Full text of "Great events in the history of North and South America : from the alleged discovery of the continent by the Northmen in the tenth century, to the present time"

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THE LIBRARY

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

GIFT OF

Martha Green

GREAT EVENTS

THE HISTORY

NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA;

FROM THE ALLEGED

DISCOVERY OF THE CONTINENT,

BY THE NORTHMEN, IN THE TENTH CENTURY,

THE PRESENT TIME;

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF EMINENT MEN CONNECTED WITH
AMERICAN HISTORY.

BY CHARLES A. U GOODRICH,

AUTHOR OF "UNITED STATES HISTORY," "LIVES OF THE SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION
OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE," &c., &c.

ILLUSTRATED WITH UPWARDS OF TWO HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS,

CHIEFLY FROM ORIGINAL DESIGNS, BY EMINENT ARTISTS.

HARTFORD:
PUBLISHED BY HOUSE & BROWN

1851.

LOAN STACK

ENTERED, ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS. IN THE YEAR 1849, BY

CHARLES A. GOODRICH,

IN THE CLERK S OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT COURT OF CONNECTICUT.

PRESS OF
ANDRUS AND SON, WALTER S. WILLIAMS,

HARTFORD. HASTFOHn

LOAN STACK

GIFT

PREFACE.

THE plan of the following work, whatever may be thought of its executi&lt; n,

. will commend itself, it is believed, to the taste and judgment of the public. It

proceeds upon the principle of selection, being chiefly confined to the Great

Events of American History, and which are treated of as distinct subjects. In

these respects, the work differs from other historical works on the same subject.

The advantages of a work thus constructed, are too obvious to need specifi
cation. Yet, it may be remarked, that great events in history are like great
objects in nature and art. It is the bolder features of a country the more
costly and imposing edifices of the city the higher and more elaborate achieve
ments of art upon which we delight to dwell. In like manner, great events
attract our attention and interest our minds, because of their relations because
of the higher qualities of mind which, perhaps, gave them birth, and the striking
and lasting changes which grow out of them. They serve as landmarks in our
drift down the stream of time. We date from them. We refer to them. We
measure between them. We compare them one with another their causes,
progress, influences ; and, in so doing, our knowledge of men and things is
advanced our false opinions are corrected our topics for interesting and
profitable speculation and reflection greatly multiplied. A thorough perusal of
a work thus constructed will secure, it is believed, a more competent and per
manent knowledge of the history of a country, than some half-dozen readings
of that history, written on the ordinary plan.

The principle of selection will render the work the more valuable to certain
classes of persons to those who, desirous of a competent knowledge of the
history of their country, have but a limited time to devote to the study of it;
to the young, whose minds are apt to become wearied and perplexed with the
number and details of minor events; and to those who wish to refresh their
recollections, without the labor and loss of time incident to the perusal of works
constructed on the common plan. Each of these classes will find their interests
consulted in the work before them, while the general reader may profitably pro
ceed from the perusal of such a volume to those which describe events and
details more minutely.

377

4 PREFACE.

In regard to what constitute the Great Events of American History, there
may be some diversity of opinion. As to his selection, the author has not the
vanity to suppose that it is the best that could be made. The journey has been
a long one ; and surely, it were not strange, if some events had been magnified
into an undue importance ; while those of perhaps even higher consideration
vere neglected, either for want of a better judgment, or for want of more
serious reflection.

In the progress of the work, the author has endeavored to do justice to the
original settlers of the United States, and their immediate descendants, by
bringing into view their constant sense of their dependence upon God. It will
be seen that our forefathers were men who feared God who sought his blessing
in all their great enterprises ; and when success crowned those enterprises, that
they were ready to acknowledge His good hand which had been with them.
In seasons of darkness, they fasted and prayed: in seasons of prosperity, they
rejoiced and gave thanks.

In these respects, our ancestors did, indeed, only their duty ; but, it may well
be urged upon the rising generation, which will soon take the management of
the affairs of this already-mighty nation and which is growing in population,
wealth, and importance, every year to imitate an example so just! so beauti
ful! so impressive!

The author has briefly to add, that the work was begun some years since ;
but, until now, he has found no opportunity to complete it ; nor should he, even
at this date, have had that pleasure, but for the important aid of a highly valued
literary friend, long favorably known to the public, Rev. ROYAL ROBBINS, of
Berlin, Ct., to whom, in this place, he is happy to make his acknowledgments
for valuable portions of the volume.

CONTENTS.

NORTH AMERICA, UNITED STATES.

PAGE.

INTRODUCTION 13

I. EARLY DISCOVERIES.

I. Northmen. Claims for the Northmen ; Voyages of Biarne, Leif, Thorwald, Thorfinn, Helge, and
Finnboge, 19

II. Columbus. Birth and Education of Columbus ; Unsuccessful application to several European
Courts ; Patronized by Isabella ; Sails from Palos ; Early Discontent of his Crew ; Expedients by
which they are quieted ; Discovery of Land ; First appearance of the Natives ; Cuba and Hispan-
iola discovered ; Columbus sets sail on his Return ; Incidents of the Voyage ; Marks of considera
tion bestowed upon him ; Second Voyage ; Further Discoveries ; Complaints against him ; Third
Voyage ; Discovery of the Continent ; Persecuted by Enemies ; Sent home in Chains ; Kindness

of Isabella ; Fourth Voyage ; Return and Death, 26

m. Sebastian Cabot. Discovery of the North American Continent by Sebastian Cabot, 45

II. EARLY SETTLEMENTS

I. VIRGINIA, OR SOUTHERN COLONY.

Unsuccessful Attempts to settle America ; Expeditions of Sir Humphrey Gilbert ; Sir Walter Raleigh ;
Sir Richard Grenville ; Sir John White ; First Permanent Settlement at Jamestown ; Colonists
early in Want ; Dissensions in their Councils ; Hostility of the Indians ; Capture of Captain Smith ;
Generous Conduct of Pocahontas ; Gloomy Condition of the Colony ; Timely arrival of Assistance ;
Returning Prosperity ; Establishment of a Provisional Government ; Introduction of Negro Slavery ;
Cruel Massacre of the Colonists, 48

II. NEW ENGLAND, OR NORTHERN SETTLEMENTS.
Plymouth ; Massachusetts ; Connecticut ; New Haven ; New Hampshire ; Rhode Island ; Maine ;
Vermont Character of the Early Settlers, 61

III. MIDDLE AND SOUTHERN SETTLEMENTS.
New York ; New Jersey ; Delaware ; Maryland ; N. Carolina ; S. Carolina ; Georgia ; Pennsylvania, 96

III. -INDIANS: THEIR TRIBES AND WARS.

I. INDIAN TRIBES.

General Division ; Tribes in the Central and Southern parts of New England ; Tribes in the North
ern parts ; East of Lake Erie and South of Lake Ontario ; Southern Tribes, 104

II. ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS.

Various Speculations on the subject ; Opinions of Voltaire, of Rev. Thos. Thorowgood, Dr. Boudinot,
Roger Williams, Hubbard, Thos. Morton, John Josselin, Cotton Mather, Dr. Mitchell, Dr. Swinton, 109

III. VIRGINIA INDIAN WARS.

Early Troubles of the English with the Indians ; Power and Cruelty of Powhatan ; his apparent
Friendship for the Colonists ; Treacherous Conduct ; Kindness of Pocahontas ; Inhuman Conduct
of Lord De la War ; Captivity of Pocahontas ; Cruel Massacre of the Whites ; Opecancanough ;
Troubles with Totopotomoi; Anecdote of Jack-of-the-feather, 113

IV. PLYMOUTH COLONY AND THE INDIANS.

Early Rencontre at Plymouth ; Friendly Intercourse established by means of Samoset Kindness of
Squanto ; Intercourse with Massasoit ; Contemplated Massacre defeated ; Caunbitant ; Hobomok, 25

V. ENGLISH AND N A R R AG A NSETS .

Territory of the Narragansets ; Canonicus their Sachem ; his mode of Challenging the English to
War ; Union proposed between the Pequods and Narragansets ; how Defeated ; Haughty Bearing
of Miantonimoh; Accused of a Conspiracy against the English; Accusations repelled; Peace
concluded between him and Massachusetts; War between Uncas and Miantonimoh; the latter
captured, and delivered to the English ; how disposed of; Character of Uncas ; Troubles with the
Narragansets under Ninigret ; Expedition against him ; its Issue, 142

CONTENTS.

VI. PEQUOD WAR. PAGE.

Territory of the Pequods ; their Character ; Sassacus ; his Hatred of the English ; Cruelties prac
ticed towards them ; War declared by Connecticut ; Expedition of Captain Mason ; Surprise and
Destruction of the Fort ; Further Prosecution of the War ; Consequences resulting from it, . . .153

vii. PHILIP S WAR.

Causes of Philip s War Character of Philip ; General Spirit of Hostility among the Indians ; Out
break at Swansey ; Expedition under General Savage ; Expedition under Captain Church ; Perilous
Situation of this latter party ; Timely Arrival of Captain Hutchinson ; Second Expedition of Cap
tain Church; Critical Situation of Philip; Effects his Escape; Annoys the Back Settlements of
Massachusetts ; Treachery of the Nipmucks ; Attack on Brookfield ; Bloody Affair at Muddy
Brook; Attack on Springfield; Attack on Hatfield; Outrages at Northampton; Large Force
raised by Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Connecticut, against the Narragansets ; Philip s Fortress
at Kingston, Rhode Island ; Destruction of it ; Lancaster destroyed ; other Towns burned ; Fatal
Affair at Pawtuxet river, Rhode Island ; Stratagem of Cape Cod Indians ; Attacks on Rehoboth,
Chelmsford, Sudbury, &c. ; Expedition of Connecticut troops ; Conanchet captured ; Long Meadow
attacked ; Hadley ; Fortunes of Philip on the wane ; Successful Expedition at Connecticut-river
Falls ; Attack on Hatfield ; on Hadley ; Remarkable Interposition of a Stranger at Hadley, sup
posed to be Goffe ; Decline of Philip s Power ; Pursued by Captain Church ; Death of Philip ;
Disastrous Effects of the War ; Philip s Warriors ; Annawon ; Reflections, 161

VIII. WAR OF WILLIAM III.

Combination of French and Indians against the Americans ; Burning of Schenectady ; Cause of it ;
Horrors attending it ; Attack upon Salmon Falls and upon Casco ; Results of Expeditions fitted
out by N ew York and N ew England ; Reduction of Port Royal ; Atrocities which marked the War ;
Attack on Haverhill, Massachusetts ; Heroic Conduct of Mrs. Dustan ; Peace, 190

ix. QUEEN ANNE S WAR.

Principal Scenes of this War in America ; Attack upon Deerfield ; Captivity and Sufferings of Rev.
Mr. Williams ; Other Disasters of the War ; Peace ; Death of Queen Anne ; Accession of George
I. : Continued Sufferings of the Colonies of Massachusetts and New Hampshire ; Peace concluded
with the Indians at Boston 200

X. WAR OF GEORGE II.

War between England and France, 1744 ; French take Casco ; Effect of this Declaration of War
upon the Indians ; Attack upon the Great Meadows (now Putney) ; also, upon Ashuelot (now
Keene) ; Expedition against Louisburg ; Particulars of it ; Surrender of it ; Continuance of the
War ; Various places assaulted ; Savage Barbarities following the surrender of Fort Massachu
setts ; Peace declared, 206

XI. FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.

Declaration of War between England and France ; Causes of the War ; Mode of conducting it ;
Various Expeditions planned ; Nova Scotia taken from the French ; General Braddock s Signal
Defeat ; Failure of Expeditions against Niagara and Fort Frontenac ; Expedition against Crown
Point ; Battle of Lake George ; Campaign of 1756 ; Inefficiency of Lord Loudon ; Loss of Fort
Oswego ; Indian Atrocities in Pennsylvania ; Campaign of 1757 ; Massacre at Fort William Henry ;
Exploits of Colonel Trye ; Captain John Burke and others ; Campaign of 1758 ; Capture of Louis-
burg; Unsuccessful Expedition against Ticonderoga ; Capture of Fort Frontenac; FortduQuesne
taken ; Campaign of 1759 ; Ticonderoga and Crown Point taken ; Niagara captured ; Siege and
Capture of Quebec ; Death of Wolfe and Montcalm ; Final Surrender of the French Possessions
in Canada to the English; Peace of Paris 214

IV. REVOLUTION.
I. CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION.

Objects pr jposed in the Settlement of America ; Forms of Government conducive to Independence ;
Influence of Expenses ; Colonies obliged to defend themselves, and to defray the Expenses of then-
own Wars and those of the Mother-country ; British system of Taxation commenced ; Writs of
Assistance ; Stamp Act ; Formidable Opposition to it ; Non-importation Act ; Arrival of British
Forces ; Boston Massacre ; Destruction of the Gaspee ; Destruction of Tea ; Boston Port Bill ,
Arrival of General Gage ; his Obnoxious Measures ; Meeting of Congress ; Preparations for War ,
Obstinacy of the King and Parliament ; Crisis arrives ; Determination of the Colonists 238

II. EVENTS OF THE REVOLUTION.

L Battle of Lexington. Cause or Occasion of the Battle ; British Detachment proceeds towards
Concord ; Reaches Lexington ; First Blood shed ; Hancock and Adams ; Captain Wheeler and the
British Officer ; Stores destroyed ; the British harassed by the Americans ; Retreat from Concord ,
Effect of this affair upon the Country ; Proceedings of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, . . 266

n. Entile of Bunker s Hill. American Patriotism ; American and British Forces ; Fortification of
Bunker s Hill; Attacked by British Ships; Asa Pollard, the First Martyr; Preparations of the

CONTENTS. 7

PAGE

British ; Warren ; Prescott s Injunction to his Troops ; British repulsed with terrible slaughter ;
Second Attack ; Charlestown set on fire at the same time ; Second Repulse ; Putnam and Major
Small; Death of Colonel Gardiner ; Thrilling Incident ; Third Advance of the British; Death of
Major Pitcairn ; Americans in want of Ammunition ; Retreat ; Death of Warren ; Respective

Losses; Results of the Battle, 274

in. Washington, Commander-in- Chief. Effects of the Battle of Bunker s Hill ; Meeting of Congress ;
Appointment of a Commander-in-Chief proposed ; Difficulties in regard to a Selection ; Claims of
Individuals ; Interview between John and Samuel Adams ; Speech of the former ; Washington
Nominated ; Unanimously Confirmed ; Manifesto of Congress ; Public Fast, 291

JV. Evacuation of Boston. General Officers appointed; Washington repairs to Cambridge; State
of the Army ; Great Want of Gunpowder ; Sickness in the Camp ; Dorchester Heights fortified ;
Proposal of the British General to attack the American Intrenchments ; Alters his plan, and
evacuates Boston ; Embarkation of the British ; Washington enters the city, 290

V. Independence Declared. Independence begun to be contemplated ; Causes which increased a
desire for such an event ; Question of a Declaration of Independence enters the Colonial Assem
blies ; Introduced to Congress by Richard Henry Lee ; Debated ; State of Parties in respect to it ;
Measures adopted to secure a favorable vote ; Question taken, and Declaration adopted ; Signed ;
the Great Act of the Revolution ; its Influence immediately perceptible ; Character of the Signers ;
the Fourth of July, a time-honored and glorious day; How it should be celebrated, 310

VI. Attack on Sullivan s Island. Invasion of Southern Colonies proposed ; Expedition dispatched ;
Charleston its first Object ; Proceedings of its Citizens ; Sullivan s island Fortified ; Arrival of
General Lee ; his Opinion of Fort Moultrie ; British Fleet arrives ; Preliminary Movements ; Fort
Moultrie attacked ; Remarkable Defence ; Action described ; Heroic Conduct of Sergeant Jasper ;
Repulse of the British ; Respective Losses ; Liberality of Governor Rutledge ; Standards presented

by Mrs. Elliot; Death of Jasper, 322

VII. Military Reverses: Loss of New York. British take possession of Staten Island; Strongly re
inforced ; State of the American Army ; New York and Brooklyn occupied ; Battle of Brooklyn ;
Americans repulsed ; Long Island abandoned ; Remarkable retreat ; Gloomy State of the American
Army ; Washington retreats to Harlem ; Movements of the British ; Washington retires to White
Plains ; Loss of Fort Washington ; American Army pursued ; Retreats successively to New Bruns
wick, Princeton, and Trenton ; thence to the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware ; British go into
Winter-quarters ; Capture of General Lee ; Prevalent Spirit of Despondency 338

Vm. Returning Prosperity : Battles of Trenton and Princeton. Reliance of the Patriots upon God
for Success ; Public Fast recommended by Congress ; Offensive Operations decided upon ; Battle
of Trenton ; Washington victorious ; Battle of Princeton ; British repulsed ; American Army at
Morristown ; British at Brunswick ; Prospects brightening, 344

DC. Occupation of Philadelphia. Position of the Armies ; British remove to New York ; Sail for the
Chesapeake ; Advance towards Pliiladelphia ; American Army also move towards the same place ;
Meet at Brandywine ; Battle ; Americans repulsed ; British enter Philadelphia ; Congress retire to
Lancaster ; Battle of Germantown ; Americans retreat ; Ineffectual Attempts to force the British
to evacuate Philadelphia, 353

X. Surrender of Burgoyne. British Project for securing the command of the Hudson between New
York and Albany ; Intrusted to Generals Howe and Burgoyne ; the latter leaves Canada with a
strong Force ; Invests and takes Crown Point and Ticonderoga ; Affair of Skenesborough ; Fort
Edward abandoned ; Retreat of Americans to Stillwater ; Battle of Bennington ; General Gates
supersedes General Schuyler ; Critical position of Burgoyne ; he advances upon Saratoga ; Battle ;
Battle of Stillwater ; Burgoyne retreats, pursued by Gates ; Capitulates ; Public Rejoicings, ... 360

XI. Progress of the War. State of affairs in England ; Treaty with France ; Movements in the
British Parliament ; Overtures to Congress ; Rejection of them ; Battle of Monmouth ; Disastrous
Retreat of General Lee ; Fortunate Interposition of Washington ; his Rebuke of Lee ; Tremendous
Battle ; Sufferings of the Armies ; Renewal of the Contest ; Midnight Retreat of the British army ;
Subsequent Trial and Dismission of General Lee, 378

in. Treachery of Arnold. The Vulture in the Hudson ; Midnight Adventure ; Benedict Arnold ;
Repairs to Cambridge ; Expedition to Canada ; Created a Brigadier-general ; Grounds of Com
plaint ; Honorable Conduct in Connecticut ; Appointed to the command at Philadelphia ; Charges
preferred agaiast him ; Reprimanded by Washington ; Plots against his Country ; Correspondence
with Sir H. Clinton; Appointed to the command of West Point; Interview with Andre; Capture
of Anure ; Arrival of Washington ; Escape of Arnold ; Developments of his Traitorous Intentions ;
Trial and Condemnation of Andre; Subsequent Incidents in the life of Arnold, 39 1

XIII. Concluding Scenes of the Revolution. Theatre of War changed to the South ; Sie?e of Savan
nah ; Battle of Caniden ; Battle of Cowpens ; Retreat ; Subsequent Movements ; Battles of Guil-
ford, Kobkirk s Hill, NinRty-Six, and Eutaw Springs; Yorktown; Treaty of Pence; Cessation of
Hostilities ; Army disbanded ; Departure of the British ; Final Interview between Washington and
his Officers ; Resigns his Coinnussiou ; Retires to Mount Vernon, 415

8 CONTENTS.

PAGE.

3.IV. Naval Operations. State of the Naval Affairs of the Colonies at the commencement of the
Revolution ; First Naval Engagement ; Measures adopted by Congress to provide a Naval Arma
ment ; Naval Officers appointed ; Vessels built ; Flag adopted ; Success of American Privateering ;
Distinguished Naval Officers ; Character of Naval Commanders ; Particular Engagements :
Randolph and Yarmouth ; Raleigh and Druid ; Sub-marine Warfare , Le Bon Honime Richard
and Serapis ; Trumbull and Watt ; Alliance, Atalanta, and Trepassey ; Congress and Savage, . . 450

XV. Eminent Foreigners connected with the Revolution. George HI. King of England ; General Bur-
goyne, Sir Henry Clinton, Colonel Barre, Charles Townshend, Lord Cornwallis, William Pitt, Mar
quis of Bute, George Grenville, Duke of Grafton, Lord North, Colonel Tarleton, Sir Peter Parker,
Sir William Meadows, Sir Guy Carlton, General Gage, Marquis of Rockingham, Edmund Burke,
Kosciusko, Pulaski, Baron de Kalb, Baron Steuben, Count Rochambeau, Count D Estaing, ... 488

V. FEDERAL CONSTITUTION.

Original Governments of the Colonies ; Union between them ; Plan proposed by Dr. Franklin ; First
Congress ; Congress of "74 ; Confederation ; Defects of it ; Convention of States proposed by Vir
ginia ; Commissioners from five States meet at Annapolis ; Powers too limited to act ; Recommend
a General Convention of States ; Delegates appointed ; Convention meets at Philadelphia ; Decides
to form a new Constitution ; Draft prepared, discussed, and adopted ; Speech of Doctor Franklin ;
Constitution signed ; Adopted by the several States ; Amendments ; States admitted since the
adoption ; Remarks on the Constitution, 520

VI. GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT.

A System of Revenue ; Regulation of Departments ; Amendments of the Constitution ; Establish
ment of a Judiciary : Assumption of Debts ; Removal of the Seat of Government ; National Bank ;
Indian War ; Re-election of Washington ; Difficulties with France ; Insurrection in Pennsylvania ;
Jay s Treaty; Election of Mr. Adams; Farewell Address, 542

VII. JOHN ADAMS, PRESIDENT.

Difficulties with France ; Treaty with that Power ; Death of Washington ; Removal of the Seat of
Government ; Election of Mr. Jefferson, 571

VIII. THOMAS JEFFERSON, PRESIDENT.

Purchase of Louisiana ; War with Tripoli ; Murder of Hamilton ; Re-election of Jefferson ; Conspi
racy and Trial of Burr ; Attack on the Chesapeake ; British Orders in Council ; Milan Decree ;
Embargo ; Election of Mr. Madison ; Difficulties between France and England, 690

IX. JAMES MADISON, PRESIDENT.

Battle of Tippecanoe ; Early Session of Congress; Declaration of War ; Surrender of Hull; Capture
of the Gurriere ; Battle of Queenstown ; Capture of the Frolic ; of the Macedonian ; of the Java ;
Battle of Frenchtown; Capture of the Peacock; Re-election of Mr. Madison; Capture of York;
Siege of Fort Meigs ; Capture of the Argus ; Perry s Victory ; Battle of the Thames ; Creek War ;
Battle of Chippewa and Bridgewater ; Capture of Washington City ; Engagement on Lake Cham-
plain ; Battle of New Orleans ; Treaty of Ghent ; Close of Mr. Madison s Administration, . . .611

X. JAMES MONROE, PRESIDENT.

Tour of the President ; Admission of Missouri ; Provision for Indigent Officers, &.c. ; Re-election of
Mr. Monroe ; Seminole W T ar ; Revision of the Tariff; Visit of Lafayette ; Review of Mr. Monroe s
Administration ; Election of Mr. Adams, 656

XI. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, PRESIDENT.

Controversy respecting the Creeks ; Proposed Mission to Panama ; Internal Improvements ; Fiftieth
Anniversary of Independence ; " American System ;" Election of General Jackson, 673

XII. -ANDREW JACKSON, PRESIDENT.

Condition of the Country ; Georgia and the Cherokees ; Public Lands ; National Bank ; Internal
Improvements; Indian Hostilities ; Discontents in South Carolina ; Re-election of Andrew Jack
son ; Removal of the Deposites ; Death of Lafayette ; Deposite Act ; Seminole War ; Treasury
Circular ; Election of Mr. Van Buren ; Character of Jackson s Administration, S83

XIII. MARTIN VAN BUREN, PRESIDENT.

Measures respecting Banks ; Treasury Circular ; Continuance of Florida War ; Internal Improve
ments ; Public Expenses ; Difficulties in Maine ; Border Troubles ; Changes of Public Opinion ;
Character of the Administration ; Election of William H. Harrison, 701

XIV. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, PRESIDENT, . 713

XV. JOHN TYLER, PRESIDENT.

Extra Session of Con-Tress; Relations with Great Britain ; Settlement of the North-eastern Bound
ary ; Difficulties in Rhode Island ; Modification of the Tariff ; Bunker s Hill Monument ; Treaties;
Annexation of Texas ; Presidential Cauvass ; Character of Mr. Tyler s Administration, . . .716

CONTENTS.

XVI. JAMES K. POLK, PRESIDENT. PA^.E.
Decease of General Jackson ; Admission of Texas; Division of Oregon; Mexican War; Siege of
Fort Brown ; Battle of Palo Alto ; Battle of Resaca de la Palma ; Fall of Monterey ; Battle of
Buena Vista; Capture of Vera Cruz ; CerroGordo; Progress of the Army ; Occupation of Mexico ;
Treaty ; California and its Gold ; Election of General Taylor, 725

XVII. ZACHARY TAYLOR, PRESIDENT 755

BRITISH AMERICA, 757

I. CANADA.

Discovery ; Settlement ; Capture of Quebec ; Death of Champlain ; Religious Enterprises ; War
made by the Iroquois ; Accessions to the Colony ; Progress of the Colony ; Attempts of the English
to Conquer Canada ; Condition of Canada in 1721 and 1722 ; General Prosperity of the Colony ;
Refusal to join in the War of American Independence ; Consequences of American Independence
to Canada ; Territorial Divisions and Constitution ; Dissensions after the close of the War of 1812 ;
Disturbances and Insurrections, 759

II. NOVA SCOTIA.

Limits; Conquest by the English ; Settlement; Annexation to the British Crown ; Policy of England
in relation to the Country ; Situation of the English Settlers ; English Treatment of the Acadians ;
State of the Province during the Wars of the United States ; Results of the War of 1812, ... 781

III. NEW BRUNSWICK.
Extent ; Physical Aspect and Soil ; Settlement and Progress ; Signal C:ilumity, 787

iv. PRINCE EDWARD S ISLAND.

Location, Surface, and Climate ; Early Settlers ; Change of Possession ; Plans of Colonization ;
Character of late Governors ; Inhabitants, 790

V. NEWFOUNDLAND.

Location .and Importance; Discovery and Settlement; French Hostilities; Renewal of War;
Change of Administration ; Present Condition, 793

vi. HUDSON S BAY TERRITORY.

Extent ; Discovery ; Settlement ; Contests with France ; Present State, 797

RUSSIAN AMERICA, m

MEXICO,

Discovery; Condition, anterior to the Spanish Conquest; Invasion by Cortez; Arrival of Cortez in
the Mexican Capital ; Abdication of Montezuma ; Retreat of Cortez, and Return ; Fall of the
City and Empire ; Fate of Cortez ; Extent of New Spain ; Introduction of the Catholic Religion ;
Native Spanish Population, under the Colonial Government ; Classes of the Inhabitants ; Causes
of the First Mexican Revolution; Commencement of the Revolution; Continuation of the War by
the Patriot Chiefs ; Decline of the Revolution ; Invasion by Mina ; Revolution under Iturbide ;
Adoption of the Federal Constitution ; Prosperity of the years 1825 and 1826 ; Election of President
in 1828; Usurpation of Bustamente ; Defence of the Federal Constitution ; Santa Anna s Proceed
ings ; Establishment of a Central Republic ; Attempts against the Central Government ; Revolu
tion of 1841 ; Overthrow of Santa Anna s Government, 802

GUATEMALA,

Loca ity ; Extent ; Physical Character ; Discovery and Conquest ; Independence of the Country, . . 830

SOUTH AMERICA,

I. NEW GRENADA.

Extent and Physical Features; Revolution of 1811 ; Formation of a Constitution; Liberation of
Quito ; Crisis of 1828 ; Separation of New Grenada, Venezuela, and Equator ; State of the Gov
ernment since the Separation, 833

II. VENEZUELA.

Name, Physical Features, &lt;fcc. ; Discovery ; State of the Country under the Spanish Dominion ;
Termination of the Spanish Dominion ; Condition since, 837

10 CONTENTS.

III. EQUATOR. , AGE

Name, Extent, and Physical Character ; Classes of the Inhabitants ; Subversion of the Spanish
Authority ; Condition since the Spanish Rule 841

IV. PERU.

Locality, Extent, and Physical Character ; Condition at the time of its Invasion by the Spaniards ;
Conquest by Pizarro ; Condition of the Country after the Conquest ; Insurrection ; Revolutionary
Movement ; Declaration of Independence ; Condition after the Expulsion of the Spaniards, . . . &5

V. BOLIVIA.

Name, Extent, and Physical Character; Overthrow of the Spanish Power; Proclamation of Inde
pendence ; Choice of Rulers under the New Constitution ; Present Condition, 855

VI. CHILI.

Extent, Physical Features, and Climate ; Conquest by Ahnagro ; Revolution in the beginning of the
Present Century ; Final Establishment of Independence ; Subsequent Condition, 858

VII. BUENOS AYRES.

Name, tc. ; Inhabitants, or Classes of People ; Discovery and Settlement ; First Insurrection
against the Government of Spain ; Progress and Changes of the New Government ; Present Con
dition of the Government 863

VIII. URUGUAY.
Locality and Extent ; Name and History ; Constitution, .868

IX. BRAZIL.

Situation, Extent, &c. ; Discovery and Settlement ; Policy of the Portuguese Government ; Removal
of the Portuguese Court to Brazil; Constitution and Government 870

X. PARAGUAY.

Situation, Extent, &lt;kc. ; Insurrection and attempt at Revolution in the latter part of the Eighteenth
Century; Establishment of Independence, and Despotic Government, 875

WEST INDIES.

Situation, Extent, &lt;fec. ; Inhabitants; Political Divisions 879

I. BRITISH WEST INDIES.
Jamaica, Tnnidad, Barbadoes, Bahamas, St. Christopher, Bermudas, and St. Vincent, 881

II. SPANISH WEST INDIES.

Cuba and Porto Rico, 835

III. FRENCH WEST INDIES.

Martinique and Guadaloupe ,887

IV. DUTCH WEST INDIES.
Curacoa, St. Eustatius, St. Martin, and Saba,

V. DANISH WEST INDIES.
St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas,

VI. INDEPENDENT ISLAND OF HAYTI,
Formerly called St. Domingo and Hispaniola,

APPENDIX .

xvn. ZACHARY TAYLOR. ( Continued from page 756.)

Proceedings in Congress ; Death of Mr. Clahoun ; Invasion of Cuba ; Convention
with Great Britain ; Death of Gen. Taylor, . . r C 2

XVIII. MILLARD FILL MORE, PRESIDENT.
Assumes the Government; Compromise Bill; Adjournment of Congress, 911

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE.

TIME stopping in his Course, &lt;fec 13

Tailpiece Discovery of Newfoundland, . . 18

Columbus and Cabot, 19

Northmen leaving Iceland, 21

Discovery of Labrador, 22

Incident in the Camp of the Northmen, . . 24

Columbus, 26

Columbus before Ferdinand and Isabella,. . 30

Columbus sets sail, 32

First Sight of Land, 36

Columbus and Natives of Cuba, 38

Columbus casting a Barrel into the Sea, . . 39

Tailpiece Prairie Scene, 44

Tailpiece Columbus at Hispaniola, ... 47

Early Settlements, 48

Early Settlers trading with the Natives, . . 50

Captain Smith saved rora death, 55

Landing of the Pilgrims, 66

Visit of Samoset to the English, 67

Interview with Massasoit, 68

Boston founded 73

Settlers emigrating to Connecticut, .... 76

Hooker addressing the Soldiers 79

Gallup finds Oldham murdered, 80

Portsmouth founded, 84

Tailpiece mdian Council, 95

Surrendering of New Amsterdam, .... 97
Charles n. signing Charter for Penn, ... 101

Tailpiece The Maple, 103

Indian Wars, 104

Tailpiece Indian War Dance 108

Tailpiece Savage Barbarities 112

Smith selling Blue Beads to Powhatan, . .115

Pocahontas disclosing a Plot 118

Opecancanough borne to a Massacre, . . .121

Tailpiece Ship before the wind, 124

New England Indian Wars, 125

Governor Winslow s Visit to Massasoit, . . 134
Governor Bradford and the Snake-skin, . . .143
Captain Atherton threatens Ninigret, . . . 149
Captain Mason attacking the Pequod Fort, . . 156

Tailpiece Can anche Wigwam, 160

Philip s War, 161

Flight of Philip from Mount Hope 163

Captain Church and his Men hemmed in, . . 164

Attack on Brookfield, 166

Battle of Muddy Brook, 168

Swamp Fight, 172

Indian Stratagem, 176

Fight near Sudbury, 177

Indians attacked at Connecticut-river Falls, . 180

Defence of Hadley, 182

Philip s Escape, 184

Death of Philip, 185

Capture of Anawon, 188

Burning of Schenectady, 191

Mrs. Dustan saving her Children, 196

Escape of Mrs. Dustan, 197

PAGE.
Tailpiece Round Tower at Rhode Island, . 199

Capture of Mr. Williams, 202

Reduction of Louisburg, 211

Tailpiece Boston Harbor discovered, ... 213

Braddock s Defeat, 219

Battle of Lake George, 222

Destruction of Kittaning, 224

Destruction of the village of St. Francis, . . 230

View of Quebec, 231

Death of Wolfe 235

Tailpiece Peruvian Canoe, &lt;kc 237

The Revolution, 238

Otis in the Council-chamber, 246

Procession at Boston, 249

Attack on the Governor s House, 250

Burning of the Effigy of Governor Colden, . 251
Arrival of the First Man-of-war at Boston, . . 253

Boston Massacre 255

Burning of the Gaspee, 257

Destruction of Tea, 259

Patrick Henry, 262

Tailpiece Falls of St. Anthony 265

Events of the Revolution, 266

Battle of Lexington, 268

Captain Wheeler and the British Officer, . . 269
Retreat of the British from Concord, ... 271

Tailpiece Source of the Passaic, 273

President Langdon at Prayer, 276

Death of Pollard, 277

General Putnam, 278

Interview between Warren and Putnam, . . 279
Putnam saves the life of Major Small, ... 234

Death of Colonel Gardiner, 286

Tailpiece View of Boston, 290

Messengers spreading news, &c 291

Tailpiece Penn laying out Philadelphia, . . 298

Evacuation of Boston, 299

House at Cambridge occupied by Washington, 300

Fortifying Dorchester Heights, 305

Putnam reading Declaration of Independence, 310

John Hancock, 317

Sergeant Jasper re-planting the Flag, ... 328

Tailpiece The Cotton-plant, 332

Battle of Trenton, 347

Tailpiece Cortez landing at St. Juan d Ulloa, 352

General Wayne, 355

Marquis Lafayette, 356

Tailpiece Franklin in Council, 359

Destruction of G allies, 363

Burgoyne s Advance, 366

Burgoyne s Retreat, ::::::::: 3V2
Tailpiece View on the Hudson, : : : : 3^7
American Commissioners and Louis XVI. : : 379
Tailpiece The Genius of Liberty, &c. : : 3PO
The Sloop-of-war Vulture, ::::::: 391
Arnold s Expedition through the Wilderness, 393
General Lincoln, ::::::::.: 394
Death of General Wooster, ::;::: 396

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Arnold and the British Soldier,

General Arnold,

Major Andre,

Interview of Arnold and Wife,

Tailpiece Capture of Major Andre, . . .

Jasper on the Ramparts,

Death of De Kalh

Charge of Colonel Washington,

Battle of Yorktown,

Washington taking leave of the Army, . .
Washington embarking at Whitehall, . .

Tailpiece American Flag,

Naval Operations,

First Naval Engagement of the Revolution, .

Silas Deane,

Randolph and Yarmouth,

Raleigh and Druid,

Jones setting fire to Ships at Wlutehaven, .

Paul Jones,

Le Bon Homme Richard and Serapis, . . .
Sinking of the Bon Homme Richard, . . .
Tailpiece Ship on her Beam-ends, . . . .

Sir Henry Clinton,

Colonel Barre,

Lord Chatham

Charles James Fox,

George Grenville,

Sir Guy Carlton,

Edmund Burke,

Tailpiece Lugger near Shore,

Governments,

Franklin,

Tailpiece Natural Bridge,

George Washington,

Inauguration of Washington,

John Adams,

Tailpiece New York, from the East river,

Thomas Jefferson,

Tailpiece Basket of Flowers,

James Madison

Tippecanoe,

Constitution and Java,

Perry s Victory,

Battle of the Thames

Creek Chiefs surrendering to Gen. Jackson,

Battle of New Orleans,

James Monroe,

Reception of Monroe,

Attack on Lieutenant Scott s Boats, . . .
Taking the Fort at Pensacola, ....
Landing of Lafayette at New York, . .

Lafayette laying Comer-stone, &c

Lafayette at Washington s Tomb, ....

John Q. Adams

Removal of the Creek Indians,

Tailpiece Agricultural Emblem, . . . .

AGE.

. 397

. 401

409
. 414

419
. 425

428
. 410

444
. 446

449
. 450

452
. 454

463
. 465

470
. 472

473
. 479

487
. 494

495
. 500

503
. 506

511
. 5!3

519
. 520

534
. 541

542
. 547

571
. 539

990
. 610

611
. 615

. 641

652

. 656

. 663
665
&lt;568
669

. 670
673

Andrew Jackson,

Martin Van Buren,

Burning of the Caroline

William Henry Harrison,

John Tyler,

James K. Polk,

Surprise of Captain Thornton and his Party,

Charge of Captain May,

American Army in Vera Cruz,

Colonel Harney at Cerro Gordo,

Battle of Churubusco,

Army crossing the National Bridge, ....

Zachary Taylor,

British America,

Tailpiece Indians Hunting in Skins, . . .
Champlain s Interview with the Algonquins, .

Extermination of the Hurons,

Death of Wolfe,

Tailpiece Tampico

Nova Scotia,

Destruction of the Acadians,

Newfoundland,

Tailpiece Vessels in the Offing,

Tailpiece Icebergs

Tailpiece Winter in Lapland,

Mexico,

Marina acting as Interpreter,

Cortez burning his Ships,

Meeting of Cortez and Montezuma, ....

Montezuma on his Throne,

Death of Montezuma,

Noche Triste,

Texans flying to Arms,

Guatemala,

Alvarado marching on Guatemala ....

New Grenada,

Venezuela

Equator,

Tailpiece Peruvian Peasants,

Peru,

Hualpa discovers the Mine of Potosi, . . .

Manco Capac and his Wife,

Valverde addressing Atahualpa,

Pizarro in Cusco,

Bolivia

Tailpiece Mexican Women maldng Bread, .

Chili,

Almagro marching against Chili,

Tailpiece Araucanian Men and Women, .

Buenos Ayres,

Uruguay,

Brazil

Alvarez Cabral discovers Brazil, . ...

Paraguay,

West Indies

JMillard Fillmore .

S&lt;tfZI lifMril
Time stopping ux his course to read the Inscription carved by the Muse of History.

IF it be remarkable that the Western Continent should have
remained unknown for so many centuries to civilized man, it
is, perhaps, still more remarkable that since its discovery and
settlement, it should have become the theatre of so many signal
transactions, and have advanced so rapidly to its present civil,
religious, and political importance. The history of every portion
of it is interesting and instructive ; but more especially that por
tion occupied by the people of the United States. A great work
is in progress throughout the entire continent ; but the importance
of the American Republic, with which our fortunes are more
immediately connected, is becoming apparent with each revolving
year. While, therefore, we propose to make an historical survey
of the several countries both of North and South America, we
shall dwell with greater particularity upon the events which have
signalized our own republican America. If not from her present
population, which, though increasing by a wonderful progression,
is still, in point of numbers, inferior to many other nations ; yet,
from her wealth, her enterprise, her commercial and political
relations, she is entitled to rank among the most powerful and
influential nations on the globe. The eyes of the civilized world

14 INTRODUCTION.

are upon her ; and with wonder, if not with jealousy, do they
mark her rapid and surprising advancement.

The history of such a people must be full of interest. By what
means has her national elevation been maintained? But a little
more than two centuries have elapsed, since the first settlers
planted themselves at Jamestown, in Virginia, and the Pilgrim
Fathers landed on Plymouth Rock. They were then a feeble
band. Before them lay a howling wilderness. An inhospitable
and intractable race rose up to oppose and harass them. The
means of living were stinted and uncertain. Famine pressed upon
them, and weakened them. The winters were cold and piercing.
Their habitations were rude and unprotective. Disease added its
sufferings and sorrows, and death hurried many of the few to an
untimely grave. Yet, amidst accumulated calamity, they gathered
strength and courage. Accessions from the mother-country were
made to their numbers. Other and distant stations were occupied.
The forest fell before them. Towns and villages rose in the
wilderness, and solitary places became glad. Savage tribes
after years of terror, massacre, and bloodshed retired, leaving
the colonists to the peaceful occupancy of the land, in all its
length and breadth.

But they were still a dependant people subject to the laws,
exactions, and oppressions of a proud and arbitrary foreign gov
ernment. That government, jealous of their growing importance,
adopted measures to check their aspirations, and to extend and
perpetuate the prerogatives of the crown. But it was impossible
that a people, sprung from the loins of fathers whose courage and
enterprise had been matured by years of conflict, should be either
crushed, or long thwarted in their plans. Oppressions served
rather to strengthen them; threats prompted to resolution, and
served to inspire confidence. And, at length, they arose to the
assertion and maintenance of their rights. They entered the
field; and for years, with all the fortunes of war apparently
against them, they grappled successfully with the colossal power
of the British empire thwarted her counsels conquered her
armies established their independence.

But a little more than seventy years has America been free
from the British yoke ; yet, in that brief period, her advancement
has outstripped all the predictions of the most sanguine statesmen.

INTRODUCTION. 15

With but three millions of people, she entered the Revolutionary
contest ; she now numbers more than twenty millions. Instead
of thirteen colonies, she embraces thirty free and independent
states. Meanwhile, she has continued to gather national strength
and national importance. Her wealth is rolling up, while her
moral power is becoming the admiration of the world.

These attainments, too, she has made amid convulsions and
revolutions, which have shaken the proudest empires, and spread
desolation over some of the fairest portions of the globe. On
every side are the evidences of her advancement. Genius and
industry are creating and rolling forward with amazing power
and rapidity the means of national wealth and aggrandizement.
An enterprising, ardent, restless population are spreading over
our western wilds, and our cities are now the creations almost
of a day.

But by what means has this national elevation and prosperity
been attained 1 Shall we ascribe them to the wise, sagacious, and
patriotic men, who guided our councils and led our armies ? Shall
we offer our homage and gratitude to WASHINGTON, FRANKLIN,
ADAMS, OTIS, HENRY, JEFFERSON, and a multitude of others, who
periled fortune, liberty, life itself, to achieve our independence,
and lay the foundation of our country s glory ?

Let us do them honor ; and a nation s honor and gratitude will
be accorded to them, so long as the recorded history of their noble
achievements shall last.

Theirs is no vulgar sepulchre: green sods
Are all their monument; and, yet, it tells
A nobler history than pillar d pile,
Or the eternal pyramid. They need
No statue, nor inscription, to reveal
Their greatness.

But, while merited honor is paid to the sages and heroes of the
Revolution, and to the Pilgrim Fathers of an earlier age, let not
the hand of Providence be overlooked or disregarded.

On this point, the Puritans have left a noble example to their
posterity. The supplication of the smiles and blessings of a
superintending Providence preceded and accompanied all their
plans and all their enterprises. " God was their king ; arid they
regarded him as truly and literally so, as if he had dwelt in a

16 INTRODUCTION.

visible palace in the midst of their state. They were his devoted,
resolute, humble subjects ; they undertook nothing which they did
not beg of him to prosper ; they accomplished nothing without
rendering to him the praise ; they suffered nothing without carry
ing up their sorrows to his throne ; they ate nothing which they
did not implore him to bless." Nor were the actors in the Revo
lutionary struggle insensible to the necessity of the Divine blessing
upon their counsels and efforts. Washington, as well at the head
of his army as in the retirement of his closet, or amid some
secluded spot in the field, looked up for the blessing of the God
of battles. That also was a beautiful recognition of a superin
tending Providence, which Franklin made in the Convention,
which, subsequent to the Revolution, framed the Constitution.
" I have lived, sir, a long time," said he ; " and the longer I live,
the more convincing proof I see of this truth, that God governs in
the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground
without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without
his aid?"

Let it be remembered by the American people by men who
fill her councils by historians who write her history by the
young, who are coming up to the possession of the rich inheritance,
that whatever human agencies were employed in the discovery,
settlement, independence, and prosperity of these states, the " good
hand of God has been over and around us," and has given to us
this goodly land, with its religious institutions its free govern
ment its unwonted prosperity.

Let not the historian, who writes especially if he writes for
the young be thought to travel out of his appropriate sphere, in
an effort to imbue the rising generation with somewhat of the
religious spirit of the fathers to lead them to recognise the Divine
government, in respect to nations as well as individuals to impress
upon them that sentiment of the "Father of his country," as just
as impressive, viz : " Of all the dispositions and habits whicji lead
to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable
supports."

" When the children of the Pilgrims forget that Being who was
th^ Pilgrims guide and deliverer " should they ever be so faulty
and unfortunate " when the descendants of the Puritans cease to
acknowledge, and obey, and love that Being, for whose service the

INTRODUCTION. 17

Puritans forsook all that men chiefly love, enduring scorn and
reproach, exile and poverty, and finding at last a superabundant
reward ; when the sons of a religious and holy ancestry fall away
from its high communion, and join themselves to the assemblies
of the profane, they have forfeited the dear blessings of their
inheritance ; and they deserve to be cast out from this fair land,
without even a wilderness for their refuge. No ! let us still keep
the ark of God in the midst of us ; let us adopt the prayer of the
wise monarch of Israel : " The Lord our God be with us, as he
was with our fathers ; let him not leave us nor forsake us ; that
he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and
to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments,
which he commanded our fathers. "

Such a regard for God his laws his institutions, and his service,
is obligatory upon the present generation, aside from those blessings
which may be justly anticipated as the reward of such reverence
and obedience. It is due to the memory of the Pilgrim Fathers.
Never can we so worthily and appropriately honor them, as to
cherish the pious sentiments which they cherished, and perpetuate
the civil and religious institutions which they founded. It is due
to the generation of our Revolutionary era, which, impressed with
a sense of the value of the inheritance transmitted to them, periled
life and fortune that they might transmit that inheritance in all its
fullness and in all its richness to their posterity. We are the
children of patriot heroes, who prayed and then fought, and fought
and then prayed. It is due to ourselves, as we would secure the
admiration and gratitude of the generations which are to follow
us. It is due to those generations which, by the blessing of God,
are to spread over and occupy the vast territory which now con
stitutes the American republic.

Those generations ! I see them rising and spreading abroad, as
future years roll on ! What shall be their character their regard
for civil and religious liberty their peace, order, happiness, and
prosperity, may depend upon the example which we set, and the
principles which we inculcate. We are living and acting not only
for the present, but for the future. We are making impressions
for all time to come. If, then, our history for the future shall be
as our history past filled up with divine blessings, and signal
providential interpositions if the noble work begun, centuries
2

INTRODUCTION.

since, is to go on if the " fullest liberty and the purest religion
are to prevail as time rolls on if this vast continent is to be
inhabited by enlightened and happy millions we, who are now
on the stage of action, must imitate the example of that pilgrim
band, which first landed on Plymouth Rock.

Under the influence of such an example transmitted from gen.
eration to generation, we may hope that our beloved country will
ultimately become, if she is not already,

" The queen of the world, and the child of the skies."

Impressed with the importance of such sentiments himself, the
author will make no apology for offering them as, in his own
view, an appropriate introduction to a work chiefly designed for
the benefit of the rising generation.

PAKT I,

UNITED STATES.

I. EARLY DISCOVERIES.

I. NORTHMEN. Claims for the Northmen Voyage of Biarn6 Leif Thor-

wald Thorfinn Helge and Finnboge.

II. COLUMBUS. Birth and Education of Columbus Unsuccessful application

to several European Courts Patronized by Isabella Sails from Palos
Early Discontent of his crew Expedients by which they are quieted
Discovery of Land First appearance of the Natives Cuba and Hispan-
iola discovered Columbus sets sail on his return Incidents of the voyage
Marks of consideration bestowed upon him Second Voyage Further
Discoveries Complaints against him Third Voyage Discovery of the

20 GREAT EVENTS OP

Continent Persecuted by Enemies sent home in Chains Kindness of
Isabella Fourth Voyage Return and Death.

III. SEBASTIAN CABOT. Discovery of the North American Continent by
Sebastian Cabot.

I. NORTHMEN.

No event, in the history of modern ages, surpasses in
interest the discovery of the American Continent. It has
scarcely any parallel, indeed, in the annals of the world;
whether we consider the difficulty of the undertaking or
the magnitude of its consequences. Without any serious
question, the honor of the discovery belongs solely to
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. Mankind, hitherto, have so
awarded it, and posterity will doubtless confirm the judg
ment. As, however, a claim to a prior discovery by the
Northmen has been brought forward in recent times, it
becomes the impartiality of history to notice it, and to give
such an account of the circumstances on which the claim
is founded, as they may appear to deserve. Whether or
not, at the distance of some four or five centuries, the trans-
Atlantic continent had been discovered by the Scandinavian
voyagers, the merits of the great Italian are far from being
affected by the fact.

The prominent incidents in this alleged ante-Columbian
discovery, it seems, are given on the authority of cer
tain Icelandic manuscripts, the genuineness, and even the
existence of which, have formerly been doubted by many;
but which, there is now reason to suppose, are entitled to
credence. The general story may be received as proba
ble. In the details, there is often something too vague, if
not too extraordinary, to entitle it to any historical import
ance. The adventurous spirit, and even the naval skill ot
the Northmen, are not a matter of doubt with any who are
acquainted with the history of the times to which reference
is here made. The seas and the coasts of Europe were
the scenes of their exploits their piracies, their battles, or
their colonization. According to the Icelandic statements,
Eric the Red, in 986, emigrated from Iceland to Greenland,

AMERICAN HISTORY.

and formed there a settlement. Among his companions
was Herjulf Bardson, who fixed his residence at a place
which was called after him, Herjulfsness. Herjulf had a
son, whose name was Biarne, who, with his father, was
engaged in trading between Iceland and Norway. Biarne
was absent on a trading voyage, when his father accompa
nied Eric, on the emigration of the latter to Greenland.
The son returning to Iceland in a few months, and finding
that Herjulf was absent, sailed in pursuit of him. In the

Northmen leaving Iceland.

course of the sail, having been enveloped in the fogs, he
was carried to some unknown distance; but after the fogs
were dispersed, land was seen. As, however, it did not
answer the description given respecting Greenland, the
party did not steer for it. During a sail of several days,
they came in sight of land at two different times in succes
sion ; and at last, tacking about, and carried by brisk and
favorable winds in a north-west direction, they reached the
coast of Greenland. This tradition of Biarne" s voyage,
allowing it to be authentic, would seem to indicate that he

GREAT EVENTS OF

was carried far down on the coast of America, and passed
on his return the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador.

In consequence of this adventure, and the interest which
the account of it excited, a voyage of exploration was pro
jected, and at length put into effect. It was conducted by
Leif, a son of Eric the Red, an adventurous rover, who
selected a company as adventurous as himself, among whom
was a German named Tyrker. It was in the year 1000 that
the voyage was made. After finding a shore in a direction
similar to that in which Biarne took, they landed, calling the
region Helluland, which was most probably Labrador. It
was an iceberg-lined shore, without grass or verdure. From
this spot they put out to sea, and, steering south, they came
to another coast, low like the first, but covered with thick

Discovery of Labrador.

wood, except the portion immediately skirting the sea, which
consisted of white sand. It was probably Nova Scotia,
named by them, however, Markland, or Woodland. They
pursued their voyage for two days, under the favor of a
north-east wind, when they discovered land for the third
time. Here they disembarked on a part of the coast, which

AMERICANHISTORY. 23

was sheltered by an island. The face of the country was
found to be undulating, covered with wood, and bearing a
growth of fine fruits and berries. Taking to their vessel
again, they proceeded west in search of a harbor, which
they were so fortunate as to find. It was at the mouth
of a river proceeding from a lake. They first made the
river and then the lake; in the latter they cast anchor. In
this spot they erected huts in which to pass the winter.
When thus established, Leif made a division of his com
pany into two parties, for the purpose, on the one hand, of
watching the settlement, and, on the other, of exploring
the country.

