontinue the giving of gloves and scarfs at funerals. 
 
 " Ninth. Such as are venders of goods or merchandise will not 
 take advantage of the scarcity of goods, that may be occasioned 
 by this association, but will sell the same at the rates we have 
 been respectively accustomed to do for twelve months last past. 
 And if any vender of goods or merchandise shall sell any such 
 goods on higher terms, or shall, in any manner, or by any device 
 
444 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 whatsoever, violate or depart from this agreement, no person ought, 
 nor will any of us deal with such person, or his or her factor or 
 agent, at any time thereafter, for any commodity whatever. 
 
 " Tenth. In case any merchant, trader, or other person, shall 
 import any goods or merchandise, after the first day of December, 
 and before the first day of February next, the same ought, forth 
 with, at the election of its owner, to be either reshipped, or deliv 
 ered up to the committee of the county or town wherein they shall 
 be imported, to be stored at the risk of the importer, until the non 
 importation agreement shall cease, or be sold under the direction 
 of the committee aforesaid ; and in the last-mentioned case, the 
 owner or owners of such goods shall be reimbursed, out of the 
 sales, the first cost and charges, the profits, if any, to be applied 
 toward relieving and employing such poor inhabitants of the town 
 of Boston, as are immediate sufferers by the Boston port-bill ; and 
 a particular account of all goods so returned, stored, or sold, to be 
 inserted in the public papers ; and if any goods or merchandises 
 shall be imported, after the said first day of February, the same 
 ought, forthwith, to be sent back again, without breaking any of 
 the packages thereof. 
 
 " Eleventh. That a committee be chosen in every county, city, 
 and town, by those who are qualified to vote for representatives in 
 the legislature, whose business it shall be attentively to observe the 
 conduct of all persons touching this association ; and when it shall 
 be made to appear, to the satisfaction of a majority of any such 
 committee, that any person within the limits of their appointment 
 has violated this association, that such majority do, forthwith, cause 
 the truth of the case to be published in the gazette, to the end that 
 all such foes to the rights of British America may be publicly 
 known, and universally contemned as the enemies of American 
 liberty ; and thenceforth we respectively will break off all dealings 
 with him or her. 
 
 " Twelfth. That the committee of correspondence, in the respective 
 colonies, do frequently inspect the entries of their customhouses, 
 and inform each other, from time to time, of the true state thereof, 
 
,Er. 42.] SIGNING OF THE LEAGUE. 445 
 
 and of every other material circumstance +hat may occur relative 
 to this association. 
 
 "Thirteenth. That all manufactures of this country be sold at 
 reasonable prices ; so that no undue advantages be taken of a future 
 scarcity of goods. 
 
 " Fourteenth. And we do further agree and resolve, that we will 
 have no trade, commerce, dealings, or intercourse, whatsoever, with 
 any colony or province in North America, which shall not accede 
 to, or which shall hereafter violate this association, but will hold 
 them as unworthy of the rights of freemen, and as inimical to the 
 liberties of their country. 
 
 " And we do solemnly bind ourselves and our constituents, under 
 the ties aforesaid, to adhere to this association, until such parts of 
 the several acts of Parliament passed since the close of the last 
 war, as impose or continue duties on tea, wine, molasses, sirups, pan- 
 eles, coffee, sugar, pimento, indigo, foreign paper, glass, and painter s 
 colors, imported into America, and extend the powers of the ad 
 miralty courts beyond their ancient limits, deprive the American 
 subject of trial by jury, authorize the judge s certificate to indem 
 nify the prosecutor from damages, that he might otherwise be liable 
 to from a trial by his peers, require oppressive security from a 
 claimant of ships or goods seized, before he shall be allowed to 
 defend his property, are repealed. Also until the several other 
 obnoxious acts of Parliament heretofore mentioned in these pages, 
 should be repealed. 
 
 " The foregoing association being determined upon by the Con 
 gress, was ordered to be subscribed by the several members thereof; 
 and thereupon, we have hereunto set our respective names accord 
 ingly."* 
 
 * This association was signed by all the delegates mentioned in the note on page 411, except 
 Mr. Goldsborough, of Maryland, who was not present ; and with the addition of Henry Wisner and 
 Simon Boerum, of New York ; John Dickenson and George Ross, of Pennsylvania ; Mathew 
 Tilghman and Thomas Johnson, of Maryland ; and William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and Richard 
 Caswell, of North Carolina. 
 
 Notwithstanding he was opposed to the measure, Joseph Gallowav signed it, at the head of the 
 Pennsylvania delegation. He soon afterward showed disaffection. Before the meeting of the 
 second continental Congress, the following May, he manifested great lukewarmness ; and, in 1776, 
 he abandoned the whigs, and became one of the most violent and prescriptive loyalists of the time. 
 
446 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 The names of the delegates who last signed the association, were 
 affixed to it on the twenty-fourth of October. Three days before, 
 an " Address to the People of Great Britain," written by John Jay, 
 was read and approved. On the same day a " Memorial to the 
 Inhabitants of the British Colonies," written by William Livingston, 
 was also read and approved. On the following day it was resolved, 
 " as the opinion of this Congress, that it will be necessary that 
 another Congress should be held on the tenth day of May next, 
 unless the redress of grievances w r hich we have desired, be obtained 
 before that time. And we recommend that the same be held at 
 the city of Philadelphia, and that all the colonies in North America 
 choose deputies, as soon as possible, to attend such Congress." 
 
 On the twenty-sixth of October, an " Address to the Inhabitants 
 of Quebec," written by John Dickenson, was read and approved ; 
 and on the same day, a " Petition of Congress to the King," drawn 
 up by John Adams, and corrected by John Dickenson, was adopted. 
 The petition to the king was signed by all the delegates present, 
 and the other documents by the president and secretary of Con 
 gress only. 
 
 The adoption of the petition to the king was the last public act 
 of the Congress, and on that day, Wednesday, the twenty-sixth of 
 October, 1774, that body, in the words of the last entry in the 
 journal, by Secretary Thomson, " dissolved itself," after a session of 
 fifty-one days. 
 
 He joined the royal army in New York, where he continued until 1778, when, accompanied by his 
 only daughter, he went to England. There he remained until his death, in 1803. His estate, 
 valued at two hundred thousand dollars, was confiscated, but most of it was afterward restored to 
 his daughter, as it was derived from his wife. Galloway was a good writer, and his pen was much 
 employed in the service of the loyalists. He wrote a pamphlet, entitled " A Candid Examination of 
 the Mutual Claims of Great Britain and the Colonies," in which he explains his seeming inconsis 
 tency in subscribing to the association. He says, concerning his plan, that being "read and seconded 
 by several gentlemen of the first abilities, after a long debate, was so far approved, as to be thought 
 worthy of further consideration, and referred, under a rule for that purpose, by a majority of the 
 colonies. Under this promising aspect of things, and an expectation that the rule would have been 
 regarded, or at least that something rational would take place to reconcile our unhappy differences, 
 the member proposing it [himself] was weakly led to sign the non-importation agreement, although 
 he had uniformly opposed it." 
 
JEr. 42.1 PARTING OF THE DELEGATES. 447 
 
 CHAPTEE XLI. 
 
 EFEECTS OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS LETTERS OF 
 
 REED AND GAGE ON THE SUBJECT SATISFACTION OF LORD CHATHAM CON 
 DUCT OF THE KING AND PARLIAMENT WASHINGTON IN CONGRESS PATRICK 
 
 HENRY S OPINION OF HIM CHATHAM S ESTIMATE OF THE CONGRESS WASH 
 INGTON S CORRESPONDENCE WITH CAPTAIN MACKENZIE OTHER TESTIMONY 
 
 RESPECTING INDEPENDENCE WASHINGTON S RETURN TO MOUNT VERNON DE 
 PARTURE OF GEORGE WILLIAM FAIRFAX FOR ENGLAND DESTRUCTION OF BEL- 
 
 VOIR SEPARATION OF FRIENDS. 
 
 THE proceedings of the first continental Congress when published 
 to the world, produced a profound sensation on both sides of the 
 Atlantic, composed of the emotions of joy, fear, hope, indignation, 
 and exalted admiration. The high character of the members of 
 that great council, their consistent boldness, their loyalty to the 
 throne, their exhibitions of statesmanship, and the remarkable 
 state-papers which they put forth at the close, challenged the most 
 thorough respect of every reflective mind, and made the subse 
 quent proceedings of the British cabinet and legislature, in relation 
 to America, more palpably stupid and ridiculous than they had ever 
 appeared before. The delegates had been unanimous throughout 
 the session, in denying the right of Parliament to levy internal or 
 external taxes upon them, and they had differed only and that 
 very widely as we have seen in the mode of resistance to such 
 oppression, and for obtaining a redress of grievances. They sepa 
 rated as they had assembled, with ardent desires to serve their 
 country and benefit mankind. " They have parted," wrote Joseph 
 Reed to Lord Dartmouth, " with great affection and friendship, and 
 carry to their several provinces the fullest resolutions to see the 
 measures they have planned duly executed." " United as one 
 man," Mr. Reed wrote to his brother-in-law, in London, " and breath- 
 
448 WASHINGTON. A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 ing a spirit of the most animating kind, the colonies are resolved 
 to risk the consequences of opposition to the late edicts of Parlia 
 ment. All ranks of people, from the highest to the lowest, speak 
 the same language, and, I believe, will act the same part. I know 
 of no power in this country that can protect an opposer of the 
 public voice and conduct. A spirit and a resolution is manifested 
 which would not have disgraced the Romans in their best days. 
 I hope they will mingle with them prudence and temperance, so as 
 to avoid extremities as long as possible. No man dares open his 
 mouth against non-importation." Even General Gage, who had 
 affected contempt for the Americans, and a belief that the Congress 
 would prove unequal to the task of uniting the continent in opposi 
 tion to the imperial government, was compelled to express his fears 
 of a different result, when the session of that body had ended. 
 " The proceedings of the continental Congress," he wrote to Dart 
 mouth, " astonish and terrify all considerate men ; but though I am 
 confident that many of their resolutions neither can nor will be 
 observed, I fear they will be generally received, as there does not 
 appear to be resolution and strength enough, among the more 
 sensible and moderate people in any of the provinces, openly to 
 reject them." 
 
 The spirit of the delegates, and the results of their delibera 
 tions, found a sympathetic response in England, even from that 
 citadel of aristocracy, the house of lords. "I have not words to 
 express my satisfaction," wrote the earl of Chatham, " that the 
 Congress has conducted this most arduous and delicate business 
 with such manly wisdom and calm resolution, as do the highest 
 honor to their deliberations. Very few are the things contained in 
 their resolves, that I could wish had been otherwise. Upon the 
 whole, I think it must be evident to every unprejudiced mind in 
 England, who feels for the rights of mankind, that America, under 
 all her oppressions and provocations, holds forth to us the most fair 
 and just opening for restoring harmony and affectionate intercourse, 
 as heretofore. I trust that the minds of men are more than begin 
 ning to change on this great subject, so little understood ; and that 
 
^T. 42.] PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT. 449 
 
 it will be found impossible for freemen in England, to wish to see 
 three millions of Englishmen slaves in America."* Not so thought 
 the misguided king and his cabinet; and a corrupt Parliament, 
 then the mere echo of the voice from the throne, acted in accord 
 ance with the monarch s thoughts. In a speech from the throne, 
 on the twentieth of November, the king informed Parliament that 
 a most daring spirit of resistance and disobedience to the laws un 
 happily prevailed in the province of Massachusetts ; that those 
 proceeedings were countenanced and encouraged in his other colo 
 nies ; that unwarrantable attempts were made to obstruct the com 
 merce of his kingdom by unlawful combinations ; and that he had 
 taken measures, and given such orders as he judged most proper 
 and effectual, for carrying into execution the acts passed in the 
 commencement of the year in regard to Massachusetts. To this 
 speech, as in apparent duty bound, both houses of Parliament, by 
 large majorities, responded Amen, in re-echoing addresses ; and they 
 adjourned for the Christmas holy days, without troubling themselves 
 further about the American colonies, where the agitation of the 
 public mind can not be fully comprehended at this day. 
 
 We have no record of the part taken by Colonel Washington in 
 the first continental Congress. He did not engage in the public 
 debates, for he had no abilities as an extemporary speaker. Nor 
 does his name appear in the journals of the proceedings as a mem 
 ber of any committee during the session. His diary shows that he 
 was assiduous in his attendance at Carpenters hall, whenever Con 
 gress was in session ; and while he exhibited no marked brilliancy 
 to the outside world, those who were brought into daily intercourse 
 with him in the discussion of the great subjects which occupied the 
 
 * Earl of Chatham to Stephen Sayre : " Correspondence of the Earl of Chatham," iv., 368. 
 Mr. Sayre was a native of New York, and a successful banker in London. In 1773, he was elected 
 one of the sheriffs of London. Dr. Franklin said, in a letter to his son, in July of that year, " The 
 new sheriffs elect of London (could you think it?) are both Americans, viz. : Mr. Sayre, the New 
 Yorker, and Mr. William Lee, the brother of Dr. Lee." In October, 1775, Mr. Sayre, who was 
 known to have been a true friend of the Americans, was accused of having asserted, that he and 
 others intended to seize the king on his way to Parliament, take possession of the town, and over 
 throw the government. Lord Rochford, one of the secretaries of state, caused him to be committed 
 to the Tower, and his papers to be seized. Sayre was acquitted, and prosecuted Rochford for seizing 
 his papers. The corrupt court awarded him five thousand dollars damages, on conditions that pre 
 vented bis recovery of the money. 
 
 29 
 
450 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 thoughts of that national council, perceived and appreciated his 
 substantial worth. Patrick Henry, when asked, on his return home, 
 whom he considered the greatest man in Congress, replied : " If 
 you speak of eloquence, Mr. Rutledge, of South Carolina, is by far 
 the greatest orator; but if you speak of solid information and 
 sound judgment, Colonel Washington is unquestionably the great 
 est man on that floor. 
 
 With such testimony before us, we are warranted in the conclu 
 sion, that in the preparation of the state-papers written by Lee, 
 Jay, Adams, Dickinson, and Livingston, the mind of Washington 
 his "solid information and sound judgment" had much to do; for 
 the committees were in continual consultation with the other mem 
 bers of the Congress. Of the character of those papers, and the 
 men who produced them, the great Chatham expressed his opinion 
 in a remarkable speech on American affairs in the house of lords, 
 in January following, when he said : " When your lordships look at 
 the papers transmitted us from America ; when you consider their 
 decency, firmness, and wisdom, you can not but respect their cause, 
 and wish to make it your own. For myself, I must declare and 
 avow, that in all my reading and observation and it has been my 
 favorite study I have read Thucydides, and have studied and 
 admired the master-states of the old world that for solidity of 
 reasoning, force of sagacity, and wisdom of conclusion, under such 
 a complication of difficult circumstances, no nation or body of men 
 can stand in perference to the general Congress at Philadelphia,"* 
 
 But while we can not positively hear the voice, nor see the hand 
 of Washington in the proceedings of that old Congress, we are not 
 ignorant of his sentiments. At the close of September, he received 
 a letter from his old friend and companion-in-arms, Captain Robert 
 Mackenzie, who had been at the head of a company in Washing 
 ton s Virginia regiment in the French and Indian war. Captain 
 Mackenzie was now a commissioned officer in the regular army, 
 and attached to the forty-third regiment of foot, stationed at Boston. 
 
 * Hugh Boyd s Report of Chatham s two speeches on this occasion, published by Dodsley, in 
 the year 1779. 
 
JE-r. 42.] LETTER TO MACKENZIE. 451 
 
 He and Washington had maintained a very friendly relationship, 
 and in the letter in question, he informed his friend that he should 
 stop at Mount Vernon on his way to or from the James river, 
 during the approaching winter, and added : " Mr. Acheson can 
 sufficiently inform you of the state of this unhappy province, of 
 their tyrannical oppression over one another, of their fixed aim at 
 total independence, of the weakness and temper of the mainsprings 
 that set the whole in motion, and how necessary it is that abler 
 heads and better hearts should draw a line for their guidance.... 
 The rebellious and numerous meetings of men in arms, their scan 
 dalous and ungenerous attacks upon the best characters in the 
 province, obliging them to save themselves by flight, and their 
 repeated but feeble threats to dispossess the troops, have furnished 
 sufficient reasons to General Gage to put the town in a formidable 
 state of defence, about which we are now fully employed, and 
 which will be shortly accomplished to their great mortification." 
 This letter was written only four days before the general Congress, 
 by unanimous vote, adopted the quarrel of Massachusetts as the 
 concern of the nation. Washington answered this letter on Sun 
 day, the ninth of October.* After expressing his pleasure on 
 hearing that Mackenzie would visit Mount Yernon, he said : 
 " When I have said this, permit me, with the freedom of a friend 
 (for you know I always esteemed you), to express my sorrow that 
 fortune should place you in a service that must fix curses to the 
 latest posterity upon the contrivers, and, if success (which, by- 
 the-by, is impossible) accompanies it, execrations upon all those 
 who have been instrumental in the execution.... I conceive that 
 when you condemn the conduct of the Massachusetts people, you 
 reason from effects, not causes; otherwise you would not won 
 der at a people, who are every day receiving fresh proofs of a 
 systematic assertion of arbitrary power, deeply planned to over 
 throw the laws and constitution of their country, and to violate the 
 
 * "October 9. Went to the presbyterian meeting in the forenoon, and the Romish church in 
 the afternoon: dined at Bevans s." Washington s Diary. John Adams, who attended the same 
 Romish church that afternoon, says in his diary : " Heard a good discourse upon the duty of parents 
 to children, founded in justice and charity." 
 
452 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 most essential and valuable rights of mankind." After assuring 
 him that he was surrounded by venal men, who, for honors or 
 pecuniary gratifications, were ready to introduce arbitrary govern 
 ment, he continued : " Although you are taught, by discoursing 
 with such men, to believe that the people of Massachusetts are 
 rebellious, setting up for independence, and what not, give me 
 leave, my good friend, to tell you, that you are abused, grossly 
 abused. This I advance with a degree of confidence and boldness, 
 which may claim your belief, having better opportunities of know 
 ing the real sentiments of the people you are among, from the 
 leaders of them, in opposition to the present measures of the 
 administration, than you have from those whose business it is not 
 to disclose truths, but to misrepresent facts, in order to justify, as 
 much as possible, to the world their own conduct.* Give me leave 
 to add, and I think I can announce it as a fact, that it is not the 
 wish or interest of that government, or any other upon this conti 
 nent, separately or collectively, to set up for independence; but 
 this you may, at the same time, rely on, that none of them will 
 ever submit to the loss of those valuable rights and privileges 
 which are essential to the happiness of every free state, and with 
 out which life, liberty, and property are rendered totally insecure". . . . 
 "Is it to be wondered at," he continued, "that men who wish to 
 avert the impending blow should attempt to oppose it in its prog 
 ress, or prepare for their defence, if it can not be averted ? Surely 
 I may be allowed to answer in the negative ; and again give me 
 leave to add, as my opinion, that more blood will be spilled on this 
 occasion, if the ministry are determined to push matters to ex 
 tremity, than history has ever yet furnished instances of in the 
 annals of North America, and such a vital wound will be given to 
 
 * Washington had spared no pains to ascertain the sentiments of the delegates from the different 
 provinces, on this, as well as on other questions then occupying the public mind, for it can not be 
 denied, that the idea of the political independence of the colonies, not only existed in some minds, 
 but had found indirect expression already. Washington alludes to his interview with the delegation 
 from Massachusetts, in the sentence above quoted. He entered in his diary, on the twenty-eighth 
 of September, the following : " Spent the afternoon with the Boston gentlemen." John Adams 
 entered in his own diary, on the same day : " Dined with Mr. R. Penn .... Spent the evening with 
 Colonel Lee, Colonel Washington, and Doctor Shippen, who came in to consult with us." 
 
Mr. 42.] LOYALTY OF THE AMERICANS. 453 
 
 the peace of this great country as time itself can not cure, or eradi 
 cate the remembrance of." In conclusion, Washington repeated his 
 assurances, that independence was not thought of. "I am well 
 satisfied," he said, " that no such thing is desired by any thinking 
 man in all North America; on the contrary, that it is the ardent 
 wish of the warmest advocates for liberty, that peace and tran 
 quillity, upon constitutional grounds, may be restored, and the 
 horrors of civil discord prevented."* 
 
 This is important testimony in proof of the genuine loyalty of 
 the Americans, and the sincerity of their representatives in Con 
 gress, in what they set forth in their petition to the king and 
 address to the people of Great Britain.")* These assurances in a 
 private letter, that the Americans were seeking for justice, not 
 independence, is an iteration of the ninth resolution adopted by 
 the meeting at Fairfax courthouse, on the eighteenth of July 
 previously, over which Washington presided ;f and a confiftnation 
 of the assurances which Joseph Reed gave to Lord Dartmouth, in 
 a letter written on the twenty-fifth of September. Alluding to the 
 falsehoods of venal men, he said : " Such men, my lord, have wick 
 edly practised upon the unsuspecting integrity of our best friends 
 in Britain, infused jealousies of independence, and what not, which 
 the true friends of government in this country never perceived the 
 least foundation for. It would be equally fair to judge of his 
 majesty from the publications of Junius, as of this country from 
 such representations, or from the hasty and violent resolves of 
 inconsiderable town-meetings. No king ever had more loyal sub- 
 
 * Sparks s Life and Writings of Washington, ii., 399. 
 
 t In that address they say : " You have been told, that we are seditious, impatient of govern 
 ment, and desirous of independence. Be assured that these are not facts, but calumnies." We 
 omitted to mention, in the proper place, that the " Declaration of Rights" adopted by the continen 
 tal Congress, of which a synopsis is given in chapter xl., was undoubtedly written by Samuel 
 Adams. Although there exists no positive proof of such authorship, the circumstantial evidence is 
 so convincing, that a doubt is inadmissible. This evidence will be given in full, in the "Life and 
 Writings of Samuel Adams," now in preparation, from original materials, by William V. Wells, Esq., 
 a great-grand-son of the distinguished patriot, who has kindly permitted us to examine his manu 
 script. We shall again have occasion to refer to this valuable source of information. And we deem 
 it proper here to say, that the work will be one of the most important contributions ever made to our 
 historical literature. 
 
 { See page 400. 
 
454 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 jects ; or any country more affectionate colonists than the Ameri 
 cans were. I, who am but a young man,* well remember when the 
 former was always mentioned with respect approaching to adoration ; 
 and to be an Englishman was alone a sufficient recommendation for 
 any office of friendship and civility. But I confess, with the great 
 est concern, that these happy days seem passing swiftly away, and 
 unless some plan of accommodation can be speedily formed, the 
 affection of the colonists will be irrevocably lost."*)* We shall again 
 recur to this subject. 
 
 Congress, as we have seen, " dissolved itself" on the twenty-sixth 
 of October. On that evening all the delegates met at the City 
 tavern, where they spent the hours in agreeable social intercourse, 
 and friendly leave-taking. Early the next morning Washington 
 started for home. He dined at Chester, and lodged at New Castle, 
 in Delaware ; and three days afterward he was at Mount Yernon. 
 His arKval was a joy to his loving wife, for she still wept, in the 
 hours of her loneliness, over the loss of her daughter. Her son was 
 now away with his bride, and these voids made the absence of her 
 husband more painful to her. And there had been a social bereave 
 ment in the neighborhood, which deepened the loneliness. Colonel 
 Washington s warm friend and nearest neighbor, George William 
 Fairfax, had left the country to become the possessor of estates in 
 England, and when Washington returned to Mount Vernon, Belvoir, 
 the beautiful seat of his friend, was in charge of a steward. Fire, 
 ignited by accident, soon afterward consumed it ; and the kindling 
 of the war of the Revolution at almost the same moment, pre 
 vented its owner, who was a loyalist, from returning to America. 
 Thus suddenly was Belvoir mansion swept from existence, and the 
 social intercourse of two long-tried friends was closed for ever. 
 George Washington and George William Fairfax never met again. 
 
 * Mr. Reed was then thirty-three years of age. 
 
 t Life and Correspondence of President Reed, i., 76. 
 
42.] THE QUAKERS. 455 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 OPPOSITION OF THE QUAKERS THEIR ATTEMPT TO PRODUCE DISUNION IN CON 
 GRESS THEIR LOYAL TESTIMONY CAUSES OF THE DISAFFECTION THE 
 
 "QUAKER COMPANY" SECRET INFLUENCE OF THE QUAKERS VIGILANCE OF 
 
 CONGRESS QUAKERS AND OTHERS BANISHED TO VIRGINIA WASHINGTON S 
 
 ORDERS CONCERNING QUAKERS EXECUTION OF ROBERTS AND CARLISLE 
 
 INFLUENCES OF OTHER RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS THE ASSOCIATION EN 
 FORCED APPROACH OF CIVIL WAR THE VOICE OF JOSIAH QUINCY, JR. 
 
 WE will leave Washington in his retirement for awhile, and note 
 the course of political events after the dissolution of the Congress, 
 in which he was so deeply interested and engaged. 
 
 The most subtle and powerful opponents of the union and har 
 mony of the colonies, in 1774, and for sometime afterward, were 
 the Quakers of Pennsylvania, whose influence was then controlling 
 in the affairs of that province. Unlike the Quakers of our day, 
 they were much engaged in public matters ; and by a system of 
 unequal representation, they had, at the time in question, a majority 
 of their sect in the Pennsylvania house of assembly. Among the 
 most influential members of this sect, were Israel and James Pein- 
 berton, men of wealth and extensive family connections. Israel 
 appears to have been a far-sighted politician ; and during the ses 
 sion of the continental Congress, he managed to collect quite a 
 number of the delegates and of his own people, in Carpenters hall, 
 at an early hour one evening, to listen to some communications. 
 The object of the meeting was unknown until Israel arose and 
 remarked, that the Congress was endeavoring to form a union of 
 the colonies, but that there were grave difficulties in the way of 
 such a consummation. He then enumerated, among other difficul 
 ties, the Sunday laws of New England, and the subjection of all 
 sects to an assessment, levied in Massachusetts, for building churches. 
 
456 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1774. 
 
 He called these, infringements upon the rights of conscience, and 
 asked the Massachusetts delegates to assure the Quakers, that in 
 the event of union, these laws should be repealed, and that the 
 more liberal system of Pennsylvania should generally prevail. 
 John Adams, who now perceived the object of the meeting, replied 
 with a warmth which was in strong contrast with the mildness of 
 Israel. He told the Quakers that no such assurance should be 
 given, for those law r s were in accordance with the conscience of 
 New England, and that they "might as well turn the heavenly 
 bodies out of their annual and diurnal courses, as the people of 
 Massachusetts from their meeting-house and Sunday laws." Pem- 
 berton rejoined, that liberty of conscience rested not in such laws, 
 and that they ought not to be respected. It was the opinion of 
 Adams and others at that time, that this movement was intended 
 to prevent the union, and to retain the Pennsylvania Quakers on 
 the side of the king. Subsequent events appeared to warrant such 
 conclusion ; but the title of " artful Jesuit,"* which Adams applied 
 to Pemberton, was not justified by his character. 
 
 At about this time (October, 1774), a yearly meeting of the 
 society of Quakers, which had convened on the twenty-fourth of 
 September, had been concluded, and the members had gone home, 
 leaving the consideration of public matters, in which they had a 
 concern, in charge of a committee in Philadelphia, of which Pem 
 berton was an active member. That meeting was a very important 
 one, and from it went forth an epistle which gave great offence to 
 the friends of liberty throughout the colonies. No doubt a large 
 number of the Quakers sympathized with the proceedings of the 
 Congress, but their doctrine of non-resistance, enforced by their 
 " Discipline," made them pause. The tendency of events- was to 
 ward war. They were much perplexed, and held extraordinary 
 and protracted meetings, extending sometimes far into the evening, 
 while considering what to do. They perceived a growing spirit 
 abroad favorable to the strict enforcement of the American Associa 
 tion, and to this they were opposed, in principle, because it usurped, 
 
 # John Adams s Autobiography. 
 
jE T . 42.] OPPOSITION OF THE QUAKERS. 457 
 
 in their estimation, the dearest prerogatives of conscience, and 
 pronounced the exercise of honest opinion to be a political mis 
 demeanor. 
 
 When, early in November, 1774, a great committee was to be 
 chosen in Philadelphia to carry the association into execution, the 
 Quakers directed the members of their society not to serve upon 
 it;* and mhen the patriots of that province called a provincial 
 convention to meet in Philadelphia in January, 1775, the Quakers 
 called a special meeting of the society, to convene at the same time 
 and place, with the evident intention of counteracting the republi 
 can tendency of the political convention. And yet, strangely 
 paradoxical as it appears, the assembly of Pennsylvania, in which 
 there was a clear majority of Quakers, actually passed a resolution, 
 on the tenth of December, approving of the conduct of Congress. 
 This result, which elicited the expressed astonishment of Governor 
 Penn,*j- was wrought by the skilful management of John Dickinson 
 and Thomas Mifflin ; and before the close of the session, delegates 
 for the Congress of 1775 were chosen. 
 
 The meeting held in January, was composed of the great body 
 of the Quakers in the colonies of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 
 On the seats of the preacher s gallery were seen many of their 
 shining lights of that day. At the head sat James Pemberton, the 
 leading minister of the sect ; erect, immoveable, with both hands 
 crossed on the top of his long cane. There, too, was seen the 
 sunny face of Nicholass Wain ; and near him frowned the severe, 
 dark features of Thomas Scattergood. There, too, with his head 
 buried to the coat collar in his broad-brimmed hat, was the thoughtful 
 Arthur Howell; and in the testimonies and deliberations were 
 
 * Letter of Joseph Heed to Josiah Quincy, Nov. 6, 1774. 
 
 t On the thirty-first of December, Governor Penn wrote to the ministry : " Since my last the 
 assembly of this province have met agreeably to adjournment, and have, to mv great surprise, unan 
 imously approved the transactions of the late Congress, and appointed deputies to attend another." 
 According to Caesar Rodney, one of the delegates in Congress, Governor Penn reallv sympathized 
 with the patriots. Speaking of his brother, Richard Penn, as a friend to liberty, and very kind to 
 the delegates, Mr. Rodney remarked, in a letter to his own brother, on the twenty-fourth of Septem 
 ber, 1774 : " More or less, dine with him every day; and his brother wishes his station would admit 
 of his acting the same part. All these matters are for your own private speculation, and not for 
 public view." 
 
458 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 heard the soft voice of William Savery, in beautiful and harmo 
 nious contrast with that of Daniel Offley, the stalwart smith, who, 
 "among his dozen hammer-men, was always accustomed to raise 
 his piercing voice distinctly above their pattering sounds."* 
 
 Long and earnestly did the Quakers deliberate how they should 
 defeat the pacific proceedings of the continental Congress ; and on 
 the twenty-fourth of January, they sent forth the following TESTI 
 MONY : -j- 
 
 " Having considered, with real sorrow, the unhappy contest 
 between the legislature of Great Britain and the people of these 
 colonies, and the animosities consequent thereon, we have, by re 
 peated public advices and private admonitions, used our endeavors 
 to dissuade the members of our religious society from joining with 
 the public resolutions promoted and entered into by some of the 
 people, which, as we apprehended, so we now find, have increased 
 contention, and produced great discord and confusion. The Divine 
 principle of grace and truth which we profess leads all who attend 
 to its dictates to demean themselves as peaceable subjects, and to 
 discountenance and avoid every measure tending to excite disaffec 
 tion to the king as supreme magistrate, or to the legal authority of 
 his government, to which purpose many of the late political writings 
 and addresses to the people appearing to be calculated, we are led 
 by a sense of duty to declare our entire disapprobation of them, 
 their spirit and temper being not only contrary to the nature and 
 precepts of the gospel, but destructive of the peace and harmony 
 of civil society, disqualifies men, in these times of difficulty, for the 
 wise and judicious consideration and promoting of such measures 
 as would be most effectual for reconciling differences, or obtaining 
 the redress of grievances. 
 
 " From our past experience of the clemency of the king and his 
 royal ancestors, we have ground to hope and believe that decent 
 and respectful addresses from those who are vested with legal 
 
 * Watson s Annals of Philadelphia, i., 507. 
 
 t " The Testimony of the people called Quakers, given forth by a meeting of the representatives 
 of said people in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, held at Philadelphia the twenty-fourth day of the 
 first month, 1775 " 
 
JET. 43.] TESTIMONY OF THE QUAKERS. 459 
 
 authority, representing the prevailing dissatisfactions and the cause 
 of them, would avail toward obtaining relief, ascertaining and estab 
 lishing the just rights of the people, and restoring the public tran 
 quillity ; and we deeply lament that contrary modes of proceeding 
 have been pursued, which have involved the colonies in confusion, 
 appear likely to produce violence and bloodshed, and threaten the 
 subversion of the constitutional government, and of that liberty of 
 conscience for the enjoyment of which our ancestors were induced 
 to encounter the manifold dangers and difficulties of crossing the 
 seas and settling in the wilderness. We are, therefore, incited, by 
 a sincere concern for the peace and welfare of our country, publicly 
 to declare against every usurpation of power and authority in 
 opposition to the laws and government, and against all combina 
 tions, insurrections, conspiracies, and illegal assemblies ; and as we 
 are restrained from them by the conscientious discharge of our 
 duty to Almighty God, by whom kings reign and princes decree 
 justice, we hope, through his assistance and favor, to be enabled to 
 maintain our testimony against any requisitions which may be 
 made of us, inconsistent with our religious principles, and the 
 fidelity we owe to the king and his government, as by law estab 
 lished ; earnestly desiring the restoration of that harmony and 
 concord which have heretofore united the people of these prov 
 inces, and been attended by the Divine blessing on their labors." 
 
 Such was the loyal manifesto put forth by the Quakers just as 
 the old war for independence was kindling, "signed in and on 
 behalf of the said meeting," by James Pemberton, " clerk at this 
 time," and widely circulated throughout the continent.* From that 
 time, until the close of the war, the Quakers, as a body, were friends 
 
 * Christopher Marshall, in his diary of that date, says : "Meetings daily amongst the Quakers, 
 in order, if possible, to defeat the pacific proceedings of the continental congress, calling upon their 
 members not to meet the county committees, but entirely to withdraw from them, under the penalty 
 of excommunication .... This day [January twenty-fourth, 1774], was also a paper published, 
 called a Testimony of the people called Quakers, in which is contained such gross abuse against all 
 persons that oppose their fallacious schemes, and stuffed with such false contradictions, that it will 
 be a lasting memento of the truth of what Robert Walker, one of their public preachers, now here, 
 often told them, and warned them to take care, because/ says he, the Lord is departed from you, 
 as he did from Saul, and has given you over to your own devices. " The harsh epithets of Mar 
 shall are not justified by the words of the " Testimony." 
 
460 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 of the king, though generally passive, so far as public observation 
 could determine. Yet there were many exceptions. A large num 
 ber of the Quakers of Philadelphia were offended by this " Testi 
 mony," and publicly repudiated it. Some of them separated from 
 their loyal brethren, formed a separate meeting, and built for them 
 selves a new place of worship at the southwest corner of Fifth and 
 Arch streets. Others so far seceded as to break the " Discipline," 
 and formed themselves into a military corps, under Captain Hum 
 phreys, which was called The Quaker Company. And in the provin 
 cial convention, convened, as we have seen, at the same time with 
 the Quaker meeting, Thomas Miffiin, a young member of the sect, 
 of great energy and irrepressible zeal, was earnestly exhorting his 
 countrymen to take up arms, if necessary. 
 
 From this time, the Quakers were marked as decided loyalists, 
 yet they seldom took any part openly in the political movements 
 of the day. In secret meetings and through their "testimonies," 
 they continually "gave aid and comfort to the enemy;" and in 
 their yearly meetings, according to common report and the authority 
 of a contemporary writer,* they matured schemes against the 
 patriots. To such an extent was their secret influence exerted, 
 that Congress, in 1777, thought it proper to recommend the execu 
 tives of the several states, wherein these people resided, to keep a 
 watch upon their movements. For this suspicion and vigilance 
 there seemed to be ample excuse. When, in December, 1776, the 
 British army, before which Washington had fled across the Jerseys, 
 was menacing Philadelphia, a " testimony" of the Quakers, seditious 
 in its character, signed by John Pemberton, "in behalf of the 
 meeting of sufferings, held at Philadelphia, for Pennsylvania and 
 New Jersey, the twenty-sixth of twelfth month," was published and 
 circulated throughout the society in the different states. At about 
 the same time Congress was placed in possession of many papers 
 and records of the yearly meetings of the Quakers, by the defeat 
 and capture of some loyalists on Staten Island, opposite Perth 
 
 * See extract from Samuel Wharton s manuscript, quoted by Watson in his Annals of Phila 
 delphia, i., 506. 
 
jE-r. 43.] ORDERS TO ARREST QUAKERS. 4G1 
 
 Amboy. These gave such positive evidence of the disaffection of 
 the great body of them, that quite a large number of the leading 
 members of the society in Philadelphia, together with the Honor 
 able John Penn (late governor of the province) and chief-justice 
 Chew, were banished to Fredericksburg, in Virginia.* 
 
 In the winter of 1778, while the American army was suffering at 
 Valley Forge, some twenty miles from Philadelphia, Washington 
 became convinced that the Quakers of the surrounding country, 
 were acting as spies, in conveying intelligence of the condition of 
 his camp, and other facts, to the British commander in the city ; 
 and also that they made their religious meetings there occasions for 
 political deliberations, and the arrangement of seditious plans. Ac 
 cordingly, on the twentieth of March, he issued the following order 
 to General John Lacy, an active officer of the Pennsylvania militia : 
 " Sunday next being the time on which the Quakers hold one of 
 their general meetings, a number of that society will probably be 
 attempting to go into Philadelphia. This is an intercourse that we 
 should by all means endeavor to interrupt, as the plans settled at 
 these meetings are of the most pernicious tendency. I would, 
 therefore, have you dispose of your parties in such manner as will 
 most probably fall in with these people, and if they should, and 
 any of them should be mounted upon horses fit for draught or the 
 service of light dragoons, I desire they may be taken from them, 
 and sent over to the quartermaster-general. Any such are not to 
 be considered as the property of the parties who may seize them, 
 as in other cases. Communicate the above orders to any of the 
 officers who may command scouting parties on your side of the 
 Schuylkill." To this General Lacy promptly responded, by ordering 
 his horsemen to arrest all Quakers on their way toward Philadel 
 phia, and " if they refused to stop, when hailed, to fire into them, 
 and leave their bodies lying in the road."f 
 
 These orders had the desired effect, yet the secret agency of the 
 
 * Among these leaders, who were banished, were James, John, and Israel Pemberton, Joshua 
 Fisher, Abel James, Henry Drinker, John James, Samuel Pleasants, Thomas Wharton, senior, 
 Thomas Fisher, and Samuel Fisher. 
 
 t Niles s Principles and Acts of the Revolution, 334. 
 
462 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 disaffected members of the sect in the city continued to be potent. 
 Two of the chief of these offenders James Eoberts and Abraham 
 Carlisle who were known as the active enemies of the patriots, 
 were arrested a few months later, when the Americans held posses 
 sion of Philadelphia, and were hanged as spies and traitors, in 
 November of that year. It was clearly proven that they had been 
 employed by Joseph Galloway and other loyalists, as detectors of 
 foes to the government; that Carlisle, under the meek garb and 
 demeanor of the Quaker, was a Torquemada, exercising the func 
 tions of an inquisitor-general, by watching at the entrance to the 
 city and pointing out obnoxious persons coming from the country, 
 w r ho were arrested and cast into prison on his bare suggestion ; and 
 that both Roberts and Carlisle, who would not bear arms for the 
 wealth of the Indies, had acted as guides to a British detachment, 
 sent out from Philadelphia by General Howe, to fall upon and mas 
 sacre a corps of Americans, lying in a wood near the road to Frank- 
 ford ! These facts, fully attested by competent witnesses, justified 
 the execution of these men, according to the implacable rules of 
 war, and parried the keen shafts of bitter vituperation with which 
 the patriots were assailed by the loyalists, on account of that act. 
 
 Such, in brief, are some of the most prominent facts in the history 
 of the opposition of the Quakers to the war for independence an 
 opposition based primarily upon their great distinctive doctrine of 
 non-resistance, and their love of peace. They saw, in the increasing 
 turmoils of politics, much to disturb their tranquillity ; and when 
 they perceived the torch of war actually lighting up the whole 
 country with its lurid glare, they felt it to be their duty to do all in 
 their power to quench the devastating flame. Their love of peace 
 and quiet made them habitually submissive to all laws which did 
 not interfere with the rights of conscience, and they were conse 
 quently passive loyalists. When, therefore, they heard words of 
 defiance uttered against the imperial government, they were dis 
 turbed ; and when independence, which implied a bloody conflict, 
 was preached, they were amazed. No doubt the great body of the 
 Quakers, who opposed the war, did so pursuant to the dictates of a 
 
TT. 43.] INFLUENCE OF RELIGIOUS SECTS. 463 
 
 lively conscience, and therefore we should not withhold our respect 
 for them. There were very few Roberts and Carlisles among them ; 
 and the thousands who composed that important and widely influ 
 ential opposition an opposition which bore heavily upon Congress 
 in its earlier sessions in Philadelphia* ought not to suffer reproach 
 as the real enemies of freedom, because of the sins of these re 
 creant ones. 
 
 Other religious sects had much influence in shaping the course 
 of political events in various colonies, at this crisis. In New Eng 
 land, the congregational ministers, a numerous and very influential 
 class, headed by Chauncey and Cooper, of Boston, were unani 
 mously opposed to the rule of Great Britain, and their flocks 
 sympathized with them, for it was a traditionary sentiment. Their 
 zeal in the cause of civil liberty was heightened by the recent 
 revival of a long-cherished scheme for the introduction of episco 
 pacy into America, to which we have alluded ; and the people of 
 New England presented almost a solid phalanx of opposition to 
 ministerial measures. In the middle provinces, and in some por 
 tions of the southern colonies, the presbyterians, who derived their 
 origin from the dissenting sections of the Scottish church, were 
 almost all zealous whigs ; but the Scotch Highlanders, in New York, 
 North Carolina, and Georgia, who were generally very ignorant, 
 and the Scotch traders and merchants, who were numerous at the 
 South, were tories, as the loyalists were called, from the beginning, 
 and remained so. 
 
 The episcopal clergy, especially in the middle and northern prov- 
 
 * John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania, a firm patriot throughout the war, was steadily opposed to 
 independence, and spoke and acted against it. John Adams, in his autobiography, when writing 
 about the proceedings in Congress on the subject of independence, early in the summer of 1776, 
 says : " Mr. Charles Thomson, who was then rather inclined to our side of the question, told me 
 that the Quakers had intimidated Mr. Dickinson s mother and his wife, who were continually dis 
 tressing him with their remonstrances. His mother said to him, Johnny, you will be hanged; your 
 estates will be forfeited and confiscated ; you will leaye your excellent wife a widow, and your charm 
 ing children orphans, beggars, and infamous/ From my soul I pitied Mr. Dickinson. I made his 
 case my own. If my mother and my wife had expressed such sentiments to me, I was certain that 
 if they did not wholly unman me, and make me an apostate, they would make me the most misera 
 ble man alive." Thomas Willing and Charles Humphreys, Pennsylvania delegates in the conti 
 nental Congress, in 1776, voted against independence. They were, doubtless, influenced in their 
 decision by the Quakers, with whom they were intimately connected. 
 
464 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 inces, and a large portion of their parishioners, were generally loyal, 
 while those in Virginia and South Carolina, who had not partici 
 pated in the controversy respecting the establishment of episcopacy 
 in the colonies, were very little governed by their religious associa 
 tions. In New York, the influence of the episcopalians was power 
 ful against the patriots, in and out of the assembly ; and that body 
 was very tardy in yielding its acquiescence in the scheme of the 
 American association, and in appointing delegates to a new Con 
 gress. The Roman catholics, who were more numerous in Maryland 
 than in any other colony, were generally the friends of liberty ; and 
 that province was among the earliest to approve the acts of the 
 continental Congress. The descendants of the Huguenot settlers 
 in New York and South Carolina, appeared to have an instinctive 
 love of freedom, for they w^ere almost unanimously in favor of the 
 association, and of armed resistance, if necessary. 
 
 In all the colonies, at the beginning of 1775, measures were 
 either consummated or were in progress, to enforce the American 
 association, by the appointment of committees of inspection ; and 
 provincial congresses, assuming the functions of regular civil gov 
 ernment, soon began to germinate, in defiance of the menaces of 
 royal representatives, and the preparations in Parliament to crush 
 the rising rebellion. 
 
 At the dawn of 1775, the colonies were on the verge of civil 
 war. The conviction of that fact was sensibly felt in both hemi 
 spheres, and the friends of freedom everywhere looked on with 
 intense anxiety, and gave cheerful words of encouragement. With 
 the later days of the waning year, the voice of Josiah Quincy 
 the dying Josiah Quincy* uttered as if from the margin of the 
 
 * Josiah Quincy was born in Boston, on the twenty-third of February, 1744. As a student he 
 was remarkably persevering. He graduated with honor at Harvard in 1763. He pursued legal 
 studies under the celebrated Oxenbridge Thacher, of Boston. The circumstances of the times 
 turned his thoughts to political topics, and he took sides with Otis, Adams, and others, against the 
 aggressive policy of Britain. As early as 1768, he used this bold language : "Did the blood of the 
 ancient Britons swell our veins, did the spirit of our forefathers inhabit our breasts, should we hesi 
 tate a moment in preferring death to a miserable existence in bondage ?" In 1770 he declared, "I 
 wish to see my countrymen break off off for ever! all social intercourse with those whose com 
 merce contaminates, whose luxuries poison, whose avarice is insatiable, and whose unnatural oppres 
 sions are not to be borne." Mr. Quincy was associated with John Adams in the defence of the 
 perpetrators of the " Boston Massacre," in 1770, and did not, by that defense, alienate the good 
 
jE-r. 13.] THE WORDS OF QUINCY. 4G5 
 
 grave beyond the Atlantic, whither he had gone to serve his coun 
 try, with feeble pulse but giant heart and brain, warbled hymns to 
 liberty in solemn prose, as exquisite in cadence as the music of the 
 expiring swan, to cheer and soothe his countrymen ; or with the 
 vehemence of a S ten tor sounded the trumpet-notes anew, with 
 which he had already, upon old Shawmut, aroused his countrymen.* 
 " Let me tell you," he wrote from London in December ; " let me 
 tell you one very serious truth, in which we are all agreed your 
 countrymen must seal their cause with their blood. You know how often 
 and how long ago, I said this. I see every day more and more 
 reason to confirm my opinion. Every day I find characters digni 
 fied by science, rank, and station, of the same sentiment.... Surely 
 my countrymen will recollect the words I held to them this time 
 twelve months. Hundreds, I believe, will call these words, and 
 many more of the same import, to remembrance. Hundreds, who 
 heretofore doubted, are long ere this convinced I was right. The 
 popular sentiments of the day prevailed; they advanced with 
 
 opinion of the people. In February, 1771, he was obliged to go to the south on account of a pulmo 
 nary complaint. At Charleston he formed an acquaintance with Pinckney, Rutledge, and other patri 
 ots, and, returning by land, conferred with other leading whigs in the several colonies. In the autumn 
 of 1773, he took a very active part in the public meetings and other proceedings in Boston, which 
 resulted in the destruction of tea in the harbor of that city, in December. Continued ill health, and 
 a desire to make himself acquainted with English statesmen, induced him to make a voyage to Eng 
 land in 1774, where he had personal interviews with most of the leading men. He asserts that, 
 while there, Colonel Barre, who had travelled in America, assured him that such was the ignorance 
 of the English people, two thirds of them thought the Americans were all negroes ! Becoming fully 
 acquainted with the feelings and intentions of the king and his ministers, and hopeless of reconcilia 
 tion, Mr. Quincy determined to return and arouse his countrymen to action. He embarked for 
 Boston, with declining health, in March, and died when the vessel was in sight of land, on the 
 twenty-sixth of April, 1775, aged thirty-one years. 
 
 * His words quoted below, were uttered before an immense concourse of people, assembled in 
 the old South meeting-house, and its vicinity, in Boston, on the afternoon of the sixteenth of 
 December, 1773, a few hours before the tea was destroyed in the harbor. Mr. Quincy was the prin 
 cipal speaker on that occasion. "It is not, Mr. Moderator," he said, "the spirit that vapors within 
 these walls that must stand us in stead. The exertions of this day will call forth events which will 
 nmke a very different spirit necessary for our salvation. Look to the end. Whoever supposes that 
 shouts and hosannas will terminate the trials of the day, entertains a childish fancy. We must be 
 grossly ignorant of the importance and value of the prize for which we contend ; we must be equally 
 ignorant of the powers of those who have combined against us ; we must be blind to that malice, 
 inveteracy, and insatiable revenge, which actuate our enemies, public and private, abroad and in our 
 bosom, to hope we shall end this controversy without the sharpest the sharpest conflicts ; to flatter 
 ourselves that popular resolves, popular harangues, popular acclamations, and popular vapor, will 
 vanquish our foes. Let us consider the issue. Let us look to the end. Let us weigh and consider 
 before we advance to those measures which must bring on the most trying and terrible struggle this 
 country ever saw." 
 
 80 
 
466 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 "resolutions" to hazard and abide the consequences. They must 
 now stand the issue they must preserve a consistency of charac 
 ter THEY MUST NOT DELAY they must - or be trodden into the 
 vilest vassalage, the scorn, the spurn of their enemies, a byword of 
 infamy among all men." 
 
 " In the sight of God, and of. all just men," he continued, " the 
 cause is good. We have the wishes of the wise and humane, we 
 have the prayers of the pious, and the universal benison of all who 
 seek to God for direction, aid, and blessing. I own I feel for the 
 miseries of my country ; I own I feel much desire for the happiness 
 of my brethren in trouble ; but why should I disguise, I feel, ineffa 
 bly, for the honor the honor, I repeat it the honor of my coun 
 try. Need I explain myself further ? When you shall act agree 
 ably to your past ostentations ; when you have shown that you are, 
 what Englishmen once were, whether successful or not, your foes 
 will diminish, your friends amazingly increase, and you will be 
 happy in the peaceful enjoyment of your inheritance ; or, at least, 
 your enemies will, in some measure, stay their intemperate fury 
 from a reverence of your virtue, and a fear of reanimating your 
 courage. But if in the trial you prove, as your enemies say, arrant 
 poltroons and cowards, how ineffably contemptible will you appear ; 
 how wantonly and superlatively will you be abused and insulted by 
 your triumphing oppressors !"* 
 
 Two days afterward, when writing of Lord North s apology for 
 his expression, " I will have America at my feet," and the proba 
 bility of a suspension of the obnoxious acts of Parliament, he uttered 
 words of warning, which his countrymen, often deceived,, were 
 quick to heed. " Be the event as it may," he said, " continue true 
 to yourselves, and the day is your own. If they only suspend, do 
 not, for heaven s sake, think of relaxing your agreements while 
 you are treating. Beware of the arts of negotiation. The ministry 
 are adepts in them ; at least they are skilled in the science of 
 corruption. There is no doubt but the ministry sent large sums 
 to New York, in order to bribe the continental delegates. It was 
 
 * Memoir of Josiah Quincy, Jr., 266. 
 
Mr. 43.] ENCOURAGING SENTIMENTS. 467 
 
 openly avowed and vindicated, and great boast was made of min 
 isterial success. It was said that they had effected a disunion which 
 would be fatal to the cause of all America. You can not well 
 imagine the chagrin with which the ministry received the result of 
 that glorious body. They are viewed as the northern constellation 
 of glorious worthies, illuminating and warning the new world. I 
 feel a pride in being an American."* 
 
 A little later, he wrote : " How elevated must be feelings of an 
 American, who sees his countrymen distinguish themselves as wise 
 and virtuous, calm and brave ; rising in the estimation of all man 
 kind, as the illustrious remnant of the sons of freedom. You see, 
 my worthy friend, that the glitter of a court hath not yet fascinated 
 me with its splendor, nor the corruption of Britain made me an 
 apostate from the cause of my country. The pageantry I see here 
 makes me every day more attached to the simplicity of my native 
 soil ; and while I hourly survey the extended miseries of enormous 
 wealth and power, I warm with more enthusiastic fervor in the 
 cause of freedom and my country ; and in what cause ought the 
 pulse of man to beat with a more full and genial current ?"( 
 
 Other Americans in England, with less glowing enthusiasm, but 
 equal zeal and firmness, sent words strong, electrifying, anima 
 ting words to their countrymen, commending them for their 
 wisdom and prudence, and exhorting them to be vigilant, persistent, 
 and unyielding. 
 
 * Memoir of Josiah Quincy, Jr., page 272. t Ibid., page 278. 
 
463 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 MEETING OF MASSACHUSETTS ASSEMBLY PROVINCIAL CONGRESS FORMED PREP 
 ARATIONS FOR WAR ROYAL POWER VIRTUALLY ABOLISHED THE ARMY OF 
 
 MINUTE-MEN PREPARATIONS ELSEWHERE INDEPENDENT COMPANIES IN VIR 
 GINIA THE COM3IAND OFFERED TO WASHINGTON LEE AND GATES INDIAN 
 
 WAR ON THE FRONTIER DUNMORE IN THE FIELD BATTLE AT POINT PLEASANT 
 
 TREATY WITH THE INDIANS LOGAN S SPEECH DUNMORF/S WICKEDNESS 
 
 SUSPECTED DISSATISFACTION OF THE VIRGINIANS SECOND VIRGINIA CON 
 VENTION WASHINGTON A MEMBER THE PROCEEDINGS PATRICK HENRY S 
 
 RESOLUTIONS AND SPEECH RICHARD HENRY LEE THE RESULT WASHING 
 TON S LETTER TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS, upon whom the arm of ministerial vengeance was 
 most heavily laid, took the earliest and boldest steps in the direction 
 of absolute rebellion and revolution. Gage had summoned the 
 house of representatives of that province, to assemble at Salem on 
 the fifth of October. The course of events in that colony, and at 
 Philadelphia, alarmed him, and he thought it expedient to issue a 
 proclamation countermanding that order. He did so ? and refused 
 to call the assembly together. The people denied his right to thus 
 interfere with the course of legislation, and most of the members 
 elect, to the number of ninety, were at Salem on the appointed 
 day. Of course Gage was not there to meet them ; and as no 
 official appeared to administer the oaths, they resolved themselves 
 into a provincial Congress, adjourned to Concord, about eighteen 
 miles from Boston, and there organized by the appointment of the 
 wealthy and influential John Hancock their president, and Benjamin 
 Lincoln, a middle-aged farmer of Hingham, and afterward an emi 
 nent general of the Revolution, their secretary. A large committee, 
 appointed to consider the state of the province, prepared an address 
 to Gage, in which they asserted the loyalty of the people of Massa- 
 
/ET. 43.] NEW ENGLAND ARMING. 460 
 
 chusetts, their attachment to Great Britain, and their love of peace 
 and good order- but complained of the acts of Parliament as tend 
 ing to enslave the Americans, and remonstrated with the governor 
 in such a manner, as virtually to call him to account for his conduct 
 in fortifying Boston Neck, and making other hostile demonstrations. 
 This address was adopted by the Congress, and that body then 
 adjourned to Cambridge, where they appointed a committee to 
 carry the document to Governor Gage. Influenced by his fears, 
 that functionary so far recognised the legality of the Congress, as 
 to enter into explanations, and disavowals of unfriendly intentions. 
 He declared that his measures were only defensive and precaution 
 ary ; that Parliament had no desire to enslave the Americans ; and 
 he begged them to consider how revolutionary were their present 
 proceedings, and urged them to desist. 
 
 The provincial Congress would not listen to the soft and deceptive 
 words of the governor, but went forward in preparations for the 
 inevitable storm. They appointed a committee of safety, with 
 John Hancock at its head, delegating to it general executive powers, 
 and the right of calling out the militia of the province. Another 
 committee was appointed, to provide arms, ammunition, and stores, 
 for which purpose upward of sixty thousand dollars were appro 
 priated. Provision was also made for the general arming of the 
 minute-men of the province ; and Jedediah Preble, an old militia 
 officer of Falinouth, Artemas Ward, a judge of the Worcester 
 county court of common pleas, and Seth Pomeroy, who was at the 
 head of a regiment in the battle at Lake George, in 1755, were 
 commissioned as generals. Henry Gardner was chosen treasurer 
 of the colony, with the title of receiver-general; and constables 
 and tax-collectors were ordered to place in his hands alone, all 
 public moneys that they might collect. These proceedings of the 
 Congress were generally approved by the people throughout the 
 province. Ammunition and stores were speedily collected at Con 
 cord, Woburn, and other places. Mills were erected for making 
 gunpowder ; manufactories of arms were established, and great 
 encouragement was given to the production of saltpetre. 
 
470 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 Boyal power, exept what resided in the military force in Boston, 
 was now virtually at an end in Massachusetts. Gage denounced 
 the proceedings of the Congress, but no attention was paid to his 
 proclamation; and at a session of that body toward the close of 
 November, it was voted to enrol twelve thousand minute-men. An 
 invitation was sent to other New England provinces to follow the 
 example. It was quickly responded to, and the army of twelve 
 thousand was soon increased to twenty thousand, with John Thomas, 
 of Plymouth, who had commanded a regiment in the French war, 
 and William Heath, a Eoxbury farmer, commissioned as additional 
 generals. 
 
 This army, strong, determined, generous, and panting for action, 
 was invisible to the superficial observer. It was not seen in 
 the camp, the field, nor the garrison. No drum was heard calling 
 it to action; no trumpet was sounded for battle. It was like 
 electricity, harmless when latent, but terrible when aroused. It 
 was all over the land. It was at the plough, in the workshop, and 
 in the counting-room. Almost every household was its headquar 
 ters and every roof its tent. It bivouacked in every chamber; 
 and mothers, sisters, wives, and sweethearts, made cartridges for its 
 muskets, and supplied its commissariat. It was the old story of 
 Cadmus repeated in modern history. British oppression had sown 
 dragon s teeth all over the land, and a harvest of armed men were 
 ready to spring up, but not to destroy each other 
 
 The flame of rebellion that burst out in New England spread 
 southward. In the middle provinces, the people were seen every 
 where, in the practice of military discipline. In almost every 
 village and hamlet, in quiet valleys and upon the breezy hills, the 
 roll of the drums was heard. Virginia, with its quick ear, had 
 early caught the sound of martial preparations ; and when Wash 
 ington returned to Mount Vernon, he found the independent com 
 panies throughout the province waiting for the voice of his experi 
 ence to teach them how to prepare for the conflict. Many of them 
 had been on the frontiers during the summer and autumn, engaged 
 in war with the Indians of the Ohio country. Now, perceiving that 
 
JEx. 43.] MILITARY MOVEMENTS. 471 
 
 a broader and holier field of action was opening for the American 
 soldier who loved his country as his birthright, they turned toward 
 Washington, the trusted and beloved as a hero, patriot, and sage, 
 for advice and discipline. 
 
 Washington coveted the pleasures of rural pursuits, and the 
 quiet of domestic life, after his long absence at Philadelphia, but- 
 urgent calls to public duty would not allow him to enjoy that boon 
 undisturbed. A few days after his arrival the Independent Company 
 of Cadets of Prince William county, a well-appointed corps, whose 
 significant motto w r as, Aid liber ant mittus, solicited him to take com 
 mand of them as a field-officer.* Other companies offered him the 
 same honor; and throughout the province, when the people felt 
 that war with the mother-country was inevitable, they turned, as 
 with one heart and one mind, to Washington as the destined leader 
 of the Virginia battalions in the army of freemen. He yielded to 
 these solicitations, and reviewed the troops which assembled at 
 various places ; and much of the winter and spring of 1774 75, 
 was spent by him in this important service. During that time, 
 Charles Lee and Horatio Gates, English officers of distinction, were 
 frequently guests at Mount Yernon, and accompanied Washington 
 in these military excursions. There, too, his old companions-in 
 arms, Hugh Mercer, of Fredericksburg, and Doctor James Craik, 
 his family physician, were frequently seen, in consultation on public 
 affairs ; and Mount Vernon became the headquarters of military 
 councils for the leaders of the arming people. 
 
 The war in the west, carried on by the Virginians, was com 
 menced by the Indians, who were incited to hostilities by some 
 white scoundrels, eager to gain some personal advantage in the 
 contest. War against the savages was encouraged by Governor 
 Dun more ; and the training of the independent companies which 
 had occurred in the summer and autumn of 1774, w r as warmly 
 
 * At a meeting of the cadets (of whom William Grayson, afterward a member of the Federal 
 Congress, was captain), held on the eleventh of November, 1774, it was Resolved, unanimously, 
 That Thomas Blackburn, llichard Graham, and Philip Richard Francis Lee, gentlemen, do waif on 
 Colonel George Washington, and request him to take the command of this company, as their field- 
 officer, and that he will be pleased to direct the fashion of their uniform ; and that they also acquaint 
 him with the motto of their company, which is to be fixed on their colors." 
 
472 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 commended by him. Little did he think that such discipline was 
 preparing the people to act efficiently against himself and his royal 
 master, a few months later. 
 
 The Indians might have been pacified by judicious management, 
 but Dunmore and his agents appeared bent on war. Doctor Con 
 nolly, whom the governor had appointed magistrate of Augusta 
 county, on the frontier, was among the most active in keeping the 
 flame alive. In the spring of 1774, he informed Colonel Cresap, a 
 leader among the pioneers, that war was inevitable. Cresap assem 
 bled the people late in April, and made a solemn declaration of 
 hostilities. Some skirmishes ensued, much bad feeling was engen 
 dered, and a general Indian war was apprehended. 
 
 A little later there was a scene of blood at the cabin of a man 
 who sold rum, on the bank of the Ohio opposite the dwelling of 
 Logan, a celebrated Mingo chief, which heightened the increasing 
 exasperation of the Indians. Some of Logan s people, in his 
 absence, determined to go over and treacherously murder the 
 family of the rumseller, in revenge for the shooting of two Indians 
 a little while before. The white people were forewarned, and were 
 consequently forearmed. The Indians went over, drank freely, 
 became intoxicated, and were all slain. Logan s mother, brother, 
 and sister, were among the fallen. The vengeance of the chief 
 was aroused, and during nearly all of that summer Logan was out 
 upon the war-path. 
 
 Early in August Dunmore took the field in person, with a force 
 of three thousand men. The chief rendezvous of the Indians was 
 then on the Sciota, in the present Pickaway county, Ohio. The 
 Virginians marched in two divisions, one under Colonel Andrew 
 Lewis, and the other was led by Dunmore himself. Lewis s division 
 struck the Great Kanawha and followed that stream to the Ohio at 
 Point Pleasant ; the other passed through the mountains of the 
 Potomac gap, and reached the Ohio above Wheeling. It was now 
 October, and at Point Pleasant, Lewis halted to be joined by Dun- 
 more, and there he cast up intrenchments. Dunmore came not, 
 but the foe did, stealthily and swiftly from the Pickaway plains, a 
 
yEr. 43.] WAR WITH THE INDIANS. 473 
 
 thousand strong, under the great chief Cornstalk. Within an hour 
 after the Virginia scouts discovered the van of the savages, a terri 
 ble battle was in progress. For hours the combatants swayed to 
 and fro, and the voice of the gigantic Cornstalk was constantly 
 heard crying, " Be strong ! be strong !" Nistfit came on. Half of 
 
 J O O O O 
 
 the Virginia officers and more than fifty privates were slain. In 
 the darkness the Indians, who had suffered far greater loss, fled. 
 
 On the following day a summons from Dunmore called Lewis 
 and his broken army away toward the Shawnee towns on the 
 Sciota. They pressed forward and joined the governor in time 
 and in numbers to have struck an exterminating blow. But Dun- 
 more, so ready for war in the spring, was now more ready for 
 peace. The Indians, perceiving the destruction of their towns to 
 be inevitable, had sent an infamous white man, the companion of 
 the notorious Girty and M Kee, white savages on the frontier, with 
 a flag of truce to Dunmore, and he had consented to treat. The 
 Virginians, full five-and-twenty hundred strong, were eager to crush 
 the foe that had so long disturbed the peace of the province, and 
 they almost mutinied when the governor opened the treaty council. 
 
 Cornstalk was the chief speaker of the savages on that occasion, 
 while Logan, who then sat in sullen silence at old Chillicothe, dis 
 dained to meet the white man in council, but by John Gibson, the 
 temporary husband of his murdered sister, who was commissioned 
 to invite him thither, he sent a memorable speech : " I appeal," he 
 said, " to any white man, to say whether, if ever he entered Logan s 
 cabin hungry and he gave him no meat ? if ever he came cold and 
 naked and he clothed him not ? During the last long and bloody 
 war Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such 
 was my love for the whites, that my countrymen pointed as they 
 passed, and said, Logan is the friend of the white man. I had 
 even thought to have lived with you, but for the injuries of one 
 man. Colonel Cresap, the last spring, in cold blood and unprovoked, 
 murdered all the relatives of Logan,* not even sparing women and 
 
 * Justice to the memory of Michael Cresap, a brave, honorable, and humane man, demands an 
 explanation here. Cresap was importuned by the pioneers he had assembled, to be allowed to fall 
 
474 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any 
 living creature. This called on me for revenge ! I have sought it ; 
 I have killed many ; I have fully glutted my vengeance ! For rny 
 people, I rejoice at the beams of peace ; but do not harbor a 
 thought that mine is the joy of fear Logan never felt fear. He 
 will not turn on his heel to save his life ! Who is there to mourn 
 for Logan ? Not one !" 
 
 The conduct of Governor Dunmore during that campaign has 
 been differently construed by different writers. It is generally 
 believed by the best informed, that he was, even at that time, in 
 secret friendly intercourse with the Indian chiefs in the Ohio coun 
 try, through Girty, JVPKee, Elliot, Connolly, and other white men, 
 for it is well known that he employed Connolly, the following 
 summer, in exciting the Indians to fall upon the white settlements 
 on the frontiers of the province, hoping, thereby, to weaken the 
 power and resources of the people, then engaged in their struggle 
 for independence. There seems to be ample testimony to give 
 color to the suspicion, that Dunmore arranged the campaign in 
 1774, in such a way, that the whole Indian force should fall upon 
 and annihilate Lewis s detachment, and thus break down the spirit 
 of the Virginians, then so high in vindication of their rights. 
 
 The fact that the great body of the Indians left their towns to 
 attack Colonel Lewis at Point Pleasant, while Dunmore, with a 
 force equally strong, was approaching them in another direction, 
 together with the eagerness displayed by his lordship to treat with 
 the Indians rather than chastise them, made suspicions of the treach- 
 
 upon the settlement of Logan, but he would not listen to it, and the project was abandoned. At 
 the time of the massacre, Crcsap was with his family in Maryland, and had no knowledge of the 
 matter until some time afterward. As Cresap commanded the pioneers in the spring of 1774, and 
 as the massacre was perpetrated by some of those people, Logan held him responsible. Soon after 
 that event, Logan made a white prisoner in his hands write the following note, with ink made of 
 gunpowder and water: "Captain Cresap. What did you kill my people on Yellow creek for? 
 The white people killed my kin at Concstoga, a great while ago, and I thought nothing of that. 
 But you killed my kin again on Yellow creek, and took my cousin prisoner. Then I thought I 
 must kill too; and I have been three times to war since. But the Indians are not angry only 
 myself." " CAPT. JOHN LOGAN." 
 
 This was dated, "July 21, 1774." It was attached to a war-club, and left in the house of a man 
 whose whole family had been murdered by the savages. See the Discourse of Brantz Mayer, Esq., 
 on LOGAN, before the Maryland Historical Society, in May, 1851. 
 
/Er. 43.] WASHINGTON S LABORS. 475 
 
 ery of the governor rife in the camp, at the time of the treaty. 
 Sharp words passed between him and the indignant Lewis, before 
 the assembling of the council ; and at the conclusion of the treaty, 
 and while the army was on its return to Virginia, early in Novem 
 ber, the officers held a meeting at Fort Gower, at the mouth of the 
 Hocking, for the purpose of " considering the grievances of British 
 America." The proceedings of that meeting offended the governor, 
 notwithstanding they passed a resolution quite complimentary to 
 him, and declared their loyal attachment to their sovereign, because 
 they also resolved to "maintain the just rights of the Americans 
 by every means in their power." Both parties returned home 
 dissatisfied. 
 
 These events were chief topics for conversation when Washington 
 arrived at Mount Yernon, and his sagacious mind comprehended 
 the dangers and necessities of his beloved Virginia, at that time, 
 with such a man as Dunmore in power. This perception made him 
 more ready to give his time and efforts to the service of his people, 
 and these were lavished by him with unsparing liberality whenever 
 occasion required. Even the earnest entreaties of a friend a 
 dying friend who wished him to become the ward of his only 
 son, were listened to with reluctance, and his prayer was almost 
 denied, because of the calls of public business which interfered so 
 much with Washington s private concerns. To this request he 
 answered on the thirteenth of January, 1775 : "What with my own 
 business, my present ward s [Mr. Custis], my mother s, which is 
 wholly in my hands,* Colonel Colvell s, Mr. Savage s, Colonel Fair 
 fax s, Colonel Mercer s, and the little assistance I have undertaken 
 to give in the management of my brother Augustine s concerns 
 (for I have absolutely refused to qualify as an executor), together 
 with the share I take in public affairs, I have been kept constantly 
 engaged in writing letters, settling accounts, and negotiating one 
 piece of business or another ; by which means I have really been 
 deprived of every kind of enjoyment."f This sentence is full of 
 
 * Washington s mother then resided at Fredericksburg, and she was becoming quite enfeebled 
 by age and disease. 
 
 t Sparks s Life and Writings of Washington, ii., 403. 
 
476 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 significance in forming an estimate of the business character of 
 Washington. 
 
 On Wednesday, the twentieth of March., 1775, the second Vir 
 ginia convention assembled in old St. John s church, on Richmond 
 Hill, in Richmond. Washington was a member of that convention, 
 and was there promptly at the appointed time. He lodged with 
 Samuel Ege, at his stone house on Main street, the first dwelling 
 erected in the place ; and on the morning of the meeting, he 
 walked up to the old fane with Peyton Randolph and Richard 
 Henry Lee. It was a soft, balmy morning. The trees and shrub- 
 berry were in full foliage, and the air was sweet with the perfumes 
 of the early flowers. Here and there were seen groups of grave 
 men, just before the hour for assembling, sauntering among the 
 tombstones, thoughtful and serious, talking low and earnestly, for 
 they had a great work before them. Their thoughts were of their 
 country, its present trials and its future destiny. The glorious view 
 from that eminence, overlooking the fields and forests of Henrico 
 and Chesterfield for many a league, arrested not their attention. 
 Then the now flourishing city which is spread over several hills, 
 was a germ at their feet a little village of two or three hundred 
 inhabitants. Shockoe hill on which the stately capitol, and Craw 
 ford s proud monument to the memory of Washington, and the 
 elegant dwellings of the modern town, now stand, was then covered 
 with the primeval forest, or green fields made beautiful by the 
 tiller s hand ; and the leaping cascades of the James river were 
 undisturbed in their courses by mill-races or bridges. 
 
 When the convention was organized, there was evidently much 
 conservative hesitation in the whole body. They all felt that a 
 fearful storm was gathering, but were perplexed to know how to 
 meet it the most efficiently. They proceeded first to express 
 unqualified approbation of the acts of the continental Congress, 
 and applauded the wisdom and patriotism of its members. Then 
 they complimented the deputies from Virginia, in the general Con 
 gress, who were appointed by a former convention, by a vote of 
 thanks, " for their cheerful undertaking, and faithful discharge of 
 
M-r. 43.] THE VIRGINIA CONVENTION. 477 
 
 the very important trust reposed in them." Three days passed 
 away, and very little of the business for which they had assembled 
 was even entered upon. 
 
 The morning of the twenty-third was lowery, and at ten o clock 
 the rain fell copiously, yet every member was in his seat. A 
 memorial from the assembly of Jamaica, " to the king s most 
 excellent majesty," was read, and thanks were voted to " that very 
 respectable assembly," for its patriotic course. All this while, 
 Patrick Henry, w T ho represented Hanover, and had said little, was 
 restless and impatient. The proceedings were altogether too tame 
 and temporizing for his bold spirit, and after an earnest consultation 
 with Richard Henry Lee, he arose and offered the following reso 
 lutions : 
 
 1. " That a well-regulated militia, composed of gentlemen and 
 yeomen, is the natural strength and only security of a free govern 
 ment; that such a militia in this colony w r ould for ever render it 
 unnecessary for the mother-country to keep among us, for the 
 purpose of our defence, any standing army of mercenary soldiers, 
 always subversive of the quiet, and dangerous to the liberties of 
 the people, and would alleviate the pretext of taxing us for their 
 support. 
 
 2. " That the establishment of such a militia is, at this time, pecu 
 liarly necessary, by the state of our laws for the protection and 
 defence of the country, some of which are already expired, and 
 others will shortly be so ; and that the known remissness of gov 
 ernment in calling us together, in legislative capacity, renders it too 
 insecure, in this time of danger and distress, to rely upon, that 
 opportunity will be given of renewing them, in general assembly, 
 or making any provision to secure our inestimable rights and liber 
 ties from those further violations with which they are threatened. 
 
 3. "Resolved, therefore, That this colony be immediately put into 
 a state of defence, and that - - be a committee to prepare a 
 plan for the embodying, arming, and disciplining, such a number of 
 men as may be sufficient for that purpose." 
 
 These resolutions, like others from the same pen, that were 
 
478 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 offered in the Virginia house of burgesses, ten years before, alarmed 
 even the stoutest patriots, for they breathed of civil war ; and such 
 tried men as Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison, Edmund Pendle- 
 ton, and Robert C. Nicholas, stanch and unyielding friends of 
 liberty, opposed them as rash in policy, and ungenerous in feeling. 
 They yet hoped for reconciliation with Great Britain, and were 
 unwilling to do aught to extinguish that hope, while its entertain 
 ment was reasonable. They insisted upon a longer display of 
 dignified patience, believing that already a change in the public 
 feeling in England, in favor of the Americans, was working out the 
 final deliverance of the colonies from their complained-of oppres 
 sions. They pointed to the puissance of Britain and the weakness 
 of the colonies, and painted, in dark colors, the miseries into which 
 a war with the mother-country would plunge all America. " Are 
 we ready for war?" they asked. "Where are our stores where 
 are our arms where our soldiers where our generals where 
 our money, the sinews of war ? They are nowhere to be found. 
 In truth, we are poor, we are naked, we are defenceless," they 
 continued. " Yet we talk of assuming the front of war ! of assu 
 ming it, too, against a nation, one of the most formidable in the 
 world ; a nation ready and armed at all points ; her navies riding 
 triumphant on every sea, her armies never marching but to certain 
 victory ! What is to be the issue of the struggle we are called 
 upon to court ? What can be the issue, in the comparative circum 
 stances of the two countries, but to yield up this cowitrt/ an easy 
 prey to Great Britain, and to convert the illegitimate right which 
 the British Parliament now claims, into a firm and indubitable right, 
 ly conquest? The measure may be brave, but is the bravery of 
 madmen. It has no pretension to the character of prudence, and 
 as little to the grace of genuine courage. It will be time enough 
 to resort to measures of despair, when every well-founded hope has 
 entirely vanished."* 
 
 Every appearance, at that time, justified these remarks, but they 
 had no other effect upon Henry, than to arouse his spirit to loftier 
 
 * Wirt s Life of Patrick Henry. 
 
Mr. 43.] PATRICK HENRY S SPEECH. 479 
 
 action. He arose with unusual dignity, and with a soft, subdued 
 voice, said, that no man thought more highly than he did of the 
 patriotism, as well as of the abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen 
 who had just addressed the house. He then went on to say, that 
 different persons views things differently, and as his opinions were 
 contrary to theirs, he should speak his sentiments freely and with 
 out reserve. It was no time for ceremony. The question was one 
 of awful moment to the country. To him it seemed a question of 
 freedom or slavery. Should he keep back his opinions, at such a 
 time, through fear of giving offence, he should consider himself as 
 guilty of treason toward his country, and as an act of disloyalty 
 toward the Majesty of Heaven, which he revered before all earthly 
 kings. 
 
 " Mr. President," he continued, as his voice arose with the kindling 
 of his higher emotions, "it is natural to man to indulge in the 
 illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful 
 truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us 
 
 into beasts." "He had," he said, "but one lamp by which his 
 
 feet were to be guided, and that was the lamp of experience." 
 Then referring to the apparently gracious manner with which the 
 king had received the petition of the continental Congress, to which 
 the other speakers had alluded, he exclaimed: "Suffer not your 
 selves to be betrayed by a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious 
 reception comports with those warlike preparations which cover 
 our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary 
 to a work of love and reconciliation ? Have we shown ourselves 
 so unwilling to be reconciled, that force must be called in to win us 
 back to our love ? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir ! These are 
 the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to 
 which kings resort. I ask, gentlemen, what means this martial 
 array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission ? Has Great 
 Britain any enemy in this quarter of the world, to call for all this 
 accumulation of armies and navies ? No, sir, she has none. They 
 are meant for us ; they can be meant for no other. They are sent 
 over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British 
 
480 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose 
 them ? Shall we try argument ? Sir, we have been trying argu 
 ment for the last ten years.... We have petitioned; we have 
 supplicated ; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and 
 have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of 
 the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted ; 
 our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult ; 
 our supplications have been disregarded ; and we have been spurned 
 with contempt from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these 
 things, may we indulge the fond hope of reconciliation. There is 
 no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free ; if we w r ish to 
 preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have 
 been so long contending; if we mean not basely to abandon the 
 noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which 
 we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious 
 object of our contest shall be obtained, WE MUST FIGHT ! I repeat it, 
 sir, WE MUST FIGHT !* An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is 
 all that is left us. 
 
 "They tell us, sir, that we are weak unable to cope with so 
 formidable an enemy. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be 
 next week, or next year ? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, 
 and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house ? Shall 
 we gather strength by irresolution and inaction ? Shall we acquire 
 the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs, 
 and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall 
 have bound us hand and foot ? Sir, we are not weak, if we make a 
 proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in 
 our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of 
 
 * These words were used by Major Joseph Hawley, four months before, in a letter to John 
 Adams, in which he sent a paper that he had drawn up, called, "Broken Hints to be communicated 
 to the Committee of Congress for Massachusetts." These " Hints" commenced with the words, 
 " We must Jifjht, if we can not otherwise rid ourselves of British taxation," &c. John Adams com 
 municated this paper to H. Nilcs, editor of the "Weekly Register," in 1819, with these words: 
 "This is the original paper that I read to Patrick Henry, in the fall of the year 1774, which pro 
 duced his rapturous burst of approbation, and solemn asserveration, Lain of that mind. " See NikVs 
 " Principles and Acts of the Revolution," page 324. The editor of the " Life and Works of John 
 Adams," ix., 343, says of Hawley, " Of this remarkable man, it is to be regretted that so few traces 
 remain. Even under the pen of an enemy like Hutchinson, his character shines like burnished 
 gold " 
 
M-r. 43.] EFFECT OF HENRY S SPEECH. 481 
 
 Liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invin 
 cible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, 
 sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who 
 presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends 
 to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong 
 alone ; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. And again, we 
 have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now 
 too late to retire from the contest.* There is no retreat but in 
 submission and slavery ! Our chains are forged ! Their clanking 
 may be heard on the plains of Boston ! The war is inevitable ! and 
 let it come ! ! I repeat it, sir, let it come ! ! ! 
 
 It is vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry 
 peace, peace ; but there is no peace ! The war is actually begun ! 
 The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears 
 the clash of resounding arms !f Our brethren are already in the 
 field ! What is it that gentlemen wish ? What would they have ? 
 Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of 
 chains and slavery ? Forbid it, Almighty God ! I know not what 
 course others may take, but as for me," he cried, with both arms 
 extended aloft, his brow knit, every feature marked with the reso 
 lute purpose of his soul, and with his voice swelled to its loudest 
 note, " GIVE ME LIBERTY, OR GIVE ME DEATH ! ! !"J 
 
 The effect of this speech, especially of its peroration, was too 
 deep to allow of a murmur of applause. In a few moments Rich 
 ard Henry Lee arose, and with his polished eloquence, ably sup 
 ported Mr. Henry s resolutions, quoting, in conclusion, the line 
 
 " Thrice armed is he, who has his quarrel just." 
 
 But his words were almost lost in the echo of those of Patrick 
 Henry. " The cry To arms /" says Mr. Wirt, " seemed to quiver on 
 every lip. That supernatural voice still sounded in their ears, and 
 
 * The boldness of Mr. Henry on this occasion caused his name, with those of Samuel and John 
 Adams, John Hancock, Thomas Jeffersan, Peyton Randolph, and others, to be presented to the 
 British government in a bill of attainder. 
 
 t This prediction was speedily fulfilled ; for almost " the next gale from the North" conveyed the 
 boom of the signal gun of freedom at Lexington 
 
 t Wirt s Life of Patrick Henry. 
 
 31 
 
482 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 shivered along their arteries. They heard in every pause, the cry 
 of Liberty or Death! They became impatient of speech. Their 
 souls were on fire for action." 
 
 Mr. Henry s resolutions were adopted, and a committee of twelve 
 was appointed to prepare a plan, pursuant to the recommendation 
 of the third one.* The convention then proceeded to elect dele 
 gates to the second continental Congress, to assemble at Philadel 
 phia in May.*}* On the final adjournment of the assembly, on the 
 twenty-fifth, Richard Henry Lee, while taking leave of two of his 
 colleagues in the vestibule of the church, wrote, with a pencil, the 
 following lines from " Macbeth" upon the doorway : 
 
 " When shall we three meet again, 
 In thunder, lightning, or in rain ? 
 When the hurly-burly s done, 
 When the battle s lost and won /" 
 
 The members of the Virginia convention left Richmond full of 
 zeal in the cause of freedom, and firmly resolved to draw the 
 sword, if necessary. On the day of the adjournment, and before 
 leaving for home, Washington wrote to his brother, John Augustine, 
 commending him for his services in training an independent com 
 pany, and offering to command it, "if occasion require it to be 
 drawn out." A company at Richmond had also tendered the com 
 mand of themselves to Washington in such an event, and he had 
 agreed to review them. No doubt he felt a full assurance at that 
 time, that the occasion was certain and near; and he closed his 
 letter to his brother with the significant words, " It is my full inten 
 tion to devote my life and fortune in the cause we are engaged in, 
 if needful."J 
 
 * Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Robert C. Nicholas, Benjamin Harrison, Lemuel Riddick, 
 George Washington, Adam Stephen, Andrew Lewis, William Christian, Edmund Pendleton, 
 Thomas Jefferson, and Isaac Zane, were appointed. 
 
 t Peyton Randolph, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Edmund Pendleton, 
 Benjamin Harrison, and Richard Bland, were chosen. 
 
 J Sparks s Life and Writings of Washington, ii., 404 
 
i. 43.] OVERT ACTS OF REBELLION. 433 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 TARDY INTERCOMMUNICATION REBELLIOUS MOVEMENTS IN NEW ENGLAND THE 
 
 NEW PARLIAMENT AND THE MINISTRY EFFORTS OF FRANKLIN AND OTHERS 
 
 COUNTER-EFFORTS OF DOCTOR ROEBUCK OPPOSING PETITIONS CARICATURES 
 
 DEAN TUCKER S PROPOSITION CONDUCT OF THE MINISTRY CHATHAM AND 
 
 FRANKLIN CHATHAM S PROPOSITION AND GREAT SPEECH THEIR EEFECT 
 
 REJECTION OF THE PROPOSITION CHATHAM S CONCILIATORY PLAN ITS FATE 
 
 VOTES OF THANKS COERCIVE MEASURES PROPOSED PROCEEDINGS IN PAR 
 LIAMENT IN RELATION TO THESE MEASURES NORTH S CONCILIATORY SCHEME. 
 
 IN the days we are now considering, ships were comparatively 
 slow sailers, and a voyage between America and Europe generally 
 occupied several weeks. Cause and effect in the political relations 
 of Great Britain and her colonies were thus placed distant from 
 each other, and in the interim, events occurred w r hich materially 
 changed the aspect of questions in their bearing upon existing 
 circumstances. While intelligence of an act of Parliament was 
 coming slowly over the sea, the colonies might be making progress 
 in measures which would render that act inapplicable to their 
 changed position ; and criminations and explanations, passing each 
 other in mid-ocean, produced misunderstandings at each point of 
 departure. It was this confusion, wrought by distance, more than 
 anything else aside from the principles involved, that kept open 
 the breach between the government and the colonists. 
 
