the story of the revolution (1898) vol 1 - henry cabot lodge

7/28/2019 The Story of the Revolution (1898) VOL 1 - Henry Cabot Lodge

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THE STORY OF TH

HENRY CABOT LODGE


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20^///

CORNELLUNIVERSITYLIBRARY

BOUGHT WITH THE INCOMEOF THE SAGE ENDOWMENTFUND GIVEN IN 189I BYHENRY WILLIAMS SAGE


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1


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THE STORY OF THEREVOLUTION


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Cornell UniversityLibrary

The original of this book is inthe Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions inthe United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924092886716


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GEORGE WASHINGTON,This portrait is known as the " Gil?bs-Channi7ig portrait." It was painted in ijgs by Gilbert Stuart, and is now owned by Mr. S-

P. j-lvery, by whose kind permission it is here reproduced.


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THE STORY OF THEREVOLUTION

BYHENRY CABOT LODGE

VOLUME I

NEW YORKCHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS1898

V


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TOTHE ARMY AND NAVY OF THE UNITED STATES,

VICTORS OFMANILA, SANTIAGO AND PORTO RICO,

WORTHY SUCCESSORS OF THE SOLDIERS AND SAILORSWHO UNDER THE LEAD OF GEORGE WASHINGTON

WON AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE,THIS STORY OF THE REVOLUTION

IS DEDICATED.


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CONTENTSCHAPTER I.

The First Step iCHAPTER 11,

The First Blow . . 25

CHAPTER III,The Second CongressCHAPTER IV.

CHAPTER Vin.

53

The Reply to Lord Sandwich -q

97CHAPTER V.

The Siege of Boston

CHAPTER VI.The Spread of Revolution iiS

CHAPTER VII.Independence 136

The Fight for the Hudson jg^vii


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viii CONTENTSCHAPTER IX. PAGE

Trenton and Princeton 202

CHAPTER X.The Burgoyne Campaign . 228

CHAPTER XI.The Results of Saratoga . 263

CHAPTER XII.Fabius .... 279


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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSGEORGE WASHINGTON .... . FrontispiecePainttd, in Ijgs, by Gilbert Stuart. PAGEcarpenters' hall, PHILADELPHIA ...... 3JOHN JAY ......... -4

Engraved, in iyS3,/rom a pencil drawing by Du Similiere, mads in IJjq.JOHN ADAMS .......... 4From a Painting by Blyth, 1765.SAMUEL ADAMS .......... 5

Engra-vedfro>n the portrait painted f^ Copley, in 1773-PEYTON RANDOLPH, OF VIRGINIA, THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE

CONTINENTAL CONGRESS ....... 8FroTn a painting by C. W, Peale, 1774.

RICHARD HENRY LEE, OF VIRGINIA ..... .8Painting by C. IV. Peale, Ijgi.

GEORGE WASHINGTON AT THE AGE OF FORTY .... 9Painted by Charles IVillson Peale, 1773.THE ASSEMBLY ROOM, CARPENTERS* HALL, WHERE THE CONTI-NENTAL CONGRESS FIRST MET . . . . . .IIGENERAL JOHN SULLIVAN . . . . . . . ^^

From the original pencil-sketch made by John Trumbull, at Exeter, N. H., in licjo.THE ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION AND RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY

THE FIRST CONGRESS AT PHILADELPHIA, OCTOBER 20, 1774 19Reproditced, by permission, from the original document, noTti in the Lenox Library.

JOHN DICKINSON, OF PENNSYLVANIA ...... 20From a painting by C. W. Peale, Jjgi.CONCORD BRIDGE AT THE PRESENT TIME . . . . .27THE OLD BUCKMAN TAVERN, BUILT 169O . . . . .30THE OLD NORTH CHURCH 31


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X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSPAGE

PAUL REVERE ROUSING THE INHABITANTS ALONG THE ROAD TOLEXINGTON 33

PAUL REVERE, BY ST. MEMIN, 1 804 ...... 34MAJOR PITCAIRN'S PISTOLS 35HARRINGTON HOUSE, LEXINGTON 36THE FIGHT ON LEXINGTON COMMON, APRIL I9, 1775 . . -37GENERAL VIEW OF LEXINGTON COMMON AT THE PRESENT TIME 39LORD PERCY .......... 4

From a print tent iy IV. C. Crane.BARRETT HOUSE, NEAR CONCORD ...... 42THE FIGHT AT CONCORD BRIDGE, APRIL I9, 1775 . . -43FLAG CARRIED BY THE BEDFORD MILITIA COMPANY AT CON-

CORD BRIDGE ......... 45WRIGHT TAVERN, CONCORD, AT THE PRESENT TIME . . .46RECEIPT SIGNED BY THE MINUTE MEN OF IPSWICH, MASS., Vl^HO

MARCHED ON THE ALARM, APRIL I9, 1775 . . -47THE RETREAT FROM CONCORD ....... 48GRAVE OF BRITISH SOLDIERS, NEAR THE BRIDGE AT CONCORD . 50THE MINUTE MAN AT CONCORD BRIDGE . . . . -51

Daniel C. French, Sculptor.

JOHN HANCOCK .......... 55h'n^raved/ront the portrait painted by Copley in 1J74.

THE RUINS OF TICONDEROGA, LOOKING NORTHWEST, SHOWINGTHE REMAINS OF THE BASTION AND BARRACKS

THE CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA BY ETHAN ALLENA NEAR VIEW OF THE RUINS OF THE OFFICERS* QUARTERS AT

TICONDEROGA ........THE BUNKER HILL INTRENCHING PARTYPRESCOTT ON THE PARAPET AT BUNKER HILLTHE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL .GENERAL WILLIAM HOWE . . . .

From an engraving after the portrait liy Docid, May 13, ljS6.JOSEPH WARREN, KILLED AT BUNKER HILL

From a portrait painted dy Copley in 1J74.

6061

6475798587

89


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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiPAGE

A GLIMPSE OF BUNKER HILL MONUMENT FROM COPP'S HILLCEMETERY ......... 92

WASHINGTON TAKING COMMAND OF THE ARMY . . -99VICINITY OF THE WASHINGTON ELM, CAMBRIDGE, AT THE PRES-

ENT TIME ... ..... lOIA PROCLAMATION BY KING GEORGE III., AUGUST, 1775 . . I05

Reproduced /ro7n one of the original broadsides in Dr. Emmet's collection now in the LenoxLibrary,

CAPE DIAMOND AND THE CITADEL, QUEBEC .... 107TABLET ON THE ROCKS OF CAPE DIAMOND BEARING THE IN-SCRIPTION "MONTGOMERY FELL, DEC'R 3I, 1775" 1^THE MONUMENT TO MONTGOMERY, ST. PAUL's CHURCH, NEW

YORK CITY ......... 109Erected by the order 0/ Congress, January 3S, 1776.

THE ATTACK ON QUEBEC ...... IllTHE DESTRUCTION OF FALMOUTH, NOW THE CITY OF PORT-

LAND, ME. . . . . . . . . .119In October, 177s, by a Jleet under Captain Mowatt.

GENERAL WILLIAM MOULTRIE ....... I27From t/ie painting by yojm Trumbnlt, 17QI.OLD ST. Michael's church, Charleston, s. c. . . .128THE defence OF FORT SULLIVAN, JUNE 28, 1776 . . . I3IFORT MOULTRIE, AT THE PRESENT DAY .... I33WASHINGTON SHOWING THE CAMP AT CAMBRIDGE TO THE COM-

MITTEE, CONSISTING OF FRANKLIN, LYNCH, AND HARRISON,APPOINTED BY CONGRESS....... 147

INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA, CHESTNUT STREET FRONT 150THOMAS PAINE . . ....... 155From painting by C. tV. Peale, 1783-ROGER SHERMAN ......... 157From the painting by Ralph Earle, 1787.ROBERT MORRIS .......... 159From a painting by Edioard Savage, 17^0.THOMAS JEFFERSON . . . . . . . . .161

From the painting by Cltarles Willson Peale, I7gi-VIEW OF INDEPENDENCE HALL FROM THE PARK SIDE . . 163


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xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSPAGESTAIRWAY IN INDEPENDENCE HALL ...... 164

FAC-SIMILE OF A PART OF THE ROUGH DRAFT OF THE DECLAR-ATION OF INDEPENDENCE....... 165From an artotype by E. Bierstadi of the original in the Department 0/ State, at Washington, D. C.ROOM- IN INDEPENDENCE HALL IN WHICH THE DECLARATIONWAS SIGNED ......... 167

READING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE TO THE TROOPSIN NEW YORK, ASSEMBLED ON THE COMMON, NOW CITYHALL PARK, OLD ST. PAUl's IN THE BACKGROUND . .169

FROM THE RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY CONGRESS, JULY 5, 1776 . 171FaC'Sitnile 0/ a part 0/ the origijtat draft belonging to the Emmet collection in the LenoxLibrary.

