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HISTORY

OF THE

UNITED STATES,

PHOM THE

DISCOVERY OF THE AMERICAN CONTINENT.

BY

GEOKGE BANCROFT.

Vol. X.

BOSTON: LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.

1874.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by

GEORGE BANCROFT,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

Ca^nbridge : Press of John Wilson and Son,

THE

AMERICAN HEYOLUTION.

BY

GEOEGE BANCROFT.

Vol. IV.

BOSTON: LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.

1874.

e'l^

V.I

iVf*

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by

GF:0RGE BANCROFT,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

Ca7nbridge : Press of John Wilson and Son.

PREFACE.

The papers which I obtained from the French archives when Mr. Mignet had them in charge, have been of the greatest benefit in preparing this volume. Important aid has been derived from the exceedingly copious and as yet unedited cabinet correspondence of Frederic the Second of Prussia with his foreign ministers in England, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Russia". In choosing from this vast mass of materials, I received the most friendly assist- ance from the superintendent, Mr. Dunker, and from Mr. Friedlander. Extracts from these letters, which are all written in the French language, will be published in Paris. I sought for some expression, on the part of Frederic, of a personal interest in Washington ; but I found none. The Chevalier von Arneth, so honorably known as historian, editor, and critic of integrity and acuteness, had the ex- ceeding goodness to direct for me an examination of the archives at Vienna ; very many reports from the Austrian ambassadors in London and Paris were copied for me under his direction. They assist to define exactly the pressure under which Vergennes entered upon measures for mediation and for peace.

Mr. Frederic Kapp rendered me the best service in nego- tiating on my behalf for the purchase of ample collections

-7 / ^^^ f/d)

6 PREFACE.

of letters and journals of German officers who served in America. In Vienna are preserved the reports of an agent sent from Brussels to the United States in the interest of Belgian commerce. Of the best of these, Mr. De la Plaine, of the American legation in Austria, took copies of which he generously made me a present. Mr. Schuyler, lately of our legation at Petersburg, communicated to me all that he could find on earlier American affairs in the archives at Moscow. My transcripts from the Dutch archives, for which I had formerly much occasion to feel obliged to Mr. W. Groen van Prinsterer, have been largely increased through the intervention of my friend Count de Bylandt.

My request to make further researches in the English archives was cheerfully granted, and in the most liberal terms, by the Earl of Granville, and the permission was continued by the Earl of Derby. Indeed, there seemed to prevail in the foreign office a readiness to let every thing be investigated and made known respecting the past policy of Great Britain toward the United States. The Ameri- can government has manifested the same disposition, and this I hold to be wise. The two great cosmopolitan nations are entering on a new era in their relations to one another ; and their statesmen may mutually derive lessons alike from the errors which disturbed the past, and from what was done well. The rule in natural science that " life divides " is equally true of nations. The United States and Great Britain will each hve its great and divergent life ; but it is to be hoped that the same ideas of freedom, truth, and justice will be developed in them both, and bring them nearer each other.

I have specially to thank Lord Tenterden for having favored me with copies of papers which establish the correctness of my narrative where it had been unjustly called in question. My best thanks are also due to Mr.

PREFACE. 7

Alfred Kingston, of the Public Record Office, for the very obliging manner in which he gives effect to the permission granted me, and aids my researches.

To Mr. Spofford, of Washington, I owe two volumes of the manuscript correspondence of General Greene. Mr. Seward, in the State Department, and his successor Mr. Fish, with equal friendliness furnished me with docu- ments which I needed from our own records. The late Joseph H. Lewis intrusted to me the very voluminous pro- fessional and private correspondence of General Wayne. I was also aided materially by the late Governor Andrew and by Secretary Warner of Massachusetts, by the late Senator Mason of Virginia, by Mr. George S. Bryan, and by the never-failing friendship of Mr. Brantz Meyer, ]\Ir. J. Carson Brevoort, and Mr. George H. Moore. On the character of Alexander Hamilton, I sought and obtained in- struction from the late President Nott, as well as from the late Mr. Church, who was Hamilton's secretary in his last period of military service. On two points I follow the verbal communications of Madison ; and it was not without fruit that I once passed a day with John Adams.

With regard to the peace between the United States and England, I think I might say that my materials in their completeness are unique. Of the letters of the American commissioners, nearly all are in print ; 3^et I have been able to make gleanings from unpublished papers of them all, and have full reports of their conversations with the British representatives. On the French side, I have papers drawn up for the guidance of the negotiation ; the reports of Rayneval from England to Vergennes, re- peated in the accounts addressed by Vergennes himself to Montmorin, the French ambassador at Madrid, and to Luzerne, the French minister at Philadelphia. On the British side, I have the official letters of Shelburne and

8 PREFACE.

Secretary Townsliend, and of every member of the British commission ; beside a profusion of the private letters and papers of Shelburne and of Oswald. I have also the private papers, as well as the official ones, of Strachey ; and the courtesy of the present head of the family voluntarily gave consent to the unrestricted use of them.

The Marquis of Lansdowne, of 1848, was persuaded that no letters existed from George the Third to his father while first minister ; but assured me from his father that the king did nothing to obstruct the peace with the United States. Passing lately through London, Lord Edmond FitzMaurice was so good as to inform me that the nume- rous original letters of the king to Lord Shelburne had been discovered ; and he allowed me to make transcripts from them all, as well as from fragments of Lord Shelburne's autobiography. This generosity was all the greater, as Lord FitzMaurice will himself Avrite a biography of his ancestor.

The conduct of Shelburne, Townshend, and the younger Pitt, in 1782, in the negotiations for peace with America, are marked by liberality and candor ; but as to the admin- istration of Lord North, English opinion will finally decide that it no more deserves to be recognised as the expression of the British mind on the fit methods of colonial adminis- tration than the policy of James the Second to be accepted as the proper exponent of English liberty.

From these and other materials, it has been possible to place some questions of European as well as of American history in a clearer light. The embarrassments of Ver- gennes, arising alike from his entanglements respecting Gibraltar, and the urgency of his king for peace, explain and justify the proceedings of the American commissioners in signing preliminaries of peace in advance. It will ap- pear how much Frederic the Second aided America by

PREFACE. 9

encouraging France to enter into the war for her inde- pendence. The interest of this exposition is heightened rather than impaired by the fa^t that his motives sprung from his love to his own people. It also becomes certain that the Empress Catharine promulgated her naval code, not in ignorance of its character as has been hitherto stated, but with a full knowledge of what she was doing ; and that she practised on the British minister at Peters- burg no other cajolery than was needed to make him the channel through which the code was communicated to Great Britain, so that direct crimination might be avoided. The contemporary documents show that England declared war on the Dutch republic, solely to prevent her from being unconditionally received into the armed neutrality. I have been able from new materials to trace the division between the North and the South, arising from slavery, further back than had as yet been done. As to separatism, or the exaggerated expression of what we call States Rights, it, did not grow out of the existence of slavery, but out of an element in human nature. The much agitated question as to the time and manner of the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts finds itself solved without going from home : the witness was at the door. The conduct of Shelburne in making peace between the two countries is made clear from his own words and acts. The part taken by Franklin in initiating and forwarding the negotiation for peace is illustrated, not from his own letters alone, but from those of Oswald and others. In England it was never misappre- hended. It is worth noticing that, though the negotiators on each side reciprocally marked the boundary agreed upon by a well-defined line on the map, yet, during the strife which was kept up about it for half a century, the American government did not catch a glimpse of this evi- dence till a treaty of compromise was ratified, and the map

i

10 PKEFACE.

of Oswald was not produced till the British ministry that made the compromise had to defend it in parliament. It appears further that, late as was the participation of John Adams in the negotiation, he came in time to secure to New England its true boundary on the north-east. Adams and Franklin had always asked for the continuance of the accustomed share in the coast fisheries ; and they were heartily supported by Jay, who had in congress steadily voted against making the demand. The requirement of the change in the form of Oswald's commission, so grateful to the self-respect of America, is due exclusively to Jay.

It is good to look away from the strifes of the present hour, to the great days when our country had for its statesmen Washington and John Adams, Jefferson and Hamilton, Franklin and Jay, and their compeers. The study of those times will always teach lessons of modera- tion, and of unselfish patriotism.

J

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

EUROPE AND AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 1778.

The American question in Europe, 85 — England at war with itself, 36 — Mutual dependence of American and English liberty, 36 — The administra- tion no representative of British character, 36 — Nor of parties, 36 — The British people, 37 — Chaotic state of political parties, 37 — Conflict of mon- archy and the parliament, 37 — Power passes to the aristocracy, 38 — Abso- lutism of parliament and liberty, 39 — Position of the whig party, 39 — Cliatham and the liberal party, 89 — Progress, 40 — Why North remained in power, 40 — State of France, 40 — Its peasantry, 40 — Its cultivated classes, 41 — Its superior power of generalization, 41 — Its war minister opposes the American aUiance, 42 — Motives to the alliance, 42 — Maurepas and the rivalry with England, 42 — Necker and the French finances, 43 — Vergennes a monarchist, 43 — His relation to America and to republicanism, 44 — The French cabinet and America, 44 — The light literature, 44 — Marie Antoi- nette, 4o — The king, 45 — France threatened with bankruptcy, 46 — Society at Paris and Versailles, 46 — Peace the true policy of Spain, 47 — Its for- eign dependencies, 47 — Its central government, 48 — Jealousy of its monopo- lies, 48 — Charles III. and the Jesuits, 49 — Their expulsion, 49 — The forerunner of independence, 49 — Spanish distrust of the United States, 50 — Portugal and the United States, 51 — Austria, 51 — Policy of Kaunitz, 52 — Towards Prussia, 62 — Towards France, 63 — Towards England, 53 — Results, 54 — Italy and the United States, 54 — Naples, 54 — Turkey, 54 — Russia, 65 — Sweden, 55 — Denmark, 66 — Bernstorf and the United States, 66 — Switzerland, 57 — The Netherlands, 57 — The champions of neutral rights, 58 — They help to restore English liberty, 59 — Their alliance with England, 59 — Their rights as neutrals violated in the French war, 60 — England intrigues to divide the republic, 60.

i

12 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER 11.

GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES. 1778.

The Germans, 61— Their governments, 62 — Their territory, 62 — Their migrations, 62 — Their conversion to Christianity, 63 — Their struggle against the Saracens, 63 — Charlemagne, 64 — His coronation as em- peror, 64 — His claim of power in church and state, 65 — Dispute between emperor and pope, 65 — Victory of the pope, 66 — Abuse of tlie vic- tory, 67 — Free cities, 70 — The}' gain a share in the government, 70

— Evils from papal power, 71 — To what extent the theory carries the pretended infallibility, 72 — Intolerance, 73 — Greek diviners absolved from sin here and hereafter, 73 — The papal power organizes the system, 73

— Absolute power self-destructive, 74 — Luther, 74 — The enfranchiser of mind, 74 — Justification by faith alone, 74 — Scope of Luther's teaching, 75 — Leibnitz on Luther, 75 — Eights of reason, 75 — Applied to monar- chical power, 76 — To conscience and private judgment, 76 — Rights of the congregation, 77 — Luther's rules of colonization, 78 — The synod of Homberg, 78 — Compromise in Germany betv;een the reformation and civil authority, 79 — French Protestants make no such compromise, 79 — The emperor false to the reformation, 80 — It finds an asylum in the free cities, 80 — Saxony loses the headship of Protestant Germany, 80 — The Hohen- zollerns, by becoming Calvinists, prepare themselves for the headship of northern Germany, 81 — Parallel between events in Germany and in Amer- ica, 81 — Gustavus Adolphus, 82 — Oxenstiern, 82 — Upper German circles, 82 — State of Germany before the thirty years' war, 82 — After the war, 83

— German emigration, 83 — The head of the Hohenzollerns acknowledges the rights of the people and of conscience, 84 — The Huguenot exiles in Berlin and in America, 84 — Influence of the English revolution in America and in Prussia, 84 — Saying of Leibnitz, 85 — The pope foresees his danger, 85 — Aspect of the peace of Utrecht on America and on Prussia, 85 — Prot- estant exiles of Salzburg in America and in Prussia, 85 — Joint action of Pitt, Frederic, and Washington, 86 — Effect of Bute's policy on Fred- eric and on the United States, 86 — Kant and the United States, 87 — His method, 88 — Kant on political freedom, on the unity of the universe, 88 — On slavery, the sale of troops, and rights of man, 88 — His paramount friendship for America, 88 — Lessing on the education of his race, 88 — On republics, 89 — On sale of troops, 89 — On the work of America, 89 — Her- der on republics, 89 — Klopstock on the American war, 90 — Goethe a repub- lican by birth, 90 — For Frederic, 90 — For Corsica, 90 — For American independence, 91 — Predicts self-government for European nations, 91 — Schiller, 92— Niebuhr, 92 — The youth of Germany, 92.

I

CONTENTS. 13

CHAPTER III.

THE RELATIONS OF THE TWO NEW POWEBS. 1778.

Duke of Saxe-Gotha, 94 — Refuses troops to England, 94 — His patriot- ism, 94 — Charles Augustus of Saxe-Weimar, 95 — Goethe and the class called the lower, 96 — Frederic Augustus of Saxony, 96 — Fate of the Ger- man houses that sold troops, 96 — Of Saxe-Weimar, 97 — Of Saxe-Gotha- Altenburg, 97 — Cause of the contrast, 97 — Frederic of Prussia, 97 — The six qualities of a great man, 97 — His relation to tlie nobility, 97 — To Ger- man letters, 98 — To other powers, 98 — To German, liberty, 98 — To republican government, 99 — To England and France, 99 — His good-will to America, 100 — Thinks English government tending to despotism, 100^- Condemns the king's proclamation, 100 — Justifies the Americans, 101 — Wonders at the indifference of the English, 101 — Condemns the British court, 102 — Predicts American independence, 102 — Observes the echpse of English liberty, 102 — Devotes himself to Prussia, 103 — Declines a direct commerce with the United States, 103 — Receives their declaration of independence as a proof that they cannot be subjugated, 104 — Hume's prophecy, 104 — Opinion on the tory party, 104— Consents to an American commerce through French ports, 104 — Predicts the bankruptcy of France, 104 — Anxious as to the Bavarian succession, 105 — Makes approaches to France, 105 — Declines the overture of Franklin, 106 — Protects Arthur Lee, 107 — In what England and France excelled, 107 — Frederic again de- clines the English alliance, 108 — Confesses his maritime weakness, 109 — Seeks the aid of France and Russia in the Bavarian succession, 109 — Gains the good-will of Maurepas, 110 — Encourages Maurepas to a war with Eng- land, 110 — Seeks to escape a new war witli Austria, 111 — Interposition of Marie Antoinette for America, 111 — Maurepas consults Frederic, 112^ — His opinion of England's position after the defeat of Burgoyne, 113 — His judgment on its ministry, 113 — Ascribes its defeat to its departure from English principles, 114 — Opens Dantzic to the Americans, 114 — Forbids the transit of troops, 114 — Proposes to recognise American indepen- dence, 115

CHAPTER IV.

THE BRITISH RETREAT FROM! PENNSYLVANIA. May — June, 1778.

France and England chan-ge places, 116 — The French a landed people, 116 — The English a landless people, 116 — Congress ratifies the French treaties, 117 — Their reception in Washington's camp, 117 — Address of congress to the people, 118 — Festival to General Howe, 118 — He marches to capture Lafayette, 119 — Grant outgeneralled, 120 — Lafayette escapes, 120 — Howe sails for England, 120 — His mistakes as a general, 120 — At Bunker Hill, 120 — In retreating to Halifax, 120 — On Long Island, 121 —

i

1

14 CONTENTS.

Divides his army^l21— His waste of time, 121— His winter in Philadel- phia, 121— Congress rejects the British conciliatory acts, 122— Will treat only as an independent nation, 122 — Arrival of British commissioners, 122

— Their characters, 123 — Germain's plan for the coming campaign, 128 — Preparations for evacuating Philadelphia, 124 — The commissioners exceed their authority in their offers to congress, 125 — They sail for New York, 125

— The American oflScers and the commissioners, 125 — Congress refuses to permit the army of Burgoyne to embark, 126 — Crossing the Delaware, 127

— Intrigue of Lee, 127 — Washington pursues the British army, 128 — Ad- vice of Lee, 128 — He commands the advanced corps, 128 — His negligence, 129 — His confused orders, 129 — Movements of Clinton, 130 — Lee's retreat, 130 — Washington orders him to the rear, 131 — The battle of Monmouth, 132— Conduct of Greene, 132 — Of Wayne, 132— Death of Monckton, 132

— The British defeated, 132— They retire by night, 133— Opinion of Fred- eric, 133 — Congress thank Washington, 133 — Black Americans in the battle, 133 — Insolence of Lee, 133 — Suspended by court-martial, 134 — Dismissed by Congress, 134 — Character, 134 — Death, 134— Carver's travels, 134 — His predictions, 135.

CHAPTER V.

HOW FAR AMERICA HAD ACHIEVED INDEPENDENCE AT THE TIME OF THE

FRENCH ALLIANCE. July — September, 1778.

Wyoming valley, 136 — Takes part in the war, 136 — Revenge of the Senecas, 137 — Sucingerachton, 137 — Butler, 137 — Defeat of the men of Wyoming, 138 — The Senecas and Germain, 138 — Result for Penn- sylvania, 138 — Trials for treason, 139 — State of the British before the French alliance, 139 — Contrast of the American and British soldier, 139

— Change in the American mind, 140 — In the English mind, 140 — Opin- ion of Gibbon, 140 — Howe, 141 — Clinton, 141 — Germain, 141— North, 141 — Lord Amherst, 141 — Parliament, 141 — The king, 142 — Lord Rock- ingham, 142 — Fox, 142 — Change in Parliament, 142 — Fox, Pownall, and Conway for independence, 142 — Opinion of Barrington, 143 — Mans- field, 143 — The landed aristocracy, 143 — Change of ministry desired, 143 — Congress in Philadelphia, 144 — Confederacy signed by all the states except Maryland, 144 — D'Estaing in Delaware bay, 145 — D'Es- taing at Sandy Hook, 145 — Wishes to capture Newfoundland, 146 — Plan for the recovery of Rhode Island, 146 — D'Estaing off Newport, 146

— Congress receives the French minister, 147 — Sullivan lands on Rhode Island, 147 — The French squadron pursues the British, 147 — A hurricane, 148 — Suffering of the troops on land, 148 — Howe steers for Sandy Hook, 148 — D'Estaing for Boston, 148 — Sullivan retreats, 149 — Good conduct of Greene, 149 — Lord Howe retires from America, 149 — Discontent of New England, 149 — Result of the campaign, 150 — Opinion of Washington, 150 — Of Trumbull, 150 — Farewell of the British commissioners, 151 —

CONTENTS. 15

Their menaces, 151 — Their conduct condemned in the house of commons,

151 — And in the house of lords, 152 — Shelburne opposes independence,

152 — Kavages of the British around New York, 152 — Of tories and In- dians in the interior, 152 — South Carolina constitution, 153 — Negatived by Rutledge, 153— Constitution adopted, 154 — Its principal clauses, 154 — South Carolina law against treason, 155— British plan the conquest of the southern states, 155 — Clinton at New York reduced to a starved defen- sive, 156.

CHAPTER VI.

SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES. 1778.

Policy of Spain towards the United States, 157 — Its tergiversations, 158 — Count Montmorin, 158 — Florida Blanca abhors American independence, 159 — Distrusts France, 159 — Chides the French for their deference to America, 159 — Seeks to make a tool of Great Britain, 160 — Policy of the French council, 160 — Why the campaign was inactive, 160 — Indecision of the king of Spain, 161 — His desire of Gibraltar, 161 — Refuses an aUiance with the United States, 161 — Evil consequences to France of delay, 162 — Admiral I^ppel captures a French frigate, 162 — D'Orvilliers sent out to meet Keppel, 162 — Insignificant fight, 163 — Keppel's conduct, 163 — The French camp in Normandy, 163 — Capture of Chandernagor, 163 — Of Pon- dicherry, 163 — Financial measures, 163 — Florida Blanca dupes Grantham, 164 — His territorial plans in North America, 164 — Answer of Weymouth, 164 — Weymouth proposes an alliance, 164 — Spain formally offers media- tion, 165 — Asks of France her conditions of peace, 166 — Weymouth rejects mediation, 166 — Benjamin Franklin sole American minister in France, 166.

CHAPTER Vn.

A PEOPLE WITHOUT A GOVERNMENT. August — December, 1778.

United States without a government, 168 — Paper money, 168 — Counter- feited by the British, 168 — Loan Offices, 169 — Lottery, 169 — Forced cir- culation, 169 — Paper money in the states, 169 — Regulation of prices, 170 — Certificates of debt, 170 — Unprotected bills of exchange, 170 — Rate of interest, 170 — States to become creditors of the United States, 170 — Quo- tas of the States, 171 — Hopes of foreign loans, 171 — From France, Spain, and Tuscany, 171 — Loan office certificates paid by drafts on commissioners at Paris, 171 — Increase of paper money, 172 — Trade blighted, 172 — Rich- ard Price declines the superintendency of American finances, 172 — United States seek protection from France, 172 — More paper money, 173 — Its worth doubted in Congress, 173 — Expenses of 1778, 174 — Errors of judg- ment of Germain, 174 — Influence of refugees, 174 — William Franklin, 174 — Clinton courts the Irish successfully, 175 — Unreasonable requirements of Germain, 175 — Nothing to be expected of Clinton, 176 — Confidence of

16 CONTENTS.

the Americans, 176 — Impracticable plan for emancipating Canada, 176 — Spirit of independence increases, 177 — The army in winter quarters, 177 — The British had made no progress during the campaign, 178 — Want of a central power in the United States, 178 — Separate power of the States, 178

— People of the United States less heard of, 179 — Thirteen sovereignties, 179 — Washington pleads for American union, 180.

^^,^-'" CHAPTER VIII.

THE KING OF SPAIN BAFFLED BY THE BACKWOODSMEN OF VIRGINIA.

1778—1779.

Negotiations between France and Spain, 181 — State of mind of Florida Blanca, 181 — He observes the attachment of the United States to England, 182 — Wishes to bridle their power, 182 — How far Vergennes consented, 182 — Intrigue of the French minister at Philadelphia, 183 — Opinion of Gouverneur Morris, 183 — Of Jay. 183 — Vergennes on the American gov- ernment, 183 — The French conditions of peace, 184 — Florida Blanca wishes to qualify the independence of the United States, 185 — Insists that France shall suggest the advantages Spain is to gain by tiie war. 185 — Gib- raltar, 186 — Ho\v>it was to be taken, 186 — Dilemma of Vergennes, 186 — La- fayette at Versailles, 187 — His reception by the queen, 187 — His zeal for America, 187 — France impatient for peace, 187 — Dissimulation of Florida Blanca, 188 — He proposes to mediate a truce, 188 — Embarrassment of Vergennes, 188 — Answer of Weymouth, 188 — Motives of his policy, 189

— How long it endured, 189 — Vergennes drafts a convention with Spain, 189 — Cavils of Florida Blanca, 189 — Gibraltar a condition, 190 — France undertakes an invasion of England, 190 — Pettifogging of Florida Blanca, 190 — Refusal to acknowledge the United States, 190 — The war treaty be- tween France and Spain, 191 — How far it altered the treaty between France and the United States, 191 — The Mississippi the bond of American union, 192 — The Bourbons would exclude the United States from that river, 193

— Preserved to the United States by the backwoodsmen, 193 — Movements of George Rogers Clark, 193 — Consultation with Virginia statesmen, 194

— Clark at Redstone, 194 — At Louisville, 195 — Schemes of Hamilton at Detroit, 195 — Vincennes, 195 — Kaskaskia, 196 — Its capture by Clark, 196 — Kahokia, 196 — Giboult and Vincennes, 196 — Plan to take the north- west, 197 — Hamilton recovers Vincennes, 197 — Threatens St. Louis, 197

— His manner of employing Indians, 198 — His preparations for conquest, 198 — Insulation of Clark, 198 — Vigo reports the condition of Vincennes, 198 — Desperate march of the backwoodsmen, 199 — What Hamilton was planning, 199 — The backwoodsmen enter Vincennes, 200 — Clark lays siege to the fort, 200 — Hamilton parleys, 200 — Surrenders at discretion

201 — Capture of British supplies, 201 — Virginia vote of thanks, 201 — Further merits of the backwoodsmen, 201 — Expedition under Evan Shelby,

202 — Flow of emigration westward, 202 — American fort on the Mis- sissippi, 203.

CONTENTS. 17

CHAPTER IX.

PLAN OF PEACE. 1779.

The northern campaign defensive, 204 — The national treasury, 204 — Con- dition of the officers, 205 — Of the rank and file, 205 — Congress fixes tlie num- ber of battalions, 206 — The need of a national government, 206 — Washing- ton appeals to the states, 206 — His letter to George Mason, 207 — American affairs at their lowest ebb, 209 — Apathy of congress, 209 — It refuses to con- clude any peace in which France is not comprised, 209 — Boundaries and fish- eries, 210 — Demands of Spain, 210 — The fisheries, 211 — Vergennes ex- pounds the law of nations, 211 — Demands of the New England men, 211 — Counter argument of Vergennes, 211 — French minister endeavors to per- suade congress to yield to Spain, 212 — Does not doubt of success, 213 — Congress refers the terms of peace to a committee, 213 — Report of the committee, 214 — Congress on boundaries, 214 — On fisheries, 214 — New York would have independence the sole condition of peace, 215 — French minister intervenes, 215 — Vote on the subject, 216 — Congress solicits por- traits of the king and queen of France, 216 — And further supplies, 217 — Renewed debate on conditions of peace, 217 — Manoeuvre of Gerry, 217 — Stormy debate on the fisheries, 218 — The French minister endeavors to in- timidate congress, 219 — Final disposition of the question, 219 — French minis- ter hints at a truce, 219 — Congress demands that independence be assured,

220 — French minister wishes America to yield to the king of Spain, 220 — Instructions to the negotiators for peace, 220 — Plan for treaty with Spain,

221 — Jay elected envoy to Spain, 221 — Adams appointed to negotiate peace and a treaty of commerce with England, 221.

CHAPTER X.

THE WAR IN THE NORTHERN DEPARTMENT. 1779.

Inactivity of the British army, 222 — Prosperity of the Virginians, 222 — Matthew's predatory expedition, 223 — Retaliation of the Virginia legisla- ture, 228 — Issue of paper money, 223 — Measures to meet the public exi- gencies, 223 — Code of Virginia, 224 — Law of descents, 224 — Bill to establish religious liberty, 224 — Delay in its enactment, 225 — Expedition of Clinton up the Hudson, 225 — Verplanck's and Stony Point fall into his hands, 226 — Pillaging expedition of Tryon, 226 — At New Haven, 226 — At East Haven, 226— At Fairfield, 226 — At Nor walk, 227 — Address of Collier and Tryon to the inhabitants of Connecticut, 227 — Tryon recalled to New York, 228 — Gallant assault of Wayne on Stony Point, 228 —Brilliant victory and clemency of the Americans, 229 — Daring enterprise of Henry Lee, 229 — Expedition against the Senecas, 230— Van Schaick and Willet in VOL. X. 2

18 CONTENTS.

the country of the Onondagas, 230 — Sullivan appointed to command the expedition against the Senecas, 230 — His insatiable demands, 231 — Barbar- ities of the British and Indians, 231 — Sulhvan begins his march, 231 — Message of Little David to Haldimand, 231 — Sullivan's conduct of the expedition and return to New Jersey, 232 — Establishment of a British post at Gastine, 232 — Expedition sent against it by the Massachusetts legisla- ture, 233 — Incapacity and failure of the commanders, 238 — Results of the campaign, 233 — The American army in winter quarters, 234 — Severity of the winter, 234 — Heroism of the troops, 235 — Prophecies of Pownall, 235 — American independence fixed, 235 — America will establish a strong gov- ernment, 236 — Absorb the West Indies, 236 — Condition of Spanish South America, 236 — Peculiarities of the Americans, 237 — Their industrial free- dom, 238 — Their inventive genius, 238 — Their commerce, 238 — Their increase, 238 — Their relation to the sovereigns of Europe, 239 — European influence on the war, 239.

CHAPTER XL

PROGRESS OF THE AVAR IN EUROPE. 1779.

Frederic of Prussia engrossed by the Bavarian succession, 240 — Puts aside Lee's importunities, 241 — Refuses an alliance with England, 241 — British cabinet seeks aid from Russia, 241 — Report of the English ambas- sador in Petersburg, 242 — Frederic allows English recruits to pass through his dominions, 242 — Will protect Hanover, 242 — Explains to Vergennes his reasons for refusing an alliance with England, 242 — Incites his minister to action, 243 — Explains his policy toward Austria, 243 — Desires an assur- ance of French neutrality, 243 — Policy of Maurepas, 243 — The war of the Bavarian succession, 244 — Causes of its swift termination, 244 — Compari- son between Frederic and Joseph, 244 — Insincerity of Joseph toward France, 245 — Influence of Austria and Prussia on American affairs, 245 — Coinci- dence of the interests of Prussia and the United States, 245 — Austria and Russia desire to mediate between the Bourbons and England, 245 — Letter of Maria Theresa to Charles the Third, 245 — His answer, 246 — Spain de- clares war on England, 216 — Firmness of the English king, commons, and people, 246 — English opinion condemns taxing unrepresented colonies, 246 — Confession of the king on that point, 247 — Interview of George III. and his ministers, 247 — Disunion in the ministry, 247 — Pusillanimity of Lord North, 247^ — Views of the king, 248 — Opposition of the ablest statesmen, 248 — Hillsborough, 248 — Movement of French troops to invade England, 248 — Junction of French and Spanish fleets in the channel, 249 — The combined fleet appears off Plymouth, 250 — British fleet retreats, 250 — Combined fleet disperses, 250 — Dejection in France, 250 — Maria Theresa continues her offers of mediation, 251 — Condition of Ireland, 251 — Ver- gennes would not count on the Catholics, 251 — But on the Presbyterians, 252 — Sends an agent to Ireland, 252 — As does Florida Blanca, 252 — Pol- icy of Ireland, 253 — Capitulation of Baton Rouge to the Spaniards, 254.

CONTEXTS. 19

CHAPTER XII.

THE ARMED NEUTRALITY. 1778 — 1780.

Neutral flags in the middle ages, 255 — The Dutch code, 255 — Rights of neutrals in the time of Cromwell, 256 — Recognised in treaties with Portu- gal, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, 256 —In the peace of Utrecht, 256 — Given up in two treaties between 1745 and 1780, 256 — Policy of Russia, 257 — Movements of the " General Mifflin," 257 — How Russia would treat Amer- ica, 257 — Prosperity of the Netherlands, 268 — Their want of power, 258

— Defects in their constitution, 258 — Its workings, 258 — Holland, 259 — Different views respecting sovereignty, 259 — Parties, 259 — The stadholder,

259 — His councillors, 260 — France seeks the neutrality of the Netherlands,

260 — Intrigues of 'the English party, 261 — Proposal of a treaty of com- merce from the American commissioners, 261 — Neglect and silence of the Dutch, 261 — Declaration of France, 261 — Feeling of the Dutch towards England, 262 — Ian de Neufville, 262 — His intermeddling, 263 — Dismissal of William Lee, 263 — States-general consign the communication of the American commissioners to rest, 263 — Cruising of British vessels, 264 — The Dutch the chief sufferers, 264 — The flags of Denmark, Sweden, and Prussia violated by English privateers, 264 — Vergennes to Panin, 264 — Suggests a league of neutral nations, 265 — Sweden and Denmark agree, 265 — Panin warns Harris, 265 — Counter-representations, 266 — Plans of Russia for 1779, 266 — Intervention of Frederic, 266 — Empress of Russia and the proposed league, 267 — Panin's opinion on the conduct of the Eng- lish, 267 — Harris tries to circumvent him, 267 — Character of Potemkin,

268 — Proposition of Harris, 268 — His interview with the empress, 269 — Council of state refuse to change their foreign policy, 269 — Panin to Goertz,

269 — England should lose her colonies, 269 — Frederic gives a like opinion, 269 — Conflicting aggressions of France and England in the Netherlands, 270

— Resolutions concerning unlimited convoy, 270 — In Holland and in the states-general, 270 — Indignation at the stadholder, 270 — Great Britain de- mands succor from the Dutch, 270 — They refuse, 271 — Paul Jones, 271 — Engagement of the "Serapis" and "Poor Richard," 271 — Prizes carried into the Texel, 272 — Reclamation of British ships, 272 — Saved by strata- gem, 272 — Denmark forbids the sale of American prizes in her ports, 273

— Autograph letter of George III. to Catharine, 273 — Harris offers an alliance with England, 273 — Answer of Panin, 273 — Memorial of the northern powers to England, 274 — Dutch merchant fleet fired on by the English, 275 — Surrender of the Dutch, 275 — Spain outrages the Russian flag, 277 — Measures adopted by Russia, 277 — Harris overreached by Potem- kin, 278— Panin's bad health, 278 — His last act his best, 278 — Goertz re- ports the neutral league, 279 — Frederic desires Spain to make reparation to Prussia, 279 — Vergennes supports the advice, 280— Panin's plan for an armed neutrality, 280 — Declaration signed, 280 — Its principles, 281 — Wel- comed at Berlin, Paris, and Madrid, 281 — Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, and the Netherlands invited to join in it, 281 — John Adams utters the voice of the United States, 281.

20 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE WAR IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. 177*8 — 1779.

Germain's plans for the campaign of 1778,283 — He favors Cornwallis, 284 — Expedition sent out by Prevost to plunder, 284 — Sunbury summoned to surrender, 284 — Mackintosh's answer, 284 — Murder of Screven, 285 — Robert Howe's expedition, 285 — Its ill fate, 285 — British troops arrive off Savannah, 285 — Capture of Savannah, 285 — Proclamation of Campbell, 286 — Merciless conduct of the war, 286 — Georgia occupied by the British, 286 — Lincoln appointed to the command of the southern department, 287 — His previous life, 287 — Movements of the new commander, 287 — Repulse of the British, 287 — North Carolina militia join Lincoln,- 288 — Enactments of South Carolina, 288 — Rout of a British party by Pickens, 288— Trial of refugees, 289 — Lincoln desires to retire, 289 — Greene requests the posi- tion, 289 — Lincoln not allowed to resign, 289 — Americans under Ashe put to flight, 289 — Civil government proclaimed in Georgia, 290 — Expedition of Lincoln against Savannah, 290 — Prevost's plundering march toward Charleston, 290 — Charleston in a state of siege, 291 — Hamilton and Laurens desire to arm the negroes, 291 — Washington's answer, 292 — Congress to South Carolina, 292 — Advice to arm slaves causes disaffection, 292 — The executive government treats for a capitulation, 293 — Desires neutrality, 293 — Scorn of Laurens, 293 — Decision of Moultrie, 293 — Approach of Lincoln and retreat of the British, 294 — Movements of the French fleet, 294— Capture of St. Lucia by the British, 295 — Repulse of D'Estaing, 295 — Arrival of Byron with re-enforcements, 295 — Running fight betw^een the Erench and British fleets, 295 — French recover the superiority, 295 — D'Es- taing captures four British ships of war, 295 — The French lay siege to Savannah, 296 — Summon Prevost to surrender, 296 — Arrival of Maitland with re-enforcements, 296 — Troops under Lincoln join the French in the siege, 296 — Assault on the works, 296 — Its failure, 297 — Pulaski mortally wounded, 297 — Baron de Stedingk, 297 — The siege raised, 298 — Sad condition of South Carolina, 298 — Treatment of the negroes by the British, 298 — Germain's instruction, 298 — British lust for plunder and gain, 299 — Their name hated where it had been cherished, 299.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE SIEGE OF CHARLESTON. 1779 — 1780.

Civil war in South Carolina, 300 — Bitter afflictions of the state, 300 — Heroic courage and self-devotion of her citizens, 300 — Re-enforcement of Clinton, 301 — He sails for South Carolina, 301 — Disasters to the fleet, 301 — Rawdon comes from New York, 301 — Charleston, 302 — Its fortifications, 302 — Lincoln awaits a siege, 302 — Inabihty of the Americans to defend the harbor, 303 — Lincoln's preparations, 303 — Clinton's caution, 303 —

CONTENTS. 21

Lincoln re-enforced by the Virginia line, 30-1— Arbutlinot enters the harbor, 804 — Summons the town to surrender, 304 — Lincoln's answer, 304 — De- liberations, 304 — Evacuation impossible, 305 — Lincoln capitulates, 305 — Conditions of the capitulatiom, 305 — Value of the spoil, 305 — Greed of the British officers for plunder, 306 — Conditions of British protection, 30G — Expeditions sent out by Clinton, 306 — Williamson surrenders Ninety-six, 306— Pursuit of Buford by Tarleton, 306 — Massacre of his forces, 307 — ■Resistance to the British suspended, 307 — Clinton's proclamation, 307 — Arbuthnot's moderation, 308 — Cornwallis not informed of the proclama- tion, 308 — British authority in Carolina without roots, 308.

CHAPTER XV.

WAR IN THE SOUTH : COKNWALLIS AND GATES.

Rivalry between Cornwallis and Clinton, 309 — Plan of Cornwallis, 309 — Enrolment of the inhabitants, 310 — Murder of Samuel Wyly, 310— The Presbyterians, 310 — Huck's barbarity, 311 — Persecution of prisoners by Cornwallis, 311 — Rawdon's order to Rugely, 311 — Posts necessary to hold South Carolina, 311 — Subjection of South Carolina and Georgia to Corn- wallis, 312 — Houston to Jay, 312 — Sumpter, 312 — Brutal treatment of his wife by the British, 312 — Chosen leader of the American refugees, 312 — Rawdon prepares to receive them, 313 — Defeat of Huck's party by Sump- ter, 313 — Lisle's desertion to the Americans, 313 — Sumpter's attack on Rocky Mount, 314 — His capture of Hanging Rock, 314 — Andrew Jackson, 314 — Washington detaches troops under Kalb and Lee to the south, 314 — Virginia exposed to invasion, 315 — Her magnanimity, 315 — Kalb's charac- ter, 315 — Gates succeeds Lincoln, 316 — His relation to congress, 316 — Ap- points Morgan a brigadier, 316 — His plan, 317 — Confirmed by Pinckney and Marion, 317 — March to the southward, 317 — Junction with Porterfield, 317 — Revival of hope in South Carolina, 318 — Illusions of Gates, 318 — Rawdon and Tarleton make a stand, 319 — Gates misses his opportunity, 319 — Rawdon strengthens his works, 319 — Arrival of Cornwallis, 319 — Gates weakens himself by detaching Sumpter, 320 — His night march, 320 — Engagement near Camden, 320 — Death of Porterfield, 321 — Council of war, 321 — Cornwallis's position, 321 — Battle of Camden, 322 — Defeat of Gates, 322 — Loss of the British, 323 — Death of Kalb, 323 — Flight of Gates and Caswell, 324 — Rout of Sumpter, 325.

CHAPTER XVI.

CORNWALLIS AND THE MEN OF THE SOUTH AND WEST. 1780.

Cornwallis the principal figure in the British service, 326 — Events which closed the conflict, 326 — Condition of Europe, 326 — Cornwallis prepares for his northward march, 327 — Requests Clinton to detach three thousand

22 CONTEJ^TS.

men to the Chesapeake, 327 — Establishes a reign of terror in South Caro- lina, 327 — Hangs numerous Americans, 327 — Cruelty of his subordinates, 828, — His ruthless administration, 328 — Applauded by Germain, 328 — Prisoners captured at Charleston incarcerated, 329 — Forced to serve in Jamaica, 329 — Christopher Gadsden, 329 — And other patriots removed to St. Augustine, 329 — Pernicious effects of slaveholding, 329 — Acceptances of British protection, 330 — The people true, 330 — Williams and Sumpter rally them, 330 — Marion's band, 331 — Williams captures Musgrove's Mills, 331 — Feat of Marion and his men, 331 — Reports of Cornwallis and Balfour, 331 — Cornwallis begins his march, 332 — The Cherokees, 332 — Activity and spirit of Jefferson, 332 — Sequestration of estates by Corn- wallis, 333 — The alternative, 333 — Defeat of Brown by Clark, 333 — Ap- proach of Cruger, 334 — Cruelty of Brown, 334 — Macdowell and his militia driven back by the British, 334 — Check to Cornwallis at Charlotte, 334 — The backwoodsmen, 335 — They organize themselves, 335 — Ride over the Alleghanies, 335 — Campbell chosen commandant, 336 — ^Movements of Ferguson, 836 — Cornwallis sends Tarleton to his assistance, 336 — Williams harasses him, 336 — The "western army" at King's Mountain, 337 — The ground, 337 — American line of attack, 337 — Battle of King's Mountain, 838— Loss of the British, 339 — Of the Americans, 339 — Death of Wil- liams, 339 — The captives, 339 — Results of the victory, 340 — Cornwallis's retreat, 340 — Harassed by men of Mecklenburg and Rowan counties, 341 — Privations of the British army, 341 — Marion's feats, 341 — His clemency, 342 — Tarleton's inhumanity, 343 — Movements against Sumpter, 343 — Tarleton driven back by him, 343 — Indians ravage the country, 344.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE RISE OF FREE COMMONWEALTHS. 1780.

Freedom older than slavery, 345 — Louis XVI. frees the serfs of the crown, 345 — Fails to abolish all bondage in France, 346 — Abolition of bondage in the Netherlands, 346 — Public opinion in Europe on slavery, 346 — Burke, 346 — His code, 347 — George III., 847 — Means of bringing slavery to an end in America, 348 — Action of the first congress, 348 — Early antag- onism between north and southj 348 — Report of the French envoy, 349 — The north hostile to slavery, 349 — Gouverneur Morris, 349 — The relation of slavery to the policy of France, 349 — Northern dread of the relative in- crease of the south, 850 — Black men in the army, 850 — South Carolina opposed to their employment, 351 — Jefferson's influence in binding together the north and south, 351 — Bitter contest about the fisheries, 351 — Sov- ereignty of each separate state, 852 — Effect on the slave trade, 852 — Ver- mont entreats admission as a state, 352 — Forced to wait for a new southern state, 352 — "Galilean" and " Anti-Gallican," 353 — No hope for the slave from congress, 353 — Action of the separate states, 853 — The word " slave " used in the constitution of Delaware alone, 353 — Slavery in the north and

CONTENTS. 23

south, 353 — In Virginia, 354 — Memorable words of Mason, 354— Slavery in its tendency, 355 — Virginia's declaration of rights, 355 — She prohibits the introduction of slaves, 35G — Confines citizenship to white men, 356 — Emancipation of slaves by individuals, 356 — Slaves as bounty, 356 — Vir- ginia gives the power of unconditional emancipation to masters, 356 — Jef- ferson's forebodings, 357 — Washington a considerate master, 357 — Delaware,

357 — Her provisions for emancipation, 357 — New York, 358 — Its states- men are abolitionists, 358 — Vermont prohibits slavery, 358 — New Jersey,

358 — Livingston's declaration, 358 — Pennsylvania and aboUtion, 35'J — Reed's recommendation, 359 — Bryan's bill for gradual emancipation, 360 — Becomes a law, 360 — In South Carolina slavery a primary element, 360

— Massachusetts, 360 — Slavery tolerated by the Puritans, 360 — Plan for gradual emancipation, 361 — Petition of slaves, 361 — Gordon's argument,

361 — Bill for the abolition of slavery, 362 — Hancock's southern proclivities,

362 — Draft of a plan of government, 362 — Disfranchisement, 362 — Work of the legislature not adopted, 363 — Extreme caution of Massachusetts, 363

— Its convention declares the state a free republic, 364 — Committee to draft a constitution, 364 — Work of John Adams, 365 — Of Lowell, 365 — Of Bowdoin, 365 — Declaration of rights, 365 — Adoption of the clause pro- hibiting slavery, 365 — Massachusetts a free commonwealth, 367 — The rights of conscience, 367 — Education, 368 — Contrast between the consti- tutions for Massachusetts and New Ireland, 368 — Opinion of Dumas, 368

— The Methodists against slavery, 370.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE COMPLOT OF SIR HENRY CLINTON AND ARNOLD.

The winter of 1779-80, 371 — Feebleness of the American army, 371 — Misrepresentations of the refugees, 372 — Knyphausen invades New Jer- sey, 372 — March from Elizabethtown Point, 372 — Murder of Mrs. Cald- well, 373 — Churches burned, 373 — Engagement at Connecticut farms, 373 — Retreat of the British, 374 — Committee of congress in camp, 374 — Clinton arrives in New Jersey, 374 — Resolves to abandon the expedition, 374 — Retreat harassed by Americans, 375 — Return to New York, 375 — French ministry urged to send troops to America, 375 — Complies with the request, 375 — Arrival of the French at Newport, 376 — Clinton's project against Rhode Island, 376 — Its failure, 376 — Clinton disheartened, 377 — Arnold's extravagance, 377 — Peculations, 378 — Reprimanded, 378 — Appointed to the command of West Point, 379 — His readiness to betray the post to the enemy, 379 — Complot with Clinton, 379 — Andre plans an interview with Arnold, 379 — His letter to Sheldon, 380 — Failure of the plan, 380— Sir George Rodney, 380 — Gains a victory over the Spanish fleet, 381 — Reheves Gibraltar, 381 — Indifferent success in the West Indies, 381 — Checked by the French and Spanish fleets, 382 — Sails for New York. 382— Lends him- self to Clinton's plot, 382 — Washington goes to Hartford, 382 — Andre's willingness to prostitute a flag of truce, 382 — Time presses, 382 — Arnold's

24 CONTENTS.

plan, 383 — Clinton embarks troops, 383 — Andre on board the "Vulture," 383 — Interview with Arnold at Smith's house, 384— Americans drive the " Vulture " down the stream, 384 — Andre and Arnold concoct a plan, 384 — History of West Point, 385 — Interview of Wasliington with Rochambeau and de Ternay at Hartford, 386 — His return, 386 — Andre' sets out for New York, 386 — His capture, 387 — His papers, 388 — His attempt to bribe his captors, 388 — He is taken to Jameson, 388— Flight of Arnold, 389 — An- dre's letter to Washington, 389 — Andre' at Tappan, 390 — Convicted before a commission, 390 — Washington approves the decision, 390 — His reasons for so doing, 391 — Clinton's attempt to save Andre', 391 — Robertson's in- terview with Greene, 391 — Arnold's threat of retaliation, 391 — Compassion of the American officers for Andre, 392— The use of the gibbet, 392 — Andre"s character, 392 — His last words, 392— Arnold, 393 — Rodney, 394 — Clinton, 394— Arnold's insolent letters to Washington, 894 — His insinuations against Clinton, 394 — Clinton's stab at Washington's fair fame, 394.

CHAPTER XIX.

STRIVING FOR UNION. 1779 — 1781.

Circular of congress, 396 — Condition of the finances defeats vigorous measures, 396 — Opinions on confederation, 397 — A new apportionment,

397 — Washington on the legal tender law, 397 — Congress sets a limit to emissions of paper money, 398 — Henry Laurens sent to negotiate a loan in the Netherlands, 398 — Resolves to draw on him and on Jay at Madrid, 398

— Hostility, of Spain to American independence, 398 — Virginia ratifies the treaties between France and the United States, 398 — Pleasure of Vergennes,

398 — His opinion on the chances of union, 398 — Sentiment of congress on the separate acts of the states, 399 — The claims of Virginia to lands, 399

— Her jealousy for state sovereignty, 399 — New York claims lands and surrenders them to the federal union, 400 — Helplessness of congress, 401 — Measures to raise money, 401 — The states to issue bills, 401 — Action of the states on the new system, 402 — Cry for an efficient government, 402 — Greene to Reed, 402 — Mutiny of Connecticut regiments, 403 — Their return to duty, 403 — Washington to Jones on the necessity of new measures, 403

— Answer of Jones, 404 — Action of congress to obtain men and money, 405 — Proposal for a bank at Philadelphia with power to issue liotes, 405 — Women of America, 405 — Esther Reed, 405 — Patriotism in New England, 406 — The quartermaster's department, 406 — Greene's administration of it, 406 — Reform of the system by congress, 407 — Greene resigns, 407 — His successor, 407 — John Adams on the powers of congress, 408 — Conventions of the states, 408 — Resolutions on currency and prices, 408 — Convention of 1780 on confederation, 408 — Washington to Bowdoin, 409 — Sketch of Alexander Hamilton, 409 — Hamilton and Fox, 410 — Hamilton traces the want of power in congress, 411 — Proposes a vigorous confederation, 411 — Inveighs against state sovereignty, 412 — Recommends the appointment of

CONTENTS. 25

great officers of state, 412 — Relies to excess on a bank of the United States, 413 — Washington at Weehawken, 413 — Toils of congress, 413 — It adheres to the armed neutrality, 414 — Washington to Mason on union, 414 — Need of a fiew policy, 414 — Condition of the army, 414 — Congress distributes a new tax among the states, 415 — Mutiny of the Pennsylvanians, 416 — Clinton's measures, 416 — Reed's action, 416 — Circular letter of Washing- ton to the New England states, 416 — Patriotism of the army, 417 — Cele- brated by Lafayette, 417 — Efforts in New England to enlist men, 417 — Laurens despatched to Versailles for aid, 418 — Washington's statement, 418

— Comparison of France and the United States, 418 — Measure to enable congress to regulate commerce, 419 — Consent of Virginia, 419 — Her efforts to promote peace and union, 419 — Action of different states on boundary claims, 420 — The confederation of the states accomphshed, 420 — Delusive hopes, 420 — Defects of the act of confederation, 421 — Washington's opin- ion of them, 422 — He addresses himself to the statesmen of Virginia, 423

— His fears for the future, 423 — Proposition in congress for an amendment to the articles of confederation, 424 — Efforts of Madison to establish a bet- ter system, 424 — Webster's pamphlet, 424 — Road to a government only through humiliation, 425.

CHAPTER XX.

GREAT BRITAIN MAKES WAR ON THE NETHERLANDS.

Weymouth succeeded by Stormont, 426 — Blindness of the latter to moral distinctions, 426 — His answer to the complaints of the Dutch, 426 — Mariott's decision, 426 — Russia invites the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Portu- gal to an armed neutraUty, 427 — Action of England, 427 — Spain accepts the proposal of Russia, 427 — France follows, 428 — The United States proclaim the same principles, 42S — England on the armed neutrality, 428 — Determina- tion of the cabinet, 428 — Opinions of Shelburne and Camden, 429 — Answer of England, 429 — Neutral powers accept the code of Catharine, 429— England determines to prevent the Netherlands from doing so, 430 — Yorke instructed to collect intelligence on the voyages of the Dutch merchantmen, 431 — Condition of the Netherlands, 431 — Conflict between the stadholder and the country, 431 — Determination of Stormont to proceed to war, 432 — Panin on American independence, 432 — His draft for a convention with the Dutch republie, 432 — Capture of Laurens by the English, 433 — His papers, 433 — His imprisonment in the tower, 433 — Stormont's instructions to Yorke, 434 — The states-general condemn the conduct of Amsterdam, 434

— The British cabinet prepares to proceed to extremities, 434 — Memorial to the states-general, 435 — Yorke's conversation with the stadholder, 435 — Yorke informs Stormont of the weakness of the Dutch, 436 — His recom- mendation to strike at St. Eustatius communicated to the admiralty, 436 — Yorke presents Stormont's memorial, 436— Its reception by the Dutch. 437

— The states-general disavow Van Berckel and his contingent negotiations, 437 —The Dutch desire to continue at peace with England, 437--Deraai.d

26 CONTENTS.

of Stormont for the punishment of the Amsterdam offenders, 438 — The states-general adhere to the armed neutraUty, 438 — Yorke recalled, 438 — Depredations of the English on Dutch commerce, 438 — Capture of St. Eustatius, 439 — Richness of the booty, 439 — General confiscation of ^ods, 439 — Capture of Dutch settlements in South America, 440 — Effects of the Dutch alliance with England, 440 — How the war was regarded on the continent, 440.

CHAPTER XXL

FRANCE HAS NEED OF PEACE. 1780 — 1781.

Vergennes on the war between England and the Netherlands, 441 — Prog- ress of the negotiations for a general peace, 441 — Unwillingness of Spain to continue the war, 441 — Vergennes on the American boundaries, 442 — Charles refuses to receive Jay as American envoy, 442 — Spain attempts a secret negotiation with England, 442 — Adams arrives in Paris, 443 — His reception, 443 — He gives advice to France, 443 — Vergennes complams, 443 — Franklin communicates his censure, 443 — Maurepas' overture to Forth, 443 — Necker's letter to Lord North, 444 — Vergennes on Necker, 444

— Paris clamors for peace, 444 — Weakness of the French administration, 445 — Debt of France, 445 — Vergennes attempts a compromise with Eng- land, 445 — Laurens arrives at Versailles, 446 — Demands a loan, 446 — America's need of money, 446 — Advice of Washington, 446 — Complaints of Vergennes, 446 — The French cabinet accedes to the request of the United States, 447 — De Grasse sent to the West Indies, 447 — America to furnish the men for the war, 447 — Washington refuses to disburse the French gift of money, 447 — Unauthorized use of it by Laurens, 447 — Neck- er's disgrace, 448 — Raynal's description of the United States, 448 — His flight, 449 — French jealousy of American greatness, 449 — Kaunitz draws up articles for peace, 449 — His ill success, 450 — British desire for an alliance with Pussia, 450 — Plans of Catharine and Joseph for the East, 450 — In- surrection in the Spanish colonies, 451 — 111 success of the Spanish negotia- tion with England, 451 — Encounter of the English and Dutch fleets near the Dogger Bank, 451 — Hyder Ali, 452 — Capture of Pensacola, 452 — Vergennes complains of John Adams, 452 — Congress appoints joint com- missioners to treat for peace, 452 — John Adams approves the change, 453

— Effect of the example of America on Ireland, 453 — Irish volunteers, 453

— Henry Grattan, 454 — Ireland obtains commercial equality with England, 455.

/

CHAPTER XXn.

THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. MORGAN AT THE COWPENS. 1780 — 1781.

Greene appointed to the southern command, 456 — The conduct of the whole war in Washington's hands, 456 — Washington detaches troops for Greene's army, 457 — His letter to Mason, 457 — Greene leaves Steuben in

CONTEXTS. 27

Virginia, 457 — Complaint of Cornwallis, 457 — Greene's answer, 457 Ills

humanity, 457 — Cminingham's raid, 458 — His cruelty, 458 — Barbarity of the British, 458 — Greene introduces discipline into the southern array, 459 — Camp of rest at the falls of the Pedee, 459 — Difficulties of Greene's position, 460 — Spirit of enterprise among the negroes, 460 — Reception of Greene by the people of the south, 460 — Morgan confirmed in a detached command, 460 — His forces, 460 — Lieutenant-Colonel Washington routs plundering tories, 461 — Cornwallis despatches Tarleton to cut off Morgan's retreat, 461 — Morgan's danger, 461 — His system of scouts, 462 — Battle of the Cowpens, 463 — Its results, 464 — Morgan's illness, 466 — His retirement from active service, 467.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. BATTLE OP GUILFORD COURT-HOUSE.

January — March, 1781.

Effect of Morgan's success, 468 — Cornwallis decides to carry the war through North Carolina to the Chesapeake, 468 — Turns his army into light troops and begins his march, 469 — Greene visits Morgan's camp, 469 — His plans, 470 — Skirmish at Macgowan's ford, 470 — Sudden rise of tlie Yadkin, 471 — The British near the Moravians at Salem, 471 — Junction of the American army at Guilford court-house, 472 — Greene's masterly retreat across the Dan, 472 — CornwaUis pursues, 473 — Greene's endurance of hardships and care for his troops, 473 — Cornwallis rests his troops and marches to Hillsborough, 474 — Greene recrosses the Dan, 474- — Pickens routs a body of loyahsts under Pyle, 474 — Cornwallis strives to force Greene to give battle, 475 — Baffled by Greene, 475 — Greene re-en- forced, 475 — Battle of Guilford court-house, 476 — Victory for the British, but with the consequences of a defeat, 479 — Comparison of the battles of King's Mountain, Cowpens, and Guilford court-house, 479 — Magnanimity of Virginia, 479 — Her great advisers, 480 — Greene's modesty in his report, 480 — Cornwallis retreats, 481 — Pursued by Greene, 481 — North Carolina left to the Americans, 481 — Fox in the house of commons, 481 — On Corn- wallis's report, 481 — His motion for peace, 481 — Speech of Pitt on the American war, 482.

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. GREENE IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 1781.

Cornwallis arrives at Wilmington, 483 — His inability to move towards Camden, 483 — Reasons for not going to Charleston, 483 — Writes to Clin- ton of his wish to transfer the war to the Chesapeake, 483 — Marches with- out orders into Virginia, 484 — Clinton's reply, 484 — Reproof from Germain to Clinton, 484 — Clinton warns against Cornwallis's plans, 484 — Cornwallis

28 CONTENTS.

to Germain, 484 — Germain instructs Clinton to further the plan of a cam- paign on the Chesapeake, 484 — The British with Cornwallis march to Virginia, 485 — Their enormities at Halifax, 485 — Greene resolves to return into South Carolina, 485 — The posts of Ninety-Six, Camden, and Augusta, 485 _ The British connections with Charleston threatened, 485 — Greene encamps before Camden, 485 — Takes a new position on Hobkirk's hill, 486

Surprise and defeat of the Americans, 486 — Rawdon returns to Camden,

488 — Capture of Wright's bluflF by Marion and Lee, 488 — British abandon Camden, 488 — Surrender of Orangeburgh to Sumpter, 489 — Heroic con- duct of Rebecca Motte, 489 — Fort Motte surrenders, 489 — Nelson's ferry. Fort Granby, and Georgetown fall into the hands of the Americans, 489 — Rawdon retreats to Monk's corner, 489 — Capitulation of Augusta, 489 — Siege of Ninety-Six, 490 — Rawdon re-enforced, 490 — Marches to Cruger's assistance, 490 — Greene raises the siege, 490 — British evacuate Nhiety-Six, 490 — Flight of refugees to Charleston, 491 — Execution of Isaac Hayue,

492 _ Greene at the high hills of Santee, 493 — Rawdon sails for England,

493 — Battle of Eutaw, 493 — The Irish at Eutaw, 494 — Victory of the Americans, 493 — Greene suffers a repulse, 494 — The British retreat to Charleston, 495 — Result of the campaign, 495 — Greene second to Wash- ington, 496.

/ CHAPTER XXV.

CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA. 1781.

Arnold arrives in the Chesapeake, 497 — Burns Richmond, 497 — Lafay- ette detached to Virginia, 497 — Arrival of Phillips with re-enforcements, 498 — Lafayette holds the British in check, 499 — Short career of Arnold in Virginia, 499 — Cornwallis sends him back to Clinton, 499 — His incursion into Connecticut, 499 — Fate of Ledyard and other American prisoners, 500

— Opinions of Lee and Jefferson on the dictatorship, 500 — Attempts to im- prove the methods of administration, 500 — Hamilton on a national debt, 501 — Languor in the conduct of the war, 501 — Congress accepts the acknowledgment of independence as the sole condition of peace, 602 — Instructions to the American commissioners, 502 — Madison on reforming the articles of confederation, 502 — Washington and Rochambeau settle the preliminaries of the campaign, 503 — The French auxiliaries, 503 — Wash- ington's call to the New England States, 503 — March of the French from Newport, 503 — Cornwallis in Virginia, 504 — Retreat of Lafayette, 504 — His junction with Wayne, 504 — Cornwallis sends out Tarleton on a raid, 504

— Flight of Steuben, 505— Corn walHs at Elk Hill, 505 — At Williamsburg, 505 — His orders from Clinton, 506 — Jealousy between Clinton and Corn- wallis, 506 — Good conduct of Lafayette, 507 — Action of Green Springs, 608 — Lafayette entreats Washington to march to Virginia, 508 — Cornwallis remonstrates against a defensive campaiga, 509 — Asks leave to retire to Charleston, 509 — Causes of Clinton's confused judgment, 509 — Instructions from Germain on holding Virginia, 509 — His partiality for Cornwallis, 510

CONTENTS. 29

— Clinton orders Cornwallis to establish a post in the Chesapeake, 510 — Cornwallis determines to fortify York and Gloucester, 511 — Lafayette's prophecies to Maurepas and to Vergennes, 512 — Movements of Washington, 513 — De Barras, 513 — Accord of the Americans and French, 513 — Ches- apeake appointed a rendezvous for the sea and land forces, 513 — Clinton self-deceived, 513 — Americans march to the south, 514 — De Grasse arrives in the Chesapeake, 514 — St. Simon and Lafayette, 514 — Cornwallis block- aded by land and sea, 514 — Rodney fails CornwaUis, 514 — Engagement between Graves and De Grasse, 515 — Defeat of the British, 515 — Wash- ington joins Lafayette, 516 — Visits De Grasse, 516 — Position of Cornwal- lis, 516 — Graves sees no immediate danger, 517 — Investiture of Yorktown, 517 — The Duke de Lauzun defeats Tarleton's legion, 518 — Progress of the siege, 518 — Storming party under Hamilton, 519 — Heroism of Olney, 520

— Humanity of the Americans, 520 — Simultaneous attack by the French, 520 — They capture a redoubt, 521 — The double garland, 521 — Surrender of CornwaUis, 522 — Share of the French in the siege, 523 — Troops of Anspach and Deux Ponts embrace, 523 — Congress returns thanks to God, 523 — Votes honors to Washington, Rochambeau, and De Grasse, 523 — Orders a column to be erected at Yorktown, 523 — Reception of the news in France, 524 — In other countries of Europe, 524 — Lord North's dis- tress, 524 — Change of opinion in parliament, 524 — In the public mind of England, 525 — Stubbornness of the king, 525 — Retirement of Germain, 525.

CHAPTER XXVI.

ENGLAND REFUSES TO CONTINUE THE AMERICAN WAR. 1782.

The American army cantoned for the winter, 526 — America asks recognition of the Dutch republic, 526 — Adams demands a categorical answer, 527 — The Netherlands receive him as American envoy, 527 — A liberal spirit prevails, 528 — Its manifestation in Austria, 528 — In England, 528 — Sir Guy Carleton supersedes Clinton in America, 529 — Motion in the house of commons against continuing the American war, 529 — Burke con- gratulates Franklin, 529 — Address to the king in behalf of peace, 529 — Forth sent to Paris to negotiate, 530 — Speeches of Fox and Pitt, 530 — Lord North resigns, 531 — Ciiaracter of his ministry, 531 — Parties in England, 531 — The tories, 531 — Shelburne and Lord Chatham's party, 531 — The old whigs, 532 — Union of Shelburne and Rockingham alone able to estab- lish a liberal government, 533 — Sorrows of the king, 533 — Rocking- ham makes conditions, 534 — His ministry, 534 — Why Burke had no seat in the cabinet, 534 — Franklin's overture, 535 — Shelburne chooses the home department, 535 — The peace negotiations with America in his hands, 535 — Oswald appointed agent, 536 — His credentials from Shelburne to Frank- lin, 536 — Laurens at the Hague with John Adams, 537.

30 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXVII.

BOCKINGHAM'S ministry assents to A3IERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 1782.

Why Spain hated America as a self-existent state, 538 — Refuses to con- quer Jamaica, 538 — Concentrates its energies on tlie recovery of Gibral- tar, 539 — Fox makes war on Shelburne, 539 — Oswald repairs to Frank- lin at Paris, 539 — His interview with Vergennes, 540 — Canada, 540 — Franklin writes to Shelburne, 540 — Excludes Spain from the negotiation, 541 — The cabinet sends Oswald back to Paris, 541 — His instructions, 541 — Fox sends Grenville to Paris, 542 — Franklin his introductor to Ver- gennes, 542 — The interview, 543 — Grenville 's conversation with Franklin, 543 — Franklin prefers Oswald, 543 — Approval of the king, 544 — Great victory of Rodney over De Grasse, 545 — It reconciles England to peace, 545 — The cabinet offers independence directly to America as the condition of peace, 546 — Vergennes declares Grenville's powers insufficient, 546 — Gren- ville receives a check from Franklin, 547 — Complains to Fox, 547 — His powers enlarged, 547 — The enabUng act, 547 — Oswald's powers delayed, 547 — Fox quarrels with the cabinet, 547 — Death of Rockingham, 548 — Memorials of his ministry, 548 — Ireland gains legislative independence, 648 — Its tribute of loyalty, 549 — Consideration of a reform in tlie repre- sentation of Great Britain, 549 — Effect of the accession of a liberal ministry on Frederic of Prussia, 549 — On Catharine of Russia, 550 — The ministry accept the principles of the armed neutrality, 550.

CHAPTER XXYIII.

SHELBURNE OFFERS PEACE. July, AugUSt, 1782.

Shelburne becomes prime minister, 551 — His liberal views, 551 — Fac- tious opposition of Fox, 561 — The old whig aristocracy, 551 — Shel- burne's cabinet, 562 — Burke on Shelburne, 663 — Sir William Jones, 563 — Shelburne declares his principles, 653 — His instructions to Oswald, 654 — Franklin proposes the American conditions of peace, 554 — Re- fuses a provision for the loyalists, 555 — Recommends free trade, 655

— Vergennes ignorant of the American conditions, 556 — Fitzherbert sent to Paris to negotiate with Spain, France, and Holland, 566 — Shelburne accepts Franklin's ultimatum, 566 — Confides in Franklin's sincerity, 657

— Sends full powers to Oswald, 658 — Shelburne and Franklin as nego- tiators, 568 — Jay in Paris, 658 — He demands a preliminary acknowledg- ment of American independence, 668 — His mistrust, 669 — The peril of delay, 660 — Hostilities in South Carolina, 660 — The ruffian Fanning, 660 — His narrative of his atrocious acts, 661 — Execution of Americans by Delancy, 562 — Murder of Huddy by Captain Lippincot, 662 — Sir Guy Carleton supersedes Clinton, 563 — His humanity, 563 — Wayne re-

CONTENTS. ' 31

covers Georgia, 563 — His conduct at Sharon, 563 — Evacuation of Savan- nah by the British, 564 — South Carolina, 564 — Sad condition of Greene's army, 565 — Death of Laurens, 565 — Greene for a closer union of the states, 566 — Kobert Morris for union, 566 — His opinions on a national debt, 566 — Administration of the finances, 566 — National bank, 567 — Tliomas Paine for a central government, 567 — Morris on the army, 568 — His plan for funding the public debt, 568 — Expenditure of America for tlie war, 568 — Morris to the states, 569 — Hamilton receiver of taxes in New York, 569 — Schuyler carries the legislature for a constituent convention, 570 — Hamilton elected to congress, 570 — Madison and Hamilton, 570 — Morris's budget for 1783, 571 — Proposal of Madison to empower congress to levy taxes on imports, 571 — Veto of Hancock, 571 — Virginia opposes the measure, 572 — Union rooted in the hearts of the people, 572 — Device for the great seal, 572 — Distrust of Shelburne in America, 573 — State of the treasury of the United States, 573 — Condition of their army, 573 — It is time for peace, 573.

CHAPTER XXIX.

PEACE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN. 1782.

De Grasse opens negotiations, 574 — Spain the difficulty, 574 — France subordinates America to Spain, 574 — Jay inflexible, 574 — Eayneval departs for England, 574 — Marbois on the fisheries, 575 — Conduct of Jay, 575 — Of FrankUn, 575 — Rayneval at Bow Wood, 576— On the fisheries, 576 — On the American boundary, 576 — Gibraltar not to be ceded, 577 — Shel- burne desires peace with France, 577 — And joint political action in Europe, 577 — And free trade, 578 — A new commission for Oswald, 578 — Ashbur- ton's opinion, 578 — Agitation of the king, 578 — Jay and De Aranda, 579 — Jay draws up articles of peace, 579,— -Puts aside the claims of the loyal- ists, 580 — Progress of the siege of Gibraltar, 581 — Congress asks a loan of France, 581 — Vergennes's policy towards America, 582 — Strachey joined with Oswald in the negotiations for peace, 583 — His instructions, 583 — Arrival of John Adams, 584 — His hasty concession to British merchants, 584 — He saves the true north-eastern boundary, 585 — Discussions on the fisheries, 585 — Old debts still valid, 585 — Refusal of indemnity to the refugees, 585 — Change in public opinion in England, 586 — Sufferings of the king, 586 — A third set of articles, 587 — Fitzherbert takes part in the American negotiations, 588 — May bring the French influence to bear on them, 588 — Vergennes on the progress of the treaty, 588 — On the fisheries,

588 — The king opposes a concurrent fishery, 589 — Speech of Strachey,

589 — Compromise as to the loyalists, 590 — The coast fisheries, 590— The commissioners sign the treaty, 591 — Negroes recognised as property, 591 — The boundary marked on maps, 591 — Character of the treaty, 591 — Its benefit to England, 591 — To the United States, 592 — The people of America want a government, 592.

THE

AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

EPOCH FOURTH CONTINUED. PEACE BETWEEN AMERICA AND GREAT BRITAIN.

1778-1782.

VOL. X.

PEACE

BETWEEN THE

UNITED STATES OE AMERICA

AND

GEEAT BRITAIN.

CHAPTER I.

EUROPE AND AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

1778.

The alliance of France with the United States chap. brought the American question into the heart of w^ Europe, where it called new pohtical aspirations into 17 7 8. activity, waked the hope of free trade between all the continents, and arraigned the British ministry at the judgment-seat of the civilized world. England could recover influence in the direction of external affairs only by a peace with her colonies. American independence was to be decided, not by arms alone, but equally by the policy and the sympathies of for- eign princes and nations.

Both the great belligerents were involved in con- tradictions at home. The government of England, in seeking to suppress in her dependencies English rights by English arms, made war on the life of her

36 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, own life. Inasmucli as the party of freedom and .^.^ justice, which is, indeed, one for all mankind, was at 17 7 8. least seen to be one and the same for the whole Eng- lish race, it appeared more and more clearly that the total subjugation of America would be the prelude to the repression of liberty in the British isles.

In point of commercial wealth, industry, and ad- venturous enterprise, England at the time had no equal ; in pride of nationality, no rival but France : yet her movements were marked by languor. There was no man in the cabinet who could speak words of power to call out her moral resources, and harmonize the various branches of the public service. The country, which in the seven years' war had been wrought by the elder Pitt to deeds of magnanimity, found in the ministry no representative. Public spirit had been quelled, and a disposition fostered to value personal interest above the general good. Even im- pending foreign war could not hush the turbulence of partisans. The administration, having no guiding principle, held its majority in the house of commons only on sufferance, its own officials only by its control of patronage. Insubordination showed itself in the fleet and in the army, and most among the officers. England had not known so bad a government since the reign of James the Second. It was neither be- loved nor respected, and truly stood neither for the people nor for any party of the aristocracy ; neither for the spirit of the time, nor for the past age, nor for that which was coming. It was a conglomerate of inferior and heterogeneous materials, totally unfit to guide the pohcy of a mighty empire, endured only during an interim.

EUROPE AND AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 37

The period in Britisli history was one of great and chap. increasing intellectual vigor. It was distinguished in w^ philosophy by Hume and Reid and Price and Adam 17 7 8. Smith ; in painting by Reynolds ; in poetry and vari- ous learning by Gray and Goldsmith, Johnson and Cowper ; in legislative eloquence by Chatham, Burke, and Fox ; in history by Gibbon 5 in the useful arts by Brindley, Watt, and Arkwright. That the nation, in a state of high and advancing culture, should have been governed by a sordid ministry, so inferior to itself as that of Lord North, was not due to the corruption of parhament alone ; for there was always in the house of commons an independent fraction, disposed to give its votes with judicial fairness. It cannot be fully explained without considering the chaotic state of political parties.

The conflict between England and her American colonies sprang necessarily out of the development of British institutions. The supreme right of parliament as the representative of English nationality, and bound to resist and overthrow the personal government of the Stuarts, was the watchword of the revolution of 1688, which had been dear to America as the death- blow to monarchical absolutism throughout the Eng- lish dominions, and as the harbinger of constitutional liberty for the civilized world. Parliament again as- serted its paramount authority over the crown, when by its own enactment it transferred the succession to the house of Hanover. These revolutions could not have been achieved except through a categorical principle that would endure no questioning of its rightfulness. Such a principle could not submit to modifications, until it had accomplished its work ;

38 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, and, as it was imbedded with the love of liberty in ^^^-^ the mass of the English nation, it had moved and 17 78. acted with the strength and majesty of a national conviction.

In the process of years the assertion of the supreme power of parliament swiftly assumed an exaggerated form, and was claimed to extend, without limit, over Ireland and over the colonies; so that the theory which had first been used to rescue and secure the liberties of England became an instrument of despot- ism. Meantime both branches of parliament were but representatives of the same favored class; and the kings awakened no counterpoising sentiment of loyalty so long as the house of Hanover, the creature of parliament, was represented by princes of foreign birth, ignorant of the laws and the language of the land.

In this manner the government was conducted for a half century by the aristocracy, which, keeping in memory the days of Cromwell and of James the Second, were led into the persuasion that the party of liberty, to use the words of Rockingham, was that which " fought up against the king and against the people."

But by the side of the theory of absolute power concentred in parliament, which had twice been the sheet-anchor of the English constitution, there existed the older respect for the rights of the individual, and the liberties of organized communities. These two elements of British political life were brought into collision by the American revolution, which had its provocation in the theory of the omnipotence of par- liament, and its justification in the eyes of English-

EUROPE AND AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 39

men in the principle of vital liberty diffused through chap. all the parts of the commonwealth. The two ideas w-v— struggled for the ascendency in the mind of the Brit- 17 7 8. ish nation and in its legislature. They both are so embalmed in the undying eloquence of Burke, as to have led to the most opposite estimates of his politi- cal character. They both appear in startling distinct- ness in the speeches and conduct of Fox, who put all at hazard on the omnipotence of parliament, and yet excelled in the clear statement of the attitude of America. Both lay in irreconciled confusion in the politics of Rockingham, whose administration signal- ized itself by enacting the right of the king, lords, and commons of Britain to bind America in all cases whatsoever, and humanely refused to enforce the claim. The aristocratic party of liberty, organized on the principle of the absolute power of parliament, in order to defeat effectually, and for all time, the designs of the king against parliamentary usages and rights, had done its work and outlived its usefulness. In opposition to the continued rule of an aristocratic connection with the device of omnipotence over king and people, there rose up around the pure and vener- able form of Chatham a new liberal party, willing to use the prerogative of the king to moderate the rule of the aristocracy in favor of the people.

The new party aimed at a double modification of the unrestricted sovereignty of parliament. The elder Pitt ever insisted, and his friends continued to maintain, that the commons of Great Britain had no right to impose taxes on unrepresented colonies. This was the first step in the renovation of English liberty. The next was, to recognise that parliament

40 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, as then composed did not adequately represent the «.^~-^l^ nation ; and statesmen of the connection of Eocking- 17 7 8. ham desperately resisted both these cardinal principles of reform. This unyielding division among the oppo- nents of Lord North prolonged his administration.

Besides, many men of honest intentions, neither wishing to see English liberties impaired, nor yet to consent to the independence of the colonies, kept their minds in a state of suspense; and this reluc- tance to decide led them to bear a little longer the ministry which alone professed ability to suppress the insurrection : for better men would not consent to take their places coupled with the condition of continuing their policy. Once in a moment of petu- lance Lord George Germain resigned ; and the king, who wished to be rid of him, regarded his defection as a most favorable event.^ But he was from neces- sity continued in his office, because no one else could be found willing to accept it. t.^ Li the great kingdom on the other side of the

channel, antagonistic forces were likewise in action. As the representative of popular power, France had in reserve one great advantage over England in her numerous independent peasantry. Brought up in ignorance and seclusion, they knew not how to ques- tion anything that was taught by the church or com- manded by the monarch; and, however they might f for the present suffer from grievous and unredressed

oppression, they constituted the safeguard of order as well as of nationality.

It was in the capital and among the cultivated classes of society, in coffee-houses and saloons, that

1 King to Lord North, 3 March, 1778.

EUROPE AND AMEBIC AIT INDEPENDENCE. 41

the cry rose for reform or revolution. The French chap. king was absolute ; yet the teachings of Montesquieu ^^^^ and the example of England raised in men of gen- erous natures an uncontrollable desire for free insti- tutions ; while speculative fault-finders, knowing nothing of the self-restraint which is taught by responsibility in the exercise of office, indulged in ideal anticipations, which were colored by an exas- perating remembrance of griefs and wrongs. France was the eldest daughter of the Roman church, with a king who was a sincere though not a bigoted Eoman Catholic: and the philosophers carried their impas- sioned war against the church to the utmost verge of skepticism and unbelief ; while a suspicion that forms of religion were used as a mere instrument of gov- ernment began to find its way into the minds of the discontented laboring classes in the cities. But, apart from all inferior influences, the power of generaliza- tion, in which the French nation excels all others, imparts from time to time an idealistic character to its policy. The Parisians felt the reverses of the Americans as if they had been their own; and in November, 1776, an approaching rupture with Eng- land was the subject of all conversations.^

The American struggle was avowedly a war in defence of the common rights of mankind. The Prince de Montbarey, who owed his place as minister of war to the favor of Maurepas and female influence, and who cherished the prejudices of his order with- out being aware of his own mediocrity, professed to despise the people of the United States as formed from emigrants for the most part without character

' Goltz to Frederic, 14 Nov., 1776.

42 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, and without fortune, ambitious and fanatical, and w,^!— / likely to attract to their support " all the rogues and 17 7 8. the worthless from the four parts of the globe." ^ He had warned Lafayette against leaving his wife and wasting his fortune to play the part of Don Quixote in their behaK; and had raised in the council his feeble voice against the alhance of France with the insurgents. He regarded a victory over England as of no advantage commensurate with the dangerous example of sustaining a revolt against established authority. Besides, war would accumulate disorder in the pubhc finances, retard useful works for the happiness of France, and justify reprisals by Great Britain on the colonies of the Bourbon princes.

It was against the interior sentiment of the king,^ the doubts of Maurepas, and the vivid remonstrances of the minister of war, that the lingering influence of the policy of the balance of power, the mercantile aspirations of France, its spirit of philosophic free- dom, its traditional antagonism to England as aiming at the universal monarchy of commerce and the seas, quickened by an eagerness to forestall a seemingly imminent reconciliation^ with the colonies, forced the French alliance with America.

Just thirty-eight years before, when Maurepas was in the vigor of manhood, he had been famed for his aversion to England, and for founding his glory on the restoration of the French navy. * In the admin- istration of Cardinal Fleury, he was thought to have had the mind of the widest range ; and it was in those

^ Memoires Autographes de « Goltz to Frederic, 1 Jan., 1778.

Montbarey, ii. 260, 262, 293-5, * Droysen. Friedricli der Grosse, 309. i. 106, note 2.

2 Ibid., 210.

EUROPE AND AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 43

days predicted of him, that he would lead France to chap. accomplish great results, if he should ever become w-^!_. the director of the government.^ At length he was 17 7 8. raised to be first minister by a king who looked up to him with simple-minded deference and implicit trust. The tenor of his mind was unchanged ; but he was so enfeebled by long exclusion from public affairs and the heavy burden of years and infirmities, that no daring design could lure him from the love of quiet. By habit he put aside all business which admitted of delay, and shunned every effort of heroic enterprise. When the question of the alliance with America be- came urgent, he shrunk from proposing new taxes, which the lately restored parliaments might refuse to register; and he gladly accepted the guarantee of Necker, that all war expenditures could be met by the use of credit, varied financial operations, and reforms. It was only after th^ assurance of a suffi- cient supply of money from loans, of which the repayment would not disturb the remnant of his life, that he no longer attempted to stem the prevailing opinion of Paris in favor of America. The same fondness for ease, after hostilities were begun, led him to protect Necker from the many enemies who, from hatred of his reforms, joined the clamor against him as a foreigner and a Calvinist.

The strength of the cabinet lay in Vergennes, whose superior statesmanship was yet not in itself sufficient to raise him above the care of maintaining himself in favor. He secured the unfailing good-will of his sovereign by his political principles, recognising no authority of either clergy, or nobility, or third

^ Droysen, Friedrich der Grosse, i. lOG, note 1.

44 AMERICAN IN^DEPENDENCE.

CHAP, estate, but only a monarch to give the word, and all, ^-.Jw as one people, to obey. Nor did he ever for a mo- 17 7 8. ment forget the respect due to Maurepas as his supe- rior, so that he never excited a jealousy of rivalship. He had no prejudice about calHng republics into being, whether in Europe or beyond the Atlantic, if the welfare of France seemed to require it ; he had, however, in his earhest approaches to the insurgent colonies, acted in conjunction with Spain, which he continued to believe would follow France into the war with England ; and in his eyes the interests of that branch of the house of Bourbon took precedence over those of the United States, except where the latter were precisely guaranteed by treaty.

Not one of the chiefs of the executive government, not even the director-general of the finances, was primarily a hearty friend to the new repubhc : the opinion of Necker was in favor of neutrality, and his liberalism, though he was a Swiss by birth, and valued the praises of the philosophic world, did not go beyond admiration of the political institutions of England.

The statesmen of the nation had not yet deduced from experience and the intuitions of reason a system of civil Hberty to supersede worn-out traditional forms ; and the lighter literature of the hour, skeptical rather than hopeful, mocked at the contradiction between institutions and rights. " Gentlemen of America," wrote Parny, at Paris, just before the alliance between France and the United States, " what right have you, more than we, to this cherished hberty ? Inexorable tyranny crushes Europe ; and you, lawless and muti- nous people, without kings and without queens, will you dance to the clank of the chains which weigh

EUEOPE AND AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 45

down the human race? And, deranging the beautiful chap. equipoise, will you beard the whole world, and be w,^!^ free?*'^ Mirabeau wrote a fiery invective against 17 78. despotism from a prison, of which his passionate imploring for leave to serve in America could not open the doors.

Until chastened by affliction, Marie Antoinette wanted earnestness of character, and suffered herself to be swayed by generous caprices, or family ties, or the selfish solicitations of her female companions. She had an ascendency over the mind of the king, but never aspired to control his foreign policy, except in relation to Austria ; and she could not always con- ceal her contempt for his understanding. It was only in the pursuit of offices and benefits for her friends that she would suffer no denial. She did not spare words of angry petulance to a minister who dared to thwart her requests ; and Necker retained her favor by never refusing them. To find an embassy for the aged, inexperienced, and incompetent father-in-law^ of the woman whom she appeared to love the most, she did not scruple to derange the diplomatic service of the kingdom. For the moment her emotions ran with the prevailing enthusiasm for the new republic ; but they were only superficial and occasional, and could form no support for a steady conduct of the war.

It was the age of personal government in France. Its navy, its army, its credit, its administration, rested absolutely in the hands of a young man of four-and- twenty, whom his Austrian brother-in-law described

> Epitre aux Insurgents. GEu- ^ Qoltz to Frederic, 9 October, vres de Parny, ed. 1862, 343. 1777.

46 AMEBIC AN INDEPENDENCE.

CFiAP. as a child. He felt for the Americans neither as >-^ insurgents against wrongs nor as a self-governing 17 7 8. people ; and never understood how it came about that, contrary to his own faith in unlimited monar- chical power and in the Catholic church, his king- dom had plunged into a war to introduce to the ^ potentates of the civiUzed world a revolutionary Prot- estant republic.

France was rich in resources; but its finances had not recovered from their exhaustion in the seven years' war. Their restoration became hopeless, when Necker promised to employ the fame of his severer administration only to add new weight to debts which were already escaping beyond control. The king of Prussia, whose poverty made him a sharp observer of the revenues of wealthier powers, repeatedly fore- told the bahkruptcy of the royal treasury, if the young king should break the peace.

All this while Paris was the centre of the gay society and intelligence of Europe. The best artists of the day, the masters of the rival schools of music, crowded round the court. The splendor of the Bourbon monarchy was kept up at the Tuileries and Yersailles with prodigal magnificence ; and in- vention was ever devising new methods of refined social enjoyment. The queen was happy in the dazzling scenes of which she was the life; the king pleased with the supreme power which he held it his right to exercise. To France, the years which followed are the most glorious in her history ; for they were those in which she most consistently and disinterestedly fought for the liberties of mankind, and so prepared the way for her own regeneration.

EUROPE AND AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

and the overthrow of feudalism throughout Europe : but Louis the Sixteenth and Marie Antoinette, when they embarked for the hberation of America, pleasure on the prow, and the uncertain hand of youth at the helm, might have cried out to the young republic which they fostered : " Morituri te salutant," " The doomed to die salute thee."

The CathoHc king might love to avenge himself on England by worrying her with chicanes and weaken- ing her by promoting dissensions in her dominions ; but he had learned from experience to recoil from war, and longed for tranquillity in his old age. A very costly and most unsuccessful expedition against Algiers, and a protracted strife with Portugal respect- ing the extension of Brazil to the La Plata, where Pombal by active forethought long counterbalanced superior power, had wasted the resources of his world- wide monarchy. Its revenue amounted to not much more than twenty millions of dollars, and a large annual deficit rapidly increased the public debt. Every consideration of sound policy enjoined upon the ruler of Spain to husband for his land the bless- ings of peaceful times ; and, above all, as the great possessor of colonies, to avoid a war which was lead- ing to the complete and irretrievable ruin of the old colonial system.

The management of its foreign dependencies — colonies they could not properly be called, nor could Spain be named their mother country — was to that kingdom an object of anxiety and never-sleeping suspicion, heightened by a perpetual consciousness that the task of governing them was beyond its abil- ity. The total number of their inhabitants greatly

48 AMERICAN INDEPENDEKCE.

CHAP, exceeded its own. By their very extent, embracing, w^w at least in theory, all the Pacific coast of America ; 17 7 8. and north of the Gulf of Mexico the land eastward to the Mississippi, or even to the AUeghanies, it could have no feeling of their subordination. The remoteness of the provinces on the Pacific still more weakened the tie of supremacy, which was nowhere confirmed by a common language, inherited traditions, or affinities of race. There was no bond of patriot- ism, or sense of the joint possession of political rights, or inbred loyalty. The connection between rulers and ruled was one of force alone ; and the force was in itself so very weak that it availed only from the dull sluggishness of the governed. Distrust marked the policy of the home government, even toward those of its officials who were natives of Spain ; still more toward the Creoles, as the offspring of Spaniards in America were called. No attempt had been made to bind the mind of the old races, except through the Koman rehgion, which was introduced by the sword and maintained by methods of superstition. There was, perhaps, never a time when the war-cry of the semi-barbarous nations who formed the bulk of the population was not heard somewhere on their bor- der. The restraints on commerce were mischievous and vexatious, prompted by fear, and provoking murmurs and frauds.

Moreover, all the world was becoming impatient that so large a portion of the globe should be monop- ohzed by an incapable and decrepit dynasty. The Dutch and the British and the French sought oppor- tunities of illicit trade. The British cut down forest- trees, useful in the workshop and the dye-house, and

EUHOPE AND AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 49

carried them off as unappropriated products of nature, chap. The Russian flag waved on the American shore of the w^ North Pacific. 17 7 8.

To all these dangers from abroad, Charles the Third had added another, by making war on the so-called company of Jesus. Of the prelates of Spain, seven archbishops and twenty-eight bishops, two-thirds of them all, not only approved the exile of the order from his dominions, but recommended its total dis- solution ; while only one bishop desired to preserve it without reform. With their concurrence, and the support of France and Portugal, he finally extorted the assent of the pope to its abolition. But before the formal act of the see of Rome, on the second of April, 1767, at one and the same hour in Spain, in the north and south of Africa, in Asia, in America, in all the islands of the monarchy, the royal decree was opened by officials of the crown, enjoining them immediately to take possession of its houses, to chase its members from their convents, and within twenty- four hours to transport them as prisoners to some appointed harbor. These commands were followed with precision in Spain, where the Jesuit priests, without regard to their birth, education, or age, were sent on board ships to land where they could. They were executed less perfectly in Mexico and Califor- nia, and still less so along the South Pacific coast and the waters of the La Plata.

But the power of Spain in her colonies had been promoted by the unwearied activity of the Jesuits. Their banishment weakened her authority over Span- ish emigrants, and still more confused the minds of the rude progeny of the aborigines. In Paraguay,

VOL. X. 4

50 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, where Spanish supremacy had rested on Jesuits ^^^^-^ alone, who had held in their hands all the attributes 17 7 8. of Caesar and pope, of stat^ and church, the revo- lution which divided these powers between a civil chief and Dominicans, Franciscans, and monks of the Lady of Mercy, made a fracture that never could be healed. It was as colonial insurgents that Spain dreaded the Americans, not as a new Protestant power. The antipathy of the kmg to the United States arose from political motives: by the recog- nition of their independence, he was threatened with a new, unexpected, and very real danger in all his boundless viceroyalties. There could be no fear of a popular rising in any of them to avenge a breach of political privileges ; but as they had been won by adventurous leaders, so a priest, an aboriginal chief, a descendant of an Inca, might waken a common feeling in the native population, and defy the Span- ish monarch. Jesuits might find shelter among their neophytes, and reappear as the guides of rebellion. One of their fathers has written : " When Spain tore evangelical laborers away from the colonies, the breath of independence agitated the New World, and God permitted it to detach itself from the Old.'' ^

The example of the United States did not merely threaten to disturb the valley of the Mississippi ; but, as epidemic disease leaps mysteriously over moun- tains and crosses oceans, spores of discontent might be unaccountably borne, to germinate among the many-tongued peoples of South America. All allur- ing promises of lowering the strength of England

1 Charles III. et les Je'suites de lies par le p. Auguste Carayon de ses etats d'Europe et d'Amerique la compagnie de Jesus, Ixxxvi. et en 1767. Documents in^dits, pub- Ixxxyii.

EUKOPE AND AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 51

could soothe Florida Blanca no more. His well- chap. grounded sensitiveness was inflamed, till it became w.,lw a continual state of morbid irritability ; and, from 17 7 8. the time when the court of France resolved to treat with the Americans, his prophetic fears could never for a moment be lulled to rest.

Portugal, which in the seven years' war, with the aid of England, escaped absorption by Spain, seemed necessarily about to become an ally of the British king. Its harbors, during the last year of the min- istry of Pombal, were shut against the vessels of the United States ; and conp^ress, on the thirtieth of 17 7 6.

. . Dec.

December, 1776, resenting the insult, was willing to 3o.' incur its enmity, as the price of the active friend-- ship of Spain .^ But when, two months later, on the twenty-fourth of February, 1777, the weak-minded, Feb. ' superstitious Maria the First succeeded to the throne, Pombal retired before reactionary imbecility. Portu- gal, in exchange for a tract of land conterminous to Brazil, withdrew from the La Plata, and was scarcely heard of again during the war.

In the south-east of Europe, the chief political 17 78. interest for the United States centred in the joint rulers of the Austrian empire. The Danube, first of rivers of the old world, rolled through their domin- ions between valleys of exuberant fertility towards the great inland sea which drains a larger surface of Europe than the Mediterranean. Yet the culture and commerce of the eastern lands of the crown, by which alone their house could become great, were set aside as secondary objects, so that the mighty stream flowed almost in silence towards the Euxine.

1 Secret Journals of Congress, ii. 40-44.

62 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. In August, 1755, when Kaunitz was about to take w^ in his hand the helm of the Austrian empire, and 17 78. hold it for a third of a century, his first words in explanation of his policy were: "Prussia must be utterly thrown down from its very foundations, if the house of Austria is to stand upright." ^ In the year in which the United States declared their inde- pendence, as Joseph the Second visited France to draw closer his relations with that power, Kaunitz thus counselled the young emperor : " Move against Prussia with all moderation and regard for good appearances. Never fully trust its court. Direct against it the sum total of political strength, and let our whole system of state rest on this principle." ^ Successive popes of Kome had wished an alliance of the two great Catholic powers of central Europe against the smaller states, by which the reformation had been rescued; and it was the chief boast of Kaunitz that he had effected that alliance. Twenty years after it was framed, his language was still: "Austria and Bourbon are natural allies, and have to regard the Protestant powers as their common rivals and enemies."^

Further ; the Austrian court in the time of Kau- nitz desired, above all, increased power and posses- sions in Germany, and planned the absorption of Bavaria. And as the dynastic interests of the impe- rial family claimed parity with those of the state, the same minister knew how to find thrones at

* Erlauterung zum Vortrag vom ^ Politische Erinnerungen, &c.

28 Aug. 1755, in Archiv fur Oes- Ibid., 78.

terreichischeGeschichte,xlviii. 39. » Ibid., 98. Herausgegeben von Adolf Beer.

EUROPE AND A^IERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 53

Parma, at Paris, at Naples, for the three youngest chap. of the six daughters of Maria Theresa. w^

The arch-house looked upon itself as alone privi- 17 7 8. leged to produce the chiefs of the holy Roman Empire, flie continuers of Augustus, of Constantine, of Charlemagne, of Otho. In this idea lay its fiction of a claim to universal monarchy, sanctified by the church ; so that any new acquisition could easily be regarded but as a recovery of a rightful part of its dominions. For the same reason it asserted prece- dence over every royal house, and would not own an equal, even in the empress of Russia.

Since Austria, deserting its old connection with England, had bound itself with France, and the two powers had faithfully fought together in the seven years' war, it would have seemed at least that the imperial court was bound to favor its Bourbon ally in the great contest for American independence. But we have seen an American agent rebuffed alike from the foreign office in Vienna and from the saloons of Kaunitz. The emperor, 'Joseph the Second, no less than his mother, from first to last condemned the rising of the American people as a wrong done to the principle of superior power; and his sj^mpathy as a monarch was constant to England.

Such was the policy of the arch-house and its famous minister at this period of American history. But Prussia proved the depth and vigor of its roots by the manner of its wrestling with the storm ; the Hapsburg alliance with Bourbon brought no advan- tage, and passed away, like everything else that is hollow and insincere. Bavaria still stands, clad in prouder honors than before. Of the thrones on which

54 AMERICA?^ INDEPENDEIn^CE.

CHAP, the Austrian princesses were placed, all three have w-^^w crumbled ; and their families are extinct or in exile. 17 78. The fiction of the holy Roman Empire has passed away, and its meaningless shadow figures only in mis- placed arms and devices.^ The attitude of Austria to the United States will appear as our narrative pro- ceeds. Kaunitz and the imperial house of his day sowed seed that had no life ; and their poHcy bore no fruit, delaying for their generation the development of the great Austrian state.

In Italy, which by being broken into fragments was reft of its strength though not of its beauty, the United States had hoped to find support from the ruler of Florence, to whom they had commissioned an envoy : the world had been full of the praises of his code and of his government. But the hope was altogether vain. The south of Italy followed Spain. The pope took no thought of colonies which were soon to form a republic, with a people far more thoroughly Protestant than any nation in Europe. But the genius of the Italians has always revered the struggles of patriotism ; and, while the Americans fought for their hberties, Filangieri was preparing the work, in which, with the applause of the best minds, he claimed for reason its rights in the govern- ments of men. During the war, the king of Naples, as one of the Spanish Bourbons, conformed his com- mercial policy to that of Spain.

The Turkish empire affected the course of Ameri- can affairs both during the war and at its close. The embroilment of the western maritime kingdoms seemed to leave its border provinces at the mercy

' Bryce's Holy Roman Empire, fourth ed., 367, 371.

EUKOPE AND AMERICAN" INDEPENDENCE. 55

of their neighbors, and there were statesmen in Eng- chap. land who wished for peace, in order that their country w^ might speak with authority on the Bosphorus and 17 78. within the Euxine.

Of the three northern powers, Russia was for the United States the most important ; for Great Britain with ceaseless importunity sought its alliance: but its empress put aside every request to take an active part in the American contest, and repeatedly advised the restoration of peace by the concession of inde- pendence. Her heart was all in the Orient. She longed to establish a Christian empire on the Bos- phorus, and wondered why Christians of the west should prefer to maintain Mussulmans at Constan- tinople. Of England, she loved and venerated the people; but she had contempt for its king and for his ministry, of which she noticed the many blunders and foretold the fall. On the other hand, she es- teemed Yergennes as a wise and able minister, but did not love the French nation.^

In Gustavus the Third of Sweden, the nephew of Frederic of Prussia, France might expect a friend. The revolution of 1771, in favor of the royal pre- rogative, had been aided by French subsidies and the counsels of Yergennes, who was selected for the oc- casion to be the French minister at Stockholm. The oldest colonizers of the Delaware were Swedes, and a natural affection bound their descendants to the mother country. The adventurous king had the ambition to possess a colony, and France inclined to gratify his wish. His people, as builders and owners of ships,

1 Compare Arneth's Maria Theresia und Joseph II. , ihre Corres- pondenz, iii. 268. ,

56 AMERICAN mDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, favored the largest interpretation of the maritime

wC— ' rights of neutrals ; and we shall see their king, who

17 7 8. had dashing courage, though not perseverance, now

and then show himself as the boldest champion of

the liberty of the seas.

Denmark, the remaining northern kingdom, was itself a colonial power, possessing small West India islands, and a foothold in the East. Its king, as Duke of Holstein, had a voice in the German Diet at Ratis- bon. Its people were of a noble race ; it is the land which, first of European states, forbade the slave- trade, and which, before the end of the century, abolished the remains of serfdom.

In 1778, a half-witted king, every day growing feebler in mind, yet in name preserving the functions of royalty; a crown prince of but ten years old, whose mother, divorced for adultery, had died in her youth an exile ; a council of state, having the brother of the king for a member, and divided into two nearly equal factions ; a queen-dowager, benevolent beyond her means, and fond of meddling in public affairs, — gave no promise of fixedness in the administration. Count Bernstorf, minister of foreign affairs, a Hano- verian by birth, professed to believe that the repose, the strength, and the happiness of civil society de- pend upon the principle, that a people can never be justified in renouncing fidelity, obedience, and subjec- tion to its lawful government, and declaring itself independent. He watched, therefore, that the Dan- ish government should not favor, or even seem to favor, any step which promised help to the Ameri- cans.^ Complying with the suggestion of the Eng-

^ Denkwurdigkeiten aus dem Leben des koniglich danischen Staats-

EUROPE AND AMERICAK INDEPENDENCE. 57

lish court, Danish subjects were forbidden to send, chap. even to Danish West India islands, munitions of war, ^-^ lest they should find their way to the United States.^ 17 78. The Danish and Norwegian ports were closed against prizes taken by American privateers. Yet, from its commercial interests, Denmark was forced to observe and to claim the rights of a neutral.

Freedom has its favorite home on the mountains or by the sea. Of the two European republics of the last century, the one had established itself among the head-springs of the Ehine, the other at its mouth. America sheltered itself under the example of Switz- erland, which rivalled in age the oldest monarchies, and, by its good order and industry, morals and laws, proved the stability of self-government, alike for the Romanic and for the Germanic race. Of the compati- bility of extensive popular confederacies with modern civilization, Switzerland removed every doubt. Hal- demand, a much-trusted brigadier in the British ser- vice, was by birth a Swiss -, but England was never able to enlist his countrymen in the rank and file of her armies. The United States sought no direct as- sistance from Switzerland, but gratefully venerated their forerunner. Had their cause been lost, Alex- ander Hamilton would have retreated with his bride " to Geneva, where nature and society were in their greatest perfection." ^

The deepest and the saddest interest hovers over the repubHc of the Netherlands, for the war between England and the United States prepared its grave.

ministers, Andreas Petrus Grafen ' Danish order of 4 Oct., 1775. von Bernstorf , von C. M. D. von ' Alexander Hamilton to Eliza Eggers, 93. Schuyler, MS.

58 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. Of all th^ branches of the Germanic family, that w^l^ nation which rescued from the choked and shallowed 17 7 8. sea the unstable silt and sands brought down by the Khine has endured the most and wrought the most in favor of liberty of conscience, liberty of commerce, and liberty in the state. The republic which it founded was the child of the reformation. For three generations the best interests of mankind were aban- doned to its keeping ; and, to uphold the highest objects of spiritual life, its merchants, landholders, and traders so teemed with heroes and martyrs, that they tired out brute force, and tyranny, and death itself, and from war educed life and hope for coming ages. Their existence was an unceasing struggle with the ocean which beat against their dykes ; with the rivers which cut away their soil ; with neighbors that coveted their territory ; with England, their un- generous rival in trade. In proportion to numbers, they were the first in agriculture and in commerce ; first in establishing credit by punctuality and probity ; first in seeing clearly that great material interests are fostered best by liberty. Their land remained the storehouse of renovating political ideas for Europe, and the asylum of all who were persecuted for their thoughts. In freedom of conscience they were the light of the world. Out of the heart of a taciturn, phlegmatic, serious people, inclined to solitude and reflection, rose the men who constructed the code of international law in the spirit of justice.

