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Title: The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution, Vol. 2 (of 2) Author: Benson John Lossing Release date: July 4, 2015 [eBook #49352] Language: English Credits: Produced by David Widger from page images generously provided by the Internet Archive *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK OF THE REVOLUTION, VOL. 2 (OF 2) *** Produced by David Widger from page images generously provided by the Internet Archive THE PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK OF THE REVOLUTION, Volume II. Illustrations, By Pen And Pencil, Of The History, Biography, Scenery, Relics, And Traditions Of The War For Independence. By Benson J, Lossing, With Several Hundred Engravings On Wood, By Lossing And Barritt, Chiefly From Original Sketches By The Author. In Two Volumes. Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1 8 5 2. TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: The first eight chapters of this second volume were the last eight chapters of the first volume with the same illustrations and have not been duplicated in this ebook of the second volume. DW [[[Departure for the South.--Mode of Traveling.--Characteristics of the Journey.--Interesting Associations.]]] {216} CHAPTER IX. ```"Thou desolate and dying year! ```Prophetic of our final fall; ```Thy buds are gone, thy leaves are sere, ```Thy beauties shrouded in the pall; ```And all the garniture that shed ```A brilliancy upon thy prime, ```Hath like a morning vision fled ```Into the expanded grave of time." `````James G. Brooks. ```"That soft autumnal time ````Is come, that sheds upon the naked seene ```Charms only known in this our northern clime-- ````Bright seasons far between. ```" The woodland foliage now ````Is gathered lw the wild November blast, ```E'en the thick leaves upon the poplar's bough ````Are fallen to the last." `````John H. Bryant. [Illustration: 9224] N the 22d of November, 1848, I left New York to visit the Southern portions of the old Thirteen States, made memorable by the events of the War for Independence. Aware of the lack of public facilities for travel below the Potomac, and not doubting that many of the localities which I intended to visit were far distant from public highways, I resolved to journey with my own conveyance, with an independence and thoroughness not vouchsafed by steam or stage-drivers. I purchased a strong, good-natured horse, harnessed him to a light dearborn wagon, stowed my luggage under the seat, and, taking the reins, on a bright and balmy afternoon departed on a _drive_ of nearly fourteen hundred miles. The wisdom of my resolve was a hundred times made manifest, for, in some portions of the South, horse, mule, or ox could not have been procured to convey me to places of interest, lying scores of miles apart, and scores of miles away from stage-routes. It was a lonely journey; sometimes among mountains, sometimes through swamps, sometimes through vast pine forests and over sandy plains, and sometimes amid the most interesting natural scenery, even in mid-winter. It was to me a journey of great interest; and the dreary days passed in riding from one hallowed locality to another, after leaving the Appomattox, were all forgotten when sitting down, pencil in hand, in the midst of some arena consecrated by patriotism and love of country. Then glorious associations would crowd thickly upon the memory, weariness and privations would be forgotten, and the truthful heart would chant,= ```"Great God! we thank thee for this home-- ````This bounteous birth-land of the free; ```Where wanderers from afar may come ````And breathe the air of liberty! ```Still may her flowers untrampled spring, ````Her harvests wave, her cities rise; ```And yet, till Time shall fold his wing, ````Remain earth's loveliest paradise! `````W. J. Pabodie.= [[[Perth Amboy.--Its original Settlement and Prospects.--Governor William Franklin.]]] {217}In succeeding pages I shall endeavor to impart to my readers some of the pleasures and profits of this Southern journey, extended, after leaving my horse and wagon at Camden, in South Carolina, to nearly fourteen hundred miles further. I left New York at three o'clock in the afternoon in the steam-boat _Transport_ of the Camden and Amboy Rail-road Company. We passed out at the Narrows at four o'clock between Forts Hamilton and La Fayette, and, traversing Raritan Bay, on the southeast side of Staten Island, reached South Amboy at twilight, where I remained until morning. This little village is situated upon the bay, at the mouth of the Raritan, and is the terminus of the rail-way from Philadelphia. On the north side of the Raritan is Perth Amboy, * a pleasant place, a port of entry, and a locality of considerable historic interest. It is about twenty-five miles from New York, and ten from New Brunswick; the latter lies at the head of steam-boat navigation on the Raritan. Upon this point the first proprietors of New Jersey intended to build a city. "If the Lord permit," they said, in their published account of the beauty and fertility of that region, "we intend, with all convenient speed, to erect and build our principal town, which, by reason of situation, must, in all probability, be the most considerable for merchandise, trade, and fishing in those parts. It is designed to be placed upon a neck or point of land called Ambo Point, lying on Raritan River, and pointing to Sandy Hook Bay, and near adjacent to the place where ships in that great harbor commonly ride at anchor." It was called "a sweet, wholesome, and delightful place and William Penn said, on taking a view of the land, "I have never seen such before in my life." The town was laid out into one hundred and fifty lots, many buildings were erected, and for a time it was the commercial rival of New York. A city charter was obtained in 1718. William Eier was the first mayor, and James Alexander--the father of Lord Stirling, of the Continental army--was the first recorder. Barracks for soldiers were built there in 1758--9, and were first occupied by the English troops on their return from Havana in 1761. Perth Amboy was the place of residence of Governor Franklin when the Revolution broke out, and was the scene of many stirring events during that war. ** It was in posses- * This point, when first mentioned in the East Jersey records, bears the Indian name of Ompage, of which Ambo or Amboy is a corruption. The white settlement there was for some time called Perth, in honor of the Earl of Perth, one of the proprietors; but the name of Ambo was so often mentioned, that at last it was called Perth Amboy. ** William Franklin, the royal governor of New Jersey, was the only son of Dr. Benjamin Franklin. He was born in 1731. He was postmaster of Philadelphia for a short time, and served as clerk of the House-of Representatives of Pennsylvania. He was a captain in the French and Indian war, and fought bravely, under Abercrombie, at Ticonderoga. He visited England, with his father, toward the close of the war. In Scotland he became acquainted with the Earl of Bute, who recommended him to Lord Fairfax. That-nobleman appointed him governor of New Jersey, and for a time he was very popular with the people. He was a decided monarchist, and from the beginning of the disputes with Great Britain he took sides against his father. He involved himself in quarrels with the Legislature of New Jersey, and the people became very hostile to him before the close of his administration in 1776. On the 23d of May of that year, the first Provincial Congress of New Jersey commenced their session at Trenton, and the royal government soon afterward ceased to exist. A constitution was adopted in July, 1776. William Livingston was elected governor in place of Franklin, and that deposed servant of royalty, declared by the Congress of New Jersey to be an enemy to liberty, was seized in his own house at Perth Amboy, and conveyed a prisoner to Windham, Connecticut, at which place, and also in Litchfield jail, he was confined for some time. [See p. 436, volume i.] On the arrival of Sir Henry Clinton in America in 1778, Governor Franklin was exchanged for some American prisoners, and released. He went to New York, where he served, for a short period, as president of the Board of Directors of the Associated Loyalists. In West's picture of the Reception of the American Loyalists by Great Britain, in the year 1783, Governor Franklin is a prominent personage-represented. A copy of this picture will be found in another part of this work. Franklin went to England at the close of the war, where he resided until his death in November, 1813, enjoying a pension of $4000 per annum. He and his father were reconciled in 1784, after an alienation often years. The doctor, however, could not forget his political delinquency. In his will, after devising to his son all the books and papers of his in possession of the governor, and also all debts standing against him on his account-books, he says, "The part he acted against me in the late war, which is of public notoriety, will account for my leaving him no more of an estate he endeavored to deprive me of." * Governor Franklin's wife died in 1778, just before his release from imprisonment. On a monumental tablet in St. Paul's Chureh, New York, it is inscribed that, "compelled to part from the husband she loved, and at length despairing of the soothing hope of his return, she sunk of accumulated distresses," &e. His son, William Temple Franklin, who edited his grandfather's works, died at Paris in May, 1823. * Sparks's Life of Franklin, 599. [[[Dunlap's Recollection of military Affairs at Perth Amboy.--Journey to Crosswicks.--Missionary Operations there.]]] {218}sion of the British much of the time; and one of the many pictures of life of varied hue there presented, is given by William Dunlap (who was born there), in his _History of the Arts of Design_. "Here were centered," he says, "in addition to those cantoned in the place, all those [troops] drawn in from the Delaware, Princeton, and Brunswick; and the flower and pick of the army, English, Scotch, and German, who had at that time been brought in from Rhode Island. Here was to be seen a party of forty-second Highlanders, in national costume, and there a regiment of Hessians, their dress and arms a perfect contrast to the first. The slaves of Anspach and Waldeek were there--the first somber as night, the second gaudy as noon. Here dashed by a party of the seventeenth dragoons, and there scampered a party of Yagers. The trim, neat, and graceful English grenadier; the careless and half-savage Highlander, with his flowing robes and naked knees, and the immovably stiff' German, could hardly be taken for parts of one army. Here might be seen soldiers driving in cattle, and others guarding wagons loaded with household furniture, instead of the hay and oats they had been sent for. "The landing of the grenadiers and light infantry from the ships which transplanted the troops from Rhode Island; their proud march into the hostile neighborhood, to gather the produce of the farmer for the garrison; the sound of the musketry, which soon rolled back upon us; the return of the disabled veterans who could retrace their steps, and the heavy march of the discomfited troops, with their wagons of groaning wounded, in the evening, are all impressed on my mind as pictures of the evils and the soul-stirring scenes of war. These lessons, and others more disgusting, were my sources of instruction in the winter of 1776--7." * [[November 23, 1848]] I left Amboy for Trenton, by the way of Crosswicks, before sunrise the next morning. The air was clear and frosty; the pools by the road side were skimmed with ice, and fields and fences were white with hoar frost. The deep sand of the road made the traveling heavy, yet, before the sun was fairly up, my strong horse had taken me half the way to Spottswood, ten miles distant. I passed through Spottswood, Old Bridge, Hightstown, and Cranberry, to Allentown, twenty-eight miles from Amboy, where I dined. These villages have a neat and thrifty appearance. Over the level, sandy country through which the road passes, extensive peach orchards are spread out, covering hundreds of acres. Crosswicks, ** the scene of some stirring events in the Revolution, is situated upon a ridge on the left bank of Crosswicks Creek, four miles from Allentown, and the same distance from the Delaware Ptiver. The creek is in a deep ravine, here spanned by a fine latticed bridge, erected upon the site of the old one of the Revolution. It was settled by the Quakers in 1681, and was a place of sufficient importance in colonial times to be once a meeting-place of the Provincial Assembly. Among the Indians at Crossweeksung, Brainerd and Tennant [[1748]] labored successfully, *** and the influence of the Quakers upon that tribe was sensibly felt. Here a small detachment of the American army was stationed after the first engagement at Trenton, where the Hessians were captured; and here one division of the British troops, marching from Philadelphia toward Monmouth, in June, 1778, were pretty severely handled by a party of Americans. The troops of the enemy marched in three divisions from Philadelphia: one by Mount Holly, one through Columbus, and the third by Bordentown, on the Delaware, near the mouth of Crosswicks Creek. Near the latter place was a draw-bridge, and as the British attempted to repair it for the purpose of crossing, the militia regiments of Colonels Frelinghuysen, **** Van Dyke, and Webster, stationed near, rushed * History of the Arts of Design, vol. ii. ** This name is derived from the Indian appellation of the plaee, Crossweeksung, signifying a separation. The creek separates into two branches not far from the village. *** In less than one year after Brainerd commenced preaching among them, he baptized no less than seventy-seven persons, of whom thirty-eight were adults.--Allen's Amer. Biog. Dictionary. **** Frederik Frelinghuysen was the son of Reverend John Frelinghuysen, of Raritan, New Jersey. He graduated at Princeton in 1770, and when the Revolution broke out he entered the military service of his country. He was a captain of a militia company at the battle of Trenton, December 26, 1776, and, it is said, was the man who shot Colonel Rail, the commander of the Hessians. He was afterward promoted to the rank of colonel, which office he held during the war. He was a member of the old Congress, and, under the administration of Washington, was a senator from New Jersey. He was for a number of years one of the trustees of Princeton College. He died in April, 1804, aged about fifty-two years. Theodore Frelinghuysen, late United States senator from New Jersey, and Chancellor of the University of New York, is his son. [[[Skirmish at Crosswicks.--The Friends' Meeting-house.--Mrs. Idell.--Bordentown]]] {219}upon them, killed four and wounded several. The enemy left the bridge at Bordentown, and, marching up to Crosswicks, attempted to repair the bridge there, which the Americans had almost destroyed. * [Illustration: 9227] The alert provincials were ready to receive them; and from their station on the Woodwardsville side of the creek, they poured upon the Britons volleys of musketry, which, with a well-aimed shot occasionally from an old six-pounder, effectually kept them at bay. Being re-enforced the next day, the enemy repaired the bridge, crossed it, and pursued their march toward Allentown. During the skirmish, one of the cannon-balls fired by the Americans struck the north wall of the meeting-house and lodged therein, where it remained until the building was repaired a few years ago. The hole made by the ball is yet visible; the dark spot between the sills of the two upper windows, on the right of the picture, marks the place. The American troops at Crosswicks, after the battle of Trenton, used the meeting-house for barracks; yet, unlike the British soldiers who occupied churches for a similar purpose, they neither defaced the building, nor disturbed the society in their public religious duties'. Every Wednesday and Sunday the soldiers withdrew, the benches were properly arranged, and worship was held as usual. During my brief tarry of an hour and a half at Crosswicks, I visited the venerable Mrs. Idell, who was eighty-three years old. She clearly remembered the advent of the Americans there, after the battle of Trenton. She lived with her brother, two or three miles from the meeting-house. Twelve American officers, on horseback, took possession of his house while himself and family were in meeting. The parlor was filled with equestrian accouterments, and she and two other children "almost lost their wits by fright." The old lady was strong in mind but feeble in body when I saw her, yet she was able to sit in their plain old house of worship every meeting-day. I left Crosswicks at four o'clock, and arrived at Trenton at sunset. It was a pleasant drive of eight miles through a fertile country; the well-filled barns and barracks, and the numerous haystacks, denoting bountiful harvests. I passed a little northward of Bordentown, and had an occasional glimpse of its spires above the brown tree-tops. As we may not, in the course of our journey, approach so near this pleasant village again, let us slacken our pace a little as we go over the crown of the hill, from whence the vane of the Episcopal church is visible, and consider its Revolutionary history. Bordentown is "a city upon a hill," and "can not be hid." It is at the elbow of the Delaware River, seven miles below Trenton, and from the brow of the eminence on which it stands there is an extensive view of that noble stream and the surrounding country. It derives its name from Joseph Borden, an early settler. Here both the Americans and British had military stores; and hither both parties, at different times, dispatched small detachments to surprise and capture, or destroy them. Here a strong body of Hessians, under * An American named Clevenger, who had cut away the last sleeper of the bridge when the enemy approached, was shot in the back of the head and killed while retreating. He was the only man whom the Americans lost in the skirmish. ** This view is from the shed in the yard, looking southeast. The building stands in the center of a large square, is of imported brick, and very spacious. The Quakers were numerous in this vicinity in the time of the Revolution, and a large number of the present inhabitants are members of that sect. [[[Revolutionary Events at Bordentown.--Joseph Bonaparte.--General Dickinson.--Trenton.]]] {220}Count Donop, was stationed at the time of the battle at Trenton. One of the several expeditions sent out from Philadelphia by the enemy, in the spring of 1778, was for the purpose of destroying vessels which were lying in Barnes's and Crosswicks Creeks at this place. Six or seven hundred troops left Philadelphia about ten in the evening on the 7th of May, and went up the Delaware in a flotilla consisting of two row-galleys, three other armed vessels, and twenty-four flat-bottomed boats. They had fair winds for ten miles of the way, * when a calm ensued, and they were obliged to row the remainder of the distance. They expected to reach Bordentown and perform their destructive work before dawn, but they did not arrive there until late in the forenoon. Before landing, they burned two frigates at the White Hills, a little below the village, and afterward destroyed several smaller vessels. They landed without much opposition, burned the residence of Joseph Borden, committed some petty malicious trespasses, and then re-embarked. The next day they proceeded up the river as far as Bile's Island, intending to make a descent upon Trenton; but General Dickinson, ** and the troops under his command, gave them such a warm reception, that they hastily turned their prows southward. On their way down they landed at Colonel Kirk-bride's farm, on the Pennsylvania side, burned his buildings, and seized considerable property. A party of militia, whom General Dickinson sent down the river, succeeded in capturing a sloop which the enemy had filled with plunder, and took prisoners six men who were on board. The marauders returned to Philadelphia with very little booty, and not a particle of glory. *** At Bordentown, from 1816 until 1842, Joseph Bonaparte, the ex-king of Spain, and brother of Napoleon, resided. His park and grounds comprised about fifteen hundred acres of land, which his taste and well-directed expenditure of money redeemed from almost barrenness, and made beautiful. His mansion was enriched with the most exquisite works of art in painting and sculpture, for the gratification of himself and friends; and while he was ever willing to display these for the pleasure of the poor, his hand was open to their wants. The sun was vailed, at its setting, when I arrived at Trenton, **** by an ominous red vapor that betokened a storm. True to the "sign," the morning following was lowery, and a chilly east wind made sketching in the open air any thing but pleasant. I was busy with my pencil until the rain began to fall at noon. At two o'clock the sun peeped out for a moment, and smiled so pleasantly (yet deceptively) that I ordered my horse, and, accompa- * The distance from Philadelphia to Bordentown is twenty-six miles. ** Philemon Dickinson was a gallant officer of the Revolution. He was a Whig of the truest dye, and entered the Revolutionary army at the outset of the contest. Although possessed of an ample fortune, he cheerfully hazarded it for the good of his country, preferring poverty with liberty, to wealth with slavery. He was at the head of the Jersey militia in the battle of Monmouth, where he displayed the greatest bravery. He was a member of Congress from his state after the establishment of the present Federal government, and in various civil and military stations he discharged his duty faithfully. Twelve years of the latter part of his life were passed in domestic retirement at his seat near Trenton, where he died on the 4th of February, 1809, at the age of sixty-eight years. *** Howe, in the Historical Collections of New Jersey, page 101, records one or two incidents of this incursion which were related to him by a person who was a resident there at the time. He said the British officers dined at the house of Francis Hopkinson, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, who, with his family, was absent at the time. A young lady, eighteen years old, named Mary Comely, provided the dinner for them. While they were dining, she was informed that the soldiers were robbing the houses of her mother and grandmother, on the opposite side of the street. She went in, and stealthily cut a piece from the skirt of one of the soldiers' coats. This she handed to the commander, and by it he detected the thief. By this means the property of her relations and some neighbors was restored. A Whig, in order to save his property, slew a sheep, and made a good dinner for the soldiers; but, before the meal was ready, the bugle sounded for the troops to form in line. The dinner was partaken of by Colonel Baylor and his light horse, who arrived toward evening. **** Trenton is the capital of New Jersey, situated upon the east bank of the Delaware, at the Falls, thirty miles from Philadelphia. The first settlements were made by Quakers, on both sides of the river, about 1679. The region in the vicinity of the Falls was called by the Delaware Indians, Sankhican, a name signifying gun or firelock, from the circumstance that a tribe of Mohawks, who used guns, occupied that spot. A purchase of a large tract of land lying on both sides of the Assanpink was made by Colonel William Trent, of Philadelphia, in 1714, and from him Trent Town or Trenton derives its name. [[[M'Conkey's Ferry, where Washington crossed the Delaware.--Long Bridge.--Capture of Forts Washington and Lee.]]] {221}nied by the Honorable G. W. Smyth, of Belvidere, started for M'Conkey's Ferry (now Taylorsville), eight miles above Trenton, the place where= ```On Christmas day, in seventy-six, ```Our gallant troops, with bayonets fixed, ````To Trenton marched away,"= and, with Washington, crossed the Delaware, on the memorable night of that festival. [Illustration: 9229] We had ridden scarcely a mile before the rain came pattering down upon our wagon-top, and when we returned at evening the storm had increased in violence to that of a drenching summer shower. The road passes along the bank of the Delaware, and on a bright summer day it must be one of the pleasantest drives imaginable. There are several beautiful country-seats on the way, with grounds tastefully laid out and shaded. Two miles from Trenton is the State Lunatic Asylum, an immense building, having nine quadrangles, and presenting a front of four hundred and eighty feet. The feeder for the Delaware and Hudson Canal, and the artificial channel made along the river bank for the production of water power at Trenton, are crossed and paralleled by the road all the way to Yardleyville, between which and Taylorsville the great dam constructed to supply these streams stretches across the Delaware. Taylorsville is on the Pennsylvania side, at M'Conkey's Ferry. A noble bridge, six hundred feet long, here spans the river. It is supported by eight piers, eighteen feet above the water when the stream has its usual depth. The bridge is of timber, the piers of solid masonry, with an icebreaker on the upper side. The view here given is from below the bridge on the Pennsylvania side, looking northeast, and exhibits the Jersey shore at the precise point where the American army landed, an event which we shall consider presently. Mr. Taylor, an old resident of the place, pointed out the spot, on each side of the river, where a log-house stood at the time. The one on the Pennsylvania side was upon the site of the _Temperance House_, in Taylorsville; that upon the Jersey shore was exactly at the end of the bridge. It was very dark when we reached Trenton in the midst of the storm. With the feelings of the silly mortal who thought a brook would soon run dry because the stream was so swift, I hoped for a bright morning because the rain came down deluge-like. Let us turn from the present and commune an hour with the past. Fort Washington, on the east bank of the Hudson, near New York city, fell into the hands of the enemy on the 16th of November, 1776, and the garrison of nearly three thousand men became prisoners of war. The skirmish at White Plains had recently [[October 28, 1776]] occurred, and Washington, penetrating the design of the enemy to pass into New Jersey and march to the capture of Philadelphia, had already crossed the Hudson with the main body of the American army, after securing some positions on the east bank, between Kingsbridge and the Highlands. He encamped at Hackensack, in the rear of Fort Lee where General Greene was in command. Lord Cornwallis crossed the Hudson at Dobbs's Ferry, with six thousand men, on the 18th, and landing at Closter, a mile and a [[November, 1776]] half from English Neighborhood, proceeded to attack Fort Lee. The garrison made a hasty retreat, and joined the main army at Hackensack, five miles distant. All the baggage and military stores at Fort Lee fell into the hands of the enemy. It was an easy conquest for Cornwallis; and had he followed up this successful beginning with energy, [[[Retreat of the Americans across New Jersey.--Decrease of the Army.--Tardy Movements of General Lee.]]] {222}there is every probability that he would have captured Washington and his army. The latter commenced a retreat toward the Delaware when Cornwallis approached, hoping to be sufficiently re-enforced by the New Jersey and Pennsylvania militia to be enabled to make a successful stand against the invaders at some intermediate point. But late reverses had dispirited the militia, and Washington found his army diminishing at every step rather than augmenting. [Illustration: 9230] By the last of November scarcely three thousand troops remained in the American army. For three weeks he fled before Cornwallis across the level districts of New Jersey. Newark, New Brunswick, Princeton, and Trenton were successively evacuated by the Americans and occupied by the enemy. Often the music of the pursued and the pursuers would be heard by each other, yet no action occurred. Arrived at Trenton on the 8th of December, Washington and his army crossed the Delaware in boats. The last one had reached the Pennsylvania shore just as one division of Cornwallis's army, with all the pomp of victors, marched into Trenton. This was about twelve o'clock at night. The British commander, with the main body of the troops, halted within six miles of Trenton. Washington had hoped to make a stand at New Brunswick, but was disappointed. The service of the Jersey and Maryland brigades expired on the day he left that place, and neither of them would remain longer with the army. General Lee had been left at White Plains in command of a detachment of the army, consisting of nearly three thousand men. Washington wrote to him from Hackensack, requesting him to lead his division into New Jersey immediately to re-enforce his melting army. Lee did not heed the request, and the commander-in-chief finally sent him a positive order to that effect. This order was repeated, and yet he delayed; and so tardy was his march in the rear of the royal army, that it was three weeks before he reached Morristown. It is evident from Lee's conduct, and the tenor of his letters at that time, that it was not so much a spirit of determined disobedience which governed his actions, as a strong desire to act independent of the commander-in-chief, and perform some signal service which would redound to his personal glory. * He was as ambitious as he was impetuous and brave. He had endeavored, but in vain, to induce General Heath, who was left in command at Peekskill, to let him have a detachment of one or two thousand men, with which to operate. Heath refused to vary from his instructions, and it was well he did. Washington continued to urge Lee to form a junction with him; yet, as late as the 11th of December, two days after the passage of the Delaware, a letter written by Lee to Washington, at Morristown, hinted at various contemplated movements, not one of which referred to a junction of forces. This was the last letter Washington received from Lee during his march. Two days afterward, while pursuing his slow and reluctant progress toward the Delaware, Lee was taken prisoner. His troops lay at a place called Vealtown, while he lodged at Basking Ridge, nearly three miles distant, at the inn of a Mrs. White, now a private dwelling, situated upon rising ground at the southeast entrance of the village. Colonel Harcourt, at the head of a scouting party of British cavalry, apprised of the position of General Lee,2 made a furious charge upon his quarters on * It was at this time that the close and confidential intimacy which existed between Washington and Colonel Joseph Reed was disturbed by a letter from Lee to the latter. It will be remembered that Reed was with Washington at Cambridge during the siege of Boston, and was the most confidential friend of the commander-in-chief. On the 21st of November he wrote a letter to Lee, from Hackensack, in which, pointedly alluding to Washington, he complained of the indecision of officers, at the same time complimenting Lee for his opposite quality. This letter was answered in a tone and spirit little calculated to command the respect of Washington for either party. Reed had left camp before its arrival, and, as usual, his letters were opened by the commander-in-chief. In this way the latter became acquainted with its contents. Free explanations were made, and mutual confidence was afterward restored, which continued through life. ** Following the account of Wilkinson, in his Memoirs (who was with Lee at the time), historians say that a Tory communicated the fact of Lee's presence at White's Tavern to Colonel Harcourt. There is no positive evidence that such was the fact; on the contrary, it is asserted, in the Historical Collections of New Jersey, that one of the compilers of that work was informed by Colonel J. W. Drake, of Mendham, that the individual was a Mr. Mackelwraith, an elder of a Presbyterian church, who was surrounded in the road by Harcourt and his men, pressed into service, and compelled to show them Lee's quarters. When the assailants arrived, the guard were sunning themselves on the south side of the house, and were suddenly separated from their arms; hence the feebleness of their resistance. [[[Capture of General Lee.--Longevity of the Captor's Horse.--Biography of Lee.--His Division commanded by Sullivan.]]] {223}the morning of the 13th of December, dispersed the guard, and captured the commander. * Lee had just finished a letter to General Gates when the dragoons appeared. So sudden was the arrest, and so quick was the departure, that he was hurried away on horseback, bare-headed, nothing but slippers on his feet, and a blanket coat on his back, and conveyed in safety to New York. General Sullivan, who was taken prisoner at the battle on Long Island, in August previous, had been exchanged, and was now with Lee's division of the army. [Illustration: 8231] On the capture of Lee the command devolved on Sullivan, and he soon afterward crossed the Delaware and joined Washington. General Lee was an able and efficient officer, and his loss, at that time, was very severely felt. The estimation in which the enemy held his services may be understood by the declaration, "We have taken the American palladium." His disobedience is indefensible; yet, viewing subsequent events in their various relations, that very disobedience was probably instrumental in working out greater good than compliance would * Mr. James the English novelist, now (1851) residing in this country, informed a friend of the writer that he possesses a manuscript drawing of Colonel Harcourt, and of the horse which he rode on that occasion. The horse lived to the extraordinary age of fifty years. ** Charles Lee was born in Wales in 1731. He was the son of General John Lee of the British army. He was a commissioned officer in the army of George II. at a very early age (some say eleven years), and ardently pursued military knowledge. He acquired many of the Continental languages. He came to America in 1756, and distinguished himself in the wars with the French and Indians. He dwelt, for a time, with the Mohawks, and was made a chief of the tribe, under the name, in the Mohawk dialect, of Boiling Water. In 1762 he bore a colonel's commission, and served under Burgoyne in Portugal. After engaging for a while in political strife in England, he went to the Continent, and during three years, from 1770, he rambled all over Europe. He was received with favor by the great, and finally became aid to Poniatowski, kin" of Poland. For two years he basked in that monarch's favor, and then went, with the king's embassador, to Turkey. From Constantinople he went to Paris, and in 1773 again came to America. He became acquainted with General Gates, and, through his persuasions, purchased a tract of land in Berkley county, Virginia. Resigning a commission which he held in the British army, he accepted one from Congress when the Continental army was organized in the summer of 1775. He accompanied Washington to Cambridge, and from that period until his capture in December, 1776, he was engaged in very active service, particularly at the South. In May, 1778, he was exchanged for General Prescott, who was captured on Rhode Island, and within a month afterward he was engaged in the fierce battle of Monmouth. In that conflict he was disobedient to the commands of the chief, and was arrested for his misconduct. His trial resulted in his suspension, a verdict which gave general satisfaction, for it was believed that he was aiming at supreme command. The verdict was confirmed by Congress in 1780, and he left the army. He lived a while at Berkley, morose and secluded. He finally went to Philadelphia, and took lodgings in a house now known as the "Slate-roof House," once the residence of William Penn, where he died, soon afterward, in poverty and obscurity. His death occurred on the 2d of Oetober, 1782, at the age of fifty-one. General Lee was a brilliant man in many things, but his life exhibited a most perfect specimen of antitheses of character. He was bad in morals and manners, profane in language, and neither feared or loved God or man. He wrote his will a few days before his death, in which he bequeathed his soul to the Almighty, and his body to the earth, saying, "I desire most earnestly that I may not be buried in any church or churchyard, or within a mile of any Presbyterian or Anabaptist meeting-house; for, since I have resided in this country, I have kept so much bad company when living, that I do not choose to continue it when dead." His last words on his death-bed were, "Stand by me, my brave grenadiers!" He was buried in Christ Church-yard, Philadelphia, with military honors. Quite a large concourse of citizens attended his funeral. Mrs. Mercy Warren seems to have formed a correct estimate of Lee's character from her own observations on the occasion of his dining with herself and husband at Watertown, while the army was at Cambridge. In a letter to Samuel Adams, she speaks of him as "plain in his person to a degree of ugliness; careless even to unpoliteness; his garb ordinary; his voice rough; his manners rather morose; yet sensible, learned, judicious, and penetrating." Such is the character of Lee which I received from the lips of Mrs. Hamilton, who expressively called him "a crabbed man." [[[The Delaware between Washington and Cornwallis.--Weakness of the American Army.--Gloomy Aspect of Affairs.]]] {224}have done. Let us return to the consideration of the movements of the two armies upon the Delaware. Washington took the precaution, when he crossed the river, to secure every boat and bateau, so that Cornwallis had no means for continuing an immediate pursuit. The latter had intended to cross a portion of troops early the next morning between M'Conkey's and Coryell's Ferry, for the purpose of capturing a number of boats which the Americans had collected on the Pennsylvania side. But these had been taken away, and he had no alternative but to construct boats, or wait for the freezing of the Delaware, so that he might pass his troops over on the ice. Washington had but twenty-two hundred men under his command when he crossed the river; and two days afterward, in consequence of the expiration of the term of service of a portion of these, he had but seventeen hundred--indeed, not more than one thousand on whom he could rely. The proclamation of General Howe, mentioned on page 308, vol. i., [[November 30, 1776]] had been circulated freely in the Jerseys since the day of its publication, and had produced wide-spread disaffection to the patriot cause. * New Jersey was now in possession of a victorious enemy, and nothing but the feeble barrier of the Delaware lay between Cornwallis and his well-disciplined army, and Philadelphia, the Federal capital, where Congress was in session. The public treasury was exhausted, and the Congress bills of credit were beginning to be looked upon with suspicion and disfavor. Hourly the American army was melting away, and despondency was brooding over every patriot's mind. Clouds and darkness were gathering thick on every side. The campaign had been little else than a series of discomfitures, ** and the inefficient provisions made by Congress for keeping up an army were manifest to all. Distrust of Congress and of the army began to prevail in all minds, and the sun of American liberty seemed about to set amid the clouds of hopeless despair. Yet Washington was firm and undaunted. His faith in the ultimate triumph of the Americans seems never to have burned with a brighter and steadier light than at this dark moment. Although December frosts were rapidly preparing a bridge over which the enemy might cross the Delaware and march triumphantly to the conquest of Philadelphia and all Pennsylvania, yet he was calm, determined, hopeful. When asked what he would do if Philadelphia should be taken, he replied, "We will retreat beyond the Susquehanna River, and thence, if necessary, to the Alleghany Mountains." While there was a shadow of an army in the field--while Congress maintained its sittings and unity--while a single ray of hope for success remained, no thought of abandoning the righteous cause was harbored in the mind of that great and good man. Already, in the very darkest hour, he * Among the prominent men who had espoused the Republican cause at the commencement and now abandoned it, was Tucker, president of the New Jersey convention which had sanctioned the Declaration of Independence, and Joseph Galloway, a member of the first Continental Congress. For ten days after the issuing of the proclamation, two or three hundred persons a day came in to take the oath of allegiance to the British crown. Their disappointment is mentioned on page 308, vol. i. ** Although the Americans had generally suffered defeat, yet, from a summary of prisoners taken by each party, during 1776, given in Sparks's Life and Writings of Washington (iv., 547), the Americans were quite successful in making captures. The number of American prisoners taken by the British was 4854; the number of British taken by the Americans, 2860; making a difference in favor of the enemy of 1994. In this statement is not included the 431 Americans captured at the Cedars, but includes the Hessians taken at Trenton. The number of American officers taken was 304--staff 25; privates, 4101: total, 4430. In addition to men, the Americans lost, according to Gordon (ii., 131), 12 mortars and cannons of brass, and 235 of iron; 23,979 empty shells, and 17,122 filled; 2684 double-headed shot; a large quantity of grape-shot; 2800 muskets; 400,000 cartridges; 16 barrels of powder; a quantity of bar iron; 500 intrenching tools; 4 covered wagons; 200 hand-barrows, carts, crows, mantelets, chevaux-de-frize, &c.; 4000 barrels of flour, at Forts Washington and Lee; baggage, tents, and a large quantity of other stores. [[[Putnam in Command at Philadelphia.--Reorganization of the Army.--Adjournment of Congress to Baltimore.--The Quakers.]]] {225}had conceived the masterly stroke of military skill which presently brought forth such a radiant spark of hope and joy upon the frozen banks of the Delaware. * After passing the Delaware, the salvation of Philadelphia became the object of Washington's greatest solicitude. He dispatched General Putnam thither, who, with General Mifflin, commenced the erection of defenses at different points around the city. Congress, now alive to the necessity for the most energetic action, put forth all its powers. It resolved to defend Philadelphia to the last extremity. A stirring appeal to the people was adopted and sent forth, and a thorough organization of the army was begun, in accordance [[December 11, 1776]] with a plan matured by Washington and a committee of Congress, while the American army was upon Harlem Heights, a few months previous. According to this plan, all the hitherto scattered Continental forces were to be embraced in one grand army, consisting of eighty battalions of seven hundred and fifty men each, to be raised in the several states. Massachusetts and Virginia were each to furnish fifteen battalions; Pennsylvania, twelve; North Carolina, nine; Connecticut, eight; South Carolina, six; New York and New Jersey, four each; New Hampshire and Maryland, three each; Rhode Island, two, and Georgia, one. As an inducement for men to enlist and supply the places of those whose term of service was about expiring, liberal bounties were offered. ** A loan of five millions of dollars at four per cent, interest was authorized. On the 12th of December, Congress invested General Putnam with almost unlimited power in Philadelphia, placing under his control all the munitions of war in the city, and also authorizing him to employ all the private armed vessels in that harbor for the defense of the place. On the same day, under the advice of Putnam and Mifflin, Congress resolved to retire to Baltimore, because Philadelphia, now being made the seat of war, could not furnish that quiet so necessary to wise and dispassionate legislation. *** A committee of three, consisting of Robert Morris, George Clymer, and George Walton, was appointed to remain in Philadelphia, to act in behalf of Congress, during its absence. That body, pursuant to adjournment, reassembled in Baltimore on the 20th. The Whigs in Philadelphia were in great consternation when Congress left. They feared the Loyalists in their midst quite as much as the approaching enemy. On the departure of Congress, the active Loyalists assumed a bold tone; and General Putnam, who was sent thither to fortify the city, was in daily expectation of an insurrection in favor of the royal cause. Nearly the whole body of Quakers, though passive, belonged to that party. * In a letter to Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, written on the 14th of December, six days after he crossed the Delaware, he said, alluding to the approach of Gates with a considerable force, "They may, in conjunction with my present force and that under General Lee, enable us to attempt a stroke upon the forces of the enemy, who lie a good deal scattered, and to all appearanee in a state of security. A lucky blow in this quarter would be fatal to them, and would most certainly rouse the spirits of the people, which are quite sunk by our late misfortunes."--Writings of Washington, iv., 220, 221. General Greene, to whom Washington communicated his plans, wrote to Governor Cooke, of Rhode Island, on the 21st, "We are now on the west side of the Delaware. Our force is small when collected together; but, small as it is, I hope we shall give the enemy a stroke in a few days. Should fortune favor the attack, it may put a stop to General Howe's progress." Colonel Reed wrote to Washington on the 21st, "Will it not be possible, my dear general, for your troops, or such part of them as can act with advantage, to make a diversion, or something more, at or about Trenton?"--Ibid., 542, 543. ** Each soldier was to have a bounty of twenty dollars, besides an allotment of land, at the end of the war, to all who survived, or to the families of those who should fall in the service. The allotment of a common soldier was to be one hundred acres; of an ensign, one hundred and fifty; of a lieutenant, two hundred; a captain, three hundred; a major, four hundred; a lieutenant colonel, four hundred and fifty; and a colonel, five hundred. This allotment was to be extended only to those who enlisted "during the war." *** A rumor having gone abroad that Congress was about to disperse, that body resolved that Washington should be desired to contradict "the false and malicious report spread by the enemies of America," in his general orders. The commander-in-chief, in a letter to the President of Congress from Trenton Falls, written on the 12th, wisely declined publishing such refutation, and gave good reasons for his course. It was a fortunate circumstance," says Sparks (Washington, iv., 210), "that General Washington did not publish this resolve to the army, for, the next day after it was passed, Congress actually adjourned from Philadelphia, to assemble again in Baltimore." The resolution was transmitted to Washington by the secretary of Congress, but it does not appear among the published proceedings of that body. [[[Howe's Plans.--Injudicious Disposition of the British Troops.--Augmentation of Washington's Forces.]]] {226}In the mean while, Washington was preparing to strike the enemy. General Howe, the commander-in-chief of the British forces, remained in New York, and the operations in New Jersey were under the control and direction of Lord Cornwallis. It appears from Howe's dispatches * that he did not contemplate pursuing the Americans further than the Delaware, but designed sending a strong force up the Hudson to meet Burgoyne, who was to penetrate the country from Canada. Cornwallis urged the capture of Philadelphia as a paramount measure, and Howe consented. Yet, with all his vigilance and skill, the arrangement of the British army in the Jerseys was not creditable to the sagacity of Cornwallis. It was scattered in detachments along an extended line. A body of Hessians, under Colonel Hall, was stationed at Trenton, and another, under Count Donop, was posted at Bordentown. The English troops were divided into a chain of cantonments, extending from New Brunswick to the Delaware, and down that river to a point below Burlington. Small detachments were also stationed at Black Horse and Mount Holly. Cornwallis looked with such contempt upon the weak and scattered forces of Washington, and was so certain of an easy victory beyond the Delaware, where, rumor informed him, the people were almost unanimous in favor of the king, that he did not regard great vigilance as necessary. He had returned to head-quarters at New York; and so confident were the British generals that the contest would be ended by taking possession of Philadelphia, that Cornwallis had prepared to sail for England on leave of absence. ** His military stores were chiefly at New Brunswick, and there was his strongest detachment. Lee's division, under Sullivan, and the regiments from Ticonderoga, united with Washington on the 21 st. The increased pay of officers, the proffered bounties to the[[December, 1776]] soldiers, and the great personal influence of the commander-in-chief, had the effect to retain in the service, for a few weeks at least, more than one half of the old soldiers. The militia of Pennsylvania turned out with considerable alacrity; and on the 24th, between five and six thousand Americans were gathered around the standard of Washington. *** The commander-in-chief's head-quarters were at Newtown, a little village on a small branch of the Nesharning, two miles northeast from Bristol. **** There were about fifteen hundred Hesssians and a troop of British light horse at Trenton; these Washington determined to surprise. The posts at Mount Holly, Burlington, Black Horse, and Bordentown were to be attacked, at the same time, by the Pennsylvania militia, under Generals Cadwallader (v) and Ewing, the former to cross near Bristol, the latter below Trenton Falls; while Washington, leading the main body of the Continental troops in person, assisted by Generals Sullivan and Greene, and Colonel Knox of the ar- * Parliamentary Register, xi., p. 260, 362. ** Ramsay says that Colonel Rail, being under some apprehension for the safety of Trenton, applied to General Grant for a re-enforcement. That officer, partaking of the confidence of others, said to the messenger, "Tell the colonel he is very safe. I will undertake to keep the peace in New Jersey with a corporal's guard." *** By the adjutant's return on the 22d of December, the army of Washington amounted to ten thousand one hundred and six men. Of this number, five thousand three hundred and ninety-nine were sick, on command elsewhere, or on furlough, leaving an effective force of four thousand seven hundred and seven. To these must be added the effective men of Lee's division and the Pennsylvania militia. **** Washington occupied the house now (1848) owned by Dr. Lee, on the west side of the creek; General Greene was at the large brick house, now Hough's Hotel; and General Mercer was at Mr. Keith's, a little out of the town. It is related that on the morning of the day when the Americans marched to M'Conkey's Ferry, General Mercer told Mrs. Keith that he dreamed, the previous night, that he had been attacked and overpowered by a huge black bear. Mercer was killed by the British and Hessians at Princeton a few days afterward, and those who knew of his dream superstitiously regarded it, as a premonition of his fate. * (v) John Cadwallader was a native of Philadelphia. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Convention in 1775. He entered the army, and was appointed brigadier by Congress in February, 1777. He participated in the battles of Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. He fought a duel with General Conway, the quarrel which led to it growing out of the intrigue of that officer with Gates and others against Washington. Conway was badly, but not mortally wounded. Cadwallader removed to Maryland after the war, and became a member of its State Legislature. He died on the 10th of February, 1786, aged forty-three years. He was a gentleman of large fortune, and dispensed its blessings with a liberal hand. He has many descendants in Philadelphia and vicinity. [[[Successful Diversion, by Putnam, in favor of Washington.--The American Army cross the Delaware on Christmas Night.]]] {227}tillery, was to cross the Delaware at M'Conkey's Ferry, and march down upon the enemy at Trenton. The river yet remained quite free from ice, and every thing seemed auspicious. Unknown to General Washington, Putnam, who had been made acquainted with the design of attacking Trenton, sent Colonel Griffin, with a body of four hundred and fifty militia, across from Philadelphia into New Jersey, to make a diversion in favor of the Trenton expedition. Griffin was instructed to proceed to Mount Holly, for the purpose of attracting the attention of Colonel Donop at Bordentown. He was ordered not to fight, but to retreat down the river when the enemy should appear. This movement had the desired effect. Donop, who should have been near enough to support Colonel Rall, * moved against Griffin with his whole force of two thousand men; and so dilatory was he in his marches after the retreat of the Americans, that it was two days before he returned to his post. ** Christmas night was selected by Washington for the execution of the enterprise. He well knew the German habit of celebrating that day with feasting and drinking, and reasoned wisely on the probability of a large portion of the Hessians being half disabled by intemperate indulgence. The division with which Washington was to cross the Delaware consisted of two thousand four hundred men, with twenty pieces of artillery. At dusk they paraded [[December 25, 1776]] at M'Conkey's Ferry (now Taylorsville), expecting to reach Trenton by midnight. The cold weather of the twenty-four hours preceding put serious obstacles in the way. The river was so full of floating ice that at first it was doubtful whether a crossing could be effected at all. A storm of sleet and snow had just commenced, and the night became excessively dark and dreary. The perilous voyage began early in the evening, in boats and bateaux, but it was nearly four o'clock in the morning before the little army was mustered on the Jersey shore. *** Washington there separated his troops into two divisions, one to march by the lower, or river road, the other by the upper, or Pennington road. The distance to Trenton by each highway was about equal. The commander-in-chief ordered both divisions, immediately on forcing the out-guards, to push directly into the town, that they might charge the enemy before they had time to form. To surprise them before daylight was out of the question; sudden movements and physical force must supply the place of strategy. Washington, accompanied by Generals Lord Stirling, Greene, Mercer, and Stevens, commanded the division on the upper road; Sullivan led that upon the river road. Both divisions marched so silently that they were not discovered by the enemy until within a short distance of the picket-guards on the outskirts of the village. Each encountered the out-guards at the same time, and a brisk skirmish ensued; the pickets of the enemy firing from behind houses while retreating to the main body into the town, closely pursued by the Americans. The Hessian drums beat to arms, and in a few moments the disordered ranks were marshaled into battle order by the brave Colonel Rall. Part of Washington's division pushed down King (now Warren) Street, and a part down Queen (now Greene) Street. Sullivan's division entered by the mansions of Colonels Dickinson and Rutherford, through Second and Front Streets. By this disposition of the patriot forces at the time of the attack, the enemy were hemmed in by the Assanpink, or Assumpink (a considerable stream running through the town), on the south, and the invading troops. At the head of King Street, Captain Forest opened a six-gun battery, which commanded the avenue. Captain William A. Washington, and Lieutenant James Monroe, **** perceiving that the enemy were * The name of this officer is spelled, by different writers, Rohl, Ralle, Roll, Rhalle, Rhal, Rahl, Rawle, Rall. ** Gordon, ii., 152. Stedman, i., 231. *** Among the most prominent and active men engaged in ferrying the army, tradition has preserved the names of Uriah Slack, William Green, and David Laning. **** Captain Washington was afterward greatly distinguished as colonel of a corps of cavalry in the campaigns of the South. James Monroe was afterward President of the United States. Both officers were slightly wounded while performing this exploit. [[[The Battle in Trenton.--Colonel Rail mortally Wounded.--Capture of the Hessians.]]] {228}endeavoring to form a battery in the same street, near where the canal feeder now crosses the way, rushed forward with a small party, drove the artillery-men from their guns, and captured two of the pieces just as the gunners were about to fire. [Illustration: 9236] These were the first decided movements of the belligerents at the moment of surprise. When Colonel Rhall had formed his men for action, he attempted to advance and repel his assailants; but, being completely hemmed in, and his troops panic-stricken, all was confusion. [Illustration: 8236] The Americans were pressing closer and closer, and with deadly aim were thinning the Hessian ranks. At length a bullet mortally wounded Colonel Rhall, and he fell from his horse, pale and bleeding. His aids and servant bore him to his quarters at the house of a Quaker named Stacey Potts, while Lieutenant-colonel Scheffer, his next in command, took his place at the head of the troops. But all order was at an end. Seeing their commander fall, the Hessians fled in dismay, the main body attempting to escape by the road to Princeton. Their retreat was cut off by Colonel Hand, with a body of Pennsylvania riflemen. The fugitives, ignorant of the smallness of the force that stood in their way, and having the enthusiasm of only the mercenary soldier, threw down their arms and implored mercy. * The light horse and some infantry, in all about six hundred, fled, at the first alarm, to Bordentown. These would have fallen into Washington's hands, had not the * Explanation of the plan.--This map shows the country around Trenton, and the military operations there at the close of 1776 and commencement of 1777. h shows the position of Hand's rifle corps on the 26th of December, where they stopped the retreat of the Hessians; i, the Virginia troops; k, the Hessians; wi, m, m, skirmishes, January 2d; n, a, Cornwallis, January 3d. ** The warmest of the conflict took place near the junction of Warren and Perry Streets, and the Presbyterian church in Second Street. The enemy laid down their arms on the field between the Presbyterian church and Park Place, then called the Old Iron-works. *** This is a frame building standing upon Warren Street, opposite Perry, near the corner of Bank Alley. The buildings on the left are also of ante-Revolutionary origin. This house was a tavern at the time, kept by Stacey Potts, the grandfather of Stacey G. and Joseph C. Potts, Esqrs., of Trenton. In a pane of glass, in the front window on the left of the front door, lower story, may be seen a hole made by a bullet, shot during the battle. Colonel Rall died in the front room in the second story, immediately over this window. It is related that a daughter of Mr. Potts, who was at a neighbor's when the firing commenced, was running toward her father's house, when a musket-ball struck her comb from her head and slightly injured her scalp. [[[Complete Victory of the Americans.--Washington's Visit to the dying Rall.--Parole of Honor signed by the Hessian Officers.]]] {229}ice and high wind prevented General James Ewing * from crossing the Delaware at Trenton as previously arranged. The troops at Bordentown, under Donop, might also have been captured if Cadwallader could have crossed, with his force, at Bristol. He succeeded in landing a battalion of infantry, but the ice on the margin of the river was in such a condition that it was impossible to get the artillery across. The infantry were ordered back, and the design was abandoned. The victory of the Americans at Trenton was complete. They lost in the engagement only two privates killed, and two others who were frozen to death. The enemy lost six officers and between twenty and thirty men killed, and twenty-three officers and eight hundred and eighty-six non-commissioned officers and privates made prisoners. In addition to these, many others were found concealed in houses and secured, making the whole number of prisoners about one thousand. The trophies were six brass field-pieces, a thousand stand of arms, twelve drums, and four colors. Among the latter was the splendid flag of the Anspachers. ** As the enemy were in the vicinity in greatly superior numbers and appointments, Washington thought it prudent to recross the Delaware, with his prisoners and spoils, into Pennsylvania. At evening they all marched to M'Conkey's Ferry, and reached the place of the American encampment on the other side before midnight of the day of victory. *** Just before leaving Trenton, Washington and Greene visited the dying Hessian commander at his quarters, and, with a heart overflowing with generous emotions in that hour of splendid triumph, the American chief offered the brave Rall those consolations which a soldier and a Christian can bestow. This kindness and attention from his conqueror soothed the agonies of the expiring hero. The remembrance of the deed seems to play like an electric spark around the pen of the historian while recording it. Well-attested tradition says that Colonel Rall and his troops were, as Washington supposed they would be, yet under the influence of a night's carousal after the Christmas holiday. On the morning of the battle, Rall was at the house of Abraham Hunt, who _traded_ with friend and foe. Hunt was sometimes suspected of being a Tory, but never of being a * The name of this officer is variously given. Washington in his dispatch to the President of Congress, wrote it Ewing; Marshall, in his Life of Washington, spells it Irvine; Wilkinson, In his Memoirs, has it Irvin; Botta, Irvin; and Gordon, Erwing. Ewing is the correct name. He was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1736. He commenced his military career under Braddock in 1755, and was with that general when he was slain. He was a brigadier general of the Pennsylvania militia at the commencement of the Revolution, but did not enter the regular army. He was vice-president of the commonwealth, under President Dickinson, in 1782, and was several times member of the State Legislature. He died at his country-seat, in Hellam township in March, 1806, aged seventy years. ** The regiments which surrendered were those of Anspach, Knyphausen, and Rall. The flag here alluded to is in the possession of George Washington Parke Custis, Esq., of Arlington House, Virginia, who has deposited it, with the flag surrendered at Yorktown, and other relics, in the museum at Alexandria, Virginia. Drawings, with descriptions of these flags, will be found in another part of this work. *** At the head-quarters of Washington, at Newtown, the captive Hessian officers signed the following parole of honor. I copied it, with the accompanying signatures, from the original among Gates's papers, in the collections of the New York Historical Society. *** "We, the Subscribers, Hessian Officers, made Prisoners of War by the American Army, under Command of his Excellency, General Washington, at Trenton, on the 26th inst., being allowed Our Liberty, under such Restrictions as to place as may be from time to time appointed, do give Our parole of Honour, that we will remain at the place, and within the limits appointed for us by his Excellency the General, the Honorable Congress, Council of Safety, or Commissary of Prisoners of War, Peaceably behaving ourselves, and by no way Send or give Intelligence to the British or Hessian Army, or speak or do any thing disrespectful or Injurious to the American States while we remain Prisoners of War. [[[Colonel Rail's fatal Carousal.--Names and Signatures of the Hessian Officers attached to the Parole.]]] {230}true Whig. He had invited Colonel Rhall and others to a Christmas supper at his house. Cards were introduced, and play continued throughout the night, accompanied with wine-drinking. [Illustration: 0238] A negro servant was kept as a sort of porter and warden at the door. Just at dawn, a messenger came in haste with a note to Colonel Rall, sent by a Tory on the Pennington road, who had discovered the approach of the Americans. The negro refused admittance to the messenger, saying, "The gemmen can't be disturbed." The bearer knew the importance of the note, and, handing it to the negro, ordered him to carry it immediately to Colonel Rail. Excited by wine, and about to "deal," the colonel thrust the note into his pocket. Like the Theban polemarch, who, in the midst of a convivial party, on receiving dispatches relative to a conspiracy, refused to open them, saying, "Business to-morrow," Rall did not look at the message, but continued his amusement. Soon afterward, the roll of the American drums fell upon his drowsy ear. The rattle of musketry, the rumble of heavy gun-carriages, and the tramp of horses aroused his apprehensions, and by the time he could fly to his quarters and mount his horse, the Americans were driving his soldiers before them like chaff.' "Business to-day--pleasure to-morrow," is the motto of all vigilance and thrift. "We will also restrain our Servants and Attendants who are allowed to remain with us, as far as in our power, to the same Conditions. "Newtown, December 30th, 1776." * Stedman (a British officer) says that the Hessians felt themselves so secure at Trenton that they neglected almost every service necessary for security. "When Rhalle," he says, "endeavored to collect his troops, many of his men were absent on pillaging parties; and those who were on the spot were more busily employed in securing their plunder in wagons than in putting the town in a proper state of defense."--History of the American War, i., 332. [[[Retreat of the Enemy from Bordentown.--Their Line of Posts broken up.--Good Effect of the Victory at Trenton.]]] {231}When the British and Hessians at Bordentown heard of the disaster at Trenton, most of them retreated to Princeton, while a few fled toward South Amboy and Brunswick. [Illustration: 0239] * This is a copy, by permission, of a picture by Flagg, the possession of Joseph C. Potts. Esq., of Trenton. On the left is seen Generals Washington and Greene; in the center is Mrs. Potts, and near her stands her husband. On the left Colonel Rall reclines upon a couch, and behind him, supporting his pillow, is his servant. I was informed that the portrait of Rall was painted from a description given by a person who knew him, and who pronounced the likeness good, as he remembered him. Generals Cadwallader and Mifflin crossed over into New Jersey, with a considerable force, and the whole line of the enemy's cantonments along the Delaware was broken up and driven into the interior. This bold stroke, resulting in brilliant success, was the hinge upon which the cause of the Americans seemed to turn. The English, who had regarded the patriots with contempt, and believed their power to be utterly broken, were overwhelmed with astonishment. The Tories and pliant Whigs, lately so exultant and loyal, were greatly alarmed and silent; while the friends of liberty, rising from the depths of despondency, stood erect in the pride and strength of their principles, and confident of ultimate complete success. The prestige of the Hessian name was broken, and the terror which they inspired, as foes invincible, passed away. The faltering militia flocked with eagerness to the standard of Washington; and many of the soldiers of the campaign, who were about to leave the army with disgust, joyfully enlisted. Cornwallis, who was on the eve of departure for England, believing the rebellion virtually at an end, was ordered back to New Jersey. General Grant, who was with the main army at New Brunswick, advanced to Princeton, and the British forces in the Jerseys were as much concentrated in the direction of Trenton as circumstances would allow. While Washington was achieving the victory at Trenton, the Continental Congress, sitting in Baltimore, were taking measures to strengthen his hands. The extreme jealousy of a military ascendency, which had hitherto restrained the majority in Congress from giving the commander-in-chief such ample powers as necessity manifestly demanded, now yielded Washington made a military Dictator. He Re-crosses the Delaware to Occupy Trenton. Efficient Aid by Robert Morris. {232}to expediency, and, by a resolution adopted on the 27th of December, before they could [[1776]]possibly have heard of the affair at Trenton, they constituted Washington, in all respects, a Dictator, in the old Roman sense of the term. * Inspirited by his success at Trenton, the panic of the enemy, and their retirement from the Delaware; his army strengthened by new recruits and the junction of the militia who had guarded the#lower posts on the river, Washington determined to recross the Delaware and occupy Trenton, and then make such offensive movements against the British as prudence [[December, 1776]] should dictate. This he accomplished on the 30th. The term of service of a large portion of the Eastern militia was now about expiring. He prevailed on them to remain six weeks longer, by promising to each soldier a bounty of ten dollars. The military chest was not in a condition to permit him to fulfill his promise, and he wrote to Robert Morris, the great patriot financier of the Revolution, for aid, pleading the urgent necessity of the case. It was necessary to have hard money, and the sum was large. The requirement seemed almost impossible to meet. Government credit was low, but confidence in Robert Morris was unbounded. In a desponding spirit, unusual for him, Morris left his counting-room at a late hour, musing upon the probabilities of meeting the demand. On his way he met a wealthy Quaker, and made known his wants. "Robert, what security canst thou give?" asked the Quaker. "My note, and my honor," promptly replied Morris. "Thou shalt have it," was the answer; and the next morning Robert Morris wrote to Washington, "I was up early this morning to dispatch a supply of fifty thousand dollars to your excellency. It gives me great pleasure that you have engaged the troops to continue; and if further occasional supplies of money are necessary, you may depend on my exertions either in a public or private capacity." *** Washington, on reaching Trenton, and advised [[January 2, 1777]] of the approach of Cornwallis with a strong force from Princeton, encamped on the south side of the Assanpink (now in South Trenton), upon the high ground extending eastward from a small bridge that spanned the stream. He took this position in order to place the stream between himself and the advancing enemy. The American force, one half of which was composed of undisciplined militia, was only about five thousand strong; while that of the enemy was equally large, composed almost exclusively of British regulars, * The following is the preamble and resolution: "This Congress, having maturely considered the present crisis, and having perfect reliance on the wisdom, vigor, and uprightness of General Washington, do hereby "Resolve. That General Washington shall be, and he is hereby, vested with full, ample, and complete powers to raise and collect together, in the most speedy and effectual manner, from any or all of these United States, sixteen battalions of infantry, in addition to those already voted by Congress; to appoint officers for the said battalions of infantry; to raise, officer, and equip three thousand light horse, three regiments of artillery, and a corps of engineers, and to establish their pay; to apply to any of the states for such aid of the militia as he shall judge necessary; to form such magazines, and in such places, as he shall think proper; to displace and appoint all officers under the rank of brigadier general, and to fill up all vacancies in every other department in the American army; to take, wherever he may be, whatever he may want for the use of the army, if the inhabitants will not sell it, allowing a reasonable price for the same; to arrest and confine persons who refuse to take the Continental currency, or are otherwise disaffected to the American cause, and return to the states of which they are citizens their names, and the nature of their offenses, together with the witnesses to prove them. "That the foregoing powers be vested in General Washington for and during the term of six months from the date hereof, unless sooner determined by Congress."--Journals of Congress, ii., 475. This resolve was transmitted to Washington by the committee of Congress who remained in Philadelphia when that body adjourned to Baltimore. "Happy is it for this country," they wrote to Washington, "that the general of their forces can safely be intrusted with the most unlimited power, and neither personal security, liberty, nor property be in the least degree endangered thereby."---MS. letter, Dec. 31s£, 1776, quoted by Sparks, iv., 552. When Congress adjourned, on the 12th, they gave Washington equal powers, but did not define them. ** Morris had sent Washington a small sum of money two days before, and these transactions are doubtless those alluded to by the writer of the life of Robert Morris, in the fifth volume of the Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, who erroneously says, that "it (the money) enabled General Washington to gain the signal victory over the hireling Hessians at Trenton," &e. The sum sent on the 28th of December was 410 Spanish dollars, two English crowns, half a French erown, and ten and a half English shillings. [[[Approach of Cornwallis toward Trenton.--Battles at Trenton Bridge and the Ford.--The Americans in Peril.]]] {233}thoroughly disciplined. Washington sent out strong parties, under General Greene, to harass the enemy on their march, and it was almost sunset before Cornwallis reached Trenton. [Illustration: 9241] The Americans retreated before him, and it was with difficulty that they passed over the bridge to the main army. * The bridge, and the ford above, where the rail-way now crosses, were strongly guarded by artillery. Cornwallis drew up his army in solid column, and, marching down Queen (now Greene) Street, attempted to force the bridge, but was three times repulsed by the American cannon. A strong detachment also attempted to cross the ford, and get in the rear of the patriots; but they, too, were forced back by the vigorous action of cannon and small-arms. The Americans kept up a heavy cannonade until dark, when the British fell back in confusion, having lost many men. ** At each repulse, the Americans raised a loud shout along their lines; and at last, Cornwallis, believing their force to be much greater than it really was, ceased hostilities, lighted his camp-fires, and awaited the morning for further movements. Washington and his army were now in a most critical situation. It was evident that a general engagement must take place the next day, and, in such a conflict, the result in favor of the enemy could hardly be considered doubtful. The commander-in-chief, as usual, called a council of war. The alternative first proposed was a retreat down the Delaware and a passage across the river at Philadelphia, or a battle on the spot. Both were considered extremely hazardous. Washington then proposed a stealthy withdrawal from the Assanpink, and a circuitous march to Princeton, to get in the enemy's rear, beat up his quarters at that place, and, if circumstances should be favorable, to fall upon his stores at New Brunswick. This proposition was approved; but the ground, on account of a thaw, was too soft to permit an easy transit of their forty pieces of cannon. This was a serious difficulty. While the council was in session, the wind changed to the northwest, and became so exceedingly cold that within two hours the ground was as hard as a pavement: the great difficulty was overcome by a power mightier than that of man. The favorable moment was speedily improved. Along the front of his army Washington lighted numerous camp-fires, made of the fences in the neighborhood. These were evidence to the enemy that his antagonist was encamped for the night; and Cornwallis assured Sir William Erskine, who urged him to make an attack that evening, that he would certainly "catch the fox [meaning Washing- * See a notice of Mr. Howland, of Providence, in connection with this event, on page 63. ** I have not met with any official account of the number killed on this occasion. A writer in the Connecticut Journal of January 22, 1777, says the enemy were "obliged to retreat and give over the attempt, after suffering great loss, supposed at least 150 killed." In a minute account by an eye-witness, published in the Princeton Whig of November 4, 1842, the writer says "the creek was nearly filled with their dead." *** This view is from the north side of the Assanpink, a few rods above the bridge, looking south. The bridge, seen upon the right, is built of stone, and very strong, and is upon the site of the old one. The creek is curbed by a dam near the bridge, and forms the sheet of water seen in the picture. The old "Stacey Mill" of the Revolution, the largest building in the sketch, was quite dilapidated from the effects of fire and flood, when I was there. The two old houses on the left of it are of stone, covered with stucco, and were there at the time in question. On the bank, between them and the house of Mr. Timothy Abbott, seen on the extreme left, was a building used as a tavern, in the Revolution. It was demolished a few years ago. Along the high bank, from the mill eastward to the rail-way, now covered with houses and gardens, and also westward, some distance toward the Delaware, the Americans were encamped. The bank was being terraced when I visited Trenton, and will, in time, be a beautiful spot. [[[Cornwallis Out-generaled.--March of the Americans toward Princeton.--Their Approach discovered by the Enemy.]]] {234}ton] in the morning." Great was his astonishment and alarm at dawn to find the patriot camp-fires still burning, but not a man, nor hoof, nor tent, nor cannon there. All was silent and dreary on the south side of the Assanpink; and no man of the British army knew whither the Americans had fled, until the din of battle in the direction of Princeton came faintly upon the keen morning air at sunrise. [Illustration: 9242] Cornwallis heard the booming of cannon, and, although mid-winter, he thought it was the rumbling of distant thunder. The quick ear of Erskine decided otherwise, and he exclaimed, "To arms, general! Washington has out-_generaled_ us. Let us fly to the rescue at Princeton!" At one o'clock in the morning Washington had silently withdrawn his army from Trenton, and made his way, along a new road, * toward Princeton, ten miles distant. This circuitous route was taken to avoid a detachment of the enemy lying at Maidenhead, on the direct road to Princeton. The baggage was sent down to Burlington. The commander-in-chief ordered his camp-fires to be kept burning, and the patrols to march their accustomed rounds until near daylight, when those who fed the flames, and also the patrols, were directed to retreat hastily to the main body. The movement was made with great skill and order, for the pickets of both armies on the Assanpink were within speaking distance of each other when the fires were lighted and the guards set. Proceeding by the way of Sandtown (see map on page 228), Washington reached the upper bridge over Stony Brook, near Princeton, a little before sunrise, and arranged his column near the Quaker meeting-house. A brigade of the enemy, under Lieutenant-colonel Mawhood, consisting of the seventeenth, fortieth, and fifty-fifth regiments, with three troops of dragoons, had quartered in Princeton the previous night; and at the moment of Washington's arrival, two of the regiments had commenced their march for Trenton, to re-enforce Cornwallis. The main body of the Americans, after crossing Stony Brook, wheeled to the right, and advanced cautiously along a by-road, through low grounds, directly for Princeton. General Mercer, having under him Captains Stone, Fleming, Neal and others, with about three hundred and fifty men, many of them youths belonging to the first families in Philadelphia, was detached to take possession of the lower bridge at Worth's Mill, on the old highway to Trenton. This movement had a three-fold object; the securing of the bridge, the interception of fugitives from Princeton, and the checking of any retrograde movement of the rear of Cornwallis's army. It was an exceedingly clear, cold, and brilliant morning; every thing was jeweled with the hoar frost. As the Americans emerged from behind a piece of woods a little south of the Quaker meeting-house, their arms glittering in the bright sun, they were discovered by the seventeenth regiment of the enemy, then under march upon a hill (now Millett's) on the old Trenton road. Washington observed the enemy at the same moment, and both commanders prepared for an encounter. Mawhood wheeled both his regiments and recrossed the bridge, just as Mercer, by a quick movement, reached it. Both parties, by rapid evo- * The venerable Mr. Howland, of Rhode Island, already mentioned, who was with the army in this retreat, informed me that their progress was very much retarded by the stumps of trees in this new road. Many were bruised by stumbling over them, and some of the wheels of the baggage-trains were broken. This is known as the Quaker Road. But for this necessary slowness of march, the Americans would have reached Princeton before dawn, and very probably been able to push on and capture the British stores at New Brunswick. ** This aneient stone building (1 on the map of the Princeton battle, page 235) is yet standing, and used by the Quakers as a place of worship. This sketch is from the yard in front, looking north. The woods behind which the Americans marched, after crossing the bridge, yet remain; and Stony Brook, made subservient to the wants of the Delaware and Raritan Canal, as a feeder, is but little changed since its music was mingled with the din of battle. [[[First Skirmish near Princeton.--Effect of British Bayonets.--Dispersion of the Americans.--Washington on the Field.]]] {235}lutions, endeavored to get possession of the high ground on the right, toward Princeton, and westward of the house of William Clark. Mercer, with his troops, soon reached the house and orchards of Clark, a little eastward of the present turnpike, when, perceiving the British line approaching from the opposite side of the height, he pushed through the orchard to a hedge fence, from behind which his riflemen discharged a deadly volley. [Illustration: 8243] It was quickly returned by the enemy, who instantly charged. The Americans were armed only with rifles, and could not withstand the furious attack of British bayonets. After the third fire, they abandoned the fence, broke, and fled in disorder. The enemy pursued the flying patriots until they came to the brow of the slope, near Clark's, when, for the first time, they discovered the American column of regulars, and the Pennsylvania militia, commanded by Washington in person, advancing to the support of Mercer. The flying Americans were checked and speedily arranged in battle order. Captain Moulder's artillery formed in battery on the right of Thomas Clark's house, about a quarter of a mile south of the scene of the first conflict. Mawhood discovered the commanding form of Washington passing from column to column, and bringing order out of confusion. He immediately ceased pursuit, and, drawing up his artillery, attempted to charge and take Moulder's battery. The effort was vain. Being dreadfully galled by the grape-shot of the patriots, and perceiving Hitchcock's and another Continental regiment advancing from behind the American column, Mawhood wheeled, and retreated toward the high ground in the rear, leaving his artillery upon the field. These the Americans were unable to carry off, on account of a want of horses. The action con- * Note.--This plan of the battle of Princeton I copied from a large drawing in the library of Princeton College, made from surveys by Professor Albert B. Dod, and drawn by W. A. Dod and S. B. Alexander. Explanation of the References.--a, head of the American column when first seen by the British; 6, head of column after Mercer's engagement; o, retreat of the British; **, pursuit of the Americans; 1, Quaker meeting-house; 2, Clark's house, where Mercer died; 3, 4, the British seventeenth regiment; 5, 6, Mercer beginning the battle; 7, 8, the seventeenth attempting to dislodge Moulder; 9, 10, Pennsylvania militia under Washington; 11, Hitchcock's regiment; 13, display of Continentals; 14, Nassau Hall, or Princeton College, in the village; 15, Richard Stockton's residence, and Cornwallis's head-quarters for a time; 16, Worth's Mill, on Stony Brook; 17, Millett's, the position of the seventeenth regiment at sunrise; 18, the fortieth and fifty-fifth regiments of the British retreating, after the action, toward Rocky Hill. The rail-way station is seen upon the Delaware and Raritan Canal, southeast of Princeton village. [[[General Mercer mortally Wounded by Bayonets.--His Bravery till the Last.--Place of his Death.--View of the Battle-ground.]]] {236}tinued only about fifteen minutes, but was very severe. Washington was exposed to the hottest fire, while encouraging the militia by voice and example. General Mercer dismounted after the first fire, the gray horse he was riding having been disabled by a musket-ball that wounded his fore leg; and while on foot, endeavoring to rally his broken troops, he was felled to the ground by a blow from a musket dealt by a British soldier. [Illustration: 0244] When his rank was discovered, the enemy, believing it to be Washington, raised an exulting shout, and cried, "The rebel general is taken!" Several rushed to the spot, exclaiming, "Call for quarters, you d--d rebel!" "I am no rebel," cried Mercer, indignantly, while half a dozen bayonets Were at his breast; and, instead of calling for quarter, he determined to die fighting. He struck several blows at his enemies with his sword, when they bayoneted him and left him for dead. **Upon the retreat of the British, General Mercer was conveyed to the house of Thomas Clark (now John Clark's), then a new building, where he was tenderly nursed by the late Miss Sarah Clark, of the Society of Friends, and a colored woman belonging to the family. He [[January, 1777]] languished in great pain until the 12th, when he expired in the arms of Major * This view, looking north, is from the carriage gate of Mr. John Clarke, owner of the house in which General Mercer died, whieh is situated about seventy rods from the Trenton turnpike. That dwelling is represented in the foreground of the picture, on the extreme right. The distant view includes almost the whole field of action. Near the center of the picture, over the head of the dark figure, is seen the house of William Clark, and his out-buildings. The barn, a little more to the left, with a tree in front, is upon the spot from whence Mereer rushed forward to the hedge-fence. That fence was upon the line of the present turnpike, denoted in the sketch by the fence passing down the slope beyond the large tree on the extreme left. The "high ground" for whieh both parties were aiming, to seeure advantage, is seen in the extreme distance. The dark spot between the tree in the second field and the barn denotes the spot where Mereer fell. The house of William Clark, in the distance, is about a quarter of a mile from the one in the foreground, where Mercer died. The hollow between the two houses was the space between the belligerents when Washington advanced to the support of Mercer. The place of conflict is about a mile and a quarter south of Princeton. The turnpike passes directly through it. ** The story went abroad, at that time, that General Mercer was cruelly bayoneted after he had delivered up his sword; but his dying assertion that he did not give up his weapon until he was powerless to wield it, exonerates the British soldiery from this foul accusation. [[[Loss of the Americans.--Death of General Mercer.--His Monument.--Skirmish near Nassau Hall in Princeton]]] {237}George Lewis, a nephew of Washington, and captain of the horse guards. * Dr. Benjamin Rush was also with him until he died. ** The loss of the Americans in this engagement was about thirty, among whom, besides General Mercer, were Colonels Harslet and Potter, Major Morris, Captains Shippen, Fleming, and Neal, all officers of much promise. [Illustration: 9245] The loss of General Mercer was irreparable. He had been a companion in arms with Washington in the campaign against the French and Indians in 1755, and was greatly beloved by all. Highly educated, patriotic, brave, and noted for strict integrity, he was regarded as one of the most promising of the general officers with whom the chief was associated. He fell at the moment of victory, for the next instant the shout of success from American lips greeted his ear. Among those of the enemy, mortally wounded, was Captain William Leslie, a son of the Scotch Earl of Levin, of whom mention is made in the note on page 332, vol. i. The broken and routed seventeenth regiment fled to the Trenton road, crossed the bridge, and hastened to join Cornwallis, who had been brought forward with great haste by the firing. Washington pushed on to Princeton, and in a ravine near the college encountered a sharp resistance from the fifty-fifth regiment. This corps was also routed, and fled toward Brunswick, accompanied by the fortieth, which took little part in the action. In the college buildings at Princeton (which, with the Presbyterian church, had been used for bar- * Washington first heard that Mercer was killed on the battle-field, and it was not until he reached Somerset Court-house that he was apprised of the true situation of that officer. He immediately dispatched young Lewis, with a flag to Cornwallis, requesting that every possible attention might be paid to the wounded general, and asking permission for Lewis to remain with him. Cornwallis cheerfully complied with the request. ** On the 14th of January, 1777, the body of General Mercer was conveyed to Philadelphia, and buried in Christ Church-yard. Over it was placed a plain marble slab, with the simple inscription, In memory of Gen. Hugh Mercer, who fell at Princeton, Jan. 3d, 1777." There his dust reposed until 1840, when his countrymen of the St. Andrew's and the Thistle Society removed his remains to Laurel Hill Cemetery, and erected a beautiful marble monument to his memory, near the chapel. The funeral ceremonies took place on the 26th of November. William B. Reed, Esq., pronounced a eulogium on the occasion. The pall was borne by Commodores Read, Biddle, and Stewart, and Colonel Miller. The First Troop of City Cavalry, which took part in the battle of Princeton, composed the guard of honor. There are no survivors of the original corps. The monument was made by John Struthers and Son, Philadelphia, and bears the following inscriptions, which give the most important incidents of his public life. East side, or principal front: "Dedicated to the Memory of General Hugh Mercer, who fell for the Sacred Cause of Human Liberty, and American Independence, in the Battle of Princeton. He poured out his blood for a Generous Principle." West side: "General Mercer, a Physician of Fredericksburg, in Virginia, was distinguished for his skill and learning, his gentleness and decision, his refinement and humanity, his elevated honor, and his devotion to the great cause of Civil and Religious Liberty." North side: Monument to General Mercer. "General Mercer, a native of Scotland was an assistant Surgeon in the Battle of Culloden, and the companion of Washington in the Indian Wars of 1755 and 1756. He received a Medal from the Corporation of Philadelphia, for his courage and conduct in the Expedition against the Indian Settlement of Kittaning." * South side: "The St. Andrew's Society of Philadelphia offer this humble tribute to the memory of an illustrious Brother. When a grateful posterity shall bid the trophied memorial rise to the martyrs who sealed with their blood the charter of an Empire's liberties, there shall not be wanted a monument to him whom Washington mourned as the worthy and brave Mercer." General Mercer was about fifty-six years ol age when he was slain. * Dr. Mercer resided at Fredericksburg when the Revolution broke out. He espoused the cause, left his profession, commanded three regiments of minute-men in 1775, and in 1776 drilled and organized large bodies of Virginia militia. On the 5th of June, 1776, Congress gave him the commission of a brigadier. Congress resolved (see Journals, iii., 98) that a monument should be erected to his memory at Fredericksburg, and that his youngest son should be educated at the expense of the Republic. The monument is yet to be erected. The son (Colonel Hugh Mercer, of Fredericksburg) was educated, and yet survives, at the age of about fourscore. [[[Destruction of the King's Portrait in Nassau Hall.--Prisoners taken.--Skirmish at Worth's Mills.--Cornwallis at Princeton.]]] racks by the enemy) there remained a portion of a regiment. Washington drew up some cannon within a short distance of these buildings, and commenced firing upon them. [Illustration: 9246] The first ball, it is said, entered the prayer hall, a room used as a chapel, and passed through the head of a portrait of George the Second, suspended in a large frame upon the wall. After a few discharges, Captain James Moore, of the Princeton militia, with a few others of equal daring, burst open a door of Nassau Hall, and demanded the surrender of the troops within. They instantly complied, and, with several invalids, were made prisoners. At the close of the action at Clark's, where Mawhood, with the seventeenth, was routed, Washington detached a small party, under Major Kelley, of the Pennsylvania militia, to destroy the bridge over Stony Brook, at Worth's Mills. They had scarcely began the work of destruction when the van of the British troops, advancing from Trenton upon Princeton, appeared upon the hill at Millett's. Cornwallis heard the firing in the direction of Princeton, and suspecting the object of his enemy to be the seizure of his stores at New Brunswick, he made a forced march in pursuit, and arrived near Stony Brook just after the first and decisive battle had been fought. When the British discovered the party engaged in demolishing the bridge, they opened upon them a discharge of heavy round-shot, which drove them away; not, however, until the loose planks were thrown into the stream, and the bridge was rendered impassable for the artillery and baggage. Delay was dangerous, perhaps fatal, and Cornwallis ordered the troops to dash into and ford the swollen stream. * [Illustration: 8246] It was almost breast-deep, and half filled with ice; yet the soldiers obeyed, and, in their mail of frozen clothes, hastened on toward Princeton. When near the town, the advanced guard was brought to a halt by the discharge of an iron thirty-two-pounder, which the enemy had left on a temporary breast-work at the west end of the village. ** Cornwallis, apprehending that Washington had determined to make a stand at Princeton, halted his column, and sent out reconnoitering parties of horsemen. In the mean while, a large detachment approached the * Major Kelley continued cutting away a portion of the bridge while the balls of the enemy were menacing his life. He was cutting away a log on which some of the timbers rested, when it gave way sooner than was expected, and he was precipitated into the stream. His men, supposing him to be lost, fled to Princeton. He got out of the water; but his frozen clothes and exhaustion so retarded his progress, that he was made a prisoner by the enemy. ** This cannon is now in the center of the Campus, in the rear of the College of New Jersey, at Princeton. It was one of the pieces which Washington was unable to carry away with him. *** This substantial stone bridge, over Stony Brook, is upon the site of the wooden one destroyed on the 3d of January, 1777. The old mill on the left is now owned by Josiah S. Worth, a son of the proprietor during the Revolution. This sketch was made from the road on the bank of the stream, along which Mercer and his detachment marched to secure the bridge. [[[Disappointment of the Enemy.--The Loss sustained.--Washington's Pursuit.--Fatigue of the Americans.]]] {239}battery cautiously, intending to take it by storm. These movements delayed them an hour, and when they arrived at the breast-work and the village, great was their astonishment and chagrin to find both deserted, and not a _rebel_ in sight! Washington, with his little army and prisoners, was far on his way toward the Millstone Enver, in hot pursuit of the fortieth and fifty-fifth regiments. The battle at Princeton and its results, following closely upon the brilliant affair at Trenton, produced a strong impression upon the public mind favorable to the commander-in-chief and the patriot cause. [Illustration: 8247] Considering the numbers engaged, it was one of the severest conflicts of the war, and in no engagement did the skill and bravery of both parties appear more conspicuously. The enemy lost about one hundred in killed, and three hundred in wounded and prisoners. The loss of the Americans was about one hundred, including several valuable officers. Never was a general more exposed to death than was Washington, when leading the troops to the support of Mercer's riflemen; yet he escaped without a wound. * Washington pursued the fugitive regiments as far as Kingston, beyond the Millstone River, three miles northeast of Princeton. There he held a council of war with his officers, on horseback. The rich prize at New Brunswick was very tempting, and a wish was generally expressed to continue the march thither and secure the British stores. Such a step would have been fatal; for Cornwallis, with fresh troops, and superior in numbers, was in close pursuit; while the Americans, who had fought at Trenton on the 2d, marched all night before the battle of Princeton on the 3d, and had not slept for thirty-six hours, were completely exhausted. More than half of them had not been able to procure breakfast or dinner; many were destitute of shoes or stockings, and in every way were utterly unable to contend with an enemy. To save his army, Washington filed off on the left, at Kingston, along a narrow road running to Rocky Hill. He destroyed the bridge at Kingston, which checked the progress of Cornwallis for some time, and, after having crossed the Millstone twice, he reached Pluckemin that evening. On the way, overcome by fatigue, many soldiers laid down and slept on the frozen ground. Washington remained no longer at Pluckemin than to give his troops rest and refreshments, and then advanced to Morristown, where he established his winter quarters. His subsequent movements, by which New Jersey was soon purged of the enemy, are mentioned on page 307, vol. i. Cornwallis repaired, and then crossed the bridge at Kingston, and, believing Washington to be on the road to New Brunswick, pushed eagerly forward--so eagerly, over the rough * Mr. Custis, in his Recollections of the Life and Character of Washington, gives a graphic picture of the scene when the commander-in-chief brought the militia and riflemen into action. "The discomfited Americans rally on the instant, and form into line. The enemy halt, and dress their line. The American chief is between the adverse posts, as though he had been placed there a target for both. The arms of both are leveled. Can escape from death he possible? Fitzgerald (Washington's aid), horror-struck at the death of his beloved commander, dropped the reins upon his horse's neck, and drew his hat over his face, that he might not see him die. A roar of musketry succeeds, and then a shout. It was the shout of victory. The aid-de-camp ventures to raise his eyes. Oh, glorious sight! the enemy are broken and flying; while dimly, amid the glimpses of the smoke, is seen the chief alive, unharmed, and without a wound, waving his hat, and cheering his comrades to the pursuit. Colonel Fitzgerald, celebrated as one of the finest horsemen in the American army, now dashed his rowels in his charger's flanks, and, heedless of the dead and dying in his way, flew to the side of the chief, exclaiming, 'Thank God! your excellency is safe!' while the favorite aid, a gallant and warm-hearted son of Erin, a man of thews and sinews (and albeit unused to the melting mood), gave loose to his feelings, and wept like a child, for joy. Washington, ever calm amid scenes of the greatest excitement, affectionately grasped the hand of his aid and friend, and then ordered, 'Away, my dear colonel, and bring up the troops; the day is our own!'" [[[Capture of British Baggage-wagons.--Evacuation of New Jersey by the British.--Estimate of Washington's Character in Europe.]]] {240}and frozen roads, that several of his baggage-wagons were broken down. Leaving them in charge of a detachment of between two and three hundred men, * he pressed onward, and reached New Brunswick at sunset. Again the Americans had eluded his pursuit; yet he rejoiced in the safety of his stores. The armed parties frequently sent out by Washington from his hill-quarters were generally successful, and the people, incensed at the bad faith of the English and the depredations of the Hessians, joined the Americans in all their expeditions. The British quarters were straitened, their supplies were cut off', and in a short time New Jersey was evacuated by the enemy. Alluding to these results, the eloquent Charles Botta observes, "Achievements so stirring gained for the American commander a very great reputation, and were regarded with wonder by all nations, as well as by the Americans. The prudence, constancy, and noble intrepidity of Washington was admired and applauded by all. By unanimous consent he was declared to be the savior of his country; all proclaimed him equal to the most renowned commanders of antiquity, and especially distinguished him by the name of the American Fabius. His name was in the mouths of all; he was celebrated by the pens of the most distinguished writers. The most illustrious personages of Europe lavished upon him their praises and their congratulations. ** The American general, therefore, wanted neither a cause full of grandeur to defend, nor occasion for the acquisition of glory, nor genius to avail himself of it, nor the renown due to his triumphs, nor an entire generation of men perfectly well disposed to render him homage." Washington exercised the dictatorial powers which Congress had conferred upon him with energy and great circumspection, and with a single eye to the good of his country. His recommendations were promptly seconded by Congress, and soon great vitality was visible every where. He took care to provide for meritorious officers in his appointments, when organizing the sixteen battalions authorized by Congress. At that time public clamor was strong against Dr. Morgan, * the successor of the traitor, Church, as head of the medical de- * A small company of fifteen or twenty militia, having learned the situation of this baggage, resolved to capture it. After dark, they arranged themselves among the trees, in a semicircular form, around the place where the soldiers were guarding their wagons, and, on a concerted signal, they set up a tremendous shout, and commenced firing. The British, believing the assailants to be as strong in numbers as themselves, and taken completely by surprise, retreated with a few of the wagons that were fit for traveling, and fled to New Brunswick. Those left behind were taken to the American camp, and found to contain, what the army greatly needed, woolen clothes. ** It is said that Frederic the Great of Prussia declared that the achievements of Washington and his little band of compatriots, between the 25th of December and the 4th of January, were the most brilliant of any recorded in the annals of military achievements. *** Morgan afterward procured an inquiry into his conduct by a committee of Congress, and was honorably acquitted. Doctor John Morgan was born in Philadelphia in 1735. He completed his medical studies under Dr. Redman, and entered the army as surgeon and lieutenant during the French and Indian war He went to Europe, to prosecute his studies, in 1760, where he attended the lectures of the celebrated Hunter. He was admitted to the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1764. He returned to Philadelphia in 1765, and was elected professor of the theory and practice of medicine in the medical school founded by Dr. Shippen and others. He was ever active in literary and scientific projects. He, was appointed by Congress director general and physieian-in-chief to the general hospital in 1775, in place of Dr. Church, and immediately repaired to head-quarters at Cambridge. He was removed from office, without just cause, in 1777. * He died October 15, 1789, aged about fifty-four years. Dr. Benjamin Rush was his successor in the professor's ehair.. * The following are the names of the principal officers in the medical department, appointed on the 11th of April, 1777: William Shippen, Jun., director general; Waller Junes, physician general of the hospital in the middle department; Benjamin Rush, surgeon general of the hospital in the middle department; John Cochran, physician and surgeon general of the army in the middle department; Isaac Forster, deputy director general of the hospital in the eastern department; Amini Uuhannah Cutter, physician general of the hospital in the eastern department; Philip Turner, surgeon general of the same; William Burnet, physician and surgeon general of the army in the eastern department; Jonathan Potts, deputy director general of the hospital in the northern department; Malachi Treat, physieian general of the same; Dr. Forque, surgeon general of the same; John Bartlett, physician and surgeon general of the army in the northern department. [[[Appointment of general Officers for the Continental Army.--Its Reorganization.--Visit to the Princeton Battle-ground.]]] {241}partment, and he was dismissed by Congress, and Dr. Shippen, * of Philadelphia, [[January 9, 1777]] was appointed in his place, with Dr. Craik ** as his assistant. On the 19th of February, Stirling, St. Clair, Lincoln, Mifflin, and Stephen were commissioned as major generals; while Arnold, on account of his conduct at Montreal, where he obeyed the injunction "put money in thy purse," at the expense of honor and honesty, was overlooked. This soured him, and doubtless planted the first noxious seed of treason in his heart. During the spring, eighteen new brigadiers *** were commissioned. Four regiments of horse were enlisted, under Colonels Bland, Baylor, Sheldon, and Moylan. Cadwallader and Reed were both, in turn, offered the general command of the horse, but declined. Timothy Pickering was appointed adjutant general in the place of Joseph Reed, who had resigned. Mifflin remained at the head of the quarter-master's department, which was regulated, and more thoroughly organized by the appointment of subalterns. [Illustration: 8249] Congress attempted to reorganize the commissary department, and claimed the right to make subordinate appointments. So much did this new arrangement interfere with the efficiency of the department, that Joseph Trumbull, Jun., commissary general, resigned. The meddling of Congress with the smaller appointments and the minute affairs of chief officers in the various departments of the army, was very mischievous in effect; for the personal friends of members of that body, often incompetent, were appointed to places requiring talent, energy, and honesty. On the whole, however, the army was upon a better footing in the spring of 1777 than it had ever been. I visited Princeton and the battle-grounds subsequently to my tarry at Trenton when on my way south. It was a very cold evening in December when I arrived there [[December 12, 1849]]from Philadelphia, the snow about ten inches deep upon the ground. Early the next morning, in company with Colonel Cumming of Princeton, who kindly offered to accompany me, I rode first to the battle-ground and Clark's house, where General Mercer died, and made the sketch on page 236. The air was very keen, and the snow half-kneedeep, circumstances which were quite unfavorable to deliberate sketching in the open fields. I persevered, however, and was successful in delineating such objects as I desired. From Clark's house we crossed the fields to the Quaker meeting-house, and then rode to the bridge at Worth's Mills, where I made the sketch on page 238. Returning to Princeton on the old Trenton road, we met Mr. Worth, an aged man, and present proprietor of * William Shippen was a graduate of the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, in the class of 1754. He completed his medical education at Edinburgh. He delivered the first lectures on anatomy ever pronounced in America, at Philadelphia, in 1764; and on the finishing of the medical school in that city, he was appointed its first professor of anatomy, in 1765. He first addressed ten students; * he lived to address two hundred and fifty at one time. He was appointed director general of the medical department on the 11th of April, 1777. He resigned his professorship in the medical college, in 1806, into the hands of his colleague, Dr. Wistar. Dr. Shippen died at Germantown, July the 11th, 1808, aged seventy-four years. * James Craik was a native of Scotland. He accompanied Washington in the expedition against the French and Indians in 1754; and in 1755 was with Braddock, and assisted in dressing his wounds. He was director general of the hospital at the, siege of Yorktown, in 1781. After the war, Washington invited him to settle near Mount Vernon, and he was the physician of the patriot chief until his death. He died in Fairfax county, Virginia, February 6, 1814, aged eighty-three years. * These were Poor, of New Hampshire; Glover, Paterson, and Learned, of Massachusetts; Varnum, of Rhode Island; Jedediah Huntington, of Connecticut; George Clinton, ol New York; Wayne, De Hass, Cadwallader, Hand, and Reed, of Pennsylvania; Weeden, Muhlenburg, Woodford, and Scott, of Virginia; Nash, of North Carolina; and Conway, an Irishman by birth, but a Frenchman by education. * Dr. Shippen experienced a great deal of persecution when he first commenced his lectures on anatomy, a good deal of feeling against him having been excited by the utterance of horrid tales respecting his dissections. The public mind was filled with ideas such as made the burden of the Ghost's Complaint: "The body-snatchers! they have come Don't go to weep upon my grave, And made a snatch at me; And think that there I be; It's very hard them kind of men They haven't left an atom there Won't let a body be! Of my anatomy!" [[[Morven, Stockton's Estate.--Desolated by the British.--Sufferings and Death of the Owner.--Annis Stockton.]]] {242}the mill, who gave me a narrative of events there, substantially as related. We stopped at Morven, in the suburbs of Princeton. This is the homestead estate of Commodore Stockton, and the residence, during the Revolution, of his paternal grandfather, Richard Stockton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. [Illustration: 9250] There, affluence and taste lent its power in dispensing its blessings to the poor, and in creating the joys of social intercourse, before the Revolution; there, suffering and woe held terrible rule after Cornwallis and his army swept over the plains of New Jersey. Like others of the signers of the great Declaration, Mr. Stockton was marked for peculiar vengeance by the enemy. So suddenly did the flying Americans pass by in the autumn of 1776, and so soon were the Hessian vultures and their British companions on the trail, that he had barely time to remove his family to a place of safety before his beautiful mansion was filled with rude soldiery. The house was pillaged; the horses and stock were driven away; the furniture was converted into fuel; the choice old wines in the cellar were drank; the valuable library and all the papers of Mr. Stockton were committed to the flames, and the estate was laid waste. The plate had been hastily buried in the woods, in boxes. A treacherous servant revealed their place of concealment, and two of the boxes were disinterred and rifled of their contents; the other was saved. ** Mr. Stockton and his family took refuge with a friend in Monmouth county. His place of concealment was discovered by a party of refugee Loyalists, who entered the house at night, dragged him from his bed, and, treating him with every indignity which malice could invent, hurried him to Amboy, and from thence to New York, where he was confined in the loathsome provost jail. There he suffered dreadfully; and when, through the interposition of Congress, he was released, his constitution was hopelessly shattered, and he did not live to see the independence of his country achieved. He died at Morven, in Princeton, in February, 1781, blessed to the last with the tender and affectionate attentions of his Annis, whom he called "the best of women." *** Night and day she was at his bed-side, and when his spirit was about to depart, she wrote, impromptu, several verses, of which the following is indicative of her feelings:= ```"Oh, could I take the fate to him assign'd, ````And leave the helpless family their head, ```How pleased, how peaceful to my lot resign'd. ````I'd quit the nurse's station for the bed!"= Morven is a beautiful spot, and, hallowed by such associations, it is exceedingly attractive to the resident and stranger. * This sketeh is from the lawn in front, which is shaded by venerable pines and other ornamental trees. The mansion stands upon level grounds, beautifully laid out, having carriage entrances from the street. Every thing was covered with snow when I was there, and dreariness prevailed where summer charms delight the visitor. ** Mrs. Ellett, in an interesting biography of Annis Stockton, the wife of the signor, says that Mrs. Field, her daughter, now residing in Princeton, has several pieces of silver that were in this box. She also relates that when Mrs. Stockton (who was quite a literary lady) heard of the destruction of the library, she remarked that there were two books in it she would like to have saved--the Bible, and Young's Night Thoughts. Tradition says that these two books were the only ones left. Mrs. Field has in her possession the original portraits of her father and mother. Both were pierced with bayonets.--Women of the Revolution, iii., 16. *** A biographical sketeh of Mr. Stockton may be found among those of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, printed in the Appendix. His portrait is in the frontispiece of this volume. [[[Nassau Hall.--Governor Belcher's Donation.--Rittenhouse's Planetarium.--Life of its Inventor.]]] {243}Nassau Hall, the principal edifice of the College of New Jersey, is a spacious building, one hundred and seventy-six feet long, fifty wide, and four stories high, built of stone. It was erected in 1757. The college was commenced by Jonathan Dickinson, in Elizabethtown, and was first incorporated in 1756. Governor Belcher was one of its earliest and most efficient patrons. He made "generous donation of his library of books, * with other valuable ornaments," to the college; and, upon his recommendation, Nassau Hall was so called in memory "of the glorious King William the Third, who was a branch of the illustrious house of Nassau." The Hall stands in the center of spacious grounds, fronting on the principal street in Princeton. The edifice on the left of Nassau Hall, containing the college library and the philosophic hall, was erected after a conflagration in 1802. The library contains about eight thousand volumes, and the libraries of two societies of the institution about four thousand more, making twelve thousand volumes. There is also a mineralogical cabinet, a museum of natural history, and a fine collection of drawings made for the purpose of elucidating lectures on astronomy and architecture. There is also a good collection of philosophical apparatus there, which includes that wonderful piece of scientific mechanism, the planetarium of Doctor David Rittenhouse. ** Through the politeness of Professor MacLean, I was permitted to examine its construction, and view the wonderful precision with which the machinery performed its difficult functions. On the front is inscribed, "INVENTED BY DAVID RITTENHOUSE, A.D. 1768; REPAIRED AND EXTENDED BY HENRY VOIGHT, 1806; BOTH OF PHILADELPHIA." Dr. Gordon, writing in 1790, says of this planetarium, "There is not the like in Europe. An elegant and neatly-ornamented frame rises perpendicular near upon eight feet, in the front of which you are presented, in three several apartments, with a view of the celestial system, the motions of the planets around the sun, and the satellites about the planets. The wheels, &c., that produce the movement are behind the wooden perpendicular frame in which the orrery is fixed. By suitable contrivances, you in a short time tell the eclipses of the sun and moon for ages past and ages to come; the like in other cases of astronomy." It is said that it was Lord Cornwallis's intention to carry this planetarium away, and take it to England with him; but the Americans kept him too busily engaged in affairs of greater personal moment, while in Princeton, to permit him to plunder the college of this great treasure. This intention on the part of an enemy was not as reprehensible as the proposition which Silas Deane, the American commissioner, made, who suggested the propriety of presenting it to the French government as a bonus for its good will! I have mentioned that the first cannon-ball which entered Nassau Hall, when Washington opened a fire upon it, passed through the portrait of George the Second, and destroyed it. The frame was uninjured, and left suspended upon the wall. It is alleged that Wash- * It consisted of four hundred and seventy-four volumes, many of them very rare and of great value. The Hall being used alternately by the American and British troops during the war, a large portion of the books were purloined or destroyed. The few that remained were destroyed by fire in 1802, when the Hall was burned, leaving nothing but the strong walls, which were not materially injured by the fire. * David Rittenhouse was born near Germantown, Pennsylvania, on the 8th of April, 1732. His ancestors were from Holland. His early life was spent in agricultural pursuits, and was marked by a love of mathematical studies. Feeble health would not allow him to pursue the labor of a farm, and he became, by self-instruction, a proficient clock and mathematical instrument maker. It was while working at his trade he planned and executed his orrery, a piece of mechanism far superior, for its intended purposes, to any thing before constructed. It was purchased by the College of New Jersey. Another was made by him, after the same model, for the College of Philadelphia. He pursued his trade in that city for several years. His first philosophical publication was an account of his calculations of the transit of Venus, as it was to happen on the 3d of June, 1769. He observed the phenomenon, a spectacle never seen but twice before by an inhabitant of earth, and he was so much affected by its proof of the accuracy of his calculations, that he fainted. He was engaged in government surveys, fixing territorial boundaries, &c., during the Revolution, and became one of the leading practical philosophers of the day. On the death of Franklin in 1791, he was chosen president of the Philosophical Society, which office he held by annual election until his death. He was treasurer of Pennsylvania from 1777 to 1789. In 1792 he was appointed director of the Mint of the United States, but his ill health compelled him to resign the office in 1795. He died on the 26th of June, 1796, aged sixty-four years. His birth-place is yet standing, a mile west of Germantown. [[[Portraits of Washington and Mercer by Peale.--Character of the College of New Jersey.--White Hall.]]] {244}ington, in order to make good to the college the damage sustained by the cannonade, made the trustees a present, from his private purse, of two hundred and fifty dollars, which sum they, expended in procuring a full-length portrait of the eommander-in-chief. [Illustration: 9252] It was painted by Charles Wilson Peale, and occupies the identical frame in which hung the king's portrait. The annexed sketch is an outline of this interesting picture. In the back-ground is seen Nassau Hall, and in the middle and fore-ground a sketch of the battle of Princeton, in which the death of Mercer is represented. [Illustration: 8252] The portrait of Mercer there given was painted from his brother, who sat for it, and who greatly resembled him. It was considered a good likeness by those who knew the general. The portrait given below I copied from Peale's picture, in which I have preserved the languid expression of a wounded man, as given him by the artist. On the left is seen a portion of the skirt of Washington's coat, and his chapeau. Many pleasing memories crowd upon the mind of the visitor to this aneient seat of learning, where so large a number of the active young men of the Revolution who lived in the Middle States were educated. [Illustration: 7252] Under the guidance of the learned and patriotic Dr. Witherspoon, who in the pulpit, academic hall, or legislative forum, was the champion of good, it was the nursery of patriots. He was a lineal descendant of John Knox, the great English reformer, and, like that bold ancestor, he never shrunk from the post of danger, if called to it by duty. Like _Yale_ under Daggett, and _Harvard_ under Langdon, the _College of New Jersey_, under Witherspoon, made its influence felt in the council and the field during the war for independence. Of the meetings of Congress at Princeton in 1783, and the Farewell Address of General Washington to the armies [[November 2, 1783]] of the United States, written at Rocky Hill, a a few miles distant, I shall hereafter write. Let us now return to Trenton. As I hoped and anticipated, the storm that came down so furiously, on my return from M'Conkey's Ferry, subsided during the night, and the morning sun came forth, only half hidden by broken clouds. Accompanied by Mr. Smythe, my companion on the previous day when I visited the ferry, I went out early to view and sketch localities of interest about Trenton, all of which are given in preceding pages, except "White Hall," a large stone building, standing on the south side of Front Street. This was used for barracks by the Hessians during their occupancy of Trenton in 1776. [[[The Floral Arch in Honor of Washington.--His Triumphal Journey.--His Reception by the Ladies at Trenton.]]] {245}I called upon Stacey G. Potts, Esq., who kindly permitted me to copy a picture in his possession, painted by G. W. Flagg, and illustrating the interesting scene of the capture of Emily Gieger, an incident of one of Greene's Southern campaigns. The picture and narrative will be found in another part of this work. Mr. Potts informed me that the floral arch erected in honor of Washington, while on his way from Mount Vernon to New York city to take the oath of office as President of the United States, was erected upon the bridge over the Assanpink, close by the "Stacey Mill," seen in the picture on page 233. The arch was preserved on the premises of the Misses Barnes, near the Episcopal church in Warren Street, until 1824, when it was placed in front of the State House to grace the reception of La Fayette. Remains of the arch, when I visited Trenton, were in the possession of Dr. Francis Ewing of that city, and supported the branches of a venerable rose-bush in his garden. With a notice of the events connected with that arch we will close the historic volume and bid adieu to Trenton. The journey of Washington from Mount Vernon to New York was like a triumphal march. He had hardly left his porter's lodge, when he was met by a company of gentlemen from Alexandria, who escorted him to that town. Every where the people gathered to see him as he passed along the road, and every town sent out its first citizens to meet him on his approach. Entertainments were given in his honor, and public addresses were received by him and answers returned. Militia companies escorted him from place to place, and his approach to the principal cities was announced by the firing of cannon and the ringing of bells. At Trenton, his reception was of a peculiar nature, full of pure sentiment and the most loyal patriotism. There, a little more than twelve years before, one of his most brilliant military feats was achieved, and it was a fitting place for an unusual display of respect and reverence. The ladies took the matter in hand, and upon Trenton Bridge they caused to be erected an areh, which they adorned with laurel leaves and flowers from the forests and their hot-houses, and the first spring contributions from their gardens. Upon the crown of the arch, in large letters, formed of leaves and flowers, were the words "December 26th, 1776 and on the sweep beneath was the sentence, also formed of flowers, "The Defender of the Mothers will be the Protector of the Daughters." Beneath this arch the president elect was obliged to pass on entering Trenton. There he was met by a troop of females. On one side a row of little girls, dressed in white, and each bearing a basket of flowers, were arranged; on the other side stood a row of young ladies similarly arrayed, and behind them were the married ladies. The moment Washington and his suite approached the arch, the little girls began to strew flowers in the road, and the whole company of the fair sang the following ode, written for the occasion by Governor Howell: * = ````"Welcome, mighty chief, once more ````Welcome to this grateful shore. ````Now no mercenary foe ````Aims again the fatal blow-- `````Aims at thee the fatal blow= ````"Virgins fair and matrons grave, ````Those thy conquering arm did save, ````Build for thee triumphal bowers. ````Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers-" `````Strew your hero's way with flowers!"