 In November, 1774, before the dignified measures and respectful 
 remonstrances and petitions of the continental Congress reached 
 England, the new Parliament had taken action in relation to the 
 colonies, which produced great indignation in America. This was 
 followed by a proclamation of the king, prohibiting the exportation, 
 from Great Britain to her colonies, of arms and military stores. 
 No sooner was this mandate known, than the colonists resolved to 
 
484 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 secure such munitions of war as were within their reach. The in 
 habitants of Rhode Island took the first step in that direction. They 
 immediately seized upon and removed from the batteries at New 
 port, forty-four pieces of cannon, and conveyed them to Providence ; 
 and Governor Wanton bluntly told Sir James Wallace, who came to 
 cruise in Narraganset bay, and who questioned him concerning the 
 matter, that they were taken away to prevent their falling into his 
 hands, and to be used in self-defence when the people should be 
 molested by British officials. Soon afterward, in mid-December, 
 Paul Revere, the patriotic engraver and mechanic of Boston, in 
 flamed some of the inhabitants of New Hampshire by recitals of 
 the wrongs inflicted by Gage, and the necessity of preparing for 
 war ; and four hundred of them, led by John Sullivan, who was to 
 be a major-general in the Revolution, and John Langdon, a prin 
 cipal merchant in Portsmouth, they proceeded to take possession of 
 the fort at that place, which was guarded by less than half a dozen 
 men. Captain Cochrane, the commander of the little garrison, 
 fired a three-pounder and some small arms at the insurgents. But 
 Cochrane and his men were speedily made prisoners, and while 
 they were kept in custody, the patriots carried off, in boats, one 
 hundred barrels of powder, some cannon, and small arms. The 
 royal governor, Wentworth, was incensed by this high-handed meas 
 ure ; and Secretary Atkinson, who was the personal friend of Lang 
 don, said to him, " Your head will be a button for a gallows-rope," 
 and advised him to flee from the country. The people assured 
 Langdon of the protection of their strong arms, and he remained, 
 to become a member of the continental Congress, the speaker of 
 the New Hampshire provincial assembly, and with associate legis 
 lators to fight for his country, as a volunteer, upon the heights of 
 Saratoga. These movements of the people were soon imitated by 
 the representatives of royalty in America, as we shall observe 
 presently. 
 
 Many conservative patriots, among whom Washington may be 
 ranked, earnestly wishing for reconciliation with Great Britain, but 
 not with any genuine hope, had looked w r ith intense interest for the 
 
MT. 43.] MISSIONARIES FOR FREEDOM. 485 
 
 result of the general election for members of Parliament in the 
 autumn of 1774, and to the effect which the acts of the continental 
 Congress would have upon the king and that body. That result 
 did not foreshadow any good for the colonists, for Lord North and 
 his colleagues found themselves supported by an overwhelming 
 majority in the house of commons. The king, too, had resolved to 
 bring the colonies into unconditional submission to the imperial 
 government ; and the attitude of rebellion which the inhabitants in 
 some of the provinces had assumed, had seriously prejudiced the 
 people of England against the Americans, toward the close of 1774. 
 
 Meanwhile, the able papers put forth by the continental Congress 
 had arrived in Britain, and produced a profound impression upon 
 the public mind. Doctor Franklin and other colonial agents at 
 court, were exceedingly active in giving general circulation to those 
 papers, through the gazettes and otherwise, especially the " Address 
 to the Inhabitants of Great Britain." These, assisted by other 
 friends of the Americans (some of them members of Parliament), 
 traversed all of the manufacturing towns of the north of England,* 
 and by personal communications, enlightened the inhabitants upon 
 the great questions at issue. The ministry became alarmed, and at 
 once made efforts to counteract this itinerant rebellion, before it 
 should gain strength and permanency. Adam Smith, the political 
 economist, and Wedderburne, the solicitor-general, who had recently 
 abused Doctor Franklin before the privy council, persuaded the 
 popular and eloquent Doctor Roebuck, of Birmingham, to follow in 
 the wake of these missionaries of freedom, and, if possible, to undo 
 the mischief, so called, which they might accomplish. 
 
 While Franklin and his associates had right and justice on their 
 side, and the powerful advocacy of self-interest to sustain them, 
 Doctor Roebuck had the strength of the entire government king, 
 lords, and commons to aid his efforts. In the American Associa 
 tion, that powerful instrument forged by the continental Congress, 
 
 * The manufacturers of these districts were chiefly dissenters, and viewing the established 
 Church somewhat in the light of an oppressor, their loyalty was quite as weak as any portion of the 
 Deputation of England. 
 
486 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 the merchants and manufacturers of Great Britain saw a menace 
 of commercial ruin to themselves, and they acted promptly. In 
 this, self-interest was the prime motive. Strong but respectful 
 petitions in favor of conciliatory measures toward the Americans, 
 were consequently sent in to Parliament from the dissenting manu 
 facturers ; and equally strong petitions went from London, Bristol, 
 Liverpool, Manchester, Norwich, Birmingham, Glasgow, and other 
 cities, in which the great detriment to business from the troubled 
 state of American affairs, was glowingly portrayed, and Parliament 
 was earnestly implored to re-establish pacific relations with the 
 colonies. Doctor Roebuck, by the employment of menace, dupli 
 city, and sophistry, also procured some petitions, adverse to the 
 others, and while the former were referred to an inactive com 
 mittee, aptly styled by Burke, " the committee of oblivion," these 
 were all presented at once, without reference, and were acted upon 
 and treated with the greatest consideration, as " the voice of the 
 people." 
 
 Never, in the history of constitutional legislation, was there given 
 an instance of more flagrant disregard of the voice of the people 
 than in this, and it excited great clamor. Writers of every degree, 
 in the gazettes, in pamphlets, and in broadside placards, engaged in 
 the discussions that arose ; and the sharp pencil of caricature in 
 the hands of art, embodied in magic lines the prevailing spirit of 
 the people. Satire, too, sometimes humorous and sometimes severe, 
 sent its shafts right and left. The ministry formed the chief target, 
 but the king did not escape without many severe punctures. While 
 one caricature represented Lord North as " blustering Boreas," eying 
 the distant colonies through his glass, and showing his ignorance of 
 the difficulties with which he had to contend by the flippant and 
 vaunting threat, "I promise to reduce the Americans in three 
 months;"* another represented the not very intellectual features 
 of his majesty, as a figure-head to "the Whitehall pump," from 
 which North was ejecting cold water upon prostrate Britannia and 
 
 * See Wright s " England under the House of Hanover, illustrated from Caricatures and Satires 
 of the Day," ii. 24. 
 
MT. 43.] DEAN TUCKER S PROPOSITION. 487 
 
 her daughter, America, to his apparent delight, But of all the 
 writers and speakers of that time, only Dean Tucker, a famous 
 pamphleteer, had the hardihood and the manly wisdom to propose 
 a peaceful separation of the colonies from the parent government. 
 He proposed that Parliament, by solemn act, should declare that 
 the colonies had forfeited all the privileges of British subjects, by 
 sea and land, and that they should be cut off from the British 
 empire, and disallowed any application for the restoration of those 
 rights and privileges, until, by humble petition, they should ask for 
 pardon and reinstatement.* Had this pacific course been pursued, 
 the independence of the United States might have been achieved 
 without the fearful expenditure of life and treasure which it cost. 
 Blind as moles, the ministry also shut their ears to the voice of 
 entreaty and the menaces of desperation. The haughty contempt 
 with which the prayers of the merchants and manufacturers, joined 
 with those of the colonists, were treated at that time, can be ac 
 counted for only by supposing, that the loyal bearing of the New 
 York assembly gave ministers encouraging hope that the other 
 provinces were on the point of bowing submissively to the authority 
 of Parliament. 
 
 On the nineteenth of January, 1775, Parliament reassembled. 
 It had adjourned, for the Christmas holydays, early in December. 
 Meanwhile positive information concerning the proceedings of the 
 Congress had been received ; and the earl of Chatham, as we have 
 seen, full of zeal for the Americans, was in his place. He had 
 written to his wife, in London, on the sixteenth, asking her for 
 positive information whether the house of lords would meet on a 
 certain day, saying : " I fear jockeyship, am resolved to be there on 
 the first day of meeting, and wish you would tell Lord Stanhope 
 that I shall propose something relative to America on the first day ; 
 
 * Josiah Tucker was the son of Abraham Tucker, an English squire ; but instead of enjoying the 
 pleasures of the chase and other amusements, he studied metaphysics at his father s country-seat, 
 and became a celebrated divine. Under the fictitious name of Edward Search, he published a work 
 entitled, " The Light of Nature pursued," which has been pronounced by the best critics, the most 
 original work of its kind, ever produced. It was in nine octavo volumes. Mr. Tucker was after 
 ward made dean of Gloucester, and became a famous pamphleteer at the time of our war for inde 
 pendence 
 
488 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 which purpose I wish to have generally known and propagated, as 
 early as may be."* Two days afterward Lady Chatham replied : 
 " I think it important that you should know what infinite pains are 
 taken to circulate an authoritative report, that you are determined to 
 give yourself no trouble upon American affairs, and that, for certain, 
 you do not mean to come to town."f She told him that this rumor 
 had given his friends great uneasiness ; and the countess herself 
 was much distressed. On the same day Chatham replied : " For 
 God s sake, sweet life, don t disquiet yourself about the impudent 
 and ridiculous lie of the hour. The plot does lie very deep. It is 
 only a pitiful device of fear ; court fear, and faction fear. If gout 
 does not put in a veto, which I trust in Heaven it will not, I will be 
 in the house of ]ords on Friday, then and there to make a motion 
 relative to America. Be of good cheer, noble love 
 
 " Yes, I am proud I must be proud to see, 
 Men, not afraid of God, afraid of me."J 
 
 On the following morning he wrote to Lord Stanhope : " I mean 
 to-morrow, to touch only the threshold of American business, and 
 knock at the minister s door to wake him, as well as show I attend 
 to America. I shall move for an address, to send orders imme 
 diately for removing the forces from the town of Boston as soon 
 as practicable.... I greatly wish Doctor Franklin may be in the 
 house, if the house is open to others than members of Parliament. ! 
 Immediately after the receipt of this, Stanhope sent a note to 
 Franklin, acquainting him with the expressed desire of Chatham. 
 Accordingly, at an appointed hour the next day, Franklin met 
 Chatham in the lobby of the house, when the latter took him by 
 the arm, saying, " I am sure your presence at this day s debate, will 
 be of more service to America than mine." The earl then ap 
 proached the doorkeeper, and said, in a loud voice, " This is Doctor 
 Franklin, whom I would have admitted into the house." The door 
 was readily opened ; and this public proclamation of communica 
 tions between the eminent English stateman and American sage 
 
 * Correspondence of the earl of Chatham, iv., 369. f Ibid, iv., 370. J Ibid, iv., 371. 
 
JE?. 43.j CHATHAM S PROPOSITION. 489 
 
 occasioned much remark. "The appearance of Chatham in the 
 house," said Doctor Franklin, " caused a kind of bustle among the 
 officers, who were hurried in sending messengers for members, I 
 suppose those in connection with the ministry, something of im 
 portance being expected when that great man appears; it being 
 but seldom that his infirmities permit his attendance." 
 
 Chatham opened the proceedings by first noticing the fact, that 
 Lord North had laid before both houses of Parliament, the day 
 before, a great mass of documents received from the colonial gov 
 ernors, together with the proceedings of the American Congress, in 
 detail, and then proposed, " That an humble address be presented to 
 his majesty, to desire and beseech that, in order to open the way 
 toward a happy settlement of the dangerous troubles in America, 
 by beginning to allay ferments and soften animosities there ; and, 
 above all, for preventing, in the meantime, any sudden and fatal 
 catastrophe at Boston, now suffering under the daily irritation of 
 an army before their eyes, posted in their town, it may graciously 
 please his majesty, that immediate orders be despatched to General 
 Gage, for removing his majesty s forces from the town of Boston, as 
 soon as the rigor of the season, and other circumstances indispen 
 sable to the safety and accommodation of the said troops, may 
 r* nder the same practicable." 
 
 This proposition was advocated by the earl, in a speech of over 
 an hour in length, of great power, and such, according to some who 
 heard it, as never before fell from his lips. " I wish, my lords," he 
 said, " not to lose a day in this urgent, pressing crisis. An hour now 
 lost may produce years of calamity. For my part, I will not desert, 
 for a single moment, the conduct of this weighty business, from the 
 first to the last ; unless nailed to my bed by the extremity of sick 
 ness. I will give it unremitted attention ; I will knock at the door 
 of this sleeping and confounded ministry, and will rouse them to a 
 sense of their impending danger. When I state the importance of 
 the colonies to this country, and the magnitude of danger from the 
 present plan of misadministration practised against them, I desire 
 not to be understood to argue for a reciprocity of indulgence 
 
490 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 between England and America. I contend not for indulgence, but 
 justice for America ; and I shall ever contend, that the Americans 
 justly owe obedience to us in a limited degree." 
 
 After stating the bases on which the supremacy of Parliament 
 was justly predicated, the great orator continued : " Resistance to 
 your acts was as necessary as it was just ; and your vain declara 
 tions of the omnipotence of Parliament, and your imperious doc 
 trines of the necessity of submission, will be found equally impotent 
 to convince, or to enslave your fellow-subjects in America, who feel 
 that tyranny, whether ambitioned by an individual part of the 
 legislature, or the bodies who composed it, is equally intolerable to 
 British subjects." He then drew a picture of the condition of the 
 troops in Boston, suffering from the inclemencies of winter, despised 
 and insulted by the inhabitants, wasting with sickness, and pining 
 for action, and pronounced them, " an army of impotence and con 
 tempt; and, to make the folly equal to the disgrace, they are an 
 army of irritation and vexation." Then, with bitter scorn, he said, 
 "I find a report creeping abroad, that ministers censure General 
 Gage s inactivity: let them censure him it becomes them it 
 becomes their justice and honor. I mean not to censure his inac 
 tivity ; it is a prudent and necessary inaction. But it is a miserable 
 condition, where disgrace is prudence, and where it is necessary to 
 be contemptible." 
 
 " But our ministers say," he continued, " the Americans must not 
 be heard. They have been condemned unheard. The indiscrimi 
 nate hand of vengeance has lumped together innocent and guilty; 
 with all the formalities of law, has blocked up the town of Boston, 
 and reduced to beggary and famine thirty thousand inhabitants. 
 But his majesty is advised, that the union in America can not last ! 
 Ministers have more eyes than I, and ought to have more ears ; but 
 with all the information I have been able to procure, I can pro 
 nounce it an union, solid, permanent, and effectual. If illegal vio 
 lences have been, as it is said, committed in America, prepare the 
 way, open the door of possibility for acknowledgment and satis 
 faction. But proceed not to such coercion, such proscription ; cease 
 
JET. 43.] SPEECH OF CHATHAM. 491 
 
 your indiscriminate inflictions ; amerce not thirty thousand ; oppress 
 not three millions for the fault of forty individuals. Such severity 
 of injustice must for ever render incurable the wounds you have 
 already given your colonies. You irritate them to unappeasable 
 rancor. What though you march from town to town, and from 
 province to province ; though you should be able to enforce a 
 temporary and local submission, which I only suppose, not admit 
 how shall you be able to secure the obedience of the country 
 you leave behind you in your progress, to grasp the dominion of 
 eighteen hundred miles of continent, populous in numbers, posses 
 sing valor, liberty, and resistance? The spirit which now resists 
 
 your taxation in America, is the same which formerly opposed 
 loans, benevolences, and ship-money, in England ; the same spirit 
 which called all England on its legs, and by the bill of rights vin 
 dicated the English constitution : the same spirit which established 
 the great fundamental, essential maxim of your liberties, that no 
 subject of England shall be taxed hit ly his own consent. This glorious 
 spirit animates three millions in America, who prefer poverty with 
 liberty, to gilded chains and sordid affluence, and who will die in 
 defence of their rights as men, as freemen." 
 
 After speaking of the members of the continental Congress and 
 their acts, in those noble words that we have quoted in a former 
 chapter, the earl continued : " I trust it is obvious to your lordships, 
 that all attempts to impose servitude upon such men, to establish 
 despotism over such a mighty continental nation, must be vain, 
 must be fatal. We shall be forced ultimately to retract; let us 
 retract while we can, not when we must" " To conclude, my lords," 
 he said, " if the ministers thus persevere in misadvising and mis 
 leading the king, I will not say that they can alienate the affections 
 of his subjects from his crown ; but I will affirm, that they ivill make 
 the croivn not worth his wearing. I will not say that the king is be 
 trayed ; but I will pronounce that the kingdom is undone."* 
 
 Such are some of the most salient points in that great speech 
 a speech which had not the desired effect upon the obdurate house 
 
 * Boyd s Report, published by Dodsley, in 1779 
 
492 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 of lords, but caused a profound sensation out of doors. Keferring 
 to it, in a letter to Lord Stanhope, Franklin said he had seen, in the 
 course of his life, sometimes eloquence without wisdom, and often 
 wisdom without eloquence ; but, in the present instance, he had 
 seen both united, and both, as he thought, in the highest degree 
 possible. The ministry felt it keenly. They " were violent beyond 
 expectation, almost to madness. Instead of recalling the troops 
 now there, they talked of sending more."* 
 
 Chatham was ably supported by Lords Shelburne, Camden, Bock- 
 ingham, and Richmond. They were answered by Lord Suffolk, 
 in a weak speech, and by others ; and when the vote was taken on 
 Chatham s proposition for an address, it was rejected by sixty-eight 
 to eighteen. But the earl was not discouraged by defeat. He was 
 superior to such emotions, and on the first of February, be pre 
 sented a bill containing a plan, which he had submitted to Doctor 
 Franklin, for the settlement of troubles in America.^ It proposed 
 to renounce the power of taxation, but to call upon Congress to 
 acknowledge the supreme legislative power of Great Britain, and 
 invite them to make a free grant of a certain annual revenue to be 
 employed in meeting the charge on the national debt. This being 
 effected, it proposed an immediate repeal of the ten obnoxious 
 acts,J of which the colonists complained. This proposition was 
 received with great coldness, and hardly obtained a superficial 
 examination of its merits. Lord Dartmouth, the colonial secretary, 
 
 * William Pitt (son of the earl of Chatham), to his mother. 
 
 t Doctor Franklin, in his "Memoirs," has given an interesting account of his interview with 
 Chatham, at his country-seat, at Hayes. He gave Franklin an outline of his plan, and read portions 
 of it to him. He told the sage, that though he had studied and considered the American business 
 thoroughly, in all its parts, he was not so confident of his own judgment ; hut that he came to set it 
 right by his, " as men set their watches by a regulator," The fact that Franklin had been at Hayes, 
 at that time, leaked out, and in the course of the debate upon the plan, the earl of Sandwich insin 
 uated that it was not the mind and hand of Chatham, but of Doctor Franklin that had conceived 
 and framed it. In reply to this insinuation, Chatham complimented Franklin very highly, as "one, 
 he was pleased to say, whom all Europe held in high estimation, for his knowledge and wisdom, 
 and ranked with our Boyles and Newtons ; who was an honor, not to the English nation only, but 
 to human nature !" 
 
 } These were the Sugar Act, the two Quartering Acts, the Tea Act, the Act suspending the New 
 York Legislature, the two Acts for the Trial in Great Britain of Offences committed in America, 
 the Boston Port-Bill, the Act for regulating the General Government of Massachusetts, and the 
 Quebec Act. 
 
/Ex. 43.] STUBBORNNESS OF THE MINISTRY. 493 
 
 moved to lay it upon the table, but the proposition was condemned 
 by other members. After a warm debate., during which the earl of 
 Sandwich, a violent partisan of the crown, moved the " rejection of 
 the bill, now and for ever," it was negatived by sixty-one against 
 thirty-two. Such a hurried rejection of a plan so wise and con 
 ciliatory, and arranged by one so capable and exalted a noble 
 servant of his country in the hour of its greatest need afterward 
 drew from Lord Camden, the most bitter reproaches. " Obliterate 
 the transaction from your records," he said; "let not posterity 
 know it." And the thinking men the wise and practical men of 
 England warmly thanked the earl of Chatham for proffering this 
 olive-branch to ministerial hands, that they might hold it out to the 
 colonists. The corporation of London honored him with a vote of 
 thanks, and a similar compliment was bestowed upon his colleagues 
 who supported him. The plan had the hearty approval of Franklin, 
 and he sent forth an address to the people of England, and to his 
 own countrymen, in which he portrayed the wickedness of rejecting 
 this plan of reconciliation, the only one that had been offered for 
 years. 
 
 But these things had no effect upon the king and his advisers, 
 except to make them more stubborn or stupid. Governed by the 
 ethics of the lion (without his magnanimity), "might makes right," 
 the ministry followed their foolish rejection of the pacification plan, 
 by proposing measures tantamount to an actual declaration of war 
 upon the American colonists, as rebels. 
 
 On the twenty-ninth of January, Franklin, Bollan, and Lee, colo 
 nial agents in England, had presented a petition, praying to be exam 
 ined at the bar of the house of commons, in support of the demands 
 of the general Congress. Their prayer was denied, on the plea that 
 such permission would appear like a sanction of the acts of an ille 
 gal body, as ministers denominated Congress ; and on the second of 
 February, Lord North proposed the first of a series of measures, 
 designed to coerce the colonies into passive obedience. He moved 
 in the commons, in committee of the whole, for an address to the 
 king, thanking him for the presentation of the numerous documents 
 
494 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 from America; affirming that the province of Massachusetts had 
 been, and was, in a state of rebellion ; that the house was resolved 
 never to relinquish any part of the sovereign authority ; and pro 
 fessing their readiness to listen to petitions and redress grievances, 
 when the subjects were brought before them in a dutiful and con 
 stitutional manner. They also urged his majesty to take effectual 
 measures for enforcing obedience to the laws; and then followed 
 the usual resolution to support him with their " lives and fortunes." 
 
 In his speech on the proposed address, Lord North distinctly 
 foreshadowed the nature of the coercive measures which ministers, 
 in council, had determined to enforce. A part of the scheme was 
 to materially increase the military force in America, and to restrain 
 the entire commerce of New England, with Great Britain, Ireland, 
 and the West Indies, and the fisheries on the banks of Newfound 
 land, until the colonists should become dutiful according to pre 
 scription. Charles James Fox, a young and eloquent member of 
 the house of commons, who had been dismissed from office, and 
 was now one of the most dangerous opponents of government, 
 moved an amendment, censuring the ministry, and praying for 
 their removal. Dunning denied the existence of rebellion in the 
 colonies, and w r as ably answered by the great Thurlow. Others 
 engaged in the debate, and it became very stormy. Fox s amend 
 ment was rejected by a large majority, and North s original motion 
 for an address was carried by an equally large vote. 
 
 When, on the sixteenth of February, the address was reported 
 by a committee appointed to prepare it, there was another warm 
 debate, in which John Wilkes, editor of the " North Briton," who 
 had given the government a world of trouble during a portion of 
 the first eight years of the reign of George the Third, took a 
 conspicuous part in favor of the Americans. He declared that a 
 proper resistance to wrong was revolution, not rebellion, and intimated, 
 prophetically, that if the Americans should be successful in the 
 impending struggle, they might, in after-times, celebrate the revo 
 lution of 1775, as the English did that of 1688. Earnest recom 
 mendations to pursue milder measures were offered by the opposi- 
 
Mr. 43.] COERCIVE MEASURES ADOPTED. 495 
 
 tion, but without effect. The ministry refused to modify a single 
 harsh feature of the proposition, which was, in fact, an extension 
 of the penalties of the Boston port-bill from one city to four prov 
 inces, and the address, as reported, was carried by a large majority 
 nearly four to one. 
 
 The king, in reply to the address, assured Parliament that he 
 would take the most speedy and effectual measures to secure obedi 
 ence to the laws ; that he was ready to extend just and reasonable 
 indulgence to any truly repenting colony ; and concluded with an 
 expressed wish that the disposition which he manifested would 
 have a good effect upon the temper and conduct of the Americans. 
 The king also sent a message to the commons, informing them that 
 it would be necessary to augment the naval and military forces in 
 America, in order to enable them to act in accordance with the 
 spirit of their address. 
 
 A violent debate arose on the reception of these documents ; 
 and it was finally voted, that two thousand additional seamen, and 
 fourteen hundred soldiers, should be sent to America. Gibbon, 
 the historian, who was then a member of the house of commons, 
 wrote to his friend Sheffield, on that occasion : u We voted an 
 address of lives and fortunes, declaring Massachusetts bay in a state 
 of rebellion ; more troops, but, I fear, not enough, go to America, 
 to make an army of ten thousand men at Boston ; three generals, 
 Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton ! In a few days we stop the ports 
 of New England. I can not write volumes, but I am more and 
 more convinced that, with firmness, all may go well, yet I sometimes 
 doubtr* 
 
 * Gibbon was a vacillating politician, and his parliamentary career did not entitle him to any 
 laurels. Bailey, in his "Records of Patriotism and Love of Country/ page 169, says, that Gibbon 
 was very much disposed to take sides with the Americans ; and at Brooke s Coffeehouse, had pub 
 licly said, that " there was no salvation for England, unless six of the heads of the cabinet council 
 were cut off, and laid upon the tables of the houses of Parliament as examples." Gibbon appears 
 to have had his price, for within a fortnight after making this expression, he took office under that 
 same cabinet council, with a liberal salary and promise of a pension, and became silent. This fact 
 was the occasion of the following poem, attributed to the pen of Fox : 
 
 "King George in a fright, lest Gibbon should write 
 
 The story of Britain s disgrace, 
 Thought no means more sure, his pen to secure, 
 Than to give the historian a place 
 
496 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 On the tenth of February, Lord North, pursuant to the intima 
 tions in his speech on the motion for an address, brought forward a 
 bill, which provided for the destruction of the entire trade of New 
 England, and at one sweep of the pen of the king in signing it, to 
 paralyze the operations of four hundred ships, two thousand fishing 
 shallops, and twenty thousand seamen, then employed in the British 
 fisheries on the banks of Newfoundland. The bill had a clause, 
 excepting those individuals from the blow who should produce a 
 certificate from their respective governors testifying to their gen 
 eral good conduct, and who should acknowledge the supremacy of 
 the British Parliament. This, like similar measures, awakened a 
 stormy debate. Ministers represented it as a just and wise punish 
 ment of the Americans for their rebellious proceedings, and only a 
 fair retaliation of a similar course which Congress had adopted. 
 The opposition denounced it as cruel, unjust, tyrannical, and un 
 necessary. The merchants of London presented an earnest remon 
 strance against it, because the people of New England were, at that 
 time, indebted to them nearly five millions of dollars, nearly all of 
 which must be lost in the event of such a blow to their trade and 
 industry being given. But the stubborn king and ministry would 
 listen to no softening propositions, and the venal Parliament adopted 
 the bill, by a large majority in both houses. 
 
 At this juncture, fresh intelligence arrived from America, repre 
 senting the general adhesion of the colonists to the continental 
 Congress and its important measures; and another bill (the sub 
 stance of which had been embodied in an amendment made by the 
 house of lords and withdrawn), was speedily passed, for restraining 
 all the other colonies from commercial operations, except the more 
 loyal sisters, New York and North Carolina. On the thirtieth of 
 March, both bills received the royal signature and became laws. 
 
 But his caution is vain, t is the curse of his reign 
 
 That his projects should never succeed; 
 Though he write not a line, yet a cause of decline 
 
 In the author s example we read. 
 His book well describes, how corruption and bribes 
 
 Overthrew the great empire of Rome ; 
 And his writings declare a degen racy there, 
 
 Which his conduct exhibits at home." 
 
vEx. 43.] NORTH S CONCILIATORY BILL. 497 
 
 While these restraining acts were under consideration. Lord 
 North had astonished all parties, and "seemed for a time almost to 
 dissolve his own," by bringing forward, on the twentieth of Feb 
 ruary, in committee of the whole house, what he called a concilia 
 tory bill. It proposed, that when the proper authorities, in any 
 colony, should offer, besides maintaining its own civil government, 
 to raise a certain revenue and place it at the disposition of Parlia 
 ment, it would be proper to forbear imposing any tax, except for 
 the regulation of commerce. North made a long speech in favor 
 of the proposition, to a very full house. " At first the court party 
 looked at each other with amazement, and seemed at a loss in what 
 light to consider the motion, and the prime-minister who made it."* 
 Then that party opposed it, because it was too conciliatory, and the 
 opposition were dissatisfied with it, because it proposed to abate but 
 a single grievance, and was not specific. "It is a mere verbiage, 
 a most puerile mockery," wrote the earl of Chatham, who was con 
 fined with gout at Hayes, " that will be spurned in America, as well 
 as laughed at here by the friends of America, and by the unrelent 
 ing enemies of that noble country. Everything but justice and 
 reason will, I am persuaded, prove vain to men like the Americans, 
 with principles of right in their minds and hearts, and with arms in 
 their hands to assert those principles."")- 
 
 To his great astonishment, Lord North found himself in the 
 midst of a cross-fire from both parties. " He was, in the beginning," 
 wrote Chatham the next day, "like a man exploded, and the judg 
 ment of the house, during about two hours, was that his lordship 
 was going to be in a considerable minority."! But he stood his 
 ground well, and adroitly carried his proposition through. Al 
 though the minister acknowledged that his proposition was really a 
 cheat, with a fair exterior, and was intended to sow divisions and 
 dissensions in the councils of the colonists, heedless and ignorant 
 members of Parliament gave it their support, and the bill was 
 passed by the large majority of two hundred and seventy-four to 
 
 * "Pictorial History of England," reign of George the Third, i., 205. 
 
 t Chatham to Viscount Mahon (son of Lord Stanhope), February 20, 1775. 
 
 t Letter to the countess of Chatham, in " Chatham s Correspondence," iv., 403. 
 
498 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 eighty-eight* Colonel Barre, ever the stanch friend of the col 
 onists, justly denounced the scheme in unmeasured terms, as low, 
 shameful, abominable an attempt to dissolve that generous union 
 which made the Americans as one man in the defence of the rights 
 of British subjects a scheme to cause the colonists to reject a 
 proffered conciliation, and thus to draw down upon their heads 
 tenfold vengeance that should have the appearance of justice ! 
 
 Two days afterward, Edmund Burke, who had eloquently op 
 posed the scheme of Lord North, presented a series of thirteen 
 conciliatory resolutions, and prefaced them with one of his most 
 admired speeches. "The proposition," he said, "is peace. Not 
 peace through the medium of war ; not peace to be hunted through 
 the labyrinth of intricate and endless negotiations; not peace to 
 arise out of universal discord, fomented from principles, in all parts 
 of the empire ; not peace to depend on the periodical determina 
 tion of perplexing questions, or the precise marking the shadowy 
 boundaries of a complex government. It is simple peace ; sought in 
 its natural course, and in its ordinary haunts. It is peace, sought in 
 the spirit of peace ; and laid in principles purely pacific. I propose, 
 by removing the ground of the difference, and by restoring the 
 former unsuspecting confidence of the colonies in the mother-country, to 
 give permanent satisfaction to your people ; and (far from a scheme 
 of ruling by discord) to reconcile them to each other in the same 
 act, and by the bond of the very same interest which reconciles 
 them to the British government. My idea is nothing more." 
 Burke s efforts were of no avail. His resolutions were rejected by 
 
 * This proposition no doubt originated in the effect of Chatham s conciliatory plan, and the 
 seeming willingness of Doctor Franklin to agree to some measure of mutual forbearance. To his 
 surprise, Franklin, after the failure of Chatham s plan, received some indirect intimations that con 
 ciliatory measures were desired by the ministry. Several weeks before, he had been approached 
 with questions, as to the real intentions and wishes of the Americans, while spending a portion of a 
 day with Miss Howe, sister of Lord Howe, who hoped that he would be incautious and reveal some 
 thing, while playing chess, drinking wine, and indulging in social pleasures. But he lost neither 
 his wit nor his wisdom. Afterward Franklin had several interviews, at the house of that lady, with 
 her brother, the admiral, who stood high in the confidence of the cabinet. Other friends of the 
 ministry held several earnest conversations with Franklin on the subject of a paper of "Hints," 
 which the diplomat had drawn up, tending to an adjustment of the difficulties. But it was found 
 impossible to agree with him upon terms of accommodation, and Lord North, without previous 
 notice, brought forward his plan, above mentioned. 
 
JE-r. 43.] THOUGHTS OF RECONCILIATION ABANDONED. 499 
 
 a large vote. On the twenty-seventh, David Hartley presented a 
 scheme similar to that of the earl of Chatham s. It was negatived 
 without a division. The u lord-mayor, aldermen, and livery of Lon 
 don," urged by the merchants, who were smarting under the effects 
 of the lash applied to the Americans, addressed the king in con 
 demnation of the late measures toward the colonies. They were 
 sternly rebuked by his majesty, who expressed his astonishment 
 that any of his subjects should presume to be abettors of rebels. 
 
 It was now evident that the king, his ministers, and the Parlia 
 ment, were bent on making the Americans abject slaves, or driving 
 them into armed rebellion. The acts of Parliament, sanctioned, 
 and made puissant by the signature of the king, proclaimed the 
 colonists to be rebels, and fleets and armies were prepared to sub 
 jugate them. The colonists, united and firm, had planted their 
 feet immoveably upon the solid rock of justice ; and appealing to 
 Heaven as witness of the purity of their intentions, and the righi> 
 eousness of their cause, they banished all thoughts of reconciliation 
 with Great Britain, because they saw no hope of such a consumma 
 tion, with honor. For ten years they had complained of wrongs, 
 petitioned for redress, and suffered insults. Forbearance was no 
 longer a virtue ; and when the buds began to burst in the spring of 
 1775, they turned their backs upon the unnatural mother, resolved 
 to leave the roof of their childhood for ever, rather than remain 
 bond-slaves in the household of British subjects. 
 
500 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 CHAPTEE XLV. 
 
 SECRET MINISTERIAL ORDERS PROCEEDINGS IN CHARLESTON FERMENT IN NEW 
 
 ENGLAND BRITISH BOASTERS RESTIFFNESS OF THE COLONISTS ARMED RE 
 SISTANCE AT SALEM A FARCE PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS KNOWN PRO 
 VINCIAL CONGRESS OF MASSACHUSETTS AT WORK EXPEDITION TO CONCORD 
 
 ITS DISCOVERY THE PEOPLE AROUSED GATHERING OF THE MINUTE-MEN 
 
 SKIRMISH AT LEXINGTON EVENTS AT CONCORD RETREAT OF THE INVADERS 
 
 REINFORCEMENTS FLIGHT TOWARD BOSTON TRIUMPH OF THE YEOMANRY 
 
 RESULT OF THE DAY S WORK ACTION OF THE MASSACHUSETTS PROVINCIAL 
 
 CONGRESS THE NEWS IN LONDON DARTMOUTH AND LEE. 
 
 WHEN the British ministry were strengthened by Parliament in 
 their preparations for crushing the rising rebellion in America, they 
 sent secret orders to the royal governors, to seize the arms and 
 ammunition belonging to the several provinces ; to raise provincial 
 troops, if possible ; and to prepare for the reception of an army of 
 British regulars to aid them. Suspicions of such orders had been 
 communicated by Americans in London to their friends here, but it 
 was not until after the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, that 
 the fact was positively known. On that very day, the packet-ship 
 Svmllow arrived at Charleston, South Carolina, with despatches for 
 the southern governors. The fact that General Gage had attempted 
 the seizure of stores at Salem, had already been communicated to 
 the vigilant patriots of Charleston, and a secret committee* had 
 been appointed, to demand from the postmaster the next mail that 
 should arrive from England, that they might intercept communi 
 cations for Bull, the acting-governor. The committee performed 
 their duty well, and the mails of the Siualkiv were subjected to 
 their scrutiny. All private letters were left untouched, but those 
 for the governor were opened. These revealed the hostile designs 
 
 * It consisted of William Henry Drayton, John Neufville, and Thomas Corbett. 
 
JE-r. 43.] PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. 501 
 
 of the ministry, and the papers were immediately sent by a mes 
 senger to the continental Congress, which assembled at Philadelphia 
 twenty-one days afterward. 
 
 During the winter and early spring of 1775, the inhabitants of 
 New England, and especially of Massachusetts, were in a state of 
 continual feverish excitement. They felt the chill and shadows of 
 the clouds of a fearful storm gathering in the firmament above 
 them, and they knew not at what moment the herald thunder-peal 
 might awaken them to brave it. The provincial Congress worked 
 nobly and fearlessly. They had the confidence of the people, and 
 their recommendations went out with all the force of law. They 
 ordered the purchase of ammunition and stores for an army of 
 fifteen thousand men, and it was done. They called upon the con 
 gregational clergy to preach liberty from their pulpits ; and hearty 
 responses were given. The towns freely voted money to arm, 
 equip, and discipline " alarm list companies ;" and in these ranks 
 citizens of every calling and social position were to be seen. They 
 had heard of the boast of a British officer in Boston, that all this 
 preparation was "mere bullying, and would go no further than 
 words, whenever it should come to blows ;" and they prepared to 
 show their traducer, who said that " any two regiments here ought 
 to be decimated, if they did not beat, in the field, the whole force 
 of the Massachusetts province," that he was a wicked and deceitful 
 prophet. They were prepared to show Colonel Grant (the boastful 
 military coxcomb who led the Virginians into such disasters by his 
 foolish bravado before Fort Duquesne, in 1758, and who had re 
 cently tickled the ministerial members of Parliament with stories 
 of the cowardice of the colonists, and the assurance, that with five 
 regiments he might march unharmed through all America !) that he 
 was a shameless and ungrateful braggart, and beneath even that 
 silent contempt with which the great Chatham treated him when 
 these words were uttered. 
 
 Vigilance suspicious, sleepless vigilance was everywhere seen 
 and felt. With eagle eye and vulture scent, it detected every 
 secret hostile movement of the foe ; and so well were the patriots 
 
502 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 prepared for the struggle, that the knowledge that an army of four 
 thousand disciplined soldiers a tiger chained and thirsting for 
 blood was waiting upon the peninsula of Boston for orders to 
 desolate the land, did not make them falter. Indeed, they were 
 eager to measure strength with the oppressors ; and had the coun 
 sels of inflamed zeal and passion prevailed, blood would have flowed 
 even before the close of 1774. But cool dignity bore supreme 
 rule ; and while the patriots were fully determined to strike back 
 when smitten, they were also determined to allow the imperial 
 government to bear the odium of having given the aggressive blow. 
 Salem was the first theatre of armed resistance. Late in Feb 
 ruary, General Gage discovered that arms and ammunition were 
 being secretly conveyed out of Boston, in the wagons and carts of 
 country people, who concealed them beneath loads of other things. 
 At about the same time, he heard that some brass cannon and other 
 munitions of war were at Salem, and he sent a detachment of 
 troops, under Colonel Leslie, by the way of Marblehead, to seize 
 them. It was Sunday. Intelligence of the landing of the British 
 troops came to Salem during service-time. The people were imme 
 diately dismissed; and, led by Colonel Timothy Pickering, they 
 confronted the British at a draw-bridge. A parley ensued, and a 
 compromise was effected. Leslie was allowed to march over the 
 bridge and back again, unmolested and unmolesting ; and he wisely 
 forebore to lay hands upon anything belonging to the people. It 
 was the first repulse of British troops, by the armed minute-men, 
 bloodless but effectual, and drew from a poet of the time those 
 words of bitter satire : 
 
 " Through Salem straight, without delay, 
 The bold battalion took its way , 
 Marched o er a bridge, in open sight 
 Of several Yankees armed for fight ; 
 Then, without loss of time or men, 
 Veered round for Boston back again, 
 And found so well their projects thrive, 
 That every soul got back alive !"* 
 
 * "McFingal, nn Epic Poem," by John Trumbull. 
 
MT. 43.] PROVINCIAL ARMY. 503 
 
 A few weeks later, and blood actually flowed. The insolence of 
 the troops daily increased. Parties of them occasionally marched 
 into the country a few miles. The people, irritated and restless, 
 were insulted by them; and everything calculated to hasten a 
 collision, was seen and felt. Meanwhile the committee of safety 
 collected a large amount of stores at Concord. Couriers were 
 engaged in Charlestown, Cambridge, and Roxbury, to alarm the 
 country, when necessary, and every suspected man from Boston 
 was narrowly watched. 
 
 Intelligence of the proceedings in Parliament soon came. On 
 the fourth of April, the gazettes of Boston announced, that rein 
 forcements were on their way, and that "the most speedy and 
 effectual measures" to put down the rebellion, had been set in 
 motion by the government. On the following day the provincial 
 Congress adopted rules and regulations for the establishment of an 
 army. On the seventh they sent a circular to the committees of cor 
 respondence throughout the province, recommending them to have 
 the minute-men in order. On the eighth it was resolved to raise 
 an army and ask the co-operation of the other New England colo 
 nies. And so, day after day, that body of patriots worked on in 
 making military preparations, without any attempt at concealment ; 
 while Gage, pursuant to instructions from the ministry, was pre 
 paring to deprive them of the means of resistance, by seizing their 
 arms, ammunition, and stores. Many patriots who apprehended 
 arrest, and transportation to England, left Boston ; but Doctor 
 Warren, the bold, the brave, and the beloved, remained, and kept 
 those in the country continually advised of every movement of the 
 army and the tories in the city. 
 
 On the eighteenth of April, General Gage ordered Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn to proceed with eight hundred 
 light infantry and grenadiers, to seize the stores of the patriots at 
 Concord. Every preparation for the expedition was made with the 
 utmost secrecy. Boats for the transportation of the troops from 
 the foot of Boston common to Lechmere s point, were launched and 
 moored under the sterns of the men-of-war; and the troops that 
 
504 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 were to march were relieved from duty early in the day. British 
 officers were also sent out on the road toward Lexington, to prevent 
 any information of the expedition getting into the country. At 
 sunset, Gage issued orders that no persons should leave the town 
 that night, after eight o clock ; and at near midnight, when the troops 
 embarked, the British officers believed the movement to be a profound 
 secret, unknown to all but their own friends. But vigilant eyes 
 were upon them. Dr. Warren had seen the preparations ; and early 
 in the evening, when well assured of the destination of the troops, 
 he sent messengers to Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who were 
 at Lexington, to apprize them of their danger, for already orders 
 for their arrest had been given. These messengers arrived at mid 
 night, and the people were startled by the cry, " The regulars are 
 coming !" Meanwhile a signal lantern was hung toward Chaiiestown 
 from one of the windows of a church in Boston. Its import was 
 understood by the patriots, and several started immediately to 
 alarm the neighboring inhabitants. 
 
 The British troops marched cautiously and silently into the coun 
 try, and for almost an hour they perceived no danger. But they 
 were watched by sleepless eyes. Gerry, Orne, and Lee, members 
 of the provincial Congress, who were at West Cambridge, saw 
 them pass, and they aided Revere and Dawes, the messengers of 
 Warren, in awakening the minute-men. Suddenly the discharge of 
 a solitary gun, and then the sound of a church-bell fell ominously 
 upon the ears of the soldiery. As they approached Lexington these 
 became more frequent, and the British were convinced that the 
 yeomanry were rising. The moon was waning, and in its pale light 
 solitary figures were seen hurrying across the fields. The minute- 
 men were in motion ; and at two o clock in the morning, one 
 hundred and thirty of them were collected upon the green in front 
 of the Lexington meetinghouse, under Captain Parker. These all 
 retired from the chilly air, except some sentinels, to be ready for 
 action at the roll of the drum. 
 
 Colonel Smith was alarmed by these movements, and sent a 
 messenger to General Gage, asking for reinforcements immediately. 
 

/ET. 43.] SKIRMISH AT LEXINGTON. 505 
 
 At the same time he detached six companies, under Major Pitcairn, 
 with orders to press forward through Lexington, and secure the 
 bridges at Concord. Pitcairn advanced with quick march, and 
 captured several countrymen on the way. When near Lexington 
 he was discovered by a horseman, who dashed forward and gave 
 the alarm. It was now between four and five o clock. The bells 
 were rung, guns were fired, and drums were beaten. Almost a 
 hundred of the minute-men appeared upon the green ; and when, 
 in the gray of the early morning, they saw the scarlet uniforms of 
 the British soldiers, and an overwhelming force approached and 
 halted near the meetinghouse, they stood firm. 
 
 The militia had been ordered not to pull a trigger until fired 
 upon by the foe, and for a moment, silence and hesitation prevailed, 
 for neither party seemed willing to become the aggressor. It was 
 a moment of awful import. It was a pivot of time upon w r hich 
 hinged the most wonderful events recorded in the history of the 
 nations. But the parley with justice and prudence, with right and 
 expediency, was only for a moment. Pitcairn and other officers 
 rode forward with speed, waving their swords and shouting, " Dis 
 perse, you villains ! Lay down your arms ! Why do n t you dis 
 perse, you rebels ? disperse !" The minute-men did not move in 
 obedience, and the troops rushed forward to surround and capture 
 them. Great confusion now ensued, and a flash of powder inau 
 gurated the battles of the REVOLUTION.* Then there was firing by 
 both parties ; irregular by the unskilled Americans, but precise and 
 fatal by the trained British. Eight minute-men were killed and 
 ten were wounded on the green and in their retreat for security 
 behind walls and buildings, and the remainder were dispersed. 
 The victors then formed their line upon the spot where blood first 
 
 * Both parties claimed the meed of forbearance on this occasion. Pitcairn always maintained 
 that the first flash of powder was in the gun of a countryman behind a wall, and that almost in 
 stantly he heard the report of two or three muskets. He supposed these were fired by the Ameri 
 cans, because his horse and a soldier near him were wounded. Then, he said, a promiscuous fire took 
 place. The testimony of many eye-witnesses, taken under oath, and submitted to the continental 
 Congress, shows conclusively that the British fired first. This was a question of great moment. It was 
 important to know who was the aggressor, and, therefore, every kind of information was eagerly 
 sought. See Journals of Congress, i., 79. 
 
506 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 flowed, fired a feu de joie in a single volley, and gave three cheers ! 
 Never was a victory more inglorious; and never had true men 
 greater reason for weeping because of the necessity which com 
 pelled them to become fratricides. They should have bent their 
 heads and dropped sad tears in silence, rather than uttered shouts 
 of joy on that glowing April morning.* 
 
 Colonel Smith reached the scene of action just as the skirmish 
 had ended, and the whole body of British regulars pushed on 
 toward Concord, six miles distant. They were in high spirits, for 
 they felt confident of success in their undertaking. That con 
 fidence proved fallacious. The whole country was thoroughly 
 aroused. Alarm-bells had been ringing since midnight, for Revere 
 and Dawes, tarrying not at Lexington, had hurried on toward 
 Concord with the startling intelligence, " The regulars are coming !" 
 They were made prisoners, but the people were awakened ; and 
 when word came to Concord that blood had been shed at Lexington, 
 the committee of safety and other leading men had made arrange 
 ments for the reception of the foe. Colonel James Barrett was out 
 at the head of the gathering militia ; and men, women, and children, 
 had engaged in the toil of removing the stores to a place of con 
 cealment and safety. Minute-men continually flocked in from 
 Lincoln and other places, and paraded on the common, under 
 Captain Farrar; while some of the militia marched down the Lex 
 ington road to watch for the approach of the regulars. 
 
 At about seven in the morning, the invaders appeared advancing, 
 and the militiamen came flying back with the intelligence, that 
 their numbers were three times greater than that of the Americans. 
 These, with Farrar s division, immediately fell back to an emi 
 nence about eighty rods from the centre of the town, and there 
 
 * In 1799 a granite monument, with an appropriate inscription on a marble tablet, was erected 
 upon the green at Lexington, where four of the eight minute-men were killed. The inscription 
 contains their names. When the writer visited Lexington, in the autumn of 1848, Jonathan Har 
 rington, who (then a lad of seventeen years) played the fife for the minute-men on that memorable 
 morning, the nineteenth of April, 1775, was yet living, well and sprightly, at the age of ninety 
 years. He died in March, 1854. For a portrait of Mr. Harrington, views of the monuments, &c., 
 at Lexington and Concord, names of those who were slain at those places and elsewhere, on the day 
 of the skirmishes, and minute particulars of the events, see the first volume of Lossing s " Pictorial 
 Field-Book of the Revolution." 
 
JEr. 43.] SKIRMISH AT CONCORD. 507 
 
 they were joined by those under Colonel Barrett. The whole 
 force was then arranged in two battalions. They had just formed, 
 when the glittering uniforms of the British appeared. After a 
 short consultation, it was agreed to retire to the high ground 
 beyond the North bridge, about a mile from the town, to receive 
 reinforcements which were continually coming in. 
 
 The British entered Concord in two divisions, and detachments 
 were sent to secure the two bridges over the Concord river, and to 
 ferret out and destroy the concealed stores. But the vigilance and 
 industry of the people had so effectually secured them that a 
 greater portion of them was saved. Some near the South bridge 
 were destroyed ; sixty barrels of flour were broken open in the 
 centre of the town ; the trunnions of three twenty -four pound iron 
 cannons were knocked off; sixteen new carriage-wheels, and a few 
 barrels of wooden trenchers and spoons were burned ; five hundred 
 pounds of balls were thrown into the mill-pond and wells ; the 
 liberty-pole was cut down, and the courthouse was set on fire. 
 That building was saved by the delicate hands of a woman ; and 
 almost half the flour was afterward gathered up. 
 
 While the marauders were thus engaged, the militia from the 
 neighboring towns had come in by dozens, and at ten o clock, the 
 little army of Americans upon the height was full four hundred 
 strong, and was momentarily augmenting. The rising smoke from 
 the courthouse excited their fierce indignation, and three hundred 
 of them, under Major Buttrick, pushed toward the North bridge to 
 dislodge the regulars. As the Americans approached the British 
 fired upon them. This was returned by a full volley, when the 
 regulars turned and retreated to the main body in the town, closely 
 pursued by the militia some distance beyond the bridge. In this 
 little skirmish the Americans lost two killed and one wounded ; and 
 the British three killed and several wounded and made prisoners. 
 
 Colonel Smith now perceived the rapid gathering of the militia, 
 and thought it prudent to retreat. He collected his detachments, 
 buried his dead, and at mid-day commenced his march toward 
 Lexington, having his main column covered by strong flankers. 
 
508 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 Difficulties were thick in his way. The country was swarming 
 with armed men, who " seemed to drop from the clouds ;" and from 
 behind stone walls, trees, and buildings, they poured a galling fire 
 upon the regulars. At Merriam s corner, at Hardy s hill, and at 
 Fiske s hill, there were severe skirmishes. There was neither order 
 nor concert among the militia. Each man acted upon his own 
 responsibility, and damaged the public enemy to the extent of his 
 power. Many of the British soldiers were killed, and others were 
 wounded. Colonel Smith was seriously injured in the leg, by a 
 bullet, when near Lexington ; and his party, fatigued by the night s 
 march, and the exertions of the day, must have been entirely 
 destroyed, had not the reinforcements for which he had sent, been 
 timely in their approach. Nor did the yeomanry escape injury. 
 Sometimes the flankers would fall suddenly upon them ; and during 
 the running fire from Concord to Lexington, and in the several 
 skirmishes, quite a number were slain. 
 
 The reinforcements, under Lord Percy, nine hundred strong, met 
 the fugitives within half a mile of Lexington, between two and 
 three o clock in the afternoon, and forming a hollow square covered 
 by cannons upon an eminence, received the exhausted troops within 
 a secure retreat for the moment, when they lay down, perfectly 
 prostrated. Percy had left Boston at nine o clock, with three regi 
 ments of infantry and two divisions of marines ; and with two field- 
 pieces, he had crossed the Neck to Roxbury and marched rapidly 
 into the country to the tune of Yankee-doodle, in derision of the 
 " rebels," that being used in the army as a sort of rogue s march, 
 when drumming offenders out of the camp. As they passed 
 through Roxbury a lad was observed indulging in loud shouts 
 and laughter. Percy inquired why he was so merry. " To think," 
 replied the lad, " how you will dance by-and-by to Chevy Chase/ 
 Percy was prone to superstition and the influences of presenti 
 ments ; and this allusion to the misfortunes of his house, made him 
 sad and thoughtful all day.* 
 
 * Lord Percy was a son of the duke of Northumberland, who was a lineal descendant of Earl 
 Percy, one of the heroes of the battle of Chevy Chase, and who was then slain. The popular Eng 
 lish ballad, to which the bold lad referred, commemorates the fortunes and misfortunes of that day. 
 
JF.T. 43.] FLIGHT OF THE BRITISH. 509 
 
 Percy dared not halt long, for a cordon of desperate men were 
 gathering around him. After partaking of some refreshments and 
 brief rest, the united forces resumed their march toward Boston. 
 That movement was a signal for the minute-men to renew their 
 harassing attacks. These were now done in a more systematic 
 manner, for General Heath had arrived and taken command of the 
 enrolled militia who were in the field ; and Dr. Warren was also 
 with them, encouraging and directing them. From every place of 
 concealment, they terribly galled the regulars all the way to West 
 Cambridge, where a very hot skirmish occurred, in which Percy 
 and Warren narrowly escaped death. A musket-ball struck off a 
 button from the waistcoat of the former ; and another knocked a 
 pin out of the ear-lock of the latter. In that skirmish the militia 
 suffered much ; and from that time, until they reached Charlestown, 
 the regulars committed many atrocious acts. Houses were plun 
 dered, property was destroyed, and several innocent persons were 
 murdered.* This conduct greatly inflamed the militia, and a cry 
 of vengeance went from lip to lip. "Indignation and outraged 
 humanity struggled on the one hand, veteran discipline and desper 
 ation on the other."f 
 
 The contest at West Cambridge was brief, and the British, with 
 their wounded, pressed on toward Boston. They found the Cam 
 bridge bridge removed, and were compelled to go by the way of 
 Charlestown. Every moment their retreat became more perilous 
 and critical. Their ammunition was almost exhausted. The pro 
 vincials were pressing close upon their rear, unawed by the field- 
 pieces. Armed men were gathering around them by scores, from 
 Roxbury, Dorchester, and Milton ; while Colonel Pickering, with 
 seven hundred Essex militia, threatened to cut off their retreat to 
 Charlestown. At the base of Prospect hill another severe contest 
 ensued, but the regulars, though in confusion, reached Charlestown, 
 and reposed under cover of the guns of the ships-of-war in the 
 harbor. At sunset, General Heath ordered the minute-men to halt, 
 
 * Address of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts to the Inhabitants of Great Britain. 
 t Everett s " Lexington Address " 
 
510 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 and the main body of the British troops, reinforced from Boston, 
 occupied Bunker hill that night. On the following morning they 
 crossed over to their quarters in the town, broken and dispirited. 
 They had lost during the preceding day, sixty-five killed, one 
 hundred and eighty-three wounded, and twenty-eight made pris 
 oners ; in all, two hundred and seventy-three. The Americans had 
 lost fifty-nine killed, thirty-nine wounded, and five missing ; in all, 
 one hundred and three. 
 
 The events of that day were exceedingly mortifying to General 
 Gage and to British pride. Well-disciplined troops, boastful and 
 insolent, had gone out with the presumption of conscious strength ; 
 and the same troops had returned with trailing banners, beaten at 
 every turn by raw militia, many of whom had never before heard 
 the sound of a gun in battle. The entire expedition was not only 
 fruitless of good results, but it was absolutely disgraceful to all the 
 aggressors concerned in it; and the event weakened, immensely, 
 the loyalty of the American people. The pen of satire, and the 
 pencil of caricature, made it a fruitful theme ; and the troops, their 
 officers and tory abettors, were lampooned and derided without 
 stint, on both sides of the Atlantic.* 
 
 On the following day the members of the provincial Congress 
 were summoned to convene at Watertown. They met on the twen 
 ty-second, and chose Doctor Joseph Warren president pro tempore. 
 A committee was appointed "to draw up a narrative of the massacre." 
 Another was chosen to take depositions at Lexington and Concord, 
 concerning the skirmishes at those places. When all proper ma 
 terial was collected, an elaborate account was prepared and sent to 
 Arthur Lee, one of the colonial agents in London, together with 
 the affidavits. An " Address to the Inhabitants of Great Britain," 
 
 * Among the most popular of these productions, was " The Irishman s Epistle," which closed 
 with the following stanza, after alluding to the flight of the troops from Concord and Lexington : 
 
 " And what have you got now with all your designing, 
 But a town without victuals to sit down and dine in ; 
 And to look on the ground like a parcel of noodles, 
 And sing, how the Yankees have beaten the doodles ? 
 I m sure if you re wise you 11 make peace for a dinner, 
 For fighting and fasting will soon make you thinner." 
 
 Moore s "Songs and Ballads of the American Revolution." 
 
JET. 43.] THE NEWS IN ENGLAND. 511 
 
 was also prepared and sent with the other papers; and was first 
 published in the " London Chonicle," on the thirtieth of May. That 
 address was signed by the members of the provincial Congress. 
 While they asserted their loyalty to the sovereign, and their wil 
 lingness to "defend his person, family, crown, and dignity," they 
 also declared, with manly firmness, their determination no longer 
 to submit to the tyrannical rule of a weak and wicked ministry. 
 
 This intelligence confounded the ministry. They had not re 
 ceived despatches from Gage, and affected to disbelieve the report. 
 Dartmouth issued a card on the same day, in which he alluded to 
 the report, and said, "It is proper to inform the public, that no 
 advice has, as yet, been received in the American department of 
 any such event," Arthur Lee, who was narrowly watching every 
 movement of the ministry, immediately issued a card, in which, 
 after alluding to Dartmouth s communication, he said, " I desire to 
 inform all those who wish to see the original affidavits, which con 
 firm that account [first published by Lee], that they are deposited 
 at the Mansion house, with the right honorable the lord-mayor, for 
 their inspection." 
 
 Gage s tardy despatches at length reached London, and their 
 publication confirmed the startling rumor. London was almost as 
 much excited as Boston ; and the retreat of the troops from Con 
 cord and Lexington being regarded as a flight, the ministry heard, 
 at every corner, the revilings of the populace, concerning " the 
 great British army at Boston that had been scared and beaten by a 
 flock of YANKEES !" 
 
512 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 THE REVOLUTION BEGUN NEW ENGLAND AROUSED OLD SOLDIERS IN THE 
 
 FIELD AN ARMY AROUND BOSTON CONDUCT OF GAGE WARREN S LETTER 
 
 ACTION IN OTHER NEW ENGLAND COLONIES EFFECT OF THE EVENTS AT LEX 
 INGTON AND CONCORD, IN OTHER COLONIES VIRGINIA ON FIRE SEIZURE OF 
 
 POWDER BY GOVERNOR DUNMORE LETTERS TO WASHINGTON PATRICK HENRY 
 
 IN THE FIELD DUNMORE ALARMED THE ASSEMBLY CONVENED DUNMORE s 
 
 FLIGHT EVENTS IN NORTH CAROLINA MECKLENBURG CONVENTION REVOLU 
 TIONARY MOVEMENTS AT CHARLESTON AND SAVANNAH ROYAL AUTHORITY RE 
 PUDIATED EXPEDITION AGAINST TICONDEROGA CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA 
 
 AND CROWN POINT. 
 
 THE war of the Revolution the war for justice and right the 
 war for freedom and independence was now begun. The echo of 
 the signal-gun, fired at Lexington, went over the land like a thunder 
 peal, and thrilled every nerve throughout the heart-confederated 
 colonies. In less than thirty days there was a cry " to arms ! to 
 arms !" from the St. Croix to the Yadkin and the Alatamaha. The 
 question, long in doubt, "Who shall be the aggressor?" was an 
 swered on the nineteenth of April. The greater question now to 
 be solved was, " Who shall be the victor ?" 
 
 The yeomanry of New England were first in the field, because 
 their ears first heard the appeal of the blood of the early martyrs 
 and forty-eight hours after the flight of the British troops to Boston, 
 full twenty thousand men were collected in the vicinity of that 
 city. They came from every quarter, and from every class of 
 society ; some with arms in their hands and some with none, each 
 anxious countenance expressing the question, " What can I do ?" 
 
 The slumbering energies of the veterans of other wars were 
 awakened. From the hills of New Hampshire, far up on the 
 Merrimack, came John Stark, a trapper and hunter, who had shared 
 
BUNKER HILL 
 
 NEW T(mK, VIRTUE EMMLNS & CG 
 
JET. 43.] THE GATHERING ARMY. 513 
 
 in the perils of the old French war upon Lakes George and Cham- 
 plain, with Abercrombie and Amherst. With him came a crowd of 
 volunteers, his neighbors and friends, zealous and bold ; and Stark 
 was commissioned a colonel. From his plough at Pomfret came 
 the veteran Putnam, of Connecticut, who " dared to lead where any 
 dared to follow," bearing upon his person the scars of many con 
 flicts with Gallic and savage foes, and the frosts of sixty winters 
 upon his head. A horseman, with a drum, had hastened through 
 his neighborhood, and, with brief tarriance and hurried words, had 
 told him the tale of blood at Lexington. The veteran stopped not 
 to doff his blouse or change his linen, but mounting a horse, he 
 aroused his neighbors and hastened to Cambridge at the head of a 
 large body of earnest Connecticut men, who joined him on the 
 way. And from Ehode Island came Nathanael Greene, a young 
 iron-master, and a quaker by birthright, with a troop of volunteers. 
 He had lately been disowned by the religious society to which he 
 belonged, because of his military proclivities, and now he com 
 menced that series of services in the field, which gave him rank 
 next to Washington, as a soldier of the Eevolution. 
 
 General Ward, by common consent, took the command ; and in 
 the course of a few days, the troops were tolerably well officered, 
 their pay was agreed upon, and thirty thousand were enrolled. 
 But great numbers returned home, some with their ardor abated, 
 never to return ; others to attend to the pressing duties of private 
 business, and most of them to make arrangements to rejoin the 
 army immediately. For nine consecutive days and nights, the 
 important pass of Boston Neck was defended by six or seven hun 
 dred patriots, under Colonel Robinson, of Dorchester. But early 
 in the succeeding month, the ranks were quite well filled again, 
 and preparations for a regular siege of the city were commenced. 
 Cambridge was made the headquarters, and a line of cantonments 
 was soon formed, nearly twenty miles in extent, the left leaning 
 upon the Mystic river, and the right upon Roxbury, thus completely 
 enclosing the town on the land side. 
 
 General Gage, meanwhile, was greatly distressing the whig in- 
 
 33 
 
51 i WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 habitants of Boston by rigorous restrictions, and a surveillance un 
 necessarily harsh. By his orders, all intercourse between the city 
 and country was cut off; but, finally, an agreement was entered into 
 between him and the municipal authorities, that the inhabitants 
 might freely leave the town, after depositing their arms in Faneuil 
 hall or elsewhere, under the charge of the selectmen, to be restored 
 to the owners at a suitable time. This agreement was soon violated 
 by Gage, and on the twenty-sixth, Doctor Warren, the president 
 pro tempore of the provincial Congress, wrote a bold letter to that 
 commander, concerning this town and country intercourse : " I think 
 it of the utmost importance to us," he said, " that our conduct be such, 
 as that the contending parties may rely entirely upon the honor 
 and integrity of each other, for the punctual performance of any 
 agreement that shall be made between them. Your excellency, I 
 believe, knows very well the part I have taken in public affairs. I 
 ever scorn disguise. I think I have done my duty ; some may think 
 otherwise ; but be assured, sir, as far as my influence goes, every 
 thing which reasonably can be required of us to do, shall be done ; 
 and everything promised shall be religiously performed." Gage paid 
 no attention to this letter, and utterly disregarded his agreement. 
 Finally, he would not allow the families of patriots who were in 
 the country to leave Boston, but kept them as a sort of hostages. 
 This exhibition of bad faith disgusted and exasperated the people, 
 as much as any of the previous acts of the governor. 
 
 The provincial Congress of Massachusetts, with Doctor Warren 
 at their head, worked zealously. They resolved to raise thirteen 
 thousand six hundred men; and they made an earnest appeal 
 to the other New England colonies, to swell that amount to 
 thirty thousand. That appeal was unnecessary, for already each 
 colony was alive with excitement, and preparing for action in that 
 direction. On the twenty-fifth of April, the assembly of Rhode 
 Island voted an army of observation, fifteen hundred strong, and 
 appointed Greene comrnander-in-chiefj with the rank of brigadier. 
 The Connecticut assembly resolved to raise six regiments of a 
 thousand men each, four of them to serve in the army at Boston. 
 
JET. 43.] PROCEEDINGS IN NEW YORK. 515 
 
 Putnam, Wooster, and Spencer, who had been commissioned as 
 generals, were each to have a regiment ; and the remaining three 
 were to be commanded by Hinman, Waterbury, and Parsons. A 
 special convention of delegates, called by the New Hampshire 
 committee of safety, agreed to furnish the volunteers from their 
 province, with present supplies ; and on the seventeenth of May, 
 the provincial Congress of that colony resolved to raise two thou 
 sand troops, in addition to those already in the field. Of these, 
 Nathan Folsom was appointed commander-in-chief, with the rank 
 of brigadier. Two days afterward, the provincial Congress of Mas 
 sachusetts clothed the committee of safety, then sitting at Cam 
 bridge, with full powers to regulate the movements of the gathering 
 army. General Ward, as we have seen, was captain-general, and 
 John Thomas was made his lieutenant. Kichard Gridley, who had 
 experienced siege-service at Louisburg, thirty years before, was com 
 missioned a commander of a corps of artillery, authorized to be raised, 
 and was appointed chief-engineer, with Henry Knox, a Boston book 
 seller, who had commanded an artillery company in that city, as his 
 assistant. At the beginning of June, the combined forces then at 
 Cambridge, amounted to about sixteen thousand men ; and the 
 British army in Boston, increased, meanwhile, by fresh arrivals from 
 England and Ireland, numbered about ten thousand. 
 
 As the news of bloodshed went westward and southward, it 
 aroused the people to immediate and decisive action. The New 
 York assembly, thoroughly leavened with toryism, had steadily 
 refused to sanction the proceedings of the first continental Con 
 gress, and to appoint delegates to the second. The American 
 Association was very popular in New York, and a committee of 
 sixty had been appointed by the people to enforce it. These, sup 
 ported by the true sons of liberty, took the lead in political affairs. 
 They had called a convention on the twenty-second of April, when 
 delegates to the continental Congress were appointed; and, on 
 their recommendation, the people proceeded to elect delegates for 
 a provincial Congress, which assembled in New York a month later. 
 The intelligence of the sacrifice of minute-men at Lexington, 
 
516 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 reached them on Sunday, the twenty-third, while Captain Sears, 
 one of the boldest of the popular leaders, was in official custody, 
 because he had, in haranguing the people, advised them to arm 
 themselves. ::: Sears was released, and the patriots took possession 
 of the city-hall, armed themselves, demanded and received the keys 
 of the customhouse, and closed its doors to prevent vessels clearing 
 for other ports, and committed other acts of rebellion. On the fifth 
 of May, they appointed a general committee of safety, composed 
 of one hundred of the leading citizens of New York ; and the next 
 day, an "Association for the Defence of Colonial Eights," drawn up 
 by the committee of correspondence, was signed by at least a 
 thousand of the principal inhabitants of the city and county. 
 Thus, early in 1775, royal power in that colony was virtually at an 
 end. General alarm pervaded the tory ranks ; the colonial assem 
 bly never met again ; and the provincial Congress, which convened 
 on the twenty-second of May, assumed all the legislative and execu 
 tive functions of regular government.^" 
 
 When the news from Lexington reached New Jersey, the people, 
 in spite of the prompt action and strong remonstrances of Governor 
 Franklin, took possession of the province treasury, in which there 
 was about one hundred thousand dollars, and appropriated a part 
 of it to the payment of troops they were then raising for the 
 defence of their liberties. When the same intelligence reached 
 
 * The people of Boston refused to furnish either labor or materials to General Gage, when he 
 was fortifying Boston Neck, in the autumn of 1774 ; and in the spring of 1775, he sent to New York 
 for both, in order to erect bai-racks for the soldiers on Boston common. The patriots in New York, 
 informed that a sloop laden with lumber was about to sail for Boston, held a meeting and resolved 
 to seize the vessel. At that meeting Captain Sears exhorted the people to arm themselves with 
 muskets, and twenty-four ball-cartridges each. For this he was aiTested and taken before the mayor. 
 He refused to give bail, and was about to be carried to prison, when the people took him from the 
 officers, and bore him in triumph through the town, preceded by a band of music, and a banner. 
 He addressed the assembled people again that night ; and a few days afterward he was elected a 
 member of the provincial Congress. 
 
 t New York has been unjustly taunted for its adhesion to the ministry at the commencement of 
 the Revolution. It must be remembered that family influence was very great and extensive in that 
 colony, and through it, the general assembly, as well as the provincial Congress, was loyally in 
 clined. But the great body of the people were chiefly republicans in feeling, and when toryism was 
 fairly crushed out of the popular assembly, no state was more zealous and patriotic, than New York. 
 Of a population of thirty-two thousand five hundred liable to do military duty, New York furnished 
 seventeen thousand eight hundred soldiers for the continental army ; over three thousand more than 
 Congress required 
 
~1 
 
 /ET. 43.] MOVEMENTS SOUTHWARD. 517 
 
 Philadelphia, on the twentj-fourth of April, a large meeting was 
 held, and measures were adopted for organizing a volunteer military 
 association. It was popular all over the province. The elders 
 among the quakers shook their heads and uttered grave admoni 
 tions ; but in spite of these, many of the younger members of the 
 society, warmed by the fire of Mifflin s zeal, took part in the organ 
 ization, and the "quaker company," already mentioned, about 
 thirty in number, under Captain Humphreys, was formed. Leading 
 men of Philadelphia, such as Dickinson, M Kean, and Wilson, ac 
 cepted military command ; and the assembly, on the first of May, 
 voted nine thousand dollars toward defraying the expenses of the 
 volunteers. A committee of safety was appointed, and Doctor 
 Franklin, who had just returned from England, convinced that 
 peaceful relations between Great Britain and her colonies were at 
 an end, was appointed chairman. That committee speedily took 
 measures for the defence of Philadelphia, and in the absence of a 
 provincial Congress, assumed executive authority. 
 
 The startling news reached Baltimore six days after the events, 
 and the inhabitants immediately seized upon the provincial magazine, 
 which contained fifteen hundred stand of arms, and other munitions 
 of war. A numerous body of the citizens enrolled themselves as 
 volunteers to join the army at Boston ; and the provisional govern 
 ment, consisting of twenty-nine of the principal men of Baltimore, 
 who w^ere appointed in November previous a " committee of obser 
 vation," recommended the discontinuance of fairs, as conducive to 
 "mischiefs and disorders," and inveighed against horse-racing, cock- 
 fighting, and general extravagance, as not only wrong in them 
 selves, but as derogatory to the character of patriots at that solemn 
 hour. 
 
 Virginia was all on fire when the news from Lexington arrived. 
 Simultaneously with General Gage s obedience to the secret instruc 
 tions of the ministry, Lord Dunrnore had attempted, pursuant to 
 the same instructions, to deprive the Virginians of the powder 
 belonging to the province, by having it secretly conveyed from the 
 magazine at Williamsburg, on board of a British schooner lying in 
 
518 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 the York river, a little below that town. This attempt was made at 
 near midnight, on the twentieth of April. The movement was 
 discovered, and at dawn the following morning, the minute-men of 
 Williamsburg assembled, with their arms, and were with difficulty 
 restrained from seizing the governor. At that moment a servile 
 insurrection was apprehended ; and at a public meeting of the 
 inhabitants, held early in the forenoon, a respectful remonstrance 
 was sent to Dunmore, complaining of the injustice and cruelty of 
 his act, at such a time. The governor made an evasive and unsat 
 isfactory reply, which increased the irritation of the people, and 
 they demanded the immediate restoration of the powder to the 
 public magazine. 
 
 The martial spirit of the whole colony was aroused when intelli 
 gence of this act became known. The independent companies 
 immediately flew to arms, and prepared to march to Williamsburg 
 and compel the governor to restore the powder; and, on the twenty- 
 fifth, the following letter was written to Colonel Washington, from 
 Fredericksburg, signed by Hugh Mercer, G. Weeden, Alexander 
 Spottswood, and John Willis, the first three of whom were after 
 ward well known as officers in the continental army : 
 
 "Sin: By intelligence from Williamsburg it appears, that Cap 
 tain Collins, of his majesty s navy, at the head of fifteen marines, 
 carried off the powder from the magazine in that city, on the night 
 of Thursday last, and conveyed it on board his vessel, by order of 
 the governor. The gentlemen of the independent company of this 
 town think this first public insult is not to be tamely submitted to, 
 and determine, with your approbation, to join any other bodies of 
 armed men, who are willing to appear in support of the honor of 
 Virginia, as well as to secure the military stores yet remaining in 
 the magazine. It is proposed to march hence on Saturday next 
 for Williamsburg, properly accoutred as light-horsemen. Expresses 
 are sent off to inform the commanding officers of companies in the 
 adjacent counties of this our resolution, and we shall wait prepared 
 for your instructions and their assistance."* 
 
 * Spurks s Life and Writings of Washington, LI. (Appendix), 507. 
 
Mr. 43.] HENRY S TRIUMPH. 519 
 
 Similar letters came to Washington from the companies of other 
 counties, and he would, doubtless, have led a little army to the 
 Virginia capital, early in May, had not the prompt energy of Pat 
 rick Henry already accomplished the desired result. That patriot 
 was at his home, in Hanover, when intelligence of Dunmore s act 
 reached him. He immediately assembled a corps of volunteers at 
 New Castle, on the Pamunkey (then a flourishing village, but now 
 a desolation), and marched immediately for Williamsburg, to secure 
 the provincial treasury from a like outrage, and to procure a restora 
 tion of the powder. His little band was considerably increased 
 w r hile on the inarch, and when he arrived at Doncaster s ordinary, 
 within sixteen miles of the capital, on the fourth of May, Henry 
 was at the head of one hundred and fifty well-armed and resolute 
 men. There he was met by some of the lower Virginia delegation, 
 on their way to the continental Congress, who informed him that 
 his approach had alarmed the governor, and that Corbin, the re 
 ceiver-general, was on his way, with authority from Dunmore, to 
 compromise the matter. Corbin soon arrived. Henry demanded 
 and received the value of the powder,* and sent the amount to 
 the treasury at Williamsburg. He then disbanded his followers, 
 returned to Hanover, and set out for Philadelphia to attend the 
 continental Congress. 
 
 Henry s act greatly irritated Lord Dunmore, and he uttered 
 strong menaces against the people. He declared, that if one of 
 his officers should be injured by them, he would raise the royal 
 standard, proclaim freedom to every slave who should join it, arm. 
 them, and lay Williamsburg in ashes. He issued a proclamation 
 denouncing Patrick Henry and his followers as rebels; filled his 
 palace with his adherents, and surrounded it with shotted cannon. 
 This foolish display of impotent wrath, destroyed the last vestige 
 of popular respect for the governor. In every county committees 
 
 * All the arms and ammunition in the maga/Jnc were not sufficient to cause a disturbance, for 
 they were too insignificant to be of much service to either party. There were only fifteen half- 
 barrels of powder, of fifty pounds each. It was not the value for which Henry contended. It was 
 a principle that he was quick to assert. He deemed it very important to strike a decided blow, before 
 an overwhelming royal force should enter the colony and deprive the inhabitants of the power of 
 
520 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 of safety were formed ; and at numerous public meetings the act 
 of Henry was warmly applauded. Dunmore had sown the wind 
 by his unwise and ungenerous course., and he was now reaping the 
 whirlwind. He had raised a tempest which he could not control. 
 
 While the storm was raging, and the hand of all Virginia was 
 upon its sword-hilt, the governor unexpectedly convened the assem 
 bly, and there was a lull. His object was to lay before them the 
 deceptive measure of Lord North, miscalled a conciliatory bill. 
 They met on the first of June, and were proceeding quietly with 
 business, when a plan of Dunmore s to blow up and destroy the 
 magazine was discovered. This fact, and a false rumor circulated 
 at the same moment, that a corps of marines were approaching to 
 the support of Dunmore, brought matters to a crisis. The people 
 flew to arms; and the governor, justly fearing personal violence, 
 left Williamsburg with his family early in the morning of the eighth, 
 and took refuge on board the Fowcy man-of-war, then lying in York 
 river. With this flight of the king s representative, royal power in 
 Virginia was ended. Dunmore was the first to u abdicate govern 
 ment here." 
 
 Onward the news of the bloodshed at Lexington was carried. 
 Li North Carolina the inhabitants were in a great ferment when it 
 reached there. More than a month before, Governor Martin and 
 the people had quarrelled. That official had tried to prevent the 
 organization of a provincial Congress in April. His efforts were 
 vain. The Congress was formed, the acts of the continental Con 
 gress were approved, and royal power w r as virtually abolished. A 
 little later a still bolder step was taken in the interior of the prov 
 ince. The committees of Mecklenburg county assembled at Char 
 lotte toward the close of May, and by a series of resolutions, vir 
 tually declared themselves, and their constituents, independent of 
 the British crown, and took measures to organize a provisional 
 government, as an independent state. While that convention was 
 in session, a courier arrived with intelligence from Boston, and this 
 greatly increased the excitement all over the Yadkin and Catawba 
 region. 
 
JE-L\ 43.] SEIZURE OF POWDER AND ARMS. 521 
 
 The cry of blood from Lexington and Concord, reached Charleston 
 twenty days after the skirmishes. The vigilant patriots there had 
 already, as we have observed, discovered the secret orders sent to 
 the governors, to seize the arms and ammunition of the colonists. 
 Acting upon this discovery, made on the nineteenth of April, com 
 mittees were appointed to seize all the powder in the magazines in 
 the vicinity of Charleston, and the small arms in the depository 
 there. The powder was secured on the night of the twentieth, 
 and on the night of the twenty-first, they carried off to a place of 
 safety, for the use of the patriots, eight hundred stand of small 
 arms, two hundred cutlasses, and other important military articles. 
 This business was performed under the sanction of the leading men 
 of Charleston. The powder was boldly landed at the wharf of 
 Christopher Gadsden ; and no one dared to interfere with the seizure 
 of the arms.* 
 
 The Charleston patriots sent intelligence of their discovery to 
 their brethren at Savannah, and before the latter had heard of the 
 tragedy in New England, six of the members of the council of 
 safety^ and others, had broken open the magazine, took out the 
 powder, sent a portion of it to a place of safety in South Carolina, 
 and concealed the remainder, in small parcels, in their garrets and 
 cellars. Governor Wright offered a reward of one hundred and 
 fifty pounds sterling for the apprehension of the offenders, but the 
 secret of their names was never revealed until the patriots had 
 driven the governor from the shores of Georgia, and were using 
 the powder in defence of their liberties. 
 
 * Johnson, in his " Traditions and Reminiscences of the Revolution," says, that Captain Coch- 
 ran, the powder-receiver at Charleston, "was well disposed to the American cause;" but he was 
 compelled to do his duty, while in office. Much of the powder in his possession belonged to mer 
 chants, to whom he was responsible. So he took from each of these owners a bill of his powder, 
 presented these to Colonel Henry Laurens, chairman of the executive committee of the province, 
 received the money, paid the merchants the amount of their bills, " and delivered the powder into the 
 hands of General Gadsden, for the revolutionists." This seizure of powder and firearms, was coun 
 tenanced and encouraged by the leading patriots. In fact, such men as Henry Laurens, Christopher 
 Gadsden, Charles C. Pinckney, president of the provincial Congress, Thomas Lynch, a member of 
 the continental Congress, William Bull, a nephew of the governor, and William Henry Drayton, 
 another nephew, and lately, a member of the governor s privy council, were prominent actors. 
 
 t Noble Wimberly Jones, Joseph Habersham, Edward Telfair, William Gibbons, Joseph Clay, 
 and John Milledge. The magazine was at the eastern extremity of the town, and was so strong, 
 that the governor had not considered a guard necessary. 
 
522 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 Before the middle of June, when the first battle of the Revolu 
 tion was fought, on Breed s hill, the inhabitants of all the colonies 
 had virtually, if not actually, repudiated royal authority, and were 
 controlled by that true government which is based upon the popu 
 lar will. Obedience to the representatives of the crown was no 
 longer a rule, but the exception; and the voice of the king, uttered 
 from the throne, having declared the Americans to be rebels, left 
 them free to act the rebel s part, as offenders as well as defenders. 
 They had stood in an attitude of defence until the first blow had 
 been struck. That blow had severed the bond of allegiance, and 
 the civil and military authorities felt warranted in taking vigorous 
 measures, even on the offensive. And these were accordingly 
 adopted, as we shall now observe. 
 
 The policy of the ministry in wooing and winning the allegiance 
 of the Canadians by the Quebec act, was wise and judicious, for at 
 the time of its adoption, in the spring of 1774, it was evident that 
 a general revolt of the American colonies might be anticipated as a 
 possibility, if not a probability. In that event, it would be very 
 important for Great Britain to have a stand-point, rendezvous, and 
 depository, for an army and its supplies, so convenient as Canada 
 to the scene of trouble, and with such a noble river as the St. Law 
 rence for the transportation of the paraphernalia of war. This was 
 the secret motive for the passage of the Quebec act, This motive 
 was clearly perceived by the leaders of the public mind in the 
 other colonies, and from that time, Canada became an object of 
 much solicitation. The continental Congress of 1774 sent a special 
 addresss to the inhabitants of that province; and in March, 1775, 
 Samuel Adams and Joseph Warren, members of the committee of 
 correspondence in Boston, sent a ; ecret agent into Canada, to ascer 
 tain the opinions and temper of the people there concerning the 
 great political questions at issue, and the momentous events then 
 pending. After a diligent but cautious performance of his task, the 
 agent sent them word from Montreal, that the people were, at best, 
 lukewarm ; and he advised, that the moment hostilities should com 
 mence, the strong fortress of Ticonderoga, on Lake Champlain, 
 
JET. 43.] A BOLD EXPEDITION PLANNED. 523 
 
 should be seized. He gave his employers positive assurance, that 
 the people of the New Hampshire Grants (now Vermont), were 
 ready to undertake the bold enterprise.* 
 
 Three weeks after this information was received by Adams and 
 Warren, hostilities commenced at Lexington, and the moment to 
 act aggressively had arrived. The continental Congress would not 
 assemble in less than twenty days. Delay was dangerous ; and it 
 would not be prudent to wait for ;he action of that body. Besides, 
 secrecy was important ; and so, without the official sanction of any 
 civil authority, an expedition against Ticonderoga was prepared. 
 It was originated in the Connecticut assembly. Wooster, Deane, 
 Parsons, Stevens, and other members arranged the plan, and ap 
 pointed two persons, as a committee to proceed to the frontier towns, 
 ascertain the condition of the fort and the strength of the garrison, 
 and, if they thought it expedient, to raise men and attempt the sur 
 prise and capture of that post. One thousand dollars were advanced 
 from the provincial treasury to defray the expenses of the expedi 
 tion. The assembly had perfect knowledge of the whole affair, but 
 it was thought expedient to withhold its sanction. 
 
 A few men in Connecticut joined the committee ; and after con- 
 
 * By the grant of Charles the Second to his brother James, duke of York, the tract in America 
 called New York was bounded on the east by the Connecticut river, while the charters of Massa 
 chusetts and Connecticut, gave those provinces a westward extent to the " South sea" or the Pacific 
 ocean. When, toward the middle of the last century, settlements began to be made westward of the 
 Connecticut river, disputes arose, and the line between Connecticut and New York was finally 
 drawn, by mutual agreement, twenty miles east of the Hudson. Massachusetts claimed a continua 
 tion of the Connecticut line as its western boundary, but New York contested the claim as inter 
 fering with prior grants to that colony. New Hampshire, lying north of Massachusetts, was riot, as 
 yet, disturbed by these disputes, for the country west of the Green mountains was a wilderness, and 
 had never been surveyed. When Benning Wentworth was made governor of New Hampshire, he 
 was authorized to issue patents for unimproved lands within his province, and. in 1749 applications 
 were made to him for grants beyond the mountains. He gave a patent that year for a township six 
 miles square, having its western line twenty miles east of the Hudson, and in his honor it was named 
 Bennington. The governor and council of New York remonstrated against this grant, vet Went 
 worth continued to issue patents; and, in 1754, fourteen townships of this kind wv.re laid out, and 
 settlements commenced. During the French and Indian war settlements increased tardily, but after 
 the victory of Wolfe at Quebec, numerous applications for grants were made ; and at the time of 
 the peace, in 1763, one hundred and thirty-eight townships were surveyed west of the Connecticut 
 river, and these were termed the New Hampshire Grants. The controversy between New York and 
 the Grants became so violent, that military organizations took place in tiie latter section, to resist 
 the civil power of New York, and about 1772, the military thus enrolled were first called Green 
 Mountain Boys ; among the most active and daring of whom were Ethan and Ira Allen, Seth 
 , Warner, and Remember Baker, men whom we shall have occasion to observe hereafter. Sec 
 Sparks s Life of Ethan Allen, and Thompson s Vermont, part ii. 
 