In 1674, after England for about a quarter of a century had aimed by acts of legislation and by wars to ruin the navigation of the Netherlands, the two powers consoHdated peace by a treaty of commerce,

EUEOPE AND AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 59

in which the rights of neutrals were guaranteed in chap. language the most precise and the most intelligible. J^^ Not only was the principle recognised that free ships 17 7 8. make free goods ; but, both positively and negatively, ship-timber and other naval stores were excluded from the list of contraband.

In 1688 England contracted to the Netherlands the highest debt that one nation can owe to another. Herself not knowing how to recover her liberties, they were restored by men of the United Provinces ; and Locke brought back from his exile in that coun- try the theory on government which had been formed by the Calvinists of the continent, and which made his chief political work the text-book of the friends of free institutions for a century.

During the long wars for the security of the new English dynasty, and for the Spanish succession, in all which the republic had little interest of its own, it remained the faithful ally of Great Britain. Gibral- tar was taken by ships and troops of the Dutch not less than by those of England : yet its appropri- ation by the stronger state brought them no corre- sponding advantage ; on the contrary, their exhausted finances and disproportionate public debt crippled their power of self-defence.

For these faithful, unexampled, and unrequited services the republic might, at least, expect to find in England a wall of protection. But during the seven years' war, in disregard of treaty obligations, its ships were seized on the ground that they had broken the arbitrary British rules of contraband and blockade. In the year 1758 the losses of its mer- chants on these pretences were estimated at more

60 AMEEICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, than twelve million guilders. In 1762 four of its w>^ ships, convoyed by a frigate, were taken, after an 17 7 8. engagement ; and though the frigate was released, George Grenville, then secretary of state, announced by letter to its envoy that the right of stopping Dutch ships with naval stores must be and would be sustained.^

These violences began to wean the Dutch people from their attachment to England. Could the prizes, which her courts wrongfully condemned, compensate for the afliections of an ally of a hundred years? But this was not the worst : she took advantage of the imperfections in the constitution of the Nether- lands to divide their government, and by influence and corruption she won the party of the stadholder to her own uses.

The republic was in many ways dear to the United States. It had given a resting-place to their emigrant pilgrims, and dismissed them to the new world with lessons of religious toleration. It had planted the valley of the Hudson ; and in New York and New Jersey its sons still cherished the language, church rule, and customs of their parent nation. The Dutch saw in the American struggle a repetition of their own history ; and the Americans looked to them for the evidence that a small but resolute state can tri- umph over the utmost efforts of the mightiest and wealthiest empire.

^ Stormont to Yorke, 11 January, 1780.

CHAPTER n.

GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES.

1778.

The people who dwelt betweeij the Alps and chap. the northern seas, between France and the Slaves, w-v— ' founded no colonies in America; but, in part, gave to the rising country its laws of being. Let us trace them to their origin, not recounting the annals of the German nation, but searching for the universal interests which the eternal Providence confided to their keeping.

We spell the record of our long descent. More largely conscious of the life that is.^

The oldest monument of the Germans is their language, which, before untold centuries, was the companion of their travels from central Asia; a language, copious, elastic, inviting self-explaining combinations and independent development ; lending itself alike to daily life and imagination, to descrip- tion and abstract thought. They had a class of

1 George Eliot's Spanish Gipsy.

62 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, nobles,^ but their tongue knew no word for slave.

w^^-w The earhest foreign observers, who described their customs, relate that their leaders in war, their judges, and, within narrower limits, their kings,^ were elec- tive officers, liable to be displaced. They tempered monarchical power by deliberative assemblies and by a free people. To the first Roman intruder, a Ger- man matron spoke the command, " Turn back ! " ^ and Roman organization never passed the southern and western skirts of their land.

They became the hardiest nation in Europe. For four or five centuries some of their branches repelled their Latin invaders ; and then, feeling their strength and inclining to roam, they overthrew the Western Empire ; crossed the Mediterranean to Carthage ; followed the setting sun to the ocean ; gave to Aqui- tania and Gaul the name of one of their tribes ; and mastered England and the lowland of the Scots.

The territory more immediately and permanently occupied by the Germanic race bristled with sombre forests, and was parted by dismal morasses and path- less chains of mountains, which they had not suf- ficient mastery of nature to overcome. Broken into tribes in the wilderness, these emigrants from the same distant lands lost the tradition that they were brothers, and knew no more that they were one. From the fifth to the twelfth century, the freemen, removing at will, reduced the unoccupied soil into possession by their labor, recording their title-deeds on the bosom of the earth which they tilled.

* Waitz, Deutsche Verfassungs Bethmann-HoUweg, Civil Process, Geschichte, i. 86. iv. 95.

2 Tacitus, Germania, § 7, 11. ^ Mommsen, Die Germanische

Politik des Augustus, 556.

GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES. 63

Before Christianity, which is a rehgion of war chap. against the sins of the world, became the estabhshed w^ rehgion of the Roman empire, it found its way, as if by instinct, into the minds of the Goths/ and frag- ments of their version of the Bible are the oldest written monument of the German tongue. It was diffused more slowly through the northern tribes. Boniface, the great Anglo-Saxon missionary, won more and more of his kindred to the new faith : but with him came a centralizing power ; for the German bishoprics and cloisters, which were founded through him, were, from their origin, connected with the see of Rome by vows of obedience.

In the life struggle between the Islam and Chris- tianity, between a form of religion bounded by the material world and the religion which sanctifies the intuitions of reason, Charles Martel, a German warrior, leading into the field men of the Christian- ized tribes of his country, won the victory for that side which teaches that the light of ideal truth is ever present with the human race.

The world had for centuries been distracted by the want of the elements of safe existence : and the hope of central and western Europe knew but two great forces which could introduce the reign of law and protect the growth of culture, universal monarchy and catholic Christianity ; and they both centred in the name of Rome. Humanity bore in its memory no form under which the civil rights of the various peoples had been maintained in their strength and unity, except that of the Roman empire ; ^ and the

^ Giesebrecht's Kaiserzeit, i. * Eotvos, Einfluss der herr- 52. schenden Ideen, i. 249.

64 AlVIERICAN INDEPENDEiq^CE.

CHAP. Christian clmrch proclaimed the brotherhood of all ^^ men as members of a catholic religion. At the time when society longed for regeneration through the establishment of order, it needed only a prince of sympathy with the common man/ unclouded vision, inventive genius, and irresistible will,^ to make his way with the acclamations of the world to the near- est possible realization of these two ideas. As the reward of the German who smote the Saracens at Poitiers, the office and title of king, with the con- currence of the pope, passed into his family. His grandson, Charlemagne, carried Christianity to the North Sea by force of arms, prescribing to the low- land Saxons alike religion and allegiance ; and divid- ing their territory into bishoprics, with endowments of land and local authority. Having achieved the union of Germany, he laid the foundations of his power in the class of free Germans. Of these he would not suffer the number to be diminished, or the rights to be abridged. After gaining the sway over western Europe, he crossed the Alps, brought back the fugitive head of the church to the city of Eome, and on Christmas eve of the year 800, which then was the eve of the new year and the new century, in the basilica of St. Peter, with an acclaiming congre- gation, who were present to represent all western Christendom, he was crowned by his client the pope as emperor of Rome and of the world. The crown signified the highest authority over Rome and over Italy. The pope of the day, who was his dependent

^ Giesebrecht, Kaiserzeit, i. 136. qualities of a great man a fellow-

2 Freytag, Aus dem IMittelalter, feeling with the people. There

i. 321. This charming writer has never been a truly great man

should include in the necessary without it.

GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES. 65

and his beneficiary, made to him the sign of adora- chap. tion.^^ The old Roman emperor was the highest ^l^ pontiff : with the charge of universal monarchy, Charlemagne, who held the keys of the grave of St. Peter, took to himself the supreme direction of the church.^

Orthodox Christendom saw in this new^ Roman empire the eternal ordinance of God which was to endure to the end of time, so that every prophecy might be fulfilled and Christ become the lord of the whole earth. Leo the Third recognised in him the sovereignty over every temporal authority; but the line of the emperors was hardly acknowledged at Rome to be by a fixed rule entitled evermore to unqualified allegiance as lords over the church. Nor was it for the interest of mankind, nor of the empire itself, that the popes should have made such abdication of their independence ; for, though by the ensuing conflict it was compelled to pass through centuries of sorrow, it escaped that which was worse. "Germany has been ordained by fate to illuminate the nations ; " ^ but not in this way was it to spread light and freedom. Could Charlemagne, by renewing Roman coesarism, have joined dominion over the in- dividual and collective conscience to the fulness of military, legislative, and administrative power, a same- ness of forms, a stagnant monotony of thought, and the slumber of creative genius might have lasted for thousands of years. Justice and truth are the same,

1 DoUinger, Das Kaiserthum main, Histoire de Gregoire VII.,

Karls des Grossen nnd seiner un maitre qui dominait ^galement

Nachfolger in Miinchener His- et I'eglise et le monde, i. 140. torisches Jahrbuch fiir 1865, 36i. ^ Ex fatali ad illuminandas

' Von Sybel, Deutsche Nation gentes Germania. Leibnitz' An-

und das Kaiserreich, 60. Ville- uals, iii. 125, ed. Pertz.

VOL. X. 5

66 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

II.

CHAP, everywhere, at all times, and for every mind. To make the emperor their authoritative custodian and interpreter for a universal monarchy would have been to overthrow the rights of reason, establish a despotism without check or barrier, and bring on a ruin of the moral and pohtical world, like that state of rest which philosophers of nature predict for the heavens and the earth, if nothing exists beyond what the senses reach.^

Of the two great ideas which Charlemagne had united in his crown, the universal monarchy was a creature of the irrevocable past, never destined to be renewed. It was broken in pieces and for ever by the selfishness of his descendants, by geograph- ical divisions, and by the rivalry of nationalities. Christianity, on the other hand, had a life of its own. It had struggled into being in defiance of the Koman empire, by which it was never absorbed or deprived of self -existence. After a century of seemingly hope- less confusion on each side of the Alps, the House of Saxony, under the headship of Henry the Fowler, than whom, according to a wise historian,^ " Germany never had a greater or a worthier king," restored union and order to the Teutonic nation. His son, Otho the First, having in a reign of a quarter of a century riveted Germany stiU more closely together and secured its borders against hostile races, was in- vited by the pope to pass the Alps for the pacification of Italy ; and one hundred and forty-eight years after the death of Charlemagne, but only after a formal compact to respect the independence of the

' Helmholz, Grove, Tyndall, and many. others. " Waitz.

GEEMANY AND THE UNITED STATES. 67

pope/ he was crowned at Eome as the first holy chap. Eoman emperor of the German nation. Invited w.^^ only as a hberator, he, Hke Charlemagne, made him- self the master alike over the church and the state. But he could not renew the authority of Charle- magne ; for he in no wise represented universal mon- archy. Kingdoms collectively greater than his own, and independent of him, — Hungary, France, Spain, Portugal, England, — could never acknowledge his supremacy over a church which claimed to be cath- olic. Yet, as if his twofold dominion had been per-' manent, Otho sought to balance the power of his princely feudatories by that of the bishops, who were likewise bound to send vassals to his army. The annexation of the crown of Italy to that of Ger- many, while it opened to the latter many avenues to culture, was also attended with infinite sorrows. It yoked together the two powers of emperor and pope, not with a balance of authority nor in a mut- ually beneficial alliance, but for an inevitable and irrepressible conflict, in which the emperor could not gain the field.

In the contest between the emperor and the sepa- rate princes, the result could not in the end be doubt- ful ; for the latter held power by inheritance according to fixed law, while the former gained his crown only by an election in which princes took part and might assume to prescribe capitulations as the price of their votes.

In the continued antagonism between the pope and the emperor the issue was equally certain. The pope reduced his adversary to helplessness by winning the

^ Gregoro-\dus, Geschichte der Stadt Rom im Mittelalter, iii. 345.

68 AMERICAiq- INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, princes of the empire through favoring their separate ^_^ ambition ; and he controlled the prelates and clergy by the strength of ties of which they acknowledged the paramount force. Moreover, the idea of univer- sality was on the side of the pope. The emperor did indeed look upon himself as the successor of Augus- tus Csesar ; but all his dealings with other kingdoms confessed his inheritance to be merely an illusion : the pope represented the kingship of Christ, which was owned throughout Christendom to be by right without bounds. The home of the emperor seemed to be properly in the thickly forested regions of the rough northern clime : the pope alone, by ruling in Eome, was clad with the great prestige of authority over the eternal city and the world. But what was still more decisive, under the feudal organization, monarchy had no mode of directly invoking popular support : the pope had, through the clergy, dominion over the conscience alike in every cottage and in every castle, and was therefore strong with and through the people. The emperor had the oaths of his vassals : the pope, the allegiance of the church- militant. The emperor ruled through subordinates who disputed his commands : the pope, through prel- ates and clergy, who received his word as the voice of omnipotent infallibility. Two centuries from the coronation of Charlemagne had not passed away, when Gregory the Seventh, taking advantage of the enfeeblement of the central government and estab- lishing the celibacy of the clergy, asserted his ex- clusive right to the investiture of bishops throughout Christendom; and, compelling the emperor, Henry the Fourth, in his years of youth and weakness, to

GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES. 69

do penance at Canossa, extorted the acknowledgment chap. of all the pretensions of the Roman see as lord over ^J^ conscience and over kings.

A httle more than a hundred years after this hasty submissiveness of an inexperienced, imbecile, and dis- solute ruler, even Red-Beard, the wise and powerful Frederic the First, acquiesced in the necessity of giv- ing up his long and fruitless struggle ; and at Venice, in the maturity of his years, surrendered to the pope.

This victory over the mightiest of the Roman em- perors of the German nation could not have been won by the Roman pontijffs, unless right had in some de- gree been on their side.^ In contending against the absolute power of the emperor over conscience, they were contending for that which God loves most, — for the sacred rights of our race. But the despotism which they justly snatched from the sceptre was sequestered and appropriated to their own benefit. When dominion over conscience was wrested from Caesar, the work was but half done : the pope should have laid it down at the feet of his fellow-men, and consmnmated the emancipation of every mind.

Was there nowhere in Christendom a self-depend- ent people capable of claiming its birthright? In this contest between emperor and church, the old, free, rural population of Germany, a body of men as ancient as incipient civilization in central Asia, was left without protection ; and each century saw more and more their numbers diminished, their rights to the soil impaired, their personal liberties endangered. They had no security against the stronger feudal nobility. They were everywhere oppressed, often

' Milman, History of Latin Christianity, iii. 202.

70 AMEBIC A.]S' IXDEPEXDEXCE.

CHAP, robbed of their lands, and even reduced to villanage.^ w.^I-' Scattered, and unconnected, and without arms, they were not able to assume their own defence, and they needed some support to which they could chng.

Alone in Switzerland, which its mountains kept apart alike from Italy and the north, the free people . preserved their ancient character,^ and, being content within themselves, constituted a confederated repub- hc which has outlasted every dynasty and constitu- tion of that day, forming a commonwealth which still stands like their own Alps. But elsewhere in Germany the nobles took advantage of the period of lawlessness to round off their estates, to wrong their neighbors, to oppress their tenants, to reduce the free rural classes to the condition of adscripts to the glebe.

It went better with the mechanic arts and with trade. In the troubled centuries when there was no safety for merchants and artisans but in their own courage and union, free cities rose up along the Rhine and the Danube in such numbers that the hum of business could be heard from the one to the other. On the sea free towns leagued together from Flan- ders to the Gulf of Finland, — renewing Dantzic; carrying colonies to Elbing, Konigsberg, and Memel, to Riga and Reval ; stretching into the interior so as to include Gottingen, Erfurt, and Magdeburg, Breslau, and Cracow ; having marts alike in London and Nov- gorod ; shaping their constitutions after the great house of merchants of Llibeck, till the consoHdated

* Giesebrecht, Geschichte der ^ Freeman's Growth of the deutschen Kaiserzeit. English Constitution, ch. i. and

note 1.

GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES. 71

union of nearly eighty cities became the first mari- chap. time power in the commercial world. w^v— ^

As in England, Simon de Montfort created a place for the representation of the boroughs in parliament, so free imperial cities had benches in the German diet. In these republics and other towns, not so directly depending on the empire, was to be found whatever was best in local self-government, in orderly industry, in art and science, in wise financial adminis- tration, in tolerant wisdom drawn from the observa- tion of many religions and many lands, in free inquiry and intelligence.

The emperor had sought to unite in his hands the authority of the highest pontiJff and the absolutism of a military despot. The connection with the nations of Europe, who were the bearers of the Roman and the Greek civilization ; with Saracens ; with Africa ; with Syria and Palestine, — brought into Germany liv- ing seeds of culture, which ripened the most various fruit. The complete victory of the pope over the emperor substituted for an all-pervading central dominion, not national freedom, but anarchy under princes and nobles, and thousands of separate juris- dictions ; not organized public life, but national dis- solution ; a triumphant hierarchy, not the greatness of a people.^ Thanks to the creative energy of the house of Saxony, the empire which it founded had lasted so long that the idea of the unity of the 'German nation had worked its way indissolubly into the blood and marrow of all the people. But at last the power of this later Eoman empire became a phantom ; its crown, a decorative bauble ; its dignity,

* Heinrich von Sybel, Die Deutsche Nation und das Kaiserreich, 61.

72 AMERICAN i:n^dependence.

CHAP, precedence in a diet ; and he who possessed the fiction w-v— ' of the great name strove no more but for separate dynastic gains : he could initiate no patriotic, all- penetrating reform ; he was no protector of the Ger- man nation. The empire of the great Otho belonged as much to the dead past as that of Charlemagne. The healing draught for the peoples must be drawn from a living spring.

Grant the theory of the sycophants of the Eoman see, that the pope represents on earth the eternal wisdom : it follows necessarily that he may decide every question of morals in private and in public life. He is responsible for every king.^ He may decree what king is unworthy to reign; and his sentence must bind the conscience of all who accept his infal- libility. He must have power to give and to take away empires, and all possessions of all men ; ^ to release peoples from their oaths of allegiance; to unbind kings from their oaths of capitulation; to order the German princes w^hom to elect as em- peror, and to order them to elect unanimously ; with his cardinals or alone to elect an emperor. As the sole oracle of truth he may assume to control history itseK when it thwarts his purpose ; and, though the adamantine door of the past is bolted down for ever- more, he may break it open, —

To bind or unbind, add what lacked, Insert a leaf,^ or forge a name.* Since reasoning on an accepted dogma is forbid, he* may command an inquisition into the innermost

^ Gregory VIL to William the « The false Decretals. Conqueror. ■* R. W. Emerson, " The Past."

2 Excommunication of Hen. IV.

GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES. 73

thoughts and secret places of every mind, and com- chap. pel assent by fines, imprisonment, excommunication, ^.^_/ but especially by the sword and fire. The infaUible interpreter of morals may, in unbridled hcentious- ness, order and do what is right in his own eyes ; ^ ruling in all things and never ruled; judging all things and never judged.

In Greece, as may be read in Plato's Eepublic, " mendicant diviners went to rich men's doors, per- suading them that they have received from the gods power to absolve a man himself or his forefathers from sins ; and for the living and for the dead there are ceremonies which deliver from pains in the life to come ; but dreadful things await those neglecting the rite."^ The method practised on a small scale by vagabond prophets in Athens was formed by the pa- pal see into a system for the w^orld; and it filled its treasury by an organized traffic in indulgences and promises of pardon here and beyond the grave. In a decretal of the ninth of November, 1518, Pope Leo the Tenth affirmed his power as the successor of St. Peter and the vicar of Christ to remit the sins alike of the living and of the dead.^

All absolute power brings its holders, first or last, to perdition: absolute power over mind, conquered from the emperor and continued for centuries, at last

^ Von Kanke, xxxvii. 32. twv hel kgkuv airolvovaiv rffiag • fuj

Gregorovius, iii. 263, etseq.,Yn. dvoavrac 6e 6eiva irepifiivEC Plato, Re-

312, et seq., 504, et seq. public, book ii. ch. vii. tntl is not

'-*... uyvpTat 6e koI uavreig knl nXov- adequately rendered by " hell.'*

ai(.)v di'pu^ iovTsg neldovatv, ug iari rrapu Jowett's Plato, ii. 186. ocpiai SvvafiLg U deijv nopiCo/iivT} . . . ehe 3 Decretal of 9 Nov., 1518, on

Ti uiVLKrjim Tov yeyovtv avrov rj irpoyovuv remission of sins. In German in

uKElcOat,^ .^ . . (if upa Tivaeig re ml Walch's Luther's Wcrke, XV. 757,

Kadap(j.ot a^iKijuuTuv . . . elal fiev ert ^^ g^q^ ^uaiu, eial de koi Teh-vrijaaaLV, . . . al

74 AMERIOAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, ruined, and could not but ruin, the moral and in- ^^ tellectual faculties of the functionary by whom it was exercised. The earth, wrapt in thickest darkness, sighed for the dawn.

The son of a miner, of the peasant class in Eisle- ben, trained in the school of Paul of Tarsus and the African Augustine, kindled a light for the world. He taught that no man impersonates the authority of God ; that the pope is right in denying the divin- ity of the emperor, but that he blasphemes in arro- gating divinity to himself. No power over souls belongs to a priest ; " any Christian, be it a woman or a child, can remit sins just as well as a priest ; " ^ clergy and laity, all are of one condition; all men are equally priests ; " a bishop's ordination is no bet- ter than an election ; " ^ " any child that creeps after baptism is an ordained priest, bishop, and pope."^ " The priest is nothing but an office-holder." * " The pope is our school-fellow; there is but one master, and his name is Christ in heaven ; " and, collecting all in one great formulary of freedom, he declared : Justification is by faith ; by faith alone, " sola fide ; " every man must work out his own salvation; no other — not priest, nor bishop, nor pope, no, not all the prophets — can serve for the direct connection of the intelligent reason of the individual with the infinite and eternal intelligence.

The principle of justification by faith alone solved every problem. It is freedom against authority; self -activity against superstitious trust in other men.

^ Dorner, Geschichte der pro- ' An den christlichen Adel testantischen Theologie, 170. deutscher Nation, § 8.

8 Ibid., §10. 4 Ibid.

^ GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES. 75

It was the knell of the departing dominion of an chap. alien prince over the conscience of the peoples. But w.^^ it was more than the termination of a strife of seven centuries between pope and emperor. The truth spoken by Luther assigned to the pope his true place, as an unconsecrated, fallible, peccant mortal, holding only an office instituted by his erring felloAV- mortals, and having no functions and no powers except what erring mortals can bestow. To discard the pope, and keep bishops and priests with super- human authority derived from ordination, would have been only substituting one supernatural caste for an- other. Luther struck superstition at the root. The popes stripped lordship over conscience from the em- peror; and Luther stripped it from pope, prelates, and priests. His teaching was the rending of the veil which divides the past civilization from the future, a vindication for all mankind of the rights of reason. The idea of justification by faith alone was censured as fatalism, while in truth it is the strongest possible summons to self-activity. The principle can never be surrendered so long as the connection between man and eternal truth shall endure. Well, therefore, did Leibnitz say of Luther : " This is he who, in later times, taught the human race hope and free thought."^

The mediaeval church had been, in some sort, the protector of the people. Luther declared reason to be the " well-spring of law," ^ the rule for reforming national codes. Further; he demanded that truth should be spread by appeals to reason alone. " If

' Laboulaye, I'Etat et ses Li- ^ Luther, Von Weltlicher Ob- mites, 26, 27. rigkeit.

76 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. ^

CHAP, fire/' said he, " is the right cure for heresy, then the ^J^ fao-ot-burners are the most learned doctors on earth. Nor need we study any more : he that has brute force on his side may burn his adversary at the stake." ^ " I will preach the truth, speak the truth, write the truth, but will force the truth on no one; for faith must be accepted willingly and without com- pulsion." ^

By reason, too, he desired to restrain arbitrary power. His words are : " Where a ruler indulges the conceit that he is a prince, not for the sake of his subjects, but for the sake of his beautiful golden hair, he belongs among the heathen." ^ " A Christian prince is not a person for himself, but a servant for others." "The prince must think, ^I belong to the land and the people, and will therefore serve them with my office.' "

On the right of private judgment, Luther said: " If the emperor or the princes should command me and say : ' Thus and thus you ought to believe ; ' then I speak : ^ Dear emperor, dear princes, your demand is too high ; ' they say : ' Yes, you must be obedient to us, for we are the higher powers.' Then I answer : ' Yes, you are lords over this temporal life, but not over the eternal life ; ' they speak further : ' Yes, peace and unity must be preserved ; therefore you must believe as the emperor and princes believe.' — What do I hear ? The Turk might as well say : ' Listen, Koman emperor, listen, princes ; you ought to believe as the Turks believe for the sake of peace and unity; for what holds good for the one holds

^ An den Adel, &c., 1520. « Walch's Luther's Werke, x.

2 sieben Predigten, 1521. 604.

GERMANT AKD THE U25^ITED STATES. 77

good for the other, for the Turkish emperor and for cha every nobleman in the village.' No, dear emperor, dear prince, dear lord, dear lady, it does not belong to you to make such a demand." ^ And again : " All bishops that take the right of judgment of doctrine from the sheep are certainly to be held as murderers and thieves, wolves and apostate Christians. Christ gives the right of judgment to the scholars and sheep. St. Paul will have no doctrine or proposi- tion held, till it has been proved and recognised as good by the congregation that hears it. Every Christian has God's word, and is taught of God and anointed as a priest."^

It followed, as the true rule for all Christendom, that the teacher, " the minister of the word," should be elected by the congregation itself. This Luther addressed to the emperor and Christian nobles of the German nation in 1520. Three years later, he pub- lished proof out of scripture that a Christian congre- gation ought to have the right to call, induct, and depose teachers.^ And in like manner, with strict consistency, in May, 1525, he wrote to the peasants of Suabia: "'The whole congregation should have power to choose and to depose a pastor ; ' this article is right." " You, princes and lords, cannot with any color refuse them the right to elect a pastor."

But it was not then possible in Europe to recon-

^ Predigt, Die Lehre von dem Ursaclie aus der Schrift, 1523, ed.

Verhalten gegen die Obrigkeit, of 1833, xxii. 144. Luther's sammtliche Schriften, ^ Grund aus der Schrift, dass

ed. AValch, xiii. 2225. eine christliche Versammlung

^ Dass eine christliche Ver- Recht haben soUe, Lehrer zu

sammlung oder Gemeinde Recht berufen, ein- und abzusetzen, ed.

und Macht habe, alle Lehre zu of Dr. I. K. Irmischer, 1833, xxii.

urtheilen und Lehrer zu berufen, 140. ein- und abzusetzen: Grund und

VI».

II

78 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, struct the churcli on the principle of its total separa- tion from tradition and the state. Did Luther look to the newly discovered world as the resting-place of his teachings ? He certainly devised and proposed the rules for emigration. When the great revelation of truth was made, " a star/' said he, " moved in the sky, and guided the pilgrim wise men to the manger where the Saviour lay."^ He advised the oppressed country people, taking with them the teacher of their choice and the open Bible, to follow " the star " of freedom to lands where religious hberty could find a home.^

In October of the following year, the little sjmod held at Homberg by the landgrave Philip of Hess'e accepted the propositions of Luther, that all Chris- tians share equally in the priesthood, that true churches consist in self-organized, self-governing commimities of believers ; and that these communi- ties, thus freely formed, may be associated through an annual general meeting of ministers and del- egates.^

The glad lessons of reform went out through all the land, kindling the poor and humble and afflicted with the promise of a happier age. Himself peasant- born, and ever mindful of his lineage, the prophet of German unity and freedom, Luther wrote for his countrymen in their own tongue as no one else could. His words touched the hearts, and wakened the thoughts, and filled the meditations of all. The man of the people, in 1521 he says of himself : " Up

^ Ermahnung zum Frieden auf die zwolf Artikel. ' History of the United States, i. 298, later edition. 8 Ranke, Deutsche Geschichte, ii. 304.

GEKMANY AKD THE UNITED STATES. 79

to this time I have always made it my rule to get chap. the start of the notions of the court. Not the half ^-^ would have come about, if I had let myseK hang on their counsels." Therefore he was able to trans- form his nation, which was swayed by his words, as the chords of the lyre tremble under the touch of the master. The principles for which he demanded the active co-operation of every individual struck the deepest root ; yet their instant and universal applica- tion would have bred civil war rather than whole- some change. A new nation, free from mediaeval traditions, must grow up to be the recipient and the bearer of the new system. But Luther must remain in the land of his birth and of his love, even though, in the years that followed, his relations to princes cost him baleful compromises with the past, and unworthy concessions to the rulers of his day.

Within the empire each separate prince became for his own dominions the highest overseer of the church of the reformation. In the reformed churches of France, which struggled into being in permanent conflict with prelates and kings, their constitution grew out of themselves, according to the teachings of Luther in his earlier days. It is the common principle on which Frenchmen first colonized what is now Nova Scotia and Florida ; on which Englishmen and the Dutch planted the states that lie between Canada and the head of the Chesapeake; and it was strongly represented in the settlements further south. So Germany, which appropriated no terri- tory in America, gave to the colonies of New Nether- land and New England their laws of being.

The holy empire which began with Roman csesar-

II.

80 A^IEEICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, ism had become in temporal power a shadow, in spiritual power a subject. If Charles the Fifth had but accepted the reformation, free Germany from the Yosgic mountains would at his bidding have been reconstructed as one monarchy on a new and better foundation. The emperor deserted his own standard, — an alien he joined with an alien; and from that time the authority of the imperial crown was used for the aggrandizement of a separate dynasty.

The reformation intrenched itseK within the walls of the free cities ; and, with them and their kindred in Switzerland and in the Netherlands for defenders, it could not be trodden out : but in any mortal con- flict with the princes the free cities must have suc- cumbed. The German people, though they had an imperishable life of their own, had not the means of organizing themselves as one body ; nor were they trained to be the bearers of political power: they could unite only through a prince. The prince that will lead Germany to union must accept reform in religion, and the canon ^ that he is there not for him- self, but for the land and people.

The hoj)es of the reformers first rested on Saxony. But one of its electors refused the imperial crown ; another betrayed the reformation through fears of ill-directed progress ; a third, by further concessions to the reaction and to the emperor, and by conse- quei),t indecision, lost for himseK army, land, and freedom, and for his electorate the lead in Germany.

^ SoFreytag, AusdemJahrhun- bessere Macht als die der Fiirs- dert der Reformation, 104. '' Es ten." gab in Deutschland leider keine

GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES. 81

There was better promise from the house which chap. a burgrave of Nuremberg, one of the wisest, most J^ right-minded, and most popular statesmen of his age,^ and whose days in his land were long, had trans- planted to Brandenburg.

In 1613, when the congregation of the Pilgrims at Leyden was growing by comers from England, the elector of Brandenburg, John Sigismund, after eight years of reflection, adopted the faith of those who were to plant Massachusetts, and passed with all for- mality, out of the church in which so much only of the precepts of Luther prevailed as the princes of his day could tolerate, into the more liberal church that had been formed under republican auspices by Calvin.

In 1618, while the Pilgrims were pleading for leave to emigrate with an English charter, according to the rules of colonization of Luther, the elector of Bran- denburg pledged himself anew to the reformation by uniting to his possessions secularized Prussia.

Between all whom one and the same renovating principle rules, inspires, and guides, there exists an unwritten alliance or harmony, not registered in the archives of states, showing itself at moments of crisis. Protestantism struggled for life alike in Germany and in New England, not always with equal success. With the constitution of Plymouth, which was signed in Cape Cod harbor, it triumphed in New England in the same month in which it was struck down on the White Mountain of Bohemia. The year in which the Catho- lic reaction crushed the municipal liberties of Prot- estant Rochelle, the reformation was rescued in Germany by the relief of Stralsund, and extended in

^ Von Ranke, xxv. 105.

VOL. X. 6

82 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. America by the planting of a regular government

w^.!^ in Massachusetts.

The day oh which Winthrop sailed into Boston har- bor, Gustavus Adolphus was landing fifteen thousand men in* Pomerania. The thoughts of Germany and of the new people of America ran together : one and the same element of life animated them all. The congregations of Massachusetts, too feeble to send succor to their European brethren, poured out their souls for them in prayer. From the free city of Nuremberg, Gustavus Adolphus,-^ just three weeks before his fall at Liitzen, recommended to Germans colonization in America as " a blessing to the Protes- tant world." In pursuance of the design of the Swedish king, the chancellor Oxenstiern, in April, 1633, as we have seen, called on the German people te send from themselves emigrants to America. In December the upper four German circles confirmed the charter, and under its sanction a Protestant colony was planted on the Delaware. What monument has Wallenstein left like this on the Delaware to Gus- tavus ?

The thirty years' war was not a civil war: had the Germans been left to themselves, the reformation would have been peacefully embraced by nine-tenths of them. It was by hordes of other races and tongues that the battle of Jesuit reaction was fought. While France was rent in pieces by bloody and relentless feuds, Germany enjoyed a half century of prosperous peace, and with its kindred in the Netherlands and Switzerland formed the first nation in the world. Its universities, relieved from monastic traditions, taught

1 History of the United States, ii. 284.

GERMAirr AND THE UNITED STATES. 83

not theology alone, but the method of the right use chap. of reason, and sciences pregnant with modern culture, w^ Kepler, a republican of Weil, the continuator of Co- pernicus, the forerunner of Newton, revealed the laws of the planetary motions. No part of Europe had so many industrious, opulent, and cultivated free cities, while the empire kept in use the forms and developed the language of constitutional government.

The terrible thirty years* effort to restore the old superstition crushed the enlightened middle class of Germany, destroyed its Hanseatic confederacy, turned its commerce into other channels, ruined its manufac- tures, arrested its progress in the arts, dismembered its public thought, gave to death one-half or even two-thirds of its inhabitants, transformed large dis- tricts of its cultivated country into a wilderness, sus- pended its unity and imperilled its national life, which was saved only by the indestructible energy of its people. From 1630, for more than two centuries, it showed no flag on any ocean, planted no colony on any shore ; it had and could have no influence abroad, no foreign policy : it had ceased to be a great power. It lay like the massive remains of the Eoman Colos- seum, magnificent ruins, parcelled out among a crowd of rulers, and offering to neighboring princes an in- viting quarry.

For German Protestants there were gleams of light from America and from Brandenburg. Driven by poverty and sorrow, the reckless devastation of foreign invasions, and the oppression of multitudinous domes- tic petty tyrants, the Germans, especially of the borders of the Khine, thronged to America in such numbers that, in the course of a century, preserving

84 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, their love of rural life, they appropriated much of the w-^^ very best land from the Mohawk to the valley of Virginia.

At the close of the thirty years' war, Brandenburg had for its elector, Prussia for its duke, a prince by birth and education of the reformed church, trained in the republic of the Netherlands. "In my rule," said the young man, on first receiving homage, " I will always bear in mind that it is not my affair which I administer, but the affair of my people." ^ " Con- sciences," he owned, "belong to God; no worldly potentate may force them." ^ So when the revocation of the edict of Nantes, in October, 1685, drove out of France a half milHon of " the best " of the French nation, the noble company of exiles found a new country, partly with the Great Elector, and partly with the Protestant colonies in America.

The same revolution of 1688, which excluded Papists from the throne of England, restored liberty to the colonies in America, and made it safe for the son of the Great Elector to crown himself on his own soil as king of Prussia. As the elector of Saxony had mean- time renounced the reformation, to ride for a few stormy years on the restless waves of Polish anar- chy, Leibnitz could say with truth : " The elector of Brandenburg is now the head of the Protestants in the empire." ^ The pope of the hour, foreshadowing the policy of Kaunitz, denounced his coronation as a shamelessly impudent deed, and his house as one of which the dominion ought never to be increased.*

* Gelzer's Aufgaben, 2. * A copy of the letter of the

* Pfleiderer's Leibnitz, 523. pope was communicated to me by ^ Ibid., 524. my friend George V. Bunsen.

GEEMAN^Y AND THE UNITED STATES. 85

The peace of Utrecht called forth the vehement chap. reprobation of Leibnitz, and proved that the house w!^ of Hapsburg was not the proper guardian of Ger- many; yet it was full of good prophecies for the future, and marks the point of time when, in Europe and in America, the new civilization compelled the recognition of its right to existence. For England it contained the acknowledgment by the Catholic powers of an exclusively Protestant succession, es- tablished by laws in derogation of legitimacy; for Italy, the elevation of the house of Savoy in the north, to the . rank of an independent and hopeful monarchy. For America and for Prussia, it was the dawn of the new day. In the former. Protestantism took the lead in the work of colonization and the appropriation of territory by .the spread of settle- ments. Founded on the principle of civil freedom, the latter was received as a kingdom among the powers of the earth. From the moment when the elector of Brandenburg was admitted by all Europe to the society of kings as an equal, the house of Haps- burg knew that it had a rival within Germany.

When, in the second quarter of the last century, ecclesiastical intolerance drove the Lutherans of Salz- burg into exile, a part of them found homes on the rivers of America, a part in the realm of that strange Prussian king, who, by simplicity and purity of life, by economy, strict organization of the government, care for the people and their education, public thrift, and perfect discipline in the army, bequeathed to his successor the most efficient state in Germany.

That successor was Frederic the Second, a prince trained alike in the arts of war and administration,

86 AMERICAN" INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, in philosophy and letters. It should be incredible, ^— V — ' and yet it is true, that, at the moment of the alliance of the Catholic powers against Protestantism, England, under the second George and a frivolous minister, was attempting by largesses of subsidies to set the force of Eussia against the most considerable Protestant power in Germany. In the attempt England shot so wildly from its sphere that Newcastle was forced to bend to William Pitt ; and then England and Prus- sia, and the embryon United States, — Pitt, Frederic, and Washington, — worked together for human free- dom. The seven years' war extended the EngHsh colonies to the Mississippi and gave Canada to Eng- land. "We conquered America in Germany," said the elder Pitt, ascribing to Frederic a share in the extension of the Germanic race in the other hemi- sphere ; and in hke manner Frederic, in his histories, treats the English movement in America and his own struggles in Europe all as one, so long as Pitt was at the helm.

To what end would events have been shaped if Pitt's ministry had continued, and the bonds between England and Prussia had been riveted by a common peace ? But here, as everywhere, it is useless to ask what would have happened if the eternal providence had for the moment suspended its rule. The Amer- ican colonists were now at variance with the same class of British ministers which had wronged Fred- eric in 1762. With which branch of the Teutonic family would be the sympathy of Germany ? The influence of Austria leaned to England. Where stood the true nobiUty of the empire, the masters

GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES. 87

of German thought and language ? where its ruling chap. princes ? where its one incomparable king ? ^-^^

In the north-east of Germany the man who, alone of Germans, can with Leibnitz take a place among the wise by the side of Plato and Aristotle, reformed philosophy as Luther had reformed the church, on the principle of the self-activity of the individual mind. As Luther owned neither pope nor prelates for anything more than school-fellows, so Kant ac- cepted neither Leibnitz nor Hume for a master, and passed between dogmatism and doubt to the school of reason. His method was, mind in its freedom, guided and encouraged, moderated and restrained, by the knowledge of its powers. Skepticism, he said, only strands the ship and leaves it high and dry to rot: the true inventory of the human faculties is the chart by which the pilot can take the ship safely wherever he will.^ He stopped at criticism as little as the traveller who waits to count his resources before starting on his journey; or as the general who musters his troops before planning his campaign. The analysis of the acts of thought teaches faith in the intellect itself as the interpreter of nature. The human mind, having learned the limit of its faculties, and tolerating neither cowardice nor indolence in the use of them,^ goes forth in its freedom to interrogate the moral and material world with the means of com- pelling an answer^ from both. " The forms of Kant's philosophy," says Schiller, " may change ; its method will last as long as reason itself."* And Kosenkranz

» Kant, iv. 10. * Schiller to Goethe, 28 Oct.,

» Ibid., iv. 161. 1794.

8 Ibid., ii. 16.

88 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, adds : ^ " He was the herald of the laws of reason,

II. " . .

^^J^ which nature obeys and which mind ought to obey."

The method of Kant being that of the employment of mind in its freedom, his fidehty to human freedom has never been questioned and never can be. He accepted the world as it is, only with the obligation that it is to be made better. His political philosophy enjoins a constant struggle to lift society out of its actual imperfect state, which is its natural condition, into a higher and better one, by deciding every ques- tion, as it arises, in favor of reform and progress, and keeping open the way for the elimination of all re- maining evil.

Accustomed to contemplate nature in the infinity of its extent as forming one system, governed in all its parts and in its totality by one law, he drew his opinions on questions of liberty from elemental truth, and uttered them as if with the assent of the universe of being. As he condemned slavery, so he branded the bargaining away of troops^ by one state to another without a common cause. "The rights of man," he said, " are dear to God, are the apple of the eye of God on earth ;"^ and he wished an hour each day set aside for all children to learn them and take them to heart. His friendship for America was therefore inherent and ineradicable. He was one of the first, perhaps the very first, of the German nation to de- fend, even at the risk of his friendships, the cause of the United States.

Lessing contemplated the education of his race as

^ Hegel als deutscher National- Ewigen Frieden, 409, ed. of Ros-

philosoph, 19. enkranz, vii. pt. 2, 233.

^ Kant's sammtliche Werke, ed. » Kant, viii. 504; vi. 419. of 1868, vi. Erster Abschnitt z.

GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES. 89

carried forward by one continued revelation of truth, chap. the thoughts of God, present in man, creating har- ^— v— ^ mony and unity, and leading toward higher culture. In his view, the class of nobles was become super- fluous : the lights of the w^orld were they who gave the clearest utterance to the divine ideas. He held it a folly for men of a republic to wish for a mon- archy:^ the chief of a commonwealth, governing a free people by their free choice, has a halo that never surrounded a king. Though he was in the employ of the Duke of Brunswick, he loathed from his inmost soul the engagement of troops in a foreign war, either as volunteers or as sold by their prince. " How came Othello," he asks, " into the service of Venice ? Had the Moor no country ? Why did he let out his arm and blood to a foreign state ? " ^ He published to the German nation his opinion that " the Americans are building in the new world the lodge of humanity," and he desired to write more, for, said he, " the people is consumed by hunger and thirst ; " but his prince commanded silence.

At Weimar, in 1779, Herder, the first who vindi- cated for the songs of the people their place in the annals of human culture, published these words: " The boldest, most godlike thoughts of the human mind, the most beautiful and greatest works, have been perfected in republics; not only in antiquity, but in mediaeval and more modern times, the best history, the best philosophy of humanity and govern- ment, is always republican ; and the republic exerts its influence, not by direct intervention, but medi-

^ Lessing's Works, xii. 398.

' Minna von Barnhelm, act iii. scene 7; and act iv. scene 6.

90 A3HERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

ately by its mere existence." The United States, with its mountain ranges, rivers, and chains of lakes in the temperate zone, seemed to him shaped by nature for a new civih2;ation.^

Of the poets of Germany, the veteran Klopstock beheld in the American war the inspiration of hu- manity and the dawn of an approaching great day. He loved the terrible spirit which emboldens the peoples to grow conscious of their power. With proud joy he calls to mind that, among the citizens of the young republic, there were many Germans, who gloriously fulfilled their duty in the war of freedom. " By the rivers of America," he wrote, "light beams forth to the nations, and in part from Germans." ^

Less enthusiastic, but not less consistent, was Goethe. Of plebeian descent, by birth a republican, born like Luther in the heart of Germany, educated like Leibnitz in the central university of Saxony, when seven years old he and his father's house were partisans of Frederic, and rejoiced in his victories as the victories of the German nation.^ In early youth he, like those around him, was interested in the struggles of Corsica ; gave the cry of " Long live Paoli ; " ^ and his heart was drawn towards the patriot in exile.^ The ideas of popular liberty w^hich filled his mind led him, in his twenty-second year^ or soon

' Herder, quoted in Kant, iv. ^ Goethe, Aus meinem Leben,

173. Werke, xx. 51.

'^ Klopstock's Oden, Sie und * Compare extract from the

nicht wir, An Amerika's Strome, manuscript of Die Mitschuldigen,

&c., &c. Compare Der Freiheits- in HempePs ed., viii. 42.

krieg, Der Fiirst und sein Kebs- ^ Goethe, xxii. 321, and in

weib, and Der jetzige Krieg; i.e., Stella, act iii., Goethe, ix. 343.

the war of 1778-1782. « Muller's Unterhaltungen mit

Goethe, 18.

GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES. 91

after,^ to select the theme for his first tragedy from chap. the kindred epoch in the history of the Netherlands. ^J^ But the interest of the circle in which he moved became far more lively when/ in a remote part of the world/ a whole people showed signs that it would make itself free. He classed the Boston tea-party of 1773 among the prodigious events which stamp themselves most deeply on the mind of childhood.^ Like everybody around him he ^ wished the Americans success, and the names of Franklin and Washington shone and •sparkled in his heaven of politics and war.* When to all this was added reform in France, he and the youth of Ger- many promised themselves and all their fellow-men a beautiful and even a glorious future.^ The thought of emigrating to America passed placidly over his imagination, leaving no more mark than the shadow of a flying' cloud as it sweeps over a flower-garden.

The sale of Hessian soldiers for foreign money called from him words of disdain ; ^ but his reproof of the young Germans who volunteered to fight for the American cause, and then from faint-heartedness drew back, did not go beyond a smile at the contrast between their zeal and their deeds.^ He congratulated America that it was not forced to bear up the tra- ditions of feudalism;^ and, writing or conversing, used only friendly words of the United States, as " a noble country." ^ During all his life coming in contact with events that were changing the world, he painted

^ Strehlke's Vorbemerkung in ® Goethe's Werke, ed. llempel, •

Hempel's Goethe, vii. 5. viii. 205.

* Goethe, xxii. 321. "^ Goethe's Werke, vii. 42; note -

' ' Goethe's Briefe,iii. 1420,1421. in Hempel's ed., viii. 42. ^ ^ Goethe's Werke, xxii. 321. « Goethe, Hempel's ed.,iii. 264. .

^ 5 Ibid. 9 Ibid.,349,350;MiiUer,25,31.

92 AMERICAN" Iin>EPENDENCE.

CHAP, them to . his mind in their order and connection.^ w-^,^-/ Just before the French revolution of 1830, he pubHshed his opinion that the desire for self-government, which had succeeded so well in the colonies of North Amer- ica, was sustaining the battle in Europe without signs of weariness;^ and, twenty years before the move- ments of 1848, he foretold with passionless serenity that, as certainly as the Americans had thrown the tea- chests into the sea, so certainly it would come to a breach in Germany, if there should be no reconciliation between monarchy and freedom.^

Schiller was a native of the part of Germany most inclined to idealism ; in mediaBval days the stronghold of German liberty; renowned for its numerous free cities, the distribution of land among small freehold- ers, the total absence of great landed proprietaries, the comparative extinction of the old nobility. Equally in his hours of reflection and in his hours of inspira- tion, his sentiments were such as became the poet of the German nation, enlightened by the ideas of Kant. The victory which his countrymen won against the Vatican and against error for the freedom of reason was, as he wrote, a victory for all nations and for endless time. He was ever ready to clasp the mill- ions of his fellow-men in his embrace, to give a salu- tation to the whole world ; and he glowed with indignation at princes who met the expenses of prof- ligacy by selling their subjects to war against the rights of mankind.

It is known from the writings of Niebuhr that the political ideas which in his youth most swayed the

^ Goethe's Werke, xxxiii. 167. * Ibid., xxxii. 331.

3 Goethe's Brief e, 1419, 1420. .

GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES. 93

mind of Germany grew out of its fellow-feeling with chap. the United States in their struggle for independence, ^w The truest and best representatives of German intelli- gence, from every part of the land, joined in a chorus to welcome them to their place among the nations of the earth.

CHAPTER in.

THE RELATIONS OF THE TWO NEW POWERS.

1778.

The negotiations of Great Britain with the petty ^m^' P^'i^^^^? w^^ transferred the service of their subjects ' — / — ' for money, have been fully related. Duke Ernest of Saxony, cultivated by travel in Holland, England, and France, ruled his principality of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg with wisdom and justice. By frugality and simplicity in his court, he restored the disordered finances of his duchy, and provided for great public works and for science. Though the king of England was his near relation, he put aside the offers of enor- mous subsidies for troops to be employed in America.^ When, ten years later, he was ready to risk his life and independence in the defence of the unity and the liberties of Germany, these are the words in which he cheered on his dearest friend to aid in curbing the ambition of Austria: "All hope for our freedom and the preservation of the constitution is

^ ' Hans von Thiimmel, Histo- Kenntniss des Herzogthums Alten- rische, statistische, geographische, burg, 1818, 4to. jNIanuscript letter und topographische Beitrage zur of Freiherr von Seebach.

THE RELATIONS OF THE TWO NEW POWERS. 95

not lost. Right and equity are on our side, and the chap. wise Providence, according to my idea of it, cannot J^ approve, cannot support, perjury and the suppression of all rights of citizens and of states. Of this prin- ciple the example of America is the eloquent proof. England met with her deserts. It was necessary that her pride should be bowed, and that oppressed inno- cence should carry off the victory. Time cannot outlaw the rights of mankind." ^

The friend to whom these words were addressed was the brave, warm-hearted Charles Augustus of Saxe-Weimar, who, in 1776, being then of only nine- teen years, refused a request for leave to open re- cruiting offices at Ilmenau and Jena for the English service,^ but consented to the delivery of vagabonds and convicts.^ When, in the last days of November, 1777, the Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, as the go- between of the British ministry, made unlimited offers of subsidies for some of his battalions, the patriot prince called his ministers to a conference, and, supported by the unanimous advice of those present, on the third of December, he answered: " There are, in general, many weighty reasons w^hy I cannot yield my consent to deliver troops into for- eign service and pay ; " and it is minuted on the draft that " Serenissimus himseff took charge of posting the letter." ^

' Extract of a letter of Ernst, ^ AVangenheim to the duke, 22

HerxoEc zu Sachsen, an den Herzog May, 1776.

zu Weimar, Gotha, 24 Feb., 1785. » Factum d. 12 Juni. Signed

Communicated to me by Dr. Burk- von Fritsch.

hardt, in charge of the archives at * My friend, the late Baron von

Weimar. A part of the letter has Watzdorf , gave me copies of the

been already printed in Ranke's letter of Count Schaumburg-Lippe

Die deutschen Miichte, i. 218. to the duke, 26 Nov., 1777; the

96 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

^m^' '^^^ signature of Goethe, the youngest minister of ^ — V — ' Weiinar, is wanting to the draft, for he was absent on a winter trip to the Hartz Mountains ; but that his heart was with his colleagues appears from his writing simultaneously from Goslar: "How am I again brought to love that class of men which is called the lower class, but which assuredly for God is the highest ! In them moderation, contentment, straightforwardness, patience, endurance, all the vir- tues, meet together." ^

In like manner, when, in 1775, an overture from England reached Frederic Augustus, the young elec- tor of Saxony, Count Sacken, his minister, promptly reported his decision: "The thoughts of sending a part of his army to the remote countries of the New World touch too nearly his paternal tenderness for his subjects, and seem to be too much in contrast with the rules of a healthy policy." ^

Did the future bring honor to the houses of the princes who refused to fight against America ? or to those who sold their subjects to destroy the freedom of the New World ? Every dynasty which furnished troops to England has ceased to reign, except one, which has now for its sole representative an aged and childless man. On the other hand, the three Saxon families remain 5 and in their states local self-govern- ment has continually increased, and the wisdom and

minute of the consultation of the Frederic toMaltzan, 7 Dec, 1775,

duke with his ministers ; the an- and Finkenstein and Herzberg ad

BwerofGarl August, 3 Dec, 1777, mandatum, 3 Feb., 1776. "II

and also of the earlier papers. me revient au reste k ce sujet, que

1 Goethe's letters, 4 Dec, 1777. la cour de Londres a aussi fait

' Communicated from the ar- faire a Dresde une ouverture pr6-

chives at Dresden by the minister alable relative k wne semblable n^-

Baron vpn Friesen, confirmed by gociation."

THE RELATIONS OF THE TWO NEW POWERS. 97

the will of the inhabitants been consulted and re- chap. spected. In Saxe- Weimar, the collision predicted for w^^w Germany by Goethe, between monarchy and popular freedom, was avoided by the wisdom of its adminis- tration.

Nor is the different fate of the princes to be attrib- uted to accident. The same infidelity to duty which induced some of them to support their vices by traffic in their subjects colored their career, and brought them in conflict with the laws of the eternal Provi- dence.

The prince who, next to Joseph of Austria, gov- erned at that time the largest number of men hav- ing the German for their mother tongue, was Frederic of Prussia, then the only king in Germany. He united in himseK the qualities of a great regent. Superior to personal and dynastic influences, he lived with and for the people. Free from prejudice, he saw things as they were. His prudence measured his strength correctly, and he never risked extreme danger but for a necessary object. He possessed the inventive faculty which creates resources. He had the strong will that executes with energy, swiftly, and at the right time. He had also the truest test of greatness, moderation.

The people bore him no grudge on account of the distribution of employments; for he never yielded the smallest fraction of political power to the class of nobles, was frugal in rewarding their service, and exacted of them the fulfilment of duty as unsparingly as he exacted it from himself. From an unhappy defect in his education, he never acquired a mastery of the German tongue, and slighted German men of

VOL. X. 7

98 AMEKICAN" INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, letters ; but they magnanimously forgave his neglect, V— V— ' acted as his alHes, and heralded his greatness.

Hardships had shattered his constitution. He was old and broken ; had outhved friends, of whom the dearest had fallen near him in battle; had lost all enjoyment in music, in building, in the arts, but not the keen sense of duty. The thought of his cam- paigns gave him no pleasure, their marvellously triumphant result no pride : he remembered them with awe, and even with horror ; like one who has sailed through a long relentless whirlwind in mid- ocean, just escaping shipwreck. No one of the pow- ers of Europe was heartily his ally. Russia will soon leave him for Austria. His great deeds become to him so many anxieties ; he dreads the want of per- petuity to his system, which meets with persistent and deadly enmity. He seeks rest ; and strong and unavoidable antagonisms allow his wasted strength no repose. He is childless and alone ; his nephew, who will be his successor, neglects him,^ and follows other counsels ; his own brother hopes and prays to heaven that the king's days may not be prolonged.^ Worn by unparalleled labor and years, he strikes against obstacles on all sides in seeking to give a sure life to his kingdom ; and his consummate prudence teaches him that he must still dare and suffer and go on. He must maintain Protestant and intellectual liberty, and

*" Domestic events likewise tor- Val, Berlin, 23 Oct., 1775, in

ment him; his successor feeling Malmesbury Papers, second ed.,

that, according to the course of i. 118.

nature, he soon must become king, * Joseph to Kaunitz, Brussels, begins to anticipate himself, and 24 July, 1781, in Joseph U., Leo- treats his uncle with less respect pold 11. , und Kaunitz. Herausge- and deference than he did for- geben von Beer, 97. merly." Harris to Daniel De la

THE KELATIONS OF THE TWO NEW POWERS. 99

the liberty of Germany, against Austria, which uses chap. the imperial crown only for its advantage as a foreign J!JL/ power, and with relentless perseverance aims at the destruction of his realm.

The impartiality of Frederic extended to the forms of government. The most perfect he held to be that of a well-administered monarchy. " But then," he added, " kingdoms are subjected to the caprice of a single man whose successors will have no common character. A good-for-nothing prince suc- ceeds an ambitious one ^ then follows a devotee ; then a warrior ; then a scholar ; then, it may be, a voluptuary: and the genius of the nation, diverted by the variety of objects, assumes no fixed character. But republics fulfil more promptly the design of their institution, and hold out better ; for good kings die, but wise laws are immortal. There is unity in the end which republics propose, and in the means which they employ ; and they therefore almost never miss their aim." ^ The republic which arose in America encountered no unfavorable prejudice in his mind.

The relations of Frederic to England and to France changed with the changing character of their govern- ments. Towards the former, a Protestant power, he, as the head of the chief Protestant power on the con- tinent, naturally leaned. Against France, whose dissolute king made himself the champion of super- stition, he had fought for seven years ; but, with the France which protected the United States, he had a common feeling. Liberal English statesmen com- manded his good- will; but he detested the policy of

» Des Moeurs et des Coutumes (Euvres de Fr^d^ric le Grand, i. sous la Dynastie des HohenzoUern. 208, 239.

100 AMEEICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. Bute and , of North : so that for him and the United

w^ States there were in England the same friends and the same enemies.

17 74. In November, 1774, he expressed the opinion that the British colonies would rather be buried under the ruins of their settlements than submit to the yoke of the mother country. Maltzan, his minister in Lon- don, yielded to surrounding influences, and in Febru-

17 75. ary, 1775, wishing to pave the way for an alliance between the two powers, wrote : " The smallest attention would flatter the ministry beyond all ex- pression." " What motive have I," answered Fred- eric, " to flatter Lord North ? I see none : the love I bear my people imposes on me no necessity to seek the alliance of England." ^ He w^as astonished at the apathy and gloomy silence of the British nation on undertaking a war alike absurd and fraught with hazard.^ " The treatment of the colonies," he wrote in September, " appears to me to be the first step towards despotism. If in this the king should suc- ceed, he will by and by attempt to impose his own will npon the mother country." ^

In October, 1775, the British minister at BerHn reported of the Prussian king : " His ill state of health threatens him with a speedy dissolution." * It was while face to face with death that Frederic wrote of the August proclamation of George the Third: " It seems to me very hard to proclaim as rebels free subjects who only defend their privileges against the

* Frederic to Maltzan, 27 Feb., * Harris to Suffolk, 7 and 17

1776. Oct., and 21 Nov., 1775. Hanis

2 Ibid., 17 July, 1775. to De la Val, at Copenhagen, 23

8 Ibid., 11 Sept., 1775, and com- Oct., 1775, in Malmesbury Papers,

pare 14 Aug., 1775. i. 116-118.

THE EELATIONS OF THE TWO NEW POWERS. 101

despotism of a ministry." ^ While still but half chap. recovered from a long, painful, and complicated sick- J^ ness, he explained the processes of his mind when 17 7 5, others thought him dying : " The more I reflect on the measures of the British government, the more they appear to me arbitrary and despotic. The Brit- ish constitution itself seems to authorize resistance. That the court has provoked its colonies to withstand its measures, nobody can doubt. It invents new taxes ; it wishes by its own authority to impose them on its colonies in manifest breach of their privileges : the colonies do not refuse their former taxes, and demand only with regard to new ones to be placed on the same footing with England ; but the govern- ment will not accord to them the right to tax them- selves. This is, in short, the whole history of these disturbances.

" During my illness, in which I have passed many moments doing nothing, these are the ideas that occu- pied my mind ; and it seems to me that they could not escape any reasonable Englishman who is naturally much more interested than I. Everything which is taking place in America can be to me very indifferent in the main ; and I have no cause to embarrass myself either about the form of government that will be established there, or the degree of influence of the party of Bute in the mother country. But every patriotic Englishman must deplore the turn which the affairs of his country are taking under the present administration, and the odious perspective which it opens before him." ^

1 Frederic to Maltzan, 9 Oct., ' Frederic to Maltzan, 13 Nov., 1775. 1775.

102 amekicajnt independence.

CHAP. " The court carries its point against all principles w^ of true patriotism, and treads under foot.tlie rules of 17 75. sound policy."^ "If I had a voice in the British cabinet, I should take advantage of the good dis- position of the colonies to reconcile myself with them."^ "In order to interest the nation in this war, the British court will, it is true, offer conditions of reconciliation ; but it will make them so burden- some that the colonies will never be able to accept them." ^ " The issue of this contest cannot fail to make an epoch in British annals."*

u The great question is always whether the colo- nies will not find means to separate entirely from the mother country and form a free repubhc. The exam- ples of the Netherlands and of Switzerland make me at least presume that this is not impossible. It is very certain that nearly all Europe takes the part of the colonies and defends their cause, while that of the court finds neither favor nor aid. Persons who have lately been in England, and with whom I have spoken, make no secret with me, that the higher classes of the nation are no longer so enthusiastic for their Hberty. From all that I have learned, it appears that the ancient British spirit is almost totally eclipsed." ^ When the ministry confessed its inability to reduce the colonies except by the sub- vention of foreign troops, he wrote : " The impru- dence of Lord North shows itseH in the clearest light; and surely he ought not to be at his ease, when he considers that it is he who has plunged

' Frederic to Maltzan, 27 Nov., * Frederic to Maltzan, 80 Not.,

1775. 1775.

* Ibid., 30 Nov., 1775. » Ibid., 18 Dec, 1775. 3 Ibid., 7 Dec, 1775.

THE RELATIONS OF THE TWO NEW POWERS. 103

his country into this abyss of embarrassment and chap. difficulties." 1 J^

No prince could be farther than Frederic from 17 75. romantic attempts to rescue from oppression foreio-n colonies that were beyond his reach. In his cabinet papers for several years, relating to England, France, the Netherlands, Russia, and other powers, I have found no letter or part of a letter in which he allowed the interest of his kingdom to suffer from personal pique, or passion, or dynastic influences. His cares are for the country which he rather serves than rules. He sees and exactly measures its weak- ness as well as its strength ; he cares for every one of its disconnected parts, and gathers them all under his wings. But he connects his policy with the movement of the world towards light and reason, the amelioration of domestic and international law. ,

When in May, 1776, the Prussian minister in 17 76. London offered to submit a plan for a direct com- merce with America, so as to open a sale for Silesian cloths, and at the same time to procure American products at the cheapest rate,^ Frederic answered: " The plan appears to me very problematical. With- out a fleet, how could I cause such a commerce to be respected ? "^ "I shall never be able to form a navy strong enough to protect it." *

In September, he received from his minister in London^ a French version of the American dec- laration of independence. He had predicted that

1 Frederic to Maltzan, 4 Jan., * Frederic to Maltzan, 1 July,

1776. 1776.

' Maltzan to Frederic, 21 May, * Maltzan to Frederic, 20 Aug.,

1776. 1776. Frederic to Maltzan, Pots-

3 Frederic to Maltzan, 3 June, dam, 2 Sept., 1776. 1776.

104 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, measure when first informed that the mother coun- .— ^J^ try sought the aid of foreign troops to reduce her 17 7 6. colonies ; ^ and now, as the British had not had decisive success in arms, the declaration was to him a clear indication that the colonies could not be sub- jugated. He had heard of the death-bed remark of Hume, that the success of the court would bring to England the loss of her liberties? " If, under such circumstances," he continued, " the nation should suffer the faction of Bute and the tories to infringe with impunity the form of their government, they certainly merit no longer the name of free Britons."^ With a commercial agent, sent in the following November by Silas Deane, he declined to treat; for he saw endless difficulties in the way of establishing a direct commerce between the United States and Prussia : but he consented to an exchang-e of com- ' modities through the ports of Brittany.^

That France and Spain would be drawn into the war, he from the first foretold, yet not without mis- givings as to the effect on themselves.^ " France," said he, on the day on which congress in committee decided for independence, " France resembles a sick man who is just rising from a grievous malady and yet assumes the air of robust health."^ "In the ruinous condition of its finances, a war would cer- tainly bring bankruptcy in its train." "^

'- Frederic to Maltzan, 23 Oct., burg, 2 Dec, 1776. Frederic to

1775. Goltz, 2 Dec, 1776.

' Maltzan to Frederic, 6 Sept., ^ Frederic to Goltz, 4 March, 3

1776. April, 11 June, 20 June, 1 July, 8 Frederic to Maltzan, 10 Oct. , 23 April, 1776.

1776. « Frederic to Sandoz Rollin, 1

* Schulenburg to Frederic, 30 July, 1776.

Nov. , 1776. Frederic to Schulen- ' Frederic to Maltzan, 8 April ,

THE EELATIONS OF THE TWO NEW POWERS. 105

Meantime the liberties of Germany, not less than chap. those of the United States, were endangered ; and the wv-*' political question of the day assumed the largest pro- 17 7 6. portions. In the event of the death of the childless elector of Bavaria, Joseph of Austria was prepared, under the false pretext of a right of inheritance, to appropriate a large part of that electorate. To pre- vent so fatal a measure, the king of Prussia, in the last months of 1776, began to draw near to France, which was one of the guarantees of the peace of Westphalia.^

His desire for a " good understanding " with that power ^ was cordially reciprocated by Yergennes.^ On the advent of the rupture between France and England, he announced that England should receive no aid from Prussia ; and Vergennes on his side gave the hint that France, if it should become involved in the conflict, would confine itself to a maritime war.*

The year 1777 opened with nearer approaches be- 17 77. tween the courts of Potsdam and Versailles.^ Fred- eric, while " he never ceased to be on his guard on every side, and held himself prepared for every event,'' ^ on the seventh of January instructed his minister more definitely: "Should France begin war, she may be sure that I will do everything in the world to preserve peace " on the continent. " Convince the ministry at Versailles of this ; and

1776. Compare Frankenstein and * Goltz to Frederic, 26 Dec,

Herzberg ad mandatum to Goltz, 1776.

28 iSept., 1776. « Frederic to Goltz, 2 Jan.,

1 Frederic to Goltz, 14 Nov., 1777, and Goltz to Frederic, 2 1776. Jan., 1777.

2 Ibid., 9 Dec, 1776. « Frederic to Goltz, 30 Jan.,

3 Goltz to Frederic, 22 Dec, 1777. 1776.

106 AMERICAN" INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, add that France will not find me in her way, nor

-^-.^^ have any reason to complain of my policy."^ "I

17 77. guarantee to you reciprocity on the part of his

most Christian majesty/' was the answer of Mau-

repas.^

On the fourteenth of February, 1777, the Amer- ican commissioners at Paris transmitted to Frederic a copy of the declaration of independence, and of the articles of American confederation, with the formal expression of the earnest desire of the United States to obtain his friendship, and to establish a mut- ually beneficial free commerce between their distant countries. The great king received from Franklin with unmingled satisfaction the manifesto of the republic and its first essay at a constitution. The victories of Washington at Trenton and Princeton had already proved to him that the colonies were become a nation. He supported the rights of neutrals in their fullest extent ; and, when England began to issue letters of marque, he stigmatized privateers as " pirates of the sea."^ But, as to a direct commerce, he could only answer as before : " I am without a navy ; having no armed ships to protect trade, the direct commerce could be conducted only under the flag of the Nether- lands, and England respects that flag no longer. St. Eustatius is watched by at least ninety English cruis- ers. Under more favorable circumstances, our linens of Silesia, our woollens and other manufactures, might find a new market." But, while he postponed nego- tiations, he, who was accustomed to utter his com-

* Frederic to Goltz, 7 Jan., ' Goltz to Frederic, 30 Jan., 1777. 1777.

3 Frederic to Goltz, 24 Feb., 1777.

THE RELATIOIs^S OF THE TWO NEW POWERS. 107

mands tersely and not to repeat his words, charged chap. his minister/ thrice over in the same rescript, to say w^— ' and do nothing that could offend or wound the Amer- 17 7 7. ican people.

In the remaining years of the war, some one of the American agents would ever and anon renew the same proposition; but he always in gentle words turned aside the request which interfered with his nearer duty to Prussia.

I have already related the visit of Arthur Lee to Berlin. The rash man, who was then British envoy to Prussia, attempted to throw upon the officiousness of a servant the blame of having stolen the Amer- ican papers, which he himself received and read.^ Against the rules of the court, he hurried to Pots- dam : the king refused to see him ; and a scornful cabinet order, in his own handwriting, still preserves his judgment upon Elhott: "It is a case of public theft, and he should be forbidden the court; but I will not push matters with rigor." And to his min- ister in London the king wrote: "Oh, the worthy pupil of Bute ! In truth, the English ought to blush for shame at sending such ministers to foreign courts." ^

Whoever will understand the penetrating sagacity of the statesmen of France in the eighteenth century must search the records of their diplomacy : the vigor of the British political mind must be studied in the debates in parliament; at the courts of foreign powers, England in those days did not feel the need of employing able men.

1 Frederic to Schulenburg, 12 « Letters of John Quincy Adams March, 1777. on Silesia, 258.

» Frederic to Maltzan, 30 June, 1777.

108 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. The people of that kingdom cherished the fame of ^-^^ the Prussian king as in some measure their own ; not 17 7 7. aware how basely Bute had betrayed him, they unani- mously desired the renewal of his alhance ; and the ministry sought to open the way for it through his envoy in London. Frederic, in his replies, made the most frank avowal of his policy : " No man is further removed than myself from having connections with England." ^ " We will remain on the footing on which we now are with her." ^ " France knows perfectly well that it has absolutely nothing to apprehend from me in case of a war with England. My indifference for this latter power can surprise nobody : ^ a scalded cat fears cold water,' says the proverb ; and, in fact, what could be the union to contract with this crown after the signal experience that I have had of its duplicity ? If it would give me all the millions possible, I would not furnish it two small files of my troops to serve against the colonies. Neither can it expect from me a guarantee of its electorate of Hanover. I know by the past too well what the like guarantee has cost me to have any desire to renew it." ^ " Although I was then its ally, its conduct towards me was that of a thorough enemy."

" Never in past ages," he continued, some weeks later, " has the situation of England been so critical. The nation itself seems to me to have degenerated. Once so proud and so jealous of its liberty, it aban- dons the ship of state to the caprice of its ministry, which is without men of talent."* " A reconciHation

* Frederic to Maltzan, 24 Feb., ' Frederic to Maltzan, 7 April, 1777. 1777.

« Ibid., 3 March, 1777. * Ibid., 4 Aug., 1777.

THE RELATIONS OF THE TWO NEW POWEES. 109

would be the wisest policy for England ; and, because chap. it would be the wisest policy, it will not be adopted." ^ J!^

" England will make the sacrifice of thirty-six mill- 17 7 7. ion crowns for one campaign." ^ "True, her min- istry can find thirty-six millions more easily than I a single florin."^ " But the largest sums will not be sufficient to procure the sailors and recruits she needs ; the storm which is forming between the courts of England and France will burst forth"* "not later than the next spring." ^ " And a glance at the sit- uation shows that, if she continues to employ the same generals, four campaigns will hardly be enough to subjugate her colonies." ^ " All good judges agree with me that, if the colonies remain united, the mother country will never subjugate them.""^

In the interim, Frederic wished the ministry to know that he had refused to the American emissaries the use of Embden as a base for troubling British navigation. " You have only to declare to the Brit- ish government," so he instructed his envoy in Lon- don, " that my marine is nothing but a mercantile marine, of which I know the limits too well to go beyond them."^ "If the colonies shall sustain their independence, a direct commerce with them will fol- low, of course."^

Having taken his position towards England, he pro- ceeded to gain the aid of France as well as of Kussia against the annexation of Bavaria to the Austrian

1 Frederic to Maltzan, 13 Oct., « Frederic to Maltzan,28 Aug.,

1777. 1777. » Ibid., 28 Aug., 1777. ^ Ibid., 7 July, 1777.

8 Ibid., 29 Sept., 1777. « Ibid., 19 July, 1777.

* Ibid., 19 July, 1777, 85-87. » Ibid., 7 July, 1777.

6 Ibid., 4 Sept. ,1777.

110 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, dominions ; and in the breast of the aged Maurepas, w-^J-. whose experience in office preceded the seven years' 17 7 7. war, there remained enough of the earlier French traditions to render him jealous of such an aggran- dizement of the old rival of his country. The vital importance of the question was understood at Pots- dam and at Vienna. Kaunitz, who made it the cardinal point of Austrian policy to overthrow the kingdom of Prussia, looked upon the acquisition of Bavaria as the harbinger of success. When Joseph repaired to Paris to win France for his design through the influence of his sister, Marie Antoinette, the Prus- sian envoy was commanded to be watchful, but to be silent. No sooner had the emperor retired than Fred- eric, knowing that Maurepas had resisted the influ- ence of the queen, renewed his efforts ; and, through a confidential French agent sent to him under the pretext of attending the midsummer military re- views at Magdeburg, the two kingdoms adjusted their foreign policy, of which the central points lay in the United States and in Germany.

France, if she would venture on war with England, needed security and encouragement from Frederic on the side of Germany, and his aid to stop the sale of German troops.-^ He met the overture with joy, and near the end of July wrote with his own hand : " No ; certainly we have no jealousy of the aggran- dizement of France : we even put up prayers for her prosperity, provided her armies are not found near Wesel or Halberstadt."^ "You can assure M. de Maurepas," so he continued in August and Septem-

^ Sandoz Rollin to Frederic, 24 ' Frederic to Goltz, 28 July, July, 1777. 1777.

THE RELATIONS OF THE TWO NEW POWERS. Ill

ber, " that I have no connection whatever with Eng- chap. land, nor do I grudge to France any advantages she vJ^L. may gain by the war with the colonies." ^ " Her first 17 7 7. interest requires the enfeeblement of Great Britain, and the way to this is to make it lose its colonies in America. The present opportunity is more favor- able than ever before existed, and more favorable than is likely to recur in three centuries."^ "The independence of the colonies will be worth to France all which the war will cost."^

As the only way to bridle the ambition of Austria, and to preserve the existence of his own kingdom and the liberties of Germany, he pressed upon the French council an alliance of France, Prussia, and Russia. "Italy and Bavaria,'* he said, "would follow, and no alliance would be left to Austria except that with England.* If it does not take place, troubles are at hand to be decided only by the sword." ^ In his infirm old age, he felt his own powers utterly un- equal to the renewal of such a conflict; and he saw no hope for himself, as king of Prussia, to rescue Bavaria and with it Germany from absorption by Austria, except in the good-will of France and Russia.

While Frederic was encouraging France to strike a decisive blow in favor of the United States, their cause found an efficient advocate in Marie Antoinette. She placed in the hands of her husband a memoir which had been prepared by Count de Maillebois and

^ Frederic to Goltz, from Neu- « Frederic to Goltz, 11 Sept., dorf, 31 Aug., 1777. 1777.

2 Frederic to Goltz, 8 Sept., * Ibid., 2 Oct., 1777, and 6 1777. Oct., 1777.

' Ibid., 16 Oct., 1777.

112 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. Count d'Estaing,^ and which severely censured the ._^-!-. tunid policy of his ministers from the very beginning 17 7 7. of the troubles in America. The states of Europe, it was saidj would judge the reign of Louis the Six- teenth by the manner in which that prince will know how to avail himself of the occasion to lower the pride and presumption of a rival power. The French council, nevertheless, put off the day of decision. Even so late as the twenty-third of November, every one of them, except the minister of the marine and Yergennes, Maurepas above all, desired to avoid a conflict.^ Frederic, on his part, all the more con- tinued his admonitions, through his minister at Paris, that France had now an opportunity which must be regarded as unique; that England could from no quarter obtain the troops which she needed; that Denmark would be solicited in vain to furnish ships of war and mariners; that he himseK, by refusing passage through any part of his dominions to the recruits levied in Germany, had given public evi- dence of his sympathy with the Americans; that France, if she should go to war with England, might be free from apprehension alike on the side of Kussia and of Prussia.

So when the news of the surrender of Burgoyne's army was received at Paris, and every face, even that of the French king, showed signs of joy,^ Maurepas prepared to yield; but first wished the great warrior who knew so well the relative forces of the house of Bourbon and England to express his

^ Goltz to Frederic, 5 Oct., ^ Qojtz to Frederic, 23 Nov., 1777. 1777.

» Goltz to Frederic, 7 Dec, 1777.

THE RELATIONS OF THE TWO NEW POWERS. 113

judgment on the probable issues of a war ; and Fred- chap. eric, renewing assurances of his own good-will and J^ the non-interference of Eussia, replied, "that the 17 77. chances were one hundred to one in favor of great advantages to France ; that the colonies would sustain their independence." ^

Balancing the disasters of Burgoyne with the suc- cesses of Howe, he wrote : " These triumphs of Howe are ephemeral. The ministry would feel a counter- blow if the English had not degenerated from their ancient spirit. They may get funds, but where will they get twenty thousand men ? Neither Sweden nor Denmark will furnish them; and, as she is at variance with Holland, she will find no assistance there. Will England apply to the small princes of the empire ? Their military force is already too much absorbed. I see no gate at which she can knock for auxiliaries; and nothing remains to her but her electorate of Hanover, exposed to be in- vaded by France the moment that she shall leave it bare of troops." ^

" England made originally an awkward mistake in going to war with its colonies ; then followed the illusion of being able to subjugate them by a corps of seven thousand men ; next, the scattering its dif- ferent corps, which has caused the failure of all its enterprises. I am of Chatham's opinion, that the ill success of England is due to the ignorance, rashness, and incapacity of its ministry. Even should there be a change in the ministry, the tories would still retain

' Frederic to Goltz, 25 Dec, 2 Frederic to Maltzan , 18 Dec, 1777. Compare Frederic to Malt- 1777. zan, 22Dec, 1777.

VOL. X. 8

114 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, the ascendency." ^ " The primal source of the de- s^-^ cay of Britain is to be sought in the departure of 17 7 7. its present government in a sovereign degree from the principles of British history. All the efforts of his Britannic majesty tend to despotism. It is only to the principles of the tories that the present war with the colonies is to be attributed. The re-en- forcements which the^e same ministers design to send to America will not change the face of affairs ; and independence will always be the indispensable con- dition of an accommodation. Everything is to be expected from a ministry as corrupt as the present British ministry. It is entirely a slave to the king, who will make of it whatever he pleases. Without patriotism, it will take no measures but false ones, diametrically contrary to the true interests of the country ; and this will be the first step towards the decay which menaces the British constitution." ^

At the same time Frederic expressed more freely his sympathy with the United States. The port of Embden could not receive their cruisers, for the want of a fleet or a fort to defend them from insult ; but he offered them an asylum in the Baltic at Dantzic. He attempted, though in vain, to dissuade the prince of Anspach from furnishing troops to England ; and he forbade the subsidiary troops both from Anspach and Hesse to pass through his dominions. The pro- hibition, which was made as pubhcly as possible, and just as the news arrived of the surrender of Burgoyne, resounded throughout Europe ; and he announced to the Americans that it was given " to testify his good-

^ Frederic to Maltzan, 22 Dec, ^ Frederic to Maltzan, 25 Dec, 1777. • 1777.

THE RELATIONS OF THE TWO NEW POWERS. 115

will for them." ^ Every facility was afforded to the chap. American commissioners to purchase and ship arms w^ from Prussia. Before the end of 1777 he promised 17 7 7. not to be the last to recognise the independence of the United States -, ^ and in January, 1778, his minis- 17 7 8. ter, Schulenburg, wrote officially to one of their com- ^^' missioners in Paris : " The king desires that your gen- erous efforts may be crowned with complete success. He will not hesitate to recognise your independence, when France, which is more directly interested in the event of this contest, shall have given the ex- ample." ^

' Schulenburg to Wm. Lee, 3 ^ Schulenburg to Arthur Lee, Feb., 1778. 18 Dec, 1777.

8 Schulenburg to Arthur Lee, 16 Jan., 1778.

CHAPTER IV.

the beitish reteeat from pennsylvania.

Mat-June, 1778.

The rescript of France, which announced to the British ministry her acknowledgment of American 17 7 8. independence, assumed as a principle of public law that a nationality may, by its own declaration, speak itself into being. The old systems of the two gov- ernments were reversed. The British monarchy, which from the days of WilHam of Orange had been the representative of toleration and hberty, put forth its strength in behalf of unjust authority; while France became the foster-mother of republicanism. In one respect France was more suited than Britain to lead the peoples of Europe in the road to free- dom. On the release of her rural population from serfdom, a large part of them retained rights to the soil; and, though bowed down under grievous burdens and evil laws, they had a shelter and acres from which they could not be evicted. The saddest defect in English life was the absence of a class of

THE BRITISH RETREAT FROM PENNSYLVANIA. 117

small freeholders, the class which constituted the chap. strength of France, of the most enlightened parts ^— v^ of Germany, and of the states which Great Britain ^^J^- had formed by colonization. In England and Scot- land and Ireland, though "the property by feudal law was strictly in the tenant," ^ the feudal chiefs had taken to themselves in absolute ownership nearly all the ground ; the landless people, dependent in the rural districts on their lords, were never certain of their to-morrow ; and the government was controlled by an aristocracy which had no political check but in the crown.

On the fourth of May the treaties of commerce 4. and alliance with Louis the Sixteenth were unani- mously ratified by congress, with grateful acknowl- edgments of his magnanimous and disinterested conduct, and the " wish that the friendship so hap- pily commenced between France and the United States might be perpetuated." The rivalries of cen- turies, in which the Americans had been involved only from their dependence on England, were effaced for ever ; all Frenchmen became their friends, and the king of France was proclaimed " the protector of the rights of mankind."

In Washington's camp Lafayette smiled as he read, that his government dated the independence of America from the moment of its own declaration, and said prophetically : " Therein lies a principle of national sovereignty which one day will be recalled to them at home." On the sixth the alliance was 0. celebrated at YaUey Forge. After a salute of thir- teen cannon and a running fire of all the musketry,

» HaUam's Middle Ages, i. 316, ed. 1872.

118 AMEEICAK INDEPENDENCE.

(^HAP. the army, drawn up in two lines, shouted : " Long w^w Hve the king of France ! " and again : " Long live 17 7 8. the friendly European powers ! " and the ceremonies 8. were closed by a huzza for the American states.

In an address to the inhabitants of the United States, congress assumed that independence was secured, and they proclaimed the existence of a new people, though they could not hide its want of a government. They rightly represented its ter- ritory as of all others the most extensive and most blessed in its climate and productions 5 they confessed financial embarrassments, because no taxes had been laid to carry on the war ; and they invited their countrymen to " bring forth their armies into the field," while men of leisure were encouraged to collect moneys for the public funds. In return for all losses, they promised " the sweets of a free com- merce with every part of the earth." 18. On the eighteenth of May a festival was given to General Howe by thirty of his officers, most of them members of his staff. The numerous company em- barked on the Delaware above the town, and, to the , music of one hundred and eight hautboys, rowed two miles down the stream in galleys and boats, glitter- ing with colors and streamers. They passed two hundred transport vessels tricked out in bravery and crowded with lookers-on ; and, landing to the tune of " God save the king " under salutes from two deco- rated ships of war, they marched between lines of cavalry and infantry and all the standards of the army to a lawn, where, in presence of their chosen ladies raised on thrones, officers, fantastically dressed as knights and squires, engaged in a tournament.

THE BEITISH EETREAT FROM PENNSYLVANIA. 119

After this they proceeded under an ornamented chap. arch to a splendidly furnished house, where dancing vJ3— began ; and a gaming table was opened with a bank 1 7 7 8. of two thousand guineas. The tickets of admission i^^ described the guest of the night as the setting sun, bright at his going down, but destined to rise in greater glory; and fireworks in dazzling letters promised him immortal laurels. At midnight a sup- per of four hundred and thirty covers was served under the Hght of twelve hundred wax candles, and was enlivened, by an orchestra of more than one hun- dred instruments. Dancing continued till the sun 19. was more than an hour high.^ Never had subor- dinates given a more brilliant farewell to a departing general : and it was doubly dear to their commander ; for it expressed their belief that the ministry had wronged him, and that his own virtue pointed him out for advancement.

The festival was hardly over, when Howe was informed that Lafayette, with twenty-five hundred men and eight cannon, had crossed the Schuylkill, and, twelve miles from Valley Forge, had taken a post of observation on the range of Barren Hill. Flushed with the hope of ending his American career with lustre, he resolved by a swift movement to capt- ure the party. At ten on the night of the nine- teenth, he sent Grant at the head of fifty-three hundred chosen men, with the best guides, to gain by roundabout ways the rear of Lafayette. They 20. were followed the next morning by fifty-seven hun- dred selected troops, commanded by Howe himself, assisted by Clinton and Knyphausen, with Lord

^ MS. Journal of Munchausen, aide-de-camp of General Howe.

120 AMERICAK INDEPE]S'DE]SrCE.

CHAP. Howe to witness the discomfit of the youthful gen- w^ eral, whom he was to ship to England. At Chestnut 17 7 8. Hill they were to meet the American party after its 20. rout 5 but they listened in vain for the sound of can- non, and at noon Grant came in sight with only his own detachment. Lafayette had been surprised and his direct communication with Yalley Forge cut off ; but a lower ford called Matson's, which was nearer to Grant than to him, remained unoccupied. Send- ing small parties into the woods, to present them- selves as the heads of attacking columns, he had deceived his antagonist, and crossed the ford while Grant was preparing to give battle.

Wajrvvorn and crestfallen, Howe returned to the 24. city. On the twenty-fourth he gave up to Sir Henry Clinton the command of an army which excelled in discipline, health, and alertness. Of the officers who attended him to the place of embarkation, the most gallant shed tears at the parting ; and Knyphausen, from deep emotion, could not finish the address which he began in their name.

Brave and an adept in military science, Howe had failed in the conduct of the war from sluggish dila- toriness, want of earnest enterprise, and love of the pleasures which excite a coarse nature. On landing near Bunker Hill he had sufficient troops to have turned the position of the Americans; but he de- layed just long enough for them to prepare for his attack. He was driven out of Boston from his most unmilitary neglect to occupy Dorchester heights which overlook the town. He took his troops in midwinter to the bleak, remote, and then scarcely inhabited Halifax, instead of sailing to Rhode Island,

THE BRITISH RETREAT FROM PENNSYLVANIA. 121

or some convenient nook on Lono- Island within the chap.

IV

sound, where he would have found a milder climate, w-v— ' greater resources, and nearness to the scene of his 1^7 8. next campaign. In the summer of 1776, marching by night to attack General Putnam in his lines at Brooklyn, he lost the best chance of success by halt- ing his men for rest and breakfast. When his officers still reported to him that they could easily storm the American intrenchments, he forbade them to make the attempt. His want of vigilance was so great that he let Washington pass a day in collecting boats, and a night and morning in retreating across an arm of the sea, and knew not what was done till he was roused from slumber after sunrise.

When with his undivided force he might have reached Philadelphia, he detached four brigades and eleven ships of war to Ehode Island, where the troops remained for three years in idle uselessness. Failing to cross the Delaware, he occupied New Jersey with insulated detachments which Washington was able • to cut to pieces in detail. In 1777, instead of an early and active campaign, he lingered in New York till midsummer, and then neglected to make a con- nection with Burgoyne. He passed the winter in Philadelphia without once attempting to break up the American camp at Yalley Forge, corrupting his own army by his example of licentiousness, and teach- ing the younger officers how to ruin themselves by gaming. The manner in which he threw up his com- mand was a defiance of his government, and an open declaration to all Europe ^ that the attempt of Eng- land to reduce its colonies must certainly fail. The

' Frederic to Maltzan, 7 July, 1777.

June 6.

122 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, affections of his officers were so won by indulgence,

w-^ that they parted from such a general as though they

17 7 8. were bidding farewell to a meritorious commander.

Nothing saved him from reprobation in England but

that Lord George Germain had made mistakes still

graver than his own.

Meantime Lord Howe and Sir Henry Clinton, each acting under special instructions, separately commu- nicated the three conciliatory acts of parliament to congress, who received them on the sixth of June, and on the same day answered : " They have in April last expressed their sentiments upon bills not essen- tially different from those acts. When the king of Great Britain shall be seriously disposed to end the unprovoked war waged against these United States, they will readily attend to such terms of peace as may consist with the honor of independent nations and the sacred regard they mean to pay to treaties."

On the day of this second rejection of Lord North's offers, the three British commissioners arrived in Phil- adelphia. In sailing up the Delaware, they had seen enough " to regret ten thousand times that their rulers, instead of a tour through the worn-out countries of Europe, had not finished their education with a visit round the coasts and rivers of this beautiful and boundless continent." The Enghsh rivers shrunk for them into rills; they predicted that in a few years the opulent "village" of Philadelphia, which it seemed to them most melancholy to desert, would become a magnificent metropolis. The result of their mission was watched with intense interest throughout all Europe, especially at Versailles and in the Nether- lands; but the creation of their office was a mere

THE BRITISH RETREAT FROM PENNSYLVANIA. 123

device to aid Lord North in governing the house of chap. commons, and to "reconcile the people of England w^ to a continuance of the war."^ Carlisle, the first 177 8. commissioner, had in the house of lords "spoken with warmth upon the insolence of the rebels " for refusing to treat with the Howes, and had stigmatized the people of America as "base and unnatural chil- dren" of England. The second commissioner was an under-secretary, whose chief, a few weeks before, in the same assembly, had scoffed at congress as a " body of vagrants." ^ The third was Johnstone, who had lately in parliament justified the Americans and charged the king with hypocrisy.

There never was any expectation on the part of the ministry that the commission would be success- ful, or it would have been differently constituted. In the certainty that it would not be received, Germain had given orders for the prosecution of the war, and on a different plan,^ such as a consciousness of weak- ness might inspire in a cruel and revengeful mind. Clinton was ordered to abandon Philadelphia; to hold New York and Ehode Island; to curtail the boun- daries of the thirteen states on the north-east and on the south ; to lay waste Virginia by means of ships of war ; and to attack Providence, Boston, and aU accessible ports between New York and Nova Scotia, destroying vessels, wharfs, stores, and materials for ship-building. At the same time the Indians, from Detroit* all along the frontiers of the west and

1 Richard Jackson to Wm. S. Lord George Germain to Sir H.

Johnson, 30 Nov. , 1784, MS. Clinton, Whitehall, 8 March, 1778.

^ Suffolk, 11 Dec, 1777, in ^ Germain's Canada Correspon-

Almon, X. 119; Burke, iii. 372. dence, passim.

' '' Most " secret instructions of

124 AMERICAN INDEPEN^DENCE.

CHAP, south ^ to Florida, were to be hounded on to spread^-

17 78.

dismay and to murder. No active operations at the . north were expected, except the devastation of towns on the sea, and raids of the alUed savages on the border. The king, under his sign-manual, ordered Clinton to detach five thousand men for the con- quest of the French island, St. Lucia.^ June. As the commissioners stepped on shore to receive the submission of the colonies,^ and on their submis- sion to pardon their rebelhon, they found to their extreme surprise and chagrin* that orders for the immediate evacuation of Philadelphia had preceded . them, and were just being executed. About three thousand of the most tenderly bred of the inhabitants- were escaping to embark in British ships. " The commission," it was said, " can do no good now : if Philadelphia is left to the rebels, independence is acknowledged, and America lost." In the streets that lately had the air of one continuous market- day, the stillness was broken by auctions of fm:ni- ture which lay in heaps on the sidewalks. Those who resolved to stay roused mournfully from e^ de- lusive confidence in British - protection to restless anxiety. In this strait the commissioners, as repre- sentatives of Britain, thought fit, in a communication to congress sealed with the image of a fond mother caressing her children,^ to recognise the constituency

^ Lord George Germain to Gen- king, 12 April, 1778; and Ger-

eral Prevost, Whitehall, 13 March, main to the commissioners of the

1779. same date.

' Secret instructions from the ^ Commissioners to Lord George

king to Sir H. Clinton, 21 March, Germain, Philadelphia, 15 June,

1778. 1778, and particularly postscript

^ The "particular and elabo- by Governor Johnstone,

rate" " orders and instructions" ^ J. Laurens to his father, 11

to the commissioners from the June, 1778.

THE BRITISH RETREAT FROM PENNSYLVANIA. 125

"^f congress as " states," and pressed them to accept chap. perfect freedom of legislation and of internal govern- ^^-J^ mentj representation in parliament, and an exemption 1 7 7 8. from the presence of military forces, except with their own permission; in short, the gratification of " every wish that America had expressed." And they insinuated that France was the common enemy.

These offers, which were made without authority^ and were therefore fraudulent, they wrote from a fly- ing army ; and, before an answer could be received, they had sailed down the Delaware. The land crowned with stately forests, and seeming to them the richest country in the world ; the river covered with vessels Ln full sail crowded with people leaving the city of their birth and all their property, except what they could carry with them, and hurrying from an enemy consisting in part of relations and friends, — pre- sented a spectacle the most beautiful and the most sad.

Congress resented the letter of the commissioners as aii offence to their own honor and to their ally. They knew that their wars with France had been but a consequence of their connection with England ; that independence was peace ; and, by a unanimous vote, they on the seventeenth made answer as before : i7. " The idea of dependence is inadmissible. Congress

. will be ready to enter upon a treaty of peace and commerce, when the king of Great Britain shall de- monstrate a sincere disposition for that purpose by an explicit acknowledgment of the independence of these states, or withdrawing his fleets and armies." The American officers were of the same mind, except

1 George the Third to Lord North, 18 Sept., 1780.

126 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. Lee, who was false, and Gates, who, in the belief that

IV

V— -^— ^ everything contended for was granted, wished a

17 7 8. conference with the commissioners. Washington,

reproving Johnstone for addressing him a private

letter, assured him that " the voice of congress was

the general voice of the people."

The convention of Saratoga had been broken by the British at the time of the surrender by the con- cealment of the public chest and other public prop- erty of which the United States were thus defrauded. In November, 1777, Burgoyne had written a rash and groundless complaint of its violation by the Americans, and raised the implication that he might use the pretended breach to disengage himself and his government from all its obligations. In January, 1778, congress suspended the embarkation of his army until his capitulation should be expressly con- firmed by the court of Great Britain. Congress had also made a demand for lists of aU persons compre- hended in the surrender ; and a compliance with this very proper and even necessary requisition had been refused. The commissioners now desired to inter- vene and negotiate for leave for the captives to return to Europe. But their powers under their appointment reached the case only by construction ; and their acts might be disclaimed by their govern- ment as unwarranted. Besides, by their attempts at bribery, they had forfeited every claim to confi- dence. Congress, therefore, on the fourth of Sep- tember, without a dissentient voice, resolved to detain the troops till it should receive the most formal and irrevocable ratification of the convention by the high- est authority in Great Britain. The British, on their

IIHE BRITISH RETREAT FROM PENNSYLVANIA. 127

side, complained that an essential condition of the chap. capitulation remained unexecuted. v_v—

On the night following the seventeenth of June, 17 7 8. Sir Henry Chnton crossed the Delaware with more i7. than seventeen thousand effective men. To the loyalists the retreat appeared as a violation of the plighted faith of the British king. The winter's revelry was over ; honors and offices turned suddenly to bitterness and ashes; papers of protection were become only an opprobrium and a peril. Crowds of wretched refugees, with all of their possessions which they could transport, fled with the army. The sky sparkled with stars ; the air of the summer night was is. soft and tranquil, as the exiles, broken in fortune and without a career, went in despair from the only city they could love.

Had the several states fully met the requisitions of congress, the army of Washington would have been the master of New Jersey ; but while it was pining from their delinquency, Lee, then second in command, was treacherously plotting its ruin. His loud fault- finding was rebuked by the general for its "very mischievous" tendency.^ To secure to the British aa retreat " on velvet," ^ he had the effrontery to as- sert that, on leaving Philadelphia, they would move to the south. But the attempt to mislead Washing- ton was fruitless. In a council on the seventeenth, Lee advised that it would not be safe to attack the British, and carried with him all the officers except Greene, Lafayette, Wayne, and Cadwalader. Un- moved by the apathy of so many, Washington crossed

1 Washington's Writings, v. ^ Clinton, in Anbury's Travels, 404, 406, 407. u. 382.

128 A3IERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, the Delaware sixteen miles above Trenton, and de-

IV. . . .

« — ^ taching Maxwell's brigade of nine hundred to assist

177 8. a party of a thousand Jersey militia in destroying the 21- roads, and Morgan with a corps of six hundred to hang upon the enemy's right, he moved with the main army to Hopewell. There, on the twenty- fourth, Lee insisted in council that the Americans should rather build a bridge for the retreat of their enemies, than attack so well-disciplined an army. Lafayette rephed that it would be shameful to suffer the British to cross New Jersey with impunity ; that, without extreme risk, it was possible to engage their rear, and to take advantage of any favorable oppor- tunity : yet Lord StirUng and most of the brigadiers again sided with Lee. From AUentown the British general, fearing danger in crossing the Karitan, de- cided to march by way of Monmouth to Sandy Hook ; and Washington followed him in a parallel line, ready to strike his force at right angles.

The parties in advance, increased by Scott with 25^ fourteen hundred and forty men, and on the twenty- fifth by Wajrue with a thousand more, composed a third of the army, and formed a fit command for the oldest major-general. But Lee refused it, sayingt that the plans of the commander-in-chief must surely fail. Upon this Washington intrusted it to Lafayette, who marched towards the enemy with alacrity. Lee now fretted at the wrong which he pretended was done to himself and to Lord Stirhng. As Washing- ton heard him unmoved, he wrote to Lafayette : " My fortune and my honor are in your hands : you are too generous to ruin the one or the other." And this appeal succeeded.

THE BRITISH RETREAT FROM PENNSTLYANIA. 129

On the twenty-sixth Lee was sent forward with chap, two brigades, to command the whole advance party, Ji^ with orders to attack the enemy's rear. Intense heat 17 78. and heavy rains held both armies quiet on the twenty- 2?.^ seventh; but just after noon on that day Wash- ington, summoning the generals to headquarters, instructed them to engage the enemy on the next morning; and he directed Lee to concert with his officers the mode of attack. But when Lafayette, Wayne, and Maxwell at the appointed hour came to Lee, he refused to form a plan, so that none was made. Nor did he attempt to gain knowledge of the ground on which he was ordered to fight. In the evening he was charged by Washington to detach a party of six or eight hundred skirmishers to lie very near the enemy, and delay them, if they should move off at night, or early in the morning. The order was executed too tardily to have effect.

Informed, at ^ye in the morning of the twenty- 28. eighth, that the British had begun their march from Monmouth, Lee remained inert, till Washington, who was the first to be in motion, sent him orders to attack the British rear, unless there should be very powerful reasons to the contrary, promising to come up rapidly to his support. He obeyed so far as to move, but languidly, without a plan, and without any concert with his generals, or of them with one another. To a proposal of Lafayette, Lee answered : " You don't know the British soldiers: we cannot stand against them." Upon this Lafayette sent to Washington, that his presence on the field was needed ; and twice were similar messages sent by Laurens. Having orders to attack the enemy's left, Lafayette received

VOL. X. 9

130 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, counter orders before he had proceeded one quarter v^-^^ of the way. Wayne was on the point of engaging 17 78. the enemy in earnest, when he was enjoined only 28. to make a feint. There was marching and counter- marching, crossing and recrossing a bridge, and a halt for an hour. To a French officer who expressed surprise, Lee said : " I have orders from congress and the commander-in-chief not to engage." Yet, to ap- pear to do something, he professed as his object to cut off a small covering party.

Thus Sir Henry Clinton gained time for prepara- tion. His baggage, which occupied a line of eight miles or more, was sent onward, protected by a strong force under Knyphausen. The division of Cornwallis, and a brigade and a regiment of dragoons from Knyp- hausen's division, remained behind. At about eight in the morning Clinton sent against Lee two regi- ments of cavalry with the grenadiers, guards, and highlanders. Lee should now have ordered a re- treat; but he left the largest part of his command to act for themselves, and then expressed indignation that they had retreated, confessing in the same breath that this act alone saved them from destruction. There had been no engagement, attack, or skirmish ; nor was anything done to check the enemy as they followed the Americans through a narrow defile ; nor was an order sent by Lee to any of the parties to rally, or a report transmitted to the commander-in-chief.

When Washington encountered the fugitives, he, in a voice of anger, demanded of Lee : " What is the meaning of this ? " Abashed and confused, Lee stammered : " Sir — Sir," and to the renewed inquiry answered : " You know that the attack was contrary

THE BRITISH RETREAT FROM PENNSYLVANIA. 131

to my advice and opinion." ^ Washington rejoined : chap. " You should not have undertaken the command, w.^1-. unless you intended to carry it through." The pre- 17 7 8. cipitate flight of Lee, whether due to necessity, or 28. the want of ability, or treachery, spread a baleful influence. The flower of the British army, led by Clinton and Cornwallis and numbering from six to eight thousand, were hotly chasing an unresisting enemy, when Washington, with his faculties quick- ened by the vexations of the morning and with cheerful " trust in that Providence which had never failed the country in its hour of distress," took meas- ures to arrest the retreat. As the narrow road through which the enemy came on was bounded on each side by a morass, he swiftly formed two of the retreating regiments of Wayne's brigade, commanded by Stewart and Ramsay, in front of the pursuers and under their fire ; and thus gained time to plant the troops that were advancing with him upon good ground. This being done, he again met Lee, who was doing nothing, " like one in a private capacity;" and, finding in him no disposition to retrieve his char- acter,^ ordered him to the rear. Lee gladly left the

^ John Laurens to his father, pare Autograph Memoirs of La-

30 June, 1778, MS. fayette. Steuben: " I found Gen-

2 When Botta's admirable his- eral Lee on horseback before a

tory of our war of independence house." Doctor Machenry :" The

■was translated into English, John General [Lee] was on horseback,

Brooks of Massachusetts, who, on observing to a number of gentle-

the day at Monmouth, was Lee's men who were standing around,

aide-de-camp, and on the trial was that it was mere folly to make

one of his chief witnesses, very attempts against the enemy.'*

emphatically denied the statement, Hamilton: " I heard no measures

that Lee had done good service on directed, nor saw any taken by

the field after meeting with Wash- him" [Lee], &c. The words of

ington. Remarks of John Brooks Lee are clear; he says he regarded

on the battle of Monmouth; writ- himself as reduced to a private

ten down by J. Welles. Com- capacity. Trial of Lee.