TEARING DOWN THE LEADEN STATUE OF GEORGE III., ON BOWL-ING GREEN, NEW YORK, TO CELEBRATE THE SIGNING OFTHE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE .... 173

THOMAS JEFFERSON WRITING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPEND-ENCE 177

GENERAL NATHANIEL GREENE ....... 187From the painting by Charles Willson Peale, IJS3.PART OF TABLET MARKING THE LINE OF DEFENCE AT THEBATTLE OF LONG ISLAND....... 189

Placed in Brooklyn by the Sons 0/ the ReTjohttion.

GENERAL ISRAEL PUTNAM . . . . . . . . I90From a Portrait by H. I. Thompson, after a Pencil-sketchfro^n life by John Trumbull.

BATTLE PASS, PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN ..... 191PRESENT VIEW FROM OLD FORT PUTNAM (nOW FORT GREENe),BROOKLYN . . . . . . . . .192THE RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND I93THE JUMEL MANSION, WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NEW YORK CITY . 197SITE OF FORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK CITY, LOOKING TOWARD

FORT LEE ......... 199THE RETREAT THROUGH THE JERSEYS 203WASHINGTON'S TROOPS DISEMBARKING ON THE TRENTON SHORE

OF THE DELAWARE RIVER ...... 2O9THE POINT AT WHICH WASHINGTON CROSSED THE DELAWARE

RIVER _ 2JI


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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiiiTHE SURPRISE AT TRENTON . . . . .OLD KING STREET (nOW WARREN STREET), TRENTONA "call to arms" .......Reproduced, for thejirst tirne, 171 facsimile {reduced) from the original docmncnt.QUAKER MEETING-HOUSE, NEAR PRINCETONTHE BATTLE OF PRINCETON .....STONY BROOK BRIDGE, NEAR PRINCETONHOUSE AND ROOM IN WHICH GENERAL MERCER DIEDNASSAU HALL, PRINCETON, ERECTED 1 756 .GENERAL PHILIP SCHUYLER .....From the paijiting by Trjlmbitll (JYg2} in the Yale College Art Gallery.

PACE2132IS216218219221222

224232

RUINS OF OLD FORT FREDERICK, CROWN POINT AT THE PRES-ENT TIME ......... 233

THE HOME OF GENERAL PHILIP SCHUYLER AT OLD SARATOGA,NEAR SCHUYLERVILLE ....... 234GENERAL JOHN BURGOYNE ........ 235From, an engravittg {after the painting hy Gardner) published in 1J84.THE RAVINE AT ORISKANY, NEW YORK ..... 236BATTLE OF ORISKANY......... 237GENERAL HERKIMER's HOUSE AT DANUBE, NEAR LITTLE FALLS,NEW YORK 239OLD STONE CHURCH AT GERMAN FLATS IN THE MOHAWK VAL-

LEY ........... 240CASTLE CHURCH, NEAR DANUBE, IN THE MOHAWK VALLEY . 241GENERAL JOHN STARK ........ 242

From a painting (after TrHmbull) by U. n. Tenney, at the State Capitol at Concord, N. H.THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 245CATAMOUNT TAVERN, BENNINGTON, VT., THE HEAD-QUARTERS OFGENERAL STARK AND THE COUNCIL OF SAFETY . . 247DraTvn /ro>n et?i old photos^aph.MONUMENT AVENUE, BENNINGTON, AT THE PRESENT TIME . 247GENERAL HORATIO GATES ........ 249

From the hitherto nnpublishedportrait painted by R. B. Pine, 178^.


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xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSPAGE

OLD BATTLE WELL ON FREEMAN's FARM, AT THE PRESENTTIME . . . . . . -251

CELLAR AT THE PRESENT TIME IN THE MARSHALL HOUSE,SCHUYLERVILLE, WHICH WAS USED AS A HOSPITAL FORTHE BRITISH ......... 252

THE BURIAL OF GENERAL ERASER .... . . 253SURRENDER OF BURGOYNEFAC-SIMILE (REDUCED) OF A PART

OF THE ORIGINAL ARTICLES OF CAPITULATION . . 257Reproduced, by permission, from the original document m the collection of the New York Histori-

cal Society.

SURRENDER OF BURGOYNE ........ 259BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ......... 273From, the paintins by Duplessis, IJJS, in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Philadelphia.WASHINGTON'S HEAD-QUARTERS, NEAR CHAD'S FORD, AT THE

time of the battle of the brandywine . . . 283Lafayette's head-quarters, near chad's ford, during the

battle of the brandywine .... 284battle of the brandywine ....... 285BIRMINGHAM MEETING-HOUSE, NEAR CHAD's FORD . . . 287BARON KNYPHAUSEN, COMMANDER OF THE HESSIANS IN THEWAR BETWEEN ENGLAND AND THE UNITED STATES . . 289

Front a drawing, the original of which is in the possession tf the ICnyphanscnfamily.

THE CHEW HOUSE, GERMANTOWN .... . 292THE ATTACK UPON THE CHEW HOUSE ..... 293THE REPULSE OF THE HESSIANS UNDER COUNT DONOP AT FORTMERCER .......... 297LAFAYETTE ....... . . 300

From a portrait painted by C. IV. Peale in lySofor Washington.THE OLD POTTS HOUSE AT VALLEY FORGE, USED BY WASHING-

TON AS HEAD-QUARTERS ....... 30IVIEW FROM FORT HUNTINGTON, WITH A PLAN OF THE INTRENCH-MENTS REMAINING AT VALLEY FORGE .... 303THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE UNITED STATES, SIGNED BY

BENEDICT ARNOLD AT VALLEY FORGE, 1778 . . . 304OLD BELL USED IN THE CAMP AT VALLEY FORGE . . . 305


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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xvPAGE

WINTER AT VALLEY FORGE ....... 307HOUSE IN ARCH STREET, PHILADELPHIA, WHERE BETSY ROSSMADE THE FIRST AMERICAN FLAG FROM THE DESIGN

ADOPTED BY CONGRESS . . . . . . -312BARON STEUBEN.......... 315

Painted by C. PK Peaie, in lySo.BATTLE OF MONMOUTH ........ 321

MAPSPLAN OF THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 72

After the ntafi made /rom the surveys of the British Captain Montresor by Lieutenant Page,aide-de-camp to General Howe.

THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND ....... 186From a British map of i-j-jb,

MAP OF THE SCENE OF THE BURGOYNE CAMPAIGN . . .231MAP SHOWING THE SCENE OF OPERATIONS PRECEDING THE BAT-

TLE OF MONMOUTH . . . . . . . . 317


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THE STORY OF THEREVOLUTIONCHAPTER I

THE FIRST STEP

IN I 774 Philadelphia was the largest town in the Amer-ican Colonies. Estimates of the population, which areall we have, dififer widely, but it was probably not far

from 30,000. A single city now has a larger populationthan all the colonies possessed in 1774, and there are in theUnited States to-day 104 cities and towns of over 30,000inhabitants. Figures alone, however, cannot express thedifference between those days and our own. Now a townof 30,000 people is reached by railroads and telegraphs. Itis in close touch with all the rest of the world. Businessbrings strangers to it constantly, who come like shadowsand so depart, unnoticed, except by those with whom theyare immediately concerned. This was not the case in 1 774,not even in Philadelphia, which was as nearly as possiblethe central point of the colonies as well as the most popu-lous city. Thanks to the energy and genius of Franklin,Philadelphia was paved, lighted, and ordered in a way al-most unknown in any other town of that period. It was

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2 THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONwell built and thriving. Business was active and the peo-ple, who were thrifty and prosperous, lived well. Yet, de-spite all these good qualities, we must make an effort of theimagination to realize how quietly and slowly life movedthen in comparison to the pace of to-day. There in Phil-adelphia was the centre of the postal system of the conti-nent, and the recently established mail-coach called the"Flying Machine," not in jest but in praise, performed thejournej'- to New York in the hitherto unequalled time oftwo days. Another mail at longer intervals crept moreslowly to the South. Vessels of the coastwise traffic, orfrom beyond seas, came into port at uncertain times, andafter long and still more uncertain voyages. The dailyround of life was so regular and so uneventful that any in-cident or any novelty drew interest and attention in a waywhich would now be impossible.In this thriving, well-conditioned, prosperous colonialtown, strangers, like events, were not common, and their ap-pearance was sure to attract notice, especially if they gaveevidence of distinction or were known to come with animportant purpose. We can guess easily, therefore, at theinterest which was felt by the people of Philadelphia in thestrangers from other colonies who began to appear on theirstreets in the late summer of 1774, although these visitorswere neither unexpected nor uninvited. They were re-ceived, too, with the utmost kindness and with open arms.We can read in the diary of John Adams how he and hiscompanions from Massachusetts were ffited and dined, andwe can learn from the same authority how generous werethe tables and how much richer was the living among thefollowers of William Penn than among the descendants ofthe Puritans.


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THE FIRST STEPBut these men from IV^assachusetts and from the other

colonies had not travelled over rough roads and long dis-

CARPENTERS' HALL, PHILADELPHIA.

tances simply to try the liberal hospitality of the Quakersof Philadelphia. They had come there on far more seriousbusiness and with a grave responsibility resting upon them.


