CHAPTER 14  BUNKER HILL TO TRENTON

133. Advantages of the British.--At first sight it seems as if the Americans were very foolish to fight the British. There were five or six times as many people in the British Isles as there were in the continental colonies. The British government had a great standing army. The Americans had no regular army. The British government had a great navy. The Americans had no navy. The British government had quantities of powder, guns, and clothing, while the Americans had scarcely any military stores of any kind. Indeed, there were so few guns in the colonies that one British officer thought if the few colonial gunsmiths could be bribed to go away, the Americans would have no guns to fight with after a few months of warfare.

Hoisted at Cambridge, January, 1776. The British Union and thirteen stripes.

134. Advantages of the Americans.--All these things were clearly against the Americans. But they had some advantages on their side. In the first place, America was a long way off from Europe. It was very difficult and very costly to send armies to America, and very difficult and very costly to feed the soldiers when they were fighting in America. In the second place, the Americans usually fought on the defensive and the country over which the armies fought was made for defense. In New England hill succeeded hill. In the Middle states river succeeded river. In the South wilderness succeeded wilderness. In the third place, the Americans had many great soldiers. Washington, Greene, Arnold, Morgan, and Wayne were better soldiers than any in the British army.
135. Disunion among the Americans.--We are apt to think of the colonists as united in the contest with the British. In reality the well-to-do, the well-born, and the well-educated colonists were as a rule opposed to independence. The opponents of the Revolution were strongest in the Carolinas, and were weakest in New England.

THE SIEGE OF BOSTON.

136. Siege of Boston.--It was most fortunate that the British army was at Boston when the war began, for Boston was about as bad a place for an army as could be found. In those days Boston was hardly more than an island connected with the mainland by a strip of gravel. Gage built a fort across this strip of ground. The Americans could not get in. But they built a fort at the landward end, and the British could not get out. On either side of Boston was a similar peninsula. One of these was called Dorchester Heights; the other was called Charlestown. Both overlooked Boston. To hold that town, Gage must possess both Dorchester and Charlestown. If the Americans could occupy only one of these, the British would have to abandon Boston. At almost the same moment Gage made up his mind to seize Dorchester, and the Americans determined to occupy the Charlestown hills. The Americans moved first, and the first battle was fought for the Charlestown hills.

A POWDER-HORN USED AT BUNKER HILL.

137. Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775.--When the seamen on the British men-of-war waked up on the morning of June 17, the first thing they saw was a redoubt on the top of one of the Charlestown hills. The ships opened fire. But in spite of the balls Colonel Prescott walked on the top of the breastwork while his men went on digging. Gage sent three or four thousand men across the Charles River to Charlestown to drive the daring Americans away. It took the whole morning to get them to Charlestown, and then they had to eat their dinner. This delay gave the Americans time to send aid to Prescott. Especially went Stark and his New Hampshire men, who posted themselves behind a breastwork of fence rails and hay. At last the British soldiers marched to the attack. When they came within good shooting distance, Prescott gave the word to fire. The British line stopped, hesitated, broke, and swept back. Again the soldiers marched to the attack, and again they were beaten back. More soldiers came from Boston, and a third time a British line marched up the hill. This time it could not be stopped, for the Americans had no more powder. They had to give up the hill and escape as well as they could. One-half of the British soldiers actually engaged in the assaults were killed or wounded. The Americans were defeated. But they were encouraged and were willing to sell Gage as many hills as he wanted at the same price.
138. Washington in Command, July, 1775.--The Continental Congress was again sitting at Philadelphia. It took charge of the defense of the colonies. John Adams named Washington for commander-in-chief, and he was elected. Washington took command of the army on Cambridge Common, July 3, 1775. He found everything in confusion. The soldiers of one colony were jealous of the soldiers of other colonies. Officers who had not been promoted were jealous of those who had been promoted. In the winter the army had to be made over. During all this time the people expected Washington to fight. But he had not powder enough for half a battle. At last he got supplies in the following way. In the spring of 1775 Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, with the help of the people of western Massachusetts and Connecticut, had captured Ticonderoga and Crown Point. These forts were filled with cannon and stores left from the French campaigns. Some of the cannon were now dragged by oxen over the snow and placed in the forts around Boston. Captain Manley, of the Massachusetts navy, captured a British brig loaded with powder. Washington now could attack. He seized and held Dorchester Heights. The British could no longer stay in Boston. They went on board their ships and sailed away (March, 1776).

SITE OF TICONDEROGA.