= After passing the arch, the general turned his horse's head toward the choir, and listened to this tribute of sweet voices with much emotion. After receiving the salutations of the citizens, Washington handed to the Reverend J. F. Armstrong a note acknowledging his * Governor Richard Howell was a native of Delaware. He commanded a New Jersey regiment from 1776 to 1779, when, in consequence of a new arrangement of the army, he resumed the profession of the law. In 1788 he was appointed clerk of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, which office he held until June, 1793, when he was chosen governor of the state. To this office he was elected eight years successively. He died, April 28th, 1802, aged forty-seven years. [[[Interest of the Scene.--Washington's Note to the Ladies.--Reflections.--Grave of Mr. Armstrong.]]] {246}obligations to the ladies of Trenton. * The whole scene was one of exceeding interest. A hundred-fold more glorious was that arch, erected by such hands, to greet the presence of such a hero, than the gorgeous triumphal arches under which passed the blood-stained Roman conquerors, with their pageants of misery, and the rich spoils of desolated kingdoms. It was the tribute of the pure in heart to the truly great--= ```"Great, not like Cæsar, stain'd with blood, ````But only great as he was good."= * The following is a copy of the note: "General Washington can not leave this place without expressing his acknowledgments to the matrons and young ladies who received him in so novel and grateful a manner at the triumphal arch in Trenton, and for the exquisite sensation he experienced in that affecting moment. The astonishing contrast between his former and actual situation at the same spot, the elegant taste with which it was adorned for the present occasion, and the innocent appearance of the white-robed, choir who met him with the congratulatory song, has made such an impression upon his remembrance as, he assures them, will never be effaced. "Trenton, April 21, 1789." * This note was read to the ladies, who were called together at the house of Judge Smith, and then deposited in the hands of that gentleman's wife. It passed into the hands of Miss Lydia Imlay, his adopted daughter, who preserved it with great care until just before her death, when she gave it to the late Chief-justice Ewing. It was placed in a handsome frame, and is now a precious relic in possession of his family. The grave of Mr. Armstrong is in the old burial-ground of the Presbyterian church at Trenton. Upon his plain monument is the following inscription: "Sacred to the memory of the Rev. James Francis Armstrong, thirty years a pastor of the church at Trenton, in union with the church at Maidenhead. Born in Maryland of pious parents, he received the elements of his classical education under the Rev. John Blair, finished his collegiate studies in the College of New Jersey, under the Rev. Dr. Witherspoon, and was licensed to preach the Gospel in the year 1777. An ardent patriot, he served through the War of Independence as chaplain. In 1790 he was chosen a trustee of the College of New Jersey. A warm and constant friend, a devout Christian, a tender husband and parent, steady in his attentions on the judicatories of the Church, throughout life he was distinguished as a fervent and affectionate minister of the Gospel, and resigned his soul to his Creator and Redeemer on the 19th of January, 1816. 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.' Amen! Even so come, Lord Jesus." [[[Departure from Trenton.--Buck's County.--St. Tammany.--Old Villages.--Frankford.]]] {247} CHAPTER X. ```"The autumnal glories all have pass'd away! ````The forest leaves no more in hectic red ```Give glowing tokens of their brief decay, ````But scatter'd lie, or rustle to the tread, ```Like whisper'd warnings from the moldering dead. ````The naked trees stretch out their arms all day. ```And each bald hill-top lifts its reverend head ````As if for some new covering to pray." `````Mrs. E. C. Kinney.= [Illustration: 9255] HE sun was shining in its noontide glory when I crossed the great Trenton Bridge over the Delaware to Morrisville, and reined my horse to the right into the Falsington road, for Philadelphia, twenty-eight miles distant. Unlike a summer rain, the storm developed no new beauties in the fields and orchards, but "a mantle dun" continued to overspread the landscape, and a cold north wind was heralding the approach of winter. I was now in the fertile region of "old Bucks" * in Pennsylvania, and with a loose rein traversed the gentle undulating country over which the Continental battalions often marched and countermarched. It was the anniversary of the evacuation of New York by the British--the departure of the last hostile foot from [[November 25, 1783]] our free shores. The mind, laden with the associations of the place and hour, its soul-stirring thoughts kept me such entertaining company, that the sun went down, and I entered the suburban district of Kensington, in the "Northern Liberties" of Philadelphia, before I was fairly conscious that a dozen miles had been traveled. It was but little more than four hours' journey with my strong and vigorous horse. After leaving Falsington, the traveler obtains frequent glimpses of the Delaware and its white sails, on the left. The several small villages on the way (Falsington, Hulmeville, and Frankford being the largest) bear marks, in their dwellings, of considerable antiquity, if that word may properly be applied to American edifices. Many of them are small, steep-roofed stone houses, with little windows and wide doors, built before the war of the Revolution broke out, and presenting a great contrast with the New England villages, which seem as if just finished, with the white paint scarcely dry. It was almost sunset when I arrived at Frankford, quite a large town upon the Tacony Creek, five miles northeast of * Tradition currently reports that the renowned Indian chief Tamene, or St. Tammany, was buried near a spring about three and a half miles west of Doylestown, in this county. He was an unequaled chief among the Delawares. Heckewelder says that when Colonel George Morgan, of Princeton, visited the Western Indians, by order of Congress, in 1776, he was so beloved for his goodness, that the Delawares conferred upon him the name of their venerated chief. Morgan brought back to the whites such glowing accounts of the qualities of that ancient chief, that in the Revolutionary war he was dubbed a saint, and his name was placed on some calendars. He was called by politicians, St. Tammany, and established as the patron saint of republican America. Tammany societies were organized, and Tammany halls dedicated, and on the 1st of May (the festival of the saint), meetings of the societies were held. "On that day," says Heckewelder, "numerous societies of his votaries walked together in procession through the streets of Philadelphia, their hats decorated with bucks' tails, and proceeded to a handsome rural place out of town, which they called the wigwam, where, after a long talk, or Indian speech, had been delivered, and the calumet of peace and friendship had been duly smoked, they spent the day in festivity and mirth." The Tammany Society of New York is yet in existence. Its meetings are held regularly at Tammany Hall, on the east side of the City Hall Park. [[[Revolutionary Events at Frankford.--Kensington.--Arrival in Philadelphia.--Christ Church and its Sounding-board.]]] {248}Philadelphia. Here the Americans kept quite a strong picket, during the occupation of Philadelphia by the British in 1777--8, after the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. Near here was stationed the fine corps of light infantry guards under Colonel Twistleton (afterward Lord Say and Sele); and here, also, the active partisan corps called the _Queen's Rangers_, under Lieutenant-colonel Simcoe (afterward Governor of Canada), was recruited, and disciplined by actual service. In November, 1777, the Rangers, in concert with Major Gwyn, attempted to surprise the American post at Frankford. They approached the town cautiously, and rushing in, expected to secure prisoners and booty; but the patriots had temporarily withdrawn. Some days afterward, another attempt to take the post was made. An American officer and twenty men were made prisoners. They were raw and undisciplined militia. Each man had the countersign, _Richmond_, written with chalk in his hat that he might not forget it. Soon after capturing these men, a patrol of cavalry, under Major Gwyn, which had pursued a party toward Bristol, came retreating in great confusion. They had been attacked, both in front and rear, by a troop of horsemen under Count Pulaski. Thoroughly alarmed, the whole British force at Frankford crossed the Tacony, and returned in haste to Philadelphia. Parties of the _Queen's Rangers_ were almost every day at Frankford, where the Americans did not keep a fixed post. Simcoe had trained his men to quick and energetic movements with the bayonet, and his standing order was, "Take as many prisoners as possible, but never destroy life unless absolutely necessary." On one occasion, a patroling party of the Rangers approached Frankford undiscovered by an American sentinel at the bridge. They were so near that they might easily have killed the guard, but a boy was sent to warn him to run for his life. He did so, and no more sentinels were posted there afterward; "a matter of some consequence," says Simcoe, "to the poor people of Philadelphia, as they were not prevented from getting their flour ground at Frankford Mills." * Passing through a portion of the Kensington suburb of Philadelphia, its mud and wretchedness, its barking dogs and squalling babies, where society seems in a transition state from filth to cleanliness, and consequently from vice to godliness, I wheeled down Second Street, amid its glowing shops, and reined up at _Congress Hall_, just as the last hue of daylight faded away. It was Saturday night, a season as welcome to the traveler as a "cross day" in the calendar to the faithful. I was in Philadelphia' the city of brotherly love; the quiet Sabbath near; a glorious harvest of Revolutionary reminiscences spread out around me, inviting the pen-sickle to reap for my garner; and the broad and sunny South, its chivalry and its patriotism, beckoning me onward. Busy thought kept sleep at bay until midnight. The Sabbath morning dawned brilliant and frosty. As I went up to worship in the venerable _Christ Church_, around which cluster so many interesting associations of the past, I felt that it was a two-fold sanctuary--a sanctuary of religion and of patriotism. The exterior is the same as it was when the later colonial governors and officers of state--when Washington and Franklin--when Congress and the officers of the Continental army went there to worship; but the interior has been greatly changed by that iconoclast, _improvement_--that breaker of the images which patriotism delights to worship! One vestige of the olden time remains untouched--the pulpit _sounding-board_, the indispensable canopy of the old pastors.= ```"That sounding-board, to me it seem'd ````A cherub poised on high-- ```A mystery I almost deem'd 1````Quite hid from vulgar eye ```And that old pastor, rapt in prayer, ```Look'd doubly awful 'neath it there." `````--E. Oakes Smith.= * Simcoe's Military Journal, page 28. At that time the Philadelphians were dependent chiefly upon the Frankford Mills for their flour. It was with the pretense of going thither for flour, that Lydia Darrah left Philadelphia and hastened to the American camp at Whitemarsh, apprised Washington of an intended attack upon him, and, by her patriotic vigilance, doubtless saved the American army, under the commander-in-chief, from destruction or captivity. This circumstance is noted on pages 301--302. [[[The Grave of Dr. Franklin, and others.--His early-written Epitaph.-- Description of Christ Church]]] {249}Within its wall-inclosed grave-yard in the rear is the dust of many of the early and distinguished citizens of Philadelphia, the most renowned of whom was Dr. Benjamin Franklin. [Illustration: 9257] His grave is beside that of his wife, and daughter (Mrs. Bache), in the northwest corner of the yard. "I wish," he said in his will, "to be buried by the side of my wife, if it may be, and that a marble stone be made by Chambers, six feet long, four feet wide, plain, with only a small molding round the upper edge, and this inscription:= `````"Benjamin `````and Deborah `````Franklin. `````178--"= His wishes were complied with. The date on the stone is 1790. * In the same inclosure General Mercer, who was killed at Princeton, was first buried; also Major-general Charles Lee, whose aversion to burial with Dissenters has been noticed. Standing amid its graves, and overshadowed by the venerable church, the American feels that he is upon consecrated ground indeed--consecrated by something holier than the voice of man setting it apart as a resting-place for the dead. Here, wide open, is a broad page of our national history; let us sit down this still Sabbath afternoon and peruse a portion of it preparatory to a ramble on the morrow. On the beautiful banks of the Delaware **--the Indian's _Mack-er-isk-iskan_--dwelt for ages the powerful tribes of the Lenni Lenapes ***--the Original People. They claimed the broad land from the Hudson to the Poto- * As early as 1727, when Franklin was only twenty-two years of age, he wrote the following epitaph for himself: The Body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer, Like the cover of an old Book. Its contents torn out (And stripped of its lettering and gilding), Lies here, food for worms. But the work shall not be lost, For it will (as he believed) appear once more In a new and more elegant edition, Revised and corrected by The Author. * This epitaph was first printed in a Boston newspaper (the New England Courant), established and printed by Dr. Franklin. ** This name was given to the bay and river in honor of Lord De la Ware, who was Governor of Virginia in 1611. *** This has been sometimes used as a generic term, and applied to all the tribes of the Algonquin family. **** This view is from Second Street, looking northwest. It was built at various periods. The first (western) end was erected in 1727; the eastern or front portion was raised in 1731; and a small steeple was reared in 1753-4. A small church edifice was built upon its site in 1695, and the later edifice was raised around the old one while worship continued in it. The bell of the old church was hung in the crotch of a tree near by. The new church was furnished with an organ in 1729. The design of the church was made by Dr. John Kearsley, an eminent physician of Philadelphia. In 1752-3 it was proposed to build a fine steeple upon the church, and, in order to raise funds lor the purpose, a lottery was established--"a scheme to raise £1012 10s. to finish the steeple to Christ Church, and to purchase a ring of bells, and a clock." The "Philadelphian Steeple Lottery" was successful, and the structure, as it now appears, was finished in 1754. A chime of bells, weighing eight thousand pounds, was purchased in England, at a cost of $4500. These bells were taken down from the steeple by the commissary general, on the approach of the British to Philadelphia in 1777. and conveyed to Trenton for safety. They were returned, and hung again after the enemy evacuated the eity. Watson, in his Annals of Philadelphia, says that these bells were first tolled on the occasion of the funeral of Governor Anthony Palmer's wife, the mother of twenty-one children, all of whom died of consumption. On the top of the steeple is a miter, hearing the following inscription: "The Right Reverend William White, D.D., consecrated Bishop of the Episcopal Church of Pennsylvania, February 4th, 1787." The miter is four feet in circumference at the bottom, and has thirteen holes in it, indicative of the number of the original states. Bishop White was one of the first chaplains of the Continental Congress, and the first bishop of Pennsylvania. It is related that when he was a boy, living next door to a Quaker family in Market Street, he used to play with their little daughter. She often said, when she grew up, that Billy White was born for a bishop, for she never could persuade him to play any thing but church. He would tie her apron around his neck for a gown, and stand behind a chair for a pulpit, while she, seated before him on a low bench, was to be the congregation. [[[The Natives on the Delaware and Schuylkill.--The Delawares--Their Character portrayed by William Penn.]]] {250}mac as their grand council-house. While they called themselves the _original people_, they repeated the tradition that at some remote age their ancestors came from beyond the Mississippi, conquering, on their way, the more civilized nations, whose monuments are so profusely scattered over the rich valleys westward of the Alleghany Mountains. They were divided into three principal tribes, the _Turtle_, the _Turkey_, and the _Wolf_. The two former occupied the northern portions of New Jersey north of the Ptaritan, extending from the Hudson across the Delaware into Pennsylvania, and are known to the whites as the _Minsi_ division; the latter, known as the _Delawares_, inhabited the southern portions of New Jersey and the entire valley of the Schuylkill. * Their settlement extended up the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers, and they had a local council-fire at the Minisink flats, above the Delaware Water-gap. When these tribes first became known to the English, they were tributary to the Five Nations of New York, who applied to them the scornful epithet of "women." They were forbidden to sell lands or make war without the consent-of their conquerors, and were reduced to absolute vassalage. In the course of time, however, the [[1650]] Delawares were enabled to throw off the yoke of the conquerors. At Tioga, in 1756, the great Teedyuscung extorted from the chiefs of the Six Nations an acknowledgment of the independence of his people. When the whites first visited the Delaware with a view to settlement, the Lenni Lenapés, broken into many small tribes, were scattered along the shores of the river on either side. ** They received the whites with open-handed hospitality. "In liberality they excel," wrote William Penn. "Nothing is too good for their friend. Give them a fine gun, coat, or other thing, it may pass twenty hands before it sticks. Light of heart, strong affections, but soon spent. The most merry creatures that live; feast and dance perpetually. They never have much, nor want much. Wealth circulates like the blood--all parts partake; and, though none shall want what another hath, yet exact observers of property." Penn drew a charming picture of their hospitality, their liberal distribution of presents when received, and the universal happiness that prevailed among them; and then, with the hand of * The two most noted chiefs of the Delawares at the time of our Revolution, was Captain White Eyes and Captain Pipe. The former became chief sachem in 1776, and espoused the patriot cause. He was a firm friend to the missionaries, and earnestly desired the conversion of his people to Christianity, and the enjoyment of the accompanying blessings of civilization. He died of the small-pox, at Philadelphia, in 1780. Captain Pipe secretly favored the British at the opening of the Revolution, but the vigilant White Eyes frustrated all his plans for a while. The Delawares at length became divided, and most of them, under Captain Pipe, joined the British. We have met these chiefs once before (page 264, vol. i.) and shall meet them again when we consider the Indian war of the Revolution beyond the Alleghanies. ** The Assanpink Indians were at the Falls of the Delaware (Trenton); the Rankokas and Andastakas at Christina Creek, near Wilmington; the Nishaminies near Bristol; the Shackamaxons about Kensington; the Mantas, or Frogs, near Burlington; the Minseys, or Minisinks, at the Forks of the Delaware: and three or four other tribes were in New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. A few Mingoes were among these. [[[First Settlements on the Delaware by the Dutch and Swedes.--Troubles with the Indians.--Gustavus Adolphus.]]] {251}truth, holds up this record of the curse which boasted civilization carries with it as continually as its own shadow: "Since the Europeans came into these parts, they are grown great lovers of strong liquors, rum especially, and for it exchange the richest of their skins and furs. If they are heated with liquors, they are restless till they have enough to sleep; that is their cry, '_Some more, and I will go to sleep;_' but, when drunk, one of the most wretched spectacles in the world." In 1609, Captain Henry Hudson, then in the service of the Dutch East India Company, touched near Cape May, at the mouth of Delaware Bay, but, finding shoal water, put to sea, and soon afterward sailed through the Narrows into New York Bay. The Dutch established a trading-post on Manhattan Island, now New York. The establishment increased, and in 1621 the Dutch West India Company was formed. In 1623, this company took formal possession of the country discovered by Hudson, including the Delaware, or South River, as they called it, in contradistinction to the North River, now the Hudson. The foundation of New Amsterdam was laid, and Captain Jacobus May was sent to take possession and colonize in the most southern part of New Jersey. He gave Cape May the name it still bears. Near where Gloucester, in New Jersey, now stands, he built Fort Nassau. This was the first white settlement on the shores of the Delaware, but it was not permanent. In 1631, Captain David Pieterson de Vries entered the Delaware River with two ships and about thirty colonists. He was associated with Godyn, Bloemart, and Van Rensselaer, wealthy Dutch _patroons,_ establishing a permanent settlement on the Delaware for the purpose of cultivating tobacco and grain, and prosecuting the whale and seal fishing. He built Fort Oplandt, near Lewiston, Delaware. DeVries returned to Holland, and when he came back, in 1632, his colony was destroyed. The arms of Holland, emblazoned on a piece of tin, had been raised upon a pole. An Indian stole the metal to make a tobacco-box of it. Osset, the commander, quarreled with the Indians, and the latter fell upon the colonists, while at work in the fields, and butchered every one of them. De Vries made peace with the tribe, but, finding Fort Nassau deserted, and the whole settlement a desolation, he left the bay forever; for, before the Dutch could re-establish their power, the patent granted to Lord Baltimore, proprietor of Maryland, gave them an English competitor for the lower portions of the territory on the west side of the Delaware. The discoveries of the Dutch in the New World soon attracted the attention of the enlightened Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden. He conceived a scheme for planting a Swedish colony in America, an idea suggested and heartily seconded by William Usselinx, a wealthy and enterprising Netherlander. A commercial company was formed; the stock was open to all Europe, and Gustavus pledged four hundred thousand dollars to the enterprise. Slavery was repudiated as a disadvantage to the proposed colony. "Slaves," they said, "cost a great deal, labor with reluctance, and soon perish from hard usage. The Swedish nation is laborious and intelligent, and surely we shall gain more by a free people with wives and children." America seemed to them a paradise, and Gustavus suggested that the proposed colony might prove an advantage to all oppressed and persecuted Christians. At that moment Germany, and indeed Protestant Christendom, was menaced with a total subversion of the principles of the Reformation; and against the increasing power of the pope--a power composed of religious influence and imperial soldiers--Gustavus took the field. All other considerations were, for the moment, absorbed by this one movement; and yet the idea of planting a free colony in the New World held a conspicuous place in the mind of the Swedish monarch. At Nuremberg, only a few days before the battle of Lützen, where he lost his life, he recommended the great scheme, "the jewel of his kingdom," to the Germans. His views were warmly seconded by Oxenstiern, the eminent statesman, who controlled the political affairs of Sweden during the minority of Queen Christina. In 1638, a colony of Swedes from Gottenburg, under the command of Peter Minuits, a former governor of New Amsterdam, arrived in the Delaware, and landed at Cape Henlo- * See page 391, vol. i. [[[Extension of Swedish Settlements.--Opposition of the Dutch.--Stuyvesant's Conquests.]]] {252}pen. Charmed with the beauty of the place, they called it Paradise. They approached the Indians with kindness, and purchased from them their lands upon the Delaware from Cape Henlopen to the falls at Trenton, and named the region New Sweden. They built a church and fort on the Minquaas, or Mingoes (now Christiana) Creek, where Wilmington now stands, and there laid out a town. The Dutch claimed a title to all this region by virtue of prior discovery and settlement, and Governor Keift protested against this intrusion. Other emigrants came; some from Maryland, who settled near the Schuylkill, and others from New Haven, who established themselves on the Jersey shore. These Keift promptly expelled, but did not disturb the Swedes. John Printz succeeded Minuits as governor in 1643. With him came John Campanius, from Stockholm, as chaplain for the colony. They came in the ship _Fame_, accompanied by two war vessels, the _Swan_ and the _Chantas_. Governor Printz selected Tinicum Island, * at the mouth of Darby Creek, for a residence. There he built a strong fort of hemlock logs, and a church, and beautified the neighborhood with orchards and pleasure-grounds. Quite a village of fine houses, for the times, sprung up, and New Gottenburg, as it was called, was for some years the metropolis of New Sweden. Emigrants continued to arrive in considerable numbers from Old Sweden, and they scattered neat dwellings and cultivated acres all along the Delaware, from the present Wilmington to Philadelphia. In 1651, the Dutch determined to maintain their power on the Delaware, and erected Fort Kasimer, on the south of Minquaas Creek, now the site of New Castle, in Delaware. Printz protested, and also built Fort Elsinberg on the Jersey shore, near the mouth of Salem Creek. The garrison was soon put to flight by a foe more numerous and annoying than Indians or Dutch, and the place was significantly named _Mosquitoesburg_. John Claudius Rising, or Risingh, succeeded Printz in 1652. Risingh was more belligerent than his predecessor, and captured Fort Kasimer, either by storm or stratagem, in 1654, hoisted the Swedish flag over it, and called it Fort Trinity. Sven Schute, a bold Swedish warrior, was appointed to the command of its garrison. This act excited the ire of the Dutch at New Amsterdam, and in 1655 Governor Stuyvesant, with seven ships, and six or seven hundred men, went up the Delaware, took all the Swedish forts, and desolated New Gottenburg, on Tinicum Island. The Swedes obtained honorable terms of capitulation, and the settlers prospered under the Dutch rule. The Indians remained the firm friends of the Swedes; and when the Dutch attempted to prevent a Swedish ship with emigrants from passing up the Delaware in 1656, the natives interfered, and the _Mercurius_ sailed up unmolested. The Dutch and Swedes continued to occupy the Delaware in common for nine years, the former possessing the political authority. In 1664, Charles the Second, of England, having granted a charter to his brother James, the Duke of York, for the whole of the New Netherlands, including the Dutch and Swedish settlements on the Delaware, the English conquered the whole country, and changed the name of New Amsterdam to New York. Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret obtained a grant of the province of New Jersey from the Duke of York in 1665. The latter was appointed governor, and Bergen and other portions of East Jersey began to be settled. That province was divided into East and West Jersey in 1676. 'Lord Berkeley transferred his half of West Jersey, in 1677, to John Fenwick, in trust for Edward Billinge, both of them Quakers. Becoming embarrassed, Billinge transferred his interest to trustees, for the benefit of his creditors. William Penn was one of those trustees, and thus he became interested in the settlements in the New World. Between 1676 and 1680, the eastern shore of the Delaware, from Burlington to Salem, became quite populous with Quakers, who came chiefly from Yorkshire in England. Admiral Sir William Penn, the father of the founder of Pennsylvania, left, at his death, claims to a considerable amount against the crown, for his services. His son, with the two- * This is the island upon which the lazaretto now stands, and is not the low, sandy island in the middle of the Delaware above. [[[Charter granted to William Penn.--Emigrations. Arrival of Penn.--His Biography. Annexation of Delaware.]]] {253}fold motive of settling these claims and providing an asylum for his persecuted Quaker brethren, applied to King Charles the Second for a grant of land in the New World. He was successful, and on the 4th of March, 1681, a charter was granted. The assent of the Duke of York on the north, and of Lord Baltimore on the south, was obtained to the provisions of the charter, and a province on the west side of the Delaware, three degrees of latitude in breadth by five degrees of longitude in length, was named by the kind's proclamation, as well as[[April, 1631.]] in the charter, Pennsylvania, in honor of the illustrious Admiral Penn. [Illustration: 8261] The proprietor immediately published "certain conditions or concessions" to adventurers; and an association, composed principally of Quakers, was formed at London and Bristol, called "The Free Society of Traders," who emigrated to America to purchase lands in the new province. William Markham, a kinsman of Penn's, had been sent forward as his deputy to take possession of the country and prepare for the colonists. On the 30th of August, 1682, Penn, and quite a large number of emigrants, chiefly Quakers, sailed in the _Welcome_, from England. They arrived at New Castle on the 7th of October. The settlers of every kind received the new proprietor with great joy, for the fame of his noble and excellent character had preceded him. At Upland (now Chester) he convened an assembly, where he made known his plans and benevolent designs. His words were heard with delight, and the people flocked around him with the affectionate feelings of children. The Swedes said, "It was the best day they ever saw." At this assembly an Act of Union was adopted, conformable to a deed which he had obtained, by which the "three lower counties," Essex, Kent, and Sussex (now the State of Delaware), were annexed to Pennsylvania. A few days afterward, Penn proceeded to Shackamaxon (now Kensington, in Philadelphia), where he entered into a treaty with the Indians, and established with them an everlasting covenant of peace and friendship. This was the memorable treaty held * William Penn was born in London, October 14th, 1644, and in his fifteenth year entered, as a gentleman commoner, a college in Oxford. Brilliant talents and unaffected goodness characterized his early youth. While at Oxford, he heard an itinerant Quaker preach, and was so impressed with the doctrines which he taught, that he joined, with other students similarly impressed, in withdrawing from the established worship and holding meetings by themselves. He was fined for non-conformity and expelled from college when he was sixteen years of age. Parental discipline attempted to reclaim him, but in vain. He was sent to France, where he passed two years, and became a very polished young gentleman. He studied law in Lincoln's Inn until the breaking out of the plague in London in 1665. He was sent to Ireland in 1666, to manage an estate for his father, but, associating with Quakers there, he was recalled. He could not be persuaded to take off his hat in the presence of his father or the king, and for this inflexibility he was expelled from his father's house. He became an itinerant Quaker preacher, and made many proselytes. He suffered much "for conscience' sake," sometimes by revilings, sometimes by imprisonments. He wrote much, and preached with daily increasing fervor. In 1668 he wrote his _No Cross, no Crown_; and in 1670 he was tried at the Old Bailey, but acquitted by the jury. His father died soon afterward, leaving him a very large estate, but he continued to travel, preach, and write as usual. Having obtained a charter for a province in America, and settled his government on a sure basis, he formed a plan for a capital city, and named it Philadelphia--brotherly love. Two years after it was founded it contained two thousand inhabitants. On returning to England in 1684, he obtained the release of thirteen hundred Quakers then in prison. He resided mostly in England, but visited his colony occasionally. He was seized with a paralytic disorder in 1712, which terminated his life on the 30th of July, 1718, at the age of seventy-three. His posterity held his possessions till the Revolution. His last surviving son, Thomas Penn, died in 1775. [[[Penn's Just Dealings with the Natives.--Effect of his Justice.--Treaty Monument.]]] {254}beneath the wide-spread branches of a huge elm. "Under the shelter of the forest, now leafless by the frosts of autumn," says Bancroft, "Penn proclaimed to the men of the Algonquin race, from both banks of the Delaware--from the border of the Schuylkill, and, it may have been, from the Susquehanna--the same simple message of peace and love which George Fox had professed before Cromwell, and Mary Fisher had borne to the Grand Turk. [Illustration: 8262] The English and the Indian should respect the same moral law, should be alike secure in their pursuits and their possessions, and adjust every difference by a peaceful tribunal, composed of an equal number of men from each race." "We meet," said Penn, "on the broad pathway of good faith and good will; no advantage shall be taken on either side, but all shall be openness and love. I will not call you children, for parents sometimes chide their children too severely; nor brothers only; for brothers differ. The friendship between me and you I will not compare to a chain; for that the rains might rust, or the falling tree might break. We are the same as if one man's body were to be divided into two parts; we are all one flesh and blood." Treaty Monument. * ```"' Thou'lt find.' said the Quaker, 'in me and mine, ```But friends and brothers to thee and to thine, ```Who abuse no power and admit no line ````'Twixt the red men and the white.' ```And bright was the spot where the Quaker came ```To leave his hat, his drab, and his name, ```That will sweetly sound from the trump of Fame ````Till its final blast shall die. ```The city he rear'd from the sylvan shade. ```His beautiful monument now is made; ```And long have the rivers their pride display'd ````In the scenes that are rolling by." `````Hannah F. Gould.= The children of the forest were touched by the sacred doctrine which the "Quaker king" avowed. They received the presents of Penn in sincerity, and in hearty friendship they gave the belt of wampum. "'We will live,' said they, 'in love with William Penn and his children as long as the moon and the sun shall endure.'" Thus was established the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, its foundations laid deep and broad upon the sacred rules of truth and justice, the cardinal principles of the Quakers, who formed the prime element of the new state. That sect stood out in bold relief as exemplars of moral purity in an age and among a people eminently licentious. The court, the fountain-head of example, was wholly impure in morals, skeptical in religion, and unscrupulous in politics. Unlike the other Puritan sects, which gave royalty so much trouble, the Quakers taught morality more by example than by precept; yet they were ever bold in the * This monument stands near the intersection of Hanover and Beach Streets, Kensington, on the spot where the celebrated Treaty Tree stood. The tree was blown down in 1810, when it was ascertained to be 283 years old. When the British were in possession of Philadelphia, during the winter of 1778, their foraging parties were out in every direction for fuel. To protect this tree from the ax, Colonel Simcoe, of the Queen's Rangers, placed a sentinel under it. Of its remains, many chairs, vases, work-stands, and other articles have been made. The commemorative monument was erected by the Penn Soeiety. Upon it are the following inscriptions: North side.--"Treaty ground of William Penn and the Indian nation, 1682. Unbroken Faith." South side.--"William Penn, born 1644. Died, 1718." West side.--"Placed by the Penn Soeiety, A.D. 1827, to mark the site of the great Elm Tree." East side.--"Pennsylvania founded, 1681, by deeds of Peace." [[[Character and Influence of the Quakers.---Founding of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth, and of the City of Philadelphia.]]] {255}avowal of their principles. Their benevolence was as extensive as the round world; their plans designed no less than the establishment of universal religion. No station was too exalted for their faithfulness to reach. George Fox spoke boldly, face to face, to the king, as did Paul before Agrippa; and he did not fail to catechise, by letter, even Pope Innocent XI. No station was too low for their paternal care, and no instrument too humble to be made useful as a preacher of righteousness. "Plowmen and milk-maids, becoming itinerant preachers, sounded the alarm throughout the world, and appealed to the consciences of Puritans and Cavaliers, of the pope and the Grand Turk, of the negro and the savage. Their apostles made their way to Rome and Jerusalem, to New England and Egypt; and some were even moved to go toward China and Japan in search of the unknown realms of Prester John." * Democracy, in its largest sense, was their political creed. "We lay a foundation," said Penn, "for after ages to understand their liberty as Christians and as men, that they may not be brought into bondage but by their own consent; _for we put the power in the people_." With such views he framed his government; with the simplicity of honest truth and love he made the treaty with the Indians. This treaty was not confirmed by oath, nor ratified by signatures and seals; no written records were made, "and its terms and conditions had no abiding monuments but on the heart. There they were written like the laws of God, and were never forgotten." ** Kindness was more powerful in subduing than the sword, and justice had greater weight with the Indian warrior than gunpowder. "New England had just terminated a disastrous war of extermination; the Dutch were scarcely ever at peace with the Algonquins; the laws of Maryland refer to Indian hostilities and massacres which extended as far as Richmond. Penn came without arms; he declared his purpose to abstain from violence; he had no message but peace; and not a drop of Quaker blood was ever shed by an Indian." *** They themselves were conscious of the power of rectitude. "We have done better," they said, in the _Planter's Speech_, in 1684, "than if, with the proud Spaniards, we had gained the mines of Potosi. We may make the ambitious heroes whom the world admires blush for their shameful victories. To the poor dark souls round about us we _teach their rights as men._" Near the close of 1682 Penn purchased lands lying between the Delaware and the Schuylkill, at their confluence, for the purpose of founding a capital city. Already the Swedes had built a church there; **** and the situation was "not surpassed," in the estimation of Penn, "by one among all the many places he had seen in the world." With great joy and brilliant hopes they marked the boundaries of streets on the trunks of the chestnut, maple, ash, and walnut trees of the original forest, and gave them names derived from these natural landmarks. They called the city Philadelphia--_brotherly love_--and with unexampled rapidity the forest disappeared, and pleasant houses uprose upon the "virgin Elysian shore." In March, 1683, the second Assembly of the province convened in the infant city, and, at the suggestion of Penn, the original "form of government" was so amended, that the "charter of liberties" signed by him at that time rendered the government of Pennsylvania, [[August, 1684]] all but in name, a representative democracy. Penn soon afterward returned to England, having first appointed five commissioners, with Thomas Loyd as president, to administer his government during his absence. Every thing went on prosperously, and nothing occurred to disturb the quiet of the new state until 1691, when the "three lower * Bancroft, ii., 337. ** Ibid., ii., 382. *** Ibid., ii., 383. **** Several years before the arrival of Penn, the upper Swedish settlement on the Delaware erected a blockhouse at Wicaco, now the district of Southwark. The block-house was converted into a church for the convenience of the settlement, the port-holes serving for windows. The first sermon was preached in it in 1677. This edifice stood upon a pleasant knoll sloping to the river. North of it, where Christian Street is, was an inlet, and beyond this was another knoll, on whieh was ereeted the house of three Swedish brothers, Sven, Oele, and Andries Swenson [Swanson], from whom Penn purchased the site of Philadelphia. This building was noticed by Kahn in 1748; and Mr. Watson, in his Annals of Philadelphia, (i., 148), says, "the original log-house was standing until the British occupied Philadelphia, when it was taken down and converted into fuel." A brick church was built upon the site of the old block-house in 1700, and is still standing on Swanson Street, a little distance from the navy yard. [[[Secession of Delaware.--Penn's Difficulties.--His liberal Concessions.--Pennsylvania Charter.--Penn's Heirs.]]] {256}counties on the Delaware" already mentioned, withdrew from the Union on account of some dissatisfaction with the proceedings of a majority of the council. With the reluctant consent of Penn, a deputy governor was appointed over them. Charles the Second died in 1685, and his brother James, the Duke of York, ascended the throne. The bad private character of James, his duplicity, and his known attachment to the Roman Catholics, made him detested by a majority of the people of England, and, three years after his accession, he was driven into exile. His scepter passed into the hands of his daughter Mary and her husband William, prince of Orange. [Illustration: 0264] William Penn was suspected of adherence to the cause of the fallen monarch, and of secret efforts to effect his restoration. For this he was imprisoned; and in 1692 his provincial government was taken from him by Gov. Fletcher, of New York, under a royal commission. These suspicions were speedily removed, and in 1694 Penn's proprietary rights were restored to him. Penn again visited his colony in 1699, but he did not find that prevailing peace which gladdened his heart when he left it. Discontents had arisen among the people, and they were clamorous for further popular concessions. Ever intent upon the happiness of the people, he presented them with a more liberal charter than the former ones. It conferred greater powers upon the people, and the Assembly declared, in signing it, that "they thankfully received the same from the proprietor and governor, this twenty-eighth day of October, 1701." This charter remained unaltered until the separation of the province from Great Britain, and the adoption of a constitution in 1776. The delegates from the lower counties had withdrawn from the general Assembly, and refused allegiance to the new charter of the Union with Pennsylvania. Penn labored to bind them harmoniously together, but without success, and in 1703 a total separation was agreed upon. From that period, Pennsylvania and the "three lower counties," or Delaware, had separate Legislatures, although the same governor continued to preside over both. A scheme was now elaborating in the British cabinet to abolish all of the proprietary governments in America, and Penn hastened back [[1701.]]to England to oppose it. ** He never returned to America, but died in England in 1781, leaving his interest in Pennsylvania and Delaware to his three sons, John, Thomas, and Richard Penn (then minors), who * This is a representation of the seal and signature of William Penn attached to the Pennsylvania charter. The names of the subscribing witnesses to the instrument are James Claypoole, Francis Plumsted, Thomas Barker, Philip Ford, Edward Pritchard, Andrew Soule, Christopher Taylor, Charles Lloyd, William Gibson, U. More, George Rudyard, Harbt. Springett. ** The parting message of Governor Penn to the Assembly is a pattern of brevity, and might be studied with profit by some of our chief magistrates. It was communicated just before his departure for England, and was as follows: "10th month, 15th, 1708. "Friends,--Your union is what I desire; but your peace and accommodating one another is what I must expect from you; the reputation of it is something--the reality much more. I desire you to remember and observe what I say. Yield in circumstances to preserve essentials; and being safe in one another, you will always be so in esteem with me. Make me not sad now I am going to leave you; since it is for you, as well as for your friend, and proprietor, and governor, William Penn." ** Just before leaving, Penn granted a city charter to Philadelphia, and Edward Shippen was appointed the first mayor. He appointed Andrew Hamilton, of New Jersey, lieutenant governor of his province, and James Logan secretary. [[[Penn's Successors hostile to the Indians.--Popular Feeling against the Proprietaries.--Dr. Franklin.]]] {257}continued to administer the government--by deputies, most of the time--until the Revolution. The commonwealth of Pennsylvania then purchased all their interest in the province for five hundred and eighty thousand dollars. * It would be a pleasant and profitable task to trace the history of Pennsylvania in detail, from the period of Penn's death to the commencement of the war for independence, but our plan and limits forbid it. Having taken a general view of the settlement and establishment of the province, we must be content with a consideration of leading events bearing directly upon the Revolutionary struggle. John, a grandson of William Penn, and son of Richard, then one of the proprietors living in England, was lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania when the Stamp Act and kindred measures of government stirred up a rebellious spirit in the colonies. The province was then engaged in hostilities with the Delawares, Shawanese, and Seneca Indians, who were committing dreadful atrocities on the western frontier. It seemed necessary for Governor Penn to assume the attitude of an enemy toward the people with whom his grandfather lived so affectionately; and it is painful to contemplate the fact that he offered, by proclamation, in the city of Philadelphia, a bounty for the capture of Indians or their scalps! ** The war was successful; and in the autumn of 1764 the Hostile [[July 1764]] Indians sued for peace. Internal commotions now became more frequent, and ominous of political disruption. For years the province had been agitated by quarrels between the Assembly and the proprietors on the subject of prerogatives. The popular mind was led by Dr. Franklin and his associates, who contended that the proprietary estates should be taxed in common with other property. The proprietors, resting upon the privileges of their charter, resisted the measure, and in John Penn they had a powerful, because interested, champion. All hope of a reconciliation through concession being at an end, Franklin and others had previously proposed to petition the king to purchase the jurisdiction of the province from the proprietors, and vest the government directly in the crown. The proposition was favorably considered by the people at large, and the petition was accordingly drawn up by Franklin. It set forth the increasing property, and, as a consequence, the increasing power of the proprietaries, and the danger to be apprehended from the influence of such a power in the state intervening between the crown and the people. This was the first great step toward revolution in Pennsylvania--an attempt to crush feudal power and remove all barriers between the supreme governor and the governed. Many leading men, whose relationship to the proprietaries, and attachment to things made reverend by age, opposed the petition; but the Quakers, whose principles had been set at naught by the successors of William Penn, were in favor of the measure. Several successive Assemblies favored the proposition, and Dr. Franklin [[November, 1764]] was appointed provincial agent to urge the measure before the king. This * The founder of Pennsylvania, by the expenses incident to the establishment of his government, together with many acts of private benevolence, so impaired his paternal estate as to make it necessary to borrow $30,000, the most of which was secured by a mortgage on his province. This was the commencement of the state debt of Pennsylvania, now amounting to about $40,000,000. ** The bounties were as follows: "For every male above the age of ten years captured, $150; scalped, being killed, $134; for every female Indian enemy, and every male under ten years, captured, $130; for every female above the age of ten years, scalped, $50! [[[The Stamp Act.--Spirit of the People.--Party Rancor.--Franklin Lampooned.--William Bradford.]]] {258}was the beginning of the system of colonial agencies which so efficiently aided the progress of the Revolution. In Philadelphia, as in other commercial towns, opposition to the Stamp Act was a prevailing sentiment. Intelligence of its enactment, and the king's assent, produced great excitement; and, as the day on which it was to go into effect approached, open hostility became more and more manifest. Party spirit, at that time, was peculiarly rancorous in Pennsylvania, and the political opposers of Dr. Franklin asserted that he was in favor of the odious act. The fact that he had procured the office of stamp-master for Philadelphia for his friend John Hughes (as he did for Ingersoll of Connecticut), gave a coloring of truth to the charge, and his family and property were menaced with injury. * He was lampooned by caricatures ** and placards; but they had little effect upon the great mass of the people, by whom he was admired and confided in. The store-keepers of Philadelphia resolved to cease importing British goods while the Stamp Act was in force; the people resolved to abstain from mutton, so that wool for the purpose of domestic manufacture might be increased; and among other resolves concerning frugality in living, they determined to restrain the usual expenses of funerals. Benjamin Price, Esq., was buried in an oaken coffin and iron handles; and Alderman Plumstead was conveyed to the grave without a pall or mourning-dresses. When the commission for Hughes and the stamps arrived, all the bells were muffled and tolled; the colors were hoisted half mast, and signs of a popular outbreak appeared. The house of Hughes was guarded by his friends; but the current of popular feeling ran so high and menacing that he resigned his office. As in New York, the odious act was printed and hawked about the streets, headed _The Folly of England, and the Ruin of America_. *** The newspaper of William Bradford, **** the leading printer in Philadelphia, teemed with denunciations of the act; and on the * His wife, in a letter written on the 22d of September! 1765, from "near Philadelphia," informs him that a mob was talked of; that several houses were indicated for destruction; and that she was advised to remove to Burlington for safety. "It is Mr. S. S." she said, "that is setting the people mad, by telling them that it was you that had planned the Stamp Act, and that you are endeavoring to get the Test Act brought over here." The courageous woman declared she would not stir from her dwelling, and she remained throughout the election (the immediate cause of excitement at that time) unharmed. ** In one of these, called The Medley, Franklin is represented among the electors, accompanied by the Devil, who is whispering in his ear, "Thee shall be agent, Ben, for all my realm." In another part of the caricature is the following verse: "All his designs concenter in himself, For building castles and amassing pelf. The public! 'tis his wit to sell for gain, Whom private property did ne'er maintain." *** Watson's Annals of Philadelphia, ii., 271. **** William Bradford was a grandson of William Bradford, the first printer who settled in the colony. * He went to England in 1741, and the next year returned with printing materials and books. In December, 1742, he published the first number of the Pennsylvania Journal, which was continued until about the close of the century, when his son Thomas, who was his business partner, changed its name to the True American. While carrying on the printing business, he opened, in 1754, at the corner of Market and Front Streets, "The London Coffee-house," and in 1762 a marine insurance office, with Mr. Kydd. His republican bias was manifested during the Stamp Act excitement; and when the war of the Revolution began, he joined the Pennsylvania militia. As a major and colonel, he fought in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, and was at Fort Mifflin, below Philadelphia, when it was attacked. After the British army left Philadelphia, he returned with a broken constitution and a shattered fortune. A short time before his death, a paralytic shock gave him warning of its approach. To his children he said, "Though I bequeath you no estate, I leave you in the enjoyment of liberty." He died on the 25th of September, 1791, aged seventy-two years. * His son, Andrew, was also a printer, and carried on business in Philadelphia after his father had retired to New York on a pension from government of sixty pounds a year. In a poetic effusion printed by Keimer, the first employer of Dr. Franklin, in 1731, is the following allusion to the Bradfords: "In Penn's wooden country type feels no disaster, The printers grow rich; one is made their postmaster. His father, a printer, is paid for his work, And wallows in plenty, just now, in New York. Though quite past his labor, and old as my gran'mum, The government pays him pounds sixty per annum." [[[The Pennsylvania Journal.--Repeal of the Stamp Act.--Rejoicings.--Dickenson's Letters.]]] {259}day preceding the one in which the law was to go in force, it contained the emblematic head and "doleful" communication seen in the engraving. * [Illustration: 0267] The repeal of the Stamp Act the following year produced great rejoicing in Philadelphia. The intelligence of the repeal was brought by Captain Wise. He was invited to drink punch at the Coffee-house, ** where a gold-laced hat was given him, and presents were distributed among his crew. The punch was made common; and many of the "first men played hob-and-nob over their glasses with sailors and common people." The city was brilliantly illuminated at night; a large quantity of wood was given for bonfires; many barrels of beer were distributed among the populace; and the next day the governor and mayoralty gave a feast to three hundred persons at the State House gallery. At that feast it was unanimously resolved by those present to dress themselves, at the approaching birth-day of the king, in new suits of English manufacture, and to give their homespun garments to the poor. The anniversary of the king's birth-day, in June, was also celebrated with great displays of joy and loyalty; and the people, in the plenitude of their good feelings, did not heed the advice of Franklin and Richard Penn, "not to exult as at a great victory." When the British Parliament devised other schemes for taxing the Americans, Pennsylvania, like Massachusetts and all the other colonies, was aroused, and the rights of the American people were every where freely discussed. John Dickenson sent forth his powerful "Letters of a Pennsylvania Farmer," *** and the circular letter from Massachusetts, recapitu- * This is one third the size of the original, and gives a fac simile, in appearance, of the device. ** The London Coffee-house, established, as we have seen, by William Bradford ten years before, on the corner of Front and Market Streets, was the daily resort of the governor and other public functionaries, and there vendues were generally held. John Pemberton, a Quaker, owned the house in 1780; and in his lease to Gifford Dally, he stipulated that swearing should be discouraged there, and that the house should be closed on "the first day of the week.'" This would be an excellent clause in like leases at the present day. *** See page 476, vol. i [[[Firmness of Pennsylvania.--Tea Ships.--Destruction of Tea at Greenwich.--Revolutionary Movements.]]] {260}lating arguments against taxation, was received with loud acclaim. Alarmed at the progress of opposition in the colonies, Hillsborough, the colonial secretary, sent forth his countervailing circulars. Governor Penn was instructed to enjoin the Assembly to regard the Massachusetts circular as seditious and of a dangerous tendency, and to prorogue the Assembly if they should countenance it. The Assembly, firm in the right cause, practically asserted their privilege to correspond with the other colonies, and they heartily seconded the proposition of Virginia for a union of the provinces in a respectful petition to the king for a redress of grievances. Leagues, non-importation agreements, committees of correspondence, and other revolutionary machinery, such as were zealously engaged in New England, were equally active in Pennsylvania; and when the British government poured all its wrath upon Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, in word and deed, stood up as the bold champion and sympathizing friend of the New Englanders. Its course was more temperate than its sister colony, but not less firm. While a convention at Philadelphia recommended the people of Boston to try all lenient measures for relief, they assured them that "the people of Pennsylvania would continue firmly to adhere to the cause of American liberty." In December, 1773, two of the "detested tea-ships" sailed up the Delaware as far as Gloucester Point. There they were ordered to anchor, and to proceed no further, at their peril. The authority acting on the occasion was a committee from a meeting of full eight thousand persons, then congregated in the State House yard. They allowed the captain of one of the ships (the Polly) to go up to the city and witness the manifested feelings of the people, by which he might determine which was the wiser course to pursue, to persist in landing the tea, or to weigh anchor for Europe. He chose the latter, and in the mean time the consignees of the tea were all forced to resign. In November, the following year, the brig Greyhound, bound to Philadelphia with a cargo of tea, landed at Greenwich, on the Jersey shore. There the cargo was discharged, and placed in the cellar of a house standing in front of the market grounds. On the evening of the 22d, about fifty men, disguised as Indians, took the chests from the cellar, piled them in a neighboring field, and burned them. Suits were brought against some of the leading young men who were engaged in this transaction, but the war breaking out, and courts of justice being abolished or suspended, they were abandoned. * On the 18th of June, 1774, another meeting of at least eight thousand persons convened in Philadelphia. The governor had been requested to call a special session of the Assembly, but refused. ** John Dickenson and Thomas Willing were appointed chairmen of the meeting: the whole proceedings were revolutionary. They recommended a Continental Congress; formed a committee to correspond with the counties and with the other colonies in relation to the appointment of deputies to a general Congress, and to solicit subscriptions for the sufferers at Boston. A convention of deputies from all parts of the province was recommended, and, as peaceably as it convened, the mass meeting adjourned. [[1774]] A meeting of deputies from the several counties was held on the 15th of July, in which the kindred sentiments of loyalty and patriotism glowed with intensity. They resolved "that they owed allegiance to George the Third; that they ardently desired the restoration of their ancient harmony with the mother country on the principles of the Constitution; that the inhabitants of the colonies were entitled to the same rights and liberties * The following are the names of the leading young men who composed this New Jersey Tea-party: Dr. Ebenezer Elmer, Richard Howell (afterward major in the army and governor of the state), David Pierson, Stephen Pierson, Silas Whitecar, Timothy Elmer, Rev. Andrew Hunter, Rev. Philip Fithian, Alexander Moore, Jr., Clarence Parvin, John Hunt, James Hunt, Lewis Howell, Henry Starks, James Ewing, father of the late chief justice of New Jersey, Dr. Thomas Ewing, Josiah Seeley, and Joel Fithian. ** In 1771 Governor John Penn returned to England, leaving executive affairs in the hands of Andrew Hamilton, the president of the council. In the autumn of that year, Richard Penn, a younger brother of John, arrived with credentials as lieutenant governor. He held the office until September, 1773, when John Penn returned, and resumed the reins of government. It was during the latter part of the first administration of John Penn, and those of Hamilton and Richard Penn, that the hostilities in the Valley of Wyoming occurred, of which we have written in the first volume. [[[Members of Assembly instructed.--Quakers Opposed to the Revolution.--"Testimony" of their Yearly Meeting in 1775.]]] {261}within the colonies as subjects born in England were entitled to within that realm, and that the right of representation in the British Parliament was implied by the asserted power of the government to tax them." The convention also adopted a series of instructions for the Assembly about to convene, in which, in the strongest terms, colonial rights were asserted. These were from the pen of John Dickenson, and, though loyal in spirit, they were firm in resistance to the arm of oppression. * When the Assembly met, these instructions were regarded as binding, and were faithfully carried out. Joseph Galloway (who afterward became a Tory), the speaker of the Assembly, Samuel Rhoades, Thomas Mifflin, Charles Humphries, John Morton, George R-oss, Edward Biddle, and subsequently John Dickenson, were appointed delegates to represent Pennsylvania in the Continental [[July 22, 1774]] Congress, to assemble in Philadelphia in September following. We have seen that, from the founding of Pennsylvania, the Quakers held a commanding social and political influence in the commonwealth. Although this influence was much diminished at the commencement of the Revolution, a large influx of Germans and adventurers from New England having populated extensive districts of the province, their principles, precepts, and practices had great weight with the public mind. They had generally taken affirmative ground in the popular peaceable measures adopted to procure redress of political grievances, and warmly approved of the conduct of the first Continental Congress; but when an appeal to arms became an apparent necessity, and the tendency of action in popular conventions and legislative assemblies pointed to that dreadful alternative, their love of order, and their principles of non-resistance by force of arms, positively enjoined in their "Discipline," made them pause. They held extra and protracted meetings, even till after night, to determine what to do. There was a spirit abroad favorable to enforcing a compliance with the letter of the American Association recommended by the first Congress--an association designed to draw, in strong lines of demarcation, the separation between the friends of Congress and the friends of the king. To this spirit the Quakers were opposed, because it usurped the dearest prerogatives of conscience, and pronounced the exercise of honest opinions to be a political misdemeanor. They not only paused, but cast the weight of their influence into the scale of royalty, believing it to be the guardian of law and order. While a Provincial Convention was in session in Philadelphia, in which the elo[[May, 1775]]quence of Thomas Mifflin, a young Quaker, was urging his countrymen to a resort to arms, his sect, not sharing his enthusiasm, were holding their yearly meeting in the same city. That meeting, swayed in its opinions and action by James Pemberton, one of the most prominent and sound men of his day, put forth its "Testimony," in which the members of the society were exhorted to withhold all countenance from every measure "tending to break off' the happy connection of the colonies with the mother country, or to interrupt their just subordination to the king." ** From that time until the close of the war, the * "Honor, justice, and humanity," they said, "call upon us to hold, and to transmit to posterity, that liberty which we received from our ancestors. It is not our duty to leave our wealth to our children, but it is our duty to leave liberty to them. No infamy, iniquity, or cruelty can exceed our own, if we, born and educated in a country of freedom, entitled to its blessings, and knowing their value, pusillanimonsly deserting the post assigned us by Divine Providence, surrender succeeding generations to a condition of wretchedness from which no human efforts, in all probability, will be sufficient to extricate them, the experience of all states mercifully demonstrating to us that, when arbitrary power has been established over them, even the wisest and bravest nations that ever flourished have, in a few years, degenerated into abject and wretched vassals. To us, therefore, it appears, at this alarming period, our duty to God, to our country, to ourselves, and to our posterity, to exert our utmost ability in promoting and establishing harmony between Great Britain and these colonies on a constitutional foundation." ** The following is a copy of that document, taken from the Pennsylvania Evening Post, No. 402: The TESTIMONY of the people called, Quakers, given forth by a meeting of the Representatives of said people in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, held at Philadelphia the twenty-fourth day of the first month, 1775: Having considered, with real sorrow, the unhappy contest between the Legislature of Great Britain and the people of these colonies, and the animosities consequent thereon, we have, by repeated public advices and private admonitions, used our endeavors to dissuade the members of our religious soeiety from joining with the public resolutions promoted and entered into by some of the people, which, as we apprehended, so we now find, have increased contention, and produced great discord and confusion. The Divine Principle of grace and truth which we profess leads all who attend to its dictates to demean themselves as peaceable subjects, and to discountenance and avoid every measure tending to excite disaffection to the king as supreme magistrate, or to the legal authority of his government, to which purpose many of the late political writings and addresses to the people appearing to be calculated, we are led by a sense of duty to declare our entire disapprobation of them, their spirit and temper being not only contrary to the nature and precepts of the Gospel, but destructive of the peace and harmony of civil society, disqualifies men, in these times of difficulty, for the wise and judicious consideration and promoting of such measures as would be most effectual for reconciling differences or obtaining the redress of grievances. From our past experience of the clemency of the king and his royal ancestors, we have ground to hope and believe that decent and respectful addresses from those who are vested with legal authority, representing the prevailing dissatisfactions and the cause of them, would avail toward obtaining relief, ascertaining and establishing the just rights of the people, and restoring the public tranquillity; and we deeply lament that contrary modes of proceeding have been pursued, which have involved the colonies in confusion, appear likely to produce violence and bloodshed, and threaten the subversion of the Constitutional government, and of that liberty of conscience for the enjoyment of which our ancestors were induced to encounter the manifold dangers and difficulties of crossing the seas and of settling in the wilderness. We are therefore incited, by a sincere concern for the peace and welfare of our country, publicly to declare against every usurpation of power and authority in opposition to the laws and government, and against all combinations, insurrections, conspiracies, and illegal assemblies; and as we are restrained from them by the conscientious discharge of our duty to Almighty God, "by whom kings reign and princes decree justice," we hope, through his assistance and favor, to be enabled to maintain our testimony against any requisitions which may be made of us, inconsistent with our religious principles and the fidelity we owe to the king and his government, as by law established; earnestly desiring the restoration of that harmony and concord which have heretofore united the people of these provinces, and been attended by the Divine blessing on their labors. Signed in and on behalf of the said meeting, James Pemberton, Clerk at this time. ** This Testimony gave offense to many Friends in Philadelphia who were favorable to the patriots. Some left, and formed a separate meeting. They built themselves a brick meeting-house at the southwest corner of Fifth and Arch Streets; and others so far seceded as to form a military company, under Captain Humphreys, which they called The Quaker Company. [[[James Pemberton and others sent to Virginia.--Arrest and Removal of Governor Penn and Chief-justice Chew.]]] {262}Quakers, as a body, were friends of the king, though generally passive, so far as public observation could determine. But in secret, and through their "testimonies," they gave "aid and comfort to the enemy." [Illustration: 9270] To such an extent did they exert their influence against the patriots, that Congress thought it proper to recommend the executives of the several states to keep a watch upon their movements. That body also earnestly recommended the supreme executive council of Pennsylvania to apprehend and secure the persons of eleven of the leading Quakers of Philadelphia. * Among these was August 23, James Pemberton, whose likeness is here given. He[[August 28, 1777]] remained two years in Virginia, where he wrote a journal, a portion of which is published in the "_Friends' Miscellany_," vol. vii. Unlike other Tories, the Quakers were so passive that little positive evidence of their acting against the patriots could be * The reason given for this measure by Congress was, "that when the enemy, in the month of December, 1776. were bending their progress toward the city of Philadelphia, a certain seditious publication, addressed "To our friends and brethren in religious profession in these and the adjacent provinces," signed John Pemberton, in and on behalf of the meeting of sufferings, held at Philadelphia, for Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the 26th of the 12th month, 1776," was published, and, as your committee is credibly informed, circulated among many members of the society called Quakers, throughout the different states." The paper originated in Philadelphia, and Joshua Fisher. Abel James, James Pemberton, Henry Drinker, Israel Pemberton. John Pemberton, John James, Samuel Pleasants, Thomas Wharton, senior, Thomas Fisher, and Samuel Fisher, of that city, leading members of the society, were banished to Fredericksburg, in Virginia. The Board of War was also instructed to remove the Honorable John Penn, the governor, and Benjamin Chew, the chief justice of Pennsylvania, thither, for safe custody.--See Journals of Congress, iii., 290. The papers and records of the yearly meeting of the Quakers of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which were captured by Sullivan, in an expedition against the Loyalist regiments living on Staten Island, opposite Perth Amboy, gave Congress the first positive proof of the general disaffection of the sect. [[[Execution of Roberta and Carlisle.--Justice of their Punishment.--Carpenters' Hall.]]] {263}obtained; and very few of them, suffering from confiscation of property or other penalties, became refugees at the close of the war. John Egberts and Abraham Carlisle, of Philadelphia, members of this sect, suffered death at the hands of the Whigs, in November, 1778. [Illustration: 9271] This act has been cited a hundred times as evidence against the claims to the exercise of uniform humanity on the part of the patriots, and magnified into a foul murder, justified by no plea of public expediency. The facts prove otherwise; for if it was ever expedient to take the life of a dangerous citizen, then Roberts and Carlisle suffered justly. While they abstained from open hostility to the Revolutionary government, and refused to bear arms for the king, they gave secret aid, far more potent to the enemies of liberty. They were employed by Joseph Galloway and his loyal friends as secret agents in detecting foes to the government. While Howe had possession of Philadelphia, Carlisle granted permissions to pass the lines, watched at the entrance of the city to point out obnoxious persons coming from the country, and many were arrested and cast into prison on his bare suggestion.. Under the meek garb and demeanor of the Quaker was a Torquemada, exercising the functions of an inquisitor general. When Howe ordered a detachment, under Lieutenant-colonel Abercrombie, to go out upon the Frankford road, and fall upon a party of American militia, who, he was informed, were lying in the woods, Egberts and Carlisle, who would not _bear arms_ for the wealth of the Indies, acted as guides in conducting Abercrombie to the massacre of their countrymen. According to the rules of war and of state policy, their execution was expedient and salutary in effect. It was a subject for bitter vituperation on the part of the Tories, and even those who would fain have saved them from death were charged with dishonorable motives. "Governor Livingston went to Philadelphia," wrote John Potts to Joseph Galloway, "and urged his endeavors to prevail on the banditti in power there to save Roberts and Carlisle, not from any principle of honor or conscience--you know him too well--but from motives, as he thought, of policy." I think it may be safely asserted that where one Tory lost his life at the hands of the Whigs during the Revolution, fifty Whigs were slain in cold blood by the Tories. The reason is obvious--a heart warmed with love of country is benevolent and humane; its active opposers may fairly be presumed to be mercenary, and consequently cruel. The supper-bell has rung; let us close the chronicle for to-night, and in the morning go out in search of localities made memorable by events connected with our war for independence. On Monday morning I visited [[November 27, 1848]]Carpenters' Hall, the building in which the first Continental Congress held its brief session. Having had no intimation concerning its appearance, condition, and present use, and informed that it was situated in "Carpenters' Court," imagination had invested its exterior with dignity, its interior with solemn grandeur, and its location a spacious area, where nothing "common or unclean" was permitted to dwell. How often the hoof of Pegasus touches the leafless tree-tops of sober prose when his rider supposes him to be at his highest altitude! How often the rainbow of imagination fades, and leaves to the eye nothing but the forbidding aspect of a cloud of plain reality! So at this time. The spacious court was but a short and narrow * This building is constructed of small imported bricks, each alternate one glazed, and darker than the other, giving it a checkered appearance. Many of the old houses of Philadelphia were built of like materials. It was originally erected for the hall of meeting for the society of house-carpenters of Philadelphia. It stands at the end of an alley leading south from Chestnut Street, between Third and Fourth Streets. [[[Desecration of Carpenters' Hall.--Congress Hall.--Prevalence of a Desire for Union.]]] {264}alley; and the _Hall_, consecrated by the holiest associations which cluster around the birthtime of our republic, was a small two-story building, of somber aspect, with a short steeple, and all of a dingy hue. I tried hard to conceive the apparition upon its front to be a classic frieze, with rich historic triglyphs; but it would not do. Vision was too "lynx-eyed," and I could make nothing more poetic of it than an array of impudent letters spelling the words= ````C. J. WOLBERT & CO., AUCTIONEERS ````FOR THE SALE OF ````Real Estate and Stocks, ````Fancy Goods, ````Horses, Vehicles, and Harness. [Illustration: 8272] What a desecration! Covering the façade of the very Temple of Freedom with the placards of groveling mammon! If sensibility is shocked with this outward pollution, it is overwhelmed with indignant shame on entering the hall where that august assembly of men--the godfathers of our republic--convened to stand as sponsors at the baptism of infant American Liberty, to find it filled with every species of merchandise, and the walls which once echoed the eloquent words of Henry, Lee, and the Adamses, reverberating with the clatter of the auctioneer's voice and hammer. Is there not patriotism strong enough and bold enough in Philadelphia to enter this temple and cast out all them that buy and sell, and overthrow the table of the money-changers?" The hall in which Congress met is upon the lower floor, and comprehends the whole area of the building. It is about forty-five feet square, with a recess in the rear twenty-five feet wide and about twelve feet deep, at the entrance of which are two pillars, eighteen feet high. The second story contains smaller apartments which were used by Congress, and occupied by the society as committee rooms. In one of these, emptied of all merchandise except a wash-tub and a rush-bottomed chair, let us sit down and consider the events connected with that first great Continental Council. We have already, in former chapters, considered the causes which awakened a desire in the colonies for a political union, and which impelled them to resistance. For many years a strong sympathy had existed between the several colonies, and injuries done to one, either by the aggressions of the French and Indians, or the unkind hand of their common mother, touched the feelings of all the others, and drew out responsive words and acts which denoted an already strong bond of unity. Widely separated as some of them were from each other by geographical distance, and diversity of interest and pursuits, there were, nevertheless, political, social, and commercial considerations which made the Anglo-Americans really one people, having common interests and common hopes. Called upon as free subjects of Great Britain to relinquish, theoretically and practically, some of the dearest prerogatives guaranteed to them by Magna Charta and hoary custom--prerogatives, in which were enveloped the most precious kernels of civil liberty--they arose as one family to resist the insidious [[[First Movements toward a General Congress.--Election of Delegates.--Names of the Representatives of each Colony.]]] {265}progress of on-coming despotism, and yearned for union to give themselves strength commensurate to the task. Leading minds in every colony perceived the necessity for a general council, and in the spring of 1774, the great heart of Anglo-America seemed to beat as with one pulsation with this sublime idea. That idea found voice and expression almost simultaneously throughout the land. Rhode Island has the distinguished honor of first speaking out publicly on the subject. A general Congress was proposed at a town meeting in Providence on the 17th of May, 1774. A committee of a town meeting held in Philadelphia on the 21st, four days afterward, also recommended such a measure; and on the 23d, a town meeting in New York city uttered the same sentiment. The House of Burgesses of Virginia, dissolved by Lord Dunmore, assembled at the Raleigh Tavern, * in Williams-burgh, on the 27th, and on that day warmly recommended the assembling of a national council; and Baltimore, in county meeting, also took action in favor of it on the 31st. On the 6th of June, a town meeting at Norwich. Connecticut, proposed a general Congress; on the 11th, a county meeting at Newark, New Jersey, did the same; on the 17th, the Massachusetts Assembly, and, at the same time, a town meeting in Faneuil Hall, in Boston, strenuously recommended the measure; and a county meeting at New Castle, Delaware, approved of it on the 29th. On the 6th of July, the committee of correspondence at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, expressed its approbation of the measure. A general province meeting, held at Charleston, South Carolina, on the 6th, 7th, and 8th of that month, urged the necessity of such a Congress; and a district meeting at Wilmington, North Carolina, held on the 21st, heartily responded affirmatively. Thus we perceive that, within the space of sixty-four days, twelve of the thirteen colonies spoke out decidedly in favor of a Continental Congress, Georgia alone remaining silent. ** The Massachusetts Assembly designated the 1st of September, 1774, as the time, and Philadelphia as the place for the meeting of the Congress. *** Other colonies acquiesced, and at Philadelphia the delegates convened.= ```"Now meet the fathers of this western clime, ````Nor names more noble graced the roll of Fame. ```When Spartan firmness braved the wrecks of time. ````Or Rome's bold virtues fann'd the heroic flame.= ```"Not deeper thought th' immortal sage inspired ````On Solon's lips, when Grecian senates hung; ```Nor manlier eloquence the bosom fired, ````When genius thunder'd from the Athenian tongue." `````Trumbull.**** = On Monday, the 5th of September, fifty-four delegates, from twelve colonies, assembled in Carpenters' Hall. (v) It was a congregation of men, viewed in every important aspect, * A drawing of the Raleigh Tavern, and also of the Apollo Room, in whieh the Assembly met, will be found in another part of this work. ** Connecticut elected its delegates on the 3d of June; Massachusetts on the 17th; Maryland on the 22d; New Hampshire on the 21st of July; Pennsylvania on the 22d; New Jersey on the 23d; New York on the 25th; Delaware on the 1st of August; Virginia on the same day; South Carolina on the 2d; Rhode Island on the 10th; and North Carolina on the 25th. *** See pages 510, 511, vol. i. **** The author of M'Fingal. These lines are from his Elegy on the Times, published while this first Congress was in session. * (v) The following are the names of the members who composed the first Continental Congress: New Hampshire.--John Sullivan, Nathaniel Folsom. Massachusetts.--Thomas Cushing, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine. Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.--Stephen Hopkins, Samuel Ward. Connecticut.--Eliphalet Dyer, Roger Sherman, Silas Deane.. New York.--James Duane, John Jay, Isaac Low, John Alsop, William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Henry Wisner. New Jersey.--James Kinsey, Stephen Crane, William Livingston, Richard Smith, John De Hart. Pennsylvania.--Joseph Galloway, John Morton, Charles Humphreys, Thomas Mifflin, Samuel Rhodes, Edward Biddle, George Ross, John Dickenson. Delaware.--Cæsar Rodney, Thomas M'Ivean, George Read. Maryland.--Robert Goldsborough, Samuel Chase, Thomas Johnson, Matthew Tilghman, William Pann. Virginia.--Peyton Randolph, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison, Edmund Pendleton. North Carolina.--William Hooper, Joseph Hughes, Richard Caswell. South Carolina.--Henry Middleton, John Rutledge, Thomas Lynch, Christopher Gadsden, Edward Rutledge. [[[Character of the first Continental Congress.--Its Organization.--Peyton Randolph.--Charles Thomson.]]] {266}such as the world had never seen. "For a long time," says the eloquent Charles Botta, "no spectacle had been offered to the attention of mankind of so powerful an interest as this of the present American Congress. It was, indeed, a novel thing, and, as it were, miraculous, that a nation hitherto almost unknown to the people of Europe, or only known by the commerce it occasionally exercised in their ports, should, all at once, step forth from this state of oblivion, and, rousing as from a long slumber, should seize the reins to govern itself; that the various parts of this nation, hitherto disjointed, and almost in opposition to each other, should now be united in one body, and moved by a single will; that their long and habitual obedience should be suddenly changed for the intrepid counsels of resistance, and of open defiance to the formidable nation whence they derived their origin and laws. * The men who composed that first Congress were possessed of the purest minds, the loftiest and most disinterested patriotism, and moral characters without spot or blemish. Instinctively the people had turned to their _best men_ for counsel and action when the crisis arrived; and the representatives there assembled composed the flower of the American colonies. "There is in the Congress," wrote John Adams, "a collection of the greatest men upon this continent in point of abilities, virtues, and fortunes." The sectional factions and personal ambitions, which afterward disturbed the harmony and injured the character of the Continental Congress, ** had no tangible shape in this first Assembly. They felt, with all the solemnity of wise and virtuous men, the weight of the momentous responsibility resting upon them. They knew that toward them all eyes were turned, all hearts were drawn; that not only America, but the whole civilized world, was an interested spectator of their acts; and that for posterity, more than for cotemporaries, they held a trust of value infinitely beyond human estimation. Impressed with the consciousness of such responsibility, the delegates commenced their labors. [[September, 1774]] Congress was organized by the choice of Peyton Randolph, *** of Virginia, as president, and Charles Thomson, **** of Pennsylvania, as secretary. The credentials of * Otis's Botta, i 128. ** In the opinion of Charles Thomson, who was Secretary of Congress for fifteen consecutive years, no subsequent national Assembly during the war could compare with the first in point of talent and purity. He represents the Congress that sat at York, in Pennsylvania, while Washington and his army were suffering at Valley Forge, as a body of weak men compared to former delegations. It was in that Congress that a faction favored the scheme for making Gates commander-in-ehief of the army in place of Washington. *** Peyton Randolph was a native of Virginia, descended from one of its oldest and most respected families. Like other young men of the aristocracy, he was educated in England. He chose the profession of the law, and sueh were his talents that he was appointed attorney-general of the province in 1756, at the age of twenty-seven years. In that year he engaged, with one hundred gentlemen, to band as volunteers, and march against the Indians on their Western frontiers. He was for some years a member of the House of Burgesses of Virginia, and was at one time its speaker. He was one of the delegates from Virginia in the first Continental Congress, presided over that body with dignity, and was elected to the presidential chair by the second Congress, the following year. On account of ill health, he was obliged to resign his station on the 24th of May, 1775, and return to Virginia. He afterward resumed his seat in Congress. He died at Philadelphia, of apoplexy, on the 22d of October, 1775, aged fifty-two years. The accompanying likeness of Mr. Randolph I copied from a miniature by Charles Wilson Peale, in the possession of his son, Titian R. Peale, Esq., of Washington City. The original portrait from life, painted by Peale, is in the Congress library; the miniature is a copy by the same artist. Mr. Randolph was a Free-mason; the scarf seen across his breast is a part of the regalia of a grand master. The portrait was painted for a lodge of the fraternity. **** Charles Thomson was born in Ireland, in 1730, and came to Ameriea, with his three elder brothers, in 1741. They landed at New Castle, Delaware, with no other dependence than their industry. He was educated by Dr. Allison, the tutor of several of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He was afterward a teacher at the Friends' Academy, at New Castle. From thence he went to Philadelphia, where he obtained the advice and lasting friendship of Dr. Franklin. He was called to the responsible duty of keeping the minutes of the proceedings of the first Continental Congress in 1774, and from that time until he resigned his offiee, in 1789, he was the sole secretary of that body. He married Hannah Harrison, the aunt of General Harrison, late President of the United States. Mr. Thomson died at Lower Merion, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, August 16, 1824, aged ninety-four years. The likeness of Secretary Thomson here given I copied from a portrait painted from life by Charles Wilson Peale, and in the present possession of P. T. Barnum, Esq., of New York. It agrees with the description of him given by the Abbé Robin, who was attached to Rochambeau's staff. Alluding to those who paid their respects to Roehambeau when he was in Philadelphia, he says: "Among others, Charles Thomson, secretary of Congress, the soul of that political body, came also to receive and present his compliments. His meager figure, furrowed countenance, his hollow, sparkling eyes, his white, straight hair, that did not hang quite so low as his ears, fixed our thorough attention and filled us with surprise and admiration." [[[Opening of the first Continental Congress.--Patrick Henry.--The First Prayer in Congress.]]] {267}the various delegates were then presented, and now came a pause; who should take the lead? what measure should be first proposed? They had come together from distant provinces, some instructed by the power that appointed them, others left free to act as circumstances should require. [Illustration: 8275] There was a profound silence, and deep anxiety was depicted upon every countenance. No one seemed willing to break that silence, until a grave-looking member, in a plain, is it?" A few, who knew the stranger, answered, There was no more hesitation; he who startled the people of colonial America, nine years before, by his bold resolutions against the Stamp Act, and, a few months afterward, by the cry of "Give me liberty or give me death!" now gave the impulse to the representatives of that people in grand council assembled, and set in motion that machinery of civil power which worked so nobly while Washington and his compatriots were waging war with the enemy in the field. [Illustration: 9275] Two days afterward, another im-[[September 7.]] impressive scene occurred. It was the _first prayer in Congress_, offered up by the Reverend Mr. Duché. ** The first day had been occupied in the reception of credentials and the arrangement of business; the second, in the adoption of rules for the regulation of the session; and now, when about to enter upon the general business for which they were convened, the delegates publicly sought Divine aid. It was a spectacle of great interest, for men of every creed dark suit of "minister's gray" and unpowdered wig, arose. "Then," said Bishop White, who was present, and related the circumstance, "I felt a regret that a seeming _country parson_ should so far have mistaken his talents and the theater for their display." [Illustration: 6275] But his voice was so musical, his words so eloquent, and his sentiments so profoundly logical, that the whole House was electrified, and the question went from lip to lip, Who is it? who It is Patrick Henry, of Virginia!" *** John Adams thus wrote: "When the Congress met, Mr. Cushing made a motion that it should be opened with prayer. It was opposed by Mr. Jay", of New York, and Mr. Rutledge, of South Carolina, because we were so divided in religious sentiments--some Episcopalians, some Quakers, some Anabaptists, some Presbyterians, and some Congregationalists--that we could not join in the same act of worship. Mr. Samuel Adams arose, and said 'that he was no bigot, and could hear a prayer from any gentleman of piety and virtue who was at the same time a friend to his country. He was a stranger in Philadelphia, but had heard that Mr. Duché (Dushay they pronounce it) deserved that character, and therefore he moved that Mr. Duché, an Episcopal clergyman, might be desired to read prayers before the Congress to-morrow morning.' The motion was seconded, and passed in the affirmative. Mr. Randolph, our president, waited on Mr. Duché, and received for answer that, if his health would permit, he certainly would. Accordingly, next morning, he appeared with his clerk, and in pontificals, and read several prayers in the Established form, and then read the Psalter for the seventh day of September, a part of which was the 35th Psalm. You must remember this was the next morning after we had heard the rumor of the horrible cannonade of Boston. It seemed as if Heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read on that morning. "After this, Mr. Duché, unexpectedly to every body, struck out into an extemporary prayer, which filled the bosom of every man present. I must confess, I never heard a better prayer, or one so well pronounced. Episcopalian as he is, Dr. Cooper himself never prayed with such fervor, such ardor, such correctness, such pathos, and in language so elegant and sublime, for Congress, for the province of Massachusetts Bay, especially the town of Boston. It had an excellent effect upon every body here. I must beg you to read that Psalm. If there is any faith in the Sortes Virgillianae, or Sortes Homericæ, or especially the Sortes Biblieæ, it would be thought providential." Bishop White, who was present, says that Washington was the only member who knelt on that occasion. * See Watson's Annals, vol. i., 422. his wife on the 8th of September, concerning that first prayer in Congress. [[[Sessions with closed Doors.--Sympathy with Massachusetts.--Declaration of Rights.--"American Association."--Mr. Duché.]]] {268}were there. In this service their creeds were forgotten, and the hearts of all united in the prayer which flowed from the pastor's lips; a prayer which came from a then patriot's heart, though timidity afterward lost him the esteem of his friends and countrymen. * The Congress resolved to sit with closed doors, for enemies were around them with open eyes and busy tongues, and nothing was to be made public without special orders. Having no means at hand to ascertain the relative importance of the colonies, it was agreed "that each colony or province should have one vote in determining questions." One of their first acts was to express an opinion that the whole continent ought to support Massachusetts in [[ a September 10.]] resistance to the unconstitutional change in her government; (a) and they afterward resolved that any person accepting office under the new system ought to be held in detestation as a public enemy. (b) Merchants were advised to enter into non-importation agreements;(c) and a letter was addressed to General Gage, remonstrating against the fortifications on Boston Neck, and his arbitrary exercise of power. (d) On the 11th of October, a _Declaration of Colonial Rights_, prepared by a committee of two from each province, was adopted, in which was set forth the grievances complained of, and the inalienable rights of British subjects" in every part of the realm. As a means of enforcing the claim of natural and delegated rights, fourteen articles were agreed to as the basis of an _American Association_, pledging the associate's to an entire commercial non-intercourse with Great Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies, and the non-consumption of tea and British goods. In one clause the slave trade was specially denounced, and entire abstinence from it, and from any trade with those concerned in it, formed a part of the association. Committees were to be appointed in every county, city, and town, to detect and punish all violations of it; and all dealings [[October 20.]] * Mr. Duché was at that time an ardent Whig, but subsequently became an enemy to his country. He was the son of a Huguenot, who eame to America with William Penn. In youth he was a good orator, and, after taking holy orders in England, he became a very popular Episcopal clergyman in Philadelphia, his native eity. He was appointed chaplain to Congress on the 9th of July, 1776, but resigned in October. When the British took possession of Philadelphia, Mr. Duché, alarmed at the gloomy aspect of affairs, forsook the patriot cause, and, in a letter to Washington, endeavored to persuade the general to do likewise, and to "represent to Congress the indispensable necessity of rescinding the hasty and ill-advised Declaration of Independence." Washington transmitted this letter to Congress, and Mr. Duché was obliged to leave the country. He became a preacher in the Lambeth Asylum, where he was greatly respected. He returned to America in 1790, and died in Philadelphia in 1794, aged about sixty years. Mr. Duché was a man of much benevolence of character. He gave the amount of his salary ($150), while chaplain of Congress, to be distributed among families whose members had been slain in battle. He married a sister of Francis Hopkinson, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. ** This Declaration of Rights may be found in the Appendix. [[[State Papers issued by Congress.--Debates. Diversity of Opinion.--Dartmouth's Circular.--Joseph Galloway.]]] {269}with such enemies of American liberty were to be immediately broken off. One hundred and fifty copies of the Articles of Association were ordered to be printed. A memorial to the inhabitants of the several British-American colonies, written by Richard Henry Lee, and an eloquent address to the people of Great Britain, from the pen of John Jay, were adopted by Congress on the 21st. A petition to the king, drawn [[October, 1774]] by John Dickenson, was approved of on the 22d. Short letters to the colonies of St. John's Island (now Prince Edward's, Nova Scotia), Georgia, and the two Floridas, inclosing the doings of Congress, and inviting them to join the Association, were also adopted on that day; and on the 26th, the last day of the session, they approved of an elaborate address to the inhabitants of Canada. This was drawn up by Mr. Dickenson with his usual ability. Having made provision for another Congress to meet on the 10th of May following, * the first general council closed its session by adopting a second humble petition to the king, and a vote of thanks to the advocates of colonial rights in both houses of Parliament. Congress was in actual session only thirty-one days out of the eight weeks of the term, the remainder of the time being occupied in preparatory business. It was a session of extraordinary activity, and a great amount of business of vast importance was transacted, notwithstanding many unnecessary speeches were evidently made. ** They were certainly more to the purpose than are most of the harangues in Congress at the present day, or, considering the diversity of opinion that must have existed upon the sentiments of the various state papers that were adopted, the session would have continued for several months. We have no means of knowing what harmony or what discord characterized those debates. The doors were closed to the public ear, and no reporters for the press have preserved the substance of the speeches. That every resolution adopted was far from receiving a unanimous vote, is very evident; for we find, by the subsequent declarations and acts of delegates, that some of the measures were violently opposed. Many deplored the probability of an open rupture with the mother country, and refused acquiescence in any measure that should tend to such a result. Indeed, the sentiments of a large majority of the delegates were favorable to an honorable reconciliation, and the Congress was determined not to present the least foundation for a charge of rushing madly into an unnatural contest without presenting the olive branch of peace. Such was the tenor of its petitions and addresses; and every charge of a desire on the part of Congress for a war that might lead to independence rested solely upon inference. Galloway, *** Duane, and others, even opposed the American Association; * The following circular letter was sent to all the royal governors in America, soon after the proceedings of the Continental Congress were received in England. It was a "Bull" without horns, and did not alarm the patriots. "Whitehall, Jan. 4th, 1775. "Certain persons stiling" (sic) "themselves delegates of his majesty's colonies in America, having presumed, without his majesty's authority or consent, to assemble together, at Philadelphia, in the month of September and October last; and having thought fit, among other unwarrantable proceedings, to resolve that it will be necessary that another Congress should be held in this place on the 10th of May next, unless redress for certain pretended grievances be obtained before that time, and to recommend that all the colonies in North America should choose deputies to attend such Congress, I am commanded by the king to signify to you his majesty's pleasure, that you do use your utmost endeavors to prevent such appointment of deputies within the colony under your government; and that you do exhort all persons to desist from such unwarrantable proceedings, which can not but be highly displeasing to the king. "I am, sir, your most obedient servant, Dartmouth. ** "Every man in this assembly," wrote John Adams to his wife, "is a great man, an orator, a critic, a statesman; and therefore every man, upon every question, must show his oratory, his criticism, his political abilities. The consequence is, that business is spun out to an immeasurable length." *** Joseph Galloway was one of the most popular of the leaders in Pennsylvania when the war of the Revolution broke out. He was once the confidential friend of Franklin, and had worked shoulder to shoulder with him against the proprietaries. He was elected a delegate to the first Continental Congress. In that body he submitted a plan, as a measure of accommodation, which seemed quite feasible. It proposed a union of the colonies, with a grand council authorized to regulate colonial affairs jointly with the British Parliament, each to have a mutual negation on each other. * This plan was favorably received, and on the question of its adoption it was rejected by a majority of only one. The debates were very warm, and it was on this occasion that Samuel Adams, regarding the proposition as a concession to tyranny, exclaimed, "I should advise persisting in our struggle for liberty, though it were revealed from heaven that nine hundred and ninety-nine were to perish, and only one of a thousand were to survive and retain his liberty! One such freeman must possess more virtue and enjoy more happiness than a thousand slaves; and let him propagate his like, and transmit to them what he has so nobly preserved." * Before the meeting of the next Congress, Galloway manifested lukewarmness; and in 1776 he abandoned the Whigs, and became the most virulent and proscriptive Loyalist of the time. He joined the royal army in New York, where he continued until 1778, when, accompanied by his only daughter, he went to England. There he remained until his death in September, 1803, at the age of seventy-three years. His pen, for many years, was continually employed in correspondence with Loyalists in America, and upon subjects connected with the war. The prominent position which he at first held among the Whigs, and his virulence against them after his defection, made him the target for many an arrow of indignant wit. Trumbull, in his M'Fingall, gave him some hard hits; and a writer in the Pennsylvania Journal of February 5, 1777, thus castigates him with some lines, after saying to the printer, "If you think them severe enough, print 'em, egad I'' "Gall'way has fled, and join'd the venal Howe, To prove his baseness, see him cringe and bow; A traitor to his country and its laws, A friend to tyrants and their cursed cause. Unhappy wretch! thy interest must be sold For Continental, not for polish'd gold. To sink the money thou thyself cried down, And stabb'd thy country to support the crown. Go to and fro, like Lucifer on earth, And curse the Being that first gave thee birth. Away to Scotland and thyself prepare, Coal dust and brimstone is their only fare; Fit materials for such Tory blood, Who wrong their country and deny their God. There herd with Bute, Mansfield, and his brother; Bite, twist, sting, and poison one another." *** Galloway's estate, valued at $200,000, was confiscated by Pennsylvania. A large part of it was derived from his wife. A considerable portion was restored to his daughter. * This plan is printed in Sabine's Lives of the Loyalists, p. 309. [[[Opinions concerning the Adamses.--Sketch of Galloway's public Life.--Disposition of his Estate.]]] {270}and they regarded the Adamses as men not only too much committed to violent measures by the part they had taken in Boston, but that they were desperate men, with nothing to lose, and hence unsafe guides to gentlemen who had estates to forfeit. [Illustration: 9278] And yet Galloway, when he became a proscriptive Loyalist, and one of the most active enemies of the Republicans, was forced to acknowledge the stern virtues of many of the patriots of that assembly, and among them Samuel Adams. "He eats little, drinks little, sleeps little, and thinks much," he said, "and is most indefatigable in the pursuit of his object. It was this man who, by his superior application, managed at once the factions in Congress at Philadelphia, and the factions in New England." * The proceedings of this first Congress went forth to the world with all the weight of apparent unanimity, and throughout the colonies they were hailed with general satisfaction. The American Association adopted and signed by the delegates was regarded by the people with great favor, and thousands in every province affixed their signatures to the pledge. These formed the fibers of the stronger bond of the _Articles of Confederation_ afterward adopted, and may be considered the commencement of the American Union. * Galloway's Historical and Political Reflections on the Rise and Progress of the American Rebellion: London, 1780. In this pamphlet the writer handles Sir William Howe and other British commanders with severity. * Mr. Adams reiterated this sentiment when debating the resolution for independence twenty months afterward. ** Just before he left Philadelphia he discovered that his daughter was about to elope with Judge Griffin, who was afterward president of Congress. This doubtless hastened his departure. *** Murray, confidential secretary to the Pretender, Prince Charles Edward. [[[The State House.--Independence Hall.--Hancock's Chair.--Portraits of Penn and La Fayette.]]] {271} CHAPTER XI. ```"This is the sacred fane wherein assembled ````The fearless champions on the side of Right; ```Men at whose Declaration empires trembled, ````Moved by the truth's immortal might.= ```"Here stood the patriot--one union folding ````The Eastern, Northern, Southern sage and seer, ```Within that living bond which, truth upholding, ````Proclaims each man his fellow's peer.= ```"Here rose the anthem which all nations, hearing, ````In loud response the echoes backward hurled; ```Reverberating still the ceaseless cheering, ````Our continent repeats it to the world.= ```"This is the hallowed spot where first unfurling * ````Fair Freedom spread her blazing scroll of light; ```Here, from oppression's throne the tyrant hurling, ````She stood supreme in majesty and might!" `````George W. Dewey.= [Illustration: 9279] ROM Carpenters' Hall I went up Chestnut Street to the venerable State House, situated upon its southern side, between Fifth and Sixth Streets. * Hallowed by so many patriotic associations, it has become a Caaba to every American when first visiting the city of Penn. It is cherished by the people of Pennsylvania because of the memories of colonial times, immediately antecedent to the Revolution, which embalm it; and it is cherished by the people of the whole Union as the most revered relic of the war for independence, because it contains the hall wherein the Declaration of that independence was discussed, and adopted in council, and signed, and sent forth to the world. [Illustration: 8279] Being used for public business, this edifice, unlike Carpenters' Hall, is free from the desecrations of mammon, and the Hall of Independence is kept closed, except when curious visitors seek entrance, or some special occasion opens its doors to the public. ** Nothing now remains of the old furniture of the hall except two antique mahogany chairs, covered with red leather, one of which was used by Hancock as president, and the other by Charles Thomson as secretary of Congress, when the Declaration of Independence was adopted. On the walls hang two fine paintings; one a full-length portrait, life size, of William Penn, by the late Henry Inman, and the other a portrait, * The erection of this edifice was begun in 1729, and completed, in 1734. The two wings were added in 1739-40, and it was then one of the largest and most costly edifices for civil purposes in America. Previous to its erection, the annual sessions of the Legislature of Pennsylvania were held at private houses. The first purchase of grounds for the building included only about half the depth to Walnut Street. In 1760 the other half square was purchased, and the whole space inclosed by a heavy brick wall. John Vaughan, who came from England to reside in Philadelphia, planted the grounds with elm-trees and shrubbery in 1783. Afterward the brick wall was removed, and the present neat iron railing erected in its place. The cost of the main building of the State House and its steeple was about $28,000. The style of the architecture was directed by Dr. John Kearsly, Senior, the same amateur who gave architectural character to Christ Church. The glass and lead sashes cost $850. The glazing was done by Thomas Godfrey, afterward celebrated as the inventor of the quadrant. ** It was made the hall of audience for La Fayette in 1824, when, as the "nation's guest," he visited Philadelphia. The room had been materially altered by the removal of wainscoting and other architectural ornaments, yet its general features were sufficiently preserved to awaken in the bosom of the veteran the liveliest emotions. In that hall John Hancock signed the commission of the marquis as major general in the Continental army; and there, during the struggle, the young hero was frequently greeted by the supreme legislature as a public benefactor. It was there that he shared the honors (not on the same day) with Washington, of a grateful reception by Congress, after the capture of Cornwallis; and there he took leave of that body, for the last time during the war, and returned to France. In that room the body of the late ex-president, John Quincy Adams, lay in state while on its progress to the family vault at Quincy. [[[Picture of the Treaty Tree.--Statue of Washington.--Liberty Bell.--Its History.]]] {272}same size, of La Fayette, taken from life by the late Thomas Sully. The former is a superb picture, and exhibits, in the back-ground, a representation of the Treaty Tree. [Illustration: 9280] Upon the floor stands a statue of Washington, upon a high pedestal, wrought in wood by Mr. Rush, of Philadelphia. Near it is a piece of stone, said to be a part of the door-step of the balcony in the rear of the State House, upon which John Nixon stood and read the Declaration of Independence to the people * for the first time, on the 8th of July, 1776. These compose the _souvenirs_ of Independence Hall. I ascended to the steeple, where hangs, in silent grandeur, the "Liberty Bell." [Illustration: 8280] It is four feet in diameter at the lip, and three inches thick at the heaviest part. Its tone is destroyed by a crack, which extends from the lip to the crown, passing directly through the names of the persons who cast it. An attempt was made to restore the tone by sawing the crack wider, but without success; the melody of the "glory-breathed tone" that thrilled the hearts of the people on the birth-day of the nation could not be reawakened. The history of this bell is interesting. In 1752, a bell for the State House was imported from England. On the first trial-ringing, after its arrival, it was cracked. It was recast by Pass and Stow, of Philadelphia, in 1753, under the direction of Isaac Norris, Esq., the then speaker of the Colonial Assembly. And that is the bell, "the greatest in English America," which now hangs in the old State House steeple and claims our reverence. ** Upon fillets around its crown, cast there twenty-three years before the Continental Congress met in the State House, are the words of Holy Writ, "_Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof_." *** How prophetic! Beneath that very bell the representatives of the thirteen colonies "proclaimed liberty." Ay, and when the debates were ended, and the result was announced, on the 4th of July, 1776, the iron tongue of that very bell first "proclaimed liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof," by ringing out the joyful annunciation for more than two hours, its glorious melody floating clear and musical as the voice of an angel * Watson says that Captain Hopkins, of the navy, read the Declaration on that occasion, but testimony appears to predominate in favor of the claims of John Nixon to that honor. ** When the British army approached Philadelphia, in 1777, this bell, was taken down and carried to a place of safety. Already the ancient steeple, on account of decay, had been taken down, and a simple belfry put in its place. The present steeple is quite modern. *** Leviticus, xxv., 10. [[[Independence not Early nor generally Desired, except by a Few.--Patrick Henry's Prediction.]]] {273}above the discordant chorus of booming cannon, the roll of drums, and the mingled acclamations of the people.= ```"That old bell is still seen by the patriot's eye, ```And he blesses it ever, when journeying by; ```Long years have pass'd o'er it, and yet every soul ```Will thrill, in the night, to its wonderful roll; ```For it speaks in its belfry, when kiss'd by the blast, ```Like a glory-breathed tone from the mystical past. ```Long years' shall roll o'er it, and yet every chime ```Shall unceasingly tell of an era sublime; ```Oh yes! if the flame on our altars should pale, ````Let its voice but be heard, and the freemen shall start, ```To rekindle the fire, while he sees on the gale ````All the stars and the stripes of the flag of his heart." `````William Ross Wallace.= Here, upon this dusty beam, leaning against the old "Liberty Bell," let us sit a while, and peruse that brilliant page in our history, whereon is written the record of the _Declaration of our Independence._ It is now impossible to determine the precise time when aspirations for political independence first became a prevailing sentiment among the people of the colonies. The thought, no doubt, was cherished in many minds years before it found expression; but it was not a subject for public discussion more than a few months before it was brought before Congress by Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia. A few men, among whom were Dr. Franklin, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Timothy Dwight, and Thomas Paine, seem to have had an early impression that political independence was the only cure for the evils under which the colonies groaned; yet these ideas, when expressed, met with little favor, even among the most ardent patriots. * English writers declare that, from the beginning, the colonies aimed at political independence; and Chalmers asserts that there were documents among the Board of Trade to prove that such had been the desire and intent of the colonies through every administration, from the time of the Revolution in England, in 1688. As early as 1773, according to Mr. Wirt, Patrick Henry, speaking of Great Britain, said, "She _will_ drive us to extremities; no accommodation _will_ take place; hostilities _will soon_ commence; and a desperate and bloody touch it will be." This, Mr. Wirt asserts, was said in the presence of Colonel Samuel Overton, who at once asked Mr. Henry if he thought the colonies sufficiently strong to oppose successfully the fleets and armies of Great Britain. "I will be candid with you," replied Mr. Henry; "I doubt whether we _shall_ be able, _alone_, to cope with so powerful a nation; but," continued he, rising from his chair with great animation, "where is France? where is Spain? where is Holland? the natural enemies of Great Britain. Where will they be all this while? Do you suppose they will stand by, idle and indifferent spectators to the contest? Will Louis XVI. be asleep all this time? Believe me, _no!_ When Louis XVI. shall be satisfied, by our serious opposition and our _Declaration of Independence_, that all prospect of a reconciliation is gone, then, and not till then, will he furnish us with arms, ammunition, and clothing; and not with them only, but he will send his fleets and armies to fight our battles for us; he will * Says Dr. Dwight, "I urged, in conversation with several gentlemen of great respectability, firm Whigs, and my intimate friends, the importance, and even the necessity, of a declaration of independence on the part of the colonies, and alleged for this measure the very same arguments which afterward were generally considered as decisive, but found them disposed to give me and my arguments a hostile and contemptuous, instead of a cordial reception. Yet, at this time, all the resentment and enthusiasm awakened by the odious measures of Parliament, by the peculiarly obnoxious conduct of the British agents in this country, and by the recent battles of Lexington and Breed's Hill, were at the highest pitch. These gentlemen may be considered as representatives of the great body of the thinking men in this country. A few may perhaps, be excepted, but none of these durst at that time openly declare their opinions to the public. For myself, I regarded the die as cast, and the hopes of reconciliation as vanished, and believed that the colonists would never be able to defend themselves unless they renounced their dependence on Great Britain." Dwight's Travels in New England, i., 150. [[[Testimony of Washington and others concerning the Loyalty of the Colonies.--Paine's Common Sense.