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Part One

Commander in Chief of the Revolution

CHAPTER 1

“The Favorite Soldier of Virginia”: Early Years; the French and Indian War (1732 to 1759)

Birth of George Washington.—His mission to the French General of Ohio.—Is appointed Lieutenant of a Colonial regiment.—Surprises Monsieur Jumonville.—Capitulation of fort Necessity.—Appointed Aid-de-camp to General Braddock.—Defeat and death of that General.—Appointed to the command of a Colonial regiment.—Distress of the frontiers.—Expedition against fort Du Quêsne.—Defeat of Major Grant.—Fort Du Quêsne evacuated.—Colonel Washington resigns.—His marriage.

George Washington, the third son of Augustine Washington, was born on the 22d of February, 1732, near the banks of the Potomac, in the county of Westmoreland, in Virginia. His father married Miss Butler, who died in 1728; leaving two sons, Lawrence and Augustine. In 1730, he intermarried with Miss Mary Ball, by whom he had four sons, George, John, Samuel, and Charles; and one daughter, Betty, who intermarried with Colonel Fielding Lewis, of Fredericksburg.

His great-grand-father, John Washington, had emigrated from the north of England, about the year 1657, and settled on the place where Mr. Washington was born.

1743At the age of eleven years, he lost his father. An affectionate mother continued to impress those principles of religion and virtue on his tender mind, which constituted the solid basis of a character that was maintained throughout all the trying vicissitudes of an eventful life. But his education was limited to subjects strictly useful, not even extending to foreign languages.

1749At the age of seventeen, he was appointed a surveyor in the western part of the northern neck of Virginia; and, in that office, acquired such information respecting vacant lands, and formed those opinions concerning their future value, which afterwards contributed greatly to the increase of his fortune.

Those powerful attractions, which the profession of arms presents to young and ardent minds, possessed their full influence over Mr. Washington. Stimulated by the enthusiasm of military genius, to take part in the war in which Great Britain was then engaged, he pressed earnestly to enter into the navy, and, at the age of fourteen, a midshipman’s warrant was obtained for him. The interference of a timid and affectionate mother deferred the commencement, and changed the course, of his military career. Six1752 years afterwards, when the militia were to be trained for actual service, he was appointed one of the Adjutants-General1 of Virginia, with the rank of Major. The duties annexed to this office soon yielded to others of a more interesting character.

France was beginning to develop the vast plan of connecting her extensive dominions in America, by uniting Canada to Louisiana. The troops of that nation had taken possession of a tract of country claimed by Virginia, and had commenced a line of posts, to be extended from the Lakes to the Ohio. The attention of Mr. Dinwiddie,2 Lieutenant-Governor of that province, was1753 attracted to these supposed encroachments, and he deemed it his duty to demand in the name of the King, his master, that they should be suspended.

This mission was toilsome and hazardous. The Envoy would be under the necessity of passing through an extensive and almost unexplored wilderness, inhabited by fierce savages, who were either hostile to the English or of doubtful attachment. While the dangers and fatigues of this service deterred others from undertaking it, they seem to have possessed attractions for Mr. Washington, and he engaged in it with alacrity.

Oct.–Nov. 1753On receiving his commission, he proceeded to Wills’ creek, then the extreme frontier settlement of the English, where guides were engaged to conduct him over the Alleghany mountains. At the mouth of Turtle creek he was informed that the French general was dead, and that the army had retired into winter quarters. Pursuing his route, he examined the country through which he passed, with a military eye, and selected the confluence of the Monongahela and Alleghany rivers, the place where fort Du Quêsne was afterwards erected by the French, as a position which it would be advisable to seize and fortify immediately.3

After employing a few days in securing the fidelity of the Indians in that neighborhood, he ascended the Alleghany to a French fort where he was received by the commanding officer on the Ohio, to whom he delivered the letter of Mr. Dinwiddie, and from whom he received an answer with which he returned to Williamsburg.Jan. 1754 The exertions made by Mr. Washington on this mission, the perseverance with which he surmounted the difficulties he encountered, and the judgment displayed in his conduct toward the Indians, raised him in the public opinion as well as in that of the Lieutenant-Governor. His journal, drawn up for the inspection of Mr. Davidson, was published, and impressed his countrymen with very favorable sentiments of his understanding and fortitude.4

As the answer from the commandant of the French forces on the Ohio indicated no disposition to withdraw from that country, it was deemed necessary to make some preparations to maintain the rights asserted over it by the British crown; and the Assembly of Virginia authorized the Executive to raise a regiment forMarch–April 1754 that purpose, to consist of three hundred men. The command of this regiment was given to Mr. Fry, and Major Washington was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel. Anxious to be engaged in active service, he obtained permission, about the beginning of April, to advance with two companies to the Great Meadows, in the Alleghany Mountains. Soon after his arrival at that place, he was informed by some friendly Indians that the French, having dispersed a party of workmen employed by the Ohio Company to erect a fort on the south-eastern branch of the Ohio, were engaged in completing a fortification at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers; a detachment from which place was then on its march towards his camp. Though open hostilities had not yet commenced, the country was considered as invaded; and several circumstances were related, confirming the opinion that this party was approaching with hostile views. Confident of this, Lieutenant-Colonel Washington resolved to anticipate them. Proceeding under the guidance of Indians, through a dark and rainy night, to the French encampment, he completelyMay 27, 1754 surrounded it; and, at daybreak, his troops fired and rushed upon the party, which immediately surrendered. One man only escaped capture; and Monsieur Jumonville alone, the commanding officer, was killed.

While the regiment was on its march to join the detachment advanced in front, the command devolved on Lieutenant-Colonel Washington by the death of Colonel Fry. Soon after its arrival, it was reinforced by two independent companies of regulars. After erecting a small stockade at the Great Meadows, Colonel Washington commenced his march towards fort Du Quêsne, with the intention of dislodging the French from that place. He had not proceeded more than thirty miles, when he was informed by some friendly Indians, that the French, “as numerous as the pigeons in the wood,” were advancing rapidly to meet him. Among those who brought this information was a trusty chief, only two days from the post on the Ohio, who had observed the arrival of a considerable reinforcement at that place, and had heard them express the intention of marching immediately to attack the English, with a corps composed of eight hundred French and four hundred Indians.

The ground occupied by Colonel Washington was not adapted to military purposes. A road leading through other defiles in the mountains, would enable the French to pass into his rear, intercept his supplies, and starve him into a surrender, or fight him with a superiority of three to one.

In this hazardous situation, a council of war unanimously advised a retreat to the fort at the Great Meadows, now termed fort Necessity; where the two roads united, and where the face of the country was such as not to permit an enemy to pass him unperceived. At that place he intended to await the arrival of reinforcements.

In pursuance of this advice, Colonel Washington returned to fort Necessity, and began a ditch around the stockade. Before it was completed, the French and Indians, computed at fifteen hundred men, commanded by Monsieur de Villier, appeared before theJuly 3, 1754 fort, and commenced a furious attack upon it. They were received with great intrepidity by the Americans, who fought partly within the stockade, and partly in the surrounding ditch, which was nearly filled with mud and water. Colonel Washington continued the whole day on the outside of the fort, encouraging the soldiers by his countenance and example. The assailants fought under cover of the trees and high grass with which the country abounds. The action continued from ten in the morning until dark, when Monsieur de Villier demanded a parley, and offered terms of capitulation. These were rejected, but, in the course of the night, articles were signed, by which the fort was surrendered on condition that the garrison should be allowed the honors of war—should be permitted to retain their arms and baggage, and be suffered to march unmolested into the inhabited parts of Virginia.

The loss of the Americans in this affair is not ascertained. A return made after arriving at Wills’ creek, states the killed and wounded of the Virginia regiment at fifty-eight. The loss sustained by the two independent companies was not reported. That of the assailants was supposed to be more considerable.

Great credit was given to Colonel Washington by his countrymen, for the courage displayed in this engagement. The legislature evinced its satisfaction with the conduct of the whole party, by passing a vote of thanks to him and the officers under his command; and by giving three hundred pistoles to be distributed among the soldiers engaged in the action.

The regiment returned to Winchester to be recruited;5 soon after which it was joined by a few companies from North Carolina and Maryland. On the arrival of this reinforcement, the Lieutenant-Governor, with the advice of council, unmindful of the condition and number of the troops, ordered them to march immediately over the Alleghany mountains; and to expel the French from fort Du Quêsne, or to build one in its vicinity.