132 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, field, believing that the Americans would be utterly v-.^^-. beaten. Even Laurens hoped for no more than an 1 "^ 7 8. orderly retreat, and Hamilton's thought was to die 28- on the spot. But Washington's self-possession, his inspiring mien, his exposure of himself to every danger, and the obvious wisdom of his orders kindled the enthusiasm of officers and men ; while Lee in the rear, sitting idly on horseback, explained to bystand- ers that " the attempt was madness and could not be successful." The British cavalry were easily driven back, and showed themselves no more. The regiments of foot came up next ; but they could not turn the left flank where Stirling commanded, with- out exposing their own right to the American artil- lery. The attack upon the right where Greene com- manded was defeated by his battery; while others encountered the grenadiers and guards till they turned and fled. As they rallied and came back to the charge, Wayne with a body of infantry engaged them face to face till they were again repulsed after great slaughter, Lieutenant-Colonel Monckton falling at the head of the grenadiers. During the day the heat reached ninety-six degrees in the shade, and many on both sides, struck by the sun, fell dead without a wound.

The British retreated through the pass by which they had advanced, and occupied a position acces- sible in front only by the narrow road, and protected on both flanks by woods and morasses which could not be turned before night. Two American brigades hung on their right, a third on their left ; while the rest of the army planted their standards on the field of battle, and lay on their arms to renew the contest

THE BEITISH RETREAT FROM PENNSYLVANIA. 133

at daybreak. But Clinton, abandoning his severely chap. wounded and leaving his dead unburied, withdrew w^w his forces before midnight ; and at the early dawn 17 7 8. they found shelter in the highlands of Middleburg. Washington then marched towards the North river ; the British for New York by way of Sandy Hook.

On receiving the English accounts, Frederic of Prussia replied : " Clinton gained no advantage except to reach New York with the wreck of his army; America is probably lost for England."

Of the Americans who were in the engagement two hundred and twenty-nine were killed or wounded ; of the British more than four hundred, and above eight hundred deserted their standard during their march through the Jerseys.

In the battle which took its name from the adja- cent village of Monmouth, the American generals, except Lee, did well : Wayne especially established his fame. The army and the whole country re- sounded with the praises of Washington, and con- gress unanimously thanked him " for his great good conduct and victory." Nor may history omit to re- cord that, of the " revolutionary patriots " who on that day perilled life for their country, more than seven hundred black ^ Americans fought side by side with the white.

After the battle Lee was treated from headquar- ters with forbearance ; but in two letters to the com- mander-in-chief he avowed the expectation that the campaign would close the war, — that is, that the terms offered by the British commissioners would be accepted, — and demanded reparation for injustice

^ Record communicated by George H. Moore.

134 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, and injury. A court-martial found him guilty of V— ^ disobedience, misbehavior before the enemy, and 17 7 8. disrespect to the commander-in-chief, and all too leniently did but suspend him from command for twelve months. After long delay congress con- firmed the sentence ; the next year it censured Lee for obtaining money through British officers in New York ; and in January, 1780, provoked by an imper- tinent letter, dismissed him from the service. From that time he no longer concealed his wish for the return of j^merica to her old allegiance ; and his chosen companions were the partisans of England. He persisted in advising a rotation in military office, so that Washington might be removed ; and for the United States he predicted two years of anarchy, from 1780 to 1782, to be followed by an absolute tyranny. Under the false colors of military genius and experience in war, he had solicited a command ; after his appointment he had given the reins to self-will, so that misfortune overtook his treachery. In October, 1782, sinking under a fever in a sordid inn at Philadelphia, he died as he had lived, loving neither God nor man.

This year is memorable for the far-seeing advice of a neglected New-England man, standing alone and sustained only by his own firmness of mind. Jonathan Carver of Connecticut, who had taken part in the war that wrested Canada from France, had, as a traveller, with rare intrepidity penetrated the wil- derness beyond Green bay and the "Wisconsin river to the west of what is now Minnesota or even to Dakota. In the midst of the confusion of war, he published in England his travels, with a preface full

THE BRITISH RETREAT FROM PENNSYLVANIA. 135

of deep feeling and of happy predictions that mighty chap. states would emerge from these wildernesses ; that — ^-^ solemn temples would supplant the Indian huts 17 7 8. which had no decorations but the barbarous tro- phies of their vanquished enemies ; that, to those who would undertake it, a settlement on the Pacific would bring emoluments beyond their most sanguine expectations, and would disclose new sources of trade, develop national advantages, and form the shortest and most convenient line of communication between Europe and China.

17 78.

CHAPTER V.

now far america had achieved independence at the time of the french alliance.

July-September, 1778.

CH^p. Confined between ridges three miles apart, the Susquehanna, for a little more than twenty miles, winds through the valley of Wyoming. Abrupt rocks, rent by tributary streams, rise on the east, while the western declivities are luxuriantly fertile. Connecticut, whose charter from Charles the Second was older than that of Pennsylvania, using its prior claim to lands north of the Mamaroneck river, had colonized this beautiful region and governed it as its county of Westmoreland. The settlements, begun in 1754, increased in numbers and wealth till their annual tax amounted to two thousand pounds in Con- necticut currency. In the winter of 1776, the people aided Washington with two companies of infantry, though their men were all needed to protect their own homes. Knowing the alliance of the British with the Six Nations, they built a line of ten forts as places of refuge.

AMERICA BEFORE THE FRENCH ALLIANCE. 137

The Seneca tribe kept fresh in memory their chiefs chap. and braves who fell in the conflict with the New York w3^ husbandmen at Oriskany. Their king, Sucingerach- 17 7 8. ton, was both in war and in council the foremost man in all the Six Nations. Compared with him, the Mo- hawk, Brandt, who had been but very lately known upon the war path, was lightly esteemed.^ His at- tachment to the English increased to a passion on the alliance of America with the French, for whom he cherished implacable hate. Through his interest, and by the blandishments of gifts and pay and chances of revenge. Colonel John Butler lured the Seneca warriors to cross the border of Pennsylvania under the British flag.

The party of savages and rangers, numbering be- tween five hundred and seven hundred men, fell down the Tioga river, and on the last day of June hid in 30. the forests above Wyoming. The next day the two "^f^ northernmost forts capitulated. The men of Wyo- ming, old and young, with one regular company, in all hardly more than three hundred, took counsel with one another, and found no hope of deliverance for their families but through a victorious encounter with a foe of twice their number, and more skilful in the woods than themselves. On the third of July, the 8. devoted band, led by Colonel Zebulon Butler, who had just returned from the continental service, began their march up the river. The horde of invaders, pretending to retreat, couched themselves on the ground in an open wood. The villagers of Wyoming

* Haldiraand to Germain, 15 Butler's report; and compare Sept., 1779. Brandt was not at Brodhead Documents, viii. 752. Wyoming. This appears from

138 AMEKICAN INDEPENDE]S"CE.

CHAP, began firing as they drew near, and at the third vol- w-.^!-/ ley stood within one hundred yards of the ambush, 17 7 8. when the Seneca braves began the attack and were immediately seconded by the rangers. The Senecas gave no quarter, and in less than a half hour took two hundred and twenty-five scalps, among them those of two field officers and seven captains. The rangers saved the lives of but firve of their captives.^ On the British side only two whites were killed and eight Indians wounded. The next day the remain- ing forts, filled chiefly with women and children, capitulated. The long and wailing procession of the survivors, flying from their fields of corn, their gar- dens, the flames of their cottages, the unburied bodies of their beloved defenders, escaped by a pass through the hills to the eastern settlements. Every fort and dwelling was burned down."

The Senecas spread over the surrounding country, adepts in murder and ruin. The British leader boasted in his report that his party had burned a thousand houses and every mill; Germain in reply extolled their prowess and even their humanity,^ and resolved on directing a succession of similar parties, not only to harass the border, but to waste the older settle- ments. Yet the marauders came to destroy and deal deaths, not to recover and hold; and the ancient affection for England was washed out in blood. When the leader of the inroad turned to desolate other scenes, Pennsylvania was left in the imdis- puted possession of her soil.

* Major John Butler to Lieu- * Lord George Germain to Sir tenant-colonel Bolton, dated Lacu- H. Clinton, 4 Nov., 1778. wanack, 8 July, 1778.

AMERICA BEFORE THE FRENCH ALLIAt^E. 139

After the retreat of the British, her government, chap. as well as that of New Jersey, used the right of bring- w.,^1-' ing to trial those of their citizens who had been false 1 7 7 8. to their allegiance ; but Livingston, the governor of New Jersey, pardoned every one of seventeen who were found guilty. At Philadelphia, against his in- tercession, two men, one of whom had conducted a British party to a midnight carnage, were convicted, and suffered on the gallows. Eegret prevailed that these also had not been forgiven.

Before the co-operation of the arms of France the Americans had substantially achieved their existence as a nation. The treaties of alliance with them had not yet been signed, when Yergennes wrote "that it was almost physically impossible for the English to wrest independence from them ; that all efforts, how- ever great, would be powerless to recall a people so thoroughly determined to refuse submission." On the side of the sea, from Nova Scotia to Florida, the British held no post except the island of Ehode Island and New York city with a small circle around its bay. No hostile foot rested on the mainland of New Eng- land. The British were still at Ogdensburg, Niagara, and Detroit; but the Americans held the country from below the Highlands to the water-shed of On- tario. Over the Mississippi and its eastern tributary streams the British flag waved no more.

The Americans had gained vigor in the conflict: the love and the exercise of individual liberty, though they hindered the efficiency of government, made them unconquerable. The British soldier had noth- ing before him but to be transferred from one of the many provinces of Britain to another, perhaps to the

140 . AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. West Indies, perhaps to India : he did what he was ^ — ^w bound to do with the skill of a veteran ; but he had 17 7 8. no ennobling motive, no prospect of a home, and no living patriotism. The American looked beyond dan- ger to the enjoyment of freedom and peace in a family and country of his own. His service in the camp ex- alted his moral character : he toiled and suffered for the highest ends, and built up a republic not for his own land only, but for the benefit of the human race.

Moreover, the inmost mind of the American people had changed. The consciousness of a national life had dissolved the sentiment of loyalty to the crown of England. More than three years had elapsed since the shedding of blood at Lexington ; and these years had done the work of a generation.

In England a similar revolution had taken place. The insurgents, losing the name of rebels, began to be called Americans. Officers, returning from the war, said openly that " no person of judgment con- ceived the least hope that the colonies could be sub- jected by force." Some British statesmen thought to retain a political, or at least a commercial, connec- tion; while many were willing to give them up unconditionally. Even before the surrender of Bur- goyne. Gibbon, a member of the Board of Trade, confessed that, though England had sent to America the greatest force which any European power ever ventured to transport into that continent, it was not strong enough to attack its enemy, nor to pre- vent them from receiving assistance. The war " measures " of the administration were, therefore, "so repugnant to sound policy that they ceased to

AMERICA BEFORE THE FRENCH ALLIANCE. 141

be right." ^ After that surrender,^ he agreed that, chap. since "the substance of power was lost, the name w^^w of independence might be granted to the Ameri- 17 78. cans." General Howe coupled his retirement from active service with the avowal that the disposable resources of his country could produce no decisive result. " Things go ill, and will not go better," wrote the chief of the new commission for establishing peace. The successor of General Howe reported himseK too weak to attempt the restoration of the king's author- ity. Germain had no plan for the coming campaign but to lay the colonies waste. The prime minister, who had been at the head of affairs from 1770, owned in anguish the failure of his system, and de- plored its continuance. Should the Americans ratify the French alliance, Lord Amherst, who was the guide of the ministry in the conduct of the war, recommended* the evacuation of New York and Ehode Island and the emplojmient of the troops against the French West Indies.

But the radical change of opinion was shown most clearly by the votes of parliament. In February, 1774, the house of commons, in a moment of unre- strained passion, adopted measures for enforcing the traditional absolutism of parliament by majorities of three to one : corresponding majorities in February, 1778, reversed its judgment, repealed the punitive

' Edward Gibbon to J. Holroyd, of Bunker Hill very many persons,

13 Aug., 1777. after the surrender of Burgoyne

Mn 1847 the Archbishop of almost every one , gave up the ex- York, whose memory went back pectation that England would be to those days, and who was with able to enforce the dependence of Thomas Grenville in Paris in the colonies. 1782, told me, that after the affair

142 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, acts, and conceded every thing which the colonies

w^ had demanded.

17 7 8. There was " a general cry for peace." ^ The king, in January, 1778, confessed to Lord North : " The time may come when it will be wise to abandon all North America but Canada, Nova Scotia, and the Floridas ; but then the generaHty of the nation must see it first in that light." ^ Lord Rockingham was convinced himself and desired to " convince the pub- lic of the impossibility of going on with the war."^ On the second of February, Fox spoke against its continuance, went over the whole of the American business, and was heard with favor. The ministers said not one word in reply ; and on the division sev- eral tories voted with him.* English opinion had by this time resigned itself to the belief that the United States could not be reduced ; but as a mas- sive fountain, when its waters are first let loose, rises slowly to its full height, so the mind of parliament needed time to collect its energies for official action. If British statesmen are blamed for not suffering her colonies to go free without a war, it must yet be con- fessed that the war grew by a kind of necessity out of the hundred years' contest with the crown for the bulwark of English freedom.

But now Fox would have England " instantly de- clare their independence ; " ^ Pownall, who had once defended the Stamp Act, urged their recognition ; ®

^ Edward Gibbon to J. Holroyd, Mr. Fitzpatrick, in Correspond-

2 Dec, 1777, and 4 Dec. , 1777. ence of C. J. Fox, i. 168.

2 Donne, ii. 118. ^ Donne, ii. 154, 17 March,

8 Chat. Cor., iv. 488. Donne, 1778. ii. 123. 6 Almon's Debates, ix. 60.

4 Donne, ii. 123. C. J. Fox to

A3IEKICA BEFORE THE FRENCH ALLIANCE. 143

and Conway broke through his reserve, and said in chap. parhament: "It has been proved to demonstration w^^I-. that there is no other method of having peace with ^778. them but acknowledging them to be, what they really are, and what they are determined to remain, independent states." The house of commons seemed secretly to agree with him.^ Tories began to vote against the ministry .^ The secretary of war, Lord Barrington, said to the king : " The general dismay among all ranks and conditions arises from an opin- ion that the administration is not equal to the times. The opinion is so universal that it prevails even among those who are most dependent on the minis- ters and most attached to them ; nay, it prevails among the ministers themselves."^ Lord North was convinced of the ruinous tendency of his measures, and professed, but only professed, an earnest wish to resign office. Lord Mansfield deplored the danger of a war . with both houses of the Bourbons.* The landed aristocracy were grown weary of the conflict which they had brought on, and of which the con- tinuance promised only increasing taxation and a visible loss of national dignity and importance. So long as there remained a hope of recovering America the ministers were supported, for they alone would undertake its reduction. The desire to replace them by statesmen more worthy of a great people implied the consent to peace on the basis of American inde- pendence.'^ To that end all elements conspired. The

* Almon's Debates, ix. 69. Mansfield with Escarano, Spanish 2 Correspondence of C. J. Fox, Ambassador in London, in Esca-

i. 1G8. rano to Florida Blanca, 27 March,

8 Lord Barrington's Life, 186. 1778.

* Report of Interview of Lord ^ The reflective opinion of Eng-

144 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, initial velocity of the British attack was exhausted, w.^ and the remainder of the war was like the last re- 17 7 8. bounds of a cannon-ball before it comes to rest. Jo^y On the second of July, the president and several members of congress met once more in Philadelphia. 9. On the ninth, the articles of confederation, engrossed on parchment, were signed by eight states. On the 10. tenth, congress issued a circular to the other five, urging them " to conclude the glorious compact which was to unite the strength, wealth, and coun- cils of the whole." North Carolina acceded on the 21. twenty-first; Georgia, on the twenty-fourth. New Jersey demanded for the United States the regula- tion of trade and the ownership of the ungranted north-western domain: but, after unassisted efforts for a more efficient union, the state, on the twenty- fifth of the following November, accepted the con- federacy without amendment ; and on the fifth of May, 1779, the delegates of Delaware did the same. Maryland, which was on all sides precisely Hmited by its charter, — while Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, and at least one of the Carolinas, might claim by royal grant an almost boundless ex- tension to the north and west, — alone arrested the consummation of the confederation by demanding that the pubHc lands north-west of the Ohio should first be recognised as the common property of all the states, and held as a common resource to dis-

land is clearly stated by Earl Rus- simple cessation of arms must

sell, for many years British prime have speedily led to a treaty of

minister or minister of foreign peace with the new state." Earl

affairs : " The events of the years Russell, in Correspondence of C.

1777 and 1778 ought to have put J. Fox, i. 201, 202. an end to the American war : a

AMERICA BEFORE THE FRENCH ALLIANCE. 145

charge the debts contracted bj congress for the chap expenses of the war.^ — J^

On the eighth of July the French fleet, consisting iJJ^. of twelve ships of the line and three frigates, after a ^• rough voyage of nearly ninety days from Toulon, anchored in the bay of Delaware ; ten days too late to intercept the inferior squadron of Lord Howe and its multitude of transports on their retreat from Philadelphia. Its admiral, the Count d'Estaing, a major-general in the French army, had per- suaded Marie Antoinette to propose the expedition. On the eleventh, congress learned from his letters ii. that he was " ready to co-operate with the states in the reduction of the British army and navy." The first invitation to a concert of measures revealed the inability of the American people to fulfil their en- gagements. For want of an organized government congress could do no more than empower Washington to call upon the six states north of the Delaware for aids of militia, while its financial measure was a popular loan to be raised throughout the country by volunteer collectors.

D'Estaing followed his enemy to the north, and anchored within Sandy Hook, where he intercepted unsuspecting* British ships bound for New York. The fleet of Lord Howe was imperfectly manned, but his fame attracted from merchant vessels and transports a full complement of volunteers. The French fleet would nevertheless have gone up the bay and offered battle, could pilots have been found to take its largest ships through the channel.

Since New York could not be reached, d'Estaing,

1 Gerard to Vergennes, Philadelphia, 12 August, 1778.

VOL. X. 10

146 AMEKICAN INDEPENETENCE.

CHAP, ignorant of the secret policy of France and Spain, w-^ indulged the dream of capturing the British towns in 17 7 8. Newfoundland and annexing that island to the Ameri- can republic as a fourteenth state with representation in congress.^ Washington proposed to employ the temporary superiority at sea in the capture of Rhode Island and its garrison of six thousand men. He had in advance summoned Massachusetts, Connecti- cut, and Rhode Island to send quotas of their militia for the expedition. The council of war of Rhode Island, exceeding his requirement, called out one haK of the effective force of the state for twenty days from the first of August, and ordered the re- mainder to be ready at a minute's warning. Out of his own feeble army he spared one brigade from Massachusetts and one from Rhode Island, of one thousand each, and they were followed by a further detachment. Directing Sullivan, who was placed over the district of Rhode Island, to throw the Amer- ican troops into two divisions, he sent Greene to com- mand the one, and Lafayette the other. Young Laurens served d'Estaing as aid and interpreter. On the twenty-ninth of July, while Clinton was reporting to Germain that he would probably be under the necessity of evacuating New York arid retiring to Halifax,^ the French fleet, with thirty-five hundred land troops on board, appeared off Newport, and the British saw themselves forced to destroy ten or more armed ships and galleys, carrying two hundred and twelve guns.

* Extract of a letter of the to the Count de Vergennes, 15 Count d'Estaing to Gerard de July, 1778.

Uayneval, in Gerard de Rayneval ^ Sir H. Clinton to Lord George

Germain, 27 July, 1778.

AMERICA BEFORE THE FRENCH ALLIANCE. 147

The country was palpitating with joy at the al- chap. liance with France. Congress on Sunday the sixth >_3^ of August, with studied ceremony, gave its audience 17 7 8. of reception to Gerard de Rayneval, the French e?" plenipotentiary, listened to his assurances of the affection of his king for the United States and for " each one " of them, and " acknowledged the hand of a gracious Providence in raising them up so powerful a friend." At head-quarters there seemed to be a hundred chances to one in favor of capturing the garrison on Rhode Island, and thus ending British pretensions to sovereignty over America. Robert Livingston expressed the hope that congress, in treat- ing for peace, would insist on having Canada, Hud- son's Bay, the Floridas, and all the continent inde- pendent.

On the eighth the French fleet, which a whim of s. Sullivan had detained for ten days in the offing, ran past the British batteries into the harbor of Newport. The landing had been concerted for the tenth ; but, learning that the British outpost on the north of the island had been withdrawn, Sullivan, on the morning of the ninth, without notice to d'Estaing, crossed 9. with his troops from the side of Tiverton. Scarcely had he done so, when the squadron of Lord Howe, which had been re-enforced from England, was seen to anchor near Point Judith. On the tenth a strong lo. wind rising from the north-east, d'Estaing by the advice of his officers, among whom were Suffren and de Grasse, sailed past the Newport batteries, and in order of battle bore down upon the British squadron. Lord Howe stood to the southward, inviting pursuit. For two days d'Estaing was baffled in the attempt to

148 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, force an action, while the wind increased to a hurri-

w-^I-/ cane and wrecked and scattered both fleets. The

17 7 8. French ship Languedoc lost its rudder and masts ;

the Apollo, to which the British admiral had shifted

his flag, could not keep at sea.

The same storm flooded Rhode Island with rain, damaged the ammunition of the American army, overturned their tents, and left them no shelter ex- cept trees and fences. Many horses were killed, and even soldiers perished. The British troops, being quartered in the town, suffered lessj and, on the return of fair weather, Pigot, but for his inertness, might have fallen upon a defenceless enemy.

The squadron of Lord Howe steered for Sandy , Hook. D'Estaing, three of whose ships had severally encountered three English ships, appeared on the 20. twentieth within sight of Newport ; but only to an- nounce that, from the shattered condition of his fleet, and from want of water and provisions, after nearly five months' service at sea, he was compelled by his instructions to sail for Boston. In general orders Sullivan censured d'Estaing, and insinuated the in- utility of the French allianceJ^; and then, under com- pulsion from Lafayette, in other general orders made reparation. He should have instantly withdrawn from the island 5 and Washington sent him incessant messages to do so. On Honyman's hill he was wast- ing strength in raising batteries which were too re- mote to be of use, and could be easily turned ; more than half his army was composed of militia, who saw that the expedition had failed, and began to go home. There remained in the American camp less than six thousand men ; and a retreat had now to be

AMERICA BEFORE THE FRENCH ALLIANCE. 149

conducted in the presence of regular troops, superior chap. in numbers. It began in the night of the twenty- w3^ eighth. The next day the British attempted to get 17 78. round the American right wing, and thus cut off 29?' every chance of escape. On that side Greene, almost within sight of his native town, held the command. Supported by young Laurens, he changed the defence into an attack, and drove the enemy in disorder back to their strong post on Quaker hill. In the engage- ment the British lost at least two hundred and sixty men ; the Americans, forty-nine less. On the night following the thirtieth, the army of Sullivan, evading 30. its sluggish pursuers, withdrew from the island. Clin- ton, with a re-enforcement of four thousand men, landed the day after the escape. 31.

The British general returned to New York, having Sept. accomplished nothing, except that a detachment under Grey set fire to the shipping in New Bedford, and then levied cattle and money on the freeholders of Martha's Vineyard. Lord Howe gave up the naval command to Admiral Byron, and was never again employed in America.

The people of New England had in twenty days raised the force of Sullivan to ten thousand effective men ; the total disappointment of their hope of brill- iant success excited criminations and distrust. At Boston a French officer lost his life in attempting to quell a riot between his countrymen and American seamen ; but d'Estaing preserved unruffled politeness, and really wished well to the United States.

Notwithstanding the failure of the first expedition from France, every measure adopted by the British government or its army to reduce the United States

150 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, served only to promote its independence. In 1775 w-^l-' they sought to annihilate the rebellion b}^ attacking 1 J 7 8. it at its source ; and before many months they were driven out of Boston. In 1776 the acquisition of New York was to prelude the one last campaign for crushing all resistance; in 1777 Philadelphia was taken, but only to be evacuated in 1778. To a friend in Virginia Washington wrote in August, as he came again upon White Plains: "After two years' ma- noeuvring and the strangest vicissitudes, both armies are brought back to the very point they set out from, and the offending party at the beginning is now reduced to the use of the spade and pickaxe for defence. The hand of Providence has been so con- spicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obliga- tions." " The veil of ordinary events," thus the Governor of Connecticut expressed the belief of the state, " covers the hand of the supreme Disposer of them, so that men overlook his guidance. In the view of the series of marvellous occurrences during the present war, he must be blind and infatuated who doth not see and acknowledge the divine ordering thereof." The faith of the American people in the moral government of the world sprang not from irrational traditions, or unreflecting superstition, but from the deep sentiment of harmony between their own active patriotism and the infinite love which founded all things and the infinite justice which car- ries all things forward in continuous progression. The consciousness of this harmony, far from lulling them into an indolent expectation of supernatural

AMEEICA BEFORE THE FRENCH ALLIANCE. 151

intervention, bound them to self-relying diligence in chap. the duty that was before them. They had the con- ^^J^ fidence and joy of fellow-workers with " the divine i "^ 7 8. ordering " for the highest welfare of mankind. »

On the third of October the commissioners for o^t- restoring peace to the colonies addressed a farewell manifesto to the members of congress, the several assemblies, and other inhabitants of America, that their persistence in separating from Great Britain would " change the whole nature and future conduct of this war ; " that " the extremes of war " should so distress the people and desolate the country, as to make them of little avail to France. Congress pub- lished the paper in the gazettes to convince the peo- ple of the insidious designs of the commissioners. In the British house of commons, Coke of Norfolk pro- posed an address to the king to disavow the declara- tion. Lord George Germain defended it, insisting that the Americans by their alliance were become French, and should in future be treated as French- men. Burke pointed out that the " dreadful menace was pronounced against those who, conscious of recti- tude, stood up to fight for freedom and country." "No quarter," said the commissioner Johnstone, who in changing sides on the American question had not tamed the fury of his manner, " no quarter ought to be shown to their congress ; and, if the infernals could be let loose against them, I should approve of the measure. The proclamation certainly does mean a war of desolation : it can mean nothing else." Gib- bon divided silently with the friends of America, who had with them the judgment, though not the vote, of the house. Three days later Rockingham

152 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, denounced the " accursed *' manifesto in the house of v_^w lords, saying that " since the coming of Christ war 17 78. had not been conducted on such inhuman ideas." • Lord Suffolk, in reply, appealed to the bench of bishops ; on which the Bishop of Peterborough traced the resemblance between the proclamation and the acts of Butler at Wyoming. He added : " There is an article in the extraordinaries of the army for scalping-knives. Great Britain defeats any hope in the justness of her cause by means like these to support it." The debate closed well for America, except that Lord Shelburne was provoked into say- ing that he never would serve with any man who w^ould consent to its independence, when in truth independence was become the only way to peace.

The menaces of the proclamation were a confession of weakness. The British army under Clinton could hold no part of the country, and only ravage and ^^p*- destroy by sudden expeditions. Towards the end of September Cornwallis led a foray into New Jersey; and Major-General Grey with a party of infantry, surprising Baylor's light horse, used the bayonet mercilessly against men that sued for quarter. A Oct. band led by Captain Patrick Ferguson in October, after destroying the shipping in Little Egg harbor, spread through the neighboring country to burn the houses and waste the lands of the patriots. On the night of the fifteenth they surprised light infantry under Pulaski's command ; and, cumbering them- selves with no prisoners, killed all they could. La Nov. ]S[ovember a large party of Indians with bands of tories and regulars entered Cherry valley by an un- guarded pass, and, finding the fort too strong to be

AMERICA BEFORE THE FRENCH ALLIANCE. 153

taken, murdered and scalped more than thirty of the chap. inhabitants, most of them women and children. The w^w story of these massacres was repeated from village to 1 7 7 8. village, and strengthened the purpose of resistance.

With the year 1778, South Carolina, which for two years had been unvisited by an enemy, after long deliberation established a permanent form of govern- ment. Immediately after the general declaration of independence, its citizens, by common consent, in- trusted constituent powers to their representatives. In January, 1777, a bill for the new constitution was introduced. Hitherto the legislative council had been chosen by the general assembly. A bold effort was made, in like manner, to confer the election of the senate on the assembly, because in that way Charles- ton, through its numerous representation, would have controlled the choice. On this point the coun- try members would not yield; but the distribution of the representation in the general assembly was left unchanged. The bill was then printed and sub- mitted for examination to the people during more than a year. Sure of the prevailing approval, the legislature, in March, 1778, gave it their final sanc- tion ; and it was then presented to the president for his confirmation. Every one expected that in a few hours it would be proclaimed, when Rutledge called the council and assembly into the council chamber, and, after a formal speech, gave it a negative, not only for the change which it would eJffiect in the man- ner of choosing one branch of the legislature, but also because it took from the chief of the executive his veto power. The majority, soon recovering from their consternation, determined to vote no taxes until

154 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, the veto should be reversed. After a three days'

s^^ adjournment, which was required by the rules before

17 78. a rejected bill could be again brought forward, Eaw-

lins Lowndes, the newly elected president, gave his

sanction to the re-enacted bill.^

The new constitution might be altered by legislative authority after a notice of ninety days. None but free- holders could elect or be elected to office ; and for the higher offices the possession of a large freehold was required. In any redistribution of the representa- tion of the state, the number of white inhabitants and the amount of taxable property were to be con- sidered. The veto power was taken from the presi- dent. Till this time the church of England had been the established church in South Carolina. The tolera- tion of Locke and Shaftesbury was now mixed with the religious faith of its people. Not the Anglican or Episcopal church, but the Christian Protestant church, was declared to be the established religion of the state ; and none but Protestants were eligible to high executive or any legislative office. The right of suffrage was conferred exclusively on every free white man who, having the requisite age and free- hold, acknowledged God and a future state of re- wards and punishments. All persons who so believed, and that God is publicly to be worshipped, might form religious societies. The support of religious worship was voluntary ; the property then belonging to societies of the church of England, or any other religious societies, was secured to them in perpetuity.

^Richard Hutson to George and 8 March, 1778. In F.Moore's

Bryan, from Charleston, S. C, Materials for History, 94, 103-

14 March, 1778. John Rutledge 106. Ramsay's History of South

to Henry Laurens, 16 Feb., 1778, Carolma, i. 129-138.

AMERICA BEFORE THE FRENCH ALLIANCE. 155

The people were to enjoy forever the right of elect- 'chap. ing their own pastors or clergy ; but the state was w^w entitled to security for the due discharge of the pas- 17 7 8. toral office by the persons so elected. Of slaves or slavery no mention was made unless by implication.

The constitution having been adopted on the nine- teenth of March, 1778, to go into effect on the fol- lowing twenty-ninth of November, all resident free male persons in the state above sixteen years, refusing to take the oath to maintain it against the king of Great Britain and all other enemies, were exiled ; but a period of twelve months after their departure was allowed them to dispose of their property. In Octo- ber, 1778, after the intention of the British to reduce South Carolina became known, death was made the penalty for refusing to depart from the state, or for returning without permission.^

The planters of South Carolina still partook of their usual pastimes and cares ; while the British ministry, resigning the hope of reducing the north, indulged the expectation of conquering all the states to the south of the Susquehanna.^ For this end the British commander-in-chief at New York was ordered to de- spatch before October, if possible, a thousand men to re-enforce Pensacola, and three thousand to take Sa- vannah. Two thousand more w^ere destined as a re-enforcement to St. Augustine. Thus strengthened, General Prevost would be able to march in triumph from East Florida across lower Georgia.

The new policy was inaugurated by dissensions between the minister for America in England and

1 Statutes of South Carolina, i. ' Germain to Clinton, 8 March , 150; iv. 452. 1778.

156 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP.' the highest British officials in America, and was fol- ^— -^ lowed by never-ending complaints. Lord Carhsle 17 7 8. and his associate commissioners deprecated the seem- ing purpose of enfeebling the estabhshment at New York by detachments for different and distant ser- vices. ^^ Under these appearances of weakness," so they reported, " our cause has visibly declined." ^ Sir Henry Clinton threatened to evacuate New York and to retire to Halifax,^ remonstrated against being "reduced to a starved defensive/'^ and complained of being kept in command, " a mournful witness of the debility " of his army ; were he only unshackled with instructions, he might render serious service.* Every detachment for the southern campaign was made with sullen reluctance ; and his indirect crim- inations offended the unforgiving minister.

^ Lord Carlisle and other com- ^ Clinton to Haldimand, 9 Sept.,

missioners to Germain, New York, 1778.

5 Sept., 1778. * Clinton to Germain, 8 Oct.,

2 Clinton to Germain, 27 July, 1778.

1778.

CHAPTER YI.

SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES.

1778.

Eaelt in the year, Juan de Miralez, a Spanish chap. emissary, appeared in Philadelphia. Not accredited w-v— to congress, for Spain would not recognise that body,^ 17 7 8. he looked upon the rising republic as a natural enemy to his country ; and through the influence of the French minister, with whom he had as yet no authorized con- nection, he sought to raise up obstacles on all sides to its development.^ He came as a spy and an in- triguer; nevertheless congress, with unsuspecting confidence, welcomed him as the representative of an intended ally.

Of all the European powers, Spain was the most consistently and perseveringly hostile to the United States. With a true instinct she gaw in their success the quickening example which was to break down the barriers of her own colonial system; and her

1 Luzerneto Vergennes, 17Dec., ^ Gerard to Vergennes, 16 and 1779. 29 July, 1778.

158 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, dread of their coming influence shaped her pohcy _^J^ during their struggle. She was willing to encourage 17 7 8. them so far as to exhaust the resources of Great Britain by one campaign more ; but she was bent on restraining France from an alliance with them, till she should herself have wrung from their agents at Paris all the concessions which she deemed essential to the security of her transatlantic dominions, and from France all other advantages that she could derive from the war. She excused her importunities for delay by the necessity of providing for the defence of her colonies; the danger that would hang over her homeward-bound troops and commerce ; the con- tingency of renewed schemes of conquest on the part of the Russians against the Ottoman empire; the succession of Bavaria; the propriety of com- ing to a previous understanding with the Nether- lands, which was harried by England, and with the king of Prussia, who was known to favor the Amer- icans.^

Count Montmorin, the successor of d'Ossun as French ambassador at Madrid, had in his childhood been a playmate of the king of France, whose friendship he retained, so that his position was one of independence and dignity. As a man of honor, he desired to deal fairly with the United States, and he observed with impartiality the politics of the Spanish court. On receiving a communication of the despatch, which embodied the. sepq,rate determination of France to support the United States, Florida Blanca quivered

' Count Florida Blanca to Count from the Spanish archives by Don de Aranda, 13 Jan., 1778. Com- Pascual de Gayangos. municated with other documents

SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES. 159

in every limb and could hardly utter a reply .^ Sus- chap. piciousness marked his character, as well as that of «— v— ^ the government of Spain, which, for its remote do- 1 7 7 8. minions, was ever haunted by the spectres of contra- band trade and of territorial encroachments. He was appalled at the example of the Americans as insur- gents, at their ambition as repubhcans, and at the colossal greatness which their independence fore- told; he abhorred any connection with them as equals, and would tolerate at most an alliance of protection and superintendence. With these appre- hensions he combined a subtle jealousy of the good faith of the French, who, as a colonial power, were reduced to the lowest rank among the nations of western Europe, and who could recover their share in the commerce of the world only through the ruin of colonial monopoly.

When, therefore, in April, the French ambassador April, pressed Florida Blanca to declare at what epoch Spain would take part in the war, thq minister, beside him- self with passion, exclaimed : " I will take the opin- ion of' the king. Since April of last year, France has gone counter to our advice. The king of Spain seems to be looked upon as a viceroy or provincial gov- ernor, to whom you put questions as if for his opinion, and to whom you then send orders. The American deputies are treated like the Koman consuls, to whom the kings of the East came to beg support. The declaration of your treaty with them is wor- thy of Don Quixote."^ He persisted in the re- proach, that France had engaged in a war which

1 Count de Montmorin to Count * Montmorin to Vergennes, 10 de Vergennes, 28 Jan., 1778. April, 1778.

160 AMERICAN INDEPEXDE?s"CE.

CHAP, had neither an object for its beginning, nor a plan

. ^ for its close.

17 7 8. Baffled in her policy by France, Spain next thought to use Great Britain as her instrument for repressing the growth of the United States. Her first wish was to prevent their self -existence, and, as mediator, to dictate the terms of their accommodation with their mother country; but, as this was no longer possible after the intervention of France, she hoped at the peace to concert with England how to narrow their domain, and secure the most chances for an early dis- solution of their inchoate union.

No sooner had Louis the Sixteenth and his council resolved to brave England, than the system which had led to the family compact of the Bourbons recovered its normal influence ; for it was through the Spanish alliance that they hoped to bring the conflict to a brilliant issue. Swayed by the advice of d'Ossun, they made it their paramount object to reconcile the Spanish government to their measures. In this way doubt arrested their action at the moment of begin- ning hostilities. If it was to be waged by France alone, they held it prudent to risk everything and make haste to gain advantages in a first campaign, before the English could bring out all their strength ; but, if Spain was determined not to stand aloof, they would put the least possible at hazard till it should declare itself.^ Moreover, this persistent deference to the younger branch of the Bourbons brought with it obstinate contrarieties, both as to the place of the United States in the conduct of the war, and still more so in settling the ultimate conditions of peace.

^ Vergennes to Montmorin, 3 April, 1778. MS.

SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES. 161

In the conflict between fears and desires, the king of chap. Spain was spell-bound by indecision. The precipitate ._>^J-. alliance of France and America without his consent 17 7 8. wounded his pride and endangered his possessions. His confessor held it a want of probity and an evil example to fight for heretics in revolt against lawful authority. On the other hand his need of protection, his respect for the elder branch of his family, and some remnants of rancor against England, concurred to bind him to the compact between the two crowns. Moreover, Florida Blanca, who from the drudgery of a provincial attorney had risen to be the chief minis- ter of a world-wide empire, had a passion to be spoken of in his time, and to gain a place in history : he, therefore, kept open the negotiations with France, designing to consent to a junction only after stipula- tions for extraordinary and most unequal advantages. For the recovery of Gibraltar he did not rely ex- clusively on a siege,^ yet before the end of March he had collected battering cannon at Seville, and held at anchor in the bay of Cadiz a greater fleet than Spain had launched since the days of the armada.

Avoiding an immediate choice between peace and war, Florida Blanca disdained the proposal of an alliance with the United States, and he demanded the postponement of active hostilities in European waters, that he might gain free scope for offering mediation. The estabHshments of Britain in all parts of the world were weakly garrisoned ; its homeward-bound commerce was inadequately protected ; its navy was unprepared. The ships of the French, on the con- trary, were ready for immediate action; yet they

1 Montmorin to Vergennes, 31 Aug., 1778.

VOL. X. 11

162 AMEKICAI^ INDEPEXDEXCE.

CHAP, consented to wait indefinitely for the co-operation of w.^-^ Spain. After being swept into war for the independ- 17 78. ence of America, they subjected the conduct of that war to the power in Europe which was the most in- veterate enemy to that independence. Their favor- able chances at the beginning of the war were thrown away ; their channel fleet lay idle in the harbor of Brest ; British ships, laden with rich cargoes from all parts of the world, returned home unmolested ; and the dilatory British admiralty gained unexpected time for preparation.

All this while British armed vessels preyed upon the commerce of France. To ascertain the strength of the fleet at Brest, a British fleet of twenty ships of the line put to sea under Admiral Keppel, so well known to posterity by the pencil of Reynolds and June the prose of Burke. On the seventeenth of June, meeting two French frigates near the island of Oues- sant, Keppel gave orders tfeat they should bring to. They refused. One of them, being fired into, dis- charged its broadside and then lowered its flag ; the other, the " Belle Poule," repelled the pursuit of the '^ Arethusa," and escaped.

The French government, no longer able to remain inactive, authorized the capture of British merchant- Juiy men ; and early in July its great fleet sailed out of Brest. After returning to Portsmouth, Keppel put 27. to sea once .more. On the twenty-seventh, the two admirals, each having thirty men-of-war in three divisions, and each professing the determination to fight a decisive battle, met o:ff Ouessant. D'Orvilhers was better fitted for a monastery than the quarter- deck ; and the British admiral wanted ability for so

SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES. 163

great a command. After an insignificant action, in chap.

VI.

which neither party lost a ship, the French returned to Brest, the British to Portsmouth. The French 17 78. admiral ascribed his failure to the disobedience of the young Duke de Chartres, who had absurdly been" placed over one of his divisions; Keppel, but only upon an after-thought, censured both Palliser, his second in command, and the admiralty ] and he de- clined employment unless the ministry should be changed. That he was not punished for mutiny, but that he, Burgoyne, and Howe, all three members of the house of commons, were su:ffered to screen their own incapacity by fighting vigorous battles in parliament against the administration, shows how faction had corrupted discipline in the service. Mean- time the French people were justly proud that, so soon after the total ruin of their navy in the seven years' war, their fleet equalled that of their great rival, and had won the admiration even of its ene- mies by its skilful evolutions.

The deeds of the French army for the year con- sisted in seeming to menace England with an invasion, by forming a camp in Normandy under the Count de Broglie, and wasting the season in cabals, indiscipline, and ruinous luxury. In India, Chandernagor on the Hoogley surrendered to the English without a blow ; the governor of Pondicherry, with a feeble garrison and weak defences, maintained a siege of seventy days in the vain hope of relief. The flag of the Bourbons was suffered to disappear from the gulf and sea of Bengal, and from the coast of Malabar. To meet the extraordinary expenses of this frivolous campaign, the kingdom was brought nearer to bank-

164" AlMERICA]^' INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, ruptcy by straining the public credit without corre-

^— ^J«^ spending taxation.

17 7 8. The diplomacy of Spain during the year proved still less effective. Florida Blanca began with the British minister at Madrid, by affecting ignorance of the measures of the French cabinet, and assuring him " that his Catholic Majesty neither condemned nor justified the steps taken by France ; but that, as they had been entered upon without the least concert with him, he thought himself perfectly free from all en- gagements concerning them."-^ After these asser- tions, which were made so directly and so solemnly that they were believed, he explained that the inde- pendence of the United States would overturn the balance of power on the continent of America ; and he proposed, through the mediation of his court/ to obtain a cessation of hostilities in order to establish and perpetuate an equilibrium. The offer of media- tion was an offer of the influence of the Bourbon family to secure to England the basin of the St. Lawrence, with the territory north-west of the Ohio, and to bound the United States by the AUeghanies. But Lord Weymouth held it ignoble to purchase from the wreckers of British colonial power the* part that they might be willing to restore ; and he answered, " that while France supported the colonies in rebel- lion no negotiation could be entered into." ^ But, as both Great Britain and Spain were interested in pre- serving colonial dependency, he invited a closer union between them, and even proposed an alliance.

' Grantham to Weymouth, 19 ^ Weymouth to Grantham, 20 Feb. , 1778. Ibid. , 24 Mar.; 1778. May, 1778. 2 Ibid., 19 April, 1778. - -

SPAIN AKD THE UNITED STATES. 165

At this point in the negotiation, Florida Blanca, chap. who was devoured by the ambition of making tlie J^ world ring with his name, turned to Yergennes ; yet, 17 7 8. like his king, fearing lest at the peace France might take good care of itself and neglect the interests of Spain, ^ he was determined, before concluding an irrevocable engagement, to ascertain the objects which its ally would expect to gain. Spain was really unprepared for war ; her ships were poorly armed ; her arsenals ill supplied ; and few of her naval offi- cers entitled to confidence in their skill : yet he threw out hints that he would in October be ready for action, if France would undertake a descent into England.2

Yergennes, while now more sure than ever of the co-operation of Spain, replied : " The idea of making a war on England, like that of the Romans on the Carthaginians, does honor to the minister's elevation of soul; but the attempt would require at least seventy ships of the line, and at least seventy thou- sand effective troops, of which ten thousand should be cavalry, beside transport ships and proportionate artillery, provisions, and ammunition."^

To the British proposal of an alliance, Florida Blanca returned a still more formal offer of mediation between the two belligerents; excusing his wish to take part in the settlement of England with its in- surgent colonies by his desire that their ambition should be checked and tied down to fixed limits through the union of the three nations. Then, under

^ Private letter of Montmorin ' Montmorin to Vergennes, 7 to Vergennes, 1 Sept., 1778. Sept., 1778.

^ Vergennes to Montmorin, 21 Sept., 1778.

166 A^IEEICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, pretence of seeking guidance in framing tlie plan ^^^^^ of pacification, he craftily invited the two courts 17 78. to remit to his king the points on which they in- tended to insist ; at the same time he avowed to the British minister that the king of Spain would be forced to choose his part, if the war should be con- tinued.-^

Indifferent to threats, Weymouth in October gave warning of the fatal consequence to the Spanish monarchy of American independence ; and from a well-considered policy refused in any event to concert with other governments the relations of his country to its colonies.^ Meantime Florida Blanca continued to fill the courts of Europe with declarations that Spain would never precede England in recognising the separate existence of her colonies.

During this confused state of the relations between the three great powers, the United States fell upon a wise measure. Franklin, from the first, had advised his country against wooing Spain : but the confidence reposed in him by the French cabinet was not im- paired by his caution ; and they transacted all Amer- ican business with him alone. Tired of the dissensions of rival commissioners, congress, on the fourteenth of September, abolished the joint commission of which he had been a member, and appointed him their minister plenipotentiary at the court of France. It illustrates the patriotism of John Adams, that, though he was one of those to be removed from office, he approved ahke the terminating of the commission

^ Paper delivered to Lord Gran- ^ Weymouth to Grantham, 27 tham by M. de Florida Blanca, Oct., 1778. and transmitted in Lord Gran- tham's No. 56, 28 Sept., 1778. .

SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES. 167

and the selection of Franklin as sole envoy. In him chap. the interests of the United States obtained a serene v-.,^ and wakeful guardian, who penetrated the wiles of 17 78. the Spanish government, and knew how to unite fidelity to the French alhance with timely vindication of the rights of his own native land.

CHAPTER yn.

a people without a government.

August-December, 1778.

CHAP. Early in the year George the Third had been s_^ advised by Lord Amherst to withdraw the troops 17 78. from Philadelphia, and, in the event of the junction of America with France, to evacuate New York and Rhode Island ; ^ but the depreciation of the currency, consequent on the helplessness of a people that had no government, revived the hope of subjugating them. The United States closed the campaign of 1778 before autumn, for want of money. Paper bills, emitted by congress on its pledge of the faith 17 7 5. of each separate state, supported the war in its earliest period. Their decline was hastened by the disasters that befell the American armies. Their value was 17 7 6, further impaired by the ignoble stratagem of the British ministers, under whose authority Lord Dun- more and others introduced into the circulation of Virginia and other states a large number of bills,

' George III. to Lord North, 17 March, 1778. Letter 467.

A PEOPLE WITHOUT A GOVERNMENT. 169

counterfeited for the purpose in England.^ In Octo- chap. ber, 1776, congress, which possessed no independent w^ resources and no powers on which credit could be 17 7 6. founded, opened loan offices in the several states, and authorized a lottery. In December it issued five million dollars more in continental bills. In January, 1777, when they had sunk to one-half of their pre- 17 77. tended value, it denounced every person who would not receive them at par as a public enemy, liable to forfeit whatever he offered for sale ; and it requested • the state legislatures to declare them a lawful tender. This Massachusetts had enacted a month before ; and the example was followed throughout the union.

The states were at the same time invited to cancel their respective quotas of continental bills, and to become creditors of the common treasury for such farther sums as they should think proper to advance. They had irredeemable paper currencies of their own ; and, as they were possessed of real powers of govern- ment, their bills were less insecure than the conti- nental currency. Congress, therefore, needed the exclusive right of issuing paper money,; and to that end it recommended them to call in their bills, and to issue no more. The request was often renewed, but never heeded : so that the notes of each one of the thirteen states continued to compete for circula- tion with those of the continent.

1 Le Lord Dunmore a trouv6 qu'il occasionnera une m6fiance moyen d'introduire dans la Vir- du peuple, qui, ne pouvant dis- ginie un grand nombre de billets, cerner les vrais billets de faux, que le gouvernement a fait im- refusera de les recevoir, et le con- primer, sur ceux que le congr^s a gres manquant une fois de credit fait distribuer. Comme ce strat- public, trouverait beaucoup de ageme doit mettre beaucoup de difRcultes a le retablir. Maltzan confusion dans les arrangements au roi, 2 Avril, 1776. de finance des colonies, il se flatte

170 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. While nature executed its unbending law, congress w-Y— X sought to hide the decline of its credit by clamor 17 77. against the rise of prices, which, m February, 1777, it proposed to remedy by conventions of the northern, of the middle, and of the three southernmost states. That for New England met in the summer at Hart- ford ; but, while the development of the institutions of the country was promoted by showing how readily the people of a group of states could come together by their delegates for a purpose of reform, prices rose and continental bills went down with accelerated speed.

The loan offices exchanged paper money at its par value for United States certificates of debt, bearing interest at six per cent. About a fortnight before Howe took possession of Philadelphia, congress, on a hint from Arthur Lee, resolved to pay the annual interest on the certificates of debt by drawing bills of exchange on their commissioners in Paris for coin. How these bills were to be met at maturity was not clear : they were of a very long date, and, before any of them became due, a dollar in coin was worth six in paper ; so that the annual interest payable at Paris on a loan certificate became equal to about thirty-six per cent.

The anxious deliberations of the committee of con- gress during more than two months at Yorktown pro- Nov. duced only a recommendation, adopted in November, 1777, that the several states should become creditors of the United States by raising for the continental treasury ^Ye millions of dollars, in four quarterly instalments; the first payment to be made on the coming New- Year's day, and the whole to bear six

A PEOPLE WITHOUT A GOYEENMENT. 171

per cent interest until the final adjustment of ac- chap. counts, after the confederation should have been w^,— ' ratified. Of thousands of dollars, Massachusetts was 17 7 7. rated at eight hundred and twenty ; Virginia at eight hundred ; Pennsylvania at six hundred and twenty ; Connecticut at six hundred ; New York, rent and ravaged by the war, at two hundred ; Delaware and Georgia, each at sixty. A general wish prevailed to respect the recommendation ; but most of the states retained their quotas to reimburse themselves for advances ; and, besides, they were all weighed down by very heavy expenses and obligations of their own.

Shadowy hopes of foreign loans rose before con- gress. In December, 1777, in advance of treaties of commerce and alliance, the American commissioners in France and Spain were instructed to borrow two million pounds sterling, to be repaid in ten years; and in February, 1778, the commissioner for Tus- 17 78. cany was charged to borrow half as much more. Yet the grand duke of Tuscany would have no re- lations with the United States; and no power was so ill disposed towards them as Spain.

To the American people congress wrote in May : May. " The reasons that your money hath depreciated are, because no taxes have been imposed to carry on the war;" but they did not as yet venture to ask power to levy taxes. On obtaining the king of France for their ally, they authorized drafts on their commis- sioners in Paris for thirty-one and a half millions of livres, at five livres to the dollar, in payment of loan- office certificates, leaving Franklin and his colleagues to meet the bills of exchange as they could. Of con- tinental bills, five millions of dollars were issued in

172 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.'

CHAP. May^ as many more in June, and as many more in >_,^J_. July. In August congress devoted two days in the 17 7 8. week to the consideration of its finances, but with no better result than to order five millions of dollars in paper in the first week of September, and ten miUions more in the last. Certificates of the loan offices were also used in great amounts in payment of debts to the separate states, especially to Pennsylvania.

The legalized use of paper money spread its never- faihng bhght. Trade became a game of hazard. Unscrupulous debtors discharged contracts of long standing in bills, worth perhaps but a twentieth of their nominal value. The unwary ran in debt, while cunning creditors waited for payment till the conti- nental bills should cease to be a legal tender.

The name of Richard Price was dear to every lover of political freedom. He derived his theory of morals from eternal and immutable principles, and his essay on " liberty," which was read in Great Britain, Amer- ica, and through a translation in Germany, founded the rights of man on the reality of truth and justice. He had devised a scheme for the pajmient of the Oct. British debt. Congress, on the sixth of October, in- vited him to become their fellow-citizen, and to reg- ulate their finances. The invitation was declined by their illustrious friend ; but he gave the assurance, that he " looked upon the United States as now the hope, and soon to become the refuge, of mankind."

From this time, congress saw no resource but in such " very considerable loans or subsidies in Europe " as could be expected only from an ally ; and, before the end of October, they instructed Franklin "to assure his most Christian majesty, they hoped pro-

A PEOPLE WITHOUT A GOVERNMENT. 173

tection from his power and magnanimity." There chap. were those in congress who would not place their ^^^^ country under " protection ; " but the word was re- 1 7 7 8. tained by eight states against Ehode Island and Mary- land. Samuel Adams and Lovell, of Massachusetts, voted for it, but were balanced by Gerry and Hoi ten ; Sherman, of Connecticut, opposed it, but his vote was neutralized by that of Ellsworth. The people of the United States, in proportion to their numbers, were more opulent than the people of France ; but they had no means of org;anizino- their resources. The ^ pride that would not consent to an efficient union, was willing to ask protection from Louis the Six- teenth.

The country was also looking to the United Prov- inces for aid ; and in December Laurens retired from Dec. the office of president of congress, in the expectation of being appointed to negotiate a loan in the Nether- lands. Till money could be borrowed, paper was the only resource ; and the wants of November and De- cember required an emission of rather more than twenty millions. The debt of the United States, in currency and in certificates, was estimated at one hundred and forty millions. The continental bills already ex- ceeded one hundred and six millions of dollars, and had fallen in value to twenty for one in silver ; yet congress maintained " the certainty of their redemp- tion," and resolved — Samuel Adams and six others dissenting — "that any contrary report was false, and derogatory to its honor." To make good the promise, the states were invited to withdraw six millions of paper dollars annually for eighteen years, beginning with the year 1780. The measure was

174 AMEEICAN IXDEPENDE?q-CE.

CHAP, carried by Pennsylvania and the states north of it, w-^— ^ against the southern states ; but other opinions ruled 17 7 8. before the arrival of the year in which the absorption of the currency was to begin.

The expenses of the year 1778, so far as they were defrayed by congress, amounted to sixty-two and a sixth millions in paper money, beside more than eighty-four thousand dollars in specie. Towards the expenses of the coming year, nothing further was done than to invite the states to contribute fifteen millions in paper, equal in specie to seven hundred thousand dollars ; but as the payments depended on the good-will of each separate state, very little of this moderate assessment reached the national treas- ury, and there was no resource but in new emissions of notes and loan certificates.

Private reports from American refugees, seeking the favor of the king of England, persuaded Germain that the cause of the United States would share the wreck of their finances : but he knew not how to conciliate provinces that were weary of war, nor to measure the tenacity of the passive resistance of a determined people ; and systematically sought by sanguinary measures to punish and subdue. The refugees, emboldened by the powerlessness of con- gress, and embittered by its advice to the several states to confiscate their property, thronged the antechamber of the minister and fired his vengeful passions by their own. In New York there sprung up a double set of counsellors. Clinton repressed the confidence of the secretary of state by faithful reports of the inadequacy of his forces : on the other hand, William Franklin, late governor of New J ersey,

A PEOPLE WITHOUT A GOYEENMENT. 175

aiming at the power and emoluments to be derived chap. from an appointment as the head of a separate organ- ^^^^^ ization of loyahsts, proposed as no difficult task to 1 7 7 8. reduce and retain one of the middle provinces, by hanging or exiling all its rebels, and confiscating their estates to the benefit of the friends to gov- ernment. Wiser partisans of Great Britain repro- bated " the desire of continuing the war for the sake of war," and foretold that, should " the mode of devastation be adopted, the friends of government must bid adieu to all hopes of ever again living in America."

While it was no longer possible for the Americans to keep up their army by enlistments, the British gained numerous recruits from immigrants. In Phil- adelphia Howe had formed a regiment of Koman Catholics. With still better success Clinton courted the Irish. They had fled from the prosecutions of inexorable landlords to a country which offered them freeholds. By flattering their nationality and their sense of the importance attached to their numbers, Clinton allured them to a combination directly averse to their own interests, and raised for Lord Kawdon a large regiment in which officers and men were ex- clusively Irish. Among them were nearly five him- dred deserters from the American army.

Yet the British general lagged far behind the requirements of Germain, who counted upon ten thousand provincial levies, and wished " that the war should be carried on in a manner better calculated to make the people feel their distresses." The king believed in the " hourly declension of the rebelHon," and that " the colonies must soon sue to the mother

176 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, country for pardon." But Clinton well understood w-^-L/ the power of the insurgents and the insufficiency of

177 8. his own resources ; and, obeying peremptory instruc-

tions, before the end of the year he most reluctantly detached three thousand men for the conquest of Georgia, and ten regiments for service in the West Indies. His supplies of meat and bread, for which he depended on Europe, were precarious. His mili- tary chest was empty; and the inhabitants of New York, mindful of the hour when the city would be given up, were unwilling to lend him their specie. Dec. ^^I do not complain," so he wrote in December to the secretary of state ; " but, my lord, do not let any thing be expected of one circumstanced as I am."

The people of America, notwithstanding their want of efficient government, set no narrow bounds to their aspirations. From Boston d'Estaing, in the name of his king, had summoned the Canadians to throw off British rule ; Lafayette, in December, exhorted " his children, the savages of Canada," to look upon the English as their enemies. Thus encouraged, congress, without consulting a single military man, formed a plan for the " emancipation of Canada," in co-operation with an army from France. One Amer- ican detachment from Pittsburgh was to capture De- troit ; another from Wyoming, Niagara ; a third from the Mohawk river to seize Oswego; a fourth from New England, by way of the St. Francis, to enter Montreal; a fifth, to guard the approaches from Quebec : while to France was assigned the office of reducing Quebec and Halifax. Lafayette would will- ingly have used his influence at Versailles in favor of the enterprise : but Washington showed how far the

A PEOPLE WITHOUT A GOVERNMENT. 177

part reserved for the United States went beyond their chap. resources ; and, in deference to his advice, the specula- ^^^^^ tive scheme was laid aside. 17 7 8.

The spirit of independence none the less grew in strength. Almost all parts of the country were free from the ravages of war; and the inhabitants had been left to plough and plant, to sow and reap, their fields without fear. On the plantations of Virginia ^ labor was undisturbed, and its abundant products were heaped up for exportation along the banks of her navigable waters. In all New England, seed- time and harvest did not fail; and the unmolested ports of Massachusetts grew opulent by commerce. Samuel Adams, uttering the popular sentiment, wrote from Philadelphia: "I hope we shall secure to the United States Canada, Nova Scotia, Florida too, and the fishery, by our arms or by treaty. We shall never be on a solid footing, till Great Britain cedes to us, or we wrest from her, what nature designs we should have."

For want of a government this boundless hope of a young and resolute people could have no adequate support in organized forces. The army, of which the headquarters were at Middlebrook, was encamped for the winter so as to form a line of observation and defence from the Connecticut shore of Long Island Sound, by way of West Point, to the Delaware. For the convenience of forage the four regiments of cav- alry were distributed among the states from Connec- ticut to Virginia. The troops were hutted as at Valley Forge: they suffered extreme distress for want of food ; but, through importations from France, they were better clad than ever before. Officers in

VOL. X. 12

178 AMERICAK INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, great numbers were quitting tlie service from abso- w.^ lute necessity, and those who remained were sinking 17 7 8. into poverty ; while the men grew impatient under their privations and want of pay. The next cam- paign would unavoidably prove an inactive one ; so that the discontented would have leisure to discuss their hardships and brood over their wrongs.

And yet the British made no progress in recover- ing their colonies, and the Americans could not be subdued. An incalculable amount of energy lay in reserve in the states and in their citizens individually. Though congress possessed no effective means of strengthening the regular army,, there could always be an appeal to the militia, who were the people in arms. The strength of patriotism, however it might seem to slumber, was ready to break forth in every crisis of danger, as a beam of light ceases to be invis- ible when it has something to shine upon. The people never lost buoyant self-reliance, nor the readiness to make sacrifices for the public good.

The great defect lay in the absence of all means of coercion. Yet no member of congress brought forward a proposition to create the needed authority. The body representing the nation renounced powers of compulsion, and by choice devolved the chief ex- ecutive acts upon the separate states. To them it was left to enforce the embargo on the export of pro- visions ; to sanction the seizure of grain and flour for the army at established prices ; to furnish their quotas of troops, and in great part to support them; and each, for itself, to collect the general revenue so far as its collection was not voluntary. State govern- ments were dearer to the inhabitants than the gen-

A PEOPLE WITHOUT A GOVERNMENT. 179

eral government. The former were excellent; the chap. latter was inchoate and incompetent. The former w>^^ were time-honored and sanctified by the memories 17 7 8. and attachments of generations; the latter had no associations with the past, no traditions, no fibres of inherited affection pervading the country. The states had power which they exercised to raise taxes to pledge and keep faith, to establish order, to ad- minister justice through able and upright and learned courts, to protect liberty and property and all that is dear in social life; the chief acts of congress were only recommendations and promises. The states were everjnvhere represented by civil officers in their employ; congress had no magistrates, no courts, no executive agents of its own. The ten- dency of the general government was towards utter helplessness ; so that not from intention, but from the natural course of pohtical development, the spirit and the habit of separatism grew with every year. In July, 1776, the United States declared themselves to have called a "people" into being; at the end of 1778, congress knew no " people of the United States," but only " inhabitants." The name of " the United States " began to give place to that of " the confed- erated States," even before the phrase could pretend to historic validity. The attempt to form regiments directly by the United States completely failed; and each state maintained its separate line. There were thirteen distinct sovereignties and thirteen armies, with scarcely a sjrtnbol of national unity except in the highest offices.

From the height of his position, Washington was the first keenly to feel and clearly to declare, that

180 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, efficient power must be infused into the general gov- — ^-w ernment. To the speaker of the house of delegates 17 78. of Yirginia he wrote in December^ 1778: "If the great whole is mismanaged, the states individually must sink in the general wreck ; in effecting so great a revolution, the greatest abiHties and the most hon- est men our American world affords ought to be employed." He saw "America on the brink of" destruction ; her " common interests, if a remedy were not soon to be applied, mouldering and sinking into irretrievable ruin." He pleaded for "the mo- mentous concerns of an empire," for " the great business of a nation." " The states, separately," such were his words, "are too much engaged in their local concerns." And he, who in the begin- ning of the revolution used to call Yirginia his country, from this time never ceased his efforts, by conversation and correspondence, to train the states- men of America, especially of his beloved native commonwealth, to the work of consolidating the union.

CHAPTER YIII.

THE KING OF SPAIN BAFFLED BY THE BACKWOODSMEN OF VIRGINIA.

1778-1779.

While congress unwillingly gave up the hope of dis- chap. lodging England from the continent of North America, J^ the negotiations between the elder and the younger 1 7 7 a branch of the house of Bourbon changed the attitude of the belligerent powers.

"I observe with pain/' so reported Count Mont- morin in October, and so he was obliged contmually Oct. to report, " that this government singularly fears the prosperity and progress of the Americans ; ^ and this fear, which was in part the cause of its excessive ill- humor at our engagements with them,^ may often turn the scale to the side of the English. Spain will be much inclined to stipulate for such a form of inde- pendence as may leave divisions between England and her colonies." ^

^ Montmorin to Vergennes, 19 ^ Montmorin to Vergennes, 15 Oct., 1778. Oct., 1778.

2 Ibid.

182 AMEEICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. The cabinet of Yersailles rushed into the war to V— ^— / cripple England. Spain prompted inquiry into the 17 78. political consequences of American independence. Letters came from the United States filled with re- ports of their ineradicable attachment to England, which would be sure to show itself in future Euro- pean wars ; the calm reasonings of Turgot, that, from habit and consanguinity, their commerce would return to their mother country could not be forgotten ; doubts gradually rose up in the mind of Yergennes of their firmness and fidelity.^ Florida Blanca, who persis- tently proposed to bridle the dreaded ambition of the United States, by a balance of power in which England should hold the post of danger, washed her to retain possession of Canada and Nova Scotia ; for it would prove a perennial source of quarrels between the British and the Americans. " On our side," wrote Yergennes simultaneously, " there will be no difficulty in guaranteeing to England Canada and all other American possessions which may remain to her at the peace." ^ Spain desired that England after the peace might hold Ehode Island, NewTork, and other places along the sea ; but Yergennes inflexibly answered : " To this the king cannot consent without violating the engagement contracted with the thirteen prov- inces, which he has recognised as free and independ- ent states ; ^ for them only we ask independence, without comprehending other English possessions. We are very far from desiring that the nascent re-

' Yergennes to Montmorin, 2 ^ Vergennes to Montmorin, 17 NoY., 1778. Oct., 1778.

2 Ibid., and 2 Nov., 1778.

THE KING OF SPAIN BAFFLED BY BACKWOODSMEN. 183

public should remain the exclusive mistress of all chap.

. . VIII

that immense continent." ^ < ^J^

In the same spirit the French minister at Philadel- i "^ ' 8. phia zealously urged members of congress to re- nounce every ambition for an increase of territory. A spirit of moderation manifested itself, especially in the delegation from New York. Gouverneur Morris was inclined to relinquish to Spain the navigation of the Mississippi,^ and while he desired the acquisition of Canada and Nova Scotia asserted the necessity of a law for setting a limit to the American dominion. " Our empire," said Jay, the president of congress, "is already too great to be well governed, and its constitution is inconsistent with the passion for con- quest."^ Not suspecting the persistent hostility of Spain, as he smoked his»pipe at the house of Gerard, he loudly commended the triple alliance of France, the United States, and Spain.

From the study of their forms of government, Yergennes in like manner represented to Spain that " there was no ground for seeing in this new people a race of conquerors ; " and he undervalued American patriotism and firmness.* To quiet the Spanish court, he further wrote in November : "• Examine with re- ■^°^* flection, collectively and in detail, the constitutions which the United States have given themselves. Their republic, unless they amend its defects, which from the diversity and even antagonism of their interests appears to me very difficult, will never be

^ Vergennes to Montmorin, 30 ' Gdrardto Vergennes,22Dec.,

Oct., 1778. 1778.

2 Gerard to Vergennes, 20 Oct. , * Vergennes to Montmorin, 2

1778. Nov., 1778.

184 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, anything more than a feeble body, capable of little

w-v— ' activity. ^

17 7 8. But the fears of Florida Blanca could not be allayed. He hoped security only from further nego- tiations ; and the United States, he was persuaded, could never conclude a peace with Great Britain except under the auspices of France and Spain, and must submit to any terms which these two powers might enjoin. But first he would know what advan- tages France designed to exact for herself in the final treaty of peace. For a time Montmorin kept him at bay by vague promises.^ " In a case like this," said Florida Blanca, "probability will not suffice; it is necessary to be able to speak with certainty." And, without demanding the like confidence from Spain, Yergennes in October enumerated as the only con- ditions which France would require : ^ the treaty of Utrecht wholly continued or wholly abrogated ; free- dom to restore the harbor of Dunquerque ; the coast of Newfoundland from Cape Bonavista to Cape St. John, with the exclusive fishery from Cape Bonavista to Point Riche. The question of a right to fortify the commercial establishment of Chandernagor fell with the surrender of that post ; * the insinuation of a desire to recover Canada, Yergennes always repelled as a calumny.

As the horizon began to clear and Florida Blanca became sure of his power over France, he could not conceal his joy ; and, having suffered from the irony of the Spanish ambassador at Paris, he now ex-

^ Vergennes to Montmorin, 27 ^ Vergennes to Montmorin, 17

Nov., 1778. Oct., 1778.

2 Montmorin to Vergennes, 29 ^ Ibid. Sept., 1778. .

THE KING OF SPAIN BAFFLED BY BACKWOODSMEN. 185

claimed : " I submit cheerfully to the satires of Aranda chap. to gain for myself a reputation that shall never die." J^ From this time he was in earnest in wishing Spain to 17 7 8. take part in the war. But his demands in compari- son with the moderation of France were so extrava- gant, that he was ashamed himself to give them utterance ; and in November he requested Vergennes ^g^* to suggest to him the advantages which France would bind itself to secure to Spain before listening to prop- ositions for peace.^ A confidential declaration that accompanied his letter marked his disposition to qualify the independence of the United States.^ To raise the price to be offered, the king of Spain simul- taneously wrote to his nephew, Louis the Sixteenth, of his desire to avoid any part in the war ; and his minister announced to the French embassy, that Spain could not be induced to engage in it, except for great objects. " You know, sir, his projects," wrote Mont- morin to Yergennes ; " the only way to bring him to a decision is to appear to adopt them."^ The option was embarrassing. " Six months ago," rea- soned Yergennes, " England was unprepared, and might have consented to purchase peace on condi- tions prescribed by the Bourbons. Now she has for- tified herself on every side, and God only knows what can be attained." Yet, rather than remain in a state of isolation, Yergennes on the day before Christmas, 1778, offered the king of Spain carte blanche to frame a treaty which the ambassador of

' Florida Blanca to Vergennes, « Montmorin to Vergennes, 20 20 Nov., 1778. Nov., 1778; and compare Mont-

2 Confidential declaration of morin to Vergennes, 7 Dec. , 1778. the court of Madrid to that of Versailles, 20 Nov., 1778.

186 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. France at Madrid should have full power to sign.^ — ^ But Florida Blanca reasoned, that France would be 17 7 8. more strongly bound by articles of her own propos- ing, and therefore answered: "The Catholic king will not be behind the king, his nephew, in confi- dence. Count Yergennes may draft the convention as seems good to him, and it will certainly be signed here as soon as it shall arrive. The heart of the king, my master, knows how to reciprocate good treatment." To Montmorin he verbally explained his demands in both hemispheres. As to Europe, he said : " Without Gibraltar I will never consent to a peace." ^ "How^ are you to gain the place?" asked Montmorin ; and he replied : " By siege it is impos- sible ; Gibraltar must be taken in Ireland or in Eng- land." Montmorin rejoined : " The English must be reduced very low before they can cede Gibraltar, unless the Spaniards first get possession of it." " If our operations succeed," answered Florida Blanca, " England will be compelled to subscribe to the law that we shall dictate." At the same time he declared frankly, that Spain would furnish no troops for the invasion of Great Britain; France must undertake it alone; even the junction of the fleets of Brest and Cadiz to protect the landing must be of short duration.

Vergennes might have hesitated to inaugurate the hard conditions required; but reflection was lost in joy at the prospect of the co-operation of Spain, even though th^ power opposed the independence of the new allies of France, and demanded French

^ Vergennes to Montmorin, 24 ^ Montmorin to Vergennes, 12 Dec, 1778. Jan., 1779.

THE KING OF SPAIN BAFFLED BY BACKWOODSMEN. 187

aid to dislodge them from the valley of the Missis- chap. sippi.^ ^— ^v— '

And yet disinterested zeal for freedom had not i^ya died out in the world. Early in February, 1779, Lafayette, after a short winter passage from Boston to Brest, rejoined his family and friends. His de- parture for America in the preceding year, against the command of his king, was atoned for by a week's exile to Paris, and confinement to the house of his father-in-law. The king then received him at Ver- sailles with a gentle reprimand ; the queen addressed him with eager curiosity : " Tell us good news of our dear repubhcans, of our beloved Americans." ^ His fame, his popularity, the social influence of his rank, were all employed in behalf of the United States. Accustomed to see great interests sustained by small means, he grudged the prodigality which expended on a single festival at court as much as would have equipped the American army. " To clothe it," said Maurepas, " he would be glad to strip Versailles." He found a ministry neglecting the main question of American independence, making immense prepara- tions for trifling ends, and half unconscious of being at war. Public opinion in France had veered about, and everybody clamored for peace, which was to be hastened by the active alliance with Spain.

All the while the Spanish government, in its inter- course with England, sedidously continued its offers of mediation. Lest their ambassador at London should betray the secret, he was kept in the 'dark,

1 Montmorin to Vergennes, 20 Augustin Thierry, whom to name Nov., 1778. is to praise; he received it from

* I received this anecdote from the lips of Lafayette.

188 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, and misled ; Grantham,, the British ambassador at

VIII. . .

^-Y-' Madrid, hoodwinked by the stupendous dissimulation

17 79. of Florida Blanca, wrote home in January, 1779:

" I really believe this court is sincere in wishing to

bring about a pacification ; " ^ and, at the end of

March, the king of England still confided in the

neutrality of the court of Spain.^ In London there \

was a rumor of peace through Spanish mediation ; \

Lord Weymouth, the ablest statesman in the cabinet,_^,

steadily repelled that mediation, unless France would

cease to support the insurgent colonies. Acting

independently and from the consideration of her ow^n

interests alone, Spain evaded the question of Ameri- ]

can independence, and proposed her mediation to

England on the basis of a truce of twenty-five or

thirty years, to be granted by the king of England

with the concurrence of Spain and France.^ This

offer, made without consultation with Vergennes,

called forth his most earnest expostulations ; for, had

it been accepted by the British ministry, he must

have set himself at variance with Spain, or been

false to his engagements with the United States.

But Lord Weymouth was superior to intrigue and

chicane ; and with equal resolution and frankness he

put aside the modified proposal " as an absolute, if not

a distinct, concession of all the rights of the British

crown in the thirteen colonies, under the additional

disadvantage of making it to the French, rather than

to the Americans themselves."* If independence

•

' Grantham to Weymouth, Jan., ^ Florida Blanca to De Almo-

1779, (indorsed) received 1 Feb. dovar, 20 Jan., 1779.

from the Marquis de Almodovar. ^ Weymouth to Grantham, 16

2 George the Third to Lord March, 1779. North, in Donne, ii. 111. .

THE KING OF SPAIN BAFFLED BY BACKWOODSMEN. 189

was to be conceded to the new states, Lord Wey- chap. mouth held that it must be conceded "directly to ^.^J-. congress, that it might be made the basis of all the 1 7 7 y. advantages to Great Britain which so desirable an object might seem to be worth." ^ Uncontrolled by entangling connections, England reserved to itself complete freedom in establishing its relations with America, whether as dependencies or as states. This pohcy was so founded in wisdom, that it continued to be the rule of Great Britain for a httle more than eighty years.

Meantime Yergennes, on the twelfth of February, Feb. forwarded the draft of a convention which yielded to Spain all that she required, except that its fourth article maintained the independence of the United States. "In respect to this," he wrote, "our en- gagements are precise, and it is not possible for us to retract them. Spain must share them, if she makes coijimon cause with us." ^ Yet the article was per- sistently cavilled at, as in itself useless, and misplaced in a treaty of France with Spain; and it was re- marked with ill-humor how precisely the treaty stipulated, " that arms should not be laid down " till American independence should be obtained, while it offered only a vague promise " of every effort " to procure the objects in which Spain was interested. " Efface the difference," answered Montmorin, " and employ the same expressions for both stipulations." The Spanish minister caught at the unwary offer, and in this way it was agreed that peace should not

1 VTeymouth to Grantham, 16 ^ Vergennes to Montmorin, 12 March, 1779, and Ibid., 4 May, Feb., 1779. 1779.

March.

190 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, be made without the restoration of Gibraltar. Fired ^.^.w by the prospect which now opened before him, the 17 7 9. king of Spain pictured to himself^ the armies of France breaking in upon the English at their fire- sides ; and Florida Blanca said to Montmorin : " The news of the rupture must become known to the world by a landing in England. With union, secrecy, and firmness, we shall be able to put our enemies under our feet ; but no decisive blow can be struck at the English except in England itseK." ^

All this time the Spanish minister avoided fixing the epoch for joint active measures. Towards the end of March, V ergennes wrote impatiently : " How can he ask us to bind ourselves to everything that flatters the ambition of Spain, whilst he may make the secret reserve never to take part in the war, but in so far as the dangers are remote and the advan- tages certain ? in one word, to reap without having sown ? The difficulty can be excused only by att^b- uting it to that spirit of a pettifogger which formed the essence of his first profession, and which we have encountered only too often. I cry out less at his repugnance to guarantee American independence. Nothing is gratuitous on the part of Spain ; we know from herself that she wants suitable concessions from the Americans j to this we assuredly make no oppo- sition." ^

Discussing in detail with Montmorin the article relating to the Americans, Florida Blanca said : " The king, my master, will never acknowledge their inde-

1 Court of Spain to the court * Montmorin to Vergennes, 18 of France, 26 Feb. , 1779. March, 1779.

8 Vergennes to Montmorin, 19 March, 1779.

THE KING OF SPAIN BAFFLED BY BACKWOODSMEN. 191

pendence, until the English themselves shall be forced chap.

. . VIII

to recognise it by the peace. He fears the example ^-^^ which he should otherwise give to his own posses- 1 7 7 9. sions." "As well acknoAvledge their independence as accord them assistance/' began Montmorin; but the minister cut him short, saying : " Nothing will come of your insisting on this article." ^

Now that no more was to be gained, Florida Blanca himself made a draft of a convention, and suddenly presented it to Montmorin. A few verbal corrections were agreed upon, and on the evening of the twelfth April of April the treaty was signed.

By its terms France bound herself to undertake the invasion of Great Britain or Ireland; if she could drive the British from Newfoundland, its fisheries were to be shared only with Spain. For trifling benefits to be acquired for herself, she promised to use every effort to recover for Spain Minorca, Pensa- cola, and Mobile, the bay of Honduras, and the coast of Campeachy ; and the two courts bound themselves not to grant peace, nor truce, nor suspension of hos- tilities, until Gibraltar should be restored. From the United States Spain was left free to exact, as the price of her friendship, a renunciation of every part of the basin of the Saint Lawrence and the lakes, of the navigation of the Mississippi, and of all the land between that river and the AUeghanies.

This convention of France with Spain modified the treaty between France and the United States. The latter were not bound to continue the war till Gibral- tar should be taken ; still less, till Spain should have carried out her views hostile to their interests. They

' Montmorin to Vergennes, 29 March, 1779.

192 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, gained the right to make peace whenever Great ^--^.-L^ Britain would recognise their independence. 17 79. The Mississippi river is the guardian and the pledge of the union of the states of America. Had they been confined to the eastern slope of the Alleghanies, there would have been no geographical unity between them, and the thread of connection between lands that merely fringed the Atlantic must soon have been sim- dered. The father of rivers gathers his waters from all the clouds that break between the Alleghanies and the furthest ranges of the Kocky mountains. The ridges of the eastern chain bow their heads at the north and at the south; so that long before science became the companion of man, nature her- self pointed out to the barbarous races how short portages join his tributary rivers to those of the Atlantic coast. At the other side, his mightiest arm interlocks with the arms of the Oregon and the Col- orado, and by the conformation of the earth itself marshals highways to the Pacific. From his remotest springs he refuses to suffer his waters to be divided ; but, as he bears them all to the bosom of the ocean, the myriads of flags that wave above his head are all the ensigns of one people. States larger than kingdoms flourish where he passes ; and, beneath his step, cities start into being, more marvellous in their reality than the fabled creations of enchantment. His magnificent valley, lying in the best part of the temperate zone, salubrious and wonderfully fertile, is the chos.en mus- ter-ground of the most various elements of human culture brought together by men, summoned from all the civilized nations of the earth, and joined in the bonds of common citizenship by the strong, in-

THE KING OF SPAIN BAFFLED BY BACKWOODSMEN. 193

visible attraction of republican freedom. Now that chap.

VIII

science has come to be the household friend of trade w.^w and commerce and travel, and that nature has lent 17 7 9. to wealth and intellect the use of her constant forces, the hills, once walls of division, are scaled or pierced or levelled ; and the two oceans, between which the republic has unassailably intrenched itself against the outward world, are bound together across the con- tinent by friendly links of iron.

From the grandeur of destiny foretold by the pos- session of that river and the lands drained by its waters, the Bourbons of Spain, hoping to act in con- cert with Great Britain as well as France, would have excluded the United States totally and forever.

While the absolute monarch of the Spanish domin- ions and his minister thought to exclude the republic from the valley of the Mississippi, a new power emerged from its forests to bring their puny policy to nought. An enterprise is now to be recorded, which, for the valor of the actors, their fidelity to one another, the seeming feebleness of their means, and the great result of their hardihood, remains for- ever memorable in the history of the world.

On the sixth of June, 1776, the emigrants to the 17 76. region west of the Louisa river, at a general meeting in Harrodston, elected George Rogers Clark and another as their representatives to the assembly of Virginia, with a request that their settlements might be con- stituted a county. Before they could cross the moun- tains, the legislature of Virginia had declared inde- pendence, established a government, and adjourned. In a later session, they were not admitted to seats in the house ; but on the sixth of December the western-

VOL. X. 13

194 AMEKICAI^ INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, most part of the state was incorporated as a county w-^ and named Kentucky. As on his return he de- 17 76. scended the Ohio, Clark brooded over the conquest of the land to the north of the river. In the summer 17 77. of 1777, he sent two young hunters to reconnoitre the French villages in Illinois and on the Wabash ; but neither to them nor to any one else did he dis- close his purpose.

During all that summer an apprehension prevailed at Detroit of danger to the settlements in the lUinois,^ but only from the Spanish side of the Mississippi. On the first of October, 1777, Clark took leave of the woodsmen of Kentucky, who saw him depart for the east with fear lest, entering the army, he would never return. On the tenth of December he unbosomed to Patrick Henry his purpose of acquiring the territory north-west of the Ohio. The surrender of Burgoyne had given confidence ; yet Patrick Henry hesitated ; for, as success depended on secrecy, the legislature could not be consulted; but a few trusty men — George Wythe, George Mason, and Thomas Jefferson — were taken to counsel, and the expedition was re- 17 7 8. solved upon. On the second of January, 1778, Clark received his instructions and twelve hundred pounds in paper money. On the next day Wythe, Mason, and Jefferson pledged their influence to secure a grant of three hundred acres of land to every man who should engage in the expedition. On the fourth Clark left Williamsburg, clothed with all the authority he could wish. At Redstone-old-fort, he prepared boats, light artillery, and ammunition. For men he relied solely on volunteer backwoodsmen of south-western Penn-

' Hamilton to Germain, 14 July, 1777, and Ibid., 27 July, 1777.

THE KING OF SPAIN BAFFLED BY BACKWOODSMEN. 195

sylvania, and from what we now call East Tennessee, chap. and Kentucky. On the twenty-fourth of June, the ^^ day of an eclipse of the sun, his boats passed over 17 78. the falls of the Ohio. After leaving a small garri- son in an island near them, his party consisted of four companies only ; but the men were freeholders, each of whom had seK-respect, and confidence in every one of his companions. Their captains were John Montgomery, Leonard Helm, Joseph Bowman, and William Harrod. An attack on Yincennes was the first object .of Clark, but he learned that its garrison outnumbered his forces.

In the north-west, Detroit was the central point of British authority. There Hamilton, the lieutenant- governor, summoned several nations of Indians to council; and from that post he sent abroad along the American frontier parties of savages, whose reckless cruelty won his applause as the best proofs of their attachment to British interests.^ Sure of their aid, he schemed attempts against the " rebel forts on the Ohio," relying on the red men of the prairies, and the white men of Yincennes. The reports sent to Germain made him believe that the inhabitants of that settlement, though "a poor people who thought themselves cast off from his Majesty's protection, were firm in their allegiance to defend Fort Sackville against all enemies," and that hundreds in Pittsburgh remained at heart attached to the crown .^

On the invasion of Canada in 1775, Carleton, to

1 Hamilton to Germain, 7 June, Vincennes) to Germain, 3 April, 1778. 1778.

^ Abbot (lieutenant-governor of

196 A3IEIIICA1S" INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, strengthen the posts of Detroit and Niagara, had . — ^-w withdrawn the small British garrison from Kaskas- 17 7 8. kia^ and the government was left in the hands of Eocheblave, a Frenchman, who had neither troops nor money. "I wish," he wrote in February, 1778, " the nation might come to know one of its best pos- sessions, and consent to give it some encouragement; " and he entreated Germain that a lieutenant-governor might be sent with a company of soldiers to reside in Illinois.^

On the passage down the Ohio, Clark was overtaken by news of the alliance with France. Having learned from a band of hunters the defenceless condition of Kaskaskia, he and his party, landing three leagues below the mouth of the Tennessee, struck across the country on foot, approached Kaskaskia on the fourth of July, in the darkness of evening surprised the town, and without bloodshed seized Eocheblave, the commandant. The inhabitants gladly bound them- selves to fealty to the United States. A. detach- ment under Bowman was despatched to Kahokia, and received its submission. The people, of French origin and few in number, were averse to the do- minion of the English ; and this disaffection was con- firmed by the American alHance with the land of their ancestors.

In a long conference, Giboult, a Cathohc priest, dis- suaded Clark from moving against Yincennes. His own offer of mediation being accepted, he, with a small party, repaired to the post; and its people, having listened to his explanation of the state of affairs, went into the church and took the oath of

' Rocheblave to Germain, 28 Feb., 1778.

THE KING OF SPAIN BAFFLED BY BACKWOODSMEN. 197

allegiance to the United States. The transition from chap. the condition of subjects of a king to that of integral J^ members of a free state made them new men. Plan- 1 7 7 8. ning the acquisition of the whole north-west, they sent to the Indians on the Wabash five belts : a white one for the French ; a red one for the Spaniards ; a blue one for America ; and for the Indian tribes a green one as an offer of peace, and one of the color of blood if they preferred war, with this message : " The king of France is come to life. We desire to pass through your country to Detroit. We desire you to leave a very wide path for us, for we are many in number and love to have room enough for our march; for, in swinging our arms as we walk, we might chance to hurt some of your young people with our swords." ^

To dispossess the Americans of the Illinois country and Yincennes, Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton on the seventh of October left Detroit, accompanied by three hundred and fifty warriors, picked by their chiefs out of thirteen different nations. Arrived at Vincennes on the seventeenth of December, he took possession of the fort without opposition; and the inhabitants of the town returned to their subjection to the British king. After this exploit he contented himself for the winter with sending out parties ; but he announced to the Spanish governor liis purpose early in the spring to recover lUinois; and, con- fident of receiving re-enforcements, he threatened, that, if the Spanish officers should afford an asylum to rebels in arms against their lawful sovereign,

1 Hamilton to Haldimand, 7 Oct., 1778.

198 AI^IERICAiq- INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, he would invade their territory and seize the furi- VIII. ,.1

17 7 9. Hamilton was methodical in his use of Indians. He gave standing rewards for scalps, but offered none for prisoners. His continuous volunteer parties, composed of Indians and whites, spared neither men, nor women, nor children.^ In the coming year he promised that as early as possible all the different nations, from the Chickasaws and Cherokees to the Hurons and Five Nations, should join in the expedi- tions against Virginia ; while the lake Indians from Mackinaw, in conjunction with the white men, agreed to destroy the few rebels in Illinois.^ Meantime, that he might be prepared for his summer's bloody work, he sent out detachments to watch Kaskaskia and the falls of the Oliio, and to intercept any boats that might venture up that river with supplies for the rebels.* He never doubted his abihty to sweep away the forts on the Kentucky and Kanawha, ascend the Ohio to Pittsburgh, and reduce aU Virginia west of the mountains.

Over Clark and his party in Illinois danger hovered from every quarter. He had not received a single line from the governor of Virginia for near twelve months ; his force was too small to stand a siege ; his position too remote for assistance. By his orders, Bowman of Kentucky joined him, after evacuating the fort at Kahokia, and preparations were made for the defence of Kaskaskia. Just then Francis Vigo, by birth an Itahan of Piedmont, a trader of St. Louis,

^ Hamilton to the Spanish gov- ^ Hamilton to the commandant

ernor, 13 Jan., 1779. at Natchez, 13 Jan., 1779.

2 T. J. Randolph's Jefferson, * Ibid, i. 456.

THE KING OF SPAIK BAFFLED BY BACKWOODSMEN. 199

arrived from Yincennes, and gave information that chap. Hamilton had weakened himself by sending out w ...-L hordes of Indians ; that he had not more than eighty 17 79. soldiers in garrison, nor more than three pieces of cannon and some swivels mounted ; but that he in- tended to collect in spring a sufficient number of men to clear the west of the Americans before the fall.

"With a courage as desperate as his situation, Clark instantly resolved to attack Hamilton before he could call in his Indians. On the fourth of February, he de- ^f^- spatched a small galley, mounting two four-pounders and four swivels, and carrying a company of men and military stores under Captain John Rogers, with orders to ascend the Wabash, take a station a few miles below Yincennes, suffer nothing to pass, and await further instructions. Of the young men of Illinois, thirty volunteered to be the companions of Clark; the rest he embodied to garrison Kaskaskia and guard the different towns. On the seventh of 7- February, he began his march across the country with one hundred and thirty men. The inclemency of the season and high water threatened them with ruin. In eleveif days they came within three ^^• leagues of Yincennes, on the edge of " the drowned lands" of the Wabash river. To cross these required 28. five days more, during which they had to make two leagues, often up to the breast in water. Had not the weather been mild, they must have perished; but the courage and confidence of Clark and his troop never flagged.

All this time Hamilton was planning murderous expeditions. He wrote : " Next year there will be the greatest number of savages on the frontier that

200 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHA.P. has ever been known, as the Six Nations have sent

VIII.

w^ belts around to encourage their alHes, who have made 17 79. a general alliance."^ On the twenty-third, a British 5i3. gang returning with two prisoners reported to him, that they had seen the remains of fifteen fires ; and at ^Ye o'clock in the afternoon he sent out one of his captains with twenty men in pursuit of a party that was supposed to have come from Pittsburgh.

Two hours after their departure, Clark and his companions got on dry land, and making no delay, with drum beating and a white flag flying, they entered Vincennes at the lower end of the village. The town surrendered immediately, and assisted in the siege of the fort, which was immediately invested. One captain, who lived in the village, with two Ottaw^a chiefs and the king of the Hurons, escaped to the wood, where they were afterwards joined by the chief of the Miamis and three of his people. The moon was new; and in the darkness Clark threw up an intrenchment within rifle shot of the fort. Under this protection, the riflemen silenced two pieces of cannon. The firing was continued for about fourteen hours, during which Clark purposely allowed La Motte and twenty men to enter the place. The rifle- ^^ men aimed so well that, on the forenoon of the twenty- fourth, Hamilton asked for a parley. At first Clark demanded his surrender at discretion. The garri- son declared, " they would sooner perish to the last man;"^ and offered to capitulate on the condition that they might march out with the honors of war, and return to Detroit. " To that," answered Clark,

' Hamilton to the commandant ^ Hamilton to Captain Lemoult, at Natchez, 13 Jan., 1779. 28 Feb., 1779.

THE KING OF SPAIN BAFFLED BY BACKWOODSMEN. 201

" I can by no means agree. I will not again leave it chap. in your power to spirit up the Indian nations to scalp J^ men, women, and children." About twelve o'clock 17 79. the firing was renewed on both sides ; and, before the twenty-fourth came to an end, Hamilton and his garrison, hopeless of succor and destitute of provi- sions, surrendered as prisoners of war.^

A very large supply of goods for the British force was on its way from Detroit. Sixty men, despatched by Clark in boats well mounted with swivels, sur- prised the convoy forty leagues up the river, and made a prize of the whole, taking forty prisoners. The joy of the party was completed by the return of their messenger from Virginia, bringing from the house of assembly its thanks voted on the twenty- third of November, 1778, "to Colonel Clark and the brave officers and men under his command, for their extraordinary resolution and perseverance, and for the important services which they have thereby rendered their country."^

Since the time of that vote, they had undertaken a far more hazardous enterprise, and had obtained permanent "possession of all the important posts and settlements on the Illinois and Wabash, rescued the inhabitants from British dominion, and estab- lished civil government " in its republican form.^

The conspiracy of the Indians embraced those of the south. Early in the year 1779, Cherokees and warriors from every hostile tribe south of the Ohio, to the number of a thousand, assembled at Chicka-

' Hamilton to Captain Lemoult, ' Girardin's History of Vir- 28 Feb., 1779. ginia, 319.

8 Butler's History of Kentucky, 113.

202 AMEKICAN- INDEPEOT)ENCE.

CHAP, mauga. To restrain their ravages, whicli had ex- ^^^ tended from Georgia to Pennsylvania, the governments 17 7 9. of North Carohna and Virginia appointed Evan Shelby to command about a thousand men, called into service chiefly from the settlers beyond the mountains. To these were added a regiment of twelve-months men, that had been enlisted for the re-enforcement of Clark in Illinois. Their supplies and means of trans- portation were due to the unwearied and unselfish exertions of Isaac Shelby. In the middle of April, April, embarking in pirogues and canoes at the mouth of Big Creek, they descended the river so rapidly as to surprise the savages, who fled to the hills and forests. They were pursued, and forty of their warriors fell. Their towns were burned ; their fields laid waste ; and their cattle driven away.

Thus the plans of the British for a combined attack, to be made by the northern and southern Indians upon the whole western frontier of the states from Georgia to New York, were defeated. For the rest of the year the western settlements enjoyed peace, and the continuous flow of emigration through the mountains to Kentucky and the country on the Hol- ston so strengthened them, that they were never again in danger of being broken up by any alliance of the savages with the British. The prowess of the people west of the AUeghanies, where negro slavery had not yet been introduced and every man was in the full possession of a wild but seH-restrained liberty, fitted them for self-defence. The men on the Holston exulted in all the freshness and gladsome hopefulness of political youth and enterprise ; and, in this year, Robertson with a band of hunters took possession of

THE KING OF SPAIN BAFFLED BY BACKWOODSMEN. 203

the surpassingly fertile country on the Cumberland cnAP. river. w.^

Clark could not pursue his career of victories, for 1 7 7 9. the regiment designed for his support had been diverted, and thus the British gained time to re- enforce and fortify Detroit.^ But Jefferson, then gov- ernor of Virginia, gave instructions to occupy a station on the Mississippi, between the mouth of the Ohio and the parallel of 36° 30' ; and in the spring of 1780, Clark, choosing a strong and commanding situation five miles below the mouth of the Ohio, established 1 7 s o. Fort Jefferson as the watch on the father of rivers. Could the will of Charles the Third of Spain defeat the forethoitght of Jefferson? Could the intrigues of Florida Blanca stop the onward wave of the back- woodsmen ? «

' Butler's History of Kentucky, 113.

CHAPTER IX.

PLAN OF PEACE. 1779.

CHAP. For the northern campaign of 1779 two objects ^^-^ presented themselves to America: the capture of 17 7 9. Fort Niagara, to be followed by that of Detroit ; and the recovery of New York city. But either of these schemes would have required an army of thirty thou- sand men ; while the fall of the currency, party divi- sions, and the want of a central power paralyzed every effort at a harmonious organization of the strength of all the states. Washington remained more than a month at Philadelphia in consultation with congress, and all agreed that the country must confine itself to a defensive campaign.^

Measures for the relief of the national treasury were postponed by congress from day to day, apparently from thoughtlessness, but really from conscious in- ability to devise a remedy; while it wasted time upon personal and party interests. Gates was more

' Writings of Washington, ed. Sparks, vi. 217.

PLAN OF PEACE. 205

busy than ever in whispers against Washington, chap. Most men thought the war near its end ; the skil- J^ fully speculative grew rich by the fluctuations in 17 79. prices; and shocked a laborious and frugal people by their extravagant style of living. The use of ir- redeemable paper poisoned the relations of life, and affected contracts and debts, trusts and inheritances. Added to this, the British had succeeded in circulat- ing counterfeit money so widely, that congress in January was compelled to recall two separate emis- jan. sions, each of five millions.

Even a defensive campaign was attended with dif- ficulties. To leave the officers, by the depreciation of the currency, without subsistence, augured the reduction of the army to a shadow.^ Few of them were willing to remain on the existing establishment, and congress was averse to granting pensions to them or to their widows.

The rank and file were constantly decreasing in number, and not from the casualties of the service alone. Many would have the right to their dis- charge in the coming summer ; more at the end of the year. To each of them who would agree to serve during the war, a bounty of two hundred dollars, be- sides land and clothing, was promised; while those who had in former years enlisted for the war re- ceived a gratuity of one hundred dollars. Yet all would have been in vain but for the character of the people. Among the emigrants, some mere needy adventurers joined the English standard ; others of . serious convictions, as well as the descendants of the early settlers of the country, formed the self-reliant,

* Writings of Washington, ed. Sparks, vi. 168.

206 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, invincible resource of the Americans. If Washin^^ton

IX • • •

w-^.^ could not drive the British from New York, neither

1779. could England recover jurisdiction over a foot of land beyond the lines of her army.

March. Tardily in March, congress voted that the infantry should consist of eighty battahons, of which eleven were assigned to Pennsylvania, as many to Virginia, and fifteen to Massachusetts.^ Not one state fur- nished its whole quota; the last-named more nearly than any other. In addition to the congressional bounty. New Jersey paid two hundred and fifty dol- lars to each of her recruits. Often in Massachusetts, sometimes in Virginia, levies were raised by draft.^

Four years of hard service and of reflection had ripened in Washington the conviction of the need of a national government. To other states than his native commonwealth he made appeals for the sub- ordination of every selfish interest to the public good ; so that, in the want of a central government, each of them might do its utmost for what he called " our common country, America," " our noble cause, the cause of mankind." ^ But to the men of Virginia he unbosomed himself more freely. His was the elo- quence of a sincere, single-minded, and earnest man, whose words went to the heart from his love of truth and the intensity of his convictions. To one Virginia statesman he wrote : " Our affairs are now come to a crisis. Unanimity, disinterestedness, and persever- ance in our national duty are the only means to avoid misfortunes." In a " letter sent by a private

' Journals of Congress, 9 March, ' Writings of Washington, ed. 1779. Sparks, vi. 156.

2 Writings of Washington, ed. Sparks, vi. 211.

PLAN OF PEACE. 207

hand/' he drew the earnest thoughts of George chap. Mason to the ruin that was coming upon the coun- ^^^ try from personal selfishness and provincial separa- 17 7 9. tism in these words : " I view things very differently from what the people in general do, who seem to think the contest is at an end, and to make money and get places the only things now remaining to do. I have seen without despondency, even for a moment, the hours which America has styled her gloomy ones ; but I have beheld no day, since the commencement of hostilities, that I have thought her liberties in such eminent danger as at present. Friends and foes seem now to combine to pull down the goodly fabric we have been raising at the expense of so much time, blood, and treasure ; and unless the bodies politic will exert themselves to bring things back to first prin- ciples, correct abuses, and punish our internal foes, inevitable ruin must follow. Indeed, we seem to be verging so fast to destruction, that I am filled with sensations to which I have been a stranger till within these three months. Our enemies behold with exulta- tion and joy how effectually we labor for their bene- fit ; and from being in a state of absolute despair, and on the point of evacuating America, are now on tip- toe. Nothing, therefore, in my judgment can save us but a total reformation in our own conduct, or some decisive turn to affairs in Europe. The former, alas ! to our shame be it spoken, is less likely to hap- pen than the latter.

" Were I to indulge my present feelings, and give a loose to that freedom of expression which my un- reserved friendship for you would prompt me to, I should say a great deal on this subject. I cannot

208 AMEEICAN INDEPEISDENCE.

CHAP, refrain lamenting, however, in the most poignant ^^ terms, the fatal policy too prevalent in most of t*he 17 79. states, of employing their ablest men at home in posts of honor and profit, till the great national in- terest is fixed upon a solid basis. To me it appears no unjust simile, to compare the affairs of this great continent to the mechanism of a clock, each state representing some one or other of the smaller parts of it, which they are endeavoring to put in fine or- der, without considering how useless and unavailing their labor is, unless the great wheel or spring which is to set the whole in motion is also well attended to and kept in good order. As it is a fact too notorious to be concealed, that congress is rent by party, no man who wishes well to the liberties of his country and desires to see its rights estabhshed can avoid crying out. Where are our men of abilities ? Why do they not come forth to save their country ? Let this voice, my dear sir, call upon you, Jefferson, and others. Do not, from a mistaken opinion, let our hitherto noble struggle end in ignominy. Believe me, when I tell you, there is danger of it. I shall be much mistaken if administration do not now, from the present state of our currency, dissensions, and other circumstances, push matters to the utmost extremity. Nothing will prevent it but the interposition of Spain, and their disappointed hope from Kussia." ^ May On the eighteenth of May he wrote to another friend : " I never was, and much less reason have I now to be, afraid of the enemy's arms ; but I have

* Washington to George Mason, printed from the papers of George

Middlebrook, 27 March, 1779. Mason, in the Virginia Historical

Copied by me from MS. draft Register, v. 96. Marshall's Life

in Washington's handwriting : of Washington, i. 291.