--]]] {274}form a treaty with us, offensive and defensive, against our unnatural mother. Spain and Holland will join the confederation! Our independence will be established! and we shall take our stand among the nations of the earth!" How literally these predictions were soon fulfilled the pen of history has already recorded. Dr. Franklin talked of total political emancipation as early as 1774; and yet Jay, Madison, Richard Penn, and others positively assert that, until after the meeting of the second Congress in 1775, there was no serious thought of independence entertained. Washington, in a letter to his early friend, Captain Mackenzie, written in October, 1774, said, in reply to an intimation of that officer that the province of Massachusetts was seeking independency, "Give me leave to add, and I think I can announce it as a fact, that it is not the wish or interest of that government, or any other upon this continent, separately or collectively, to set up for independence." Although smarting under the lash of ministerial aggressions upon their rights, the colonists, prompted by the pride of political and social birth-right, as children of Great Britain, maintained a loyal spirit, and a separation from the British empire was a proposition too startling to be readily embraced, or even favorably received by the great mass of the people, who regarded "Old England" with filial reverence. But when Britain sent fleets and armies hither to coerce submission to her injustice; "to plunder our seas, ravage our coasts, burn our towns, harass our people, and eat out their substance when king, Lords, and Commons became totally "deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity," the colonies were obliged to "acquiesce in the necessity which compelled them to dissolve the political bands which connected them with the parent state, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitled them." "The lightning of the Crusades was in the people's hearts, and it needed but a single electric touch to make it blaze forth upon the world," says James, in writing of an earlier disruption of political systems. Likewise, the flame of desire for absolute independence glowed in every patriot bosom at the beginning of 1776, and the vigorous paragraphs of _Common Sense_, * and kindred publications, laboring with the voice of impassioned oratory * This was the title of a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine, and published about the commencement of 1776. It is said to have been prepared at the suggestion of Dr. Rush, of Philadelphia. It was the earliest and most powerful appeal in behalf of independence, and probably did more to fix that idea firmly in the public mind than any other instrumentality. After giving many and weighty reasons why the Americans should seek independence, he said, "It matters little, now, what the King of England either says or does. He hath wickedly broken through every moral and human obligation, trampled nature and conscience beneath his feet, and by a steady and constitutional spirit of insolence and cruelty procured for himself a universal hatred. It is now the interest of America to provide for herself.... Independence is the only _bond_ that will tic and keep us together. We shall then see our object, and our ears will be legally shut against the schemes of an intriguing, as well as cruel, enemy. Wc shall then, too, be on a proper footing to treat with Great Britain; for there is reason to conclude that the pride of that court will be less hurt by treating with the American States for terms of peace, than with those whom she denominates "rebellious subjects" for terms of accommodation. It is our delaying it that encourages her to hope for conquest, and our backwardness tends only to prolong the war.... O ye that love mankind! ye that dare oppose not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the Old World is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted round the globe. Asia and Africa hath long expelled her; Europe regards her like a stranger, and England hath given her warning to depart. Oh! receive the fugitive, and prepare, in time, an asylum for mankind." Such were the trumpet tones of "Common Sense" which aroused the people to action. So highly was its influence esteemed, that the Legislature of Pennsylvania voted the author $2500. Washington, writing to Joseph Reed from Cambridge, on the 31st of January, 1776, said, "A few more of such flaming arguments as were exhibited at Falmouth and Norfolk [two towns burned by the British], added to the sound doctrine and unanswerable reasoning contained in the pamphlet "Common Sense," will not leave numbers at a loss to decide" upon the propriety of a separation. Again, writing to the same gentleman two months afterward, he said, "By private letters which I have lately received from Virginia, I find that "Common Sense" is working a powerful change there in the minds of many men." * "Common Sense" was the signature which Paine usually affixed to his earlier political writings. Paine also wrote a series of political pamphlets called "The Crisis," which were admirably adapted to the state of the times, and which did much toward keeping alive the spirit of determined rebellion against the unjust government of Great Britain. They were put forth at different times, from the close of 1776 until the end of the war. The first number was published in December, 1776. Paine was then in Washington's camp. * The pamphlet was read to every corporal's guard, and its strong and truthful language had a powerful effect in the army and among the people at large. * The second "Crisis" was published in January, 1777. It was addressed to Lord Howe, ** and ridiculed his proclamations, &c. The third number was published at Philadelphia on the 19th of April, 1777. This was devoted to an examination of events since the Declaration of Independence, and a reiteration of arguments in favor of that measure. In September, immediately after the battle on the Brandywine, the fourth "Crisis" was published. It was a cheering trumpet-blast for the army. In March, 1778, the fifth "Crisis" was published at Lancaster, in Pennsylvania. It consisted of a letter to Sir William Howe, and an address to the inhabitants of America. The sixth "Crisis," consisting of a letter to the British commissioners (Carlisle, Clinton, and Eden), was published at Philadelphia, in October, 1778. The seventh number was published at Philadelphia, on the 21st of November, 1778. It was addressed to the people of England. The eighth "Crisis," which was a second address to the people of England, was published in March, 1780; in June following the ninth number was published; and in October of the same year, a long discussion on the subject of taxes, called "A Crisis extraordinary," was published. *** The last three numbers were written at the instigation of Robert Morris, the financier, with the knowledge and approval of Washington. Two others were published during the war; one discussed general topics, the other, published in May, 1782, considered "The present State of News." * When the first number of the "Crisis" reached England, it was seized and ordered to be burned near Westminster Hall by the common hangman. A large concourse of people assembled; the fire was put out by the populace, and dead dogs and cats were thrown on the ashes. Acts of Parliament were then cast upon the heap, and consumed. Sir Richard Steele wrote a political pamphlet called "The Crisis," in 1714, for which he was expelled from his seat in the House of Commons. * A portion of North Carolina made a much earlier and very important movement toward independence, of which I shall hereafter write in detail. I refer to the Mecklenberg Convention, in May, 1775. ** Bradford, p. 104. *** After its adoption, the Convention proceeded to the establishment of a regular independent government, a course which Congress shortly afterward recommended to all the states. **** The Assembly directed the oath of allegiance thereafter to be in the name of the Colony of Rhode Island, instead of to the King of Great Britain. * Among other equally strong paragraphs was the following: "I have as little superstition in me as any man living, but my secret opinion has ever been, and still is, that God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, or leave them unsupportedly to perish, who had so earnestly and repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war by every decent method which wisdom could invent. Neither have I so much of the infidel in me as to suppose that He has relinquished the government of the world, and given us up to the care of devils; and as I do not, I can not see on what grounds the King of Great Britain can look up to heaven for help against us: a common murderer, a highwayman, or a house-breaker has as good a pretense as he." ** Paine also wrote a poetical Epistle to Lord Howe, of which the following is the closing stanza: "Since, then, no hopes to civilize remain, And mild philosophy has preach'd in vain, One pray'r is left, which dreads no proud reply, That he who made you breathe will make you die." ***This was written in March, but was not published until Autumn. [[[First public Movements favorable to Independence.--Paine's Crisis.--The Ministry order it to be Burned.--The Result.]]] {275}at every public gathering of the people, uncapped the volcano, and its brilliant coruscations were seen and hailed with a shout throughout our broad land. The colonial assemblies soon began to move in the matter. North Carolina was the first to take the bold progressive step toward independence. By a vote of a convention held on the 22d of April, 1776, the representatives of that state in the Continental Congress were authorized "to concur with those in the other colonies in declaring independence." * Massachusetts took a similar step. On the 10th, the General Assembly requested the people of that colony, at the then approaching election of new representatives, to give them instructions on the subject of independence. ** Pursuant to this request, the people of Boston, in town meeting assembled on the 23d, instructed their representatives to use their best endeavors to have their delegates in Congress "advised that, in case Congress should think it necessary, for the safety of the united colonies, to declare themselves independent of Great Britain, the inhabitants of that colony, with their lives and the _remnants_ of their fortunes, would most cheerfully support them in the measure." The Convention of Virginia passed a similar resolution on the 17th of May, *** but going further, by instructing their representatives to _propose_ a declaration of independence. So, also, did the Assembly of Rhode Island, during its session in that month. **** On the 8th of June the New York delegates asked for special instructions on that subject; but the Provincial Assembly, deeming itself incompetent to instruct without the previous sanction of the people, did no more than to recommend them to signify their sentiments at the new election just at hand. The Assembly of [[[Timidity in the State Legislatures.--State Governments Recommended.--Lee's Resolution for Independence.]]] {276}Connecticut, on the 14th of June, instructed the delegates from that colony to give their assent to a declaration of independence; on the 15th the New Hampshire Provincial Congress issued similar instructions, and on the 21st, the new delegates from New Jersey were instructed to act in the matter as their judgments should dictate. In the Pennsylvania Assembly, several months previously, the subject of [[November, 1775]] independence had been hinted at. The Conservatives were alarmed, and procured the adoption of instructions to their delegates adverse to such an idea. In June these restrictions were removed, but the delegates were neither instructed nor officially permitted to concur with the other colonies in a declaration of independence. The Convention of Maryland, by a resolution adopted about the last of May, positively forbade their delegates voting for independence. Georgia, South Carolina, and Delaware took no action on the subject, and their delegates were left free to vote as they pleased. Thus stimulated by affirmative action in various colonies, the desire for independence became a living principle in the hall of the Continental Congress, and that principle found utterance, albeit with timorous voice. Congress resolved, "That it be recommended to the several assemblies and conventions of the united colonies, where [[May 10, 1776]] no government sufficient to the exigencies of their affairs hath hitherto been established, to adopt such a government as shall, in the opinions of the representatives of the people, best conduce to the happiness and safety of their constituents in particular, and America in general." * This was certainly a bold step, yet not sufficiently positive and comprehensive as a basis of energetic action in favor of independence. The hearts of a majority in Congress yearned with an irrepressible zeal for the consummation of an event which they knew to be inevitable, yet there seemed to be no one courageous enough in that assembly to step forth and take the momentous responsibility of lifting the knife that should sever the cord which bound the American colonies to the British throne. The royal government would mark that man as an arch rebel, and all its energies would be brought to bear to quench his spirit or to hang him on a gibbet. We have seen that Virginia instructed her representatives in Congress to _propose_ independence; she had a delegate equal to the task. In the midst of the doubt, and dread, and hesitation which for twenty days had brooded over the national assembly, Richard Henry Lee ** arose, and, with his clear, musical voice, read aloud the resolution, "That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; and that all political connection between us and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." John Adams immediately seconded the resolution. To shield them from the royal ire, Congress directed its secretary to omit the names of its mover and seconder, in the Journals. The record says, "Certain resolutions respecting independency being moved and seconded, _Resolved_, that the consideration of them be deferred until to-morrow morning; and that the members he enjoined to attend punctually at ten o'clock, in order to take the same into their consideration." The resolution was not considered until three days afterward, when it was resolved to "postpone its further consideration [[June 10]] until the first day of July next; and, in the mean while, that no time be lost, in case Congress agree thereto, that a committee be appointed to prepare a declaration to that effect." This committee was appointed on the 11th, and consisted of Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia; John Adams, of Massachusetts; Benjamin Franklin, of Pennsylvania; Roger Sherman, of Connecticut; and Robert R. Livingston, of New York.[[June 7, 1776.]] On the evening of * John Adams, Edward Rutledge, and Richard Henry Lee were appointed a committee to prepare a preamble to this resolution. See Journals of Congress, ii., 158. In this preamble it was declared "irreconcilable to reason and a good conscience for the colonists to take the oaths required lor the support of the government under the crown of Great Britain/' It was also declared necessary that all royal power should be suppressed, and "all the powers of government exerted under the authority of the people of the colonies, for the preservation of internal peace, virtue, and good order, as well as for the defense of their lives, liberties, and properties, against the hostile invasions and civil depredations of their enemies."--Journals, ii., 166. ** A portrait of Mr. Lee will be found among those in the frontispiece to this volume, and a sketch of his life, with those of the other signers, in the Appendix. [[[Absence of R. H. Lee.--Jefferson's Draft of the Declaration.--Reasons why he was Chosen to Write it.]]] {277}the 10th, Mr. Lee received intelligence by express that his wife was seriously ill, and he was compelled to ask leave of absence for a short time. He left Philadelphia the next morning, and this fact accounts for the omission of his name in the formation of the committee on that day. Mr. Jefferson was appointed chairman of the committee, and to him his colleagues assigned the task of preparing the draft of a declaration to be presented to Congress. * It was drawn with care, and was unanimously adopted by the committee, after a few verbal alterations by Adams and Franklin. On the 1st of July, pursuant to agreement, Mr. Lee's motion was brought up in the committee of the whole House, Benjamin Harrison, of Virginia (father of the late President Harrison), in the chair. The draft of a declaration of independence was reported at the same time, and for three consecutive days it was debated by paragraphs seriatim. Many alterations, omissions, and amendments were made. The following is a copy of that original draft, before any amendments were made in committee of the whole. The passages omitted by Congress are printed in italics, and the substitutions are given in notes at the bottom of the page. ** "_A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America, in general Congress assembled._ When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable ** rights; that among these are * Mr. Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence at his lodgings, in the house of Mrs. Clymer, on the southwest corner of Seventh and High Streets, Philadelphia.--See Watson's Annals, ii., 309. John Adams, in his autobiography, gives the following reasons why Mr. Jefferson was chosen to write the Declaration: "Mr. Jefferson had been now about a year a member of Congress, but had attended his duty in the House a very small part of the time, and when there had never spoken in public. During the whole time I sat with him in Congress, I never heard him utter three sentences together. "It will naturally be inquired how it happened that he was appointed on a committee of such importance. There were more reasons than one. Mr. Jefferson had the reputation of a masterly pen; he had been chosen a delegate in Virginia in consequence of a very handsome public paper which he had written for the House of Burgesses, which had given him the character of a fine writer. Another reason was, that Mr. Richard Henry Lee was not beloved by the most of his colleagues from Virginia, and Mr. Jefferson was sent up to rival and supplant him. This could be done only by the pen, for Mr. Jefferson could stand no competition with him, or any one else, in elocution and public debate. "The committee had several meetings, in which were proposed the articles of which the Declaration was to consist, and minutes made of them. The committee then appointed Mr. Jefferson and me to draw them up in form, and clothe them in a proper dress. The sub-committee met, and considered the minutes, making such observations on them as then occurred, when Mr. Jefferson desired me to take them to my lodgings, and make the draft. This I declined, and gave several reasons for so doing: "1. That he was a Virginian, and I a Massachusettensian. 2. That he was a Southern man, and I a Northern one. 3. That I had been so obnoxious for my early and constant zeal in promoting the measure, that every draft of mine would undergo a more severe scrutiny and criticism in Congress than one of his composition. 4. And lastly, and that would be reason enough, if there were no other, I had a great opinion of the elegance of his pen, and none at all of my own. I therefore insisted that no hesitation should be made on his part. He accordingly took the minutes, and in a day or two produced to me his draft." ** On the 8th of July, four days after the amended Declaration was adopted, Mr. Jefferson wrote the following letter, and sent it, with the original draft, to Mr. Lee:" "Philadelphia, July 8, 1776. "Dear Sir,--For news, I refer you to your brother, who writes on that head. I inclose you a copy of the Declaration of Independence, as agreed to by the House, and also as originally framed; you will judge whether it is the better or the worse for the critics. I shall return to Virginia after the 11th of August. I wish my successor may be certain to come before that time: in that case, I shall hope to see you, and not Wythe, in convention, that the business of government, which is of everlasting concern, may receive your aid. Adieu, and believe me to be your friend and servant, Thomas Jefferson. "To Richard Henry Lee, Esq." [[[Original Draft of the Declaration of Independence, and Amendments.]]] life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or _to_ abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that governments, long established, should not be changed for light and transient causes. And, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, _begun at a distinguished period,_ and pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to _expunge_ ** their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of _unremitting_ ** injuries and usurpations; among which appears no solitary fact to contradict the uniform tenor of the rest; but _all_ have-, *** in direct object, the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world; _for the truth of which we pledge a faith yet unsullied by falsehood._ He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has _neglected utterly_ **** to attend to them. He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the Legislature; a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the repository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly _and continually_, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise, the state remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without and convulsions within. He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states: for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither; and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. _He has suffered the administration of justice totally to cease in some of these states_, (v) refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. He has made _our_ judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of new offices _by a self assumed power_, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies _and ships of war,_ without the consent of our Legislatures. He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitutions, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation: For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us; * Altar ** Utterly neglected *** Repeated * (v) He has obstructed the administration of justice, by *** Having [[[Original Draft of the Declaration of Independence, and Amendments.]]] For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states; For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world; For imposing taxes on us without our consent; For depriving us * of the benefits of trial by jury; For transporting us beyond the seas to be tried for pretended offenses; For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these _states;_ ** For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments; For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated government here, _withdrawing his governors, and_ *** declaring us out of his _allegiance and_ protection, and waging war against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy **** unworthy the head of a civilized nation. He has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions _of existence; he has excited treasonable insurrections of our fellow-citizens with the allurements of forfeiture and confiscation of our property._ He has constrained _others_ (v) taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. He has waged cruel war against human nature itself violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people, who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither. This piratical warfare, the opprobrium of infidel powers, is the warfare of the Christian King of Great Britain. Determined to keep open a market where men should be bought and sold, he has prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or to restrain this execrable commerce. And that this assemblage of horrors might want no fact of distinguished dye, he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them by murdering the people upon whom he obtruded them: thus paying off former crimes committed against the liberties of one people with crimes which he urges them to commit against the lives of another. (vi) In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler * In many cases ** Colonies *** By **** Scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally * (v) Our fellow-citizens * (vi) It has been asserted that this paragraph was expunged because it was not palatable to those delegates who were slaveholders, and that it was stricken out lest it should cause them to cast a negative vote on the question. There is no proof that such selfish motives actuated any member of that assembly. It was a sacred regard for truth which caused it to be stricken out. No such charge as the paragraph contained could justly be made against George III., then under arraignment. The slave-trade was begun and carried on long before the reign of any of his house, and it is not known that he ever gave his assent to any thing relating to slavery, except to abolish it, and to declare the trade a piracy. By a resolution offered by Charles F. Mercer, of Virginia, and adopted by Congress in 1817, the slave-trade was declared "a piracy." Mr. Jefferson was the first American statesman, and probably the first writer of modern times, who denounced that infamous traffic as "a piratical warfare."--See Life of Richard Henry Lee, i., 176. [[[Original Draft of the Declaration of Independence, and Amendments.--The Debaters.]]] {280}of a _people who mean to be free.' * Future ages will scarce believe that the hardiness of one man adventured, within the short compass of twelve years only, to build a foundation, so broad and undisguised, for tyranny over a people fostered and fixed in principles of freedom._ Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their Legislature to extend a ** jurisdiction over _these our states._ *** We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here, _no one of which could warrant so strange a pretension; that these were effected at the expense of our own blood and treasure, unassisted by the wealth or the strength of Great Britain; that in constituting, indeed, our severed forms of government, we had adopted one common king, thereby laying a foundation for perpetual league and amity with them; but that submission to their Parliament was no part of our Constitution, nor ever in idea, if history may be credited; and_ we **** appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, _as well as to_ (v) the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which _were likely to_ (vi) interrupt our connection and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity; _and when occasions have been given them, by the regular course of their laws, of removing from their councils the disturbers of our harmony, they have, by their free election, re-established them in power. At this very time, too, they are permitting their chief magistrate to send over, not only soldiers of our common blood, but [Scotch (vii) and] foreign mercenaries to invade and destroy us. These facts have given the last stab to agonizing affection, and manly spirit bids us to renounce forever these unfeeling brethren. We must endeavor to forget our former love for them_; we must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war; in peace, friends. _We might have been a free and great, people together; but a communication of grandeur and of freedom, it seems, is below their dignity. Be it so, since they will have it. The road to happiness and to glory is open to us too; we will climb it apart from them, and acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our eternal separation._ We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America in general Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these _states, (viii) reject and renounce all allegiance and subjection to the kings of Great Britain, and all others who may hereafter claim by, through, or under them; we utterly dissolve all political connection which may heretofore have subsisted between us and the Parliament or people of Great Britain; and, finally, we do assert the colonies to be free and independent states_; and that, as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And, for the support of this declaration, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." Mr Lee's resolution, declaring the colonies "free and independent states," was adopted on the 2d of July, and that day, rather than the 4th, should be celebrated as our national anniversary. It was only the _form of the Declaration_, which accompanied the resolution, that was adopted on the latter day. The debates on the question of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence were long and animated, for there was very little unanimity in feeling and opinion when they began in June. Richard Henry Lee, the Adamses, of Massachusetts, Dr. Witherspoon, of New Jersey, and Edward Rutledge, of South Carolina, were the chief speakers in favor of the measure, and John Dickenson, of Pennsylvania, against it. Although it was evident, from * Free people ** An unwarrantable *** Us **** Have * (v) And we have conjured them by * (vi) Would inevitably * (vii) Doctor Witherspoon, who was a Scotchman by birth, moved the striking out of the word Scotch. * (viii) Colonies {281} [Illustration: 0289] [Illustration: 0290] Note. This draft is in the handwriting of Mr. Jefferson. The amendments were made by Dr. Franklin and John Adams. The alterations, by interlining, in the portion here given, are in the handwriting of Mr. Adams. It will be perceived, by a comparison, that nearly the whole of this paragraph was omitted in the Declaration adopted on the 4th of July. [[[Action of the several Colonies on the Subject of Independence.--Adoption of the Declaration.]]] {282}the first introduction of the resolution, that a majority of the colonies would vote for it, its friends were fearful that a _unanimous_ vote of the colonies could not be obtained, inasmuch as the Assemblies of Maryland and Pennsylvania had refused to sanction the measure, and South Carolina, Georgia, and New York were silent. The delegates from Maryland were unanimously in favor of it, while those from Pennsylvania were divided. On the 24th of June, at a convention held in Philadelphia, the people expressed their willingness, by resolution, "to concur in a vote of Congress, declaring the united colonies free and independent states and by the unwearied exertions and great influence of Charles Carroll, William Paca, Samuel Chase, and others, the Convention of Maryland recalled their former instructions on the 28th of June, and empowered their delegates "to concur with the other colonies in a declaration of independence." The most important barriers to unanimity were now broken down. When a vote was taken in committee of the whole House, all the colonies assented to the Declaration, except Pennsylvania and Delaware; four of the seven delegates of the former voting against it, and the two delegates who were present from Delaware were divided--Thomas M'Kean favoring it, George Read opposing it. Mr. M'Kean, burning with a desire to have his state speak in favor of the great measure, immediately sent an express after Cæsar Rodney, the other delegate from Delaware, then eighty miles distant. Rodney was in the saddle within ten minutes after he received Mr. M'Kean's letter, and arrived in Philadelphia on the morning of the 4th of July, just before the final vote was taken. Thus Delaware was secured. On that day the Declaration was taken up for final decision. Robert Morris and John Dickenson, of Pennsylvania, were absent. The former was in favor of, the latter was against the measure. Of the other five who were present, Doctor Franklin, James Wilson, and John Morton were in favor of it, and Thomas Willing and Charles Humphreys were opposed to it; so the vote of Pennsylvania was also secured in favor of the Declaration. The question was taken, and on the 4th of July, 1776, a unanimous vote of the thirteen colonies * was given in favor of the great Declaration which pronounced them _Free and independent states_. *** The annunciation was made in the following plain manner in the journal of Congress for that day: "Agreeably to the order of the day, the Congress resolved itself into a committee of the whole, to take into their further consideration the Declaration; and, after some time, the president resumed the chair, *** and Mr. Harrison reported that the committee have agreed to a declaration, which they desired him to report. **** The Declaration being read, was agreed to as follows: _A DECLARATION BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED._ When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident--that all men are created equal; that they are * Georgia was not represented in the Congress of 1774. On the 20th of July, 1775, Congress received a letter from the convention of that colony, setting forth that it had acceded to the general Association, and appointed delegates to attend Congress.--See Journals of Congress, i., 161. ** On the 9th of September, 1776, Congress resolved, "That in all Continental commissions, and other instruments, where heretofore the words 'United Colonies' have been used, the style be altered, for the future, to the 'United States.' I--Ibid., ii., 328. From that day the word colony is not known in our history. *** John Hancock was then President of Congress. He was chosen to that post on the 19th of May, 1775, as successor to Peyton Randolph, who was called to his home in Virginia. Randolph was now dead. **** The great importance of this event does not seem to have been realized even by many men in public life. Anderson, in his Constitutional Gazette, announced the fact thus, as a mere on dit, without commentary or further reference to the subject: "On Tuesday last the Continental Congress declared the united Colonies free and independent States." [[[The Declaration of Independence as Adopted.]]] {283}endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world. He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operations till his assent should be obtained; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the Legislature--a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the repository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining, in the mean time, exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without and convulsions within. He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for the naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers, to harass our people and eat out their substance.. He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our Legislatures. He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitutions, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation: For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us; For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states; For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world; For imposing taxes on us without our consent; For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury; [[[The Declaration of Independence as Adopted.]]] {284}For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended offenses; For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies; For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments; For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection, and waging war against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries, to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. He has excited domestic insurrections among us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. * Nor have we been wanting in our attentions to our British brethren. "We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their Legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold them as we hold the rest of mankind--enemies in war--in peace, friends. We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in general Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states: that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that,, as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. It was two o'clock in the afternoon when the final decision was announced by Secretary Thomson to the assembled Congress in Independence Hall. It was a moment of solemn interest; and when the secretary sat down, a deep silence pervaded that august assembly. * The undisputed records of our colonial history bear ample testimony to the truth of every charge contained in this indictment. These I have cited in a small volume containing Biographical Sketches of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, and the Declaration Historically Considered. [[[Ringing of the Liberty Bell.--Signers of the Declaration.--Its Reception in New York and elsewhere.]]] {285}Thousands of anxious citizens had gathered in the streets of Philadelphia, for it was known that the final decision was to be made on that day. From the hour when Congress convened in the morning, the old bellman had been in the steeple. He placed a boy at the door below, to give him notice when the announcement should be made. As hour succeeded hour, the gray-beard shook his head, and said, "They will never do it! they will never do it!" Suddenly a loud shout came up from below, and there stood the blue-eyed boy, clapping his hands and shouting, "Ring! ring!" Grasping the iron tongue of the old bell against which we are now leaning, backward and forward he hurled it a hundred times, its loud voice proclaiming "Liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof." The excited multitude in the streets responded with loud acclamations, and with cannon-peals, bonfires, and illuminations, the patriots held a glorious carnival that night in the quiet city of Penn. The Declaration of Independence was signed by John Hancock, the president of Congress, only, on the day of its adoption, and thus it went forth to the world. Congress ordered it to be entered at length upon the journals. It was also ordered to be engrossed upon parchment, for the delegates to sign it. This last act was performed on the second day of August following, by the fifty-four delegates then present; it was subsequently signed by two others, * making the whole number fifty-six. ** A fac simile of their signatures, carefully copied from the original at Washington City, is given on the two following pages. The Declaration was every where applauded; and in the camp, in cities, churches, and popular assemblies, it was greeted with every demonstration of joy. Washington received it at head-quarters in New York on the 9th of July, *** and caused it to be read, at six o'clock that evening, at the head of each brigade. It was heard with attention, and welcomed with loud huzzas by the troops; and on that same evening the populace pulled down the leaden equestrian statue of George III., which was erected in the Bowling Green, at the foot of Broadway, in 1770, and broke it in pieces. The material was afterward consigned to the bullet-molds. Other demonstrations of mingled joy and indignation were made in New York then, which will be more fully noticed hereafter. The Declaration was read to a vast assemblage collected in and around Faneuil Hall, in Boston, by Colonel Crafts, at noon, on the 17th of July. When the last paragraph escaped his lips, a loud huzza shook the old "Cradle of Liberty." It was echoed from without; and soon the batteries on Fort Hill, Dorchester, Nantasket, and Long Island boomed forth their cannon acclamations in thirteen rounds. A banquet followed, and bonfires and illuminations made glad the city of the Puritans. In Philadelphia, the grand demonstration was made on the 8th of July. From the platform of an observatory, erected near the * These were Thomas M'Kean, of Delaware, and Matthew Thornton, of New Hampshire. The former, on account of absence with a regiment of City Associators, of which he was colonel, did not sign it until October. Doctor Thornton was not a member of Congress when the Declaration was signed, but, being elected in the autumn following, he obtained permission to sign the instrument, and affixed his signature to it in November. ** The delegates represented the several states as follows: New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton. Massachusetts: John Hancock, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Robert Treat Paine. Rhode Island: Elbridge Gerry, Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery. Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott. New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris. New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkin-son, John Hart, Abraham Clark. Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson. George Ross. Delaware: Cæsar Rodney, George Read, Thomas M'Kean. Maryland: Samuel Chase, Thomas Stone, William Paca, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton. Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton. North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn. South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Hayward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton. Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton. *** On the same day, the Provincial Assembly of New York, then in session at White Plains, adopted a resolution expressive of their approbation of the measure, at the same time pledging their lives and fortunes in support of it. They also, by resolution, gave their delegates in Congress liberty to act in future, upon all public measures, in accordance with their best judgments. See Journals of Congress, ii., 250. {286} [Illustration: 0296] {287} [Illustration: 0297] Walnut Street front of the State House, by Rittenhouse, many years before, for the purpose of observing a transit of Venus, John Nixon read the Declaration to a vast concourse of people gathered from the city and surrounding country. When the reading was finished, the king's arms over the seat of justice in the court room * were torn down and burned in the street; and at evening bonfires were lighted, the houses were illuminated, and it was not until a thunder-shower at midnight compelled the people to retire, that the sounds of gladness were hushed. Newport, New London, Williamsburgh, Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, and other large towns, manifested their great joy; and from every inhabited hill and valley, town and hamlet of the old Thirteen States, arose the melodies of freedom, awakened by this great act of the people's proxies. Thousands of hearts in Europe, beating strongly with hope for the future, were deeply impressed. Bold men caught the symphony, and prolonged its glad harmony, even until it wooed sleeping slaves from their slumbers in the shadows of despot- * The second story of the State House was occupied by the courts; and while the Continental Congress was in session below, the Provincial Assemblies met above. [[[The Principles of the Declaration, and their Effects.--Opinions of Raynal, Mirabeau, and Napoleon.]]] {288}ism forth to the clear light, panoplied in the armor of absolute right. France was aroused, and turning in its bed of submission, like the Titans beneath old Ætna, to look for light and shook thrones, crumbled feudal altars, whereon equality was daily sacrificed, and so rent the vail of the temple of despotism, that the people saw plainly the fetters and instruments of unholy rule, huge and terrible, within the inner court. [Illustration: 9298] They pulled down royalty, overturned distinctions, and gave the first impulse to the revolutions which have since spread from that focus to purify the political atmosphere of Europe. Back to our glorious manifesto the struggling nations look, and, when they wish to arraign their tyrants, that indictment is their text and guide. * Its specific charges against George the Third of course are irrelevant, but the great truths set forth have no limit in their application and appositeness.= ```"Throughout the world its voice is sounding! ````Life and death are in its call! ```Kings and thrones in dust confounding; ````Millions rising o'er their fall! ```Brothers, on! till, bless'd as we, ```They've plenty, peace, and Liberty!" `````Mrs. R. Balmanno.= ```"E'en now the word that rous'd our land ````Is calling o'er the waves, 'Awake!' ```And pealing on from strand to strand, ````Wherever ocean surges break. ```Up to the quicken'd car of toil ```It rises from the teeming soil, ````And bids the slave his bonds forsake. ```Hark! from the mountain to the sea, ```The Old World echoes 'Liberty!' ````Till thrones to their foundations shake." `````Mary E. Hewitt.= It was an easy matter to declare the colonies free and independent; it was not so easy * "With what grandeur, with what enthusiasm, should I not speak of those generous men who erected this grand edifice by their patience, their wisdom, and their courage!" wrote the Abbé Raynal in 1781. "Hancock, Franklin, the two Adamses, were the greatest actors in this affecting scene; but they were not the only ones. Posterity shall know them all. Their honored names shall be transmitted to it by a happier pen than mine. Brass and marble shall show them to remotest ages. In beholding them, shall the friend of freedom feel his heart palpitate with joy--feel his eyes float in delicious tears. Under the bust of one of them has been written, He wrested thunder from heaven and the scepter from tyrants.* Of the last words of this eulogy shall all of them partake."--Essay on The Revolution in America. * I ask," exclaimed Mirabeau, on the tribune of the National Assembly of France, while descanting upon our Declaration, "I ask if the powers who have formed alliances with the States have dared to read that manifesto, or to interrogate their consciences after the perusal? I ask whether there be at this day one government in Europe--the Helvetic and Batavian confederations and the British isles excepted--which, judged after the principles of the Declaration of Congress on the 4th of July, 1776, is not divested of its rights?" And Napoleon afterward, alluding to the same scene, said, "The finger of God was there!"--See Bailey's Preface to Records of Patriotism. ** This gives the appearance of the shorter steeple, which took the place of the stately one taken down in 1774. This was its appearance during the Revolution. A huge clock case was upon each gable of the main building of the State House. * "Eripuit colo fulmen sceptrumque tyrannis * This line was the exergue of a medal which was struck in Paris in honor of Franklin, when he was the United States embassador at the court of Versailles in 1777. It was written by Turgot, the Controller-general of the Finances of France, who died four years afterward. [[[Organization of State Governments.--Adjournment of Congress to Baltimore.--__Trip to Red Bank.]]] {289}to _maintain_ that declaration. The die being east, Congress put forth all its energies to secure union and harmony among the confederated states, and these, in turn, perceived the necessity of prompt action in civil affairs. The resolves in Congress in May, recommending the several states to organize governments for themselves, based upon democratic principles, were heeded, and, soon after the publication of the Declaration of Independence, most of the states took action on the subject, and formed constitutions. New Hampshire had already formed a state government. The charters of Connecticut [[January 5, 1776]] and Rhode Island, being considered sufficiently democratic, were not altered. New Jersey had adopted a constitution two days before the Declaration of Independence was voted in Congress. (a) Virginia adopted one on the 5th of July; Pennsylvania, on[[ a July 2, 1776]] the 15th; Maryland, on the 14th of August; Delaware, on the 20th of September; North Carolina, on the 18th of December; Georgia, on the 5th of February, 1777; New York, on the 20th of April; South Carolina, on the 19th of March, 1778; and Massachusetts deferred the important work until the 1st of September, 1779. In the mean while, the necessity for Federal union became apparent, and this subject occupied the thoughts and active efforts of the statesmen of America. They finally elaborated a scheme of general government; and on the 15th of November, 1777, Congress adopted _Articles of Confederation_, having debated the subject three times a week for nearly seven months. Copies of these articles were sent to the various state Legislatures for approval, but they did not receive the sanction of all until March, 1781, when they became the organic law of the Union, and continued such until the adoption of the Federal Constitution in 1787. During the summer and autumn of 1776, military operations were active, and that session of Congress was one of the busiest during the war. The disastrous battle of Long Island or Brooklyn occurred in August; the skirmishes at Harlem, Kingsbridge, Throg's Neck, and White Plains; the fall of Forts Washington and Lee; the retreat of the American army under Washington across the Jerseys, and the menacing approach of a large British army toward Philadelphia, all occurred in rapid succession during the autumn. Disasters, gloom, and despondency were on every side; and Congress, alarmed at the proximity of British and Hessian troops, then only awaiting the freezing of the Delaware to march to the capture of Philadelphia, withdrew to Baltimore on the 12th of December, as we have already seen, where they resumed their deliberations on the 20th. Let us close the record, and, like the fugitive Congress, leave the old State House for a season. Toward noon, accompanied by a friend (Mr. Samuel Agnew), I left the city [[November 27, 1848]] to visit the remains of the old forts at Red Bank, on the Jersey shore of the Delaware, a few miles below Philadelphia. Unable to gain positive information respecting a ferry, we concluded to drive down to Fort Mifflin, and obtain a passage there. We crossed the Schuylkill, and, passing through the cultivated country on its right bank, missed the proper road to Fort Mifflin, and reached the termination of the one we were traveling, at a farm-house. Here we ascertained that we could not obtain ferriage at the fort, so we crossed the Schuylkill again, upon a bateau, near its mouth, and, returning to the city suburbs, found the proper avenue to League Island, * whence we could be ferried to Red Bank. Our blunder consumed two hours, and then we had to wait almost another hour upon the dike which defends League Island from the waters of the Delaware, before a skiff, for which we telegraphed by a white handkerchief upon a ratan, came over to us. The river is there about a mile wide; and while the waterman was slowly rowing across, we dined upon bread and cheese, cold sausage, and grape jelly, which the kind consideration of my friend's wife had furnished at our departure. It was a rather uncomfortable pic-nic on that unsheltered dike in the keen November wind. Leaving my horse in a stall at the ferry, we crossed to the great coal depot, upon Eagle * This is a low island just below the city suburbs, and, until protected by a heavy stone dike, was formerly almost covered with water at high tide. It is now a very fertile piece of reclaimed land, and is reached from the main by a bridge, the intervening channel being quite narrow. [[[Fort Mercer.--Donop's Grave.--Whitall's House.--De Chastellux's Visit there.]]] {290}Point, on the Jersey shore, about half a mile above the site of Fort Mercer, at Red Bank. We met a resident gentleman on the way to the fort, who kindly turned back and pointed out the various localities. [Illustration: 9300] The embankments and trenches are quite prominent, and will doubtless long remain so, for a forest of young pines now covers and protects them from the destroying hand of cultivation. The form of the fort and outworks, as denoted in the sketch, was easily distinguished, and the serried lines of the soldiers' graves were palpable along the brow of the high bank. These are the graves of those who were slain in the battle which occurred there in the autumn of 1777. They were buried in boxes, and now their remains are often exposed by the washing away of the banks. [Illustration: 8300] At the southern line of the fort, close by the bank, are the remains of the hickory-tree which was used as a flag-staff during the battle; and near it are traces of the gateway of the fort. A little below, and in the path leading to the house of Mr. Whitall, is the grave of Count Donop, marked by a small, rough sandstone, about fourteen inches in height. Vandal fingers have plucked relic-pieces from it, and so nearly was the rude inscription effaced that I could only decipher a portion of the words, Donop was lost, as seen in the sketch. ** [Illustration: 7300] Even his bones have not been allowed to molder in his grave, but are scattered about the country as cherished relics, his skull being in possession of a physician of New Jersey! A few rods south of Donop's grave, close by the river bank, is the ancient residence of the Whitall family. It is a two-story house, built of brick, and is now (1851) one hundred and three years old. The date of its erection is given on the north gable, where the characters "I A W [James and Anna Whitall] 1748," are delineated by dark, glazed brick. The Whitalls were Quakers, and of course, although Whigs, took no part in the war. This fact made some suspect the old man of Toryism. *** I was informed by the present owner that, when the attack was made upon the fort, and his grandmother was urged to flee from the house, she refused, saying, "God's arm is strong, and will protect me; I may * Red Bank, where these remains are, is in the township of Woodbury, in Gloucester county, New Jersey. The fortifications erected there were little more than earthen embankments, and a ditch covered by abatis. The arrow in the sketch denotes the direction of Fort Mifflin, on the opposite side of the Delaware. ** The Marquis de Chastellux, who visited this spot in 1781, says, in his Journal (i., 260), "We had not gone a hundred yards before we came to a small elevation, on which a stone was vertically placed, with this short epitaph: 'Here lies buried Colonel Donop'" M. de Mandait was the guide on the occasion. He acted in the double capacity of engineer and officer of artillery at the battle, and had the charge of arranging and defending the post, under Colonel Green. "He assured us," says the marquis, "we could not make a step without treading on the remains of some Hessian, for near three hundred were buried in the front of the ditch." *** De Chastellux, in recording his visit, says: "On landing from our boat, he [Manduit] proposed conducting us to a Quaker's, whose house is half a musket-shot from the fort, or rather the ruins of the fort; for it is now destroyed, and there are scarcely any reliefs of it remaining. 'This man,' said M. de Manduit, 'is a little of a Tory; I was obliged to knock down his barn, and fell his fruit trees; but he will be glad to see M. de La Fayette, and will receive us well.' We took hint at his word; but never was expectation more completely deceived. We found our Quaker seated in the chimney corner, busied in cleaning herbs. He recollected M. de Manduit, who named M. de La Fayette to him; but he did not deign to lift his eyes, nor to answer any of our introducer's discourse, which at first was complimentary, and at length jocose. Except Dido's silence, I know nothing more severe; but we had no difficulty in accommodating ourselves to this bad reception, and made our way to the fort.--Travels, i., 259. [[[Anecdote of Mrs. Whitall.--Old Cannon.--Distant View of Fort Mifflin.]]] {291}do good by staying." She was left alone in the house; and while the battle was raging, and cannon-balls were driving like sleet against and around her dwelling, she calmly plied her spinning-wheel in a room in the second story. At length a twelve-pound ball, from a British vessel in the river, grazing the American flag-staff (the walnut-tree) at the fort, passed through the heavy brick wall on the north gable, and with a terrible crash perforated a partition at the head of the stairs, crossed a recess, and lodged in another partition, near where the old lady was sitting. [Illustration: 0301] Conceiving Divine protection a little more certain elsewhere after this manifestation of the power of gun-powder, the industrious dame gathered up her implements, and with a step quite as agile as in youth, she retreated to the cellar, where she continued spinning until called to attend the wounded and dying who were brought into her house at the close of the battle. She did, indeed, "do good" by remaining; for, like an angel of mercy, she went among the maimed, unmindful whether they were friend or foe, and administered every relief to their sufferings, in her power. She scolded the Hessians for coming to America to butcher the people. At the same time, she bound up their wounds tenderly, and gave them food and water. The scar made by the passage of that iron ball is quite prominent in the gable; it is denoted in the engraving by the dark spot. I saw within the house where the missile cut off the wood-work in its passage, and where it lodged. On the green, between the Whitall house and the river, lies a portion of an iron cannon which burst during the engagement. That event killed several of the Americans. The picture represents its present appearance, with its breech blown away. Beyond it is the Delaware, and in the distance, opposite, is seen Fort Mifflin, lying almost upon the water level on Fort or Great Mud Island, near the western shore. In the far distance, bounding the view, are the hills of Pennsylvania, toward Valley Forge. In the summer of 1777, Sir William Howe, the British commander-in-chief, sailed from New York (a) with a large land force, and with a naval armament under his brother [[ a July 23]] Richard, Earl Howe, and, landing at the head of Chesapeake Bay, (b) commenced [[ b August 25.]] a victorious march toward Philadelphia. Washington, informed of the movement, went out from Philadelphia to meet him, and had proceeded beyond the Brandywine, in the neighborhood of Wilmington, when the van of the enemy appeared at Kennet Square. The battle of Brandywine occurred soon afterward, (a) in which the Americans were [[ a September 11]] defeated, and driven back toward Philadelphia. The enemy pushed steadily forward, and entered the city in triumph. (b) In anticipation of the possibility [[ b September 26.]] of such an event, the Americans had applied themselves diligently to the erection of obstructions in the Delaware, to prevent the ascent of the British fleet, and also in rearing batteries upon the shores to cover them. Upon isolated marshes, or low islands of mud, [[[Military Works on the Delaware.--Obstructions in the River.--Their Removal by the British.--Capture of Billingsport.]]] {292}made green by reeds, a little below the mouth of the Schuylkill, they erected a strong redoubt, with quite extensive outworks, and called it Fort Mifflin. These islands were called Great and Little Mud Islands. The former, on which the redoubt and main works were erected, has been called Fort Island ever since that time. [Illustration: 8302] On the opposite shore of New Jersey, a strong redoubt, called Fort Mercer, was also erected, and well supplied with artillery. In the deep channels of the river between, and under cover of these batteries, they sunk ranges of strong frames, with iron-pointed wooden spikes, called _chevaux de frise_, which formed almost invulnerable _stackadoes_. Three miles further down the river, at Byllinge's Point * (now Billingsport), was a redoubt with extensive outworks, covering strong _stackadoes_, which were sunken there in the navigable channel of the river, between the main and Billing's Island. In addition to these works, several armed galleys and floating batteries were stationed in the river, all forming strong barriers against the fleet of the enemy. This circumstance troubled the British general, for he foresaw the consequences of having his supplies by water cut off, and the danger to which his army would be exposed in Philadelphia if unsupported by the fleet. Immediately after the battle at Brandywine, Earl Howe sailed down the Chesapeake, and entered the lower Delaware with several light vessels, among which was the Roebuck, commanded by Captain Hammond. That officer represented to General Howe, that if a sufficient force could be sent to reduce the fortifications at Billingsport, he would take upon himself the task of opening a passage for vessels through the _chevaux de frise, or stackadoes_, at that point. Howe readily consented to attempt the important measure. Two regiments, under Colonel Stirling, were dispatched from Chester, in Pennsylvania, for that purpose. They crossed the river a little below Billingsport, marched in the rear of the unfinished works, and made a furious assault upon the garrison. The Americans were dismayed at this unexpected attack, and believing themselves incompetent to make a successful defense, they spiked their cannons, set fire to the barracks, and fled. The English remained long enough to demolish the works on the river front; when Hammond, by the great exertions of his men, made a passage-way seventy feet wide in the _chevaux de frise_, and, with six vessels, sailed through, and anchored near Hog Island. Stirling returned to Chester, and, with another detachment, proceeded to camp, as an escort of provisions, bearing to General Howe intelligence of his success. [Illustration: 6302] Howe now determined to make a general sweep of all the American works on the Delaware, and, preparatory thereto, he called in his outposts and concentrated his whole army near to and within Philadelphia. Two Rhode Island regiments, belonging to General Varnum's *** brigade, under Colonel Christopher Greene, garrisoned the fort at Red Bank, and *So called in honor of Edward Byllinge, the purchaser of Lord Berkley's moiety of the province of New Jersey. Slight remains of this redoubt, it is said, yet remain. ** This cut, copied from an old print, shows the form of the chevaux de frisé. A is a profile view, and B a plan. The spikes were made of heavy timbers, about thirty feet in length. Partially filled with heavy stone, they presented a formidable obstacle to vessels. It is said that these obstructions were mainly planned by Dr. Franklin, and constructed under the immediate supervision of M. Du Plessis Manduit, a French engineer. *** James Mitchell Varnum was born at Dracut, Massachusetts, in 1749, and graduated in the first class at Providence College in 1769. He afterward studied law at East Greenwich, became an active politician in Rhode Island, espoused the patriot cause, and joined the army in 1775. In February, 1777, he was commissioned a brigadier in the Continental service. He served under Sullivan in the operations on Rhode Island, in 1778, and the next year resigned his commission and left the army. He was a delegate to Congress in 1786, and the following year was appointed a judge of the Northwestern Territory. He died at Marietta, Ohio, January 10, 1790, aged forty-one. His brother, Joseph Bradley Varnum, was also an officer in the Revolution; a member, from Massachusetts, of the first Congress after the adoption of the Federal Constitution; was four years speaker of the Lower House, and succeeded Timothy Pickering as United States senator in 1811. He died on the 11th of September, 1821, aged seventy-one years. [[[The American Fleet in the Delaware.--Hessian Expedition against Fort Mercer.--Storming of the Fort.]]] {293}about the same number of the Maryland line, under Lieutenant-colonel Samuel Smith, occupied Fort Mifflin, on Mud Island. The American fleet in the river, consisting chiefly of galleys and floating batteries, was commanded by Commodore Hazlewood. * It was quite as important to the Americans to maintain these forts and defend the river obstructions as it was to the British to destroy them. It was therefore determined to hold them to the last extremity, for it was evident that such continued possession would force Howe to evacuate Philadelphia. Count Donop, with four battalions, consisting of twelve hundred picked Hessians, was sent by Howe to attack Fort Mercer, at Red Bank. They crossed the Delaware, and landed at Cooper's Ferry, on the 21st of October. The same evening they marched [[1777]] to Haddonsfield, in New Jersey, a little above Gloucester. As they approached Timber Creek, on their way down the river, the Americans took up the bridge, and the enemy were obliged to march four miles up the stream to a shallow ford. They arrived at the edge of a wood, within cannon-shot of Fort Mercer, on the morning of the 22d. Their appearance, full-armed for battle, was the first intimation the garrison had of their approach. Although informed that the number of Hessians was twenty-five hundred, the little garrison of four hundred men, in a feeble earth fort, and with only fourteen pieces of cannon, were not intimidated. They made immediate preparations for defense. While thus engaged, a Hessian officer, who was permitted to approach the fort with a flag and a drummer, rode up, and insolently proclaimed, "The King of England orders his rebellious subjects to lay down their arms; and they are warned that, if they stand the battle, no quarters whatever will be given!" ** "We ask no quarters, nor will we give any!" was the prompt reply of Colonel Greene. The Hessian and the drummer rode hastily back to Donop, and the assailants began at once the erection of a battery within half cannon-shot of the outworks of Fort Mercer. All was activity and eagerness for combat within the fort. The outworks were unfinished, but the redoubt was a citadel upon which the garrison placed much reliance. Skill and bravery were called to combat fierceness, discipline, and overwhelming numbers. It was four o'clock in the afternoon when a brisk cannonade was opened from the Hessian battery, and at a quarter before five a battalion advanced to the attack, on the north part of the fort, near a morass that covered it. Finding the first advance post and the outworks abandoned, but not destroyed, the enemy imagined that they had frightened the Americans away. Filled with this idea, they raised the shout of victory, and, with the drummer just mentioned beating a lively march, rushed toward the redoubt, where not a man was to be seen. They were about to ascend the ramparts, to plant the flag of conquest upon a merlon, when, from the embrasures in front, and from a half-masked battery upon their left flank, formed by an angle of an old embankment, a shower of grape-shot and musket-balls poured upon them with terrible effect, driving them back to the remote intrenchments. Another division of the enemy, under the immediate command of the brave Donop, attacked the fort on the south side at the same time, passed the abatis, traversed the fosse or ditch, and some actually leaped the pickets, and mounted the parapet of the redoubt; but the fire of the Americans was so heavy and continuous that they were soon * The following is a list and description of the American fleet: Thirteen galleys, one bearing a thirty-two pounder; two carrying each a twenty-four pounder; ten each an eighteen pounder. Twenty-six half-galleys, each carrying a four pounder. Two xebeques, each carrying in bow two twenty-four pounders; in stern, two eighteen pounders; in waist, four nine pounders. Two floating batteries (the Arnold and Putnam), one carrying twelve eighteen pounders, one ten eighteen pounders. One provincial ship, ten eighteen pounders. Fourteen fire-ships. The brig Andre Doria, of fourteen six pounders. One schooner-galley, in bow two eighteen pounders; in stern, two nine pounders. One brig-galley, in bow two eighteen pounders; in stern, two nine pounders. There were also a number of fire-rafts. ** De Chastellux, i., 262. [[[Repulse of the Hessians at Red Bank.--Count Donop.--Lieutenant-colonel Greene.--Monument at Red Bank.]]] {294}forced back, and driven out with great loss. They retreated precipitately to Haddonfield, under Lieutenant-colonel Linsing, (Donop, and Mingerode, his second in command, being wounded), leaving between three and four hundred of their comrades behind. They were considerably galled, when first retreating, by the American galleys and floating batteries in the river. The conflict was short, but severe. The precise loss of the enemy is not known. Marshall estimates it at four hundred in killed and wounded. Colonel Donop, the commander of the expedition, fell, mortally wounded, at the first fire. After the engagement, while Manduit, the French engineer, who directed the American artillery on the occasion, was out with a detachment, fixing the palisades, he heard a voice among the slain, saying, "Whoever you are, draw me hence." It was the voice of Count Donop. Manduit had him conveyed into the fort, and the next day to Mr. Whitall's, where he attended him until his death, which occurred three days afterward. "It is finishing a noble career early" [he was thirty-seven], said Donop to Manduit, "but I die the victim of my ambition and of the avarice of my sovereign." * The loss of the Americans within the fort was eight men killed, twenty-nine wounded, and a captain taken prisoner while reconnoitering. The number killed by the bursting of the cannon, mentioned on a preceding page, is not known. So close was the combat at one time, that several Hessians were pierced by the gun-wads of the Americans. ** The conduct of Lieutenant-colonel Greene *** on this occasion was highly applauded, and [[November 4, 1777]] Congress ordered the Board of War to present him with an elegant sword. This tribute was given to his family at the close of the contest, when Colonel Greene was no longer living to receive it. He had been basely murdered in his quarters, near Croton River, in Westchester county, New York, by a band of Tories, consisting of about one hundred and fifty dragoons, under Colonel Delaney, who surprised his post. Colonel Greene fell after his single arm had slain several of his assailants. They attempted to carry him off, but he died upon the road. Major Flagg, a meritorious officer, was killed at the same time; also two subalterns and twenty-seven men were killed or wounded. **** In commemoration of the battle at Red Bank and the valor of Colonel Greene, a monument of blue veined marble, about fifteen feet high, was erected in 1829, just within the northern line of the outworks of Fort Mercer, and within a few feet of the margin of the Delaware. This tribute to the memory of valor and patriotism was made by some New Jersey and Pennsylvania volunteers. While it is a testimony of one of the most noble traits in human character, it bears an exhibition of the existence of another of the most detestable. In the inscription were the words _New Jersey and Pennsylvania_, in a single prominent line. Some Jersey scoundrel almost obliterated the word Pennsylvania; and afterward some Pennsylvania Vandal, in the fierceness of his retaliatory zeal for the credit of his state, disgraced it, so far as insignificance could do it, by obliterating the words New Jersey. The whole line is destroyed; and that marble shaft perpetuates a remembrance of unknown barbarians as well as of honored patriots. (v) * De Chastellux, i., 266. ** Marshall. Ramsay. De Chastellux. Major Ward's Letter. *** Christopher Greene, a native of Rhode Island, was a brave and accomplished soldier. When the battles at Lexington and Concord awakened the nation, he went to the field. After the battle of Bunker Hill he was appointed colonel of a Rhode Island regiment, and in that capacity accompanied Arnold through the wilderness to Quebec, and fought bravely under the walls of that city, when beleaguered by Montgomery. In the autumn of 1777, he was placed in chief command at Fort Mercer, at Red Bank, with his own and Angell's regiments, which formed a part of General Varnum's brigade. He there behaved with gallantry, and received marks of approbation from Congress. He continued in active service until his death, which occurred on the 13th of May, 1781, at the age of forty-four years. Lieutenant-colonel Greene left a widow, with three sons and four daughters. She was the child of J. Lippitt, Esq., of Warwick, Rhode Island. **** See Heath's Memoirs. Bolton, in his History of Westchester County (ii., 391), says that the house in which Greene was quartered belonged to Richard Davenport, and is situated at the end of a narrow lane which diverges from the Pine's Bridge road, about a mile below the residence of William Smith. When he wrote (1848) the house was in the possession of Joshua Carpenter, a grandson of Davenport. * (v) The following is a copy of the inscriptions upon the monument: South side.--"This monument was erected on the 22d Octo., 1829, to transmit to Posterity a grateful remembrance of the Patriotism and Gallantry of Lieutenant-colonel Christopher Greene, who, with 400 men, conquered the Hessian army of 2000 troops (then in the British service), at Red Bank, on the 22d Octo., 1777. Among the slain was found their commander, Count Donop, whose body lies interred near the spot where he fell." West side.--"A number of the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Volunteers, being desirous to perpetuate the memory of the distinguished officers and soldiers who fought and bled in the glorious struggle for American Independence, have erected this monument, on the 22d day of October, A.D. 1829." [[[Attack on Fort Mifflin.--American Flotilla.--Lieutenant-colonel Smith.]]] {295}The firing of the first gun from the Hessian battery upon Fort Mercer was the signal for the British vessels to approach and attack Fort Mifflin. They had already made their way through the lower barrier at Billingsport, and the Augusta, a sixty-four gun ship, and several smaller vessels, were anchored just above it, waiting for flood tide. [Illustration: 8305] As soon as Fort Mercer was attacked, the Augusta, with the Roebuck, of forty-four guns, two frigates, the Merlin, of eighteen guns, and a galley came up, but were kept at bay by the American galleys and floating batteries. These galleys did good execution, not only upon the British vessels, but by flanking the assailants at Red Bank. The attack upon Fort Mifflin was deferred [[October 23, 1777]] until next morning, when, the Hessians being driven from Fort Mercer, the whole power of the American flotilla was brought to bear upon the British fleet. A heavy cannonade was opened upon Fort Mifflin, and attempts were made to get floating batteries in the channel in the rear of Mud Island. Lieutenant-colonel Smith, * the commandant at Fort Mifflin, who was vigilant and brave, thwarted every attempt thus to outflank him (if the term may be used in reference to a garrison in a fort), and by a gallant defense essentially aided the American flotilla in repulsing the enemy. The fire was so fierce and incessant, that the British ships endeavored to fall down the river. A hot shot struck and set fire to the Augusta; and at noon, while lying aground upon a mud bank near the Jersey Monument at Red Bank. ** * Samuel Smith was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, July 27th, 1752. His education, commenced at Carlisle, was completed at an academy at Elkton, in Maryland, after his father made Baltimore his place of residence. He was in his father's counting-house five years, and then, in 1772, sailed for Havre in one of his father's vessels, as supercargo. Having traveled extensively in Europe, he returned home to find his countrymen in the midst of the excitements of the opening of the Revolutionary hostilities. The battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill had been fought. Fired with patriotic zeal, he sought to serve his country in the army, and in January, 1776, obtained a captain's commission in Colonel Smallwood's regiment. He was soon afterward promoted to the rank of major, and early in 1777 he received a lieutenant colonel's commission. In that capacity he served with distinction in the battles of Brandywine and Fort Mifflin, suffered at Valley Forge, and participated in the action on the plains of Monmouth. At the close of the war he was appointed a brigadier general of militia, and commanded the Maryland quota of troops in the "Whisky Insurrection" in Pennsylvania. He served as major general in the war of 1812, and commanded the troops assembled for the defense of Baltimore in 1814. During a riot in Baltimore in 1836, when the civil power was inadequate to quell the violence of the mob, the aged general, then eighty-four years old, appeared in the streets with the United States flag, placed himself at the head of peaceful citizens, and very soon restored order and tranquillity. In the autumn of that year he was elected mayor of the city, which office he held until his death on the 22d of April, 1839, at the age of eighty-seven years. General Smith was elected a representative in Congress in 1793, and served until 1803. He was again elected in 1816, and served six years longer. He was also a member of the United States Senate for a period of twenty-three years. The accompanying portrait is from an engraving by St. Memin, an artist who engraved a large number of the distinguished men of our country at about the commencement of the present century. The signature is from a frank, kindly sent to me by his son, General Smith, president of the Maryland Historical Society. ** This view includes the monument, a portion of the Delaware, and the mouth of the Schuylkill, on the western shore. [[[Successful Defense of Fort Mifflin.--Preparations for another Attack.--Plan of the Fort.]]] {296}shore, she blew up. The engagement continued with the other vessels until three o'clock in the afternoon, when the Merlin also took fire and blew up, near the mouth of Mud Creek. The conflict now ceased; the Roebuck dropped down the river, and passed below the _chevaux de frisé_ * at Billingsport, and the Americans remained masters of the Delaware forts for a short season. ** [Illustration: 8306] It was, indeed, cut a short season that quiet possession of the river was vouchsafed the patriots. Although repulsed, his ships beaten back, and his mercenary allies decimated, Howe was not discouraged; and he labored eagerly and hopefully to dislodge the Americans from their strong posts upon the only avenue through which his army could receive food and clothing, and his magazine supplies for the winter. [Illustration: 9306] A timely re-enforcement from New York enabled him to act with energy. He took possession of Province Island, lying between Fort Mifflin and the main, and at different points works were thrown up to strengthen his power and annoy the patriots. This was on the 1st of November; and from that time never, was a garrison more harassed than that at Fort Mifflin; and never was patience and courage more nobly exhibited than was then shown by Lieutenant-colonel Smith and his compatriots. Old Fort Mifflin was upon the lower end of Mud (now Fort) Island, having its principal fortification in front, for the purpose of repelling ships that might come up the river. On the side toward Province Island (a low mud bank, nearly covered at high water, and separated from Mud Island by a narrow channel) the fort had only a wet ditch, without ravelin or abatis. This part was flanked by a blockhouse at each of its angles. These were not strong. When the Americans saw the enemy take possession of Province Island, and begin the planting of batteries to bruise their weakest points, they were sensible that Fort Mifflin would be untenable if the British completed their works. Such, too, was the painful conviction of Washington, and from his camp at Whitemarsh he put forth all his energies to prevent the evil. But, weak in numbers, and deficient in every thing which constitutes the strength of an army, he was obliged to see the enemy, day alter day, rearing his battle-works, without being able to interpose. He had sent anxious requests to General Gates to forward re-enforcements from the North, Burgoyne's invading army being cap- * The Merlin, like the Augusta, had got aground, and stuck so fast that it was impossible to get her off. The obstructions which the Americans had placed in the river had caused such a change in the channels, that the pilots of the British vessels were completely at fault. ** On the 4th of November, ten days after the battle, Congress honored Lieutenant-colonel Smith and Commodore Hazlewood, by voting each an elegant sword.--Journals of Congress, iii., 374. *** Explanation.--A, the inner work or redoubt; bbb, a high, thick stone wall, built by Montressor, with indentations, where the men boiled their kettles. This wall was pierced with loop-holes for musketry. cccc block-houses, built of wood, with loop-holes, and mounting four pieces of cannon each, two on the lower platform; ddd, barracks; eee, stockadoes; fff trous de Loup; g g, ravelins. On the southeast side were two strong piers, and a battery mounting three cannons. [[[Washington's Efforts to Re enforce his Army.--Conduct of Gates and Putnam.--Second Attack on Fort Mifflin.]]] {297}tured, and no other formidable enemy requiring a large force in that quarter; but that officer, doubtless willing to see his _rival_ unsuccessful, gave no heed to his orders until longer non-compliance would have been positive disobedience. * To break up the encampment at Whitemarsh, and move the army to the west side of the Schuylkill, would be to leave depositories of stores and hospitals for the sick within reach of the enemy. It would also leave the fords of the Schuylkill in the custody of the royal troops, and render a junction of the expected Northern forces with the main army difficult, if not impossible. Furthermore, it might bring on a general engagement, which, with his weakened forces, the commander-inchief knew might be fatal. Thus situated, Washington viewed the progress of the enemy in his designs upon Fort Mifflin with intense anxiety. The British erected five batteries on Province Island, of eighteen, twenty-four, and thirty-two pounders, within five hundred yards of Fort Mifflin. They also brought up, by the new channel made between Hog Island and the main by the changing of the current by the _chevaux de frise_, a large floating battery, mounting twenty-two twenty-four pounders, within forty yards of an angle of the fort. They also brought to bear upon the fort four sixty-four gun ships, within nine hundred yards, and two forty gun ships. Altogether the enemy had fourteen strong redoubts, and these were well manned and furnished with heavy artillery. On the 10th of November, the enemy opened their batteries on land and water, and for six consecutive days poured a storm of bombs and round shot upon the devoted fortification. With consummate skill and courage, Lieutenant-colonel Smith directed the responses from the ordnance of the fort. The artillery, drawn chiefly from Colonel Lamb's regiment, were commanded by Lieutenant Treat, who was killed on the first day of the siege, by the bursting of a bomb. On that day the barracks alone suffered, but on the morning of the 11th the direction of the enemy's fire was changed; a dozen of the strong palisades were demolished, and a cannon in an embrasure was disabled. The firing did not cease until midnight, and many of the garrison were killed or wounded. Colonel Smith, the commander, had a narrow escape. He had just gone into the barracks to write a letter to General Varnum, when a ball passed through a chimney. He was struck by the scattered bricks, and for a time lay senseless. He was taken across to Red Bank, and the command devolved on Lieutenant-colonel Russell, of the Connecticut line. That officer was disabled by fatigue and ill health, and Major Thayer, of the Rhode Island line, volunteered to take his place. Major Henry, who sent daily reports to Washington of the progress of the siege, was also wounded on the 11th, but he continued with the garrison. On the 12th, a two-gun battery of the Americans was destroyed, the northwest block-house and laboratory were blown up, and the garrison were obliged to seek shelter within the fort. The enemy continued to throw shells at night, and fearful indeed was the scene. At * Gates had ample stores and a formidable force; and had he acted with the energy of true patriotism, he might have re-enforced Washington, by which the Delaware forts could have been saved, and the enemy driven out of Philadelphia. But he was vainly expecting soon to supersede Washington in the chief command, and he treated his orders with indifference. So tardy were his movements, when he concluded to comply, that Washington sent Colonel Hamilton to hasten his march. When Hamilton arrived at Albany, he found Gates reluctant to part with any of his troops; but, after much persuasion, he consented to send Morgan's corps and some thin brigades to the commander-in-chief. Hamilton was indignant, and by plain speech caused Gates to send a stronger re-enforcement. These, on their march down the Hudson, encountered a check from Putnam, who, dreaming of glory to be derived from an attack on New York, had actually detained a part of the force sent forward by Gates, and had marched them to Tarrytown, while he had himself advanced to White Plains. Thus, by tardy movements in Congress, and the undutiful ambition of subordinate officers, Washington was often foiled. Hamilton, by advice of Governor Clinton, assumed the authority of issuing a peremptory order to Putnam to put the Continental troops in motion for Whitemarsh. * I now, sir," he wrote, "in the most explicit terms, by his excellency's authority, give it as a positive order from him, that all the Continental troops under your command may be immediately marched to King's Ferry, there to cross the river, and hasten to re-enforce the army under him." The Massachusetts militia and some new recruits were to replace the Continental soldiers thus sent away. So much did Hamilton censure Putnam when he returned to head-quarters, that it was thought a court martial would arraign the veteran; but the matter was passed over without notice, obedience having followed the peremptory order of Washington's representative. [[[Gallant Defense of Fort Mifflin.--Destructive Effects of Cannons and Bombs.--Plan of Operations on the Delaware]]] {298}sunrise on the 13th, thirty armed boats made their appearance; and during that night the heavy floating battery was brought to bear upon the fort. [Illustration: 0308] It opened with terrible effect on the morning of the 14th, yet that little garrison of only three hundred men managed to silence it before noon. Hitherto the enemy did not know the real weakness of the garrison; on that day a deserter, in a boat, carried information of the fact to the British, who were seriously thinking of abandoning the siege, for they had suffered much. Hope was revived, and preparations were made for a general and more vigorous assault. At daylight, on the 15th, the Iris and Somerset, men-of-war, passed up the east channel to attack the fort on Mud Island in front. Several frigates were brought to bear on Fort Mercer; and the Vigilant, an East Indiaman of twenty twenty-four pounders, and a hulk with three twenty-four pounders, made their way through a narrow channel on the western side, and gained a position to act in concert with the batteries on Province Island, in enfilading the American works. At ten o'clock, while all was silent, a signal-bugle sent forth its summons to action, and instantly the land batteries and the shipping poured a terrible storm of missiles upon Fort Mifflin. The little garrison sustained the shock with astonishing intrepidity, and far into the gloom of evening an incessant cannonade was kept up. Within an hour, the only two cannons in the fort which had not been dismounted shared the fate of the others. Every man who appeared upon the platform was killed by the musketeers in the tops of the ships, whose yards almost hung over the American battery. Long before night not a palisade was left; the embrasures were ruined; the whole parapet leveled; the block-houses were already destroyed. Early in the evening Major Thayer sent all the remnant of the garrison to Red Bank, excepting forty men, with whom he remained. Among those sent was the brave Captain * Note. Explanation of the Map.--This shows the main operations upon the Delaware between the middle of October and the close of November, 1777. Fort Mifflin is seen on the lower end of Mud Island. A, B, two British transports; C, the Experiment; D, the Vigilant frigate; E, the Fury sloop; F, a passage opened through the stockadoes; G, American fleet burned at Gloucester; H. the village of Woodbury and Cornwallis's encampment on the 21st of November, 1777; I, camp on the 24th, between the branches of Timber Creek; J, a battery of two eighteen pounders and two nine pounders; K, fort at Billingsport, Colonel Stirling's corps, and Cornwallis's camp on the 18th of November; L, redoubt on Carpenter's Island; M, on Province Island, to cover the bridge in the direction of Philadelphia; N, a battery of six twenty-four pounders, one eight-inch howitzer, and one eight-inch mortar; 0, a battery with one eight-inch howitzer and one eight-inch mortar; P, a battery with one thirteen-inch mortar; n, two twelve pounders; o, one eighteen pounder; S, stockadoes in the channel in front of Fort Mifllin; a, a small vessel; b. wreck of the Merlin; c, the Liverpool: d. Cornwallis galley; e, the Pearl; f the Somerset; g, the Roebuck; h, wreck of the Augusta; i, the Iris; j. ship sunk; k, the Vigilant; l, the Fury; W, the Whitall house, just below Fort Mercer. The parallelograms around Fort Mercer denote the attack bv Donop, on the 22d of October. The small island between Red Bank Island and the Jersey shore is Woodbury Island, on which the Americans erected a small battery. The creek, just below Fort Mercer, is Woodbury Creek, a deep and sluggish stream, near the Delaware. [[[Retreat of the Garrison.--Destruction of the Fort.--Movements in New Jersey.--Fort Mercer Abandoned.]]] {299}(afterward Commodore) Talbot, of the Rhode Island line, who was wounded in the hip, having fought for hours with his wrist shattered by a musket ball. At midnight, every defense and every shelter being swept away, Thayer and his men set fire to the remains of the barracks, evacuated the fort, and escaped in safety to Red Bank. Altogether it was one of the most gallant and obstinate defenses made during the war. In the course of the last day, more than a thousand discharges of cannon, from twelve to thirty-two pounders, were made against the works on Mud Island. Nearly two hundred and fifty men of the garrison were killed and wounded. The loss of the British was great; the number was not certainly known. * Fort Mercer was still in possession of the Continental troops. Howe determined to dislodge them; for, while they remained, the obstructions in the river could not, with safety, be removed. While a portion of his force was beating down Fort Mifflin, he was busy in fortifying Philadelphia. He had extended intrenchments across from the Delaware to the Schuylkill. Having received more re-enforcements from New York, he sent Cornwallis to fall upon Fort Mercer in the rear. That officer, with a detachment of about two thousand men, crossed the Delaware from Chester to Billingsport, where he was joined by some [[November 18, 1777]] troops just arrived from New York. Washington had been apprised of this movement, and had detached General Huntington's brigade to join that of Varnum in New Jersey. He also ordered Major-general Greene to proceed with his division to the relief of the garrison, and to oppose Cornwallis. That able officer, accompanied by La Fayette, who had not yet quite recovered from a wound received in the battle on the Brandywine, crossed the Delaware at Burlington, and marched with a considerable force toward Red Bank. He expected to be re-enforced by Glover's brigade, then on its march through New Jersey, but was disappointed. Ascertaining that the force of Cornwallis was greatly superior to his own in numbers, General Greene abandoned the plan of giving him battle, and filed off toward Haddonfield. Colonel Greene, deprived of all hope of succor, evacuated Fort Mercer, leaving the artillery, with a considerable quantity of cannon-balls and stores, in the hands [[November 20]] of the enemy. Cornwallis dismantled the fort and demolished the works. His army was augmented by re-enforcements, and, with about five thousand men, he took post at and fortified Gloucester Point, whence he might have a supervision of affairs in Lower Jersey. Morgan's rifle corps joined General Greene, but the Americans were not strong enough to venture a regular attack upon Cornwallis. A detachment of one hundred and fifty riflemen, under Lieutenant-colonel Butler, and an equal number of militia, under La Fayette, attacked a picket of the enemy three hundred strong, killed between twenty and thirty of them, drove the remainder quite into the camp at Gloucester, and returned without losing a man. General Greene soon afterward withdrew from New Jersey and joined Washington, and Cornwallis returned to Philadelphia. The American fleet, no longer supported by the forts, sought other places of safety. On a dark night, the galleys, one [[November 21, 1777]] brig, and two sloops, crept cautiously along the Jersey shore past Philadelphia, and escaped to Burlington. Seventeen other vessels, unable to escape, were abandoned by their crews, and burned at Gloucester. ** The American defenses on the Delaware were now scattered to the winds; the obstructions in the river were removed; the enemy had full possession of Philadelphia; Congress had fled to the interior, and the broken battalions of the patriot army sought winter quarters on the banks of the Schuylkill, at Valley Forge. Gloomy indeed were the November twilights of 1777 to the eye and heart of the patriot, for there were no brilliant omens of a pleasant to-morrow. Not so was the bright sunset and radiant twilight of that November evening in 1848, when we left the ruins at Red Bank and sought a waterman to convey us back to League Island. There was no cloud in the heavens; an orange glow suffused the chambers of the west where the king of day had gone to his couch, and promises of a fair to-morrow were revealed in the clear sky. * Gordon, ii., 276. Botta, ii., 51. Washington's Letters. ** See plan on the preceding page. [[[Ancient Philadelphia.--The "Slate-roof House" and its Associations.]]] {300} CHAPTER XII. ```"New streets invade the country; and he strays, ```Lost in strange paths, still seeking, and in vain, ```For ancient landmarks, or the lonely lane ```Where oft he play'd at Crusoe, when a boy.= ```"All that was lovely then is gloomy now: ```Then, no strange paths perplex'd him, no new streets, ```Where draymen bawl, while rogues kick up a row, ```And fish-wives grin, while fopling fopling meets." `````William Elliott.= ````"But all are passing fast away; `````Those abstruse thinkers too-- ````Old churches, with their walls of gray, `````Must yield to something new. ````Be-Gothic'd things, all neat and white, `````Greet every where the traveler's sight." `````Elizabeth Oakes Smith.= [Illustration: 9310] ET us stroll through ancient Philadelphia this clear frosty morning [[November 28, 1848]] ing, and visit the few fossil remains of the primitive period that lie amid the elegant structures and "be-Gothic'd things" of the present, like trilobites in secondary limestone. We shall have little to do with the great town stretching away to the Schuylkill; it is near the banks of the Delaware that we must seek for the places hallowed by the remembrance of= ```"The deeds of our fathers in times that are gone; ```Their virtues, their prowess, the fields they have won; ```Their struggles for freedom, the toils they endured, ```The rights and the blessings for us they procured."= One of the most interesting buildings in Philadelphia is the "Slate-roof House," on the southeast corner of Norris's Alley and Second Street, a little south of Chestnut Street. It was built about 1690 for Samuel Carpenter, and was occupied by William Penn as his city residence in the year 1700. * There was the birth-place of John Penn, the governor of Pennsylvania when the Revolution broke out, the only child of William Penn born in this country. From that circumstance he was called "the American." There, in 1702, Lord Cornbury, then governor of New York and New Jersey, was magnificently entertained, with his suite of fifty persons. James Logan, William Penn's agent, also entertained him at Pennsbury, in a style quite in dissonance with the plain character of Quakers. This house was sold to William Trent, the founder of Trenton, in 1703. For nearly fifty years afterward it was occupied by some of the first men of Philadelphia (among whom was Deputy-governor Hamilton), when it became noted as a superior boarding-house. There General Forbes, the successor of Braddock, died in 1759. In 1764 it was rented by the Widow Graydon, mother of Captain Graydon, the author of "Memoirs of Sixty Years' Life in Pennsylvania." Captain Graydon describes the house as "a singular, old-fashioned structure, laid out in the style of a fortification, with abundance of angles, both salient and re-entering Its two wings projected to the street in the manner of bastions, to which the main building, retreating from sixteen to eighteen feet, served as a curtain. It had a spacious * Penn had a fine eountry residence, sometimes called "The Palace," in Bucks county, on the bank of the Delaware, nearly opposite Bordentown. It was constructed in 1683, at an expense of $35,000. [[[Loxley's House.--Mrs. Darrah and the British Adjutant General.]]] {301}yard half way to Front Street, ornamented with a double row of venerable, lofty pines, which afforded a very agreeable rus in urbe in the heart of the city." * [Illustration: 9311] John Adams and other members of the first Continental Congress boarded in the _Slate-roof House_; and there many British officers had lodgings while the city was in possession of the royal troops in 1778. A young ladies' boarding-school was kept there at one time, in which a daughter of General Wayne was educated. ** General Arnold occupied it as his residence while military governor of Philadelphia in 1778; and there were given those splendid entertainments before and after his marriage with Miss Shippen, which contributed to involve him in those debts that aided in producing his defection to the American cause. Strolling down South Second Street, I came to an antiquated building, at No. 177, known as "Loxley's House." Its gallery in front was sometimes used as a preaching-place by Whitefield. The house was then out of town, over "the Second Street Bridge." In front of it was a gentle hill, whose slopes afforded a fine resting-place for the immense audiences who listened to the great missionary. On that hill Captain (afterward General) Cadwallader used to drill his "silk stocking company." **** [Illustration: 8311] Mr. Loxley, the first owner of the house, was a lieutenant of artillery under Braddock, and was present at the defeat of that general at the Great Meadows. During the Revolution, the Loxley House was the residence of a Quaker named William Darrah, or Darrach, whose wife, Lydia, was a true heroine and patriot. While the British had possession of Philadelphia, the adjutant general made his quarters at Darrah's; and it being a secluded spot, the superior officers of the army used frequently to hold their confidential meetings there. On one of these occasions, the adjutant general ordered Mrs. Darrah to make the upper back room ready for the reception of his friends, who were expected to stay late; "And," he added, in giving his order, "be sure, Lydia, your family are all in bed at an early hour." His manner was emphatic; and Mrs. Darrah, fearing to disobey, prepared for their reception. The order impressed her quick perception with curiosity, and she resolved to know the purport of the meeting. When the officers came the family were in bed, Lydia alone being up to receive them. This done, she retired to her own couch without undressing. She was restless, and at length a higher impulse than mere curiosity determined her to become a listener. Softly she stole from her room, and, without shoes, traversed the passage to the door of the apartment where the officers were assembled. She applied her ear to the keyhole, when, after a few minutes of silence within, a voice read distinctly an order of Sir William Howe for the troops to quit the city the next night, and march out to an attack upon Washington's camp at Whitemarsh. Lydia had heard enough, and, gliding back to her room, she threw herself on her bed, but not to sleep. In a few minutes there * Memoirs, page 53. ** Watson's Annals of Philadelphia, i., 163. *** This view is from Second Street. The building is of imported brick, except the modern addition between the wings, which is now occupied as a clothing store by an Israelite. The house is suffered to decay, and doubtless the broom of improvement will soon sweep it away, as a cumberer of valuable ground. **** Watson, i., 412. [[[Information sent to Washington's Camp by Mrs. Darrah.--Disappointment of the British.]]] {302}was a rap at the door; she knew its meaning, and feigned deep slumber. At the third knock she arose quickly, and let the adjutant general and his friends depart. Mrs. Darrah now possessed a momentous seeret. She was a true friend to her country, and she felt that she had a duty to perform, and that quickly. In the still hour of the night she sent up a silent petition for heavenly guidance, and at dawn she was astir. [Illustration: 9312] She awoke her husband, and informed him that flour was wanted for family use, and that she must go immediately to Frankford for it, a common occurrence in those days. * It was a cold December Decembers, morning, the snow several inches deep[[December 3, 1777]] upon the ground. On foot, and with her bag in hand, she started on her errand, stopping at the head-quarters of General Howe ** to obtain a passport to leave the city. Mrs. Darrah reached Frankford, nearly five miles distant, at an early hour, and, leaving her bag at the mill, pressed forward toward the American outposts to inform Washington of the intended night attack. She met Lieutenant-colonel Craig, who had been sent out by the commander-in-ehief to gain information respecting the enemy. To him she told the secret, and, hastening baek to the mill, shouldered the bag of flour, and returned home with a heart full of thankfulness for being made an instrument of usefulness to her country, as she believed, and as the result proved. From her window, on that cold starry night whieh succeeded her morning mission, she watched the departure of the British troops to make the attack on Washington's camp. And again she watched from that window when the distant roll of a drum heralded their return from "a fool's errand," indeed; for, "forewarned, forearmed," the Americans were on the alert, and fully prepared to receive the enemy when they came. Foiled, the British returned to their encampment in the city. The adjutant general came to his quarters. He summoned Lydia to his room, and, locking his door with an air of mystery, bade her be seated. "Were any of your family up, Lydia," he asked, "on the night when I received company in this house?" "No," she unhesitatingly replied; "they all retired at eight o'clock." This was true, though Lydia afterward arose. "It is very strange," said the officer. "You, I know, Lydia, were asleep, for I knocked at your door three times before you heard me; yet it is certain that we were betrayed. I am altogether at a loss to conceive who could have given information to Washington of our intended attack! On arriving near his encampment, we found his cannon mounted, his troops under arms, and so prepared at every point to receive us, that we have been compelled to march back without injuring our enemy, like a parcel of fools." *** Mrs. Darrah enjoined Lieutenant-colonel Craig not to disclose her name, for she feared the fury of the enemy; history has therefore omitted the name of Lydia Darrah in its record of events at that time, and left well-authenticated tradition alone to embalm it. **** I walked down to the navy yard, and visited the old Swedes' Chureh, on Swanson Street, near by. Its present pastor, the Reverend Mr. Clay, permitted me to view its interior. * See page 248. ** General Howe's quarters were in a house on High Street, one door east from the southeast corner of Sixth Street, where President Washington resided. Three houses, Nos. 192 to 194 High Street, now occupy the site of this mansion. This view is copied, by permission, from Watson's Annals. *** Mrs. Ellett's Women of the Revolution, i., 171. **** Washington, in a letter to Congress, dated Whitemarsh, 10th December, 1777," mentions the fact that, on Thursday night previous, Howe, with all his foree, left the eity, and the next morning appeared on Chestnut Hill, in front of the American right wing. He says, "From a variety of intelligence, I had reason to expect that General Howe was preparing to give us a general action." Writing to Governor Livingston on the 11th, he savs, Howe "came out with his whole force last Thursday evening, and, after maneuvering round us till the Monday following, decamped very hastily, and marched back to Philadelphia." [[[Swedes' Church.--Wharton's Mansion-house.--The Mischianza.--Immorality of the Army.]]] {303}Within and without it has been too much modernized to give a very perfect idea of its original appearance. In its burial inclosure, among graves that were dug a century and a half ago, rest the remains of Wilson, the great American ornithologist. Here was the first burial-place in Philadelphia; and here was offered the first Christian worship upon the western bank of the Delaware above the Schuylkill. Near the Swedes' Church, and fronting the river at the present navy yard, stood _Wharton's Mansion-house._ It was of large dimensions, with broad lawns and stately trees around it. There, on Monday, the 18th of May, 1778, was given a great entertainment in honor of Sir William Howe and his brother Richard, earl Howe (the naval commander), then on the eve of their departure from America. It was called the _Mischianza_, an Italian word signifying a medley. [Illustration: 8313] This entertainment was probably the most magnificent exhibition of extravagance and folly ever witnessed in America. It very properly drew forth the indignant comments of not only the Whigs in America, but of the true friends of government here and in England, as an appropriate finale to the sensualities of the British army during its winter encampment in Philadelphia. * The loose discipline of the army, during those six months of idleness, did more to weaken the power of the enemy than all the battles they had yet experienced here, and fully justified the remark of Franklin, that "General Howe has not taken Philadelphia--Philadelphia has taken General Howe." Major Andre, in the subjoined letter ** to a friend, has given a graphic picture of the _Mischianza_. It was published in a London magazine in August., 1782. * The following advertisement, which appeared in a Philadelphia paper while the British had possession of the city, will serve to show the impudent profligacy of some of the English officers at that time: "Wanted to hire with two single gentlemen, a young woman, to act in the capacity of housekeeper, and who can occasionally put her hand to any thing. Extravagant wages will be given, and no character required. Any young woman who chooses to offer, may be further informed at the bar of the City Tavern.--Watson's Annals, ii., 288. ** "Philadelphia, May 23,1778." ** "For the first time in my life I write to you with unwillingness. The ship that carries home Sir William Howe will convey this letter to you; and not even the pleasure of conversing with my friend can secure me from the general dejection I see around me, or remove the share I must take in the universal regret and disappointment which his approaching departure hath spread throughout the army. We see him taken from us at a time when we most stand in need of so skillful and popular a commander; when the experience of three years, and the knowledge he hath acquired of the eountry and the people, have added to the confidence we always placed in his conduct and abilities. You know he was ever a favorite with the military; but the affection and attachment which all ranks of officers in this army bear him can only be known by those who have at this time seen them in their effects. I do not believe there is upon record an instance of a commander-in-chief having so universally endeared himself to those under his command, or of one who received such signal and flattering proofs of their love. That our sentiments might be the more universally and unequivocally known, it was resolved among us that we should give him as splendid an entertainment as the shortness of the time and our present situation would allow us. For the expenses, the whole army would have most cheerfully contributed; but it was requisite to draw the line somewhere, and twenty-two field-officers joined in a subscription adequate to the plan they meant to adopt. I know your curiosity will be raised on this occasion; I shall therefore give you as particular an account of our Mischianza as I have been able to collect. From the name, you will perceive that it was made up of a variety of entertainments. ** Four of the gentlemen subscribers were appointed managers--Sir John Wrottlesly, Colonel O'Hara, Major Gardiner, and Montresor, the chief engineer. On the tickets of admission which they gave out for Monday, the 18th, was engraved, in a shield, a view of the sea, with the setting sun, and on a wreath, the words Luceo discedens, aucto splendore resurgam. At the top was the general's crest, with Vive vale! All around the shield ran a vignette, and various military trophies filled up the ground. * A grand regatta began the entertainment. It consisted of three divisions. In the first was the Ferret galley, with Sir William and Lord Howe, Sir Henry Clinton, the officers of their suites, and some ladies. The Cornwallis galley brought up the rear, having on board General Knyphausen and his suite, three British generals, and a party of ladies. On each quarter of these galleys, and forming their division, were five flat-boats, lined with green cloth, and with ladies and gentlemen. In front of the whole were three flat-boats, with a band of music in each. Six barges rowed about each flank, to keep off the swarm of boats that covered the river from side to side. The galleys were dressed out in a variety of colors and streamers, and in each flat-boat was displayed the flag of its own division. In the stream, opposite the center of the city, the Fanny, armed ship, magnificently decorated, was placed at anchor, and at some distance ahead lay his majesty's ship Roebuck, with the admiral's flag hoisted at the fore-topmast head. The transport-ships, extending in a line the whole length of the town, appeared with colors flying, and crowded with spectators, as were also the opening of the several wharves on shore, exhibiting the most picturesque and enlivening scene the eye could desire. The rendezvous was at Knight's Wharf, at the northern extremity of the city. * By half past four the whole company was embarked, and the signal being made by the Vigilant's manning ship, the three divisions rowing slowly down, preserving their proper intervals, and keeping time to the music that led the fleet. Arrived between the Fanny and the Market Wharf, a signal was made from one of the boats ahead, and the whole lay upon their oars, while the music played God Save the King, and three cheers given from the vessels were returned from the multitude on shore. By this time the flood-tide became too rapid for the galleys to advance; they were therefore quitted, and the company disposed of in different barges. This alteration broke in on the order of procession, but was necessary to give sufficient time for displaying the entertainment that was prepared on shore. The landing-place was at the old fort, ** a little to the southward of the town, fronting the building prepared for the reception of the company, about four hundred yards from the water by a gentle ascent. As soon as the general's barge was seen to push from the shore, a salute of seventeen guns was fired from the Roebuck, and, after some interval, by the same number from the Vigilant. The company, as they disembarked, arranged themselves into a line of procession, and advanced through an avenue formed by two files of grenadiers, and a line of light horse supporting each file. This avenue led to a square lawn of one hundred and fifty yards on each side, lined with troops, and properly prepared for the exhibition of a tilt and tournament, according to the customs and ordinance of ancient chivalry. We proceeded through the center of the square. The music, consisting of all the bands of the army, moved in front. The managers, with favors of blue and white ribbons in their breasts, followed next in order. The general, admiral, and the rest of the company proceeded promiscuously. In front appeared the building, bounding the view, through a vista formed by two triumphal arches, erected at proper intervals in a line with the landing-place. Two pavilions, with rows of benches, rising one above the other, and serving as the advanced wings of the first triumphal arch, received the ladies, while the gentlemen arranged themselves in convenient order on each side. On the front seat of each pavilion were placed seven of the principal young ladies of the country, dressed in Turkish habits, and wearing in their turbans the favors with which they meant to reward the several knights who were to contend in their honor. These arrangements were scarce made, when the sound of trumpets was heard at a distance, and a band of knights, dressed in ancient habits of white and red silk, and mounted on gray horses, richly caparisoned in trappings of the same colors, entered the list, attended by their esquires on foot, in suitable apparel, in the following order: four trumpeters, properly habited, their trumpets decorated with small pendant banners; a herald in his robe of ceremony; on his tunic was the device of his band; two roses intertwined, with the motto, We droop when separated. Lord Cathcart, superbly mounted on a managed horse, appeared as chief of these knights; two young black slaves, with sashes and drawers of blue and white silk, wearing large silver clasps round their necks and arms, their breasts and shoulders bare, held his stirrups. On his right hand walked Captain Hazard, and on his left Captain Brownlow, his two esquires, one bearing his lance, the other his shield. His device was Cupid riding on a lion; the motto, Surmounted by Love. His lordship appeared in honor of Miss Auchmuty. * A little distance above the present Vine Street. ** This is a copy of the Mischianza Ticket, one half the size of the original, which, with the drawing of the head dress upon page 306, were made by Major André. These were presented to John F. Watson, Esq., by Miss Craig, one of the ladies who participated in the fête. These curious relics are attached to manuscript annals of Philadelphia, prepared by Mr. Watson, and by him generously presented to the Franklin Library of that city. * A little below the present navy yard. "Then came in order the knights of his band, each attended by his squire, bearing his lance and shield. "First knight, Honorable Captain Cathcart, * in honor of Miss N. White; squire, Captain Peters; device, a heart and sword; motto, Love and honor. "Second knight, Lieutenant Bygrove, in honor of Miss Craig; squire, Lieutenant Nichols; device, Cupid tracing a circle; motto, Without end. "Third knight, Captain André,2 in honor of Miss P. Chew; squire, Lieutenant Andre; device, two game-cocks fighting; motto, No rival. "Fourth knight, Captain Horneck, in honor of Miss N. Redman; squire, Lieutenant Talbot; device, a burning heart; motto, Absence can not extinguish. "Fifth knight, Captain Matthews, in honor of Miss Bond; squire, Lieutenant Hamilton; device, a winged heart; motto, Each fair by turns. "Sixth knight, Lieutenant Sloper, in honor of Miss M. Shippen; *** squire, Lieutenant Brown; device, a heart and sword; motto, Honor and the fair. ** "After they had made the circuit of the square, and saluted the ladies as they passed before the pavilions, they ranged themselves in a line with that in which were the ladies of their device; and their herald (Mr. Beaumont), advancing into the center of the square, after the flourish of trumpets, proclaimed the following challenge: 'The knights of the Blended Rose, by me their herald, proclaim and assert that the ladies of the Blended Rose excel in wit, beauty, and every accomplishment, those of the whole world; and should any knight or knights be so hardy as to dispute or deny it, they are ready to enter the list with them, and maintain their assertions by deeds of arms, according to the laws of ancient chivalry.' At the third repetition of the challenge, the sound of trumpets was heard from the opposite side of the square, and another herald, with four trumpeters, dressed in black and orange, galloped into the list. He was met by the herald of the Blended Rose, and, after a short parley, they both advanced in front of the pavilions, when the black herald (Lieutenant More) ordered his trumpets to sound, and then proclaimed defiance to the challenge in the following words: "' The knights of the Burning Mountain present themselves here, not to contest by words, but to disprove by deeds, the vainglorious assertion of the knights of the Blended Rose, and enter these lists to maintain that the ladies of the Burning Mountain are not excelled in beauty, virtue, or accomplishments by any in the universe.' "He then returned to the part of the barrier through which he had entered, and shortly after, the black knights, attended by their squires, rode into the lists in the following order: "Four trumpeters preceding the herald, on whose tunic was represented a mountain sending forth flames; motto, I burn forever. "Captain Watson, of the Guards, as chief, dressed in a magnificent suit of black and orange silk, and mounted on a black, managed horse, with trappings of the same colors with his own dress, appeared in honor of Miss Franks. He was attended in the same manner as Lord Cathcart. Captain Scott bore his lance, and Lieutenant Lyttleton his shield. The device, a heart, with a wreath of flowers; motto, Love and glory. "First knight, Lieutenant Underwood, in honor of Miss S. Shippen; squire, Ensign Haverkam; device, a pelican feeding her young; motto, For those I love. "Second knight, Lieutenant Winyard, in honor of Miss P. Shippen; squire, Captain Boscawen; device, a bay leaf; motto, Unchangeable. "Third knight, Lieutenant Délavai, in honor of Miss B. Bond; squire, Captain Thorne; device, a heart aimed at by several arrows, and struck by one; motto, Only one pierce me. "Fourth knight, Monsieur Montluissant (Lieutenant of the Hessian chasseurs), in honor of Miss R. Redman; squire, Captain Campbell; device, a sunflower turning toward the sun; motto, Te vise a vous. "Fifth knight, Lieutenant Hubbard, in honor of Miss S. Chew; squire, Lieutenant Briscoe; device, Cupid piercing a coat of mail with his arrow; motto, Proof to all but Love. "Sixth knight, Brigade-major Tarlton, in honor of Miss W. Smith; squire, Ensign Heart; device, a light dragoon; motto, Swift, vigilant, and bold. ** "After they had rode round the lists, and made their obeisance to the ladies, they drew up fronting the White Knights; and the chief of these having thrown down his gauntlet, the chief of the Black Knights directed his esquire to take it up. The knights then received their lances from their esquires, fixing their shields on their left arms, and, making a general salute to each other by a very graceful movement of their lances, turned round to take their career, and, encountering in full gallop, shivered their spears. In the second and third encounter they discharged their pistols. In the fourth, they fought with their swords. At length the two chiefs, spurring forward into the center, engaged furiously in single combat, till the marshal of the field (Major Gwyne) rushed in between the chiefs, and declared that the fair damsels of the * Captain (afterward Earl) Cathcart was a son of Lord Cathcart, the chief of the knights on this occasion. ** Afterward Major André. The lady in whose honor he appeared was daughter of Chief-justice Chew. His squire was his brother, a youth of nineteen, whom the king afterward knighted, as mentioned on page 199. ***Afterward the wife of General Arnold. * This is from a silhouette cut by Major André. ** Blended Rose and Burning Mountain were perfectly satisfied with the proofs of love and the signal feats of valor given by their respective knights, and commanded them, as they prized the future favors of their mistresses, that they would instantly desist from further combat. Obedience being paid by the chiefs to this order, they joined their respective bands. The White Knights and their attendants filed off to the left, 'the Black Knights to the right, and, after passing each other at the lower side of the quadrangle, moved up alternately till they approached the pavilions of the ladies, when they gave a general salute. ** "A passage being now opened between the two pavilions, the knights, preceded by their squires and the bands music, rode through the first triumphal arch, and arranged themselves to the right and left. This arch was erected in honor of Lord Howe. It presented two fronts, in the Tuscan order; the pediment was adorned with various naval trophies, and at top was the figure of Neptune, with a trident in his right hand. In a niche on each side stood a sailor with a drawn cutlass. Three plumes of feathers were placed on the summit of each wing, and in the entablature was this inscription: Laus illi debetur, et aime gratia major. The interval between the two arches was an avenue three hundred feet long and thirty-four broad. It was lined on each side with a file of troops; and the colors of all the army, planted at proper distances, had a beautiful effect in diversifying the scene. Between these colors the knights and squires took their stations. The bands continued to play several pieces of martial music. The company moved forward in procession, with the ladies in the Turkish habits in front; as these passed, they were saluted by their knights, who then dismounted and joined them; and in this order we were all conducted into a garden that fronted the house, through the second triumphal arch, dedicated to the general. This areh was also built in the Tuscan order. On the interior part of the pediment was painted a plume of feathers, and various military trophies. At top stood the figure of Fame. On the right-hand pillar was placed a bomb-shell, and on the left a flaming heart. The front next the house was adorned with preparations for fire-works. From the garden we ascended a flight of steps covered with carpets, which led into a spacious hall; the panels painted in imitation of Sienna marble, * inclosing festoons of white marble; the surbase, and all below, was black. In this hall, and in the adjoining apartments, were prepared tea, lemonade, and other cooling liquors, to which the company seated themselves; during which time the knights came in, and on the knee received their favors from their respective ladies. One of these rooms was afterward appropriated for the use of the faro-table. As you entered it, you saw, on a panel over the chimney, a cornucopia, exuberantly filled with flowers of the richest eolors; over the door, as you went out, another represented itself shrunk, reversed, and emptied. ** "From these apartments we were conducted up to a ball-room, decorated in a light, elegant style of painting. The ground was a pale blue, paneled From a Drawing bv Major Andre. with a small gold bead, and in the interior filled with dropping festoons of flowers in their natural eolors. Below the surbase the ground of rose-pink, with drapery festooned in blue. These decorations were heightened by eighty-five mirrors, *** decked with rose-pink silk ribbons and artificial flowers; and in the intermediate spaces were thirty-four branches with wax- lights, ornamented in a similar manner. "On the same floor were four drawing-rooms, with side-boards of refreshments, decorated and lighted in the same style and taste as the ball-room. The ball was opened by the knights and their ladies, and the dances continued till ten o'clock, when the windows were thrown open, and a magnificent bouquet of rockets began the fire-works. These were planned by Captain Montressor, the chief engineer, and consisted of twenty different exhibitions, displayed under his direction with the happiest success, and in the highest style of beauty. Toward the conclusion, the interior part of the triumphal areh was illuminated, amid an uninterrupted flight of rockets and bursting of balloons. The military trophies were on each side. * The chief portions of the decorations were painted by Major André and Captain Oliver Delaney, of New York. The Sienna marble was on canvas, in imitation of scene-painting in theaters. They also painted the scenery for the theater that was established in Philadelphia that winter, the proceeds of which were given to the widows and orphans of their soldiers.--Watson's Annals, ii., 292. ** The costume of the ladies was as follows: those of the Blended Rose a white silk, called a Polonaise, forming a flowing robe, and open in front to the waist; the pink sash six inches wide, and filled with spangles; the shoes and stockings also spangled; the 1 lead-dress more towering than the drawing, and filled with a profusion of pearls and jewels. The vail was spangled, and bordered with silver lace. The ladies of the Burning Mountain wore white sashes edged with black, and black trimmings to white silk Polonaise gowns. There were no ladies of British officers at the entertainment, except Miss Auchmuty, the new bride of Captain Montressor. There were not exceeding fifty American young ladies present; the otters were married, and these were few, lor most of the ladies had left the city on the approach of the British.--Watson's Annals, ii., 293. *** All these mirrors and lusters, according to Mr. Watson, the annalist, were borrowed from the citizens, and were all sent hack with the ornaments on. Mr. Watson derived much information on these points from Mrs. L, the "queen of the Mischianza." The shell and flaming heart on the wings sent forth Chinese fountains, succeeded by fire-pots. Fame appeared at top, spangled with stars, and from her trumpet blowing the following device in letters of light: Les Lauriers sont immortels. A sauteur of rockets, bursting from the pediment, concluded the feu d'artifice... "At twelve supper was announced, and large folding-doors, hitherto artfully concealed, being suddenly thrown open, discovered a magnificent saloon of two hundred and ten feet by forty, and twenty-two feet in height, with three alcoves on each side, which served for side-boards. The ceiling was the segment of a circle, and the sides were painted of a light straw color, with vine leaves and festoons of flowers, some in a bright, some in a darkish green. Fifty-six large pier-glasses, ornamented with green silk artificial flowers and ribbons; one hundred branches, with three lights in each, trimmed in the same manner as the mirrors; eighteen lusters, each with twenty-four lights, suspended from the ceiling, and ornamented as the branches; three hundred wax tapers, disposed along the supper-tables; four hundred and thirty covers; twelve hundred dishes; twenty-four black slaves in Oriental dresses, with silver collars and bracelets, ranged in two lines, and bending to the ground as the general and admiral approached the saloon; all these, forming together the most brilliant assemblage of gay objects, and appearing at once as we entered by an easy descent, exhibited a coup d'oil beyond description magnificent. ** "Toward the end of supper, the herald of the Blended Rose, in his habit of ceremony, attended by his trumpets, entered the saloon, and proclaimed the king's health, the queen, and the royal family; the army and navy, with their respective commanders; the knights and their ladies; the ladies in general. Each of these toasts was followed by a flourish of music. After supper we returned to the ball-room, and continued to dance till four o'clock. ** "Such, my friend, is the description, though a very faint one, of the most splendid entertainment, I believe, ever given by an army to their general. But what must be more grateful to Sir William Howe is the spirit and motive from which it was given. He goes from this to-morrow; but as I understand, he means to stay a day or two with his brother on board the Eagle, at Billingsport. I shall not seal this letter till I see him depart from Philadelphia [[[Major Andrè's Description of the Mischianza.]]] {304}The _Wharton Mansion-house_, [Illustration: 9314] with its beautiful lawns and noble trees, the scene of the wicked folly of the enemies of freedom in the midst of a suffering people, has long since dis- [[[Major Andre's Description of the Mischianza.]]] {305}appeared, and the streets and lanes of the expanding city cover the site. [Illustration: 9315] Let us turn from the spot and its associations, and make our way back to the city proper. [[[Major Andre's Description of the Mischianza.]]] {306}On Walnut Street, near Sixth, was the prison used as the British Provost in 1778. [Illustration: 9316] It was under the charge of that infamously cruel scoundrel, Captain Cunningham, a burly, [[[Major Andrè's Description of the Mischianza.