Aug. 1754The little army in Virginia, now under the command of Colonel Innes of North Carolina, did not exceed half the number of the enemy, and was neither provided with the means of moving, nor with supplies for a winter campaign. With as little consideration, directions had been given for the immediate completion of the regiment, without furnishing a shilling for the recruiting service—Colonel Washington remonstrated against these orders, but prepared to execute them. The assembly however, having risen without making any provision for the farther prosecution of the war, this wild expedition was abandoned, and the Virginia regiment was reduced to independent companies.

In the course of the winter, orders were received “for settling the rank of his majesty’s forces then serving with the provincials in North America.” These orders directed “that all officers commissioned by the king, or by his general in North America, should take rank6 of all officers commissioned 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 field 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.”

Oct. 1754Still professing his attachment to a military life, Colonel Washington could not submit to hold the station assigned to him, and retired indignantly from a service in which he was degraded by loss of rank.

His eldest brother had lately died and left him Mount Vernon,—a considerable estate on the Potomac.7 To this delightful spot he withdrew, resolving to devote his future life to private pursuits. This resolution was not long maintained.

General Braddock,8 being informed of his merit, and his knowledge of the country which was to become the theatre of action, gratified his desire to make one campaign under an officer supposed to possess some knowledge of war, by inviting him to enter his family as a volunteer aid-de-camp.9

Having accepted this invitation, he joined the commander-in-chief on his march from Alexandria to Wills’ creek. The army1755 was detained at that place until the 12th of June, by the difficulty of procuring wagons, horses, and provisions. Colonel Washington, impatient under these delays, suggested the propriety of using pack-horses instead of wagons: though the commander-in-chief at first rejected this advice, its propriety, soon after the commencement of the march, became too obvious to be longer neglected.

On the third day after the army had moved from Wills’ creek, Colonel Washington was seized with a violent fever which disabled him from riding on horseback, and was conveyed in a covered wagon. Being still privately consulted by the commander-in-chief, he urged that officer strenuously to leave his heavy artillery and baggage with the rear division, and with a chosen body of troops, and some pieces of light artillery, to press forward to fort Du Quêsne. In support of this advice, he stated that the French were then weak on the Ohio, but daily expected reinforcements. These could not arrive during the drought existing at that time, because the river Le Boeuf, on which their supplies must be brought to Virginia, was too low for the purpose. A rapid movement might enable him to carry the place before the arrival of the expected aid. But should the army remain united, the delays attending its march were such, that rain sufficient to raise the waters might be expected, and the whole force of the French might be collected for their reception;—a circumstance which would render the success of the expedition doubtful.

This advice according with the temper of the commander-in-chief, it was determined in a council of war that twelve hundred select men, to be commanded by the General in person, should advance with the utmost expedition against fort Du Quêsne. Colonel Dunbar was to remain with the residue of the regular troops and all the heavy baggage.

Colonel Washington was obliged to stop at the Great Crossings of the Yohogany—the physician having declared that his life would be endangered by continuing with the army. He obeyed the positive orders of the General to remain at this place; having first received a promise that means should be used to bring him up with the army before it reached fort Du Quêsne.

July 8, 1755The day before the action of the Monongahela, he joined the General in a covered wagon; and, though weak, entered on the duties of his station.

In a short time after the action had commenced, Colonel Washington was the only aid remaining alive and unwounded. The whole duty of carrying the orders of the commander-in-chief, in an engagement with marksmen who selected officers, especially those on horseback, devolved on him. Two horses were killed under him, and four balls passed through his coat. To the astonishment of all he escaped unhurt, while every other officer on horseback was killed or wounded. “I expected every moment,” says an eye-witness, “to see him fall. His duty and situation exposed him to every danger. Nothing but the superintending care of Providence could have saved him from the fate of all around him.”10

At length, after an action of nearly three hours, General Braddock, under whom three horses had been killed, received a mortal wound, and his troops fled in great disorder. Every effort to rally them was ineffectual until they had crossed the Monongahela. The General was brought off in a tumbril,11 by Colonel Washington, Captain Stewart of the guards, and his servant. The defeated detachment retreated to the rear division of the army, where General Braddock expired. The military stores not necessary for immediate use were destroyed, and Colonel Dunbar marched the remaining European troops to Philadelphia.

Colonel Washington, who was much dissatisfied with the conduct of the regular soldiers in this action, bestowed great praise on the provincials. “The Virginia companies,” he said in a letter to the Lieutenant-Governor, “fought like men and died like soldiers. Captain Peronny and all his officers, down to a corporal, were killed. Captain Poulson had almost as hard a fate, for only one of his escaped.”

Colonel Washington had long been the favorite soldier of Virginia, and his reputation grew with every occasion for exertion. His conduct in this battle had been universally extolled, and the common opinion of his countrymen was, that, had his advice been pursued, the disaster had been avoided.

The Assembly, which was in session when intelligence of this defeat and of the abandonment of the province by Colonel Dunbar was received, immediately determined to raise a regiment for theAug. 14, 1755 defence of the colony, the command of which was given to Colonel Washington, who was also designated in his commission as the commander-in-chief of all the forces raised and to be raised in Virginia. The uncommon privilege of naming his field officers was added to this honorable manifestation of public confidence.

After making the necessary arrangements for the recruiting service, and visiting the posts on the frontier, he set out for the seat of government; but was overtaken by an express carrying the intelligence that a large number of French and Indians, divided into several parties, had broken up the frontier settlements; were murdering and capturing men, women, and children; burning their houses, and destroying their crops. The troops stationed among them for their protection were unequal to that duty, and instead of affording aid to the inhabitants, were blocked up in their forts.

Colonel Washington hastened back to Winchester, but his efforts to raise the militia12 were unavailing. Instead of assembling in arms and obtaining safety by meeting their invaders, the inhabitants fled into the lower country, and increased the general terror. He endeavored to collect and arm the men who had abandoned their houses, and to remove their wives and children from this scene of desolation and carnage. Pressing orders were despatched to the newly appointed officers to forward their recruits, and to the county lieutenants east of the Blue Ridge to hasten their militia to Winchester. Before these orders could be executed, the invading enemy had recrossed the Alleghany Mountains.

1756Early in the following spring another irruption, spreading death and desolation around, was made into the inhabited country. The number of troops on the regular establishment was unequal to the protection of the frontier, and effective service from the militia was found to be unattainable. The people either abandoned the country, or attempted to secure themselves in small stockade forts, where they were in great distress for provisions, arms, and ammunition, were often surrounded, and sometimes cut off. The letters of Colonel Washington at the time show the deep impression made on his mind by this afflicting and irremediable state of things.

The incompetency of the military force to the defence of the country having become obvious, the assembly determined to augment the regiment to fifteen hundred men. Colonel Washington urged the necessity of increasing it still further, and demonstrated the total incompetency of the number proposed to the protection of the extensive frontier of Virginia. His representations did not succeed, and the distress of the country increased. As had been foreseen, Winchester became almost the only settlement west of the Blue Ridge on the northern frontier; and fears were entertained that the enemy would pass even that barrier, and ravage the country below it. Express after express was sent to hasten the militia, but sent in vain. At length, about the last of April, the French and their savage allies, laden with plunder, prisoners, and scalps, returned to fort Du Quêsne.

Some short time after their retreat, the militia appeared, and were employed in searching the country for small lingering parties of Indians, and in making dispositions to repel another invasion. A fort was commenced at Winchester, which, in honor of the General then commanding the British forces in America, was called fort Loudoun; and the perpetual remonstrances13 of Colonel Washington at length effected some improvement in the military code.

Successive incursions continued to be made by the French and Indians, who kept up a perpetual alarm, and murdered the defenceless wherever found. In Pennsylvania, the inhabitants were driven as far as Carlisle; and, in Maryland, Fredericktown, on the eastern side of the Blue Ridge, became a frontier. With less than one thousand men, aided occasionally by militia, Colonel Washington was required to defend a frontier nearly four hundred miles in extent, and to complete a chain of forts.

This campaign furnishes no event which can interest the reader; yet the duties of the officer, though minute, were arduous; and the suffering of the people beyond measure afflicting. It adds to the many instances history records of the miseries always to be expected by those who defer preparing the means of defence, until the moment when they ought to be used, and then rely on a force neither adequate to the danger, nor of equal continuance with it.