PLAX OF PEACE. 209

no scruples in declaring to you, that I have never yet chap. seen the time in which our affairs, in my opinion, w^ were at as low an ebb as at the present ; and, with- 17 7 9. out a speedy and capital change, we shall not be able to call out the resources of the country." ^

While Washington reasoned that the British min- isters plainly intended to prosecute the war on Amer- ican soil, and to make a permanent conquest of the south, congress avoided or delayed the expense of proper re-enforcements of its army,^ and lulled itself into the belief that hostilities were near their end. In this quiet it was confirmed by a proceeding of the French minister, who had been specially commanded to ascertain its ultimate demands, and to mould them into a form acceptable to Spain. Its answer to the British commissioners in 1778 implied a willingness to treat with Great Britain on her recognition of American independence. "It has but one course to take," wrote Yergennes before his treaty with Spain, " and that is to declare distinctly and roundly, that it will listen to no proposition, unless it has for its basis peace with France as well as with America." On the report of an able committee on which are found the names of Samuel Adams and Jay, con- gress, on the fourteenth of January, 1779, resolved •^[]»- unanimously, "that as neither France nor these United States may of right, so they wiU not conclude either truce or peace with the common enemy, without the formal consent of their ally first obtained."

The conditions on which it was most difficult for

^ Writings of Washington^ ed. * Ibid., vi. 199. Sparks, vi. 252, note.

VOL. X. 14

210 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, the Americans to preserve moderation related to w-^ boundaries and to the fisheries. They were to take 17 7 9. their place in the political world as an unknown power, of whose future influence both France and Spain had misgivings. The latter longed to recover the Floridas: the United States had no traditional wish for their acquisition; and, from the military point of view, Washington preferred that Spain should possess the Floridas rather than Great Britain. Here no serious difference could arise.

Spain vfished to extend on the north to the Ohio, on the east to the AUeghanies ; but the back- woodsmen were already in possession of the terri- tory and it would have been easier to extirpate the game in the forests than to drive them from their homes.

Spain made the exclusive right to the navigation of the Mississippi the condition of her endurance of the United States; and it remained to be seen, whether they could be brought by their necessities to acquiesce in the demand. It was the wish of both France and Spain that the country north-west of the Ohio river should be guaranteed to Great Britain; but such a proposition could never gain a hearing in congress. France, renouncing for herself all preten- sions to her old provinces, Canada and Nova Scotia, joined Spain in opposing every wish of the Amer- icans to acquire them. In this congress acquiesced, though two states persisted in demanding their an- nexation.

With regard to the fisheries, of which the interrup- tion formed one of the elements of the war, public law had not yet been settled. By the treaty of

PLA2f OF PEACE. 211

Utrecht/ France agreed not to fish within thirty chap. leagues of the coast of Nova Scotia; and by that w^ of Paris, not to fish within fifteen leagues of Cape 1 7 7 o. Breton.^ Moreover, New England at the beginning of the war had by act of parliament been debarred from fishing on the banks of Newfoundland. What right of legislation respecting them would remain at the peace to the parhament of England ? Were they free to the mariners of all nations ? and what limit was set to the coast fisheries by the law of nature and of nations ? " The fishery on the high seas," so Yer- gennes expounded the law of nations, " is as free as the sea itself, and it is superfluous to discuss the right of the Americans to it. But the coast fisheries be- long of right to the proprietary of the coast. There- fore the fisheries on the coasts of Newfoundland, of Nova Scotia, of Canada, belong exclusively to the English; and the Americans have no pretension whatever to share in them."^

But they had hitherto almost alone engaged in the fisheries on the coast of Nova Scotia and in the gulf of St. Lawrence ; deeming themselves to have gained a right to them by exclusive and immemorial usage. Further, the New England men had planned and had alone furnished land forces for the first reduction of Cape Breton, and had assisted in the acquisition of Nova Scotia and Canada. The fisheries on their coasts seemed to them, therefore, a perpetual joint property. Against this Yergennes argued that the conquest had been made for the crown of Great

' Article xiii., April 11, 1713. « Vergennes to Luzerne, 25

2 Treaty of 10 Feb., 1763, arti- Sept., 1779. cle 5.

212 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. Britain ; and that the New England men, on ceasing w^^w to be the subjects of that crown, lost all right in the 17 7 9. coast fisheries.

The necessity of appeals to France for aid pro- moted obsequiousness to its wishes. He that accepts subsidies binds his own hands, and consents to play a secondary part. A needy government, reduced to expedients for getting money, loses some degree of its consideration.

To persuade congress to propitiate Spain by con- ceding all her demands, the French minister at Phila- delphia sought interviews with its separate members and with its newly appointed committee on foreign affairs, which was composed of one from each state ; and insisted with them on the relinquishment of the fisheries, and of the valley and navigation of the Mis- sissippi. It was answered, that that valley was al- ready colonized by men who would soon be received into the union as a state. He rejoined that personal considerations must give way to the general interests of the republic -, that the king of Spain, if he engaged in the war, would have equal rights with the United States to acquire territories of the king of England ; that the persistence in asserting a right to estabhsh- ments on the Ohio and the Illinois, and at Natchez, would exhibit an unjust desire of conquest ; that such an acquisition was absolutely foreign to the princi- ples of the American alliance with France, and of the system of union between France and Spain, as well as inconsistent with the interests of the latter power ; and he formally declared, " that his king would not prolong the war one single day to secure

PLAN OF PEACE. 213

to the United States the possessions which they chap. coveted."^ J^

"Besides; the extent of their territory rendered 17 79. already a good administration difficult : so enormous an increase would cause their immense empire to crumble under its own weight." ^ Gerard terminated his very long conversation by declaring the strongest desire, " that the United States might never be more • than thirteen, unless Canada should one day be re- ceived as the fourteenth." The president of con- gress, still confiding in the triple alliance, avowed himself content with the boundary of the colonies at the breaking out of the revolution,^ and the French minister did not doubt of success in extorting the concessions required by Spain.

On the fifteenth of February, Gerard in a private ^^^5^* audience represented to congress that the price which Spain put upon her friendship was Pensacola and the exclusive navigation of the Mississippi ; * if her wishes were not complied with, Spain and Eng- land might make common cause against America.*^

^Two days after this private intervfew, congress re- i7. f erred the subject of the terms of peace to a special committee of five, composed of Gouverneur Morris, of New York; Burke, of North Carolina; Wither- spoon, of New Jersey ; Samuel Adams, of Massachu- setts; and Smith, of Virginia. Of these, Samuel Adams demanded the most territory; while Morris would rather have had no increase than more lands at the south.

^ Gerard to Vergennes, 28 Jan. , 1779, and compare Ibid., 19 Sept. ,

1779. 1778.

^ Ibid. * Ibid., 17 Feb., 1779.

8 Gerardto Vergennes, 28 Jan., ^ Ibid.

214 AMEEICAN INDEPENDENCE.

On the twenty-third the comniittee reported their opinion, that the king of Spain was disposed to enter into an aUiance with the United States, and that con- sequently independence must be finally acknowledged by Great Britain. This being effected, they proposed as their ultimatum that their territory should extend from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, from the Floridas to Canada and Nova Scotia ; that the right of fishing and curing fish on the banks and coasts of Newfound- • land should belong equally to the United States, France, and Great Britain ; and that the navigation of the Mis- sissippi should be free to the United States down to their southern boundary, with the benefit of a free port below in the Spanish dominions. March Cougrcss, in committee of the whole, on the nine- teenth of March, agreed substantially to the report on boundaries, yet with an option to adopt westward from Lake Ontario the parallel of the forty-fifth de- gree of latitude. The right to the fisheries was long under discussion, which ended with the vote that the

22. common right of the United States to fish on the coasts, bays, and banks of Nova Scotia, the banks of Newfoundland and gulf of St. Lawrence, the straits of Labrador and Belle Isle, should in no case be given

24. up.^ On the twenty-fourth, ten states against Penn- sylvania alone. New Hampshire and Connecticut be- ing divided, refused to insert the right to navigate the Mississippi.^ On that subject the instructions were properly silent ; for it was. a question with Spain alone; Great Britain, according to the American

' Secret Journals of Congress, ' Secret Journals of Congress, ii. 145. ii. 148.

pla:n' of peace. 215

view, was to possess no territory on the Mississippi, chap. from its source to its mouth. w!^^

On the same day, Gerry obtained a reconsideration 17 70. of the article on the fisheries. The treaty of Utrecht divided those of Newfoundland between Great Britain and France, on the principle that each should have a monopoly of its own share.

Richard Henry Lee brought up the subject anew, and, avoiding a collision with the monopoly of France, he proposed that the right of fishing on the coasts and banks of North America should be reserved to the United States as fully as they enjoyed the same' when subject to Great Britain. This substitute was carried by the vote of Pennsylvania and Delaware, with the four New England states.

But the state of New York, guided by Jay and Gouverneur Morris, altogether refused to insist on a right by treaty to fisheries ; and Gouverneur Morris, on the eighth of May, calling to mind " the exhausted May situation of the United States, the derangement of their finances, and the defect of their resources,"^ moved that the acknowledgment of independence should be the sole condition of peace. The motion was declared to be out of order by the votes of the four New England states. New Jersey, and Pennsyl- vania, against the unanimous vote of New York, Mary- land, and North Carolina ; while Delaware, Virginia, and South Carolina Avere equally divided.

The French minister now intervened, and on the twenty-seventh of May congress went back 27. to its resolve, "that in no case, by any treaty of

' Secret Journals of Congress, ii. 154.

216 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, peace, should the common right of fishing be given

IX. ,,j

17 7 9. On the third of June, Gerry, who was from Marble- 3. head, again appeared as the champion of the Amer- ican right to the fisheries on banks or coasts, as exercised during their pohtical connection with Great Britain. He was in part supported by Sherman ;^ but New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island alone sustained a right to the fisheries on the coasts of British provinces ; and, though Pennsylvania came to their aid, the " Galilean party," by a vote of seven states against the four, set aside the main question ; so that congress refused even to stipulate for the "free and peaceable use and exercise of the common right of fishing on the banks of Newfoundland."

In the preceding December the queen of France, after many years of an unfruitful marriage, gave 1^- birth to a daughter. On the fifteenth of June, con- gress, congratulating the king of France on the birth of a princess, asked for " the portraits of him- seK and his royal consort, to be placed in their coun- cil chamber, that the representatives of these states might daily have before their eyes the first royal friends and patrons of their cause." This was not merely the language of adulation. The Americans felt the sincerest interest in the happiness of Louis the Sixteenth. An honest impulse of gratitude gave his name to the city which overlooks the falls of the Ohio; and, when in 1781 a son was born to him, Pennsylvania commemorated the event in the name of one of its counties. In later years, could the

' Secret Journals of Congress, ^ Secret Journals of Congress, ii. 161. ii. 162.

PLAl^ OF PEACE. 217

voice of the United States have been heard, he and chap.

IX

his wife and children would have been saved, and w^v— ' welcomed to their country as an asylum. On the 17 79. same day, congress solicited supplies from France to the value of nearly three miUions of dollars, to be paid for, with interest, after the peace.

On the seventeenth, performing a great day's work, *^jy® it went through the remainder of the report of its committee. The independence or cession of Nova Scotia was waived; nor was the acquisition of the Bermudas to be mooted. A proposal to yield the right to trade with the East Indies was promptly thrown out. A clause stipulating not to engage in the slave-trade was rejected by a unanimous vote of twelve states, Georgia being absent; Gerry and Jay alone dissenting.

The committee proposed to bind the United States never to extend their dominion beyond the limits that might be fixed by the treaty of peace ; but the article was set aside. Before the close of the day every question on the conditions of peace was decided ; the " Galileans " congratulated themselves that the long struggle was ended in their favor ; and Dickin- son of Delaware, Gouverneur Morris of New York, and Marchant of Ehode Island, two of whom were of that party, were appointed to prepare the commission for the American minister who should be selected to negotiate a peace.

Suddenly, on the nineteenth of June, the content- la- ment of the French minister and his friends was dis- turbed. Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, evading a breach of the rules of congress by a change in form, moved resolutions, that the United States have a com-

218 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, mon right with the English to the fisheries on the v^-^ banks of Newfoundland, and the other fishing-banks 17 7 9. and seas of North America. The demand was for no more than Yergennes confessed to belong to them by the law of nations ; and Gerry insisted that unless the right received the guarantee of France^ or the consent of Great Britain, the American minister should not sign any treaty of peace without first consulting congress. A most stormy and acrimoni- ous debate ensued. The friends of France resisted the resolutions with energy and bitterness, as absurd and dangerous, sure to alienate Spain, and contrary to the general longing for peace. Four states declared peremptorily that, should such a system be adopted, they would secede from the confederation;^ and they read the sketch of their protest on the subject. Congress gave way in part, but by the votes of the four New England states and Pennsylvania against New York, Maryland, Yirginia, and North Carolina, with New Jersey, Delaware, and South Carolina di- vided, they affirmed the common right of the Amer- icans to fish on the grand banks ; and they asked for that right the guarantee of France in the form of an explanatory article of* existing treaties.^

The French minister took the alarm, and sought an interview with the president of congress and two other members ^ equally well disposed to his policy. Find- ing them inclined to yield to New England, he inter- posed that disunion from the side of New England was not to be feared, for its people carried their

* Gerard to Vergennes, 14 July, ' Secret Journals of Congress, 1779- ii. 184.

2 Gerard to Vergennes, 14 July, 1779.

PLAN OF PEACE. 219

love of independence even to delirium. He added : chap. " There would seem to be a wish to break the connec- ^-C— ' tion of France with Spain ; but I think I can say that, 17 7 9. if the Americans should have the audacity to force the king of France to choose between the two alli- ances, his decision would not be in favor of the United States ; he will certainly not expose himself to con- sume the remaining resources of the kingdom for many years, only to secure an increase of fortune to a few shipmasters of New England. I shall greatly regret on account of the Americans, should Spain enter into war without a convention with them."^

The interview lasted from eight o'clock in the evening till an hour after midnight ; but the hearers of Gerard would not undertake to change the opinion of congress : and the result was, therefore, a new interview on the twelfth of July between him and '^^l^ that body in committee of the whole. Of the com- mittee on foreign affairs, eight accepted the French policy. Jay, with other members, gained over votes from the " Anti-Gallican " side 3 and, after long de- bates and many divisions, the question of the fish- eries was reserved to find its place in a future treaty of commerce with Great Britain. The proposition to stipulate a right to them in the treaty of peace was indefinitely postponed by the votes of eight states against New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania; Georgia alone being ab- sent.

The French minister desired to persuade congress to be willing to end the war by a truce, after the precedents of the Swiss cantons and the United

1 G<^rard to Vergennes, 14 July, 1779.

220 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. Netherlands. Burke, of North Carolina, seconded

IX.

w.^ by Duane, of New York, wished no more than that

17 7 9. independence should be tacitly acknowledged ; but

congress required that^ previous to any treaty of

peace, the independence of the United States should,

on the part of Great Britain, be "assured."

Further; Gerard wished America to bring about the accession of Spain to the alliance by trusting implicitly to the magnanimity of the Spanish king ; otherwise, he said, "you will prevent his Catholic majesty from joining in our common cause, and from completing the intended triumvirate." But congress was not ready to give up the navigation and left bank of the Mississippi. It therefore escaped from an im- mediate decision by resolving to send a plenipoten- tiary of its own to Spain.

The minister to be chosen to negotiate a peace was, by a unanimous vote, directed to require " Great Britain to treat with the United States as sovereign, free, and independent," ^ and the independence was to be effectually confirmed by the treaty of peace. Nova Scotia was desired; but the minister might leave the north-eastern boundary "to be adjusted by commissioners after the peace." The guarantee of an equal common right to the. fisheries was de- clared to be of the utmost importance, but was not made an ultimatum, except in the instructions for the treaty of commerce with England. At the same time the American minister at the court of France was instructed to concert with that power a mutual guarantee of their rights in the fisheries as enjoyed before the war.

' Secret Journals, ii. 225.

PLAI^ OF PEACE. 221

The plan for a treaty with Spain hngered a month chap. longer. On the seventeenth of September, congress J^^ offered to guarantee to his Cathohc majesty the Flor- 17 79. idas, if they should fall into his power, "provided i^.* always that the United States shall enjoy the free navigation of the Mississippi, into and from the sea." ^ Tlte great financial distress of the states was also to be made known to his Catholic majesty, in the hope of a subsidy or a guarantee of a loan to the amount of five millions of dollars.^

On the twenty-sixth of September, congress pro- 26. ceeded to ballot for a minister to negotiate peace ; John Adams being nominated by Laurens, of South Carolina, while Smith, of Virginia, proposed Jay, who was the candidate favored by the French minister. On two ballots no election was made. A compromise reconciled the rivalry ; Jay, on the twenty-seventh, 27. was elected envoy to Spain. The civil letter in which Vergennes bade farewell to John Adams on his retir- ing from Paris was read in congress in proof that he would be most acceptable to the French ministry ; and, directly contrary to its wishes, he was chosen to negotiate the treaty of peace as well as an eventual treaty of commerce with Great Britain.

* Secret Journals, ii. 249. « Ibid., ii. 263.

17 79.

CHAPTER X.

THE WAR IN THE NORTHERN DEPARTMENT.

1779.

CHAP. While congress employed the summer in debates on the conditions of peace, the compulsory inactivity of the British army at the north encouraged discoii- tent and intrigues. There rose up in rivalry with Clinton a body styling themselves "the loyal asso- ciated refugees/' who were impatient to obtain an independent organization under Tryon and William Franklin. Clinton wrote that his resources were in- sufficient for active operations : the refugees insisted that more alertness would crush the rebellion ; they loved to recommend the employment of hordes of savages, and to prepare for confiscating the property of wealthy rebels by their execution or exile.

The Virginians, since the expulsion of Lord Dun- more, free from war within their own borders, were enriching themselves by the unmolested culture of tobacco, which was exported through the Chesapeake ; or, when that highway was unsafe, by a short land

THE WAR IN THE NORTHERN DEPARTMENT. 223

carriage to Albemarle Sound. On the ninth of May, chap. two thousand men imder General Matthew, with five w^ hundred marines, anchored in Hampton Roads. The 1 7 7 9 next day, after occupying Portsmouth and Norfolk, 9- they burned every house but one in Suffolk county, and plundered or ruined all perishable property. The women and unarmed men were given over to violence and death. Parties from a sloop of war and priva- teers entered the principal waters of the Chesapeake, carried off or wasted stores of tobacco heaped on their banks, and burned the dwellings of the planters. Before the end of the month, the predatory expedi- tion, having destroyed more than a hundred vessels, arrived at New York with seventeen prizes, and three thousand hogsheads of tobacco.

The legislature of Virginia, which was in session at Williamsburg during the invasion, retaliated by confiscating the property of British subjects within the commonwealth. An act of a previous session had directed debts due to British subjects to be paid into the loan office of the state. To meet the public exi- gencies, a heavy poll-tax was laid on all servants or slaves, as well as a tax payable in cereals, hemp, in- spected tobacco, or the like commodities; and the issue of one million pounds in paper money was authorized. Every one who would serve at home or in the continental army during the war was prom- ised a bounty of seven hundred and fifty dollars, an annual supply of clothing, and one hundred acres of land at the end of the war ; pensions were promised to disabled soldiers and to the widows of those who should find their death in the service ; half -pay for life was voted to the officers. Each division of the

224 AMERICAN INDEPEN^DE]S'CE.

CHAP, militia was required to furnish for the service one w-^Jw able-bodied man out of every twenty-five, to be 17 79. drafted by fair and impartial lot.^

The law defining citizenship will be elsewhere ex- plained; the code in which Jefferson, "Wythe, and Pendleton adapted the laws of Virginia to reason, the weKare of the whole people, and the republican form of government, was laid before the legislature. The law of descents abolished the rights of primo- geniture, and distributed real as well as personal property, equally among brothers and sisters. The punishment of death was forbidden, except for trea- son and murder. A bill was brought in to organize schools in every county, at the expense of its in- habitants, in proportion to the general tax-rates ; but in time of war, and in the scattered state of the in- habitants, it was not possible to introduce a thorough system of universal education.

The preamble to the bill for establishing religious freedom, drawn by Jefferson, expressed the ideas of America : " that belief depends not on mil, but fol- lows evidence ; that Grod hath created the mind free ; that temporal punishment or civil incapacitations only beget hypocrisy and meanness ; that the impious en- deavor of fallible legislators and rulers to impose their own opinions on others hath established and main- tained false religions ; that to suffer the civil magis- trate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion destroys all religious liberty ; that truth is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and

1 Hening, x. 82.

THE WAR IN THE NORTHERN DEPARTMENT. 225

debate: errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is chap. permitted freely to contradict tliem." ^->v— '

It was therefore proposed to be enacted by the ^7 79. general assembly: "No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall other- wise suffer, on account of his belief; but all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to main- tain, their opinion in matters of religion; and the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities. And we do declare that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of man- kind." ^

These enunciations of Jefferson on the freedom of conscience expressed the forming convictions of the people of the United States ; the enactment was de- layed that the great decree, which made the leap from an established church to the largest liberty of faith and public worship, might be atlopted with all the solemnity of calm and careful deliberation and popular approval. Who would wish that a state which used its independent right of initiating and establishing laws by abolishing the privileges of pri- mogeniture, by cutting off entails, by forbidding the slave-trade, and by presenting the principle of free- dom in religion as the inherent and inalienable pos- session of spiritual being, should have remained without the attribute of original legislation?

The British expedition to the Chesapeake, after ^^jy its return to New York, joined a detachment con- ducted by Clinton himself forty miles up the Hudson

1 Randall's Jefferson, i. 219, 220. VOL. X. 15

226 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, to gain possession of Stony Point and Yerplanck's

w-^1-. Point. The garrison withdrew from their unfinished

17 7 9. work at Stony Point. The commander at Y erplanck's

Pointy waiting to be closely invested by water, on the

June second of June made an ino-lorious surrender.^ The

2. . . . .

British fortified and garrisoned the two posts which commanded King's ferry, and left the Americans no line of communication between New York and New Jersey, south of the highlands.

A pillaging expedition, sent to punish the patriot- ism of Connecticut, was intrusted to Tryon. The fleet and transports arrived off New Haven ; and, at '^f^ two in the morning of the fifth of July, one party landed suddenly on the west of the town, another on the east. Everything was abandoned to plunder : vessels in the harbor, public stores, and the ware- houses near the sound, were destroyed by fire. The 6. soldiers, demoralized by license, lost all discipline, and the next morning retired before the Connecticut militia, who left them no time to execute the inten- tion of General Smith to burn the town. At East Haven, where Tryon commanded, dwelling-houses were fired, and cattle wantonly killed ; but his troops were in like manner driven to their ships. Some unarmed inhabitants had been barbarously mur- dered, others carried away as prisoners. The British ranks were debased by the large , infusion of con- victs and vagabonds recruited from, the jails of Ger- many. 7. On the afternoon of the seventh, the expedition landed near Fairfield. The village, a century and a quarter old, situated near the water with a lovely

1 Moore's Diary, ii. 163, 164.

THE WAE IN THE NORTHERN DEPARTMENT. 227

country for its background, contained all that was chap. best in a New England community, — a moral, well- ^^ educated, industrious people ; modest affluence ; well- i7 7i>. ordered homes ; many freeholders as heads of f amiUes ; ^l"^ all of unmixed lineage, speaking the language of the English bible. Early puritanism had smoothed its rugged features under the influence of a region so cheerful and benign ; and an Episcopal church, that stood by the side of the larger meeting-house, proved their toleration. A parish so prospering, with in- habitants so cultivated, had not in that day its parallel in England. The husbandmen who came together were too few to withstand the unforeseen onslaught. The Hessians were the first who were let loose to plunder, and every dwelling was given up to be stripped. Just before the sun went down, the firing of houses began, and was kept up through the night with Httle opposition, amidst the vain " cries of dis- tressed women and helpless children."^ Early the next morning the conflagration was made general. 8. When at the return of night the retreat was sounded, the rear-guard, composed of Germans, set in flames the meeting-house and every private habitation that till then had escaped. At Green Farms, a meeting-house and all dwellings and barns were consumed.

On the eleventh, the British appeared before Nor- il walk, and burned its houses, barns, and places of public worship. Sir George Collier and Try on, the British admiral and general, in their address to the inhabitants of Connecticut, said : " The existence of a single habitation on your defenceless coast ought

* Writings of Washington, ed. Sparks, vi. 367.

228 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, to be a constant reproof to your ingratitude." ' The w-^w British had already lost nearly a hundred and fifty 17 7 9. men, but the survivors were gorged with plunder.

The town of New London was selected as the next victim ; but Try on was recalled to New York by a disaster which had befallen the British. No sooner had they strongly fortified themselves at Stony Point, than Washington, after ascertaining exactly the char- acter of their works, formed a plan for carrying them by surprise. Wayne, of whom he made choice to lead the enterprise, undertook the perilous office with alacrity, and devised improvements in the method of executing the design.

Stony Point, a hill just below the highlands, pro- jects into the Hudson, which surrounds three-fourths of its base; the fourth side was covered by a marsh over which there lay but one pathway ; where the road joined the river, a sandy beach was left bare at low tide. The fort, which was furnished with heavy ordnance and garrisoned by six hundred men, crowned the hill. HaK-way between the river and the fort there was a double row of abattis. Breastworks and strong batteries could rake any column which might advance over the beach and the marsh. From the river, vessels of war commanded the foot of the hill. Conducting twelve hundred chosen men in single file over mountains and through morasses and narrow passes, Wayne halted them at a distance of a mile and a half from the enemy, while with the principal officers he reconnoitred the works. About twenty 16. minutes after twelve on the morning of the sixteenth, the assault began, the troops placing their sole de-

^ Moore's Diary, ii. 190, note.

THE WAR IN THE NORTHERN DEPARTMENT. 229

pendence on the bayonet. Two advance parties of chap. twenty men each, in one of which seventeen out of w^ the twenty were killed or wounded, removed the i7 79. abattis and other obstructions. Wayne, leading on "ef a regiment, was wounded in the head, but, supported by his aids, still went forward. The two columns, heedless of musketry and grape-shot, gained the centre of the works nearly at the same moment. On the right Fleury struck the enemy's standard with his own hand, and was instantly joined by Stewart, who commanded the van of the left. British authorities declare that the Americans " would have been fully justified in putting the garrison to the sword ; " but continental soldiers scorned to take the lives of a vanquished foe begging for mercy, and " not one man was put to death but in fair combat." Of the Amer- icans, but fifteen were killed ; of the British, sixty- three ; and five hundred and forty-three officers and privates were made prisoners. The war was marked by no more brilliant achievement.

The diminishing numbers of the troops with Wash- ington not permitting him to hold Stony Point, the cannon and stores were removed and the works razed. Soon afterwards the post was reoccupied, but only for a short time, by a larger British garrison.

The enterprising spirit of Major Henry Lee, of Virginia, had already been applauded in general orders ; and his daring proposal to attempt the fort at Paulus' Hook, now Jersey city, obtained the approval of Washington. The place was defended by a ditch, which made of it an island, and by lines of abattis, but was carelessly guarded. The party with Lee was undiscovered, until, in the morning of

230 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, the nineteenth of August before day, they phmged

^ into the canal, then deep from the rising tide. Find-

17 79. ing an entrance into the main work, and passing 19 through a fire of musketry from block-houses, they gained the fort before the discharge of a single piece of artillery. This they achieved within sight of New York, and almost within the reach of its guns. After day-break they withdrew, taking with them one hun- dred and fifty-nine prisoners.

Moved by the massacres of Wyoming and Cherry Yalley, congress, on the twenty-fifth of February, had directed Washington to protect the inland fron- tier and chastise the Seneca Indians. Of the two natural routes to their country, both now traversed by railroads, that of the Susquehanna was selected for three thousand men of the best continental troops, who were to rally at Wyoming ; while one thousand or more of the men of New York were to move from the Mohawk river.

Before they could be ready, a party of five or six hundred men, led by Yan Schaick and WiEet, made a swift march of three days into the country of the Onondagas, and, without the loss of a man, destroyed their settlement.

The great expedition was more tardy. Its com- mand, which Gates declined, devolved on Sullivan, May. "to whom Washington in May gave repeatedly the instruction : " Move as light as possible even from the first onset. Should time be lost in transporting the troops and stores, the provisions will be con- sumed, and the whole enterprise may be defeated. Reject every article that can be dispensed with ; this is an extraordinary case, and requires extraordinary

THE WAR IN THE NORTHERN DEPARTMENT. 231

attention."^ Yet Sullivan made insatiable demands chap. on the government of Pennsylvania. — ^v— '

While he was wasting time in finding fault and 17 7 9. writing strange theological essays, the British and Indian partisans near Fort Schuyler surprised and captured twenty-nine mowers. Savages under Mac- donell laid waste the country on the west bank of the Susquehanna, till " the Indians/' by his own report, "were glutted with plunder, prisoners, and scalps." Thirty miles of a closely settled country were burned. Brandt and his crew consumed with fire all the settlement of Minisink, one fort excepted. Over a party of a hundred and fifty men, by whom they were pursued, they gained the advantage, taking more than forty scalps ^ and one prisoner.

The best part of the season was gone when Sul- livan, on the last of July, moved from Wyoming. His arrival at Tioga sent terror to the Indians. Sev- J^^y- era! of their chiefs said to Colonel Bolton in council : " Why does not the great king, our father, assist us ? Our villages will be cut off, and we can no longer fight his battles." 3

On the twenty-second of August, the day after he was joined by New York troops under General James Aug. Clinton, Sullivan began his march up the Tioga into the heart of the Indian country. On the same day, Little David, a Mohawk chief, delivered a message from himself and the Six Nations to Haldimand, then governor of Canada : " Brother ! for these three years past the Six Nations have been running a race against

^ W^ashington to Sullivan, Mid- ' Brandt to Bolton, 29 July, dlebrook, 31 May, 1779. 1779.

3 Bolton to Haldimand, 16 Aug., 1779.

232 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

fresh enemies, and are almost out of breath. Now we shall see whether you are our loving strong

17 7 9. brother, or whether you deceive us. Brother ! w^e are still strong for the king of England, if you will show us that he is a man of his word, and that he will not abandon his brothers, the Six Nations.*' ^

The savages ran no risk of a surprise ; for, during all the expedition, Sullivan, who delighted in the van- ities of command, fired a morning and evening gun.

Aug. On the twenty-ninth he opened a distant and useless cannonade against breastworks which British rangers and men of the Six Nations — in all about eight hun- dred — had constructed at Newtown ; and they took the warning to retire before a party which was sent against them could strike them in the rear.

The march into the country of the Senecas on the left extended to Genesee ; on the right, detachments reached Cayuga lake. After destroying eighteen villages and their fields of corn, Sullivan, whose army had suffered for want of supplies, returned to New Jersey. Meantime, a small party from Fort Pitt, under command of Colonel Brodhead, broke up the towns of the Senecas upon the upper branch of the Alleghany. The manifest inabihty of Great Britain to protect the Six Nations inclined them at last to desire neutrality.

June. In June the British general Maclean, who com- manded in Nova Scotia, estabhshed a British post of six hundred men at what is now Castine, on Penob- scot bay. To dislodge the intruders, the Massachu-

^ The message of Little David, (General Haldimand), Carleton a Mohawk chief, from himself and Island, 22 Aug., 1779.

the Six Nations to Assaragawa

THE WAR IN THE NORTHERN DEPARTMENT. 233

setts legislature sent forth nineteen armed ships, chap. sloops, and brigs; two of them continental vessels, >_^ the rest privateers or belonging to the state. The 17 79. flotilla carried more than three hundred guns, and "^^ was attended by twenty-four transports, having on board nearly a thousand men. So large an Amer- ican armament had never put to sea. A noble pub- lic spirit roused all the towns on the coast, and they spared no sacrifice to ensure a victory. But the troops were commanded by an unskilled militia general; the chief naval officer was self-willed and incapable. Not till the twenty-fifth of July did the "^^^ expedition enter Penobscot bay. The troops, who on the twenty-eighth gallantly effected their land- 28. ing, were too weak to carry the works of the British by storm ; the commodore knew not how to use his mastery of the water; and, while a re- enforcement was on the way, on the fourteenth of August Sir ^^f George Collier arrived in a sixty-four gun ship, at- tended by five frigates. Two vessels of war fell into his hands ; the rest and all the transports fled up the river, and were burned by the Americans themselves who escaped through the woods. The British were left masters of the country east of the Penobscot.

Yet, notwithstanding this signal disaster, the main result of the campaign at the north promised success to America. For want of re-enforcements, Clinton had evacuated Stony Point and Khode Island. All New England, west of the Penobscot, was free from an enemy. In western New York the Senecas had learned that the alliance with the English secured them gifts, but not protection. On the Hudson river the Americans had recovered the use of King's ferry,

234 AI^IERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, and held all the country above it. The condition of s_^ the American army was indeed more deplorable than 17 7 9. ever. The winter set in early and with unwonted severity. Before the middle of December, and long before log huts could be built, the snow lay two feet deep in New Jersey, where the troops were cantoned ; so that they saved themselves with difficulty from freezing by keeping up large fires. Continental money was valued at no more than thirty for one, and even at that rate the country people took it un- willingly. The credit of congress being exhausted, there could be no regularity in supplies. Sometimes the army was five or six days together without bread ; at other times as many without meat ; and, once or twice, two or three days without either. It must have been disbanded, but that such was the honor of the magistrates of New Jersey, such the good disposition of its people, that the requisitions made by the commander-in-chief on its several coun- ties were punctually comphed with, and in many counties exceeded. For many of the soldiers, the term of service expired with the year ; and shorter enlistments, by which several states attempted to fill their quotas, were fatal to compactness and sta- bility. Massachusetts offered a bounty of five hun- dred dollars to each of those who would enhst for three years or the war, and found few to accept the offer. The Americans wanted men and wanted money, and yet could not be subdued. An incalcu- lable strength lay in reserve in the energy of the states and of their citizens individually. Though congress possessed no power of coercion, there could always be an appeal to the militia, who were the

THE WAR IN THE NORTIIERN^ DEPARTMENT. 235

people themselves ; and their patriotism, however it chap. might seem to slumber, was prepared to show itself ^^ in every crisis of danger. The buoyancy of hope, 17 79. and the readiness to make sacrifices for the public good, were never lost; and neither congress nor people harbored a doubt of their ultimate triumph. All accounts agree that, in the coldest winter of the century, the virtue of the army was put to the sever- est trial ; and that their sufferings for want of food, and of clothes and blankets, were borne with the most heroic patience.

In this hour of affliction, Thomas Pownall, a mem- ber of parliament, who, from observation and research and long civil service in the central states and as governor of Massachusetts, knew the United States as thoroughly as any man in Britain, published in England, in the form of a memorial to the sovereigns of Europe, these results of his experience : —

" The present crisis may be wrought into the great- est blessing of peace, liberty, and happiness, which the world hath ever yet experienced.** " The system of establishing colonies in various climates, to create a monopoly of the . peculiar product of their labor, is at end." " It has advanced, and is every day ad- vancing, with a steady and continually accelerating motion, of which there has never yet been any ex- ample in Europe." "Nature hath removed her far from the old world and all its embroiled interests and wrangling poHtics, without an enemy, or a rival, or the entanglement of alliances." " This new system has taken its equal station with the nations upon earth." " Negotiations are of no consequence, either

17 80.

Jan.

236 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, to the right or the fa(;t." "The independence of

w^ America is fixed as fate."

17 8 0. " The government of the new empire of America is HablCj indeed, to many disorders ; but it is young and strong, and will struggle by the vigor of internal healing principles of life against those evils, and sur- mount them. Its strength will grow with its years, and it will establish its constitution."

" Whether the West Indies are naturally parts of this North American communion, is a question of curious speculation, but of no doubt as to the fact. The European maritime powers may by force, per- haps for an age longer, preserve the dominion of these islands. The whole must in the course of events become parts of the great North American dominion."

" The continent of South America is much further advanced to a natural independence of Europe as to its state of supply, than the powers of Europe or its own inhabitants are conscious of." " Whatever sov- ereignty the Spanish monarch holds is a mere tenure at good-will. South America is growing too much for Spain to manage : it is in power independent, and will be so in act as soon as any occasion shall call forth that power."

" In North America, the civilizing activity of the human race forms the growth of state." "In this new world we see all the inhabitants not only free, but allowing an universal naturalization to all who wish to be so." " In a country like this, where every man has the full and free exertion of his powers, an unabated application and a perpetual struggle sharp- ens the wits, and gives constant training to the mind."

THE WAR IN THE NORTHERN DEPARTMENT. 237

'' The acquirement of information gives the mind thus chap. exercised a turn of inquiry and investigation, which >-^« forms a character peculiar to these people. This in- 1 7 8 o. quisitiveness, which, when exerted about trifles, goes even to a degree of ridicule, is yet in matters of business and commerce most useful and efficient. Whoever has viewed these people in this light will consider them as animated with the spirit of the new philosophy. Their system of life is a course of experiments ; and, standing on that high ground of improvement up to which the most enlightened parts of Europe have advanced, like eaglets they commence the first efforts of their pinions from a towering advantage."

" America is peculiarly a poor man's country. The wisdom and not the man is attended to. In this wil- derness of woods the settlers move but as nature calls forth their activity." " They try experiments, and the advantages of their discoveries are their own. They supply the islands of the West Indies, and even Europe itself. The inhabitants, where nothing par- ticular directs their course, are all land-workers. One sees them laboring after the plough, or with the spade and hoe, as though they had not an idea be- yond the ground they dwell upon ; yet is their mind all the while enlarging all its powers, and their spirit rises as their improvements advance. This is no fancy drawing of what may be : it is an exact por- trait of what actually exists. Many a real philoso- pher, a politician, a warrior, emerge out of this wilderness, as the seed rises out of the ground where it hath lain buried for its season."

"In agriculture, in mechanic handicrafts, the

238 AI^IERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, new world hath been led to many improvements of s-J^^ implements, tools, and machines, leading experience 17 80. by the hand to many a new invention. This spirit of thus analyzing the mechanic powers hath estab- lished a kind of instauration of science in that branch. The settlers find fragments of time in which they make most of the articles of personal wear and house- hold use for home consumption. Here, no laws frame conditions on which a man is to exercise this or that trade. Here, no laws lock him up in that trade. Here are no oppressing, obstructing, dead-doing laws. The moment that the progress of civilization is ripe for it, manufactures will grow and increase with an astonishing exuberancy."

" The same ingenuity is exerted in ship-building. Thus their commerce hath been striking deep root." " The nature of the coast and of the. winds renders marine navigation a perpetually moving intercourse of communion ; and the nature of the rivers renders inland navigation but a further process of that com- munion ; all which becomes, as it were, a one vital principle of life, extended through a one organized being, one nation." " Will that most enterprising spirit be stopped at Cape Horn, or not pass the Cape of Good Hope? Before long they will be found trading in the South Sea, in Spice Islands, and in China."

" This fostering happiness in North America doth produce progressive population. They have increased nearly the double in eighteen years."

" Commerce will open the door to emigration. By constant intercommunion, America will every day approach nearer and nearer to Europe." " Unless

Jan.

THE WAR IN THE NORTHERN DEPARTMENT. 239

the great potentates of Europe can station cherubim chap. at every avenue with a flaming sword that turns w^ every way, to prevent man's quitting this old world, ijso multitudes of their people, many of the most useful, enterprising spirits, will emigrate to the new one. Much of the active property will go there also."

" North America is become a new primary planet, which, while it takes its own course in its own orbit, must shift the common centre of gravity."

" Those sovereigns of Europe, who shall find this new empire crossing all their settled maxims and accustomed measures, will call upon their ministers and wise men : ^ Come, curse me this people, for they are too mighty for me.' These statesmen will be dumb, but the spirit of truth will answer: ^How shall I curse whom God hath not cursed.'"

" Those sovereigns of Europe, who shall call upon their ministers to state to them things as they really do exist in nature, shall form the earliest, the most sure and natural connection with North America, as being, what she is, an independent state." "The new empire of America is like a giant ready to run its course. The fostering care with which the rival powers of Europe will nurse it, ensures its estabhsh- ment beyond all doubt or danger."

So prophesied Pownall to the English world and to Europe in the first month of 1780. Since the issue of the war is to proceed in a great part from the influence of European powers, it behooves us now to study the course of their intervention.

CHAPTER XI.

PROGRESS OF THE WAR IN EUROPE. 1779.

Frederic of Prussia had raised the hope that he would follow France in recognising the independence

17 7 9. Qf i]jQ United States ; but the question of the Bava- rian succession, of which the just solution also affected the cause of human progress, compelled him to stand forth as the protector of his own dominions against mortal danger, and as the champion of Germany; so that in his late old age, broken as he was in every- thing but spirit, he joined with Saxony to stay the aggressions of Austria on Bavarian territory. " At this moment," wrote he to his envoys, " the affairs of England with her colonies disappear from my

17 78. eyes." To William Lee, who in March, 1778, im- portuned his minister Schulenburg for leave to reside at Berlin as an American functionary, he minuted this answer: "We are so occupied with Germany that we cannot think of the Americans : we should be heartily glad to recognise them ; but at this pres-

PROGRESS OF THE WAR IN EUROPE. 241

ent moment it could do them no good, and to us chap. might be very detrimental." w.^^

The unseasonable importunities of Lee in the year 17 7 8. of war continued till he was dismissed from office by congress. Their effect was only to make Frederic more reserved. From his camp he always put them aside, yet with gentleness and caution. He could not receive the prizes of the Americans at Emden, because he had no means to protect the harbor against aggression : they might purchase in his do- minions munitions of war; and their merchants would be received in his ports on the same terms as the merchants of all other countries.

Meantime the British ministry, abandoning the scheme of destroying Prussian influence at Peters- burg, sought rather to propitiate Frederic, as the best means of gaining favor in Russia; and author- ized its minister at Berlin to propose an alliance. But Frederic saw that the influence which had ruled England in 1762 was still paramount, and that the offers of friendship were insincere. "I have no wish to dissemble," so he answered in January, 1778 ; " whatever pains may be taken, I will never lend myseff to an alliance with England. I am not like so many German princes, to be gained by money. My unalterable principle is, not to contract relations with a power which, like England in the last war, has once deceived me so unworthily."^

Nevertheless the British cabinet persisted in seek- ing aid from Russia and the friendship of the king

1 Frederic to Maltzan, 20 Jan., 1778, and Ibid., private and secret, 1778 ; Elliot to Suffolk, 22 Feb., of same date.

VOL. X. 16

242 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, of Prussia.^ But from Petersburg Harris wrote: w.^ " They never will be brought to subscribe to any 17 7 8. stipulations in favor of our contest with the colo- nies." " Our influence, never very high, has quite vanished."^ Frederic relented so far as to allow a few recruits for the English army to pass through his dominions; and as a German prince he let it be known that he would save Hanover from French aggression; but proposals for closer relations with •England were inflexibly declined. "He is hostile," wrote Suffolk,^ "to that kingdom to whose hberal support in the last war he owes his present existence amongst the powers of Europe;" and the British ministry of that day looked upon the aid which he had received in the time of the elder Pitt as a very grave mistake.* Prussia should have been left to perish.

Through his minister in France, Frederic sent word to Maurepas and Yergennes : " All the pains which the king of England may take to make an alliance with me will be entirely thrown away. The inter- ests of the state and my own views turn in another direction."^ "Peace is as dear and precious to me as to the ministry of Yersailles ; but as nothing less is at stake than the liberty and constitutions of all the Germanic body, I, one of their principal bul- warks, should fail in duty as an elector if I were willing to acquiesce in the despotism of Austria. Rather than be guilty of such weakness, I should

^ Suffolk to Elliot, 7 April, 1778. * Report of Count Belgiojoso,

2 Harris to Suffolk, 2 Feb., and 8 Jan., 1781.

to Sir I. Yorke, 1 May, 1778. ^ Frederic to Maltzan, 22 Jan.,

3 Suffolk toHarris, 9 Jan., 1778. 1779.

PEOGKESS OF THE WAR IN EUROPE. 243

prefer eternal war to peace." ^ "Now is the mo- chap. ment/' he warned his minister, "to exert all your w.^-— power : the deaf must hear ; the blind see ; the le- 1 7 7 8. thargic wake up."^ "Last year," he continued, "I saw that France could not avoid war with England ; I offer my vows for the success of the French;"^ and he added in his own hand : " The Austrians wish openly to subjugate the empire, abolish the constitu- tions, tyrannize the liberty of voices, and establish their own absolute and unlimited power on the ruins " of the ancient government. Let him who will, bear such violences : I shall oppose them till death closes my eyes."* Since France would not fulfil her guarantee of the peace of Westphalia, Frederic de- sired at least a formal and positive assurance of her neutrality. " As to the French ministers," said he, " I admire their apathy ; but if I were to imitate it, I should surely be lost." ^ The queen of France be- sought her husband even with tears to favor the de- signs of the court of Vienna, and bitterly complained that neutrality had been promised by his cabinet; but the king turned aside her entreaties, remarking that these affairs ought never to become the subject of their conversation. The interference made the ministry more dissembling and more inflexible. For himself, Louis the Sixteenth had no partiality for Austria, and Maurepas retained the old traditions of the French monarchy. Moreover, he was willing to see Prussia and Austria enfeeble each other, and

1 Frederic to Goltz, 9 Feb., * Frederic to Goltz, 27 Feb.,

1778. 1778.

2 Ibid., 11 Feb., 1778. ' Ibid., 22 March, 1778. 8 Ibid., 27 Feb., 1778.

244 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, exhibit to the world France in the proud position of

v-.^— ' arbiter between them.

17 7 9. The promptness with which Frederic interposed for the rescue of Bavaria, his disinterestedness, the fact that he had justice as well as the laws of the empire on his side, and his right by treaty to call upon his ally, Russia, for aid, enabled him under the mediation of France and Russia to bring his war with Austria to an end, almost before France and Spain had come to an understanding.

Joseph of Austria, like Frederic, had liberal aspira- tions, but with unequal results. The one was sover- eign over men substantially of one nationality. The other was a monarch not only over Germans, but over men of many languages and races. Frederic acted for and with his people ; and what he ac- complished was sure to live, for it had its root in them. The reforms of Joseph were acts of power which had their root only in his own mind, were never identified with his subject nations, and there- fore, for the most part, had not a life even as long as his ow^n. Frederic bounded his efforts by his means ; Joseph, by his desires. Frederic attempted but one thing at once, and for that awaited the favoring moment: the unrest of Joseph stirred up every power to ill wishes by seeking to acquire territory alil^e from German princes, in Italy, on the coast of the Adriatic, and on the Danube ; and he never could abide his opportunity, and never confine him- self to one enterprise. long enough for success. He kept up, at least in name, his alliance with France ; while he inclined to the ancient connection of the Hapsburgs with England, and was pleased at the in-

PROCURESS OF THE WAR IN EUROPE. 245

significance of the successes of the Bourbons. Yer- chap. gennes, on the other side, aware of his insincerity, >-^^^ pronounced Austria to be in name an ally, in fact I'^^o. a rival.^ Austria and Prussia resumed their places among European powers, each to have an influence on American affairs: the former to embarrass the independence of the United States; the latter to adopt the system of neutrahty, just when that sys- tem could benefit them most. The benefit, however, came not from any intention of Frederic to subordi- nate the interests of his own dominions to those of a republic in another hemisphere, but from the coin- cidence of the interests of the two new powers.

With the restoration of peace, Austria and Russia contested the honor of becoming mediators between the Bourbons and England. Their interference was desired by neither party ; yet both France and Eng- land were unwilling to wound the seK-love of either of them. Austria, though the nominal ally of France, excluded the question of American independence ; on the contrary, Catharine, in whose esteem Fox and the English liberal party stood higher than the king and the ministry, inclined to propositions friendly to America. Maria Theresa, who truly loved peace, was the first to declare herself. On the fifteenth of May she wrote in her own hand to Charles the Third of Spain, in the hope still to be able to hold him back from war ; and she sent a like letter to her son-in- law at Versailles. Kaunitz followed Avith formal pro- posals of mediation to France and England. In an autograph letter the king of Spain put aside the in-

' Compare Vergennes to Mont- maison d'Autriche, notre alliee morin, 21 Sept., 1779. "La de nom, et notre riyale de fait."

246 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.!

CHAP, terference of the empress under the plea, that the w-^-!-^ conduct of England had made his acceptance of it 17 79. inconsistent with his honor: and on the sixteenth

June

16. of June, between twelve and one o'clock, his ambas- sador in London delivered to Lord Weymouth a dec- laration of war ; but neither there nor in his manifesto was there one word relating to the war in America. Now that Great Britain, without a single ally, was to confront Spain and France and the United States, no man showed more resoluteness than its king. He was impatient at the " over-caution " of his admirals, and sought to breathe his own courage into his min- isters.

Spain stood self-condemned ; for an offer of media- tion implies impartiality, and her declaration of war showed the malice of a pre-determined enemy. In reply to that declaration, Burke, Fox, and their friends joined in pledging the house of commons and the nation to the support of the crown. Fifty thou- sand troops defended the coasts, and as many more of the militia were enrolled to repel invasion. The oscillation of the funds did not exceed one per cent. But opinion more and more condemned the war of England with her children, denied to parliament the right of taxing unrepresented colonies, and prepared to accept the necessity of recognising their indepen- dence. In the commons. Lord John Cavendish, true to the idea of Chatham, moved for orders to with- draw the British forces employed in America ; to the lords, the Duke of Eichmond proposed a total change of measmres in America and Ireland ; and both were supported by increasing numbers. The great land- owners were grown sick of taxing America. Lord

21.

PROGRESS OF THE WAR IN EUROPE. 247

North was frequently dropping hints to the king, that chap. the advantage to be gained by continuing the contest J^ would never repay the expenses; and the king, 17 79. though unrelenting in his purpose of reducing the colonies to obedience, owned that the man who should approve the taxing of them in connection with all its consequences was more fit for a mad- house than for a seat in parliament.

On the twenty-first of June he summoned his min- "^^^ isters to his library,^ and, at a table at which all were seated, he expressed to them in a speech of an hour and a half " the dictates of his frequent and severe self-examination." Inviting the friends of Grenville to the support of the administration, he declared his imchanging resolution to carry on the war against America, France, and Spain. Before he would hear of any man's readiness to come into office, he would expect to see it signed under his hand, that he was resolved to keep the empire entire, and that con- sequently no troops should be withdrawn from America nor its independence ever be allowed. " If his ministers would act with vigor and firmness, he would support them against wind and tide." Yet the ministry was not united ; and, far from obtaining recruits from the friends of Grenville, it was about to lose, its members of the Bedford connection. And his chief minister, cowering before the storm, and incapable of forming a plan for the conduct of the war, repeatedly offered his resignation, as an excuse

' On this interview of the king 262; Under-Secretary Knox, Con-

with his ministers, the authorities siderations on the Present State

are: Maltzan to Frederic, 29 June, of the Nation, 53 ; Letter to Jen-

1779; Kino; to Lord North, 21 and kinson, 9, 10; Ahnon's Anecdotes,

22 June, 1779; in Donne, ii. 260, ii. 102.

248 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, for remaining in office without assuming the proper w-v— ' responsibihty of his station. Confiding in the ruin of 17 7 9. the American finances and in recruiting successfully within the states, the king was certain that, but for the intervention of Spain, the colonies would have sued to the mother country for pardon ; and " he did not despair that, with the activity of Clinton and the Indians in their rear, the provinces would even now submit." But his demands for an unconditional compliance with his American policy riveted every able statesman in a united opposition. He had no choice of ministers but among weak men. So the office made vacant by the death of Lord Suffolk, the representative of the Grenville party, was reserved for Hillsborough. " His American sentiments," said the king, "make him acceptable to me." Yet it would have been hard to find a public man more ignorant or more narrow; more confused in judg- ment or faltering in Action; nor was he allowed to take his seat till Weymouth had withdrawn.

To unite the house of Bourbon in the war, France had bound herself to the invasion of England. True to her covenant, she moved troops to the coasts of Normandy and Brittany, and engaged more than sixty transport vessels of sixteen thousand tons' burden. The king of Spain would not listen to a whisper on the hazard of the undertaking, for which he was to furnish no contingent, and only the tem- porary use of twenty ships to help in crossing the channel. Florida Blanca, who dared not dispute his unreasoning impatience, insisted on an immediate descent on England without regard to risk. Yer- gennes, on the other hand, held the landing of a

PROGRESS OF THE WAR IN EUROPE. 249

French army in England to be rash, until a naval chap. victory over the British should have won the domin- J^ ion of the water. ' 1779.

The fitting out of the expedition had been in- trusted to Sartine, the marine minister, and to d'OrviUiers, its commander. Early in June the French fleet of thirty-one ships of the line yielded to Spanish importunities ; and, before they could be ready with men or provisions, put to sea from Brest; and yet they were obliged to wait off the coast of Spain for the Spaniards. After a great loss of time in the best season of the year, a junction was effected with more than twenty ships of war under the sep- arate command of Count Gaston ; and the combined fleet sailed for the British channel. Never before had so large a force been seen afloat; and in con- struction the Spanish ships were equal or superior to the English.^ Charles of Spain pictured to himself the British escaping in terror from their houses be- fore the invaders. King George longed to hear that Sir Charles Hardy, who had under his command more than forty ships of the line, had dared with inferior numbers to bring the new Armada to battle. " Every- thing," wrote Marie Antoinette, " depends on the present moment. Our fleets being united, we have a great superiority. They are in the channel, and I cannot think without a shudder that, from one moment to the next, our destiny will be decided." ^

The united fleet rode unmolested by the British: Sir Charles Hardy either did not, or would not see

* Rodney to Lady Rodney, Gib- Theresa, Versailles, 6 Aug., 177P, raltar, 7 Feb., 1780. Ihr Brief wechsel, herausgegeben

2 Marie Antoinette to Maria von A. von Arueth, 206.

250 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. them. On the sixteenth of August they appeared w.^ off Plymouth, but did not attack the town. After 17 79. two idle days, a strong wind drove them to the west. 18. Montmorin had written to Yergennes : " I hope the Spanish marine will fight well; but I should like it better if the EngHsh, frightened at their number, would retreat to their own harbors without fight- ing."^ When the gale had abated, the allies rallied, returned up the channel, and the British retreated before them.

No harmony existed between the French and Spanish officers. A deadly malady ravaged the French ships and infected the Spaniards.^ The combined fleet never had one chief. The French returned to port, where they remained; the Span- iards, under their independent commander, sailed for Cadiz, execrating their allies. The wrath of their admiral was so great, that he was ready to give his parole of honor never to serve against England, while he would with pleasure serve against France. It was the sentiment of them all.^

The immense preparations of the two powers had not even harmed British merchant vessels on their homeward voyages. The troops that were to have embarked for England were wasted by dysentery in their camps in Normandy and Brittany.* There was a general desolation. The French public complained relentlessly of d'Orvilliers. " The doing of nothing at all will have cost us a great deal of money/' wrote

' Montmorin to Vergennes, 30 ' Kodney to Lady Rodney, Gib- March, 1779. raltar, 7 Feb., 1780.

2 Marie Antoinette in von Ar- * Marie Antoinette in von Ar-

neth, 304. neth, 304.

PROGRESS OF THE WAR IN EUROPE. 251

Marie Antoinette to her mother.' There was nothing chap. but the capture of the Httle island of Grenada for w^ which a Te Deum could be chanted in Paris. Maria i ^ 7 u. Theresa continued to offer her mediation, whenever it should best suit the king. " We shall feel it very sensibly if any other offer of mediation should be preferred to ours." So she wrote to her daughter, who could only answer: "The nothingness of the campaign removes every idea of peace." ^

During the attempt at an invasion of England, the allied belligerents considered the condition of Ireland. " To separate Ireland from England and form it into an independent government like that of America," wrote Yergennes, "I would not count upon the Catholics, although they form the largest and the most oppressed part of the nation. But the principle of their religion attaches them specially to the mo- narchical system. It is otherwise with the numerous presbyterians who inhabit the north of Ireland. Their fanaticism makes them enemies of all civil or religious authority concentrated in a chief. They aspire to nothing but to give themselves a form of govern- ment like that of the United Provinces of Amer- ica."^ "It is not easy to find a suitable emissary. Irishmen enough press around me; but, being all Catholics, they have no connection except among their countrymen of their own communion, who have not energy enough to attempt a revolution. The presbyterians, being by their principles and by their characters more enterprising, more daring, more inim- ical to royal authority, and even more opposed to us,

^ Von Arneth, 302. ^ Vergennes to Montmorin, 29

2 Von Arneth, 306. AprH, 1779.

252 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, it is to them that I ought to address myself ; for if ^1^ they determine to rise, our hand will not be recog- 17 7 9. nised in the work." ^ An American was selected as the agent of France, and instructed to form close relations with the principal presbyterians, especially with the ministers. After gaining their confidence, he might offer to become their mediator with France.

The extreme and universal discontent in Ireland might imply a disposition to revolt. The French am- bassador at Madrid advised Florida Blanca to send an agent to the Irish Catholics. At the same time he reported to his government wisely : " The troubles in Ireland can be regarded only as a diversion, use- ful by dividing the attention of England. An insur- rection in Ireland cannot have success as in America." ^ The emissary selected in Spain was a Catholic priest, who was promised a bishopric if he should succeed in his undertaking. He could have no success. After the first shedding of American blood in 1775, one hundred and twenty-one Irish Catholics, having in- deed no formal representative authority, yet pro- fessing to speak not for themselves only, but "for all their fellow Roman Catholic Irish subjects," had addressed the English secretary in Ireland, '' in proof of their grateful attachment to the best of kings, and their just abhorrence of the unnatural American re- bellion," and had " made a tender of two millions of faithful and affectionate hearts and hands in defence of his person and government in any part of the world." 3

Yergennes learned from his agent as well as from

^ Vergennes to Montmorin, 29 ^ Montmorin to Vergennes, 11 May, 1779. June, 1779.

^ Froude's The English in Ireland, ii. 176.

1 7 7 y.

PROGRESS OF THE WAR IN EUROPE. 253

Other sources, that the Irish association aimed only chap. to extort the concession of free trade, and was com- " — ^ — ' bined with readiness to oppose foreign invasion.

" The movements of the Irish," wrote Yergennes towards the close of the year, " are those of a people who wish to profit by circumstances to redeem them- selves from oppressions; but there is no design of separating from the crown of England." " The Irish nation seems to wish to depend on the royal preroga- tive alone, and to throw off the yoke of the British parliament. This is aiming at independence, not by breaking all bonds as America has done, but by making them so weak that they become pre- carious. The irreconcilable interests of the two peoples can but keep them in a continual state of rivalry and even of quarrel. It will be difficult for a king of Great Britain to hold the balance even ; and, as the scale of England will be the best taken care of, the less-favored people will naturally tend to a complete secession. We have nothing better to do than tranquilly to watch the movement." ^

Greater energy was displayed by Spain in her sep- arate acts. As soon as the existence of war between that power and Great Britain was known at New Orleans, Galvez, the governor of Louisiana, drew together all the troops under his command to drive the British from the Mississippi. Their posts were protected by less than five hundred men ; Lieuten- ant-Colonel Dickson, abandoning Manchac as unten- able, sustained a siege of nine days at Baton Kouge,^

^ Vergennes to Montmorin, 13 ' Remembrancer, 1780, i. 359- Nov. and 17 Dec, 1779. .364.

254 AMEKICAK INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, and on the twenty-first of September made an honor-

> — ^ able capitulation. The Spaniards planned the re-

17 7 9. covery of East Florida, prepared to take the posts

of Pensacola and Mobile, and captured or expelled

from Honduras the British logwood cutters. In

Europe their first act was the siege of Gibraltar.

Still more important were the consequences of the imperious manner in which Great Britain violated the maritime rights of neutrals, substituting its own will alike for its treaties and the law of nations. But these events, which for half a century scattered the seeds of war, need to be explained at large.

CHAPTER Xn.

THE ARMED NEUTRALITY.

1778-1780.

The immunity of neutral flags is unknown to bar- chap. barous powers. The usages of the middle ages con- ' — - — ' demned as lawful booty the property of an enemy, though under the flag of a friend; but spared the property of a friend, though under the flag of an enemy. Ships, except they belonged to the enemy, were never confiscated. When the Dutch republic took its place among the powers of the earth, crowned with the honors of martyrdom in the fight against superstition, this daughter of the sea, whose carrying trade exceeded that of any other nation, became the ^ champion of the more humane maritime code, which protected the neutral flag everywhere on the great deep. In the year 1646, these principles were em- bodied in a commercial treaty between the republic and France. When Cromwell was protector, when Milton was Latin secretary, the rights of neutrals found their just place in the treaties of England, in

256 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. 1654 with Portugal, in 1655 with France, in 1656

v^.^— / with Sweden. After the return of the Stuarts, they

were recognised in 1674 in their fullest extent by

the commercial convention between England and the

Netherlands.

In 1689, after the stadholder of the United Prov- inces had been elected king of England, his over- powering influence drew the Netherlands into an acquiescence in a declaration that all ships going to or coming from a French port were good prizes ; but it was recalled upon the remonstrance of neutral states. The rights of neutral flags were confirmed by France and England in the peace of Utrecht. The benefits of the agreement extended to Den- mark, as entitled to all favors granted to other powers. Between 1604 and 1713, the principle had been accepted in nearly twenty treaties. When, in 1745, Prussian ships, laden with wood and corn, were captured on the high seas and condemned in English courts, Frederic, without a navy and even without one deep harbor, without a treaty, resting only on the law of nations, exacted full • indemnity from England. The neutral flag found protection in the commercial treaty negotiated in 1766 by the Eockingham ministry with Kussia, whose interests as the chief producer of hemp required the strictest definition of contraband. Of thirty-seven European treaties made between 1745 and 1780, but two have been found which contain conditions contravenino^ neutral rights.

In 1778, after France became connected with the United States, England looked to Eussia for aid, the United States to the Dutch republic for good-

THE ARMED NEUTRALITY. 257

will. The former, thouQ:li aware of the disinclination chap. of Russia and of Frederic, was so anxious to counter- J^^ balance the family compact of the Bourbons/ that it 1 7 7 a risked the proposal of an- offensive and defensive al- liance with them both. Count Panin, the only states- man much listened to by the empress in the discussion of foreign affairs, " was beyond the reach of corrup- tion, and in all transactions where he moved alone, acted with integrity and honor." To the renewed overture of Harris, he frankly replied that Russia never would stipulate advantages to Great Britain in its contest with its colonies, and " never would guarantee its American dominions."^

After the avowal by France of its treaties with the colonies, the British minister at Petersburg asked an audience of the empress ; his request was refused, and all his com.plaints of the "court of Versailles drew from her only civil words and lukewarm ex- pressions of friendship." But when in the summer, the " General Mifflin," an American privateer, hovered off the North Cape, and took seven or more British vessels bound for Archangel, Panin informed Harris ministerially, that although the vessels which were taken were foreign, yet it was the Russian trade which was molested; that so long as the British treated the Americans as rebels, the court of Pe- tersburg would look upon them as a people not yet entitled to recognition. For the next year the empress proposed the equipment of a line of cruisers to ply between Revel and Archangel, for the protec-

» Suffolk to Hams, 9 Jan., = Harris to Suffolk, 13 Feb., 1778. This part of the despatch 1778. Not printed in Malmes- is not printed in the Malmesbury bury Papers. Papers.

VOL. X. 17

258 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, tion of all ships of foreign nations coming to trade

V— ^— / in her dominions.

17 7 8. Long years of peace had enriched the Netherlands by prosperous manufactures and commerce, so that they became the bankers of all nations. Their own funds, bearing but two and a half per cent interest, rose from six to ten per cent above par ; but of their importance the words of Lord North were : " When the Dutch say, ' we maritime powers,' it reminds me of the cobbler who lived next door to the Lord Mayor and used to say, ' my neighbor and I.' " ^

In the American war the Dutch republic was the leading neutral power ; but the honor of its flag was endangered by the defects in its constitution. Its forms of procedure made legislation dilatory, and tended to anarchy. Each of the seven provinces was represented in the states-general, which had juris- diction over questions relating to the union ; but the limit of their powers was not clearly defined. The provinces voted by states, but before the vote any state might insist on referring the subject of discus- sion to the several provinces, which again might con- sult the towns. When these delays were overcome, there still remained a doubt in what cases absolute unanimity of the states was required. The presi- dency changed every week, passing by turns through the several provinces. The ancient subordination of the stadholder to the king of Spain became in the republic a subordination to the states-general, on whose acts he had a veto. In the council of state, he was the first member with the right of voting, but not the president; his authority was

^ Gamier to Vergennes, 26 July, 1776.

THE ARMED NEUTRALITY. 259

chiefly executive, and was greatest in the army and chap. navy. w—

From the vast superiority of Holland in wealth and 1 7 7 8 numbers, the first minister of that province, called the Grand Pensionary, had access to the states-gen- eral, as well as to the states of Holland, and was the first minister of the republic, transacting its affairs with all envoys resident at the Hague. It was very common for him to bring business in the first in- stance before the states of Holland, by whom it might be recommended to the states-general. To this lat- ter body the Dutch envoys abroad addressed their despatches.

One party in the republic looked upon the states- general as embodying the sovereignty of the United Provinces; others attributed sovereignty to each state, and even to the several cities and com- munes.

The republic was further distracted by foreign influence. Some of its public men still lingeringly • leaned on England; others longed to recover the independence of the nation by friendship with France. It would have been a happiness for the United Provinces if its stadholder had been true to them. But William the Fifth, of the house of Orange, a young, weak, and incompetent prince, without self-reliance and without nobleness of nature, was haunted by the belief that his own position was obtained and could be preserved only by the influ- ence of Great Britain ; and from dynastic selfishness he followed the counsels of that power. Nor was his sense of honor so nice as to save him from asking and accepting pecuniary aid to quiet internal discontent.

260 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. The chief personal counsellor of the stadholder w,^,^ was his former guardian. Prince Louis of Brunswick. 17 7 8. No man could be less influenced by motives of moral- ity or fidelity to the land in whose army he served, and he was always at the beck of the British ambas- sador at the Hague. The secretary Fagel was, like his ancestors, devoted to England. The grand pen- sionary, van Bleiswijck, had been the selection of Prince Louis. He was a weak politician, and inclined to England, but never meant to betray his country.

Thus all the principal executive officers were at- tached to Great Britain; Prince Louis and the secre- tary Fagel as obsequious vassals.

France had a controlling influence in no one of the provinces ; but in the city of Amsterdam, van Berckel, Jan. i^^ pensionary, was her "friend." Li January, 1778, before her rupture with England, the French am- bassador at the Hague was instructed to suggest a convention between the states-general, France, and Spain, for Hberty of navigation. As the proposal was put aside by the grand pensionary, Yergennes asked no more than that the Netherlands in the coming contest would announce to the court of Lon- don their neutrality, and support it without con- cessions. The treaties of alliance with England promised it no support in an aggressive war, and no guarantee of its colonies in America. Besides, " the Dutch," as Yergennes observed, " will find in their own history an apology for the French treaty with America." The interior condition of the Nether- lands, their excessive taxes, their weakness on sea and land, the decay of their mihtary spirit, the pre- carious condition of their possessions in the two

THE AKMED NEUTRALITY. 261

Indies, imposed upon them the most perfect neu- chap. trality. But neutrahty to be respected needs to be *-^v— ^ strong. As England did not disguise her aggres- 17 7 8 sive intentions, the city of Amsterdam and van Berckel sought to strengthen the Dutch navy, but were thwarted by Prince Louis, Fagel, and the stad- holder. The English party favored an increase of the army ; and, to the great discontent of the stadholder, they were defeated by the deputies of Amsterdam, Haarlem, Dort, and Delft. The Dutch were still brave, provident, and capable of acts of magnanimity ; but they were betrayed by their selfish executive and the consequent want of unity of action.

In April, 1778, the American commissioners at 2h Paris, — Franklin, Arthur Lee, and John Adams, — in a letter to the grand pensionary, van Bleiswijck, pro- posed a good understanding and commerce between the two nations, and promised to communicate to the states-general their commercial treaty with France. The Dutch government through all its organs met this only overture of the Americans by silence and total neglect. It was neither put in deliberation nor answered. The British secretary of state could find no ground for complaint whatever.^

Still the merchants of Amsterdam saw in the in- dependence of the United States a virtual repeal of the British navigation acts; and the most pleasing historical recollections of the Dutch people were revived by the rise of the new republic.

In July, the king of France published a declaration protecting neutral ships, though bound to or from hostile ports, and though carrying contraband goods,

' Suffolk toYorke, 17 July, 1778.

262 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, unless the contraband exceeded in value three-

XII

w^^J^ fourths of the cargo. But the right was reserved to 17 7 8. revoke these orders, if Great Britain should not within six months grant reciprocity.

The commercial treaty between France and the United States was, about the same time, delivered to the grand pensionary and to the pensionary of Am- sterdam. The former took no notice of it whatever. Van Berckel, in the name of the regency of Amster- dam, wrote to an American correspondent at the Hague : " With the new republic, clearly raised up by the help of Providence, we desire leagues of amity and commerce, which shall last to the end of time." Yet he acknowledged that these wishes were the wishes of a single city which could not bind even the province to which it belonged. Not one province, nor one city ; not Holland, nor Amsterdam ; no, not even one single man, whether in authority or in humble life, — appears to have expected, planned, or wished a breach with England ; and they always to the last rejected the idea of a war with that power as an impossibility. The American commissioners at Paris, being indirectly invited by van Berckel to renew the offer of a treaty of commerce between the two republics, declined to do so ; for, as the grand pensionary had not replied to their letter written some months before, " they apprehended that any further motion of that kind on their part would not at present be agreeable."

Meantime, one Jan de Neufville, an Amsterdam merchant, who wished his house recommended to good American merchants, and who had promised more about an American loan than he could make

THE ARMED NEUTRALITY. 263

good, had come in some way to know William Lee, chap. an alderman of London as well as an American com- ^^ missioner to Vienna and Berlin, and with the leave of 17 7 8. the burgomasters of Amsterdam met him at Aix- la-Chapelle, and concerted terms for a commercial convention, proper in due time to be entered into between the two repubhcs. When Lee communi- cated to the commissioners at Paris this project of a . convention, they reminded him that the authority for treating with their High Mightinesses belonged exclusively to themselves, and they looked upon his act as a nullity. The American congress likewise took no notice of his intermeddling, and in the following June dismissed him from its service. Am- sterdam disclaimed " the absurd design of concluding a convention independent of their High Mightinesses." " The burgomasters only promised their influence in favor of a treaty of amity between the two powers, when the independence of the Unite'd States of America should be recognised by the English." ^

To get rid of everything of which England could g^.pt^ complain, the offer made in April by Franklin, Arthur Lee, and John Adams, to negotiate a treaty of com- merce between America and the Netherlands, to- gether with a copy of the commercial treaty between the United States and France, was, near the end of October, communicated to the states-general. They ^'^*- promptly consigned the whole matter to rest in the manner which the stadholder had concerted, and which met exactly the " hope " of the British secre- tary of state .^

^ Declaration of van Berckel, ' Private letter of the Prince of 23 Sept., 1778,inDip. Cor.,i. 457. Orange to Yorke, 27 Oct., 1778;

264 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. During the summer of 1778, British cruisers and w.^— / privateers, swept on by the greed which masters the 17 78. mind of those whose only object is spoil, scoured the seas in quest of booty. Other nations suffered, but none like the Netherlands. To the complaints of the Dutch that the clearest language of treaties w^as disregarded, the Earl of Suffolk answered that the British ambassador at the Hague should have in- structions to negotiate with the republic new stipula- tions for the future ; ^ but for the present, treaty or no treaty, England would not suffer materials for ship-building to be taken by the Dutch to any French port; and its cruisers and its admiralty were in- structed accordingly. Had the stadholder been of an heroic nature, the nation might have show^n once more their greatness of soul as of old ; but, to com- plete the tribulations of the Dutch, he brought all his ^3^°' influence to the side of England. On the thirtieth of December, 1778, the states-general asserted their right to the commercial freedom guaranteed by the law of nations and by treaties ; and yet of their own choice voted to withhold convoys where the use of them would involve a conflict with Great Britain.

During the summer the flag of Denmark, of Swe- den, of Prussia, had been disregarded by British privateers, and they severally demanded of England explanations. Yergennes seized the opportunity to ftx the attention of Count Panin.^ " The empress," so he wrote towards the end of the year to the French minister in Russia, " will give a great proof

Secrete Resolutie van de Staten ^ Suffolk to Welderen, 19 Oct.,

Generaal der Vereenigde Neder- 1778.

landen, 28 Oct., 1778; Yorke to ^ Vergennes to Corberon, 22

Suffolk, 30 Oct., 1778. Nov., 1778, and 6 Dec, 1778.

THE ARMED NEUTRALITY. 265

«

of her dignity and equity, if she will make common chap. cause with Sweden, Denmark, Holland, and the king J^ of Prussia." "She would render to Europe a great 17 78. service if she would bring the king of England to juster principles on the freedom of navigation of neutral ships. Holland arms its vessels to convoy its merchant fleet ; Denmark announces that in the spring it will send out a squadron for the same object; Sweden will be obliged to take the like resolution. So many arrangements can easily give rise to troublesome incidents, and kindle a general maritime war. It would be easy for the empress to secure the prosperity of the commerce of Russia by supporting with energetic representations those of other neutral nations."

In an interview with Panin, the Swedish envoy invited the Russian court to join that of Stockholm in forming a combined fleet to protect the trade of the north. Denmark, he said, would no doubt subscribe to the plan, and the commerce of the three countries, now so interrupted, would no longer be molested. The summons was heard willingly by Panin, who, on one of the last days of December, spoke to the British minister very plainly : " Denmark, Sweden, and Holland have respectively solicited the empress to join with them in a representation to you on this subject ; and she cannot see with indifference the commerce of the north so much molested by your privateers. The vague and uncertain definition given by you to naval and warlike stores exposes almost all the productions of these parts to be se- questered. It becomes the empress as a leading power on this side Europe to expostulate with you,

266 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, and express her desire of some alteration in your

' ^^ regulations, and that you would put more circum-

17 7 8. spection in your mode of proceeding against the ships of neutral states." The British minister de- fended the British definition of " naval stores." Count Panin answered with a smile : " Accustomed to command at sea, your language on maritime subjects is always too positive." Harris deprecated any formal remonstrance against the British treatment of neutral powers as an appearance of disunion between the two courts. Panin replied : " I am sorry to hear you say what you do, as I have the orders of the empress to prepare a representation."

Thus far had Kussia moved for the protection of neutral commerce before the end of 1778. But her 17 79. plan for 1779 did not equal the grandeur of her con- ceptions ; for it aimed at no more than an agreement with Denmark and Sweden to exclude privateers from the North Sea near their coasts and from the Baltic, and jointly to keep up a chain of cruisers for the safety of ships bound to their ports. As the Russian trade was for the, most part in the hands of the English, this action of Catharine would in prac- tice be little more than a safeguard of English com- merce. The cabinet of France was dissatisfied, and feared that the consolidated group of northern states might be drawn into connection with England. At this stage Frederic, who, through the mediation of Russia and France, was just emerging from his Austrian war, intervened. Russia had acted pre- cipitately without intending to offend France and without proper concert with the courts of Stockholm

THE ARMED NEUTRALITY. 267

and Copenhagen.^ Through the explanations of the chap. king of Prussia, every displeasure was removed from J.^— , the mind of Yergennes, and his answer to the Kus- 17 79 sian note drew from Count Panin the remark to the French minister at Petersburg : " Once more I give you my word that we have no engagement with England whatever."^

The oppressed maritime powers continued to lay their complaints before the empress of Russia ; so that the study of neutral rights occupied her mind till she came to consider herself singled out to take the lead in their defence, and could with difficulty be withheld from sending to England very disagreeable remonstrances on the subject. The extraordinary prosperity of the Russians confirmed them in their notions of their own greatness and power.

When, in the middle of July, Harris presented the Spanish declaration of war against England to Count Panin, he replied ministerially : " Great Britain has by its own haughty conduct brought down all its mis- fortunes on itself j they are now at their height ; you must consent to any concessions to obtain peace; and you can expect neither assistance from your friends nor forbearance from your enemies." In subsequent conversations Panin ever held the same language and advanced the same opinions.

" Count Panin," wrote Harris, " receives every idea from his Prussian Majesty and adopts it with- out reflection ; " and the indefatigable envoy, giving up all hope of reclaiming him, undertook to circum- vent him through the influence of Prince Potemkin,

» Frederic to Goltz, 17 and 24 ' Corheron to Yergennes, 28 April, 1779. May, 1779

268 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. ,

CHAP, who had passed through the love of the empress w-^.^ to a position of undefined and almost unlimited in- 177 9. fluence with the army, the Greek church, and the nobility. Possessing uncommon talents and address, he would, with a better education, have held a high position in any country. By descent and character, he was the truest representative of Kussian nation- ality. Leaving the two chief maritime powers of western Europe, both of whom wished to preserve the Ottoman empire in its integrity, to wear out each other, Potemkin, who was no dreamer, used the moment of the American war to annex the Crimea.

Harris professed to believe that for eighty thou- sand pounds he could purchase the influence of this extraordinary man. But Potemkin could not be reached. He almost never appeared at court or in company. It was his habit to lie in bed till near noon, and on his rising his anterooms were thronged with clients of all sorts. No foreign minister could see him except by asking specially for an interview ; no one of them was ever admitted to his domestic society or his confidence. Those who knew him best agree that he was too proud to take money from a foreign power, and he never deviated from his Rus- sian policy ; so that the enormous bribes which were designed to gain him were squandered on his chief mistress and his intimates. At the same time he was aware how much he would gain by lulling the Brit- ish government into acquiescence in his oriental schemes of aggrandizement.

Without loss of time Harris proposed to Potemkin that the empress should make a strong declaration at Versailles and Madrid, and second it by arming aU

THE ARMED NEUTRALITY. 269

her naval force. To this Potemkin objected that chap both the Eussian ministers who would be concerned ^^^ in executing the project would oppose it. Harris 17 79. next gained leave to plead his cause in person before Catharine herself. On Monday, the second of August, the favorite of the time conducted him by a back way into her private dressing-room and immediately retired. The empress discomposed him by asking if he was acting under instructions. He had none ; and yet he renewed his request for her armed mediation. She excused herself from plunging her empire into fresh troubles; then discoursed on the American war, and hinted that England could in a moment restore peace by renouncing its colonies.

The question was referred to the council of state ; and that body, after deliberation, unanimously refused to change its foreign policy. To the Count of Goertz, the new and very able envoy of Frederic at Peters- burg, Panin unfolded his innermost thoughts. " The British minister," said he, " as he makes no impres- sion on me by sounding the tocsin, applies to others less well informed; but be not disquieted; in spite of the brilliant appearances of others, I answer for my ability to sustain my system. The powers ought not to suffer England to be crushed ; but she is very far from that ; and there would be no harm in her meeting with some loss."^ Such was the opinion of Frederic, who had just written : " The balance of power in Europe will not be disturbed by England^s losing possessions here and there in other parts of the world." 2

^ Goertz to Frederic, 24 Sept., ' Frederic to Solms, 14 Aug., 1779. 1779.

270 AMERICAI^ INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. During the whole of the year 1779, the Nether- V— ^ lands continued to suffer from the conflicting aggres- 17 79. sions of France and Great Britain. The former sought to influence the states-general by confining its concession of commercial advantages in French ports to the towns which voted for unlimited convoy. In the states of Holland it was carried for all mer- chant vessels destined to the ports of France by a great majority, Rotterdam and the other chief cities joining Amsterdam, and the nobles being equally divided; but the states-general, in which Zeeland took the lead, and was followed by Gelderland, Groningen, and . Overyssel, from motives of pru- dence rejected the resolution. Notwithstanding this moderation, a memorial from the British ambassador announced that Dutch vessels, carrying timber to ports of France, as by treaty with England they had the right to do, would be seized even though escorted by ships of war. Indignation within the provinces at the want of patriotism in the prince of Orange menaced the prerogatives of the stadholder and even the union itself. On one occasion five towns went so far as to vote in the states of Holland for with- holding the quota of their province.^

Great Britain next adopted another measure for which she had some better support. In July she demanded of the states-general the succor stipulated in the treaties of 1678 and the separate article of 1716, and argued that " the stipulations of a treaty founded on the interests of trade only must give way to those founded on the dearest interests of the two nations, on liberty and religion." But the

1 Thulemeier to Frederic, 10 Aug. , 1779.

THE AEMED NEUTRALITY. 271

Dutch would not concede that the case provided for chap. by treaty had arisen, and denied the right of Eng- ^^,-w land to disregard one treaty at will and then claim ^ "^ ^ 9. the benefit of others.

While the British were complaining that nine or ten American merchant vessels had entered the port of Amsterdam, a new cause of irritation arose. Near the end of July, Paul Jones, a Scot by birth in the service of the United States, sailed from 1' Orient as commander of a squadron consisting of the "Poor Richard " of forty guns (many of them unservice- able), the "Alliance " of thirty-six guns, both Amer- ican ships of war ; the " Pallas," a French frigate of thirty-two ; and the " Vengeance," a French brig of twelve guns. They ranged the western coast of Ire- land, turned Scotland, and, cruising off Flamborough Head, descried the British merchant fleet from the Baltic under the convoy of the " Serapis " of forty- four guns, and the " Countess of Scarborough " of twenty guns.

An hour after sunset, on the twenty-third of Sep- tember, the " Serapis," having a vast superiority in ^23.*' strength, engaged the " Poor Richard." With mar- vellous hardihood Paul Jones, after suffering exceed- ingly in a contest of an hour and a half within musket shot, bore down upon his adversary, whose anchor he hooked to his own quarter. The muzzles of their guns touched each other's sides. Jones could use only three nine-pounders and muskets from the round-tops, but combustible matters were thrown into every part of the " Serapis," which was on fire no less than ten or twelve times. There were mo- ments when both ships were on fire together. After

272 AMEEICAN INDEPENDEIS^CE.

CHAP, a two hours' conflict in the first watch of the night, • — ^^ the " Serapis " struck its flag. Jones raised his pen- 17 7 9. (Jant on the captured frigate, and the next day had but time to transfer to it his wounded men and his crew before the " Poor Eichard " went down. The French frigate engaged and captured the " Count- ess of Scarborough." The "AUiance," which from a distance had raked the " Serapis " during the action, not without injuring the " Poor Eichard " as well, had not a man injured. On the fourth of Oct. October, the squadron entered the Texel with its prizes.

On hearing of their arrival, the British ambassador, of himself and again imder instructions, reclaimed the captured British ships and their crews, " who had been taken by the pirate, Paul Jones, of Scotland, a rebel and a traitor." " They," he insisted, " are to 29. be treated as pirates whose letters of marque have not emanated from a sovereign power." The grand pensionary would not have the name of pirate appHed to officers bearing the commissions of congress. In spite of the stadholder, the squad- ron enjoyed the protection of a neutral port. Un- der an antedated commission from the French king, the flag of France was raised over the two prizes and every ship but the "Alliance;" and four days be- i^ec. fore the end of the year Paul Jones, with his Eng- hsh captures, left the Texel.

An American frigate, near the end of September,

Sept. had entered the port of Bergen with two rich prizes.

Yielding to the British envoy at Copenhagen, Bern-

storff, the Danish minister, seized the occasion to

publish an ordinance forbidding the sale of prizes.

THE ARMED NEUTRALITY. 273

until they should have been condemned in a court chap of admiralty of the nation of the privateer ; and he w^ slipped into the ordinance the declaration, that, as i7 7o. the king of Denmark had recognised neither the independence nor the flag of America, its vessels could not be suffered to bring their prizes into Danish harbors. The two which had been brought into Bergen were set free; but, to avoid continual reclamations, two others, which in December were taken to Christiansand, were only forced to leave the harbor.^

Wrapt up in the belief that he had " brought the empress to the verge of standing forth as the pro- fessed friend of Great Britain," Harris thought he had only to meet her objection of his having acted without instructions; and, at his instance, George the Third, in November, by an autograph letter, entreated her armed mediation against the house of ^ov. Bourbon. "I admire," so he addressed her, "the grandeur of your talents, the nobleness of your sen- timents, and the extent of your intelligence." " The employ, the mere show of naval force could break up the league formed against me, and maintain the balance of power which this league seeks to de- stroy."^ The letter was accompanied by a waiting from Harris, in which he was lavish of flattery; and he offered, unconditionally, an alliance with Great Britain, including even a guarantee against the Ottoman Porte .^

The answer was prepared by Panin without delay.

' Bismarck to Frederic, 6 and « Goertz to Frederic, 14 Dec, 23 Oct. , 6 Nov. , and 8 Dea. , 1779. 1779. ^ Malmesbury, i. 228.

VOL. X. 18

274 . AMEKIOAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. The empress loves peace, and therefore refuses an > — ^-1/ armed intervention, which could only prolong the 17 7 9. ^ar. She holds the time ill chosen for a defensive alliance, since England is engaged in a war not ap- pertaining to possessions in Europe ; but if the court of London will offer terms which can serve as a basis of reconciliation between the belHgerent powers, she will eagerly employ her mediation.

In very bad humor, Harris rushed to Potemkin for 17 8 0. consolation. " What can have operated so singular a revolution?" demanded he, with eagerness and anxiety. Potemkin replied : " You have chosen an unlucky moment. The new favorite lies danger- ously sick. The empress is absorbed in this one passion. She repugns every exertion. Count Panin times his counsels with address ; my influence is at an end." Harris fell ill. Everybody knew that Panin and Osterman of the foreign office, and the grand duke, afterwards Paul the Third, were discon- tented with his intrigues; and Catharine herseff, meeting Goertz, asked playfully : " What can have given Sir James Harris the jaundice ? Has any- thing happened to vex him? And is he so chol- eric ?"i

Unremitted attention was all the while given to 17 7 9. the defence of neutral rights ; and the Kussian envoy at London, no less than the envoys of Swe- den, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Prussia, de- livered a memorial to the British government. To detach Eussia from the number of the complain- ants, Harris, in January, 1780, gave a written 17 80. promise, "that the navigation of the subjects of the

1 Goertz to Frederic, 7 Jan., 1780.

30

THE ARMED NEUTRALITY. 275

empress should never be interrupted by vessels of chap. Great Britain." ^ J^

To the end of 1779 the spirit of moderation pre- 17 7'j. vailed in the councils of the Netherlands. Even the province of Holland had unreservedly withdrawn its obnoxious demands. On the evening before the twenty-seventh of December, seventeen Dutch mer- ^^g'^- chant vessels, laden with hemp, iron, pitch, and tar, left the Texel under the escort of five ships of war commanded by the Count de Bylandt. In the Eng- hsh Channel, on the morning of the thirtieth, they descried a British fleet, by which they were sur- rounded just before sunset. The Dutch admiral, refusing to permit his convoy to be visited. Fielding, the British commander, replied that it would then be done by force. During the parley night came on ; and twelve of the seventeen ships, taking advantage of the darkness and a fair wind, escaped through the British lines to French ports. The English shallop which the next morning at nine would have visited the remaining five ships was fired upon. At this the 3i. British flagship and two others fired on the Dutch flagship. The ship was hit, but no one was killed or wounded. " Let us go down," said the Dutch crews to one another, " rather than fall into a shameful captivity." But their admiral, considering that the British force was more than three times greater than his own, after returning the broadside, struck his flag.^ Fielding carried the ^Ye merchant ships as prizes into Portsmouth.

I Malmegbury, i. 233. of marines on board the flagship

' Account of* the Rencontre, "by of Count de Bylandt. le Sieur de Schonberg, lieutenant

276 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. This outrao-e on the Netherlands tended to rouse

XII

w-^-L. and unite all parties and all provinces. Everywhere 17 7 9. in Europe, and especially in Petersburg, it was the subject of conversation; and the conduct of the Dutch was watched with the intensest curiosity.^ But another power beside England had disturbed neutral rights. Fearing that supplies might be car- ried to Gibraltar, Spain had given an order to bring into Cadiz all neutral ships bound with provisions for the Mediterranean, and to sell their cargoes to the highest bidder. In the last part of the year 1779, the order was applied to the " Concordia," a Russian vessel carrying wheat to Barcelona. Harris, who received the news in advance, hurried to Potemkin with a paper in which he proved from this example what terrible things might be expected from the house of Bourbon if they should acquire maritime 17 8 0. superiority. On reading this paragraph, Potemkin cried out with an oath : " You have got her now. The empress abhors the inquisition, and will never suffer its precepts to be exercised on the high seas." On the confirmation of the report, a strong memorial was drawn up under the inspection of the empress herself, and a reference to the just reproaches of the courts of Madrid and Yersailles against Great Britain for troubling the liberty of commerce was added by her own express order.

Hardly had the Spanish representative at Peters- burg forwarded the memorial by a courier to his government, when letters from the Russian consul at Cadiz announced that the " St. Nicholas," bearing the

^ Swart, minister at Petersburg, to the states-general, 1 and 4

Feb., 1780.

THE ARMED NEUTRALITY. 277

Eussian flag and bound with corn to Malao-a, had chap.

. XII

been brought into Cadiz, its cargo disposed of to the w-^w best bidder, and its crew treated with inhumanity. 17 80 The empress felt this second aggression as a dehber- ate outrage on her flag, and following the impulses of her own mind she seized the opportunity to adopt, seemingly on the urgency of Great Britain, a general measure for the protection of the commerce of Rus- sia as a neutral power against all. the belligerents and on every sea. She preceded the measure by signing an order for arming fifteen ships of the line and five frigates for service early in the spring.

Loving always to be seen leading in great and bold undertakings, she further signed letters prepared by her private secretary to her envoys in Sweden, Den- mark, and the Hague, before she informed her minister for foreign affairs of what had been done. A Russian courier was expedited to Stockholm, and thence to Copenhagen, the Hague, Paris, and Madrid.^ On the twenty-second of February, Potemkin an- nounced the measure to his protege, Harris, by the special command of the empress. " The ships," said the prince, " will be supposed to protect the Russian trade against every power, but they are meant to chastise the Spaniards, whose insolence the empress cannot brook." Harris " told him he was not so san- guine. In short, that it was no more than the sys- tem of giving protection to trade suggested last year by the three northern courts, now carried into exe- cution." 2 Potemkin, professing to be " almost out of humor with his objections and with his backwardness

' Goertz to Frederic, 7 March, » Malmesbury, i. 241. 1780.

278 AMERICAN ^DEPENDENCE.

CHAP, to admit the great advantage England would derive w-^J^ from the step/' rejoined : " I am just come from the 17 8 0. empress ; it is her particular order that I tell it to you. She commanded me to lose no time in finding you out. She said she knew it would give you pleas- ure; and, besides myself, you are at this moment the only person acquainted with her design." He ended by expressing his impatience that the event should be known, and urging Harris to despatch his messenger immediately with the news. So Harris was made the instrument of communicating/ to his own government what the other powers received directly from Russia; and the measure, so opposite to the policy of England, was reported to that power by its own envoy as a friendly act performed at its own request.

But before the despatches of Harris were on the road, the conduct of the affair was intrusted to Panin, who, although suffering from the physical and moral depression consequent on the disease which was slowly but surely bringing him to the grave,^ took the subject in hand. The last deed of the dying statesman was his best. Cast down as he was by illness, before the end of February he thus unbosomed himself to the Prussian minister : " In Feb. truth the envoy of England has found means for a miserable trifle to excite my sovereign to a step of eclatj yet always combined with the principle of neutrality. The court of Spain will probably yield to just representations; the measure which he has occasioned will turn against himself, and he will have himself to reproach for everything that he shall have

1 Goertz to Frederic, 29 Feb., 1780.

THE ARMED NEUTRiVLITT. 279

brought upon his court. I had thought Sir James chap. Harris understood his business; but he acts hke a J^ boy." 17 80

To Frederic, Goertz made his reports : " Every- thing will now depend on the reply of the court of Spain. At so important a moment your Majesty has the right to speak to it with frankness." ^ " There March will result from tlie intrigue a matter, the execution of which no power has thus far been able to permit itself to think of. All have believed it necessary to establish and to fix a public law for neutral powers in a maritime war ; the moment has come for attaining that end." ^

These letters reached Frederic by express ; and on the fourteenth of March, by the swiftest messenger, he instructed his minister at Paris as follows : " Im- mediately on receiving the present order, you will demand a particular audience of the ministry at Ver- sailles, and you will say that in my opinion everything depends on procuring for Russia without the least loss of time the satisfaction she exacts, and which Spain can the less refuse, because it has plainly acted with too much precipitation. Make the ministry feel all the importance of this warning, and the absolute ne- cessity of satisfying Russia without the slightest delay on an article where the honor of her flag is so greatly interested. In truth, it is necessary not to palter in a moment so pressing." ^

Vergennes read the letter of Frederic, and by a courier despatched a copy of it to the French ambas-

' Goertz to Frederic, 29 Feb., ' Goertz to Frederic, 3 March, 1780. 1780.

3 Frederic to Goltz, U March, 1780.

1780 March

280 AMERICAN INDEPENDE]S"CE.

CHAP, sador at Madrid, with the instruction : " I should vJ-^J^. wrong your penetration and the sagacity of the cabinet of Madrid, if I were to take pains to demon- strate the importance for the two crowns to spare nothing in order that the empress of Russia may not depart from the system of neutrahty which she has embraced." ^ The letter of Frederic was communi- cated to Florida Blanca, and it was impossible to resist its advice.

The distance between Madrid and Petersburg pro- longed the violent crisis ; but before a letter could have reached even the nearest power, Count Panin, manifesting always perfect confidence in the minister of Frederic, presented to the empress his plan for deducing out of the passing negotiation a system of permanent protection to neutral flags in a mari- time war. " Your Majesty," so he addressed her, " should present yourself to Europe in an impartial attitude as the defender of the rights of neutrals before all the world. You will thus gain a glorious name, as the lawgiver of the seas, imparting to com- merce in time of war a security such as it has never yet enjoyed. Thus you will gather around you all civilized states, and be honored through coming cen- turies as the benefactress of the human race, entitled to the veneration of the nations and of coming

ages. ^

The opinions of her minister coinciding exactly with her own, on the twenty-sixth of February, 1780, that is on the eighth of March, new style, Catharine and Panin set their names to the declara-

' Vergennes to Montmorin, 27 ' Goertz to Frederic, 7 March, March, 1780. 1780.

THE ARMED NEUTRALITY. 281

tion of which the fixed principles are : Neutral ships ciiap. shall enjoy a free navigation even from port to port, w^ and on the coasts of the belligerent powers: — Free 17 80 ships free all goods except contraband : — Contraband are arms and ammunitions" of war, and nothing else : — No port is blockaded, unless the enemy's ships, in adequate number, are near enough to make the entry dangerous : — These principles shall rule decisions on the legality of prizes. " Her Imperial Majesty," so ran the state paper, " in manifesting these principles before all Europe, is firmly resolved to maintain them. She has therefore given an order to fit out a consider- able portion of her naval forces, to act as her honor, her interest, and necessity may require."

Frederic received the news of the declaration in advance of others, and with all speed used his in- fluence in its behalf at Versailles ; ^ so that, for the maritime code, which came upon Great Britain as a surprise, a welcome was prepared in France and Madrid.

The empress made haste to invite Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, and the Netherlands to unite with her in supporting the rules which she had proclaimed. The voice of the United States on the subject was uttered immediatelj^ by John Adams. He applauded the jus- tice, the wisdom, and the humanity of an association of maritime powers against violences at sea, and added as his advice to Congress : " The abolition of the whole doctrine of contraband would be for the peace and happiness of mankind ; and I doubt not, as human reason advances, and men come to be more sensible of the benefits of peace and less enthusiastic

^ Frederic to Goltz, 23 March, 1780.

282 AMEEICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, for the savage glories of war, all neutral nations will ^— ^ be allowed, by universal consent, to carry what goods 17 80. they please in their own ships, provided they are not bound to places actually invested by an enemy." ^

For the moment the attention of Europe was riveted on the Netherlands ; but before we can follow further their connections with the war, we must relate its events in the south and in the north of the United States.

» Dip. Cor., iv. 497.

CHAPTER Xm.

THE WAR IN THE SOUTHERN STATES.

1778-1779.

The plan for the southern campaign of 1778 was chap. prepared by Germain with great minuteness of de- w-v— ^ tail. Pensacola was to be strengthened by a thousand 17 7 8. men from New York. On the banks of the Mississippi, near the channel of Iberville, a considerable post was to be established by the commander in West Florida, partly to protect property and trade, but more to preserve the communication with the Indian nations.^ From the army at New York men were to be de- tached, sufficient for the conquest and permanent occupation of Georgia and South Carolina, where the American custom of calling out the militia for short periods of service was to be introduced. The Florida rangers and a party of Indians were to attack the

^ Germain to the officer commanding in West Florida, 1 July,

1778.

284 AMEEICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CH\p. southern frontier, while the British asrent was to

XIII.

v_^ bring down a large body of savages towards Augusta.

17 7 8. A line of communication was to be established across South and North Carolina, and the planters on the sea-coast were to be reduced to the necessity of aban- doning or being abandoned by their slaves. Five thousand additional men were at a later date to be sent to take Charleston; and, on the landing of a small corps at Cape Fear, Germain believed that " large numbers of the inhabitants would doubtless flock to the standard of the king, whose government would be restored in North Carolina." Then, by proper diversions in Virginia and Maryland, he said it might not be too much to expect that all America to the south of the Susquehanna would return to its alle- giance.^ Sir Henry Clinton was no favorite of the minister's; these brilliant achievements were de- signed for Cornwallis.

During the autumn of 1778, two expeditions were sent out by Prevost from East Florida. They were composed in part of regulars ; the rest were vindic- tive refugees from Georgia and South Carolina, called troopers, though having only " a few horses that were kept to go plundering into Georgia." Brown, their commander, held directly from the governor of East Florida the rank of lieutenant- colonel, so that the general was prevented " from reducing them to some order and regulation."^ One of these mixed parties of invaders summoned the fort at Sunbury to surrender. But when Colonel Mack- intosh answered, " Come and take it," they retreated.

^ Germain to Clinton, most se- ^ Prevost to Clinton, 25 Sept., cret, 8 March, 1778. 1778,

THE WAR m THE SOUTHERN STATES. 285

The other corps was stopped at the Ogeechee. On chap. their return they burned at Midway the church, w^^ ahnost every dwelHng-house, and all stores of rice i^TS and other cereals witliin their reach -, and they car- ried off with them all negroes, horses, cattle, and plate that could be removed by land or water. Screven, a gallant American officer, beloved for his virtues in private life, was killed by them after he became their prisoner.

Eoused by these incursions into Georgia, Robert Howe, the American commander in the southern district, meditated an expedition against St. Augus- tine. This scheme had no chance of success. At St. Mary's river an epidemic swept away one quarter of his men, and, after slight skirmishes, he led back the survivors to Savannah.

Immediately after his return, on the twenty-third Dec. of December, three thousand men, despatched from New York under Lieutenant- Colonel Campbell, ar- rived off the island of Tybee ; and soon afterwards, passing the bar, approached Savannah. Relying on the difficulties of the ground, Howe offered resist- ance to a disciplined corps, ably commanded, and more than three times as numerous as his own. But on the twenty-ninth one party of British, guided by 29. a negro through a swamp, turned his position. A simultaneous attack on the Americans in front and rear drove them into a disorderly and precipitate retreat. With a loss of but twenty-four in killed and wounded, the British gained the capital of Georgia, four hundred and fifty-three prisoners, forty-eight pieces of cannon, several mortars, a field-piece, the fort with its mihtary magazines, and

286 A^IEEICAjq- INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, large stores of provisions. No victory was ever w.^ more complete ; but Germain was not satisfied, for 17 7 8. no Indian parties had been called to take part in the expedition.^

Flushed with his rapid success, Campbell promised protection to the inhabitants, but only on condition that " they would support the royal government w^ith their arms." In this way the people of the low coun- try of Georgia had no choice but to join the British standard, or flee to the upland or to South Carolina. The captive soldiers, refusing to enlist in the British service, were crowded on board prison-ships to be swept away by infection. Moses Allen, the chaplain of the Georgia brigade, fervid in the pulpit and in battle, after a loathsome confinement of. many months, was drowned in attempting to escape by swimming. The war was plainly to be conducted without mercy, and terror was to compensate for the want of numbers. Many submitted ; but determined repubhcans sought an asylum in the western parts of the state.