In performing the latter service it happened, on one occa
sion, that the German Tyrker, above named, failed to return
at night. After much anxiety and search, he was discovered,
having found during his wanderings a region which afforded
an abundance of grapes. The country, from this incident,
was named Vinland or Wineland. From the mention which
they made of the rising and the setting of the sun, at the
shortest day, it has been inferred that the island was Nan-
tucket, and the region called Vinland embraced the coast
of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They returned to
Greenland the following season.

Thorwald, a brother of Leif, next undertook to make a
voyage, to the newly discovered land beyond the ocean.
This was in 1002. We need not mention the particulars,
but may state generally that the adventurers continued in
Vinland till the year 1004, and that the expedition terminated
unfortunately in the death of Thorwald. He was killed in a
skirmish with certain Esquimaux, with whom the party
came in contact in three several boats. Before breathing
his last, he gave directions as to the spot where they should
inter him. The rest returned to Greenland.

Following this adventure, the third son of Eric, named
Thornstein, embarked with his wife Gudrida, in search of
the body of Thorwald. But he never reached the country.
He was eventually driven back to Greenland, where he died.

24 GREATEVENTSOF

The next expedition seems to have been a project to colo
nize the country. The vessels were three in number, on
board of which one hundred and forty men embarked, who
took with them all kinds of live stock. The leaders on this
occasion were Thorfinn, who married the widow of Thorn-
stein, Biarne* Grimolfson, and Thorhall Gamlason. The
enterprise appears to have been attended with a measure
of success. They erected their tents, and fortified them in
the best manner they were able, as a protection against the
natives. An incident of some interest is mentioned as having
occurred in their trade with the latter. These were eager
for arms, but as they were not suffered to become an article
of barter, one of the natives seized an axe, and, in order to
test its efficacy, struck a companion with it, who was killed

An Incident in the Camp of the Northmen.

on the spot. The affair shocked them exceedingly; but in
the midst of the confusion, the axe having been seized by
one who appeared to be a chief, was critically inspected for
a while, and then violently cast into the sea.

The period of their continuance in Vinland was three

AMERICAN HISTORY. 25

years. They found it a beautiful country, while residing in
it. Thorfinn had a son born to him, whom he named Snorre,
the first child of European descent born on this continent,
the ancestor of many distinguished personages now living.
Among them is the noted sculptor Thorwaldsen. Thorfinn
and a part of his company returned at length to Iceland.
The remainder still continued in Vinland, where they were
afterwards joined by an expedition led by two brothers,
Helge and Finnboge, from Greenland. But this latter
enterprise ended tragically, a large number of the colonists
having been killed in a quarrel, which a wicked female
adventurer in the expedition had excited. A few other
voyages to Vinland, either accidental or designed, were
made by the Northmen during the eleventh and twelfth
centuries, some of them connected with attempts to propa
gate Christianity among the natives, but no interesting
results are spoken of, and the whole project of colonizing
the new region seems to have been not only abandoned,
but to have passed from the minds of men. On the sup
position that the records are true, which in general may be
admitted, the colony could not have had a long continuance,
and it is certain that no remains of it have ever appeared,
unless some questionable accounts of the Jesuists, or the more
questionable inscriptions on Dighton-rock. It was not until
the era of Columbus that the world was awakened to the
enterprise, or even to the thought of discovering land beyond
the Western ocean. Whether he knew or did not know,
respecting the adventures of the Scandinavians in those
northern seas, it is hardly to be supposed that he could have
the remotest conception that the country they called Vin
land was the same as the Indies, which he proposed to reach
by sailing due west. The honor, first of his theory, and then
of his achievement, is therefore, in no degree diminished, by
the facts above narrated, so far as they may be believed to
be facts. He after all stands preeminent among men, as
the discoverer of the new world. It was certainly, at that
period, new to European knowledge and adventure.

GREAT EVENTS O

II. COLUMBUS.

Columbus.

IT is not ascertained in what year the birth of this illustri
ous individual occurred. Some authorities have placed it
in 1446, others have removed it back eight or ten years
farther. As he died in 1506, and was said by Bernaldez, one
of his cotemporaries and intimates, to have departed "in a
good old age of seventy, a little more or less,"* it would
seem, abating the vagueness of the expression, that about
1436 was the period. The place of his birth also has been
a subject of controversy, but the evidence is decidedly in
favor of Genoa. His parentage was humble, though proba
bly of honorable descent. It is generally believed that his
father exercised the craft of a wool-carder or weaver.
Christopher was the eldest of four children, having two
brothers, Bartholomew and Diego, and one sister, who was
obscurely connected in life. In his early youth he was
instructed at Pavia, a place then celebrated for education,

* History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, by Wm. H. Prescott.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 27

and is said there to have acquired that taste for mathematical
studies in which he afterwards excelled. Of geographical
science he was particularly enamored, as it became also
to be the favorite study of an adventurous age. It doubt
less gave a direction, in some measure, to the course which
Columbus pursued in life. At the early age of fourteen
years, he began to follow the seas, and after continuing this
profession for more than sixteen years, he proceeded to
Portugal, the country of maritime enterprise at that era.
Hither the adventurous spirits of Europe repaired, where
they sought their fortunes in this department of business.
Columbus mingled in the exciting scenes of the country
and the times. Sailing from thence, he continued to make
voyages to the various then known parts of the world, and
while on shore, he occupied his time in the construction and
sale of maps and charts. Thus furnished with all the nau
tical science of the times, and with a large fund of experi
ence, he was prepared to enter upon those speculations,
respecting the possibility of lands lying beyond the western
waters, the result of which, 1 when put into practice, proved
to be so auspicious to the interests of mankind. What will
not a single thought, when pursued as it may be, sometimes
effect ! In our hero, it brought to light the existence of a
new world. His single object appeared to be, to find the
eastern shores of Asia, or some unknown tract, by sailing
due west.

How far that idea was original with him, it is not very
material to ascertain. If not the first individual to conceive
it, he was the first to carry it into execution. That land
existed beyond the Atlantic, was a conjecture merely of
the ancients. Seneca comes the nearest to a direct intima
tion, though as a poetic fancy it claims no serious considera
tion. As the idea is given by Frenau, he says:

" The time shall come when numerous years are past,
The ocean shall dissolve the band of things,
And an extended region rise at last:
And Typhis shall disclose the mighty land,

28 GREAT EVENTS OF

Far, far away, where none have roamed before:
Nor shall the world s remotest region be
Gibraltar s rock, or Thul& s savage shore."

Ferdinand Columbus informs us, that his father s conviction
of the existence of land in the west was founded on 1,
natural reason, or the deductions of science; 2, authority of
writers, amounting, however, to vague surmises ; 3, testi
mony of sea-faring persons, or rather popular rumors of
land, described in western voyages, embracing such relics
is appeared to be wafted from over the Atlantic to Europe.
What particular intimations he may have received, either
from authors or sailors, do not appear; since, in his voyage
to Iceland, no mention is made of his having learned the
story of the Scandinavian voyages to the northern portion
of America. It is possible, however, that he may have been
informed of them ; and the reason why no mention was made
by him was, as M. Humboldt conjectures, that he had no
conception that the land discovered by the Northmen had
any connection with the region of which he was in pursuit.
The traditions which he may have met with, and the
speculations of the times, were realized in his view. So
strong was the conviction which had been wrought in his
mind, from whatever cause, he was willing to jeopard life
and fortune to put it to the test of experiment.

With this grand object before him, he first submitted his
theory of a western route to the Indies, to John the Second,
king of Portugal. He met with no countenance from this
quarter. His project, in its vastness, was in advance of the
comprehension of the age. John was not unwilling clan
destinely to avail himself of information communicated to
him by Columbus, but he would enter into no stipulation to
aid him in the enterprise. Leaving the court of Lisbon in
disgust, in the latter part of 1484, Columbus repaired to the
Spanish sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella. The time of
the application was peculiarly unfavorable, as the nation
was then in the midst of the Moorish war, and needed for
its prosecution all the pecuniary resources of the state.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 29

The persons of influence also in the court, were destitute
of those enlarged views, which are essential to a just appre
ciation of the scheme that fired the great mind of Columbus.
With these causes of discouragement, and the submission
of his proposal on the part of the sovereigns to a council
chiefly of ecclesiastics, he had little reason to expect a
favorable issue. After waiting years in the most agitating
suspense and doubt (for the council would come to no
decision), he was preparing to abandon the suit. Pressing
the court for a definite answer at that juncture, they at last
gave him to understand, that his scheme was "vain, imprac
ticable, and resting on grounds too weak to merit the support
of the government." In deep despondency he quitted the
court, and took his way to the south, as if in desperation, to
seek other patronage in other quarters.

From the period of his application to the Spanish court,
to that at which we are now arrived in his history, it would
seem that he made several attempts to interest other dis
tinguished personages in his scheme, particularly the citizens
of his native Genoa; but the early authorities so disagree
among themselves, that the chronology of his movements,
previously to his first voyage, cannot be determined with
precision. It is certain, however, that while in the act of
leaving Spain, probably for the court of the French king,
from whom he had received a letter of encouragement, he
was purposely detained by a friend, Juan Perez, (who had
formerly been a confessor of Isabella,) for the purpose of
trying the effect of another application to the Spanish
sovereigns. This measure, seconded by the influence of
several distinguished individuals, and occurring just at the
triumphant termination of the Moorish war, had well nigh
proved successful at once; but Columbus was again doomed
to disappointment. The single obstacle in the way now,
was not the disinclination of Ferdinand and Isabella, but
what were deemed the extravagant demands of Columbus
himself. He would not consent to engage in the undertaking,
except on the condition that he and his heirs should receive

GREAT EVENTS OF

the title of admiral and viceroy over all lands discovered
by him, with one-tenth of the profits. This demand was the
means of breaking up the negotiations, and that at the moment
when he seemed to be on the point of realizing the visions
which he had fondly indulged, through long years of vexation,
trouble, and disappointment. That he would consent to dash
those bright visions, rather than surrender one of the rewards
due to his service, is, in the language of our Prescott, "the
most remarkable exhibition in his whole life, of that proud,
unyielding spirit which sustained him through so many years
of trial, and enabled him to achieve his great enterprise, in
the face of every obstacle which man and nature had
opposed to it."

E^M.:

Columbus before Ferdinand and Isabella.

Columbus again having turned his back from the scene of
the negotiations, had proceeded only a few leagues distant,
when he was recalled by the royal message. The queen
in the meanwhile had yielded to the dictates of her own
noble and generous nature, having been convinced of the
importance of the enterprise, by the powerful representa-

AMERICAN HISTORY. 31

tions of the friends of our hero. She said at once in answer,
"I will assume the undertaking for my own crown of Castile,
and will pledge my private jewels to raise the necessary
funds, if the means in the treasury should be found inade
quate." The money, however, was furnished by the receiver
of the revenues of Arragon, and subsequently refunded at
the instance of Ferdinand.* The conditions on which
Columbus had insisted, in the event of discovery, were
finally granted. He was constituted by the united sover
eigns, their admiral, viceroy, and governor-general, of all
such countries as he should discover in the Western ocean.
He was to be entitled to one-tenth of the products and
profits, within the limits of his discoveries. These, with
other privileges of a like kind, not necessary to name here,
were settled on him and his heirs for ever. Thus possessing
the royal sanction, Columbus immediately entered upon the
arrangements required to prosecute the voyage. Isabella
urged it forward to the extent of her power. Delay, how
ever, unavoidably occurred, on account of the opposition or
indifference of the local magistrates and the people where
the equipment was to be made. This obstacle was at length
removed, by stern edicts on the part of the government and
by the energy of Columbus. The fleet consisted of three
vessels, one furnished by himself, through the assistance of
his friends, and was to sail from the little port of Palos in
Andalusia. Two of the vessels were caravels that is, light
vessels without decks the other was of a larger burden,
though not amounting even to an hundred tons. How such
craft could survive the waves and storms of the Atlantic, is
one of the marvelous circumstances of the undertaking.
The number of men received on board amounted to one
hundred and twenty. The preparations having been
finished, the undaunted navigator set sail on the morning
of the 3d of August, 1492, having first with his whole crew
partaken of the sacrament.

* History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, by Washington
Irving.

GREAT EVENTS OF

Columbus sets sail

He soon directed his course to the Canary islands, in
consequence of the condition of one of the vessels, called the
Pinta, whose rudder had been found to be unfit for service.
This, after a detention of more than three weeks, was
repaired, and they then, on the 6th of September, proceeded
on their voyage. On the fourth day, land ceased to be in
sight, and now the fearful reality of their condition pressed
upon the minds of the sailors with overpowering weight.
They had been pressed into the service, and from the
beginning were averse to the enterprise. Columbus had
reason, therefore, to expect the open manifestation of dis
content, if not insubordination and mutiny. The first
exhibition of their feelings, upon losing sight of land, was
that of alarm and terror. Many of them shed tears, and
broke out into loud lamentations all before them seemed
to be mystery, danger, and death. It was by no means
easy to quell their fears, and it required all the address of
the admiral to effect it. Their minds were, in a degree,
soothed for that time by the promises of land and riches,
which he addressed to their wants or their cupidity. Every

AMERICANHISTORY. 33

unusual incident, however, on the voyage, was calculated to
awaken their gloomy and distressing apprehensions, such as
the sight of a part of a mast, when they had sailed some
one hundred and fifty leagues, and the variation of the
needles. The former presented to their imagination the
probable wreck of their own frail barks. The variation of
the needle created surprise even in the mind of the admiral,
but to his crew the circumstance seemed perfectly terrific.
They felt as if the very laws of nature were undergoing a
change, and the compass was about to lose its virtues and
its power, as a guide over the waste of waters. Columbus,
however, by ascribing the variation of the needle to the
change of the polar-star itself, satisfied the minds of his
pilots, inasmuch as they entertained a high opinion of his
knowledge of astronomy. The distance at which they were
every day carried from their homes, was a source of accu
mulating uneasiness. Every sort of superstitious fear was
indulged in. One while, the prevalence of winds from the
east, excited their apprehensions that a return to Spain was
impracticable. At another time, the slight south-west breezes
and frequent calms, causing the ocean to seem like a lake of
dead water, made them feel that they were in strange regions,
where nature was out of course, and all was different from
that to which they had been accustomed. Here they
thought they might be left to perish, on stagnant and bound
less waters. Now, they seemed to themselves to be in danger
of falling on concealed rocks and treacherous quicksands
then, of being inextricably entangled in vast masses of sea
weed which lay in their path. Although Columbus had
contrived to keep his men ignorant of the real distance they
had come, yet the length of time could but tell them that they
must be far, very far from country and home, and that their
ever going on to the west, would at length place the east
too remote from them to hope ever reaching it. They had
been occasionally cheered with what were deemed indications
of their proximity to land, such as the flying of birds about
their fleet, the patches of weeds and herbs covering the
3

34 GREATEVENTSOF

surface of the water, and a certain cloudiness in the distant
horizon, such as hangs over land ; but these had proved falla
cious ; and the higher hope was raised by such appearances,
the deeper was its fall when the appearances passed away.

This state of things led to murmurs and discontent, and
at one time, the crew were on the point of combining in
open and desperate rebellion. The power which the great
admiral possessed over the minds of men, was never more
signalized, than in putting down this spirit of insubordina
tion and mutiny. He was perfectly aware of their inten
tions, but preserved a serene and steady countenance. He
seemed intuitively to understand in what way to address
himself to the different portions of his company. Some, he
soothed with gentle words. Of others, he stimulated the
pride or avarice, by the offers of honors and rewards. The
most refractory he openly menaced with condign punish
ment, should they make the slightest attempt at impeding
the voyage.

After the experience of long-continued calms, the wind
sprang up in a favorable direction, and they were enabled
efficiently to prosecute their voyage. This was on the
25th of September, and the vessels sailing quite near to
each other, a frequent interchange of conversation took
place on the subject most interesting to them their prob
able position as to land. In the midst of it, a shout from the
Pinta was heard on board the Santa Maria, the admiral s
ship, "Land, land!" the signal pointing to the south-west.
Columbus, who had found cause on other occasions to dis
sent from the opinions of his men, gave way, in this instance,
to the joyful feelings which were at once excited in their
bosoms: but it proved, at length, that what appeared to be
land, was nothing more than an evening cloud of a peculiar
kind. Thus were their hopes dashed, and nothing remained
for them but to press onward. Fain would the crew have
turned back upon their course, but the commander was
sternly resolute on realizing his magnificent project, and
pressed forward still deeper into mid-ocean.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 35

It is a necessary explanation of the character of this
extraordinary man, that he appeared all along to view him
self under the immediate guardianship of Heaven, in this
solemn enterprise. He consequently felt few or none of
the misgivings which so strongly affected his associates.
For several days longer they continued on, till on the 1st of
October, they had advanced more than seven hundred
leagues since the Canary islands were left behind. Again
the murmurs of the crew were renewed, but, in this instance,
became soon hushed by increasing tokens of their near
ness to land. Indeed, so sanguine were they on the subject,
that on the 7th of October, on board of the Nina, land was
again announced. But it proved a delusion, and all except
Columbus were ready to abandon hope. At the end of three
days more, they saw the sun, after renewed appearances
betokening their neighborhood to land, go down upon a
shoreless horizon. At this time the turbulence of the crew
became clamorous they insisted upon turning homeward,
and abandoning the voyage as a forlorn hope. The com
mander now, after trying to pacify them by kind words
and large promises, and trying in vain, arose in the majesty
of his undaunted heart, and gave them to understand that
all murmuring would be fruitless, and that, with God s bless
ing, he would accomplish the purpose for which his sover
eigns had sent him on a voyage of discovery. Fortunately,
at this juncture, when the conduct of Columbus had become
nearly desperate, the indications of neighboring land could
not be mistaken. Besides fresh weed, the limb of a tree,
a reed, and a small board, they picked up an artificially
carved staff. Soon despondency and rebellion gave way
to hope, and, throughout the day, every person on board of
the little fleet was on the watch for the long-wished-for land.

The following evening was a time of intense anxiety to
Columbus. He could but infer that he was near to the goal
of his adventures and his hopes. But was it so indeed ? That
was the question, and it must now be soon decided. Would
the n ght reveal it to him? Would its discoveries settle

GREAT EVENTS OF

for ever the truth of his theory, and bring to him the immor
tal honor which he sought, as the end of all his toil and
suffering? Taking his station in a conspicuous part of his
vessel, he maintained an intense and unremitting watch.
A few hours only had transpired, when suddenly he thought
he beheld a light glimmering at a great distance. One and
another was called to examine the appearance, in order to
confirm the commander in his impression, if indeed it was
correct. They gave their opinion in the affirmative. Soon,
however, the light disappeared, and few attached any im
portance to it, except Columbus. They pursued their course
until two in the morning, when from the Pinta, which gener
ally sailed ahead, the thundering signal was heard, the order

First sight of land from Columbus ship.

being that a gun should be fired as soon as land hove in
sight. It was indeed land at this time. It lay before them,
now dimly seen, about two leagues distant. The joy which
Columbus and his crew felt at the sight, surpasses the power
of description. It is difficult, even for the imagination, to
conceive the emotions of such a man, in whose temperament

AMERICAN HISTORY. 37

a wonderful enthusiasm and unbounded aspiration prevailed,
at the moment of so sublime a discovery. Utterance was
given to his intense feelings by tears, and prayers, and
thanksgivings.

It was on the morning of Friday, 12th of October, 1492,
that Columbus first saw the new world. A beautiful, fra
grant, verdure-crowned island lay before him, and evidently
populous, for the inhabitants were seen darting, in great
numbers, through the woods, to the shore. That green
house appearance, which the^egions within the tropics are
known generally to assume, together with the purity and
blandness of the atmosphere, struck the senses of the voy
agers, as though it had been Eden itself. They could give
vent to their feelings only in tears of gratitude in prayers
and praises to God, who had conducted them to such happy
destinies. Having made the necessary preparations, Co
lumbus landed with his crew on the delightful shore, in an
ecstasy of joy and devotion, taking possession of the whole
region in the name of his sovereigns, and calling the island
San Salvador. It proved to be one of what has since
been known as the Bahama islands.

The conduct and appearance of the natives were such as
to show that the Spaniards had no reason to fear their hos
tility or treachery. Simple, harmless, naked, and unarmed,
they seemed rather to be at the mercy of their visitors.
Equally timid and curious, they were at first shy; but being
encouraged to approach the strangers, they at length became
entirely familiar with them, and received presents with
expressions of the highest delight. The new comers to
their shores were thought to have dropped from the skies,
and the articles bestowed were received as celestial pres
ents. All was a scene of wonder and amazement indeed
to both parties.

As Columbus supposed himself to have landed on an
island at the extremity of India, he gave to the natives the
general appellation of Indians, by which, as a distinct race,
they have ever since been known.

GREAT EVENTS OF

After having noticed the features of the new-found island
sufficiently, and learned what he was able from the natives
in respect to other lands or islands, and particularly in
respect to the gold they might contain, he explored the
archipelago around, touched at several of the groups, and
finally discovered the larger and more distant islands of Cuba

Interview of Columbus with the Natives of Cuba.

and Hispaniola. Many interesting adventures occured dur
ing his sojourn among these islands, in his intercourse with
the natives, upon which we cannot enlarge. Suffice it to
say, that he succeeded according to his wishes in conciliating
the affections of the people, and in the extent of his discov
eries for the first voyage, but found a less amount of gold
than he expected, and was unfortunate in the shipwreck of
the Santa Maria, the principal vessel. His trials, also, with
several of his subordinates in office, were severe ; as, on
more than one occasion, they proved unfaithful to his inter
ests and disobedient to his commands.

It was on the 4th of January, 1493, that Columbus set
sail for Spain. He left a part of his men in the island of
Hispaniola (Hayti, in the language of the original inhabit-

AMERICAN HISTORY.

ants), to occupy a fort he had built near a harbor, which
he had named La Navidad. While coasting on the east
ern side of the island, he met the Pinta, which had for
a time, under its disaffected captain, deserted from him.
Joined by this vessel again, they proceeded homeward
on their voyage; but they met with tempests, which their
frail barks were little able to encounter. The Pinta, being
separated from the Nina, was supposed to have been lost;
but this proved to have befl^fc^lriistake, as she reached
Spain nearly at the same ^hie with the other caravel.
At the time of their greatest extremity, when all hope
of safety had departed, Columbus, anxious that the knowl
edge of his discovery might be communicated to the world,
wrote a brief account of his voyage; and having prop
erly secured it in a barrel, committed the latter to the

Columbus casting a barrel into the sea.

ocean, in the hope that it might afterwards be found, should
he and his crew never see land again.* But they were

* It gives an interesting view of the depth of Columbus solicitude and grief,
as well as of the peculiar spirit by which he was actuated in his great enterprise,
to learn the following from his own pen, in a letter to his sovereign: "I could

40 GREATEVENTSOF

mercifully preserved, as the storm at length subsided, and,
within a few days, they reached the island of St. Mary s,
one of the Azores.

While he was at that island, where he had sought a refuge
for his weaned men and his own over-tasked body and mind,
he encountered a species of persecution most disgraceful
to civilized society. It was the result of the mean malignity
of the Portuguese, who were piqued that the honor of the
discovery should not hawflfei secured for themselves, and
was manifested by the imprisonment of a portion of his crew,
and other vexatious treatment. At length, regaining his men,
he set sail for home; but, meeting with tempestuous weather,
he was forced to take shelter in the Tagus. Here astonish
ment and envy seemed to be equally excited by the knowl
edge of his discoveries; and, could certain courtiers of the
monarch have had their own way, the great adventurer

have supported this evil fortune with less grief, had my person alone been in
jeopardy, since I am debtor for my life to the Supreme Creator, and have at
other times been within a step of death. But it was a cause of infinite sorrow
and trouble to think, that after having been illuminated from on high with faith
and certainty to undertake this enterprise ; after having victoriously achieved it,
and when on the point of convincing my opponents and securing to your highness
great glory and vast increase of dominion, it should please the Divine Majesty
to defeat all by my death. It would have been more supportable also, had I not
been accompanied by others, who had been drawn on by my persuasions, and
who in their distress cursed not only the hour of their coming, but the fear
inspired by my words, which prevented their turning back as they had at various
times determined. Above all, my grief was doubled when I thought of my two
sons, whom I had left in school at Cordova, destitute in a strange land, without
any testimony of the services rendered by their father, which, if known, might
have inclined your highness to befriend them. And although, orr the one hand,
I was comforted by a faith, that the Deity would not permit a work of such
great exaltation to his church, wrought through so many troubles and contra
dictions, to remain imperfect ; yet, on the other hand, I reflected on my sins, for
which he might intend, as a punishment, that I should be deprived of the glory
which would redound to me in this world." It is ever to be kept in mind, that
Columbus had the most exalted ideas of the effect of his discoveries on the
extension of Christianity. Connected with this pious motive, was the question
able one of consecrating the wealth hence to be derived to the rescue of the
holy sepulchre, a project which he had contemplated. This faith or enthusiasm
runs through the whole tissue of his strange and chequered life.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 41

would have been stricken down by the hand of the assassin.
So black a deed of treacherous villany had been advised.
The king, however, treated him with generosity, and Colum
bus being dismissed with safety, soon found himself entering
the harbor of Palos, just seven months and eleven days since
his departure from that port.

His arrival in Spain excited the most lively feelings of
astonishment, joy, and gratitude. The nation was swayed
by one common sentiment of admiration of the man and
his exploits. Ferdinand and Isabella, who seemed to derive
so much glory from his success, most of all participated in
this sentiment. He was the universal theme, and most
amply was he indemnified by the honors now bestowed upon
him, and the enthusiasm with which he was every where
welcomed, for all the neglect and contumely he had pre
viously suffered, as a supposed insane or fanatical projector.
His progress through Spain was like the triumphal march
of a conqueror. But it is impossible, within the limited
compass of this narrative, to present any thing like an ade
quate idea of the sensation which was produced throughout
the nation and Europe at large, by the events that had thus
transpired, or to enumerate the hundreth part of the marks
of consideration, which "the observed of all observers"
received from prince and peasant from the learned and
ignorant. The government confirmed anew to him all the
dignities, privileges, and emoluments for which he had
before stipulated, and others were added to them. But to
Columbus, the most satisfactory consideration accorded to
him by his sovereigns at this time, was the request to
attempt a second voyage of discovery. For this, the prep
arations were on a scale commensurate to the object
in view.

The complement of the fleet amounted to fifteen hundred
souls. Among these were many who enlisted from love of
adventure or glory, including several persons of rank, hidal
gos, and members of the royal household. The squadron
consisted of seventeen vessels, three of which were of one

42 GREATEVENTSOF

hundred tons burden each. With a navy of this size, so
strongly contrasting with that of his former voyage, he
took his departure from the Bay of Cadiz on the 25th of
September, 1493. He sailed on a course somewhat south
of west, instead of due west as before, and after being upon
the sea one month and seven days, he came to a lofty island,
to which he gave the name of Dominica, from having dis
covered it on Sunday. The liveliest joy was felt by the
numerous company, and devout thanks were returned to
God for their prosperous voyage.

Sad reverses, however, awaited the great commander
during this voyage of discovery. The garrison which he
had left on the island of Hispaniola had disappeared, and
the natives seemed less favorably disposed towards the
white man than at first a change which probably accounts
for the fate of the garrison. Columbus, indeed, added other
islands to the list of those before known, planted stations
here and there on the principal island above named, and
showed his usual unequaled energy and skill in the conduct
of the expedition. But, as he could not be every where at
once, his absence from a place was the sure signal of mis
rule and insubordination among that class of adventurers
who had never been accustomed to subjection or labor.
His cautious and conciliating policy in the treatment of the
natives was abandoned, where he could not be present to
enforce it, and, the consequence was, that they were aroused
to resentment, on account of the injuries inflicted upon them.
The treatment of the female natives, on the part of the
colonists, was of that scandalous character calculated to
produce continual broils and collisions. Eventually, a fierce
warlike spirit was excited among portions of this naturally
gentle and timid people; but they proved to be unequal to
the civilized man, with the superior arms and discipline of
the latter, in hostile encounter, and were driven before him
as the leaves of autumn before a storm. There was such
a war of extermination, that, in less than four years after
the Spaniards had set foot on the island of Hispaniola, one-

AMERICAN HISTORY. 43

third of its population, amounting probably to several hun
dred thousand, was destroyed.

Complaints were made by the colonists against the admin
istration of Columbus, so that eventually he felt the necessity
of returning home to vindicate his proceedings. Ferdinand
and Isabella, however, took no part with the malcontents
against him. They treated him with marked distinction ;
but it was evident that with the novelty of his discoveries,
the enthusiasm of the nation had passed away. It was
generally felt to be a losing concern. The actual returns
of gold and other products of the new world were so
scanty, as to bear no proportion to the outlays.

A third expedition was projected, and after various hin
drances, arising from the difficulty of meeting the expense,
and the apathy of the public, Columbus took his departure
from the port of St. Lucas, May 30, 1498. Proceeding in
a still more southerly direction than before, on the 1st of
August following, he succeeded in reaching terra firma.
He thus entitled himself to the glory of discovering the
great southern continent, for which he had before prepared
the way.

It is not necessary to detail the events of this expedition,
except to say, that it proved a source of untold evil and
suffering to the veteran navigator. After his arrival at
Hispaniola, he was involved in inextricable difficulties with
the colonists, the final result of which was, that he was
sent home in chains. This shocking indignity was the
unauthorized act of a commissioner, named Boadilla, sent
out by the government to adjust the differences that had
taken place. The king and queen of Spain thus became
unwittingly the cause of his disgrace. This was too much
for the kind and generous feelings of the queen in par
ticular. Columbus was soothed by the assurances of her
sympathy and sorrow for his trials. "When he beheld the
emotion of his royal mistress, and listened to her consolatory
language, it was too much for his loyal and generous heart;
and, throwing himself on his knees, he gave vent to his

GREAT EVENTS OF

feelings, and sobbed aloud."* As an indication of the con
tinued confidence of the king and queen in his fidelity,
wisdom, and nautical skill, they proposed to him a fourth
voyage. To this he assented, with some reluctance at first ;
but, cheered by their assurances, he quitted the port of
Cadiz on the 9th of March, 1502, with a small squadron of
four caravels. This was his last voyage, and more disas
trous than any which preceded it. Among other misfor
tunes, he was wrecked on the island of Jamaica, where he
was permitted to linger more than a year, through the
malice of Ovando, the new governor of St. Domingo. On
his return, the 7th of November, 1504, after a most perilous
and tedious voyage, he was destined to feel the heaviest
stroke of all, in the death of his most constant and liberal
supporter, the queen ; and, with her death, to fail of that
public justice which he had looked for as the crown of all
his labors, hardships, and sacrifices. The king^ always
wary and distrustful, though he treated Columbus with high
public consideration, seems to have regarded him "in the
unwelcome light of a creditor, whose demands were never
to be disavowed, and too large to be satisfied." The great
discoverer lived only a year and a half after his return ;
and, though poorly compensated by the king in his last
days, he bore his trials with patience, and died on the 5th
of May, 1506, in the most Christian spirit of resignation.

* Prescott s History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 45

III. SEBASTIAN CABOT.

ALTHOUGH the evidence of history establishes the claim
of Columbus, as the first discoverer of the new world,
including in that term the West Indian archipelago, yet
there were other meritorious voyagers, who extended the
knowledge of these new regions, thus laid open to mankind.
Others there were, who, stimulated by his success, and fol
lowing his steps, enlarged the boundaries of geographical
science even beyond the actual discoveries ol Columbus.
Among these voyagers was the admirable Sebastian Cabot,
whose merits have never been fully acknowledged as they
deserved to be, having been overlooked, in a measure,
through the greater admiration bestowed on his predecessor.
He belonged to a family distinguished for their spirit of
adventure, as his father before him was an eminent navi
gator, and he was associated with two brothers, apparently
possessing the same love of a sea-faring life. The father
of Sebastian was an Italian, but the son was born in Bris
tol, England, in 1477. The family was fitted out with five
ships, for the purpose of discovery, by the English govern
ment, who granted a patent, under date of March 6th, 1496,
to John Cabot, the father, as leader of the expedition. He
was, however, rather the overseer or adviser of the con
cern, than the leader. The real conductor of it was Sebas
tian, who, through his modesty, failed to secure for himself
that consideration from the world which was his due.

His object, like that of Columbus, was to find a passage to
India; but not in the direction which the latter took. The
idea which possessed the mind of Cabot was, that India
might be reached by sailing north-west. He left Bristol in
the spring of 1497, and on the 24th of June, in pursuing his
course, he came unexpectedly, and to his disappointment, in
sight of land, and was thus impeded as to his progress in
that direction. It was the North American continent which
he had approached. The land seen was the coast of Lab-

46 GREATEVENTSOF

rador, as also an island that received the name of St. John s
island, from the day on which it was discovered. Cabot
has recorded, in all simplicity, how the affair happened.
He supposed himself to be on the direct route to India,
"but, after certayne dayes," said he, "I found that the land
ranne towards the north, which was to mee a great dis
pleasure." St. John s island he describes as "full of white
bears, and stagges far greater than the English." From
this point he steered his course towards the bay since called
Hudson s bay; but, after several days sailing, he yielded
to the discontent of the crew, and returned to England.

Cabot conducted a second expedition, which sailed from
Bristol in 1498. He reached Labrador again, where he
left a portion of his crew, in order to commence a colony,
while he proceeded on his voyage. But success did not
reward his attempt, and, on his return to Labrador, he
found the colonists, from the sufferings they had experienced
in that cold and sterile region, clamorous for a return. He
accordingly submitted to their demands, and, laying his
course to the south as far as the Cape of Florida, he
recrossed the ocean. The notes which he took of his
voyage have unhappily been lost.

In 1517 he was again employed, in an expedition from
England; but though he penetrated, to about the sixty-seventh
degree of north latitude, and entered Hudson s bay, giving
names to various places in the vicinity, he was compelled to
return, through the cowardice of an officer high in command,
Sir Thomas Pert, and the disaffection of the crew. They
had not the spirit to encounter the rigor and privations of
the climate.

Notwithstanding these and his subsequent services for his
country, he was suffered in the end to fall into poverty and
neglect. His life was filled with adventures and changes.
For several years he was employed in the service of the
king of Spain, and during one of the expeditions on which
he was sent from that country, he made the important dis
covery of the Rio de la Plata. He occasionally returned

AMERICAN HISTORY. 47

to England, and at length made it his resting-place. Gloom
overshadowed his latter days. His pension, at the accession
of Mary, was suspended fur two years, and, though restored,
it was diminished the one-half. He survived to a great age,
being over eighty years, dying as is supposed in London, but
when no record shows. Not the slightest memorial points
out the place of his sepulture.

It is quite certain that the date of Cabot s discovery of
the Western continent is more than one year anterior to that
of Columbus, the latter having reached the southern portion
of it August 1st, 1498, while Cabot reached the northern
portion June 24th, 1497. Amerigo Vespucci, who has
carried away the honor of giving name to the continent, did
not reach it until nearly two years after the English adven
turer. But Columbus, in his first voyage, having ascertained
the existence of regions beyond the Atlantic, became in
effect the earliest and real discoverer. Except for his sub
lime theory and adventurous experiment, the age, probably,
would not have furnished a Sebastian Cabot or an Amerigo
Vespucci.

GREAT EVENTS OF

II. EARLY SETTLEMENTS

I. VIRGINIA, OR SOUTHERN COLONY.

UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO SETTLE AMERICA Expeditions of Sir Humphrey
Gilbert Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Richard Grenville Sir John White
First permanent settlement at Jamestown Colonists early in want Dis
sensions in their Councils Hostility of the Indians Capture of Captain
Smith Generous conduct of Pocahontas Gloomy condition of the Colony
Timely arrival of assistance Returning prosperity Establishment of a
Provisional government Introduction of Negro Slavery Cruel Massacre
of the Colonists.

WHEN the new world, as America has since been famil
iarly called, was opened to the enterprise and cupidity of
Europeans, it became an object to effect settlements in it
from time to time. Accordingly, during a period of more
than one hundred years from the discovery of San Sal
vador by Columbus, attempts were made for this purpose,
either by adventurers in search of other discoveries, or by
expeditions fitted out to occupy regions already known. So
far, however, as the northern portion of the continent was
concerned, these attempts proved entirely without success

AMERICAN HISTORY. 49

There was no want of excitement and effort at this remark
able era, on the part of individuals. The strange story of
the voyages of Columbus awakened the spirit of adventure
in Europe, as it was never felt before. Vessel after vessel,
and fleet after fleet, were despatched to the new-discovered
continent, but the object in view was rather to find gold
than a home ; and even where the latter was sought, the
preparations were either inadequate, or the undertaking
was indifferently contrived and managed. Sebastian Cabot,
who discovered Newfoundland; James Cartier, who first
entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence; Ferdinand de Soto,
who first ascertained the existence of the Mississippi; Sir
Walter Raleigh, among the earliest adventurers to Virginia,
and Bartholomew Gosnold, to whom Cape Cod was first
known, and all of whom attempted settlements for a longer
or shorter period, were unsuccessful, and disappointed in the
end. The English were not thoroughly engaged in the
business of colonizing America, until the latter part of the
sixteenth century, when several successive attempts were
made to settle Virginia. The first expedition was conducted
by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who failed in his object, having
never reached Virginia; and being shipwrecked, perished
with all his crew on the return voyage to England. In
1584, the enterprise was confided to the auspices of Sir
Walter Raleigh, who, in the spring of that year, despatched
two small barks, under the command severally of Amidas
and Barlow. After going much farther south than was
necessary, and experiencing the sickness incident to the
season, they proceeded northerly till they made a harbor,
taking possession of the adjoining land, "for the queen s
most excellent majestie," and in a short time afterward came
to the island of Roanoke. Nothing was effected by this
voyage, except a little trafficking with the natives, and the
favorable account which was given of the country, upon the
return of the expedition. In the third expedition, which
was conducted by Sir Richard Grenville, under Sir Walter,
in 1585, a company was landed on Roanoke, consisting ot
4

50 GREATEVENTSOF

one hundred and eight persons, who, upon the return of the
ship, were left to settle the country. But being reduced to
extremities for want of sustenance, and by the hostility of
the Indians, they all returned to England the next year with
Sir Francis Drake. In the mean while, 1585, Sir Walter
Raleigh and his associates made a voyage to Virginia,
taking supplies for the colony ; but after spending some time
in the country, and not finding the colonists, they returned
to England.

Early Settlers trading with the Natives.

In the earlier attempts at settlement, after the spirit of
conquest and adventure had been somewhat satiated, the
object in view, so far as the English were engaged in
it, was the acquisition of tributary provinces, and the
wealth which they would bring to the parent states. In
this line of policy, England but followed the example of
Spain and Portugal, yet with far less energy, and with no
manner of success. The signal failures that were expe
rienced turned attention, at length, to more sober and
rational projects to regular colonization and commerce.
But the success, even here, was quite indifferent for several
years. Mercenary views obtained the precedence. That

AMERICAN HISTORY. 51

moral heroism, which submits to any extremity of toil and
self-denial for the objects of religious faith, could not be
summoned to the support of these merely secular adven
tures. So far as colonization was calculated upon as a
source of wealth directly, it did not feel the influence of
a self-sustaining motive. It needed, as will soon be seen,
other views of colonization, to render the scheme com
pletely successful, in regions remote from tropical riches
and luxuries. What more might have been done to insure
success, had the kings and princes of Europe been at
leisure to prosecute the object with the means in their
power, is not now to be ascertained. It is clear, from the
history of the times, that they could ill afford the necessary
leisure, in consequence of the multiplicity and weight of
their own individual concerns. Wars, negociations, schemes
of policy, and the adjustment of ecclesiastical relations,
occupied the rulers of England and France, as also Ger
many and nearly all the continent, almost exclusively
through the sixteenth century. Of that which was achieved
in the way of discovery and temporary settlement, in the
northern portion of the American continent, much was left
to individual enterprise and resources; and the universal
failure of permanent colonization was almost the unavoid
able result, connected, indeed, with the mercenary motive
and bad management with which it was prosecuted.

The first settlement of a permanent character, effected
by the English in North America, was at Jamestown, in
Virginia, in 1607. To that portion of the continent, as has
been just detailed, more numerous and vigorous efforts at
settlement had been directed than to any other on the
coast, and with what results has also appeared. No one can
read the account of these early and unfortunate attempts to
settle our country, without deeply lamenting the fate of
those brave adventurers who were engaged in them. In
the Virginia enterprise, religion and its blessings were not
the direct moving influences on the minds of the adven
turers ; but they were a gallant and public spirited class of

52 GREAT EVENTS OF

the English people, and many of them of the better orders
of society.

Their failure, however, did not check the spirit of enter
prise ; a settlement was determined on, and it was provi
dentially effected. Under the sanction of a grant from
King James, of the southern equal half of the territory
lying between the thirty-fourth and forty-fifth degrees of
latitude, an association was constituted, called the London
Company, who undertook the colonization of their portion
of the country. This was called the Southern Colony.
The expedition consisted of three small vessels, under the
command of Captain Christopher Newport, a man of great
nautical experience. Neither they who were designed for
the magistracy, nor the code of laws, could be known until
the arrival of the fleet in Virginia, when the sealed orders,
committed to the commander, might be broken. It would
seem, from the early accounts, that a portion of the emi
grants were but little influenced by the considerations of
religion or propriety, from the disorders that occurred during
the voyage ; but their pious preacher, Mr. Hunt, at length,
" with the water of patience and his godly exhortations (but
chiefly by his true-devoted examples) quenched these flames
of envy and dissension."

In searching for Roanoke, they were driven by a storm
to a different part of the coast; the first land they made
being a cape, which they called Cape Henry. Thus dis
covering and sailing up the Chesapeake bay, they came, at
length, to a place suited to their purpose. Here they com
menced in earnest their great work of settlement, calling
the place Jamestown, in honor of King James. According
to directions, the box containing the orders was opened, and
the names of Bartholomew Gosnold, John Smith, Edward
Wingfield, Christopher Newport, John Radcliffe, John Mar
tin, and George Kendall, were found as constituting the
council. These were to choose a president from among
themselves, for a y^ear, who, with the council, should con
duct and govern the colony. Mr. Wingfield was elected

AMERICAN HISTORY. 53

president, while one of the most distinguished of them,
Captain John Smith, on account of suspicions entertained
respecting his ambitious views, was excluded, for a time,
from the council. The plan of government was, that
matters of moment were to be examined by a jury, but
determined by the major part of the council, in which the
president had two votes.

While erecting accommodations for themselves, and
during the absence of a portion of the men on discoveries
in the country, they were molested by the savages, with
some small loss, and were in danger of total extirpation,
"had it not chanced that a crosse-barre, shot from the ships,
stroke down a bough from a tree amongst them (the sav
ages), that caused them to retire." These, it seems, on
other occasions, after troubling the planters, " by the nim-
bleness of their heeles, escaped." What with labor by day,
and watching by night with felling trees, and planting the
ground with resisting hostile attacks, reloading ships, and
effecting governmental business the settlers found their
hands and their hearts fully, and often painfully, occupied.
Several weeks were spent in this manner, and after adjust
ing their disputes, and receiving Smith into the council,
with a handsome remuneration for the wrong he had
received, they all partook of the Holy Communion, the
savages at the same time desiring peace with them. On
the 15th of June, 1607, Captain Newport returned to
England with the intelligence of their success, leaving in
Virginia one hundred emigrants.

The departure of Newport was the signal for want, and
an increase of their difficulties. While the vessels were
with them, provisions, at some rate, were to be had; but
after they left, "there remained neither taverne, beere-house,
nor place of reliefe, but the common kettell. Had we beene
as free from all sinne as gluttony and drunkenness, we might
have been cannonized for saints we might truly call it (the
damaged grain) so much bran than corne, our drink was
water, our lodgings castles in the air: with this lodging and

54 GREAT EVENTS OF

diet, our extreme toil, in bearing and planting pallisadoes,
so strained and bruised us, and our continual labor, in the
extremity of the heat, had so weakened us, as were cause
sufficient to have made us miserable in our native country,
or any other place in the world."* This was truly a hard
lot through the summer they lived on the products of the
sea. During that time, they buried fifty of their number.
At the point, however, of their greatest scarcity, they were
happily supplied with fruit and provisions by the Indians.

Their difficulties were greatly increased by the perverse-
ness or incapacity of several of their council. In this body,
changes and deposals took place from time to time, until the
management of every thing abroad, fell into the hands of
Captain Smith. Of this extraordinary man, much might be
related,were there space ; but we can pursue only the course
of events as they occurred in the settlement of this country.
In the mean while, by his energy and example in labor,
"himselfe alwayes bearing the greatest taske for his own
share," he set the men effectually to work in providing for
themselves comfortable lodgings. This done, the necessity
of procuring a more permanent supply of provisions, and of
receiving the friendship of the natives, or subjecting them
to the power of the colonists, engaged him for a period in
the most daring projects. In this, he passed through a
wonderful vicissitude of fortune the colony in the mean
while sustaining a precarious existence, by means of the dis
sensions that prevailed, the hostility of the Indians, and the
sickness that wasted the whites. On one occasion, while
exploring the country, after he left his boat, and was pro
ceeding in company with two Englishmen, and a savage for
his guide, he was beset with two hundred savages. The
Englishmen were killed; the savage he tied to his arm with
his garter, using him as a buckler. Smith was soon wounded
and taken prisoner ; but not until he had killed three of the
Indians. The fear inspired by his bravery checked their

* Smith s History of Virginia.

AMERICAN HISTORY.

advance, till he sunk to the middle in a miry spot which
was in his way, as he retreated backward. Even then they
dared not come near him, till, being nearly dead with cold,
he threw away his arms. Upon being taken, he presented
to their king a round ivory compass, which was the means
of saving him from instant death. Just as they were
preparing to pierce him with their arrows, the chief, lifting
the compass, they all laid down their bows and arrows, at
the same time releasing him from his pitiable situation.

Smith saved from Death.

At length he was brought to Powhatan, their emperor.
It soon became evident that they were preparing to put
him to death after their peculiarly fantastic and barbarous
ceremonies. A long consultation was held, and the conclu
sion was, "two great stones were brought before Powhatan,
then as many as could lay hands on him dragged him to
them, and thereon laid his head ; and being ready with their
clubs to beate out his brains, Pocahontas, the king s dearest
daughter, when no entreaty could prevail, got his head into
her armes, and laid her owne upon his, to save him from
death: whereat the emperor was contented he should live."

Friendship with the whites soon followed this event.
Smith was taken to Jamestown by his guides, and contracts

56 GREATEVENTSOF

were made with the Indians by means of presents, which
secured a portion of their territory to the English. Every
few days, Pocahontas with her attendants brought to Captain
Smith provisions jn such quantity as to save the lives of the
colonists.

This condition of things could not always last: the sup
port thus received could be but precarious at the best; and
it happened favorably that, for a period, the spirits and
courage of the small band of emigrants were sustained by
the arrival of two ships from England, laden with supplies,
and bringing a complement of men. They arrived indeed
at different times, having been separated by stormy weather.
In consequence of these arrivals, and one other before the
end of the year 1608, the number of colonists amounted to
nearly three hundred.

In 1609, a new charter was granted to the London
company, with enlarged privileges, as well as more definite
limits, and with the addition of five hundred adventurers.
Sir Thomas West, Lord De la War, was now appointed
governor for life; gir Thomas Gates, his lieutenant; Sir
George Somers, admiral ; and other high officers were
appointed for life. By the new charter, the right of abso
lute property was vested in the company; the crown to
receive one-fifth of all ore of gold and silver found there
for all manner of services. The governor, though unable
himself immediately to leave England, lost no time in fitting
out a fleet for Virginia. Of the nine ships constituting the
expedition, eight arrived in season at Jamestown. The
other, having Sir Thomas, the admiral, on board, was
wrecked on the Bermudas ; and it was not until they could
fit up craft to convey them to Virginia, that they reached
Jamestown, which was in the spring of the following year.
This disaster and delay seemed to be highly providential in
the end, as the colonists were reunited with one hundred
and fifty men, and a full supply of provisions, at a time
when they had been reduced to the greatest extremities.
Captain Smith, disabled by a severe accidental wound, had

AMERICAN HISTORY. 57

returned to England. In consequence of his departure, the
settlement had been thrown into great confusion. Com
plaints, disputes, and insubordination ensued; the savages
became hostile, and often imbrued their hands in the blood
of the whites; and finally, starvation followed in the train
of the other calamities. Roots, herbs, acorns, walnuts,
starch, the skins of horses, and even human flesh, were
devoured in order to support life. In a few days more, had
not relief been brought to them, the whole colony would
probably have perished.

On the arrival of Sir Thomas, the affairs of the settlement
seemed so desperate, that it was determined to return with
the miserable remnant to England. In putting the plan into
execution, and just as they were leaving the mouth of the
river, the long-boat of Lord De la War was descried. As
he had three ships well furnished with provisions, the colo
nists were persuaded to return, and renew their efforts to
settle the country. This was on the 9th of June, 1610, and
proved to be the crisis of the colony. It was now, in the
providence of God, destined to live. Improvements began
to be made forts were erected and the former idleness
and misrule of the people in a great measure disappeared.
In the spring of the succeeding year, however, the health
of Lord De la War became seriously affected, and he con
sequently returned to England. The administration was
then committed to Sir Thomas Dale for a short period.
He acquitted himself well in it, though he had some diffi
culty with the colonists, who had not all been reduced to
the requisite order and submission. The government passed
into the hands of Sir Thomas Gates, upon his arrival at
Jamestown, in August, 1611. He came over with a fleet
of six ships, and three hundred men, bringing with him kine
and other cattle, munitions of war, and a large supply of
provisions.

Being thus strengthened, the English extended their
domain from time to time. In the course of the present
year, they built a town, which they called Henrico, in honor

58 GREAT EVE NTS OP

of Prince Henry, and in the subsequent year, they seized a
place called Apamatuck, on account of some injury they
had received from its inhabitants. Here they built a town,
which they called the New Bermudas. About this period,
a Captain Argal, sailing up the Patawomeakee, secured
Pocahontas by stratagem; the consequence of which was,
her acquaintance with an English gentleman, named John
Rolfe, and her marriage to him, together with peace between
the whites and Powhatan.

The plan of providing for the colony was now changed.
Instead of feeding out of the common store, and laboring
jointly together, the people were allowed to hold each a
lot of his own, with a sufficient time to cultivate it. This
change produced the most beneficial results, as it prevented
the idleness and inefficiency which are apt to attend a com
mon-stock social establishment, and multiplied, in a ten-fold
degree, the amount of their provisions. The experiment
having been so propitious, the original plan of a community
of labor and supply was finally abandoned. The govern
ment of the colony at this time was again in the hands of
Sir Thomas Dale ; the former governor, Sir Thomas Gates,
having returned to England in the spring of 1614. Gov
ernor Dale continued about two years, superintending satis
factorily the affairs of the colony, and, having chosen Captain
George Yeardley to be deputy-governor, he returned to
England, accompanied by Pocahontas and her husband.
Pocahontas became a Christian and a mother; and it may be
added, that her descendants, in a subsequent age, inherited
her lands in Virginia, and that some of the first families of
that state trace from her their lineage.