--Philadelphia Provost Prison.--Cunningham.]]] {307}ill-natured Irishman of sixty years, whose conduct as provost marshal here and in New York has connected his name with all that is detestable. There were confined the American prisoners taken at Brandywine and Germantown, many of whom died of starvation after feeling the lash of Cunningham's whip, or the force of his heavy boot, and were buried in the Potter's Field near by, now the beautiful _Washington Square_. It makes the blood curdle to read of the sufferings of those who fell under the sway of that monster, so devilish in all his ways. The miseries of others seemed to give him great delight; and often, in the sight of the starving prisoners, would he kick over a pail of soup, or scatter a basket of fruit or cold placed upon the door-stone with the hope that it shall meet him hereafter as provost marshal in victuals which some benevolent hand had might nourish the famished soldiers! We New York. Tradition says he was hung * This edifice was erected in 1774, and taken down in 1836. The beautiful new Athenæum occupies a portion of the ground on Sixth Street, and the remainder is covered by elegant dwellings. It is a singular fact that the architect who constructed it was the first person incarcerated in it. He was a Whig, and, having incurred the displeasure of the British, he was locked up in that prison. The Public Ledger of June 26th, 1837, gives an account of an armorial drawing, representing, in bold relief, a cuirass, casque, gorget, and Roman battle-ax, with radiating spears, which was made upon an arch of one of the second story cells, by Marshall, an English engraver, who was confined there for many years for counterfeiting the notes of the United States Bank. He was the son of the notorious "Bag and Hatchet Woman," of St. Giles's, London, who followed the British army in its Continental campaigns, and gathered spoils from the slain and wounded on the field of battle. Those who were dead were readily plundered, and the wounded as readily dispatched. This woman and son were master-spirits in the purlieus of St. Giles's, among robbers and counterfeiters. The gang were at length betrayed, and the parent and child fled to this country, bringing with them considerable wealth in money and jewels. They lived in splendid style in Philadelphia, riding in a gorgeous cream-colored phaeton, drawn by richly-caparisoned horses, driven tandem. Their means were soon exhausted, when the son married, and commenced business as an engraver. He counterfeited notes of the United States Bank, was detected, and in 1803 was sentenced to eighteen years' confinement and hard labor in the Walnut Street Prison, then the State Penitentiary. While he was in prison, his mother, who had wandered away from Philadelphia in poverty and destitution, was executed in another state for a foul murder and arson. [[[Washington Square.--Office of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.--The Secretary's Aids.]]] {308}at Newgate, in England; but the records of that prison, examined by Mr. Bancroft, exhibit no such name. Washington Square, the finest promenade in Philadelphia, was inclosed and set apart as a "Potter's Field"--a place to bury strangers in--in 1704, and was used for that purpose until within the last thirty-five years. There a great multitude of soldiers, who died of the small-pox and camp diseases, were buried in 1776--7. It was indeed a Golgotha. Many of the bodies, buried in pits from twenty to thirty feet square, were piled upon each other, the topmost barely covered with earth. At least two thousand American soldiers were buried there within the space of eight months. The bodies of hundreds of victims of the yellow fever, in 1793, there found a resting-place. At that time, the ground being full, interments ceased. [Illustration: 9318] It was made a public walk in 1815; and that "city of the dead," shaded by sixty or seventy varieties of trees, is now traversed daily by thousands of the inhabitants of the teeming city of the living around it. From Washington Square I walked to No. 13 South Sixth Street, to view the ancient edifice on the premises of the late P. S. Duponceau, Esq., mentioned by Watson, in his _Annals_, as the "Office of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs." * I was disappointed, for improvement had demolished the venerated building, and stately edifices, dedicated to traffic, occupied its place. Referring to this building, Mr. Watson observes: "It is a house appropriately owned by such a possessor [Duponceau]; for in it he who came as a volunteer to join our fortune, and to aid our cause, as a captain under Baron Steuben, became afterward one of the under secretaries to our minister of Foreign Relations, and in that building gave his active and early services. In the year 1782--3, under that humble roof, presided, as our then Secretary for Foreign Affairs, the Honorable Robert R. Livingston. Up stairs, in the small front room facing the street, sat that distinguished personage, wielding, by his mind and pen, the destinies of our nation. In the adjoining back room sat the two under secretaries--Louis R. Morris, since governor of Vermont,3 and our venerated citizen, Mr. Duponceau. These having charge of the archives of the nation, preserved them all within the inclosure of a small wooden press! The only room down stairs, on the ground floor, was that occupied by the two clerks and the interpreter. One of these clerks, Mr. Henry Remsen, was afterward president of a bank in New York; *** and the other, Mr. Stone, has been governor of Maryland. The translator was the Reverend Mr. Tetard, the pastor of the French Reformed Church." **** The house, at that time, was quite beyond the verge of city population; now the site is near the center of business. There are other localities of lesser note, made memorable by events of the Revolution. I can not note them all, for other scenes of more general interest demand our attention. The curious in such matters may find a full reward in perusing Watson's _Annals of Philadelphia_, which contain nearly all that is worth remembering of the past of that city. The sites of many scenes of the Revolution are covered up and forgotten forever. I tried in vain to find some living person who could point ont the localities of the intrenchments which Howe caused to be thrown up across the isthmus at Philadelphia, between the Delaware and the Schuylkill, and the place of the encampment of the British army when they first occupied the city. I am enabled, however, to point out those localities through the aid of a more reliable cicerone than tradition, a rare and valuable map of Philadelphia, (v) published in London in 1779, the year following the evacuation of that city by the British. It was drawn by competent engineers in the king's service. It is upon the same scale as the plan of Philadelphia published in Tanner's Atlas in 1843. By a careful comparison * A picture of this building may be found in another part of this work. ** This is a mistake. Mr. Morris was never governor of Vermont. He was clerk of the lower branch of the Legislature of that state in 1790, and a member of Congress from 1797 to 1803. *** Manhattan Bank. **** Annals, i., 423. * (v) This map is entitled, "A Plan of the City and Environs of Philadelphia, with the works and encampments of his majesty's forces, under the command of Lieutenant-general Sir William Howe, K.B." [[[British Fortifications in Philadelphia.--The British Encampment.--Personal Appearance of the British Officers.]]] {309}of the two I have obtained the following result, which I am satisfied is quite correct: The line of intrenchments from the Delaware to the Schuylkill extended from the mouth of Conoquonoque Creek, just above Willow Street, to the "Upper Ferry" on the Schuylkill, then nearly on a line with Callowhill Street. They consisted of ten redoubts, connected by strong palisades. The first redoubt, which was garrisoned by the Queen's Rangers, under Simcoe, was near the junction of Green and Oak Streets, and then near the forks of the roads leading to Frankford and Kensington. The second redoubt was a little west of North Second and Noble Streets; the third, between North Fifth and Sixth, and Noble and Buttonwood Streets; the fourth, on Eighth Street, between Noble and Buttonwood; the fifth, on Tenth, between Buttonwood and Pleasant; the sixth, on Buttonwood, between Thirteenth and North Broad; the seventh, on North Schuylkill Eighth, between Pennsylvania Avenue and Hamilton Street; the eighth, on North Schuylkill Fifth and Pennsylvania Avenue; the ninth, on North Schuylkill Second, near Callowhill Street; and the tenth, on the bank of the Schuylkill, at the "Upper Ferry." The encampment extended westward from North Fifth, between Vine and Callowhill, as far as North Schuylkill Second. The Hessian grenadiers were encamped between Callowhill, Noble, Fifth, and Seventh Streets. The fourth, fortieth, and fifty-fifth British grenadiers, and a body of fusileers, were on the north side of Callowhill, between Seventh and Fourteenth Streets. Eight regiments lay upon high ground, known as Bush's Hills, extending from Fourteenth, nearly on a line with Vine, to the Upper Ferry. Near the redoubt at the Ferry was another body of Hessians. The Yagers, horse and foot, were encamped upon a hill near the junction of North Schuylkill Front and Pennsylvania Avenue. On the Ridge Road, near Thirteenth Street, and on Eighth, near Green, were corps of infantry. Light dragoons and three regiments of infantry were posted near a pond between Vine, Race, North Eighth, and Twelfth Streets. Gray's, or "Lower Ferry," was at the grounds of the Naval Arsenal, on the Schuylkill. A little below the "Middle Ferry," at the foot of Chestnut Street, on the Schuylkill, was a fascine redoubt, and near it the seventy-first regiment was encamped. Some Yagers were stationed at the "Point House" (see map on page 298), opposite Gloucester. These localities, with those of the redoubts mentioned on page 310, were all out of the city; its extent then being from Christian Street on the south, to Callowhill Street on the north, or the boundary of Spring Garden. It was widest between Arch and Walnut Streets, where it extended from the Delaware to Ninth Street. * When winter set in, many of the troops, and all the officers, occupied the public buildings and houses of the inhabitants, also the old British barracks in the Northern Liberties. The artillery were quartered in Chestnut Street, between Third and Sixth Streets, and the State House yard was made a park for their use. During the winter, General Howe occupied a house on High Street, where Washington afterward resided; ** his brother, Lord * The following composed the entire number of public buildings in Philadelphia at that time: State House; Market; Jail; Work-house; Barracks, built in 1755; College and Academy; City Alms-house; Quakers' Alms-house; two Quaker meeting-houses; Christ Church; Anabaptist meeting-house; Presbyterian meeting-house; German Lutheran Church; Roman Catholic Church; St. Paul's Church; St. Peter's Church; the Swedes' Church; Quakers' School-house; and a small city court-house. The hospital and play-house were in the unsettled part of the town. ** See engraving, page 302. Watson has the following notice of the personal appearance of some of the British officers: "Sir William Howe was a fine figure, full six feet high, and well proportioned, not unlike in his appearance to General Washington. His manners were graceful, and he was much beloved by his officers and soldiers for his generosity and affability. Sir Henry Clinton, his successor, was short and fat, with a full face and prominent nose. In his intercourse he was reserved, and not so popular as Howe. Lord Cornwallis was short and thick-set, his hair somewhat gray, his face well formed and agreeable, his manners remarkably easy and affable. He was much beloved by his men. General Knyp-hausen was much of the German in his appearance; not tall, but slender and straight. His features were sharp; in manners he was very polite. He was gentle, and much esteemed. He spread his butter upon his bread with his thumb! Colonel Tarleton was rather below the middle size, stout, strong, heavily made, large muscular legs, dark complexion, and his eyes small, black, and piercing. He was very active. General Howe, while in Philadelphia, seized and kept for his own use Mary Pemberton's coach and horses, in which he used to ride about town."--Annals, ii., 287. [[[Loss of the Delaware Frigate.--Torpedoes sent down the River from Bordentown.--"Battle of the Kegs."]]] {310}Howe, resided in Chestnut Street, in the building occupied by the Farmers and Mechanics Bank; General Knyphausen lived in South Second, opposite Little Dock Street; Cornwallis's quarters were in Second, above Spruce Street; and Major André dwelt in Dr. Franklin's mansion in a court back from High Street. * As soon as the British had taken possession of Philadelphia, they erected three batteries near the river, to protect the city against the American shipping. ** Before the batteries were finished, Commodore Hazlewood ordered the Delaware and Montgomery frigates, each of twenty-four guns, and the sloop Fly, some galleys and gondolas, to move near and attack them. On the morning of the 27th of September, they opened a cannonade upon [[1777]] the works. The Delaware grounded, at the falling of the tide, near the present Upper Ferry to Camden from Kensington, and, before she could be got off, the guns of the British batteries compelled her colors to be struck. A schooner was driven ashore, and the remainder of the vessels escaped down the river. The affair was badly managed, and disaster followed. These batteries, as well as the lines of fortifications from the Delaware to the Schuylkill, have long since passed away. During the occupation of the city, the enemy were annoyed by the patriots in various ways. In January, some Whigs at Bordentown sent a number of kegs down the Delaware, which were filled with powder, and furnished with machinery, in such a manner that, on rubbing against any object in the stream, they would immediately explode. These torpedoes were the invention of Mr. Bushnell, of Connecticut, and will be noticed hereafter. They were intended for the destruction of the British shipping then lying in the river opposite Philadelphia. It so happened that, on the very night when these kegs were sent down, the vessels were hauled into the docks to avoid the effects of the ice then rapidly forming. They thus escaped mischief. One of these kegs exploded near the city, and spread general alarm. Not a stick or chip floated for twenty-four hours afterward but it was fired at by the British troops. This _battle of the kegs_ furnished the theme for a facetious poem from the pen of Francis Hopkinson, Esq., one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. *** * Mrs. Bache, daughter of Dr Franklin, occupied his house when the enemy approached Philadelphia. She left the city, and took refuge with a friend in the eountry. After her return in July, she thus wrote to her father, who was then in France: "I found your house and furniture, upon my return to town, in much better order than I had reason to expect from the hands of sueh a rapacious crew. They stole and carried off with them some of your musical instruments, viz., a Welsh harp, ball harp, the set of tuned bells which were in a box, viol-de-gamba, all the spare armonica glasses, and one or two spare cases. Your armonica is safe. * They took likewise the few books that were left behind, the chief of which were Temple's school-books, and the History of the Arts and Sciences in French, which is a great loss to the public. Some of your electric apparatus is missing; also, a Captain Andre took with him a picture of you which hung in the dining-room." ** One of these, with three guns, was on the site of the present navy yard; another, with four guns, was below the navy land near Reed and Swanson Streets; another, with three guns, was in front of Wharton's Mansion, upon an eminence below Front and Christian Streets. *** Mr. Hopkinson was also the author of "Hail Columbia," one of our most popular national songs. The following is a copy of "THE BATTLE OF THE KEGS. "Gallants attend, and hear a friend "'Twas early day, as poets say, Trill forth harmonious ditty; Just when the sun was rising, Strange things I'll tell, which late befell A soldier stood on log of wood, In Philadelphia city. And saw a thing surprising. "As in amaze he stood to gaze (The truth can't be denied, sir), He spied a score of kegs, or more, Come floating down the tide, sir. "A sailor, too, in jerkin blue, The strange appearance viewing, First d--d his eyes, in great surprise, Then said, 'Some mischief's brewing. '"These kegs, I'm told, the rebels hold, Pack'd up like pickled herring; And they've come down t' attack the town In this new way of ferry'ng.' "The soldier flew, the sailor too, And, scared almost to death, sir, Wore out their shoes to spread the news, And ran till out of breath, sir. "Now up and down, throughout the town, Most frantic scenes were acted; And some ran here, and others there, Like men almost distracted. "Some fire cried, which some denied, But said the earth had quaked; And girls and boys, with hideous noise, Ran through the streets half naked. "Sir William* he, snug as a flea, Lay all this time a snoring; Nor dream'd of harm as he lay warm In bed with Mrs. L... ngt "Now, in a fright, he starts upright, Awaked by such a clatter; He rubs both eyes, and boldly cries, 'For God's sake, what's the matter?' "At his bed-side he then espied Sir Erskine, at command, sir; Upon one foot he had one boot, And t'other in his hand, sir. "'Arise! arise!' Sir Erskine cries; 'The rebels--more's the pity-- Without a boat, are all afloat, And ranged before the city. '"The motley crew, in vessels new, With Satan for their guide, sir, Pack'd up in bazs, or wooden kegs, Come driving down the tide, sir. "' Therefore prepare for bloody war; These kegs must all be routed; ' Or surely we despised shall be, And British courage doubted.' "The royal band now ready stand, All ranged in dread array, sir, With stomach stout to see it out, And make a bloody day, sir. "The cannons roar from shore to shore; The small-arms loud did rattle; Since wars began I'm sure no man E'er saw so strange a battle. "The rebel dales, the rebel vales, With rebel trees surrounded, The distant woods, the hills and floods. With rebel echoes sounded. "The fish below swam to and fro, Attack'd from every quarter; Why sure (thought they), the devil's to pay 'Mong folk above the water. "The kegs, 'tis said, though strongly made Of rebel staves and hoops, sir, Could not oppose their powerful foes, The conq'ring British troops, sir. "From morn to night, these men of might Display'd amazing courage, And when the sun was fairly down. Retired to sup their porridge. "A hundred men, with each a pen, Or more, upon my word, sir, It is most true, would be too few, Their valor to record, sir. "Such feats did they perform that day Against these wicked kegs, sir, That, years to come, if they get home, They'll make their boasts and brags, sir." * This was a musical instrument invented by Dr. Franklin. He saw, in London, a musical instrument, consisting of tumblers, and played by passing a wet finger around their rims. The glasses were arranged on a table, and tuned by putting water in them until they gave the notes required. Franklin was charmed by the sweet tones, and, after many trials, succeeded in constructing an instrument of a different form, and much superior. His glasses were made in the shape of a hemisphere, with an open neck or socket in the middle, for the purpose of being fixed on an iron spindle. They were then arranged, one after another, on this spindle; the largest at one end, and gradually diminishing in size to the smallest at the other end The tones depended on the size of the glasses. The spindle, with its series of glasses, was fixed horizontally in a case, and turned by a wheel attached to its large end, upon the principle of a common spinning-w-heel. The performer sat in front of the instrument, and the tones were brought out by applying a wet finger to the exterior surface of the glasses as they turned round. It became quite a popular instrument. A Miss Cecilia Davies acquired great skill in playing upon it, and, with her sister, performed in various cities in Europe. She performed in the presence of the imperial court of Vienna at the celebration of the nuptials of the Duke of Parma and the Archduchess of Austria. Metastasio composed an ode for the occasion, expressly designed to be sung by her sister, and accompanied by the armonica.--Sparks's Life of Franklin, page 264. [[[Alarm during the Mischianza _Fete_.--Boldness of Americans.--Interesting Places near Philadelphia.]]] {311}On the night of the Mischianza, while the enemy were enjoying the festivities of the _fete_, Colonel Allen M'Lane, father of one of our ministers to the court of St. James, devised a stratagem to break them up. At ten o'clock he reached the _abatis_ in front of the British works with one hundred and fifty men, in four divisions, supported by Clow's dragoons. They carried camp-kettles filled with combustibles, and at a given signal they fired the whole line of _abatis_. The British beat the long alarm roll, and the assailants were attacked and pursued by the strong guard along the lines. The officers at the _fete_ managed to keep the ladies ignorant of the cause of the tumult without. M'Lane and his associates escaped to the hills of the Wissahicon, and bent their way toward Valley Forge. This was the last time the British felt the annoyance of the patriots while in Philadelphia; for they soon afterward evacuated the city, crossed the Delaware, and marched for New York. We shall overtake them on the plains of Monmouth. Germantown, Whitemarsh, Barren Hill, and Valley Forge, lying within a short distance of Philadelphia, are all intimately connected, in their Revolutionary history, with the city, particularly in relation to its possession and final evacuation by the British in 1777--8. We will proceed to these interesting localities, after considering, for a moment, the patriotism of the _women_ of Philadelphia, which beamed out, clear as Hesperus, at the darkest hour of the struggle for freedom." In the summer of 1780 the distress of the American army was very great, on account of the scarcity of clothing, and the inadequate means possessed by the commissary depart- ** He is represented by some as Sir William Erskine. ** Sir William Howe. *** The wife of a Boston refugee, who was then a commissary of prisoners in Philadelphia, being second only to Cunningham in cruelty, while others speak of him as an honorable man. [[[Patriotism of the Philadelphia Women.--Mrs. Reed and Mrs. Bache.--De Chastellux's Visit to Mrs. Bache.]]] {312}ment to afford a supply. The generous sympathies of the ladies of Philadelphia were aroused, and they formed an association for the purpose of affording relief to the poor soldiers. [Illustration: 9322] Never was the energy of genuine sympathy more nobly exercised than by the patriotic women who joined hands in this holy endeavor. Mrs. Esther Reed, the wife of General Joseph Reed, though feeble in health, and surrounded by family cares, entered with hearty zeal into the service, and was, by the united voice of her associates, placed at the head of the society. * Mrs. Sarah Bache, daughter of Dr. Franklin, was also a conspicuous actor in the formation of the association, and in carrying out its plans. [Illustration: 8322] All classes became interested, and the result was glorious. "All ranks of society seemed to have joined in the liberal effort, from Phillis, the colored woman, with her humble seven shillings and sixpence, to the Marchioness De La Fayette, who contributed one hundred guineas in specie, ** and the Countess De Luzerne, who gave six thousand dollars in Continental paper. *** Those who had no money to contribute gave the service of their hands in plying the needle, and in almost every house the good work went on. It was charity in its genuine form, and from its purest source--the voluntary outpourings from the heart. It was not stimulated by the excitements of our day--neither fancy fairs or bazars; but the American women met, and, seeing the necessity that asked interposition, relieved it. They solicited money and other contributions directly and for a precise and avowed object. They labored with their needles, and sacrificed their trinkets and jewelry." **** The Marquis De Chastellux, who was in Philadelphia while these efforts were in progress, was delighted with the event. In describing a visit to several of the American ladies, he says, "We began by Mrs. Bache. She merits all the anxiety we had to see her, for she is the daughter of Mr. Franklin. Simple in her manners, like her respectable father, she possesses his benevolence. She conducted us into a room filled with work, lately finished by the ladies of Philadelphia. This work consisted neither of embroidered tambour waistcoats, nor net-work edgings, nor of gold and silver brocade--it was a quantity of shirts for the soldiers of Pennsylvania. The ladies bought the linen from their own private purses, and took a pleasure in cutting them out and sewing them themselves. On each shirt was the name of the married or unmarried lady who made it, and they amounted to twenty-two hundred." (v) The results of this effort * Mrs. Reed was a daughter of Dennis de Berdt, a London merchant, and for some time agent for the colonies. De Berdt's house was the resort of many Americans in England, among whom was Joseph Reed, who afterward became his daughter's husband. They were married in London in 1780. Her father became a bankrupt, and died soon afterward. Esther accompanied her husband to America immediately after her marriage. The Revolution soon broke out, and, as Mr. Reed was an active participator in its earliest hostile scenes, the young wife and mother was kept, almost from her first residence in America, in a state of excitement and alarm. Fragile in body, and of nervous temperament, her health suffered; and, a few months after she became an active member of the association of ladies for the relief of the American army, she went down into the grave. She died on the 18th of September, 1780, aged thirty-four years. ** La Fayette contributed this sum in the name of his wife. In his letter to Mrs. Reed inclosing the amount, he remarked, "Without presuming to break in upon the rules of your respected association, may I most humbly present myself as her embassador to the confederate ladies, and solicit in her name that Mrs. President be pleased to accept her offering." M. De Marbois, the French secretary of legation, in a letter to Mrs. Reed on the occasion, said, "You have been chosen, madam, for that important duty, because, among them all, you are the best patriot, the most zealous and active, and most attached to the interests of your country." *** Equal to nearly one hundred dollars in specie. **** Mrs. Ellet's Women of the Revolution, i., 53. Life and Correspondence of President Reed. * (v) Travels in North America, i., 197. The marquis, in his account of his social intercourse in Philadelphia, mentions a visit to Mr. Huntington, the President of Congress. "We found him,'' he says, "in his cabinet, lighted by a single candle. This simplicity reminded me of that of the Fabricius's and the Philopemens. Mr. Huntington is an upright man, and espouses no party." Mr. Duponceau relates that Mr. Huntington and himself often breakfasted together on whortleberries and milk. On one of these occasions Mr. H. said, "What now, Mr. Duponceau, would the princes of Europe say, could they see the first magistrate of this great eountry at his frugal repast?"--Watson, i., 424. [[[Contributions of Clothing for the Soldiers.--Germantown.--James Logan.--Speech of Logan, the Indian Chief.]]] {313}were great and timely. The aggregate amount of contributions in the city and county of Philadelphia was estimated at seven thousand five hundred dollars in specie value. Added to this was a princely donation from Robert Morris of the contents of a ship fully laden with military stores and clothing, which had unexpectedly arrived. * During the cold winter that followed, hundreds of poor soldiers in Washington's camp had occasion to bless the women of Philadelphia for their labor of love. On the morning of the 29th of November, I left Philadelphia for Germantown, about six miles distant, accompanied by Mr. Agnew, who journeyed with me to Whitemarsh, Barren Hill, Valley Forge, and Paoli. It was a delightful morning, the air a little frosty. The road from the city to its ancient suburban village passes through a pleasant, undulating country, and was swarming with vehicles of every kind a greater portion of the way. The village of Germantown extends along a fine Macadamized road for nearly three miles, having no lateral streets, and, though so near a great commercial city, few places in the United States present more striking appearances of antiquity. Twenty or thirty of the low, steep-roofed, substantial stone houses, with quaint pent-eaves and ponderous cornices, built by the early inhabitants, yet remain, and produce a picturesque feature in the midst of the more elegant modern mansions of a later generation. ** It was first laid out and a settlement commenced under a grant to Francis Daniel Pastorius in 1684. He purchased six thousand acres from William Penn, and the whole was settled by Germans. James Logan, the confidential secretary of Penn, had a favorite country house upon a hill at the southern end of the village, which is still called Logan's Hill. *** * De Chastellux, speaking of Robert Morris, says, "It is scarcely to be credited that, amid the disasters of America, Mr. Morris, the inhabitant of a town just emancipated from the hands of the English, should possess a fortune of eight millions. It is, however, in the most critical times that great fortunes are acquired. The fortunate return of several ships, the still more successful cruises of his privateers, have increased his riches beyond his expectations, if not beyond his wishes." Morris lost as many as one hundred and fifty vessels, most of them without insurance, during the war; but, as many escaped, and made immense profits, his losses were made up to him. In a letter to a friend in England, Mr. Morris remarked that, notwithstanding he lost immense sums, he came out of the difficulties, at the peace, "about even." Among the numerous clerks employed by Mr. Morris was James Rees, who entered his serviee in 1776. then a lad in his thirteenth year. Mr. Rees died at his residence in Geneva, New York, on the 24th ol March, 1851, at the age of eighty-seven years. ** Mr. Watson says (p. 19, vol. ii.), "Many of the old houses in Germantown are plastered on the inside with clay and straw mixed, and over it is laid a thin lime plaster. In a house ninety years of age, taken down, the grass in the clay appeared as green as when first cut. Oldmixon describes Germantown in 1700 as composed of one street, a mile in length, lined on each side, in front of the houses, with 'blooming peach-trees.'" *** James Logan was the Indian's friend, and, in remembrance of him, Shikellimus named his son Logan. Shikellimus was a Cayuga chief, and one of the converts to Christianity under the preaching of the Moravians. Logan beeame a chief among the Mingoes, and dwelt in the present Mifflin county, in Pennsylvania. He was a friend of the whites, but suffered dreadfully at their hands. His whole family were murdered on the Ohio, a little below Wheeling, by a band of white men who feigned friendship, in the spring of 1774. In the autumn of that year his consent was asked to a treaty with Lord Dunmore. On that occasion he made the following speech to the white messenger, which Mr. Jefferson has preserved: I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him no meat; if he ever came cold and naked, and he clothed him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war. Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites, that my countrymen pointed as they passed, and said, 'Logan is the friend of the while men.' I had even thought to have lived with you, but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, * the last spring, in cold blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not even sparing my women and children. This called on me for revenge. I have sought it. I have killed many. I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country I rejoice at the beams of peaee. But do not harbor a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one!"--Notes on Virginia. * It has been satisfactorily demonstrated that Logan was mistaken in the name of the leader of those who slew his friends. This subject is noticed more in detail in a subsequent chapter. [[[Officers of Government at Germantown.--Chew's House.--Destructive Effects of War.--Benjamin Chew.]]] {314}In various ways the history of Germantown is intimately connected with that of Philadelphia, particularly at the time of the Revolution. It was then the residence of several men distinguished in the annals of the war; and in 1793, when the yellow fever was raging in Philadelphia, the officers of both the state and federal governments resided there for a short time. [Illustration: 9324] President Washington occupied the mansion of the Perot family, where General Howe had his quarters at one time. Jefferson, who was secretary of state, occupied the building afterward the Bank of Germantown; and other officers of the general government were in private houses. The trustees of the Academy agreed to rent that edifice "to the Congress of the United States, at their next session, for the sum of three hundred dollars." The whole building was only eighty feet long and fifty wide, yet it was considered sufficiently large to accommodate the representatives of the nation at that time. We proceeded to the north end of the village, and reined up at the entrance gate of "Chew's House," the most noted and attractive relic of the Revolution now in Germantown. It stands back several rods from the street, on the cast side, and is surrounded by noble trees and shrubbery in profusion. The house is a spacious stone edifice with ample wings. In various parts of the grounds were the mutilated remains of several fine marble statues and vases, some standing, others lying upon the ground. They are evidences of the refined taste of its distinguished owner, Chief-justice Chew, * and at the same time melancholy mementoes of the destructive character of war. These fine specimens of sculpture were all perfect before the conflict known as the Battle of Germantown occurred; they were battered, broken, and cast down by the cannon-balls hurled on that occasion. We passed an hour with the venerable present owner of the mansion, the widow of a son of Chief-justice Chew. She received us with much courtesy, and seemed to take pleasure in leading us to various parts of the grounds. The walls of the large room on the south are covered with old paintings, chiefly family portraits, many of them by eminent artists, and possessing much merit. Mrs. Chew showed me several mementoes of the battle, among which are the scars seen at the head of the great stair-case, which were made by the passage of a cannon-ball through the house. In the stable we saw the old doors of the mansion, completely riddled by musket-balls. Mrs. Chew informed us that the house was so much injured, that four or five carpenters were employed a whole winter in repairing it. The battle of Germantown was fought on the morning of the 4th of October, 1777. Defeated [[September 11, 1777]] on the banks of the Brandywine, (a) Washington retreated, with his whole army, back to Philadelphia, and encamped at Germantown. As soon as his * Benjamin Chew was born in Maryland, November 20th, 1722. He studied law first with Andrew Hamilton, and afterward in London. He went to Philadelphia in 1754, where he held the respective offices of recorder of the city, register of wills, attorney general, and finally beeame chief justice of Pennsylvania. His course was doubtful when the Revolution broke out, and he was claimed by both parties. After the promulgation of the Declaration of Independence, he took a decided stand against the Whigs, and retired to private life. In 1777 he refused to sign a parole, and was sent a prisoner to Fredericksburg, Virginia. In 1790 he was appointed president of the High Court of Errors and Appeals, and held that office until the abolition of the tribunal in 1806. He died on the 20th of January, 1810, aged nearly eighty-eight years. His father was the Honorable Samuel Chew, of Delaware, a member of the society of Friends, who was a judge and a physician. [[[Maneuvers of the two Armies on the Schuylkill.--The British Army at Germantown.--Preparations to Attack it]]] {315}soldiers were rested and refreshed, * he recrossed the Schuylkill, and marched to [[September 16]] oppose the army of Howe, then pressing on toward Philadelphia. The two armies met near the Warren Tavern, on the Lancaster road, within twenty miles of the city. Washington made preparations to attack the left wing of the enemy, and an engagement was about to take place a little north of the Goshen meeting-house, when a violent storm of rain came on suddenly, wet the powder of both parties, and prevented a conflict. [Illustration: 8325] The storm continued all light, and before dawn the enemy left their position, and moved down the road leading to Swedes Ford. Perceiving this, Washington crossed the Schuylkill above them at Parker's Ford, hoping to be able to confront them while on their passage of the river. Howe did not cross, but wheeled and made a rapid march up the right bank of the stream toward Reading. Supposing Howe's design to be either to turn the right of his army, or to get possession of the American stores deposited at Reading, Washington moved his forces up the river near to Pottsgrove (now Pottstown), twenty miles above Norristown. Howe's march seemed to have been a movement to deceive Washington; for, as soon as the latter moved to Pottsgrove, the former wheeled his army, marched rapidly down the river, crossed it at the Fatland Ford and vicinity (a little above Norristown), and pushed forward to Philadelphia. ** (a) That whole region of country, awed by the [[ a September 18, 1777]] presence of the British army, was disaffected toward the American cause, and Washington could obtain no reliable information of the enemy's movements. With correct intelligence, he probably would have foiled Howe by skillful maneuvers, and saved Philadelphia. *** On first taking possession of Philadelphia, Howe stationed the main division of his army at Germantown. Washington encamped near Pennibecker's mill, between Perkiomy and Skippack Creeks, about twenty miles from Philadelphia, where he remained until about the 1st of October, undetermined what movement to make next, when his forces were augmented by the arrival of troops from Peekskill on the Hudson, and a body of American militia. Advised of the weakened state of Howe's army, in consequence of his detaching a portion for the purpose of reducing Billingsport, and Forts Mercer and Mifflin, on the Delaware, the commander-in-ehief conceived a plan for attacking the main division at Germantown. The British line of encampment there crossed the village at right angles, at about the center, the left wing extending westward from the town to the Schuylkill. It was covered in front by the German chasseurs, some mounted, and some on foot. The right extended eastward from the village, and was covered in front by the Queen's Rangers, a light corps under Lieutenant-colonel Simcoe. The center was posted in the town, and guarded by the fortieth regiment, and another battalion of light infantry was stationed about three fourths of a mile in advance. At a council of officers called by Washington, it was arranged that the divisions of Sullivan and Wayne, flanked by Conway's brigade, were to enter the town by the way of Chestnut Hill, while General Armstrong, **** with the Pennsylvania militia, should fall down * The condition of the American soldiers was, at that time, deplorable, on account of a want of shoes. Washington, writing to the president of Congress on the 23d of September, says, "At least one thousand men are barefooted, and have performed the marches in that condition." ** It was at this time 'that Washington wrote to Gates and Putnam to send on re-enforcements from the northern armies amid the Highlands. See page 297. *** On the approach of the British toward the Schuylkill, Congress, then in session in Philadelphia, adjourned to Lancaster, where they assembled on the 27th of September. They adjourned the same day to York, where they met on the 30th, and continued their sittings there until the British evacuated the city the following summer. **** John Armstrong, a native of Pennsylvania, was a colonel in the provincial forees of that state during the French and Indian wars. He headed an expedition against the Indians at Kiltaning in 1756, which destroyed that settlement, dispersed the savages, and took possession of the stores which the French had sent there for the use of their native allies. For this service the corporation of Philadelphia passed a vote of thanks to Armstrong and his three hundred men, and presented him with a medal and a piece of plate. He was appointed a brigadier general in the Continental army in 1776, and did gallant service in defense of Fort Moultrie, at Charleston, in the summer of that year. He was engaged in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown in the autumn of 1777. Becoming dissatisfied concerning some promotions in the army, he resigned his commission at the close of 1777, and became a member of Congress afterward. He died at Carlisle, March 9, 1795. He was the father of Major John Armstrong, the author of the "Newburg Addresses," whose life and character is noticed on page 106. [[[Approach of the Americans to Germantown.--Attack on the British Pickets.--Chew's House a Defense.]]] {316}the Manatawny road by Van Deering's mill, and get upon the enemy s left and rear. The divisions of Greene and Stephen, flanked by M'Dougall's brigade, were to enter by making a circuit by way of the Lime-kiln road, at the market-house, and to attack the enemy s right wing; and the Maryland and Jersey militia, under Generals Smallwood and Forman, were to march by the old York road and fall upon the rear of their right. Lord Stirling, with the brigades of Nash and Maxwell, were to form a reserve corps. * After dark, on the evening of the 3d of October, Washington, with his army, moved silently from his camp on Metuchen Hill, upon Skippack Creek, toward Germantown. He accompanied the column of Sullivan and Wayne in person. Small parties were sent out to secure every man who might give the enemy notice of his approach, and every precaution was taken to insure complete surprise. [Illustration: 9326] He tried to reach the British pickets at Chestnut Hill before daylight; but the roughness of the roads over which his army marehed prevented, and it was almost sunrise when he emerged from the woods on that elevation. His approach had been discovered at early dawn by the British patrols, who gave the alarm. The troops were soon called to arms, and placed in battle order on Mount Airy, about a mile north of Chew's house in Germantown. At seven o'clock Sullivan's advanced party, drawn chiefly from Conway's brigade, and led by that officer, fell upon the British pickets at Allen's house, at Mount Airy, where they had two six-pounders, and drove them back to the main body near, which consisted chiefly of the fortieth regiment and a battalion of light infantry. Sullivan's main body now left the road, moved to the right through the fields, formed in a lane leading from Allen's house toward the Schuylkill, and joined in the attack with so much vigor and such overwhelming numbers, that the enemy, after a sharp engagement of twenty minutes, gave way, and fell back to the village, closely pursued by the victors. Colonel Musgrave, who commanded the British center, thus furiously attacked, threw himself, with five companies of the fortieth regiment, into Judge Chew's large stone house, pictured on page 314, from which such a severe discharge of musketry was poured upon Woodford's brigade, which was * Sparks, v., 78. [[[Scenes at Chew's House.--Remissness of the Militia.--Victory lost to the Americans.]]] {317}pursuing the flying enemy, that their progress was checked. The fire of the small arms of the patriots upon this refuge was quite ineffectual. General Reed, it is said, proposed to continue the pursuit of the remainder of the enemy, who were then in great confusion, and turning their faces toward Philadelphia; but General Knox, of the artillery, opposed the suggestion, as being against all military rule "to leave an enemy in a fort in the rear. "What!" exclaimed Reed, "call this a fort, and lose the happy moment!" They sought for Conway to decide the point, but he was not to be found. Knox's opinion prevailed, and pursuit was abandoned. A flag was now sent by a young man * to demand a formal and immediate surrender. The bearer was slain by a bullet when within musket-shot of the house. Cannons were now brought to bear upon the house by the artillery regiment of Maxwell s brigade; but so strong were the walls and so courageous were the inmates, that it was found impossible to dislodge them. Attempts were made to set the house on fire, but without success. ** Many of the Americans were killed in the assault, while scarcely a man of the garrison was wounded. The attempt to dislodge the enemy caused many of the American troops to halt, and brought back Wayne's division, which had advanced far beyond the house. This totally uncovered Sullivan's left flank, which was advancing toward the enemy's left, and disconcerted all their plans. While this attack on Chew's house was in progress, General Greene had approached the enemy's right wing, and routed the battalion of light infantry and the Queen's Rangers. Turning a little to the right, he fell upon the left flank of the enemy's right wing, and endeavored to enter the village, not doubting that the Pennsylvania militia under Armstrong, upon the right, and the militia of Maryland and New Jersey on the left, commanded by Smallwood and Forman, would execute the orders of the commander-in-chief, by attacking and turning the first left and the second right flank of the British army. Neither of these detachments performed their duty. The former arrived in sight of the German chasseurs, but did not attack them; while the latter appeared too late for co-operation with Greene s movements. The golden opportunity was at that moment lost. The whole British army, as it appeared afterward, astonished at the valor of the assailants and ignorant of their numbers, were on the point of retreating, and had selected Chester, near the Brandywine, as the place of rendezvous; but General Grey, finding his left flank secure, marched with nearly the whole of the left wing, which was under the general command of Knyphausen, to the assistance of the center, then hard pressed in the village, where the Americans were gaining ground every moment. The battle now raged severely In Germantown, and for a while the issue was doubtful. Colonel Matthews, with a detachment of Greene's column, composed of a part of Muhlenberg's and Scott's brigades from the left wing, advanced to the eastward of Chew's house, assailed a party of English, took one hundred and ten prisoners, and drove the remainder before him into the town, whither he followed as far as the market-house. A thick fog, which began to form at daylight, now completely enveloped every thing, and the contending parties were unable to discover the movements of each other. Matthews, with his prisoners, was soon stopped at a breast-work near Lucan's mills. At the same time, the right wing of the enemy, after discovering that they had nothing to fear from the Maryland and New Jersey militia, fell back, and completely surrounded Matthews * Lieutenant Smith, of Virginia, who was an assistant of Colonel Timothy Pickering in the office of adjutant general. ** Mrs. Chew informed me that, several years after the war, and soon after her marriage, while a young man named White was visiting her father-in-law, the old gentleman, in relating incidents of the battle in Germantown, mentioned the circumstance that a Major White, an aid of General Sullivan, and one of the handsomest men in the Continental army, attempted to fire the house for the purpose of driving out the British. He ran under a window with a fire-brand, where shots from the building could not touch him. He was discovered, and a British soldier, running into the cellar, shot him dead from a basement window. The young man was much affected by the recital, and said to Judge Chew, "That Captain While, sir, was my father." Mrs. Chew pointed out to us the window, near the northwest corner of the house, from which the shot was fired. [[[Battle of Germantown.--The Americans, deceived, abandon the Field.--Washington's Chagrin.--The Loss.]]] {318}and his party. This division of the enemy was composed chiefly of the fourth brigade, under General Agnew, and three battalions of the third. The prisoners were rescued; and Matthews, after a desperate defense, and when most of his officers and men were killed and wounded, was compelled to surrender, with his little remnant of about one hundred men. This event enabled two regiments from the enemy's right to march to the relief of Musgrave in Chew's house. These regiments attacked and repulsed a party of Americans who had just entered Germantown in flank. The patriots, unable to discern the numbers of the enemy on account of the intensity of the fog, retired precipitately, leaving a great many of their friends dead and wounded, but taking their artillery with them. General Grey, now having absolute possession of the village, hastened to the aid of the right wing, which was engaged with the left of Greene's column. Sullivan's division, with a regiment of North Carolinians, commanded by Colonel Armstrong, and assisted by a part of Conway's brigade, having driven the enemy to School-house Lane, in the center of Germantown, found themselves unsupported by other troops, and their ammunition exhausted. They could dimly perceive through the fog that the enemy were collecting in force on the right. At that moment, hearing the cry of a light horseman that the enemy had surrounded them, and perceiving the firing at Chew's house, so far in the rear, the Americans became panic-stricken, and retreated with great precipitation. * The divisions under Greene and Stephen were the last that retreated, and these were covered by Count Tulaski and his legion. The prize of victory was abandoned at the moment when another effort might have secured it. *** The battle of Germantown, which lasted two hours and forty minutes, was a very severe one, and the loss on both sides was great, considering the numbers engaged and the nature of the conflict. The amount of loss has been variously computed; that of the Americans was estimated by Washington, a fortnight after the battle, *** at about one thousand men in killed, wounded, and missing. **** There were fewer killed on the part of the British, the number probably not exceeding one hundred; while their whole loss, according to Howe s official account of the affair, was, in killed, wounded, and missing, five hundred and thirty-five. (v) Among these were several valuable officers, the most distinguished of whom were General James Agnew (vi) and Lieutenant-colonel Bird. Their remains lie inhumed together, * Sullivan's letter to Mesheek Weare, president of New Hampshire, in the New York Historical Society; John Eager Howard's letter to Timothy Pickering; Gordon; Boita; Ramsay; Marshall. The latter author was in Woodford's brigade, and describes a portion of this battle from his own observation. ** Washington said, in a letter to the president of Congress, written on the 7th of October, three days after the battle, ''It is with much chagrin and mortification I add, that every account confirms the opinion I at first entertained, that our troops retreated at the instant when victory was declaring herself in our favor. The tumult, disorder, and even despair, which, it seems, had taken place in the British army, were scarcely to be paralleled; and, it is said, so strongly did the idea of a retreat prevail, that Chester was fixed on as a place of rendezvous. I can discover no other cause for not improving this happy opportunity than the extreme haziness of the weather." Writing, at the same time, to Governor Trumbull of Connecticut, Washington said, "But the morning was so excessively foggy, that we could not see the confusion the enemy were in, and the advantage we had gained; and fearing to push too far through a strong village, we retired, after an engagement of two hours, bringing off all our artillery with us. We did not know until after the affair was over how near we were to gaining a complete victory." *** See letter to his brother, dated October 17th, 1777. **** According to the report of the Board of War, the Americans lost in killed, 25 Continental officers, commissioned and non-commissioned; wounded, 102, and an equal number missing. The militia officers were 3 killed, 4 wounded, and 11 missing. Of rank and file Continentals, 109 were killed, and 378 wounded; militia, 7 killed, and 19 wounded; artillery officers, 2 killed, and 11 wounded; and matrosses, 6 killed, and 7 wounded. Total of killed, 152; of wounded, 521. Gordon says (ii., 234), "Upward of 400 were made prisoners, among whom were 54 officers." It may here be remarked that the missing men from the army were not necessarily included in the list of the killed, wounded, or prisoners; for many ol those were soldiers who took such opportunities to go home. * (v) Gordon says that, when the British left Germantown, some torn papers with figures on them were found upon a chimney hearth by the Americans. On putting the pieces together, it was found that they contained the returns of the number and rank of the British killed in the battle. The total was about 800. * (vi)The following account of the death of General Agnew I copied from a manuscript letter of Alexander Andrew, a servant of that officer, written to the wife of the general from Philadelphia, on the 8th of March, 1778. I give it as an illustration of the character and duties of a body-servant of a British officer at that time. This letter, and several written by Agnew himself to his wife at various times, are in the possession of his grandson, Henry A. Martin, M.D., of Roxbury, Massachusetts. From one of these I copied the annexed signature of General Agnew. * "Philadelphia, 8th March, 1778. * "Dear Madam,--Though an entire stranger to your ladyship, yet, as I had the honor to wait on your beloved husband for a considerable time, which induced me to take the liberty of writing unto you, which I look upon as a duty of mine to you in memory of a good master, to whom I owe many obligations, is and will be always ready and willing to serve any of his if ever in my power. Dear madam. I came into the army in place of a brother of mine, who was cunning enough to persuade me, young and foolish enough, to go in his place. I joined the 44th in '72, then in Kilkenny, from which time I fancied Colonel Agnew took notice of me, and when the regiment embarked at Cork he took me to be his servant, with whom I had the honor to live very comfortably and happy until the day of his death. Being his principal servant, and the only one he ever would have to wait on him both in public and private, at home and abroad, and in all places wherever his person was exposed, I was there by his side, and an eye-witness to all his sufferings in Boston, in Halifax, Staten Island, Long Island, New York Island, on the expedition to Danberry, in the Jerseys, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and in three pitched battles, viz., 27th August, '76, the 11th of September, and 4th of October, '77, besides a number of skirmishes. On the expedition to Danberry, the general was knocked down by a ball, which left its mark for above a month. At the battle of Brandywine, the general had the misfortune to be grazed by a cannon-ball, but continued to head his brigade. It happened to be the last engaged that night, and, though he was very much indisposed, yet he commanded his gallant troops until they beat off and remained masters of the field. During the action the general remained at the head of the 64th, which regiment suffered more than any of the brigade. The army then proceeded to that unfortunate place called Germantown, the 4th of October being the particular and fatal day of which your ladyship has cause to remember and I have much reason to regret. But to let you know the particulars of that day. [Being between the hours of 9 and 12, as the brigade was following the 3d in an oblique advancing line, the general, with the piquet at their head, entered the town, hurried down the street to the left, but had not rode above 20 or 30 yards, which was to the top of a little rising ground, when a party of the enemy, about 100, rushed out from behind a house about 500 yards in front, the general being then in the street, and even in front of the piquet, and all alone, only me, he wheeled round, and, putting spurs to his horse, and calling to me, he received a whole volley from the enemy. The fatal ball entered the small of his back, near the back seam of his coat, right side, and came out a little below his left breast. Another ball went through and through his right hand. I, at the same instant, received a slight wound in the side, but just got off time enough to prevent his falling, who, with the assistance of two men, took him down, carried him into a house, and laid him on a bed, sent for the doctor, who was near. When he came he could only turn his eyes, and looked steadfastly on me with seeming affection. The doctor and Major Leslie just came in time enough to see him depart this life, which he did without the least struggle or agony, but with great composure, and calmness, and seeming satisfaction, which was about 10 or 15 minutes after he received the ball, and I believe between 10 and 11 o'clock. I then had his body brought to his former quarters, took his gold watch, his purse, in which was four guineas and half a Johannes, which I delivered to Major Leslie as soon as he came home. I then had him genteelly laid out, and decently dressed with some of his clean and best things; had a coffin made the best the place could produce. His corpse was decently interred the next day in the church-yard, attended by a minister and the officers of the 44th regiment.] * "He during his life, in his good-humors, often told me that he would do better for me than being in the army; but, having no certificate from under his hand, I was ordered to join the regiment, which I am sure I never would have done. With regard to his effects that were present with him, were equally divided among all the servants, every thing being delivered over by Major Leslie to Major Hope. Payne was cook, and came to the general in Boston; but the other man. Seymour, was only part of one campaign, though he received an equal proportion of every thing the same as me. Agen, even a pickt up negro received equal with me, who bore the burden and heat of the day, silver buckles excepted. Colonel Hope gave me them extraordinary as a reward (said he) for your good and faithful services to your master; and them I have, and am ready to part with them, if your ladyship or Captain Robert chuse to send for them. All the rest of the things which was in store has been all lately sold by vandue, ye, even two great-coats made for me and Payne almost a year ago, was sold, with several other things too tedious to mention, such as remains of cloth, stockings, &c. * "Dear madam, I beg you will excuse this liberty; and if your ladyship please to send me a few lines after the receival of this, I will be under a great obligation to you; and believe me to be, with sincerity and due respect, madam, your most obedient and humble servant. [[[Letter of General Agnew's Servant to the Lady of that Officer concerning his Death.]]] {319}in the south burying-ground at Germantown. [Illustration: 9329] Over their grave I saw a neat marble slab, erected to their memory by J. F. Watson, Esq., the annalist. In the north burying-ground [[[American Officers Killed.--Washington and his Officers Honored.--General Stephen.--Whitemarsh.]]] {320}the same gentleman has set up a stone over the graves of Captain Turner, of North Carolina, Major Irvine, and six soldiers of the American army, who were slain in the battle, and buried there together. General Nash, of North Carolina, * and Majors Sherburne and White, ** the two aids of General Sullivan, were also among the slain. Although the Americans were defeated, or rather retreated from almost certain victory, no blame was attached to the commander-in-chief and the general officers under his command. On the contrary, when Washington's letter to Congress, describing the battle, was [[Octobers 8, 1777]] read, that body passed a vote of thanks to him for his "wise and well-concerted attack upon the enemy's army near Germantown," and to "the officers and soldiers of the army for their brave exertions on that occasion." *** A medal was also ordered to be struck and presented to General Washington.**** It was never executed. Lord Cornwallis sped to the succor of the British camp at Germantown as soon as intelligence of the attack upon it reached General Howe. He took with him a corps of cavalry and grenadiers; but when he arrived, the Americans had left, and retired to their camp [[October, 1777]] Skippack Creek. There Washington remained until the 29th, when a council of war was held, (v) and the next day he removed, with the whole army under his command, to the range of hills about three fourths of a mile northeast from the village of Whitemarsh, where he intended to go into winter quarters. Thither we also went on leaving Germantown at noon. Whitemarsh is situated in a beautiful little valley north of Chestnut Hill, about fourteen miles from Philadelphia, and six from Mount Airy, the upper part of Germantown. The sun glowed warm and bright at midday, and as we passed over Chestnut Hill it revealed many little hamlets in every direction, half hidden behind variegated groves. Descending the northern slope of Chestnut Hill, we passed through Whitemarsh village, and, turning eastward, passed over a lower ridge, crossed a narrow valley watered by the romantic Wissahicon, and skirting the base of a range of gentle, cultivated hills, and arrived at the spacious stone mansion, tottering with age and neglect, where Washington made his headquarters. The house stands upon the edge of a wet meadow, at the head of a fine valley, and was a sort of baronial hall in size and character when Elmar, its wealthy owner at the time of the Revolution, dispensed hospitality to all who came under its roof. It is sixty * Francis Nash was a captain in North Carolina in 1771, where he distinguished himself in the movements in the western part of the state known as the Regulator War. At the commencement of the Revolution, the convention of North Carolina commissioned him a colonel, and in February, 1777, he was commissioned by Congress a brigadier in the Continental arm. When the intelligence of his death at Germantown reached that body, it was resolved to request Governor Caswell, of North Carolina, "to erect a monument of the value of 500 dollars, at the expense of the United States," in honor of his memory. That monument, like many others, is yet to be erected. ** See note respecting his death at Chew's house upon page 317. *** General Adam Stephen was an exception. He was accused of "unofficer-like conduct" during the action and the retreat. He was found guilty of being intoxicated, and was dismissed from the army. General Stephen had been a meritorious Virginia officer in the colonial wars. He was a captain in the Ohio expedition in 1754. Afterward raised to the rank of lieutenant colonel, he was intrusted with the command of Fort Cumberland. He was left in command of the Virginia forces while Washington went to Boston on an official errand to Governor Shirley in 1755. He was afterward dispatched to South Carolina to oppose the Creek Indians. On his return, he was placed at the head of troops for the defense of the Virginia frontier, and was commissioned a brigadier. Congress appointed him a major general early in 1777, and he behaved well in the battle of Brandywine. Yielding to a bad habit, he fell into disgrace at Germantown. On the 3d of December, 1777, the Marquis De La Fayette was appointed to the command of General Stephen's division. **** Journals of Congress, iii., 335. * (v) General Washington reported to that council that the troops under Sir William Howe at that time, who were stationed in Philadelphia and its immediate vicinity, fit for duty, numbered ten thousand rank and file; and that the force under his own command, and fit for duty, was eight thousand three hundred and thirteen Continental troops, and two thousand seven hundred militia. There were, in addition, seven hundred and fifty Continental troops at Red Bank and Fort Mifflin, and a detachment of three hundred militia on their way to re-enforce these posts. A body of five hundred militia were likewise on the other side of the Schuylkill. This was his whole force, and it was likely soon to suffer a diminution of nearly two thousand by the expiration of the term of service of Maryland and Virginia levies. [[[Washington's Head quarters at Whitemarsh.--American Encampment.--Skirmish at Whitemarsh.]]] {321}feet long, twenty-five feet wide, and two stories high. Through the center is a broad passage some fifteen feet wide. The old steps are of fine soap-stone, neatly wrought, and in many particulars the building exhibits marks of former elegance. [Illustration: 9331] In front, seen by the rough trees on the right, is the ruin of Elmar's ancient spring-house; and just below it is a modern one, in which bubbles up a large fountain of pure water. An old thatched barn near by is said to be a cotemporary of the mansion in its earliest days. At the western gable of the house is a high bean or catalpa tree, the trunk of which measures fifteen feet in circumference. The present owner is Mr. John Fitzwater. With a little care and trifling expense, that venerated house might be preserved a century longer. Its roof was falling in when I visited it, and in a few years its stones will doubtless occupy mean places in the foundation of a more elegant modern mansion, or the partition walls of cultivated fields. The American encampment was upon the hills north of Elmar's mansion, its right wing resting upon Wissahicon Creek, and its left upon Sandy Run. Near Mather s mill the remains of one of the redoubts are still quite prominent, and in various places in the vicinity may be seen vestiges of the chimneys of numerous huts of log and stone erected by the Americans. Here commenced those sufferings of the soldiers which became so intense during the winter at Valley Forge. Their chief privation was a want of shoes and other clothing. On the 22d of November, Washington, in general orders, offered a reward often dollars to any person who should, by nine o'clock on the morning following, produce the best substitute for shoes made of raw hides. The commissary of hides was to furnish the materials, and the major general of the day was to "judge of the essays, and assign the reward to the best artist." I have seen no record of the result. Raw-hide shoes were worn by a few soldiers on their march to Valley Forge. Several expeditions were suggested and planned, but a want of shoes rendered a large portion of the army unfit for marching. A council of war was called on the 25th of November, to consider the propriety of making an attack upon Philadelphia while Cornwallis was absent in New Jersey, whither he had gone to take possession of Red Bank and the neighboring region. The decision of the council was a negative, and the scheme was abandoned. Early in December, the enemy attempted to surprise Washington in his camp, but success was denied them by the patriotic service of Lydia Darrah of Philadelphia, noticed on page 301. The British appeared upon Chestnut Hill, about three miles from Washington's camp, at dawn on the morning of the 5th of December. As soon as their position was discovered, the Pennsylvania militia were ordered out to skirmish with their light advanced parties. Brigadier-general Irvine, who led the detachment, was wounded and made prisoner. On the next day (Friday) the enemy changed ground, and approached within a mile of the American lines, where they remained until Sunday, when they moved further to the left, and seemed to be preparing for a general attack. Their advanced and flanking parties were warmly attacked by Colonel Morgan and his rifle corps, and Colonel Gist with the Maryland militia. The battle was quite severe. Twenty-seven men in Morgan's corps were killed and wounded, besides Major Morris, a brave and gallant officer, who was badly maimed. Sixteen or seventeen of the Maryland militia were [[December, 1777]] wounded. * The loss of the enemy was considerable. On Monday, the 8th, when * The Reverend Zachariah Greene, now (1851) living at Hempstead, Long Island, was wounded in this engagement, and carried to Washington's quarters. Mr. Greene was the father-in-law of the late Mr. Thompson, the historian of Long Island. [[[Retreat of the British to Philadelphia.--Departure of the Americans from Whitemarsh.--Barren Hill.]]] {322}the movements of the British gave Washington every reason to believe that an immediate attack was to be made, he was surprised to perceive them, instead of advancing, commence a precipitate march, by two routes, for Philadelphia. [Illustration: 9332] As their adjutant remarked to Mrs. Darrah, they had been on a fool's errand and accomplished nothing. "I sincerely wish," wrote Washington to the president of Congress, "that they had made an attack, as the issue, in all probability, from the disposition of our troops and the strong situation of our camp, would have been fortunate and happy. At the same time, I must add, that reason, prudence, and every principle of policy, forbade us from quitting our post to attack them." General Howe, in his dispatches, said, "They were so strongly intrenched that it was impossible to attack them." They had no other intrenchments than two small redoubts, one on each hill near the head-quarters. Three days afterward Washington broke up his encampment at Whitemarsh, and, in the midst of a deep snow, marched to the Schuylkill, crossed it at Swedes' Ford, and established his winter quarters at Valley Forge. Hundreds of the soldiers made that dreary march of nineteen miles with bare feet, and the pathway of the patriot army might have been traced all the way by hundreds of foot-marks in the snow stained with blood. * Let us follow them thither, and in the head-quarters of the chief, which stands near the banks of the Schuylkill, sit down and ponder upon the wondrous love of country which kept that suffering army together during the winter and spring of 1778. We left Whitemarsh at about two o'clock for the Schuylkill, passing, on our way, over Barren Hill, the scene of a skillful military movement by La Fayette, with a body of Americans, in May, 1778. Barren Hill is a small village lying upon the western slope of a rough eminence, about four miles west of Whitemarsh. From its summit a fine view of the surrounding country may be obtained. There, on the right of the road leading toward the Schuylkill from Chestnut Hill to Conshohocken (Matson's Ford), is the old Lutheran church which La Fayette occupied as quarters during his brief tarry on the hill. According to an inscription upon a tablet in the western gable, its title is "St. Peter's," and the time of erection 1761. By the road-side near the church is a quaint-looking school-house, covered with stucco. The church, the school-house, and two strong stone houses composed this settlement, then in the wilderness, when La Fayette made it his point of observation, and out-maneuvered General Grant. Within the old church-yard, sitting upon a recumbent sand-stone slab, with half-effaced inscription, I made this sketch; and here let us open the record and receive instruction from the chronicler. As this is the first time in the course of our journey that wc have met La Fayette as commander-in-chief of an expedition, it is a proper * Gordon says that, while at Washington's table, in 1784, the chief informed him that bloody foot-prints were every where visible in the course of their march. Such was the distress of the soldiers from want of clothing, that Washington, as a last resort, authorized the proper officers to take by force, for the use of the army, such articles of clothing as the people refused to sell. It must be remembered that the people generally, throughout that section of Pennsylvania, were opposed to the patriots, and did every thing in their power to distress them. [[[La Fayette.--His first Impulses favorable to the Americans.--His Liberality.--Visit to England.]]] {323}place to consider the circumstances attending his espousal of the cause of freedom, and his connection with the American Continental army. He was a young man, not yet nineteen years old, when our Declaration of Independence went over the seas, and commanded the admiration of thinkers in the Old World. La Fayette was of noble ancestry. He had just married the Countess Anastasia de Noailles, daughter of the Duke De Noailles, a lady of great personal beauty, immense fortune, and brilliant accomplishments. * When the story of America's wrongs, and of her holy struggle for the right, just begun, reached his ears, it inflamed his young heart with the most passionate sympathy, and an ardent desire to aid them with his purse and sword. ** He openly espoused the cause of the patriots, and resolved to hasten to their support. Not all the blandishments of rank and fortune, the endearments of conjugal love, made doubly so by promise of offspring, nor the sad tales of reverses to the American arms at the close of 1776, which every vessel from our shores carried to Europe, could repress his zeal or deter him from the execution of his noble purpose. He had just offered his services to Silas Deane, one of the American commissioners at Paris, *** when the news arrived that the remnant of the American army, reduced to two thousand insurgents, as they were called, had fled toward Philadelphia through the Jerseys, before an army of thirty thousand British regulars. This news frustrated all the plans of Deane for the moment, for it utterly destroyed the little credit which America then had in Europe. Franklin arrived at this juncture, and was greatly pleased with the young marquis and the disinterested zeal which he exhibited, but honestly advised him to abandon his design until better hope for success should appear. But this candid advice was of no avail. The commissioners had not sufficient credit to command the means to fit out a vessel for the purpose of conveying the marquis and his friends, with arms, ammunition, and stores. La Fayette offered to purchase a ship with his own funds. "Hitherto," he said, in the spirit of true heroism, "I have only _cherished_ your cause; now I am going to _serve_ it. The lower it is in the opinion of the people, the greater effect my departure will have; and since you can not get a vessel, I shall purchase and fit out one, to carry your dispatches to Congress and me to America." **** He went over to London, and mingled freely with the leading politicians there. He danced at the house of Lord George Germaine, the minister for the affairs of America, and at the house of Lord Rawdon, who had just returned from New York, paid his personal respects to the king, and met, at the opera, General Clinton, whom he was afterward to meet on the field of battle at Monmouth. (v) While he concealed his intentions of going to America, he openly avowed his sentiments; often defended the Americans; rejoiced at their success at Trenton; and his opposition spirit obtained for him an invitation to breakfast with Lord Shelburne. He refused invitations to visit sea-ports where * La Fayette himself had an independent revenue of 200,000 livres--about $37,000. ** In the summer of 1776, La Fayette was stationed on military duty at Mentz, being then, though only a little past eighteen years of age, an officer in the French army. The Duke of Gloucester, brother to the King of England, visited Mentz, and a dinner party was given to him by the commandant of that place. La Fayette was at the table. The duke had just received dispatches from England relating to the Declaration of Independence, the resistance of the colonies, and the strong measures adopted by the British ministry to crush the rebellion, and he made their contents the topic for conversation. The details were new to La Fayette, and he had a long conversation with the duke. The idea of a people fighting for liberty had a strong influence upon his imagination. He regarded their cause as just, their struggle noble, and from that hour his chivalrous enterprise was the chief burden of his thoughts. He returned to Paris, and there perfected his plans.--Sparks's Life and Writings of Washington, v., 445. *** "When," says La Fayette, "I presented my boyish faee to Mr. Deane, I spoke more of my ardor in the cause than my experience; but I dwelt much upon the effect my departure would excite in France, and he signed our agreements."--See Memoirs, written by himself. La Fayette was accompanied by the Baron De Kalb as interpreter. De Kalb had been commissioned by the Duke De Choiseul to proeced to America for the purpose of ascertaining the condition of the revolted colonies. He came over with La Fayette, and did good service in our army. We shall meet him again on the field of battle near Camden, in South Carolina. La Fayette persuaded Count Segur and Viscount De Noailles to accompany him, but their friends kept them at home. Count Segur accompanied Bonaparte to Moscow in 1812, and has left a thrilling account of that memorable campaign. **** Gordon, ii., 219 * (v) Pictorial History of the Reign of George the Third, i., 302 [[[La Fayette's Attempts to leave France.--Sketch of his Career.--Sword presented to him by Congress.]]] {324}vessels were fitting out against the Americans, for he was unwilling to do aught that might, afterward be construed into an abuse of confidence. * After remaining three weeks in England, La Fayette returned to France, but not to Paris. Information had gone abroad that he was fitting out a vessel for America, at Bordeaux. It was not good policy for the government to allow it. [Illustration: 9334] He proceeded to Passy, then the residence of Dr. Franklin, where he found the Baron De Kalb. He remained concealed in the baron's house a few days, and then proceeded to Bordeaux. His vessel was not ready, but he felt it neeessary to sail immediately. He left Bordeaux toward the close of February, and proceeded to Passage, a Spanish port, where he awaited the receipt of the ship's papers. There two officers reached him, with an order from the king (_lettre, de cachet_) prohibiting his departure, and commanding him to repair to Marseilles. He was charged by ministers with violating his oath of allegiance, and by his family with conduct calculated to bring ruin on himself and them. His young wife, however, did not join in their reproaches; she approved of his project, and urged him to persevere. La Fayette obeyed orders, and returned to Marseilles. He pleaded the justice of the * Memoirs, written by himself. * The Marquis (Gilbert Motier *) De La Fayette was born on the 6th of September, 1757, and in 1774, when a little more than seventeen years old, married the Countesse Anastasie de Noailles, daughter of the Duke de Noailles, a young lady possessing an immense fortune. He joined our Revolutionary army in 1777, and with his purse, sword, and counsel, and his influence with the French court, he greatly aided us in our struggle for political independence. In Oetober, 1778, he asked and obtained leave of absence, and returned to France. Congress, in connection with the resolution for granting him a furlough, also resolved, "That the minister plenipotentiary of the United States of America at the court of Versailles be directed to cause an elegant sword, with proper devices, to be made, and presented, in the name of the United States, to La Fayette. Franklin, then minister at the French court, procured the sword, and sent it to the marquis in August, 1779, accompanied by a very complimentary letter from his hand, to which La Fayette feelingly replied. La Fayette returned to America in the spring of 1780, bringing joyful news [see page 87], and was received with great affection. After the capture of Cornwallis, in which he performed a conspicuous part, he again went to France, and, by his own exertions, was raising a large army of allies for America, when intelligence of peace reached him. He returned to America in 1784, and was received with unbounded enthusiasm by his old companions in arms. Again he returned to his native land, bearing the honors and blessings of a free people. From that time until his death he was often a conspicuous actor in the great scenes of his country's history. He was an active member of the Legislative Assembly of France during the stormy period of the incipience and development of its first Revolution, from 1789 to 1793. He was always the advocate of civil liberty, but conservative in his country, where representatives and constituents were alike inordinately radical. When the Revolution was at its height, he was obliged to flee from France, because of his moderation, and, being caught, he was for three years confined in a dungeon at Olmutz, in Germany. He suffered much in person and fortune during the convulsions in France, and for several years previous to 1814 he lived in comparative retirement. The first downfall of Bonaparte brought him again into public life, and in 1815 he was a member of the Chamber of Deputies. In that assembly he offered the resolution for the appointment of a committee to demand the abdication of the emperor. He was again a member of the Chamber of Deputies in 1818. In 1824 he accepted an invitation to visit the United States as the guest of the nation. The *In the Biographie des Hommes his name is written Marie-Paul Joseph-Rock-Yves-Gilbert-Mottiers de La Fayette. ** The following is a copy of the correspondence: ** "Passy, 21th August, 1779. ** "Sir,-The Congress, sensible of your merit toward the United States, but unable adequately to reward it, determined to present you with a sword as a small mark of their grateful acknowledgment. They directed it to be ornamented with suitable devices. Some of the principal actions of the war, in which you distinguished yourself by your bravery and conduct, are therefore represented upon it. These, with a few emblematic figures, all admirably well executed, make its principal value. By the help of the exquisite artists France affords, I find it easy to express every thing but the sense we have of your worth, and our obligations to you. For this, figures, and even words, are found insufficient. I therefore only add, that, with the most perfect esteem, I have the honor to be, &c., B. Franklin ** "P.S. My grandson goes to Havre with the sword, and will have the honor of presenting it to you." ** The marquis, in reply, after acknowledging the presentation of the sword, said: "In some of the devices I can not help finding too honorable a reward for those slight services which, in concert with my fellow-soldiers, and under the god like American hero's orders, I had the good luck to render. The sight of these actions, where I was a witness of American bravery and patriotic spirit. I shall ever enjoy with that pleasure which becomes a heart glowing with love for the nation, and the most ardent zeal for their glory and happiness. Assurances of gratitude, which I beg leave to present to your excellency, are much too inadequate to my feelings, and nothing but those sentiments may properly acknowledge your kindness toward me. The polite manner in which Mr. Franklin was pleased to deliver that estimable sword, lays me under great obligations to him, and demands my particular thanks. With the most perfect respect, 1 have the honor to be, &c., "Lafayette." [[[Memoir of La Fayette.--Pictorial Devices on his Sword.]]] {325}cause in which the Americans were engaged; their declared independence as a people, and various precedents which might justify his course, and petitioned for leave to proceed. His pleadings were in vain, and he resolved to risk the displeasure of his king. [Illustration: 8335] Stealthily mak- * I here give a fac simile of the pen-and ink sketches, made by a French artist, of devices for the guard of the sword presented to La Fayette. 1 copied from the originals in the archives of the State Department at Washington. Accompanying the sketches is the following description: * "On one side of the Pommel are the Marquis's army in low relief, and on the other the device of a New Moon reflecting Rays of Light on a Country partly covered with wood and partly cultivated--Symbol of the Republic of the United States--with this motto: Crescam ut prosim. By this it was intended modestly to express, "1. The present Mediocrity of Strength; as the Light of the Moon, though considerable, is weaker than that of the Sun. "2. Her expectation of becoming more Powerful as she increases, and thereby rendering herself more useful to Mankind. "3. The gratitude with which she remembers that the Light she spreads is principally owing to the kind aid of a great Luminary [the King of France, whose symbol is the Sun] in another Hemisphere. "On the Bow is the Legend, 'From the American Congress to the Marquis De La Fayette, 1779. "The Handle is ornamented with two medallions. In one, America, represented by a Woman, presents a Bunch of Laurel to a Frenchman. On the other, a Frenchman is treading on a Lion. "On the Guard are separately represented, in fine Relievo, "The affair at Gloucester [Yorktown]; "The Retreat on Rhode Island; "The Battle of Monmouth; "And the Retreat at Barren Hill. "The Hilt is of massive gold, and the Blade two-edged. Cost two hundred Louis. Made by Liger, Sword-cutler, Rue Coquilliere. at Paris. [[[Arrival of La Fayette in America.--His Biography continued.--His Burial-place.]]] {326}ing his way back to Passage, he set sail with a favorable wind, accompanied by De Kalb, and eleven other French, German, and Polish officers, who were about seeking service in America. He arrived safely at Georgetown, in South Carolina, on the 19th of April, after a boisterous passage of seven weeks, where he and his company were entertained by Major Huger, who provided horses to convey them to Charleston. His vessel likewise was taken to Charleston harbor. * [Illustration: 8336] Although the French government secretly favored the plans of La Fayette, as it had not yet publicly expressed even a friendly intention toward America, policy required that it should act in seeming good faith toward Great Britain, with which it was then on terms of amity. Vessels were accordingly dispatched to the West Indies to intercept La Fayette. The marquis apprehended this movement, and avoided the islands in his voyage. His proceedings, in opposition to positive orders, were rash; for the loss of all his property in France, and an indefinite term of imprisonment, might have been the consequence had he been arrested on the high seas. [Illustration: 9336] In the face of all this immediate and prospective danger, he resolutely persevered, and the French government winked at his disobedience. La Fayette and his companions traveled by land from Charleston to Philadelphia. When arrived at the latter plaee, he put his letters into the hands of Mr. Lovell, the chair- * The United Slates vessel of war Brandywine bore him to our shores, and his journey among us was a continued ovation. He was every where received with the most affectionate demonstrations of regard, as next to Washington in the great American heart. Even his grandson, who is now (1850) traveling in this country, has been received with marked public attention on account of his relationship to the great and good man. La Fayette was conspicuous in the Republican Revolution in France in 1830, and generously refused the proffered crown of constitutional monarch, and designated the Duke of Orleans (Louis Philippe) as a proper recipient of the trust. It was unworthily bestowed; for the ungrateful monarch not only treated La Fayette with coldness and disdain, but, by a despotic course, betrayed the confidence of the people. La Fayette died in 1834, at the age of seventy-seven years. His remains rest in the cemetery of Pippers, a private burial-ground of several families of the nobility of Paris, back of the gardens of what was once a nunnery, but now a boarding-school for young ladies. The sketch here given is from a French picture by Champin, which the artist dedicated "To the Americans, the friends of La Fayette." The monument is inclosed by an iron railing. It is about eight feet square, and composed of dark sandstone. The tablets slope from a ridge upon whieh is a cross. The inscriptions are in French. On one side of the tablet is an inscription referring to La Fayette; on the other, to his wife. The cross seen in the picture stands over the grave of another. * This vessel was afterward laden with rice for the French market, but was foundered on going out of the harbor, and vessel and cargo were lost. [[[La Fayette's Application to Congress.--His Appointment.--Interview with Washington.--Attached to the Army.]]] {337}man of the committee of Congress on foreign affairs. The next day his papers were handed back to him by Mr. Lovell, with the remark that so many foreigners had offered themselves for employment that Congress was embarrassed with their applications, and he was sorry to inform him that there was very little hope of his success. The marquis was convinced that his papers had not been read. He immediately sent a note to the president of Congress, in which he asked permission to serve in the Continental army upon two conditions; first, that he should receive no pay; secondly, that he should act as a volunteer. These conditions were so different from those demanded by other foreigners, that they were at once accepted by Congress. Although he was not yet twenty years of age, the peculiar position in which his wealth, fervent zeal, and social eminence at home, placed him before the American people, gave him great importance, and on the 31st of July Congress appointed him a major general in the Continental army. This appointment was considered by Congress as merely honorary, but such was not the intention of the recipient, as subsequent events will show. * Washington arrived in Philadelphia soon after La Fayette's appointment, and they were first introduced to each other at a dinner party, where several members of Congress were present. When they were about to separate, Washington took the marquis aside, complimented him upon the noble spirit he had manifested toward the cause of the Americans, and invited him to become a member of his military family. His kind invitation was joyfully accepted, and while he remained in America the closest intimacy existed between La Fayette and the commander-in-chief. The marquis joined the army, and continued in it as a volunteer, without any command, until the battle on the Brandywine, two months afterward, where we shall meet him presently fighting with all the zeal of a [[September 11, 1777]] champion of liberty. La Fayette was anxious to have a command suitable to the rank which his commission conferred; but Congress, fearing his appointment to the command of a division might excite the jealousy of American officers, had withheld the coveted honor from the marquis. Washington repeatedly suggested the expediency of a different course; but it was not until the 1st of December that the wishes of La Fayette were gratified. On that day Congress resolved, "That General Washington be informed it is highly agreeable to Congress that the Marquis De La Fayette be appointed to the command of a division in the Continental army." ** Three days afterward it was proclaimed, in public [[December 4.]] orders, that he was to take command of the division recently under General Adam Stephen, who, as we have seen, was dismissed from the army. *** La Fayette was engaged in various important services during the winter and spring of 1778, while the American army was at Valley Forge; and about the middle of May we find him on Barren Hill, our present point of view. Intelligence had reached Washington in his camp that the British were making preparations to evacuate Philadelphia. They were frequently sending out foraging parties between the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers; and on the 7th of May an expedition went up the Delaware to destroy all the American shipping between Philadelphia and Trenton. Forty-four American vessels were burned; a considerable quantity of provisions and stores were destroyed, and a number of the inhabitants killed and wounded. To restrain these depredations; to cut off all communication in that direction between the country and Philadelphia; to obtain correct information concerning the movements of the enemy; and to be ready to follow with a considerable force immediately in the rear of the British army, when it should leave Philadelphia, Washington * The following preamble and resolution were adopted: "Whereas the Marquis De La Fayette, out of his great zeal to the cause of liberty, in which the United States are engaged, has left his family and connections, and, at his own expense, come over to offer his services to the United States, without pension or particular allowance, and is anxious to risk his life in our cause: * Resolved, That his service he accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connections, he have the rank and commission of major general in the army of the United States.--Journals of Congress, iii., 247. ** Journals, iii., 429 *** See page 320. [[[La Fayette on Barren Hill.--Maneuvers of the two Armies.--The British deceived]]] {328} detached La Fayette, with about twenty-one hundred troops and five pieces of cannon, across the Schuylkill on the 18th of May. He took post at Barren Hill (nearly twelve miles from Valley Forge), a little west of the church. It was a position skillfully chosen. On his right were rocky ledges of considerable extent, and the Schuylkill; on his left were thick woods, several strong stone houses, and the substantial stone church seen in the engraving. His cannon were placed in front; and at about three hundred yards in advance of the left wing were Captain M'Lane's company and fifty Indians. Picket-guards and videttes were stationed upon the woods leading to Philadelphia, and six hundred Pennsylvania militia were posted near Whitemarsh. The church was at the forks of the road, one branch of which led to Valley Forge, by the way of the Swedes' Ford, and the other to Matson's Ford. * * La Fayette at first quartered at the house of a Tory Quaker, who sent a messenger with the information to Sir Henry Clinton, then in the chief command of the British army in Philadelphia, Howe having returned to England. Clinton immediately formed a plan for surprising La Fayette. On the night of the 19th, he sent out a detachment of[[May, 1778.]] five thousand of his choicest troops, under General Grant, assisted by Sir William Erskine. They marched toward Frankford, and at dawn the next morning turned toward the left, passed Whitemarsh, and proceeded on the road leading to Swedes' Ford, to a position in the rear of the Americans. Another strong force, under General Grey, crossed to the western bank of the Schuylkill, and took post about three miles below Barren Hill; while Sir Henry Clinton led, in person, a third division through Germantown, and before daylight halted on Chestnut Hill. The situation of La Fayette was now critical. Owing to the disobedience of orders on the part of the militia, on leaving Whitemarsh, General Grant's approach was undiscovered, and the little band of Americans were nearly surrounded by a greatly superior force before they were aware of their danger. Early in the looming, scarlet coats were seen through the trees in the distant forest; and an officer, sent by La Fayette to reconnoiter, came back in haste with the information that a large British force was on the road leading from Whitemarsh to Swedes' Ford, a little more than a mile from his encampment. The marquis at once comprehended the full extent of the danger, and a skillful maneuver was instantly conceived. He changed his front without disorder, stationed a large party in the church-yard, around which was a strong wall, ** and drew up the remainder in such a manner as to be protected by the stone houses and thick woods. Ascertaining that the only road leading to Swedes' Ford was in possession of the enemy, he resolved to retreat to Matson's Ford, although the distance from his position was greater than from that of Grant. The road lay along the southern slope of hills, and was concealed by woods from the view of the enemy. The marquis dispatched several small parties through the woods, with orders to show themselves, at different points, as heads of columns, that the enemy might be deceived into the belief that he was marching to an attack. The maneuver was successful; and, while General Grant was halting, and preparing troops to meet these supposed attacks upon his flank, the Americans made a quick march to Matson's Ford--General Poor *** leading the advanced guard, and the marquis bringing up the rear. The heads of * Matson's Ford was at the present village of Conshohocken, and Swedes' Ford was at or near Norristown, four miles above. They were about equally distant from Valley Forge. ** This wall yet surrounds the old church-yard, and is sufficiently perfect to form a strong breast-work. British writers, following the narrative of Stedman (ii., 337), assert that Washington, from his camp upon the high hills of Valley Forge, discovered the peril of La Fayette, and discharged heavy alarm-guns to apprise him of his danger. None of the earlier historians of the war, except Stedman, mention this circumstance; it must have been inferential on the part of that generally correct and fair writer. Barren Hill may be distinctly seen from the highest point of Washington's encampment at Valley Forge. Though twelve miles distant, I saw the church on Barren Hill from the observatory, hereafter to be noticed, which stands upon the site of Washington's marquee at Valley Forge. *** Brigadier-general Enoch Poor was a native of New Hampshire. He was a colonel in the Continental army in the expedition against Canada in 1776, where he served with distinction. He was afterward at Crown Point, and was one of the twenty-one inferior officers who signed a remonstrance against the decision of a council of officers there, consisting of Generals Gates, Schuyler, Sullivan, Arnold, and Woedtke,* when it was resolved that, the post was untenable, and that the army should retire to Mount Independence. He was appointed brigadier in 1777, and served in that capacity in the battles in which Burgoyne was defeated and captured. He soon afterward joined the army under Washington in Pennsylvania. He was in the camp at Valley Forge, and with his brigade was among the first troops that commenced a pursuit of the British across New Jersey in the summer of 1778. He fought gallantly in the battle of Monmouth which succeeded. He commanded a brigade of light infantry in 1780, in which service he died, near Hackensack, in New Jersey. His funeral was attended by Washington and La Fayette, and a long line of subordinate officers and soldiers. On account of the vicinity of the enemy, the usual discharges of cannon were omitted. Reverend Israel Evans, chaplain to the New Hampshire brigade, delivered a funeral discourse. General Poor was buried in the church-yard at Hackensack, where an humble stone, with the following inscription, marks his grave: "In memory of the Hon. Brigadier-general Enoch Poor, of the State of New Hampshire, who departed this life on the 8th day of September, 1780, aged 44 years." General Poor was greatly esteemed by La Fayette, who, it is said, was much affected on visiting his grave when in this country in 1825. [[[Retreat of La Fayette across the Schuylkill to Valley Forge.--Generals Poor and Woedtke.]]] {329}columns, who had deceived General Grant, gradually fell back and joined in the retreat, and the whole army arrived at the ford in safety. [Illustration: 9339] ===(Note: this image may need rename)=== They crossed the Schuylkill with their artillery, took possession of the high grounds on the west side of the river, and formed in the order of battle. General Grant had marched to the church on Barren Hill, where he joined the division under Clinton, and discovered, with mortified pride, that he had been outmaneuvered by the "stripling Frenchman." It was too late to overtake the retreating patriots; the British pursued them as far as the ford, but, finding it impossible to cross over, they wheeled, and returned, disappointed and chagrined, to Philadelphia. In a skirmish with the enemy's advanced parties at the ford, while the artillery was crossing, the Americans lost nine men killed and taken. The British lost two light horsemen killed, and several wounded. La Fayette and his troops marched back to the camp at Valley Forge, where they were greeted with the most enthusiastic congratulations. It was almost sunset when we left the old church-yard on Barren Hill and departed for Conshohocken * (Matson's Ford), on the Schuylkill, where we intended to pass the night. [Illustration: 7339] [Illustration: 8339] Although four miles distant, we could see the smoke of its furnaces ascending above the intervening hill-tops, and marring the placid beauty of the western sky, where a thin purple haze fringed the horizon, and half hid the crescent moon and its more sprightly neighbor on the occasion, the belted * Conshohocken is a thriving manufacturing village on the east bank of the Schuylkill, in Montgomery county, about twelve miles from Philadelphia. It has recently grown up in connection with the waterpower of the Schuylkill Navigation Company. There is also a great deal of lime burned there for the Philadelphia market. * The Baron De Woedtke had been for many years an officer in the army of the King of Prussia, and risen to the rank of major. He brought strong letters of recommendation from Dr. Franklin, and on the 16th of March, 1776, he was appointed by Congress a brigadier general, and ordered to Canada. He died at Lake George at the close of July, 1776, and was buried with the honors due to his rank. [[[Iron Ore near the Schuylkill.--Conshohocken and its Industry.--Norristown.--Swedes' Ford.]]] {330}Jupiter. That whole region abounds in iron; and all the way from Barren Hill to the Schuylkill, large heaps of ore, dug from near the surface, were piled. In many places the road was literally paved with iron ore lying in small fragments upon the surface. It was quite dark when we arrived at the village, and it was with some difficulty that we made our way along a steep road to the "hotel," a tavern near the river bank, kept by a good-natured Dutchman. He was so well patronized by the coal-heavers and workmen in the furnaces, that not a single bed was in reserve for strangers; so we were obliged to ride on to Norristown, four miles further up the stream, for supper and lodgings. As we thridded our way among the "fiery furnaces," belching huge volumes of ruddy flame, and observed the rushing rail-way train sweeping along the river brink, while the din of hammers, and bellows, and voices of busy men was rife on every side, I contrasted the past and present, and, in a degree, realized the wonderful strides of progress in our country. Here, where a numerous population are plying the tireless fingers of industry in the creation of substantial wealth, and spreading pleasant dwellings along the banks of the rapid Schuylkill, there was only the solitary hut of a hunter, deserted more than half the year, when La Fayette made his admirable retreat across the river toward Valley Forge. And far more suggestive of true greatness and glory were the noises of these work-shops than the trumpet-notes and clangor of battle.= ```"The camp has had its day of song; ````The sword, the bayonet, the plume ```Have crowded out of rhyme too long ````The plow, the anvil, and the loom. ```Oh, not upon our tented fields ````Are Freedom's heroes bred alone; ```The training of the work-shop yields ````More heroes true than war has known.= ```"Who drives the bolt, who shapes the steel, ````May, with a heart as valiant, smite, ```As he who sees a foeman reel ````In blood before his blow of might! ```The skill that conquers space and time, ````That graces life, that lightens toil, ```May spring from courage more sublime ````Than that which makes a realm its spoil." `````Epes Sargent.= After losing our way in the gloom, and making quite a circuitous journey, we found the "pike," a fine Macadamized road leading from Philadelphia to Norristown, and reached the latter place at about eight o'clock. * I was informed that traces of the breast-works thrown up here by Duportail, by order of Washington, to prevent the passage of the British across the Swedes' Ford, were yet quite prominent about half a mile below the village; and also that the Swedes' Ford tavern, ** directly opposite these intrenchments, was still in existence, though changed in appearance by additions. Being anxious to visit Valley Forge and Paoli the next day, we departed from Norristown too early in the morning to allow a view of these vestiges of the Revolution. * Norristown is a thriving manufacturing village, and the capital of Montgomery county. It has entirely grown up since the Revolution. Its name is derived from Isaac Norris, who, with William Trent, the founder of Trenton, purchased the land from William Penn. Swedes' Ford was here. The site of Norristown was owned by a farmer named John Bull. He was a stanch Whig, and for this crime the John Bulls under General Howe, when the British marched toward Philadelphia in 1777, burned his barn. The first house erected at Norristown was framed at Valley Forge, and floated down the Schuylkill. ** The name of Swedes' Ford was given to this passage of the Schuylkill from the fact that the first settlers there were Swedes. The principal characters were Matts Holstein and Mauritz Rambo. The latter was a famous hunter, and his exploits are yet the theme of many an old man's story. It is related that at one time Rambo seized a wounded deer, when the animal made off with the hunter on his back. Rambo finally checked the buck by cutting his throat. [[[Approach to Valley Forge.--"King of Prussia Tavern."--Village of Valley Forge.]]] {331} CHAPTER XIII. ```"The men of seventy-six in their good arm-- ````Sustain'd by Heaven--reposed a manly trust; ```O'er all the land was sounded war's alarm, ````And vict'ry crown'd the valor of the just. ```The fire of liberty fell down from heaven, ```Till from our shores the enemy, was driven; ````And Freedom, with the land's redemption shod, ```Her benison flung o'er every hill and plain. ```Few of that band of noble men remain; ````Their spirits have obey'd the call of God, ````And where they rest is deem'd a hallow'd sod. ```Their perils fearful--measureless their gain! ````While love of home the freeman's breast shall fill, ```Their fame shall cause the freeman's breast to thrill." `````Thomas MacKellar.= [Illustration: 9341] ALLEY FORGE! How dear to the true worshiper at the shrine of Freedom is the name of Valley Forge! There, in the midst of frost and snows, disease and destitution, Liberty erected her altar; and in all the world's history we have no record of purer devotion, holier sincerity, or more pious self-sacrifice, than was there exhibited in the camp of Washington. The courage that nerves the arm on the battle-field, and dazzles by its brilliant but evanescent flashes, pales before the steadier and more intense flame of patient endurance, the sum of the sublime heroism displayed at Valley Forge. And if there is a spot on the face of our broad land whereon Patriotism should delight to pile its highest and most venerated monument, it should be in the bosom of that little vale on the bank of the Schuylkill. Toward its "templed hills," consecrated by the presence and sufferings of those who achieved our independence, we journeyed, filled with the pleasant emotions of a pilgrim approaching the place he most adores. We crossed the Schuylkill at Norristown, a little after sunrise, and took the road leading to Valley Forge by the way of "The King of Prussia Tavern," a half-way locality, famous for its good cheer long before the Revolution. There hung its sign, emblazoned with a figure of a noble-looking warrior on horseback, ancient enough in its appearance to warrant the belief that it creaked in the breeze when the officers of Howe refreshed themselves there with flip from the hands of old Harman de Vriest. * The country through which we rode is broken but fertile, every where abounding with iron. Here, also, large heaps of quarried ore flanked the road in various places, and for many furlongs the highway had a ferruginous pavement. Descending a long and steep hill, sloping northward, we came suddenly upon the little village of Valley Forge before we were aware of its proximity. It is * In the Pennsylvania Journal, 1761, there is a notification that Jacob Colman intended to run a stage, with an awning, three times a week, "from the King of Prussia Inn, to the George Inn, southwest corner of Second and Arch Streets, Philadelphia." Ritter's tavern, in Germantown, was called "The King of Prussia Inn," according to Watson, the annalist, from the following circumstance: Toward the close of the last century, Gilbert Stuart, the eminent portrait painter, resided in Germantown. In one of his eccentric moods, he executed a fine painting of the King of Prussia, on horseback, and presented it to Ritter for a sign, stipulating that the name of the painter should not be divulged. It hung there for several years, the admiration of all, until the letters "The King of Prussia Inn" were painted over it. The sign afterward came into the possession of Mr. Watson, who cherished it as a valuable memento of the genius and character of the great painter. [[[Washington's Head-quarters.--The old Flour-mill and its Associations--Hamilton and Lee.]]] {332}situated in Chester county, on the west side of the Schuylkill, between six and seven miles above Norristown, in a deep, short hollow, scooped out from a low, rugged mountain, and opening upon the great valley which stretches away toward Phoenixville. A small creek runs through the little valley, turning, in its course, the water-wheel of a cotton factory, which stands upon the site of the old forge of Isaac Potts. * [Illustration: 9342] Upon the mountainous flanks of this little valley, Washington established his winter quarters in 1777--78. His own residence was at the house of Mr. Isaac Potts, a Quaker preacher. It is a substantial stone dwelling, situated near the mouth of the creek. It was occupied, when I visited it, by James Jones, [[November, 1848]]a member of the Society of Friends, who was then eighty-three years old. He was quite feeble; but his wife, a cheerful old lady of nearly the same age, was the reverse, and, with vigorous step, proceeded to show us the interior of the building. Washington's room was small indeed. In the deep east window, whence he could look out upon a large portion of his camp upon the neighboring slopes, are still preserved the cavity and little trapdoor, arranged by the commander-in-chief as a private depository for his papers. It answered the purpose admirably; for even now the visitor would not suspect that the old blue sill upon which he was leaning to gaze upon the hallowed hills, might be lifted and disclose a capacious chest. Mr. Jones and his wife were not residents at Valley Forge when the Americans were encamped there, and hence they had no interesting traditions of their own experience. Near the head-quarters of Washington were the ruins of an old flour-mill, whose clack was heard before the Revolution, nor ceased until within a few years. Immediately after the battle of Brandywine, and previous to the encampment here, the Americans had made a considerable deposit of stores at this mill. Howe sent a detachment of British troops to seize them; but Washington, anticipating this attempt, had sent Lieutenant-colonel (afterward General) Hamilton, and Captain (afterward General) Henry Lee, with a small troop of horse for the purpose of destroying these stores. Hamilton, with proper precaution, stationed two videttes upon the southern hill overlooking the valley, and also secured a flat-bottomed boat on which to cross the Schuylkill, in the event of the sudden appearance of the enemy. The troops had crossed the mill-race, and were about to commence the work of demolition, when the alarm-guns of the videttes were heard, and they were seen sweeping down the hill, closely pursued by some British dragoons. Four of the American horsemen, with Hamilton, took to the boat; while Lee, with the other four, and the videttes, crossed the bridge and escaped, amid a shower of bullets from the enemy. Hamilton and his party were also fired upon, but were unharmed. Lee was fearful that his comrades, with Hamilton, were killed or made prisoners, for he heard volley after volley fired from the carbines of the enemy, while there was only an occasional response from his friends. Lee dispatched a dragoon to the commander-in-chief, describing what had occurred, and expressing his anx- * The Potts family, located in this vicinity, were extensive manufacturers of iron. Isaac Potts established a forge upon the creek which here enters into the Schuylkill, and from that circumstance the place obtained the name of Valley Forge. ** This view is from the Reading rail-road, looking east, and includes a portion of the range of hills in the rear whereon the Americans were encamped. The main building was erected in 1770; the wing is more modern, and occupies the place of the log addition mentioned by Mrs. Washington, in a letter to Mercy Warren, written in March, 1778: "The general's apartment," she wrote, "is very small; he has had a log cabin built to dine in, which has made our quarters much more tolerable than they were at first." [[[View from Rogers's Observatory.--Camp at Valley Forge.--Religious Services.--Preparation of Huts.]]] {333}ious fears for the safety of Hamilton and his men. While Washington was reading Lee's letter, Hamilton rode up, and with quite as much distress depicted in his _face_ as the former had exhibited in his _note_, expressed his fears that his friend Lee was cut off. Washington quieted his apprehensions by handing him Lee's letter. [Illustration: 8343] From the village we rode to the summit of the hill on the south, whereon the main portion of the American army was quartered. Upon the brow of the hill, on the spot where Washington's marquee was planted on the day of his arrival there, * Mr. Charles H. Rogers, who owns the cotton factory, and much of the landed property in the vicinity, has erected an observatory, about forty feet in height. It is a very neat structure of wood, of an octagon form, with a spiral stair-case in the center, by which an ascent is made to the open gallery on the top. From that elevation is obtained a fine view of a large portion of the camping-ground. Here let us turn to the historic page and seek its instructions. When it was decided that Whitemarsh was not a proper place for the winter encampment of the American army, Washington, as usual, requested his general officers to communicate to him in writing their sentiments respecting the most eligible site for the purpose. A council of war was held on the 30th of November, at which a wide difference of opinion prevailed as to the locality and the manner of cantoning the troops. Some proposed occupying Wilmington for the purpose; others suggested hutting them in the valley of Tredyffrin, a few miles west of the Schuylkill; and others advocated the expediency of stationing them in a line from Reading to Lancaster. So various and contradictory were the opinions and counsels, that unanimity could not be hoped for, and it was necessary for Washington to act according to his own judgment and upon his own responsibility. He decided to form an encampment at Valley Forge, where he might be near enough to the British army in Philadelphia to watch its movements, keep its foraging parties in check, and protect the country from the depredations of the enemy. The patriot army, which left Whitemarsh on the 11th of December, reached Valley Forge on the 19th. In general orders, issued two days previously, Washington directed the preparation of huts for the comfort of the soldiers, assuring them, at the same time, "that he himself would share in the hardships and partake of every inconvenience." On the 18th the whole army engaged in religious services, according to a recommendation of Congress that it should be observed as a day of public thanksgiving and praise; and on the morning of the 19th they spread over the hills at Valley Forge, and began the work of hutting. All was activity among those who were sufficiently clad to allow them to work in the open air. Some cut down trees, others fashioned them, and in a few days the barracks, erected upon the plan of a regular city, was completed. *** Until his soldiers were thus * See map on page 334. ** This view is from the field, looking north. On the left is seen the winding Schuylkill, and the rolling country beyond; and on the right, the distant hills of Montgomery county. *** Washington gave explicit directions for constructing the huts. He ordered the colonels or commanding officers of regiments to cause their men to be divided into parties of twelve, and to see that each party had its proportion of tools, and commence a hut for that number; and as an encouragement to industry and art, the general promised to reward the party, in each regiment, which finished its hut in the quickest and most workman-like manner, with a present of twelve dollars. He also offered a reward of one hundred dollars to the officer or soldier who should substitute a covering for the huts, cheaper, and more quickly made, than boards. The following were the dimensions and style of the huts, as given in Washington's Orderly Book, quoted by Sparks, v., 525: "Fourteen feet by sixteen each; the sides, ends, and roofs made with logs; the roofs made tight with split slabs, or some other way; the sides made tight with clay; a fireplace made of wood, and secured with clay on the inside, eighteen inches thick; this fire-place to be in the rear of the hut; the door to be in the end next the street; the doors to be made of split oak slabs, unless boards can be procured; the side walls to be six feet and a half high. The officers' huts are to form a line in the rear of the troops, one hut to be allowed to each general officer; one to the staff of each brigade; one to the field officer of each regiment; one to the staff of each regiment; one to the commissioned officers of two companies; and one to every twelve non-commissioned officers and soldiers." [[[Disposition of the American Army at Valley Forge.--The Huts and their Occupants.]]] {334}comfortably lodged, Washington occupied his cheerless marquee; after which he made his quarters at the house of Mr. Potts. [Illustration: 8344] Near Washington's quarters, on a gentle elevation by the river, were stationed his Body, or Life Guard, * under the command of Charles Gibbs, of Rhode Island. A little to the right of the guard was the brigade of General M'Intosh; and further up the hills were the brigades of Huntington, Conway, and Maxwell. Between these and M'Intosh's brigade were a redoubt, and slight intrench-ments; and directly in front of them was a line of _abatis_. Nearer the Schuylkill, and on the top of the hill, was the brigade of General Varnum, near a star redoubt. At a distance of about a mile, and forming a line from the Schuylkill to Valley Creek, was the main portion of the army, under Brigadiers Muhlenberg, Weed-on, Paterson, Learned, Glover, Poor, Wayne, Scott, and Woodford, with a line of intrenchments in front. The artificers of the army were on the north side of the creek, opposite the general's quarters; and near the cotton factory was the army bake-house. There was also an irregular line of intrenchments along the brow of the hill, on the south side of the creek. Not far southward of Rogers's observatory was a redoubt, and near it was Knox's artillery. The remains of this redoubt are yet very prominent in * See page 120. [[[Condition of the Army.--Great Sufferings.--Number of Soldiers in Camp.--Toryism displayed]]] Redoubt A {335}the woods on the right side of the road leading from Valley Forge to Paoli; also, the redoubt on the left wing of the encampment (now near the Reading rail-road) is well preserved, the forest protecting it from demolition. [Illustration: 8345] Here, after an arduous campaign of four months, during which neither party had obtained a decided advantage, other than good winter quarters at Philadelphia on the part of the enemy, the shattered remains of the American army * vainly sought repose. They had marched and countermarched, day and night, in endeavoring to baffle the designs of a powerful enemy to their country and its liberties; now they were called upon, in the midst of comparative inaction, to war with enemies more insidious, implacable, and personal. Hunger and nakedness assailed that dreary winter camp with all their progeny of disease and woe. Thither, as we have seen, the soldiers came with naked and bleeding feet, and there they sat down where destitution held court, and ruled with an icy scepter. The prevalence of Toryism in the vicinity, the avaricious peculations of some unprincipled commissioners, the tardy movements of Congress in supplying provisions, and the close proximity of a powerful enemy, combined to make the procurement of provisions absolutely impracticable without a resort to force. *** But few horses were in the camp; and such was the deficiency, in this respect, for the ordinary, as well as extraordinary occasions of the army, that the men, in many instances, cheerfully yoked themselves to vehicles of their own construction, for carrying wood and provisions when procured; while others performed the duty of pack-horses, and carried heavy burdens of fuel upon their backs. **** As the winter advanced, their sufferings increased On the 16th of February, Washington wrote to Governor Clinton, "For some days past there has been little less than a famine in the camp. A part of the army has been a week without any kind of flesh, and the rest three or four days. Naked and starving as they are, we can not enough admire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the soldiery, that they have not been, ere this, excited by their sufferings to a general mutiny and desertion. "The situation of the camp is such," wrote General Varnum to General Greene, on the 12th of February, "that in all human probability the army must dissolve. Many of the troops are destitute of meat, and are several days in arrears. The horses are dying for want of forage. The country in the vicinity of the camp is exhausted. There can not be a moral certainty of bettering our condition while we remain here. What consequences have we rationally to expect?" "It was with great difficulty," says Dr. Thacher * The whole number of men in the field was eleven thousand and ninety-eight, when the, encampment commenced. Of this number, two thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight were unfit for duty. The British army numbered thirty-three thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, of which nineteen thousand five hundred and thirty, composed of Britons, Germans, and provincials, were in Philadelphia. ** This shows the present appearance of the embankments. They are quite overgrown with chestnut trees of considerable size, and shrubbery. The redoubt was nearly an oblong square, with a division in the center. Its location is on the Paoli road, about half a mile from its junction with the highway leading from Norristown to Valley Forge. *** Washington reluctantly used the power given him by a resolution of Congress, adopted a few weeks previously. Necessity compelled him to. He issued a proclamation, in which he required all the farmers within seventy miles of Valley Forge to thresh out one half of their grain by the 1st of February, and the remainder by the 1st of March, under the penalty of having the whole seized as straw. Many farmers refused to comply. They defended their grain and cattle with fire-arms, and, in some instances, burned what they could not defend. It must be remembered that nearly all the farmers in the vicinity of Valley Forge were disaffected toward the American cause. From these the resolution of Congress * empowered Washington to demand supplies. It must also be remembered that a fair price was to be paid for all supplies brought in, and therefore the non-compliance of those who resisted was from opposition to the cause. **** Mrs. Warren's History of the Revolution, i., 389. * November 14, 1777. Journals, iii., 395. [[[Hopefulness of Washington.