524 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 suiting Colonels Easton and Brown, at Pittsfield in Massachusetts, 
 who agreed to join them, the latter enlisted about forty volunteers 
 from his regiment, and the whole party went on to Bennington, the 
 home of Colonel Ethan Allen, who possessed almost unbounded 
 control over the Green Mountain Boys, as the train-bands of that 
 region were called. He joined the expedition with a strong corps, 
 and at dusk, on the seventh of May, the whole party, two hundred 
 and seventy strong, halted at Castleton and held a council of 
 war. Colonel Allen was appointed the command er-in-chief, Colonel 
 Easton his lieutenant, and Colonel Seth Warner the third in com 
 mand. 
 
 While these movements were in progress, a similar expedition, 
 for the same purpose, had been concocted and arranged at Cam 
 bridge. When the news of the skirmishes at Lexington reached 
 New Haven, Benedict Arnold (afterward the brave soldier and base 
 traitor), then a druggist and bookseller in that town, hurried to Cam 
 bridge with a company of volunteers, of which he was captain, and 
 joined the gathering army there. No doubt he had heard of the 
 proposed expedition against the lake fortress before leaving home, 
 for soon after his arrival at Cambridge he went before the com 
 mittee of safety, offered the plan of an expedition, and procured 
 for himself the appointment of its commander-in-chief, and the 
 commission of colonel, from the Massachusetts provincial Congress. 
 He was to raise not more than four hundred men ; and the pro 
 vincial Congress supplied him with money, horses, and munitions. 
 
 Arnold was instructed to raise his men in western Massachusetts. 
 On reaching Stockbridge, he was disappointed in finding another 
 expedition already in the field ; and stopping only long enough to 
 engage a few officers and men to follow him, he hastened forward 
 to join the others at Castleton. Ambitious and selfish, he claimed 
 the right to chief command, because of his commission, which, he 
 averred, was superior to all others. His claim was denied ; and the 
 Green Mountain Boys declared, that they would shoulder their 
 muskets and march home rather than serve under any other leader 
 than their beloved Allen. Arnold yielded, but with a bad grace, 
 
&T. 43.] CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 525 
 
 and he joined the expedition as a volunteer, maintaining the rank 
 of his commission, but having no command. 
 
 On the evening of the ninth of May the expedition arrived upon 
 the Yermont shore of Lake Champlam, opposite Ticonderoga, and 
 small parties, already detached, went up and down the lake to 
 secure some boats. All night the eager patriots awaited in vain 
 the return of these parties, for they had few boats with them. 
 These continued to cross and recross for some hours; but just 
 before the dawn, only the officers and eighty-three men were upon 
 the Ticonderoga shore, below the old grenadier s battery. Imme 
 diate action was necessary. Delay might be fatal, for the armed 
 garrison, strongly posted, would make a stout resistance. 
 
 Allen, with Arnold at his side, arranged his followers in three 
 lines below the bank, harangued them briefly in low tones, and 
 then, led by a lad who knew the fort well, they all moved quickly 
 and stealthily up the slope to the sally-port. The sentinel there 
 snapped his fusee and fled along the covered way to alarm the 
 garrison. The Americans followed closely, and the frightened fugi 
 tive, in his flight, led them directly to the parade within the fortress. 
 There another sentinel was silenced, and the invaders, with a tre 
 mendous shout, awakened the sleeping garrison. As these rushed 
 to the parade they were all made prisoners. 
 
 It was now four o clock in the morning. The boy-guide* had 
 led Allen up an exterior staircase to the door of the bedroom of 
 Delaplace, the commandant of the garrison. Three loud raps with 
 the heavy hilt of Allen s sword, and an order for his instant appear 
 ance, given in a voice of peculiar power, brought Delaplace to the 
 door, half-dressed and greatly bewildered, with his pretty wife close 
 behind him, shivering with fear. Allen and Delaplace had been 
 old friends. When the latter perceived who his disturber was, he 
 boldly demanded his errand. Pointing to his men and the disarmed 
 garrison on the parade, Allen said, sternly, " I order you to surren 
 der instantly!" "By what authority do you demand it?" asked 
 
 * The name of the lad was Nathan Beman. He lived until December, 1846, when he died, in 
 Franklin county, New York, at the age of almost ninety years. 
 
5 ,>6 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 the captain in astonishment. "By the Great Jehovah and the 
 continental Congress !" thundered Allen, at the same time flourish 
 ing his sword over the head of the commander, and ordering him 
 to be silent and obedient. There was no alternative. Delaplace 
 had about as much respect for the " continental Congress" as Allen 
 had for " Jehovah ;" and they respectively relied upon and feared 
 powder and ball more than either. Delaplace, making a virtue of 
 necessity, surrendered gracefully; and he, with the garrison of 
 forty-eight men, and the women and children, were sent prisoners 
 to Hartford, in Connecticut. The spoils of victory w r ere precisely 
 such as the patriot army at Boston much needed. They consisted 
 of one hundred and twenty iron cannons, fifty swivels, two mortars, 
 a howitzer, and a cohorn, a large quantity of ammunition and other 
 stores, a warehouse full of naval munitions, and quite a large quan 
 tity of provisions. 
 
 Just as the surrender was made complete, Colonel Warner came 
 over with the remainder of the expedition ; and when all had 
 breakfasted, he was sent with a detachment of men, in boats, to 
 attack Crown Point. He was driven back by a wind, but on the 
 twelfth he reached that fortress, and it was surrendered without 
 hesitation. 
 
 Arnold now again assumed the right to chief authority, by virtue 
 of his commission, but his claim was resisted, and the semi-official 
 committee of the Connecticut legislature, who had charge of the 
 expedition, formally installed Colonel Allen in command of Ticon- 
 deroga and its dependencies, and authorized him to remain as such 
 until he should receive further orders from the Connecticut assem 
 bly or the continental Congress. Arnold yielded, but sent a prot 
 est, and a statement of his grievances to the provincial Congress 
 of Massachusetts, from whom he had received his commission. 
 Soon after that he went down the lake, in command of a sort of 
 amphibious expedition, where we shall meet him hereafter. 
 
 Six hours after the surrender of Ticonderoga, the second conti 
 nental Congress assembled in Philadelphia. 
 
JEr. 43.1 WASHINGTON, GATES, AND FAIRFAX. 527 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 WASHINGTON AND HTS GUESTS AT MOUNT VERNON NEWS OP THE LEXINGTON 
 
 SKIRMISH WASHINGTON S JOURNEY TO PHILADELPHIA RECEPTION OF DELE 
 GATES MEETING OF THE SECOND CONGRESS PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE CONGRESS ITS SUPREMACY ACKNOWLEDGED CAUTION, 
 
 VIGILANCE, AND ACTIVITY WASHINGTON ON IMPORTANT COMMITTEES CAN 
 ADA AMERICAN CONTINENTAL ARMY APPOINTMENT OF COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 
 
 ADAMS S NARRATIVE WASHINGTON CHOSEN REASONS FOR THE CHOICE 
 WASHINGTON S CHARACTER DELINEATED BY A BRITISH PEN HIS ACCEPTANCE 
 OF THE OFFICE HIS SPEECH LETTERS TO HJS WIFE AND FRIENDS DE 
 PARTURE FOR CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 COLONEL WASHINGTON was at his home on the Potomac, enter 
 taining Horatio Gates, Bryan Fairfax, and a distant relative, as 
 guests, when the intelligence of bloodshed came from New England. 
 The powder-excitement which originated at Williamsburg, was then 
 at its height, and Washington, who was preparing for his journey 
 to Philadelphia, to attend the second continental Congress, was 
 called upon to decide which field of duty, Virginia or the nation, 
 demanded his first care. 
 
 The news from the east made a deep impression upon the inmates 
 of Mount Yernon. Fairfax, gentle and timid, and drawn by ties 
 of consanguinity and ancestral reverence to the side of the mother- 
 country, was much distressed, for he perceived the peril of pleasant 
 social relations. Gates, ambitious of military glory, and the honors 
 and emoluments of office, for which he had vainly sought, was 
 pleased by this opening avenue to a field of action whereon these 
 might be won ; while Washington, thoughtful and reserved, because 
 he communed with the intuitions of his loftier spirit, talked little 
 and wisely on the subject, but resolved firmly and nobly. All 
 regarded the event as the severing blow to colonial allegiance ; but 
 
5:28 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 only Washington, with the clear eye of faith given him by inspira 
 tion, seemed to perceive the glorious end in the dim future. 
 
 As we have observed, the prompt action of Patrick Henry had qui 
 eted the excitement concerning the powder, and on the morning of 
 the fifth of May, Washington, accompanied by Henry and Benjamin 
 Harrison (who had supped, lodged, and breakfasted at Mount Ver- 
 non), started for Philadelphia. They arrived at Chester on the 
 ninth, and while proceeding toward Philadelphia with other dele 
 gates from Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, and Delaware, they 
 were met by a cavalcade of about five hundred gentlemen, six 
 miles from the city. At Gray s ferry, a company of riflemen and 
 of infantry, with a band of music, " met them, and conducted them 
 through the city with great parade."* On the following day, at 
 about one o clock, most of the New England delegates arrived on 
 horseback, and were met and escorted into the city with similar 
 parade. 
 
 On Wednesday, the tenth of May, 1775, the second continental 
 Congress commenced its session in Carpenters Hall, at eleven 
 o clock in the morning. The Honorable Peyton Eandolph, of Vir 
 ginia, was unanimously chosen president, Charles Thomson, secre 
 tary, and Andrew M Neare, doorkeeper. On motion, it was agreed 
 that the Congress should be opened every morning with prayer ; 
 and Messrs. Willing, Sullivan, and Bland, were appointed a commit 
 tee to invite the Keverend Jacob Duche to officiate. This com 
 prised the business of the first day of the session. On the follow 
 ing morning, after prayers, the delegates from the several colonies 
 presented their credentials, and the regular business was opened by 
 resolving, unanimously, " That the doors be kept shut during the 
 time of business, and that the members consider themselves under 
 the strongest obligations of honor to keep the proceedings secret, 
 until the majority shall direct them to be made public." At that 
 time all the colonies were represented, except Georgia and Rhode 
 Island. On the thirteenth a delegate from St. John s parish, in 
 Georgia, appeared, and was admitted to a seat ; and two days after- 
 
 * Marshall s Diary, page 28. 
 
POWERS OF CONGRESS. 529 
 
 ward delegates from Rhode Island also appeared and took their 
 seats. 
 
 This Congress, according to the terms of appointment, was no 
 more a legislative body than that of 1774 ; but the circumstances 
 of the country had so changed within a few months, that it became, 
 necessarily, legislative as well as deliberative. Civil war had com 
 menced. Blood had been shed and petitions and remonstrances 
 were at an end. By common consent the general Congress was 
 regarded as the arbiter and director of the public affairs of the con 
 federated nation the supreme legislature. The provincial Con 
 gress of Massachusetts acknowledged this when, on the third of 
 May, a communication from that body, addressed to the continental 
 Congress, said, " The sudden exigency of our public affairs precluded 
 the possibility of waiting for your direction in these important measures 
 [raising and providing for an army] ;" and by asking for its direc 
 tion and assistance, and suggesting that an American army should 
 be forthwith raised. A similar acknowledgment came from New 
 York, when the advice of Congress was asked concerning the 
 proper conduct of the inhabitants there, when expected British 
 troops from Ireland should arrive. Perceiving the responsibility 
 thus being laid upon them, and the importance of assuming it, the 
 Congress, on the sixteenth of May (the day after the admission of 
 the Rhode Island delegation, made the representation of all the 
 colonies complete), "resolved itself into a committee of the whole, 
 to take into consideration the state of America."* 
 
 Assuming the control of continental affairs, the Congress pro 
 ceeded vigorously but cautiously, to put the country in a state of 
 defence. Intelligence of the capture of Ticonderoga reached Phil 
 adelphia on the morning of the eighteenth of May, and produced 
 feelings of mingled exultation and anxiety. The event was in 
 spiriting, but Congress was unwilling to be instrumental in widen 
 ing the breach unnecessarily. Accordingly, on the same day, it 
 recommended that the committees of the cities and counties of 
 New York and Albany should remove all the spoils taken at Ticon- 
 
 * Journals of Congress, edition of 1800, i., 95. 
 
 34 
 
530 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 deroga to the south end of Lake George, where they might not be 
 recaptured by any force from Canada ; and " that an exact inven 
 tory be taken of all such cannons and stores, in order that they 
 may be safely returned, when the restoration of the former har 
 mony between Great Britain and their colonies, so ardently wished 
 for by the latter, shall render it prudent and consistent with the 
 overruling law of self-preservation." There w r as still a lingering 
 feeling of attachment to Great Britain ; and the most conservative 
 of the members, among whom Washington may be ranked, still re 
 tained hopes, though feeble, that a reconciliation might be effected. 
 Hence the caution exhibited in these proceedings of Congress. 
 
 But this caution did not overrule the prudence of Congress. 
 Committees were appointed to prepare reports on military meas 
 ures, of every kind, in the form of recommendations concerning 
 what posts should be occupied; how to procure ammunition and 
 military stores ; what money would be necessary ; and to prepare 
 rules and regulations for the government of an army. Washington 
 was appointed chairman of all these committees, and by this mark 
 of confidence, Congress evinced its appreciation of his eminent 
 executive abilities. 
 
 On the twenty-sixth the conciliatory resolutions of Lord North 
 were laid before Congress ; and the significant commentary upon 
 them, made by that body on the same day, was a resolution that 
 the colonies should be " immediately put in a state of defence." At 
 the same time a "humble and dutiful petition to the king" was 
 moved, while the colony of New York was strongly urged not to 
 relax its vigilance and its preparations for defence. 
 
 The motion to petition his majesty was vehemently opposed, 
 especially by the New England delegates. John Adams considered 
 it an imbecile and temporizing measure, calculated to embarrass the 
 proceedings of Congress, and to give the ministry time to send 
 fleets and armies, while the Americans were vainly waiting to hear 
 words of royal clemency. The motion was carried, however, but 
 its advocates, as well as its opponents, went on vigorously in prepar 
 ations to meet the wrath of offended Britain. The Congress evi- 
 
/Er. 43.] DALLIANCE WITH CANADA. 531 
 
 rlently considered it more as a formality than a means of usefulness 
 at that time, for they had been taught by remembered experience, 
 not to put their " trust in princes." 
 
 It was important to bring the Canadians into the union, and 
 efforts toward that end were made in and out of Congress during 
 the summer, which proved ultimately detrimental to the cause. 
 On the twenty -ninth an address "To the Oppressed Inhabitants of 
 Canada" was approved by Congress ; and on the following day a 
 letter was received from Colonel Arnold, at Crown Point, informing 
 that body that a considerable number of British regulars were at 
 St. John, on the Sorel, preparing to invade northern New York. 
 Congress thereupon recommended the authorities of New York and 
 Connecticut to take immediate measures to strengthen Ticonderoga 
 and Crown Point ; but, cautious, and hoping to secure the allegiance 
 of the Canadians, it was resolved, on the first of June, "that no 
 expedition or incursion ought to be undertaken or made, by any 
 colony or body of colonists, against or into Canada."* This resolu 
 tion, which defeated the hopes and desires of Ethan Allen and 
 others, who were anxious to invade Canada immediately, was trans 
 lated into the French language, and circulated in that province, 
 with the letter to the inhabitants just referred to. 
 
 Notwithstanding these loyal and cautious measures, the work of 
 preparation for war went vigorously forward, but not in unmind- 
 fulness of the Source of all strength, for a day of national fasting, 
 humiliation, and prayer was appointed.*)* Then the armed yeo 
 manry at Boston were adopted by Congress, and with other forces 
 raised or to be raised for the defence of the colonies, became known 
 as the " American Continental Army." J It was also resolved, on 
 
 * Journals of Congress, edition of 1800, i., 104. 
 
 t They appointed the twentieth of July for that purpose. Marshall, in his diary of the thirtieth 
 of June, says, " This being monthly meeting [of the quakers] it is said J * * P * * [James Pem- 
 berton] took much pains in endeavoring to persuade the auditors, and they, their acquaintances, by 
 no means to keep the twentieth of next month as a day of prayer and fasting, but to keep open 
 shop and houses. This was, in plain terms, saying, you may frolic as much as you please on that 
 day, but don t, by any means, suffer yourselves to be humble, or praying on that day, because it is 
 appointed by the delegates for that service, to pray and worship God." In the resolution appointing 
 this fast-day, Congress, for the first time, styled the confederation " The Twelve United Colonies." 
 
 | See Form of Enlistment, Journals of Congress, edition of 1800, i., 111. 
 
532 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 the fourteenth of June, " that six companies of expert riflemen be 
 immediately raised in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in 
 Virginia," each company to consist of sixty-eight privates, besides 
 officers, and to join the army at Boston as soon as possible, there to 
 serve as light infantry.* 
 
 And now a subject of greatest import occupied the attention of 
 Congress. A man was to be selected to lead the " American conti 
 nental army," and accordingly, on Thursday, the fifteenth of June, 
 Congress resolved "that a general be appointed to command all 
 the continental forces, raised or to be raised, for the defence of 
 American liberty ;" and " that five hundred dollars, per month, be 
 allowed for the pay and expenses of the general." This was a 
 most difficult and delicate task, and yet it was one that would not 
 admit of delay. The critical condition of the army at Boston 
 demanded immediate action, for all was confusion. Without muni 
 tions of war, without arms, without clothing, and without pay, it 
 was on the eve of dissolution, and New England legislatures, com 
 mittees, and individuals, as well as the commanders of the motley 
 forces, were importuning Congress to act with promptness and 
 efficiency. 
 
 General Ward was at the head of the army, doing his best, but 
 it was conceded that he did not possess all the requisites of a skilful 
 and judicious commander, so essential for the important service 
 now to be performed ; and it was evident in Congress, that the 
 southern delegates were desirous of having a southern man ap 
 pointed to the chief command. They could not bear the idea of a 
 New England army, commanded by a New England general. This 
 local jealousy produced the embarrassment. Whether it was real 
 or feigned whether it arose from principle or pride, was of no 
 consequence. It existed and had to be met in a conciliatory spirit. 
 
 The story of the scene on that occasion is well told by John 
 Adams, who was a conspicuous actor. " The intention," he says, 
 " was very visible to me, that Colonel Washington was their object ; 
 and so many of our stanchest men were in the plan, that we could 
 
 * Journals of Congress, i., 110 
 
Mr. 43.] ADAMS S NARRATIVE. 533 
 
 cany nothing without conceding to it. Another embarrassment, 
 which was never publicly known, and which was carefully con 
 cealed by those who knew it, was, that the Massachusetts and other 
 New England delegates were divided. Mr. Hancock and Mr. Gush 
 ing hung back; Mr. Paine did not come forward, and even Mr. 
 Samuel Adams was irresolute. Mr. Hancock himself had an ambi 
 tion to be appointed commander-in-chief. Whether he thought an 
 election a compliment due to him, and intended to have the honor 
 of declining it, or whether he would have accepted, I know not. 
 To the compliment he had some pretensions, for, at that time, his 
 exertions, sacrifices, and general merits in the cause of his country, 
 had been incomparably greater than those of Colonel Washington. 
 But the delicacy of his health, and his entire want of experience in 
 actual service, though an excellent militia officer, were decisive 
 objections to him, in my mind. In canvassing this subject, out of 
 doors, I found, too, that even among the delegates of Virginia there 
 were difficulties. The apostolical reasonings among themselves, 
 which should be greatest, were not less energetic among the saints 
 of the ancient dominion, than they were among us of New England. 
 In several conversations, I found more than one very cool about 
 the appointment of Washington, and particularly Mr. Pendleton 
 was very clear and full against it. 
 
 " Full of anxieties concerning these confusions, and apprehending 
 daily that we should hear very distressing news from Boston, I 
 walked with Mr. Samuel Adams in the statehouse yard, for a little 
 exercise and fresh air, before the hour of Congress, and there repre 
 sented to him the various dangers that surrounded us. He agreed 
 to them all, but said, What shall we do ? I answered him, that 
 he knew I had taken great pains to get our colleagues to agree 
 upon some plan, that we might be unanimous ; but he knew that 
 they would pledge themselves to nothing ; but I was determined 
 to take a step which should compel them and all the other 
 members of Congress, to declare themselves for or against some 
 thing. C I am determined, this morning, to make a direct motion 
 that Congress should adopt the army before Boston, and appoint 
 
534 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 Colonel Washington commander of it. Mr. Adams seemed to think 
 very seriously of it, but said nothing. 
 
 " Accordingly, when Congress had assembled, I rose in my place, 
 and in as short a speech as the subject would admit, represented 
 the state of the colonies, the uncertainty in the minds of the peo 
 ple, their great expectation and anxiety, the distresses of the army, 
 the danger of its dissolution, the difficulty of collecting another, 
 and the probability that the British army would take advantage of 
 our delays, march out of Boston, and spread desolation as far as 
 they could go. I concluded with a motion, in form, that Congress 
 would adopt the army at Cambridge, and appoint a general ; that 
 though this was not the proper time to nominate a general, yet, as 
 I had reason to believe this was a point of the greatest difficulty, I 
 had no hesitation to declare, that I had but one gentleman in my 
 mind for that important command, and that was a gentleman from 
 Virginia who was among us, and very well known to all of us ; a 
 gentleman whose skill and experience as an officer, whose inde 
 pendent fortune, great talents, and excellent universal character, 
 would command the approbation of all America, and unite the 
 cordial exertions of all the colonies better than any other person 
 in the Union. Mr. Washington, who happened to sit near the door, 
 as soon as he heard me allude to him, from his usual modesty, 
 darted into the library-room. Mr. Hancock who was our presi 
 dent,* which gave me an opportunity to observe his countenance 
 while I was speaking on the state of the colonies, the army at 
 Cambridge, and the enemy heard me with visible pleasure; but 
 when I came to describe Washington for the commander, I never 
 remarked a more sudden and striking change of countenance. 
 
 * Mr. Hancock was chosen to that office on the twenty-fourth of May, when Peyton Randolph, 
 the president, left Philadelphia to attend to his duties as speaker of the Virginia assembly, which 
 was to convene on the first of June. Mr. Randolph was a native of Virginia, and descended from 
 one of the oldest aristocratic families of that colony. Like other young men of his class, at that 
 time, he was educated in England, chose the profession of law, and at the age of twenty seven years, 
 he was attorney general of the province. That was in the year 1756. He was, for some years, a 
 member of the Virginia assembly, and speaker of that body. He resumed his seat in Congress, on 
 his return from Virginia, and died of apoplexy, at the country-house of Richard Hills, near Phila 
 delphia, after dinner, on Sunday, the twenty-second of October, 1775, at the age of fifty-two years. 
 His funeral sermon was preached in Christ church, by Mr. Ducho, on the twenty-fourth. 
 
m^ 
 
JET. 43.] WASHINGTON CHOSEN COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 535 
 
 Mortification and resentment were expressed as forcibly as his face 
 could exhibit them. 
 
 " Mr. Samuel Adams seconded the motion, and that did not soften 
 the president s physiognomy at all. The subject came under debate, 
 and several gentlemen declared themselves against the appointment 
 of Mr. Washington, not on account of any personal objection against 
 him, but because the army were all from New England, had a 
 general of their own, appeared to be satisfied with him, and had 
 proved themselves able to imprison the British army in Boston, 
 which was all they expected or desired at that time. Mr. Pendle- 
 ton, of Virginia, and Mr. Sherman, of Connecticut, were very 
 explicit in declaring this opinion. Mr. Gushing and several others 
 more faintly expressed their opposition, and their fears of discon 
 tents in the army and in New England.... The subject was post 
 poned to a future day. In the meantime pains were taken, out of 
 doors, to obtain a unanimity, and the voices were generally so 
 clearly in favor of Washington, that the dissentient members were 
 persuaded to withdraw their opposition, and Mr. Washington was 
 nominated, I believe, by Mr. Thomas Johnson, of Maryland, unani 
 mously elected, and the army adopted."* 
 
 The vote was taken by ballots, and each bore the name of GEORGE 
 WASHINGTON. It was a happy choice. Looking back from the stand 
 point of to-day, uninfluenced by the personal and partisan consider 
 ations which then prevailed, we distinctly see the hand of God in 
 history, in viewing this remarkable event. New England was then 
 in a blaze of excitement, and every voice was for war. Eeason 
 had lost its conservative power, and passion, blind and headstrong, 
 led all men there triumphantly in its thrall. In that leadership 
 th<?re was imminent danger, for an injudicious act, having a national 
 bearing, might extinguish every hope of future advantage. Those 
 more remote from the theatre of the excitement reflected coolly, 
 saw the peril, and trembled ; and on this account, the delegates 
 from New York and the colonies southward, w^ere unwilling to 
 intrust the command of the continental army to a New England 
 
 * Works of John Adams (Diary), ii., 415. 
 
53G WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 officer, whose conduct would receive its key-note from the tone of 
 thoughts and events around him.* The idea of political independ 
 ence for the colonies, did not then prevail out of New England. 
 The war was for right and justice, not for independence. Kecon- 
 ciliation upon honorable terms was still the great desire of the 
 nation, and it was vitally important that the man who should be 
 the chief leader of the physical strength of the country should be 
 deeply impressed with this thought. 
 
 Of the officers w 7 ho had been proposed during the discussion, 
 some were distinguished for their great zeal for blind resistance and 
 independence; and others, unpledged and uncommitted, though 
 inhabitants, were not natives of America, None of them possessed 
 the ample fortune and social position of Washington, who, in addi 
 tion to these advantages, so important at that time, had strong 
 claims because of past military services, and was a native American. 
 He, alone, could command unwavering national confidence, and he, 
 alone, appears to have fully deserved it. In all the preliminary 
 strifes in which he had been called to engage, he had been firm, 
 steady, and conservative. Naturally impulsive and irritable, he had 
 become, by severe discipline, and resolute self-control, the complete 
 master of all his passions, and in achieving this victory, he had 
 given greater energy and authority to every better quality of his 
 mind. "The language and deportment of this truly great man," 
 says an eminent British writer,-)* " were, in general, remarkably ex 
 empt from every strain of irregular vehemence, and every symptom 
 of indeliberate thought; disclosing an even tenor of steadfast pro 
 priety, an austere but graceful simplicity, sound, considerate sense 
 and prudence, the gravity of a profound understanding and habit 
 ual reflection, and the tranquil grandeur of an elevated soul." 
 
 " Nature and fortune," continues Doctor Grahame, " had singu 
 larly combined to adapt and to designate this individual for the 
 
 * " When we first came together," John Adams wrote to his wife, on the seventeenth of June, 
 " I found a strong jealousy of us from New England, and the Massachusetts in particular. Sus 
 picions entertained of designs of independency ; an American republic, presbyterian principles, and 
 twenty other things." 
 
 t James Grahame, LL. 13., author of a Colonial History of the United States. 
 
JET. 43.]. CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON. 537 
 
 distinguished situations which he now and afterward attained, and 
 the arduous duties they involved. Calm, modest, and reserved, yet 
 dignified, intrepid, inflexibly firm and persevering ; indefatigably 
 industrious and methodical ; just, yet merciful and humane ; frugal 
 and calculating, yet disinterested; circumspect yet enterprising; 
 serious, virtuous, consistent, temperate, and sincere his moral 
 portraiture displays a blended variety of excellence, in which it is 
 difficult to assign a predominant lustre to any particular grace, 
 except, perhaps, a grave, majestic composure. Ever superior to 
 Fortune, he enjoyed her smiles with moderation, endured her frowns 
 with serenity, and showed himself alike in victory forbearing, and 
 in defeat undaunted. No danger or difficulty could disturb his 
 equanimity, and no disaster paralyze his energy or dishearten his 
 confidence. The same adverse vicissitude that would have drained 
 an ordinary breast of all its spirit, served but to call forth new 
 streams of vigor from Washington s generous soul. His counte 
 nance and general aspect corresponded with the impression pro 
 duced by his character. Fixed, firm, collected, and resolved, yet 
 considerately kind, it seemed composed for dignity and high exploit. 
 A sound belief in the divine doctrines of Christianity, he was punc 
 tual and devout in discharging every public and private office of 
 Christian piety. Perhaps there never was another man who trod 
 with more unsullied honor the highest ways of glory, or whose 
 personal character and conduct exercised an influence so powerful 
 and so beneficial on the destiny of a great nation." 
 
 Such was the man into whose hands the supreme legislature of 
 THE UNITED COLONIES placed the commission and sword of com- 
 mander-in-chief of their armies. When this solemn act was con 
 summated, the house adjourned. When it was convened the next 
 morning, President Hancock communicated to Washington, offi 
 cially, the notice of his .appointment. He immediately rose in his 
 place, and said, with a somewhat faltering voice : - 
 
 " MR. PRESIDENT : Though I am truly sensible of the high honor 
 done me in this appointment, yet I feel great distress, from a con 
 sciousness that my abilities and military experience may not be 
 
538 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 equal to the extensive and important trust. However, as the Con 
 gress desire it, I will enter upon the momentous duty, and exert 
 every power I possess in their service, and for the support of the 
 glorious cause. I beg they will accept my most cordial thanks for 
 this distinguished testimony of their approbation. But, lest some 
 unlucky event should happen unfavorable to my reputation, I beg 
 it may be remembered, by every gentleman in this room, that I 
 this day declare, with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself 
 equal to the command I am honored with. As to pay, sir, I beg 
 leave to assure the Congress that, as no pecuniary consideration 
 could have tempted me to accept the arduous employment at the 
 expense of my domestic case and happiness, I do not wish to make 
 any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses. 
 Those, I doubt not, they will discharge, and that is all I desire."* 
 
 This brief speech is a model of taste, discretion, directness, and 
 condensation. It was delivered on an occasion when the souls of 
 most men would have found expression in many and burning words. 
 But Washington, always calm, dignified, and modest, expressed in 
 fewest words, the feelings, desires, and determinations, that pos 
 sessed him at that moment; and every man in his presence felt 
 that the speaker was acting under the conscious influence of divine 
 inspiration. Great and to be coveted as was the honor of his position, 
 to Washington it was a great sacrifice ; and in the act and terms of 
 acceptance he gave himself as a noble victim upon the altar of 
 freedom. " There is something charming to me in the conduct of 
 Washington," John Adams wrote to a friend ; " a gentleman of one of 
 the first fortunes upon the continent, leaving his delicious retirement, 
 his family and friends, sacrificing his ease, and hazarding all in the 
 cause of his country. His views are noble and disinterested." And 
 to his wife, Adams wrote : " I hope the people of our province will 
 
 * Alluding to this generous proposition, Lord Byron wrote <- 
 
 " Great men have always scorned great recompenses ; 
 
 Epaminondas saved his Thebes, and died, 
 Not leaving even his funeral expenses : 
 
 George Washington had thanks, and naught beside, 
 Except the all-cloudless glory (which few men s is) 
 To free his country." 
 
/Ex. 43.] WASHINGTON S LETTER TO HIS WIFE. 539 
 
 treat the general with all that confidence and affection, that polite 
 ness and respect, which is due to one of the most important char 
 acters in the world. The liberties of America depend upon him, in 
 a great degree." 
 
 Ardently attached to his wife, his friends, his home, and the 
 pleasures of social enjoyment and domestic repose, it was hard for 
 Washington to leave all these, at the call of his country, without 
 even returning to bid them farewell. He made the sacrifice cheer 
 fully, however, having no other concern than distrust in his ability 
 to satisfy the expectations of the nation, and the pain his absence 
 and danger would give his wife and friends. To his wife he wrote 
 an affectionate letter, on the eighteenth. After speaking of his 
 appointment, and the necessity for his proceeding immediately to 
 Boston, he said : " You may believe me, my dear Patsy, when I 
 assure you, in the most solemn manner, that, so far from seeking 
 this appointment, I have used every endeavor in my power to 
 avoid it, not only from my unwillingness to part with you and the 
 family, but from a consciousness of its being a trust too great for 
 my capacity, and that I should enjoy more real happiness in one 
 month with you, at home, than I have the most distant prospect of 
 finding abroad, if my stay were to be seven times seven years. 
 But as it has been a kind of destiny that has thrown me upon this 
 service, I shall hope that my undertaking is designed to answer 
 some good purpose.... It was utterly out of my power to refuse 
 this appointment, without exposing my character to such censures 
 as would have reflected dishonor upon myself, and given pain to 
 my friends. This, I am sure, could not, and ought not, to be pleas 
 ing to you, and must have lessened me considerably in my own 
 esteem. I shall rely, therefore, confidently on that Providence, 
 which has heretofore preserved and been bountiful to me, not 
 doubting but I shall return safe to you in the fall."* 
 
 On the twentieth Washington received his commission from the 
 
 * Sparks s Life and Writings of Washington, iii.. 2. "This is the only letter from Washington 
 to his wife," says Doctor Sparks, " which has come into my hands. It is understood, that Mrs. 
 Washington destroyed all of his other letters to her, a short time before her death." 
 
540 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 president of Congress,* and on that day he wrote to the captains 
 of the independent companies of Virginia, and to his brother, John 
 
 * The following is the form of that commission : 
 
 " The delegates of the United Colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, 
 Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, 
 on the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina : 
 
 " To GEORGE WASHINGTON, ESQUIRE. 
 
 " We, reposing special trust and confidence in your patriotism, conduct, and fidelity, do, by 
 these presents, constitute and appoint you to be general and commander-in-chief of the army of the 
 United Colonies, and of all the forces raised, or to be raised by them, and of all others who shall 
 voluntarily offer their service, and join the said army for the defence of American liberty, and 
 for repelling every hostile invasion thereof; and you are hereby vested with full power and authority 
 to act as you shall think for the good and welfare of the service. 
 
 " And we do hereby strictly charge and require all officers and soldiers under your command to be 
 obedient to your orders, and diligent in the exercise of their several duties. 
 
 " And we do also enjoin and require you to be careful in executing the great trust reposed in you, 
 by causing strict discipline and order to be observed in the army, and that the soldiers are duly exer 
 cised, and provided with all convenient necessaries. 
 
 " And you are to regulate your conduct, in every respect, by the rules and discipline of war (as here 
 given you), and punctually to observe and follow such directions, from time to time, as you shall 
 receive from this or a future Congress of these United Colonies, or committee of Congress. 
 " This commission is to continue in force until revoked by this or a future Congress. 
 
 " By order of Congress. "JOHN HANCOCK, President. 
 
 "Philadelphia, June 19th, 1775. 
 
 "Attest, CHARLES THOMSON, Secretary" 
 
 This commission, and the instructions for the commander-in-chief, were prepared by a committee, 
 consisting of Richard Henry Lee, Edward Rutledge, and John Adams. The original commission 
 is carefully preserved in a glass case, with other mementoes of Washington, in the Smithsonian 
 Institution, Washington city. The following is a copy of the instructions : 
 
 " This Congress having appointed you to be general and commander-in-chief of the army of the 
 United Colonies, of all the forces raised or to be raised by them, and of all others who shall vol 
 untarily offer their service, and join the said army for the defence of American liberty, and for 
 repelling every hostile invasion thereof, you are to repair with all expedition to the colony of Mas 
 sachusetts Bay, and take charge of the army of the United Colonies. For your better direction : 
 
 " 1. You are to make a return to us as soon as possible of all forces, which you shall have under 
 your command, together with their military stores and provisions ; and also as exact an account as 
 you can obtain of the forces which compose the British army in America. 
 
 "2. You are not to disband any of the men you find raised until further direction from this Con 
 gress ; and if you shall think their numbers not adequate to the purpose of security, you may recruit 
 them to a number you shall think sufficient, not exceeding double that of the enemy. 
 
 " 3. In all cases of vacancy occasioned by the death or removal of a colonel, or other inferior 
 officer, you are by brevet, or warrant under your seal, to appoint another person to fill up such 
 vacancy, until it shall otherwise be ordered by the provincial convention, or the assembly of the 
 colony from whence are the troops in which such vacancy happens, shall direct otherwise. 
 
 "4. You are to victual, at the continental expense, all such volunteers as have joined or shall 
 join the united army. 
 
 " 5. You shall take every method in your power, consistent with prudence, to destroy or make 
 prisoners of all persons who now are, or who hereafter shall appear, in arms against the good people 
 of the United Colonies. 
 
 " 6. And whereas, all particulars can not be foreseen, nor positive instructions for such emergen 
 cies so beforehand given, but that many things must be left to your prudent and discreet manage 
 ment, as occurrences may arise upon the place, or from time to time fall out, you are, therefore, 
 upon all such accidents, or any occasions that may happen, to use your best circumspection ; and, ad 
 vising with your council of war, to order and dispose of the said army under your command, as may 
 
jE-r. 43.] WASHINGTON S DEPARTURE FOR CAMBRIDGE. 541 
 
 Augustine Washington. To the former he communicated the intel 
 ligence of his appointment, and conjured them, by no means, to 
 relax in the discipline of their respective companies. To the latter 
 he also communicated the fact of his position, assured his brother 
 that it was not sought by himself, and declared his conviction that 
 it required greater abilities and much more experience than he 
 possessed, "to conduct a business so extensive in its nature, and 
 arduous in the execution." Then, his thoughts recurring to his be 
 loved wife, he tenderly said, " I shall hope that my friends will visit 
 and endeavor to keep up the spirits of my wife, as much as they can, 
 for my departure will, I know, be a cutting stroke upon her ; and 
 on this account alone, I have many disagreeable sensations. I hope 
 that you and my sister, though the distance is great, will find so 
 much time this summer as to spend a little at Mount Vernon." 
 
 Washington left Philadelphia on the morning of the twenty-first of 
 June, for Cambridge, to take command of the army there. He was 
 escorted out of the city by several companies of infantry, rangers, 
 riflemen, artillery, and a troop of light-horse, in all about two thou 
 sand men, whom he had already reviewed, at the request of their 
 officers. The troop of light-horse accompanied him to New York, 
 and shared in the reception honors which awaited the commander- 
 in-chief at every step. 
 
 be most advantageous for the obtaining of the end for which these forces have been raised, making 
 it your especial care, in discharge of the great trust committed unto you, that the liberties of America 
 receive no detriment." 
 
542 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 
 APPOINTMENT OF ARMY OFFICERS LEE AND GATES WARD, LEE, SCHUYLER, AND 
 
 PUTNAM, CHOSEN MAJOR-GENERALS GATES APPOINTED ADJUTANT-GENERAL 
 
 CHARACTERISTIC SKETCHES EIGHT BRIGADIERS CHOSEN THEIR NAMES AND 
 
 CHARACTERS CONTINENTAL CURRENCY RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE 
 
 ARMY EVENTS IN MASSACHUSETTS TREASURY-NOTES ARRIVAL OF BRITISH 
 
 GENERALS GAGE S PROCLAMATION THE AMERICAN ARMY ITS CHARACTER 
 
 AND APPOINTMENTS. 
 
 WHEN Congress had finished the important business of appointing 
 a commander-in-chief for the continental army, and had resolved to 
 maintain and assist him, and adhere to him with their lives and 
 fortunes, they proceeded to choose other general officers, by ballot. 
 This, too, was a delicate business, for military men are exceedingly 
 sensitive concerning rank, precedence, and other punctilios. 
 
 At that time there were two military officers residing in Virginia, 
 who had been educated in the British army, made pretensions to 
 much military knowledge, and were ambitious of distinction. These 
 were Charles Lee and Horatio Gates ; the former already holding 
 the commission of a major-general, obtained in the Polish service, 
 and the latter bearing the honor of a majority in the British army. 
 They were both Englishmen by birth. Lee was by far the ablest 
 man, in genius, talent, and acquirements, but he lacked many of 
 the high moral qualities for which Gates was distinguished. These 
 men had both espoused the American cause, and were looked upon 
 by the patriots as important acquisitions. They had been frequent 
 guests at Mount Vernon ; and both, doubtless, aspired to be second 
 in command, when they saw the supreme honor conferred upon the 
 noble Virginian. 
 
 Lee was some months older than Washington, and had been in 
 
JE-r. 43.] NOTICE OF GENERAL LEE. 543 
 
 military life since his eleventh year, when he received a commis 
 sion. He had acquired a good education by the irregular efforts of 
 a quick, apt, and energetic mind. At his majority he was a good 
 Greek and Latin scholar, and was acquainted with several of the mod 
 ern languages of Europe, acquired by personal experience among 
 the people. At the age of twenty-four years he was in America, 
 in command of a company of grenadiers, engaged in the conflicts 
 of the French and Indian war, which terminated in the conquest of 
 Canada. Pie became acquainted with the warriors of the Six 
 Nations, especially with those of the Mohawk valley, whose manly 
 beauty, stately carriage, free dress, and romantic character, charmed 
 him exceedingly. He revelled in the exuberance of young man 
 hood among those children of the forest ; and his brave, impetuous, 
 and restless spirit, always surging with aspirations for new action, 
 so captivated the Mohawks in turn, that they adopted him into 
 the Bear tribe, as a chief, and gave him the appropriate and signifi 
 cant name of Boiling- Water. 
 
 At Ticonderoga with Abercrombie, at Niagara with Prideaux and 
 Johnson, on the Ohio with a few companions, and on the St. Law 
 rence with Amherst, Lee was always distinguished for his courage, 
 impetuosity and skill, in conflict and in strategy. After that old 
 war was over he went to England, was promoted to lieutenant- 
 colonel, joined Burgoyne on the river Tagus, in Spain, and at 
 the head of a corps of grenadiers, distinguished himself by a bold 
 and successful night attack upon an old Moorish castle, occupied by 
 the enemy. 
 
 On his return to England, Lee found his country greatly excited 
 by political questions. Into these he plunged with all the fiery 
 strength of his nature ; and he wdelded his pen against the ministry 
 as gallantly as he had wielded his sword against the foes of Eng 
 land. Court favor was thus lost, and his eagle eye and impulsive 
 nature turned toward Poland, then on the verge of civil war, as a 
 theatre for glorious action. Thitherward he made his way. He 
 tarried briefly in the capital of the great Frederick of Prussia, and 
 was cordially entertained by that monarch.; and at Warsaw he 
 
54 4 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 became a welcome guest at the table and in the household of 
 Poniatowsky, the newly-elected king of that country. But active 
 service was denied him by the peaceful current of events, and for 
 two years he indulged in the inglorious ease of a royal court. 
 Then, out of his love of action and adventure, he accompanied the 
 Polish embassador toward Constantinople. Tired of that function 
 ary s tardiness, he pushed forward, joined some Turks on their way 
 from Moldavia, and, after suffering terrible hardships and almost 
 death among the Bulgarian mountains, he reached Constantinople. 
 He soon afterward returned to England, made his pen felt in politi 
 cal strife there for a brief season, and then went to Poland. 
 
 Erratic as a meteor, w T e see Lee, in the lapse of a few years, 
 flashing here and there in the lurid sky of military movements on 
 the eastern borders of the continent; and in 1769, as major-general 
 in the Polish army, he fought gallantly in a severe battle between 
 the Russians and Turks, in Moldavia. Then, for awhile, he disap 
 peared from public view, while roving over Italy, Sicily, Malta, and 
 southern Spain, half-sick, irrascible, and quarrelsome, and engaging 
 in severe contentions and occasional duellos. Again in England, 
 his pen became active against the ministry; and so well was its 
 keenness and his habitual boldness known, that the letters of Junius 
 were attributed to him. Finally, in 1773, he came to America, 
 travelled in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, and in 1774, 
 appeared in Boston. His presence there, at that time, when the 
 colonial rebellion was rapidly rising, made the British officers very 
 uneasy, and they reported him to the imperial cabinet, as a dan 
 gerous character, and doubtless bent on exciting a general revolt, 
 in order to become a leader of the discontented Americans. That 
 idea stirred the fears of the ministry, and Dartmouth wrote to 
 Gage these cautious words : " Have an attention to his conduct, 
 and take every legal method to prevent his effecting any of those 
 dangerous purposes he is said to have in view." 
 
 For almost a year Lee had travelled, written, and talked in 
 America, and had become an itinerant preacher of revolution, when 
 he appeared in Philadelphia, in May, 1775, a close observer of the 
 
MT. 43.] WARD AND LEE ELECTED GENERALS. 545 
 
 doings of Congress. Too restless to become a local politician, he 
 was now in New England, and now in New York and Pennsylvania ; 
 and, finally, on visiting Major Gates, at Berkeley, in Virginia, he 
 was persuaded by that gentleman to invest what little he possessed 
 in the purchase of an adjoining estate. He had but recently per 
 formed this act of citizenship, when called upon by Congress to 
 take a conspicuous part in the war for independence, he having 
 been chosen one of the four major-generals of the continental army, 
 on Saturday, the seventeenth of June, 1775. 
 
 Lee was nominated for the next in command to General Wash 
 ington, and his election was strongly urged by Mifflin and others, 
 not only on account of his superior military skill, but because it 
 was thought that he would not consent to be third on the list ; and 
 he w r as a character of too much importance not to be secured at 
 that crisis. Adams, and the New England delegations in general, 
 as strongly urged the appointment of General Ward, chiefly because 
 his position, as commander-in-chief of the army at Cambridge, fairly 
 entitled him to that honor. General Ward was a Massachusetts 
 man, almost fifty years of age, and had seen some service in the 
 French and Indian war. He had been a member of the legislature 
 of his native province, and, at that time, held a responsible judicial 
 office. As a personal compliment, rather than because of his mili 
 tary merits, General Ward was elected the first major-general ; and 
 Lee was elected the second. A committee immediately waited 
 upon Lee, at his lodgings, to inform him of his appointment. He 
 accepted it without hesitation, much to the relief of those who had 
 fears that his pride would stand in the way. But his own words, 
 previously expressed, in relation to the suspicion that he was 
 aspiring to be the leader of the revolution, were sufficient to allay 
 such fears. "To think myself qualified for the most important 
 charge that ever was committed to mortal man," he wrote, " is the 
 last stage of presumption ; nor do I think the Americans would or 
 ought to confide in a man, let his qualifications be ever so great, 
 who has no property among them." 
 
 Lee s appointment gave great satisfaction, for the American peo- 
 
 35 
 
546 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 pie had conceived extravagant ideas concerning his great military 
 powers. Some went so far as to call him " the Palladium of Ameri 
 can liberty !" There were some, however, who foresaw difficulty, 
 because of the fiery spirit, love of adventure, and inordinate ambi 
 tion of Lee. Subsequent events proved the justice of this distrust. 
 
 On the same day when Ward and Lee were chosen major-gen 
 erals, Congress elected Horatio Gates to be adjutant-general. This 
 was a judicious appointment, and was made on the urgent recom 
 mendation of Washington. Major Gates was a gentleman in man 
 ners, and was an excellent tactician and disciplinarian. The services 
 of such an officer were much needed in the organization of the 
 army, at Cambridge, about to be made. Gates was then in the 
 prime of life ; thoroughly acquainted with the arts and blandish 
 ments of good society ; social, pliant, obsequious, and vain. His 
 complexion was norid ; his person commanding, and a little inclined 
 to corpulency, and his deportment extremely winning. He was 
 an Englishman by birth, and common rumor assigned his paternity 
 to Horace Walpole, his god-father, whose Christian name he bore. 
 
 Gates was well educated, and at an early age entered the army, 
 and served as a volunteer under Sir Edward Cornwallis, governor 
 of Halifax. In the expedition under Braddock he commanded a 
 New York independent company, and was severely wounded by 
 the passage of a musket-ball through his body, on the field of 
 Monongahela. He w r as afterward appointed brigade-major ; and, in 
 1762, he accompanied General Monckton, as aid-de-camp, to the 
 West Indies, where he distinguished himself in the capture of 
 Martinieo. Gates carried the news of that event to England, and 
 was rewarded by the appointment of major to a regiment of foot. 
 This office was much below his expectations, and he retired on half- 
 pay. For some time afterward he lingered in London, a courtier 
 at the feet of the rich and powerful, petitioning for some lucrative 
 office, for he had a dependent family. Disappointed and chagrined 
 at what he deemed neglect, he sold his commission, came to Amer 
 ica in 1772, and purchased an estate in Berkeley county, Virginia, 
 in the valley beyond the Blue Ridge, north of Winchester. He 
 
Mr. 43.] SCHUYLER AND PUTNAM ELECTED GENERALS. 547 
 
 then renewed his acquaintance with Washington, and became a 
 warm partisan of the American cause. Gates had aspired to the 
 place now occupied by Lee, but he cheerfully accepted the lower 
 station of a brigadier in rank, because it promised preferment. 
 
 On Monday, the nineteenth of June, Philip Schuyler, of New 
 York, a man of whom it might be as truly said, as of the Chevalier 
 Bayard, " he was without fear and without reproach," was chosen 
 the third major-general, and the veteran Putnam, of Connecticut, 
 the fourth. Schuyler belonged, by birth and marriage, to some of 
 the oldest, wealthiest, most popular, and most influential of the 
 Dutch families in New York, and his appointment gave great satis 
 faction in his native province. He had entered the army against 
 the French and Indians, in 1755, and commanded a company under 
 Sir William Johnson. Always on the alert, eminently judicious, 
 and scrupulously faithful in every trust, he attracted the attention 
 of young Lord Howe, in 1758, who placed him in the commissariat 
 department. He accompanied that young nobleman, under Aber- 
 crombie, in the expedition against Ticonderoga ; and when Howe 
 fell, Schuyler, then bearing the commission of colonel, was intrusted 
 with the sad duty of conveying the mortal remains to Albany for 
 interment. After the war he was active in the colonial assembly ; 
 and, in that body, he was always the determined opponent of the 
 British government, in its oppressive measures toward the colonists. 
 In 1775, he was chosen a member of the continental Congress, and 
 was in attendance at Philadelphia when that body honored him 
 with the appointment of major-general. 
 
 During the French and Indian war, Schuyler had seen much of 
 the daring and bravery of Putnam, who was now almost sixty years 
 of age, and he was pleased with the appointment of that officer as 
 his associate major-general. He knew his worth, and his great in 
 fluence among the New England people ; and for these adventitious 
 qualities, as well as because of his ability as a soldier, Putnam s 
 appointment was very satisfactory to the command er-in-chief. Put 
 nam had seen much, and hard, and varied service, having been 
 appointed to the command of the first troops raised in Connecticut 
 
548 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 for the French and Indian war, in 1755. At the head of rangers 
 and in other service, his performances through the whole of that 
 war were very important. He, too, went to the West Indies in 
 1762, in command of a Connecticut regiment, under General 
 Lyman; and after great hardships and frightful experiences, he 
 returned, and was soon in command of troops sent against the 
 Indians on the great lakes of the northwest. From that time he 
 had been a quiet farmer, until aroused by the cry of blood from 
 Lexington, when all the fire of his military spirit blazed intensely, 
 and he hastened toward Boston, as we have seen, eager to strike 
 for his country. 
 
 The eight brigadier-generals appointed by Congress, on the twen 
 ty-second of June, were named in the following order, and took rank 
 accordingly : Seth Pomeroy, Richard Montgomery, David Wooster, 
 William Heath, Joseph Spencer, John Thomas, John Sullivan, and 
 Nathanael Greene. Pomeroy was from Northampton, Massachu 
 setts. He had been active in the French and Indian war ; and it is 
 supposed that his bullet wounded the Baron Dieskau, in the battle 
 at the head of Lake George, in 1755. He was already, in the 
 camp at Boston, commissioned a brigadier by the provincial Con 
 gress of Massachusetts ; and while the continental legislators were 
 considering these appointments, he was fighting on Bunker s hill, as 
 a volunteer. But .Pomeroy declined the proffered commission. 
 Spencer then took rank next to Putnam in the army at Cambridge, 
 and Thomas, who was Ward s lieutenant, was made first brigadier. 
 
 Montgomery was a young Irish officer, who had served gallantly 
 under Wolfe, and also in the West Indies in 1762. He had married 
 a sister of Robert R. Livingston, of New York, and was residing 
 upon a beautiful estate on the Hudson, when called to accept the 
 honor of a brigadier s commission from Congress. Wooster was an 
 old man of sixty-five, and a veteran soldier. He was a native of 
 Connecticut, and had held the commission of captain in the expedi 
 tion against Louisburg, thirty years before. He had served first as 
 a colonel and then as a brigadier in the French and Indian war, 
 and was one of the principal conspirators against Ticonderoga, in 
 
JE-r. 43.] THE BRIGADIER-GENERALS. 549 
 
 1775. Notwithstanding his age and rank, he cheerfully accepted 
 the office of third brigadier, for he was an ardent patriot, and was 
 ready to serve his country in any capacity. 
 
 Heath, who lived to become the last survivor of the major- 
 generals of the Revolution, was a native of Roxbury, and, like 
 Montgomery, was quite a young man, being then thirty-eight years 
 of age. As early as 1770, he had employed his pen in urging upon 
 his countrymen the necessity of military discipline. He was active 
 in organizing and drilling the militia and minute-men ; and he was 
 in the camp at Boston when appointed a brigadier. Spencer was a 
 native of East Had dam, Connecticut, and was past sixty years of 
 age. He had served in the campaigns of the French and Indian 
 war, as a major and colonel. Thomas was a Plymouth man, and 
 had also been a soldier in the French and Indian war. He, too, 
 was in the camp at Boston, whither he had come at the head of a 
 regiment raised by himself in Kingston, Massachusetts. 
 
 Sullivan was a fiery young soldier, of Irish blood, and a lawyer 
 in New Hampshire. He espoused the patriot cause at an early 
 hour, and was a member of the first continental Congress. After 
 the adjournment of that body he was very active in promoting the 
 revolution in New Hampshire. His zeal and military taste and 
 skill, commended him to the continental Congress as worthy of a 
 brigadier s commission ; and a perception of the same qualities in 
 Greene, the Rhode Island quaker, caused Congress to confer the 
 same honor upon him. Greene and Sullivan were of the same age, 
 both having been born in the year 1740. 
 
 Such were the chief officers chosen by Congress to assist Wash 
 ington in the command of the continental army. All of them, 
 except Lee, Gates, Schuyler, and Montgomery, were natives and 
 inhabitants of New England ; and the impromptu army assembled 
 at Boston, received the intelligence of their appointment with great 
 satisfaction. 
 
 Having made provisions for an army, the next care of Congress 
 was to provide the " sinews of war." The requisite amount of 
 money could not be obtained in specie. Having been deprived, in 
 
550 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 a great measure, of commercial intercourse with the rest of the 
 world, by the unwise, restrictive policy of Great Britain, for more 
 than a hundred years, and by the recent acts of Parliament and 
 their own non-intercourse policy, the colonies saw no other resource 
 than that of a paper currency. The New York convention^ fore 
 seeing the necessity of such a measure, had already considered the 
 subject, and a few weeks previously, a committee of that body 
 had reported suggestions. They proposed three distinct modes of 
 issuing paper-money. First, that each colony should issue, for 
 itself, the sum which might be appropriated to it by Congress. 
 Second, that the United Colonies should issue the whole sum neces 
 sary, and each colony become bound to sink its proportionate part ; 
 and, third, that Congress should issue the whole sum, every colon} 7 
 be bound to discharge its proportion, and the United Colonies be 
 obliged to pay that part which any colony should fail to discharge. 
 The convention preferred the last mode, as affording higher security 
 to the bill-holders, and, of consequence, as likely to obtain more 
 ready, general, and confidential circulation.* It was also believed, 
 that this mutual responsibility would be an additional bond of 
 union to the associated colonies. 
 
 The third proposition was substantially adopted by the Congress ; 
 and on the twenty-second of June, they "Resolved, That a sum, not 
 exceeding two millions of Spanish milled dollars, be emitted by the 
 Congress, in bills of credit, for the defence of America." Four 
 weeks afterward, the issuing of another million was authorized by 
 Congress ; and twenty-eight gentlemen were appointed to sign these 
 bills, it being necessary for each note to have the signature of two 
 persons.*)* The faith of the confederated colonies was pledged for 
 
 * Pitkin s Political and Civil History of the United States, i., 347. Also, Eecords of the New 
 York Convention. 
 
 t Congress, by resolution, specified the form of these bills as follows : 
 
 " CONTINENTAL CURRENCY. 
 " No. . dollars. 
 
 " This bill entitles the bearer to receive Spanish milled dollars, or the value thereof in 
 
 gold and silver, according to the resolutions of the Congress, held at Philadelphia, on the tenth day 
 of May, A. D. 1775." 
 
 The paper on which these bills were printed was quite thick, and the British called it " the paste 
 board money of the rebels." Thej were engraved on copper, by Paul Revere, of Boston, who was 
 
MT. 43.] CONTINENTAL CURRENCY. 551 
 
 their redemption. This continental currency, to which we shall 
 have other occasions to allude, was of incalculable benefit to the 
 struggling colonists, during the first years of the war, for it was 
 received in payment without hesitation. But at the end it became 
 a source of great annoyance to the federal government, and of 
 immense loss to the soldiers of the army, and the people at large. 
 
 On the thirtieth of June, Congress agreed upon a series of rules 
 and regulations for the army, sixty-nine in number.* They were 
 drawn up with great care, and contained minute specifications 
 concerning the powers and duties of officers and the conduct of 
 the soldiers. The first article required each officer and soldier to 
 subscribe the rules and regulations at the time of receiving his 
 commission or enlistment. Those already in the field might sub 
 scribe them, or continue to be governed by rules already in force, 
 it being left optional, however, with the commander-in-chief to 
 retain or dismiss those who might refuse to subscribe. 
 
 While the continental Congress was thus making arrangements to 
 engage in the coming struggle, the representatives of the people of 
 Massachusetts, where war actually existed, were equally vigilant 
 and active in preparations. Early in May the provincial Congress 
 of Massachusetts, after authorizing the emission of paper-money, to 
 the amount of three hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars, in 
 sums suitable for a circulating medium, and .directing the receiver- 
 general to borrow that amount upon those notes (which bore an 
 interest of six per cent), formally repudiated royal power, by de 
 claring that no obedience was due to General Gage as governor, or 
 in any other capacity, and denouncing him as "an unnatural and 
 inveterate enemy of the country." 
 
 a very active patriot. He was an ingenious mechanic, and made the press on which the faces of the 
 bills were printed. The backs were printed with type, and bore an ornamental border, within which 
 was printed the -denomination of the bill, the place and year of its issue, and the names of the 
 printers, with a central figure of a leaf and flower, or leaves and stems. The type printers, were 
 Hall & Sellers, Philadelphia. The vignettes and mottoes were always significant. For example: 
 on a bill before me is a candlestick, with thirteen branches and burners, denoting the number of the 
 United Colonies, and the motto, " ONE FIRE AND TO THE SAME PURPOSE." On another, a thorn- 
 bush with a hand grasping it; motto, "SUSTAIN OR ABSTAIN." One issued eighteen days after 
 the declaration of independence, bears the figure of a majestic oak-tree ; motto, " I SHALL FLOUR 
 ISH THROUGH AGES OF AGES." 
 
 * These were materially modified a few months afterward. 
 
552 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 On the twenty-fifth of May, the Cerbems, man-of-war, arrived at 
 Boston with several transports, bearing three distinguished British 
 generals Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne. They came with false 
 notions of the strength, temper, and resources of the Americans, 
 and were disposed to look upon the revolution now begun, as a 
 rebellion that might be crushed in a few weeks. They had been 
 positively assured, before leaving England, that submission would 
 be tendered to them so immediately on their arrival, that they 
 would have no occasion to unsheath their swords. Thus deluded, 
 they had actually prepared themselves for the enjoyment of hunt 
 ing, fishing, and other amusements, instead of engaging in military 
 service ; and it is said that when the Cerberus entered Boston har 
 bor, and the " rebel camp" was pointed out, that boasting coxcomb, 
 Burgoyne, exclaimed, " What ! ten thousand peasants keep five 
 thousand king s troops shut up ! Well, let us get in, and we w r ill 
 soon find elbow-room."* This haughty contempt for the Americans 
 was the fatal error of the British officers during the earlier years 
 of the war. 
 
 Feeling strengthened by these arrivals, Gage prepared to act 
 vigorously against his jailers, resolved no longer to submit to such 
 inglorious restraint. He issued a proclamation on the twelfth of 
 June, insulting in words and menacing in tone. It declared martial 
 law ; pronounced those in arms and their abettors, to be " rebels, 
 parricides of the constitution," and offered a free pardon to all who 
 should forthwith return to their allegiance, except those arch- 
 offenders, John Hancock and Samuel Adams, who were outlawed, 
 and for whose apprehension as traitors, a reward was offered. This 
 arrogant and offensive proclamation exasperated the people, and 
 not one felt a desire to return to an allegiance so degrading. In 
 the meantime, the American army had gradually increased in 
 numbers, and fortifications had been commenced at Cambridge 
 
 * " The elbow-room general" was an epithet often applied to Burgoyne, in the satires of the day. 
 "He used to relate," says Frothingham, "that after his reverses, while a prisoner-of-war, he was 
 received with great courtesy by the Boston people, as he stepped from the Charlestown ferry-boat; 
 but he was really annoyed when an old lady, perched on a shed above the crowd, cried out at the 
 top of a shrill voice : " Make way, make way the general is coming ! Give him elbow-room !" 
 
CHARACTER OF THE AMERICAN ARMY. 553 
 
 and Roxbmy. Early in June the whole force amounted, as we 
 have observed, to about sixteen thousand men. 
 
 To the eye of military experience, and to that of the faith of 
 patriots relying upon such an instrumentality to defend the hearths 
 and homes of the land from a powerful invader, this army, though 
 considerable in numbers, seemed utterly inadequate in its moral 
 strength and its material panoply. Neighbors had flocked together, 
 impelled by a sense of common danger ; and officers and privates 
 of the hastily-formed companies frequently stood on the same 
 social level. To them the idea of military discipline was only a 
 vague glimmer of the reality. They had come from different 
 provinces, led by independent commanders. All were volunteers. 
 The relations between them and the continental Congress had not 
 yet been established ; and as each man was (theoretically at least) 
 master of his own desires and actions, insubordination in the army 
 was a necessary condition. The only semblance to uniformity and 
 discipline existed in the corps of artillery, partly organized under 
 Colonel Gridley.* These were similarly attired, were furnished with 
 good field-pieces, and were obedient to their commissioned head ; 
 but a great portion of their sidearrns were returned as unfit for 
 service. The greater portion of the remainder of the troops were 
 without military dress or accoutrements, and presented a really 
 ludicrous appearance.^ 
 
 * We have an imperfect view of the actual strength of the battalion, in the return made on the 
 sixteenth of June, which exhibited ten captains, with an aggregate of four hundred and seventeen 
 men. 
 
 t An eye-witness gave a late writer a graphic description of the appearance of a single company 
 of the army, just before the battle of Bunker s hill. It is a fair picture of the whole. " To a man," 
 he said, "they wore small-clothes, coining down and fastening just below the knee, and long stock 
 ings, with cowhide-shoes ornamented by large buckles, while not a pair of boots graced the com 
 pany. The coats and waistcoats were loose and of huge dimensions, with colors as various as the 
 barks of oak, sumach, and other trees and shrubs of our hills and swamps could make them. Their 
 shirts were all made of flax, and like every other part of the dress, were home-made. On their 
 heads were worn large, round-top, and broad-brimmed hats. Their arms were as various as their 
 costume ; here an old soldier carried a heavy Queen Anne s musket, with which he had done ser 
 vice in the conquest of Canada, many years before ; while by his side walked a stripling with a 
 Spanish fusee, not half its weight or calibre, which his grandfather may have takeir at the Havana ; 
 while not a few had old French pieces, which dated back to the siege of Louisburg. Instead of a 
 cartridge-box, a large powder-horn was slung under the arm, and occasionally a bayonet might be 
 seen bristling in the ranks. Some of the swords of the officers had been made by our province 
 blacksmiths, perhaps from some farming utensil, and appeared serviceable, but heavy and uncouth." 
 Kidder s History of New Ipswich. 
 
554 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 The position of the American army was, on the whole, quite a 
 strong one, notwithstanding the line was extended and compara 
 tively weak in many places. The right wing, under General 
 Thomas, was at Roxbury, and consisted of four thousand Massachu 
 setts troops, including four artillery companies, with their field- 
 pieces, and some heavier cannon. The Rhode Island "army of 
 observation," under Greene, were at Jamaica Plains; and near 
 them were Spencer s Connecticut troops. General Ward com 
 manded the left wing, at Cambridge, which consisted of fifteen 
 Massachusetts regiments, a battalion of artillery under Gridley, and 
 Putnam s regiment and other Connecticut troops. Paterson s regi 
 ment was stationed at a redoubt cast up at the foot of Prospect hill, 
 and a large guard was at Lechmere s point. The great body of the 
 Connecticut troops were at Inman s farm. There was part of a 
 regiment, under Colonel Gerrish, at Chelsea ; Stark s regiment was 
 at Medford, and Reid s was at Charlestown Neck, with sentinels 
 reaching to Penny ferry (now Maiden bridge) and Bunker s hill.* 
 
 Such were the numbers, position, character, and condition of the 
 forces around Boston, when they were adopted by Congress as the 
 AMERICAN CONTINENTAL ARMY. 
 
 * See Frothingham s "History of the Siege of Boston." This work contains a very minute 
 account of every transaction in that siege, from the skirmishes at Lexington, to the evacuation of 
 Boston by the British. 
 
43.] DESIRES FOR CONFLICT. 555 
 
 CHAPTEE XLIX. 
 
 IMPATIENCE OF THE BELLIGERENTS TROOPS INTENDED MOVEMENTS BUNKER S 
 
 HILL TO BE FORTIFIED BY THE AMERICANS A PARTY SENT FOR THE PURPOSE 
 
 THE NIGHT LABOR ASTONISHMENT OF THE BRITISH IN THE MORNING A 
 
 CANNONADE COMMOTION IN BOSTON FORTICATIONS ON BREED S HILL FIN 
 ISHED LANDING OF THE BRITISH THE PATRIOTS IN THE REDOUBT PREPAR 
 ATIONS FOR CONFLICT A NOVEL BREASTWORK BATTLE OF "BUNKER S HILL" 
 
 DEATH OF GENERAL WARREN HIS CHARACTER. 
 
 THE second act in the sanguinary drama of the Revolution was 
 now about to open. Strengthened by the arrival of fresh troops, 
 and encouraged by the presence of Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne, 
 General Gage resolved to extend his rule beyond the narrow limits 
 of the peninsula of Boston. Already both parties had endeavored 
 to seize the hogs, sheep, and cattle upon the islands in Boston 
 harbor, and in these efforts collisions had frequently occurred, on 
 land and water, in which the Americans were generally triumphant. 
 These little victories inspired them with such confidence, that they 
 were anxious to attack the British troops, and burn the ships in the 
 harbor. But prudence forbade the rash attempt. The British 
 soldiers were likewise impatient ; and the pride of the officers, 
 joined to their habitual contempt for the Americans, counselled 
 immediate action against the patriots. These counsels prevailed ; 
 and it was resolved to take possession of and fortify Dorchester 
 heights (now in South Boston) on the night of the eighteenth of 
 June. 
 
 Information of this resolution was communicated to the com 
 mittee of safety and the commanding general, on the thirteenth, 
 and this brought matters to a crisis. After mature deliberations in 
 the committee, and in a council of war, it was resolved to employ 
 
55G WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 countervailing measures. For some time the propriety of fortifying 
 Bunker s hill, an eminence on the Charlestown peninsula which 
 overlooked the northern part of Boston, had been a subject for 
 serious consideration. Now that measure was resolved upon, and 
 the enterprise was intrusted to Colonel William Prescott, of Pep- 
 perell, who, in the council of war, had strongly advocated the 
 necessity of such a measure. His words were weighty, for his 
 judgment was highly respected. He was a veteran of other wars, 
 a man of large property, a patriot of undoubted integrity, a soldier 
 of skill and courage, and a citizen distinguished for his prudence, 
 caution, and firmness. 
 
 A portion of three regiments, and a fatigue party of two hundred 
 Connecticut troops, with intrenching tools, were detached for the 
 labor on Bunker s hill; and at six o clock in the evening of the 
 sixteenth of June, these w r ere paraded at Cambridge, and listened 
 to an impressive prayer from the lips of President Langdon, of 
 Harvard college. Provided with packs and blankets, and provisions 
 for twenty-four hours, the party left Cambridge at nine in the 
 evening, and proceeded silently and cautiously toward Charlestown 
 Neck, led by Colonel Prescott and Chief-Engineer Gridley. They 
 had been joined by a company of artillery, and at the Neck they 
 were reinforced by more troops under Major Brooks, w r ho w r as 
 accompanied by General Putnam. The whole force now numbered 
 about twelve hundred men. Prescott was tall and commanding in 
 figure, wore a three-cornered hat and a top-wig, a blue coat, faced 
 and lapped up at the skirts, and was altogether the most military- 
 looking man at Cambridge. His bearing had a great effect upon 
 the militia, and they cheerfully followed wherever he led, because 
 they had confidence in his experience, judgment, and bravery. 
 
 The stars beamed brightly from a cloudless sky, and the night 
 air was almost sultry when the expedition moved along Charles- 
 town Neck, and marched over Bunker s hill. Nearer Boston, and 
 far more eligible as commanding the city, was another eminence 
 called Breed s hill. The written order to fortify Bunker s hill was 
 explicit, but Prescott, after consultation, assumed the responsibility 
 
JET. 43.] BREED S HILL FORTIFIED. 557 
 
 of fortifying the latter instead, and to its summit the whole party 
 marched. There, by the pale light of the stars, Colonel Gridley 
 marked out the lines of a redoubt and intrenchments ; and at 
 almost midnight, the fatigue party exchanged their muskets for 
 picks and spades, and commenced vigorously the labor of casting 
 up breastworks. Everything was done as silently as the nature of 
 the business would allow, for the British shipping lay very near. 
 
 " No shout disturbed the night, 
 Before that fearful fight ! 
 
 There was no boasting high 
 No marshalling of men, 
 Who ne er might meet again 
 
 No cup was filled and quaffed to victory ! 
 No plumes were there, 
 No banners fair, 
 
 No trumpets breathed around ; 
 
 Nor the drum s startling sound 
 Broke on the midnight air/ JOHN NEAL. 
 
 The hourly cry of " All s well !" came up from the British senti 
 nels on the waters, and from the more distant city, and gave evi 
 dence to the workers that they were undiscovered. So they 
 labored on with almost superhuman energy, until the gray dawn 
 of the morning of the seventeenth, when a strong redoubt loomed 
 up on that green hill, before the wondering eyes of the bewildered 
 Britons. The great object of Prescott s solicitude was accomplished. 
 A safe screen for his workers had been cast up, and at the hour of 
 dawn, when he expected cannon-balls from his enemy, his intrench 
 ments were sufficiently high and strong to defy them. 
 
 The works on Breed s hill were first discovered by the sentinels 
 on the sloop of war Lively, which lay between Chariest own and 
 the shores of Boston. Without waiting for orders, the commander 
 of that vessel opened a heavy fire upon the earthworks on the hill. 
 This lead was followed by the Somerset and the Falcon, and also by 
 one or two gun-boats, but all without effect. Unmindful of these 
 missiles, and of others thrown at them later from Copp s hill in 
 Boston, the Americans worked on within the intrenchments, until 
 
558 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 far toward meridian, when they were called to lay aside the imple 
 ments of labor for the weapons of war. 
 
 This cannonade awakened the sleepers in Boston, and at sunrise 
 every roof and eminence in the city was swarming with people 
 gazing upon the strange apparition on Breed s hill, with feelings 
 of mingled wonder and intense anxiety. Among the most inter 
 ested of these spectators was General Gage, who, at the first alarm 
 had hastened to his battery on Copp s hill, to view the works across 
 the stream, that seemed so like the creation of the magician s wand. 
 While surveying it with his glass, with a brother-in-law of Prescott 
 at his side, a tall figure, in military costume, was seen leisurely 
 walking around the parapet of the redoubt.* " Who is he ?" 
 eagerly inquired Gage. Willard recognised his kinsman, and said, 
 "That is Colonel Prescott." " Will he fight?" was Gage s quick 
 demand. " Yes, sir," replied the counsellor ; " he is an old soldier, 
 and will fight as long as a drop of blood remains in his veins." 
 " Then," said Gage, as he turned upon his heel to give orders, " the 
 works must be carried immediately. -)" The fatal consequences of 
 his tardiness were now keenly felt by the governor. He had been 
 advised, a month before, to take possession of and fortify these 
 Charlestown eminences ; now the advantages of such a measure 
 were in the hands of the Americans. 
 
 Boston was now the scene of great excitement. Imminent 
 danger was impending, and immediate preparations were made to 
 meet or avert it. Gage called a council of war, and an immediate 
 attack upon the American works was determined upon. Soon, 
 drums were beating, the church bells were ringing, and the streets 
 were tumultuous with the clatter of troops, the rumbling of artil 
 lery carriages, and the bustle of soldiers and citizens, the former 
 hastening to appointed rendezvous, and the latter to places of 
 safety. Terror and alarm everywhere prevailed, especially among 
 
 * A soldier having gone outside of the intrenchments, on Breed s hill, was killed by a cannon- 
 ball. This so alarmed those within that several left the hill. To inspire confidence, Prescott 
 mounted the parapet, and in full view of the British officers, he walked around it, and gave orders to 
 the men. This act had the desired effect. It was during this exposure that Gage saw him. 
 
 t Frothingham s Siege of Boston. 
 
JEr. 43.] PREPARATIONS FOR BATTLE. 559 
 
 the tories ; and a great change was wrought in the avowed prin 
 ciples of men. Many a man who was a stanch loyalist w^hen the 
 deep voice of the cannon awakened him that morning, hastened, 
 with blanched lips, to confess his more stanch republicanism to the 
 selectmen of Boston. 
 
 As the sun ascended in his course the heat became intense and 
 oppressive. Fatigue, hunger, and thirst assailed the Americans 
 with fearful energy, and murmurs of discontent were heard. They 
 asked to be relieved ; but Prescott, feeling confident that the enemy 
 would not attack his works, refused acquiescence. Putnam, on the 
 contrary, who was continually communicating between Charlestown 
 Neck and headquarters, was as confident that the British would 
 attack Prescott s redoubt, and early in the morning he had urged 
 General Ward to send reinforcements to Breed s hill. That officer 
 believed that Cambridge, where the stores were deposited, would 
 be the first point of attack, and was unwilling to weaken his force 
 there ; so he sent only a part of Stark s regiment. At about nine 
 o clock, Prescott became convinced of his error, by seeing the move 
 ments of the enemy on the Boston shore ; and by the advice of a 
 council of war, he sent Major Brooks (afterward governor of Mas 
 sachusetts) to Cambridge for reinforcements. General Ward con 
 sulted the committee of safety, and acting under their advice, he 
 ordered forward the remainder of Stark s regiment at Medford, the 
 whole of Reid s corps stationed at the Neck, and called in Gerrish s 
 companies at Chelsea. 
 
 At noon the men in the redoubt ceased work, piled their in 
 trenching tools, took some refreshments, hoisted the New England 
 Hag,* and prepared to fight. Pursuant to the urgent request of 
 Putnam, the tools were sent to Bunker s hill, where intrenchments 
 
 * " The question has been unsettled respecting the flag used on that occasion, as contemporary 
 writers are silent on the subject. An intelligent old lady (Mrs. Manning), whom I saw between the 
 Brandywine and Kennet square, in Pennsylvania, informed me that her father, who was in the bat 
 tle, assisted in hoisting the standard, and she had heard him speak of it as "a noble flag." The 
 ground was blue, and one corner was quartered by the red cross of St. George, in one section of 
 which was the figure of a pine-tree. This was the New England flag, as given in the sketch. 
 Doubtless there were many other flags belonging to the several regiments." Lossing s Pictorial 
 Field-Book of the Revolution, i., 541. 
 
5GO WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 were immediately commenced, under the direction of that officer ; 
 but most of the men employed in removing the tools, took counsel 
 of their fears, and, as Prescott had predicted, never returned to the 
 redoubt. 
 
 The British had made ample preparations for battle, and between 
 twelve and one o clock, four battalions of infantry, two companies 
 of grenadiers, and two of light infantry, with several field-pieces, 
 were embarked in twenty-eight barges. They crossed the channel 
 where the waters of the Charles and Mystic rivers mingle, and 
 landed at Moulton s Point, under cover of a brisk cannonade from 
 the British ships and gunboats. That movement presented a bril 
 liant scene. The scarlet uniforms of the British, their burnished 
 arms, their perfect discipline, their automatic motions, and their full 
 band of music, would have excited the greatest enthusiasm and 
 joyousness on any less painful occasion. Now the pageantry was a 
 dreadful mockery a glorious mask over the horrid visage of the 
 demon of war, as it went forth upon its bloody and unnatural 
 errand. 
 
 These troops, many of them veterans in continental wars, were 
 under the command of General William Howe, assisted by Brigadier- 
 General Pigot and other accomplished officers, who were instructed 
 to " drive the rebel s from the hill." They were formed into three 
 lines on landing, when Howe, perceiving the real strength of the 
 American works, thought it prudent to send to General Gage for 
 reinforcements. While waiting for them the British troops stacked 
 their arms and dined without molestation. 
 
 Cambridge had now become a scene of great confusion, and 
 Charlestown, at the foot of Breed s hill, was almost deserted. 
 When intelligence of the landing of the British reached Cam 
 bridge, the drums beat to arms, and the church bells rang out an 
 alarum. Soldiers and citizens were immediately in motion, and 
 military officers hurried to and fro with marching orders for the 
 troops. General Ward retained his own regiment and others, for 
 the defence of the stores at Cambridge, and the remainder of the 
 Massachusetts and Connecticut regiments were ordered to Charles- 
 
M-r. 43.] THE HEROES IN THE REDOUBT. 561 
 
 town. The latter were led by General Putnam, in person, and took 
 post on the summit and slopes of Bunker s hill. 
 
 At two o clock reinforcements for Howe landed upon the site of 
 the Charlestown navy-yard, and the whole invading force then 
 amounted to about four thousand men. The hour just ended had 
 been one of great anxiety to the jaded and half-famished soldiers 
 within the redoubt. They had observed the whole martial display 
 of the enemy, from the time of the first embarkation until the 
 forming of the veterans for battle. They knew their own weakness 
 in numbers, arms, ammunition, and discipline, and fully perceived 
 the superior strength of the foe, with his overwhelming numbers, 
 complete equipments, and heavy artillery. The contrast w r as neces 
 sarily appalling to undisciplined yeomanry, who, as " rebels," were 
 virtually resisting w r ith the halter of treason-punishment about 
 their necks. They were physically weakened by long fasting and 
 severe labor; parched by fever engendered by fatigue without 
 adequate means for allaying thirst ; and, as yet, encouraged by 
 very few promises of succor from without, for reinforcements came 
 in tardy dribbles. In this condition the dreadful idea that treach 
 ery had placed them there to be sacrified, took possession of their 
 minds w r ith almost the power of a panic-demon ; yet they could not 
 doubt the patriotism of their chief officers. These suspicions were 
 very soon dispelled by the arrival of Doctor Warren and General 
 Pomeroy, from Cambridge. The enthusiasm of these men had 
 silenced the voice of prudence, when they heard of the landing of 
 the British. Warren was then at Watertown, seven miles distant, 
 presiding over the provincial Congress in session there. He has 
 tened to Cambridge on a fleet horse, resolved to earn by action a 
 title to the commission of a major-general, which had been con 
 ferred upon him four days before, but not yet presented in form. 
 Putnam tried to dissuade him from going into the battle, but War 
 ren would not listen with obedience, and he pushed forward through 
 the menacing perils of Charlestown Neck, and entered the redoubt, 
 amid the loud huzzas of the provincials, at the moment when Howe 
 gave orders for his troops to advance. Prescott immediately offered 
 
 36 
 
562 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 the chief command to Warren as his superior in rank, when the 
 latter quickly replied, " I have come to fight as a volunteer, and 
 feel honored in being allowed to serve under so brave an officer." 
 Pomeroy came on foot soon afterward, w r ith a borrowed musket, to 
 fight as a volunteer in another part of the field. He had ridden a 
 horse belonging to General Ward as far as the Neck. When he 
 perceived the danger to which the animal would be exposed from 
 the enfilading fire of British cannon on the waters, he left him in 
 charge of a sentinel, and walked leisurely over in the face of the 
 peril. The presence of these men greatly inspirited the wavering 
 soldiers, assured their confidence, and gave strength to their fee 
 bleness. 
 
 While the British were preparing for action, and it became evi 
 dent that they w r ould endeavor to gain the flank and rear of the 
 Americans by marching along the Mystic river, the latter were 
 vigilant and active in preparations to defeat them. The chivalric 
 Captain Knowlton, who became one of the early martyrs of the 
 Revolution, was detached by Prescott with Connecticut troops and 
 Captain Gridley s* artillery company of fifty men with two field- 
 pieces, to prepare a barrier in that direction, with orders to defend 
 it. He took post six hundred feet in the rear of the redoubt, 
 toward Bunker s hill, and commenced a novel breastwork, seven 
 hundred feet in length, extending down the green slope to the 
 Mystic river. On that line was a post-and-rail fence, set in a low 
 foot-w r all of stone. A few feet in front of this Knowlton con 
 structed a similar rail-fence, and filled the intervening space with 
 new-mown hay which lay upon the meadows near. This breast 
 work, so feeble in material, answered an excellent purpose. 
 
 While this labor was in progress Colonel Stark arrived, with his 
 regiment, at the Neck, which was then swept by an enfilading fire 
 from the guns of the enemy. He had marched slowly from Med- 
 ford so as not to weary his men ; and when a subaltern suggested 
 the propriety of a quicker movement across the exposed Neck, 
 
 * Captain Samuel Gridley was a son of Colonel Richard Gridley, the chief-engineer. He was 
 quite inefficient, and had received his appointment solely in compliment to his father. 
 
T. 43.] ADVANCE OF THE BRITISH TROOPS. 563 
 
 the veteran coolly replied, " One fresh man in action is worth ten 
 fatigued ones," and marched steadily on unmindful of the open 
 danger. He took position at the rail-fence breastwork, where he 
 was soon joined by Colonel Reid s regiment. Between that breast 
 work and the intrenchment on the left of the redoubt, the artillery 
 companies of Gridley and Callender were stationed ; and a com 
 pany of militia took post on the right of the redoubt, nearer 
 Charlestown. 
 
 It was now almost three o clock in the afternoon, and both parties 
 were prepared for action. General Howe briefly addressed his 
 soldiers, telling them that the "enemy" must be driven from 
 Breed s hill, or they would set Boston on fire ; expressing a belief 
 that his troops would act like true English soldiers, and adding, " I 
 shall not desire one of you to go a step further than where I go 
 myself at your head." He then ordered out strong flank guards as 
 he moved slowly forward to the attack, and directed his artillery to 
 play upon the American breastworks on the hill, and at the rail- 
 fence. At this time he displayed a blue flag as a signal, and the 
 heavy guns upon Copp s hill and on the ships and floating-batteries 
 in the harbor, at once poured a terrible storm of round-shot upon 
 the redoubt. At the same time a heavy cannonade was opened 
 upon the right wing of the Americans, under General Thomas, at 
 Roxbury, to prevent his sending reinforcements to Charlestown. 
 
 The British officers expected an easy victory. The plan of 
 attack was for General Pigot to inarch up Breed s hill with the left 
 wing, and force the redoubt, while General Howe, with the right 
 wing, should press forward along the Mystic river, demolish the 
 rail-fence intrenchments, gain the rear of the Americans, and cut off 
 their retreat. Accordingly, under cover of a cannonade from an 
 eminence on Moulton s Point, Pigot advanced up the hill, and his 
 troops commenced discharging their muskets before they were 
 within gun-shot of the redoubt. In the meantime Howe had ad 
 vanced on the right, but had not proceeded far when his artillery 
 ceased, it being discovered that the balls sent over from Boston 
 were too large for the calibre of his cannon. He was thus com- 
 
5(54 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 pelled to rely upon small arms and the bayonet. At the same time 
 the feeble responses that were given by the artillery of Gridley 
 and Callender, as suddenly ceased ; the guns of the former having 
 become disabled, while the latter, alleging that his cartridges were 
 too large, withdrew to Bunker s hill, and positively refused to obey 
 Putnam, when that officer ordered him back to the lines. Most of 
 Calender s men, more courageous than he, deserted him and fought 
 nobly. 
 
 The British troops, burdened with heavy knapsacks, and their 
 way obstructed by tall grass and fences, moved slowly but steadily 
 on, while the Americans, secure from harm behind their breast 
 works, coolly awaited their approach. Very few of the provincials 
 could be seen by the advancing Britons ; but within those intrench- 
 ments, and, in reserve behind the hills, there were fifteen hundred 
 determined men. ready, at a prescribed signal, to fall upon the foe. 
 