Early in January, 1779, Brigadier-General Prevost marched as a conqueror across lower Georgia to Sa- vannah, reducing Sunbury on the way and capturing its garrison ; and Campbell, with eight hundred reg- ulars, took possession of Augusta. The province ap- pearing to be restored to the crown, plunder became the chief thought of the British army.

From jealousy of concentrated power, congress kept the mihtary departments independent of each other. At the request of the delegates from South

1 Germain to Prevost, 13 March, 1779. Compare Ibid., 8 March, 1779.

17 79, Jan.

THE WAR IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. 287

Carolina, Eobert Howe was superseded in the south- chap. em command by Major-General Benjamin Lincoln, v— ^J^ In private life this officer was most estimable ; as a i ^ 7 9. soldier he was brave, but of a heavy mould and inert of will. Towards the end of 1776, he had re- paired to Washington's camp as a major-general of militia ; in the following February, he was transferred to the continental service, and passed the winter at Morristown. In the spring of 1777, he was com- pletely surprised by the British, and had a narrow escape. In the summer he was sent to the north, in the belief that his influence with the New England militia would be useful; but he never took part in any battle. Wounded by a British party whom he mistook for Americans, he left the camp, having been in active service less than a year. He had not fully recovered when, on the fourth of December, 1778, he entered upon the command in Charleston.

Collecting what force he could, the new commander took post on the South Carolina side of the Savannah, near Perrysburg, with a force which at first scarcely exceeded eleven hundred. As neither party ven- tured to cross the river, the British, who were mas- ters of the water, detached two hundred men to Beaufort. Moultrie, sent almost alone to coun- teract the movement, rallied under his standard about an equal number of militia. These brave volunteers, who were supported by but nine con- tinentals, though they were poorly supplied with ammunition and though their enemy had the ad- vantage of position, fought for their own homes under a leader whom they trusted, and on the

288 AMEEICAN" INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, third of February drove the invaders with great

w-v— ' loss to their ships.

17 79. The continental regiments of North Carolina were 3- with Washington's army ; the legislature of that state promptly called out two thousand of its people, and sent them, though without arms, to serve for five months under Ashe and Rutherford. The scanty stores of South Carolina were exhausted in arming them. In the last days of January, 1779, they joined the camp of Lincoln, whose troops thus became re- spectable as to numbers, though only six hundred of them were continentals.

Meantime the assembly of South Carolina, super- seding Rawlins Lowndes by an almost unanimous vote, recalled John Rutledge to be their governor. They ordered a regiment of light dragoons to be raised, offered a bounty of five hundred dollars to every one who would enlist for sixteen months, and gave large powers to the governor and council to draft the militia of the state, and " do everything necessary for the public good."

The British, having carried their arms into the up- per country of Georgia, sent emissaries to encourage a rising in South Carolina. A party of abandoned men, whose chief object was rapine, put themselves in motion to join the British, gathering on the way every kind of booty that could be transported. They were pursued across the Savannah by Colonel Andrew Pickens with about three hundred of the citizens 14. of Ninety-Six; and on the fourteenth of February were overtaken, surprised, and completely routed. Their commander and forty others fell in battle, and many prisoners were taken. About two hundred

THE WAR m THE SOUTHERN STATES. 289

escaped to the British Knes. The republican govern- chap. ment which, since 1776, had maintained its jurisdiction .^^ without dispute in every part of the commonwealth, 17 7 9. arraigned some of them in the civil court ; and, by a jury of their fellow-citizens, seventy of them were convicted of treason and rebellion against the state of South Carolina. Of these no more than five were executed : the rest were pardoned.

On hearing that Lincoln from ill health had asked of congress leave to retire, Greene, who was impatient of his position as quartermaster-generai, requested of the commander-in-chief the southern command. Washington answered that Greene would be his choice, but he was not consulted. The army of Lincoln, whose offer to retire was not accepted, was greatly inferior to the British in number, and far more so in quality ; yet he ventured to detach Ashe, with fifteen hundred of the North Carolina militia, on separate service. This inexperienced general crossed the Savannah at Augusta, which the British had aban- doned, and descended the river with the view to con- fine the enemy within narrower limits. Following his orders, he encamped his party at Brier creek, on the Savannah, beyond supporting distance. The post seemed to him strong, as it had but one approach. The British amused Lincoln by a feint, while Lieutenant-Colonel Prevost turned the posi- tion of Ashe, who seemed never to have heard of military discipline or vigilance; and on the third day of March fell upon his party. The few con- ^^Z""^ tinentals, about sixty in number, alone made a brave but vain defence. By wading through swamps and swimming the Savannah, four hundred and fifty

VOL. X. 19

290 AlMERICAiq- INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, of the militia were able to rejoin the American

XIII. ^. ^ -IT

V— .^— ^ camp; the rest perished or were captured or re-

17 7 9. turned to their homes. So quickly was one-fourth of the troops of Lincoln lost. The British captured seven pieces of cannon^ and more than one thou- sand stand of arms. After this success, General Prevost proclaimed a sort of civil government in Georgia.

Re-enforced from the South Carolina militia, of whom Rutledge had assembled great numbers at Orangeburg, Lincoln, who had neither the means of conducting a siege, nor a soldiery that could encoun- ter veterans, nor the command of the river, undertook to lead his troops against Savannah by way of Au- gusta, leaving only a thousand militia under Moultrie at Perrysburg. The British general had the choice between awaiting an attack, or invading the richest part of Carolina. His decision was for the side which

^^28"^ promised booty. On the twenty-eighth of April, when the American army was distant five days* march, Gen- eral Prevost, this time supported by Indians, crossed the river with three thousand men, and drove Moul- trie before him. The approach of the savage allies, who spared neither child nor woman, and the waste and plunder of the plantations, spread terror through the land. Many of Moultrie's militia left him to pro- tect their own families. Timid planters, to save their property, made professions of loyalty ; and sudden converts represented to Prevost that Charleston lay defenceless at his mercy. After two or three days of doubt, the hope of seizing the wealthy city lured him

^jy on ; and upon the eleventh of May, two days too late, he appeared before the town. While he hesitated, the

THE WAR IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. 291

men of Charleston had protected the neck by sudden chap.

XIII

but well-planned works ; on the ninth and tenth Rut- w.,^ ledge arrived with the militia, and Moultrie, with all 1 7 7 9. of his party that remained true to him, as well as a body of three hundred men whom Lincoln had de- tached, and who had marched forty miles a day. While the British crossed the Ashley, Pulaski and a corps were ferried over the Cooper into Charleston.

The besiegers and the besieged were nearly equal in numbers ; the issue of the campaign might depend on the slaves. No sooner was the danger of South Carolina known in the camp of Washington, than young Laurens was impatient to fly to his native state, and levy and command a regiment of blacks. Alex- ander Hamilton recommended the project to the presi- dent of congress in these words : " The negroes will make very excellent soldiers. This project will have to combat prejudice and self-interest. Contempt for the blacks makes us fancy many things that are founded neither in reason nor experience. Their natural fac- ulties are as good as ours. Give them their freedom with their muskets : this will secure their fidelity, apimate their courage, and have a good influence upon those who remain, by opening a door for their eman- cipation. This circumstance has weight in inducing me to wish the success of the project ; for the dictates of humanity and true policy equally interest me in . favor of this unfortunate class of men." Two days later, the elder Laurens wrote to Washington : " Had we arms for three thousand such black men as I could select in Carolina, I should have no doubt of success in driving the British out of Georgia, and subduing East Florida before the end of July." To this Washington

292 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, answered : " The policy of our arming slaves is in my

' ^ opinion a moot point, unless the enemy set the exam-

17 7 9. pie. For, should we begin to form battalions of them, I have not the smallest doubt, if the war is to be prosecuted, of their following us in it, and justifying the measure upon our own ground. The contest then must be, who can arm fastest. And where are our arms ? "

Congress listened to Huger, the agent from South Carolina, as he explained that his state was weak, because many of its citizens must remain at home to prevent revolts among the negroes, or their desertion to the enemy ; and it recommended as a remedy, that the two southernmost of the thirteen states should detach the most vigorous and enterprising of the negroes from the rest by arming three thousand of them under command of white officers.

A few days before the British came near Charleston, young Laurens arrived, bringing no relief from the north beyond the advice of congress for the Carolin- ians to save themselves by arming their slaves. The advice was heard in anger and rejected with disdain. The state felt itself cast off and alone. Georgia had fallen ; the country between Savannah and Charleston was overrun ; the British confiscated all negroes whom they could seize ; their emissaries were urging the . rest to rise against their owners or to run away ; the United States seemed indifferent ; and Washington's army was too weak to protect so remote a govern- ment. Many began to regret the struggle for inde- pendence. Moved, therefore, by their insulation and by a dread of exposing Charleston to be taken by storm ; and sure at least of gaining time by protracted

THE WAR IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. 293

parleys, — the executive government sent a flag to ask chap. of the invaders their terms for a capitulation. In an- v— .^ swer, the British general offered peace to the inhabi- 17 7 9. tants who would accept protection ; to all others, the condition of prisoners of war. The council, at its next meeting, debated giving up the town ; Moultrie, Laurens, and Pulaski, who were called in, declared that they had men enough to beat the invaders ; and yet against the voice of Gadsden, of Ferguson, of John Edwards, who was moved even to tears, the majority, at heart irritated by the advice of congress to eman- cipate and arm slaves, " proposed a neutrality, during the war between Great Britain and America; the question whether the state shall belong to Great Britain or remain one of the United States to be de- termined by the treaty of peace between the two powers." Laurens, being called upon to bear this message, scornfully refused, and another was selected. The British general declined to treat with the civil government of South Carolina; but made answer to Moultrie that the garrison must surrender as prisoners of war. " Then we will fight it out," said Moultrie to the governor and council, and left their tent. Gads- den and Ferguson followed him to say : " Act accord- ing to your own judgment, and we will support you ; " and Moultrie waved the flag from the gate as a signal that the conference was at an end.

The citizens of Charleston knew nothing of the deliberations of the council, and seemed resolved to stand to the lines in defence of -their country ; par- leys had carried them over the only moment of dan- ger. At daylight the cry ran along the line : " The enemy is gone." The British, having intercepted a

294 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, letter from Lincoln, — in wHcli he charged Moultrie ^.^J-^ '' not to give up the city nor suffer the people to de- 17 7 9. spair/' for he was hastening to their relief, — escaped an encounter by retreating to the islands. The Amer- icans, for want of boats, could not prevent their em- barkation, nor their estabhshing a post at Beaufort. The Carolina militia returned to their homes; Lin- coln, left with but about eight hundred men, passed the great heats of summer at Sheldon.

The invasion of South Carolina by the army of General Prevost proved nothing more than a raid through the richest plantations of the state. The British forced their way into almost every house in a wide extent of country ; sparing in some measure those who professed loyalty to the king, they rifled all others of their money, rings, personal ornaments and plate, stripped houses of furniture and hnen, and even broke open tombs in search of hidden treasure. Objects of value, not transportable by land or water, were destroyed. Porcelain, mirrors, windows, were dashed in pieces; gardens carefully planted with exotics were laid waste. Domestic animals, which ceuld not be used nor carried off, were wantonly shot, and in some places not even a chicken was left alive. A thousand fugitive slaves perished of want in the woods, or of fever in the British camp ; about three thousand passed with the army into Georgia.

The southernmost states looked for relief to the French fleet in America. In September, 1778, the Marquis de Bouille^ the gallant governor-general of the French windward islands, in a single day wrested from Great Britain the strongly fortified island of Dominica; but d'Estaing, with a greatly increased

THE WAR m THE SOUTHERN STATES. 295

fleet and a land force of nine thousand men, came chap. in sight of the island of St. Lucia just as its last J^ French flag had been struck to a corps of fifteen 17 79. hundred British troops. A landing for its recovery was repulsed, with a loss to d'Estaing of nearly fif- teen hundred men.

Early in January, 1779, re-enforcements under , Admiral Byron transferred maritime superiority to the British ; and d'Estaing for six months sheltered his fleet within the bay of Port Royal. At the end j^^^^ of June, Byron having left St. Lucia to convoy a company of British merchant ships through the pas- sages, d'Estaing detached a force against St. Vincent, which, with the aid of the oppressed and enslaved Caribs, its native inhabitants, was easily taken. This is the only instance in the war where insurgent slaves acted efficiently. At the same time, the French ad- miral made an attack on the island of Grenada, whose garrison on the fourth of July surrendered at discre- July tion. Two days later, the fleet of Byron arrived within sight of the French ; and though reduced in number, sought a general close action, which his ad- versary knew how to avoid. In the running fight which ensued, the British ships suffered so much in their masts and rigging, that the French recovered the superiority.

To a direct co-operation with the United States d'Estaing was drawn by the wish of congress, the entreaties of South Carolina, and his own never-fail- ing good-will. On the first day of September he Sept. approached Georgia so suddenly that he took by sur- prise four British ships of war. To the government of South Carolina he announced his readiness to assist

296 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, in reducing Savannali ; but as there was neither har- w.^ bor, nor road, nor offing to receive his twenty ships 17 7 9. of the hue, he made it a condition that his fleet, which

Sept. . ' . . ' .

consisted of thirty-three sail, should not be detained long off so dangerous a coast. South Carolina glowed with joy in the fixed belief, that the garrison of Sa-

j2 vannah would lay down their arms. In ten days the French troops, though unassisted, effected their land- ing. Meantime, the British commander worked day and night with relays of hundreds of negroes to strengthen his defences; and Maitland, regardless of malaria, hastened with troops from Beaufort through the swamps of the low country.

16. On the sixteenth, d*Estaing summoned General Prevost to surrender to the arms of the king of France. While Prevost gained time by a triple in- terchange of notes, Maitland, flushed with a mortal fever caught on the march, brought to his aid through the inland channels the first division of about four hundred men from Beaufort. The second division followed a few hours later ; and when both had ar- rived, the British gave their answer of defiance.

Swiftly as the summons had been borne through South Carolina, and gladly as its people ran to arms, it was the twenty-third of September when the Amer- icans under Lincoln joined the French in the siege

^g^- of the city. On the eighth of October the reduction of Savannah seemed still so far distant, that the naval officers insisted on the rashness of leaving the fleet longer exposed to autumnal gales, or to an attack, with so 'much of its strength on land. An assault was, therefore, resolved on for the next day, an hour before sunrise, by two feigned and two real attacks.

23

THE WAR IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. 297

The only chance of success lay in the precise exe- chap. cution of the plan. The column under Count Dillon, w.,^ which was to have attacked the rear of the British 17 7 9. lines, became entangled in a swamp, of which it should only have skirted the edge, was helplessly exposed to the British batteries, and could not even be formed. It was broad day when the party with d'Estaing, accompanied by a part of the Carolinians, advanced fearlessly, but only to become huddled to- gether near the parapet under a destructive fire from musketry and cannon. The American standard was planted on the ramparts by Hume and by Bush, lieu- tenants of the second South Carolina regiment, but both of them fell ; at their side Sergeant Jasper was mortally wounded, but he used the last moments of his life to bring off the colors which he supported. A French standard was also planted.

After an obstinate struggle of fifty-five minutes to carry the redoubt, the assailants retreated before a charge of grenadiers and marines, led gallantly by Maitland. The injury sustained by the British was tri- fling ; the loss of the Americans was about two hundred ; of the French thrice as many. D'Estaing was twice wounded; Pulaski once, and mortally. "The cries of the dying," so wrote the Baron de Stedingk to his king, Gustavus the Third of Sweden, "pierced me to the heart. I desired death, and might have found it, but for the necessity of thinking how to save four hundred men whose retreat was stopped by a broken bridge." He himself was badly wounded. A,t Paris, as he moved about on crutches, he became the dehght of the highest social circles ; and at one of the thea- tres he was personated on the stage, leading a party

298 AMEEICAN" INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, to storm. The French withdrew to their ships and

XIII

vl^^-^ sailed for France ; the patriots of Georgia who had 17 7 9. joined them fled to the backwoods or across the river. Lincoln repaired to Charleston, and was followed by what remained of his army ; the militia of South Carolina returned to their homes; its continental regiments were melting away ; and its paper money became so nearly w^orthless, that a bounty of twenty- five hundred dollars for twenty-one months' service had no attraction. The dwellers near the sea be- tween Charleston and Savannah were shaken in their allegiance, not knowing where to find protection. Throughout the state the people were disheartened, and foreboded its desolation.

The permanence of the power of the British in the southern Atlantic states depended on their treatment of the negro. Now that they held Georgia and Beau- fort in South Carolina, they might have gained an enduring mastery by emancipating and arming the blacks. But the idea that slavery was a sin against humanity was unknown to parliament and to the ministry, and would have been hooted at by the army. The thought of universal emancipation had not yet conquered the convictions of the ruling- class in England, nor touched the life and conscience of the nation. The English of that day rioted in the lucrative slave-trade, and the zeal of the government in upholding it had been one of the causes that pro- voked the American war. So the advice to organize an army of liberated negroes, though persisted in by the royal governor of Virginia, was crushed by the mad eagerness of the British officers and soldiers in America for plunder !

THE WAR IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. 299

In this they were encouraged by the cordial ap- chap. probation of the king and his ministers. The in- w.,— . structions from Germain authorized the confiscation 17 7 9 and sale not only of negroes employed in the Amer- ican army, but of those who voluntarily followed the British troops and took sanctuary under British juris- diction/ Many of them were shipped to the markets of the West Indies.

Before the end of three months after the capture of Savannah, all the property, real and personal, of the rebels in Georgia, was disposed of .^ For further gains, Indians were encouraged to catch slaves wher- ever they could find them, and bring them in. All families in South Carolina were subjected to the visits of successive sets of banditti, who received commis- sions to act as volunteers with no pay or emolument but that derived from rapine, and who, roaming about at pleasure, robbed the widely scattered plantations without regard to the patriotism or the loyalty of their owners. Negroes were the spoil most coveted ; on the average, they were valued at two hundred and fifty silver dollars each. When Sir James Wright returned to the government of Georgia, he found several thousands of them awaiting distribu- tion among their claimants. The name of the British grew hateful, where it had before been cherished; their approach was dreaded as the coming of ruin ; their greed quelled every hope of the slave for en- franchisement.

* Compare Germain to Gov- ' Tonyn to Under-secretary emor Wright, 19 Jan., 1780. Knox, 29 March, 1779.

17 79.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE SIEGE OF CHARLESTON. ,

1779-1780.

^^' South Carolina moved onward to independence througli the bitterest afflictions of civil war. Armies were encouraged by the government in England to pillage and lay waste her plantations, and confiscate the property of the greatest part of her inhabitants. Famihes were divided; patriots outlawed and sav- agely assassinated; houses burned, and women and children driven shelterless into the forests ; districts so desolated that they seemed the abode only of or- phans and widows ; and the retaliation provoked by the unrelenting rancor of loyalists threatened the extermination of her people. Left mainly to her own resources, it was through bloodshed and devasta- tion and the depths of wretchedness that her citizens were to bring her back to her place in the republic by their own heroic courage and self-devotion, hav- ing suffered more, and dared more, and acliieved more thar the men of any other state.

THE SIEGE OF CHARLESTON. 301

Sir Henry Clinton, in whose mind his failure be- chap. fore Charleston in 1776 still rankled, resolved in ^^.^^ person to carry out the order for its reduction. In i " 7 9. August, an English fleet commanded by Arbuthnot, an old and inefficient admiral, brought him re-enforce- ments and stores ; in September, fifteen hundred men arrived from Ireland ; in October, Khode Island was evacuated, and the troops which had so long been stationed there in inactivity were incorporated into his army. It had been the intention of Clinton to embark in time to acquire Charleston before the end of the year. The appearance of the superior fleet of d'Estaing and the uncertainty of its destination held him at bay, till he became assured that the French had sailed for Europe.

Leaving the command in New York to the veteran Knyphausen, Chnton, in the extreme cold of the severest winter, embarked eight thousand five hun- dred officers and men ; and on the day after Christ- mas, 1779, set sail for the conquest of South Carolina. The admiral led the van into the adverse current of the gulf stream; glacial storms scattered the fleet; an ordnance vessel foundered; American privateers 17 80. captured some of the transports; a bark, carrying Hessian troops, lost its masts, was driven by gales across the ocean, and broke in pieces just as it had landed its famished passengers near St. Ives in Eng- land. Most of the horses perished. Few of the transports arrived at Tybee in Georgia, the place of rendezvous, before the end of January. After the junction of the troops, Clinton had ten thousand men under his command; and yet he instantly ordered

302 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, from New York Lord Eawdon's brigade of eight reg-

^^ iments, or about three thousand more.

17 8 0. Charleston was an opulent town of fifteen thousand

Jan.

inhabitants, free and slave, including a large popula- tion of traders and others, strongly attached to Eng- land and hating independence. The city, which was not deserted by its private families, had no consider- able store of provisions. The paper money of the province was worth but ^Ye per cent of its nominal value. The town, like the country, was flat and low. On three sides it lay upon the water ; and, for its complete investment, an enemy who commanded the sea needed only to occupy the neck between the Cooper and the Ashley rivers. It had neither cita- del, nor fort, nor ramparts, nor stone, nor materials for building anything more than field-works of loose sand, kept together by boards and logs. The ground to be defended within the limits of the city was very extensive ; and Lincoln commanded less than two thousand effective men. On the third of February, 1780, the general assembly of South Carolina in- trusted the executive of the state with power " to do all things necessary to secure its liberty, safety, and happiness, except taking away the life of a citizen without legal trial." ^ But the calls on the militia were little heeded ; the defeat before Savannah had diaheartened the people. The southern part of the state needed all its men for its own protection ; the middle part was disaffected ; the frontiers were men- aced by savage tribes. Yet, without taking counsel of his officers, Lincoln, reluctant to abandon public property which he had not means to transport,

South Carolina, Statutes at Large, iv. 505.

Feb.

1 7 H 0. Feb.

THE SIEGE OF CHARLESTON. 303

yielded to the threats and urgency of the inhabi- chap. tants of Charleston, and remained in their city, which - — ^J-> no experienced engineer regarded as tenable.

On the twenty-sixth, the British forces from the ^e eastern side of St. John's island gained a view of the town, its harbor, the sea, and carefully cultivated plantations, which, after their fatigues, seemed to them a paradise. The best defence of the harbor was the bar at its ouilet ; and already on the twenty- sr. seventh, the officers of the continental squadron, which carried a hundred and fifty guns, reported their inability to guard it. "Then," wrote Wash- ington, "the attempt to defend the town ought to have been relinquished." But Lincoln was intent only on strengthening its fortifications. Setting the example of labor, he was the first to go to work on them in the morning, and would not return till late in the evening. Of the guns of the squadron and its seamen he formed and manned batteries on shore, and ships were sunk to close the entrance to the Ash- ley river.

Clinton, trusting nothing to hazard, moved slowly along a coast intersected by creeks and checkered with islands. The delay brought greater disasters on the state. Lincoln used the time to draw into . Charleston all the resources of the southern depart- ment of which he could dispose. " Collecting the whole force for the defence of Charleston," thought Washington, "is putting much to hazard. I dread the event." ^ But he was too remote to be heard in time.

* Washington to Steuben in Writings of Washington, ed. Sparks, vii. 10.

304 AI^IEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. The period of enlistment of the North Carolina

.^^ militia having expired, most of them returned home.

1 7 8 0. On the seventh of April, the remains of the Virginia

7.'' line, seven hundred veterans, entered Charleston,

having in twenty-eight days marched five hundred.

miles to certain captivity.

9. On the ninth, Arbuthnot, taking advantage of a gentle east wind, brought his ships into the harbor, without suffering from Fort !R^oultrie or returning

10. its fire. The next day, the first parallel being com- pleted, Clinton and Arbuthnot summoned the town to surrender. Lincoln answered : " From duty and inclination I shall support the town to the last ex- tremity.'^

18. On the thirteenth, the American officers insisted that Governor Rutledge shoiild withdraw from Charleston, leaving Gadsden, the lieutenant-gover- nor, with five of the council. On the same morn- ing, Lincoln for the first time called a council of war, and, revealing to its members his want of resources, suggested ^n evacuation. " We should not lose an hour," said Mackintosh, "in attempting to get the continental troops over the Cooper river ; for on their safety depends the salvation of the state." But Lincoln only invited them to consider the meas- ure maturely, till the time when he should send for them again .^ Before he met them again, the Amer- ican cavalry, which kept up some connection between the town and the coimtry, had been surprised and

19. dispersed ; Cornwallis had arrived with nearly three thousand men from New York ; and the British had occupied the peninsula from the Cooper to the

^ Simms's South Carolina in the Revolution, 122.

THE SIEGE OF CHARLESTON". 305

Wando: so that an evacuation was no lono-er pos- chap.

XIV

sible. On the sixth of May, Fort MoLiltrie surren- w^ dered without firing a gun. That field intrenchments 1 7^ 8 o. supported a siege for six weeks, was due to the cau- 6. tion of the besiegers more than to the vigor of the defence, which languished from an almost general disaffection of the citizens.^

On the twelfth, after the British had mounted can- 12. non in their third parallel, had crossed the wet ditch and advanced within twenty-five yards of the Amer- ican works, ready to assault the town by land and water, Lincoln signed a capitulation. A proposal to allow the men of South Carolina, who did not choose to reside under British rule, twelve months to dis- pose of their property, was not accepted. The con- tinental troops and sailors became prisoners of war until exchanged ; the militia from the country were to return home as prisoners of war on parole, and to be secured in their property so long as their parole should be observed. All free male adults in Charles- ton, including the aged, the ' infirm, and even the loyalists, who a few days later offered their congrat- ulations on the reduction of South Carolina, were counted and paroled as prisoners. In this vain- glorious way Clinton could report over ^ye thousand prisoners.

Less property was wasted than in the preceding year, but there was not less greediness for plunder. The value of the spoil, which was distributed by Eng- lish and Hessian commissaries of captures, amounted to abput three hundred thousand pounds sterling, so that the dividend of a major-general exceeded four

* John Laurens to his father, 25 May, 1780.

VOL. X. 20

May.

306 AMERICAK INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, thousand guineas. There was no restraint on private i^JZl. rapine ; the silver plate of the planters was carried 17 80. off; all negroes that had belonged to rebels were seizedj even though they had themselves sought an asylum within the British lines ; and at one embark- ation two thousand were shipped to a market in the West Indies. British officers thought more of amass- ing fortunes than of reuniting the empire. The patriots were not allowed to appoint attorneys to manage or to sell their estates. A sentence of confiscation hung over the whole land, and British protection was granted only in return for the uncon- ditional promise of loyalty.

For six weeks all opposition ceased in South Car- olina. One expedition was sent by Clinton up the Savannah to encourage the loyal and reduce the dis- affected in the neighborhood of Augusta; another proceeded for the like purpose to the district of Ninety-Six, where Williamson surrendered his post and accepted British protection ; Pickens was reduced to inactivity ; alone of the leaders of the patriot mi- litia. Colonel James Williams escaped pursuit and pre- served his freedom of action.-^ A third and largor party under Cornwallis moved across the Santee towards Camden. The rear of the old Virginia line, commanded by Colonel Buford, arriving too late to re-enforce the garrison of Charleston, had retreated towards the north-east of the state. They were pur- sued, and on the twenty-ninth of May were over- taken by Tarleton with seven hundred cavalry and mounted infantry. Buford did not surrender, yet gave no order to engage. He himself, a few who

1 Fanning's Narrative, 11 and 12.

THE SIEGE OF CHAELESTON. 307

were mounted, and about a hundred of the infantry, chap. saved themselves by a precipitate flight. The rest, - — ^^ making no resistance, sued for quarter. None was ^\^^- granted. A hundred and thirteen were killed on the spot ; a hundred and fifty were too badly hacked to be moved ; fifty-three only could be brought into Camden as prisoners. The tidings of this massacre carried through the southern forests mingled horror and anger; but Tarleton received from Cornwallis the highest encomiums.

The universal panic consequent on the capture of Charleston had suspended all resistance to the Brit- ish army. The men of Beaufort, of Ninety-Six, and of Camden, had capitulated under the promise of security. They believed that they were to be treated as neutrals, or as prisoners on parole. There re- mained to them no possibility of flight with their families ; and if they were inclined to take up arms, there was no American army around which they could rally.

The attempt was now made to crush the spirit of independence in the heart of a people of courage and honor, to drive every man of Carohna into active ser- vice in the British army, and to force the dwellers in the land of the sun, which ripened passions as fierce as the clime, to become the instruments of their own subjection.

On the twenty-second of May, confiscation of prop- 22. erty and other punishments were denounced against all who should thereafter oppose the king in arms, or hinder any one from joining his forces. On the first *^""® of June, a proclamation by the commissioners, Clinton and Arbuthnot, offered pardon to the penitent, on

308 AJIERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, their immediate return to allegiance; to the loyal, s_^ the promise of their former political immunities, in- 17 8 0. eluding freedom from taxation except by their own 1- legislature. This policy of moderation might have familiarized the Carolinians once more to the British government ; but the proclamation was not commu- nicated to Cornwallis; so that when, three weeks later, two leading men, one of whom had been in a high station and both principally concerned in the " rebellion," went to that officer to surrender them- selves under its provisions, he could only answer that he had no knowledge of its existence. 8. On the third of June, Clinton, by a proclamation

which he alone signed, cut up British authority in Carolina by the roots. He required all the inhab- itants of the province, even those outside of Charles- > ton "who were now prisoners on parole," to take an active part in securing the royal government. " Should they neglect to return to their allegiance," so ran the proclamation, " they will be treated as rebels to the government of the king." He never reflected that many who accepted protection from fear or convenience did so in the expectation of liv- ing in a state of neutrality, and that they might say : "If we must fight, let us fight on the si'de of our friends, of our countrymen, of America." On the eve of his departure for New York, he reported to Germain: "The inhabitants from every quarter de- clare their allegiance to the king, and offer their services in arms. There are few men in South Carolina who are not either our prisoners or in arms with us."

CHAPTER XY.

WAR IN THE SOUTH: CORNWALLIS AND GATES. 1780.

RiYALRY and dissension between Clinton and Corn- chap.

wallis already glowed under the ashes. The former had written home more of truth than was willingly listened to ; and, though he clung with tenacity tp his commission, he intimated conditionally a wish to be recalled. Germain took him so far at his word as to give him leave to transfer to Cornwallis, the new favorite, the chief command in North America.

All opposition in South Carolina was for the mo- ment at an end, when Cornwallis entered on his sep- arate command. He proposed to himself no less than to keep possession of all that#had been gained, and to advance as a conqueror at least to the Chesapeake. Clinton had left with him more than five thousand effective troops, besides more than a thousand in Georgia; to these were to be added the regiments which he was determined to organize out of the southern people.

17 80.

310 AMERICAN" INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. As fast as the districts submitted, the new corn-

XV • • '

^^ mander enrolled all the inhabitants, and appointed 17 80. field-officers with civil as well as military power. The men of property above forty were made re- sponsible for order, but were not to be called out except in case of insurrection or of actual invasion ; the younger men who composed the second class were held liable to serve six months in each year. Some hundreds of commissions were issued for the militia regiments. Major Patrick Ferguson, known from his services in New Jersey and greatly valued, was deputed to visit each district in South Carohna to procure on the spot lists of its militia, and to see that the orders of Cornwallis were carried into exe- cution. Any Carolinian thereafter taken in arms might be sentenced to death for desertion and bear- ing arms against his country.^ The proposals of those who offered to raise provincial corps were accepted; and men of the province, void of honor and compassion, received commissions, gathered about them profligate ruffians, and roamed through Carolina, indulging in rapine, and ready to put patriots to death as outlaws. Cornwallis himself never regarded a deserter, or any whom a court-martial sentenced to death, as subjects of mercy. A quartermaster of Tarleton's legion entered the house of Samuel Wyly near Camden, and, because he had served as a vol- unteer in the defence of Charleston, cut him in pieces. The presbyterians supported the cause of independence ; and indeed the American revolution was but the application of the principles of the re- formation to civil government. One Huck, a captain

' Cornwallis to Clinton, 30 June, 1780.

WAR IN THE south: CORNWALLIS AND GATES. 311

of British militia, fired the library and dwelling-house chap. of the clergyman at Williams's plantation in the upper ^.^w part of South Carolina, and burned every bible into 17 80. which the Scottish translation of the psalms was bound. Under the immediate eye of Cornwallis, the prisoners who had capitulated in Charleston were the subjects of perpetual persecution, unless they would exchange their paroles for oaths of allegiance ; and some of those who had been accustomed to live in affluence from the produce of lands cultivated by slaves had not fortitude enough to dare to be poor. Mechanics and shopkeepers could not collect their dues, except after promises of loyalty.

Lord Kawdon, who had the very important com- mand on the Santee, raged equally against deserters from his Irish regiment and against the inhabitants. To Kugely, at that time a major of militia in the Brit- ish service and an aspirant for higher promotion, he on the first of July addressed the following order: J"'y " If any person shall meet a soldier straggling, and shall not secure him or spread an alarm for that pur- pose ; or if any person shall shelter or guide or fur- nish assistance to soldiers stragghng, the persons so ofcnding may assure themselves of rigorous punish- ment, either by whipping, imprisonment, or being sent to serve in the West Indies. I will give the inhabitants ten guineas for the head of any deserter belonging to the volunteers of Ireland, and ^yq guineas only if they bring him in alive." -^

The chain of posts for holding South Carolina con- sisted of Georgetown, Charleston, Beaufort, and Sa- vannah on the sea ; Augusta, Ninety-Six, and Camden

^ The genuineness of the letter is unquestioned.

312 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, in the interior. Of these Camden was the most im- ^^ portant, for it was the key between the north and 17 8 0 south ; by a smaller post at Rocky Mount, it kept up a communication with Ninety-Six.

In the opinion of Clinton, six thousand men were required to hold Carohna and Georgia; yet at the end of June Cornwallis reported that he had put an end to all resistance in those states, and in Septem- ber, after the harvest, would march into North Caro- lina to reduce that province. But the violence of his measures roused the courage of despair. On hearing of the acts of the British, Houston, the dele- gate in congress from Georgia, wrote to Jay : " Our misfortunes are, under God, the source of our safety. Our captive soldiers will, as usual, be poisoned, starved, and insulted, — will be scourged into the service of the enemy ; the citizens will suffer pillag- ing, violences, and conflagrations; a fruitful coun- try will be desolated ; but the loss of Charleston will promote the general cause. The enemy have over- run a considerable part of the state in the hour of its nakedness and debility ; but, as their measures seem as usual to be dictated by infatuation, when they have wrought up the spirit of the people to fury and des- peration, they will be expelled from the country."

Determined patriots of South Carolina took refuge in the state on their north. Among them was Sump- ter, who in the command of a continental regiment had shown courage and ability. To punish his flight, a British detachment turned his wife out of doors, and burned down his house with everything which it contained. The exiles, banding themselves to- gether, chose him for their leader. For their use, the

WAR m THE south: coenwallis and gates. 313 smiths of the neio-hborhood wrouscht iron tools into chap.

XV.

rude weapons ; bullets were cast of pewter, collected — ^-^ from housekeepers. With scarcely three rounds of ^]^!^' cartridges to a man, they could obtain no more but from their foes; and the arms of the dead and wounded in one engagement must equip them for another.

On the rumor of an advancing American army, Eawdon called on all the inhabitants round Camden to join him in arms. One hundred and sixty who refused he shut up during the heat of midsummer in one prison, and loaded more than twenty of them with chains, some of whom were protected by the capitulation of Charleston.

On the twelfth day of July, Captain Huck was sent 12. out with thirty-five dragoons, twenty mounted in- fantry, and sixty militia, on a patrol. His troops were posted in a lane at the village of Cross Roads, near the source of Fishing creek ; and women were on their knees to him, vainly begging mercy for their families and their homes; when suddenly Sumpter and his men, though inferior in number, dashed into the lane at both ends, killed the commander, and destroyed nearly all his party. This was the first advantage gained over the royal forces since the beginning of the year.

The order by which all the men of Carolina were enrolled in the militia drove into the British service prisoners on parole, and all who had wished to re- main neutral. One Lisle, who thus suffered compul- sion in the districts bordering on the rivers Tyger and Enoree, waited till, his battalion was supplied with arms and ammunition^ and then conducted it to its

314 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, old commander, who was with Sumpter in the Ca-

^-^ tawba settlement.

17 80. Thus strengthened, Sumpter, on the thirtieth of

30. July, made a spirited though unsuccessful attack on

Kocky Moimt. Having repaired his losses, on the

^^S' sixth of August he surprised the British post at Hanging Eock. A regiment of refugees from North Carolina fled with precipitation; their panic spread to the provincial regiment of the prince of Wales, wliich suffered severely. In the beginning of the action, not one of the Americans had more than ten bullets ; before its end, they used the arms and am- munition of the fallen. Among the partisans who were present in this fight was Andrew Jackson, an orphan boy of Scotch-Irish descent, whose hatred of oppression and love of country drove liim to deeds beyond his years. Sumpter drew back to the Ca- tawba settlement, and from all parts of South Carolina patriots flocked to his standard.

Thus far the south rested on its own exertions. Kelying on the internal strength of New England, and the central states for their protection, Washing- ton was willing to incur hazard for the relief of the Carohnas; and, with the approval of congress, from his army of less than ten and a half thousand men, of whom twenty-eight hundred were to be discharged in April, he detached General Kalb with the Mary- land division of nearly two thousand men and the Delaware regiment. Marching orders for the south-

May- ward were also given to the corps of Major Lee. The movement of Kalb was slow for want of transporta- tion. At Petersburg, in Virginia, he added to his command a regiment of artillery with twelve cannon.

WAR Iiq- THE south: CORNWALLIS AND GATES. 315

Of all the states. Yiro-inia, of which Jefferson was chap.

XV

then the governor, lay most exposed to invasion from ^-^^ the sea, and was in constant danger from the savages 1 7 8 o. on the west ; yet it was unmindful of its own perils. Its legislature met on the ninth of May. Within ten ^g^ minutes after the house was formed, Richard Henry Lee proposed to raise and send twenty-five hundred men to serve for three months in Carolina, and to be paid in tobacco, which had a real value. Major Nel- son with sixty horse, and Colonel Armand with his corps, were already moving to the south. The force assembled at Williamsburg, for the protection of the country on the James river, consisted of no more than three hundred men ; but they too were sent to Car- olina before the end of the month. North Carolina made a requisition on Virginia for arms, and received them. With a magnanimity which knew nothing of fear, Virginia laid herself bare for the protection of the Carolinas.

The news that Charleston had capitulated found Kalb still in Virginia. In the regular European ser- vice he had proved himself an efficient officer ; but his mind was neither rapid nor creative, and was un- suited to the exigencies of a campaign in America. On the twentieth of June he entered North Carohna, Juns

20.

and halted at Hillsborough to repose his wayworn soldiers. He found no magazines, nor did the gover- nor of the state much heed his requisitions or his re- monstrances. Caswell, who was in command of the militia, disregarded his orders from the vanity of act- ing separately. " Officers of European experience alone," wrote Kalb on the seventh of July to his wife, " do not know what it is to contend against

316 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, difficulties and vexations. My present condition

w^ makes me doubly anxious to return to you." Yet,

17 8 0. under all privations, the officers and men of his corn- June. ,

mand vied with each other in maintaining order and

harmony. In his camp at Buffalo ford on Deep

river, while he was still doubting how to direct his

march, he received news of measures adopted by

congress for the southern campaign.

Washington wished Greene to succeed Lincoln; congress, not asking his advice and not ignorant of 13. his opinion, on the thirteenth of June unanimously ap- pointed Gates to the command of the southern army, and constituted him independent of the commander- in-chief. He received his orders from congress and was to make his reports directly to that body, which bestowed on him unusual powers and all its confidence. He might address himself directly to Virginia and the states beyond it for supplies; of himseK alone ap- point all staff-officers; and take such measures as he should think most proper for the defence of the south.

From his plantation in Virginia, Gates made his acknowledgment to congress without elation ; to Lin- coln he wrote in modest and affectionate language. His first important act w^as the request to congress for the appointment of Morgan as a brigadier-general in the continental service, and in this he was sup- ported by Jefferson and Rutledge. • He enjoined on the corps of White and Washington, and on all rem- nants of continental troops in Virginia, to repair to the southern army with all possible diligence.

Upon information received at Hillsborough from Huger of South Carolina, Gates formed his plan to

WAR m THE south: CORNWALLIS AND GATES. 317

march directly to Camden, confident of its easy capt- chap.

lire and the consequent recovery of the country. > ^

To Kalb he wrote : '' Enough has already been lost 1 7 8 o. in a vain defence of Charleston ; if more is sacrificed, the southern states are undone; and this may go nearly to undo the rest."

Arriving in the camp of Kalb, he was confirmed in his purpose by Thomas Pinckney, who was his aid, and by Marion. It was the opinion of Kalb, that the enemy would not make a stand at Camden.^ His » first words ordered the troops to be prepared to march at a moment's warning. The safest route, recommended by a memorial of the principal officers, was by way of Salisbury and Charlotte, through a most fertile, salubrious, and well-cultivated country, inhabited by presbyterians who were heartily attached to the cause of independence, and among whom a post for defence might have been established in case of disaster. But Gates was impatient; and having detached Marion towards the interior of South Car- olina to watch the motions of the enemy and furnish intelligence, he, on the morning of the twenty-seventh J/'^y of July, put what he called the "grand army" on its march by the shortest route to Camden through a barren country which could offer no food but lean cattle, fruit, and unripe maize.

On the third of August, the army crossed the Pedee Aug. river, making a junction on its southern bank with Lieutenant-Colonel Porterfield of Virginia, an excel- lent officer, who had been sent to the relief of Charles- ton, and had kept his small command on the frontier of South Carolina, having found means to subsist

' Kalb's letters, captured by the British.

318 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, them and to maintain the appearance of holding that

w>^-l^ part of the country.

17 8 0. The force of which Gates could dispose was greater than that which could be brought against him; it revived the hopes of the South Carohnians who were writhing under the insolence of an army in which every soldier was a licensed plunderer, and every officer a functionary with power to outlaw peaceful citizens at will. The British commander on the Pedee called in his detachments, abandoned his post on the Cheraw hill, and repaired to Lord Kawdon at Camden. An escort of Carohnians who had been forced to take up arms on the British side rose against their officers, and made prisoners of a hundred and six British in- valids who were descending the Pedee river. A large boat from Georgetown, laden with stores for the Brit- ish at Cheraw, was seized by Americans. A general revolt in the public mind against British authority invited Gates onwards. To the encouragements of others the general added his own illusions; he was confident that Cornwallis, with detached troops from his main body, was gone to Savannah,^ and from his 4. camp on the Pedee he announced on the fourth, by a proclamation, that their late triumphant and in- sulting foes had retreated with precipitation and dis- may on the approach of his numerous, well-appointed, and formidable army; forgiveness was promised to those who had been forced to profess allegiance, and pardon was withheld only from those apostate sons of America who should hereafter support the enemy. 7. On the seventh, at the Cross Eoads, the troops with

Gates made a junction with the North Carolina mi-

' Eapp's Kalb, 213.

WAR m THE south: CORXWALLIS AND GATES. 319

litia under Caswell, and proceeded towards the enemy chap. at Lynch's creek. ^-^^

In the folio whig night that post was abandoned ; 1 7 8 o. and Lord Rawdon occupied another on the southern bank of Little Lynch's creek, unassailable from the deep muddy channel of the river, and within a day's march of Camden. Here he was joined by Tarleton with a small detachment of cavalry, who on their way had mercilessly ravaged the country on the Black river as a punishment to its patriot inhabitants, and as a terror to the dwellers on the Wateree and Santee. By a forced march up the stream, Gates could have turned Lord Eawdon's flank, and made an easy conquest of Camden. Missing his only op- portunity, on the eleventh, after a useless halt of two ii. days he defiled by the right, and, marching to the north of Camden, on the thirteenth encamped at 13. Clermont, which the British had just abandoned. The time thus allowed, Rawdon used to strengthen himself by four companies from Ninety-Six, as well as by the troops from Clermont, and to throw up redoubts at Camden.

On the evenii^g of the tenth, Cornwallis left 10. Charleston and arrived at Camden before the dawn of the fourteenth. At ten o'clock on the night of u. the fifteenth, he set his troops in motion in the 15. hope of joining battle with the Americans at the break of day.

On the fourteenth. Gates had been joined by seven i^- hundred Virginia militia under the command of Stevens. On the same day Sumpter, appearing in camp with four hundred men, asked for as many more to intercept a convoy with its stores on the

320 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, road from Charleston to Camden. Gates, wlio be-

XV.

.^.^ lieved himself at the head of seven thousand men, 17 80. granted his request. Sumpter left the camp, taking with him eight hundred men, and on the next morn- ing captured the wagons and their escort.

An exact field return proved to Gates that he had but three thousand and fifty- two rank and file pres- ent and fit for duty. " These are enough," said he,

15. " for our purpose ; " and on the fifteenth he commu- nicated to a council of officers an order to begin their march at ten o'clock in the evening of that day. He was listened to in silence. Many wondered at a night march of an army of which more than two- thirds were militia, that had never even been paraded together; but Gates, who had the "most sanguine confidence of victory and the dispersion of the enemy," appointed no place for rendezvous, and be- gan his march before his baggage was sufficiently in the rear.

16. At half-past two on the morning of the sixteenth, about nine miles from Camden, the advance guard of Cornwallis fell in with the advance guard of the Amer- icans. To the latter the collision was a surprise. Their cavalry was in front, but Armand, its com- mander, who disliked his orders, was insubordinate ; the horsemen in his command turned suddenly and fled ; and neither he nor they did any service that night or the next day. The retreat of Armand's legion produced confusion in the first Maryland bri- gade, and spread consternation throughout the army, till the light infantry on the right under the com- mand of Colonel Porterfield threw back the party that made the attack and restored order; but at a

WAK IN THE south: COENWALLIS AND GATES. 321

great price, for Porterfield received a wound which chap. prov<3d mortal. ^^-^

To a council of the American general officers held i7 80, immediately in the rear of the lines, Gates commu- ^^' nicated the report of a prisoner, that a large regular force of British troops under Cornwallis was five or six hundred yards in their front, and submitted the question whether it would be proper to retreat. Stevens declared himself eager for battle, saying that " the information was but a stratagem of Eawdon to escape the attack." No other advice being ofered, Gates desired them to form in line of battle.

The position of Lord Cornwallis was most favorable. A SAvamp on each side secured his flanks against the superior numbers of the Americans. At daybreak his last dispositions were made. The front line, to which were attached two six-pounders and two three- pounders, was commanded on the right by Lieuten- ant-Colonel Webster, on the left by Lord Rawdon. A battalion with a six-pounder was posted behind each wing as a reserve. The cavalry were in the rear ready to charge or to pursue.

On the American side, the second Maryland bri- gade, of which Gist was brigadier, and the men of Delaware, occupied the right under Kalb ; the North Carolina division with Caswell, the centre ; and Stevens with the newly arrived Virginia militia, the left : the best troops on the side strongest by nature, the worst on the weakest. The first Maryland bri- gade, at the head of which Smallwood should have appeared, formed a second line about two hundred yards in the rear of the first. The artillery was di- vided between the two brigades.

VOL. X. 21

322 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. Gates took his place in the rear of the second line. s— ^ He gave no order till Otho Williams proposed to him 17 8 0. to bes-in the attack with the brio-ade of Stevens, his

Aug. ^ , ° "^

16. worst troops, who had been with the army only one day. Stevens gave the word, and, as they prepared to move forward, Cornwallis ordered Webster, whose division contained his best troops, to assail them, while Rawdon was to engage the American right. As the British with Webster rushed on, firing and shouting huzza, Stevens reminded his militia that they had bayonets ; but they had received them only the day before and knew not how to use them ; so, dropping their muskets, they escaped to the woods with such speed that not more than three of them were killed or wounded.

Caswell and the militia of North Carolina, except the few who had Gregory for their brigadier, followed the example ; so that nearly two-thirds of the army fled without firing a shot.. Gates writes of them, as an eye-witness : " The British cavalry continuing to harass their rear, they ran like a torrent and bore all before them ; " that is to say, the general himself was borne with them. They took to the woods and dis- persed in every direction, while Gates disappeared entirely from the scene, taking no thought for the continental troops whom he left at their posts in the field, and flying, or, as he called it, retiring as fast as possible to Charlotte.

The militia having been routed, Webster came round the flank of the first Maryland brigade, and attacked them in front and on their side. Though Smallwood was nowhere to be found, they were sus- tained by the reserve, till the brigade was outflanked

WAK IN THE south: CORNWALLIS AND GATES. 323

by greatly superior numbers, and obliged to give chap.

ground. After being twice rallied, they finally re- v ,_.

treated. The division which Kalb commanded con- i^ho. tinned long in action, and never did troops show i^- greater courage than these men of Maryland and Delaware. The horse of Kalb had been killed under him, and he had been badly wounded ; yet he con- tinued the fight on foot. At last, in the hope that victory was on his side, he led a charge, drove the division under Rawdon, took fifty prisoners, and would not believe that he was not about to gain the day, when Cornwallis poured against him a party of dragoons and infantry. Even then he did not yield, until disabled by many wounds.

The victory cost the British about ^Ye hundred of their best troops ; " their great loss," wrote Marion, " is equal to a defeat." How many Americans per- ished on the field or surrendered is not accurately known. They saved none of their artillery, and little of their baggage. Except one hundred continental soldiers whom Gist conducted across the swamps, through which the cavalry could not follow, every oorps was dispersed. The canes and underwood that hid them from their pursuers separated them from one another.

Kalb lingered for three days ; but before he closed his eyes he bore an affectionate testimony to the ex- emplary conduct of the division which he had com- manded, and of which two-fifths had fallen in battle. Opulent and happy in his wife and children, he gave to the United States his life and his example. Con- gress voted him a monument. The British parlia- ment voted thanks to Cornwallis.

324 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. Gates and Caswell, who took to flio-lit witli tlie

XV.

— ^^ militia, gave up all for lost ; and, lea^dng the army 17 80. without orders, rode in all haste to Clermont, which they reached ahead of all the fugitives, and then pressed on and still on, until, late in the night, the two generals escorted each other into Charlotte. The next morning Gates, who was a petty intriguer, not a soldier, left Caswell to rally such troops as might come in; and himself sped to Hillsborough, where the North Carolina legislature was soon to meet, riding altogether more than two hundred miles in three days and a haK, and running away from his army so fast and so far that he knew nothing about its condition. Caswell, after spending one day at Charlotte, disobeyed the order, and followed the example of his cliief. 19. On the nineteenth, American officers, coming into Charlotte, placed their hopes of a happier turn of events on Sumpter, who commanded the largest American force that now remained in the Carolinas.

15. That detachment had on the fifteenth captured more than forty British wagons laden with stores,

16. and secured more than a hundred prisoners. On hearing of the misfortunes of the army of Gates, Sumpter retreated slowly and carelessly up the

17. Wateree. On the seventeenth, he remained through the whole night at Rocky Mount, though he knew that the British were on the opposite side of the river, and in possession of boats and the ford. On

18. the eighteenth, he advanced only eight miles ; and on the north bank of Fishing creek, at bright mid- day, his troops stacked their arms; some took re- pose ; some went to the river to. bathe ; some strolled

WAll IIS" THE south: CORNWALLIS AND GATES. 325

in search of supplies ; and Sumpter himself fell fast chap. asleep in the shade of a wagon. In this state, a party <— v— ^ under Tarleton cut them off from their arms and put 1 7 8 o.

■*• Aug.

them to rout, taking two or three hundred of them captive, and recovering the British prisoners and wagons. On the twentieth, Sumpter rode into Char- ^o. lotte alone, without hat or saddle.

17 80.

CHAPTER XYl.

CORNWALLIS AND THE MEN OF THE SOUTH AND WEST.

1780.

^xvL* Feom the moment of his victory near Camden, Cornwallis became the principal figure in the British service in America, — the pride and dehght of Ger- main, the desired commander-in-chief, the one man on whom rested the hopes of the ministry for the successful termination of the war. His friends dis- paraged the abihty of Sir Henry Clinton, accused him of hating his younger and more enterprising com^peer, and censured him for leaving at the south forces disproportioned to the service for which they were required.

We are come to the series of events which closed the American contest and restored peace to the world. In Europe the sovereigns of Prussia, of Austria, of Russia, were offering their mediation; the united Netherlands were struggling to preserve their neu- trahty; France was straining every nerve to cope with her rival in the four quarters of the globe;

CORNWALLIS. — MEN OF THE SOUTH AKD WEST. 327

Spain was exhausting her resources for the conquest chap. of Gibraltar ; but the incidents which overthrew the w-^—^ ministry of North, and reconciled Great Britain to 17 80. America, had their springs in South Carolina.

Cornwallis, elated with success and hope, prepared for the northward march which was to conduct him from victory to victory, till he should restore all America south of Delaware to its allegiance. He was made to believe that North Carohna would rise to welcome him, and, in the train of his flatterers, he carried Martin, its former governor, who was to re-enter on his office. He requested Clinton to detach three thousand men to establish a post on the Chesapeake bay; and Clinton knew too well the wishes of the British government to venture to refuse.

In carrying out his plan, the first measure of Corn- wallis was a reign of terror. Professing to regard South Carohna as restored to the dominion of George the Third, he accepted the suggestions of Martin and Tarleton, and the hke, that severity was the true mode to hold the recovered province. He therefore addressed the most stringent orders to the command- ants at Ninety-Six and other posts, to imprison all who would not take up arms for the king, and to seize or destroy their whole property. He most positively enjoined that every militia-man who had borne arms with the British and had afterwards joined the Americans should be hanged immediately. He set up the gallows at Camden for the indiscrim- inate execution of those among his prisoners who had formerly given their parole, even when it had been kept till it was cancelled by the proclamation of

328 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. Clinton. To brino- these men to the pjibbet was an

XVI

.^.^-J^ act of military murder.

17 8 0. The destruction of property and life assumed still more hideous forms, when the peremptory orders and example of Cornwallis were followed by subordinates in remote districts away from supervision. Cruel measures seek and are sure to find cruel executive agents ; officers whose delight was in blood patrolled the country, burned houses, ravaged estates, and put to death whom they would. The wives and daughters of the opulent were left with no fit clothing, no shelter but a hovel too mean to attract the destroyer. Of a sudden, the woodman in his cabin would find his house surrounded, and he himself or his guest might be shot, because he was not in arms for the king. Tliere was no question of proofs and no trial. For two years cold-blooded assassinations, often in the house of the victim and in the presence of his wife and little children, were perpetrated by men holding the king's commission, and they obtained not indem- nity merely, but rewards for their zeal. The enemy were determined to break every man's spirit, or to ruin him. No engagement by proclamation or by capitulation was respected.

The ruthless administration of Cornwallis met the hearty and repeated applause of Lord George Ger main, who declared himself convinced that " to pun- ish rebellion would have the best consequences." As to the rebels, his orders to Clinton and Cornwallis were:^ "No good faith or justice is to be expected from them, and we ought in all our transactions with them to act upon that supposition." In this mawner

* Germain to Clinton, 9 Nov., 1780.

CORNWALLIS. — MEN OF THE SOUTH AND WEST. 329

the minister released his generals from their pledges chap. to those on whom they made war. >-^-v— '

In violation of agreements, the continental soldiers 1 7 8 o. who oxpitulated at Charleston, nineteen hundred in number, were transferred from buildings in the town to prison-ships, where they were joined by several hundred prisoners from Camden. In thirteen months one-third of the whole number perished by malignant fevers ; others were impressed into the British ser- vice as mariners ; several hundred young men were taken by violence on board transports, and forced to serve in a British regiment in Jamaica, leaving wives and young children to want. Of more than three thousand confined in prison-ships, all but about seven hundred were made away with.

On the capitulation of Charleston, eminent patriots remained prisoners on parole. Foremost among these stood the aged Christopher Gadsden, whose unselfish love of country was a constant encouragement to his countrymen never to yield. Before his majesty of character, the timid good were abashed and their oppressors were rebuked. His persuasive example of republican virtue could not be endured; and, therefore, eleven days after the American defeat, he and the equally inflexible Arthur Rutledge and many others were early in the morning taken from their houses by armed parties, atid transported to St. Augustine in violation of their stipulated rights. Gadsden and others refused to give a new parole, and were immured in the castle of St. Mark.

The system of slaveholding kept away from defen- sive'service not only more than half the population, whom the planters would not suffer to be armed, but

330 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, tlie numerous bodies who must watch the black men, v«L^_ if they were to be kept in bondage while war was 17 80. raging. Moreover, the moral force of their owners was apt to become enervated. Men deriving their livelihood from the labor of slaves ceased to respect labor, and shunned it as a disgrace. Some had not the courage to face the idea of poverty for them- selves, still less for their wives and children. Many fainted at the hard option between submission and ruin. Charles Pinckney, lately president of the South Carolina senate, classing himself among those who from the hurry and confusion of the times had been misled, desired to show every mark of alle- giance. Eawlins Lowndes, who but a few months before had been president of the state of South Car- olina, excused himself for having reluctantly given way to necessity, and accepted any test that might be required to prove that, with the unrestrained dic- tiites of his own mind, he now attached himself to the royal government. Henry Middleton, president of the first American congress, though still " partial to a cause for which he had been so long engaged," promised to do nothing to keep up the spirit of in- dependence, and to demean himself as a faithful subject.

But the people of South Carolina were never con- quered. From the moment of the fall of Charleston, Colonel James Williams, of the district of Ninety-Six, did not rest in gathering the armed friends of the union. From the region above Camden, Sumpter and his band hovered over all British movements. " Sumpter certainly has been our greatest plague in this country," writes Cornwallis.

CORNWALLIS. — MEN OF THE SOUTH AND WEST. 331

In the swamps between the Pedee and the Santee, chap. Marion and his men kept watch. Of a delicate organ- «— >^J^ ization, sensitive 4o truth and honor and right, hu- 1 7 8 o. mane, averse to bloodshed, never wreaking vengeance nor suffering those around him to do so, scrupulously respecting private property, he had the love and con- fidence of all people in that part of the country. Tarleton's legion had laid it waste to inspire, terror; and, in unrestrained freedom of motion, partisans gathered round Marion to redeem their land.

A body of three hundred royalist militia and two hundred regular troops had established a post at Mus- grove's Mills on the Enoree river. On the eighteenth ^^"gS- of August they were attacked by inferior numbers under Williams of Ninety-Six, and routed with sixty killed and more than that number wounded. Wil- liams lost but eleven.^

At dawn of the twentieth, a party, convoying a 20. hundred and fifty prisoners of the Maryland line, were crossing the great Savannah near Nelson's ferry on the Santee, on the route from Camden to Charleston, when Marion and his men sprang upon the guard, liberated the prisoners, and captured twenty-six of the escort.

" Colonel Marion," wrote Cornwallis, " so wrought on the minds of the people, that there was scarcely an inhabitant between the Pedee and the Santee that was not in arms against us. Some parties even crossed the Santee and carried terror to the gates of Charleston." Balfour, the commandant of Charles- ton, wrote home : " In vain we expected loyalty and attachment from the inhabitants ; they are the same 1 Fanning's Narrative, 12.

332 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, stuff as compose all Americans."^ The British his-

XVI

^^.^^ torian of the war, who was then in South Carolina, 17 8 0. relates that " almost the whole country seemed upon

the eve of a revolt." Sept. In the second week of September, when the heats of summer had abated, the earlier cereal grains had been harvested and the maize was nearly ripe, Corn- wallis began his projected march. He relied on the loyalists of North Carolina to recruit his army. On his left, Major Patrick Ferguson, the ablest British partisan, was sent with two hundred of the best troops to the uplands of South Carolina, where he enlisted young men of that country, loyalists who had fled to the mountains for security, and fugitives of the worst character who sought his standard for safety and the chances of plundering with impunity. The Cherokees had been encouraged during the summer to join insurgent loyalists in ravaging the American settlements west of the mountains as far as Chiswell's lead mines. Against this danger, Jeffer- son organized, in the south-western counties of the state of which he was the governor, a regiment of four hundred backwoodsmen under the command of Colonel William Campbell, brother-in-law of Patrick Henry; and in an interview with William Preston, the lieutenant of Washington county, as the south- west of Virginia was then called, he dwelt on the resources of the country, the spirit of congress, and the character of the people ; and for himself and for his state would admit no doubt that, in spite of all disasters, a continued vigorous resistance would bring the war to a happy issue.

^ Balfour to Strachey, 30 Aug., 1780, in Strachey Papers, 79, 80.

CORNWALLIS. — MEN OF THE SOUTH AND WEST. 333

At Waxhaw, Cornwallis halted for a few days, and, chap.. that he might eradicate the spirit of patriotism from ^-1^^ South Carolina before he passed beyond its borders, 17 80 he, on the sixteenth day of September, sequestered i«- by proclamation all estates belonging to the friends of America, and appointed a commissioner for the seizure of such estates, both real and personal. The concealment, removal, or injury of property doomed to confiscation, was punishable as an abetting of re- bellion. The sequestration extended to debts due to the person whose possessions were confiscated ; and, to prevent collusive practices, a great reward was offered to those who should make discovery of the concealment of negroes, horses, cattle, plate, house- hold furniture, books, bonds, deeds, and other prop- erty. To patriots no alternative was left but to fight against their country and their consciences, or to encounter exile and poverty.

The custom of military executions of Carolinians taken in arms was vigorously maintained, and the chiefs of the Cherokees were at that very time on their way to Augusta to receive the presents which were to stimulate their activity. Aware of their coming, Clark, a fugitive from Georgjia, forced his way back with one hundred riflemen ; having joined to them a body of woodsmen, he defeated the British garrison under Colonel Brown at Augusta, and captured the costly presents designed for the Cherokees. The moment was critical ; for Cornwallis, in his eagerness to draw strength to his own army, had not left a post or a soldier between Augusta and Savannah, and the alienated people had returned most reluctantly to a state of obedience. With a

334 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, corps of one hundred provincials and one hundred s-l^,— ^ Cherokees, Brown maintained a position on Garden 17 8 0. Hill for nearly a week, when he w^as rescued by Cruger from Ninety-Six. At his approach, the Americans retired. On the pursuit some of them were scalped and some taken prisoners. Of the lat- ter, Captain Ashby and twelve others were hanged under the eyes of Brown ; thirteen who were deliv- ered to the Cherokees were killed by tortures, or by the tomahawk, or were thrown into fires. Thirty in all were put to death by the orders of Brown.

Cruger desired to waylay and capture the retreat- ing party, and Ferguson eagerly accepted his invita- tion to join in the enterprise. Cruger moved with circumspection, taking care not to be led too far from the fortress of Ninety-Six; Ferguson was more ad- venturous, having always the army of Cornwallis on his right. On the waters of Broad river his party encountered Macdowell with one hundred and sixty militia from Burk and Eutherford counties in North Carolina, pursued them to the foot of the mountains, and left them no chance of safety but in fleeing beyond the AUeghanies.

During these events, Cornwallis encountered no serious impediment till he approached Charlotte. There his van was driven back by the fire of a small body of mounted men, commanded by Colonel Wil- liam Richardson Davie of North Carolina. The gen- eral rode up in person, and the American party was dislodged by Webster's brigade ; but not till the little band of mounted Americans, scarcely forty in num- ber, had for several minutes kept the British army at bay.

CORNWALLIS. — MEN OF THE SOUTH AND WEST. 335

From Charlotte Cornwallis pursued his course chap. towards Salisbury. Meantime, the fugitives under ^^^^^ Macdowell recounted the sorrows of their families to 1 7 8 o.

Sept.

the emigrant freemen on the Watauga, among whom slavery was scarcely known. The backwoodsmen, though remote from the world, love their fellow-men. In the pure air and life of the mountain and the forest, they join serenity with courage. They felt for those who had fled to them ; with one heart they resolved to restore the suppliants to their homes, and- for that purpose formed themselves into regiments under Isaac Shelby and John Sevier. Shelby de- spatched a messenger to William Campbell on the forks of Holston ; and the field-officers of south-west- ern Virginia unanimously resolved that he, with four hundred men, should join in the expedition. An express was sent to Colonel Cleaveland of North Carolina; and all were to meet at Burk county court-house, on the waters of the Catawba. The three regiments from the west of the AUeghanies under Campbell, Shelby, and Sevier, and the North Carolina fugitives under Macdowell, assembled on the twenty-fifth of September at Watauga. On the next 25. day — each man mounted on his own horse, armed 26. with his own rifle, and carrying his own store of pro- visions— they began the ride over the mountains, where the passes through the AUeghanies are the highest. Not even a bridle-path led through the forest, nor was there a house for forty miles between the Watauga and the Catawba. The men left their families in secluded valleys, distant one from the other, exposed not only to parties of royalists, but of Indians. In the evening of the thirtieth, they so.

336 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, formed a junction with the regiment of Colonel Ben- ^_-^_l. jamin Cleaveland, consisting of three hundred and 17 8 0. £f ty men from the North Carolina counties of Wilkes J- and Surrey. The next day Macdowell was despatched to request Gates to send them a general officer ; " till he should arrive, Campbell was chosen to act as com- mandant."

Ferguson, who had pursued the party of Macdowell to the foot of the Alleghanies, and had spread the ' terror of invasion beyond them, moved eastwardly towards Cornwallis by a road from Buffalo ford to King's Mountain, which offered ground for a strong encampment. Of the parties against him he thus wrote to Cornwallis : " They are become an object of consequence. I should hope for success against them myself ; but, numbers compared, that must be doubt- ful. Three or four hundred good soldiers, part dra- goons, would finish the business. Something must be done soon. This is their last push in this quarter."

On receiving this letter, Cornwallis ordered Tarle- ton to march with the light infantry, the British legion, and a three-pounder to his assistance.

At that time Colonel James Williams was about seventy miles from Salisbury, in the forks of the Ca- tawba, with nearly four hundred and fifty horsemen, in pursuit of Ferguson. Wise and vigilant, he kept out scouts on every side, scorning surprise ; and on 2. the second of October one of them brought him news that " rejoiced his heart," that one-half of the whole population beyond the mountains were drawing near.

Following a path between King's Mountain and the main ridge of the AUeghanies, " the western army," so they called themselves, under Campbell,

COKNWALLIS. — MEN OF THE SOUTH AND WEST. 337

already more than thirteen hundred strong, marched chap. to the Cowpens on Broad river, where, on the even- w-v— ' ing of the sixth, they were joined by WiUiams with 17 so. four hundred men. From WiUiams they learned e. nearly where Ferguson's party was encamped ; and a council of the principal officers decided to go that very night to strike them by surprise. For this end they picked out nine hundred of their best horsemen ; at eight o'clock on that same evening they began their march. Kiding all night, with the moon two days past its first quarter, on the afternoon of the seventh they were at the foot of King's Mountain. ^•

The little brook that ripples through the narrow valley flows in an easterly direction. The mountain, which rises a mile and a half south of the line of North Carolina, is the termination of a ridge that branches from the north-west to the south-east from a spur of the AUeghanies. The British, in number eleven hundred and twenty-five, of whom one hun- dred and twenty-five were regulars, were posted on its summit, " confident that they could not be forced from so advantageous a post," to which the approach was precipitously steep, the slaty rock cropping out in Craggy cliffs and forming natural breastworks along its sides and on its heights.

The Americans dismounted, and, though inferior in numbers, formed themselves into four columns. A part of Cleaveland's regiment headed by Major Win- ston, and Colonel Sevier's regiment, formed a large column on the right wing. The other part of Cleave- land's regiment, headed by Cleaveland himself, and the regiment of Wilhams, composed the left wing. The post of extreme danger was assigned to the

VOL. X 22

338 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, column formed by Campbell's regiment on the right ,_-^J^ centre, and Shelby's regiment on the left centre ; so 1 7 8 0. that Sevier's right nearly adjoined Shelby's left. The right and left wings were to pass the position of Fer- guson, and from opposite sides chmb the ridge in his rear, while the two central columns were to attack in front. In this order " the western army " ad- vanced to within a quarter of a mile of the enemy before they were discovered.

The two centre columns, headed by Campbell and Shelby, climbing the mountain, began the attack. Shelby, a man of the hardiest make, stiff as iron, among the dauntless singled out for dauntlessness, went right onward and upward like a man who had but one thing to do, and but one thought, — to do it. The British regulars with fixed bayonets charged Campbell; and his riflemen, who had no bayonets, were obliged to give way for a short distance ; but " they were soon rallied by their gallant commander and some of his active officers,"^ and "returned to the attack with additional ardor."

The two centre columns, with no aid but from a part of Sevier's regiment, kept up a furious and bloody battle^ with the British for ten minutes,^ Vhen the right and left wings of the Americans, advancing upon their flank and rear, " the fire became general

' Colonel Isaac Shelby to Colo- ' " About five minutes," Pro-

nel Arthur Campbell, 12 Oct., tocol of the officers; " about ten

1780. minutes," Colonel W. Campbell

^ Colonel Isaac Shelby, in the to Colonel Arthur Campbell, 20

National Intelligencer of 6 May, Oct., 1780; "about fifteen min-

182o. This later accoimt, written utes," Colonel Isaac Shelby to

in old age, and from memory, is Colonel Arthur Campbell, 12 Oct.,

not equal in authority to the state- 1780. ment and letters of Oct., 1780.

CORNWALLIS. MEN" OF THE SOUTH AND WEST. 339

all around." For fifty-five minutes longer the fire chap. on both sides was heavy and almost incessant. The — ^ regulars with bayonets could only make a momentary ^I^^^- impression. At last, the right wing gained the sum- mit of the eminence, and the position of the British was no longer tenable. Ferguson having been killed, the enemy attempted to retreat along the top of the ridge ; but, finding themselves held in check by the brave men of Williams and Cleaveland, Captain De- peyster, the commanding officer of the British, hoisted a flag. The firing immediately ceased ; the enemy laid down their arms and surrendered themselves prison- ers at discretion.

The loss of the British on that day was at least eleven hundred and four. Four hundred and fifty- six of them were either killed, or too severely wounded to leave the ground ; the number of prisoners was six hundred and forty-eight. On the American side the regiment of Campbell suffered more than any other in the action ; the total loss was twenty-eight killed and sixty wounded. But among those who fell was Colonel James Williams of Ninety-Six, a man of an exalted character, of a career brief but glorious. An ungenerous enemy revenged themselves for his vir- tues by nearly extirpating his family ; they could not take away his right to be remembered by his country with honor and affection to the latest time.

Among the captives there were house-burners and assassins. Private soldiers — who had witnessed the sorrows of women and children, robbed and wronged, shelterless, stripped of all clothes but what they wore, nestling about fires kindled on the ground, and mourn- ing for their fathers and husbands — executed nine or

340 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, ten in retaliation for the frequent and barbarous use

XVI •

v^-^ of the gallows at Camden^ Ninety-Six, and Augusta.

17 80. At once Campbell intervened, and in general or- ders, by threatening the delinquents with certain and effectual punishment, secured protection to the prisoners.^

Just below the forks of the Catawba the tidings of the defeat reached Tarleton ; his party in all haste rejoined Cornwallis. The victory at King's Moun- tain, which in the spirit of the American soldiers was like the rising at Concord, in its effects like the suc- cesses at Bennington, changed the aspect of the war. The loyalists of North Carolina no longer dared rise. It fired the patriots of the two Carolinas with fresh zeal. It encouraged the fragments of the defeated and scattered American army to seek each other and organ- ize themselves anew. It quickened the North Car- olina legislature to earnest efforts. It encouraged Virginia to devote her resources to the country south of her border. The appearance on the frontiers of a numerous enemy from settlements beyond the moun- tains, whose very names had been unknown to the British, took Cornwallis by surprise, and their success was fatal to his intended expedition. He had hoped to step with ease from one Carolina to the other, and from these to the conquest of Virginia ; and he had now no choice but to retreat.

On the evening of the fourteenth, his troops began their march back from Charlotte to the Catawba ford. The men of Mecklenburg and Kowan counties had disputed his advance ; they now harassed his foraging parties, intercepted his despatches, and cut

1 Campbell's General Orders, 11 Oct., 1780.

14.

COENWALLIS. — MEN OF THE SOUTH AND WEST. 341

off his communications. Soldiers of the mihtia chap.

XVI.

hung on his rear. Twenty wagons were captured, >— v— ' laden with stores and the knapsacks of the light 17 80. infantry legion. Single men would ride within gun- shot of the. retreating army, discharge their rifles, and escape.

The Catawba ford was crossed with difficulty on account of a great fall of rain. For two days the royal forces remained in the Catawba settlement, Cornwallis suffering from fever, the army from want of forage and provisions. The command on the re- treat fell to Kawdon. The soldiers had no tents. For several days it rained incessantly. Waters and deep mud choked the roads. At night the army bi- vouacked in the woods in unwholesome air. Some- times it was without meat ; at others without bread. For five days it lived upon Indian-corn gathered from the fields, five ears being the day's allowance for two soldiers. But for the personal exertions of the mili- tia, most of whom were mounted, the army would not have been supported in the field ; and yet, in return for their exertions, they were treated with derision and even beaten by insolent British officers. After a march of fifteen days, the army encamped at Winnsborough, an intermediate station between Cam- den and Ninety-Six.

All the while Marion had been on the alert. Twc hundred tories had been sent in September to sur- Sept prise him ; and with but fifty-three men he first sur- prised a part of his pursuers, and then drove the main body to flight.

At Black Mingo, on the twenty-eighth, he made a 28. successful attack on a guard of sixty militia, and took

342 AMERICAN" INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, prisoners those who were under its escort. The Brit-

XVI

s— ^ ish were burning houses on Little Pedee, and he per- 17 8 0. mitted his men of that district to return to protect their wives and famihes ; but he would not suffer retaliation, and wrote with truth : " There is not one house burned by my orders or by any of my people. It is what I detest, to distress poor women and chil- dren."

" I most sincerely hope you will get at Mr. Marion/* Nov. wrote Cornwallis on the fifth of November, as he de- spatched Tarleton in pursuit of him. This officer and his corps set fire to all the houses, and destroyed all the corn from Camden down to Nelson's ferry ; beat the widow of a general officer because she could not tell where Marion was encamped, burned down her dwelling, laid waste everything about it, and did not leave her a change of raiment. The line of his march could be traced by groups of houseless women and children, once of ample fortune, sitting round fires in the open air.

As for Marion, after having kept his movements secret, and varied his encampment every night, his numbers increased; then, selecting a strong post " within the dark morass," he defied an attack. But just at that moment Tarleton was recalled in haste to repel new dangers impending from another quarter.

Sumpter had rallied the patriots in the country above Camden, and in frequent skirmishes kept the field. Mounting his partisans, he intercepted British supplies of all sorts, and sent parties within fourteen miles of Winnsborough. Having ascertained the number and position of his troops, Cornwallis de- spatched a party under Major Wemyss against him.

CORNWALLIS. — MEN OF THE SOUTH AND WEST. 343

After a march of twenty-four miles with mounted chap. infantry, Wemyss reached Fishdam on Broad river, ---^ — - the camp of General Sumpter, and at the head of his ^^^^^' corps charged the picket. The attack was repelled ; he himself was wounded and taken prisoner. A j|iem- orandum was found upon him of houses burned by his command. He had hanged Adam Cusack, a Car- olinian, who had neither given his parole nor accepted protection nor served in the patriot army ; yet his cap- tors would not harm a man who was their prisoner.

The position of the British in the upper country became precarious. Sumpter passed the Broad river, formed a junction with Clark and Brennan, and threat- ened Ninety-Six. Tarleton was therefore suddenly recalled from the pursuit of Marion, and ordered to take the nearest path against Sumpter. One regi- ment was sent forward to join him on his march; another followed for his support. Apprised of Tarle- ton's approach, Sumpter posted himself strongly on the plantation of Blackstock. At five in the after- noon of the twentieth of November, Tarleton drew 20. near in advance of his hght infantry ; and with two hundred and fifty mounted men he made a precipi- tate attack on Sumpter's superior force. The hill-side in front of the Americans was steep ; their rear was protected by the rapid river Tyger; their left was covered by a large barn of logs, between which the riflemen could fire with security. The sixty-third British regiment having lost its commanding officer, two lieutenants, and one-third of its privates, Tarle- ton retreated, leaving his wounded to the mercy of the victor. The loss of Sumpter was very small ^ but being himself disabled by a severe wound, he

344 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, crossed the Tyerer, takinp^ his wounded men with XVI. - . *^^ ' °

s— >^.^ mm.

17 8 0. By the lavish distribution of presents, the Indian agents obtained promises from the chiefs of twenty- five Jiundred Cherokees, and a numerous body of Creeks to lay waste the settlements on the Watauga, Holstein, Kentucky, and Nolachuckie, and even to extend their ravages to the Cumberland and Green rivers; so that the attention of the mountaineers might be diverted to their own immediate concerns. Moreover, Cornwallis gave orders to the re-enforce- ment of three thousand sent by Clinton into the Chesapeake to embark for Cape Fear river. So ended the first attempt of Cornwallis to penetrate to Virginia. He was driven back by the sponta- neous risings of the southern and south-western people ; and the unwholesome exhalations of autumn swept men from every garrison in the low country faster than Great Britain could replace them.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE RISE OF FREE COMMONWEALTHS. 1780.

Freedom is of all races and of all nationalities. It ^*f- is in them all older than bondage, and ever rises again >— v — - from the enslavements laid on by the hand of violence ^ "^ ^ ^• or custom or abuse of power ; for the rights of man spring from eternal law, are kept alive by the persist- ent energy of constant nature, and by their own in- destructibility prove their lineage as the children of omnipotence.

In an edict of the eighth of August, 1779, Louis 17 79. the Sixteenth announced "his regreifc that many of his subjects were still without personal liberty and the prerogatives of property, attached to the glebe, and, so to say, confounded with it." To all serfs on the estates of the crown he therefore gave back personal liberty, security in the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor, with the rights of family and inheritance. It was his wish to do away, as 17 80. with torture, so with every vestige of a rigorous

346 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, feudalism; but lie was restrained by his respect for

XVII. .

w-^ — ' the laws of property, which he held to be the ground-

17 80. -vvork of order and justice. The delivei'ing up of a runaway serf was in all cases forbidden ; for emanci- pation, outside of his own domains, he did no more than give leave to other proprietors to follow his ex- ample, to which, from mistaken selfishness, even the clergy would not conform. But the words of the king spoken to all France deeply branded the wrong of keeping Frenchmen in bondage to Frenchmen.

17 8 2. jj^ Oberyssel, a province of the Netherlands, Baron van der Capellen tot den Pol, the friend of America, had seen with the deepest sorrow the survival of the ancient system of villanage ; and, in sj)fte of the re- sistance and sworn hatred of almost all the nobles, he, in 1782, brought about its complete abolition.

Here the movement for emancipation during the American revolution ceased for the old world. " He that says slavery is opposed to Christianity is a liar," wrote Luther in the sixteenth century. " The laws of all nations sanction slavery ; to condemn it is to condemn the Holy Ghost," were the words of Bossuet near the end of the seventeenth. In the last quarter of the eighteenth, the ownership of white men by white men still lighted more than the half of Europe.

17 8 0. The evil shielded itself under a new plea, where a difference of skin set a visible mark on the victims of commercial avarice, and strengthened the ties of selfishness by the pride of race. Yet at that time the United States, as a nation, wished treaties of the most perfect friendship and commerce with the emperor of Morocco. In England Edmund Burke seemed to be singled out to lead an impassioned war-

THE EISE OF FREE COMMO]S"WEALTHS. 347

fare against negro slavery; and in 1780 he tasked chap. himself to find out what laws could check the new ^3^ form of servitude which wrapt all quarters of the 17 80. globe in its baleful influences. Deliberating calmly on what could be done, and reverenced by one-half of his countrymen as an oracle on questions of liberty, he did not see a ghmmering of hope even for an abo- lition of the trade in slaves, and only aimed at estab- lishing regulations for their safe and comfortable transportation. He was certain that no one of them was ever so beneficial to the master as a freeman who deals with him on equal footing by convention, that the consumer in the end is always the dupe of his own tyranny and injustice ; yet he suggested nothing more for slave plantations than some supervision by the state, and some mitigation of the power of the master to divide families by partial sales. Burke for himself inclined to a gradual emancipation ; yet his code for the negroes was founded on the conviction that slavery was " an incurable evil." Overborne by the opinion of those around him, he sought only to make it as small an evil as possible, and to draw out of it some collateral good.

George the Third was the fast friend of the slave- trade ; and Thurlow, one of his chancellors, so late as 1799 insisted that slavery was sanctioned by Scrip- ture, and that the bill to terminate the slave-trade was " altogether miserable and contemptible." Yet the quality of our kind is such that a government cannot degrade a race without marring the nobleness of human nature.

So long as the legislation of the several English colonies in America remained subject to the veto

348 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, of the king, all hope of forbidding or even limiting

w-^.^ the bringing of negro slaves into them was with-

17 8 0. stood by the mother country. Now that they were

free, the end of slavery might come either from the

central government or from the several states.

17 7 4. We have seen how the first congress formed an

association "wholly to discontinue the slave-trade,"

and also how the denunciation of the slave-trade and

of slavery by Jefferson in his draft of the declaration

17 7 6. of independence was rejected by the congress of 1776

in deference to South Carolina and Georgia.

A few days later, in the earliest debates on the plan of confederation, the antagonism between the north- ern and southern states, founded on climate, pursuits, and labor, broke out on the first effort to unite them permanently. When members from the north spoke freely of the evil of slavery, a member from South Carolina declared that " if property in slaves should be questioned, there must be an end of confedera- tion." In the same month, the vote on taxing per- sons claimed as property laid bare the existence of a territorial division of parties ; the states north of Mason and Dixon's line voting compactly on the one side, and those south of that line which were duly represented, on the other. 17 78. The clashing between the two sections fastened the attention of reflecting observers.^ In August,

^ That this antagonism between zot, when minister of foreign af- the north and south went back to fairs in France, with that largeness the old congress and showed itself of liberality which belonged to his in an ever re-appearing division of own high position in the world of parties was told me nearly forty letters and his constant devoted- years ago by Mr. Madison. The ness to the ascertainment of his- ability to trace this antagonism toric truth, opened the archives of in detail I owe very much to M. his country for my unrestricted Guizot and M. Mignet. M. Gui- inspection. Full effect was given

THE RISE OF FREE COMMONWEALTHS. 349

1778, soon after the reception at Philadelphia of chap. an envoy from France, he reported to Yergennes : w~^— ^ "The states of the south and of the north, under 17 78. existing subjects of division and estrangement, are two distinct parties, which at present count but few deserters. The division is attributed to moral and philosophical causes.'* He further reported that the cabal against Washington found supporters exclu- sively in the north.

The French minister desired to repress the am- bition of congress for the acquisition of territory, because it might prove an obstacle to connection with Spain ; and he found support in northern men. Their hatred of slavery was not an impulse of feel- ing, but an earnest conviction. No one could declare himself more strongly for the freedom of the negro than Gouverneur Morris of New York, a man of busi- ness and a man of pleasure. His hostility to slavery brought him into some agreement with the policy of Gerard, to whom one day in October he said that Spain would have no cause to fear the great body of the con- federation, for reciprocal jealousy and separate inter- ests would never permit its members to unite against her ; that several of the most enlio-htened of his col- leagues were struck with the necessity of establishing a law " de coercendo imperio," setting bounds to their

to his permission by M. Mignet, Philadelphia to their government who at that time was superin- contain the most complete reports tendent of the French archives ; which exist of the discussions in and to whom I am under the great- congress from 1778 to the adoption. est obligations for efficient aid of the constitution in 1789. Con- in furthering my inquiries. The gress sat, it is true, with closed French archives are rich in mate- doors; but the French ministers rials for every branch of history, knew how to obtain information In one they are unique. The de- on every proceeding that interested spatches of the French envoys at their country.

350 AMERICAN" INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, jurisdiction ; that the provinces of the south already w^ very much weakened the confederation ; that further 17 79. extension on that side would immeasurably augment this inconvenience ; that the south was the seat of wealth and of weakness ; that the poverty and vigor of the north would always be the safeguard of the republic ; and that on this side lay the necessity to expand and to gain strength ; that the navigation of the Mississippi below the mouth of the Ohio should belong exclusively to Spain, as the only means of retaining the numerous population which would be formed between the Ohio and the lakes ; that the in- habitants of these new and immense countries, be they English or be they Americans, having the outlet of the river St. Lawrence on the one side and that of the Mississippi on the other, would be in a condition to domineer over the United States and over Spain, or to make themselves independent, — that on this point there was, therefore, a common interest. Some dread of the relative increase of the south may have mixed with the impatient earnestness with which two at least of the New England states demanded the acquisition of Nova Scotia as indispensable to their safety, and therefore to be secured at the purification with England. The leader in this policy was Samuel Adams, whom the French minister always found in his way.

The question of recruiting the army by the enlist- ment of black men forced itself on attention. The several states employed them as they pleased, and the slave was enfranchised by the service. Once congress touched on the delicate subject; and in March, 1779, it recommended Georgia and South

THE RISE OF FREE COMMONWEALTHS. 351

Carolina to raise three thousand active, able-bodied chap.

XVII

negro men under thirty-five years of age ; and the ^^-^ recommendation was coupled with a promise of "a 17 7 9. full compensation to the proprietors of such negroes for the property." The resolution appears to have been adopted without opposition, North and South Carolina having both been represented in the com- mittee that reported it. But South Carolina refused by great majorities to give effect to the scheme.

So long as Jefferson was in congress he kept Vir- ginia and Massachusetts in a close and unselfish union, of which the unanimous assertion of independence was the fruit. When he withdrew to service in his native commonwealth, their friendship lost something of its disinterestedness. Virginia manifested its discontent by successive changes in its delegation, and the two great states came more and more to represent differ- ent classes of culture and ideas and interests. On observing congress thus "rent by party," Wash- ington " raised his voice and called upon George Mason and Jefferson to come forth to save their country."

In 1779, when the prosperity of New England had been shown to depend on the fisheries, and when pathetic appeals, not unmingled with menaces, had been used prodigally and without effect, Samuel Adams said rashly, that " it would become more and more necessary for the two empires to separate." On the other hand, when the north offered a preHm- inary resolution, that the country, even if deserted by France and Spain, would continue the war for the sake of the fisheries, we have seen four states read the draft of a protest declaring peremptorily

352 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, that, if the resolution should be adopted, they would

s_^ withdraw from the confederation.^

17 7 9. In the assertion of the sovereignty of each separate state, there was no distinction between north and south. Massachusetts expressed itself as absolutely as South Carolina. As a consequence, the confedera- tion could contain no interdict of the slave-trade, and the importation of slaves would therefore remain open to any state according to its choice. When on the seventeenth of June, 1779, a renunciation of the power to engage in the slave-trade was proposed as an article to be inserted in the treaty of peace, all the states, Georgia alone b.eing absent, refused the concession by the votes of every member except Jay and Gerry.

17 80. The rigid assertion of the sovereignty of each state fostered mutual jealousy. Luzerne, the French en- voy who succeeded Gerard, soon came to the conclu- sion that the confederacy would run the risk of an early dissolution if it should give itself up to the hatred which began to show itseK between the north and south.

Vermont, whose laws from the first never bore with slavery, knocked steadily at the door of congress to

17 81. be taken in as a state. In August, 1781, its envoys were present in Philadelphia, entreating admission. Their papers were in order ; the statesmen of New York gave up their opposition ; and congress seemed well disposed to admit the applicant : but resistance developed itself in the states of the south ; for it was held by them that the admission of Vermont would destroy "the balance of power" between the two

' Above, 218.

THE RISE OF FREE COMMONWEALTHS. 353

sections of the confederacy, and give the preponder- chap. ance to the north. The idea was then started, that -1^.^ the six states south of Mason and Dixon's Hne should 1 7 8 1. be concihated by a concession of a seventh vote which they were to exercise in common : but the proposal, though it formed a subject of conversation, was never brought before congress; and Vermont was left to wait till a southern state could simulta- neously be received into the union.

In regard to the foreign relations of the country, congress was divided between what the French envoy named " Galileans " and " anti-Gallicans : " the south- erners were found more among the " Galileans ; " the north was suspected of a partiality for England.

There was no hope of the delivery of the country from the anomaly of slavery by the concurrent action of the members of congress. It was but a minority of them who kept in mind that an ordinance of man can never override natural law, and that in the great high court of the eternal Providence justice forges her weapon long before she strikes. What part was chosen by each separate state must be recounted.

In no one state did its constitution abridge the power of its legislature over slavery, even to its total abolition. In no one constitution did the word " slave " or " slavery " find a place, except in that of Delaware, and there only by way of a formal and perpetual pro- hibition. They are found as little in that of South Carolina (which was already the leading champion of negro bondage) as in that of Massachusetts.

In the north the severity of the climate, the pov- erty of the soil, and the all-pervading habit of labori- ous industry among its people, which grew out of the

VOL. X. 23

354 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, original motives to their emifirration and was the char-

XVII. .

w-^,.^ acter of all their development, set narrow limits to

^7 81. slavery; in the states nearest the tropics it throve luxuriously, and its influence entered into their in- most political life. Yirginia with soil and tempera- ture and mineral wealth inviting free and skilled labor, yet with lowland where the negro attained his perfect physical development, stood as mediator be- tween the two. Many of her statesmen — George Mason, Patrick Henry, Jefferson, Wythe, Pendleton, Richard Henry Lee — emulated each other in their confession of the iniquity and inexpediency of hold- ing men in bondage. We have seen the legislature

17 72. of colonial Virginia in 1772, in their fruitless battle with the king respecting the slave-trade, of which he was the great champion, demand its abolition as need- ful for their happiness and their very existence. In

17 73. January, 1773, Patrick Henry threw ridicule and con- tempt on the clergy of Virginia for their opposition to emancipation. In that same year, George Mason, demanding improvements in the constitution of the Old Dominion, addressed to its legislature these mem- orable words :

"Mean and sordid, but extremely short-sighted and foolish, is that self-interest which, in political ques- tions, opposeth itself to the public good : a wise man can no other way so effectually consult the permanent welfare of his own family and posterity as by secur- ing the just rights and privileges of that society to which they belong.

" Perhaps the constitution may by degrees work itself clear by its own innate strength, the virtue and resolution of the commvmity, as hath often been the

THE RISE OF FREE COMMONWEALTHS. 355

case in our mother country. This last is the natural chap.

XVII.

remedy, if not counteracted by that slow poison which w^ is daily contaminating the minds and morals of our 17 7 3. people. Every gentleman here is born a petty ty- rant. Practised in acts of despotism and cruelty, we become callous to the dictates of humanity and all the finer feehngs of the soul. Taught to regard a part of our own species in the most abject and contempt- ible degree below us, we lose that idea of the dignity of man which the hand of nature hath planted in us for great and useful purposes. Habituated from our infancy to trample upon the rights of human nature, every generous, every liberal sentiment, if not extinguished, is enfeebled in our minds ; and in such an infernal school are to be educated our future leg- islators and rulers. The laws of impartial Providence may even by such means as these avenge upon our posterity the injury done to a set of wretches whom our injustice hath debased to a level with the brute creation. These remarks were extorted by a kind of irresistible, perhaps an enthusiastic impulse ; and the author of them, conscious of his own good intentions, cares not whom they please or offend."

When the constituent convention of Virginia 17 76. adopted their declaration of rights as the founda- tion of government for themselves and their poster- ity, they set forth in the words of George Mason, that all men are by nature equally free and have in- herent rights ; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, the means of acquiring property and pursu- ing happiness : yet the authoritative proclamation of the equal rights of all men brought no immediate relief to the enslaved.

356 ' AMERICAN Iia)EPENDENCE.

CHAP. In 1778, Yirginia prohibited what, under the su- vl-.,-^ premacy of England, she could not have prohibited, 17 7 8. — the introduction of any slave by land or sea, and ordered the emancipation of every slave introduced from abroad. But the bill respecting resident slaves, prepared by the three commissioners for codifying the laws, was a mere digest of existing enactments. Its authors agreed in wishing that the assembly might provide by amendment for the freedom of the after- born ; but the thought bore no fruit, and was more- over blended with the idea of their deportation. The 17 7 9. statute drafted by Jefferson, and in 1779 proposed by Mason to define who shall be citizens of Yirginia, de- clared the natural right of expatriation in opposition to the English assertion of perpetual allegiance, and favored naturalization ; but it confined alike the right of expatriation and citizenship to white men. 17 80. In 1780, Madison expressed the msh that black men might be set free and then made to serve in the army. And this was often done by individuals. Be- fore the end of the same year, Virginia offered a bounty not of money and lands only, but of a negro to each white man who would enlist for the war. 17 82. In May, 1782, just thirteen years after Jefferson had brought in a bill giving power of unconditional emancipation to the masters of slaves, the measure was adopted by the legislature of Virginia. Under this act more slaves received their freedom than were hber- ated in Pennsylvania or in Massachusetts. Even had light broken in on Jefferson's mind through the gloom in which the subject was involved for him, Virginia would not have accepted from him a plan for making Virginia a free commonw^ealth ; but there is no evi-

THE RISE OF FKEE COMMONWEALTHS. 357

dence tliat he ever reconciled himself to the idea of chap. emancipated black men living side by side with white •^ men as equal sharers in political rights and duties and 17 8 2. powers. The result of his efforts and reflections he uttered in these ominous forebodings: "Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free ; nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government."

In bondage to these views, Jefferson was not com- petent to solve the problem ; and so early as 1782, in the helplessness of despair, he dismissed it from his thoughts as a practical question, with these words : "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God. is just, that his justice cannot sleep for ever. The way, T hope, is preparing under the auspices of Heaven for a total emancipation."

At that time Washington was a kind and consider- ate master of slaves, without as yet a title to the char- acter of abolitionist. By slow degrees the sentiment grew up in his mind that to hold men in bondage was a wrong ; that Virginia should proceed to emancipa- tion by general statute of the state ; that, if she re- fused to do so, each individual should act for his own household.

Next in order comes Delaware, which on the twen- tieth of September, 1776, adopted its constitution as 17 76. an independent state. In proportion to its numbers, it had excelled all in the voluntary emancipation of slaves. Its constitution absolutely prohibited the in- troduction of any slave from Africa, or any slave for sale from any part of the world, as an article which " ought never to be violate^d on any pretence what-

358 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, ever.'' But, beyond this, Delaware left the progress

v_--^_!^ of emancipation to the good-will of the slave-holders.

17 7 9. In the constituent convention of New York, Gouv- erneur Morris struggled hard for measures tending to abolish domestic slavery, " so that in future ages every human being, who breathed the air of the state, might enjoy the privileges of a freeman." The proposition, though strongly supported, especially by the interior and newer counties, was lost by the vote of the coun- ties on the Hudson. " The constitution," wrote Jay, on its adoption in 1777, "is like a harvest cut before it is ripe; the grain has shrunk;" and he lamented the want of a clause against the continuance of do- mestic slavery. Still the declaration of independence was incorporated into the constitution of New York ; and all its great statesmen were abolitionists.

17 7 7. It has already been narrated that, in 1777, the people of Vermont, in separating themselves formally and finally from the jurisdiction of New York, framed a constitution which prohibited slavery.

17 78. In July, 1778, William Livingston, the governor of New Jersey, invited the assembly to lay the founda- tion for the manumission of the negroes. At the re- quest of the house, which thought the situation too critical for the immediate discussion of the measure, the message was withdrawn. " But I am determined," wrote the governor, " as far as my influence extends, to push the matter till it is effected, being convinced that the practice is utterly inconsistent with the prin- ciples of Christianity and humanity; and in Amer- icans, who have almost idolized liberty, peculiarly odious and disgraceful." Of the two Jerseys, slavery had struck deeper root in .the East from the original

THE RISE OF FREE COMMONWEALTHS. • 359

policy of its proprietaries ; the humane spirit of the chap. Society of Friends ruled opinion in West Jersey. ^^^-^

The name of Pennsylvania was dear throughout 17 7 8. the world as the symbol of freedom; her citizens proved her right to her good report by preparing to abolish slavery. The number of their slaves had grown to be about six thousand, differing little from the number in Massachusetts, and being in proportion to the whole population much less than in New York or in New Jersey. In 1777, in the heads of a bill proposed by the council, a suggestion was made for ridding the state of slavery. The retreat of the Brit- ish from Philadelphia, and the restoration to Pennsyl- vania of peace within its borders, called forth in its people a sentiment of devout gratitude. Under its in- fluence, George Bryan, then vice-president, in a message to the assembly of the ninth of November, 1778, pressed upon their attention the bill proposed in the former year for manumitting infant negroes born of slaves, and thus in an easy mode abrogating slavery, the opprobrium of America. " In divesting the state of slaves," said Bryan, "you will equally serve the cause of humanity and policy, and offer to God one of the most proper and best returns of gratitude for his great deliverance of us and our posterity from thral- dom ; you will also set your character for justice and benevolence in the true point of view to all Europe, who are astonished to see a people struggling for lib- erty holding negroes in bondage."

On becoming president of the executive council of 1779. Pennsylvania, Joseph Keed, speaking for himself and the council, renewed the recommendation to abolish slavery gradually and to restore and establish by the

360 • AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, law in Pennsylvania the rights of human nature. In vl^— ^ the autumn of 1779, George Bryan had been returned 17 7 9. as a member of the assembly. In the committee to which on his motion the subject was referred, he pre- pared a new preamble and the draft of the law for gradual emancipation; and on the twenty-ninth of 17 80. February, 1780, it was adopted by a vote of thirty- four to twenty-one. So Pennsylvania led the way towards introducing freedom for all. "Our bill," wrote George Bryan to Samuel Adams, "astonishes and pleases the Quakers. They looked for no such benevolent issue of our new government, exercised by presbyterians." The Friends, well pleased at the unexpected law, became better reconciled to the form of government by w^hich they had been grievously disfranchised.

The constitution of South Carolina of 1778 con- tained no bill of rights, and confined political power exclusively to white men ; but from the first settle- ment of the state, slavery formed a primary element in its social organization. When Governor Eutledge in 1780 came to Philadelphia, he reported that the negroes, who in the low country outnumbered the whites as six to one, offered up their prayers in favor of England, in the hope that she would give them a chance to escape from slavery. But British officers, regarding negroes as valuable spoil, defeated every plan for employing them as soldiers on the side of England. 17 7 6. The puritans of Massachusetts and their descend- ants, though they tolerated slavery, held that slaves had rights. Laws on marriage and against adultery were applied to them ; and they were allowed, like

THE RISE OF FKEE COMMONWEALTHS. 361

others, to give their testimony even in capital cases, chap. At the opening of the revolution, Wilham Gordon, ^^ the congregationalist minister of Roxbm-y, though he 17 7 7. declined to "unsaint" every man who still yielded to the prevailing prejudice, declared with others against perpetuating slavery, and in November, 1776, pub- lished in the " Independent Chronicle " a plan sent from Connecticut for its gradual extermination out of that colony. In the same month and in the same newspaper, " a son of liberty " demanded the repeal of all laws supporting slavery, because they were " contrary to sound reason and revelation." ^ In Jan- uary, 1777, seven negro slaves joined in petitioning the general court " that they might be restored to that freedom which is the natural right of all men, and that their children might not be held as slaves after they arrive at the age of twenty-one years." This petition was referred to a very able committee, on which are the names of Sergeant and John Lowell of Boston, both zealous abolitionists ; the latter then the leading lawyer in the state.

In May, 1777, just before the meeting of the gen- eral court at Boston, Gordon, finding in the multi- plicity of business before the general court the only apology for their not having attended to the case of slaves, as a preliminary to total emancipation asked for a final stop to the public and private sale of them by an act of the state. Clothing the argument of Montesquieu in theological language, he said: "If God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth, I can see no reason why a black rather than a white man should

^ Moore's History of Slavery in Massachusetts, 177.