Yeardley applied himself to the cultivation of tobacco,
and was highly successful in an attack on the savages, who
refused to pay their annual tribute of corn. He continued
in the colony about a year, when, by an appointment made
in England, the government devolved on Captain Argal,
before named. Argal found Jamestown in a bad condition;
the dwellings, which were slight structures, had mostly

AMERICAN -HISTORY. 59

disappeared, and the public works neglected or in decay,
and "the colonie dispersed all about, planting Tobacco."
A reformation to some extent was effected. At this period,
1617, more colonists arrived; but it would seem, from a
remark in a narrative of that date, that the number of the
higher classes of society exceeded their wants; "for, in Vir
ginia, a plaine souldier, that can use a pickaxe and spade,
is better than five knights, although they were knights that
could break a lance ; for men of great place, not inured to
those encounters, when they finde things not suitable, grow
many times so discontented, they forget themselves, and oft
become so carelesse, that a discontented melancholy brings
them to much sorrow, and to others, much miserie." When
it was ascertained that great multitudes were preparing, in
England, to be sent, the colonists, in a communication to
the council, entreated that provisions might be forwarded
as well as people, and gave the company to understand,
"what they did suffer for want of skilful husbandmen and
meanes to set their plough on worke, having as good land
as any man can desire."

In the year 1619, the settlements of Virginia were favored
with the establishment of a provincial legislature, which
was constituted of delegates chosen by themselves, as they
were divided into eleven corporations. The first meeting
of the legislature was on the 19th of June, having been
convoked by the governor-general of the colony. This
was a great and desirable change from the sort of vassalage
in which they had previously lived. This general assembly
debated and decided all matters that were deemed essen
tial to the welfare of the colony. A great addition was
made to the number of the colonists the two following years,
among whom were one hundred and fifty young women, of
good character, designed as the future wives of the colo
nists. During the summer of 1620, a Dutch armed ship
arrived at the colony, and sold them twenty negroes, at
which period the system of slave holding, with its attendant
crimes and evils, commenced in this country.

60 GREAT EVENTS OF

The year 1621 was rendered memorable by the arrival
)f Sir Francis Wyatt, who brought with him, from the
London company, a more perfect constitution and form
of government, than the colony had previously enjoyed,
although the general representative character of its govern
ment had been established in 1619. The following year
was rendered still more memorable by the massacre of a
large number of whites, through the treachery of the
Indians. The instigator and executor of this tragedy was
the successor of Powhatan, named Opecancanough. He
had enlisted the savages in all the vicinity in the infernal
plot. The colonists, in the security of friendship and good
understanding, which had existed between them and that
people, were wholly off their guard, and unprepared for the
blow. It was inflicted simultaneously, at a time agreed
upon, and three hundred and forty-seven men, women, and
children, were at once butchered, in several and separate
places It had been universal, but for the providence of
God. A converted Indian, coming to the knowledge of the
plot the night before its execution, disclosed it to the whites
in season to save the greater number of settlements. The
Indians, in their turn, now suffered the vengeance of the
colonists, who felt authorized to procure the means of future
security against similar acts of treachery. The emigrations
had been so numerous, through the few preceding years, that
the colonists, at this time, amounted to several thousands.
Thus the people, with various fortune, and after incredible
hardships, had placed their colony on a firm basis, having
learned many useful lessons from their own errors, impru
dence, or sufferings. And such was the beginning of the
American republic in its southern portion, nearly two hun
dred and fifty years ago.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 61

II. NEW ENGLAND, OR NORTHERN SETTLEMENTS.

PLYMOUTH Massachusetts Connecticut New Haven New Hampshire
Rhode Island Maine Vermont Character of the Early Settlers.

THE settlement of New England commenced at Plymouth
in 1620. This part of the continent between Penobscot and
Cape Cod, had been carefully explored in 1614, by Captain
Smith. He says, respecting it : " Of all the foure parts of the
world I have yet seen not inhabited, could I have but means
to transport a colony, I would rather live here than any
where ; and if it did not maintaine itselfe, were we but once
indifferently well fitted, let us starve." Such was the opinion
early formed of the desirableness of this region for coloniza
tion. Charles, Prince of Wales, was pleased to call it New
England, on account of the favorable impression he received
respecting it, from Smith s chart and description. This
country was settled by a class of people very different, in
many respects, from that which emigrated to the southern
colony. The latter, for the most part, as has been seen, wre
mere adventurers, having in view the improvement of their
secular interests, or the eclat of successful enterprise. The
colonists of New England sought chiefly the boon of religious
freedom for themselves and their descendants, and through
it the advancement of the Christian church in the world a
boon of which they had been deprived in their native land.
The ground of this disfranchisement, was their non-con
formity to the established English church, or separation from
it. Having, while members of that church, devised and
sought a greater purity in its worship without success, they
at length separated themselves from it, and formed a distinct
worshiping community. For thus professing to follow the
pure word of God, in opposition to traditions and human
devices, they were in derision termed Puritans. In the
progress of their religious views, and of the persecuting
spirit of the government, they passed from mere puritanism,
or efforts at greater purity in worship and in manners, to

62 GREAT EVE NTS OP

non-conformity, and from non-conformity to dissent. From
difficulties in regard to the ritual of the church, they pro
ceeded to doctrines. The Puritans and the universities
denied a portion of the Apostles Creed, so called: "advo
cated the sanctity of the Sabbath and the opinions of
Calvin; his institutions being read in their schools, while
the Episcopal party took the opposite side, and espoused
the system of Arminius." Both under Elizabeth and James,
conformity was insisted on. The latter declared, "I will
have one doctrine, one discipline, one religion, in substance
and ceremony. I will make them conform, or I will hurry
them out of the land, or else worse." And he did hurry
out of the land many of those who had become obnoxious
to him; while the others were more cruelly hindered from
leaving the country, to suffer from contempt, poverty, or a
lingering death in imprisonment. Their attempts to escape
were frequently frustrated, and it was not without great
vexation and loss, that portions of this persecuted people
exiled themselves from their native country. Their first
place of refuge was Holland, where religious toleration had
been established by law. The leader of the emigrants, on
this occasion, was the able and pious Mr. John Robinson,
who has since been considered as the father of that portion
of the Puritans who were the founders of New England.
They successively left England, as many as found it in their
power, in the year 1606, and the two following years.
Their first place of residence was Amsterdam; but in 1609
they removed to Leyden, with a view to avoid some diffi
culties that were felt or foreseen in the former place. Here
they were received with kindness, and continued several
years in a flourishing condition, under the faithful labors
of their pastor. In the mean while, notwithstanding their
general prospects, there were causes in operation which
rendered a change of location, in their case, extremely
desirable. These were the unhealthiness of the low
countries where they lived; the hard labors to which they
were subjected ; the dissipated manners of the Hollanders,

AMERICAN HISTORY. 63

especially their lax observance of the Lord s day; the
apprehension of war at the conclusion of the truce between
Spain and Holland, which was then near at hand ; the fear
lest their young men would enter into the military and naval
service ; the tendency of their little community to become
absorbed and lost in a foreign nation ; the natural and pious
desire of perpetuating a church, which they believed to be
constituted after the simple and pure model of the primitive
church of Christ, and a commendable zeal to propagate the
Gospel in the regions of the new world.*

In this situation, they turned their attention towards
America. Here they hoped to engage in their original
occupation of agriculture, and not merely to enjoy tolera
tion, but to form a society founded on their favorite plan of
ecclesiastical order. With this object in view, they first
applied to the Virginia company for a patent, who zealously
espoused their cause, but who were unable to obtain from
the king a toleration, under his seal, in religious liberty,
though he promised to wink at their heresy, provided they
should conduct themselves peaceably. The company
granted them permission to make a settlement near the
mouth of the Hudson river. They had previously, in the
want of adequate capital of their own for the founding of
a plantation, been enabled to interest several London mer
chants in their scheme. These agreed to advance the neces
sary sums, to be repaid out of the avails of their industry.
In this way, the emigrants were enabled to purchse the
Speedwell, a ship of sixty tons, and to hire in England the
Mayflower, a ship of one hundred and eighty tons, for the
intended expedition. The Mayflower alone came, as the
smaller vessel proved to be in a leaky condition, and, after
two several trials, she was dismissed, as unfit for the service.
The Mayflower took her departure on the 6th of Septem
ber, and, after a boisterous passage, they discovered the
land of Cape Cod on the 9th of November, at the break of

* Holmes Annals.

64 GREAT EVENTS OP

day. The number of pilgrims, who had embarked, was
one hundred and one, not all who had proposed to come ;
for the disasters that attended their setting out, had "win-
owed their number of the cowardly and the lukewarm."
Their pastor, Mr. Robinson, did not leave Leyden, accord
ing to an original agreement, that only a part of their com
pany should go to America to make provision for the rest.

The pilgrim voyagers found themselves on a bleak and
inhospitable coast, and much farther to the northward than
they intended to go. In agreement with their wishes, an
attempt was made, by the master of the ship, to proceed to
the Hudson. But either finding, or affecting to believe the
passage to be dangerous, he readily seized on the fears
which had been excited, probably by himself, to return to
the cape, with a view to make a landing there. It after
wards appeared that he had been bribed by the Dutch, who
intended to keep possession of the Hudson river, to carry
the adventurers quite to the northward of their place of
destination. They arrived in Cape Cod harbor on the
llth of November, "and, being brought safe to land, they
fell upon their knees, and blessed the God of heaven, who
had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and
delivered them from many perils and miseries." At this
time, "it was thought meet for their more orderly carrying
on their affairs, and accordingly by mutual consent they
entered into a solemn combination, as a body politic, to
submit to such government and governors, laws and ordi
nances, as should by general consent from time to time be
made choice of and assented unto."* Forty-one persons
signed this compact. It contained the essential principles
of a free government, such as have since been embodied
in the institutions of republican America. John Carver
was immediately chosen their governor, "a man godly and
well-approved among them."

Severe were the trials which awaited this small and lone

* New England Memorial, by Nathaniel Morton.

AMERICAN HIS TORY. 65

band of pilgrims. The necessity of selecting a more com
modious place for living was obvious, and, in the efforts
which were made for this purpose, several of them well
nigh perished. The excursions of an adventurous band of
men, on several occasions, were extremely hazardous; and,
though generally at the places where they landed, no
Indians were found, yet, in one instance, they came in
contact with the latter, and a hostile collision took place
between them. By the kind providence of God, however,
they were preserved. During one of their excursions into
the country, they found a quantity of corn, which they
took, with the intention of remunerating the owners, which
intention they were afterwards happily enabled to fulfil.
This was a providential discovery, which supplied their
present wants, and served as seed for a future harvest. An
entire month was occupied with these explorations. At
last, they found a tract where they concluded to consum
mate their enterprise. Having sounded the harbor in front,
they ascertained it to be fit for shipping. Going on shore,
they explored the adjacent land, where they saw various
corn-fields and brooks. They then returned to the ship,
with the agreeable intelligence that they had found a place
convenient for settlement. This was on Monday, the llth
of December, answering to the 22nd day, new style, the day
now celebrated in commemoration of the landing of the
pilgrims at Plymouth. The company had kept the Chris
tian Sabbath, the day before, on an island in the harbor.
The ship arrived at the newly-discovered port on the 16th.
Several days were spent in disembarking, and it was not
until the 25th that they began to build the first house. This
was a structure for common use, to receive them and their
goods. The undertaking, however, was preceded by united
prayer for Divine guidance. The building having been
completed, they began to erect "some cottages for habita
tion, as time would admit, and also consulted of laws and
order, both for their civil and military government, as the
necessity of their present condition did require. But that
5

GREAT EVENTS OF

which was sad and lamentable, in two or three months half
their company died, especially in January and February,
being the depth of winter, wanting houses and other com
forts, being infected with the scurvy and other diseases,

Landing of the Pilgrims.

which their long voyage and their incommodate condition
brought upon them."* Their reduction, by sickness, would
have rendered them an easy prey to the Indians ; but the
providence of God had so ordered it, that but few of this
fierce people existed, at that period, in the neighborhood of
the settlers, and those few were kept back from inflicting any
injury, by the dread which had almost supernaturally, so to
speak, been inspired in their hearts. The paucity of the
Indians has been accounted for, from a wasting sickness, of
an extraordinary character, which had visited the region
some few years before.

Some time in March of 1621, an agreeable and unex
pected occurrence took place at the rendezvous of the
whites. It was a visit of an Indian sagamore, named

* New England Memorial.

AMERICAN H T O R Y .

Samoset, with professions of friendship for them, and satis
faction at their arrival in the country. His kind greeting
to them was, "Welcome, Englishmen! Welcome, English-

visit of Samoset to the English,

men !" He spoke in broken English, which he had learned
from English fishermen on the eastern coast. This was
an event of great consequence to the settlers, as they
learned from him many things in respect to the region
around, and the Indians that inhabited it. He came to the
English settlement again, with some other natives, and
advised the emigrants of the coming of the great sachem,
named Massasoit. In a short time this chief made his appear
ance, in company with his principal associates, particularly
an Indian named Squanto, who proved to be of signal ser
vice to the whites. He had learned the English language,
in consequence of having been carried to England by an
English adventurer. Mutual fear and distrust took place
between the parties, as Massasoit came in sight on the hill
which overlooked the place. After they each had taken
proper precautions against surprise, through the agency of

GREAT EVENTS OF

Squanto they came together, and the result of the interview
was a league of peace, which was kept inviolate more
than fifty years.

Interview with Massasoit.

The visit was not much prolonged. "Samoset and
Squanto stayed all night with us, and the king and all his
men lay all night in the wood, not above half an English
mile from us, and all their wives and women with them.
They said that within eight or nine days they would come
and set corn on the other side of the brook, and dwell there
all summer, which is hard by us. That night we kept good
watch, but there was no appearance of danger."* The
plantation at Plymouth enjoyed the benefit of Squanto s
presence with them, after the departure of the others. He
was a native or resident of the place, and almost the only
one that was left ; and being acquainted with every part of
it, his information was made highly useful to the colonists.
They learned from him the method of cultivating corn, and
where to take their fish, and procure their commodities.

* New England s Memorial Appendix.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 69

He continued among them until the day of his death. In
the spring of 1621, Mr. Carver was confirmed as governor
for the succeeding year, but his death occurred soon after
wards. Mr. William Bradford was chosen his successor,
and Mr. Israel Allerton his assistant. The intercourse of
the colonists with the Indians continued to be of a friendly
character, the former having, during the summer, made
several excursions into the country around, particularly one
to Shawmut (Boston), where they had an interview with
Obbatinnua, one of the parties to the submission signed a
short time before at Plymouth. He renewed his submis
sion, receiving, at the same time, a promise of defence
against his enemies.

The small number of the colonists was increased before
the end of the year by an accession of thirty-five persons,
among whom was a very active and pious agent, Mr.
Robert Cushman. He became eminently useful to the
plantation. Upon the departure of the ship conveying this
latter company, the colony received a threatening token
from the Narraganset tribe of Indians a circumstance
which induced them to fortify their little settlement as well
as they were able, and to keep a constant guard by day
and by night. Happily, no attempts at that time were
made to disturb their peace. This event occurred in the
year 1622. In the following year, a vigorous and success
ful attempt, under the brave Captain Miles Standish, was
made to defeat a conspiracy formed by the Massachusetts
tribe, with several others, against a recent English settle
ment at Wessagusset (Weymouth). This settlement had
been formed under Mr. Thos. Weston on his own account,
and consisted of sixty men. The slaughter of several of
the conspirators so terrified the Indian tribes concerned in
the conspiracy, that they fled from their homes into swamps
and desert places, where many of them perished. This
generous service, on the part of the Plymouth colony,
towards a neighboring plantation, redounded greatly to
their credit, especially as the latter were merely a company

70 GREAT EVENTS OF

of adventurers, and had been guilty of injustice towards
the Indians.

The present year proved to be a year of suffering, in
consequence of the scarcity of food. The following affect
ing account is given by Bradford: "But by the time our
corn is planted, our victuals are spent, not knowing at night
where to have a bit in the morning ; we have neither bread
nor corn for three or four months together, yet bear our
wants with cheerfulness, and rest on Providence. Having
but one boat left, we divide the men into several companies,
six or seven in each, who take their turns to go out with a
net, and fish, and return not till they get some, though they
be five or six days out; knowing there is nothing at home,
and to return empty would be a great discouragement.
When they stay long, or get but little, the rest go a digging
shellfish, and thus we live the summer; only sending one
or two to range the woods for deer, they get now and then
one, which we divide among the company ; and in the win
ter are helped with fowl and ground-nuts."* It is recorded
that, after a drought of six weeks, the government set apart
a solemn day of humiliation and prayer, which was almost
immediately followed by a copious supply of rain. In the
language of the chronicles of the times, it is thus spoken of:
" Though in the morning, when we assembled together, the
heavens were as clear, and the drought as like to continue
as it ever was, yet (our exercise continuing some eight or
nine hours) before our departure, the weather was overcast,
the clouds gathered together on all sides, and, in the morn
ing, distilled such soft, sweet, and moderate showers of rain,
continuing some fourteen days, and mixed with such season
able weather, as it was hard to say, whether our withered
corn or drooping affections were most quickened or revived,
such was the bounty and goodness of our God." Soon
after, in grateful acknowledgment of the blessing, a day of
public thanksgiving was observed. This, by a judicious

* Young s Chronicles of the Pilgrims.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 71

historian, (Thomas Robbins, D. D.) is believed to be the
origin of the annual thanksgiving of New England.

Towards the close of the summer, two ships arrived at
Plymouth, bringing sixty emigrants, some of them the wives
and children of such as were already in the colony. Those
who came in the first three ships the Mayflower, the For
tune, and the Ann are distinctively called the old comers,
or the forefathers. In 1624, Plymouth contained thirty-two
dwellings and about one hundred and eighty inhabitants.
Bradford was reelected governor, and four assistants to
him were also chosen. To each person and his family an
acre of land was given in perpetuity. The first neat cattle
in New England were brought over this year by Edward
Winslow. The colonists had at that time no small trouble
with several of the new comers, particularly with one John
Lyford, a minister, and another by the name of Oldham,
who were disposed to act in opposition to the laws and
order of the colony. The persons above mentioned, how
ever, soon perished, Oldham having first become apparently
a penitent.

The congregation of the Puritans at Leyden was broken
up on the death of their pastor, Mr. Robinson, in 1627.
They desired to remove to New England, but only a part of
them were enabled to come. The others settled in Amster
dam. Mr. Robinson had hoped to emigrate, but the expense
of the undertaking could not well be met, and his death
now preventing, only his wife and children came with the
portion of the congregation that crossed the water. His
place in the colony was supplied by Mr. William Brewster,
a ruling elder in the church, and a man every way qualified
as a spiritual guide of the people.

The foundation of the colony of MASSACHUSETTS was laid
in the year 1628. It was styled the Colony of Massachusetts
bay, the territory of which had been purchased by the
Plymouth company by Sir Henry Roswell, Sir John
Young, and several others. The patent included all that
part of New England lying between three miles to the

72 GREAT EVENTS OF

northward of Merrimack river, and three miles to the
southward of Charles river, extending in length from the
Atlantic ocean to the South sea. The leader of the expedi
tion was Mr. John Endicot, whose character may be summed
up by saying, that he was a fit person to found that noble
commonwealth. He came with one hundred emigrants, and
was appointed governor of the colony. Mr. White, an
eminent minister, was one of the company. Three years
previously, a small company of adventurers had emigrated
to a place in the Massachusetts bay, afterwards called Mount
Wollaston, after the name of their leader; but, having no
religious object in view, they fell into shameful irregularities.
Upon the arrival of Endicot, however, a check was put on
these proceedings, and their leader, Morton, was finally sent
to England. These pious non-conformists under Endicot,
like the Plymouth colonists, sought a refuge from oppression
in their religious concerns, and desired to build up a com
munity on the true principles of Christianity. They located
themselves at Numkeag, (Salem,) where the first permanent
town in Massachusetts was constituted. In the following

year, they were joined by about two hundred others from
England, making in the whole three hundred; of which
number one hundred removed the same year, and settled
themselves, with the consent of Governor Endicot, at Mish-
awnm, now Charlestown. At this period, on the petition of
the Massachusetts company, King Charles by charter con
firmed the patent of the Massachusetts colony. By this
instrument, they were empowered to elect a governor,
deputy governor, and eighteen assistants, out of the freemen
of said company, by the greater part of the company. The
first governor, under this renewed charter, was Matthew
Cradock. The company being desirous of establishing their
plantation in the order of the Gospel, engaged two eminent
divines, Mr. Higginson and Mr. Skelton, to go out for the
spiritual service of the colony. Soon after their arrival at
Salem, they were placed over the church there with all due
solemnity, the one as teacher, the other as pastor. These

AMERICAN HISTORY.

excellent men, however, lived but a short period, sharing
largely, as they did, in the sickness and suffering that dimin
ished the strength and shortened the lives of a large number
of their people.

Among the many persons of distinction who left England
the ensuing year, on account of the stringent measures of
the government in regard to affairs both of church and state,
are found the names of Isaac Johnson, John Winthrop,
Thomas Dudley, and Sir Richard Saltonstall. These gen
tlemen, by their persuasions, were the means of having the
charter and government of the company transferred to New
England. They left with fifteen hundred other persons, in
a fleet of seventeen sail, Winthrop having been chosen
governor under the new order of things. They arrived in
safety, eleven ships at one time, and six at another; and

before the conclusion of the season, commenced settlements
in several places ; which, at present, constitute some of the
fairest towns of New England. Governor Winthrop, and
a portion of the company, laid the foundation of Boston.

74 GREATEVENTSOF

Several most highly esteemed ministers accompanied the
expedition just spoken of; Mr. Wilson, Mr. Warham, and
others. These were placed over the several churches that
soon began to be formed in this vicinity. The first general
court of Massachusetts, was held in Boston this year, on the
19th of October, at which time many of the planters attended,
and were made freemen of the colony. The winters of 1630
and 1631, were very fatal to the Massachusetts colony. Frost
and sickness carried off a number, and famine at length
threatened the suffering survivors. They were, however,
providentially relieved by the arrival of a ship from England
with provisions, the day previously to a public fast, which
had been appointed on account of the alarming state of
things. This circumstance turned the intended fast into a
general thanksgiving. The colony continued to increase
by fresh accessions of emigrants till the year 1640, up to
which time, it is computed that four thousand families had
arrived in New England. From this small beginning have
arisen the population, power, wealth, piety, and freedom of
the New England states.

In the year 1633, the Plymouth colony suffered from a
pestilential disease, which not only thinned their number,
but, extending to the neighboring territory, swept off many
of the Indians. In the same year, arrived those lights of
the New England church, Mr. John Cotton, Mr. Thomas
Hooker, and Mr. Samuel Stone, and that model of a magis
trate, Mr. William Collier, whose services, to the Plymouth
colony, were so considerable. Generally, the emigrants of
this period were actuated by the same spirit of opposition
to tyranny in church and state, and of love to the institu
tions of Christianity, which had characterized their prede
cessors. The men placed at the head of the new colonies
were, universally, men of sterling worth of character.

The first settlers of CONNECTICUT came from the eastern
shore of Massachusetts. They were a portion of the emi
grants who constituted the colonies of Plymouth and Mas
sachusetts bay. The emigration from England continuing

AMERICAN HTSTORY. 75

to be large, and likely to increase from year to year, more
room was wanted, and especially locations where the soil
was rich and could be easily cultivated, became an object of
desire. This consideration, and, probably, others pertaining
to their tranquillity and increase as churches, had influence
on the resolution to seat themselves again in the wilderness.
It had happened, as early as the year 1631, that their atten
tion was directed to the beautiful and rich tract of land, on
the Connecticut river, by Wahcuimacut, a sachem living
upon the river. He made a journey to Plymouth and Bos
ton, with a view to enlist the governors of those colonies in
the project of making settlements in his country. The
proposition was not formally accepted, but the governor of
Plymouth was sufficiently interested in it to make a voyage
to the coast, in which excursion he discovered the river and
the adjacent territory; thus precluding the title of the Dutch
to any part of it, as they had neither "trading-house, nor
any pretence to a foot of land there.."* The subject of
settling Connecticut was not lost sight of during one or two
subsequent years; but, occasionally, vessels were sent from
Plymouth to the river, for the purposes of trade, and, in one
instance, several men, from Dorchester, traveled through
the wilderness thither for the same object, as also to view
the country.

In 1633, when the Plymouth colony had determined to
commence the work of settlement, they commissioned Wil
liam Holmes, and a chosen company with him, to proceed
to Connecticut. They took with them the frame of a house,
which they set up in Windsor. They achieved their object,
notwithstanding the threatened opposition of the Dutch at
Hartford, where the latter, after learning that the Plymouth
people intended to settle on the river, had erected a slight
fort. The Plymouth people, also, were successful in defend
ing their trading-house subsequently, both against the Dutch
and the Indians. The Dutch erected a trading-house at

* Trumbull s History of Connecticut.

GREAT EVENTS OF

Hartford the same year, the house at Windsor having pre
ceded it, perhaps, by a few months. The actual settlement
of the region, however, was deferred for a time, from the
fact of divided opinions on the subject, in the Massachusetts
court. No vote could be obtained in favor of the project.
In the mean time, individuals were determined to prosecute
the enterprise, and a number of the people of Watertown
came, in 1634, to Connecticut. They erected a few huts at
Pyquag (Wethersfield), in which they contrived to pass the
winter. In the spring of 1635, the general court of Mas
sachusetts bay assented to the plan of emigration to Con
necticut, and, accordingly, preparations were made in several
places. The Watertown people gradually removed, and
added to their settlement at Wethersfield. Mr. Warham,

The Settlers emigrating to Connecticut

one of the ministers of Dorchester, accompanied by a great
part of the church, settled at Mattaneang (Windsor). A
company From Newtown began a plantation, between those
two settlements, at Suchiang (Hartford). In the course of
the year, a large body of settlers, sixty in number, came

AMERICAN HISTORY. 77

together men, women, and chi) "ren, with their horses, cat
tle, and swine. It being somewhat ate in the season, and
their journey proving to be long and difficult, winter came
upon them before they were prepared. They were but
indifferently sheltered, and their food was scanty a large
portion of their furniture and provisions, having been put
on board of several small vessels, never reached them.
The vessels were lost, and some lives with them. A part
of their domestic animals they were obliged to leave on the
other side of the river. Famine and its fearful effects
were now to be encountered. It was impossible for all to
stay where they were. Some, attempted to return to the
east through the wilderness; others, went down to the
mouth of the river, in order to meet their provisions, and,
being disappointed, were obliged, finally, to embark on board
of a vessel for Boston. In both instances they suffered
greatly, but were providentially preserved to arrive at their
former home. The portion of the settlers who remained
were subjected to much distress. The resources of hunt
ing and food from the Indians being exhausted, they had
recourse to acorns, malt, and grains for subsistence. Large
numbers of their cattle perished. Their condition was
indeed most trying and perilous, in their solitude and sepa
ration from others, at the mercy alike of the elements of
nature, and the power of savage foes. But their God, in
whom they trusted, carried them through in safety.

The Connecticut planters held courts of their own,
though they were settled under the general government of
the Massachusetts. These courts consisted of two principal
men from each town, joined sometimes by committees of
three additional persons, as occasion might require. The
first court was held at Hartford, April 26th, 1636. At this
season of the year, both those who had left Connecticut in
the winter and many others proceeded to take up their
residence on the river. At length, about the beginning of
June, a company of an hundred men, women, and children,
under Messrs. Hooker and Stone, took their departure from

78 GREATEVENTSOF

Cambridge, and traveled to Hartford through the pathless
wilderness that lay between the two places. Over mount
ains, through ravines, swamps, thickets, and rivers, they
made their way, submitting to incredible fatigue and many
privations. These trials, to a portion of the new comers,
must have been peculiarly severe, as they were a class of
society who, having enjoyed all the comforts and elegancies
of life, knew little of hardship and danger.

The year preceding, a fort was erected at the mouth of
the river, called Saybrook fort, in honor of Lords Say and
Brooks, to whom, with several others, a commission had
been given to begin a plantation at Connecticut. This was
effected under the auspices of John Winthrop, a son of the
governor of Massachusetts. Winthrop s commission inter
fered with the* settlement commenced by the Massachusetts
colonists, but the latter were left in the quiet enjoyment of
their possessions. The number of persons in the three
towns of Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield, was about
eight hundred at the close of the year 1636.

The succeeding year was signalized for the critical
condition of the settlement. There was a great want of
provisions and of the implements of husbandry, and every
article bore a high price. The year was also filled with
the incidents of warfare. In the feebleness of its infancy,
the little colony was called to contend with one of the most
warlike tribes of Indians that ever inhabited New England.
And never were heroism and fortitude displayed in a more
marked degree, or animated by a loftier spirit of patriotism
and piety. The particulars need not be here rehearsed.
Suffice it to say, they completely triumphed over their
savage foe, the Pequots, under their brave leader, Captain
John Mason. They went forth to battle, under the sanction
and rites of religion, to save themselves, their wives, and
children, and the Church of Christ in the wilderness, from
utter extinction. The holy ardor of Hooker, in his incom
parable address to the soldiers, filled their minds with an
unwavering confidence in God. Seventy-seven brave men

AMERICAN HISTORY.

saved Connecticut, and destroyed the most terrible Indian
nation in New England.

Hooker addressing the Soldiers.

This necessity of warfare they would gladly have
avoided, for the condition of the settlement required all
their energies and efforts at home. They could neither
hunt, fish, nor cultivate their fields, nor travel the shortest
distance, while an insidious and cruel foe was hovering
around them. They felt that he must be crippled or
destroyed, or that their entire settlement would be cut off
by piecemeal. The natives embraced every opportunity
of committing depredations on the lives and property of
the whites. A picture of the kind of life which was passed
in those times of savage treachery and English daring, is
given in the following detail of incidents, which occurred
on the water ^immediately previous to the Pequot war:

"John Oldham, who had been fairly trading at Connecti
cut, was murdered near Block island. He had with him
only two boys and two Narraganset Indians. These were
taken and carried off. One John Gallop, as he was going
from Connecticut to Boston, discovered Mr. Oldham s vesse

GREAT EVENTS OF

full of Indians, and he saw a canoe full of Indians on board,
go from her laden with goods. Suspecting that they had
murdered Mr. Oldham, he hailed them, but received no
answer. Gallop was a bold man, and though he had with
him but one man and two boys, he immediately bore down
upon them, and fired duck-shot so thick among them, that
he soon cleared the deck. The Indians all got under the
hatches. He then stood off; and, running down upon her
quarter with a brisk gale, nearly overset them, and so
frighted the Indians, that six of them leaped into the- sea,
and were drowned. He then steered off again; and, run
ning down upon her a second time, bored her with his
anchor, and raked her fore and aft with his shot. But the
Indians kept themselves so close, he got loose from her;
and, running down a third time upon the vessel, he gave
her such a shock, that five more leaped overboard, and
perished, as the former had done. He then boarded the

Gallop finds Oldham murdered.

vessel, and took two of the Indians, and bound them. Two
or three others, armed with swords, in a little room below,
could not be driven from their retreat. Mr. Oldham s corse

AMERICAN HISTORY. 81

was found on board, the head split and the body mangled
in a barbarous manner. He was a Dorchester man, one
of Mr. Warham s congregation. In these circumstances,
Gallop, fearing that the Indians whom he had taken might
get loose, especially if they were kept together, and having
no place where he could keep them apart, threw one of
them overboard. Gallop and his company then, as decently
as circumstances would permit, put the corse into the sea.
They stripped the vessel, and took the rigging and the
goods which had not been carried off on board their own.
She was taken in tow, with a view to carry her in; but the
night coming on and the wind rising, Gallop was obliged to
let her go adrift, and she was lost."

At the termination of the Pequot war, there was a great
scarcity of provisions in Connecticut, and fearful apprehen
sions were felt on the part of the settlers. With all their
efforts, they had not been able to raise a sufficiency of pro
visions, and these became at length very costly. Corn rose
to the extraordinary price of twelve shillings by the bushel.
The debt contracted by the war was paid with difficulty.
Nothing saved the colony from a famine but a providential
supply of corn, which they were enabled to purchase from
the natives, at an Indian settlement called Pocomptock
(Deerfield).

The first constitution of Connecticut was adopted Janu
ary 15, 1639, by the free planters of the three towns of
Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield, who convened at
Hartford for the purpose. It was an admirably contrived
instrument, providing for the freedom and liberties of them
selves and their posterity. Some fifty years ago, Doctor
Trumbull remarked, respecting it, that it was "one of the
most free and happy institutions of civil government which
has ever been formed. The formation of it at so early a
period, when the light of liberty was wholly darkened in
most parts of the earth, and the rights of men so little
understood in others, does great honor to their ability
integrity, and love to mankind. To posterity, indeed, it
6

82 GREATEVENT8OF

exhibited a most benevolent regard. It has continued with
little alteration to the present time."

The NEW HAVEN colony was settled in the spirit that
influenced the comers to the other parts of New England,
and eminently so. The establishment of the Church of God
on its true basis, and the enjoyment of civil and religious
liberty, was the object of the emigrants; and they proceeded
to secure the fair inheritance by the wisest counsels and
the most efficient action. The company who first consti
tuted the settlement, was a rare assemblage of choice spirits.
Among them were John Davenport, a distinguished minister
in London, and Theophilus Eaton and Edward Hopkins,
wealthy merchants of the same city, and eminent for their
abilities and integrity. They with their associates arrived
at Boston in the summer of 1637, and would have been
gladly retained in the Massachusetts colony, had they con
sented. Strong inducements were held out to them to fix
their residence there, but they wanted more room than they
could find in the vicinity of Boston for themselves and the
large number of friends whom they expected to follow them.
Their principal reason, however, for migrating elsewhere,
as suggested by the historian of Connecticut, was probably
"the desire of being at the head of a new government, mod
eled, both in civil and religious matters, agreeably to their
own apprehensions. It had been an observation of Mr.
Davenport, that whenever a reformation had been effected
in the church, in any part of the world, it had rested where
it had been left by the reformers : it could not be advanced
another step. He was embarked in a design of forming a
civil and religious constitution, as near as possible to scrip
ture precept and example." Their strict views, it seems,
could not be fully met elsewhere.

Mr. Davenport and his company, on the 30th of March,
1638, sailed from Boston to Quinnipiac (New Haven), and
arrived at the desired spot at about the middle of April. A
portion of their company, with Eaton at their head, had
made a journey to Connecticut during the preceding autumn,

AMERICAN HISTORY. 83

to explore the lands and harbors on the sea-coast; and
having fixed upon Quinnipiac as the best place for a settle
ment, erected a hut there, in which a few men passed the
winter. The first Sabbath which Mr. Davenport spent in
the wilderness, was on the 18th of April, 1638, when he
preached a discourse on the Temptations of the Wilderness.
In a short time, at the close of a day of fasting and prayer,
they entered into what they called a plantation covenant,
in which they solemnly engaged, in their civil ordinances
as well as religion, they would be governed by the rules
of scripture. At different times, and in separate contracts,
they purchased their lands of the Indians, by the payment
of such articles as were satisfactory to the latter. As the
New Haven adventurers were the most opulent company
which came into New England, they were disposed and
able to lay the foundation of a first-rate colony the proofs
of which are visible, in part, in the elegant city which
became its capital. The foundations of the civil and reli
gious polity of the colony were laid on the 4th of June,
1639, with every due solemnity. The act was not con
summated until the 25th of October of the same year, as a
term of trial was required for the seven men who were to
constitute the seven pillars of the church. The number of
subscribers to the compact, on the 4th of June, was sixty-
three ; to which there were soon after added about fifty
other names. This colony enjoyed great comparative order
and tranquillity, as well from the extreme care with which
it was constituted at the beginning, the superior wealth and
character of its founders, and their wise and prudent inter
course with their neighbors, the Indians.

The New Haven colony was distinguished among the
sister-colonies for its zeal in behalf of education, for its great
strictness in the administration of the laws, for its scrupu
lous justice towards the Indians, and for the absence of a
frivolous or extravagant legislation, which in some instances
had been thought to characterize the other colonies.*

* Bacon s Historical Discourses.

84 GREATEVENTSOF

The colony, however, was not exempt from occasional
providential calamities, particularly in its commercial pur
suits. For a period, the colonists did not succeed in
their principal secular object. Their plans may not have
been the most judicious ; but their greatest misfortune in
this concern was the loss of a large ship, which contained
a valuable cargo of about five thousand pounds. The ship,
with its precious burden, and more precious navigators,
was never heard of more after it left the harbor. Several
other settlements in the vicinity were nearly coeval with
that of New Haven. Milford and Guilford were settled in
1639, as also Stratford and Fairfield the same year; Stam
ford in 1641, and soon after the town of Brandford.

Portsmouth founded.

A settlement, at an early period, was made in NEW HAMP
BHIRE, but it did not, until some time afterwards, constitute a
distinct colony. In the spring of the year 1623, two mem
bers of the council of Plymouth (Gorges and Mason) having
obtained a grant of a tract of country, sent over a few
persons for the purpose of establishing a colony and fishing
at the river Piscataqua. This was the beginning of the
town of Portsmouth; but, for several years, together with

AMERICANHISTORY. 85

the town of Dover, which had a fish-house erected about
the same time, it was a small and scarcely permanent settle
ment. In 1629, some of the settlers about the Massachu
setts bay, purchased a tract of country of the Indians, with
a view to unite with the settlement at Piscataqua. After
this purchase, the latter settlement was favored with a
small increase ; but no other settlements were made till the
year 1638, when the towns of Exeter and Hampton com
menced. Exeter was settled by people chiefly from Boston,
who had been regularly dismissed from their church rela
tions, and were constituted at once into a church in their
new locality. Like the settlers of the other New England
colonies, those of New Hampshire were desirous of enjoy
ing the ministrations and ordinances of the Gospel, and were
able to obtain excellent ministers.

These several plantations continued, for many years, to
live on good terms with the natives, and were generally
well supplied with provisions, in consequence of their
advantages for fishery. They constituted distinct civil
communities, after the most perfect model of freedom, but
were unable to preserve their peculiar organization, on
account of the intrusion of disaffected individuals, from the
colonies of Massachusetts and Plymouth, and the constant
influx of other emigrants. They were too weak tjius to
stand alone, and, after suitable negociations on the subject,
they came under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, in 1641,
on the condition of enjoying equal privileges with the peo
ple of that colony, and having a court of justice maintained
among themselves. This union continued nearly forty
years, and was followed by the greater increase and
security of the colony.*

The rise of the colony of RHODE ISLAND commenced in
the expulsion of Roger Williams from Massachusetts. He
was a minister of the Gospel at Salem ; but, holding tenets
that were obnoxious to the people there, and being unwill-

* T. Robbins.

86 GREATEVENTSOF

ing to renounce them, after friendly remonstrance and
dealing, he was ordered to quit the jurisdiction of Massa
chusetts. He accordingly took his exile thence, and travel
ing, with his few followers, as far as the present town of
Rehoboth, he sat down there; but, being within the juris
diction of Plymouth, Governor Winslow, out of courtesy
to the government of Massachusetts, desired Mr. Williams
to leave that place. The latter, then crossing the Paw-
tucket river, came to the spot which, in acknowledgment
of God s merciful providence to him in his distress, he called
* Providence. He purchased the lands of his plantation
of the Indian owners, became the father of the colony, and,
for a period, appeared to have combined, in his person,
the principal powers of government. Times of scarcity
occurred in the Providence plantation, as in most of the
other colonies in North America, and the followers of Mr.
Williams were saved from famine only by the products of
their forests and rivers. No personal resentment seems to
have arisen between Mr. Williams and Governor Winthrop,
from the proceedings which led to the founding of the new
settlement. All the several colonies remained at peace, and
cultivated friendship with each other.

The religious difficulties in Massachusetts, arising out of
the case of the fanatical Mrs. Hutchinson, were the occa
sion of the origin of the Rhode Island plantation, south of
Providence. Several gentlemen differed in principle from
the prevailing belief of the churches, and chose to leave the
colony. Among them were William Coddington, John
Clark, and others, who came to Providence in search of a
place where they might enjoy their own sentiments unmo
lested. Through the assistance of Mr. Williams, they
purchased Aquetnec of the Indian sachems. The adven
turers, eighteen in number, incorporated themselves into a
body politic, and chose Mr. Coddington to be their judge,
or chief magistrate. The character of the climate and soil,
soon brought many adventurers to their settlement. The
territory was RHODE ISLAND, according to its subsequent

AMERICAN HISTORY. 87

name. The two settlements of Mr. Williams and Mr.
Coddington, being destitute of any charter from the mother-
country, the former went to England with a view to pro
cure one. He succeeded in the object, and returned with a
liberal charter of incorporation of Providence and Rhode
Island plantations.

The district, now state, of MAINE, though the first per
manent settlement commenced in 1630, was for a long time
in an unhappy condition, from the number and hostility of
the Indians within its borders. The early settlers, after the
death of their proprietary, Sir Fernando Gorges, formed
some kind of voluntary compacts, and chose their own
rulers ; but the difficulties under which they labored induced
them, in 1650, to unite with the government of Massachu-
setts, and to become an integral part of that colony. Their
civil and religious institutions generally resembled those of
the other colonies of New England. In the first settle
ments, churches were early established, which enjoyed the
labors of some of the worthiest ministers of their time.*

A project of great importance was consummated, in
1643, in the union formed by the New England colonists.
It had been proposed, by the colonies of Connecticut and
New Haven, as early as 1638, but was not brought to a
conclusion until five years after. The confederacy con
sisted of Massachusetts, New Plymouth, Connecticut, and
New Haven. The plan of it evidently reminds one of the
great confederacy, afterwards formed between the thirteen
United States, with similar provisions and principles. It
was a powerful means of defence, and of the subsequent
strength and prosperity of the colonies. It maintained their
internal peace, awed the savage tribes, and caused their
neighbors, the Dutch, and the French in Canada, to respect
them. By the articles of confederation, they entered into a
firm and perpetual league of friendship and amity, for
offence and defence, mutual advice and assistance upon all

* T. Robbins.

88 GREATEVENTSOF

just occassions, both for preserving and propagating the
truth and liberties of the Gospel, and for their own mutual
safety and welfare. Each colony was to continue its
separate organization, as to courts and laws, but to be con
sidered as one, in regard to their public transactions. This
union subsisted, with some alterations, more than forty
years, and was dissolved when the charters of all the colo
nies were rescinded by James II. It was known under the
style of The United Colonies of New England.

The state of VERMONT was not settled until long after the
other New England states. It was as late as the year
1724, before any settlement was made in that territory.
This was on a spot, within the present town of Brattlebo-
rough, where, at the same time, during a severe Indian war,
the government of Massachusetts had erected a fort. It
was then supposed that the settlement was within the limits
of that state, but it afterwards appeared not to be the case.
Subsequently it was believed that the territory belonged to
New Hampshire. Grants were accordingly made from
time to time, by the latter colony, of tracts within the ter
ritory of Vermont. As it was the scene of warfare, during
the middle part of the century, the country became well
known to many individuals, and not a few openings were
made in the wilderness, towards the cessation of hostilities,
on the northern borders. During the revolutionary war,
the Green-mountain Boys, as they were familiarly called,
distinguished themselves by their bravery, and rendered
important service to the cause. In 1777, the inhabitants
constituted themselves an independent state. As Vermont
was settled mostly by emigrants from Connecticut, the
character of the people was similar to that of the inhab
itants of the latter state, and of New England in general.
They were careful to establish their civil and religious
institutions in accordance with those of the sister-states,
and have been highly distinguished by their stability in the
principles and usages of the fathers.

The character of the early settlers of New England

AMERICAN HISTORY. 89

deserves a distinct notice, beyond that which has incident
ally appeared in narrating the history of their achievements.
A brief sketch can only be presented, and scarcely com
mensurate with the importance of the topic; but it is all
that the limits of this work will admit. The greatness of
the results, though affected extensively by the direct provi
dence of God, manifests the peculiarity of the dispositions
and motives of the agents who were concerned in pro
ducing them.

The planters of New England were men of whom theii
descendants need not be ashamed. So far as the pride of
ancestry may be lawfully indulged, New Englanders, of
the present race, may indulge it to the full, in view of the
character and deeds of their forefathers. They were infe
rior men in no sense of the word, however apt we may be
to connect the idea of adventurers with that of a roving,
restless, dissipated, loose-living class of men, loving savage
nature, or freedom from the restraints of civilized life.
They became adventurers, not from love of adventure, but
from high and noble impulses the impulses of religion.
To advance that precious interest was, indeed, their com
manding object. This was indicated by their circumstances
and manner of life in Holland before they removed thence,
and by the desire they felt to leave that country. Could
their favorite views, in respect to religion, have been car
ried out there, they would, probably, never have come to
this western wilderness. Their declarations and professions,
through their leading men, also show that the establish
ment and enjoyment of a free Gospel was their great object.
Their laws and institutions, moreover, evince that this was
their principal concern, in connection with the diffusion of
education and knowledge. These all had reference, more
or less directly, to the moral and religious welfare of the
community. The cause of God and righteousness was
guarded by the wisest and most decided legal provisions.
The concurrent declarations of all the early writers among
them, likewise indicate the spirit and purposes which dis-

90 GREATEVENTSOP

tinguished the fathers of New England above, perhaps, all
other settlers of new countries, in proposing and carrying
forward the interests of religion. Indeed, no object but
religion and its enjoyment, could have borne them through
their almost unprecedented trials and privations. To these
they voluntarily submitted, on account of their religion.
They were not otherwise compelled to leave their native
land and the homes of their childhood the seats of ease
and plenty. To hardships, of any kind, many of them had
never been exposed before; but the love of God s word,
and freedom of worship, according to the light of their own
minds, were motives, with them, sufficient to brave every
peril and earthly woe.

They were not inferior men, in respect to their civil
standing in the community. They did not proceed, gener
ally, from the lower orders of society the poorer artisans
and the laborers. They belonged, mostly, to the middle
and respectable ranks of English society. A few were
classed with the higher orders, but not to the same extent
as was the fact with the settlers of Virginia, if we may
judge from the list of names and titles of several emigrants
of the different colonies. In respect to a worldly, chiv
alrous bearing and spirit of adventure, New England and
Virginia differed the latter were eminent in this respect,
but never were men more truly brave than the fathers of
New England; in moral courage, they were unrivalled.
Like other adventurers, they manifested their undaunted
spirit in relinquishing their comfortable homes, in braving
the dangers of the deep, in encountering the horrors of a
wilderness, in incurring the risk of famine and pestilence,
and in frequently combatting a fierce savage foe. There
were as extraordinary traits of martial heroism displayed
among the pilgrims of New England, when called forth by
the necessity of circumstances, as can be found in the his
tory of any of the American colonists, though this was not
a characteristic in which they gloried. The exploits of
Miles Standish, of Plymouth, and John Mason, of Connec-

AMERICAN HISTORY. 91

ticut, might be ranked among the most striking exhibitions
of courage on record. Of Standish, it is remarked, by an
old historian, that "he was allied to the noble house of
Standish, in Lancashire, and inherited some of the virtues
of that honorable family, as well as the name." But the
high bearing and courage of the planters was eminently of
a moral kind. Unlike their Virginian neighbors, they suf
fered no misrule in their settlements. If any threatened
for a time, they promptly put it down. Their courage was
seen in resisting evil among themselves. They feared not
to put their laws into execution. They were character
ized by a healthful, vigorous public spirit, consenting to
sacrifice their own individual interest for the general good.
They thus manifested a noble nature, the product of prin
ciple, if not of birth.

The fathers of New England were not ignorant men,
and unversed in the concerns of the world. Their clergy
men and leading men in civil life, were among the ripe
scholars of the age. They had been educated at the
English universities, and numbers of them had occupied
important stations in church and state. As authors and
men of influence, in their native land, they could not have
sunk their high character by emigration; and though in
a wilderness, and under the pressure of mighty cares, they
could not so advantageously pursue their studies as in the
shades of academic retirement, they still did not neglect
to add to their intellectual stores. In several instances,
they brought large and valuable libraries with them. The
writings of Colton, Hooker, Davenport, Winthrop, Bradford,
Prince, and others, show that they were eminently men of
mind and masters of language that they were well versed
in the science and literature which adorned the age; and
their universal learning, sanctified by grace, we know, was
devoted to the most noble and beneficent purposes. There
were among the merchants and men of business, who had
figured in the world s affairs before they came- to these sol
itudes men of large experience and cultivated taste, not

92 GREATEVENTSOF

wanting in any accomplishment deemed essential in refined
and honorable society. The mass of the people, who came
over to this country as its settlers, must evidently, from the
nature of the case, have been of that thinking, intellectual,
practical class, who understood their rights and duties as
kuman beings, as also the principles of government; and
could not, therefore, with their good sense and honesty,
submit to the exactions and wrongs of tyranny. This, of
all others, is the most valuable body of the community.

The estimate which the fathers placed upon education,
is seen in the immediate establishment of literary institu
tions, both of the higher and lower grades. Scarcely had
the venerable men felled the trees of the forest, than they
erected the common school-house, the academy, and the
college. In the midst of their untold personal pressing
cares and troubles, they exercised a far-reaching sagacity
and benevolent regard towards the common good, and
towards posterity, in laying broadly the foundations of
order, intelligence, and virtue. They conceived the highest
idea of the importance of sound education to their rising
republic. They wisely judged that solid learning and true
religion were the firmest pillars of the commonwealth and
of the church. Within ten years from the settlement of
Massachusetts, a college, with good endowments, was
founded for the use of the colony.

The planters of New England were not poor men needy
adventurers. Had they been such, whence could the funds
have been derived that were necessary to sustain the
enterprise? It is evident that large sums of money were
expended in the transportation of themselves, their cattle,
and their effects to this country, and in their various remov
als when here, as well as in the continued sustentation of
their families in times of scarcity and famine. These we
know, from their history, were of frequent occurrence.
Governors Winthrop, Haynes, Eaton, and Hopkins, were
men of wealth ; so also were Mr. Johnson, Mr. Colton, and
Mr. Hooker the last two uncommonly rich for ministers.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 93

Mr. Johnson was reputed to be the wealthiest of all the
original emigrants. The mass of the early comers must
also have possessed no inconsiderable means, to enable
them to bear the heavy expenses of their voyage and set
tlement. With such a basis of property, it is not a matter
of surprise that, notwithstanding the drain and exhaustion
of the few first years, they should have increased greatly
in their worldly substance in the end, inasmuch as they
settled on a virgin soil, possessed abundance of land, and
carried on a lucrative trade in the products of the country.
Their habits of sobriety and industry were essentially
favorable to their advancement in wealth.

The New England planters were not wanting in any
moral virtues, piety, wisdom, or magnanimity. There
never lived on earth, if we may credit history, a more dis
interested, upright, conscientious, prudent, and holy body
of men. Their souls were imbued with the loftiest princi
ples of patriotism and piety. They gave undoubted proofs
of the possession of this spirit in their exertions, toils, and
sacrifices for the best welfare of their descendants and the
cause of Christianity in their spirituality, prayerfulness,
purity, and well-ordered lives. They wished, above all
things, to serve God and to do good to transmit to pos
terity a pure church and free form of government. They
received the Word of God as their sole guide in religious
concerns and moral conduct they regulated their individ
ual life, their families, their local societies, their churches,
and their state, by its rules, so far as the latter could be
consistently applied. They were sound in the faith, receiv
ing the doctrines of grace as the real system of divine
truth were strict in preserving the order and carrying
out the discipline of the churches and were rigid in the
administration of law and justice. Their zeal and liberal
ity in supporting the institutions of the Gospel among
themselves, and in efforts to Christianize the Indians, were
marked traits in their character. They considered it one
of the great objects of their mission to this continent, to

94 GREATEVENTSOP

become the means of the salvation of its aboriginal inhabit
ants, and thus to extend Christ s kingdom in the world. In
a most commendable degree, they carried their religion
into the various every-day concerns of life, and consulted,
especially on every occasion of interest and importance,
the particular guidance and blessing of God.