--Conspiracy to deprive him of the chief Command.--Persons named as Malcontents.]]] "that{336} men enough could be found in a condition fit to discharge the military camp duties from day to day; and for this purpose, those who were naked borrowed of those who had clothes." Unprovided with materials to raise their beds from the ground, the dampness occasioned sickness and death. "The army, indeed, was not without consolation," says Thacher, "for his excellency the commander-in-chief, whom every soldier venerates and loves, manifested a fatherly concern and fellow-feeling for their sufferings, and made every exertion in his power to remedy the evil, and to administer the much-desired relief." Yet, amid all this suffering day after day, surrounded by frost and snow (for it was a winter of great severity), patriotism was still warm and hopeful in the hearts of the soldiers, and the love of self was merged into the one holy sentiment, _love of country_. Although a few feeble notes of discontent were heard, * and symptoms of intentions to abandon the cause were visible, yet the great body of that suffering phalanx were content to wait for the budding spring, and be ready to enter anew upon the fields of strife in the cause of freedom. It was one of the most trying scenes in the life of Washington, but a cloud of doubt seldom darkened the serene atmosphere of his hopes. He knew that the cause was just and holy; and his faith and confidence in God as a defender and helper of right were as steady in their ministrations of vigor to his soul, as were the pulsations of his heart to his active limbs. ** In perfect reliance upon Divine aid, he moved in the midst of crushed hopes, and planned brilliant schemes for the future. While pressed with complicated cares incident to his exalted position and the condition of the army under his command, Washington was "wounded in the house of his friends." Jealous and ambitious men were conspiring to tarnish the fair fame of the commander-inchief, to weaken the affections of the people for him, and to place the supreme military command in other hands. Among those designated at the time as the most conspicuous actors in this scheme were General Conway, a foreign officer of great pretensions, Generals Gates and Mifflin, Samuel Adams, with two or three others of the New England delegation in Congress, and one of the Virginia deputies. Whether the movement originated in personal ambition, or a sincere conviction of the necessity of making a change on account of the alleged "Fabian slowness" of Washington in his military movements, is a question of difficult solution. The measures adopted by the opponents of the chief were certainly the reverse of open, manly, generous, pure and disinterested patriotism, and deserve, as they received at the time, the unqualified reprobation of honest men. *** * Thacher relates that a foreign officer of distinction said "that, at one time, he was walking with General Washington among the huts, when he heard many voices echoing through the open crevices between the logs, 'No pay, no clothes, no provisions, no rum!' And when a miserable wretch was seen flitting from one hut to another, his nakedness was only covered by a dirty blanket." Then that officer despaired of independence for America. ** Isaac Potts, at whose house Washington was quartered, relates that one day, while the Americans were encamped at Valley Forge, he strolled up the creek, when, not far from his dam, he heard a solemn voice. He walked quietly in the direction of it, and saw Washington's horse tied to a sapling. In a thicket near by was the beloved chief upon his knees in prayer, his cheeks suffused with tears. Like Moses at the Bush, Isaac felt that he was upon holy ground, and withdrew unobserved. He was much agitated, and, on entering the room where his wife was, he burst into tears. On her inquiring the cause, he informed her of what he had seen, and added, "If there is any one on this earth whom the Lord will listen to, it is George Washington; and I feel a presentiment that under such a commander there can be no doubt of our eventually establishing our independence, and that God in his providence has willed it so." "Oh! who shall know the might "But wouldst thou know his name, Of the words he utter'd there? Who wandered there alone? The fate of nations there was turn'd Go, read enroll'd in Heaven's archives, By the fervor of his prayer." "The prayer of Washington!"--J. L. Chester. *** The enemies of Washington and of the country attempted to injure both, at this time, by publishing a pamphlet in London, entitled "Letters from General Washington to several of his Friends in the year 1776, &c." These letters, which contained sentiments totally at variance with the conduct of the chief, it was reported were found in a portmanteau belonging to the general, in the possession of his servant Billy, who was left behind sick at Fort Lee when the Americans evacuated it. They purported to be draughts of letters to Mrs. Washington, Mr. Lund Washington, and to Mr. Custis. They were reprinted in New York, in handbills and pamphlet form, and widely circulated. The author of these spurious letters was never publicly known. They were evidently written by a person acquainted with the affairs of Washington. Conway, who was known to have written several anonymous letters in disparagement of Washington, some of which were signed De Lisle, was suspected of the authorship when his nefarious conduct became known. These letters were reproduced, many years afterward, for the vile purposes of political chicanery. Then, for the first time, Washington publicly pronounced them a forgery. [[[Forged Letters.--Thomas Conway.--Character of the Congress of 1778.--Pretensions of Gates and Lee.]]] {337}It is believed that Conway was the most active man among the secret enemies of Washington. He was possessed of considerable literary abilities and military genius, and had the advantage of thirty years' experience in the art of war. [Illustration: 8347] He was an Irishman by birth, but received his military education in the French service, where he was employed from his youth. He went, with many others, to the American commissioners in France to offer his services to Congress, and, encouraged by the injudicious promises of the ardent Silas Deane, he came to America with the full expectation of receiving the commission and pay of a major general. He was disappointed at the outset, for Congress gave him only the commission of a brigadier. Hoping for promotion, he joined the army under Washington at Morristown. Boastful, intriguing, presumptuous, and [[May, 1777]] selfish, looking only to his personal advantage, and unprincipled in regard to the means by which his desires might be gratified, he greatly disgusted Washington, not only at the first interview, but throughout the whole campaign. When it was rumored that Conway was to be promoted by Congress to major general, Washington wrote a letter to a member of that body, remonstrating against it. This fact, coming to the ears of Conway, filled him with indignation and malice, and made him a fit instrument to be employed against the chief. In November, Conway, perceiving no chance for promotion, offered his resignation, and asked permission to leave the army. Congress would not accept it, although aware of Washington's opinion of him, and the enmity that existed, but appointed him inspector general of the army, with the rank of major general. This act is evidence that there was then an influence at work in the supreme Legislature unfriendly to the commander-in-chief. It can not be denied that faction was rife in the Continental Congress, and that the purity of purpose which controlled the acts of the first great assembly was alloyed, in an alarming degree, with personal and sectional interests. * Instead of strengthening the hands of the commander-in-chief when they most needed extraneous aid, men of influence were found in the army, in Congress, and among citizens, base enough, or blind enough, to attempt to weaken his power and accomplish his removal, either by a forced resignation of his command, or by actual supercedure by competent authority. Already Gates and Lee, Englishmen born, and officers in other wars, had shown themselves impatient at holding subordinate stations in the army, each deeming himself superior to Washington, and each thirsting for supreme command. The victory of Gates over Burgoyne at Saratoga, and the defeats of Washington in the Jerseys and Pennsylvania, were contrasted. That contrast tended to strengthen the pretensions of the former. Inconsiderate and ardent men in Congress lent their influence in favor of investing him with the supreme command. ** The disappointed, * General Hamilton, in a letter to Governor Clinton, written on the 13th of February, 1778, said, "America once had a representation that would do honor to any age or nation. The present falling off is very alarming and dangerous. What is the cause? and how is it to be remedied? are questions that the welfare of these states requires should be well attended to. The great men who composed our first council--are they dead, have they deserted the cause, or what has become of them? Very few are dead, and still fewer have deserted the cause; they are all, except the few who still remain in Congress, either in the field, or in the civil offices of their respective states; far the greater part are engaged in the latter. The only remedy, then, is to take them out of these employments, and return them to the place where their presence is infinitely more important." ** Mrs. Mercy Warren, who was the warm personal friend of Samuel Adams, apologizes for his being found in bad company in this affair by saying that, "Zealous and ardent in his defense of his injured country, he was startled at every thing that seemed to retard the operations of the war, or impede the success of the Revolution; a revolution for which posterity is as much indebted to the talent and exertions of Mr. Adams as to those of any one in the United States." History of the Revolution, i., 39. Mrs. Warren further says that "Adams never harbored a feeling of disaffection toward the person of Washington; on the contrary, he esteemed and respected his character, and loved him as a man." [[[Anonymous Letters.--Conway's Letter to Gates.--Quarrel between Gates and Wilkinson.]]] {338}irritated, and talented Conway was ready to foster discontent in the public mind; and he was doubtless the willing cat's-paw of Gates or his friends in making covert attacks upon the military character of the commander-in-chief, calculated to injure his reputation as a general and patriot. So prominently does Conway appear in the whole transaction, that it is known in history as _Conway's cabal_. The first important movement in this conspiracy was the sending of anonymous letters to the president of Congress, and to Patrick Henry, then governor of Virginia. These letters were filled with complaints, insinuations, and exaggerated statements, ascribing the misfortunes of the army to the incapacity or ill-timed policy of the commander-in-chief. Similar letters were sent to different members of Congress, and, it is believed, to the presiding officers of some of the state Legislatures. Washington was early apprised of these secret machinations, but a patriotic jealousy of the public good made him suffer in silence. "My enemies," he said, in a letter to the president of Congress, when the matter became the subject of correspondence, "take an ungenerous advantage of me. They know the delicacy of my situation, and that motives of policy deprive me of the defense I might otherwise make against their insidious attacks. They know I can not combat their insinuations, however injurious, without disclosing secrets which it is of the utmost moment to conceal." [[1777]] Early in November, the affair was presented to Washington in a definite shape. When Colonel Wilkinson was on his way to Congress (then in session at York, in Pennsylvania) from Saratoga, with Gates's dispatches, announcing the surrender of Burgoyne, he stopped at the quarters of Lord Stirling, at Reading, and in the course of conversation while there, he repeated to Major M'Williams, Stirling's aid-de-camp, a part of the contents of a letter which Gates had received from Conway, containing strictures on the management of the army under Washington, accompanied by reflections disparaging to the chief. * Lord Stirling, prompted by a sense of duty, communicated to Washington the extracts from Conway's letter, as repeated by Wilkinson. A correspondence between Washington, Gates, and Conway followed. Gates affected to be greatly distressed, and conjured Washington to aid him in discovering the villain who had betrayed his confidence in repeating the substance of private letters. Afterward he denied the genuineness of the extract, and called it "a wicked and malicious forgery;" This assertion compromised the veracity of Wilkinson, who wrote to General Washington, indignantly repelling the ungenerous accusation of Gates, and affirming that he had truly given to Lord Stirling's aid the substance of Conway's letter. ** Notwithstanding Gates denied the truth of the extract, he never fortified his assertion by producing the original. This fact, and other things of like tenor, which proved the duplicity of Gates, were severely commented upon by Washington, in reply to an explanatory letter from the former. Conway's offensive letter was afterward seen by Mr. Laurens, president of Congress, and one or two others. The words were not * One of Conway's expressions was, "Heaven has been determined to save your country, or a weak general and bad counselors would have ruined it." ** Gates, in a letter to Washington, charged Wilkinson with deceit and-prevarication, and of meanly attempting to fix suspicions on Lieutenant-colonel Troup, one of Gates's aids-de-camp. This charge drew from Wilkinson a letter to Washington, in which he thanked the general for exposing to him Gates's letters, "which," he said, "unmask his artifices and efforts to ruin me." Wilkinson said, in his letter, "Although General Gates has pledged his word, it is a wicked and malicious forgery. I will stake my reputation, if the genuine letter is produced, that words to the same effect will appear." A quarrel between Gates and Wilkinson grew out of this matter, which resulted in the latter challenging the former to fight a duel. They met, when, it is said, Gates burst into tears, declaring he would as soon think of shooting his own son. Opinions are various concerning the quality of Gates's heart which controlled his actions on that occasion. No doubt Wilkinson was acquainted with the secrets of the conspiracy against Washington, and that his object in making known the contents of Conway's letter was to sound Lord Stirling, through his aid, respecting his opinion of the ability of Washington to perform the duties of his station. Wilkinson's want of prudence was the match that fired the train of the cabal and produced premature explosion. Gates and Wilkinson doubtless told the truth of each other. [[[Board of War.--Expedition against Canada proposed.--Lafayette appointed to the Command.--Grossly Deceived.]]] {339}precisely the same as quoted by Wilkinson, yet the tenor and spirit of the whole document were accurately represented by that officer. Among other machinery early put in motion by the enemies of Washington, through the instrumentality of a faction in Congress, was the appointment of a new Board of [[October 17, 1777]] War, of which Gates and Mifflin were members, the former being placed at its head. This board was invested with large powers, and, by delegated authority, assumed the control of affairs which properly belonged to the commander-in-chief, * or which, at least, ought to have his sanction. One of its first acts was to recommend to Congress an invasion of Canada. This expedition was planned by Gates, approved by Congress, and La Fayette was appointed to the command, without Washington being consulted. The first intimation which the commander-in-chief had of the project was in a letter from the Board of War, inclosing one to La Fayette, informing him of his appointment. No doubt [[January, 1778]]this was a stroke of policy to win the marquis to the interest of the faction. They little understood the character of that young devotee of freedom. He deeply felt the disrespect manifested toward his beloved general, and immediately carried the letter to Washington. ** He told the chief that he saw the whole scope of the artifice, and asked his advice. The commander-in-chief advised him to accept the appointment, for it was an honorable position, although he could not see how the expedition was to be accomplished. Thus encouraged, La Fayette hastened to York, *** where Congress was in session, to receive his instructions. He was greatly flattered by Gates's friends, and the Board of War promised him every thing necessary for the success of the expedition. The marquis soon perceived the artfully-concealed hostility to Washington; **** and when he found that General Conway was appointed his second in command, he was convinced that the enterprise had been planned for the purpose of separating him from the general, to whom he was ardently attached. He succeeded in having the Baron De Kalb, Conway's senior in rank, appointed to the expedition, and, of course, the baron was second, and Conway the third in command. La Fayette hastened to Albany, where he was promised men and stores for an immediate march into Canada; but, after waiting three months, and having his patience completely exhausted by the inefficiency of the Board of War, he returned to the camp [[April 4, 1778]] at Valley Forge, (v) under instructions from Congress "to suspend the irruption into * See Journals of Congress, iii., 351. The new Board of War consisted, at first, of three persons, namely, General Mifflin, Colonel Timothy Pickering, and Colonel Robert H. Harrison. On the 17th of November, Mr. Dana and J. B. Smith were made additional members. On the 27th of the same month, General Gates, Joseph Trumbull, and Richard Peters were elected commissioners for the Board of War. General Gates was chosen president of the Board. On the appointment of Gates to this important office, Congress instructed its presiding officer to inform him of their action, and express their high sense, of his abilities and peculiar fitness to discharge the duties of that important office, upon the right execution of which the success of the American cause "eminently depended."--Journals, iii., 423. ** This was not the first time that Congress had allowed Washington to be treated with disrespect. It will be remembered that, in October previous, Gates sent his dispatches from Saratoga direct to Congress, instead of transmitting them to the commander-in-chief, and that Congress never uttered a word of disapproval of the act. See page 84, vol. i. *** York is situated on the Codorus Creek, eleven miles from the Susquehanna. It is a thriving village, surrounded by a fertile and well-cultivated lime-stone region. Congress was in session here from September, 1777, until July, 1778. Its sittings were in the old court-house, which stood in the center of the public square, and was demolished in 1841. In the cemetery of the German Reformed Church is the grave of Philip Livingston, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, who died at York, on the 11th of June, 1778, while Congress was in session there. A handsome white marble pyramid, surmounted with an urn, is placed over his grave. **** Sparks relates that, when La Fayette arrived at York, he found Gates at table, surrounded by his friends. The marquis was greeted with great cordiality, and accepted an invitation to join them at table. The wine passed round, and several toasts were drank. Determined to let his sentiments be known at the outset, he called to the company as they were about to rise, and observed that one toast had been omitted, which he would propose. The glasses were filled, and he gave, "The Commander-in-chief of the American Armies." The coolness with which it was received confirmed La Fayette in his suspicions. * (v) La Fayette was grossly deceived by those connected with the faction and those controlling public affairs. He was promised 3000 men. He wrote to Washington from Albany, and said, "I don't believe I can find, in all, 1200 men fit for duty, and the greatest part of these are naked, even for a summer campaign. I was to find General Stark, with a large body; and, indeed, General Gates told me, 'General Stark will have burned the fleet before your arrival.' Well, the first letter I receive in Albany is from General Stark, who wishes to know what number of men, from where, what time, and for what rendezvous I desire him to raise?" Again he wrote, "I fancy the actual scheme is to have me out of this part of the continent, and General Conway as chief, under the immediate direction of Gates." [[[Disclaimers of Gates and Mifflin.--Opinion of Dr. Gordon.--Conway's Resignation.--Duel, and Repentant Letter to Washington.]]] {340}Canada." Thus ended an injudicious and foolish scheme, if honestly planned; a wicked and treasonable scheme, if concerted by a faction to achieve its selfish purposes. It was also the termination of the conspiracy to elevate Gates to the chief command, by seducing the affections and confidence of the people from Washington. That great man stood firm in his integrity, and viewed with calmness the storm of opposition which at one time beat against him with menaces of danger. How extensive was the disaffection toward him among the officers of the army, and in Congress, it is difficult to determine, and it is equally difficult to fix a direct charge upon any individual of actual attempts to supersede Washington. The injudicious tattling of Wilkinson too soon unmasked a portion of the proceedings, and, as in the case of the Newburgh affair, many who were disposed to join in the cabal were alarmed and kept quiet, while the leaders were disconcerted, and affected innocence. It appears clear, however, that Gates, Mifflin, and Conway were, for a long time, engaged in endeavors to effect the removal of Washington from the chief command, and for this posterity will always utter its voice of censure. Gates and Mifflin, however, each made his disclaimer of other than a patriotic design to advance the true interests of his country, and denied the charge of a desire to displace Washington. When rumors of the affair went abroad among the people and the army, the public censure was so unequivocally expressed, that each man engaged in the matter was anxious to wipe the stain from his own escutcheon. * The true character of Conway, so early discovered by Washington, became at length well understood by Congress. He had perceived the increasing manifestation of dislike among the officers of the army, and their open deprecation of his conduct in relation to Washington, and in an impertinent and complaining letter to the president of Congress, he intimated a wish to resign. A motion to accept his resignation was immediately carried. Conway was astonished, and proceeded to York to ask to be restored. He said it was not his intention to resign, and attempted explanations, but the current of opinion was turned strongly against him, and his request was denied. He went to Philadelphia, and was there when the British evacuated it. His abusive language and offensive manners, heightened by irritation, involved him in difficulties with the American officers, and on the 4th of July he fought a duel with General Cadwallader. He received a wound which it was believed would prove fatal. After lying in an uncertain state for more than a fortnight, and believing his end near, Conway wrote an apologetic letter to Washington, as a reparation for the personal injuries he had inflicted. ** But he recovered from his wound and lived * Dr. Gordon says (ii., 308), "When General Gates's letters were examined by me at his seat in Virginia, the latter end of 1781, there was not a single paragraph to be met with that contained any intimation of his being concerned in any such plan" [the removal of Washington]. Of course, a judicious man would not preserve any such tangible evidence of his guilt for more than three years after the matter had been exposed. General Gates, in a letter to a friend, dated at York, April 4th, 1778, said, "For my part, I solemnly declare I never was engaged in any plan or plot for the removal of General Washington, nor do I believe any such plot ever existed." Mifflin also wrote, about that time, "I never desired to have any person whomsoever take the command of the American army from him [Washington], nor have I said or done any thing of or respecting him which the public service did not require," &c. Botta, after weighing the evidence against the designated leaders of the intrigue, draws therefrom the inevitable conclusion of their guilt, and says, "The leaders of this combination, very little concerned for the public good, were immoderately so for their own, and that the aim of all their efforts was to advance themselves and their friends at the expense of others."--Otis's Botta, ii., 64. It may be well to remember that Gordon and Gates were intimate friends. I find among Gates's papers, in the New York Historical Society, several letters from Dr. Gordon to the general, some of which are commenced with the familiar terms, "Dear Horatio." I do not discredit the assertion of Dr. Gordon, but mention the fact of his intimacy with Gates as a reason why he was unwilling to believe his friend guilty of such dishonorable conduct. *** The following is a copy of Conway's letter: *** "Philadelphia, 23d July, 1776. "Sir--I find myself just able to hold the pen during a few minutes, and take this opportunity of expressing my sincere grief for having done, written, or said any thing disagreeable to your excellency. My career will soon be over; therefore, justice and truth prompt me to declare my last sentiments. You are, in my eyes, the great and good man. May you long enjoy the love, veneration, and esteem of these States, whose liberties you have asserted by your virtues. I am, with the greatest respect, &c., "Thomas Conway." [[[Baron De Steuben.--His Arrival in America, and Appointment as Inspector General.]]] {341}many years. Deserted by his former friends, deprived of employment, and every where despised by the people, he left the country before the close of the war, and returned to France. * General Conway was succeeded in the office of inspector general by the Baron [[May 5, 1778]] Steuben, a veteran commander and disciplinarian from the army of Frederic the Great. [Illustration: 8351] He had served with distinction in the Prussian armies, and had retired from public life, when, in the summer of 1777, while on his way to England to visit some acquaintances, he saw, at Paris, his old friend the Count De St. Germaine, who persuaded him to go to America and enter the service of the Continental army The French and Spanish ministers also urged him to espouse our cause, for they knew how much we needed the advantages of thorough military discipline. He consented, but, on ascertaining from Dr. Franklin that the American commissioners had no authority to enter into explicit stipulations respecting rank and pay, he abandoned the project and returned to Germany. A few days after his arrival at Rastadt, the Baron received a letter from Beaumarchais, the financial agent seilles, in which he could have a passage to America. The Count De St. Germaine assured him that satisfactory arrangements could be made. Steuben returned to Paris, and, it being represented to him that letters from Dr. Franklin to the president of Congress and to Washington would be sufficient to insure him all he might require, he consented. Ample funds for his immediate purpose was supplied by Beaumarchais, and on the 26th of Sept, the baron embarked for America. He landed at Portsmouth, [[May 5,1778.]]pressing anew the proposal of the ministers, and informing him that a vessel was about to depart from Mar-Hampshire, on the 1st of December, whence he journeyed to York, where Congress was in session. When his papers were read, Congress adopted a complimentary resolution, accepted his services, and, at the urgent solicitation of Washington, appointed him inspector general of the army, with the rank and pay of major general. ** He had already joined the Americans at Valley Forge as a volunteer, and, under his rigid system of discipline, a great and salutary change was soon visible in the army. His appointment was, therefore, not more complimentary to himself than useful to the Continentals. Before the breaking up of the encampment at Valley Forge and the pursuit of the enemy across West Jersey, where the battle of Monmouth occurred, the ill-disciplined army of patriots had acquired much of the skill in maneuvers and dignity of carriage and manner of the veteran soldiers of Europe. As a disciplinarian, a brave soldier, and a generous and warm-hearted friend to America, none ranked higher than the Baron Steuben; his services * See Sparks's Life and Writings of Washington, Appendix, vol. v. ** Journals of Congress, iv., 187. [[[Biographical Sketch of Steuben.--His Aids and his Monuments.--Washington's Efforts in behalf of his Soldiers.]]] {342}were invaluable. * Our regulars were never beaten in a fair fight after their discipline at Valley Forge. It was at Valley Forge, while surrounded by his suffering soldiers, that Washington, in connection with his officers, devised a plan for reforming present abuses in the army, and to secure the future welfare of the soldiers. He made strong appeals to Congress on the subject, and on the 10th of January that body appointed a committee, consisting of Messrs. Dana, Reed, Folsom, Carroll, and Gouverneur Morris, to proceed to Valley Forge. [Illustration: 8352] The commander-in-chief laid before the committee a memoir extending to fifty folio pages, containing the sentiments of himself and officers. This formed the basis of a report which they made to Congress, after remaining nearly three months in camp. Their report was, in the main, adopted. There was one point, however, upon which there was a difference of opinion. Washington urged the necessity, as well as equity, of insuring to the officers of the army half-pay for life. [Illustration: 9352] He wrote many letters to members of Congress on this point, disclaiming all personal interest (for he had repeatedly declared that he would receive no compensation for his own services), but pleading earnestly for his companions in * Frederic William Augustus, Baron de Steuben, after leaving the Prussian army, where he was aid-decamp of Frederic the Great, entered the serviee of Prince Charles of Baden, under whom he held the rank of lieutenant general, and was also a canon of the Church. He was made grand marshal of the court of the Prinee of Hohenzollern-Heekingen, and by the Prinee Margrave, of Baden, was appointed knight of the order of Fidelity. The King of Sardinia made him brilliant offers, and the Emperor of Austria sought to secure his services. His income was nearly three thousand dollars a year. He left these offices, emoluments, and honors, and came to Ameriea to fight as a volunteer in the armies battling for freedom. He joined the Continental army at Valley Forge as a volunteer, and in that capacity (though holding the office of inspector general) was in the action on the field of Monmouth. He was engaged in various important services, wherein we shall hereafter meet him, and finally commanded in the trenches at Yorktown, where the last great battle of the Revolution was fought. At the close of the war, the State of New Jersey gave him a small farm, and the Legislature of New York presented him with 16,000 acres of wild land in Oneida eounty. The general government also granted him a pension of $2500. He built himself a log house at Steubenville, New York, gave a tenth part of his land to his aids (North, Popham, and Walker) and his servants, and parceled out the rest to twenty or thirty tenants. He resided in the country in summer, and in New York city in winter. He died of apoplexy or paralysis, at Steubenville, on the 28th of November, 1798, aged sixty-four years. Neither of his aids comforted his last moments. His neighbors buried him in his garden. Afterward, agreeably to his desire, he was wrapped in his cloak, placed in a plain coffin, and buried in a lonely spot in the woods, about a quarter of a mile above his log hut. His aid, Colonel Walker, inclosed the spot; and when a road was made to pass over his resting-plaee, his remains were removed, and buried in another grave, in the town of Steuben, about seven miles northwest of Trenton Falls. In 1826, a monument was erected over him by private subscription, with this brief inscription upon it: Major-general Frederic William Augustus, Baron de Steuben. General North, ** another of his aids, who greatly loved the baron, caused a neat mural monument to be erected to his memory, upon the walls of the Reformed German Church, then situated in Nassau Street, between John Street and Maiden Lane, in New York city. When a Baptist society, under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Somers, subsequently commenced worshiping in that church, they courteously allowed the monument to be taken down and carried to the new church of the Germans in Forsyth Street. There I found it in separate pieces, lying among rubbish, in a small lumber-room of the church, disfigured and mutilated. I sketched its parts, and in the annexed figure give a representation of it as it originally appeared. The slab, of obelisk form, and the square frame, are of bluish, clouded marble; the square slab with the inscription, and the two urns, are of white marble. The lower urn has upon it a representation of the order of Fidelity (seen on the breast of the portrait on page 341), which Frederic the Great presented to the baron. The following is the inscription, from the pen of General North: "Sacred to the memory of Frederic William Augustus, Baron de Steuben, a German; Knight of the Order of Fidelity; Aid-de-camp of Frederic the Great, King of Prussia; Major General and Inspector General in the Revolutionary War; esteemed, respected, and supported by Washington. He gave military skill and discipline to the citizen soldiers who, fulfilling the decrees of Heaven, achieved the independence of the United States. The highly-polished manners of the baron were graced by the most noble feelings of the heart. His hand, open as day for melting charity, closed only in the strong grasp of death. This memorial is inscribed by an American, who had the honor to be his aid-de-camp, the happiness to be his friend. Ob. 1795." * Thacher and others have left on record many examples of the excellent character of the Baron Steuben, among the attributes of which, kindness and generosity were the most conspicuous. He was always cheerful, and possessed ready wit. At Yorktown, a shell fell near him. To avoid its effects, he leaped into a trench, followed by General Wayne, who fell upon him. The baron, on perceiving that it was his brigadier, said, "I always knew you was a brave general, but I did not know you were so perfect in every point of duty; you cover your general's retreat in the best manner possible." At the house of the mother of Chancellor Livingston, the baron was introduced to a Miss Sheaf. "I am very happy," he said, "in the honor of being presented to you, mademoiselle, though I see it is at an infinite risk; I have from my youth been cautioned to guard myself against mischief.\ but I had no idea that her attractions were so powerful." * This sketch is from a drawing made by the Rev. John Taylor, a missionary in the Mohawk and Black River countries in 1802, and published in the third volume of O'Callaghan's Documentary History of New York. Of Steuben and his grave Mr. Taylor wrote: "He lies in a swamp, under a hemlock, with a bier standing over the grave, and a few rough boards nailed to some trees to keep the cattle off. Alas! what is man, that the great Baron Steuben should be suffered to lie in such a place, and without a decent monument!" ** Very little remains on record of the military life of General North during the Revolution, except the fact that he was Steuben's aid. When, in 1798, John Sloss Hobart resigned his seat in the Senate of The United States, Governor Jay appointed General North to succeed him. He was then a resident of Duanesburgh, New York, was a conspicuous Federalist, and had been twice speaker of the New York Assembly. General North passed the latter years of his life in New London, Connecticut, but died in the city of New York on the 4th of January, 1837. [[[Hostile Parties sent out from Philadelphia.--The Queen's Rangers.--Advertisement for Recruits.]]] {343}arms. His representations were so judicious and forcible, that, after much discussion and delay, Congress adopted a plan of half-pay for life, by a small majority. The vote was afterward reconsidered, and a compromise resolution was proposed. [Illustration: 8353] By the final decision, the officers were to receive half-pay for the term of seven years, and a gratuity of eighty dollars was to be given to each non-commissioned officer and private who should continue in the service until the end of the war. It was only by such manifestations of a desire on the part of Congress to deal justly by the army that it was prevented from dissolution in the spring of 1778. During the encampment of the Americans at Valley Forge and of the British in Philadelphia, the latter sent out parties, at various times, to plunder the people, and break up the feeble posts of the Republicans. Among the most active troops in these enterprises were the Queen's Rangers, * commanded by Major (afterward Lieutenant-colonel) Simcoe. One of these expeditions, in which Simcoe was engaged, was sent out from Philadelphia in February. It consisted of a detachment of about five hundred troops, under the command of Colonel Abercrombie, of the fifty-second regiment. They went to Salem, in [[1778]] New Jersey, by water, where they remained a few days reconnoitering, with a view of as- * The Queen's Rangers were a corps of native American Loyalists, raised chiefly in Connecticut and in the vicinity of New York, by Colonel Rogers. At one time they mustered about 400 men, and, as their name implies, were intended for very active service. They were quite reduced in numbers when, in the autumn of 1777, they were placed under the command of Major Simcoe, a young and active officer of the British army. His zeal and military skill soon made his corps a model of order, discipline, and bravery. * He received the commission of lieutenant colonel. We shall meet him several times hereafter. * The following advertisement appeared in Rivington's Royal Gazette, printed in New York: "ALL ASPIRING HEROES have now an opportunity of distinguishing themselves by joining THE QUEEN'S RANGER HUSSARS, commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Simcoe. Any spirited young man will receive every encouragement, be immediately mounted on an elegant horse, and furnished with clothing, accouterments, &c., to the amount of forty guineas, by applying to Cornet Spencer, at his quarters, No. 133 Water Street, or his rendezvous, Hewett's Tavern, near the Coffee-house, and the Defeat of Brandy wine, on Golden Hill. Whoever brings a recruit shall instantly receive two guineas. VIVANT REX ET REGINA." [[[Expedition against Militia Posts in New Jersey.--Skirmish at Quintan's Bridge, on Alloway's Creek.]]] {344}certaining the position of Wayne, who was then actively employed in that state in procuring horses and provisions for the American army. Wayne was compelled to exercise great vigilance and dexterity to prevent being surprised by the enemy on these occasions. On the 17th of March another British force, mustering between twelve and fifteen hundred men, composed chiefly of Scotchmen, under the command of Colonel Charles Mawhood and his majors, Simcoe and Sims, marched into Salem, where they were joined by a large number of Tories. * From these Colonel Mawhood learned that about three hundred American militia, under Colonel Benjamin Holmes, were posted on the south side of Alloway's Creek, at Quintan's Bridge, about three miles from Salem. Mawhood determined to beat up their quarters, and, as he publicly declared, "chastise the rebels." [Illustration: 8354] He sent out detachments to procure horses, on which he mounted his best men. Holmes, in the mean while, was on the alert. Anticipating an attack, he placed videttes at various points to watch the movements of the enemy, while he prepared to dispute their progress at Quintan's Bridge. [[March, 1778]] Before daylight on the morning of the 18th, Major Simcoe and his Rangers were sent out, and hidden in ambush within half a mile of the bridge. They took possession of a two story brick house occupied by a Whig, named Wetherby, and drove his family into the cellar. In that house, and in a deep ravine and tangled swamp near, Simcoe and his men were secreted. The Americans had thrown up a strong breast-work on each side of the road near Quintan's Bridge; and when they discovered a portion of the enemy in the morning, on the opposite side of the stream, they were anxious to cross over and attack them. The prudent officers opposed the proposition as rash. Captain Smith, the senior officer present, was less cautious, and determined to push on. He led the way, and, in a confused march, they crossed the creek, neglecting the proper duties of vigilant men in examining destructive fire from all points. A portion of the enemy made a feigned retreat on the approach of the patriots, who were thus decoyed, unsuspicious of danger, far from the bridge. When they had advanced some yards beyond Wetherby's house, the concealed enemy arose from their ambush, and, with shouts and the beating of drums, poured upon the Americans. They were thrown into great confusion, and fled toward the bridge, fighting gallantly all the way in small squads. Although furiously attacked in flank and rear, they made good their retreat across the bridge, with a loss of between thirty and forty of their companions, most of whom were drowned in the creek. **** At the moment when the Americans commenced their flight, Colonel Hand, of the Cumberland militia, who had been informed of the presence of the enemy, arrived with two pieces of cannon, and posted his men. In the trenches which the Americans had left a short time before. By a well-directed fire, he checked the pursuing British, and prevented the Americans being cut to pieces. The draw of the bridge was cut away, and the pursuers * In order to distinguish the Tories from the British regulars, they were dressed in a uniform of green; the coats were faced with white, and they wore cocked hats, with broad white binding around them.--See Johnson's History of Salem. ** The enemy, who were stationed in Wetherby's house, suspecting the Americans might be vigilant, were prepared to seize the first man who should attempt to enter the building, and Lieutenant M'Kay stood behind the door with a bayonet ready to perform that duty. *** A A, the American redoubts; B, a small detachment of the enemy masking the bridge; C, Simcoe's Rangers in Wetherby's house; D, another detachment under Captain Saunders, in ambuscade; E, a portion of the Rangers secreted in a wood; F, a detachment of the enemy making a feigned retreat; G, the Americans after crossing the bridge; H H, sally of the British light infantry, and pursuit of the Rangers; I, flight of the Americans; 0 0, Alloway's Creek. The straight double lines passing perpendicularly across the map indicate the main road to Salem. **** Captain Smith had his cue shot away during the skirmish, and was grazed by a bullet in his loins. His horse received two bullets, but carried his rider safe over the bridge, when he fell dead under him. [[[Expedition to Hancock's Bridge.--Perils of the March.--Massacre at Hancock's House.--Death of the Owner.]]] {345}were foiled. * Colonel Mawhood, chagrined at the failure of Simcoe to dislodge the Americans at Quintan's Bridge, determined to attack another post at Hancock's Bridge with his whole force. The Americans, on the night of their retreat, entered into a solemn compact, agreeing that "no British soldier should set his foot or eat bread on that side of Alloway's Creek while there was a man left to defend the soil." [Illustration: 8355] They properly apprehended a great augmentation of the British force, and made preparations to meet it. Mawhood intrusted the expedition against the patriots at Hancock's Bridge to the direction of Major Simcoe. That officer, in secretly reconnoitering, ascended a tree, and from it made a sketch of a two story brick house near the bridge, owned by Judge Hancock, a Quaker and Loyalist, and formed therefrom a plan of attack. On the night [[March, 1778]] of the 20th, the British marched to Salem, and, in flat-boats, proceeded to the Delaware, and thence to Alloway's Creek, up which they pushed until within a convenient distance from Hancock's Bridge, when they debarked. It was a very dark night; not a star was to be seen, and heavy scuds, freighted with rain, came up from the sea. Simcoe sent the boats back to prevent the retreat of his men, and artfully concealed from them a knowledge of the dangers which awaited them. Every thing depended upon a surprise. Through marshes, sometimes up to their knees in water, they marched two miles before they reached the solid earth. In a wood, upon dry land, Simcoe formed his men for an attack, and then commenced his march in silence. The main body passed along the public road toward Hancock's house, while Captain Saunders, with a small detachment, ambuscaded the dike that led to Quintan's Bridge. Captain Dunlop was detached to the rear of Hancock's house, in which it was supposed the American officers were quartered, with directions to force, occupy, and barricade it, as it commanded the bridge. [Illustration: 9355] There were several stone houses and cottages near, and detachments were arranged to attack and take possession of them. The inmates of Hancock's house were unsuspicious of danger. Fortunately for the patriots, a large proportion of them had quitted the place the evening before, leaving only about twenty men as a garrison. The surprise was complete. While all were sleeping, the invaders approached, and simultaneously the front and back doors of the house were forced. All within perished; not even the Tory owner escaped. *** A patrol of seven men, who had been sent down the creek, were surprised, and all but one killed. The British, after committing some depredations in the neighborhood, returned to the mouth of Alloway's * A militia-man named Andrew Bacon cut away the draw of the bridge with an ax while the British were firing volleys at him. He succeeded in his task, but received a wound which made him a cripple for life. ** This is a view of an old brick dwelling in the little village of Hancock's Bridge, upon Alloway's Creek. It stands a few yards from the bridge over the creek, and is known as Baker's tavern. The picture here given is copied from one in the Historical Collections of New Jersey. *** Simcoe supposed Judge Hancock was absent. He says (Journal, page 52), "Some very unfortunate circumstances happened here. Among the killed was a friend to government, then a prisoner with the rebels, old Hancock, the owner of this house, and his brother. Major Simcoe had made particular inquiry, and was informed that he did not live at home since the rebels had occupied the bridge. The information was partly true. He was not there in the daytime, but unfortunately returned home at night. Events like these are the real miseries of war." **** This and the preceding map are reduced copies of those published in Simcoe's Journal of the Operations of the Queen's Rangers. A, is Hancock's house; B, the bridge which the Americans had broken down; C C C, march of the Rangers through the village; D, the enemy's advanced guard; E, Captain Dunlop detached to the rear of the house; F, Captain Saunders, to ambuscade the dike and take up its bridge; G, Lieutenant-colonel Mitchell and the 27th Regiment; H H, Alloway's Creek. [[[Return of the Marauders to Philadelphia.--Light from Europe.--Alliance with France.--Rejoicings at Valley Forge.]]] Creek and sailed for Philadelphia. * The affair at Hancock's Bridge was unmitigated murder. Some who were massacred were not fighting men; no resistance was made, and yet those who begged for quarters were inhumanly slain. The chief perpetrators were unprincipled Tories--the blood-hounds of the Revolution. A ray of light from France beamed upon the American army while it was encamped at Valley Forge. It was preceded by a faint gleam from England, and a glimmer upon our own shores. That ray was the intelligence that France had acknowledged the independence of the colonies, and entered into a treaty of amity with them; ** that gleam was the arrival of Lord North's conciliatory bills; that glimmer was the advent and first procedures of commissioners bearing the olive branch of reconciliation. The first event has been already noticed; *** the two latter have also been referred to, and have an intimate relation to each other. The position assumed by France toward the revolted colonies greatly embarrassed the British ministry, and the sagacious Lord North was obliged to stoop from his haughty stilts and talk of concessions, contending, at the same time, that these concessions "ought not to be considered as the tardy result of defeat or weakness." He produced a conciliatory plan[[1778]] on the 17th of February, eleven days after the treaty between France and the United States had been signed. It was contained in two bills, one "for declaring the intentions of the Parliament of Great Britain concerning the exercise of the right of imposing taxes within his majesty's colonies in North America the other, "to enable his majesty to appoint commissioners, with sufficient powers to treat, consult, and agree upon the means of quieting the disorders now subsisting in certain of the colonies, plantations, and provinces of North America." By the first bill he designed to quiet the minds of the Americans in regard to taxation; by the second, he intended to grant the royal commissioners more ample powers than those formerly intrusted to Lord Howe and his brother. **** He proposed to * Johnson's History of Salem; Simcoe's Journal. ** Intelligence of this event reached the camp on the 1st of Why, and on the 7th Washington issued the following general order: "It having pleased the Almighty Ruler of the universe to defend the cause of the United American States, and finally to raise us up a powerful friend among the princes of the earth, to establish our liberty and independence upon a lasting foundation, it becomes us to set apart a day for gratefully acknowledging the divine goodness, and celebrating the important event, which we owe to his divine interposition. The several brigades are to be assembled for this purpose at nine o'clock to-morrow morning, when their chaplains will communicate the intelligence contained in the postscript of the Pennsylvania Gazette of the 2d instant, and offer up a thanksgiving, and deliver a discourse suitable to the occasion. At half past ten o'clock a cannon will be fired, which is to be a signal for the men to be under arms; the brigade inspectors will then inspect their dress and arms, and form the battalions according to the instructions given them, and announce to the commanding officers of the brigade that the battalions are formed. "The commanders of brigades will then appoint the field officer to the battalions, after which each battalion will be ordered to load and ground their arms. At half past eleven a second cannon will be fired as a signal for the march; upon which the several brigades will begin their march by wheeling to the right by platoons, and proceed by the nearest way to the left of their ground by the new position. This will be pointed out by the brigade inspectors. A third signal will then be given, on which there will be a discharge of thirteen cannon; after which a running fire of the infantry will begin on the right of Woodford's, and continue throughout the front line; it will then be taken up on the left of the second line, and continue to the right. Upon a signal given, the whole army will huzza, Long live the King of France! The artillery then begins again, and fires thirteen rounds; this will be succeeded by a second general discharge of the musketry in a running fire, and huzza, Long live the friendly European Powers! The last discharge of thirteen pieces of artillery will be given, followed by a general running fire, and huzza, The American States!" ** Washington, with his lady, and suite, Lord Stirling and his lady, with other general officers and ladies, attended the religious services of the Jersey brigade, when the Rev. Mr. Hunter delivered a discourse. Afterward all the officers of the army assembled, and partook of a collation provided by the commander-in-chief. When he took his leave, there was universal huzzaing, Long live General Washington! The huzzas continued until the general had proceeded a quarter of a mile, and a thousand hats were tossed in the air. Washington, with his retinue, turned round and huzzaed several times. *** See p. 86, vol. i. **** In 1776, Lord Howe and his brother were authorized to treat with the rebellious colonies for reconciliation, but upon a basis not to be thought of for a moment with favor by the Americans. It was absolute submission to the crown, as a condition of royal pardon! This commission will be noticed hereafter. [[[Lord North's Conciliatory Bills.--Appointment of Commissioners.--Chatham's Opposition to American Independence.]]] {347}allow them to treat with Congress as if it were a legal body, and competent to bind all the states by its acts and negotiations; to treat with the conventions or provincial Congresses; with individuals in their actual civil and military capacities, without any cavil in addressing them according to the rank held under Congress to suspend hostilities; intermit the operation of laws; grant pardons, immunities, and rewards; restore charters and constitutions, and nominate governors, judges, magistrates, &c., until the king's pleasure should be known. It was also proposed that a renunciation of the independence of the colonies should not be insisted upon, nor debated, until a definitive treaty had received final ratification by the king and Parliament. The commissioners were to be instructed to negotiate for a reasonable and moderate contribution toward the common defense of the empire, when reunited; but this was not to be insisted upon as a _sine qua non_. Such is an outline of North's conciliatory plan, which, if it had been presented two years before, would probably have been accepted by the Americans. These bills met with great opposition in Parliament, and excited a long and stormy debate. The question assumed the distinct form of a proposition to dismember the British empire, by allowing the American colonies to withdraw as independent states. This proposition was affirmatively supported as the only sure means of detaching the colonies from France, the ancient enemy of England. The Earl of Chatham (William Pitt) vehemently opposed it. Though a warm friend of the Americans, he could not bear the thought of their separation from the mother country, and, with all the strength of his eloquence, he denounced the proposition. On the 7th of April, the debates on the question ran high, [[1778]] and Chatham became greatly excited. Sickness and age had broken his physical strength, but the fire of his intellect burned as clear as ever. He came into the House of Lords, that day, wrapped in flannel, and leaning upon two friends; and when he arose to speak, at the conclusion of a speech by Lord Weymouth, he leaned upon crutches. "I thank God," he said, with a trembling voice, "that I have been enabled to come here this day to perform my duty, and to speak on a subject which has so deeply impressed my mind. I am old and infirm; I have one foot, more than one foot, in the grave; I am risen from my bed to stand up in the cause of my country; perhaps never again to speak in this House." A deep and solemn silence pervaded the assembly as he uttered these words; gradually his voice assumed its wonted strength and harmony, and with all the power and beauty of the oratory of his best days, he addressed the House. "My lords," he continued, "I rejoice that the grave has not closed upon me; that I am still alive to lift up my voice against the dismemberment of this ancient and most noble monarchy. Pressed down as I am by the hand of infirmity, I am little able to assist my country in this most perilous juncture; but, my lords, while I have sense and memory, I will never consent to deprive the royal offspring of the house of Brunswick, the heirs of the Princess Sophia, of their fairest inheritance. Where is the man that will dare to advise such a measure? My lords, his majesty succeeded to an empire as great in extent as its reputation was unsullied, Shall we tarnish the luster of this nation by an ignominious surrender of its rights and fairest possessions? Shall this great kingdom, that has survived, whole and entire, the Danish depredations, the Scottish inroads, and the Norman conquest--that has stood the threatened invasion of the Spanish Armada--now fall prostrate before the house of Bourbon? Surely, my lords, this nation is no longer what it was! Shall a people that, fifteen years ago, were the terror of the world, now stoop so low as to tell their ancient, inveterate enemy, 'Take all we have, only give us peace?' It is impossible! I wage war with no man or set of men. I wish for none of their employments; nor would I co-operate with men who still persist in unretracted error; who, instead of acting on a firm, decisive line of conduct, halt between two opinions, where there is no middle path. In God's name, if it is absolutely necessary to declare either for peace or war, and the former can not be preserved with honor, * The former commissioners addressed the commander-in-chief "Mr. Washington," and refused to treat with Franklin, Adams, and Rutledge, as members of Congress, for the legality of that body was denied. [[[Conclusion of Pitt's Speech.--His sudden Illness and Death.--Copley's Picture of the Scene.]]] {348}why is not the latter commenced without hesitation? I am not, I confess, well informed of the resources of this kingdom; but I trust it has still sufficient to maintain its just rights, though I know them not. But, my lords, any state is better than despair. Let us, at least, make one effort; and if we must fall, let us fall like men!" [Illustration: 9358] As Chatham sat down, his brother-in-law, Lord Temple, said to him, "You forgot to mention what we talked of; shall I get up?" "No, no," replied Chatham, "I will do it by-and-by." The Duke of Richmond then arose, and replied to Chatham. When he sat down, the great orator attempted to rise, but the violence of his indignation overcame him, and he swooned. He was caught in friendly arms, and the whole House, in great agitation, crowded around him with anxious solicitude. * He was conveyed to the house of a friend in Downing Street, and the following day he was carried home to his country seat at Hayes. That speech was, indeed, his last, for, in a little more than a month afterward, he expired. [[May 11, 1778]] Parliament voted him a public funeral and a monument; and, after settling upon his family an annuity of twenty thousand dollars a year, a grant was made of one hundred thousand dollars to pay off his lordship's debts. The last words of the great orator were agreeable to the royal ears, * John Singleton Copley, the eminent American artist, painted a representation of this scene for the House of Lords. In a note on page 496 of the first volume of this work, I have placed Copley among the early refugee Loyalists. History and fair inference have assigned him that position, partly on account of his marriage relation with a family of Loyalists, and partly because he was one of the addressers of Hutchinson, left the country with him, and was intimate with him in London. Sabine places him among the Loyalists, and his biographers generally have given him that character. Since the publication of that volume, I have been Informed that the late John Quincy Adams, who knew Copley and his sentiments intimately, denied that he was a Loyalist; on the contrary, he averred that he was a Whig in sentiment during the whole controversy, and adduced, among other evidence, the fact, that when commissioned to make two paintings, one for the House of Lords and the other for the House of Commons, he chose as a subject for the former, The Death of Chatham, and for the latter, Charles the First in Parliament. The scene of the last picture is at the moment when the speaker uttered to the king the republican sentiment, "I have no eyes to see, no ears to hear, no mouth to speak, but as Parliament directs implying entire subserviency to the popular will. Mr. Adams said Copley went to England, not as a fugitive, but entirely on account of his profession, which disturbances in Boston had almost destroyed. ** William Pitt, the first Earl of Chatham, was born on the 5th of November, 1708. He was educated at Eton, and entered Trinity College, Oxford, in 1726. He left that institution for a military profession, which he entered with the rank of cornet. He was elected a member of Parliament for Old Sarum in 1735, and soon became distinguished for his eloquence and extensive information. He was in the ranks of the opposition against Walpole, and, for his good service against that minister, Walpole's inveterate enemy, the Duchess of Marlborough, left Pitt, in her will, fifty thousand dollars. From 1746 until 1755, he was treasurer of Ireland, paymaster of the army, and privy counselor. He was made secretary of state in 1756, and had the direction of the war bureau during a late portion of the progress of the Seven Years' war. He retired from office on the accession of George III., but continued in Parliament. In 1766 he was created Earl Chatham, and occupied the privy seal in the administration. This office he resigned in 1768; and from that period until his death, an hereditary gout kept him much at home and undermined his constitution. He was struck down with apoplexy upon the floor of the House of Lords on the 7th of April, 1778, and died on the 11th of May following, at the age of 70. * "His disposition," says Brougham, "was exceedingly affectionate. The pride, bordering upon insolence, in which he showed himself incased to the world, fell naturally from him, and without any effort to put it off, as he crossed the threshold of his own door. To all his family he was civil, kindly, and gentle. His pursuits were of a nature that showed how much he loved to unbend himself. He delighted in poetry and other light reading; was fond of music; loved the country; took peculiar pleasure in gardening; and had even an extremely happy taste in laying out grounds." [[[Pitt's Funeral and Monument.--North's conciliatory Propositions rejected.---Arrival of Commissioners.--Governor Tryon.]]] {349}and the king was pleased to bestow his bounty when "the trumpet of sedition" * was silenced. The conciliatory bills arrived in America about the middle of April. Governor Tryon, of New York, caused them to be printed and extensively circulated. As they did not positively propose the independence of the colonies as a basis of negotiation, they were regarded by the patriots with suspicion, and were denominated the "deceptionary bills." "Nothing short of independence, it appears to me, will do," Washington wrote. "A peace on other terms would, if I may be allowed the expression, be a peace of war." Congress entertained the same sentiments. As soon as draughts of the bills were received by that body, they were referred to a committee. When they reported, some discussion arose, but it [[April 22, 1778]] was unanimously resolved that the terms offered were totally inadequate, and that no advances on the part of the British government for a peace would be met, unless, as a preliminary step, they either withdrew their armies and fleets, or acknowledged, unequivocally, the independence of the United States. ** This report, and other resolutions adopted on the following day, were printed with the "deceptionary bills," and circulated throughout the country. *** [Illustration: 9359] The king's ship of war Trident arrived in the Delaware on the 4th of June, having on board three commissioners, appointed under the provisions of North's conciliatory bills. These commissioners were the Earl of Carlisle, George Johnstone, formerly governor of West Florida, **** and William Eden, a brother of Sir Robert Eden, the governor of Maryland from 1769 until the Revolution. They were accompanied by the celebrated Adam Ferguson, professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh, as secretary. General Howe was directed to join commissioners, but, as he had returned home, Sir Henry Clinton took his place. That officer wrote to Washington, requesting a passport for Dr. Ferguson to proceed to Congress at York, with dispatches. The request was * The King was applied to by Lord North, before Chatham's death, to make some provision for his family. In a sharp letter his majesty said, "When decrepitude or death puts an end to him as a trumpet of sedition, I shall make no difficulty in placing the second son's name instead of the father's, and making up the pension L. 3000.--Brougham's Statesmen of the Tunes of George III. ** Journals of Congress, iv., 164. *** Governor Tryon inclosed copies of these hills to General Washington, with a request that he would aid in circulating them! Washington sent them to Congress, and after that body had passed its resolves on the subject, the chief forwarded printed copies to Tryon, and politely requested him to have them circulated among those persons for whom they were intended. One of the resolutions recommended the Legislatures of the several states, or any executive authority possessing the power, to issue proclamations offering pardon to those who had taken up arms against the continental government, and who should surrender themselves, and return to the state to which they belonged, before the 10th of June. This resolution was adopted on the 23d of April.--Journals, iv., 168. This was an excellent retort upon Governor Tryon. It is difficult, as Washington remarked in a letter to Governor Livingston, in viewing the conduct of Tryon on this occasion, "which to admire most, his impertinence or his folly." **** According to M'Gregor, James M'Pherson, the translator of Ossian's Poems, went to Florida with Governor Johnston in 1770, as surveyor general, and took the original Gaelic manuscripts with him. Many of them were lost there, and were never recovered. * Parliament voted him a funeral and a monument. The pall-bearers on the occasion of his burial were Edmund Burke, Sir George Saville, John Dunning, Esq., and Right Hon. Thomas Townshend. He was buried about twenty yards from the north entrance of Westminster Abbey. His monument is composed of six figures, representing Lord Chatham, Prudence, Fortitude, Britannia, Earth, and Ocean. The statue of Chatham is represented in the engraving. The inscription upon the monument is as follows: "Erected by the King and Parliament, as a Testimony to the Virtues and Ability of William Pitt. Earl of Chatham, during whose administration Divine Providence exalted Great Britain to a Height of Prosperity and Glory unknown to any former Age." [[[Letter of Commissioners to Congress.--Action of Congress concerning them, and their Mission.--Mrs. Græme.]]] {350}declined on the ground that the matter was wholly of a civil nature, and the letter was forwarded to Congress. The commissioners then sent their papers, by a flag, directly to the president. Among these was an address to that body. The president was desired to read it immediately. When he came to a part containing strong expressions of disrespect for the King of France, he was interrupted. The House, after some debate, directed him to read no further, but to seal the papers. The subject was resumed in debate two days afterward, when a reply was ordered to be returned to the commissioners, signed by the president, the substance of which was in accordance with the former proceedings in relation to North's bills. They were informed that no reconciliation could possibly be effected on the proffered terms, but, when the king should manifest a sincere desire for peace, "by an explicit acknowledgment of the independence of the states, or the withdrawing of his fleets and armies, Congress would be ready to enter into a treaty therefor." [Illustration: 8360] It was not in the power of the commissioners to accede to either of these propositions, nor was it the intention of Parliament to grant them. * The proceedings of Congress previous to the arrival of the commissioners ** had effectually barred the door to negotiations. The commissioners remained in the country until October, and made various attempts by art, and by official intercourse, to gain their object. They failed, however, and finally returned to England. Just previous to their departure, they issued a long manifesto and proclamation to Congress, to the state Legislatures, and to all the inhabitants of the States, in which they briefly recapitulated the steps they had taken to accomplish a reconciliation; denounced the rebels, and warned the people of the total and material change which was to take place in the future conduct of hostilities. Should they still persist in refusing obedience, they were menaced with all the extremes of war. Packages of these manifestoes, with one printed on vellum, and signed by Clinton, Carlisle, and Eden, were made up to be sent to Congress and the several states by a flag. Congress declared that the agents employed to distribute them were not entitled to the protection of a flag, and recommended the states to seize and imprison them, Congress also published a manifesto, which, after charging commissioners with mean attempts to bribe members of its body and other persons, with deceit and servility of adulation, they concluded by solemnly declaring, "If our enemies presume to execute their threats, or persist in their present career vengeance as shall deter others from like conduct. * Sparks's Washington, v., 397. ** It is worthy of note, that these proceedings of Congress took plaee ten days before the arrival of the intelligence that France had acknowledged the independence of the United States; that event, therefore, had no influence on the mind of Congress. *** These I copied from an original manifesto of the commissioners, dated October 3d, 1778, and preserved in the office of the secretary of state of Connecticut. The name of Johnstone is not attached to the manifesto. His openly corrupt proceedings caused Congress to declare that no intercourse should be had with him. Johnstone endeavored to gain by flattery what the nature of his commission denied him. Finding no door open for negotiation with Congress, he determined to attempt to win over influential members to a favorable consideration of the propositions of the ministers. For this purpose he employed an American lady, the daughter of Doctor Thomas Græme of Pennsylvania, then the wife of Hugh Ferguson, a relative of the secretary of the commissioners. Her husband being in the British service, she was much in the company of Loyalists. She was a woman of superior attainments, and, although the wife of an enemy to the country, she maintained the confidence and respect of leading patriots. Johnstone made his residence at the house of Charles Stedman (one of Cornwallis's officers, and an historian of the war), where Mrs. Ferguson often visited. Johnstone spoke to her warmly in favor of American interests, and she believed him to be a true friend of their country. He expressed a strong desire to stop the effusion of blood, and a belief that, if a proper representation eould be made to leading men in Congress, a reconciliation might yet be effected. As he was not permitted to pass the lines himself, Johnstone desired Mrs. Ferguson to say to General Joseph Reed, that, provided he could, conformably to his conscience and views of things, exert his influence to settle the dispute, he might command ten thousand guineas and the best post in government. Mrs. Ferguson suggested that such a proposition would be considered as a bribe by Mr. Reed, but Johnstone disclaimed the idea. Convinced of his sincerity and good-will, as she alleged, she sought and obtained an interview with General Reed in Philadelphia, three days after the British had evacuated that city. She repeated to him her conversation with Johnstone, when Reed, filled with indignation, replied, "I am not worth purchasing, but, such as I am, the King of Great Britain is not rich enough to do it!" General Reed had received a communication from Johnstone just before leaving Valley Forge. The written and verbal communications of the commissioner he now laid before Congress, and that body declared all further correspondence with Johnstone to be terminated. The fact soon went abroad. The reply of Reed went from mouth to mouth, and the people, looked with ineffable contempt upon the commissioners. * Poor Mrs. Ferguson, whose motives seem to have been pure, was violently assailed. Unfortunately, she had been the bearer, a few months before, of an offensive letter from the Reverend Mr. Duché (see page 268) to General Washington, and she was denounced as a British emissary. She lived, however, to see all these suspicions dissipated.!--See Gordon's American Revolution, ii., 378; Life and Correspondence of President Reed, i., 381; Mrs. Ellett's Women of the Revolution, i., 196. [[[Attempt to Bribe General Reed.--Mrs. Graeme's part in the Affair.--Memoir of General Reed.]]] {351}We appeal to that God who searcheth the hearts of men for the rectitude of our intentions; and in his holy presence declare, that, as we are not moved by any light and hasty suggestions of anger or revenge, so, through every possible change of fortune, we will adhere to this our determination." [Illustration: 8361] The American army remained encamped at Valley Forge until the 18th of June, [[1778]] when intelligence reached them that the enemy had evacuated Philadelphia and * Joseph Reed was born in New Jersey, August 27, 1741, and graduated at Princeton in 1757. He studied law with Richard Stockton; also at the Temple, in London. He was one of the committee of correspondence in Philadelphia in 1774, where he took up his residence after his return from England. He was president of the first popular convention in Pennsylvania. He accompanied Washington as his aid and secretary when he went to Cambridge in 1775, and remained with him during the campaign. In 1776 he was appointed adjutant general of the American army, and proved an active and brave officer. In the spring of 1777 he was appointed a general officer in the cavalry, but declined the station. He remained attached to the army, and was in the battle at Germantown in the autumn of that year. He was chosen a member of Congress toward the close of 1777. He was a member of that body in 1778, when the commissioners arrived from England, and, as we have noticed in the text, was approached with honeyed words, and promises of wealth and rank if he would favor the views of the government agents. His noble reply was given, and, abashed, the commissioners sought other and more pliable instruments for their use. General Reed was chosen president of Pennsylvania in 1778, and continued in that office until October, 1781, when he resumed his practice of the law. He ever retained the confidence and highest esteem of Washington and the best patriots of the Revolution; and when the cloud of party rancor passed away, all men beheld in Joseph Reed a patriot and an honest man. In 1784, he visited England for his health, but without beneficial results. He died on the 4th of March 1785, at the age of forty-two. His wife was Esther de Berdt, the leader in the patriotic efforts of the ladies of Philadelphia to extend comfort to the suffering army, mentioned in a preceding chapter. George W. Reed, the youngest son of General R, commanded the Vixen in 1812, and died while a prisoner in England. A few days after the death of General Reed, Philip Freneau wrote a brief monody, in which the following lines occur: "No single art engaged his manly mind, In every scene his active genius shined. Nature in him, in honor to our age, * At once composed the soldier and the sage. ** Trumbull, in his M'Fingall, thus alludes to the: Behold, at Briton's utmost shifts Comes Johnstone, loaded with like gifts, To venture through the Whiggish tribe, To cuddle, wheedle, coax, and bribe; And call, to aid his desp'rate mission, His petticoated politician: "Firm to his purpose, vigilant and bold, Detesting traitors, and despising gold, He scorn'd all bribes from Britain's hostile throne, For all his country's wrongs were thrice his own." * of Mrs. Ferguson in Johnstone's efforts at bribery: "While Venus, join'd to act the farce, Strolls forth embassadress of Mars. In vain he strives; for while he lingers, These mastiffs bite his off ring fingers; Nor buys for George and realms infernal One spaniel but the mongrel Arnold." [[[Sir Henry Clinton Commander-m-Chief.--Condition of the American Army.--Exchange of General Lee.--Oaths of Allegiance.]]] {352}crossed the Delaware into New Jersey. Sir Henry Clinton had succeeded Sir William Howe as generalissimo, and took command of the British army on the 11th of May. In the instructions to Clinton as Howe's successor, the ministry ordered him to evacuate Philadelphia. He had resolved to do so as early as the 23d of May, and to proceed by water to New York. Fearing he might be delayed by head winds, and that Washington would push forward to and capture New York city, he changed his plan and determined to proceed by land. In the mean while, Washington, informed of the evident intention of the enemy to evacuate Philadelphia, placed his army in a condition to march immediately at the beating of the drum. His condition was very much changed for the better. Major-general Charles Lee had been exchanged for Prescott, and was now in camp, and reinstated in his old command as second general officer of the army. * The troops fit for service numbered about fifteen thousand; and the warmth and comforts of pleasant summer time, co-operating with the good news from France, made the soldiers cheerful and hopeful. ** [Illustration: 0362] * Washington was directed, by a resolution of Congress, to administer the oath of allegiance to the officers of the army before leaving Valley Forge. The oath was administered to several at one time, each officer placing his hand upon the Bible. Just as the commander-in-ehief began to repeat the oath, General Lee withdrew his hand. This movement was repeated, to the astonishment of all. Washington inquired the cause of his strange conduct, when Lee replied, "As to King George, I am ready enough to absolve myself from all allegiance to him; but I have some scruples about the Prinee of Wales." Even the grave Washington was obliged to join in the laughter which followed this odd reply. Lee eventually took the oath with the rest, and subscribed his name. In the archives of the State Department at Washington City, the original oaths of allegiance, signed by all the officers of the army at Valley Forge, are well preserved, and present an interesting collection of autographs. The oath was printed on a slip of paper, with blanks, in which the name and rank of the officer was written, with his signature at bottom. I observed that Generals Lord Stirling, Knox, and Greene administered the principal portion of the oaths. The following is a fac simile of Lord Stirling's oath, administered by Washington: * do acknowledge the UNITED STATES of AMERICA, to be Free, Independent and Sovereign States, and declare that the people thereof owe no allegiance or obedience to George the Third, King of Great-Britain; and I renounce, refute and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him; I will to the utmost of my power, support, maintain and defend the said United States, against the said King George the Third, his heirs and successors and his or their abettors, affiliants and adherents. ** Of these, 11,800 were at Valley Forge, which comprehended the sick and those who might be called into action on an emergency. There was a detachment at Wilmington of 1400; and on the Hudson River there were 1800. At=a council of war held on the 18th of May, it was thought reasonable to anticipate that, when all the re-enforcements were brought in, the whole army, fit for duty, would amount to about 20,000 men. [[[Evacuation of Philadelphia by the British.--Pursuit by the Americans.--The British harassed in New Jersey]]] {353}Sir Henry Clinton made his preparations for evacuation with so much adroitness, that Washington was not certified of his destination until he had actually crossed the Delaware. Suspecting, however, that he would take a land route for New York, the commander-inchief had dispatched Maxwell's brigade to co-operate with General Dickinson and the New Jersey militia in retarding the march of the enemy. It was a little before dawn on the morning of the 18th of June, when the British army left the city, and commenced [[1778]] crossing the Delaware at Gloucester Point. * At ten o'clock the rear-guard landed; and toward evening that motley host of British regulars and Loyalists, Hessians, and a crowd of camp-followers, were encamped around Haddonfield, on the south side of Cooper's Creek, five miles southeast of Camden. When intelligence of the evacuation reached Washington, he broke up his encampment at Valley Forge, and, with almost his whole army, pushed forward in pursuit. General Arnold, whose wound would not allow him to engage in active service, took possession of Philadelphia with a small detachment, while the main army marched rapidly toward the Delaware. The admirable arrangements of the quarter-master general's department, under the able management of General Greene, enabled the army to move with facility. The divisions of Greene and Wayne first crossed the Delaware at Coryell's Ferry, a short [[June 20, 1778]] distance above the place where Washington passed to the attack of the Hessians at Trenton eighteen months previously; and these were followed by the chief and the remainder of the "army on the two following days. Colonel Morgan was sent with six hundred men to re-enforce Maxwell. The army halted at Hopewell, within five miles of Trenton, and there Washington called another council of war. ** The tardy movements of Clinton induced the belief that he was maneuvering to entice the Americans into a general action. "Will it be advisable to hazard a general engagement?" was the question which the chief proposed to the council. The decision was a negative; but it was recommended to send detachments to harass the enemy on their march. General Lee was opposed to this measure, and objected to any interference whatever with the enemy. Pursuant to the recommendation of the council, Washington ordered Morgan's corps to gain the rear of the enemy's right flank, Maxwell's brigade to hang on their left, and Brigadier-general Scott, *** with about fifteen hundred chosen men, to annoy them on the rear and flanks. To these were added the New Jersey militia under General Dickinson, and a party of volunteers from Pennsylvania under Cadwallader. Sir Henry Clinton intended to march from Haddonfield directly to Brunswick, and embark his troops on the Raritan Hiver. He moved on slowly, by the way of Mount Holly, **** [Illustration: 8363] * Gloucester Point is on the Jersey side of the Delaware, three miles below Camden and Philadelphia. ** A council of war was held on the 17th, the day before the Americans left Valley Forge, and among other questions proposed was, "If the enemy march through Jersey, will it be prudent to attack them on the way, or more eligible to proceed to the North River in the most direct and convenient manner, to secure the important communication between the Eastern and Southern States?" Nearly all the officers were opposed to an attack, on account of the inequality of force, but some thought it should defend on circumstances. Washington was desirous of attacking the enemy, but was obliged to yield to the force of circumstances. *** Charles Scott was a native of Cumberland county, in Virginia. He raised the first company of volunteers in that state, south of the James River, that actually entered into the Continental service. So much was he appreciated, that, in 1777. the shire-town of Powhatan county was named in honor of him. Congress appointed him a brigadier in the Continental army on the 1st of April, 1777. He served with distinction during the war, and at its termination he went to Kentucky. He settled in Woodford county, in that state, in 1785. He was with St. Clair at his defeat in 1791; and in 1794 he commanded a portion of Wayne's army at the battle of the Fallen Timber. He was governor of Kentucky from 1808 to 1812. He died on the 22d of October, 1820, aged seventy-four years. **** Mount Holly is the scat of justice for Burlington county. It is situated on the north branch of the Raneoeus Creek, about nineteen miles from Trenton. During the war, a Whig, named William Denning, who afterward resided in Mount Holly, constructed a wrought-iron cannon. It was made of iron staves, hooped like a barrel with the same material. There were four layers of staves, firmly bound together, and then bored and breeched like other cannons. He finished one in Middlesex, Pennsylvania, and began another in Mount Holly. The former was captured at the battle of Brandywine, and is now in the Tower of London; the latter was placed in the Philadelphia arsenal. Denning died a few years since, at the age of ninety-four. [[[Extent of the British Line.--Washington's Determination to Fight.--Preparations of both Armies for Battle.]]] {354}to Crosswicks and Allentown. There being but a single road, his long train of baggage-wagons and bat-horses, together with his troops, made a line nearly twelve miles In extent. He was obliged to build bridges and causeways over the streams and marshes, and his progress, consequently, was very tardy. When at Allentown, perceiving Washington almost on his front, Clinton changed his course, rather than risk a general action with all his encumbrances. Turning to the right, he took the road leading to Monmouth court-house and Sandy Hook, with the determination of embarking his troops at the latter place. The American [[June 25]] army had now reached Kingston, on the Millstone River. General Lee was still strongly opposed to any interference with the movements of the enemy, and, being next in command to Washington, his opinions had considerable weight with the other officers. Yet six general officers were in favor of continued annoyances by detachments, and three of them (Greene, La Fayette, and Wayne) declared in favor of a general action. Washington was at first embarrassed by these divided opinions; but, relying upon his own judgment, which was strongly in favor of an engagement, he asked no further advice, but proceeded to make arrangements for a battle. He immediately ordered a detachment of one thousand men, under General Wayne, to join the troops nearest the enemy; gave General La Fayette the command of all the advanced parties, amounting to almost four thousand [[June 26, 1778]] men, including the militia, * and moved forward with the main body to Cranberry. The weather was intensely hot, which circumstance, in connection with a heavy storm that commenced about nine in the morning, made it impossible to resume the march without injury to the troops. Early on the morning of the 27th, La Fayette, with the advanced forces, proceeded to Englishtown, a hamlet about five miles westward of Monmouth court-house. Sir Henry Clinton was advised of the movements of the Americans, and, properly apprehending an attack upon his flanks and rear, changed the disposition of his line. He placed the baggage train in front, and his best troops, consisting of the grenadiers, light infantry, and chasseurs of the line, in the rear. The baggage of the whole army (in which term were included the bat-horses and wheel-carriages of every department) was placed under the charge of General Knyphausen. With his army thus arranged, Clinton encamped in a strong position near Monmouth court-house, secured on nearly all sides by woods and marshy grounds. His line extended, on the right, about a mile and a half beyond the court-house to the parting of the roads leading to Shrewsbury and Middletown, and on the left, along the road from Monmouth to Allentown, about three miles. The alteration in the disposition of his line of march made by Sir Henry Clinton, obliged Washington to increase the number of his advanced corps, and accordingly he sent Major-general Lee with two brigades to join La Fayette at Englishtown, and, as senior officer, to take command of the whole division designed for making the first attack. The main army marched the same day, and encamped within three miles of Englishtown; Morgan's [[June 27.]] corps was left hovering on the British right; and about seven hundred militia, under * This force properly fell under the command of General Lee. As he was totally opposed to the movement, it placed him in an unpleasant situation. This embarrassment was mentioned to Washington by La Fayette, who offered to take command of that division. Washington agreed to give it to La Fayette, if General Lee would consent to the arrangement. That officer readily consented, and La Fayette was placed in command. Lee afterward changed his mind, and applied to Washington to be reinstated. He could not, with justice or propriety, recall the orders given to La Fayette; and the commander-in-chief endeavored to preserve harmony by giving Lee the command of two brigades, with orders to join the advanced detachments, when, of course, his rank would entitle him to the command of the whole. He ordered Lee to give La Fayette notice of his approach, and to offer him all the assistance in his power for prosecuting any enterprise he might have already undertaken. Washington wrote, also, to La Fayette, explaining the dilemma, and counting upon his cheerful acquiescence. [[[British Camp near Monmouth Court house.--Their Movement--Ward Sandy Hook.--Lee ordered to attack the British.]]] {355}Dickinson, menaced their left. Washington foresaw the increased strength the enemy would gain by reaching the heights of Middletown, which were about three miles in advance. To prevent them obtaining that advantage, he determined to attack their rear the moment they should attempt to move. For this purpose he ordered General Lee to make the necessary disposition, and to keep his troops in readiness to move at the shortest notice. Sir Henry Clinton, perceiving that an immediate action was inevitable, made preparations accordingly. The night of the 27th was one of great anxiety to both parties. The 28th of June, 1778, a day memorable in the annals of the Revolution, was the Christian Sabbath. The sky was cloudless over the plains of Monmouth when the morning dawned, and the sun came up with all the fervor of the summer solstice. It was the sultriest day of the year; not a zephyr moved the leaves; nature smiled in her beautiful garments of flowers and foliage, and the birds carolled with delight, in the fullness of love and harmony. Man alone was the discordant note in the universal melody. He alone, the proud "lord of creation," claiming for his race the sole mundane possession of the Divine image, disturbed the chaste worship of the hour, which ascended audibly from the groves, the streams, the meadows, and the woodlands. On that calm Sabbath morning, in the midst of paradisal beauty, twenty thousand men girded on the implements of hellish war to maim and destroy each other--to sully the green grass and fragrant flowers with human blood! At about one o'clock in the morning, Lee sent an order to General Dickinson to [[June 28]] detach several hundred men as near the British lines as possible, as a corps of observation. Colonel Morgan was also directed to approach near enough to attack them on their first movement. Orders were likewise given to the other divisions of the advanced forces to make immediate preparations to march; and, before daylight, Colonel Grayson, with his regiment, leading the brigades of Scott and Varnum, was in the saddle, and moving slowly in the direction of Monmouth court-house. General Knyphausen, with the first division of the British troops, among which was the chief body of the Hessians, and the Pennsylvania and Maryland Loyalists, moved forward at daybreak. Sir Henry Clinton, with the other division, consisting of the flower of his army, ** did not follow until eight o'clock. Dickinson observed the earliest movement, and sent an express to Lee, and to the commander-in-chief, the moment Knyphausen began his march. Washington immediately put the army in motion, and sent orders to General Lee to press forward and attack the enemy, unless there should be very powerful reasons to the contrary. This discretionary clause in the orders eventuated in trouble. Lee advanced immediately with the brigades of Wayne and Maxwell and sent an order to Grayson to press forward and attack the pickets of the enemy as speedily as possible, while he himself pushed forward to overtake and support him. Grayson, with the two brigades, had passed the Freehold meeting-house, two miles and a half from Monmouth, when he received the order. Lee's aid, who bore it, gave it as his opinion that he had better halt, for he had learned on the way that the main body of the British were moving to attack the Americans. This information was erroneous, but it caused Grayson to tarry. General Dickinson, who was posted on a height on the eastern side of a morass, near s in the plan, received the same intelligence, and communicated it to Lee, through the aid, on his return. Lee conformed to the reports, and, after posting two regiments of militia upon a hill southeast * William Grayson was a native of Prince William county, in Virginia. He was appointed one of the commissioners to treat with Sir William Howe respecting prisoners, while the army was at Valley Forge. In the battle of Monmouth he commanded a regiment in the advanced corps, and behaved with valor. At the close of the war he returned to his native state, and was elected a representative in Congress in 1784. In 1788 he was a member of the Virginia Convention, called for the purpose of considering the Constitution of the United States. With Patrick Henry he opposed the ratification of that instrument. He was appointed one of the first senators from Virginia in 1789, with Richard Henry Lee. He died at Dumfries, while on his way to Congress, on the 12th of March, 1790. ** It was composed of the thirty-fourth and fifth brigades of British, two battalions of British grenadiers, the Hessian grenadiers, a battalion of light infantry, the Guards, and the sixteenth regiment of light dragoons. [[[Approach of the American advanced Corps.--Conflicting Intelligence.--Preparation for Battle.--Plan of the Action.]]] {356}of the meeting-house, to secure a particular road, he pushed forward, with his staff, across the morass, at a narrow causeway near the parsonage indicated by an oblong upon the stream toward the left of the plan, and joined Dickinson upon the height. [Illustration: 0366] There conflicting intelligence was brought to him. At one moment it was asserted that the enemy had moved off with precipitation, leaving only a covering party behind; at another, that the whole army was filing off to the right and left to attack the Americans. While he was endeavoring to obtain reliable information on which to predicate orders, La Fayette arrived at the head of the main body of the advanced corps. Having satisfied himself that no important force of the enemy was upon either flank, Lee determined to march on. His whole command now amounted to about four thousand troops, exclusive of Morgan's corps and the Jersey militia. The broken country was heavily wooded to the verge of the plain of Monmouth. Under cover of the forest, Lee pressed forward until near the open fields, when he formed a portion of his line for action, and, with Wayne and others, rode forward to reconnoiter. From observations and intelligence, he concluded that the column of the British army which he saw deploying on the left were only a covering party of about two thousand men; and entertaining hopes that he might succeed in cutting them off from the main army, he maneuvered accordingly. Wayne was detached, with seven hundred men and two pieces of artillery, to attack the covering party in the rear; not, however, with sufficient vigor to cause them to retreat to the main body. Meanwhile Lee, with a stronger force, endeavored, by a short road leading to the left, to gain the front of the party. Small detachments were concealed in the woods, at different points on the enemy's flanks, to annoy them. At about nine o'clock in the morning, just as Wayne was prepared to make a descent upon the enemy, a party of American light horse, advancing on the right, observed the Queen's Dragoons upon an eminence in the edge of a wood, parading as if they intended to * Explanation of tiie Plan.--a a, position occupied by the British army the night before the battle. 6, British detachment moving toward Monmouth, c c, British batteries, d d, Colonel Oswald's American batteries, e, American troops formed near the court-house, f, first position taken by General Lee in his retreat, g, attack of a party of the British in the woods, h h, positions taken by General Lee. i, a British detachment. k, last position of the retreating troops on the west side of the marsh, m, army formed by General Washington after he met Lee retreating, n, British detachment, o, American battery, p, plaee of the principal action near the parsonage, r, first position of the British after the action, s, second position, f, place where the British passed the night after the battle. 1, the spot where Washington met Lee retreating. 2, a hedgerow. 3, the Freehold meeting-house, yet standing. A, Maxwell's brigade; B, Wayne's; C, Varnum's; D, Scott's. E and F, Jackson's and Grayson's regiments. G, Carr's house. H, I, and J, the brigades of Maxwell and Scott, with the regiments of Grayson and Jackson, marching to the attack. K and L, Greene and Varnum. M, Lord Stirling. N, La Fayette; and 0, Greene, with Washington. Lee's march toward Monmouth court-house, the present village of Freehold, was north of the old road to Englishtown. The present road from Freehold to the meeting-house varies from the old one in some places, and is very nearly on a line with Lee's retreat. [[[The British attacked by Wayne.--Oswald's Artillery.--Wayne checked by Lee.--Strange Conduct of Lee.]]] make an attack. Lee ordered his light horse to allow the dragoons to approach as near as could be done with safety, and then to retreat to where Wayne was posted, and let him receive them. The maneuver was partially successful; the dragoons followed the retreating light horse, until fired upon by a party under Colonel Butler, ambushed in the edge of a wood, when they wheeled, and galloped off toward the main column. Wayne ordered Colonel Oswald to bring his two pieces of artillery to bear upon them, and then pushed forward himself, with his whole force, to charge the enemy with bayonets. * Colonel Oswald ** crossed a morass, planted his guns on a small eminence (cl), and opened a cannonade at the same time. Wayne was prosecuting his attack with vigor, and with every prospect of full success, when he received an order from Lee to make only a feigned attack, and not push on too precipitately, as that would subvert his plan of cutting off the covering party. Wayne was disappointed, chagrined, irritated; he felt that his commander had plucked the palm of sure victory from his hand; but, like a true soldier, he instantly obeyed, and withheld his troops, hoping that Lee would himself recover what his untimely order had lost. In this, too, the brave Wayne was disappointed; for only a portion of the troops on the right, under Lee, issued out of the wood in small detachments, about a mile below the courthouse, and within cannon-shot of the royal forces. At that instant Sir Henry Clinton was informed that the Americans were marching in force on both his flanks, with the evident design of capturing his baggage, then making a line of several miles in the direction of Middletown. To avert the blow, he changed the front of his army by facing about, and prepared to attack Wayne with so much vigor, that the Americans on his flanks would be obliged to fly to the succor of that officer. This movement was speedily made by Clinton, and a large body of cavalry soon approached cautiously toward the right of Lee's troops. La Fayette perceiving this, and believing it to be a good opportunity to gain the rear of the division of the enemy marching against them, rode quickly up to Lee, and asked permission to make the attempt. "Sir," replied Lee, "you do not know British soldiers; we can not stand against them; we shall certainly be driven back at first, and we must be cautious." La Fayette replied, "It may be so, general; but British soldiers have been beaten, and they may be again; at any rate, I am disposed to make the trial." *** Lee so far complied * This first attack occurred in the vicinity of Brier Hill, about three fourths of a mile east of the courthouse. ** Eleazer Oswald was a native of Massachusetts, and was among the earliest of the active patriots of the Revolution. He exhibited great bravery at the siege of Quebec, at the close of 1775, where he commanded the forlorn hope after Arnold was wounded. In 1777 he was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in Lamb's regiment of artillery, and soon afterward distinguished himself, with Arnold, at Compo, at the head of recruits raised in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He was with Putnam when Forts Clinton and Montgomery were taken in 1777, and anxiously entreated his general to allow him to go to the relief of the forts, where his friend Lamb commanded the artillery. For his bravery at the battle of Monmouth, he was highly commended by Generals Knox and Lee. Being outranked soon after this engagement, he resigned his commission and left the service. [Illustration: 8367] ** He entered into the printing and publishing business at Philadelphia, was appointed public printer, and was a resident there at the time of Arnold's defection. Upon constitutional questions he was an opponent of General Hamilton, and in 1789 challenged that gentleman to fight a duel. Their friends adjusted the matter, and the meeting was prevented. In 1793, being in England on business, he went to the Continent, joined the French army, commanded a regiment of artillery, and was at the battle of Mons, or Jemappe. He fell a victim to the yellow fever which desolated New York in 1795, and was buried in St. Paul's church-yard on the 2d of October of that year.--See Leake's Life and Times of General Lamb. *** The conduct of Lee throughout the day was very strange, and gives a coloring of truth to the conjecture that the thorn of envy was still rankling in his bosom, and that he preferred seeing the Americans disgraced by a defeat, rather than Washington honored by a victory. La Fayette, who had watched with the eye of ardent affection the progress and termination of the conspiracy against Washington a few months previously, in which the name of Lee was prominent as his proposed successor, was properly suspicious. Soon after his application to Lee for permission to attempt to gain the enemy's rear, one of Washington's aids arrived for information; and La Fayette took the occasion to inform his excellency, through the aid, that his presence upon the ground was of the utmost importance. He felt convinced that Lee's movements were governed either by cowardice or treachery, and he was anxious to have Washington controlling he movements of the day. [[[Lee's Orders misunderstood.--Retreat of two Brigades.--A general Retreat ordered by Lee.--General Maxwell.]]] {358}as to order the marquis to wheel his column by his right, and gain and attack the enemy's left. At the same time, he weakened Wayne's detachment on the left, by ordering the regiments of Wesson, Stewart, and Livingston to the support of the right. [Illustration: 8368] He then rode toward Oswald's battery to reconnoiter. At that moment, to his great astonishment, as he said, Lee saw a large portion of the British army marching back on the Middletown road toward the court-house. Apparently disconcerted, he immediately ordered his right to fall back. The brigades of Scott and Maxwell, * on the left, were already moving forward and approaching the right of the royal forces, who were pressing steadily on in solid phalanx toward the position occupied by Lee, with the apparent design of gaining Wayne's rear and attacking the American right at the same moment. General Scott had left the wood, crossed a morass, and was forming for action on the plain, and Maxwell was preparing to do the same, when Lee ordered the former to re-enter the wood, arrange his column there, and wait for further directions. Perceiving the retrograde movement on the right, and perhaps mistaking the spirit of Lee's order, Scott recrossed the morass, and retreated through the woods toward the Freehold meeting-house, followed by Maxwell. As soon as intelligence of this movement reached Lee, he sent an order to La Fayette to fall back to the court-house. The marquis obeyed, but with reluctance. As he approached the courthouse, he learned, with surprise and deep mortification, that a general retreat had begun on the right, under the immediate command of Lee, and he was obliged to follow. The British pursued them as far as the court-house, where they halted, while the Americans pressed onward across the morass above Carr's house (G) to the broken eminences called the heights of Freehold, where they also halted. The heat was intense, and both parties suffered terribly from thirst and fatigue. In many places they sunk ankle-deep in the loose, sandy soil. Their rest was of short duration. The royal troops pressed forward; and Lee, instead of making a bold stand in his advantageous position, resumed his retreat toward the Freehold meeting-house. A panic seized the Republican troops, and over the broken country they fled precipitately and in great confusion, a large portion of them pressing toward the causeway over a broad morass, ** where many perished; while others, overpowered by the heat, fell upon the earth, and were trampled to death in the sand by those pressing on behind them. In the first retreat, a desultory cannonade had been kept up by both parties; but now nothing was heard but a few musket-shots and the loud shouts of the pursuing enemy. While these maneuvers in the vicinity of Monmouth court-house were occurring, Washington, with the reserve, was pressing forward to the support of Lee. When the latter * William Maxwell was a native of New Jersey. He joined the army at the commencement of the war. In 1776 he was appointed colonel, and raised a battalion of infantry in New Jersey. He was with General Schuyler on Lake Champlain, and in Oetober, 1776, was appointed a brigadier in the Continental army. [Illustration: 9368] * After the battle at Trenton, he was engaged in harassing the enemy; and during the winter and spring of 1777 was stationed near the enemy's lines at Elizabethtown. In the autumn of that year he was engaged in the battles at the Brandywine and Germantown, and during the succeeding winter he was with the suffering army at Valley Forge. He was aetive in pursuit of Clinton aeross New Jersey the following summer, and sustained an important part in the battle at Monmouth. After that engagement, He was left, with Morgan, to annoy the enemy's rear in their retreat toward Sandy Hook. He was again near Elizabethtown during the winter and spring of 1780, and in June was engaged in the action at Springfield. In August he resigned his commission and quitted the service. He was highly esteemed by Washington, who, on transmitting his resignation to Congress, said, after speaking of his merits as an officer, "I believe him to be an honest man, a warm friend to his country, and firmly attached to its interests." ** This causeway, alluded to before, was near the parsonage, which is still standing, though greatly decayed, and known as "Tennent's House." The morass, which was then a deep quagmire, and thickly covered with bushes, is now mostly fine meadow land, coursed by a clear streamlet, spanned by a small bridge where the highway between Freehold and Englishtown, by way of the meeting-house, crosses. [[[Forward Movement of the Division under Washington.--Meeting of Washington and Lee.--Harsh Words between them.]]] {359}made the discovery that a large covering party was in the rear of the royal army, and formed his plan to cut them off, he sent a messenger to the commander-in-chief, assuring him that success must follow. [Illustration: 8369] On the reception of this intelligence, Washington ordered the right wing, under General Greene, to march to the right, "by the new church," or Freehold meeting-house, to prevent the turning of that flank by the enemy, and to "fall into the Monmouth road a small distance in the rear of the court-house," while he prepared to follow, with the left wing, directly in Lee's rear, to support him. To facilitate the march of the men, and to contribute to their comfort on that sultry morning, they were ordered to disencumber themselves of their packs and blankets. Many laid aside their coats, and, thus relieved, prepared for battle. While the chief was making this disposition near the Freehold meeting-house, a countryman, mounted on a fleet horse, came in hot haste from the direction of the contending forces. He brought the astounding intelligence that the Continental troops were retreating, with the enemy in close pursuit. The commander-in-chief could not credit the report, for he had heard only a few cannon-peals in the direction of the court-house, and he did not conceive it possible that Lee would retreat without first giving battle. He spurred forward, and, when about half way between the meeting-house and the morass, he met the head of the first retreating column. He was greatly alarmed on finding the advanced corps falling back upon the main army without notice, thereby endangering the order of the whole. Giving a hasty order to the commander of the first retreating division to halt upon an eminence, Washington, with his staff, pushed across the causeway to the rear of the flying column, where he met Lee * at the head of the second division of the retreating forces. The commander-in-chief was fearfully aroused by the conduct of that officer, and, as he rode up to Lee, he exclaimed, in words of bitter anger and tone of withering rebuke, "Sir, I desire to know what is the reason, and whence arises this disorder and confusion!" Stung, not so much by these _words_ as by the _manner_ of Washington, Lee retorted harshly, and a few angry words passed between them. It was no time to dispute, for the enemy was within fifteen minutes' march of them. Wheeling his horse, Washington hastened to Lamsay and Stewart, in the rear, rallied a large portion of their regiments, and ordered Oswald, with his two pieces of cannon, to take post upon an * This view is from the green, outside of the church-yard, near the school-house. The church is situated a short distance from the road leading from Freehold to Englishtown, and about midway between those places. It was erected in 1752, on the site of a former one, which was much smaller; hence it was called the new church.* It is of wood, shingled, and painted white; at present a very dingy color. For a century and a half, God has been worshiped on that spot. There Whitefield, Brainerd, the Tennents, and Woodhull preached and prayed. It has been asserted that bullet-marks, made during the battle in 1778, are visible upon the church. Such is not the fact, for it is a mile and a half distant from the parsonage, where the hottest of the battle occurred. At the church, and upon its roof and steeple, many were gathered in anxious suspense to witness the battle. A spent cannon-ball came bounding toward the church during the action, struck a man who sat upon a small grave-stone, and so wounded him that he died within an hour. He was carried into the church, and placed in the first pew on the right of the middle door, where he expired. Traces of his blood were upon the floor for nearly fifty years. The stone on which he sat is still there, not far from the grave of Colonel Monkton. Its top was broken by the hall, and tor more than seventy years the fracture was left untouched. Lately some vandal hand has broken a "relic" from it, and quite destroyed the moss-covered wound it first received. The obelisk seen on the right of the picture is over the grave of the Reverend Robert Roy. The other ornamental monument is over that of the Reverend Mr. Woodhull. * See Washington's letter to the president of Congress, July 1,1778. [[[The pursuing Britons checked.--Courage and Skill of Washington.--Lee's Conduct, Trial, and Sentence.]]] {360}eminence. By a well-directed fire from his battery, Oswald checked the pursuing enemy. The presence of the chief inspired the fugitives with courage, and within ten minutes after he appeared, the retreat was suspended, the troops rallied, and soon order appeared in the midst of the utmost confusion. Stewart and Ramsay formed under cover of a wood, and co-operated with Oswald in keeping the enemy at bay. While the British grenadiers were pouring their destructive volleys upon the broken ranks of the Americans, the voice of Washington seemed omnipotent with the inspiration of courage; it was a voice of faith to the despairing soldiers. Fearlessly he rode in the face of the iron storm, and gave his orders. The whole patriot army, which, half an hour before, seemed on the verge of destruction, panic-stricken and without order, was now drawn up in battle array, and prepared to meet the enemy with a bold and well-arranged front. This effected, Washington rode back to Lee, and, pointing to the rallied troops, said, "Will you, sir, command in that place?" "I will," eagerly exclaimed Lee. "Then," said Washington, "I expect you to check the enemy immediately." "Your command shall be obeyed," replied Lee; "and I will not be the first to leave the field." * Back to the main army Washington now hurried, and with wondrous expedition formed their confused ranks into battle order on the eminences on the western side of the morass. Lord Stirling was placed in command of the left wing; while General Greene, on receiving intelligence of Lee's retreat, had marched back, and now took an advantageous position on the right of Stirling. General Lee displayed all his skill and courage in obedience to the chief's order to "check the enemy." A warm cannonade had commenced between the American and British artillery on the right of Stewart and Ramsay when Washington recrossed the morass to form the main army, while the royal light horse charged furiously upon the right of Lee's division. At that moment Hamilton rode up to Lee, and exclaimed, "I will stay with you, my dear general, and die with you. Let us all die rather than retreat." But the enemy pressed so closely upon them with an overwhelming force, that the Americans were obliged * It was evident that after the first vent of his indignation on seeing Lee making a shameful retreat before the enemy, Washington was willing to overlook the act, and forget and forgive Lee's harsh words spoken in anger. Had the latter been actuated by the same noble and generous spirit, all would have been well. But the rebuke of the commander-in-ehief struck deep into his pride, and he could not rest satisfied with the retort he had given to his general. On the day after the battle he wrote a letter to Washington, in which he demanded an apology, or its equivalent, for his remarks on the battle-field. Washington replied that he conceived his letter to be expressed in terms highly improper, and asserted his conviction that the words which he used when he met him retreating were warranted by the circumstances. He charged Lee with a breach of orders, and misbehavior before the enemy, in not attacking them, and in making an "unnecessary, disorderly, and shameful retreat." Lee wrote an insulting reply. "You can not afford me," he said, "greater pleasure than in giving me the opportunity of showing to America the sufficiency of her respective servants. I trust that temporary power of office, and the tinsel dignity attending it, will not be able, by all the mists they can raise, to obfuscate the bright rays of truth." In a seeond letter, dated the 30th of June (two days after the battle), Lee demanded a court of inquiry immediately, accompanying that demand with offensive remarks. Washington immediately sent Colonel Scammel, the adjutant general, to put Lee under arrest, on the following charges: "First: Disobedience of orders in not attacking the enemy on the 28th of June, agreeably to repeated instructions. Secondly: Misbehavior before the enemy on the same day, by making an unnecessary, disorderly, and shameful retreat. "Thirdly: Disrespect to the commander-in-ehief, in two letters, dated the 1st of July and the 28th of June." * * The court martial was convened on the 4th of July, at Brunswick, consisting of one major general (Lord Stirling, who was president), four brigadiers, and eight colonels. The court sat from time to time, until the 12th of August, when they declared their opinion that General Lee was guilty of all the charges, and sentenced him to be suspended from any command in the armies of the United States for the term of twelve months. The testimony on the trial exhibits a minute detail of the operations in the battle of Monmouth. Congress approved the sentence of the court martial on the 5th of December, by a vote of thirteen in the affirmative and seven in the negative, and ordered the proceedings to be published.--See Sparks's Washington, v., 552; Journals of Congress, iv., 501. * These were both erroneously dated. Lee's letters were written on the 29th and 30th of June. [[[The fiercest of the Battle.--Picture by Mr. Custis.--Captain Molly.]]] {361}to give way. As they emerged from the woods, the belligerents seemed completely intermingled. [Illustration: 0371] The enemy next attacked Livingston's regiment and Varnum's brigade, which lined a hedgerow [2] that stretched across the open field in front of the causeway over the morass Here the conflict raged severely for some time. Some American artillery took post on an eminence in rear of the fence, and played with power; ** but the British cavalry, and a large * This outline sketch is from a copy of the picture at Arlington House (the seat of Mr. Custis), which I made, by permission, in November, 1850. As it exhibits none of the horrid scenes of slaughter which generally characterize battle-pieces, I have not hesitated to introduce it, for the purpose of giving a specimen of pictorial composition upon an interesting historical subject from the pencil of the adopted son, and the only surviving executor of the will of the great Washington. The engraving was executed by Dr. Alexander Anderson, the pioneer wood-engraver in America, at the age of seventy-seven years. Both painter and engraver have passed several years beyond the age allotted to man. Since I made this copy, Mr. Custis has completed two other historical pictures--Germantown and Trenton; and it is his intention, if his life shall be spared, to thus perpetuate on canvas the memory of all of the battles in which his illustrious foster-father was engaged. In the picture here given, the chief is seen most prominently on his white charger, with his general officers. Washington and Greene are in front; Knox on the right, upon the most prominent horse; and behind them are Hamilton, Cadwallader, &c. On the left is seen the group of artillery, with "Captain Molly" at the gun. In the distance is seen a portion of the British army, and Colonel Monckton falling from his horse. On the right, in the foreground, lying by a cannon, is Dickinson, of Virginia; and on the left, by a drum, Bonner, of Pennsylvania. In the center is a wounded rifleman. ** It was during this part of the action that Molly, the wife of a cannonier, is said to have displayed great courage and presence of mind. We have already noticed her bravery in firing the last gun at Fort Clinton. (See page 164.) She was a sturdy young camp-follower, only twenty-two years old, and, in devotion to her husband, she illustrated the character of her countrywomen of the Emerald Isle. In the action in question, while her husband was managing one of the field-pieces, she constantly brought him water from a spring near by. A shot from the enemy killed him at his post; and the officer in command, having no one competent to fill his place, ordered the piece to be withdrawn. Molly saw her husband fall as she came from the spring, and also heard the order. She dropped her bucket, seized the rammer, and vowed that she would fill the place of her husband at the gun, and avenge his death. She performed the duty with a skill and courage which attracted the attention of all who saw her. On the following morning, covered with dirt and blood, General Greene presented her to Washington, who, admiring her bravery, conferred upon her the commission of sergeant. By his recommendation, her name was placed upon the list of half-pay officers for life. She left the army soon after the battle of Monmouth, and, as we have before observed, died near Fort Montgomery, among the Hudson Highlands. She usually went by the name of Captain Molly. The venerable widow of General Hamilton, yet living (1852), told me she had often seen Captain Molly. She described her as a stout, red-haired, freckled-face young Irish woman, with a handsome, piercing eye. The French officers, charmed by the story of her bravery, made her many presents. She would sometimes pass along the French lines with her cocked hat, and get it almost filled with crowns. [[[Gallant Conduct of Lee.--Forming of the second Line.--View of the Battle-ground.]]] {362}body of infantry, skillful in the use of the bayonet, charging simultaneously upon the Americans, broke their ranks. Lee immediately ordered Varnum and Livingston, together with the artillery, to retreat across the morass, while Colonel Ogden, with his men drawn up in a wood near the causeway, gallantly covered the whole as they crossed. Lee was the last to leave the field, and brought off Ogden's corps, the rear of the retreating troops, in admirable order. Instantly forming them in line upon the slope on the western side of the morass, he rode to Washington, and said, "Sir, here are my troops; how is it your pleasure that I should dispose of them?" The poor fellows had thus far borne the whole brunt of the battles and retreats of the day; Washington, therefore, ordered him to arrange them in the rear of Englishtown, while he prepared to engage the enemy himself with the fresh troops of the second and main division of the army. [Illustration: 0372] The action now became general. The second line of the main army was speedily formed in the wood which covered the eminence on the western side of the morass; the left commanded by Lord Stirling, the right by General Greene, and the center by Washington himself. Wayne, with an advanced corps, was stationed upon an eminence, in an orchard, a few rods south of the parsonage, while a park of artillery was placed in battery on Comb's Hill, beyond a marsh, on his right. This battery commanded the height on which the enemy was stationed, and did great service. The British, finding themselves warmly opposed in front, attempted to turn the American left flank, but were repulsed. They also moved toward the American right, but, being enfiladed by a severe cannonade from a battery under Knox, upon a commanding piece of ground occupied by General Greene, they fell back. Wayne, in the mean time, kept up a * This view is from the orchard, upon the site of Wayne's position when Monckton fell. The old house on the left is the ancient parsonage, occupied, at the time of the hattle, by a man named Freeman. Beyond the house, extending right and left, is the place of the morass, now fine meadow land, with a clear stream running through it; and in the extreme distance are seen the slopes and elevations whereon the second division of the American army, under Washington, was drawn up. Upon the rising ground on the extreme right, the British grenadiers were stationed; and the two figures in the open field, about fifty yards distant from our point of view, denote the spot where Monckton was killed. [[[Advance of Grenadiers under Monckton.--Death of Monckton.