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THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTION

JOHN JA y.The earliest knoion portrait of him, en-

graved, in 1^83, from a pencil drainingby Du Siynitire, made in ijjg.

On September 5th they assem-bled at the City Tavern, and wentthence together to the hall of theCarpenters, where they deter-mined to hold their meetings.We can readily imagine how the^^ :.^^_ little town was stirred and inter-

iKWW'i'^Smlf' ested as these men passed alongk ^^Sm^SKjt^ its streets that September morn-fc^ ^^^^^^l^^^m ing from the tavern to the hall.The bystanders who were watch-

ing them as they walked by weretrying, no doubt, after the fash-

ion of human nature, to pick out and identify those whosenames were already familiar. We may be sure that theynoticed Christopher Gadsden and the two Rutledges fromSouth Carolina ; they must have marked John Jay's calm,Jhigh-bred face, and the vener-able figure of Hopkins ofRhode Island, while RogerSherman of Connecticut, tall,grave, impressive, with hisstrong, handsome features,could have been readily identi-fied. They certainly lookedwith especial eagerness for theMassachusetts delegates, theircuriosity, we may believe, min-gled with something of thesuspicion and dread whichthese particular men then in- ^^^^ ^^^^^spired in slow-moving, conserv- Frf,t .. tamtmg by Biyn,. ,76s.


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SAMUEL ADAMS,Engravedfrom the portrait painted by Copley in 177^. Now in Possession of ike Boston Muschul 0/Fine Arts.


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THE FIRST STEP 7ative Pennsylvania. When the Boston men came along,there must have been plenty of people to point out a short,sturdy, full-blooded man, clearly of a restless, impetuous,and ardent temperament, and to tell each other that therewas John Adams, the distinguished lawyer and brilliantdebater, whose fame in the last few years had spread farfrom his native town. With him was to be seen an olderman, one still better known, and regarded as still moredangerous, whose fame had gone even across the water toEngland, Samuel Adams of Boston. He was taller thanhis cousin, with a somewhat stern, set face of the Puritantype. He was plainly dressed, very likely in dark-browncloth, as Copley painted him, and yet his friends hadalmost by force fitted him out with clothes suitable for thisoccasion, simple as they were, for if left to himself hewould have come as carelessly and roughly clad as washis habit at home. A man not much given to speech, anorganizer, a manager and master of men, relentless in pur-pose, a planner of revolution, with schemes and outlooksfar beyond most of those about him. Yes, on the whole,here was a dangerous man to people in high places whomhe meant to disturb or oppose.

And after the bystanders had watched curiously theNew England group, they looked next for those who camefrom the great colony of Virginia, which, with Massachu-setts, was to sway the Congress and carry it forward tostronger measures than the other colonies then desired.Conspicuous among the Virginians they saw an eminentmember of the Randolph family, and those who were wellinformed no doubt wondered why they did not see by Ran-dolph's side the slight figure and keen face of RichardHenry Lee, a fit representative of the great Virginian


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THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONname, who had come to Phila-delphia, but did not appear inCongress until the second day.All these Virginian delegates,indeed, were well known, by-reputation at least, and therecould have been no difficultyin singling out among themthe man whose fiery eloquencehad brought the cry of " Trea-son " ringing about his ears inthe House of Burgesses. ThePEYTON RANDOLPH, OF VIRGINIA, f ID


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THE FIRST STEP 9The names of Henry and of Adams were more familiar

just at that moment than those of any others. They werethe men who by speech and pen had done more thananyone else to touch the heart and imagination of thepeople in the progress of those events which had caused

GEORGE WASHINGTON AT THE AGE OF FORTY.Painted by Charles Wilhon Peate, 1T12, This picture shoit's Washington in the uniform of a Virginian

Colonel.

this gathering m Philadelphia. Yet there was one manthere that day who had made no speeches and drawn noresolutions, but who, nevertheless, was better known thanany of them, and who, alone, among them all, had asoldier's fame won on hard-fought fields. There was notmuch need to point him out, for he was the type of manthat commands attention and does not need identification.


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lo THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONVery tall and large, admirably proportioned, with everysign of great physical strength ; a fine head and face ofpower, with a strong jaw and a mouth accurately closed ;calm and silent with a dignity which impressed every-one who ever entered his presence, there was no needto tell the onlookers that here was Colonel Washing-ton. What he had done they knew. What he was yetto do no one dreamed, but such was the impressionhe made upon all who came near him that we may easilybelieve that the people who gazed at him in the streetsfelt dumbly what Patrick Henry said for those whomet him in the Congress : " Washington is unquestion-ably the greatest of them all." Thus he came to theopening scene of the Revolution as he went back toMount Vernon at the war's close, quietly and silently, thegreat figure of the time, the doer of deeds to whom Con-gress and people turned as by instinct. On the way toPhiladelphia, Pendleton and Henry had joined him atMount Vernon and passed the night there, hospitably re-ceived in the Virginian fashion both by their host and byMrs. Washington, who was a woman of pronounced viewsand had the full courage of her convictions. To Pendle-ton and Henry she said : " I hope you will all stand firm.I know George will." It is a delightful speech to havebeen spared to us through the century, with its knowledgeof her husband's character and its touch of wifely com-mand. Only a few years before, a mother across the waterhad been saying to her son, " George, be a king," and theworthy, stubborn man with his limited intelligence wastrying now to obey that mother in his own blunderingfashion. How far apart they seem, the German Princessand the Virginian lady, with their commands to husband


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THE FIRST STEP IIand to son. And yet the great forces of the time werebringing the two men steadily together in a conflict whichwas to settle the fate of a nation. They were beginningto draw very near to each other on that September morn-ing ; the king by accident of birth, and the king whowould never wear a crown, but who was appointed to lead

THE ASSEMBLY ROOM, CARPENTERS' HALL, WHERE THE CONTINENTALCONGRESS FIRST MET.men by the divine right of the greatness of mind and willwhich was in him.

George Washington, ascending the steps of Carpen-ters' Hall, knew all about the other George, and had beenproud to call himself the loyal subject of his namesake.The British George, with no Enghsh blood in his veins,except the little drop which came to him from the poorWinter Queen, had probably never heard even the nameof the American soldier, although he was destined to learn


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12 THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONa great deal about him in tlie next few years. Yet Wasli-ington was much the best-known man in America, withthe single exception of Franklin, whose scientific workand whose missions to England had given him a Europeanreputation. Washington had commanded the troops inthat little action in the wilderness when the first shot ofthe Seven Years' War was fired, a war in which Frederickof Prussia had made certain famous campaigns and whichhad cost France her hold on North America. Later hehad saved the wretched remnants of Braddock's army, hisname had figured in gazettes, and had been embalmed inHorace Walpole's letters. That, however, was all twentyyears before, and was probably quite forgotten in 1774outside America. Samuel Adams was known in England,as Percy was known to the Prince of Wales, for a "veryvaliant rebel of that name." Possibly John Adams andPatrick Henry had been heard of in similar fashion. Butas a whole, the members of the first American Congresswere unknown outside the colonies, and many of themwere not known beyond the limits of the particular colonythey represented. To England and her ministers andpeople these forty or fifty grave gentlemen, lawyers, mer-chants, and planters, were merely a body of obscure col-onial persons who were meeting in an unauthorized man-ner for distinctly treasonable and objectionable purposes.To the courts of Europe, engaged at the moment inmeaningless intrigues, either foreign or domestic, and allalike grown quite dim now, this Colonial Congress wasnot even obscure, it was not visible at all. Yet, thought-fully regarded, it deserved consideration much betterthan anything which just then engaged the attention ofEurope. Fifteen years later its utterances were to be


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THE FIRST STEP i3quoted as authority, and its example emulated in Pariswhen an ancient monarchy was tottering to its fall. Itwas the start of a great movement which was to sweep onuntil checked at Waterloo. This same movement was tobegin its march again in 1830 in the streets of Paris andcarry the reform of the British Parliament two years later.It was to break forth once more in 1848 and keep steadilyon advancing and conquering, although its work is stillincomplete even among the nations of Western civiliza-tion. Yet, no one in Europe heeded it at the moment,and they failed to see that it meant not simply a colonialquarrel, not merely the coming of a new nation, but therising of the people to take their share in the governmentsof the earth. It was in fact the first step in the greatdemocratic movement which has made history ever since.The columns were even then beginning to move, and thebeat of the drums could be heard faintly in the quiet Phil-adelphia streets. They were still distant, but they wereever drawing nearer, and their roll went on rising louderand louder, until at last they sounded in the ears of menfrom Concord Bridge to Moscow.Why did this come about ? Why was it that the firststep in a world Revolution destined to wrest her colo-nies from England, bring a reign of terror to France, andmake over the map of Europe before it passed away, wastaken in the peaceful town of Philadelphia ? There wasnothing inevitable about the American Revolution, con-sidered by itself. The colonies were very loyal, veryproud to be a part of the great British Empire. If thesecond-rate men who governed England at that time hadheld to the maxim of their great predecessor. Sir RobertWalpole, quieta -non movere, and like him had let the col-


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14 THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONonies carefully alone ; or if they had been ruled by thegenius of Pitt and had called upon the colonies as part ofthe empire to share in its glories and add to its greatness,there would have been no American Revolution. But theyinsisted on meddling, and so the trouble began with theabandonment of Walpole's policy. They added to thisblunder by abusing and sneering at the colonists instead ofappealing, like Pitt, to their loyalty and patriotism. Eventhen, after all their mistakes, they still might have savedthe situation which they had themselves created. A fewconcessions, a return to the old policies, and all wouldhave been well. They made every concession finally, buteach one came just too late, and so the colonies were lostby sheer stupidity and blundering on the part of the kingand his ministers.