As soon as the main body of the enemy had withdrawn fromOct. 1756 the settlements, a tour was made by Colonel Washington to the south-western frontier. There, as in the North, repeated incursions had been made; and there too, the principal defence of the country was entrusted to our ill-regulated militia.

After returning to Winchester, he gave the Lieutenant-Governor, in curious14 detail, a statement of the situation in which heMarch 1757 found the country, urging, but urging in vain, arguments which will always be suggested by experience, against relying chiefly on militia for defence.

Sensible of the impracticability of defending such an extensive frontier, Colonel Washington continued to press the policy of enabling him to act on the offensive. The people of Virginia, he thought, could be protected only by entering the country of the enemy; giving him employment at home, and removing the source of all their calamities by taking possession of fort Du Quêsne.

His inability to act offensively was not the only distressing and vexatious circumstance to which he was exposed. The Lieutenant-Governor, who seems to have been unequal to the difficulties of his station, frequently deranged his system by orders which could not be executed, and sometimes could not be well understood. He seems, too, to have occasionally manifested unreasonable dissatisfaction with the conduct of the commander-in-chief.

July 1756In the midst of these embarrassments, Lord Loudoun,15 in whose person the offices of Governor and commander-in-chief were united, arrived in Virginia. A comprehensive statement of the situation of the Colony in a military point of view, and of the regiment in particular, was drawn up and submitted to him by Colonel Washington. In this, he enumerated the errors which had prevented the completion of his regiment, showed the insufficiency of militia for military purposes, and demonstrated the advantages of an offensive system.

Feb.–April 1757This statement was probably presented by Colonel Washington in person, in the winter when permitted to visit Lord Loudoun in Philadelphia, when that nobleman met the Governors of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina, and the Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia, in order to consult with them on the measures to be taken in their respective provinces, for the ensuing campaign. He was, however, disappointed in his favorite hope of being able to act offensively against the French on the Ohio. Lord Loudoun had determined to make a grand effort against Canada, and to leave only twelve hundred men in the middle and southern colonies; yet his anxious wishes continued to be directed towards fort Du Quêsne. In a letter written in May to Colonel Stanwix, who commanded in the middle colonies, he observed, “You will excuse me, sir, for saying that I think there never was, and perhaps never again will be, so favorable an opportunity as the present for reducing fort Du Quêsne. Several prisoners have made their escape from the Ohio this spring, and agree in their accounts that there are but three hundred men left in the garrison. Surely then, this is too precious an opportunity to be lost.”

But Mr. Pitt16 did not yet direct the councils of Britain, and a spirit of enterprise and heroism did not yet animate her generals. The campaignJuly 1757 to the North was inglorious; and nothing was even attempted towards the West which might relieve the middle colonies.

Large bodies of savages in the service of France once more spread desolation and murder over the whole country west of the Blue Ridge. The regular troops were inadequate to the defence of the inhabitants, and the incompetence of the defensive system to their security became every day more apparent. He continued to urge on the Lieutenant-Governor, and on the Assembly, in his letters to the Speaker, the necessity of vigorous exertions. Without them he predicted that there would not be found an individual west of the Blue Ridge the ensuing autumn, except the troops in garrison, and a few in Winchester under the protection of the fort.

It was impossible that Colonel Washington, zealous in the service of his country, and ambitious of military fame, could observe the errors committed in the conduct of the war without censuring them. These errors were extended to Indian affairs. The Cherokees1757 and Catawbas had hitherto remained faithful to the English, and it was very desirable to engage the warriors of those tribes heartily in their service; but so badly was the intercourse with them conducted, that, though considerable expense was incurred, not much aid was obtained, and great disgust was excited among them. The freedom with which his censures were uttered gave offence to the Lieutenant-Governor, who considered them as manifesting a want of respect for himself. Sometimes he coarsely termed them impertinent; at others, charged him with looseness in his information, and inattention to his duty. On one of these occasions, Colonel Washington thus concluded a letterAug. 27 of detail:17 “I must beg leave before I conclude, to observe in justification of my own conduct, that it is with pleasure I receive reproof when reproof is due, because no person can be readier to accuse me than I am to acknowledge an error when I have committed it, nor more desirous of atoning for a crime when I am sensible of being guilty of one. But on the other hand, it is with concern I remark that my best endeavors lose their reward; and that my conduct, although I have uniformly studied to make it as unexceptionable as I could, does not appear to you in a favorable point of light; otherwise your honor would not have accused me of loose behavior, and remissness of duty, in matters where I think I have rather exceeded than fell short of it. This I think is evidently the case in speaking of Indian affairs at all, after being instructed in express terms not to have any concern with or management of Indian affairs.”

Not long after this he received a letter informing him of some coarse calumny, reflecting on his veracity and honor, which had been reported to the Lieutenant-Governor. He inclosed a copy of this letter to Mr. Dinwiddie, and thus addressed him: “I should take it infinitely kind if your honor would please to inform me whether a report of this kind 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 author of the above stupid scandal, has made free with my character!

“If it be possible that * * * *, for my belief is staggered, not being conscious of having given the least cause to any one, much less to that gentleman, to reflect so grossly; I say if it be possible that * * * * could descend so low as to be the propagator of this story, he must either be vastly ignorant of the state of affairs in this country at that time, or else he must suppose that the whole body of the inhabitants had combined with me in executing the deceitful fraud.

“It is uncertain in what light my services may have appeared to your honour; but this I know, and it is the highest consolation I am capable of feeling, that no man that ever was employed in a public capacity, has endeavored to discharge the trust in him with greater honesty, and more zeal for the country’s interest than I have done.”

In a letter some short time after this to the Lieutenant-Governor, he said, “I do not know that I ever gave your honor cause to suspect me of ingratitude; a crime I detest, and would most carefully avoid. If an open disinterested behavior carries offence, I may have offended, for I have all along laid it down as a maxim to represent facts freely and impartially, but not more so to others than to you, sir. If instances of my ungrateful behavior had been particularized, I would have answered them. But I have been long convinced that my actions and their motives have been maliciously aggravated.”

Mr. Dinwiddie soon afterwards took leave of Virginia, and the government devolved on Mr. Blair, the president of the council. Between him and the commander of the colonial troops the utmost cordiality existed.

After the close of the campaign of 1757, Loudoun returned to England, and General Abercrombie succeeded to the command of the army. The department of the middle and southern provinces was committed to General Forbes, who, to the inexpressible gratification of Colonel Washington, determined to undertake an expedition against fort Du Quêsne.

1758He urged an early campaign, but he urged it ineffectually; and before the troops were assembled, a large body of French and Indians broke into the country, and renewed the horrors of the tomahawk and scalping-knife. The attempts made to intercept these savages were unsuccessful; and they recrossed the Alleghany with their plunder, prisoners, and scalps.

Among other motives for an early campaign, Colonel Washington had urged the impracticability of retaining the Indians. His fears were well founded. Before a junction of the troops had been made, these savages became impatient, and finding that the expedition would yet be delayed a considerable time, they left the army, promising to rejoin it at the proper season.

In pursuance of orders, the Virginia troops moved in detachments from Winchester to fort Cumberland, where they assembled early in July; after which they were employed in opening a road to Raystown, where Colonel Bouquet was stationed.

Colonel Washington had expected that the army would march by Braddock’s road; but, late in July, he had the mortification to receive a letter from Colonel Bouquet, asking an interview, in order to consult on opening a new road from Raystown, and requesting his opinion on that route. “I shall,” says he, in answer to this letter, “most cheerfully work on any road, pursue any route, or enter upon any service, that the General or yourself may think me usefully employed in or qualified for; 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, permit me to observe that, after having conversed with all the guides, and having been informed by others acquainted with the country, I am convinced that a road to be compared with General Braddock’s, or indeed that will be fit for transportation even by pack-horses, can not be made.”

A few days after writing this letter he had an interview with Colonel Bouquet, whom he found decided in favour of opening the new road. After their separation, Colonel Washington addressed to him a letter to be laid before General Forbes, in which he stated his reasons against this measure. He concluded his arguments against it (arguments which appear to be conclusive) by declaring his fears that, should the attempt be made, nothing more could be done than to fortify some post west of the Alleghany, and prepare for another campaign. This he prayed heaven to avert.