--Close of the Day and the Battle]]] {363}brisk fire upon the British center from his position in the orchard, and repeatedly repulsed the royal grenadiers, who several times crossed the hedgerow (2) and advanced upon him. Colonel Monckton, their commander, perceiving that success depended upon driving Wayne from his position, harangued his men, * and, forming them in solid column, advanced to the charge with all the regularity of a corps on parade. ** Wayne's troops were partially sheltered by a barn, situated very near the one now standing a few rods from the parsonage. He ordered them to reserve their fire until the enemy should approach very near, and then, with sure aim, pick out the officers. Silently the British advanced until within a few rods of the Americans, when Monckton, waving his sword, with a shout, ordered his grenadiers to the charge. At the same moment Wayne gave a signal; a terrible volley poured destruction upon the assailants, and almost every British officer fell. Among them was their brave leader, Colonel Monckton. * [Illustration: 8373] Over his body the warriors fought desperately, hand to hand, until the Americans secured it, and carried it to their rear. Hotly the conflict raged, not only at the center of the enemy's line, but at various other points. Wayne finally repulsed the grenadiers; and the whole British army soon gave way, and fell back to the heights (t) above Carr's house (3), occupied by General Lee in the morning. It was a strong position, flanked by thick woods and morasses, with only a narrow way of approach on their front. It was now almost sunset, yet Washington resolved to follow up his advantage, and attack them in their new and strong position. For that purpose, he ordered General Poor, with his own and the Carolina brigade, to move round to their right; General Woodford **** to gain their left, and the artillery to gall them in front. There were so many impediments, owing to the broken character of the ground, that twilight came on before a proper disposition for battle could be made, and the attack was postponed until morning. [Illustration: 9373] The army reposed that night upon their arms upon the battle-field, ready to spring upon their prey at the first gleam of light. Wrapped in his cloak, the chief, overpowered with fatigue, slumbered, with his suite, beneath a broad oak, around which many of the slain slept their last sleep. He felt certain of victory when his troops, refreshed, should rise to battle; but the * The belligerents were separated by only a few rods in distance, and that an open field. The patriots near the parsonage, and those with Wayne, at the barn, and in the orchard, distinctly heard the voice of Monckton when haranguing his men. ** It is said that the grenadiers marched with so much precision, that a ball from Comb's Hill, enfilading a platoon, disarmed every man. *** Colonel Monckton was a gallant officer. He was a lieutenant colonel in the battle of Long Island, when he was shot through the body, but recovered. He was interred, on the day after the battle of Monmouth, in the burial-ground of the Freehold meeting-house, about six feet from the west end of the building, upon a stone of which his name is rudely cut. The only monument that marks the grave of that gallant officer is a plain board, painted red, on which is drawn, in black letters, the inscription seen in the picture. This board was prepared and set up a few years ago by a worthy Scotch schoolmaster, named Wilson, who taught the young people in the school-house upon the green, near the old meeting-house. **** William Woodford was a native of Caroline county, in Virginia. He early distinguished himself in the French and Indian wars. When the Virginia troops assembled at Williamsburg in 1775, in consequence of the hostile attitude assumed by Lord Dunmore, Woodford was appointed eolonel of the second regiment. Patrick Henry was colonel of the first regiment. the Elizabeth River, in December, 1775, he was distinguished for his bravery. Congress promoted him to brigadier, and placed him in command of the first Virginia brigade. He was in the battles of Brandywine (in which he was wounded) and Monmouth, and was made a prisoner at Charleston, in South Carolina, during the siege in 1780. He was taken to New York by the British, where he died on the 13th of November of that year, in the forty-sixth year of his age. In the battle at Great Bridge, on [[[Retreat of Sir Henry Clinton.--Character of the Monmouth Battle.--Clinton's Official Dispatch criticised.--The Loss.]]] {364}morning light brought disappointment. At midnight, under cover of darkness, * Sir Henry Clinton put his weary host in motion. With silent steps, column after column left the camp and hurried toward Sandy Hook. So secret was the movement, and so deep the sleep of the patriots, that the troops of Poor, lying close by the enemy, were ignorant of their departure, until, at dawn, they saw the deserted camp of the enemy. They had been gone more than three hours. Washington, considering the distance they had gained, the fatigue of his men, the extreme heat of the weather, and the deep, sandy country, with but little water, deemed pursuit fruitless, and Sir Henry Clinton escaped. Washington marched with his army to Brunswick, and thence to the Hudson River, which he crossed at King's Ferry, and encamped near White Plains, in West Chester county. The Jersey brigade and Morgan's corps were left to hover on the enemy's rear, but they performed no essential service. The British army reached Sandy Hook on the 30th, where Lord Howe's [[June 1778]] fleet, having come round from the Delaware, was in readiness to convey them to New York. ** The battle of Monmouth was one of the most severely contested during the war. Remarkable skill and bravery were displayed on both sides, after the shameful retreat of Lee; and the events of the day were highly creditable to the military genius of both commanders. Victory for the Americans was twice denied them during the day, first by the retreat of Lee in the morning, and, secondly, by the unaccountable detention of Morgan and his brave riflemen at a distance from the field. For hours the latter was at Richmond Mills, three miles below Monmouth court-house, awaiting orders, in an agony of desire to engage in the battle, for he was within sound of its fearful tumult. To and fro he strode, uncertain what course to pursue, and, like a hound in the leash, panting to be away to action. Why he was not allowed to participate in the conflict, we have no means of determining. It appears probable that, had he fallen upon the British rear, with his fresh troops, at the close of the day, Sir Henry Clinton and his army might have shared the fate of the British at Saratoga. The hottest of the conflict occurred near the spot where Monckton fell. Very few of the Americans were killed on the west side of the morass, but many were slain in the field with Monckton, and lay among the slaughtered grenadiers of the enemy. The Americans lost, in killed, six officers, and sixty-one non-commissioned officers and privates. The wounded were twenty-four officers, and one hundred and thirty-six non-commissioned officers and privates, in all two hundred and twenty-eight. The missing amounted to one hundred and thirty; but many of them, having dropped down through fatigue, soon joined the army. *** Among * Sir Henry Clinton, in his official dispatch to Lord George Germaine, wrote, "Having reposed the troops until ten at night to avoid the excessive heat of the day, I took advantage of the moonlight to rejoin General Knyphausen, who had advanced to Nut Swamp, near Middletown." This assertion was the cause of much merriment in America, for it was known that the event took place about the time of new moon. Poor Will's Almanac, printed at Philadelphia by Joseph Cruikshank, indicates the occurrence of the new moon on the 24th of June, and that on the night of the battle being only four days old, it set at fifty-five minutes past ten. Trumbull, in his M'Fingal, alluding to this, says, "He formed his camp with great parade, While evening spreads the world in shade, Then still, like some endanger'd spark, Steals off on tiptoe in the dark; Yet writes his king in boasting tone, How grand he march'd by light of moon! Go on, great general, nor regard The scoffs of every scribbling bard, Who sings how gods, that fearful night, Aided by miracle your night; As once they used in Homer's day, To help weak heroes run away; Tells how the hours, at this sad trial, Went back, as erst on Ahaz' dial, While British Joshua stay'd the moon On Monmouth's plain for Abalon. Heed not their sneers or gibes so arch, Because she set before you march." * Ramsay; Gordon; Marshall; Sparks; D'Auberteuil; Stedman, &c. *** The enemy suffered more from the heat than the Americans, on account of their woolen uniform, and being encumbered with their knapsacks, while the Americans were half disrobed. The Americans buried the slain which were found on the battle-field in shallow graves. In their retreat, the British left many of their wounded, with surgeons and nurses, in the houses at Freehold, and every room in the court-house was filled with the maimed and dying on the morning after the battle. A pit was dug on the site of the present residence of Dr. Throckmorton, of Freehold, wherein the wounded were thrown and buried as fast as they expired. It is said that nearly six hundred young men of Clinton's army, who had formed tender attachments during the winter cantonment in Philadelphia, deserted during the march through New Jersey, and returned to that city. [[[Sufferings of the Soldiers.--Visit to the Battle-ground.--Woodhull's Monument--William and Gilbert Tennent.]]] {365}the slain were Lieutenant-colonel Bonner, of Pennsylvania, and Major Dickinson, of Virginia. The British left four officers, and two hundred and forty-five non-commissioned officers and privates on the field. They buried some, and took many of their wounded with them. Fifty-nine of their soldiers perished by the heat, without receiving a wound; they laid under trees, and by rivulets, whither they had crawled for shade and water. But why dwell upon the sad and sickening scene of the battle-field with the dead and dying upon it? [Illustration: 9375] We have considered the dreadful events of the day; let us for a moment, before returning to Valley Forge from our long digression, glance at the ground now covered with the results of the peaceful tiller's conquests. I visited the battle-ground of Monmouth toward the close of September, 1850, and had the good fortune to be favored with the company of Doctor John Woodhull, of Freehold, in my ramble over that interesting locality. Doctor Woodhull is the son of the beloved minister of that name who succeeded William Tennent in the pastoral care of the congregation that worshiped in the Freehold meeting-house, and who, for forty-six consecutive years, preached and prayed in that venerated chapel. Doctor Woodhull was born in the parsonage yet upon the battle-ground, and is so familiar with every locality and event connected with the conflict, that I felt as if traversing the battle-field with an actor in the scene. Dark clouds rolled up menacingly from the southwest when we left Freehold and rode out to the meeting-house; and while sketching the old fane, pictured on page 359, heavy peals of thunder from a cloud that rapidly approached broke over the country. I had scarcely finished my outline when the heavy drops came down, and we were obliged to take shelter in the church. Resting my port-folio upon the high back of a pew, I sketched, from the open door, the annexed picture of a neat monument erected to the memory of the reverend pastor just mentioned. Almost beneath the spot where I stood, under the middle aisle of the church, rest the remains of the Reverend William Tennent, who was pastor of that flock for forty-three years. * On the right of the pulpit is a commemorative tablet, with a brief inscription. ** Mr. Tennent was one of the most faithful ministers of his day; and his name is widely known in connection with curious physiological and psychological phenomena, of which he was the subject. For three days he remained in a cataleptic state, commonly called a _trance_, or apparent death of the body while the interior life is active. He had applied himself closely to theological studies, until his health suddenly gave way. He became emaciated, his life was despaired of, and, * Mr. Tennent's brother, Gilbert, was also an eminent preacher. Garden, in his Revolutionary Anecdotes, relates the following circumstance: "When the American army entered Philadelphia in June, 1778, after the evacuation by the British troops, we were hard pressed for ammunition. We caused the whole city to be ransacked in search of cartridge-paper. At length I thought of the garrets, &c., of old printing-offices. In that once occupied as a lumber-room by Dr. Franklin, when a printer, a vast collection was discovered. Among the mass was more than a cart-body load of sermons on defensive war, preached by a famous Gilbert Tennent, during the old British and French war, to rouse the colonies to indispensable exertion. These appropriate manifestoes were instantly employed as cases for musket-cartridges, rapidly sent to the army, came most opportunely, and were fired away at the battle of Monmouth against our retiring foe." ** The following is a copy of the inscription: "Sacred to the memory of the Reverend William Tennent, pastor of the first Presbyterian church in Freehold, who departed this life the 8th of March, 1777, aged 71 years and 9 months. He was pastor of said church 43 years and 6 months. Faithful and Beloved." *** This monument stands on the south side of the church. It is of white marble, about eight feet in height. The following is the inscription upon it: "Sacred to the memory of the Reverend John Woodhull, R.D., who died Nov. 22d, 1824, aged 80 years. An able, faithful, and beloved minister of Jesus Christ. He preached the Gospel 56 years. He was settled first in Leacock, in Pennsylvania, and in 1779 removed to this congregation, which he served as pastor, with great diligence and success, for 45 years. Eminent as an instructor of youth, zealous for the glory of God, fervent and active in the discharge of all publie and private duties, the labors of a long life have ended in a large reward." Reverend Dr. Woodhull was one of the most active patriots of his day, and his zeal in the cause of his country was largely infused into his congregation. On one occasion, while a pastor in Pennsylvania, every man in his parish went out to oppose the enemy, except one feeble old invalid, who bade them God speed. The zealous pastor went with them as chaplain. [Illustration: 9376] * Dr. Woodhull preached the funeral sermon on the occasion of the burial of Captain Huddy, at Freehold, in the spring of 1782, from the piazza of the hotel now kept by Mr. Higgins. Captain Huddy lived in the central part of Colt's Neck, about five miles from Freehold. He was an ardent Whig, and by his activity and courage became a terror to the Tories. In the summer of 1780, a mu latto, named Titus, and about sixty refugees, attacked Huddy's house, in the evening. The only inmates were Huddy and Lueretia Emmons (afterward Mrs. Chambers), a servant girl about twenty years of age. There were several guns in the house; these Lueretia loaded, while Huddy fired them from different windows. Titus and some others were wounded. They set fire to the house, when Huddy surrendered, and the flames were extinguished. The prisoners were taken on board of a boat near Black Point. Just as it was pushed off from the shore, Huddy leaped into the water, and escaped under fire of some militia who were in pursuit of the Tories. In the spring of 1782, Huddy commanded a block-house, situated a short distance north of the bridge at the" village of Tom's River. It was attacked by some refugees from New York, and his ammunition giving out, Huddy was obliged to surrender. Himself and companions were taken to New York, and afterward back to Sandy Hook, and placed, heavily ironed, on board a guard-ship. On the 12th of April, sixteen refugees, under Captain Lippincott, took Huddy to Gravelly Point, on the shore at the foot of the Navesink Hills, near the light-houses, and hung him upon a gallows made of three rails. He met his fate with composure. Upon the barrel on which he stood for execution, he wrote his will with an unfaltering hand. His murderers falsely charged him with being concerned in the death of a desperate Tory, named Philip White, which occurred while Huddy was a prisoner in New York. To the breast of Huddy, the infamous Lippincott affixed the following label: "We, the refugees, having long with grief beheld the cruel murders of our brethren, and finding nothing but such measures daily carrying into execution; we therefore determine not to suffer, without taking vengeance for the numerous cruelties; and thus begin, having made use of Captain Huddy as the first object to present to your view; and further determine to hang man for man, while there is a refugee existing. Up goes Huddy for Philip White!" * Huddy's body was carried to Freehold, and hurried with the honors of war. His death excited the greatest indignation throughout the country. Dr. Woodhull earnestly entreated Washington to retaliate, in order that such inhuman murders might be prevented. The commander-in-chief acquiesced, but, instead of executing a British officer at once, he wrote to Sir Henry Clinton, assuring him that, unless the murderers of Huddy were given up, he should proceed to retaliate. Clinton refused compliance, and Captain Asgill, a young British officer (son of Sir Charles Asgill), who was a prisoner, was designated, by lot, for execution. In the mean while, Lippincott was tried by a court martial; and it appeared, in testimony, that Governor Franklin, president of the Board of Associated Loyalists, had given that officer verbal orders to hang Huddy. Lippincott was acquitted. Sir Guy Carleton, who had succeeded Sir Henry Clinton, in a letter to Washington, reprobated the death of Huddy, and acquainted him that he had broken up the Board of Associated Loyalists. Washington had mercifully postponed the execution of young Asgill, and, in the mean time, had received a pathetic letter from Lady Asgill, his mother, and an intercessory one from Count De Vergennes, the French minister. He sent these letters to Congress, and, on the 5th of November, 1782, that body resolved, "That the commander-in-chief be, and hereby is, directed to set Captain Asgill at liberty." The tenderest sympathies of Washington had been awakened in the young man's behalf, and he had resolved to do all in his power, consistent with duty, to save him; and yet the unfair compiler of the Pictorial History of England (v., 489) accuses Washington of foul dishonor, and expresses his belief that, "as at the crisis when he put Major André to death, and refused him the last sad consolation he asked for, he was now rendered gloomy and irascible by the constant and degrading troubles and mortifications in which he was involved." Nothing can be more unjust than this sentence. In a humorous poem, entitled Rivington's Reflections, Philip Freneau thus alludes to the ease of Asgill. He makes Rivington (the Tory printer in New York) say, "I'll petition the rebels (if York is forsaken) For a place in their Zion which ne'er shall be shaken. I am sure they'll be clever; it seems their whole study; They hung not young Asgill for old Captain Huddy. And it must be a truth that admits no denying-- If they spare us for murder they'll spare us for lying." [[[Inscription upon Woodhull's Monument--Capture and Execution of Captain Huddy.--Case of Captain Asgill.]]] {366}one morning, while conversing with his brother, in Latin, on the state of his soul, he fainted, and seemed to expire. He was laid out, and preparations were made for his funeral. His [[[Remarkable Case of William Tennent.--His own Description of his Feelings.--Loss of his Papers.]]] {367}physician, who was absent, was much grieved on his return. His skill detected symptoms of life, and he desired a postponement of burial. The body was cold and stiff; there were no signs of life to the common apprehension, and his brother insisted that he should be buried. But the entreaties of the physician prevailed; the funeral was postponed. On the third day after his apparent death, the people were assembled to bury him. The doctor, who had been at his side from the beginning, still insisted upon applying restoratives. The hour appointed for the burial arrived, and the brother of Tennent impatiently demanded that the funeral ceremonies should be performed. At that moment, to the alarm of all present, Mr. Tennent opened his eyes, gave a dreadful groan, and relapsed again into apparent lifelessness. This movement was twice repeated after an interval of an hour, when life permanently remained, and the patient slowly recovered. * Absolute forgetfulness of all knowledge marked his return to consciousness. He was totally ignorant of every transaction of his life previous to his sickness. He had to be taught reading, writing, and all things, as if he was a new-born child. At length he felt a sudden shock in his head, and from that moment his recollection was by degrees restored. These circumstances made a profound impression on the public mind, and became the theme of philosophical speculation and inquiry. When the storm abated we left the church and proceeded to the battle-ground. The old parsonage is in the present possession of Mr. William T. Sutphen, who has allowed the parlor and study of Tennent and Woodhull to be used as a depository of grain and of agricultural implements! The careless neglect which permits a mansion so hallowed by religion and patriotic events to fall into utter ruin, is actual desecration, and much to be reprehended and deplored. The windows are destroyed; the roof is falling into the chambers; and in a few years not a vestige will be left of that venerable memento of the _field of Monmouth._ We visited the spot where Monckton fell; the place of the causeway across the morass (now a small bridge upon the main road); and, after taking a general view of the whole ground of conflict, and sketching the picture on page 362, returned to Freehold in time to dine, and take the stage for the station at Jamesburg, on my way home. It had been to me a day of rarest interest and pleasure, notwithstanding the inclement weather; for no battle-field in our country has stronger claims to the reverence of the American heart than that of the plains of Monmouth. * Mr. Tennent has left on record the following graphic account of his feelings while his body was in a state of catalepsy: "While I was conversing with my brother on the state of my soul, and the fears I had entertained for my future welfare, I found myself, in an instant, in another state of existence, under the direction of a Superior Being, who ordered me to follow him. I was accordingly wafted along, I know not how, till I beheld at a distance an ineffable glory, the impression of which on my mind it is impossible to communicate to mortal man. I immediately reflected on my happy change, and thought, Well, blessed be God! I am safe at last, notwithstanding all my fears. I saw an innumerable host of happy beings surrounding the inexpressible glory, in acts of adoration and joyous worship; but I did not see any bodily shape or representation in the glorious appearance. I heard things unutterable. I heard their songs and hallelujahs of thanksgiving and praise, with unspeakable rapture. I felt joy unutterable and full of glory. I then applied to my conductor, and requested leave to join the happy throng; on which he tapped me on the shoulder, and said, 'You must return to the earth.' This seemed like a sword through my heart. In an instant I recollect to have seen my brother standing before me disputing with the doctor. The three days during which I had appeared lifeless seemed to me not more than ten or twenty minutes. The idea of returning to this world of sorrow and trouble gave me such a shock, that I fainted repeatedly."--Life of William Tennent, by Elias Boudinot, LL.D. * Mr. Tennent said that, for three years, the ravishing sounds he had heard and the words that were uttered were not out of his ears. He was often importuned to tell what words were uttered, but declined, saying, "You will know them, with many other particulars, hereafter, as you will find the whole among my papers." Boudinot was with the army when Tennent died, and, before he could reach his house, the family, with all his effects, had gone with a son to South Carolina. He was taken sick about fifty miles from Charleston, and amoung strangers. Although Boudinot was the executor of both father and son he never discovered any of Tennent's papers. [[[The Pine Robbers.]]] {368}The men and women of the Revolution, but a few years since numerous in the neighborhood of Freehold, have passed away, but the narrative of their trials during the war have left abiding records of patriotism upon the hearts of their descendants. I listened to many tales concerning the "Pine Robbers" * and other Tory desperadoes of the time, who kept the people of Monmouth county in a state of continual alarm. Many noble deeds of daring were achieved by the tillers of the soil, and their mothers, wives, and sisters; and while the field of Monmouth attested the bravery and endurance of American soldiers, the inhabitants, whose households were disturbed on that Sabbath morning by the bugle and the cannon-peal, exhibited, in their daily course, the loftiest patriotism and manly courage. We will leave the task of recording the acts of their heroism to the pen of the local historian, and, hastening back to Valley Forge, resume the reins and depart for Paoli, for the short November day is fast waning. * The Pine Robbers were a band of marauding Tories, who infested the large districts of pine woods in the lower part of Monmouth county, whence they made predatory excursions among the Whigs of the neighboring country. They burrowed caves in the sand-hills for places of shelter and retreat, on the borders of swamps, and, covering them with brush, effectually concealed them. From these dens they sallied forth at midnight to burn, plunder, and murder. Nor were the people safe in the daytime, for the scoundrels would often issue from their hiding-places, and fall upon the farmer in his field. The people were obliged to carry muskets while at their work, and their families were kept in a state of continual terror. Of these depredators, the most prominent were Fenton, Fagan, Williams, Debow, West, and Carter. Fenton was the arch-fiend of the pandemonium of the Pines. He was a blacksmith of Freehold, large and muscular. He early took to the business of the Tories, and began his career of villainy by robbery. He plundered a tailor's shop in Freehold township. Already a committee of vigilance was organized. They sent Fenton word that, if he did not return the plunder, he should be hunted and shot. Intimidated, he sent back the clothing, with the following savage note appended: "I have returned your damned rags. In a short time I am coming to burn your barns and houses, and roast you all like a pack of kittens!" Fenton soon proceeded to put his threat into execution. One summer night, at the head of a gang of desperadoes, he attacked the dwelling of an aged man near Imlaytown, named Farr. Himself, wife, and daughter composed the family. They barricaded the door, and kept the scoundrels at bay for a while. Fenton finally broke in a portion of the door, and, firing through the opening, broke the leg of the old man with a musket-ball. They forced an entrance at last, murdered the wife, and then dispatched the helpless old man. The daughter, badly wounded, escaped, and the miscreants, becoming alarmed, fled without taking any plunder with them. Fenton was afterward shot by a young soldier of Lee's legion, then lying at Monmouth court-house. The robber had plundered and beaten a young man while on his way from a mill. He gave information to Lee, who detailed a sergeant and two soldiers to capture or destroy the villain. The young man, and the sergeant disguised as a countryman, took a seat in a wagon, while the two soldiers, armed, were concealed under some straw in the bottom of the vehicle, and proceeded toward the mill, expecting to meet Fenton on the road. From a low groggery among the Pines the robber came out, with a pistol, and commanded them to halt. He then inquired if they had brandy, to which an affirmative was given, and a bottle handed to him. While drinking, one of the soldiers, at a signal from the sergeant, arose, and shot the villain through the head. His body was thrown into the wagon, and conveyed in triumph to Freehold. * Fagan and West were also shot by the exasperated people. The body of the latter was suspended in chains, with hoop-iron bands around it, upon a chestnut by the road-side, about a mile from Freehold, on the way to Colt's Neck, where it was left to be destroyed by carrion birds. The sufferings of the people from these marauders made such a deep impression, that the lapse of years could not efface it from the hearts of those who felt their scourge, and even the third generation of the families of Tories were objects of hate to some of the surviving sufferers. An old lady, ninety years of age, with whom I conversed at Roundbrook, became greatly excited while talking of what her family endured from the Pine Robbers and other Tories, and spoke indignantly of one or two families in Monmouth eounty who were descendants of Loyalists. [[[Departure from Valley Forge.--The Paoli Tavern.--Place where Americans were Massacred.]]] {369} CHAPTER XIV. ```"My country's standard waved on yonder height; ````Her red-eross banner England there display'd; ```And there the German, who, for foreign fight, ````Had left his own domestic hearth, and made ```War, with its horrors and its blood, a trade, ````Amid the battle stood; and, all the day, ```The bursting bomb, the furious cannonade, ````The bugle's martial notes, the musket's play, ````In mingled uproar wild resounded far away.= ```A pebble stone that on the war-field lay, ````And a wild rose that blossom'd brightly there, ```Were all the relies that I bore away ````To tell that I had trod the seene of war, ```When I had turn'd my footsteps homeward far. ````These may seem childish things to some; to me ```They shall be treasured ones, and, like the star ````That guides the sailor o'er the pathless sea, ````They shall lead back my thoughts, loved Brandywine, to thee!" `````Elizabeth M. Chandler.= [Illustration: 9379] E descended from the observatory at Valley Forge at one o'clock, and departed for the banks of the Brandywine by way of the Paoli * and West Chester. A veil of moisture, deepening every hour, [[November 30, 1848]] obscured the sun and omened an approaching storm. I alighted on the borders of a wood a short distance from the Norristown road, and sketched the remains of one of the American redoubts pictured on page 335, which lies, almost unknown, within the embrace of the forest. Thence to the place memorable as the scene of the Paoli massacre, a distance of nearly nine miles, our road passed through a broken but well-cultivated country, spreading out into more gentle undulations on the left, toward the Delaware. The place of the massacre is about a quarter of a mile from the highway, east of the West Chester rail-way (which connects with the Columbia rail-way near "the Paoli"), a mile south of the Warren tavern, on the Lancaster turnpike, and a little more than two miles southwest from the Paoli tavern. We left our horse to dine upon corn at a farmyard near, and, following a pathway northeast from the road, through the open fields, we came to the monument which stands over the remains of those who fell there on the night of the 20th of September, 1777. It is upon a small elevated plain, overlooking a fine rolling country toward the Brandywine, and covered with a forest when the event occurred, but now smiling with cultivation. ** The sad story which makes the place memorable in our history is brief but touching. I have mentioned in another chapter (page 386) the movements of the American army after the battle on the Brandywine, and the prevention of an engagement between the belligerent forces near the Warren tavern by a violent storm of rain, which damaged their ammunition. When Washington withdrew and crossed the Schuylkill, with the main body * The Paoli was one of the famous taverns on the old Lancaster turnpike. The Spread Eagle, the Back, the White Horse, the Black Horse, the Red Lion, &e., were all famous among travelers upon the Lancaster and Harrisburg roads. Governor Pownall (member of Parliament during the period of the Revolution), who traveled the roads in 1754, mentions several of these small hamlets that had grown up near some of the old taverns. ** The land is owned chiefly by Mr. Joseph Rodgers, whose residence is not far distant. [[[Wayne's Encampment near the Paoli.--British Attack upon his Detachment.--The Massacre.]]] {370}of the army, at Parker's Ford, he left General Wayne, with about fifteen hundred men and four pieces of cannon (to be joined by General Smallwood and Colonel Gist the next day * ), with directions to annoy the enemy's rear, then posted near Tredyffrin church, and to attempt to cut off his baggage train. Wayne encamped two or three miles southwest of the British lines, in a secluded spot, away from the public roads, near the place where the monument now stands. The vigilance of British sentinels did not discover him, but the treachery of Tories revealed his numbers and place of encampment to the commander of the enemy. Howe determined to surprise Wayne, and for that purpose dispatched General Grey (the subsequent murderer at Tappan and plunderer on the New England coasts) to steal upon the patriot camp at night and destroy them. Wayne had intimations of this intended movement, and, though doubting its truth, he neglected no precaution. It was a dark and stormy night. Wayne ordered his men to sleep on their arms, with their ammunition under their coats. With two regiments and a body of light infantry, Grey marched stealthily, in two divisions, toward midnights through the woods and up a narrow defile [[a September 20, 1777]] below the Paoli, and gained Wayne's left at about one o'clock in the morning. (b) The divisions conjoined in the Lancaster road, near Wayne's encamp[[ b September 21]]ment. The "no-flint general" (see note on page 196) had given his usual order to rush upon the patriots with fixed bayonets, without firing a shot, and to _give no quarters!_ Several of the American pickets near the highway were silently massacred in the gloom. These being missed by the patroling officer, his suspicions that an enemy was near were awakened, and he hastened to the tent of Wayne. The general immediately paraded his men. Unfortunately, he made the movement in the light of his own camp-fires, instead of forming them in the dark, back of the encampment. By the light of these fires Grey was directed where to attack with the best chance of success. ** In silence, but with the fierceness of tigers, the enemy leaped from the thick gloom upon the Americans, who knew not from what point to expect an attack. The patriots discharged several volleys, but so sudden and violent was the attack that their column was at once broken into fragments. They fled in confusion in the direction of Chester. One hundred and fifty Americans were killed and wounded in this onslaught, some of whom, it is said, were cruelly butchered after ceasing to resist, and while begging for quarter; and but for the coolness and skill of Wayne, his whole command must have been killed or taken prisoners. He promptly rallied a few companies, ordered Colonel Hampton to wheel the line, and with the cavalry and a portion of the infantry, he gallantly covered a successful retreat. Grey swept the American camp, captured between seventy and eighty men, including several subordinate officers, a great number of small-arms, two pieces of cannon, and eight wagons loaded with baggage and stores. The loss of the British was inconsiderable; only one captain of light infantry and three privates were killed, and four men wounded. General Smallwood was only a mile distant at the time of the engagement, and made an unsuccessful attempt to march to the relief of Wayne. His raw militia were too deficient in discipline to make a sudden movement, and, before he could reach the scene of conflict, Grey had completed his achievement, and was on his way towar'd the British camp. Falling in with a party of the enemy retiring from the pursuit of Wayne, Smallwood's militia instantly fled in great confusion, and were not rallied until a late hour the next day. The dead bodies of fifty-three Americans were found on the field the next morning, and were interred upon the spot, in one grave, by the neighboring farmers. For forty years their resting-place was marked by a simple heap of stones, around which the plow of the agriculturist made its furrows nearer and nearer every season. At length the "Republican Artillerists" of Chester county patriotically resolved to erect a monument to their memory, * General Smallwood was advancing with 1150 Maryland militia, and Colonel Gist, with 700. ** A Hessian sergeant, boasting of the exploits of that night, exultingly exclaimed, "What a running about, barefoot, and half clothed, and in the light of their own fires! These showed us where to chase them, while they could not see us. We killed three hundred of the rebels with the bayonet. I stuck them myself like so many pigs, one after another, until the blood ran out of the touch-hole of my musket." [[[Chaplain David Jones.--' His Address to the Troops at Tieonderoga.]]] {371}and on the 20th of September, 1817, the fortieth anniversary of the event, through the aid of their fellow-citizens, they reared the memento delineated in the engraving. * [Illustration: 8381] It is com- * On that occasion the Reverend David Jones, an eminent Baptist clergyman, who was Wayne's chaplain, and with him at the time of the massacre, was present and made an address. He was then past eighty years of age. * David Jones was born in White Clay Creek Hundred, Newcastle county, Delaware, on the 12th of May, 1736. His ancestors came from Wales in the early part of the last century, and settled at The Welsh Tract. Mr. Jones was educated for the ministry by the Reverend Isaac Eaton, of Hopewell, New Jersey. He was for many years pastor of the upper (Baptist) Freehold church in New Jersey, from which place he proceeded to the Northwestern Territory in 1772 and 1773, on a Gospel mission to the Shawnee and Delaware Indians. He was unsuccessful, and, after enduring many hardships, he returned to his charge at Freehold. He afterward published an account of his mission. One of his companions, while navigating the Ohio in a canoe from Fort Pitt, was the celebrated George Rogers Clarke. He early espoused the patriot cause, and became so obnoxious to the Tories, that, believing his life to be in danger, he left New Jersey, and settled in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in the spring of 1775, in charge of the Great Valley Baptist church. On the occasion of the Continental Fast, soon afterward observed, he preached a sermon before Colonel Dewee's regiment, entitled "Defensive War in a Just Cause Sinless." It was published, and, being extensively circulated throughout the colonies, produced a salutary effect. In 1776, Mr. Jones received the appointment of chaplain to a Pennsylvania regiment under Colonel St. Clair, which was ordered to the Northern Department. He was on duty with St. Clair at Ticonderoga, where, when the enemy was hourly expected (October 20th, 1776) from Crown Point, he delivered a characteristic discourse to the regiment, which had a powerful effect upon them.* Chaplain Jones served through two campaigns under General Gates, and was chaplain to a brigade under Wayne in the autumn of 1777. He was with that officer at the "Paoli massacre," and narrowly escaped death. He had been in the battle at the Brandywine a few days before, and was in the engagement at Germantown. He accompanied the army to White-marsh and Valley Forge; was with Wayne in the battle at Monmouth, and in all his subsequent campaigns, until the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown in the autumn of 1781. He was so active in the cause of freedom, that a reward was offered for him by General Howe, and a detachment was sent to the Great Valley, on one occasion, to arrest him. * At the close of the war he retired to his farm and church. * When General Wayne took command of the army in the Northwestern Territory, against the Indians, in 1794, Mr. Jones was appointed his chaplain, and accompanied him. When the war of 1812 broke out, he again entered the army, being then seventy-six years old, and served under Generals Brown and Wilkinson until the close of that contest. His last public act was to address the people assembled to dedicate the Paoli Monument. He died on the 5th of February, 1820, in the eighty-fourth year of his age, and was buried in the Great Valley church-yard, in sight of Valley Forge. The portrait here given I copied from an excellent cabinet picture of the chaplain in the possession of his grandson, Horatio Gates Jones, Jr., of Philadelphia, who kindly furnished me with the materials for this brief sketeh of the public services of that eminent patriot and divine. * I have before me a printed copy of that address, which was published soon afterward. I print it here as a favorable specimen of the manner in which the American soldiers were addressed by their Chaplains. "ADDRESS: "To General St. Clair's Brigade at Tieonderoga, when the Enemy were hourly expected, October 20,1776. "My Countrymen, Fellow-soldiers, and Friends, "I am sorry that during this campaign I have been favored with so few opportunities of addressing you on subjects of the greatest importance both with respect to this life and that whieh is to come; but what is past can not be recalled, and now time will not admit an enlargement, as we have the greatest reason to expect the advancement of our enemies as speedily as Heaven will permit. [The wind blew to the north, strongly.] Therefore, at present, let it suffice to bring to your remembrance some necessary truths. "It is our common faith, and a very just one too, that all events on earth are under the notice of that God in whom we live, move, and have our being; therefore we must believe that, in this important struggle with the worst of enemies, he has assigned us our post here at Tieonderoga. Our situation is such that, if properly defended, we shall give our enemies a fatal blow, and in great measure prove the means of the salvation of North America. "Such is our present ease, that we are fighting for all that is near and dear to us, while our enemies are engaged in the worst of causes, their design being to subjugate, plunder, and enslave a free people that have done them no harm. Their tyrannical views are so glaring, their cause so horribly bad, that there still remain too much goodness and humanity in Great Britain to engage unanimously against us, therefore they have been obliged (and at a most amazing expense, too) to hire the assistance of a barbarous, mercenary people, that would cut your throats for the small reward of sixpence. No doubt these have hopes of being our task-masters, and would rejoice at our calamities. "Look, oh! look, therefore, at your respective states, and anticipate the consequences if these vassals are suffered to enter! It would fail the most fruitful imagination to represent, in a proper light, what anguish, what horror, what distress would spread over the whole! See, oh! see the dear wives of your bosoms forced from their peaceful habitations, and perhaps used with such indecency that modesty would forbid the description. Behold the fair virgins of your land, whose benevolent souls are now filled with a thousand good wishes and hopes of seeing their admirers return home crowned with victory, would not only meet with a doleful disappointment, but also with such insults and abuses that would induce their tender hearts to pray for the shades of death. See your children exposed as vagabonds to all the calamities of this life! Then, oh! then adieu to all felicity this side the grave!... "Now all these calamities may be prevented if our God be for us--and who can doubt of this who observes the point in which the wind now blows--if you will only acquit yourselves like men, and with firmness of mind go forth against your enemies, resolving either to return with victory or to die gloriously. Every one that may fall in this dispute will be justly esteemed a martyr to liberty, and his name will be had in precious memory while the love of freedom remains in the breasts of men. All whom God will favor to see a glorious victory, will return to their respective states with every mark of honor, and be received with joy and gladness of heart by all friends to liberty and lovers of mankind. "As our present ease is singular, I hope, therefore, that the candid will excuse me, if I now conclude with an uncommon address, in substance principally extracted from the writings of the servants of God in the Old Testament; though, at the same time, it is freely acknowledged that I am not possessed of any similar power either of blessing or cursing. "1. Blessed be that man who is possessed of true love of liberty; and let all the people say, Amen. "2. Blessed be that man who is a friend to the common rights of mankind; and let all the people say, Amen. "3. Blessed be that man who is a friend to the United States of America; and let all the people say, Amen. "4. Blessed be that man who will use his utmost endeavor to oppose the tyranny of Great Britain, and to vanquish all her forces invading North America; and let all the people say. Amen. "5. Blessed be that man who is resolved never to submit to Great Britain; and let all the people say, Amen. "6. Blessed be that man who in the present dispute esteems not his life too good to fall a sacrifice in defense of his country; let his posterity, if any he has, be blessed with riches, honor, virtue, and true religion; and let all the people say, Amen. * "Now, on the other hand, as far as is consistent with the Holy Scriptures, let all these blessings be turned into curses to him who deserts the noble cause in which we are engaged, and turns his back to the enemy before he receives proper orders to retreat; and let all the people say, Amen. "Let him be abhorred by all the United States of America. "Let faintness of heart and fear never forsake him on earth. "Let him be a magor missabile, a terror to himself and all around him. "Let him be accursed in his outgoing, and cursed in his incoming; cursed in lying down, and cursed in uprising; cursed in basket, and cursed in store. "Let him be cursed in all his connections, till his wretched head with dishonor is laid low in the dust; and let all the soldiers say, Amen. "And may the God of all grace, in whom we live, enable us, in defense of our country, to acquit ourselves like men, to his honor and praise. Amen and Amen." * On one occasion, while reconnoitering alone, he saw a dragoon dismount and enter a house for refreshments. Mr. Jones boldly abstracted the horseman's pistols, and, going into the house, claimed him as his prisoner. The dragoon was unarmed, and was obliged to obey the orders of his captor, to mount and ride into the American camp. The event caused great merriment., and Wayne laughed immoderately at the idea of his chaplain's capturing a British dragoon. [[[The Paoli Monument.--The Inscriptions upon it.]]] {372}posed of a blue clouded marble pedestal, surmounted by a white marble pyramid. [Illustration: 8382] The whole monument is about nine feet high, and stands over the center of the broad grave where the remains of the patriots repose. A peachtree shades its eastern side. Around it, in oblong form, is a massive stone wall five feet in height, covered with stucco. Upon the four sides of the pedestal are appropriate inscriptions, * somewhat defaced by the villain-hand of wanton destructiveness, or the marauding relic-seeker. Here, far away from the hum of towns and cities, rest * The following are the inscriptions: North side.--"The atrocious massacre which this stone commemorates was perpetrated by British troops under the immediate command of Major-general Grey." West side.--"Sacred to the memory of the Patriots who on this spot fell a sacrifice to British barbarity, during the struggle for American Independence, on the night of the 20th September, 1777." South side.--"Here repose the remains of fifty-three American soldiers, who were the victims of coldblooded cruelty in the well-known 'Massacre at Paoli,' while under the command of General Anthony Wayne, an officer whose military conduct, bravery, and humanity were equally conspicuous throughout the Revolutionary War." East side.--"This memorial, in honor of Revolutionary Patriotism, was erected September 20th, 1817, by the Republican Artillerists of Chester county, aided by the contributions of their fellow-citizens." [[[The Dead of Paoli.--Journey to West Chester.--Departure for the Brandywine Battle-ground.]]] {373} `````"A sacred band; ```They take their sleep together, while the year ```Comes with its early flowers to deck their grave, ```And gathers them again as winter frowns. ```Here let us meet, and, while our motionless lips ```Give not a sound, and all around is mute-- ```In the deep Sabbath of a heart too full ```For words or tears--here let us strew the sod ```With the first flowers of spring, and make to them ```An offering of the plenty nature gives, ```And they have rendered ours--perpetually." `````Percival.= After making a sketch of the monument, and dining upon crackers, cheese, and apples, using the plinth of the pedestal for a table--we resumed the reins, and retraced the Lancaster road as far as the Paoli tavern, where a branch road leads to West Chester. Here I parted company with Mr. Agnew, who returned to Philadelphia in the cars, and I journeyed alone toward the Brandywine. Although the fields were shorn, and the orchards were bare of fruit and foliage, yet, on every side, were evidences of fertility and abundance attested by fine farm-houses, spacious stone barns, and numerous plethoric barracks. The country is beautifully diversified and well watered; clear streams, without bridges, intersect the highway in many plaees. I reached West Chester at dark, distant eight miles from the Paoli tavern, having passed, on the way, near the residence of General Wayne. West Chester is the seat of justice of Chester county. It is in Goshen township, twenty-three miles from Philadelphia, and five south of the Great Valley. It is a pleasant village, containing a population of about three thousand, who are noted for their intelligence and general refinement. It was a mere hamlet when the armies passed by after the battle on the Brandywine, * a few miles distant; and there are now not many mementoes of the event in existence. Eye-witnesses have gone down into the grave, and the old dwellings have given place to more modern structures, except the Turk's Head tavern, and one or two other buildings. At Guss's Inn, where I tarried for the night, I met Mr. Joseph Townsend, a nephew of the late Joseph Townsend, of Baltimore, who wrote an account of the battle of Brandywine from his own personal recollections, and which was published in 1846, with an accurate survey of the scene of action, by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Mr. Townsend, who is familiar with every locality connected with the battle, kindly offered to go over the ground with me the next morning. I breakfasted by candle-light, and, at seven o'clock, we were on our way to [[December 1, 1848]] Jefferis's Ford, on the Brandywine, two and a half miles from West Chester. Thick clouds covered the heavens, and a biting northeast wind, bearing a few tiny snowflakes and pellets of soft hail, evinced the presence of winter. The old ford, where the division of the British army under Howe and Cornwallis crossed the Brandywine, was eight * The Brandywine Creek rises near the boundary of Lancaster and Chester counties, Pennsylvania, and flows through Delaware. After uniting with Christiana Creek, it enters the Delaware River, forming the harbor of Wilmington. It is navigable as high as Brandywine village. ** This is copied from Day's Historical Collections of Pennsylvania. The house is of stone, and ranked among the first country mansions of the period. It is about a mile and a half south of the Paoli tavern. [[[Jefferis's Ford.--Sconnel Town, Osborne's Hill, and Birmingham Meeting-house.]]] {374}or ten rods above the bridge which now spans the stream. On the high ground upon the opposite shore, the old stone house of Emmon Jefferis is yet standing. [Illustration: 8384] In it the merchants of Wilmington, alarmed for the safety of their goods, stored a large quantity of wine and other liquors, believing that the line of march of the British army would be through their own town, and not as high up the stream as at this place. For reasons which we shall presently consider, Cornwallis and his division crossed the Brandywine at this ford, and, discovering the Madeira wine in Jefferson's house, made themselves merry at the expense of the rebel merchants." [Illustration: 9384] Howe took Jefferis with him as a guide to conduct him toward Birmingham meeting-house. From Jefferis's Ford we proceeded toward the Birmingham meeting-house, famous in the annals of the Brandywine battle as the spot near which the most sanguinary conflict took place. We traversed the road along which Cornwallis marched over the high ground eastward of the Brandywine, passing the site of Sconnel Town, ** Strodes's Mill, and the field where the British army formed for action on the southern slopes of Osborn's Hill. We were thoroughly chilled when we reached Birmingham meeting-house, delineated on the next page, situated about four miles below Jefferis's Ford. There we found a comfortable shelter from the piercing wind under its spacious shed, where we sat down with Bowen's and Futhey's _Plan of the Battleground_ before us, and contemplated the memorable events which occurred in this vicinity. The British fleet under Lord Howe, bearing a land force eighteen thousand strong, under the command of his brother, General Sir William Howe, sailed up the Chesapeake, and landed at Turkey Point, on the west side of the River Elk, about eleven miles from Elkton, at its head, on the 25th of August, 1777. Howe's destination was Philadelphia. He had [[ a July 23, 1777]] left Sandy Hook (a) with the intention of passing up the Delaware, but, when at the capes of that river, he was informed of the obstructions which the Americans had placed in its channel, and he proceeded to the Chesapeake. **** The two days and nights after * This view is from the easterly bank of the Brandywine. The ford was at the mouth of the little creek seen issuing from the small bridge on the left. The Brandywine here is broad and shallow, with quite a rapid current. ** Sconnel Town was a hamlet of two or three dwellings, one or two shops, and a school-house, situated a short distance from Jefferis's Ford, on the road to the Birmingham meeting-house. That building having been taken possession of by the Americans for an hospital, the Quakers who worshiped there held their meetings in a wheel-wright's shop at Sconnel Town. They were holding a week-day meeting there on the day of the battle. Not a vestige of Sconnel Town may now be seen, except the remains of a cellar on the easterly side of the road. *** This plan is from an actual survey made during the summer of 1846, under the direction of John S. Bowen and J. Smith Futhey, of Chester. The position of the forces in action, many of the houses, and other localities as they existed, was ascertained from a map drawn by officers of the British army, and published a few months after the battle (in April, 1778). De Chastellux, who visited the battle-ground with La Fayette in 1781, mentions the fact that he had one of these English maps as a guide. The roads of the present day, and the relative position to them of the houses, woods, &c., of the Revolution, are carefully laid down upon the map of Bowen and Futhey, which forms the basis of the one printed on page 377 of this work. On the day when Sir William Howe entered the Chesapeake, he received a letter from Lord George Germaine, dated May 18th, giving him the first intimation that aid would be expected from him in favor of Burgoyne, then pressing forward toward the Hudson from Canada. He immediately sent a message to Sir Henry Clinton, who was left in command at New York, to act in conjunction with Burgoyne, if circumstances should permit. The result we have considered. [[[Landing of the British at the Head of Elk.--Washington's Preparations to meet them.--March of Americans from Philadelphia.]]] {375}his landing were stormy, and prevented any considerable movement being made before the 28th, when the British commander-in-chief, with the first and second brigades of light troops and reserve, marched to the Head of Elk. [Illustration: 8385] Major-general Grey, with the third brigade and a battalion of Highlanders, crossed the Elk on the 30th. The fourth brigade, under General Agnew, with a Hessian brigade, under Knyp-hausen, crossed, on the 31st, * to Cecil [[August.]] court-house whence they proceeded on the east side of the river, and joined the forces under Howe on Gray's Hill, about [[September 3.]] two miles eastward of Elkton. [Illustration: 9385] This force had remained at the landing to cover the debarkation of the stores and artillery. General Grant, with a suitable force, remained at the Head of Elk to maintain the communication with the shipping. Washington, as we have seen, was perplexed by the movements of Howe, being uncertain of his destination. As soon, however, as he was informed that the British fleet was off the capes of the Chesapeake, he turned his attention in that direction. The detachments in New Jersey, whom General Sullivan had employed in unsuccessful enterprises against Staten Island, were recalled, and the whole army left Philadelphia for Wilmington. General Stephen, with his division, with that of General Lincoln, who had been ordered to join Schuyler at the north, first proceeded to Chester, in which vicinity the militia of Lower Pennsylvania and Delaware were gathering in large numbers, for the country was thoroughly aroused. The divisions of Stirling, Sullivan, and Greene (the latter composed of the brigades of Muhlenberg and Weeden), with Morgan's corps, and Bland's regiment of horse, accompanied by Washington in person, left Philadelphia on the morning of the 24th of August, and encamped at Red Clay Creek, a few miles below Wilmington, the next day. The [[August 25, 1777]] principal portion of the American cavalry were under the immediate command of Count Pulaski. General Nash, with Proctor's artillery, embarked in flat-boats upon the Delaware, and proceeded to Chester, from whence he pressed forward to Wilmington. The whole effective force then present and fit for duty consisted of about eleven thousand men, including about eighteen hundred of the Pennsylvania militia. Washington established his head-quarters at Wilmington, and made immediate preparations to oppose the march of the enemy, he having been informed, by scouts, of their arrival at the head of Elk. The Pennsylvania and Delaware militia--the former under General Armstrong, the latter under General Rodney--were ordered to press forward to the head * Manuscript letter from General Agnew to his wife, dated "Camp on the River Elk, August 30th, 1777." In this epistle he wrote, "I have not had the happiness to receive any letter since the one which brought me the plan of a house, in which I trust in God yet to pass many, many happy years in the society of my worthy Betty and the two dear children, as the best and true real reward for all we have undergone." Alas! five weeks afterward he was slain in the battle at Germantown, and wife and children saw him no more. ** This is a view of the southerly front of the meeting-house. The building is very substantially built ol stone. Much of it is serpentine, whieh abounds in that region, and of which several houses are constructed. I was informed that the stains made by the blood of the wounded carried in there at the time of the battle are yet visible upon the floor. The Hicksite party hold present possession of the house; the Orthodox have built a place of worship near. [[[Encampment on Red Clay Neck.--Howe's Proclamation.--Retreat of the Americans across the Brandywine.]]] {376}of Elk, and to secure the stores deposited there. In this, however, they failed, for, before their arrival, the British army had debarked, and all the stores, among which was a large quantity of salt, * fell into their hands. Generals Greene and Weeden thoroughly reconnoitered the country between Wilmington and the Elk; and Washington himself rode through [[August 26, 1777]] heavy rains to the head of that river, to make personal observations. An eligible place was selected by Greene for the American army to encamp, within six miles of Howe's position on Gray's Hill; but, before information of the selection reached Washington, it had been determined in a council of war to take a position on Red Clay Neck, about half way between Wilmington and Christiana, with the left of the army on Christiana Creek, and the right extending toward Chad's Ford, upon the Brandywine. Greene's sagacity foresaw the hazard of the chosen position, and he expressed his opinion that the Americans must abandon it on the approach of the enemy. The sequel proved the correctness of his opinion. Distressed for want of horses, hemmed in by strong parties of the American militia, and almost daily annoyed by the attacks of Captain Henry Lee's and other smaller detachments of cavalry upon his pickets, Howe did not move forward until the 3d of September. On the 27th of August he issued a proclamation to the people, assuring them that he did not come to make war upon the peaceable, but to put down the rebellious; that private property should be respected; that their persons should be secure, and that pardon should be extended to all who should return to their allegiance, and surrender themselves to any detachment of the royal forces within a specified time. But the people of Lower Pennsylvania had heard of the falsity of professions put forth in his proclamation to the inhabitants of New Jersey the year previous, and his "Declaration," as he termed it, produced very little effect in his favor. The people had learned to suspect the flattering words of British officials, whether in Parliament or in the camp, and, instead of "remaining quietly in their houses," they flocked to the standard of the patriots, and annoyed the common enemy on every side. The advance of the royal forces toward the Brandywine was marked by a series of skirmishes, in which the Americans made a number of prisoners. ** Cornwallis, with Knyphausen, at the head of one division of the royal army, moved forward and encamped above Peneander, where a brief but severe skirmish ensued between the enemy and Maxwell's regiment of foot, formed in ambuscade, in which the patriots lost forty in killed and wounded. The loss of the enemy was somewhat less. On the 3rd, General Grant, having rejoined the army with the tents, baggage, and stores, the British moved forward by way of Newark, and took post within four miles of the right of the American encampment, extending their left far up into the country. A strong column made a feint of attacking the American front, and, after some menacing maneuvering, halted at Milltown, within two miles of the center of the Americans. Washington, believing it to be the design of Howe to turn the American right, cross the Brandywine, cut off their communication with Philadelphia, and thus hem them in, upon a tongue of land, between the British fleet and army, saw at once the peril of his position, and, pursuant to Greene's prediction, broke up his encampment, and crossed the Brandywine at [[September, 1777]] Chad's Ford, at about two o'clock on the morning of the 9th. On the same evening, the British marched forward in two columns. Knyphausen, with the left, encamped at New Garden and Ivennet Square; Cornwallis, with the right, was posted below, at Hockhesson meeting-house. *** On the following morning the two divisions met at[[September 3.]] * Salt was a scarce, yet indispensable article during the war. In his official dispatch, dated August 25th, 1777, Washington, alluding to the efforts to save the stores, wrote, "Among others, there is a considerable parcel of salt. Every attempt will be made to save that." During the winter encampment at Morristown in 1780, salt was eight dollars a bushel, and it was difficult to procure it even at that price. ** On the 28th of August the Americans took between thirty and forty prisoners; and, on that evening, twelve deserters from the British navy and eight from the army came into camp. On the 29th, Captain Lee took twenty-nine prisoners. *** The column of Cornwallis was composed of two battalions of grenadiers, two of light infantry, the Hessian grenadiers, part of the seventy-first regiment, and two British brigades; in all about 13,000 men. Knyphausen's division consisted of two British brigades, the residue of the Hessians, and Wemys's corps of Rangers; in all about 5000. [[[Approach of the British to the Brandywine.--The Fords of that Stream.--Plan of the Battle.]]] {377}Kennet Square, and at evening advanced to within a mile of Welsh's tavern, then a public house of considerable note, three miles east of Kennet. * [Illustration: 0387] * This tavern, and also the Kennet (Quaker) meeting-house, still exist. The reader will better understand the position of places, as well as the movement of the armies, by reference to the above map. Kennet Square, a small village, is about seven miles west of the Brandywine, upon the high road from Chad's Ford. Welsh's tavern is about three miles east of the Square, and half a mile beyond is the Kennet meeting-house and grave-yard, noted on the map. The several fords on the Brandywine, mentioned in the narrative, were located as follows: First above Brandywine village was Pyles's Ford; the next was Chad's Ford; one mile above was Brinton's; two miles above this was Jones's, on the Street road, and Wistar's (now Shunk's), about a mile above Jones's. These were below the forks of the creek. On the north branch was Buffington's (now Brinton's), Jefferis's, six miles above Chad's Ford, and Taylor's Ford, about half a mile higher, where the old Lancaster road crossed. On the west branch was Trimble's Ford, about a mile above the forks, and five miles from the British encampment near Welsh's tavern.--See Bowen and Futhey's Sketch of the Battle of Brandywine, explained below. * Explanation of the Map.--This plan, alluded to on page 374, note 3, was carefully drawn, from those surveys, by Edward Armstrong, Esq., the recording secretary of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and published by that association. A A, denote the column under the command of Lord Cornwallis, after having crossed the forks of the Brandywine. C, two squadrons of dragoons, which were not employed in the action. E E, the first general attack of the enemy's guards and grenadiers. F, Deborre's brigade, on the right, forced by the enemy. G, G, the British and Hessian grenadiers entangled in a wood. H H, march of the enemy toward and beyond Dilworth. The position of the Americans when the battle commenced is named on the plan. I, indicates the ravine or defile where Greene checked the enemy until night No. 28 denotes the site of a blacksmith's shop which stood near the defile, but now destroyed. [[[Position of the American Army on the Brandywine.--Movement of the British.--Localities of the Battle-ground.]]] {378}On the morning of the 11th of September, the day of the battle on the Brandywine, the main strength of the American army was posted on the heights east of Chad's Ford, and commanding that passage of the creek. The brigades of Muhlenberg and Weeden, which composed Greene's division, occupied a position directly east of the ford; Wayne's division and Proctor's artillery (o o o on the map) were posted upon the brow of an eminence near Chad's house (printed on page 386), immediately above the ford; and the brigades of Sullivan, Stirling, and Stephen, which formed the right wing, extended some distance up the river, on the left of the main body. At Pyles's Ford, two miles below, General Armstrong was posted with one thousand Pennsylvania militia, to guard that pass. General Maxwell, with about one thousand light troops, took post on the heights upon the west side of the river, about a mile from Chad's Ford, to dispute that passage. [[September 11, 1777]] At daybreak, the column under Cornwallis moved along the Lancaster road, which, for several miles, ran nearly parallel with the Brandywine. General Howe was with this division. Knyphausen and his command moved forward at nine o'clock. A dense fog enshrouded the country, and the scouting parties of both armies often came in close contact before they were aware of their proximity. From behind the walls of the grave-yard of the Kennet meeting-house, and also of houses, trees, and clumps of bushes, par- * a a, indicates the column under Knyphausen, in march from Kennet meeting-house toward Chad's Ford, b b, the heights and woods occupied by Maxwell and his troops, d, British riflemen behind a house, supported by one hundred men from Stern's brigade, e. the Queen's Rangers pursuing Maxwell, when he was driven from the woods, f. Near h, which denotes a valley, were four pieces of cannon, with the forty-ninth regiment, to support the attack of the advanced troops, who crossed the ford in the afternoon, under the fire of Wayne's batteries at m m. n, position of Knyphausen's column from half after ten in the morning until he crossed the river, o o o, the position of Wayne's troops near Chad's house, q, march of the enemy to the ford, in the face of a cannonade from Wayne's batteries. Chad's Ford is named on the map. The position of the Americans is seen on the Chester road, a little to the left of Rocky Hill. Knyphausen took position at u, where he remained during the night after the battle. [Illustration: 9388] * The following references, taken from Bowen and Futhey's map, show the names of the occupants of houses in the vicinity when the battle occurred, and also the names of the occupants in 1846, two years before I visited the ground: 1. George Strode's, now Jonathan Paxson's. 2, now Dr. A. L. Elwyn's. 4. Widow Susannah Davis's, the site now occupied by the house of Aaron Sharpless. 5. Widow of John Davis, not standing. 6. Widow of James Davis, now occupied by Hibbert Davis. 7. William Jones, now Bunton Jones, his grandson. 8. Isaac Davis's, now Abraham Darlington's. 9. John Woodward's, not standing. 10. Richard Evanson's, now Lewis Brinton's. 11. Supposed to have pin. It was owned by Israel Gilpin when Howe had possession of it. 19. John Henderson, near Harlan Webb's house. 21. Gideon Gilpin's, now William Painter's; the head-quarters of LaFayette, f 22. Benjamin Ring's, now Joseph P. Harvey's; Washington's head-quarters. 23. William Harvey's, not standing. 24. Davis's tavern, now in ruins. 25. John Chad's, still standing. 26. Amos's, not standing. * been J. Bolton's, not standing. 12. Isaac Garrett's, not standing. 13. Abraham Darlington's, now Clement Biddle's. 14. John Bennett's, not standing. 15. Edward Brinton, now Edward B. Darlington. 16. George Brinton's, now Ziba Darlington's; built in 1704. Howe's head-quarters, given above, are denoted on the map by a parallelogram upon the left of the New Road, near the right-hand corner of the map. * This house is situated upon a new road, one mile south-southwest of Dilworth. This view is from the field in front. ** There is some doubt about La Fayette having occupied this house. De Chastellux, who, in 1780, visited the battle-ground in company with La Fayette, says, "M. De La Fayette, attended by the other travelers, went further on to ask for quarters at a Quaker's called Benjamin Ring, at whose house he lodged with General Washington the night before the battle."--Travels in America, i., 237. This building is about a mile and a half east of Chad's Ford. [[[Skirmishing on the March toward the Brandywine.--Engagement near Chad's Ford.--Skirmishing on the Brandywine.]]] {379}ties of militia kept up an annoying fire upon the advancing enemy. Knyphausen, however, pushed forward toward Chad's Ford. He sent a strong advance party to dislodge Maxwell. They met at about ten o'clock, and a severe engagement ensued. Maxwell was driven back to the verge of the stream at the ford, where he was re-enforced. Turning upon his pursuers, he made a furious charge. The ranks of the enemy were thrown into confusion, and fell back upon Knyphausen's main column. Unable to cope with Maxwell in open battle without bringing a larger force into action, Knyphausen sent a detachment through the woods to make an attack upon his flank. Perceiving this movement, Maxwell retreated across the stream, leaving the whole west bank of the Brandywine in possession of the enemy. [Illustration: 0389] Knyphausen now brought forward his ordnance, and from the brow of the hill upon the west side of the stream he kept up a strong cannonade upon the Americans, without attempting to cross. The fire was returned with spirit by Proctor's artillery. Knyphausen did not cross the Brandywine, because he was instructed by Howe to amuse the Americans with feigned efforts to make the passage of the ford, until Cornwallis should cross above, and gain the right and rear of the patriots. This accomplished, Knyphausen was directed to push across Chad's Ford, when the two divisions of the royal army would make a simultaneous attack. During these maneuvers of Knyphausen, several detachments of the Americans crossed the river, and boldly attacked his flanking parties and those who were laboring to throw up intrenchments. Captains Porterfield and Waggoner having secured a footing on the western side, General Maxwell recrossed the stream with a considerable force, drove the enemy from the ground, killed about thirty men, and seized a quantity of intrenching tools, with which they were constructing a battery. Knyphausen sent an overwhelming force against them, which soon drove the Americans back to their lines on the east side of the river. General Sullivan, who commanded the right wing of the Americans, was ordered to guard the fords as high up as Buffington's, just above the forks of the Brandywine. He sent * The loss of the enemy in this engagement was estimated at about three hundred; that of the Americans was trifling. ** This view is from the east bank of the Brandywine, looking southwest. The ford was about ten rods above the present bridge. Its place is indicated in the picture by the hollow in front of the tree on the extreme left. The wooded height seen on the opposite side of the river is the place where Knyphausen's artillery was planted. [[[Sullivan deceived by conflicting Intelligence.--Washington's Suspense.--Passage of the Brandywine by the British Army.]]] {380}scouting parties in various directions to observe the movements of the enemy. Colonel Moses Hazen * was stationed with a considerable force at Jones's Ford. [Illustration: 9390] Between nine and ten in the morning, Colonel Theodoric Bland, ** with some light horse, crossed the [[September 11.]] Brandywine at Jones's Ford, and discovered a portion of Cornwallis's division marching toward the west branch, at Trimble's Ford. Bland dispatched a messenger to Sullivan with the information, which was confirmed by another dispatch from Colonel Ross (dated at "Great Valley road at eleven o'clock"), who was in the rear of Cornwallis's division, informing Sullivan that "five thousand men, with sixteen or eighteen field-pieces, were on the march for Taylor's and Jefferis's Fords." [Illustration: 8390] Similar intelligence was sent by Colonel Hazen. These accounts reached Washington, from Sullivan, between eleven and twelve o'clock. The commander-in-chief immediately ordered Sullivan to pass the Brandywine and attack Cornwallis, while he, with the main division, crossed, and engaged Knyphausen at Chad's Ford. General Greene, of Washington's division, was ordered to cross the river above the ford and gain Knyphausen's rear. Before these several movements could be executed, counter intelligence was received by Sullivan from Major Spear of the militia, posted upon the forks of the Brandywine, who informed him that there was no appearance of an enemy in that quarter. Spear's information was confirmed by Sergeant Tucker, who had been sent out in that direction expressly to gain information. Relying upon this intelligence, Sullivan halted. He dispatched a messenger to Washington with the information, and the meditated attack upon the enemy at Chad's Ford was abandoned. Greene, who had crossed with his advanced guard, was recalled. While Washington was thus kept in suspense by conflicting intelligence, Cornwallis gained his coveted advantage. He made a circuitous march of seventeen miles, keeping beyond the American patrols, crossed the west branch of the Brandywine at Trimble's Ford, and the east branch at Jefferis's, and gained the heights near the Birmingham meeting-house, within two miles of Sullivan's right flank, before that general was certain that Howe and Cornwallis had left Kennet Square! This apparent want of vigilance on the part of his patrols drew upon Sullivan the severest censure of the public. Already the failure of an expedition against British posts on Staten Island, *** under his general command, had biased public opinion against him; and Congress, wherein Sullivan had several active enemies, had directed General Washington to appoint a court to investigate the matter. The dis- * Moses Hazen was appointed colonel of a second Canadian regiment in 1775. He commanded at Montreal for a short time. Afterward he was appointed colonel of a regiment called Congess's Own. He was in the battles of Germantown and Brandywine. Having charge of prisoners in Pennsylvania, he was ordered to designate, by lot, a British officer for retaliation in the ease of Huddy, mentioned on page 366. He died at Troy, New York, January 30, 1802, aged 69 years. ** Theodoric Bland was a native of Virginia. He was prepared by study for the medical profession, but abandoned it for the field when the Revolution commenced. He was among the earliest active opposers of Dunmore in Virginia. After distinguishing himself as a leader among the volunteers, he joined the regular army, and soon rose to the rank of colonel of dragoons. He was a vigilant and energetic officer. In 1779, he was appointed to the command of the "convention troops" (as those of Burgoyne's captured army were called), at Charlottesville, in Virginia, where he continued till the autumn of 1780, when he was elected a delegate in Congress. He held a seat in that body until the close of the war. He was then chosen a member of the Legislature of Virginia, and in that body he opposed the ratification of the Federal Constitution and was chosen to represent his district in the first Congress under that instrument. While attending the session in New York, he was seized with illness, and expired on the 1st of June, 1790, at the age of forty-eight. Colonel Bland was a soldier, legislator, and poet. His papers were collected and published a few years since, and are interesting mementoes of the war. *** This expedition will be noticed in detail hereafter. I have briefly referred to it on page 262, in connection with a notice of the political influence of the Quakers during "the war. [[[Forming of the Lines for Battle.--Conduct of Deborre.--Commencement of the Battle.--Skill and Courage of the Belligerents.]]] {381}asters which occurred on the Brandywine were charged to Sullivan's want of vigilance, energy, and skill, and he was held responsible for the defeat of our troops. * Even his honorable acquittal, by a court martial, subsequently, did not altogether remove from the public mind a distrust of his ability as a general officer. When Sullivan was assured, by a note from Colonel Bland, dated at "quarter past one o'clock," that the enemy were in great force on Osborne's Hill, a little to the right of the Birmingham meeting-house, he dispatched a messenger to Washington with the intelligence, ** and marched immediately to oppose the enemy. His division consisted of his own, Stirling's, and Stephen's brigades. Upon the gentle slopes near the Birmingham meeting-house he began to form his line for battle, his left extending toward the Brandywine. It was an advantageous position, for both flanks were covered by thick woods; but, in consequence of the delay in waiting the return of the messenger with orders from the commander-in-chief, the rough and broken character of the ground, and the time occupied by Sullivan in making a wide circuit in bringing his brigade to its assigned place in the line, *** he was not fully prepared for action when the refreshed and well-formed battalions of the enemy, under Cornwallis, came sweeping on from Osborne's Hill, **** and commenced a furious attack. The advanced guard were German troops. On arriving at the Street road, they were fired upon by a company of Americans stationed in an orchard north of Samuel Jones's brick dwelling-house. The Hessians returned the fire, and the action soon became general. The artillery of both armies opened with terrible effect; and while the Americans maintained their position, the carnage was great. The most indomitable courage was displayed, and, for a while, the result was doubtful. The Americans, many of them unskillful militia, repelled charge after charge of the well-disciplined infantry, chasseurs, grenadiers, and guards of the enemy, until overwhelming numbers obliged them to yield. The right wing of the Americans, under General Deborre, first gave way, and the left, under Sullivan, soon followed. The latter officer used every exertion to rally the flying troops, but in vain. In broken fragments they fled over the fields toward the main division of the army at Chad's Ford. The center division (Stirling's brigade), in which was General Conway, with eight hundred men, yet remained firm as a rock in the midst of the wild ocean of carnage. To this divi- * Three days after the battle on the Brandywine (September 14th), Mr. Burke, a delegate in Congress, made specific charges against Sullivan. On the strength of these charges, Congress voted that Sullivan should be recalled from the army till an inquiry should be made into his conduct. The recall was suspended at the earnest solicitation of Washington, who knew the falsity of the charges, the worth of Sullivan, and the immediate wants of the army; there being a lack of general officers, in consequence of Lincoln, Arnold, and others, having been sent to the northern army. ** Tradition says that Thomas Cheyney, a resident Whig, gave Washington the first intelligence of the approach of the enemy. He was alone, on a spirited mare, reconnoitering, and came suddenly upon the British. They fired upon him, but he escaped to the quarters of Washington. The chief doubted the truth of his intelligence at first; but the solemn assurances of Cheyney that it was correct--an assurance backed by an oath--made Washington believe him. Sullivan's note soon removed all doubt. Cheyney was an active spy while the American army was in the vicinity of the Delaware, and often suffered much from the Tories. *** A dissension at this time existed respecting the post of honor, on the extreme right of the line. General Deborre, a French officer who had lately joined the army, claimed this post, an honor which Sullivan would not yield. Perceiving his orders disobeyed, and Deborre pertinaciously insisting upon taking the right, Sullivan made a circuitous march for the purpose of outreaching him, and was, consequently, late upon the field. His brigade was not formed for action when the conflict commenced. Sullivan did not accomplish his purpose, and Deborre obtained his coveted position on the right. His brigade was the first to give way in the action. For his conduct on this occasion, and also in the expedition against Staten Island, Congress voted an inquiry. Deborre was offended, and resigned his commission. Having made himself very unpopular in the army, Congress readily accepted his resignation. He was an officer of thirty-five years' service in Europe, but was totally unfit to command American troops. **** Osborne's Hill is an eminence extending eastward from the Brandywine, and crossing the road from Jefferis's Ford, about a mile and a quarter above the Birmingham meeting-house. The British, under Cornwallis, halted and divided on the north side of Osborne's Hill, between two and three o'clock in the afternoon. It was at this time that the two armies first discovered each other, and prepared for action. The British army advanced over and down the south side of the hill (according to the narrative of Joseph Townsend, an eye-witness), across the lands of James Carver, now (1848) occupied by his nephew, James Forsyth. [[[Effects of the British Artillery.---Retreat of the Americans.--March of Greene to their Support.--La Fayette wounded.]]] {382}sion Sullivan now attached himself, and, with Stirling and La Fayette, engaged personally in the hottest of the battle. To this point Cornwallis directed his energies. His artillery made dreadful breaches in their ranks, and strewed the earth with the slain. * Resistance was vain, and, when hope no longer encouraged the contending patriots of the center, they, too, wheeled, and joined their comrades in their flight. Two of Sullivan s aids were killed; and La Fayette, who had leaped from his horse, and, sword in hand, was endeavoring to rally the yielding patriots, was wounded in the leg by a musket-ball, and fell. Gimat, his aid, helped him on a horse, and he escaped. ** Despair seized the troops, and every effort to rally them was, for a time, vain. They fled to the woods in the rear, pursued by the victorious enemy. Some of them were rallied half a mile northward of Dilworth, and a brief encounter ensued between the fugitives and the pursuing party of the left wing of the enemy. The conflict was short, and the Americans again fled. The British right wing got entangled in the woods, and did not participate in the subsequent engagement, when Greene checked the pursuers. On receiving intelligence of the approach of the British, Washington, with Greenes division of Virginians and Pennsylvanians, pushed forward to the support of Sullivan, leaving General Wayne at Chad's Ford to oppose the passage of Knyphausen. When the first cannon-peals from the Birmingham meeting-house broke over the country, Greene pressed forward to the support of the right wing. His first brigade, under General Weedon, *** took the lead, and so rapid was their march that they traveled four miles in forty minutes. *** Between Dilworth and the meeting-house they met the flying Americans, closely pursued by the British. Greene, by a skillful movement, opened his ranks and received the fugitives, then, closing them again, he covered their retreat and checked the pursuers by a continual * The place where the hottest of the conflict occurred was between the Birmingham meeting-house and the present dwellings of Messrs. Hibbert Davis and Brinton Jones. Many were killed near the meetinghouse; and, on the^day after the battle, several bodies were found south of the meeting-house, doubtless slain in the retreat. The meeting-house was taken possession of by General Howe, and used as an hospital. Several officers who died there were buried in the grave-yard, on the north side of the building. A popular tradition asserts that Earl Percy, the officer who commanded the retreat from Lexington, was killed in this engagement, and that he had a presentiment of his death on this occasion. Even the place where he was said to be buried, near the entrance gate to the grave-yard of the Birmingham meetinghouse, was pointed out to me. This is not correct. The earl (who was afterward Duke of Northumberland) left America previous to this battle. He died in England at the age of ninety-four, on the 10th of July, 1817. ** The bullet passed quite through his leg. He met a surgeon in the rear, who put a slight bandage around his leg, and he rode to Chester. The soldiers were retreating, in a straggling manner, in that direction; and La Fayette placed a guard near the bridge, at the entrance of the village, with orders to stop all the retreating soldiers at that place. His wound was then dressed, and the next morning he was conveyed to Philadelphia, from whence, after a few days, he proceeded to Bristol. When Henry Laurens was on his way to York, he took the route through Bristol, and conveyed La Fayette in his carriage to Bethlehem, where he received the kind attentions of the Moravians. There he remained about two months, till his wound was sufficiently healed to enable him to join the army. Laurens's kindness was long remembered. When, subsequently, he became a prisoner in the Tower of London, the Marchioness De La Fayette wrote a touching letter in his behalf to the Count De Vergennes, soliciting the aid of the French court in procuring the release of Laurens.--Sparks's Washington, v., 456. *** George Weedon was a native of Virginia, and was an inn-keeper at Fredericksburg before the war. * We find his name first connected with military affairs, in a letter to Colonel Washington, in April, 1775, informing him that the Independent Company of Fredericksburg were determined, with his approbation, to march to Williamsburg, on account of the removal of powder from the magazine by order of Governor Dunmore. This letter was signed by himself, Hugh Mercer, Alexander Spottswood, and John Willis. He joined the Continental army in the course of the "summer, and in February, 1777, he received from Congress a commission as brigadier. He was in the battles at Brandywine and Germantown. In consequence of some dissatisfaction about rank, he left the service while the army was at Valley Forge. He resumed the command of a brigade in 1780, and commanded the Virginia militia at Gloucester, during the siege of Yorktown, in October, 1781. From that time he was not engaged in active service in the field. I have met with no account of his subsequent career and death. **** Gordon, ii, 225. *Dr. J. F. D. Smyth, an English traveler in America, in giving an account of Fredericksburg, says, "I put up at the inn kept by one Weedon, who was afterward a general officer in the American army, and was then very active and zealous in blowing the flames of sedition." [[[The British checked by Greene.--Knyphausen preparing to cross the Brandywine.--General Muhlenberg.]]] {383}fire of artillery. At a narrow defile about a mile from the meeting-house, in the direction of Chester, flanked on each side by woods, he changed his front, faced the enemy, and kept them at bay while the retreating party rested and formed in his rear. [Illustration: 9393] Greene defended this pass with great skill and bravery until twilight, when the pursuers encamped for the night. In this defense the brigades of Weed-on and Muhlenberg were greatly distinguished, particularly the tenth Virginia regiment, under Colonel Stevens, and a Pennsylvania regiment, under Colonel Stewart. We have observed that the plan of the enemy was to attack the Americans front and rear at the same time, by Cornwallis gaining the right flank of the patriots, and Knyphausen crossing the Brandywine at Chad's Ford. The firing of heavy guns on the American right was to be the signal for the German general to ford the stream. When the firing commenced at the Birmingham meeting-house, Knyphausen observed the departure of Greene's division, and the consequent weakening of the defense of the passage of the river. He immediately made a proper disposition of his troops for crossing. Wayne was on the alert, and, the moment Knyphausen's forces moved forward, he * John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg was born in the village of Trappe, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, on the 1st of October, 1746. He was the son of Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg, D.D., the founder of the Lutheran Church in America; and his mother was the daughter of Conrad Weiser, a celebrated officer and Indian agent in Pennsylvania. Peter, his eldest born, was dedicated in infancy to the Church, and he was educated for the ministry, partly in this country and partly in Europe. He was ordained a minister in 1768, and commenced his labors in Western New Jersey the following year. He was married to Anna Barbara Meyer in 1770. In order to take charge of a congregation in Virginia, to which he had been called, he went to London in 1772, to receive ordination from an English bishop. Mr. White (afterward Bishop White, of Pennsylvania) was ordained at the same time (the 23d of April, 1772) by the Bishop of London. In his journal Mr. Muhlenberg states that, before their return to America, he and Mr. White attended the theater to see the performance of Garrick, then in the height of his career as an actor. Returning to America, he assumed ministerial duties at Woodstock, in Virginia, where he soon became a leading spirit among those who opposed British oppression. In 1774, he was chairman of the committee of safety in his county, and was also elected a member of the House of Burgesses. At the close of 1775, he was elected colonel of a Virginia regiment, and laid aside his pastoral character. In concluding his farewell sermon, he said, that, in the language of Holy Writ, "there was a time for all things; a time to preach, and a time to pray, but those times had passed away;" and then, in a voice that echoed like a trumpet-blast through the church, he said, "that there was a time to fight, and that time had now come!" Then, laying aside his sacerdotal gown, he stood before his flock in the full regimental dress of a Virginia colonel. He ordered the drums to be beaten at the church door for recruits; and almost his entire male audience capable of bearing arms joined his standard. Nearly three hundred men enlisted under his banner on that day. He was in the battle at Charleston in 1776, and served with fidelity in the Southern campaign that year. Congress promoted him to the rank of brigadier general in February, 1777, and he was ordered to take charge of all the Continental troops of the Virginia line in that state. He joined the army under Washington, at Middlebrook, in May following, and was with the chief in all his movements until 1779, including the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, the sufferings at Whitemarsh and Valley Forge, the conflict on the plains of Monmouth, and the capture of Stony Point. At the close of that year he was directed to take command of the troops in Virginia, where he was very active until the attack of Cornwallis at Yorktown. In that battle and victory General Muhlenberg participated. At the close of the war, he was elevated to the rank of major general. He removed to Pennsylvania, and in various civil capacities served that state. He was a member of the third Federal Congress, and in 1801 was elected a United States senator. The same year he was appointed supervisor of the internal revenue of Pennsylvania, and in 1802 was made collector of the port of Philadelphia. He remained in that office until his death, which occurred at his country seat, near Philadelphia, on the 1st of October (his birth-day), 1807, at the age of sixty-one years. His grave is near the village church where he was baptized, and a simple monument bears this inscription: "Sacred to the memory of General Peter Muhlenberg, born October 1st, 1746; died October 1st, 1807. He was brave in the field, faithful in the cabinet, honorable in all his transactions, a sincere friend, and an honest man." The portrait here given is copied, by permission of the author, from an engraving in the Life of Peter Muhlenberg, by his grandson, Henry A. Muhlenberg, Esq., from which I compiled this brief memoir. [[[Passage of the Brandywine by Knyphausen.--Bravery of Wayne.--General Retreat of the Americans.--Result of the Battle.]]] {384}opened upon him a heavy fire of artillery from his intrenchments and the battery near Chad's house. Although in no condition to oppose nearly one half of the British army, he stood firm at first, and gallantly confronted the heavy and steadily progressing columns. But, on receiving intelligence of the defeat of Sullivan at Birmingham meeting-house, and discovering that a considerable force of the enemy, who had penetrated the woods, were coming out upon his flank, Wayne ordered a retreat. This was accomplished in great disorder, leaving his artillery and munitions of war in the hands of Knyphausen. They retreated, in broken columns and confused fragments, behind the division of General Greene, then gallantly defending the pass near Dilworth, and joined the other defeated troops. The approach of night ended the whole conflict. The Americans retreated to Chester that night, where they rendezvoused, and the next day marched toward Philadelphia, and encamped near Germantown. General Armstrong, who was stationed at Pyles's Ford, had no opportunity to engage in the action. The British remained upon the field, near Dilworth, Howe taking up his quarters at Gilpin's, a few miles from Chad's Ford. * Military men, when considering the battle of Brandywine, have questioned the judgment of Washington in incurring the great risk incident to a disparity in numbers and discipline. The numbers engaged in the action have never been accurately ascertained. The British effective force, on the day of the battle, was probably not less than seventeen thousand men, while that of the Americans did not exceed eleven thousand, and many of these were raw militia. Washington was aware of the expectations of Congress and the whole country, and wisely considered that a defeat in battle would be less depressing upon the minds of the soldiers and the people, than permitting the enemy to march, without opposition, to the capture of Philadelphia, then the political metropolis of America. Influenced by these considerations, he resolved to fight the enemy; and had not conflicting intelligence perplexed and thwarted him in his plans, it is probable that victory would have crowned the American army. The result was disastrous, and many noble patriots slept their last sleep upon the battle-field that night. ** * In M. Hilliard d'Auberteuil's work, in French, published in 1782, entitled "Essais Historiques et Politique sur la Revolution de l'Amérique Septentrionale," there is a touching story of a seene which occurred near the Brandywine, after the battle. It is in substance as follows: A beautiful girl, named Molly Harvey, loved a young patriot soldier by the name of Seymour. Her father was wealthy; the young man was poor. They were not allowed to marry; and young Seymour, determined to distinguish himself, went to South Carolina, and was in the severe battle at Sullivan's Island. He afterward joined the army under Washington, and commanded a company in the battle on the Brandywine. After the battle he obtained leave of absence for three days, and repaired to the house of Harvey, near by. The parents consented to the marriage, and the nuptials were celebrated. The friends of the parties were assembled under the trees, enjoying the festivity, when two soldiers from the British army approached, and attempted to make Seymour their prisoner. A contest ensued, in which the bride was killed by a bayonet-thrust. The day of her marriage was the day of her death. Accompanying the story is a beautiful engraving, representing the sad spectacle. The number of the killed and wounded in the several engagements on the 11th is not known. Washington was unable to make a return of the American loss on account of the confusion which followed the defeat, many of the militia companies being thinned by desertion; and Howe's estimates were only conjectural. General Greene estimated the loss of the Americans in killed, wounded, and prisoners, at about 1200; that of the royal army nearly 800. Howe reported his loss at 90 killed, 488 wounded, and six missing. He also stated the loss of the Americans at 300 killed, 600 wounded, and 400 taken prisoners; about the number estimated by Greene. The Americans also lost ten small field-pieces, and a howitzer. Many French officers were engaged in the action. The Baron De St. Quary, serving as a volunteer, was taken prisoner. Captain Louis de Fleury, the hero of Stony Point, had a horse killed under him. His bravery commanded the admiration of Washington. Two days after the battle, Congress ordered another horse to be presented to De Fleury. The day after the battle, Howe wrote to Washington, informing him that the wounded Americans were so numerous that his surgeons could not attend to them, and offering to receive any surgeons the American chief might send. Doctors Rush, Leiper, Latimer, and Willet, with their attendants, were sent back to take care of them. [[[Washington again made Dictator.--Attempt to attack the British Army.--Du Coudray.--Patriotism of the Israels.]]] {385}Congress was not dismayed by the disaster on the Brandywine, but were nerved to new exertions. They resolved to exert their whole power in strengthening the army in the vicinity, and for that purpose Washington was directed to order fifteen hundred troops of Putnam's division, on the Hudson, to march immediately to the Delaware, while the militia of Pennsylvania and the adjoining states were summoned to join the army. Anticipating the necessity of leaving Philadelphia, and, perhaps, of a temporary speedy dissolution, Congress voted to enlarge the powers of Washington, and he was partially reinvested with the dictatorial character, first conferred upon him before the attack on the enemy at Trenton in 1776. * Nor was Washington himself dispirited. Allowing his troops one day for rest and refreshments at Germantown, he recrossed the Schuylkill, ** for the purpose of [[September 15, 1777]] giving the enemy battle even upon the field of his late defeat, if his camp yet remained there. He took the Lancaster road, and the next day met the enemy not far from the Warren tavern, about twenty miles from Philadelphia. Howe had left his encampment near the Brandywine, and was on his way to Goshen (West Chester)[[September 16]] when he heard of the approach of the Americans. *** By a quick maneuver, he gained * The following is a copy of the resolution: "Resolved, That General Washington be authorized and directed to suspend all officers who misbehave, and to fill up all vacancies in the American army under the rank of brigadiers, until the pleasure of Congress shall be communicated; to take, wherever he may be, all such provisions and other articles as may be necessary for the comfortable subsistence of the army under his command, paying or giving certificates for the same; to remove and secure, for the benefit of the owners, all goods and effects which may be serviceable to the enemy; provided that the powers hereby vested shall be exercised only in such parts of these States as may be within the circumference of seventy miles of the head-quarters of the American army, and shall continue in force for the space of sixty days, unless sooner revoked by Congress."--Journals, iii., 318. The last clause was important, for there were a great number of disaffected persons who preferred to have their property fall into the hands ot the enemy, to contribute to their support. [Illustration: 9395] ** Monsieur Du Coudray, a French officer, who had just obtained permission to join the army as a volunteer, set off with a party of French gentlemen to overtake Washington. Du Coudray rode a young and spirited mare. As he entered upon a flat-bottomed boat to cross the Schuylkill, she went out to the extreme end, and into the river, with her rider on her back. Du Coudray was drowned. Congress ordered (September 17) his corpse to be interred at the expense of the United States, and with the honors of war. *** The evening after the battle, a party of British were sent to Wilmington to seize Governor M'Kinley, and secure such plunder as might fall in their way. They took the governor from his bed, and, seizing a shallop, which was lying in the stream, laden with the valuable effects of the people, together with the public records of the county, a large quantity of public and private money, all the papers and certificates belonging to the loan and treasury offices there, with plate and jewels, returned to the camp. The whole country was in a state of terror; and while the victorious Britons were on their march toward Philadelphia, all lower Pennsylvania and Delaware were eminent for the loyalty of their inhabitants. There were, however, noble exceptions. The patriotism of the Israels, and the bold heroism of Hannah Irwin Israel, will never be forgotten. Israil Israel, her husband, was a member of the committee of safety, and of course a marked man. Betrayed by his Tory neighbors, he and his wife's brother were made prisoners, and taken on board the Roebuck frigate, lying in the Delaware, in sight of his house, for trial. He was treated harshly; his bed was a coil of ropes on deck; his food of the meanest kind. It was reported that he had declared that he would sooner drive his cattle as a present to General Washington, than to receive thousands of dollars in British gold for them. On being informed of this, the British commander ordered a detachment of soldiers to go to his meadows, in full view, and seize and slaughter his cattle then feeding there. His young wife (only nineteen years of age) saw her husband and brother taken to the frigate, and she also saw the movement of the plunderers. She guessed their purpose when she saw the soldiers land. With a boy eight years old, she hastened to the meadow, cast down the bars, and began driving out the cattle. The soldiers told her to desist, and threatened to shoot her. "Fire away!" cried the heroic woman. They fired, and the balls flew thickly but harmlessly around her. The shield of God's providence was over her, and, though the cowardly soldiers fired several shots, not one grazed her. The cattle were all saved, and the discomfited marauders returned to the frigate. The trial of Israel took place. A kind-hearted sailor asked him if he was a Free-mason. He answered in the affirmative, and was informed that a Lodge was to be held on board the vessel that night, the officers being Masons. The trial ended, and the life of Israel was in jeopardy. He made a manly defense before the court, and, when opportunity offered, he gave a sign of the brotherhood. It was recognized; the haughty bearing of the officers was changed to kindness; the Tory witnesses were reprimanded for seeking the harm of an honorable man; presents were prepared for his heroic wife; and himself and brother were sent on shore In a splendid barge, and set at liberty. The records of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania bear testimony that Mr. Israel (who was many years Grand Master) was saved from an ignominious death by the use of masonic signs.--See Mrs. Ellett's Women of the Revolution, i., 155. [[[Battle prevented.--March of the Americans toward Germantown.--Localities near the Brandywine.]]] {386}the high ground near the White Horse tavern with a part of his army, and turned the right flank of the Americans, while the main body advanced toward the left. Skirmishing commenced between the advanced guards of the two armies, and a general battle appeared about to ensue, when a terrible storm of rain (already noticed on page 315), accompanied by heavy thunder, broke upon the belligerents, and so injured their ammunition that they were obliged to defer the battle. Washington found his loss of ammunition to be so great, that prudence forbade a present engagement with the enemy. He accordingly withdrew his army, and filed off toward Reading. Wayne, in the mean while, was hanging upon the rear of the enemy, and suffered the defeat at Paoli. Washington retired to Yellow Springs and Warwick, among the range of mountains which extend to Valley Forge, and passed the Schuylkill at Parker's Ford. The subsequent movements of the two armies--the battles of Germantown, Red Bank, and Fort Mifflin; the encampment at Whitemarsh and Valley Forge; the evacuation of Philadelphia by the enemy the following spring, and the battle of Monmouth which ensued, have been noticed in the preceding chapter. We will now close the chronicle, finish the sketch of the Birmingham meeting-house, printed on page 375, and, leaving the venerated fane with its interesting associations, ride to Dilworth to dine. About half-way between the meeting-house and Dilworth, and one hundred rods westward of the road, in a field belonging to Mr. Bennet, is the place where La Fayette was wounded. [Illustration: 9396] The ground is very undulating; in fact, the whole scene of the battle of Brandywine is a broken but very fertile country, highly cultivated, and remarkable for the good character of its inhabitants. They were chiefly Quakers during the Revolution; and their descendants, professing the same faith and discipline, own a large portion of the land at present. From Dilworth we proceeded toward Chad's Ford, by the way of Brinton's Mills. Upon the brow of an eminence near the mills, and overlooking the Brandywine, the old Brinton mansion (16 on the map) was yet standing, a gray and moss-grown relic of the war. In the gable toward the river is a hole made by the passage of a cannon-ball, fired from Knyphausen's batteries on the west side of the Brandywine. About a mile below it, upon a road running parallel with the river, is Chad's house, a small stone building, and another relic of the Revolution. It is upon a slope on the east side of the road. The sketch here given was made from the highway, looking northeast. Upon a loftier knoll, a few rods south of Chad's, is the place where Wayne stationed Proctor with his artillery. It was an eligible point for commanding the passage of the ford. Turning eastward from the road leading to the bridge over the Brandywine at the ford, I visited the head-quarters of Washington (22 on the map), delineated on the opposite page, then the residence of Benjamin Ring, now the dwelling of Joseph P. Harvey. It is somewhat modernized, but its general aspect is the same as when the patriot chief occupied it. Mr. Harvey gave me a grape-shot which was plowed up on his farm a few weeks before. Hundreds of pounds of cannon-balls have been [[[The Quarters of Washington and Howe.--Kennet Square.--A Storm.--New London and Elkton.]]] {387}found in the vicinity of Chad's Ford, and are now preserved by relie-seekers. From Washington's temporary residence I rode to the reputed quarters of La Fayette (21), situated a little more than a mile east of Chad's Ford; and thence, up the New Road, to George Gilpin's, the quarters of Howe after the battle. [Illustration: 9397] From the field where Mr. Gilpin and his sons were at work, I made the sketch printed on page 378, and there parting company with Mr. Townsend, my cicerone over the battleground of the Brandywine, I turned my face toward Kennet Square, with my back to the keen northeast wind. It was nearly four o'clock when I reached Chad's Ford. The clouds were deepening, and every aspect of nature was dreary. I alighted, tied my horse to a bar-post, and, shivering with cold, stood upon the bank of the congealing stream, and sketched the picture on page 379--giving it the effects of sunlight and foliage as in pleasant summer time, after a warm supper at Kennet Square. The shadows of evening were coming on when I crossed the Brandywine, and it was too dark to see objects clearly when I passed the old Kennet meeting-house and Welsh's tavern, places of historic interest upon the highway. I arrived at Kennet Square, seven miles west of the Brandywine, at about half-past five o'clock, and passed the night at Wiley's tavern, a venerable edifice, in which Howe had his quarters while his army was encamped in the vicinity. I arose at daybreak, in anticipation of beholding a furious snow-storm, for the wind roared in the spacious chimneys, and the neighboring shutters and sign-boards were beating a tattoo. But the wind had changed to the southeast, and, though blowing with the fury of a December tempest, it was as warm as the breath of early spring. I breakfasted early, and departed for Elkton, twenty-four miles distant, with a prospect of receiving a drenching, for scuds, dark and billowy, came up from the ocean upon the wings of the gale like a flock of monster birds. I had just passed the "Hammer and Trowel" inn, a few miles from Kennet, when a thick mist came sweeping over the hills in the van of a tempest of wind and rain. For more than an hour, it seemed as if the "windows of heaven were opened," and that Æolus and Jupiter Pluvius were joined in merry-making upon the earth. The huge leafless oaks in the forests swayed to and fro like the masts and spars of tempest-tossed navies; and a thousand turbid streamlets poured from the hill-sides, and made rivers of the gentle water-courses in the vales. Twice, while passing over a lofty hill, I felt my wagon lifted from the ground by the wind, its spacious cover acting like a parachute. The storm ceased as suddenly as it arose, and, when I reached New London (a village of some twenty houses), about ten miles from Kennet Square, the clouds broke, and the winds were hushed. A brilliant, mild afternoon made the ride from New London to Elkton a delightful one, and fully compensated for the suffering of the morning. The country is hilly, until within a few miles of the head of the Elk, when it becomes flat, and marshy, and penetrated by deep estuaries of the bay and river. Elkton (the "Head of Elk" of the Revolution) is an old town, the capital of Cecil county, in Maryland. It is situated at the junction of the two branches of the Elk River, the upper portion of Chesapeake Bay, and at the head of tide-water. The rail-way from Philadelphia to Baltimore passes within half a mile of the town. Here the British made their first halt, after leaving the place of debarkation at Turkey Point, twelve miles below; and Elkton may be considered the dividing point, in the military operations of the Revolution, between the North and South. The accompanying map, divided by the Delaware River, with New [[[Scene of Military Operations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.--An Evening on the Chesapeake.--Baltimore.]]] {388}Jersey on the right and Pennsylvania on the left, is introduced to exhibit the relative position of the principal places in those two states, from Amboy to Elkton, mentioned in preceding pages, and made memorable by military events. [Illustration: 0398] My tarry at Elkton was brief. While Charley (my horse) was "taking a bite" at an inn stable, I made inquiry of the post-master and other citizens, concerning vestiges of the Revolution, and ascertained that nothing was visible in the neighborhood of Elkton except the water, and the fields, and the hills on which Howe encamped, some two miles from the town. The place of the debarkation of the British was Turkey Point, a cape formed by the junction of the Elk River and the broad mouth of the Susquehanna, twelve miles below the village. Informed that the enemy cast up no intrenchments, and, consequently, left no tangible marks of their presence there, and assured that a fine view of the Point might be obtained from the steam-boat, when going down the Chesapeake, I resolved to be satisfied with a distant observation. I accordingly rode to Frenchtown, three miles below Elkton, whence the boats connecting with the Delaware and Chesapeake rail-way depart for Baltimore; "took tea" with a widow lady, residing in a fine brick dwelling on the bank of the river, and, just before sunset, embarked. Charley was restive when walking the plank, but, using all the philosophy he possessed, he soon decided that the hubbub in the steam-pipe was harmless, and his footing on deck secure. These problems settled, he seemed to enjoy the evening voyage quite as much as the bipeds around him. It was, indeed, a glorious evening. When the _George Washington_ cast off her moorings, the last gleams of the evening sun gilded the hills of Delaware, and, while passing Turkey Point, the scene was truly gorgeous. The tall trees of the cape were sharply penciled upon a back-ground of blended ruby, orange, gold, purple, and azure, glowing like opal, and spreading over many degrees of the western horizon; while above, far up in the dark blue, was the crescent moon, with Jupiter in her lap, beaming so brightly that he cast a line of silver light upon the calm waters of the bay. Both had gone down behind the hills when we passed North Point * light-house, and entered the Patapsco. We arrived * North Point, at the entrance of the Patapsco, was the scene of a sanguinary battle between the Americans, under General Striker, and the British, under General Ross, in September, 1814. The Americans were defeated, and the British lost their commander-in-chief. In 1815, the citizens of Baltimore erected a monument on the corner of Calvert and Fayette Streets, in memory of those Americans who fell in that engagement, and also during the bombardment of Fort M'Henry, the next day. This monument was planned by Maximilian Godefroy, and erected under his supervision. It is entirely of pure white marble, and rests upon a square plinth, or terrace, of the same material, forty feet square, and four feet in height. From this platform rises a square Egyptian basement, entirely rusticated, to indicate strength. It is composed of eighteen layers of stone, to signify the number of states which formed the confederacy at the time of the battle thus commemorated. This basement is surmounted by a cornice, each of the four angles of which bears an elegantly executed griffin. A winged globe adorns each center of the Egyptian cornice, symbolical of eternity and the flight of time. On each of the four fronts of the basement is a false door, like those of ancient cenotaphs. Three steps ascend to these doors, and indicate the three years' duration of the war. The shaft represents an enormous fasces, symbolical of union, the rods of which are bound with fillets. Upon these fillets, inscribed in letters of bronze, are the names of those who fell in defense of the city of Baltimore. Around the top of the fasces are two wreaths; one of laurel, the other of cypress, indieating glory and grief. Between these wreaths are the names of the officers who were killed, inscribed in bronze letters. The fasces is ornamented with two epic sculptures, in low relief; one representing the battle at North Point, the other a battery of Fort M'Henry. On the east and west fronts are lachrymal urns, emblematic of regret and sorrow. Beneath the epic sculptures are inscriptions, as follows: North side.--"Battle of North Point, 12th September, A.D. 1814; and of the independence of the United States, the thirty-ninth." South side.--"Bombardment of Fort M'Henry, 13th September, A.D. 1814; and of the independence of the United States, the thirty-ninth." * The basement and fasces form, together, thirty-nine feet. Upon the top is a beautifully-wrought colossal statue. It is a female figure, intended to personify the city of Baltimore. Upon her head is a mural crown, emblematic of cities; in one hand she holds an antique rudder, symbolic of navigation, and in the other she raises a crown of laurel, as with a graceful inclination of the head she looks toward the fort and battle-ground. At her feet, on one side, is the American eagle; on the other, a bomb-shell. The height of the monument, including the statue, is fifty-two feet, two inches. * The following are the names of the slain, inscribed upon the monument: Officers.--James Lowry Donaldson, adjutant 21th reg.; Gregorius Andree, lieut. 1st rifle battalion; Levi Claggett, 3d lieut., Nicholson's artillery. Non-commissioned Officers and Privates.--John Clemm, T. V. Beaston, S. Haubert, John Jephson, T. Wallace, J. H. Marriot of John, E. Marriot, Wm. Ways, J. Armstrong, J. Richardson, Benjamin Pond, Clement Cox, Cecelius Belt, John Garrett, H. G. M'Comes, Wm. M'Clellan, John C. Bird, M. Desk, Danl. Wells, Jr., John R. Cop, Benjn. Neal, C. Reynolds, D. Howard, Uriah 'Prosser, A. Randall, R. R. Cooksey, J. Gregg, J. Evans, A. Maas, G. Jenkins, W. Alexander, C. Fallier, T. Burniston, J. Dunn, P. Byard, J. Craig [[[Battle Monument at Baltimore.]]] {389}at Baltimore, sixty-eight miles from Elkton, at ten o'clock. The city was in a tumult. A destructive fire was raging; and the grand diapason of the trumpet shouts of the firemen and the clangor of bells met us upon the waters, almost as far distant as the lurid glare of the flames. ````"Oh the bells, bells, bells, ````What a tale their terror tells `````Of despair! ````How they clang, and clash, and roar! ````What a horror they outpour `````On the bosom of the palpitating air! ````In the startled ear of night ````How they scream out their affright! ````Too much horrified to speak, ````They can only shriek, shriek, `````Out of tune, ````In a clamorous appeal to the mercy of the fire." `````Edgar A. Poe.= I had traveled since dawn, by land and water, in rain and sunshine, full ninety miles; and it was a pleasant thought that to-morrow would be the Sabbath--a day of rest. [[[Baltimore and its Associations.--Washington's Monument.]]] {390} CHAPTER XV. ````"Hear the holy Sabbath bells, `````Sacred bells! ````Oh what a world of peaceful rest `````Their melody protests! ````How sweetly at the dawning ````Of a pleasant Sabbath morning, `````Sounds the rhyming, `````And the chiming `````Of the bells!"--H. S. Nolen.= [Illustration: 9400] UNDAY was as mild and bright in Baltimore as a Sabbath in May, although it was the 3d of December. That city has no old churches hallowed by the presence of the patriots of the Revolution. Annapolis was the only city in Maryland, except little St. Mary's, on its western border, when the battles for independence were fought; and "Baltimore towne," though laid out as early as 1729, contained, in 1776, less than one hundred houses. [Illustration: 8400] It is a city of the present; and yet, in extent, commerce, and population, it is the third city of the republic, numbering now about one hundred and sixty-five thousand inhabitants. * I passed half an hour in the Roman Catholic cathedral during the matin services. Toward noon I listened to a persuasive sermon from the lips of Doctor Johns, of Christ Church (brother of the Virginia bishop), predicated upon the words of Moses to Hobah; ** employed the remainder of the day in reading; and, early on Monday morning, started out, with port-folio and pencil, to visit the celebrities of the city. The noble monument erected by the State of Maryland in honor of Washington is the object of first and greatest attraction to visitors. It stands in the center of a small square, at the intersection of Monument and Charles Streets, in the fashionable quarter of the city, one hundred and fifty feet above tide-water. It is composed of a base of white marble, fifty feet square, and twenty feet in height, with a Doric column, one hundred and sixty feet in height, and twenty feet in diameter at the base, gradually tapering upward to a handsomely-formed capital. * The census for 1850, which shows this result, also exhibits a case of remarkable longevity in Baltimore. Sukey Wright, a colored woman, whose age is well certified, was then 120 years old. She had a child twenty-five years of age when the Revolutionary war broke out in 1775. ** "We are journeying toward the land of which the Lord said, I will give it you, and we will do thee good."--Numbers, x., 29. *** The following are the inscriptions on the monument: East front.--"To George Washington, by the State of Maryland. Born 22d February, 1732. Died 14th December, 1799." South front.--u To George Washington, President of the United States, 4th March, 1789. Returned to Mount Vernon, 4th March, 1797." West front.--"To George Washington. Trenton, 25th December, 1776. Yorktown, 19th October, 1781." North front.--"To George Washington. Commander-in-chief of the American armies, 15th June, 1775. Commission resigned at Annapolis, 23d December, 1783." [[[Maryland Historical Society.--Pulaski's Banner.