 The Americans in the redoubt had but a scanty supply of pow 
 der, and to avoid wasting it by ineffectual shots, Prescott ordered 
 his men not to fire until the enemy should approach within a cer 
 tain distance, and then not without the word of command. As 
 Pigot advanced it was difficult to restrain the provincials, and a few 
 random shots were fired. At length, when the British were within 
 a few rods of the redoubt, Prescott waved his sword over his head 
 and shouted, "Fire /" A terrible volley followed the word, and the 
 carnage in the British ranks was dreadful, for almost every Ameri 
 can in the redoubt was a practised marksman, and had taken sure 
 aim. Whole platoons were laid upon the earth, like grass by the 
 mower s scythe. Many officers, at whom special aim had been 
 taken, were slain or wounded by that first fire. Other deadly 
 volleys succeeded, and the enemy, disconcerted, broke and fled 
 toward the water. 
 
 Howe, meanwhile, had approached the rail-fence intrenchments. 
 He had used grape-shot in his cannon, but was soon compelled to 
 abandon his pieces because of marshy ground, over which they 
 could not be wheeled ; and he pressed forward to the attack with 
 small arms. There, too, the Americans reserved their fire until the 
 
Mr. 43.] BATTLE ON BREED S HILL. 565 
 
 British were near, when they opened upon them, first with Callen- 
 der s field-pieces, directed by General Putnam, and then with mus 
 ketry. As upon the slopes of Breed s hill toward Charlestown, the 
 British here suffered terribly from the American marksmen, and 
 valuable officers were slain or disabled. The troops broke and fled 
 in confusion, and many Americans eagerly leaped the rail-fence to 
 pursue them, but were prevented by their prudent officers. 
 
 There was great joy on the heights when the British veterans 
 recoiled, and the inspirited Americans felt certain of final victory, 
 Prescott praised his men for their coolness and skill, and uttered 
 many words of encouragement, while Putnam, full of the fire of an 
 old war-horse when inhaling the smoke of powder, rode from point 
 to point over the peninsula, from the redoubt to the Neck, watch 
 ing the course of events, urging on the scattered reinforcements, 
 and directing the troops at the intrenchmente and elsewhere. The 
 perils of the Neck deterred many from crossing, and when the Brit 
 ish were ready for a second attack, very few men had been added 
 to the number in the redoubt and the defences on the Mystic slope. 
 
 General Howe soon rallied his troops, and led them to a second 
 attack in the same order as before. They had been reinforced by 
 four hundred marines from Boston, and those who composed the 
 advance of the column were chiefly fresh troops. Slowly they 
 marched over the bodies of their slain companions, under cover of 
 a heavy cannonade, and continued to fire as they advanced, while 
 the Americans, as before, kept silence. At this moment a new 
 scene in the terrible drama was opened a scene that was in the 
 programme of General Gage. Charlestown, at the foot of Breed s 
 hill, was suddenly enveloped in flames, fired by a carcass thrown 
 from Copp^s hill,* in Boston, and the torches of marines sent from 
 a British ship-of-war. The houses were chiefly of wood, and in the 
 kpse of a few minutes, full two hundred buildings were blazing, 
 
 * A carcass is a hollow case formed of ribs of iron, covered with cloth, or sometimes iron, with 
 holes in it. Being filled with combustible materials, it is thrown from a mortar like a bombshell, 
 into a besieged place, by which means buildings are set on fire. Gage had resolved, some 
 time before, to burn Charlestown in the event of the Americans taking possession of the hills 
 near it. 
 
 i 
 
5fJB WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 and sending up a cloud of dense smoke which completely shrouded 
 the heights in the rear whereon the Americans were posted. Be 
 neath this veil the British hoped to rush, unobserved, up to the 
 breastworks, scale them, and drive out the provincials at the point 
 of the bayonet. But a gentle breeze, which appeared to the Amer 
 icans like the breath of a guardian angel the first motion of air 
 that had been felt on that sultry day came from the west, swept 
 the smoke away seaward, and exposed to full view the advancing 
 columns of the enemy, almost within the prescribed distance when 
 the Americans were to open upon them. When that was reached, 
 a terrible storm of bullets was hailed upon the assailants from the 
 redoubt, and w r hole ranks of officers and men were cut down. 
 Howe was at the head of this division, encouraging his men ; and at 
 one time, he was entirely alone, his aids and all about him having 
 perished. The British line wavered, then gave way in several 
 places, and, at last, the troops recoiled, broke, and retreated in 
 great disorder to the shore. 
 
 All this while thousands of eager eyes in Boston were watching 
 the combatants, and thousands of anxious hearts there were beating 
 heavily with mingled emotions of hope and fear, for almost every 
 family had a representative in one of the two armies. Fathers, 
 husbands, sons, and brothers, were in the affray ; and deep was the 
 mental anguish of the women of the city, who, from roofs and 
 steeples, and every elevation, gazed with straining eyes upon the 
 carnage, for the battle raged in full view of thousands of interested 
 spectators in the town and upon the adjoining hills. " In other 
 battles," said an eminent statesmen, " the recollection of w r ives and 
 children has been used as an excitement to animate the warrior s 
 breast and to nerve his arm. Here was not a mere recollection, 
 but an actual presence of them, and other dear connections, hanging 
 on the skirts of the battle, anxious and agitated, feeling almost as 
 if wounded themselves by every blow of the enemy, and putting 
 forth, as it were, their own strength, and all the energy of their 
 throbbing bosoms, into every gallant effort of their warring friends."* 
 
 * Daniel Webster, in the North American Review, October, 1818. 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR THE FINAL STRUGGLE. 567 
 
 General Sir Henry Clinton had watched the progress of the 
 battle, from Copp s hill, with deep anxiety ; and when, with mor 
 tified pride, he saw the second repulse, and the slope of Breed s 
 hill red with the uniforms of the slain soldiers, he crossed over in 
 a boat, followed by a small reinforcement, and joined the shattered 
 army as a volunteer, while Howe was endeavoring to rally his 
 men for a third attack. Some of the British officers remonstrated 
 against leading the men a third time to certain destruction. But 
 the incautious loudness of speech of a provincial in the redoubt, 
 had revealed to Howe the important information, that the ammuni 
 tion of the Americans was almost exhausted, and this not only 
 gave him the strongest encouragement, but caused him to change 
 his mode of assault. He had perceived the weakness of the point 
 between the breastwork on the left of the redoubt and the rail- 
 fence, and he resolved to assail that point with his artillery, and 
 make a furious charge upon the American works with the bayonet. 
 
 It was indeed true, that the ammunition in the redoubt was 
 almost exhausted, and being compelled to rely chiefly upon powder 
 and ball for defence, as comparatively few of their muskets were 
 furnished with bayonets, the Americans began to despair when they 
 perceived the enemy preparing for another attack. Prescott spoke 
 words of encouragement, distributed the few remaining cartridges 
 with discretion, and directed those soldiers who were destitute of 
 bayonets, to club their arms and use the breeches of their guns in 
 repelling the assailants, when their powder should be gone. The 
 loose stones in the redoubt were also collected into heaps, to be 
 used as defensive missiles should occasion require. All resolved to 
 fight as long as a ray of hope should remain. 
 
 While all was firmness and order at the redoubt, confusion was 
 prevailing elsewhere. General Ward, at Cambridge, had not a 
 sufficiency of staff officers to convey his orders, which were issued 
 on the reports of Captain (afterward General) Henry Knox, of the 
 artillery, who performed reconnoitring service all that day, as a 
 volunteer. Late in the afternoon, he despatched his own regiment 
 and other troops to the field of action, but the perils of the Neck, 
 
5CrJ WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 swept by the British cannon, awed the raw recruits, and they held 
 back. Colonel Gardner succeeded in leading three hundred men 
 over to Bunker s hill, and these were immediately ordered to the 
 lines by Putnam. On their march Gardner was mortally wounded 
 by a musket-ball, when his men, thrown into confusion, fell back, 
 and very few of them engaged in the contest. Other regiments 
 failed to reach the lines ; but a corps under the gallant Febiger, a 
 Danish officer, greatly annoyed the left wing of the British. Put 
 nam, meanwhile, was urging on reinforcements, but with little 
 effect. Men were continually leaving the lines with a variety of 
 excuses, and they were scattered all over the vicinity of Bunker s 
 hill, in utter confusion. 
 
 Howe was exasperated at the repulse of his troops. He felt 
 that his own reputation and the honor of the British army were at 
 stake ; and he could not brook the thought that undisciplined 
 yeomen, feeble in numbers, should raise a shout of victory over his 
 discomfiture. Like Cortez, he voluntarily cut off his own retreat. 
 He sent his boats to the Boston shore, and the alternative for his 
 men was to fight, conquer, or die. 
 
 Slowly and steadily the British moved to the third attack. From 
 the flank their cannon completely swept the interior of the breast 
 works, destroying many of the provincials, and driving the remain 
 der within the redoubt. Reserving their fire until a proper mo 
 ment, the Americans again poured a deadly volley upon the 
 advancing enemy. Three valuable officers and many privates 
 fell. General Howe was wounded in the foot, but he continued 
 fighting gallantly at the head of his men, cheering them on by 
 word and acts. Each moment the fire from the redoubt grew 
 fainter, and at last it ceased, for almost every cartridge was spent. 
 
 Eagerly the British now pressed forward, reserving their fire 
 until nothing but a thin ridge of earth separated the combatants. 
 This was soon scaled, when the assailants, who were led by a brave 
 subaltern shouting, " Come on, boys ! the day is ours !" were re 
 pulsed by a shower of stones hurled by stalwart hands, and by a 
 few musketrshots which had been held in reserve for the occasion. 
 
^ET. 43.] PUTNAM ON BUNKER S HILL. 5G9 
 
 The enemy instantly recovered and rushed upon the parapet on all 
 sides. The ammunition of the Americans was entirely exhausted, 
 and a close and fearful fight with clubbed muskets, stones, and 
 bayonets ensued, when Prescott, perceiving that the British were 
 gaining his rear, ordered a retreat. This was now difficult. The 
 enemy were thickening in the pathway of escape, and the provin 
 cials were compelled to fight their way through, many of them 
 walking backward, and shivering their gun-stocks by heavy blows 
 upon the heads and weapons of the enemy. Colonel Gridley was 
 wounded and carried safely off. Prescott s clothing was pierced by 
 bayonets and rapiers, but his body was unhurt. Warren, armed 
 only with a musket, fought gallantly, and was the last to leave the 
 redoubt. He had retreated but a short distance toward Bunker s 
 hill, when a bullet from the British line formed on the parapet of 
 the redoubt, passed through his brain and he fell dead. 
 
 While the conflict at the redoubt was in progress, the Americans 
 at the rail-fence maintained their ground nobly, and resisted every 
 attempt of the enemy to turn their flank. This service was very 
 important, for it saved a greater portion of the Americans, who fled 
 from the redoubt, being cut off. But when these troops perceived 
 Prescott and his men retreating, they, too, fled over Bunker s 
 hill, where there was great slaughter. There General Putnam 
 attempted to arrest the flight. He dashed from point to point, 
 brandishing his sword, unmindful of the whistling bullets, and with 
 threats and entreaties, and loud imprecations as cowardice showed 
 its heels, he sought to turn the faces of the Americans toward the 
 foe.. "For God s sake," he exclaimed, "stop and give them one 
 shot more ! Make a stand here ; we can stop them yet !" Pomr- 
 roy, too, with shattered musket, attempted by word and deed to 
 check the fugitives. But these efforts were futile. Down the slope 
 of Bunker s hill and across the Neck they fled, like frightened deer 
 to cover, and halted not until they were beyond the reach of danger, 
 near Cambridge. Many were slain by the enfilading fire of the 
 British while crossing the Neck ; and, completely exhausted, they 
 lay upon the ground, in a place of safety, like dead men. 
 
570 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 The Americans had left their cannon and entrenching tools 
 behind them on Bunker s hill, and these fell into the hands of the 
 enemy. The British did not pursue, but contented themselves 
 with the conquest of the Charlestown peninsula. General Clinton 
 advised an immediate attack upon Cambridge ; but Howe, more 
 cautious or more timid, was unwilling to risk another battle. 
 Indeed, so wearied and exhausted were both parties, that neither 
 desired more fighting, if we except Colonel Prescott, who earnestly 
 petitioned to be allowed to lead a fresh corps that evening and 
 retake Breed s hill, which had been lost, he contended, only 
 through the failure of efforts to send a sufficient supply of am 
 munition and bayonets for his little garrison. 
 
 The victory and the defeat, in this case, were only apparent. 
 The field was won by the British, but with the fearful loss, in killed 
 and wounded, of almost a hundred officers, and more than a thou 
 sand common soldiers.* They had also lost the moral strength of 
 the army, which lay in the confidence of the soldiers inspired by 
 the contempt for the Americans which characterized these British 
 officers, and the over-estimate of their own puissance. The Ameri 
 cans had lost the field, and with it, in killed and wounded, missing 
 and prisoners, four hundred and fifty men. But they had gained 
 experience in warfare and confidence in their own strength. The 
 invincibility of British soldiers was now a vanished bugbear, and 
 they had thus gained immensely by the battle. Their courage 
 stood nobly vindicated before the world.f 
 
 * The exact loss of the British is not known. General Gage reported two hundred and twenty- 
 six killed, and eight hundred and twenty-eight wounded ; in all ten hundred and fifty-four. In this 
 number he ineludcd eighty-nine officers. The provincial Congress of Massachusetts, from the best 
 information they could obtain, reported the British loss at about fifteen hundred. Among the 
 British officers who were mortally wounded, was Major Pitcairn, who led the troops to Lexington. 
 
 t Governor Johnstone, who had been in America a. id admired the people, said, in a speech in the 
 house of commons at the close of the following October: " To a mind who loves to contemplate the 
 glorious spirit of freedom, no spectacle can be more affecting than the action at Bunker s hill. To 
 see an irregular peasantry, commanded by a physician [erroneously supposing Doctor Warren had 
 the command], inferior in numbers, opposed by every circumstance of cannon and bombs that could 
 terrify timid minds, calmly await the attack of the gallant Howe, leading on the best troops in the 
 world, with an excellent train of artillery, and twice repulsing those very troops, who had often 
 chased the chosen battalions of France, and at last retiring for want of ammunition, but in so re 
 spectable a manner that they were not even pursued who can reflect on such scenes and not adore 
 the constitution of government which could breed such men !" 
 
Mf. 43.] CHARACTER OF WARREN. 571 
 
 The Americans sustained a loss in the death of Warren for which 
 no advantage gained could compensate. Many gallant, many noble 
 men perished on that day ; but no one was so widely and deeply 
 lamented, because no one was so widely and truly loved as that 
 self-sacrificing man. He was the impersonation of the spirit of 
 generous and disinterested patriotism that inspired the colonies. 
 In every relation in life he was a model of excellence. "Not all 
 the havoc and devastation they have made has wounded me like 
 the death of Warren," wrote the wife of John Adams, three weeks 
 afterward. " We want him in the senate ; we want him in his 
 profession ; we want him in the field. We mourn for the citizen, 
 the senator, the physician, and the warrior." " He fell," as Everett 
 has beautifully expressed it, " with a numerous band of kindred 
 spirits the gray-haired veteran, the stripling in the flower of 
 youth who had stood side by side on that dreadful day, and fell 
 together, like the beauty of Israel in their high places." 
 
 Warren was distinguished, from his youth, for intense love of 
 country and boldness of character. He was one of the earliest 
 members of the association in Boston known as the Sons of Lib 
 erty; and from 1768 he was extremely efficient in fostering the 
 spirit of rational freedom and independence in the wide circle of 
 acquaintances in which he moved. His mind, suggestive and daring, 
 planned many measures in secret caucus with Samuel Adams and 
 others, for resisting the encroachments of British power. In 1771 
 he delivered the usual oration in Boston, on the anniversary of the 
 " Massacre ;" and, in consequence of threats made by some British 
 officers, that they would take the life of any man who should dare 
 to speak on such an occasion, he solicited the honor of performing 
 a like duty on the fifth of March, 1775. On the appointed day 
 the old South meetinghouse was crowded, and the aisles, stairs, and 
 pulpit, w r ere filled with armed British soldiers. The undaunted 
 young orator entered the building through a window back of the 
 pulpit, which he reached by a ladder, and in the midst of profound 
 silence, he commenced his exordium with a firm voice. He dwelt 
 eloquently upon the early struggles and later endurances of the 
 
57 2 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 New England people. Gradually he approached the theme of the 
 fifth of March, and then he portrayed the scene in such language and 
 pathos of expression, that even the stern soldiers who came to awe 
 his spirit wept like children at his words. He stood there, in the 
 midst of that multitude, a striking symbol of the revolt which he 
 was leading, firm in the faith of the sentiment "RESISTANCE TO 
 
 TYRANTS IS OBEDIENCE TO GOD !" 
 
 Warren was an early and glorious martyr; and his grave, dug 
 upon the spot where he fell, was an appropriate resting-place for 
 the body of such a man. There, on the morning after the battle, 
 it was recognised by Jonathan Farnum, his hairdresser, and was 
 buried by the foe with proper honors. Later, when that foe 
 was driven away, his remains w r ere carried into Boston, by affec 
 tionate hands, and deposited beneath King s chapel ; and now they 
 rest under the chancel of St. Paul s church. Nineteen years after 
 ward, the freemasons, among whom he was a beloved leader, as 
 grand-master for North America, erected a neat monument upon 
 that spot ; and just fifty years to a day, from the time of his death, 
 Lafayette, then our nation s guest, laid there the corner-stone of 
 that noble granite obelisk the Bunker-Hill monument which 
 commemorates the death of the hero, and the patriotism of his 
 countrymen. The continental Congress, in 1777, ordered "a monu 
 ment to be erected to the memory of General Warren, in the town 
 of Boston," and also resolved, " that his eldest son be educated at 
 the expense of the United States." That monument was never 
 erected, but the son of the hero received the fostering care of the 
 country for whose independence the blood of his father was shed. 
 
 The memory of Warren grows dearer to his countrymen with 
 the lapse of years, and the reverence for his deeds has assumed a 
 form akin to that of worship. That reverence was nobly expressed 
 on the seventeenth of June, 1857 (the eighty-second anniversary 
 of the battle of Bunker s hill), when, in the city of Boston, a statue 
 of the martyr was inaugurated with appropriate ceremonies, in the 
 presence of many thousands of people. 
 
JET. 43-1 WASHINGTON S MISSION. 
 
 CHAPTEK L, 
 
 CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON S MISSION HIS JOURNEY FROM PHILADELPHIA HIS 
 
 COMPANIONS, LEE AND SCHUYLER NEWS OF THE BUNKER S HILL BATTLE 
 
 WASHINGTON S SATISFACTION WITH THE MILITIA MET BY A LEGISLATIVE COM 
 MITTEE FKOM NEW YORK PERPLEXITY OF THE CIVIL AUTHORITIES THERE 
 
 RECEPTION OF WASHINGTON AND TRYON INSTRUCTIONS TO GENERAL SCHUYLER 
 
 TRYON AND THE JOHNSON FAMILY DEPARTURE FOR THE CAMP EVENTS OF 
 
 THE JOURNEY WASHINGTON S RECEPTION AT CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 IT was at the summer solstice when Washington set out from 
 Philadelphia upon the high and holy mission for which he had been 
 prepared by the wise Ruler of the universe, History affords no 
 parallel to the scene - y and romance and poetry have never invented 
 a spectacle more sublime, viewed in its relations to the best earthly 
 interests of mankind. He went forth at the command of a nation s 
 will, expressed by the nation s voice, to model an army out of the 
 crudest materials, and to form battalions thereof to confront the 
 disciplined warriors of one of the most powerful empires on the 
 face of the round world. He went forth to the command of that 
 army, not to strike for power, for territory, for treasure, or even for 
 personal freedom, but for the disinthralment of his country, and 
 the vindication of the Divine principles of human liberty. He 
 went forth, not as an instrument formed by the force of immediate 
 circumstances, to be laid aside and forgotten when its special func 
 tions had been performed, but as another Moses, born, nurtured, 
 developed, disciplined, and inspired, to lead a great people out of 
 bondage, to prepare them for the enjoyments of the land of promise 
 which they now inhabit, and to be for ever a sublime model of a 
 PATRIOT for the contemplation of oncoming generations. 
 
 No wonder that Washington s great soul was bowed in deep 
 
574 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 humility when the responsibility was laid upon him by his sena 
 torial compeers ; and that the warning admonitions of a sensitive 
 spirit should have made him at first recoil from the proffered honor, 
 as too great for his human capacity. But how soon did these timid 
 forebodings give w r ay before the counsels of a noble courage, born 
 of faith in God and the sceptre of his righteousness, which enabled 
 him to say to them, without hesitation, yet not without emotion, 
 " As the Congress desire it, I will enter upon the momentous duty, 
 and exert every power I possess in their service, and for the sup 
 port of the glorious cause !" and tenderly to his dear wife, " I shall 
 rely, therefore, confidently on that Providence which has heretofore 
 preserved and been bountiful to me, not doubting that I shall 
 return safe to you in the fall !" It was this consciousness of dutiful 
 obedience to the will of his countrymen, the integrity of his mo 
 tives, the justice of the cause, and reliance upon Jehovah, which 
 constituted his moral strength, that sustained him in all the trying 
 scenes of an eight years leadership. To regard Washington as 
 going forth, on that occasion, as only a captain-general appointed by 
 erring expediency to lead a revolutionary army, is the exercise of 
 that practical atheism which denies the existence of God in history. 
 Washington left Philadelphia on horseback, and travelled in that 
 manner all the way to Cambridge.* He was accompanied by 
 Generals Lee and Schuyler ; and also by Major Thomas Mifflin, as 
 his aid-de-camp, and Joseph Reed, who became a member of his 
 military family a few days afterward, as his secretary.*)* They 
 were escorted out of the city, as we have observed, by a brilliant 
 civic and military cavalcade of two thousand men ; and a corps of 
 light-horse, commanded by Captain Markoe, accompanied them all 
 the way to New York. 
 
 * The first item in the account current that Washington rendered at the conclusion of the war, 
 was as follows : " To the purchase of five horses (two of which were had on credit from Mr. James 
 Mease), to equip me for my journey to the army at Cambridge and for the service I was then 
 going upon having sent my chariot and horses back to Virginia." 
 
 t Mr. Reed had no military appointment when he left Philadelphia, nor did he receive one on the 
 way. His biographer says (Life and Correspondence of President Reed, i., 105); "What Mr. 
 Reed s views were when he left home, arid whether he contemplated joining the service at that time, 
 I have no means of ascertaining, though it is manifest, from the unfeigned surprise of his most 
 intimate friends and relations, that such an intention was confined to his own breast." 
 
JE-r. 43.] LEE AND SCHUYLER. 575 
 
 The three principal men in the cavalcade Washington, Lee, 
 and Schuyler had campaigning reminiscences of the French war 
 to talk over, and as they rode through the pleasant country by 
 way of Frankford to the passage of the Delaware at Trenton, no 
 doubt many scenes of the past were brought vividly to the recol 
 lections of each as memory found utterance in some narrative of 
 personal experience. Lee and Schuyler had been companions-in 
 arms on the northern frontier ; and now, after the lapse of almost 
 a score of years, during which many changes in the life of each 
 had been wrought, they were again soldiers together, but in hos 
 tility to the government for whose honor they had once fought and 
 suffered. Although they were companions-in-arms, they were by 
 no means companions in motives and aspirations. Lee was a soldier 
 of Fortune, and a cosmopolite. He possessed small inhabitiveness, 
 and sought only the gratification of his ambitious desires for per 
 sonal honor, and of spite against a government that he regarded as 
 an ingrate because of its neglect of his merits. Pride and resent 
 ment were his chief impulses. Schuyler, like Washington, had 
 much at stake. He was a man of large fortune and extensive 
 relationship. He was an ardent friend of the country that gave 
 him birth, and had no lower aspirations than the welfare of his 
 people and of mankind. Patriotism and humanity were his chief 
 impulses. Yet the three journeyed on fraternally together, en 
 gaged heartily, for the time, in the same noble cause ; and, by their 
 respective merits, were ready and able to justify the hopes of the 
 Americans, who regarded them as the most reliable champions of 
 liberty, in the field. 
 
 It would be gratifying to know the thoughts and words of these 
 remarkable men while on this journey. No doubt the great theme 
 was the cause in which they were engaged, and the best means for 
 carrying forward and sustaining aloft the banner of revolt. Their 
 sagacious minds perceived the strong mountains of difficulties to be 
 overcome, even in the preliminary operations of the kindling war. 
 Loyalty, born often of sheer timidity, and as often of pure selfish 
 ness, was rife in every neighborhood ; and the just suspicions that 
 
57G WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 secret opposers of the revolt were in the very households of patriots, 
 brought frequent shadows over the countenances of the most hope 
 ful men. And yet, on their journey, this triad saw nothing but 
 the sunshine of friendly feeling, for the faces and the voices of the 
 people everywhere expressed delight. As the sounds of martial 
 music heralded the cavalcade, men, women, and children, came 
 from houses, fields, and workshops, and in groups, by the waysides, 
 and gazed in wonder and pleasure upon the martial display ; and 
 citizens of every degree vied with each other in manifestations of 
 the most profound respect for the commander-in-chief and his 
 companions. 
 
 Before reaching Trenton the travellers were met by a courier, 
 riding in hot haste for Philadelphia, to lay before Congress de 
 spatches concerning the battle of Bunker s hill. This was the first 
 intimation of that occurrence which had reached Pennsylvania, and 
 by a few eager questions, Washington learned some gratifying 
 particulars. His most anxious inquiry was, " How did the militia 
 behave ?" When informed, by few words, of the noble fortitude, 
 willing obedience, and unwavering courage of most of the men in the 
 redoubt and intrenchments, gladness lightened his countenance, and 
 he dismissed the courier with the exclamation, " Then the liberties 
 of the country are safe !" His mind was relieved of a great bur 
 den, for the militia of New England were to be his chief reliance 
 for awhile. 
 
 On their arrival at New Brunswick, on the twenty-fourth, Gen 
 eral Schuyler despatched a messenger to the New York provincial 
 Congress, with information that the commander-in-chief and his 
 retinue would be at Newark the following morning, and a request 
 that they should send a delegation to meet him there, and advise 
 the most proper place to cross the Hudson river. A committee, 
 consisting of four members of the Congress (one of whon was 
 General Richard Montgomery), accordingly met Washington and 
 his party at the appointed place. They all crossed the Hudson 
 from Paulus s Hook (now Jersey City), and arrived in New York 
 on the afternoon of Sunday, the twenty-fifth. Much excitement 
 
JET. 43.] AN OFFICIAL DILEMMA. 577 
 
 then prevailed in the city. The provincial Congress and the muni 
 cipal authorities had been placed in a very perplexing situation, by 
 intelligence that Governor Try on, just arrived from England, was 
 in the harbor, and would land on the same day. The Congress had 
 already, under the pressure of external influences, cast off alle 
 giance to the royal government, but they still professed loyalty to 
 the person of the governor ; and the mayor and several other city 
 officials were the personal and political friends of Tryon. 
 
 Here was a dilemma. A royal governor and republican generals 
 were candidates for the public courtesy. Circumstances were 
 hourly developing popular strength, while the royal representative 
 and a British ship-of-war were in port. Only two days before, a 
 small party of the Sons of Liberty, led by Marinus Willet, had 
 confronted an Irish battalion, under Major Moncrief, as it evacuated 
 Fort George, and was marching, with some boxes of arms in wag 
 ons, to embark for Boston. The patriots seized the arms, conveyed 
 them back to Fort George, and took possession of that deserted 
 post. On the same day intelligence had come from Bunker s hill; 
 and now the commander-in-chief of the American armies ap 
 proached, with a retinue of civilians and soldiers. These events 
 pressed heavily upon the spirits of the loyalists and timid republi 
 cans ; and all in authority were at their w r its end. The cord of 
 difficulty w r as finally cut in a simple way. A militia colonel was 
 ordered to parade his regiment, and be prepared to receive " either 
 the generals or Governor Tryon, whichever should arrive first, and 
 wait on both as well as circumstances would allow." 
 
 Happily for all parties, the advent of these public characters 
 was not simultaneous. Washington arrived several hours before 
 the landing of Tryon, and the civic and military honors of the city 
 were earliest bestowed upon him, first by the militar} , and then by 
 a congratulatory address from the lips of Peter Van Brugh Living 
 ston, the president of the provincial Congress. That address was 
 cautious and conservative, especially when the speaker left the 
 pleasant bounds of congratulatory sentiment, and dwelt upon the 
 theme of passing events. " Confiding in you, sir," he said, " and in 
 
 37 
 
578 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 the worthy generals immediately under your command, we have 
 the most flattering hopes of success in the glorious struggle for 
 American liberty, and the fullest assurances that whenever this 
 important contest shall be decided by that fondest wish of each 
 American soul an accommodation with our mother-country you 
 will cheerfully resign the important deposite committed into your 
 hands, and reassume the character of our worthiest citizen." 
 
 Washington made a brief reply in behalf of himself and associate 
 generals, in which he said : "As to the fatal, but necessary opera 
 tions of war, when we assumed the soldier, we did not lay aside the 
 citizen ; and we shall most sincerely rejoice with you in that happy 
 hour, when the establishment of American liberty on the most firm 
 and solid foundations, shall enable us to return to our private sta 
 tions, in the bosom of a free, peaceful, and happy country." 
 
 Four hours after these reception ceremonies were ended, Gov 
 ernor Try on landed, and the military and civic honors of the after 
 noon were partly repeated. The loyalists gave him very hearty 
 demonstrations of their joy in his presence at this critical juncture, 
 nd the mayor and common council expressed toward him their 
 highest regard. Thus ended the excitement in New York on 
 Sunday, the twenty-fifth of June, 1775. 
 
 When the public ceremonies were over, Washington s thoughts 
 turned to the important duties of his station, and before five o clock, 
 he had despatched a courier with his first letters to the continental 
 Congress, and the president of that body. He informed them of 
 his arrival, the presence of Tryon, his intended orders to General 
 Schuyler, his intention to leave for the camp the following morning, 
 and the scarcity of powder, as he had learned, in the magazine at 
 Cambridge. He urged the immediate adoption of measures to 
 supply the deficiency, and said, " One thousand pounds in weight 
 were sent to the camp at Cambridge three days ago, from this city, 
 which has left the place almost destitute of that necessary article ; 
 there being at this time, from the best information, not more than 
 four barrels of powder in the city of New York." 
 
 Washington and Schuyler spent the entire evening previous to 
 
JE-r. 43.] ELEMENTS OF WEAKNESS. 579 
 
 the departure of the commander-in-chief for the east, in earnest 
 consultation concerning the present and prospective affairs of the 
 northern department. The charge of these Washington was about 
 to leave in the hands of Schuyler. The position of the province 
 of New York was peculiar, both geographically and politically. 
 It lay between New England and the middle and southern prov 
 inces, and formed a link in the chain of the confederacy, upon 
 which depended the integrity of the union in the struggle now at 
 hand. Its northern frontier, bordering upon a province practically 
 neutral if not actually hostile in sentiment, where, already, British 
 power and influence were strongly predominant, was peculiarly 
 exposed to speedy and effective invasions; while its central and 
 western regions were filled with the powerful tribes of the Six 
 Nations of Indians, whose almost universal loyalty had been se 
 cured through the influence of the Johnson fiimily, the really feudal 
 lords of the Mohawk valley. Nearer the seaboard, and in the 
 metropolis, commercial interests and strong family attachments to 
 the crown held potent sway, and neutralized, to a great extent, the 
 influence of sturdy patriots, who, in the face of all the frowns of 
 authority and fears of the timid, kept the car of revolution in 
 continued onward motion. Thus, it will be seen, New York pre 
 sented to the keen perception of Washington, three dangerous 
 elements of weakness as a member of the confederacy, namely : 
 an exposed frontier, a wily and powerful internal foe, and a subtle 
 and corroding loyalty. This visible weakness gave him much 
 uneasiness, because the breaking of that link would sever New 
 England from the rest of the confederation, when the warm life- 
 blood of communication and co-operation would cease to flow 
 between the head and heart of the union, and speedy death must 
 ensue. With the preservation of the strength and vitality of this 
 link Schuyler was charged by Washington; and never was an 
 important duty left in more efficient and trustworthy hands. 
 
 The conference of the two generals on that memorable sabbath 
 evening, ended by the preparation of instructions for Schuyler, by 
 the commander-in-chief. He was commissioned to " take command 
 
580 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 of all the troops destined for the New York department," and to 
 see that the orders of the continental Congress were obeyed ; to 
 occupy, as speedily as possible, " the several posts recommended by 
 the provincial Congress" of New York, and to secure the stores 
 which were, or should have been, removed from the city, pursuant 
 to orders from the continental Congress ; to keep a watchful eye 
 on Governor Tryon, and to use every means in his power to frus 
 trate any measures which he might attempt, inimical to the com 
 mon cause. "It is not in my power," he said, "at this time, to 
 point out the mode by which this end is to be accomplished ; but 
 if forcible measures are judged necessary respecting the person of 
 the governor, I should have no difficulty in ordering them, if the 
 continental Congress were not sitting; but as this is the case, and 
 the seizing of a governor quite a new thing, and of great import 
 ance, I must refer you to that body for direction, should his excel 
 lency make any motion tow r ard increasing the strength of the tory 
 party, or arming them against the cause in which we are embarked." 
 He likewise directed General Schuyler to watch the movements of 
 Colonel Guy Johnson, the British Indian agent in the Mohawk 
 valley, and prevent, as far as possible, his mischievous influence. 
 He was also instructed to ascertain the temper and dispositions of 
 the Indians and Canadians, and adopt a conciliatory policy toward 
 both. 
 
 The unscrupulous characters of Tryon and the Johnsons presented 
 sufficient reasons for exercising the most sleepless vigilance con 
 cerning their movements. Tryon was a mercenary Irishman, 
 educated for the profession of a soldier, and was innately osten 
 tatious, avaricious, cowardly, and cruel. Connected by marriage 
 with the earl of Hillsborough, he had been appointed governor of 
 North Carolina while that nobleman filled the office of colonial 
 secretary. In that new and undeserved position, he became ex 
 ceedingly odious to the people; and, in 1771, he was transferred to 
 the chair of chief-magistrate of the province of New York, where 
 he became very officious in strengthening the power of the crown. 
 Covetous of place and emolument, it was well known that he would 
 
^ET. 43.] THE BARONS OF THE MOHAWK. 581 
 
 resort to any measure, however wicked or dishonorable, that was 
 calculated to secure these advantages ; and it became apparent to 
 the mind of Washington, after his conference with leading patriots 
 in New York, that a seizure of the governor might become an act 
 of prudence. For this reason, his instructions to General Schuyler 
 were made sufficiently broad to cover such a contingency. 
 
 The Johnsons (Sir John and Guy), who were brothers-in-law, 
 maintained the sway of Sir William, the father of Sir John, over 
 the Six Nations. That sway had become almost imperial in the 
 hands of Sir William, who, for forty years, had lived among them, 
 most of the time as Indian agent for the British government. By 
 presents, conformity in dress, and other appliances, and by marriage 
 with the sister of Brant, the great Mohawk chief, he had become 
 identified with the Iroquois, and at his beck a thousand warriors 
 might, at any time, be called to the war-path. When the storm of 
 the Revolution was gathering, Sir William s heart was troubled ; and 
 when orders came from England, that in the event of hostilities he 
 must enlist the Six Nations in the cause of the crown, his generous 
 nature revolted ; and, it is believed, that the agitations of his feel 
 ings, caused thereby, produced the stroke of apoplexy which termi 
 nated his life in the summer of 1774. 
 
 Sir William s son and heir, Sir John, and his sons-in-law, Colonel 
 Guy Johnson and Colonel Daniel Claus, felt no compunctions of 
 conscience in making use of harsh measures toward those engaged 
 in the revolt. Rudely trained in the forest, with many loyal Scotch 
 Highlanders tenanting the broad acres of their clearings in the 
 Mohawk country, their proclivities were anti-republican, and they 
 readily coalesced with such bold, bad men as the Butlers of Tryon 
 count} , and with the less savage Brant and his fellow-chieftains. 
 Therefore, as soon as Sir William was buried, these men exhibited 
 open hostility to the patriots. The Johnsons had recently fortified 
 their strong mansions, had held a grand council of the Six Nations, 
 had armed a large body of Roman catholic Highlanders, and had 
 tampered with the militia of that region. With these men holding 
 the falchion of such power in the interior, and Tryon, clothed 
 
531 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 with vice-regal potency, having at his command ships-of-war and 
 expected troops,* in the harbor of the seaport, and lording over the 
 lower waters of the Hudson, there appeared imminent danger of a 
 total geographical separation of New England from the other colo 
 nies. Washington and the people had faith in Schuyler as a cham 
 pion to stand in the breach, and events justified that confidence. 
 
 On Monday afternoon, the twenty-sixth of June, Washington left 
 New York for the camp, accompanied by Generals Lee and Schuy 
 ler, and escorted by Markoe s " First Troop," f of Philadelphia light- 
 horse, and several New York militia companies. This escort left 
 him at Kingsbridge, at the northern end of York island, about 
 fourteen miles from the city, and there Washington and his com 
 panions remained until the following morning. General Schuyler 
 accompanied him as far as New Kochelle, in Westchester county, 
 where they met and conferred with General Wooster ; and at ten 
 o clock, Schuyler mounted his horse, bade Washington adieu, and 
 returned to New York, to enter upon the important duties of his 
 command.J 
 
 The command er-in-chief was escorted from place to place, on his 
 journey eastward, by militia companies and citizens on horseback ; 
 and at Springfield, a hundred miles from Boston, near the border 
 line between Connecticut and Massachusetts, he was met by a depu 
 tation from the provincial Congress of the latter colony, then in 
 session at Watertown. This committee (consisting of Doctor 
 Benjamin Church and Mr. Moses Gill) had provided escorts for the 
 remainder of the journey, and they attended Washington, in per 
 son, all the way. Everywhere the most enthusiastic demonstrations 
 of respect and affection for the commander-in-chief were mani- 
 
 * A rumor prevailed, that a regiment of troops from Ireland would soon land in New York, 
 whereupon the provincial Congress, in sessjon in that city, resolved, on the fifteenth of June, to 
 invite General Wooster, then in command of the Connecticut forces on the shores of Long Island 
 sound, to take post within a few miles of New York. This invitation was readily accepted, and 
 approved by Governor Trumbull, the chief-magistrate of that colony ; and on the twenty-eighth of 
 June, two days after Washington departed for Cambridge, Wooster marched to Harlem with eigh. 
 teen hundred men, where he lay encamped for several weeks. 
 
 t This corps, like that of the " Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company" of Boston, yet re 
 tains its organization. 
 
 $ Schuyler s MS. Letter Books. 
 
#h . 43.] WASHINGTON S RECEPTION IN NEW ENGLAND. 583 
 
 fested by the people ; and the progress of the cavalcade was a con 
 tinuous ovation. 
 
 On the morning of the second of July, Washington and his 
 attendants reached Watertown, where a large concourse of people 
 were assembled, to greet and welcome the eminent Virginian. 
 James Warren, of Plymouth, to whom his Excellency had been 
 referred by the Massachusetts delegation in the continental Con 
 gress, as " a judicious, confidential friend, who would never deceive 
 him,"* was president of the provincial Congress in session there, and 
 in the name of that body, he presented to Washington a congratu 
 latory address, expressive of their esteem, and strong assurances of 
 their " aid and support to enable him to discharge the duties of his 
 arduous and exalted station."f To this Washington replied: 
 
 " Gentlemen, your kind congratulations on my appointment and 
 arrival, demand my warmest acknowledgments, and will ever be 
 retained in grateful remembrance. In exchanging the enjoyments 
 of domestic life for the duties of my present honorable but arduous 
 station, I only emulate the virtue and public spirit of the whole 
 province of Massachusetts Bay, which, with a firmness and patri 
 otism without example in modern history, has sacrified all the 
 comforts of social and political life in support of the rights of man 
 kind and the welfare of our common country. My highest ambi 
 tion is to be the happy instrument of vindicating those rights, and 
 to see this devoted province again restored to peace, liberty, and 
 safety." He then referred to the weak state of the army, alluded 
 to in the address of the president, and added, " Whatever deficien 
 cies there may be, will, I doubt not, soon be made up by the activity 
 and zeal of the officers, and the docility and obedience of the men. 
 These qualities, united with their native bravery and spirit, will 
 afford a happy presage of success, and put a final period to those 
 distresses which now overwhelm this once happy country." 
 
 When these ceremonies were ended, Washington resumed his 
 journey, escorted by a troop of lightrhorse, and a large company 
 
 * Mercy Warren s " History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination, of the American Revolution." 
 t General Lee was also honored with an address of welcome. 
 
584 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 of mounted citizens, and at two o clock in the afternoon of the 
 same day, he arrived at the headquarters of the army at Cam 
 bridge, amid the shouts of a great multitude of citizens and sol 
 diers, the clangor of bells, the strains of martial music, and the 
 waving of banners. The musket and the cannon were silent on 
 that occasion, because the provincial Congress had prudently given 
 such orders for " their honorable reception as might accord with the 
 rules and circumstances of the army, and the respect due to their 
 rank, without ! , however, any expense of powder, and without taking the 
 troops from the necessary attention to their duty at this crisis of 
 our affairs." Washington was then escorted to the house which 
 had been lately occupied partly by President Warren, and partly 
 by a regiment from Marblehead, and had been fitted up by order of 
 the provincial Congress, as permanent headquarters for the com- 
 mander-in-chief, and the temporary residence of General Lee.* 
 
 * This dwelling, known as the " Cragie House," is yet perfectly preserved, and is the residence 
 of Professor Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the eminent American poet. It stands a little back 
 from the street, which was once the highway from ^ Harvard university to Waltham. At this man 
 sion, and at Winter Hill, Washington passed most of his time, after taking command of the Conti 
 nental army, until the evacuation of Boston by the British, the following spring. 
 
JE-r. 43.] THE PERSON OF WASHINGTON. 585 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 
 WASHINGTON S IMPRESSION UPON THE PEOPLE AT CAMBRIDGE HIS APPEARANCE 
 
 DESCRIBED BY CONTEMPORARIES WASHINGTON TAKES FORMAL COMMAND OP 
 
 THE ARMY HE ENTERS UPON HIS DUTIES ARRIVAL OF GATES AND SULLIVAN 
 
 WASHINGTON S DESPATCH TO CONGRESS ACCOUNT OF THE BRITISH AND AMER 
 ICAN WORKS DESCRIPTION AND POSITION OF THE AMERICAN ARMY COUNCIL 
 
 OF WAR DESTITUTE CONDITION OF THE ARMY ADDITIONAL OFFICERS 
 
 COMMISSARY-GENERAL APPOINTED DIFFICULTIES CONCERNING COMMISSIONS 
 
 A CHAPLAIN S PICTURE OF THE ARMY DEFICIENCY OF POWDER WASHINGTON 
 
 HOPEFUL ENCOURAGING LETTERS CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN WASHINGTON 
 
 AND TRUMBULL. 
 
 WASHINGTON S arrival at Cambridge had been looked for with 
 great interest and pleasure by the friends of the cause. There were 
 some who remembered his visit to Boston twenty years before, as 
 a young Virginia colonel, to confer with Governor Shirley respecting 
 military rank ; and the fame of his subsequent career in the field 
 and in the senate, was familiar to every intelligent mind. A desire 
 to see him took possession of the hearts of the people, and they 
 came from the surrounding country in crowds to get a glimpse of 
 the eminent commander. As he rode through the camp, on his 
 large white horse of Arabian blood, his presence fulfilled all expec 
 tations that had been excited by the enthusiasm with which his 
 person and bearing had been spoken of by those who knew him. 
 Doctor Thacher, who was a surgeon in the army during a greater por 
 tion of the war, wrote in his journal :* " I have been much gratified 
 this day with a view of General Washington. His Excellency was 
 on horseback, in company with several military gentlemen. It was 
 not difficult to distinguish him from all others ; his personal appear 
 ance is truly noble and majestic, being tall and well proportioned. 
 
 * Military Journal, page 32. 
 
586 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 His dress is a blue coat with buff-colored facings, a rich epaulette 
 on each shoulder, buff under-dress, and an elegant small-sword ; a 
 black cockade in his hat." " I was struck with General Washing 
 ton," wrote Mrs. John Adams to her husband. " You had prepared 
 me to entertain a favorable opinion of him, but I thought the half 
 was not told me. Dignity, with ease and complacency, the gentle 
 man and soldier, look agreeably blended in him. Modesty marks 
 every line and feature of his face. Those lines of Dryden instantly 
 occurred to me : 
 
 " Mark his majestic fabric ! he s a temple 
 Sacred by birth, and built by hands divine ; 
 His soul s the deity that lodges there ; 
 Nor is the pile unworthy of the god. " 
 
 And Mercy Warren, the accomplished sister of James Otis, and 
 wife of the president of the provincial Congress, writing of Wash 
 ington, Lee, and Gates, said : " The first of them I think one of the 
 most amiable and accomplished gentlemen, both in person, mind, 
 and manners, that I have met with."* To the officers and soldiers 
 he was equally agreeable. They each felt an attraction toward 
 him as a personal friend, and yet he possessed an incomprehensible 
 dignity unknown to most men, which inspired a feeling of respect 
 and reverence in his presence, akin to awe. 
 
 Washington first assumed the duties of his office on the third 
 of July. At about nine o clock in the morning a clear, sultry 
 morning the troops in Cambridge were drawn up in order upon 
 the common near Harvard university, to receive the commander-in- 
 chief. Accompanied by the general officers of the army who were 
 present, he walked from his quarters to a venerable elm-tree, which 
 yet flourishes in the pride of vigorous age, and under its shadow, 
 standing between his staff and the battalions, he drew his sword, 
 made a few appropriate remarks, and formally took command of 
 
 * Mrs. Ellet s " Women of the Revolution," i., 82. In the same letter Mrs. Warren thus writes 
 of Lee : " The second, whom I never saw before, I think plain in his person to a degree of ugliness ; 
 careless, even to impoliteness : his garb ordinary, his voice rough, his manners rather morose; yet 
 sensible, learned, judicious and penetrating : a considerable traveller, agreeable in his narrations, 
 and a zealous, indefatigable friend to the American cause." 
 
JET. 43.1 ARRIVAL OF GATES AND SULLIVAN. 587 
 
 the continental army. That was an auspicious act for America; 
 and the love and reverence then felt for Washington never waned 
 during the eight long years of the conflict. Upon his bright weapon 
 might have been worthily inscribed the lofty words which the old 
 Spaniards used to engrave on their Toledo blades : " Never draw me 
 without reason : Never sheath me tvithout honor /" 
 
 Washington s first care after assuming the command of the army, 
 was to ascertain its condition, and the character and position of the 
 enemy s works. During that day he visited the several American 
 posts. A heavy thunder-shower that fell upon the camp in the 
 afternoon was the precursor of a storm that continued about thirty- 
 six hours, and prevented his Excellency leaving headquarters until 
 the morning of the fifth, when he set out with General Lee and 
 other officers, to reconnoitre the seacoast eastward of Boston harbor. 
 On his return, toward evening, he was gratified by the presence of 
 Generals Gates and Sullivan, who had arrived during the day ;* 
 and on the following morning, accompanied by these officers, also, 
 he visited all of the Americans posts, and further reconnoitred the 
 works of the British. When these labors were accomplished, and 
 he had procured such information from the American officers, as 
 enabled him to give a pretty accurate account of the number and 
 condition of the army, he wrote a long statement thereof to the 
 president of the continental Congress. This letter, dated " Camp, 
 at Cambridge, 10th July, 1775," presents such a graphic picture 
 of affairs that it is deemed proper to insert it here, in full, as fol 
 lows : 
 
 " SIR : I arrived safe at this place on the third instant, after a jour 
 ney attended with a good deal of fatigue, and retarded by necessary 
 attention to the successive civilities which accompanied me in my 
 whole route. 
 
 * Immediately after Gates s appointment, Washington wrote to him, apprizing him of the honor, 
 and expressing his gratification. To this letter Gates immediately replied, in the most cordial manner, 
 and concluded by saying : " I will not intrude more upon your time, only to assure you, that I shall 
 not lose a moment in paying you my personal attendance, with the greatest respect for your charac 
 ter, and the sincerest attachment to your person." Sparks s " Life and Writings of Washington," 
 iii. (note), 7. The reader will learn, in future pages, how ungenerously Gates requited the kindness 
 of Washington. 
 
588 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 " Upon my arrival I immediately visited the several posts occu 
 pied by our troops ;* and, as soon as the weather permitted, recon 
 noitred those of the enemy. I found the latter strongly intrenched 
 on Bunker s hill, about a mile from Charlestown, and advanced 
 about half a mile from the place of the late action, with their 
 Gentries extended about one hundred and fifty yards on this side 
 of the narrowest part of the neck leading from this place to 
 Charlestown. Three floating batteries lie in Mystic river near the 
 camp, and one twenty-gun ship below the ferry-place, between 
 Boston and Charlestown. They have also a battery on Copse 
 [Copp s] hill, on the Boston side, which much annoyed our troops 
 in the late attack. Upon the neck [Roxbury], they have also 
 deeply intrenched and fortified. Their advanced guards, till last 
 Saturday morning, occupied Brown s houses, about a mile from 
 Roxbury meetinghouse, and twenty roods from their lines ; but, at 
 that time, a party from General Thomas s camp surprised the guard, 
 drove them in and burned the houses.f The bulk of their army, 
 commanded by General Howe, lies on Bunker s hill, and the re- 
 
 * The following general order was issued on the fourth of July, the day after Washington took 
 command of the army : 
 
 " The continental Congress having now taken all the troops of the several colonies, which have 
 been raised, or which may be hereafter raised for the support and defence of the liberties of America, 
 into their pay and service, they are now the troops of the UNITED PROVINCES OF NORTH AMERICA ; 
 and it is hoped that all distinction of colonies will be laid aside, so that one and the same spirit may 
 animate the whole, and the only contest be, who shall render, on this great and trying occasion, the 
 most essential service to the great and common cause in which we are all engaged. It is required 
 and expected that exact discipline be observed, and due subordination prevail through the whole 
 army, as a failure in these most essential points must necessarily produce extreme hazard, disorder, 
 and confusion, and end in shameful disappointment and disgrace. The general most earnestly re 
 quires and expects a due observance of those articles of war, established for the government of the 
 armv, which forbid profane cursing, swearing, and drunkenness ; and in like manner, he requires 
 and expects of all officers and soldiers, not engaged on actual duty, a punctual attendance on divine 
 service, to implore the blessings of Heaven upon the means used for our safety and defence." 
 
 This brief order may be regarded as a model. In a few words, it evokes harmony, order, the 
 exercise of patriotism, morality, sobriety, and an humble reverence for, and reliance upon, Divine 
 Providence. It includes all the essential elements of good government. These principles were the 
 moral bonds of union that kept the little continental army together during the dreary years of its 
 struggle for the mastery. 
 
 t "June 26. This morning, very early, our men went to set Brown s house on fire, but did not 
 effect it." 
 
 " Juiy 7. Early in the morning we were alarmed, and all of us repaired to our alarm posts. 
 We had not been there long before we saw Brown s house and barn on fire. They were both con 
 sumed. These were set on fire by some of our brave Americans ; and they took one gun, two bay 
 onets, and one halbert." MS. Journal of a private soldier from Wrent/iam. 
 
&T. 43.] POSITION OF THE AMERICAN ARMY. 589 
 
 mainder on Roxbury Neck, except the light-horse, and a few men 
 in the town of Boston. 
 
 "On one side we have thrown up intrenchments on Winter 
 and Prospect hills the enemy s camp in full view, at a distance of 
 little more than a mile. Such intermediate points as would admit 
 a landing, I have, since my arrival, taken care to strengthen, down 
 to Sewall s farm, where a strong intrenchment has been thrown up. 
 At Roxbury, General Thomas has thrown up a strong work on the 
 hill, about two hundred yards above the meetinghouse ; which, with 
 the brokenness of the ground, and a great number of rocks, has 
 made that pass very secure.* The troops raised in New Hamp 
 shire, with a regiment from Rhode Island, occupy Winter hill: a 
 part of those from Connecticut, under General Putnam, are on 
 Prospect hill. The troops in this town [Cambridge] are entirely 
 of the Massachusetts ; the remainder of the Rhode Island men are 
 at Sewall s farm. Two regiments of Connecticut, and nine of the 
 Massachusetts, are at Roxbury. The residue of the army, to the 
 number of about seven hundred, are posted in several small towns 
 along the coast to prevent depredations of the enemy. 
 
 " Upon the whole, I think myself authorized to say, that con 
 sidering the great extent of line, and the nature of the ground, we 
 are as well secured as could be expected in so short a time, and 
 under the disadvantages we labor. These consist in a want of 
 engineers to construct proper works and direct the men, a want of 
 tools, and a sufficient number of men to man the works in case of 
 an attack. You will observe, by the proceedings of the council of 
 war which I have the honor to inclose, that it is our unanimous 
 opinion to hold and defend these works as long as possible.^ 
 
 * This was the strongest and the only regular work cast up by the Americans near Boston, of 
 which any traces at present remain. This was called Roxbitry fort, and appears to have been con 
 structed chiefly by the Rhode Island troops. It was a strong quadrangular work of earth, built 
 upon rocks of "pudding-stone," with bastions at each angle. The magazine appears to have been 
 on the southwest side, near which was a covered-way and sally-port. A plan of this work, and a 
 small view of its appearance in 1850, may be found in Lossing s "Pictorial Field-Book of the 
 Revolution," ii., 592, second edition. 
 
 t Washington called a council of war on the ninth of July. It consisted of the major-generals 
 and the brigadiers. The object was to take into consideration the present state of the army, and to 
 consult upon future operations. It was estimated by that council that, from the be&t information 
 
590 WASHINGTON: ABIOGRAPH1. [1775. 
 
 The discouragement it would give the men, and its contrary effects 
 on the ministerial troops, thus to abandon our encampment in their 
 face, formed with so much labor, added to the certain destruction 
 of a considerable and valuable extent of country, and our uncer 
 tainty of finding a place in all respects so capable of making a 
 stand, are leading reasons for this determination. At the same 
 time we are very sensible of the difficulties which attend the 
 defence of lines of so great extent, and the dangers which may 
 ensue from such a division of the army. 
 
 " My earnest wish to comply with the instructions of the Con 
 gress, in making an early and complete return of the state of the 
 army, has led into an involuntary delay of addressing you ; which 
 has given me much concern. Having given orders for this purpose 
 immediately on my arrival ; and unapprized of the imperfect obedi 
 ence which had been paid to those of the like nature from General 
 Ward, I was led from day to day, to expect they would come in, 
 and therefore detained the messenger. They are not now so com 
 plete as I could wish ; but much allowance is to be made for inex 
 perience in forms, and a liberty which had been taken (not given) 
 on this subject. These reasons, I flatter myself, will no longer 
 exist ; and, of consequence, more regularity and exactness will in 
 future prevail. This, with a necessary attention to the lines, the 
 movements of the ministerial troops, and our immediate security, 
 must be my apology, which I beg you to lay before Congress with 
 the utmost duty and respect. 
 
 " We labor under great disadvantages for want of tents ; for, 
 though they have been helped out by a collection of now useless 
 sails from the seaport towns, the number is far short of our neces 
 sities. The colleges and houses of this town are necessarily occu 
 pied by the troops ; which affords another reason for keeping our 
 
 which could be obtained, the forces of the enemy consisted of eleven thousand five hundred effective 
 men, while the Americans had only about fourteen thousand fit for duty. Taking this view of the 
 comparative strength of the two armies, the council unanimously resolved to maintain the siege, by 
 strengthening the posts then held by the Americans, by fortifications and recruits. It was agreed 
 that, if the troops should be attacked and routed by the enemy the place of rendezvous should be 
 Wales s hill, in the rear of the Roxbury lines. It was also agreed, that a force of twenty-two 
 thousand men, at least, was necessary to act against the enemy. 
 
/Er. 43.] COMMISSARY-GENERAL APPOINTED. 591 
 
 present situation. But I most sincerely wish the whole army was 
 properly provided to take the field, as I am well assured, that 
 (besides greater expedition and activity in case of alarm), it would 
 highly conduce to health and discipline. As materials are not to 
 be had here, I would beg leave to recommend the procuring a 
 further supply from Philadelphia, as soon as possible. 
 
 " I should be extremely deficient in gratitude as well as justice, 
 if I did not take the first opportunity to acknowledge the readiness 
 and attention which the provincial Congress and different commit 
 tees have shown, to make everything as convenient and agreeable 
 as possible.* But there is a vital and inherent principle of delay, 
 incompatible with military service, in transacting business through 
 such numerous and different channels. I esteem it, therefore, my 
 duty to represent the inconvenience which must unavoidably ensue 
 from a dependence on a number of persons for supplies ; and sub 
 mit it for the consideration of Congress, whether the public service 
 will not be best promoted by appointing a commissary-general for 
 these purposes. We have a striking instance of the preference of 
 such a mode, in the establishment of Connecticut, as their troops 
 are extremely well provided, under the direction of Mr. Trumbull, 
 and he has, at different times, assisted others with various articles. 
 Should my sentiments happily coincide with those of your honors 
 on this subject, I beg leave to recommend Mr. Trumbull as a very 
 proper person for this department.-}* In the arrangement of troops 
 collected under such circumstances, and upon the spur of imme 
 diate necessity, several appointments are omitted, which appear to 
 be indispensably necessary for the good government of the army, 
 particularly a quartermaster-general, a commissary of musters, and 
 
 * The committee on the state of the province, the committee of safety, and the committee of 
 supplies, are here referred to. The Massachusetts delegation in Congress had, at the request of 
 Washington, given him a list of distinguished New England men, on whom he might rely for council 
 and efficient aid. 
 
 t This was Joseph Trumbull, the eldest son of Jonathan Trumbull, the republican governor of 
 Connecticut. He had been one of the active Sons of Liberty, at Norwich, in that province, and held 
 a captain s commission in the Connecticut line, having, as an officer of the militia, acted efficiently 
 as a commissary. On the nineteenth of July, the continental Congress, on this recommendation, 
 appointed him commissary-general of the army. 
 
59-2 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 a commisary of artillery. These I must earnestly recommend to 
 the notice and provision of the Congress.* 
 
 " I find myself already much embarrassed for want of a military- 
 chest. These embarrassments will increase every day : I must, 
 therefore, request that money be forwarded as soon as possible. 
 The want of this most necessary article will (I fear), produce great 
 inconveniences, if not prevented by an early attention. I find the 
 army in general, and the troops raised in Massachusetts in particu 
 lar, very deficient in necessary clothing. Upon inquiry, there 
 appears no probability of obtaining any supplies in this quarter: 
 and on the best consideration of this matter I am able to form, I 
 am of opinion that a number of hunting-shirts (not less than ten 
 thousand) would, in a great degree, remove this difficulty, in the 
 cheapest and quickest manner. I know nothing, in a speculative 
 view, more trivial, yet, if put in practice, would have a happier 
 tendency to unite the men, and abolish those provincial distinctions 
 which lead to jealousy and dissatisfaction.^ 
 
 " In a former part of this letter, I mentioned the want of engi 
 neers. I can hardly express the disappointment I have experienced 
 on this subject the skill of those we have being very imperfect, 
 and confined to the mere manual exercise of cannon whereas the 
 war in which we are engaged requires a knowledge comprehending 
 the duties of the field and fortification. If any persons thus quali 
 fied are to be found in the southern colonies, it would be of great 
 public service to forward them with all expedition. 
 
 " Upon the article of ammunition, I must re-echo the former 
 complaints on this subject. We are so exceedingly destitute, that 
 our artillery will be of little use without a supply both large and 
 seasonable. What we have must be reserved for the small arms, 
 and that managed with the utmost frugality." 
 
 Washington then referred to the injudicious appointment of 
 general officers in the provinces of Massachusetts and Connecticut, 
 
 * Congress considered this application, and left the appointment of these officers to the com- 
 mander-in-chief. 
 
 t The reader will remember how well a recommendation of a similar costume, made by Wash 
 ington on the expedition to Fort Duquesne, in 1758, was received by officers and men. 
 
OFFICIAL CHANGES. 
 
 593 
 
 which had produced great dissatisfaction in the army. Owing to 
 the generally expressed discontent, and the apparent danger of 
 disordering the whole army, together with strong representations 
 made by the provincial Congress of Massachusetts, Washington 
 determined to retain the commission in his hands, except that of 
 Putnam, until the further pleasure of the continental Congress 
 should be known. He had given Putnam his commission on the 
 day of his arrival at Cambridge, before he had heard of these 
 dissatisfactions. He disclaimed any private attachments, as every 
 officer appointed was a stranger to him, personally ; and the only 
 consideration by which he was influenced was the public good. 
 
 General Spencer was so offended because of General Putnam s 
 promotion, that he left the army without communicating his in 
 tentions to the commander-in-chief, or even visiting him after his 
 arrival. Pomeroy had already retired, because of some disappoint 
 ment in the action of the Massachusetts provincial Congress. 
 Spencer was subsequently induced to take rank after Putnam ; and 
 Pomeroy, at a later period, led the militia of his neighborhood to 
 the Hudson river, when the Jerseys were overrun by the enemy. 
 He was not permitted to cross that stream, however, for he died 
 at Peekskill, on its eastern bank, late in December, 1776. As we 
 have already observed, these changes caused Thomas to be made 
 the first brigadier-general, to the great satisfaction of all, for he 
 was an excellent officer, and was popular with the troops. After 
 a brief statement of these difficulties (which show Washington s 
 innate love of justice), his excellency continued : 
 
 " The state of the army you will find ascertained with tolerable 
 precision in the returns which accompany this letter.* Upon 
 
 * Those returns were quite imperfect. On the nineteenth, Adjutant-General Gates presented the 
 following more reliable returns : 
 
 
 No of 
 
 ission 
 
 
 
 Ka 
 
 ik and file. 
 
 
 
 
 Colonies. 
 
 regi 
 ments. 
 
 e,l officers 
 and CM If. 
 
 officers. 
 
 Present fit for 
 duty. 
 
 Sick 
 present 
 
 Su-k 
 absent. 
 
 On fur 
 lough. 
 
 niand. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Massachusetts.. 
 Connecticut.. . . 
 New Hampshire 
 lihode Island . . 
 
 26 
 3 
 3 
 3 
 
 789 
 125 
 98 
 107 
 
 1,326 
 174 
 160 
 108 
 
 9,396 
 2,105 
 1,201 
 1,041 
 
 757 
 
 212 
 115 
 24 
 
 450 
 2 
 20 
 18 
 
 311 
 14 
 
 49 
 2 
 
 774 
 
 279 
 
 11,688 
 2,333 
 1,664 
 1,085 
 
 Total 
 
 35 
 
 1,119 
 
 1,768 
 
 13,743 
 
 1,108 
 
 490 
 
 376 
 
 1,053 
 
 16,770 
 
 38 
 
594 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 finding the number of men to fall so far short of the establishment, 
 and below all expectation, I immediately called a council of the 
 general officers, whose opinion (as to the mode of filling up the 
 regiments, and providing for the present exigency), I have the 
 honor of inclosing, together with the best judgment we are able 
 to form of the ministerial troops. From the number of boys, 
 deserters, and negroes, that have been enlisted in the troops of 
 this province, I entertain some doubts whether the number required 
 can be raised here : and all the general officers agree, that no 
 dependence can be put on the militia, for a continuance in camp, 
 or regularity and discipline during the short time they may stay. 
 This unhappy and devoted province has been so long in a state of 
 anarchy, and the yoke of oppression has been laid so heavily upon 
 it, that great allowances are to be made for troops raised under 
 such circumstances. The deficiency of numbers, discipline, and 
 stores, can only lead to this conclusion that their spirit had 
 exceeded their strength. But, at the same time, I would humbly 
 submit to the consideration of Congress, the propriety of making 
 some further provision of men from the other colonies. If these 
 regiments should be completed to their establishment, the dismis 
 sion of those unfit for duty on account of their age and character, 
 would occasion a considerable reduction ; and, at all events, they 
 have been enlisted upon such terms, that they may be disbanded 
 when other troops arrive. But should my apprehensions be realized, 
 and the regiments here not filled up, the public cause would suffer 
 by an absolute dependence upon so doubtful an event, unless some 
 provision is made against such a disappointment. 
 
 " It requires no military skill to judge of the difficulty of intro 
 ducing proper discipline and subordination into an army w r hile we 
 have the enemy in view, and are in daily expectation of an attack ; 
 but it is of so much importance, that every effort will be made, 
 which time and circumstances will admit. In the meantime, I have 
 a sincere pleasure in observing, that there are materials for a good 
 army a great number of able-bodied men, active, zealous in the 
 cause, and of unquestionable courage." After alluding to a com- 
 
/Ex. 43.] PICTURE OF THE ARMY. 595 
 
 munication which he had received from Congress, and the arrival 
 of Gates and Sullivan, Washington continued : 
 
 " My best abilities are at all times devoted to the service of my 
 country; but I feel the weight, importance, and variety, of my 
 present duties too sensibly not to wish a more immediate and 
 frequent communication with the Congress. I fear it may often 
 happen, in the course of our present operations, that I shall need 
 that assistance and direction from them which time and distance 
 will not allow me receive."* 
 
 This outline of the army at Boston, sketched by the pen of 
 Washington, is made more complete and effective by the following 
 details wrought by the hand of a chaplain of one of the regiments.f 
 It gives a richness of light and shade to the picture. " New lords, 
 new laws," wrote the chaplain. "The generals, Washington and 
 Lee, are upon the lines every day. New orders from his Excellency 
 are read to the respective regiments every morning after prayers. 
 The strictest government is taking place, and great distinction is 
 made between officers and soldiers. Every one is made to know 
 his place, and keep in it, or to be tied up and receive thirty or forty 
 lashes, according to his crime. Thousands are at work every day, 
 from four till eleven o clock in the morning. It is surprising how 
 much work has been done. The lines are extended almost from 
 Cambridge to the Mystic river ; so that very soon it will be morally 
 impossible for the enemy to get between the works, except in one 
 place, which is supposed to be left purposely unfortified, to entice 
 the enemy out of their fortresses. Who would have thought, twelve 
 months past, that all Cambridge and Charlestown would be covered 
 over with American camps, and cut up into forts and intrenchments, 
 and all the lands, fields, and orchards laid common horses and 
 cattle feeding in the choicest mowing land, whole fields of corn 
 eaten down to the ground, and large parks of well-regulated locusts 
 cut down for firewood and other public uses. This, I must say, 
 looks a little melancholy. My quarters are at the foot of the 
 
 * Washington s "Official Letters," copied "by special permission from the original papers pre 
 served in the office of the secretary of state, Philadelphia." London; 1795. 
 t Reverend William Emerson, of Concord, Massachusetts. 
 
596 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 famous Prospect hill, where such preparations are made for the 
 reception of the enemy. It is very diverting to walk among the 
 camps. They are as different in their form as the owners are in 
 their dress, and every tent is a portraiture of the temper and taste 
 of the persons who encamp in it. Some are made of boards, and 
 some of sail-cloth; some partly of one and partly of the other. 
 Again, others are made of stone or turf, brick or brush. Some are 
 thrown up in a hurry ; others are curiously WTOUght with doors 
 and windows, done with wreaths and withes, in the manner of a 
 basket. Some are your proper tents and marquees, looking like 
 the regular camp of the enemy. In these are the Rhode-Islanders, 
 who are furnished with tent-equipage and everything in the most 
 exact English style. However, I think this great variety rather a 
 beauty than a blemish in the army." 
 
 Notwithstanding the general hopefulness of the tone of Wash 
 ington s letters to the president of Congress, he perceived many 
 things that w r ould have dismayed a less courageous and self-reliant 
 spirit. Every day some new difficulty some weakness unob 
 served before presented itself, but the resolution and indomitable 
 perseverance of the commander-in-chief, seemed to be heightened 
 by the appearance of every new obstacle. For example : on 
 his arrival in camp, he ordered a return of the powder to be 
 made to him. Three hundred and three barrels were reported as 
 in store. A few days afterward the alarming discovery was made, 
 that the committee of supplies had, by mistake, returned the 
 amount which had been originally furnished by the province, when, 
 in fact, the actual quantity on hand was not more than sufficient to 
 furnish each man with nine cartridges ! For a fortnight after this dis 
 covery not a grain of powder was added to his store, yet Washington 
 worked on hopefully. And then the small supply that he received 
 was furnished under disheartening circumstances. It was sent by 
 stealth, by the committee of safety at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, 
 for they feared the people would seize it, and retain it for their 
 own use. Easy would have been Howe s conquest had he left 
 Boston with his army, at that time, and attacked the Americans. 
 
JE- f . 43.] WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT. 597 
 
 But in the midst of all of his discouragements at the beginning, 
 Washington had the confidence and the prayers of the wise and 
 good to cheer him in the great work upon which he had entered. 
 General Schuyler wrote to him from New York, on the first of 
 July, and concluded his letter w r ith the affectionate words : " That 
 success and happiness equal to the merit and virtue of my general, 
 may crown all his operations is the wish of every honest American, 
 and of none more sincerely than me."* 
 
 Eichard Henry Lee, of Virginia, writing at Philadelphia, on the 
 first of July, said : " Every man in this assembly [the continental 
 Congress] feels the delicacy as well as the importance of your 
 position. You have the entire confidence of all ; and the Congress 
 will sustain you to the utmost of their ability. In the present 
 critical state of affairs we all regard your appointment as provi 
 dential ; for your military experience, sound judgment, and caution, 
 are guaranties of success, if it can be accomplished by the exercise 
 of these qualities." Washington replied to Mr. Lee on the tenth ; 
 and to this intimate friend of his childhood, he expressed some of 
 the apprehensions which at times possessed his mind. " Between 
 you and me," he wrote, " I think we are in an exceedingly dan 
 gerous situation, as our numbers are not much larger than we 
 suppose those of the enemy to be, from the best accounts we are 
 able to get.... The abuses in the army, I fear, are considerable, 
 and the new modelling of it, in the face of an enemy, from whom 
 we every hour expect an attack, is exceedingly difficult and dan 
 gerous. If things, therefore, should not turn out as the Congress 
 would wish, I hope they will make proper allowances. I can only 
 promise and assure them, that my whole time is devoted to their 
 service, and that as far as my judgment goes, they shall have no 
 cause to complain." 
 
 From that excellent patriot, Governor Nicholas Cooke, of Ehode 
 Island, Washington received a cheering and congratulatory letter 
 during those days of suspense, assuring him that he might depend 
 upon the cordial co-operation of himself and his colony ; and from 
 
 * Schuylcr s MS. Letter Books. 
 
598 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 that noble soul, Governor Jonathan Trumbull, of Connecticut, there 
 came such words of faith and hope, that Washington s full heart 
 could not withhold the warmest expression of thanks, in return. 
 
 Of all the venerated patriots who upheld the hands of the com 
 mand er-in-chief, during the war, no one was more truly loved by 
 him, than Jonathan Trumbull. Serious from childhood, he was, from 
 choice, educated for the ministry, but was drawn into mercantile 
 life with his father, at Lebanon, Connecticut, by the death of an 
 elder brother. Active and judicious, he was elected to a seat in 
 the general assembly of his native province at an early age ; and 
 in 1766, he was chosen lieutenant-governor of Connecticut. Three 
 years afterward he was chosen governor, as a patriot of firmest 
 mould in those exciting times ; and he bore the proud distinction 
 of being the only colonial chief-magistrate, at the commencement 
 of the Revolution, who espoused the cause of the colonists, and 
 retained his office. When the Adams s and Hancock were in Con 
 gress, Trumbull was the acknowledged whig leader in New Eng 
 land ; and during the whole contest, Washington relied on him as 
 one of the main pillars of support. 
 
 Governor Trumbull was now sixty-five years of age, and full of 
 the pious and patriotic zeal of the stanch Scotch covenanters. His 
 mind was moulded in the quaint form of the old Puritans, and its 
 expressions bore that aspect; and over his every-day life, a deep 
 religious spirit cast its beautiful light.* With that spirit, mingled 
 with patriotic feeling, his letter to Washington, written at Lebanon 
 on the thirteenth of July, was filled. " Suffer me," he said, " to join 
 in congratulating you, on your appointment to be general and 
 commander-in-chief of the troops raised, or to be raised, for the 
 
 * The Marquis dc Chastellux, who came to America with Rochambcau, in 1780, has left on 
 record a pleasant allusion to the religious habits of Governor Trumbull. "I have already painted 
 Governor Trumbull," he says (Travels, vol. i., p. 458). "At present you have only to represent to 
 yourself this little old man, in the antique dress of the first settlers in this colony, approaching a 
 table surrounded by twenty huzzar officers, and, without either disconcerting himself or losing any 
 thing of his formal stiffness, pronouncing, in a loud voice, a long prayer in the form of a benedicite. 
 Let it not be imagined that he excites the laughter of his auditors ; they are too well trained. You 
 must, on the contrary, figure to yourself twenty Amens, issuing at once from the midst of forty 
 mustaches, and you will have some idea of the little scene." The " twenty huzzar officers" alluded 
 to, were of the Due de Lnuzun s corps of cavalry, who were cantoned at Lebanon in the winter of 
 1780- 81. These officers were frequent guests at the table of Governor Trumbull. 
 
Mi\ 43.] GOVERNOR TRUMBULL S LETTER. 509 
 
 defence of American liberty. Men who have tasted freedom, and 
 who have felt their personal rights, are not easy taught to bear 
 with encroachments on either, or brought to submit to oppression. 
 Virtue ought always to be made the object of government. Justice 
 is firm and permanent." Then referring to the causes of difficulty, 
 he continued : 
 
 " The honorable Congress have proclaimed a fast to be observed 
 by the inhabitants of all the English colonies on this continent, to 
 stand before the Lord in one day, with public humiliation, fasting, 
 and prayer, to deplore our many sins, to offer up our joint suppli 
 cations to God for forgiveness, and for his merciful interposition for 
 us in this day of unnatural darkness and distress. They have, w 7 ith 
 one united voice, appointed you to the high station you possess. 
 The Supreme Director of all events hath caused a wonderful union 
 of hearts and counsels to subsist among us. 
 
 " Now, therefore, be strong and very courageous. May the 
 armies of the God of Israel shower down the blessings of his 
 Divine Providence on you, give you wisdom and fortitude, cover 
 your head in the day of battle and danger, add success, convince 
 our enemies of their mistaken measures, and that all their attempts 
 to deprive these colonies of their inestimable constitutional rights 
 and liberties are injurious and vain." 
 
 To this feeling letter Washington replied, on the eighteenth, 
 expressing his sincere thanks, and adding: "As the cause of our 
 common country calls us both to an active and dangerous duty, I 
 trust that Divine Providence which wisely orders the affairs of men, 
 will eruible us to discharge it with fidelity and success." 
 
 Let us now turn for a moment from the camp, and observe what 
 was doing in the supreme council of the nation. 
 
600 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 CHAPTER LIT. 
 
 CAUTION OF CONGRESS DECLARATION OF THE CAUSES AND NECESSITY OF WAK 
 
 LETTER TO THE MAYOR AND LIVERY OF LONDON PROCEEDINGS IN THAT 
 
 CITY PETITION TO THE KING OPPOSITION TO THAT MEASURE ADDRESS 
 
 TO THE INHABITANTS OF GREAT BRITAIN MEASURES CONCERNING THE INDIANS 
 
 FAST DAY PROCEEDINGS DILIGENCE OF CONGRESS ADDRESS TO THE AS 
 SEMBLY OF JAMAICA, AND TO THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND THE LAST APPEALS 
 
 EXCITEMENT IN ENGLAND POSTOFFICE SYSTEM AND GENERAL HOSPITAL ESTAB 
 LISHED TREASON OF DOCTOR CHURCH FINANCIAL PROVISIONS ADJOURN 
 MENT OF CONGRESS. 
 
 WHILE Washington was anxiously preparing men and means 
 to carry on the siege of Boston, the continental Congress were 
 working nobly in the general cause, and in the adoption of meas 
 ures to strengthen his hands. At the same time they proceeded 
 with caution in the pathway of rebellion, and while they firmly 
 declared their rights and intentions, they warmly expressed their 
 loyalty to their sovereign. The Congress and the commander-in- 
 chief scrupulously avoided calling the British army in Boston the 
 "royal troops," but denominated them "ministerial troops;" and in 
 every declaration and act, they held the ministry and Parliament 
 alone responsible for the measures which had driven the Americans 
 into rebellion. 
 
 On the sixth of July, Congress adopted a declaration, which set 
 forth the causes and the necessity of the armed resistance of the 
 colonies. A declaration of this kind, drawn by John Rutledge, had 
 been reported by a committee on the twenty-fourth of June. It 
 was not approved, and on the twenty-sixth it was recommitted, and 
 Thomas Jefferson (who had taken his seat in Congress five days 
 previously) and John Dickinson were added to the committee. 
 Mr. Jefferson prepared a draught of a declaration which "was too 
 
JET. 43.] DICKINSON S SCRUPLES. 601 
 
 strong for Mr. Dickinson." That gentleman still retained a hope 
 of, and desire for, a reconciliation with the mother-country, and he 
 wished to lessen the offensiveness of some of its statements. " He 
 was so honest a man, and so able a one," says Mr. Jefferson,* " that 
 he was greatly indulged even by those who could not feel his 
 scruples." He was, therefore, requested to take the paper and put 
 it into a form he could approve. He prepared a new one, pre 
 serving of the former only a few of the last paragraphs. This 
 draft by Mr. Dickinson was the one substantially adopted by the 
 Congress, and is clear and explicit in the expression of the senti 
 ments of the representatives of the American people. 
 
 " A reverence for our great Creator, principles of humanity, and 
 the dictates of common sense," they said, " must convince all those 
 who reflect upon the subject, that government was instituted to 
 promote the welfare of mankind, and ought to be administered for 
 the attainment of that end." "The legislature of Britain, how 
 ever," they continued, " stimulated by an inordinate passion for a 
 power not only unjustifiable, but which they know to be peculiarly 
 reprobated by the very constitution of that kingdom, and desperate 
 of success in any mode of contest where regard should be had to 
 truth, law, or right, have at length, deserting those, attempted to 
 effect their cruel and impolitic purpose of enslaving these colonies 
 by violence, and have thereby rendered it necessary for us to close 
 with their last appeal from reason to arms. Yet, however blinded 
 that assembly may be, by their intemperate rage for unlimited 
 dominion, so to slight justice and the opinion of mankind, we 
 esteem ourselves bound by obligations of respect to the rest of the 
 world, to make known the justice of our cause." 
 
 The declaration then recited some of the prominent events in 
 the earlier history of the colonies, and the most notable of the 
 injuries which they had recently sustained at the hands of the 
 parent government. Then briefly alluding to the movements of 
 the people, and the assembling of a Congress in the autumn of 
 1774, they said : " We resolved again to offer an humble and dutiful 
 
 * Memoirs, i., 10. London edition. 
 
602 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 petition to the king, and also addressed our fellow-subjects of Great 
 Britain. We have preserved every temperate, every respectful 
 measure;... but subsequent events have shown how vain was the 
 hope of finding moderation in our enemies." 
 
 The declaration then commented upon the speech of the king 
 and the proceedings of Parliament, after receiving the state-papers 
 put forth by the first continental Congress ; alluded to the fruitless 
 attempts of members of Parliament and municipal bodies in Great 
 Britain to stay the hand of ministerial oppression then laid upon 
 the colonies; recited the sad story of Lexington and Concord; 
 quoted the insulting proclamation of Gage on the twelfth of June ; 
 referred to the battle of Bunker s hill and the burning of Charles- 
 town, and the efforts in progress to incite the Canadians and the 
 Indians to warfare against the colonists ; and then concluded with 
 the following strong and unequivocal language : 
 
 " We are reduced to the alternative of choosing an unconditional 
 submission to the tyranny of irritated ministers, or resistance by 
 force. The latter is our choice. We have counted the cost of this 
 contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery. Honor, 
 justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom 
 which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our inno 
 cent posterity have a right to receive from us. We can not endure 
 the infamy and guilt of resigning succeeding generations to that 
 wretchedness which inevitably awaits them, if we basely entail 
 hereditary bondage upon them. 
 
 " Our cause is just. Our union is perfect. Our internal resources 
 are great, and, if necessary, foreign assistance is undoubtedly attain 
 able. We gratefully acknowledge, as signal instances of the Divine 
 favor toward us, that his providence would not permit us to be 
 called into this severe controversy until we were grown up to our 
 present strength, had been previously exercised in warlike opera 
 tions, and possessed of the means of defending ourselves. With 
 hearts fortified with these animating reflections, we most solemnly, 
 before God and the world, declare, that exerting the utmost energy 
 of those powers which our beneficent Creator hath graciously be- 
 
JE-r. 43.] DECLARATION OF CONGRESS. 603 
 
 stowed upon us, the arms we have been compelled by our enemies 
 to assume, we will, in defiance of every hazard, with unabating 
 firmness and perseverance, employ for the preservation of our 
 liberties ; being with one mind resolved to die freemen rather than 
 to live slaves. 
 
 " Lest this declaration should disquiet the minds of our friends 
 and fellow-subjects in any part of the empire, we assure them that 
 we mean not to dissolve that union which has so long and so hap 
 pily subsisted between us, and w r hich we sincerely wish to see 
 restored. Necessity has not yet driven us into that desperate 
 measure, or induced us to excite any other nation to war against 
 them. We have not raised armies with ambitious designs of sepa 
 rating from Great Britain, and establishing independent states. 
 We fight not for glory or for conquest. We exhibit to mankind 
 the remarkable spectacle of a people attacked by unprovoked 
 enemies, without any imputation or even suspicion of offence. 
 They boast of their privileges and civilization, and yet proffer no 
 milder conditions than servitude or death. 
 
 " In our own native land, in defence of the freedom that is our 
 birthright, and which we ever enjoyed till the late violation of it ; 
 for the protection of our property, acquired solely by the honest 
 industry of our forefathers and ourselves, against violence actually 
 offered we have taken up arms. We shall lay them down when 
 hostilities shall cease on the part of the aggressors, and all danger 
 of their being renewed shall be removed, and not before. With an 
 humble confidence in the mercies of the supreme and impartial 
 Judge and Ruler of the Universe, we most devoutly implore his 
 divine goodness to protect us happily through this great conflict, to 
 dispose our adversaries to reconciliation on reasonable terms, and 
 thereby to relieve the empire from the calamities of civil war."* 
 
 When this declaration was adopted, Congress resolved that a 
 letter should be prepared to the lord-mayor, aldermen, and livery 
 of the city of London, expressive of the thanks of Congress for 
 
 * Journals of Congress, i., 134, FolwelFs edition, 1800. These concluding paragraphs of the 
 declaration were written by Mr. Jefferson. See his " Memoirs," i., 10. 
 
604 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 their opposition to the colonial policy of the government. The 
 celebrated John Wilkes,* who, a few years before, had given the 
 government much trouble, was then lord-mayor, and had presented 
 a bold and even violent address and remonstrance of the livery of 
 London to the king, in which they complained, that they " plainly 
 perceived a real design to establish arbitrary power over all Amer 
 ica, and to uproot the constitution at home." It was written by 
 Arthur Lee, of Virginia, who who was then a distinguished advo 
 cate in the British metropolis, and attracted a great deal of admira 
 tion for the elegance and vigor of its style. The king was offended ; 
 and in his reply, he expressed his astonishment that any of his 
 subjects should encourage the Americans in rebellion, and his firm 
 determination to rely on the wisdom of Parliament, and steadily 
 pursue such measures as they recommended. 
 
 A few days after this, Wilkes was informed that the king would 
 not receive, on the throne, any address of the lord-mayor and alder 
 men, but in their corporate capacity. This was construed into a 
 fresh wrong, and Wilkes raised a violent storm by writing and 
 publishing a severe letter in vindication of the right of the city 
 to petition the throne in their own way ; a right, he said, which 
 had been respected, " even by the accursed race of Stuarts." The 
 king steadily refused compliance, but agreed to receive an address 
 at a levee. The authorities of London demanded that he should 
 receive it, sitting on the throne, and when he refused to do so, a 
 remonstrance was printed in the newspapers, and a call was loudly 
 made for " the impeachment of the evil counsellors who had planted 
 popery and arbitrary power in America, and were the advisers of a 
 measure so dangerous to his majesty and his people as that of 
 refusing to hear petitions." These proceedings had a great effect, 
 
 * John Wilkes was a fearless political writer. He was born in 1727, and became a member of 
 Parliament at the age of thirty years. He edited a paper called " The North Briton ;" and because 
 of an article in it which reflected upon the government, he was sent to the Tower in 1763. On 
 account of a licentious " Essay on Woman," he was afterward expelled from the house of commons. 
 After giving the ministers much trouble, he was elected sheriff of London in 1771. In 1774 he was 
 elected lord-mayor, and took his seat in Parliament as a representative of the metropolitan county 
 of Middlesex. *He was appointed chamberlain of London in 1779, and died at his seat in the Isle 
 of Wight in 1797, at the age of seventy years. He was licentious in private life, but his talents and 
 republican proclivities made him the idol of the people. 
 