In a letter to Major Halket, aid-de-camp to General Forbes, he thus expressed his forebodings of the mischiefs to be apprehended from the adoption of the new route. “I am just returned from a conference held with Colonel Bouquet. 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 advanced season, when we have scarcely time left to tread the beaten track, universally confessed to be the best passage through the mountains.

“If Colonel Bouquet succeeds in this point with the General, all is lost! all is lost indeed! our enterprise is ruined; and we shall be stopped at the Laurel Hill this winter; but not to gather laurels, except of the kind which cover the mountains. The southern Indians will turn against us, and these colonies will be desolated by such an accession to the enemy’s strength. These must be the consequences of a miscarriage; and a miscarriage the almost necessary consequence of an attempt to march the army by this route.”

Colonel Washington’s remonstrances and arguments were unavailing; and the new route was adopted. His extreme chagrin at this measure, and at the delays resulting from it, was expressed in anxious letters to Mr. Fauquier, then governor of Virginia, and to the Speaker of the House of Burgesses.

Sept. 21He was soon afterwards ordered to Raystown. Major Grant had been previously detached from the advanced post at Loyal Hanna, with a select corps of eight hundred men, to reconnoitre the country about fort Du Quêsne. The morning after his arrival in the vicinity of the fort, he detached Major Lewis of Colonel Washington’s regiment, with a baggage-guard, two miles in his rear; and sent an engineer with a covering party, in full view of the fort, to take a plan of the works. An action soon commenced, on which Major Lewis, leaving Captain Bullett with about fifty Virginians to guard the baggage, advanced with the utmost celerity to support Major Grant. The English were defeated with considerable loss; and both Major Grant and Major Lewis were taken prisoners. In this action the Virginians manifested the spirit with which they had been trained. Of eight officers, five were killed, a sixth wounded, and seventh taken prisoner. Captain Bullett, who defended the baggage with great resolution, and contributed to save the remnant of the detachment, was the only officer who escaped unhurt. Of one hundred and sixty-two men, sixty-two were killed on the spot, and forty-two wounded.

Oct. 11It was at length determined that the army should move from Raystown, and the colonels of regiments were required to submit severally to the consideration of the General, a plan for his march. That proposed by Colonel Washington has been preserved, and appears to have been judiciously formed.

They reached the camp at Loyal Hanna, through a road indescribably bad, about the fifth of November. At this place, as had been predicted, a council of war determined that it was unadvisable to proceed farther this campaign. It would have been almost impossible to winter an army in that position. They must have retreated from the cold inhospitable wilderness into which they had penetrated, or have suffered immensely, perhaps have perished. Fortunately, some prisoners were taken who informed them of the extreme distress of the fort. Receiving no support from Canada, the garrison was weak, in great want of provisions, and deserted by the Indians. This encouraging intelligence changed the resolution which had been taken, and determined the General to prosecute the expedition.

Colonel Washington was advanced in front, and, with immense labor, opened a way for the main body of the army. The troops moved forward with slow and painful steps until they reached fort Du Quêsne, of which they took possession on the 25th of November; the garrison having on the preceding night, after evacuating and setting it on fire, proceeded down the Ohio in boats.

To other causes than the vigor of the officer who conducted the enterprise, is the capture of this important place to be ascribed. The naval armaments of Great Britain had intercepted the reinforcements designed by France for her colonies; and the pressure on Canada had disabled the Governor of that province from detaching troops to fort Du Quêsne. Without the aid of these causes, the extraordinary and unaccountable delays of the campaign must have defeated its object.

The works were repaired, and the new fort received the name of the great minister who, with unparalleled vigor and talents, then governed the British nation.18

After furnishing two hundred men from his regiment as a garrison for fort Pitt, Colonel Washington marched back to Winchester, whence he proceeded to Williamsburg to take his seat in the General Assembly, of which he had been elected a member by the county of Frederick, while at fort Cumberland.

A cessation of Indian hostility being the consequence of the removal of the French from the Ohio, Virginia was relieved from immediate danger; and the object for which alone he had continued in service, after finding that he could not be placed on the permanent establishment, was accomplished. His health was much impaired, and his private affairs required his attention. Impelled by these and other motives of a private nature, he determined to withdraw from a service which he might now quit without dishonor;Dec. 1758 and, about the close of the year, resigned his commission as colonel of the first Virginia regiment, and commander-in-chief of all the troops raised in the colony.

The officers whom he had commanded were strongly attached to him, and manifested their regret at parting with him, by an affectionate address, expressing the high opinion they entertained both of his military and private character.

This opinion 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 hostile to discipline, does credit to his military character; and the gallantry the troops displayed when they were called into action, manifests the spirit infused into them by their commander.

The difficulties of his situation while unable to cover the frontier from the French and Indians, who were spreading death and desolation in every quarter, were incalculably great; and no better evidence of his exertions under these distressing circumstances can be given, than the undiminished confidence still placed in him by those he was unable to protect.

The efforts to which he incessantly stimulated his country for the purpose of obtaining possession of the Ohio; the wise system for the conduct of the war which he continually recommended; the vigorous and active measures always urged upon those by whom he was commanded; manifest an ardent and enterprising mind, tempered by judgment, and quickly improved by experience.

Jan. 1759Not long after his resignation he was married to Mrs. Custis, a young lady to whom he had been for some time attached; and who, to a large fortune, and fine person, added those amiable accomplishments which ensure domestic happiness, and fill with silent but unceasing felicity the quiet scenes of private life.

CHAPTER 2

“The Soldier of America”; Victory at Boston (September 1774 to April 1776)

Colonel Washington appointed commander-in-chief of the American forces.—Arrives at Cambridge.—Strength and disposition of the army.—Deficiency in arms and ammunition.—Falmouth burnt.—Measures to form a continental army.—Difficulty of re-enlisting the troops.—General Lee detached to New York.—Possession taken of the heights of Dorchester.—Boston evacuated.—Correspondence respecting prisoners.

Sep. 1774Colonel Washington took a decided part against the claims of supremacy asserted by the British parliament; and was elected a member of the first congress. He was soon distinguished as the soldier of America, and placed on all those committees whose duty it was to make arrangements for defence. When it became1775 necessary to appoint a commander-in-chief, his military character, the solidity of his judgment, the steady firmness of his temper, the dignity of his person and deportment, the confidence inspired by his patriotism and industry, and the independence of his fortune, combined to designate him in the opinion of all for that important station. Local jealousy was suppressed by the enthusiasm of the moment, and, on the 14th of June, 1775, he was unanimously chosen “general and commander-in-chief of the armies of the united colonies, and all the forces now raised or to be raised by them.”

On the succeeding day, when this appointment was communicated to him, he modestly expressed his high sense of the honor conferred upon him, and his firm determination to exert every power he possessed in the service of his country and of her “glorious cause.” Declining all compensation for his services, he avowed an intention to keep an exact account of his expenses, which he should rely on Congress to discharge.

He hastened to the American army, which was encamped around Boston, in which place the British troops commanded by General Gage were besieged. It consisted of fourteen thousand five hundred men, but several circumstances combined to render it less effective than its numbers would indicate.

In the hope of avoiding open hostilities, the time for preparing to meet them had passed away unemployed, and this neglect could not be remedied. In the essential article of ammunition, it was discovered, soon after the arrival of the General in camp, that the magazines1 would furnish only nine cartridges2 for each man. Powder was to be obtained, not from officers under the control of Congress, but from committees and other local powers, who had collected small parcels for local defence. Arms, too, were deficient in number, and inferior in quality. The troops were almost destitute of clothing, and without tents. A siege was to be carried on without engineers, and almost without intrenching tools. In addition to these defects, many were discontented with the general officers appointed by Congress: and the mode of appointing regimental officers, in some of the colonies, where they were elected by the soldiers, was extremely unfavorable to discipline.3 Yet, under all these disadvantages, the General observed with pleasure, “the materials of a good army.” There were “a great number of men, able-bodied, active, zealous in the cause, and of unquestionable courage.” Possessed of these materials, he employed himself indefatigably in their organization.

The commander-in-chief felt the full importance of destroying the army in Boston, before it should be reinforced in the spring. The result of his assiduous inquiries into the situation of the enemy, seems to have been a strong inclination to the opinion that, to carry their works by storm, though hazardous, was not impracticable; but, a council of general officers being unanimous against making the attempt, it was abandoned.