Such was the character of New England s fathers: they
were not perfect men; they did not claim for themselves
the attributes of perfection ; neither can others, their warm
est panegyrists, claim it for them with any consistency.
They had their errors the errors of the age. All dark
ness had not passed away from their understandings, nor
all obliquity from their hearts. There was an austerity, a
preciseness in some points, an unaccommodating temper,
which perhaps is not well suited to all times, or every state
of society, but which better agreed with their circumstances
as the founders of a nation, and as an example for others
to follow. In the natural course of imitation from age to
age, there will be apt to be a feebler resemblance of the
original; so that where the conduct in the beginning was
over-strict, in the lapse of years it will be apt to fall quite
too far below the true standard of virtue. The founders
of a nation, if they fail at all in firmness of temper or rigid-
ness of discipline, will be very apt to bring on the sooner a
dissolute state of the body politic. Our fathers, on this
account, were not so much at fault as many suppose. They
were fitted, by the guidance and grace of God, for the
times in which they lived for the work which they were
called to perform. If some few spots or shades could have
been effaced from their characters, they would have been
still more fitting instruments of good to the Church and to
posterity; but as the case is, no other founders of an empire
probably ever possessed so large a portion of wisdom and
goodness.

In respect to charges made against the fathers of New
England, pertaining to superstition, enthusiasm, injustice
towards the Indians, treatment of supposed witches, bigotry,

AMERICAN HISTORY.

persecution, and the incorporation of church and state, they
are capable of a satisfactory refutation in all the material
points, and have often received that refutation. While
something, however, is to be laid to human imperfection in
their case, yet, even in these matters, more is due to the
grace of God, which preserved them so comparatively free
from evils to which their natural dispositions, or their cir
cumstances, might be supposed to lead them.

It was indeed a new order of things which was intro
duced by the pilgrim fathers, in their removal to America.
The Mayflower came to these shores freighted with great
moral principles, as well as with a precious cargo of godly
men and women. Of those principles, some were the fol
lowing, viz: The right of private judgment in the examina
tion of divine truth, is to be held sacred Conscience,
enlightened by the Word of God, is a sufficient guide as to
truth and duty a majority governs in church and state
universal education is the basis of free government the
observation of the Sabbath is a moral virtue, and essential
to the safety of a people. From these principles, others
have been deduced ; or to them others, of scarcely less
importance, have been added in more recent times.

96 GREAT EVENTS OF

III. MIDDLE AND SOUTHERN SETTLEMENTS.*

NEW YORK New Jersey Delaware Maryland North Carolina South
Carolina Georgia Pennsylvania.

THE settlement of the state of NEW YORK commenced
in 1613, so far as the erection of a fort, near the present
city of Albany, and a few trading-houses on the island of
Manhattan (New York), may be said to constitute a settle
ment. The Dutch founded their claim to the soil from the
discovery of the Hudson by an Englishman of that name,
who was then in the employ of the Dutch; but the British
king disputed the claim, from the fact of the previous dis
covery of the country by the Cabots. The Dutch were
forced, for a short time, to yield to the demands of the
English; but, the colony having increased in the course of
a year, the English were required, in their turn, to yield
their authority to the original occupants. For a series of
years, the latter continued in peaceful possession, and, by
characteristic toil and perseverance, secured the blessings
of a growing settlement.

The territory on both sides of the Hudson, occupied by the
settlers, was called New Netherlands. In defence of their
colony, in 1623, they built several forts, one on the east side
of Delaware bay, which they named Nassau, and another,
one hundred and fifty miles up the river, which they called
Aurania. At the mouth of the river they built a town, to
which they gave the name of New Amsterdam, afterwards
New York. Near fort Nassau, the Swedes had a settle
ment, and, from the interfering claims of the two people,
quarrels arose, which in a few years ended in the subjuga
tion of the Swedes. In consequence of the Dutci claims
so far to the eastward, difficulties frequently arose between
them and the Connecticut and New Haven- colonies; but
these never amounted to another rupture, and the Dutch

* Except Virginia.

AMERICAN HISTORY.

were occasionally assisted in the Indian warfare by their
more courageous neighbors.

At the ascension of Charles II. to the British throne, the
province of New Netherlands passed into the hands of the
English. As the king, by a charter, had conveyed the
whole territory to his brother, the Duke of York and
Albany, he undertook to effect his object by force, and
accordingly despatched an armament, under the command
of Colonel Nichols, who was also appointed governor of
the province. The exhibition of force was the means of
effecting a treaty of capitulation on the part of Stuyvesant

The Dutch Governor surrendering New Amsterdam.

the Dutch governor. From this time, New Amsterdam
and the whole conquered province received the name of
New York, the original settlers choosing, for the most part ?
to remain, and being permitted to adopt many of their own
forms of government.

NEW JERSEY was settled by the Dutch, not long after
they had fixed themselves on the Hudson river. The
Danes, also, commenced a settlement at a place to which
7

98 GREATEVENTSOF

they gave the name Bergen. This was about the year
1624. In 1626, a company of Swedes and Finns purchased
land on both sides of Delaware river, and commenced a
settlement on the western bank. The Dutch, however,
considering themselves as the original settlers, laid claim to
the country. They had built a fort, as early as 1623, on
the east bank of the South river, as the Delaware was then
called. It was not until the year 1640, that the English
made any attempt to colonize the territory in question, and
then they were resisted and expelled by the Swedes and
Dutdh. A few years afterwards, however, the Duke of
York granted New Jersey to John, Lord Berkley, and Sir
George Carteret, the territory receiving that name in com
pliment to Sir George, who had been governor of the island
of Jersey in the English channel. Carteret soon after arrived
at Elizabethto wn, which he made the seat of government.

The state of DELAWARE was originally settled by the
Dutch and Swedes, the former as early as 1629, having
purchased a tract of land near Cape Henlopen. The enter
prise of planting a colony, on the Delaware, was entrusted
to an experienced navigator, De Vriez; and, in 1630, an
association was formed for this purpose, in pursuance of
which, a settlement was made, the next spring, on the west
side of the river, at a place since called Lewiston. The
Swedes, also, made considerable settlements on the same
side of the river j but, whether these preceded that of the
Dutch, is considered doubtful, the more recent authorities
leaning rather to the Dutch claim. The Swedes, however,
whatever their pretensions may have been, were conquered
by the Dutch, in whose possession the country remained
until the surrender of New York, in 1664. It was imme
diately after taken possession of, for the Duke of York, by
Sir Robert Carr. A portion of its subsequent history is
included in that of Pennsylvania, as Delaware had not
even an assembly, separate from that of Pennsylvania, for
several years.

Settlements commenced in MARYLAND as early as 1634.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 99

Two or three years previously, Lord Baltimore had visited
the colony of Virginia, and, observing that the Virginians
had formed no settlement to the northward of the river
Potomac, he determined to procure a grant of territory in
that region; but he died before the necessary authority by
charter, which Charles had promised, could be given him.
The patent, however, was filled up for his son, Cornelius
Calvert, who had then become Lord Baltimore. The king
gave to the new province the name of Maryland, in honor
of his queen, Henrietta Maria. It was originally included
in the patent of the south Virginia company, a circumstance
which gave rise, for a time, to disputes and difficulties
between these communities. Lord Baltimore pursued a
wise course in forming his colony. He established a basis
of security to property and of freedom to religion, bestow
ing, in absolute fee, fifty acres of land on every emigrant,
and allowing toleration to the various sects of the Christian
faith. George Calvert, the brother of the governor, arrived
with the first colony, consisting of about two hundred
Roman Catholics, from England. Calvert, by kindness and
liberality, obtained possession of an Indian town of import
ance, to which he gave the name of St. Mary s. Lord
Baltimore was constituted the proprietor of the province;
and he and his descendants, with some years of interruption,
continued to enjoy the rights of jurisdiction and property
until the time of the Revolution. Then the people, having
adopted a constitution, refused to admit the claims of the
representatives of Lord Baltimore.

The charter, embracing what is now NORTH CAROLINA,
SOUTH CAROLINA, and GEORGIA, was granted by Charles II.,
in 1662, to Edward, Earl of Clarendon; George, Duke of
Albemarle; William, Lord Craven, and several others.
This country was called Florida, and claimed by the Span
iards. The claim, nevertheless, was supposed to be relin
quished by the stipulations of a treaty between Great
Britain and Spain, in 1667. The previous efforts to colonize
this portion of the American continent had been unsuccess-

100 GREAT EVENTS OF

ful, and grants that had been given to different individuals
were now pronounced by the privy council to be null and
void. A government was organized over the few settlers
that were scattered in different parts, Mr. Drummond
having been appointed governor. The settlers on Albe-
marle sound were allowed, on certain conditions, to retain
their lands. The proprietors of the Carolinas did not make
serious effort towards adding to the number of the colonists
until 1667. Two ships carried out a number of adventurers,
with provisions, arms, and utensils, necessary for building
and cultivation. Sayle was appointed governor in 1669.
In what place he first landed is uncertain; but not being
pleased with his situation, he moved to the southward, and
took possession of a neck of land between Ashley and
Cooper rivers. Here he laid out a town, which, in honor
of the British king, he called Charleston. This was the
origin of South Carolina, as distinguished from North Car
olina. The distance between Albemarle and the new
location, induced the proprietors to establish two separate
governments, the settlements on the sound constituting
North Carolina. The early existence of the northern
colony is said to have been marked, in a sad degree, by
confusion and misrule, owing mainly to the exceptionable
nature of its fundamental constitutions.

GEORGIA, though the last of the English colonies estab
lished in North America, may be mentioned here, since it
was included in the original grant with the Carolinas. The
charter of Georgia, as a district, was granted in ] 732, and
embraced the country on the south of the Carolinas, between
the rivers Savannah and Altamaha, and extended westward
from the heads of these rivers to the South sea. It was given
to twenty-one persons, who were wealthy and influential
individuals, as trustees, who were incorporated for the pur
pose of settling and establishing the colony. In pursuance
of this design, in 1733, James Oglethorpe embarked for the
province, with one hundred and sixteen persons destined for
settlement. He selected the present site of Savannah, as

AMERICAN HISTORY.

101

the most desirable spot for this object. Here he built a
fort, and put the colony in a proper state of defence, not
neglecting, in the mean time, to cultivate friendly relations
with the Indians. Though the objects of the settlement of
Georgia were in a great measure benevolent as they con
templated, among other things, an asylum for the poor and
wretched in England and Ireland yet the hopes of pros
perity, entertained by the trustees, were not a little disap
pointed. The expenditures necessary for the support of
the colony, became, at length, very onerous. The colony,
also, was disturbed by the hostility of the Spaniards on the
south, and nothing, under Divine Providence, but the wise
counsels and determined valor of General Oglethorpe, saved
it from destruction in the early part of its existence.

Charles H signing the Charter of Pennsylvania,

The tract of country west of the Delaware was, in
1681, granted to William Penn, son of the distinguished
Admiral Penn, as a reward for the services of his father.
The boundaries of the tract are definitely given us in the
charter, but are too minute to be here specified. The

102 GREAT EVENTS OP

whole region was afterwards called PENNSYLVANIA, consti
tuting a state of very large and regular dimensions. The
origin of the name is beautifully and ingeniously accounted
for, in a letter written by William Penn : " This day (Jan
uary 5, 1681)," says he, "after many waitings, watchings,
solicitings, and disputes in the council, my country was
confirmed to me under the great seal of England, with
large powers and privileges, by the name of Pennsylvania;
a name the king would give it in honor of my father. I
chose New Wales, being a hilly country; and when the
secretary, a Welshman, refused to call it New Wales, I pro
posed Sylvania, and they added Penn to it, though I much
opposed it, and went to the king to have it struck out. He
said twas past, and he would take it upon him; nor could
twenty guineas move the under secretary to vary the name;
for I feared it would be looked on as a vanity in me, and
not as a respect in the king to my father, as it really was.
Thou mayst communicate my grant to friends, and expect
shortly my proposals. Tis a dear and just thing, and my
God, that has given it to me through many difficulties, will,
1 believe, bless and make it the seed of a nation. I shall
have a tender care to the government, that it be well laid
at first." And it was well laid. The territory was peace
ably, and by fair purchase, procured of the natives, and
though difficulties occasionally existed in the government,
which gave the proprietor considerable concern, yet the
colony enjoyed a career of prosperity for several successive
years. The effects of his magnanimity and justice were
especially visible in the early history of the colony.

Such, as briefly reviewed, is the history of the original
settlements of the old thirteen United States. The char
acter of the settlers, as well as their circumstances, were
various. They were from different nations in the old
world, though the great majority were of direct English
descent. But amidst the variety, there is a degree of uni
formity, a similar basis of institutions and principles has
obtained, and they have admirably coalesced in forming

AMERICAN HISTORY,

103

and sustaining one and a general government, amid their
several distinct state organizations a government admir
able for its simplicity, freedom, exact equipoise, and liberal
compromises. The number of states is now more than
doubled, and ere long will probably be three-fold. Through
the Divine blessing, let it be perpetual !

104

GREAT EVENTS OF

HI. INDIANS, THEIR TRIBES AND WARS

I. INDIAN TRIBES.

GENERAL DIVISION Tribes in the Central and Southern parts of New England
Tribes in the Northern parts East of Lake Erie and south of Lake
Ontario Southern tribes.

AT the period of the settlement of the English colonies
in America, savage tribes of Indians were scattered over
the country. In many respects, they possessed a similar
character, usages, and institutions a bond of affinity run
ning through their several communities and tribes As a
race of men, they were distinct from all the races found in
tiie old world. Their history was unknown, and to us, in
these times, dates no farther back than to the period of
European discovery here. They had, indeed, their tradi
tions ; but these, like the traditions of all other nations, are
no farther entitled to credit than they are confirmed by
appearance or probable conjecture. If the hypothesis be
correct of the Asiatic origin of the Aborigines of America,

AMERICAN HISTORY. 105

by the way of Bherings straits, there would seem to be a
probability in the general account given of their migration
towards the east, and of their conquest of a more civilized
race, then occupying the country. Such a race seems to
have been once in existence, judging from the monuments
and relics that have been occasionally found among us.
They were called the Allege wi, and their more rude con
querors styled themselves the Lenape and the Mengwe, or
the Iroquois. These seem chiefly to have divided the country
between them, after they had expelled the Allegewi. The
general name of the Delawares has since been given to the
former, and their language, called by the French, the
Algonquin. The Iroquois inhabited more the upper parts
of the country, along the lakes and the St. Lawrence.
The Lenape, or Delawares, extended themselves to the
south and east.

When our fathers came to these shores, they found here
the descendants of these savage conquerors. They were
entirely uncivilized, having, probably, undergone no pro
cess of civilization, from the time of the migration of their
ancestors to the Mississippi and the Atlantic slope. As
distributed through the various parts of the thirteen original
states, they may be mentioned, as to their confederacies or
tribes, in the following order:

In the central and southern parts of New England there
were five principal tribes : the Wampanoags or Pokanokets,
the Pawtuckets, the Massachusetts, the Narragansets, and
the Pequods. The Pokanokets were the first known to the
English settlers. The territory inhabited by this tribe, was
that which now constitutes the south-eastern part of Massa
chusetts and the eastern portion of Rhode Island. To the
chief of this tribe, who was Massasoit, at the time of the
English emigration, other smaller tribes were subject,
dwelling principally on the adjacent islands. His residence,
as also afterwards that of Philip his son, was at Montaup,
now Mount Hope, in Bristol, Rhode Island.

The tribe of Pawtuckets occupied the land upon the

106 GREAT EVENTS OF

Merrimack near its mouth, as their principal seat, though
they extended themselves south until they came in contact
with the Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts were found about the bay which bears
the name of the tribe. They were bounded by the Paw-
tuckets on the north, and the Pokanokets on the south.
Their head sachem held under his rule several smaller tribes,
some of which were known by the name of the Neponsetts,
the Nashuas, and the Pocumtucks. The acknowledged
sovereign of the confederacy, at the time of the English
settlement, was the widow of a powerful chief, styled
sometimes the "Massachusetts queen." They were sit
uated in a delightful region, where now stands the metrop
olis of New England, with its cluster of noble towns in
the vicinity.

The tribe of the Narragansets held their chief seat on
the island of the Canonicut, in the bay called after their
name. Here, also, their grand sachem resided. They
extended west of the Pawcatuck river, where they came
into the neighborhood of the Pequods. The Pokanokets
bordered them on the east. They occupied a beautiful
country, and happily adapted to their mode of life, which
was fishing and hunting. Their disposition was more mild
and peaceable than usually appeared in the Indian charac
ter. When the English arrived in that region, they found
there Canonicus, the grand sachem of the tribe, who proved
a benefactor of Rhode Island.

The tribe of Pequods were seated in the eastern part of
Connecticut, having the Narragansets on their eastern
border. They were a fierce and warlike race. Their
grand sachem, Sassacus, resided on the heights of Groton,
near the river called by their name, now the Thames.
Sassacus held the Mohegans subject to his authority.
These were a tribe occupying the place where Norwich
now stands. Uncas, the leader of the latter, joined the
whites in their war with the Pequods. These several
tribes, at the period referred to, were singularly diminished

AMERICAN HISTORY. 107

in number and power, on account of a wasting sickness,
which had been sent among them a few years before.

In the northern portion of New England, roved the
Indians whose general name was that of Tarenteens, or
Abenakis. They inhabited the coast of Maine throughout,
and extended into New Hampshire. Their character was
ferocious, and the settlers suffered severely from their wars,
murders, and depredations. Stealing in, at the dead of
night, upon the villages or dwellings, they burned and plun
dered, indiscriminately, whatever came in their way
butchering men, women, and children, without mercy.

The five tribes, or nations, that spread out east of Lake
Erie, and south of Lake Ontario, were the Iroquois, or
Mengwe, who had become thus divided, in consequence of
being pressed by the Hurons, and one or two other tribes,
inhabiting the St. Lawrence. They were called the Sen-
ecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneidas, and Mohawks. They
at length became a powerful race in their new abodes, and
not only overcame the Hurons, but made war upon the
Delawares, and were objects of dread far and near. The
most warlike community of the whole was said to be the
Mohawks. Their power and exactions reached east and
south, to a great distance.

The Indians, in the southerly portion of the country,
were of course earlier known to the English, than those
already mentioned this was true of the tribes at least that
inhabited Virginia, of which there were more than forty in
number, in 1607. The nucleus of an entire confederacy,
inhabiting the territory from the sea-coast to the falls of
the rivers, was the Powhatan nation. This confederacy
included no less than thirty tribes, and the number of war
riors was estimated at eight thousand. The chief of the
same name, who figures so much in the history of Virginia,
was the great sachem of the confederacy. The seat of the
hereditary dominions was near the presenl site of the city
of Richmond. Here the noble Pocahontas was born, and
passed her early, uncultivated life.

108

GREAT EVENTS OF

The Indians who dwelt on the highlands, between the
falls of the rivers and the mountains, were divided into two
confederacies, not long after the arrival of the English.
One division consisted of the Monahoaks, in the eight tribes,
on the north. The other consisted of the Monacans, in five
tribes, stretching on the south into Carolina. The latter
went under the name of Tuscaroras, and connected with
the Iroquois.

Of the Indians in the southern extremity of the country,
the principal confederacies were the Creeks, whose locality
was mostly in Georgia the Cherokees, who inhabited the
mountainous back country and the Choctaws and Chick-
asaws, who dwelt in the region between the mountains and
the Mississippi. Two or three other tribes occupied par
ticular localities, which need not be indicated.*

* Mrs. Willard s Republic of America.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 109

II. ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS.

VARIOUS SPECULATIONS ON THE SUBJECT Opinions of Voltaire Of Rev. Thomas
Thorowgood Dr. Boudinot Roger Williams Hubbard Thomas Mor
ton John Josselin Cotton Mather Dr. Mitchell Dr. Swinton.

ALTHOUGH not in precise accordance with the plan of
this work, yet, on account of the interest which attaches to
the subject, we devote a few pages to an exposition of the
various theories advanced in relation to the origin of the
Indian tribes existing at the time the English settled the
country. These theories have been various, according to
the whims or predilections of the authors. Some have seen
in them an original species of the human race, unconnected
with any of the nations or tribes of the old world. Others
have fancied their resemblance to this or the other people,
ancient or modern, of the eastern continent as Hebrews,
Trojans, Tartars, and the like.

Voltaire, and other skeptical writers, have accounted for
their origin, according to the first-named theory. They
have considered the Indian placed in America by the hand
of the Creator, or by nature just as the buffalo, or the
tortoise, or any other animal, was placed there or just as
trees and other products of vegetation, that are indigenous
to the soil. Thus they make no account of the apparent
scriptural doctrine of the unity of the human race the
common descent from Adam.

The identity of the Indian with the Hebrew or the
Israelite has been conjectured by many. Rev. Thomas
Thorowgood, an author of the seventeenth century, held
that opinion, and endeavored to prove that the Indians were
the Jews, who had been lost in the world for the space of
near two thousand years. Adair, who claims to have
resided forty years among the southern Indians, published
a large quarto upon their origin, history, &c. He endeav
ors to prove their identity with the Jews, by showing the
similarity of their customs, usages, and language to those

110 GREAT EVENTS OP

of the latter. The author of the Star in the West, Dr.
Boudinot, has followed the same thing, and thinks assuredly
that the Indians are the long-lost ten tribes of Israel.

Roger Williams, at one time, expressed the same opinion.
He writes, in a letter to friends in Salem, that the Indians
did not come into America from the north-east, as some had
imagined, for the following reasons: 1, Their ancestors
affirm that they came from the south-west, and return
thence when they die; 2, Because they separate their
women, in a little wigwam by themselves, at certain
seasons; and 3, Beside their god Kuttand, to the south
west, they hold that Nanawitnawit (a God overhead) made
the heavens and the earth; and he avers, also, that he (the
writer) had found "some taste of affinity with the Hebrew."

The similarity of practices, or even of a number of terms
in a language, can, however, be no conclusive proof of
sameness of origin. It may be merely accidental, or in
respect to customs more particularly, may be owing to
similarity of circumstances. "Who will pretend that dif
ferent people, when placed under similar circumstances,
will not have similar wants, and hence similar actions? that
like wants will not prompt like exertions? and like causes
produce not like effects?" The slight resemblances existing,
or fancied to exist, between the Indians and the Israelites,
may be owing to a cause like the one pointed out. As to
the language of the Indians, Mr. William Wood, an old
writer, says: "Some have thought that they might be of
the dispersed Jews, because some of their words be near
unto the Hebrew; but, by the same rule, they may con
clude them to be of the gleanings of all nations, because
they have words after the Greek, Latin, French, and other
tongues."

Hubbard, an American historian, who wrote about 1680,
has this among other passages on the subject: "If any
observation be made of their manners and dispositions, it is
easier to say from what nations they did not, than from
whom they did derive their original. Doubtless their con-

AMERICAN HISTORY. Ill

jecture, who fancy them to be descended from the ten
t ibes of the Israelites, carried captive by the Salamaneser
and Esarhaddon, hath the least show of reason of any other,
there being no footsteps to be observed of their propinquity
to them more than to any other of the tribes of the earth,
either as to their language or manners."

Thomas Morton, an early New England historian, refers
their origin to the scattered Trojans, observing, "for after
that Brutus, who was the fourth from ^Eneas, left Latium,
upon the conflict held with the Latins, where, although he
gave them a great overthrow to the slaughter of their
grand captain, and many others of the heroes of Latium,
yet he held it more safely to depart unto some other place
and people, than by staying to run the hazard of an unquiet
life or doubtful conquest; which, as history maketh mention,
he performed. This people was dispersed there is no ques
tion, but the people that lived with him, by reason of their
conversation with the Grecians and Latins, had a mixed
language that participated of both." Morton maintains
the great similarity of the languages of the Indians to the
Greek and Roman, as an instance of which, he fancied he
heard among their words Pasco-pan, and hence thinks
without doubt their ancestors were acquainted with the
god Pan!

A writer, Mr. John Josselin, who resided some time in
New England, towards the middle part of the seventeenth
century, pronounces the speech of the Mohawks to be a
dialect of the Tartars. He says " the north-east people
of America, that is, New England, &c., are judged to be
Tartars, called Samoades, being alike in complexion, shape,
habit and manners."

That the Indians were Scythians, is an opinion expressed
in a decided manner by Cotton Mather. He was confirmed
in it, on meeting with this passage of Julius Caesar: "Diffi-
cilis invenire quam interficere," rendered by him, "It is
harder to find them than to foil them." Ceesar was speak
ing of the Scythians, and the aptness of the language, as

112 GREAT EVENTS OF

expressing one peculiarity of the Indians in their warfare
their sudden attacks and retreats is noticeable.

Dr. S. L. Mitchell, of New York, a voluminous writer in
his day, thought that he had settled the question of the origin
of the Indians. They came, in his opinion, from the north
east of Asia, and that is now, perhaps, the more common
belief. He thinks that they possessed originally the same
color, as that of the north-eastern nations of Asia.

Dr. Swinton, author of many parts of the Universal
History, after stating the different opinions of various
authors, who have advocated in favor of "the dispersed
people," the Phoenicians and other eastern nations, observes,
"that, therefore, the Americans in general were descended
from a people who inhabited a country not so far distant
from them as Egypt and Phoenicia, one will, as we appre
hend, readily admit. Now, no country can be pitched upon
so proper and convenient for this purpose, as the north
eastern part of Asia, particularly Great Tartary, Siberia,
and more especially the peninsula of Kamschatka. That
probably was the tract through which many Tartarian
colonies passed into America, and peopled the most con
siderable part of the new world."*

* Book of the Indians.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 113

III. VIRGINIA INDIAN WARS.

EARLY troubles of the English with the Indians Power tyid cruelty of Pow-
hatan His apparent friendship for the Colonists Treacherous conduct
Kindness of Pocahontas Inhuman conduct of Lord De la War Captivity
of Pocahontas Cruel Massacre of the Whites Opecancanough Troubles
with Totopotomoi Anecdote of Jack-of-the-feather.

THE intercourse of the colonists in VIRGINIA with the
Indians, was not altogether such as to secure their friend
ship. Difficulties arose, which were settled only by a resort
to wars and massacres. The earlier colonists either returned
to their native land, were destroyed by famine, or were cut
off by violence. The whole scheme of colonizing was, at
first, a series of mismanagement or misfortune. The earliest
attempt at settlement, under the Captains Amidas and Bar
low, in 1684, was abortive. It is related that the English,
after landing on an island, called by the Indians Wokokon,
saw none of the natives until the third day, when three
were observed in a canoe. One of them came on shore,
and the English went to him. He was not at all intimi
dated, but spoke much to them, and then went fearlessly
on board the vessels. The whites, after making him some
presents, received some food in return. Wingina, chief of
the Indians in that place, never had much faith in the good
intentions of the English, and to him was mainly attributed
the breaking up of the colony. They were disposed to
return home, having made no serious attempt at settlement.

The ne"xt colony which proceeded to Virginia was con
ducted by Sir Richard Grenville, in 1685. He had the
imprudence to commit an outrage upon the natives, which
occasioned at length the breaking up of the colony of one
hundred and eight men whom he left behind him. He
burned an Indian town, in revenge of a petty theft, which
some native committed upon him. Ralf Lane, who was
governor, became justly chargeable with very reprehensible
conduct. He put to death some of the natives on the most
frivolous charges, and it is no wonder that the animosity of
8

114 GREAT EVENTS OF

the Indians was aroused, and that the small band of adven
turers were so discomfited as to seek a return to England.

No attempt^ to settle Virginia had succeeded up to the
year 1607. The ill-advised schemes of the company or their
controversies, and the suspicions and hatred of the Indians,
had defeated every enterprise hitherto. But one man, Cap
tain Smith, by his sagacity and heroism, at length accom
plished the object. Of his adventures, no particular account
needs to be given here, as these have been narrated in
another part of this work. But his connection with Pow-
hatan affords the occasion of bringing the latter more espe
cially into view in this place. This chief is described as
being tall and well-proportioned, wearing an aspect of sad
ness exceedingly vigorous, and possessing a body fitted -to
endure great hardships. At the time of the settlement of
Jamestown, he was about sixty years of age, and rendered
the more majestic by the gray ness of his hair. He inspired
the awe of beholders as he was seated on his wooden form,
and adorned with his robe of racoon skins, and his head
dress of various feathers having the appearance of a crown.
He governed many nations, and many of them by the right
of conquest. The place of his residence, at first, was
at Powhatan, near the falls of James river; but, afterwards,
when he had extended his conquests north, it was at a place
called Werowocomoco. His dominion included the coun
try upon James river, from its mouth to the falls, and all its
.tributary streams. This was the boundary of his country
southerly, and thus across the territory, "nearly as high as
the falls of all the great rivers over the Potowmack, even
to Patuxet in Maryland."

He usually kept a guard, consisting of forty or fifty of
his bravest men, especially when he slept, but this number
was four-fold after the arrival of the English. His wives
were numerous, and taken or dismissed at his pleasure.
When he slept, one sat at his head and another at his feet.
His places for temporary residence, or at certain seasons
of the year, were numerous. At these places he had vie-

AMERICAN HISTORY.

115

116 GREAT EVENTS OF

tuals provided against his coming, in spacious wigwams
thirty or forty yards in extent. His manner of attack upon
his neighbors, was stealthy and fiercely cruel. An instance
is given, in his surprisal, on one occasion, of the people of
Payankatank, who were his neighbors and subjects. To
effect his barbarous purpose, he sent several of his men to
lodge with them the night on which he designed an attack;
then, secretly surrounding them in their wigwams, com
menced a horrid massacre. Many of the men were killed,
their scalps taken, and the women and children made pris
oners. The scalps were exhibited upon a line between two
trees as a trophy, and the chief of Payankatank and his
wife Powhatan became servants to the emperor.

Through Captain Smith s address, this prince was now
brought completely into the English interest; although
eventually, through the imprudent conduct of Newport,
who soon after arrived from England, he was induced to
practice deception upon his new friends, in the way of
trade. Smith, however, in his turn, took advantage of the
emperor, to the no great credit of his moral principles.
The revenge was complete, as the following example
shows ; Smith gained his end fully, by pretending to set a
great value on a few blue beads, which he had exposed to
Powhatan as if by accident, and which he professed to be
very unwilling to part with, as they were worn, according
to his account, only by great kings. This fired the emperor
with the wish to secure them, at whatever sacrifice on his
part. In the infatuation produced, he parted with two or
three hundred bushels of corn, for a pound or two of beads.
Thus the intercourse of the whites with these simple chil
dren of nature, in the early period of our history, was not
always marked with that delicate regard of right and
veracity, with which every transaction of this nature should
be attended. The consequences very naturally appeared
in the many plots and counter-plots which were contrived
to embarrass one another, or to effect unlawful objects.

On one occasion Powhatan became offended with Smith,

AMERICAN HISTORY. 117

because he could not procure swords from him in the man
ner in which he procured them from Newport. When the
latter was about leaving the country, Powhatan sent him
twenty turkeys, for which he demanded and obtained
twenty swords in return. He supposed that he could do
the same with Smith, but was disappointed; and, accord
ingly he ordered his men to seize the English wherever
they could find them. The consequence was, that many of
the latter, in the vicinity of the forts, were robbed of their
swords. These depredations were continued until Smith
surprised a number of the Indians, from whom he learned
that Powhatan was endeavoring to get all the arms in his
power, with a view to massacre the whites. When the
chief found that his plot was discovered, he sent Pocahontas,
his daughter, with gifts, in order to apologize for his conduct,
and pretended that the mischief was done by some of his
chiefs. He directed her to use her influence in effecting
the release of his men, in which she succeeded, and thus
the parties became at peace again.

The friendship which Powhatan manifested towards the
English at any time, was short-lived, and seems not to have
been at all sincere. Constant deceptions were practised
by him to gain his ends ; and, so long as he lived, difficulties
existed between him and the English. The noble Poca
hontas was a sort of mediator between them, and often
brought important intelligence, as seasonable aid, to the
latter. On one occasion, after a long conference, in regard
to a trade in provisions, in which deceptions were employed
on both sides, and in which Powhatan endeavored to per
suade Captain Smith and his men to treat with him in a
friendly manner, and to throw aside their arms, Smith was
about to resort to force in order to effect his object. Pow
hatan, however, succeeded in escaping from the conference,
and in conveying his women, children, and effects into the
woods. Even then he attempted to allure Smith into his
presence unarmed, if possible, by sending him a present.
Finding, at last, all artifices without effect, Powhatan

118

GREAT EVENTS OF

resolved to fall upon the English in their cabins on the fol
lowing night. But here Pocahontas interposed her kind
offices, and was the means, most probably, of saving the
life of Smith and his attendants. She came alone, in a dark

Pocahontas coming in the night to tell Smith of the intended Massacre.

night, through the woods, and apprised Smith of her
father s design. For such a favor, Smith offered her
whatever articles she would please to accept; but she
declined taking any thing, and, with tears in her eyes,
remarked, that if her father should see her with any thing,
he would suspect what she had done, and instantly kill her.
She then retired as she came, through the dismal forest.

After Smith s final departure from Virginia, the emperor s
animosity against the whites was confirmed, as the English
successor in the government, Lord De la War, was much
less cautious and moderate in his measures with the Indians,
severe as Smith s treatment of them was at times. The
new governor, finding Powhatan not disposed to yield
to his demands, proceeded to an act of horrid barbarity.
Having got into his power an Indian prisoner, his lordship

AMERICAN HISTORY. 119

caused his right hand to be cut off. In this shocking con
dition he sent the poor creature to Powhatan. At the same
time he gave the sachem to understand, that he would
serve all the Indians in that manner, if they refused obe
dience any longer, and that he would destroy all the corn,
which was then near to the harvest. Powhatan, conse
quently, could not but feel the most burning indignation
against the Englishman.

Two years after Smith left Virginia, that is, in 1611, Cap
tain Argal treacherously took the king s daughter prisoner,
with a view to prevent him from doing injury to the English,
as also to extort a large ransom from him, and such terms of
peace as they should prescribe. On being informed of the
captivity of Pocahontas, connected with the demand that
he should restore to the English their men, guns, and tools,
taken at different times by the Indians, the stern and wary
chief became greatly embarrassed, and knew not what to
do. They did not hear from him until at the expiration of
three months, when he complied with their demand only in
part. This did not satisfy Argal; the demand in full was
reiterated ; but Powhatan was again, for a long time, silent.
The result was, that, in a year or two, Sir Thomas Dale
took Pocahontas to the residence of her father, in hopes to
effect an exchange, and bring about a peace. Powhatan
was absent from home, and the party met with no kindly
reception from the Indians, who seemed to take the pres
ence of the English in dudgeon. The latter burned many
of their Indian habitations, and gave out threats of other
vengeance. This had the effect of inducing some of the
Indians to come and make peace, as they called it. Poca
hontas had then an opportunity of seeing two of her
brothers, which gave her unbounded joy. After the mar
riage of this excellent Indian woman to Mr. Rolfe, the
whites experienced less trouble from Powhatan; though it
is believed that they were never entirely exempt from the
effects of his policy or his power.

The successors of Powhatan were, first, Opitchapan, and,

120 GREAT EVENTS OF

next, Opecancanough, both brothers of the emperor. Such
was the law of the succession. The first-named chief
seems never to have been noted for any distinguishing
quality, but is spoken of as being feeble and decrepid. He
compared unfavorably with his brother, who, in the council
and in the field, was the most conspicuous personage among
the Powhatans. He had, during the life-time of the late
emperor, procured from the free tribe of the Chickahomi-
nies the title of their king.

It was Opecancanough who figured so disastrously in
the great massacre of the whites, on the 22d March, 1622,
which has been narrated in another place. It was kept a
profound secret during four years, and burst upon the set
tlement like a bolt from heaven. In the vengeance, with
which the English followed this act of treachery and blood,
it was for some time supposed that Opecancanough was
among the killed; but if history does not misguide us, the
same sachem, twenty-two years afterwards, executed a still
greater massacre upon the English. It is not known how
long he had been plotting the extirpation of the whites, but
in 1644, all the Indians over the space of country six hun
dred miles in extent, were joined in the enterprise., The
governor and council had appointed a fast-day to be kept
through the country upon Good- Friday for the success of
the king. On the day before the intended fast, Opecanca
nough, borne in a litter, led his warriors forward, and com
menced the work of death. He was supposed to be near
one hundred years old at this time. The massacre com
menced in the out-parts of the circumjacent country, and
continued two days. The Indians fell suddenly upon the
nhabitants, and killed all indiscriminately, to the number of
three hundred. Their progress was checked by the arrival
of Sir William Berkley, at the head of an armed force.

Subsequently to this massacre (the date has not- been
ascertained), this bloody chief was taken prisoner. Sir
William intended to send him as a present to the king of
England. He was, however, prevented from doing it, by

AMERICAN HISTORY. 121

the assassination of Opecancanough. The soldier who was
appointed to guard him, fired upon him, and inflicted a
mortal wound, it having been, as was supposed, an act of
private revenge. Just before the old chief expired, hearing
a great noise and crowd around him, he ordered an attendant
to lift up his eye-lids, as from age and fatigue the elasticity

Opecancanough borne in a litter to the Massacre of the Whites.

of his muscles was in a great degree impaired, when he
discovered a multitude pressing around him, to gratify the
morbid desire of beholding a dying sachem. Aroused
with indignation, and little fearing death, he seemed to dis
regard the crowd; but raising himself from the ground in
the spirit of his wonted authority, commanded that the
governor should be called to him. When the latter came,
the chief uttered in his hearing the impassioned remark:
"Had it been my fortune to have taken Sir William Berk
ley prisoner, I would not meanly have exposed him as a
show to my people," and soon after expired. An Indian,
whom they afterwards had seized as prisoner, confessed
that they attempted this destruction of the English, because

122 GREAT EVENTS OF

&lt;r

they saw the latter "took up all their lands from them, and
would drive them out of the country, and they took this
season, for that they understood that they were at war in
England, and began to go to war among themselves."
These intrusions upon the Indian territory were, however,
conformable to the grants of the proprietors, the Indians.
Opecancanough could hardly have expected an entire con
quest, as his people had already begun to melt away, and
the villages of the English planters were springing up over
an extent of country of over five hundred miles, with a
comparatively large population.

Nickotawance succeeded Opecancanough as a tributary
to the English. In 1648, he came to Jamestown in company
with several other chiefs, and brought a number of beaver-
skins to be sent to the English king. He delivered a pro
longed address, which he concluded with the protestation,
"that the sun and moon should first lose their glorious lights
and shining, before he or his people should ever more wrong
the English."

The successor of this chief is supposed to have been
Totopotomoi, as he was king of Pamunkey in 1656. In
that year, a body of western or inland Indians, to the num
ber of six or seven hundred, came down from the mountain
ous country, and took possession of the territory about the
falls of James river. This fact coming to the knowledge
of the legislature of Virginia, which was then in session, it
was resolved to dislodge the Indians from their new location,
as their situation and proximity were considered dangerous
to the whites. The war seems not to have been attended
with any success on the part of the colony. The English
leader, with one hundred men, and Totopotomoi with one
hundred of his warriors, suffered extremely in an engage
ment. It appears, however, that a peace was not long after
concluded with the Indians.

A renowned warrior, Nemattanow, not having been men
tioned in the proper order of time, may be introduced here.
He was supposed to have had an agency in bringing about

AMERICAN HISTORY. 123

the great massacre of 1622. He was, however, an object
of jealousy to Opecancanough, the leader in that tragedy,
on account of his popularity among his countrymen. He
is said to have been an eccentric and vain person, being
wont "to dress himself up in a strange attire and barbaric
fashion with feathers," on which account he obtained the
name of Jack-of-the-feather. As he had been engaged in
many fights with the English, and, though particularly
exposed, had never received a wound, he was considered
by the Indians to be invulnerable. The cause and manner
of his fate were the following: "Only about fourteen days
before the massacre, Jack-of-the-feather went to the house
of one Morgan, where he saw many such articles exhibited
as were calculated to excite admiration in such people.
Jack, perhaps, had not the means to purchase, but it seems
he was resolved some how or other to possess them. He
therefore told Morgan that if he would take his commodities
to Pamunkey, the Indians would give him a great price for
them. Not in the least mistrusting the design of Nemattanow,
the simple Englishman set out for Pamunkey, in company
with this Indian. This was the last the English ever heard
of Morgan. However strange it may seem, Jack s ill-
directing fate sent him to the same place again ; and, what
was still more strange, he had the cap of the murdered
Morgan upon his head. Morgan s servants asked him
where their master was, who very deliberately answered
that he was dead. This satisfied them that he had murdered
him. They therefore seized him, in order to take him before
a magistrate at Berkley; but he made a good deal of resist
ance, which caused one of the captors to shoot him down.
The singular part of the tragedy is yet to be related.
Though mortally wounded, Nemattanow was not killed out
right, and his captors, which were two stout young men,
got him into a boat to proceed to Mr. Thorp s, the magis
trate. As they were going, the warrior became satisfied
that he must die, and with the most extraordinary earnest
ness, besought that two things might be granted him. One

124 GREAT EVENTS OF

was, that it should never be told to his countrymen that
he was killed by a bullet; and the other, that he should
be buried among the English, so that it should never be
discovered that he had died, or was subject to death like
other men. Such was the pride and vanity exhibited by
an Indian at his death."*

From the preceding brief notices of the hostile bearing
of the savage tribes towards the early Southern planters,
it will be apparent that the colonization of that portion of
America was no easy matter. The jealousy of the Indians
towards their new neighbors was soon excited ; nor did
the conduct of the colonists serve to allay, but rather to
increase it. The cruelty and vindictiveness of the Indians
cannot be justified ; but in their circumstances may be
found, perhaps, some small apology. This was their coun
try : they were proprietors of the soil. Here they lived :
here were their altars : here their fathers sepulchres ; and
they regarded them with the veneration and love of which
they were capable. Who can blame them? Who censure
those feelings that patriotism that love of liberty, which,
when found among civilized nations, are highly extolled?
Among the Indian chiefs, there were men of no small saga
city; who, foreseeing the consequences to themselves and
people of the thrift and extension of the English can it be
deemed strange that their anticipations were most sad? or
that they should adopt every expedient which seemed likely
to avert calamities to them most fearful?

* Book of the Indians.

AMERICAN HISTORY.

125

IV. PLYMOUTH COLONY AND THE INDIANS.

EARLY Rencontre at Plymouth Friendly intercourse established by means of
Samoset Kindness of Squanto Intercourse with Massasoit Contem
plated Massacre defeated Jealousy of Caunbitant Notice of Hobomok.

IN the early period of the settlements of New England,
the difficulties with the Indians were of less frequent occur
rence, than those which took place in the Virginia colony.
The providence of God had prepared the way for the
pilgrims to enter upon their wilderness inheritance. The
power of the Indians had been weakened by sickness, or
their dispositions softened, perhaps, in some cases, by their
adversities. There were instances, certainly, of singular
friendship toward the whites, on the part of these children of
nature, as was manifested in Samoset, Massasoit, and others.
But the character, objects, and policy of the pilgrims will
account, in part, for the comparative freedom from Indian
hostility which marked the early era. of their settlement in
this land. As they came to enjoy and disseminate their
religion, they had no motive to irritate or disturb the

126 GREATEVENTSOF

aboriginal inhabitants. Wealth was not sought from them,
nor any greater portion of the soil than would suffice for
their wants, at the same time leaving to the Indian behind
the boundless wilderness, which alone he cared for. They
would have reclaimed him from heathenism, and taught him
religion, science, and the arts of civilized life, had he been
pleased to learn them. This was attempted, in some
instances, but the success, though a matter of gratitude,
was not at any time very considerable. The policy of the
fathers was to cultivate peace with all the Indian tribes ; and
during many years, so far as the settlement of the eastern
shore was concerned, the object generally was effected.
Still occasionally difficulties would occur, and at length,
under a new set of chiefs, the notes of savage warfare rung
loud and long over the hills and vales of New England.
But we will here speak more particularly of the earliest
colony, Plymouth.

The first encounter had with the Indians, preceded the
disembarkation of the company of adventurers. It was a
select party of some fifteen or sixteen, who had landed with
a view to explore the country. Overtaken by night, they
set their watch, hoping doubtless to pass the night unmT)-
lested ; but about midnight they heard a hideous cry. The
cry then ceased, and it was then supposed that it had been
the noise only of wolves and foxes. About five o clock,
however, they again heard a sudden and strange noise,
which they knew to be the same voices, though they varied
their notes. One of the company being abroad, came run
ning in, and cried, "They are men, Indians! Indians!" and
with this announcement came a shower of arrows. The
whites ran out with all speed to recover their arms. The
cry of the enemy was terrific, especially when they per
ceived what the whites were about to do. Their arms
being secured, the Indians were ready to make an assault.
One, who appeared to be the leader of the latter, a stout
athletic man, stood behind a tree within a musket-shot, and
there let his arrows fly at the English. Three several shots

AMERICAN HISTORY. 127

were poured in upon him without touching him at length,
one seemed to take effect, as he bounded off, and his com
pany with him, yelling most hideously. It is not known
that any blood was shed in this encounter, though the
probability is, that the chief was wounded. Of the arrows
that were left on the field, several were picked up, and sent
as a curiosity to friends in England. Some of them were
ingeniously headed with brass, some with harts horn, and
some with the claws of eagles.

An intercourse of an agreeable character between the
pilgrims and the natives soon commenced, by means of
Samoset, whose manner of introducing himself to the settle
ment has been mentioned in another portion of this work.
The hospitality with which he was treated, secured his
friendship and confidence, and he communicated to the
settlers, in answer to their inquiries, whatever information
he possessed respecting the Indians and the country. He
is described by an early historian as having been a tall, strait
man, the hair of his head black, long behind, and short
before, none at all on his face. He ate and drank freely of
that which was offered him ; and, although they wished his
absence at night, yet he was unwilling to leave, and they
could not do otherwise than keep and watch him. This
visit of the kind Samoset was an augury of good to the
colony. It seemed purely a providential event.

The visit continued only until the next morning, but was
repeated in the course of a day or two. His return then
brought to the acquaintance of the colony other Indians
who accompanied him. They were some of Massasoit s
men, whose object was to trade with the English. As
Samoset was charged not to let any who came with him
bring their arms, these, therefore, left their bows and
arrows at a distance from the place. They were enter
tained in a fitting manner; they ate liberally of the English
victuals, and appeared very friendly; "sang and danced
after their manner like antics." They were dismissed as
soon as it could be done conveniently, without effecting any

128 GREAT E\E\TS OF

trade. Samoset, either being sick, or feigning himself so,
would not depart, and contrived to continue several days
longer. In this visit, some stolen articles were returned by
the Indians, through Samoset s influence.

At the next visit he made, he was accompanied by
Squanto, as once before related. The latter was said to
be the only native of Patuxet (the Indian name of Ply
mouth) living there at that period. His captivity and resi
dence in England had prepared him, by understanding the
English language, to render service to the colony. Squanto,
it appears, was the only person that escaped the great sick
ness at Patuxet. The extent of its ravages, as near as can
be judged, was from Narraganset bay to Kennebec, or, per
haps, Penobscot, and is supposed to have commenced about
1617, and its continuance between two and three years, as
it was nearly abated in 1619. According to the account
of the Indians, it was a terrific scene, the deaths occurring
with such frequency, that the living were not able to bury
the dead. In the language of an author of the time, "they
died in heaps as they laid in their houses, and the living,
that were able to shift for themselves, would runne away,
and would let them dy, and let their carcasses ly above the
ground without buriall. For in a place where many inhab
ited, there had been but one (referring to Squanto) left alive
to tell what became of the rest." When the pilgrims arrived
in this country, their bones were thick upon the ground in
many places. Squanto, with another Indian and several
Englishmen, was employed, on one occasion, to go in
search of an English boy, who had been lost in the woods.
Having been informed of some Indians that the boy was at
Nauset, they proceeded in a vessel to that place, joined also
by lyanough, the sachem of Cummaquid, and two of his
men. Aspinet, the chief at Nauset, being informed by
Squanto that his English friends had come for the boy, he
came with a great train, and brought the boy with him, one
carrying him through the water. Not less than an hundred
Indians appeared on this occasion, half of whom attending

AMERICAN HISTORY. 129

the boy to the boat, the rest standing aloof, with their bows
and arrows, looking on. The child was delivered up in a
formal manner, covered with beads, and Aspinet embraced
the opportunity of making peace with the English, the latter
giving him a knife, as also one to the kind Indian who first
entertained the lost boy, and brought him to Nauset.

Squanto had shown his early attachment to the English,
in his conduct towards Captain Dermer, who visited the
country the year before the pilgrims arrived here. When
the Indians would have killed him on some occasion,
Squanto successfully pleaded in his behalf. They had in
view the avenging of some murders, which a foreigner, an
Englishman, had a while before inflicted on their people.
These two Indians, Samoset and Squanto, remained with
the English, instructing them how to live in their country.
Squanto became an important personage in the Indian poli
tics. He was in the main friendly to the English; but his
devices to enhance himself in the eyes of his new friends,
or to make himself great in the eyes of his countrymen,
were not always wise, and were not, unfrequently, mis
chievous. In 1622 he forfeited his life by plotting to
destroy that of Massasoit. On that occasion, the latter
went to Plymouth, burning with rage against Squanto, but
the governor succeeded in quieting him for that time.
Soon after, he sent a messenger to entreat the governor s
consent to his being put to death ; but the latter would not
be persuaded to yield to his request. Squanto denied all
knowledge of the plot. The English, however, seemed
well satisfied that Squanto had laid this shallow scheme to
set them against Massasoit, thinking they would destroy
him, by which means he expected to become chief sachem
himself; and this seems the more probable, as Massasoit
was, for some time, irreconcilable, because they withheld
Squanto from him. When the English understood his
object, they assured the Indians that they did not concur in
the plot, and that they would do no injury to them, unless
the Indians began with the whites. Squanto was sharply
9

130 GREATEVENTSOF

reproved by the governor, but he was so necessary to the
welfare of the colony, in respect to its intercourse with the
Indians, that he was retained there.

The following instance is related of his manoeuvres to
possess his countrymen with great fear of the English: He
told them that the English kept the plague buried in one of
their store-houses, and that they could send it at any time
to any place, to destroy whatever persons or people they
would, though they themselves stirred not out of doors.
This piece of information was of course calculated to
inspire them with great terror. Some sagacious Indians at
length discovered the trick, by inquiring of the English
respecting it.

Squanto died during an expedition or trading voyage,
which was undertaken among the Indians of Cape Cod, to
buy corn in a time of scarcity. He was pilot on this occa
sion. He was seized with sickness in the midst of the
undertaking, his disorder being a fever, and he bleeding
much at the nose, which the Indians reckon a fatal symp
tom, the disease soon overpowered him. He desired
the governor would pray for him, that he might go to
the Englishman s God. He bequeathed his effects to
sundry of his English friends, as remembrances of his
affection.

" Thus died the famous Squanto, or Tisquantum, in De
cember, 1622. To him the pilgrims were greatly indebted,
although he often, through extreme folly and short-sighted
ness, gave them, as well as himself and others, a great deal
of trouble."

One of the most interesting personages of Indian his
tory is Massasoit, already spoken of incidentally. His visit
to the pilgrims had been previously announced through
Samoset and Squanto. He was chief of the Wampanoags,
and resided at a place called Pokanet by the Indians, which
is now included in the town of Bristol, Rhode Island. He
was a friend to the English, and persevered in his friendship
to the last. His renown was more in peace than in war, and

AMERICAN HISTORY. 131

is for that reason more precious in the memory of the
wise and virtuous.

"It has often been thought strange that so mild a sachem
as Massasoit should have possessed so great a country, and
our wonder has been increased, when we consider that
Indian possessions are generally obtained by prowess and
great personal courage. We know of none who could
boast of such extensive dominions, where all were contented
to consider themselves his friends and children. Powhatan,
Pontiac, Little Turtle, Tecumseh, and many more that we
could name, have swayed numerous tribes ; but theirs was
a temporary union in an emergency of war. That Mas
sasoit should be able to hold so many tribes together, without
constant war, required qualities belonging only to a few.
That he was not a warrior, no one will allow, when the
testimony of Annawon is so direct to the point ; for that
great chief gave Captain Church an account of what
mighty success he had formerly in the wars against many
nations of Indians, when he served Asuhmequin (Massasoit),
Philip s father."