JT. 43.] PETITION TO THE KING. (J05 
 
 and sympathy for the struggling Americans was prevalent through 
 out England. It is a singular fact that the letter of thanks to the 
 lord-mayor and livery of London, ordered by Congress because of 
 their proceedings, was written by Richard Henry Lee, brother of 
 Arthur Lee. 
 
 On the eighth of July, a petition to the king, proposed and 
 written by John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania, was adopted by Con 
 gress. It had been debated for some time, and quite a large 
 majority of the members of that body were opposed to the meas 
 ure, as useless and injurious. The New England members, led by 
 John Adams, were specially vehement in their opposition ; and the 
 debate thereon was the beginning of a long-continued coldness 
 between Mr. Adams and Mr. Dickinson. Mr. Jefferson, in speaking 
 of the matter said : " Congress gave a signal proof of their indul 
 gence of Mr. Dickinson, and of their great desire not to go too fast 
 for any respectable part of our body, in permitting* him to draw 
 their second petition to the king according to his own ideas, and 
 passing it with scarcely any amendment."* The document was 
 ably drawn ; but the disgust against its humility was general, and 
 some of the members signed it with great reluctance.^ It declared 
 themselves dutiful subjects, and prayed that his royal magnanimity 
 and benevolence might be interposed to direct some mode by which 
 the united applications of his faithful colonists might be improved 
 into a happy and permanent reconciliation. " Notwithstanding our 
 sufferings," they said, " our breasts retain too tender a regard for 
 
 * Memoirs, i., 10. 
 
 t Although Doctor Franklin was convinced that reconciliation with Great Britain, on any terms 
 except those of entire submission, was out of the question, he signed the petition, considering it a 
 harmless thing. His letters at that time show how surely he expected war, and that the breach 
 between Great Britain and her colonists would remain unclosed. Three days before the adoption 
 of the petition, he wrote the following remarkable letter to Mr. Strahan, an eminent printer in 
 London: "You are a member of Parliament, and one of that majority which has doomed my 
 country to destruction. You have begun to burn our towns, and murder our people. Look upon 
 your hands, they are stained with the blood of your relations ! You and I were long friends ; you 
 are now my enemy, and I am yours, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN." To Doctor Priestley, Franklin wrote, 
 on the seventh, after referring to the bloody events in the vicinity of Boston : " Great frugality and 
 industry are now become fashionable here. Gentlemen who used to entertain with two or three 
 courses, pride themselves now in treating with simple beef and pudding. By these means, and the 
 stoppage of our consumptive trade with Great Britain, we shall be better able to pay our voluntary 
 taxes for the support of our troops. Our savings in the article of trade amount to near five millions 
 sterling, per annum." Sparks s Life and Writings of Franklin, viii., 155. 
 
606 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 the kingdom from which we derive our origin, to request such a 
 reconciliation as might, in any manner, be inconsistent with her 
 dignity or her welfare." 
 
 Mr. Dickinson was so pleased with the adoption of the petition, 
 that, after the vote had been taken, and further observation upon 
 it was out of order, he could not refrain from rising and expressing 
 his satisfaction. He concluded by saying: "there s but one word, 
 Mr. President, in the paper which I disapprove, and that is the 
 word Congress." Benjamin Harrison immediately arose and said: 
 " There is but one word in the paper, Mr. President, of which I 
 approve, and that is the word Congress" 
 
 It was resolved that this petition, if unsuccessful, should be the 
 last ; and to give solemnity and force to its presentation, the per 
 formance of that act was intrusted to the hand of Richard Penn, 
 one of the proprietaries of the province of Pennsylvania in which 
 the Congress were assembled, in conjunction with the colonial 
 agents in England. On the same day when this matter was dis 
 posed of (the eighth of July), Congress adopted an address of the 
 delegates to the inhabitants of Great Britain, which had been pre 
 pared by Richard Henry Lee. It was debated by paragraphs, and 
 adopted substantially as it was reported. It was one of the ablest 
 documents that had been sent forth by the continental Congress, 
 full of eloquent expostulations, significant warnings, and dignified 
 reproaches. They addressed them as " FRIENDS, COUNTRYMEN, AND 
 BRETHREN," and said "By these, and every other appellation that 
 may designate the ties which bind us to each other, we entreat 
 your serious attention to this our second attempt to prevent their 
 dissolution." They then referred to former friendships, to mutual 
 action in the field, and the ties that had been broken. They re 
 cited past .grievances, and the supineness of the people of Great 
 Britain in relation to the wrongs inflicted upon America wrongs 
 that essentially wounded them also. After this recitation they 
 asked : 
 
 " To what are we to attribute this treatment ? If to any secret 
 principle of the constitution," they said, " let it be mentioned ; let 
 
M-r. 43.] APPEAL TO THE BRITISH PEOPLE. 607 
 
 us learn that the government we have long revered is not without 
 its defects, and that while it gives freedom to a part, it necessarily 
 enslaves the remainder of the empire. If such a principle exists, 
 why, for ages, has it ceased to operate ? Why, at this time, is it 
 called into action ? Can no reason be assigned for this conduct ? 
 Or must it be resolved into the wanton exercise of arbitrary power? 
 And shall the descendants of Britons tamely submit to this ? No, 
 sirs ! we never will, while we revere the memory of our gallant 
 and virtuous ancestors, we never can surrender those glorious privi 
 leges for which they fought, bled, and conquered. Admit that your 
 fleets could destroy our towns, and ravage our seacoasts ; these are 
 inconsiderable objects, things of no moment to men whose bosoms 
 glow with the ardor of liberty. We can retire beyond the reach 
 of your navy, and, without any sensible diminution of the neces 
 saries of life, enjoy a luxury, which from that period you will want 
 the luxury of being free." 
 
 " We are accused of aiming at independence," they continued ; 
 " but how is this accusation supported ? By the allegations of your 
 ministers, not by our actions. Abused, insulted, and contemned, 
 what steps have we pursued to obtain redress ? We have carried 
 our dutiful petitions to the throne. We have applied to your 
 justice for relief. We have retrenched our luxury, and withheld 
 our trade.... What has been the success of our endeavors? The 
 clemency of our sovereign is unhappily diverted ; our petitions are 
 treated with indignity ; our prayers answered by insults. Our 
 application to you remains unnoticed, and leaves us the melancholy 
 apprehension of your wanting either the will, or the power, to 
 assist us." 
 
 After speaking of the ungracious manner in which their last 
 petition to the king had been received, they said : " We have, 
 nevertheless, again presented an humble and dutiful petition to our 
 sovereign ; and to remove every imputation of obstinacy, have 
 requested his majesty to direct some mode by which the united 
 applications of his faithful colonists may be improved into happy 
 and permanent reconciliation. We are willing to treat on such 
 
603 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 terms as can alone render our accommodation lasting, and we flatter 
 ourselves that our pacific endeavors will be attended with a removal 
 of ministerial troops, and a repeal of those laws, of the operation 
 of which we complain, on the one part, and a disbanding of our 
 army, and a dissolution of our commercial associations on the 
 other. 
 
 " Yet conclude not from this that we propose to surrender our 
 property into the hands of your ministry, or vest your Parliament 
 with a power which may terminate in our destruction. The great 
 bulwarks of our constitution we have desired to maintain by every 
 temperate, by every peaceable means; but your ministers (equal 
 foes to British and American freedom), have added to their former 
 oppressions an attempt to reduce us, by the sword, to a base and 
 abject submission. On the sword, therefore, we are compelled to 
 rely for protection. Should victory declare in your favor, yet men 
 trained to arms from their infancy, and animated by the love of 
 liberty, will afford neither a cheap nor easy conquest. Of this, at 
 least, we are assured, that our struggle will be glorious, our success 
 certain ; since even in death we shall find that freedom which in 
 life you forbid us to enjoy." 
 
 Anxious to preserve the friendship of the Indians, Congress had 
 taken measures early to gain that desirable end. A committee 
 on Indian affairs was appointed, and on the twelfth of July it 
 reported, that as the British government was undoubtedly exciting 
 the savages to take up arms against the Americans, it was very 
 important for the Congress to make every possible effort to 
 strengthen and confirm the friendship of the Indians for the col 
 onists. It proposed the establishment of a board of commis 
 sioners for the superintendence of Indians affairs, their jurisdiction 
 to be divided into Northern, Southern, and Middle departments; 
 the first for the Six Nations and other northern tribes, the second 
 for the Cherokees, and the third for the intervening nations on the 
 borders of Pennsylvania and Virginia. Already some Stockbridge 
 Indians, from western Massachusetts, were in the camp at Boston ; 
 and Samuel Kirtland, the zealous missionary among the Six Nations, 
 
MT. 43.] A NATIONAL FAST. 609 
 
 of New York, was making friendly overtures to the Oneidas and 
 Mohawks. Accordingly, on the twenty-sixth, a committee ap 
 pointed to " prepare proper talks to the Indians," reported a speech 
 to the Six Nations, in which, with simple language, the nature of 
 the pending quarrel was set forth, and their friendship was affection 
 ately invoked. Similar " talks" were prepared for other tribes ; and 
 in accordance with the recommendations of the first-named report, 
 commissioners for the several Indian departments were appointed. 
 The duties of these commissioners were very delicate and impor 
 tant, as our subsequent record will show. 
 
 The twentieth of July being the day appointed by Congress for 
 a national fast, and acts of religious worship, that body adjourned 
 immediately after assembling in the morning of that day, and 
 attended divine service at Christ church. The Reverend Jacob 
 Duche, who, on the seventh of the month, had preached from the 
 same pulpit a powerful sermon before the " First Battalion of the 
 City and Liberties of Philadelphia," on the "Duty of standing fast 
 in our Spiritual and Temporal Liberties," now delivered a most 
 impressive discourse.* It was a clear, cool morning for the season, 
 and most of the churches and meetinghouses in the city were filled 
 with worshippers. " All the houses and shops in our neighborhood 
 were shut," wrote a contemporary patriot; "and to appearance 
 more still than a First-Day produced, as there was no riding abroad 
 visiting, as is generally on First-Day."f But the members of Con 
 gress did not make the occasion an excuse for neglect of legislative 
 duties. They reassembled at one o clock in the afternoon, when 
 
 * This discourse was founded upon the fourteenth verse of the eightieth Psalm, and when pub 
 lished afterward, it was entitled " The American Vine." It was printed the same year. A copy 
 of it is in the Loganian library, Philadelphia. See Dorr s "History of Christ Church/ page 176. 
 Marshall, in his diary, alluding to this discourse, says : " It was an excellent sermon," and adds, 
 "it was an awful meeting, as numbers of wet eyes demonstrated their attention." A copy of the 
 earlier sermon, above alluded to, is in my possession. Next to the concluding paragraph, the 
 preacher said : " In a word, my brethren, though the worst should come though we should be 
 deprived of all the conveniences and elegances of life, though we should be cut off from all our 
 usual sources of commerce, and constrained, as many of our poor brethren have already been, to 
 abandon our present comfortable habitations, let us, nevertheless, STAND FAST/ as the guardians 
 of LIBERTY. " These noble words are in strange contrast with the acts of the preacher the follow 
 ing year, when he timidly cowered before the frowns of the bishop of London, joined the tory party 
 and fled to England. 
 
 t Marshall s Diary. 
 
 39 
 
610 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 an important despatch from General Schuyler, in relation to affairs 
 in the Northern department,* which had been received in the 
 morning, was read and acted upon, the result of which, was a reso 
 lution empowering that officer to "dispose^ of and employ all the 
 troops in the New York department," as he might think best for 
 the general good. 
 
 On the twenty-fifth, an address to the assembly of Jamaica, 
 whence the colonies had received sympathizing words, was adopted; 
 and three days afterward, another to the people of Ireland, was 
 agreed to. These were the last addresses to the inhabitants of any 
 portion of the British realm, put forth by the Congress ; and the 
 petition to the king was their final appeal to the justice, humanity, 
 and magnanimity of his majesty. Thenceforth they employed 
 vigorous actions instead of friendly words ; and by their own wis 
 dom and strength, given them by the Great Disposer, they wrought 
 out for themselves a government founded upon truth and justice, 
 deeply laid in the hearts of a free people. 
 
 On the thirty-first, the Congress took into consideration the 
 following conciliatory resolution of the house of commons, which 
 had been adopted in February : 
 
 " That it is the opinion of this committee, that when the general 
 council and assembly, or general court of any his majesty s prov 
 inces, or colonies in America, shall propose to make provision, 
 according to the condition, circumstance, or situation of such prov 
 ince or colony, for contributing their proportion to the common 
 defence (such proportion to be raised under the authority of the 
 general court, or general assembly of such province or colony, and 
 disposable by Parliament), and shall engage to make provision, also, 
 for the support of the civil government, and the administration of 
 justice in such province or colony, it will be proper if such proposal 
 shall be approved by his majesty and the two houses of Parliament, 
 and for so long as such provision shall be made accordingly, to 
 forbear in respect of such province or colony to lay any duty, tax, 
 
 * This letter was dated " Saratoga, July 15," and gave alarming intelligence from Tryon county, 
 where the Johnsons were inciting the tories and Indians against the whig inhabitants. 
 
CONCILIATORY PROPOSITION REJECTED. 611 
 
 or assessment, or to impose any further duty, tax, or assessment, 
 except only such duties as it may be expedient to continue to levy 
 or impose for the regulation of commerce ; the net produce, or the 
 duties last mentioned, to be carried to the account of such province 
 or colony respectively." 
 
 Lord North had sent this resolve to the several colonies. Some 
 of them promptly condemned it, and others referred it to the con 
 tinental Congress. That body, after due consideration, declared: 
 " We are of opinion that the proposition is unreasonable and in 
 sidious : unreasonable, because, if we declare we accede to it, we 
 declare, without reservation, we will purchase the favor of Parlia 
 ment, not knowing, at the same time, at what price they will please 
 to estimate their favor ; it is insidious, because individual colonies, 
 having bid and bidden again, till they find the avidity of the seller 
 too great for all their powers to satisfy, are then to return into 
 opposition, divided from their sister-colonies whom the minister will 
 have previously detached by a grant of easier terms, or by an artful 
 procrastination of a definitive answer." The proposition was then 
 unanimously rejected. 
 
 The people were again taught the lesson which they had al 
 ready too often received, that their petitions and remonstrances 
 were vain. The king was persuaded that the petition of the colo 
 nists was insincere, and intended as an insulting mockery; and 
 Governor Penn was informed by Lord Dartmouth, that no answer 
 to it would be given. This decision raised a loud cry against the 
 government in the city of London and elsewhere. Already a proc 
 lamation of the king for suppressing rebellion and preventing 
 seditious correspondences, had been treated with contempt. Mayor 
 Wilkes had refused to have it read, pursuant to orders, in the usual 
 dignified way ; and when, in an obscure place, the reading of it was 
 concluded by an inferior civil officer, the populace expressed their 
 indignation by " a terrible hiss."* Now, perceiving the contempt 
 with which the humble appeal of the Americans was received by 
 his majesty, another address, petition, and memorial, signed by 
 
 * Annual Register. 
 
612 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 more than eleven hundred "gentlemen-merchants and traders of 
 London/ was presented to King George. That paper contained 
 some bold expressions, startling truths, and alarming suggestions. 
 It spoke in unequivocal terms of the wickedness of the ministry ; 
 revealed the fact that they had advised the king to hire German 
 soldiers to go over and butcher his subjects in America; and 
 charged them with the intention of raising and disciplining papists 
 in Ireland and Canada, to wage a war, on religious grounds, against 
 the best subjects of the crown beyond the Atlantic. It suggested 
 the fearful blow which such measures would inflict upon the liberties 
 of England, and warned the king of the danger that threatened his 
 crown. These warnings were vain. Counter-addresses, numerously 
 signed, were procured ; and while one party denounced the govern 
 ment as tyrannous and cruel, the other party denounced the Amer 
 icans as rebellious and turbulent. The wildest excitement in the 
 metropolis ensued; and during the summer and autumn of 1775, 
 the public mind brooding over the chances and consequences of 
 civil war in the parent-land, was as much agitated as it was in the 
 colonies where war actually existed. This agitation alarmed the 
 king and disturbed the ministry, for it was at their very doors ; and 
 the Parliament was assembled on the twenty-sixth of October, 
 about a month earlier than usual. Of the proceedings of that 
 session in relation to American affairs, we shall make note here 
 after. 
 
 The Congress, meanwhile, were assiduous in their efforts to estab 
 lish a symmetrical civil government and to make provision for the 
 army. A postal system was agreed to, which should extend from 
 "Falmouth, in New England, to Savannah, in Georgia," with as 
 many cross-posts as the postmaster-general might think necessary. 
 Doctor Franklin was placed at the head of this important depart 
 ment,* An army hospital, for the accommodation of twenty thou 
 sand men, was established, and Doctor Benjamin Church, of Boston, 
 
 * The book in which Doctor Franklin kept his postoffice accounts is preserved in the department 
 at Washington city. It is a common, half-bound folio, of three quires of coarse paper, and contains 
 all the entries for more than twenty months. 
 
jE-r. 43.] THE FIRST TRAITOR. 613 
 
 who became the first traitor to the American cause,* was placed at 
 its head. 
 
 Finally, after appointing a committee to " make inquiry in all the 
 colonies" during the recess of Congress, " after virgin lead and 
 leaden ore, and the best methods of collecting, smelting, and re 
 fining it ;" and making provisions for a military-chest, ordering five 
 hundred thousand dollars to be sent to Washington for the use of 
 the army at Boston, and other sums to other colonies for the public 
 service, the Congress adjourned to Tuesday, the fifth of September 
 following. 
 
 * Doctor Church had been a brave and zealous co-worker with Warren and others, but soon after 
 his appointment as surgeon general, ho was detected in carrying on a secret correspondence with 
 General Gage. He was tried by a court-martial, and found guilty of correspondence with the enemy. 
 The principal proof was a letter written by him, in cipher, to the British commander, which he had 
 intrusted to the hands of his mistress. She had been arrested as a suspicious character and the letter 
 was found upon her. She was taken to headquarters, the letter was deciphered, and the guilt of 
 Doctor Church was made manifest by her confession that he was the writer. He was expelled from 
 the general assembly of Massachusetts, and confined in the jail at Norwich, Connecticut, by the 
 general Congress. On account of his failing health, he was released and allowed to leave the 
 country. He sailed to the British West Indies, but the vessel that bore him was never heard of 
 afterward. His place at the head of the hospital was filled by Doctor John Morgan, one of the 
 founders of the medical school in Philadelphia. 
 
614 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 CHAPTER LIII. 
 
 THE WISDOM OF CAUTION IN CONGRESS WASHINGTON S CONSERVATIVE ACTION 
 
 IN THE CAMP ITS GOOD EFFECTS THE UNIVERSAL CONFIDENCE IN WASHING 
 TON GREENE S ADDRESS WASHINGTON S SOCIAL QUALITIES AND TEMPERANCE 
 
 HIS GUESTS THE DECLARATION OF CONGRESS READ TO THE ARMY FAST 
 
 DAY OBSERVED IN THE ARMY SKIRMISHES WITH THE ENEMY ARRIVAL OF 
 
 RIFLEMEN DANIEL MORGAN ARRANGEMENTS OF THE ARMY DISPOSITION OF 
 
 THE BRITISH FORCES THE BRITISH GENERALS DUTIES LAID UPON WASHING 
 TON PATRIOTIC DISTRUST WASHINGTON S LABORS APPEAL TO WASHINGTON 
 
 FROM THE SEABOARD FOR PROTECTION JUDICIOUS REFUSAL. 
 
 LOOKING back from our stand-point of to-day, the cautious pro 
 ceedings of Congress in again suing for justice at the foot of the 
 throne, appears like an inexcusably temporizing policy at a time 
 when war actually existed, and the parent-government was putting 
 forth unremitting efforts to crush the rebellion and enslave the 
 colonists. No doubt that policy worked present mischief. No 
 doubt its delays were fatally effective in causing the loss of Canada, 
 a province that might have been easily w r on by friendship or con 
 quest, in the summer of 1775, and in retarding the preparation of 
 the crude army at Cambridge immediately after the affair at Lex 
 ington and Concord, for efficient and speedy action against the 
 menacing enemy, then daily watching for a safe opportunity to 
 strike an effectual blow. Yet it was doubtless a wise caution in 
 the face of current events and circumstances. Rashness would 
 have been far more destructive of the hopes of the colonists ; and 
 while w r e may lament the advantages lost by the hesitancy of the 
 second continental Congress during the earlier weeks of its first 
 session, in casting at the feet of Britain the gauntlet of unreserved 
 defiance, we must admire the wisdom and prudence of that body. 
 They were the representatives of a people anxious to avoid hos- 
 
MT. 43.] WASHINGTON S POPULARITY. 615 
 
 tilities, and longing for honorable reconciliation ; and out of the 
 consciousness of these known desires of their constituents, was born 
 that conservative caution which the pen of history is too prone to 
 condemn. 
 
 Turning to the headquarters of the army at Cambridge, we there 
 perceive the same caution prevailing against the fiery impulses of 
 Lee, the restiff ambition of Gates, the impatient ardor of the troops, 
 and the expostulations of members of Congress. Washington had 
 been taught its salutary lessons by experience and observation; 
 and during the entire war he exercised this conservative care so 
 continually, that he was frequently censured for his " Fabian slow 
 ness." But in every instance the result fully vindicated the wisdom 
 of his course. In the camp before Boston, ambitious subordinates 
 frequently importuned him for leave to go out upon military enter 
 prises where little else than personal renown could be won, but 
 these applications were uniformly met with a negative. Washing 
 ton was unwilling to have the strength of the army wasted thus in 
 detail, without a chance for adequate compensation. He knew its 
 inherent weakness on account of its lack of ammunition and dis 
 cipline ; and during the remainder of the summer, and far into the 
 autumn of 1775, his chief care was to husband his slender resources, 
 strengthen his own position, confine the enemy close to their quar 
 ters, and to cut off their supplies of provisions. In these efforts 
 frequent skirmishes occurred. They were wholesome lessons for 
 the Americans, As the patriots were generally successful, these 
 gave them confidence, the twin-brother of courage ; and they learned 
 skill in the art of war. 
 
 One prime element of strength possessed by the army at Cam 
 bridge, was the unbounded confidence that all felt in the com- 
 mander-in-chief. No weakening doubt oppressed their minds, and 
 his words were laws that found responsive obedience in every heart, 
 from the highest officer to the private soldier. This confidence 
 was early felt and as early expressed. General Greene, who com 
 manded the army of observation sent by Rhode Island a corps 
 that had been drilled by himself, and because of its order and 
 
GIG WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 perfect military bearing, formed the elite of the army made a 
 noble address in behalf of himself and his brother officers, to the 
 commander-in-chief, welcoming him to the camp. The sentiments 
 which he expressed were responded to by every heart and mind in 
 the army. Every person felt an incomprehensible awe in the 
 presence of Washington, yet all were drawn toward him by the 
 influence of involuntary affection. Every day officers of the army 
 dined at his table, and these were frequently joined by members of 
 the provincial Congress of Massachusetts. 
 
 On these occasions Washington was always social but never con 
 vivial. He was a stranger to excess in eating or drinking. His 
 diet, at that time, was simple, frequently consisting of only baked 
 apples, or berries with cream, and milk. He seldom took more 
 than one glass of wine at table ; and he generally retired before 
 any of his guests, leaving Mifflin or Reed to represent him.* While 
 he could not be approached with undue familiarity, no other re 
 straint was felt in his presence than that inspired by the over 
 powering influence of united dignity and virtue. In fact, Wash 
 ington stood among his compatriots at Cambridge like a giant oak 
 of the forest, marvellous and unequalled for its strength and colos 
 sal grandeur, yet sympathizing with all of the surrounding trees as 
 a recipient of the blessings of light, and air, and moisture, from the 
 hand of a common Father, and linked to them by a common destiny. 
 All bowed to Washington with reverence, even at the outset of his 
 leadership, yet they felt no separating repulsion because of the 
 loftiness of his spirit. They involuntarily recognised his superiority 
 while they loved him as an elder brother. 
 
 By the middle of July the siege, or rather the blockade, of Bos- 
 
 * The late Colonel John Trumbull, the eminent painter (son of Governor Trumbull, of Connec 
 ticut), became a member of Washington s military family soon after the arrival of the general at 
 Cambridge, lie luid accompanied General Spencer to camp, and had attracted the favorable notice 
 of Washington by some drawings that he had made of the enemy s works. " I now found my 
 self," Trumbull wrote, " in the family of one of the most distinguished and dignified men of the 
 age ; surrounded at his table by the principal officers of the army, and in constant intercourse with 
 them it was further my duty to receive company, and do the honors of the house to many of the 
 first people of the country, of both sexes." At that time Trumbull was only nineteen years of age, 
 quite unaccustomed to society, and finding himself unequal to the duties of that station, he gladly 
 accepted the office of major of brigade. 
 
&T. 43.] FAST DAY IN THE CAMP. 617 
 
 ton was fairly commenced. The declaration of Congress, setting 
 forth the causes and the necessity for taking up arms, was read by 
 President Langdon, of Harvard college, before the army at Cam 
 bridge on the fifteenth. On the eighteenth it was read to the 
 division of the troops under General Thomas, at Eoxbury, and also 
 to the soldiers under Putnam, upon Prospect Hill. On that occasion 
 that veteran displayed, for the first time, the flag which had been 
 sent to him from Connecticut a few days before, on one side of 
 which were the words, "An appeal to Heaven," and on the other 
 the motto in the seal of Connecticut " Qui trans tulit, sustinet" 
 meaning that the same Providence that brought their ancestors 
 through so many perils to a place of refuge, would also deign to 
 support their descendants. At the close of the reading a cannon 
 was fired, and three hearty cheers were given. These alarmed the 
 British on Bunker s hill, and, as on several other occasions, they 
 immediately formed for battle, supposing the Americans to be 
 rushing upon them. 
 
 The twentieth being the day appointed by Congress for a conti 
 nental fast, it was strictly observed in the camp. Lee had scoffed 
 at the resolution of Congress on the subject, saying : " Heaven is 
 ever found on the side of strong battalions ;" but the impious sneer 
 had no effect but that of disgust upon the mind of Washington. 
 More humble and spiritual than the loose soldier of fortune, he 
 issued an order that morning, requiring all but absolutely essential 
 labor to be suspended during the day, and the attendance of officers 
 and soldiers upon divine service, fully armed and equipped for 
 action, however : a necessary precaution, for the belligerents were 
 under continual apprehension of an attack from each other, since 
 the burning of Brown s houses, on Koxbury Neck, mentioned in 
 Washington s letter to the president of Congress, already quoted. 
 
 Several enterprises, small in themselves, but important in their 
 relations to the future, had been achieved. On the twelfth, one 
 hundred and fifty-six men, under Captain Greaton, went, in whale- 
 boats that had lately been brought over from Cape Cod, to Long 
 Island, in the harbor, and there destroyed a quantity of British 
 
G18 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 forage. On the following day the British opened a cannonade from 
 Boston upon a party of Americans at work on the strong fort at 
 Roxbury, but without effect; and on the eighteenth there was 
 much commotion among the Americans, for everything indicated 
 a sally from the city, by the enemy. But it was not attempted. 
 Before daylight of the twentieth, a party under Major Vose, of 
 Heath s regiment, went in whaleboats to Nantasket point, burned 
 the lighthouse there, and brought back with them a thousand 
 bushels of barley, and a quantity of hay, in defiance of an attack 
 made by a British armed schooner and several barges. 
 
 From that time until the twenty-ninth, when the British planted 
 a bomb-battery on Bunker s hill, advanced the guard on Charles- 
 town Neck further into the country, and began to form a strong 
 abattis with the fine old trees there, very little of importance oc 
 curred, except the arrival of fourteen hundred riflemen, raised by 
 authority of Congress, in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. 
 These attracted great attention. They were generally powerful 
 men. All were expert marksmen,* and many of them had been 
 campaigning companions of Washington in the French war. They 
 were dressed in white frocks, or rifle-shirts, and round hats. Among 
 the leaders was Daniel Morgan, who, the reader will remember, had 
 been an humble wagoner in Braddock s army twenty years before, 
 but destined to become, in the struggle now commenced, a general 
 of high repute. He bore upon his back the marks of a British 
 officer s cruelty; and with the words LIBERTY OR DEATH upon his 
 breast, he had marched his men on foot, six hundred miles in three 
 weeks, to face the foe that he had been taught to hate.f With 
 
 * " These men," says Thatcher (Military Journal, page 33), "are remarkable for the accuracy of 
 their aim, striking a mark with great certainty, at two hundred yards distant. At a review, a com 
 pany of them, while on a quick advance, fired their balls into objects of seven inches in diameter, at 
 the distance of two hundred and fifty yards. 
 
 t Morgan owned a team, in western Pennsylvania, at the time of Braddock s expedition, and he 
 accompanied it as a bearer of provision, as already stated on page 152. For an alleged insult to a 
 British officer, he received five hundred lashes on his bare back. He scarcely flinched at the blows, 
 but the indignity pierced his heart. A few days afterward the officer became convinced of the 
 injustice of the charge, and apologized to young Morgan in the presence of the whole regiment. 
 But that did not pluck the hatred from his breast, which the punishment had engendered, and when 
 the British became his foes in the field, the remembrance of this cruel act gave strength to his arm 
 and keenness to his blade 
 
JET. 43.] ARRANGEMENT OF THE ARMIES. 619 
 
 him came the brave Otho Holland Williams, of Maryland, afterward 
 the distinguished commander of light-troops at the South. We 
 shall meet them again upon other fields where their valor won for 
 them the undying garlands of fame, as true patriots and soldiers. 
 
 At the close of July Washington began to perceive some fruits 
 of his arduous and incessant labors, in the development of system 
 and discipline in the army. He had allayed many jealousies, grow 
 ing out of pretensions to rank, and his prudence and judgment had 
 kept a mutinous spirit in abeyance. He had arranged the army 
 into three grand divisions, consisting of six brigades of six regi 
 ments each. These were so formed that the troops from the same 
 colony should be brought together, as far as practicable, and act 
 under a commander from that colony. 
 
 The division forming the left wing was stationed at Winter hill, 
 under Major-General Lee. There, in the course of the season, the 
 most extensive fortifications constructed by the Americans at Boston, 
 were cast up. They commanded the Mystic river and the country 
 northward from Charlestown. The centre division was at Cam 
 bridge, under Major-General Putnam. Here, also, fortifications 
 were constructed, known as the Cambridge lines. These consisted 
 of six regular forts on Butler s hill, connected by a strong intrench- 
 ment. The right wing at Roxbury was placed under Major-General 
 Ward. Strong fortifications were erected upon eminences which 
 commanded Boston Neck; and about three fourths of a mile in 
 advance of them, were the Eoxbury lines, composed of two in- 
 trenchments which extended across the isthmus, and a parallel 
 ditch, filled with water at high tide, making Boston an island. On 
 a rocky hill overlooking Roxbury and the Neck, was the strong, 
 regular, bastioned fort already mentioned. The headquarters of 
 the commander-in-chief were with the centre division at Cam 
 bridge. 
 
 The bulk of the British army, under General Howe, lay upon 
 Bunker s hill, where, in the course of the season, a strong fortifica 
 tion was constructed. His sentries extended one hundred and fifty 
 yards beyond Charlestown Neck, which was commanded by three 
 
620 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 floating batteries and a twenty-gun ship. Gage had his headquarters 
 in Boston, where few troops remained except the light-horse under 
 Burgoyne ; while a large force, commanded by Sir Henry Clinton, 
 were within intrenchments upon the neck leading to Roxbury. 
 
 The ministry placed great reliance upon the three experienced 
 generals which they had sent over to assist Gage. Howe was a 
 brother of the young nobleman who was slain near Ticonderoga, in 
 1758. He had been passively opposed to the government measures 
 which had caused the war. He was really a friend of the Ameri 
 cans, and accepted command in the army destined for their enslave 
 ment, with great reluctance. As a soldier, however, he felt com 
 pelled to go wherever his country commanded him. He and 
 Franklin had been personal friends ; and that statesman and his 
 countrymen were slow to believe the report that Howe was coming. 
 "America is amazed," the Congress said, in their address to the 
 people of Ireland,* " to find the name of Howe in the catalogue of 
 her enemies : she loved his brother !" 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton had no such scruples. He was a son of a 
 former governor of the province of New York, and grandson of 
 the earl of Lincoln. He was naturally aristocratic, and was ambi 
 tious of military renown. Having seen considerable service on the 
 continent, and being highly approved by his superiors, he was con 
 sidered a fit officer to stand next to Howe in the campaign against 
 the American " rebels." He had more ability than Howe, but was 
 less popular. Burgoyne, the last of the trio, was a natural son of 
 Lord Bingley, and son-in-law of the earl of Derby, whose daughter 
 had eloped with him, and became his wife while he was yet a 
 subaltern in the army. He had been a soldier from early youth, 
 had won laurels in Spain and Portugal, and had been promoted to 
 major-general in 1772. He was possessed of much taste, wit, and 
 literary ability ; was proud, boastful, and vain, and came to America 
 with the pleasant expectation that he should 
 
 " By songs and balls secure allegiance, 
 And dance the ladies to obedience !" 
 
 * Journals of Congress, i., 171 
 
BRITISH OFFICERS 
 
 !|i^i^iP|p^:T 
 ^ rt 
 
 ^t^.^M^J </*&A 
 
WASHINGTON AND CONGRESS. 621 
 
 Such were the general officers with Gage in Boston, during its long 
 siege by the Americans. 
 
 The organization and direction of an army is all that can be 
 reasonably expected of a conimander-in-chief. These, in the case 
 of Washington, were very onerous duties ; yet others equally deli 
 cate and wearisome were laid upon him. The Congress, young in 
 days and experience, had not yet been fully enthroned as perma 
 nent representative sovereign and ruler of the budding nation. 
 They were, as yet, but a temporary national committee, feeble in 
 powers as the civil head of the confederacy, imperfectly organized 
 as a supreme legislature, and divided in opinion on important ques 
 tions of policy. All were agreed on maintaining resistance until 
 the grievances complained of should be redressed, but they differed 
 widely in opinion as to the best means to be employed. And there 
 were many timid ones in that body, composed of those who anx 
 iously hoped for a reconciliation, or doubted the ability of the 
 colonists to sustain their hostile position. Happily, a majority were 
 more courageous, and were willing to risk every personal considera 
 tion in the cause ; yet these, instructed by the teachings of history, 
 were jealous of concentrated military power, and the despotic 
 tendency of standing armies. This made them distrustful, and 
 caused them to withhold from Washington that broad and unsus 
 pecting confidence which is compatible with enlarged and generous 
 views, and efficient action. That distrust was the legitimate off 
 spring of true patriotism. They did not "love Caesar less, but 
 Rome more ;" and this thought soothed the feelings of the com 
 mander-in-chief, when he discovered these natural misgivings of 
 Congress. And yet the opinions of Washington, when expressed, 
 became the opinions of Congress. He was in constant communi 
 cation with that body. His letters were read in open session and 
 immediately acted upon ; and almost every recommendation from 
 him concerning the army was converted, by the alchemy of legis 
 lative action, into resolutions that went forth with the power and 
 dignity of absolute laws. 
 
 Washington s mind was the central force that kept the compli- 
 
622 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 cated machine of military affairs in harmonious motion, and his 
 suggestions often reached so far into the future, that the inconve 
 niences arising from the tardy action of Congress operating at a 
 great distance, were obviated. Nor was this all. He was in con 
 tinual communication with the heads of provincial governments, 
 committees of safety, or other depositories of power, because, over 
 these local executors of the people s will, the Congress had only 
 advisory control. Ignorant of the wants of the army, and some 
 times made selfish by fear, these local bodies needed continual 
 promptings from the commander-in-chief; and many suggestions 
 which should have originated with the civil power in its multi 
 farious forms, emanated from his brain. These duties were very 
 arduous and perplexing, and imposed upon Washington an extra 
 ordinary weight of care and responsibility, well calculated to depress 
 the spirits of the most hopeful man in the critical situation in which 
 he was then placed. But he never faltered in duty, and seldom 
 complained ; and the necessity of unceasing intercourse with such 
 a variety of minds, even gave him a compensating advantage, 
 because it brought him into more immediate contact with the 
 sources of the power that must sustain him. This contact widened 
 his influence, and enabled him to cast the light of his lamp of ex 
 perience and wisdom upon many dark places where it was greatly 
 needed. Few men, however, could have borne the weight of such 
 cares, and, at the same time, continued to perform every duty with 
 scrupulous exactness, punctuality, and conscientious fidelity to the 
 great trust reposed in him by the nation. 
 
 At this time Washington s firmness, wisdom, and self-reliance, 
 experienced a severe trial. British armed vessels were hovering 
 upon the New England coast, seizing small craft, and menacing the 
 villages and hamlets within their reach, with plunder and devasta 
 tion. Alarm was wide-spread from Long Island sound almost to 
 the St. Croix, and the people appealed to the authorities of Massa 
 chusetts and Connecticut for protection. The general assembly of 
 Massachusetts, a new and stronger organization of the civil power, 
 which had succeeded that of the provincial Congress on the nine- 
 
JEr. 43.] WASHINGTON S FIRMNESS. 623 
 
 teenth of the month, took the matter into consideration.* That 
 assembly and the governor of Connecticut made a formal request 
 of Washington, that he would detach troops from the army for the 
 purpose of protecting important points. Washington perceived 
 that compliance with the request would be extremely dangerous, 
 while a refusal might be offensive and increase the jealousy of 
 military power to which the people were so prone. He was placed 
 in a position of great delicacy, yet he did not hesitate for a moment 
 in his obedience to the dictates of his own judgment, fortified by 
 the counsels of other discreet men. In a letter to the general 
 assembly of Massachusetts, he refused compliance with their re 
 quest in such a judicious way, that he was commended by consid 
 erate men, rather than blamed. After referring to the settled policy 
 of the continental Congress, that local militia should be a defence 
 against marauders, he said : 
 
 " It is the misfortune of our situation which exposes us to these 
 ravages, and against which, in my judgment, no such temporary 
 relief could possibly secure us. The great advantage the enemy 
 have of transporting troops, by being masters of the sea, will enable 
 them to harass us by diversions of this kind ; and should we be 
 tempted to pursue them upon every alarm, the army must either 
 be so weakened as to expose it to destruction, or a great part of 
 the coast be still left unprotected. Nor, indeed, does it appear to 
 me, that such a pursuit would be attended with the least effect. 
 The first notice of such an excursion would be its actual execution ; 
 and long before any troops could reach the scene of action, the 
 enemy would have an opportunity to accomplish their purpose and 
 
 * On the sixteenth of May, the provincial Congress of Massachusetts, feeling the necessity of a 
 stronger civil government for that province, wrote to the continental Congress, requesting their 
 advice on the subject. "As the sword should," they said, "in all free states, be subservient to the 
 civil powers, and as it is the duty of the magistrate to support it for the people s necessary defence, 
 we tremble at having an army, although consisting of our own countrymen, established here, with 
 out a civil power to provide for and control them." On the ninth of June, the continental Congress 
 resolved, that no obedience was due to the existing royal governor of Massachusetts, and recom 
 mended the provincial Congress to issue a circular to the inhabitants, requesting them to choose 
 representatives to meet in general assembly, such assembly to choose councillors. This was the old 
 form of government without a chief-magistrate. Such election was held, and more than two hun 
 dred representatives met in general assembly, at Watertown, on the nineteenth of July. The coun 
 cillors were chosen on the twenty-first. 
 
624 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 retire. It would give me great pleasure to have it in my power to 
 extend protection and safety to every individual ; but the wisdom 
 of the general court will anticipate me in the necessity of conduct 
 ing our operations on a general and impartial scale, so as to exclude 
 any just cause of complaint and jealousy." 
 
 Washington wrote in a similar manner to Governor Trumbull, 
 who acquiesced in his views ; but in some quarters much dissatis 
 faction was felt because of his course. More sagacious and far- 
 seeing than those whose timidity or interest made them clamorous 
 against the commander-in-chief, he saw that the question he so 
 promptly met, involved the whole fortunes of the war. He was 
 firm, and his course was afterward sanctioned by the continental 
 Congress. That precedent was followed throughout the war, and 
 was always salutary in its effects. The army was, at all times, too 
 feeble in numbers, to engage in any side issue that might require a 
 considerable force ; and all the efforts of the enemy, in the form of 
 marauding expeditions to divide and distract the continental army 
 under Washington s immediate command, were vain. 
 
43.] ALARMING DISCOVERY. 625 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. 
 
 ALARMING DEFICIENCY IN POWDER WASHINGTON S URGENT APPEALS EFFORTS 
 
 OF GOVERNOR COOKE ECONOMY OBSERVED THIS WANT KNOWN TO THE 
 
 ENEMY HIS INACTIVITY THE CAUSE SUPPLIES OF POWDER ARRIVE EX 
 PEDITION AGAINST NOVA SCOTIA PROPOSED DISCOURAGED BY WASHINGTON, 
 
 AND ABANDONED LEE AND BURGOYNE TREATMENT OF PRISONERS CORRES 
 PONDENCE BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND GATES WASHINGTON S CLEMENCY 
 
 PUBLICATION OF THE CORRESPONDENCE DISTRESS IN BOSTON INCENDIARY 
 
 HANDBILLS "THE CRISIS" RELEASE OF THE CITIZENS THE AMERICANS ON 
 
 PLOUGHED HILL BATTLE THREATENED CANNONADING FRANKLIN S MATH 
 EMATICAL PROBLEM. 
 
 THE darkest cloud that overshadowed the hopeful mind of Wash 
 ington since his arrival in camp, appeared on the third of August, 
 when the alarming fact of the great scarcity of powder, to which 
 we have already alluded, became known. The committee of sup 
 plies had been tardy in making their returns. Their report of the 
 amount was rather satisfactory ; but now, on ordering a new supply 
 of cartridges, a great error was found in their return. Instead of 
 three hundred barrels of powder in store there were only thirty 
 barrels, w r ith no sure prospect of an early receipt of more. 
 
 This was a most astounding discovery, at a moment when the 
 enemy seemed to be preparing for an immediate attack, and the 
 continental artillery must necessarily become useless. A council 
 of war was immediately held, and expresses were despatched, early 
 on the following morning, to Rhode Island, New Jersey, Ticonderoga, 
 and other points, where powder and lead might be procured. The 
 commander-in-chief wrote an urgent letter to Governor Cooke, of 
 Rhode Island, on the subject "It is not within the propriety or 
 safety of such a correspondence, to say what I might on this sub 
 ject," he remarked. "It is sufficient that the case calls loudly for 
 
 40 
 
626 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 the most strenuous exertions of every friend of his country, and 
 does not admit of the least delay. No quantity, however small, is 
 beneath notice, and, should any arrive, I beg it may be forwarded 
 as soon as possible." Washington then informed the governor, that 
 he had been told that on a remote part of the British island of 
 Bermuda, there was a considerable magazine of powder; and he 
 suggested the propriety of despatching an armed vessel, then in 
 Narraganset bay, for the purpose of seizing it. " I am very sensi 
 ble," he said, u that at first view the project may appear hazardous ; 
 and its success must depend on the concurrence of many circum 
 stances ; but we are in a situation which requires us to run all risks. 
 No danger is to be considered, when put in competition with the 
 magnitude of the cause, and the absolute necessity we are under 
 of increasing our stock." 
 
 To this letter Governor Cooke make a cheering reply on the 
 eighth, informing Washington that his colony had already de 
 spatched a vessel to purchase fifteen tons of powder, and that he 
 was advised of another vessel sent from Providence, having sailed 
 from Cape Francois, laden with warlike stores, and was hourly 
 expected. But mornings and evenings came and went, and no 
 supplies arrived from any quarter. Those who were made ac 
 quainted with the scarcity waited with anxiety. The utmost econ 
 omy was observed in the use of ammunition ; and, on the twelfth 
 of August, the Massachusetts assembly "Resolved, That it be, and it 
 hereby is recommended to the inhabitants of this colony, not to 
 fire a gun at beast, bird, or mark, without real necessity therefor." 
 Even the occasional shots from the enemy remained unanswered 
 " We are obliged to bear with the rascals on Bunker s hill," wrote 
 Washington s secretary,* " when a few shots, now and then, in 
 return, would keep our men attentive to their business, and give 
 the enemy alarms." 
 
 The fear that this poverty might become known to the enemy 
 was very harassing. It was carefully concealed from the conti 
 nental troops, for fear of creating fatal alarm, and every precaution 
 
 * Colonel Joseph Reed, to Mr. Bradford. Life and Correspondence of President Reed, i., 119. 
 
JEr. 43.] A CRITICAL SITUATION. 627 
 
 was used to prevent the fact becoming known to the British. To 
 do so was difficult. The camps on Prospect and Winter hills were 
 in full view of that of the enemy on Bunker s hill. Almost every 
 movement in the respective camps might be seen by the troops in 
 each, and the sentries of the belligerents near Charlestown Neck, 
 actually conversed together when secret opportunities occurred. 
 But so boldly did the Americans deport themselves in the face of 
 the enemy, that the story of this poverty, whether communicated 
 by unfaithful sentries to the willing ears of their opponents, or, as 
 is alleged, by a deserter,* seems to have been discredited by the 
 British commander, for he remained inactive at a time when he 
 might have struck a conquering blow. This, however, was not this 
 whole cause of his inaction. Gage was w r ell assured that his first 
 blow had been dealt at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and in 
 the wrong way. He had recently learned that his conduct in the 
 affairs at Lexington and Concord were disapproved by the ministry, 
 and he felt quite sure, that the result of the battle of Bunker s hill 
 would not conciliate their favor. Fortunately for the Americans at 
 this alarming crisis, these reflections made Gage exceedingly timid 
 and cautious; and instead of meditating new enterprises on the 
 soil of Massachusetts, he was really anxious to escape to New York, 
 where, as he alleged in a letter to Dartmouth, toward the close of 
 July (in which he suggested the propriety of such steps), " the 
 friends of government are more numerous." 
 
 Kumors of such an intention had reached the ears of Washing 
 ton, and he was inclined to credit them. " I have been endeavor 
 ing," he said in a letter to the provincial Congress of New York, on 
 the eighth of August, " by every means in my power, to discover 
 the future intentions of our enemy here. I find a general idea 
 prevailing, throughout the army and in the town of Boston, that 
 the troops are soon to leave the town and go to some other part of 
 the continent. New York is generally mentioned as the place of 
 
 * Lord Mahon, in his "History of England" (vi., 100), says, "This deficiency of powder, in 
 some degree at least, though not to its full extent, was known to the British general. It had been 
 disclosed by a deserter." 
 
628 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 their destination. I should think a rumor or suggestion of this 
 kind worthy of very little notice, if it were not confirmed by some 
 corresponding circumstances. But four weeks of total inactivity, 
 with all their reinforcements arrived and recruited, the daily dimi 
 nution by desertion and sickness, and small skirmishes, induce an 
 opinion, that any effort they propose to make will be directed 
 elsewhere." Gage had learned, by sad experience, the temper of 
 the New England people, and especially of those of Massachusetts ; 
 and in his letter to Dartmouth, after averring, in despairing lan 
 guage, that the rebellion was general, he said: "This province 
 began it I might say this town; for here the arch-rebels formed 
 their scheme long ago. This circumstance brought the troops first 
 here, which is the most disadvantageous place for all operations." 
 
 At about the middle of August, a small supply of powder was 
 received from New Jersey. Meanwhile Governor Cooke had for 
 warded thirteen hundred pounds of lead ; and from that time, small 
 quantities of ammunition were received almost daily. That from 
 New Jersey was a seasonable supply. "I can hardly look back 
 without shuddering," Colonel Reed wrote on the twenty-first, " at 
 our situation before this increase of our stock. Stocky did I say ? 
 It was next to nothing. Almost the whole powder of the army 
 was in the cartridge-boxes." 
 
 At the close of August two vessels arrived at Newport, from the 
 coast of Africa, laden with powder. They had sailed from Rhode 
 Island early in the year, with cargoes of New England rum, which 
 they exchanged with the commanders of one or two British forts 
 on the west coast of Africa, for powder. It proved a profitable 
 speculation for the skippers, and a great blessing to the patriots, 
 for Governor Cooke purchased the powder, and sent a larger por 
 tion of it to the camp at Cambridge. Thus supplied with ammuni 
 tion, and weary of inaction, Washington now felt a desire to meas 
 ure strength with the enemy in battle. 
 
 At this time a spirit for naval warfare had become developed 
 among the seamen of New England, and armed vessels, fitted out 
 on private account, were darting out from many a bay or river s 
 
MT. 43.] AN INVASION DISCOURAGED. 629 
 
 mouth, to seize British merchantmen and other vessels. Embold 
 ened by some successes of this kind, the people of Machias, in 
 Maine, who were chiefly employed in maratime pursuits, proposed 
 an expedition against the neighboring province of Nova Scotia, the 
 colonists there having, like those of Canada, refused to join in the 
 revolt. A committee of the general court of Massachusetts (in 
 which body the enterprise had some advocates) laid the matter 
 before Washington. He at once discouraged the scheme as inex 
 pedient if not improper. He applauded the zeal of the projectors, 
 but added : " I apprehend such an enterprise to be inconsistent with 
 the general principle upon which the colonies have proceeded. 
 That province has not acceded, it is true, to the measures of Con 
 gress ; and, therefore, it has been excluded from all commercial 
 intercourse with the other colonies ; but it has not commenced hos 
 tilities against them, nor are any to be apprehended. To attack it, 
 therefore, is a measure of conquest rather than of defence, and may 
 be attended with very dangerous consequences. It might, perhaps, 
 be easy, with the force proposed, to make an incursion into the 
 province and overawe the inhabitants, who are inimical to our 
 cause, and, for a short time, prevent their supplying the enemy 
 with provisions ; but, to produce any lasting effects, the same force 
 must continue." He then alluded to the disparity in naval strength 
 between the British and the Americans, and the danger of the 
 vessels of the latter falling an easy prey " either to the men-of-war 
 on that station, or to some which would be detached from Boston." 
 The enterprise was abandoned. 
 
 An interesting episode in the history of current events had re 
 cently occurred. It was of an epistolary character. General Lee, 
 the reader will remember, won laurels in Spain under General 
 Burgoyne. They had been personal friends ever since, and it was 
 painful to both to find themselves in an attitude of deadly hostility 
 to each other. Lee was in Philadelphia when he heard of the 
 arrival of Burgoyne at Boston. It was before his appointment to 
 office in the army. He felt a great desire to communicate with his 
 old commander, and he accordingly wrote him a letter on the sub- 
 
630 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 ject of the pending disputes, which was characterized by his usual 
 vigor and sarcasm, respecting the court and ministry. Before send 
 ing the letter he submitted it to the New England delegates in 
 Congress. They approved of it, and it was forwarded to Boston. 
 
 Soon after Lee s arrival in camp, he received a very courteous 
 reply from Burgoyne, in which he proposed a personal interview, 
 under mutual pledges of safety, at a house on Boston Neck, within 
 the beat of the British sentries. This letter was submitted to the 
 provincial Congress of Massachusetts, who, after expressing their 
 confidence in the wisdom, discretion, and integrity of Lee, sug 
 gested to him the propriety of having the company of Elbridge 
 Gerry at the interview, to prevent popular misconception ; " a people 
 contending for their liberties," they said, " being naturally disposed 
 to jealousy." The wisdom of this caution was apparent to Lee, 
 and unwilling to awaken any unfavorable suspicions, he declined 
 the interview with Burgoyne. 
 
 A correspondence far more important transpired soon afterward, 
 and forms a part of the episode to which we have alluded. For 
 some time the known rigorous treatment of American prisoners in 
 the hands of the British, had exercised the mind of Washington, 
 and he resolved to have a full and clear understanding with General 
 Gage upon the subject. These gentlemen had also long been per 
 sonal friends. They had fought together on the bloody field of the 
 Monongahela ; and, until a change in their political relations oc 
 curred, they had always held a friendly correspondence. Now 
 they stood opposed to each other, almost within bugle-call, as com- 
 manders-in-chief of hostile armies ; and, in point of rank, they held 
 an equal position, however much Gage might affect to despise 
 Washington as the " chief of a rebel force." At length the latter 
 was informed, that some of the officers captured on Bunker s hill 
 were confined in the common jail, in Boston, and were suffering 
 all the indignities and privations of malefactors. His sympathies 
 promptly responded to the appeal which these facts made to his 
 justice, and on the eleventh of August, he addressed the following 
 letter to General Gage : 
 
IMPORTANT CORRESPONDENCE. 631 
 
 " SIR : I understand that the officers engaged in the cause of lib 
 erty and their country, who, by the fortune of war have Mien into 
 your hands, have been thrown indiscriminately into a common gaol, 
 appropriated for felons; that no consideration has been had for 
 those of the most respectable rank when languishing with wounds 
 and sickness ; and that some have been even amputated in this un 
 worthy situation. 
 
 " Let your opinion, sir, of the principle which actuates them, be 
 what it may, they suppose that they act from the noblest of all 
 principles, a love of freedom and their country. But political prin 
 ciples, I conceive, are foreign to this point. The obligations arising 
 from the rights of humanity and claims of rank, are universally 
 binding and extensive, except in cases of retaliation. These, I 
 should have hoped, would have dictated a more tender treatment 
 of those individuals, whom chance or war had put in your power. 
 Nor can I forbear suggesting its fatal tendency to widen that un 
 happy breach which you and those ministers under whom you act, 
 have repeatedly declared, your wish is to see for ever closed. 
 
 " My duty now makes it necessary to apprise you, that for the 
 future I shall regulate all my conduct toward those gentlemen who 
 are or may be in our possession, exactly by the rule you shall 
 observe toward those of ours now in your custody : if severity and 
 hardship mark the line of your conduct, painful as it may be to me, 
 your prisoners will feel its effects. But if kindness and humanity 
 are shown to ours, I shall, with pleasure, consider those in our hands 
 as only unfortunate, and they shall receive from me that treatment 
 to which the unfortunate are ever entitled." 
 
 To this courteous and humane letter, Washington requested an 
 answer as soon as possible ; and, on the thirteenth, he received from 
 Gage an insolent and unfeeling one. As that general acknowledged 
 no rank " not derived from the king," he addressed the commander" 
 in-chief of the continental army, as "George Washington, Esq.," 
 and said : 
 
 " SIR : To the glory of civilized nations, humanity and war have 
 been compatible ; and compassion to the subdued has become al- 
 
632 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 most a general system. Britons, ever pre-eminent in mercy, have 
 outgone common examples, and overlooked the criminal in the 
 captive. Upon these principles, your prisoners, whose lives, by 
 the laws of the land, are destined to the cord, have hitherto been 
 treated with kindness and more comfortably than the king s troops 
 in the hospitals indiscriminately, it is true, for I acknowledge no 
 rank that is not derived from the king. 
 
 " My intelligence from your army would justify severe recrimina 
 tion. I understand there are some of the king s faithful subjects, 
 taken some time since by the rebels, laboring like negro-slaves to 
 gain their daily sustenance, or reduced to the wretched alternative 
 to perish by famine, or take up arms against their king or country. 
 Those who have made the treatment of prisoners in my hands, or 
 of your other friends in Boston, a pretence for such measures, found 
 barbarity upon falsehood. 
 
 "I would willingly hope, sir, that the sentiments of liberality 
 which I have always believed you to possess, will be exerted to 
 correct these misdoings. Be temperate in political disquisition 
 give free operation to truth, and punish those who deceive and 
 misrepresent; and not only the effects, but the causes of this un 
 happy conflict will be removed. Should those under whose usurped 
 authority you act, control such a disposition, and dare to call sever 
 ity retaliation, to God, who knows all hearts, be the appeal for the 
 dreadful consequences. I trust that British soldiers, asserting the 
 rights of the state, the laws of the land, the being of the constitu 
 tion, will meet all events with becoming fortitude. They will court 
 victory with the spirit their cause inspires, and from the same 
 motive will find the patience of martyrs under misfortune. 
 
 " Till I read your insinuations in regard to ministers, I conceived 
 that I had acted under the king, whose wishes, it is true, as well as 
 those of his ministers, and of every honest man, have been to see 
 this unhappy breach for ever closed : but unfortunately for both 
 countries, those who long since projected the present crisis, and 
 influence the counsels of America, have views very distant from 
 accommodation." 
 
jE T . 43.] INSOLENCE OF POWER. 633 
 
 No doubt this indiscreet and insulting letter kindled, for a mo 
 ment, the hottest indignation in the bosom of Washington. But 
 that rein of judgment with which he controlled his naturally strong 
 passions was efficient on this occasion, as on all others. No doubt 
 he felt the most bitter scorn and saddest pity for Gage, because a 
 mere creature of royal authority, whose official existence may 
 depend upon the breath, sometimes of a despot and sometimes of a 
 fool, talking to the chosen representative of an intelligent people 
 struggling for freedom and justice, as a " rebel" fit for the " cord," 
 is, to the eye of true manhood, a despicable spectacle. In this 
 instance it was made doubly so, by the character of the two men 
 one a noble and disinterested patriot, serving his country without 
 pay, and sacrificing the dearest enjoyments of life for his country s 
 welfare ; the other a hired soldier of fortune, and inferior in mili 
 tary genius, as his early recall from the scene of fatal blunders soon 
 afterward attested. But that scorn and pity were not manifested 
 by Washington, except in giving strength to the dignified reply 
 which he made after diligent inquiry concerning the charges of 
 cruelty toward British prisoners, preferred by General Gage. 
 
 Pursuant to his threat, the commander-in-chief, after receiving 
 Gage s insulting letter, ordered all of the British prisoners then on 
 parole at Watertown and Cape Ann, to be closely confined in 
 Northampton jail, without distinction of rank. At the same time 
 he courteously explained to these unfortunates, that the cause of 
 this harsh treatment lay with their own general. This accom 
 plished, he sent the following reply to Gage, on the twentieth of 
 August : 
 
 " SIR : I addressed you on the eleventh instant, in terms which 
 gave the fairest scope for that humanity and politeness which were 
 supposed to form a part of your character. I remonstrated with 
 you on the unworthy treatment shown to officers and citizens of 
 America, whom the fortune of war, chance, or a mistaken confi 
 dence, had thrown into your hands. Whether British or American 
 mercy, fortitude, and patience, are most pre-eminent ; whether our 
 virtuous citizens, whom the hand of tyranny has forced into arms, 
 
634 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 to defend their wives, their children, and their property, or the 
 mercenary instruments of lawless domination, avarice, and revenge, 
 best deserve the appellation of rebels, and the punishment of that 
 cord which your affected clemency has forborne to inflict ; whether 
 the authority under which I act is usurped, or founded on the 
 genuine principles of liberty, were altogether foreign to the subject. 
 I purposely avoided all political disquisition ; nor will I now avail 
 myself of those advantages which the sacred cause of my country, 
 of liberty, and of human nature give me over you ; much less shall 
 I stoop to retort and invective but the intelligence you say you 
 have received from our army requires a reply. I have taken time, 
 sir, to make a strict inquiry, and find it has not the least foundation 
 in truth. Not only your officers and soldiers have been treated 
 with the tenderness due to fellow-citizens and brethren, but even 
 those execrable parricides,* whose counsels and aid have deluged 
 their country with blood, have been protected from the fury of a 
 justly outraged people. Far from compelling or permitting their 
 assistance, I am embarrassed with the number who crowd to our 
 camp, animated with the purest principles of virtue and love to 
 their country. 
 
 " You advise me to give free operation to truth, and to punish 
 misrepresentation and falsehood. If experience stamps value upon 
 counsel, yours must have a weight which few can claim. You best 
 can tell how far the convulsion which has brought such ruin on 
 both countries, and shaken the mighty empire of Britain to its foun 
 dation, may be traced to these malignant causes. You affect to 
 despise all rank not derived from the same source with your own. 
 I can not conceive one more honorable than that which flows from 
 the uncorrupted choice of a brave and free people, the purest 
 source and original fountain of all power. Far from making it a 
 plea for cruelty, a mind of true magnanimity and enlarged ideas, 
 would comprehend and respect it. 
 
 " What may have been the ministerial views which have precipi- 
 
 * The tories. During the whole war, the conduct of these men caused them to be more thor 
 oughly hated by the Americans than were even the Hessian soldiers 
 
JET. 43.] WASHINGTON S GENEROSITY. 635 
 
 tated the present crisis, Lexington, Concord, and Charlestown, can 
 best declare. May that God to whom you then appealed, judge 
 between America and you. Under his providence, those who in 
 fluence the councils of America, and all the other inhabitants of 
 the United Colonies, at the hazard of their lives, are determined to 
 hand down to posterity those just and invaluable privileges which 
 they received from their ancestors. I shall now, sir, close my cor 
 respondence with you, perhaps for ever. If your officers, our 
 prisoners, receive a treatment from me different from that I wished 
 to show them, they and you will remember the occasion of it." 
 
 This letter did close the correspondence between the two com 
 manders for ever. But Washington s humanity would not allow 
 him to retaliate by inflicting punishment upon innocent men be 
 cause of the savage cruelty of another. The first impulses of his 
 nature were subdued by the generosity of his spirit, awakened by 
 reflection, and while the British prisoners were on their way to 
 Northampton jail, he directed his secretary, Colonel Reed, to write 
 to the committee of that town, requesting them to allow the cap 
 tives to go abroad upon their parole, immediately after their arrival. 
 Mr. Reed was instructed to add "The general further requests, 
 that every other indulgence and civility consistent with their secur 
 ity may be shown to them, as long as they demean themselves with 
 decency and good manners. As they have committed no hostility 
 against the people of this country, they have a just claim to mild 
 treatment; and the general does not doubt, that your conduct 
 toward them will be such, as to compel their grateful acknowledg 
 ments that Americans are as merciful as they are brave." 
 
 The correspondence between Washington and Gage attracted 
 much attention on both sides of the Atlantic. The contrast in 
 temper and spirit displayed by them, was very unfavorable to the 
 British commander; and one of the most significant commentaries 
 upon the whole transaction was the fact, that the first two letters 
 were published by the ministry in the " London Gazette," about six 
 weeks after they were written, but the dignified reply of Washing 
 ton to Gage was carefully suppressed. Ministers well knew that its 
 
636 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 publication would be seriously damaging to their cause, and so they 
 ungenerously concealed it from the British people. The whole 
 correspondence was published, together, in October following, by 
 order of the continental Congress. 
 
 The rigid custody which the American army on land, and priva 
 teers at sea, exercised over that of the British in Boston, soon 
 began to have a serious effect upon the officers, troops, and people, 
 there. At the close of July, Washington assured his brother, John 
 Augustine, that he had done, and should continue to do, all in his 
 power to distress them. " The enemy are sickly," he wrote, " and 
 in want of fresh provisions. Beef, which is chiefly got by slaugh 
 tering their milch cows, in Boston, sells from one shilling to eighteen 
 pence sterling, per pound ; and that it may not become cheaper or 
 more plenty, I have driven all the stock within a considerable dis 
 tance of this place back into the country, out of the way of the 
 men-of-war s boats." Gage had been reinforced since the battle of 
 Bunker s hill, but the new-comers were a burden rather than an 
 aid ; for he had the sagacity to perceive, that twice the number of 
 troops then under his command were insufficient to effectually 
 disperse the continental army, backed, as it was, by other thousands 
 ready to step from the furrow to the intrenchments, when necessity 
 should call them. Idleness begat vice, in various forms, in his 
 camp, and inaction was as likely to decimate his battalions as the 
 weapons of his enemy. Rum was cheap. Intoxication was the 
 rule, not the exception; and salt pork and fish produced their 
 legitimate diseases. 
 
 In addition to their privations, the British officers were much 
 annoyed by the circulation of incendiary hand-bills among their 
 soldiers. How they found their way into the British camp no one 
 could tell. " They were blown in," says one authority : " They were 
 dispersed among the rank and file by the American sentinels," says 
 another. One of these, preserved in the Massachusetts Historical 
 Society, is a fair specimen. It is a small broadside, printed in 
 London, and contains an address to the soldiers who were about 
 embarking for America. Speaking of the course of the colonists, 
 
JRf. 43.] INCENDIARY PUBLICATIONS. 637 
 
 the writer says, in a line of large letters, " BEFORE GOD AND MAN, THEY 
 ARE RIGHT." This handbill is endorsed on the back by the following 
 appeal, evidently printed in America, in which allusion is made to 
 the two chief camps : the one on Prospect hill, under Putnam ; the 
 other on Bunker s hill, under Howe : 
 
 " PROSPECT HILL. 
 
 I. Seven dollars a month, 
 II. Fresh provisions, and in plenty, 
 
 III. Health, 
 
 IV. Freedom, ease, affluence, and a 
 
 BUNKER S HILL. 
 
 I. Three pence a day, 
 II. Rotten salt pork, 
 
 III. The scurvy, 
 
 IV. Slavery, beggary, and want. 
 
 good farm. 
 
 These were secret and powerful emissaries to awaken mutiny and 
 promote desertion ; for the soldiers, in their idle moments, pondered 
 much upon the plain truths which these circulars contained.* 
 
 The few patriots who remained in Boston suffered greatly. 
 Some, who were suspected of sketching plans of the military 
 works, telegraphing with the provincials by signals from steeples, 
 and various other acts inimical to the royal cause, were cast into 
 prison. At length provisions in the city became so scarce, and the 
 
 * An occasional publication, called "The Crisis," was published in London, in 1775, and was 
 republished in New York, to the twenty-eighth number, by John Anderson. One of them was 
 addressed, " To the Officers, Soldiers, and Seamen, who may be employed to butcher their Rela 
 tions, Friends, and Fellow-Subjects in America." This was a highly inflammatory appeal, and in 
 spite of the vigilance of the government, it obtained a wide circulation where it was intended to 
 have its most potent effects. The boldness of the writer was remarkable. The third number was 
 addressed " To the King." Nothing like it had ever appeared before. It spoke to him of his 
 "fourteen years shameful and inglorious reign;" his " critical and dangerous situation;" his "rotten 
 troop in the present house of commons;" his "venal, beggarly, pensioned lords;" his "polluted, 
 canting, prostituted house of bishops ;" and his "whole set of abandoned ministers ;" and told him 
 that these, and his whole "army of Scotch cut-throats," could not protect him "from the people s 
 rage, when driven, by oppression, to a state of desperation." It called him a " tyrant," spoke of 
 "the bloody and despotic transactions" of his reign, and warned him, that the people would not 
 " tamely see a mercenary army of soldiers, who are at all times a terror to the peaceful inhabitants 
 of every free state, butcher their brethren and fellow-subjects in America ;" and that, " whenever the 
 state is convulsed by civil commotions, and the constitution totters to its centre, the throne of England 
 must shake with it : a crown will then be no security, and at ONE STROKE, all the gaudy trappings 
 of royalty may be laid in the dust." This number, so bold and seditious, was ordered to be burned 
 by the common hangman. The populace of London interfered, and the act of Parliament, author 
 izing the sending of troops to America, was cast upon the fire with it. " The Crisis" was printed 
 by " Thomas Shaw, Fleet street," and the twenty-eighth number contained his proclamation, as 
 " Protector and Defender of Magna Charta, and the Bill of Rights," concluding with the words, 
 "Given at London, the 28th day of July, in the 15th year of the tyrannical reign of his merciful 
 majesty, George the Third, Defender of the Romish faith, traitors, and murderers, &c., Anno 
 Domini, 1775." It was a scurrilous publication, but it had a powerful effect on the masses. 
 
638 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 plundering and foraging expeditions sent out by Gage were gener 
 ally so unsuccessful,* that the commander determined to make 
 arrangements for the removal of a large number of the inhabitants 
 from the town.f They were notified that the town-major would 
 receive the names of those who wished to leave ; at the same time it 
 was stipulated, that no plate should be carried away, and that no 
 person should take more than five pounds in cash. So great was the 
 prevailing want, that, even with these severe restrictions more than 
 two thousand names were handed in. Many persons of property, 
 who knew that all they should leave behind would become a prey 
 to the soldiery, remained, notwithstanding they would gladly have 
 left. Others evaded the restrictions in various ways. Women 
 quilted silver spoons in their petticoats, and coin was smuggled in 
 the same way. These refugees landed principally at Chelsea ; and 
 as they were scattered over the country, destitute and suffering, 
 they were received with the open arms of hospitality everywhere, 
 except a few tories who ventured to leave the city. These were 
 treated with bitter scorn, as the worst enemies of the republican 
 cause, and they became early martyrs for opinion s sake. Others, 
 w r ho remained, felt almost happy because they were secure from 
 the vengeance of those whom they had so much injured by their 
 fratricidal course. One of these, writing from Boston at that time, 
 said : " Although we are deprived of the comforts and luxuries, and 
 some of the conveniences of life, yet our being in a place of safety 
 
 * On one occasion success attended his efforts. A small British fleet, cruising in the neighbor 
 hood of New London, obtained eighteen hundred sheep, and more than one hundred head of oxen. 
 Frothingham, in his " Siege of Boston," quotes a letter from Gage to Lord Dartmouth, in which 
 this important fact is announced. This letter was published in London ; and the " Chronicle," the 
 anti-ministerial paper in that city, contained the following impromptu, the next day : 
 
 " In days of yore the British troops, 
 
 Have taken warlike kings in battle, 
 But now, alas, their valor droops, 
 For Gage takes naught but harmless cattle. 
 
 " Britons, with grief your bosoms strike ! 
 
 Your faded laurels loudly weep ! 
 Behold your heroes, Quixote-like, 
 
 Driving a timid flock of sheep I" 
 
 t A census made at the close of July, showed the number of residents to be six thousand seven 
 hundred and fifty-three, exclusive of thirteen thousand six hundred troops, and their dependent 
 women and children. 
 
jE T . 43.] SKIRMISHES. 639 
 
 lessens the want of those conveniences ; and I heartily wish you 
 and your family were as safe as we are here, out of the reach of 
 the tory-hunters." At the same time many of the tories in Boston 
 were enrolled into the king s service, wore a green uniform, and 
 were called the king s volunteers, under the command of Timothy 
 Kuggles, who was president of the Stamp-act Congress. 
 
 The hot month of August now drew to a close. Few military 
 events of general importance occurred, until the last week in the 
 month. A small party of riflemen had cut off the outposts of the 
 British beyond Charlestown Neck, and taken a prisoner ; and the 
 enemy, five hundred strong, had marched over the Neck on Sunday, 
 the thirtieth, constructed a breastwork to protect their guard in 
 future, and thoroughly alarmed the American carnp. In retaliation 
 for the damage done by these riflemen, a British floating-battery 
 went up the Charles river, and sent some heavy round-shot into the 
 American works; and, at the same time, a party marched out 
 toward Roxbury, drove in the American sentinels, and burned a 
 tavern. A skirmish also took place between two small parties near 
 Charlestown Neck. These simultaneous firings created alarm in 
 Boston as w r ell as in the American camp. The wife of a tory in 
 Boston, whose fears magnified events, writing to a friend, said : 
 " We were aroused about one o clock, on the morning of the thirty- 
 first, by the most dreadful cannonading I ever heard. It seemed 
 to be a general attack on all sides around us. It is impossible to 
 convey an idea how terrible it w r as in the dead of night, with the 
 apprehensions which naturally seize every one, either of the enemy 
 breaking in, or the town being set on fire. It appears that they 
 attempted again to cut off our outposts, upon which General Howe 
 attacked their intrenchments with cannon and bombs on that side ; 
 and we attacked them in several places besides, at the same time, 
 all in the dark."* 
 
 On the following day the lighthouse, which had been partially 
 rebuilt, was again destroyed by a party of three hundred continen 
 tals, under Major Tupper. The British, expecting an attack, were 
 
 * Frothingham s " Siege of Boston," page 230 
 
640 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 prepared to receive them. Major Tupper landed in good order, 
 marched boldly toward the lighthouse, killed about a dozen of the 
 enemy, and took the remainder prisoners. He then demolished 
 the works, but when he was ready to depart he found his vessels 
 aground, and was compelled to await the return of the tide. This 
 dilemma was perceived from the British men-of-war, and boats filled 
 with armed men were sent to attack the Americans. Quite a sharp 
 skirmish ensued, when the shots from a field-piece, which had been 
 planted on Nantasket Point, sunk one the boats of the enemy, and 
 killed several of the crew. Major Tupper retired with his whole 
 party, with the loss of only one man, while that of the enemy, in 
 killed and prisoners, amounted to fifty-three. On the following day 
 Washington noticed this brave exploit in general orders, and re 
 marked, that he doubted not " but the continental army would be 
 as famous for their mercy as their valor." Small skirmishes con 
 tinued, solitary shots from rifle and cannon were fired with some 
 effect, and mutual alarms were given. 
 
 At length an important movement was made. Washington felt 
 strong enough in numbers, discipline, and munitions of war, toward 
 the close of August, to meet the enemy fearlessly, and he chal 
 lenged him to battle, by taking possession of and fortifying 
 Ploughed hill (now Mount Benedict), within pointrblank shot of 
 Bunker s hill, on the night of the twenty-sixth. For some time 
 rumor had kept the continental camp uneasy with the tale that the 
 British were coming out to storm the American works ; and Wash 
 ington hoped that the taking of this new and menacing position 
 would entice them to the trial. 
 
 On the evening of the twenty-seventh, the enemy opened a 
 heavy cannonade upon the Americans on Ploughed hill, from 
 Bunker s hill, and a ship and two floating-batteries in the Mystic 
 river. Two Americans lost their heads ; but the cannonade was 
 not returned, except upon the floating-batteries, one of which was 
 thereby sunk, and the other was silenced. The firing ceased at 
 night, and the next day the British were in motion on Bunker s 
 hill, and the Americans, in their new position, were promptly 
 
Mr. 43.] CHANCES FOR BRITISH CONQUEST. G41 
 
 reinforced by five thousand men. Washington now confidently 
 expected a battle, but the British did not choose to accept the 
 challenge. They contented themselves with bombarding the Amer 
 ican works for several days, when, on the tenth of September, their 
 firing ceased, and the continentals remained possessors of Ploughed 
 hill. Soon after this, Doctor Franklin wrote to his friend Doctor 
 Priestley, in England, and said : 
 
 " Tell our dear, good friend, Doctor Price, who sometimes has his 
 doubts and despondencies about our firmness, that America is deter 
 mined and unanimous ; a very few tories and placemen excepted, 
 who will probably soon export themselves. Britain, at the expense 
 of three millions, has killed one hundred and fifty Yankees this 
 campaign, which is twenty thousand pounds a head ; and at Bun 
 ker s hill she gained a mile of ground, half of which she lost again 
 by our taking post on Ploughed hill. During the same time sixty 
 thousand children have been born in America. From these data 
 his mathematical head will easily calculate the time and expense 
 necessary to kill us all and conquer our whole country."* 
 
 Let us now leave the besieging army, for awhile, and note the 
 progress of important events elsewhere, under the control of Wash 
 ington, as commander-in-chief. 
 
 * Sparks s Life and Writings of Franklin, viii., 160. 
 
 41 
 
642 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 CHAPTEE LV. 
 
 THE IMPORTANCE OF CANADA EFFECT OF THE ADDRESSES OF THE CONTINENTAL 
 
 CONGRESS EFFORTS OF SIR GUY CARLETON SECOND ADDRESS OF CONGRESS 
 
 ITS EFFECTS ON THE PEOPLE ALARM OF THE BRITISH AUTHORITIES TAM 
 PERING WITH THE PRIESTHOOD EVENTS ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN NAVAL ARMA 
 MENT CAPTURE OF ST. JOHN BY ARNOLD ALLEN S RETREAT SUM OF EX 
 PLOITS ON THE LAKE BRITISH PREPARATIONS ARNOLD FITS OUT A FLOTILLA 
 
 AT CROWN POINT ARNOLD S ACTIVITY HIS CONDUCT COMMITTEE OF INVES 
 TIGATION ARNOLD S ANGER AND RESIGNATION OF OFFICE PROPOSITION TO 
 
 INVADE CANADA COLONEL ALLEN S LETTER CAUTION OF THE CIVIL AUTHOR 
 ITIES ALLEN AND WARNER IN PHILADELPHIA CHANGE IN PUBLIC OPINION 
 
 ALLEN AND WARNER IN NEW YORK THEIR RECEPTION BY THE LEGISLATURE 
 
 REGIMENT OF GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS TO BE RAISED INVASION OF CANADA 
 
 AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS SCHUYLER TAKES COMMAND OF THE NORTHERN 
 ARMY. 
 
 FROM the beginning of the contest the province of Canada, 
 inhabited by French Roman catholics, had been an object of great 
 solicitude to both parties. The inhabitants there had been affec 
 tionately appealed to by the colonists below the St. Lawrence, and 
 invited to join them in seeking a redress of grievances by virtue 
 of reason or the sword; while the imperial government, by en 
 larging the civil, political, and religious privileges of the people, 
 had created an enthusiastic spirit of loyalty, forgetful, in a measure, 
 of past national animosities, and which could not be easily seduced 
 from its allegiance to the British crown without a sure hope of 
 advantage. This loyalty had been cultivated by the priests, whose 
 power over the consciences of their flocks was almost omnipotent. 
 It had been strengthened by the injudicious use of a little diplomatic 
 duplicity in the addresses put forth by the continental Congress, 
 in 1774. 
 
 In their address to the inhabitants of Canada, the Congress said : 
 
JET. 43.] DUPLICITY OF CONGRESS. 643 
 
 "We are too well acquainted with the liberality of sentiment 
 distinguishing your nation, to imagine that difference of religion 
 will prejudice you against a hearty amity with us. You know that 
 the transcendent nature of Freedom elevates those who unite in her 
 cause above all such low-minded infirmities. The Swiss cantons 
 furnish a memorable proof of this truth. Their union is composed 
 of Roman catholic and protestant states, living in the utmost con 
 cord and peace with one another, and thereby enabled, ever since they 
 bravely vindicated their freedom, to defy and defeat every tyrant 
 that invaded them."* This was well calculated to win the hearts 
 of the Canadians. But only five days before, the Congress had 
 said, in their address to the people of Great Britain, alluding to the 
 Quebec act: "We think the legislature is not authorized by the 
 constitution to establish a religion fraught with sanguinary tenets in 
 any part of the globe ;" and added : " Nor can we suppress our as 
 tonishment, that a British Parliament should ever consent to estab 
 lish in that country [Canada], a religion that has deluged your 
 island in blood, and dispersed impiety, bigotry, persecution, murder, 
 and rebellion, through every part of the world."f This pleased 
 protestant England, where the shout of " No popery !" was daily 
 heard, and the effigies of the Romish pontiff and the devil were 
 burned together, as co-workers in iniquity. 
 
 This duplicity, which is considered a negative virtue in the ethics 
 of diplomacy, was an unfortunate mistake, and the government 
 thereby obtained an unlooked-for advantage. The address to the 
 inhabitants of Canada was translated into French, and attracted 
 the favorable notice of many leading Canadians. "The decent 
 manner in which the religious matters were touched," wrote an 
 English gentleman from Montreal, in March, 1775, "and the en 
 comiums on the French nation, flattered a people fond of compli 
 ments. They begged the translator, as he had succeeded so well, 
 to try his hand on that addressed to Great Britain. He had equal 
 success in this, and read his performance to a numerous audience. 
 But when he came to that part which treats of the new modelling 
 
 * Journals of Congress, i., 60. t Ibid, i., 41 
 
644 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 of the province, draws a picture of the catholic religion, and Cana 
 dian manners, they could not contain their resentment, nor express 
 it but in broken curses. Oh the perfidious, double-faced Congress ! 
 Let us bless and obey our benevolent prince, whose humanity is 
 consistent, and extends to all religions ; let us abhor all who would 
 seduce us from our loyalty by acts that would dishonor a Jesuit, 
 and whose addresses, like their resolves, are destructive of their own 
 objects. " 
 
 Sir Guy Carleton, governor of Canada, took advantage of the 
 feeling created by the two addresses of the Congress; and after 
 the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, early in May follow 
 ing, he sought by every means in his power, to conciliate the inhab 
 itants. But their resentment toward " the perfidious Congress," had 
 soon cooled. In their hearts lingered the smouldering embers of 
 national hatred that had been burning for a thousand years, and 
 which could not be easily quenched ; and when the address " To 
 the Oppressed Inhabitants of Canada," put forth by the continental 
 Congress, on the twenty-ninth of May, reached them in the form 
 of an excellent translation, multiplied a thousand fold by the printr 
 ing-press, the old fire kindled, and many a Gallic bosom heaved with 
 irrepressible aspirations for freedom from English rule. The people 
 were disappointed in the operations of the Quebec act. Its prom 
 ises had not been fulfilled, and all but the nobles were beginning to 
 regard it as deceptive if not tyrannical. 
 
 The effects of the address from the Congress were so palpable, 
 that Governor Carleton feared an entire disaffection of the inhabi 
 tants to the royal government. He was no longer able to make 
 any favorable impression upon the great body of the Canadians by 
 appeals to their loyalty, and he endeavored to win them by the 
 power of religious authority. For this purpose, Brand, the Roman 
 catholic bishop of Quebec, was approached with seductive smiles, 
 intended to entice him from the exalted duties of a Christian 
 pastor, to engage in the low political schemes of a party placeman. 
 He was solicited to publish a mandement, to be read from the pulpits 
 by the curates in time of divine service, and to exhort his people 
 
,E-r. 43.] SCENES ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 645 
 
 to take up arms against the colonists. The conscientious and 
 consistent prelate refused compliance., and plainly told Sir Guy, 
 that such efforts and associations would not only stain the pur 
 ity of his sacred character as a Christian pastor, but they were 
 derogatory to the canons of the Romish church. A few priests 
 and nobles seconded Carleton s views, but their influence was as 
 feeble as the claims of their cause, upon the masses, who were 
 determined, according to the advice of their bishop, to remain 
 neutral. 
 
 Now was the auspicious moment for the colonists, who had 
 secured the key of Canada by the capture of the lake forts, to 
 have made an easy conquest of that province, in accordance with 
 the earnest advice of Colonels Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, 
 then in that region, for the regular troops there were few, the 
 Indian allies from the Six Nations, under Sir John Johnson, had 
 not arrived, and the people were passive. 
 
 We have already noticed the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown 
 Point, early in May. On the day when the former fort was taken, 
 Colonel Allen sent a message to Captain Remember Baker, one of 
 his colleagues in the violent boundary disputes between the New 
 Yorkers and the people of the New Hampshire* Grants, asking him 
 to join him. Baker obeyed the summons ; and when he was going 
 up the lake with his party, he met two small boats, with British 
 soldiers, who were fleeing from outposts at Ticonderoga to St. John, 
 on the Sorel, at the foot of the lake, with intelligence of the reduc 
 tion of that fortress, and to solicit reinforcements for the garrison 
 at Crown Point. Baker made the men prisoners, and arrived at 
 Crown Point just in time, on the twelfth, to assist Colonel Warner 
 in taking possession of it. Among the spoils secured by that vic 
 tory, were a hundred and fourteen cannon, of which only sixty-one 
 were fit for service. 
 
 A new scene in the progressing drama now opened. Captain 
 Herrick, with thirty men, had been sent from Castleton, when the 
 expedition against Ticonderoga was on its way, with instructions to 
 surprise Skenesborough (now Whitehall), at the head of Lake 
 
G4G WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 Champlain, and seize the son of Major Skene, the proprietor (whose 
 father was then in Europe), and any vessels that might be found 
 there. The surprise was so complete, that no blood was shed. 
 Young Skene, twelve negroes, and fifty tenants, became prisoners, 
 and a schooner and several batteaux fell into the hands of the 
 assailants. With their prisoners and some booty, they hastened 
 down the lake in the batteaux, to join their comrades at Ticon- 
 deroga. 
 
 Four days after the capture of the fort at Ticonderoga, about 
 fifty Massachusetts men, who had been enlisted in compliance with 
 orders given by Colonel Arnold while on his way, arrived there. 
 They came by the way of Skenesborough, and brought with them 
 Major Skene s schooner. Arnold immediately manned that vessel 
 with the newly-arrived recruits, armed it with some of the guns of 
 the fort, and sailed down the lake to attack St. John, on the Sorel. 
 Colonel Allen, with one hundred and fifty men in batteaux, started 
 at the same time for that destination ; but Arnold s schooner out 
 sailed them, and toward the evening of the seventeenth of May, 
 he approached St. John. The Sorel, the outlet of Lake Champlain, 
 being narrow, he left his schooner, and with thirty-five men, in two 
 batteaux, he pressed forward. At six o clock the next morning he 
 surprised the garrison of St. John, consisting of a sergeant and 
 twelve men ; captured a king s sloop with seven men ; destroyed 
 five batteaux ; seized four others ; put on board of the sloop some 
 valuable stores from the fort, and within two hours from the time 
 of his arrival, he sailed with his prisoners and booty, for Ticon 
 deroga, having been informed that large reinforcements for the 
 garrison were hourly expected from Chamblee and Montreal. He 
 was favored with an auspicious breeze, for the wind had chopped 
 round from south to north just as he had secured his prizes. 
 