--Moravian Nuns at Bethlehem.]]] {391}Upon the top is a statue of Washington, by Causici, sixteen feet in height, which is reached by a winding stair-way on the interior. It represents the chief in the act of resigning his commission. The statue cost nine thousand dollars. The ground on which the monument stands was given for the purpose by John Eager Howard, the "hero of the Cowpens." The corner stone of the monument was laid on the 4th of July, 1815, with imposing ceremonies. This view is from Monument Street, looking northeast. The Battle Monument, near Barnum's Hotel, erected to the memory of those who fell in defense of Baltimore in 1814, is beautiful and chaste in design and execution, and is an ornament to the city. It cost about sixty thousand dollars. A description of this structure, and copies of the inscriptions upon it, are given in a note on page 388. After sketching these mementoes, I visited the rooms of the Maryland Historical Society, bearing a letter of introduction to its president, General Smith, a son of Colonel Samuel Smith, the hero of Fort Mifflin, portrayed on page 296. To that gentleman, and to President N. C. Brooks, of the Baltimore Female College, I am indebted for kind attentions and local information. The Historical Society is young, but vigorous and flourishing Its collection contains but few relics of the Revolution worthy of special notice. There is an old painting representing Yorktown, in Virginia, in 1781, and also a portrait of Governor John Eager Howard, a copy of which will be found in another part of this work. One of the most interesting relics which I saw during my tour is carefully preserved in. the library of the society--the crimson banner of the Count Pulaski, beautifully wrought by the Moravian sisters, at Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania. Count Pulaski (whose portrait and biography will be hereafter given) was appointed a brigadier in the Continental army on the 15th of September, 1777, just after the battle on the Brandywine, in which he participated, and was honored with the command of the cavalry. He resigned this honor within a few months, and asked and obtained permission from Congress to raise and command an independent corps, to consist of sixty-eight horse and two hundred foot. The mode [[March 28, 1778]] of raising these was left to the direction of General Washington. * This corps was chiefly raised, and fully organized in Baltimore in 1778. Pulaski visited La Fayette while that wounded officer was a recipient of the pious care and hospitality of the Moravians at Bethlehem. His presence, and eventful history, made a deep impression upon the minds of that community. When it was known that the brave Pole was organizing a corps of cavalry in Baltimore, the _nuns,_* * or _single women_ of Bethlehem, prepared a banner of crimson * Journals of Congress, iv., 127. ** The word nun, as applied to the single sisters of the Moravian sect, has a different meaning than when applied to the recluses of the Roman Catholic Church. De Chastellux, who visited Bethlehem in 1782, says of the community: "Their police, or discipline, is of the monastic kind, since they recommend celibacy, but without enjoining it, and keep the women separate from the men. There is a particular house, also, for the widows, which I did not visit. The two sexes being thus habitually separated, none of those familiar connections exist between them which lead to marriage; nay, it is even contrary to the spirit of the sect to marry from inclination. If a young man finds himself sufficiently at ease to keep house for himself, and maintain a wife and children, he presents himself to the commissary, and asks for a girl, who, after consulting with the superintendent of the women, proposes one to him, which he may, in fact, refuse to accept; but it is contrary to custom to choose a wife for himself. Accordingly, the Moravian colonies have not multiplied in any proportion to the other American colonies. That at Bethlehem is composed of about six hundred persons, more than half of whom live in a state of celibacy." De Chastellux visited the "house for single women," a spacious stone edifice, provided with well-heated rooms for working in, and a large vaulted chamber, well ventilated, where all the girls slept in single beds. He refers to their skill in embroidery. His whole account of his visit is an interesting picture of the simple habits of the Moravians. He says they "have no bishops, being governed by synods." They have had bishops from the beginning, but their office allows them no elevation of rank or pre-eminent authority; and the communities are, indeed, governed by councils, or synods, composed of deputies from the different congregations, who meet in conference once in seven years. There are two bishops in the United States at present. The principal Moravian establishments are at Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania, and Salem, in North Carolina. Their marriage and other customs have materially changed within the last thirty years. Anburey and the Baroness Riedesel were also in Bethlehem, and speak in the highest terms of the Moravians. [[[Hymn of the Moravian Nuns.--Patriotism in Baltimore.--Committees of Correspondence and Observation.]]] {392}silk, with designs beautifully wrought with the needle by their own hands, and sent it to Pulaski, with their blessing. The memory of this event is embalmed in verse by Longfellow, in the following beautiful "Hymn of the Moravian Nuns at the Consecration of Pulaski's Banner."= ```"When the dying flame of day ```Through the chancel shot its ray, ```Far the glimmering tapers shed ```Faint light on the cowled head, ```And the censer burning swung, ```When before the altar hung ```That proud banner, which, with pray'r, ```Had been consecrated there; ```And the nuns' sweet hymn was heard the while, ```Sung low in the dim mysterious aisle.= ```"' Take thy banner. May it wave ```Proudly o'er the good and brave, ```When the battle's distant wail ```Breaks the Sabbath of our vale; ```When the clarion's music thrills ```To the hearts of these lone hills; ```When the spear in conflict, shakes, ```And the strong lanee, shivering, breaks.= ```"' Take thy banner; and, beneath ```The war-cloud's encircling wreath, ```Guard it--till our homes are free-- ```Guard it--God will prosper thee! ```In the dark and trying hour, ```In the breaking forth of pow'r, ```In the rush of steeds and men, ```His right hand will shield thee then.= ```"' Take thy banner. But, when night ```Closes round the ghastly fight, ```If the vanquish'd warrior bow, ```Spare him--by our holy vow; ```By our prayers and many tears; ```By the merey that endears; ```Spare him--he our love hath shared; ```Spare him--as thou wouldst be spared.= ```"'Take thy banner; and, if e'er ```Thou should'st press the soldier's bier, ```And the muffled drum should beat ```To the tread of mournful feet, ```Then this crimson flag shall be ```Martial cloak and shroud for thee.' ```And the warrior took that banner proud, ```And it was his martial cloak and shroud."= Pulaski received the banner with grateful acknowledgments, and bore it gallantly through many a martial scene, until he fell in conflict at Savannah in the autumn of 1779. His banner was saved by his first lieutenant (who received fourteen wounds), and delivered to Captain Bentalon, who, on retiring from the army, took the banner home with him to Baltimore. * When oppression began to awaken a spirit of general resistance throughout the colonies, "Baltimore towne" was not behind its sister communities in zeal and action. A meeting [[ a May 27.]] was held there in 1774, ** ( a ) when the people generally agreed to support non-[[ November 12]]intercourse measures. Afterward they elected a _Committee of Observation_ *** (b) and also appointed a committee of correspondence. **** These committees were exceedingly vigilant and active in watching the disaffected, giving information of importance to their brethren abroad, and in passing intelligence between the patriots of the North and the South. They were no respecter of persons, and Loyalists of every grade came under their surveil- * It was used in the procession that welcomed La Fayette to that city in 1824, and was then deposited in Peale's Museum. On that occasion, it was ceremoniously received by several young ladies. Mr. Edmund Peale presented it to the Maryland Historical Society in 1844, where it is now carefully preserved in a glass ease. But little of its former beauty remains. It is composed of double crimson silk, now faded to a dull brownish red. The designs on each side, as represented on the following page, are embroidered with yellow silk, the letters shaded with green. A deep green bullion fringe ornaments the edges. The size of the banner is twenty inches square. It was attached to a lance when borne to the field. ** Andrew Buchanan was chosen chairman, and Robert Alexander clerk or secretary. *** This committee, consisting of twenty-nine of the leading men of Baltimore, was elected by the qualified voters, at a town meeting, regularly assembled at the court-house. They not only took cognizance of political matters, but assumed a general supervision of the public morals, not by coercive measures, but by advice. Among other things, they recommended the discontinuance of fairs in Baltimore, and denounced them as nuisances, conducive to "mischiefs and disorders," "serving no other purpose than debauching the morals of their children and servants," and "encouraging riots, drunkenness, gaming, and the vilest immoralities." Horse-racing, cock-fighting, general extravagance, and dissipation were inveighed against, not only as wrong, but as derogatory to the character of patriots at that solemn hour (1775). **** The following are the names of this committee: Robert Alexander, Samuel Purviance, Jr., Andrew Buchanan, Doctor" John Boyd, John Moale, Jeremiah Townly Chase, William Buchanan, and William Lux. Four members constituted a quorum for the transaction of business.[[1776.]] [[[Treatment of Loyalists.--Meeting of Congress in Baltimore.--La Fayette in Baltimore.]]] {393}lance. The Reverend Mr. Edmiston, pastor of St. Thomas's parish, was arraigned before the Committee of Observation, on a charge of being favorable to the Quebec Act. He pleaded guilty, apologized, and was forgiven. [Illustration: 8403] Other suspected Loyalists, of equal standing, were arraigned, and middlemen soon became scarce. * I have mentioned the fact (page 225) that, on the approach of the royal troops toward the Delaware, in 1776, Congress, then in session in Philadelphia, adjourned to Baltimore. Their first meeting in that city, pursuant to adjournment, was on the 20th of December. They met, and continued their session in the spacious brick building yet standing on Baltimore, Sharpe, and Liberty Streets. [Illustration: 9403] The Reverend Patrick Allison, first minister of the Presbyterian church of Baltimore, and Reverend W. White, were appointed chaplains on the 23d. It was there, on the 27th of December, two days after the battle at Trenton, that Congress, by resolution, delegated so much of their powers to Washington, for six months, as made him a military dictator, a fact already noticed on page 232. Through a local committee of Congress, left in Philadelphia, efficient cooperation with the army was secured, and the whole military establishment, as we have seen (page 241), was placed in a higher and more effective condition than it had been since the organization of the army. Congress continued in session in Baltimore until Friday, the 27th of February, when it adjourned to Philadelphia, where the delegates met on the following Wednesday, the 4th of March. When La Fayette passed through Baltimore on his way to the field of his conflicts at the South, he was greeted with the greatest respect by the people. A ball was given in his honor, at which the marquis appeared sad. "Why so gloomy at a ball?" asked one of the gay belles. "I can not enjoy the gayety of the scene," replied La Fayette, "while so many of the poor soldiers are without shirts and other necessaries." "We will supply them," was the noble reply of the ladies; and the gayety of the ball-room was exchanged for the sober but earnest services of the needle. They assembled the next day in great numbers to make up clothing for the soldiers, of materials furnished by fathers and husbands. **** One gentleman, out of his limited means, gave La Fayette five hundred dollars to aid him * Purviancers Narrative, pages 12-13. ** On one side of the banner are the letters U. S., and in a circle around them the words "United valor is stronger." The letter c in the last word is incorrect; it should be t. On the other side, in the center, is the All-seeing Eye, with the words Non alius régit; "No other governs." *** This view is from Baltimore Street, looking southeast. The front on the left is on Baltimore Street; the other is on Liberty Street. Its first story is now used for commercial purposes; otherwise it exhibits the same external appearance as when Congress assembled there. **** M'Sherry's History of Maryland, p. 229. [[[Journey to Annapolis.--Departure from the Right Road.--Hospitality.--City of Annapolis.]]] {394}in clothing his soldiers. His wife, with her own hands, cut out five hundred pairs of pantaloons, and superintended the making of them. * In the passage of troops between the Northern and Southern States, Baltimore was often the scene of activity and excitement; beyond this, it has but little military history connected with our subject. Its statesmen and soldiers did good service in the forum and in the field, and their names and deeds are conspicuously recorded in various portions of these volumes. We will make Annapolis, the old capital of Maryland, our point of view, in taking a survey of the general history of the state, for that city was the soul and center of action during the Revolution. [[December 4, 1848]] I left Baltimore for Annapolis, thirty miles southward, at a little after three o'clock, crossing the Patapsco River at sunset, upon a long, rickety draw-bridge, having a toll-gatherer at the southern end. The sky was clear, and the moon being sufficiently advanced in illumination to promise a fair degree of light, I resolved to push forward as far as the "half-way house," fifteen miles from Baltimore, before halting. Soon after leaving the bridge, the road penetrated a forest of oaks and chestnuts, filled with those beautiful evergreens, the laurel and the holly. Passing several cultivated openings where the country was rolling, I reached a level, sandy region, and at dark entered a forest of pines, its deep shadows relieved occasionally by small openings recently made by the woodman's ax. I had passed only two small houses in a journey of six miles, and without seeing the face of a living creature, when I met a negro man and woman, and inquired for the "halfway house." The woman assured me that it was two miles ahead; and, in the plenitude of her kind feelings, promised that I should find "plenty o' liquor dar." After driving at least four miles, I perceived that I had "run off the track," mistaking one of the numerous branches of the main road for the highway itself. After traversing the deep, sandy way, in the gloom, until almost eight o'clock, when traveler and horse were thoroughly wearied, I was cheered by the barking of a dog, and in a few moments crossed a stream, and came in sight of a spacious mansion, surrounded by many broad acres of cultivation. The merry voices of children, who were playing in the lane, were hushed as I halted at the gate and hailed. A servant swung it wide open for my entrance, and when I asked for entertainment for the night, the kindest hospitality was extended. The proprietor of the plantation was the widow of a Methodist clergyman, who was drowned in the Severn a few years ago. Her mother, residing with her, had been, in former years, a parishioner of my own pastor, the Reverend Stephen H. Tyng, D.D. This fact was a sympathetic link; and a home feeling, with its gentle influence, came over me as the evening passed away in pleasant conversation. I left the mansion of Mrs. Robinson, the next morning, with real regret. I had there a foretaste of that open hospitality which I experienced every where at the South, and must ever remember with gratitude. Under the guidance of a servant, I traversed a private road, to the public one leading to Annapolis. The highway passes through a barren region until within two miles of the town, relieved, occasionally, by a few cultivated spots; and so sinuous was its course, that I crossed the Baltimore and Annapolis rail-way seven times in a distance of thirteen miles. The deep sand made the journey toilsome, and extended its duration until almost an hour past meridian. Annapolis is apparently and really an old town. Many of its houses are of the hip-roofed style of an earlier generation, with the distinctive features of Southern houses, so odd in appearance to the eyes of a Northern man--the chimneys projecting from the gable, from the ground to their tops. The city is beautifully located on the south branch of the River Severn, upon a peninsula formed by Acton's and Covey's Creeks, which rise within half a mile of each other. It commands an extensive view of the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding * This gentleman was Mr. Poe. His widow, the lady who cut out the garments, was living when La Fayette visited Baltimore in 1824. The two patriots met, and the scene was one of peculiar interest.--See Niles's Register, 24th October, 1824. [[[Founding of Annapolis.--First Lord Baltimore.--Exploration of the Chesapeake.--Maryland Charter]]] {395}country, where almost every diversity of picturesque scenery is exhibited, except the grandeur of lofty mountains. Annapolis was erected into a town, port, and place of trade in 1683, under the name of the "Town land at Proctor's," or "The Town land at Severn." Eleven years afterward it received the name of "Anne Arundle Town," and was made the naval station of the infant colony, and the seat of government. It received the name of Annapolis (Anne's city) in 1703, which was given in honor of Queen Anne, the reigning sovereign of England. Before noticing the associations which give peculiar interest to the history of Annapolis, let us consult the chronicles of the state. Maryland was settled at a little later period than New England. The London Company, of which Sir George Calvert (Lord Baltimore), the first proprietor of Maryland, was a member, claimed, under its charter, the whole of the vast region from the head of the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays--the boundary line of the Dutch settlements in [[1609]] New Netherlands--to an undefined boundary south and west. Calvert was a young man of good birth and fine talents. He attracted the attention and won the friendship of Sir Robert Cecil (afterward Earl of Salisbury), first lord of the Treasury under James the First. Calvert was appointed by Cecil his private secretary,a which office he held for several years. Cecil died in 1612. Calvert appears to have won the esteem of his king, for, in 1617, James conferred the honor of knighthood upon him, appointed him clerk of the Privy Council, and, two years later, made him principal secretary of state, as successor to Sir Thomas Lake. In 1624, Calvert resigned his office, not, as Fuller says, because "he freely confessed himself to the king that he was become a Roman Catholic, so that he must be wanting to his trust, or violate his conscience in discharging his office," * for he was doubtless a Roman Catholic from his earliest youth, if not born in the bosom of that Church, but probably for the purpose of giving his personal attention to schemes of foreign colonization, in which he was interested. On retiring from the secretary's office, the king continued him a privy counselor, granted him a tract of land in Longford, Ireland, (b) with a pension of one thousand pounds, and created him "Lord Baltimore, of Baltimore, Ireland." [[ b 1621]] He already had a patent as absolute lord and proprietor of the province of Avalon, in Newfoundland. After the death of James, in 1625, Lord Baltimore went to Avalon, where, with his family, he resided for some time, and then returned to England. He visited Virginia in 1628; and, although a member of the London Company, and high in the confidence of Charles, the successor of James, he was required by the local authorities of that colony to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy. ** Baltimore was offended, for he considered the requisition as an intended insult, he being a Roman Catholic. He refused to take the oaths himself, or allow his attendants to do so; and soon afterward departed from the James River, and made a voyage up the Chesapeake. He entered the Potomac, was pleased with the appearance of the country, projected a settlement upon the upper portions of the Chesapeake Bay, and then returned to England. The London Company dissolved in the mean while. Baltimore successfully applied to Charles for a grant of the unoccupied land on the Chesapeake, and in 1632 the king gave him permission to frame a charter for a province, to suit himself. The grant included the present area of Maryland, notwithstanding the territory was clearly within the limits of the Virginia charter, and Kent Island, opposite the site of Annapolis, was already occupied. It is believed that the Maryland charter was penned by Lord Baltimore himself. Before it passed the seals, Calvert died, (c) leaving his son Cecil heir to his title and fortune, [[ c April 25,]] The charter was executed about two months afterward, (d) and signed by Cecil, with no alteration from the original except in the name of the province. It was called [[ d June 20]] Maryland, in honor of Henrietta Maria, the queen of Charles the First, instead of _Crescentia,_ * Fuller's Worthies of England. ** The Oath of Supremacy was one denying the supremacy of the pope in ecclesiastical or temporal affairs in England, which was required to be taken, along with the Oath of Allegiance, by persons, in order to qualify them for office. [[[Character of the first Maryland Charter.--Toleration its chief Glory.--Baltimore's Policy.]]] {396}as the first Lord Baltimore named it. This charter was full of the ideas of absolutism and royal prerogatives which distinguished the character and career of James and his son Charles. It made the proprietor absolute lord of the province--"_Absolutus Domimus et Propritarius_"--with the royalties of a count palatine. [Illustration: 9406] Theoretically, he was not inferior in rights and privileges to the king himself. He could make laws with the advice of the freemen, and withhold his assent from such as he did not approve. He claimed, and sometimes practiced, the right to dispense with the laws, in accordance with the principles and occasional practice of King James. He was authorized to create manorial lordships; to bestow titles upon the meritorious of his _subjects_; to summon, by writs, any freemen he chose, to take a seat in a legislative Assembly without election; to make ordinances of equal force with the laws without the confirmation of the Assembly; to declare martial law at his pleasure--for he had absolute control of the military and naval force of the colony--and to present ministers to the parishes. Such were the extensive powers which the charter of Maryland conferred upon the proprietor; yet the absolute authority of the "Baron of Baltimore" was conceded rather with reference to the crown than the colonists, for the charter contained concessions and grants to the people sufficient to guarantee them against oppression. The privileges, liberties, and franchises of liege subjects of England, born within the realm, were secured to them; they were protected against the operation of all laws repugnant to the statutes and customs of England; and they were forever exempted, by an express covenant in the charter, from all "impositions, customs, or other taxations, quotas, or contributions whatever," to be levied by the king or his successors. The sovereign did not reserve to himself even the right of superintendence of the affairs of the colony, or the power to interfere, in any way, with its laws. In fact, the province of Maryland was, by its royal charter, made independent of the crown from the beginning; it was what the proprietor termed it, "a separate monarchy." The dependence was acknowledged only by the provision of the charter which obliged the proprietor to acknowledge fealty by paying a tribute to the king of two Indian arrows yearly, and a fifth of all gold or silver ore which might be found. The true glory of the first Maryland charter consists in the religious freedom which it recognizes; a freedom reasserted and enforced by an act of the Assembly in 1649, seventeen years after the charter passed the seals, when the whole realm of England was in commotion on account of the execution of the king and establishment of the commonwealth under Cromwell. To Lord Baltimore belongs the honor of being the first lawgiver in Christendom who made freedom of conscience the basis of a state constitution. There seems to be something paradoxical in the fact that an absolutist in political affairs should have been so democratic in matters of religion. But Baltimore was a latitudinarian; sagacious, farsighted, and awake to the best temporal interests of himself and his successors. He clearly perceived that the growth of his colony depended greatly upon the extent of religious freedom which might be guaranteed to emigrants. Persecution was overturning many peaceful [[[Baltimore's Toleration.--First Settlers.--Leonard Calvert.--Settlement at St. Mary's.]]] {397}homes in Great Britain; and, to wherever the light of toleration was seen, thousands of the oppressed made their way. He was exceedingly tolerant himself, or he never would have retained the friendship of James; and therefore his feelings and interests were coincident. His Catholic brethren were more or less persecuted in England; while the Puritans, who were peopling the coasts of Massachusetts Bay, had also been "harried out of the land" by the hierarchy. Maryland was made the asylum for the persecuted; not for Roman Catholics alone, but for the English Puritans, and the equally harassed reformers of Virginia, under the administration of the bigoted Berkeley. The first two hundred settlers, who came with Leonard Calvert (a) brother of Cecil, and first governor of the province, were principally Roman Catholics, but in a few [[ a 1633]] years Protestants became almost as numerous as they. These settled upon the unoccupied territory north of the Patuxent, and formed a new county which they called Severn, or Anne Arundel, extending nearly to the present site of Baltimore. "All the world outside of these portals [St. Michael's and St. Joseph's, as the first emigrants denominated the two headlands at the mouth of the Potomac, now Point Lookout, and Smith's Point] was intolerant, proscriptive, vengeful against the children of a dissenting faith. Only in Maryland, throughout this wide world of Christendom, was there an altar erected, and truly dedicated to the freedom of Christian worship." * Yet it must not be forgotten that, fifteen months before the charter of Maryland was executed, Roger Williams had sounded the trumpet of intellectual freedom in New England, and "it became his glory to found a state upon that principle, and to stamp himself upon its rising institutions, in characters so deep that the impress has remained to this day. ** It is not within the scope of my design to notice in detail the progress of the Maryland colony. The first settlement was made by Leonard Calvert, who, in February, 1634, arrived at Point Comfort, in Virginia, with about two hundred Roman Catholics. The Virginians had remonstrated against the grant to Baltimore, but, by express commands of the king, Harvey, then governor, received Calvert with courtesy. Early in March he sailed up the Potomac, and, casting anchor under an island which he called St. Clement, he fired his first cannon, erected a cross, and took possession "in the name of the Savior of the world and the King of Great Britain." *** He then proceeded up the Potomac to the mouth of the Piscataqua Creek, opposite Mount Vernon, and near the site of the present Fort Washington, fifteen miles south of Washington City. The chief of the Indian village at that place was friendly; but Calvert, deeming it unsafe to settle so high up the river, returned, and entered the stream now called St. Mary's. He purchased a village of the Indians, and commenced a settlement. (b) Founded upon religious toleration and the practice of [[ b April. 1634]] justice, **** the colony rapidly increased in population and resources; and peace, except * Kennedy's Discourse on the Life and Character of George Calvert, before the Maryland Historical Society, 1845, page 43. ** Bancroft, i., 375. *** Belknap. **** As an instance of the determination to preserve peace within his borders, Leonard Calvert issued a proclamation in 1638, to prohibit "all unreasonable disputations in point of religion tending to the disturbance of the public peace and quiet of the colony, and to the opening of faction in religion." A Catholic gentleman (Captain Cornwaleys) had two Protestant servants. They were one day reading aloud, together. Smith's Sermons, and were overheard by Cornwaleys's overseer, a Roman Catholic, while reading a passage in which the pope was called anti-Christ, and the Jesuits anti-Christian ministers. The overseer abused them, and ordered them to read no more. The servants preferred a formal complaint against the overseer, and submitted it to the governor and council. Of the latter, Cornwaleys was one. The parties were heard, and the overseer was fined five hundred pounds of tobacco, and ordered to remain in prison until he should find sureties for his good behavior in future. This case shows the tolerant spirit of a Catholic administration.--Kennedy's Discourse, page 45. **** The act for religious liberty, passed in 1649, contained a clause authorizing the imposition of a fine of ten shillings for abusive expressions between the parties; such as idolater, popish priest, Jesuit, and Jesuited papist, on the one side, and, on the other, heretic, schismatic, round-head, and similar epithets.--Langford, page 29. The clause for religious freedom in the act of 1649 extended only to Christians. It was introduced by the proviso that, "whatsoever person shall blaspheme God, or shall deny or reproach the Holy Trinity, or any of the three persons thereof, shall be punished with death." [[[First Legislative Assembly.--Religious Animosity.--Toleration of the Roman Catholics.--Civil Commotions.]]] {398}during the troubles arising from the refusal of Clayborne, an original settler, to acknowledge the authority of the governor, reigned within its borders until 1642, when petty hostilities were carried on against the Indians. Leonard Calvert was appointed governor * of the province, as the proprietor's lieutenant; and in 1635 the first Legislative Assembly convened at St. Mary's. A representative government was established in 1639, the people being allowed to send as many delegates to the General Assembly as they pleased. At the same time, a declaration of rights was adopted, the powers of the proprietor were defined, and all the privileges enjoyed by English subjects were confirmed to the colonists. The Indian hostilities closed in 1644, and the next year a rebellion under Clayborne involved the province in a civil war. The revolt was suppressed in August the following year. Religious animosity between the Protestants and Roman Catholics finally became a source of great trouble, and in 1649 the Assembly adopted the Toleration Act. This allayed party strife for a while. At this time Charles the First was beheaded, and Cromwell became the chief magistrate of Great Britain. Lord Baltimore, who was warm in his professions of attachment to the king while his affairs were prosperous, when he saw the downfall of royalty inevitable, was equally loud in proclaiming his attachment to the Republicans. Thomas Green, his governor, who had hastily proclaimed Charles the Second, on hearing of the execution of his father, was removed, and his place was filled by William Stone, a Protestant, who "was always zealously affected to the Parliament." In 1650, the legislative body was first divided into two branches, an Upper and a Lower House; the former consisting of the governor and his council, appointed by the proprietor, and the latter of the representatives chosen by the people. At that session, all taxes were prohibited except by the consent of the freemen. In 1651, the Long Parliament, which had established its supremacy in England, appointed commissioners to govern Maryland. Stone, Lord Baltimore's lieutenant, was removed; but, on the dissolution of that Parliament by Cromwell in 1654, he was restored to his full powers. The commissioners, however (who had retired, to Virginia), entered Maryland, and compelled Stone to surrender his warrant into their hands. The Protestants, who acknowledged the authority of Cromwell, and had the power, by majority, in their own hands, questioned the rights and privileges of an hereditary proprietor. They stoutly contended for religious liberty, yet they actually disfranchised those who differed from them in religious opinions. Roman Catholics were excluded from the Assembly; and an act was passed toward the close of 1654, declaring that they were not entitled to the protection of the laws of Maryland! Early in 1655, Stone, with greater loyalty to his master, the proprietor, than to his religious profession, organized an armed body of Catholics, and seized the provincial records. Civil war raged with fury, and was intensified by the heat of religious acrimony. The Catholics were finally defeated, Stone was made prisoner, and four of the principal men of the province, attached to Baltimore's party, were executed. Josiah Fendall, who had actively supported Stone, and headed an insurrection, was appointed governor, by Lord Baltimore, in 1656, but he was soon arrested by the Protestant party. He was a man of good address, and finally succeeded in having himself acknowledged as governor. (a) The proprietor was restored to all his rights, but he did not long [[ a 1658]] enjoy them, for, on the restoration of Charles the Second, the Assembly, knowing the animosity of the king against Lord Baltimore, dissolved the Upper House, and assumed to * Clayborne having obtained a royal license in 1631 to traffic with the Indians, had established two settlements, one on the island of Kent, and one other near the mouth of the Susquehanna. Clayborne not only refused to acknowledge the authority of Baltimore, but sought to maintain his own claims by force of arms. He was defeated, and fled to Virginia, whence he was sent to England for trial as a traitor. He applied to the king for a redress of grievances, but, after a full hearing, the charter of Lord Baltimore was declared valid, against the earlier license of Clayborne. The latter returned to Maryland, got up a rebellion in 1645, and drove Governor Calvert into Virginia. For a year and a half the insurgents held the reins of government, and the horrors of civil war brooded over the infant colony. Clayborne afterward became one of the commissioners appointed by Parliament, under the Protectorate, to govern Maryland. [[[Baltimore's Courtier.--Civil War.--Maryland a Royal Province.--Republican Constitution.--Annapolis.]]] [[a March, 1660.]] {399}itself the whole legislative power of the state, (a) They declared that no power should be recognized in Maryland except their own and the king's. Fendall then surrendered his trust to Lord Baltimore, and accepted from the Assembly a new commission as governor. Charles, however, forgave Baltimore for his homage to the Republicans, for he was assured by that courtier that his partialities had always been really in favor of the royal cause. The same year the rights of the proprietor were restored, and Philip Calvert appointed governor. Fendall was arrested upon a charge of treason, was tried, and found guilty, but, under a general pardon to political offenders, wisely proclaimed by Lord Baltimore, he escaped death. He was only fined a trifling sum, and declared ineligible for office forever. * Cecil, Lord Baltimore, died in 1675, and was succeeded in title and fortune by his son Charles, who had been his lieutenant in Maryland from 1662 to 1668. The new proprietor caused the government to be administered by Thomas Notley, who governed with equity, and he became very popular with all parties. Tranquillity prevailed in the province until the Revolution in England in 1688, which drove James the Second from the throne, and shook every colony in America. False rumors, alleging that the Catholics and Indians had coalesced for the purpose of massacreing the Protestants, aroused all the fire of religious animosity which had been slumbering for years, and caused the formation of an armed association for the alleged defense of the Protestant faith, and of the rights of William and Mary, the successors of James. A compromise was finally effected, and the Catholic party surrendered the powers of government to the association, by capitulation. A convention of the associates assumed the government, and exercised its functions until 1691, when the king, by an arbitrary act, deprived Charles, Lord Baltimore, of his political rights as proprietor, and constituted Maryland, for the first time, a royal government. Sir Lionel Copley was appointed governor, and, on his arrival, (b) the principles of the proprietary [[ b 1692]] government were overturned; religious toleration, so freely conceded and so firmly maintained when the Catholic proprietors held sway, was abolished, and the Church of England was established as the religion of the state, and demanding support from general taxation. Maryland continued a royal province under the successive administrations of Copley, Nicholson, Blackstone, Seymore, Lloyd, and Hart, until 1720, and tranquillity prevailed. The inheritance of the proprietorship having fallen to Charles, infant heir of Lord Baltimore, (c) who, on attaining his majority, (d) professed the Protestant faith, George the First restored the patent to the family. It remained a proprietary government until our Revolution, ** when, as an independent state, it adopted a constitution, (e) and [[e August 14, 1776]] took its place (the fourth in the point of time) in the confederation of states. A large number of Presbyterians from the north of Ireland had settled in the province, and the principles of their ecclesiastical polity being favorable to republicanism, they exerted a powerful influence in casting off the royal yoke. Annapolis being the capital of the province, it was the heart of political action. In common with the people of the other colonies, Maryland took a bold stand against the oppressive measures of the mother government, commencing with the Stamp Act. On the 27th of August, 1765, a meeting of "Assertors of British American privileges" met at Annapolis, "to show their detestation of and abhorrence to some late tremendous attacks on liberty, and their dislike to a certain late arrived officer, a _native of this province_. *** The [[c 1716]] [[d 1720]]. * Fendall afterward became concerned in a rebellious movement, with an accomplice named Coode. He was arrested, fined four thousand pounds of tobacco, imprisoned for non-payment, and banished from the province. ** The successive governors were Charles and Benedict Leonard Calvert; Samuel Ogle; Lord Baltimore; Ogle again; Thomas Eladen; Ogle again; Benjamin Tasker, acting governor; Horatio Sharpe, and Robert Eden. Thomas Johnson was the first republican governor. *** This was a Mr. Hood, who had been appointed stamp-master, while in England, on the recommendation of Dr. Franklin. Such was the indignation of the people against him, that no one would purchase goods of him, though offered at a very low price. Just before the burning of his effigy he escaped to New York, in time to save himself from being presented with a coat of tar and feathers. [[[Stamp-master's Effigy hanged and burned.--The Sons of Liberty.--Statue of the King and Portrait of Camden.]]] {400}landing of that officer was at first opposed and prevented, but he was finally permitted to enter the town. They made an effigy of him, dressed it curiously, placed it in a cart, like a malefactor, with some sheets of paper before it, and, while the bell was tolling, paraded it through the town. They proceeded to a hill, where, after punishing it at the whipping-post and pillory, they hung it upon a gibbet, set fire to a tar-barrel underneath, and burned it. * Governor Sharpe informed the colonial secretary of the proceedings, and plainly told him that, such was the temper of the people, that any stamped paper which might arrive would doubtless be burned. [Illustration: 9410] Some of the proscribed paper, which arrived in December [[ a 1765]] (a) was sent back by Governor Sharpe. The people refused to use the odious stamps, and all legal business was suspended for a while. The Maryland Gazette, like the Pennsylvania Journal (see page 259), appeared in mourning on the 31st of October, declaring, like its cotemporary, that "The times are Dreadful, Dismal, Doleful, Dolorous, and Dollarless." The editor issued "an apparition of the _late_ Maryland Gazette" on the 10th of December, and expressed his "belief that the odious Stamp Act would never be carried into operation." On the 1st of March, 1766, the Sons of Liberty of Baltimore, Kent, and Anne Arundel counties held their first formal meeting at the court-house in Annapolis. The Reverend Andrew Lendrum was appointed moderator, and William Paca (afterward a signer of the Declaration of Independence) was chosen secretary. Joseph Nicholson, from Kent county, presented an address from that district, signed by twenty-three of the leading men. ** It was an application to the chief justice of the provincial court, the secretary and commissary general, and judges of the land-offices, asking them to resume the business of their respective offices regardless of the law. The Anne Arundel and Baltimore committees also signed the request, *** which, being forwarded to those officers, was complied with. The Stamp Act thus virtually became a nullity a month before the intelligence of its repeal arrived. That intelligence reached Annapolis at noon on the 5th of April, and diffused unusual joy through the city. Ihe remainder of the day was spent by the people in mirth and festivity, and at an assemblage in the evening, "all loyal and patriotic toasts were drank." The Assembly of Maryland voted a statue to the king, and ordered a portrait of Lord Camden, a parliamentary friend of the Americans, to be painted for the State House. On the 11th of June, great rejoicings were again held at Annapolis, that day having been appointed for the purpose by the * Ridgeley's Annals of Annapolis, page 136. ** The following are the names of the Sons of Liberty of Kent county, appended to the address: "Joseph Nicholson, William Ringgold, William Stephenson, Thomas Ringgold, Jr., Joseph M'Hard, Gideon M'Cauley, Daniel Fox, Benjamin Binning, William Bordley, Jarvis James, William Stukely, Joseph Nicholson, Jr.. James Porter, Thomas Ringgold, James Anderson, Thomas Smyth, William Murray, George Garnet, S. Boardley, Jr., Peroy Frisby, Henry Yandike, and John Bolton." *** The Anne Arundel committee consisted of William Paca, Samuel Chase (also a signer of the Declaration of Independence), and Thomas B. Hands. The Baltimore county committee were John Hall, Robert Alexander, Corbin Lee, James Heath, John Moale, and William Lux. The Baltimore town committee consisted of Thomas Chase, D. Charnier, Robert Adair, Reverend Patrick Allison, and W. Smith. **** Charles Pratt, earl of Camden, was the third son of Chief-justice Pratt, of the King's Bench. He was horn in 1713, and educated at Eton and Cambridge. His fine talents as a legal scholar having been made known in a case wherein he defended Mr. Pitt, that gentleman, when chancellor in 1757, procured for Pratt the office of attorney general. He was raised to the dignity of chief justice of the Common Pleas in 1762, and had the manly courage, while in office, to pronounce in favor of John Wilkes, against the wishes of government. For this he was applauded throughout the kingdom. He was made a peer of the realm, with the title of Earl of Camden, in 1765, and in 1766 was advanced to the Seals. Throughout the struggle of the Americans for right and liberty, he was a consistent friend of the colonists. In 1782, he was appointed president of the Privy Council, which place he held, except for a short interim, until his death. He died on the 18th of April, 1794, aged eighty-one years. [[[Governor Eden.--Arrival of a Tea Ship.--Burning of the Vessel and Cargo]]] {401}mayor. A large concourse of people from the neighboring counties were assembled, and in the evening the city was brilliantly illuminated. Robert Eden was the last royal governor of Maryland. He arrived at Annapolis on the 5th of June, 1769, and continued in office during the stormy period preceding the actual hostilities of the Revolution, and until the colonies had declared themselves independent, when he returned to England. Governor Eden was respected by all for his urbanity and kindness of heart, but his duty to his king brought him into collision with the leading minds in the colony as the Revolution advanced, and at length, in consequence of several intercepted letters, Congress recommended the Council of Safety of Maryland to put him under arrest, and to take possession of his papers. * (a) The Baltimore committee [[ a April 16, 1776]] volunteered to carry out the recommendation of Congress, and, in consequence, became involved in difficulty with the Maryland convention. ** A committee of the convention, before whom Eden's letters were laid, reported that, in such correspondence as the governor had carried on with the ministry, he did not evince hostility to the colonists; and the matter ended by signifying to Eden that the public safety and quiet required him to leave the province. Annapolis was a scene of great excitement in the autumn of 1774. Already public sentiment had been expressed against the Boston Port Bill at a general meeting, (b) and |[[ b May 12, 1774]] the people were ripe for rebellion. On Saturday, the 15th of October, the ship _Peggy_, Captain Stewart, arrived from London, bringing, among other things, seventeen packages of tea, consigned to T. C. Williams & Co., of Annapolis. This was the first arrival of the proscribed article at that port. As soon as the fact was known, the citizens were summoned to a general meeting. It was ascertained that the consignees had imported the tea, and that Anthony Stewart, proprietor of the vessel, had paid the duty upon it. This was deemed an acquiescence in the justice of the claim of Great Britain to tax the colonies, and it was resolved that the tea should not be landed. The people of the surrounding country were summoned to a public meeting in Annapolis the following Wednesday. Mr. Stewart issued a handbill explaining the transaction, and disclaiming all intention to violate the non-importation pledge; and expressed his regret that the article had been placed on board his ship. But the people, too often cajoled by the whining of men when their bad conduct had brought them into trouble, were more disposed to punish than to forgive, and they resolved, at the Wednesday meeting, to destroy the vessel, with its packages of tea. To prevent raising a tempest that might not be allayed by the simple destruction of the vessel, and to soften the asperity of public feeling toward him, Mr. Stewart, under the advice of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, and others, consented to burn the vessel himself. Accompanied by some friends, he ran her aground near Windmill Point, and set her on fire. The people were satisfied, and the crowd dispersed. "The tea burning at Boston," says M'Mahon, "has acquired renown, as an act of unexampled daring at that day in the defense of American liberties; but the tea burning of Annapolis, which occurred in the ensuing fall, far surpasses it, in the apparent deliberation, and utter carelessness of concealment, attending the bold measures which led to its accomplishment." *** * These letters, which fell into the hands of the Baltimore committee, and were by them transmitted to Congress, were addressed to the colonial secretary and other members of the British cabinet, and were considered "highly dangerous to the liberties of America."--Journals of Congress, ii., 130. ** General Charles Lee, who was then at Williamsburg, in Virginia, wrote to Samuel Purviance, chairman of the Baltimore committee, advising particular military action in respect to the seizure of Eden and his papers. For this the Council of Safety blamed him, and he was charged with unwarrantable interference. In an explanatory letter to Mr. Jenifer, chairman of the council, Lee fully justified himself, and uttered the noblest sentiments of patriotism. *** History of Maryland [[[Treatment of John Parks.--Maryland and Independence.--The State House and its Associations.]]] {402}At Elizabethtown (now Hagerstown, in Washington county) the committee of vigilance of the district caused one John Parks to go with his hat off, with a lighted torch, and set fire to a chest of tea in his possession. The committee recommended entire non-intercourse with Parks; but the populace, thinking the committee too lenient, satisfied themselves by breaking the doors and windows of his dwelling. Tar and feathers were freely used in various places, and the town committees exercised supreme authority in all local matters having a relation to the great subject which engrossed the public mind. [[ a May 10, 1776]] When Congress recommended (a) the several colonies to establish provisional governments, where it had not already been done, the Maryland convention, as we have noticed (page 282), did not at first concur with the resolution. On the contrary, they voted that it was not necessary to suppress every exercise of authority under the [[ b May 20.]] crown (b) Through the efforts of Samuel Chase and others in calling county conventions, a change of public sentiment was speedily brought in Maryland, and on the 28th of June the convention empowered its delegates in Congress to vote for a resolution declaring the colonies "free and independent." Her representatives, Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, and Charles Carroll, were among the most active of those who signed the great Declaration. [Illustration: 8412] A state Constitution was adopted on the 14th of August following, and from that period Maryland labored assiduously, shoulder to shoulder, with her sister colonies, in maintaining the independence which Congress had declared. Annapolis, like Baltimore, was frequently the scene of military displays, but not of sanguinary conflicts. When Washington, covered with all the glory which victory in battle can bestow, came fresh from the fields of Yorktown, on his way to Philadelphia, he passed [[ c November 21, 1781]] through Annapolis. (c) On his arrival, all business was suspended, and crowds of eager gazers thronged the window's and the streets. A public address was presented by the citizens, and every manifestation of esteem for the great chief was exhibited. Again, late in 1783, when the war was ended, the Continental army was disbanded, and Great Britain had acknowledged the independence of the United States, the State House at Annapolis, now venerated, because of the glorious associations which cluster around it, was filled with the brave, the fair, and the patriotic of Maryland, to witness the sublime spectacle of that beloved chief resigning his military power, wielded with such mighty energy and glorious results for eight long years, into the hands of the civil authority [[ d December 23, 1783]] which gave it. (d) The Continental Congress having adjourned at Princeton, (e) to meet at Annapolis [[ e November 4.]] on the 26th of No- * This fine building is situated upon an elevation in the center of the city, and is admired by every visitor, not only for its style of architecture, but for the beauty of its location. The building is of brick. The superstructure consists of a spacious dome, surmounted by two smaller ones, with a cupola of wood. From the dome, a magnificent prospect opens to the eye. Around the spectator is spread out the city and harbor like a map, while far away to the southeast stretches the Chesapeake, with Kent Island and the eastern shore looming up in the distance. The edifice fronts Francis Street, and the hill on which it stands is surrounded by a substantial granite wail, surmounted by an iron railing, having three gateways. It was erected in 1772, upon the site of the old Court-house, built in 1706. The corner stone was laid by Governor Robert Eden. The dome was not built until after the Revolution. The architect was Joseph Clarke. Tradition relates that when Governor Eden struck the corner stone with a mallet, at the time of laying it, a severe clap of thunder burst over the city, though there was not a cloud in the sky. Thomas Dance, who executed the stucco work of the dome, fell from the scaffold, and was killed, just as he finished the center piece.--See Ridgeley's Annals of Annapolis. [[[The Senate Chamber where Washington resigned his Commission.--Portraits.--Departure of Rochambeau.]]] {403}vember, was then in session there. In the Senate Chamber of the Capitol the interesting scene took place, so well delineated by the pens of Marshall and others, and the pencil of Trumbull. I shall here omit the details of that closing event of the war, for it is too closely connected with the departure of the last hostile foot from our shores, a month [[ a November 25, 1783]] previously, (a) to be separated from that narrative, without marring the sublime beauty of the picture. Never shall I forget the peculiar emotions which I felt while sitting in that room, copying the portraits of those patriots of Maryland who signed our Declaration of Independence. * The little gallery wherein stood Mrs. Washington and other distinguished ladies when the chief resigned his commission, is still there, and unchanged; and the doors, windows, cornices, and other architectural belongings are the same which echoed the voice of the Father of his Country on that occasion. The very spot where Mifflin, the president, and Thomson, the secretary of Congress sat, when the treaty of peace with Great Britain was ratified, was pointed out to me. Reflecting upon the events which consecrate it, that hall, to me, seemed the shrine wherein the purest spirit of patriotism should dwell, for there the victorious warrior for freedom laid his sword upon the altar of Peace--there the sages of a people just made free ratified a solemn covenant of peace, friendship, and political equality with the most powerful nation upon earth, wrung from its rulers by the virtues and prowess of men who scorned to be unrequited vassals. From that hall, like the dove from the ark, the spirit of peace and reconciliation went out, never to return disappointed; for the deluge of misery which war had brought upon the land was assuaged, the floods had returned, to their proper boundaries, and the hills and valleys of the new republic were smiling with the blessings of returning prosperity and quiet. The gentle spirit found a resting-place every where throughout the broad land. I have little else to note concerning Annapolis, as connected with my subject. The French army was encamped upon the College green for a short time, while on its march northward in 1782, and it was from this port that Rochambeau and his suite embarked for France. Great rejoicings were held in April, 1783, on the receipt of the intelligence of a general cessation of hostilities. Three years after the treaty of peace was ratified, commissioners from the several states met at Annapolis, "to consider on the best means of remedying the defects of the Federal government." (b) This convention was the [[ b September, 1786]]incipient step toward framing our Federal Constitution, a subject to be noticed in detail hereafter. From that period the city rather declined in commerce and general importance; for Baltimore, having been established as a port of entry, with a custom-house, and supported by a thriving agricultural population, soon outstripped it in trade. But Annapolis remains the political metropolis of Maryland. * Full-length portraits of Carroll, Chase, Paca, and Stone, grace the walls of the Senate Chamber. Copies of the heads of these will be found among those of the signers in the frontispiece of the second volume of this work. Carroll and Stone were painted by Sully, the other two by Bordley--both native artists. It is worthy of remark that the four signers were then residents of Annapolis. The portrait of Paca is a fine picture of a fashionable gentleman of that day. His coat is a claret color, vest white silk, black silk breeches, and white silk stockings. Stone, who is sitting, has a graver appearance. His coat is brown, vest and breeches black silk, and white silk stockings. Carroll and Chase are both sitting. The former has an overcoat on, the skirt of which is thrown over his knee; the latter is dressed in his judicial robe, a simple black gown. In the same room is a portrait of John Eager Howard, and William Pitt, earl of Chatham. The latter a full-length, and in Roman costume, was painted by Charles Wilson Peale (who was also a native of Maryland), while in England, and presented by the artist to his native state in 1794. In the hall of the House of Delegates is a full-length likeness of Washington, attended by La Fayette and Colonel Tilghman--the Continental army passing in review. This picture, commemorative of the surrender at York-town, was also painted by Peale, pursuant to a resolution of the Assembly of Maryland. In Trumbull's picture of this room, in which is represented the commander-in-chief resigning his commission, the artist for the purpose of having proper lights and shadows, has omitted the three large windows. [[[Journey from Annapolis to Washington.--Profusion of Gates.--Queen Anne and its Decline.]]] {404} CHAPTER XVI. `````"How lovely all, ```How calmly beautiful! Long shadows fall ```More darkly o'er the wave as day declines, ```Yet from the west a deeper glory shines, ```While every crested hill and rocky height ```Each moment varies in the kindling light ```To some new form of beauty--changing through ```All shades and colors of the rainbow's hue, ```'The last still loveliest,' till the gorgeous day ```Melts in a flood of golden light away, ```And all is o'er." `````--Sarah Helen Whitman.= [Illustration: 9414] OWARD the decline of a brilliant afternoon, I left Annapolis for Washington City. The air was as balmy as spring; "December as pleasant as May." The west was glowing with radiant beauty at sun-setting when I crossed the long bridge over the South River, and quaffed a cup of cold water from a bubbling spring at the toll-house on the southern side. The low, sandy country was exchanged for a region more rolling and diversified; and my ride during the early evening, with a half moon and brilliant stars casting down their mild effulgence, would have been delightful, but for the provoking obstructions which a lack of public spirit and private enterprise had left in the way. The highway was the "county road," yet it passed, almost the whole distance from Annapolis to Washington, through plantations, like a private wagon-path, without inclosure. Wherever the division fences of fields crossed the road, private interest had erected a barred gate to keep out intrusive cattle, and these the traveler was obliged to open. Being my own footman, I was exercised in limbs and patience to my heart's content, for, during a drive of thirteen miles that evening, I _opened_ fifteen gates; who _closed_ them I have never ascertained. The miles seemed excessively long; the gates were provokingly frequent. I never paid tribute with greater reluctance, for it was the exaction of laziness and neglect. I crossed the Patuxent at seven o'clock, and halted at Queen Anne, a small, antiquated-looking village, some of the houses of which, I doubt not, were erected during the reign of its godmother. It is close to the Patuxent, and for many years was the principal depot in the state for the inspection and sale of tobacco. Flat-bottomed boats bore away from it, in former years, heavy cargoes of the nauseous stuff; now sand-bars fill the river channel, and the freight-boats stop eight miles below. The tobacco business has ceased; the railway from Annapolis to Washington has withdrawn the business incident to a post-route, and every thing indicates decay. There was no tavern in the plaee, but I procured a supper and comfortable lodgings at the post-office. We breakfasted by candle-light, and, before "sun up," as the Southerners say, I was on my way toward the Federal city, twenty-three miles distant. I had hardly left the precincts of Queen Anne before a huge red gate confronted me! I thought it might be the ghost of one I had encountered the night before, but its substantiality as a veritable gate was made manifest by the sudden halt of Charley before its bars. I was preparing to alight, when a colored boy came from behind a shock of corn, and kindly opened the way. "How far is it to the next gate?" I inquired. "Don't know, massa," said the lad; "but I reckons dey is pretty tick, dey is, twixt here and Uncle Josh's." Where "Uncle Josh" lived I do not know, but I found the gates more than "pretty tick" all the way until within a short distance of Bladensburg. First View of the Capitol. Rainbow at Noon. The Federal City, Capitol, and Congress Library from Annapolis to Washington, I passed through fifty-three gates! Unlike the doors and windows of the people of the South, I found them all shut. From the brow of a hill, eight miles from Washington, I had the first glimpse of the Capitol dome, and there I opened the last gate; each a pleasing reminiscence now. I passed to the left of Bladensburg, * crossed the east branch of the Potomac, and entered Washington City, eastward of the Capitol, at one o'clock. For thirty minutes I had witnessed a rare phenomenon at that hour in the day. Dark clouds, like the gatherings of a summer shower, were floating in the northeastern sky, and upon them refraction painted the segment of quite a brilliant rainbow. I once saw a lunar bow at midnight, in June, but never before observed a solar one at mid-day in December. Our national metropolis is a city of the present century; for before the year 1800, when the seat of the Federal government was permanently located there, it was a small hamlet, composed of a few houses. The selection of a site for the Federal city was intrusted to the judgment of the first president, who chose the point of land on the eastern bank of the Potomac, at its confluence with the Anacostia, or east branch of that river. A territory around it, ten miles square, was ceded to the United States by Virginia and Maryland in 1788. The owners of the land gave one half of it, after deducting streets and public squares, to the Federal government, to defray the expenses to be incurred in the erection of public buildings. The city was surveyed under the chief direction of Andrew Ellicott, and was laid out in 1791. The Capitol was commenced In 1793, but was not yet completed on the original plan, when, in 1814, (a) the British troops, under General Ross, burned it, [[ a August 24]] together with the library of Congress, the president's house, and all the public buildings except the Patent Office. The city then contained about nine hundred houses, scattered in groups over an area of three miles. The walls of the Capitol remained firm, though scarred and blackened. The present noble edifice was completed in 1827, ** more than a quarter of a century after the seat of government was located at Washington. * Bladensburg is in Prince George county, Maryland, six miles northeast of Washington. It is made memorable in the history of the war of 1812 from the circumstance of a severe battle having taken place there on the 24th of August, 1814, between a small body of Americans and a portion of the British army, then on its way to destroy the Federal city. Bladensburg had, for a long time, the unenviable notoriety of being the cock-pit for duelists who congregated at Washington City. There, on the 22d of March, 1820, Commodores Decatur and Barron fought with pistols. The latter was mortally wounded, and died in the arms of his distracted wife that night, at the early age of forty years. ** The Capitol is of the Corinthian order, built of white freestone. It is upon an eminence almost eighty feet above tide-water, in the center of a large square. It is composed of a central edifice, with two wings The north wing was commenced in 1793, and finished in 1800, at a cost of $480,202. The corner stone was laid by President Washington. The apron and trowel which he used on that occasion, as Grand Master of the Masonic Order, are preserved, and were used by Grand Master B. B. French, at the recent (1851) ceremonies of laying the corner stone of another enlargement of the Capitol. The south wing was commenced in 1803, and finished in 1808, at an expense of $308,808. The central building was commenced in 1818, and completed in 1827, at a cost of $957,647. The whole edifice covers an area of one and a half acres, exclusive of the circular inclosure for fuel, which forms an elegant area and glacis on the west front. The length of the front, including the two wings, is 352 feet; the depth of the wings is 121 feet. A projection on the east, or main front, including the steps, is 65 feet wide, and another, on the west front, 83 feet wide. There is a portico of 22 columns, 38 feet high, on the east front, and on the west front is another portico of 10 columns. The whole height of the building to the top of the dome is 120 feet. Notwithstanding the spaciousness of the Capitol, it is found to be insufficient for the use of our growing republic, and another addition is now (1852) in process of erection. * The British set fire to both wings of the Capitol, and the president's house, a mile distant, at the same time. The government officers and the people fled on the approach of the strong force of the enemy. The library of Congress, the furniture of the president's house, with other articles of taste and value, were destroyed. The bridge across the Potomac, the public stores, and vessels and buildings at the navy-yard, were consumed; and, not content with this destruction, they mutilated the beautiful monument erected in front of the Capitol in honor of the naval heroes who fought at Tripoli. The library of Congress was replaced by the purchase of that of Mr. Jefferson, in 1815, for the sum of $23,000. It contained 7000 volumes, many of them exceedingly rare and valuable. A large portion of this library, which had been increased to 55,000 volumes, was destroyed by fire on the morning of the 24th of December, 1851. It was the result of accident. About 20,000 volumes were saved. The original portrait of Peyton Randolph, from which the copy printed on page 267 of this work was made, and also that of the Baron Steuben, by Pine, on page 341, were burned, together with a large collection of ancient and modern medals, presented by Alexander Vattemare, and other precious things, which can not be replaced. The original Declaration of Independence was again saved from the flames. [[[The National Institute.--The Widow of General Alexander Hamilton.--Washington's Camp Chest]]] {406}Washington City has no Revolutionary history of its own; but in the library of Congress; the archives of the State and War Departments; in the rooms of the National Institute, * and the private collection of Peter Force, Esq., I found much of value and interest. The city was full of the life and activity incident to the assembling of Congress, and I passed four days there with pleasure and profit. My first evening was spent in the company of the venerable widow of General Alexander Hamilton, a surviving daughter of General Philip Schuyler. [Illustration: 8416] Mrs. Hamilton was then ninety-two years of age, and yet her mind a December, seemed to have all the elasticity of a woman of sixty. A sunny cheerfulness, which has shed its blessed [[ a December 1848.]] influence around her during a long life, still makes her society genial and attractive. Her memory, faithful to the impressions of a long and eventful experience, is ever ready, with its varied reminiscences, to give a charm to her conversation upon subjects connected with our history. With an affectionate daughter (Mrs. Holly), she lives in elegant retirement in the metropolis, beloved by her gers, venerated by all. She is, I believe, the last of the belles of the Revolution--the last of those who graced the social gatherings honored by the presence of Washington and his lady during the struggle for independence--the last of those who gave brilliancy to the levees of the first president, and, with Lucy Knox and others, shared the honors and attentions of the noble and refined of all friends, honored by strangers[[ a December, 1850.]][[ b January, 1852.]]who crowded to the public audiences of the venerated Pater Patria, when chief magistrate of the nation. Two years later, I was privileged to enjoy her hospitality, and again to draw instruction from the clear well of her experience. She still lives, at the age of ninety-four, with the promises of centenary honors impressed upon her whole being. May Time, who has dealt so gently with her, bear her kindly to the goal of a hundred years! In the rooms of the National Institute (a portion of the Patent Office building) are a few of the most interesting relics of the Revolution now in existence, carefully preserved in a glass case. Upon the floor stands Washington's _camp chest_, an old fashioned hair trunk, twenty-one inches in length, fifteen in width, and ten in depth, filled with the table furniture used by the chief during the war. The compartments are so ingeniously arranged, that they contain a gridiron; a coffee and tea pot; three tin sauce-pans (one movable handle being used for all); five glass flasks, used for honey, salt, coffee, port wine, and vinegar; three large tin meat dishes; sixteen plates; ** two knives and five forks; a candlestick and * The National Institution for the Promotion of Science was organized at Washington City in 1840. The President of the United States is patron; the heads of the Departments constitute the directors on the part of the government, and an equal number of literary and scientific citizens are directors on the part of the institution. Its collections (to which have been added those of the United States Exploring Expedition, and the Historical Society and Columbia Institute of the District) are in the great hall of the Patent Office building, a room 275 feet long and 65 feet wide. ** These are the dishes alluded to in the following letter, written by Washington, at West Point, to Dr. John Cochran, surgeon general of the northern department of the Continental army. It is dated "August 16, 1779." The original is in the present possession of the New York Historical Society, where it was deposited by Dr. Cochran's son, the late Major Cochran, of Oswego. See page 221, vol. i. [[[Washington's Letter to Dr. Cochran.--Pomp of Ancient Generals.--"The Sword and the Staff."]]] {407}tinder-box; tin boxes for tea and sugar cane, bequeathed to the hero by the sage. ** ode called and five small bottles for pepper and other materials for making soup. Such composed the appointments for the table of the commander-in-chief of the American armies, while battling for independence, and laying the corner stone of our republic. [Illustration: 9417] What a contrast with the camp equipage of the heroes of other times and other lands, whom history has apotheosized, and whom the people of the earth call great! * With all the glitter and the pomp of wealth and power, which dazzle the superficial eye, the splendor which surrounds them is but dimness compared to the true glory that haloes the name and deeds of Washington, appreciated by the consequences of his career. * Standing near the camp chest is Washington's war sword, and with it Franklin's. Of these relics Morris has sweetly sung, in his 'The Sword and the Staff. "The sword of the Hero! The staff of the Sage! Whose valor and wisdom Are stamp'd on the age! Time-hallowed mementoes Of those who have riven The scepter from tyrants, 'The lightning from heaven.' * "Dear Doctor,--I have asked Mrs. Cochran and Mrs. Livingston to dine with me to-morrow; but am I not in honor bound to apprise them of their fare? As I hate deception, even where the imagination only is concerned, I will. It is needless to premise that my table is large enough to hold the ladies. Of this they had ocular proof yesterday. To say how it is usually covered is rather more essential; and this shall be the purport of my letter. "Since our arrival at this happy spot, we have had a ham, sometimes a shoulder of bacon, to grace the head of the table; a piece of roast beef adorns the foot; and a dish of beans, or greens, almost imperceptible, decorates the center. When the cook has a mind to cut a figure, which I presume will be the case to-morrow, we have two beef-steak pies, or dishes of crabs, in addition, one on each side of the center dish, dividing the space and reducing the distance between dish and dish to about six feet, which without them would be nearly twelve feet apart. Of late he has had the surprising sagacity to discover that apples will make pies; and it is a question if, in the violence of his efforts, we do not get one of apples, instead of having both of beef-steaks. If the ladies can put up with such entertainment, and will submit to partake of it on plates, once tin but now iron (not become so by the labor of scouring), I shall be happy to see them; and am, dear doctor, yours," &c. * Montfaucon, in his Antiquity Explained, gives an account of the splendid processions of the conquerors of Persia, and the gold and silver vessels used in the tents of the generals. After mentioning the vast number of gold and silver vessels, chairs, tables, couches, &c., in the magnificent tent of Ptolemy Philadelphus, he thus describes the triumphal procession of Antiochus Epiphanes: "First came twenty thousand Macedonians, the greatest Part of which had brass Shields, and others silver Shields. Then three thousand Horsemen of Antioch, most of whom had gold Collars and gold Crowns. Two thousand Horsemen more, all with gold Collars. Eight hundred young Men, each wearing a gold Crown. A thousand young Men, each carrying a silver Vase, the least of which weighed a thousand Drachms. Six hundred young Men more, each carrying a Vase of Gold; and two hundred Women, each with a Gold Vase to scatter Perfumes. Eighty Women carried on Chairs, the feet of which were Gold; and five hundred other Women, carried on Chairs with silver feet. This pompous Procession would appear very magnificent, were it not put after the former [Ptolemy Philadelphus], which surpasses every thing that can be imagined."--Supplement, tome iii., book v., p. 323. I refer to this parade as an example of the contrast alluded to. ** Doctor Franklin, in the codicil to his Will, wrote as follows: "My fine crab-tree walking-stick, with a gold head curiously wrought in the form of the cap of liberty, I give to my friend, and the friend of mankind, General Washington. If it were a scepter, he has merited it, and would become it. It was a present to me from that excellent woman, Madame De Forbach, the dowager duchess of Deux-Ponts, connected with some verses which should go with it." "This weapon, O Freedom! Was drawn by thy son, And it never was sheath'd Till the battle was won! No stain of dishonor Upon it we see! 'Twas never surrender'd-- Except to the free! "While Fame claims the hero And patriot sage, Their names to emblazon On History's page, No holier relics Will Liberty hoard, Than Franklin's staff, guarded By Washington's sword." [[[Revolutionary Relics.--Franklin's Press.--History of its Importation to America]]] {408}The war sword of the chief is incased in a black leather sheath, with silver mountings. The handle is ivory, colored a pale green, and wound spirally with silver wire at wide intervals. * [Illustration: 8418] It was manufactured by J. Bailey, Fishkill, New York, ** and has the maker's name engraved upon the hilt. The belt is white leather, with silver mountings, and was evidently made at an earlier period, for upon a silver plate is engraved "1757." [Illustration: 9418] Washington's commission, signed by John Hancock, and the suit of clothes which he wore when he resigned that instrument into the custody of Congress, at Annapolis, are also there, together with a piece of his tent, and the portable writing-ease represented in the en graving, which he used during all of his campaigns. The case is of board, covered with black leather, ornamented with figured borders. But the most precious relic of all was the original Declaration of Independence, written upon parchment, and bearing the autographs of the signers. In the year 1818, this priceless document was allowed to go into the hands of Benjamin Owen Tyler, a teacher of penmanship, for the purpose of making a fac simile of it for publication. By some process which he used for transferring it, it narrowly escaped utter destruction. Many of the names are almost illegible, while others are quite dim. This document (which was since removed to the Congress Library), with other precious things, was saved when the public buildings were burned by the British in 1814. In another part of the rooms of the Institute, which is devoted chiefly to the scientific collections made by the exploring expedition a few years ago, is the printing-press with which Franklin labored in London, when a journeyman printer, in 1725--6. *** It is carefully preserved in a glass case. It is an exceedingly rude apparatus, and presents a wonderful contrast to the printing machines of Hoe, of the present day, from which twenty thousand impressions may be thrown each hour. The _platen_ is of wood, the _bed_ of stone. Its construction is in the primitive style universally * Upon the thigh of the chief, in Leutze's picture of Washington Crossing the Delaware, is a perfect representation of this sword. ** Sec note on page 122. *** In 1841, John B. Murray, Esq., of New York, being in Liverpool, was informed that this press was in the possession of Messrs. Harrild and Sons, of London. Mr. Murray visited their establishment, and proposed to purchase the press for the purpose of sending it to America. The owners informed him that they had thought of presenting it to the government of the United States, and assured him that they would not part with it for any other purpose. After some negotiation, the Messrs. Harrild agreed to let Mr. Murray have it, on condition that he should procure a donation to the Printers' Pension Society of London. The press was forwarded to Liverpool, and there exhibited. It attracted great attention; and finally the Reverend Hugh M'Neile, of Liverpool, was induced to deliver a public lecture on the Life of Franklin, the proceeds from admission tickets to be given to the society above named. In November, Mr. Murray had the pleasure of remitting to the treasurer of the Printers' Pension Society $752, to be appropriated to the relief of one pensioner, a disabled printer of any country, to be called the Franklin pension. Mr. Murray brought the press to the United States, and it now occupies an appropriate place among the historical relics of our country at the Federal metropolis. The lecture of Mr. M'Neil was published, with a fac simile of a letter written by Franklin in 1756, to the Reverend George Whitefield, and also a page containing an engraving of the press, which was printed upon the identical machine thus honored. [[[Character of the Press.--Franklin's Remarks in 1768.--Peale's Picture of Washington.--Its History.]]] {409}used before the improvements made by the Earl of Stanhope; the power being obtained by a single screw, like a common standing-press, instead of a combination of lever and screw, as applied by that nobleman, or the combination of levers alone, as seen in the _Columbian_ press invented by our countryman, George Clymer. [Illustration: 9419] Upon I brass plate affixed to the front of the press is the following inscription: "Dr. Franklin's remarks in relation to this press, made when he came to England as agent of Massachusetts, in the year 1768. The doctor, at this time, visited the printing-office of Mr. Watts, of Wild Street, Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, and, going up to this particular press (afterward in the possession of Messrs. Cox and Son, of Great Queen Street, of whom it was purchased), thus addressed the men who were working at it:* Come, my friends, we will drink together. It is now forty years since I worked, like you, at this press, as a journeyman printer.' The doctor then sent out for a gallon of porter, and he drank with them, _SUCCESS TO PRINTING._ "From the above it will appear that it is one hundred and eight years since Doctor Franklin worked at this identical press.--June, 1833." Upon the wall of the room is a full-length portrait of Washington, painted by Charles Wilson Peale, * under peculiar circumstances. Peale was a remarkable man. Possessed of great versatility of talent, he brought all his genius into play as circumstances demanded. He was a sturdy patriot, and entered the army at an early period of the contest. He commanded a company at the battle of Trenton, and also at Germantown; and he was with the army at Valley Forge. He employed the leisure hours incident to camp duty in painting, and it was at Valley Forge that he commenced the picture in question. When the army crossed the Delaware into New Jersey in pursuit of Sir Henry Clinton, and fought the battle of Monmouth, Peale went with it, taking his unfinished picture and his materials with him; and at Brunswick, a day or two after the Monmouth conflict, he obtained the last sitting from the commander-in-chief. The picture was finished at Princeton. A distant view of Nassau Hall, at that place, with a body of British prisoners marching, compose a portion of the back-ground. The picture of the sword hanging upon the thigh of Washing- * Charles Wilson Peale was born at Charlestown, in Maryland, in 1741, and was apprenticed to a sad-ller in Annapolis. He beeame also a silver-smith, watch-maker, and carver. Carrying a handsome saddle to Hesselius, a portrait-painter in his neighborhood, he begged him to explain the mystery of putting colors upon canvas. From that day his artist life began. [Illustration: 8419] *He went to England, where he studied under Benjamin West in 1770 and 1771. He returned to America, and for fifteen years was the only portrait painter of excellence in this country. By close application he became a good naturalist and preserver of animals. Mr. Peale opened a picture gallery in Philadelphia, and also commenced a museum, whieh, in time, became extensive. He delivered a course of lectures on natural history, and was very efficient in the establishment and support of the Academy of Fine Arts. He lived temperately, worked assiduously, and was Greatly esteemed by all who knew him. He died in February, 1827, aged eighty-five years. I once saw a full-length portrait of himself which he painted at the age of eighty--a fine specimen of art. [[[The Senate and House of Representatives.--Greenough's Statue of Washington.--The Rotunda and its Contents.]]] {410}ington is an evidence of the truthfulness of the costume, for it is an exact representation of the real weapon just described and depicted, which stands in a case on the opposite side of the room. Leaving the room of the National Institute, I went up to the Capitol, and peeped in upon the sages of the Senate and House of Representatives, who seemed busily engaged in preparing to do something in the way of legislation. [Illustration: 9420] It is a practice quite too common for our writers to speak disparagingly of members of Congress, with the apparent feeling that they being the _servants_ of the people, every scribbler has a right to exercise his freedom of utterance, censuring them to the fullest extent. Doubtless some of our representatives are entitled to much censure, and _some_ to ridicule; but, as a body, they generally appear to the candid visitor as a collection of wise and honorable men. An English gentleman who accompanied me to both chambers, assured me that he had often sat in the gallery of the House of Commons of England, of the Chamber of Deputies of France, and of the Diet of Frankfort and other Germanic Legislatures, and not one of them could rival in apparent talent, wisdom, decorum, and faithfulness to their constituents, the members of the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, in listening to whose delegates he had spent many weeks during three consecutive sessions. Being more interested in the historical pictures in the Rotunda of the Capitol, and in the books in the library of Congress, than in the preliminary business of the Legislature, I repaired thither, and occupied the remainder of the day in making sketches of portraits contained in Trumbull's celebrated pictures, which adorn four of the panels of that spacious room. * Early on the following morning I again went up to the Capitol, and sketched the statue of Washington, by Greenough; the group of Columbus and the Indian Girl, by Persico; and the elegant monument erected to the memory of the naval heroes who fought at Tripoli. The first is a colossal statue of the Father of his Country, sculptured in Parian marble by Greenough, draped In classic style, and seated upon an elaborately-wrought chair, the whole supported by a granite pedestal. In his left hand the chief holds a Roman short sword, in the act of presenting the right hand, with the index finger extended, is lifted toward heaven. The chair has a filagree scroll-work back On the left is a small * The Rotunda is under the dome, in the middle of the center building. It is 9 feet in diameter, and of the same height. Just below the cornice, at the base of the dome, are four basso relievos, representing Smith delivered from Death by Pocahontas; The Landing of the Pilgrims; Conflict of Daniel Boone with the Indians; and Penn's Treaty. The Rotunda has eight panels, in four of which are pictures by Colonel John Trumbull, representing The Presentation of the Declaration of Independence to Congress * The Surrender of Burgoyne; the Surrender of Cornwallis; and Washington resigning his Commission to Congress at Annapolis. Besides these is a representation of the Baptism of Pocahontas, by John G. Chapman; The Embarkation of the Pilgrims, by Robert W. Weir; and The Landing of Columbus, by John Vanderlyn. One panel remains to be filled. * According to Colonel Trumbull's circular, now before me, the picture of The Presentation of The Declaration of Independence. so familiar to every American, was begun in Europe in 1787. It contains faithful portraits of thirty-six members, who were then living, and of all others of whom any correct representation could, at that early period, be obtained. These, with others which have since been obtained, to the number of forty-nine, are faithfully given in the frontispiece to this volume. There are two heads among them who were not signers of the Declaration: John Dickenson and Thomas Willing, of Pennsylvania. Trumbull's picture was engraved by A. B. Durand, the now eminent painter, in 1820-1. The paper on which it was printed was made by Messrs. Gilpin, at Brandywine, and the printing was executed in New York. It was first published in 1822, and is the original of the millions of copies of all sizes which are in circulation. The portraits of the officers of the French army in America, delineated in the picture of the Surrender of Cornwallis, were painted from life, by Colonel Trumbull, at the house of Mr. Jefferson, at Paris. Copies of these portraits, fourteen in number may be found in another portion of this work. [[[Description of Greenough's Statue.--Tuckerman's Poem.--A Chippewa's Speech.--Persico's Group.]]] {411}figure of an aged man, with flowing beard, covered by a mantle; on the right stands an Indian of similar size, and both are in a contemplative attitude. On the left side of the seat, in low relief, is an infant Hercules, holding a serpent in one hand. Near him is another infant, prostrate, with its hand over its face. On the other side is Phoebus, with "his coursers of the sun." On the back of the seat, below the filagree work, is a Latin inscription, in raised letters.' This statue was originally intended for the center of the Rotunda. Too large for that room, it was placed upon the open grounds facing the east front of the Capitol, where, exposed to the sun and storm, its beauty, except in form, must soon pass away. It is a noble work of art, and, as I gazed upon the features of the great chief in the solemn grandeur of the inert marble, the beautiful lines of the poet came like a gushing stream from the deep well of memory, and the heart chanted,= ```"O, it was well, in marble firm and white, ````To carve our hero's form, ```Whose angel guidance was our strength in fight, ````Our star amid the storm! ```Whose matchless truth has made his name divine, ````And human freedom sure, ```His country great, his tomb earth's dearest shrine, ````While man and time endure! ```And it is well to place his image there, ````Upon the soil he bless'd; ```Let meaner spirits, who our councils share ````Revere that silent guest! ```Let us go up with high and sacred love ````To look on his pure brow, ```And as, with solemn grace, he points above, ````Renew the patriot's vow!" `````Henry T. Tuckerman.= Eloquently did one of the chiefs of the Chippewa delegation address this statue, while standing before it a few years ago. "My Great Father," he said, "we all shake hands with you; we have traveled a long way through the great country that you acquired for your people by the aid of the Great Spirit. Your people have become very great; our people have become very small. May the Great Spirit, who gave you success, now protect us, and grant us the favor we ask of our Great Father, who now fills the place first occupied by you." What orator or sage ever expressed more in so few words? The group of _Columbus and the Indian Girl,_ by Persico, is a good specimen of that sculptor's skill. It is in white marble, and is intended as a representation of the idea of the discovery of America. This group is on the south side of the steps of the eastern portico of the Capitol. In the Discoverer's hand is a globe, appearing to the spectator, at first, like a simple ball. The relative position of this figure to the statue of Washington, whose right hand is elevated, impresses the beholder, at first sight, with the ludicrous idea of the Navigator and the Patriot engaged in tossing a ball at each other. The naval monument is upon the highest terrace on the western front of the Capitol. It is of white marble, with * The following is a copy of the inscription: "Horatio Greenough made this effigy, for a great exemplar of freedom, and one destined only to endure with freedom itself." Upon the granite pedestal are the following words, in large eameo letters: South side.--"First in Peace." North side.--"First in War." West side.--"First in the hearts of his countrymen." [[[Tripoli Monument.--President Polk.--Arlington House.--Mr. Custis and the "Washington Treasures."]]] {412}a brown stone pedestal, and is about forty feet high. It stands within a large basin of water, eight or ten feet deep, and supplied by a fountain in which gold fishes in abundance are seen sporting. The basin is surrounded by a strong iron fence. Upon one side of the pedestal, in low relief sculpture, is a view of Tripoli and the American fleet, and upon the other the following inscription: "To the Memory of Somers, Caldwell, Decatur, Wadsworth, Dorsey, Israel." * This monument, although too small to appear grand, is a fine embellishment, and commands the attention of every visitor to the Federal Capitol. [[ a December, 1848]]I passed the morning of the library of Mr. Force, preparing from old maps a plan of my Southern route. Toward noon I went up to the presidential mansion, and enjoyed the pleasure of an hour's interview with the chief magistrate, the late Mr. Polk. It was not a visit prompted by the foolish desire to see the exalted, but for the purpose of seeking information respecting an important movement in North Carolina at the commencement of the war of the Revolution, in which some of the family of Mr. Polk were conspicuous actors. I allude to the celebrated _Mecklenburgh Convention_, in May, 1775. The president readily communicated all the information in his possession, and kindly gave me a letter of introduction to the grandson of the secretary of that convention, then residing in Charlotte, where the meeting was held. This matter will be considered in detail hereafter. [Illustration: 8422] At meridian I crossed the Potomac upon the mile-long bridge, and rode to _Arlington House_, the seat of George Washington Parke Custis, Esq. His mansion, wherein true Virginian hospitality prevails, is beautifully situated upon high ground overlooking the Potomac, Washington City, and Georgetown, half surrounded by a fine oak forest, and fronting broad lawns. Mr. Custis received me, though a stranger, with cordiality, and when the object of my visit was made known, the "Washington treasures of Arlington House" were opened for my inspection. As executor of the will, and the adopted son and member of the immediate family of Washington, Mr. Custis possesses many interesting mementoes of that great man. He has several fine paintings. Among them is the original three-quarter length portrait of his grandmother (Lady Washington), by Woolaston, from which the engraving in Sparks's Life of Washington was made; also the original portrait of the chief by Trumbull; of the two children of Mrs. Washington (the father and aunt of Mr. Custis); of Parke, an ancestor, who was aid to the great Marlborough in the battle of Blenheim, painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller; crayon profile sketches of Washington and his lady, made in 1796; a beautiful painting on copper, in imitation of a medallion, of the heads of Washington and La Fayette, executed by the Marchioness De Brienne, and presented to Washington in 1789; and a number of other fine family portraits, choice engravings, and sculpture. Mr. Custis is himself an amateur artist, and has painted several historical subjects, among which is a cabinet picture of Washington wherein the figure of the chief is truth- * This monument was wrought in Italy, by Capelano, in 1804, by order of the surviving officers of the siege of Tripoli, and paid for by them. It was erected in the navy-yard at Washington City in 1806, where it was damaged by the British in 1814. This fact was kept in perpetual remembrance by the inscription put upon it, "Mutilated by Britons, August, 1814." When the monument was placed in its present position, that record was generously erased. ** The head of Washington is from a bust by Houdon, in possession of Mr. Custis. [[[Alexandria.--Its Museum.--The Hessian Flag captured at Trenton.--Anecdote of Washington.]]] {413}fully delineated. A copy of his battle of Monmouth is printed oil page 361. With books and pencil, in the bosom of an affectionate family, Mr. Custis, the last survivor of Washington's immediate household, is enjoying the blessings of a green old age. He has been present at the inauguration of every president of the United States (now numbering thirteen); and he has grasped the hand in friendly greeting of almost every distinguished personage who has visited our national metropolis during the last half century. For many years he communicated to the National Intelligencer his _Recollections of Washington_. These are graphic pictures of some of the most eventful scenes in the life of the patriot chief, described by eye-witnesses, and it is hoped that they will yet be arranged and published in a volume by the author. It was almost sunset when I left Arlington House and returned to the Federal city. Before breakfast the next morning I rode down to Alexandria, an old town on the Virginia side of the Potomac, seven miles below Washington. It is quite a large place, and was once a commercial mart of considerable importance. [Illustration: 9423] The town is handsomely laid out in rectangles, and is said to be remarkably healthy. It has but little Revolutionary history, except such as appertains to the personal affairs of Washington, whose residence, at Mount Vernon, was near. * In its museum, which is closed to the public, are many relics of the war for independence, of exceeding rarity and value, most of which belongs to Mr. Custis. I procured permission to visit the museum from Mr. Vietch, the mayor of Alexandria, under whose official charge the corporation has placed the collection; and, accompanied by an officer, I passed an hour among its curiosities. Among them is the flag which Washington took from the Hessians at Trenton, mentioned on page 229. It is composed of two pieces of very heavy white damask silk, on which the devices are embroidered with silk and gold thread. The lettering is all done with gold thread. On one side is an eagle, bearing in its talons a scroll and olive branch. Over it, upon a ribbon, are the words Pro principe et patria; "For principle and country a curious motto for the flag of mercenaries. Upon the other side is a monogram, composed of the letters E. C. T. S. A., and supposed to be that of the general commandant of the Anspachers. Under it are the initials M. Z. B., and the date 1775. The whole is surmounted by the British crown. This flag was probably wrought in England, while the German troops were awaiting embarkation for America, toward the close of 1775. It is four feet square. The tassels, made of silver bullion, are suspended to a plait of silver tinsel. Near the Hessian flag was the royal union stand- * The following anecdote is illustrative of the generous and noble character of Washington in his early manhood: When colonel of the Virginia troops in 1754, he was stationed at Alexandria. At an election for members of Assembly Colonel Washington, in the heat of party excitement, used offensive language toward a Mr. Payne. That gentleman struck the colonel a blow which prostrated him. Intelligence went to the barracks that Colonel Washington had been murdered by a mob. His soldiers rushed to the city to avenge his death. Joyfully they met him, and, being quieted by an address, they returned peaceably to their barracks. Next day, Mr. Payne received a note from Washington, requesting his attendance at the tavern in Alexandria. Mr. Payne anticipated a duel, but, instead of pistols in the hands of an irritated man, he saw wine and glasses, and was met with a friendly smile by his antagonist. Colonel Washington felt that himself was the aggressor, and determined to make reparation. He offered Mr. Payne his hand, and said, "To err is nature; to rectify error is glory. I believe I was wrong yesterday; you have already had some satisfaction, and, if you deem that sufficient, here is my hand--let us be friends." And they were so. [[[Washington's Bier, and other Relics.--Departure for Mount Vernon.--The Mansion.]]] {414}ard which Cornwallis surrendered to Washington at Yorktown. A picture of this flag will be given when considering that last great triumph of the Americans. [Illustration: 9424] The Hessian and the British flags are labeled, respectively, _Alpha_ and _Omega_, for they were the "first and the last" captured by Washington. A flag which belonged to the _Commander-in-chief's Guard_, printed on page 120, and one that belonged to Morgan's rifle corps, were also there; and in the midst of common curiosities, covered with dust and cobwebs, stood the _bier_ on which Washington was carried to the tomb at Mount Vernon. It is of oak, painted a lead color, and is six feet in length. The handles, which are hinged to the bier, had leather pads on the under side, fastened with brass nails. Hanging over the bier was the letter of Washington, printed in a note on page 115; and near by laid a napkin said to have been used on the occasion when he was christened. [Illustration: 0424] The museum contains many other things of general and special interest; but, being closed to the public, they are quite useless, while neglect is allowing the invisible fingers of decay to destroy them. I was glad to learn that the precious relics above named, which belong to Mr. * This view is from the lawn in front, looking down the Potomac. The mansion is built of wood, but so as to resemble stone, like Johnson Hall, at Johnstown, in New York, and is two stories in height. The central part was built by Lawrence Washington, a brother of the chief. The wings were added by the general. Through the center of the building is a spacious passage, level with the portico, and paved with tesselated Italian marble. This hall communicates with three large rooms, and with the main stair-way leading to the second story. The piazza on the eastern or river front is of square paneled pilasters, extending the whole length of the edifice. There is an observatory and cupola in the center of the roof, from whence may be obtained an extensive view of the surrounding country. The Mount Vernon estate was inherited by Lawrence Washington, who named it in honor of Admiral Vernon. He bequeathed it to George, and it passed into his possession on the death of Lawrence, which occurred in the mansion we are now noticing, on the 26th of July, 1752. [[[Approach to Mount Vernon.--The Library and its Associations.--Key of the Bastile.--Destruction of that Prison.]]] {415}Custis, are about to be transferred to the rooms of the National Institute, where they may be seen by the thousands who visit the metropolis. Toward noon I rode to Mount Vernon, nine miles below Alexandria. It was a mild, clear day, almost as balmy as the Indian summer time. After crossing an estuary of the Potomac the road was devious, passing through a rough, half-cultivated region, and almost impassable in places on account of gulleys scooped by recent rains. Leaving the main road when within about three miles of Mount Vernon, I traversed a winding carriage-way through partially-cultivated fields, over which young pines and cedars were growing in profusion; the unerring certifiers of that bad husbandry which many regions of the Southern States exhibit. [Illustration: 9425] When within about two miles of the venerated mansion, I passed a large stone upon the left of the road, which denotes a boundary line of the ancient estate. It is in the midst of stately forest trees; and from this land-mark to the residence, the road, unfenced and devious, passed through a greatly diversified region, some of it tilled, some returning to a wilderness state, and some appearing as if never touched by the hand of industry. Suddenly, on ascending a small steep hill from the edge of a wild ravine, the mansion and its surroundings were before me, and through the leafless branches of the trees came the sheen of the meridian sun from a distant bay of the Potomac. I was met at the gate by an intelligent colored lad, who ordered another to take charge of my horse, while he conducted me to the mansion. I bore a letter of introduction to the present proprietor of Mount Vernon, Augustine Washington, a grand-nephew of the patriot chief; but himself and family were absent, and not a white person was upon the premises. I felt a disappointment, for I desired to pass the time there in the company of a relative of the beloved one whose name and deeds hallow the spot. Silence pervaded the life-dwelling of Washington, and the echoes of every footfall, as I moved at the beck of the servant from room to room, seemed almost like the voices of intruders. I entered the library (which, with the breakfast-room, is in the south wing of the building), and in the deep shadows of that quiet apartment sat down in the very chair often occupied by the patriot, and gazed and mused with feelings not to be uttered. Upon brackets were marble busts of Washington and La Fayette, and a small one of Necker, the French Minister of Finance when the Revolution broke out in France. The first is over the door of entrance into the library. It was executed by Houdon, from life, he having obtained a mask, in plaster, and is doubtless the best likeness extant. Upon the walls hung the portraits of Laurence Washington, brother of the general, and of several female members of the family. In the great hall, or passage, in a glass case of prismatic form, hung the _Key of the Bastile,_ and near it was an engraved view of the demolition of that renowned prison. The large north room wherein Washington entertained his political friends, with the furniture, is kept in the same condition as when he left it. Upon the walls were pictures of hunting and battle * This key of the old Paris prison known as the Bastile, was sent hy La Fayette to Washington after the destruction of that edifice by the infuriated populace on the 14th of July. 1789. This was the beginning of the French Revolution. The Bastile was originally a royal palace, built by Charles the Fifth of France in 1369. It was afterward used as a state prison, like the Tower of London, and became the scene of dreadful sufferings and frightful crimes. When the mob gained possession of it in 1789, they took the governor and other officers to the Place de Grève, where they first cut off their hands and then their heads. With the key, La Fayette sent a plaster model of the old building. The model, somewhat defaced from long exposure in the Alexandria museum, is among the collections of the National Institute, while the key retains its ancient position at Mount Vernon. It is of wrought iron seven inches long. La Fayette, in his letter to Washington which accompanied the key and picture, dated "Paris, March 17th, 1789,' said, "Give me leave, my dear general, to present you with a picture of the Bastile, just as it appeared a few days after I had ordered its demolition, with the main key of this fortress of despotism. It is a tribute which I owe as a son to my adopted father; as an aid-de-camp to my general; as a missionary of liberty to its patriarch." * Thomas Paine, then in London, employed in constructing an iron bridge which he had invented, was chosen by La Fayette as the medium through which to forward the key to Washington. Paine, in his letter to the general accompanying the key, dated "London. May 1, 1789," wrote, "Our very good friend, the Marquis De La Fayette, has intrusted to my care the key of the Bastile, and a drawing, handsomely framed, representing the demolition of that detestable prison, as a present to your excellency, of whieh his letter will more particularly inform you. I feel myself happy in being the person through whom the marquis has conveyed this early trophy of the spoils of despotism, and the first ripe fruits of American principles transplanted into Europe, to his great master and patron. When he mentioned to me the present he intended you, my heart, leaped with joy. It is something so truly in character, that no remarks can illustrate it, and is more happily expressive of his remembrance of his American friends than any letters ean convey. That the principles of Ameriea opened the Bastile is not to be doubted, and therefore the key comes to the right place. I have permitted no drawing to be taken here, though it has been often requested, as I think there is a propriety that it should first be presented. But Mr. West wished Mr. Trumbull to make a painting of the presentation of the key to you." [[[Pictures at Mount Vernon.--Chimney-piece.--Monumental Eulogy.--The Old Vault of the Washington Family.]]] {416}scenes. Among them were prints of the death of Montgomery, and the battle of Bunker Hill, but not one of any engagement in which Washington himself participated. There hung the small portrait of the chief, on the back of which an unknown hand wrote an admirable monumental eulogy. * There, too, was a large painting--a family group--representing the mother and children of the present proprietor. The fire-place of the drawing-room is decorated with a superb Italian chimney-piece, made of variegated Sienna marble, in which is sculptured, in bold relief, on the tablets of the frieze, prominent objects of agriculture and husbandry. It was presented to Washington in 1785, by Samuel Vaughn, Esq., of London. One room is closed to the public gaze, and I honor the holy motives which prompt the veiling of that apartment from the eyes of prying curiosity; it is the chamber whence the spirit of the illustrious Washington, departed for its home in= ````"The bosom of his Father and his God."= [Illustration: 9426] I passed out upon the eastern piazza (seen in the engraving), which overlooks the Potomac. By the side of the door hung the spyglass often used by Washington; and, prompted by curiosity, I drew its tubes, and through them surveyed the hills of Maryland stretching away eastward on the opposite side of the river. From the mansion of the living I went to the dwelling of the dead, the old family vault, situated upon the declivity of a dell in full view of the river. It is about three hundred yards south of the mansion. Therein the body of Washington was first laid, and remained undisturbed for thirty years, when it was removed to a new tomb, erected in a more secluded spot, in accordance with direc- * It is supposed to have been written by an English gentleman. The following is a copy: * "Washington--The Defender of his Country--the Founder of Liberty--The Friend of Man. History and Tradition are explored in vain For a Parallel to his Character. In the Annals of Modern Greatness He stands alone; And the noblest, names of antiquity Lose their Luster in his Presence. Born the Benefactor of Mankind, He united all the qualities necessary to an illustrious career. Nature made him great; He made himself virtuous. Called by his country to the defense of her Liberties, He triumphantly vindicated the rights of humanity, And on the Pillars of National Independence Laid the foundations of a great Republic. Twice invested with supreme magistracy, By the unanimous voice of a free people, He surpassed in the Cabinet The Glories of the Field. And voluntarily resigning the Scepter and the Sword, Retired to the shades of Private Life. A spectacle so new and so sublime Was contemplated with the profoundest admiration. And The name of Washington, Adding new luster to humanity, Resounded to the remotest regions of the earth, Magnanimous in youth, Glorious through life, Great in Death; His highest ambition, the Happiness of Mankind; His noblest Victory, the conquest of himself. Bequeathing to posterity the inheritance of his fame And building his monument in the hearts of his countrymen, He Lived The Ornament of the 18th Century He Died regretted by a Mourning World." {417}tions in his will. * The construction of this tomb was delayed until many years ago, when an attempt was made to carry off the remains of the illustrious dead. The old vault was entered, and a skull and some bones were taken away. They formed no part of the remains of Washington. The robber was detected, and the bones were recovered. [Illustration: 8427] The new vault is on the side of a steep hill, on the edge of a deep wooded dell leading toward the river. The interior walls are built of brick, arched over at the height of eight feet from the ground. The front of the tomb is rough, and has a plain iron door inserted in a freestone casement. Upon a stone panel over the door are inscribed the words, "I am THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE; HE THAT BELIEVETH IN ME, THOUGH HE WERE DEAD, YET SHALL HE LIVE." Inclosing this tomb is a structure of brick twelve feet high. In front is an iron gateway, opening several feet in advance of the vault door, and forming a kind of ante-chamber. This gateway is flanked with pilasters, surmounted by a stone coping, covering a pointed Gothic arch. ** Over this arch is a tablet, on which is inscribed, "Within this inclosure rest the REMAINS OF GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON." I was much disappointed in the exterior appearance of the tomb, for it seems to me that in material and design it is quite too common-place. It justifies the description of it given recently by Lord Morpeth, who visited it in 1811. "The tomb of that most illustrious of mortals," he said, "is placed under a glaring red building, somewhat between a coach-house and a cage." *** [Illustration: 9427] Art should be allowed to contribute the best offerings of genius in enshrining the mortal remains of George Washington. In the ante-chamber of the tomb are two marble sarcophagi, containing the remains of Washington and his lady. That of the patriot has a sculptured lid, on which is represented the American shield suspended over the flag of the Union; the latter hung in festoons, and the whole surmounted, as a crest, by an eagle with open wings, perched upon the superior bar of the shield. Below the design, and deeply eut in the marble, is the name of Washington. This sarcophagus was constructed by John Struthers, of Philadelphia, from a design by Washington's new Family Vault. * The following is the clause referred to: "The family vault at Mount Vernon requiring repairs, and being improperly situated besides. I desire that a new one of brick, and upon a larger scale may be built at the foot of what is called the Vineyard Inclosure, on the ground which is marked out, in which mv remains, and those of my deceased relatives (now in the old vault), and such others of my family as may choose to be entombed there, may be deposited." ** This exterior structure was made for the special accommodation and preservation of the sarcaphagi inclosed within it, the vault being too small and damp for the purpose. *** Lecture on America, before the Mechanic's Institute at Leeds, November, 1850. **** This was placed in the family vault in the autumn of 1837. Mr. Striekland wrote an interesting account of the transaction. While the sarcophagus was on its way by water, he and Mr. Struthers repaired to Mount Vernon to make arrangements for the reception. On entering, they found every thing in confusion. Decayed fragments of coffins were scattered about, and bones of various parts of the human body were seen promiscuously thrown together. The decayed wood was dripping with moisture. "The slimy snail glistened in the light of the door-opening. The brown centipede was disturbed by the admission of fresh air, and the moldy eases of the dead gave out a pungent and unwholesome odor." The coffins of Washington and his lady were in the deepest recess of the vault. They were of lead, inclosed in wooden cases. When the sarcophagus arrived, the coffin of the chief was brought forth. The vault was first entered by Mr. Strickland, accompanied by Major Lewis (the last survivor of the first executors of the will of Washington) and his son. When the decayed wooden case was removed, the leaden lid was perceived to be sunken and fractured. In the bottom of the wooden case was found the silver coffin-plate, in the form of a shield, which was placed upon the leaden coffin when Washington was first entombed. [Illustration: 7428] * "At the request of Major Lewis," says Mr. S., "the fractured part of the lid was turned over on the lower part, exposing to view a head and breast of large dimensions, which appeared, by the dim light of the candles, to have suffered but little from the effects of time. The eye-sockets were large and deep, and the breadth across the temples, together with the forehead, appeared of unusual size. There was no appearance of grave-clothes; the chest was broad; the color was dark, and had the appearance of dried flesh and skin adhering closely to the bones. We saw no hair, nor was there any offensive odor from the body; but we observed, when the coffin had been removed to the outside of the vault, the dripping down of a yellow liquid, which stained the marble of the sarcophagus. A hand was laid upon the head and instantly removed; the leaden lid was restored to its place; the body, raised by six men, was carried and laid in the marble coffin, and the ponderous cover being put on and set in cement, it was sealed from our sight on Saturday, the 7th day of October, 1837.... The relatives who were present, consisting of Major Lewis, Lorenzo Lewis, John Augustine Washington, George Washington, the Rev. Mr. Johnson and lady, and Miss Jane Washington, then retired to the mansion." [[[Tomb of Lady Washington.--Narrative of the Re-entombing of Washington's Remains.--Their Appearance.]]] {418}William Strickland, and was presented by him to the relatives of Washington. It consists of an excavation from a solid block of Pennsylvania marble, eight feet in length and two in height. [Illustration: 9428] The marble coffin of Lady Washington, which stands upon the left of the other, is from the same chisel, and plainly wrought. Both may be seen by the visitor, through the iron gate. [Illustration: 8428] Who can stand at the portals of this tomb, where sleeps all that is left of the mortality of the Father of his Country, and not feel the outgoings of a devotional spirit--an involuntary desire to kneel down with reverence, not with the false adulations of mere hero-worship, but with the sincere sympathies of a soul bending before the shrine of superior goodness and greatness?= ```"There is an awful stillness in the sky, ```When, after wondrous deeds and light supreme, ```A star goes out in golden prophecy. ```There is an awful stillness in the world, ```When, after wondrous deeds and light supreme, ```A hero dies with all the future clear ```Before him, and his voice made jubilant ```By coming glories, and his nation hush'd ```As though they heard the farewell of a God. ```A great man is to earth as God to heaven." `````William Ross Wallace.= I lingered long at the tomb of Washington, even until the lengthening evening shadows were cast upon the Potomac; and I departed with reluctance from the precincts of Mount Vernon, where the great and good of many lands enjoyed the hospitality of the illustrious owner when living, or have poured forth the si- * This view is from the lawn, looking east; the buildings seen upon each side, and connected with the mansion by arcades, are the servants' houses. [[[Departure from Mount Vernon.--Pohick Church.--Occoquan and its Reminiscences.--Dunmore's Repulse at Occoquan.]]] {419}lent eulogium of the heart at his grave. The sun was disappearing behind the forest when I passed the gate, at the verge of a spacious lawn on the western front of the mansion, and departed for Occoquan, about twelve miles distant, where I purposed to spend the Sabbath. The road was in a wretched condition. It passes through a series of small swamps and pine barrens, where once fertile plantations smiled under the fostering care of industry. [Illustration: 8429] At sunset I crossed a large stream at the Oceatunk saw-mills, where the aspect of nature is grand and romantic, and at early twilight reached the venerated _Pohick or Powheek_ Church, where Washington worshiped, and Weems, his first biographer, preached. It is about seven miles southwest of Mount Vernon, upon an elevation on the borders of a forest, and surrounded by ancient oaks, chestnuts, and pines. The twilight lingered long enough with sufficient intensity to allow me to make the annexed sketch from my wagon in the road, when I gave my horse a loose rein, and hastened toward Occoquan as fast as the deep mud in the highway would permit. A thick vapor came up from the southwest and obscured the stars, and when I heard the distant murmurs of the falls of the Occoquan, the heavens were overcast, and the night was intensely dark. As I approached the village, I perceived that I was upon the margin of the waters lying deep below, for there came up the reflected lights from a few dwellings upon the opposite shore. I had more confidence in my horse's sight than in my own, and allowed him to make his way as he pleased along the invisible road to the bridge; how near to the precipice I knew not, until the next morning, when I traced my wagon tracks, in one place, within a few feet of the brow of a cliff scores of feet above the deep waters. Occoquan is a small manufacturing village in Prince William county, near the mouth of a creek of that name, and at the head of navigation up from the Potomac. * The creek falls seventy-two feet within the distance of a mile and a half. All around the scenery is remarkably picturesque, and to the dweller and traveler, under favorable circumstances, it may be a delightful place. To me, the remembrance of a night at Occoquan is the most unpleasant reminiscence of my journey. There was but one tavern in the place. It was kept by a kind-hearted woman, who seemed desirous of contributing to my comfort, but her _bar-room_, where strong liquors appeared to be dealt out with unsparing hand, was the source of all my discomfort. There I could hear the ribald voices of loungers growing more vociferous as the evening wore away; and in my chamber I was not relieved. It was midnight before the revelry ceased, and then two or three negroes, with wretched voices, accompanied by a more wretched fiddle, commenced a serenade in the street. It was two hours past midnight before I slept, and when I awoke in the morning the dram-drinkers were again there, guzzling, and talking profanely. Greatly annoyed, I determined to leave the plaee, and, contrary to my custom, travel on toward Fredericksburg, rather than * After Lord Dunmore, the last royal governor of Virginia, with his motley force of whites and negroes, was driven from Gwyn's Island in July, 1776, he sailed up the Potomac, and, with petty spite, laid waste several fine plantations upon its banks. He proceeded as far as the mills at Occoquan falls (where the village now is), and destroyed them. He was repulsed and driven on board his ships by a few of the Prince William militia, and then descended the river. This circumstance will be noticed more in detail hereafter. It is supposed that Dunmore intended to capture Lady Washington, and destroy the estate at Mount Vernon. A heavy storm and the Prince William militia frustrated his design. [[[Visit to Pollick Church.--Its dilapidated Condition.--Worship there.--Rev. Mason L. Weems.--Washington's Pew.]]] {420}spend the Sabbath there. Informed that the roads between Occoquan and Fredericksburg were worse than those I had traversed the day before, I concluded to return to Alexandria, and go down the Potomac to Aquia Creek on Monday. [Illustration: 9430] I left Occoquan after a late breakfast, and rode as far as _Pohick Church_, on the road to Alexandria, where I understood a Methodist meeting was to be held that day. No person had yet arrived, but the broad doors of the church stood wide open, inviting ingress. Within that venerated fane I awaited the slow-gathering auditory for more than an hour. When they were all assembled, men and women, white and black, the whole congregation, including the writer, amounted to only twenty-one persons. What a contrast with former days, when some of the noblest of the Virginia aristocracy filled those now deserted and dilapidated pews, while Massey or Weems performed the solemn and impressive ritual of the Church of England! No choir, with the majestic organ, chanted the _Te Deum_ or the _Gloria in Excelsis_; the Decalogue was not read, nor did solemn, audible responses, as in other days, go up from the lips of the people. [Illustration: 8430] Yet the glorious hymn, beginning "Come, holy Spirit, heavenly Dove!" was sung with fervor; and, standing behind the ancient communion-table, a young preacher in homely garb, with the eloquence of true piety, proclaimed the pure Gospel of love, and warmed the hearts of all present with emotions of Christian charity, the burden of his discourse. I sat in the pew, near the pulpit, wherein Washington and his family were seated, Sabbath after Sabbath, for many years, ** and I looked with peculiar interest upon the Law, the Prayer, and the Creed, inscribed upon the walls back of the chancel, on which, a thousand limes, the eyes of the Washingtons, the Masons, the Fairfaxes, the Coffers, and the Hendersons had rested. It was a melancholy sight to behold the dilapidation of that edifice, around which cluster so many associations of interest. *** A large portion of the panes of glass were * Reverend Mason L. Weems was rector of Pohick Church for a while, when Washington was a parishioner. He was possessed of considerable talent, but was better adapted for "a man of the world" than a clergyman. Wit and humor he used freely, and no man could easier be "all things to all men" than Mr. Weems. His eccentricities and singular conduct finally lowered his dignity as a clergyman, and gave rise to many false rumors respecting his character. He was a man of great benevolence, a trait which he exercised to the extent of his means. A large and increasing family compelled him to abandon preaching for a livelihood, and he became a book agent for Matthew Carey. In that business he was very successful, selling in one year over three thousand copies of a high-priced Bible. He always preached when invited, during his travels; and in his location he was instrumental in doing much good, for he circulated hooks of the highest moral character. Mr. Weems wrote an attractive Life of Washington, which became so popular that it passed through some forty editions. He also wrote a Life of Marion, which the cotemporaries and fellow-soldiers of that leader disliked. They charged the author with filling his narrative with fiction, when facts were wanting to give it interest. He died at an advanced age, leaving a large and well-educated family. ** A grand-daughter of Mrs. Washington, and sister of Mr. Custis of Arlington House, writing to Mr. Sparks, in 1833, respecting the religious character of Washington, said, "His pew was near the pulpit. I have a perfect recollection of being there before his election to the presidency, with him and my grandmother. It was a beautiful church, and had a large, respectable, and wealthy congregation, who were regular attendants." *** Pohiek Church derived its name from a small river near it, called by the Indians Powheek or Pohick. It is within old Truro parish, and its particular location is ascribed to Washington. Mount Vernon was within Truro parish, and in the affairs of the church Washington took a lively interest. About 1764, the old church, whieh stood in a different part of the parish, had fallen into decay, and it was resolved to build a new one. Its location became a matter of considerable excitement in the parish, some contending for the site on which the old edifice stood, and others for one near the center of the parish, and more conveniently situated. Among the latter was Washington. A meeting for settling the question was finally held. George Mason, who led the party favorable to the old site, made an eloquent harangue, conjuring the people not to desert the sacred spot, consecrated by the bones of their ancestors. It had a powerful effect, and it was thought that there would not be a dissenting voice. Washington then arose, and drew from his pocket an accurate survey which he had made of the whole parish, in which was marked the site of the old church, and the proposed location of the new one, together with the place of residence of each parishioner. He spread this map before the audience, briefly explained it, expressed his hope that they would not allow their judgments to be guided by their feelings, and sat down. The silent argument of the map was potent; a large majority voted in favor of the new site, and in 1765 Pohiek Church was built. [[[A Swallow's Nest.