To relieve the wants of his army, produced by the rigorous blockade of Boston, the British general frequently detached small parties by water, in quest of fresh provisions. The task of repelling their incursions became so burdensome to the inhabitants of the sea-coast, that the several governors pressed for detachments from the main army, for their protection; and the manifest danger of granting the request did not appease the irritation excited by refusal. Congress was at length induced to pass a resolution, declaring that the army before Boston was designed solely to oppose the enemy in that place, and ought not to be weakened by detachments. At Newport, in Rhode Island, the committee sought security by entering into a stipulation with the officer commanding the ships of war on that station, to furnish the requisite supplies on condition of his sparing the place. General Washington thought it necessary to remonstrate against this dangerous measure.

While the blockade of Boston was thus perseveringly maintained, other events of considerable importance occurred elsewhere.

In July, Georgia joined her sister colonies, and chose delegates to represent her in Congress; after which, the style of “the thirteen United Colonies” was assumed.

After a recess of one month, Congress reassembled at Philadelphia.

Sept. 6The scarcity of arms and ammunition, and the importance of a maritime force, engaged their immediate attention. It was more forcibly attracted to the latter object, by an event which, at the time, excited no ordinary degree of resentment.

Orders had been issued to the commanders of the British ships of war to proceed against those seaport towns in which any troops should be raised, or military works erected, as in the case of actual rebellion. Under color of these orders, a small naval force, commanded by Captain Mowat, was detached against Falmouth, a flourishing village on the coast of Massachusetts. After reducing the town to ashes, an attempt was made to penetrate into the country; but the militia and minute-men soon drove the party back to their ships.4 This measure was immediately followed by a resolution of the Convention of Massachusetts for issuing letters of marque and reprisal;5 and by an addition of some ships of war, on the part of Congress, to the existing naval force.

The re-enlistment of the army, next to the supply of arms and ammunition, was the subject most deeply interesting to the American government.

On the 29th of September, at the earnest solicitation of General Washington, a committee had been appointed by Congress, with directions to repair to the camp at Cambridge, there to consult with the commander-in-chief and the governments of New England, “on the most effectual method of continuing, supporting, and regulating a continental army.” On the return of this committee, Congress determined that the new army should consist of twenty thousand three hundred and seventy-two men, including officers. Unfortunately, an essential error was committed in constituting this first military establishment of the Union, the consequences of which ceased only with the war. The soldiers were enlisted for the term of one year, if not sooner discharged by Congress. This fatal error brought the American cause more than once into real hazard.

Other resolutions accompanied that for raising the new army, which exhibit the perilous condition of the country. The arms of those who refused to re-enlist, though private property, were detained at a valuation; two dollars were offered to every recruit who would supply himself with a blanket; clothes for the privates, (the price to be deducted from their pay,) were purchased without regard to color; and they were required to furnish their own arms, or to pay for the use of those which might be supplied by government.

That enthusiastic ardor which had brought such numbers into the field after the battle of Lexington, was already beginning to dissipate; and though the orders of the day contain the most animating exhortations to the army, and the strongest appeals to its patriotism, an ominous hesitation in forming new engagements was displayed.

At length, with much labor, the officers were arranged, and recruiting orders were issued; but the sufferings of the army had been so great, that this service advanced slowly.

General Washington had earnestly urged Congress to offer a bounty;6 but this expedient was not adopted till late in January; and, on the last day of December, when the old army was disbanded, only nine thousand six hundred and fifty men had been enlisted for the army of 1776.

The General viewed with deep mortification the inactivity to which he was compelled to submit. His real difficulties were not generally known; his numbers were exaggerated; his means of acting on the offensive were magnified; the expulsion of the British army from Boston had been long since anticipated by many; and those were not wanting who insinuated that the commander-in-chief was desirous of prolonging the war, in order to continue his own importance.

Congress having manifested dispositions favorable to an attack on Boston, the general officers had been again assembled, and had again advised unanimously against the measure. Supposing that fear for the safety of the town might restrain the assault, Congress resolved, “that if General Washington and his council of war should be of opinion that a successful attack might be made on the troops in Boston, he should make it in any manner he might think expedient, notwithstanding the town and property in it might be thereby destroyed.”

1776Considering this resolution as indicating the desire of Congress, the General continued to direct his utmost efforts to that object. In January, a council of war, at which Mr. John Adams, a member of Congress,7 and Mr. Warren, President of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts,8 assisted, resolved, “that a vigorous attempt ought to be made on the ministerial troops in Boston, before they can be reinforced in the spring, if the means can be provided and a favorable opportunity should offer;” and for this purpose that thirteen regiments of militia should be required from Massachusetts and the neighboring colonies.

The colonies complied with this requisition; but such was the mildness of the early part of the winter that the waters continued open, and of course impassable.

Early in January, the commander-in-chief received intelligence that an armament was equipping in Boston, to sail under General Clinton9 on a secret expedition. Believing its object to be New York, he detached General Lee10 with orders to raise a body of volunteers in Connecticut, and proceed with them to that city, where he was to take command of the American troops, and was instructed to put the fortifications in the best state of defence, to disarm the justly suspected, and to collect their arms and ammunition for the use of the American army.

The volunteers were raised, and Lee commenced his march to New York at the head of twelve hundred men. The inhabitants of that place were alarmed at his approach. Captain Parker, of the Asia man-of-war,11 had threatened to destroy the city, should the provincials enter it. A committee of safety, exercising at the time the powers of government, addressed a letter to General Lee expressing astonishment at the report that he designed to enter their city without consulting them, and urging him not to pass the confines of Connecticut.

Lee continued his march, and represented so strongly the impolicy of leaving the military arrangements for New York under the control of the local government, that Congress appointed three of its own members to consult with him and the committee of safety concerning the defence of the place.

General Clinton arrived almost at the same instant with General Lee, but without troops. He said openly, that none were coming, that no hostilities were contemplated against New York; and that he was proceeding to North Carolina, where he expected to be joined by five regiments from Europe.

Late in February, appearances among the British troops indicated an intention to evacuate Boston. But as these appearances might be deceptive, General Washington, who had lately received a small supply of powder, determined to prosecute a plan which must force General Howe12 either to come to an action or to abandon the town.

Since the allowance of a bounty, recruiting had been more successful, and the regular force had been augmented to fourteen thousand men. The commander-in-chief had also called to his aid six thousand militia. Thus reinforced, he determined to take possession of the heights of Dorchester and fortify them. As the possession of this post would enable him to annoy the ships in the harbor and the soldiers in the town, he was persuaded that a general action would ensue. Should this hope be disappointed, his purpose was to make the works on the heights of Dorchester preparatory to seizing and fortifying Nook’s hill, and the points opposite the south end of Boston which commanded the harbor, a great part of the town, and the beach from which an embarkation must take place in the event of a retreat.

To facilitate the execution of this plan, a heavy bombardment and cannonade were commenced on the British lines on the 2d of March, which were repeated on the succeeding nights. On the last of them a strong detachment under the command of General Thomas13 took possession of the heights, and labored with such persevering activity through the night, that the works were sufficiently advanced by the morning nearly to cover them.

It was necessary to dislodge the Americans or to evacuate the town, and General Howe determined to embrace the former part of the alternative. Three thousand chosen men commanded by Lord Percy, embarked, and fell down to the Castle, in order to proceed up the river to the intended scene of action, but were scattered by a furious storm. Before they could be again in readiness for the attack, the works were made so strong that the attempt to storm them was thought unadvisable, and the evacuation of the town became inevitable.

This determination was soon known to the Americans. A paper signed by some of the select-men, and brought out by a flag, communicated the fact. This paper was accompanied by propositions said to be made by General Howe, relative to the security of the town, and the peaceable embarkation of his army.

The advances of the American troops were discontinued, and considerable detachments were moved towards New York before the actual evacuation of Boston. That event took place on the 17th of March; and, in a few days, the whole fleet sailed out of Nantasket road, directing its course eastward; immediately after which the American army proceeded by divisions to New York, where it arrived on the 14th of April.