 When fifteen miles on his return voyage, he met Colonel Allen 
 and his flotilla of flatboats. Arnold was on the king s sloop. There 
 they held a sort of council of war, the result of which was, that 
 Arnold proceeded to Ticonderoga, and Allen went on to St. John, 
 to garrison the fort with a hundred men, and watch the movements 
 
IRr. 43.] FIRST CONTINENTAL NAVY. 647 
 
 of the enemy there. Allen landed at St. John just before night, 
 marched about a mile toward Laprairie, and formed his men in 
 ambush to intercept the expected reinforcements. There he learned 
 that the approaching force was much larger than his own. He fell 
 back and crossed the river. In that position he was attacked early 
 in the morning, by two hundred men, when he fled to his boats 
 and escaped to Ticonderoga, with the loss of only three companions, 
 who were made prisoners. Thus ended a series of bold exploits. 
 Within eight days the strong fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown 
 Point, with all their dependencies upon the lake, were wrested from 
 the British by the bold, half-disciplined provincials, without the loss 
 of blood or treasure ; and the little fleet of the enemy on the lake 
 his only strength left was captured or destroyed in a daj^. 
 
 These events called forth all the efforts of Governor Carleton, 
 and a reinforcement of more than four hundred British soldiers, 
 Canadians, and Indians, were sent to St. John. He also prepared 
 to send some small water craft over from Montreal, and from 
 Chamblee, to be armed and manned at St. John, preparatory to an 
 expedition up the lake to recapture Crown Point and Ticonderoga. 
 Intelligence of these preparations delighted Arnold, for he saw an 
 opportunity to sever the tether of connection with Allen, which so 
 chafed his ambitious spirit. He perceived that naval preparations 
 would be necessary to meet the invader, and having had considerable 
 experience at sea in early life, he assumed the right to command 
 whatever flotilla might be fitted out by the Americans, on the lake. 
 His right was not disputed, and he proceeded vigorously in arming 
 and manning Skene s schooner, the king s sloop, and a small number 
 of batteaux. In the former he mounted four carriage-guns and 
 eight swivels, and in the latter six carriage-guns and twelve swivels. 
 He then appointed his subordinate officers ; and, as commodore of 
 the first continental navy, he proceeded, with one hundred and fifty 
 men, to Crown Point, to await the coming of the foe. There, too, 
 he assumed the command of the fort, and became a sort of am 
 phibious leader, ready to fight on land or water. 
 
 Always active and ambitious, Colonel Arnold was not idle for a 
 
648 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 moment, while waiting the expected approach of the enemy. He 
 busied himself in sending off the ordnance from Crown Point to 
 the army at Cambridge, and in despatching emissaries to Montreal 
 and the Caughnawagas near to ascertain the feelings and intentions 
 of the Canadians and Indians, and to gain intelligence of the actual 
 force under Carle ton, and the nature of his preparations. A little 
 later, he wrote to the continental Congress proposing a plan of 
 operations, whereby, he confidently believed, the whole of Canada 
 might be conquered by two thousand men. He asserted that 
 persons in Montreal had agreed to open the gates when a strong 
 continental force should appear before the city ; assured the Con 
 gress that Carleton could not muster more than live hundred and 
 fifty effective men, and offered to lead an expedition to the St. Law 
 rence, and hold himself responsible for the consequences. In a 
 postscript to this letter, he added : " In order to give satisfaction to 
 the different colonies, I propose that Colonel Hinman s regiment, 
 now on their march from Connecticut to Ticonderoga, should form 
 part of the army say one thousand men; five hundred men to 
 be sent from New York, five hundred of Colonel Arnold s regiment, 
 including the seamen and manners on board the vessels (no Green- 
 Mountain Boys*)." 
 
 Colonel Hinman arrived with about four hundred Connecticut 
 troops, a few days after the date of this letter, having been ap 
 pointed by Governor Trumbull to the command of the lake forts, 
 in pursuance of the expressed willingness of Massachusetts to allow 
 that colony all the honor of the conquest, and to withhold all inter 
 ference in future operations in that quarter. Difficulties imme 
 diately arose between Hinman and Arnold, the latter refusing to 
 give up the command of either post, still claiming to be the chief, 
 by virtue of his commission from the Massachusetts authorities. 
 Everything pertaining to authority and discipline was thus thrown 
 
 * Arnold disliked Allen and his Green-Mountain Boys from the beginning. On the day when 
 Fort Ticonderoga was taken, he wrote to the Massachusetts committee of safety, saying: " Colonel 
 Allen is a proper man to head his own wild people, but entirely unacquainted with military service, 
 and as I am the only person who has been legally authorized to take possession of this place, I am 
 determined to insist on my right," &c. See American Archives, ii., 557. 
 
JEx. 43.] THE WRATH OF ARNOLD. 649 
 
 into confusion, and Allen and Warner, with a greater portion of 
 the Green-Mountain Boys returned home, the term of the enlist 
 ment of the latter having expired. 
 
 While Arnold was exhibiting these arrogant assumptions, and 
 meditating glorious schemes for the future ; and while gorgeous 
 dreams of personal aggrandizement were created by his fancy, 
 measures that would humble his pride, and cause those dreams 
 to dissolve like vapor, were in preparation. Full details of all 
 the proceedings on the lake had been sent by messengers to the 
 legislatures of Massachusetts and Connecticut, and the conduct of 
 Arnold, who was haughty and quarrelsome, was portrayed in a very 
 unfavorable light. These defects in his character the chief causes 
 of his subsequent degradation hid from view and sympath} r his 
 patriotic zeal and rare energy ; and while his faults were magnified, 
 his virtues were overlooked. The confidence of the Massachusetts 
 provincial Congress in Arnold was partially withdrawn, and a com 
 mittee of inquiry was appointed to proceed to Lake Champlain, 
 and investigate charges made against their colonel. 
 
 Arnold was at Crown Point when the committee arrived. Unsus 
 picious of the nature of their errand, he received them with great 
 courtesy and cheerfulness, and was enthusiastic in his discourses 
 respecting his plans for the future, and his expected victories. 
 When he was informed of the object of their visit, his indignation 
 was fiercely aroused. Conscious of having performed good ser 
 vice, he had expected their approbation; now that they stood 
 before him as inquisitors, on exparte accusations, his courtesy 
 was changed to expressions of scorn. He demanded a sight of 
 their instructions, and when he perceived that, after acquainting 
 themselves with his " spirit, capacity, and conduct," they were au 
 thorized to order his return to Massachusetts to give a full account 
 of himself, if they should think proper ; and that in the event of his 
 remaining, he was to be subservient to Colonel Hinman, who had 
 been ordered from Connecticut to take command at Ticonderoga, he 
 became furious. He declared, with terrible oaths, that he would be 
 second to no man ; and throwing up his commission, he discharged 
 
G50 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 his men on the spot. These became indignant in turn. Some of 
 them refused to serve under any other leader, and others threat 
 ened to sail for St. John, independent of all authority. The storm 
 of passion was at length allayed by the judicious management of 
 the committee, and Arnold returned to Cambridge, uttering loud 
 complaints of ill usage by the provincial Congress of Massachusetts. 
 Colonel Allen, also ambitious of personal renown, and filled with 
 patriotic zeal, had, meanwhile, addressed a characteristic letter to 
 the provincial Congress of New York, several days previous to the 
 date of Arnold s to the continental Congress. It was written at 
 Crown Point, on the second of June. After referring to what 
 had already been accomplished on the lake, he said : " If in those 
 achievements there be anything honorary, the subjects of your 
 government, namely, the New Hampshire settlers, are justly enti 
 tled to a large share, as they had a great majority of the soldiery, 
 as well as the command in making those acquisitions ; and, as you 
 justify and approve the same, I expect you already have, or soon 
 will lay before the grand continental Congress the great disadvan 
 tage it must inevitably be to the colonies to evacuate Lake Cham- 
 plain, and give up to the enemies of our country those invaluable 
 acquisitions, the key either of Canada or of our own country, 
 according to which party holds the same in possession, and makes a 
 proper improvement of it. The- key is ours, as yet, and provided 
 the colonies would suddenly push an army of two or three thousand 
 men into Canada, they might make a conquest of all that would 
 oppose them, in the extensive province of Quebec, unless reinforce 
 ments from England should prevent it. Such a division would 
 weaken General Gage, or insure us Canada. I wish to God, Amer 
 ica would, at this critical juncture, exert herself agreeably to the 
 indignity offered her by a tyrannical ministry. She might rise on 
 eagle s wings, and mount up to glory, freedom, and immortal honor, 
 if she did but know and exert her strength. Fame is now hover 
 ing over her head. A vast continent must now sink to slavery, 
 poverty, horror, and bondage, or rise to unconquerable freedom, 
 immense wealth, inexpressible felicity, and immortal fame. I would 
 
fa?. 43.] PROPOSED INVASION OF CANADA. 651 
 
 lay my life on it, that with fifteen hundred men I could take Mon 
 treal. Provided I could be thus furnished, and if an army could 
 take the field, it would be no insuperable difficulty to take Quebec. 
 
 " This object should be pursued, though it should take ten thou 
 sand men, for England can not spare but a certain number of her 
 troops ; nay, she has but a small number that are disciplined, and 
 it is long as it is broad, the more that are sent to Quebec, the less 
 they can send to Boston, or any other part of the continent. And 
 there will be this unspeakable advantage in directing the war into 
 Canada, that, instead of turning the Canadians and Indians against 
 us, as is wrongly suggested by many, it would unavoidably attach 
 and connect them to our interest. Our friends in Canada can never 
 help us, until we first help them, except in a passive or inactive 
 manner. There are now about seven hundred regular troops in 
 Canada." 
 
 Colonel Allen then suggested the propriety of making a stand at 
 the low, fortified island of Nuts (Isle aux Noix), about fifteen miles 
 above St. John, if an immediate invasion of Canada should be con 
 sidered premature. The chief advantage of such a measure, he 
 said, would be better to secure the northern frontier, and the friend 
 ship and co-operation of the Indians, and to allow necessary incur 
 sions into Canada. He also proposed the raising of a regiment of 
 rangers, which, he averred, he could easily do himself; and con 
 cluded by saying : " Probably you may think this an impertinent 
 proposal. It is truly the first favor I ever asked of the govern 
 ment, and, if granted, I shall be zealously ambitious to conduct for 
 the best good of my country, and the honor of the government." 
 He addressed a similar letter to Governor Trumbull. 
 
 This was the first distinctly uttered proposition to invade Canada. 
 No one had yet ventured to suggest a movement so bold and haz 
 ardous. In fact, the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, as 
 we have seen, startled the continental Congress and the local au 
 thorities of New York. While they approved of the act, they 
 were perplexed to know what to do with their prizes, or what 
 future movements to make in that quarter. When Allen applied 
 
G5-3 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 to the Albany committee for men and provisions, to enable him to 
 maintain his conquests, that committee, fearing the horrors of civil 
 war on the northern frontier of their province, asked the New York 
 committee for advice. The latter, equally perplexed and cautious, 
 referred the subject to the continental Congress; and we have 
 already seen how cautiously that body proceeded in the matter on 
 the first of June, in deprecating any attempt to invade Canada. 
 
 If these actions and expressions of the representatives of the 
 people reflected the sentiments of their constituents, Colonel Allen s 
 letter must have appeared bold and injudicious, if not preposterous. 
 But a change in the opinions of the public councils soon appeared, 
 and the wisdom and far-seeing sagacity of the leader of the Green- 
 Mountain Boys were speedily made manifest, but not until it was too 
 late to second his suggestions to the best advantage. This change 
 was wrought partly by advices respecting hostile preparations in 
 Canada, but chiefly by the representations of Colonels Allen and 
 Warner, who, on retiring from Ticonderoga, had proceeded directly 
 to Philadelphia, for the purpose of procuring pay for their dis 
 banded soldiers, and to solicit authority to raise a new regiment in 
 the New Hampshire Grants. 
 
 The appearance of the heroes of the North produced quite a 
 sensation in Philadelphia. They were introduced upon the floor 
 of Congress and permitted to make their communications to that 
 body orally. Allen talked long and earnestly in his quaint style 
 and slow-spoken sentences, respecting affairs on the northern fron 
 tier, the dangers to be apprehended when the British regulars in 
 Canada should be reinforced, and the great necessity for an imme 
 diate invasion of the province, while the arm of the government 
 was weak, and the friendship of the people for the revolted colo 
 nists was undoubted. His words had a powerful effect ; and it is a 
 notable fact, that on the very day when Colonel Arnold s letter, in 
 which he expressed an ill-natured desire that " no Green-Mountain 
 Boys" should be employed in invading Canada, was received,* the 
 
 * Arnold kept up a show of friendship toward Allen, while he secretly disliked him ; and that 
 officer was actually the bearer of this very letter of Arnold s to Congress, in which the Green Moun- 
 
JE-v. 43.] OUTLAWS BECOME PATRIOTS. 653 
 
 continental Congress "Resolved, That it be recommended to the con 
 vention of New York, that they, consulting with General Schuyler, 
 employ in the army to be raised for the defence of America, those 
 called Green-Mountain Boys, under such officers as the said G-reeiv- 
 Mountain Boys shall choose." Their wishes in regard to pay were 
 also complied with, and Allen and Warner, with light hearts, set 
 off for New York, to present themselves before the provincial Con 
 gress. 
 
 We have mentioned the difficulties between the authorities of 
 the province of New York and the inhabitants of the New Hamp 
 shire Grants, which had continued several years before the breaking 
 out of the Revolution, and in which both Allen and Warner were ac 
 tive participants.* They were outlawed by an act of the New York 
 legislature, and that attainder had not been wiped out by a repeal 
 of the act. This fact embarrassed the provincial Congress (the 
 successor of the legislature), when Allen and Warner presented 
 themselves at the door and asked for admission. These outlaws 
 now came as patriots and heroes, engaged in the same cause with 
 these legislators, and honored by the continental Congress. But 
 there were members among those legislators who had taken a very 
 active part, personally, in the controversy, and they were unwilling 
 to give their old enemies a friendly greeting. Their prejudices, 
 and the scruples of others who could not recognize the propriety 
 of holding public conference with men whom the law of the land 
 had declared to be rioters and felons, produced a strong opposition 
 to their admission to the hall. Debates upon the subject ran high, 
 when Captain Sears, the stanch leader of the Sons of Liberty, and 
 then a very influential man in New York, arose and moved " that 
 Ethan Allen be admitted to the floor of the house." It was carried 
 by a large majority, as was also a similar one in regard to Warner. 
 The old feud was instantly healed ; and the New York assembly 
 
 tain Boys were so unfavorably alluded to. The name of the writer was cautiously suppressed in 
 the journals, in which the record appears as follows : "A letter from Crown Point, dated June 10th, 
 was laid before the Congress, and read. Information being given, that the two officers who brought 
 the letter were at the door, and had some things of importance to communicate ; Ordered, That they 
 be introduced, and they were introduced." Journals of Congress, i., 117. 
 * See note on page 523. 
 
654 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 decreed that a regiment of Green-Mountain Boys, five hundred 
 strong, should be raised. The matter was then referred to General 
 Schuyler, who proclaimed the resolution in the New Hampshire 
 Grants. Allen, grateful for this action, wrote a letter of thanks to 
 the provincial Congress. "When I reflect on the unhappy contro 
 versy," he said, "which has many years subsisted between the 
 government of New York and the settlers on the New Hampshire 
 Grants, and also contemplate the friendship and union that have 
 lately taken place, in making a united resistance against ministerial 
 vengeance and slavery, I can not but indulge fond hopes of a recon 
 ciliation. To promote this salutary end I shall contribute my in 
 fluence, assuring you, that your respectful treatment, not only to 
 Mr. Warner and myself, but to the Green-Mountain Boys in general, 
 in forming them into a battalion, is by them duly regarded ; and I 
 will be responsible, that they will reciprocate this favor by boldly 
 hazarding their lives, if need be, in the common cause of America." 
 The change in the views of the continental Congress was imme 
 diately visible. On the twenty-seventh of June, that body, by 
 unanimous resolution, ordered General Schuyler, if he should " find 
 it practicable, and not disagreeable to the Canadians, immediately 
 to take possession of St. John and Montreal, and pursue such other 
 measures in Canada as might have a tendency to promote the 
 peace and security of these provinces." These were mild and 
 cautious words, but they were well understood as an express order 
 for the invasion of Canada ; and on the eighteenth of July, General 
 Schuyler arrived at Ticonderoga, and took formal command of the 
 northern army. 
 
JET. 43.1 TRYON COUNTY. 655 
 
 CHAPTER LVI. 
 
 STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE NORTHERN DEPARTMENT TRTON COUNTY SCHUYLER 
 
 AT TICONDEROGA PICTURE OF THE ARMY TARDINESS OF THE GATHERING 
 
 TROOPS GENERAL MONTGOMERY ALLEN AND THE GREEN-MOUNTAIN BOYS 
 
 ALLEN ACCEPTED AS A VOLUNTEER AGENT SENT TO CANADA SCHUYLER s 
 
 COMPLAINTS MAJOR BROWN S REPORT PREPARATIONS TO INVADE CANADA 
 
 CONFERENCE WITH INDIANS WASHINGTON S PLAN MOVEMENTS OF MONT 
 GOMERY ILLNESS OF SCHUYLER HEADQUARTERS AT ISLE AUX NOIX AD 
 DRESS TO THE CANADIANS ADVANCE TOWARD ST. JOHN. 
 
 EVERYTHING connected with the republican cause in northern New 
 York, wore a dark aspect when General Schuyler took formal com 
 mand of the army of the North, on the eighteenth day of July. 
 When on the point of leaving Saratoga for Ticonderoga, he received 
 letters from Tryon county that were truly alarming. That county 
 was the almost undefined region of New York beyond the western 
 boundary of the present Schenectady county, and included the 
 Mohawk, Schoharie, and Cherry valley settlements, and the country 
 of the Six Nations. For some time, Guy Johnson, in the absence 
 of Sir John, who had gone to Canada, had been holding councils 
 with tribes of this confederacy, stirring them up to make war upon 
 the disloyal white people ; and now intelligence reached General 
 Schuyler that full eight hundred savages were about to coalesce 
 with the Scotch Highlanders already mentioned, and other tories, 
 in making forays upon the republican settlers, and in cutting off 
 supplies for the army on Lake Champlain. 
 
 This threatening danger detained General Schuyler for two or 
 three days, when a letter from the committee of safety at Albany, 
 assured him that many reports were exaggerations, and he pro 
 ceeded to Ticonderoga. There he found everything in a wretched 
 condition. The supplies were meagre, and the army but a handful. 
 
656 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 The garrison, under Colonel Hinman, was about twelve hundred 
 strong, consisting chiefly of Connecticut troops, some New York 
 volunteers, and a few Green-Mountain Boys.* These were quite 
 undisciplined, and the Connecticut troops especially, were extremely 
 insubordinate. Indeed Colonel Hinman appeared to be only nomi 
 nally commander of the garrison, for very few of his men seemed 
 disposed to obey him. Schuyler was a thorough disciplinarian, 
 naturally authoritative, and precise in all his arrangements, and the 
 utterly confused state of affairs were immediately apparent and 
 greatly annoying to him. On the day of his arrival at Ticonderoga 
 he wrote to General Washington, and in a few words he gave a 
 graphic picture of the state of things in that section. 
 
 " You will expect," General Schuyler wrote, " that I should say 
 something about this place and the troops here. Not one earthly 
 thing for offence or defence has been done. The commanding 
 officer had no orders ; he only came to reinforce the garrison, and 
 he expected the general. (But this, my dear general, as well as 
 what follows in this paragraph, I pray may be entre nous, for reasons 
 I need not suggest.) About ten last night I arrived at the landing- 
 place, the north end of Lake George ; a post occupied by a captain 
 and one hundred men. A sentinel, on being informed that I was 
 in the boat, quitted his post to go and awake the guard, consisting 
 of three men, in which he had no success. I walked up and came 
 to another, a sergeant s guard. Here the sentinel challenged, but 
 suffered me to come up to him ; the whole guard, like the first, in 
 soundest sleep. With a penknife, only, I could have cut off both 
 guards, and then have set fire to the block-house, destroyed the 
 stores, and starved the people here. At this post I had pointedly 
 recommended vigilance and care, as all stores for Fort George must, 
 necessarily, be landed there. But I hope to get the better of this 
 
 * On the fifteenth, General Schuyler sent to Washington a return of the troops in the colony of 
 New York, which were under his command. It was acknowledged to be imperfect, but was the 
 best he could prepare from the reports he had received. It showed the whole number to be less 
 than twenty-eight hundred, fit for duty. Of these, there were fifteen hundred Connecticut troops 
 with General Wooster on the seaboard ; nine hundred and seventy-three from the same colony, 
 under Colonel Hinman, at Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and Fort George ; and about two hundred 
 Massachusetts troops at these posts 
 
JET. 43.] CONDITION OF THE ARMY. 657 
 
 inattention. The officers and men are all good-looking people, and 
 decent in their deportment, and I really believe will make good 
 soldiers, as soon I can get the better of this nonchalance of theirs. 
 Bravery, I believe, they are far from wanting."* 
 
 Washington could fully sympathize with General Schuyler, for 
 his own experience at Cambridge, gave him a keen perception of 
 the feelings of his friend. " I can easily judge of your difficulties 
 in introducing order arid discipline into troops, who have, from 
 their infancy, imbibed ideas of the most contrary kind," he wrote 
 to Schuyler on the twenty-eighth. " It would be far beyond the 
 compass of a letter, for me to describe the situation of things here 
 on my arrival. Perhaps you will only be able to judge of it from 
 my assuring you, that mine must be a portrait at full length, of 
 what you have had in miniature. Confusion and discord reigned in 
 every department, which, in a little time, must have ended either 
 in the separation of the army, or fatal contests with one another.... 
 However, we mend every day, and I flatter myself, that in a little 
 time we shall work up these raw materials into a good manufacture. 
 I must recommend to you, what I endeavor to practise myself, 
 patience and perseverance." 
 
 This communication from the commander-in-chief was consoling, 
 and on the sixth of August, Schuyler thanked him for his " very 
 kind and polite letter." " I foresaw," he wrote, " that you would 
 have an Herculean labor, in order to introduce that proper spirit 
 of discipline and subordination, which is the very soul of an army ;" 
 and added "I can easily conceive that my difficulties are only a 
 faint semblance of yours. Yes, my general, I will strive to copy 
 your bright example, and patiently and steadily persevere in that 
 line which only can promise the wished-for reformation." 
 
 In many respects, these eminent men were alike, and neither of 
 them allowed small matters to disturb their equanimity, or to 
 become obstacles in their path of duty. The character of the 
 materials out of which Schuyler was compelled to form an invading 
 army did not discourage him, but he became exceedingly impatient 
 
 * Schuyler s MS. Letter Books. 
 
 42 
 
653 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 because of the tardiness of the gathering of the troops destined for 
 Canada. Those of Connecticut, under General Wooster, who had 
 been for several weeks in the vicinity of New York, and on Long 
 Island, were very tardy in marching northward, while the New York 
 levies were quite as slow in their movements. General Montgom 
 ery, Schuyler s lieutenant, was at Albany, the appointed place of 
 rendezvous, at the middle of July, and yet it was the twenty-first 
 of August before he was able to reach Ticonderoga with the gath 
 ered troops. There had been equal tardiness in the formation of 
 the regiment of Green-Mountain Boys ; and the restless Ethan 
 Allen, in a letter to Governor Trumbull, expressed that impatience, 
 while it betrayed his ambition. " Were it not," he wrote, " that the 
 grand continental Congress had totally incorporated the Green- 
 Mountain Boys into a battalion under certain regulations and com 
 mand, I would forthwith advance them into Canada, and invest 
 Montreal, exclusive of any help from the colonies ; though under 
 present circumstances I would not, for my right arm, act without 
 or contrary to order. If my fond zeal for reducing the king s 
 fortresses, or destroying or imprisoning his troops in Canada be the 
 result of enthusiasm, I hope and expect the wisdom of the conti 
 nent will treat it as such ; and, on the other hand, if it proceed 
 from sound policy, that the plan will be adopted."* 
 
 At that time a feud had separated Colonels Allen and Warner, 
 and their respective friends became antagonistic partisans. This 
 feud caused some delay in the enlistments of the Green-Mountain 
 Boys, and their election of officers did not take place until the 
 twenty-seventh of July. Allen had felt no doubt of his being 
 chosen the commander of the regiment, but a change in the public 
 feeling appeared. Grave men openly expressed doubts of his dis 
 cretion ; and at the election, he was entirely passed by. They 
 omitted to elect a colonel, but gave Warner their suffrages as lieu- 
 tenani>colonel of the regiment, much to the disappointment and 
 mortification of Allen, who, in a letter to Governor Trumbull, soon 
 afterward, said : " Notwithstanding my zeal and success in my coun- 
 
 * American Archives, ii., 1649. 
 
M-r. 43.] COLONEL ALLEN A VOLUNTEER. 659 
 
 try s cause, the old farmers in the New Hampshire Grants, who do 
 not incline to go to war, have met in a committee-meeting, and in 
 their "nomination of officers for the regiment of Green-Mountain 
 Boys, have wholly omitted me."* When this decision w r as made 
 known to General Montgomery, that officer communicated it to 
 General Schuyler, saying: "it is a change which will be very 
 acceptable to our convention. ^ Allen, the bold outlaw, whose 
 sins against the authorities of New York were many and heinous 
 in their eyes, was very unpopular with the New York convention, 
 notwithstanding its recent friendly reception of that officer and 
 Colonel Warner. Perhaps this consideration had much to do with 
 the result of the election. 
 
 This neglect did not cool the patriotism nor check the love of 
 adventure of Colonel Allen. He immediately repaired to Ticon- 
 deroga, and offered his services to General Schuyler as a volunteer. 
 That officer had good cause for disliking Allen, because of his 
 former hostility to the authorities of New York ; for in the events 
 of that period, Schuyler had been an active participant. Being 
 aware of the ambitious spirit of the brave applicant, his love of 
 adventure, his hatred of restraint, and his lack of discretion, the 
 general hesitated, for he doubted whether he could keep the rest> 
 less Vermonter within due bounds. He finally concluded to retain 
 Allen for pioneer duties on the frontier, and in that capacity he 
 was active and judicious until, as the result of one of his daring 
 adventures, he became a prisoner in irons. 
 
 On the twenty-third of July, General Schuyler despatched Major 
 John Brown into Canada, as a confidential agent. He had volun 
 teered his services and they were gladly accepted. He was an 
 American, resided on the Sorel or Richelieu river, was well ac 
 quainted with the Canadians and their country, and was very 
 popular among them. He was commissioned to ascertain the real 
 temper of the people, to collect information respecting the number 
 and condition of the British forces there, and to judge in what 
 light the Canadians would view an invasion of their province, by 
 
 * American Archives. t MS. Letter, August 4, 1775. 
 
CGO WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 an attempt to take St. John from the British. Other secret agents 
 were employed by Schuyler, and before the middle of August he 
 was well informed upon the subject of inquiry. 
 
 Schuyler s army, meanwhile, had increased very slowly. The 
 country had been scorched by a drought, which rendered food for 
 draught-cattle so scarce, that the transportation of timber for boats, 
 and of provisions for the garrison, had been much delayed. " Pro 
 visions of the bread kind," Schuyler wrote to Washington, on the 
 thirty-first of July, " are scarce with me, and, therefore, I have not 
 dared to order up a thousand men that are at Albany, lest we 
 should starve here." And the tardiness of the New York provin 
 cial Congress in providing means, was very marked. " Not a man 
 from this colony has yet joined me," General Schuyler wrote to the 
 commander-in-chief on the sixth of August, " except those raised 
 and paid by the committee of Albany ; nor have I yet received 
 the necessary supplies, which I begged the New York provincial 
 Congress to send me, as long ago as the third of last month, and 
 which the continental Congress had desired them to do." Eight 
 days afterward, Major Brown, on his return from Canada, wrote to 
 Governor Trumbull, from Crown Point, and said : " It seems that 
 some evil planet has reigned in this quarter, this year, for notwith 
 standing the season is far advanced, and a fine opportunity presents 
 of making ourselves masters of a country with the greatest ease, 
 which, I fear, may cost us much blood and treasure, if delayed, 
 the New-Yorkers have acted a droll part, and are determined to 
 defeat us, if in their power ; they have failed in men and supplies."* 
 Major Brown returned to Ticonderoga on the fifteenth of August, 
 and reported seven hundred regular troops in Canada, three hun 
 dred of whom were at St. John, a small garrison at Quebec, and 
 the remainder at Montreal, Chamblee, and some posts further up 
 the St. Lawrence. He had learned that Sir John Johnson was at 
 
 * The omission of New York to raise men, at that particular time, ought not to be a cause for 
 unqualified censure, for it had been mutually stipulated that Connecticut was to furnish troops, and 
 New York supplies. A little later, when Schuyler was pressing for reinforcements, tht3 New York 
 committee of safety, acting in the recess of the Congress, replied to him despairingly : " Our troops 
 can be of no service to you; they have no arms, clothes, blankets, or ammunition, the officers no 
 commissions, our treasury no money, and ourselves in debt." See Life of Gouverneur Morris, i., 60. 
 
EMPLOYMENT OF INDIANS. 661 
 
 Montreal, with almost three hundred of his tenants from the Mo 
 hawk country, and some Indians, and was endeavoring to persuade 
 the Caghnawgas, near that city, to join him. Two large row- 
 galleys, mounting twelve guns each, were on the stocks and nearly 
 finished, at St. John ; and there were two batteries, mounting nine 
 guns each, and other strong outworks, at that post. He also re 
 ported, that the Canadians were unwilling to take up arms for the 
 colonists, but that they longed to see a continental army penetrate 
 their country and relieve them from British rule. The Indians, he 
 was assured, would go with the Canadians ; and he concluded his 
 report by the expression of an opinion, that the conquest of Can 
 ada, if undertaken at once, might be easily achieved. 
 
 With these facts before him, Schuyler determined, even with a 
 small force, inadequately supplied, to push forward as soon as he 
 should receive orders to do so. "I am prepared," he wrote to 
 Washington, " to move against the enemy, unless your excellency 
 and Congress should direct otherwise." While waiting for a reply, 
 he proceeded to Albany to hold a conference with chiefs of the Six 
 Nations and of the Caghnawgas, leaving the command of the 
 army at Ticonderoga with General Montgomery. This conference 
 had been appointed by General Schuyler, as one of the commis 
 sioners for Indians affairs in the northern, department, and its results 
 were immediately beneficial.* While there he received a letter 
 from Washington, giving him information of a council he had just 
 held at Cambridge, with the chiefs of the Caghnawga and St. 
 Francis tribes, who had offered, in behalf of their respective people, 
 to join the Americans in the invasion of Canada. He requested 
 
 * The commissioners for the northern department were Major-General Philip Schuyler, Major 
 Joseph Hawley, Turbot Francis, Oliver Wolcott, and Volckert P. Douw. The council above re 
 ferred to commenced its sittings on the twenty-fifth of August. The results of .that council were 
 very satisfactory to both parties. After a consultation of some days, during which time many 
 speeches were made, the Indians declared their intentions to remain neutral and peaceable during 
 the impending war. The reply of the commissioners was conciliatory. After some unfinished 
 business had been transacted, the council closed on the second of September, and the Indians 
 departed, laded with many presents. But the greater portion of the Six Nations were soon drawn 
 into an attitude of hostility to the republicans, through the influence of Sir John Johnson. For a 
 time, however, the people of Tryon county felt secure under the protection of the treaty of neu 
 trality agreed to at Albany, and the committee of safety were enabled to do much in preparing fur 
 defence while that sense of security wa^ felt. 
 
662 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 General Schuyler to inform him concerning the intentions of Gov 
 ernor Carleton with respect to the Indians, for he was averse to 
 employing the savages, unless compelled to do so by the necessity 
 of meeting Indians with Indians, as he had advised when command 
 ing on the Virginia frontier many years before. At the same time 
 he communicated a plan which he had been contemplating for 
 many days, by which the British forces in Canada would necessa 
 rily become divided, in the event of an invasion by way of Montreal 
 and St. John. That plan contemplated an expedition against 
 Quebec, by way of the Kennebec and Chaudiere rivers, and that 
 would make a diversion distracting to Carleton. " The few whom 
 I have consulted on the subject," Washington wrote, " approve it 
 much, but the final determination is deferred until I hear from you. 
 You will, therefore, by the return of this messenger, inform me of 
 your ultimate resolution.... Not a moment s time is to be lost in 
 the preparations for this enterprise, if the advices from you favor it. 
 With the utmost expedition the season will be considerably ad 
 vanced, so that you will dismiss the express as soon as possible." 
 
 General Schuyler was delighted with this plan. After heartily 
 approving of it, he \vrote, in his reply : " Your excellency will easily 
 conceive that I felt happy to learn your intentions, and only wished 
 that the thought had struck you sooner."* Concerning Carleton s 
 operations, he expressed his convictions, that he would do all in his 
 power to induce the savages to join the British, and added "I 
 should, therefore, not hesitate a moment to employ any Indians 
 that might be willing to join us." 
 
 While General Schuyler was at Albany, Montgomery received 
 intelligence from a scout, that the armed galleys at St. John were 
 completed, and that Carleton was preparing to send an expedition 
 into the lake. Major Brown, who was well acquainted with affairs 
 in that region, urged Montgomery to proceed at once and prevent 
 the expedition from coming out of the Sorel. No time was to be 
 lost ; and without waiting for orders from General Schuyler, Mont 
 gomery prepared his little flotilla of batteaux and a schooner, at 
 
 * Schuylcr s MS. Letter Books. 
 
JR-r. 43.] CHARACTER OF MONTGOMERY. 663 
 
 Crown Point, to proceed down the lake, and make a defensive 
 stand at Me aux Noix. "I am so much of Brown s opinion," he 
 wrote to his general, " that I think it absolutely necessary to move 
 down the lake with the utmost despatch. Should the enemy get 
 their vessels into the lake, tis over with us for this summer; for 
 which reason I have ordered two twelve-pounders to be gotten 
 ready to-morrow, if possible, and* iron-w r ork to make logs fast 
 together for a boom ; and hope to be able, if we can get down in 
 time, to prevent their entrance into the lake by taking post at the 
 Isle aux Noix. This intelligence has involved me in a great dilem 
 ma. The moving without your orders I do n t like ; but on th 
 other hand the prevention of the enemy is of the utmost conse 
 quence. If I must err, I wish to be on the right side. The express 
 will go night and day, and I hope you will join us with all expe 
 dition. Let me entreat you (if you can possibly), to follow us in 
 a whaleboat, leaving somebody to bring forward the troops and 
 artillery. It will give the men great confidence in your spirit and 
 activity. How necessary this confidence is to a general I need not 
 tell you." " I most heartily wish this may meet with your appro 
 bation," he added, " and be assured I have your honor and reputa 
 tion highly at heart, as of the greatest consequence to the public 
 service ; that all my ambition is to do my duty in a subordinate 
 capacity, without the least ungenerous intention of lessening that 
 merit so justly your due, and which I omit no opportunity of set 
 ting in its fullest light.* 
 
 This letter, so decisive, frank, and generous, is a fair index of the 
 character of the noble Montgomery, whom Schuyler loved as a 
 brother. His conduct on this occasion, vindicated as it w r as by sub 
 sequent events, was highly approved by his commander ; and there 
 was not a moment during the whole campaign that followed, when 
 Schuyler s unquestioning confidence in the judgment, discretion, 
 and military skill of his lieutenant, was withdrawn. Montgomery 
 had entered the field as a patriot, and not merely as a soldier ; for 
 no expectations of emolument or military renown could have 
 
 * Autograph Letter. 
 
C64 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 drawn him from the delights of rural pursuits on the banks of the 
 Hudson, and the society of a young wife, and loving friends. On 
 accepting his appointment, he had said to a friend "It is an 
 event which must put an end, for awhile, perhaps for ever, to the 
 quiet scheme of life I had prescribed for myself; for, though en 
 tirely unexpected and undesired by me, the will of an oppressed 
 people, compelled to choose between liberty and slavery, must be 
 obeyed." He had resolved to do his duty well ; and when he gave 
 his wife the parting kiss, he said "You shall never blush for your 
 Montgomery." 
 
 * On receiving Montgomery s letter, Schuyler immediately set out 
 for Ticonderoga, and arrived there on the evening of the thirtieth, 
 very sick with a bilious fever that had seized him on the way. 
 He was too ill to proceed in a whaleboat : indeed, he was too ill to 
 move at all with comfort or safety. Yet, after ordering the artillery 
 to be forwarded, and other troops at Ticonderoga to follow, he 
 journeyed on the next day, lying upon a bed in a covered flat-boat, 
 and on the fourth of September, he overtook Montgomery and his 
 flotilla at the Isle la Motte. Montgomery had been detained at 
 Crown Point by a " barbarous north wind," until the morning of 
 the thirtieth, when he had proceeded down the lake with a thou 
 sand men as many as his small supply of boats could carry. 
 
 At Isle la Motte General Schuyler assumed the command of the 
 little invading army, though confined to his bed ; and on the even 
 ing of the fourth the little flotilla arrived at Isle aux Noix, a low, 
 fertile island of about eighty-five acres, at the entrance of the 
 Sorel from Lake Champlain. It was an important point, and had 
 been quite strongly fortified during the French and Indian war. 
 The small garrison fled at the approach of the Americans ; and on 
 their arrival the latter fired three cannon, which was a precon 
 certed signal to apprize the Canadians (among whom Major Brown, 
 Captain Remember Baker, and others, had established friendly rela 
 tions) of that auspicious event. There General Schuyler estab 
 lished his Jiead quarters, and on the fifth of September, after making 
 preparations for an immediate attack upon St. John, he issued 
 
^T. 43.] ADDRESS TO THE CANADIANS. 665 
 
 the following address to the inhabitants of Canada, in the French 
 language : 
 
 " FRIENDS AND COUNTRYMEN : The various causes that have driven 
 the ancient British colonies in America to arms, have been so fully 
 set forth in the several petitions, papers, letters, and declarations, 
 published by the grand Congress, that our Canadian brethren, at the 
 extirpation of whose liberty, as well as ours, the various schemes of 
 a cruel ministry are directly tending, can not fail of being informed. 
 And we can not doubt that you are pleased that the grand Con 
 gress have ordered an army into Canada to expel from thence, if 
 possible, those British troops who, now acting under the order of a 
 despotic ministry, would wish to enslave their countrymen. This 
 measure, necessary as it is, the Congress would not have entered 
 on, but in the fullest confidence that it would be perfectly agree 
 able to you ; for, judging of your feelings by their own, they could 
 not conceive that anything but the force of necessity could induce 
 you tamely to bear the insult and ignominy that are daily imposed 
 on you, or that you could calmly sit by and see those chains for 
 ging which are intended to bind you, your posterity and ours, in one 
 common and eternal slavery. To secure you and ourselves from 
 such a dreadful bondage; to prevent the effects that might follow 
 from the ministerial troops remaining in Canada ; to restore to you 
 those rights which every subject of the British empire, from the 
 highest to the very lowest order, whatever his religious sentiments 
 may be, is entitled to, are the only views of the Congress. You 
 will readily believe me, when I say, that the Congress have given 
 me the most positive orders to cherish every Canadian and every 
 friend to the cause of liberty, and sacredly to guard their property ; 
 and such is the confidence I have in the good disposition of my 
 army, that I do not believe I shall have occasion to punish a single 
 offence committed against you. 
 
 " A treaty of friendship has just been concluded with the Six Na 
 tions at Albany, and I am furnished with an ample present for their 
 Caghnawga brethren and the other Canadians tribes. If any of 
 them have lost their lives, it was done contrary to orders, and by 
 
606 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 scoundrels ill-affected to our glorious cause. I shall take great 
 pleasure in burying the dead, and wiping away the tears of their 
 surviving relations, which you will communicate to them."* 
 
 Supplied with copies of this address, Colonel Allen and Major 
 Brown, with interpreters, were despatched for Canada the next 
 morning, to reconnoitre the country between the Sorel and the 
 St. Lawrence, to distribute the friendly paper, and to ascertain 
 the feelings of the people. This was a delicate and somewhat 
 perilous mission, for the British troops, alarmed by the presence of 
 the invaders, were vigilant, and the Canadians might have been as 
 treacherous as they were timid and fickle. On the same day prep 
 arations were made for an immediate attack upon St. John. 
 
 * This referred to an unhappy circumstance which had occurred a short time previously, as 
 related by General Schuyler in a letter to members of the committee of safety, at Albany, written 
 from Ticonderoga on his dictation, on the day that he proceeded down the lake. He says : " Cap 
 tain Baker, of the unenlisted Green-Mountain Boys, having been heretofore employed by me on a 
 scout to Canada, with the view to gain intelligence, and with express orders not to molest either 
 Canadians or Indians, lately went into that country without my leave, with a party of five men, and 
 discovering a boat manned hv an equal number of Indians (which, from authentic intelligence sent 
 me from Canada, I learn were of the Caghnawga tribe), attempted to fire on them, but his gun 
 missing, and he putting his head from behind the tree where he stood in order to hammer his flint, 
 received a shot in his forehead and instantly expired, upon which his party returned the fire, and 
 unfortunately killed two of the Indians." That event offended the Indians, and some of the Cagh- 
 nawgas joined the British. It was important to conciliate the tribe, and for that reason the last 
 clause in Schuyler s address was inserted. 
 
/El-. 43.] MOVEMENTS AGAINST ST. JOHN. 667 
 
 CHAPTER LVII. 
 
 MOVEMENTS AGAINST ST. JOHN AMERICANS ATTACKED SECRET INFORMATION 
 
 COUNCIL OF WAR RETURN TO ISLE AUX NOIX SICKNESS OF SCHUYLER 
 
 HE RETURNS TO TICONDEROGA ARRIVAL OF REINFORCEMENTS MONTGOMERY 
 
 PROCEEDS AGAINST ST. JOHN A SKIRMISH PREPARATIONS FOR A SIEGE 
 
 INSUBORDINATION ETHAN ALLEN IN CANADA HIS ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE MON 
 TREAL HIS DEFEAT AND CAPTIVITY THE MEASURE CENSURED CHARACTER 
 
 OF THE ARMY CAPTURE OF CHAMBLEE BRITISH REPULSED AT LONGUEUIL 
 
 AND SOREL SURRENDER OF ST. JOHN. 
 
 ALTHOUGH the invading army fit for service at the Isle aux Noix 
 did not exceed a thousand men. General Sehuyler resolved to 
 proceed against St. John immediately, hoping the measure would 
 have a good effect upon the Canadians, and induce many to join 
 him. Accordingly the invaders moved slowly down the lake in 
 boats, early on the morning of the sixth of September. When 
 within two miles of St. John, a cannonade was opened upon them 
 from the fort, but without effect. They pushed forward half a mile 
 farther and landed in a deep, close swamp, where an advanced 
 party of Connecticut troops had a skirmish with some tories and 
 Indians, which resulted in a trifling loss on both sides. This made 
 the Americans more cautious; and on the approach of night the 
 troops were concentrated at one point, where they cast up an 
 intrenchment to defend themselves in the event of another attack. 
 That evening a gentleman of the neighborhood came secretly into 
 the camp and informed General Sehuyler of the exact state of 
 affairs in that vicinity. 
 
 There were no regular troops in Canada, he said, except the 
 twenty-sixth regiment, under the command of General Richard 
 Prescott, most of whom were at St. John and Chamblee. There 
 were one hundred Indians at St. John ; and quite a large body of 
 
668 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 ! 
 
 savages were with Sir John Johnson near Montreal. The works at 
 St. John, he said, were completed and amply furnished with cannon 
 and stores ; and one of the armed vessels nearly ready to sail, was 
 pierced for sixteen guns. The informant expressed his belief that 
 not one Canadian would join the Americans, but that they would 
 remain strictly neutral. He assured the general, however, that 
 they would be pleased to have a continental army penetrate the 
 province, provided the persons and property of the people should 
 remain uninjured, and gold and silver be paid for all that the troops 
 might purchase. 
 
 Impressed with the importance of this intelligence, General 
 Schuyler called a council of war on the morning of the seventh,* 
 when it was unanimously resolved, that the weak state of their 
 army and the deficiency in artillery, rendered it inexpedient to 
 attempt the siege of St. John, at that time, and that they should 
 " return without delay to the Isle aux Noix, throw a boom across 
 the channel, and erect the proper works for its defence ; there wait 
 for certain intelligence touching the intentions of the Canadians, 
 and when reinforced, send a strong detachment into the country, 
 should the Canadians favor such a design."f They then proceeded, 
 on their return, in the same order as they had advanced ; the New 
 York troops in front, the Connecticut troops next, and the row- 
 galleys in the rear. On arriving at the Isle aux Noix, at noon, 
 General Schuyler sent an account of his movements to the presi 
 dent of the continental Congress, in which he remarked "I can 
 not estimate the obligations I lay under to General Montgomery, 
 for many important services he has done and daily does, in which he 
 has had little assistance from me, as I have not enjoyed a moment s 
 health since I left Fort George. I am now so low as not to be able 
 to hold the pen."J 
 
 Every effort was now made to hasten forward reinforcements, 
 and in the course of a few days, the little army was swelled to 
 
 * The council was composed of Generals Schuyler and Montgomery, Colonel Watorbury and 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Whiting of the fifth Connecticut regiment, and Lieutenant-Colonel liitzema, 
 of the first New York regiment. 
 
 t Schuyler s Order Book. J MS. Letter Books. 
 
Mr. 43.] ILLNESS OF GENERAL SCHUYLER. 069 
 
 more than seventeen hundred men. But there was an enemy at 
 work, insidious and more dangerous than the Indians, Canadians, or 
 regulars. The Isle aux Noix is situated in the midst of a low, 
 marshy country, and the miasma of early September so poisoned 
 the troops, that before the army had been there a week, more than 
 six hundred of them were on the sick-list. The unwholesomeness 
 of the air aggravated General Schuyler s maladies, and he was 
 brought almost to the gate of death. At one time false hopes 
 would cheer him, and then the fever and the rheumatism would 
 renew their attacks and banish all expectations of a speedy recov 
 ery. Finally his complicated disorders assumed a type so alarming, 
 during the night of the fifteenth, that on the following morning he 
 gave up the command of the army to General Montgomery, and 
 left for Ticonderoga, on a bed in a covered boat, as he came. 
 
 Meanwhile, the plan for attacking St. John had been arranged by 
 Schuyler and Montgomery, to be attempted as soon as reinforce 
 ments and artillery should arrive. Some important measures con 
 cerning Canada had also been concerted. Some military move 
 ments, by small parties, had occurred, but without much effect. 
 Major Brown hacl been sent, with one hundred and fifty continen 
 tals and thirty Canadian recruits, to reconnoitre the vicinity of 
 Chamblee, and make friends of the inhabitants ; and Colonel Allen 
 had also been sent toward the St. Lawrence again, to " preach poli 
 tics," and beat up for recruits. 
 
 An hour after his departure, General Schuyler met Colonel War 
 ner, with one hundred and seventy Green-Mountain Boys, in boats, 
 on their way toward the camp. Part of the corps had mutinied 
 and deserted, and the remainder were at Crown Point. On the fol 
 lowing day, greatly exhausted, the general reached Ticonderoga, 
 whence Captain Lamb and his artillery company had just sailed 
 for Isle aux Noix. He issued orders for an immediate embarkation 
 of most of the troops at Ticonderoga, for the same destination ; 
 and on the twentieth he was well enough to write to General 
 Washington, and say : " I find myself much better, as the fever has 
 left me, and I hope soon to return where I ought and wish to be, 
 
670 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 unless a barbarous relapse should dash this cup of hope from my 
 lips." 
 
 On the day when Schuyler left the camp for Ticonderoga, Mont 
 gomery again advanced upon St. John, with one thousand men. 
 That post was now garrisoned by almost six hundred regulars and 
 two hundred Canadian militia, under the command of Major Pres 
 ton. Montgomery, with his w r hole force, landed on the west side 
 of the Sorel, a little above the fort, on the evening of the seven 
 teenth, and on the following morning, he led a corps of five hun 
 dred men, in person, down the river to the north side of the fort, 
 where the village of St. John now stands. There he met a detach 
 ment from the garrison, returning from the pursuit of a party of 
 Americans under Major Brown, whom they had just repulsed. 
 They had two field-pieces with them. These and the whole detach 
 ment might have been captured but for that insubordination, espe 
 cially of the Green-Mountain Boys, which gave Montgomery so 
 much trouble during his brief leadership in the campaign. Cau 
 tion, secrecy, and concert of action, were out of the question, and 
 the enemy, after a slight skirmish, retreated with precipitation, but 
 in safety, to the fort. Montgomery then pushed forward to the 
 junction of the roads leading respectively to Chamblee and Lon- 
 gueuil, where he left the five hundred men to form an entrenched 
 camp and cut off supplies for the fort from the interior.* He then 
 returned to his camp to send forward the light artillery, for Captain 
 Lamb, with heavier guns, had not yet arrived. 
 
 Montgomery now proceeded to invest the fort. His preparations 
 for a siege were meagre, yet he worked on cheerfully. He caused 
 a battery to be erected on a point of land that commanded the fort 
 and the shipping, and another was cast up on the east side of the 
 river, some distance below the fort. But battery cannon were 
 w r anting, and the inexperienced engineer was rendered still more 
 inefficient by unpractised artillerymen. For a week the siege went 
 on slowly, and, meanwhile, disease appeared among the troops, for 
 the ground was swampy, and the trees, small but thick, shut out 
 
 * Montgomery s despatch to General Schuyler ; Autograph Letter. 
 
.ET. 43.] MUTINOUS SPIRIT IN CAMP. G71 
 
 the sun. At this juncture Captain Lamb and his company arrived 
 with heavier artillery, and, on the twenty-sixth of September, he 
 bedded a thirteen-inch mortar near the battery on the east side of 
 the river, and hurled many shots and shells against the enemy. But 
 the distance from the fort was too great for his bombardment to 
 have much effect, and Montgomery resolved to abandon the bat 
 teries and take a new position nearer the fort, where the ground 
 was firm and the water wholesome. Insubordination was imme 
 diately rampant, and the general was informed, that most of the 
 troops would refuse their acquiescence, and would leave if he 
 should attempt coercion. Unable either to punish them for mutiny 
 or to convince them of their error, he yielded so far as to call a 
 council of war. In that council the same spirit prevailed, and he 
 was overruled. This triumph of insubordination made the recu 
 sants more bold, and disorder reigned in the American camp. At 
 length, after several precious days had been wasted, a better spirit 
 was manifested. Montgomery, sometimes impetuous and impatient, 
 was judicious and firm. He was eloquent in speech, and possessed 
 most winning ways. These, working with patience, accomplished 
 what official power had failed to achieve, and the plans of the gen 
 eral were adopted. On the seventh of October the camp was 
 moved to the higher ground northwest of the fort, where intrench- 
 ments were thrown up, and the investment of the post was made 
 complete. But, for want of heavy cannon, no perceptible effect 
 had yet been made upon the works of the enemy. 
 
 While these preparations had been going on, small detachments 
 of Americans, who were joined by friendly Canadians, were active 
 in the vicinity, cutting off supplies for the garrison, and keeping 
 back reinforcements. Sometimes rashness and imprudence marked 
 these movements, and they gave both Montgomery and Schuyler 
 much uneasiness. Colonel Allen was particularly active in these 
 enterprises ; and Major Brown was also ambitious to make some 
 movement that should give himself the character of a bold and 
 victorious leader. 
 
 Allen had been very successful in his political mission in Canada. 
 
672 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 " I passed through all the parishes on the river Sorel," he says, " to 
 a parish at the mouth of the same, preaching politics ; and went 
 thence across the Sorel to the river St. Lawrence, and up the river 
 through the parishes, to Longueuil, and so far met with good suc 
 cess as an itinerant."* Within a week after he left the American 
 camp at the Isle aux Noix he was at St. Ours, twelve miles south 
 of the Sorel, with two hundred and fifty Canadians under arms. 
 His boldness, his personal bearing, his zeal, and his large promises 
 captivated the people, and he wrote to Montgomery that within 
 three days he should join him in laying siege to St. John, with at 
 least five hundred armed Canadians. His letter was characteristic 
 of the writer sanguine, boastful, and elated by success. "I could 
 raise one or two thousand in a week s time," he said ; " but I will 
 first visit the army with a less number, and, if necessary, go again 
 recruiting. Those that used to be enemies to our cause come cap 
 in hand to me ; and I swear by the Lord, I can raise three times 
 the number of our army in Canada, provided you continue the 
 
 siege. 
 
 While on his way to Montgomery s camp, by way of Laprairie, 
 from Longueuil, with a guard of eighty men, on the morning of 
 the twenty-fourth of September, Allen fell in with Major Brown, at 
 the head of a party of Americans and Canadians. A private con 
 ference was held, when Brown informed Allen, that the garrison 
 at Montreal did not exceed thirty men, and might easily be 
 taken; and he proposed that they should, with their respective 
 forces, cross the St. Lawrence at separate points, make a simul 
 taneous attack upon the town, and secure a joint and very im 
 portant victory. This proposition pleased the ambition of Allen, 
 and his partisan spirit was thoroughly aroused by the enticing 
 prospect of a repetition of the conquests he had achieved on 
 Lake Champlain. Visions of victory and the plaudits of posterity 
 suddenly assumed the shapes of reality in his mind, and he was 
 impatient for action. The plan was soon arranged. Allen was to 
 return to Longueuil, on the southern shore of the St. Lawrence, a 
 
 * Ethan Allen s Narrative, page 21, Burlington edition, 1846. 
 
JEr. 43.] ATTEMPT TO TAKE MONTREAL. 673 
 
 little below Montreal, and cross there, while Brown, with two hun 
 dred men, was to cross just above the city ; and, at a concerted 
 signal, they were to make a simultaneous attack upon the town. 
 All this was to be done without the knowledge or consent of Mont 
 gomery, who was anxiously waiting before St. John for the rein 
 forcements which these leaders were about to employ in this haz 
 ardous enterprise. 
 
 Allen hastened back to Longueuil and secured a few canoes ; and 
 on that very night, according to arrangement, he crossed the St. 
 Lawrence with thirty Americans and eighty Canadians. It was a 
 tedious operation, for the night was dark and windy, the current 
 strong and eddying, and the canoes frail and few. Three times 
 they crossed and recrossed, before all were landed on the opposite 
 shore, and then the dawn began to glow in the east. Allen placed 
 guards in such a way that intelligence of their presence should not 
 reach Montreal, and then anxiously awaited for the three huzzas 
 which Brown s party were to give, as a signal for attack. The sun 
 arose, yet no signal was heard. It advanced toward meridian yet 
 all was silent. The brave Vermonter would then have retreated, 
 but it was too late. An escaped captive had alarmed the garrison, 
 and all but the first canoe-loads must become prisoners, if an at- 
 tempt should be made to recross the river. " This I could not 
 reconcile to my feelings as a man, much less as an officer," said 
 Allen, " and I therefore concluded to maintain the ground, if pos 
 sible, and all to fare alike." This generosity cost him a long and 
 wearisome captivity. 
 
 The morning wore away, and it was afternoon before the enemy 
 appeared. Allen had taken a position for defence, and resolved to 
 sell life and liberty dearly. Between two and three o clock forty 
 regular troops, more than two hundred Canadians, and a few In 
 dians who were in Montreal, came down upon the invaders, led by 
 Major Campbell. A sharp conflict ensued, which lasted an hour and 
 three quarters. The brave Allen commanded skilfully and fought 
 gallantly, until only thirty or forty of his men remained, and some 
 of these were wounded. Some had been killed, and the Canadians, 
 
 43 
 
674 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 almost to a man, had deserted him early in the engagement. He 
 retreated nearly a mile, for he " expected, in a very short time, to 
 try the world of spirits," as he had no hopes of quarter. He at 
 length surrendered, with promises of honorable terms for himself 
 and his surviving companions, thirty-eight in number, of whom 
 seven were wounded. 
 
 They were conducted into the town and delivered to General Pres- 
 cott, the commander, who was a petty tyrant, and seldom exercised 
 the common courtesies of life toward the unfortunate in his power. 
 His prisoner was rough in manner and personal appearance. His 
 jacket was made of deerskin, his vest and breeches of coarse serge, 
 his stockings of red worsted, his shoes of cowskin, the soles well 
 fortified by hob-nails, and on his head was a red woollen cap. To 
 the eye of Prescott, Allen and his followers appeared more like free 
 booters than soldiers, and he addressed the leader with that petu 
 lance and superficial anger which characterize small minds. He 
 inquired his name, and whether he was the Colonel Allen who took 
 Ticonderoga. When answered in the affirmative, he stormed, 
 shook his cane over Allen s head, calling him many hard names, 
 and denounced him as a rebel, in bitter terms. " I told him," says 
 Allen, " he would do well not to cane me, for I was not accustomed 
 to it, and shook my fist at him, telling him that was the beetle of 
 mortality for him if he offered to strike." A British officer, stand 
 ing near, reminded Prescott, in a whisper, that it would be dishonor 
 able to strike a prisoner, when Allen and his men were immediately 
 placed under the care of a sergeant s command. They were con 
 veyed on board the Gaspe war-schooner, lying at Montreal, placed 
 in irons, and thrust into the hold of the vessel. A bar eight feet 
 long was riveted to the shackles of Allen, and his fellow-prisoners 
 were fastened together in pairs with handcuffs. From that floating 
 prison the captive leader sent the following respectful letter to 
 General Prescott, but it elicited no response from that brutal officer, 
 who had threatened him with a halter at Tyburn : 
 
 " HONORABLE SIR : In the wheel of transitory events I find myself 
 prisoner, and in irons. Probably your honor has certain reasons to 
 
JET. 43.] ALLEN A PRISONER IN IRONS. 675 
 
 me inconceivable, though I challenge an instance of this sort of 
 economy of the Americans during the late war to any officers of 
 the crown. On my part, I have to assure your honor, that when 
 I had the command and took Captain Delaplace and Lieutenant 
 Fulton, with the garrison of Ticonderoga, I treated them with 
 every mark of friendship and generosity, the evidence of which is 
 notorious even in Canada. I have only to add that I expect an 
 honorable and humane treatment, as an officer of my rank and 
 merit should have, and subscribe myself your honor s most obe 
 dient servant."* 
 
 Such was the unfortunate termination of a rash enterprise ; and 
 its effect upon the Canadians at that critical juncture, when their 
 good opinion was eagerly sought by the continentals, was unpleas 
 ant, and damaging to the American cause. The reason of Brown s 
 failure to co-operate with Allen was never satisfactorily explained. 
 Had they acted in concert, according to arrangement, they might 
 have been successful. Half carried out, the plan proved disastrous, 
 and both Allen and Brown were blamed; the one for proposing, 
 and the other for attempting the unauthorized measure. Mont 
 gomery was greatly annoyed by this event ; and General Schuyler, 
 writing to the continental Congress, said : " I am apprehensive of 
 disagreeable consequences arising from Mr. Allen s improvidence. 
 I always dreaded his impatience of subordination, and it was not 
 until after a solemn promise made me, in the presence of several 
 officers, that he would demean himself properly, that I would permit 
 
 * Ethan Allen was then thirty-six years of age, having been born in Roxbury, Litchfield county, 
 Connecticut, in the year 1739. He went to Vermont at an early age, and in 1770, he took an active 
 part in the disturbances between the inhabitants of the province of New York and those of the New 
 Hampshire Grants. He remained n ve weeks in irons on board the Gaspe, at Montreal, when the 
 vessel went down to Quebec. There he was transferred to another vessel, where he was treated 
 humanely, and sent to England to be tried for treason. In his grotesque garb, he attracted much 
 attention at Falmouth, where he was landed. He was confined in Pendennis castle, for awhile, and 
 in the spring of 1776, he was sent to Halifax, the ministry considering it inexpedient to treat him 
 otherwise than as a prisoner-of-war. He was confined in the jail there until the autumn, when he 
 was sent to New York, that city being in possession of the British. There he was kept, part of the 
 time on parole and part of the time in prison, for about a year and a half. In May, 1778, he was 
 exchanged for Colonel Campbell, and returned to his home in Vermont. There he was active in 
 civil life, much of the time until his death, which occurred at Colchester, Vermont, on the thirteenth 
 of February, 1789. His remains repose in a beautiful little cemetery, near Burlington, Vermont. 
 Ethan Allen was a plain, blunt, honest man, of purest virtue and sternest integrity. 
 
676 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 him to attend the army. Nor would I have consented then, had 
 not his solicitations been backed by several officers."* Washington 
 wrote to Schuyler, three weeks afterward, and said : " Colonel 
 Allen s misfortune will, I hope, teach a lesson of prudence and 
 subordination to others, who may be too ambitious to outshine 
 their general officers, and, regardless of order and duty, rush into 
 enterprises which have unfavorable effects on the public, and are 
 destructive to themselves." 
 
 But the troops did not all heed the lesson which taught subordi 
 nation, for many became more and more disorderly and mutinous, 
 while their commander was nobly planning means for the capture 
 of the fort. Nothing but the personal popularity of Montgomery 
 could have prevented utter anarchy. His patience was tried to 
 the utmost; and the sense of responsibility to his adopted country, 
 at this critical moment, alone prevented his resigning his commis 
 sion with disgust. In a letter to Schuyler, he said : " Were I not 
 afraid the example would be too generally followed, and that the 
 public service might suffer, I would not stay an hour at the head 
 of troops whose operations I can not direct." 
 
 The spirit of General Schuyler who yet lay sick at Ticonderoga, 
 was continually chafed by reports of gross irregularities of every 
 description, not only in the camp before St. John, but almost in his 
 immediate presence. u Such scenes of rascality," he wrote to Mont 
 gomery, on the fourth of October, " are daily opening to me, as will 
 surprise you to learn." To General Washington he wrote : " The 
 vexation of spirit under which I labor, that a barbarous complica 
 tion of disorders should prevent me from reaping those laurels for 
 which I have unweariedly wrought since I was honored with this 
 command ; the anxiety I have suffered since my arrival here, lest 
 the army should starve, occasioned by a scandalous want of subor 
 dination and inattention to my orders, in some of the officers that 
 I left to command at the different posts ; the vast variety of disa 
 greeable and vexatious incidents that almost hourly arise in some 
 department or other, not only retard my cure, but have put me 
 
 * Schuy let s Letter Books, October 5 
 
JRr. 43.] CAPTURE OF FORT CHAMBLEE. 677 
 
 considerably back for some days past. But the glorious end we 
 have in view, and which I have confident hope will be attained, 
 will atone for all."* Washington replied hopefully and sympatheti 
 cally. " The more I reflect upon the importance of your expedition," 
 he said, " the greater is my concern lest it should sink under insu 
 perable difficulties. I look upon the interests and salvation of our 
 bleeding country, in a great degree as depending upon your success." 
 
 Foiled as he was in many of his intended movements in detail, 
 Montgomery pressed the siege of St. John with as much vigor as 
 circumstances would allow ; and good fortune appeared to supply 
 what the inefficiency of many of his troops caused him to lack. 
 Friendly Canadians gave him much useful information; and at 
 length a scout from among them brought intelligence which led to 
 a most favorable result. He assured the general that the fort at 
 Chamblee, twelve miles below St. John, had but a small garrison 
 and might be easily taken. Carleton had no idea that Chamblee 
 could be reached by the invaders, unless they should first capture St. 
 John, and he had omitted to strengthen the fortress there. On the 
 eighteenth of October, Montgomery sent Colonel Bedell, and Majors 
 Brown and Livingston, with detachments which amounted in all to 
 about three hundred men, to make a night attack upon the fort. 
 These detachments consisted chiefly of Canadians. Cannon were 
 conveyed down the river upon batteaux, under cover of darkness, 
 to the Chamblee rapids, where they were mounted and then 
 dragged to the point of attack. The garrison, surprised and over 
 powered, made a feeble and brief resistance, and then surrendered. 
 
 This was a most important and timely victory for the republicans, 
 for a large quantity of military stores and munitions of war, greatly 
 needed by the besiegers before St. John, were among the spoils. 
 Six tons of powder, a large quantity of provisions, small-arms, 
 shells, balls, and bullets, and rigging for vessels, were very accepta 
 ble additions to the commissariat of the continentals. They had 
 also made about ninety men (officers and privates), besides a great 
 number of women and children, their prisoners ; and their chief 
 
 * Schuyler s Letter Books. 
 
678 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 trophy was the flag of the seventh regiment of British regulars, 
 found in the fort. This, the first trophy of the kind captured by 
 the republicans, was sent to General Schuyler at Ticonderoga, and 
 by him to the continental Congress, where it was received with 
 delight. The garrison, with the women and children, were sent to 
 Connecticut, and the ammunition and stores to the camp of the 
 besiegers.* 
 
 When intelligence of this victory reached Montgomery, he pro 
 ceeded to the erection of a battery within two hundred and fifty 
 yards of the fort, and mounted four heavy guns and six mortars 
 upon it. He also raised a blockhouse before the fort on the oppo 
 site side of the river, and there mounted one gun and two mortars, 
 and commenced an assault with much earnestness. The late vic 
 tory inspirited the men, and the future appeared brighter. The 
 garrison was deprived of all supplies from without, yet Major 
 Preston, in daily expectation of relief from Governor Carleton, 
 then at Montreal, held out manfully. 
 
 Carleton was at the head of one hundred regulars, several hun 
 dred Canadians from the northward of the St. Lawrence, and a few 
 Indians. He had been assured of the co-operation of Colonel 
 Maclean, an experienced Scotch soldier, who had served the British 
 king during the Scottish rebellion thirty years before. That vet 
 eran had enlisted three hundred Highlanders at Quebec, and formed 
 them into a battalion, called "The Royal Highland Emigrants." 
 He was to ascend the St. Lawrence to the mouth of the Sorel, 
 march along the banks of that river and join Carleton at St. John 
 in the relief of the garrison. 
 
 The capture of Chamblee accelerated the movements of Carleton, 
 
 * In a letter to his brother-in-law, Robert Livingston, written at St. John, Montgomery said : 
 "For some time past matters have worn a gloomy appearance. The prospect now clears up and I 
 have the pleasure to tell you, that the fort of Chamblee has fallen into our hands .... It was a 
 plan of the Canadians ; and we have gotten as much powder at Chambl6e as will, I hope, finish our 
 business here. I have strong detachments at Laprairie, Longueuil, and Caghnawga ; and I believe 
 everybody on this side the St. Lawrence are our friends indeed the whole are except the noblesse .... 
 The difficulties I have labored under from want of discipline in the troops (being all generals and 
 few soldiers), want of provisions, ammunition, and men, have made me most heartily sick of this 
 business, and I do think that no consideration can ever induce me again to step out of the path of 
 private life. As a volunteer 1 shall ever be ready when necessity requires, to take my part of the 
 burden. Autograph Letter, October 20, 1775 
 
JET. 43.] THE REPUBLICANS VICTORIOUS. 679 
 
 and on the morning of the thirty-first of October, he embarked his 
 motley force upon the St. Lawrence in thirty-four batteaux and 
 flatboats, and attempted to land at Longueuil, a mile and a half 
 below the city. Colonel Seth Warner, with a detachment of three 
 hundred Green-Mountain Boys and New-Yorkers, was on the alert 
 in the neighborhood, and lay in covert where Carleton was about 
 to land. He allowed the boats to get very near the shore, when 
 he opened a terrible storm of grape-shot from a four-pound cannon, 
 and volleys of musketry, which drove them back in great confusion. 
 Carleton retreated to Montreal, leaving behind him some killed and 
 wounded, and four prisoners. 
 
 Maclean, meanwhile, had landed at the mouth of the Sorel, and 
 had increased his force by pressing into his service several Cana 
 dians in that neighborhood. He was marching toward St. John 
 with full expectations of success, when he was met by Majors 
 Brown and Livingston, flushed with their victory at Chamblee, 
 their forces strengthened by some Green-Mountain Boys. Maclean 
 was driven back to his place of debarkation, where he heard of the 
 repulse of Carleton. There his Canadian recruits deserted him, 
 and his Highlanders were panic-stricken by the perils that envi 
 roned them. They were all hastily embarked, and before the 
 pursuers reached the mouth of the Sorel, the Scotchmen were 
 fairly on their way to Quebec. The Americans took post at that 
 point, erected batteries, and prepared to oppose the passage of 
 British vessels up or down the St. Lawrence. 
 
 Warner sent his prisoners, taken at Longueuil, to Montgomery s 
 camp on the day after the skirmish and repulse. They arrived 
 toward evening, while the guns from the American batteries were 
 playing upon the British works. This had been continued for sev 
 eral hours. They were immediately silenced, and a flag with a 
 letter, accompanied by one of the Canadian prisoners, was sent in 
 to Preston, to acquaint him with the repulse of Carleton, and to 
 demand an instant surrender of the post. Major Preston affected 
 a disbelief of the reported repulse, and asked for a delay of four 
 days. The request was denied, and the demand was renewed. 
 
680 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 Threatened with famine, and perceiving no hope of relief, the 
 gallant Preston surrendered the fort and garrison into the hands of 
 the republicans on the following morning, the second of November. 
 The siege had continued six weeks, and the bravery and fortitude 
 of the British troops had been so marked, that Montgomery granted 
 them the most honorable terms. They marched out of the fort 
 with the honors of war, and grounded their arms on the plain in 
 the rear. The officers were allowed to keep their side-arms ; and 
 the baggage of both officers and men were secured to them. The 
 latter were also allowed each a new suit of clothes from the cap 
 tured stores. This was carrying courtesy a little too far, under the 
 circumstances, for many of the victorious troops were half-naked, 
 and the rigors of a Canadian winter were just upon them. Both 
 officers and men murmured, and demanded a reconsideration of the 
 capitulation by Montgomery. But that noble man firmly refused, 
 notwithstanding the loud tones of mutinous discontent were heard 
 on every side. " I would not have sullied my own reputation, nor 
 disgraced the continental arms by such a breach of capitulation for 
 the universe," Montgomery afterward said. 
 
 The captured garrison consisted of about five hundred British 
 regulars, and one hundred Canadian volunteers. Of the latter 
 there were several nobles, who were leading men in the province ; 
 and among the officers was Major Andre, the unfortunate spy in 
 after-years. Also Captain Aubury and Lieutenant Anstruther, who 
 were exchanged, and again made prisoners with Burgoyne at Sara 
 toga. The former afterward published two interesting volumes 
 concerning his sojourn in America. These prisoners were all sent, 
 in boats, to Ticonderoga, and Montgomery then prepared to march 
 upon Montreal. 
 
 We will leave the victorious continentals at St. John, and con 
 sider the co-operation of the expedition planned by Washington at 
 Cambridge. 
 
. 43.] PLAN FOR INVADING CANADA. 681 
 
 CHAPTER LVIII. 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS AT CAMBRIDGE WASHINGTON S PLAN 
 
 FOR INVADING CANADA ARNOLD AT WATERTOWN HIS RECEPTION AT HEAD 
 QUARTERS HIS MILITARY QUALITIES ARNOLD AND GATES ARNOLD COMMIS 
 SIONED A COLONEL IN THE CONTINENTAL ARMY EXPEDITION AGAINST CANADA 
 
 ARRANGED ARNOLD APPOINTED TO THE COMMAND HIS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS DEPARTURE FROM NEWBURYPORT VOYAGE UP THE KENNEBEC 
 
 MARCH THROUGH THE WILDERNESS RETURN OF A DETACHMENT HARD 
 SHIPS DESCENT OF THE CHAUDIERE ARRIVAL UPON THE ST. LAWRENCE. 
 
 SOON after the adjournment of the continental Congress, on the 
 first of August, several of the delegates, especially those of New 
 England, visited the camp at Cambridge, and conferred with Wash 
 ington concerning the future operations of the army. They did 
 not appear in an official capacity, but the commander-in-chief con 
 sulted them freely, and received their opinions with great deference. 
 To them he submitted a plan of co-operation with General Schuyler 
 in the conquest of Canada, which then occupied his mind. They 
 approved of it, and preparations for an expedition across the coun 
 try, by way of the Kennebec and Chaudiere rivers, to attack 
 Quebec, was resolved upon. Washington, as we have seen, com 
 municated an outline of his plan to General Schuyler, in a letter 
 dated the twentieth of August, but deferred his final determination 
 until he should hear from the latter. Schuyler was delighted with 
 the plan ; and by the time his approval reached the commander-in- 
 chief the scheme was matured, and the expedition was almost 
 ready for departure. 
 
 Colonel Benedict Arnold, who had left Lake Champlain in anger, 
 and was sorely chafed by disappointment, was then at Watertown, 
 engaged in settling his accounts with the committee of safety. 
 Notwithstanding his conduct had been represented in a very un- 
 
682 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 favorable light, and himself as a rash and ungovernable adventurer, 
 Washington viewed the whole matter dispassionately, appreciated 
 his services, admired his bravery and zeal, and received him in a 
 friendly manner at headquarters. When Arnold s own story was 
 told and admitted facts corroborated it, the tide of feeling that was 
 rising strongly against him, instantly ebbed, and he found himself 
 borne upon a flood of popular sympathy, especially where the 
 nature of his services and the material of the force on the lakes 
 were best known. In this sympathy Washington participated. 
 Arnold s valor and patriotism were undoubted, and his rashness, so 
 called, was softened into indiscretion, when judged by the logic of 
 the circumstances in which he had been placed. He was adven 
 turous, a good military tactician and disciplinarian, and had the 
 faculty of inspiring his troops with his own zeal and courage. 
 These were exactly the qualities most needed in the leader of an 
 expedition like the one under consideration ; and Washington, with 
 his usual discrimination, appointed him to the command of it, and 
 commissioned him a colonel in the continental army. 
 
 Before this appointment Arnold appears to have had some enter 
 prise in contemplation, which he had communicated to Adjutant- 
 General Gates, who, at that early period, was beginning to forget 
 the favors he had received from the commander-in-chief, and was 
 meditating independent schemes. That officer, as in duty bound, 
 laid Arnold s plans before Washington. The latter had an inter 
 view with the zealous colonel, and the continental commission 
 speedily followed.* 
 
 * On the twenty-fifth of August, Gates addressed the following letter to Arnold, from head 
 quarters : 
 
 " SIR : I am confident you told me last night that you did not intend to leave Cambridge entirely, 
 until the express sent by your friend returned from General Schuyler. Lest I should have been 
 mistaken, I am directed by his excellency, General Washington, to request you to resolve to wait 
 the return of that express. I have laid your plans before the general, who will converse with you 
 upon it when you next meet. Your answer by the bearer will oblige, sir, your affectionate humble 
 servant, " HORATIO GATES, Adjutant- General. 
 
 " To Colonel ARNOLD, at Watertown." 
 
 The above letter was first published in Kichardson s "Historical Magazine," for December, 1857, 
 with a note from the person who communicated it, who pronounced it "interesting, as showing that 
 the plan [the expedition against Quebec] was entirely original" with Arnold. The date and tenor 
 of Washington s letter to Schuyler on the twentieth, and the date of Gates s to Arnold above quoted, 
 show that Arnold did not originate the expedition arranged by the commander-in-chief. 
 
JET. 43.] EXPEDITION AGAINST QUEBEC. 683 
 
 Preparations for the expedition were immediately made. A 
 detachment of about eleven hundred men was organized for the 
 purpose, consisting of ten companies of New England infantry (a 
 part of them from General Greene s Rhode Island brigade), three 
 rifle companies from Pennsylvania (one of them commanded by 
 Daniel Morgan), and a number of volunteers. Among the latter 
 was Aaron Burr, a lad of nineteen years, who was a wayward 
 grandson of the famous theologian, Jonathan Edwards, and des 
 tined to occupy a conspicuous place in the annals of his country. 
 He had been at Cambridge for some time, waiting for an oppor 
 tunity to serve his country in a manner suited to his peculiar views, 
 and was now confined to his bed by sickness. Hearing of this 
 expedition, he immediately arose, dressed himself, and with five or 
 six intimate friends, joined Arnold at Newburyport. We shall 
 hereafter meet Burr in the camp, the field, and the arena of politi 
 cal strife. 
 
 Arnold was invested with ample and even extraordinary powers, 
 for his expedition was of a nature that required much to be left to 
 the discretion of the leader. He was well acquainted with Quebec 
 and its neighborhood, having recently carried on a trade in horses 
 between that city and the West Indies. His field-officers were 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Greene of Rhode Island (afterward 
 the brave defender of Fort Mercer, at Red-Bank), Lieutenant Roger 
 Enos, and Majors Meigs and Bigelow, of Connecticut; and the 
 whole detachment were well prepared for the perilous enterprise. 
 
 Arnold s ambition was now gratified; and only ten days before 
 Colonel Allen, his despised rival on Lake Champlain, was made a 
 prisoner in irons, the former left Cambridge with a chosen corps of 
 over a thousand men, arranged by the commander-in-chief for the 
 invasion of Canada, under circumstances that promised success. 
 He struck his tents on the thirteenth of September, and the de 
 tachment marched for Newburyport to embark for the mouth of 
 the Kennebec. On the fourteenth Washington placed in Arnold s 
 hands the following instructions : 
 
 " 1. You are immediately, on their march from Cambridge, to 
 
G84 WASHINGTON : A BIOUR APHY. [1775. 
 
 take the command of the detachment from the continental army 
 against Quebec, and use all possible expedition, as the winter season 
 is now advancing, and the success of this enterprise, under God, 
 depends wholly upon the spirit with which it is pushed, and the 
 favorable dispositions of the Canadians and Indians. 
 
 " 2. When you come to Newburyport you are to make all pos 
 sible inquiry, what men-of-war or cruisers there may be on the 
 coast, to which this detachment may be exposed on their voyage to 
 the Kennebec river ; and if you should find that there is danger of 
 your being intercepted, you are not to proceed by water, but by 
 land, taking care, on the one hand, not to be diverted by light and 
 vague reports, and on the other, not to expose the troops rashly to 
 a danger which, by many judicious persons, has been deemed very 
 considerable. 
 
 " 3. You are, by every means in your power, to endeavor to dis 
 cover the real sentiments of the Canadians toward our cause, and 
 particularly as to this expedition, bearing in mind, that if they are 
 averse to it, and will not co-operate, or at least willingly acquiesce, 
 it must fail of success. In this case, you are by no means to prose 
 cute the attempt; the expense of the expedition, and the disap 
 pointment, are not to be put in competition with the dangerous 
 consequences which may ensue from irritating them against us, and 
 detaching them from that neutrality, which they have adopted. 
 
 " 4. In order to cherish those favorable sentiments to the Amer 
 ican cause, that they have manifested, you are, as soon as you arrive 
 in their country, to disperse a number of the addresses you will 
 have with you, particularly in those parts where your route will 
 lie;* and observe the strictest discipline and good order, by no 
 
 * Washington caused the following "Address to the Inhabitants of Canada" to be printed in 
 handbills, in the French language, for Arnold to distribute on his arrival in that country : 
 
 "FRIENDS AND BRETHREN: The unnatural contest between the English colonies and Great 
 Britain has now risen to such a height, that arms alone must decide it. The colonies, confiding in 
 the justice of their cause, and the purity of their intentions, have reluctantly appealed to that Being 
 in whose hands are all human events. He has hitherto smiled upon their virtuous efforts, the hand 
 of tyranny has been arrested in its ravages, and the British arms, which have shone with so much 
 splendor in every part of the globe, are now tarnished with disgrace and disappointment. Generals 
 of approved experience, who boasted of subduing this great continent, find themselves circum 
 scribed within the limits of a single city and its suburbs, suffering all the shame and distress of a 
 siege, while the freeborn sons of America, animated by the genuine principles of liberty and love 
 
-#/r. 43.] ADDRESS TO THE CANADIANS. 685 
 
 means suffering any inhabitant to be abused, or in any manner 
 injured, either in his person or property, punishing with exemplary 
 severity every person who shall transgress, and making ample 
 compensation to the party injured. 
 
 " 5. You are to endeavor, on the other hand, to conciliate the 
 affections of the people, and such Indians as you may meet with, 
 by every means in your power ; convincing them that we come, at 
 the request of many of their principal people, not as robbers or to 
 make war upon them, but as friends and supporters of their liber 
 ties as well as ours. And to give efficacy to these sentiments, you 
 must carefully inculcate upon the officers and soldiers under your 
 command, that not only the good of their country and their honor, 
 but their safety, depend upon the treatment of these people. 
 
 " 6. Check every idea, and crush, in its earliest stage, every at 
 tempt to plunder even those who are known to be enemies to our 
 
 of their country, with increasing union, firmness, and discipline, repel every attack, and despise 
 every danger. 
 
 " Above all, we rejoice that our enemies have been deceived with regard to you. They have 
 persuaded themselves, they have even dared to say, that the Canadians were not capable of distin 
 guishing between the blessings of liberty and the wretchedness of slavery ; that gratifying the vanity 
 of a little circle of nobility would blind the people of Canada. By such artifices they hoped to bend 
 you to their views, but they have been deceived ; instead of finding in you a poverty of soul and 
 baseness of spirit, they see with a chagrin, equal to our joy, that you are enlightened, generous, and 
 virtuous ; that you will not renounce your own rights, or serve as instruments to deprive your fel 
 low-subjects of theirs. Come then, my brethren, unite with us in an indissoluble union ; let us run 
 together to the same goal. We have taken up arms in defence of our liberty, our property, our 
 wives, and our children ; we are determined to preserve them or die. We look forward with pleas 
 ure to that day, not far remote, we hope, when the inhabitants of America shall have one sentiment, 
 and the full enjoyment of the blessings of a free government. 
 
 " Incited by these motives, and encouraged by the advice of many friends of liberty among you, 
 the grand American Congress have sent an army into your province, under the command of General 
 Schuyler, not to plunder, but to protect you ; to animate and bring into action those sentiments of 
 freedom you have disclosed, and which the tools of despotism would extinguish through the whole 
 creation. To co-operate with this design, and to frustrate those cruel and perfidious schemes, which 
 would deluge our frontiers with the blood of women and children, I have detached Colonel Arnold 
 into your country, with a part of the army under my command. I have enjoined it upon him, and 
 I am certain he will consider himself, and act, as in the country of his patrons and best friends. 
 Necessaries and accommodations of every kind, which you may furnish, he will thankfully receive, 
 and render the full value. I invite you, therefore, as friends and brethren, to provide him with such 
 supplies as your country affords ; and I pledge myself, not only for your safety and security, but for 
 ample compensation. Let no man desert his habitation ; let no one flee as before an enemy. 
 
 " The cause of America, and of liberty, is the cause of every virtuous American citizen ; what 
 ever may be his religion or descent, the United Colonies know no distinction but such as slavery, 
 corruption, and arbitrary dominion may create. Come, then, ye generous citizens, range yourselves 
 under the standard of general liberty, against which all the force and artifices of tyranny will never 
 be able to prevail." 
 
680 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 cause. It will create dreadful apprehensions in our friends, and, 
 when it is once begun, no one can tell where it will stop. I, there- 
 there, again most expressly order, that it be discouraged and pun 
 ished in every instance without distinction. 
 
 " 7. Any king s stores which you shall be so fortunate as to pos 
 sess yourself of, are to be secured for the continental use, agreeably 
 to the rules and regulations of war published by the honorable 
 Congress. The officers and men may be assured, that any extra 
 ordinary services performed by them will be suitably rewarded. 
 
 " 8. Spare neither pain nor expense to gain all possible intelli 
 gence on your march, to prevent surprises and accidents of every 
 kind, and endeavor, if possible, to correspond with General Schuyler, 
 so that you may act in concert with him. This, I think, may be 
 done by means of the St. Francis Indians. 
 
 " 9. In case of a union with General Schuyler, or if he should 
 be in Canada upon your arrival there, you are by no means to con 
 sider yourself as upon a separate and independent command, but 
 are to put yourself under him and follow his directions. Upon this 
 occasion, and all others, I recommend most earnestly to avoid all 
 contention about rank. In such a cause, every post is honorable in 
 which a man can serve his country. 
 