The limits of his country cannot be exactly pointed out,
as occasionally the Nipmucks, or inland Indians, owned his
sway, and at other times that of the Narraganset sachem.
He possessed at least Cape Cod, and all that part of Massa
chusetts and Rhode Island, between Massachusetts and
Narraganset bays, extending into the interior to some dis
tance between Pawtucket and Charles rivers. The distance
is not accurately known. This chief had several places of
residence, but the favorite one would appear to have been
Mount Hope. It has always been deemed a picturesque
and beautiful locality. The Indian name, Pokanoket, sig
nifies the wood or land on the other side of the water.
There was a place in Middleborough, and another in Rayn-
ham, where Massasoit spent some parts of the year, prob
ably the summer.

It was of course in Massasoit s country that the pilgrim
fathers had arrived. With their object, and the nature of

132 GREATEVENTSOF

their movement, he could not be supposed to be acquainted.
These points he made some attempts to ascertain, by send
ing occasionally some of his men to the settlement at Ply
mouth. It was in this way that his introduction to the
English was brought about, the visit of Samoset and
Squanto being the preparation for the event. It was on
the 22d of March, 1621, that the great sagamore, with
Quadequina, his brother, made his appearance before them.
Much caution was observed by each party in respect to the
meeting, as they were uncertain of one another s views.
But presents were made to the Indians, and much good will
was expressed. The following description of the scene has
been given: "As Massasoit proceeded to meet the English,
they met him with six soldiers, who saluted each other.
Several of his men were with him, but all left their bows
and arrows behind. They were conducted to a new house
which was partly finished, and a green rug was spread on
the floor, and several cushions for Massasoit and his chiefs
to sit down upon. Then came the English governor, fol
lowed by a drummer and trumpeter, and a few soldiers,
and, after kissing one another, all sat down. Some strong
water being brought, the governor drank to Massasoit, who
in his turn drank a great draught, that made him sweat all
the while after. They now proceeded to make a treaty,
which stipulated that neither Massasoit nor any of his
people should do hurt to the English, and that if they did,
they should be given up to be punished by them; and that
if the English did any harm to him or any of his people,
they (the English) would do the like to them." Massasoit
is represented as having trembled much on the occasion,
through his fear of the English. This was his first visit to
the infant colony, and its consequences seem to have been of
the most propitious character. He ever afterwards treated
the English with kindness, and the compact was followed
by a long period of peace.

The only exception to his feelings of friendship for the
new comers, arose from the affair of Squanto, as has been

AMERICAN HISTORY. 133

already detailed. Massasoit could not but feel aggrieved;
but a sort of necessity seemed to be laid upon them to
secure the good offices of Squanto, and they could not
know, perhaps, how far he was implicated in wrong.
Indeed, it is stated that at one time they were about to
deliver up Squanto to Massasoit s men, but that the latter,
in their impatience at the delay, went off in a rage.

Sometime during the next summer, Massasoit was visited
by several of the English, among whom were Mr. Edward
Winslow, Mr. Stephen Hopkins, and Squanto, their inter
preter. The object they had in view was to ascertain his
place of residence, in the event of having to call on him
for assistance, to cement and continue their begun friend
ship, and particularly to induce him to restrain his men in
regard to their visits to the colony, as it was a time of
scarcity, and they could not afford to support such vaga
bonds. They took presents with them, in order to render
their visit agreeable to the sagamore, and such was the
effect produced. Massasoit was absent at the time, but,
being immediately sent for, he soon returned to meet his
guests. The report of their guns, upon hearing he was on
the way, frightened the Indian women and children to such
a degree, that they all fled ; but their salutation in the same
manner to Massasoit as he drew near, very greatly elated
him. He welcomed his guests with kindness, and took
them into his house; but they had sorry accommodations
and scanty fare. Except tobacco for smoking, their enter
tainment for the first night was only a supperless bed, as he
had no victuals to give them. Their bed, if it might be so
called, consisted only of planks, raised a foot from the
ground, with a thin mat upon them, with a mixed company
to occupy it, so that they were "worse weary of" their
"lodgings, than of" their "journey." After fasting two
nights and one day, they partook of a scanty, but "timely"
meal of boiled fish. In the language of the times, it is
related: "Very importunate was he to have us stay with
them longer. But we desired to keep the Sabbath at home,

134

GREAT EVENTS OF

and feared we should either be light-headed for the want
of sleep for what with bad lodging, the savages barba
rous singing (for they used to sing themselves to sleep),
lice, and fleas, within doors, and musketoes without, we
could hardly sleep all the time of our being there we much
fearing that if we should stay any longer, we should not be
able to recover home for want of strength. So that on
Friday morning, before the sun rising, we took our leave
and departed, Massasoit being both grieved and ashamed
that he could no better entertain us."

Governor Winslow s visit to Massasoit during his sickness.

A sickness with which this sachem was seized, in 1623,
occasioned another visit on the part of Mr. Winslow. He
had been sent for by the chief to visit him in his distress,
accompanied by "one Master John Hampden," then on a
visit to the colony, and he took with him medicines and
cordials, such as were deemed necessary. As it was a
custom, among the Indians, for all the friends of a chief to
attend on such occasions, Mr. Winslow found on his arrival
that the house was filled with people. They were noisily

AMERICAN HISTORY. 135

engaged in practicing their charms or powows, and all was
confusion and uproar a poor sedative, surely, for a sick
man. To keep heat in him, some half dozen women were
busily employed in chafing his arms, legs, and thighs.
When they had made an end of their incantations, the
chief was told that his friends, the English, were come to
see him. Unable to see, but learning who it was, he
desired to speak with Mr. Winslow. The interview was
touching in no small degree, and especially as Massasoit
said: "O, Winsow, I shall never see thee again." Like
other Indians, he could not articulate the liquid /. By Wins-
low s kind exertions, however, his sickness began to abate,
and the sachem finally recovered, contrary to the expecta
tions of himself and all his friends.

For this attention of the whites, he ever felt grateful,
viewing it as the means of his recovery. He gave a
striking proof of his appreciation of the favor shown him,
even before the departure of Winslow, by informing
Hobomok of a plot laid by some of his subordinate chiefs
for the purpose of destroying the two English plantations.
This he charged him to make known to the English, which
was done. Massasoit mentioned, at the same time, that he
had been urged to join in it, or give his consent to the plan ;
but that he had steadily opposed it. The evils which that
plot brought upon its authors, will be seen in another place.

Massasoit manifested a great desire for the welfare of
his people, as appeared from his inducing Mr. Winslow to
go among them, in the midst of a prevailing sickness, and
administer to them the medicines and cordials which had
proved so efficacious in his own case. This, his paternal
regard for his people, raised him still higher in the estima
tion of the English. Many Indians, before Mr. Winslow
left, came to see their chief; some probably from a distance
of an hundred miles.

A war, which commenced in 1632, between Massasoit
and Canonicus, the sachem of the Narragansets, was speed
ily terminated by the interference of the English in behalf

136 GREAT EVENTS OF

of their benefactor. Captain Miles Standish led the force,
and accomplished the object with little bloodshed, although
the Indians expected a serious contest.

Massasoit showed his kind feeling towards Mr. Williams,
in giving up the lands in dispute between him and the Nar-
raganset sachem, since Mr. Williams had bought and paid
for all he possessed of the latter. His title was precarious
so long as Massasoit laid claim to the territory, as it would
then be considered as being within the jurisdiction of Ply
mouth. The land thus given up, included that which is the
island called Rhode Island, Prudence island, and perhaps
some others, together with Providence. Agreeably to
Massasoit s advice, in regard to the Indian plot for the
massacre of the whites, already referred to, that a bold
stroke should be struck, and the heads of the plot destroyed,
the daring Standish, with a party of only eight men, went
into the hostile country to effect the object. The party
intended secresy, but the Indians in some way obtained
knowledge of it, or mistrusted Standish s design. Accord
ingly, they began to prepare for the conflict. One of them,
Pecksuot, a man of great courage, called a paniese, told
Hobomok, he understood the captain was there to kill him
and the rest of the Indians there. "Tell him," said Peck-
snot, "we know it, but fear him not, neither will we shun
him." By their conduct before the English, in sharpening
their knives and in their insulting gestures and speeches,
they showed how little apprehension they entertained,
especially as the English were so inconsiderable in number.
Pecksuot even told Standish, that though he were a great
captain, yet he was but a little man, and that he himself,
though he was no sachem, yet was a man of great strength
and courage. Standish little heeded what was said, but
watched his opportunity, as the parties were in a house
together. After considerable manoeuvring, he could get
advantage over but a few of the Indians. At length, having
got Pecksuot and Wittuwamat, a bloody Massachusetts
chief, both together, with another man and a youth, brother

AMERICAN HISTORY. 137

to Wittuwamat, and like him in character; and having about
as many of his own company in the same room, he gave
the word to his men to commence the work. The door
was at once made fast, and Standish himself began the
terrible contest. Snatching from Pecksuot his own knife
from his neck, though with a desperate struggle, he pierced
with it the athletic Indian, and brought him to the floor.
The rest killed Wittuwamat and the other man, and took
the youth, whom the captain caused to be hanged. After
this, other encounters were had with the scattered Indians,
and some three more were also killed.

In justice to the savages, it is worthy of remark, that they
were provoked to the conspiracy for which they were so
severely dealt with, by the unauthorized aggressions of
Weston s men, a colony of sixty Englishmen, who had come
over a year or two before, under the direction of Thomas
Weston. He was at first a friend of the pilgrims, but
became at length their traducer. This company, after
living upon the ill-supplied settlers at Plymouth through
the winter of 1621-22, had made at Weymouth an inex
pedient settlement. The pilgrims prosecuted this bloody
enterprise, under the excitement produced by the horrible
intelligence from Virginia of the great Indian massacre in
that colony. In view of this bloody tale, we cannot but
regret the necessity which our fathers felt for engaging in
such a work ; and we cannot but be touched with the piety
and humanity of the godly Mr. Robinson, the father of the
Plymouth church, in consequence of the present affair, that
"it would have been happy if they had converted some
before they had killed any."

Between the years 1649 and 1657, Massasoit sold to the
English, at different times, various tracts of land for a
valuable consideration. Indeed, being entirely subservient
to the English, he claimed to hold little or nothing of his
own at length, and ceased to act in his own name. He
therefore scarcely appears in the records of the colony,
during the three or four last years of his life. He died, it

138 GREAT EVENTS OP

is believed, in 1662, his son Alexander dying also the same
year. Another son, the celebrated Philip, succeeded him.
Even Massasoit could be guilty of an Indian trick, as the
following instance, related by Governor Winthrop, evinces:
Mr. Winslow, on returning from a trading voyage south
ward, left his vessel, and, traveling by land, called on his old
friend Massasoit, who agreed to accompany him during the
remainder of the journey. While they were on the way,
Massasoit sent on one of his men forward to Plymouth, for
the purpose of surprising the people, by the announcement
of Winslow s death. As the declaration was believed at
Plymouth, from the manner in which the account was given,
it produced unmingled grief at the settlement. But shortly,
what was their astonishment at seeing him alive, in company
with his Indian friend. When it was known that the sachem
had caused the sad news to be conveyed to them, they
demanded the reason of his conduct in practising such a
deception. He gave as a reply, that he might be more
welcome when he did return, and that such things were
customary with his people.

Of Caunbitant, as one of the Indian chiefs in that region,
something deserves to be said. He was one of the most
renowned captains within the dominions of Massasoit.
The place of his residence was Mettapoiset, in the present
town of Swansey. He ever looked upon the English with
a jealous eye, considering them as enemies and intruders on
the soil, and his plans appeared to be shaped for the destruc
tion of the strangers, as soon as he could find a fitting
occasion. In the summer of 1621, he was supposed to be
in the interests of the Narragansets, and plotting with
them to overthrow Massasoit. He had much also to say
against the English, and the peace concluded between
Nauset, Cummaquid, and the latter. Against Squanto and
Hobomok he indulged a deadly enmity. Discovering, on
one occasion, the house where Squanto was, he set a guard
around it, and secured him. Hobomok, seeing that Squanto
was taken, and Caunbitant holding a knife to his throat,

AMERICAN HISTORY. 139

being a strong man; broke away from them, and came to
Plymouth, with the news of Squanto s probable death.
Upon this, the people sent an expedition of fourteen men,
under Standish, to rectify matters. After much toil, this
small handful of men arrived at the place where they
expected to find Caunbitant. They beset the house, and
demanded of the chief if he were there. The savages
seemed to be struck dumb with fear. Upon being assured
that they sought only Caunbitant, and that every Indian
was safe who would be still, they at length, though a few
of them endeavored to escape, told the assailants that
Caunbitant was returned home with his whole train, and
that Squanto was yet living, and in the town. The attack
being made in the night, carried terror to the hearts of the
Indians, as in the affray a couple of guns were discharged,
some of them never having heard the report of fire-arms
before. While the English were searching the house,
Hobomok got on the top of it, and called Squanto and
another Indian, Tokamahamon, whom they sought. They
both appeared in a short time, together with several others,
some armed and others naked. The captured wigwam was
held until daylight, when the prisoners were released, and
the little army marched into the town of the Namaskets.
Here it seems Squanto had a house to which they went,
and where they took breakfast. The issue of the whole
was, the giving out of a decree from the court that they
held, in which they warned Caunbitant of the consequences
of offering violence to Tisquantum, Hobomok, or any of
Massasoit s subjects. Caunbitant seemed from this time to
lay aside his enmity to the English, or at least his open
opposition, as on the 13th of September following he went to
Plymouth, and signed a treaty of amity, together with others.
The English nevertheless always doubted his sincerity.

What became of this sachem is not known to history.
His name appears no more on record after 1623, and it
is supposed that he either fled his country, or died about
that time.

140 GREAT EVENTS OF

Hobomok, already spoken of occasionally in the story of
others, deserves a more particular notice. He was a notable
warrior, who came to Plymouth about the end of July, 1621,
and remained with the English to the close of his life. He
was the principal means of the lasting friendship of Massa-
soit, which he took much pains to promote. Esteemed by
his own countrymen for his prowess and valor, he was
extremely serviceable to the colonists, by teaching them
how to cultivate the fruits and grains peculiar to the coun
try. The latter had no reason to apprehend treachery on
his part, as Hobomok was a favorite of Massasoit, and one
of his principal captains, and was entirely in their interest.
The following incident strengthened them in their opinion:
The Massachusetts Indians had, for some time, been inviting
the settlers into their country to trade for furs. When in
March, 1622, they began to make ready for the voyage,
Hobomok told the people that he feared the Massachusetts
were joined in confederacy with the Narragansets, and
that they therefore would seize upon this occasion to cut
off Captain Standish and his company abroad; and also, in
the mean while, it was to be feared that the Narragansets
would attack the town at home, giving reasons for his
apprehensions, declaring also that Tisquantum was in the
confederacy. He intimated that the latter would use many
persuasions to draw the people from their shallops, that the
Indians might take advantage of their situation.

They, however, proceeded on their voyage, but had not
reached a great distance before a false messenger came
running into Plymouth, apparently in great agitation. He
informed them that Caunbitant, with many of the Narra
gansets, and he believed Massasoit with them, were on their
way in order to cut off the English. The story was unhes
itatingly believed, and their instant purpose was to bring
back Captain Standish, who had just left in the boat with
Hobomok. The discharge of a cannon from the town
brought the company back. They had no sooner arrived,
than Hobomok assured them there was no truth in the

AMERICAN HISTORY. 141

report, and said it was a plot of Squanto s, who was then in
one of the boats. He knew that as to Massasoit, that chief
would not engage in such an enterprise without consulting
him. Although there was reason to believe this, or at least
to confide in the sincerity of Hobomok, yet, as related in
another place, the English saw fit to connive at Squanto s
practices. "Hobomok was greatly beloved by Massasoit,
notwithstanding he became a professed Christian, and Mas
sasoit was always opposed to the English religion himself.
He was the pilot of the English when they visited Massa
soit in his sickness, whom before their arrival they considered
dead, which caused great manifestations of grief in Hobo
mok. He often exclaimed, as they were on the way, My
loving sachem ! my loving sachem ! many have I known, but
never any like thee. Then turning to Mr. Winslow, said:
4 While you live, you will never see his like among the
Indians, that he was no liar, nor bloody and cruel, like other
Indians. In anger and passion, he was soon reclaimed, easy
to be reconciled towards such as had offended him; that his
reason was such as to cause him to receive advice of
mean men; and that he governed his people better with
few blows than others did with many. In the division of
the land at Plymouth, among the inhabitants, Hobomok
received a lot as his share, on which he resided after the
English manner, and died a Christian among them. The
year of his death does not appear, but was previous
to 1642."*

* Book of the Indians.

142 GREAT EVENTS OP

V. ENGLISH AND NARRAGANSETS.

TERRITORY OF THE NARRAGANSETS Canonicus their sachem His mode of
challenging the English to War Union proposed between the Pequods
and Narragansets How defeated Haughty bearing of Miantonimoh
Accused of a conspiracy against the English Accusations repelled
Peace concluded between him and Massachusetts War between Uncas
and Miantonimoh The latter captured and delivered to the English How
disposed of Troubles with the Narragansets under Ninigret Expedition
against him Issue of it.

THE NARRAGANSETS were considered a great nation among
the Indians. The territory of their sachem extended about
thirty or forty miles from Sekunk river and Narraganset
bay, including Rhode Island and other islands in that bay.
Pawcatuck river separated it from the Pequods. Under
the rule of Canonicus, in- 1642, this nation was at the height
of its greatness, and was supposed to embrace a population
of thirty thousand inhabitants, fie was sachem of the
tribe at the time of the landing of the fathers on the shores
of New England, and continued in this capacity to the time
of his death, in 1647. He died, it is believed, at a very
advanced age. At the period of the settlement of Ply
mouth, the Wampanoags were in great fear of the Narra
gansets, and at one time war actually existed. During its
continuance, Massasoit fled before Canonicus, and sought
the protection of the English.

The Narragansets, at an early period, were not disin
clined to seek a quarrel with the English. In view of the
weakness of the latter, they began to utter threats, although
the summer preceding they had desired and obtained
peace. They deemed it a favorable opportunity for their
purpose, as the English had just received an addition to
their numbers, but not to their arms or provisions a cir
cumstance of which the Indians were advised. Their
desire, or intention, was definitely made known by the
following significant circumstance: In February, 1622,
Canonicus sent a man, accompanied by one Tokamahamon,

AMERICAN HISTORY.

143

a friendly Indian, into Plymouth, bringing with him a bun
dle of arrows, bound with a rattle-snake s skin, and, leaving
them there, immediately left the place. When Squanto
was made acquainted with the incident, he informed the
English that it was a challenge for war. The governor
(Bradford) taking the rattle-snake s skin, and filling it with
powder and shot, returned it to Canonicus. At the same
time, he instructed the messenger to bid him defiance, and
dare him to the combat. This had the desired effect upon
the Indian sachem. He refused to receive the skin, as also
the other chiefs, until it was at last returned to Plymouth.
Canonicus was evidently awed by the hostile bearing and
threat of the English.

Governor Bradford and the Snake-skin.

Not long after this affair, the Pequods proposed to the
Narragansets to join them in rooting out the English: on
the ground that if the Pequods were once destroyed, the ruin
of the Narragansets was sure to follow. The English would
want their lands. They were spreading fast. But a timeiy
combination would save both tribes and their inheritance

144 GREAT EVENTS OF

On these politic representations, the historian Hubbard
cleverly remarks that, "Machiavel himself, if he had sat in
council with them, could not have insinuated stronger rea
sons to have persuaded them to a peace." It is said that
the Narragansets felt the force of them, and were almost
persuaded to accede to the proposal, and to join with the
others against the English; but when they considered what
an advantage they had put in their hands, by the power
and favor of the English, to take full revenge of all their
former injuries upon their inveterate enemies, the thought
of that was so sweet, that it decided their hesitating minds.

The governor of Massachusetts, in order to prevent a
union between these savage nations, and to strengthen the
bands of peace between the Narraganset Indians and the
colony, sent for Miantonimoh, who was their sachem in
connection with Canonicus, inviting him to come to Boston.
Upon this, Miantonimoh, together with two of the sons of
Canonicus, another sachem, and a number of their men,
went to Boston, and entered into a treaty to the following
effect: That there should be a firm peace between them
and the English and their posterity that neither party
should make peace with the Pequods without the consent
of the other that they should not harbor the Pequods
and that they should return all fugitive servants, and deliver
over to the English, or put to death, all murderers. The
English were to give them notice when they went out
against the Pequods, and they were to furnish them with
guides. It was also stipulated that a free trade should be
maintained between the parties.

These articles were indifferently well observed by the
Narragansets till their enemies, the Pequods, were totally
subdued ; but after that event, they began to grow insolent
and treacherous, especially Miantonimoh himself. The
English seem always to have been more favorably disposed
towards other tribes than to the Narragansets, as appears
from the interest they took in the wars between them and
their enemies. As long as the other tribes succeeded

AMERICAN HISTORY. 145

against them, the English took no part in the contests ; but
whenever the Narragansets prevailed, they were ready
to intercede.

After the period of the Pequod war, in 1 637, the Narra
gansets were the most numerous and powerful of the Indian
tribes in this part of the country. Conscious of their power,
and discontented that the whole sovereignty over the rest of
the Indians was not adjuged to belong to them, or envious
that Uncas, the chief sachem of the Mohegans, had gained
the favor of the English more than themselves, they con
stantly sought occasions of disagreement with the Mohe
gans. This was in contravention of an agreement made
between the English and the Narragansets, in the year
1637, when they had helped to destroy the Pequods, and
also the triple league between the English, Mohegans, and
Narragansets, entered into at Hartford in 1638. The Nar
ragansets seemed to owe a special spite against Uncas and
the Mohegans, from the time of the distribution of the
Pequods after the termination of the war. They had
probably expected the whole management of that affair for
themselves. They therefore found occasions of quarrel
with Uncas, and were hardly kept from making open war
with him, when they saw all other attempts to destroy him
by treachery, poison, and sorcery had failed. The Mohe
gans, though a less numerous and powerful people than the
Narragansets, were yet more warlike in character and
more politic in their intercourse with the whites.

The disposition of Miantonimoh was haughty and aspir
ing, and he seemed to infuse the same spirit into the minds
of his people. He possessed a fine figure, was tall of stat
ure, and was a master of cunning and subtlely. It was
strongly suspected that, in the year 1642, he had contrived
to draw all the Indians throughout the country into a
general conspiracy against the English. Letters from Con
necticut, received at Boston, had announced the existence
of such a conspiracy, and even the details of it were given.
The time appointed for the assault was said to be after
10

146 GREAT EVENTS OF

harvest the manner, to be by several companies entering
into the houses of the principal men, professedly for the
purposes of trade, and then to kill them there; one com
pany seizing their arms, and others being at hand to
prosecute the massacre. It was urged on the part of
Connecticut, that war should be begun with them, and
that if Massachusetts would send one hundred and twenty
men to Saybrook, at the mouth of the river, they would
meet them with a proportionable number. Though there
was a probability in the stories afloat, respecting the Narra-
gansets, yet the general court of Massachusetts did not
think the information to be a sufficient ground for com
mencing a war. The court, however, ordered that the
Indians within their jurisdiction should be disarmed, and to
this they willingly assented. The sachem of the Narra-
gansets was, moreover, sent for to Boston, and, by his
readiness to appear, confirmed the English in the opinion
that nothing had as yet occurred which could be construed
into a justifiable cause of war. The sachem s quarrel
with the Mohegans would very naturally render them a
subject of such a report, whether there was a foundation
for it or not.

Miantonimoh very consistently urged before the court,
that his accusers should be confronted to him, and their
allegations sifted, so that the truth might be ascertained
that if they could not prove their charges, they might
receive the punishment which was their due, and which
would have been inflicted on himself if found guilty, that
is, death and that as the English must have believed the
report, because they ordered the disarming of the Indians,
so equity required that they who accused him, should be
punished according to the offence charged upon his own
person. He, moreover, engaged to prove that the report
was raised by Uncas himself, or some of his people. On
the part of English, the disarming of the Indians was
excused on the ground that Englishmen s houses had been
robbed in several instances by the Indians, which was a

AMERICAN HISTORY. 147

consideration that somewhat satisfied the chief. The Con
necticut people yielded, though with reluctance, to the
decision of the Massachusetts court.

They spent two days in making a treaty of peace, the
delay being occasioned by the difficulty of obtaining Mian-
tonimoh s consent to a portion of the stipulations. It was,
however, effected to the satisfaction of the English. Indian
hostages were given for its performance, and, excepting a
company stationed in the Mohegan country for the protec
tion of Uncas, the whites laid aside warlike preparations.

In the year 1643, Miantonimoh invaded the Mohegans
with nine hundred of his warriors ; Uncas met him at the
head of five hundred of his men, on a large plain; both
prepared for action, and advanced within bow-shot. Before
the conflict commenced, Uncas advanced singly, and thus
addressed his antagonist: "You have a number of men
with you, and so have I with me. It is a pity that such
brave warriors should be killed in a private quarrel between
us. Come like a man, as you profess to be, and let us fight
it out. If you kill me, my men shall be yours ; but if I kill
you, your men shall be mine." Miantonimoh replied:
"My men came to fight, and they shall fight." Uncas had
before told his men, that if his enemy should refuse to fight
with him personally, he would fall down, and then they
were to discharge their missiles on the Narragansets, and
fall upon them as fast as they could. This was accordingly
done. Uncas instantly fell upon the ground, and his men
poured a shower of arrows upon Miantonimoh s army, and
with a horrible yell advanced rapidly upon them, and put
them to flight. Uncas and his men pressed on, driving
them down ledges of rock, and scattering them in every
direction. Miantonimoh was overtaken and seized by
Uncas, who, by a shout, called back his furious warriors.
About thirty Narragansets were slain, among whom were
several noted chiefs. Finding himself in the hands of his
implacable enemy, Miantonimoh remained silent, nor could
Uncas, by any art, force him to break his sullen mood

148 GREAT EVENTS OF

"Had you taken me," said the conqueror, "I should have
asked you for my life." No reply was made by the indig
nant chief, and he submitted without a murmur to his
humiliating condition. He was afterwards conducted to
Hartford, by his conqueror, and delivered to the English,
by whom he was held in duress until his fate should be
determined by the commissioners of the colonies. After an
examination of his case, the commissioners resolved, "that
as it was evident that Uncas could not be safe while
Miantonimoh lived, but either by secret treachery or open
force his life would be constantly in danger, he might justly
put such a false and blood-thirsty enemy to death ; but this
was to be done out of the English jurisdiction, and without
cruelty or torture." Miantonimoh was delivered to Uncas,
and by a number of his trusty men was marched to the
spot where he was captured, attended by two Englishmen
to see that no torture was inflicted, and the moment he
arrived at the fatal place, one -of Uncas men came up
behind, and with his hatchet split the skull of the unfortu
nate chief. The body was buried on the spot, and a heap
of stones piled upon the grave. The place since that time
has been known by the name of Sachem s plain, and is
situated in the town of Norwich, in Connecticut.*

The Narragansets, as was to be expected, ever after
wards bore an implacable malice against Uncas and all
the Mohegans, and also for their sakes secretly against the
English, so far as they dared to discover it. But the death
of Miantonimoh, and the preparation for the invasion of the
Narraganset country by the English which had been made,
put an end to hostilities for a period in the eastern part of
Connecticut.

In continuing the Narraganset history, Ninigret now
properly comes into view. As already mentioned, he was
sachem of the Nianticks, a tribe of the Narragansets. In
1644, the Narragansets and Ninigret s men united against

* Hoyt s Antiquarian Researches.

AMERICAN HISTORY.

149

the Mohegans, and for some time obliged Uncas to confine
himself and men to his fort. The Indians, however, afraid
of the English, abandoned the siege, and came in to Boston
to sue for peace. This was granted ; but a short time after,
it became necessary to again terrify them. With twenty
men, Captain Atherton marched to the wigwam of Ninigret,
entering which, he seized the chief, and threatened his life.
This step had the desired effect. The Indians begged for
life, and promised submission.

Captain Atherton in the Wigwam of Ninigret.

Some time after this occurrence, Ninigret again grew
troublesome, and again had to be quieted by an armed
force sent against him. In the panic with which he was
affected, he submitted to the demands that were laid upon
him. Ninigret passed the winter of 1652-53 among the
Dutch of New York. This circumstance awakened the
suspicions of the English, especially as hostile feelings
existed at that time between the Dutch and English. The
report from several sagamores was, that the Dutch governor
had attempted to hire them to cut off the English. The

150 GREATEVENTSOF

consequence was, a special meeting of the English commis
sioners of the several New England colonies, to consult in
reference to this subject. Their object was to ascertain
the truth of the rumor, that the Narragansets had leagued
with the Dutch, to break up the English settlements.
Several of the chiefs of the Narragansets were accordingly
questioned by a letter, through an agent living at the Nar-
raganset, in regard to this plot; but their answers were
altogether exculpatory. As to any positive testimony that
Ninigret was plotting against the English, there appears to
be none.

In the year 1652, a war having commenced between
England and Holland, it was apprehended that hostilities
would take place between the colonies of the two nations
in America. A threatening attitude was indeed held for
some time by the Dutch of New Netherlands, and forces
were raised by the four New England colonies ; but no col
lision occurred. In the event of hostilities, it was believed
that the sachem, Ninigret, would lead the Narragansets to
the aid of the Dutch, and that he had held a conference
with them at Manhattan, in the winter of 1652. Whether
that was the case or not, he refused for some time after to
treat with the English for a continuance of the peace.
Under these threatening appearances, the commissioners of
the colonies met, and resolved to raise two hundred and
seventy infantry, and forty cavalry, for the purpose of
chastising Ninigret s haughtiness, and bringing the Nar
ragansets to terms. The forces were duly apportioned
among the colonies. Massachusetts had been at first
reluctant, but finally assented to the measure. The com
missioners nominated Major Gibbons, Major Denison, or
Captain Atherton, to the chief command; leaving it, in com
plaisance, to the general court of Massachusetts to appoint
which one of the three they should please. But, rejecting
these, who were men of known courage and enterprise,
they appointed Major Simon Willard. The commissioners
instructed him to proceed, with such troops as should be

AMERICAN HISTORY. 151

found at the place of general rendezvous, by the 1 3th of
October, directly to Ninigret s quarters, and demand of him
the Pequods who had been put under him, and the tribute
which was due. If Ninigret should not deliver them, and
pay the tribute, he was required to take them by force.
He was instructed to demand of the sachem a cessation
from all further hostilities against the Long Island Indians.
Receiving these and some other instructions, he proceeded
into the Narraganset country. When he arrived at the
place of rendezvous, he found that Ninigret had fled into
a swamp about fifteen miles distant. The latter had left
his country, corn, and wigwams, without defence, and they
might have been laid waste without danger or loss. He,
however, returned without ever advancing from his head
quarters, or doing the enemy the least damage. About a
hundred Pequods took this opportunity to renounce the
government of Ninigret, and come off with the English
army, putting themselves under the control of the w r hites.

The commissioners in favor of the expedition, were dis
satisfied with the conduct of Major Willard, and charged
him with having neglected a fair opportunity of chastising
the Indians, by the destruction of their dwellings, and their
fields of corn. He, however, pleaded in excuse, that his
instructions were equivocal, and the season for marching
unfavorable. By many people in Connecticut and New
Haven, it was believed that the commander was secretly
instructed by the government of Massachusetts to avoid
depredations on the property of the Indians, and thereby
prevent a war, which the latter colony considered to be of
doubtful policy. However this may be, it is certain that
Major Willard received no censure from the Massachusetts
court, and no one doubted his firmness as an officer.

After the return of the English troops from the Narra
ganset country, Ninigret assumed his former spirit of
defiance, and continued the war against the Indians upon
Long Island. Both the Indians and the English there were
soon thrown into great distress. It became apparent that

152 GREAT EVENTS OF

these Indians could not hold out much longer, but that they
must submit themselves and their country to the Narragan-
sets, unless they should receive speedy aid. In consequence
of this state of things, and as these Indians were in alliance
with the colonies, measures were taken to aid them against
Ninigret. An armed vessel was stationed off Montauk to
watch his movements, and forces were held in readiness at
Saybrook and New London, to move on the shortest notice,
should the hostile chief again attempt to invade the island.
Hostilities, however, continued some time, and the tribes in
various directions exhibited a strange, changeable conduct.
Uncas, in this exigency, was so pressed by the Narragansets,
that Connecticut was obliged to send men to his fortress to
assist in defending himself against them. The Narragan
sets, in several instances, threatened and plundered the
inhabitants of Connecticut.

In 1657, some mischief was done at Farmington, in which
the Norwootuck and Pocomotuck Indians were supposed to
be accomplices. Even the Mohegans under Uncas also par
took of the hostile spirit, and an assault was made by them
upon the Podunk Indians at Windsor. At length the Long
Island Indians turned against their friends on the island, and
Major Mason was ordered with a force for the protection
of the English in that quarter. At last the war, and the
difficulties in regard to the Narragansets, having ceased for
a period, the English were once more left to pursue the
arts of peace, and consummate their labors for colonizing
the country.*

* Book of the Indians.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 153

VI. PEQUOD WAR.

TERRITORY OF THE PEQUODS Their Character Sassacus His hatred of the
English Cruelties practised towards them War declared by Connecticut
Expedition of Captain Mason Surprise and destruction of the fort
Further prosecution of the war Happy consequences resulting from it.

THE Pequods are supposed to have emigrated from the
interior parts of the country, towards the sea-shore of Con
necticut. They inhabited more or less of the territory
now constituting that state, as well as a part of Rhode
Island, and New York as far west as the Hudson river.
At what time this emigration took place, is not known.
Being a fierce, cruel, and warlike people, they made all the
other tribes stand in awe of them, though they were fewer
in number than their neighbors, the Narragansets. The
principal seat of the Pequod sagamores was near the mouth
of the Pequod river, now the Thames, where New Lon
don is built. There was said to be one principal sagamore,
or sachem, over the rest. He who sustained this distinc
tion, at the time of the English settlements in Connecticut,
was Sassacus. His name alone was a terror to all the
neighboring tribes of Indians. At the height of his power,
he had twenty sachems under him.

Sassacus ever regarded the English with feelings of jeal
ousy and hatred. As h.e considered them, intruders on his
domains, he was determined to expel them, if possible.
Fired with rage, he breathed nothing but war and revenge.
The utmost effort and art were employed by him to pro
duce a combination of Indian power against them. The
Narragansets, as related in another place, barely escaped
the snare. But though unable to effect any extensive
union, Sassacus was firm in himself, and insp red all the
Indians under his influence with the resentment that burned
in his own bosom.

Finding war with this powerful and exasperated chief
unavoidable, the Connecticut people prepared for it with

154 GREAT EVENTS OF

such means and resources as they could command. A
court was summoned to meet at Hartford on the 1st day of
May, 1637, at which it was resolved, that an offensive war
should be immediately commenced against the Pequods.
Ninety men were ordered to be raised from the three
towns on Connecticut river, and Captain John Mason was
appointed to command an expedition into the heart of the
Pequod country. At the same time, the report of the
slaughter and horrid cruelties, committed by this savage
tribe against the people of Connecticut, roused the other
colonies to exertions against the common enemy. Massa
chusetts resolved to send two hundred men, and Plymouth
forty, to assist the sister-colony in prosecuting the war.
Captains Stoughton, Trask, and Patrick, were appointed
their commanders.

The troops embarked at Hartford on the 10th of May,
and sailed down the river to Saybrook. They consisted
of ninety Englishmen, and about seventy Mohegans and
river Indians. While at Saybrook, forty of the Indians
under Mason, being out at some distance from the place,
fell in with about forty of the enemy, killed seven and cap
tured one, who was brought to the fort, and executed by
the English. Here the little army was joined by Captain
Underbill with nineteen men, who had some months before
been sent by the governor of Massachusetts to strengthen
the garrison at Saybrook. This accession to his forces
permitted Mason to send back twenty of his original num
ber for the protection of the infant settlements on the river,
which were peculiarly exposed at this crisis. The whole
force, including the Indians, was embodied and directed by
Mason. After remaining several days at Saybrook to
complete his arrangements, he sailed, with his Connecticut
forces, for Narraganset bay, where he arrived on the 19th
of May. At this place, two hundred of Miantonimoh s
warriors were engaged to accompany the English forces
on the expedition. Information was now received from
Captain Patrick, that he had arrived at Providence with

AMERICAN HISTORY. 155

forty Massachusetts men, under orders to join the troops
of Connecticut. For various reasons, but chiefly from an
apprehension that the Pequods might gain intelligence of
the expedition, Mason commenced his march, without
waiting for Patrick s company, and soon reached Nehan-
tick, the seat of the Narraganset sachems. Here he was
joined by an additional company of Indians the whole
army, including the English, amounting to more than five
hundred.

Here they staid over night, and learning that the Pequods
held two forts, one at Mystic river and the other about
three miles west of that, they resolved, contrary to their
original plan of attacking both together, to make a united
attack on the Mystic fort, and accordingly commenced
their march. After a march of twelve miles, through for
ests and over hills and morasses, Mason reached the Paw-
catuck. The day was very hot, and the men, through the
great heat and a scarcity of provisions, began to faint.
Here he halted for some time, and refreshed the troops.
In the meanwhile, the Indians, who had previously boasted
how they would fight, when they learned that the forts
were to be actually attacked, and the dreaded Sassacus to
be met, were overcome by their fears, and many of them
returned home to Narraganset. But the intrepid Mason,
resolving to advance, despatched a faithful Indian to recon
noitre the fort, who soon returned with information that the
Pequods were unapprised of their danger, and appeared to
be resting in entire security. The march was immediately
recommenced towards Mystic river, and on the night of
the 26th, the whole body encamped about three miles from
the fort.

"The important crisis was now come when the very
existence of Connecticut, under Providence, was to be
determined by the sword in a single action, by the good
conduct of less than eighty men." They proved them
selves, as the event shows, worthy of the occasion, and
properly conscious of the interest at stake. To God they

156

GREAT EVENTS OF

looked for aid and courage, at an hour when the decision
was to be made, whether all that they held dear in life
should be secured, or wrenched from them for ever.

Two hours before day, the troops were in motion for the
assault. At this juncture, Mason s Indians entirely lost
their resolution, and began to fall back. The captain bid
them not to fly, but to surround the fort at any distance
they pleased, and there remain witnesses of the courage of
the English. Without delay, the fort was approached on
two opposite sides, the Pequods having just before been
aroused from sleep by the cry of one of their number,
"Owanux, Owanux!" Englishmen, Englishmen! He had,

Captain Mason and his Party attacking the Pequod Fort in the Swamp.

at that instant, been awakened by the barking of a dog.
While the Pequods were rallying, Mason s troops advanced,
and poured in a fire through the openings of the palisades,
and wheeling off to a side barricaded only with brush,
rushed into the fort, sword in hand. Notwithstanding the
suddenness of the attack, and their great confusion, the
enemy made a desperate resistance. Concealing them-

AMERICAN HISTORY. 157

selves in and behind their wigwams, they maintained their
ground stoutly against the English, who, advancing in dif
ferent directions, cut down every Indian they met. But the
victory was not certain it had not been achieved Mason
felt it to be an awful moment. Happily it occurred to him
to burn the Indian wigwams. The shout was immediately
uttered, "We must burn them!" It was done. In a few
moments the mats, with which their dwellings were cov
ered, were in a blaze, and the flames spread in every direc
tion. As the fire increased, the English retired ithout
the fort, and environed it on every side. The Indians now
recovering courage, formed another circle exterior to that
of the English.

The amazed Pequods, driven from their covert by fire,
climbed the palisades, and presenting themselves in full
view, more than one hundred were shot down. Others,
sallying forth from their burning cells, were shot, or cut in
pieces with the sword. In the mean time, many perished in
the flames within the fort. The battle, in this locality, -con
tinued about an hour, and the scene of terror and blood is
hardly to be described. Seventy wigwams were con
sumed, and between five and six hundred of the enemy, of
all descriptions, strewed the ground, or were involved in
the burning pile. This victory was achieved with the loss
only of two men killed and twenty wounded.

In the course of the attack, in the interior of the fort,
Captain Mason s life was in immediate danger. As he was
entering a wigwam to procure a firebrand, a Pequod, per
ceiving him, drew his arrow to the head, with a view to
pierce the captain s body. At this critical moment, a reso
lute sergeant entering in, rescued his commander from
imminent peril by cutting the bow-string with his cutlass.

Although the result of the engagement was the complete
overthrow of the Pequod camp, yet the situation of the
Connecticut army was extremely dangerous and distressing.
Two of their troops were killed, and at least one-fourth
wounded; the remainder were faint with fatigue and want

158 GREAT EVENTS OF

of food; they were in the midst of an enemy s country,
many miles from their vessels, and their ammunition was
nearly expended. The principal fortress of their enemy
was but three miles distant, where there was a fresh army,
which they knew would be filled with rage, on learning the
fate of their comrades. In this perilous condition, while
they were consulting on the course to be pursued, their
vessels, as if guided by the visible hand of Providence,
appeared in sight, steering with a fair wind into the harbor.
The little band, however, were not permitted to reach
Pequod harbor without additional fighting. For no sooner
had the vessels been discovered, than three hundred
Indians came from the other fort, and were disposed to
attack Captain Mason s party. He, however, so disposed
of his few available men, assisted by the Indians with him,
who carried the wounded English, that the Pequods were
prevented from coming so near as to do any mischief. But
the balls of the English muskets took effect on several of
their number; and though, when the enemy came in sight
of the demolished fort, they raved, and tore their hair from
their heads, and rushed forward with the utmost fury to
demolish the English, they were taught to repent their
rashness. Finding all attempts in vain, to break in upon
the little army, they left the victors to pursue the remainder
of their way to Pequod harbor unmolested. They entered
it with their colors flying, and were received on board the
vessels with every demonstration of joy and gratitude.

The troops employed on this expedition, reached their
homes in about three weeks from the time they embarked
at Hartford. They were received with the greatest exulta
tion. Benisons were poured forth on them from all lips.
But to God, especially, as the helper of his people in their
fearful trial, did the anthem of praise ascend from the
domestic altar and the solemn assembly.

The Pequods, on the departure of Captain Mason, burned
their wigwams, destroyed their principal fort, and were
with difficulty restrained from putting their own chief, Sas-

AMERICAN HISTORY. 159

sacus, to death, as they looked upon him as the author of
their calamity. They scattered themselves throughout the
country, Sassacus, Mononotto, and seventy or eighty of
their chief counsellors and warriors, taking their route over
Hudson river. In the mean time, Massachusetts, hearing
of the success of Mason, despatched a body of one hun
dred and twenty men under Captain Stoughton, to follow
up the victory. Arriving in the enemy s country, the Mas
sachusetts army, finding a body of that tribe in a swamp,
made an assault upon them, with the aid of the Narragan-
sets. Some twenty-eight were killed and a larger number
taken prisoners.

The court at Connecticut ordered that forty men should
be raised forthwith, for the further prosecution of the war,
under the same commander. These troops formed a junc
tion with the party under command of Stoughton at Pequod,
and the conclusion was immediately to march in pursuit of
Sassacus. They proceeded on their way as far as Quin-
nipiac (New Haven), where, after staying several days,
they received intelligence that the enemy was at a consid
erable distance, in a great swamp to the westward. Here
the Indians were met, and an engagement took place,
under circumstances of great difficulty to the English,
many of whom were nearly mired, but it was nevertheless
attended with success. The fighting was of a most des
perate character, the assailants finding it nearly impossible
to master or dislodge the foe. Under the cover of a fog,
after having been watched through the night, Sassacus and
sixty or seventy of his bravest warriors broke through the
English ranks, and escaped. About twenty Indians were
killed, and one hundred and eighty were taken prisoners.
The Pequods, who remained in the territory, amounting to
some two hundred, besides women and children, were at
length divided among the Narragansets and Mohegans,
and the nation became extinct.

The character of this war, from the boldness and vigor
with which it had been prosecuted, seemed to belong to the

160

GREAT EVENTS OP

age of romance. It is replete with thrilling incident and
daring adventure. Yet the sober, religious spirit and con
victions of duty, which accompanied the pilgrims to battle,
turn its chivalrous aspect into the features of stern reality
and unavoidable necessity. It involved the fate of an infant
republic and the interests of posterity. The conquest of
the Pequods, while it was so fatal to one party, was pro
ductive of the most happy consequences to the other. It
struck the Indians throughout New England with such a
salutary terror, that they were contented to remain at peace
nearly forty years.

AMERICAN HISTORY.

161

VII. PHILIP S WAR.

CAUSES of Philip s War Character of Philip General spirit of hostility among
the Indians Outbreak at Swansey Expedition under General Savage
Expedition under Captain Church Perilous situation of this latter party
Timely arrival of Captain Hutchinson Second expedition of Captain
Church Critical situation of Philip Effects his escape Annoys the back
settlements of Massachusetts Treachery of the Nipmucks Attack on
Brookfield Bloody affair at Muddy Brook Attack on Springfield
Attack on Hatfield Outrages at Northampton Large force raised by
Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Connecticut, against the Narragansets
Philip s fortress at Kingston, Rhode Island Destruction of it Lancaster
destroyed Other towns burned Fatal affair at Pawtuxet river, Rhode
Island Stratagem of Cape Cod Indians Attacks on Rehoboth, Chelms-
ford, Sudbury, &c. Expedition of Connecticut troops Conanchet cap
tured Long Meadow attacked Hadley Fortunes of Philip on the wane
Successful expedition against the Indians at Connecticut river falls
Attack on Hatfield On Hadley Remarkable interposition of a stranger
at Hadley, supposed to be Goffe Decline of Philip s power Pursued by
Captain Church Death of Philip Disastrous effects of the war Philip s
warriors Annawon Reflections.

To communities and nations, crises arrive, in which,
through danger and sufferings, they are either overcome and
11

162 GREAT EVENTS OF

extirpated, or spring forward to an improved condition after
the first hurtful effect of the trial is passed away. The war
with Philip constituted such a crisis to the New England
colonies. Their danger was imminent their sufferings
were fearful, and the immediate consequences were lament
ation, and weakness, and indebtedness. But their recu
perative energies soon reappeared, and a wide door thus
became open to extended settlement and population.

The causes of the war lay partly in the condition of
the colonies, and partly in the character of Philip. The
English settlements were extending far into the wilderness,
the home of the Indian, and were rapidly increasing in
strength. The natives viewed them as intruders, and con
sidered the probability that, at no distant day, they would
be dispossessed of the heritage of their fathers. They
were jealous of the designs of the English, and impatient
under the encroachments already made. They viewed
themselves as the proper lords of the forest, and they now
saw that their hunting grounds were abridged, and the
wild animals on which they depended for subsistence, were
disappearing, as the white man felled the trees, and culti
vated the soil, and reared his dwellings.

In view of this progress of the whites, nothing seemed
to remain to the native savage but to be forced from his
loved haunts, and to lose his cherished possessions, or to
arouse, and by a desperate effort of strength and valor to
regain all that he once owned.

The individual among the Indians whose foresight most
clearly discerned the state of things, and whose spirit was
equal to the emergency of attempting to resist it, was
Pometacom. He was styled Philip by the English, a nick
name given him on account of his ambitious and haughty
temper, and by this name he is chiefly known in history.
He was the sachem of the Wampanoags, residing at Mount
Hope, a younger son of the famous Massasoit, the friend
of the whites.

Philip had not spared any pains for a long time to effect

AMERICAN HISTORY.

163

a conspiracy, and to unite the Indians in a general war
against the colonists; but it happened that before his plan
was matured, his intentions, and those of the Indians gener
ally, were revealed to the English. The Indian who
betrayed him was Sausaman, one of Eliot s converts. For
this he was murdered by Philip s men; three of whom were
seized, tried, and executed. This was the signal for blood.
The first attack of the Indians was upon Swansey, several
of whose inhabitants were killed.

Flight of Philip from Mount Hope.

Philip soon after suddenly left his place of residence and
his territory to the English. The occasion of his precipi
tate retreat, was the following: Additional assistance being
needed, the authorities of Boston sent out Major General
Savage from that place, with sixty horse and as many foot.
They scoured the country on the march to Mount Hope,
where Philip and his wife were supposed to be at that time.
They came into his neigborhood unawares, so that he was
forced to rise from dinner, and he and all with him fled far
ther up into the country. They pursued him as far as they

164

GREAT EVENTS OF

could go for swamps ; and killed fifteen or sixteen in that
expedition.

At the solicitation of Benjamin Church, a company of
thirty-six men were put under him and Captain Fuller, who
on the 8th of July marched down into Pocasset Neck. This
force, small as it was, afterwards divided Church taking
nineteen men, and Fuller the remaining seventeen. The
party under Church proceeded into a point of land called
Punkateeset, now the southerly extremity of Tiverton, where
they were attacked by a body of three hundred Indians.
After a few moments fight, the English retreated to the
sea-shore, and thus saved themselves from destruction; for
Church perceived that it was the intention of the Indians
to surround them. They could expect little more than to
perish, but they knew they were in a situation to sell their

Captain Chnrch and his men hemmed in by Indians.

lives at the dearest rate. Thus hemmed in, Church had a
double duty to perform -that of preserving the spirit of his
followers, several of whom viewed their situation as des
perate, and erecting piles of stone to defend them.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 165

As boats had been appointed to attend upon the English
in this expedition, the heroic party looked for relief from
this quarter; but though the boats appeared, they were kept
off by the fire of the Indians, and Church, in a moment of
vexation, bid them be gone. The Indians, now encouraged,
fired thicker and faster than before. The situation of the
English was now most forlorn, although as yet, providen
tially, not one of them had been wounded. Night was
coming on, their ammunition nearly spent, and the Indians
had possessed themselves of a stone house that overlooked
them; but, just in season to save them, a sloop was discov
ered bearing down towards the shore. It was commanded
by a resolute man, Captain Golding, who effected the em
barkation of the company, taking only two at a time in a
canoe. During all this time, the Indians plied their fire
arms ; and Church, who was the last to embark, narrowly
escaped the balls of the enemy, one grazing the hair of his
head, and another lodging in a stake, which happened to
stand just before the centre of his breast. The band under
Captain Fuller met with a similar fortune, but escaped by
getting possession of an old house, close upon the water s
edge, and were early taken off by boats. He had two of
his party wounded.

Church soon after joined a body of English forces, and
again penetrated Pocasset, and renewed his skirmishes with
the enemy. The main body of the English, not long after,
arrived at the place; on which, Philip retired into the
recesses of a large swamp. Here his situation, for a time,
was exceedingly critical ; but at length he contrived to
elude his besiegers; and, effecting his escape, fled to the
Nipmucks, by whom he was readily received.

Soon after the war began, an effort had been made by
the governor of Massachusetts to dissuade the Nipmucks
from espousing the cause of Philip. But at the time, not
agreeing among themselves, they would only consent to
meet the English commissioners at a place three miles from
Brookfield on a specified day. The English authorities

166 GREAT EVENTS OF

deputed Captains Hutchinson and Wheeler to proceed to
the appointed place. They took with them twenty mounted
men, and three Christian Indians as guides and interpreters.
On reaching the place agreed upon, no Indians were to be
seen; upon this, the party proceeded still further; when,
on reaching a narrow defile, they were suddenly attacked.
Eight men were killed outright, and three mortally wounded;
among the latter, was Captain Hutchinson. With the above
loss, a retreat was effected; and, under the guidance of the
three Christian Indians, the remnant made their way to
Brookfield.