During the siege of Boston an altercation concerning prisoners took place between the commanders of the respective armies, which was viewed with great interest throughout America. The irritations General Gage14 had received as governor of Massachusetts, seemed to influence his conduct as commander-in-chief. He regarded the Americans as rebels, and viewed the great national resistance they were making, as the act of a few turbulent individuals who would soon be quelled. In this spirit he threw some distinguished gentlemen of Boston, and the American officers and soldiers who fell into his hands, into the common jail of felons, and treated them, not as prisoners, but as state criminals.

General Washington remonstrated very seriously against this unjustifiable measure, and declared his determination “to be regulated entirely towards the prisoners who should fall into his hands, by the treatment which those in the power of the British General should receive.” To this letter a haughty answer was returned, retorting the complaints concerning the treatment of prisoners, and affecting to consider it as an instance of clemency, that the cord was not applied to those whose imprisonment was complained of. To this answer, General Washington made a dignified reply, which was, he said, “to close their correspondence, perhaps forever;” and which concluded with saying, “if your officers, our prisoners, receive from me a treatment different from what I wished to show them, they and you will remember the occasion of it.”

On the recall of General Gage, the command devolved on General Howe; and this rigorous treatment of prisoners was relaxed.

Not long after this correspondence, Colonel Ethan Allen15 was captured in a rash attempt on Montreal. Under the pretext of his having acted without authority, he was put in irons and sent to England as a traitor. While he was in Canada, the commander-in-chief, at the request of Congress, addressed a letter to Sir William Howe, assuring him that General Prescot, who had been taken in Canada, and was understood to have contributed to the severities inflicted on Colonel Allen, should receive exactly the fate of that officer.

General Howe not holding any authority in Canada, declined entering into the subject, and Congress ordered General Prescot into close jail.

CHAPTER 3

War in Canada and the North (June 1775 to November 1776)

Invasion of Canada.—Carleton defeated.—St. Johns taken.—Montreal capitulates.—Expedition of Arnold.—He arrives before Quebec.—Retires to Point aux Tremble.—Montgomery lays siege to Quebec.—Unsuccessful assault on that place.—Death of Montgomery.—Blockade of Quebec.—General Thomas takes command of the army.—The blockade raised.—General Sullivan takes the command.—Battle of the Three Rivers.—Canada evacuated.—General Carleton enters Lake Champlain.—Defeats the American Flotilla.—Takes possession of Crown Point.—Retires into winter quarters.

During these transactions, events of great interest were passing still farther north.

1775The discontents which prevailed in Canada, and the removal of the troops destined for its defence, to Boston, inspired Congress with the daring design of taking possession of that province.

In June 1775, General Schuyler1 had been directed to repair to Ticonderoga, to secure the command of the lakes, to take possession of St. Johns and Montreal, if that measure should not be disagreeable to the Canadians, and to pursue such other steps as might conduce to the peace and security of the United Colonies.

Near three thousand men from New England and New York were designed for this service, and general Schuyler hastened to Ticonderoga.Map

Before the preparations were complete, or the soldiers assembled, the impatience expressed by the discontented in Canada, having rendered an immediate movement advisable, the troops then in readiness were ordered to the isle Aux Noix, at the junction of the Sorel with Lake Champlain, and the expected reinforcements were directed to meet at that place. General Schuyler having become dangerously sick, the command devolved on Montgomery,2 who, late in September, at the head of near two thousand men, laid siege to St. Johns.

Invation of Canada 1775–76

Colonel M’Clean, with his regiment of royal Highland Emigrants and a few hundred Canadians, was posted near the junction of the Sorel with the St. Lawrence; and General Carleton3 had collected about a thousand men, chiefly Canadians, at Montreal. In attempting to effect a junction with M’Clean, he was encountered and entirely defeated at Longue isle, by a body of Americans under Colonel Warner. M’Clean, being immediately abandoned by his Canadians, and hearing that Arnold4 was approaching Point Levy, retreated to Quebec. On receiving this intelligence, St. Johns capitulated.

Oct. 1775This first success was nearly rendered useless by the expiration of the terms for which the soldiers were engaged. Before the General could induce them to march against Montreal, he was under the necessity of stipulating that all who wished it should be discharged at that place. Having effected this compromise, he proceeded against Montreal, while his floating batteries under Colonel Easton advanced up the river. After stipulating for theNov. 1775 rights of self-government, the town was surrendered; and Governor Carleton took refuge on board his flotilla. While preparations were making to attack the vessels, the Governor escaped in a dark night, in a boat with muffled oars, down the river to Quebec.

After garrisoning Montreal and the adjacent ports, Montgomery found the army which could follow him to Quebec, reduced to about three hundred men.

Foreseeing that the whole force of Canada would be concentrated about Montreal, General Washington had, in August, planned an expedition against Quebec, to be carried on by a detachment from his camp before Boston, which was to march by the way of Kennebec river; and passing through the then dreary wilderness lying between the settled parts of Maine and the St. Lawrence, to enter Canada about ninety miles below Montreal.

This arduous enterprise was entrusted to Colonel Arnold, and rather more than a thousand men were selected for the service. He commenced his march about the middle of September, and after encountering almost incredible hardships, arrived with two divisions of his army, on the 3d of November, at the first settlements on the Chaudiere, which empties itself into the St. Lawrence. The rear division had been compelled by the prospect of perishing with famine, to return from the Dead River, a branch of the Kennebec.

After allowing a short respite to collect the rear and to refresh the men, Arnold resumed his line of march, and, on the 9th of November, reached Point Levi, opposite Quebec. A high wind and the want of boats rendered it impossible to cross the river, and to take advantage of the consternation excited by his first appearance. While he was thus detained on the south side of the river, Colonel M’Clean entered the city and took measures for its defence.

At length the wind moderated, and Arnold, having collected some canoes, determined to attempt passing the river. Eluding the armed vessels which guarded the passage, and conquering a rapid current, he crossed over, the night of the 14th of November, and landed a short distance above the place which is rendered memorable by the disembarkation of Wolfe.5 After ascending the same precipice, he, too, formed his small corps on the heights near the plains of Abraham.

Counting on surprising the place, and finding the gates open, he proposed in a council of his officers to march immediately against Quebec, but was overruled. The next day he demanded a surrender of the town, but Colonel M’Clean prevented a measure which the fears of the inhabitants would probably have induced. Being without cannon, almost destitute of ammunition, and not superior to the garrison in numbers, he determined to retire to Point aux Tremble, about twenty miles above Quebec, there to await the arrival of Montgomery.

That General, after clothing his almost naked troops, proceeded with his usual expedition at the head of about three hundred men to Point aux Tremble, whence their united forces marched against Quebec. But Governor Carleton had entered the town and was preparing for a vigorous defence. The garrison amounted to fifteen hundred men, of whom eight hundred were militia. Montgomery’s effective force was stated by himself at eight hundred. Yet he determined to lay siege to the town.

His artillery was too light to make any impression on the walls, the weather was intensely cold, and a part of his army would soon be entitled to a discharge. Under these circumstances he resolved to risk an assault.

Of such materials was his little army composed, that it was necessary not only to consult the officers but the soldiers. Their approbation was obtained with some difficulty, and between four and five in the morning of the 30th of December, the several divisions moved to the assault under a violent storm of snow.

Montgomery advanced at the head of the New York troops round Cape Diamond, along the St. Lawrence to the first basin. A single piece was discharged, by which the General, with Captains M’Pherson and Cheeseman, the first of whom was his aid, together with his orderly sergeant and a private, were killed upon the spot. The whole division retreated, and left the garrison at leisure to direct its individual force against Arnold.

This officer marched at the head of his division along the St. Charles, to the first barrier on that side of the town, when he received a musket-ball in the leg which shattered the bone, and he was carried off the field. Morgan6 rushed forward to the battery at the head of his company, and received from one of the pieces, almost at its mouth, a discharge of grape-shot, which killed only one man. The barricade was instantly mounted, on which the battery was deserted. Morgan formed his company in the streets, but, being entirely ignorant of the town, thought it unadvisable to proceed farther until daylight should enable him to distinguish objects. He was soon joined by Colonel Greene, and Majors Bigelow and Meigs, with several fragments of companies amounting to about two hundred men. They advanced to the second barrier, where an obstinate conflict was maintained for some time. Being unable to gain it, Morgan proposed to cut their way back to the American camp. Uncertainty respecting the fate of the division led by Montgomery prevented the attempt. The number of the enemy soon increased so considerably that retreat became impossible, and the surviving Americans were made prisoners.