 " 10. If Lord Chatham s son should be in Canada, and in any 
 way should fall into your power, you are enjoined to treat him 
 with all possible deference and respect. You can not err in paying 
 too much honor to the son of so illustrious a character, and so true 
 a friend to America.* Any other prisoners, who may fall into your 
 
 * Lord Pitt was a younger son of the earl of Chatham, and was aid-de-camp to Sir Guy Carle- 
 ton during the summer of 1775. When the movements on Lake Champlain indicated a speedy 
 war, Chatham, whose friendship for the Americans would not allow him to permit his son to draw 
 his sword against them, became uneasy. In July he was too ill to attend even to private business, 
 and at that time his wife, the countess of Chatham, wrote a very judicious letter to Major Caldwell, 
 then at Quebec, concerning their son, intimating their unwillingness to have him engaged in a war 
 upon the colonists. " I can not help feeling," she said, " a pity for poor people who are irritated to 
 the utmost, from an opinion of being greatly injured : otherwise, I assure, sir, though full of mater 
 nal tenderness to my son, I should have been happy in his having had occasion of proving the ardor 
 of that courage which I flatter myself is in him." Chatham Correspondence, iv., 412. 
 
 Pursuant to the advice of his parents, and the convictions of his own heart, young Pitt left the 
 military family of Carleton, and returned to England, bearing despatches from his general to the 
 ministry, dated at Montreal, the twenty-first of September, 1775. 
 
JET. 43.1 ARNOLD S INSTRUCTIONS. 687 
 
 hands, you will treat with as much humanity and kindness as may 
 be consistent with your own safety and the public interest. Be 
 very particular in restraining, not only your own troops, but the 
 Indians, from all acts of cruelty and insult, which will disgrace the 
 American arms, and irritate our fellow-subjects against us. 
 
 " 11. You will be particularly careful to pay the full value for all 
 provisions, or other accommodations, which the Canadians may 
 provide for you on your march. By no means press them, or any 
 of their cattle into your service, but amply compensate those who 
 voluntarily assist you. For this purpose, you are provided with a 
 sum of money in specie, which you will use with as much frugality 
 and economy as your necessities and good policy will admit, keep 
 ing as exact an account as possible of your disbursements. 
 
 " 12. You are, by every opportunity, to inform me of your prog 
 ress, your prospects, and intelligence, and upon any important 
 occurrence, to send an express. 
 
 " 13. As the season is now far advanced, you are to make all 
 possible despatch ; but if unforeseen difficulties should arise, or if 
 the weather should become so severe as to render it hazardous to 
 proceed, in your own judgment and that of your principal officers, 
 whom you are to consult in that case you are to return, giving 
 me as early notice as possible, that I may render you such assist 
 ance as may be necessary. 
 
 " 14. As the contempt of the religion of a country by ridiculing 
 any of its ceremonies, or affronting its ministers or its votaries, has 
 ever been deeply resented, you are to be particularly careful to 
 restrain every officer and soldier from such imprudence and folly, 
 and to punish every instance of it. On the other hand, as far as 
 lies in your power, you are to protect and support the free exercise 
 of the religion of the country, and the undisturbed enjoyment of 
 the rights of conscience in religious matters with your utmost 
 influence and authority." 
 
 In addition to these instructions, Washington, on the same day, 
 addressed a private letter to Colonel Arnold, reminding him that he 
 was about to start on an expedition of great consequence, and that 
 
688 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 his own honor, and the safety and welfare of the continent, de 
 pended, in a great measure, upon his conduct and courage in the 
 command of it. He charged him, and his officers and soldiers, as 
 they valued their own safety and honor, and the favor and esteem 
 of their country, to consider themselves as marching not through 
 the land of an enemy, but of friends and countrymen, and to regu 
 late their conduct toward the Canadians and Indians accordingly. 
 He reiterated the charge in his instructions, concerning the respect 
 due to the religious feelings of the inhabitants, and said, " While 
 we are contending for own liberty, we should be very cautious not 
 to violate the rights of conscience in others, ever considering that 
 God alone is the judge of the hearts of men, and to him only, in 
 this case, they are answerable." 
 
 Thus furnished with instructions and suggestions, and a supply 
 of addresses to the Canadian people, Arnold hastened to New- 
 buryport, and on Monday, the eighteenth of September, embarked 
 his troops on eleven transports, and left the harbor the next morn 
 ing. They all reached Gardiner in safety, after a night of tempest 
 wind, lightning, and rain. Two hundred batteaux, constructed 
 by carpenters who had been previously sent for the purpose, were 
 ready for them at Pittston, on the opposite side of the river. The 
 little fleet proceeded up the Kennebec as far as the tide would 
 permit, where the troops went on board the batteaux, with their 
 stores, and pushed on to Fort Western, opposite the present town 
 of Augusta, the designated place of rendezvous. This was on the 
 verge of the wilderness. It was the frontier settlement, and be 
 yond it, toward Norridgewock falls, only a log house here and 
 there appeared. 
 
 The way before the little army was now dark and perilous, and 
 chilly nights succeeded bright and pleasant days. They were not 
 wholly without a guide, however. Colonel Montressor, a British 
 officer, had traversed this wilderness fifteen years earlier. He came 
 from Quebec, ascended the Chaudiere, crossed the Highlands near 
 the head-waters of the Penobscot, passed through Moosehead lake, 
 and entered the east branch of the Kennebec. Arnold possessed 
 
JEf. 43.] THE ARMY IN THE WILDERNESS. 689 
 
 an imperfect copy of the printed Journal of Montressor, and also a 
 set of plans and a journal, furnished by Samuel Goodwin, of Pow- 
 nalborough, in Maine, who had resided in that country as a sur 
 veyor for twenty-five years. Goodwin was well acquainted with 
 the Kennebec and the Chaudiere, and the country between ; and 
 the information received from him was of great consequence to the 
 leader of the expedition. 
 
 Arnold sent forward a small reconnoitring party to Lake Megan- 
 tic or Chaudiere pond, and another to survey the course and dis 
 tances of the Dead river, a tributary of the Kennebec. The main 
 body, meanwhile, moved forward in four divisions, a day apart, in 
 time. Morgan and his riflemen formed the van. Greene and Bige- 
 low, with their companies of musketeers, followed next ; then Meigs 
 with four other companies ; and the rear was composed of three 
 companies under Enos. Arnold was the last to leave Fort Western. 
 He proceeded in a birch canoe, passed several parties in batteaux, 
 and upon a beautiful plain on the eastern side of the Kennebec, at 
 Norridgewock falls, he overtook Morgan and his riflemen. 
 
 Now the first severe toils and trials of the little army began. They 
 had already been compelled to carry their boats, provisions, and bag 
 gage around several falls and rapids ; here up rocky and precipitous 
 banks all these had to be conveyed for a mile and a quarter. 
 When they reached the navigable waters above, they discovered 
 their boats to be leaky, and much of their provisions spoiled or 
 greatly damaged. Yet they pushed forward with cheerfulness, for 
 the weather was fine, and the events of every hour gave food to 
 excitement. But the great fatigues and hardships endured, at 
 length made the weak and timid falter; and when the troops 
 arrived at the great carrying-place, twelve miles below the junction 
 of the Dead river and the Kennebec, early in October, sickness and 
 desertion had reduced the number of effective men to about nine 
 hundred and fifty. Here the stream had become so rapid, that the 
 men with the batteaux had waded more than half the time, for 
 many miles, pushing their vessels against the current. Yet the 
 strong kept their spirits, for they were filled with the enthusiasm 
 
 44 
 
690 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 of their leader. From this point Lieutenants Steele and Church 
 were sent forward, with a party to explore and clear the portages ; 
 and Jakins, a Canadian, was despatched to the French settlements 
 on the Chaudiere, to ascertain the political sentiments of the people. 
 Two Indians were sent forward with Jakins to carry letters, one 
 to General Schuyler, on Lake Champlain, and the other to some 
 friend of the cause in Quebec. They betrayed their trusts, for the 
 latter delivered the letter in his charge to the lieutenant-governor 
 of the province, and General Schuyler never received the com 
 munication directed to him. 
 
 At this great carrying-place, where the portage was fifteen miles, 
 broken by ponds, Arnold examined his muster-roll and commis 
 sariat. The troops were generally strong arm zealous, and twenty- 
 five days provisions were in store. The French settlements on the 
 Chaudiere, where food might be obtained, he estimated to be at a 
 distance of about ten days travel. The lovely Indian summer had 
 just commenced, and the forest had the appearance of early Sep 
 tember. The future looked encouraging, and with great alacrity 
 the whole expedition moved forward toward Lake Megan tic, or 
 Chaudiere pond, which Arnold had designated as a general rendez 
 vous before entering Canada. 
 
 The nature of the march was such, that order and discipline 
 were out of the question. Every man not engaged in portage, 
 was left to his own judgment in making his way through the 
 woods, while those in charge of the batteaux, baggage, and stores, 
 had a most wearisome labor. A part of the way the vessels were 
 drawn on sleds, by oxen, while the baggage and stores were 
 carried on the shoulders of the men. Over craggy knolls and 
 tangled ravines, through deep morasses, creeks, and ponds, they 
 pursued their way until late in October, when they launched their 
 batteaux on the Dead river. The clear waters of the ponds had 
 furnished them with ample quantities of salmon-trout; and up to 
 this hour there had been no lack of food. 
 
 The surface of the Dead river was smooth, and the waters flowed 
 on in a gentle current in the midst of the magnificent forest, now 
 
TEr. 43.] PERILS OF THE WILDERNESS. C91 
 
 rendered gorgeous by the brilliant hues imparted to the foliage by 
 nightly frosts. Occasional falls interrupted their progress, by caus 
 ing short portages, but the labors of the men were far less severe 
 than they had hitherto been. Suddenly the river became rapid, 
 and the monotony of the vast forest was broken by the appearance 
 of a lofty mountain covered with snow. At its foot Arnold en 
 camped three days, and raised the continental flag over his tent. 
 While there, Major Bigelow and a small party ascended the moun 
 tain, expecting to see the spires of Quebec from its summit, but 
 they were disappointed. At this place of encampment is now a 
 small hamlet called Flagstaff, in commemoration of the event ; and 
 the lofty eminence bears the name of Mount Bigelow, in honor of 
 the gallant major. 
 
 A heavy rain commenced falling on the twenty-first, just as the 
 expedition struck their tents and moved forward. It continued 
 with increasing copiousness ; and the torrents rushing from the hills 
 swelled the river so suddenly, that it arose eight feet in one night. 
 The flood came roaring down the valley wherein the Americans 
 were encamped, so suddenly and powerfully, that the soldiers had 
 barely time to retreat to their batteaux, before the whole plain was 
 transformed into a lake. Seven boats were overturned, and the 
 provisions in them lost, and others were in imminent peril in the 
 midst of the waters. Only twelve days provision now remained. 
 They were yet thirty miles from Chaudiere pond, and separated 
 from it by a most frightful country over which to travel and con 
 vey their baggage and stores. The storm and exposure made 
 many sick. Despondency supplanted cheerfulness in the minds 
 of the troops ; and now, for the first time, a dark cloud seemed to 
 be gathering over the expedition. 
 
 A council of war was held on the twenty-third of October, when 
 it was resolved to despatch Captain Hanchet and sixty men toward 
 the settlements, with ten days provisions ; and to send the sick and 
 feeble back to Norridgewock, while the healthy should press forward 
 with vigor. Arnold directed Greene and Enos, who were in the 
 rear, to select as many of their best men as they could supply with 
 
G92 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 fifteen days provisions, and come on with them, leaving the others 
 to return to Norridgewock. Enos, either through a false construc 
 tion of the order, or wilful disobedience, returned to Cambridge 
 with his whole division. His appearance there excited the greatest 
 indignation in the continental camp, and he was regarded as a 
 traitor who had deserted his companions and endangered the 
 whole expedition, until a court-martial acquitted him, on the 
 ground that he was short of provisions, and could not procure any 
 in the wilderness. But he had sacrificed the confidence of the 
 people, and he soon afterward left the army. 
 
 Meanwhile Arnold, with the remainder of the troops, pressed 
 onward. The cold increased, and the rain changed to snow. Ice 
 formed upon the water in which the men waded, pushing the batr 
 teaux through the numerous ponds and marshes in their path at 
 the sources of the Dead river, as they made their way toward 
 Lake Megantic, near the summit of the water-shed between 
 Canada and New England. The records of that march have no 
 parallel in history. "The company were ten miles wading knee 
 deep among alders the greatest part of the way," says a private 
 soldier, in his journal,* " and came to a river which had overflowed 
 the land. We stopped some time, not knowing what to do, and at 
 last were obliged to wade through it, the ground giving way under 
 us at every step. We got on a little knoll of land and went ten 
 miles, where we were obliged to stay, night coming on, and we were 
 all cold and wet ; one man fainted in the water with fatigue and 
 cold, but was helped along. We had to wade into the water and 
 chop down trees, and fetch the wood out of the water, after dark, to 
 make a fire to dry ourselves. However, at last we got a fire, and 
 after eating a mouthful of pork, laid ourselves down to sleep round 
 the fire, the water surrounding us close to our heads. If it had 
 rained hard it would have overflowed the place we were in." 
 
 Two women, who had followed their husbands in this expedition, 
 
 * Journal of James Melvin, a private in Captain Dearborn s company. The original manuscript 
 is in the possession of Mr. John B. Moreau, of the city of New York. It has been annotated by Mr. 
 William J. Davis, and one hundred copies printe,d for private circulation. The journal continues 
 until August, the following year, the writer then having been seven months in prison, in Canada. 
 
Mr. 43.] FORTITUDE OF WOMEN. 693 
 
 exhibited the greatest fortitude and endurance in this part of the 
 march. " One was the wife of Sergeant Grier," says Henry in his 
 narrative,* " a large, virtuous, and respectable woman." The other 
 was the wife of a common soldier named Warner. " Entering the 
 ponds," says Henry, " and breaking the ice here and there with the 
 butts of our guns, and feet, we were soon waist deep in mud and wa 
 ter. As is generally the case with youths, it came to my mind that 
 a better path might be found than that of the more elderly guide. 
 Attempting this, the water in a trice cooling my armpits, made me 
 gladly return in the file. Now Mrs. Grier had got before me. My 
 mind was humbled yet astonished, at the exertions of this good 
 woman. Her clothes more than waist high, she waded on before 
 me to firm ground. Not one, so long as she was known to us, 
 dared to intimate a disrespectful idea of her." 
 
 Such is a faint picture of some of the appalling difficulties of the 
 march upon those bleak and dreary highlands, in the midst of snow 
 and ice. They had passed seventeen falls on their way up from 
 the Kennebec to the highest point of their march. They crossed a 
 portage of four miles, and then entered a small stream that falls 
 into Lake Megantic. On the twenty-eighth of October, Arnold and 
 a large portion of the expedition reached the lake, and encamped 
 on its eastern shore. There they found Lieutenants Steele and 
 Church ; also Jakins, who had returned from the French settle 
 ments with a favorable report. He had distributed handbills freely, 
 and kindly feelings for the republicans were everywhere expressed. 
 
 The voyage down the Chaudiere was fearful. Soon after leaving 
 the lake, the current ran with great rapidity, boiling and foaming 
 over a rocky bottom. Without a guide, they were exposed to 
 imminent peril every moment. They lashed their baggage and 
 provisions to the batteaux, and committed themselves to the mercy 
 of the stream. At length they heard the fearful roar of rushing 
 waters, and in a few minutes they were plunging in the midst of 
 
 * Judge John Joseph Henry, who died at the close of the last century, was one of the soldiers 
 in this expedition, and left behind him, for the use of his family, a lucid and exceedingly interesting 
 narrative of the hardships and sufferings of that band of heroes. He was then only seventeen years 
 of age. 
 
69-1 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 rapids. Three of the vessels were dashed in pieces upon the rocks, 
 and their contents lost, but every life was preserved. The others 
 succeeded in obtaining safe moorings in shallow estuaries, while the 
 voyagers were busy in rescuing those in the stream. 
 
 This apparent misfortune was a mercy in disguise, for had they 
 not been thus checked, they must all have plunged into destruction 
 over a fall just beyond, which was discovered by one of the rescued 
 men. Passing around this fall, with their boats and provisions, they 
 re-entered the river, and for seventy miles encountered cataracts 
 and rapids. At length they all reached Sertigan, the first French 
 settlement, four miles below the mouth of Des Loupis river, in 
 safety. There the people were friendly, and sold provisions freely. 
 
 When the immediate wants of his own party were supplied, 
 Colonel Arnold sent back some Canadians and Indians with flour 
 and cattle for the approaching troops. This relief was timely, for 
 famine had seized the parties in the wilderness in its inexorable 
 grasp. Their boats had been broken and their provisions lost in 
 the rocky rapids, and all were at the point of starvation. Their 
 last ox had been slaughtered and eaten three or four days before, 
 and raw roots were now devoured with avidity. Dog s meat was a 
 luxury ; and some of the poor sufferers had carefully washed their 
 mooseskin moccasins, and boiled them, with the hope of procuring 
 a little mucilage to appease the sharp tooth of hunger.* To these 
 miserable men the lowing of approaching cattle was sweetest music 
 for it told of hope and comfort. They were relieved ; and in the 
 course of a few days they emerged from the forest in detachments, 
 and united at Sertigan. 
 
 It was now important for Arnold to communicate with General 
 Montgomery. He had formed a very favorable opinion of young 
 Burr, who, under every circumstance in the wilderness, had dis- 
 
 * Captain Dearborn (who arose to the rank of colonel in the continental army, and was the com- 
 mander-in-chief of the land forces of the United States at the opening of the war of 1812) said, in 
 a letter to Reverend William Allen, the American biographer, " My dog was very large and a great 
 favorite. I gave him up to several men of Captain Goodrich s company, and killed and divided 
 him among those who were suffering most severely from hunger. They ate every part of him, not 
 excepting his entrails." This circumstance is mentioned in the journal of Melvin, from which we 
 have just quoted. 
 
JE-r. 43.] BURR S PERILOUS MISSION. 695 
 
 played cool courage, indomitable perseverance and energy, and 
 great discretion. He had accompanied Arnold and his party to 
 Sertigan ; and thence the leader despatched him across the country 
 with a verbal message for Montgomery. 
 
 Burr disguised himself as a young Roman catholic priest, and 
 first presented himself to the parish head at Sertigan. His knowl 
 edge of Latin and smattering of French enabled him to converse 
 well, and the reverend father received him kindly and cordially. 
 Very soon perceiving that the priesthood and the laity were discon 
 tented with British rule, Burr frankly avowed his mission. The 
 good father, regarding him as a mere child (for he was very small 
 in stature and effeminate in feature) tried to dissuade him from 
 attempting the perilous journey. Finding him resolute and un 
 flinching, the priest gave him his blessing, and furnished him with a 
 confidential guide. He was passed from one religious family to 
 another, and reached Montgomery, at Montreal, in safety, at about 
 the middle of November. With great clearness he laid before the 
 general the character, condition, and intentions of the expedition 
 under Arnold. Montgomery had already been informed, through 
 intercepted letters, of Arnold s approach to the St. Lawrence, but 
 this was the first direct communication that he had received from 
 him. He was charmed by the manner, intelligence, and enthusiasm 
 of the messenger, and invited Burr to remain at headquarters. He 
 did so, and was with the noble Montgomery at the siege of Quebec, 
 as his aid-de-cainp. 
 
 At Sertigan Arnold was joined by about forty Norridgewock 
 Indians, under the famous Natanis and his brother Sabatis ;* and, 
 on the third of November, facing a snow-storm, the little army 
 (reduced to about eight hundred men) and their allies started for 
 the St. Lawrence. The fine valley of the Chaudiere lay before 
 
 * Natanis had been considered an enemy to the Americans, and Arnold had given orders to his 
 advanced party to kill or capture him, because, it was averred, he had been employed by Gov 
 ernor Carleton as a spy. But he was a friend, and when he deserted his cabin in the wilderness, for 
 fear of death at the hands of the Americans, he left a rude map of the river and route toward 
 Canada, drawn upon birch bark. Natanis kept not far from the expedition all the way down the 
 Chaudiere, and at Sertigan ventured to come forward. He was wounded in the siege of Quebec, 
 and was made a prisoner. This was the first time that Indians were actually employed in military 
 service, by the Americans, in the war for independence. Drake s Book of the Indians. 
 
69 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 them, filled with friendly inhabitants and abundance of provisions ; 
 and the troops marched forward in fine spirits, in expectation of glory 
 speedily to be won by victory at Quebec. Arnold scattered the 
 printed addresses judiciously ; and his troops implicitly obeyed the 
 instructions given by Washington to their leader, concerning their 
 deportment toward the Canadians. Everything received from the 
 inhabitants was promptly paid for, and the people rendered aid in 
 return with a hearty good will. A few years ago (1848), when the 
 writer visited that section, many of the old habitans were yet living 
 in the beautiful valley, and spoke very highly of " the good Bos- 
 tonians," whose passage through their country was remembered as 
 one of the greatest events in the quiet lives of those isolated and 
 simple people. Some of the families preserved orders for food, 
 signed by Arnold. 
 
 On the ninth of November, Arnold and his followers arrived at 
 Point Levi, opposite Quebec, in the midst of falling snow, after 
 one of the most wonderful marches on record, during almost two 
 months. They had travelled more than three hundred miles, most 
 of the time in a gloomy wilderness. For thirty-two days they did 
 not meet a human being, and elements of destruction menaced 
 them on every side. Their preservation seemed like a miracle. 
 Their existence and endeavors in the wilderness had been made 
 known in Quebec, by the Indian traitor, but no one believed they 
 would ever reach the St. Lawrence at that late season of the year. 
 Lieutenant-Governor Cramahe laughed at the idea of such an inva 
 sion, yet he exercised a wise prudence in having all boats kept on 
 the Quebec side of the river. Nobody expected the provincials, and 
 when, quite early in the morning, the little army stood behind the 
 snow-vail upon the heights above Point Levi, they appeared like 
 spectres to the startled inhabitants. Some fled across the river in 
 canoes and gave the alarm. The drums immediately beat to arms in 
 the city, for the fears of those who came with the stirring message, 
 had greatly magnified the number and character of the invaders. 
 By a mistake in a single word, the alarm of the people was much 
 increased, for the news spread that the mysterious army, that had 
 
Mi\ 43.] SURVIVORS OF THE EXPEDITION. 697 
 
 descended from the wilderness, were clad in sheet-iron ! Morgan s 
 riflemen, with their linen frocks, had first been seen, and the Cana 
 dians said they were vetu en toile clothed in linen cloth. The last 
 word was changed to idle iron plate and this was the mistake 
 that produced such a fearful panic. 
 
 In the midst of a fierce storm, and in the presence of a strong- 
 walled town, with disciplined soldiers within it, Arnold wrote 
 cheerily to Montgomery, declaring his intention to cross the St. 
 Lawrence to attack the enemy, in spite of the "Hunter sloop and 
 Lizard frigate," that lay in the stream to intercept him. And with 
 brief words, he congratulated Montgomery on his victory at St. 
 John, intelligence of which had just reached Arnold, by an express 
 sent by the former. 
 
 Many of the survivors of this expedition afterward became emi 
 nent men. Arnold was a major-general, but fell like " Lucifer, son 
 of the morning." Burr became an accomplished soldier, and vice- 
 president of the United States. Samuel Spring, the chaplain of 
 the corps, became a beloved doctor of divinity; Daniel Morgan 
 was an honored brigadier-general, whose memory will ever remain 
 green ; Dearborn was a colonel in the old war for independence, 
 and the commander-in-chief in that of 1812 ; and Return J. Meigs 
 was commissioned a colonel, and with Febiger, the gallant Dane 
 (who was in this expedition), he did noble service at Stony Point 
 and elsewhere. Matthias Ogden became an eminent civilian in 
 New Jersey ; Christopher Greene nobly defended Fort Mercer, and 
 suffered martyrdom in the cause of Freedom a little later; and 
 Porterfield, the gallant Virginia captain, fell in battle at Cam den, 
 with the immortal De Kalb. Others less conspicuous, but no less 
 deserving, as brave men and zealous patriots, lived to fight on 
 during the long struggle of the revolted colonists. 
 
693 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHV. [1775. 
 
 CHAPTER LIX. 
 
 MONTGOMERY DETERMINES TO TAKE MONTREAL UNEASINESS ABOUT ARNOLD 
 
 FRESH INSUBORDINATION MARCH AGAINST MONTREAL FLIGHT OF CARLETON 
 
 AND GARRISON INTERCEPTED AND CAPTURED BY EASTON MONTGOMERY VIC 
 TOR AT MONTREAL HEARS FROM ARNOLD CARLETON s ESCAPE ARNOLD BE 
 FORE QUEBEC CROSSES THE RIVER AND SCALES THE HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM 
 
 SENTIMENTS OF THE PEOPLE INEFFECTUAL ATTEMPTS TO TAKE THE CITY RE 
 TIRES TO POINT AUX TREMBLES MONTGOMERY S VEXATIONS AT MONTREAL 
 
 DESERTION OF NEW ENGLAND TROOPS SCHUYLER AND MONTGOMERY TALK OF 
 
 RESIGNING CORRESPONDENCE WITH WASHINGTON JUNCTION OF THE FORCES 
 
 UNDER MONTGOMERY AND ARNOLD THEIR ARRIVAL AT QUEBEC. 
 
 IT was on the same day when Arnold left Sertigan in a snow 
 storm for the St. Lawrence, that Montgomery s victory at St. John 
 was consummated, by the formal surrender of that post into his 
 hands, in the light of an unclouded sun. That commander, always 
 active and vigilant as well as brave, resolved to secure the advan 
 tages he had gained, by pushing on toward Montreal, hoping to 
 have the co-operation of Arnold below, in effecting its capture. 
 This would not only be an important victory in itself, but it would 
 have such an effect upon the Canadians, that Quebec, holding as 
 it did many friends of the Americans, might become an easy con 
 quest. 
 
 When Montgomery first heard of Arnold s appointment, he felt 
 some uneasiness, in anticipation of his insisting upon an inde 
 pendent leadership. On the twenty-fourth of September he asked, 
 in a letter to General Schuyler, " Should Arnold come in my neigh 
 borhood, has he orders to put himself under my command ?" " You 
 /mow his ambition" he continued ; " and I need not point out the bad 
 consequences of a separate command."* This uneasiness was re- 
 
 * Autograph Letter. 
 
^E r. 43.] CAPTURE OF MONTREAL. 699 
 
 moved by a letter from Schuyler, written on the thirtieth, in which 
 he said : " When General Washington first informed me that a 
 body of troops was to be sent by the way of Kennebec, I foresaw 
 the necessity of being explicit on the subject of command. And 
 by his of the eighth instant, in answer to mine, he says, I shall 
 take care in my instructions to Colonel Arnold, that in case there 
 should be a junction of the detachment with your army, you shall 
 have no difficulty in adjusting the scale of command. "* In the 
 ninth article of the instructions referred to, Washington, it will be 
 perceived, was very explicit on that point. 
 
 Now, when about to penetrate Canada, Montgomery was eager 
 to form a junction with the intrepid leader of the expedition 
 across the wilderness, but no tidings came of his arrival. " Not a 
 word of Arnold yet," he wrote to Schuyler. " I have sent two 
 expresses to him lately, one by an Indian who promised to return 
 with expedition. The instant I have news of him I will acquaint 
 you by express." But he did not tarry and wait upon uncertain 
 ties. He issued orders for the troops to march : then the voice of 
 mutiny was again heard. The cold season was near at hand, and 
 the raw troops, unused to the privations of the field, yearned for 
 home, and at first refused to be led further away. But the kind 
 temper, patriotic zeal, and winning eloquence of Montgomery ; and 
 a promise that when Montreal should be taken, no further service 
 would be asked of them, won them to obedience, and all but a small 
 garrison left at St. John, pushed on toward Montreal, where Gov 
 ernor Carleton had remained since his repulse at Longueuil. 
 
 When Montgomery approached Montreal on the twelfth of No 
 vember, Carleton, knowing the extreme weakness of the place, and 
 the little dependence to be placed in the loyalty of the French 
 inhabitants, retreated with the garrison, on board a fleet of ten or 
 eleven small vessels lying in the river in front of the town. Per 
 ceiving this movement, Montgomery despatched Colonel Easton, 
 with continental troops, cannon, and armed gondolas, to the mouth 
 of the Sorel to intercept these vessels in their passage down the 
 
 * Schuyler s Letter Books. 
 
700 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 St. Lawrence; and, at the same time he crossed the river from 
 Laprairie. On the following morning he entered Montreal in tri 
 umph. He treated the inhabitants humanely, and thus secured 
 their confidence and good will. There he found a large supply of 
 woollen goods, with which he set about clothing a portion of his 
 wretchedly-clad army, and soon those who agreed to follow him* 
 further were speedily prepared for the rigors of a Canadian winter. 
 Then, for the first, he was informed, through intercepted letters, of 
 Arnold s arrival in the neighborhood of Quebec ; and a day or two 
 afterward, young Burr appeared at headquarters. " I find," wrote 
 Montgomery, "that the king s friends at Quebec are exceedingly 
 alarmed, and expect to be besieged ; which, by the blessing of God 
 they shall be, if the severe season holds off, and I can prevail on 
 the troops to accompany me." In the same letter he expressed 
 great uneasiness because of the manifest indisposition of the troops 
 to follow him further. " I make no doubt," he said, " of retaining 
 as many as will hold the ground already gotten ; but it is of the 
 utmost importance to finish this business at once, that the ministry 
 may have no hopes left of carrying on their infernal plan in this 
 important quarter,"* 
 
 Easton and his party reached the Sorel in time to dispute the 
 passage of Carleton s fleet. They were so advantageously posted, 
 with six cannon on shore, and two row-galleys, that the vessels 
 could not pass, and for several days they were kept at bay. Mean 
 while Montgomeiy prepared to attack them with field-pieces in 
 batteaux, but before he could complete his arrangements, the fleet 
 was captured by Easton. General Prescott and several other offi 
 cers, some members of the Canadian council, and one hundred and 
 twenty private soldiers, with all the vessels and stores, were sur 
 rendered by capitulation. But Carleton, whom the Americans 
 were specially anxious to secure, had, under cover of the darkness 
 on the previous night, escaped in a boat rowed by muffled oars, 
 and reached Quebec in safety. The spoils were quite a large quan 
 tity of provisions, three barrels of powder, four cannon and artil- 
 
 * Autograph Letter, Montreal, November 13, 1775. 
 
MT. 43.] ARNOLD BEFORE QUEBEC. 701 
 
 lery munitions, a quantity of small arms, balls, musket-cartridges, 
 two hundred pairs of shoes, and some entrenching tools. The 
 prisoners and booty were sent to St. John, and Montgomery, saying, 
 "Until Quebec is taken Canada is unconquered," determined to 
 push on toward that capital to join Arnold in besieging it, despite 
 the increasing inclemency of the season, and the bad conduct of 
 many of his troops. 
 
 Arnold, meanwhile, had been very active and daring. He had 
 resolved to cross the river immediately after his arrival at Point 
 Levi, on the ninth, and demand the surrender of Quebec. He 
 had many personal and political friends in the city, and at once 
 found means to communicate his intentions to them, that they 
 might co-operate with him. But the storm that commenced on his 
 arrival increased in violence, and for several days and nights a 
 tempest of wind and sleet raged upon the St. Lawrence. 
 
 In the meantime, the troops under the veteran, Maclean, who had 
 fled from the mouth of the Sorel, joined the garrison at Quebec, 
 and Arnold s chances for success were diminished. But he was not 
 discouraged, and when the wind ceased, on the evening of the 
 thirteenth, he embarked the first division of his little army in thirty 
 or forty birch canoes that he had procured, and crossed the river a 
 little above the town, unobserved by the British vessels. Before 
 daylight five hundred resolute Americans, with their Indian allies, 
 had safely landed and were gathered at Wolfe s cove, prepared to 
 emulate the heroism of the English army, sixteen years before, by 
 scaling the heights of Abraham, to confront the enemy in the city. 
 One hundred and fifty Americans were yet at Point Levi. It was 
 too late to return for them. No time could be lost without danger 
 to the enterprise, for the garrison would soon be alarmed, and the 
 Plains of Abraham must be reached before the enemy should sally 
 forth. This was accomplished at the first gleam of daylight, Ar 
 nold led his men up Wolfe s ravine ; and in the gray of early morn 
 ing, that intrepid band stood upon the heights of Abraham, exposed 
 to keen blasts from the north, yet filled with fiery zeal for the cause 
 in which they were engaged. They were soon joined by their 
 
702 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 comrades from Point Levi ; and then was presented the strange 
 spectacle of seven hundred and fifty men, without artillery, with 
 almost half their muskets rendered useless, during their march 
 through the wilderness, in the heart of an enemy s country, stand 
 ing as besiegers before a walled and fortified town ! To the super 
 ficial observer this would appear like the desperate movement of 
 madmen. It was not so. 
 
 The garrison at Quebec, including the regular troops, militia, and 
 marines, w\is about eighteen hundred strong; quite sufficient to 
 scatter the invaders to the winds, had they all been loyal to the 
 crown. They were not. Most of the leading men in Quebec, and 
 in the surrounding country were disloyally inclined ; and the 
 English residents were dissatisfied with the operations of laws that 
 had grown out of the Quebec Act of the previous year. The 
 French citizens and the hdbitans beyond the walls, though petted, 
 so as to be won to a temporary loyalty, could not forget their 
 ancient national animosities, and were willing to see the English 
 discomfited. The unruly conduct of the soldiers had disgusted the 
 people, and some were loud in their complaints against Carleton 
 and his lieutenant, for exposing Quebec, by withdrawing the garri 
 son when Montreal was threatened. The militia, who formed the 
 greater portion of the garrison, sympathized with the people, and 
 were suspected of treasonable proclivities; and the Scotch-High 
 landers, under Maclean, were really all that could be relied on by 
 Cramahe. These elements of weakness, well known to Arnold, 
 made him so bold. 
 
 Relying upon the friendly disposition of the Canadians, Arnold 
 drew up his men within eight hundred yards of the walls, near the 
 gate of St. Louis, and ordered them to give three cheers, hoping 
 that the regulars would sally out and attack him. In that event, 
 while the gates were unclosed, he intended to rush through, and by 
 the aid of friends within, secure the town. Hundreds of the inhab 
 itants were upon the walls, and many of them huzzaed in return ; 
 but the wary Maclean, conscious of the disloyalty that surrounded 
 him, kept the garrison within their secure retreat, quite willing to 
 
JT. 43.] ARNOLD RETIRES FROM QUEBEC. 703 
 
 leave the bleak winter winds to war upon the invaders. He 
 brought a thirty-two-pound cannon to bear upon the Americans, 
 but not a shot took effect. 
 
 Failing in his attempts to draw out the garrison by frequent 
 hostile displays upon the heights, Arnold, in accordance with the 
 grave forms of military usage, performed the ridiculous farce of 
 sending in a flag to Maclean, with a formal summons to surrender, 
 and threatening him with woful disasters if he refused. This ex 
 cited the regret of his own officers, and the great merriment of 
 the loyalists in the city. Of course no attention was paid to the 
 summons; and Arnold was speedily induced to retire from before 
 Quebec. On the morning of the eighteenth, he made a thorough in 
 spection of his ammunition and stores, and to his great surprise, he 
 found that nearly all the cartridges were spoiled, hardly five rounds 
 to each man being left fit for use. Many of his troops had become 
 sick from exposure and fatigue, and not more than five hundred 
 and fifty men were fit for effective service. At the same time, he 
 was informed that Carleton was approaching Quebec, and that 
 Colonel Maclean was preparing to make a sortie in the course of a 
 day or two. This combination of alarming circumstances caused 
 him to break up his camp on the nineteenth, and retreat to Point 
 aux Trembles, twenty miles above Quebec, there to await the 
 approaching troops under Montgomery. 
 
 Carleton had left Point aux Trembles but a few hours before 
 Arnold s arrival there ; and shortly afterward the Americans heard 
 the cannonading at Quebec that welcomed the arrival of the gov 
 ernor. On the following day, Arnold despatched a message to 
 Montgomery, by Captain Ogden, informing him of the situation of 
 affairs at Quebec, and suggesting the necessity of employing at 
 least two thousand men in the siege. 
 
 Having placed sufficient garrisons at St. John, Chamblee, and 
 Montreal, Montgomery summoned the remainder of his troops to 
 join him in an expedition against Quebec. To his great mortifica 
 tion, he found a large proportion of them indisposed to comply. 
 Some absolutely refused to go further, and became turbulent and 
 
704 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 mutinous. Others pleaded sickness; the term of enlistment of 
 many had expired, and they insisted upon returning home ; and 
 others, insufficiently clad, made that circumstance an excuse for 
 their refusal. Days, precious days, were consumed in futile en 
 deavors to organize a force sufficient to move forward ; and in 
 several of his letters to General Schuyler, Montgomery expressed 
 his mortification because of their being still dated at Montreal. 
 Vexations of every kind harassed and wearied him. He also felt 
 the great responsibility resting upon him, and he yearned for a 
 committee of the continental Congress to be with him as an ad 
 visory council, and to exert their influence upon the people of 
 Canada. 
 
 Nothing but his patriotic desire to carry out the plans of the 
 campaign, kept Montgomery at the head of the turbulent and 
 unreliable army for an hour. He longed for General Schuyler to 
 come to his relief. " Will not your health permit you to reside at 
 Montreal this winter ?" he wrote to his general on the day of the 
 capitulation. " I must go home if I walk by the side of the lake. 
 I am weary of power, and totally want that patience and temper 
 so requisite for such a command." He complained of the coarse 
 ness and want of cultivation of many of the inferior officers, and 
 attributed much of the insubordination of the troops, to this fact. 
 "I wish," he wrote, in the same letter, "some method could be 
 fallen upon of engaging gentlemen to serve. A point *of honor, and 
 more knowledge of the world to be found in that class of men, 
 would greatly reform discipline and render the troops much more 
 tractable."* To this letter Schuyler made a soothing reply, and 
 added a postscript, saying, " It is high time for me to quit this place, 
 as I am lately far from being so well as I have been." His disor 
 ders were complicated, and not long afterward he was compelled to 
 retire to his home in Albany. 
 
 Montgomer} 7 was yet at Montreal on the twenty-fourth of No 
 vember, unable to move forward, and greatly irritated by an event 
 that caused him to resign. Some of his officers, among whom was 
 
 * Autograph Letter. 
 
JET. 43.] THE NEW ENGLAND TROOPS. 705 
 
 Captain Lamb, of the artillery, had presumed to remonstrate with 
 him because of his humanity to the British prisoners. " Such an 
 insult," he wrote, "I could not bear, and immediately resigned. 
 However, to-day they qualified by such an apology, as put it in my 
 power to resume the command with some propriety, and I have 
 promised to bury it in oblivion." 
 
 Already many of the soldiers had left Montgomery, and made 
 their way up the lake. " I believe you have few of the New Eng 
 land troops left," wrote General Schuyler to him on the eighteenth, 
 from Ticonderoga, " as near three hundred have passed here within 
 these few days, and so very impatient to get home that many have 
 gone from here by land."* To General Washington he wrote, on 
 the twenty-second: "Nothing can surpass the impatience of the 
 troops from the New England colonies to get to their firesides. 
 Near three hundred of them arrived a few days ago, unable to do 
 any duty, but as soon as I administered that grand specific, a dis 
 charge, they instantly acquired health, and rather than be detained 
 a few days to cross Lake George, they undertook a march from 
 here, of two hundred miles, with the greatest alacrity."f At about 
 the same time, Montgomery wrote, in a letter to Schuyler, from 
 Montreal : " The rascally Green-Mountain Boys have left me in the 
 lurch, after promising to go." 
 
 Washington experienced similar trouble with some of the Con 
 necticut troops at Cambridge. He communicated the facts to 
 Governor Trumbull, who replied : " The late extraordinary and 
 
 * Schuyler s Letter Books. 
 
 t Schuyler s Letter Books. At this time a circumstance occurred at Ticonderoga, which 
 caused much ill feeling toward General Schuyler, among some of the Connecticut troops, 
 who were then at that post. A schooner and row-galley arrived at Crown Point with more 
 than one hundred persons, many of them prisoners, and women and children, from Canada. The 
 ice prevented them from reaching Ticonderoga, and at Crown Point they became destitute of pro 
 visions. In this perilous situation they sent an express to General Schuyler, imploring relief. He 
 immediately ordered three captains of Wooster s regiment to proceed with a considerable body of 
 men, in batteaux, to attempt the relief of the sufferers. They manifested great unwillingness to 
 go, and made many frivolous excuses. This display of inhumanity disgusted and irritated the 
 benevolent and high-minded Schuyler, and the next day (the twenty-fifth of November), in general 
 orders, he named the three captains (Porter, Arnold, and Peck), and said : " The general, therefore, 
 not daring to trust a matter of so much importance to men of so little feeling, has ordered Lieu 
 tenant Riker, of Colonel Holmes s regiment, to make the attempt. He received the order with the 
 alacrity becoming a gentleman, an officer, and a Christian." Schuyler s Orderly Book. This was 
 a severe but merited rebuke, and caused much irritation. 
 
 45 
 
70(J WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 reprehensible conduct of some of the troops of this colony impres 
 ses me, and the minds of many of our people, with grief, surprise, 
 and indignation ; since the treatment they met with, and the order 
 and request made to them, were so reasonable, and apparently 
 necessary for the defence of the common cause, and safety of our 
 rights and privileges, for which they freely engaged." 
 
 Sick and feeble as he was, General Schuyler had nobly seconded 
 Montgomery in all his efforts ; and his services at Ticonderoga, in 
 forwarding supplies, and as a vigilant medium of communication 
 between the army in Canada, and the continental Congress and 
 Washington, were of the greatest importance. He and Mont 
 gomery were high-minded and patriotic. They were skilful tacti 
 cians, careful guardians of the public welfare, economical in their 
 management, and exact disciplinarians. Therefore the disorderly 
 spirit manifested by the troops, the peculations of commissaries 
 and others in offices of trust, wastefulness in every department, and 
 the selfishness and sectional jealousy that continually appeared, 
 vexed and annoyed them every hour ; and they became so heartily 
 weary of the service, that they expressed a determination to retire 
 to private life at the close of the campaign. u Gentlemen in com 
 mand," Schuyler wrote to Washington, in the letter above quoted 
 from, " find it very disagreeable to coax, to wheedle, and even to He, 
 to carry on the service. Habituated to order, I can not, without 
 the most extreme pain, see that disregard of discipline, confusion, 
 and inattention, which reigns so generally in this quarter, and I am, 
 therefore, determined to retire. Of this resolution I have advised 
 Congress."* 
 
 The value of these officers was well understood by Congress, and 
 by the command er-in-chief. The former entreated General Schuy 
 ler not to retire, because it " would deprive America of the benefits 
 of his zeal and abilities, and rob him of the honor of completing 
 the work he had so happily begun f and they honored Montgomery 
 with a major-general s commission. Washington was much con 
 cerned, for he regarded General Schuyler as one of the main 
 
 * Schuyler s Letter Books 
 
ZEr. 43.] PATRIOTIC SENTIMENTS EXCHANGED. 707 
 
 supports of the continental army, and, on the fifth of December, 
 he wrote to him and said : " I know that your complaints are too 
 well founded ; but I would willingly hope that nothing will induce 
 you to quit the service, and that, in time, order and subordination 
 will take the place of confusion, and command be rendered more 
 agreeable The cause we are engaged in is so just and righteous, 
 that we must try to rise superior to every obstacle in its support ; 
 and, therefore, I beg that you will not think of resigning, unless 
 you have carried your application to Congress too far to recede." 
 
 A fortnight later Washington wrote to General Schuyler and 
 said: "Let me ask you, sir, when is the time for brave men to 
 exert themselves in the cause of liberty and their country, if this 
 is not? Should any difficulties that they have to encounter at this 
 important crisis deter them? God knows there is not a difficulty 
 that you both very justly complain of, which I have not, in an emi 
 nent degree, experienced, that I am not every day experiencing; 
 but we must bear up against them, and make the best of mankind 
 as they are, since we can not have them as we wish. Let me, 
 therefore, conjure you and Mr. Montgomery to lay aside such 
 thoughts thoughts injurious to yourselves, and extremely so to 
 your country, which calls aloud for gentlemen of your abilities."* 
 
 This appeal was more than sufficient. On the fifth of January, 
 Schuyler replied : "I do not hesitate a moment to answer my dear 
 general s question in the affirmative, by declaring, that now or 
 never is the time for every virtuous American to exert himself in 
 the cause of liberty and his country, and that it becomes a dut}^ 
 cheerfully to sacrifice the sweets of domestic felicity, to attain the 
 honest and glorious end America has in view ; and I can, with a 
 good conscience, declare, that I have devoted myself to the service 
 of my country, in the firmest resolution to sink or swim with it." 
 Then, anticipating the question, " Why, then, do you wish to retire 
 from public office ?" General Schuyler unburdened his full heart 
 in the confidence of brother with brother, and said : " I have 
 already informed you of the disagreeable situation I have been in 
 
 * Sparks s Life and Writings of Washington, iii., 209. 
 
708 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 during the campaign, but I would waive that were it not that it 
 has chiefly arisen from prejudice and jealousy, for I could point out 
 particular persons of rank in the army, who have frequently de 
 clared that the general commanding in this quarter ought to be of 
 the colony whence the majority of the troops come. But it is not 
 from the opinion or principles of individuals that I have drawn the 
 following conclusion : that troops from the cotony of Connecticut will not 
 hear uith a general from another colon?/. It is from the daily and com 
 mon conversation of all ranks of people from that colony, both in 
 and out of the army ; and I assure you, that I sincerely lament 
 that a people of so much public virtue should be actuated by such 
 an unbecoming jealousy, founded on such a narrow principle a 
 principle extremely unfriendly to our righteous cause."* 
 
 This sectional jealousy which has ever been the bane of perfect 
 union in our republic, was the chief cause of many serious diffi 
 culties during the earlier years of the war, and at times, threatened 
 the utter defeat of many well-planned measures of the revolted 
 colonists. All of the leading men in the army were subjected to its 
 baneful effects, and none more frequently and pressingly than 
 Washington and Schuyler. The correspondence of these great and 
 pure men abounds with evidences of such annoyance, and unfolds to 
 the student of the history of that period, much of the true philoso 
 phy by which events, to be understood, must be examined, analyzed, 
 and explained. And this brief digression has been made. for the 
 purpose of giving the reader a clue to otherwise inexplicable cir 
 cumstances which we shall hereafter consider. We will now re 
 sume the narrative. 
 
 With the remnant of his army, that had been thoroughly win 
 nowed of the m turbulent and mutinous, Montgomery sailed from 
 Montreal at the close of November, on board the flotilla captured 
 by Easton, leaving General Wooster in the chief command of the 
 posts that were behind him. On the first of December he joined 
 Arnold, at Point aux Trembles, and took the command of the 
 combined forces, amounting, in all, to about nine hundred men 
 
 * ISchuvler s Letter Books 
 
JET. 43.] MONTGOMERY BEFORE QUEBEC. 709 
 
 only. Those with Montgomery were chiefly New-Yorkers, inclu 
 ding Lamb s artillery. He was able to supply Arnold s half-naked 
 troops with clothing ; and, on the day after the junction, they all 
 started, on foot, for Quebec, in the face of a driving snow-storm. 
 Their march was slow and extremely fatiguing, for the roads soon 
 became filled with deep drifts, through which they were compelled 
 to drag the artillery. But they overcame every obstacle, and on 
 the morning of the fifth, the little army beheld Quebec. Before 
 night they were all comfortably quartered in houses, in the suburb 
 St. Roque, near the Intendant s palace, close by the St. Charles. 
 Montgomery made his headquarters at Holland house, on the road 
 leading to the church of St. Foi, and Arnold occupied a dwelling 
 near Scott s bridge, that spanned the St. Charles. 
 
 Montgomery at once made diligent inquiries respecting the forti 
 fications of the town, the strength and character of the garrison, 
 the disposition of the inhabitants, and the means for supplying the 
 wants of his army. The information obtained convinced him, that 
 with his handful of men, an investment of the city was out of the 
 question. He, therefore, contemplated and adopted other plans. 
 
710 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 CHAPTEE LX. 
 
 WASHINGTON AND THE CANADA EXPEDITIONS SCHUYLER s ILLNESS MONT 
 GOMERY AND WOOSTER WOOSTER S NOBLE CONDUCT BRITISH SQUADRON 
 
 SAILS FROM BOSTON CANADIANS TO BE CONCILIATED WASHINGTON S ANTI 
 CIPATIONS OF SUCCESS IN CANADA THE SIEGE OF QUEBEC EFFORTS AND 
 
 PLANS AN ASSAULT ON THE CITY DEATH OF MONTGOMERY BRAVERY OF 
 
 ARNOLD S TROOPS AMERICANS DEFEATED HONORS TO GENERAL MONTGOM 
 ERY RELATIVE POSITION OF THE BELLIGERENTS. 
 
 FROM his camp at Cambridge, where he was compelled by cir 
 cumstances to be comparatively inactive, Washington had watched 
 the movements of these two expeditions into Canada with the live 
 liest interest and anxiety, especially after Arnold left the Kennebec. 
 In view of his departure, the commander-in-chief called upon Gov 
 ernor Trumbull to send on reinforcements to supply the place of 
 Arnold s detachment; and he directed General Wooster, then with 
 a small force of Connecticut troops on Long Island, to join General 
 Schuyler on Lake Champlain, saying in his letter, that that officer 
 was " engaged in a service of the greatest importance to the whole 
 continent, his strength and appointments being far short of his 
 expectations." Wooster obeyed, and on the twenty-eighth of Sep 
 tember he embarked, with his battalion, for Albany. 
 
 A month later the illness of General Schuyler gave Washington 
 some apprehensions respecting the command of the troops in the 
 northern department. As Wooster was the eldest brigadier, Wash 
 ington thought he would take rank and command of Montgomery, 
 and this he deprecated. Wooster was an old man, and lacked the 
 necessary activity to conduct and push through a campaign like 
 the one in progress. Washington expressed his apprehensions on 
 that point to General Schuyler, and said: "I am, therefore, much 
 
Mr. 43.] MONTGOMERY AND WOOSTER. 711 
 
 alarmed for Arnold, whose expedition was built upon yours, and 
 who will infallibly perish, if the invasion and entry into Canada are 
 abandoned by your successors." Fortunately, by the appointment 
 of Putnam over Wooster, and other changes, the former ranked 
 one degree lower than Montgomery; and to prevent all chances 
 for disputes, Schuyler had resolved to keep Wooster at Ticonderoga 
 and send his regiment forward. 
 
 Wooster had complained of the appointment of Putnam over 
 him, and his inferior position on the list of generals ; and his officers 
 and men, considering that he had been unjustly dealt with, sympa 
 thized with him in his complaints, and refused to proceed without 
 him.* This embarrassed Schuyler, and he wrote to Wooster to 
 know on what ground he considered himself to stand. Wooster 
 made a noble and patriotic reply, in which he said : " I shall consider 
 my rank in the army what my commission from the continental 
 Congress makes it, and shall not attempt to dispute the command 
 with General Montgomery at St. John. You may depend, sir, that 
 I shall exert myself as much as possible to promote the strictest 
 union and harmony among both officers and soldiers, and use every 
 means in my power to give success to the expedition."f This deter 
 mination was communicated to Washington, and gave him great 
 satisfaction. " I much approve your conduct in regard to Wooster," 
 he wrote. " My fears are at an end, as he acts in a subordinate 
 character. Intimate this to General Montgomery, with my con 
 gratulations on his success, and the seasonable supply of powder 
 [taken at Chamblee], and wishes that his next letter may be dated 
 from Montreal." At the same time, Washington expressed his 
 great anxiety to hear from Arnold. 
 
 Early in October Washington was informed that a small British 
 squadron, bearing six hundred men, had left Boston and sailed 
 northeastward. It was at first supposed that its destination was 
 the destruction of New England coast towns, as the ships bore mor- 
 
 * The officers and men under Wooster had already refused to sign the articles of war sent out by 
 the continental Congress, and would only be governed by the militia laws of Connecticut. Auto 
 graph Letter of Wooster to Schuyler. 
 
 t Autograph Letter 
 
712 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 tars and howitzers ; but finally, it became apparent that Quebec was 
 the point for which the squadron had sailed. This conclusion gave 
 Washington uneasiness, for such a reinforcement of the garrison at 
 Quebec before the arrival of Montgomery and Arnold, might be 
 fatal to the whole scheme against Canada. He, therefore, waited 
 anxiously for letters from Arnold, but these were much delayed 
 after the expedition left Lake Megantic, because they were sent 
 by way of Montreal, St. John, and Ticonderoga. 
 
 At length encouraging intelligence came from both Montgomery 
 and Arnold ; and, on the nineteenth of November, Washington 
 expressed, in a letter to Congress, anticipations of precisely what 
 did occur. " It is likely," he said, " that Governor Carleton will, 
 with what force he can collect, after the surrender of the rest of 
 Canada, throw himself into Quebec, and there make his last effort." 
 On the twenty-seventh he wrote joyfully to Richard Henry Lee, 
 and said: "I heartily congratulate you and the Congress on the 
 reduction of St. John. I hope all Canada is in our possession 
 before this. Would it not be politic to invite them [Canadians] to 
 send members to Congress ? Would it not be also politic to raise a 
 regiment or two in Canada, and bring them out of the country ?" 
 
 These measures had already been provided for by Congress, in 
 their instructions to a committee, appointed by that body to pro 
 ceed to the northern department and confer with General Schuyler. 
 And both Washington and Congress had been anticipated by Mont 
 gomery, who, on the day when he entered Montreal as victor, said 
 to the people : " I hope to see such a provincial convention assem 
 bled as would enter with zeal into every measure that could con 
 tribute to set the civil and religious rights of this and its sister 
 colonies on a permanent foundation." In this, Montgomery was 
 ably seconded by Mr. Price, a merchant of Montreal, who was 
 very active in affording substantial aid to the troops ; and, in the 
 spring, that gentleman was appointed deputy commissary-general 
 of the army in Canada. 
 
 Early in December, while everything wore a gloomy aspect at 
 Cambridge, Washington was still cheered by intelligence from 
 
WASHINGTON S FEARS AND HOPES. 713 
 
 Montgomery and Arnold, the former having taken Montreal, and 
 the latter then menacing Quebec. The same intelligence from the 
 North that pleased Washington, alarmed General Howe, at Boston. 
 On hearing of the fall of St. John and Montreal, he wrote to Lord 
 Dartmouth, and. expressed his apprehensions that the whole prov 
 ince would speedily fall into the hands of the invaders; and he 
 recommended the fitting out of twelve thousand men for the re 
 covery of it. 
 
 On the fifth of December, the day when the combined forces of 
 Montgomery and Arnold reached Quebec, Washington wrote to 
 Schuyler and said : " It gave me the highest satisfaction to hear of 
 Colonel Arnold s being at Point Levi, with his men in great spirits, 
 after their long and fatiguing march.... The merit of this gentle 
 man is certainly great, and I heartily wish that fortune may distin 
 guish him as one of her favorites. I am convinced that he will do 
 everything that prudence and valor shall suggest, to add to the 
 success of our arms, and for reducing Quebec to our possession." 
 
 To Colonel Arnold he wrote on the same day : " It is not in the 
 power of any man to command success, but you have done more, 
 you have deserved it ; and before this time, I hope, you will have 
 met with the laurels which are due to your toils, in the possession 
 of Quebec. My thanks are due, and sincerely offered to you, for 
 
 your enterprising and persevering spirit I have no doubt but a 
 
 junction of your detachment with the army under General Mont 
 gomery is effected before this. If so, you will put yourself under 
 his command, and will, I am persuaded, give him all the assistance 
 in your power to finish the glorious work you have begun. That 
 the Almighty may preserve and prosper you, is my sincere and 
 fervent prayer." 
 
 Finally, on the last day of the year the day when the Ameri 
 cans stormed Quebec, when all was gloom at Cambridge because 
 of the uncertainty respecting a new organization of the army that 
 was to take place the following day, Washington received cheering 
 news from the North, brought by Captain Freeman, who came 
 directly from the camp before Quebec. He represented the Ameri- 
 
714 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 cans as about two thousand strong, while Carletori had only about 
 twelve hundred men, " the majority of these sailors ;" and that it 
 was his opinion, that the French would give up the place if they 
 could get the same conditions that were granted to the inhabitants 
 of Montreal. This was pleasant intelligence, but it proved decep 
 tive. Hope told a flattering tale. Almost the next news from the 
 North came in the accents of a voice of wail, for brave men had 
 fallen, and Quebec stood firm against the efforts of the invaders. 
 
 Governor Carleton s arrival at Quebec was opportune for the 
 royal cause in that quarter, and Colonel Maclean and other loyalists 
 hailed him with pleasure. Notwithstanding his personal unpopu 
 larity, especially with the merchants and other business men, be 
 cause of his habitual coldness of manner, and his preference for 
 military society, in this hour of danger they felt great confidence 
 in his skill, judgment, prudence, and courage. Carle ton well knew 
 the disloyalty that surrounded him, and his first measure was to 
 expel from the city all persons suspected of the least disaffection. 
 Very many left ; and while enemies within, who were more to be 
 dreaded than enemies without, were thus deprived of power to do 
 harm, there were many less mouths in the city to fill. This would 
 have been a consideration of great importance, if a competent force 
 had protracted the siege, and cut off supplies from the country. 
 
 On the day of his arrival at Quebec, Montgomery despatched a 
 flag to Carleton with a formal summons to surrender. In violation 
 of the rules of honorable warfare, the flag was fired upon, and not 
 permitted -to approach the walls. At length Montgomery sent in a 
 letter, by a woman, in which he magnified the number and appoint 
 ments of his army, demanded an immediate surrender, and threat 
 ened the city with the calamities of assault and pillage in the 
 event of Carleton s refusal. By the same messenger he sent let 
 ters to leading citizens, promising every indulgence in the event of 
 their immediate submission. The brave governor was not easily 
 frightened, notwithstanding he believed the Americans to be much 
 more numerous than they really were. He well knew that the 
 presence of himself and the troops would keep the friends of the 
 
JET. 43.] AN ICE-BATTERY. 715 
 
 Americans in the city, on whom Montgomery placed great reliance, 
 very quiet, and, therefore, he did not fear the operation of secret 
 treason. He knew the strength of his defences, and the perils of 
 the elements to which the invaders were exposed outside the walls. 
 Carefully and wisely measuring his chances, Carleton calculated on 
 a successful resistance, and spurned the summons of Montgomery. 
 
 The prospect for the Americans appeared extremely unpromising. 
 With a feeble, ill-clad, and ill-fed army, exposed to the severest 
 frosts in the open fields ; with no other ordnance than a field-train 
 of artillery and a few mortars ; with scanty intrenching tools, and 
 the ground hard frozen to a great depth, the American commander 
 almost despaired of success. Yet his brave heart and generous 
 spirit would not yield, and he resolved to force the people and 
 garrison into a surrender by annoyances. Accordingly, he com 
 menced the erection of a breastwork of ice, within four hundred 
 yards of the walls, in front of St. Louis gate, by arranging gabions 
 (large cylindrical baskets of wicker-work) abreast, filled with snow, 
 upon which water was poured until the whole became a mass of 
 solid ice. This was a severe labor, and was not completed until the 
 fifteenth, when Captain Lamb mounted five field-pieces and a how 
 itzer upon the glittering embankment, and opened a cannonade 
 and bombardment. Several mortars were also placed in the suburb 
 St. Roque ; and for five successive days and nights the garrison and 
 citizens were terribly harassed. The guns were too light to make 
 any impression upon the walls, but the bombs set the town on fire 
 in several places. At length heavy balls hurled from the British 
 fortress, shivered the brittle breastworks of the Americans into 
 atoms, and the ice-battery was withdrawn. 
 
 Almost three weeks had been consumed in ineffectual attempts 
 to make an entrance or compel a surrender. Mutinous murmurs 
 became audible in the camp ; the term of enlistment of many of 
 the men was nearly expired, and the small-pox appeared among 
 the soldiers. Something effectual must be done speedily, or the 
 army would dissolve and utter failure would ensue. Montgomery, 
 perceiving the fearful web of difficulties that was gathering around 
 
71H WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 him, conceived a bold plan. Mr. Price, of Montreal, and Mr. Antill, 
 of the same place (whom Montgomery appointed engineer, with 
 the rank of captain), had expressed a belief, that if the Americans 
 could obtain possession of the lower town, the merchants and other 
 wealthy citizens would induce Carleton to surrender, rather than 
 expose all their property to destruction. A council-of-war was 
 called, and the general s plan (which he had already communicated 
 to Wooster, at Montreal, by letter on the sixteenth) was laid before 
 it. He proposed to detach one third of the troops, on the first 
 night when a strong northwest wind should be blowing, to set fire 
 to houses in the lower town, at such a point as to insure a com 
 munication of the flames to a stockade recently erected, on a rock 
 overlooking the suburb St. Eoque, and in the confusion to force 
 the barrier, rush in, and, by aid of the friendly inhabitants, take 
 possession. At the same time, another detachment was to attempt 
 the bastion at Cape Diamond by escalade. 
 
 This plan was approved by the council, but its execution was 
 delayed by dissensions among some of the officers, fomented at that 
 time, as Montgomeiy intimated in a letter to Schuyler, by Major 
 Brown, who had quarrelled with Arnold at Ticonderoga, and nur 
 tured in his bosom a viperous feud.* Arnold had used harsh lan 
 guage toward Captain Ranch ett before their arrival at Point Levi, 
 on account of alleged misconduct of the latter ; and two other cap 
 tains (Goodrich and Hubbard), took sides with Hanchet. When 
 Brown heard of this, after the junction at Point aux Trembles, he 
 seems to have made it an occasion for annoying Arnold, by widen 
 ing the breach, and endeavoring to seduce the three malcontents 
 from their leader s command to his own. He was so far successful, 
 that when Montgomery gave directions for carrying out his plan, 
 the three captains and their companies threatened to leave the 
 army unless they were detached from Arnold s corps. Montgomery 
 
 * In this letter, dated the twenty-sixth of December, Montgomery mentioned these difficulties, 
 and said : "I am much afraid my friend Major Brown is deeply concerned in this business. I will 
 have an eclaircissement with him on the subject. I will, hereafter, acquaint you more particularly 
 with this matter." This was the last letter General Montgomery ever wrote to General Schuyler, 
 and that further information " hereafter" was never given. 
 
JEx. 43.] PLAN OF ATTACK ON QUEBEC. 717 
 
 refused compliance with their demand. His wisdom and firmness 
 soon restored order, and he waited with impatience for a propitious 
 moment to attempt the execution of his scheme. Everything was 
 properly prepared for the service. A forlorn hope of forty men 
 were, at his own request, placed under the charge of young Burr 
 (who was now Montgomery s aid, with the rank of captain), ladders 
 for the escalade were prepared, and Burr thoroughly drilled the men 
 for the perilous duty. Every night that young subaltern recon 
 noitred the place of intended attack, and made himself fully ac 
 quainted with every foot of the locality and its surroundings. 
 
 A movement of the garrison convinced Montgomery that his 
 plans had been revealed to Carleton by some deserters, who had 
 fled from his camp and taken refuge in the city, and he changed it. 
 Colonel Livingston was to make a feigned attack on St. Louis gate, 
 and set it on fire, and at the same time Brown was to menace 
 Cape Diamond bastion. Arnold, with three hundred and fifty of 
 his hardy followers, and forty of Lamb s artillery company, was 
 to assail the works in the suburb St. Roque, while Montgomery, 
 with the remainder, was to pass below Cape Diamond bastion, carry 
 the defences at the base of the declivity, endeavor to press for 
 ward and form a junction with Arnold. Being thus in possession 
 of the lower town, the combined force was to carry Prescott gate, 
 at the lower end of Mountain street, and rush into the city. 
 
 At two o clock in the morning of the thirty-first of December, 
 the little army took the respective stations preparatory to the 
 attack. The New York regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Camp 
 bell, and a part of Easton s militia, paraded at Holland house, when 
 Montgomery took the immediate command of them. Arnold s 
 detachment and Lamb s artillery paraded at Morgan s quarters; 
 and the small corps of Livingston and Brown formed at their 
 respective parade-grounds. At five o clock, the hour appointed for 
 moving to the attack, Montgomery and his detachment descended 
 Wolfe s ravine from the Plains of Abraham, and advanced along the 
 St. Lawrence toward the present Champlain street, under Cape 
 Diamond, and Brown made the feigned attack on the bastion 
 
718 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 upon its brow, at the proper moment. Arnold, at the same time, 
 advanced from the general hospital around the north side of the 
 town by the St. Charles. Snow was falling fast, and a furious wind 
 was piling it in such frightful drifts, that the progress of the troops, 
 in both quarters, was very slow. 
 
 At the narrowest point between the cliff and the river, under 
 Cape Diamond, the British had a battery of three-pounders, loaded 
 with grape-shot, placed in the upper story of a strong blockhouse. 
 This battery was in charge of a captain of Canadian militia, with 
 thirty-eight men ; and nine seamen, under Captain Barnsfare, mas 
 ter of a transport, were there to work the guns. In front of this 
 was a strong palisade, extending from the steep precipice of slate 
 to the edge of the river, and with the battery, offered effectual 
 resistance to attack, except by surprise. This Montgomery at 
 tempted. In the face of the blinding storm, he cautiously led his 
 troops in the darkness, over masses of broken ice thrown up from 
 the river by the wind and current ; and with his own hands he 
 assisted in sawing off some of the pickets, so as to admit his men 
 to the narrow pass leading to the blockhouse. 
 
 Convinced that the enemy were not on the alert, for all was 
 silent in front, and that the surprise would be complete and suc 
 cessful, Montgomery placed himself at the head of his troops, and 
 shouting, "Men of New York, you will not fear to follow where 
 your general leads march on!" rushed boldly forward to capture 
 the battery. But vigilant ears and eyes had observed these move 
 ments. The day was faintly dawning when the first barrier was 
 passed, and through the dim light and drifting snow, Barnsfare 
 had watched the approach of the Americans. When they rushed 
 forward, and were within forty paces, he gave the word, the matches 
 were applied, and a storm of grape-shot swept the approaching 
 column with terrible effect. Montgomery and his aid (Captain 
 M Pherson), and almost every other man in the narrow pass, were 
 instantly killed ; and Captain Cheesman, of the New York troops, 
 was mortally wounded, and died almost immediately. The remain 
 der of the troops, appalled at the dreadful scene, and the loss of 
 
jE T . 43.] ARNOLD S ATTACK. 719 
 
 their general, fled in confusion back toward Wolfe s cove, where 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, the quartermaster-general, took the 
 command, but made no further attempts to force a junction with 
 Arnold. For ten minutes that little battery belched its iron hail in 
 the dim space, but after the first discharge there was no enemy 
 there to slaughter. 
 
 While these events were transpiring, Arnold was pressing along 
 the St. Charles, at the head of his detachment. The snow was 
 deeply drifted, and they were compelled to march in single file. 
 Arnold was at the head of a forlorn hope of twenty-five men, accom 
 panied by his secretary, Captain Oswald,* and followed by Lamb s 
 company of artillery dragging a field-piece on a sledge. Next to 
 these were a party with ladders and other scaling implements, fol 
 lowed by Morgan and his riflemen ; and in the rear of all followed 
 the main body. They passed through the suburb St. Roque, and 
 approached a picketed two-gun battery, at a narrow pass below a 
 projecting crag of the promontory (now the street called Saut an 
 Matekt\ without being discovered. But just as Arnold, with the 
 advance, entered the narrow pass leading to the battery, they were 
 observed by the sentinels, and the whole detachment were exposed 
 to an enfilading fire from the walls of the town, and pickets of the 
 barrier. Livingston had failed to make the feigned attack upon St. 
 Louis gate, and, therefore, the attention of the enemy was not 
 drawn off from Arnold s movements. 
 
 The snow-drifts had now become almost impassable, and the field- 
 
 * Oswald was afterward a meritorious artillery officer, and rose to the rank of colonel. The 
 impression has generally prevailed, that Aaron Burr was with Montgomery when he fell, he being 
 one of his aids ; and common tradition, under the guise of history, has made him the bearer of 
 Montgomery s body away from the place of his death, in the retreat that immediately followed. A 
 paragraph in Colonel Arnold s letter, written from the general hospital during the progress of the 
 contest by his detachment, appears to show that Burr was with him. We have seen that the plan 
 of scaling Cape Diamond bastion, to be attempted by Burr, at the head of a forlorn hope, was 
 abandoned : and then, no doubt, Burr preferred to join Arnold, as a volunteer in the siege, because 
 of his bold and more reckless character, which was in unison with the feelings of the young sub 
 altern. Arnold says, in his letter to Wooster : " The last accounts from my detachment, about 
 ten minutes since, they were pushing for the lower town. Their communication with me was cut 
 off. . . . The loss of my detachment .before I left it, was about twenty men killed and wounded. 
 Among the latter is Major Ogden [Burr s friendj, who, with Captain Oswald, Captain Burr, and 
 the other volunteers, behaved extremely well." The only fair inference to be drawn from these 
 words is, that Burr was with Arnold s division 
 
720 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 piece became so firmly imbedded that it could not be dragged 
 further. Notice of this impediment was sent to Arnold, and, mean 
 while, the artillery company, and the corps prepared for an escalade, 
 halted, the latter having orders to keep in the rear of the former. 
 The fiery Morgan, perceiving in an instant what disasters must 
 follow a strict obedience of orders in this case, commanded the 
 sealers to move forward. The artillery company opened for them 
 to pass, and Morgan and his riflemen followed.* They reached the 
 narrow pass just as Arnold and the forlorn hope rushed forward to 
 attack the barrier. 
 
 Before Arnold reached the battery he was shot through the right 
 leg, near the knee, with a musket-ball, which completely disabled 
 him, and he was borne away to the general hospital. As he was 
 carried back, he ordered Lamb to abandon his field-piece, and to 
 lead forward his company armed with muskets and bayonets, to 
 co-operate with the forlorn hope, left in command of Captain 
 Oswald. When he reached the hospital Arnold heard of the death 
 of Montgomery, and, although writhing with pain, and faint from 
 loss of blood, he immediately wrote to Wooster, at Montreal, detail 
 ing the events of the morning connected with his division, and 
 expressing his determination to give up the command to Lieuten 
 ant-Colonel Campbell, on account of the severity of his wound. 
 
 The command of Arnold s division now devolved on Morgan. 
 When the assailants were close under the muzzles of the battery, it 
 belched forth a volley of grape-shot, and with them came a shower 
 of musket-balls. Only one American was killed, and in less than 
 two minutes the terrible effects of the precision of Morgan s rifle 
 men caused the enemy to abandon the barrier, and flee in confusion 
 to the next, which commanded both Saut au Matekt and St. 
 Peter s streets. 
 
 The Americans instantly forced the first barrier, and just at 
 dawn, attacked the second. The defences there extended from the 
 cliff to the river, and the present (1858) customhouse, then a 
 private dwelling, had cannon projecting from the wings of the 
 
 * Lcake s Life and Times of General Lamb, page 129. 
 
jK-r. 43.] DEFEAT OF THE AMERICANS. 721 
 
 gable. There a fierce contest ensued, which lasted three hours, 
 and many were killed on both sides. The Americans at length 
 drove the British from their guns, and captured the battery. By 
 a grape-shot hurled at the last discharge of the cannon, Captain 
 Lamb was severely wounded in the cheek, and was borne off sense 
 less ; and other officers were more or less injured. The success at 
 the battery inspirited the troops ; and Morgan, full of hope, was 
 prepared to rush into the town, when disastrous intelligence came. 
 Captain Dearborn had been stationed near Palace gate, in the rear, 
 and was discovered by the sentinels at daylight, just as the news 
 of the death of Montgomery and the retreat of Campbell reached 
 Carleton. That officer, relieved by the intelligence, immediately 
 despatched a considerable force in the city toward the suburb St. 
 Roque. They rushed out of Palace gate, surprised and captured 
 Dearborn and his corps, and completely cut off the party under 
 Morgan. Intelligence of this event and of the disasters at Cape 
 Diamond reached Morgan at the same time. Surrounded by foes 
 who were strongly armed and more strongly defended, that brave 
 leader felt compelled to yield, and he and his whole command, four 
 hundred and twenty-six in number, were surrendered prisoners-of- 
 war. The remainder of Arnold s divisions, who were in the rear, 
 retreated, in expectation of immediate pursuit. They left behind 
 them the field-piece, and also some mortars at a small battery on 
 the borders of St. Roque. 
 
 In this engagement the Americans lost, in killed and wounded, 
 about one hundred and sixty men. The British loss was only 
 about twenty men. Still suspicious of the loyalty of many of the 
 citizens, Carleton thought it prudent not to pursue. He was con 
 tent to feel that Quebec was yet spared to the crown, and in com 
 parative security; and he resolved to await reinforcements in the 
 spring, before taking measures to expel the republicans from the 
 province. He treated the American prisoners with the greatest 
 humanity and kindness. The officers were confined in the Semi 
 nary, one of the oldest literary institutions in Quebec ; and, on the 
 
 second of January, Major Meigs, one of the prisoners, was sent out 
 
 46 
 
722 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 to the American camp to procure the baggage belonging to the 
 captives. 
 
 Carleton, Cramahe, Major Caldwell, and other officers in Quebec, 
 were much affected by the death of Montgomery. They had all 
 been his fellow-soldiers in the old war, and were with him in the 
 battle under Wolfe, when the English took Quebec in 1759. Mont 
 gomery was loved by the army then for his generous spirit and 
 manly virtues. Now, as soon as hostilities had ceased, Carleton 
 sent out a detachment to search for the body of his old comrade. 
 Those of fourteen Americans were found in the drifts, and with 
 them Montgomery s orderly sergeant, who was dreadfully wounded, 
 but was yet alive. He was conveyed with the slain to the guard 
 house in the city, where he died an hour afterward, persisting until 
 the last, that his general was not killed. For several hours Carleton 
 was uncertain concerning that event. At length one of Arnold s 
 officers, among the captives, recognised the body of the hero; 
 when Carleton, with streaming eyes, pronounced a touching eulo- 
 gium over it. Cramahe took charge of the remains, and attended 
 to their burial within the fortifications of the town, where they 
 remained forty-two years. They were then conveyed to the city 
 of New T York, and deposited beneath a mural monument on the 
 front of St. Paul s church, which was erected by order of Congress. 
 
 Intelligence of Montgomery s death went over the country like 
 the tolling of a funeral bell, and everywhere public honors were 
 paid to his memory. The continental Congress testified its respect 
 by decreeing the erection of a monument in his honor; and the 
 eloquent voices of Chatham, Burke, and Barre, sounded his praise 
 in the British house of commons. North, the prime-minister, 
 acknowledged his worth, while reprobating the cause in which he 
 fell, and said with emphasis, " Curse on his virtues, they have un 
 done his country." Montgomery died in the prime of young man 
 hood, at the age of little more than thirty-seven years. 
 
 Colonel Arnold succeeded Montgomery in temporary command 
 at Quebec, and was soon promoted to the rank of brigadier. He 
 could muster only about eight hundred men ; and feeling insecure 
 
JE-r. 43.] QUEBEC BLOCKADED. 723 
 
 in his camp under the walls of the city, he withdrew about three 
 miles, intrenched himself as well as he could, and assumed the atti 
 tude of a blockade, hoping and intending to cut off supplies for the 
 garrison from the country, and by that means to bring the British 
 to a capitulation before the ice should leave the St. Lawrence. "I 
 have no thought," he wrote, " of leaving this proud town until I 
 enter it in triumph. I am in the way of my duty, and I know no 
 fear." Yet he had some fears concerning the fate of his little army. 
 " Everything remains quiet here at present," he wrote to Wooster. 
 " I believe the enemy dare not venture out, though they threaten it. 
 I pray God they may not, for we are in a miserable condition to 
 receive them." He adds: "Some of the country people came in 
 to our assistance. In general they appear friendly and concerned 
 for us. Many offer to join us who have no arms."* 
 
 In this relative position the belligerents at Quebec remained 
 until April, when General Wooster, who had been inactive all 
 winter at Montreal, came down with reinforcements, and being 
 superior in rank to Arnold, took the chief command. 
 
 * Autograph Letter. 
 
724 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 CHAPTER LX1. 
 
 CONDITION OF THE ARMY AT CAMBRIDGE WASHINGTON S ANXIETIES COUNCIL 
 
 OF WAR CALLED AN ATTACK ON THE ENEMY PROPOSED BY WASHINGTON 
 
 REJECTED BY THE COUNCIL WASHINGTON S COMPLAINTS CONGRESS REBUKED 
 
 THEIR PROCEEDINGS EFFECT OF WASHINGTON S LETTER ON THE CONGRESS 
 
 COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE APPOINTED GAGE RECALLED AND SUPERSEDED 
 
 BY HOWE BRITISH CRUISERS ON THE NEW ENGLAND COASTS FALMOUTH 
 
 DESTROYED GENERAL EXCITEMENT THE CONFERENCE AT HEADQUARTERS 
 
 THE RESULT NEW ARRANGEMENTS DOCTOR FRANKLIN AT CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 AT the beginning of September* Washington felt extremely 
 anxious to measure strength and skill in battle with the enemy. 
 Recruits had come in quite as freely as he had anticipated ; his 
 stock of ammunition, though not large, was considered sufficient ; 
 and the people throughout the confederacy were beginning to 
 murmur because of the comparative inaction of the troops at 
 Boston. That inaction was deplorable, for Washington well knew 
 that it must necessarily demoralize and weaken the army ; and the 
 season was fast approaching when large and costly supplies of 
 clothing, provisions, and shelter, must be procured if the siege 
 should be long protracted. These and similar considerations gave 
 him much uneasiness, for already many of the soldiers were restless 
 with longings for home. 
 
 The Connecticut and Rhode Island troops were engaged only 
 until the first of December, and Washington had ample reasons for 
 
 * Early in that month, Washington received a letter from Peyton Kandolph, dated the sixth, 
 saying : " I have it in command to transmit to you the thanks of the convention of Virginia, for 
 the faithful discharge of the important trust reposed in you, as one of their delegates to the conti 
 nental Congress. Your appointment to an office of much consequence to America, and incompati 
 ble with your attendance on this duty, was the only reason that could have induced them not to call 
 you to the convention. Your brother delegates were unanimous in their acknowledgments ; and 
 you will believe it gives me the greatest satisfaction to convey to you the sentiments of your country 
 men, and, at the same time, to give you every testimony of my approbation and esteem." 
 
/ET. 43.] COUNCIL OF WAR. 725 
 
 believing that a larger portion of his army would not agree to 
 serve longer than the approaching first of January. It was im 
 portant, therefore, that some decisive movement should be made as 
 speedily as prudence would allow; and the commander-in-chief 
 waited impatiently for several days, for the enemy to accept the 
 challenge to combat which he had fairly made by taking position 
 on Ploughed hill. "Unless the ministerial troops in Boston are 
 waiting for reinforcements," he wrote, " I can not divine what they 
 are staying for, nor why, as they affect to despise the Americans, 
 they do not come forth and put an end to the contest at once." 
 
 Washington s anxieties at length found expression which led to 
 action. On the eighth of September he addressed a circular letter 
 to the major and brigadier generals of the army, informing them 
 that he should call upon them in a day or two for their opinions 
 concerning matters to which he alluded, and giving them topics for 
 reflection in the meantime. He told them that he wished to know 
 whether a successful attack upon the troops in Boston might be 
 made by means of boats, in co-operation with an attempt upon the 
 British lines at Roxbury. "The success of such an enterprise 
 depends, I well know," he said, "upon the All- Wise Disposer of 
 events, and it is not within the reach of human wisdom to foresee 
 the issue ; but if the prospect is fair," he added, " the undertaking 
 is justifiable for the following, among other reasons." He then 
 enumerated those we have already alluded to ; and in reference to 
 the impatience of the troops to go home, and the expiring enlist> 
 ments, he said : " These things are not unknown to the enemy ; 
 perhaps it is the very ground they are building on, if they are not 
 waiting for a large reinforcement; and if they are waiting for 
 succor, ought it not to give a spur to the attempt ? Our powder, 
 not much of which will be consumed in such an enterprise, without 
 any certainty of supply, is daily wasting ; and, to sum up the whole, 
 the expense of supporting this army will so far exceed any idea 
 that was formed in Congress of it, that I do not know what will be 
 the consequences." 
 
 The council of war was accordingly assembled at headquarters, 
 
7-26 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 on Monday, the eleventh of September. It was composed of the 
 commander-in-chief ; Major-Generals Ward, Lee, and Putnam ; and 
 Brigadier-Generals Thomas, Heath, Spencer, Sullivan, and Greene. 
 After mature deliberation, the council unanimously resolved : " That 
 it was not expedient to make the attempt at present, at least." 
 This decision was acquiesced in by Washington, yet it was contrary 
 to his desires. In a long letter to the continental Congress, written 
 on the twenty-first, in which he gave a general outline of his plans, 
 performances, and expectations, and information concerning Ar 
 nold s expedition, then pushing on toward the wilderness, he alluded 
 to the result of the council, and said, concerning his proposition to 
 attack the British troops : " I can not say that I have wholly laid 
 it aside ; but new events may need new measures. Of this I hope 
 the honorable Congress can need no assurance, that there is not a 
 man in America who more earnestly wishes such a termination of 
 the campaign, as to make the army no longer necessary." Having 
 briefly stated the condition, wants, and importunities of the army, 
 and the perplexities that beset him, he added : 
 
 " It gives me great pain to be obliged to solicit the attention of 
 the honorable Congress to the state of this army, in terms which 
 imply the slightest apprehension of being neglected. But my 
 situation is inexpressibly distressing, to see the winter fast approach 
 ing upon a naked army, the time of their service within a few 
 weeks of expiring, and no provision yet made for such important 
 events. Added to these, the military chest is totally exhausted; 
 the paymaster has not a single dollar in hand; the commissary- 
 general assures me he has strained his credit, for the subsistence of 
 the army, to the utmost. The quartermaster-general is in precisely 
 the same situation; and the greater part of the troops are in a 
 state not far from mutiny, upon the deduction from their stated 
 allowance. I know not to whom I am to impute this failure ; but 
 I am of opinion, if the evil is not immediately remedied, and more 
 punctuality observed in future, the army must absolutely break up. 
 I hoped I had so fully expressed myself on this subject, both by 
 letter, and to those members of the Congress who honored the 
 
JET. 43.] WASHINGTON S COMPLAINTS. 727 
 
 camp with a visit, that no disappointment could possibly happen. 
 I therefore hourly expected advices from the paymaster, that he 
 had received a fresh supply."* He then informed them, that mat 
 ters were brought to such a crisis that no further uncertain expecta 
 tions were admissible.^ 
 
 This letter, conveying a palpable rebuke to the Congress for 
 their tardiness, was despatched by an express, and in it Washington 
 urged them to send the bearer back with a reply, " with all possible 
 expedition," unless they had already forwarded the necessary sup 
 plies. Thus, it will be perceived, that within three months after 
 his appointment to the chief command of the army, Washington 
 felt compelled to complain of the lack of prompt co-operation of 
 the supreme civil power ; and throughout the war, that body often 
 lay like a dead weight upon the movements of the army, embar 
 rassing it by special instructions, and neglecting to give its aid 
 when most needed. It was only during the six months, when 
 Washington was invested with the powers of an absolute dictator, 
 that his most brilliant military achievements were accomplished. 
 
 The continental Congress, pursuant to adjournment, were to 
 reassemble on Wednesday, the fifth of September, but the dele 
 gates came in so slowly that it was not organized until more than a 
 week later, when representatives from Georgia appeared for the 
 first time.J In several colonies, new deputies had, in the meantime, 
 
 [ 
 
 * Sparks s Life and Writing? of Washington, iii., 98. 
 
 t A week later, Colonel Reed, Washington s secretary, writing to a friend, said : " While we 
 deliberate the opportunities are lost. Boston must, I fear, be given up for the common safety. The 
 army and navy here must, at all events, be destroyed this winter. Should it be reinforced, the con 
 sequences to America will be dreadful .... The general is anxious to strike some decisive stroke, 
 and would have done it before this, if matters had not been misrepresented to him." Life and 
 Correspondence of President Reed, i. 120. 
 
 J These were Archibald Bullock, John Houstoun, and Reverend Doctor Zubley. John Adams, 
 in his Diary, has given a graphic sketch of some of the leading members in the Congress at that 
 time. "Dr. Zubley," he says, "is a native of Switzerland, and a clergyman of the independent 
 persuasion, settled in a parish in Georgia. Pie speaks, as is reported, several languages .... He is 
 a man of a warm and zealous spirit .... Houstoun is a young gentleman, by profession a lawyer. 
 He seems to be sensible and spirited, but rather inexperienced. Bullock is clothed in American 
 manufacture." Of the Virginia delegates he remarks : "Nelson is a fat man, like the late Colonel 
 Lee, of Marblehead. He is a speaker, and alert and lively for his weight. Wythe is a lawyer, it is 
 said, of the first eminence. Lee [Francis Lightfoot], is a brother of Doctor Arthur, the late sheriff 
 of London, and of our old friend, Richard Henry Lee, sensible and patriotic, as the rest of the 
 family." Of others he said : " Chase is violent and boisterous, asking his pardon ; he is tedious 
 
728 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 been chosen, or old ones re-chosen by representatives of the people 
 in convention assembled ; and the second session of the continental 
 Congress of 1775, was remarkable for the wisdom and talent it 
 exhibited. 
 