362 AMERICAN INDEPENDEXCE.

CHAP, be a slave." A few weeks later, the first leo-islature

XVII . .

w.^ elected in Massachusetts after the declaration of in- 17 7 7. dependence listened to the second reading of a bill which declared slavery " without justification in a government of which the people are asserting their natural rights to freedom," and had for its object "to fix a day on which all persons above twenty-one years of age then held in slavery should be free and entitled to all the rights, privileges, and immunities that be- long to any of the subjects of this state." A com- mittee was directed to take the opinion of congress on the subject, but no answer from congress appears on record, nor any further consideration of the bill by the Massachusetts legislature.^

In his presidency, Hancock had shown proclivities to the south. When on his resignation in October a motion was made to give him the thanks of congress for his impartiality in office, the three northernmost states of New England voted in the negative, while the south was unanimous in his favor. After his arrival in Boston, the two branches of the general court saw fit to form themselves into a constituent convention, for which some of the towns had given authority to their representatives. In the winter 17 78. session of 1778, the draft of a plan of government was taken into consideration. One of the proposed clauses took from Indians, negroes, and mulattoes the right to vote. Against this disfranchisement was cited the example of Pennsylvania, which gave the suffrage to all freemen. " Should the clause not be reprobated by the convention," said an orator, "I still hope that there will be found among the people

* Moore's History of Slavery in Massachusetts, 183.

THE RISE OF FREE COMMONWEALTHS. 363

at large virtue enough to trample under foot a form chap of government which thus saps the foundation of w^ civil liberty and tramples on the rights of man." 17 78. Another clause confined the highest offices to Prot- estants.

On the submission of the constitution to the people, objections were made that it contained no declaration of rights ; that it gave the governor and lieutenant- governor seats in the senate ; that it disfranchised the free negro, a partiality warmly denounced through the press by the historian, William Gordon. There was, moreover, dissatisfaction with the legislature for having assumed constituent powers without authority from the people. Boston, while it recommended a convention for framing a constitution, gave its vote unanimously against the work of the legislature ; and the commonwealth rejected it by a vote of five to one.

The history of the world contains no record of a people which in the institution of its government moved with the caution which now marked the pro- ceedings of Massachusetts. In February, 1779, the 17 79. legislature of the year asked their constituents whether they desired a new form of government ; and a large majority of the inhabitants of the towns voting in the affirmative, a convention of delegates was elected for the sole purpose of forming a constitution. On the first day of September, the convention thus chosen came together in the meeting-house of Cambridge. Their forefathers, in their zeal against the Eoman superstition, had carried their reverence of the Bible even to idolatry; and some of them, like Luther, found in its letter a sanction for holding slaves. On the other hand, from principle and habit, they honored

3C4 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP honest labor in all its forms. The inconsistencies of >_^ bondage with the principle of American independ- 17 7 9. ence lay in the thoughts of those who led pubHc opinion ; voices against it had come from Essex, from Worcester, from Boston, from the western counties, showing that the conscience of the people was of- fended by its continuance.

The first act of the constituent body was " the con- sideration of a declaration of rights;" and then they resolved unanimously "that the government to be framed by this convention for the people of Massa- chusetts Bay shall be a free republic." This reso- lution was deemed so important, that liberty was reserved for the members of a committee who were absent to record their votes upon it ; and on the next morning they declared " their full and free assent." A committee of thirty, composed for the common- wealth at large and for each county excepting the unrepresented county of Dukes and Nantucket, was appointed to prepare a declaration of rights and the form of a constitution. But the house itself continued its free conversation on these subjects till sunset of the sixth of September. The next day it ad- journed for more than seven weeks, that its com- mittee might have time to transact the important business assigned them.

On the thirteenth of September, the committee as- sembled at the new court-house in Boston. Among them were Bowdoin, who was president of the con- vention; Samuel Adams; John Lowell'; Jonathan Jackson of Newburyport, who thought that the hb- erty which America achieved for itself should pre- vail without limitation as to color ; Parsons, a young

THE RISE OF FREE COMMONWEALTHS. 365

lawyer of the greatest promise, from Newbury port ; chap. and Strong of Northampton. John Adams had ar- w^ rived opportunely from France, to which he did not 1 7 7 9. return till November ; and was so far the " princi- pal " agent in writing out the first draft of the con- stitution, that it was reputed to be his work. There are no means of distributing its parts to their sev- eral authors with certainty. No one was more de- termined for two branches of the legislature with a veto in the governor than John Adams. To him also more than to any other may be ascribed the complete separation of both branches from appoint- ments to office. The provisions for the total aboli- tion of slavery mark the influence of John Lowell. " To Bowdoin was due the form of some of its most admired sections.'*

On the afternoon of the twenty-eighth of October, the committee appointed to prepare a form of govern- ment reported a draft of a constitution; and on the next day the convention adopted the first article of a declaration of rights, which was couched in the spirit and almost in the language of George Mason and Virginia : " All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights, among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties ; that of ac- quiring, possessing, and protecting property ; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happi- ness." The lawyers of Virginia had not considered this declaration as of itself working the emancipation of negro slaves ; to accomplish that end, the men of Massachusetts, in deciding how many of their old laws should remain in full force, excepted those parts which

366 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, were " repugnant to tlie rights and liberties contained

w-^ in this constitution."

17 8 0. As the delegates gave the closest attention to every line and word in the constitution, this clause did not come up for consideration till the last day of Janu- ary, 1780, in an adjourned session. Eoads having been made for a time impassable by deep snows, there were still many absentees; and, though a quorum was present, the consideration of this ques- tion was from its importance deferred. For a month, therefore, other clauses were discussed and settled ; and then in a full convention, after deliberation and amendment, this most momentous article of all was adopted. So calm and effortless was the act by which slavery fell away from Massachusetts. Its people wrought with the power of nature, which never toils, never clothes violence with arms, but achieves its will through the might of overruling law. There is in the world a force tending to improvement, and making itself felt within us and around us, with which we can work, but which exists independently of us, and which it is above our ability to call into being or to destroy. The manner in which Massachusetts left slavery behind, as of the dead and irrevocable past, was the noblest that could have been devised. The inborn, inalienable right of man to freedom was writ- ten in the permanent constitution as the law of all coming legislation. The highest voice of morality speaks to the whole universe of moral being, and utters for all its one inflexible command. When by its all-persuasive force the men of Massachusetts abol- ished slavery, the decision had the character of primal justice and the seal of undying authority. Yet had

THE RISE OF FREE COMMONWEALTHS. 367

they remained dependent, the veto of the British chap. king would have prevented their aboHtion of slavery, ^^-^^ as it had prevented every measure for abolishing or 1 7 8 o. restricting the slave-trade.

In an able address to their constituents, the dele- gates explained the grounds on which their decisions rested, and called on them in their several towns and plantations to judge " whether they had raised their superstructure upon the principles of a free common- wealth." Reassembling on the first Wednesday in June, they found that the male inhabitants of twenty- one years and upwards had ratified the new constitu- tion, and they chose the last Wednesday in October for the day on w^hich it should take effect.

At the coming in of the twenty-fifth of October, 1780, Massachusetts became in truth a free common- wealth. Its people shook slavery from its garments as something that had never belonged to it. The colored inhabitants, about six thousand in number, or one in seventy of the population, equally became fellow-citizens ; and, if any of them possessed the re- quired qualifications of age, residence, and property, their right to vote admitted of no question.

As to the rights of conscience, it was agreed that " religion must at all times be a matter between God and individuals;" from office those only were ex- cluded who believed that a foreign prelate could have a dispensing power within the commonwealth, and who would not " disclaim those principles of spiritual ju- risdiction which are subversive of a free government established by the people." The legislature and magistrates were charged to cherish literature and the sciences, and all seminaries of them, esp.ecially

368 AMERICAN" INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, the university at Cambridge, public schools, and v_^_. grammar-schools in the towns. The constitution 17 8 0. was marked by the effort at a complete separation of the executive, legislative, and judicial powers, that it might be a government of laws and not of men. " For a power without any restraint," said the convention, " is tyranny."

" The constitution of Massachusetts," wrote Count Matthieu Dumas, one of the French officers who served in America, "is perhaps the code of laws which does most honor to man."

As if to leave to the world a record of the con- trast between the contending systems of government for colonists, the British ministry, simultaneously with the people of Massachusetts, engaged in form- ing its m6del. The part of Massachusetts between the river Saco and the St. Croix was constituted a province, under the name of New Ireland. The sys- tem adopted for Quebec and for East Florida was to receive in the New England province its full devel- opment. The marked feature of the constitution was the absolute power of the British parliament; and, to make this power secure for all coming time, every landlord on acquiring land, whether by grant from the crown, or by purchase, or by inheritance, was bound to make a test declaration of allegiance to the king in his parliament, as the supreme legis- lature of the province. The attorney and solicitor general of Great Britain were to report what of the laws of England would of their own authority take effect in the province, and what acts of parliament the king .might introduce by his proclamation. " It has been found," said the state paper, " by sad ex-

THE RISE OF FREE COMMONWEALTHS. 369

perience, that the democratic power is predominant chap. in all parts of British America." ^^ To combat the 3^ prevailing disposition of the people to republican- 17 80. ism," there was to be by the side of the governor and council no elective assembly until the circum- stances of the province should admit of it; but a middle branch of legislature, of which every one of the members was to be named by the crown, to be distinguished by titles or emoluments, or both ; and, though otherwise appointed for life, {o remain ever liable to be suspended or removed by royal authority.

As a farther security to aristocratic power, the lands were to be granted in large tracts, so that there might be great landlords and a tenantry. The church of England was to be the established church; the country to be divided into parishes, each with a glebe land ; and the governor, the highest judge in the ecclesiastical court, to present to all benefices. A vicar-general with a* power to ordain was to open the way for a bishop. No pro- vision was made for the estabhshment of schools or the education of the people. This constitution was approved by the cabinet on the tenth of August, 1780, and on the next day by the king. Pleased with their work, the ministers judged the proper time might have come to digest a sys.tem of govern- ment for all America.

Here were the two models side by side. The one would have organized self-government, the other arbitrary rule ; the one a people of freeholders, the other of landlords and tenants ; the one public wor- ship according to the conscience and faith of indi- VOL. X. 24

370 A^IERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, viduals, the other a state relio-ion subordinate to

XVII. .

xl-^,^. temporal power; the one education of all the people, 17 80. the other indifference to human culture.

It remains to be related, that in the year 1780 the methodists of the United States at their general meeting voted " slave-keeping contrary to the laws of God, man, and nature."

CHAPTER XVm.

THE COMPLOT OF SIR HENRY CLINTON AND ARNOLD.

1780.

Desultory movements of the British and Ameri- chap.

XVIII.

can troops in the North during the winter of 1780 w.^ — ' were baffled by unwonted cold and deep snows. 1 7 8 o The Hudson and the East river were covered with sohd ice, but Knyphausen provided for the safety of New York by forming battaHons of the loyal inhabi- tants and refugees. Besides; the American army, whose pay was in arrear and whom congress could not provide with food, was too feeble to hazard an attack. In May the continental troops between the Chesapeake and Canada amounted only to seven thousand men; in the first week of June, those under the command of Washington, present and fit for duty, numbered but three thousand seven hun- dred and sixty.

On the twenty-eighth of May, the official report ^gf of the surrender of Charleston was received.^ The

^ Journal desjenigen: was sich nant von Kniephausen iibertrage- unter dem an den Generallieute- nen Commando ereignet hat.

372 . AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. refu2rees insisted that the men of New Jersey, wearv xvni. ... . ^ ■> %i

w^^ of compulsory requisitions of supplies, longed to re-

17 8 0. turn to their old form of government ; and English generals reported so great disaffection among the starved and half-clothed American officers and men, that one-haK of them would desert to the English and the other half disperse. The moment seemed opportune for setting up the royal standard in New Jersey. Strengthening the post at Kingsbridge, and leaving only three regiments in New York, Knyp- hausen formed nineteen regiments into three di- visions under Robertson, Tryon, and Stachenberg, with an advanced guard under General Matthews. Of artillery he took eight pieces.

The army of Washington was encamped at Morris- town. On the east of the Passaic, the Jersey brigade under General Maxwell was stationed at Connecticut Farms, and three hundred of the Jersey militia occu-

*'^g"® pied Elizabethtown. On the sixth of June, the Brit- ish landed at Elizabethtown Point, but very slowly, from a scarcity of boats. The brigadier who com- manded the vanguard was early wounded and dis- abled. Seven hours were lost in bridging a marsh which stopped their way. On the morning of the 7. seventh, the American militia, under Colonel Dayton, having had timely warning, retired before the enemy from Elizabethtown ; but with the aid of volunteers from the country people, who flew to arms, and of small patrolling parties of continental troops, they harassed the British all the way on their march of five or six miles to Connecticut Farms. James Cald- well, the presbyterian minister of that place, was known to have inspired his people with his own

COMPLOT OF SIR HENRY CLINTON AND ARNOLD. 373

patriotic zeal. A British soldier, putting his gun to chap. the window of the house where Caldwell's wife was w^ sitting . with her children, one of them a nurshno;, 1 7 8 o

^ June.

shot her fatally through the breast. Scarcely was time allowed to remove the children and the corpse from' the house when it was set on fire. The pres- byterian meeting-house and the houses and barns of the village were burned down. In the winter the presby terian church at Newark had in like manner been burned to the ground.

From Connecticut Farms, Maxwell, with the rem- nant of a brigade, retreated to strong ground near Springfield, where he awaited and repelled repeated attacks made by Colonel Wurmb with a Hessian regiment. Thrice did the Americans charge with fixed bayonets ; and they retired only on the arrival of a British brigade, the Hessian yagers alone having lost more than fifty killed or wounded. Instead of men eager to return to their old allegiance, the Brit- ish encountered a people risking all to preserve their independence ; suffered losses all the day from determined troops ; and at five in the afternoon found that Washington, on hearing that they were out in force, had brought in front of them a brave and faithful army, formed on ground of his own choice. Knyphausen, though his command out- numbered the Americans two to one, declined to attack, where victory must have cost dearly, and defeat would have been disastrous. Learning at this moment that Clinton with large numbers migJit be expected at New York within a week, he resolved to attempt nothing more; and at nine o'clock in the evening his army began a retreat to Elizabethtown

374 AMERICAN im)EPENDEI^CE.

CHAP. Point. An American detachment, sent at break of .1-^ day in pursuit, drove the twenty-second Enghsh 17 80. reoriment out of Elizabeth town and returned with-

June "-'

8- out being molested. In general orders Dayton " re- ceived particular thanks." At this time a committee from congress was in the American camp, to whom Washington explained the hardships of his con- dition. Not only had congress accomplished noth- ing for the relief and re-enforcement of his army, it could not even tell how far the several states would comply with the requisitions made on them. While awarding liberal praise to the militia of New Jersey, he renewed his constant plea for regular troops : " Perseverance in enduring the rigors of mili- tary service is not to be expected from those who are not by profession obliged to it. Our force, from your own observation, is totally inadequate to our safety." ^

19^ On the nineteenth of June, two days after his arrival in New York, Clinton repaired to New Jersey; He had now at his disposition nearly four times as many regular troops as were opposed to him; but he fretted at " the move in Jersey as premature," and what he " least expected." ^ With civil words to the German officers, he resolved to give up the ex- pedition ; but he chose to mask his retreat by a feint, and to give it the air of a military manoeuvre.

Troops sent up the Hudson river as if to take the Americans in the rear induced Washington to move his camp to Rockaway bridge, confiding the post at Short Hills to two brigades under the command of

^ Washington to the committee * MS. note of Clinton to Sted- in camp in Marshall, i. 362. man's History, ii. 243.

COMPLOT OF SIR HENRY CLINTON AND ARNOLD. 375

Greene. Early on the twenty-third, the British chap. advanced in two compact divisions from Ehzabeth- ^1-v— ^ town Point to Springfield. The column on the right ij^^o. had to ford the river before they could drive Major 28 Lee from one of the bridges over the Passaic. At the other, Colonel Angel with his regiment held the left column in check for about forty minutes. Greene prepared for action ; but the British army, though it was drawn up and began a heavy cannonade, had no design to engage ; and at four in the afternoon, after burning the houses in Springfield, it began its return. All the way back to Ehzabethtown, it was annoyed by an incessant fire from American skirmishers and militia. Its total loss is not known ; once more the Hessian yagers lost fifty in killed or wounded, among the latter one colonel, two captains, and a lieutenant. From Ehzabethtown Point the fruitless expedition crossed to Staten Island by a bridge of boats, which at midnight was taken away. Clinton was never again to have so good an opportunity for offensive operations as that which he had now rejected.

On the return of d'Estaing from America, he urged the French ministry to send twelve thousand men to the United States, as the best way of pursuing the war activ.ely; and Lafayette had of his own motion given the like advice to Yergennes, with whom he had formed relations of friendship. The cabinet adopted the measure in its principle, but vacillated as to the number of the French contingent. For the command Count de Kochambeau was se- lected, not by court favor, but from the consideration in which he was held by the troops.^ On the tenth

1 Goltz to Frederic, 3 March, 1780.

876 AMEKICA:N- IXDEPENDEiq-CE.

CHAP, of July, Admiral de Ternay with a squadron of ten C^^^^ ships of war, three of them ships of the line, con- 17 80. voved the detachment of about six thousand men

July "^

10- with Rochambeau into the harbor of Newport. To an address from the general assembly of Rhode Island, then sitting in Newport, the count answered : '^ The French troops are restrained by the strictest dis- cipline ; and, acting under General Washington, w Jl live with the Americans as their brethren. I assure the general assembly that, as brethren, not only my life, but the lives of the troops under m}'- command, are entirely devoted to their service."" Washington in general orders desired the American officers to wear white and black cockades as a sjnoabol of affec- tion for their allies.

The British fleet at New York having received a large re-enforcement, so that it had now a great superiority, Sir Henry Clinton embarked about eight thousand men for an expedition against the French in Rhode 'Island. Supported by militia from Massa- chusetts and Connecticut, the French longed for the threatened attack ; but the expedition proceeded no further than Huntington Bay in Long Island, where it idled away several days, and then returned to New York. Of the incapacity of Arbuthnot, the admiral, Clinton sent home bitter complaints, which were little heeded. There were those who censured the gene- ral as equally wanting energy. The sixth summer during which the British had vainly endeavored to reduce the United States was passing away, and after the arrival of French auxiliaries the British com- mander-in-chief was more than ever disheartened.

25.* On the twenty-fifth of August, 1780, Clinton,

COMPLOT OF SIR HENRY CLINTON AND ARNOLD. 377

knowing well that he had in Cornwallis a favored chap. rival eager to supplant him, reported officially from ^-^^ New York : " At this new epoch in the war, when a 1 7 8 o. foreign force has already landed and an addition to 25?* it is expected, I owe to my country, and I must in justice to my own fame declare to your lordship, that I become every day more sensible of the utter impossibility of prosecuting the war in this country without re-enforcements. The revolutions fondly looked for by means of friends to the British govern- ment I must represent as visionary. These, I well know, are numerous, but they are fettered. An inroad is no countenance, and to possess territory demands garrisons. The accession of friends, with- out we occupy the country they inhabit, is but the addition of unhappy exiles to the list of pensioned refugees. A glance at the returns of the army divided into garrisons and reduced by casualties on the one part, with the consideration of the task yet before us on the other, would, I fear, renew the too just reflection, that we are by some thousands too weak to subdue this formidable rebellion." Yet for the moment the only regiments sent to the United States were three to re-enforce Lord Cornwallis.

Hopeless of success in honorable warfare, Clinton stooped to fraud and corruption. From the time when officers who stood below Arnold were pro- moted over his head, discontent rankled in his breast and found expression in threats of revenge. After the northern campaign, he complained more than ever that his services had not been sufficiently rewarded. While he held the command in Phila- delphia, his extravagant mode of living tempted

378 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, him to peculation and treasonable connections : and

XVIII.

s_^_^ towards the end of February, 1779, he let it be 17 80. known to the British commander-in-chief that he was desirous of exchanging the American service for that of Great Britain. His open preference for the friends of the English in Pennsylvania disgusted the patriots. The council of that state, after bear- ing with him for more than half a year, very justly desired his removal from the command; and, hav- ing early in 1779 given information of his conduct, against their intention they became his accusers. The court-martial before which he was arraigned, on charges that touched his honor and integrity, dealt with him leniently, and sentenced him only to be reprimanded by the commander-in-chief. The repri- mand was marked with the greatest forbearance. The French minister, to whom Arnold applied for money, put aside his request and added wise and friendly advice. In the course of the winter of 1778-1779, he was taken into the pay of Clinton, to whom he gave on every occasion most material intelligence. The plot received the warmest encouragement 17 7 9. from Lord George Germain, who, towards the end of September, wrote to Clinton : " Next to the destruc- tion of Washington's army, the gaining over officers of influence and reputation among the troops would be the speediest means of subduing the rebellion and restoring the tranquillity of America. Your commission authorizes you to avail yourself of such opportunities, and there can be no doubt that the expense will be cheerfully submitted to."

" 1

1 Lord George Germain to Clin- " It will not, I am persuaded, es- ton, 27 Sept., 1779. Extract, cape your sagacity that the gain-

COMPLOT OF SIR HENRY CLINTOIS' AND ARNOLD. 379

In 1780, the command at West Point needed to be chap. changed. Acting in concert with Clinton, and sup- v-^ ported by the New York delegation in congress, 17 80. Arnold, pleading his wounds as an excuse for declin- ing active service, solicited and obtained orders to that post, which included all the American forts in the Highlands. Clinton entered with all his soul into the ignoble plot which, as he believed, was to end the war. After a correspondence of two months between him and the British commander-in-chief, through Major John Andre, adjutant-general of the army in North America, on the thirtieth of August, Arnold, Aug. insisting that the advantages which he expected to gain for himself by his surrender were " by no means unreasonable," and requiring that his conditions should " be clearly understood," laid a plan for an interview at which a person " fully authorized " was to " close with " his proposals.

The rendezvous was given by him within the American lines, where Colonel Sheldon held the com- mand ; and that officer was instructed to expect the arrival " at his quarters of a person in New York to open a channel of intelligence." On the same day,

ing over some of the most respect- land some verbal information from able members of that body [con- Clinton of the having gained over gress], or officers of influence and Arnold. Otherwise, the letter reputation among the troops, would be a most marvellous in-, would, next to the destruction stance of harmony. Germain of Washington's army, be the was, no doubt, cognizant of the speediest means of subduing the plot; for Clinton, who was too rebellion and restoring the tran- prudent to communicate it in offi- quillity of America. Your com- cial letters, referred him to a re- mission authorizes you to avail turning officer for information yourself of such opportunities, and which he did not choose to write, there can be no doubt that the ex- There was always danger that his pense will be cheerfully submitted despatches might be intercepted, to." I understand this letter as There were, in England, the great- having been written after receiving est expectations from the complot from an officer returning to Eng- up to the moment of its discovery.

380 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. Andre, disguising his name, wrote to Sheldon from — ^ New York by order of Clinton : "A flag will be sent 17 80. to Dobbs Ferry on Monday next, the eleventh, at twelve o'clock. Let me entreat you, sir, to favor a matter which is of so private a nature that the pubhc on neither side can be injured by it: I trust I shall not be detained, but I would rather risk that than neglect the business in question, or assume a mysteri- ous character to carry on an innocent affair and get to your lines by stealth." To this degree could the British commander-in-chief prostitute his word and a flag of truce, and lull the suspicions of the American officer by statements the most false. The letter of Andre being forwarded to Arnold, he " determined to go as far as Dobbs Ferry and meet the flag." As he was approaching the vessel in which Andre came up the river, the British guard-boats whose officers were not in the secret fired upon his barge and pre- vented the interview.

Clinton became only more interested in the project, for of a sudden he gained a great fellow-helper. At the breaking out of the war between France and England, Sir George Eodney, a British naval officer, chanced to be detained in Paris by debt. But the aged Marshal de Biron advanced him money to set himself free, and he hastened to England to ask employment of the king. He was not a member of parliament, and was devoted to no political party ; he reverenced the memory of Chatham, and yet held the war against the United States to be just. A man of action, quick-sighted, great in power of execution, he was just the officer whom a wise government would employ, and whom by luck the British admiralty of

la

COMPLOT OF SIR HENRY CLINTON AND ARNOLD. 381

that day, tired of the Keppels and the Pahsers, the chap. mutinous and the incompetent, put in command of i^ the expedition that was to reheve Gibraltar and 17 80. rule the seas of the West Indies. One of the king's younger sons served on board his fleet as midshipman. He took his squadron to sea on the twenty-ninth of December, 1779. On the eighth of January, 1780, J«°- he captured seven vessels of war and fifteen sail of merchantmen. On the sixteenth, he encountered off i6. Cape St. Vincent, the Spanish squadron of Languara, very inferior to his own, and easily took or destroyed a great part of it. Having victualled the garrison of Gibraltar, and relieved Minorca, on the thirteenth ^eb. of February he set sail for the West Indies. At St. Lucie he received letters from his wife, saying : " Everybody is beyond measure delighted as well' as astonished at your success ; " from his daughter : " Everybody almost adores you, and every mouth is full of your praise ; come back when you have done some more things in that part of the world you are in now."

The thanks of both houses of parliament reached him at Barbadoes. In April and May, Kodney had ^^^ twice or thrice encounters with the French fleet of Admiral Guichen, and with such success that in a grateful mood the British parliament thanked him once more. Yet he did not obtain a decided supe- riority in the West Indian seas, and he reported to the admiralty as the reason, that his flag had not been properly supported by some of his officers.

With indifference to neutral rights, he sent frigates to seize or destroy all American vessels in St. Eusta- tius. In June, he received a check by a junc- June.

April and May.

382 AMERICAiq- INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, tion of the Spanish squadron under Solano with the

XVIII.

V— ^ French. But the two admirals could not agree how 17 80. their forces should be employed. Contagious fever attacked the Spaniards, and reached the French. Solano returned to Havana ; Guichen, whose squad- ron was anxiously awaited in the north, sailed for France. Rodney alone, passing to the north and recapturing a ship from Charleston, anchored off Sandy Hook, where he vexed the weak Admiral Arbuthnot by taking command of the station of New York during his short stay. To the vast superiority of the British on land, was now added the imdisputed dominion of the water. In aid of the enterprise by which Sir Henry Chnton expected to bring the war to an immediate close, Eodney contributed his own rare powers ; and perfect harmony prevailed between the two branches of the service. ^11^ On the eighteenth of September, Washington crossed the North River on his way from head- quarters near Tappan to Hartford, where, attended by Lafayette and Hamilton, he was to hold his first interview with General Rochambeau. He was joined on the river by Arnold, who accompanied him as far as Peekskill, and endeavored, though in vain, to obtain his consent for the reception of an agent on pretended business relating to confiscated property. Had the consent been given, the interview with Andr^ would have taken place under a flag of truce, seemingly authorized by the American commander- in-chief.

Time pressed on. Besides; Sir George Rodney had only looked in upon New York, and would soon retiu-n to the West Indies. On the evening of the

COMPLOT OF SIR HENRY CLINTON AND ARNOLD. 383

eighteenth, Arnold, giving information that Washing- chap. ton on the following Saturday night was expected ^-^^ to be his guest at West Point, proposed that Andre i J^s^o. should immediately come up to the " Vulture," ship is. of war, which rode at anchor just above Teller's point, in Haverstraw bay, promising on Wednesday evening " to send a person on board with a boat and a flag of truce."

This letter of Arnold reached Clinton on Tuesday w- evening, and he took his measures without delay. Troops were embarked on the Hudson river under the superintendence of Sir George Rodney, and the embarkation disguised by a rumor of an intended expedition into the Chesapeake.

On the morning of the twentieth, the British ad- 20 jutant-general, taking his life in his hand, prepared to carry out his orders. To diminish the dangers to which the service exposed him, " the commander-in- chief, before his departure, cautioned him not to change his dress, and not to take papers." At Dobbs Ferry, he embarked on the river, and, as the tide was favorable, reached the " Vulture " at about an hour after sunset, and declared to its captain " that he was ready to attend General Arnold's summons when and where he pleased."

"The night the flag was first expected, he ex- 21. pressed much anxiety for its arrival," and, as it did not come, on the morning of the twenty-first by an ingenious artifice he let Arnold know^ where he was. On the ensuing night one Smith, in a boat with 2a. muffled oars, went o£E from the western shore of the Hudson to the " Vulture." " The instant Andre . learned that he was wanted, he started out of bed

384 AMEKICAiq- INDEPEJ^DEN-CE.

CHAP, and discovered the greatest impatience to be gone. < — ^ Nor did he in any instance betray the least doubt "^se\^ of his safety and success." The moon, which had 22- just passed into the third quarter, shone in a clear sky when the boat pushed for the landing-place near the upper edge of the Haverstraw mountains. It was very near the time for day to appear, when Andre, dressed in regimentals, which a large blue cloak concealed, landed at the point of the Long Clove, where Arnold was waiting in the bushes to re- ceive him. The general had brought with him a spare horse ; and the two rode through the village of Haver- straw within the American lines to the house of Smith, which lay a few miles from the river. At the dawn of day, the noise of artillery was heard. An American party had brought field-pieces to bear on the " Yulture ;" and Arnold, as he looked out from the window, saw her compelled to shift her anchorage. The negotiations of the two parties continued for several hours. Clinton was in person to bring his army to the siege of Fort Defiancie, which enclosed about seven acres of land. The garrison was to be so distributed as to destroy its efficiency. Arnold was to send immediately to Washington for aid, and to surrender the place in time for Sir Henry Clinton to make arrangements for surprising the re-enforcement, which it was believed Washington would conduct in person.^ It was no part of the plan to risk surpris- ing Washington while a guest at West Point. The promises to Arnold were indemnities in money and the rank of brigadier in the British service. The

^ Journal of General Matthews cited in Balch's " Les Frangais en Amerique," 110.

COMPLOT OF SIR HENRY CLINTON AND ARNOLD. 385

American i^eneral returned to his quarters. Late in chap.

. xviir

the afternoon Andre, changing his dress for the dis- w^,— ^

guise of a citizen, provided with passes from Arnold ^ 7 8 o.

and attended by Smith, set off by land for New 22.'

York.

Four years before, Washington had sailed between the Highlands, where nature blends mountains and valleys and the deep river in exceeding beauty ; and he had selected for fortification the points best adapted to command the passage. In 1778, it was still a desert, nearly inaccessible ; now it was covered with fortresses and artillery. Fort Defiance alone was defended by a hundred and twenty pieces of can- non, and was believed to be impregnable. Here were magazines of powder and ammunition, completely filled, for the use not of the post only, but of the whole army. The fortifications built by a nation just rising into notice, seemingly represented a vast outlay in money. With prodigious labor, huge trunks of trees and enormous hewn stones were piled up on steep rocks. All this had been done without cost to the state by the hands of the American soldiers, who were pervaded by a spirit as enthusiastic and as determined as that of the bravest and most cultivated of their leaders ; and who received for their work not the smallest gratification, even when their stated pay remained in arrear.^ And these works, of which every stone w^as a monument of humble, disinterested patriotism, were to be betrayed to the enemy with all their garrison.

On that same evening Washington, free from sus- picion, was returning to his army. He had met

1 Chastellux' Travels. Am. ed. 46 aiid 50. VOL. X. 25

386 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. General Eochambeau and Admiral de Ternay at

xviii. . . .

--^^w Hartford. '' The interview was a genuine festival

17 8 0. for the French, who were impatient to see the hero

22. of liberty. His noble mien, the simplicity of his manners, his mild gravity, surpassed their expecta- tions and gained for him their hearts." All agreed that, for want of a superiority at sea, active operations could not be begun ; so that the meeting served only to establish friendship and confidence between the officers of the two nations. Washington on his return was accompanied a day's journey by Count Dumas, one of the aids of Rochambeau. The population of the town where he was to spend the night went out to meet him. A crowd of children, repeating the acclamations of their elders, gathered around him, stopping his w^ay, all wishing to touch him and with loud cries calling him their father. Pressing the hand of Dumas, he said to him : " We may be beaten by the English in the field • it is the lot of arms : but see there the army which they will never conquer."

At this very time Andre, conducted by Smith, crossed the Hudson river at King's ferry. It was already dark before they passed the American post at y er]3lanck's point under the excuse that they were going up the river, and to keep up that pretence they turned in for the night near Crompond. Very

23. early on the twenty-third, they were in the saddle. Two miles and a half north of Pine's Bridge, over the Croton, Smith, assuring Andre that the rest of the way he would meet only British parties, or cow boys as they were called, and having charged him to take the inner route to New York through the valley of the Bronx by way of White Plains, near which the British

COMPLOT OF SIR HENRY CLINTOJq- AND ARNOLD. 387

had an outpost, bade him farewell and rode up to chap.

xvui.

dine with Arnold at his quarters. At a fork in the road about six miles below the Croton, Andre, quitting i J 8 o. the road to White Plains, took that which led over 23.' the hills and entered the highway from Albany to New York at a short distance above Tarrytown. He now thought himself beyond all danger, and accord- ing to his own account he beheved himself to be the bearer of a plan that would bring the civil war to an immediate end. The British troops, embarked by Sir George Rodney, lay waiting for Clinton to give the word and to lead them in person.

It happened that John Paulding, a poor man, then about forty-six years old, a zealous patriot who had served his country from the breaking out of the war, and had twice suffered captivity, had lately escaped from New York and had formed a little corps of parti- sans to annoy roving parties, taking provisions to New York, or otherwise doing service to the British. On that morning, after setting a reserve of four to keep watch in the rear, he and David Williams of Tarry- town and Isaac van Wart of Greenburg seated them- selves in the thicket by the wayside, just above Tar- rytown, and whiled away the time by playing cards. At an hour before noon, Andre was just rising the hill out of Sleepy Hollow, within fifteen miles of the strong British post at King's Bridge, when Pauld- ing got up, presented a firelock at his breast,* and asked which way he was going. Full of the idea that he could meet none but friends to the English, he answered : " Gentlemen, I hope you belong to our party ? " " Which party ? " asked Paulding. " The lower party," said Andre. Paulding answered that

388 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, he did. Then said Andre : " I am a British officer,

XVIII

w-^ out on particular business, and I hope you ivill not 1 7^8a detain me a minute." Upon this Paulding ordered 23- him to dismount. Seeing his mistake, Andre showed his pass from Arnold, saying : " By your stopping me, you will detain the general's business." " I hope," answered Paulding, " you will not be of- fended ; we do not mean to take anything from you. There are man}^ bad people going along the road ; perhaps you may be" one of them ; " and he asked if he had any letters about him. Andre an- swered : " No." -^ They took him into the bushes to search for papers, and at last discovered three parcels under each stocking. Among these were a plan of the fortifications of West Point ; • a memorial from the engineer on the attack and defence of the place ; returns of the garrison, cannon, and stores, all in the handwriting of Arnold. " This is a spy," said Paul- ding. Andre offered a hundred guineas, any sum of money, if they would but let him go. " No," cried Paulding, '^^not for ten thousand guineas." They then led him off, and, arriving in the evening at North Castle, they delivered him with his papers to Lieutenant Colonel Jameson, who commanded the post, and then went their way, not asking a reward for their services, nor leaving their names.

What passed between Andre and Jameson is not known. The result of the interview was, that on the 2^ twenty-fourth the prisoner was ordered by Jameson to be taken to Arnold ; but on the sharp remon- strance of Major Tallmadge, the next in rank; the order was countermanded, and he was confined at

' Testimony of Paulding and Williams in Smith's trial, 53 and 57.

COMPLOT OF SIR HENRY CLINTOiS" AND ARNOLD. 389

Old Salem, yet with permission to inform Arnold by chap. letter of his arrest. ^^^

His letter was received on the twenty-fifth, too lyso. late for an order to be given for his release, and only 25.' in time for Arnold himself to escape down the river to the " Vulture." Washington, who had turned aside to examine the condition of the works at West Point, arrived a few hours after his flight.

The first care of the commander-in-chief was for the safety of the post. The extent of the danger appeared from a letter of the twenty-fourth, in which Andre avowed himself to be the adjutant-general of the British army, and offered excuses for having been " betrayed into the vile condition of an enemy in disguise " within his posts. He added : " The re- quest I have to make to your Excellency, and I am conscious I address myself well, is, that, in any rigor policy may dictate, a decency of conduct towards me may mark, that, though unfortunate, I am branded with nothing dishonorable, as no motive could be mine but the service of my king, and as I was unvol- untarily an impostor." This request was granted in its full extent, and in the whole progress of the affair he was treated with the most scrupulous delicacy.^ Andre further wrote : " Gentlemen at Charleston on parole were engaged in a conspiracy against us ; they are objects who may be set in exchange for me, or are persons whom the treatment I receive might affect." The charge of conspiracy against Gadsden and his fellow-sufferers was groundless; and had been brought forward only as an excuse for shipping them away from the city, where their mere pres-

' Hamilton's Account of Arnold's Affair, in Works, 1. 176.

390 AMERICAN IXDEPEXDEXCE.

CHAP, ence kept the love of independence alive. To seek

XVIII. . . .

w^^-w security by a threat of retaliation on innocent men 17 80. ^yas an unworthy act which received no support 25. from Sir Henry Clinton.

Andre was without loss of time conducted to the headquarters of the army at Tappan. His offence was so clear that it would have justified the promptest action ; but, to prevent all possibility of complaint from any quarter, he was, on the twenty-ninth, 29- brought before a numerous and very able board of officers. On his own confession and without the examination of a witness, the board, on which sat Greene, second only to Washington in the service ; St. Clair, afterwards president of congress ; Lafayette, of the French army ; Steuben, from the staff of Frederic the Second j Parsons, Clinton, Glover, Knox, Huntingdon, and others, all well known for their uprightness, — made their unanimous report that Major Andre, adjutant-general of the British army, ought to be considered as a spy from the enemy and to suffer death. Throughout the inquiry Andre was penetrated with the liberality of the members of the court, who showed him every mark of indulgence, and required him to answer no interrogatory which could even embarrass his feelings.^ He. acknowledged their generosity in the strongest terms of manly gratitude, and afterwards remarked to one who vis- ited him, that if there were any remains in his mind of prejudice against the Americans, his present ex- perience must obliterate them.^

On the thirtieth the sentence was approved by Washington, and ordered to be carried into effect

^ Hamilton, i. 178.

COMPLOT OF SIR HEXRY CLINTON AND ARNOLD. 391

the next day. Clinton had ah'cady in a note to CHAr.

XVIII.

Washington asked Andre's release, as one who had — , — ^ been protected by " a flag of truce and passports ij ^o granted for his return." Andre had himself, in his ^^' examination befoi'e the board of officers, repelled the excuse which Clinton made for him ; and indeed to have used a flag of truce for his purposes would have aggravated his offence. "Washington replied by en- closing to the British commander-in-chief the report of the board of inquiry, and observed " that Major Andre was employed in the execution of measures very foreign to flags of truce, and such as they were never meant to authorize."

At the request of Clinton, who promised to present " a true state of facts," the execution was delayed till the second day of October, and General Robertson, ^^^ attended by two civilians, came up the river for a conference. The civilians were not allowed to land ; but Greene was deputed to meet the officer. Instead of presenting facts, Robertson, after compliments to the character of Greene, announced that he had come to treat with him. Greene answered : " The case of an acknowledged spy admits no official discussion." Robertson then proposed to free Andre by an ex- change. Greene answered : "If Andre is set free, Arnold must be given up ; " for the liberation of Andre could not be asked for except in exchange for one who was equally implicated in the complot. Robertson then forgot himself so far as to deliver an open letter from Arnold to Washington, in which, in the event Andre should suffer the penalty of death, he used these threats : " I shall think myself bound by every tie of duty and honor to retaliate on such

392 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, unhappy persons of your army as may fall within my

— ^^ power. Forty of the principal inhabitants of South

1 "^ 8 0. Carolina have justly forfeited their lives ; Sir Henry

Clinton cannot in justice extend his mercy to them

any longer, if Major Andre suffers."

Meantime Andre entreated with touching earnest- ness that he might not die " on the gibbet." Wash- ington and every other officer in the American army were moved to the deepest compassion; and Hamil- ton, who has left his opinion that no one ever suffered death with more justice and that there was in truth no way of saving him, wished that in the mode of his death his feelings as an officer and a man might be respected. But the English themselves had es- tablished the exclusive usage of the gallows. At the beginning of the war, their officers in America threat- ened the highest American officers and statesmen with the cord. It was the only mode of execution authorized by them. Under the orders of Clinton, Lord Cornwallis in South Carolina had set up the gallows for those whom he styled deserters, without regard to rank. Neither the sentence of the court nor the order of Washington names death on the gallows; the execution took place in the manner that was alone in use on both sides.

In going to the place of execution, a constrained smile hid the emotions of Andre. Arrived at the fatal spot, the struggle in his mind was visible ; but he preserved his self-control. " I am reconciled," he said, " to my fate, but not to the mode." Being asked at the last moment if he had any thing to say, he answered : " Nothing but to request you to wit- ness to the world that I die like a brave man."

COMPLOT OF SIR HENRY CLINTON AND ARNOLD. 393

Tried by the laws of morals, it is one of the worst- riiAP. forms of dissimulation to achieve by corruption and --^^ treachery what cannot be gained by honorable arms. 17 so. If we confine our judgment within the limits of the laws of war, it is a blemish on the character of Andre that he was willing to prostitute a flag, to pledge his word, even under the orders of his chief, for the innocence and private nature of his design, and to have made the lives of faultless prisoners hostages for his own. About these things a man of honor and humanity ought to have had a scruple; "but the temptation was great, let his misfortunes cast a veil over his errors." The last words of Andre com- mitted to the Americans the care of his reputa- tion ; and they faithfully fulfilled his request. The firmness and delicacy observed in his case was ex- ceedingly admired on the continent of Europe.^ His king did right in offering honorable rank to his brother, and in granting pensions to his mother and sisters ; but not in raising a memorial to his name in Westminster Abbey. Such honor belongs to other enterprises and deeds. The tablet has no fit place in a sanctuary, dear from its monuments to every friend to genius and mankind.

As for Arnold he had not feeling enough to under- go mental torments, and his coarse nature was not sensitive to shame. He suffered only when he found that baffled treason is paid grudgingly ; when employ- ment was refused him ; when he could neither stay in England nor get orders for service in America ; when, despised and neglected, he was pinched by want.

^ Jay to Washington, 29 March, 1781, m Jay's Jay, ii. 75.

394 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. But the kino; would not suffer his children to staive,

xvni.

w-^ and eventually their names were placed on the pen-

17 8 0. sion list.

Sir George Rodney returned to the West Indies, and, so far as related to himself, let the unsuccessful conspiracy sink into oblivion. For Clinton, the cup of humiliation was filled to the brim. " Thus ended," so he wrote in his anguish to Germain, " this pro- posed plan from which I had conceived such great hopes and imagined such great consequences." He was, moreover, obliged to introduce into high rank in the British army, and receive at his council table, a man who had shown himself so sordid that British officers of honor hated to serve under him, or with him, or over him. Bankrupt and escaping from his creditors, • Arnold preferred claims for indemnity, and received between six and seven thousand pounds. Moreover he had the effrontery to make addresses to the Ameri- can people respecting their alliance with France ; to write insolent letters to Washington; to invite all Americans to desert the colors of their country like himself ; to advise the breaking up of the American army by wholesale bribery. Nay, he even turned against his patron as wanting activity, assuring Germain that the American posts in the Highlands might be carried in a few days by a regular attack. No one knew better than Clinton that Andre was punished justly ; yet in his private journal he aimed a stab at the fair fame of his signally humane adver- sary, whom he had been able to overcome neither in the field nor by intrigue; and attributed an act of public duty to personal " rancor," for which no cause

COMPLOT OF SIR HENRY CLINTON AND ARNOLD.

wliatever existed. The false accusation proves not so much malignity in its author as feebleness.^

Washington sought out the three young men who, "leaning only on their virtue and an honest sense of their duty," could not be tempted by gold ; and on his report congress voted them annuities in words of respect and honor.

17 80.

' In my narrative I have fol- lowed only contemporary docu- ments, which are abundant and of the surest character, and which, taken collectively, solve every question. The most im- portant are: The proceedings of the American court of inquiry ; Clinton's elaborate letters to Lord George Germain of 11 and 12 Oct. , 1780 ; Narrative of correspond- ence and transactions respecting General Arnold in Sir Henry Clin- ton's letter of 11 Oct., 1780; Two letters of Clinton to Germain of 12 Oct., 1780 ; Clinton's secret letter of 30 Oct., 1780; Clinton's report to Lord Amherst of 16 Oct., 1780; Extract from Clin- ton's Journal in Mahon's Eng- land, vii., Appendix vii. to xi.; Journal of General Matthews ; Trial of Joshua Hett Smith, edited by Henry B. Dawson, New York, 1866; and especially Ham- ilton's Account of Andre's Aifair in Works, i. 172-182. This last is particularly valuable, as Ham- ilton had the best opportunities to be well informed; and in his nar- rative, if there are any traces of partiality, it is towards Andr^ that he leaned. The reminiscences of men who wrote in later days are so mixed up with errors of memory and fable that they offer no sure foothold.

The letter of Hamilton to Miss Schuyler, as repeatedly printed with the date of 2 Oct., contains interpolations and omissions. I

took a copy of it from the original. It has no date: since it enclosed his account of Arnold's affair, sent in compliance with a prom- ise, it must have been written many days later than 2 Oct. It begins as follows: " No. 11. Since my last to you, I have re- ceived your letters Nos. 3 and 4. The others are yet on the way. Though it is too late to have the advantage of novelty, to comply with my promise I send you my account of Arnold's affair; and to justify myself to your sentiments I must inform you that I urged a compliance with Andre's request to be shot."

It has been said that, as a return for clemency, Andr6 should have been spared. Here is an extract of an order of the subordinate of Clinton, which met his acquiescent approval, and which he forwarded to Lord George Germain : " I have ordered in the most positive man- ner that every militia-man who has borne arms with us and after- wards joined the enemy shall be immediately hanged. " By militia- men were meant alike officers and privates, of whatever merit or sta- tion, and the order was rigorously executed without regard to miU- tary rank. "What was thought of the order by the British govern- ment appears from Lord George Germain's answer, of which an extract follows: "The most dis- affected will now be convinced that we are not afraid to punish.'*

CHAPTER XIX.

STRIVING FOR UNION.

1779-1781.

CHAP. " Our respective governments which compose the ' — ^ union," so ran the circular of congress to the states 17 79. in the opening of the year 1779, " are settled and in the vigorous exercise of uncontrolled authority." Itself without credit and unable to enforce the col- lection of taxes, it increased its paper money. About one hundred and six millions were then in circula- tion. The worth of the continental dollar, for a time buoyed up by the French alliance, had in three months fallen from twenty cents to twelve and a half. For the service of the year 1779, congress invited the states to pay hy instalments their respective quotas of fifteen millions ; and, further, to pay six millions annually for eighteen years as a fund to sink all previous emissions and obligations. The two series which under British auspices had been most largely counterfeited were called in ; but this act impaired the credit of them all more than would have been

STRIVING FOR UK'I0:N". 397

done by leaving the people to discriminate for them- chap. selves. After these preliminaries, a new issue of a w.^ little more than fifty milhons was authorized. 17 79.

" The state of the currency was the great impedi- ment to all vigorous measures ; " it became a question whether men, if they could be raised, could be sub- sisted. In April, when a paper dollar was worth but Apriu ^ye cents, it was said that " a wagon-load of money would scarcely purchase a wagon-load of provisions." The Pennsylvania farmers were unwilling to sell their May. wheat except for hard money. There seemed no hope of relief but from some central authority. To confederate without Maryland was the vote of Con- necticut ; with nine or more states, was the opinion at Boston ; with " so many as shall be willing to do so," allowing to the rest a time during which they might come in, was the decision of Virginia.

Late in May, congress apportioned among the states forty-five millions of dollars more, though there was no chance that the former apportionment would be paid. Four times in the course of the year it sent forth addresses to the several states. News- papers, town meetings, legislatures, teemed with remedial plans ; but the issue of paper constantly increased, and its value fell with accelerated velocity. In the middle of August, when a paper dollar was ^ff:- worth but three or four cents, Washington, who had suffered very heavy losses and remained really will- ing to sacrifice his whole estate, instructed his agent that tht3 legal-tender law^ countenanced dishonesty.

On the second of September, congress having Sept. ascertained that the sum of outstanding emissions was but a little short of one hundred and sixty

398 AMERICA]^ INDEPENDENCIL.

CHAP, millions, limited paper money to two hundred mil- v-L^ lions ; and the limit was reached before the end of 17 7 9. the year. In October, it appointed Henry Laurens of South Carolina to negotiate a loan of ten millions in Nov. the Netherlands. In November, it further resolved to draw upon him for one hundred thousand pounds sterling ; and to draw on Jay at Madrid, for as much more. The two were instructed mutually to support each other ; but neither of them had any resources. The king of Spain was the most determined foe to the independence of the United States ; and the United Provinces had not yet acknowledged their existence. In the midst of these financial straits, the year came to an end ; and a paper dollar, which in January had been worth twelve and a half cents, was in December worth less than two and a half cents. June The legislature of Virginia had, on the second of June, 1779, unanimously ratified the treaties of al- liance and commerce between France and the "United States ; and the governor had, under the seal of the commonwealth, notified the French minister at Phil- adelphia of the act. On this procedure, Yergennes Sept. in September instructed the French minister at Phil- adelphia in these words : '' During the war it is essential both for the United States and for us that their union should be as perfect as possible. When they shall be left to themselves, the general confed- eration will have much difficulty in maintaining itself, and will perhaps be replaced by separate con- federations. Should this revolution take place, it will weaken the United States, which have not now and never will have real and respectable strength except by their union. But it is for themselves alone

STRIVING FOR UNION. 399

to make these reflections. We have no rio;ht to pre- cn\p.

XIX.

sent them for their consideration, and we have no w.^ interest whatever to see America play the part of 17 7 9. a power. The possibihty of the dissolution of the general confederation, and the consequent suppres- sion of congress, leads us to think that nothing can be more conformable to our political interest than separate acts by which each state shall ratify the treaties concluded with France ; because in this way every state will be found separately connected with us, whatever may be the fortune of the general con- federation." ^

Maryland was the only other state to take notice of treaties, and it did no more than approve the act of its delegates in ratifying them. The sentiment of congress was strong against these seeming assump- tions of a separate voice on a subject reserved exclu- sively for the deliberation of all. Before the war was ended, both Maryland and Virginia applied to France for assistance, Avhich the latter received.

On the question of a closer union, Virginia hung nearly on, the balance. The first of her citizens w^as at the head of the army, and was using all his powers of persuasion to promote an efficient govern- ment ; and her legislature selected Madison, a friend to union, as one of her representatives. On the other hand, as the chief claimant of western and north- western lands in opposition to congress, she, above all others, asserted the sovereignty of the separate states. Congress had received petitions from persons, claiming to be companies, holding land north-west of the Ohio. " Should congress assume a jurisdiction,"

^ Vergennes to Luzerne, 27 Sept., 1779.

400 AMEEICAIS^ INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, such was the remonstrance of the general assembly

J-^ of A^irginia, " it would be a violation of public faith ;

1 " 7 9. introduce a most dangerous precedent, which might hereafter be urged to deprive of territory or subvert the sovereignty and government of any one or more of the United States; and establish in congress a power which, in process of time, must degenerate into an intolerable despotism. '' Although the gen- eral assembly of Virginia would make great sacrifices to the common interest of America (as they have already done on the subject of representation), and will be ready to listen to any just and reasonable propositions for removing the ostensible causes of delay to the complete ratification of the confedera- tion, they do hereby, in the name and on behalf of the commonwealth of Virginia, expressly protest against any jurisdiction or right of adjudication in congress, upon the petitions of the Vandalia or Indi- ana companies, or on any other matter or thing subversive of the internal policy, civil government, or sovereignty of this or any other of the United American States, or unwarranted by the articles of confederation." Congress, on mature consideration, declined the discussion of the remonstrance.

17 8 0. To counterbalance the sturdy resistance of Virginia, the legislature of Nejv York took the field. They founded claims to western territory on the discoveries of the Dutch ; on the grant from Charles the Second to the Duke of York; on the capitulation of the Dutch; on the acquisition of the rights of the Five Nations and their tributaries as the native propri- etors. Desirous to accelerate the federal alliance, on 19"^ the nineteenth of April, 1780, they authorized con-

9.

STRIVING FOR UNION. 401

gress to restrict their boundaries on the west. This chap. is the first important act of the states in surrender- '--^ ing pubhc lands to the federal union. 1 7 8 o.

At the opening of the year 1780, congress found itself utterly helpless, and threw everything upon the states. In truth, there was nothing else that it could do. On the ninth of February, it fixed the Feb. number of men necessary for the service of the year at thirty-five thousand two hundred and eleven, and required the states to furnish by drafts or otherwise, before the first day of the coming April, the respec- tive deficiencies in their quotas, which were prescribed with exactness. But troops need to be subsisted : congress called oji the several states to furnish their respective quotas of supplies for the ensuing season ; thus shoving off from itself all care for recruiting the army, and all responsibility for its support. To gain money, it directed the states to bring into the conti- nental treasury, by taxes or otherwise, one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars every month to the month of April, 1781, inclusive, in hard money or with forty dollars in the old bills for one dollar of the tax. The bills that should be thus brought in were to be destroyed; and, for every forty dollars actually cancelled, two dollars of a new issue might be uttered, bearing five per cent interest, receivable by the continental treasury as specie, and redeem- able in specie by the several states on or before the last day of December, 1786.

As fast as the new bills should be signed and

emitted, the states respectively on whose funds they

were to be issued were to receive three-fifths of

them, and the remaining two-fifths were to be subject

VOL. X. 26

402 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, to the order of the United States, and to be duly

XIX

w-^^ credited to the several states. All laws on legal 17 80. tender were to be adapted to the new system. The elaborate plan was generally well received, though by a mere vote it sponged out thirty-nine fortieths of the former currency. As the bills were to be issued in the names of the several states according to enact- ments of their own legislatures, the plan could not go into effect till each one of them should give authority for the use of its name. Meantime, the demands on the continental treasury were in part answered by warrants on the several states, which found means to discharge them, using the taxes col- lected for the continental treasury.

Pennsylvania was the first state that had the op- portunity to accept the measure, and it adjourned without acting upon it. The legislature of Virginia rejected it by an overwhelming majority, and at last, after great persuasion, accepted it by a majority of but two. The new emission wanted credit from the beginning ; the old currency soon ceased to circulate. A cry arose among patriotic men, especially in the army, for an efficient government. " While the powers of congress," wrote Greene, "are so incom- petent to the duty required of them, I have but little hopes that the face of our affairs will mend ; on the contrary, I fear they will grow worse and worse until ruin overtakes us." In the army, which had been unpaid for five months, every department was with- out money and without the shadow of credit. To relieve this gloomy state of things, congress, on the tenth of April, 1780, promised to make good to the offi- cers and line the depreciation in their pay ; but the

STRIVING FOR UNION. 403

promise was little worth. For a long time the troops chap. received only from one-half to one-eighth of a ration v-1^ of meat, and were several days without a single pound 1 7 8 o. of it. Washington appealed to the president of the rich state of Pennsylvania, which, except for a few months in 1777 and 1778, had been untouched by the war ; but it was in vain. '^ The great man,'* wrote Greene secretly to the president of Pennsylva- nia, " is confounded at his situation, but appears to be reserved and silent. Should there be a want of provisions, we cannot hold together many days in the present temper of the army." On the twenty- fifth of May, two regiments of Connecticut, worn out by want of clothes and food and pay, paraded under arms, declaring their resolution to return home, or to obtain subsistence for themselves ; and they were brought back to their duty only by being reminded that they were defenders of the rights of mankind, and, as a grave writer who was then with the army relates, by the " influence of the commander-in-chief whom they almost adored." The enemy appeared against them in the midst of these trials ; and they rallied as one man and kept him at bay.

" Certain I am," wrote Washington in May, to his friend Joseph Jones, a delegate from Virginia, " un- less congress are vested with powers by the several states competent to the great purposes of war, or assume them as matter of right, and they and the states respectively act with more energy than they have hitherto done, our cause is lost. We can no longer drudge on in the old way. By ill-timing in the adoption of measures, by delays in the execution of them, or by unwarrantable jealousies, we incur

404 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, enormous expenses and derive no benefit from them.

XIX. .

^^ One state will comply with a requisition of congress ;

17 8 0. another neglects to do it ; a third executes it by halves ; and all diflter either in the manner, the mat- ter, or so much in point of time, that we are always working up hill. While such a system as the present one, or rather want of one, prevails, we shall ever be unable to apply our strength or resources to any advantage.

" This, my dear sir, is plain language to a member of congress, but it is the language of truth and friend- ship. It is the result of long thinking, close applica- tion, and strict observation. I see one head gradually changing into thirteen. I see one army branching into thirteen, which, instead of looking up to con- gress as the supreme controlling power of the United States, are considering themselves as dependent on their respective states. In a word, I see the powers of congress declining too fast for the consideration and respect which are due to them as the great representative body of America, and I am fearful of the consequences.''

"Congress," answered his correspondent, "have scarcely a power left but such as concerns foreign transactions ; for, as to the army, they are at pres- ent little more than the medium through which its wants are conveyed to the states. This body never had, or at least in few instances ever exercised, powers adequate to the purposes of war ; and indeed such as they possessed have been frittered away to the states, and it will be found very difficult to recover them. Eesolutions are now before us, by one of which the states are desired to give express

STRIVING FOR UNION. 405

powers for the common defence. Others go to the chap. assumption of them immediately. The first will w- v— ' sleep with the states ; the others will die where they 1 7 8 o. are, so cautious are some of offending the states."

When it became certain that troops from France were on their way to assist the country, congress made not even a semblance of direct action, and could only entreat the states to correspond severally with its committee at headquarters, so that it might explicitly know how far they could be relied on to furnish the men and money and provisions that had been called for. The legislature of Pennsylvania, before its adjournment, vested large discretionary powers in its president; but these from motives of prudence he declined to use. It remained to be seen what private efforts could do. In June, steps were juna taken at Philadelphia for founding a bank with power to issue notes. The subscribers proposed, but only on adequate security, to make purchases in advance for the suffering soldiers. Congress accepted the proffered aid, and further resolved to advance to the company as much of its paper money as could be spared from other services. Thus began the deposit of funds of the United States with a bank.

Throughout the war, the women of America never grew weary of yielding up articles necessary for the comfort of their own households, to relieve the dis- tresses of the soldiers. The women of Philadelphia, rallying round the amiable Esther Keed, wife of the president of Pennsylvania, now made a more earnest effort: they brought together large donations of clothing, and invited the ladies of other states to adopt a like plan. They thus assisted to keep alive

406 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

XIX.

17 80. July.

CHAP, the spirit of patriotism in the army, but their gifts could not meet its ever-recurring wants.

" The congress," wrote Greene towards the end of June, " have lost their influence. I have for a Ions* time seen the necessity of some new plan of civil con- stitution. Unless there is some control over the states by the congress, we shall soon be like a broken band."

Without the impulse from a centre, there could be no good administration. Money enough had been expended for clothing the army ; but large importa- tions were left to waste in different parts of the country, and the troops were never seen otherwise than half naked. When congress drew supplies in kind directly from each state for its own troops, quotas were sometimes apportioned by the states to their towns, and in towns to individuals. Men of small means in a New England village would club together to buy an ox of a weight equal to their collective quotas, and herds of cattle gathered in this way were driven slowly to camp. All this marked an active spirit of patriotism reaching to the humblest and remotest, but it showed the want of organized power.

Even with the energy of Greene, there could be no efficient administration in the quartermaster's depart- ment, though it had been placed on a centralized system under his immediate authority with powers almost independent of congress, and with most liberal and even lucrative emoluments for himself, his as- sistants and subordinates. Washington was satisfied that he did all that was possible, that he " con- ducted the various duties of his office with capacity

STRIVING FOR UNION. 407

and diligence, and with the strictest integrity.'' The chap. system itself in the hands of a bad man would have vi^ opened the way to endless abuses; and congress 17 80. wisely restored its own controlling civil supervision. Dismissing a useless supernumerary, it determined to have but one head of the quartermaster's department at the seat of congress, and one at the camp ; and in paying the officers of the staff it returned to salaries instead of commissions.' The unanimous judgment of the country from that day to this has approved the reform. Greene, to whom his office had for more than a year become grievously irksome, resigned with petulant abruptness ; but congress, still following its sense of public duty, conquered its well-grounded displeasure, and soon after, on the advice of Wash- ington, appointed him to the command of the south- ern army. His successor in the quartermaster's department was Timothy Pickering, who excelled him as a methodical man of business; so that the department suffered nothing by the change.

The tendency to leave all power in the hands of the separate states was a natural consequence of their historic development, and was confirmed by pressing necessity. ^^A single assembly," so John Adams

^ Gerard, in reporting the cost the chiefs. In excusing himself

of the war to Vergennes, writes: for accepting unusual emolu-

" L'Intendant de I'arinee ou quar- ments, among reasons of no

tier-maitre General a cinq % sur weight, Greene pleads that he

toutes ses depenses, et ses agens was poor, with a family to pro-

ont autant." My copy of the vide for. It would not he fair to

letter is an office copy, and the compare his conduct with that of

word " cinq '• is written out in full, another who was opulent and

The journals of congress of 2 childless. If he had but lived

March, 1778, allowed, with a longer, his country would have de-

merely trifling abatement, one lighted to show its gratitude for

per cent upon the moneys issued his signal services. in the department for the pay of

408 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, long continued to reason, "is every way adequate . — ^-_ to the management of all the federal concerns of the 17 80. people of America; and with very good reason, because congress is not a legislative assembly, nor a representative assembly, but a diplomatic assembly." Conventions of states had been held in 1776, and in every successive year, to consider the decline of the paper currency, and the regulation of prices. One of these attracted the more attention, as it assembled at Philadelphia, represented every state north of Virginia except New York, and prolonged its existence by adjournments. At the convention called in August, 1780, no states appeared except Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire ; but a step was taken towards the formation of a federal constitution. After adopting a series of measures best suited to the campaign, they resolved " that the union of these states be fixed in a more solid and permanent manner; that the powers of congress be more clearly ascertained and defined; that the important national concerns of the United States be under the superintendency and direction of one supreme head ; that it be recommended to the states to empower their delegates in congress to confederate with such of the states as will accede to the proposed confederation; and that they invest their delegates in congress with powers competent for the government and direction of all those common and national affairs which do not nor can come within the jurisdiction of the particular states." ^

To these resolutions Washington invited the atten- tion of Bowdoin, then president of the council of

^ Hamilton's Republic, ii. 83.

STRIVING FOR UNION. 409

Massachusetts. "If adopted/' said he, "they will chap.

be the means, most likely, to rescue our affairs from • ^^

the complicated and dreadful embarrassments under 1 7 8 o. which they labor, and will do infinite honor to those with whom they originate. I sincerely wish they may meet with no opposition or delay in their progress.'*

The words of the convention sunk deeply into the mind of Hamilton, who for three and a half years had been Washington's most able and confidential secretary; and, under his eye and guidance had watched the course of affairs from the central point where they could best be overseen. To these oppor- tunities he added the resources of an inventive and fearless mind, joined to the quick impulses of youth, and the habit of steady and severe reflection. Un- controlled by birth or inherited attachments to any one state, he fastened with superior power upon the idea of a stronger union. Of Scotch and Celtic origin, he had something of proneness to the exercise of authority. His nature and temperament demanded a strong and well-organized government of ever-active and enduring power. Though still so young, his creative mind was, and remained for his lifetime, the wellspring of ideas for the conservative politicians of New York, and of an ever-increasing circle in other states. From his childhood he was unbounded in his admiration of the English constitution, and did not utterly condemn its methods of influence in the conduct of public affairs ; yet in his own nature there was nothing mean or low; he was disinter- ested, and always true to the sense of personal integrity and honor. The character of his mind and

410 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. Ms leaning to authority, combined with something ^_ ^ of a mean opinion of his fellow-men, cut him off from 17 80. the sympathy of the masses, so that he was in many ways unfit to lead a party ; and the years of his life which were most productive of good were those in which he acted with Washington, who was the head, the leader, and the guide of a nation in a manner which he was not only incapable of, but could never even fully comprehend. While the weightiest tes- timony that has ever been borne to the ability of Hamilton is by Washington, there never fell from Hamilton's pen during the lifetime of the latter one line which adequately expressed the character of Washington, or gave proof that he had had the pa- tience to verify the immense power that lay concealed beneath the uniform moderation and method of his chief. He had a good heart, but with it the pride and the natural arrogance of youth, combined with an almost overweening consciousness of his powers, so that he was ready to find faults in the administra- tion of others, and to believe that things might have gone better if the direction had rested with himself. Bold in the avowal of his own opinions, he was fear- less to provoke and prompt to combat opposition. It was not his habit to repine over lost opportuni- ties ; his nature inclined him rather to prevent what seemed to him coming evils by timely action. .

The England of that day had its precocious states- men. For stateliness of eloquence, and consummate skill in managing a legislative assembly, the palm must be given to Pitt, whom Hamilton excelled in vigor, consistency, and versatility. There were points of analogy between Hamilton and Fox. Both were

STRIVING FOR UNION. 411

of warm and passionate natures ; but Hamilton became chap. the father of a family, while Fox wasted life as a ^—^ libertine. It was remarkable of both of them, that, 17 80. with glowing natures, their style in debate and in writing was devoid of ornament, attractive only by strength of thought and clearness of expression.

On the third of September, 1780, Hamilton took '^^p*- the field as a maker of a national constitution by inviting Duane, a member of congress from New York, to hold up to that body the example of the New England states, and to call on the first day of the next November a convention of all the states, with full authority to conclude finally upon a general confederation. He traced the causes of the want of power in congress, and censured that body for its timidity in refusing to assume authority to preserve the republic from harm. " Undefined powers," he said, " are discretionary powers, limited only by the object for which they were given," not holding in mind that congress could not have assumed such powers, even if it would. " Already," he continued, '' some of the hnes of the army, but for the personal influence of the general, would obey their states in opposition to congress, notwithstanding the pains taken to preserve the unity of the army. The sov- ereign of an empire under one simple form of govern- ment has too much power; in an empire composed of confederated states, each with a government com- pletely organized within itself, the danger is directly the reverse."

" We must, at all events, have a vigorous confed- eration," he said, "if we mean to succeed in the contest, and be happy thereafter. Internal police

412 AMERICAN- INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, should be regulated bj the legislatures. Congress V— ^J^ should have complete sovereignty in all that re- 17 8 0. lates to war, peace, trade, finance, foreign affairs, armies, fleets, fortifications, coining money, estab- lishing banks, imposing a land-tax, poll-tax, duties on trade, and the unoccupied lands." "The con- federation should provide certain perpetual reve- nues, productive and easy of collection, — a land-tax, poll-tax, or the like ; which, together with the duties on trade and the unlocated lands, would give con- gress a substantial existence." "Where the public good is evidently the object, more may be effected in governments like ours than in any other. It has been a constant remark, that free coimtries have ever paid the heaviest taxes. The obedience of a free people to general laws, however hard they bear, is ever more perfect than that of slaves to the arbitrary will of a prince."

" As to the plan of confederation which congress had proposed, it is," he said, " defective, and requires to be altered. It is neither fit for war nor peace. The idea of an uncontrollable sovereignty in each state will defeat the powers given to congress, and make our union feeble and precarious."

The second step which Hamilton recommended was the appointment of great officers of state, — one for the department of foreign affairs, another for war, a third for the navy, a fourth for the treasury. These were to supersede the committees and the boards which had hitherto been usual ; but his plan neither went so far as to propose a president with the chief executive power, nor two branches in the national legislature. He would have placed the army exclu-

STKIYING FOR U^-ION. 413

sively under congress, but perhaps mistook its impor- chap. tance as " a solid basis of authority and consequence." J^^ The precedent of the Bank of England, of which he 17 80. over-estimated the influence on public credit, led him to place too much rehance on a bank of the United States.

The advice which Hamilton offered from his tent in the midst of an unpaid, half-fed, and half-clad army, was the more remarkable from the hopeful- ness which beamed through his words. No doubt crossed his mind, or, indeed, that of any of his countrymen, that a republic of united states could be formed over a widely extended territory.

Two days later, Washington, with Duane at his side, gazed from Weehawken heights on the half- ruined city of New York in her bondage. He may not have fully foreseen how the wealth and com- mercial representatives of all the nations of the world would be gathered on that island and the neighboring shores ; but he, too, never doubted of the coming prosperity and greatness of his country.

Congress toiled as before, and, if for the moment it toiled in vain, it secured the future. It urged on the states a liberal surrender of their territorial claims in the west, " to accelerate the federal alliance and lead to the happy establishment of the federal union;'* and, as if its eye had pierced the glories of the com- ing century, it provided " that the western lands which might be ceded to the United States should be settled and formed into distinct republican states, which shall become members of that federal union, and have the same rights of sovereignty, freedom, and independence as the other states." In October,

414 ameeica:n" independence.

CHAP, in words drafted by Eobert R. Livingston, it adhered • — ^ with hearty good- will to the principles of the armed 17 80. neutrality, and by a vote of a majority of the states it sought to quiet the discontent among the officers in the army by promising them haK-pay for life. But to relieve the embarrassments of the moment it was powerless.

Again on the twenty-second of October, Washing- ton, to guide his native state towards union, poured out his heart to his early friend George Mason : " Our present distresses are so great and complicated, that it is scarcely within the powers of description to give an adequate idea of them. With regard to our future prospects, unless there is a material change both in our civil and military policy, it will be in vain to contend much longer.

" We are without money ] without provision and forage, except what is taken by impress; without clothing ; and shortly shall be, in a manner, without men. In a word, we have lived upon expedients till we can live no longer. The history of this war is a history of temporary devices instead of system, and economy which results from it.

" If we mean to continue our struggles (and it is to be hoped we shall not relinquish our claims), we must do it upon an entire new plan. We must have a permanent force ; not a force that is constantly fluctuating and sliding from under us, as a pedestal of ice would leave a statue on a summer's day ; in- volving us in expense that baffles all calculation, an expense which no funds are equal to. We must at the same time contrive ways and means to aid our taxes by loans, and put our finances upon a more

STRIVING FOR UNION". 415

certain and stable footing than they are at present, chap. Our civil government must likewise undergo a re- w-v— ' form ; ample powers must be lodged in congress as 1 7 8 o, the head of the federal union, adequate to all the purposes of war. Unless these things are done, our efforts will be in vain."

On the fourth of November, congress once more Nov. distributed among the several states a tax of six millions of silver dollars, to be paid partly in specific articles. But in truth everybody came to the con- viction that the country must depend on France for aid in money. " It is now four days," Avrote Glover

to Massachusetts on the eleventh of December, i^ec.

11.

" since your line of the army has eaten one mouth- ful of bread. We have no money; nor will any- body trust us. The best of wheat is at this moment selling in the state of New York for three-fourths of a dollar per bushel, and your army is starving for want. On the first of January something will turn up, if not speedily prevented, ' which your officers cannot be answerabfe for."

When congress in September, 1776, had transferred the enlistment of troops to the states, the new re- cruits were to bind themselves to serve for the war ; but in some cases the enlistment was made " for three years or for the war ; " and three years had passed since that time. In the night of the first of January, 1 7 s i. 1781, a part of the Pennsylvania line, composed in '^*"' a large degree of Irish immigrants, and hutted at Morristown, revolted, and, under the lead of their non-commissioned officers, marched with six field- pieces to Princeton. The want of clothes in winter, of pay for nearly a year, the not infrequent want of

416 AMEEICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, food, the compulsion imposed upon some of them to ^---^ remain in service beyond the three years for which 1J81. they believed they had engaged, were extrem- ities which they would no longer endure.

Informed of the mutiny, Sir Henry Clinton passed over to Staten Island with a body of troops for its support; but two emissaries whom he sent to them with tempting offers were given up by the muti- neers, and after trial were hanged as spies. Eeed, the president of Pennsylvania, repaired to the spot, though it was beyond his jurisdiction ; and without authority, and without due examination of each case, he discharged those who professed to have served out their specified term, while measures were taken by the state of Pennsylvania to clothe and pay the rest. They, for the most part, obtained no more than was due them ; but it was of evil tendency that they gained it by a revolt.

In a circular letter to the New England states, of which Knox was made the bearer, Washington laid open the aggravated calamities and distresses of the army. " Without relief the worst," he said, " that can befall us may be expected. I will continue to exert every means I am possessed of to prevent an extension of the mischief ; but I can neither foretell nor be answerable for the issue."

Troops of New Jersey, whose ranks next to the Pennsylvania line included the largest proportion of foreigners, showed signs of being influenced by the bad example ; but Washington interposed. The troops of New England, which had twenty regiments in the continental service, had equal reasons for dis- content ; but they were almost every one of them

STRIVING FOR UNIOJT. 417

native Americans, freeholders or sons of freeholders, chap.

XIX.

In spite of their nakedness, they inarched through ^1^— ^ deep snows, over mountainous roads, and suppressed ^].^^ the incipient revolt. The passions of the army were quieted by their patriotism ; and order and discipline returned. " Human patience has its limits," wrote Lafayette to his wife on the occasion ; " no European army would suffer the tenth part of what the Ameri- can troops suffer. It takes citizens to support hun- ger, nakedness, toil, and the total want of pay, which constitute the condition of our soldiers, the hardiest and most patient that are to be found in the world."

Knox reported from New England zealous efforts to enlist men for the war. Congress could do nothing, and confessed that it could do nothing. " We have required," thus they wrote to the states on the fifteenth of January, 1781, " aids of men, provisions, and money ; " and they stated exactly the difficulty under which the union labored when they added: "the states alone have authority to execute."

Since congress itself made a public confession of its powerlessness, nothing remained but to appeal to France for rescue not from a foreign enemy, but from the evils consequent on its own want of govern- ment. " If France lends not a speedy aid," wrote Greene from the south to her minister in Phila- delphia, " I fear ,tlie country will be for ever lost ; " and Greene was " not of a desponding spirit or idle temper."

It was therefore resolved, for the moment, to

despatch to Versailles as a special minister some one

who had lived in the midst of the ever-increasing

distresses of the army, to set them before the gov<jrn-

voL. X. 27

CHAP, ment of France in the most striking light. Hamilton,

418 AMEKICAN IN^DEPENDENCE.

ment of France in the most striking ligh the fittest man for the office, was not known to con- 17 81. gress^ and its choice fell on the younger Laurens of South Carolina.

To the agent Washington confided a statement of the condition of the country; and with dignity and candor avowed that it had reached a crisis out of which it could not rise by its own unassisted strength. " Without an immediate, ample, and efficacious succor in money," such were his words, "we may make a feeble and expiring effort in our next campaign, in all probability the period of our opposition. Next to a loan of money, a constant naval superiority on these coasts is the object most interesting ; " and without exaggeration he explained the rapid ad- vancement of his country in population and pros- perity, and the certainty of its redeeming in a short term of years the comparatively inconsiderable debts it might have occasion to contract. To Franklin he wrote in the same strain ; and Lafayette addressed a like memorial of ripe wisdom to Yergennes.

While the United States thus importuned a foreign prince for help, their people, in proportion to num- bers, was richer than the people to whose king from their own want of government they were obliged to appeal. Can France organize its resources, and are the people of the republican America incapable of doing so ? Can monarchy alone give to a nation unity ? Is freedom necessarily anarchical ? Can liberty not administer and rule ? Are authority and the hopes of humanity for ever at variance ? Can Louis the Sixteenth have revenues, armies, and fleets ; and are American statesmen powerless to bring out the re-

STRIYIXG FOR imiON-. 419

sources of their collective states ? Are the people of chap. the United States, who so excel that of France in w.^ liberty, doomed to hopeless inferiority in respect of 1 7 8 1. administration ? For the eye of Robert Livingston, then the most influential member from New York, ^;'"- Washington traced to their source the evils under which the country was sinking, and invited their cor- rection. "There can be no radical cure," wrote he, " till congress is vested by the several states with full and ample powers to enact laws for general purposes, and till the executive business is placed in the hands of able and responsible men. Requisitions then will be supported by law."

Congress began to be of the same opinion. On the fifth of February, Witherspoon of New Jersey, Feb. seconded by Burke of North Carolina, proposed to vest in that body the power to regulate commerce, and to lay duties upon imported articles. The proposition was negatived, but it was resolved to be indispensably necessary for the states to vest a power in congress to levy a duty of five per cent on importations of articles of foreign growth and manufacture. Before that power could be so vested, the separate approval of every one of the thirteen states must be gained.

The assent of Virginia was promptly given. That great commonwealth, having Jefferson for its gov- ernor, sought to promote peace and union. To ad- vance the former, it even instructed its delegates in congress to surrender the right of navigating the Mississippi river below the thirty-first degree of north latitude, provided Spain in return would guar- antee the navigation of the river above that parallel. Madison, obeying the instruction, voted for the meas-

420 AMEEICAK INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, ure contrary to his private judgment. Massachusetts, vl-^ Connecticut^ and North Carolina alone opposed, New 17 81. York being divided. Virginia did more. Avowing her regard for a "federal union," and preferring the good of the country to every object of smaller importance, it resolved to yield its title to the lands north-west of the Ohio, on condition that the territories should be formed into distinct republican states, and be admitted members of the federal union ; and Jef- ferson, who from the first had pledged himself to the measure, announced to congress the great act of his administration in a letter full of hope for the comple- tion of the American union, and the establishment of free republics in the vast country to which Virginia quitted her claim. March Thc first day of March was a great day in the history of the country. America had proceeded by petitions to the king, by a declaration of rights, by an appeal to the world on taking up arms, by her declaration of independence onwards to the confeder- ation which was designed to make them one people for all time; Maryland, the last of the thirteen states, subscribed and ratified the articles ; and the United States of America, each and every of them, adopted, confirmed, and ratified their confederation and per- petual union. A new era of the United States assembled in congress was begun.

It is terrible when a state, long crushed by sufferings, struggles for that which promises relief, and on attaining it finds it an illusion. The people of the United States thought that they had established a government, and there was no government. In the form drafted by Dickinson, the confederation

STRIVING FOR UNION. 421

was to be only an alliance of sovereign states : every chap. change that had been made had still further impaired ^-.^J^ its relative consideration. The original report per- 1 7 8 1. mitted each separate state to impose duties on im- ports and exports, provided they did not interfere with stipulations in treaties ; and the confederation, as adopted, confined this restriction to the treaties already proposed to France and Spain. No power to prohibit the slave-trade was granted. In troops, raised for the common defence, the appointment of field and inferior officers, and the filling up of vacan- cies, were reserved to the several states.

The assent of two-thirds of the states, that is of nine states, was required for every important meas- ure of peace or war, of treaties, of finance ; and the vote of every absent or unrepresented state was counted in the negative: so that congress for months or even for years might be unable and was unable even to frame a resolution on vital ques- tions.

Further: each state retained its sovereignty and every attribute not expressly delegated to the United States in congress assembled ; and, by the denial of all incidental powers, the exercise of the granted powers was rendered impracticable. By the articles of confederation, congress alone could treat with foreign nations; but they provided no method for enforcing treaties, so that the engagements on the part of the nation might at any time be violated by any one of its members.

Congress was to defray expenses for the common defence or general welfare out of a common treasury ; but there was no independent treasury: the taxes

422 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, were to be laid and levied by the legislatures of the J-^w several states. Moreover, the quotas of the states y ^ h' ^^^'^ ^^ ^^ assigned in proportion to the value of all real estate within each state, and that value each state was to estimate for itself. Congress, which had no direct power to levy any money whatever, could not even assign to the states their quotas, till every one of the thirteen should have completed its valua- tion. The states might tax imports as much as they pleased : congress could not tax them at all. Con- gress could declare war, but had not power to bring a single citizen into the field.

A confederation is the opposite to union ; since it acts not on individuals, but only on each separate sovereignty. The states of America had formed a confederation, not a unio^. Room for amendment seemed to be provided for; but such amendment could not take place without the simultaneous and unanimous consent of the states. America had seated anarchy deeply in the very source of legislation. No creative word could go forth : through congress there could be no agreement in reform. With every day men would grow more attached to their separate states ; for many of these had the best governments in the world, while the confederation was one of the w^orst, or rather no government at all.

Washington was the first to perceive the defects of the confederation, . and to urge its reform. On the day before it was adopted, he had explained to a , young member of the Virginia legislature " the neces- sity of a controlHng power to regulate and direct all matters of general concern. The great business of war," he said, " never can be well conducted, if it

STRIVING FOR UNION. 423

can be conducted at all, while the powers of congress chap. are only recommendatory." w-^

" Our independence, our respectability and conse- 1 7 8 1. quence in Europe, our greatness as a nation here- «

after, depend upon vesting congress with competent powers. That body, after hearing the views of -the several states fairly discussed, must dictate and not merely recommend."

And now that the confederation was established, he addressed himseK to the great statesmen of Vir- ginia, to Pendleton, Wythe, and Jefferson, to give adequate powers to the representative body of the states, especially a control over refractory states, to compel their compliance with the requisitions made npon them. " Danger," he wrote, " may spring from delay ; good, from a timely application of a remedy. The present temper of the states is friendly to the establishment of a lasting union • the moment should be improved : if suffered to pass away, it may never return ; and, after gloriously and successfully con- tending against the usurpations of Britain, we may fall a prey to our own follies and disputes." ^

He was more particularly impelled to express his opinions with freedom, because in December, 1779, the legislature of Virginia seemed to have censured the point of enforcing obedience to requisitions. " It would give me concern," he added, " should it be thought of me that I am desirous of enlarging the powers of congress unnecessarily, as I declare to God my only aim is the general good. Perhaps a knowl-

1 Madison Papers, i. 82. Mr. Washington wrote the above let- Hugh Blair* Grigsby assures me ter." Written by H. B. G., 30 that " there can be no doubt that May, 1807; very high authority.

424 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, edge that this power was lodged in congress might w-^-L/ be the means to prevent its ever being exercised, \l^l' and the more readily induce obedience: indeed, if

March. "^^ ^

congress was unquestionably possessed of the power, nothing should induce the display of it but obstinate disobedience and the urgency of the general wel- fare." April. rpj^g course of business brought the subject imme- diately into discussion in congress itself. The confed- eration was but a month and a. half old, when a committee presented a report drafted by Madison, proposing by an amendment to the articles of con- federation to give to the United States full authority to employ their force, as well by sea as by land, to compel any delinquent state to fulfil its federal engagements; and the reason for the measure as assigned in the preamble was to cement and in- vigorate the federal union that it might be estab- lished on the most immutable basis.

From that day Madison never ceased his efforts till a better system was established ; but the most reflecting and far-seeing observers of the inadequacy of the powers allowed to congress dared not hope that its members would be able to remodel the con- federacy. In a pamphlet published in May, 1781, at the city in which they were assembled, Pelatiah Webster, an able though not a conspicuous citizen, pointed out to them the necessity of their calHng a continental convention for the express purpose of ascertaining, defining, enlarging, and limiting the duties and powers of their constitution.

The American people were bent on having a gov- ernment, though their road to it lay through humilia-

STRIVING FOR UNION". 425

tion and sorrow. But, while the United States chap.

XIX.

were slowly sounding their way to union, Wash- w^ ington on the first day of May made a note, that 1^7 8 1. instead of magazines they had but a scanty pit- tance of provisions, scattered here and there in the different parts of the army; and poorly provided arsenals, which the workmen were leaving. The articles of field equipage were not in readiness, nor funds to defray the expenses of regular transporta- tion. Scarce any one of the states had as yet sent an eighth part of its quota into the field ; and there was no prospect of a glorious offensive campaign, unless their generous allies should help them with money and with a fleet strong enough to secure the superi- ority at sea.^

* Washington's MS. Journal.

17 80.

CHAPTER XX.

GREAT BRITAIN MAKES WAR ON THE NETHERLANDS.

1780-1781.

CHAP- The successor of Lord TV'e3miouth was Lord Stor- — V — ' mont, the late British ambassador at Paris. He had an unbounded confidence in the spirit and resources of his country; but this confidence took the worst forms of haughty blindness to moral distinctions in dealing with foreign powers. To the complaints of the Dutch respecting the outrage on their flag, he answered by interpreting treaties directly contrary to their plain meaning, and then by saying : " We are determined to persist in the line of conduct we have taken, be the consequences what they may." ^

The British ministry sent the case of the Dutch merchant vessels that had been carried into Ports- mouth to the court of admiralty; and Sir James Mariott, the judge, thus laid down the law: "It imports little whether the blockade be made across the narrows at Dover, or off the harbor at Brest or

1 Stormontto Yorke, 11 Jan., 1780.

GREAT BRITAIN MAKES WAR ON THE NETHERLANDS. 427

L'Orient. If you are taken, you are blocked. Great chap. Britain, by her insular position, blocks naturally all ^^ the ports of Spain and France. She has a right to ^ ^ 8 o. avail herseK of this position as a gift of Providence."^ Influenced by the preponderating members of the republic, the stadholder addressed a representation to the empress of Kussia for concert in the defence of neutral flags. Before it had been received at Petersburg, Prince Galitzin, the Eussian envoy at the Hague, on the third of April invited the states-gen- ^f'^ eral to a union for the protection of neutral trade and navigation. " The same invitation," said the envoy, " has been made to the courts of Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Lisbon, in order that by the joint endeavors of all neutral maritime powers a natural system, founded on justice, may be established as a rule for future ages." The states-general desired to join in the defensive association, but the stadholder, under English influence, contrived to make delay.

England acted promptly. On the seventeenth, an i7. order of the king in council suspended all treaties between the two countries, and threw back the Netherlands upon their rights under the law of nations. In consequence of this order in council, Dutch ships were taken into English ports and con- demned by the admiralty, on the principle that French harbors being naturally blockaded by those of Eng- land Dutch ships had no right to sail near them.

Of the belligerents the honor of making the first answer to the Russian declaration was conceded to Spain ; and Florida Blanca on the eighteenth of April is. adopted the measure so heartily that in the autobio-

» Dip. Cor.jiv. 473.

428 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, graphic report which he made of his administration

w.^^/ to his king he relates : " The honor of this success-

17 80. ful project has been ascribed to Russia, which in fact

lent to it support ; but it had its origin in the cabinet

of your Majesty.'*

A week later, France, like Spain, acceded to the declaration of Russia. " The war in which the king is engaged has no other object than the liberty of the seas. The king believed he had prepared an epoch glorious for his reign, in fixing by his example the rights of neutrals. His hopes have not been deceived." ^^^' On the fifth of October, the United States of America in congress, by a resolution which Robert R. Livingston had drafted, proclaimed the principles of the empress of Russia, and afterwards included them in their treaties with the Netherlands, with Sweden, and with Prussia.

By the other belligerent of that day, the armed neutrality was considered fatal to its sovereignty over the ocean. The king was ready to bring the ques- tion to an issue. His ministry were of the opinion, that to tolerate the armed neutrality was to confess that British supremacy on the high seas was broken. A half -official rumor was set afloat that England would declare war on the Netherlands if they should accept the invitation of Russia ; and the cabinet established two points, from neither of which they would depart, — the one to attack any Netherlands convoy ; the other to prevent the association of the Netherlands with Russia at all hazards.^

Even Lord Shelburne, the chief of the opposition in

* Welderen to Fagel, 2 May, 1780.

GREAT BRITAIN MAKES WAR ON THE NETHERLANDS. 429

the upper house, condemned the Russian manifesto ^^^p- as an attempt by a " nation scarcely known to have ^v— ' existence as a maritime power thirty years ago, to ^ ^ ^ ^* dictate laws of navigation to Great Britain." And Lord Camden condemned the declaration of the empress as a dangerous and arbitrary edict, sub- versive of the first principle of the law of nations.

Yet the answer of the British government to the declaration of the empress of Russia avoided ex- pressing any opinion on the rules which she had laid down. " An ambiguous and trimming answer was given : " such is the severe judgment of Harris. " We seemed equally afraid to accept or dismiss the new-fangled doctrines of Russia. I was instructed secretly to oppose, but avowedly to acquiesce in them."

The neutral powers on the continent, one after the other, joined in accepting the code of Catharine. Bernstorif, though very reluctant to do anything not acceptable to the English court, with which he was then conducting a private negotiation on contraband, on the eighth of July announced the adhesion of Juij Denmark to the Russian principles, and on the next day confirmed the declaration by a treaty with Russia. On the twenty-first of July, Gustavus set forth to the 21. belligerents that the principles of Russia were his own, and Sweden acceded to the treaty between Denmark and Russia, and Denmark to that between Russia and Sweden. The three powers agreed to support each other against all and every attack by reprisals and other means. Eachj)ower was to tit out a fleet, and the several commanders were ordered to protect every mercantile ship of the three na-

430 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, tions against injury. When in autumn it came to w^^J-. light that Bernstorjff in a separate treaty with Great 17 8 0. Britain had compromised the rule on contraband, the minister was for the time dismissed from office.^ It May may here be added that on the seventh of May, 1781, Frederic of Prussia acceded to the armed neutrality, and obtained its protection for the commerce of his people. Five months later, Joseph the Second over- came his ill-humored demurs, and, by yielding by treaty to the empress, gained advantages for the commerce of Belgium. The accession of Portugal 17 82. took place in July, 1782 ; that of Naples in February of the following year ; that of the Ottoman Porte in September, 1782, by its treaty with Spain, confirmed 17 8 3. in June, 1783, by its treaty with Eussia.

Every considerable power on the continent of Europe, from Archangel to Constantinople, accepted the rules of navigation which the empress of Eussia 17 8 0. had promulgated ; yet Great Britain, which had met them without a protest or a denial, w^as unrelentingly resolved to prevent the accession, of the Nether- lands to the association through their stadholder or by war.

Even if the British had reason for suspending all treaties with the Netherlands, the republic remained an independent state, and had all the rights of an unprivileged neutral j yet Stormont showed it no more respect than might have been done to a vassal. '^ The best way," wrote he to Yorke, " to bring the Dutch around to their senses is to wound them in their most feeling part, their carrying trade. The

' Bismarck to Frederic, 5 and 12 Sept., 3 and 10 Oct., 11 and H

Nov., 1780.

GREAT BRITAIN MAKES WAR ON THE NETHERLANDS. 431

success of our cruisers has hitherto fallen much short chap. of expectation." So on the thirtieth of May, in a -1^^ time of uninterrupted peace, Yorke was instructed to i ^ « ^• collect the best intelligence on the voyages of the 3o. Dutch merchants, that the British cruisers might know where to go for the richest prizes.^

The condition of the Netherlands was truly diffi- cult to be borne ; their honor was trifled with ; their ^'^• commerce pillaged; they were weak and without promise of help from any side ; their stadholder did not support them. The arrival of each English mail was waited for to learn by what new measures the British cabinet would abuse their power, and how many more Dutch ships had been seized. The re- public had no part to choose but submission to Great Britain or an association with Russia. The draft of the convention which the empress had directed to be offered to Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands, arrived in June. The grand pensionary and the country wished to accede to the confederacy of the North. But the stadholder, who in May, acting in the interests of England, refused to take a step till the conduct of all the other neutral powers should be thoroughly understood, in June would not listen to J^"ne any treaty with Russia unless the possessions of the republic in both Indies should be guaranteed. " A better idea," wrote Yorke, " could not be started to overset the whole." ^

Yet Stormont, who on this subject guided the cabinet of England, wrote to the British ambassador at the Hague : " If the states-general proceed, they

' stormont to Yorke, 30 May, ' Yorke to Stormont, 16 June,

1780. 1780.

432 AMERICAN INDEPEISTDENCE.

CHAP, throw the die and leave us no alternative ; " ^ and he

XX.

v-1^ made the same unequivocal declaration to Welderen, 17 80. the Dutch representative at London. A war by Eng- land against the Netherlands might prove fatal to the House of Orange. " I am as much attached to that family as a man can be/' wrote Stormont; but he would not let any sentiments of veneration and attach- ment bias his opinion or retard extreme measures.^

The commissioners for the Netherlands found in Panin a statesman who regarded the independence of America as a result very advantageous for all nations and especially for Russia, and who did not doubt that England would, be forced to recognise it.^ He could not grant the wished-for guarantee of the Dutch pos- sessions in America, at the Cape of Good Hope, and in Sept. India ; but in the course of September he drafted the convention which he held to be the only possible one between Russia and the republic* The draft did not include a general guarantee ; but, if the republic should be attacked on account of the convention, the other powers were to take her part. A separate article declared the object of the armed neutrality to be the restoration of peace. At the same time couriers were despatched to the courts of Stock- holm and Copenhagen ; so that against the return of a favorable answer from the Hague all things might be prepared for receiving the Dutch republic into the league of neutral powers.

Every step of this negotiation was watched by England, with the determination, if it should succeed,

^ Stormont to Yorke, 8 Aug., ^ The Marquis de V6rac to Yer- 1780. gennes, 1 Sept., 1780.

^ Ibid., 19 Sept., 1780. * Ibid., 12 Sept., 1780.

GREAT BRITAIN MAKES WAR ON" THE NETHERLANDS. 433

to declare war against the Netherlands, even though char it might prove fatal to the House of Orange. Yet w-^J^ the ministry, who were all the time seeking an 17 80. alliance with Eussia, disliked the appearance of going to war with the republic solely for her intention of joining the armed neutrality. In October, Henry ^<^^ Laurens, whom the United States had accredited to the Netherlands for the purpose of raising a loan, was taken on his passage to Europe, and among his papers was found the unauthorized project for a treaty, concerted as we have seen between Neufville and William Lee. To Lord Stormont the " transac- tion appeared to be the act of individuals," ^ and the Earl of Hillsborough owned " that the states-general had had no knowledge of the treaty, which had never been signed except by private persons." ^ But the resolution was instantly taken to use the Laurens papers so as to " give the properest direction to the war."^ After an examination at the admiralty before the three secretaries of state, Laurens was escorted through the streets of London by a large guard, and confined as a state's prisoner in the tower, where he was debarred from all intercourse, and from the use of pen and paper, so as to produce upon the public mind a strange and startHng sen- sation.

When the courier from Petersburg arrived at the Hague with the treaty that Panin had drafted, Stor- mont saw there was no time to be lost. "If the states should relinquish the demand of a general

^ Stormont to Keith, 3 Nov., ' Maltzan to Frederic, 10 Nov., 1780. 1780.

8 Stormont to Yorke, 11 Oct., 1780. VOL. X. 28

434 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, guarantee/* thus on the eleventh of October he in- v.^^— ^ structed Yorke, " and accede to the neutral conven- 17 80. tion, such an event would leave us no alternative."^

Oct. '

31- On the last day of October, Yorke announced that the states-general, at their meeting in the first week of No- Nov. vember, would disavow the transaction between Am- sterdam and America, but would decide to join the northern league. " I am afraid," he said, " we must proceed alone, and advise an immediate declaration." ^ On the third of November, this despatch was laid before the king. On that very same day, the states of Holland, after full deliberation, condemned the conduct of Amsterdam for the acts which Great Britain resented, and resolved to give to the British government every reasonable satisfaction, so as to leave not the slightest ground for just complaint. Even Yorke, who saw everything with the eyes of an Englishman, thought their conduct rather fair.^ Yet Stormont would brook no delay; and the British cabinet anticipating the peaceful intentions of the states of Holland and the states-general, wdth the approval of the king, on the same day came to a determination to make war upon the republic, unless it should recede from its purpose of joining the northern confederacy.^ In the very hours in which this decision was taken, Yorke was writing that a war with the republic would be a war with a government without artillery, " in want of stores of all kinds, without fleet or army, or any one possession in a state of defence."*

^ Stormont to Yorke, 11 Oct., ' Yorke to Stormont, 7 Nov., 1780. 1780.

■■* Yorke to Stormont, 31 Oct., * Stormont to Yorke, 4 Nov., 1780. 1780.

5 Yorke to Stormont, 3 Nov., 1780.

Mov.

GREAT BRITAIN MAKES WAR ON THE NETHERLANDS. 435

The memorial to the states-general was drafted by chap. Lord Stormont himself, and was designed to conceal S^ the real motives of Great Britain under a cloud of i7.«<>- obloquy relating to Amsterdam, and by demands impossible to be complied with. The memorial was not to be presented if the ambassador had certain information that the majority of the provinces would refuse to join the maritime league of the North. " We do not wish," wrote Stormont, " to give a deep wound to our old and natural allies. Our object is to cure their madness by stunning them into their

senses." ^

, On the sixth, Yorke represented to the stadholder the opportunity of the republic for repentance and amendment. The prince, shrugging his shoulders, answered : " I foresee consequences which may be fatal to my house and the republic." Yorke replied that the stadholder might do a secondary and passive kind of service by starting difficulties and delays to hamper the conclusion of the fresh instructions to the ministers at Petersburg. The stadholder answered : " England cannot impute a wish for war to those who are for concluding a neutral alliance with Eussia, nor blame a vote of convoy from which masts and ship- timber are excluded." Yorke urged that the alhance with the North was pushed by men of warlike views. The stadholder answered : " The regents in general have not that view." Yorke turned the conversation to the negotiation with America. The stadholder answered : " I have reason to believe Holland will, as it ought to do, disavow and disapprove that transac- tion." "And give satisfaction too?" asked Yorke.

1 Stormont to Yorke, 4 Nov., 1780.

436 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP The prince answered : " I hope they will commimi-

— ^ cate their disavowal to England." But he did not

17 8 0. deny that the plurality of the provinces was in favor

of the connection with Kussia on the terms which

that empire had proposed.^

Just after this interview, Yorke received from Stormont an inquiry as to where blows could be struck at the republic with the most profit, and on ^- the seventh of November Yorke replied : • " This country is by no means prepared for war. It is the fashion still to suppose a war against England impos- sible. The executive part of the government has been averse to it all along. As to the Dutch settle- ments in the East and West Indies, their own avowal proves them in a deplorable state ; but St. Eustatius, above all St. Eustatius, is the golden mine of the moment."^ This letter of Yorke was received by ^2- Stormont on the twelfth ; and the passage relating to St. Eustatius was secretly sent forthwith to the . British admiralty for its guidance. 10- Already on the tenth Yorke had presented to the states-general Lord Stormont's memorial. " The king insists," so ran its words, " on the exemplary punishment of the Pensionary van Berckel and his accomplices, as disturbers of the pubHc peace, and violators of the rights of nations. His Majesty flat- ters himself that the answer of your High Mightinesses will be speedy, and to the purpose in every respect." " To pass over in silence so just a request will be deemed a denial, and his Majesty will think himself obhged to take such steps as become his dignity."

1 Yorke to Stormont, 7 Nov., ' Yorke to Stormont, 7 Nov., 1780. 1780.

GREAT BRITAIN MAKES WAR ON THE NETHERLANDS. 437

Three days after the delivery of the memorial, chap. Yorke caused it to be printed. It seemed to the ^C— ' .patriots singular for the English to demand the ^l^^- punishment of Van Berckel, when they themselves did not even bring Laurens to trial. People in the towns under English influence said: "Van Berckel and accomplices deserve to be ' de-Witted.' " ^ " If a small mob/' wrote Yorke from the Hague, " receive the deputies of Amsterdam when they next come here, the a:ffair will be soon decided. But how promise for work with the tools I have."^

" The die is thrown," wrote Stormont to Yorke on the fourteenth, as he asked him for the best informa- ^*- tion respecting all the vulnerable parts of the repub- lic.^ At that time there still reigned among the Dutch confidence in peace. On the twenty-third, ^ the states of Holland, acting on a communication from the stadholder, entirely disavowed and disapproved all and whatever had been done by or on the part of the burgomasters and regents of the town of Amster- dam respecting negotiations with congress.* The dis- avowal of Van Berckel was, in itseK, a very severe punishment. Before further proceeding, inquiry needed to be made as to the nature of his offence and the tribunal before which he could be brought to trial. The states-general confirmed the disavowal made by the states of Holland, and further declared their wish to preserve a good understanding with England. Every post brought to the court of Lon- don concurrent proofs that the cities, the people,

I Yorke to Stormont, 14 Nov., « Stormont to Yorke, 14 Nov., 1780. 1780.

^ Yorke to Fraser, 14 Nov., * Resolution of the States of 1780 Holland, 23 Nov., 1780.

438 AMERICAN I]ST)EPENDEXCE.

CHAP, every branch of the government, all the ministers, J^.-^^ desired to continue at peace. Even the stadholder, 1 7 8 0. the great partisan of England, thought that the Dutch government had done enough to remove from them- selves every suspicion. ^j°' Yet on the first of December Stormont demanded the exemplary and immediate punishment of the 0- Amsterdam offenders; and on the fifth he asked of Yorke some ideas for a manifesto, for he was prepar- ing " to send secret orders to seize the Dutch settle- 16. ments in the West Indies." ^ Then, on the sixteenth, before he even knew that his second memorial had been presented, having been informed that, on the afternoon of the eleventh, the states-general had resolved to make the declaration of the armed neu- traHty without delay, he sent orders to Yorke " as soon as may be to quit Holland without taking leave." ^

While Yorke was still negotiating at the Hague, British cruisers pounced upon the unsuspecting mer- chantmen of their ally of a hundred and six years, and captured two hundred ships of the republic, car- rying cargoes worth fifteen millions of guilders. Four days at least before he left the Hague, a swift cutter was sent to Rodney at Barbadoes with orders, founded upon the ambassador's letter of the seventh of No- vember, to seize St. Eustatius. 17^81- Suddenly, on the third of February, 1781, the 2- British West India fleet and army, after a feint on the coasts of Martinique, appeared off the island and demanded of de Graat, the governor, its surrender

^ Stormont to Yorke, Confiden- ' Stormont to Yorke, 16 Dec., tial,0 Dec, 1780. 1780.