From this point of view, then, there was nothing inev-itable about the American Revolution. It was created bya series of ministerial mistakes, each one of which couldhave been easily avoided. From another point of view,however, it was absolutely inevitable, the inexorable resultof the great social and political forces which had longbeen gathering and now were beginning to move forward.The first resistance to the personal monarchies which grewup from the ruins of the feudal system came in England,the freest and best-governed country in the world of theseventeenth century. The people rose and destroyed thepersonal government which Charles I. tried to set up, notbecause they were oppressed and crushed by tyranny, norbecause they had grievances too heavy to be borne, but be-cause they were a free people, jealous of their rights, withthe instinct of liberty strong within them. In the sameway when the great democratic movement started, at the


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THE FIRST STEP iSclose of the eighteenth century, it began in England, wherethere was no despotic personal monarchy, where personalliberty was most assured, and where freedom existed in thelargest measure. The abuses of aristocracy and monarchyin England were as nothing to what they were on the con-tinent. The subjects of George III. were not grounddown by taxes, were not sold to military service, were nottrampled on by an aristocracy and crushed by their king.They were the freest, best-governed people on earth, faultyas their government no doubt was in many respects. Yetit was among the English-speaking people that we detectthe first signs of the democratic movement, for, as theywere the least oppressed, so they were the most sensitiveto any abuse or to any infringement upon the libertiesthey both prized and understood. The entire Enghsh peo-ple, both at home and abroad, were thus affected. TheMiddlesex elections, the career of Wilkes, the letters ofJunius, the resolution of Burke against the increasing-power of the Crown, the rising demand for Parliamentaryreform, the growing hostility to the corrupt system of bar-gain and intrigue, by which the great families parcelled outoffices and seats and controlled Padiament, all pointed inthe same direction, all were signs of an approaching storm.If the revolution had not come in the American colonies,it would have come in England itself. The storm brokein the colonies for the same reason which had made theEnglish strike down at its very inception the personal mon-archy of the seventeenth century, and which forced themto be the first to exhibit signs of deep political unrest inthe last quarter of the eighteenth century. The colonieswere the least-governed, the best-governed, and the freestpart of the dominion of Great Britain. A people who for


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i6 THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONa hundred and fifty years had practically governed them-selves, and who, like all other English-speaking people,understood the value of their Hberties, were the quickestto feel and to resent any change which seemed to signifya loss of absolute freedom, and were sure to be the mostjealous of anything like outside interference. Americarebelled, not because the colonies were oppressed, butbecause their inhabitants were the freest people then in theworld, and did not mean to suffer oppression. They didnot enter upon resistance to England to redress intolerablegrievances, but because they saw a policy adopted whichthey rightly believed threatened the freedom they possessed.As Burke said, they judged " the pressure of the grievanceby the badness of the principle," and " snuffed the approachof tyranny in every tainted breeze." They were the mostdangerous people in the world to meddle with, becausethey were ready to fight, not to avenge wrongs which in-deed they had not suffered, but to maintain principles uponwhich their rights and liberty rested. The English min-istry had begun to assail those principles ; they were mak-ing clumsy and hesitating attempts to take money from thecolonies without leave of the people ; and George, in a be-lated way, was trying to be a king and revive an image ofthe dead and gone personal monarchy of Charles I. Hencecame resistance, very acute in one colony, shared more orless by all. Hence the Congress in Philadelphia and thegreat popular movement starting as if inevitably in thatquiet colonial town among the freest portion of the liberty-loving English race.

It was these great forces which, moving silently andirresistibly, had brought these English colonists from theirplantations and offices, and sent them along the streets of


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THE FIRST STEP i7


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i8 THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONwho had been delayed, until fifty-five members were present,and all the colonies represented but Georgia. (^They wentto work after the orderly fashion of their race, electedPeyton Randolph, of Virginia, President, and CharlesThomson, a patriotic citizen of Philadelphia, Secretary.Then they turned to the practical and very far-reachingquestion of how they should vote, whether by colonies orby population. "A little colony," said John Sullivan, ofNew Hampshire, " has its all at stake as well as a greatone." " Let us rest on a representation of men," saidHenry. " British oppression has effaced the boundaries ofthe several colonies ; the distinctions between Virginians,Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders areno more. I am not a Virginian, but an American." Twocontending principles on which American history was toturn were thus announced at the very outset. Sullivan'swas the voice of the time, of separation and State rights.Henry's was the voice of the distant future, of union andof nationality. It took more than eighty years of union,and a great civil war, to establish the new principle pro-claimed by Henry. At the moment it had no chance, andthe doctrine of Sullivan, in harmony with every prejudiceas well as every habit of thought, prevailed, and they de-cided to vote by colonies, each colony having one votej

Then they appointed committees and fell to work.There was much debate, much discussion, many wide dif-ferences of opinion, but these lovers of freedom sat withclosed doors, and the result, which alone reached the world,went forth with all the force of unanimous action. Weknow now what the debates and the differences were, andthey are not of much moment. The results are the im-portant things, as the Congress wisely thought at the time.


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A 2ltcr various diforderly Ads committed in Difturbance o'i the Publick;i > _,.t. Peace, to the Obftruflion ot lawliil Commerce, and. to the Opprc"^ "" "Subjedls carrying on the lame, have at length proceeded to

l/^^wj] *^ii^'^4^. Peace, to the Obftrufliooiidcncc, Counfcls, and Comfoic of

divers wicked and dulperatc r


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THE SIEGE OF BOSTON 107teristic of the man. With a sadly diminished force he cameout at last in the open country, and after a short rest pushedon to the St. Lawrence. When he reached Point Levi,opposite Quebec, there was no Montgomery to meet him.Nevertheless he crossed the river, but his force was too small

CAPE DIAMOND AND THECITADEL, QUEBEC.At n nnrrow point under Cape Dia-

Montgomery, luho tuas lendingthejirst di-i'ision in the attack on Que-bec, Tvas killed.

to attack, and he withdrew. Meantime Burr, disguised as apriest, reached Montreal from Quebec, and Montgomerycame down the river and joined Arnold, but only with somethree hundred men. It was now December and a Canadianwinter was upon them. Nevertheless, the united forces, tothe number of a thousand, made a desperate attack upon the


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THE SIEGE OF BOSTON 109generals came, and in the spring Washington at great riskdetached reinforcements from his own army to aid the menin the north, on the breaking up of the ice in the river theAmericans were compelled to withdraw from Quebec andlater from Montreal. The attempt had failed, the noi'thand the valley of the St. Lawrence remained open to Eng-land, and Canada was lost to the Americans. It was awell-conceived, boldly planned expedition, defeated by aseries of unforeseen obstacles here, and a littledelay there ; but its failure was very fruitful ofconsequences, both near and remote, 'just as its success would have been inanother direction.

Planning and carryingon bold schemes, like thisagainst Canada, was farmore to Washington's tastethan the grinding, harass-ing work of slowly or-ganizing an army, andwithout propermaterial pressingsiege -operations.Still be kept every-thing well in hand.He chafed under _the delays of the ^' ~-~^-^~'^ - - ,work at Boston; ^ -~he knew that at -^"^this juncture time11 J T- 1 1 ^^-^ MONUMENT TO MONTGOMERY, ST. PAUVShelped England, church, neiv york city.3.110. nC W3.ntCU. to Erected ty the order o/congress, January a^, 1776.


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no THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONmake the fullest use of the first energy of the popular en-thusiasm. Early in September he proposed an attack onBoston by boats and along Roxbury Neck, and a littlelater another of similar character. In both cases his coun-cil of officers went against him, and he had not reached thatpoint of discipline where he could afford to disregard themand follow his own opinion alone, as he so often did after-ward.