139. Invasion of Canada, 1775-76.--While the siege of Boston was going on, the Americans undertook the invasion of Canada. There were very few regular soldiers in Canada in 1775, and the Canadians were not likely to fight very hard for their British masters. So the leaders in Congress thought that if an American force should suddenly appear before Quebec, the town might surrender. Montgomery, with a small army, was sent to capture Montreal and then to march down the St. Lawrence to Quebec. Benedict Arnold led another force through the Maine woods. After tremendous exertions and terrible sufferings he reached Quebec. But the garrison had been warned of his coming. He blockaded the town and waited for Montgomery. The garrison was constantly increased, for Arnold was not strong enough fully to blockade the town. At last Montgomery arrived. At night, amidst a terrible snowstorm, Montgomery and Arnold led their brave followers to the attack. They were beaten back with cruel loss. Montgomery was killed, and Arnold was severely wounded. In the spring of 1776 the survivors of this little band of heroes were rescued--at the cost of the lives of five thousand American soldiers.

ARNOLD'S MARCH.

140. British Attack on Charleston, 1776.--In June 1776 a British fleet and army made an attack on Charleston, South Carolina. This town has never been taken by attack from the sea. Sand bars guard the entrance of the harbor and the channels through these shoals lead directly to the end of Sullivan's Island. At that point the Americans built a fort of palmetto logs and sand. General Moultrie commanded at the fort and it was named in his honor, Fort Moultrie. The British fleet sailed boldly in, but the balls from the ships' guns were stopped by the soft palmetto logs. At one time the flag was shot away and fell down outside the fort. But Sergeant Jasper rushed out, seized the broken staff, and again set it up on the rampart. Meantime, General Clinton had landed on an island and was trying to cross with his soldiers to the further end of Sullivan's Island. But the water was at first too shoal for the boats. The soldiers jumped overboard to wade. Suddenly the water deepened, and they had to jump aboard to save themselves from drowning. All this time Americans were firing at them from the beach. General Clinton ordered a retreat. The fleet also sailed out--all that could get away--and the whole expedition was abandoned.

GENERAL MOULTRIE.

141. Long Island and Brooklyn Heights, 1776.--The very day that the British left Boston, Washington ordered five regiments to New York. For he well knew that city would be the next point of attack. But he need not have been in such a hurry. General Howe, the new British commander-in-chief, sailed first to Halifax and did not begin the campaign in New York until the end of August. He then landed his soldiers on Long Island and prepared to drive the Americans away. Marching in a round-about way, he cut the American army in two and captured one part of it. This brought him to the foot of Brooklyn Heights. On the top was a fort. Probably Howe could easily have captured it. But he had led in the field at Bunker Hill and had had enough of attacking forts defended by Americans. So he stopped his soldiers--with some difficulty. That night the wind blew a gale, and the next day was foggy. The British fleet could not sail into the East River. Skillful fishermen safely ferried the rest of the American army across to New York. When at length the British marched to the attack, there was no one left in the fort on Brooklyn Heights.
142. From the Hudson to the Delaware, 1776.--Even now with his splendid fleet and great army Howe could have captured the Americans. But he delayed so long that Washington got away in safety. Washington's army was now fast breaking up. Soldiers deserted by the hundreds. A severe action at White Plains only delayed the British advance. The fall of Fort Washington on the end of Manhattan Island destroyed all hope of holding anything near New York. Washington sent one part of his army to secure the Highlands of the Hudson. With the other part he retired across New Jersey to the southern side of the Delaware River. The end of the war seemed to be in sight. In December, 1776, Congress gave the sole direction of the war to Washington and then left Philadelphia for a place of greater safety.
143. Trenton, December 26, 1776.--Washington did not give up. On Christmas night, 1776, he crossed the Delaware with a division of his army. A violent snowstorm was raging, the river was full of ice. But Washington was there in person, and the soldiers crossed. Then the storm changed to sleet and rain. But on the soldiers marched. When the Hessian garrison at Trenton looked about them next morning they saw that Washington and Greene held the roads leading inland from the town. Stark and a few soldiers--among them James Monroe--held the bridge leading over the Assanpink to the next British post. A few horsemen escaped before Stark could prevent them. But all the foot soldiers were killed or captured. A few days later nearly one thousand prisoners marched through Philadelphia. They were Germans, who had been sold by their rulers to Britain's king to fight his battles. They were called Hessians by the Americans because most of them came from the little German state of Hesse Cassel.
144. Princeton, January, 1777.--Trenton saved the Revolution by giving the Americans renewed courage. General Howe sent Lord Cornwallis with a strong force to destroy the Americans. Washington with the main part of his army was now encamped on the southern side of the Assanpink. Cornwallis was on the other bank at Trenton. Leaving a few men to keep up the campfires, and to throw up a slight fort by the bridge over the stream, Washington led his army away by night toward Princeton. There he found several regiments hastening to Cornwallis. He drove them away and led his army to the highlands of New Jersey where he would be free from attack. The British abandoned nearly all their posts in New Jersey and retired to New York.