GREAT BRITAIN MAKES WAR ON THE NETHERLANDS. 439

within an hour. " The surprise and astonishment of chap. the inhabitants was scarcely to be conceived." Una- w^ ble to offer resistance, ignorant of a rupture between 1 7 8 1. Great Britain and the repubhc, the governor surren- dered his post and its dependencies, invoking clem- ency for the town. The wealth of the island, which was a free port for all nations, astonished even those who had expected most, " the whole of it being one continued store of French, American, Dutch,'' and also English " property.'' In the words of Rodney : " All the magazines, the storehouses, are filled, and even the beach covered with tobacco and sugar." The value of the merchandise, at a moderate estimate, con- siderably exceeded three millions of pounds sterling. Besides this, there were taken in the bay upwards of one hundred and fifty merchant vessels, a Dutch frigate, and five smaller vessels of war, all complete and ready for service. Thirty richly freighted Dutch ships, which had left the island about thirty-six hours before, were overtaken by a detachment from Rod- ney's fleet, and captured with the Dutch ship of sixty guns which was their convoy. The Dutch flag was kept flying on the island, and decoyed no less than seventeen ships into the port after its capture. Three large ships from Amsterdam, laden with all kinds of naval stores, were taken and carried into St. Christo- pher. At St. Eustatius, in the order of sale, English stores were, for form's sake, excepted ; but all prop- erty was seized, and the confiscation was general without discrimination between friend and foe, be- tween neutral powers and belligerents, between Dutch and British. A remonstrance from British merchants, written by the king's solicitor-general

440 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, in St. Christopher, Rodney scorned to read, and

V— -v— ' answered: "The island of St. Eustatius is Dutch;

"^Feb^' everything in it is Dutch; everything is under the

3- protection of the Dutch flag, and as Dutch it shall be

treated."

Besides St. Eustatius, all the settlements of the republic in South America were taken during the season. The undefended Cape of Good Hope, the half-way house on the voyage to India; the feebly garrisoned Negapatam ; and the unique harbor of Trincomalee on Ceylon, — were all of them most desirable objects for Great Britain.

The Dutch republic was relatively weak; yet, if her finances were impaired, it was by debts con- tracted during her alliance with England and in rendering service to that power. England lost, for the time, its remaining influence on the continent of Europe by this cruel and unjust war. No nation remained with which it had any connection on the score of principle ; not one to which it was drawn by regard for the higher interests of humanity.

CHAPTER XXI.

FRANCE HAS NEEDOFPEACE. 1780, 1781.

^^ E:n-gland/* said Yergennes, "has declared war chap. against the Netherlands from hatred of their acces- ^.^ sion to the neutrality. The more I reflect, the more ^ "^ ^ ^• I am perplexed to know whether we ought to be glad or sorry." ^ A new obstacle was created to the gen- eral peace for which we must now trace the negotia- tions. Spain had calculated every thing for a single campaign.^ The invasion of England having failed, the querulous King Charles, after but seven months of hostilities, complained " that France had brought Spain into the war for its own interests alone ; ^ and had caused the first mishaps " to his flag.'* Florida Blanca, speaking to the French ambassador, called * himself a great fool for having induced his king to the declaration against England. With regard to

' Vergennes to Montmorin, 25 ' Montmorin to Vergennes, 9

and 27 Dec, 1780. Jan., 1780.

' Montmorin to Vergennes, 13 * Ibid., 26 June, 1780. May, 1780.

442 AMEEICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, the United States, Yergennes always maintained that — ^ France was held in honor to sustain their independ- 17 8 0. ence, but that their boundaries were contingent on events ; ^ and to conciliate independence with the honor of England,^ and quiet the apprehensions of Spain, he was willing to leave to England at the peace Canada, according to the old French claims, and the countty west and north-west of the Ohio.^ But King CharlQs desired to retain them if possible in some kind of vassalage to Great Britain,* or give them up to helpless anarchy.^ He would not receive Jay as an envoy, and declined even a visit from the late minister of France at Philadelphia, on his way back from his mission. If American independence was to be granted, it must be only on such terms as would lead to endless quarrels with England.^ It was the constant reasoning of Florida Blanca, that the northern colonies preserved a strong attachment for their mother country, and, if once possessed of independence, would become her useful ally ; while if they were compelled to submit to her rule, they would be only turbulent subjects."^ Tossed by danger and doubt from one expedient to another, Spain, through the government of Portugal, sought to open a secret negotiation with England ; and the king of France, in an autograph letter, acquiesced in the attempt.^

When in February, 1780, John Adams arrived in

' Compare Vergennes to Mont- ^ Montmorin to Vergennes, 22

morin, 22 Jan., 1781. Feb., 1780.

•^ Ibid., 13 Jan., 1780. « Ibid., 29 March, 1780.

8 Ibid., 26 April and 4 Dec, ^ Ibid., 20 Nov., 1780. 1780. ^ The king of France to the

^ Montmorin to Vergennes, 22 king of Spain, 25 April, 1780. Jan., 1780.

FRANCE HAS NEED OF PEACE. 443

Paris with full powers to treat with Great Britain for chap. peace and commerce, the French minister desired ^I^ that the object of his commission should for the 17 80. present remain unknown. Adams repHed by enu- meratiLg the reasons for communicating it to Great Britain without delay ; but he was not obstinate, and waited for the opinion of congress. A discussion next followed on applying to French creditors the reduction by congress in the value of its paper money. Adams argued vigorously that the reduction must affect all nations ahke, for which he obtained the approbation of congress. These points being dis- posed of, he not only assumed a right to give advice to the king of France on the conduct of the war, but, to a court where the sanctity of regal power formed the accepted creed, he laid it down as certain that "in this intelligent age the principle is well agreed on in the world that the people have a right to a form of government according to their own judgments and inclinations." Yergennes broke o€ correspondence with him, as not being accredited to France, and complained to the French minister at Philadelphia of his want of a conciliatory temper. Franklin, too, though with reluctance, suffered him- seK to be made the channel of communicating offi- cially the censures which Yergennes did not spare. In the favor of congress Franklin lost ground by his compliance, while Adams was supported more heart- ily than before.

In midsummer, from his eagerness for peace, Maurepas forgot himseff so far as to insinuate his wish in a letter to one Forth, a former secretary of the British embassy at Paris. Nothing came of

444 AMERICAN ^DEPENDENCE.

CHAP, the overture. " Peace will be a great good," wrote v-l^^-w Marie Antoinette ; " but, if our enemies do not de- 17 80. mand it, I shall be very much afflicted by a humiliat- ing one."^ After the capture of Charleston, and the rout of the army under Gates, the British parliament, which came together in November, granted all the demands of the ministry for money and for men by vast majorities ; and the dread of disorder in the cities of England gave new strength to the govern- Dcc. ment. At such a moment, Necker, who was ready to take everything upon himself, wrote secretly to Lord North, proposing peace on the basis of a truce, during which each party should keep possession of all that it had acquired. The terms thus clandes- tinely offered were such as Vergennes always re- jected, as inconsistent with the fidelity and honor of France. In England, they were no farther heeded than as a confession of exhaustion and weakness. " I will express no opinion," said Yergennes, of 17 81. Necker, in January, 1781, "on his financial opera- tions, but in all other parts of the administration he is short-sighted and ignorant." Called to the conferences of the ministers, he continually dinned into their ears " Peace ! peace ! " " Peace," replied Yergennes, " is a good thing, only you should pro- pose the means of attaining it in an honorable manner." ^ In his clamor for peace, Necker did but echo the opinion of all Paris. Maurepas, too, gave out that peace must be restored before the close of the year ; and the king declared that he was

' Marie Antoinette to Maria ' Count von Mercy to Prince Theresa, 13 July and 11 Oct., Kaunitz, 21Jan., 1781. 1780.

FRANCE HAS NEED OF PEACE. 445

tired of the war, and that an end must be made of it chap. before the year should go out.^ The negotiations for wC— ^ peace belonged to Vergennes, and for their success 1 7 8 1. he needed mediation or great results in the field. Thus far the war had been carried on without a plan, for which the cause lay in the heart of the govern- ment itself. There could be no vigorous unity of administration with a young, feeble, and ignorant king, who prided himself on personally governing, and left the government, without a real head, to be swayed by the different cabals which from day to day followed each other in the court. By the influ- ence of the queen, Sartine, towards the end of the former year, had been superseded in the ministry of the marine by the Marquis de Castries, and the imbe- cile Montbarey by the Marquis de Segur. All the while France was drawing nearer to inevitable bank- ruptcy, its debt verging upon a fourth milliard.

Environed by difficulties, Yergennes attempted a compromise with England on the basis of a long truce of at least twenty years, during which South Carolina and Georgia would remain with the English in return for the evacuation of New York. He had sounded Washington and others in America on the subject, and they all had repelled the idea. " There are none but the mediators," wrote Yergennes, " who could make to the United States so grievous an offer. It would be hard for France to propose it, because she has guaranteed the independence of the thirteen states." ^ Kaunitz, accordingly, set himself to work to bring the mediation to a successful issue.

^ Mercy to Kaunitz, 7 Feb., ' Vergennes to Luzerne,! Feb., 1781. 1781.

446 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. In the month of April, young Laurens arrived «— ^ at Versailles, preceded by importunate letters from 17 81. Rochambeau and Lafayette to the ministry. His demand was for a loan of twenty-five million livres to be raised for the United States on the credit of the king of France, and in support of it he communi- cated to the French ministry his letter of advice from Washington. Franklin had lately written : " If it is found unable to procure the aids that are wanted, the whole system of the new government in America may be shaken." The French minister at Philadel- phia had reported these words from Greene : " The states in the southern department may struggle a little while longer ; but without more effectual sup- port they must fall." Washington represented immediate and efficacious succor from abroad as indispensable to the safety of his country; but, combined with maritime superiority, and " a decided effort of the allied arms on this continent," so he wrote, "it would bring the contest to a glorious issue." ^ In pressing the demands of congress, the youthful envoy said menacingly that the failure of his mission might drive the Americans back to their old allegiance, to fight once more against France in the armies of Great Britain. The confession of the inefficiency of their own general government was suited to raise a doubt of their power finally to estab- lish their independence ; and Yergennes complained that an excessive and ever-increasing proportion of the burdens of the war was thrown upon France. Yet the cabinet resolved to go far in complying

1 Writings of Washington, ed. Sparks, vii. 338.

FRANCE HAS NEED OF PEACE. 447

with the request of the United States. Franklin had cnAP. already obtained the promise of a gift of six milhons J^ of livres, and a loan of four milhons ; Necker con- 1 7 8 1. sented to a loan of ten millions more, to be raised in Holland in the name of the king of France.

To insure to the United States a maritime supe- riority, de Grasse, who had the naval command in America, received orders to repair from the West Indies to the north in the course of the year, and conform himself to the counsels of Washington and Kochambeau. On the other hand, the great ex- pense of re-enforcing Rochambeau by another detach- ment from the French army was on Washington's recommendation avoided ; and America was left to herself to find men for the struggle on land. The decision displeased Rochambeau, who understood little of the country to which he was sent, and nothing of its language, and he entreated leave to return to Europe; but he received fresh orders to regard himself as the commander of auxiliary troops, and to put them as well as hunself under the orders of Washington.

To the sole direction of Washington, the French government would have gladly reserved the dis- bursement of its gift of six millions ; but he refused a trust which would have roused the jealousy of congress. The first use made of the money was a spendthrift one. South Carolina had an unexecuted contract in Holland for supplies. Laurens, acting for that state, and for the United States, made a transfer of it to the latter, and, without taking the pains to understand the condition of the business and without superintending it, paid all arrears out of

448 AIVIERICAN rNDEPENDE:N"CE.

CHAP, the fund which Franklin had obtained from France.

XXI.

w,^^ South Carohna was relieved from a burdensome

17 81. engagement ; while great and, as it proved, useless

expenses were thrown on the United States.

During these negotiations, Necker aspired to become the head of the administration. The octo- genarian Maurepas could not be duped; he roused himself from apathy, and when Necker was prepar- ing through the king to take the cabinet by storm, Maurepas quietly let him know that the king ex- pected his resignation. " The king had given his word to support me," said Necker, in recounting his fall, " and I am the victim of having counted upon it too much." He had refused all pay as minister, yet in his period of office he doubled his fortune. His hands were clean from embezzlement, but his banking house had profited enormously in its busi- ness.

While the disgrace of Necker was passionately dis- cussed, the government of Louis the Sixteenth perse- cuted in Paris the principles which it was spending the blood and treasure of France to establish on im- movable foundations in America. Just at this time, there appeared in Paris a new edition of Eaynal's philosophic and political history of the two Indies, with the name of the author on the title-page. His work abounded in declamations against priestcraft, monarchical power, and negro slavery. He described the United States of America as a country that more than renewed the simple heroism of antiquity, which otherwise, in the depravity of the laws and manners of Europe, would have been esteemed but a fiction. Here at last, especially in New England, was found

17 b 1.

FRANCE HAS NEED OF PEACE. 44 U

a land that knew how to be happy " without kings chap. and Avithout priests." ^ " Philosophy," he wrote, C^ " desires to see all governments just, and all peoples happy. If the love of justice had decided the court of Versailles to the alliance of a monarchy with a people defending its liberty, the first article of its treaty with the United States should have been, that all oppressed peoples have the right to rise against their oppressors." ^ The advocate-general Segur hav- ing drawn up the most minatory indictment, Raynal left his book to be burned by the hangman, and fled through Brussels to Holland.

The book went into many a library, and its pro- scription found for it new readers. The young men of France, even of the nobility, shared its princi- ples,^ which infiltrated themselves through all classes. The new minister of the marine had in the army of Eochambeau a son, whom sons of the new minister of war and the Duke de Broglie were soon to follow. But the philosophers, like the statesmen of France, would not have the United States become too great: they rather desired to preserve for England so much strength in North America, that the two powers might watch, restrain, and balance each other.*

Meantime Prince Kaunitz, in preparing the pre- liminary articles for the peace congress at Vienna, adopted the idea of Vergennes that the United States should be represented, so that direct negotiations between them and Great Britain might proceed si- multaneously with those of the European powers;

' Raynal, ix. 18, ed. 1781. « Memoires de S6gur, i. 264.

2 Ibid., 305, ed. 1781. ^ Raynal, ix. 318, ed. 1781.

VOL. X. 29

450 A^IEEICAN INDEPENDENCE.

c HAP. and his paper was pronounced by Marie Antoinette to — C— ^ be a masterpiece of political wisdom. But all was in 17 81. vain. England would still have no negotiation with France for peace till that power should give up its connection with insurgent America ; John Adams was ready to go to Vienna, but only on condition of being received by the mediating powers as the pleni- potentiary of an independent state ; Spain shunned all mediation, knowing that no mediator would award to her Gibraltar.

Mortified at his ill success, Kaunitz threw the blame of it upon the unreasonable pretensions of the British ministry; and Austria joined herself to the powers which held that the British government owed concessions to America. Meantime he consoled his emperor for the failure of the mediation by say- ing : " As to us, there is more to gain than to lose by the continuation of the war, which becomes useful to us by the mutual exhaustion of those who carry it on and by the commercial advantages which accrue to us so long as it lasts." ^

The British ministry was willing to buy the alliance of Catharine by the cession of Minorca, and to pro- pitiate Joseph by opening the Scheldt; but the desires of both were mainly directed to the east and south. Catharine could not conceive why Eu- rope should be unwilling to see Christianity rise again into life and power on the Bosphorus. " We will guarantee to you," said Potemkin to Joseph, " all the conquests that you may make, except in Germany or in Poland." "Kome," wrote the

' Kaunitz to Joseph IT., 8 July, pold II., und Kaunitz, ihr Biief- 1781, in Beer's Joseph II., Leo- wechsel.

FRANCE HAS NEED OF PEACE. 45]

empress, "is a fit acquisition for a king of the Ro- chap. mans." Joseph, on his part, would have the eastern ^X- shore of the Adriatic, the Danube to Belgrade, and 1 7 8 1. all the country north of the straight line drawn from Belgrade to the southernmost point of the gulf of Drina, sparing the possessions neither of Turkey nor of the repubhc of Venice. But he insisted that the king of Prussia should never acquire another foot of land, not even round off his territory by exchanges. So the two eastern powers divided out the Orient and Italy between them, knowing that, so long as the war lasted, neither France nor Great Britain could interfere.

Spain had just heard of an insurrection begun by ex-Jesuits in Peru, and supported by Tupac Amaru, who claimed descent from the ancient royal family of the Incas. But the first reports were not alarm- ing, and she was still disposed to pursue the separate negotiation with Great Britain. The suggestion of Hillsborough to exchange Gibraltar for Porto Kico was rejected by Florida Blanca; and Cumberland, the British* agent at Madrid, having nothing to pro- pose which King Charles was willing to accept, re- turned from his fruitless expedition.

The results of the campaign outside of the United States were indecisive. The French again made an unsuccessful attempt to recover the isle of Jersey. The garrison of Gibraltar was once more reduced to a state of famine, and ere the middle of April was once more relieved. The English and Dutch fleets encountered each other in August near the Dogger Bank, and for three hours and a half fought within musket shot. Victory belonged to neither party.

452 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. The Dutcli, who had given proof of the hardihood of .— -^ their race, bore away for the Texel; and the British 1 " 8 1- admiral returned to the Nore, to receive a visit from his king, and on the plea of age to refuse to serve longer under so feeble an administration. The name and fame of Hyder Ali spread from the Mysore through Europe and the United States ; and he seemed with his army of one hundred thousand men about to beat back the few troops of the British ; but he proved unable to withstand their discipline. On the ninth of May, Pensacola, after a most gal- lant defence against the many times superior force of the Spaniards, was surrendered under an honorable capitulation. The British troops, who were not to serve against Spain or her allies, were left free to be employed against the United States.

Meantime Yergennes complained, through the French minister at Philadelphia, of John Adams as an embarrassing negotiator. At first a majority of congress was disposed to insist on Adams as their sole plenipotentiary for peace ; Virginia, with Madison for one of her delegates, being unanimous in' his favor .^ But, on reflection and through French influence, it was wisely decided to strengthen the hands of the New England man by joint commissioners selected from other sections of the country. With the aid of Sulli- van of New Hampshire, who was in the pay of France, instructions such as Yergennes might have drafted were first agreed upon ; then on the ballot the choice fell upon Jay, Franklin, Henry Laurens, and Thomas Jefferson. Of these, the last was detained in Amer- ica by the illness of his wife. " Congress have done

1 Secret Journals, ii. 437.

FRANCE HAS NEED OF PEACE. 453

very well," wrote John Adams to Franklin, " to loin chap.

XXI

others in the commission for peace, who have some --~^-l^ faculties for it. My talent, if I have one, lies in i7 8i. making war." ^ At the same time, he saw so wide a dissemination of the principles of the American revo- lution that, in his opinion, " despotisms, monarchies, and aristocracies must conform to them in some degree in practice, or hazard a total rcYolution in religion and government throughout all Europe." ^

The kingdom of Ireland had been subjected to all the restrictions of the colonial system, beside still severer oppressions of her own. And now the fire kindled by the example of America burned nowhere in the Old World so fiercely as in this part of the dominions of Great Britain. Yet the Irish refused to follow the example of resisting evil laws by force ; and by taking skilful advantage of the habitual, indo- lent want of forethought of Lord North, they gained more complete emancipation than could have been w^on through insurrection. When the tidings from Lexington and Bunker Hill reached them, their parliament came to a vote that " they heard of the rebellion with abhorrence, and were ready to show to the world their attachment to the sacred person of the king." Taking advantage of its eminently loyal disposition. Lord North obtained its leave to employ four thousand men of the Irish army for service in America. That army should, by law, have consisted of twelve thousand men; but it mustered scarcely more than nine thousand. Out of these, the strong- est and best, without regard to the prescribed hmita- tion of numbers, were selected ; and eight regiments,

1 Dip. Cor., vi. 159. "" Il)id., 186.

454 AMEEICAIT INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, all that could be formed, were shipped across the ^^J-. Atlantic. Ireland itself being left defenceless, its 1^81. parliament offered the national remedy of a militia. This was refused bv Lord North, and in consequence, instead of a militia organized and controlled by the government, self-formed bands of volunteers started into being. After reflection, the militia bill was sent over for enactment : but the opportunity had been missed ; the Irish parliament had learned to prefer volunteer corps supported by the Irish themselves. When, in 1778, it appeared how much the commis- sioners sent to America had been willing to concede to insurgents for the sake of reconciliation, the patriots of Ireland awoke to a sense of what they might demand. The man who had obtained the lead was Henry Grattan, who, in a venal age and in a venal house of commons, was incorruptible. No one heard the eloquence of Chatham with more delight ; and no one has sketched in more vivid words the character of the greatest Englishman of that day. At the opening of the session of October, 1779, Grattan, then but thirty-three years of age, and for hardly four years a member of the house, moved an amendment to the address, that the nation could be saved only by free export and free import, or, according to the terser words that were finally chosen, by free trade. The friends of government dared not resist the amendment, and it was carried unanimously. New taxes were refused. The ordi- nary supplies, usually granted for two years, were granted for six months. The house was in earnest ; the people were in earnest ; an inextinguishable sentiment of nationality was aroused ; and the nation

FRANCE HAS NEED OF PEACE. 455

had an army of fifty thousand volunteers under offi- chap. cers of their own choosing. Great Britain being J-C— ah^eady tasked to the uttermost by its conflict with 1 7 8 1. America, Lord North gave way, and persuaded its parhament to concede the claims of the neighboring land to commercial equality. The people of that island entered into possession of their natural rights ; yet their happiness was clouded by the thought that their new freedom rested on the act of a legislature which exclusively represented another kingdom, and which still pretended to full power to bind the king- dom of Ireland.

17 80. Oct. 30.

CHAPTER XXn.

THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. MORGAN AT THE COWPENS.

1780, 1781.

CHAP. After the defeat of Gates, congress subjected its — V — ' favorite to a court of inquiry, and, conforming to the advice of Washington, appointed Major-General Greene to the command of the southern department. Gates had received his appointment and his instruc- tions directly from congress, and his command had been co-ordinate and independent. On confirming the nomination of Greene, congress assigned to him all the regular troops, raised or to be raised, in Delaware and the states south of it ; and conferred on him all the powers that had been vested in Gates, but " subject to the control of the commander-in- chief." ^ Thus the conduct of the war obtained, for the first time, the harmony and unity essential to success.

AYashington was in danger of being shortly with- out men; yet he detached for the service in the

^ Journals, iii. 511.

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. MORGAN AT THE COWPENS. 457

Carolinas Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Lee, his best chap cavalry officer, with the corps called the legion, con- <1^ sisting of three troops of horse and three companies 17 80. of infantry, in all, three hundred and fifty men. For Greene he prepared a welcome at the south, writing to George Mason : " I introduce this gentleman as a man of abilities, bravery, and coolness. He has a comprehensive knowledge of our affairs, and is a man of fortitude and resources. I have not the smallest doubt, therefore, of his employing all the means which may be put into his hands to the best ad- vantage, nor of his assisting in pointing out the most likely ones to answer the purposes of his command."

As he moved south, Greene left Steuben in Vir- ginia. At Charlotte, where he arrived on the second ^,^' of December, he received a complaint from Corn- w\allis respecting the prisoners of King's Mountain, who had been put to death by the soldiery, coupled with a threat of retaliation. Avowing his own re- spect for the principles of humanity and the law of nations, Greene answered by sending him a list of about fifty men who had been hanged by Lord Corn- wallis himself, and by others high in the British ser- vice ; and he called on mankind to sit in judgment on the order of Lord CornAvallis to Balfour after the action near Camden, on Lord Eawdon's proclamation, and on the ravages of Tarleton. Throughout his career he was true to the principles which he then announced. No one, except a deserter, ever died by his order. No American officer in his department ever imitated the cruelties systematically practised

458 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, by tlie British. Sumpter spared all prisoners, though >— ^ the worst men were among them. Marion was famed 17 80. for his mercy. Cruelty was never imputed to Wil- liams, Pickens, or any other of the American chiefs. But the British officers continued to ridicule the idea of observing capitulations with citizens, insisting that those who claimed to be members of an independent state could derive no benefit from any solemn en- gagement, and were but vanquished traitors who owed their lives to British clemency.^ 17 8 1. In the course of the winter Colonel William Cun- ningham, under orders from Colonel Balfour at Charleston, led one hundred and fifty white men and negroes into the interior settlements. On his route he killed every person he met with, suspected of being a friend to the United States, to the number of about fifty, and burned their habitations. At length he came to a house which sheltered an American party of thirty-five men under Colonel Hayes. These refusing to surrender at discretion, a fire from both sides was kept up for about three hours, till at last the British were able to set fire to the house. In this situation, the besieged capitulated under the agreement that they should be treated as prisoners of war until they could be exchanged. The capitu- lation was formally signed and interchanged; and yet the Americans had no sooner marched out, than the British hanged Colonel Hayes to the limb of a tree. The second in command was treated in like manner; after which, Cunningham, with his own hands, slew some of the prisoners, and desired his men to follow his example. One of them traversed

^ Ramsay's Carolina, ii. 298.

SOUTHER^f CAMPAIGN. MORGAN AT THE COWPENS. 459

the ground where his old neighbors and acquaint- chap. ances lay dead and dying, and ran his sword through wl,^ those in whom he saw signs of life. These facts i7 8i. were afterwards established by a judicial investiga- tion.^

On coming into a new clime, Greene ordered 17 80. observations to be made on the fords and capacity for transportation of the Dan, the Yadkin, and the Catawba. Before his departure. Gates had brought together two thousand three hundred and seven men, of whom only a little more than one-half were militia, and " eight hundred were properly clothed and equipped." ^ The men had been accustomed to leave the camp at their own will, and make visits to their homes. This Greene forbade as an act of de- sertion, and the first who was caught after the order was issued was shot in the presence of the whole army drawn up to witness the execution. Opinion among the troops approved the decision, and by degrees the discipline of the southern continental troops became equal to their courage. The cam- paign- was sure to be one of danger and hardship ; the firm and adventurous commander gained the confidence and love of his troops by sharing every peril and more than sharing every toil.

The country around Charlotte had been ravaged. Sending Kosciuszko in advance to select a site for an encampment, he marched his army to the head of boat navigation on the Pedee. There, in a fertile and unexhausted country, at the falls of the river, he established his " camp of repose " to improve the

1 Judge A. Burke to the Governor of South Carolma, H Dec, 1784. ' ' Johnson's Greene, L 340.

460 AI^IERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, discipline and spirits of his men, and " to gain for v^',-^ himself an opportunity of looking about." ^D.^^* Crreene had expected new and singular difficulties; but they exceeded all that he had feared. Shoals of militia, kept on foot since the defeat of Gates, had done Httle but waste the country. The power of government was far less than in the north.- The inhabitants knew little of control. Coming from all quarters of the globe, they were still from their early education so various in opinions and habits, that there was a want of national character and senti- ment. Yet several corps of partisans were bold and daring, and there was a great spirit of enterprise among the black people who came out as volunteers. " General Washington's influence," so he wrote to Hamilton, " will do more than all the assemblies upon the continent. I always thought him exceed- ingly popular ; but in many places he is little less than adored, and universally admired. From being the friend of the general I found myself exceedingly well received." ^

Confirmed in his detached command, Morgan with his small force crossed the Catawba just below the mouth of the little Catawba, and passing Broad river, 25. on the twenty-fifth of December encamped on the north bank of the Pacolet. Here he was joined by about sixty mounted Carolinians under Colonel Pick- ens, and two hundred Georgians under Major Maccall. 29- General Davidson, of North Carolina, on the twenty- ninth brought one hundred and twenty men into camp, but left immediately to collect more.

Hearing that about two hundred and fifty Georgia

» Hamilton's Works, i. 204.

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. MORGAN AT THE COWPEXS. 461

tories were plundering the neighborhood of Fair ch\p. Forest, Morgan sent Lieutenant-Colonel Washington -1^ with his own regiment, and two hundred mounted 1 7 8 o.

• Dec.

riflemen under Maccall, to attack them. Coming up with them at about twelve o'clock on the thirtieth, 3o. Washington extended his mounted riflemen on the wings^ and charged them in front with his own cavalry. The tories fled without resistance, losing one hundred and fifty killed and wounded, and about forty who were taken prisoners.

Cornwallis, who, when joined by the re-enforce- ment sent from New York under Leslie, could advance with thirty-five hundred fighting men,^ was impatient of the successes of Morgan, and resolved to intercept his retreat. On the second of January, 1781, he ^],,^^' ordered Tarleton with his detachment to pass Broad ^ river, and to push him to the utmost. " No time," wrote he, " is to be lost." ^ Tarleton answered by promising either to destroy Morgan's corps, or push it before him over. Broad river towards King's Mountain ; and he wished the main army to advance so as to be ready to capture the fugitives. " I feel bold in offering my opinion," he wrote, "as it flows from well-founded inquiry concerning the enemy's designs." ^ To this Cornwallis replied : " You have understood my intentions perfectly." *

The danger to Morgan was imminent; for the light troops were pursuing him on the one side, and the main army preparing to intercept his retreat on the other. On the fourteenth, Tarleton passed the u.

1 Tarleton's Campaigns, 242 « Tarleton 's Campaigns, 216. and 210. * Ibid., 246.

2 Ibid., 244.

16

462 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. Enoree and Tyorer rivers above the Cherokee ford.

XXII.

J_I^ On the afternoon of the fifteenth, Morgan encamped 17 81. at Burr's Mills on Thickety creek; and from this 15- place on the same day he wrote to Greene his wish to avoid an action. '' But this," he added, " will not be always in my power." ^ His scouts, whom he kept within half a mile of the camp of his enemy, informed him that Tarleton had crossed the Tyger at Musgrove's Mills with a force of eleven or twelve hundred men. On the sixteenth, he put himself and his party in full motion towards Broad river, w4iile in the evening the camp which he had aban- doned was occupied by Tarleton's party. On that day, Cornwallis with his army reached Turkey creek.

In the genial clime of South Carolina, where the grass is springing in every month of winter, cattle in those days grazed in the field all the year round ; never housed, nor fed by the hand of man, but driven from time to time into cowpens, where each inhabi- tant gave salt to his herd and marked them for his own. Two miles from such an enclosure, on a wide plain covered with primeval pines and chestnut and oak, about sixteen miles from Spartanburg, seven miles from the Cherokee ford on the Broad river, and a little less than fiYQ miles from the line of North Carolina, Morgan encamped his party for the night. Greene had left Morgan to his discretion, yet with warning against risk in a battle ; his best officers now urged him beyond all things to avoid an engage- ment.^ With a noble confidence in himself and in

' Johnson's Greene, 370.

2 Marshall's Life of Washington, i. 402.

v.

XXII.

SOUTHERX CAMPAIGN?".

his troops, he resolved to give battle to his pursuers, cha In the evening, he moved among his men, inspiring them with cheerfulness. Durino; the nidit, Pickens, 1 7 8 i.

JilU.

who had been for a few days absent, returned with i»^ about one hundred and fifty militia, and another party of fifty came in.

At an hour before daylight, Morgan, through his i^- excellent system of spies, knew that Tarleton's troops were within five miles of his camp. His men were roused, quietly breakfasted, and prepared for battle. The ground chosen was an open wood between the springs of two little rivulets, with a slight ridge extending from one of them to the other. In the wood, free from undergrowth, no tliicket offered covert, no swamp a refuge from cavalry. The best troops, about four hundred in number, were placed in line on the rising ground. Two hundred and eighty of the Maryland light infantry, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Howard, formed the centre ; two companies of approved Virginia riflemen were on each wing. Lieutenant-Colonel Washington's regiment of dragoons, consisting of eighty men, was placed as a reserve out of sight and out of fire. The volunteers from the Carolinas and Georgia, four hundred in number, were posted under Pickens in advance, so as to defend the approaches. Of these, sixty sharpshooters of the North Carolina volunteers were to act as skirmishers on the right flank one hundred and fifty yards in front of the line, and as many more of the Georgians at the same distance on the left.

Tarleton's troops, about eleven hundred in num- b(3r, having two field-pieces, and a great superiority

464 AMEEICAK INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, in bayonets and cavalry, after a march of twelve

XXII

v—^^-^ miles came in sight at eight o'clock in the morning, 17 81. and drew up in one line. The legion infantry formed 17. their centre, with the seventh regiment on the right, the seventy-first on the left, and two light companies of a hundred men each on the flanks. The artillery moved in front. Tarleton, with two hundred and eighty cavalry, was in the rear. No sooner were they formed than they rushed forward with shouts. They were received by a heavy and well-directed fire, — first from the American skirmishers, and then from the whole of Pickens's command. At the main line they were resisted with obstinate courao:e. Durino; a bloody conflict, their superiority of numbers enabled them to gain the flanks of the Americans both on their right and left. At this moment Morgan ordered the Maryland line, which shared his own self-posses- sion, to retreat fifty yards and form anew. The Brit- ish eagerly pressed on, thinking the day their own^ and were within thirty yards of the Americans when the latter halted and turned upon them. The Vir- ginia riflemen, who had kept their places, instinc- tively formed themselves on the sides of the British, so that they who two or three minute3 before had threatened to turn the Americans found themselves as it were within a pair of open pincers, exposed to the converging oblique fire of two companies of sharp- shooters on each flank and a direct fire from the Marylanders in front. The change was so sudden that the British were stunned with surprise. Seeing their disorder, the line of Howard charged them with bayonets, and broke their ranks so that th6y fled with precipitation. The cavalry of Washington,

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. MORGAN AT THE COWPENS. 465

hitherto unseen, sprang forward and charged success- chap. fully the cavalry of the British. The enemy was w^ completely routed and pursued for upwards of twenty 1 7^8 1. miles. 17.*

Of the Americans only twelve were killed and sixty wounded. Of the enemy ten commissioned officers were killed, beside more than a hundred rank and file ; two hundred were wounded ; twenty-nine commissioned officers and more than five hundred privates were taken prisoners, beside seventy negroes. Two standards, upwards of a hundred dragoon horses, thirty-five wagons, eight hundred muskets, and two field-pieces that had been taken from the British at Saratoga and retaken at Camden, fell into the hands of the victors. The immense baggage of Tarleton's party, which had been left in the rear, was destroyed by the British themselves. " Our success," wrote the victor in his modest report, '^ must be attributed to the justice of our cause and the gallantry of our troops. My wishes would induce me to name every sentinel in the corps."

Aware that the camp of Cornwallis at Turkey creek was within twenty-five miles, and as near as the battle-ground to the ford on the Catawba, Morgan destroyed the captured baggage-wagons, paroled the British officers, intrusted the wounded to the care of the few residents of the neighbor- hood, and, leaving his cavalry to follow him on their return from the pursuit, crossed the Broad river with his foot soldiers and his prisoners, the cap- tured artillery, muskets, and ammunition on the day of the battle. Proceeding by easy marches of ten miles a day, on the twenty-third he crossed the Ca-

VOL. X. 30

466 AMERICAN" INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, tawba at Sherrald's ford. Taking for his troops a week's v_I^ rest in his camp north of the river, he sent forward 17 81. his prisoners to Sahsbury, under the guard of Vir- 23. ginia mihtia, whose time of service had just expired ; and he recommended by letter to Greene that the mihtia under General Stevens, whose term of service had also expired, and who had passed a month in repose, should conduct the prisoners to a place of safety in Virginia. The fame of the great victory at the Cowpens spread in every direction. Greene an- nounced in general orders the victory, and his army saluted the victors as "the finest fellows on earth, more worthy than ever of love." Eutledge of South Carolina repeated their praises, and rewarded Pickens with a commission as brigadier. Davidson of North Carolina wrote that the victory "gladdened every countenance, and paved the way for the salvation of the country." The state of Virginia voted to Morgan a horse and a sword in testimony of " the highest esteem of his country for his mihtary character and abilities so gloriously displayed." The United States in congress placed among their records " the most lively sense of approbation of the conduct of Mor- gan and the men and officers under his command." To him they voted a gold medal, to Howard and Washington medals of silver, and swords to Pickens and Triplet.

The health of Morgan ^ gave way soon after the battle ; and in three weeks more a most severe acute attack of rheumatism, consequent on the ex- posures of this and his former campaigns, forced him to take a leave of absence. Wherever he had appeared, he had always heralded the way to daring

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. MotlGAN AT THE COWPENS. 467

action, almost always to success. He first attracted chap. notice in the camp round Boston, was foremost in >— v— ' the march throuo-h the wilderness to Canada, and i7 8i. foremost m the attempt to take Quebec by storm; 23. he bore the brunt of every engagement with Bur- goyne's army, and now he had won the most extra- ordinary victory of the war at the Cowpens. He took with him into retirement the praises of all the army, and of the chief civil representatives of the country. Again and again hopes rose that he might once more appear in arms ; but the unrelenting mal- ady obliged him to refuse the invitation of Lafayette and even of Washington.

CHAPTER XXm.

the southern campaign. battle of guileord court-house.

January — Maech, 1781.

xxin Morgan's success lighted the fire of emulation in • — . — ' the breast of Greene, and he was ^^ loath it should ^ja^.^* stand alone." The defeat at the Cowpenstook Corn- ^^' wallis by surprise. " It is impossible," so he wrote on the eighteenth of January, to his superior, Sir Henry Clinton, " to foresee all the consequences that this unexpected and extraordinary event may pro- duce. But nothing but the most absolute necessity shall induce me to give up the important object of the winter's campaign. JDefensive measures would be certain ruin to the affairs of Britain in the south- ern colonies." Instead of remaining in South Caro- lina, as he sfeould have done, he without orders and on his own responsibility persisted in his original plan of striking at the heart of North Carolina, establish- ing there a royal government, and pressing forward to a jimction with the British troops on the Chesapeake. 25. Morgan divined his thoughts, and on the twenty-fifth

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. BATTLE OF GUILFORD. 409

wrote to Greene the advice to join their forces, chap. Receiving this letter, Greene, attended by a few il^ dragoons, rode across the country, and on the thirtieth 1 7 8 1. arrived in Morgan's camp at Sherrald's ford on the "^ao." Catawba.

Leaving Lord Rawdon with a considerable body of troops to defend South Carolina, CornwalHs, having formed a junction with the corps under LesHe, began his long march, avoiding the lower roads, there being so few fords in the great rivers below their forks. On the twenty-fifth, he collected his army at Ram- 25. sower's mill, on the south fork of the Catawba. Here he resolved to give up his communications with South Carolina and to turn his army into light troops. Two days he devoted to destroying superfluous bag- gage and all wagons except those laden with hospital stores, salt, and ammunition, and four reserved for the sick and wounded, thus depriving his soldiers even of a regular supply of provisions. The measure, if not in every respect an absurd one, was adopted many days too late. Then, by forced marches through floods of rain, he approached the river, and prepared to force a passage as soon as the high waters should subside.

Arriving in Morgan's camp, Greene agreed im- mediately with him that the plan of CornwalHs must extend to a co-operation with the British troops in Virginia, and he entered full of hope on the great career that was opening before him. To his forces on the Pedee he on the thirtieth sent orders to ^ prepare to form at Guilford court-house a junction with those under Morgan, writing to Huger: "I am not without hopes of ruining Lord Cornwallis if

470 AMEKICAJS" INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, he persists in his mad scheme of pushing through the w^ country. Here is a fine field and great glory ahead." ^ 17 81. On the same day " the famous Colonel William Camp- so.* bell" was asked to "bring without loss of time a thousand good volunteers from over the mountains." A like letter was addressed to Shelby, though without effect. To the officers commanding in the counties of Wilkes and Surry, Greene said : " If you repair to arms, Lord CornwalHs must be inevitably ruined." He called upon Sumpter, as soon as his recovery should permit, to take the field at the head of the South Carolina militia ; he gave orders to General Pickens to raise as many troops as he could in the district of Augusta and Ninety-Six, and hang on the rear of the enemy; and he sought out powerful horses and skilful riders to strengthen the cavalry of Washington.

Meantime parties sent out by Morgan brought in near a hundred British stragglers. He had sent his prisoners beyond the Yadkin on their way towards Feb. Virginia, when on the first day of February Corn- wallis with a part of his army passed the Catawba at Macgowan's ford. The dark stream was near ^ye hundred yards wide, with a rocky bottom and a strong current, and was disputed by General David- son of North Carolina with three hundred militia. By forsaking the true direction of the ford, the Brit- ish escaped a direct encounter, but forty of their light infantry and grenadiers were killed or wounded ; and the horse under Cornwallis was struck while in the stream, but reached the shore before falling. The other division passed the Catawba at Beattie*s

* Johnson's Greene, i. 104.

SOUTHERN- CAJVIPAIGN. BATTLE OF GUILFORD. 471

ford, and the united army encamped about ^ye miles chap. from the river on the road to Salisbury. " I waited i^ that night/' writes Greene, "at the place appointed i7 8i. for the mihtia to collect at till past midnight, and not ^2!"* a man appeared." On the second and third of Feb- ruary the American light infantry, continuing their march, with the British at their heels, crossed the Yadkin at the Trading ford,' partly on flats and partly by fording, during the latter part of the time in a heavy rain. After the Americans were safe beyond the river and Morgan had secured all water craft on its south side, it rose too high to be forded. To the Americans it seemed that Providence w^as their ally.

Cornwallis was forced to lose two days in ascending the Yadkin to the so-called Shallow ford, where he crossed on the seventh. On the night of the ninth 9! he encamped near the Moravian settlement of Salem, where, upon the very border of the wilderness, gentle and humble and hospitable emigrants, bound by their faith never to take up arms, had chosen their abodes, and for their sole defence had raised the symbol of the triumphant Lamb. Among them equality reigned. No one, then or thereafter, was held in bondage. There were no poor, and none marked from others by their apparel or their dwellings. Everywhere ap- peared the same simplicity and neatness. The elders watched over the members of the congregation, and incurable wrong-doers were punished by expulsion. After their hours of toil came the hour of prayer, exhortations, and the singing of psalms and hymns. Under their well-directed labor on a bountiful soil, in

* Greene MS.

472 AMERICAN IKDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, a s-enial clime, the wilderness blossomed like tlie xxiii. ^ , . — ^_ rose/

17 81. While Cornwallis rested for the night near Salem, 9- at the distance of ^Ye and twenty miles the two divisions of the American army effected their junc- tion at Guilford court-house. The united force was too weak to offer battle ; a single neglect or mistake would have proved its ruin. Carrington of Virginia, the wise selection of Greene for his quarter-master, advised to cross the Dan twenty miles below Dix's ferry at the ferries of Irwin and Boyd, which were seventy miles distant "from GuiKord court-house, and where he knew that boats could be collected. The advice was adopted. To carry it out, Greene placed under Otho Williams the flower of his troops as a 10. light corps, which on the morning of the tenth sallied forth to watch and impede the advance of Cornwallis, to prevent his receiving correct information, and by guarding the approaches of Dix's ferry to lead him in that direction. They succeeded in keeping Cornwallis for a day or two in doubt.

Meantime the larger part of the army under Greene, without tents, poorly clothed, and for the most part without shoes, "many hundreds of the soldiers tracking the ground with their bloody feet," ^ retreated at the rate of seventeen miles a day along wilderness roads where the wagon wheels sunk in deep mire and the creeks were swollen by heavy rains. On the fourteenth, they arrived at the ferries. Greene first sent over the wagons, and at half -past five in the afternoon could write " that all his troops were over and the stage clear."

* Dumas, i. 93, 97. ^ Greene to Washington.

14

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGIT. BATTLE OF GUILFORD. 473

So soon as Cornwallis gained good information, he chap. pursued the light troops at the rate of thirty miles i^ a day, but he was too late. On the evening of the 1 7 8 1. fourteenth, Otho Williams brought his party, which ^'^' on that day had marched forty miles, to the ferries. The next morning, Cornwallis made his appearance there only to learn that the Americans, even to their rearguard, had crossed the river the night 15. before.

The safety of the southern states had depended on the success of this retreat of two hundred miles from the Catawba to the north bank of the Dan. On the march from Guilford court-house, Greene scarcely slept four hours in as many days ; and his care was so comprehensive that nothing, however trifling, was afterwards found to have been overlooked or neglected. " Your retreat before Cornwallis/' wrote Washino-ton, " is highly applauded by all ranks, and reflects much honor on your military abiHties." " Every measure of the Americans," so wrote a British historian, " during their march from the Catawba to Virginia, was judiciously designed and vigorously executed." ^ Special applause was awarded to Carrington and to Otho WiUiams.

In the camp of Greene, every countenance was Hghted up with joy. Soldiers in tattered garments, with but one blanket to four men, without shoes, without regular food, without pay, were proud and happy in the thought of having done their duty to their country. They all were ready to cross the Dan once more and attack.

After giving his troops a day's rest, Cornwallis

' Taxleton, 229.

474 AJtlERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, moved by easy marches to Hillsborough, where on ,«1^-J the twentieth he invited by proclamation all loyal 17 81. subjects in North Carolina to repair to the royal

20. standard which he erected, being himself ready to concur with them in re-establishing the government of the king.

No sooner had the British left the banks of the Dan, than Lee's legion recrossed the river. They

21. were followed on the twenty-first by the light troops,

22. and on the twenty-second by Greene with the rest of his army, including a re-enforcement of six hundred mihtia-men of Virginia.

The loyalists of North Carolina, inferring from the proclamation of Cornwallis that he was in peaceable possession of the country, rose in such numbers that seven independent companies were formed in one day; and Tarleton with the British legion was de- tached across the Haw river for their protection. By the order of Greene, Pickens, who had collected between three and four hundred militia, and Lee formed a junction and moved against both parties. Missing Tarleton, they fell in with three hundred royalists, under Colonel Pyle, and routed them with " dreadful carnage.'* Tarleton, who was refreshing his legion about a mile from the scene of action, hurried back to Hillsborough, and all royalists who were on their way to join the king's standard returned home. Cornwallis describes himseK as being " among timid friends and adjoining to inveterate rebels." ^

To compel Greene to accept battle, Cornwalhs on 27. the twenty-seventh moved his whole force in two

' Commis. Clinton and Cornwallis, 32.

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGIT. BATTLE OF GUILFORD. 475

columns across the Haw, and encamped near Alle- chap. mance creek. For seven days, Greene lay within ten i^ miles of the British camp, but baffled his enemy by 1 7 « i. taking a new position every night. No fear of cen- 27/ sure could hurry his determined mind. He waited till in March he was joined by the south-west Virginia Mnrch. miHtia under William Campbell, by another brigade of militia from Virginia under General Lawson, by two from North Carolina under Butler and Eaton, and by four hundred regulars raised for eighteen months. Then on the tenth, while Cornwallis was on w- his march to New Garden or the Quaker meeting- house, he prepared to hazard an engagement. On the fourteenth, he encamped near Guilford court- h. house, within eight miles of Cornwallis.

At dawn of day on the fifteenth, Cornwallis, having 15. sent off his baggage under escort, set in motion the rest of his army, less than nineteen hundred in num- ber, all of them veteran troops of the best quality. To oppose them, Greene had sixteen hundred and fifty-one men equal to the best of the British, and more than two thousand militia, in all twice as many as his antagonist. But he himself had not taken off his clothes since he left his camp on the Pedee ; and on this most eventful day of his life he found himself worn out with fatigue and constant watching.

The ground on which his army was to be drawn up was a large hill, surrounded by other hills and almost everywhere covered with massive forest-trees and a thick undergrowth. To receive the enemy, he selected three separate positions : the first, admirably chosen ; the second, three hundred yards in the rear of the first, was entirely in the woods ; between one

476 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, quarter and one third of a mile in the rear of the

XXIII

w^ second was the third position, where he drew np his best troops obliquely, according to the declivities of a hill on which they were posted, most of them in a forest.^ The positions were so far apart that they could give each other no support ; so" that Cornwallis had to engage, as it were, three separate armies, and in each engagement he would have a superiority in numbers. Greene had always differed with the com- mander-in-chief on the proper manner of using militia, — Washington being convinced that they should be used as a reserve to improve an advantage, while Greene insisted that they ought to be placed in front ; and he now acted on that opinion.

The position selected for the first line is described by Greene as the most advantageous he ever saw. It was on the skirt of the wood, protected on the flanks and rear, having in the centre a fence, with open ground over which the British army was obliged to advance, exposed to a fire that must have torn them in pieces, had they encountered troops who would have stood their ground. Here Greene placed the two brigades of North Carolina militia, not quite eleven hundred in number, his poorest troops, sud- denly called together, ignorant of war, of each other, and of their general officers. On their right were posted two six-pounders, and Lieutenant- Colonel Washington with an able corps of observation; on their left a Hke corps was formed of Lee's command and the riflemen from beyond the mountains.

The battle began with cannonading about one in the afternoon. The undivided force of Cornwallis

1 Marshall's Life of Washington, i. 412.

SOUTHER?^ CAMPAIGIS-. RATTLE OF GUILFORD. 477

displayed into line, advanced at quick step, gave their chap. fire, shouted, and rushed forward with bayonets. 3^ While they were still in the open field, at a distance U^J-

£ , T ^ ^ March

ot one hundred and forty yards, the North Carolina ". brigade fled, " none of them having fired more than twice, very few more than once, and near one-half not at all." ^ Lee and Campbell with their troops were separated from the main army, which they did not rejoin till the next day.

Without pausing to take breath, the British hne, which had not escaped without loss, advanced to attack the second position of the Americans, defended by the Virginia brigade. The men were used to forest warfare, and they made a brave and obstinate resistance. They would discharge their pieces, draw back behind the brow of the hill to load, and return to renew their well-directed fire. In dislodging some Americans from their post on a woody height, the ranks of the first battalion of the guards were thinned and many of their officers fell.^ The brigade did not retreat till the British drew near enough to charge with the bayonet.

The British army, though suffering from fatigue and weakened by heavy losses, pressed forward to the third American line, where Greene himself was present. A fierce attack was made on the American right by Colonel Webster with the left of the British. After a bloody and long-continued encounter, the British were beaten back by the continentals, and after great loss were forced to recross a ravine. Web-

* Greene in Letters to Washington, 266. 2 Stedman, ii. 339, 340.

478 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, ster himself received wounds which in a few days

^^^^ proved to be mortal.

17 81. The second battahon of the guards, led by Lieu- 15- tenant-Colonel Stewart, broke through the second Maryland regiment, captured two field-pieces, and pursued their advantage into more open ground. Immediately Lieutenant-Colonel Washington, who had brought his cavalry once more into the field, made a charge upon them with his mounted men ; and the first regiment of Marylanders, led by Gunby and seconded by Howard, engaged with their bayonets. Stewart fell under a blow from Captain Smith ; and the British party was driven back with great slaughter and the loss of the cannon which they had taken.^ The first battalion of the guards, although already crippled, advanced against the Americans. A severe American fire on its front and flanks completely broke its ranks. At this moment du Puy's Hessian regi ment, which had thus far su:ffered but httle, came up in compact order on the left of the guards, who rallied behind them, renewed the attack, and in turn defeated the Americans.

The British army appeared to be gaining the American right. The battle had raged for two hours. Greene could still order into the fight two Virginia regiments of continentals, of which one had hardly been engaged, the other had been kept back as a reserve; but he hesitated. After dehberating for some moments, not knowing how much the British had suffered, he left his cannon and the field to the enemy, and used his reserve only to cover the retreat of his army. The last as well as

1 Stedman, ii. 340.

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. BATTLE OF GUILFORD. 479

the first in the engagement were the riflemen of citvp. Campbell, who continued firing from tree to tree ^^ till they were compelled to fly by the cavalry of i7 8i. Tarleton. After the Americans were encamped in i5? safety, Greene fainted from extreme exhaustion, and, on recovering consciousness, still remained far from well.

Although the battle at Guilford drew after it, for the British, all the consequences of a defeat, and put an end to their power in North Carolina, no praise is too great for the conduct of their officers and troops throughout the day. Of the British, five hundred and seventy were killed or wounded ; and their wounded, dispersed over a wide space of coun- try, asked for immediate care.^ Of the Americans, the loss Vas, of continentals, three hundred and twenty-six ; of the militia, ninety-three. But nearly three hundred of the Virginia militia and six hun- dred of those of North Carolina, whose time of ser- vice had almost expired, seized the occasion to return home. The battle of King's Mountain drove Corn- wallis back into South Carolina ; the defeat at the Cowpens made his second invasion of North Carolina a desperate enterprise ; the battle at Guilford court- house transformed the American army into pursuers, the British into fugitives.

Virginia furnished to the army that fought at Guilford sixteen hundred and ninety-three of Iftr militia, and seven hundred and seventy-eight of her continental troops. " The great re-enforce- ments," wrote Cornwallis to Germain, "sent by Vir- ginia to General Greene whilst General Arnold waa

* Cornwallis to Germain, 17 March, 1781

480 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, in the Chesapeake, are convincing proofs that small w-^w expeditions do not frighten that powerful prov- 17 81. ince."^

March i> ^ • • r tt* • •

15. This display of the magnanimity of V irginia was due to its great advisers. " Your state," wrote Washington to Jefferson, its governor, " will expe- rience more molestation in future; but the evils from these predatory incursions are not to be compared to the injury of the common cause. I am persuaded the attention to your immediate safety will not divert you from the measures intended to re-enforce the southern army. The late accession of force makes the enemy in Carolina too formidable to be resisted without powerful succors from Virginia." And he gave orders to Steuben : " Make the defence of the state as little as possible interfere with the measures for succoring General Greene. Everything is to be apprehended if he is not powerfully supported from Virginia." Jefferson made the advice of Washing- ton his rule of conduct, though accused in his own state of doing too much for the Carolinas. On the third day after the battle, Greene wrote to Washing- ton : " Virginia has given me every support I could wish." 2

In his report of the day of Guilford, Greene hardly did himself justice ; public opinion took no note of his mistakes in the order of battle, and acknowledged tire greatness of his general plan and its successful result. Virginia and the whole south confided in his capacity.

IS. On the eighteenth, committing his wounded to the

* Commis. Clinton, Cornwallis, 50. ^ Letters to Washington, iii. 267.

SOUTHERX CAMPAIGN. BATTLE OF GUILFORD. 481

lender mercies of the Americans, Cornwallis, with the chap. wreck of his victorious but ruined army, began his ^^ flight ; aud, as he hurried on, distributed by prochi- 1 7 8 i mation news of his victory, offers of pardon to repent- is-' ' ant rebels, and promises of protection to the loyal. He was pursued by Greene, who was now eager for battle. On the morning of the twenty-eighth, the '^ Americans arrived at Kamsay's Mills, on Deep river ; but Cornwallis had just a few hours before crossed the river on a temporary bridge. No longer in dan- ger of being overtaken, he moved by way of Cross creek, now Lafayette, towards Wihnington. His rapid march through a country thinly inhabited left no tracks which the quickening of spring did not cover over, except where houses had been burned and settlements broken up. But it taught the loyal- ists of North Carolina that they could put no trust in the promises of British generals, or the protection of the British king. All North Carolina, except Wil- mington, was left to the Americans.

" From the report of CornwalUs," said Fox on the twelfth of June to the house of commons, " there is ^^2? the most conclusive evidence that the war is at once impracticable in its object and ruinous in its progress. In the disproportion between the two armies a vic- tory was highly to the honor of our troops ; but, had our army been vanquished, what course could they have taken ? Certainly they would have abandoned the field of action, and flown for refuge to the sea- side ; precisely the measures the victorious army was obliged to adopt." And he moved the house of commons to recommend to the ministers every pos- sible measure for concluding peace.

VOL. X. 31

482 . AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. In the course of the very long debate, the younger wl^--^ William Pitt, then just twenty-two, avoiding the 17 81. question of independence, explained to a listening 12. house the principles and conduct of his father on American affairs. Then, referring to Lord Westcote, he said : " A noble lord has called the American war a holy war ; I affirm that it is a most accursed war, wicked, barbarous, cruel, and unnatural; con- ceived in injustice, it was brought forth and nurtured in folly ; its footsteps are marked with slaughter and devastation, while it meditates destruction to the miserable people who are the devoted objects of the resentments which produced it. The British nation, in return for its vital resources in men and money, has received ineffective victories and severe defeats, which have filled the land with mourning for the loss of dear relations slain in the impious cause of enforcing unconditional submission, or narra- tives of the glorious exertions of men struggling under all difficulties in the holy cause of liberty. Where is the Englishman who can refrain from weeping, on whatever side victory may be declared ? " The voice was listened to as that of Chatham, " again living in his son with all his virtues and all his tal- ents." " America is lost, irrecoverably lost, to this coimtry," added Fox. " We can lose nothing by a vote declaring America independent."

On the division, an increased minority revealed the growing discontent of the house of commons at the continuance of the war.

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. GREENE IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

1781.

On the seventh of April, Comwalhs brought the chap. relics of his army to Wilmington, where a party >— v- sent by his orders from Charleston awaited him. ^l^.^' He could not move by land towards Camden with- ^ out exposing his troops to the greatest chances of being lost.^ He should have sped to Charleston by water, to retain possession of South Carolina; but such a movement would have published to the world that all his long marches and victories had led only to disgrace. A subordinate general, sure of the favor and approval of Germain, he forced his plans on his commander-in-chief,^ to whom he wrote : " I cannot help expressing my wishes that the Chesapeake may become the seat of war, even, if necessary, at the expense of abandoning New York." And without waiting for an answer, in the

1 Cormvallis to Phillips, and * Cornwallis to Clinton, Wil- Cornwallis to Clinton, 4 April, mington, 10 April, 1781, in Wash- 1781. iugtou's Writings, vii. 458.

484 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, last days of April, with a force of fourteen hundred

XXIV. •^ . ■»■ ^

w- ^— .* and thirty-five men, all told, he left Wilmington for 17 81. Virginia. Clinton replied:^ "Had you intimated the probability of your intention, I should certainly have endeavored to have stopped you ; as I did then as well as now consider such a move likely to be dangerous to our interests in the southern colonies." April. He had just received from the secretary this mes- sage : " Lord George Germam strongly recommends it to Sir Henry Clinton either to remain in good humor, in full confidence to be supported as much as the nature of the service- will admit of, or avail himself of the leave of coming home ; as no good can arise to the service if there is not full confidence between the general and the minister."^ But, in- stead of resigning, he hastened to warn Germain : " Operations in the Chesapeake are attended with great risk, unless we are sure of a permanent supe- riority at sea. I cannot agree to the opinion given me by Lord Cornwallis." ^ "I tremble for the fatal consequences which may ensue." *

But the subordinate general had from Wilmington written to the secretary, " that a serious attempt upon Virginia would be the most solid plan ; "^ and Germain hastened to instruct Clinton : " Lord Corn- wallis's opinion entirely coincides with mine of the great importance of pushing the war on the side of Virginia with all the force that can be spared." ^

^ Clinton to Cornwallis, 29 May, ^ Cornwallis to Germain, 18

1781. April, 1781, in Tarleton, 385.

^ Quoted in Clinton's Private * Germain to Clinton, 6 June,

Despatch of 30 April, 1781. 1781, in Commis. Clinton, Corn-

^ Clinton to Germain, 23 April, wallis, 53. 1781.

* Ibid., 30 April, 1781. Private.

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. GREENE IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 48o

In his march from Wilmington, Cornwalhs met chap. little resistance. At Halifax, his troops were let sl^ loose to commit enormities that were a disgrace to i7 8i. the name of man.^ For the place of junction with ^^"^' the British army in Virginia, he fixed upon Peters- burg on the Appomatox.

So soon as Cornwallis had escaped beyond pursuit, Man h Greene " determined to carry the war immediately into South Carolina." Dismissing those of the mi- litia whose time was about to expire, he retained nearly eighteen hundred men, with small chances of re-enforcements or of sufficient subsistence. He knew the hazards which he was incurring; but, in case of untoward accidents, he believed that Wash- ington and his other friends would do justice to his name.

The possession of the interior of South Carolina depended on the posts at Camden and Ninety-Six in that state, and at Augusta in Georgia. On the sixth April of April, Greene detached a force under Lee, which joined Marion, and threatened the connections be- tween Camden and Charleston ; Sumpter, with three small regiments of regular troops of the state, had in charge to hold the country between Camden and Ninety-Six, and Pickens with the western mihtia to intercept supplies on their way to Ninety-Six and Augusta.^

After these preparations, Greene on the seventh 7. began his march from Deep river, and on the twen- 20. tieth encamped his army a half mile from the strong and well-garrisoned works of Camden. In the hope

* Stedman,ii. 385, note. little ffom Johnson, ii. 68, and

* Kamsay, ii. 227; differing a Marshall, ii. 4.

486 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, of intercepting a party whom Rawdon had sent out, _-^_^ Greene moved to the south of the town ; but^ finding 17 81. that he had been misled, his army, on the twenty- 24. fourth, took a well-chosen position on HobkirK's hill. The eminence was covered with wood, and flanked on the left by an impassable swamp. The ground towards Camden, which was a mile and a half dis- tant, was protected by a forest and thick shrubbery. 28. On the twenty- eighth, the men, having been under arms from daylight, were dismissed to receive pro- visions and prepare their morning repast. The horses were unsaddled and feeding ; Greene was at breakfast.

By keeping close to the swamp, Rawdon, with about nine hundred men, gained the left of the Americans, " in some measure by surprise," ^ and opened a fire upon their pickets. The good disci- pline which Greene had introduced now stood him in stead. About two hundred and fifty North Caro- lina militia, who had arrived that morning, did nothing during the day; but his cavalry was soon mounted, and his regular troops, about nine hundred and thirty in number, were formed in order of battle in one line without reserves. Of the two Virginia regiments, that under Hawes formed the extreme right, that of Campbell the right centre ; of the two Maryland regiments, that of Ford occupied the ex- treme left, that of Gunby the left centre. The artil-

^ "After viewing the British by the former, was well chosen,

works about Camden, I set oUt for but he not well established in it

Charlotte. On my way, two miles before he was attacked, which,

from town, I examined the ground by capturing a vedette, was in

on which General Greene and Lord some measure by surprise." —

Rawdon had their action. The Washington's Diary, Thursday,

ground had but just been taken 26 May, 1790

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGiY. GREEXE IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 487

lerj was placed in the road between the two bri- chap. gades.^ In this disposition he awaited the attack of ^^^ Rawdon. 17 8i.

Perceiving that the British advanced with a narrow '^'^^ front, Greene, with full confidence in gaining the victory, ordered Ford's regiment on the left and Campbell's on the right to wheel respectively on their flanks, the regiments of Hawes and Gunby to charge with bayonets without firing, and Washington with his cavalry to double the right flank and attack the enemy in the rear. Had every one of these move- ments succeeded, the army of Rawdon would have been ruined ; but they were not executed with the promptness of veteran troops. Rawdon had time to extend his front by ordering up his reserves. Colonel Ford, in leading on his men, was disabled by a severe wound ; and his regiment, without exe- cuting their orders, only replied by a loose scattering lire. On the other flank, the regiment of Campbell, composed of new troops, could not stand the brunt of the enemy, though they could be rallied and formed anew. Exposing himself greatly, Greene led up the regiment several times in person. Meantime the regiments under Hawes and Gunby advanced in front with courage, while the artillery played effec- tively on the head of the British column. But, on the right of Gunby's regiment. Captain Beatty, an officer of the greatest merit, fell mortally wounded ; his company, left without his lead, began to waver, and the wavering affected the next company. Seeing this, Gunby absurdly ordered the regiment to retire, that they might form again. The British troops

* Davy in Johnson, ii. 94.

488 AMERICAN" INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, seized the opportunity, broke through the American

CJ^^ centre, advanced to the summit of the ridge, and

April brouo-ht their whole force into action on the best

28. ^

ground ; so that Greene was forced to a retreat. Each party lost about three hundred men. The battle was over before Washington with his cavalry could make the circuit through the forest and attack their rear.

"Had we defeated the enemy," wrote Greene, " not a man of the party would have got back into town. The disgrace is more vexatious than any thing else." The Americans lost no more than the British; Rawdon was compelled to leave the field and return to Camden ; Greene saved his artillery and collected all his men. Receiving a re-enforce- ment of ^ye hundred, Rawdon crossed the Wateree in pursuit of him; but he skilfully kept his enemy at bay.

No sooner had Marion been re-enforced by Lee, than they marched against the fort on Wright's bluff below Camden, the principal post of the British on the Santee, garrisoned by one hundred and fourteen men. The Americans were without cannon^ and the bluff was forty feet high ; but the forest stretched all around them; in the night the troops cut and hauled logs, and erected a tower so high that the garrison could be picked off by riflemen. Two days

26. before the battle of Hobkirk's hill, it capitulated.

The connection of Camden with Charleston being thus broken, the post became untenable. On the

^[^ tenth of May, after destroying all public buildings and stores and many private houses, the British abandoned it, and they never held it again. On the

11- eleventh, the post at Orangeburgh, held by sixty British

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. GREENE IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 489

militia and twelve regulars, surrendered to Sumpter. chap. Meantime Rawdon marched down the Santee on the f^ north side, anxious to save the garrison of Fort i7 8i. Motte, to which Marion had laid siege. To hasten '"^ii^ its surrender, Rebecca Motte, the owner of the house in which they were quartered, on the twelfth brought 12. into camp a bow and a bundle of Indian arrows ; and when the arrows had carried fire to her own abode, the garrison of a hundred and sixty-five men surren- dered. Two days later, the British evacuated their h- post at Nelson's ferry. On the fifteenth, Fort Granby 15. with three hundred and fifty- two men surrendered by capitulation. General Marion turned his arms against Georgetown ; and, on the first night after the Ameri- cans had broken ground, the British retreated to Charleston. The troops under Rawdon did not halt until they reached Monk's corner.

The north-western part of South Carolina was thus recovered, but the British still held Ninety-Six and Augusta. Conforming to the j)lan which Greene had forwarded from Deep river. General Pickens and Colonel Clarke with militia kept watch over the latter. On the twentieth of May, they were joined by Lieu- 20. tenant-Colonel Lee. The outposts were taken one after another, and on the fifth of June the main fort with about three hundred men ca"pitulated. One officer, obnoxious for his cruelties, fell after the sur- render by an unknown hand. Lieutenant- Colonel Brown, the commander, had himself hanged thirteen American prisoners, and delivered citizens of Georgia to the Cherokees to suffer death with all the exquisite tortures which savage barbarity could contrive ; but on his way to Savannah an escort protected him from

June 6.

490 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, the inhabitants whose houses he had burned, whose

XXIV.

^i^ relations he had hanged.

17 81. On the twenty-second of May, Greene, with Kos- 22. ciuszko for his engineer, and nine hundred and eighty-four men, began the siege of Ninety-Six. The post, though mounting but three pieces of artil- lery, was strongly fortified ; the garrison of fiYe hun- dred and fifty was ample for the place; and the commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Cruger, was an officer of ability and enterprise.

A fleet from Ireland having arrived at Charleston with re-enforcements, Eawdon on the seventh of

•^^^® June marched with two thousand men to the relief of Ninety-Six. Loath to be baffled, Greene, on the 18. eighteenth, ordered a party of Marylanders and of Virginians to make a lodgement in the fort, in which no justifying breach had been made. Of the brave men who were sent into the ditch, one-third were killed, and but one in six came out of it unwounded. The next day the general raised the siege and with- drew to the north, complaining of fortune which had neither given him victory at Guilford, nor at Camden, nor now at Ninety-Six. But his fortitude always rose above disasters, and his resources did not fail him. He retreated as far as the Enoree.

Giving over pursuit, the British commander re- turned to Ninety-Six. That insulated post could no longer be maintained. Leaving the largest part of his force to assist in removing the loyalists, he marched with a thousand men to establish a detach- ment on the Congaree. Greene followed; and his cavalry, detached to watch the enemy's motions.

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. GREENE IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 491

made prisoners of forty-eight British dragoons within chap. one mile of their encampment. ^1^

Avoiding an encounter, Lord Rawdon retired to i7 8i. Orangeburgh, where he was re- enforced. On the is-^ other side, Greene, after forming a junction with the men of Sumpter and Marion, pursued him, and on the twelfth of July offered him battle. The offer ^f/ was refused. On the thirteenth, Greene detached the la! cavalry of the legion, the state troops, and militia of South Carolina to compel the evacuation of Orange- burgh by striking at the posts around Charleston ; the rest of the army was ordered to the high hills of the Santee, famed for pure air and pure water. On the same day, Cruger, who had evacuated Ninety-Six, joined Rawdon with his troops. He had called around him the royalists in the district of Ninety-Six, avowed to them that the post from its insulation could no longer be maintained, and set before them the option of making their peace with the Americans or fleeing under his escort to Charleston. Those who had signalized themselves by devoted service to the king now learned from his officer that he could no longer protect them in their own homes ; and, forced to elect tlie lot of refugees, they brought into the camp of Cruger their wives, children, and slaves, wagons laden with the little of their property that they could carry away, sure to be thrust aside by the English at Charleston as troublesome guests, and left to wretched- ness and despair.

The British when united were superior in number ; but their detachments were attacked with success. They could not give the protection which they had promised, and the people saw no hope of peace

492 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, except in driving them out of the land. Weary of ,-1^-J ceaseless turmoil, Rawdon repaired to Charleston, 17 81. and, pretending ill health, sailed for England, but not 13. till after a last act of vengeful inhumanity. Isaac Hayne, a planter in the low country whose affections were always with America, had, after the fall of Charleston, obtained a British protection. When the British lost the part of the country in which he •resided and could protect him no longer, he resumed his place as an American citizen, and led a regiment of militia against the British. Taken prisoner, Bal- four hesitated what to do with him ; but Rawdon, w^ho was Balfour's superior in command, had no sooner arrived in Charleston than, against the entreaties of the children of Hayne, of the women of Charleston, of the lieutenant-governor of the province, he sent ^4^"" him to the gallows. The execution was illegal ; for the loss of power to protect forfeited the right to enforce allegiance. It was most impolitic; for it uprooted all remaining attachment of moderate men for the English government. It roused the women of Charleston to implacable defiance. The American army demanded retaliation ; but after the departure of Rawdon there remained in South Carohna no British officer who would have repeated the act of revenge. His first excuse for the execution was that same order of Cornwallis which had filled the w^oods of Carolina with assassins. Feeling the act as a stain upon his name, he attempted at a later day, but only after the death of BaKour, to throw on that officer the blame that belonged especially to himself. The ship in which Rawdon embarked was captured by the French

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. GREENE IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 493

at sea, but his rights as a prisoner of war were chap. respected. J^^*

After a short rest, Greene moved his army from the 1 7 8 1. hills of Santee in a roundabout way to attack the "*'* British at their post near the junction of the Wateree and Congaree. They retreated before him and halted at Eutaw springs. He continued the pursuit with so much skill that the British remained ignorant of his advance. At four o'clock on the morning of the . eighth of September, his army was in motion to ^7'- attack them. The centre of the front line was composed of two small battalions from North Caro- lina, and of one from South Carolina on each wing, commanded respectively by Marion and Pickens. The second line was formed of three hundred and fifty continentals of North Carolina, led by General Sumner ; of an equal number of Virginians, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell ; and of two hundred and fifty Marylanders, under Otho Wil- liams. Long and gallantly did the militia maintain the action, those with Marion and Pickens proving themselves equal to the best veterans. As they began to be overpowered by numbers, they were sustained by the North Carolina brigade under Sum- ner; and the Virginians under Campbell, and the Marylanders under Williams, charged with the bayo- net. The British were routed. On a party that pre- pared to rally, Washington bore down with his cavalry and a small body of infantry, and drove them from the field. The victory was complete. Great num- bers of the British had fallen', or were made prisoners.

Many of the Americans who joined in the shouts of triumph were doomed to bleed. A brick house

494 AMEKICAN" mDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, sheltered the British as they fled. Against the >— ^.w house Greene ordered artillery to play; but the 17 81. gunners were shot down by riflemen, and the field- 8- pieces abandoned to the enemy. Upon a party in an adjacent wood of barren oaks, Washington was ordered to charge with his horsemen; and the close, stiff branches of the stubborn trees made the cavalry use- less. Colonel Washington himself, after his glorious • share in the campaign, at the last moment of this last encounter, was wounded, disabled, and taken prisoner. So there were at Eutaw two succes- sive engagements. In the first, Greene won bril- liantly and with little loss ; in the second, he sustained a defeat, with the death or capture of many of his bravest men.^ In the two engagements, the Ameri- cans lost in killed, wounded, 4ind missing, five hundred and fifty-four men ; they took five hundred prisoners, including the wounded ; and the total loss of the Brit- ish approached one thousand. The cause of the United States was the cause of Ireland. Among the fruits of the battles of the former was the recovery for the latter of her equal rights in trade and legisla- tion. Yet such is the sad complication in human affairs that the people who of all others should have been found taking part with America sent some of their best troops and their ablest men to take the field against the defenders of their own rights. Irish- men fought in the British ranks at Eutaw. Lord Edward Fitzgerald, who received on this day wounds that were all but mortal, had in later years no con-

^ " C'est une grande science de savoir s'arreter -k temps." Ver- gennes to Lafayette, 1 Oct., 1781, commenting on the events of the day.

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN. GREENE IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 495

solation for his share in the conflict ; " for," said he, char ' I was then fighting against Hberty." • i^!!;

Occupying the field of battle by a strong picket, 1 7 8 1. Greene drew off for the night to his morning's camp, ^sl''* where his troops could 'have the refreshment of pure water, and prepare to renew the attack. But the British in the night, after destroying stores and breaking in pieces a thousand muskets, retreated to Charleston, leaving seventy of their wounded. Best- ing one or two days, Greene with his troops, which were wasted not only by battle, but by disease, re- gained his old position on the heights of Santee. He had been in command less than nine months, and in that short time the three southern states were recovered excepting only Wilmington, Charles- ton, and Savannah. His career had not been marked by victories, but he always gained the object for which he risked an engagement. He says of him- self that he would "fight, get beaten, and fight again." He succeeded in driving Cornwallis out of the southern states, and in breaking up every British post in South Carolina outside of Charleston ; ' having had, like the commander-in-chief, to contend with every evil that could come from the defects in gov- ernment, and from want of provisions, clothes, and pay for his troops. Morris, the financier,^ neglected him, sending him good words and httle else. Yet while he saw clearly all the perils and evils against which he had to struggle, cheerful activity and forti- tude never failed him. His care extended to every-

1 The story which, according to with mpans to assist him, is not Marshall. Robert Morris told of found to stand the test of historic his keeping an agent near Greene criticism.

496 AMERICAN^ INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, thing in the southern department. It is the peculiar

- — ^ character ©f his campaign, that whatever was achieved

17 81. ^yas achieved by Americans alone, and by Americans

of the south. In the opinion of his country, he

gained for himself as a general in the American

army the place next to Washington.

81. Jan.

CHAPTER XXV.

CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA. 1781.

Clinton had himself resolved to hold a station in chap.

xxv. the Chesapeake Bay, and on the second of January, --^

1781, Arnold, with sixteen hundred men, appeared ^J^

by his order in the James river. The generous state ^•

had sent its best troops and arms to the southern

army. Nelson had received timely orders from

Governor Jefferson to call out the militia of the low

country ; but, in the region of planters with slaves,

there were not freemen enough at hand to meet

the invaders ; and Steuben, thinking Petersburg the

object of attack, kept his small force on the south

side of the river. Arnold offered to spare Richmond

if he might unmolested carry off its stores of tobacco ;

the proposal being rejected with scorn, on the fifth

and sixth, all its houses and stores, public and private,

were set on fire. In the hope of capturing Arnold

and his corps, Washington detached Lafayette with

about twelve hundred rank and file to Virginia ; and,

VOL. X. 32

498 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, repairing to Newport, persuaded the French naval _^ connnander to send to the Chesapeake ten ships of 17 81. war to co-operate with him. They were followed by 6. the British squadron, and twelve leagues east of the bay an action took place. The French were com- pelled to return to Newport, while Arbuthnot en- tered the Chesapeake. 26. On the twenty-sixth of March, General Phillips, who brought from New York a re-enforcement of two thousand picked men, took the command ui Virginia. All the stores of produce which its plant- ers in five quiet years had accumulated were now . carried off or destroyed. Their negroes, so desired in the West Indies, formed the staple article of plunder.

By a courier from Washington, Lafayette received information that Virginia was about to become the centre of active operations, and was instructed to defend the state as well as the w^eakness of his means would permit. His troops were chiefly from New England, and dreaded the unwholesome and unknown climate of lower Virginia. Besides, they April, were destitute of every thing. To prevent deser- tion, Lafayette, as soon as he found himself on the south side of the Susquehanna, in an order of the day, ' offered leave to any of them to return to the north; and not one would abandon him. At Baltimore he borrowed two thousand pounds sterHng, supplied his men with shoes and hats, and bought linen, which the women of Baltimore made into sum- mer garments. Then, by a forced march of two hundred miles, he arrived at Richmond on the 29. twenty-ninth of April, the evening before Phillips

CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA. 499

reached the opposite bank of the river. Having chap. in the night been joined by Steuben with mihtia, sf^ Lafayette was enabled to hold in check the larger i^si. British force. Wayne should have accompanied La- ^29"^ fayette with the Pennsylvania Kne, but they were detained week after week for needful supplies. Meantime Chnton, stimulated by Germain's con- • stant praises of the activity of Cornwalhs, sent an- other considerable detachment to Virginia.

On the thirteenth of May, General Phillips died ^[f of mahgnant fever. Arnold, on whom the command devolved, though only for seven days, addressed a letter to Lafayette. The young man returned it with scorn, refusing to correspond with a traitor; upon which Arnold threatened to send to the An- tilles all American prisoners, unless a cartel should be immediately concluded. But on the twentieth 20. Cornwallis arrived at Petersburg; and, to free his camp of one whom he despised, he ordered Arnold back to New York.

Clinton had little reason to be satisfied with an Sept. officer who had represented to the ministry that he might have taken the American posts in the High- lands in a few days by a regular attack. Never- theless he detached him once more, and this time against his native state. Crossing from Long Island, the troops under his command, on the sixth of Sep- 6. tember, landed on each side of New London. The town, which offered little resistance, was plundered and burned. After a gallant defence of forty min- utes by Colonel Ledyard, with about one hundred and fifty ill-armed militia-men. Fort Griswold was carried by storm, the Americans having lost not more than six

500 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. men. When Ledyard had surrendered, the British

s_^ officer in command ran him through with his sword,

17 81. and refused quarter to the garrison. Seventy-three

of them were killed, and more than thirty wounded ;

about forty were carried off as prisoners. With this

expedition, Arnold disappears from history.

Cornwallis now found himself where he had so ardently desired to be, — in Virginia, at the head of seven thousand effective men, with not a third of that number to oppose him by land, and with un- disputed command of the water.

The statesmen of Virginia, in the extremity of their peril, were divided in opinion. " Wanting a rudder in the storm," said Richard Henry Lee, " the good ship must inevitably be cast away ; " and he proposed to send for General Washington imme- diately, and invest him with " dictatorial powers." But Jefferson, on the other hand, reasoned : " The thought alone of creating a dictator is treason against the people ; is treason against mankind in general, giving to their oppressors a proof of the imbecility of republican government in times of pressing dan- ger. The government, instead of being braced and invigorated for greater exertions under difficulties, would be thrown back." As governor of Virginia, speaking for its people and representing their dis- 28. tresses, he wrote to Washington : " Could you lend us your personal aid ? It is evident, from the universal voice, that the presence of their beloved countryman would restore full confidence, and ren- der them equal to whatever is not impossible. Should you repair to your native state, the diffi- culty would then be how to keep men out of the

CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA. 501

field." Tlie words sunk deeply into Washington's chap. mind. ^^^•

During the summer, congress sought to improve i78i. the methods of administration. It was proposed to substitute for executive committees a single head of each of the most important departments; and, against the opinion of Samuel Adams and without aid from Massachusetts, the system was adopted. Robert Morris was placed in charge of the finances of the confederation ; the conduct of foreign affairs was intrusted to Eobert Livingston of New York.

Outside of congress, Hamilton persevered in re- commending an efficient government. His views were so identical with those of Robert Morris, that it is sometimes hard to say in whose mind they first sprung up. Many who agreed with them in wish- ing a stronger union might think they laid too much stress on the institution of a national bank; and their opinion that a national debt, if not exces- sive, would be a national blessing, a powerful cement to union, and a spur to industry, did not rise out of the best traditions of the country, and was carried, at least by the elder of the two, to a most perilous extreme.

Meantime the conduct of the war continued to languish for the want of a central government. In the states from which the most was hoped, Hancock of Massachusetts v/as vain and neglectful of business. The president of Pennsylvania was more ready to recount what the state had done than what it meant to do ; so that the army was not wholly free from the danger of being disbanded for want of subsist- ence. Of the armed vessels of the United States,

502 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, all but two frigates had been taken or destroyed. w-^,.^ Tired of the war and conscious of weakness, congress, 17 81. yielding to the influence of the French Minister, made for its sole condition of peace the inde- pendence of the United States. The mediation of the empress of Eussia and the emperor of Ger- many was accepted. The American commissioners were not restrained by absolute instructions with respect to boundaries, fisheries, the navigation of the Mississippi, or the country west of the Ohio ; and they were charged " to undertake nothing in their negotiations for peace or truce without the knowl- edge and concurrence of the ministers of the king of. France, and ultimately to govern themselves by their advice and opinion." That New Hampshire abandoned the claim to the fisheries was due to Sullivan, who at the time was a pensioner of Luzerne.

Madison still persevered in the effort to obtain power for congress to collect a revenue, and that body named a committee to examine into the changes which needed to be made in the articles of confederation. " The difficulty of continuing the war under them," so 27?' wrote Luzerne on the twenty-seventh of August, " proves equally the necessity of reforming them, produced, as they were, at an epoch, when the mere name of authority inspired j^error, and by men who thought to make themselves agreeable to the people. I can scarcely persuade myself that they will come to an agreement on this matter. Some persons even believe that the actual constitution, all vicious as it is, can be changed only by some violent revolution." The French government declined to furnish means

CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA. 503

for the siege of New York. After the arrival of its chap. final instructions, Eochambeau, attended by Chastel- J^ lux, in a meeting with Washington at Weathersfield, i7 8i. on the twenty-first of May, settled the preliminaries ^i^ of the campaign. The French land force was to march to the North river, and, in conjunction with the American army, be ready to move to the south- ward. De Grasse was charged anew on his way to the north to enter the Chesapeake. In the conduct of the war for the coming season there would be union ; for congress had lodged the highest power in the northern and southern departments in the hands of Washington, and France had magnanimously placed her troops as auxiliaries under his command.

Before his return, the American general called upon the governors of the four New England states, " in ear- nest and pointed terms," to complete their continental battalions, to hold bodies of militia ready to march in a week after being called for, and to adopt effective modes of supply. Governor Trumbull, of Connec- ticut, cheered him with the opinion that he would obtain all that he needed.

In June, the French contingent, increased by fifteen hundred men, newly arrived in ships of war, left Newport for the Hudson river.* The inhabitants crowded around them on their march, glad to recog- nise in them allies and defenders, and, mingling at their encampments with officers and soldiers, lis- tened with delight to the bands of their regiments. The rights of private property were most scrupu- lously respected, and the petty exigencies of local laws good-naturedly submitted to.

Cornwallis began his career in Virgmia by seizing

504 AMERICAN" INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, the fine horses on the James river, and mounting a w-^ gallant and most effective cavalry, five or six hundred 17 81. in number. He then started in pursuit of Lafayette, who, with about one thousand continental troops, was posted between Wilton and Kichmond, waiting for re-enforcements from Pennsylvania. "Lafay- ette, I think, cannot escape him," wrote Clinton to Germain.-^ The youthful commander warily kept to the north of his pursuer, and, passing South and North Anna, went through the wilderness across the 7°® Eapidan, and on the seventh of June made a junc- tion with Wayne not far from Eaccoon ford. Small as was his force, he compared the British in Virginia to the French occupation of Hanover in the seven years' war, and confidently predicted analogous re- sults. Cornwallis advanced as far as Hanover court- house, then crossed South Anna, and, having failed in his first object, he sent out two detachments, — one of cavalry under Tarleton to break up the Virginia assembly, then in session at Charlottesville ; the other to the Point of Fork, where Steuben, with five hun- dred Virginians of the line and a few of the militia, kept guard over large stores intended for the south. The main body of his army, in its camp on the James river, just below Byrd creek, awaited the return of the expeditions. For the next ten days, Cornwallis established his head-quarters at Elk Hill on a planta- tion belonging to Jefferson.

With one hundred and eighty dragoons and forty mounted infantry, Tarleton rode seventy miles in

* Clinton to Germain, 9 June, that Cornwallis himself wrote: 1781. Out of this has been man- ''The boy cannot escape me." ufactured the groundless story

CAMPAIGN m VIRGINIA. 505

twenty-four hours, destroying public stores on the citap. way; but the assembly, having received warning, i^ had adjourned, and Jefferson had gone to the nioun- i^si. tains on horseback. The dragoons overtook seven of ""^ the legislature. Otherwise the expedition was fruit- less.

Steuben had transported his magazine across the Fluvanna, and was safe, the water being too deep to be forded; but Simcoe, who was sent against him, made him believe that the whole British army was in pursuit of him ; and he fled, leaving behind him some part of his stores.

The two detachments rejoined the camp of Corn- wallis, which extended along the James river from the Point of Fork to a little below the mouth of Byrd creek. Tarleton had suffered nothing of Jefferson's at Monticello to be injured. At Elk Hill, under the eye of Cornwallis, all the barns and fences were burned; the growing crops destroj'ed; the fields laid absolutely waste ; the throats cut of all the horses that were t«o young for service, and the rest carried off. He took away about thirty slaves, but not to give them freedom. The rest of the neigh- borhood was treated in hke manner, but with less of destructive fury.

In the march of the British army from Elk Hill down the river to Williamsburg, where it arrived on the twenty-fifth of June, all dwelling-houses were as. plundered. The trusty band of Lafayette hung upon its rear, but could not prevent its depredations. The Americans of that day computed that Cornwallis in his midsummer marchings up and 'down Virginia destroyed property to the value of three million

506 AMERICAN IKDEPENDENCE.

^^ pounds sterling. He nowhere gained a foothold, — ^-^ and he obtained no supplies except through the ter- Vune!' ro^ of his arms. His long travels had only taught him that the bulk of the people were bent on inde- pendence.

At Williamsburg, to his amazement and chagrin, he received from his chief orders to send back about three thousand men. Clinton's letter of the eleventh expressed his fear of being attacked in New York by more than twenty thousand \ there was, he said, no possibility of re-estabhshing order in Virginia, so general was the disaffection to Great Britain. Cornwallis. should therefore take a defensive situation in any healthy station he might choose, be it at Williamsburg or Yorktown. On the fifteenth, he added : "I do not think it advisable to leave more troops in that unhealthy climate at this season of the year than are absolutely wanted for a defensive and a desultory water expedition." " De Grasse," so he continued on the nineteenth, " will visit this coast in the hurricane season, and bring with him troops as well as ships. But when he hears that your Lordship has taken possession of York river before him, I think that their first efforts will be in this quarter. I am, however, under no great apprehensions, as Sir George Rodney seems to have the same suspicions of de Grasse's intention that we have, and will, of course, follow him hither."

From this time, the hate which had long existed between the lieutenant-general and the commander- in-chief showed itself without much reserve. The former was eager to step into the chief command ; the latter, though he had threatened to throw up his

CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA. 507

place, clung to it tenaciously, and declared that he chap. would not be " duped " ^ by his rival into resigning, f^

" To your opinions it is my duty implicitly to sub- i7 8i. mit," was the answer of Cornwallis to the orders of ^''^' Clinton ; and on the fourth of July he began his march to Portsmouth. On that day, the royal army arrived near James island, and in the evening the advanced guard reached the opposite bank of the James river. Two or three more days were required to carry over all the stores and the troops. The small American army followed at a distance. Beside fifteen hundred regular troops, equal to the best in the royal army, Lafayette drew to his side as volun- teers gallant young men mounted on their own horses from Maryland and Virginia. . Youth and generosity, courage and prudence, were his spells of persuasion. His perceptions were quick and his vig- ilance never failed, and in his methods of gaining information of the movements of the enemy he ex- celled all officers in the war except Washington and Morgan. All accounts bear testimony to his pru- dence, and that he never once committed himself during a very difficult capipaign.^ Of his self- possession in danger he was now called upon to give proof.

On the sixth, Lafayette judged correctly that the «. great body of the British army was still on the north side of the James river ; but Wayne, without his knowledge, detached a party under Colonel Gal van to carry off a field-piece of the enemy which was

^ The word '* duped " is used by GUnton in his notes on Stedman'a History.

' Tarleton, 355. The one act of rashness to which Tarleton refers was not the act of Lafayette.

508 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, said to lie exposed. The information proved false, w.^ The party with Galvan found themselves suddenly 17 81. in front of the advancing British line ; and they 6. retreated in column till they met Wayne with the Pennsylvania brigade. It suited the character of that officer to hazard an encounter. The British moved on with loud shouts and incessant fire. Wayne, discovering that he had been tempted to engage a greatly superior force, saw his only safety in redoubling his courage ; and he kept up the fight till Lafayette, braving the hottest fire, in which his horse was killed under him, brought up the light infantry, and rescued the Pennsylvanians from their danger. Two of Wayne's field-pieces were left be- hind. In killed and wounded, each side lost about one hundred and twenty. The action took its name from the Green Springs farm, about eight miles above Jamestown, where Lafayette encamped for the night. After passing the river, Cornwallis, on the eighth, wrote orders to Tarleton with mounted troops to ravage Prince Edward's and Bedford counties, and to destroy all stores, whether public or private. The benefit derived from the destruction of property was not equal to the loss in skirmishes on the route and from the heats of midsummer.

From his camp on Malvern Hill, Lafayette urged Washington to march to Virginia in force, and he predicted in July that if a French fleet should enter Hampton roads the English army must surrender. In hke manner, on the eighth of the same month, Corn- wallis, in reply to Clinton, reasoned earnestly against a defensive post in the Chesapeake. " It cannot have the smallest influence on the war in Carolina : it only

CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA. 509

gives us some acres of an unhealthy swamp, and is chap. for ever liable to become a prey to a foreign enemy ^^^ with a temporary superiority at sea." Thorouglily i7 8i. disgusted with the aspect of affairs in Virginia, he asked leave to transfer the command to General Leslie, and for himseK to go back to Charleston. Meantime transport ships arrived in the Chesapeake : and, in a letter which he received on the twelfth, he was desired by his chief so to hasten the embark- ation of three thousand men that they might sail for New York within forty-eight hours; for, de- ceived by letters which were written to be inter- cepted, he believed that the enemy would certainly attack that post.

But the judgment of Clinton was further confused by still another cause. The expectation of a brilliant campaign in Virginia had captivated the minds of Lord George Germain and the king ; and now that Cornwallis was thoroughly cured of his own pre- sumptuous delusions, they came back to Clinton in the shape of orders from the American secretary, who dwelt on the vast importance of the occupation of Virginia, and on the wisdom of the present plan of pushing the war in that quarter. It was a great mortification to him that Clinton should think of leaving only a sufficient force to serve for garrisons in the posts that might be established there, and he continued: "Your ideas of the importance of recovering that province appearing to be so differ- ent from mine, I thought it proper to ask the advice of his Majesty's other servants upon the subject, and, their opinion concurring entirely with mine, it has been submitted to the king ; and I am commanded

510 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, by his Majesty to acquaint you that the recovery of w-^ the southern provinces and the prosecution of the war 17 81. from south to north is to be considered as the chief and principal object for the employment of all the forces under your command which can be spared from the defence of the places in his Majesty* s pos- session."

On Cornwallis he heaped praises, writing to him in ^6."^ June : " The rapidity of your movements is justly matter of astonishment to all Europe." To Clinton he repeated in the same month : " Lord Cornwallis's opinion entirely coincides with mine;" and on the "^fj seventh of July : " The detachments sent to Virginia promise more towards bringing the southern colonies to obedience than any offensive operation of the war ; " a week later : " You judiciously sent ample re-enforce- ments to the Chesapeake ; " and on the second of Aug. August : " As Sir George Rodney knows the destina- tion of de Grasse, and the French acknowledge his ships sail better than theirs, he will get before him and be in readiness to receive him when he comes upon the coast. I see nothing to prevent the recov- ery of the whole country to the king's obedience." So the troops in Virginia which were already embarked were ordered to remain there. " As to quitting the Chesapeake entirely," wrote Clinton in a letter re- 2ir ceived by Cornwalhs on the twenty-first of July, " I cannot entertain a thought of such a measure. I flatter myself you will at least hold Old Point Com- fort, if it is possible to do it without York.'' And four days later CHnton urged again: "It ever has been, is, and ever will be, my firm and unalterable opinion that it is of the first consequence to his

CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA. 611

Majesty's affairs on the continent, that we take pos- chap. session of the Chesapeake, and that we do not after- s^^ wards reHnquish it.'* "Remain in Chesapeake, at i7 8i. least until the stations I have proposed are occupied "^* and established. It never was my intention to con- tinue a post on Elizabeth river." Now the post of Portsmouth on Elizabeth river had, as Lafayette and Washington well understood, the special value that it offered in the last resort the chance of an escape into the Carolinas.

The engineers, after careful and extensive sur- veys, reported unanimously, that a work on Point Comfort would not secure ships at anchor in Hamp- ton roads. To General Phillips on his embarkation in April, Clinton's words had been : " With regard to a station for the protection of the king's ships, I know of no place so proper as Yorktown."^ Nothing therefore remained but, in obedience to the spirit of Clinton's orders, to seize and fortify York and Gloucester.''^ Cornwallis accordingly, in the first week of August, embarked his troops sue- Aug. cessively, and, evacuating Portsmouth, transferred 2! his whole force to Yorktown and Gloucester. York- town was then but a small village on a high bank, where the long peninsula dividing the York from the James river is less than eight miles wide. The water is broad, bold, and deep ; so that ships of the line may ride there in safety. On the opposite side lies Gloucester, a point of land projecting into the river so as to narrow its width to one mile These were occupied by Comwalhs, and for- tified with the utmost diUgence ; though in his delib-

> Answer, 175. ' Answer, 174.

512 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, erate judgment the measure promised no honor to v^.^ hunself, and no advantage to Great Britain. 17 81. On the other hand, Lafayette, concentrating his forces in a strong position at a distance of about eight miles, indulged in the happiest prophecies, and wrote '^^f on the twenty-fourth of August to Maurepas: "I owe you so much gratitude, and feel for you so much attachment, that I wish sometimes to recall to your recollection the rebel commander of the little Vir- ginia army. Your interest for me will have been alarmed at the dangerous part which has been intrusted to me in my youth. Separated by five hundred miles from every other corps and without any resources, I am to oppose the projects of the court of St. James and the fortunes of Lord Corn- wallis. Thus far we have encountered no disaster." On the same day, his words to Yergennes were : "In pursuance of the immense plan of his court. Lord Cornwallis left the two Carolinas exposed, and Gen- eral Greene has largely profited by it. Lord Corn- wallis has left to us Portsmouth, from which place he was in communication with Carolina, and he now is at York, a very advantageous place for one who has the maritime superiority. If by chance that superi- ority should become ours, our little army will partici- pate in successes which will compensate it for a long and fatiguing campaign. They say that you are about to make peace. I think that you should wait for the events of this campaign."

On the very day on w^hich Cornwallis took posses- sion of York and Gloucester, Washington, assured of the assistance of de Grasse, turned his whole thoughts towards moving with the French troops under Rocham-

CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA. 513

beau and the best part of the American army to the chap. Chesapeake. While hostile divisions and angry jeal- v^t^ ousies increased between the two chief British officers i7 8i. in the United States, on the American side all things "*^" conspired happily together. De Barras, who com- manded the French squadron at Newport, wrote as to his intentions: " M. de Grasse is my junior; yet, as soon as he is wathin reach, I will go to sea to put myself under his orders." The same spirit insured unanimity in the mixed council of war. The rendez- vo'us was given to de Grasse in Chesapeake Bay ; and, at the instance of Washington, he was to bring with him as many land troops as could be spared from the West Indies. Clinton was so certain in his own mind that the siege of New York was the great object of Washington, that, although the force under his com- mand, including militia, was nearly eighteen thousand, he suffered the Hudson river to be crossed on the twenty-third and twenty-fourth of August without H] seizing the opportunity to give annoy aAce. Von Wurmb, a Hessian colonel, who had command at King's bridge, again and again reported that the allied armies were obviously preparing to move against Cornwallis ; but tlie general insisted that the appearances were but a stratagem. On the second ^2!*'" of September, it first broke on his mind that Wash- inacton was movind; southward.

In the allied camp all was joy. The love of free- dom penetrated not the French officers only, but in- flamed the soldiers. Every one of them was proud of being a defender of the young republic. The new^ principles entered into their souls, and be- came a part of their nature. On the fifth of Sep- *• VOL. X. 33

80.

514 AiMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

Scxv ' t6i^T^^<^^? t^^^y encamped at Chester. Never had the • — r-^ French seen a man penetrated with a livelier or more "^AvV' manifest joy than Washington when he there learned that, on the last day but one in August, the Count de Grasse with twenty-eight ships of the line, and nearly four thousand land troops, had entered the Ches- apeake, where, without loss of time, he had moored most of the fleet in Lynnhaven bay, blocked up York river, and, without being in the least annoyed by Cornwallis, had disembarked at James island three thousand men under the command of the Marquis de St. Simon. Here too prevailed unanimity. St. Simon, though older in military service as well as in years, placed himself and his troops as auxiliaries under the orders of Lafayette, because he was a major-general in the service of the United States. The combined army in their encampment could be approached only by two passages, which were in themselves difficult, and were carefully guarded, so that Cornwallis could not act on the offensive, and found himself effectually blockaded by land and by sea.

One more disappointment awaited Cornwallis. If a bad king or a bad minister pursues bad ends, he naturally employs bad men. No great naval officer wished to serve against the United States. Lord Sandwich, after the retirement of Howe, gave the naval command at New York tb officers without ability; and the aged and imbecile Arbuthnot was succeeded by Graves, a coarse and vulgar man, of mean ability and without skill in his profession. Rodney should have followed de Grasse to the north : but he had become involved in pecuniary perils by his indiscriminate seizures at St. Eustatius, and laid him-

CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA. 515

self open to censure for his inactivity during the chap long-continued sale of his prize-goods. Pleading ill ^t^ health, he escaped from uncongenial cares by sailing 1 7 8 1 for England. To the north he sent in his stead ^so^' Sir Samuel Hood, with fourteen sail of the line, frigates, and a fire-ship into the Chesapeake, where a junction with Graves would have given the English tlie supremacy in the bay. But Graves, who was of higher rank than Hood, was out of the way on a silly cruise before Boston, which had no purpose un- less to pick up a few prizes. Meantime de Barras, with eight ships of the line, sailed from Newport, con- voying ten transports, which contained the ordnance for the siege of Yorktown.

There was no want of information at New York, yet the British fleet did not leave Sandy Hook until the day after de Grasse had arrived in the Ches- apeake. Early on the fifth of September, Graves ^^^ discovered the French fleet at anchor in the mouth of the Chesapeake. De Grasse, though eighteen hun- dred of his seamen and ninety officers were on duty • in James river, ordered his ships to slip their cables, turn out from the anchorage ground, and form the line of battle. The action began at four o'clock in the afternoon, and continued till about sunset. The British sustained so great a loss that, after remaining five days in sight of the French, they returned to New York. On the first day of their return voyage, ii. they evacuated and burned " The Terrible," a ship of the line, so much had it been damaged in tlie engagement. De Grasse, now undisturbed master of the Chesapeake, on his way back to his anchoring ground captured two British ships, each of thirty-

Sept.

516 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, two gunSj and he found de Barras safely at anchor in

— ^^.^ the bay.

17 81. Leaving the aUied troops to descend by water from Elk river and Baltimore, Washington, with Eocham- beau and Chastellux, riding sixty miles a day, on the evening of the ninth reached his " own seat at Mount Vernon." It was the first time in more than six years that he had seen his home. From its lofty natural terrace above the Potomac, his illustrious guests com- manded a noble river, a wide expanse, and the height, then clothed in forest, within a generation to bear the capitol of the united republic.