 The first important business of the session was an order for the 
 despatch of over half a million of dollars, under a proper escort, to 
 the paymaster-general at Cambridge, for the use of the army 
 besieging Boston, thus anticipating, by a few days, Washington s 
 urgent call for money. Various measures were then adopted for 
 strengthening General Schuyler, and carrying on the war in the 
 northern department; and on the twenty-second of September, a 
 committee, consisting of Doctor Franklin, and Messrs. Rutledge, 
 Jay, Randolph, Johnson, Deane, and Willing, were appointed " to 
 take into consideration the state of the trade of America, and 
 report their opinion." 
 
 A committee of accounts or claims was appointed on the twenty- 
 fifth, consisting of one member from each colony ; and four days 
 afterward, Washington s letter of the twenty-first was received, and 
 elicited the most profound attention. The justice of his complaints 
 and implied rebuke of the Congress, because of their tardiness, the 
 urgent wants of the army, the dangers to be apprehended on 
 account of delay, and the necessity of the prompt and efficient 
 co-operation of the civil with the military power, were so apparent, 
 that on the same day, it was resolved to appoint a committee of 
 three members, " to repair immediately to the camp at Cambridge, 
 to confer with General Washington, and with the governor of 
 
 upon frivolous points. So is E. Rutledge .... a very uncouth and ungraceful speaker; he shrugs 
 his shoulders, distorts his body, nods and wriggles with his head, and looks about with his eyes from 
 side to side, and speaks through his nose as the Yankees sing. His brother John dodges his head 
 too, rather disagreeably, and both of them spout out their language in a rough and rapid torrent, 
 but without much force or effect. Dyer is long-winded, round about, obscure, and cloudy, very 
 talkative, and vcrv tedious, yet an honest, worthy man, means and judges well. Sherman s air is 
 the reverse of grace ; there can not be a more striking contrast to beautiful action than the motion 
 of his hands. Generally he stands upright, with his hands before him, the fingers of his left hand 
 clenched into a fist, and the wrist of it grasped with the right .... Dickinson s air, gait, and action, 
 are not much more elegant." Of Doctor Rush, he said: "He is an elegant, ingenuous body, a 
 spriglitly, pretty fellow. He is a republican ; he has been much in London ; Sawbridge and Macau- 
 lay correspond with him .... But Rush, I think, is too much of a talker to be a deep thinker ; 
 elegant, not great. 
 
/F/r. 43.] NEW ENGLAND TOWNS IN PERIL. 729 
 
 Connecticut, lieutenant-governor of Rhode Island,* the council of 
 Massachusetts, and the president of the convention of New Hamp 
 shire, and such other persons" as the committee might deem proper 
 to consult, " touching the most effectual method of continuing, 
 supporting, and regulating, a continental army." )* The committee 
 was appointed on the following day, and consisted of Doctor 
 Franklin, and Messrs. Thomas Lynch, of South Carolina, and Ben 
 jamin Harrison, of Virginia. A committee of five was then ap 
 pointed, to draw up instructions for Franklin and his associates : 
 and expresses were despatched, to inform the commander-in-chief 
 and the other authorities named, of this action. The instructions 
 were reported and adopted on Monday, the second of October, and 
 on the fourth, the committee set out for the camp at Cambridge, 
 carrying with them three hundred thousand dollars, in continental 
 money, for the use of the army. 
 
 In the meantime, Washington had been urgently importuned for 
 detachments from the army to defend the towns along the New 
 England coasts from threatened pillage and destruction. Early in 
 September, British men-of-war transports were menacing the coasts 
 of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Stonington was actually can 
 nonaded, and New London and Norwich were imperiled by the 
 presence of hostile vessels-of-war. Governor Trumbull, therefore, 
 detained several companies of Connecticut levies, raised for the 
 continental army, to assist the militia in defending these places; 
 but Washington, who needed more strength in the presence of the 
 foe in Boston, could not spare a man. So, as on an earlier occasion, 
 he was compelled to deny the assistance implored, and repeated 
 his resolution to leave the people to rely upon the local militia to 
 defend isolated points. He, therefore, ordered the Connecticut 
 
 * Nicholas Cooke, already mentioned, was deputy-governor of Rhode Island. When the general 
 assembly of that colony voted to raise a force of fifteen hundred men for the gathering army at 
 Boston, Joseph Wanton, the colonial governor, was displeased. After being rechosen, in May, that 
 year, he failed to appear and take the prescribed oath of office. Mr. Cooke, his deputy, entered 
 heartily into the views of the assembly. In June, the timid Wanton came forward to qualify, but 
 as he had not given satisfaction to the assembly, his demand was unheeded, and Cooke became the 
 acting-governor. 
 
 * Journals of Congress, i., 193. 
 
730 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 levies to march immediately to camp, contrary to the desires of 
 Governor Trumbull. But that patriotic magistrate promptly obeyed 
 orders and sent them on ; and to a letter of his to the commander- 
 in-chief, written on the fifteenth, Washington replied on the twenty- 
 first: "I wish I could extend protection to all; but the numerous 
 detachments necessary to remedy the evil, would amount to a dis 
 solution of the army, or make the most important operations of 
 the campaign depend upon the piratical expeditions of two or 
 three men-of-war transports." 
 
 A change in the chief command of the British army at Boston 
 now took place. Gage s laurels had faded since the battle of 
 Bunker s hill. That battle was regarded, in England, as a military 
 blunder ; and, alarmed at the continued and rapid spread of the 
 rebellion in America, the ministry advised the recall of Gage. It 
 was done in the most delicate manner by the king. Gage was not, 
 apparently, superseded in office. He was summoned home in order 
 to make a personal explanation of affairs at Boston "to give his 
 majesty exact information of everything that it may be necessary 
 to prepare, as early as possible, for the operations of next year, and 
 to suggest to his majesty such matters in relation thereto, as his 
 knowledge and experience of the service enabled him to furnish ;" 
 General Howe to act as commander-in-chief of all the British forces 
 in the revolted colonies during Gage s absence. This summons im 
 plied censure, and it wounded the sensitive spirit of the disappointed 
 soldier. Into that wound his tory friends in Massachusetts poured 
 some oil of consolation. The mandamus council, a number of the 
 principal inhabitants of Boston, and several who had taken refuge 
 in the country, in all about seventy persons, addressed him in terms 
 of loyal affection, amounting to panegyric. This was unmerited, 
 for Gage s civil administration had been weak, and his military 
 operations exceedingly inefficient. This was felt by all parties, and 
 his departure was popular with the army. He sailed for England 
 on the tenth of October, and never returned to America.* 
 
 * Thomas Gage, the last royal governor of Massachusetts, was a native of England, and was an 
 active officer during the Seven Years War. He was appointed governor of Montreal in 1760, and, 
 
 
JET. 43.] HOWE S PRUDENCE. 731 
 
 On the day when Gage departed, General Howe issued the follow 
 ing order : " The king having ordered the commander-in-chief to 
 repair to Britain, and that, during his absence, Major-General 
 Carleton should command his majesty s forces in Canada, and upon 
 the frontiers, with the full powers of commander-in-chief; and that 
 Major-General Howe should have like command within the colonies 
 on the Atlantic ocean, from Nova Scotia to West Florida, inclusive ; 
 orders are hereby given to the troops to obey the said major-gen 
 erals accordingly." 
 
 Howe at once adopted rigorous measures ; and the continentals, 
 remembering the fine military spirit which he displayed at Bunker s 
 hill, anticipated an early opportunity to engage in battle with the 
 enemy. But Howe had become acquainted with the temper and 
 spirit of the people, and was as averse as Gage had been to meeting 
 them again in open warfare. He compared past events, and drew 
 such logical conclusions therefrom as made him exceedingly cautious. 
 He remembered the bravery of the Americans on Breed s hill, 
 when a fatigued army, greatly inferior in numbers to their oppo 
 nents, had gallantly maintained their position for hours, behind 
 breastworks cast up in a single night. He properly argued, that 
 an army of the same sort of men, fifteen thousand strong, in 
 trenched behind breastworks constructed by the labor of many 
 weeks, must be more than a match for even his disciplined troops 
 of like number, and he prudently resolved to await expected rein 
 forcements from Ireland, before he should attempt to procure that 
 
 jit the departure of Amherst for England, in 1763, was commissioned commander-in-chief of the Brit 
 ish forces in America. He superseded Hutchinson as governor of Massachusetts, and had the misfor 
 tune to enter upon the duties of his office at a time when it became necessary for him, as a faithful 
 servant of his king, to execute laws framed expressly for the infliction of chastisement upon the people 
 of the capital of the colony over which he was placed. From that date his public acts are interwoven 
 with the history of the times, as given in preceding pages. He possessed a naturally amiable dis 
 position, and his benevolence often outweighed his justice in the scale of duty. Under other cir 
 cumstances his name might have been sweet in the recollection of the Americans ; now it is identi 
 fied with oppression and hatred of freedom. He expected to return to America, but was not allowed 
 to do so. The veteran general Oglethorpe, the benevolent founder of the colony of Georgia, and 
 a hero in the rebellion of 45, was offered the command in America ; but he refused to accept the 
 commission, unless he could go to the revolted colonists with assurances from government that strict 
 justice should be done them. The command was accordingly given to Howe a tacit admission 
 of the corrupt ministry, that justice to the Americans was no part of their policy. General Gage 
 died in England in April, 1787, at the age of about fifty years. 
 
732 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 freedom of action in the open country, which he so much coveted. 
 In a letter to Lord Dartmouth, on the ninth of October, he revealed 
 a glimpse of future policy, when he said he hoped " to distress the 
 rebels by incursions along the coasts," and that " Portsmouth, in 
 New Hampshire, would feel the weight of his majesty s arms." 
 
 A marauding policy was now inaugurated, in accordance with 
 the hints thrown out by Howe. An event that had occurred at 
 about the middle of the previous month of May, on the coast of 
 Maine, served to give the British some reasonable excuse for this 
 policy of retaliation upon an enemy. When intelligence of the 
 affair at Lexington reached Machias, where a British armed 
 schooner was engaged with two smaller vessels in procuring lum 
 ber, a party of young men attempted her capture while the officers 
 were at church on shore. They seized one of the sloops, chased 
 the schooner out of the harbor, and after a severe conflict, com 
 pelled her to surrender. In this, the first naval engagement of the 
 Revolution, about twenty men on each side were lost. The com 
 mander of the Americans on this occasion* soon afterward captured 
 two small English cruisers, and sent the crews to Watertown as 
 prisoners. 
 
 On the twelfth of October a naval skirmish occurred at Beverly. 
 A privateer was chased into that harbor by the Nautilus man-of-war. 
 Both got aground. The inhabitants carried the guns of the priva 
 teer ashore, and pointed them against the British ship. A brisk 
 cannonade was opened between them and the Nautilus. The priva 
 teer was not much damaged, and when the Nautilus was driven 
 away at the rising of the tide, the former was rearmed and manned. 
 These and similar exploits greatly irritated the British; and Ad 
 miral Graves, in retaliation, sent an expedition, in October, to burn 
 Falmouth (now Portland), in Maine. 
 
 The immediate offence of the inhabitants of Falmouth, was their 
 
 * The commander was Jeremiah O Brien. The honor of the enterprise belongs to Joseph 
 Wheaton, a native of New York, then residing at Machias. He was an energetic young man of 
 twenty years. He first proposed the expedition against the British armed vessels, but modestly 
 named O Brien for commander. He was active in the whole affair, and his own hands seized the 
 colors of the captured vessel. 
 
&T. 43.] DESTRUCTION OF FALMOUTH. 733 
 
 compliance with a resolution of the provincial Congress of Massa 
 chusetts, to prevent tories carrying away their effects. They had 
 obstructed the loading of a ship, and Graves sent Lieutenant 
 Mowatt, with a small squadron, to chastise them. He anchored 
 before Falmouth on the evening of the seventeenth of October, 
 and sent a letter on shore, warning the inhabitants that within two 
 hours he should burn the town, pursuant to orders. A committee 
 went on board his vessel and asked his reasons for the cruel threat. 
 He replied, that he had orders to burn every seaport town between 
 Boston and Halifax ; but he agreed to give them a respite until the 
 next morning, at the same time proposing some unreasonable terms 
 of submission, to secure the safety of the place. Those terms were 
 not complied with, and from early in the forenoon until dark the 
 following day, he hurled about three thousand shot, besides shells 
 and carcasses, upon the doomed town. These, and some marines, 
 kindled a terrible conflagration, and when the curtain of night fell 
 upon the scene, one hundred and thirty-nine houses, and two 
 hundred and seventy-eight stores and other buildings, were in ashes 
 or in flames. But the resolute men of Falmouth, after removing 
 women, children, and furniture, gallantly maintained their ground, 
 repulsed the invaders, and prevented their landing. Fortunately 
 no lives were lost. 
 
 This wanton destruction of property created intense excitement 
 throughout the colonies an excitement engendered by apprehen 
 sion and indignation. Washington was disposed to believe the 
 cruel assertions of Mowatt, that all the seaport towns of New 
 England were to share the fate of Falmouth. To General Schuyler 
 he wrote : " We expect every moment to hear other places have 
 been attempted, which are better prepared for their reception."- 
 " The desolation and misery," he said, in a letter to the committee 
 of Falmouth, a few days afterward, who applied to him for succor, 
 " which ministerial vengeance had planned, in contempt of every 
 principle of humanity, I know not how sufficiently to commiserate. 
 Nor can my compassion for the general suffering be conceived 
 beyond the true measure of my feelings." And his utter inability 
 
734 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 to give them aid, without endangering the very existence of his 
 army, distressed him greatly. " Thus circumstanced," he said, " I can 
 only add my wishes and exhortations, that you may repel every 
 future attempt to perpetrate the like savage cruelties." He sent 
 General Sullivan to Portsmouth, to prepare the fort there for a 
 defence of the town ; and to the president of Congress he wrote : 
 " I expect every hour to hear that Newport has shared the same 
 fate of unhappy Falmouth." And General Greene afterward wrote 
 to a friend : " 0, could the Congress behold the distresses and 
 wretched condition of the poor inhabitants driven from the seaport 
 towns, it must, it would, kindle a blaze of indignation against the 
 commissioned pirates and licensed robbers." 
 
 A general belief in the truth of Mowatt s assertion produced 
 greater vigilance and activity everywhere. It led to the establish 
 ment of a board of admiralty by the assembly of Massachusetts, 
 and called the attention of Congress to the vital importance and 
 necessity of a navy. In Great Britain the savage policy thus 
 proclaimed was denounced by the best men ; and the ministry, 
 perceiving the proclivity of public opinion toward humane meas 
 ures, affected to be displeased with the destruction of Falmouth, 
 and endeavored to cast the odium upon the naval officers engaged 
 in the work. But this was hypocritical pretence, unworthy of 
 honest and honorable men, for a despatch from Lord Dartmouth, 
 dated at London, only four days after Falmouth was destroyed, 
 authorized Howe to employ the troops in "attacking and doing 
 their utmost to destroy any towns in which the people should 
 assemble in arms, hold meetings of committees or congresses, or 
 prevent the king s courts of justice from assembling." 
 
 On the same day when Falmouth was destroyed, the committee 
 of Congress, who had arrived on the fifteenth, commenced the 
 proposed conference with Washington and others in the camp at 
 Cambridge. Deputy-Governor Griswold and Judge Wales, of 
 Connecticut ; Deputy-Governor Cooke, of Rhode Island ; Bowdoin, 
 Otis, Sever, and Spooner, members of the Massachusetts council, 
 and Mathew Thornton, president of the provincial convention of 
 
2E T . 43.] CIVIL AND MILITARY CONFERENCE. 735 
 
 New Hampshire, were present. General Washington was the only 
 member of the council who was skilled in military affairs. He was 
 chosen to preside, and his secretary, Colonel Keed, was appointed 
 to keep the minutes.* 
 
 A plan which had been previously discussed and matured in a 
 council of officers, was presented by Washington, and in the main 
 adopted. It was conceded that the American forces ought to be 
 numerically twice as large as those of the enemy in Boston, and, 
 accordingly, a new organization of the army, to take effect on the 
 first day of the following January, was agreed upon. Twenty-six 
 regiments, composed of eight companies each, besides riflemen and 
 artillery, were to be enlisted. This would make an army of over 
 twenty thousand men ; and the delegates present expressed their 
 belief that thirty-two thousand men might be raised in the four 
 New England colonies, to serve for one year, the time fixed by 
 Congress for all the enlistments. They estimated that twenty 
 thousand men might be raised in Massachusetts, eight thousand in 
 Connecticut, three thousand in New Hampshire, and fifteen hundred 
 in Rhode Island. They also counted upon retaining a large num 
 ber then in the army, by re-enlistment. 
 
 The committee of Congress continued to sit for several days after 
 the conference was dissolved, and took various subjects into con 
 sideration. They revised the articles of war ; made regulations for 
 the disposition of prizes captured at sea, for the exchange of pris 
 oners, the employment of Indians, and many local details. Mean 
 while, Washington called another council of war, in consequence 
 of an intimation of Congress, borne by the committee, that an 
 attack upon Boston was much desired. It was known that at least 
 two of the committee were in favor of bombarding the town. 
 Doctor Belknap relates, that he was at dinner with several military 
 
 * Private affairs demanding Mr. Reed s presence in Pennsylvania, he left the camp on the thir 
 tieth of October, and was succeeded in office by Robert Hanson Harrison, a lawyer of Alexandria, 
 whom Washington well knew and esteemed. Harrison arrived at headquarters soon after the 
 departure of Colonel Reed, received a colonel s commission, and was announced as the aid of the 
 commander-in-chief, in the public orders. Colonel Reed joined the military family of the com- 
 mander-in-chief, at New York, the following year; but Harrison, who possessed the entire confi 
 dence of Washington, served as his secretary during a larger portion of the war. 
 
736 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 men and civilians, when both Lynch and Harrison, and Judge 
 Wales, of Connecticut, declared that they would be willing to see 
 Boston burnt. General Lee, who was present, asserted that it 
 could not be done, unless they should send in men with bundles of 
 straw to set it on fire. 
 
 Such was Lee s expressed opinion in the council of war, and it 
 was determined that an attack upon the enemy " was not practica 
 ble at the present time." Whereupon Washington, among other 
 queries, proposed the following to the committee of Congress: 
 "The general wishes to know how far it may be deemed proper 
 and advisable to avail himself of the season to destroy the troops 
 who propose to winter in Boston, by a bombardment (when the 
 harbor is blocked up), or, in other words, whether the loss of the 
 town, and the property therein, are so to be considered, as that an 
 attack upon the troops there should be avoided, when it evidently 
 appears that the town must, of consequence, be destroyed."* This 
 question was deemed by the committee of too much importance to 
 be determined by them. They referred it to Congress, and that 
 body, after debating the report of the committee, from time to 
 time, from the second of November, agreed to it on the twenty- 
 second of December, and "Resolved, That if General Washington 
 and his council of war should be of opinion, that a successful 
 attack may be made on the troops in Boston, he do it in any 
 manner he may think expedient, notwithstanding the town 
 and property in it may thereby be destroyed.""!* In the letter 
 transmitting this resolution to Washington, President Hancock 
 wrote, in a spirit of noble patriotism : " You will notice the last 
 resolution relating to an attack upon Boston. This passed after a 
 most serious debate in a committee of the whole house, and the 
 execution was referred to you. May God crown your attempt with 
 success, though individually I may be the greatest sufferer."! 
 
 The appearance of Doctor Franklin in the camp at Cambridge 
 produced a great sensation. All classes of the inhabitants had the 
 
 * Life and Correspondence of President Reed, i., 122. 
 
 t Journals of Congress, i., 281. 
 
 \ Sparks s Correspondence of the Revolution, i., 100. 
 
jE/r. 43.] FRANKLIN AT CAMBRIDGE. 737 
 
 most profound respect for his character, as the faithful agent, in 
 England, of the Massachusetts Bay colony, and as a statesman, 
 patriot, and sage. They flocked in from the surrounding country 
 to see the great man whom they revered ; and early campaigning 
 recollections were awakened in the mind of Washington by his 
 presence, for he remembered seeing Franklin in the camp of Brad- 
 dock in western Pennsylvania, twenty years before, giving his 
 judicious counsels to that proud and unfortunate general. The 
 officers listened to the philosopher with profound deference ; and 
 men and women of every degree eagerly sought opportunities to 
 see his face and hear his voice. Fifty years before, he had left 
 Boston as a runaway apprentice ; now he was the representative 
 of a national council, clothed with its deliberative powers, in a mili 
 tary camp before the city of his birth, bearing the accumulated 
 honors of profound statesmanship and scientific renown; and by 
 the voice of two hemispheres, he was an acknowledged leader in 
 the great march of human advancement. 
 
 While he was at Cambridge, the Massachusetts assembly paid 
 Franklin the balance of salary due to him as agent of the colony in 
 England. It amounted to the sum of more than nine thousand 
 dollars, the late Governor Hutchinson having refused to sign the 
 bills passed annually by the colonial assembly, ordering the pay 
 ment of his salary. Franklin improved the opportunity to dis 
 charge the duties of a sacred trust reposed in him, by an association 
 in England called the Constitutional Society. That association of 
 liberal men had called the Lexington skirmish a " murder" on the 
 part of the ministerial troops, and raised five hundred dollars, " to 
 be applied to the relief of the widows, orphans, and aged parents 
 of their beloved American fellow-subjects, who had preferred death 
 to slavery."* This sum was sent to Doctor Franklin for proper 
 
 * This was an offset against subscriptions then being raised in England for the widows and 
 orphans of die British soldiers Avho had perished on the same day. The Constitutional Society was 
 supposed to be revolutionary in its character. One of its most active members was the celebrated 
 John Home Tooke, a vigorous writer, and industrious politician. In the autumn of 1775, he was 
 prosecuted for "a libel upon the king s troops in America," contained in an advertisement of the 
 society. He was sentenced to imprisonment one year, to pay a fine of one thousand dollars, and to 
 give security for his good conduct for three years. Out of the circumstances of his imprisonment 
 
 47 
 
738 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 distribution ; and he took the occasion of his visit to Cambridge to 
 place it in judicious hands for the purpose. Soon after this, he 
 left for Philadelphia, with his colleagues, and on the second of 
 November, the committee submitted their report to that body. 
 
 The consideration of the report was postponed until Saturday, 
 the fourth, when a series of resolutions, concerning the reorganiza 
 tion and supplying of a new army, was adopted. It was first 
 resolved that the " new army to lie before Boston," should consist 
 of twenty thousand three hundred and seventy-two men, officers 
 included; and then resolutions were voted, for determining the 
 division of the army into regiments and companies, and the pay 
 and rations of the officers and soldiers; recommending the civil 
 authorities in the several colonies to keep gunsmiths at work man 
 ufacturing firearms; providing for the retention of good muskets 
 belonging to soldiers leaving the service ; for clothing the army ; 
 bounty for blankets; for the supply of provisions by the com 
 missary-general; to give preference in the new organization to 
 officers in service who should be willing to remain, and fixing the 
 time of all enlistment at one year from the last day of December, 
 1775 ; recommending the legislatures of New England to empower 
 the commander-in-chief to impress horses, carriages, vessels, and 
 other needful things for the use of the army ; for recruiting from the 
 army then in the field ; recommending the assemblies and conven 
 tions to pass laws for the infliction of certain punishments in the 
 army; and fixing rewards for those who should apprehend de 
 serters. 
 
 On Monday, the sixth, other articles in the report of the com 
 mittee were agreed to, and the whole were then referred to Secre 
 tary Thomson to digest. This digest was laid before the Congress 
 on the following day, when fourteen new rules and regulations for 
 the army were added to those adopted on the thirtieth of June. 
 
 arose his letter to Counsellor Dunning, which formed the basis of Home Tooke s subsequent philo 
 logical work, entitled " The Diversions of Purley," published in 1780. 
 
JET. 43.1 BEGINNING OF A NAVY. 739 
 
 CHAPTER LXII. 
 
 NAVAL PREPARATIONS VEXATIONS AND DIFFICULTIES CAPTAIN MANLY S 
 
 PRIZE PILLAGE AT ST. JOHN WASHINGTON S NOBLE CONDUCT PROCEED 
 INGS OF CONGRESS ON NAVAL AFFAIRS ;THE BRITISH WORKS STRENGTHENED 
 
 DESECRATION OF CHURCHES HOWE S PROCLAMATIONS WASHINGTON S RE 
 TALIATORY MEASURES ENLISTMENT EFFORTS PLANS OF QUINCY AND M PHER- 
 
 SON CHARACTER OF THE LATTER ENGINEERS NEEDED HENRY KNOX AP 
 POINTED TO THE COMMAND OF THE ARTILLERY HIS EXPEDITION TO LAKE 
 
 CHAMPLAIN HIS RETURN TO CAMP WITH ARTILLERY AND ORDNANCE STORES. 
 
 THE mischiefs effected and threatened by British cruisers on the 
 New England coasts, called forth efforts to confront them. The 
 colonies had not the smallest germ of a navy at the dawn of 1775, 
 and its merchant marine were few in number and small in tonnage. 
 But necessity, the mother of invention, soon transformed many 
 little merchantrvessels of Marblehead and other seaports, into 
 spirited war-craft, manned by resolute men, and seeking, not wait 
 ing, for the stately prows of the navy of Great Britain then cruising 
 in American waters. 
 
 We have already observed the gallantry and success of the 
 young men of Machias, in May. In June, the assembly of Rhode 
 Island fitted out two small armed vessels to protect Narraganset 
 bay and the neighboring coast, and placed them under the com 
 mand of Captain Whipple, the leader of the party who destroyed 
 the Gaspe, in those waters, in 1772. At about the same time, 
 Connecticut fitted out one or two small vessels in the Thames, to 
 cruise along the coast of that colony, from Fairfield to Stonington ; 
 and on the twenty-sixth of June, the provincial Congress of Massa 
 chusetts resolved to provide six armed vessels for the public service. 
 But as late as the twelfth of October, according to a letter of 
 
740 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 "Washington to the president of Congress, none of these vessels had 
 been got in readiness for service. The authorities of Pennsylvania, 
 Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina, took similar steps ; and 
 finally, the delegates from Rhode Island, under instructions from 
 the assembly of that province, called the attention of the continen 
 tal Congress to the subject of a navy. 
 
 Perceiving the absolute necessity of armed vessels in his opera 
 tions against the enemy in Boston, whose supplies all came by 
 water, Washington had, at the close of summer, without any 
 instructions from Congress, taken the responsibility under his gen 
 eral delegated powers, of preparing some small ones to annoy the 
 enemy and intercept his supplies. He appointed agents in Salem, 
 Marblehead, Beverly, and Plymouth, to superintend their construc 
 tion, and to furnish supplies ; and, on the second of September, he 
 commissioned Captain Broughton, of Marblehead, a commandant in 
 the navy yet to be created. This was the first commission of the 
 kind that was issued. The work went vigorously on, and before 
 the close of October, six vessels of small size had been armed and 
 manned and sent to cruise as privateers within the capes of Massa 
 chusetts Bay.* He had also launched, armed, and manned, two 
 strong floating-batteries in the Charles river. 
 
 The first enterprises of the little navy fitted out by Washington 
 were not very fruitful. Being commander-in-chief of the army 
 only, he was very cautious not to assume doubtful powers, and his 
 instructions to the naval commanders were drawn with great cau 
 tion and precision. He ordered them to "take command of a 
 detachment of the army, with which they were to proceed on 
 board, cruise against such vessels as were found in the service of 
 the enemy, and seize all such as were laden with soldiers, arms, 
 ammunition, or provisions." Some of the officers, lacking all mili 
 tary experience, proved incompetent. The seamen were often 
 mutinous ; and a disregard of instructions sometimes led to trouble. 
 
 * The names of five of these vessels have been preserved. These were Hancock, Harrison, Lee, 
 Washington, and Lynch. The six commanders were, Boughton, Selman, Manly, Martindale, Coit, 
 and Adams. 
 
JET. 43.] THE PEIVATEERSMEN. 741 
 
 On the whole, the difficulties that appeared during the first few 
 weeks after privateers were fitted out, would have discouraged 
 most men ; but Washington, full of faith and patience, persevered, 
 for his sagacity perceived the value of even a weak navy. To the 
 capture of British vessels he felt compelled to look for his most 
 abundant immediate supplies of arms and ammunition. He did 
 not complain, but he occasionally gave expression to his feelings. 
 To Colonel Eeed, on the twentieth of November, he said : "Our 
 privateersmen go on at the old rate, mutinying if they can not 
 do as they please." And in a letter to the president of Congress, 
 written on the fourth of December, he said : " The plague, trouble, 
 and vexation, I have had with the crews of all the armed vessels, 
 are inexpressible. I do believe there is not on earth a more disor 
 derly set. Every time they come into port we hear of nothing but 
 mutinous complaints." 
 
 The crew of the armed schooner Lee, under Captain John Manly 
 (the commodore of Washington s fleet), appear to have been an 
 exception. They were orderly and brave, and the services of that 
 gallant officer, during the autumn of 1775, were duly appreciated 
 by the commander-in-chief. On the twenty-ninth of November, 
 Manly captured a valuable store-ship, from England, bound for Bos 
 ton, which contained a large brass mortar, several pieces of brass 
 cannon, two thousand muskets, one hundred thousand flints, thirty 
 thousand round-shot, thirty tons of musket-shot, eleven mortar-beds, 
 and every kind of implement for artillery and intrenching service. 
 This was a most seasonable prize, for the spoils were precisely what 
 were greatly needed in camp. They were landed at Cape Ann, and 
 Washington sent four companies to receive them, and bear them 
 to headquarters. There was great joy in the camp on their arrival. 
 " To crown the glorious scene," wrote Colonel Moylan to Colonel 
 Reed,* " there intervened one truly ludicrous, which was OLD PUT 
 [General Putnam] mounted on the large mortar, which was fixed 
 in its bed for the occasion, with a bottle of rum in his hand, stand 
 ing parson to christen, while Godfather Mifflin gave it the name 
 
 * December 5, 1775. 
 
742 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775 
 
 of Congress. The huzzas on the occasion, I dare say, were heard 
 through all the territories of our most gracious sovereign in this 
 province." 
 
 A circumstance connected with these early naval operations 
 occurred in November, and illustrates the character of Washington 
 in the most pleasing colors. The continental Congress had been 
 informed that two brigan tines had sailed from England for the St. 
 Lawrence river, laden with arms and ammunition, and without 
 convoy. They directed Washington to despatch two armed vessels 
 to the St. Lawrence, to intercept these brigantines. Captains 
 Broughton and Selman were accordingly sent by the command er-in- 
 chief. They cruised for a while in the gulf, and in the mouth of the 
 river, but did not discover the objects of their search. Unwilling 
 to return empty, they interpreted the spirit of their instructions 
 with the greatest latitude, and without warrant, even from such 
 interpretation, they made a descent upon the island of St John, 
 broke into and plundered the houses of the governor and other 
 persons, and brought three gentlemen away with them, as prisoners. 
 They seized plate, carpets, mirrors, curtains, table-linen, wearing 
 apparel, and everything else that was portable, carried them on 
 board their vessels, and returned in ignoble triumph to Marblehead. 
 They took their prisoners immediately to headquarters, in expecta 
 tion of applause ; but they received, instead, a severe reprimand 
 from the commander-in-chief, who immediately released the cap 
 tives, treated them with the utmost kindness, ordered a restitution 
 of the plunder, and, in due time, sent the victims of this ill-judged 
 exploit, back to their distressed families. 
 
 One of the prisoners was Mr. Callbeck, president of the council 
 of St. John, and acting-governor of the island. His gratitude to 
 Washington for his kindness, was expressed in a letter to the gen 
 eral, just previous to the governor s departure. "I should ill de 
 serve the generous treatment," he said, " which your excellency has 
 been pleased to show me, had I not gratitude to acknowledge so 
 great a favor. I can not ascribe any part of it to my own merit, 
 but must impute the whole to the philanthropy and humane dis- 
 
^T. 43.] A NAVY CREATED. 743 
 
 position, that so truly characterize General Washington. Be so 
 obliging, therefore, as to accept the only return in my power, that 
 of my most grateful thanks." 
 
 Before the completion of his little navy, Washington had estab 
 lished rules for the division of prizes. A captain-commander was 
 to have six shares ; a first lieutenant, five ; second lieutenant and 
 surgeon, four each ; master, three ; steward, two ; mate, gunner, 
 boatswain, gunner s mate, and sergeant, one and a half each ; and 
 privates, one. This method of distribution was confirmed by a 
 resolution of the continental Congress, adopted on the twenty-fifth 
 of November following. 
 
 On the thirteenth of October, the Congress authorized two vessels 
 to be fitted out and manned. The first was to be " a swift-sailing 
 vessel, to carry ten carriage-guns, and a proportionate number of 
 swivels, with eighty men," and was to go on a cruise of three 
 months eastward, for the purpose of intercepting British transports. 
 The second was to be of like character, with fourteen guns, and a 
 proportionate number of swivels and men, and despatched on a 
 similar cruise- and Silas Deane, John Langdon, and Christopher 
 Gadsden, were appointed a committee to direct naval affairs. On 
 the thirtieth of the same month, the Congress resolved to fit out 
 two more vessels, one of twenty, and the other of thirty-six guns, 
 and Stephen Hopkins, Joseph Hewes, Richard Henry Lee, and John 
 Adams, were added to the naval committee. 
 
 On the twenty-eighth of November, the Congress adopted a code 
 of regulations for the navy ; and on the thirteenth of December, 
 they ordered the construction of thirteen additional vessels-of-war.* 
 
 * These vessels were ordered to be built as follows : at Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, the Wash- 
 ington, 32 guns ; Randolph, 32 ; Effingham, 28 ; and Delaware, 24. At Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 
 the Raleigh, 32. At Boston, Massachusetts, the Hancock, 32 ; and the Boston, 24. At Providenee, 
 Rhode Island, the Warren, 32; and the Providence, 28. At Annapolis, Maryland, the Virginia, 28. 
 At New London, Connecticut, the Trumbull, 28. At Poughkeepsic, on the Hudson, New York, the 
 Congress, 28, and the Montgomery, 24. On the twenty-second of December, 1775, the Congress 
 commissioned Esck Hopkins, Dudley Saltonstall, Abraham Whipple, Nicholas Biddle, and John B. 
 
 Hopkins, captains-commandant; and John Paul Jones, Rhodes Arnold, Stansbury, Hersted 
 
 Hacker, and Jonathan Pitcher, first lieutenants ; Benjamin Seabury, Joseph Olney, Elisha Warren, 
 Thomas Wisner, - M Dougal, second lieutenants ; John Fanning, Ezekiel Burroughs, and 
 Daniel Vaughan, third lieutenants. At that time five vessels, changed from merchant-vessels into 
 privateersmen, were in readiness, and these five sets of officers took immediate command. Esek 
 
744 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 On the following day a marine committee, as it was termed, 
 was appointed, consisting of one member from each colony.* 
 It possessed very little executive power. Naval subjects were 
 referred to it, for examination and suggestions ; and upon its re 
 ports the Congress predicated their acts and commands. The com 
 mittee appointed all officers below the rank of third lieutenant, 
 and had the general control, under the sanction of Congress, of all 
 the naval operations. Such was the embryo of the navy of the 
 United States. Let us now turn again to the army blockading 
 Boston and their opponents. 
 
 It was evident, before the committee of Congress left the camp, 
 that General Howe had no intention of leaving Boston before spring, 
 if he could avoid it. During September and October, the British 
 had been engaged in strengthening their defences, and making prep 
 arations for winter quarters. A large and well-built redoubt was 
 constructed on Bunker s hill ; and so confident were they in its 
 strength, that they believed six hundred men, commanded by two 
 field-officers, would be fully sufficient to protect it against the whole 
 republican army. In fact, they invited an attack by levelling some 
 defences on or near Charlestown Neck, and leaving that isthmus 
 open for the approach of the "rebels." The redoubt was nearly 
 completed at the close of September, and General Sir Henry Clin 
 ton was placed in command of it. Tents were soon clustered upon 
 the eminences around, and the soldiery were subjected to the most 
 rigid discipline. 
 
 At about this time, Washington received intimations from the 
 Congress, that an attack upon the British would be agreeable to them 
 "an attack upon the first favorable occasion, and before the arrival 
 of reinforcements." But Washington s prudence and cool judg 
 ment restrained his desires, and he wrote, in reply, on the fifth of 
 October : " The enemy in Boston and on the heights of Charles- 
 town, are so strongly fortified, as to render it almost impossible to 
 
 Hopkins was appointed commander-in-chief of the fleet, with the pay of one hundred and twenty- 
 five dollars a month. 
 
 * The committee consisted of Messrs. Bartlett, Hancock, Hopkins, Deane, Lewis, Crane, Morris, 
 Read, Chase, R. H. Lee, Hewes, Gadsden, and Houstoun. 
 
MT. 43.] DESECRATION OF CHURCHES. 745 
 
 force their lines, thrown up at the head of each neck. Without 
 great slaughter on our side, or cowardice on theirs, it is absolutely 
 so. We, therefore, can do no more than keep them besieged, 
 which they are, to all intents and purposes, as closely as any troops 
 upon earth can be, that have an opening to the sea. Our advanced 
 works and theirs are within muskei>shot. We daily undergo a 
 cannonade, which has done no injury to our works, and very little 
 hurt to our men. These insults we are compelled to submit to for 
 want of powder, being obliged, except now and then giving them a 
 shot, to reserve what we have for closer work than cannon-dis 
 tance." 
 
 During October, Howe employed six hundred men in making 
 additional fortifications on Boston Neck. At the south end of the 
 city, several houses were removed to make room for military works ; 
 the lines on the Neck, toward Roxbury, were much strengthened, 
 and redoubts were erected upon the eminences in Boston not 
 already crowned with fortifications. The enemy also laid violent 
 hands upon public and private property within the city, and no 
 deference was paid to things venerable or sacred. The old South 
 church, where, years before, the sons of Liberty assembled - 
 "where," as a British officer at the time wrote, "sedition had been 
 often preached" was taken possession of by the troops, and pre 
 pared for a riding-school for the use of Burgoyne s light dragoons. 
 It was stripped of its seats and furniture ; and a pew that had be 
 longed to a beloved deacon, deceased, handsomely carved and 
 adorned with silk furniture, was taken away and converted into a 
 hog-stye. Another " meeting-house," called the North church, was 
 entirely demolished, and used for fuel. 
 
 This desecration of one of the most venerable places of worship 
 in the city, shocked the religious feelings of the people all over the 
 country, wherever the story was told, and made the roots of hatred 
 to imperial rule strike deeper down into the public heart. This 
 was the first of a series of similar outrages committed by the 
 British during the war. They always spared churches that had 
 been consecrated by episcopal rites ; but the houses of worship of 
 
746 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 all dissenters, to whom they gave the general name of presby- 
 terians, were wantonly profaned. This was a wicked and unwise 
 policy, and always widened the breach which patriots on both sides 
 of the Atlantic desired to close. " When Roman virtue and patri 
 otism were at their height," says Doctor Gordon, when referring to 
 these outrages, " the Roman officers would not allow the religion or 
 temples of the persons with whom they fought, to be insulted and 
 profaned. They were more politic than to exasperate men into a 
 ferocious courage for the defence of their altars." 
 
 On the twenty-eighth of October, Howe issued three proclama 
 tions, which created much indignation, and drew from Washington 
 some retaliatory measures. The first forbade all persons leaving 
 the town without permission, under pain of military execution in 
 the event of their arrest, and a confiscation of their property if 
 they escaped. The second prohibited all persons who were per 
 mitted to go, carrying with them more than twenty-five dollars in 
 cash, under pain of forfeiture ; and the third ordered all the inhab 
 itants within the town to associate themselves into military com 
 panies, to be commanded by officers appointed by Howe. 
 
 These proclamations, and the crimes committed on the New 
 England coasts by marauders, and on the shores of Virginian waters 
 by Lord Dunmore, of which we shall hereafter write, greatly in 
 censed Washington, and he resolved on retaliatory measures. 
 Already General Sullivan had gone to Portsmouth, to assist the 
 inhabitants in fortifying the town and harbor, and he ordered him 
 " to seize upon such persons as held commissions from the crown, 
 and were acting as open and avowed enemies to their country, and 
 hold them as hostages for the security of those towns which," he 
 said, " our ministerial enemies threaten to invade." He issued simi 
 lar orders to William Palfrey, at Portsmouth, an active whig, who 
 afterward became an aid to the commander-in-chief, paymaster- 
 general of the army, and, in 1780, consul-general of the United 
 States in France. In his letter to Mr. Palfrey, Washington said : 
 u For the present I shall avoid giving you the like order in respect 
 to the tones in Portsmouth ; but the day is not far off, when they 
 
&T. 43.] LUKEWARMNESS OF THE TROOPS. 747 
 
 will meet with this or a worse fate, if there is not a reasonable 
 reformation in their conduct." 
 
 To Governor Trumbull, Washington wrote at the same time, and 
 asked "Would it not be prudent to seize on those tories who 
 have been, are, and that we know will be, active against us ? Why 
 should persons who are preying upon the vitals of their country, 
 be suffered to stalk at large, whilst we know that they will 
 do us every mischief in their power?" He made similar sug 
 gestions to Governor Cooke, of Rhode Island ; and these repub 
 lican magistrates agreed with his excellency, in opinion, and acted 
 accordingly. 
 
 Every day the cares, responsibilities, and duties of Washington 
 increased, and every day he appeared to receive fresh and accumu 
 lated strength of mind and body, to bear and perform them. When 
 the committee of Congress had left the camp, he commenced the 
 most untiring efforts to reorganize the army and strengthen his 
 position, according to the plan agreed upon, that he might speedily 
 attack the enemy with a prospect of success, or at least to sustain 
 a rigid blockade until starvation should compel him to surrender. 
 He first directed that all officers of the army, who proposed to 
 remain, should signify their intention as early as possible. By the 
 thirty-first of October sufficient returns had come in to enable him 
 to form an estimate of the number who would continue with the 
 army. It was evident that full one half intended to leave ; and 
 Washington was concerned to find, that many of these men, not 
 content to abandon the army themselves at this critical juncture, 
 were endeavoring to persuade the troops under them to do likewise. 
 He was advised to dismiss them at once, before their term of enlist 
 ment should expire ; but he regarded such a measure as fraught 
 with danger and great inconvenience. It was a very critical mo 
 ment, and the greatest caution, prudence, forbearance, and fore 
 sight, were necessary to prevent a complete dissolution of the 
 army. 
 
 Washington, at this time, was filled with great anxiety, and in 
 this feeling the whole country participated. Individual minds were 
 
748 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 busy in planning schemes to aid him. On the third of November, 
 he received quite a long communication from Josiah Quincy (the 
 father of the fervent patriot already mentioned, whose eyes closed 
 in death on shipboard, just as they beheld the hills of his native 
 province, on his return from England), explaining a scheme for pre 
 venting the passage of vessels in and out of the harbor of Boston. 
 Mr. Quincy was thoroughly acquainted with every island and ship- 
 channel in the harbor, and his scheme was an admirable one. He 
 had communicated it to Franklin, who advised him to lay it before 
 Washington in detail. It required too many cannon and too much 
 powder to be then adopted, and it was abandoned. 
 
 At about the same time, Captain M Pherson, an old sea-com 
 mander, and father of Montgomery s aid of that name, who was 
 killed at Quebec,* visited the camp under a special order of Con 
 gress, with a letter to Washington from that body, and laid before 
 his excellency a plan for the total destruction of the British fleet in 
 Boston harbor. Washington examined it, perceived its absurdity, 
 and prevailed upon MTherson to communicate his plans to three 
 gentlemen of the artillery, in the army, well versed in the practice 
 of gunnery. They convinced him, says Washington to the presi 
 dent of Congress, " that, inasmuch as he set out upon wrong prin 
 ciples, the scheme would prove abortive." " Unwilling, however," 
 he continued, "to relinquish his favorite project of reducing the 
 naval force of Great Britain, he is very desirous of building a 
 
 * John Adams, in his diary, under date of September 18th, 1775, says: "This morning, John 
 M Pherson, Esq., came to my lodgings and requested to speak with me in private. He is the 
 owner of a very handsome country-seat, about five miles out of this [Philadelphia] city ; is the father 
 of Mr. M Pherson, an aid-de-carnp to General Schuyler. He has been a captain of a privateer, and 
 made a fortune in that way, the last war; is reputed to be well skilled in naval affairs. He proposes 
 great things ; is sanguine, confident, positive, that he can take or burn every man-of-war in America. 
 It is a secret, he says, but he will communicate it to any one member of Congress, upon condition 
 that it be not divulged during his life, nor after his death, but for the service of his country. He 
 says, that it is as certain as that he shall die, that he can burn any ship." A week afterward he 
 wrote : " Rode out of town, and dined with Mr. M Pherson. He has the most elegant seat in 
 Pennsylvania, a clever Scotch wife, and two pretty daughters. His seat is on the banks of the 
 Schuylkill. He has been nine times wounded in battle; an old sea-commander; made a fortune by 
 privateering ; one arm twice shot off, shot through the leg, &c. He renews his proposals for taking 
 or burning ships." Soon after this, Mr. M Pherson communicated with the Congress on the sub 
 ject, and, on the nineteenth of October, that body resolved, " That Captain M Pherson be requested 
 immediately to repair to the camp, at Cambridge, and confer with General Washington, on the sub 
 ject contained in his letter to Congress." Journals, i., 207. 
 
JST. 43.] KNOX, COMMANDER OF THE ARTILLERY. 749 
 
 number of row-galleys for this purpose." As Washington had no 
 authority in the matter, he referred M Pherson to the Congress. 
 On the same day he wrote to Colonel Keed, in Philadelphia, and 
 said : " I have been happy enough to convince Captain M Pherson, 
 as he says, of the propriety of returning to Congress he sets out 
 this day, and I am happy in his having an opportunity of laying 
 before them a scheme for the destruction of the naval force of 
 Great Britain." Washington had evidently been annoyed by the 
 persistent captain, for the words that he emphasized in his letter, 
 express intentional irony. , 
 
 Another source of Washington s anxiety, at that time, was the 
 want of skilful engineers. "The commissary-general* can inform 
 you," he wrote to Governor Trumbull, " how exceedingly deficient 
 the army is of gentlemen skilled in that branch of business, and 
 that most of the works which have been thrown up for the defence 
 of our several encampments, have been planned by a few of the 
 principal officers of this army, assisted by Mr. Knox, a gentleman 
 of Worcester." Colonel Gridley, the chief-engineer, had been com 
 missioned by the Congress in September, to take command of the 
 artillery of the continental army; but his qualifications for that 
 important post appeared so inadequate, on account of his age, that 
 early in November, a council of officers expressed a unanimous 
 opinion that the command should no longer continue in him. 
 Washington communicated this opinion to the Congress, and at the 
 same time he nominated Knox to fill Gridley s place. He also said, 
 that it was indispensably necessary that the artillery regiment should 
 consist of two lieutenant-colonels, two majors, and twelve com 
 panies. That nomination and these suggestions were immediately 
 acted upon by the Congress, and, on the nineteenth of November, 
 Henry Knox was commissioned a colonel, and appointed to the 
 command of the artillery. 
 
 Knox s merits entitled him to the honor. He had left the pro 
 fession of a bookseller for that of a soldier ; had fought gallantly 
 on Bunker s hill, and having an aptness for the science of fortifica- 
 
 * Joseph Trumbull, a son of Governor Trumbull. 
 
750 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 tions, about which he had read much, he had been very useful in 
 planning some of the works already constructed around Boston. 
 And now, when his services were most needed, he came forward as 
 a volunteer, and offered to proceed to Lake Champlain, to procure 
 supplies of artillery and ordnance stores, with which to carry on 
 the siege of Boston. Before the arrival of his commission from 
 Congress, he was on his way toward the frontier. He first exam 
 ined into the state of the artillery and stores in camp, and then 
 proceeded on his errand, under instructions from Washington, issued 
 on the sixteenth of November, which directed him to proceed to 
 New York, and apply to the president of the provincial Congress 
 for supplies. After performing that duty he was to go to the head 
 quarters of General Schuyler, and, by the assistance of that officer, 
 to procure what was necessary from Ticonderoga, Crown Point, St. 
 John, and Quebec, if the latter place should be in possession of the 
 Americans. He bore a letter from Washington to General Schuy 
 ler, requesting that officer to lend Knox every assistance in his 
 power. 
 
 With these instructions, and a thousand dollars to pay his ex 
 penses, the brave Knox set out for New York. He was then 
 twenty-five years of age, with a fine constitution, an athletic frame, 
 and powers of endurance of a high order. Having despatched his 
 business with the provincial Congress at New York, he ascended 
 the Hudson in a sloop, as far as Poughkeepsie, where further 
 progress was forbidden by strong ice. He proceeded by land, and 
 reached Ticonderoga on the twenty-sixth, where he found General 
 Schuyler, suffering very much from a complication of diseases. 
 
 After extraordinary perseverance, labor, and hardships, Colonel 
 Knox had collected a large quantity of artillery and ordnance 
 stores at the head of Lake George on the seventeenth of Decem 
 ber, and was prepared to transport them across the country on 
 sledges, the ground being deeply covered with snow. "It is not 
 easy to conceive," he said, in a letter to Washington written on 
 that day, " the difficulties we have had in getting them over the 
 lake, owing to the advanced season of the year and contrary winds ; 
 
JEf. 43.] IMPORTANT SPOILS OF VICTORY. 751 
 
 three days ago it was very uncertain whether we could have gotten 
 them over until next spring ; but now, please God, they shall go." 
 He placed the spoils on forty-two sleds, drawn by eighty oxen, 
 crossed the Hudson a little above Fort Edward, and went by the 
 way of Fort Miller and Saratoga to Albany. There he again 
 crossed the river on the ice, proceeded to Kinderhook, and then 
 turning eastward, went through Great Barrington and Springfield, 
 and so on to Cambridge, where he arrived in January, with eight 
 brass mortars, six iron mortars, two iron howitzers, thirteen brass 
 cannon, twenty-six iron cannon, two thousand three hundred pounds 
 of lead, and a barrel of flints. This arduous service had been 
 performed with great celerity, considering the inclemency and 
 severity of the season, for the winter set in with extreme cold on 
 the first of December. It was a service of the greatest importance, 
 for the heavy ordnance, the artillery, and other implements of war 
 thus furnished, were much needed in carrying on the siege of Boston. 
 On his arrival, Colonel Knox took command of the artillery ; and 
 he remained at the head of that branch of the military service 
 until the close of the war. 
 
752 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 CHAPTER LXIII. 
 
 WASHINGTON S TRIALS INFLUENCES OPERATING UPON THE SOLDIERY DEVEL 
 OPMENT OF WASHINGTON S EXCELLENCES ESTIMATE OF HIS DIFFICULTIES 
 
 SECTIONAL JEALOUSIES SLOW ENLISTMENTS THE NEW ENGLAND TROOPS 
 
 GREENE S APOLOGY BAD CONDUCT OF THE CONNECTICUT TROOPS THE MILI 
 TIA TO BE SUMMONED TRUMBULL S LETTER HOSTILE MOVEMENTS OF THE 
 
 ENEMY BRITISH REPULSED NEW FORTIFICATIONS CAST UP PROMPT ACTION 
 
 OF THE MILITIA BRIGHTER PROSPECTS IN THE CAMP FEARS OF THE BRITISH 
 
 WASHINGTON S ATTENTION TO DOMESTIC AFFAIRS HIS MANAGER AT MOUNT 
 VERNON MRS. WASHINGTON S DEPARTURE FOR CAMP HER TARRY IN PHILA 
 DELPHIA ARRIVAL AT CAMP PLEASANT CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS THERE. 
 
 PERHAPS at no time during the war for independence was the 
 judgment, firmness, wisdom, patience, and self-reliance of Washing 
 ton more thoroughly tried and tested, than during the last six 
 weeks of the year 1775; and at no time were these qualities more 
 signally triumphant in sustaining him in the midst of great labors 
 and trials. 
 
 War had actually begun. Blood had flowed; and the love of 
 freedom and the vengeance of lustful power were in rampant strife. 
 A people, free and loyal, had been driven by systematic and long- 
 sustained assaults upon their liberties and franchises, into rebellion 
 to the sovereign power of the realm, to which they had ever been 
 proud of yielding fealty. They were accustomed to the arts and 
 blessings of peace, and had enjoyed the sweets of prosperity and 
 repose. To them a camp was a repulsive necessity, and not a 
 delightful choice. They had been quickly summoned to resist 
 oppression by physical force ; and their gathering in battle order 
 had been like the impulsive motion of an arm uplifted for imme 
 diate defence. They warded the malicious blow aimed at their 
 dearest rights, taught the foe circumspection and dread, and became, 
 
JET. 43.] HOME AND THE CAMP. 753 
 
 in a little while, only simple jailors of armed mercenaries, chafing 
 within prison-bars wrought of prudence and fear. The enthusiasm 
 that called them from the workshops and the field, was born of a 
 noble patriotism, and it glowed long after the immediate causes of 
 its nativity had passed away. 
 
 But there were other strong impulses at work. The cares and 
 necessities of social and domestic life ; the delights of home and 
 the pleasures of security and repose ; the calls of love and duty, 
 to the plough and the sickle, the anvil and the plane ; in a word, 
 everything pertaining to industrial pursuits and domestic happiness, 
 pleaded eloquently for the soldier to leave the tent for his own 
 roof-tree the camp for his own cultivated acres. All summer 
 long he had been absent from his home, and many a field lay 
 fallow because of a lack of laborers. Material interests of every 
 kind were suffering; and as men all unskilled in philosophy, juris 
 prudence, and the teachings of long-past experience chronicled in 
 history, gazed into the political heavens, they saw little else than 
 gathering clouds, that whispered of wo to the land, in mutterings 
 of suppressed thunder. 
 
 From over the sea came menaces to awe and fleets to subjugate. 
 The civil power at home was not yet developed, and was but little 
 understood, while that of the imperial legislature which they had 
 defied was well defined and formidable. The confederation just 
 formed was feeble because its chief element of cohesion was imme 
 diate danger. Sectional interests and individual opinions were 
 producing discords everywhere ; and the whole sea of public life, 
 over which hung the mists of uncertainty, was foaming with turbu 
 lence. 
 
 No wonder, then, that men accustomed from infancy to almost 
 unlimited freedom, should have been impatient of restraint; no 
 wonder that the enthusiasm of men filled with the vigorous life of 
 the new world, should have felt smothered by inaction ; no wonder 
 that the delights of home, and the necessities of common life should 
 have powerfully wooed them from the camp, and made them indif 
 ferent to the verdict of posterity concerning their patriotism. 
 
 48 
 
754 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [l?75. 
 
 They were men possessed of all the weaknesses of our common 
 humanity, and subject to its sympathetic and demonstrative laws; 
 and we, standing upon the rock of a well-consolidated and homo 
 geneous government, with the blue sky of peace bending over us, 
 and the sunlight of freedom illuminating all things within the 
 bounds of the horizon, can not justly measure the patriotism of 
 men in that hour of doubt, instability, and gloom. We should be 
 modest and lenient in our expressions of opinions concerning them, 
 and be more ready to pity than to blame. Yet they were not all 
 blameless. 
 
 In proportion as we appreciate the difficulties and dangers of 
 those times, does the noble character of Washington unfold in 
 bolder relief before the vision. He was at the head of a hetero 
 geneous army, then the centre of all hope, and the real focus of all 
 present power. To Washington all eyes were imploringly or hope 
 fully turned. Upon him was laid the task and responsibility of 
 thinking rightly and acting wisely for the nation just struggling 
 into infantile life. The continental Congress, the provincial assem 
 blies, the committees of safety, the military and naval officers, and 
 individuals all over the land, eager for the triumph of right, turned 
 to him for advice and direction. At the same time the care of a 
 fragile army, ready to fall asunder at a touch, and yet an army 
 regarded as the depository of the hopes of the nation, required his 
 sleepless vigilance and unremitting attention. Then it was that 
 the greatness of Washington was made manifest, that the idea of 
 his reliability blossomed into a universal sentiment, and a belief in 
 his wonderful fitness for. the duties of a supreme leader, became an 
 integral of the creed of the people, which was never rejected. An 
 innate belief in his inspiration, took the form of unquestioning 
 confidence. 
 
 " In our view," says a late writer, " no period of his life is more 
 affecting than the early months of his command, when his prudence 
 was sneered at by the ambitious, his military capacity distrusted 
 even by his most intimate friends, and his masterly inactivity 
 misinterpreted by those who awaited his signal for action. The 
 
#h . 43.] WASHINGTON S TRIALS. 75,5 
 
 calm remonstrance, the inward grief, the exalted magnanimity, 
 which his letters breathe at this crisis, reveal a heroism of soul not 
 surpassed in anysubsequent achievement. No man ever illustrated 
 more nobly the profound truths of Milton s sentiment, ( They also 
 serve who only stand and wait. His was not simply the reticence 
 of a soul eager for enterprise, the endurance of a forced passivity, 
 with vast peril and glorious possibilities, the spur of necessity, the 
 thirst for glory, and the readiness for sacrifice stirring every pulse 
 and bracing every nerve ; but it was his part to stand and wait in 
 the midst of the gravest perplexities, in the face of an expectant 
 multitude, with a knowledge of circumstances that justified the 
 hope delayed, and without the sympathy which alleviates the 
 pain of hope deferred to stand and wait before the half- 
 averted eye of the loyal, the gibes of a powerful enemy, the 
 insinuations of factious comrades with only conscious rectitude 
 and trust in Heaven for support. How, in his official correspond 
 ence, did Washington hush the cry of a wounded spirit; how 
 plaintively it half escapes in the letter of friendship ; and how 
 singly does he keep his gaze on the great cause, and dash aside the 
 promptings of self-love, in the large cares and impersonal interests 
 of a country not yet sensible of its infinite need of him, and of its 
 own injustice !"* 
 
 Slowly and discouragingly the enlistments for the new army 
 went on. One of the chief difficulties was the new arrangement 
 of officers, under the plan agreed upon by the committee of confer 
 ence, the old army containing thirty-eight regiments, and the new 
 one to have only twenty-six. The delicate duty of reduction 
 required great judgment, firmness, and discretion. It gave Wash 
 ington and his general officers infinite concern and perplexity. 
 " The trouble I have in the arrangement of the army," he wrote 
 to the president of Congress on the eleventh of November, "is 
 really inconceivable.... You, sir, can much easier judge than I 
 can express, the anxiety of mind I must labor under on the occa 
 sion, especially at this time, when we may expect the enemy will 
 
 * Essays, Biographical and Critical; or, Studies of Character. By HENRY T. TUCKERMAN 
 
756 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 begin to act on the arrival of their reinforcement, part of which is 
 ^ r already come, and the remainder daily dropping in." 
 
 Sectional jealousies also produced great trouble "There ap 
 pears to be such an unwillingness/ Washington wrote to the presi 
 dent of Congress, " in the officers of one government to mix in the 
 same regiment with those of another." And to Colonel Reed he 
 wrote, on the same day : " Connecticut wants no Massachusetts man 
 in their corps; Massachusetts thinks there is no necessity for a 
 Rhode-Islander to be introduced into hers; and New Hampshire 
 says, it is very hard that her valuable and experienced officers, who 
 are willing to serve, should be discarded, because her own regi 
 ments, under the new establishment, can not provide for them." 
 Washington felt the justice of some of these feelings, yet he was 
 compelled to act according to the dictates of his judgment, and the 
 resolves of the committee of conference. He was also actuated by 
 an intense desire to inaugurate a union spirit among the troops, by 
 arranging the new organization so that it should be a continental 
 and not a colonial army. 
 
 Contentions and petty conspiracies prevailed among the subordi 
 nate officers in the camp when the enlistment orders were given. 
 Those who agreed to remain were zealous in recruiting, and some 
 times resorted to the mean practice of seducing men already 
 engaged, into their own companies. They also enrolled tories, 
 boys, and negroes. These practices greatly annoyed Washington, 
 and, on the twelfth of November, he issued such peremptory orders 
 on the subject that these abuses were soon corrected. The fickle 
 ness of officers also gave Washington much uneasiness. The sol 
 diers would not enlist until they knew who were to be their officers, 
 so that it was necessary to arrange these first. Many sent in their 
 names with assurances that they would serve in the new army, 
 and then, changing their minds, would withdraw and declare their 
 intentions to retire at the expiration of their term. This conduct 
 produced infinite confusion, and greatly retarded the enlistment 
 service. In fact, at the end of a month s unceasing endeavors to 
 re-enlist those already under arms, the coimnander-in-chief had 
 
JE.T. 43.] WASHINGTON S TRIALS. 757 
 
 obtained only about five thousand recruits. "Such a dearth of 
 public spirit," Washington wrote to Colonel Reed, at the close of 
 November, " and such want of virtue, such stock-jobbing, and 
 fertility in all the low arts to obtain advantage of one kind or 
 another, in this great change of military arrangement, I never saw 
 before, and pray God s mercy that I may never be witness to 
 again. What will be the end of these maneuvres is beyond my scan. 
 I tremble at the prospect. We have been till this time enlisting 
 about three thousand five hundred men. To engage them, I have 
 been obliged to allow furloughs as far as fifty men to a regiment, 
 and the officers, I am persuaded, indulge as many more. The 
 Connecticut troops will not be prevailed upon to stay longer than 
 their time, saving those who have enlisted for the next campaign, 
 and are mostly on furlough ; and such a mercenary spirit pervades 
 the whole, that I should not be at all surprised at any disaster that 
 may happen. In short, after the last of this month, our lines will 
 be so weakened, that the minute-men and militia must be called in 
 for their defence ; and then, being under no kind of government 
 themselves, will destroy the little subordination I have been labor 
 ing to establish, and run me into one evil, whilst I am endeavoring 
 to avoid another. Could I have foreseen what I have experienced, 
 and am likely to experience, no consideration upon earth should 
 have induced me to accept this command. A regiment or any 
 subordinate department would have been accompanied with ten 
 times the satisfaction, and, perhaps, the honor." 
 
 This estimate of the New England troops, and these desponding 
 reflections poured into the ears of a personal friend, were natural 
 under the circumstances. But the more Washington became ac 
 quainted with the true character of the majority of the eastern 
 people, the more palpable became the fine gold of its innate com 
 position, embedded beneath the dross of outward manifestations. 
 Washington did not, for a long time, fully comprehend them, and 
 this the sagacious Greene clearly perceived. That officer loved his 
 general with enthusiasm, and sorely lamented the annoyances to 
 which he was subjected, yet his admiration did not blind him. To 
 
758 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 his friend Ward, the deputy-governor of Rhode Island, he wrote 
 apologetically for both parties, and said : " He [Washington] has 
 not had time to make himself acquainted with the genius of this 
 people. They are naturally as brave and spirited as the peasantry 
 of any other country, but you can not expect veterans of raw 
 militia from only a few months service. The common people are 
 exceedingly avaricious; the genius of the people is commercial, 
 from their long intercourse with trade. The sentiment of honor, 
 the true characteristic of a soldier, has not yet got the better of 
 interest. His excellency has been taught to believe the people 
 here a superior race of mortals ; and finding them of the same 
 temper and dispositions, passions and prejudices, virtues and vices 
 of the common people of other governments, they sank in his 
 esteem." This apology for the New England troops, it must be 
 confessed, does not give them a very flattering character as dis 
 interested patriots. 
 
 Washington s doubts and despondencies prevailed for a moment 
 only. He soon arose above them, and worked faithfully and hope 
 fully on. 
 
 The departure of the Connecticut troops occurred earlier than 
 the commander-in-chief had anticipated ; and it was under circum 
 stances that needed an apologist even more partial than General 
 Greene, to give it the least color of justification. The time of 
 enlistment of many of them would expire on the first of December, 
 and Washington asked the officers of the several regiments whether 
 their men would be willing to remain until the first of January, or 
 until a sufficient number of the new recruits could be raised to 
 supply their places. The officers expressed their belief that they 
 would ; but when November drew to a close, Washington discerned 
 great uneasiness among the Connecticut troops, caused by an irre 
 pressible desire to leave the service and return home. Perceiving 
 the danger to be apprehended by such a sudden weakening of the 
 army, he called a council of his general officers at headquarters, 
 and invited a delegation from the Massachusetts legislature to be 
 present. The object was to adopt immediate measures for the 
 
ffiT. 43.] PREVAILING MERCENARY SPIRIT. 759 
 
 support and defence of the extensive American lines, by a requisi 
 tion upon the New England militia. 
 
 Here, again, the hands of the commander-in-chief were bound by 
 that wholesome jealousy of military power by which the liberties of 
 a people are faithfully watched. It was the dread of a standing army 
 that caused the enlistments for the new organization to be made 
 for only one year ; and when Congress, in general terms, granted 
 to Washington the power to call out the militia, it was significantly 
 asked by wise and patriotic men "If the commander-in-chief can 
 call out the whole force of the countrj r , when he pleases, where are 
 the prescribed bounds of his power ? Is he not a military dictator ? 
 and may not some less patriotic leader, pleading this precedent as 
 an excuse, become a despot ?" The Congress put an end to fears on 
 this subject, by making it incumbent on the commander-in-chief to 
 gain the consent of the executive authority of each colony, before 
 he summoned its militia. 
 
 Delegates from the Massachusetts legislature attended the coun 
 cil, and it was resolved to summon to the camp, on or before the 
 tenth of December, three thousand Massachusetts minute-men and 
 militia, and two thousand of those of New Hampshire. Of this 
 resolve the Connecticut troops were made acquainted, and all were 
 requested to remain until that date, because the liberties of the 
 country would be greatly perilled, should they leave before others 
 should arrive to supply their places. The request was unheeded, 
 and Washington s earnest appeal to their patriotism, their pride, 
 and their honor, was of no avail. The truth is, these men expected 
 a bounty, and when the Congress and Washington exhibited a disin 
 clination to purchase, with money, the services of New-Englanders 
 in endeavors to rescue their capital from the enemy, they resolved 
 to desert the cause. This consideration, says Sparks "had great 
 weight, perhaps greater than all the rest the men expected a 
 bounty." Disappointed in this, and yearning for home, they re 
 solved to leave the camp on the first of December. On that day 
 many of them departed, carrying their arms and ammunition with 
 them. We have, however," Washington wrote to the president 
 
7fiO WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 of Congress, " by threats and persuasions, and the activity of the 
 people of the country, who sent back many of them that had set 
 out, prevailed upon the larger part to stay. There are about 
 eighty of them missing." 
 
 Washington complained of this conduct of the Connecticut 
 troops to Governor Trumbull, in a letter written on the second of 
 December. " I have enclosed you," he said, " a list of the names 
 of some of those in General Putnam s regiment only, who escaped, 
 and submit to your judgment, whether an example should not be 
 made of these men, who have basely deserted the cause of their 
 country at this critical juncture, when the enemy are receiving 
 reinforcements." The patriotic governor was greatly mortified. 
 Their reprehensible conduct, he said, impressed his mind and those 
 of many other people, " with grief, surprise, and indignation ; since," 
 he added, " the treatment they met with, and the order and request 
 made to them were so reasonable, and apparently necessary for the 
 defence of our common cause, and safety of our rights and privi 
 leges, for which they freely engaged." The governor then kindly 
 attempted to palliate their offence. He assured the general that the 
 Connecticut assembly, soon to convene, would support the cause 
 with zeal ; and concluded by saying : " Your candor and goodness 
 will suggest to your consideration, that the conduct of our troops 
 is not a rule whereby to judge of the temper and spirit of the 
 colony."* 
 
 Washington s perplexities in the prosecution of the recruiting- 
 service were heightened by the movements of the enemy, the con 
 dition of his ammunition and the arms of his soldiery. Most of 
 the latter were so imperfect, that he pronounced them unfit for 
 proper service early in November ; and the ammunition was seri- 
 
 * This conduct of the Connecticut troops had an unfavorable effect upon others. "I greatly fear 
 its operation amongst the soldiers of the other colonies, as I am sensible this is the genius and spirit 
 of our people," wrote Governor Trumbull. General Greene said, in a letter to Deputy-Governor 
 Ward, at that time : " In my last, I mentioned to you that the troops enlisted very slowly in general. 
 I was in hopes, then, that ours [Rhode Island] would not have deserted the cause of their country ; 
 but they seem to be so sick of this way of life, and so homesick, that I fear the greater part, and 
 the best of the troops from our colony, will go home. The Connecticut troops are going home in 
 shoals this day " 
 
JE-r. 43.] INVADERS REPULSED. 761 
 
 ously damaged by long-continued wet weather. " Our powder," he 
 said, " is wasting fast, notwithstanding the strictest care, economy, 
 and attention, are paid to it;" but its spoiled condition was not 
 known, until, on the tenth of November, the enemy made hostile 
 demonstrations that promised a commencement of hostilities. Then 
 it became necessary for the soldiers to examine their cartridge- 
 boxes, when the alarming fact was revealed, that their powder was 
 spoiled. 
 
 The demonstrations alluded to was the landing of six companies 
 of light-infantry, and a hundred grenadiers (about four hundred in 
 all), upon Lechmere s point, for the purpose of carrying off some 
 live stock there. They were under the command of Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Clark, and came from Boston in boats, protected by the 
 guns of the Cerberus man-of-war, and several floating batteries. 
 When the alarm was given, Colonel Thompson led his regiment of 
 riflemen, and a portion of the battalions of Colonels Woodbridge and 
 Patterson, to attack the enemy. With singular courage they waded 
 through the deep water that then covered the causeway to the 
 point, in the face of the British, and drove them to their boats. 
 The enemy captured one American, wounded two others, and car 
 ried away ten cows. This performance cost them two human lives 
 and much honor. Washington regarded this as a prelude to other 
 incursions, for he was informed, that " a scoundrel from Marblehead, 
 a man of property,"* had carried to General Howe a true statement 
 of the difficulties in the way of the new enlistment, the temper of 
 the American troops in general, and the apathy and apparent dis 
 affection of some particular corps. It was this apprehension that 
 caused a general inspection of the condition of the army, and led 
 to the alarming discovery concerning the powder. 
 
 The increasing cold rendered it necessary to have all intrenching 
 operations performed immediately. Having resolved to take pos 
 session of and fortify another eminence in the face of the enemy, 
 Washington sent a detachment of the army, a thousand strong, 
 under General Putnam, to cast up some works on Cobble hill, 
 
 * Washington to Colonel Reed. 
 
762 WASHINGTON : A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 whereon the M Lean Asylum now stands. That eminence was 
 within half a mile of the British works on Bunker s hill, and a 
 like distance from the enemy s shipping, at West Boston. It was a 
 bleak spot. The weather was extremely cold, but the soldiers, 
 though thinly clad, worked nobly until the dawn, when they 
 retired. On the following night another party, under General 
 Heath, was sent to complete the works. It was expected that the 
 British would attack these intrenching parties, and preparations 
 were made for their reception, but none appeared. Not a single 
 shot was hurled upon the delvers ; and the work which they con 
 structed was so strong, that when it was completed it was called 
 " Putnam s impregnable fortress." 
 
 Other works were constructed a little later. Notwithstanding 
 very cold weather prevailed, and a heavy fall of snow covered the 
 earth, two half-moon batteries were erected between Lechmere s 
 point and the mouth of the Cambridge creek. Another small 
 fortification was thrown up at the causeway leading to Lechmere s 
 point, where a bomb-battery was commenced at the close of No 
 vember. Other intrenchments were marked out between Sewall s 
 point and the American lines at Roxbury ; and, at the close of 
 December, Boston was almost circumvallated on the land side. 
 
 During several days in the earlier part of December, not a gun 
 was fired by the British upon the Americans engaged in construct 
 ing fortifications. Washington could account for this silence only 
 upon the supposition, that it was intended to lull him into a fatal 
 security, to favor some attempt upon the patriots at the close of 
 the month, when the great change in the continental army was to 
 take place. "If this be their drift," Washington wrote on the 
 fifteenth, " they deceive themselves, for, if possible, it has increased 
 my vigilance, and induced me to fortify all the avenues to our 
 camps, to guard against any approaches upon the ice." 
 
 The militia ordered to the camp to fill the vacancies occasioned 
 by retiring troops, obeyed the call with great promptness, and, on 
 the eleventh of December, Washington said, in a letter to the 
 president of Congress : " I am much pleased with the alacrity 
 
JET. 43.] SALUTARY CHANGES IN CAMP. 763 
 
 which the good people of this province, as well as those of New 
 Hampshire, have shown upon this occasion. I expect the whole 
 will be in this day and to-morrow, when what remains of the 
 Connecticut gentry, who have not enlisted, will have liberty to go 
 to their firesides." 
 
 At about this time Washington considered his situation a very 
 critical one. His weakness was well known to an enemy who were 
 daily increasing in numerical strength. His recruiting officers 
 made slow progress, while his army was rapidly diminishing. Win 
 ter was at hand, and clothing and shelter for the troops were very 
 deficient. Uneasiness and dissatisfaction pervaded the camp, and 
 money was doled out sparingly by Congress to the commander-in- 
 chief, because men appointed to sign the continental bills were 
 strangely apathetic. "For God s sake, hurry up the signers of 
 money that our wants may be supplied," Washington wrote to 
 Richard Henry Lee. " It is a very singular case that their signing 
 can not keep pace with our demands." 
 
 But a pleasant and salutary change in the aspect and condition 
 of the American camp soon occurred. The cheering news came 
 from the North, that Montgomery was in possession of Montreal, 
 and Arnold was at Quebec. This greatly inspirited the people. 
 The number of the militia called for were all at the lines at the 
 appointed time ; the capture of British vessels with stores by Amer 
 ican cruisers, and supplies from other sources, gave the army an 
 ample quantity of provisions, ammunition, and arms; and money 
 came in time, and in sufficient abundance, to meet the demand upon 
 the military-chest. " I have the satisfaction," wrote an American in 
 the camp to his friend, on the thirteenth of December, " to tell you 
 things wear a better complexion here than they have done for 
 some time past. The army is filling up. The barracks go on well. 
 Firewood comes in.* The soldiers are made comfortable and easy. 
 
 * The army suffered very much for want of firewood and hay. Energetic proceedings were 
 finally instituted to procure supplies, and these were at length successful. At the close of Decem 
 ber General Greene said, in a letter : " We have suffered prodigiously for want of wood. Many 
 regiments have been obliged to eat their provisions raw, for want of fuel to cook it ; and notwith 
 standing we have burnt up all the fences, and cut down all the trees, for a mile round the camp, our 
 sufferings have been inconceivable. The barracks have been greatly delayed for want of stuff. 
 
764 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 Our privateers meet with success in bringing in vessels that were 
 going to the relief of Boston."* 
 
 From this time until the close of the year, very little of general 
 importance occurred in the two armies, except an occasional ex 
 change of almost harmless shots. On the seventeenth of Decem 
 ber, while thick fog lay upon the city, the harbor, and the sur 
 rounding country, General Putnam, with a party of four hundred 
 men, broke ground on Lechmere s point, for a new work to connect 
 with those on Cobble hill. The fog disappeared at noon, and re 
 vealed the workers to the enemy on land and water, and provoked 
 an attack. The Scarborough, anchored near, opened a broadside of 
 round and grape shot upon them, and shells were hurled from 
 mortars on Barton s point, in Boston. The Americans, who had 
 one soldier wounded, were compelled to flee, but at night they 
 were there again, under the brave old veteran, and prosecuted their 
 work with vigor. Early the next morning, Captain Smith, of the 
 American artillery, opened a fire upon the Scarborough, with two 
 eighteen-pounders on Cobble hill, and made her withdraw to some 
 distance from her anchorage; and General Heath, with another 
 party, proceeded to prosecute the work. An ineffectual fire upon 
 them was kept up for some time, when it ceased, and in the after 
 noon Washington and his staff visited the eminence and inspected 
 the work, upon which the mortar taken by Manly, and christened 
 " Congress," was to be mounted. Upon this work Washington 
 placed great reliance for future operations. 
 
 The other fortifications were prosecuted with vigor, in spite 
 of the cannonading of the British, and much to their annoy 
 ance. In allusion to the new work on Lechmere s point, a 
 British officer wrote : " If the rebels can complete their battery, 
 
 Many of the troops are yet in their tents, and will be for some time, especially the officers. The 
 fatigues of the campaign, the suffering for want of food and clothing, have made a multitude of 
 soldiers heartily sick of the service." All this was known to the enemy. " The provincial troops 
 before Boston," wrote i\ British officer, early in November, " are in want of clothing and firing to a 
 degree scarcely to be credited, and must break up their camp before winter, but will, probably, 
 attempt a coup de main. They have burnt all the fruit-trees, and those planted for ornament, in the 
 environs of Cambridge, and are mutinous beyond measure." 
 * Frothingham s " Siege of Boston," page 274. 
 
Mr. 43.] HOME AND ITS ATTRACTIONS. 765 
 
 this town will be on fire about our ears a few hours after ; all our 
 buildings being of wood, or a mixture of brick and wood-work. 
 Had the rebels erected their battery on the other side of the town, 
 at Dorchester, the admiral and all his booms would have made the 
 first blaze, and the burning of the town would have followed. If 
 we can not destroy the rebel battery by our guns, we must march 
 out and take it sword in hand." 
 
 The absorbing cares and multifarious duties of the camp, did not 
 prevent the thoughts of Washington going out frequently to his 
 far-off home on the Potomac, where his wife was dwelling, near 
 common dangers that threatened the province, and where peaceful 
 pursuits beckoned him from the turmoil of military life, with power 
 ful appeals. But duty was ever more powerful than inclination in 
 its control of the actions of Washington. The good of his country 
 demanded his constant presence before the enemy, and the expecta 
 tion that he should return to his wife " in the fall" could not be 
 realized. He, therefore, wrote to Mrs. Washington, by express, in 
 November, inviting her to Cambridge, to spend the winter with 
 him at headquarters. A little later he wrote to Mr. Lund Washing 
 ton, the general superintendent of his affairs at Mount Vernon, 
 concerning the management of the plantations. He was a distant 
 relative, and managed Washington s agricultural affairs during the 
 whole war, with great fidelity, communicating almost every week, 
 to the general, a minute report of operations under his control. 
 These letters Washington regularly answered, and returned full 
 instructions to his manager respecting crops, laborers, et cetera. 
 
 In his letter to his superintendent at this time, Washington 
 expressed a desire to engage him as a permanent agent. After 
 referring to difficulties to be apprehended in promising to pay 
 wages in cash, he reveals a picture of domestic policy at that time, 
 by saying : " I will engage for the coming year, and the year fol 
 lowing, if these troubles and my absence continue, that your wages 
 shall be standing and certain, at the highest amount that any one 
 year s crop has produced to you yet. I do not offer this as any 
 temptation to induce you to go on more cheerfully in prosecuting 
 
766 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 these schemes of mine. I should do injustice to you, were I not to 
 acknowledge, that your conduct has ever appeared to me as above 
 everything sordid ; but I offer it in consideration of the great 
 charge you have upon your hands, and my entire dependence upon 
 your fidelity and industry." After expressing his satisfaction that 
 his affairs were in such faithful keeping, he added : 
 
 " Let the hospitality of the house, with respect to the poor, be 
 kept up. Let no one go hungry away. If any of this kind of 
 people should be in want of corn, supply their necessities, provided 
 it does not encourage them in idleness ; and I have no objection to 
 your giving my money in charity, to the amount of forty or fifty 
 pounds a year, when you think it well bestowed. What I mean by 
 having no objection is, that it is my desire that it should be done. 
 You are to consider, that neither myself nor wife is now in the \vay 
 to do these good offices. In all other respects, I recommend it to 
 you, and have no doubt of your observing the greatest economy 
 and frugality ; as I suppose you know, that I do not get a farthing 
 for my services here, more than my expenses. It becomes neces 
 sary, therefore, for me to be saving at home." 
 
 Mrs. Washington left Mount Vernon on the fifteenth of Novem 
 ber, accompanied by her son (John Parke Custis), and his wife, 
 with servants. They travelled in the elegant state then common 
 among the wealthy families of Virginia, riding in a chariot drawn 
 by four bay horses of purest English blood, and driven by black 
 postilions arrayed in livery of scarlet and white. They made easy 
 journeys, because the roads were bad and Washington was always 
 extremely careful of his horses. Their first night was passed at 
 Georgetown, and thence they made their way, in the course of two 
 days, to Baltimore, escorted long distances between their halting- 
 places by volunteer guards of honor, composed of the gentry of 
 the country and villages through which they passed. From Balti 
 more they proceeded by way of the head of Elk, Wilmington, and 
 Chester, and arrived at Philadelphia on the twenty-first. From 
 Gray s Ferry, on the Schuylkill, they were escorted into the city 
 by the second battalion of lightrinfantry, and a troop of light-horse. 
 
JR-r. 43.] MRS. WASHINGTON IN PHILADELPHIA. 767 
 
 Mrs. Washington received unremitting attentions in Philadelphia, 
 for which the general expressed his gratitude to Colonel Reed, then 
 there, saying : " I am so much indebted for the civilities shown Mrs. 
 Washington on her journey hither, that I hardly know how to go 
 about to acknowledge them. Some of the enclosed (all of which I 
 beg the favor of you to put into the postoffice), are directed to 
 that end. I shall be obliged to you for presenting my thanks to 
 the commanding officers of the two battalions of Philadelphia, for 
 the honors they have done her and me, as also to any others 
 equally entitled." 
 
 Before her arrival, a ball in honor of Mrs. Washington, to be 
 held at the New City tavern, had been arranged, and she accepted 
 an invitation to attend it. Such an assembly being in violation of 
 the spirit of the eighth article of the American Association, adopted 
 by Congress a year before, much feeling against the ball was mani 
 fested. It was ascertained that Mrs. Hancock would attend it with 
 Mrs. Washington ; and Christopher Marshall, who has left a record 
 of the affair in his diary, volunteered to see President Hancock on 
 the subject. The ball was to take place on the evening of the 
 twenty-fourth, and at three o clock that afternoon, Mr. Marshall 
 called at Mr. Hancock s lodgings. He had not yet returned from 
 the State-House, and thither Marshall went, and requested Samuel 
 Adams to be called to the door. He told Mr. Adams where and 
 when the ball was to be held, and requested him to ask Mr. Han 
 cock to call on Mrs. Washington and state the nature of the 
 objections made. 
 
 Meanwhile, a meeting of leading whigs had assembled at the 
 Philosophical Hall to consider the matter, so tenacious were they of 
 preserving the honor of the city and colony, by being obedient to 
 the solemn covenant about to be violated. It was resolved by 
 them that the ball must not be held ; and they appointed a com 
 mittee of four gentlemen to wait upon Mrs. Washington, to ex 
 press their regard and affection for her, and request and desire her 
 not to grace the company that evening, to which she was invited. 
 Major Bayard, who was chairman of that committee, performed the 
 
768 WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. [1775. 
 
 duties gracefully. Mrs. Washington thanked them for their kind 
 care and regard in giving such timely notice, and assured them that 
 their sentiments " were perfectly agreeable unto her own." Mar 
 shall says, that in the evening, while he was at the lodgings of 
 Samuel Adams, Colonel Harrison, of Virginia, came in and rebuked 
 the Puritan delegate from New England, " for using his influence 
 for the stopping of this entertainment, which he declared was legal, 
 just, and laudable. Many arguments," continued Marshall, " were 
 used by all present to convince him of the impropriety, at this 
 time, but all to no effect; so, as he came out of humor, he so 
 retired, to all appearance." 
 
 After being entertained in Philadelphia several days, Mrs. Wash 
 ington left for Cambridge on the twenty-seventh, attended by the 
 troop of horse, two companies of lightrinfantry, and a cavalcade of 
 civilians. She passed through New York, but made only a short 
 visit there, for she felt anxious to join her husband, from whom she 
 had been separated several months. All through New Jersey, 
 New York, and New England, she received the same delicate atten 
 tions, and arrived at Cambridge on the eleventh of December. 
 Her advent there was a joyful occasion, not only for the com- 
 mander-in-chief, but for the whole army. It was at the moment 
 when affairs in camp began to brighten ; and the presence of Mrs. 
 Washington seemed to shed a genial light upon the rough visage 
 of war. The wives of other officers arrived soon afterward; and 
 the Christmas holy days were spent in Cambridge in the enjoyment 
 of all the innocent pleasures which a half-camp and half-town life 
 afforded. Dinner and evening parties at headquarters, and among 
 the neighboring inhabitants, were frequent, and the best feeling 
 
 prevailed. 
 
 I 
 
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