Councils of officers, however, were not his only troubleor hindrance. Congress wanted speed ; while his officersthought him rash, Congress thought him slow, and de-manded the impossible. They wondered why he did notat once secure the harbor without ships, and urged him toset up batteries and open on the town when he had neithersiege-guns nor powder. Congress had to be managed, andso did the Provincial Congresses, each unreasonable in itsown way, and from them, moreover, he was compelled toprocure money and supplies and men. With infinite tactand patience he succeeded with them all. Enlistments ex-pired, and he was obliged to lose his old army and replace itwith a new onenot a pleasant or easy undertaking in thepresence of the enemy and in the midst of a New Englandwinter. But it was done. Privateers began to appear, andrendered great service by their attacks on the enemy's com-merce. They brought in many valuable prizes, and Wash-ington had to be a naval department, and, in a measure, anadmiralty court. Again the work was done. Gage treatedAmerican prisoners badly. With dignity, firmness, and agood deal of stern vigor, Washington brought him toterms and taught him a much-needed lesson both in hu-manity and manners.

So the winter wore on. Unable to attack, and with no


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THE ATTACK ON QUEBEC.The Second Di-viiion, under Ar

disabled by n 7/1lold, attacki>ig. Arnold, 7oko led this part oj" the attack, -was comfletelyiiket-uioitiid in eke kjice, and luas obliged to lea-ve thejield.


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THE SIEGE OF BOSTON 113material for siege-operations, he could only hold the Brit-ish where they were and make their situation difficult hycutting off all supplies by land with his troops, and bywater with his privateers. It was dreary work, and no realadvance seemed to be made, until in February the well-di-rected efforts began to tell and light at last began to break.Powder by great diligence had been gathered from everycorner, and the Americans now had it in sufficient quantityto justify attack. Henry Knox, sent to Ticonderoga, hadbrought thence on sledges over the snow the cannon cap-tured by Ethan Allen that memorable May morning. Thussupplied, Washington determined to move. His first planwas to cross the ice with his army and storm the city. Thissuited his temperament, and also was the shortest way, aswell as the one which would be most destructive and ruin-ous to the enemy. Again, however, the officers protested.They prevented the crossing on the ice, but they could nolonger hold back their chief. If he could not go across theice, then he would go by land, but attack he would. Onthe evening of Monday, March 4th, under cover of a heavybombardment, he marched a large body of troops to Dor-chester Heights, and began to throw up redoubts. All nightlong Washington rode up and down the lines encouraginghis men and urging them to work. He knew them now,they had always believed in him, and under such leadershipand with such men, the works grew rapidly. When morn-ing broke there was, as on June i 7th, great stir and excite-ment in Boston, and it was plain that the British meant tocome out and attack. Washington's spirits rose at theprospect. He had had enough of siege-work, and waseager to fight. Meantime his men worked on hard andfast. The British troops made ready, but a gale came up

Veil.. I.


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114 THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONand tney could not cross the bay. The next day there wasa storm and heavy rain. The next day it was too late ; theworks were too strong to be attempted successfully. Thenthe Ticonderoga guns began to send shot and shell intoBoston, and parleys were opened. Howe, through theselectmen, promised to evacuate if not molested, but if at-tacked declared that he would burn the town. Washing-ton assented to this proposition, but still Howe delayed,and Washington, not fond of delays or uncertainties, ad-vanced his works. The hint was enough, and on March1 7th, amid disorder and pillage, leaving cannon and muchelse behind, eleven thousand British troops with about athousand Boston Tories went on board the fleet, whileWashington marched in at the other end of the town. Thefleet lingered at the entrance to the harbor, closely watchedby Washington, for a few days, and then sailed away toHalifax.

The victory was won. Boston was in the hands of theAmericans, and so remained. Except for raids here andthere, and an attack on Newport, the war in New Englandwas over, and those colonies, the richest and most populous,with their long coast-line and ample harbors, were set freeto give all their strength to the general cause without beingheld back or distracted by fighting for their own firesides.To have driven the British from New England and fromher capital city in this complete and rapid fashion, was notonly a victory, but an achievement of immense importancetoward the ultimate success of the Revolution.

It was, moreover, in a purely military way, a very re-markable feat of arms. We cannot improve on Washing-ton's own statement, simple, concise, and sufficient as hisstatements always are. "To maintain," he said, "a post


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ii6 THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONclosed in on them, using to the utmost his inferior re-sources, and finally had them in so tight a grip that therewas nothing for them but flight or a bloody defeat in thestreets of a burning town. It was neither by accident norby cowardice that the British were beaten out of Boston ;it was by the military capacity of one man triumphingover extraordinary difficulties of his own and helped byunusual stupidity and incompetence on the part of hisenemy whom he accurately estimated.How was it, to go a step farther, that such men asGage and Clinton and Howe were sent out to conquer menof their own race, risen in arms, and led by George Wash-ington ? For the same reason that the British soldiers weremarched up the slopes of Bunker Hill as if they were go-ing on a holiday parade. It was because England's Minis-ters and people knew nothing of the Americans, wanted toknow nothing, despised them, thought them cowards, andnever dreamed for one moment that they could produce agreat general. There was absolutely no reason in thenature of things why the Americans should not be able tofight and bi'ing forth great commanders. As a matter offact they did both, but as they were no longer native Eng-lishmen, England believed they could do neither. BunkerHill threw some light on the first theory ; George Wash-ington riding into Boston in the wake of a flying Britisharmy, illuminated the second. England learned nothingfrom either event, except that coercion would require largerforces than she had anticipated ; still less did she suspectthat the men who could write the State papers of Congresscould also be diplomatists and find powerful aUies. Shewas about to win some military successes, as was to be ex-pected with the odds so largely in her favor. Encouraged


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CHAPTER VITHE SPREAD OF REVOLUTION

It would have been a very obvious part of good mili-tary judgment for the British commanders to endeavor toforce Washington away from Boston by assailing his com-munications to the west and south, or by attacks in otherimportant quarters, which would have demanded relieffrom the main army. Military judgment, however, wasnot a quality for which the British generals in Boston wereconspicuous. Still less is it conceivable that an)^ of themshould have taken a broad view of the whole military situ-ation and sought to compel Washington to raise the siegeby a movement in another direction, as Scipio, to take aproverbial example, forced Hannibal out of Italy by theinvasion of Africa. This none the less was one intelligentcourse to pursue. Another equally sensible would havebeen to concentrate the war at Boston, and by avoiding col-lisions and cultivating good relations with the people ofthe other colonies endeavor to sepaiate Massachusetts fromthe rest of the continent. The British took neither course,and so lost the advantages of both. They did enough toalarm and excite the other colonies and to make them feelthat the cause of Massachusetts was their own, and yet theydid not do anything sufficiently effective to even distractWashington's attention, much less loosen his iron grip onBoston.

ii8


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THE SPREAD OF REVOLUTION 121In October, 1775, Captain Movvatt appeared off Fal-

mouth, in Maine, where the city of Portland now stands,opened fire and destroyed the little town by a heavy bom-bardment. It was an absolutely useless performance ; ledto nothing, and was hurtful to the British cause. Wash-ington at once made preparations to defend Portsmouth,thinking that the New Hampshire town would be the nextvictim, but the British had no plan, not enough even tomake their raids continuous and effective. They stoppedwith the burning of Falmouth, which was sufficient to alarmevery coast-town in New England, and make the peoplebelieve that their only hope of saving their homes was in adesperate warfare ; and which at the same time did notweaken the Americans in the least or force Washingtonto raise the siege of Boston.

In explanation of the attack on Falmouth, it could atleast be said that it was a New England town and be-longed to Massachusetts, and that all New England prac-tically was in arms. But even this could not be urged indefence of the British policy elsewhere. In the middlecolonies, where the loyalists were strong and the peoplegenerally conservative, little was done to hurry on the Rev-olution. The English representatives, except Tryon, whowas active and intriguing in New York, behaved, on thewhole, with sense and moderation, and did nothing to pre-cipitate the appeal to arms.

In the South the case was widely different. The Brit-ish governors there, one after the other, became embroiledwith the people at the earliest moment ; then, without be-ing in the least personal danger, fled to a man-of-war, andwound up by making some petty and ineffective attackwhich could have no result but irritation. Thus Lord


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122 THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONDunmore behaved in Virginia. It is true that that greatcolony was hke New England, almost a unit in the policyof resistance to England, yet she had committed no overtact herself, and good sense would seem to have dictatedevery effort to postpone the appeal to force. Lord Dun-more, however, after much arguing and proclaiming, be-took himself to a man-of-war. There was nothing san-guinary or murderous about the Ameiican Revolution, forit was waged on a principle and not in revenge for wrongsbut, nevertheless, Lord Dunmore apparently thought hisprecious life was in peril. Having ensconced himselfsafely in the war-ship, with a delightful absence of humorhe summoned the assembly to meet him at the seat ofgovernment, an invitation not accepted by the Burgesses.Then he dropped down the river, was joined by some ad-ditional war-ships, made an attack on the village of Hamp-ton, and was repulsed. Foiled there, he took position inthe rear of Norfolk, commanding the bridge, and droveoff some militia. The Virginians, now thoroughly aroused,called out some troops, a sharp action ensued, and theBritish forces were very creditably beaten. Still unsat-isfied. Lord Dunmore proceeded to bombard and destroyNorfolk, the largest and most important town in the col-ony. This was his last exploit, but he had done a gooddeal. His flight had cleared the way for an independentprovincial government. His attack on Hampton and thefight at the bridge had brought war into Virginia, and herpeople, brave, hardy, and very ready to fight, had quicklycrossed the Rubicon and committed themselves to revolu-tion. The burning of Norfolk, wanton as it was, added tothe political resistance a keen sense of wrong, and a desirefor vengeance which were not present before. The de-


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THE SPREAD OF REVOLUTION 123struction of the Virginia seaport also had the effect of ex-citing and alarming the whole Southern seaboard, andbrought no advantage whatever to the cause of England.Altogether, it seems that Lord Dunmore's policy, if he wascapable of having one, was to spread the Revolution as fast,and cement the union of all the colonies as strongly, aspossible.