Two days were given to domestic life. On the 14- fourteenth, the party arrived at Williamsburg, where Lafayette, recalling the moment when in France the poor rebels were held in light esteem, and when he nevertheless came to share with them all their perils, had the pleasure of welcoming Washington, as gen- eralissimo of the combined armies of the two nations, to scenes of glory.

The first act of Washington was to repair to the " Yille de Paris " to congratulate de Grasse on his victory. The system of co-operation between the land and naval forces was at the same time con- certed.

At this moment Gerry wrote from Massachusetts to Jay : " You will soon have the pleasure of hear- ing of the capture of Lord Cornwallis and his army." "Nothing caffi save Cornwallis," said Greene, "but a rapid retreat through North Carolina to Charles- ton." On the seventeenth, Cornwallis reported to Clinton : " This place is in no state of defence. If you cannot relieve me very soon, you must be pre-

C.S3IPAIGN m VIRGINIA. 617

pared to hear the worst." On that same day, a chap. council of war, held by Clinton at New York, decided i^ that Cornwallis must be relieved; "at all events be- ijsi fore the end of October." The next day Rear-Ad- ^''"' miral Graves answered : " I am very happy to find that Lord Cornwallis is in no immediate danger."

One peril yet menaced Washington. Count de Grasse, hearing of a re-enforcement of the fleet at New York, was bent on keeping the sea, leaving only two vessels at the mouth of the York river. Against this Washington addressed the most earnest remon- strance: "I should esteem myself deficient in my duty to the common cause of France and America, if I did not persevere in entreating you to resume the plans that have been so happily arranged." The 25. letter was taken by Lafayette, who joined to it his own explanations and reasonings; and de Grasse, though reluctantly, agreed to remain within the capes. Washington wrote on the twenty-seventh in 27. acknowledgment: "A great mind knows how to make personal sacrifices to secure an important gen- eral good."

The troops from the north having been safely landed at Williamsburg, on the twenty-eighth the 2a united armies marched for the investiture of York- town, drove every thing on the British side before them, and lay on their arms during the night.

The fortifications of Yorktown, which were noth- ing but earthworks freshly thrown up, consisted on the right of redoubts and batteries, with a line of stockade in the rear, which supported a high par- apet. Over a marshy ravine in front of the right, a large redoubt was placed. The morass extended

518 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, along* the centre, which was defended by a stockade

XXV. o ^ J

>— ^.^ and batteries. Two small redoubts were advanced ij 8 1. before the left. The ground in front of the left was in some parts level with the works, in others cut by ravines ; altogether very convenient for the besiegers. The space within the works was exceedingly narrow, and except under the cliff was exposed to enfilade.

29- The twenty-ninth was given to reconnoitring, and forming a plan of attack and approach. The French entreated Washington for orders to storm the exterior posts of the British ; in the course of the night before

80. the thirtieth, Cornwallis ordered them all to be aban- doned, and thus prematurely conceded to the allied armies ground which commanded his line of works in a very near advance, and gave* great advantages for opening the trenches.

At Gloucester, the enemy was shut in by dragoons under the Duke de Lauzun, Virginia militia under General Weedon, and eight hundred marines. Once, and once only, Tarleton and his legion, who were sta- tioned on the same side, undertook to act offensively ; but the Duke de Lauzun and his dragoons, full of gayety and joy at the sight, ran against them and trampled them down. Tarleton's horse was taken ; its rider barely escaped.

6^*' In the night before the sixth of October, every thing being in readiness, trenches were opened at six hun- dred yards' distance from the works of Cornwallis, — on the right by the Americans, on the left by the French ; and the labor was executed in friendly rivalry, with so much secrecy and despatch that it was first revealed to the enemy by the light of morning. Within three days, the first parallel was completed, the redoubts

CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA. 519

finished, and batteries were employed in demolishing chap. the embrasures of the enemy's works, and their ad- i^ vanced redoubts. On the night before the eleventh, i - « i- the French battery on the left, by red-hot shot, set lo^" on fire the frigate " Charon " of forty-four guns, and three large transport ships, which were entirely con- sumed.

On the eleventh, the combined armies began at ^^• night their second parallel within* three hundred yards of the lines of the British. This measure was undertaken so much sooner than they expected that it could be conducted with the same secrecy as before, and they had no suspicion of the working parties till daylight discovered them to their pickets.

All day on the fourteenth, the American batteries 14. were directed against the abatis and salient angles of two advanced redoubts of the British, both of which needed to be included in the second parallel ; and breaches were made in them sufficient to justify an assault. That on the right near York river was gar- risoned by forty-five men, that on the left by thrice as many. The storming of the former fell to the Americans under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Hamilton ; that of the latter to the Freijch, of whom four hundred grenadiers and yagers of the regiments of Gatinois and of Deux Fonts, with a large reserve, was intrusted to Count William de Deux Fonts and to Baron de I'Estrade.

At the concerted signal of six shells consecutively fired, the corps under Hamilton advanced in two columns without firing a gun, — the right composed of his own battalion, led by Major Fish, and of another commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Gimat; the left,

520 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, of a detacliment under Lieutenant- Colonel Laurens,

XXV. .

wC^.^ destined to take the enemy of reverse and intercept 17 81. their retreat. All the movements vs^ere executed

Oct.

14. with exactness, and the redoubt was in the same moment enveloped and carried in every part. Lieu- tenant Mansfield conducted the vanguard wdth cool- ness and punctuality, and was wounded with a bay- onet as he entered the w^ork. Captain Olney led the first platoon of Gimat's battalion over the abatis and palisades, and gained the parapet, receiving two bayonet wounds in the thigh and in the body, but not till he had directed his men to form. Laurens was among the foremost to enter the work, making prisoner of Major Campbell, its commanding officer. Animated by his example, the battalion of Gimat over- came every obstacle by their order and resolution. The battalion under Major Fish advanced with such celerity as to participate in the assault. Incapable of imitating precedents of barbarity, the Americans spared every man that ceased to resist ; so that the killed and wounded of the enemy did not exceed eight. The conduct of the affair brought conspic- uous honor to the talents and gallantry of Hamilton. Precisely as the signal was given, the French on the left, in like manner, began their march in the deepest silence. At one hundred and twenty paces from the redoubt, they were challenged by a German sentry from the parapet ; they pressed on at a quick time, exposed to the fire of the enemy. The abatis and palisades, at twenty-five paces from the redoubt, being strong and well preserved, stopped them for some minutes and cost them many men. So soon as the way was cleared by the brave carpenters,

CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA. 521

the storming party threw themselves into the ditch, chap. broke through the fraises and mounted the parapet, vi^ Foremost was Charles de Lametli, who had volun- 17hi. teered for this attack, and who was wounded in i*.* both knees by two different musket-balls. The order being now given, the French leaped into the redoubt, and charged the enemy with the bayonet. At this moment, the Count de Deux Fonts raised the cry of " Vive le roi," which was repeated by all of his companions who were able to lift their voices. De Sireuil, a very young captain of yagers, who had been wounded twice before, was now wounded for the third time and mortally. Within six minutes, the redoubt was mastered and manned; but in that short time nearly one hundred of the assailants were killed or wounded.

Louis the Sixteenth distinguished the regiment of Gatinois by naming it the " Royal Auvergne." Wash- ington acknowledged the emulous courage, intrepid- ity, eoolness, and firmness of the attacking troops. On that night "victory twined double garlands around the banners " V of France and America.

By the unwearied labor of the French and Ameri- cans, both redoubts were included in the second parallel in the night of their capture. Just before the break of day of the sixteenth, the British made a i«. sortie upon a part of the second parallel and spiked four French pieces of artillery -and two of the Ameri- can ; but on the quick advance of the guards in the trenches they retreated precipitately. The spikes were easily extracted ; and in six hours the cannon again took part in the fire which enfiladed the British works.

1 Oliver Wendell Holmes, " Vive la France. "

522 AMEKICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CFTAP. On the seventeenth, CornwalHs, who could neither XX v. J-I^-w hold his post nor escape into the country, proposed

17 8 1. to surrender. On the eio^hteenth. Colonel Laurens

Oct. . . ° ^ . .

18. and the Viscount de Noailles as commissioners on the American side met two high officers of the army of Cornwallis to draft the capitulation. The articles were the same as those which Clinton had imposed upon Lincoln at Charleston. All the troops were to be prisoners of war; all public property was to be delivered up. Runaway slaves and the plunder taken by officers and soldiers in their marches through the country might be reclaimed by their owners ; otherwise, private property was to be re- spected. All royalists were abandoned to trial by their own countrymen. But in the packet which took the despatches to Sir Henry Clinton, Cornwallis conveyed away such persons as were most obnoxious to the laws of Virginia.

Of prisoners, there were seven thousand two hun- dred and forty-seven of regular troops, the flow«er of the British army in America, beside eight hundred and forty sailors. The British loss during the siege amounted to more than three hundred and fifty. A hundred and six guns were taken, of which seventy- five were of brass. The land forces and stores were assigned to the Americans, the ships and mariners to the French. At four o'clock in the afternoon of the

19. nineteenth, Cornwallis remaining in his tent. Major General O'Hara marched the British army past the lines of the combined armies, and, not without signs of repugnance, made his surrender to Washington. His troops then stepped forward decently and piled their arms on the ground.

17 s 1.

(Vt.

CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA. 523

Nor must impartial history fail to relate that the chap. French provided for the siege of Yorktown thirty- i^L seven ships of the line, and the Americans not one ; that while the Americans supplied nine thousand ^i'i^ troops, of whom fifty-five hundred were regulars, the contingent of the French consisted of seven thousand.

Among the prisoners were two battalions of Ans- pach, amounting to ten hundred and seventy-seven men ; and two regiments of Hesse, amounting to eight hundred and thirty-three. On the way to their camp, they passed in front of the regiment of Deux Fonts. At the sight of their countrymen, they forgot that they had been in arms against each other, and em- braced with tears in their eyes. The English soldiers affected to look at the allied army with scorn. Their officers, of more reflection, conducted themselves with decorum, yet could not but feel how decisive was their defeat.

When the letters of Washington announcing the capitulation reached congress, that body, with the people streaming in their train, went in procession to the Dutch Lutheran church to return thanks to Almighty God. Every breast swelled with joy. In the evening, Philadelphia was illuminated with greater splendor than at any time before. Congress voted honors to Washington, to Rochambeau, and to de Grasse, with special thanks to the officers and troops. A marble column was to be erected at Yorktown, with emblems of the alliance between the United States and his most Christian Majesty.

The Duke de Lauzun, chosen to take the news across the Atlantic, arrived in twenty-two days at Brest, and reached Versailles on the nineteenth of i».'

1781 Nov,

524 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. November. The king, who had just been made >— .^ happy by the birth of a dauphin, received the glad news in the queen's apartment. The very last sands 19. of the life of the Count de Maurepas were running out ; but he could still recognise de Lauzim, and the tidings threw a halo round his death-bed. The joy at court penetrated the whole people, and the name of Lafayette was pronounced with veneration. " His- tory," said Yergennes, " offers few examples of a success so complete." " All the world agree," wrote Franklin to Washington, " that no expedition was ever better planned or better executed. It brightens the glory that must accompany your name to the latest posterity."

The first tidings of the surrender of Cornwallis reached England from France, about noon on the

26. twenty-fifth of November. "It is all over," said Lord North many times, under the deepest agitation and distress. Fox — to whom, in reading history, the defeats of armies of invaders, from Xerxes* time downwards, gave the greatest satisfaction — heard of the capitulation of Yorktown with wild dehght. He hoped that it might become the principle of all man- kind that power resting on armed force is invidious, detestable, weak, and tottering. The official report from Sir Henry Clinton was received the same day

27. at midnight. When on the following Tuesday par- liament came together, the speech of the king was confused, the debates in the two houses augured an impending change in the opinion of parliament, and the majority of the ministry was reduced to eighty- seven. A fortnight later the motion of Sir James Lowther to give up " all further attempts to reduce

CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA. 525

the revolted colonies " was well received by the chap. members from the country, and the majority of the sl^ ministry after a very long and animated debate i7 8i dwindled to forty-one. The city of London entreated the king to put an end to " this unnatural and unfor- tunate war.'* Such, too, was the wish of public meet- ings in Westminster, in Southwark, and in the counties of Middlesex and Surrey.

The house of commons employed the recess in grave reflection. The chimes of the Christmas bells had hardly died away when the king wrote as stub- bornly as ever : " No difficulties can get me to con- sent to the getting of peace at the expense of a separation from America."

Yet Lord George Germain was compelled to retire ingloriously from the cabinet. It was sought to pal- liate his disgrace with a peerage ; but as he crossed the threshold of the house of lords, he was met by the unsparing reprobation of his career of cowardice, and blindly selfish incapacity.

CHAPTER XXYI.

ENGLAND REFUSES TO CONTINUE THE AMERICAN WAR.

1782.

CHAP. The campaign in Virginia being finished, Wash-

s_Z^ ington and the eastern army were cantoned for the

17 82. winter in their old positions around New York;

7- Wajaie, with the Pennsylvania line, marched to the

south to re-enforce Greene; the French under Ro-

chambeau encamped in Yirginia; and de Grasge took

his fleet to the West Indies. From Philadelphia,

Robert R. Livingston, the first American secretary

for foreign affairs, communicated to Franklin the

final instructions for negotiating peace ; and the firm

tone of Franklin's reply awakened new hopes in

congress.

While the conditions of peace were under consid- eration, America obtained an avowed friend in the Dutch republic. John Adams had waited more than eight months for an audience of reception, unaided even indirectly by the French ambassador at the Hague, because interference would have pledged

CHAP XX \ I

ENGLAND REFUSES TO CONTINUE THE AMERICAN WAR. 527

France too deeply to the support of the United Provinces, whose complicated form of government promised nothing but embarrassment to an ally. 17 82. Encouraged by the success at Yorktown, on the ninth ^^^^' of January he presented Jiimself to the president of the states-general, and renewing his formal request for an opportunity of presenting his credentials, " de- manded a categorical answer which he might trans- mit to his sovereign." He next went in person to the deputies of the several cities of Holland, follow- ing the order of their rank in the confederation, and repeated his demand to each one of them. The attention of Europe was drawn to the adventurous and sturdy diplomatist, who dared alone and unsus- tained to initiate so bold and novel a procedure. Not one of the representatives of foreign powers at the Hague believed that it could succeed.

On the twenty-sixth of February, Friesland, famous ^^^g^- for the spirit of liberty in its people, who had re- tained in their own hands the election of their regencies, declared in favor of receiving the Ameri- can envoy ; and its vote was the index of the opin- ion of the nation. A month later, the states of Hoi- ^^^^^^ land, yielding to petitions from all the principal towns, followed the example. Zealand adhered on the fourth of April ; Overyssel, on the fifth ; Gronin- -^J"* gen, on the ninth ; Utrecht, on the tenth ; and lo. Guelderland, on the seventeenth. On the day which i7. chanced to be the seventh anniversary of " the battle of Lexington," their High Mightinesses, the states- general, reporting the unanimous decision of the seven provinces, resolved that John Adams should be received.

19.

528 AMERICAN INDEPENDEI^CE.

cjTAP. The Dutch republic was the second power in the iS-^^ world to recognise the independence of the United ^ '' ^ 2. States of America, and the act proceeded from its heroic sympathy with a young people struggling against oppression, after the example of its own ancestors. The American minister found special pleasure in being introduced to the court where the June first and the third William accomplished such great things for the Protestant religion and the rights of mankind. '' This country," wrote he to a friend, " appears to be more a home than any other that I have seen. I have often been to that church at Ley- den, where the planters of Plymouth worshipped so many years ago, and felt a kind of veneration for the bricks and timbers." ^

The liberal spirit that was prevailing in the world pleaded for peace. The time had not come, but was coming, when health-giving truth might show herself everywhere and hope to be received. The principles on which America was founded impressed themselves even on the rescripts of the emperor of Austria, who proclaimed in his dominions freedom of religion.

If liberty was spreading through all realms, how much more should it make itself felt by the people who regarded their land as its chosen abode ! It might suffer eclipse during their struggle to recover their trans- Atlantic possessions by force ; but the old love of freedom, which was fixed by the habit of centuries, must once more reassert its sway. In the calm hours of the winter recess, members of the house of commons reasoned dispassionately on the war with their ancient colonists. The king having given up ^ John Adams to Samuel Adams, 15 Jane, 1782.

ENGLAND REFUSES TO CONTINUE THE AMERICAN WAR. 529

Germain, superseded Sir Henry Clinton by the humane chap. Sir Guy Carleton, and owned it impossible to propose i^ great continental operations. The estimates carried 17 82. by the ministry through parliament for America were limited to defensive measures, and the house could no longer deceive itself as to the hopelessness of the con- test. Accordingly on the twenty-second of February, ^2'2^- 1782, a motion against continuing the American war was made by Conway ; was supported by Fox, William Pitt, Barre, Wilberforce, Mahon, Burke, and Caven- dish ; and was negatived by a majority of but one. Five days later, his resolution of the same purport for 27. an address to the king obtained a majority of nine- teen.

The next day, Edmund Burke wrote to Franklin : " I congratulate you as the friend of America ; I trust not as the enemy of England ; I am sure as the friend of mankind ; the resolution of the house of commons, carried in a very full house, was, I think, the opinion of the whole. I trust it will lead to a speedy peace between the two branches of the Eng- lish nation."

The address to the king having been answered in equivocal terms, on the fourth of March Conway ^^»rch brought forward a second address, to declare that the house woul(J consider as enemies to the king and country all those who would further attempt the prosecution of a war on the continent of America for the purpose of reducing the revolted colonies to obedience ; and, after a long discussion, it was adopted without a division. With the same una- nimity, leave was the next day granted to bring in a bill, " enabling " the king to make a peace or a truce VOL. X. 34

530 AJklERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, with America. The bill for that purpose was accord-

XXVI.

^-^^..w ingly brought in by the ministers; but more than 17 8 2. two and a half months passed away before it became '^- a law under their successors, in an amended form. Forth, who in the time of Stormont had been secre- tary of embassy at Paris, repaired to France as the agent of the expiring administration, to parley with Yergennes on conditions of peace, which did not essen- tially differ from those of Necker in a former year.

To anticipate any half-way change of ministry, Fox, in the debate of the fourth, denounced Lord North and his colleagues as " men void of honor and hon- esty," a coalition with any one of them as an in- famy; but three days later he qualified his words in favor of Lord Thurlow. In the majesty of up- right intention, William Pitt, now in his great days, which were the days of his youth, stood aloof from all intrigue, saying : " I cannot expect to take any share in a new administration, and I never will accept a subordinate situation." The king toiled earnestly to retard the formation of a ministry till he could bring Rockingham to accept conditions, but the house of commons would brook no delay. On the twentieth, more members appeared than on any oc- casion thus far during that reign, and the crowds of spectators were unprecedented. Lord North, having a few days before narrowly escaped a vote of cen- sure, rose at the same moment with a member who was to have moved a want of confidence in the min- isters. The two parties in the house shouted wildly the names of their respective champions. The speaker hesitated ; when Lord North, taking the floor on a question of order, with good temper but

20.

ENGLAND REFUSES TO CONTINUE THE AMERICAN WAR. 531

Visible emotion, announced that his administration chap. was at an end. ^^^

The outgoing ministry was the worst which Eng- 17 82. land had known since parliament had been supreme. "Such a bunch of imbecility," said the author of " Taxation no Tyranny," and he might have added, of corruption, " never disgraced the country ; " and he has left on record that he " prayed and gave thanks " when it was dissolved. Posterity has been towards Lord North more lenient and less just. America gained, through his mismanagement, independence, and could bear him no grudge. In England, no party claimed him as their representative, or saw fit to bring him to judgment; so that his scholarship, his unrufiled tem- per, the purity of his private life, and good words from Burns, from Gibbon, and more than all from Macaulay, have retained for him among his country- men a better repute as minister than he deserved.

The people were not yet known in parliament as a power ; and outside of them three groups only could contribute members to an administration. The new tory or conservative party, toward which the part of the whigs represented by Portland and Burke were gravitating, had at that time for its most conspicuous and least scrupulous defender the chancellor, Lord Thurlow. The followers of Lord Chatham, of whom it was the cardinal principle that the British consti- tution recognises a king and a people, no less than a hereditary aristocracy, and that to prevent the overbearing weight of that aristocracy the king should sustain the liberties of the people, owned Lord Shelburne as their standard-bearer. In point of years, experience, philosophic culture, and supe-

532 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, riority ta ambition as a passion, he was their fittest

XXVI. .

v^.^ leader, though he had never enjoyed the intimate 17 8 2. friendship of their departed chief. It was he who reconciled George the Third to the lessons of Adam Smith, and recommended them to the younger Pitt, through whom they passed to Sir Eobert Peel ; but his habits of study, and his want of skill in parlia- mentary tactics, had kept him from political connec- tions as well as from political intrigues. His respect for the monarchical element in the British constitu- tion invited the slander, that he was only a counter- feit liberal, at heart devoted to the king -, but in truth he was very sincere. His reputation has compara- tively suffered with posterity, for no party has taken charge of his fame. Moreover, being more liberal than his age, his speeches sometimes had an air of ambiguity, from his attempt to present his views in a form that might clash as little as possible with the prejudices of his hearers. The third set was that of the old whigs, which had governed England from the revolution till the coming in of George the Third, and which deemed itself invested with a right to govern for ever. Its principle was the paramount power of the aristocracy; its office, as Rockingham expressed it, " to fight up against king and people." They claimed to be liberal, and many of them were so ; but they were more willing to act as the trustees of the people, than with the people and by the people. Like the great Roman lawyers, the best of them meant to be true to their clients, but never respected them as their equals. An enduring liberal government could at that time be established in England only by a junc- tion of the party then represented by Shelburne and

ENGLAND REFUSES TO CONTINUE THE AMERICAN WAR. 633

CHAP. XXVI.

MnrcU

the liberal wing of the supporters of Rockingham. Such a union Chatham for twenty years had striven to bring about. 1 7 8 u

The king kept his sorrows as well as he could pent up in his own breast, but his mind was " truly torn to pieces " by the inflexible resolve of the house of commons to stop the war in America. He blamed them for having lost the feelings of Englishmen. Moreover, he felt keenly " the cruel usage of all the powers of Europe," of w^hom every one adhered to the principles of the armed neutrality, and every great one but Spain desired the perfect emancipation of the United States. The day after the ministry announced its retirement, he proposed to the Earl of Shelburne to take the administration with Thurlow, Gower, and Weymouth, Camden, Grafton, and Rockingham. This Shelburne declined as " absolutely impracticable," and from an equal regard to the quiet of the sovereign and the good of the country he urged that Rocking- ham might be sent for. The king could not prevail with himself to accept the advice, and he spoke dis- cursively of his shattered health, his agitation of mind, his low opinion of Rockingham's understanding, his horror of Charles Fox, his preference of Shelburne as compared to the rest of the opposition. For a day he contemplated calling in a number of principal per- sons, among whom Rockingham might be included ; and when the many objections to such a measure were pointed out, he still refused to meet Rockingham face to face, and could not bring himself further than to receive him through the intervention of Shelburne.

In this state of things the latter consented to be the bearer of a message from the king, but only on

534 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, the condition of " full power and full confidence : " a

XXVI

v_^-^ clear approval at first setting out of every engage- 17 8 2. ment to which he stood already committed as to men 2^. and as to measures ; and authority to procure " the assistance and co-operation of the Eockinghams, cost what it would, more or less." " Necessity," relates the king, "made me yield to the advice of Lord Shel- burne." Thus armed with the amplest powers, the mediator fulfilled his office. Before accepting the offer of the treasury, Eockingham, not neglecting two or three minor matters, made but one great proposition, that tkere should be " no veto to the in- dependence of America." The king, though in bit- terness of spirit, consented in writing to the demand. " I was thoroughly resolved," he says of himself, " not to open my mouth on any negotiation with America." In constructing his ministry, Eockingham wisely composed it of members from both fractions of the liberal party. His own connection was represented by himself. Fox, Cavendish, Keppel, and Eichmond ; but he also retained as chancellor Thurlow, who bore Shelburne malice, and had publicly received the glow- ing eulogies of Fox. Shelburne took with him into the cabinet Camden ; and, as a balance to Thurlow, the great lawyer Dunning, raising him to the peerage as Lord Ashburton. Conway and Grafton might be es- teemed as neutral, having both been members alike of the Eockingham and the Chatham administrations. Men of the next generation asked why Burke was offered no seat in the cabinet. The new tory party would give power to any man, however born, that proved himself a bulwark to their fortress ; the old whig party reserved the highest places for those

ENGLAND REFUSES TO CONTINUE THE AMERICAN WAR. 535

cradled in the purple. "I have no views to become chap. a minister," Burke said ; " nor have I any right to ^^ such views. I am a man who have no pretensions to 1 7s-j. it from fortune ; " and he was more than content with the rich office of paymaster for himself, and lucrative places for his kin.

Franklin in Paris had watched the process of the house of commons in condemning the war, and knew England so well as to be sure that Lord Shelburne must be a member of the new administration. Al- ready on the twenty-second, he seized the oppor- tunity of a traveller returning to England to open a correspondence with his friend of many years, assuring him of the continuance of his own ancient respect for his tidents and virtues, and congratulat- ing him on the returning good disposition of his country in favor of America. " I hope," continued he, " it will tend to produce a general peace, which I am sure your lordship, with all good men, desires ; which I wish to see before I die ; and to which I shall with infinite pleasure contribute everything in my power." In this manner began the negotiation which was to bring a breathing time to the world.

Franklin had rightly divined the future, and his overture arrived most opportunely. Shelburne, as the elder secretary of state, having his choice, elected the home department, which then included America ; so that he had by right the direction of all measures relating to the United States. On the fourth of April, Aprii he instructed Sir Guy Carleton to proceed to New York with all possible expedition ; and he would not suffer Arnold to return to the land which he had

536 AMERICAN INDEPENDEIS'CE.

CHAP, bargained to betray. On the same day he had an ^LI^^ interview with Laurens^ then in England^ as a pris- 17 82. oner on parole ; and having learned of him the powers of the American commissioners^ before evening he selected for his diplomatic agent with them Kichard Oswald of Scotland. The king, moved by the accept- able part which Shelburne had " acted in the whole negotiation for forming the present administration/' departed from his purpose of total silence, and gave his approval, alike to the attempt " to sound Mr. Frank- lin," and to the employment of Oswald, who had passed many years in America, understood it well, on questions of commerce agreed with Adam Smith, and engaged in the business disinterestedly. By him, writing as friend to friend, Shelburne answered the overture of Franklin in a letter, which is the key to the treaty that followed.

" London, 6 April, 1782. Dear Sir, I have been favored with your letter, and am much obliged by your remembrance. I find myself returned nearly to the same situation which you remember me to have occupied nineteen years ago ; and I should be very glad to talk to you as I did then, and afterwards in 1767, upon the means of promoting the happiness of mankind, a subject much more agreeable to my nature than the best concerted plans for spreading misery and devastation. I have had a high opinion of the compass of your mind, and of your foresight. I have often been beholden to both, and shall be glad to be so again, as far as is compatible with your situ- ation. Your letter, discovering the same disposition, has made me send to you Mr. Oswald. I have had a longer acquaintance with him than even with you. 1

ENGLAND REFUSES TO CONTINUE THE AMERICAN WAR. 537

believe him an honorable man, and, after consulting chap. some of our common friends, I have thought him the ,^^ fittest for the purpose. He is a pacifical man, and con- i " ^ 2 versant in those negotiations which are most interest- ^" ing to mankind. This has made me prefer him to any of our speculative friends, or to any person of higher rank. He is fully apprised of my mind, and you may give full credit to any thing lie assures you of. At the same time, if any other channel occurs to you, I am ready to embrace it. I wish to retain the same simplicity and good faith which subsisted between us in transactions of less importance. Shelburne."

With this credential, Oswald repaired to Paris by way of Ostend. Laurens, proceeding to the Hague, found Adams engrossed with the question of his re- ception as minister in Holland, to be followed by efforts to obtain a loan of money for the United States, and to negotiate a treaty of commerce and a triple alliance. Besides, believing that Shelburne was not in earnest, he was willing to wait till the British nation should be ripe for peace. In this manner, the American negotiation was left in the hands of Franklin alone.

CHAPTER XXYH.

ROCKINGHAM'S MINISTRY ASSENTS TO AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

1782. CHAP. The hatred of America as a self-existent state

XXVII.

J^-^-w became every day more intense in Spain from the 17 8 2. desperate weakness of her authority in her trans- atlantic possessions. Her rule was dreaded in them all; and, as even her allies confessed, with good reason. The seeds of rebellion were already sown in the vice-royalties of Buenos Ayres and Peru ; and a union of Creoles and Indians might prove at any moment f-atal to metropolitan dominion. French statesmen were of opinion that England, by emanci- pating Spanish America, might indemnify itself for all loss from the independence of a part of its own colonial empire ; and they foresaw in such a revolu- tion the greatest benefit to the commerce of their own country. Immense naval preparations had been made by the Bourbons for the conquest of Jamaica, but now from the fear of spreading the love of change Florida Blanca suppressed every wish to

Rockingham's ministry. — American independence. 539

acquire that hated nest of contraband trade. When chap. the French ambassador reported to him the proposal il^' of Yergennes to constitute its inhabitiints an inde- i"82. pendent repubhc, he seemed to hear the tocsin of ^' * insurrection sounding from the La Plata to San Francisco, and from that time had nothing to pro- pose for the employmeni; of the allied fleets in the West Indies. He was perplexed beyond the power of extrication. One hope only remained. Minorca having been wrested from the English, he concen- trated all the force of Spain in Europe on the one great object of recovering Gibraltar, and held France to her promise not to make peace until that fortress should be given up.

With America, therefore, measures for a general peace must begin. As the pacification of the late British dependencies belonged exclusively to the department of Lord Shelburne, the other members of the cabinet should have respected his right. As a body, they did so ; but Fox, leagued with young men as uncontrollable as himself, resolved to fasten a quarrel upon him, and to get into his own hands every part of the negotiations for peace. At a cabi- net meeting on the twelfth of April, he told Shel- la. burne and those who sided with him, that he was determined to bring the matter to a crisis ; and on the same day he wrote to one of his young friends : " They must yield entirely. If they do not, we must go to war again ; that is all : I am sure I am ready." Oswald at the time was on his way to Paris, where on the sixteenth he went straightway to Franklin, le. The latter, speaking not his own opinion only, but that of congress and of every one of his associate

540 AMERICAN INDEPENDEJ^CE.

CHAP, commissioners, explained that the United States J^~^-^ could not treat for peace with Great Britain unless it 17 82. ^vas also intended to treat with France ; and, though Oswald desired to keep aloof from European affairs, he allowed himself to be introduced by Franklin to Vergennes, who received with pleasure assurances of the good disposition of the British king, reciprocated them on the part of his own sovereign, and invited an offer of its conditions. He wished America and France to treat directly with British plenipotentia- ries, each for itself, the two negotiations to move on with equal step, and the two treaties to be simulta- neously signed.

From Amsterdam, John Adams questioned whether, with Canada and Nova Scotia in the hands of the English, the Americans could ever have a real peace. In a like spirit, Franklin intrusted to Oswald " Notes for Conversation," in which the voluntary cession of Canada was suggested as the surety " of a durable peace and a sweet reconciliation." At the same time he replied to his old friend Lord Shelburne : " I de- sire no other channel of communication between us than that of Mr. Oswald, which I think your lordship has chosen with much judgment. He will be witness of my acting with all the sincerity and good faith which you do me the honor to expect from me ; and if he is enabled when he returns hither to communi- cate more fully your lordship's mind on the principal points to be settled, I think it may contribute much to the blessed work our hearts are engaged in." Another great step was taken by Franklin. He J excluded Spain altogether from the American nego- tiation. Entreating Jay to come to Paris, he wrote :

April 2.J.

Rockingham's mixistry.— American independence. 541

" Spain has taken four years to consider whether she chap. should treat with us or not. Give her forty, and let ^^' us in the mean time mind our own business." 1 7 82

On the twenty-third, shortly after the return of Oswald to London, the cabinet on his report agreed to send him again to Franklin to acquaint him of their readiness to treat for a general peace, and at Paris, conceding American independence, but other- wise maintaining the treaties of 1763. On the twenty-eighth, Shelburne, who was in earnest, gave to his agent the verbal instruction : " K America is independent, she must be so of the whole world, with no ostensible, tacit, or secret connection with France." Canada could not be ceded. It was " rea- sonable to expect a free trade, unencumbered w^ith duties, to every part of America." "All debts due to British subjects were to be secure, and the loyal- ists to be restored to a full enjoyment of their rights and privileges." As a compensation for the restora- tion of New York, Charleston, and Savannah, the river Penobscot might be proposed for the eastern boundary of New England. "Finally," he said, " tell Dr. Franklin candidly and confidentially Lord Shel- burne's situation with the king ; that his lordship wull make no use of it but to keep his word with man- kind." With these instructions, Oswald returned immediately to Paris, bearing from Shelburne to Franklin a most friendly letter, to which the king had given his thorough approval.

With the European belligerents the communication was necessarily to proceed from the department of which Fox was the chief. He entered upon the business in a spirit that foreboded no success, for, at

Mav

542 " AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, the very moment of his selection of an emissary, he

XXVII. . . . . .

V— -^-^ declared that he did not think it much signified how

\" ^.?- soon he should break up the cabinet. The person of whom he made choice to treat on the weightiest interests with the most skilful diplomatist of Europe was Thomas Grenville, one of his own partisans, w^ho was totally ignorant of the relations of America to France, and very young, with no experience in pub- lic business, having a very scant knowledge of the. foreign relations of his own country.

Arriving in Paris on the eighth of May, Grenville delivered to Franklin a most cordial letter of intro- duction from Fox, and met with the heartiest wel- come. After receiving him at brealdast, Franklin took him in his own carriage to Versailles; and there the dismissed postmaster-general for America, at the request of the British secretary of state, intro- duced the son of the author of the American stamp act as the British plenipotentiary to the minister for foreign afeirs of the Bourbon king. Statesmen at Paris and Vienna were amused on hearing that the envoy of the " rebel " colonies was become " the intro- ductor " of the representatives of Great Britain at the court of Versailles.

Vergennes received Grenville most cordially as the nephew of an old friend, but smiled at his offer to grant to France the independence of the United States, and Franklin refused to accept at second hand that independence which his country had already won. Grenville remarked that the war had been provoked by encouragement from France to the Americans to revolt ; to which Vergennes an- swered with warmth that France had found and not

Rockingham's min-istry.— American independence. 543

made America independent, and that American inde- cnAp. pendence was not the only cause of the war. On C^^' the next day, Grenville, unaccompanied by Franklin, i " <^ -'• met Yergennes and de Aranda, and offered peace on lof the basis of the independence of the United States and the treaty of 1763. "That treaty," said Ver- gennes, " I can never read without a shudder. The king, my master, cannot in any treaty consider the independence of America as ceded to him. To do so would be injurious to the dignity of his Britannic Majfesty." The Spanish ambassador urged with ve- hemence, that the griefs of the king of Spain were totally distinct from the independence of America.

With regard to America, the frequent conversations of the young envoy with Franklin, who received him with constant hospitality, cleared up his views. It was explained to him with precision that the United States were free from every sort of engagement with France except those contained in the public treaties of commerce and alliance. Grenville asked if these obligations extended to the recovery of Gibraltar for Spain ; and Franklin answered : " It is nothing to America who has Gibraltar." But Franklin saw in Grenville a young statesman ambitious of recommend- ing himself as an able negotiator ; in Oswald, a man who free from interested motives earnestly sought a final settlement of all differences between Great Brit- ain and America. To the former he had no objection, but he would have been loath to lose the latter ; and, before beginning to treat of the conditions of peace, he wrote to Shelburne his belief that the " moderation, prudent counsels, and sound judgment of Oswald might contribute much not only to the speedy con-

544 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CTTAP. elusion of a peace, but to the framing of such a peace

w-^ as may be firm and lasting." The king, as he read

17 8 2. the wishes of Franklin, which weve seconded by Yer-

gennes, " thought it best to let Oswald remain at

Paris," saying that "his correspondence carried marks

of coming from a man of sense."

While Oswald came to London to make his second report, news that better reconciled the English to treat for peace arrived from the Caribbean islands. The fleet of de Grasse in 1781, after leaving the coast of the United States, gave to France the naval ascendency in the West Indies. St. Eustatius was recaptured, and generously restored to the United Provinces. St. Christopher, Nevis, and Montserrat ^i^; were successively taken. On the nineteenth of Feb- ruary, 1782, Kodney reappeared at Barbadoes with a re-enforcement of twelve sail, and in the next week he effected a junction with the squadron of Hood to the leeward of Aiitigua. To cope with his great adversary, de Grasse, who was closely watched by Kodney from St. Lucia, must unite with the Span- ■^1"^ ish squadron. For that purpose, on the eighth of April he turned his fleet out of Fort Eoyal in Mar- tinique ; and with only the advantage of a few hours 9. over the British he ran for Hispaniola. On the ninth, a partial engagement took place near the island of 12. Dominique. At daylight on the twelfth, Rodney by skilful manoeuvres drew near the French in the ex- panse of waters that lies between the islands of Gua- deloupe, the Saintes, and Marie Galante. The sky was clear, the sea quiet ; the trade-wind blew lightly, and, having the advantage of its unvarying breeze, Rodney made the signal for attack. The British had

Rockingham's ministry.— American independence. 545

thirty-six ships; the French, with a less number, cita.^. excelled in the weight of metal. The French ships ^^' were better built; the British in superior repair. 17 82. The complement of the French crews was the more ^^'"^ full, but the British mariners were better disciplined. The fight began at seven in the morning, and with- out a respite of seven minutes it continued for eleven hours. The French handled their guns well at a dis- tance, but in close fight there was a want of personal exertion and presence of mind. About the time when the sun was at the highest, Rodney cut the line of his enemy ; and the battle was continued in detail, all the ships on each side being nearly equally engaged. The <* Yille de Paris," the flag-ship of de Grasse, did not strike its colors till it was near foun- dering, and only three men were left unhurt on the upper deck. Four other ships of his fleet were cap- tured ; one sunk in the action.

On the side of the victors about one thousand were killed or wounded : of the French, thrice as many ; for their ships were crowded with over five thousand land troops, and the fire of the British was rapid and well aimed. The going down of the sun put an end to the battle, and Rodney neglected pursuit. Just at nightfall, one of the ships of which the English had taken possession blew up. Of the poor wretches who were cast into the sea some clung to bits of the wreck; the sharks, of which the fight had called together shoals from the waters round about, tore them all off, and even after the carnage of the day could hardly be glutted.

The feeling of having recovered the dominion of the sea reconciled England to the idea of peace. On VOL. X. 35

546 AMERICAN INDEPEITDENCE.

CHAP, the eighteenth of May, the day on which tidings vj-^ of the victory were received, the cabinet agreed to 17 82. invite proposals from Yergennes. Soon after this 18. came a letter from Grenville, in which he argued that, as America had been the road to war with France, so it offered the most practicable way of getting out of it ; and the cabinet agreed to a minute almost in his words " to propose the independency of America in the first instance, instead of making it a condition of a general treaty." The proposition in the words of Fox was accepted by Shelburne, was embodied by him in his instructions to Sir Guy Carle- ton at New York, and formed the rule of action for Oswald on his return, with renewed authority, to Paris. Independence was, as the king expressed it, "the dreadful price now offered to America" for peace.

A commission was forwarded to Grenville by Fox to treat with France, but with no other country ; yet he devoted nearly all his letter of instructions to the relations with America, showing that in a negotiation for peace the United States ought not to be encum- bered by a power like Spain, " which had never assisted them during the war, and had even refused to acknowledge their independence."

When Grenville laid before Yergennes his creden- tials, he received the answer that they were very in- sufficient, as they did not enable him to treat with \J Spain and America, the allies of France ; or with the Netherlands, her partner in the war. Repulsed at Yersailles, Grenville took upon himself to play the •^4"® plenipotentiary with America ; on the fourth of June he confided to Franklin the minute of the cabinet,

<l

Rockingham's ministry. — American independence. 547

and hoped to draw from him in return the Ameri- chap. can conditions for a separate peace. But Frankhn ^^' would not unfold the American conditions to a person 17 8 2. not authorized to receive them. Irritated by this " un- lucky check," by which, as he thought, his hopes of a great diplomatic success were " completely annihi- lated," he made bitter and passionate and altogether groundless complaints of Oswald. He would have Fox not lose one moment to fight the battle with advantage against Shelburne, and to take to himself the American business by comprehending all in one.

Though Fox had given up all present hope of making peace, he enlarged the powers of Grenville so as to include any potentate or state then at war with Great Britain ; and he beat about for proofs of Shelburne's "duplicity of conduct," resolved, if he could but get them, to " drive to an open rupture."

Under his extended powers, Grenville made haste to claim the right to treat with America ; but, when questioned by Franklin, he was obliged to own that he was acting without the sanction of parliament. Within twenty-four hours of the passing of the en- abling act, the powers for Oswald as a negotiator of peace with the United States were begun upon and were " completely finished in the four days follow- ing ; " but, on the assertion of Fox that they would prejudice everything then depending in Paris, they were delayed. Fox then proposed that America, even without a treaty, should be recognised as an inde- pendent power. Had he prevailed, the business of America must have passed from the home depart- ment to that for foreign affairs ; but, after full reflec-

54.8 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, tion, the cabinet decided " that independence should

XXVII. ■ . .

>_^ in the first instance be allowed as the basis to treat 17 82. on." Prof essing discontent, " Fox declared that his part was taken to quit his office." ^

The next day Lord Rockingham expired. His ministry left great memorials of its short career. Through the mediation of Shelburne, it forced the king to treat for peace with the United States on the basis of their independence. The success of America brought emancipation to Ireland, which had suffered even more than the United States from colonial mo- nopoly. Its volunteer army, commanded by officers of its own choice, having increased to nearly fifty thousand well-armed men, united under one general- in-chief, the viceroy reported that, " unless it was determined that the knot which bound the two coun- tries should be severed for ever," the points required by the Irish parliament must be conceded.^ Fox would rather have seen Ireland totally separated than kept in obedience by force. Eden, one of Lord North's commissioners in America in 1778, and lately his secretary for Ireland, was the first in a moment of ill-humor to propose the repeal of the act of George the First, which asserted the right of the parliament of Great Britain to make laws to bind the people and the kingdom of Ireland; and after reflection the ministry of Rockingham adopted and carried the measure. Appeals from the courts of law in Ireland to the British house of peers were abol- ished; the restraint on independent legislation was done away with ; and Ireland, owning allegiance to the same king as Great Britain, obtained the inde-

1 Grafton's Memoirs. ^ Froude's Ireland, ii. 337.

Rockingham's ministry. — American iNDEPE?n)ENCE. 549

pendence of its own parliament. These were the chap. first-fruits of the American revolution. The Irish ^^ owed the vindication of their rights to the United 17 82. States ; but at the time the gratitude of the nation took the direction of loyalty to their king, and their legislature voted one hundred thousand pounds ster- Hng for the levy of twenty thousand seamen.

During the ministry of Rockingham, the British house of commons for the first time since the days of Cromwell seriously considered the question of a reform in the representation of Great Britain. The author of the proposition was William Pitt, then without office, but the acknowledged heir of the principles of Chatham. The resolution of inquiry was received with ill-concealed repugnance by Rock- ingham. Its support by Fox was lukewarm, and bore the mark of his aristocratic connections. Ed- mund Burke, in his fixed opposition to reform, was almost beside himseK with passion, and was with dif- ficulty persuaded to remain away from the debate. The friends of Shelburne, on the contrary, gave to the motion their cordial support ; yet by the absence and opposition of many of the Rockingham connec- tion the question on this first division in the house of commons upon the state of the representation in the British parliament was lost, though only by a majority of twenty. The freedom of Ireland and the hopes of reform in the British parliament itself went hand in hand with the triumph of hberty in America.

The accession of a liberal ministry revived in Frederic of Prussia his old inclination to friendly relations with England. The empress of Russia now

550 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, included the government in her admiration of the w^ British people ; and Fox on his side, with the consent 17 82. of the ministry but to the great vexation of the king, accepted her declaration of the maritime rights of neutrals. But for the moment no practical result followed ; for the cabinet, as the price of their formal adhesion to her code, demanded her alliance.

CHAPTER XXYin.

shelburne offers peace.

• July, August, 1782.

On the death of Rockingham, the king offered to xxvnL Shelburne by letter " the employment of first lord — --^ of the treasury, and with it the fullest poHtical con- ^ ^ ® ^ fidence." "Indeed," added the king, "he has had ample sample of it by my conduct towards him since his return to my service." No British prime-minister had professed more Hberal principles. He wished a liberal reform of the representation of the people of Great Britain in parliament. Far from him was the thought that the prosperity of America could be injurious to England. He regarded neighboring nations as associates ministering to each other's prosperity, and wished to form with France treaties of commerce as well as of peace. But Fox, who was entreated to remain in the ministry as sec- retary of state, with a colleague of his own choosing and an ample share of power, set up against him the narrow-minded Duke of Portland, under whose name * the old aristocracy was to rule parHament, king, and people. To gratify the violence of his headstrong

552 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, pride and seK-will, he threw away the glorious oppor- w-^.^ tunitj of endearing himseK to mankind by granting 17 82 independence to the United States and restoring peace to the world, and struck a blow at liberal gov- ernment in his own country from which she did not recover in his lifetime.

The old whig aristocracy was on the eve of disso- lution. In a few years, those of its members who, like Burke and the Duke of Portland, were averse to shaking the smallest particle of the settlement at the revolution, were to merge themselves in the new tory or conservative party : the rest adopted the principle of reform ; and when they began to govern, it was with the principles of Chatham and Shelburne. For the moment. Fox, who was already brooding on a coalition with the ministry so lately overthrown, insisted with his friends that Lord Shelburne was as fully devoted to the court as Lord North in his worst days. But the latter, contrary to his own judgment and political principles, had persisted in the American war to please the king ; the former accepted power only after he had brought the king to consent to peace with independent America.

The vacancies in the cabinet were soon filled up. For the home department the choice of the king fell on William Pitt, who had not yet avowed himself in par- liament for American independence, and who. was in little danger of " becoming too much dipped in the wild measures " of " the leaders of sedition ; " but it was assigned to the more experienced Thomas Town- shend, who had ever condemned the violation of the principles of EjQglish liberty in the administration of British colonies in America. Pitt, at three and twenty

SHELBURNE OFFERS PEACE. 553

years old. became chancellor of the exchequer; the chap. seals of the foreign office were intrusted to Lord ^5^^* Grantham. 17 8 2.

In the house of commons, Fox made on the ninth "^S!^ of July his self-defence, which, in its vagueness and hesitation, betrayed his consciousness that he had no ground to stand upon. In the debate, Conway said with truth that eagerness for exclusive power was the motive of Fox, between whom and Shel- burne the difference of policy for America was very immaterial ; that the latter, so far from renewing the old, exploded politics, had been able to convince his royal master that a declaration of its independence w^as, from the situation of the country and the neces- sity of the case, the wisest and most expedient meas- ure that government could adopt. Burke called heaven and earth to witness the sincerity of his belief that " the ministry of Lord Shelburne would be fifty times worse than that of Lord North," de- claring that "his accursed principles were to be found in Maehiavel, and that but for want of under- standing he would be a Catiline or a Borgia." " Shel- burne has been faithful and just to me," wrote Sir William Jones to Burke, deprecating his vehemence : " the principles which he has professed to me are such as my reason approved." *' In all my inter- course with him, I never saw any instance of his being insincere," wrote Franklin, long after Shel- burne had retired from office. On the tenth. She!- lo. burne said in the house of lords : " I stand firmly upon my consistency. I never will consent that a certain number of great lords should elect a prime- minister who is the creature of an aristocracy, and ia

June 30.

554 , AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, vested with the plenitude of power, while the kino:

XXVIII

« — ^ is nothing more than a pageant or a puppet. In 17 82. that case, the monarchical part of the constitution 10. would be absorbed by the aristocracy, and the famed constitution of England would be no more. The members of the cabinet can vouch that no reason, relative to the business of America, has been assigned or even hinted for the late resignations. The prin- ciple laid down relative to peace with America has not in the smallest degree been departed from. Nothing is farther from my intention than to renew the war in America ; the sword is sheathed never to be drawn there again."

On the day on which Fox withdrew from the min- istry, Shelburne, who now had liberty of action, wrote these instructions to Oswald : " I hope to receive early assurances from you that my confidence in the sincerity and good faith of Dr. Franklin has not been misplaced, and that he will concur with you in en- deavoring to render effectual the great work in which our hearts and wishes are so equally inter- ested. We have adopted his idea of the method to come to a general pacification by treating separately with each party. I beg him to believe that I can have no idea or design of acting towards him and his associates but in the most open, Hberal, and honor- able manner.''

Franklin, on his part, lost not a day in entering upon definitive negotiations for peace. From his long residence in England he knew exactly the rela- tions of its parties and of its public men ; of whom the best were his friends. He was aware how preca- rious was the hold of Shelburne on power ; and he

SHELBURNE OFFERS PEACE. 555

made all haste to bring about an immediate pacifica- chap. tion. On the tenth of July, in his own house and at ^^^^ his own invitation, he had an interview with Oswald, 1-82. and proposed to him the American conditions of "o^ peace. The articles which could not be departed from were : Independence full and complete in every sense to the thirteen states, and all British troops to be withdrawn from them ; for boundaries, the Missis- sippi, and on the side of Canada as they were before the Quebec act of 1774 ; and, lastly, a freedom of fish- ing off Newfoundland and elsewhere as in times past.

Having already explained that nothing could be done for the loyalists by the United States, as their estates had been confiscated by laws of particular states which congress had no power to repeal, he fur- ther demonstrated that Great Britain had forfeited every right to intercede for them by its conduct and example ; to which end he read to Oswald the orders of the British in CaroHna for confiscating and selling the lands and property of all patriots under the direc- tion of the military ; and he declared definitively that, though the separate governments might show com- passion where it was deserved, the American commis- sioners for peace 'could not make compensation of refugees a part of the treaty.

Franklin recommended, but not as an ultimatum, a perfect reciprocity in regard to ships and trade. He further directed attention to the reckless destruc- tion of American property by the British troops, as furnishing a claim to indemnity which might be set off against the demands of British merchants and of American loyalists. He was at that time employed on a treaty of reimbursement to France by the United

556 AIMERICAN INDEPENDEIs^CE.

CHAP. States for its advances of money : and lie explained

XXVIII. »/ ^ 1

— , — '' to Oswald, as he had before done to Grenville, the 17 8 2. exact nature and the limits of the obligations of Amer- 10. ica to France for loans of which the debt and inter- est would be paid.

The interview closed with the understanding by Oswald that Franklin was ready to sign the prelimi- nary articles of the treaty so soon as they could be agreed upon. The negotiation was opened and kept up with the knowledge and at the wish of Yergennes ; but everything relating to the conditions of peace was withheld from him to the last.

So soon as Shelburne saw a prospect of a general pacification, of which he reserved the direction to himself, Fitzherbert, a diplomatist of not much expe- rience and no great ability, was transferred from Brussels to Paris, to be the channel of communica- tion with Spain, France, and Holland. He brought with him a letter of recommendation to Franklin from Grantham, who expressed his desire to merit Franklin's confidence, and from Townshend, who declared himself the zealous friend to peace upon the fairest and most liberal terms.

While the commission and instructions of Oswald were preparing, Shelburne, who best understood American affairs, accepted the ultimatum of Frank- lin in all its branches ; only, to prevent the bicker- ings of fishermen, and to respect public opinion in England, he refused the privilege of drying fish on the island of Newfoundland. 27. On the twenty-seventh, Shelburne replied to Oswald : " Your several letters give me the greatest satisfac- tion, as they contain unequivocal proofs of Dr. Frank-

SHELBURNE OFFERS PEACE. 557

liii's sincerity and confidence in those with whom lie chap. treats. It will be the study of his Majesty's ministers "51^ to return it by every possible cordiality. There 17 82. never have been two opinions since you were sent ^'"• to Paris upon the acknowledgment of American inde- pendency, to the full extent of all the resolutions of the province of Maryland, enclosed to you by Dr. Franklin. But, to put this matter out of all possibil- ity of doubt, a commission will be immediately for- w^arded to you containing full powers to treat and to conclude, with instructions from the minister who has succeeded to the department which I lately held, to make the independency of the colonies the basis and preliminary of the treaty now depending and so far advanced that, hoping as I do with you that the articles called advisable will be dropped and those called necessary alone retained as the ground of dis- cussion, it may be speedily concluded. You very well know I have never made a secret of the deep concern I feel in the separation of countries united by blood, by principles, habits, and every tie short of territorial proximity. But I have long since given it up, decidedly though reluctantly; and the same motives which made me perhaps the last to give up all hope of reunion make me most anxious, if it is given up, that it shall be done so as to avoid all future risk of enmity and lay the foundation of a new connection, better adapted to the temper and interest of both countries. In this view I go further with Dr. Franklin perhaps than he is aware of, and further, perhaps, than the professed advocates of independence are prepared to admit. I consider myself as pledged to the contents of this letter.

558 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. You will find the ministry united, in full possession

xxvin. .

w.^^' of the king's confidence, and thoroughly disposed to

17 8 2. peace if it can be obtained upon reasonable terms." ^^"s- The commission to Oswald, which followed in a few days, conformed to the enabling act of parlia- ment. The king pledged his name and word to ratify and confirm whatever might be concluded be- tween him and the American commissioners ; " our earnest wish for peace/' such were the words of instruction under the king's own hand, " dispos- ing us to purchase it at the price of acceding to the complete independence of the thirteen states." ' The merit of closing the murderous scenes of a war between men of the same kindred and language, by moderation, superiority to prejudice, a true desire of conciliation, an unreluctant concession to America of her natural advantages, together with a skilful plan through free-trade to obtain by commerce an immense compensation for the loss of monopoly and jurisdiction, is among British statesmen due to Shel- burne. The initiating of the negotiation, equal sin- cerity, benignity of temper, an intuitive and tranquil discernment of things as they were, wisdom which never spoke too soon and never waited too long, belonged to Franklin, who had proceeded alone to the substantial conclusion of the peace.

At this moment, when the treaty seemed to need only to be drafted in form and signed, Jay, having arrived in Paris and recovered from illness, stayed all progress. Before treating for peace, he said, the independence of the United States ought to be ac- knowledged by act of parliament, and the British troops withdrawn from America. But parliament

SHELBURNE OFFERS PEACE. 559

was not in session, and was, moreover, the most dan- chap. gerous body to which America could have appealed. ^JZ^' Receding from this demand. Jay proposed a procla- 17 82 mation of American independence under the great "** seal; but this also he yielded.

In America, Jay had been an enthusiast for the triple alliance between France, Spain, and the United ^- States ; had been moderate in his desire for territory; and on fifteen divisions in congress had given his vote against making the fisheries a condition of peace. As a consequence, all the influence of the French minister in Philadelphia had been used in congress to promote his election as minister to Spain and as a commissioner for treating of peace. His illusions as to Spain having been very rudely dis- pelled, he passed from too great confidence to too general mistrust.

The commission to Oswald spoke of the colonies and plantations of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and the rest, naming them one by one ; and Oswald was authorized to treat with the American commis- sioners under any title which they should assume, and to exchange with them plenipotentiary powers. Yergennes, who was anxious that there might be no impediment to a general peace, urged upon Jay that the powers of Oswald were sufficient, saying : '^ This acceptance of your powers, in which you are styled commissioners from the United States of Amer- ica, will be a tacit confession of your independence." Franklin had made no objection to the commission, and still believed that it " would do." To Franklin, Jay made the remark : " The count does not wish to see our independence acknowledged by Britain until

560 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, they have made all their uses of us." But the

XXVIII.

^^^^' shortest way of defeating such a plan was to proceed 17 8^2. at once to frame the treaty of peace with England. Franklin saw with dismay how fast the sands of Shelburne's official life were running out, and that with his removal the only chance of a favorable peace now so nearly concluded would be lost ; but his advice brought upon him the suspicions of Jay. Oswald l' not only communicated a copy of his commission, but a part of his instructions and a letter from the secretary of state, promising in the king's name to grant to America "full, complete, and uncondi- tional independence in the most explicit manner as an article of treaty."* But Jay " positively refused to treat with Oswald under his commission ; " so that the negotiation was wholly suspended and put to the greatest hazard.

It was time for the war in America to come to an end. British parties, under leaders selected from the most brutal of mankind, were scouring the interior of the southern country, robbing, destroying, March and taking life at their pleasure. " On the twelfth of March," writes David Fanning, the ruffian leader of one of these bands, " my men being all properly equipped, assembled together to give the rebels a small scourge, which we set out for." They came upon the plantation of Andrew Balfour, of Eandolph county, who had been a member of the North Caro- lina assembly, and held a commission in the mihtia. Breaking into his house, they fired at him in the presence of his sister and daughter, the first ball passing through his body, the second through his neck. On their way to another militia officer, they

SHELBURNE OFFERS PEACE. 561

"burned several rebel houses." It was late before cn\p. they got to the abode of the officer, who made 'w.^^' his escape, receiving three balls through his shirt. y^^| They destroyed the whole of his plantation. Reach- !-• ing the house of " another rebel officer," " I told him," writes Fanning, " if he would come out of the house I would give him parole, which he refused. With that I ordered the house to be set on fire. As soon as he saw the flames increasing, he called out to me to spare his house for his wife's and children's sake, and he would walk out with his arms in his hands. I answered him that, if he would walk out, his house should be spared for his wife and children. When he came out, he said : ' Here I am ; * with that he received two balls through his body. I proceeded on to one Major Dugin's plantation, and I destroyed all his property, and all the rebel officers' property in the settlement for the distance of forty miles. On our way, I catched a commissary from Salisbury and delivered him up to some of my men whom he had treated ill when prisoners, and they immediately hung him. On the eighteenth of April, I set out for ^[^^^ Chatham, where I learned that a wedding was to be that day. We surrounded the house, and drove all out one by one. I found one concealed upstairs. Having my pistols in my hand, I discharged them both at his breast; he fell, and that night expired." ^ Yet this Fanning held a British commission as colonel of the loyal militia in Randolph and Chatham counties, with authority to grant commissions to others as cap- tains and subalterns ; and, after the war, was recom-

^ I use Fanning's Jouraal from an exact manuscript copy. VOL. X. 36

562 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, mended by the office of American claims as a proper xxviir . .

J-^,-^' person to be put upon the half -pay list.

1 7 8 2. j^j^ the north, within the immediate, precincts of the i6. authority of Clinton, Colonel James Delancy, of West Chester, caused three rebels to be publicly executed within the British lines, in a pretended retaliation for the murder of some of the refugees. In New York, the refugees were impatient that American prisoners were not at once made to suffer for treason. On the ^- eighth of April, the directors of the Associated Loyal- ists ordered Lieutenant Joshua Huddy, a prisoner of war in New York, to be delivered to Captain Lippincot, and, under the pretext of an exchange, taken into New 12. Jersey, where he was hanged by a party of loyalists on the heights of Middleton, in revenge for the death of a loyalist prisoner who had been shot as he was attempting to escape.. Congress and Washington demanded the delivery of Lippincot as a murderer. Clinton, though incensed at the outrage and at the insult to his own authority and honor, refused the requisition, but subjected him to a court-martial, which condemned the deed, while they found in the orders under which he acted a loop-hole for his acquittal. Congress threatened retaliation on a British officer, but never executed the threat.

The American officers ever throughout the war set the example of humanity. The same spirit showed itself on the side of the British as soon as Shelburne became minister. Those who had been imprisoned for treason were treated henceforward as prisoners of war. Some of the ministers personally took part in relieving their distresses ; and in the course of the summer six hundred of them or more were

SHELBURNE OFFERS PEACE. 6C3

sent to America in cartels for exchange. The arrival ciiai». of Sir Guy Carleton at New York to supersede Clin- ^3^ ton was followed by consisfent clemency. He de- i7 8j. sired that hostilities of' all kinds might be stayed. ***^ He treated captives always with gentleness; and some of them he set free. When Washington asked that the Carolinians who had been exiled in violation of the capitulation of Charleston might have leave to return to their native state under a flag of truce, Carleton answered that they should be sent back at the cost of the king of England ; and that every- thing should be done to make them forget tlie hard- ships which they had endured.^ Two hundred Iro- quois, two hundred Ottawas, and seventy Chippeways came in the summer to St. Johns on the Chambly, ready to make a raid into the state of New York. They were told from Carleton to bury their hatchets and their tomahawks.

Acting under the orders of Greene in Georgia, Feb. Wayne, by spirited manoeuvres, succeeded in wresting the state from the hands of the British, obliging them to abandon post after post and redoubt after redoubt, until they were completely shut up in Savan- nah. A body of British cavalry and infantry went ^l'[^ out four miles from Savannah to escort a strong party of Creeks and Choctaws into the town. In the following night, he threw himself with inferior force between them and Savannah, and, attacking them by surprise, totally defeated and dispersed them. At Sharon, five miles from Savannah, at half-past one in the morning of the twenty-fourth i"* of June, a numerous horde of Creek warriors, headed

» Luzeme to Rayneval, 10 June, 1782.

564 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, by their ablest chiefs and a British officer, surprised

XXVIII. •^ ■' ^

V— ^^* the camp of Wayne, and for a few moments were 17 8 2. masters of his artilleify. Wayne marshalled his troops, and, under a very heavy fire of small-arms and hideous yells of the savages, attacked them in front and flank with the sword and bayonet alone. The Indians resisted the onset with ferocity height- ened by their momentary success. With his own hand Wayne struck down a war chief. In the morn- ing, Erristesego, the principal warrior of the Creek nation and the bitterest enemy of the Americans, was found among the dead.

Self-reliance and patriotism revived in the rural population of Georgia ; and its own civil government was restored, n.^ On the eleventh of July, Savannah was evacuated, the loyalists retreating into Florida, the regulars to Charleston. Folio v/ing the latter, Wayne, with his small but trustworthy corps, joined the stand- ard of Greene. His successes had been gained by troops who had neither regular food, nor clothing, nor pay.

In South Carolina, Greene and Wayne and Marion, and all others, in high command, were never once led by the assassinations committed under the authority of Lord George Germain to injure the property or take the life of a loyalist, although private anger could not always be restrained. In conformity to the writs issued by Rutledge, as governor, the assem- bly met in January at Jacksonborough, on the Edisto. In the legislature were many of those who had been released from imprisonment, or had returned from exile. Against the advice of Gadsden, who insisted

SHELBURNE OFFERS PEACE. 565

that it was sound policy to forget and forgive, laws cu\p. were passed banishing the active friends of the Brit- ''^^^* ish government, and confiscating their estates. 17 82.

The Americans could not recover the city of "^ Charleston by arms. The British, under the com- mand of the just and humane General Leslie, gave up every hope of subjugating the state ; and Wayne, who was " satiate of this horrid trade of blood," and would rather spare one poor savage than destroy twenty, and Greene, who longed for the repose of domestic life, strove to reconcile the Carolina patriots to the loyalists.

The complaints of Greene respecting the wants of his army were incessant and just. In January, he wrote : " Our men are almost naked for want of overalls and shirts, and the greater part of the army barefoot." In March, he repeated the same tale: " We have three hundred men without arms ; twice that number so naked as to be unfit for any duty but in cases of desperation. Not a rag of clothing has arrived to us this winter. In this situation men and officers without pay cannot be kept in temper long." Moreover the legislature of South Carolina prohib- ited the impressing of provisions from the people, an3 yet neglected to furnish the troops with neces- sary food.

The summer passed with no military events be- yond skirmishes. In repelling with an inferior force a party of the British sent to Combahee Ferry to collect provisions, Laurens, then but twenty-seven years old, received a mortal wound. " He had not a fault that I could discover," said Washington, " imless

566 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, it were intrepidity bordering upon rashness." This >— ^ — '' was the last blood shed in the field during the war. 17 82. The wretched condition of the American army Greene attributed to the want of a union of the states. He would invest congress with power to enforce its requisitions. If this were not done, he held " it im- possible to establish matters of finance upon such a footing as to answer the public demands." The first vehement impulse towards " the consolidation of the federal union " was given by Eobert Morris, the finance , minister of the confederation. With an exact administration of his trust, he combined, like Necker, zeal for advancing his own fortune ; and he connected the reform of the confederation, which ought to have found universal approbation, with boldly speculative financial theories, that were re- ceived with doubt and resistance. His opinions on the benefit of a public debt were extravagant and unsafe. A native of England, he never held the keys to the sympathy and approbation of the Amer- ican people. In May, 1781, when congress was not able to make due preparation for the campaign, he succeeded, by highly colored promises of a better administration of the national finances, and by ap- peals to patriotism, in overcoming the scruples of that body, and obtained from it a charter for a national bank, of which the notes, payable on de- mand, should be receivable as specie for duties and taxes, and in payment of dues from the respec- tive states. The measure was carried by the votes of New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maryland, Vir- ginia, with Madison dissenting. North and South Carolina, and Georgia, seven states : single dele-

SHELBURNE OFFERS PEACE. 567

gates from Rhode Island and Connecticut answered chap. "ay;" but their votes were not counted, because ^sf:^^ their states were insufficiently represented. Penn- 17 82. sylvania was equally divided; Massachusetts alone voted against the measure.

Before the end of the year, the opinion prevailed that the confederation contained no power to incor- porate a bank; but congress had already pledged its word. As a compromise, the corporation was forbidden to exercise any powers in any of the United States repugnant to the laws or constitu- tion of such state; and it was recommended to the several states to give to the incorporating ordinance its full operation. These requisitions Madison regarded as a tacit admission of the de- fect of power, an antidote against the poisonous tendency of precedents of usurpation. The capi- tal of the bank was four hundred thousand dollars, of which Morris took one-half as an investment of the United States, paying for it in full with their money. On the seventh of January, 1782, the bank "^J"' commenced its very lucrative business. The notes, though payable at Philadelphia in specie, did not command public confidence at a distance, and the corporation was able to buy up its own promises at from ten to fifteen per cent discount. A national currency having been provided for, Morris was ready to obey an order of congress to establish a mint.

His first great measure having been carried, he threw the whole energy of his nature into the design of initiating a strong central government. He en- gaged the services of Thomas Paine to recommend to the people by a new confederation to confer

568 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, competent powers on congress. To the president — .^-^* of congress he wrote : " No hope of praise or appre- 17 8 2. hension of blame shall induce me to neglect a duty which I owe to America at large. I disclaim a delicacy which influences some minds to treat the states with tenderness and even adulation, while they are in the habitual inattention to the calls of national interest and honor. Nor will I be de- terred from waking those who slumber on the brink of ruin. But my voice is feeble, and I must there- fore pray to be assisted by the voice of the United States in congress. Supported by them, I may, per- haps, do something; but, without that support, I must be a useless incumbrance." He was convinced that the raising as well as maintaining of a continen- tal army would be infinitely cheaper than armies of the states. A national navy, too, came within the scope of his policy.

To fund .the public debt and provide for the reg- ular payment of the interest on it was a primary object with the financier; and for these ends he pro- posed a very moderate land-tax, a poll-tax, and an excise on distilled liquors. Each of these taxes was estimated to produce half a million ; the duty of five per cent on imports, if the states would but consent to it, would produce a million more. The back lands were to be reserved as security for new loans in Europe. All these together were thought sufficient to establish the public credit.

The aggregate expenditures of the United States

for the war had been at the rate of twenty millions

A of dollars in specie annually. The estimates for the

year 1782 were for eight millions of dollars. Yet in

SHELBURNE OFFERS PEACE. 569

the first five months of the year, the sums received chap. from the states amounted to less than twenty thou- ^33^* sand dollars, or less than the estimated expenses for 17 82. a single day, and of this sum not a shilling had been received from the eastern or the southern states. Morris prepared a vehement circular letter to the states ; but, by the advice of Madison and others, it was withheld, and one congressional committee was sent to importune the states of the north, another those of the south.

It lay in the ideas of Morris to collect the taxes due to the United States by their own officers. The confederation acted only on the several states, and not on persons ; yet he obtained authority by a vote of congress to appoint receivers of taxes, and for that office in New York he selected its most gifted statesman. From the siege of Yorktown, Ham- ilton had repaired to Albany, where he entered upon the study of the law that in summer he might be received as attorney, and in autumn as counsellor, ready meantime if the war should be renewed to take part in its dangers and in its honors. The place, which he accepted with hesitation, was almost a sine- cure ; but he was instructed by Morris to exert his talents with the New York legislature to forward the views of congress. He had often observed the facility with which the eastern states had met in convention to deliberate jointly on the best methods of support- ing the war. He repaired to Poughkeepsie on the next meeting of the New York legislature, and ex- plained his views on the only method by which the United States could obtain a constitution. On the Jj'^f nineteenth of July, Schuyler, his father-in-law, invited

570 AMERICAlSr INDEPENDEKCE.

CHAP, the senate to take into consideration tlie state of S^^^' the nation. On his motion, it was agreed that the 17 82. general government ought to have power to pro- vide revenue for itself, and it was resolved " that the foregoing important ends can never be attained by partial deliberations of the states separately ; but that it is essential to the common welfare that there should be as soon as possible a conference of the whole on the subject ; and that it would be advisable for this purpose to propose to congress to recommend, and to each state to adopt, the measure of assembling a gen- eral convention of the states, specially authorized to revise and amend the confederation, reserving a right to the respective legislatures to ratify their determi- nations."

These resolutions, proposed by Schuyler in the senate, were carried unanimously in both branches of the legislature ; and Hamilton, who had drafted them, was elected almost without opposition one of the delegates of New York to congress. Kobert Morris, who saw the transcendent importance of the act of the New York legislature, welcomed the young statesman to his new career in these words : " A firm, wise, manly system of federal government is what I once wished, what I now hope, what I dare not expect, but what I will not despair of."

Hamilton of New York thus became the colleague of Madison of Virginia. The state papers which they two prepared were equal to the best in Europe of that time. Hamilton was excelled by Madison in wisdom, large, sound, roundabout sense and perception of what the country would grant ; and in his turn surpassed his rival in versatility and creative power.

SHELBURNE OFFERS PEACE. 571

On the last day of July, Morris sent to congress chap. his budget for 1783, amounting at the least to nine ^.^^ millions of dollars, and he could think of no Avay to 17 82. obtain this sum but by borrowing four millions and raising five millions by quotas. The best hopes of supporting the pubUc credit lay in the proposal to endow congress with the right to levy a duty of five per cent on imports. " Congress," thus wrote Madi- son to sway the wavering legislature of Virginia, ^^ congress cannot abandon the plan as long as there is a spark of hope. Nay, other plans, on a like principle, must be added. Justice, gratitude, our reputation abroad, and our tranquillity at home, require provision for a debt of not less than fifty millions of dollars ; and I pronounce that this pro- vision will not be adequately met by separate acts of the states. If there are not revenue laws which operate at the same time through all the states, and are exempt from the control of each, the mutual jealousies which begin already to appear among them w^ill assuredly defraud both our foreign and domestic creditors of their just claims." But Rhode Island obstinately resisted the grant. The legis- lature of Massachusetts after long delays gave its consent, but its act received the veto of Hancock. The legislature insisted that the veto was invalid, because it was sent to the house a day too late ; while the governor replied, that Sunday not being a day for business, his negative had been received within the limit of the constitution.^

1 From copies of papers fur- Whether Hancock succumbed to nished by Mr. Warner, the Mas- the two houses does not appear sachusetts secretary of state, from the journals.

572 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. In the October session of 1782, Virginia definitively ^-^w' repealed its first act of assent, which it had previously 17 8 2. suspended ; giving this reason for its ultimate de- cision : " The permitting any power other than the general assembly of this commonwealth to levy duties or taxes upon the citizens of this state within the same is injurious to its sovereignty, may prove destructive of the rights and liberty of the people, and, so far as congress might exercise the same, is contravening the spirit of the confederation."

The words were darkly ominous, leaving congress for the time poverty-stricken, and seeming to throw in the way of a good government hindrances which never could be overcome. Yet union was already rooted in the heart of the American people. The device for its great seal, adopted by congress in midsummer, is the American eagle, as the emblem of that strength which uses victory only for peace. It therefore holds in its right talon the olive branch ; with the left it clasps together thirteen arrows, em- blems of the thirteen states. On an azure field over the head of the eagle appears a constellation of thirteen stars breaking gloriously through a cloud. In the eagle's beak is the scroll " E pluribus unum," many and one, out of diversity unity, the two ideas that 'make America great ; individual free- dom of states, and unity as the expression of con- scious nationality. By further emblems, congress showed its faith that the unfinished commonwealth, standing upon the broadest foundation, would be built up in strength, that Heaven nodded to what had been undertaken, that " a new line of ages " had begun.

SHELBURNE OFFERS PEACE. 573

The earlier speeches in parliament of Shelburne chap against granting independence to the United States ^^V^ had left in America a distrust that was not readily i'82. removed; but the respective commanders-in-chief vied with each other in acts of humanity. The state of the treasury of the United States was deplorable. Of the quotas distributed among the states only four hundred and twenty-two thousand dollars were col- lected. Delaware and the three southern states paid nothing. Khode Island, which paid thirty-eight thousand dollars, or a little niore than a sixth of its quota, was proportionately the largest contributor. Morris wished to establish a solid continental system of finance, but taxes which were not likely ever to be paid could not be anticipated, and confidence had been squandered away. In spring he had written to Greene, but for whom he thought the line of Vir- ginia might have been the boundary line : " You must continue your exertions with or without men, or provisions, clothing, or pay." For provisioning the northern army, he had made contracts which he was obliged to dissolve from want of means to meet them, and could only write to Washington : " I pray that Heaven may direct your mind to some mode by which we may be yet saved." By the payment of usurious rates, the army was rescued from being starved or disbanded. "Their patriotism and dis- tress," wrote Washington in October, " have scarcely ever been paralleled, never been surpassed. The long-suif erance of the army is almost exhausted ; it is high time for a peace."

CHAPTER XXIX.

PEACE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN.

1782.

CHAP. De Grasse, as he passed through London on ^1^ — '- parole^ brought from Shelburne to Yergennes sug- 17 8 2. gestions, which left Spain as the only obstacle in the way of peace. To conciliate that power, Jay was g^ ^ invited to Versailles, where, on the fourth of Sep- ^- • tember, Rayneval sought to persuade him to resign for his country all pretensions to the eastern valley of the Mississippi, and with it the right to the navi- gation of that stream. Jay was inflexible. On the 6. sixth, Rayneval sent him a paper containing a long argument against the pretensions of America to touch the Mississippi, or the great lakes ; and on the "next ^- morning, after an interview with the Spanish ambas- sador, he set off for England, to establish a good understanding with Shelburne. »• On the ninth, the departure of Rayneval came to

10- the knowledge of Jay. On the tenth, a translation of an intercepted despatch from Marbois, the French

UXITED STATES AKD GREAT BRITAIN AT PEACE. 575

secretary of legation at Philadelphia, against con- chap. ceding a share in the great fishery to the Americans, ii^ was communicated to Jay and Franklin. Jay was J? 82. thrown from his equipoise. Having excited the dis- ^^'* trust of Shelburne by peremptorily breaking off the negotiation, he now, through an English agent, sent to the British minister, with whom he was wholly unacquainted, a personal request that he would for the present take no measures with Rayneval ; giving as the reason, that it was the obvious interest of Britain immediately to cut the cords w^hich tied the Americans to France. Franklin, who had vainly labored with his colleague to finish at once the treaty with England, strove as ever before to defeat all intrigues by hastening its consummation ; and to this end he urged on the British government a compliance with the demand of a new commission for Oswald. Lord Grantham had assured him by letter that " the establishment of an honorable and lasting peace was the system of the ministers." " I know it to be the sincere desire of the United States," Frank- lin replied, on the day after reading the paper of n. Marbois; "and with such dispositions on both sides there is reason to hope that the good work in its progress will meet with little difficulty. A small one has occurred, with which Mr. Oswald will ac- quaint you. I flatter myself that means will be found on your part for removing it, and my best endeavors in removing subsequent ones (if any should arise) may be relied on ; " but Franklin neither criminated France, nor compromised himself, nor his country, nor his colleague.

Hayneval passed through London directly to Bow

576 A3^IERICAK INDEPENDEKCE.

CHAP. Wood, the country seat of Shelburne in the west of

XXIX

wl^_^ England. " I trust what you say as much as if Mr.

17 8 2. de Vergennes himself were speaking to me," were the words with which he was welcomed. " Gibraltar/' observed Rayneval, " is as dear to the king of Spain as his life." Shelburne answered : " Its cession is im- possible : I dare not propose it to the British nation." "Spain wishes to become complete mistress of the Gulf of Mexico/' continued Rayneval. On this point, Shelburne opened the way for concession, saying : " It is not by way of Florida that we carry on our contraband trade, but by way of Jamaica." Shel- burne owned reluctantly the necessity of conceding independence to the United States, but was resolved to concede it without any reservation. " As to the question of boundaries and fisheries," observed Ray- neval, " I do not doubt of the earnest purpose of the king to do everything in his power to restrain the Americans within the limits of justice and reason. Be their pretensions to the fisheries what they may, it seems to me that there is one sure prin- ciple to follow on that subject ; namely, that the fish- ery on the high seas is res nuUiiis, the property of no one, and that the fishery on the coast belongs of right to the proprietaries of the coasts, unless there have been derogations founded upon treaties. As to boundaries, the British minister will find in the nego- tiations of 1754, relative to the Ohio, the boundaries which England, then the sovereign of the thirteen United States, thought proper to assign them." To these insinuations, Shelburne, true to his words to Franklin, made no response. '

With regard to the mediation offered by the

U^'ITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN AT PEACE. 577

northern powers, he said : " We have no need of chap. them : they can know nothing about our affairs, since i^ it is so hard for us to understand them ourselves; ^J^-- there is need of but three persons to make peace, — myself, the Count de Vergennes, and you." "I shall be as pacific in negotiating as I shall be active for war, if war must be continued," he added, on the fourteenth. Rayneval replied : " Count de Ver- ^*- gennes will, without ceasing, preach justice and mod- eration. It is his owm code, and it is that of the king." On the fifteenth, they both came up to Lon- i»- don, where, on the sixteenth, Rayneval met Lord ^^■ Grantham. Nothing could be more decided than his refusal to treat about Gibraltar. On the seventeenth, in bidding farewell to Rayneval, Shelburne said, in the most serious tone and the most courteous man- ner : " I have been deeply touched by everything you have said to me about the character of the king of France, his principles of justice and moderation, his love of peace. I wish, not only to re-establish peace between the two nations and the two sov- ereigns, but to bring them to a cordiality which will constitute their reciprocal happiness. Not only are they not natural enemies, as men have thought till now ; but they have interests which ought to bring them nearer together. We have each lost consid- eration in our furious desire to do each other harm. Let us change principles that are so erroneous. Let us reunite, and we shall stop all revolutions in Europe." By revolutions he meant the division of Poland, the encroachments on Turkey, and the at- tempt of the court of Vienna to bring Italy under its control by seizing the fine harbors of Dalmatia. VOL. X. 37

578 AI^IERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP. " There is another obiect," continued Shelburne,

XXIX. ...

w..,^* " which makes a part of my political views ; and that 1 J 8 2. is the destruction of monopoly in commerce. I 17- regard that monopoly as odious, though the English nation, more than any other, is tainted with it. I flatter myself I shall be able to come to an un- derstanding with your court upon this subject, as well as upon our political amalgamation. I have spoken to the king on all these points. I have reason to believe that when we shall have made peace the most frank cordiality will be established between the two princes.". Eayneval reciprocated these views, and added : " Your principles on trade accord exactly with those of France ; Count de Yergennes thinks that freedom is the soul of commerce."

The British ministry were so much in earnest in their desire for peace with the United States, that a new commission was drafted for Oswald to conclude a peace or truce with commissioners of the thirteen United States of America, which were enumerated one by one. This concession was made after consul- tation with Lord Ashburton, who held that it was a matter of indifference, whether the title chosen by the American commissioners should be accepted by Oswald under the king's authority, or directly by the king. The acknowledgment of independence was still reserved to form the first article of the treaty of peace. The change of form was grateful and honor- able to the United States ; but the king said : " I am so much agitated with a fear of sacrificing the inter- ests of my country, by hurrying peace on too fast, that I am unable to add anything on that subject but the most frequent prayers to Heaven to guide me so

UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN AT PEACE. 579

to act that posterity may not lay the downfall of chap. this once respectable empire to my door ; and tliat if i^!i' ruin should attend the measures that may be adopted, 1 7 82 I may not long survive them." The delay had given ^'^'' time to British creditors and to the refugees to muster all their strength and embarrass the negotiation by their importunities.

On purely Spanish questions, Jay appears to the best advantage. On the twenty-sixth of September, m. Aranda, in company with Lafayette, encountered him at Versailles. Aranda asked : " When shall we pro- ceed to do business ? " Jay replied, " When you com- municate your powers to treat." " An exchange of commissions," said Aranda, " cannot be expected, for Spain has not acknowledged your independence." " We have declared our independence," said Jay ; "and France, Holland, and Britain have acknowl- edged it." Lafayette came to his aid, and told the ambassador that it was not consistent with the dignity of France that an ally of hers like the United States should treat otherwise than as independent. Ver- gennes pressed upon Jay a settlement of claims with Spain. Jay answered : " We shall be content with no boundaries short of the Mississippi."

So soon as Osw^ald received his new commission, the negotiation, after the loss of a month, moved forward easily and rapidly. At the request of Franklin, Jay drew up the articles of peage. They included the clauses relating to boundaries and fi sherries, which Franklin had settled with Oswald in July ; to these Jay added a clause for reciprocal freedom of com- merce, which was equally grateful to Franklin and Oswald, and a concession to the British of the free

580 AMERICAIT INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, navigation of the Mississippi. For himself, he re-

< ^ peatedly insisted with Oswald, that West Florida

17 82. should not be left in the hands of the Spaniards, but should be restored to England ; and he pleaded " in favor of the future commerce of England as if he had been of her council, and wished to make some reparation for her loss," not duly considering the dangers threatening the United States, if England should hold both East and West Florida and the Bahama Islands.

Shelburne had hoped to make a distinction between the jurisdiction over the western country and prop- erty in its ungranted domain, so that the sales of wild lands might yield some compensation to the loyal refugees ; but Jay insisted that no such right of property remained to the king. Oswald urged upon him the restoration of the loyalists to their civil rights \ but Jay answered that the subject of pardon was one with which " congress could not meddle. The states being sovereigns, the parties in fault were answerable to them, and to them only." Oswald yielded on both points.

On sending over the draft of the treaty to the secretary of state, the British plenipotentiary wrote : ^^I look upon the treaty as now closed." Both Franklin and Jay had agreed that, if it should be approved, they would sign it immediately. Towards the French minister, thqy continued their reserve, not even communicating to him the new commission of Oswald.^

^ On m'a assure que les n^goci- dans l'impossibilit6 de rien vous

ations sur le fond 6taient entamees dire de positif et de certain a cet

et que le plenipotentiaire anglais egard, Messrs. Jay et Franklin se

^tait assez coulant. Mais je suis tenant dans la reserve la plus ab-

UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN AT PEACE. 581

After the capture of iVIinorca by the Duke de Crillon, cmai'. the French and Spanish fleets united under his com- ^^ mand to reduce Gibraltar; and Count d'Artois, the i7 82. brother of the king, passed through Madrid to be ^'^'' present at its surrender. But danger inspired the British garrison with an unconquerable intrepidity. By showers of red-hot shot, and by a most heroic sortie under General Elliot, the batteries which were thought to be fire-proof were blown up or consumed, and a fleet under Lord Howe was close at hand to replenish the stores of the fortress. The news of the catastrophe made Paris clamorous for peace. France, it was said, is engaged in a useless war for thankless aUies. She has suffered disgrace in the West Indies while undertaking to conquer Jamaica for Spain ; and it now shares in the defeat before Gibraltar. Ver- gennes saw that France needed and demanded repose. To obtain a release from his engagement to Spain, he was ready to make great sacrifices on the part of his own country, and to require them of America. Congress was meanwhile instructing Frankhn " to use his utmost endeavors to effect the loan of four millions of dollars through the kind and generous exertions of the king of France ; " and on the third ^^^ of October it renewed its resolution to hearken to no ^• propositions for peace except in confidence and in concert with him. On the fourteenth of the same 14. month, Yergennes thus explained to the French envoy at Philadelphia the policy of France : "If

solue k mon 6gard. lis ne m'ont s'il le juj^e a propos ramener les

m^me pas encore remis copio du deux pleiiipotentiaires americains

plein pouvoir de Mr. Oswald. Je a la teneur de leurs instructions,

pense, Monsieur, qu'il sera utile Vergennes to Luzerne, 11 Oct.,

que vous disiez cette particularite 1782. a Mr. Livingston, afin qu'il puisse

582 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, we are so happy as to make peace, the king must wl^-w then cease to subsidize the American army, which 17 82. ^yiii be as useless as it has been habitually inac- tive. We are astonished at the demands which ^ continue to be made upon us while the Amer- icans obstinately refuse the payment of taxes. It seems to us much more natural for them to raise upon themselves, rather than upon the subjects of the king, the funds which the defence of their cause exacts." " You know," continued Yergennes, '' our system with regard to Canada. Everything which shall prevent the conquest of that country will agree essentially with our views. But this way of think- ing ought to be an impenetrable secret for the Americans. Moreover, I do not see by what title the Americans can form pretensions to lands on Lake Ontario. Those lands belong to the savages or are a dependency of Canada. In either case, the United States have no right to them whatever. It has been pretty nearly demonstrated, that to the south of the Ohio their limits are the mountains following the shed of the waters, and that everything to the north of the mountain range, especially the lakes, formerly made a part of Canada. These notions are for you alone ; you will take care not to appear to be in- formed about them, because we so much the less wish to intervene in the discussions between the Count de Aranda and Mr. Jay, as both parties claim countries to which neither of them has a right, and as it will be almost impossible to reconcile them."

When the draft of the treaty with the United States, as agreed to by Oswald, came back to Eng- land, the offer of Jay of the free navigation of the

TTKITED STATES A^D GREAT BRITAIN AT PEACE. 583

Mississippi was gladly accepted ; but that for a reci- chap. procity of navigation and commerce was reserved. ^^ The great features of the treaty were left unchanged ; 17 82. but the cabinet complained of Oswald for yielding h!' everything, and gave him for an assistant Henry Strachey, Townshend's under-secretary of state. On the twentieth of October, both of the secretaries of 20 state being present, Shelburne gave Strachey three points specially in charge : No concession of a right to dry fish on Newfoundland ; a recognition of the validity of debts to British subjects contracted by citizens of the United States before the war; but, above all, adequate indemnity for the confiscated property of the loyal refugees. This last demand touched alike the sympathy and the sense of honor of England. The previous answer that the com- missioners had no power to treat on the business of the loyalists was regarded as an allegation that, though they claimed to have full powers, they were not plenipotentiaries; that they were acting under thirteen separate sovereignties, which had no com- mon head. To meet the exigence, Shelburne pro- posed either an extension of Nova Scotia to the Penobscot or the Kennebec or the Saco, so that a province might be formed for the reception of the loyalists ; or that a part of the money to be received from sales of the Ohio lands might be applied to their subsistence. To the ministry, it was clear that peace, if to be made at all, must be made before the coming together of parliament, which had been summoned for the twenty-fifth of November.

While the under-secretary of state was sent to re-enforce Oswald, the American commission was

584 AMEEICA?^ INDEPENDENCE.

CTTAP. recruited by the arrival of Jolin Adams. He had

XXIX

w.^ prevailed on the United Provinces to acknowledge 17 82. the, independence of the United States, and to form ^0- with them a treaty of commerce. He was greatly elated at his extraordinary success, and he loved to have it acknowledged ; but flattery never turned him aside from public duty, for he looked upon the high- est praise as no more than his due, and as in- vesting him with new rights to stand up fearlessly for his country. He left Yergennes to find out his arrival through the police. Franklin had hitherto warded off the demand that the treaty of peace should guarantee to English merchants the right to collect debts that had been due to them in the United States, because the British armies had them- selves in many cases robbed the merchants of the very goods for which the debts were incurred ; and had wantonly and contrary to the laws of war de- stroyed the property which could have furnished the means of payment. The day after Strachey's arrival in Paris, Adams, encountering him and Oswald at the house of Jay, to their surprise and delight blurted out his assent to the proposed stipulation for the payment of debts. In the evening of the same day, Adams called for the first time on Franklin, who at once put him on his guard as to the British demands relating to debts and compensation of tories; but he could not recall his word. 30. On the thirtieth, the American commissioners met Oswald and Strachey, and for four several days they discussed the unsettled points of the treaty. Jay and Franklin had left the north-eastern boundary to be settled by commissioners after the war. It is

UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN AT PEACE. 585

due to John Adams, who had taken the precaution chap. to obtain from the council of Massachusetts authenti- ^^ cated copies of every document rehiting to the ques- 17 82. tion, that it was definitively established in the treaty 29!* itself. On the north-west it' was agreed that the line should be drawn through the centre of the water communications of the great lakes to the Lake of the Woods. The British commissioners denied to the Americans the right of drying fish on Newfoundland, xo^r This was, after a great deal of conversation, agreed to by John Adams as well as his colleagues, upon condi- tion that the American fishermen should be allowed to dry their fish on any unsettled parts of the coast of Nova Scotia. Franklin said further : " I observe as to catching fish you mention only the banks of New- foundland. Why not all other places, and among others the gulf of St.* Lawrence ? Are you afraid there is not fish enough, or that we should catch too many, at the same time that you know that we shall bring the greatest part of the money we get for that fish to Great Britain to pay for your manufactures ? " * And this advice was embodied in the new article on the fisheries.

On the fourth of November, Adams and Jay defin- *• itively overruled the objections of Franklin to the recognition by treaty of the validity of debts con- ti^acted before the war. Pluming himself exceed- ingly on having gained this concession, Strachey wrote to the secretary of state that Jay and Adams would likewise assent to the indemnification of the refugees rather than break off the treaty upon such a point.^ On the other hand, Franklin, in reply to

' Lansdowne House MSS. ^ Strachey to secretary of state,

Private, Calais, 8 Nov., 1782.

586 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, a letter which he had received from the secretary,

XXIX.

>-I^ Townshend, gave an earnest warning : " I am sensi- "^Nov^' ^^^ ^^^ have ever been averse to the measures that brought on this unhappy war ; I have, therefore, no doubt of the sincerity of your wishes for a return of peace. Mine are equally earnest. Nothing, there- fore, except the beginning of the war, has given me more concern than to learn at the conclusion of our conferences that it is not likely to be soon ended. Be assured no endeavors on my part would be wanting to remove any difficulties that may have arisen, or even if a peace were made to procure afterwards any changes in the treaty that might tend to render it more perfect and the peace more durable ; " and then, having in his mind the case of the refugees, he deprecated any instructions to the British nego- tiators that would involve an irreconcilable conflict with those of America. At the same time, he per- suaded Adams and Jay to join with him in letters to Oswald and to Strachey, expressing in conciliatory language their unanimous sentiments that an amnesty more extensive than what had already been agreed to could not be granted to the refugees.

Before Strachey reached London with the second set of articles for peace, the friends of Fox had for- gotten their zeal for American independence. All parties unanimously demanded amnesty and indem- nity for the loyalists. Within the cabinet itself, Camden and Grafton were ill at ease ; Keppell and Eichmond inclining to cut loose. The king could not avoid mentioning " how sensibly he felt the dis- memberment of America from the empire : " ''1 should be miserable indeed," said he, " if I did not

UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN AT PEACE. 587

feel that no blame on that account can be laid at my chap. door." ^ Moreover, he thought so ill of its inhabitants, ^^ that "it may not/' he said, "in the end be an evil 17 82. that they will become aliens to this kingdom."

In the general tremulousness among the ministers, Townshend and WiUiam Pitt remained true to Shel- burne ; and a third set of articles was prepared, to which these three alone gave their approval. There was no cavilling about boundaries. All the British posts on the Penobscot, at New York and in Caro- lina, at Niagara and at Detroit, were to be given up to the United States, and the country east of the Mississippi and north of Florida was acknowledged to be theirs. The article on the fishery contained arbitrary restrictions copied from former treaties with France ; so that the Americans were not to take fish within fifteen leagues of Cape Breton, or within three leagues of any other British isle on the coast in America. Not only indemnity for the estates of the refugees, but for the proprietary rights and proper- ties of the Penns and of the heirs of Lord Baltimore, was to be demanded. " If they insist in the plea of the want of power to treat of these subjects," said Townshend, " you will intimate to them in a proper manner that they are driving us to a necessity of applying directly to those who are allowed to have the power."

" If the American commissioners think that they will gain by the whole coming before parliament, I do not imagine that the refugees will have any objections," added Shelburne. Fitzherbert, the Brit- ish minister in Paris, was instructed to take part in the American negotiations 3 and, with his approval

588 AMERICAIS" INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, and that of Strachey, Oswald was empowered to sign ^1^ a treaty. Authority was given to Fitzherbert to in- 17 8 2. voke the influence of France to bend the Americans.

Nov.

Yergennes had especially pleaded with them strongly

in favor of the refugees. In the hope of a settlement,

parliament was prorogued to the fifth of December.

On the same day on which the final instructions to

Oswald were written, Yergennes declared in a letter

to Luzerne : " There exists in our treaties no condi- 23. . .

tion which obliges the king to prolong the war in

order to sustain the ambitious pretensions which the

United States may form in reference to the fishery

or the extent of boundaries." ^ " In spite of all the

cajoleries which the English ministers lavish on the

Americans, I do not promise myself they will show

themselves ready to yield either in regard to the

fisheries, or in regard to the boundaries as the

American commissioners understand them. This last

subject may be arranged by mutual sacrifices and

compensations. But as to the first, in order to form

a settled judgment on its probable issue, it would be

necessary to know what the Americans understand

by the fishery. If it is the drift fishery on banks

remote from the coast, it seems to me a natural right ;

but if they pretend to the fisheries as they exercised

them by the title of English subjects, do they, in

the name of justice, think to obtain rights attached

to the condition of subjects which they renounce ? "

1 Elle a donne occasion a la dans nos traites qui I'oblipje a pro-

plupart des delegues de s'expliquer longer la guerre pour soutenir les

d'une maniere decente et convena- pre'tentions ambitieuses que les

ble sur leur fidelite a I'alliance et Etats-Unis peuvent former, soit

sur leur attachement a en remplir par rapport a la peche, soit par

tout s les conditions. Le Roi ne rapport a I'etendue des liniites."

sera pas moins exact a les tenir de Vergennes to Luzerne, 23 Nov.,

son cote, mais il n'en existe aucune 1782.

UNITED STATES AXD GREAT BRITAIN AT PEACE. 589

France would not prolong the war to secure to the chap. Americans the back lands and the fislieries ; the wji Americans were still less bound to continue the war ^782. to obtain Gibraltar for Spain. 2^'

Early in the morning of the twenty-fifth, the king was urging Shelburne to confide in Vergennes his "ideas concerning America," saying, "France must wish to assist us in keeping the Americans from a concurrent fishery, which the looseness of the article with that people as now drawn up gives but too much room to apprehend." Before Shelburne could have received the admonition, Adams, Franklin, and Jay met Oswald and Strachey at Oswald's lodgings. Strachey opened the parley by an elaborate speech, in which he explained the changes in the article on the fisheries, and that " the restitution of the property of the loyalists was the grand point upon which a final settlement depended. If the treaty should break off, the whole business must go loose, and take its chance in parliament." Jay wished to know if Oswald could now conclude the treaty ; and *®' Strachey answered that he could, absolutely. Jay desired to know if the propositions he had brought 29. were an ultimatum. Strachey seemed loath to an- swer, but at last said, no. That day, and the three following ones, the discussion was continued.

On the twenty-ninth, Strachey, Oswald, and Fitz- herbert, on the one side, and Jay, Franklin, Adams, and, for the first time, Laurens, on the other, came together for their last word, at the apartments of Jay. The American commissioners agreed that there should be no future confiscations nor prosecutions of loyalists; that all pending prosecutions should be

590 AMERICAI^ INDEPENDENCE.

CHAP, discontinued ; and that congress should recommend

XXIX. " . .

^^^ to the several states and their legislatures, on behalf 1782. of the refugees, amnesty and the restitution of their 25- confiscated property. Strachey thought this article better than any of the modifications proposed in England, and congratulated himself on his triumph. The question of the fisheries more nearly concerned Oswald. Against the British draft, John Adams spoke with the more effect as it rested not on the principle of the law of nations, but created an arbi- trary restriction 5 and, with the support of every one of his colleagues, he declared he would not set his hand to the treaty unless the limitations were stricken out. After long altercations the article was reduced to the form in which it appears in the treaty^ granting to the United States equal rights with British fisher- men to take fish on the coast of Newfoundland, and on the coasts, bays, and creeks of all other British dominions in America.

At this stage, Strachey and Fitzherbert gave the opinion that it would be necessary to consult the government at home. "We can wait/' answered Adams, " till a courier goes to London." The refer- ence would have carried the whole matter into par- liament, and so would have been fatal to the treaty. Franklin saw the danger and interposed : " If any further delay should be made, the clause insuring to the subjects of Great Britain the right of recovering their debts in the United States must also be recon- sidered." But on this article Strachey prided laimself as his greatest success; and, rather than expose it to risk, he joined with Oswald. Fitzherbert, now left alone, reflected that peace with the United States

UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN AT PEACE. 591

would be the best means of forcing France and chap. Spain to declare their ultimatum ; and he, too, gave ^^^ in his consent. 17 8 2.

On the thirtieth, the commissioners of both conn- w- tries signed and sealed fair copies of the convention. Thus far no word in it had, except indirectly, indicated the existence of slavery in the United States. On the demand of Laurens, a clause was interlined, prohibiting, on the British evacuation, the "carrying away any negroes or other property of the inhabitants." So the treaty of peace, which already contained a confession that the United States were not compacted into one nation, made known that in their confederacy men could be held as prop- erty; but it, as interpreted alike by American and English statesmen, included free negroes among the citizens of the United States. In the hope of pre- venting the possibility of a future dispute about boundaries, they were marked interchangeably by a strong line on copies of the map of America by Mitchell.

The articles of peace, though entitled provisional, were made definitive by a declaration in the preamble. Friends of Franklin gathered around him, and as the Duke of Rochefoucauld kissed him for joy, " My friend," said Franklin, " could I have hoped at such an age to have enjoyed so great happiness ? " The treaty was not a compromise, nor a compact im- posed by force, but a free and perfect solution, and perpetual settlement of all that had been called in question. By doing an act of justice to her former colonies, England rescued her own Mberties at home from imminent danger, and opened the way for

592 america:n- independence.

CHAP, their slow but certain development. The narrowly

XXIX.

^I^ selfish colonial policy which had led to the cruel 17 8 2. and unnatural war was cast aside and forever by Great Britain, which was henceforward as the great colonizing power to sow all the oceans with the seed of republics. For the United States, the war, which began by an encounter with a few husbandmen embattled on Lexington Green, ended with their independence, and possession of all the country from the St. Croix to the south-western Mississippi, from the Lake of the Woods to the St. Mary. In time past, republics had been confined to cities and their dependencies, or to small cantons; and the United States avowed themselves able to fill a continental territory with commonwealths. They possessed beyond any other portion of the world the great ideas of their age, and enjoyed the practice of them by individual man in uncontrolled faith and industry, thought and action. For other com- munities, institutions had been built up by capitu- lations and acts of authoritative power ; the United States of America could shape their coming relations wisely only through the widest and most energetic exercise of the right inherent in humanity to delibe- ration, choice, and assent. While the constitutions of their separate members, resting on' the principle of self-direction, were, in most respects, the best in the world, they had no general government ; and as they went forth upon untried paths, kings expected to see the confederacy fly into fragments, or lapse into helpless anarchy. But, for all the want of a govern- ment, their solemn pledge to one another of mutual citizenship and perpetual union made them one

UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN AT PEACE. 593

people ; and that people was superior to its institu- ( hai». tions, possessing the vital force which goes before ^!^ organization, and gives to it strength and form. Yet 1 7 82 for success the liberty of the individual must know how to set to itself bounds; and the states, display- ing the highest qualit}' of greatness, must learn to temper their rule of themselves by their own mod- eration.

END.

Cambridge : Press of Jolin Wilson and Son.

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