CHAPTER 15  THE GREAT DECLARATION AND THE FRENCH ALLIANCE

145. Growth of the Spirit of Independence.--The year 1776 is even more to be remembered for the doings of Congress than it is for the doings of the soldiers. The colonists loved England. They spoke of it as home. They were proud of the strength of the British empire, and glad to belong to it. But their feelings rapidly changed when the British government declared them to be rebels, made war upon them, and hired foreign soldiers to kill them. They could no longer be subjects of George III. That was clear enough. They determined to declare themselves to be independent. Virginia led in this movement, and the chairman of the Virginia delegation moved a resolution of independence. A committee was appointed to draw up a declaration.
146. The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.--The most important members of this committee were Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. Of these Jefferson was the youngest, and the least known. But he had already drawn up a remarkable paper called A Summary View of the Rights of British America.The others asked him to write out a declaration. He sat down without book or notes of any kind, and wrote out the Great Declaration in almost the same form in which it now stands. The other members of the committee proposed a few changes, and then reported the declaration to Congress. There was a fierce debate in Congress over the adoption of the Virginia resolution for independence. But finally it was adopted. Congress then examined the Declaration of Independence as reported by the committee. It made a few changes in the words and struck out a clause condemning the slave-trade. The first paragraph of the Declaration contains a short, clear statement of the basis of the American system of government. It should be learned by heart by every American boy and girl, and always kept in mind. The Declaration was adopted on July 4, 1776. A few copies were printed on July 5, with the signatures of John Hancock and Charles Thompson, president and secretary of Congress. On August 2, 1776, the Declaration was signed by the members of Congress.

Battle of Brandywine.

147. The Loss of Philadelphia, 1777.--For some months after the battle of Princeton there was little fighting. But in the summer of 1777, Howe set out to capture Philadelphia. Instead of marching across New Jersey, he placed his army on board ships, and sailed to Chesapeake Bay. As soon as Washington learned what Howe was about, he marched to Chad's Ford, where the road from Chesapeake Bay to Philadelphia crossed Brandywine Creek. Howe moved his men as if about to attempt to cross the ford. Meantime he sent Cornwallis with a strong force to cross the creek higher up. Cornwallis surprised the right wing of the American army, drove it back, and Washington was compelled to retreat. Howe occupied Philadelphia and captured the forts below the city. Washington tried to surprise a part of the British army which was posted at Germantown. But accidents and mist interfered. The Americans then retired to Valley Forge--a strong place in the hills not far from Philadelphia.

"The Glorious WASHINGTON and GATES." FROM TITLE-PAGE OF AN ALMANAC OF 1778. To show condition of wood-engraving in the Revolutionary era.