They were, however, immediately followed by the Indian
foe. Luckily, there was barely time to alarm the inhabit
ants, who, to the number of seventy or eighty, flocked into
a garrison-house. It was slightly fortified about the exterior

Attack on Brookfield.

side, by a few logs hastily thrown up, and in the interior
by a few feather beds suspended to deaden the force of the
bullets. The house was soon surrounded by the enemy,
and shot poured upon it in all directions. But the fire of

AMERICAN HISTORY. 167

the besieged kept the Indians from a very near approach.
By persevering exertions, the English were enabled to
maintain themselves, until a force under Major Willard
came to their relief. He was in the vicinity of Lancaster
with forty-eight dragoons, when he learned the critical
condition of Brookfield. With a forced march of thirty
miles, he reached the place the following night.

At the very time Major Willard arrived at Brookfield,
the Indians were contriving some machinery to set the
garrison on fire. They first endeavored to effect their pur
pose by fire-arrows, and rags dipped in brimstone tied to
long poles spliced together. But this method was without
effect, while it exposed them to the deadly fire of those
within the building. They next filled a cart with hemp,
flax, and other combustible materials; and this, after they
set it on fire, they thrust backward with their long poles.
But no sooner had the flame began to take effect, than it
was extinguished by an unexpected shower of rain.

Major Willard soon left the region of Brookfield, and
marched the principal part of his forces to Hadley, for the
protection of the settlements in that quarter. When he
had completed his business, he returned to Boston, leaving
Lathrop and Beers at Hadley. A considerable number of
christianized Indians, belonging to the neighborhood of
Hadley, occupied a small fort about a mile above Hatfield.
On the occurrence of the difficulties in that region, these,
as all other Indians, were watched and suspected of con
niving with Philip. To put their fidelity to a test, Captains
Lathrop and Beers, with a force of one hundred and eighty
men, ordered these Indians to surrender their arms. They
hesitated to do so then, but promised a speedy compliance.
Yet, on the following night, August 25th, they left their fort,
and fled up the river towards Deerfield to join Philip. The
English captains commenced a pursuit early the next morn
ing, and came up with them at a swamp, opposite to the
present town of Sunderland, where a warm contest ensued.
The Indians fought bravely, but were finally routed, with a

168

GREAT EVENTS OF

loss of twenty-six of their number. The whites lost ten
men. The Indians, who escaped, joined Philip s forces, and
Lathrop and Beers returned to their station in Hadley.

Near the middle of September, Captain Lathrop was
sent from Hadley, with eighty-eight men, to bring away
some corn, grain, and other valuable articles from Deerfield.
It was at that very time that the company under Captain
Mosely, then quartered at Deerfield, intended to pursue the
enemy. Biit upon the 10th of the month, "that most fatal
day, the saddest that ever befel New England," Lathrop s
company was attacked by the Indians, who had selected a
place very advantageous to their purpose, knowing that the
English with their teams would pass the road at the spot.
The place was at the village now called Muddy Brook, in

Battle of Muddy Brook.

the southerly part of Deerfield, where the road crossed a
small stream (as it now does), bordered by a narrow
morass. Here the Indians, in great force, had planted
themselves in ambuscade; and no sooner had Lathrop
arrived at the spot, than the Indians poured a heavy and

AMERICAN HISTORY. 169

destructive fire upon the columns, and then rushed furiously
to close engagement. The English ranks were broken,
and the scattered troops were every where attacked.
Those who survived, after the first onset, met the foe indi
vidually, and endeavored to sell their lives as dearly as
possible. Seeking the covert of a tree, each one selected
an object of attack, and the awful conflict now became a
trial of skill in sharp shooting, on the issues of which life
or death was suspended. But the overwhelming supe
riority of the Indians, as to numbers, left no room for hope
on the part of the English. They were cut down every
instant from behind their retreats, until nearly the whole
number were destroyed. The dead, the dying, the wounded,
strewed the ground in every direction. Out of nearly one
hundred, including the teamsters, only seven or eight
escaped from the bloody spot. The wounded were indis
criminately massacred. This company consisted of choice
young men, "the very flower of Essex county, none of
whom were ashamed to speak with the enemy in the gate."
Eighteen of the men belonged to Deerfield.

Captain Mosely, being only four or five miles distant,
heard the sound of musketry, and reasonably concluded
what was the cause of the report. By a rapid march for
the relief of Lathrop, he arrived at the close of the strug
gle, when he found the Indians stripping and mangling the
dead. At once he rushed on in compact order, and broke
through the enemy, charging back and forth, and cutting
down all within range of his shot. After several hours of
gallant fighting, he compelled the Indians to flee into the
more distant parts of the forest. His loss amounted to two
killed and eleven wounded.

Until this period, the Indians near Springfield remained
friendly, and refused the appeals of Philip, to cooperate
with him against the white population. But now that he
held the northern towns, they were closely watched by the
English, who supposed that the Indians might take sides
with him, as his cause seemed likely to prevail. The sus-

170 GREAT EVENTS OF

picions entertained concerning them were confirmed. On
the night of the 4th of October, they admitted about three
hundred of Philip s men into their fort, which was situated
at a place called Longhill, about a mile below the village
of Springfield, and a plan was concerted for the destruction
of the place. The plot, however, was revealed by an
Indian at Windsor, and the inhabitants of Springfield had
time barely to escape into their garrisons. Here they
resisted the attacks of the Indians until they received relief
from abroad. The unfortified houses, thirty-two in num
ber, together with twenty-five barns, were burned by the
savages. The people were reduced to great distress,
and had very inadequate" means of support through the
ensuing winter.

The confidence of Philip and his Indians was now
greatly increased by their successes. The next blow
which they aimed, was at the head-quarters of the whites,
hoping to destroy Hatfield, Hadley, and Northampton, as
they had Springfield. But by the providence of God, and
the good conduct of the whites, they were effectually
foiled. At this time, Captain Appleton, with one company,
lay at Hadley, and Captains Mosely and Poole, with two
companies, at Hatfield, and Major Treat was just returned
to Northampton for the security of that settlement. Against
such commanders, it was in vain for the untutored Indian to
contend in regular battle. Philip s men, however, made a
bold attempt, and seven or eight hundred strong fell upon
Hatfield, on the 19th of October, attacking it on all sides at
once. They had previously cut off several parties, which
were scouring the woods in the vicinity. While Poole
bravely defended one extremity, Mosely, with no less vigor,
protected the centre, and Appleton, coming on with his
troops, maintained the other extremity. After a severe
struggle, the Indians were repulsed at every point.

After leaving the western frontier of Massachusetts,
Philip was known next to be in the country of his allies,
the Narragansets. They had not heartily engaged in the

AMERICAN HISTORY. 171

war ; but their inclination to do so was not doubted, and it
was the design of Philip to incite them to activity. An
army of fifteen hundred English was therefore raised by
the three colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Con
necticut, for the purpose of breaking down the power of
Philip among the Narragansets. It was believed that the
next spring, that nation would come with all their power
upon the whites. Conanchet, their sachem, in violation of
the treaty, had not only received Philip s warriors, but
aided their operations against the English. These were
the grounds of the great expedition against the Narragan
sets, in the winter of 1675.

Philip had strongly fortified himself in South Kingston,
Rhode Island, on an elevated portion of an immense
swamp. Here his men had erected about five hundred
wigwams, of a superior construction, in which was depos
ited an abundant store of provisions. Baskets and tubs of
corn (hollow trees cut off about the length of a barrel),
were piled one upon another, about the inside of the dwell
ings, which rendered them bullet-proof. Here about three
thousand persons, as is supposed, had taken up their resi
dence for the winter, among whom were Philip s best
warriors.

The forces destined to the attack of this great rendez
vous of Philip and his men, were under command of Gov
ernor Winslow, of Plymouth. By reasons of a great body
of snow, and the prevalence of intense cold, much time
was consumed in reaching the fort. On the 19th of Decem
ber, they arrived before it ; and, by reason of a want of
provisions, found an immediate attack indispensable. No
Englishman, however, was acquainted with its situation,
and, but for an Indian, who betrayed his countrymen, there
is little probability that the assailants could have effected
any thing against it. The hour of their arrival was one
o clock on that short day of the year. There was but one
point where the place could be assailed with the least prob
ability of success, and this was fortified by a kind of block-

AMERICAN HISTORY. 173

house, directly in front of the entrance, and had also flank
ers to cover a cross-fire. The place was protected by high
palisades, and an immense hedge of fallen trees surrounding
it on all sides. Between the fort and the main land was a
body of water, which could be crossed only on a large tree
lying over it. Such was the formidable aspect of the place
such the difficulty of gaining access to the interior of it.

On coming to the spot, the English soldiers, attempting
to pass upon the tree in single file, the only possible mode,
were instantly swept off by the fire of the enemy. Still,
others, led by their captains, supplied the places of the slain.
These also met the same fearful fire, with the same fatal
effect. The attempts were repeated, until six captains and
a large number of men had fallen. And now was a partial,
but momentary, recoil from the face of death.

At length, however, Captain Mosely got within the fort,
with a small band of men. Then commenced a terrible
struggle, at fearful odds. While these were contending
hand to hand with the Indians, the cry was heard, " They
run ! they run !" and immediately a considerable body of
their fellow-soldiers rushed in. The slaughter of the foe
became immense, as the assailants were insufficient in
strength to drive them from the main breast-work. Cap
tain Church, who was acting as aid to Winslow, at the
head of a volunteer party, about this time dashed through
the fort, and reached the swamp in the rear, where he
poured a destructive fire on the rear of a party of the
enemy. Thus attacked in different directions, the warriors
were at length compelled to relinquish their ground, and
flee into the wilderness.

The Indian cabins, (contrary to the advice of some of the
officers, who thought it best that the wearied and wounded 4
soldiers should rest there for a time,) " were now set on fire;
in a few moments every thing in the interior of the fort
was involved in a blaze; and a scene of horror was now
exhibited. Several hundred of the Indians strewed the
ground on all sides: about three hundred miserable women

174 GREAT EVENTS OF

and children with lamentable shrieks were running in every
direction to escape the flames, in which many of the wounded,
as well as the helpless old men, were seen broiling and roast
ing, and adding to the terrors of the scene by their agonizing
yells. The most callous heart must have been melted to
pity at so awful a spectacle. By information afterwards
obtained from a Narraganset chief, it was ascertained that
they lost about seven hundred warriors at the fort, and
three hundred who died of their wounds. After the
destruction of the place, Winslow, about sunset, commenced
his march for Pettyquamscott, in a snow storm, carrying
most of his dead and wounded, where he arrived a little
after midnight. Several wounded, probably not mortally,
were overcome with cold, and died on their march; and
the next day thirty-four were buried in one grave. Many
were severely frozen, and about four hundred so disabled
that they were unfit for duty. The whole number killed
and wounded, was about two hundred." The sufferings
of the English, after the fight, were well pronounced to be
almost without a parallel in history.

The spirit of Philip animated the Indians even where he
was not present, for he was now by some supposed to be
beyond the frontier. On the 19th of February, they sur
prised Lancaster with complete success, falling upon it with
a force of several hundred warriors. It contained at that
time fifty families, of whom forty-two persons were killed
and captured. Most of the buildings were set on fire.
Among the captives were Mrs. Rowlandson and her
children, the family of the minister of that place, who
were afterwards happily redeemed. The town was saved
from entire ruin by the arrival of Captain Wadsworth with
forty men from Marlborough.

Not far from this time a fatal affair occurred at Pawtuxet
river, in Rhode Island. Captain Pierce, of Scituate, with
fifty men, and twenty Cape Cod Indians, having passed
the river, unexpectedly met with a large body of Indians.
Perceiving that their numbers rendered an attack upon

AMERICAN HISTORY. 175

them hopeless, he fell back, and took a position so as to be
sheltered by the bank. In this situation, the company was
not long secure. Part of the Indians crossed the river, and
attacked them from the opposite bank, while the remainder
encircled them on the side of the river, where they had
sought protection, and poured in upon them a most destruc
tive fire. Hemmed in so effectually, there was no possibility
of escape, and nothing was left them but to sell their lives
as dearly as possible. This was accordingly done, and
before the unfortunate men were nearly all cut off, more
than a hundred of the enemy are said to have fallen by the
desperate valor of the English.

The Christian Cape Cod Indians showed their faithful
ness and courage in this melancholy affair, as also their
dexterity and foresight. Four of them effected their
escape, and one of these aided the escape of the only
Englishman that survived the encounter. One of them,
whose name was Amos, after Captain Pierce was disabled
by a wound, would not leave him, so long as there was a
prospect of rendering him service, but loaded and fired his
piece several times. At length, to save himself, he adroitly
adopted the plan of painting his face black, as he perceived
the enemy had done to their faces. In this disguise he ran
among them, and pretended to join them in the fight ; but
watching his opportunity, he soon escaped into the woods.
Of another it is reported, that being pursued by one of the
enemy, he sought the shelter of a large rock. While in
that situation, he perceived that his foe lay ready with his
gun on the opposite side, to fire upon him as soon as he
stirred. A stratagem only saved his life. Raising carefully
his hat upon a pole, he seemed to the person lying in wait,
to have exposed himself to a shot. A ball was instantly
sent through the hat, but one was returned in earnest
against the head of the enemy. Thus the Christian Indian,
through his address, found the means of escape from his
singular peril. A similar subtle device was used by another
of these Indians, who was pursued as he attempted to cross

176

GREAT EVENTS OF

the river. Hiding himself behind a mass of earth turned
up with the roots of a tree, he was watched by the enemy,
in the expectation that he would soon be obliged to change
his position. But, instead of doing this, the Cape Cod
Indian, perforating his breastwork, made a convenient loop
hole, and shot his enemy before he had time to notice the
artifice. The fourth Cape Cod Indian who escaped, effected
his object by affecting to be in pursuit of an Englishman
with his upraised hatchet. This ingenious feint, of course,
was the means of saving the white man at the same time.

Indian Stratagem.

The work of destruction continued among the towns of
New England at this period. To a greater or less extent
Rehoboth and Providence suffered also, Plymouth, Chelms-
ford, and Andover either men were killed, or dwelling-
houses and barns were burned. But the most signal disas
ter, at this time, fell upon the English in the vicinity of
Sudbury. On the morning of the 20th of April, the largest
body of Indians which had at any time appeared, attacked
the place, and, before a force could be brought against them,

AMERICAN HISTORY.

177

set fire to several buildings, which were consumed. The
inhabitants rallied, and bravely defended their homes; and,
being soon joined by some soldiers from Watertown, they
forced the Indians to retreat without effecting further mis
chief against the town that day. On hearing the news of
the attack on Sudbury, some of the people of Concord
flew for its protection. As they approached a garrison-
house, a few Indians were discovered, and a pursuit was
given them. The flight of the latter proved to be only a
decoy, and the Concord people, eleven in number, found
themselves ambushed on every side. Fighting with the
utmost desperation, they were all cut off except one. The
Indians, who remained in the adjoining woods for further
depredations, found another opportunity to glut their ven
geance against the whites. Captain Wadsworth, hearing
of the transactions at Sudbury, marched with several men,

Fight near Sudbury.

joined by Captain Brocklebank and ten others, towards the
place. At a mile ancl a half from the town, five hundred
Indians lay in ambush behind the hills. When Wadsworth
12

178 GREAT EVENTS OF

arrived at the spot, the Indians sent out a few of their party,
who crossed the track of the English, and, being discovered
by the latter, affected to fly through fear. Wadsworth,
with great want of caution, immediately commenced a
pursuit, and was consequently drawn into the ambush.
The Indians began the attack with great boldness. For
some time, the English maintained good order, and retreated
with small loss to an adjacent hill. After fighting four hours,
and losing many men, the Indians became doubly enraged,
and resolved to try the effect of another stratagem. In
this they completely succeeded. They immediately set the
woods on fire to the windward of the English, which,
owing to the wind, and the dryness of grass and other
combustibles, spread with great and fatal rapidity. The
English were driven, by the fury of the flames, from their
favorable position, and were thus exposed to the toma
hawks of the Indians. Nearly all the English fell some
accounts say that they sold their lives, to the last man.

Several towns in the colony of Plymouth, as Scituate,
Bridgewater, Middleborough, and Plymouth, were in turn
attacked and injured, though not many of their inhabitants
were destroyed. They probably betook themselves to
the fortified houses, which now became common in the
exposed villages.

Connecticut, not being exposed to the incursions of the
natives, sent out several volunteer companies in aid of her
sister colonies, in addition to the troops required as her
quota in the present war. These volunteer forces were
raised principally from New London, Norwich, and Ston-
ington, joined by a body of friendly Indians. On the 27th
of March, a body of these troops, under Captains Dennison
and Avery, penetrated the country of the hostile Narra-
gansets. In the course of their excursion, they struck the
trail of a large body of Indians, and commenced pursuit.
The latter, upon the approach of the English, scattered in
all directions. It proved to be a force commanded by
Conanchet. He took a route by himself, and, being swift

AMERICAN HISTORY. 179

of foot, hoped to outstrip his pursuers. In crossing a
river, however, he accidentally plunged under water, and
wet his gun. On this occurrence, he was soon overtaken
by a fast-running Pequod, to whom he surrendered himself
at once. A young Englishman, coming up, began to put
various questions to the chief, who, little liking to be cate
chised in that manner, replied to him, with a look of con
tempt: "You much child no understand matters of war;
let your captain come: him I will answer." Conanchet was
conveyed to Stonington, and, after a sort of trial, was
condemned to be shot by the Mohegan and Pequod
sachems. The alternative of life was, however, presented
to him, if he would make peace with the English. The
chieftain indignantly refused it, and gave utterance to the
feelings of his untamed spirit, when his sentence was pro
nounced, in the sentiment, that "he liked it well that he
should die before his heart was soft, or he had said any
thing unworthy of himself." Conanchet was the son of the
famous Miantonimoh, who was put to death by Uncas, as
related in another portion of this work.*

When success no longer attended Philip in Massachusetts,
those of his allies whom he had seduced into this war began
to accuse him as the author of all their calamities. Many
of the tribes, therefore, scattered themselves in different
directions. The Deerfield Indians were among the first
who abandoned his cause, and many of the Nipmucks and
Narragansets soon followed their example. Still, Philip,
though he had not been much seen during the winter and
it is doubtful, even, where he had spent the most of it had
no intention of abating his efforts against the English. In
the month of May, 1676, he was found at the head of a
powerful force, in the northern part of Massachusetts,
extending many miles on its frontier from east to west.
Considerable numbers of his people were also still in and
about Narraganset, ravaging and annoying the adjacent
English settlements.

* Hoyt s Antiquarian Researches.

180

GREAT EVENTS OF

Large bodies of the Indians, about this time, anxious to
secure the advantages of fishing in Connecticut river, took
up positions at the falls, between the present towns of Gill
and Montague. This was in the vicinity of the line of
country occupied by Philip s forces. They felt the more
secure here, as the English forces at Hadley and the adja
cent towns were not at this time at all numerous. Two
captive lads, who had escaped from the Indians, informed
the English of their situation, and the little pains they had
taken to guard themselves. The intelligence thus brought
induced the people of Hatfield, Hadley, and Northampton,
to raise a force, for the purpose of attacking the enemy at
so favorable a point. About one hundred and sixty troops
were raised, and placed under the command of Captain
Turner. They marched silently in the dead of the night,

Indians attacked at Connecticut River Falls.

and came upon the Indians a little before the dawn of day,

whom they found almost in a dead sleep, and without any

scouts abroad, or watching around their wigwams at home.

When the Indians were first awakened by the thunder of

AMERICAN HISTORY. 181

their guns, they cried out, "Mohawks! Mohawks!" as if
their own native enemies had been upon them ; but the
dawning of the light soon rectified their error, though it
could not prevent their danger. The loss of the Indians
was great : one hundred men were left dead on the ground,
and one hundred and forty were seen to pass down the
cataract, but one of whom escaped drowning.

The march of the English forces back was, however,
attended with no small disaster. The Indians, learning the
inconsiderable numbers that had attacked them, rallied in
their turn, and hung upon the rear of the English. Their
captain, just then enfeebled by sickness, was unable to
arrange or conduct his forces as they should have been;
and the consequence was a degree of confusion, and their
separation into small parties. In this manner, they suffered
the loss of thirty-eight men, though the Indians paid dearly
for it by the loss of more than a hundred of their warriors
on the way. Captain Turner perished in the expedition.

By the ^destruction at the falls, Philip s forces were seri
ously diminished; yet his spirit continued unsubdued and
undaunted, and he was resolved to retort upon the English
the injuries he had sustained. Accordingly, on the 30th of
May, six hundred of his warriors appeared at Hatfield, and
rushed suddenly into the town. They immediately set fire
to twelve unfortified buildings, and attacked several pali
saded dwelling-houses. These were bravely defended by
the people. In the midst of the fight, as the inhabitants
were attacked, whether in their dwellings or at their labors,
a party of twenty-five resolute young men crossed the river
from Hadley, and came with such animation upon the
Indians, and with so deadly a fire, that the latter were
driven back. Eventually, the whole body of the enemy
was obliged to return, without effecting, as was intended,
the complete destruction of the place. They, however,
drove off a large number of sheep and cattle.

Massachusetts and Connecticut now increased their forces
in this quarter, as it appeared that the foe was determined

182

GREAT EVENTS OF

on devastating the settlements upon the river. Hadley
became next the object of attack, in which about seven
hundred Indians were engaged. The assault was made on
the 12th of June, the Indians having laid an ambuscade at
the southern extremity, and advanced the main body towards
the other the preceding night. Though the Indians exhib
ited their usual fierceness, they were met and repulsed at
the palisades. Renewing their attacks upon other points,
they seemed resolved to carry the place. Still, they were
held in check until assistance arrived from Northampton,
when the foe was driven into the woods.

Defence of Hadley.

It was during this attack, as is supposed, that the assist
ance was afforded to the whites which has generally been
ascribed to GofFe, one of the fugitive judges from England,
which at the time was believed to have been rendered
by the guardian angel of the place. In the midst of the
confusion and distress of the battle, a gray-headed, venera
ble-looking man, whose costume differed from that of the
inhabitants, appeared, and assumed the direction of the

AMERICAN HISTORY.

defence. He arrayed the people in the best manner,
showing that he well understood military tactics, led in the
battle, and, by his exhortations and efforts, rendered essential
aid on the occasion. After the departure of the Indians, he
was not observed, and nothing was heard of him afterwards.
As it is known that, at that time, Goffe and Whalley were
concealed in the house of Mr. Russel in Hadley, it is
inferred that one of these men, Goffe (for Whalley was
superanuated) left his concealment, in the danger which
existed, and put forth the effort here recorded, in order to
save the town.

Philip was now secure in no place, but his haughty spirit
was untamed by adversity. Although meeting with con
stant losses, and among them some of his most experienced
warriors, he, nevertheless, seemed as hostile and deter
mined as ever. In August, the intrepid Church made a
descent upon his head-quarters, at Matapoiset, where he
killed and took prisoners about one hundred and thirty of
his men. Even Philip escaped with difficulty. So great
was his precipitation, that he was obliged to leave his wam
pum behind, which, with his wife and son, fell into the hands
of the victors. That son, it was afterwards ascertained,
was sold into slavery, as it was also the mournful fact, with
a number of Philip s captured followers. Philip, as stated
above, escaped with difficulty. The particulars, as related
by Church, are as follow: Church s guide had brought him
to a place where a large tree, which the enemy had fallen
across a river, lay. Church had come to the top end of
the tree when he happened to spy an Indian upon the
stump of it, on the other side of the stream. He imme
diately leveled his gun against the Indian, and had doubtless
despatched him, had not one of his own Indians called
hastily to him not to fire, for he believed it was one of his
own men. Hearing this, in all probability the Indian upon
the stump looked about, and Church s Indian, then seeing
his face, perceived his mistake, for he knew him to be
Philip. Church s Indian then fired himself, but it was too

184

GREAT EVENTS OF

late. Philip immediately threw himself off the stump,
leaped down a bank on the other side of the river, and was
out of sight. Church at once gave chase for him, but was
unable to discover his course, and only took some of his
friends and followers, as has been related.

Philip s Escape.

But from this time, Philip was too closely watched and
hotly pursued to escape destruction. His end was rapidly
drawing near, his followers mostly deserted him, and he
was driven from place to place, until he found himself in
his ancient seat near Pokanoket. The immediate occasion
of his death is thus narrated: He having put to death one
of his own men, for advising him to make peace, this man s
brother, whose name was Alderman, fearing the same fate,
deserted him, and gave Captain Church an account of his
situation, and offered to lead him to his camp. Early on
Saturday morning, 12th August, Church came to the swamp
where Philip was encamped, and, before he was discovered,
had placed a guard about it so as to encompass it, except
at a small place. He then ordered Captain Golding to rush

AMERICAN HISTORY.

185

into the swamp, and fall upon Philip in his camp, which he
immediately did, but was discovered as he approached,
and, as usual, Philip was the first to fly. Having but just
awaked from sleep, and having put on part of his clothes, he
fled with all his might. Coming directly upon an English
man and Indian, who composed a part of the ambush at
the edge of the swamp, the Englishman s gun missed fire,

Death of Philip.

but Alderman, the Indian, whose gun was loaded with two
balls, sent one through his heart and another not above
two inches from it. "He fell upon his face in the mud and
water, with his gun under him."

This important news was immediately communicated to
Captain Church, by the man who performed the exploit;
but the captain suffered nothing to be said concerning it, as
he wished to dislodge the enemy from his retreat. Philip s
great captain, Annawon, had, however, led out about sixty
of his followers from their dangerous situation, and, when
the English scoured the swamp, they found not many
Indians left. These were killed and captured. After the

186 GREAT EVENTS OF

affair was over, Church communicated to his troops the
gratifying intelligence of Philip s death, upon which the
whole army gave three loud huzzas. Philip s body was
drawn from the spot where he fell, the head taken off, and
the body left unburied, to be devoured by wild beasts.
With the great chief, fell five of his most trusty followers;
one of whom was his chief captain s son, and the Indian
who fired the first gun in this bloody war. Thus fell this
chieftain, who, though an untutored savage, was doubtless
a great man considered in reference to his intellectual
resources and the influence he wielded among his compa
triots. Had his lot fallen among a civilized race, and
fighting as he did for his native country, he had been as
illustrious as any hero of any age or clime.

Philip s war proved a most serious concern to the infant
colonies. It cost them half a million of dollars, and the
lives of above six hundred inhabitants, who were either
killed in battle, or otherwise destroyed by the enemy.
Thirteen towns and six hundred houses were burned, and
there was scarcely a family in the United Colonies that had
not occasion to mourn the death of a relative. Dr. Trum-
bull thinks the loss exceeds the common estimate. He
concludes that about one fencible man in eleven was killed,
and every eleventh family burned out. But the war was
still more disastrous to the Indians. Great numbers of them
fell in battle ; their lodges were destroyed, and, indeed,
their country conquered. Scarcely a hundred warriors
remained of the great leading tribe of the Narragansets.*

Of Philip s warriors, several were remarkable men.
Among these were Nanunteno, or Cononchet; Anna won,
Quinnapin, Tuspaquin, and Tatoson. We can briefly notice
but one the mighty Annawon. We have seen that at
the time of Philip s death, he escaped with a number of
his men. The place of his retreat was not long after
disclosed by an Indian and his daughter, who had been

* Book of the Indians.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 187

captured. It was in a swamp in the south-east part of
Rehoboth. Captain Church, upon this inibi mation, adopted
a most daring stratagem to secure Annawon. At the head
of a small party, conducted by his informers, Church
cautiously approached in the evening the edge of a rocky
precipice, under which the chief was encamped, and criti
cally examined the position. The Indians, their arms, their
employments, (for they were preparing for a meal,) and
other defences, were all noticed by Captain Church; and
particularly the fact, that Annawon and* his son were
reposing near the arms. As he learned from his guide that
no one was allowed to go out or come into the camp, except
by the precipice, he determined to seek his object in that
direction. The Indian and his daughter, according to a
concerted plan, with baskets upon their backs, as if bring
ing in provisions, preceded Church and his men, by their
shadows concealing the latter, and descended the rock.
In this way, although with great difficulty, they all reached
the bottom without alarming the Indians. It happened,
singularly enough, that their descent was accomplished
without discovery, on account of the noise made by the
pounding of a mortar; a squaw being engaged in that work
in preparing green dried corn for their supper. Under
favor of the noise thus made, the rustling sound proceeding
from their leaps from crag to crag was not noticed. Church,
with his hatchet in his hand, stepped over the young man s
head to the arms. The young Annawon threw his blanket
suddenly over his head, and shrunk up in a heap. The old
chief started upon end, and cried out Howah! meaning
Welcome I Finding that there was no escape, he resigned
himself to his fate, and fell back on his couch; while his
captors secured the rest of the company. English and
Indian amicably ate their supper together, and Church
afterwards laid down to rest, as he had not slept during
the thirty-six previous hours ; but his mind was too full of
cares to admit of repose, and after lying a short time, he
got up. On one occasion, during the night, he felt sus-

188

GREAT EVENTS OF

picious of Annawon s intentions, as the latter, after attempt
ing in vain to sleep, arose, and left the spot a short time.
Returning with something in his hands, (Church having in
the mean time prepared himself for the worst,) he placed it
on the ground, and, falling on his knees before his captor,
sai^: "Great Captain, you have killed Philip and conquered
his country, for I believe that I and my company are the last
that war against the English. I suppose the war is ended
by your means." His pack consisted of presents, being
principally several belts of wampum, curiously wrought,
and a red cloth blanket, the royal dress of Philip. These
he gave to Church, expressing his gratification in having an
opportunity of delivering them to him.

Capture of Annawon.

The remainder of the night they spent in discourse, in
which Annawon gave an account of his success and exploits
in former wars with the Indians when he served Asuhmequin,
Philip s father. Annawon, it is said, had confessed that he
had put to death several of the captive English, and could
not deny but that some of them had been tortured. Under

AMERICAN HISTORY. 1S9

these circumstances, and considering the exasperation which
the English naturally felt, it was hardly to be expected that
mercy should be shown him. Church, however, did not
intend that he should be put to death, and had earnestly
entreated for him ; but in his absence from Plymouth, not
long after, the old chief was executed.

It is not uncommon with historians and others, to denounce
and execrate the conduct of Philip and his warriors, as
wanton and savage. They were doubtless cruel they
were savage. The writer would not become their pane
gyrist. But let it be remembered, that if they cannot be
exculpated, there are mitigating circumstances which should
always be mentioned in connection with their most inhuman
barbarities. The influences of Christianity never bore upon
them. They inflicted no greater tortures upon the English
than they often inflicted upon other prisoners of their own
complexion. But in addition, they were fighting for their
own country. They were patriots and they saw in the
progress and prosperity of the English, the downfall of
Indian power the annihilation of Indian title. They were
fathers, husbands, and full well did they know that soon
their family relations would be broken up and the inherit
ance of their children for ever fail. Who can blame them for
wishing to perpetuate their hold on their native hunting
grounds or leaving to their posterity an inheritance dear
to them as ours is to us? We cannot justify their treachery
their indiscriminate and wholesale butcheries but surely
we may admire their bravery their endurance their
natriotism.

190 GREAT EVENTS OF

VIII. WAR OF WILLIAM III.

COMBINATION of French and Indians against the Americans Burning of
Schenectady Cause of it Horrors attending it Attack upon Salmon
Falls Upon Casco Results of Expeditions fitted out by New York and
New England Reduction of Port Royal Atrocities which marked the
war Attack on Haverhill, Mass. Heroic Conduct of Mrs. Dustan
Peace.

DURING the three wars of King William, Queen Anne,
and George II., the sufferings of the northern colonies were
severe and protracted, or were intermitted only at short
intervals. The hostility of the Indians was kept alive, and
often kindled into a fresh flame, through the agency of
European settlers on their northern border. These took
up the quarrel of France and England, and sought occa
sions to molest the subjects of the English sovereign in
America.

In King William s War, the French combined with the
Indians in bringing fire and sword upon the inhabitants of
New England and New York. A connected account need
not be given of the disastrous occurrences that took place,
during this sanguinary war; but only particular instances
of hostilities, and their effects, will be narrated in this por
tion of the present work.

We commence with the attack on Schenectady. This was
made in pursuance of a plan adopted by Count Frontenac,
then the governor of Canada, in revenging on the English
colonies the treatment which King James had received
from the English government, and which had inflamed the
resentment of Frontenac s master, Louis XIV. The gov
ernor fitted out three expeditions against the American
colonies in the midst of winter, of which one was against
New York. The attack on Schenectady was the fruit of
this expedition. It was made by a party, consisting of
about two hundred French and, perhaps, fifty Caughnewaga
Indians, under the command of two French officers, Maulet
and St. Helene, in 1689-90.

AMERICAN HISTORY.

191

Schenectady was then in the form of an oblong square,
having a gate at each extremity. But as one of the gates
only could be found, they all entered at that one. The
gate was not only open, but was also unguarded. Although
the town was impaled, and might have been protected, no
one deemed it necessary to close the gate at night, pre
suming that the severity of the season was a sufficient
security. The enemy divided themselves into several par
ties, and waylaid every portal, and then raised the war-
whoop. It was between eleven and twelve o clock on
Saturday night, the 8th of February, when the fearful
tragedy commenced. Maulet attacked a garrison, where
the only resistance of any account was made. He soon
forced the gate, and all the English were slaughtered, and

.~ ^ft//^.i

Burning of Schenectady.

the garrison burned. One of the French officers was
wounded, in forcing a house, and thereby wholly disabled ;
but St. Helene having come to his assistance, the house was
taken and all who had shut themselves in it were put to
the sword. Nothing was now to be seen but massacre and

192 GREAT EVENTS OF

pillage on every side. The most shocking barbarities were
committed on the inhabitants. "Sixty-three houses and
the church were immediately in a blaze. Enciente women,
in their expiring agonies, saw their infants cast into the
flames, being first delivered by the knife of the midnight
assassin. Sixty-three persons were murdered and twenty-
seven were carried into captivity."

A few persons were enabled to escape, but being without
sufficient clothing, they lost their limbs from the severity
of the cold, as they traveled towards Albany.

About noon, the next day, the enemy left the desolated
place, taking such plunder as they could carry with them,
and destroying the remainder. It was designed, it seems,
to spare the minister of the place, as Maulet wanted him
as his own prisoner; but he was found among the mangled
dead, and his papers burned. The houses of two or three
individuals were spared, for particular reasons, while the
rest were consigned to the flanws.

Owing to the state of the traveling, news of the massacre
did not reach the great Mohawk castle, seventeen miles
distant, until at the expiration of two days. On the recep
tion of the news, a party commenced a pursuit of the foe.
After a tedious route, they fell upon their rear, killed and
took twenty-five of them, and effected some other damage.

The second party of French and Indians was sent against
the delightful settlement at Salmon Falls, on the Piscataqua.
At Three Rivers, Frontenac had fitted out an expedition of
fifty-two men and twenty-five Indians. They had an
officer at their head in whom the greatest confidence could
be reposed Sieur Hertel. In his small band he had three
sons and two nephews. After a long and rugged march,
Hertel reached the place on the 27th of March, 1690. His
spies having reconnoitered it, he divided his men into three
companies, the largest portion of which he led himself.
The attack was made at the break of day. The English
made a stout resistance, but were unable to withstand the
well-directed fire of the assailants. Thirty of the bravest of

AMERICAN HISTORY. 193

the inhabitants were cut to pieces ; the remainder, amount
ing to fifty-four, were made prisoners. The English had
twenty-seven houses reduced to ashes, and two thousand
domestic animals perished in the barns that had been burned.
The third party, which was fitted out from Quebec by
the directions of Frontenac, made an attack upon Casco, in
Maine. This was commanded by M. de Portneuf. Her-
tel, on his return to Canada, met with this expedition, and,
joining it with the force under his command, came back to
the scene of warfare in which he had been so unhappily
successful. As the hostile company marched through the
country of the Abenakis, numbers of them joined it. Port
neuf, with his forces thus augmented, came into the neigh
borhood of Casco, according to the French account, on the
25th of May, 1690. On the following night, having pre
pared an ambush, he succeeded in taking and killing an
Englishman who fell into it. Upon this occurrence, the
Indians raised the war-whoop, and about fifty English
soldiers, leaving the garrison to learn the occasion of it, had
nearly reached the ambush, when they were fired upon.
Before they could make resistance, they were fallen upon
by the French and Indians, who, with their swords and
tomahawks, made such a slaughter, that but four of them
escaped, and those with severe wounds. "The English,
seeing now that they must stand a siege, abandoned four
garrisons, and all retired into one which was provided with
cannon. Before these were abandoned, an attack was
made upon one of them, in which the French were repulsed
with the loss of one Indian killed, and one Frenchman
wounded. Portneuf began now to doubt of his ability to
take Casco, fearing the issue; for his commission only
ordered him to lay waste the English settlements, and not
to attempt fortified places. But, in this dilemma, Hertel
and Hopehood (a celebrated chief of the tribe of the Kenne-
becks), arrived. It was now determined to press the siege,
In the deserted forts they found all the necessary tools for
carrying on the work, and they began a mine within fifty
13

194 GREAT EVENTS OF

feet of the fort, under a steep bank, which entiiely protected
them from its guns. The English became discouraged, and,
on the 28th of May, surrendered themselves prisoners of
war. There were seventy men, and probably a much
greater number of women and children; all of whom,
except Captain Davis, who commanded the garrison, and
three or four others, were given up to the Indians, who
murdered most of them in their most cruel manner ; and,
if the accounts be true, Hopehood excelled all other
savages in acts of cruelty."

These barbarous transactions, producing alike terror and
indignation, aroused New England and New York to
attempt a formidable demonstration against the enemy.
The general court of Massachusetts sent letters of request
to the several executives of the provinces, pursuant to
which they convened at New York, May 1st, 1691. Two
important measures were adopted, as the result of the
deliberations, on this occasion Connecticut sent General
Winthrop, with troops, to march through Albany, there to
receive supplies, and to be joined by a body of men from
New York. The expedition was to proceed up Lake
Champlain, and was destined for the destruction of Mon
treal. There was a failure, however, of the supplies, and
thus the project was defeated. Massachusetts sent forth a
fleet of thirty-four sail, under Sir William Phipps. He
proceeded to Port Royal, took it, reduced Acadia, and
thence sailed up the St. Lawrence, with the design of cap
turing Quebec. The troops landed, with some difficulty,
and the place was boldly summoned to surrender. A proud
defiance was returned by Frontenac. The position of the
latter happened to be strengthened, just at this time, by a
reinforcement from Montreal. Phipps, learning this, and
finding also that the party of Winthrop, which he expected
from Montreal, had failed, gave up the attempt, and returned
to Boston, with the loss of several vessels and a consider
able number of troops. A part of his fleet had been
wrecked by a storm.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 195

During the progress of King William s War, the atroci
ties committed upon the colonists, by the French and
Indians, were equal to any recorded in the annals of the
most barbarous age. Connected with these, were instances
of heroic valor on the part of the sufferers, which are not
surpassed by any on the historic page. A specimen will
here be related: On the 15th of March, 1697, the last year
of King William s War, an attack was suddenly made on
Haverhill, in Massachusetts, by a party of about twenty
Indians. It was a rapid, but fatal onset, and a fitting finale
of so dreadful a ten years war. Eight houses were
destroyed, twenty-seven persons killed, and thirteen carried
away prisoners. One of these houses belonged to a Mr.
Dustan, in the skirts of the town. Mr. Dustan was
engaged in work at some distance from home, but, by some
means, he learned what was passing at the place.

Before the Indians had reached his house, he had arrived
there, and been able to make some arrangements for the
removal of his wife and children. The latter he bid to run.
His wife, who had but only a few days before become the
mother of an infant, was in no condition to leave her bed.
He undertook, however, to remove her, but it was too late.
The Indians were rushing on. No time could be lost;
and Mr. Dustan turned with despair from the mother of
his children, to the children themselves. It became neces
sary at once to hasten their flight they were seven in
number, besides the infant left with its mother, the eldest
being seventeen years, and the youngest two years old.
The Indians were upon them, and what could the agonized
father do? With his gun he mounted his horse, and riding
in the direction of his children, overtook them only about
forty rods from the house. His first intention was to take
up the child that he could least spare, and escape with that.
But, alas ! that point he was unable to decide they were
all equally dear to him. He, therefore, determined to resist
the enemy, who was on a pursuit, and, if possible, save all.
Facing the savages, he fired, and they returned the fire.

196

GREAT EVENTS OF

The Indians, however, did not choose to follow up the pur
suit, either from fear of the resolute father, who continued
to fire as he retreated, or from an apprehension of arousing
the neighboring English, before they could finish their
depredations in the town, and hence this part of the family
soon effected their escape.

Mr. Dustan saving his children.

We now return to the house. There was living in it a
nurse, Mrs. Neif, who heroically shared the fate of her
mistress, when escape was in her power. The Indians
entered the house, and, having ordered the sick woman to
rise and sit quietly in the corner of the fire-place, they
commenced the pillage of the dwelling, and concluded by
setting it on fire. At the approach of night, Mrs. Dustan
was forced to march into the wilderness, and seek repose
upon the hard, cold ground. Mrs. NefF, in attempting to
elude the Indians with the infant, was intercepted. The
babe was taken from her, and its brains beat out against a
neighboring tree. The captives, when collected, amounted
to thirteen in number. That same day they were marched

AMERICAN HISTORY.

197

twelve miles before encamping, although it was nearly
night before they set out. Succeeding this, for several
days, they were obliged to keep up with their savage com
rades, over an extent of country of not less than one hun
dred and forty or fifty miles. Mrs. Dustan, feeble as she
had been, wonderfully supported the fatigue incident to
her situation.

After this, the Indians, according to their custom, divided
their prisoners. Mrs. Dustan, Mrs. Neff, and a captive
lad from Worcester, fell to the share of an Indian family
consisting of twelve persons. These now took charge of
the captives, and appear to have treated them with no
unkindness, save that of forcing them to extend their jour
ney still farther towards an Indian settlement. They, how
ever, gave the prisoners to understand that there was one
ceremony to which they must submit, after they had arrived

Escape of Mrs. Dustan.

at their place of destination, and that was to run the
gauntlet between two files of Indians. This announcement
filled Mrs. Dustan and her two companions with so much

198 GREAT EVENTS OF

dread, that they mutually decided to attempt an escape.
Accordingly, after obtaining information from the Indians
themselves, as to the way of killing and scalping their
enemies, who gave the information without suspecting their
object, they laid their plans for taking the lives of the sav
ages. One night, "when the Indians were in the most
sound sleep, these three captives arose, and, softly arming
themselves with the tomahawks of their masters, allotted
the number each should kill; and so truly did they direct
their blows, that but two, a boy and a woman, made their
escape, the latter having been seriously wounded. Having
finished their fearful work, they hastily left the place. As
the scene of the exploit was a small island, in the mouth of
a stream that falls into the Merrimack, they made use of a
boat of the Indians to effect their escape ; the others being
scuttled to prevent the use of them in pursuit, should the
Indians be near; and thus, with what provisions and arms
the Indian camp afforded, they embarked, and slowly took
the course of the river for their homes, which they reached
without accident."

The whole country was startled at the relation of the
heroic deed, the truth of which was never questioned.
The palpable proofs of their feat they brought with them,
and the general court of Massachusetts gave them fifty
pounds as a reward, and they received from individuals
likewise substantial tokens, expressing the admiration in
which the exploit was held. The governor of Maryland,
hearing of the transaction, sent them also a generous
present.

This is a case where individuals may, perhaps, differ in
opinion as to the strict moral propriety of the deed. The
necessity of such an act, for relief from suffering, may be
estimated differently, according to the different theories
which men have adopted. Yet it seems to have been
generally, if not universally approved by those who lived
contemporaneously with the transaction ; and who, from the
stern integrity of their character, and from their acquaint-

AMERICAN HISTORY.

199

ance with the circumstances of the country, were peculiarly
well fitted to judge.

Such were some of the striking events during the period
of King William s War ; a war which continued nearly ten
years, and brought incalculable distress upon the colonies.
The peace of Ryswick, in 1697, put an end to it; but this
peace proved to be of short duration.

200 GREAT EVENTS OF

ix. QUEEN ANNE S WAR.

PRINCIPAL Scenes of this War in America Attack upon Deerfield Captivity
and Sufferings of Rev. Mr. Williams Other Disasters of the War Peace
Death of Queen Anne Accession of George I. Continued Sufferings
of the Colonies of Massachusetts and New Hampshire Peace concluded
with the Indians at Boston.

KING WILLIAM having deceased in 1702, Queen Anne
was seated on the British throne, and war soon began again
to rage throughout Europe. England and France, including
Spain also, drew the sword, to settle some unadjusted claims
between them, and the contest of the parent countries, as
usual, soon involved their American colonies. The states
of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, became the principal
scenes of the war in America, the colony of New York
being secured from aggression through the neutrality of
the Five Nations on her borders. The war, which lasted
more than ten years, is generally denominated Queen Anne s
War, and was attended with the usual barbarous and
distressing results incident to savage warfare.

The drama opened at Deerfield, on the Connecticut river,
on the 19th of February, 1704. The preliminaries to it
had occurred a little before in the destruction of several
small settlements from Casco to Wells in Maine, and the
killing and capture of one hundred and thirty people in
the aggregate. This was in contravention to the solemn
assurance given by the eastern Indians, of peace with New
England. As Deerfield was a frontier town, the enemy
had watched it for the purpose of capture from an early
period. Indeed, it had been constantly exposed to inroads,
during King William s War, but had resolutely maintained
its ground, and increased in size and population, especially
from the termination of that war. It was palisaded, though
imperfectly; several detached houses were protected by
slight fortifications, and twenty soldiers had been placed
within it. They had, however, been quartered about in
different houses, and, forgetting their duty as soldiers, were

AMERICAN HISTORY. 201

surprised with the rest of the inhabitants. There was a
great depth of snow upon the ground, a circumstance which
gave the enemy an easy entrance over the pickets. The
commander of the French was Hertel de Rouville.

The assailants, in approaching the place, used every pre
caution to avoid disturbing the soldiery or the inhabitants
by noise in walking over the crusted snow, stopping occa
sionally, that the sound of their feet might appear like the
fitful gusts of the wind. But the precaution was unnecessary,
for the guard within the fort had retired, and fallen asleep.
None, of all who were in the village, awaked, except to be
put immediately into the sleep of death; to be doomed to a
a horrible captivity, or to effect a difficult and hazardous
escape into the adjacent woods amidst the snows of winter.
The houses were assaulted by parties detached in different
directions ; the doors were broken open, the astonished
people dragged from their beds, and pillage and personal
violence in all its forms ensued. They who attempted
resistance, were felled by the tomahawk or musket.

Some of the separate features of this work of destruction
and scene of agony, deserve particular notice, and will
ever call up the painful sympathies of the reader of history.
The minister of the place, the Rev. John Williams, who
subsequently wrote a narrative of the affair, and of his own
captivity, was a conspicuous actor and sufferer in the sad
tragedy. Early in the assault, which was not long before
the break of day, about twenty Indians attacked his house.
Instantly leaping from his bed, he ran towards the door, and
perceived a party making their entrance into the house.
He called to awaken two soldiers who were sleeping in the
chamber, and had only returned to the bedside for his arms,
when the enemy rushed into the room. Upon this, as he
says, "I reached my hands up to the bed-tester for my
pistol, uttering a short petition to God, expecting a present
passage through the valley of the shadow of death." He
levelled it at the breast of the foremost Indian, but it missed
fire : he was immediately seized by three Indians, who

202

GREAT EVENTS OF

secured his pistol, and, binding him fast, kept him naked in
the cold, nearly the space of an hour. One of these captors
was a leader or captain, who soon met the fate he merited.

Capture of Mr. Williams.

Says Mr. Williams, "the judgment of God did not long
slumber, for by sun-rising he received a mortal shot from
my next neighbor s house." This house was not a garrison,
but being defended by seven resolute men, and as many
resolute women, withstood the efforts of three hundred
French and Indians. They attacked it repeatedly, and
tried various methods to set it on fire, but without success;
in the mean while suffering from the fire which was poured
upon them from the windows and loop-holes of the building.
The enemy gave up the attempt in despair. Mrs. Williams
having been confined but a few weeks previously, was
feeble a circumstance which rendered her case hopeless;
but her agony was intensely increased by witnessing the
murder of two of her little ones, who were dragged to the
door, and butchered, as was also a black woman belonging
to the family. Rifling the house with the utmost rudeness,

AMERICAN HISTORY. 203

the enemy seized Mrs. Williams, ill as she was, and five
remaining children, with a view to carry them into captivity.

While these transactions were in progress, a lodger in
the house, Captain Stoddard, seized his cloak, and leaped
from a chamber window. He escaped across Deerfield
river, and finding it necessary to secure his feet from injury,
he tore the cloak into pieces, and wrapped them up in it,
and was thus enabled, though in great exhaustion, to reach
Hatfield. An assault was made upon the house of Captain
John Sheldon, but the door was so strong and so firmly
bolted, that the enemy found it difficult to break or penetrate
it. Their only resort, therefore, was to perforate it with
their tomahawks. Through the aperture thus made, they
thrust a musket, fired, and killed Mrs. Sheldon, a ball
striking her as she was rising from her bed in an adjoining
room. The mark of the ball was long to be seen in a
timber near the bed, the house having been carefully
preserved, bearing upon the front door the marks of
the Indian hatchet. In the mean time, the son and son s
wife of Captain Sheldon, sprang from a chamber window
at the east end of the building; but unfortunately for the
lady, her ankle became sprained by the fall, and being
unable to walk, she was seized by the Indians. The husband
escaped into the adjoining forest, and reached Hatfield.
The enemy at length gaining possession of the house,
reserved it on account of its size as a depot for the pris
oners taken in the village.

At the expiration of about two hours, the enemy having
collected the prisoners, and plundered and set fire to the
buildings, took up their march from the place. Forty-seven
persons had been put to death, including those killed in
making the defence. "We were carried over the river to
the foot of the mountain, about a mile from my house," sa^s
Mr. Williams, "where we found a great number of our
Christian neighbors men, women, and children to the
number of one hundred, nineteen of whom were afterwards
murdered in the way, and two starved to death near Coos

204 GREAT EVENTS OF

in a time of great scarcity and famine the savages under
went there. When we came to the foot of the mountain,
they took away our shoes, and gave us Indian shoes, to
prepare us for our journey."

At this spot, a portion of the enemy was overtaken by a
party of the English, consisting of the few who had escaped,
together with the men who had defended the two houses,
and a small number from Hatfield, and a brisk fight ensued.
The little band, however, was in danger of being sur
rounded by the main body of the enemy s troops, as they
came into the action, and, accordingly, they were compelled
to retreat. They left nine of their number slain. The
attack on the enemy, under such circumstances, indicated
the resolute and sympathizing spirit of the people, but it
had well nigh proved fatal to the prisoners. Rouville, fear
ing, at one time, a defeat, had ordered the latter to be put
to death, but, providentially, the bearer of the message was
killed before he executed his orders. They were, never
theless, held in readiness to be sacrificed in the event of
disasters happening to the enemy.

Soon after the termination of the skirmish, Rouville
commenced his march for Canada. Three hundred miles
of a trackless wilderness were to be traversed, and that too
at a very inclement season of the year. The prospects of
the captives were gloomy beyond description. Many were
women, at that time under circumstances requiring the
most tender treatment. Some were young children, not
sufficiently strong to endure the fatigues of traveling.
Infants there were, who must be carried in their parents
arms, or left behind to be butchered by the savage or frozen
on the snow ; and, of the adult males, several were suffering
from severe wounds.