In this bold attack on Quebec, the loss on the part of the garrison was inconsiderable. That of the Americans was about four hundred men, three hundred and forty of whom were prisoners. It fell chiefly on Arnold’s division. Captain Hendricks of Pennsylvania, Lieutenant Humphries of Virginia, and Lieutenant Cooper of Connecticut, were among the slain. Captains Lamb and Hubbard, and Lieutenants Steele and Tisdale, were among the wounded. But the loss most deplored, and most fatal to the hopes of the American army, was that of their gallant general.

Richard Montgomery was a native of Ireland, and had served with reputation in the late war. After its termination he settled in New York, and took a decided part with the colonies in their contest with Great Britain. His military reputation was high throughout America; and his achievements, while commanding in Canada, show the bold, skilful, and active partizan; and, so far as a judgment can be formed of the capacity for conducting a large army from the judicious management of a small one, we cannot hesitate to allow him the talents of an able general.

Congress directed a monument, expressing the circumstances of his death, and the gratitude of his country, to be erected to his memory.

The Americans retired about three miles from Quebec, where they maintained the blockade. Arnold, on whom the command devolved, though severely wounded, and though his army, which never exceeded seven hundred men, was at one time reduced by the discharge of those whose terms of service had expired, to five hundred effectives, showed no disposition to sink under adverse fortune.

1776While the affairs of the colonies wore this gloomy aspect in Canada, Congress was indulging sanguine hopes of annexing that province to the Union. Nine regiments were ordered to be raised for its defence, and General Thomas, an officer of reputation, was directed to take the command. The intelligence of the disaster of the 31st of December did not arrest these measures, or change these hopes. In aid of their military operations, three commissioners were deputed to Canada, with instructions to establish a free press, and to propagate the opinions which prevailed through the United Colonies.

In March, reinforcements arrived, so as to increase the army to seventeen hundred men; but this number was soon reduced by the small-pox, and was still further weakened, by being spread over a circuit of twenty-six miles, and separated by three ferries. This division was indispensable to the maintenance of the blockade.

As the season of the year approached when reinforcements from England might be expected, Arnold determined to resume the siege of Quebec. His batteries were opened on the 2d of April; but he had not weight of metal to make a breach in the wall, nor an engineer capable of directing a siege, nor artillerists who understood the management of the pieces.

On the 1st of April, General Wooster had arrived; soon after which Arnold, believing himself to be neglected, obtained leave of absence, and took command at Montreal.

General Thomas reached the American camp on the first of May. He found an army consisting of nineteen hundred men, of whom less than one thousand were fit for duty. Among these were three hundred entitled to a discharge, who insisted on being immediately dismissed. This small force was so divided that not more than three hundred could be united at any one place. The magazines contained only one hundred and fifty barrels of powder, and provisions for six days; nor could adequate supplies be obtained from the country, as the Canadians no longer manifested a disposition to serve. The river too began to open below; and it was certain that the British would seize the first opportunity to relieve Quebec.

Amidst these unpromising appearances, General Thomas thought the hope of taking the town chimerical, and a longer continuance before it both useless and dangerous. Under this impression he called a council of war, which unanimously determined that the army was not in a condition to risk an assault, and that preparations should be made to move to a more defensible position.

May 6The next day five ships entered the harbor and landed some troops, while the Americans were employed in the embarkation of their sick and stores.

About noon General Carleton made a sortie7 at the head of a thousand men, supported by six field-pieces; and General Thomas, by the advice of his field officers, ordered a retreat, which was continued to the Sorel, where he was seized with the small-pox, of which he died.

After his death reinforcements arrived which increased the army in June to four or five thousand men, commanded by General Sullivan,8 who entertained hopes of recovering and maintaining the post at De Chambeau.

Towards the end of May the British army was augmented to thirteen thousand men, great part of whom were on their way to the Three Rivers. A strong corps, commanded by General Frazer, had reached that place, and several armed vessels and transports full of troops lay still higher up the river.

Before the arrival of General Sullivan, General Thompson, who commanded the army after the illness of General Thomas, understanding that the party at the Three Rivers was inconsiderable, had detached Colonel St. Clair with six or seven hundred men against that place. St. Clair, being informed that the party was much stronger than had been supposed, waited at Nicolet for farther orders. When his letter reached camp, General Sullivan had arrived, who immediately detached General Thompson at the head of fourteen hundred men, with orders to attack the enemy, should there be a prospect of success.

June 8, 1776The plan was to attack the village just before day; but the troops arrived an hour later than was intended, in consequence of which they were discovered when landing, and the alarm given. To avoid the fire of some ships lying in the river, they attempted to pass what appeared to be a point of woods, but was in reality a deep morass,9 three miles in extent. Their detention in this morass gave General Frazer full time to prepare for their reception, while General Nesbit cut off their return to their boats. The Americans advanced to the charge, but were soon repulsed, and driven some miles through a deep swamp. General Thompson and Colonel Irwin, with about two hundred men, were made prisoners, and from twenty to thirty were killed.

Notwithstanding his very great inferiority to his enemy, General Sullivan determined to defend the post at the Sorel, and was induced only by the unanimous opinion of his officers, and a conviction that the troops would not support him, to abandon it a few hours before the British took possession of it. The same causes drew him reluctantly from Chamblée and St. Johns, where he was joined by General Arnold with the garrison of Montreal. At the Isle aux Noix he received the orders of General Schuyler to embark on the lakes for Crown Point.

The armed vessels on the St. Lawrence and the Sorel were destroyed, and the fortifications of Chamblée and St. Johns set on fire.

The British army, during this whole retreat, followed close in the rear. At Sorel, the pursuit stopped. The Americans commanded the lake, and it could not be wrested from them until vessels of war should be constructed for the purpose.

While General Carleton was preparing to enter the lakes, General Schuyler was using his utmost exertions to retain the command of them; but so great was the difficulty of obtaining workmen and materials, that he found it impossible to equip a fleet which would be equal to the exigency. It consisted of fifteen small vessels, the largest mounting twelve guns, carrying six and four pound balls.10 At the instance of General Washington, the command of this squadron was given to General Arnold.

With almost incredible exertions, the British General constructed a powerful fleet; and afterwards dragged up the rapids of St. Therese and St. Johns a vast number of long boats11 and other vessels, among which was a gondola12 weighing thirty tons. This immense work was completed in little more than three months; and, as if by magic, General Arnold saw on Lake Champlain, early in October, a fleet consisting of near thirty vessels, the largest of which, the Inflexible, carried eighteen twelve-pounders. It proceeded immediately in quest of Arnold, who was advantageously posted between the island of Valicour and the Western main. Notwithstanding the disparity of force, a warm action ensued, which Arnold was enabled to sustain till night, by the circumstance, that a wind unfavorable to the British kept some of their largest vessels at too great a distance to render any service.

In the night Arnold attempted to escape to Ticonderoga; but was overtaken the next day about noon, and brought to action a few leagues short of Crown Point. He maintained the engagement for two hours, during which the vessels that were most ahead escaped to Ticonderoga. The galleys and five gondolas made a desperate resistance. At length one of them struck;13 after which Arnold ran the remaining vessels on shore and blew them up, having first saved his men.

On the approach of the British army, a small detachment which had occupied Crown Point, retired to Ticonderoga, which Schuyler determined to defend to the last extremity.

Nov. 1776General Carleton took possession of Crown Point, and advanced a part of his fleet into Lake George, within view of Ticonderoga. His army also approached that place; but, after reconnoitring the works, he thought it too late to lay siege to the fortress. Reembarking his army, he returned to Canada, where he placed it in winter quarters, making the Isle Aux Noix his most advanced post.

CHAPTER 4

War in the South; the Declaration of Independence (November 1775 to July 1776)

Transactions in Virginia.—Action at the Great Bridge.—Norfolk burnt.—Transactions in North Carolina.—Action at Moore’s creek Bridge.—Invasion of South Carolina.—British fleet repulsed at fort Moultrie.—Transactions in New York.—Measures tending to Independence.—Independence declared.

While the war was carried on thus vigorously in the north,Nov. 1775 the southern colonies were not entirely unemployed.

Lord Dunmore, the Governor of Virginia, who was joined by the most active of the disaffected, and by a number of slaves, had collected a small naval force with which he carried on a predatory war, and at length attempted to burn the town of Hampton.