--Location of the Church.--Vestrymen. A curious Document.--Last of Braddock's Men]]] {421}broken out, admitting freely the wind and rain, the bats and the birds. [Illustration: 8431] The elaborately-wrought pulpit, placed by itself on one side of the church, away from the chancel, was marred by desecrating hands. Under its sounding-board a swallow had built its nest, and upon the book-ledge of the sacred desk the fowls of the air had evidently perched. [Illustration: 9431] I thought of the words of the "sweet singer of Israel," "Yea, the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, _even thine altar_, O Lord of hosts!"' The chancel, too, is disfigured; but the Law, the Prayer, and the Creed, painted on a blue ground above it, are quite perfect. The pews are square, with seats upon three sides, and painted lead color. Upon the doors of several of them yet remain the initials of the former occupants, among which I noticed those of George Mason and George William Fairfax, who, with Washington, were the leading men in the parish. ** The whole country around Pohiek seems to be degenerating in soil and population, and the old church edifice is left without a guardian, to molder into oblivion. * Psalm lxxxiv., 3. ** Washington was a vestryman, in 1765, of both Truro and Fairfax parishes. The place of worship of the former was at Pohiek, and of the latter at Alexandria. Among the manuscripts in the library of the New York Historical Society, is a leaf from the church record of Pohiek. It contains the names of the first vestry, and a few others. By whose desecrating hand it was torn from the records, or how it found its way to its present resting-place. I know not. The following is a copy from the original, from which I also obtained the signatures of Mason and Fairfax, given above. The names were signed at different times, during the summer and autumn of 1765. "I. A B, do declare that I will be conformable to the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England, as by law established. "1765. May 20th.--Thomas Withers Coffer, Thomas Ford, John Ford. "19th August.--Geo. Washington, Daniel M'Carty, Edward Payne, Thomas Withers Coffer, Thomas Ford, Edw. Dulin, John Dalton, Dan]. French, Richard Sanford, Thos. Shaw, Thos. Wren, Townsend Dade, Charles Broadwater,* J. W. Payne, William Adams. "20th August.--G. W. Fairfax, John West, William Lynton, Wm. Gardner. "16th September.--Edward Blackburn. "17th September.--George Mason, Charles Henderson. "October 21st.--John Possey. "21st April, 1766--T. Ellzy." * Captain Broadwater was the owner of a slave who drove a team with a provision-wagon, belonging to his master, over the Alleghany Mountains in the memorable campaign in which Braddock was killed. The slave's name was Samuel Jenkins. He was in the battle at the Great Meadows, but escaped unhurt. On the death of his master, when he was about forty years of age, he was purchased by a gentleman, who took him to Ohio and manumitted him. He settled in Lancaster, Ohio, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1819, when he was 115 years old. He was probably the last survivor of Braddock's men. [[[Return to Washington.--Thunder-shower in December.--Aquia Creek.--Almost a Serious Accident.--Potomac Church.]]] {422}The preacher told me that I might travel ten miles in any direction from Pohick (except to Alexandria) and not find a school-house! A few northern farmers are now redeeming some of the upper portions of Fairfax county; and it is to be hoped that the circles of their influence may enlarge until Pohick Church is included, and its walls saved from destruction. When I left the church, a slight drizzle omened an approaching storm, and I hastened to Alexandria, where I ascertained that I could not get. upon the Potomac steamer with my horse without going to Washington City. [Illustration: 8432] Damp, weary, and vexed, I gave Charley a loose rein, for the day was fast waning. When within half a mile of the Long Bridge, a vivid flash of lightning, followed by a loud thunder-peal, burst from the clouds, and seemed to open "the windows of heaven," and set free all the "treasures of the cherubim." Another flash and thunder-peal, with the accompanying deluge, came while I was crossing the drawbridge, and I reined up at the "Indian Queen," on Pennsylvania Avenue, at twilight, with all the concomitants of a disappointed disciple of Isaack Walton. A thunder-shower in December is a phenomenon so rare that I almost enjoyed the misery. The steam-boat for Aquia Creek left Washington the following morning at two o'clock. I was upon her deck in time, but a careless servant having left a part of my baggage behind, I was obliged to return and remain in Washington another day. It proved a fine one for traveling, and the very reverse of the next day, when I was upon the road. The dawn opened with sleet and rain, and a raw east wind. This was sufficiently unpleasant for a traveler; yet a more vexatious circumstance awaited my debarkation at Aquia Creek. From the landing to a plantation road leading to the Fredericksburg _pike_, almost two miles, there was no wagon-track, the rail-road being the only highway. I mounted my wagon upon a hand-car, employed two stout negroes as locomotives, and, leading my horse along the rough-ribbed iron way, finally reached a plantation lane on the edge of a swamp. Where the rail-way traverses a broad marsh, deep ditches cross it transversely. My horse, in attempting to leap one of these, fell between the iron bars, with a hinder leg over one of them, which prevented the use of his limbs in efforts to leap from the ditch. I momentarily expected to hear the thigh-bone snap, for almost the entire weight of his body rested upon it. The salvation of the animal depended upon getting that leg free. I had no aid, for the negroes had neither will nor judgment to assist. At the risk of being made a foot-ball, I placed my shoulder in the hollow of the hoof, and with strength increased by solicitude, I succeeded in pushing the limb over the rail, and the docile animal, who seemed to feel the necessity of being passive, stood erect in his prison of iron and soft earth. Within a rectangle of a few feet, and a bank, shoulder high, he was still confined. He made several efforts to spring out, but his knees would strike the margin. At length, summoning all his energies, and appearing to shrink into smaller compass, he raised his fore-feet upon the bank, gave a spring, and, to my great joy, he stood safe and unhurt (though trembling in every limb) upon the road. With a light and thankful heart I traveled the sinuous pathway, through gates and bars, for five or six miles, to the high road, the storm increasing. The distance from Aquia Creek to Fredericksburg is fifteen miles. When about halfway, I passed the ruins of old _Potomac Church_, once one of the finest sacred edifices in Virginia. The plan of the interior was similar to that of _Pohick_. The roof is supported by square columns, stuccoed and painted in imitation of variegated marble The windows are in Gothic style. The Law, the Prayer, and the Creed were quite well preserved upon the walls, notwithstanding the roof is partly fallen in, and the storms have free passage through the ruined arches. It is surrounded by a thick hedge of thorn, dwarf cedars, and other shrubs, festooned and garlanded with ivy and the wild grape, which almost effectually guard the venerable relic from the intrusion of strangers. With proper care, this church might have been a place of worship a century longer, but like many other old churches, consecrated in the appreciating mind of the patriotic American, this edifice is moldering through neglect. [[[The Rappahannock.--Fredericksburg.--Washington's Birth-place.--First Monumental Stone.--Notables of Westmoreland]]] {423} ```"They are all passing from the land; ````Those churches old and gray, ```In which our fathers used to stand, ````In years gone by, to pray.= ```Ay, pull them down, as well you may, ````Those altars stern and old; ```They speak of those long pass'd away, ````Whose ashes now are cold. ```Few, few, are now the strong-arm'd men ```Who worshiped at our altars then.= ```Then pull them down, and rear on high ````New-fangled, painted things, ```For these but mock the modern eye, ````The past around them brings. ```Then pull them down, and upward rear ```A pile which suits who worships here." `````Elizabeth Oakes Smith.= I crossed the Rappahannock* upon a long toll-bridge, and entered Fredericksburg at noon. The city is old in fact, and antique in appearance. A century and a quarter ago the settlers who had begun to cultivate extensively the rich lands upon the Rappahannock, applied for a town charter. It was granted; (a) and in honor of Prince Frederick, the father of George III., and then heir-apparent to the British throne, it was called Fredericksburg. At that time there was only a tobacco warehouse on the site of the present, city with its four thousand five hundred inhabitants. The town is regularly laid out. Many of the houses are of brick, but few are in modern style, or of apparently recent construction. Fredericksburg is interesting, as connected with our subject, chiefly from the fact that Washington passed his youthful days in its vicinity, and that near the city, beneath an unfinished monument, repose the remains of his beloved mother. The place of Washington's _birth_ was about half a mile from the junction of Pope's Creek with the Potomac, in Westmoreland county, the "Athens of Virginia." ** It is upon the "Wakefield estate," now owned by John E. Wilson, Esq. The house in which he was born was destroyed before the Revolution. Upon its site, George W. P. Custis, Esq., placed a slab of free-stone, (b) [[ b June, 1815.]]represented in the engraving on the following page, on which is the simple inscription, "Here, the 11th of February [O. S.], 1732, George Washington was born." *** * The Rappahannock is one of the largest streams in Virginia. It rises in the Blue Ridge, 130 miles northwest of its entrance into the Chesapeake Bay, 25 miles south of the Potomac. It is navigable for vessels requiring ten feet of water, to the Falls of the Rappahannock, a little above Fredericksburg. ** This name has been given to Westmoreland on account of the great number of men, distinguished in our annals, who were born there. Washington; the two Lees, who signed the Declaration of Independence; the brothers of Richard Henry Lee (Thomas, Francis, and Arthur); General Henry Lee; Judge Bushrod Washington, and President Monroe, were all born in that county. Richard Henry Lee's residence was Chantilly, on the Potomac. Monroe was born at the head of Monroe's Creek. In Stratford, upon the Potomac, a few miles above the residence of Richard Henry Lee, is still standing one of the most remarkable buildings in this country. I greatly desired to visit it, and portray it for this work, but circumstances prevented. It was built by Mr. Thomas Lee, father of Richard Henry Lee, who was president of the King's Council, and acting governor of Virginia. While governor, his dwelling was burned, and this edifice was erected for him, either by the government or by the voluntary contributions of London merchants, by whom he was greatly esteemed. There is no structure in our country to compare with it. The walls of the first story are two and a half feet thick, and of the second story, two feet, composed of brick imported from England. It originally contained about one hundred rooms. Besides the main building, there are four offices, one at each corner, containing fifteen rooms. The stables are capable of accommodating one hundred horses. Its cost was about $80,000. *** The public career of Washington is illustrated in every part of these volumes, for he was identified with all the important events of the Revolution. His life is too well known to need an extended memoir. I will here briefly chronicle a notice of his family, and the events of his early life. He was descended from an old family of the English aristocracy. The name of Washington, as a family, was first known about the middle of the thirteenth century. Previously there was a manor of that name, in the county of Durham, owned by William de Hertburne, who, as was the custom in those days, took the name of his estate [[[Washington's Birth-place.--His Ancestors.--Arms and Monuments.--First Monumental Stone to the Memory of Washington.]]] {424}The house in which his nativity took place was precisely the same in appearanee as the family residence on the Rappahannock, delineated opposite, being of the better class of plain gentleman have descended the branches of the Washington family in England and America. The name is frequently mentioned in the local histories of England as belonging to persons of wealth and distinction. Sir Henry Washington was renowned for his bravely at the siege of Worcester against the parliamentary troops, and at the taking of Bristol. Monuments erected in churches with the name of Washington upon them, are proofs of their opulence. The ancient seat of the Washington family is said to be yet well preserved. It is built of stone of great solidity. The timber is chiefly of oak; and in several of the rooms, particularly in the large hall or banqueting-room, are remains of rich carving and gilding in the cornices and wainscoting. Over the mantel-pieces, elaborately carved, are the family arms, richly emblazoned upon escutcheons. [Illustration: 9434] * The walls of the house are five feet thick. The entire residence is surrounded by a beautiful garden and orchards. The old family monument, erected to the memory of "Sir Laurence Washington, Nite," grandson of the first proprietor of the name, of Sulgrave, and the ancestor of General Washington, is in the cemetery of Gardson Church, two miles from Malmsbury. It is of the mural style, and bears the family arms. Sir Laurence Washington died in May, 1643. Two of his sons, John and Laurence Washington, emigrated to Virginia about the year 1657, and settled at Bridge's Creek, on the Potomac, in Westmoreland county. The eldest brother of the emigrants, Sir William Washington, married a half sister of George Villiers, duke of Buckingham. John Washington, soon after settling in Virginia, engaged in military expeditions against the Indians, and rose to the rank of colonel. He married Ann Pope, by whom he had two sons, Laurence and John, and a daughter. Laurence married Mildred Warner, of Gloucester county, and had three children, John, Augustine, and Mildred. Augustine first married Jane Butler, by whom he had three sons and a daughter. His second wife was Mary Bail, to whom he was married on the 6th of March, 1730. By her he had six children; the first-born was George, the subject of our memoir. He was the great-grandson of the first emigrant to America, and sixth in descent from the first Laurence of Sulgrave. He was born on the 22d (11th O. S.) of February, 1732. His parents soon afterward removed to an estate in Stafford county, near Fredericksburg, where his father died on the 12th of April, 1743, and was buried at Bridge's Creek. To each of his sons he left a plantation. To his oldest survivor he bequeathed an estate on Hunting Creek (afterward Mount Vernon), and to George he left the lands and mansion (pictured above) where his father lived. His mother had five young children to nurture and prepare for active life. It was a great responsibility, yet she performed her duty with entire success. To her guidance the world probably owes much of the good which has emanated from the career of her illustrious son. Washington received few advantages from early school education. There were then few good schools in the colonies. The wealthy planters sent their children to England to be educated. The mother of George did not feel able to incur the expense, and he was obliged to rely upon her, a neighboring school, and occasionally a private tutor in mathematics, for his elementary knowledge. His practical mind developed nobly under even this deficient culture. He left school when almost sixteen years of age, pretty thoroughly versed in mathematics, and fully competent for the profession of a practical surveyor. When he was fourteen years old, his half-brother, Laurence Washington, having observed in him a fondness for military matters, obtained for him a midshipman's warrant, in 1746. That gentleman had served under Admiral Vernon at the siege of Carthagena, and in the West Indies, and kept up a friendly correspondence with his commander. He regarded the British navy as an attractive field, where his young brother might become distinguished. The mother of young Washington partly consented; but when the time approached, and the boy with buoyant spirits prepared for departure, her maternal feelings were too strong to allow a separation, and the project was abandoned. Laurence Washington married a daughter of the wealthy William Fairfax, who was for some time president of his majesty's council in the colony. When young Washington left school, he went to live with his brother Laurence at Mount Vernon, and his intimacy with the Fairfax family led to those initial steps in his public life which resulted so gloriously. He was employed to survey the immense tracts of land in the rich valleys of the Alleghany Mountains, belonging to Lord Fairfax, a relative of William. When onlv sixteen years and one month old, he set out with George W. Fairfax (whose signature, with that of George Mason, is on page 421) to survey these immense tracts. They suffered great privations, and encountered many dangers; but this expedition proved a sehool of immense advantage to the future hero. He executed his task very satisfactorily, and soon afterward received an appointment as public surveyor. He devoted three years to this lucrative pursuit. His talents, probity, and general intelligence attracted the attention of the authorities of Virginia. The encroachments of the French on the western frontiers of the state, caused the governor to divide the province into militia districts, over which was placed an officer with the rank of major, whose duty it was to drill the people in military tactics. Over one of these districts young Washington was plaeed at the age of nineteen, with the pay of $750 a year. He had just entered upon this duty, when his brother Laurence, on account of failing health, was advised by his physicians to make a voyage to the West Indies. He desired the company of George, and they sailed for Barbadoes in September, 1751. They remained there a few weeks; but hope for the invalid faded away, and he resolved to go to Bermuda, and send George home for his wife. While in Barbadoes, young Washington was sick three weeks with the small-pox. As soon as he recovered, he sailed for home. At first, an encouraging letter came from Laurence; the seeond was desponding, and, giving up all hope of life, he returned home. He lingered a short time, and died at the age of thirty-four years. His estate of Mount Vernon, as I have elsewhere noticed, he bequeathed to George, in the event of his surviving daughter dying without issue, George was one of his brother's executors, and the duties incumbent thereon occupied the principal part of his time. When Governor Dinwiddie came to Virginia, he apportioned the colony into four grand military divisions, over one of which he placed Major Washington. He exercised the functions of his offiee with great skill and fidelity, and when the continued encroachments of the Freneh and Indians called for a military expedition, Major Washington was sent to reconnoiter, and collect all possible information. In this perilous business he was successful, and so pleased was the governor and council, that they appointed him a commissioner to visit the French posts on the Ohio, and, in the name of the King of England, to demand an explicit answer to the inquiry, "By what right do you invade British territory?" The particulars of this expedition will be noticed hereafter. Washington was then only twenty-one years old. He not only faithfully executed the instructions of the governor, expressed on the face of his commission, but obtained a great amount of information respecting the numbers and resources of the enemy. For eleven weeks he suffered great hardships with his few companions, when he appeared at Williamsburg, and laid his report before the governor and his couneil. War was deemed necessary, and arrangements were made accordingly. The other colonies were called upon for aid. Washington was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Virginia forces destined for Ohio, and in April he marched toward the Alleghanies. Some severe conflicts ensued, and finally, the expedition was defeated. The conduct of Washington was highly approved. When Braddock undertook an expedition against the enemy in the spring of 1755, Washington, at his request, accompanied him as one of his military family. In the battle at the Great Meadows which ensued. Braddock was killed. Colonel Washington behaved with the greatest bravery, and by his skill the army was saved from entire destruction. He returned to Mount Vernon, and continued in the military service until 1759, when he was elected a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses for Frederick county. He was married the same year to Mrs. Martha Custis, widow of John Parke Custis. This event is noticed elsewhere. The estate of Mount Vernon having come into his possession, he established himself there three months after his marriage. From that period until his election as a delegate to the first Congress in 1774, his time was devoted to agriculture, and to the duties of a state legislator. He early espoused the cause of the colonists in their disputes with Great Britain, and when the crisis arrived, he was appointed, as we have noticed on page 563, volume i., commander-in-chief of the Continental army. From that time his life forms an important portion of the history of our Republic. His final retirement to Mount Vernon after the war, and his death, will be noticed hereafter. * This, and the picture of the residence of the Washington family on the Rappahannock, are from drawings by John G. Chapman, Esq. Under date of August 21, 1851, Mr. Custis kindly furnished me with an interesting account of the dedication of this first monumental stone to the memory of Washington. In June, 1815 (a few days before the cornerstone of the Washington monument at Baltimore was laid), accompanied by two gentlemen (Messrs. Lewis and Grymes), he sailed from Alexandria in his own vessel, the Lady of the Lake, for Pope's Creek. Arrived at the hallowed spot with the inscribed tablet, they proceeded to deposit it in a proper place. "Desirous of making the ceremonial of depositing the stone as imposing as circumstances would permit," says Mr. Custis, "we enveloped it in the 1 Star-spangled Banner' of our eountry, and it was borne to its resting-place in the arms of the descendants of four Revolutionary patriots and soldiers--Samuel Lewis, son of George Lewis, a captain in Baylor's regiment of horse, and nephew of Washington; William Grymes, the son of Benjamin Grymes, a gallant and distinguished officer of the Life Guards; the Captain of the vessel, the son of a brave soldier wounded in the battle of Guilford; and George W. P. Custis, the son of John Parke Custis, aid-de-eamp to the commander-in-chief before Cambridge and Yorktown. We gathered together the bricks of the ancient chimney that once formed the hearth around which Washington in his infancy had played, and constructed a rude kind of pedestal, on which we reverently placed the first stone, commending it to the respect and protection of the American people in general, and the citizens of Westmoreland in particular." * * The shield with the stars and stripes, on the right, forms the seal of General Washington. A copy of it, taken from a death warrant, may be found in the Appendix. [[[Virginia Residence of the Washington Family.--Early Life of General Washington.--Death of his Brother Laurence.]]] {425}Virginian farm-houses. It had four rooms, with an enormous chimney at each end, on the outside. The estate on the Rappahanuock was owned by his father, Augustine Washington. [Illustration: 0435] [[[The Washington Farm.--Residence of the Mother of Washington.--His early Military Career.]]] {426}several years before his marriage with Mary Ball (daughter of Colonel Ball, of Lancaster), the mother of the illustrious patriot. It is nearly opposite Fredericksburg, in Stafford county, and when I visited that city, (a) it was the property of the Reverend Thomas [[ a 1848]] Teasdale. The mansion-house, which stood near the present residence of Mr. King, a short distance below the rail-road bridge, has long since gone to decay and disappeared, and to the skillful pencil of J. G. Chapman, Esq., I am indebted for the accompanying picture. The storm continuing, and nothing of interest being left upon the soil known as "The Washington Farm," I did not visit it, but contented myself with a distant view of its rolling acres as I rode out of Fredericksburg to pursue my journey southward. On the northwest corner of Charles and Lewis streets, in Fredericksburg, is the house (the residence of Richard Stirling, Esq ) where the mother of Washington resided during the latter years of her life, and where she died. There that honored matron, and more honored son, had their last earthly interview in the spring of 1789, after he was elected President of the United States. Just before his departure for New York to take the oath of office, and to enter upon his new duties, Washington, actuated by that filial reverence and regard which always distinguished him, * hastened to Fredericksburg to visit his mother. She was then fourscore and five years old, bowed with age and the ravages of that terrible disease, a deep-rooted cancer in the breast. Their interview was deeply affecting. After the first emotions incident to the meeting had subsided, Washington said, "The people, madam, have been pleased, with the most flattering unanimity, to elect me to the chief magistracy of the United States; but before I can assume the functions of that office, I have come to bid you an affectionate farewell. So soon as the public business which must necessarily be encountered in arranging a new government can be disposed of, I shall hasten * It is related that on one occasion, during the Revolution, his mother was with him at a large social gathering. At nine o'clock in the evening the aged matron approached her son, placed her arm in his, and said. "Come, George, it is time for us to be at home; late hours are injurious." With the docility of a child the general left the company with his mother; "but," as Mrs. Hamilton said to me, when speaking of the circumstance, "he came back again." [[[Washington's last Interview with his Mother.--Her Death, and unfinished Monument.--Cornerstone laid by President Jackson.]]] {427}to Virginia, and--" Here the matron interrupted him with, "You will see me no more. My great age, and the disease which is fast approaching my vitals, warns me that I shall not be long in this world. I trust to God I am somewhat prepared for a better. But go, George, fulfill the destiny which Heaven appears to assign you; go, my son, and may Heaven's and your mother's blessing be with you always." Washington wept; the great man was again a little child, and he kissed the furrowed cheek of his parent with all the tender affection and simplicity of a loving boy. With a full heart he went forth to "fulfill the destiny" which Heaven assigned him, and he saw his mother no more. She died in the autumn of 1789, and was buried on a beautiful knoll upon the estate of her son-in-law. Colonel Fielding Lewis, * within sound of the busy hum of the city. [Illustration: 8437] In the midst of the thickly-falling sleet, I made a pilgrimage to the grave of the mother of Washington, and sketched the half-finished and neglected monument which was erected over it a few years ago. It stands near a ledge of rocks, where she often resorted in fine weather for private meditation and devotion. Years before her death she selected that spot for her grave. The monument is of white marble, and, even in its unfinished state, has an imposing appearance. The corner-stone was laid by Andrew Jackson, then President of the United States, on the 7th of May, 1833, in the presence of a great concourse of people. He went down the Potomac from Washington City on the 6th, ** and was met at Potomac Creek, nine miles from Fredericksburg, by the _Monument Committee_ of that city. He was also met by a military escort, and conducted to the residence of Doctor Wallace, where he was entertained. A large military and civic procession was formed the following day, and proceeded to the grave, where the imposing ceremonies were to be performed. Mr. Basset, in behalf of the citizens of Fredericksburg, first addressed the president on the character of her whom they sought to honor. The president made an eloquent reply; and, as he deposited an inscribed plate in the hollow corner-stone, he said, "Fellow-citizens, at your request, and in your name, I now deposit this plate in the spot destined for it; and when the American pilgrim shall, in after ages, come up to this high and holy place, and lay his hand upon this sacred column, may he recall the virtues of her who sleeps beneath, and depart with his affections purified, and his piety strengthened, while he invokes blessings upon the memory of the mother of 'Washington." Referring to this event, Mrs. Sigourney thus beautifully wrote for the _Fredonia Arena_:= ```"Long hast thou slept unnoticed. Nature stole ```In her soft minstrelsy around thy bed.= * Colonel Fielding Lewis married Elizabeth, the sister of Washington. He was proprietor of half the town of Fredericksburg, and of an extensive territory adjoining. During the war, in which his feelings were warmly enlisted, he superintended the great manufactory of arms in his neighborhood. He was a local magistrate for many years, and often represented his county in the Legislature. He died in December, 1781, at the age, of fifty-five years. His son George was at one time a captain in the Commander-in-Chief's Guard, and his other three sons were active public men. His daughter Elizabeth married Charles Carter Esq. ** While the boat was lying at the wharf at Alexandria on this occasion, Lieutenant Randolph, who had lately been dismissed from the navy, went on board, and proceeding into the cabin, where the venerable president sat at table reading and smoking, made a brutal and cowardly attack upon him. Randolph was instantly seized by the captain, when a number of his friends, who accompanied him, rescued him, and bore him to the wharf. A citizen of Alexandria hearing of the outrage, was so greatly incensed that he said to the president, "Sir, if you will pardon me in case I am tried and convicted, I will kill Randolph! for this insult to you, in fifteen minutes." "No, sir," responded the president, "I can not do that. I want no man to stand between me and my assailants, nor none to take revenge on my account. Had I been prepared for this cowardly villain's approach, I can assure you all that he never would have the temerity to undertake such a thing again." [[[The unfinished Obelisk for the Tomb of Washington's Mother.--Departure from Fredericksburg.--General Mercer's Son]]] {428} ```Spreading her vernal tissue, violet-gemm'd, ```And pearl'd with dews. `````She bade bright Summer bring= ```Gifts of frankincense, with sweet song of birds, ```And Autumn east his reaper's coronet ```Down at thy feet, and stormy Winter speak ```Sternly of man's neglect. But now we come ```To do thee homage--Mother of our chief!-- ```Fit homage, such as honoreth him who pays. ```Methinks we see thee, as in olden time-- ```Simple in garb, majestic, and serene; ```Unmoved by pomp or circumstances: in truth ```Inflexible; and, with a Spartan zeal, ```Repressing vice and making folly grave. ```Thou didst not deem it woman's part to waste ```Life in inglorious sloth--to sport a while ```Amid the flowers, or on the summer wave. ```Then, fleet like the Ephemeron, away, ```Building no temple in her children's hearts, ```Save to the vanity and pride of life ```Which she had worship'd.= `````For the might that clothed ```The "Pater Patria"--for the glorious deeds ```That make Mount Vernon's tomb a Mecca shrine ```For all the earth, what thanks to thee are due. ```Who, mid his elements of being wrought, ```We know not--Heaven can tell."= Almost twenty years have passed away since the imposing pageant at the laying of the corner-stone was displayed, and yet the monument is unfinished,= [Illustration: 9438] ````Still may Spring, and Summer, and `````"Stormy Winter speak ````Sternly of man's neglect= for the huge marble obelisk, as it came from the quarry, lies there yet, defaced and mutilated by rude hands, and silently appealing to local pride and general patriotism to sculpture its ornaments, and place it where it was designed to be. Year after year the dust of the plain has lodged upon the top of the half-finished pile, and the seeds of wild flowers have been borne thither upon the wings of the zephyrs; and where the base of the noble obelisk should rest, Nature, as if rebuking insensate man, hath woven green garlands, and hung flowery festoons. Upon the broad tablet whereon was to be inscribed the beautiful memorial, "Mary, the Mother of Washington," dark green fungi have made _their_ humiliating record instead. I left Fredericksburg ** at two o'clock, with the intention of lodging at Bowling Green, in Caroline county, twenty-two miles distant. The post-road is one of the finest I ever traveled; broad, and in good condition. It passes through a gently rolling, fertile country, and apparently well cultivated. When within about twelve miles of my destination I passed a farm-house, from which two men, with a span of horses and a rickety market wagon, * This is a sketch, from the original design of the monument, of the obelisk and its surmountings, intended to be placed upon the present structure. Why half-hewn marble has been allowed to remain so long unfinished that Vandal relic-seekers have ruined it, I can not comprehend. Is there not public spirit enough in Virginia to complete this memorial of her most honored daughter? Independent of the reflected glory of her son, she was a noble woman, because truly excellent in all her relations in life; a sincere Christian; kind and benevolent; and a mother who, like Cornelia, regarded her children as her jewels, and cherished them accordingly. ** It is to me a matter of sincere regret, that when I was at Fredericksburg, I was not aware that Colonel Hugh Mercer, the son of the lamented General Mercer, who was killed at Princeton, was a resident of that city. Educated at the public expense, by order of Congress, his name and character belong to history. A portrait of this "foster-child of the Republic" will be found in another part of this work. [[[The Wrong Road.--Pamunkey River.--Hanover Court House.--The old Tavern.--Anecdote.]]] {429}were just departing for Richmond, whither I was making my way. They, too, intended to lodge at Bowling Green, and offered to pilot me. Their fresh horses tried Charley's speed and bottom to the utmost. We crossed the Mattapony River, a tributary of the Parnunkey, at twilight, over two high bridges. Night came on with sudden and intense darkness; so dark that I could not see my pilots. At a fork I "lost my reckoning they taking one branch and I the other. Charley neighed, and tried to follow them. "I was wise in my own conceit," and reined him into the other fork. I rode on for nearly an hour without passing a habitation, and entirely unconscious of the nature or direction of the road I was traveling. [Illustration: 8439] A heavy mist shrouded the country. At length the rays of a candle came feebly from a window at the road-side. I hailed, and asked for and obtained lodgings for the night. It was the hospitable mansion of Mr. Burke, a planter, some seven miles from Bowling Green. I had wandered four miles from the direct road to that village, but was not far from the nearest highway to Hanover Court House, my next point of destination. I resumed my journey at daybreak, leaving Bowling Green on the left; breakfasted at a small tavern, after a ride of six miles, and soon overtook my pilots, who, in attempting to reach a point beyond Bowling Green the night before, had broken an axle while crossing a swamp. We journeyed on together to Hanover Court House, within nineteen miles of Richmond. The appearance of the country changed materially after crossing the Mattapony. It became more hilly, sandy, and sterile, producing dwarf pines in abundance. We crossed the Parnunkey a little below the confluence of its branches (the North and South Anna), and, at a mile distant, reached Hanover Court House in time for a late dinner. The village now (a) consists of the ancient court-house and tavern, one brick house, several negro huts, and a jail. The latter was in process of reconstruction [[ a 1851]] when I was there, having been burned a few months previously. Here was a flourishing town before Richmond, now containing thirty thousand inhabitants, was an incorporated village. The Parnunkey was then navigable for sloops and schooners; now the channel is filled with sand. Hanover was a place of considerable business. Sixteen hundred hogs-heads of tobacco were annually exported from it, and it was regarded as an eligible site for the state capital. When the House of Burgesses were deliberating upon the subject of removing the Capitol from Williamsburg, they came within a few votes of deciding upon Hanover instead of Richmond. Where the populous village once stood I saw traces of a recent corn crop, but not a vestige of former habitation. The old tavern where I lodged, and the court-house, are objects of much interest, from the circumstance that in the former Patrick Henry was a temporary _bar-tender_, * and in the latter he made those first efforts at oratory which burst forth like meteors from the gloom of his obscurity. He had passed his youth- * The Marquis de Chastellux, who visited Hanover in 1781, mentions this tavern as "a tolerably handsome inn, with a very large saloon, and a covered portico, and destined to receive the company who assemble every three months at the court-house, either on private or publie affairs." I slept in the "large saloon," and under shelter of the "covered portico" mentioned bv the marquis, I sketched the court-house. The general external appearance of the house. I was informed, has been changed. The marquis relates the following anecdote respecting the passage of the English through that county: "Mr. Tilghman, our landlord, though he lamented his misfortune in having lodged and boarded Cornwallis and his retinue, without his lordship having made the least recompense, could not help laughing at the fright which the unexpected arrival Tarleton spread among a considerable number of gentlemen who came to hear the news, and were assembled in the court-house. A negro, on horseback, came full gallop to let them know that Tarleton was not above three miles off. The resolution of retreating was soon taken: but the alarm was so sudden, and the confusion so great, that every one mounted the first horse he could find, so that few of those curious gentlemen returned upon their own horses."--Travels, ii., 13, 14. ** This view is from the front, looking east-northeast. The 'building is of imported brick, with an arcade in front. It was erected about 1740. An addition has been made to the rear, wherein is the judge's bench. [[[Early Years of Patrick Henry.--The "Parsons's Cause."--His Début as an Orator, described by Wirt]]] {430}ful days in apparent idleness, and, lacking business tact and energy, he failed to succeed in mercantile pursuits, in which he was engaged. He became bankrupt, and no one was willing to aid him. He had married at eighteen, and yet, in the twenty-fourth year of his age, he had done little toward supporting a wife. They lived most of the time with his father-in-law (Mr. Shelton), who kept the tavern at Hanover, and when the proprietor was absent, young Henry took his place behind the bar. As a last resort, he studied law. He applied himself diligently for six weeks, when he obtained a license, but for nearly three years he was "briefless;" indeed, he hardly knew how to draw a _brief_ correctly. At the age of twenty-seven, he was employed in the celebrated _Parsons's Cause_; and in Hanover court-house, on that occasion, his genius was first developed. The case was a controversy between the clergy and the Legislature of the state, relating to the stipend claimed by the former! A decision of the court in favor of the clergy had left nothing undetermined but the amount of damages in the cause whieh was pending. Young Henry took part against the clergy, and in his plea his wonderful oratory beamed out, for the first time, in great splendor. Wirt has vividly described the scene in his life of the "American Demosthenes." * * "The array before Mr. Henry's eyes was now most fearful. On the bench sat more than twenty clergymen, the most learned men in the colony, and the most capable, as well as the severest critics before whom it was possible for him to have made his _début_. The court-house was crowded with an overwhelming multitude, and surrounded with an immense and anxious throng, who, not finding room to enter, were endeavoring to listen without in the deepest attention. But there was something still more awfully disconcerting than all this; for in the chair of the presiding magistrate sat no other person than his own father. Mr. Lyons opened the cause very briefly; in the way of argument he did nothing more than explain to the jury that the decision on the demurrer had put the act of 1758 entirely out of the way, and left the law of 1748 as the only standard of their damages. He then concluded with a highly-wrought eulogium on the benevolence of the clergy. And now came on the first trial of Patrick Henry's strength. No one had ever heard him speak, and curiosity was on tiptoe. He rose very awkwardly, and faltered much in his exordium. The people hung their heads at so unpromising a commencement; the clergy were observed to exchange sly looks with each other; and his father is described as having almost sunk with confusion from his seat. But these feelings were of short duration, and soon gave place to others of a very different character; for now were those wonderful faculties which he possessed for the first time developed, and now was first witnessed that mysterious and almost supernatural transformation of appearance, which the fire of his own eloquence never failed to work in him; for, as his mind rolled along, and began to glow from its own action, all the exuviæ of the clown seemed to shed themselves spontaneously. His attitude, by degrees, became erect and lofty. The spirit of his genius awakened all his features. His countenance shone with a nobleness and grandeur which it had never before exhibited. There was a lightning in his eye which seemed to rivet the spectator. His action became graceful, bold, and commanding; and in the tones of his voice, but more especially in his emphasis, there was a peculiar charm, a magic, of which any one who ever heard him will speak as soon as ever he is named, but of which no one can give any adequate description. They can only say that it struck upon the ear and upon the heart in a manner which language can not tell. Add to all these his wonder-working fancy, and the peculiar phraseology in which he clothed its images, for he painted to the heart with a force that almost petrified it. In the language of those who heard him on this occasion, 'he made their blood run cold, and their hair to rise on end.' * "It will not be difficult for any one who ever heard this most extraordinary man to believe the whole account of this transaction, which is given by his surviving hearers; and from their account, the court-house of Hanover county must have exhibited, on this occasion, a scene as picturesque as has been ever witnessed in real life. They say that the people, whose countenances had fallen as he arose, had heard but a very few sentences before they began to look up, then to look at each other with surprise, as if doubting the evidence of their own senses; then, attracted by some strong gesture, struck by some majestic attitude, fascinated by the spell of his eye, the charm of his emphasis, and the varied and commanding expression of his countenance, they could look away no more. In less than twenty minutes they might be seen, in every part of the house, on every bench, in every window, stooping forward from their stands, in death-like silence, their features fixed in amazement and awe, all their senses listening and riveted upon the speaker, as if to catch the last strain of some heavenly visitant. The mockery of the clergy was soon turned into alarm, their triumph into confusion and despair; and at one burst of his rapid and overwhelming invective, they fled from the bench in precipitation and terror. As for the father, such was his surprise, such his amazement, such his rapture, that, forgetting where he was, and the character which he was filling, tears of ecstasy streamed down his cheeks, without the power or inclination to repress them. * "The jury seem to have been so completely bewildered that they lost sight not only of the act of 1748, but that of 1758 also; for, thoughtless even of the admitted right of the plaintiff, they had scarcely left the bar when they returned with a verdict of _one penny damages_. A motion was made for a new trial; but the court, too, had now lost the equipoise of their judgment, and overruled the motion by a unanimous vote. The verdict, and judgment overruling the motion, were followed by redoubled acclamation from within and without the house. The people, who had with difficulty kept their hands off their champion from the moment of closing his harangue, no sooner saw the fate of the cause finally sealed, than they seized him at the bar, and, in spite of his own exertions and the continued cry of 'order' from the sheriffs and the court, they bore him out of the court-house, and, raising him on their shoulders, carried him about the yard in a kind of electioneering triumph." [[[New Castle.--Road from Hanover to Richmond.--Birth-place of Henry Clay.--Virginia Market wagons.]]] {431}We shall meet Patrick Henri again presently in more important scenes. Upon the Pamunkey, a few miles below Hanover Court House, is New Castle, once a flourishing village, but now a desolation, only one house remaining upon its site. [Illustration: 8441] That is the place where Patrick Henry assembled the volunteers and marched to Williamsburg, for the purpose of demanding a restoration of the powder which Lord Dunmore had removed from the public magazine, or its equivalent in money. Of this I shall hereafter write. I lodged at Hanover, and, after an early breakfast, departed for Richmond, the rain yet falling. Between three and four miles from Hanover Court House, I passed the birth-place of Henry Clay. It stands upon the right of the turnpike to Richmond, in the midst of the flat piny region called the slashes of _Hanover_. * It is a frame building, one story high, with dormer windows, and two large chimneys on the outside of each gable. Here the great statesman was born in 1777. The roads through this desolate region are wretched, abounding in those causeways of logs known as _corduroy roads_. Within ten miles of Richmond the scenery becomes diversified, and the vicinage of a large town is denoted by the numerous vehicles upon the broad road, consisting chiefly of uncouth market-wagons, drawn by mules, frequently six or eight in a team, as pictured in the sketch below. The negro driver is usually seated upon one of the wheel mules, and without guiding lines, conducts them by the vocal direction of _haw_ and _gee_. To the eyes of a Northern man looking upon these caravans for the first time, they appear quite picturesque. I reached Richmond at meridian, (a) where I tarried with esteemed friends for[[ a Dec. 14, 1848.]] several days. [Illustration: 0441] * The word slashes is applied to tracts of fiat clay soil, covered with pine woods, and always wet. The clay is almost impervious to water, and as evaporation goes on slowly in the shadow of the pines, the ground is seldom dry. "The mill-boy of the slashes" was an electioneering phrase applied to Henry Clay some years ago, when he was a candidate for the presidency of the United States. Mr. Clay, who is now (1852) a representative of Kentucky in the Senate of the United States, is the last survivor of the Commissioners who negotiated the treaty at Ghent in 1815, with the representatives of the British government. [[[Early Settlement at Rockett's and Powhatan.--Captain Smith.--Abandonment of "Nonesuch."--Fort Charles.]]] {432} CHAPTER XVII. ```Virginia, hail! Thou venerable state ```In arms and council still acknowledged great! ```When lost Britannia, in an evil hour, ```First tried the steps of arbitrary power, ```Thy foresight then the Continent alarm'd; ```Thy gallant temper ev'ry bosom warm'd. ```And now, when Britain's mercenary bands ```Bombard our cities, desolate our lands ```(Our prayers unanswer'd, and our tears in vain), ```While foreign cut-throats crowd the ensanguined plain, ```Thy glowing virtue caught the glorious flame, ```And first renounced the cruel tyrant's name! ```With just disdain, and most becoming pride, ```Further dependence on the erown denied! ```While Freedom's voice can in these wilds be heard, ```Virginia's patriots shall be still revered." `````Holt's New York Journal, June, 1776=. [Illustration: 9442] ICHMOND, the metropolis of Virginia, is situated at the Falls of the James River, a locality known and mentioned as early as 1609, two years after the commencement of a settlement at Jamestown, and the same year that Henry Hudson first entered and explored New York Bay and the North River. In that year, Captain West was sent, with one hundred and twenty men, to make a settlement at the Falls. They pitched their tents at the head of navigation, at a place now known as Rockett's, just below Richmond. It was near one of the imperial residences of Powhatan when the foundations of Jamestown were first laid. Captain John Smith, then president of the colony, visited West's settlement toward the close of 1609. He disliked the situation, on account of the overflowing of the river, and, purchasing from Powhatan a tract now known by that name, two miles below Richmond, where the Indians had a palisade fort, he directed the settlers to remove thither. They refused compliance, while Smith strenuously insisted upon obedience. An open rupture ensued. Smith committed some of the ringleaders to confinement; but this so exasperated the remainder, that, with menaces of death, they drove him to his vessel in the river. The Indians espoused the cause of Smith, and the settlers and the natives became bitter enemies. Smith, greatly chagrined, sailed down the river for Jamestown. As soon as he was gone, the Indians fell upon West's people, and slew several of them. The remainder were glad to recall Smith, who had not proceeded far down the river, and receive his aid. He again imprisoned some of the leaders, and established the settlement at Powhatan. There they had a strong fort with dry wigwams, and about two hundred acres of land ready to be planted. On account of the beauty and fertility of the place, they called it "Nonesuch." As Smith was about to depart, West, who had been at Jamestown, returned, and, by his influence, stirred up a mutiny, which ended in the settlers abandoning "Nonesuch" and returning to the Falls. A fortification, called Fort Charles, was erected at the Falls in 1615. Thirty-four years afterward, Captain William Byrd, having been granted certain privileges contingent upon his making a settlement at the Falls of fifty able-bodied men, well armed, as a protection against the Indians, built a trading-house and mill upon the present site of Richmond, about three fourths of a mile above Rockett's. The place was called _Byrd's Warehouse_. The building from which the name was derived stood near the present Exchange Hotel. [[[Founding of Richmond.--Scenery on ihe James River at Richmond.--Expedition of Arnold to Virginia]]] {433}A town was established there with the name of Richmond (so called because of its similarity in situation to Richmond on the Thames, near London), in May, 1742, on land belonging to Colonel William Byrd, of Westover. It is situated upon the north side of the James River, upon the high hills of Shockoe and Richmond, and the margin of Shoekoe Creek, which flows between them to the river. The scenery from almost every point of view around Richmond is exceedingly picturesque. [Illustration: 8443] The river is almost half a mile wide, dotted with beautiful wooded islands, and broken into numerous cascades, which extend to Westham, six miles up the stream. The Capitol stands in the center of a large square, upon the brow of Shoekoe Hill, in the western division of the city. From its southern colonnade there is an extensive view of the best portion of the town, of the river, with its islands and cascades, and the flourishing manufacturing village of Manchester, on the opposite shore, with a back-ground of fertile slopes. From this point the eye takes in almost the whole area of Richmond, made memorable by Revolutionary events. Let us consider them. When noticing the adventures of Sergeant Champe, while endeavoring to abduct Arnold from New York (see page 206), I mentioned the fact that the traitor sailed, in command of an expedition, to Virginia, taking Champe with him. Arnold left New York (a) with nearly fifty small vessels, and six hundred troops, principally [[ a Dec. 16, 1780]] Loyalists, for the purpose of carrying on a predatory warfare in Virginia. Contrary winds detained them at Sandy Hook, and they did not leave their anchorage there until five days had elapsed. (b) Arnold entered Hampton Roads on the 30th of [[ b Dec 21]] December. His fleet had become dispersed, and several ships were missing. Anxious to distinguish himself in the service of his royal purchaser, and favored by the capture of some small American vessels by his advance frigate, he pushed up the James River to seize or destroy the public stores at Richmond and Petersburg. Williamsburg, situated about half-way between the James and York Rivers, was the Capitol of the state when the Revolution broke out. It was peculiarly exposed to the depredations of the enemy, and was an unsafe place for the public records and stores. Richmond, though quite an insignificant town of about eighteen hundred inhabitants, one half of whom were slaves, offered a more secure place for publie stores, and the quiet deliberations of the Virginia Legislature; and thither, in the summer of 1779, the troops, arms, and ammunition, together with the public records, were sent, by order of the Assembly. Finally, the Burgesses, by an act passed in May, 1779, made Richmond the permanent seat of government, and there all * This view is from a long shaded island extending up the river from Mayo's Bridge, one of the three structures which span the stream at Richmond. Down the river from our point of view' is seen Mayo's Bridge, and, in the extreme distance, the lower portion of Richmond, upon Richmond or Church Hill. Several fish-traps are seen among the rapids in the river. On the left are observed two or three smaller islands. Since the above sketch was made, a bridge, for the accommodation of the Danville rail-way, has been constructed from the Richmond end of Mayo's Bridge, diagonally, to the southern end of the Petersburg rail-way bridge, crossing very nearly our point of view. Not content with thus marring the beauty of one of the finest series of islands and cascades in the country, the company have covered the bridge, so as to shut out from the eyes of passengers the surrounding attractions. Wherefore? [[[Arnold, with his Fleet, in the James River.--Approach to Richmond.--Activity of Jefferson.--The Militia]]] {434}the state offices were located at the period in question. Thomas Jefferson was then Governor of Virginia. * On the 3d of January, (a) Arnold, with his fleet, anchored near Jamestown, ** and the [[ a 1781]] next day proceeded as far as Westover, the seat of the widow of Colonel Byrd, about twenty-five miles below Richmond, where he landed almost a thousand troops, *** and led them toward the metropolis. Governor Jefferson had been apprised of the approach of the fleet, but was not certain whether Richmond or Petersburg was the point of the intended attack, until advised of the debarkation of the British troops. The whole country was speedily alarmed. Jefferson called out all of the militia from the adjacent counties; but so sudden was the invasion, and so great was the panic, that only a handful could be collected The white population were few, and scattered over plantations, with their habitations widely separated; and private interest, in many cases, made the planters more intent upon securing their slaves and horses from capture than defending public property. Only about two hundred armed men could be collected for the defense of Richmond. **** The enemy encamped on the night of the 4th at Four Mile Creek, twelve miles below Richmond. Governor Jefferson, perceiving that resistance with his handful of raw militia would be useless, turned his attention to the salvation of the public stores. By his activity a large quantity was secured. Much of the portable property was carried across the river to Manchester, and also the stores which had been sent to Westham, six miles above Richmond, were ordered to be conveyed to the south side. One object which Arnold had in view was the capture of Governor Jefferson. That officer left Richmond on the evening of the 4th, tarried a while at Westham to hasten the removal of the stores, and then rode on to join his family at Tuckahoe, eight miles further. Early the next morning he took them across the river to a place of safety, and then rode to Britton's, opposite Westham, and gave further orders respecting the disposition of the stores, [[ b Jan. 5, 1781]]Hastening to Manchester, he arrived there in time to see the invading troops march, unopposed, into Richmond, at one o'clock. (b) When within a few miles of Richmond, Arnold so disposed his troops as to have the appearance of twice their actual number. A patrol of the militia who were assembled at Richmond, met them when within four miles of the town, and, hastening back with the intelligence that fifteen hundred British troops were within an hour's march of the place, produced the greatest alarm and confusion. Many of the inhabitants fled into the country, and were afterward followed by the militia themselves, when the enemy entered the town. Arnold, advised of the weakness of the place, halted at Rockett's, and sent Lieutenant-colonel Simcoe, with the Queen's Rangers, to drive the military from their position * The public buildings were only temporary. The old Capitol in which the Legislature held its sessions was private property, and stood upon the site of the present custom-house. ** The Americans had a battery on Hood's Point, and when, late in the evening, the enemy anchored, a fire was opened upon them. Lieutenant-colonel Simcoe landed with one hundred and thirty of the Queen's Rangers and the light infantry and grenadiers of the 80th regiment, and made a circuit of about a mile in the dark to surprise the garrison. On approaching the battery it was found to be abandoned, and the fleet suffered no further inconvenience. See Simcoe's Journal, page 161. **** Simcoe, who accompanied Arnold, says, "General Arnold's force did not amount to 800 men." American writers generally agree that the number was at least 900. **** "The bare communication of the fact," says Tucker, in his Life of Jefferson, "that a force of one thousand, or, at most, fifteen hundred men, was able to invade a country containing at that time a population of more than half a million, and fifty thousand enrolled militia, march to its metropolis, destroy all the public, and much private property found there and in its neighborhood, and to leave the country with impunity, is a fact calculated to excite our surprise, and to involve both the people, and those who administered its affairs, in one indiscriminate reproach. But there seems to be little ground for either wonder or censure, when it is recollected that these fifty thousand militia were scattered over a surface of more than as many square miles; that the metropolis which was thus insulted was but a village, containing scarcely eighteen hundred inhabitants, half of whom were slaves; and that the country itself, intersected by several navigable rivers, could not be defended against the sudden incursion of an enemy, whose naval power gave it the entire command of the water, and enabled it to approach within a day's march of the point of attack." [[[The British at Richmond.--Old City Tavern.--Baron Steuben.--Depredations by British Frigates]]] (A A) upon{435} Richmond Hill, near St. John's Church, on the south side of the Shockoe Creek. [Illustration: 9445] He marched up the hill in small detachments, when the militia, after firing a few shots, fled to the woods in the rear. Along the base of the hill, leading into the portion of the town lying in the valley, Simcoe sent his cavalry to surprise the militia there. The latter escaped across the creek to Shockoe Hill, followed by the whole body of the Rangers, and made a stand near the site of the Capitol (B). [Illustration: 9445] A large number of spectators were also there, and as the Rangers ascended the hill, they fled to the country, hotly pursued by the enemy's cavalry. After taking possession of Richmond, Arnold ordered Simcoe to proceed to Westham, and destroy the cannon-foundery and the magazine there. The trunnions of most of the cannons were broken off; the powder in the magazine which they could not carry away was thrown into the river, and, before night, the foundery was a desolation. The Rangers returned to Richmond, and the whole hostile force quartered in the town during the night. (a) Arnold and Simcoe made their quarters at the Old City Tavern, yet standing on Main Street, but partially in ruins, when I visited Richmond. Many houses were entered and plundered by the invaders. They obtained a considerable quantity of rum, and a large portion of them spent the night in drunken revelry. Baron Steuben, who was then collecting the Virginia levies for General Greene's army at the South, was at Colonel Fleming's, in Powhatan county, a few miles from Manchester. Thither Governor Jefferson went to solicit aid. While there, some of the citizens waited on him to tender an offer from Arnold to spare the town, provided British vessels were permitted to come up unmolested, and carry off tobacco from the warehouses. The governor promptly rejected the proposal, and the enemy applied the torch.[[Jan. 5, 1781.]] * Note.--This plan represents the invasion of Richmond on the 5th of January, 1781. A A is the first position of the American militia on Richmond Hill; B, the second position of the military and people on Shockoe Hill; C, the Queen's Rangers marching to the attack; D, the eavalry of the Queen's Rangers: E, Yagers; F, the main body of the British with General Arnold; G, two cannons in battery; H, a fine plantation, opposite the present Rockett's. * This is a frame building, and stands on the northwest corner of Main and Nineteenth streets. A portion of the lower part is yet inhabited (1852). The glass and some of the sashes in the upper story are gone, and the roof is partly decayed and fallen in on the west end. Here Cornwallis and other British officers were quartered at a later period, and beneath its roof the good Washington was once sheltered. ** British frigates ascended the rivers of Virginia, and levied contributions upon all the tide-water counties. On one of these occasions the Mount Vernon estate was menaced with destruction by Captain Graves, of the Acteon. The manager, Mr. Lund Washington, to save the buildings, complied with the terms, and consented to furnish a supply of provisions. Washington highly disapproved of this proceeding, and, in a letter to his nephew, declared that he would rather have had the buildings destroyed, than saved by such "a pernicious example." [[[Departure of Arnold from Richmond.--French Fleet in Hampton Roads.-- Houdon's Statue of Washington.]]] [[ a Jan. 7.]]{436}Quite a number of public and private buildings, together with a great quantity of tobacco, were burned. The public records had been saved through the vigilance of Jefferson; and Arnold, finding no more plunder or objects on which to pour out his wrath--the ire of a most vindictive heart toward those whom he had foully wronged--withdrew to Westover, and re-embarked to proceed to commit other depredations upon the river shores and the coasts of the Virginia bays. On the same day Jefferson returned to Richmond, and quiet was restored. A large body of militia rapidly rallied around Steuben; and General Nelson also collected another large force lower down on the James River. Arnold was pursued, but succeeded in reaching Portsmouth, opposite Norfolk, where he established his head-quarters. [Illustration: 8446] Soon afterward a French sixty-four gun ship (the Eveille), and two large frigates, from Newport, entered the Chesapeake. * Thus menaced by land and water, Arnold resolved to remain at Portsmouth, whither the large French vessels could not follow. ** The little fleet, after making a few captures, and efforts to ascend the Elizabeth River, returned to[[b Feb. 24, 1781]] Newport, (b) having been absent only fifteen days. We shall meet Arnold again presently. I passed the day after my arrival at Richmond in visiting and sketching some localities and objects of note within the city. I first went up to the Capitol, where, after loitering an hour in the state library, I copied the fine statue of Washington, by Houdon, a celebrated French sculptor, which stands within an iron railing in the center of the rotunda. It was made in. Paris, five years after the close of the Revolution, by order of the Virginia Assembly, under the direction of Mr. Jefferson, who was then minister at the court of Versailles. The statue is of fine white marble, of life size; the costume, the military dress of the Revolution. The right hand of the patriot rests upon a staff, the left is upon the folds of a military cloak covering one end of the fasces, with which is connected the plowshare, the emblem of agriculture, the chief pursuit of the Virginians. The inscription upon the pedestal was written by James Madison, afterward President of the United States. *** In a small niche near is a marble bust of La Fayette, and in the gallery of the rotunda is a fine full length portrait of Chief-justice Marshall. From the Capitol I walked to the Monumental Church, a neat edifice of octagon form, belonging to the Protestant Episcopalians. It derives its * At the solicitation of Governor Jefferson and of Congress, Luzerne, the French minister, had requested that, if possible, a ship of the line and some frigates might be sent up the Chesapeake to oppose Arnold. It was determined to use every effort to capture the traitor; and, while Steuben was narrowly watching his movements from a nearer point of view, Washington detached La Fayette with twelve hundred men, drawn from the New England and New Jersey lines, to march to Virginia, and co-operate in the double enterprise of defending that state and capturing the renegade. M. de Tilley was detached from Newport, on the 9th of February, with a sixty-four and two frigates, for the Chesapeake. The little squadron of De Tilley captured the Romulus, a British frigate of forty-four guns, and also two privateers, one of eighteen and the other of fourteen guns; sent four prizes to Yorktown, and burned four others. They also captured about five hundred prisoners. Fortunately for Arnold, Admiral Arbuthnot gave him timely warning of the approach of the French vessels, and, as I have mentioned in the text, he escaped up the Elizabeth River. The events at Portsmouth and vicinity will be detailed presently. ** The Eveille did not attempt to follow him from Hampton Roads. One of the frigates, the Surveillante, ran aground in endeavoring to ascend the Elizabeth River, and was got off only by taking out her guns and casks of water. *** The following is a copy of the inscription: *** "GEORGE WASHINGTON. "The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia have caused this statue to be erected, as a monument of affection and latitude to George Washington, who, uniting to the endowments of a hero the virtues of the patriot, and exerting both in establishing the liberties of his country, has rendered his name dear to his fellow-citizens, and given the world an immortal example of true glory. Done in the year of Christ, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, and in the year of the Commonwealth, the twelfth." *** On the 22d of February, 1850, the corner-stone of a new and elegant monument, to be erected upon Capitol Square, by order of the Virginia Legislature, was laid with imposing ceremonies. The appropriation made by the Legislature for the purpose was first suggested by the Virginia Historical Society. Crawford, the eminent American sculptor, is now engaged upon the work in Italy. The monument will be composed of a broad base, with flights of steps between pedestals at proper intervals. These pedestals, six in number, will support each a colossal eagle. From this base will arise another for the lofty and elegantly wrought pedestal in the center, designed to support a colossal equestrian statue of Washington. Upon the second base are to be eight small pedestals, supporting the statues of Virginia and Liberty, and of several of the Revolutionary patriots of that state. The grand pedestal will contain, in different parts, appropriate inscriptions, civic wreaths, stars, &c. This is but a meager description of the beautiful design before me. It will be an honor not only to Virginia, but to the Republic. *** The grand master of the Masonic fraternity laid the corner-stone of the monument, in the presence of President Taylor and his cabinet, the Governor of Virginia, and a large concourse of people. On that occasion, he wore the apron beautifully wrought by the hand of La Fayette's wife, and presented to Washington by the Grand Lodge of France. Both generals were members of the order. The apron is in the possession of Mount Nebo Lodge, No. 91, located at Shepherdstown. * The oration delivered on the occasion was by Robert G. Scott, Esq. It is expected that the monument will be completed in 1855. [[[Monumental Church.--Destruction of the Richmond Theater.--St. John's Church.--Virginia Washington Monument]]] {437}name from the circumstance that under its portico is a monumental urn, erected to in-memory-of those who lost their lives when the Richmond theater was burned, on the night of the 26th of December, 1811. * This church was erected upon the site of the destroyed theater. There the late venerable Bishop Moore preached during the whole time of his residence in Richmond; and there I heard the voice of his successor, Bishop Mead, on whom the mantle of his goodness hath fallen. Crossing the deep valley of the Shockoe upon the broad and lofty causeway just completed, I visited and sketched old St. John's Church (see engraving on next page), upon Richmond Hill, and lingered long among its venerable graves. It is the oldest church in Richmond, and one of the most ancient in the state. The burial-ground which surrounds it is embowered in trees and shrubbery, and from its southern slope there is a noble view of the city and surrounding country. The main portion of the building is the same as it was in the Revolution, the tower alone being modern. On Sunday I sat within its hallowed walls, and, while the voice of the preacher was uttering the eloquence of persuasive piety, predicated upon the apostolic annunciation, "We are embassadors for Christ," ** and urged his hearers to heed his voice of warning, and join the standard of those who sought the _freedom of the Gospel_, my thoughts involuntarily glanced back over a period of seventy-three years, to the hour when, within that same temple, (a) the voice of Patrick [[ a March 1775]] Henry enunciated those burning words which aroused the Continent to action, "_Give me liberty, or give me death!_" There the people of Virginia assembled in rep- * The audience on that night was uncommonly large, and composed chiefly of the first class of citizens, among whom was the governor of the state, George W. Smith. Some of the scenery was ignited by a chandelier at the back part of the stage, while the most of it was concealed by a drop-curtain. The combustible materials of all the stage arrangements made the flames spread with wonderful rapidity, and before the audience could make their escape by the only door of egress, in the front of the building, the whole wooden edifice was in flames. Some leaped from the windows and were saved; others were thus severely injured; and a large number perished in the flames, or were suffocated by the smoke in the burning building. Sixty-six white persons, and six colored ones, were destroyed. The governor was one of the victims. It was a night of woe in Richmond, and months and even years were required to elapse, before the gloom was entirely dissipated. The funeral obsequies of the dead were performed on the 28th of the month, in the presence of almost the entire population. ** Gal., v., 20. * Misled by careless historians and current tradition, I have stated on page 307, of the first volume of this work, that Washington was initiated into the secrets of the order at Morristown, in New Jersey. The records exhibited by the orator on the occasion of laying the corner-stone of the Virginia Monument, show that he was initiated on the 4th of November, 1752, in Lodge No. 4, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, when he was not quite twenty-one years of age. He was raised to the degree of Master Mason on the 4th of August. 1753. It is asserted that all of the major generals of the Revolutionary army were master masons, except one; that one was the "lost Pleiad"--Benedict Arnold. [[[The Constitutional Convention--The Members and their Vote--Mayo's Bridge--The Old Stone House.]]] [[1788]]{438}representative convention to ratify guaranty of our civil freedom, or reject the Federal Constitution, the glorious Patrick Henry was then there, and, filled with apprehension lest the new Constitution should destroy state sovereignty and concentrate a fearful power in the hands of the chief magistrate, he lifted up his eloquent voice against it. [Illustration: 0448] There, too, were Madison and Monroe, who both subsequently filled the chair of the chief magistracy of the republic. [Illustration: 9448] There was Chancellor Wythe, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; Marshall, the eminent chief justice, and the biographer of Washington; Pendleton, one of Virginia's noblest sons, and president of the Constitutional Convention; Mason, the sage, and personal friend of Washington; Grayson, the accomplished scholar and soldier; Nicholas, an officer of Washington's _Life Guard_; Edmund Randolph, then governor of the state; Bushrod Washington, a nephew of the general; Innes, the attorney general of the state; the brave Theodoric Bland of the Continental army; Harrison, another signer of the great Declaration, and many other luminaries of less brilliancy. _Of the 168 members who voted on the measure in that convention, there was a majority of only two in favor of the Federal Constitution._ Leaving St. John's and its interesting associations, I strolled into the town, and crossed the James River to Manchester, over Mayo's Bridge. ** On my way I sketched the City tavern, printed on page 435, and the Old Stone House near it, which was the first * This view is from the burial-ground, looking southwest. The willow seen on the left, leaning by the side of a monument, is a venerable tree. It appears to have been planted by the hand of affection when the monument was reared. In the progress of its growth the trunk has moved the slab at least six inches from its original position. How imperceptible was that daily motion when the sap was flowing, and yet how certain and powerful! ** This bridge is nearly four hundred yards in length, and spans the James River near the foot of the great rapids. It was built, soon after the close of the Revolution, by Colonel John Mayo, who received a large revenue from the tolls. [[[Reminiscences of the "Old Stone House."--Anecdote of Monroe.--Patrick Henry.]]] {439}dwelling erected in Richmond. It stand eth streets, and was among the houses in Richmond which was spared by the incendiary in 1781. [Illustration: 8449] It was occupied, when I visited it, by Mrs. Elizabeth Welsh, whose great-grandfather, Jacob Ege, from Germany, built it before Byrd's warehouse was erected. It was owned by Mrs. Welsh's, father, Samuel Ege, who was a commissary in the American army during a part of the Revolution. Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe (four of the presidents of the United States) have all been beneath its roof. Mrs. Welsh informed me that she well remembers the fact that Monroe boarded with her mother, while attending the Virginia Convention in 1788, just alluded to. * She was then ten years of age. I passed a portion of the afternoon among the tobacco factories in Richmond, and the cotton and iron factories at Manchester, and then lingered until almost sunset upon the beautiful island above Mayo's Bridge, ** from which I * Mrs. Welsh related a circumstance whieh she well remembered. While Monroe was boarding with her mother, Samuel Hardy, another member of the convention, was also there. Hardy was a very modest, retiring man. One morning at breakfast, Monroe, remarked to Hardy, in a jocular manner, "I have no doubt you will be governor of the state yet." "Yes." rejoined Hardy, "and you will have your hair cued and be sent to Congress." Hardy was afterward lieutenant governor of the state, and Monroe was not only "sent to Congress" as a senator, but became a foreign minister, and chief magistrate of the nation. ** Another noble bridge spans the James River a short distance above, which was constructed for the passage of the Richmond and Petersburg rail-way. A third bridge has been erected since my visit there, which is referred to on page 433. *** Patrick Henry was born at the family seat of his father, called Studley, in Hanover county, Virginia, on the 29th of May, 1736. At the age of ten years he was taken from school, and placed under the tuition of his father, in his own house, to learn Latin. He acquired some proficiency in mathematics; but it now became evident that he had a greater taste for hunting and fishing than for study. We have already considered the character of his youth and early manhood, on page 430, until his powers of eloquence were first developed in a speech in Hanover court-house. From that period Mr. Henry rose rapidly to the head ol his profession. He removed to Louisa county in 1764, and in the autumn of that year he was employed to argue a case before a committee on elections of the House of Burgesses. He made an eloquent speech on the right of suffrage, and his uncouth appearanee was entirely lost sight of by the wondering burgesses. He was elected a member of the Virginia Legislature in 1765. During that session he made his memorable speeeh in opposition to the Stamp Act, whieh I shall notice more particularly hereafter. Mr. Henry was admitted to the bar of the General Court in 1769. At that time he was again a resident of his native county; and from that period until the close of the Revolution he was connected with the House of Burgesses as a member, and as governor of the state. He was elected a delegate to the first Congress in 1774. and there, as we have seen, gave the first impulse to its business. In 1775, when Lord Dunmore seized and conveyed on board a British vessel of war a part of the powder in the provincial magazine at Williamsburg, Mr. Henry assembled the independent companies of Hanover and King William counties, and, boldly demanding its restoration or its equivalent in money, forced a compliance. He was chosen the first republican governor of Virginia, after the departure of Dunmore, in 1776, which office he held for several successive years. In the Virginia Convention of 1788, assembled to consider the Federal Constitution, Mr. Henry opposed its adoption with all his eloquence. In 1795, Washington nominated him as Secretary of State, but he declined the honor and trust. President Adams appointed him an envoy to France, with Ellsworth and Murray, in 1799, but his indisposition and advanced age caused him to decline that honor also. He died soon afterward at his seat at Red Hill, Charlotte county, on the 6th of June, 1799, aged nearly sixty-three He had six children by his first wife, and nine by his second. He left his family rich. His widow married the late Judge Winston, and died in Halifax county in February, 1831. * In private life Mr. Henry was amiable and virtuous, and in public and private strictly temperate. He was never known to utter a profane expression, dishonoring the name of God. He was not a member of any church, yet he was a practical Christian, and a lover of the Bible. * Wirt, in his brilliant biography of the great orator, has given several illustrations of the power of his eloquence. I give one in conclusion. A Scotchman, named Hook, living in Campbell county, was suspected of being a Tory. On the occasion of the joint invasion of Cornwallis and Phillips, the American army was greatly distressed. A commissary, named Venable, took two of Mr. Hook's steers, without his consent, to feed the starving soldiers. At the conclusion of the war, a lawyer, named Cowan, advised Book to prosecute Venable for trespass, in the District Court of New London. Venable employed Patrick Henry. [Illustration: 9450] * The case was tried in the old court-house in New London. Mr. Henry depicted the distress of the American soldiers in the most glowing colors, and then asked, where was the man, "who had an American heart, who would not have thrown open his fields, his barns, his cellars, the doors of his house, the portals of his breast, to have received with open arms the meanest soldier in that little band of famished patriots? Where is the man? There he stands; but whether the heart of an American beats in his bosom you, gentlemen, are to judge." "He then," says Wirt, "carried the jury, by the powers of his imagination, to the plains around York, the surrender of which had followed shortly after the act complained of. He depicted the surrender in the most glowing and noble colors of his eloquence. The audience saw before their eyes the humiliation and dejection of the British as they marched out of the trenches--they saw the triumph which lighted up every patriotic face, and heard the shouts of victory, and the cry of 'Washington and Liberty,' as it rung and echoed through the American ranks, and was reverberated from the hills and shores of the neighboring river--| but hark! what notes of discord are these which disturb the general joy, and silence the acclamations of victory? They are the notes of John Hook, hoarsely bawling through the American camp, 'beef! beef! beef!' * "The whole audience were convulsed. The clerk of the court, unable to contain himself, and unwilling to commit any breach of decorum in his place, rushed out of the court-house, and threw himself upon the grass, in the most violent paroxysm of laughter, where he was rolling when Hook, with very different feelings, came out for relief into the yard also. 'Jemmy Steptoe,' he said to the clerk, 'what the divil ails ye, mon?' Mr. Steptoe was only able to lay that he could not help it. 'Never mind ye.' said Hook, 'wait till Billy Cowan gets up; he'll show him the la'!' Mr. Cowan was so overwhelmed that he could scarcely utter a word. The jury instantly returned a verdict against Hook. The people were highly excited, and Hook was obliged to leave the county to avoid a coat of tar and feathers."--Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry. * * This is from a picture in Howe's Historical Collections of Virginia, p. 220. The house is upon a ridge, the dividing line of Campbell and Charlotte counties. "From the brow of the hill, west of the house," says Howe, "the Blue Ridge, with the lofty peaks of Otter, appear in the horizon at the distance of nearly sixty miles." In a grove of locusts and other trees at the foot of the garden, are the graves of Governor Henry and his first wife. In the parlor of the house hangs the portrait, by Sutly, of which the one given on the preceding page is a copy. The dress is black, cravat white, and a red velvet mantle is thrown over the shoulders. The sketch of the old court-house in New London is also from Howe's valuable hook, p. 212. [[[Departure from Richmond.--Aspect of the Scene.--Effect of Patrick Henry's Eloquence.--His Residence.]]] {440}made the sketch printed on page 433, contemplating the beauty and grandeur of the scenery, charming even in December, when the trees were leafless and the sward of a russet hue. [Illustration: 9450] The storm had subsided, the clouds had dispersed, and the sun and air were as genial to the feelings as a day in mid-May. Bright and beautiful, also, was the Sabbath; but when I left Richmond for Charles City and old Jamestown on Monday morning, every thing was draped in a thick vapor which had arisen from the river during the night. I had scarcely left the suburban village of Powhatan, and turned my horse's head toward the open country, when= `````"That sea of vapor ```Parted away, and, melting into air, ```Rose round me, and I stood involved in light, ```As if a flame had kindled up, and wrapp'd me ```In its innocuous blaze."--Percival.= The sun came forth brilliant and warm, and for an hour I could trace the sinuous course [[[Appearance of the Country below Richmond. Westover. Colonel Byrd. Birth-place of President Harrison]]] {441}of the James River by the line of the white vapor which stretched away, far southward, like a huge serpent measuring its mighty length over the land. Before leaving Richmond, I endeavored to ascertain the exact location of Westover, the famous estate of Colonel Byrd, and memorable as the landing-place of Arnold's troops. I could not learn its relative position in distance from the direct road to Charles City courthouse, the goal of my first day's journey, and I thought I should pass it by unvisited. After leaving Richmond a few miles, the hilly country disappeared, and there spread out a level or gently rolling region, bearing extensive pine forests, which inclose quite large plantations. I dined in my wagon upon cold turkey and biscuit, furnished by my kind friend, Mrs. G., of Richmond, after giving Charley a lunch of meal and water, by the side of a small stream in the way. The day was very warm ***---too warm to ride comfortably [[ a Dec. 18, 1848]] with an overcoat. Not suspecting that I might diverge into a wrong road by one of the numerous forks which characterize the highway, I allowed Charley to jog on leisurely, and with a loose rein, while I gave myself up to contemplation, which was occasionally interrupted by a passing regret that I was obliged to forego the pleasure of visiting Westover. [Illustration: 8451] Suddenly, on emerging from a pine forest into an open cultivated region, the bright waters of a broad river, dotted with an occasional sail, were before me. On the bank of the river was a spacious brick mansion, approached from the country by a broad lane, in which a large number of servants, men and women, were engaged _shucking or husking_ corn. The gleaming water was the James River, and the spacious mansion was that of John A. Selden, Esq., once the residence of Colonel Byrd. I was at Westover, scarcely conscious how I had reached it; for I supposed myself to be upon the direct road to Charles City courthouse, and probably a dozen miles from the spot I desired to see. I was between two and three miles from the main road, led thither by a deceptive by-way, and was obliged to retrace the journey, after passing half an hour in viewing the location. The family of the proprietor was absent, and not a white person was upon the plantation. It must be a delightful place in summer, and, when it was occupied by the accomplished family of the widow of Colonel Byrd, * doubtless justified the Marquis de Chastellux in giving his glowing account of the beauty of its location and the charms of society there. "That of Mrs. Byrd," he says, "to which I was going, surpasses them all [fine mansions on the James River] in the magnificence of the buildings, the beauty of its situation, and the pleasures of society." ** Mrs. Byrd was a cousin of Benedict Arnold, and this relationship, and the fact that West-over was made the place of landing for the British troops three times under Arnold and Cornwallis, so excited the suspicions of the vigilant Whigs, that the government once took possession of her papers. She was wrongfully suspected, and the landings of the enemy were great misfortunes to her in various ways. I made a sketch of the fine old mansion before leaving Westover, but lost it that very evening. A short distance above Westover, and in sight of its gardens, upon the river shore, is Berkeley (called Barclay in the old books), the residence of Benjamin Harrison, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and the birth-place of his son, the ninth president of the United States. It is a brick edifice, with gambrel-roof, and stands about an eighth of a mile from the bank of the river. Around it are tall Lombardy poplars, rising in stately beauty above shrubbery and lesser trees. I made this sketch from the deck of a steam-boat, while ascending the James River a few days afterward, at the distance of a quarter of a mile, aided in my view of the details by the captain's spy-glass. * Colonel William Byrd, whose widow owned Westover when Arnold landed there, was the son of Colonel William Byrd, once president of the Virginia Council, and one of the wealthiest and most accomplished gentlemen in the province. Like his father, he was an active public man. He was a commissioner to treat with the Indians in 1756, and accompanied Forbes in his expedition against Fort Duquesne in 1758. Being a gay spendthrift and a gambler, his immense wealth was much lessened at his death, and his affairs were left in great confusion. ** Travels, ii., 16 [[[Anecdote of Harrison's Father.--Charles City Court House.--Birth place of President Tyler.--Jefferson's Marriage.]]] {442}For many years Berkeley was the seat of elegant taste and refinement, for its distinguished owner as a legislator, and as governor of the state, drew around him the wealthy and honorable of the commonwealth. His portrait, and a sketch of his life, will be found among those of the signers of the Declaration of Independence in another part of this work. * Leaving Westover, I returned to the highway, and after traversing a beautiful level country, garnished with fertile plantations and handsome mansions, for about six miles, I reached Charles City Court House. It was just at sunset, and there I passed the night with Mr. Christian, who was the clerk of the county, the jailer, and innkeeper. [Illustration: 9452] His house of entertainment, the old court-house and jail, and a few out-houses and servants' quarters, compose the village. [Illustration: 8452] The county is the smallest in Virginia, yet bears the honor of having given birth to two presidents of the United States, and of being the place of marriage of a third. ** I passed the birth-place of President Tyler just before reaching Mr. Christian's inn. It is the last dwelling upon the Richmond road, when leaving the Court House. His father, John Tyler, was one of the leading revolutionary men in Virginia. He succeeded Benjamin Harrison as speaker of the Virginia Assembly, and in 1808 he was chosen governor of the state. [Illustration: 6452] While Judge of the District Court of the United States, he died, at his seat, in January, 1813. Mr. Christian allowed me to pass the evening searching among the dusty records in the old court-house. I found nothing there relating to Revolutionary events; but in a bundle of papers, wrapped up and laid away probably for more than half a century, I discovered the marriage license-bond of Thomas Jefferson, in his own handwriting. I made a fac simile copy of it, which is printed on the opposite page. Mr. Jefferson was married to Martha Skelton, of Charles City county, in January, 1772. She was the widow of Bathurst Skelton, and daughter of John Wayles, an eminent lawyer of Virginia. She brought her husband a considerable fortune, and was only twenty-three years of age when she was married to Mr. Jefferson. Through the stormy period of the Revolution she shared his joys and sorrows, and died in 1782, leaving two daughters. It will be perceived that in writing the bond, which is countersigned by Francis Eppes (the father of Mr. Eppes, who afterward married Mr. Jefferson's daughter), the usual word _spinster_ was introduced, but erased, and the word _widow_ substituted by another hand. * The Marquis de Chastellux gives an interesting account of his visit to Mr. Harrison, at his residence in Richmond, while he was governor of the state. He relates an anecdote of Mr. Harrison, which illustrates the confidence of the people in their delegates to the first Congress at Philadelphia. When he was on the point of leaving home, with Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Lee, a large number of the country people waited upon him, and said, "You assert that there is a fixed intention to invade our rights and privileges. We own that we do not see this clearly; but since you assure us it is so, we believe the fact. We are about to take a very dangerous step, but we confide in you, and are ready to support you in every measure you shall think proper to adopt." Shortly afterward appeared Lord North's speech, clearly avowing his intentions toward the colonies. When Mr. Harrison returned home, at the close of the session, the same people came to him, with the assurance that they were now convinced that he had not deceived them, that their confidence was not misplaced, and that henceforth they were determined on war.--Travels, ii., 159. ** William Henry Harrison and John Tyler were both born in that county, and there Thomas Jefferson was married. *** The style of this building is similar to that of Hanover court-house. It is constructed of imported brick, and was erected previous to that at Hanover. I could not discover the exact period when it was built. Among its records I found notices of courts held at Charles City as early as 1639. **** I copied this signature from a letter written to the lady of General Gates in August, 1780. [Illustration: 0453] {443}Charles City Court House was a scene of mortal strife between the Queen's Rangers, under Simcoe, and a party of American militia, on the evening of the day after Arnold's return from Richmond. (a) Arnold had directed a patrol on that evening toward [[ a Jan 8, 1781]] Long Bridge, in order to obtain intelligence. The patrol consisted of about forty cavalry, under Simcoe. Falling in with some American videttes, they captured two or three, and from them Simcoe learned that a party of militia, under General Nelson, lay at and near Charles City Court-house. The night was clear and frosty, and the moon at its full. * The enemy had no knowledge of the way. A negro prisoner was made to act * Simcoe, in his journal, says "the night was very dark." Mr. Tyler informed me that his father, who was then at home, and witnessed a part of the affray, always declared that the sky was cloudless, and the moon in full orb. [[[Attack upon the American Militia.--Carelessness of Dudley.--"Sherwood Forest."--Ex-president Tyler.]]] {444}as guide. The party at the Court House, consisting of one hundred and fifty militia, under the command of Colonel Dudley, were completely surprised, for they had no intimation of the immediate approach of a foe until their sentries were fired upon, and two bugles sounded the signal of attack, upon the frosty air of that winter's night. [Illustration: 9454] A confused and scattering fire ensued, when the American detachment fled and joined the main body, which lay a few miles distant, toward the Chickahominy River. A part of Simcoe's dragoons dismounted, rushed into the tavern, and seized several of the Americans. Two of the militiamen (Deane and Ballard) were killed. One of them was slain upon the landing at the head of the stairs, while fleeing to the chamber for safety. The spot was pointed out to me, where, until within a few years, the stains of the victim's blood might be seen. The attack was so sudden and furious, that those who escaped and communicated the fact to the militia under Nelson, so alarmed that body, that a large number of them broke from the camp, and fled to Williamsburg. Simcoe collected his prisoners and a few captured horses as speedily as possible, and before dawn he joined Arnold at Westover. Mr. Tyler (the late President of the United States), on whom I called while on my way from Charles City Court House to Jamestown, informed me that his father, who was then a member of the Virginia Assembly, but at his residence at the time, aware of the force of the enemy at Westover and Berkeley, earnestly advised Colonel Dudley, the commander of the county militia, to place his men in a position for defense; offering, at the same time, to join them, and act in any capacity. He advised him to remove his party from the tavern, for, if left there drinking and carousing as usual, they would surely be surprised. The haughty colonel would not heed his warning, and the result was defeat and disgrace. *** It was another glorious morning when I left Charles City Court House. Warm and brilliant as May, I anticipated a delightful day's journey. Nor was I disappointed. A heavy fog during the night had hung each bough and spray with liquid jewels, and these, glittering in the early sun, fell in radiant showers as the light breezes touched their resting-places. Traversing a rough road for nearly four miles, I crossed a rapid stream at a mill, and ascending to a plain half a mile beyond, I reined up at the entrance-gate to Sherwood Forest, the estate of ex-President Tyler. His mansion is very spacious, and stands upon the brow of a gentle slope, half a mile from the highway. It is sheltered in the rear by a thick forest of oaks, pines, and chestnuts, while from the front the eye overlooks almost the whole of his plantation of fourteen hundred acres, with occasional glimpses of the James River. The distinguished proprietor was at home, and received me with that courteous hospitality so common in the South, which makes the traveler feel at ease, as if at the house of a friend. Mr. Tyler is tall and slender in person, his locks long, thin, and slightly grizzled, and he was dressed in the plain garb of a Virginia planter. After giving warm expressions of interest in my enterprise, and an invitation to remain longer at Sherwood Forest, ** This tavern, in which I lodged, was built about ten years before the skirmish which occurred within and around it. It is now occupied hy Edmund F. Christian, Esq., the clerk of Charles City county when I visited it in 1848. *** A man named Royston, whom Mr. Tyler well knew, was badly wounded in the affray. A pistol was discharged so near his head, that grains of powder sprinkled his face, and disfigured him for life. He was then struck down by a saber blow, and the troopers cruelly tried to make their horses trample him to death. The animals, more humane in action than their riders, leaped over him, and he was saved. He crawled to the residence of Mr. Tyler, where a colored nurse, the only inmate of the house, dressed his wounds and gave him food and drink. Mr. Tyler had moved his family to a place of safety, beyond the Chickahominy River. [[[The Slashes of the Chickahominy.--Difficulties at the Ferry.--The Chickahominy and its Associations.]]] {445}he sketched a map of my route to Jamestown, as a guide among the diverging ways. Time was precious, and I passed only an hour at the hospitable mansion of the ex-president, and then departed for the Chickahominy. Soon after leaving Sherwood Forest, I entered a low, wet region, covered with pines, called the _slashes_. These extended to the banks of the Chickahominy, a distance of seven miles; and in all that journey, without a clearing to cheer the eye, I saw no living thing, except an occasional "wild boar of the wood," a dwarf breed of hogs which inhabit this dreary region. Here, where once broad fields were smiling with culture-blessings, and this road, now almost a quagmire, but fifty years ago was one of the finest highways in Virginia, wild deers and turkeys abound, as if the land was a primeval wilderness. It was a sad commentary upon the past husbandry of Virginia, and a sadder picture of the inevitable result of the present bad husbandry which prevails in many regions of the South. Year after year the tillers make constant drafts upon the vitality of the soil without an ounce of compensating manure, until all fertility is exhausted. I saw thousands of acres in the course of my journey, where tillage had levied its withering taxes until the generous soil could no longer yield its tithe, nor even its hundredth. The earth was completely covered with "poverty grass," dwarf pines, or stately forests of the same tree, patiently renewing its strength during a long Sabbath-rest of abandonment by man. It was at meridian when I emerged from the wilderness and halted upon the high sandbank of the Chickahominy, a few miles above its confluence with the James River. Above, all appeared bright and beautiful; below, all was gloomy and desolate. Silence reigned here, where once the busy ferryman plied his oars from morning until night. No voice was to be heard; no human habitation was to be seen. The broad and turbid river moved sluggishly on without a ripple, and on the beach a scow, half filled with water, told only of desolation. There appeared no way for me to cross the stream. If denied that privilege, I must make a circuit of thirty miles' travel to a public crossing above! I looked for the smoke of a dwelling, but saw none. I shouted; there was no response but that of echo. Remembering that, just before reaching the clearing upon the Chickahominy, I saw a road, covered with leaves, diverging toward the James River, I returned, reined into it, and followed it with hope. Presently I saw a log hut upon the shore, and heard the voices of men. They were negroes, busily preparing a canoe for a fishing excursion. I inquired for a ferryman, and was informed that nobody crossed now, and the scow would not float. Two of the men speedily changed their opinion when I offered a bright half dollar to each if they would "bail out" the craft and "pole" me across. They worked faithfully, and within half an hour I was embarked upon the stream, with my horse and vehicle, in a shell just long enough and broad enough to contain us. To keep Charley quiet, so as to "trim the boat," I allowed him to dine upon some oats which I procured at Charles City Court House. The Chickahominy is here about a quarter of a mile wide. The current was quite strong, and so deep, that the poles, by which the bateau was impelled, were sometimes too short for use. We drifted some distance down the stream, and, at one time, I anticipated an evening voyage upon the James River, but by the great exertions of the motive-power we reached the landing-place in safety, after rather a dangerous voyage of nearly three quarters of an hour. The bateau was again almost half filled with water, and the ferrymen were obliged to empty it before returning. I was too much occupied while crossing with apprehensions of an involuntary bath to reflect upon the perils which Captain John Smith encountered upon this very stream, before the empire of the white men had commenced; but when safely seated in my wagon upon the Jamestown side of the river, I looked with intense interest upon the wooded shores of those waters, up which that adventurer paddled. More than sixty miles above the place where I crossed he was captured by Opechancanough, the king of Pamunkee, and carried in triumph to Powhatan, at Werowocomoeo, where he was saved from death by the gentle Pocahontas. These events we shall consider presently. I was now eight miles from old Jamestown, the goal of my day's journey. Hungry and thirsty, I was about entering another dreary region of _slashes_, five miles in extent, when I [[[Green Spring and its Associations.--Distant View of Jamestown Island.--Changes in the River Banks.--Tradition.]]] {446}saw a log hut on the verge of the woods. I hailed, but no person appeared, except a little child of six years, black as ebony, and having nothing on but its birth-day suit and a tattered shirt. It brought me a draught of cool water in a gourd from a spring near by. Dropping half a dime into the emptied shell, I pursued my way. Emerging from the _slashes_, I passed through a portion of the celebrated _Green Spring_ plantation, its mansion appearing among the trees on my left, half a mile distant. * [Illustration: 0456] It is now in possession of two brothers, named Ward, formerly of New Jersey, who, for many years, as skippers upon the James River, bartered for the products of this plantation, until they were able to purchase it. _Green Spring_ was the theater of an interesting episode in our Revolutionary history, for there the American army, under La Fayette, Wayne, and Steuben, were encamped for a few days in the summer of 1781, while watching the movements and foiling the designs of Cornwallis in Virginia. It was almost sunset when I passed the morass in front of _Green Spring_, over which the Americans crossed to the attack of Cornwallis at Jamestown Ford. I crossed the plantation of John Coke, Esq., and halted upon the shore of an estuary of the James River, at the cottage of Mr. Bacon, opposite Jamestown island. It was too late to visit the consecrated spot that evening. I sketched this distant view of the portion of the island where- * This was the residence of Sir William Berkeley, one of the early governors of Virginia. It afterward belonged to Philip Ludwell, one of the king's council, from whom it descended to William Lee, sheriff of London under the celebrated John Wilkes. ** This view is from the north side of what was once a marsh, but now a deep bay, four hundred yards wide. On the left is seen the remains of a bridge, destroyed by a gale and high tide a few years ago; and beyond is the James River. Near the point of the island, toward the end of the bridge, are the remains of an ancient church, a near view of which is given upon the opposite page. Mr. Coke resided upon the island when the tempest occurred which destroyed the bridge. The island was submerged, and for three davs himself and family were prisoners. It was in winter, and he was obliged to cut the branches of ornamental trees that were close to his house, for fuel. I was gravely informed by a man on the beach, while making the sketch, that Pocahontas crossed at that very spot "in her skiff," when she went to warn the Jamestown settlers of threatened danger. The dear child had no need of a skiff, had such a thing existed in America, for I was told by Mr. Coke that his father-in-law well remembered when a marsh, so narrow and firm that a person might cross it upon a fence rail, was where the deep water at the ruined bridge now is. Every year the current of James River is changing its margins in this region, and within a few years Jamestown Island, made so only by a marsh on the land side, will have a navigable channel around it. Already a large portion of it, whereon the ancient town was ereeted, has been washed away; and I was informed that a cypress-tree, now many yards from the shore, stood at the end of a carriage-way to the wharf, sixty yards from the water's edge, only sixteen years ago. The destructive flood is gradually approaching the old church tower, and if the hand of man shall not arrest its sure progress, that too will be swept away, and not a vestige of Jamestown will remain. Virginians, look to it, and let a wall of masonry along the river margin attest your reverence for the most interesting historical relic within your borders! Some remains of the old fort may be seen at low water, several yards from the shore. [[[Mr. Coke's Plantation.--The Council Tree.--Remains of Old Jamestown Church and Grave yard.]]] {447}on the ancient city stood, and then returned to the mansion of Mr. Coke, (who is brother of the late Richard Coke, member of Congress from Accomac district), to pass the night under his roof, where I experienced true Virginia hospitality. Mr. Coke was for many years sheriff of the county, is an influential man, and an excellent practical agriculturist. [Illustration: 8457] He owns a plantation of nineteen hundred acres, nearly one thousand of which is under cultivation. Unlike too many agriculturists of the South, he is his own general overseer, and his family of seventy persons (only eleven of whom are white), receive his daily personal care. He owns all the soil that is left unsubmerged on which the English built their first town in America. His house has many bullet-marks, made there during the battle at Jamestown Ford, on the 6th of July, 1781; and in the broad level field in front of his mansion, the French army was encamped when on its way to Yorktown the same year. Within that field a venerable chestnut-oak, riven, but not destroyed, by lightning, was yet standing, under which a court-martial was held by Cornwallis, and upon its branches a culprit was hanged. It is called the "Council Tree." Mr. Coke's plantation is truly classic ground, for upon it occurred events connected with those widely-separated incidents, the opening and the closing of the heroic age of America. Over it the lordly Powhatan once walked, and the feet of his gentle daughter pressed its soil when speeding on her mission of mercy to the doomed settlement of Jamestown. Over it the royal and republican armies marched, and there fought desperately for victory. I was at Mr. Bacon's cottage soon after an early breakfast, and before nine o'clock had crossed the estuary in a punt, and sat within the shadow of the old church tower, which stands like a sentinel, watching the city of the dead at its feet. This crumbling pile, surrounded by shrubbery, brambles, and tangled vines; and the old church-yard wall, of English brick, inclosing a few broken monuments, half buried in earth or covered with a pall of ivy and long grass, are all the tangible records that remain of the first planting of an English colony in America. As I sat upon the hollow trunk of a half-reclining and decayed old sycamore, and sketched the broken tower, the questionings of the eloquent Wirt came up from the depth of feeling: "Whence, my dear S---- arises this irrepressible reverence and tender affection with which I look at this broken steeple? * This view is from the old church-yard, looking toward James River, a glimpse of which may be seen through the arches. The stream is here about three miles wide. It is uncertain at what precise time the church, of which now only a portion of the tower remains, was erected. It was probably built sometime between 1617 and 1620. According to Smith, a fire consumed a large portion of the town, with the palisades, at about the close of 1607, the first year of the settlement. Captain Smith and Mr. Scrivener were appointed commissioners to superintend the rebuilding of the town and church. Afterward, in speaking of the arrival of Governor Argali in 1617, he says, "In James towne he found but five or six houses, the church downe, the pallizados broken, the bridge in pieces, the well of fresh water spoiled, the store-house used for the church," &c. The tower here represented was doubtless that of the third church built, and is now (1852) about 234 years old. The tower is now about thirty feet high, the walls three feet thick, all of imported brick. [[[Wirt's Musings at the Church at Jamestown.--The Ancient Monuments.--Paulding's Ode.--Efforts at Early Settlement.]]] {448}Is it that my soul, by a secret, subtile process, invests the moldering ruins with her own powers; imagines it a fellow-being--a venerable old man, a Nestor or an Ossian, who has witnessed and survived the ravages of successive generations, the companions of his youth and of his maturity, and now mourns his own solitary and desolate condition, and hails their spirits in every passing cloud? Whatever may be the cause, as I look at it, I feel my soul drawn forward as by the cords of gentlest sympathy, and involuntarily open my lips to offer consolation to the drooping pile." * Around this= ```"Old cradle of our infant world, ````In which a nestling empire lay,"= the Spirit of Romance and the Muse of Poetry delight to linger, and the bosom of the American glows with increased patriotism as he contemplates this small _beginning_ of the mighty _progression_ around him.= ```"What solemn recollections throng, ````What touching visions rise, ```As, wandering these old stones among, ````I backward turn my eyes, ```And see the shadows of the dead flit round, ```Like spirits when the last dread trump shall sound! ```The wonders of an age combined, ````In one short moment memory supplies; ```They throng upon my 'waken'd mind, ````As Time's dark curtains rise. ```The volume of a hundred buried years, ```Condensed in one bright sheet appears. ******** ```Jamestown and Plymouth's hallow'd rock ````To me shall ever sacred be; ```I care not who my themes may mock, ````Or sneer at them and me. ```I envy not the brute who here can stand ```Without a thrill for his own native land. ```And if the recreant crawl her earth. ````Or breathe Virginia's air, ```Or in New England claim his birth, ````From the old pilgrims there, ```He is a bastard, if he dare to mock ```Old Jamestown's shrine, or Plymouth's famous rock.' `````James Kirke Paulding.= Although it was late in December, the sun was shining almost as warm as at [[ a Dec 21, 1848]] the close of May. While finishing my sketch, I was glad to take shelter from its beams in the shadow of the sycamore. Here, upon this curiously-wrought slab, clasped by the roots of the forest _anak_, let us sit a while and ponder the early chronicles of Virginia. ** I have mentioned, in the Introduction to this work, the efforts made by the English, Spanish, and French adventurers to plant colonies in the New World, and their failures. The idea was not abandoned; and the public mind, particularly in England, was much occupied with the visions of new and opulent empires beyond the ocean, of which a few glimpses had appeared. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, a step-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, published a hypothetical treatise on a northwest passage to the East Indies, which attracted great attention, and exerted much influence favorable to colonizing expeditions. He obtained [[ b June 11, 1578]] a patent from Queen Elizabeth (b) to colonize such parts of North America as were already possessed by any of her allies. Raleigh, a young, ardent, and ambitious student at Oxford, had just completed his studies, and was about to engage in a military life in France. He was induced by his step-brother to join with him in an expedition to America. They sailed early in 1579, but never reached our Continent, because, as was alleged, their little squadron was broken up in a conflict with a Spanish fleet, when they returned to England. Gilbert's patent was limited, and he made great efforts to plant a colony before it should expire. He and Raleigh equipped a new squadron in 1583. *** * Wirt's Letters of a British Spy, page 128. ** The slab referred to was a blue stone about four inches thick. The roots of the sycamore were so firmly entwined around it that no church-yard thief could take it away. It bore the date of 1608. The remainder of the inscription was so broken and defaced that I could not decipher a name. This is probably the oldest tomb-stone extant in the United States. Vandalism has been at work in that old grave-yard as elsewhere. Almost every monument has a fragment broken from it. A small piece, with some letters upon it, had been recently broken from one, and was left lying in the grass. This I brought away with me, not, however, without a sense of being an "accessory after the fact" in an act of sacrilege. ** The names of the vessels were Raleigh, Swalloir, Hind, Delight, and Squirrel. The Raleigh went but a lew leagues from Portsmouth, and returned. [[[Loss of Sir Humphrey Gilbert.--Raleigh's Perseverance.--Amidas and Barlow.--Native Hospitality abused.--Grenville and Lane.]]] {449}Raleigh did not sail with the expedition. Gilbert reached Newfoundland, and at St. John's he performed the feudal ceremonies of taking formal possession of the country in the name of his sovereign, in the presence of the Spanish and Portuguese adventurers who were located there. (a) [Illustration: 8459] Soon afterward the expedition sailed southward. The flag-ship of [[ a August 5, 1583]] Gilbert was the _Squirrel_. Tempests arose. One night, "about twelve o'clock, the lights of the _Squirrel_ suddenly disappeared, and neither the vessel nor any of its crew was ever again seen." * The survivors of the expedition reached England in the _Hind_, on the 22d of September following. Raleigh was not disheartened. He resolved to plant a colony in a more southern region, and readily obtained a patent from Elizabeth as ample as that of his lost step-brother. He was constituted a lord proprietary, with civil and political privileges in his prospective domain almost monarchical. He equipped two vessels, with an ample supply of men and provisions, and gave the command to Philip Arnidas and Arthur Barlow, two experienced mariners. They sailed for America on the 27th of April, 1584, and reached Cuba, in the West Indies, in July. Departing northward, they landed upon Wocoken Island, the southernmost of the group which form Ocracock Inlet, on the shores of North Carolina. The natives, ignorant of the character and designs of the English, received them with friendly greetings after the first emotions of fear and wonder had subsided. Amidas and Barlow explored Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, enjoyed the hospitality of Granganimeo, the father of King Wingina, upon the beautiful island of Roanoke (now belonging to Tyr-rel county, N. C.), and then returned to England, accompanied by Wanchese and Manteo, two natives of the forest. The glowing accounts of his captains of the beauty and fertility of the land, and the gentleness of the natives, filled Raleigh's heart with joy. The captains were presented at court, and their tales of the enchanting region which they had discovered made Elizabeth feel that the most glorious event of her reign had just been accomplished. She named the new-found region in the Western world _Virginia_, as a memorial of her unmarried state. Raleigh was elected a member of Parliament for Devonshire, obtained a confirmation of his patent, (b) was knighted, and became one of the most popular men in England. [[ b Dec 18, 1584]] In 1585, he fitted out another fleet. The command was given to Sir Richard Grenville, one of the most gallant men of the age. The fleet consisted of seven vessels, and bore one hundred and eight emigrants, designed to colonize Virginia. Ralph Lane (afterward knighted by Elizabeth) accompanied them as governor of the colony, and several men of learning were his companions. Among them was With, a meritorious painter, whose sketches of the people and scenery in the New World were made with remarkable faithfulness. This expedition sailed from Plymouth on the 9th of April, and reached Florida on the 20th of June. Coasting northward, they arrived at the beautiful Roanoke Island, lying between Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. They went to the Main, and explored the beautiful county of Secotan, around Albemarle Sound and the Chowan, in various directions. Ignorant of the power of kindness, they foolishly quarreled with the simple natives; and because they supposed a lost silver cup had been stolen by one of them, a whole village was burned, and fields of standing corn were destroyed. From the ashes arose the spirit of discord which ever afterward separated the Indian and the white man. Grenville returned with the fleet to England, leaving Lane and his colony to perfect a settlement. Instead of cultivating the soil for the production of maize and the potato, which were indigenous, they sought gold. A wily savage, intent on revenge, told them wondrous tales of a land of gold at the head waters of the Roanoke River. Up that broad and rapid stream, Lane and a portion of his people went, for the two-fold purpose of exploring the * Bancroft, i., 91. ** This sketch is from a picture published in a Treatise on Navigation in 1595. [[[Hostilities with the Indiana.--Colonists Return to England.--Another Expedition.--"City of Raleigh."--Virginia Dare.]]] {450}country and seeking gold. They ascended no further than the present village of Williams-town, when a flight of arrows from the wooded shore revealed the enmity of the natives. Lane hastened back to Roanoke, and summoned Wingina, the most powerful of the chiefs, to an audience. The sachem and his followers appeared. Their secret plans for the destruction of the English were suspected, indeed, quite certainly known, and the white men were on the alert. With apparent friendliness Wingina appeared at the council. At a given signal the English fell upon the chief and his handful of warriors, and put them to death. The calumet was now buried forever; the hatchet was brightened and made sharp by intensest hatred. The English felt the danger of their situation, and were desponding, when the fleet of Sir Francis Drake anchored outside of Roanoke Inlet. He came from the West Indies to visit the domain of Raleigh, and generously offered to furnish the colony with means to pursue their discoveries; but fear gained the mastery of their avaricious de[[ a June 19, 1586]] sires, and the colonists sailed with Drake for England. (a) A few days after their departure a ship arrived, laden with stores for the colony; and, within a fortnight, Grenville also arrived with three well-furnished ships. The commander sought in vain for the colony, and, leaving fifteen men on the Island of Roanoke to maintain English dominion, he returned to England with the sad intelligence for Raleigh. * Raleigh, undismayed by misfortunes, fitted out another expedition. He changed his policy, and sent a colony of men, women, and children to establish an agricultural state. John White was appointed their governor. They sailed on the 26th of April, 1587, and arrived on the coast of North Carolina in July. When they reached Roanoke, they found no vestige of the fifteen men left by Grenville, except a few scattered bones. The Indians had slain them all. Wild deers were in the untenanted habitations, and rank grass covered their gardens, They proceeded to lay the foundation of "the city of Raleigh," pursuant to the instructions of the proprietor, but it was an idle show. ** White endeavored to make treaties of amity with the natives, but failed, though aided by the friendly Manteo, who accompanied Amidas and Barlow to England. *** The neighboring tribes exhibited implacable hatred and jealousy. Winter approached, and the vessel which brought them was prepared for departure for England. White was urged strongly to go with it, and use his endeavors to send them