The first day s journey was but four miles, and was sig
nalized by the murder of an infant. The Indians, however,
seemed disposed generally to favor the captives, by carry
ing on their backs such children as were incapable of
traveling. From mercenary motives, they wished to keep

AMERICAN HISTORY. 205

all alive that they could, as the captives would bring a
price, or be serviceable to them in some way, in Canada.
It was no sentiment of compassion that moved them; for, as
soon as their patience failed them, the miserable captive,
whether man, woman, or child, was knocked on the head.
At night, they encamped in a meadow, in what is now
Greenfield, where they cleared away the snow, spread
boughs of trees, and made slight cabins of brush, for the
accommodation of the prisoners. The strongest of the latter
were bound after the Indian manner that night, and every
subsequent night, in order to prevent escape. In the very
first night, one man broke away and escaped, and, at the same
time, Mr. Williams, who was considered the principal of the
captives, was informed by the commander-in-chief, that if any
more attempted to escape, the rest should be put to death.
In the second day s march occurred the death of Mrs.
Williams. In the course of the route, it became necessary
to cross Creek river, at the upper part of Deerfield
meadow. From some change of conductors, Mr. Williams,
who had before been forbidden to speak to his fellow-cap
tives, was now permitted to do it, and even to assist his
distressed wife, who had begun to be exhausted. But it
was their last meeting, and most affecting was the scene.
She very calmly told him that her strength was fast failing,
and that he would soon lose her. At the same time, she
did not utter the language of discouragement or of com
plaint, in view of the hardness of her fortune. When the
company halted, Mr. Williams former conductor resumed
his place, and ordered him into the front, and his wife
was obliged to travel unaided. They had now arrived
at the margin of Green river. This they passed by
wading through the water, which was about two feet in
depth, and running with great rapidity. They now came
to a steep mountain, which it was necessary to ascend.
The narrative of Mr. Williams says, here: "No sooner had
I overcome the difficulty of that ascent, but I was permitted
to sit down, and to be unburthened of my pack. I sat pity-

206 GREAT EVENTS OF

ing those who were behind, and entreated my master to let
me go down and help my wife, but he refused. I asked
each of the prisoners, as they passed by me, after her, and
heard that, passing through the above said river, she fell
down, and was plunged all over in the water ; after which,
she traveled not far; for, at the foot of the mountain, the
cruel and blood-thirsty savage who took her, slew her with
his hatchet, at one stroke." The same day, a young woman
and child were killed and scalped.

After some days, they reached the mouth of White river,
where Rouville divided his force into several parties, who took
different routes to the St. Lawrence. Mr. Williams belonged
to a party which reached the Indian village St. Francis, on
the St. Lawrence, by the way of Lake Champlain. After a
short residence at that village, he was sent to Montreal, where
he was treated with kindness by the governor, Vaudreuil.

In the year 1706, fifty-seven of these captives were con
veyed to Boston in a flag-ship, among whom were Mr. Wil
liams and all his remaining children (two having been ran
somed and sent home before), except his daughter Eunice,
whom, notwithstanding all his exertions, he was never able to
redeem, and whom, at the tender age of ten years, he was
obliged to leave among the Indians. As she grew up under
Indian influence, having no other home, and no other friends
who could counsel and guide her, she adopted the manners
and customs of the Indians, settled with them in a domestic
state, and, by her husband, had several children. She
became also, it is said, a Catholic, and ever afterwards
firmly attached to that religion. This, perhaps, is scarcely
a matter of surprise, as the sentiment was, the more easily
instilled into her mind, from her age and the circumstances
in which she was placed. Some time after the war,
she visited her relations at Deerfield, in company with her
husband. She was habited in the Indian costume, and,
strange as it may seem, though every persuasive was used
to induce her to abandon the savages, and to remain among
her connections, all was in vain. She continued to lead

AMERICAN HISTORY. 207

the life of a savage, and, though she repeated her visits to
her friends in New England, she uniformly persisted in
wearing her blanket and counting her beads. Two of the
children of Mr. Williams, after their return, became worthy
and respectable ministers; one at Waltham, the other at
Long Meadow, in Springfield.

The captive Mr. Williams, upon his return to the colony,
was desired, by the remnant of his Deerfield friends, to
resume the duties of his pastoral office in that place. He
complied with their request, and, having remarried, reared
another family of children, and died in 1729.

During Queen Anne s War, no other single tragedy
occurred like that of Deerfield; but, at all times, the enemy
were prowling about the frontier settlements, watching, in
concealment, for an opportunity to strike a sudden blow,
and, having done irreparable mischief, to escape with safety.
The women and children retired into garrisons; the men
left their fields uncultivated, or labored with arms at their
sides, and having sentinels posted at every point whence
an attack could be apprehended. Yet, notwithstanding
these precautions, the Indians were often successful, killing
sometimes an individual, sometimes a whole family, some
times a band of laborers, ten or twelve in number; and, so
alert were they in their movements, that but few of them
fell into the hands of the whites.

Queen Anne died in 1714, and George I., of the house
of Brunswick, ascended the throne of England. During
the reign of the latter, a state of warfare existed between
the enemy and the colony of Massachusetts and New
Hampshire for several years, distressing to the former, but
attended by few signal conflicts, disasters, or victories. At
length, however, it was discovered that the Indians,
although instigated still by the French, were not averse to
peace. Accordingly, towards the latter part of the year
1725, a treaty was concluded at Boston, and the next spring
was ratified at Fal mouth. A period of tranquillity suc
ceeded this event in the northern colonies.

208 GREAT EVENTS OF

X. WAR OF GEORGE II.

WAR between England and France, 1744 French take Canso Effect of this
Declaration of War upon the Indians Attack upon Great Meadows (now
Putney) Also, upon Ashuelot (now Keene) Expedition against Louisburg
Particulars of it Surrender of it Continuance of the War Various
places assaulted Savage Barbarities following the surrender of Fort
Massachusetts Peace declared.

THE attempts to maintain peace with the Indians were
successful through a number of years. The most happy
expedient which the English adopted for that purpose, was
the erection of trading-houses, where goods were furnished
by government to be exchanged for furs, which the Indians
brought to them. This had the effect of conciliating the
Indians, and, as it stimulated their industry, it was more
serviceable to them than direct gifts. In the course of time,
however, they began to be restive. Their intercourse with
the whites, for trading purposes, renewed reminiscences of
the attacks and cruelties committed upon the exterior set
tlements. The Indians were wont to boast of their feats,
and of the tortures inflicted upon the captured English ; in
some instances, the friends of those with whom they were
now holding intercourse. They were disposed frequently,
when provoked or intoxicated, to threaten to come again,
with the war-whoop and the tomahawk. Hence, individual
acts of violence occasionally took place, at or near the
trading-towns, and it was evident that, whenever war
between the English and French should commence, there
would be a reiteration of the former scenes and acts of
atrocity.

The day of blood at length arrived. It was in the year
1744, that England and France again commenced hostili
ties. The intelligence no sooner crossed the Atlantic, than
the frontiers of the colonies became the area of the conflict,
and the blood-thirsty savage took up his hatchet, with the
intention of giving vent to his long pent-up vengeance.
George II. had been on the throne several years.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 209

Before the proclamation of war was known at Boston,
the French governor of Cape Breton sent a party to take
Canso, which was effected, and the captives were conveyed
to Louisburg. The proclamation of war seems to have had
a singular effect on the Indians, who had manifested a
degree of attachment to the whites. It awakened the
naturally ferocious feelings of the savage feelings that
had been for some time suspended ; and, forgetting the many
ties of acquaintance and friendly intercourse, he easily fell
back upon those habits of carnage and plunder, in which
he was originally nurtured. The effect of the proclama
tion of war, on all the other Indians, was to have been
expected, as gratifying their long- indulged desires of ming
ling in the scenes of murder and pillage. It was an unhappy
circumstance, in regard to the Indians who had been
indulged with so intimate an intercourse with the whites,
that they were perfectly acquainted with all the routes
from Canada to the various English settlements, thus serv
ing as guides for others, or facilitating their predatory
irruptions.

With a wise foresight, upon the first intimation of war,
several new forts were ordered to be "built in exposed
parts of the country, the western regiments of militia in
Massachusetts were called on for their quotas of men to
defend the frontiers in that quarter, and scouting parties
were employed in various places for the purpose of dis
covering the incursions of the enemy, and ferreting out
their trails. But happily, during the first year, they
remained quiet, or were secretly making their preparations
for the part they intended hereafter to enact.

The Indians commenced operations in July, 1745, at the
Great Meadow, now Putney, on the Connecticut, and a few
days after at upper Ashuelot (Keene), killing at each place
an individual. Somewhat later in the year, the Great
Meadow was the scene of another attack, with a small
loss to the whites, as also to the Indians. The vigilance
of the colonists, however, was so unceasing, that but little
14

210 GREAT EVENTS OF

opportunity at this time was afforded for the gratification
of their malignity.

The eyes of the New England colonists were now fixed
on one great enterprise, the reduction of Louisburg, on the
island of Cape Breton, a place of incredible strength, which
had been twenty-five years in building. Accordingly, four
thousand troops from the several colonies, as far as Pennsyl
vania, were raised, the command of which was assigned to
William Pepperell. On the 4th of April, 1745, the expedi
tion had arrived at Canso. Here they were detained three
weeks on account of the ice. At length Commodore Warren,
according to orders from England, arrived at Canso in a
ship of sixty guns, with three other ships of forty guns each.
After a consultation with Pepperell, the commodore pro
ceeded to cruise before Louisburg. Soon after, the general
sailed with the whole fleet. On the 30th of April, landing
his troops, he invested the city. A portion of the troops on
the north-east part of the harbor, meeting with the ware
houses containing the naval stores, set them on fire. The
smoke, driven by the wind into the grand battery, so
terrified the French, that they abandoned it. After spiking
the guns, they returned to the city. Colonel Vaughan, who
conducted the first column, took possession of the deserted
battery. With extreme difficulty, cannon were drawn up
for fourteen nights successively, from the landing-place,
through a morass to the camp. It was done by men with
straps over their shoulders, and sinking to their knees in
the mud; a service which oxen or horses on such ground
couM not have performed. The cannon of the forsaken
battery were drilled, and turned with good effect on the city.

On the 7lh of May, a summons was sent to the command
ing officer of Louisburg, but he refused to surrender the
place. The efforts of the assailants were then renewed,
and put forth to the utmost, both by the commodore s fleet
and the land forces. Their efforts were at length crowned
with success. Discouraged by the whole aspect of affairs,
Uuchambon, the French commander, felt under the necessity

AMERICAN HISTORY.

211

of surrendering; and, accordingly, on the 16th of June,
articles of capitulation were signed.

Reduction of Louisburg.

This expedition, and its success, are one of the most
striking events in American warfare. It established the
New England character for a daring and enterprising
spirit, and it became equally the boast and the fear of
Britain. The daring and the prowess that effected such
an achievement, might one day be arrayed against the
integrity of the British empire in America. Pious people
considered that this victory was wrought out by a special
guiding and cooperating Providence.

After the loss of Louisburg, the conflicts on the borders
became more frequent and fatal. The enemy was exaspe
rated, and determined to give the colonists no rest. Various
places on the Connecticut were accordingly attacked, but
chiefly settlements in New Hampshire, the results of which
were very distressing to individual families. Charlestown
Keene, New Hopkinton, Contoocook, Rochester, and many
other places whose situations exposed them to the enemy

212 GREAT EVENTS OF

were attacked, and a greater or less number of individuals
were killed, wounded, or captured.

One attack may be stated in detail ; it followed the sur
render of Fort Massachusetts to VaudreuiPs French and
Indian forces, an honourable capitulation, which took place
in the summer of 1746, the fort having defended itself as
long as its ammunition lasted. The narrative is given in
the language of another: "Immediately after the surrender
of Fort Massachusetts, about fifty of VaudreuiPs Indians
passed Hoosack mountain, for the purpose of making depre
dations at Deerfield, about forty miles eastward. Arriving
near the village on Sunday, they reconnoitered the north
meadow, for the purpose of selecting a place of attack upon
the people, as they should commence their labor the next
morning. Not finding a point of attack suited to their
design, which seems to have been rather to capture than to
secure scalps, they proceeded about two miles south, to a
place called the Bars, where were a couple of houses,
owned by the families of Arnsden and Allen, but now
deserted; and early in the morning formed an ambuscade
on the margin of a meadow, under the cover of a thicket
of alders, near which was a quantity of mown hay. The
laborers of the two families, accompanied by several chil
dren, then residing in Deerfield village, proceeded to their
work in the early part of the day, and commenced their
business very near the Indians, who now considered their
prey as certain. But a little before they commenced their
attack, Mr. Eleazer Hawks, one of the neighboring inhab
itants, went out for fowling; and, approaching near the
ambuscade, was shot down and scalped. Alarmed at the
fire, the persons fled down a creek towards a mill, fiercely
pursued by the Indians. Simeon Arnsden, a lad, was
seized, killed and scalped; Samuel Allen, John Sadler, and
Adonijah Gillet, made a stand under the bank of Deerfield
river, near the mouth of the mill creek, whence they opened
a fire on the Indians. Soon overpowered, 411en and Gillet
fell; but Sadler escaped to an island, and thence across the

AMERICAN HISTORY.

213

river, under a shower of balls. In the mean time, others,
making for the road leading to the town, were closely pur
sued, and Oliver Arnsden, after a vigorous struggle for his
life, was barbarously butchered. Eunice, a daughter, and
two sons of Allen (Samuel and Caleb) were in the field;
Eunice was knocked down by a tomahawk, and her skull
fractured, but, in the hurry, was left unscalped. Samuel
was made prisoner, and Caleb effected his escape by run
ning through a piece of corn, though the Indians passed
very near him. Notwithstanding the severity of her
wounds, Eunice recovered, and lived to an advanced age.*
Although the war between England and France was
terminated by the treaty of peace at Aix-la-Chapelle, on the
18th of October, 1743, yet tranquillity did not immediately
follow. The frontiers continued to be ravaged, and the
comfort and progress of the settlers were seriously inter
rupted, for a time, beyond the general pacification. The
basis of the peace, as settled at Aix-la-Chapelle, was the
mutual restoration of all places taken during the war:
Louisburg, the pride and glory of the war, reverted to the
French, to the grief and mortification of New England.

* Hoyt.

214 GREAT EVENTS OP

XI. FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.

DECLARATION of War between England and France Causes of the War-
Mode of conducting it Various Expeditions planned Nova Scotia taken
from the French General Braddock s signal defeat Failure of Expedi
tions against Niagara and Fort Frontenac Expedition against Crown
Point Battle of Lake George Campaign of 1756 Inefficiency of Lord
Loudon Loss of Fort Oswego Indian Atrocities in Pennsylvania Cam
paign of 1757 Massacre at Fort William Henry Campaign of 1758
Capture of Louisburg Unsuccessful Expedition against Ticonderoga
Capture of Fort Frontenac Fort du Quesne taken Campaign of 1759
Ticonderoga and Crown Point taken Niagara Captured Siege and
Capture of Quebec Death of Wolfe and Montcalm Final Surrender of
the French Possessions in Canada to the English Peace of Paris.

AFTER a few years of peace, during which the colonies
had somewhat repaired their wasted strength and resources,
a declaration of war was made between Great Britain and
France in the summer of 1756. There had been an actual
state of warfare for two previous years, causing no small
grief and annoyance to the colonies, who had fondly hoped
longer to enjoy the blessings of tranquillity, and prosecute
their schemes of improvement. An invaluable blessing,
however, ultimately flowed from the renewed conflict of
arms as, from this time, that federation took place among
the separated provinces, which was consummated after
wards in their independence as a nation. The prosecution
of a common object, such as was presented in the French
and Indian War, naturally concentrated and united their
energies, and evolved, at length, the idea of a more perfect
political association.

The causes of the war grew out of the encroachments
of the French upon the frontier of the English colonies in
America. Such, at least, was the allegation on the part of
England. France had established settlements on the St.
Lawrence, and at the mouth of the Mississippi, and com
menced the gigantic plan of uniting these points by a chain
of forts, extending across the continent, and designed to

AMERICAN HISTORY. 215

confine the English colonists to the eastern slope of the
Alleghanies. The French possessed considerable military
strength in their northern colonies. They had strongly
fortified Quebec and Montreal, and, at other points, the
frontiers were defended by Louisburg, Cape Breton, and
the forts of Lake Champlain, Niagara, Crown Point, Fron-
tenac, and Ticonderoga. And they had, also, a fort of
some strength at Du Quesne, now the spot on which Pitts-
burg is built.

The establishment of French posts on the Ohio, and the
attack on Colonel Washington, were declared, by the
British government, as the commencement of hostilities.
The French, however, allege the intrusion of the Ohio Com
pany upon their territory, as the immediate cause of the
war. General Braddock, at the head of fifteen hundred
troops, had been despatched to America. On his arrival in
Virginia, he requested a convention of colonial governors to
meet him there, to confer on the plan of the ensuing cam
paign. They accordingly met, and three expeditions were
resolved upon one against Du Quesne, to be conducted by
General Braddock; one against forts Niagara and Fronte-
nac, to be commanded by Governor Shirley; and one
against Crown Point, to be led by General Johnson. The
last-named expedition was a measure proposed by Massa
chusetts, and was to be executed by troops raised in New
England and New York. In the mean time, a fourth expe
dition, which had been previously concerted, was carried
on against the French forts in Nova Scotia. This prov
ince, it seems, after its cession to the English, by the treaty
of Utrecht, was still retained, in part, by the French, as its
boundaries were not defined. They had built forts on a
portion of it which the English claimed. To gain posses
sion of these, was the object of the expedition. About two
thousand militia, under Monckton and Winslow, embarked
at Boston, on the 20th of May, 1755; and, having been
joined by three hundred regulars, when they had arrived
at Chignecto, on the Bay of Fundy, they proceeded against

216 GREAT EVENTS OF

Beau Sejour, now the principal post of the French in
that country.

This place they invested and took possession of, after
a bombardment of a few days. Other forts were after
wards attacked and taken, and the whole province was
secured to the British, according to their idea of its proper
boundaries.

The military operations at the South, during this time,
proved to be disastrous in the extreme. One of the most
signal defeats took place in Virginia, that the annals of
American history have recorded. It had been a total loss
of a large army (large for the colonial warfare), but for the
prudence and valor of our youthful Fabius, George Wash
ington. He saved a portion of it, while the whole was
exposed to utter annihilation, through the pride and ill-cal
culating policy of its leader. General Braddock was not
wanting in valor, or in the knowledge of European tactics;
but he little understood the proper mode of meeting Indian
warfare, and had the greater misfortune of unwillingness
to receive advice from subordinates in office.

The object of the expedition under Braddock, was the
reduction of Fort du Quesne. At the head of two thou
sand men, he commenced his march; but, as it was deemed
an object of great importance to reach the fort before it
could be reinforced, he marched forward with twelve hun
dred men, selected from the different corps, with ten pieces
of cannon, and the necessary ammunition and provisions.
The remainder of the army was left under the command
of Colonel Dunbar, to follow with the heavy artillery,
by moderate and easy marches,

Washington, who was his aid, and well acquainted with
the peculiarities of Indian warfare, foresaw the danger
which was impending, and ventured to suggest the pro
priety of employing a body of Indians, who had offered
their services. These, had the commander seen fit to
accept the advice, would have proved serviceable to him
as scouting and advanced parties. Or had he, as was

AMERICAN HISTORY. 217

also suggested to him, as a matter of safety, placed the
provincial troops in his army in front, he would have
avoided the danger. These troops, consisting of inde
pendent and ranging companies, accustomed to such ser
vices, would have scoured the woods and morasses, and
guarded against an ambuscade. Despising the enemy,
undervaluing the colonial troops, and confiding only in his
own valor and the splendid array of his well-drilled British
regulars, he fearlessly pursued his way. The natural and
necessary impediments were many, and he did not reach
the Monongahela until the 8th of July. The next day he
expected to invest the fort, and in the morning he made
a disposition of "his forces, in accordance with that expect
ation. His van, consisting of three hundred British regu
lars, was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Gage, and he
followed, at some distance, with the artillery and main
body of his men, divided into small columns.

"Washington had the day before rejoined the army, from
which he had been a short time detained by severe illness.
It was noon on the 9th of July, when, from the height above
the right bank of the Monongahela, he looked upon the
ascending army, which, ten miles from Fort Du Quesne, had
just crossed the stream for the second time. Every thing
looked more bright and beautiful than aught he had ever
witnessed before. The companies in their crimson uniform,
with burnished arms and floating banners, were marching
gayly to cheerful music as they entered the forest."

But soon and suddenly, how changed the scene ! How
many exulting soldiers that entered the forest, were destined
never to emerge from it, into the light of day! How many
hearts that were throbbing with hope at the prospect of an
easy victory, were to be hushed for ever! Heedless of
danger, Braddock pressed forward, the distance of seven
miles only still intervening between his army and the con
templated place of action. Suddenly, in an open wood,
thick set with high grass, there burst upon them the Indian
war-whoop and a fierce fire from an unseen enemy on

218 GREAT EVENTS OF

every side. A momentary confusion and panic ensued
many fell, and, the ranks being broken, there was danger
of an ignominious flight. None could at first tell who
might be or where lurked the foe that was dealing death
at so fearful a rate. Braddock, however, rallied his forces,
but mistakingly deemed it necessary to fight, even under
these circumstances, according to European tactics, and to
preserve a regular order of battle. Thus he kept his
soldiers in compact masses, as fair marks for the Indian
bullet or arrow, without the possibility of effectually meeting
the foe. At this critical moment, personal valor was of no
avail. Discipline and art, combined action, and orderly
movement, brought not the enemy where he could be
foiled. There was, indeed, a momentary suspension of the
fight, resulting from the fall of the commanding officer of
the foe, but the attack was quickly renewed with increased
fury the van fell back on the main army, and the whole
body was again thrown into confusion. Had an instant
retreat, or a rapid charge without observance of orderly
military movements been commanded, the result might
have been very different. But Braddock, too ignorant of
the right course, or too bigoted to the European method of
battle, refused to adopt either expedient. Continually fired
upon, and losing his brave men by scores, he still made
efforts to form his broken and wasting troops on the very
spot where they were first attacked, thus bringing the living
to supply the places of the dead, and offering needlessly,
and without any countervailing advantage, successive holo
causts to the demon of battle.

The enemy was small in numbers, and hardly calculated
on the possibility of defeating the English army. Annoy
ance and delay, seemed to be all that they expected to
accomplish; but permitted securely, in the two ravines on
each side of the road where they were concealed, to fire
upon the English, they could but triumph. The Indians,
taking leisurely aim at the officers, swept them from the
field, and all but Washington were either killed or wounded.

AMERICAN HISTORY.

219

He, as aid to Braddock, was peculiarly exposed, as he rode
over every part of the field to carry the general s orders.
Indeed, the sharp-shooters endeavored to take him off, as
well as the rest, but he was providentially preserved. No
instrument of death might be wielded with effect upon him.
The superstitious Indians were struck by the phenomenon
of his escape, and concluded that he was not to be killed.
One of them afterwards averred that he shot at him seven
teen times in succession, and was forced to yield to the
conviction that he was invulnerable. At the close of the
battle, four bullets were found in his coat, and it was known
that two horses had been killed under him.

Braddock s Defeat.

After an action of three hours, General Braddock, wrn
had fearlessly breasted the vollies of the enemy, and had
lost successively three horses from under him, received a
mortal wound. His troops no longer maintained their
position, but fled in terror and dismay. The provincials
remained last on the field, and effected an orderly retreat,
protecting, at the same time, the regulars in their flight.

220 GREAT EVENTS OF

The defeat was most signal, and the loss of life appalling,
The proud army, at the close of the contest, counted but
one-half of its entire number. Sixty-four officers were
killed and wounded. The remains of the English forces
sought their companions under Dunbar, forty miles distant.
Braddock could proceed no farther, and there expired.
The army, with Dunbar for its leader, was soon after
marched to Philadelphia, where it found its winter-quarters.
Thus, in the fatal results of that expedition, the whole fron
tier of Virginia was left exposed to the French and Indians.

Of the enterprise against Niagara and Fort Frontenac,
it may suffice to say, that it utterly failed. We proceed,
therefore, to that against Crown Point, the rendezvous for
which was at Albany. On the last of June (1755), four
thousand troops arrived at Albany, under the command of
General William Johnson and General Lyman. Here the
sachem Hendrick joined them with a body of his Mohawks.
As a portion of the troops, together with the artillery,
batteaux, provisions, and other necessaries for the attempt
on Crown Point, could not be immediately got ready, Gen
eral Lyman advanced with the main body, and erected Fort
Edward, on the Hudson, for the security of the apparatus
above named, which was to be forwarded by Johnson.

Towards the end of August, General Johnson moved his
forces forward more northerly, and pitched his camp at the
south end of Lake George. Here he learned that two
thousand French and Indians, under the command of Baron
Dieskau, had landed at South bay, now Whitehall, and
were marching toward Fort Edward for the purpose of
destroying the English transports and munitions of war.
It was resolved the next morning, in a council of war, to
send out a large detachment of men to intercept Dieskau s
army on its way. To perform this service, Colonel Ephraim
Williams, of Deerfield, was appointed, at the head of twelve
hundred troops, two hundred of whom were Indians.
Dieskau, who was an able commander, had made an advan
tageous disposition to receive the English. While he kept

AMERICAN HISTORY. 221

the main body of his regulars with him in the center, he
ordered the Canadians and Indians to advance on the right
and left in the woods, with a view to surround their oppo
nents. When the American troops had arrived considerably
within the ambuscade, the Mohawk sachem, Hendrick, who
had been sent out too late with his band, was hailed by a
hostile Indian, and instantly there commenced a sharp fire.
This brought on the action sooner than was intended by
Dieskau, who had ordered his flanking parties to reserve
their fire till the firing should proceed from the center. It
was his design to let the English troops get completely
inclosed before the firing commenced, in which case there
would have been an entire defeat of the English. The
discharge of arms necessarily became general, after the
flanking parties had begun; but the advantage was alto
gether on the side of the ambuscaders. The provincials
fought bravely, but finding that they were in danger of
being hemmed in from every quarter, they were obliged to
retreat. The loss of the Americans was considerable.
Colonel Williams was killed. Hendrick and a number of
his Indians, who fought with great intrepidity, were left dead
on the field. The retreating troops joined the main body,
and waited the approach of their now exulting assailants.*
It was nearly noon when the enemy appeared in sight of
Johnson s army. The battle of Lake George, which was
the consequence of their meeting, occurred on the 8th of
September. The American army was encamped on the
banks of that lake, and covered each side of a low thick
morass. To form a sort of breastwork, trees had been
felled, and this was his only cover against an attack. It
happened most favorably that, two days before, General
Johnson had received several cannon from Fort Edward.
The enemy marched up in front of the breastwork within
the distance of one hundred and fifty yards. Soon the
grand and central attack was commenced, while the

* Holmes Annals.

222

GREAT EVENTS OF

English flanks were beset by the Canadians and Indians.
The distant platoon fire of the French did but little execu
tion; and the English, summoning resolution, entered with
increased spirit upon the defence of their position. Working
their artillery with vigor, they compelled the Indians and
Canadian militia to flee into the swamps. Dieskau, under
these circumstances, was forced to order a retreat. It was
not effected with much success, as his troops were thrown
into irrecoverable disorder, and their flight was hastened
by a party pursuing them from the English camp. The
baron met the frequent fate of war he received his
death-wound from a soldier, who, meeting him alone, mis-

Battle of Lake George.

took a movement on the part of the general, which was
intended as propitiatory, for an attempt at self-defence, and
discharged his piece at him. He was feeling for his watch
to give to the soldier. His wound proved fatal, but not
until he had reached England.

When the baron s army halted, after its retreat or flight,
it happened, just as they were about to take refreshment, that

AMERICAN HISTORY. 223

two hundred men of the New Hampshire forces, which
had been detached from Fort Edward to the aid of the
main body, fell upon the French, and put many of them to
the sword. Their dead bodies were thrown into a small
lake, which, from this circumstance, was afterwards called
"the bloody pond."

The spirits of the colonists, which had been so depressed
by Braddock s defeat, were greatly revived, but the issue
of the battle of Lake George was not otherwise beneficial.
The success was by no means followed up according to
the expectations of the country. No further effort at this
time was made to reduce Crown Point; but the remainder
of the campaign was employed by Johnson only in strength
ening the works at Fort Edward, and erecting on the site
of the battle a fort, which he called William Henry.

Johnson, in his official letter respecting the engagement,
makes no mention of General Lyman, although the latter
held the command most of the day, as Johnson was wounded
early in the action. This was an instance of ingratitude
and selfishness highly unbecoming a soldier, especially as
the consideration bestowed on himself was a baronetcy and
five thousand pounds sterling.

The campaign of 1756, the year in which the public
declaration of war was made, makes but an indifferent
figure in American history. Expeditions against Niagara,
Crown Point, Fort Du Quesne, arid other places, were
projected; but they severally failed. On the other hand,
before the close of the summer, the Marquis de Montcalm,
an efficient officer, who succeeded Dieskau, with a large
force of regulars, Canadians, and Indians, took the important
fort of Oswego, on the south side of Lake Ontario, which
gave him the command of the lakes Ontario and Erie, and
of the entire country of the Five Nations. Sixteen hundred
men were taken prisoners; Colonel Mercer, the commanding
officer, was killed, and the loss in cannon, mortars, batteaux,
and other military resources, was great.

During this unfortunate year, a single military adventure

224

GREAT EVENTS OF

on the confines of Pennsylvania, shows that the colonists
were not insensible to the Indian depredations, and to the
duty of attempting to repress them. Fort Granby, in that
state, was surprised by a party of French and Indians, who
made the garrison prisoners. Departing, in this instance,
from their usual custom of killing and scalping the captives,
they loaded them with flour, and thus drove them into the
wilderness. In another quarter, the Indians on the Ohio
barbarously killed, in their incursions, above a thousand
inhabitants of the western frontiers. To avenge this out
rageous conduct, Colonel Armstrong, with a party of two
hundred and eighty provincials, marched from Fort Shirley,
on the Juniata river, about one hundred and fifty miles west
of Philadelphia, to Kittaning, an Indian town, the rendez
vous of these murdering savages, and destroyed it. An
Indian chief, called Captain Jacobs, defended himself through

Destruction of Kittaning.

loop-holes of his log cabin. As the Indians refused the
quarter which was offered them, Colonel Armstrong gave
orders to set their houses on fire. This was at once

AMERICAN HISTORY. 225

executed, and many of the Indians perished by the flames
and suffocation. Numbers were shot in attempting to
reach the river. Jacobs, his squaw, and a boy called the
king s son, were fired upon as they were attempting to
escape out of the window, and were all killed and scalped.
It is computed that between thirty and forty Indians were
destroyed in this attack. Eleven English prisoners were
also released.

On this occasion, a Captain Mercer was wounded, and
conveyed away by his ensign and eleven men. He after
wards returned safe with twenty-three men, and four
released prisoners. He is believed to be the distinguished
General Mercer of the United States army, who died of
wounds received in the battle of Princeton in 1776.*

The campaign of the succeeding year, 1757, is chiefly
memorable in our annals for the dreadful massacre of the
English at Fort William Henry, on the 9th of August,
and which deserves a particular recital. Fort William
Henry was commanded at this time by Colonel Monroe, a
British officer. Being vigorously pressed, and unable to
obtain assistance from General Webb, who was at Fort
Edward with the main army, and having burst many of
his guns and mortars, and expended most of his ammuni
tion, he had no alternative but to surrender. By the capit
ulation which was signed, the troops were allowed to retain
their arms, and as a protection against the Indians, were to
receive an escort for their march to Fort Edward. Soon
after, a detachment of the French army took possession of
the fort. At the same time, the Indians, impatient for plunder
and blood, rushed over the parapets, and were ready for
operations. Colonel Monroe, perceiving their object, and
dreading to remain within the camp exposed to their
cupidity and vengeance, gave orders for marching about
midnight. Preparations accordingly were made, but it
was found that a large body of Indians was on the road

* Holmes.
15

226 GREAT EVENTS OF

with a view to intercept his march. Safety, therefore, did
not permit them to leave the camp.

Early in the morning they began their march, but their
situation was worse now than it had been before, with the
savages threatening and prowling around them. Armed
with tomahawks or other instruments of death, they filled
the woods, and commenced their work of plunder and
butchery upon the retreating British. Monroe complained
to the French commander, and demanded the promised
escort. This was not furnished, probably, as the French
themselves feared the Indians; but the British were advised
to yield to the former their private property, as the means
of appeasing the foe, and saving life. This was very gen
erally done, but it produced no effect, except to increase
their rapacity. Whatever was withheld, they seized, and
many were stripped almost entirely of their clothing, and
some even to nudity. They rushed upon the sick and
wounded, whom they killed and scalped ; the negroes,
mulattoes, and friendly Indians, were then dragged from
the ranks, and shared the same fate. The English troops,
under these circumstances, did as they could, until they
reached a French guard on the way. They were followed
by the insulting, robbing, and murdering savages. "The
women accompanying the troops, unable to resist, were
seized, their throats cut, their bodies ripped open, and their
bowels torn out, and thrown in their faces; the children
were taken by the heels, and their brains dashed out against
the rocks and trees ; and it is stated that many of the
savages drank the heart s blood of their victims, as it
flowed reeking from the horrid wounds."

General Webb, on receiving intelligence of the capit
ulation, ordered five hundred men to meet the captured
troops, and conduct them to his camp ; but, to his surprise,
instead of meeting the escort, he found the captives
flying, through the woods singly, or in small groups, some
distracted, and many bleeding with dreadful wounds,
faint, and in a state of exhaustion. The whole number

AMERICAN HISTORY. 227

massacred and carried off, was probably not far from
three hundred.

The ill successes and losses of several campaigns now
roused the people, both in the parent-country and in the
provinces, to the consideration of more vigorous measures,
under more able men. Accordingly, William Pitt, Earl
of Chatham, the greatest statesman of modern ages, was
brought forward at the present crisis, and infused his own
ardent and decisive spirit into the national counsels. He
sympathized with his trans- Atlantic brethren, and assured
them, in a circular which he addressed to the governors of
the provinces, that an effectual force should be sent against
the French the next year, to operate both by sea and land.
In connection with such a force, they were expected to raise
their full quotas of troops, according to the number of the
inhabitants. Animated by the favorable change in the
parent-country, the government of Massachusetts voted
seven thousand men, Connecticut five thousand, and New
Hampshire three thousand, and the troops were ready for
service in the early part of the year (1758). An armament
of twelve thousand troops having been sent out from
England, commanded by General Amherst, and the British
forces already in America, added to the number of soldiers
raised by the colonies, constituted an army far greater than
had been before seen on this side of the ocean.

The expeditions proposed for the year were three the
first against Louisburg, the second against Ticonderoga,
and Crown Point, and the third against Fort Du Quesne,
The feelings of resentment against the enemy were strong,
and the colonists engaged heartily in the movements ; for
Canada was filled, so to speak, "with prisoners and scalps,
private plunder, and public stores and provisions, which our
people, as beasts of burden, had conveyed to them." The
enterprise against Louisburg was conducted by the land
and naval commanders, Amherst and Boscawen, with
twenty ships of the line, and fourteen thousand men. As
the British minister had in view the absolute extinction of

228 GREAT EVENTS OF

the French power in America, it was of the highest import
ance to take Louisburg, as a key to the possession of the
capital of Canada.

The armament arrived before the place on the 2d of June.
The commander of the garrison, the Chevalier de Drucourt,
was an officer of experience and courage. His force,
however, was not large, consisting of twenty-five hundred
regulars, and six hundred militia. But the harbor was so
strongly secured, that it was found necessary to land the
English forces at some distance from the town. The landing
was effected with difficulty, though with little loss. General
James Wolfe, who then commenced his distinguished mili
tary career, was detached with two thousand men to seize
a post occupied by the enemy at the Light-house point,
from which the ships in the harbor and the fortifications
in the town might be greatly harassed. The post was
abandoned on the approach of Wolfe, and very strong
batteries were erected there. Approaches were also made
on the opposite side of the town, and the siege was urged
with skill and vigor. The cannonade kept up against the
town and the ships in the harbor was so effective, that there
seemed to be little prospect of defending the place, and the
government offered to capitulate Louisburg, with all its
artillery, (two hundred and twenty-one pieces of cannon
and eighteen mortars,) and a very large quantity of stores
and ammunition; as also the Island Royal, St. John s, and
their dependencies, were surrendered to the English. The
speedy result was also the entire possession of the island of
Cape Breton. The loss to the garrison was upwards of
fifteen hundred men to the assailants, about four hundred
killed and wounded. In England, the trophies of the victory
were publicly exhibited, and the event was reli-giously
noticed in all the churches. In New England the joy
was great, and the victory there also commemorated with
public thanksgivings.*

Of the second expedition, under General Abercrombie,

* Holmes.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 229

against Ticonderoga, it may suffice to say, that, notwith
standing its strength, numbering fifteen thousand troops,
with a formidable train of artillery and the usual appliances,
it utterly failed, through the unskilfulness and rashness of
Abercrombie himself. Fort Frontenac, however, on the
return of the army from their depot, was besieged and
captured. The success of this last enterprise prepared
the way for the reduction of Fort Du Quesne, the third
object of the campaign of 1758. This expedition was
entrusted to General Forbes. The fort, however, was
found to have been abandoned by the French and Indians.
It was now taken possession of by the English, who named
it Pittsburg, in compliment to the British minister. Upon
this event, the Indian tribes on the Ohio submitted to the
English. The gloom which spread over the colonies by
the defeat at Ticonderoga, was, in a measure, dissipated by
the successes of Amherst and Forbes.

For the campaign of 1759, three expeditions were pro
posed one against Ticonderoga and Crown Point, to be
conducted by Amherst a second against Niagara, under
Prideaux and a third against Quebec, to be conducted by
General Wolfe.

On the 22d of July, Amherst, in accordance with the
above plan, invested Ticonderoga with twelve thousand
provincials and regulars, and soon succeeded in capturing
that important fortress. Following this, the village of St.
Francis, situated at the mouth of the river of that name
was destroyed.

It had been the resort of Indian robbers and murder
ers, where were deposited the scalps and plundered goods
of hundreds of hapless Englishmen. It was taken and
destroyed by a party under Major Rogers, after a series of
adventures and hair-breadth escapes, which have more the
appearance of romance than reality. There was a general
conflagration of the cabins, and out of three hundred inhab
itants, two hundred were killed, twenty women and children
captured, and five English prisoners in the village set free.

230

GREAT EVENTS OF

Destruction of the village of St. Francis.

The army destined against Niagara, was composed
principally of provincials, reinforced by a strong body of
friendly Indians. It was placed under the command of
General Prideaux, who commenced the siege of the place
on the 6th of July. While directing the operations of the
place, he was killed by the bursting of a shell. The com
mand of the army then fell upon Sir William Johnson, who
prosecuted the enterprise with judgment and vigor. The
French, alarmed at the prospect of losing a post which
formed the communication between Canada and Louisiana,
in the mean while, made a strenuous effort to raise the
siege, by collecting a large body of troops from several
neighboring garrisons. These were brought, on the morn
ing of the 24th, in battle array against the besiegers, ushered
in by the horrible sound of the Indian war-whoop. The
French charged with great impetuosity, but the English
maintained their ground, and eventually repulsed them with
signal slaughter. The fate of Niagara was now decided.
The next day a capitulation was signed, and this portion
of the country fell into the hands of the English.

AMERICAN HISTORY.

231

The grand enterprise for the reduction of Quebec was
entrusted, as already noticed, to the gallant and accomplished
Wolfe, who sailed from Halifax early in the season, and near
the last of June landed the whole army on the island of
Orleans, a few miles below Quebec. Here the sight pre
sented to him of the formidable position and works of the
enemy by no means served to encourage expectations of
success. But his resolution and desire of victory over
came every other sentiment.

Quebec.

" The city of Quebec rose before him upon the north side
of the St. Lawrence; its upper town and strong fortifica
tions situated on a rock, whose bold and steep front con
tinued far westward parallel with the river, its base near
the shore; thus presenting a wall which it seemed impos
sible to scale. From the north-west came down the St.
Charles, entering the St. Lawrence just below the town,
its banks high and uneven, and cut by deep ravines; while
armed vessels were borne upon its waters, and floating
batteries obstructed its entrance. A few miles below, the
Montmorenci leaped down the cataract into the St. Law-

232 GREAT EVENTS OF

rence ; and strongly posted along the sloping banks of that
river, and between these two tributaries, the French army,
commanded by Montcalm, displayed its formidable lines."

We necessarily pass over several ineffectual attempts of
Wolfe to draw Montcalm from his strong intrenchments into
a general engagement, during which, and in consequence
of excitement under their repeated failure, he fell sick.
When, however, he had so far recovered as to assume the
command, a plan was proposed to him by his generals for
getting possession of the heights in the rear of the city,
where it was but slightly fortified. Could the steep
acclivity of rocks be surmounted, they would be able to
reach the level plain above, called the Heights of Abraham.
The plan was altogether congenial to the feelings of the
commander-in-chief, and was put into execution with judg
ment and vigor.

In pursuance of this plan, Wolfe broke up his camp at
Montmorenci, near the falls of that name, and returned to
the island of Orleans, where he first disembarked. From
that spot he determined to push his daring enterprise.
Embarking himself and army on board of the fleet, he
directed Admiral Holmes to sail up the river several miles
higher than the intended point of debarkation, making
occasional demonstrations of a design to land troops.
That being accomplished, during the night a strong detach
ment in flat-bottomed boats fell down with the tide, to a
point about a mile above the city. The shelving beach, the
high precipitous banks, and the only path by which the place
could be scaled, being defended by a captain s guard and
a battery of four guns, all rendered the landing and ascent
of the heights, on the part of the English, a work of amazing
difficulty ; yet it was effected, Wolfe himself being one of
the first who leaped on shore.

The whole plan had well nigh been defeated at the water s
edge, for one of the sentinels hailed. But being answered
by a captain in Frazier s regiment, who fully understood
the French language, and had been expressly instructed for

AMERICAN HISTORY. 233

the purpose, the latter was suffered to pass. The sentinel,
from the answers given, (for the English were twice inter
rogated,) concluded at once that this was a French convoy
of provisions, which was expected to pass down the river
to Quebec. This the English had learned from some
deserters. Escaping this difficulty, they commenced their
arduous and perilous task. The Highlanders and light
infantry, under the command of General Howe, led the
way up the fearful precipice, which was one hundred and
fifty or two hundred feet high, an almost perpendicular
ascent. They clambered up by the aid of the projection
of rocks, and the limbs of trees and shrubs growing on the
cliffs. They first drove away the guard, and seized the
battery. The rest of the troops pressed on in the difficult
and confined path, and, by day-break, the whole army was
planted firmly on the plains of Abraham.

Montcalm, taken by surprise at this unexpected scaling
of the heights, was forced to abandon his strong position,
and come to an engagement. For this purpose, he crossed
the St. Charles, and drew up his army in battle array. This
being perceived by Wolfe, a corresponding movement was
made on the part of the English, and the disposition of the
troops was such as to meet the masterly arrangements of
Montcalm. The battle was commenced by the French, a
portion of whose army, consisting of fifteen hundred Indians
and Canadians, who were excellent marksmen, advanced in
front for this purpose. Screened by surrounding thickets,
they aimed with fatal effect at many of the British officers,
but this lasted only a short time. The main body of the
French now advancing, the principal struggle came on in
all its fury. The English, reserving their fire until within
forty yards of the enemy s line, then made terrible havoc
among them by a general discharge. This fire was vigor
ously maintained until the French yielded to it. General
Wolfe exposed himself in front of his battalion, as also
did Montcalm before his, and both officers paid the price
of their bravery. They were in the sections of the two

234 GREAT EVENTS OF

armies, where the battle was most severe, and both fell
mortally wounded, not far from the same time. There
was another striking coincidence they who succeeded
them in command in either army, also fell wounded the
Frenchman mortally. When Wolfe fell, he was pressing
on at the head of his grenadiers with fixed bayonets. It
was the third time that he had received a wound ; a ball
had now pierced his breast. The respective armies con
tinued in their strife, as if nothing had happened. Aftei
Wolfe and Monckton had been laid aside, Townsend
assumed the command, and the British grenadiers pressed
on with their bayonets. The center of the French army
was soon broken by the brisk advance of General Murray.
The Highlanders with their broad-swords completed the
confusion of the enemy, driving them with great slaughter
in different directions. A portion of the French army fled
into Quebec. The enemy was signally defeated, having
lost a thousand men, besides an equal number of prisoners.
The loss of the English, in killed and wounded, was less
than six hundred.

The necessary preparations were now made by Townsend
for the siege of the city; but at the expiration of five days,
it was surrendered to the English fleet and army. The
capital of Canada, at the time of its capitulation, contained
about ten thousand inhabitants, and thus having passed
under the dominion of Great Britain, was protected by a
garrison of five thousand men, under the command of
General Murray.

Wolfe died of his wounds on the field of battle. He
manifested "the ruling passion strong in death." As a
touching incident in the annals of warfare, scarcely any
thing can equal it, unless it may be that which also marked
the death of his opponent. He was removed into the rear
almost against his consent, that he might be attended to ; but
while others were expressing their sympathy in his behalf,
he was watching the terrific contest with intense anxiety.
At length, he could no longer sustain himself, but, faint with

AMERICAN HISTORY.

235

the loss of blood, he leaned on the shoulder of an officer,
who kneeled down to support him. The agony of death
was now upon him. A cry was heard, " They fly, they fly !"
"Who fly?" asked the expiring hero. "The French!"
replied his supporter. "Then I die happy!" he said.

Death of Wolfe.

Montcalm, too, died in a few hours after, having been
first conveyed into the city. On being told that his wound
was mortal, he expressed his satisfaction at the fact. When
further informed that he could survive but a few hours, he
replied, "So much the better: I shall not live to see the sur
render of Quebec."

The French continued in possession of Canada for a time,
notwithstanding the capture of Quebec. Indeed, a second,
and more mortal struggle, was soon to be again witnessed on
the Heights of Abraham. The main body of the French
army, which, after its defeat, retired to Montreal, and which
was still formidable, had been reinforced by six thousand
Canadian militia and a body of Indians. With these forces,
M de Levi, the successor of Montcalm, appeared before

236 GREAT EVENTS OF

Quebec, with the design of besieging the fortress. Murray,
whose force had been reduced by the severities of the
winter, the want of proper food, from five thousand to three
thousand, left his works, and met the French near Sillery,
and a severe action took place, in which the advantage was
on the side of the French, the English being obliged to
retire within the fortress. The loss on both sides was very
great, being nearly one thousand each ; but the battle was
productive of no special results. Levi found it impossible
to reduce the place; and the English, receiving reinforce
ments after being closely invested for a time, it was con
cluded by the French commander to abandon the project,
and he accordingly returned to Montreal.

As it seemed necessary to try the fortune of another
campaign against the enemy, since, notwithstanding the
capture of the French posts in 1759, the province still held
out against the British arms, General Amherst had made
arrangements for assembling before Montreal all the British
troops from Lake Ontario, Lake Champlain, and Quebec.
The several armies were early in motion, and so accurately
had their operations been concerted, that Amherst and
Murray reached the vicinity of Montreal on the same day;
when Haviland, who commanded a small force from Crown
Point, joined them : the next day, Vaudreuil, the governor,
finding further resistance vain, demanded a capitulation;
and on the 18th of September, 1760, the whole French
possessions in Canada, were surrendered to the British
power.

The war still continued in Europe, and a few provincial
troops were raised in 1761 and 1762; but New England
remained exempted from all border hostilities. On the 10th
of February, 1763, a general peace was signed at Paris,
and soon after ratified by Great Britain and France. This
was an era of joy to the colonies. They had experienced
no such relief since the commencement of King William s
War, in 1689. A few short intervals of peace had indeed
been enjoyed, but during nearly eighty years, they were

AMERICAN HISTORY.

237

generally doomed in every exposed point to pillage, cap
tivity, and slaughter. Relieved from their miseries and
dangers, they reoccupied their plantations, and new ones
were commenced, and population began to spread with
rapidity.

It may be added, and it is due to the colonist to add, that
they were not unmindful of their obligations to that Being
by whose fostering care they had been preserved during so
many and so severe trials and privations. They had put
their trust in Him, and he had saved them from the hands
of their foes. Many had indeed fallen many had suffered ;
but now, relieved from foreign invasion and savage butch
ery, they united in giving God thanks on a day set apart
for the purpose, and went on their way rejoicing.

238

GREAT EVENTS OF

I V. R EVOLUTION.

I. CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION,

OBJECTS proposed in the Settlement of America Forms of Government con
ducive to Independence Influence of Expenses Colonies obliged to
defend themselves, and to defray the Expense of their own Wars and
those of the Mother-country British system of Taxation commenced
Writs of Assistance Stamp Act Formidable Opposition to it Non
importation Act Arrival of British forces Boston Massacre Destruction
of the Gaspee Destruction of Tea Boston Port Bill Arrival of General
Gage His obnoxious Measures Meeting of Congress Preparations for
War Obstinacy of the King and Parliament Crisis arrives Determina
tion of the Colonists.

THE Revolution of America was an extraordinary event;
and at the time of its occurrence was unlocked for, both
by the government and nation of Great Britain. That the
colonies had long been dissatisfied with the measures adopted
towards them by the parent-country, and that this dissatis
faction was gradually increasing, was well known; but the
statesmen on the other side designed, and doubtless supposed,

AMERICAN HISTORY. 239

that they should be able to secure the submission of the colo
nies to whatever line of policy they might please to adopt.

But they little understood the American character. Had
they reflected upon the circumstances in which the colonies
originated, and their steady progress in wealth and popu
lation, they might well have anticipated the final result.
Certain it was, that oppressive and coercive measures would
only tend to weaken their affection for the parent-country.
Kindness and conciliation might have preserved the bond
of union indeed, it was possible to have confirmed the
colonies in their regard for the land of their birth; but the
line of policy which could alone have effected that object,
was overlooked or disregarded by British statesmen; and
through their infatuated counsels, they hastened the very
event which they so much deplored.

Let us advert to some of the remote and proximate
causes, which brought about this Revolution:

1. Objects proposed by the colonies in their settlement
of America.

At the era of the Revolution, thirteen colonies had been
planted. These were Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hamp
shire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey,
Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North and South Caro
lina, and Georgia. Virginia, the first, was settled in 1607, and
Georgia, the last, in 1732. Different objects were proposed
in the establishment of the different colonies. The leading
object of some was pecuniary profit. They were induced,
either by associated or individual proprietors, who them
selves remained in England, to come to America, with the
hope of profitable returns for the advance of their capital.
But the more northern colonies came on their own concern,
at their own expense, and with reference to the enjoyment
of freedom and peace in religion, which they could not find
at home.

Now, was it to be expected that those who had left home,
and all its endearments, for the sake of enjoying a larger

240 GREAT EVENTS OF

liberty, would consent to have that liberty abridged,
especially after having tasted its blessings for years? If
the Pilgrim Fathers had such notions themselves, was it to
be supposed that their children would cherish less manly
and patriotic sentiments? The spirit of liberty does not
easily die, where there is aliment to keep it alive. The
blood of freemen, or those who aspire to freedom, instead
of becoming weaker, as it flows down in successive gener
ations, usually becomes more pure and more excitable.
This was verified in the history of the colonies, anterior to
the Revolution. They were men of whom the principles
of liberty had taken strong hold. Their distance from the
mother-country her neglect of them the exercise of
civil and religious freedom for a number of years all
served to excite and strengthen a desire for independence.
Such an event was the natural result of the principles with
which the colonies began their career. It was the natural
result of the physical courage and strength acquired in
felling forests, resisting savages, and in carrying out those
plans and enterprises in which a young, ardent, and ambi
tious people are likely to engage.

2. Their forms of government were conducive to inde
pendence.

In the settlement of the colonies, three forms of govern
ment were established. These were usually denominated
Charter, Proprietary, and Royal governments. The differ
ence arose from the different circumstances under which
the colonies were settled, as well as the different objects of
the first emigrants. The Charter governments were con
fined to New England. The Proprietary governments
were those of Maryland, Pennsylvania, the Carolinas, and
the Jerseys. The others were royal governments, or those
which were immediately under the British crown.*

As early as 1619, only twelve years from its settlement,

* Pitkin.