Intelligence of this design having been obtained, preparations were made for his reception, and the assailants were compelled to retreat to their vessels with some loss.

In consequence of this repulse, his lordship proclaimed martial law, summoned all persons capable of bearing arms to repair to the royal standard, or be considered as traitors, and offered freedom to all indented servants and slaves who would join them.

Intelligence of these transactions being received at Williamsburg, the committee of safety1 ordered a regiment of regulars, and a battalion of minute-men, to march into the lower country for the defence of the inhabitants.2

Hearing of their approach, Lord Dunmore selected a position on the north side of Elizabeth river, at the Great Bridge, where it was necessary for the provincials3 to cross in order to reach Norfolk, at which place his lordship had established himself in some force. Here he erected a small fort on a piece of firm ground surrounded by a marsh, which was accessible on either side only by a long causeway.4 Colonel Woodford encamped at the south end of the causeway, across which, at its termination, he erected a breast-work.5

After remaining in this position for a few days, Lord Dunmore sent orders to Captain Fordyce, the commanding officer of the fort, to storm the breast-work. Between daybreak and sunrise on the morning of the 9th of December, Fordyce, at the head of about sixty grenadiers6 of the 15th regiment, who led the column, advanced along the causeway with fixed bayonets against the breast-work, which was immediately crowded with the bravest of the Americans, who kept up a heavy fire on the front of the British column. It was also taken in flank7 by a party which occupied a small eminence on its right. Captain Fordyce pressed forward under this destructive fire, until he fell dead within a few steps of the breast-work. The column immediately broke and retreated, but, being covered by the artillery of the fort, was not pursued.

In this rash attack, every grenadier was said to have been killed or wounded. The Americans did not lose a man.

The following night the fort was evacuated. The provincials proceeded to Norfolk, under the command of Colonel Howe of North Carolina, who had arrived with his regiment after the battle; and Lord Dunmore took refuge on board his vessels.

The American soldiers were in the habit of firing into the vessels from the houses near the water. To relieve himself from this1776 practice, Lord Dunmore, on the night of the first of January, landed a body of troops under cover of a heavy cannonade, and set fire to several houses near the river. The provincials, who entertained strong prejudices against this station, made no attempt to extinguish the flames. After the fire had continued several weeks, and had consumed about four-fifths of the town, Colonel Howe, who had waited on the convention to urge the necessity of destroying the place, returned with orders to burn the remaining houses; which were carried into immediate execution.8

Lord Dunmore continued for some time a predatory war on the rivers, distressing individuals, and increasing the detestation in which he was held. At length his wretched followers were sent to Florida.

In North Carolina, an extensive settlement had been made by emigrants from the highlands of Scotland, who adhered to the royal cause. By a union between them, and the numerous disaffected on the western frontier, Governor Martin, who had taken refuge on board a ship of war in Cape Fear river, hoped to make a successful struggle for the province. His confidence was increased by the assurances he had received, that a considerable amount was destined for the southern colonies.

To prepare for events, he sent commissions to the leaders of the highlanders, and granted one to a Mr. M’Donald, their chief, to act as their General. He also sent a proclamation, to be used on the proper occasion, commanding all persons, on their allegiance, to repair to the royal standard. This was raised by M’Donald at Cross creek, about the middle of February, and nearly fifteen hundred men arranged themselves under it.

Upon the first advice that the loyalists were assembling, Brigadier-General Moore,9 with a provincial regiment and a few militia, took a strong position within a few miles of them. M’Donald sent a letter to Moore, inclosing the Governor’s proclamation, and inviting him to join the King’s standard. Moore protracted the negotiation in the hope that the numerous bodies of militia who were assembling might enable him to surround his adversary. M’Donald at length perceived his danger, and endeavored by forced marches to extricate himself from it, and to join Governor Martin who had been encouraged to commence active operations by the arrival of General Clinton10 in the colony.

The provincial parties, however, were so alert that he found himself under the necessity of engaging Colonels Caswell and Lillington, who, with about a thousand minute-men and militia,Feb. 27, 1776 were entrenched directly in his front, at Moore’s Creek bridge. The royalists, who were compelled to cross the bridge in the face of the entrenchments occupied by the provincials, attacked with great spirit: but Colonel M’Clean, who commanded them in consequence of the indisposition of M’Donald, with several of their bravest officers, having fallen in the first onset, they fled in great disorder, leaving behind them their General and several of their leaders, who fell into the hands of the provincials.

General Clinton remained with governor Martin until the arrival of Sir Peter Parker with several ships of war. Fortunately for the province, the unsuccessful insurrection of M’Donald, had previously broken the strength and spirits of the loyalists, and deprived them of their most active chiefs. The operations which had been meditated against that colony were deferred, and Clinton determined to make an attempt on the capital of South Carolina.

Early in April, a letter from the Secretary of State to the Governor of Maryland, disclosing the designs of government against the southern colonies, had been intercepted in the Chesapeake, and communicated to Mr. Rutledge the President of South Carolina.11 Thus apprized of the danger, preparations were made to meet it.

In the beginning of June, the fleet came to anchor off the harbor of Charleston. The bar12 was crossed on the 20th, and it was determined to silence a fort on Sullivan’s Island.

During the interval between passing the bar and attacking the fort, reinforcements were received from Virginia and North Carolina, which augmented the American army commanded by General Lee,13 to five thousand men, one half of whom were regulars.

The signal for the attack was given to the fleet by Sir Peter Parker, at half-past ten in the morning of the 28th of June, and a furious cannonade was commenced on the American works, which was continued without intermission until it was terminated by night. Its effect was not such as had been anticipated. The fort was constructed of earth and of palmetto, a soft wood, which, on being struck, does not splinter, but closes on the ball. The fire from the fort did vast execution. The Bristol and the Experiment were nearly wrecks. The first lost one hundred and eleven men, and the last seventy-nine. Several officers of distinction were killed or wounded. The Acteon frigate ran aground and was burnt. The loss of the Americans in killed and wounded was only thirty-five men.

The British did not renew the action. In a few days the troops who had been landed on Long Island14 previous to the attack on the fort were re-embarked, and, on the 25th of July, the fleet sailed for New York.

Great and well-merited praise was bestowed on Colonel Moultrie who commanded the fort, and on the garrison. The thanks of the United Colonies were voted by Congress to General Lee, Colonels Moultrie and Thompson, and the officers and men under their command.

Even before the evacuation of Boston, it had been foreseen that New York must become the seat of war. The fortifications which had been commenced for the defence of its capital, and those to be erected in the passes through the highlands up the Hudson, were, after the arrival of the commander-in-chief, objects of his unremitting attention.

The difficulty which had been experienced in expelling the British from Boston, had determined Congress to make great exertions for the preservation of New York. The execution of this determination was difficult and dangerous. It required an army capable of meeting the enemy in the open field, and of acting offensively both on York15 and Long Islands. Congress had not raised such an army. The letters of the commander-in-chief, urging measures which might bring the whole strength of the colonies into operation, had not been disregarded, but many circumstances combined to prevent such a military establishment as the exigency required.

Hopes had been long cherished that the differences between the mother country and her colonies might be adjusted; and when, at length, a conviction that the appeal must be made to arms was forced on Congress, that body, unaccustomed to the arduous duties of conducting a war of vast extent, could not estimate rightly the value of the means employed, nor calculate the effect which certain causes must produce. Opinions of the most pernicious tendency prevailed, from which they receded slowly, and from which they could be forced only by melancholy experience.

The most fatal among these was the theory that an army could be created every campaign for the purposes of that campaign. They relied too confidently on being able, on any emergency, to call out a force equal to the occasion; and on the competency of such a force to the purposes of war.

Under these impressions, the determination to form a permanent army was too long delayed; and the measures required by the object were deferred until their execution had become extremely difficult.

It was not until June 1776, that the representations of the commander-in-chief could obtain a resolution directing soldiers to be enlisted for three years, and offering a bounty of ten dollars for each recruit. The time when this resolution would certainly have accomplished its purpose had passed away. The regiments voted by Congress were incomplete; and that bounty which, if offered in time, would have effected its object, came too late to fill them.

The American army was not only inferior to its adversary in numbers, but was deficient in arms, ammunition, tents, and clothes. Yet both the government and commander-in-chief were determined to defend New York. Congress passed a resolution to reinforce the army with thirteen thousand eight hundred militia;

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