Unlike Virginia, the Carolinas were sharply divided inregard to the differences with the mother-country. InNorth Carolina there was a strong loyalist party, the bulkof which numerically was formed of Highlanders who hadcome to America since 1 745, and conspicuous amongwhom were the famous Flora Macdonald and her husband.Martin, the Governor there, went through the customaryperformances of British governors. He stirred up one partof the community against the other, set a civil war onfoot in the colony, betook himself to a man-of-war, andcried out for help from England. The usual result fol-lowed. The loyalists attacked the Minute Men under Cas-well, who had posted themselves at' a bridge from whichthey had taken the planks. The Highlanders gallantlyattempted to cross on the beams but were beaten back, forthe claymore was no match for the rifle. In this way thecolony was alienated from the Crown, fighting was started,the party of revolution and resistance was left with a clearfield and a free hand as the only positive force, to set upan independent government and seize all authority.

In South Carolina there was a similar division betweenthe people and planters of the seaboard, who were on theAmerican side, and the herdsmen and small farmei's of theinterior, many of whom inclined strongly to the Crown.This division, Lord William Campbell the Governor


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124 THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONmade such merely because he was one of a noble familydid all in his power to foment. British agents were sentinto the western counties to rouse the inhabitants, and notcontent with this, these same agents began to intrigue withthe Indians. If any one thing was more calculated than allelse to make the rupture with the mother-country hopeless,it was the idea of letting loose the Indians upon the frontier.To incite this savage warfare was to drive the Americans todesperation and to convert even loyalists to the cause ofresistance and hatred against England. Yet the EnglishMinistry resorted to this inhuman scheme, and in theNorth their Indian allies fought for them diligently anddamaged their cause irreparably. The Indian intriguingin South Carolina did not, at this time, come to much, butLord William Campbell apparently felt that he had doneenough. He had stirred up strife, incited the patriots tobegin the work of fortifying Charleston Harbor, and thenhe departed to the customary man-of-war, leaving his oppo-nents to take control of the government while he urged aidfrom England, and explained what cowards and poor creat-ures generally the Americans were from whom he had runaway.Georgia was weak, the youngest of all the colonies, andher Governor, Sir James Wright, was prudent and concilia-tory. So the colony kept quiet, sent no delegates to thefirst, and only one, who was locally chosen, to the secondCongress. The condition of Georgia was a lesson as tothe true policy of England had her Ministry understoodhow to divide the colonies one from another. But theyseemed to think that the way to hold the colonies to Eng-land and to prevent their union, was to make a show offorce everywhere. Such stupidity, as Dr. Johnson said,


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THE SPREAD OF REVOLUTION 125does not seem in nature, but that it existed is none theless certain. So in due course, dulness being in full con-trol in London, a small squadron appeared off Savannah.Immediately the people who had been holding back fromrevolution rose in arms. Sir James Wright was arrested,and the other officers of the Crown fled, or were madeprisoners. Three weeks later the Governor escaped, tookrefuge in the conventional manner on a convenient man-of-war, and then announced that the people were under thecontrol of the Carolinas and could only be subdued byforce. Thus Georgia, menaced by England and desertedby her Governor, passed over to independence and organ-ized a government of her own, when she might have beenkept at least neutral, owing to her position, her weakness,and her exposed frontier.The actions of their governors were sufficient to alienatethe Southern colonies and push on the movement toward

independence, but a far more decisive step was taken bythe English Government itself. In October, 1775, theKing decided that the South, which had thus far donenothing but sympathize with the North and sustain Massa-chusetts in Congress, must be attacked and brought byforce into a proper frame of mind. The King thereforeplanned an expedition against the Southern colonies inOctober and decided that Clinton should have the com-mand. The manner in which this affair was managed isan illustration of the incapacity of English administration,which so recentlv, under Pitt, had sustained Frederick ofPrussia, and conquered North America from the French.Not until February did the expedition under AdmiralParker sail with the fleet and transports from Cork. Notuntil May did Clinton receive his instructions, and it was


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THE SPREAD OF REVOLUTION 127stayed quietly and silently where he was, strengthening thefort and making ready for an attack. Lee, who took theBritish view that British sol-diers were invincible, then pro-ceeded to do everything in hispower to make them so, andbeing unable to induce Rut-ledge to order the abandon-ment of the island, he with-drew some of the troops andthen devoted himself to urgingMoultrie to build a bridge toretreat over. Moultrie, how-ever, like many other brav^emen, had apparently a simpleand straightforward mind. Hehad come to fight, not retreat,and he went on building his fort and paid little attentionto the matter of the bridge.

But although Lee was doing all the damage he couldby interfering with Moultrie, the government of the colonygave the latter hearty backing and supported him by well-arranged defences. Fortunately, there was an abundanceof men to draw uponall the South CaroHna militia, thecontinental troops, and the regiments from North Carolinaand Virginia. Armstrong, who acted cordially with Moul-trie, was at Hadrell's Point with some fifteen hundred men,while Thomson, of Orangeburg, with nearly a thousandriflemen from the Carolinas, was sent to the island to sup-port the garrison. In addition to this, Gadsden, with thefirst Carolina regiment, occupied Fort Johnson, and therewere about two thousand more men in the city. Charles-

GENERAL WILLIAM MOULTRIE.FrOTfi the faiittiytg by John Trumbull, Ijqi,


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128 THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTlOiNton itself had also been diligently and rapidly fortifiedwhen the Government heard of the coming of the British ;warehouses had been taken down and batteries and works

established along the water-front. Theskill, thoroughness, and intelligence shownin the preparations of South Carolina werewholly admirable, and to them was largelydue the victory which was won.

Zealously, however, as these prepara-tions had been made, they were in a large

measure completed and per-fected only after the news ofthe coming of the British fleetand army had been received.It seems almost incrediblewhen time was so vital to suc-cess that the English shouldhave given to their opponentssuch ample opportunity tomake ready. But so it was.It was the ist of June when

Parker came off the bar with his ships, and a month elapsedbefore he attacked. Such inefficiency is not easily under-stood ; nor is it clear why the English should have beenso delayed. They seem indeed to have simply wastedtheir time. Not until June 7th did Clinton send on shorehis proclamation denouncing the rebels. On the 9th he be-gan to disembark his men on Long Island, having beentold that there was a practicable ford between that placeand Sullivan's Island where the fort stood, a piece of in-formation which he did not even take the trouble to verify.On the loth the British came over the bar with thirty or

OLD ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH,CHARLESTON, S. C.The Steeple Served as a Beaconfor the Mariners

of tke Time.


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THE SPREAD OF REVOLUTION 129forty vessels, including the transports. What they did dur-ing the ensuing week is not clear. Clinton completed thelanding of his troops, more than three thousand in num-ber, on the island, which was a naked sand-bar, where themen were scorched by the sun, bitten by mosquitoes, forcedto drink bad water, and suffered from lack of provisions.Having comfortably established his army in this desirablespot, he then thoughtfully looked for the practicable ford,found there was none, and announced the interesting dis-covery to Sir Peter Parker. That excellent seaman wasnot apparently disturbed. Indeed, his interest in Clintonseems to have been of the slightest. He exercised hissailors and marines in the movements for entering a fort,and felt sure of an easy victory, for he despised theAmericans, and was confident that he could get on per-fectly well without Clinton. In this view he was encour-aged by letters from the Governor of East Florida, whoassured him that South Carolina was really loyal, and thatthe fort would yield at once, while he was still furthercheered by the arrival of the Experiment, a fifty-gun ship.Thus strengthened, and with a fair wind, he at last boredown toward the fort on June 28th.