AMERICAN HISTORY. 241

a provincial legislature, in which the colonists were repre
sented, was introduced into Virginia. In Plymouth and in
Massachusetts, the colonies organized their body, politic
and social, upon principles of perfect equality. And, as the
Puritans spread themselves over New England, they gave
to the distinct communities which they established, consti
tutions still more democratic. In January, 1639, three years
from the commencement of the Connecticut colony, the
planters on Connecticut river convened at Hartford, and
formed a system of government which continued, with
scarcely any alterations, to the year 1818. Of this system,
Dr. Trumbull observes: "With such wisdom did our vener
able ancestors provide for the freedom and liberties of them
selves and their posterity. Thus happily did they guard
against every encroachment on the rights of the subject.
This, probably, is one of the most free and happy constitu
tions of civil government ever formed. The formation of
it, at so early a period, when the light of liberty was
wholly darkened in most parts of the world, and the rights
of man were so little understood in others, does great honor
to their ability, integrity, and love of freedom."

In Maryland and Pennsylvania, the first assemblies estab
lished a popular representation, and in all their political
regulations proceeded upon broad views of civil freedom.
The same remark, says Mr. Walsh, may be extended to
the Carolinas and New York.

The very first principles, then, of the colonists in relation
to government were anti-monarchical. In their incipient
colonial state, they had the feelings gf freemen ; and all
their institutions, as far as they were allowed to carry
them, spoke of liberty and equality.

This spirit was never lost to the colonies. In the variety
of fortune which they subsequently encountered in every
change of monarch abroad in every shift of rulers at
home through royal smiles and royal frowns in times of
war and in times of peace their love of liberty continued
unabated, and even increased. Thus early began those
16

242 GREAT EVENTS OF

sentiments of freedom and independence which, uniting in
their course with other streams, ended at length in a deep,
broad, irresistible current against British oppression.

3. Influence of the expenses incurred by the colonies in
their settlements, and in their several wars and those of
the mother-country.

"All the thirteen colonies," says Mr. Walsh, "with the
exception of Georgia, were established, and had attained
to considerable strength, without the slightest aid from the
treasury of the mother-country."

Neither the crown nor the parliament paid a dollar
towards purchasing the soil of the Indians the original
masters of that soil. These purchases were made by the
colonists themselves. The settlement of the province of
Massachusetts Bay alone cost two hundred thousand pounds
an enormous sum at the era at which it was effected.
Lord Baltimore expended forty thousand pounds in his
establishment of the colony of Maryland. On that of
Virginia, immense wealth was lavished by the first set
tlers. The first planters of Connecticut consumed great
estates in purchasing lands of the Indians and in making
settlements.

In like manner, when assailed by fierce and warlike
tribes, the mother-country furnished no aid whatever
neither troops nor money. She erected no fortifications ;
entered into no negotiations, and manifested no sympathy,
or even interest, in the fate of her offspring. Some of the
most considerable Indian wars in which the colonies were
involved, were the immediate result of the rashness and
cupidity of the royal governors. That, for instance, which
is styled King William s War memorable in the annals
of New Hampshire particularly was owing to a wanton
predatory expedition of Andros, in 1688, against the pos
sessions of a French individual, situate between Penobscot
and Nova Scotia.

The testimony of Lord Brougham on this subject is

AMERICAN HISTORY. 243

worthy of special notice. In his work on * Colonial Policy/
he observes:

"The old colonies of North America, besides defraying
the whole expenses of their internal administration, were
enabled from their situation to render very active assistance
to the mother-country upon several occasions, not peculiarly
interesting to themselves. They uniformly asserted, that
they would never refuse contributions, even for purposes
strictly imperial, provided these were constitutionally de
manded. Nor did they stop at mere professions of zeal.

"The whole expense of civil government in the British
North American colonies, previous to the Revolution, did
not amount to eighty thousand pounds sterling, which was
paid by the produce of their taxes. The military establish
ments, the garrisons and the forts in the old colonies, cost
the mother-country nothing."

From the foregoing facts, nothing is clearer than that
the colonies were obliged, from their earliest existence, to
take care of themselves. At first, Great Britain thought
little of them, and cared, if possible, still less. They were
obliged to repel hostile tribes without aid, and defend them
selves against the aggressions of more civilized powers.
And, moreover, they were compelled to carry on not only
their own wars, but those of the mother-country, and then
pay the expenses.

It may well be asked, what was the natural and almost
necessary consequence of such treatment? Keep a child
in leading-strings, and it will be long ere it walks. Teach
him to walk early, and he will soon decline your aid. Let
a father send forth his son to take care of himself, and
perchance the next he hears of him, he will learn that his
fortune is made, and no longer will he wish for parental
assistance ; and fortunate will it be if the son, under a sense
of former parental indifference and unkindness, does not, at
length, feel a correspondent alienation from the parent.

But whether these illustrations are apposite or not, certain
it is, that the colonists at length learned the important fact,

244 GREAT EVENTS OF

that they could take care of themselves. To this they had
been driven. The next natural feeling to this superiority
over the difficulties and trials which they encountered in
their early settlement of the country, was a willingness,
and even wish, to be independent of the parent by whom
they had been so unkindly neglected. Great Britain might,
therefore, thank herself for the spirit of independence which
at length appeared among the colonies; her line of policy
engendered and matured it.

4. Measures of oppression.

"Within little more than a generation from the com
mencement of the plantations," says Mr. Walsh, "the royal
government began those formal inquiries into their popula
tion and manufactures, which were so often renewed, until
the period of our revolution." The object or occasion of
these inquiries was twofold a jealousy, lest the colonies
should grow too fast; and, secondly, a desire to monopolize,
for the benefit of Great Britain, all their trade, and the pro
ceeds of their manufacturing industry.

The various acts of monopoly which passed parliament
during a series of years, it is not necessary to particularize.
They uniformly bore heavily on the commercial and manu
facturing enterprise of the colonies, and were designed "to
keep them in a firmer dependence upon England" "to
render them more beneficial and advantageous" "to em
ploy and increase the English shipping" "to make a vent
for English manufactures."

After the peace of 1763, a still more grinding policy was
proposed that of taxing the colonies, with the avowed
purpose of drawing a revenue into the royal exchequer,
and on the plausible, yet unwarrantable ground, that Great
Britain had contracted a debt in their defence.

Hitherto, when money was wanted in the colonies, the
parliament of England had been content to ask for it by a
formal requisition upon the colonial legislatures, and they
had supplied it with a willing hand. But now, it was

AMERICAN HISTORY. 245

thought that a shorter method of obtaining it might be
resorted to with better effect.

Before proceeding to notice the measures adopted with
reference to the foregoing object, it is necessary to advert
to what were denominated writs of assistance, which were
orders issued by the superior court of the province, requir
ing the sheriffs and other civil officers to assist the person
to whom it was granted, in breaking open and searching
every place, even private dwellings, if suspected of con
taining prohibited goods.

The first application for a writ of this kind was made by
the deputy collector at Salem in November, 1760. Doubts
being expressed by the court as to the legality of the writ,
or the power of the court to grant it, the application was
deferred to the next term, when the question was to be
argued.

At the appointed time, Mr. Gridley, a distinguished law
yer, appeared for the crown; Mr. Thatcher and Mr. Otis
for the merchants. The trial took place in the council
chamber of the old Town-house in Boston. " The judges
were five in number, including Lieutenant-Governor Hutch-
inson, who presided as chief justice ; and the room was
filled with all the officers of government and the principal
citizens, to hear the arguments in a cause that inspired the
deepest solicitude. The case was opened by Mr. Gridley,
who argued it with much learning, ingenuity, and dignity;
making all his reason depend upon this consideration, "That
the parliament of Great Britain was the sovereign legislator
of the British empire." He was followed by Mr. Thatcher
on the opposite side, whose reasoning was ingenious and
able, delivered in a tone of great mildness and moderation.
"But," in the language of President Adams, "Otis was a
flame of fire; with a promptitude of classical allusion, a
depth of research, a rapid summary of historical events
and dates, a profusion of legal authorities, a prophetic
glance into futurity, and a rapid torrent of impetuous elo
quence, he hurried away all before him."

246 GREAT EVENTS OF

"I will to my dying day," said Otis, among other things
"I will to my dying day oppose, with all the power and
faculties God has given me, all such instruments of slavery
on the one hand and villany on the other. It appears to
me the worst instrument of arbitrary power, the most
destructive of English liberty, and the fundamental princi
ples of law, that was ever found in an English law-book."

-^ : :: !!&gt;

Otia in the Council chamber.

The occasion was intensely exciting the liberties of the
people were in danger their dwellings, those sanctuaries
where every man should feel himself safe, and his effects
all were in jeopardy. And the vast throng gathered on
the occasion so thought especially as their excited feelings
became more intense under the thrilling appeals of the
eloquent Otis. "Every man of an immensely crowded
audience," says President Adams, "appeared to me to go
away, as I did, ready to take arms against writs of assist
ance. Then and there was the first scene of the first act
of opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain"

The court postponed a decision of the question until the
following term ; and in the mean time wrote to Great Britain

AMERICAN HISTORY. 247

for information on the subject. Writs were afterwards
granted, but were extremely unpopular. In Connecticut
writs of assistance, it is said, were never granted.

The next measure of oppression was the passage of the
famous stamp act. Such a project had been suggested
during me administrations of Lord Walpole and Mr. Pitt;
but Zney were too sagacious to venture upon a measure at
once so odious and unjust. Said Walpole, "I will leave
the taxation of America to some of my successors, who
may have more courage than I have." And said Pitt, "I
will never burn my fingers with an American stamp act."
To the successor of Mr. Pitt, Lord Grenville, was reserved
the honor, or rather the infamy, of such a project.

When the bill was ushered into the House of Commons,
petitions from Virginia, Connecticut, and South Carolina, in
every way respectful, but in tone firm and decided, were
offered in opposition to it. But the house refused even to
receive them, on the ground that the right of parliament to
tax the colonies was denied; and, secondly, that it was
contrary to a rule of the house "to receive any petition
against a money-bill"

The debate therefore proceeded. The chief advocates
of the bill were the prime minister and Charles Townshend.
In the opposition were Mr. Pitt who, however, was absent
by reason of sickness General Conway, Alderman Beck-
ford, Colonel Barre, Mr. Jackson, Sir William Meredith,
&c. Conway and Beckford opposed the bill on the ground
of its injustice; Colonel Barre and others on the ground of
its inexpediency. The purpose of the minister, however,
was fixed ; and, rallying his surprised and half-hesitating
troops, he took the question a large majority expressed in
favor of the bill two hundred and fifty for, and fifty against
it. On its coming into the House of Lords, it received the
entire concurrence of that body, and on the 22d of March
obtained the royal assent.

This act, so celebrated in the annals of American history,
both as an act of flagrant injustice, on the part of the British

248 GREAT EVENTS OF

parliament, and one of the proximate causes of the Revolu
tion, consisted of fifty-five specific duties, laid on as many
different species of instruments, in which paper was used ;
such as notes, bonds, mortgages, deeds, university degrees,
licenses, advertisements in newspapers, and even almanacs;
varying from one half-penny up to six pounds. As an
illustration of the heavy burdens designed to be put upon
the colonies by this act, it may be stated, that previous to
the passage of the act, a ream of common printed bailbonds
cost fifteen pounds stamped, one hundred. A ream of
stamped policies of insurance amounted to one hundred and
ninety pounds of common ones, without stamps, twenty.
A piece of paper, or parchment, used as a diploma, or cer
tificate of a degree taken in any university, academy, or
college, was taxed two pounds. For a piece of paper for a
license for retailing spirituous liquors, twenty shillings were
demanded. For one for a license for selling wine only,
four pounds ; for wine and spirituous liquors, three pounds.
For letters of probate, administration, or guardianship, ten
shillings. For a common deed, conveying not exceeding
one hundred acres of land, one shilling and sixpence. For
a newspaper, containing half a sheet or less, one half-penny ;
one sheet, one penny. Pamphlets, one shilling per sheet.
Advertisements, two shillings each. Almanacs, fourpence.
This act was ordered to take effect on the following 1st
of November. Meanwhile, the people in various parts of
the country were anxious to express their detestation of the
measure, which the lapse of a few months was to bring into
operation. One day in the month of August, the effigy of
Andrew Oliver, the proposed distributor of stamps in Mas
sachusetts, was found hanging on a tree, afterwards well
known by the name of Liberty-tree, in the main street of
Boston. At night it was taken down, and carried on a bier
amidst the acclamations of an immense collection of people
through the court-house, down King street, to a small brick
building, supposed to have been erected for the reception
of the detested stamps. This building being soon levelled

AMERICAN HISTORY.

249

with the ground, the rioters next attacked Mr. Oliver s
house; and having broken the windows, entered it, and
destroyed part of the furniture.

Procession with an Effigy and Stamp-master at Boston,

The house of Benjamin Hallowell, jun., comptroller of
the customs, was next entered; and, elevated and embold
ened by liquors found in his cellar, the mob, with inflamed
rage, directed their course to the house of Lieutenant-Gov
ernor Hutchinson, who, after vainly attempting resistance,
was constrained to depart, to save his life. By four in the
morning, one of the best houses in the province was com
pletely in ruins, nothing remaining but the bare walls and
floors. The plate, family pictures, most of the furniture,
the wearing apparel, about nine hundred pounds sterling,
and the manuscripts and books which Mr. Hutchinson had
been thirty years collecting, besides many public papers in
his custody, were either carried off or destroyed. The
whole damage was estimated at two thousand five hundred
pounds.

250

GREAT EVENTS OP

Attack on the Governor s House.

On the arrival of the 1st of November, on which the
stamp act was to go into effect, the day was ushered in at
Boston by the tolling of the bells ; many shops and stores
were shut, and effigies of the authors and friends of that act
were carried about the streets, and afterwards torn in pieces
by the populace.

Nor was Massachusetts alone ; the obnoxious act received
similar treatment in the other colonies. On the 24th of
August, a gazette was published at Providence, with vox
Populi, vox Dei, for a motto ; effigies were exhibited, and
in the evening cut down and burned. In Portsmouth, New
Castle, and other plac s, the bells were tolled to denote the
decease of Liberty. In Connecticut, Mr. Ingersoll, the
stamp-master, was compelled to resign. The spirit man
ifested in New York produced a similar resignation.
Offended with the conduct of Lieutenant-Governor Golden,
in relation to the stamp act, many of the inhabitants assem
bled one evening, and breaking open his coach-house, took

AMERICAN HISTORY.

251

out his coach, which, with his effigy, they burned, amid the
acclamations of several thousand spectators.

Burning of the Coach and Effigy of Governor Golden.

In Philadelphia, on the appearance of the ships having
the stamps on board, all the ships in the harbor hoisted
their colors half-mast high; the bells were muffled, and
continued to toll till evening. Similar demonstrations of
dissatisfaction were made in numerous other places.

The opposition to the stamp act was so universal and so
formidable, as to prevent all hope of its successful ope
ration; had this measure been persisted in, the Revolution
in America would doubtless have dated at an earlier day.

Fortunately for the American colonies, the administration
of Lord Grenville terminated in July, 1765 that minister
being succeeded by the Marquis of Rockingham, while the
Duke of Grafton and General Con way were made secre
taries of state.

To this new ministry it early became apparent that, in
respect to the colonies, a crisis was now at hand; either
existing measures must be relaxed, or -a resort must be had

252 GREAT EVENTS OF

to arms. The former being deemed the wiser plan, a
repeal of the stamp act was moved in parliament, and, on
the 18th of March, passed the House by a majority of two
hundred and seventy-five to one hundred and sixty-seven.
In the House of Lords, the majority was one hundred and
five to seventy-one.

In America, the intelligence of the repeal was received
with acclamations of the most sincere and heart-felt grati
tude, by all classes of people. Public thanksgivings were
offered up in all the churches. The resolutions, which had
been passed on the subject of importations, were rescinded,
and their trade with the mother-country was immediately
renewed with increased vigor. The home-spun dresses
were given to the poor, and once more the colonists
appeared clad in the produce of British looms.

In July, 1766, the Marquis of Rockingham retired from
the cabinet, and a new ministry was formed under the
direction of William Pitt the Duke of Grafton being
placed at the head of the treasury, and Charles Towns-
hend made chancellor of the exchequer. In May, 1767, the
latter revived the scheme of taxing America, proposing to
impose duties on glass, paper, tea, &c., imported into the col
onies. The bill passed both houses without much opposition,
the Earl of Chatham being confined at that time by sickness.

The news of this measure, on reaching America, produced
the greatest possible excitement. Counter-measures were
immediately proposed. Resort was had, as at a former
day, to non-importation, the effects of which had been so
severely felt by the traders in England, under the stamp
act. Boston, as before, took the lead. At a town-meeting,
held in October, it was voted that measures should be
immediately taken to promote the establishment of domestic
manufactories, by encouraging the consumption of all arti
cles of American manufacture. They also agreed to pur
chase no articles of foreign growth or manufacture, but
such as were absolutely indispensable. New York and
Philadelphia soon followed the example of Boston ; and, in

AMERICAN HISTORY.

253

a short time, the merchants themselves entered into asso
ciations to import nothing from Great Britain but articles
that necessity required.

Several events, about this time, served to increase the
excitement of the colonies, especially in Boston. Among
these may be mentioned the arrival, at the latter place, of a
man-of-war and transports, from Halifax, with nine hun
dred troops on board.

Arrival of the first Man-of-war at Boston.

Such a proceeding, on the part of the British ministry,
was eminently calculated to excite the jealousy and indig
nation of the colonists. They felt disgusted and injured;
and the more so, from the haughty and imperious bearing
of the officers and troops. In a few weeks, this force was
augmented by the arrival of several more transports from
Cork, with the sixty-fourth and sixty-fifth regiments, under
Colonels Mackay and Pomeroy.

Another measure, adopted about this time by the British
ministry, and one which perhaps struck more vitally at the
liberty of the colonists than any which preceded, was an
order to the provincial governors to procure information

254 GREAT EVENTS OF

touching all treasons, &c., and to transmit the same, with
the names of the suspected persons, to England, in order
that they might be ordered thither lor trial. The design
of it was to terrify the patriotic party into submission ; but
well might it have been foreseen that such an offensive
measure would only serve to rouse opposition, and confirm
the whole civilized world in the righteousness of the com
mon cause.

Parliament again convened, January 9, 1770, soon after
which (28th) the Duke of Grafton resigned his office of first
lord of the treasury. Lord Chatham, having recovered
from his late illness, had now returned to parliament, and,
with his wonted vigor, attacked the system and measures of
the administration.

Lord North, chancellor of the exchequer, succeeded the
Duke of Grafton; "and from this time commences an
administration which forms a momentous era in the history
of Great Britain. During his administration, which lasted
to the close of the Revolution, Great Britain lost more ter
ritory and accumulated more debt than at any former
period of her history."

The first measure of North s administration was in part
conciliatory being a motion to repeal the port duties of
1767, with the exception of the duty on tea. This his
lordship, in spite of the friends of the colonies, determined
to retain.

To this partial repeal, Governor Pownall strongly
objected. It would produce nothing but civil discord and
interminable contention. Repeal all, or none. Why retain
this single duty, as a pepper-corn rent, to show the tenor
by which the colonists hold their rights, and, by so doing,
jeopardize his majesty s entire interest in the American
colonies? "I have lived in America," said he; "I know the
character of the people. Depend upon it, with their views,
they will never solicit the favor of this house; never more
will they wish to bring before parliament the grievances
under which they conceive themselves to labor."

AMERICAN HISTORY.

255

While high and angry debate was thus in progress on the
other side of the water, on this side, events were transpiring
which were giving increasing irritation to already excited
feelings, and adding to the force of the gathering storm.
Collisions and quarrels, between the soldiers quartered in
Boston and the citizens, were not unfrequent ; and at length,
on the evening of the 5th of March, 1770, resulted in an
effusion of blood, called, by way of eminence, "The Boston
Massacre."

Three men were killed and two mortally wounded, who
died soon after. Mutual exasperations preceded. Neither
citizens nor soldiers were exempt from the charge of insult
and provocation. But a sentinel, who had been brought to
the ground by a blow, on rising, fired, as did, at the same
time, a sergeant and six men who were with him. Their
fire resulted as already stated. Great excitement followed.
The murderers were arrested. Captain Preston, to whose
company the soldiers belonged, and who was present, was
also arrested, and committed to prison.

256 GREAT EVENTS OF

The following morning the authorities of Boston, urged
on by an exasperated people, required the troops to be with
drawn from the town. The lieutenant-governor, for a time,
resisted the demand ; but on learning that no other course
would satisfy or restrain the people, he expressed his
willingness that they should be withdrawn to the castle,
which was accordingly done.

The funeral of the victims was attended with extraordi
nary pomp. Most of the shops were closed, all the bells
of the town tolled on the occasion, and the corpses were
followed to the grave by an immense concourse of people,
arranged six abreast, the procession being closed by a long
train of carriages, belonging to the principal gentry of the
town. Captain Preston and the party of soldiers were
afterwards tried. The captain and six of the men were
acquitted, and two were brought in guilty of manslaughter ;
a result which reflected great honor on John Adams and
Josiah Quincy, the counsel for the prisoners, and on the jury.

The month of June, 72, furnished a new source of dis
quietude and animosity. On the 9th of that month, the
Providence packet, while sailing into the harbor of New
port, was required, by his majesty s revenue-cutter, the
Gaspee, Lieutenant Doddington, to lower her colors. This
the captain of the packet deemed repugnant to his patriotic
feelings, and the Gaspee fired at the packet, to bring her to;
the American, however, still persisted in holding on her
course, and, by keeping in shoal water, dexterously con
trived to run the schooner aground in the chase. As the
tide was upon the ebb, the Gaspee was set fast for the
night, and afforded a tempting opportunity for retaliation;
and a number of fishermen, aided and encouraged by some
of the most respectable inhabitants of Providence, being
determined to rid themselves of so uncivil an inspector,
in the middle of the night manned several boats, and
boarded" the Gaspee. The lieutenant was wounded in the
affray; but, with every thing belonging to him, he was
carefully conveyed on shore, as were all his crew. The

AMERICAN HISTORY.

257

vessel, with her stores, was then burned ; and the party
returned unmolested to their homes. When the governor
became acquainted with this event, he offered a reward of
five hundred pounds for the discovery of the offenders.

JBunung of the Gaspee.

Another fruitful source of mutual ill-feeling between the
British ministry and the colonists was the determination of
the former to introduce tea into America, and to impose a
tax thereon, in opposition to the wishes of the latter.
Accordingly, cargoes of tea were sent to New York, Phil
adelphia, Charleston, and Boston. The fate of these car
goes, thus sent, was different. Those destined for New
York and Philadelphia, were sent back by the inhabitants.
The citizens of Charleston unloaded the cargo sent thither,
and stored it in cellars, where it perished.

On the arrival of the vessel with the tea, in the harbor of
Boston, a meeting of the citizens was immediately called.
"The hour of destruction," it was said, "or of manly oppo
sition, had now come:" and all who were friends to their
country were invited to attend, "to make an united and suc-
17

258 GREAT EVENTS OF

cessful resistance to this last and worst measure of admin
istration." A great number of people assembled, from the
adjoining towns, as well as from the capital, in the cele
brated Faneuil Hall, but the meeting was soon adjourned
to one of the largest churches in town. Here it was voted,
that they would use all lawful means to prevent its being
landed, and to have it returned immediately to England.

On the following day, when the citizens assembled to
receive the final answer of the factors, as to the course
they would pursue in disposing of the tea, a communication
was made to the meeting, in which the factors informed
them that they must decline sending back the tea; but
were ready to have it stored, and remain, until they could
hear from the company in England. The citizens con
tinued dissatisfied with the conduct and proposal of the
consignees, and again ordered a watch to guard the vessels.
It was also again voted, that whoever should import tea
into the province, should be considered an enemy to the
country.

When it was found that nothing could be effected in a reg
ular way, the meeting was broken up, and a number of men,
in disguise, proceeded, late in the evening, to the vessels,
then lying at the wharf, which had the tea on board; and, in
a short time, every chest was taken out, and the contents
thrown into the sea; but no injury was done to any other
part of the cargoes.

The inhabitants of the town, generally, had no knowledge
of the event until the next day. It is supposed the number
concerned in the affair was about fifty; but who they were
no one pretended to know. A few of them became known
in after years, when it was no longer liable to involve them
in trouble.

When intelligence of the destruction of the tea reached
Great Britain, and the determined spirit manifested in the
colonies, in opposition to all revenue laws, was made
known to the ministers, a majority at once resolved on more
energetic measures, and found themselves supported by

AMERICAN HISTORY. 259

parliament in their plans of coercion, regardless alike of
the great principles of the constitution, and of the perma
nent peace and prosperity of the kingdom. Lord North,
it is said, declared "that he would not listen to any com
plaints or petitions from America, till she was at his feet"

. f

Destruction of Tea.

In a few days, a bill was introduced "for the immediate
removal of the officers concerned in the collection of cus
toms from Boston, and to discontinue the landing and
discharging, lading and shipping goods, wares, and mer
chandise, at Boston, or within the harbor thereof." The bill,
also, levied a fine upon the town, as a compensation to the
East India Company for the destruction of their teas, and
was to continue in force during the pleasure of the king.
The opposition to this measure was very slight, and it was
carried, in both Houses, without a division.

The 1st of June was fixed for the Boston port-bill to go
into operation, and the blockade was consequently to com
mence on that day. On the 13th of May, at a meeting of
the inhabitants of Boston, it was resolved to invite the other

260 GREAT EVENTS OF

colonies to unite in refusing all importations from Great
Britain, and to withhold all commercial intercourse with
her. To secure their cooperation, a special messenger was
dispatched to New York, Philadelphia, and other places;
in every place he was received with great cordiality, and
resolutions were immediately adopted, corresponding to the
wishes of the people of Boston.

Such was the state of affairs in the colonies generally, in
May, when General Gage arrived in Boston, as the suc
cessor to Governor Hutchinson, who had been recalled.
At a former period, he had been, for several years, com-
mander-in-chief of the British military forces in America.
Notwithstanding the prejudices of the people to the appoint
ment of a military man, he was received with due honor,
and even great ceremony, by the council and citizens, all
of whom expressed a hope that his administration would
conduce to the peace and welfare of the province.

A short time, however, served to develope the character
of General Gage, and his servility to an arbitrary ministry
in the mother-country. He threatened to remove the
general assembly to Salem gave his negative to thirteen
of the council chosen by the assembly refused to appoint
a day for special prayer, at the request of that body
and, finally, sent a proclamation, by his secretary, to dis
solve them.

At this period of increasing turmoil and agitation, the
second general congress assembled (September 5, 1774),
at Philadelphia, in which all the colonies were represented,
excepting Georgia. Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, was
elected president, and Charles Thompson, of Philadelphia,
secretary.

The most eminent men of the various colonies were now,
for the first time, brought together. They were known to
each other by fame, but they were, personally, strangers.
The meeting was solemn. The object which had called
them together, was of incalculable magnitude. The liber
ties of no less than three millions of people, with that of

AMERICAN HISTORY. 261

all their posterity, were staked on the wisdom and energy
of their councils. No wonder, then, at the long and deep
silence, which is said to have followed upon their organi
zation; at the anxiety with which the members looked
round upon each other; and at the reluctance which every
individual felt to open a business so fearfully momentous.
In the midst of this deep and death-like silence, and just
when it was becoming painfully embarrassing, Mr. Henry
arose slowly, as if borne down by the weight of the sub
ject. "After faltering, according to his habit, through a
most expressive exordium, in which he merely echoed
back the consciousness of every other heart, in deploring
his inability to do justice to the occasion, he launched grad
ually into a recital of the colonial wrongs. Rising, as he
advanced, with the grandeur of his subject, and glowing,
at length, with all the majesty of the occasion, his speech
seemed more than that of mortal man. Mr. Henry was
followed by Mr. Richard Henry Lee, in a speech scarcely
less powerful, and still more replete with classic eloquence.
One spirit of ardent love of liberty pervaded every breast,
and produced a unanimity, as advantageous to the cause
they advocated, as it was unexpected and appalling to their
adversaries."*

The congress proceeded with great deliberation; its
debates were held with closed doors, and the honor of each
member was solemnly engaged not to disclose any of the
discussions, till such disclosure was declared advisable by
the majority. On the 14th of October, a series of resolutions,
regarding the rights and grievances of the colonies, was
passed and promulgated. They were couched in strong
and undisguised language, and set forth to the world what
were considered, by this noble body of men, to be the
rights and privileges of the people of America, in defence
of which they were ready to peril life, liberty, and fortune.

"A majority of the members of this congress," says Mr.

* Wirt s Life of Henry.

262 GREAT EVENTS OF

Pitkin, "had little doubt, that the measures taken by them,
if supported by the American people, would produce a
redress of grievances.

"Richard Henry Lee said to Mr. Adams: We shall
undoubtedly carry all our points. You will be completely
relieved ; all the offensive acts will be repealed, the army
and fleet will be recalled, and Britain will give up her
foolish projects.

"George Washington was of opinion that, with the aid
of both the non-importation and non-exportation system,
America would prevail. Patrick Henry concurred in

Patrick Henry.

opinion with Mr. Adams, that the contest must ultimately
be decided by force. The proceedings of congress met
with the almost unanimous approbation of the people of
America. The non-importation agreement, entered into by
their delegates, was adopted as their own. Committees of
vigilance were appointed in all the towns and districts, and
the names of those who disregarded it, were published as
the enemies of public liberty."

AMERICAN HISTORY. 263

Before the close of the year, the busy note of prepara
tion resounded through almost every colony. The Massa
chusetts committee were indefatigable in providing for the
most vigorous defence in the spring. They had procured
all sorts of military supplies for the service of twelve
thousand men, and had engaged the assistance of the three
neighboring provinces of New Hampshire, Rhode Island,
and Connecticut.

While the notes of warlike preparation were thus sound
ing louder and louder through the country, the British par
liament assembled on the other side of the waters. In
January, 1775, Lord Chatham having taken his seat, moved
"That an humble address be presented his majesty, most
humbly to advise and beseech his majesty, that, in order to
open the way towards our happy settlement of the danger
ous troubles in America, by beginning to allay ferments and
soften animosities there; and above all, for preventing, in
the mean time, any sudden and fatal catastrophe at Boston,
now suffering under daily irritation of an army before their
eyes, posted in their town ; it may graciously please his
majesty, that immediate orders may be dispatched to Gen
eral Gage, for removing his majesty s forces from the town
of Boston, as soon as the season and other circumstances,
indispensable to the safety and accommodation of the said
troops, may render the same practicable."

Notwithstanding this motion was persuasively urged by
Lord Chatham, and ably supported by Lord Camden, Lord
Shelburne, and the Marquis of Rockingham, it was rejected
by a large majority.

Immediately following its rejection, the minister proposed,
in the House of Commons, a joint address to the king, on
American affairs. In this address, which was carried by
large majorities, parliament declared that Massachusetts
was in a state of rebellion ; and that this colony had been
supported by unlawful combinations, and engagements
entered into by several of the other colonies, to the great
injury and oppression of his majesty s subjects in Great

264 GREAT EVENTS OF

Britain. Assuring his majesty of their determination never
to relinquish the sovereign authority of the king and parlia
ment over the colonies, they requested him to take the most
effectual measures to enforce obedience to that authority,
and promised him their support, at the hazard of their lives
and property. Opposition to the address was made in both
houses, but in vain. The king, in his answer, declared his
firm determination, in compliance with their request, to
enforce obedience to the laws and authority of the supreme
legislature of the empire. His answer was followed by a
message requesting an increase of his forces by sea and land.

Thus the determination of king and parliament was formed.
Left of God to follow the counsels of a proud, overbearing,
and obstinate ministry, they had now made declarations and
taken positions, from which there was no retreat but by
concessions, which were not to be expected. In due time,
"the news" and, such intelligence had not before been
borne across the waters of the Atlantic so exciting so
appalling so maddening "the news arrived of the king s
speech at the opening of parliament; of the resolutions
adopted by that body; and, finally, of the act by which
the inhabitants of Massachusetts were proclaimed rebels.
All the province flew to arms; indignation became fury,
obstinacy, desperation.

" We must look back no more! said the colonies we
must conquer or die! We are placed between altars
smoking with the most grateful incense of glory and
gratitude, on the one part, and blocks and dungeons on the
other. Let each then rise, and gird himself for the combat.
The dearest interests of this world command it; our most
holy religion enjoins it; that God, who eternally rewards
the virtuous and punishes the wicked, ordains it. Let us
accept these happy auguries; for already the mercenary
satellites, sent by wicked ministers to reduce this innocent
people to extremity, are imprisoned within the walls of a
single city, where hunger emaciates them, rage devours
them, death consumes them. Let us banish every fear,

AMERICAN HISTORY.

265

every alarm ; fortune smiles upon the efforts of the brave !
By similar discourses, they excited one another, and pre
pared themselves for defence. The fatal moment is
arrived! the signal of civil war is given! "*

Thus was the way prepared for a contest which king
and parliament might, at one time, have easily avoided.
Had they listened to the warning voice of Chatham,
descending to his grave, or had they regarded the dictates
of common political wisdom, America might have been
retained, and with all her loyalty and affection, as a
dependency. But God designed a better portion for her ;
and hence he allowed the monarch and the statesmen of
England to adopt measures the most impolitic and oppress
ive the result of which was as we shall see the inde
pendence of America, and the loss to the British crown of
its brightest jewel.

* Botta s History.

266

GREAT EVENTS OF

II. EVENTS OF THE REVOLUTION.

I:-BATTLE OF LEXINGTON.

CAUSE or Occasion of the Battle British Detachment proceeds towards Con
cord Reaches Lexington First Blood shed Hancock and Adams-
Captain Wheeler and the British Officer Stores destroyed The British
harassed by the Americans Retreat from Concord Effect of this affair
upon the Country Proceedings of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress.

THE immediate cause of the battle, or, more properly,
rencontre at Lexington, was an attempt of a detachment
of British troops to execute an order of General Gage to
destroy certain military stores, which the provincials had
collected at Concord, a town situated some eighteen miles
from Boston. In anticipation of an approaching contest,
the provincial assembly of Massachusetts had passed a
resolution for the purchase of all the gunpowder that could
be found, and of every sort of arms and ammunition requi
site for an army of fifteen thousand men. As these objects
abounded principally in Boston, the inhabitants employed
all their address to procure and transport them to places of

AMERICAN HISTORY. 267

safety in the country. Cannon-balls and other instruments
of war were therefore collected and transported in carts,
apparently loaded with manure; powder in the baskets and
panniers of those who came from Boston market, and car
tridges were concealed even in candle-boxes. By these
means, and through other channels, a considerable quantity
of arms and ammunition had been collected at Concord.

Excited by the loyalists, General Gage resolved to send
a few companies to Concord, for the purpose already stated.
It was said, also, that he had it in view, by this sudden
expedition, to get possess on of John Hancock and Samuel
Adams, two of the most ardent patriot chiefs, and the prin
cipal directors of the provincial congress, then assembled
in the town of Concord.

In pursuance of the above purpose, on the evening of the
18th of April, several British officers dispersed themselves
here and there upon the road and passages, to intercept
the couriers that might have been dispatched to give notice
of the movements of the troops. The governor gave orders
that no person should be allowed to leave the city; never
theless, Dr. Warren, one of the most active patriots, had
timely intimation of the scheme, and immediately-dispatched
confidential messengers ; some of whom found the roads
interdicted by the officers who guarded them; but others
made their way unperceived to Lexington, a town upon
the road leading to Concord. The intelligence was soon
divulged; the people flocked together; the bells in all parts
were rung to give the alarm; and the continual firing of
cannon spread the agitation through all the neighboring
country. In the midst of this tumultuous scene, at eleven
in the evening, a strong detachment of grenadiers and of
light infantry was embarked at Boston, to land at a place
called Phipps Farm, whence they marched to Concord.

The British troops were under the command of Lieuten
ant-Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn, who led the van
guard. The militia of Lexington, as the intelligence of the
movement of this detachment was uncertain, had separated

268

GREAT EVENTS OF

in the course of the night. Finally, at five in the morning
of the 19th, advice was received of the near approach of
the royal troops. The provincials that happened to be
near, assembled to the number, however, of only seventy.
The English appeared; and Major Pitcairn, galloping up
to them, in a loud voice cried, "Disperse, rebels! lay down
your arms, and disperse !"

The provincials did not obey; upon which, advancing
nearer, he discharged a pistol, and, brandishing his sword,
ordered his soldiers to fire. Eight Americans were killed,
three or four of them by the first fire of the British; the
others, after they had left the parade. Several were also
wounded. A handsome monument has been erected to
the memory of the killed, on the green where the first of
them fell.

Battle of Lexington.

Meanwhile, Hancock and Adams retired from danger;
and it is related that, while on the march, the latter, enrap
tured with joy, exclaimed, "Oh, what an ever-glorious
morning is this !" considering this first effusion of blood

AMERICAN HISTORY.

269

as the prelude of events which must secure the happiness
of his country. The soldiers advanced towards Concord,
where the inhabitants assembled; but seeing the numbers
of the enemy, they fell back, and posted themselves on a
bridge, north of the town. The light infantry assailed them
with fury, routed them, and occupied the bridge, while the
others entered Concord, and proceeded to the execution of
their orders. They disabled two twenty-four pounders,
threw five hundred pounds of ball into the river and wells,
and broke in pieces about sixty barrels of flour.

During the search of the British for military stores, a
British officer demanded entrance into the barn of Captain
Wheeler. This was readily granted. In it was stored a
large quantity of provincial flour. The officer expressed

Captain Wheeler and the British Officer.

his pleasure at the discovery. But Captain Wheeler, with
much affected simplicity, said to him, putting his hand on a
barrel, "This is my flour. I am a miller, sir; yonder stands
my mill ; I get my living by it. In the winter, I grind a
great deal of grain, and get it ready for market in the

270 GREAT EVENTS OF

spring. This," (pointing to one barrel,) "is the flour of
wheat; this," (pointing to another,) "is the flour of corn;
this is the flour of rye; this," (putting his hand on his own
cask,) "is my flour; this is my wheat; this is my rye; this is
mine. 19 "Well," said the officer, "we do not injure private
property," and withdrew, leaving this important depository
untouched.

The militia being reinforced, Major Buttrick, of Concord,
who had gallantly offered to command them, advanced
towards the bridge; but, not knowing of the transaction at
Lexington, ordered the men not to give the first fire, that
the provincials might not be the aggressors. As he
advanced, the light infantry retired to the Concord side of
the river, and began to pull up the bridge ; and on his nearer
approach, they fired, and killed a captain and one of the
privates. The provincials returned the fire; a skirmish
ensued, and the regulars were forced to retreat, with some
loss. They were soon joined by the main body, which
now retreated with precipitancy. Meanwhile, the people
of the adjacent country flocked in, and attacked them in
every direction. Some fired from behind stone walls and
other coverts; while others pressed on their rear during
their retreat to Lexington.

General Gage, apprehensive for the fate of the English,
had dispatched nine hundred men and two field-pieces,
under command of Lord Percy. This corps arrived very
opportunely at Lexington, at the moment when the royal
troops entered the town from the other side, pursued with
fury by the provincial militia.

It appears highly probable that, without this reinforce
ment, they would have all been cut to pieces or made
prisoners; their strength was exhausted, as well as their
ammunition. After making a considerable halt at Lex
ington, they renewed their march towards Boston, the
number of the provincials increasing, although the rear
guard of tjie English was less molested, on account of
the two field-pieces, which repressed the impetuosity of

AMERICAN HISTORY

271

the Americans. But the flanks of the columns remained
exposed to a destructive fire, from every point adapted to
serve as coverts. The royalists were also annoyed by the
heat, which was excessive, and by a violent wind, which

&gt;

Retreat of the British from Concord.

blew a thick dust in their eyes. Finally, after a march of
incredible fatigue, and considerable loss of men, the English,
overwhelmed with lassitude, arrived at sunset in Charles-
town. Independently of the combat they had sustained,
the distance they had that day traveled was above five-
and-thirty miles. The day following, they crossed over
to Boston.*

The rencontre at Lexington was, in itself, an inconsid
erable affair. But, in its relation and influence, its import
ance can scarcely be estimated. It was the first outbreak
of indignant feeling, which, for months and years, had been
acquiring strength, but which, until now, had been sup
pressed. It was a solution of the problem, whether the

* Botta s War of the Independence.

272 GREAT EVENTS OF

wrongs of America could be redressed without a resort to
arms. It developed the spirit and determination, as well
of the king and parliament, as of the Americans them
selves. It shut the door for further negotiation; it cut off
hope for the colonies, but through an appeal to arms. In
fact, it was a signal for war it was war itself.

The affair had two results. The first was to demon
strate how false and ridiculous were the vaunts of those
Gascons who, within parliament as well as without, had
spoken in such unworthy terms of American courage;
from this moment, the English nation, and especially its
soldiers, persuaded themselves that the struggle would be
far more severe and sanguinary than had been at first
believed. The second effect of the combat was, greatly to
increase the confidence of the colonists, and their resolu
tion to defend their rights. It should be added, also, that
the reports of the cruelties of the British troops produced
an incredible excitement in the minds of the inhabitants,
which was still further increased by the public honors
which were paid to those who had fallen in the opening
contest. Their eulogies were pronounced, and they were
styled martyrs of liberty, while their families were the
objects of unusual veneration. They were cited as the
models to be imitated in the approaching conflict.

The provincial congress of Massachusetts was in session
at Watertown, ten miles distant from Boston. On receiv
ing intelligence of the battle, it tooE immediate measures
to raise thirteen thousand and six hundred men, and chose
for their general Colonel Ward, an officer of much reputa
tion. This militia was designed to form the contingent of
Massachusetts; the provinces of New Hampshire, Con
necticut, and Rhode Island were invited to furnish theirs,
in order to complete an army of thirty thousand men, to be
commanded by General John Thomas, an officer of great
experience. Connecticut dispatched, immediately, a con
siderable corps, under the command of Colonel Putnam, an
"old 1 officer, who, in the two late wars, had often given proof

AMERICAN HISTORY.

273

of courage and intelligence. The other provinces were
not slow in causing their standards to move ; and, in a short
time, an army of thirty thousand men was found assembled
under the walls of Boston. So great and so universal was
the ardor produced among the inhabitants by the battle of
Lexington, that the American generals were obliged to
send back to their homes many thousand volunteers. Put
nam took his station at Cambridge, and Thomas at Rox-
bury, upon the right wing of the army, to cut off entirely
.the communication of the garrison, by the isthmus, with the
adjacent country. Thus, in a few days after the affair of
Lexington, the capital of the province of Massachusetts was
closely besieged ; thus a multitude assembled in haste, of
men, declared rebels and mean-spirited cowards, held in
strict confinement, not daring to sally forth even to procure
food, many thousands of veteran troops, commanded by an
able general, and combating under the royal standard.

274 GREAT EVENTS OF

II. BATTLE OF BUNKER S HILL.

AMERICAN Patriotism American and British Forces Fortification of Bunker s
hill Attacked by British Ships Asa Pollard, the first Martyr Prepara
tions of the British Warren Prescott s Injunction to his Troops British
repulsed with terrible slaughter Second Attack Charlestown set on fire at
the same time Second Repulse Putnam and Major Small Death of
Colonel Gardiner Thrilling Incident Third Advance of the British
Death of Major Pitcairn Americans in want of Ammunition Retreat-
Death of Warren Respective Losses Results of the Battle.

BOSTON, which for a considerable time had been the
point of greatest interest in the American colonies, was
not less so immediately following the battle of Lexing
ton. That engagement served to quicken the already
excited pulse of thousands. The fires of patriotism burned
brighter. Sires and sons, mothers and daughters, rejoiced
that the crisis had come, and were ready to make every
needful sacrifice for their country s good. In a few weeks,
the metropolis of the province of Massachusetts was envi
roned by an American army, fifteen thousand strong ten
thousand of* which was furnished by Massachusetts, and
three thousand by Connecticut ; the rest were supplied by
the other New England colonies. Of these troops, General
Ward was commander-in-chief. His head-quarters were
at Cambridge. The right-wing was stationed at Roxbury,
the left at Medford and Chelsea.

Towards the end of May, a considerable reinforcement
arrived at Boston from England, which, with the garrison,
formed an army of from ten to twelve thousand men all
veteran troops. At the head of this reinforcement were
three distinguished and practical generals Howe, Clinton,
and Burgoyne.

The difference in numbers was on the side of the Amer
icans not so, however, their military science, arms, or
ammunition. They had, in all, but sixteen field-pieces, six
of which, at the very utmost, were in a condition for ser
vice. Their brass pieces, which were few, were of the

AMERICAN HISTORY. 275

smallest caliber. They had, however, some hea\y iron
cannon, with three or four mortars and howitzers, and some
scanty provision of balls and bombs. But of powder, they
were almost totally destitute.

The situation of the English was now daily becoming
more perplexing and critical, and the necessity was increas
ingly apparent, if they intended to retain their position, of
fortifying certain points in the neighborhood. The two
regarded of greatest importance were the heights of Dor
chester and Charlestown. The former presenting superior
inducements, it was determined to occupy and fortify that
first, and, afterwards, the latter.

The Americans having learned the intentions of the
British general, it became a serious question what course
was most prudent for them to adopt. For a time, a differ
ence of opinion prevailed among the American patriots;
but, at length, the committee of safety recommended to the
council of war to occupy and fortify Bunker s hill at once,
and Dorchester heights (now South Boston), as early after
as practicable.

In conformity with this suggestion, on the following day
(16th June), General Ward issued orders to Colonel Pres-
cott to proceed to Charlestown, and occupy and fortify
Bunker s hill.

The troops detached for this service, amounted to about
one thousand men. They were ordered to take provisions
but for a single day. In the early part of the evening of
the 16th, they were mustered on Cambridge common, near
the colleges. They were commended to the protection
and guidance of Almighty God, in a prayer by President
Langdon ; after which, led by the valiant Prescott, attired
in a calico frock, and himself preceded by two sergeants
with dark lanterns, and accompanied by Colonel Gridley
and Judge Winthrop of Cambridge, they took their
destined path.

Having reached the ground, a question arose which of
the two hills was intended as Bunker s hill. The northern

276

GREAT EVENTS OF

eminence was more generally spoken of under that name,
while the southern, commonly called Breed s hill, was
evidently the one best fitted for the purpose. After long
deliberation, it was decided to construct the principal work
on Breed s hill, and to erect an additional and subsidiary
one on Bunker s hill. Accordingly, Captain Gridley pro
ceeded to lay out the principal work. Midnight arrived,
however, before a spade entered the ground ; there remained
therefore less than four hours before day-light, when the
operations -would, of course, be seen by the British. The
men, however, now began, and they worked.

President Langdon at Prayer.

Meanwhile, a strong guard, under Captain Manners, was
stationed on the Charlestown shore, to watch the enemy.
The day had been fair, and it was a clear, star-light night.
Colonel Prescott, accompanied by Major Brooks, went down
twice to the shore to reconnoitre, and distinctly heard the
British sentries relieving guard, and uttering, as they walked
their rounds, the customary, but, in this instance deceptive,
cry, "All s well!"*

* Sparks Life of Warren.

AMERICAN HISTORY.

277

The night, on the part of the patriot band, was one of
sleepless vigilance and incessant toil. Shovels, pickaxes, and
spades, were in incessant motion; and, by four o clock in the
morning, they had thrown up a redoubt, eight rods square
and four feet high. At this time, the captain* of a British
ship, called the Lively, discovered the work, and opened a
fire upon it. The alarm was given to the British in Boston,
and to the men-of-war in the river, and a heavy cannonade
was commenced. The fire from a battery of six guns, on
Copp s hill, proved most annoying; but the Americans,
regardless of bombs and balls, continued their labors with
unshaken constancy. The first martyr who had the honor
of shedding his blood, on that ever-memorable hill, was a

Death of Pollard.

private soldier by the name of Asa Pollard, of Billerica,
and the shot which killed him was the only one which took
fatal effect during the forenoon.

While various movements were in progress, the Ameri
cans in the neighborhood of the redoubt were by no means
idle. About two hundred yards in the rear of the breast-

278

GREAT EVENTS OF

work was a stone fence surmounted with rails. In front of
this, another fence was constructed, and the space between
the two filled with hay, which happened to be on the field.
A subsidiary work was also hastily thrown up on Bunker s
hill, properly. so called, by General Putnam.

General Putnam.

From the moment the British discovered the operations
cf the Americans, they well knew the importance of dis
lodging them from their position. They had expected to
attain this object by a cannonade from their batteries and
ships of war; but it was soon apparent that other and more
effective measures would be necessary. Accordingly, after
mature consultation in a council of war, summoned by Gen
eral Gage, it was resolved to transport a competent force
across the river, and attack the works in front.

It was "a day without clouds/ and intensely hot. Be
tween mid-day and one o clock, twenty-eight barges were
seen moving from the end of Long wharf towards Mor
ton s point. On board of these were four battalions of
infantry and ten of grenadiers. They had six pieces of

AMERICAN HISTORY.

279

artillery, one of which was placed in each of the six leading
boats.

About two o clock, a second detachment left Winnisim-
mett ferry, and joined the first at Morton s point. These
were soon after followed by reinforcements, which landed
at Madlin s ship-yard, now the navy-yard near the east end
of Breed s hill. These several detachments, amounting to
about four thousand men, were under command of General
Howe, subordinate to whom were General Pigot, and
Colonels Nesbit, Abercrombie, and Clark.

A short time before the action commenced, a horseman
was perceived advancing rapidly from Charlestown, towards
the American redoubt. It proved to be General Warren,
the president of the provincial congress. "Ah!" said Put-

Interview between Putnam and Warren.

nam, as the former came up, "is it you, General? I am glad
to see you, and yet I regret your presence. Your life is
too precious to be thus exposed; but since you are here,
let me receive your orders." "No," replied the gallant
soldier; "I give no orders! I come as a volunteer; and now

280 GREAT EVENTS OF

say where I can be the most useful." "Go, then," said
Putnam, "to the redoubt; you will there be less exposed."
"Tell me," rejoined Warren, "where will be the point of
greatest danger." "The redoubt will be the enemy s first
and principal object," said Putnam; "if we can defend that,
the day is ours." Warren passed on, and, as he passed,
the troops recognised him, and loud and long were their
acclamations. Every bosom felt the impulse of his pres
ence. At the redoubt, Prescott received him, and begged
him to receive the command. "Give me a musket," said
Warren; "to-day I take a lesson from the veteran soldier
in the art of war." Warren could not content himself
away from the dangers which were thickening around the
patriotic cause. The day previous, he had presided in the
congress in session at Watertown, and had spent the entire
night in transacting business growing out of his official
station. On reaching Cambridge, early in the morning, he
received intelligence of the expected battle. He attended
a meeting of the committee of safety, of which he was
chairman. Here he made known his intention of taking
part in the approaching contest. "Your ardent temper,"
said Gerry, "will carry you forward in the midst of peril,
and you will probably fall." "I know that I may fall,"
replied Warren, "but I should die with shame, were I to
remain at home in safety, while my friends and fellow-
citizens are shedding their blood, and hazarding their lives
in the cause." The honor of Warren is greatly enhanced
by the consideration that he was originally opposed to the
plan of fortifying the heights of Charlestown, but no sooner
had the council of war decided upon that measure, than he
gave it his hearty cooperation. And here we see this brave
and patriotic man in the field of battle, and in the midst
of danger, having adopted the beautiful sentiment of the
Roman poet,

" Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori."

The action opened at about three o clock in the afternoon,
at which time a general discharge of artillery was ordered

AMERICAN HISTORY. 281

along the whole British line. At the same time, the troops
advanced in two divisions. General Howe led the right
towards the rail-fence ; General Pigot with the left end
towards the redoubt.

The march of the British troops was slow, but steady.
They wore the aspect of strong confidence and strong
determination. Meanwhile, the American drums beat to
arms. Quitting his intrenchment, where he was still at
work on Bunker s hill, Putnam led his equally determined,
but far less disciplined, troops into action. Said this vete
ran general, in his usual pointed and laconic style, "Fellow-
soldiers! powder is scarce, and must not be wasted.
Reserve your fire till you see the whites of their eyes.
Then take aim at the