148. The Army at Valley Forge, 1777-78.--The sufferings of the soldiers during the following winter can never be overstated. They seldom had more than half enough to eat. Their clothes were in rags. Many of them had no blankets. Many more had no shoes. Washington did all he could do for them. But Congress had no money and could not get any. At Valley Forge the soldiers were drilled by Baron Steuben, a Prussian veteran. The army took the field in 1778, weak in numbers and poorly clad. But what soldiers there were were as good as any soldiers to be found anywhere in the world. During that winter, also, an attempt was made to dismiss Washington from chief command, and to give his place to General Gates. But this attempt ended in failure.
149. Burgoyne's March to Saratoga, 1777.--While Howe was marching to Philadelphia, General Burgoyne was marching southward from Canada. It had been intended that Burgoyne and Howe should seize the line of the Hudson and cut New England off from the other states. But the orders reached Howe too late, and he went southward to Philadelphia. Burgoyne, on his part, was fairly successful at first, for the Americans abandoned post after post. But when he reached the southern end of Lake Champlain, and started on his march to the Hudson, his troubles began. The way ran through a wilderness. General Schuyler had had trees cut down across its woodland paths and had done his work so well that it took Burgoyne about a day to march a mile and a half. This gave the Americans time to gather from all quarters and bar his southward way. But many of the soldiers had no faith in Schuyler and Congress gave the command to General Horatio Gates.
150. Bennington, 1777.--Burgoyne had with him many cavalrymen. But they had no horses. The army, too, was sadly in need of food. So Burgoyne sent a force of dismounted dragoons to Bennington in southern Vermont to seize horses and food. It happened, however, that General Stark, with soldiers from New Hampshire, Vermont, and western Massachusetts, was nearer Bennington than Burgoyne supposed. They killed or captured all the British soldiers. They then drove back with great loss a second party which Burgoyne had sent to support the first one.
151. Oriskany, 1777.--Meantime St. Leger, with a large body of Indians and Canadian frontiersmen, was marching to join Burgoyne by the way of Lake Ontario and the Mohawk Valley. Near the site of the present city of Rome in New York was Fort Schuyler, garrisoned by an American force. St. Leger stopped to besiege this fort. The settlers on the Mohawk marched to relieve the garrison and St. Leger defeated them at Oriskany. But his Indians now grew tired of the siege, especially when they heard that Arnold with a strong army was coming. St. Leger marched back to Canada and left Burgoyne to his fate.
152. Saratoga, 1777.--Marching southward, on the western side of the Hudson, Burgoyne and his army came upon the Americans in a forest clearing called Freeman's Farm. Led by Daniel Morgan and Benedict Arnold the Americans fought so hard that Burgoyne stopped where he was and fortified the position. This was on September 19. The American army posted itself near by on Bemis' Heights. For weeks the two armies faced each other. Then, on October 7, the Americans attacked. Again Arnold led his men to victory. They captured a fort in the centre of the British line, and Burgoyne was obliged to retreat. But when he reached the crossing place of the Hudson, to his dismay he found a strong body of New Englanders with artillery on the opposite bank. Gates had followed the retiring British, and soon Burgoyne was practically surrounded. His men were starving, and on October 17 he surrendered.
153. The French Alliance, 1778.--Burgoyne's defeat made the French think that the Americans would win their independence. So Dr. Franklin, who was at Paris, was told that France would recognize the independence of the United States, would make treaties with the new nation, and give aid openly. Great Britain at once declared war on France. The French lent large sums of money to the United States. They sent large armies and splendid fleets to America. Their aid greatly shortened the struggle for independence. But the Americans would probably have won without French aid.
154. Monmouth, 1778.--The first result of the French alliance was the retreat of the British from Philadelphia to New York. As Sir Henry Clinton, the new British commander, led his army across the Jerseys, Washington determined to strike it a blow. This he did near Monmouth. The attack was a failure, owing to the treason of General Charles Lee, who led the advance. Washington reached the front only in time to prevent a dreadful disaster. But he could not bring about victory, and Clinton seized the first moment to continue his march to New York. There were other expeditions and battles in the North. But none of these had any important effect on the outcome of the war.
155. Clark's Western Campaign, 1778-79.--The Virginians had long taken great interest in the western country. Their hardy pioneers had crossed the mountains and begun the settlement of Kentucky. The Virginians now determined to conquer the British posts in the country northwest of the Ohio. The command was given to George Rogers Clark. Gathering a strong band of hardy frontiersmen he set out on his dangerous expedition. He seized the posts in Illinois, and Vincennes surrendered to him. Then the British governor of the Northwest came from Detroit with a large force and recaptured Vincennes. Clark set out from Illinois to surprise the British. It was the middle of the winter. In some places the snow lay deep on the ground. Then came the early floods. For days the Americans marched in water up to their waists. At night they sought some little hill where they could sleep on dry ground. Then on again through the flood. They surprised the British garrison at Vincennes and forced it to surrender. That was the end of the contest for the Northwest.

WEST POINT IN 1790.

156. Arnold and André, 1780.--Of all the leaders under Washington none was abler in battle than Benedict Arnold. Unhappily he was always in trouble about money. He was distrusted by Congress and was not promoted. At Saratoga he quarrelled with Gates and was dismissed from his command. Later he became military governor of Philadelphia and was censured by Washington for his doings there. He then secured the command of West Point and offered to surrender the post to the British. Major André, of Clinton's staff, met Arnold to arrange the final details. On his return journey to New York André was arrested and taken before Washington. The American commander asked his generals if André was a spy. They replied that André was a spy, and he was hanged. Arnold escaped to New York and became a general in the British army.