Moultrie was entirely ready. He sent Thomson withthe riflemen down toward the east to watch Clinton onLong Island and to prevent his crossing, while with fourhundred and fifty men he prepared to defend the fort him-self. The attack began about ten o'clock in the morning.First two vessels shelled the fort, then four more (includingthe Bristol and Experiment, fifty-gun ships) anchored with-in four hundred yards of the fort and opened a heavy fire.The palmetto logs stood the shots admirably, for the ballssank into the soft wood, which neither broke nor splint-

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I30 THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONered. To counterbalance this good fortune, Moultrie, un-luckily, had very little powder and received only a smalladditional supply later in the day, so that he was obliged tohusband his resources, and kept up a slow, although steady,fire. It was, however, well aimed and very destructive.The Bristol suffered severely ; her cables were cut, and asshe swung to the tide the Americans raked her. Threefresh ships which came up ran aground. The men in thefort suffered but little, and when the flag was shot away.Sergeant Jasper sprang to the parapet in the midst of theshot and shell and replaced it on a halberd. So the dayslowly passed. The British kept up a heavy cannonade,while the Americans replied by a slow and deadly fire,striking the ships with almost every shot. Meantime thearmy on Long Island assisted as spectators. Clinton lookedat the place where the ford should have been and decidednot to cross. He then put some of his men in boats, buton examining Thomson and his riflemen, perhaps withmemories of Bunker Hill floating in his mind, concludedthat to attempt a landing would be a mere waste of life.So he stayed on the sand-bank and sweltered, and watchedthe ships. At last the long hot day drew to a close andAdmiral Parker, having suffered severely, and made noimpression whatever on the fort, slipped his cables anddropped down to his old anchorage.When morning came, the results of the fighting wereapparent. The Actseon was aground, and was burned tothe water's edge. The Bristol had lost two masts, and waspractically a wreck. The Experiment was little better.Altogether, the British lost two hundred and five menkilled and wounded, and one man-of-war. The Americanslost eleven men killed, and had twenty-six wounded. It


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THE SPREAD OF REVOLUTION 133was a very well-fought action, and the honor of the daybelonged to Moultrie, whose calm courage and excellentdispositions enabled him to hold the fort and beat off theenemy. Much was also due to the admirable arrangementsmade by the South Carolinians, under the lead of Rutledgewho had every important point well-covered and stronglyheld.

On the side of the British, to the long and injuriousdelays was added fatal blundering when they finally went

_j:.^i^-^- Tl:s-s^^^^^^

-^/z

FORT MOULTRIE, AT THE PRESENT DAY.On the site a/Fort SttUivan.into action. Clinton's men were stupidly imprisoned onLong Island, and rendered utterly useless. Parker, in-stead of running the fort and attacking the city, whichfrom a naval point of view was the one thing to do, forthe capture or destruction of the city would have renderedall outposts untenable, anchored in front of the fort withineasy range, and tried to pound it down. It was so wellbuilt that it resisted his cannonade, and all the advantage


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THE SPREAD OF REVOLUTION i3SMoultrie and his men, was of immense importance. Itconsolidated the South and at the same time set them freefor three years from British invasion, thus enabling themto give their aid when it was needed in the middle colonies.When war again came upon them the British had been sofar checked that the North was able to come to the helpof the South. Washington's victory at Boston and the re-pulse of the British fleet at Charleston, by relieving NewEngland and the South, enabled the Americans to con-centrate in the middle colonies at the darkest time whenthe fate of the revolution was in suspense. The failure ofEngland to hold her position in Massachusetts, or to main-tain her invasion of the South, was most disastrous to hercause. Either by political management or force of arms,she should have separated these regions from the greatcentral provinces. She failed in both directions, and onlydid enough to drive the colonies together and to encouragethe Americans to fight.


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CHAPTER VIIINDEPENDENCE

AFTER they had provided themselves with a Generaland an army, and the General had ridden awayto Boston, Congress found themselves in a new

position. They had come into existence to represent, ina united way, the views of the colonies in regard to thedifferences which had arisen with the mother-country,a duty they had performed most admirably. The Statepapers in which they had set forth their opinions andargued their case were not only remarkable, but theyhad commanded respect and admiration even in England,and had attracted attention on the Continent of Europe.This was the precise business for which they had beenchosen, and they had executed their commission withdignity and ability. They had elevated their cause in theeyes of all men, and had behaved with wisdom and pru-dence. But this work of theirs was an appeal to reason, andthe weapons were debate and argument with which whilethey were trying to convince England of the justice ofIheir demands, they had strengthened the opinions andsharpened the convictions of their own people. Thus hadthey stimulated the popular movement which had broughtCongress into existence, and thus did they quicken themarch of events which bore them forward even in their

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INDEPENDENCE i37own despite. While they resolved and argued and draftedaddresses and petitions in Philadelphia, other Americansfought at Concord and Bunker Hill and Ticonderoga.While they discussed and debated, an army of their fellow-citizens gathered around Boston and held a British armybesieged. Thus was the responsibility of action forcedupon them. They could not escape it. They had them-selves helped to create the situation which made the battlesin Massachusetts the battles of all the colonies alike. Sothey proceeded to adopt the army, make generals, andborrow money. In other words, under the pressure ofevents, these men who had assembled merely to consult andresolve and petition, suddenly became a law-making andexecutive government. For the first of these functions,thanks to the natural capacity of the race, they were suf-ficiently well adapted to meet the emergency. If theycould pass resolutions, publish addresses, and put fortharguments, as they had done with signal ability, theywere entirely capable of passing all the laws necessaryfor a period of revolution. But when it came to thebusiness of execution and administration, they were almostentirely helpless. That they had no authority was but theleast of their difficulties, for authority they could and didassume. Far more serious was the fact that they had noassurance that anything they did or said would be heededor obeyed, for they represented thirteen colonies, eachone of which believed itself to be sovereign and on anequality with the Congress. They were obliged there-fore to trust solely to the force of circumstances andto public opinion for obedience to their decrees, and al-though this obedience came after a halting fashion underthe pressure of war, it rested on very weak foundations.


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138 THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONThey had no frame of government whatever, no organiza-tion, no chief executive, no departments for the transactionof the public business. Yet they were compelled to carry ona war, and war depends but little on legislation and almostwholly on executive action. No legislative body is reallyfit for executive work ; and able, wise, and patriotic as themembers of our first Congress were, they could not over-come this fatal defect. They chose committees as a matterof course, and this mitigated the inherent evils of thesituation, but was very far from removing them. Theywere still a legislative body trying to do in various direc-tions work which only a single man could properly under-take. Here then was the great weakness of the Americancause, and yet it could not be avoided. A Congress with-out power and forced to operate through thirteen distinctsovereignties was the only executive government withwhich the American Revolution began, and it never be-came much better, although some improvements wereeffected. At the outset, moreover, the Congress was notclear as to just what it meant to do. They were engagedin actual and flagrant war with England, and at the sametime were arguing and reasoning with the mother-countryand trying to come to terms of peaceful settlement withher. They despatched George Washington to beleaguera British army, and at the same time clung to their alle-giance to the British Crown. When events forced them toaction under these conditions, the feebleness of Congressas an executive government soon became painfully ap-parent.

They sent Washington off with nothing but his com-mission, and hoped that they could in one campaign bringabout a treaty with England. The New York Provincial


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INDEPENDENCE i39Congress came forward with a plan of peaceful reconcilia-tion, which was all very well, if England had been willingto listen to anything of that sort, and the ContinentalCongress still labored under the same delusion. Yet therewere the hard facts of the situation continually knockingat the door and insisting on an answer. So, even whilethey were considering plans for peace, they were obligedto act. Money had to be obtained in some way, forschemes of reconciliation paid no bills, and they hadadopted an army and made a general. How were they toget it? They had no authority to impose taxes. It istrue that they could have assumed this as they did muchother authority, but they had neither the power nor themachinery to collect taxes if they imposed them. Thecollection of taxes could not be assumed, for it was some-thing to be done by proper executive force, of which theywere destitute. Thus pressed, they resorted to the easyand disastrous expedient of issuing continental bills ofcredit, merely pledging the colonies to redeem them, andwithout any provision for really raising money at all.Probably, this was the best that could be done, but it wasa source of weakness and came near wrecking the Amer-ican cause. They also adopted a code for the governmentof the army ; authorized the invasion of Canada, and sentagents to the Indians to prevent their forming allianceswith Great Britain.

These things accomplished. Congress turned again tothe business for which they had been chosen, the defenceof the American position ; and on July 6th published adeclaration of the reasons for taking up arms. This wasdone thoroughly well. They set forth the acts of hostilityon the part of Great Britain, and showed that the Ministry


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INDEPENDENCE 141also adopted another address to the English people, astrong and even pathetic appeal to race feeling and com-munity of thought and speech, and, at the same time, theysent thanks to the Mayor and Aldermen of London fortheir sympathy. They intrusted the petition to the Kingto Richard Penn, and felt strong hopes of success, becauseof their concessions in regard to trade. They would notconfess even to themselves that the differences with themother-country had now reached the point where the ques-tion was the very simple one, whether the people of thecolonies were to govern America or the English Kingand Parliament. There was no lack of men who under-stood all this perfectly, but they were not yet in control,perhaps were not ready to be, and Congress would notadmit that the case was hopeless and that the stage hadbeen reached where compromises were no longer possible.

Even while they hoped and petitioned and reasoned, therelentless facts were upon them. Armies could not waitwhile eloquent pleadings and able arguments were passingslowly across the Atlantic. Washington wrote from Cam-bridge that the arm}^ was undisciplined and short in num-bers ; that there were too many officers, and not enoughmen ; that he needed at once tents, clothing, hospitals,engineers, arms of every kind, and above all gunpowder,and that he had no money. From Schuyler at Ticon-deroga came the same demands and the same report. Con-gress had to hear their letters, and could not avoid know-ing the facts. How were they to satisfy these wants, howdeal with these harsh facts and yet not interfere with peti-tions to the King ? A question not easy to answer, for it isnever easy to reconcile two conflicting policies, and stillworse to try to carry both into effect. The result was that


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142 THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONthe army suffered because that was the only direction inwhich anything substantial could really be done, all peti-tioning having become by this time quite futile. It is truethat Washington was authorized to have an army of twenty-two thousand men, but no means were given him to getthem. Five thousand men were also authorized for Can-ada, and nothing was done toward getting them either. Tomake matters still worse, no enlistments were to be madefor a time longer than that in which they could hear fromthe King, who was diligently gathering together fleets andarmies to send against them. They organized a post-office,which was desirable, but not an engine of war ; they alsoorganized a hospital service, which was very desirable, butnot aggressive ; they issued more bills of credit, and de-cided that they should be apportioned according to popu-lation, and they failed to open their ports to other nations,their only resource for munitions of war, and renewed theirnon-exportation agreements. Franklin, looking out onthis welter of contradictions and confusions, and seeingvery plainly the facts in the case, offered a plan for a con-federate government so as to provide machinery for whatthey were trying to do. It was a wise and statesmanlikemeasure in principle, and was laid aside. John Adamswrote indignant letters declaring that they should be atwork founding and defending an empire instead of argu-ing and waiting. These letters were intercepted and pub-lished by the party of the Crown in order to break downAdams and the radicals, which shows, in a flash of light,what public opinion was believed to be at that momentin the great middle colonies. Whether the loyaHstsgauged public opinion correctly or not, Congress agreedwith them and allowed everything to drift. Yet, at the


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144 THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONrelief, the difficulties which beset Washington, who withhis army alone represented the American Revolution andthe popular force, as he was destined to do on many otheroccasions and in much darker hours. It is well also tonote that despite the inaction and departure of Congressthe work of war was done in some fashion, the siegeof Boston pushed, and the expedition to Canada set inmotion.

The weeks of adjournment went by. Congress shouldhave reassembled on September 5th, but a week elapsedbefore enough members were present to do business, aninstance of unpunctuality which was ominous in a bodythat had undertaken executive functions. Helplessnesswas still supreme. John Adams, of the intercepted letters,was cut in the street by the excellent and patriotic Dickin-son, to whom he had referred in those letters as a "pid-dling genius." All the New England members, indeed,were regarded with suspicion by the great central colonies,but were sustained by the South. Hence much ill-feelingand animosity became apparent between the two parties,but the party with hope for peace was still in the ascend-ant, still holding a majority which was weakening everyday and yet shrinking from the inevitable, after the fashionof human nature under such trying conditions. Out ofsuch a situation little positive action could come, and thetime was wasted in much vain debate. Would they sendan expedition to Detroit ? A wise scheme but, after muchtalk, rejected. England was prohibiting our fisheries andrestricting the trade of Southern colonies. It was obviousthat we should open our ports to the world. Nothing wasdone. Then came long discussions about expeditions, theboundary line of Pennsylvania, the rights of Connecticut


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INDEPENDENCE HSin Wyoming, and the enlistment of negroes, this last de-cided in the affirmative despite Southern remonstrance.Meantime war was in progress as well as debate, and warcould not be postponed. Washington, observing that Eng-land was replying to Bunker Hill with increased arma-ments and paying no heed to petitions, had no doubt asto the realities of the situation. Independence was theonly thing possible now that fighting had begun, and tofail to say what was meant was simply ruinous. Moreover,his army was about to disappear, for terms of enlistment hadexpired, and he had no means to get a new one. Withoutan army a siege of Boston was plainly impossible, and sothere came a letter to Congress from their commander-in-chief which roused the members from their debates. PIerewas a voice to which they must listen, and a condition ofaffairs which they must face. They accordingly appointeda committee, consisting of Franklin, Lynch, and Harrison,to visit the camp. Three men, when one of them wasFranklin, made a better executive than the country hadyet had, and the result was soon apparent. On October15th the committee reached the camp, where Franklin,who understood the facts, had no difficulty in arrangingmatters with Washington. A scheme was agreed uponfor a new army of twenty-three thousand men, and powergiven the general to enlist them. The Congress gave itsassent, the four New England colonies were to furnish themen and the money, and Washington was to get the workdone. Meantime the Congress itself was going on with itsdebates and hesitations. One day Rhode Island demandeda navy, and after much struggle vessels were authorized.Then came the cold fit again. Nothing must be done toirritate England or spoil the chances of the petition, so

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146 THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONno prize courts were established, no ports were opened,and New Hampshire, when everything depended uponNew England, was kept waiting a month for authority toestablish an independent government.

Yet under all the doubtings and delays the forceswere moving forward. The pressure for decisive actionincreased steadily, the logic of independence became con-stantly more relentless, more unavoidable. Washingtonand the army were clearly for independence, and they werenow a power no longer to be disregarded. One colonyafter another was setting up a government for itself, andas each one became independent, the absurdity of the cen-tral government holding back while each of the severalparts moved forward was strongly manifested. NewEngland had broken away entirely. The Southern col-onies, led by Virginia and mismanaged by their governors,were going rapidly in the same direction. The resistancestill came from the middle colonies, naturally more con-servative, restrained, except in New York, by loyal gov-ernors, who, like William Franklin in New Jersey, were atonce politic and judicious. Pennsylvania, clinging to hermild proprietary government of Quakers and Germans,held back more resolutely than any other and sustainedJohn Dickinson in his policy of inaction.

But the party of delay constantly grew weaker. Thenews from England was an argument for independencethat could not well be met. Richard Penn, the bearer ofthe olive-branch, could not even present his petition, forthe King would not see him. Chatham and Camdenmight oppose, other Englishmen, studying the accountsof Bunker Hill, might doubt, but the King had no mis-givings. George meant to be a king, and the idea of


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INDEPENDENCE i49resistance to his wishes was intolerable to him. It wassomething to be crushed, not reasoned with. So he issueda proclamation declaring the Americans rebels and trait-ors, who were to be put down and punished. To carryout his plans, ships, expeditions, and armaments wereprepared, and the King, in order to get men, sent hisagents over Europe to buy soldiers from the wretchedGerman princelings who lived by selling their subjects,or from anyone else who was ready to traffic in flesh andblood. It was not a pretty transaction nor over-creditableto a great fighting people like the English, but it unques-tionably meant business. It was not easy to go on arguingfor reconciliation when the King shut the door on thepetitioners and denounced them as traitors, while he busiedhimself in hiring mercenaries to put them down by force.Under these conditions the friends of Independence urgedtheir cause more boldly, and the majority turned to theirside, but now they waited until they could obtain una-nimity, which was in truth something worth getting. Thechange in the opinion of Congress was shown plainly bythe change in their measures. They applauded the vic-tories of Montgomery, they took steps to import arms andgunpowder, and to export provisions to pay for them ;they adopted a code for the navy, approved Washington'scapture of vessels, and issued three million dollars in billsof credit. Most important of all, they appointed a com-mittee on Foreign Relations, the first step toward gettingalliances and aid from other nations. These were genuinewar measures, and it was a great advance for Congress tohave reached the point of recognizing that war measureswere proper in order to carry on a war. They were sofilled, indeed, with new-born zeal that, after having held


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ISO THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONWashington back and crippled him by delays and by lack ofsupport, they proceeded to demand the impossible and urgeby solemn resolution that Boston be taken at once, evenif the town were destroyed. This was a good deal betterthan being left without any government at all, but we canimagine how trying it must have been to the silent soldierwho had been laboring for months to take Boston, and

INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA, CHESTNUT STREET FRONT.

who now answered Congress in a conclusive and severemanner which did them much good.

Far stronger in its effect on Congress than the actionof the King, or even the demands of the army, was thechange in public sentiment, which was the result of manycauses. From the time of the Stamp Act to the day ofLexington the American party in the colonies had steadily


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INDEPENDENCE iSrdeclared, with great fervor and entire honesty, that theyhad no thought of independence, which meant separationfrom the empire. They protested even with anger thatthe charge that they aimed at any such result was theinvention of their enemies and made to injure theircause. When the first Congress assembled this was theuniversal feeling, and Washington was but one of manywho asserted it strongly. Here and there was a manlike Samuel Adams, radical by nature, and very keen ofperception, who saw the set of the tide ; but even thesemen said nothing and agreed to the views held by thevast majority. The change started at Lexington. Whenfighting had once begun, no other outcome but separa-tion or complete subjection was possible. To carry theirpoint by defeating the troops of Great Britain and yetremain an integral part of the empire was out of thequestion. At the distance of more than a century wesee this very plainly, but it was not so easily understoodat the time. Washington grasped it at once, and whenhe took command

the story of the revolution (1898) vol 1 - henry cabot lodge

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